Juliana Desmond has a passion for chocolate, the product that is made from the fermented cacao bean. The bean comes from pod-like fruits from trees in places such as Mexico’s Chiapas, Tabasco, Guerrero and Oaxaca regions. Cacao pods The beans are often coarsely ground to make into a paste, or more thoroughly processed for truffles or…
Sculpting Chocolate
Juliana Desmond is a sculptor. She also has a passion for chocolate. During many of her travels to Mexico,Desmond became inspired to shape and form chocolate that looks like art. …
Dispensing medical marijuana
Aari Ruben is an advocate for marijuana legalization, drug policy reform and human rights. Ruben is the director and owner of Desert Bloom Re-Leaf Center. …
Dispensing Medical Marijuana
Cannabis is a medicinal plant, an herbal remedy to relieve symptoms or treat various diseases. In some U.S. states, marijuana is legal for treating specific health problems, but not at the federal level.Arizona is one of more than 30 US states where marijuana is legal for medicinal purposes. Aari Ruben lives in Arizona. Ruben is…
Beauty on the Wing
Over 3,000 butterflies fly freely at the largest conservatory for the insects in the United States, Butterfly Wonderland. The conservatory is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. More than 70 species of butterfly can be found there in 3,000 square meters of tropical paradise in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. Dayna Cooper is curatorial director. “The landscape design…
Beauty on the Wing
Butterfly Wonderland is the largest conservatory in the country. Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, more than 70 species of butterflies can be found there in 3,000 square feet there in 3,000 square meters of tropical paradise in the middle of the Sonoran Desert. …
Activist Leaves Hong Kong After New Law to Advocate Abroad
Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law has left the city for an undisclosed location after testifying in a U.S. congressional hearing about a tough new security law imposed by mainland China on the semi-autonomous territory. Law, who declined to disclose his whereabouts for safety, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Friday…
Anti-Racism Protests Spark Conversations Within Chinese Immigrant Families
Twenty-year-old Eileen Huang is an English major at Yale University. Growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in a small town in New Jersey, racism in the United States was a topic she rarely discussed with her parents. But earlier this month, her open letter, Wally Ng, a member of the Guardian Angels, patrols with…
Identity Theft Offers Path to College for Well-Connected Chinese Students
Chunxiu Chen, the daughter of poor farmers, had set her heart on a college education that could lift her into the higher ranks of Chinese society. She studied hard and thought she had performed well on the all-important entrance examination but failed to earn a slot in a college or even the ability to see her…
Dreamers Happy But Wary About SCOTUS Ruling
Young undocumented immigrants, higher education groups and college officials praised the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that protects those young people from deportation. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has allowed young immigrants — who have been in the U.S. since childhood but lack legal status — to work and study without the threat of deportation since…
BLM Turns Inward to Ask About LGBTQ Bias
New hashtags are circulating in the #Black Lives Matter movement to include Black lives that have been historically marginalized within the community: #Black LGBTQ Lives Matter.“I hope when y’all are out here screaming ‘Black Lives Matter’ that you are talking about ALL black lives, and by all black lives, I mean black women, black men,…
Chinese Exchange-Student Valedictorian Becomes Backyard Prom King
China sends more students to study in the U.S. than any other country – over 300,000 a year. Some young Chinese attend U.S. high schools to be more prepared for a U.S. college or university. VOA’s Bronwyn Benito has the story of one student’s journey living and learning in America. …
Toughest Workout During COVID? Staying Motivated
Hannah Gjerde starts her day at her hot-mat yoga class on the front lawn of her parent’s home, right before settling onto the couch for the rest of the day. “Being home makes it hard because my dad will be in the kitchen working, or it’s too crowded in my room to do it,” says Gjerde. Because of…
During COVID, High School Students Find Other Ways to Celebrate End of Senior Year
They are an unorthodox generation. The class of 2020 was born while the United States was still reeling from the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. Their world has been filled with unpredictability since day one.Members of the class of 2020 finish their senior year of high school after being confined to their…
Kamala Harris Says Democrats Need to Listen to Young Voters
Sen. Kamala Harris of California says that Democrats need to listen to young voters seeking change and that she won’t “be played” by Republicans when it comes to police reform legislation.She’s a top contender to be presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s running mate. But she won’t directly address whether she thinks Biden should choose a…
Students Against Gun Violence Rallying for Racial Justice
Among the thousands of activists who have marched in the nation’s capital recently to protest racial injustice are survivors of a Florida high school massacre who stood in the very same place two years ago to fight gun violence. It was 2018 and the world was transfixed as the survivors of the Valentine’s Day mass shooting…