MLB retrospectively elevates Negro Leagues to major league status
The move grants recognition to some of baseball’s pioneers from 1920 to 1948 and immediately rewrites the game’s record books.
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.
Pitzer launches US’ first bachelor’s program for incarcerated individuals
Called the Pitzer Inside-Out Pathway-to-BA, the program uses virtual learning to welcome incarcerated individuals into the classroom with other university students.
The U.S. Supreme Court has fully restored DACA protections
DACA protects people who immigrated to the US with their guardians as children, shielding them from deportation, regardless of citizenship status.
Algorithm helps find world’s poorest people to send them cash directly
GiveDirectly and UC Berkeley designed an algorithm that uses AI to identify the poorest individuals in the poorest areas in order to provide them with cash relief.
New York state divests from fossil fuels in historic move
The massive pension fund’s financial portfolio is worth $226 billion. The new plan is to sell off the riskiest gas and oil stocks and be completely divested from fossil fuels by 2025.
Phase 1 human trial for universal flu vaccine reports promising results
The Phase 1 trial, led by researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, found this experimental vaccine to be both safe and effective at generating a long-term immune response in a small number of healthy adults.
U.S. Supreme Court hands victory to transgender students in locker room case
The Supreme Court has declined to take up a case brought by Oregon parents who want to exclude transgender students from school locker rooms and restrooms.
Secondhand clothing sales are booming in the United States
According to a new report, the U.S. secondhand clothing market will more than triple in the next 10 years – from $28b in 2019 to $80b in 2029. In 2019, secondhand clothing expanded 21 times faster than conventional apparel retail did.
San Francisco, Oakland, and Seattle ban natural gas in new buildings
In November, San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors voted to ban natural gas in new buildings. On December 2, Oakland’s city council did the same. Now Seattle Mayor Durkan announced a proposal to ban natural gas in new commercial and large multi-family construction for space and most water heating.
Anchorage introduces team of mental health first responders
Starting next year in Anchorage, Alaska, a new team of mental health first responders will replace police for emergency calls for someone with a mental health issue. The Mobile Crisis Team is funded by a new local alcohol tax and the team is trained to be dispatched to situations police do not have adequate training to address.