TAG · Religion & Society
A 16th-century Catholic shrine on the Hooghly River in eastern India draws thousands of pilgrims annually, the majority of them Hindus and Muslims who say they are drawn by the figure of the Virgin Mary.
2026-07-17 · 3 MIN READDozens of carbon capture and storage projects are moving toward approval across the United States, fueled by billions of dollars in federal tax credits, but facing growing opposition from residents in small towns where the projects are…
2026-07-12 · 3 MIN READAn audit of a Honolulu homeless assistance program that had already faced criticism over its effectiveness has been suspended, with the city's acting auditor saying the initiative's changing direction and unreliable data systems made a…
2026-07-08 · 3 MIN READLAKESIDE, Mont. — A $2.2 billion luxury gated community under construction in this lakeside town has deepened a clash over growth, water rights and identity as Montana’s population surge reshapes the region. Critics say the Territory 1889…
2026-07-05 · 3 MIN READIndonesians have lodged a complaint under Germany's corporate supply chain law to try to block Heidelberg Materials, one of the world's largest cement companies, from building a limestone mine and cement factory in Central Java's Kendeng…
2026-07-03 · 3 MIN READAt Ashawaug Farm in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, Dawn and Cassius Spears grow Narragansett heritage crops — white corn, succotash beans, and crookneck squash — using Indigenous agricultural knowledge. They want to expand their farm's reach…
2026-07-03 · 5 MIN READResidents in at least seven states have launched efforts to recall local officials over their handling of proposed data centers, as a backlash against the booming industry intensifies across the United States. The recall petitions target…
2026-07-03 · 3 MIN READThe Department of Homeland Security proposed last week raising citizenship application fees to $1,280 online or $1,330 on paper and ending fee waivers, as thousands of immigrants naturalize in ceremonies ahead of the nation's 250th…
2026-07-03 · 4 MIN READAs the United States prepares to mark 250 years of independence on July 4, communities and historians across the country are highlighting histories that the Trump administration's Freedom 250 program has not addressed. At the center of the…
2026-07-03 · 3 MIN READHot weather of the kind sweeping the eastern United States is driving up electricity demand for data centers, adding to their strain on power grids and worsening air quality for surrounding communities, according to Associated Press…
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READTaylor Swift and Travis Kelce donated $26 million to charities across multiple states Thursday, according to a representative for the couple, days before their reported wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READThe Wall Street Journal on Thursday published a photographic retrospective of America's 1976 Bicentennial celebrations, recalling how communities across the country marked the nation's 200th birthday with parades, tall ships, and a…
2026-07-02 · 3 MIN READThe United States on Saturday observed the 250th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence with large-scale celebrations from coast to coast, including a 16-day event in Philadelphia and a state fair on the National…
2026-07-04 · 4 MIN READCalifornia Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday designating May 17 as Bruce Lee Day, making the martial arts icon the first Chinese American in state history to receive an annual namesake day. May 17, 1959, is the date the San…
2026-07-01 · 3 MIN READ
The US cooking oil market is shrinking and unlikely to recover soon as financial pressure and immigration enforcement weigh on Latino households, the owner of the Mazola brand said Wednesday. George Weston, chief executive of Associated…
2026-07-01 · 3 MIN READA May 2026 study led by Tulane University academic Torbjörn Törnqvist concluded that New Orleans has reached a "point of no return" due to rising sea levels and subsidence, requiring eventual relocation of the city's population, drawing…
2026-07-01 · 4 MIN READMississippi authorities are searching for a suspect or suspects after two women and a 2-year-old child were found shot to death Saturday night in Jackson, in what officials described as a "horrifying" crime scene.
