As hybrid varieties gained popularity, hundreds of indigenous strains of rice — and knowledge about them — disappeared. But chefs, farmers and researchers are trying to reconnect to that heritage.
Kim Tightens Leadership Over North Korea In Major Government Reshuffle
The North Korean leader shunted aside a pair of long-serving senior officials and seated a newly elected parliament. The move is thought to be aimed at helping Kim ride out U.S. sanctions.
Keeping It Civil: How To Talk Politics Without Letting Things Turn Ugly
Whether it’s shouting matches in Congress, feuds on social media, a testy exchange between co-workers or a heated argument among family members, civility increasingly feels like a relic of the past.
South Korean Court Strikes Down Decades-Old Abortion Ban
The country’s Constitutional Court overturned the ban enacted in 1953. Despite South Korea’s heavily Christian population, in recent years anti-abortion sentiment has softened.
Big Ag Is Pushing Laws To Restrict Neighbors’ Ability To Sue Farms
The push is a response to the millions of dollars awarded to five groups of farm neighbors in North Carolina who sued a subsidiary of pork giant Smithfield Foods over water and air pollution.
Tusk Luck: Alaska Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Stealing Mammoth Fossil
An Alaska man and his co-conspirator took a fossilized tusk from a Bureau of Land Management museum. Then, they cut it up and sold off the pieces.
Beyond Crabgrass: A Look At America’s ‘Radical Suburbs’
Amanda Kolson Hurley is well-acquainted with suburbia’s many negative stereotypes. But in a new book, she asks us to take a look at what is possible in this realm when the human spirit is at its best.
A Dystopian High School Musical Foresaw The College Admissions Scandal
A California high school is staging an original musical called Ranked. It’s set it a world where class rank means everything, and some parents are willing pay for their student to get a better spot.
Democratic Candidates Are Releasing Tax Returns, Answering Big Questions For Voters
President Trump has refused to release his tax returns. Many Democrats are using that against him, as they reveal their own personal wealth and financial interests.
Chicago Files Civil Complaint Against ‘Empire’ Actor Jussie Smollett
The city maintains that Smollett filed a false police report and is seeking repayment of the costs incurred in investigating it.
McConnell’s 2020 Plan: Cast GOP As ‘Firewall’ Against Socialism
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledged that Republicans need to regain support with women and college graduates in the suburbs — which he said led to loss of the House in 2018.
New Hampshire Poised To Eliminate Death Penalty
The state Senate passed a bill Thursday repealing capital punishment. The governor has threatened to veto it, but supporters have enough votes to override a veto.
A Bill Banning Most Abortions Becomes Law In Ohio
The ACLU of Ohio and other organizations that advocate for abortion rights will sue to block the law, one of most restrictive in the country. “We’re counting on [a lawsuit],” say the law’s supporters.
Tayari Jones Takes Home Aspen Words Literary Prize For ‘An American Marriage’
The novel earned Jones the $35,000 award for tackling difficult social issues in fiction. The prize’s head judge says the book is “going to have a place in the literary imagination for a long time.”
Israeli Robotic Moon Landing Fails In Final Descent
Israeli scientists are studying what caused an engine failure in the closing minutes of what they hoped would be a historic lunar landing.
Navy Drops Criminal Charges Against Officers In USS Fitzgerald Collision Case
The decision ends a legal battle in which the Navy blamed Cmdr. Bryce Benson and Lt. Natalie Combs for what it called an “avoidable” accident. The move is likely to end their naval careers.
Pope Benedict Breaks 6-Year Silence To Comment On Clergy Sex Abuse Scandal
Two popes speaking simultaneously on the most divisive issue facing the church is remarkable. Benedict’s letter may well raise concerns that the Vatican can no longer speak with a single voice.
How The Trump Administration’s Transgender Troop Ban Is Affecting One Military Family
The Trump administration gave transgender service members a deadline to secure a medical diagnosis before the new ban took hold. But military families are struggling with the accelerated timeline.
‘Bomb Cyclone’ Shutters Schools, Makes Roads Impassable In Central U.S.
