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Steven M. Falk/The Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Can Philly become a hothouse for bananas and pineapples as the climate warms?

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As climate change warms Philadelphia, the plants that can be grown in the city will change, too.

The nonprofit Philadelphia Orchard Project believes that fruits more associated with more southern climates can be raised locally and is experimenting with what's possible to grow.

The Orchard Project has erected two high tunnel unheated ...Read more

Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Migrant mourns death of child, one of the many unaccounted for in Chicago: 'Without money, you're nobody'

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Karis Calderon, 25, walked across seven countries to make it to Chicago for a stable job. Four weeks later, she couldn’t even afford to pay for the funeral services of her youngest child.

The Venezuelan mother lost her 3-year-old — Luciana Valentina Suarez Calderon — at the end of April to a bacterial infection in Chicago. But without the...Read more

Mandel Ngan/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

Mistrust, fights and blood sport: How COVID-19 trauma is shaping the 2024 election

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Much of the country has moved on from the COVID-19 pandemic, but Ruth and Mohammed Nasrullah keep a vigil from their Houston home, posting thousands of pictures and stories of those who have fallen: coaches, tax clerks, teachers, autoworkers and graphic designers.

"We spend our time immersed in death," Ruth said of the couple's COVID-19 Wall of...Read more

Sara Nevis/The Sacramento Bee/TNS

California's Latino lawmakers prioritize bills each year. How many have passed in the last decade?

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — In a significant shift from anti-immigrant policies of the 1990s, California now leads the nation in helping undocumented residents — issuing driver’s licenses, protections from deportation, COVID-19 pandemic relief, health care and, most recently, food assistance.

These wins coincide with the Latino community ...Read more

Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America/TNS

Jury selection continues in NJ Sen. Bob Menendez's gold bar bribery trial

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NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge narrowed down the jury pool in the gold bar bribery trial of N.J. Sen. Robert Menendez, dismissing three dozen potential jurors late Monday as a second group of 50 people were brought in.

Jury selection is expected to continue Tuesday for the federal trial of Menendez and N.J. businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Danies...Read more

Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Minneapolis Star Tribune/TNS

Minnesota House to debate putting equal rights, abortion protections on the ballot in 2026

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An expansive version of the Equal Rights Amendment could ask Minnesota voters in 2026 if they want to enshrine protections for race, sex and gender identity, and abortion in the state's Constitution.

The DFL-led Minnesota House had planned to vote on their version of the amendment late Monday or early Tuesday morning, which could set off an ...Read more

MARK SCHIEFELBEIN/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Top China, South Korea diplomats hold rare talks in Beijing

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The top diplomats from South Korea and China held their first face-to-face talks in Beijing in some six years, showing differences over U.S. policies on chip exports and North Korea’s nuclear ambitions.

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and China’s Wang Yi agreed in their talks Monday to cooperate for a trilateral summit with ...Read more

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images North America/TNS

Prisoners charged with killing mobster 'Whitey' Bulger reach plea deals

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Three men who were charged in the 2018 murder of notorious Boston mobster James “Whitey” Bulger in a federal prison have reached plea agreements, according to prosecutors.

Bulger, 89, was beaten to death in a West Virginia penitentiary on Oct. 20, 2018, allegedly as revenge for being a law enforcement informant, hours after he was ...Read more

Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS

NYC's 'Bling Bishop' Lamor Whitehead should be jailed before final sentencing, prosecutors say

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NEW YORK — Manhattan federal prosecutors have asked for convicted scam artist Lamor Whitehead — known as the “Bling Bishop” for his flamboyant lifestyle — to be jailed ahead of his July sentencing, according to new court filings.

Jurors previously found Whitehead, 45, guilty of five counts including wire fraud, attempted extortion and...Read more

Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times/TNS

To save Wayfarers, chapel will be completely dismantled, leaders say

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LOS ANGELES — Each day, landslide damage at the historic Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes worsens.

More windows on the famous glass chapel shatter. Metal framing along its walls and ceiling further torque. New fissures open across the parking lot.

