5 mins read

In Chile, even beloved hot dogs feel the economic squeeze

SANTIAGO, Chile | It is lunchtime in downtown Santiago, and dozens of businesses around the Plaza de Armas are serving up one of Chile’s most democratic specialties: the “completo.” For decades, the country’s version of the hot dog has been one of the most affordable foods enjoyed across social classes. But as the cost of […]

4 mins read

Martin McDonagh’s ‘Wild Horse Nine’ hits Venice Film Festival with a dark CIA tale

VENICE, Italy | Martin McDonagh had written a few versions of his new film “Wild Horse Nine,” which receives its world premiere on Thursday at the Venice Film Festival, before he homed in on the CIA and the 1973 military coup in Chile. One was about a father and son, another was about two actors. […]

4 mins read

Ancient mummy DNA provides scientific evidence that colonization brought smallpox to the Americas

NEW YORK | Ancient mummy DNA recovered in Chile has yielded the firmest evidence yet that European colonization brought smallpox to the Americas. Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases in human history before it was eradicated in 1980, largely thanks to vaccination. For centuries, the virus had killed about one-third of the people it […]

3 mins read

Faint new planet is revealed around a young star after a decade in hiding

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. | Astronomers have discovered a faint, elusive planet orbiting a young star after more than a decade of cosmic hide-and-seek. In an unusual twist, two groups working independently detected the cold gas giant a few days apart late last year using different telescopes. It’s the dimmest planet ever directly imaged from Earth, […]