The U. S. government hit a pause button in the fall, shutting down for 43 days – the longest ever – until a deal let most agencies run through January. That stop‑gap was meant to ease into a longer agreement, but events in Minnesota shook the plans. Immigration agents killed Alex Pretti, and Senate
Maine’s bottle bill has kept millions of bottles out of trash for decades. It also built a system where people can return empty containers and get money back. The program costs a lot. Every year the state must collect, sort and process about 850 million containers. That work costs more than $70 mil
Cell and gene medicines promise lasting cures, but they cost a lot upfront and their long‑term safety is still being studied. Because of this, drug makers and insurers are turning to value‑based contracts that link payment to how well the treatments actually work in real life. These agreements are g
A Pennsylvania man recently admitted guilt in a disturbing case involving the production and sharing of harmful videos. Instead of just filming cruelty, he played a key role in funding these acts across private online networks. His actions weren’t isolated—investigators found he was part of a larger
The Democratic Republic of Congo is currently in early-stage talks with the US government about accepting migrants who have been deported from America. These migrants would first be sent by US authorities to a third country—possibly Congo—before facing removal from Africa. Two local officials in Kin
A few years ago, leaders suggested shutting down the country’s main education office. They didn’t have the power to close it alone, so they tried other ways to shrink its work. This meant moving big jobs—like handling student loans—to another department. The boss in charge said, “Loans are almost a
A federal judge recently refused to reopen a criminal case against Jerome Powell, the head of the U. S. Federal Reserve. The case started after a prosecutor close to former President Trump tried to force Powell out by digging up unrelated complaints. The prosecutors wanted records about renovations
A battle is heating up between federal regulators and state governments over who controls prediction markets—especially those tied to sports. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) recently sued three states—Arizona, Connecticut, and Illinois—arguing that once these markets operate on feder
Tech companies handling healthcare records often become prime targets for hackers because patient data is so valuable. In a recent incident, a firm that helps hospitals check insurance coverage had its systems compromised, letting cybercriminals steal details for nearly 3. 4 million people. The stol
Big cities often promise excitement, but they also bring dirty air. Now a large study in the UK is asking if breathing that air for years might harm the nerves in our bodies. Scientists tracked thousands of adults over time to see whether heavy exposure to tiny floating particles and gases from traf
