Pennsylvanians can now file LGBTQ discrimination complaints
For the first time ever, LGBTQ Pennsylvanians have a way to seek recourse from the state if they’re the subject of discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
North & Central America
This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the nations of Central America. Readers will find reporting on health, environment, community resilience, and policy advances across the region.
Christine Hallquist becomes first transgender candidate to be nominated for a governorship by a major party in the U.S.
Christine Hallquist, a Democrat, won Vermont’s Governor’s primary.
New York just became the first city to give Uber drivers a minimum wage
New York City’s new regulations could set a precedent for other cities across the country that face increasingly congested roads and drivers frustrated with the depreciating value of their services.
Missouri voters just blocked the right-to-work law Republicans passed to weaken labor unions
It’s the first time voters have overturned right-to-work laws through a ballot referendum in recent years.
Research successfully transplant lab-grown lungs in pigs
Eventually, bioengineered lungs could replace donor ones altogether. And that could make the transplant waiting list a thing of the past.
2018 U.S. elections include record number of LGBT candidates
More than 400 gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender candidates running for office in the United States this year.
LeBron James opens first-of-its-kind “I Promise” public school in Akron
“We are letting people know it is about true wrap-around support, true family integration and true compassion.”
Fast-food workers notch win in Alabama minimum wage fight
A group of African-American fast-food workers from Birmingham, Alabama, just won the latest round in a legal fight over the minimum wage that has national implications.
San Francisco bans plastic straws
San Francisco supervisors voted unanimously to ban restaurants, bars and retailers from selling or using on Tuesday, becoming the largest city to block establishments from giving out plastic straws
California slashes emissions, hits major greenhouse gas goal years early
In a major win for California’s fight against global warming, the state appears to have hit its first target for cutting greenhouse gases, and it reached the goal early.