As tensions between Israel and Iran ratchet up, one community is caught in the middle: Iranian Jews living in Israel. There are some 250,000 people of Persian descent living in Israel, and they maintain strong ties with their homeland.

As a result, they are uniquely conflicted over the possibility of war between the two countries.

In a small cluttered apartment in Jerusalem, Naheet Yacoubi cooks a traditional Persian meal for her Shabbat dinner. Originally from Tehran, she came to Israel when she was a child.

In the central Mexican state of Zacatecas, 76-year-old Genaro Rodarte Huizar rides his donkey along a dry riverbed. On his left is a dried out pasture; on his right is what used to be a cornfield; now it's just long furrows of gray, dusty dirt.

Rodarte says that for the past two years, the crops that he's planted here have failed. Normally, he plants beans and corn to feed his family, and oats to sell. He says he hasn't harvested anything because the land is too dry and there's no water.

GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is reaching out to social conservatives in a new way. At a rally in the gym at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., Monday night, Romney rolled out some new material: the rights given to people by God.

"I am just distressed as I watch, as I watch our president try and infringe upon those rights," Romney said to the capacity crowd. "The first amendment of the Constitution provides the right to worship in the way of our own choice."

Colonial Donuts has been at 3318 Lakeshore Ave in Oakland since the 1970s. There used to be many other cafés that stayed open past 9pm, but these days Colonial is one of the only 24-hour establishments in the city. It’s become a bit of a hot spot. On any given weekend night, the place is packed. Local teenagers flock to Colonial for its freshly fried donuts. Young men that probably wouldn’t normally hang out together play competitive speed chess for hours on end. Mills College reporter paid a visit to the infamous donut shop and brought back this account.

A special tour of Oakland, brought to you by student reporters at Mills College in Oakland. The Charlotte Maxwell Clinic, People's Credit Union, Niroga Yoga Institute, Colonial Donuts, and local musician Andre Thierry and the Zydeco Magic.

There are thousands of yoga studios all over the Bay Area. They usually cater to people who can pay the $15-20 class fee. But the Nirgoa Institute in Berkeley offers classes to low-income senior citizens, incarcerated youth, homeless shelters and inner city high school students.

By: Derek Williams

I’m so bowlegged that my older brother says I look like I’ve been riding a bull since the day I was born. I stand five foot seven and weigh 380 pounds.

Some days when my knees are giving me a lot of pain I’ll look over at my shadow doing a slow pigeon toed wobble down the street, and I just think to myself how gross and unhealthy I look.

President Obama says it's time for Syrian President Bashar Assad to step down. Yet Monday's decision to shut down the U.S. Embassy in Damascus reflected the deteriorating conditions in a country that appears locked in a protracted conflict with no end in sight.

"The closing of the U.S. Embassy is a clear signal to the international community that it's not safe for diplomats in Syria," says Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat.

Professional golfer Kyle Stanley will forever remember Super Bowl Sunday 2012. And not because he's an over-the-top New York Giants — or Madonna — fan.

But because he won the unglamorously-named Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday. And for Stanley, there was nothing trashy about his final round 65 that secured a one-shot victory and his first on the PGA tour.

It's not quite Mardi Gras yet, but you can get in the mood Tuesday, February 7th when Andre Thierry & Zydeco Magic come to town.

They're one of three bands on the bill at the Elbow Room in San Francisco. Music starts about 9pm.