Stories for

The $2 billion remake of the Smithsonian in DC plans to use skylights to showcase art displayed underground.
Arts
A Danish architect gets the nod to remake ‘the backyard of the nation’
Shoppers compete to purchase retail items on "Black Friday" at an Asda superstore in Wembley, north London November 28, 2014.
Business
Black Friday bargains — and brawls — aren’t just for Americans anymore
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on the air for November 28, 2014
Lebanese singer Sabah poses for a photograph at the Comfort Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, 2009.
Music
An Arab American remembers the late Lebanese singer Sabah
Australia's Phil Hughes celebrates a high score during an international match in 2009. Hughes died on November 27, 2014, after being struck in the neck by a bowled ball during a match in Australia's domestic Sheffield Shield competition.
Sports
Cricket fans worldwide pay tribute to young star who died tragically from on-field injuries
An image of Westminster Cathedral, which a local branch of the UK Independence Party mistook for a mosque.
Global Politics
When is a mosque not really a mosque? Ask the UK Independence Party
The Royal Opera House in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Culture
Oman is fusing its traditional culture with modern touches… and pulling in tourists
Refugee in Minnesota
Education
How to walk on ice, and other essential winter-survival tips for newcomers to America
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on air for November 27, 2014
Seydo, a Kurdish nomad, with his flock in southeastern Turkey
Culture
A journalist on a seven-year trek and a shepherd say goodbye to 12,000 years of human history
The families of former Afghan interpreters Janis Shanwari and Ajmal Faqiri gather for a holiday lunch on Thursday.
Conflict
Two Afghan interpreters, targeted for helping the US military, finally make it to America
apple pie
Food
That ‘American’ apple pie actually goes back to Europe in the Middle Ages
Gabriel García Márquez working on "One Hundred Years of Solitude."
Arts
Gabriel García Márquez’s archive, including an unpublished novel, is heading to Texas
Barcelona's Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring a goal against APOEL Nicosia during their Champions League Group F soccer match in Nicosia November 25, 2014.
Sports
Lionel Messi hits a new record, but Cristiano Ronaldo is still nipping at his heels
John Smith and part of his famous 1616 map of New England
Books
Here’s the story of Captain John Smith you didn’t get from the Disney flick
A large number of Armenian refugees live in the Los Angeles area. Every year the Armenian Christ Church hosts a Thanksgiving feast featuring traditional American and Armenian dishes.
Belief
For these Iranian Armenian refugees, Thanksgiving brings back memories of arriving in the US
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Food
For Thanksgiving, this family shares homemade tamales and some tips for making them
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on the air for November 26, 2014
Bill Cosby attends the American Comedy Awards in New York on April 26, 2014. Jian Ghomeshi attends the Canada for Haiti telethon at the CBC studios in Toronto on January 22, 2010. Rolf Harris arrives for sentencing at Southwark Crown Court in London on Ju
Justice
Bill Cosby is unlikely to face rape charges in court, but that wouldn’t be the case in other countries
Vietnamese immigrants pray to a small shrine erected five years ago. The area was once littered, covered in graffiti, and a frequent stop for the city's public works department. But after one neighborhood resident placed the statue on the corner, local Vi
Geo Quiz
Can you name the West Coast city where a Buddhist shrine turned a neighborhood around?
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Conflict
At rallies, immigrants show solidarity with the people of Ferguson
A demonstrator sits in front of a street fire during a demonstration following the grand jury decision in the Ferguson, Missouri shooting of Michael Brown, in Oakland, California on November 25, 2014.
Justice
Just like in Ferguson, police shootings in South Africa prove nothing is ‘post-racial’ just yet
Tony Gurdian, at Imperial in Portland, Oregon, uses his homemade switchel to make a drink called The Haymaker's Revival.
Food
A colonial-era drink called switchel is making a 21st century comeback
Doctors help each other with their protective suits during an Ebola virus drill in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Health
An epidemiologist in Monrovia describes hazmat training — from hand washing to elbow bumps
Gisela Chavez-Garcia is an immigration lawyer in New York City. She says the president's immigration plan raises a lot of questions among her clients, but she reminds them that a new president in 2016 could reverse the new changes.
Justice
Obama’s immigration plan leads to scams, rumors and a lot of questions
Steve Gosskie, the 2013 Featherbowling chamption in the Cadieux Cafe. Gosskie holds the second portrait that Jerry Lemenu painted for him. The first was stolen and never returned.
Sports
Featherbowling is an almost unknown sport — but not at this Detroit café
A protester shouts with both his hands in the air while marching through a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, on November 23, 2014.
Conflict
Black communities in England know what Ferguson is going through
Stephen (left) and Shadrack (center) Osero from Kenya discuss their project for using human waste as a source of green power at this year's Climate CoLab conference at MIT. The brothers were among the winners of this year's CoLab contest, which crowdsourc
Environment
An MIT project crowdsources local solutions in the fight against climate change
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Conflict
Hiking once saved this Cambodian refugee’s life — and now it’s his therapy
More than half of women in Mumbai, India don’t have indoor toilets. On average, women hold their bladders for 13 hours each day.
Development
Women in India agitate for their right to pee
Rebel fighters eat in the Damascus suburb of Arbeen October 6, 2014.
