Roberta McReynolds writes: A rather large mound of dirt had now taken up residence in the sink. Fine dust floated in the air and was slowly drifting over every surface within a three-foot radius: kitchen curtains, countertop, flooring, and me. Phoebe, our cat, peeked cautiously around the corner as I coughed from somewhere deep within the haze, staring at me with a curious look as though to say, "Seriously, I thought you were trying to get rid of that stuff." She turned away, flipping her tail aloft as a sign of superiority as she marched off in search of a place to nap ... and shed more fur.

At a time when the planet seems ever more divided, it's amazing to visit a place like Gulliver’s Gate and be reminded that we all share one world. Gulliver’s Gate is one of the most ambitious attractions to ever land in New York City, a $40 million extravaganza that allows visitors to travel the globe without leaving Times Square. Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, Russia, and Europe are all here in incredibly detailed miniature.   

Jo Freeman writes: Roughly 500 women and a few men gathered on the east lawn of the US Capitol building on March 29 to declare that "I Stand With Planned Parenthood." The Senate was due to vote on a resolution to permit the states to deny federal family planning funds to health care centers which provide abortions, albeit with other funds. The failed Republican replacement for the 2010 Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) contained a provision which would have denied PP $400 million in Medicaid money.      

Unlike more cosmetic markers of aging, such as wrinkles and gray hair, sleep deterioration has been linked to such conditions as Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, obesity, diabetes and stroke, a Berkeley professor of psychology and neuroscience has said. Walker warns that the pills designed to help us doze off are a poor substitute for the natural sleep cycles that the brain needs in order to function well. "Don’t be fooled into thinking sedation is real sleep. It's not," he said.

The final episode of the ITV series was watched by 5.5 millions viewers [In Britain]. News of the series' cancellation inspired fans to launch a Bring Back Home Fires campaign, which generated national press coverage and secured nearly 40,000 signatures on an online petition. Only last week Home Fires topped a Radio Times poll asking which canceled TV show viewers most wanted back. In response to overwhelming demand from fans of the series, Bonnier Zaffre is delighted to be taking this compelling story forward in novel form.

Joan L. Cannon reviews: This lengthy story covers a short time in the life of a privileged young man who forms a friendship at Harvard with another student from Islandia in 1905. John Lang of New England and Dorn of Islandia cement a friendship reminiscent of the male bonding of classics. After spending a summer together on Cape Cod, Lang has learned enough Islandian from Dorn and by studying on his own to secure a job as consul to the nation that occupies the southern coast of a continent whose nearest land mass would be Antarctica — if it existed.

Expedition 50 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson is on her eighth spacewalk Thursday morning and could surpass astronaut Suni Williams’ record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut. Whitson’s last spacewalk was on Jan. 6 with Commander Shane Kimbrough when she hooked up new lithium-ion batteries and inspected the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. Meantime, the Senate Committee on Intelligence hears an expert testify: "The issue before this panel is Russian active measures and influence campaigns. It rose to the top of our national agenda in 2016, when we became aware of Russian interference in our presidential campaign."

In a culture structured in a rigid social hierarchy, the mask offered not just relief from strict codes of behavior, but a deeper liberation born of its equalizing effect on social differences. Creating an appearance of equality, the mask eased the interaction of social classes, permitted women to go out unescorted, and allowed beggars to conceal their shame. And, of course, as profusely and notoriously demonstrated by Casanova’s exploits, the mask’s secrecy enabled a certain sexual freedom.