by Stavros Agorakis | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON — With Democrats facing a November election in which 24 of their Senate seats are up for a vote, the North Dakota seat, now held by Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, is within the grasp of the Republican Party – and experts expect the battle to get ugly....
by Stavros Agorakis, Mila Jasper & Anna Laffrey | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Living
TAMPA, Fla. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has extended temporary housing set to expire this week by more than two months for Puerto Rican citizens who relocated to the United States after Hurricane Maria, a FEMA representative said. Puerto Ricans...
by Stavros Agorakis, Mila Jasper & Anna Laffrey | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Living
TAMPA, Fla. — The Baymont Inn & Suites sits on the edge of the University of South Florida campus outside Tampa. A ceiling fan blows humid air around the lobby, where an array of giant stuffed animals observe tourists coming and going in the early spring warmth....
by Erica Snow | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, National Security
WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee said Tuesday that the Department of Homeland Security needs to work hard to ensure there is no outside interference in the November midterm elections, while lambasting Russian interference in the 2016...
by Jakob Lazzaro & Caroline Vakil | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON — Several Supreme Court justices questioned the constitutionality of a California law requiring crisis pregnancy centers to disclose that they do not provide abortion services and educate women on where those services are available during oral arguments...
by Ben Trachtenberg | Mar 20, 2018 | Environment, Featured
WASHINGTON— Energy Secretary Rick Perry faced tough questions on proposed funding for oil drilling in the Arctic, renewable energy and security of the energy grid Tuesday during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on the Trump administration’s 2019...
by Syd Stone | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee members on Tuesday called for the Violence Against Women Act to be reauthorized but with several additions to strengthen protections for diverse communities and speed up analyses of DNA. The original 1994 law provided federal...
by Catherine Kim | Mar 20, 2018 | Education, Featured
WASHINGTON –– Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sidstepped questions on whether she would fund President Donald Trump’s proposal to train and arm teachers as a way to stop school shottings, saying it’s up to Congress to decide. She also didn’t address whether arming...
by Anna Laffrey | Mar 20, 2018 | Featured, Politics
WASHINGTON— Six months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, 270 schools are operating without power, families are leaving the island and the federal government hasn’t done enough to help children, several Democratic congressional leaders said Tuesday. At least...
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...
