Mexico City Bans Traditional Bullfights for Violence-Free Option

In the biggest bullfighting city in the largest bullfighting country in the world, Mexico City lawmakers overwhelmingly voted on Tuesday to ban traditional bullfighting — a move that was supported by Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, but was fiercely opposed by backers of the centuries-old custom. The legislation, approved by a 61-1 vote, prohibits the injuring … Read more

A Lifeboat to London for Darwin’s Frogs

The folk song “Frog Went a-Courtin’” recounts the efforts of a sword- and pistol-toting frog to woo a mouse, who warns him that without the consent of her Uncle Rat she “wouldn’t marry the president.” The courtship rituals of Darwin’s frogs, in the cool, temperate rainforests of southern South America, are not nearly as conditional. … Read more

Americans Describe Being Detained as Hostages in a Venezuelan Prison

The guards wore name tags that read “Hitler” and “Demon” and covered their faces with ski masks. The Americans in the Venezuelan prison were confined to cement cells, beaten, pepper-sprayed and subjected to what one prisoner called “psychological torture.” Three months into their capture, the Americans were so filled with anger that they rebelled. They … Read more