2026-06-29 · 3 MIN READChildren-centered organizing is on the rise across New York City, as progressive churches, family groups and advocacy coalitions integrate young children into activism instead of separating them into a small Sunday school room during…
2026-06-28 · 3 MIN READThe Democratic National Committee is organizing hundreds of community events across the country this weekend, focusing on the rising cost of living in an effort to mobilize voters on the same affordability concerns that President Donald…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READVenezuelan diaspora members in Doral, Florida, have mobilized donation drives to send water, food and other supplies to their home country after a pair of deadly earthquakes struck near Caracas on June 24, as many await news of missing…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READA West Side nonprofit has purchased the J.J. Walser House, the only single-family home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago's Austin neighborhood, and plans a multimillion-dollar restoration of the Prairie Style structure after years…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READThe European Commission on Friday adopted two dedicated strategies, one for EU islands and one for EU coastal communities, marking the first time the bloc has taken a coordinated approach to addressing the unique challenges facing the…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READTwenty-five Metro Detroit communities have exceeded Michigan's lead action level for drinking water since 2018, according to state compliance data analyzed by a drinking water engineer and reviewed by Planet Detroit. The communities all…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READDeniz Undav, a German striker with Yazidi and Kurdish heritage, has emerged as one of the surprise stars of this World Cup, scoring three goals and providing two assists as a substitute for Germany. His success is being celebrated by the…
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READA mysterious emu that eluded authorities for more than two weeks in northern New Jersey was safely captured Thursday on a dead-end road in Byram Township and has found a permanent home at a zoo, the Hopatcong Animal Shelter announced.
2026-06-26 · 3 MIN READA California state program that for years sat largely unused has begun transforming dilapidated mobile home parks, starting with Shady Lane Estates in the Coachella Valley, where residents endured flooding, failing septic systems and…
2026-06-25 · 3 MIN READThe Korean American Grassroots Conference held its inaugural Korean American Night on Tuesday at LG's Washington office, bringing together lawmakers and community leaders to emphasize the growing political influence of Korean Americans and…
2026-06-25 · 3 MIN READINDIAN RIVER, Mich. — The owners of a northern Michigan party store have won $100,000 on a daily Club Keno ticket they bought from their own shop, state lottery officials said Tuesday.
2026-06-23 · 3 MIN READA one-year-old boy was fatally shot by police in Senatobia, Mississippi, on June 14 after officers opened fire on a car they say drove toward them during a shoplifting call. The death of Kohen Wiley has sparked protests and renewed calls…
2026-06-22 · 3 MIN READAt least 12 people were shot late Friday on Chicago's South Side when an SUV pulled up and two people inside opened fire on a crowd, police said. Two victims were in critical condition.
2026-06-20 · 3 MIN READFormer President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama welcomed the first visitors to the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Friday, as Americans gathered across the country to celebrate Juneteenth, the holiday marking the…
2026-06-19 · 3 MIN READThe small Georgia town of Social Circle says the Department of Homeland Security has canceled plans to convert a warehouse into one of the nation's largest immigration detention centers, after months of local opposition, a lawsuit, and…
2026-06-19 · 3 MIN READFor generations of Black Texans, the annual Juneteenth feast at Comanche Crossing near Lake Mexia was more than a celebration — it was a living tradition of food as a symbol of freedom and resistance. Bobby J. Smith II, an associate…
2026-06-19 · 4 MIN READGoogle featured a special Doodle on Friday, June 19, 2026, to mark Juneteenth, the federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States. The artwork, designed by artist Monique Wray, blends elements of African American…
2026-06-19 · 3 MIN READThe Obama Presidential Center officially opened Friday on Chicago's South Side, drawing thousands to a Juneteenth ceremony that celebrated the nation's first Black president even as longtime residents voiced fears that the $850 million…
2026-06-19 · 3 MIN READAn economic development organization for the city of Presidio and Presidio County filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the Trump administration, alleging that federal plans to install border barriers and surveillance technology along the Rio…
2026-06-18 · 3 MIN READFormer President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama opened the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago’s Jackson Park neighborhood on Thursday, joined by former Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden. The…
2026-06-18 · 3 MIN READThe Bureau of Land Management on April 8 approved Canadian gold exploration company K2 Gold's Mojave Project, a 6,000-hectare exploratory drilling operation on Conglomerate Mesa in California's Inyo Mountains, 15 miles east of the town of…
2026-06-18 · 5 MIN READThe head of U.S. Forces Korea said Wednesday that civilian organizations have become increasingly important in strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance, speaking at an event marking the 35th anniversary of the Korea America Friendship…
2026-06-17 · 3 MIN READAn animal control officer in Berkeley County, South Carolina, responded to a home where a resident discovered an alligator "posted up right at the front door," authorities said Wednesday.
