Google India to mentor 1 million Indian women entrepreneurs
Speaking at the launch of the US Initiative on Global Women’s Economic Independence, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that they are working to expand that number.
North & Central America
This archive covers progress stories from North and Central America, spanning the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the countries of Central America. The 1,760 articles here track milestones in areas such as public health, conservation, policy, and community-led initiatives across the region. Browse to find reported evidence of what is working and why.
United States Military Academy at West Point to remove Confederate symbols from campus
The moves are part of a Department of Defense directive ordering the academy to address racial injustice and do away with installations that “commemorate or memorialize the Confederacy.”
New York opens its first legal recreational cannabis dispensary
The lower Manhattan store is the first of 36 recently licensed dispensaries to open, with an additional 139 licenses yet to be issued and 900 applicants still awaiting word.
U.S. Postal Service to only buy EVs by 2026
With $3 billion in funds from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, USPS plans to spend around $9.6 billion in upgrading its fleet and building charging stations, starting immediately with a purchase of 66,000 EVs.
U.S. to eliminate exorbitant cost of prison phone calls
A new U.S. law that will allow the FCC to regulate prison phone calls needs only President Biden’s signature to put an end to a largely unknown, yet famously predatory, prison practice.
U.S. passes legislation banning the shark fin trade within the nation
Before the Senate passed this legislation, 14 states and three U.S. territories had already banned the sale and possession of shark fins. The new bill will prohibit the fin trade across the entire U.S.
University of Houston researchers create “game-changer” vaccine for deadly street drug
In a study published in Pharmaceutics, scientists tested their vaccine on 60 rats. The immunized animals could produce antibodies that stop the deadly drug’s effects.
3M to end ‘forever chemicals’ output at cost of up to $2.3 bn
The U.S. conglomerate has set a 2025 deadline to stop producing PFAS, the “forever chemicals” used in anything from cell phones to semiconductors that have been linked to cancer and other health problems.
Claudine Gay to be Harvard’s 1st Black president
Gay will be the only Black president currently in the Ivy League and the second Black woman ever, following Ruth Simmons, who led Brown University from 2001 to 2012.
Respect for Marriage Act on White House becomes law in the U.S., formally recognizing same-sex marriages
The bill requires that the federal and state governments to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages performed by other states.