9 mins read

Underwater memorial to wrecked slave ship draws pilgrims seeking to connect with their roots

KEY WEST, Fla. | Ruthie Browning dove into the calm, blue water off Key West, Florida, expecting to see “a big, old rock with stuff growing all over it.” She was on a pilgrimage with other Black divers and community members, visiting sacred sites including one where a British slave ship — the Henrietta Marie […]

2 mins read

Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Chaka Khan and Vince Gill recordings enter national registry

LOS ANGELES | Albums and songs from Taylor Swift,Beyoncé,Chaka Khan and The Go-Go’s are joining America’s audio canon. The new inductees into the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress include Swift’s blockbuster 2014 pop album “1989,” Beyoncé’s era-defining 2008 anthem “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” Khan’s genre-blending hit “I Feel for […]

7 mins read

The world’s reaction to hantavirus is tinged by echoes of something else: COVID

NEW YORK | The lingering impact of COVID-19, a few years out from the declaration that the pandemic was over, is scattered across how we live today — the work-from-home jobs, the way some have decided wearing masks is their new normal, the hand sanitizer dispensers that remain ever present. Some of the other ripples, […]

5 mins read

What to know about Xi’s warning to Trump over the ‘Taiwan Question’

HONG KONG | China on Thursday stepped up its tough stance on Taiwan, an island democracy it deems its territory, warning the United States that Beijing and Washington will “have clashes and even conflicts” if the issue is not handled properly. China’s President Xi Jinping stressed during his summit with U.S. President Donald Trump that […]

4 mins read

Retail sales growth slowed in April from March as higher gas cost leaves less room for nonessentials

NEW YORK | Shoppers pulled back on spending in April as higher gas prices fueled by the Iran war meant less money left over for some nonessentials like clothing and furniture. But economists noted that consumer spending, propped up by generous income tax refunds, is still healthy. Still, they worry that spending will fall off […]

5 mins read

Trump’s talk of 51st US state met with near-silence in Venezuela

CARACAS, Venezuela | Twice this week, U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in turning Venezuela into his country’s 51st state. The latest came via a Truth Social post Tuesday with a map showing the South American country filled with the U.S. flag. Previous statements doubting Venezuela’s sovereignty over the past 25 years have been […]

6 mins read

Man known for racially derogatory livestreams charged with attempted murder after Tennessee shooting

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. | A man who goes by “Chud the Builder” and livestreams himself saying racially derogatory statements to Black people in public settings was arrested and charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside a Tennessee courthouse on Wednesday, authorities said. Dalton Eatherly, 28, and an unidentified man were involved in a confrontation that […]

3 mins read

Survivors of plane crash off Florida were on a life raft for hours with no idea if help was coming

For five hours, the 11 survivors of a plane crash off the coast of Florida floated on a life raft, with no means of calling for help and no idea if anyone was coming to save them. As a thunderstorm approached, they gathered under a tarp for whatever protection it might offer. Then, search and […]

4 mins read

Lutnick backs away from his Epstein ‘blackmail’ claim in interview with House committee

WASHINGTON | Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, in an interview with House lawmakers, backed away from a previous claim that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had blackmailed people. Lutnick agreed to sit for an interview with the House Oversight Committee last week after the release of case files on Epstein contradicted his claim on a podcast […]

3 mins read

By changing women’s lives, the pill changed the nation

The pill helped give birth to modern America. Known by one simple word, the revolutionary oral contraceptive — approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 66 years ago — didn’t just prevent innumerable pregnancies. It gave women new freedom, changing family life and society forever. “Its introduction in the 1960s afforded U.S. women this […]