The landslide beneath the chapel — mostly manageable for decades prior — has ...Read more

Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden signs ban on imports of russian nuclear reactor fuel

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation banning the import of Russian enriched uranium, starting a 90-day countdown until limits on shipments of the reactor fuel take effect.

Biden’s signature also unlocks some $2.7 billion in spending, previously approved by Congress, to build up domestic uranium supplies for U.S. ...Read more

Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images North America/TNS

Biden signs ban on imports of Russian nuclear reactor fuel

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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Monday signed legislation banning the import of Russian enriched uranium, starting a 90-day countdown until limits on shipments of the reactor fuel take effect.

Biden’s signature also unlocks some $2.7 billion in spending, previously approved by Congress, to build up domestic uranium supplies for U.S. ...Read more

Whelanbridgetm/Dreamstime/TNS

Washington state to acquire 9,700-acre forest near Cle Elum thanks to federal grant

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SEATTLE — As Darcy Batura often wanders Cle Elum Ridge, she cherishes the ponderosa pine bark glowing red in the sunshine, releasing a sweet aroma that permeates the forest. A blanket of lupine and yellow balsamroot flowers color the hills this time of year.

Batura, of The Nature Conservancy and a 20-year resident of Roslyn, has been among a ...Read more

Matt Stone/Boston Herald/TNS

Senate Republican swings back at Massachusetts governor, says migrant response her 'choice'

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BOSTON — At least one Republican lawmaker is speaking out after Gov. Maura Healey seemed to indicate that when it comes to the migrant crisis facing the Bay State, her hands are tied by state law and federal inaction.

State Sen. Peter Durant, a conservative from Spencer, said that the governor has had ample opportunity to address a problem ...Read more

Angela Weiss/AFP/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/TNS

On Stormy Daniels payments, Trump told Michael Cohen, 'Just do it,' former fixer alleges

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NEW YORK — In hotly anticipated testimony Monday, Michael Cohen took the stand at Donald Trump’s historic hush money trial as one of the final witnesses, telling a Manhattan jury of how he painstakingly arranged to pay off a porn star to influence the results of the 2016 election, working directly off the boss’ orders: “Just do it.”

...Read more

Dreamstime/Dreamstime/TNS

Could being online actually be good for you? New study reveals a surprising finding

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Spending time online may boost your well-being, the results of a large international study revealed Monday.

Researchers at the University of Oxford examined 16 years of data from 2.4 million people, tracking things like life satisfaction and sense of purpose. They found that people with access to the web scored 8% higher in measures of well-...Read more

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/TNS

Illinois legislators try again on statewide public defender legislation

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois lawmakers plan to make a second push to create a statewide office to help under-resourced public defenders after a previous effort fizzled amid questions over whether the office would remain independent of the judiciary.

Senate President Don Harmon, a Democrat from Oak Park, filed the initial bill to create an ...Read more

Dylan Slagle/The Baltimore Sun/TNS

Minnesota expunges 58,000 low-level cannabis offenses from state records

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Minnesota has sealed nearly 58,000 criminal records related to non-felony cannabis offenses, completing a process set into motion by the state’s legalization law last year.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety on Monday announced the completion of the expungements from the state’s Criminal History System, which the agency said it ...Read more

Amy Davis/Staff/Baltimore Sun/TNS

All vessels formerly trapped by the Key Bridge collapse depart port ahead of controlled explosion

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BALTIMORE — All of the vessels that were trapped in the Port of Baltimore when the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed have now left their berths.

The last ship in that group departed Monday morning, hours before an explosion that cut apart a section of steel truss draped across the bow of the Dali, officials said at a news conference Monday...Read more

Andrew Esiebo/Getty Images North America/TNS

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's charity foundation declared delinquent

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation has been forced to suspend operations at least temporarily after failing to file timely tax returns and other documents and being declared “delinquent” by California authorities.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who founded the charity after stepping back from their royal duties in ...Read more