Overlooked Stories of 2023 – The New York Times

Before the internet, there was no way for New York Times editors to know how many people had read an article. Stories that ran on the front page of the newspaper presumably were better read than ones on Page 36, but nobody could be sure.

Now, digital tools allow us to know how many people read every story. This knowledge inevitably leads editors to track their favorites and say, “I sure wish more people read that one.”

Every year, The Morning dedicates a newsletter to the stories that Times editors thought deserved more readers. We look broadly across our newsroom, selecting at least one story from each department. We hope you will discover some great reads here.

THE LATEST NEWS

2024 Election

More on Politics

• Farmers in the Pajaro Valley in California are charged to use water on their lands. Experts say it’s a case study in how to save the nation’s dwindling groundwater supplies.

• Many mentally ill detainees on Rikers Island are moved between the jails and psychiatric facilities for months or years before standing trial.

• Major American news publishers have been in confidential talks for months with OpenAI about terms for licensing their content. An agreement has been elusive.

• Murders fell sharply across the U.S. in 2023, according to the F.B.I. Detroit is on track to record its fewest homicides since the 1960s.

• Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who was found guilty of helping to kill her mother in a murder that inspired a Hulu miniseries, has been released from prison.

Opinions

Trump’s disqualification from the Colorado ballot relies on ambiguous interpretations of the 14th Amendment, not on the framers’ intent, Kurt Lash writes.

Social media users came up with a new term — “food noise” — to describe their desire to eat. It’s treating hunger as a bug instead of a feature, Kate Manne writes.

Here is a column by Thomas Friedman on how bad choices led the world to a painful era.

MORNING READS

Lives Lived: Pope.L, best known for crawling the length of Broadway in a Superman costume, was an uncompromising conceptual and performance artist who explored themes of race, class and what he called “have-not-ness.” He died at 68.

SPORTS

N.F.L.: The Cleveland Browns clinched a playoff spot, defeating the New York Jets, 37-20. Browns quarterback Joe Flacco continued his streak of unexpected brilliance.

College football: Alabama tightened its film restrictions as it prepares to play Michigan, which is embroiled in a sign-stealing scandal.

ARTS AND IDEAS

Something old, something new: Couples are putting new twists on classic wedding traditions, Alix Strauss writes. Some are replacing guest books with voice messages recorded on faux phones. Others are swapping the traditional bouquet toss for an “anniversary dance” for the married couples in the room, which ends with gifting the bouquet to the couple who has been married the longest.