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The World: Latest Stories

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Updated 2025-07-02 13:46
Before Houston flooded, there was Piura, Peru
Can climate change be blamed for a devastating flood in Peru? The local government says yes and is preparing for future extreme weather.
Guilty Pleasure: BJ Novak loves 'Fuller House'
As Netflix gears up for Season 3 of "Fuller House," "The Office" star BJ Novak defends the much-maligned reboot.
Live in studio: Amadou & Mariam (& Kurt)
The Grammy-nominated musical duo Amadou & Mariam performs live in Studio 360.
Fredrik Saker’s beautifully-faked ID
How a painter duped the Swedish government with a lifelike self-portrait.
John McPhee’s rules for writing
The long-time New Yorker writer shares his tips for writing creative non-fiction.
What really happened in the Gulf of Tonkin in 1964?
Historians still argue about what exactly happened in the Gulf of Tonkin in August of 1964. What’s not in dispute is the aftermath: A resolution from the Senate passed by a vote of 98 to 2 authorizing President Lyndon Johnson to use whatever force he thought he needed against North Vietnam. The resolution was a major escalation of US involvement in Vietnam and helped Johnson win the presidential election. But it was built on a lie.
This Harvard professor became a US citizen and hours later, was in handcuffs
One of the first public acts of this new US citizen was to get arrested in support of the rights of DACA recipients.
Thousands of people are homeless after Mexico's worst earthquake in a century
The Mexican government is working to coordinate recovery and relief efforts, but some citizens worry it won’t be enough.
How a violent history created the US Virgin Islands as we know them
The US Virgin Islands are in the news because of the appalling devastation from Hurricane Irma. But what's the islands' backstory?
Ireland's youngest prime minister is under tough criticism
Some on the left had hoped the new taoiseach, as a gay man and son of an immigrant, would usher in a progressive agenda for his center-right party, Fine Gael. But Varadkar has held fast to his conservative politics, and that’s proving to be a lesson for the left.
For some Americans, the conflict in Syria is 'the Spanish Civil War of our time'
At least 100 Americans have gone — and some continue to go — to Syria to fight against ISIS. Many have joined a Kurdish militia group called the People's Protection Units or the YPG. What these volunteers are doing isn't illegal, but it raises many questions.
In Myanmar, an artist wades into the sensitive business of noise
The case of a Dutch tourist who was imprisoned in Myanmar for unplugging a loudspeaker has people talking about the ear-splitting level of noise.
Barbuda needs the world's help right now
“We are a small island community — the gross domestic product of Antigua is $1 billion a year,” he says. “We cannot afford to take on this responsibility by ourselves."
How to avoid blackouts in hurricanes? Model power grids after the internet, says one expert.
Florida utility representatives say parts of the state will require a "wholesale rebuild of our electrical grid" after Hurricane Irma left millions without power. How can Florida and other states build electrical grids that are resilient to natural and other disasters?
Kurds have a long list of reasons for seeking independence
On Sept. 25, Iraqi Kurds will be holding a referendum over whether they establish an independent Kurdish state.
Why Australians handed in 26,000 guns to the government
The surrendered firearms have included weapons from the 1800s and World War I and II, part of a three-month amnesty allowing Australians to turn in unregistered guns without penalty.
Aung San Suu Kyi's silence on Rohingya ethnic cleansing could be political pragmatism
The Nobel laureate shares power with the military and the ethnic majority in Myanmar doesn't recognize the Rohingya people as having legitimate status.
Why a former DHS secretary thinks DACA should continue
Janet Napolitano, now presidents of the University of California, explains why she is suing a department she once led.
To reassure Cubans, a revered meteorologist returns to the airwaves
As Hurricane Irma approached, many Cubans found this forecaster's absence more worrying than the storm. So he came out of retirement.
After generations working in coal, young West Virginians are finding jobs in solar
West Virginia's economy has long been reliant on coal. But as coal jobs dry up, many are looking for jobs beyond coal.
How Nancy Dupree became the 'Grandmother of Afghanistan'
She was born in New York, grew up in India and moved to Kabul in 1962, as a diplomat’s wife. She didn’t stay married, but she fell in love with the country.
Photos: Yazidi women undergo a rebirth ceremony after ISIS enslavement
When ISIS invaded northern Iraq, they captured many Yazidi women, forced them to convert to Islam and traded them as sex slaves. The Yazidi community granted photographer Marcio Pimenta rare access to capture moving images of the reintegration process for freed women rejoining the group.
Teens, born after 9/11, have a different perspective than those who lived through it
A high school sophomore talks about what it's like learning about Sept. 11 exclusively from a history book.
Terror expert warns of al-Qaeda's comeback
Despite 16 years of effort, al-Qaeda has not gone away. In fact, they might be poised to make a dramatic return. Ali Soufan, a counter-terrorism expert and former FBI agent, looks at the organization's strengths and weaknesses.
Immigrants face impossible choices in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey
"I have no idea what to do."
What happens when an undocumented minor dies in the United States?