2026-06-17 · 3 MIN READLos Angeles police officers shot and killed a family's pet dog wearing a New York Knicks jersey on Saturday night, minutes after the team won its first NBA championship in 53 years. Video of the aftermath showing a woman sobbing over the…
2026-06-16 · 3 MIN READAuthorities in northern New Jersey are seeking the owner of an emu that has been eluding capture for several days, with sightings reported in Byram and Budd Lake. The large Australian bird was first spotted near Waterloo Road in Byram, and…
2026-06-16 · 3 MIN READAnimal control officers and firefighters in Middletown, Connecticut, rescued a baby raccoon from a storm drain Tuesday after responding to a call about an animal that sounded like a dog trapped underground.
2026-06-16 · 3 MIN READIn Hillsborough, N.C., black vultures have taken over parts of the historic district, covering sidewalks and roofs with foul-smelling excrement. The town filed a civil suit in March against Kenneth and Linda Ostrand, accusing them of…
2026-06-16 · 3 MIN READThe Council on Foundations, an advocacy group representing about 1,000 nonprofits, launched a campaign Monday aimed at countering what it calls a "perception gap" between the charitable sector's actual community work and the public's view…
2026-06-15 · 3 MIN READA new generation of forward-facing sonar equipment, capable of providing real-time images of fish underwater, is dividing the angling community over whether the technology enhances the sport or threatens fish populations and the…
2026-06-15 · 3 MIN READPaper, the traditional gift for marking a couple’s first year of marriage, also is a great choice for 250th anniversaries — especially when filling a time capsule celebrating American independence. The America250 commission last week…
2026-06-15 · 3 MIN READA homeowners association in Madison, Alabama, has drawn protests and a Change.org petition after voting to euthanize hundreds of Canada geese by gassing them with carbon monoxide. The Edgewater neighborhood HOA says non-lethal management…
2026-06-15 · 3 MIN READCanadian Prime Minister Mark Carney traveled to County Mayo on Sunday, the second day of his visit to the Republic of Ireland, where he met cousins in the village of Aughagower — the place his grandparents left when they emigrated to…
2026-06-14 · 3 MIN READOne year after armed federal immigration agents descended on Los Angeles in a massive wave of raids that swept through workplaces and neighborhoods, the city bears lasting scars. Residents described a landscape of economic loss, persistent…
2026-06-14 · 4 MIN READJuneau, Alaska, plans to demolish seven historic houses on Telephone Hill, the city's oldest neighborhood, to make way for as many as 155 new apartments and condos, officials say. The city is grappling with a housing shortage that it…
2026-06-14 · 3 MIN READThe New York Knicks are one win away from their first NBA championship in 53 years, playing Game 5 of the NBA Finals on the road in San Antonio on Saturday — a saving grace for New York City, which is simultaneously hosting a World Cup…
2026-06-13 · 3 MIN READA large tent collapsed during a church's 20th anniversary celebration in Moneta, Virginia, on Friday evening as a severe thunderstorm swept through the area, killing one person and injuring 22 others, authorities said.
2026-06-13 · 3 MIN READWall Street Journal reporter Ryan Felton's 2005 Pontiac Vibe was damaged when a neighbor backed into it this past winter in Michigan, but the insurance valuation of about $4,500 exceeded the repair cost, sparing the car from being declared…
2026-06-13 · 4 MIN READOrlando and St. Petersburg, Fla., on Friday commemorated the 10th anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting, one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. The attack killed 49 people and injured more than 50 at the gay nightclub…
2026-06-12 · 3 MIN READYale researchers are preparing to publish two papers examining a program that offers one-time cash payments of $500 to victims of community violence and intimate partner violence in New Haven, Conn., finding the payments help recipients…
2026-06-12 · 3 MIN READConnecticut is developing a new police training curriculum focused on community engagement for officers in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven and 34 surrounding municipalities, a requirement of the state’s 2020 Police Accountability Act that…
2026-06-12 · 3 MIN READThe City of Marshfield, Wisconsin, is asking residents to be on the lookout for a skunk named Violet that escaped from Wildwood Zoo earlier this week.
2026-06-12 · 3 MIN READThe Wall Street Journal reports that SpaceX's initial public offering, expected to be the largest in history with a valuation of around $1.8 trillion, is set to transform the economy of the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, where the company's…
2026-06-11 · 3 MIN READStillwater Animal Welfare officers and firefighters rescued a female dog trapped in an outdoor drain covered by thick metal bars in Stillwater, Oklahoma, on June 10, according to officials.
