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E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS

98% of Illinois residents drink water with fluoride. Why is this mineral's longtime role being rethought?

Current News / News & Features /

One of the most common elements on Earth, fluoride is naturally present in human bodies and water, and common in toothpaste and mouthwash. And for decades, the mineral has been added to the water supplies of thousands of communities across the United States to help prevent dental cavities and decay. Dental professionals believe this practice is ...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Trump takes a hard line on homelessness. Why LA Mayor Karen Bass hopes to find common ground

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WASHINGTON -- President-elect Donald Trump has promised to arrest thousands of homeless people sleeping in American streets and move them to large tent cities on "inexpensive land," one of several planks of his agenda that would upend a national strategy that focuses on finding people housing on a voluntary basis.

"We will use every tool, lever...Read more

UK think tank says hate-incident focus weakens crime fighting

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The focus by some U.K. police forces on tracking alleged hate incidents is hampering their ability to fight serious crime as well as risking “a broader chilling effect” on free speech, a British conservative think tank says.

Non-crime hate incidents, or NCHIs, are recorded by British police although they don’t rise to criminal thresholds...Read more

Bernd Wüstneck/dpa/Bernd Wüstneck

Can the world unite to end the plastic pollution crisis?

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The final round of United Nations-brokered talks aimed at tackling plastic pollution are opening in South Korea with deep divisions over the need to stem the rising flood of the material, a rift that threatens to scupper a two-year long quest for a deal.

Plastic production will jump about 60% to 736 million tons a year by 2040, according to the...Read more

Alexandru Ionescu/Dreamstime/TNS

Putin-praising candidate surges in Romania presidential vote

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Romania’s presidential election was upended by a nationalist who has voiced admiration for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, setting up a likely runoff with an establishment candidate in one of the country’s biggest upsets since the end of communism.

Calin Georgescu took 22% of the vote with more than 80% of ballots counted, putting him ahead late...Read more

Khairil Azhar Junos/Dreamstime/TNS

Philly's soda tax had an impact on health in the city, new research finds

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When University of Pennsylvania researcher Christina Roberto set out to study Philadelphia’s soda tax, she wasn’t convinced she would find much health impact.

“We know that it is really hard to shift a person’s weight and keep that weight off, and it’s a really tall order to ask a policy like this to produce a health effect,” she ...Read more

Minnesota turkeys head back to D.C. for pre-Thanksgiving presidential pardon

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Minnesota turkeys are making back-to-back appearances at the White House for the annual Thanksgiving presidential pardon.

On Sunday, Peach and Blossom, two 17-week old male turkeys from Northfield, were announced as the lucky birds during a National Turkey Federation news conference held at the Willard InterContinental Washington D.C. Hotel. ...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Minnesota gas prices fall to lowest for Thanksgiving travel since 2020

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Gas prices continue to fall in Minnesota with stations selling a gallon of gas for less than $3 on average ahead of peak Thanksgiving travel.

On Sunday, the average price for a gallon of gas in Minnesota was about $2.86, according to GasBuddy.com and AAA, which both track daily gas prices. Gas prices have fallen for the past six weeks in ...Read more

FS/AdMedia via ZUMA Press Wire/TNS

California lawmakers jet to Maui, Asia to discuss energy, transportation

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This is the season for California lawmakers to travel across the globe, some to lush beachside resorts with schmoozing lobbyists, at no cost of their own.

A hand-selected group of elected officials spent the last few weeks traveling — gratis — to Hawaii, Vietnam and Taiwan to discuss big-picture policy ideas.

But these trips continue to be...Read more

Shipping fees for Alaska-bound products are increasing. Store prices will barely rise, but could add up.

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The cost of shipping milk, bread, vehicles and many other products over the ocean to Alaska will likely go up in response to increased fees.

