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.
The lightweight metal is chemically the same as the mass-produced version used in products like foil, soda cans, bike frames, and car doors. But it’s made using a different industrial process — one that doesn’t result in the direct release of greenhouse gases.
Voters made Missouri the 38th state to approve expanding Medicaid health care coverage to thousands more low-income adults. As many as 250,000 more adults could choose to be covered by government health insurance beginning in July 2021.
Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto announced that his city is now joining 15 other American cities in a program receiving funding from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, in which eligible residents will receive $500 in monthly “guaranteed income.”
The money used to start the program will come from funds Dorsey gave that is allowing Pittsburgh and 15 other cities to help those who are struggling during the economic crisis brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.
General Motors is partnering with EVgo, the largest EV charging network in the US, to add 2,700 fast chargers in 40 cities across America over the next 5 years. GM and EVgo will install the stations at grocery stores, retail outlets, entertainment centers and other high-traffic areas.
The law institutes a new statewide watchdog for police misconduct, bans “chokeholds” in most instances and puts limits on the ability of police departments to withhold officers’ disciplinary records. It also allows individual officers to be held financially liable in civil suits over their actions.
From 2005 to 2018, the country’s overall GDP increased by 25%, while energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell 12%, because of the shift from coal to gas power, the rapid deployment of renewable energy technology, and the progress made in vehicle emission standards.
As part of a $4.5 million land deal, 1,200 acres of undeveloped private property near Big Sur are being transferred to the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County, a nonprofit dedicated to preserving tribal heritage.
One of the largest studies of its kind looked at data from more than seven million patients and found that a seasonal flu shot cut the risk of heart attacks by up to 85 percent, and halved the number of strokes.
By 1985, only nine condors remained in the wild. This sighting signals that federal efforts to bring the California condor back from near-extinction are working.
The Great American Outdoors Act allocates $9.5bn over the next five years for previously neglected park repairs. And it sets up $900m a year to acquire land for conservation and continue maintenance.