The springtime storm is bringing blizzard conditions to states throughout the Plains and Midwest. Minnesota braced to face the brunt of the storm Thursday.
Michael Avenatti Indicted For Allegedly Stealing Paraplegic Client’s Settlement Money
The lawyer, who represented Stormy Daniels and is already facing federal financial crimes charges, has been indicted on 36 counts of embezzlement and fraud by a California federal grand jury.
Greg Craig, Onetime White House Counsel, Charged In Ukraine Case
The well-known D.C. lawyer stepped down from a powerful law firm that has been ensnared in the Russia investigation over failure to disclose work for a foreign client as required by an obscure law.
12 Years Of Disruption: A WikiLeaks Timeline
The impact of WikiLeaks on the world’s politics, journalism and culture has been transformative. Here are the highlights.
Chickenpox, The Latest Burden On The Rohingya Refugees
At the largest refugee camp in the world, Rohingya refugees and aid agencies face numerous challenges. Now they’re also dealing with an outbreak of chickenpox.
‘I Never Had A Plan B’: Henry Winkler On His Career, From The Fonz To ‘Barry’
The actor talks with Fresh Air‘s Terry Gross about struggling with typecasting after Happy Days, his family’s immigration story and about how he found out in his 30s that he had dyslexia.
How To Calculate The Cost Of College: A Guide To Financial Aid Terms
For most students, figuring out where to go to college is closely linked with, “How am I gonna pay for it?” The answer — sort of — comes in lots of confusing terms and jargon.
A Celebration Of Nipsey Hussle’s Life Takes Place In Los Angeles
Watch as the city of Los Angeles celebrates a neighborhood hero, live from the Staples Center, at 10 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET.
Report: Voter Rolls Are Growing Owing To Automatic Voter Registration
A new report by the Brennan Center found that automatic voter registration in states has given a big boost to voter rolls in states where it’s been adopted.
‘Evil Acts’: Son Of Sheriff’s Deputy Is Chief Suspect In Black Church Arson Cases
Police investigating three recent attacks on historically black churches in Louisiana have arrested Holden Matthews, 21, a white male who is the son of a St. Landry Parish sheriff’s deputy.
U.S. Denies Entry To Leader Of Movement To Boycott Israel
Omar Barghouti is one of the founders of a Palestinian-led boycott movement intended to pressure Israel on its occupation of the West Bank. His visa to enter the U.S. has apparently been revoked.
Trump Signs Executive Orders In Push To Make It Easier To Build Oil And Gas Pipelines
President Trump issues two executive orders that could make it harder for states to block companies from building oil and gas pipeline projects.
‘There Were Failures’: Parkland Victims’ Families File 22 Lawsuits Alleging Negligence
The families allege the school board, sheriff’s office and others in Broward County failed to prevent the 2018 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 people dead.
In ‘Freedom’s Detective,’ A Flawed But Remarkable Hiram Whitley Infiltrates The KKK
Journalist Charles Lane’s account is endlessly gripping — and he does an excellent job of placing the operation in historical context, chronicling racism and resentment in the South post-Civil War.
Sudan’s Military Says It Has Taken Control And Arrested President Omar Al-Bashir
Sudan’s defense minister says a transitional military council will rule the country for two years — a plan that doesn’t satisfy many of the thousands who demanded a regime change.
The Borderlands — Not The U.S., Not Mexico, A Transitional Land
Rancher Hugh Fitzsimmons has dealt with migrants crossing his ranch in southwestern Texas for years. To understand the migrants, he says we need to try to put ourselves in each others’ shoes.
Julian Assange Arrested, Faces U.S. Charges Related To 2010 WikiLeaks Releases
The WikiLeaks founder had been holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London since 2012. He was arrested on a warrant from 2012 for failing to surrender to the court and also on behalf of the United States.
South Korean Leader Looks To Jump Start U.S.-North Korea Talks After Failed Summit
It will be the first meeting for Moon Jae-in and President Trump since the failed summit in Hanoi, which ended with no agreement between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un on denuclearization.