The World: Latest Stories

The energy sector was a bright spot in middle America, but as oil prices fell, that too has turned dark.

Poverty and education remain the defining issues for largely African America communities in this country.

Research shows that in post-conflict countries where women are recognized as victims and awarded justice, peace is more likely to last. But as Colombia tentatively moves towards peace, how much justice can women expect?

Harlem's "Little Senegal" and Senegalese audiences are interested in the results of this US election.

A new generation of students fights for the equality they were promised when apartheid ended.

Homelessness has traditionally been considered a big city problem, but no longer. Those and other issues feature heavily in this election.

Coal country has traditionally been democratic country — but Donald Trump has moved it into the Republican column.

A poll in 18 Middle Eastern and North African countries gave Hillary Clinton a whopping 35-point lead. But 47 percent would pick neither her nor Donald Trump if they had a chance to vote.

America has long prided itself as a beacon of democracy, but US elections face some of the same challenges as elections the world over. David Carroll, head of the Carter Center's Democracy Program, shares some of what he's learned through decades of election monitoring and working to strengthen democracies around the globe.

Clashes over an oil pipeline slated to cross historic Native territory in North Dakota continue after more the 140 people were arrested in protests last week. The increasingly high-stakes face-off is one of the biggest actions by Native Americans in years.

Special programs are helping men and women in Colombia learn how to connect with, understand and forgive those on the other side of the decades-long civil war.

The Chicago Cubs have won the World Series for the first time since 1908, when the world was a very different place. What was it like?

Sacred-site preservation and civic engagement are not the same.

Police have made mass arrests and used pepper spray, riot gear and armored vehicles to stop the protests. Now, the United Nations is looking into possible human rights abuses.

A team of archeologists just uncovered hidden layers of a tomb in Jerusalem that's revered as the burial place of Jesus.

We know much more about bilingualism now than we did 18 years ago when Californians voted to ban bilingual education. So what does the research tell us?

The United States is often seen as a beacon of democracy. Is the rise of Donald Trump changing that?

Feeling pressured by a less religious society, evangelicals are looking to enshrine respect for their beliefs in law.

College towns are often thought of as liberal, diverse places. But that's not always true, and issues of integration continue to be an issue.

Here are some examples of disastrous outcomes overseas, and a few reasons why the US will likely survive the 2016 election.

A new law in Louisiana that adds new requirements to process marriage licenses is being challenged for discrimination against refugees and immigrants.

The tiny Baltic nation of Estonia is afraid of Vladimir Putin's Russia. So it's stepping up its military preparations, which focus on preparing the people for guerrilla war. And it's trying to make it fun.

Kehinde Wiley thinks art, at its best, highlights what we as human beings value. That's why all his portraits have at their center a person of color.

On an Indian reservation in Nebraska, state and federal politics interfere with the effort to simply educate the kids.

Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky's famed 1812 Overture was first performed, outdoors, at the base of the majestic Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. His beloved ballet, "The Nutcracker," was introduced to the world at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. But his Piano Concerto No. 1? Its debut came in — of all places — a concert hall off Tremont Street in Boston, six years before the Boston Symphony Orchestra even existed.

More than ever before, Luis Mancheno feels the heavy burdens of the color of his skin and his national origin. Come November 8, he’s looking for some relief.

In El Paso, the border is an integral part of life. So any proposals to change the rules around trade or immigration feature prominently on the minds of voters.

The Keres language, spoken by the Laguna Pueblo of New Mexico, is dying. When younger tribal members tried to revive it, they were blocked by elders fearful that spiritual essence of the language would be lost.

ISIS tried to block the al-Ghad radio station from Mosul airwaves. Al-Ghad responded by jamming the frequency of ISIS's radio station.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says American Muslims are under attack. To raise awareness, the group has put out a list of anti-Muslim extremists. But some say the group has gone too far.

One of the world's worst terror attacks this year was a bombing in Baghdad in July. More than 300 people died. It got little attention outside Iraq, but still shakes survivors in the Iraqi capital.

Unlike other wars, as many as 40 percent of the Colombian guerrilla forces are women. Many join the ranks to seek protection.

America's rural communities aren't just not growing, they're shrinking. And that has a profound impact on how they think about the upcoming election.

Natives of US territories are subject to United States laws, but can't always exercise American rights.

A woman recounts what it was like to discover she had been infected with Zika six weeks before she was due to give birth.

Try spending Halloween amid the spooky ruins of this abandoned settlement in the mountains of Spain.

Rio de Janeiro is famous for its openness. Rights groups are afraid that evangelical right-winger Marcelo Crivella will change that.

When she was 14, Xiomara picked up a gun and joined Colombia's Marxist guerrilla group, the FARC. She stayed in the wilderness for 15 years. Now she faces the challenges of thousands of other women who have left the rebel group: how to come back.

Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders was represented by a lawyer and an empty chair on the first day of his trial in Amsterdam.

For a long time, health experts have pointed out moderate sun exposure as a way to increase vitamin D levels in our bodies. So how could it be that a country with a lot of sunlight has a population with major vitamin D deficiency?

Mexican-American singer Lila Downs is voting in her first US election. That may surprise some of her fans, as Downs is known for her politically-charged music.

Local media has portrayed 60-year-old Choi Soon-Sil as a Rasputin-like figure who wielded an unhealthy influence over President Park Geun-Hye.

Bulk food bins have been around for a while. But an entire store devoted to selling everything in bulk, eliminating packaging and asking shoppers to bring their own containers is relatively new. The Fillery, a new store due to open in Brooklyn later this year, wants to be that store.

Blanding’s turtles are considered a threatened species in Massachusetts. The nonprofit Grassroots Wildlife Conservation is working to protect newly hatched turtles, as mortality is high in the first year, and has found willing helpers among some local elementary students.

We can now order personal blood tests online — and take them anytime we want. Is that a good thing?

By swapping in a gene from a hornless cow breed, scientists have created hornless Holstein cattle — and a new twist in the debate around GMO foods.

At least one of the US presidential candidates has a plan to address climate change and propose new industries to combat it. But can she get it done if she is elected?

Devices from all the big tech companies now include digital assistants like Siri and Alexa. Developers are working to make them more socially aware — like people.

Taken together, the world’s reservoirs have as big an impact on the Earth’s climate as the population of Canada.