HOLIDAYS WEEKENDS

It all started when a guy wanted to create a better sanitary pad for his wife. And now there’s a new documentary about the impact of his work.

The largest importers of crops like lentils, garbanzos or peas — China and India — aren’t buying because of trade wars and tariffs. But farmers already planted in anticipation of sales.

Warren is launching an exploratory committee. The 69-year-old senator, former law professor and consumer advocate is likely to face a crowded Democratic field eager to take on President Trump in 2020.

Minutes after the turn of the new year, NASA’s New Horizons probe will fly by a minor planet in the most distant exploration of a world ever attempted.

Republican Orrin Hatch is leaving the Senate after 42 years. He led bipartisan efforts to get more kids and AIDS patients health care. He also thrived on donations from the drug industry.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling alliance handily won Sunday’s general election, which saw at least 17 people killed during voting. The main opposition party rejects the results.

Adorable babies and cute puppies can make us happy. But researchers say their cuteness can be so overwhelming that it unleashes some ugly thoughts.

In the past few years, enthusiasts have touted coconut oil as the next great health food. But it contains high levels of saturated fat, which is associated with an increased risk of heart disease.

The minimum wage will increase on or around January 1 in 20 states and 21 cities, impacting millions of American workers. Twenty-nine states will have set minimum wages above the federal level.

Greg McKelvey says his interactions with Andrew Halbert, a police officer at his Oregon high school, traumatized him. Eight years on, McKelvey’s tweets led them to reflect on their shared experiences.

The incoming Florida governor and other politicians in the state say they will need to weigh-in before the amendment passed by voters in Nov., giving voting rights back to felons, is implemented.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is monitoring an American health care worker who may have been exposed to the Ebola virus after treating patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Roman was one of the first female executives at NASA, its first chief of astronomy and she played an instrumental role in making the Hubble Space Telescope a reality. She died on Dec. 25.

Thousands of civilians, soldiers and police were killed this year in suicide attacks, bombings and airstrikes. The lives and deaths of three Afghan men shed light on the challenges the country faces.

Two children recently died in Border Patrol custody. In response, volunteers created pop-up clinics and the Department of Homeland Security ordered medical checks on kids in custody.

“Bad optics,” charter jets, abusive tweets and insider trading. It has been that kind of year in President Trump’s Cabinet and on Capitol Hill.

The sighting is a glimmer of hope for a species that has seen a hard few years: 19 right whales died in 2017 and 2018, and not a single North American right whale calf was seen last season.

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the phone Saturday. The U.S. has said it will raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese imports, if a deal is not reached by March.

Alan Naiman died nearly a year ago from cancer at age 63. As the anniversary of his death nears, charities say that he stunned them with his generous donations.

Many people wait until the end of the year to make contributions to their favorite charities and churches. But this year, those donations are unlikely to be deductible, as a result of the new tax law.

Half of the parents of young children in a recent survey said their kids fear going to the doctor. Some admit skipping vaccines and needed appointments. Here’s how to nip medical anxiety in the bud.

The FCC chairman called CenturyLink’s widespread telecom outage unacceptable and says an investigation will start immediately.

When he was about 11 years old, Braxton Moral started Harvard University’s extension program. “I’m not any different; I just do a little thing on the side,” he says.

The deaths of two migrant children raise new questions about the quality of medical care at Border Patrol facilities. But pediatricians at the border have been raising these concerns for years.

U.S. law enforcement says China is racing to become a world leader in the most advanced technologies, and that’s driving intellectual property theft directed at a broad range of U.S. industries.

The novelist and peace advocate died Friday. He once called the language in which he wrote, modern Hebrew, his “musical instrument” and compared it to “an erupting lava, an earthquake in action.”

Some state governments and tourism boards have been using their own funds to keep the parks open. Elsewhere, open but unstaffed parks have become something of a free-for-all.

The EPA says it will keep limits on toxic mercury emissions from coal plants but now deems them not cost-effective. Environmental groups worry the move could hinder future regulations.

Richard Overton enlisted in an all-black battalion, serving in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He loved ice cream, whiskey and cigars. “Today we mourn not just a hero, but a legend,” the U.S. Army said.

There is cause for optimism — and for despair. One statistic is so distressing that the Red Cross calls it “a hideous milestone for the 21st century.”

Weeks ago, Turkey threatened to send its military over the border if Kurdish militants didn’t leave Manbij. Now the U.S.-backed Kurds seem to be making a deal with the Syrian regime.

With their city in ruins and little international help, a group of teenagers decided to take matters into their own hands. They recruited teachers, found a building and set up classes for themselves.

Utility company Con Edison says the light emanated from “a sustained electrical arc flash that was visible across a wide area.” Witnesses had many other ideas.

Ma Jian, who served as vice minister of state security from 2006 until he was dismissed in 2015, was convicted on charges of accepting bribes and insider trading.