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Research Finds Vaccines Are Not Behind the Rise in Autism. So What Is?

There is no one factor that causes autism — or explains its growing prevalence. Researchers are seeking explanations for the surge. Here are some possibilities.

© Callaghan O'Hare for The New York Times

An autistic boy with his mother at home in Texas. There is no blood test or brain scan to determine who has autism, and with no singular cause, there is no singular culprit behind autism’s rise.

How Bath & Body Works Comes Up With Its Holiday Scents

Every year, Bath & Body Works introduces a new scent that it hopes will break through during the shopping season. It doesn’t have to smell like gingerbread.

© Dave Sanders for The New York Times

The nose likes what it likes. For a company like Bath & Body Works, the trick is to first catch the eye with something new.

The Son Who Couldn’t Leave

Paul Barreto’s father, Mickey, lived at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan for five years, paying only $200.57. Paul was desperate to escape.

© Elias Williams for The New York Times

Paul Barreto will graduate in June from LaGuardia High School, an elite performing arts school in New York City.

A Pro-Trump Group’s Risky Bet on Infrequent Voters Seems to Have Paid Off

Turning Point Action devoted much of its attention to less reliable voters. New data in Arizona showing a sizable Republican edge among them suggests that the strategy succeeded.

© Anna Watts for The New York Times

Tyler Bowyer, the chief operating officer of Turning Point Action, at his office in the organization’s headquarters in Phoenix in October. Mr. Bowyer and Turning Point’s voter turnout effort zeroed in on infrequent voters who seemed to lean to the right, a strategy that appears to have paid off in Arizona.

The Making and Remaking of ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’

Eighty years after its release, the sentimental holiday standard continues to enchant listeners and inspire the musicians who take it on.

© Archive Photos/Moviepix, via Getty Images

Judy Garland first introduced audiences to “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” when she sang it in the 1944 film “Meet Me in St. Louis.” The song was far from the movie’s biggest hit.

Top Arab Diplomats, in Syria Visits, Aim to Build Ties With New Leadership

Ministers from Jordan and Qatar were among the first high-ranking Arab diplomats to meet with the leader of the rebel coalition that toppled the Syrian regime, as the Arab world seeks to bring Syria back into the fold.

© Daniel Berehulak/The New York Times

Syrians celebrating the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on the second Friday after the fall of his regime.

Alfa Anderson, Singer With Chic, Dies at 78

She sang the famous refrain “Le freak, c’est chic,” on one of disco’s biggest hits and was a sought-after vocalist for many prominent artists.

© Carrie Davenport/Redferns, via Getty Images

Alfa Anderson, who sang Chic’s “At Last I Am Free” and “I Want Your Love.”

A Canceled Vote in Romania Hands Russia a Propaganda Coup

Many in the West have applauded the annulling of the first round of the presidential election, won by a Moscow-friendly candidate, but even his critics say it raises troubling questions about Romanian democracy.

© Robert Ghement/EPA, via Shutterstock

A polling station in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, on Oct. 24, the first round of presidential elections.

Could One Phone Call Lead to the 28th Amendment?

How President Biden could transform women’s rights and rescue his legacy with just a ring.

© Aaron Schwartz/Sipa, via Associated Press

Supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment rallied outside the Capitol in Washington this month.

Sending Troops to Help Russia Was North Korea’s Idea, U.S. Officials Say

North Korean troops have now entered Russia’s war with Ukraine in a major way, and some have been killed, Western officials say.

© Korean Central News Agency, via Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, left, and Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, in a photograph provided by North Korean state media. Mr. Kim has sent at least 10,000 troops to Russia, according to Ukrainian and Western estimates.
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