Newsletter Archive

Immigrants and refugees from 40 nations have made their home in a small American Midwestern city. That diversity in Columbus, Ohio, is behind a blossoming ethnic restaurant scene that’s proving to be a boon to the area economy. Visitors can even take food tours of the city’s rich and diverse restaurant scene.

Was Tuesday’s rampage in New York City a terrorist attack? The US government has a strict legal definition of terrorism, which the FBI describes as an attack motivated by ‘political, religious, social, racial or environmental’ beliefs. Here’s the difference between terrorism and mass murder.

Los Angeles hopes to avoid high costs as it gears up to host the 2028 Olympic Games. Financial issues have plagued some host cities and prompted others to drop their bid to host Olympic games. But Los Angeles organizers are using lessons learned from previous times the city staged the Olympics. The games in 1932 and 1984 produced significant surpluses and some of that money is still benefiting the city.

More than 20 China universities have set up research centers to promote Xi Jinping thought. The vision of the country’s powerful leader was recently enshrined in the Communist Party’s constitution, a move that instantly elevated the 64-year-old leader’s political stature, putting him on par with Mao Zedong, founding father of modern China. Maoism political theory is taught in Chinese schools and some analysts worry that teaching Xi Jinping thought on campus is a government move to strengthen political control.

In a vast underground New York City facility, thousands of costumes from Broadway and the Metropolitan Opera await their return to the limelight. The 80,000 pieces of clothing and accessories also come from off Broadway, film and regional productions. The special stash is available for rent, but not to just anyone.

Journalists in Pakistan are feeling the heat from both the government and extremist forces. Not only are authorities exerting more control over social media, but journalists are being beaten in the streets, arrested and telling tales of being subjected to torture and humiliation. Threats to reporters have long been a problem in volatile Baluchistan and the tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan, but media groups worry the danger is spreading to the nation’s heartland.

President Trump wants to dump the US diversity lottery, which he says allowed the 29-year-old Uzbek citizen suspected in Tuesday’s New York attack into the US. The so-called ‘Green Card Lottery’ grants visas to people from countries that have low levels of immigration to the US. The president would like to see a whole new immigration system — one that’s merit-based rather than family-based.