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September 12, 2026 
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Good morning. Melissa Kirsch is taking the day off. Pinch-hitting is Jancee Dunn, the host of our Well newsletter (sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox). She wants to take you for a walk.
Walk this way
 | By Jancee Dunn My average daily step count so far this year is 10,975. |
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Fall is prime walking season: the cooling air, the changing colors. I have made a vow to take a good, substantial walk every day until hibernation season kicks in.
Sometimes I have to be creative to get myself out the door. So I’ve come up with some go-to themes for my walks. For example:
- The Rage Walk. The other day, I was irked after I had been on hold with the I.R.S. for over an hour and laced up my sneakers. After I stomped around for a while, I eventually got distracted by my neighbor’s dahlias and found my anger had subsided. I make a point to take walks to savor happy feelings as well; on the recent news from my mom that her cancer is in remission, I took a peaceful, meandering morning stroll in a park near my house and listened to the birds sing.
- The Melancholy Walk. Putting one foot in front of the other has been shown to reduce depression and anxiety. My daughter is headed to college next year, and I’m already glum about it. I find a nighttime stroll, looking up at the moon with Lana Del Rey in my earbuds, allows me to wallow a bit in feelings of loss, work through them a little, and maybe even see the beauty in some endings.
- The Issue Walk. There’s something about perambulation that helps me work out my problems. My best friend and I have a ritual: If one of us is wrestling with some sort of dilemma, we’ll schedule a walk and hash it out. I’m in New Jersey and she’s in New York City, so we do it via earbuds. We’ll march along briskly, our walk providing a little forward momentum that makes us feel more confident and capable.
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Walktivity
Sometimes I simply ask myself: Can I turn this activity into a walk? My boss and I have done our weekly check-in walking around the block outside the office. Next week I’ve scheduled a catch-up call with a former teacher who lives in another state, and I plan to do it while on the move. When I have time, I walk to the post office instead of driving.
I used to meet a friend I’ve known since the Clinton administration for regular lunch dates. After she canceled several times in a row, I (gently) asked what was up. She explained that money was tight and she just couldn’t swing eating out that much anymore.
So I proposed a walk instead. Our meandering walk-and-talks, it turns out, are much livelier than sitting in a restaurant. I’ve floated this idea to a few other friends in lieu of dates with price tags; no one has refused me yet.
It’s good for you
Walking has been shown to lower risk for many types of cancer and heart disease. Research suggests it can ease lower back pain, and also build and maintain strong bones.
And if you’re seeking connection, a walk is a low-key way to put yourself out there and meet people. I’ve found that if someone has a dog or a young child, it’s particularly easy to strike up a chat.
When I encounter a pup, I might ask, “Is your dog usually this beautifully behaved?” Inevitably, the reply will be “God, no,” followed by a tale of mayhem.
I’ve found that toddlers crave power and respect; greeting them with “sir” or “madam” and a slight bow often thrills them. Or I might ask the child’s opinion on what I should have for my next meal (chicken nuggets and pizza are the front-runners).
I love that walking is accessible for all ages. I find I can extract more information from my teenager on a long ramble, and indeed there is research suggesting communication is easier when you’re walking side by side, with little eye contact, rather than face to face.
My father is 84 and likes to drop by my place for lunch. We used to sit in the kitchen and chat after eating. Now, I try to coax him outside for a stroll.
Last week, he resisted because it was rainy, so I told him I wouldn’t divulge a delicious piece of family gossip unless we did a few laps around the block.
Dad likes to pretend that he’s above gossip, but he’s not. His mouth pursed in disapproval, he stood up, put on his cap and headed for the door.
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9/11 Anniversary
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| The Obamas, the Clintons and Senator Chuck Schumer at the New York memorial. Pool photo by Hiroko Masuike |
- All four living ex-presidents gathered in Manhattan for a ceremony to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. President Trump spoke at the Pentagon.
- Rudy Giuliani had called on Mayor Zohran Mamdani to skip the Manhattan memorial. But the two ended up shaking hands at the event. “I’ll pray for you,” Giuliani appeared to say. “It’s a really hard job.”
- Trump, who has long railed against the so-called forever wars that followed 9/11, used his speech at the Pentagon ceremony to justify his military action in Iran.
- Americans who enlisted in the military because of the attacks spoke about how that decision shaped their lives.
- Chang W. Lee, a longtime Times photographer, captured an indelible image of that day: the collapse of the north tower. In the video below, he describes how he did it. Click to play.
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| The New York Times |
Middle East
Other Big Stories
- The contractor that renovated the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool blamed its own errors, not vandals, for the pool’s peeling liner.
- The crew of a fishing vessel rescued a 15-year-old Alaskan boy whose overturned boat had been drifting for days in the Bering Sea. Two of the boy’s relatives died.
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Film and TV
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| Warner Bros. Pictures |
Music
More Culture
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| “Infinity Mirrored Room — ‘The Hope of the Polka Dots Buried in Infinity Will Eternally Cover The Universe’” (2025) at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times |
The Anniversary Sale is on: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer.
Celebrate 175 years of The Times with savings on unlimited news, puzzles, recipes, sports and more. $1/week for your first year. Save now.
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| Ben Shelton on Friday night. Patrick Smith/Getty Images |
The U.S. Open finals: Could this finally be the year? Ben Shelton will have the crowd in Flushing, Queens, behind him tomorrow as he looks to become the first American man in 23 years to win the country’s premier tennis tournament. Of course, it won’t be easy to get past Alexander Zverev, who has been surging ever since he won the French Open in June.
On the women’s side, today’s final will be a blockbuster showdown between the world’s new No. 1 ranked player (Elena Rybakina) and the two-time defending champion (Aryna Sabalenka). It starts at 4 p.m. Eastern.
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| David Malosh for The New York Times |
Easy Apple Tart
This weekend is Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, when apples and honey are traditional parts of the menu. For something a little different, why not try David Tanis’s recipe for an easy apple tart, made with phyllo dough, marmalade and gently spiced apples? He drizzles it all with a bit of honey right before serving. To make it slightly richer, substitute puff pastry for the phyllo. Either way, it will be a glossy, golden finish to your meal.
