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In 2016, more countries legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational purposes.

President Barack Obama and his first secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, entered the White House in 2009 with visions of a "Russian reset." But Obama will leave office next month in the midst of a shadowy Cold War-era fever dream, as Washington and Moscow are, once again, beset by accusations of diplomatic chicanery and outright espionage.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has recommended that the Kremlin expel 35 US diplomats from Russia in response to sanctions announced by Washington, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.

Sen. John McCain said Friday that Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election amounted to an "act of war."

Sporadic clashes and airstrikes on Friday marred war-ravaged Syria's first day of a nationwide ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey, according to rights activists.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Brian Stelter, the parents of Austin Tice, an American journalist who went missing in Syria in 2012, say they're encouraged by reports that their son is still alive and urged the US government to keep working to bring him home.

Donald Trump loves to imagine himself as the best dealmaker in America. But many Democrats are not buying it. When they look at the new White House, they see little room for finding common ground. The President-elect ran a campaign that was antithetical to their party values, in addition to, they believe, consistently lying and spreading falsehoods. And now he has assembled a right-wing cabinet, which makes many Democrats' skin crawl.

Congrats Americans! Your stock markets rallied to record levels this year. But you're not the only ones reveling in sweet stock market gains.

Just about anyone who had money in the market is saying, "Thank you, 2016!"

Before today, the last time I opened my 1991/1992 yearbook from the Anglo-American School of Moscow was 15 years ago when I changed houses. I searched for it again Friday morning under a stack of university stuff, after a frenetic 24 hours of activity between Russia and the West. Amid the flurry of activity -- President Barack Obama's announcement of sanctions and expelled diplomats, Trump's assertion that the US should "move on," and Putin's declaration that (despite the recommendation of his Foreign Minister) he will not retaliate in kind against US diplomats in Russia (yet) -- reports reached me in Rome that the Kremlin would allegedly take steps to shut down the school as retaliation against Obama's moves against Russia.

For the first time in the United States, New York City issued a birth certificate reading "intersex" in the gender field.

Who remembers Mohamed Bouazizi? The answer, maybe, is not many of us.

According to research from the University of Scranton, 45% of Americans make New Year's resolutions, but just 8% of resolutions turn out to be successful.

An autopsy on the body of on pop star George Michael proved inconclusive and further tests will be carried out, UK police said.

The carcasses of thousands of sea creatures have mysteriously washed up on the western coast of Nova Scotia, Canada.

A huge open-pit coal mine has collapsed in eastern India, trapping at least 30 people and killing at least five, police officials say.

Millions of households in the Sahel region of West Africa live under a growing threat.

It's dawn in Lhasa, Tibet, and the quiet is punctuated only by the gentle chanting of Buddhist pilgrims.

President Barack Obama, at long, long last, responded forcefully to Russia's unprecedented interference in America's democratic process. We can all wonder what might have happened if he had acted sooner, but that question no longer matters.

When European explorers discovered the Yoruba kingdoms in West Africa in the fifteenth century, they found a civilization already established over 500 years earlier.