Now Going Viral: Meeting Online Friends in Real Life - Today’s stories for you

August 15, 2021 Hello. Every day, we’ll send you stories we think you’ll love. Let us know what you’re interested in to improve your recommendations. Choose your interests WHAT YOU MAY HAVE MISSED TODAY Doubts, Anger and Anxiety: What It’s Like to Go to School Now A Week Into Taliban Rule, One City’s Glimpse of What the Future May Hold Biden Administration Prompts Largest Permanent Increase in Food Stamps Teaching a New Generation of Balloonists to Go Up, Up and Away Evacuation from Kabul falters as chaos at airport reigns. Go to homepage BASED ON YOUR INTERESTS From Business & Technology Now Going Viral: Meeting Online Friends in Real Life Marissa Meizz became a TikTok meme after her friends excluded her from a birthday party. She decided to do something about it. From Sports They Tried to Beat DiMaggio. Like Everyone Else, They Failed. In M.L.B.’s Beat the Streak game, fans build virtual lineups in hopes of topping Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak. After 20 years, no one has won. From Obituaries Michael Thomas, Writer and Bête Noire of the Moneyed Class, Dies at 85 His early careers as an art historian and Wall Street financier informed his financial thrillers, which often savaged the rich and powerful. From Social Justice In Backlash to Racial Reckoning, Conservative Publishers See Gold Books on race and antiracism have sold well over the past year. Now titles like “I Can’t Breathe: How a Racial Hoax Is Killing America” and “Race Crazy” are coming. From Latinx Opinion | It Was a Terrifying Census for White Nationalists The white power acolytes saw this train approaching from a distance, and they did everything they could to head it off. IMPROVE YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS Modern Love The joys and tribulations of love Smarter Living Helping you make the most of the world Tip A weekly how-to COLUMNS AND SERIES From Maureen Dowd Opinion | Behold Barack Antoinette He hated politics. But he loves post-politics.  From Ross Douthat Opinion | A Guide to Finding Faith Scientific advances in recent centuries have made the idea of God only more plausible. From Metropolitan Diary ‘We Came Up to a Man Who Was Selling Bouquets of Flowers’ A traffic-jam surprise, saving a seat on the A train and more reader tales of New York City in this week’s Metropolitan Diary. TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT From Books to Read Michael J. Fox Reviews a Thoughtful Memoir on the Challenges of Living With Disability In “I Live a Life Like Yours,” Jan Grue, a Norwegian professor, writes of living with a rare form of spinal muscular atrophy. From U.S. & Politics Taliban Sweep in Afghanistan Follows Years of U.S. Miscalculations An Afghan military that did not believe in itself and a U.S. effort that Mr. Biden, and most Americans, no longer believed in brought an ignoble end to America’s longest war. From Sports Cleveland Browns G.M. Talks the ‘Thrill’ of Turning the Team Around Andrew Berry became the N.F.L.’s youngest-ever general manager at 32 last year. But his challenge is as old as the sport itself: finding a way to win. From Parents & Families Teens Cash In on the NFT Art Boom Forget mowing lawns and bagging groceries. Some Gen Z kids are finding other ways to make money this summer. From Times Insider Clip by Clip, Showing Democracy Under Siege The Times’s Visual Investigations team analyzed more than 3,000 videos to document, moment by moment, the terror of the Capitol riot. THAT’S IT FOR TODAY Help us find the best stories for you. Choose your interests To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. Subscribe to the Times|Get the NYT app Change Your Email|Privacy Policy|Contact|Advertise|California Notices The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018