New York City schools commit to nurturing mental health through mindful breathing
Every student in the city will engage in two to five minutes of daily mindfulness, a tactic that has shown positive effects in schools around the world.
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.
California becomes world’s largest economy to call for Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Fossil Fuel Treaty proposal is gaining significant momentum across the world and across sectors of society, being supported by the World Health Organization, near 100 cities, 2,500+ civil society organizations, and over half a million individuals.
World-first drug lowers genetic form of “bad cholesterol” by up to 65%
Muvalaplin, a new pill from researchers at Monash University, lowered a dangerous genetic form of cholesterol by up to 65% in just two weeks during early trials. The drug targets lipoprotein(a), or Lp(a), a stickier cousin of LDL cholesterol that’s been called a “silent killer” because diet, exercise, and statins can’t touch it. Roughly one in five people worldwide carry elevated Lp(a), inherited risk they’ve long been told there’s nothing to do about. That muvalaplin works as a simple oral tablet, not an injection, could make it widely accessible if larger trials succeed. For global heart health, it’s a hopeful sign that even risks written into our DNA may not be the final word.
Ecuadorians vote against oil drilling in critical Amazon biosphere
The referendum was a popular initiative demanded by Indigenous communities to protect the vast Yasuní National Park from oil drilling. Ecuador’s government has announced that it will honor the result of the referendum and have machinery removed within a year.
Paralyzed woman able to ‘speak’ through digital avatar in world first
A digital avatar has given a paralyzed woman her voice back — speaking at 78 words per minute, more than five times faster than the eye-tracking system she relied on before. Ann, who had a brainstem stroke 18 years ago, worked with UCSF researchers to train an AI to read brain signals from electrodes resting on her brain’s surface. The avatar speaks in a voice reconstructed from her wedding video, complete with facial expressions like smiles and frowns. There are real limits — the system still misreads words about a quarter of the time — but for millions living with ALS, locked-in syndrome, or severe stroke, this points toward a future where losing a voice no longer means losing a self.
The U.S. Department of the Interior formally approves country’s fourth-ever major offshore wind project
Located about 15 nautical miles southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island, the project will have an estimated capacity of 704 megawatts of clean energy, capable of powering nearly 250,000 homes. The project is expected to create an estimated 1,200 local jobs during the construction phase.
Youth wins climate case against U.S. state of Montana in first-of-its-kind legal ruling
A landmark ruling found that Montana violated young people’s constitutional rights to a “clean and healthful environment,” marking the first time a U.S. court has connected the government’s fossil fuel promotion with harm to youth.
Massachusetts adopts universal free school meals
All public school students grades K-12 will be entitled to free lunches regardless of their financial status. It’s estimated to save families about $1,200 a year per student.
Work begins along California-Oregon border on largest dam removal project in U.S. history
Klamath River restoration is now the largest dam removal effort in U.S. history, reopening more than 400 miles of river to salmon once the last three dams come down. But the real story is what comes next: members of the Karuk, Yurok, and other tribal nations spent five years hand-gathering seeds from nearly 100 native plant species, and roughly 17 billion of those seeds will be sown along the freed riverbanks over the coming decade. Tribal ecological knowledge is shaping every phase, woven together with western science. For Indigenous communities worldwide fighting to restore ancestral waters, the Klamath offers a powerful template — proof that rivers, and the cultures rooted in them, can be brought back to life.
Michigan bans conversion therapy for minors
The law prohibits state-licensed providers from engaging in the psychologically-damaging practice. Michigan is now the 22nd state in the United States to ban such “therapy.”