Hawaii passes law to make the state carbon neutral by 2045
The plan is the most ambitious emissions reduction and renewable energy plan of any state in the country.
United States
This archive collects solutions-journalism stories and milestones from the United States — covering policy wins, community-led efforts, scientific advances, and social progress happening across the country. Each entry highlights what’s working and why it matters.
Disney embraces $15 minimum wage in negotiations with workers
Disney says that marks the largest increase to starting wages it’s ever offered.
Stockton, CA becomes first U.S. city to test universal basic income
Stockton, Calif., hopes to become an exhibition ground for fighting poverty with a simple yet unorthodox experiment: giving $500 a month in donated cash to perhaps 100 local families, no strings attached.
U.S. federal judge in Missouri grants transgender inmates transition-related health care
Denying transgender prisoners transition-related health care violates their Eighth Amendment rights, according to a final ruling from a federal judge in Missouri, in an important win for transgender people in the prison system.
Americans support of same-sex marriage at all-time high
In each of the past three annual polls, Gallup has recorded three-percentage point increases among Americans who say same-sex marriages should be legally valid.
Premature birth rates drop in California after coal and oil plants shut down, study finds
Within a year of eight coal- and oil-fired power plant retirements, the rate of preterm births in mothers living close by dropped, finds new study on air pollution.
America’s incarceration rate is at a two-decade low
The nation’s incarceration rate has declined every year since 2006 and is now at its lowest point since 1996.
Maryland becomes 11th state to ban ‘gay conversion therapy’ for minors
Maryland Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan, a Republican, signed the Youth Mental Health Protection Act into law on Tuesday, making the state the 11th to ban gay conversion therapy for minors.
California becomes first state to order solar on new homes
Most new units built after Jan. 1, 2020, will be required to include solar systems as part of the standards adopted by the California Energy Commission.
Ohio voters approve gerrymandering reform for U.S. House seats
Ohio voters approved a gerrymandering reform proposal Tuesday that would change how the state draws congressional district lines following the next US Census.