The night the wildfire burned to the ridgeline, Pop and the rest of the neighborhood men and older boys grabbed hoes and shovels and scrambled uphill to help fight the blaze. Our house and maybe 40 others lined a dead-end street in a narrow little valley on Santa Barbara’s West Side, surrounded by fields of wild oats and Spanish oaks. I begged Pop to let me go with him. But he told me to stay at the house and help pack up our family’s important stuff in case we had to evacuate. Mom and I and my kid sister, Judy, dashed around, throwing crap into suitcases and bags and cramming…

At the graduation ceremony of Grand View University in Des Moines, Iowa, graduate Lizeth Salazar-Klock has to stop between words to take a breath. Her emotions catch up with her as she recalls the way her parents took whatever jobs they could find to make sure she got everything she needed. She pauses, again, when she recalls her mother’s words of encouragement. “Your sacrifice and your belief in me were more than enough to show me that our human spirit goes beyond borders and is more than a piece of paper called a green card,” she says. Salazar-Klock is one of many students during this graduation season sharing her story…

A former factory building in Min Kush, Northern Kyrgyzstan, December 2015. Photo: Yuri Boyanin. All rights reserved. The global resurgence of authoritarian and anti-democratic forces, coupled with the austerity crisis of the past decade, have posed significant strain on liberal democratic regimes, highlighting a need to reconsider widespread assumptions about liberal democracy and the capitalist economic system. In this light, recent trends towards “illiberal” and “authoritarian” forms of governance in Central Asian states should be framed in the context of the region’s “post-liberal” trajectory. The key point of the post-liberal approach is that national paths of development, reform and policy-making are not – and have rarely ever been – determined…

Morning sickness, digestive issues, and fatigue are just a few of the physical symptoms that pregnant women endure while gestating a lil’ bundle of joy. But last week, Kameisha Denton of Washington hit another, more serious, roadblock due to her condition: her employer fired her for being pregnant. In a post that’s gone viral, Kameisha wrote: “I usually don’t post personal things like this but is this allowed?” No, girl. It is not.    Kameisha’s manager terminated her employment at a New Marysville Jersey Mike’s because she was “leaving for maternity leave in several months anyways” and didn’t disclose her pregnancy during her interview. In Washington state, it is illegal to hire, fire, or demote a…

It was the winter of the Desert Storm trading cards, and most of the kids on my block had already caught the patriotic fever that came hand in hand with smart bombs, brown camouflage pants, and posters of A-10 Warthogs. I’m sure wars have had trading cards before, but it wasn’t every day you could trade a Ricky Henderson or an Ozzie Guillen for a General Schwarzkopf or a Carpet Bombing. In a way, rooting for the Army was like being invested in a local sports team, except it wasn’t one that lost all the time, like the Indians or the Cavs or the Browns. In retrospect, that was probably…

Remember the good old days when the price of your airline ticket included a snack, a drink, and a checked bag? It doesn’t look like those perks are coming back any time soon; these days, you’re lucky if your checked bags are being moved by humans and not by robotic baggage handlers. Luckily, inventive air travelers have come up with all kinds of creative ways to make the baggage process easier, from packing with airport security in mind to simply wearing all your electronics in a many-pocketed jacket. Any savvy traveler knows it’s best not to check bags if you can help it; besides saving a few bucks on checked…

Most days I avoid the evening rush at the Checker Mart like it’s Mrs. Green in 4F, who eats baked beans out of the can and always needs her toilet plunged. Not today. Today, I let the chimes jingle behind me. My sneakers stick to the linoleum, and I nod to the clerk as I squeak past. He doesn’t acknowledge me. Today I broke my routine. I got my ass off the couch because I had to see her and I knew she stopped at the Checker Mart every day after class. She’s in front of the refrigerator case with a shopping basket hanging from a muscular forearm. A vein on her massive bicep looks fit to burst as she chucks protein shakes and energy drinks into her basket. As soon…

From swimming with turtles in Hawaii, to riding a camel in Cabo, to howling with wolves in Canada, animal adventures have a knack for bringing out a family’s wild side. Whether you make a splash, or stay warm and dry, kids and critters have a way of creating vacation magic. Read on for inspiration on where to take off next. But wherever you go, don’t forget your camera. 1.    Snorkel with Turtles in Maui, Hawaii Spending some quality time with turtles is as easy as dropping your towel on the sand at Ka’anapali Beach and walking right into the water at Maui’s Pu’u Keka’a, or Black Rock. Green sea turtles,…

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump shake hands at a summit in Singapore in 2018. Images: PA“If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea with potentially millions of people killed.” Even in announcing his summit with Kim Jong-un in Vietnam on 27-28 February to a cluster of TV news anchors, Donald Trump could not resist making the two leaders' follow-up encounter all about himself. Trump imagines that his relationship with Kim is a good one, the two sides have made progress, and this is owed above all to his unique deal-making abilities. It's…

In 2015, an ad for Protein World appeared in the London Underground featuring a bikini-clad blonde that asked, “Are you beach body ready?” The ad sparked controversy, and over 200 people filed complaints with the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), claiming the ad promoted unrealistic body types and fat-shaming. The ASA and CAP are self-regulatory organizations; however, their decisions have a big impact on British legislation.  This public outcry eventually led to the formation of new advertising regulations by CAP that were announced on Friday, December 14, and will take effect in June 2019. The new regulations aim to ban companies from including “gender stereotypes that are…