Tags: U.S.

Watch Simone Biles win her record 8th US gymnastics championship

Simone Biles won her eighth national all-around title at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, California, on Sunday evening, breaking a record of seven championships she had shared with U.S. gymnast Alfred Joachim. “No offense to Jochim, who competed back in the 1920s and ’30s, when rope climbing and Indian clubs were still parts…

Is America’s quest for high-speed trains finally picking up steam?

It’s been more than fifty years since President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the High-Speed Ground Transportation Act into law, lauding the “technological miracles in our transportation” with “one great exception.” In spite of “airplanes which fly three times faster than sound,” America remained stuck with “the same tired and inadequate mass transportation” of decades past. Five…

10 things you need to know today: August 20, 2023

1 Hilary weakens to Category 1 hurricane as it nears landfall Hurricane Hilary was downgraded to a Category 1 storm on Sunday, but is still expected to bring significant damage to the Baja California peninsula as it nears landfall. The storm, the first of its kind in southern California in 84 years, will bring heavy…

American wealth disparity by the numbers

The disparity in the United States between those who have money and those who don’t is continuing to rise. In the first quarter of 2023, “69% of the total wealth in the United States was owned by the top 10% of earners,” according to Statista, while the “lowest 50% of earners only owned 2.4% of…

Is West Virginia University’s gutting of liberal arts a sign of more to come?

West Virginia University officials recently proposed sweeping cuts at its flagship Morgantown campus, startling faculty members and students alike. The “financially beleaguered” state-funded public university proposed eliminating 169 faculty positions and dropping nearly three dozen undergraduate and graduate programs, per Inside Higher Ed. This includes “the entirety of the department of world languages, literatures and…

Will China’s slowdown pull the US into recession?

China can’t seem to shake off its post-COVID economic slump. Will that weakness backfire on the American economy? CNBC reported that the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates this week in an effort to spur economic growth, amidst a “confidence crisis” that has seen exports fall dramatically, factory production slow down, and housing sales…

Earthquake rattles Southern California as Tropical Storm Hilary hits

A 5.1-magnitude earthquake hit the Ojai, California, area on Sunday afternoon, as Tropical Storm Hilary was making its way up into Southern California. “We are in the middle of the first tropical storm since 1939, and we just had an earthquake,” Ventura County Fire Director of Communications Scott Thomsen told the Los Angeles Times. There…

10 things you need to know today: August 20, 2023

1 Hilary weakens to Category 1 hurricane as it nears landfall Hurricane Hilary was downgraded to a Category 1 storm on Sunday, but is still expected to bring significant damage to the Baja California peninsula as it nears landfall. The storm, the first of its kind in southern California in 84 years, will bring heavy…

Will China’s slowdown pull the US into recession?

China can’t seem to shake off its post-COVID economic slump. Will that weakness backfire on the American economy? CNBC reported that the People’s Bank of China cut interest rates this week in an effort to spur economic growth, amidst a “confidence crisis” that has seen exports fall dramatically, factory production slow down, and housing sales…

10 things you need to know today: August 13, 2023

1 Maui blaze becomes deadliest wildfire in a century as death toll rises to 93 At least 93 people have died from the wildfire that struck the island of Maui, Hawaii, making it the deadliest wildfire in modern American history. The fatalities were confirmed Saturday evening in a news release from Maui County, which added…