This archive spans one of the most eventful periods in recent history, from 2017 through 2025. Browse more than 4,100 articles documenting scientific breakthroughs, policy wins, social progress, and human ingenuity from the present era. Each story highlights what people and communities around the world are building, solving, and achieving right now.
Due to a highly effective global vaccine program, the proportion of children under five who are chronically infected with Hepatitis B has plummeted significantly—to just under 1%. This is down from around 5% in the pre-vaccine era (the period between the 1980s and the early 2000s), according to new estimates from the World Health Organization.
Kamala Harris will become the first woman and first person of color to serve as Vice President.
Voters in Florida tossed their outdated $8.56 per hour minimum wage in this election as the state became the eighth in the country to adopt a $15 minimum wage. Like many other states, Florida will introduce the raise slowly, upping it to $10 next year and raising it by $1 each year until it reaches $15 in 2026.
50,000 more Californians were welcomed back into the democratic process this election as the state celebrates the passing of Prop 17. The proposition, which passed with support from 59 percent of voters, will allow paroled citizens convicted of felonies to vote.
Designed to “reinvent the heart of Sunderland,” the masterplan design will include 1,000 new energy-efficient homes in four mixed-use residential neighborhoods for a population of 2,500.
Measure 109 apart it distinct from decriminalization efforts in that it offers a legal pathway to psilocybin therapy. It will establish a state-regulated program for using and obtaining them. In essence, accessing psilocybin as an adult in Oregon would be about as easy as signing up for counseling.
After the team from MIT trained its model on tens of thousands of cough and dialog samples, the technology recognized 98.5 percent of coughs from people with confirmed COVID-19 cases. It identified 100 percent of people who were ostensibly asymptomatic, too.
Nissan is taking active steps to meet China’s recently-announced plans to follow a similar “eco-friendly” vehicle model throughout mainland China as soon as 2035. As part of its response, Nissan will announce 9 all-new or updated electrified cars between now and the 2025 model year, according to Nikkei Asia.
McBride, a former spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, overwhelmingly beat Republican candidate Steve Washington in Delaware’s 1st District, a heavily Democratic district that includes the city of Wilmington.
Voters have approved ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in Arizona and New Jersey, and both recreational and medical use in in South Dakota. Results have not yet been determined for Montana’s ballot questions on recreational marijuana and Mississippi’s medical marijuana measure.
