HONOLULU — Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Don Long was alone on an anchored military seaplane in the middle of a bay across the island from Pearl Harbor when Japanese warplanes started striking Hawaii on December 7, 1941, watching from afar as the attack that killed and wounded thousands unfolded.

ANAVYSSOS, Greece — With rapid efficiency, a mysterious parasite is seeking out and killing a giant species of clam found only in the Mediterranean Sea. Unless scientists can find a way of stopping it soon, they say the mollusk could go extinct.

“Broken Ground” (Atlantic Monthly Press), by Val McDermid

Private Thomas C. Neibaur of Sugar City was one of three American soldiers honored this week in 1918 with the Medal of Honor. The first member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to receive the medal, Neibaur, 20, distinguished himself on Oct. 16, 1918, in action at Landres-et…

“The Patch” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), by John McPhee

DETROIT (AP) — Patricia Hall went to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in 2016 hoping to learn more about the music performed by prisoners in World War II death camps.

“Hearts of the Missing” (Minotaur), by Carol Potenza

SPRING, Texas — The locomotive was painted to resemble Air Force One, but George H.W. Bush joked that if it had been around during his presidency, he may have preferred to ride the rails rather than take to the skies.

TERVUREN, Belgium (AP) — For decades, Belgian schoolchildren had come to the Africa Museum near Brussels to marvel at the stuffed animals, drums, ritual masks and minerals that glowed in the darkness of vast cellars. Old colonialists lounged for languid lunches, reminiscing about their glori…

When Lila Chess and Aron Kandel were planning their January 2018 wedding, the New York City couple was wary of acquiring too much stuff. They lived in a small apartment with limited storage. Lila opted not to have a shower in order to keep gifts at a minimum.

“Hazards of Time Travel” (Ecco), by Joyce Carol Oates

Dr. Thomas Wilson, Idaho Falls’ city physician, reported only five new cases of influenza in the last week of November 1918, and that in his opinion the situation seemed to be clearing up. Still, it was no time for the community to let down its guard. “Speaking for his personal opinion of th…

The youngest children in kindergarten are more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in early grades, a study shows, an intriguing finding for parents on the fence about when to start their child in school.

PLYMOUTH, Mass. — The seaside town where the Pilgrims came ashore in 1620 is gearing up for a 400th birthday bash, and everyone’s invited — especially the native people whose ancestors wound up losing their land and lives.

“Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious” (Liveright), by Seth Kugel

NEW YORK — Around two dozen traders sit in an open-layout second floor of a building in suburban Philadelphia. Surrounded by computer monitors, loud conversation and ringing phones, the energy on this trading floor is high and the commodity is blingy.

NEW YORK — Three years after it closed its beloved toy store on Fifth Avenue, FAO Schwarz has returned to New York.

“Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back)” (Dutton), by Jeff Tweedy

While the Spanish Influenza seemed to be under some semblance of control in Idaho Falls and the Snake River Valley, grim tales were coming down from the north and Montana’s Centennial Valley. “The beginning of the epidemic there is accounted for by the fact that the body of a soldier who had…