Newsletter Archive

VIDEO: Being 83 years old hasn’t stopped one Texas pitmaster from getting up in the middle of the night every weekend to fire up the grill. Friends call her Tootsie and her fans come from hundreds of miles away for a chance to sample some of Norma Tomanetz’s authentic Texas barbecue.  

Last week California became the first US state to require solar installations on most new homes by the year 2020. The state’s effort to cut carbon emissions comes as Washington adopts less ambitious environmental goals. Supporters believe the mandate will jump-start the growing US solar power industry, while opponents say it places a burden on low-income residents.

Many Muslims are decking out their homes as Ramadan begins this evening. Finding holiday decorations can be a challenge, but one of America’s leading party stores has created a line of Ramadan products in response to requests from customers. The Party City retail chain says the decorations are mostly sold out, both online and in stores.

American Meghan Markle breaks the demure princess mold typical of most royal brides. The California-raised actress is set to marry England’s Prince Harry this weekend. Not too long ago, being a divorced, biracial feminist activist might well have disqualified the 36-year-old from marrying a senior member of the royal family. But now those credentials are being positively welcomed.

VIDEO: A bustling ‘Little Syria’ has popped up in Turkey, along a lane now informally referred to as ‘Aleppo Street.’ Enterprising Syrian refugees have set up shop along the corridor, driving up rents and leaving some Turkish business owners feeling pushed aside.

American farmers are bracing for a hit should China decide to impose tariffs,which Beijing has threatened to do. China, the second-largest export market for US grain products and the world’s top consumer of soybeans, has stopped purchasing supplies from the US, even before any tariffs are in place. Illinois farmer Scott Halpin worries any potential Chinese tariffs could impact the price of soybeans and ultimately his own bottom line.

The new American embassy in Jerusalem isn’t entirely located in Israel. The complex is housed in a US consulate built in Jerusalem in 2010, which is located partly on a plot of land that Washington does not officially recognize as Israeli territory.

VIDEO: The Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington has an intriguing history. In the 1930s, the ambassador and his sons had a passion for jazz and often invited African-American musicians to perform at the residence, putting the stately historic home on the front lines of the fight against segregation.

VIDEO: Two of Meghan Markle’s former teachers are weighing in on their soon-to-be-royal ex-student. Prince Harry’s future bride attended a Catholic school in Los Angeles where she’s remembered as a teen who worked with the homeless and sparkled in high school stage productions. The educators think so highly of the young woman they once knew that one insists Prince Harry is the lucky one.

Can jamming something into your brain make you smarter? Scientists who are looking into cognitive prosthetics think so. They’re working on technologies that would use artificial intelligence to boost human brain power.

VIDEO: US homelessness increased for the first time since 2010, with Los Angeles and other West Coast cities leading the way. Homelessness has been a serious problem for Los Angeles for years, but as the housing crisis intensifies, more tent cities are popping up along city streets.