2026-06-10 · 3 MIN READAuthorities in Woodbridge, Connecticut, responded to two separate reports of loose pigs on June 10, with one pig captured and the second still at large, according to Woodbridge Regional Animal Control.
2026-06-10 · 3 MIN READAn Irish witchcraft retreat called Green Veil, led by Italian-born witch Isabella Ferrari — known as Penny the Witch — has drawn American women seeking to speak with the dead, confront ancestral trauma, and build community outside…
2026-06-10 · 4 MIN READOn Valentine's Day 2024, activists trudged through snow to a high chain-link fence surrounding hundreds of acres of woods in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to deliver thousands of handwritten love letters to a forest that had been off-limits for…
2026-06-09 · 4 MIN READResidents of Pacoima, a working-class Los Angeles neighborhood hemmed in by three highways, an airport, and heavy industry, are deploying a network of community-run air quality sensors to document pollution levels that often far exceed…
2026-06-09 · 3 MIN READA developer has proposed erecting a temporary housing complex for up to 5,600 construction workers outside Cheyenne, Wyo., to support the region’s booming data-center industry, sparking a backlash from longtime residents who say the influx…
2026-06-09 · 3 MIN READA mother bird has hatched two eggs in an unlikely nest inside the storage compartment of a not-in-service police training motorcycle in Puyallup, Washington, the Puyallup Police Department announced Sunday.
2026-06-08 · 3 MIN READRaj Bhakta, a former contestant on NBC's "The Apprentice," is giving away the Green Mountain College campus in Poultney, Vermont, after abandoning plans for a resort development. Bhakta, who bought the 115-acre property in 2020 for less…
2026-06-07 · 4 MIN READA farmer and former congressional candidate from rural Virginia argues that Democrats can regain trust with rural and working-class voters by thinking differently about their grievances, talking more plainly, and focusing on collaborative…
2026-06-07 · 3 MIN READGroups of people have been filmed entering New York City's sewer system through manholes in Queens and Brooklyn since early May, sparking public intrigue, media comparisons to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and an investigation by the New…
2026-06-07 · 3 MIN READA Bethlehem, Pennsylvania police officer who resigned less than a year after joining the force to appear as a contestant on the reality dating show Love Island USA has drawn criticism from city officials and divided residents in his…
2026-06-06 · 3 MIN READNew York City has seen a steady increase in complaints about dog waste left on sidewalks, prompting city council members to introduce legislation aimed at encouraging responsible pet ownership. Data from the city shows complaints have…
2026-06-06 · 3 MIN READA Catholic church in Luling, Louisiana, reversed its decision to include a recently convicted priest in its prayer intentions after the priest's victims objected, instead dedicating prayers to survivors of clergy abuse, according to the…
2026-06-06 · 3 MIN READVoters in Monterey Park, California, on Tuesday approved a ballot measure that permanently bans data centers in the city, making it the first US municipality to enact such a ban through a direct vote. With 86.3% of more than 7,000 votes…
2026-06-03 · 3 MIN READA chicken on the loose in a Kentucky neighborhood led an animal control officer and residents on a chase Friday night that ended with the fugitive fowl taking a swim in a neighbor's pool before being captured.
2026-06-03 · 3 MIN READThe Durham County Sheriff's Office rounded up six sheep that were wandering through a neighborhood on Duck Pond Court on Monday, using trash cans and cornhole boards as makeshift barriers. Animal Services deputies captured the five ewes…
2026-06-03 · 3 MIN READHawaii has launched a $28 million medical school tuition program that will cover remaining expenses for students who commit to working in the state's rural areas for five years after graduation, state officials said.
2026-06-02 · 3 MIN READAnimal law enforcement officers near Pike's Peak, Colorado, rescued a pig named Edgar after his tusk became hooked in a fence last week, in what the Humane Society of the Pike's Peak Region said was a first-of-its-kind call for the agency.
2026-06-01 · 3 MIN READSocial Circle, a Georgia town of approximately 5,000 residents, has filed a federal lawsuit to block a proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, alleging the facility would violate state public nuisance laws and…
2026-06-01 · 3 MIN READFishermen Feeding Mainers, a pandemic-era program in Maine, buys locally caught fish when auction prices dip and donates frozen fillets to schools and food banks. The Maine Coast Fishermen's Association said it has spent more than $4…
2026-05-23 · 3 MIN READ
