Major legal brawl may decide what types of cars Americans can buy

STATELINE.ORG - Blue states are bracing for a battle with the Trump administration over their authority to limit tailpipe emissions, a showdown that will have major repercussions on the types of cars and trucks sold to American drivers. All sides expect President-elect Donald Trump to try to revoke states' authority to adopt California's strict rules on the pollution spewed by vehicles. Many states' efforts to fight climate change hinge on

Doctors worry that iodine deficiency — a dietary problem from the past — is coming back

BY  MIKE STOBBE NEW YORK (AP) - The 13-year-old boy came to the clinic with a rapidly ballooning neck. Doctors were puzzled. Testing ruled out their first suspicion. But further tests pinpointed what they - and the boy - had been missing: iodine. A century ago, iodine deficiency affected kids across large swaths of the country. It essentially disappeared after some food makers started adding it to table salt, bread and

Lawsuit alleges racial and gender discrimination led to an Air Force contractor’s death

BY  ALEXANDRA OLSON NEW YORK (AP) - On the night Stephanie Cosme died, her sister and brother said they received a curt explanation from a U.S. Air Force official who met them at the hospital: The civilian contractor was failing to follow protocol when she was hit by an aircraft's rotating propeller and killed. The family would wait eight agonizing months to find out more about how the accident unfolded during

Small Businesses Thrive with Help from SCORE Mentors

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- January is National Mentoring Month, the perfect opportunity for aspiring and established small business owners to connect with an experienced SCORE mentor to take their business to the next level. As the nation's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, SCORE provides free, expert mentoring to entrepreneurs in all 50 states and U.S. territories and is dedicated to helping small businesses get off the

At Age 97, George E. Johnson Has Written His Life’s Story

NEW YORK (AP) - As he approached his mid-90s, pioneering Black businessman George E. Johnson unexpectedly found himself determined - even called - to write his memoir. Johnson's "Afro Sheen: How I Revolutionized an Industry with the Golden Rule, from Soul Train to Wall Street" will be published Feb. 4 by Little, Brown and Company. The book's title is named for one of the most memorable consumer items his Johnson

Western North Carolina to receive $1.65B in federal disaster grants

NC NEWSLINE - Western North Carolina received good news Tuesday in its struggle to recover from the impacts of Hurricane Helene. Gov. Josh Stein and HUD Secretary Adrianne Todman announced the region will receive two Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) awards totaling $1.65 billion. Stein and Todman announced the awards in Asheville. "These grant awards will help us make progress rebuilding homes, repairing critical infrastructure, and providing relief

How drinking alcohol can affect your health

BY  CARLA K. JOHNSON AP News - With the new year comes Dry January and a new surgeon general's advisory on alcohol and cancer risk. Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that. "Drinking less is a great way to be healthier," said Dr. Timothy Naimi, who directs the Canadian Institute for Substance Use Research at the University of

Black Country ‘Renaissance’ Forces A Reckoning With Racial History

[caption id="attachment_10393" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Tanner Adell, Shaboozey, Brittney Spencer, Beyoncé, Reyna Roberts, Willie Jones and Tiera Kennedy THR illustration; images: Blair Caldwell/PARKWOOD ENTERTAINMENT LLC.[/caption] The Hill - The growing popularity of Black country artists, spurred in part by Beyoncé's "Cowboy Carter," has sparked a conversation around the history of the genre and the past and present racial tensions surrounding it. Beyoncé, who has spoken out about the hostile response she

Junk Food And Drug Use Cut Into Life Expectancy

Stateline-After large drops during the pandemic, life expectancy in the United States should recover to 2019 levels this year nationally and in 26 states - but not as fast as it should compared with similar countries, according to a new study. Bad habits such as junk food, smoking and illicit drug use are preventing longer lifespans even as technology brings major progress in diseases such as cancer and heart disease,

Meta is ushering in a ‘world without facts’, says Nobel peace prize winner

The Guardian - The Nobel peace prize winner Maria Ressa has said Meta's decision to end factchecking on its platforms and remove restrictions on certain topics means "extremely dangerous times" lie ahead for journalism, democracy and social media users. The American-Filipino journalist said Mark Zuckerberg's move to relax content moderation on the Facebook and Instagram platforms would lead to a "world without facts" and that was "a world that's right for a dictator".