TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –After Gov. Ron DeSantis used millions of state dollars last year to battle against abortion and marijuana proposals, some Florida lawmakers want to ban the use of public funds to promote or oppose ballot amendments.

The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee on Monday approved such a measure by voice vote, adding it to a ...Read more

ATLANTA — For much of the last decade, the “religious liberty” debate was one of the most polarizing political fights in Georgia.

Companies threatened boycotts. Protesters flooded the Capitol. Lawmakers risked their careers by taking dramatic stands.

Now, the once-explosive feud has been eclipsed by new culture wars fights over ...Read more

The Supreme Court said Monday it will hear a First Amendment challenge by a Christian counselor against a Colorado law banning conversion therapy on minors aimed at changing their gender identity or sexual orientation.

The news comes after the nation's highest court previously declined to take up a similar challenge in 2023 against Washington'...Read more

BOSTON — One of Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s nominations to the Audit Committee abruptly withdrew his name from consideration after a fiscal watchdog questioned his ability to remain objective, given his PR firm has been paid thousands by Wu’s campaign.

The Boston Municipal Research Bureau, which keeps an eye on City Hall finances, ...Read more

WASHINGTON—During his first term, Republican President Donald Trump often boasted about the outsized number of conservative judges he placed on the U.S. Supreme Court and federal benches around the country.

His successor, Democrat Joe Biden, managed late in his only term to surpass — by one judge — Trump’s near-record mark of 234 people...Read more

In what’s been called a “Friday night massacre” at the Pentagon, President Donald Trump removed six top generals or admirals on Feb. 21, 2025, including Air Force General C.Q. Brown and Navy Admiral Lisa Franchetti. Trump also fired military lawyers who advise senior officers on the legality of their behavior in combat and at home.

...Read more

Florida, the “Sunshine State,” once known as a beacon of government transparency, is growing ever darker, and the clouds are spreading throughout the United States.

From March 16-22, 2025, the nation celebrates the 20th anniversary of national Sunshine Week, which originated in Florida, historically home to the most transparent ...Read more

Strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, are civil claims brought against people or organizations who voice opinions publicly. These lawsuits are intended to intimidate opponents and suppress advocacy efforts by forcing critics to spend time and money on expensive litigation.

The term “SLAPP suit” was ...Read more

The Trump administration has proposed shuttering USAID and cutting some of the State Department’s critical diplomatic programs; it has also announced tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China. As scholar Borja Santos Porras has noted, these measures may lead to modest savings, however, the long-term damage to the reputation of the U....Read more

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people unexpectedly needed critical care such as ventilators but were unable to communicate their end-of-life wishes to their loved ones.

Researchers like me, who study death and dying, hoped that such scenes would spur more Americans to embrace end-of-life planning by discussing their wishes with ...Read more

Five years ago, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of COVID-19 a global pandemic. The novel coronavirus, dubbed SARS-CoV-2, began as a “cluster of severe pneumonia cases of unknown cause” reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It had spread to 118,000 cases reported in 114 countries by March 11....Read more

If you look at a map of lightning near the Port of Singapore, you’ll notice an odd streak of intense lightning activity right over the busiest shipping lane in the world. As it turns out, the lightning really is responding to the ships, or rather the tiny particles they emit.

Using data from a global lightning detection network, my ...Read more

Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia about the path to a possible peace deal with Moscow amid pressure from Washington on Kyiv to give ground.

“The meeting started very constructively,” the Ukrainian president’s top aide, Andriy Yermak, said Tuesday on the X platform. Walking into the talks in the Saudi city of ...Read more

Top U.S. and Ukrainian officials began talks in Saudi Arabia about the path to a possible peace deal with Moscow, hours after Russia fought off the largest drone attack on its territory in the three-year war.

“Most important is to discuss how to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine,” the Ukrainian president’s top aide, Andriy ...Read more

AITAROUN, Lebanon — The procession of coffins was heard long before it came into view, a chorus of ambulance sirens drowning out the crowd assembled at the main square of this devastated village.

"Arise, Aitaroun! This is the time of martyrs, and blood, and victory," said an announcer, as four flatbed trucks rumbled to the square bearing 95 ...Read more

Russia said its air defenses downed 337 Ukrainian drones overnight, including dozens targeting Moscow, in what seems to be the largest attack on its territory of the three-year-long war.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said it downed 91 unmanned aerial vehicles over the capital region alone. There were also attacks in nine other regions including ...Read more

Greenlanders head to the polls on Tuesday in a general election that will determine how and when the semi-autonomous territory may seek independence from Denmark after Donald Trump upended the island’s politics.

While all leading parties are in favor of sovereignty, the winners would get to define the path of the world’s largest island to ...Read more