A Guatemalan family struggles with the aftermath of their son's death in the US.
It's a work in progress, but '9/11' still reverberates through President Trump's foreign policy
Donald Trump watched from his office in Manhattan as the attack at the World Trade Center took place in 2001. Now, 16 years later, President Trump's emerging foreign policy is still shaped by the terrorist attacks of that day.
Hackers infiltrated power grid controls in the US and abroad
Hackers have gained unprecedented access to power grid controls in the US and abroad, according to a new report by the cybersecurity firm Symantec.
Research suggests a new reason for teens' risky behavior
Not long ago, the most popular explanation for any dangerous teenage behavior was raging hormones. Fast-forward a few years and the explanation changed: The teenage brain is actually biologically different. A teen’s prefrontal cortex is less developed than in adults. Now, a new study from the University of Pennsylvania suggests your teen’s bad decisions are driven by something else entirely.
Will humans have the wisdom to manage artificial intelligence effectively?
The iconic confrontation between HAL and Dave from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," crystallized on the big screen our fear of intelligent robots threatening humans. Now, with self-driving cars on the horizon and AI finding its way into our phones, our financial systems and just about all aspects of life, that scenario is becoming increasingly complicated.
'Knocking on eternity's door' — NASA's Voyager mission turns 40
The Voyager probes have sent messages about our solar system back to Earth for 40 years. They also double as messengers: Each carries a copy of the iconic Golden Record, a phonograph packed with data and messages about human beings. As their power runs down and they eventually cease returning data to Earth, their only functional purpose will be to send that Golden Record out into space.
Scientists are turning their attention to the microbiome of where we live
We all live in a highly complex ecosystem of microbes, some of which we unwittingly create and nourish, others of which are just happy to use our surroundings to make their homes — and scientists know surprisingly little about how this microbial soup affects us.
An entirely renewable energy future is possible, a new study says
Every week we hear about more solar or wind resources coming online. New research suggests that humanity could accelerate this process and be running the world entirely on renewable energy by the year 2050.
As Hurricane Irma approaches, for some 'leaving is not really an option'
Many who remain in Miami are not staying there by choice.
Mexico's deadly earthquake was its strongest in 100 years
Just as megastorms were charging across the Caribbean, Mexico was struck by one of its most powerful earthquakes on record.
Call it clave, or call it hambone — the beat's the same
Clave is the foundation of salsa, boogaloo, mambo and so much more.
Coming to America: A mistake? Many parents of DACA recipients are wondering.
At a protest in Jackson Heights, New York, one mother says she sometimes wonders if she made the right choice to leave Mexico.
LBJ knew the Vietnam War was a disaster in the making. Here's why he couldn't walk away.
The Vietnam War was a searing event in the history of the US. According to rarely heard audio recordings, President Lyndon Johnson expressed great misgivings about getting deeply involved in the conflict, but at every crucial juncture made the decision to do so. This series examines how and why that happened.
At this Brooklyn restaurant, you can get Korean food with a side of Russian history
Elza Kan could be one of my Korean aunts, except she speaks Russian. Her restaurant in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach neighborhood serves traditional Korean food with an Uzbek twist.
For the asylum-seekers in one of Australia's controversial offshore detention camps, there's good news and bad news
The US agreed to resettle refugees stuck in an Australian-run offshore detention facility. But with the camp slated to be shut down in late October, not a single refugee has been approved.
Russia-linked Facebook accounts stoked US election divisions
Most of the ads run by the accounts didn't directly reference the US presidential election, voting or particular candidates but instead appeared focused on "amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum," according to Facebook chief security officer Alex Stamos.
Washington gears up for next phase in Russia investigations
Donald Trump Jr. was on Capitol Hill Thursday for a closed-door meeting with Senate investigators.
Wealthy Russians are having babies in the US, for passports
The Daily Beast is reporting that rich Russians are coming to the United States to give birth to get US citizenship for their babies. Many are being steered to Donald Trump-brand properties.
Irma rips through the Caribbean, with a wallop to the US Virgin Islands
With Florida still preparing for landfall, US citizens are already reeling from the punch of Hurricane Irma.
Aparna Nancherla’s failed science career
Aparna Nancherla shares a high school secret she’s kept — until now.
High school reunion
Kurt Andersen always remembered being inspired by his 11th grade English teacher, Gary Sedlacek. So he decided to give him a call.
The substitute teacher
Novelist Nicholson Baker braves being a substitute teacher.
Dancing with the scientists
The annual Dance Your PhD contest challenges doctoral candidates to take their research from the lab bench to the barre.
In Manila, government-sanctioned killings are the new normal
A photo of the crime scene shows a bloodstained Aristotle Garcia lying in the street. He has a .38 caliber pistol in his right hand, a wad of cash in the other. Her brother wasn't right-handed, though, which means the gun is in the wrong hand.
Myanmar’s gruesome purge of Rohingya Muslims appears unstoppable
Myanmar’s army looks determined to rid the nation of the Rohingya ethnic minority. More than 100,000 Rohingya people have fled in the last two weeks alone.
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