Human Interest

Chris De Burgh will be the first Western artist to perform in Iran since 1979, a fact that recalls other musicians’ visits to authoritarian countries. How will the mullahs adapt to British soft rock?

Two separate incidents involving police Tasers arouse concerns about the potential misuse of this increasingly common weapon.

The federal government body ensuring fair judicial sentencing pushes to have new, more lenient sentences related to crack cocaine applied retroactively. Supporters of the move say that the past laws were racist; opponents protest that drug dealers are being let off too lightly.

In response to the increasing expense of staple foodstuffs, developing countries resort to price restrictions and import regulations. As oil prices rise, can modern farming practices be sustained?

Astronomers differ as to the chances of Asteroid Apophis hitting our planet; a Russian scientist argues that civilization can be confident of survival if it does.

Reports of “noxious” fumes close down a district in London, England, but investigators trace the suspect smell to an innocuous restaurant kitchen; the line between caution and hysteria can be a thin one. 

A ruling that overturned a 10-year sentence for Genarlow Wilson, who had oral sex with a 15-year-old 2 years his junior, is blocked within hours by Georgia’s top prosecutor.

An American citizen infected with a rare form of tuberculosis puts passengers at risk on two transatlantic flights. Health officials advise tests for passengers and crew.

eHarmony cries foul as a rival's commercials advertise that the agency rejected one million lonely hearts. Almost a third of those applicants were married, protests eHarmony.

BP CEO John Browne resigns in response to a ruling from the highest U.K. legal authority that he cannot prevent a British newspaper from publishing details of his private life.

Software billionaire Charles Simonyi completes his mission to the International Space Station, a small step in the history of space tourism.

A report by U.S. social researchers finds that having children does not substantially improve a woman’s psychological well-being later in life.

A move to exhume the remains of the escapologist legend, led by authors of a new biography, causes outrage among his descendants. Investigators suspect murder.

The number of baby girls born in China and India is falling. China expects that by 2020 there will be 30 million more Chinese men than women in the country.