News and reports from North, Central and South America.
After years in the wilderness, the Communist Party USA is giving itself a public relations and ideological makeover, and, with its new $1 million office, hopes to be running the US within 50 years. The décor inside the national headquarters of the Communist Party USA, or CPUSA, is more Macy’s than Marx. Glass walls rise […]
Continue ReadingIncreasing numbers of Latinas are converting to Islam, for love, faith and, some say, a sense of respect. But some find acceptance from family and friends is harder to come by. When Beatriz Kehdy was growing up in Sao Paulo, Brazil, she felt uncomfortable with the standards of beauty that she says were a part […]
Continue ReadingA sinking real estate market is no time for homeowners to sit still, experts say. Spruce up your place now, because the buyers are coming back. Jenny Wong McLoughlin routinely makes the rounds of open houses around New York City, always with an eye open for a real estate deal too good to ignore. But […]
Continue ReadingFrom Hollywood picket lines in Los Angeles to nonunion construction sites in Chicago and New York, a 20-foot inflatable rat has become one of the most recognized symbols of the labor movement. At 20 feet tall, the rat was hard to miss. Looming over Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y., the inflatable rodent’s red eyes and […]
Continue ReadingFake cigarettes, brake parts and condoms are only some of an increasing number of dangerous counterfeit goods now on the US market. The days of seemingly harmless knockoffs like Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton purses and Nike sneakers are giving way to a new generation of fake goods that are being smuggled into the US at […]
Continue ReadingBarack Obama has the finger point. Hillary Clinton has the karate chop. John McCain is ground into the floor. Voters can tell a lot about presidential candidates from their body language. Experts explain how. In their first one-on-one debate, the different styles of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama were readily apparent. As Clinton emphasized the […]
Continue ReadingThe chewed-up gum that befouls American sidewalks costs taxpayers millions of dollars in cleanups. Now researchers in Illinois say they have developed an alternative that doesn’t stick to shoes. Will consumers bite? The guys were out to bust some gum. John Vann and Tony Muniz uncased their weapons-–5-foot-long hoses with brass-bristled nozzles. Then they blasted […]
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As recipient in 2007 of a Congressional Gold Medal for his service with the Tuskegee Airmen in World War II, 84-year-old Dabney Montgomery has had a heavy speaking schedule around the country. But for February, which was Black History Month, he’s in especially heavy demand. Dabney Montgomery is cheering the Giants on TV in the […]
Continue ReadingThe peace symbol, one of the world’s most famous symbols, is turning 50, and, as often happens by that age, it’s gotten a few facelifts. When Sergio Elizondo decided to open a café in New York City’s trendy Tribeca neighborhood just over a year ago, he and his partner wanted to give it a name […]
Continue ReadingAs a collectible, barbed wire has everything it needs – a wire guru, annual conventions and a special kind of wire that is the crown jewel of every collection, the coveted Dodge Star. But recent wildfires in Texas have threatened the supply of collectible antique wire. When the attendees of the annual barbed wire show […]
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