Welcome to the weekend. For much of the U.S., it will be cold and messy. Don’t despair because we have some great journalism to keep you warm.

The N.F.L.’s obesity scourge

The effects of head trauma have gotten much of the attention, but huge weight gains have also damaged N.F.L. retirees.

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Is ancient DNA research revealing new truths — or falling into old traps?

Geneticists have begun using old bones to make sweeping claims about the distant past. But their revisions to the human story are making some scholars of prehistory uneasy.

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Redefining representation: The women of the 116th Congress

Just over 100 years ago, the first woman was sworn into Congress. As of this month, a record 131 women are serving in the Legislature. The New York Times photographed them.

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Who is MacKenzie Bezos?

Her divorce from the Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has made this novelist, and her private life, a public fascination.

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Glaciers are retreating. Millions rely on their water.

Glaciers are crucial sources of water for people and crops in Central Asia. But global warming is causing glaciers there and around the world to shrink every year.

[Also read: “Reflections on Antarctica”]

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Before Hart family plunged off a cliff, strain dogged them

Investigative reports detail increasing pressure felt by Jennifer and Sarah Hart, who had adopted six children. At signs of trouble, they would close ranks and flee.

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As shutdown drags on, some step up to help unpaid federal workers

Restaurants have fed them for free. Banks have suspended late fees on their credit cards. And at airports, they’ve been offered hugs, encouragement and casseroles.

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A California chef learns to swim in changed waters

For her first Times review as our California restaurant critic, Tejal Rao chose Angler in San Francisco. There, the chef Joshua Skenes is showing how a seafood-rich menu can adapt to the forces of climate change, she writes.

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He’s 16 going on stardom: Meet Broadway’s next ‘Evan Hansen’

Andrew Barth Feldman, a high school junior on Long Island, is an ardent theater fan who has been acting since he was 8. Now he’ll be leading the cast in his favorite show.

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The joy of being a woman in her 70s

Many of us have learned that happiness is a skill and a choice.

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The gay penguins of Australia

Two male penguins are raising a baby whose gender is unknown.

Find me on Twitter: @kalyTsoto, for more great reads.

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