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…

WASHINGTON — There are more gorillas in the mist — a rare conservation success story, scientists say.

“The End of the End of the Earth: Essays” (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), by Jonathan Franzen

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Most of the time, gondoliers row slowly and sing softly. It’s all very peaceful.

As the Spanish Influenza pandemic kept Idahoans on edge this week in 1918, Idaho Falls’ Red Cross Community Kitchen got a laudatory write up in the Boise Statesman, reprinted in the Idaho Register. “Mrs. G.Q. Wright organized the motor corps girls and all an afflicted family had to do was to…

“Long Road to Mercy: an Atlee Pine Thriller”(Grand Central Publishing), by David Baldacci

CINCINNATI (AP) — Look, up on the shelf! It’s Superman. There’s the king of the wild frontier himself, Davy Crockett. And over in that case is Davy Crockett again, except this time he’s Daniel Boone (we’ll explain later). And aaaaay! It’s The Fonz and the whole “Happy Days” family! A veteran…

PRAGUE — Prague’s fabled astronomical clock is returning to the Czech capital’s picturesque Old Town Square after a complex repair operation restored the medieval landmark to its former glory.

ROMAGNE-SOUS-MONTFAUCON, France — It was America’s deadliest battle ever, with 26,000 U.S. soldiers killed, tens of thousands wounded and more ammunition fired than in the whole of the Civil War. The Meuse-Argonne offensive of 1918 was also a great American victory that helped bringing an en…

A group of Bonneville County women seeking clothing for Belgian war victims got four times what they asked for this week in 1918. Led by Mrs. Kunter (married women rarely got their first names in the newspapers of 100 years ago) the group had been seeking to collect a ton. “(When) the total …

“An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” (Dutton), by Hank Green

BELOIT, Wis. (AP) — A museum in Wisconsin that contains the world’s largest collection of angels is closing.

“The Lost Carousel of Provence” (Berkley), by Juliet Blackwell

“The Infinite Blacktop” (Atria), by Sara Gran

NEW YORK — Apple and Google want to help you spend less time on their phones — really. Like that time you checked Facebook at 3 a.m. Stats don’t lie.

Before climbing into the cockpit of his steam-powered rocket and blasting off across the Snake River Canyon, daredevil Eddie Braun scribbled two things on his bare chest in marker.

“Button Man” (Minotaur), by Andrew Gross

“The Forbidden Door” (Bantam), by Dean Koontz

Bonneville County received news this week of its first young man in France to be killed in action, Charles L. Randall, son of Mrs. John Tulley. Although he was the third local to die in service to the war effort, the first had been fatally injured at training camp while the second had died o…

NEW BERN, N.C. (AP) — A bedraggled kitten in North Carolina got a new nickname — “Survivor” — when it was pulled with its owner from floodwaters unleashed by Florence.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — With snowfall dwindling at the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, tourism promoters see an opportunity to stretch out the visiting season at the less popular side of the canyon so more people experience it and spend money in the region.

VILORIA, Spain — Even though he receives the occasional helping hand from his 22-year old son, Miguel Lander knows that the days of making charcoal the traditional way are counted in these remote valleys of northern Spain.

100 years ago

SALT LAKE CITY — A strange thing happened after Neil Armstrong and the Apollo 11 crew returned from the moon with lunar rocks: Many of the mementos given to every U.S. state vanished. Now, after years of sleuthing, a former NASA investigator is closing in on his goal of locating the whereabo…

“Tear Me Apart” (Mira), by J.T. Ellison

“Shadow Tyrants” by Clive Cussler and Boyd Morrison, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

“The Guilty Dead” (Crooked Lane), by P.J. Tracy

100 years ago

“Vox” (Berkley), by Christina Dalcher

“Room to Dream” by David Lynch and Kristine McKenna (Random House)

“Dead Man Running” (Putnam), by Steve Hamilton

100 years ago

“The Other Woman” (Minotaur), by Sandie Jones

“Swift Vengeance” (G.P. Putnam’s Sons), by T. Jefferson Parker

100 years ago