The World: Latest Stories

Thousands of visitors converged on the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center this week for the sixth annual Cannabis World Congress and Business Expo.

New York City just became the first city in the US to adopt a congestion pricing plan. The plan is expected to raise about $1.5 billion in revenue every year, mostly for its crumbling subway system.

During tensions with the United States over Iran's nuclear ambitions, Ayatollah Khamenei has come out and declared a fatwa over the use of nuclear weapons. But what does this really mean for Iran and the recent nuclear deal? The World's host Marco Werman speaks with Omid Safi, a professor of Iranian studies at Duke University and the director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, to find out.

“My distrust of technology comes entirely from that movie.”

As Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II die, one newspaper finds its community’s history carries new resonance in the current era of immigrant detention.

Over 99% of the tiny Cook Islands territory in the South Pacific is ocean, and home to coral reefs and many threatened marine species. Now, thanks in part to activist Jacqueline Evans, the Cook Islands’ entire ocean territory is being managed for sustainability.

Holding detainees has become big business for private companies and some local governments. But there’s increasing pushback from protesters in places like California and Oregon. The issue has divided communities such as Central Falls, Rhode Island.

Researchers at MIT’s Collective Learning Group have investigated big questions behind fame. From new material to changing ethics, a variety of factors may impact what we ultimately remember as a society.

At first, Venezuelan migrants arriving at Hospital San José in Maicao, Colombia, were young, healthy and seeking basic health care services. But that changed in 2019, when country-wide blackouts all but devastated Venezuela’s failing health system.

US President Donald Trump has overruled Congress in a decision to re-arm Saudi Arabia and the UAE. What may be intended as a warning to Iran could undermine efforts to halt civilian casualties in the Yemen war.

Nav Bhatia, an Indian immigrant to Canada, bought his first Raptors tickets in 1995. He hasn't missed a game since — and he's made it his mission to spread love of basketball to people who wouldn't ordinarily feel welcomed in stadiums.

New Orleans native Jack Gilmore brought spicy hometown dishes like étouffée and gumbo to the menu aboard a scientific research ship. But he also learned what the warming of Antarctica might mean for his beloved city.

Diplomacy is often awkward, stymied by translators, late nights and unsecured yurt communication (yes, that really happened). But diplomacy can also stop a war, as years of secret and not-so-secret negotiations between the US and Iran proved when the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached in 2015.

Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, who is running for president as a Democrat, has made climate change one of his key issues on the campaign trail.

Lilit Martirosyan made LGBTQ history last month in Armenia when she became the first transgender woman to speak to parliament. She’s received numerous death threats since then.

When he was a real estate mogul, Trump earned some national recognition by taking aim at Japan back in the 1980s.

US tensions with Iran are ramping up with no clear plan in sight. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says that while Iran is acting belligerently, the US response is not helping.

When a major export terminal project threatened to bring 360,000 gallons of crude oil per day through the Fruit Valley neighborhood of Vancouver, Washington, along the Columbia River, Linda Garcia led a long fight against the project.

Shakespeare outside in the summer seems as natural as beaches or baseball. But first it had to overcome fears that it was demonic.

Why the MacArthur “Genius” thinks Broadway might be “the queerest thing ever.”

The rapid-fire, tongue-twisting “patter song” is a staple of musical theater. Linguist John McWhorter explores the patter song’s history, while “Tootsie” composer David Yazbek gives a masterclass on writing one.

All eyes will be on the Netherlands and its exit polls Thursday night, where young and charismatic Thierry Baudet, leader of new far-right party — with plenty of controversial statements to his name — is hoping to gain seats in European parliament. Some say the rise of far-right Eurosceptic parties has fevered speculation that this week’s election results could determine the future of the European project.

Archeologists believe that Hasankeyf, Turkey's history began 11,000 years ago. Today, a dam reservoir will soon place the town deep underwater.

Throughout California, many of the workers in elderly care facilities face inhumane conditions, wage theft, and abuse form their employers. Despite efforts from the state, many of these crimes go unpunished and workers are left with few options.

It's one of three recent high-profile case where the US government has denied citizenship to children born overseas to a same-sex married couple because the child did not share biological ties with the US citizen parent.

The award-winning Kenyan writer challenged stereotypes of Africa with biting satire and took on prejudice by documenting his life as an openly gay man.

Zapiro has spent more than two decades drawing the scandals and peccadillos of Jacob Zuma — and been sued along the way.

Representative Tulsi Gabbard is running as a Democratic candidate for president. At a recent town hall meeting in Exeter, New Hampshire, Congresswoman Gabbard spoke about the importance of addressing climate change and shifting money from military spending to urgent domestic needs.

With overdoses becoming an increasing problem in the US, its more important than ever to understand how our brains react to drugs. Judith Grisel, a former drug addict turned neuroscientist, explains how our brains become addicted to drugs and shares her story.

In the spring of 1969, 19-year-old Terry Tickhill Terrell walked into the Institute of Polar Studies at OSU and told the secretary, “Hi, I want a job in Antarctica.”

The United Nations recently released a shocking report on the state of the world’s biodiversity, warning that about a million plant and animal species are on the verge of extinction due to human activity.

The US has been fighting the Taliban for almost two decades. The group has waged a bloody war in Afghanistan and has killed scores of civilians. Now the US and Taliban are negotiating a peace deal. A Taliban spokesman agreed to answer a few questions.

US President Donald Trump has requested the preparation of paperwork needed for the possible pardons of several US military members accused of or convicted of war crimes.

Ahmed Hassan Hirei says his brother, Ibrahim Hirei, was killed in a US airstrike in Somalia. Now, he wants answers.

Can you teach Italian children to sing like American R&B divas? Cheryl Porter can.

Many abortion opponents find conviction in their religious faith. But what do different faiths say about when life really begins?

In the last week, news from Yemen began with a diplomatic victory but ended with a spike in violence. Attacking the world's worst humanitarian crisis, experts say, hinges on "actually stopping the fighting."

Most small migratory birds travel by instinct, but climate change could disrupt their mysterious migratory patterns.

How Prince’s bold sonic experiment became the biggest single of 1984.

A surprise lesson in directing Donald Trump.

The craft behind Herzog’s unmistakable voice-over.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's pardon of state convictions is widely interpreted as a rebuke to Trump administration policies.

Suzanne Maloney, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, discusses what intelligence the Trump administration has received about the threat from Iran in the wake of the administration's partial evacuation orders for the US embassy in Iraq.

Lucia Lucas is generating a lot of attention for her performances as opera’s most famous alpha-male characters. She hopes the gender identity hoopla will die down.

Hanan Ashrawi’s application for a US visa was denied this week. Ashrawi says she views the denial as retaliation for her criticism of Israel and the Trump administration’s policy toward Palestinians.

It's been a year since the US pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal ad some experts warn that the threat of a worldwide meltdown is the worst its been since the darkest, most dangerous days of the Cold War.

Following the recent release of two Reuters journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, former UN Ambassador and New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson spoke to Marco Werman about Aung San Suu Kyi and the dark realities of the government of Myanmar.

How quickly will Antarctica’s massive Thwaites Glacier melt, and what will that mean for global sea levels and coastal cities? Researchers recently spent several weeks studying Thwaites as part of a five-year, international effort to try to answer those pressing questions.

Scientists are finding microscopic bits of plastic just about everywhere they look, including in remote, pristine environments and in the human body.

It looked like Washington and Beijing were close to a deal. But discussions fell apart and US President Donald Trump is increasing the rate for tariffs on Chinese imports.