Black and Hispanic veterans' access to specialty health care declined during the pandemic, according to a recently published study that also found non-Hispanic white veterans were largely unaffected.
Why it matters: About 12% of vets are Black and 8% are Latino. Those numbers are projected to grow to 15% and 12% respectively by 2045, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Detailed images of the battlefield in Ukraine taken from space and satellite internet beamed to the war's front lines have shaped the year-long conflict — and how the public understands it.
Why it matters: Space-based technologies have been essential to warfighting for decades, but their use in the conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated how they can give citizens a clear view of war.
Since 2020, Beijing has increasingly used trade restrictions and threats to defend its geopolitical interests around the globe, making economic coercion an "established and favoured part" of China's foreign policy, according to a new report.
Why it matters: China's economic coercion suppresses global speech critical of Beijing and makes it harder for countries to uphold the liberal international system of open trade, rule of law and human rights.
The global movementto diversify the works of William Shakespeare is hitting the U.S. borderlands, with a new project, book and adaptations attempting to tell the writer's stories through Latino and Indigenous lenses.
The big picture: Shakespeare's work for centuries has catered to and been performed for white audiences, but a new movement is flipping that on its head.
President Biden delivered a fiery message of freedom and democracy during a major speech Tuesday from Poland to mark the upcomingfirst anniversary of Russia's war in Ukraine.
Driving the news: The speech on Tuesday in Warsaw came a day after his surprise visit to Kyiv — a major sign of U.S. support for Ukraine.
After the pandemic delayed and watered down last year's Carnival festival in Brazil, the party is back in full force.
Driving the news: The AP reports that 46 million people are expected to join the festivities, which officially began Friday to mark the beginning of Lent in the Catholic Church and will end Saturday with the crowning of a winning samba school in Rio's Sambódromo. Check out photos from the events.
A 6.4-magnitude earthquake shook southern Turkey on Monday, just two weeks after a massive earthquake and aftershocks devastated the region.
Driving the news: Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) confirmed on Tuesday that six people had died and 294 others were injured, including 18 in serious condition.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Monday that Russia was suspending its participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty — the last remaining arms control agreement between Washington and Moscow.
The big picture: The announcement capped off Putin's state of the nation address to Russian lawmakers in which he raged against the West with many of the same claims he has previously used to justify the war in Ukraine.
China'smilitary, economic and political ties with a weakened Russia a year after Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine continue to deepen, even as Beijing presents itself to the West as a responsible global leader working toward peace.
Why it matters: China has cultivated an important strategic partnership without itself becoming an international pariah — an approach that is likely to continue as the war drags on.
President Biden arrived back in Poland on Monday evening following a roughly five-hour surprise visit to Kyiv ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war.
Why it matters: While American presidents have visited war zones before, Biden's visit to Ukraine was "historic and unprecedented" the White House said, as there has never been a visit by a president to an active war zone where the U.S. does not have a military presence.
The U.S. will continue to provide aid to Turkey in the wake of this month's deadly earthquakes "for as long as it takes to recover and to rebuild," Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed in Ankara on Monday.
Senior aides of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have been holding secret talks for almost two months in an effort to de-escalate rising tensions in the occupied West Bank, three sources briefed on the matter told Axios.
Why it matters: The weeks of secret talks, which have not been previously reported, are among the first pieces of evidence of direct high-level engagement between the Palestinian Authority and the new right-wing Israeli government.
North Korea launched at least two short-range ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast on Monday, marking its second test in three days, AP reports.
Why it matters: The missile launches come after the U.S. held joint air exercises with South Korea and Japan in response to Pyongyang's launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on Saturday.
President Biden made a surprise visit to Kyiv on Monday — his first visit to Ukraine since Russia's invasion began nearly a year ago.
Driving the news: The visit just days ahead of the one-year anniversary of the war is a major sign of U.S. support for Ukraine. Biden said in a statement he traveled to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and "reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity."
The big picture: The unannounced visit is a major sign of American support for Ukraine and marks the first time Biden has visited the country since the war began.
