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Why gun violence is a public health crisis

Johnson died in custody after being pepper sprayed during an altercation.

Tiempo de lectura: 9 minutosA sus 96 años entre el periodismo, la docencia y el ejercicio de su carrera como abogado, considera que la Corte de Constitucionalidad ha tenido momentos importantes, pero en los gobiernos de Jimmy Morales y Giammattei se perdió de rumbo.  Por Simón Antonio Ramón Eran las 3:10 de la tarde del jueves 19 de febrero ... Read more

California’s fire safety regulators were asked to study whether mid-rise apartments can go with a single staircase. Their report takes a dim view of the notion.

Em meio à guerra entre Washington e Teerã, país mantém discrição e defesa do multilateralismo Fonte

(The Center Square) – California officials announced in recent days that the state has stopped more than $6 billion in tax fraud in the last eight years. The announcement comes weeks after reporting by The Center Square that billions of dollars more were spent on homelessness programs that didn’t result in more housing and that there was $55 billion in unemployment fraud, among other examples of fraud. Roughly $579 million of the amount saved from fraud since 2018 is from stopping improper refunds, as well as efforts to educate the public by identifying scams, protecting personal information and other safety techniques, according to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. “California is protecting the most progressive tax system in the nation, which helps support our most vulnerable and provides equity for all,” Newsom said in a press release. “When you expand refunds and relief, you increase risk, and must be more vigilant. That’s why I’m proud we’ve prevented more than $6 billion in tax fraud — protecting the revenues that fund our schools, public safety, and essential services.” Despite the amount saved in fraud, California officials have not been able to stop $24 billion in fraudulent spending on homelessness programs, much of which has not been accounted for, according to previous reporting by The Center Square. According to the California State Auditor, roughly $1.5 billion in improper unemployment insurance payments went out in 2023 and 2024. The California Franchise Tax Board did not make anyone from the agency available for an interview on Monday. But the board wrote in an email to The Center Square that the fraud prevented in 2025 is part of a larger effort to cut down on fraud. “FTB's fraud prevention and detection team is responsible for identifying and preventing fraud involving improper claims for refundable credits, erroneous refundable payments, and tax-related identity theft,” wrote Andrew LePage, who works for the board’s Public Affairs Office. “We invested heavily in educating our staff to identify emerging fraud patterns, respond promptly to suspicious activity, and apply consistent, data-driven review practices.” None of the legislators who sit on tax-related committees were available to talk to The Center Square on Monday.

Morreu nesta segunda-feira (2) a sambista mineira Adriana Araújo, conhecida como uma das principais vozes da nova geração do samba em Minas Gerais. Antes da carreira solo, Adriana integrou o grupo Simplicidade Samba. Em 2021, lançou o álbum Minha Verdade e, em 2025, apresentou o projeto 3 Jorges, homenagem a Jorge Aragão, Jorge Ben Jor […] Fonte

After leaving a tech career during the pandemic, Anthony Kashes Brewer built an art studio rooted in breath, mental health and family. The post The art of  breathing: Inside the purposeful artistry of Anthony “KASHES” Brewer appeared first on Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service.

As artificial intelligence and data centers dominate conversations about technology, energy needs and political regulation, few things illustrate how deeply those issues have penetrated, even in Montana, than the fight that is happening in Broadview. Broadview, population 139, sits 31 miles from Billings, the state’s largest city. But a recently filed lawsuit in state district […]

مایک جانسون، رئیس مجلس نمایندگان آمریکا روز دوشنبه در سخنانی گفت «عملیات '«خشم حماسی' اقدامی دفاعی و قاطعانه بود که برای مقابله با تهدید قریب‌الوقوع ناشی از اقدامات تهاجمی [جمهوری اسلامی] ایران علیه نیروها، شهروندان، تأسیسات و دارایی‌های آمریکا انجام شد.»

