VIDEO: The first Starbucks coffee shop opened in Seattle, Wash., in 1971. Now, it’s perhaps the world’s best known American coffee company. But in Seattle, it’s not the only brew in town, and as VOA discovered, locals never lost their love and appreciation for an individual approach and experimentation.

ON THIS DAY IN AMERICAN HISTORY On Jan. 28, 1986, the space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff from Cape Canaveral, Fla. All seven astronauts were killed, including Christa McAuliffe, who was to be the first school teacher in space. After a long investigation, experts concluded the accident was caused by the failure of the O-ring seal on one of the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. The failure was caused by cold weather. The disaster caused a 32-month pause on shuttle launches.

In her studio in Davidsonville, Md., artist Linda McCarthy takes all kinds of photographs: school students, family portraits and headshots. Last year, she started a new photography project, “Survivors.” It focuses on women who survived or are being treated for breast cancer.

Russian presidential envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov is visiting Islamabad after last week’s marathon talks between U.S. special representative for Afghan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad and the Taliban in Qatar. Pakistan says it has arranged the ongoing direct peace dialogue between U.S. and Taliban envoys.

VIDEO: A New York disc jockey is wearing a policeman’s uniform. The outfit is not a costume, it’s the work of New York City Police lieutenant Acu Rhodes, who takes his hobby as a DJ seriously. Rhodes says it started as a casual pastime but quickly became a serious devotion. So serious that Rhodes, or DJ Ace, turned it into part of the NYPD’s community policing outreach.