by Erica Snow & Syd Stone | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Politics, Topics
Jami Averwater called her father during the second week of law school with a dilemma — she couldn’t identify a single other Republican in her classroom. When she did acknowledge she was a Republican, she said, her classmates at Belmont University in Nashville...
by Stavros Agorakis, Mila Jasper & Anna Laffrey | Mar 20, 2018 | Education, Featured
TAMPA, Fla. — Adriana Figueroa planned to move to the U.S. mainland from Puerto Rico for college, but Hurricane Maria moved up her plans. She’s now finishing high school in the Tampa area – one of at least 13,000 Puerto Rican students who relocated after the storm....
by Catherine Kim & Ben Trachtenberg | Mar 15, 2018 | Featured, Technology
PHILADELPHIA — In a twist akin to an episode of Black Mirror, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections is turning to virtual reality to help reduce recidivism rates. The state’s program is focusing on juvenile lifers, inmates sentenced to life without parole before...
by Jakob Lazzaro, Eric Miller & Caroline Vakil | Mar 15, 2018 | Featured, Politics
CANONSBURG, Pa. —House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that Democrat Conor Lamb’s narrow win in Pennsylvania’s special election is “a tremendous victory” and said Lamb’s repeated statements that he would not vote for Pelosi as the party’s House...
by Libby Berry | Mar 15, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON – More than two years before the 2020 presidential election, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake, who has been a vocal Trump administration critic and is retiring at the end of the year, has a message for Republicans: not Donald Trump, no matter the cost. Speaking...
by Paola de Varona | Mar 15, 2018 | Featured, Health & Science
WASHINGTON — As lawmakers hammer out a 2018 federal budget, women’s health and family planning is proving to be a contentious issue, but the fight is not limited to Capitol Hill. Last month, Planned Parenthood and several local governments and allied health care...
by Catherine Kim | Mar 15, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON –– Conor Lamb’s surprising win in a Pennsylvania special election for a House seat may be a sign that the key to success for Democrats running in red districts is distancing themselves from the national party. Lamb won against Republican Rick Saccone in a...
by Rachel Frazin & Kristina Karisch | Mar 15, 2018 | Education, Featured
WASHINGTON — One month after a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland left 17 dead and more injured, Florida’s senators presented the Senate Judiciary Committee with opposing solutions for gun violence in school. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Democrat,...
by Paola de Varona | Mar 14, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of students from area schools walked out of their campuses in droves Wednesday morning to demand action on gun violence, some traveling to downtown Washington to protest outside of the White House and the Capitol. Combining a solemn...
by Stavros Agorakis & Mila Jasper | Mar 14, 2018 | Education, Featured
SOUTH RIDING, Va. — Noon time at Freedom High School usually means the beginning of lunch in the cafeteria. But at the lunch bell Wednesday, dozens of students spilled out onto the track instead, walking silently for 17 minutes in the bitter cold to commemorate the...
by Catherine Kim & Erica Snow | Mar 14, 2018 | Education, Featured
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –– As thousands of University of Virginia students walked out their classes on Wednesday to protest gun violence, especially in schools, Lecturer Jim Todd invited students to “please feel free” to get up and leave if they wanted to support the...
by Renzo Downey | Mar 14, 2018 | Featured, National Security
WASHINGTON – Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that he will oppose the nominations of Mike Pompeo to Secretary of State and Gina Haspel to CIA Director, saying he could not vote for nominees that still support the Iraq War or have ties to enhanced interrogation. The...