Tiempo de lectura: 6 minutos“En 2025 continuaron los intentos del Ministerio Público por revertir los resultados del proceso electoral de 2023”, señala el informe, que expone la criminalización de autoridades indígenas por el Paro Nacional en Defensa de la Democracia como Luis Pacheco, Héctor Chaclán y Esteban Toc, detenidos entre abril y agosto de 2025.     Por Simón Antonio Ramón ... Read more

After three years of planning, North Carolina officials on Monday launched the Public Service Leadership Program, a five-year effort to expand the state’s social work workforce and address shortages in rural and underserved communities. The new program, a partnership between the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services and a coalition of 25 universities and […]

(The Center Square) - A bill requiring gun barrel purchases in Colorado to be made in-person at a firearm dealer passed the state Senate on Monday. The legislation is now going to the House for consideration. Senate Bill 26-043 would additionally ban individuals from possessing barrels “with the intent to sell or transfer." The bill adds criminal penalties for violators and would require firearm dealers to track sales. SB 26-043 passed 19-16 on third reading, with four Democrats joining the Republican minority in voting against it. Several Republicans spoke against SB 26-043 before the vote. “Even though we may think that it’s not a big thing – we’re only talking about barrels you know, like that – but there’s a real sense of worry in my district and all over the state about another opportunity to make us get in line, give our name, our address, our birth date over something that probably doesn’t need to be done,” said Sen. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose. “There’s no serial numbers on these barrels, so all we’re doing is listing the people and what caliber of barrel they buy.” Sen. Tom Sullivan, D-Centennial, the primary sponsor of the bill, said the legislation is needed “because the industry is changing.” “We need to prepare ourselves and act to make this as safe as we can, to address these concerns, and to save lives each and every day,” he said. The legislation is one of several gun control bills sponsored by Democrats this session. There are bills making their way through the legislature that would ban 3D printed gun parts, expand the state’s “Red Flag” law and add security requirements to gun stores.

(The Center Square) - The only operational lithium mine in the U.S., Silver Peak in Nevada’s Esmeralda County, could double its production with a recently approved expansion, including into some public lands. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced the expansion approval Friday as speculation around the state’s potential lithium mining industry boom continues to grow louder. “The Bureau of Land Management has approved expansion of the existing Silver Peak lithium mine near Silver Peak in Esmeralda County,” read the BLM’s announcement. “The mine is now authorized to operate on 8,058 total acres, including 1,601 public acres.” The mine sits alongside the roughly 250 person town of Silver Peak and has been in operation since 1965 by international mining company Albemarle. It pumps water from local brine water aquifers into open air ponds, then distills the lithium down with solar evaporation. Annually, the mine produces around 5,000 tons of lithium, according to the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. “I don’t have any issues with the expansion of the mine,” Shaaron Netherton, executive director of the Friends of Nevada Wilderness, told The Center Square of the mine, which employs roughly 60 people. She added later, “It's sort of the lifeblood of the little town of Silver Peak.” Netherton also said that the environmental disruption to the Silver Peak area had already been done over the mine’s past 60 years of operation, which would likely see minimal new damage from the expansion. The Silver Peak mine expansion has been billed as a matter of national security, with less than 1% of global lithium production coming from within the U.S., according to the Dallas Fed. The industry around lithium, which is used in many rechargeable batteries such as those used in cars, is dominated across all stages by China and, to a lesser extent, Australia. Recent moves by the U.S. government, such as the Department of Energy’s 5% purchase of Lithium Americas in 2025, indicate a desire to enter the lithium space, even as the material’s price has sharply declined since a peak in 2023, according to the Dallas Fed. “As the only active lithium mine in the United States, Silver Peak remains an essential asset for America's domestic lithium supply chain,” an Albemarle spokesperson wrote to The Center Square in an email. “Federal approval of this project supports Albemarle's efforts to expand the facility’s production capacity and enhance efficiency.” At the same time as Silver Peak expands, new lithium mines are getting set to open up across the Silver State. The Thacker Pass site overseen by Lithium Americas, and controversially located on the lands of an Indigenous massacre, is expected to produce more than 40,000 tons of lithium annually. Proponents have said the project, among others, could usher in a new age of mining in the state, deemed a “Unique opportunity to build a secure, resilient North American lithium supply chain,” by the company.

