The Columbian

Nation & World

A pumpjack sits near homes in Arvin, California.

Millions of Californians live near oil and gas wells that are in the path of wildfires

July 28, 2024, 11:30am Nation & World

As firefighters continue to battle more than two dozen active wildfires in California, new research has found that millions of people are living in close proximity to oil and gas wells that are in the potential path of flames. Read story

Angry patients spur new state watchdogs to bring down drug prices

July 28, 2024, 6:42am Health

Spurred by fed-up consumers, states are trying to curb spiraling prescription drug costs by assembling special public boards to investigate and regulate pricing. Read story

In this Aug. 18, 2011 photo, prison guards ride horses that were broken by inmates as they return from farm work detail at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, La. In September, several incarcerated workers along with the New Orleans-based advocacy group Voice of the Experienced filed a class-action lawsuit calling for an end to the farm line, and accusing the state of cruel and unusual punishment. But as temperatures soared in May, the men asked the court in an emergency filing to stop work during extreme heat.

Prisoners fight against working in heat on former slave plantation, raising hope for change in South

July 28, 2024, 6:05am Business

Beneath the blazing summer sun on a former slave plantation, Lamont Gross and fellow prisoners stooped in long rows, picking vegetables by hand under the watchful eyes of armed guards on horseback. He said breaks were short and infrequent, with nothing to protect workers from the heat. Read story

FILE - Democrat Jennifer Wexton speaks at her election night party after defeating Rep. Barbara Comstock, R-Va., Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018, in Dulles, Va. A rare neurological disease robbed Wexton of her ability to speak clearly. But with the help of a powerful artificial intelligence program, the Virginia Democrat will use a clone of her voice to deliver what is believed to be the first speech on the House floor ever given via a voice cloned by artificial intelligence, thrusting Wexton into a broader debate about over artificial intelligence.

A neurological disorder stole her voice. Jennifer Wexton takes it back on the House floor.

July 28, 2024, 6:00am Health

When Jennifer Wexton rises Thursday to speak on the House floor, something she has done countless times before, the congresswoman will be using a voice she thought was gone forever. Read story

FILE- This March 15, 2018, file photo shows a 911 call center in Roswell, Ga., with one of the computer screens used by dispatchers shows a text message that has come into the system. The Roswell call center is one of the few in the United States that accepts text messages. Most places in the U.S. don’t have access to text-to-911 services, an increasingly crucial gap during an era of mass shootings and other catastrophes, when a phone call is not always an option.

The nation’s 911 system is on the brink of its own emergency

July 28, 2024, 6:00am Latest News

Just after lunchtime on June 18, Massachusetts’ leaders discovered that the statewide 911 system was down. Read story

Long COVID risk has decreased but remains significant, study finds

July 28, 2024, 5:31am Health

The risk of developing long COVID — enduring, sometimes punishing symptoms that linger well after a coronavirus infection — has decreased since the start of the pandemic, a new study found, with the drop particularly evident among those who are vaccinated. Read story

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joins Kimberly Cheatle, then the director of the Secret Service, for a tour of the agency’s James J. Rowley Training Center in Laurel. Cheatle resigned from her post Tuesday following scrutiny over the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. (Courtesy Gov.

Inside the Secret Service facility in Maryland once led by Kimberly Cheatle. Changes are likely coming

July 28, 2024, 5:30am Nation & World

At an installation in Laurel, nestled among government research facilities off Powder Mill Road, all U.S. Secret Service agents go through months of intensive training for their “zero-fail” mission of protecting U.S. leaders. Read story

Dr. Pedro Juan Vázquez, better known by his stage name PJ Sin Suela, poses for group selfies at a high school prom in Camuy, Puerto Rico, Thursday, June 6, 2024.

As doctors leave Puerto Rico in droves, a rapper tries to fill the gaps

July 27, 2024, 5:48pm Nation & World

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — On a recent morning in an Afro-Caribbean community in northeast Puerto Rico, Dr. Pedro Juan Vázquez went door-to-door as part of his medical rounds. He greeted the elderly residents the town with a cheerful “Good afternoon!” and a smile and casually asked if they’d… Read story

Along with chess matches, San Quentin is hosting kickball tournaments and flag football games as a way to foster more collegial relations.

Can chess games and toilet paper change prison culture? Inside San Quentin’s big experiment

July 27, 2024, 12:42pm Latest News

To someone living outside these dank walls, the changes might seem small. Read story

Buildings and homes are flooded Aug. 27, 2020, in the aftermath of Hurricane Laura near Lake Charles, La. (David J.

Quakes and hurricanes make headlines but data show inland counties in U.S. top disaster list

July 27, 2024, 6:05am Nation & World

Floyd County keeps flooding and the federal government keeps coming to the rescue. Read story