Conflict
Some Syrian rebels struggle to separate their real identities and their nom de guerre
Akiko Antoinette Aspillaga, in the black coat, is an undocumented Filipino immigrant. She considers Obama's new immigration plan an improvement, but wants full rights in the US rather than temporary relief.
Justice
How Obama’s executive actions might benefit the fastest-growing immigrant group in the US — Asian Americans
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on the air for November 25, 2014
A man walks past a burning building during rioting after a grand jury returned no indictment in the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Conflict
A Middle East correspondent sees familiar clashes unfold in Ferguson
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif both say a landmark nuclear deal might still be possible.
Global Politics
Talks failed to produce a deal on Iranian nukes, but negotiations will go on
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel listens as President Barack Obama announces Hagel's resignation.
Conflict
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is out — but whether it was his choice is less than certain
Fatma braids her hair before heading off on the two-hour ride to school. Her father's angry that school is 20 miles away and that Fatma must ride the public bus.
Belief
Turkey’s president wants his country to ‘raise a more pious youth’
"A Woman Sitting In A Chair" by Henri Matisse. The painting is one of the 1,400 works confiscated from the late German collector Cornelius Gurlitt, the son an Nazi era art dealer. The painting was allegedly looted from a Jewish family by the Nazis.
Arts
A Swiss musem accepts a ‘Nazi art’ collection — and vows to return stolen works
Team Peak Performance walks with stray dog Arthur during a stage of the 430-mile Adventure Racing World Championship.
Sports
A stray dog adopts a team of Swedish trekkers on an endurance race in the Amazon
Passengers wait for their delayed flights at Alfonso Pena airport in Curitiba city.
Music
If holiday flying gets you down, we’ve got a CD for you
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on the air for November 24, 2014
A mural showing Gil Scott-Heron and his trademark phrase, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," is the backdrop for protesters marching through the streets of New York in 2012, demanding justice for slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin.
Culture
A song title from the ’70s is still a rallying cry for protesters across the world
President Barack Obama signs two Presidential Memoranda associated with his Executive Actions on immigration aboard Air Force One on November 21, 2014.
Global Politics
Executive actions can be contentious all over the world
A security official prevents members of the media from approaching a damaged police bus at the site of an explosion in Karachi targeting policemen on February 13, 2014.
Justice
How the Taliban took control of organized crime in Pakistan’s largest city
A woman walks near a memorial to those who died protesting against President Yanukovych, during a commemoration ceremony for them in Kiev Friday, as Ukrainians marked the first anniversary of protests which led to the revolution.
Conflict
Ukrainians remember the first anniversary of the start of their revolution
The BBC's Mobeen Azhar speaks to Imam Ghazi, leader of the Red Mosque
Education
Go inside a Pakistani madrassa where Osama bin Laden is called a hero
President Barack Obama is shown on a large screen as he delivers his immigration speech from the White House before the start of the 15th Annual Latin Grammy Awards in Las Vegas on November 20, 2014.
Music
The Latin Grammy Awards turn into a party to celebrate immigration reform
Cape Town, South Africa at dusk.
Justice
Gender equality is the next great fight in a post-apartheid South Africa
Supporters of Beji Caid Essebsi, the Nidaa Tounes party leader and presidential candidate, wave flags and shout slogans during a presidential electoral campaign rally in Tunis on November 15, 2014.
Global Politics
Tunisia looks set to move forward by electing a figure from its past
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on the air for November 21, 2014
Culture
There’s no nuclear deal with Iran yet, but a ‘Homeland’ writer talks about a fictional one
President Obama announced executive action on immigration policy during a nationally televised address from the White House on November 20, 2014. Obama outlined a plan to ease the threat of deportion for about 4.7 million undocumented immigrants.
Global Politics
I’m Hispanic and I don’t like your plan, this woman tells Obama
The Catena family — Gabriel, Marcela and their daughter, Nicole — live in the San Francisco Bay area. Both Gabriel and Marcela are undocumented immigrants and say that the new executive action will provide mental as well as legal relief to their family.
Justice
Obama’s immigration actions give a California family new hope for staying together
Global Politics
Protests over Mexico’s missing students are also about much bigger issues
Esteban Cabanas, 30, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, watches President Barack Obama's White House immigration speech on Thursday,
Justice
Initial reactions to Obama’s immigration speech range from joy to disappointment to anger
An explosion following an air strike on Novemeber 17th is seen in central Kobane, northern Syria. Picture taken from the Turkish side of the Turkish-Syrian border.
Conflict
The battle for an obscure Syrian border town has turned into a major strategic clash
Music Heard on Air
Music heard on the air for November 20, 2014
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Global Politics
Obama’s expected immigration announcement is being greeted with mixed emotions
Foad, the brother of 15-year-old Nora, who left her home in Avignon for Syria nine months ago, shows a portrait he took last September, during an interview on October 6, 2014.
Conflict
The French are stunned that many of their own are winding up in ISIS training camps
A car is covered in snow in Orchard Park outside of Buffalo, New York, November 19, 2014.
Environment
The northeastern US isn’t quite a winter ‘wonderland’ for refugees from warmer countries