Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • The Simple, Ancient Idea That Can Replace Concrete Walls

    The Dry Stone Walling School of Japan is keeping the tradition of building walls out of stones collected from the neighboring environment alive by connecting students with local craftsmen. Building walls this way is a viable alternative to concrete that supports biodiversity and produces less carbon emissions.

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  • The Other Abortion Pill

    Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, access to safe, legal abortion in the U.S. is scarce. While several states have banned mifepristone and misoprostol — the two drugs that makeup abortion pills — misoprostol, which has been found to be the more effective of the two, can still be accessed at some pharmacies and through nonprofits in the U.S. and overseas like Plan C and Aid Access.

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  • What the Rest of America Can Learn From Colorado

    In the wake of 2020's social-justice protests and a controversial killing by Aurora police of a man in their custody, Colorado legislators passed the Enhance Law Enforcement Integrity Act, the first police-reform law of its kind in the nation. The law mandates several reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability, including prompt release of body-cam videos and allowing people to sue police officers for violating their rights. The law has resulted already in a crackdown on misconduct in Aurora. What's less clear is whether it can change the culture of policing.

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  • Can the News Be Fixed?

    E.W. Scripps, a broadcasting company with 60 stations in 42 markets, invested heavily in talking with young people to understand what they want from local news. The results overwhelmingly showed that they want less sensationalistic coverage of crime and conflicts and more in-depth coverage on stories that matter to their community. Many Scripps stations received positive viewer feedback and higher ratings after making changes based on these findings. A Denver station started “360,” a franchise that tackles complicated stories from multiple angles and, with about 100 stories, it is the station’s most popular.

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  • Zoom Court Is Changing How Justice Is Served

    When the pandemic shut courthouses, millions of court hearings and even trials moved online to keep the system operating. That shift is becoming permanent, at least for minor, routine proceedings. There are many reasons to be wary of entrusting the entire justice system to "virtual justice." But there are also significant upsides already being realized. In New Jersey and Michigan, far more defendants and jurors complied with summonses. And nationwide, lawyers, jurors, and litigants enjoyed the convenience of not commuting.

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  • Massachusetts Actually Might Have a Way to Keep Schools Open

    In Massachussetts, a two-month long state-run pilot program is allowing some schools to resume in-person classes. Each week, more than 300,000 students are tested through the program. Instead of individual tests, the program uses “pool-testing,” “which batches samples from multiple people into a single tube.” The method is cheaper. The weekly tests allows schools to stay ahead of outbreaks. For now, the state is paying for the program, which costs up to $60 million. After the two months, the districts will have to pay for the program themselves.

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  • Stockton's Basic-Income Experiment Pays Off

    A pilot project provided residents who made less than the median income in Stockton, California, with monthly cash payments. The extra money helped recipients secure employment, avoid housing instability, handle unexpected expenses that would otherwise derail their budgets, reduce debt, improve mental health, and help friends and family when necessary. A nationwide initiative is expanding the program to other cities as well.

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  • American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old—And Hanging by a Thread

    The federal Voting Rights Act required states to ensure access to the polls for Black voters and created federal enforcement mechanisms. The law worked well in the Jim Crow South, but it wasn't built to deal with racial disenfranchisement more broadly. Congress and the courts have stripped important provisions from the bill over time, like those ensuring enforcement. A 2013 Supreme Court ruling dismissed the need for preemptive measures to protect Black voters, which created an opening for states to pass more restrictive voting laws that have created unfair burdens for Black, Latino, and Indigenous voters.

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  • The Unlikeliest Pandemic Success Story

    Despite being a small and historically underresourced nation, Bhutan has managed to contain the spread of the coronavirus and avoid all but one death from the virus during the entire duration of the pandemic thus far. Government officials acted swiftly when news of the novel coronavirus became public and implemented immediate testing, contact tracing, and quarantine measures that were well-received by citizens. According to a local journalist, "I don’t think any other country can say that leaders and ordinary people enjoy such mutual trust. This is the main reason for Bhutan’s success.”

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  • An Alternative to Police That Police Can Get Behind

    A street-level view of White Bird Clinic's CAHOOTS program in Eugene explains its appeal as a cost-saving, humane alternative to sending the police to 911 calls concerning mostly minor problems involving homelessness, mental illness, and substance abuse. From the decades-old program's countercultural beginnings to today's 24/7 presence, the private agency's publicly funded teams of a medic and crisis worker have helped keep problems from escalating into violence and jail time. But a number of factors call into question how scalable this approach would be in larger, more diverse cities.

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