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I cannot locate the origins of this figure of speech. Perhaps it was first used in a comedy sketch many decades ago, but it has since become a catchall for any criticism of a person who busily pursues low priority activities during a crisis. We imagine the eater chowing down on a five-course gourmet meal inside a besieged bunker or settlement as the bullets fly and the bombs fall. In a comical context, we laugh because the meal being eaten with such gusto seems so out of synch with the grave situation at hand. Beneath that laughter, as we all know, is our anxiety that we are witnessing a very unfunny distortion of priorities in dire circumstances.

Young Ukrainian dancers are finding safe haven at ballet schools in Europe and the U.S. Many of them planned to compete in the Youth America Grand Prix competition in Kyiv which was canceled.

Audie Cornish talks with John Horn of KPCC's The Frame, about what Sony's decision to cancel The Interview means for Hollywood, freedom of speech and future artistic expression.

The Trump administration says ISIS is no longer a threat. But Gayle Lemmon of the Council on Foreign Relations disagrees. She tells NPR's Scott Simon that ISIS remains dangerous across Syria and Iraq.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Patrick Howley, editor in chief of the website Big League Politics, about why it published a picture from Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam's yearbook page.

The Social Security Administration says it's trying to clean up its records. But immigration advocates fear the real objective is to expose undocumented immigrants at work.

In three weeks, voters in Northampton, Mass. will vote to pare down who will be on the ballot this November, including a crowded mayoral race. Ahead of time, candidates will take part in a forum Tuesday night to talk city issues and how to tackle them.

Beginning Monday, New York State will mandate masks be worn in public indoor spaces. The mandate announced by Governor Kathy Hochul Friday comes as COVID-19 overloads hospitals across the state during the holiday season.

The village of Tannersville in Greene County has been awarded $10 million through New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

As the holiday season begins, COVID-19 rates are spiking in many parts of upstate New York. Now some county leaders are looking to the state, and Governor Kathy Hochul, for more help.