海角大神

The EPA appears ready to ease auto fuel-efficiency standards, arguing the industry should be free to make the cars people want and can afford. But even within the auto industry, some say another value is also vital: protecting Earth鈥檚 climate.

Are the political and societal winds in America shifting on gun rights? Our reporter looked into that question in Florida, the state that for the past two decades has often led the way in championing the expansion of Second Amendment rights.

How we see our leaders is often a mirror of our society. For many South Africans, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela not only represented the fight against apartheid but also spoke to black citizens鈥� deep sense of disappointment, and the nation's ongoing struggles, with democracy.

As more American cities face flooding and rising sea levels, urban planners are seeking inspiration from Mother Nature to shape their plans for coping.

In some ways, the film 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey鈥� launched a global conversation that continues today about trusting technology and teaching a computer 鈥� whether behind the wheel or filling a social media feed 鈥� how to make moral choices.

One way to end a country鈥檚 civil war is to start rebuilding its social cohesion even before the war ends. In Yemen, where years of conflict have created the world鈥檚 worst humanitarian crisis, the war鈥檚 end is hardly in sight. But the rebuilding has begun. And, say aid workers, it is focused mainly on women.

Yemen鈥檚 conflict has resulted in so many men being killed, recruited for battle, or mentally shattered, that it has forced many women into roles rarely seen in such a conservative society. They have had to become providers, seeking work outside the home. They must rely on other women, even those on the opposite side of the war. And some have become champions for peace, either in starting street protests or participating in diplomacy to end the war.

Some three-quarters of Yemen鈥檚 28 million people need some form of aid while 8.4 million of them are on the verge of famine, according to the United Nations. This week, the UN raised more than $2 billion to help civilians, much of it for food and health needs. But some portion of the aid so far has been dedicated to projects that create jobs for women, loan them money to start a business, or develop skills in farming and other professions.

The idea is to restore households one at a time, building islands of peace amid a landscape of conflict, or what is called an inkblot strategy. If enough women-led families can be saved and revived, they will reconnect the social fabric of Yemen, create conditions for peace, and perhaps help end the war.

The world is becoming more aware of what women can do in Yemen. In 2011, activist Tawakkol Karman was given the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in a nonviolent struggle for the safety of women during a popular uprising for democracy tied to the Arab Spring. And since then, many women have served as peacemakers in resolving political disputes as the country slowly descended into war, a war driven in part by a proxy fight for influence between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

War often affects women in cruel ways, but in Yemen鈥檚 case, women may also be one way out. Many of them are finding themselves in charge for the first time. With enough foreign assistance, they might just be those needed islands of peace.