First Run News

One by one, the markers of Venezuela’s democracy have been pushed aside. First, the Supreme Court was packed with loyalists of the president, and several opposition lawmakers were blocked from taking their seats.

FREMONT, Calif. — After a meteoric rise that made it, at least briefly, the most valuable car company in America, Tesla arrived at a moment of truth on Friday night as it delivered the first of its mass-market sedans to their new owners. For a decade, the company has been a manufacturer of high-end electric cars in small numbers. But now, Tesla is aiming at much loftier goals.

Does spending years running marathons or cycling for long distances potentially strain someone’s heart? Two major new studies of athletes and their coronary arteries suggest that the answer may be a qualified yes.

Does spending years running marathons or cycling for long distances potentially strain someone’s heart? Two major new studies of athletes and their coronary arteries suggest that the answer may be a qualified yes.

LAIKIPIA, Kenya — The two elders, wearing weather-beaten cowboy hats with the strings cinched under their chins, stood at the edge of an empty farm, covering their mouths in disbelief. Their homes — neat wooden cabins — had been smashed open. All their cattle had been stolen. So had their chickens. House after house stood vacant, without another soul around. It was as if some huge force had barreled into the village and swept away all the life. Sioyia Lesinko Lekisio, one of the elders, had no doubts who did this.

LAIKIPIA, Kenya — The two elders, wearing weather-beaten cowboy hats with the strings cinched under their chins, stood at the edge of an empty farm, covering their mouths in disbelief. Their homes — neat wooden cabins — had been smashed open. All their cattle had been stolen. So had their chickens. House after house stood vacant, without another soul around. It was as if some huge force had barreled into the village and swept away all the life. Sioyia Lesinko Lekisio, one of the elders, had no doubts who did this.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — With his term as Nawaz Sharif announced publicly on Saturday that he was choosing his younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, to be his long-term replacement as prime minister and as the party’s standard bearer. On one level, it was a clear choice.

A mystery has long surrounded North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs. Conventional wisdom holds that the North’s weapons are intended to address the country’s two greatest problems — military inferiority and economic weakness — by deterring the United States and extracting concessions. But in practice, the weapons make both problems worse by increasing the risk of war and ensuring continued sanctions. So what is driving the North’s actions?

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea announced Saturday that it will soon start talks with the Trump administration about allowing Seoul to build more powerful ballistic missiles to counter the North, but current and former American officials said the move would have little effect on the most urgent problem facing Washington: North Korea’s apparent ability to strike California and beyond. The South’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, called for the relaxation of limits on

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea announced Saturday that it will soon start talks with the Trump administration about allowing Seoul to build more powerful ballistic missiles to counter the North, but current and former American officials said the move would have little effect on the most urgent problem facing Washington: North Korea’s apparent ability to strike California and beyond. The South’s newly elected president, Moon Jae-in, called for the relaxation of limits on