California
California’s reparations task force is months away from releasing a report on how much Black residents should be compensated for the harms of slavery and racism, but the group recently drew international headlines over a staggering dollar figure included in research it commissioned…
The University of California has proposed, for the first time, a guaranteed admission plan for all qualified community college students, but the plan applies to the UC system, not individual campuses…
Millions of Californians who get their insurance through work could lose access to free lung and colorectal cancer screenings, HIV testing and prevention and some tobacco cessation programs under a court ruling this week…
During the first three months of this year, legislators have introduced 574 bills around the country, including two in California, that target gender identity and sexuality, according to suicide prevention organization The Trevor Project…
In 2019, just 34 percent of Black households in the nine-county Bay Area owned their homes, down from 41 percent in 2000, according to researchers with the Bay Area Equity Atlas…
President and Administration
According to a new report from the Health Resources and Services (HRSA) advisory committee, expanding a popular program into rural America could improve access for older adults…
The National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services' report offered recommendations to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra…
On Wednesday, 3/29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first nonprescription, “over-the-counter” (OTC) naloxone nasal spray, Narcan…
The FDA is expected to unveil its long-awaited nationwide ban on menthol cigarettes in August…
The Education Department has sent its proposed Title IX rule on athletics participation to the White House Office of Management and Budget, a key procedural step to unveiling the policy that's expected to safeguard transgender students' right to play on sports teams consistent with their gender identity…
About two dozen governors described teenage mental health as a crisis during their state of the state addresses this year and proposed budgets that would expand treatment options…
According to a new report from the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, counties with better access to civic infrastructure like parks, schools and libraries and higher civic participation are, on average, healthier than those with less access…
Congress
Rep. Norma Torres (D-CA) and 20 of her colleagues sent a letter to the heads of the Labor-HHS-Education spending panel, asking for the appropriations leaders to continue growing funding for Basic Needs Grants, a relatively new assistance pipeline that was first funded in fiscal 2021…
The Senate has moved forward with debate on its six-page bill to reauthorize federal fire safety programs, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) two firefighter grant programs and the agency’s hub for fire data, education, research and training…
The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveal that nearly 60 percent of teenage girls report feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness…
Education
On Monday, 3/28, Florida became the nation’s biggest K–12 marketplace when Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that offers school vouchers and education savings accounts to every family in the state…
A bill moving through the Minnesota Legislature would curtail a popular path to a teaching credential, potentially removing hundreds of educators in high-needs areas from classrooms and throwing up roadblocks for future teachers…