COLUMBIA, S.C. -- For over 50 years, residents of the mostly Black, largely rural Lower Richland community have relied on the Hopkins Pool for swimming lessons, water aerobics and to be a gathering place on hot summer days.

But after those decades and almost no substantial repairs, the pool all but fell apart in 2023. Up to 1,000 gallons of ...Read more

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Sacramento Bonsai Club, which claims to be the oldest organization of its kind in the United States, celebrated its 79th annual Bonsai Show on Saturday at the Sacramento Buddhist Church in Land Park, featuring around 70 trees from across the region.

Since 1946, bonsai caretakers from Sacramento have shared their ...Read more

PART I of II

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I am the principal of a private, secular, K-8 school. Every year that I have been principal, the behaviors start out fine in the fall, and slowly deteriorate after that, no matter how hard we work at it. They are particularly bad in our middle school. Some of our programming involves having class meetings when ...Read more

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- When Shelby Hamm graduated high school four years ago during the pandemic, she thought that would be the biggest challenge of her academic career.

“When the pandemic happened, and I was a junior in high school, it was really the first time that I had been looking towards the future, and now something from the outside that I...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, on Wednesday commended 160 Philadelphia students as “pioneers.”

Pupils at four Philadelphia School District high schools have enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award — the first from any big-city district in the U.S. to take on the challenge.

The award, founded by ...Read more

Adelaide Tovar, a University of Michigan scientist who researches genes related to diabetes, used to feel like an impostor in a laboratory. Tovar, 32, grew up poor and was the first in her family to graduate from high school. During her first year in college, she realized she didn’t know how to study.

But after years of studying biology and ...Read more

Of all the roles that Donald Trump has held during the course of his life, the most consistent has been performer.

Whether he’s helming a real estate company, backing a string of casinos or bankrolling a football team; founding Trump University or purchasing Miss Universe; running for president or running the country, he makes sure to perform...Read more

Of all the roles that Donald Trump has held during the course of his life, the most consistent has been performer.

Whether he’s helming a real estate company, backing a string of casinos or bankrolling a football team; founding Trump University or purchasing Miss Universe; running for president or running the country, he makes sure to perform...Read more

MIAMI — Piles of smelly seaweed have washed ashore on Miami Beach and Key Biscayne, a stinky reminder that this is sargassum season.

The brown seaweed is a common sight across the Caribbean and on South Florida beaches.

Researchers who track seaweed blooms expect 2025 to be another “major sargassum year” for the Atlantic Basin — but ...Read more

The Unplugged group of salvias is doubling in size this year with the addition of Unplugged Red and the new passion of my heart, Unplugged White. I wrote about the group a few months ago but Unplugged White deserves its own column now.

I’ve explained before that I am new to white. I know that sounds crazy coming from a guy who will try every ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Rony Islam usually visits Welles Park in the morning to read a book, lie out in a hammockand enjoy a quiet moment alone. But recently, Islam has instead been going to to read in the 4700 block of North Lincoln Avenue — an area typically filled with parked cars where people run to and from stores, going about their day.

The 4700 ...Read more

Peggy Frank loves old research books, especially ones about history. But they aren’t always available through her local library collection in suburban Naperville, Illinois, where she’s lived for the past 45 years.

But in Frank’s community — and hundreds like it in Illinois — proximity is not a prerequisite for access. Not with a state...Read more

LOS ANGELES -- Community colleges play a critical role in addressing California's persistent demand for health care workers, preparing students to become the state's next generation of nurses, medical assistants and physical therapy aides.

But in the Los Angeles Community College District, where more than half of all students report incomes ...Read more

Whether you're navigating first-date logistics or attempting to decide dating app behavior, dating today comes with a thousand tiny decisions that can leave you second-guessing.

I get these kinds of questions all the time, so here’s a roundup of real scenarios — with my unfiltered takes — on how to handle them. Spoiler: None of these ...Read more

Dear Anna,

After 12 years of marriage (17 together), I (38F) am ready to end things with my husband (40M). We've had our ups and downs — early struggles when he was unemployed, ongoing imbalance in household responsibilities and communication issues. While I handle most domestic tasks despite earning more, he contributes minimally and seems ...Read more

When the kids were growing up, we had a giant weeping willow tree in the backyard. It was a magnificent specimen with long, graceful branches that swayed in the breeze.

It was also a magnificent mess. Not only did it dance in the wind, it seemed the tree shed constantly-every day, every week, every month of the year. To add insult to injury, ...Read more

Q. My mom and I are very close, but I also have a close relationship with my bonus mom. She has been married to my father for 8 years. I was 12 when I met her. I’m 20 now. My mother accepts her, and if asked, she would deny any jealousy. But this one day, Mother’s Day, I notice a difference. If I mention anything about wanting to spend any ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I lead an out-of-school program for elementary school students when schools are closed. We have a particular child who has been through family trauma and they bring anger and hostility into the group. We've tried various techniques with some success, but this child still becomes physically aggressive toward other kids, ...Read more

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Avery Lovern hovered over a table covered in royal blue construction paper, carefully writing the name of his favorite video game.

The 18-year-old is still exploring what might come next after graduation, but his focus was on the party — a vibrant celebration that his classmates at the Evergreen Transition Program planned ...Read more

The bruises on state Rep. Nolan West’s 3-month-old daughter raised enough red flags that his wife photographed the marks on her tiny body. But, the couple figured, bruises happen.

“Her motherly instincts were kicking into overdrive but everybody around her was like, ‘Don’t worry about it,’ because we didn’t know any better,” West...Read more