New Jerseyans have sent just six women to the House of Representatives -- ever.  That could change come November.

Navy pilots call it the helicopter dunker.

In what mimics a nighttime water crash, the pilots are strapped into a seat, blinded by opaque goggles, submerged and flipped over in a tank of water. They must free themselves from the seat, find the closed window on a mock wall and push their way out to safety.

I was just pages into Jesmyn Ward’s National Book Award-winning novel “Sing, Unburied, Sing” when I stopped, took a breath and realized that I was already blown away by the beauty and brilliance of her writing.

“You’ll never be this,” I whispered to myself.

A few below-freezing mornings here in New Jersey, and just like that, the fall colors are gone.

It's Election Day New Jersey! Vote YES on Public Question One to strengthen our local public libraries, sacred spaces worthy of the respect and preservation that come with that designation.

To call the devastation and destruction wrought by the hurricanes, earthquakes, mass shootings and raging fires this past month epic might just be an understatement. If you're like me, you found yourself waking up uneasy, wondering what possibly could come next.

The United States Supreme Court opens its new term on Monday, already loaded with blockbuster cases headed for argument in the first several weeks. Some familiar issues -- voting rights, same-sex marriage, cell phone privacy, employee arbitration – will all make an appearance early in the term. Here's a quick look at what's on tap.

“At the end of the day, we’re all just walking each other home.”  Anne Lamott, one of my favorite writers, first introduced me to this quote, taken from author Ram Dass, and I’ve been thinking a lot about it these past several days in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The silver lining, if any, to a disaster like Hurricane Harvey is that it brings out the best in so many of us, eager to rush in and help out in anyway possible. And certainly we’ve seen plenty of acts of heroism and generosity over the past few days in the Houston area.

Over that same period of time I’ve seen just as many posts on social media by friends and colleagues who can’t be on the ground there asking how else they can help and where best to make a donation.

Late August always brings back memories of growing up two blocks from the beach in a four-by-four block town on the Jersey shore.

Beyond the housing of books, libraries have now grown into vital community centers, places where people actually engage with each other on a personal level and share experiences, interests, problems and civic concerns. Dialogue is ever present.

With just a little more than two years left before the next decade begins, the United States Census is in danger, threatened by a lack of administrative direction and budget underfunding and challenged in an environment where facts are questioned and government data collection is suspect. Here's why we still need it.

All the world's an Order Muppet or a Chaos Muppet, and that explains everything, according to Slate's Dahlia Lithwick in this fun Sunday read. 

Covering the U.S. Supreme Court can be a nail-biting, knee-shaking beat. It's also a beat I miss. 

Despite its shaky economy, Puerto Rico still offers plenty of hidden treasures.

Art collectors set their sights on criminal justice reform.

Summer heat is coming, and so are the reading lists. Here are a few of my choices, particularly enticing in these disruptive times.

Walter McMillian had already been sitting on death row for more than a year when Bryan Stevenson walked into his life. He’d landed there even before he was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for the 1986 murder of an 18-year-old white woman in Monroeville, Alabama.

I bit the bullet this morning. After months of staving off the temptation to subscribe to yet another news site, I hit the Washington Post pay wall for the last time -- reeled in again by a "breaking news" blast on my phone -- and succumbed to the "subscribe" button.

Yes, robocallers are bombarding your cell phone with unwanted telemarketing calls, now more than ever. What can you do?