August 18, 2026 edition

Entertainment · Main story Ariana Madix is playing Connie Francis, and it fits

The reality star who survived Scandoval is stepping into a role that rhymes with her own story. Here is why the casting is more than stunt booking. 4 min read

Food and Home · Main story Hello Kitty meets Godzilla in a very unlikely Happy Meal

Eight new toys pair Sanrio's softest characters with Godzilla's most fearsome monsters. The charming part is how well several of the matchups make sense. 5 min read

Today · Main story The word that ended Patricia Heaton's drinking

At a family game night in Nashville, a single word refused to come out. Eight years later, Patricia Heaton says that small humiliation was the best thing that ever happened to her. 4 min read

Entertainment · Related read How Broadway's Just in Time became a working nightclub

The Bobby Darin musical is staged as a swinging 1960s supper club, and it has become Broadway's favorite landing spot for reality stars. Here is how the format works. 3 min read

Entertainment · Related read Connie Francis was the first woman to top the Hot 100

Before she was a Broadway character, she was a Newark accordion kid who became the biggest female voice in America. Her story is worth knowing. 3 min read

Food and Home · Related read How the Happy Meal toy became a collectible obsession

The Happy Meal began in 1979 with a stencil and a spinning top. Its cheap prizes became one of the great accidental collectibles of modern America. 3 min read

Food and Home · Related read Who is Hello Kitty, and why does she have no mouth?

She is not a cat, exactly, and she has never needed to say a word. The 1974 origin of the face now riding in a Happy Meal. 3 min read

Today · Related read A son's one-liner that changed his mother's life

Her four sons grew up, the house went quiet, and the drinking crept in. Then the youngest said one blunt thing at a game table that turned everything around. 3 min read

Today · Related read What eight sober years gave Patricia Heaton

Eight years after her last drink, Patricia Heaton toasts her soberversary with iced tea and calls the whole thing wonderful. Here is what changed. 3 min read