7 mins read

Once shaped by court rituals, China’s imperial cuisine lives on today

BEIJING | It is said that Empress Dowager Cixi once dreamed of a pastry during the final decades of imperial China. The same treat was served to her at breakfast the following morning. Delighted, she summoned her chef and rewarded him with a silver ingot. “It was originally called ‘minced pork pancake,’ but because it […]

7 mins read

Concerns about the New World screwworm have put Texas pet adoptions on hold

Adoptions are on hold for thousands of dogs and cats in Texas, potentially putting the animals at risk of being euthanized, because of efforts to stop the spread of the New World screwworm, an insect that has crossed the border from Mexico into the United States for the first time in 60 years. The flesh-eating […]

8 mins read

Jason Arday’s death sparks UK debate over academic rigor, racism after media ‘frenzy’

LONDON | In 2012, a smiling Jason Arday was photographed by the British press carrying the Olympic flame in the torch relay preceding the London Games. He was back in the news in 2023 when Cambridge University hailed him as the youngest Black professor in the institution’s history. Three years later, after weeks of news […]

6 mins read

Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend was at apartment where she died, police report says

GREENVILLE, S.C. | Hayden Panettiere’s on-and-off boyfriend Brian Hickerson and his brother Zach Hickerson were at the South Carolina apartment where the actor died over the weekend, according to a police report released Tuesday. A Greenville police officer who responded to the residence Sunday afternoon was met by the brothers and then observed paramedics performing […]

4 mins read

Congo’s Ebola outbreak reaches 5,000 cases as it outpaces response efforts at unprecedented speed

BUNIA, Congo | The Ebola outbreak in Congo has reached 5,000 cases, government data showed Wednesday, as responders warn it is spreading at an unprecedented speed outpacing efforts to slow it in one of the country’s remotest regions. Data from Congo’s Ministry of Health showed the outbreak had so far recorded 5,021 cases, including 2,378 […]

6 mins read

Israeli military launches criminal probes into killings of Hind Rajab and Palestinian paramedics

JERUSALEM | Israel’s military on Wednesday announced its first criminal investigations into troop conduct in the war in Gaza, focusing on the killings of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and her family and of 15 Palestinian paramedics. The military said it would not launch criminal investigations into three other attacks that killed aid workers from World Central […]

8 mins read

Americans have only elected 3 Black governors. This year, 8 major party candidates are on the ballot

ORLANDO, Fla. | Across 250 years, only three elected governors out of thousands have been Black –- all Democrats and all men, including current Maryland Gov. Wes Moore. But Moore could soon have company. With Florida Republicans nominating U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds on Tuesday, there are seven Black major party gubernatorial nominees in addition to […]

6 mins read

Zelenskyy fires a top aide amid a graft probe as Ukraine’s ex-defense minister demands elections

KYIV, Ukraine | Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired one of his most senior officials Wednesday as corruption investigators named a deputy head of the presidential office among the suspects in a money-laundering case. The stunning developments came a day after Ukraine’s recently fired defense minister demanded national elections, despite Russia’s more than 4-year-old invasion. Zelenskyy […]

8 mins read

North Korea shrugs off Trump’s scaled-back drills with South Korea, saying it changes nothing

SEOUL, South Korea | North Korea said Wednesday that a U.S. decision to scale back military exercises with South Korea does not change what it see as their provocative nature, dampening hopes for a resumption of diplomacy between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump. The powerful sister of North Korean […]

5 mins read

5 states offer to accept nuclear waste in exchange for help developing nuclear energy

WASHINGTON | Five states have agreed to accept nuclear waste from around the country in exchange for federal help developing nuclear energy to create thousands of jobs. The states — Tennessee, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Utah and Idaho — all have Republican governors who say they welcome the chance to help America reclaim its leadership in civilian […]