Author: Reporter

Reproductive rights activists agree they want to get a ballot measure before Missouri voters this fall, to roll back one of the strictest abortion bans in the country and ensure access. The sticking point is how far they should go. The groups have been at odds over whether to include a provision that would allow the state to regulate abortions after the fetus is viable, a concession supporters of the language say will be needed to persuade voters in the conservative state. It is a divide that is not limited to Missouri. Advocates say the disagreements there and in...

Some K-12 public schools are racing to improve protection against the threat of online attacks, but lax cybersecurity means thousands of others are vulnerable to ransomware gangs that can steal confidential data and disrupt operations. Since a White House conference in August on ransomware threats, dozens of school districts have signed up for free cybersecurity services, and federal officials have hosted exercises with schools to help them learn how to better secure their networks, said Anne Neuberger, the Biden’s administration’s deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology. Neuberger said more districts need to take advantage of programs...

Kai Koerber was a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a gunman murdered 14 students and three staff members there on Valentine’s Day in 2018. Seeing his peers also struggle with returning to normal, he wanted to do something to help people manage their emotions on their own terms. While some of his classmates at the Parkland, Florida, school have worked on advocating for gun control, entered politics, or simply took a step back to heal and focus on their studies, Koerber’s background in technology — he had originally wanted to be a rocket scientist — led...

Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals, cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing, and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a Goshuin, a stamp with elegant calligraphy that shrines provide for a fee to certify the visit. She loves the stamps, which she began collecting during the pandemic. One with blue hydrangeas got her started. “Because of the Goshuin, shrines have become closer to me, but I don’t consider this a religious activity,” Nomura said after getting her stamp and taking selfies at Sakura Jingu, a western Tokyo shrine...