TOPEKA, Kan. — Fifteen states filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the Biden administration over a rule that is expected to allow 100,000 immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children to enroll next year in the federal Affordable Care Act’s health insurance. The states are seeking to block the rule from taking effect Nov. … Read more
NEW YORK — Michael Bloomberg’s organization Bloomberg Philanthropies is announcing a $600 million gift to the endowments of four historically Black medical schools. Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and the billionaire founder of Bloomberg LP, will make the announcement Tuesday in New York at the annual convention of the National Medical Association, an … Read more
NEW YORK — In recent years the movie industry has gone through the streaming revolution, the pandemic, labor strikes and “Barbenheimer.” But after countless upheavals in Hollywood, you’re still more than twice as likely to see male speaking characters in theatrical releases than you are female ones. Just 32% of speaking characters in the top … Read more
PHOENIX — Mexican farm worker Avelino Vazquez Navarro didn’t have air conditioning in the motor home where he died last month in Washington state as temperatures surged into the triple digits. For the last dozen years, the 61-year-old spent much of the year working near Pasco, Washington, sending money to his wife and daughters in … Read more
NEW YORK — MrBeast, YouTube’s biggest star and a philanthropic force with nearly unrivaled influence among young audiences, acknowledged Wednesday that he used “inappropriate language” in his early online days, as numerous controversies bubbled up around him and a former collaborator. MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and his reported $700 million empire have … Read more
NEW YORK — Some years ago, when Sonya Balsara and Adi Roy were in middle school, they were cast in kiddie versions of the musical “Aladdin.” Little did they know it would be very good preparation — for the same roles on Broadway. More than a decade after hitting their marks in the show as … Read more
NEW YORK — Tucked within the expansive Native American halls of the American Museum of Natural History is a diminutive wooden doll that holds a sacred place among the tribes whose territories once included Manhattan. For more than six months now, the ceremonial Ohtas, or Doll Being, has been hidden from view after the museum … Read more
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A key city council vote Thursday on a major redevelopment project in St. Petersburg could pave the way to give baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays a new ballpark, which would guarantee the team stays for at least 30 years. The $6.5 billion project, supporters say, would transform an 86-acre (34-hectare) tract in … Read more
WALLACE, La. — Sisters Jo and Dr. Joy Banner live just miles from where their ancestors were enslaved more than 200 years ago in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana. Their tidy Creole cottage cafe in the small riverfront town of Wallace lies yards from property their great-grandparents bought more than a century ago. It’s … Read more
Michelle Mata wasn’t diagnosed with a mental illness until she was 23, after years of suffering. She knew very little about who to ask for help, having grown up in a Latino family in San Antonio that didn’t talk about mental health. At appointments, she was terrified of telling the truth. “I didn’t want to … Read more