(The Center Square) – State officials in California have announced the implementation of a statewide water-saving plan meant to conserve water resources amid worsening climate change. “Climate change is reshaping life in California through historic droughts and record storms that threaten the farms that feed the nation, communities that depend on reliable water, and the environment we all share,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news release sent on Feb. 25. “The 2028 Water Plan is a commitment to every Californian that we will capture, store, and conserve the water our state — the 4th largest economy in the world — needs to thrive, no matter what climate change throws at us.” The program, born out of a successful 2025 bill by state Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Fresno, would update California's current water program by using data from watersheds throughout the state to help close gaps between water demand and supply. The push to update the state’s water program comes from concerns that worsening climate change is depleting the state’s already-sensitive water supply. Legislators who sit on water-related committees, while they are anticipating discussion this week over the state’s California Water Plan 2028, said they haven’t yet seen the plan and aren’t able to comment. However, Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio and vice chair of the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, said on Monday that he wants to see a real plan for how to fund the goals of the California Water Plan. “Strategic planning – that’s the biggest thing that I always look for,” Gonzalez told The Center Square. “Are we looking at today’s infrastructure, tomorrow’s infrastructure and planning, and do we have money allocated for it? If we’re just creating a plan for no money, how are we going to accomplish what we need to accomplish?” According to the Department of Water Resources, climate change could cause the state to lose up to 9 million acre-feet of water by 2040, equivalent to roughly two Shasta Reservoirs. Warmer temperatures are projected to make California lose 48% to 65% of the Sierra Nevada mountain range’s snowpack, and lead to more severe drought and flood seasons in the state. The state requires the Department of Water Resources to update its plan to conservation and use of water in California every five years, according to Caballero’s bill. Officials with the Department of Water Resources and the California Water Commission were unavailable to answer questions from The Center Square on Monday. Officials with water districts throughout the state were unable or unavailable to answer questions from The Center Square.

Ливан Исроилга оммавий ракета ҳужумларини амалга оширди. Исроил ер усти ҳарбий амалиётларини амалга оширишга тайёрми? Озодлик эксперти жавоб беради.

It's a hefty ballot, with three Republicans gunning for State Sen. Brian Birdwell's seat, and two Democrats battling in the redrawn Commissioner Precinct 2. The post Voting in Tuesday’s primary? Here’s what McLennan County voters should know appeared first on The Waco Bridge.

Black sesame is a hit on social media. Let’s see if its apparent health benefits stack up.

(The Center Square) – Academic achievement in U.S. public schools continues to fall behind pre-pandemic levels, with national test data showing a persistent decline in math and reading scores years after COVID-19. Test results from the National Center for Education Statistics show that average scores on 12th-grade math and reading assessments dropped three points from 2019. Among fourth graders, average math scores were also three points lower than before the pandemic, while eighth graders saw math scores decline by eight points over five years. Reading scores for fourth and eighth graders dropped five points between 2019 and 2024. With this overall decline, students are performing below basic proficiency levels. Thirty-two percent of high school seniors scored below the National Assessment of Education Progress basic level in reading, up from 20% in 1992. In math, 45% of 12th graders fell below the basic benchmark, compared to 40% in 2005. In September 2022, former Commissioner Peggy G. Carr of the National Center for Education Statistics said the pandemic impacted more than just students' grades. Mental health services, school violence and disruption, cyberbullying and nationwide teacher and staff shortages increased. Acting Commissioner Matthew Soldner said the declines are concentrated among the nation’s lowest-performing students. “These results are sobering,” Soldner said in a statement. “The drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines in achievement among our lowest-performing students, continuing a downward trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic.” With these academic declines, total nationwide school district debt rose more than 2.1% from $532.5 billion in 2021 to $543.9 billion in 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Now it is nearing $1 trillion. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the results highlight the need for changes in how education funding is managed. “Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before,” McMahon said, adding that the Trump administration supports giving states more control over education spending. House Education Committee Chairman Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, warned that the long-term implications extend beyond the classroom. “Low academic skills don’t just hurt grades. They weaken our economy, workforce, and national security,” Walberg said. “Without strong foundations in these core subjects, America’s freedom and economic competitiveness will be in jeopardy.” Rusty Brown, director of special projects at the Freedom Foundation, said bureaucratic growth and union influence have reduced efficiency and academic rigor. “You have to strive for excellence, and if you fall short and hit very good, I mean, that's a lot better than where we are right now,” Brown told The Center Square. “Where we're trying to make failing, not failing anymore; not by getting better, but by lowering standards. I think that is an absolutely disastrous way to look at our education system.” A report from the Brookings Institution found that the expiration of federal pandemic aid and declining school funding could threaten ongoing recovery efforts, underscoring the need for sustained investment in evidence-based interventions. During the pandemic, many colleges and universities adopted test-optional or test-free admissions policies. Some institutions have since reinstated standardized testing requirements, including Harvard University, Yale University, Brown University, Dartmouth College, Georgetown University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology, along with the public university systems in Florida and Georgia.

Hoping to grow the next generation of farmers, the Missouri House unanimously approved a bill Monday to create an optional agriculture education program for elementary schools. “We need to educate and encourage growth in agriculture and spark that interest, both in rural and in urban areas,” the bill’s sponsor, state Rep. John Martin, a Republican […]