Ever since the United States government’s unfulfilled promise of giving every newly freed Black American “40 acres and a mule” after the Civil War, descendants of the enslaved have repeatedly proposed the idea of redistributing land to redress the nation’s legacies of slavery.

Land-based reparations are also a form of redress ...Read more

After climbing for decades, the percentage of Americans with no religion has leveled off. For the past few years, the share of adults who identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular” has stood at about 29%, according to a major study the Pew Research Center released Feb. 26, 2025.

But this hardly means that the “...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Samson Tafolo's final count read 119.

For 45 minutes, he had tugged a wagon packed with mini water bottles, hemp cigarettes and miscellaneous hygiene products around Skid Row, handing out the supplies and keeping a tally of everyone he served on his usual route.

Tafolo and other leaders at the Sidewalk Project, a harm reduction...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — Pennsylvania teacher vacancies dipped slightly over the last year, but more than a third of all districts in the state still reported at least one vacancy this school year — meaning thousands of kids lacked a permanent teacher, or were placed in larger classes for all or part of the term.

The numbers were starker in schools ...Read more

WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is set to return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday to pitch the Trump administration’s take on the next big transportation and infrastructure bill as GOP lawmakers mull topline infrastructure funding levels.

Duffy, who will appear at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, is operating ...Read more

Mari Villar was slammed by a car that jumped the curb, breaking her legs and collapsing a lung. Amy Paulo was in pain from a femur surgery that wasn’t healing properly. Katie Kriegshauser suffered organ failure during pregnancy, weakening her so much that she couldn’t lift her baby daughter.

All went to physical therapy, but their health ...Read more

ST. PETER, Minn. — Daria “Dasha” Shyroka is a 19-year-old college student with a naturally bubbly disposition. She’s rarely seen without a smile, even in her precarious predicament: War in the homeland she hasn’t visited since 2021 but could soon see her forced return.

On a recent afternoon the smile was gone and Shyroka sat in a ...Read more

CHICAGO — Monica Mendoza started working on her early childhood education about a decade ago with the dream of opening a day care in her home.

After breaks due to the pandemic and the birth of her third and fourth child, Mendoza, now 38, said she is on track to earn her associate’s degree from Oakton College in May.

She also wants to earn ...Read more

Dr. Fred Levin has been watching with growing alarm the national debate around federal cuts to Medicaid. He’s responsible for the medical care of about 100 older adults at the Community PACE center in rural Newaygo, Michigan. For his patients, Medicaid isn’t just a safety net — it’s a matter of life or death.

“If left to see to their ...Read more

Political campaigns in Georgia would face limits in the kind of personal information they can seek regarding students, particularly minors, under a bill that passed the House on Monday.

The legislation was spurred by a contentious state Senate race last fall between incumbent Shawn Still and challenger Ashwin Ramaswami in a district that covers...Read more

The Georgia Senate passed two bills Monday that would restrict land purchases by citizens of countries considered a threat to the United States and require more transparency about universities that get funding from those nations.

Both bills target China, which Republican senators described as a looming threat the state needed to counter. But ...Read more

A $20 million grant meant to strengthen a Nevada tribe’s poor access to electric power and clean water has been suspended, delaying construction timelines.

The Environmental Protection Agency awarded the money to the Nevada Clean Energy Fund in December — one of 84 projects in that round of so-called Community Change Grants. With the money,...Read more

The lives and safety of police officers, state residents and people in mental health crises are on the line with cuts to mental health budgets by the Healey administration, the Massachusetts Association for Professional Law Enforcement (MAPLE) said Monday.

“A proposal has been offered to cut ($85 million) from the state’s perennially ...Read more

A prominent Canadian politician told conservatives in Florida that if President Trump succeeds in making Canada the United States’ 51st state, voters up north would make sure no Republican ever lives in the White House again.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith shared her theory with conservative podcaster Ben Shapiro during a Florida fundraising ...Read more

Georgia lawmakers moved a step closer to banning transgender student-athletes from playing K-12 and college team sports according to their gender identity, sending the bill to the governor for his consideration.

Senate Bill 1, introduced by Republican state Sen. Greg Dolezal of Cumming, passed the House 100-64, mostly along party lines. At ...Read more

Elon Musk and the woman believed to be the mother of his 13th child clashed over child support on X — and MAGA influencer Laura Loomer rushed to his defense.

Ashley St.Claire, also a MAGA influencer, claimed Monday she had to sell her nearly $100,000 Tesla Model S to support her child, whom she said was fathered by Musk. The 26-year-old mom ...Read more

The number of people arrested in New York City for low-level offenses who are being put through the system rather than being given desk appearance tickets rose sharply in the first two months of 2025, a trend the Legal Aid Society is linking to two in-custody deaths.

In January and February, according to a snapshot of the trend, the number of ...Read more

SpaceX launched a private mission Monday night sending humans on the first polar orbit of the Earth.

The four civilians climbed aboard the Crew Dragon Resilience on Monday night, launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center at 9:46 p.m.

The rocket rumbled off Launch Pad 39-A with a hail of thunderstorms lighting up the sky in the...Read more

A Pueblo resident who recently traveled to Mexico is now Colorado’s first confirmed case of measles since 2023, public health officials said Monday.

The person recently visited an area with an ongoing measles outbreak and was not vaccinated, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment said in a news release.

People who went to ...Read more