Author: Reporter

Only 36% of Democrats say they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American, according to a new Gallup poll, reflecting a dramatic decline in national pride that is also clear among young people. The findings are a stark illustration of how many, but not all, Americans have felt less of a sense of pride in their country over the past decade. The split between Democrats and Republicans, at 56 percentage points, is at its widest since 2001. That includes all four years of Republican President Donald Trump’s first term. Only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults who are...

Taylor Cagnacci moved from California to Tennessee with hopes of starting a new chapter in a state that touts a low cost of living and natural beauty. But she is infuriated by Tennessee’s meager social services, which leave her and many other moms struggling in a state where abortion is banned with limited exceptions. “I was going to have my child no matter what, but for other women, that’s kind of a crappy situation that they put you in,” said Cagnacci, a 29-year-old Kingsport mom who relies on Medicaid and a federally funded nutrition program. “You have to have...

Opponents of abortion are increasingly focusing on restricting access to pills, which are the most common way to end a pregnancy in the United States. In December, the Texas attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor, saying she violated Texas law by prescribing abortion pills to a patient there via telemedicine. The suit represents the first lawsuit of its kind and could lead to a legal test for the New York law designed to protect providers there who prescribe the drugs to patients in states with abortion bans. Anti-abortion officials are taking other steps, too,...

They called it the “monkey trial.” It was supposed to be a publicity stunt.= = =A hundred years later, it is remembered as far more. In March 1925, Tennessee became the first state in the country to ban the teaching of evolution in public school classrooms. Strong reactions rippled across the United States. The eventual upshot: a legal battle that became one of the most renowned in the nation’s history. Historians say the trial started as a tourism gambit on behalf of the small town of Dayton, Tennessee — where the landmark case unfolded. The town’s leaders were eager...