Customers probably won't notice much of a change in store prices, with individual items generally rising by pennies or fractions of pennies, according to officials with the Municipality of Anchorage and ...Read more

Divided Minnesota legislature will have to pass budget with looming shortfalls this session

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While the results of a few Minnesota House elections still aren’t final, one thing is certain — when lawmakers return to the state Capitol in January, they’ll have to figure out how to pass a two-year budget with a divided government and a limited budget surplus.

It’ll be an odd-numbered year at the Legislature, and that means lawmakers...Read more

Food from the Carolinas, dead twins in California and a coast-to-coast listeria recall

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A South Carolina food company expanded its recall of chicken, pork and beef products after an outbreak of listeria sicknesses, including at least one infant death in California.

Yu Shang Food, based in Spartanburg, South Carolina, originally recalled 4,589 pounds of Asian-themed ready-to-eat foods on Nov. 9, three weeks after the USDA-Food ...Read more

Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel/TNS

Gaetz' Bad Boy image finally catches up with him

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TALLAHASSEE — Matt Gaetz’ knack for courting controversy has finally caught up with him.

The right-wing firebrand, political prankster, steadfast Trump defender and party animal stepped down as the president-elect’s choice for Attorney General once it was made clear to him he didn’t have the needed support in the U.S. Senate.

Senators ...Read more

Nelvin C. Cepeda/The San Diego Union-Tribune/TNS

Wait, did Trump endorse San Diego's safe sleeping sites for homeless people?

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During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump pitched an idea to quickly reduce the number of tents on the nation’s streets: Offer up other places for people to camp.

He’d start with a big plot of land. Then his team would hire social workers, psychiatrists and other medical staff which together could “create tent cities where the ...Read more

Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

The number of Philly teachers without full certification has more than doubled. It comes at a cost

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Amid a national educator shortage, the number of Philadelphia School District teachers hired who lack full certification has surged.

Nine years ago, 9.2% of Philadelphia teachers held emergency certification.

In the 2022-23 school year, the last year for which state data are available, that percentage more than doubled, to 22.4%. That means ...Read more

Rob Ostermaier/Daily Press/TNS

The Chesapeake Bay's 'dead zone' stays at long-term average. It's a 'good sign'

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The dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay, where there’s low oxygen for underwater life, was near its average size in 2024, according to new data from the Chesapeake Bay Program.

The dead zone is the area in which there is a relatively low amount of oxygen, a condition known as hypoxia. Typically, this means that polluted runoff has brought in ...Read more

Ranks of Hispanic officers reaching record levels at NYPD

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For the first time since the NYPD was formed 179 years ago, there are more Hispanics in the rank of police officer — the initial rank when becoming a cop — than any other demographic group, according to a fraternal group and police sources.

The changing face of the nation’s biggest police force — which comes amid continued outreach ...Read more

Sam Costanza/New York Daily News/TNS

NYC stabbing spree, tourist slashing, ex-con killed by cop showcase cracks in criminal justice, mental health systems

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He got out on good behavior.

Then Ramon Rivera, a troubled, homeless man with a history of arrests and mental problems, went on a vicious daytime stabbing spree across Manhattan on Monday, killing three people at random using a pair of large kitchen knives, authorities said.

Almost immediately, Rivera became every New Yorker’s nightmare ...Read more

UAE arrests three suspects in murder of Israeli-Moldovan rabbi

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The United Arab Emirates arrested three suspects they say were involved in the killing of an Israeli-Moldavan rabbi whose body was found on Sunday, days after he was reported missing in Dubai.

Investigations into the murder of Zvi Kogan are still underway, the UAE Ministry of Interior said, according to state news agency WAM.

“The UAE and ...Read more

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images North America/TNS

GOP senator sees many questions for Trump's intelligence pick

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President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the U.S. intelligence community is likely to face tough questions during confirmation hearings, including over her meeting with Syria’s leader, Republican Senator James Lankford said.

Tulsi Gabbard, the nominee for director of national intelligence, is a Trump loyalist and former Democratic ...Read more