Brian Michael Smith becomes the first trans man to be named one of People’s Sexiest Men Alive
In 2019, he became the first out Black transgender man cast in a regular role on a network series with 911: Lone Star.
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.
American Psychological Association apologizes for role in promoting and perpetuating racism in U.S.
The APA passed two other resolutions: one on what the APA and the field of psychology must do to dismantle racism, and another committing to eradicating inequality in health and healthcare.
Facebook to stop targeting ads based on race, sexual orientation, and politics
Facebook said it decided to make these changes to “address feedback from civil rights experts, policymakers, and other stakeholders on the importance of preventing advertisers from abusing the targeting options we make available.”
Alaska Airlines eliminates plastic water cups and bottles on board
Alaska is the first major airline to eliminate plastic cups and estimates that the measure will save 1.8 million pounds of single use plastic waste per year.
The number of women-owned businesses in the U.S. rose 21% between 2014 and 2019
Businesses owned by Black women represent the highest rate of growth in the number of total women-owned businesses.
Bhutan, Suriname, and Panama are now “carbon-negative,” absorbing more emissions than they produce
What they have in common is strong protection of their carbon-absorbing forests alongside increasingly tough measures to hold down climate-changing emissions.
Ireland to become 15th European country to ban fur farming
Only three fur farms in Ireland have been active since 2014, however, all three farms are factory-scale operations that produce more than 110,000 pelts annually.
New facility in California to create 400,000 pounds of lab-grown meat a year
UPSIDE Foods just opened a major facility in Emeryville, California to scale production of the more environmentally-friendly and humane alternative to traditional meats.
A “functional cure” for HIV to begin human trials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave approval to Excision Biotherapeutics to use its innovative HIV treatment in Phase I/II human trials.
First whale sanctuary in North America to open in 2023
The sanctuary is planned for Port Hilford Bay in Nova Scotia and will include 110 acres of habitat for the whales.