“Haitian food is very rich, flavorful; it's bold, fresh and in your face. It is the heart of what we represent because food for us is not only about nutrition, but it brings everybody together," says award-winning chef Alain Lemaire. bit.ly/3XNqAka
American in Ukraine: What Florida resident William Broocke saw on monthlong trip
At 77, it was easy for the retired airline pilot and Florida businessman to take for granted a daily routine that included trips to Dunkin', the dog park or the beach.
After selling his USGenerator business two years ago, life was good for the lifelong bachelor. William Broocke enjoyed writing a few pages a day for his second book at the rural Indian River County homestead that his father, a distinguished World War II aviator, bought in the 1960s.
But what would motivate him to disregard the U.S. Department of State's “do not travel” advisory and head to Ukraine for a month?
And, more importantly, what does he want his fellow Americans to know about the state of the country and its people.
🔗 Read the column: https://bit.ly/3XWp2m2
✍: Laurence Reisman / USA TODAY Network-Florida
📽: William Broocke / Courtesy TCPalm
What are you looking to on Election Day?
Americans are voting in Tuesday's midterm elections, with control of Congress and state and local governments across the country up for grabs.
From fears of violence and voter intimidation to particular races, members of the USA TODAY Opinion team discuss what they're looking for on Election Day.
🔗 Follow our live blog for analysis, reaction and coverage throughout the day: https://bit.ly/OpinionLiveMidterms
What are you looking to on Election Day?
Americans are voting in Tuesday's midterm elections, with control of Congress and state and local governments across the country up for grabs.
From fears of violence and voter intimidation to particular races, members of the USA TODAY Opinion team discuss what they're looking for on Election Day.
🔗 Follow our live blog for analysis, reaction and coverage throughout the day: https://bit.ly/OpinionLiveMidterms
Generation Z on why their peers should vote
Gen Z voters could swing the election. Hear from three young people on why they should vote.
🔗 Read the column: https://bit.ly/3FkivKJ
📽: Voters of Tomorrow; USA TODAY
Do we live in two Americas?
Red states and blue states increasingly are moving in opposite directions on education policy, tax rates and, of course, abortion.
The nation's second most populous state, Texas, has now effectively banned abortion. In contrast, the most populated state, California, has become a self-proclaimed sanctuary for women seeking abortions.
Where do our growing divisions, and our growing geographical segregation based on politics, lead us? Are we becoming Red America and Blue America instead of the United States of America?
USA TODAY Opinion Fellow Chris Schlak examines these questions in his installment for our "Future of Conservatism" series.
🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/3CDbpOy
✍: Chris Schlak / USA TODAY
Rex Huppke's Guide to Gourds
You can’t throw a squash this time of year without hitting a gourd display. They’re in bins in front of grocery stores, in window boxes outside homes, uselessly encircling front-yard trees and filling decorative bowls on more dining room tables than one dares to mention.
But before you go out and buy, on average, your 16 gourds per American household (a shocking statistic our columnist Rex Huppke totally made up), you need to know your gourds. Luckily, Rex is here to help.
🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/3CWknba
📝 + 📹: Rex Huppke / USA TODAY
Conservatives are building their own media ecosystem to fight cancel culture.
As Americans, we remain in a political union, and changes on the right help shape national politics. So what sort of conservative movement arises out of this emerging parallel society?
As much as they bemoan progressives' zealotry for rooting their political opponents out of institutional and social life, many conservatives have come to embrace the potential that modern technology offers for birthing ecosystems of cultural, social and informational independence.
The conservative movement, manifest in flourishing media platforms such as The Daily Wire, sees itself as responding to the forces of exile coming from the cultural left, columnist John Wood Jr. explains. Read more in his column for USA TODAY Opinion's "Future of Conservatism" series.
🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/3TFl4eD
✍: John Wood Jr. / USA TODAY
America needs to purge Donald Trump from our system. But for that to happen, Republicans must first purge Trump from the party's leadership. Read more: https://bit.ly/3rNOgnx
As the new school year begins, how can we ensure the mental health of our children is as much a priority as their grades — recognizing that the two are deeply intertwined?
If we want to use this moment to realize a new normal for our children where their mental health is a source of strength and not distress, then all of us must step up to support parents and children.
That means advocating for and passing policies to make mental health care more affordable and accessible. It means ensuring our schools have enough mental health counselors. It means all of us playing a greater supporting role in the lives of the children around us.
🔗 Read more: https://bit.ly/3dEalBF
✍: Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General
📽: USA TODAY
I recently became interested in de-extinction science when I saw an article in USA TODAY about a big investment in Australia to bring back the extinct thylacine, often wrongly referred to as "Tasmanian tigers." That led me to reach out to Flinders University's global ecology professor Corey Bradshaw, who has come out against de-extinction efforts.
What started out as a lighthearted chat about an extinct tiger that's not really a tiger turned pretty dark, pretty quickly, as Bradshaw began explaining to me what his extinction research shows for the future of mankind and the planet.
But before you say to yourself, "I can't hear this today," just wait. All is not (completely) lost. Bradshaw has very specific ideas for what we can do to make things less terrible. And that's definitely worth a try — if not for our generation, then for the next one.
🔗 Read the column: https://bit.ly/3BdK055
✍ Carli Pierson / USA TODAY
Why we'll miss Serena Williams after she retires and what she has meant to the world
In a personal essay in Vogue, Serena Williams announced she would retire from her tennis career after the U.S. Open. After winning her first match Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium, it’s clear she’s not ready to say goodbye just yet. Neither are we.
If the 23-time Grand Slam champion and four-time Olympic gold medalist truly decides to walk off the court, she’ll forever be remembered as one of the greatest athletes of all time — if not the greatest. Yet what resonates with us most goes beyond her titles. The tennis icon and American pioneer has inspired not only Black girls and women: For Gen Z, Serena is their Billie Jean King.
USA TODAY intern Ashley Ahn, who started playing tennis when she was about 5, and deputy opinion editor and national columnist Suzette Hackney, who met both Williams sisters at the “King Richard” premiere, discuss the impending retirement and what Serena has meant to them on and off the court.
🔗 See more: https://bit.ly/3AcOgTa
📽 by USA TODAY
