A FEDERAL judge ruled on Friday, July 24, that hundreds of immigrant women and children held in detention facilities in the US should be released. US District Judge Dolly Gee said federal authorities had violated key provisions of a 1997 court settlement that put restrictions on the detention of migrant children. The federal judge found…

AFTER Boston Mayor Marty Walsh announced that the city is dropping its bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics, the door has opened for the US Olympic Committee (USOC) to name a last-minute replacement – meaning Los Angeles could have a spot. Only a few months ago, a bid proposal spearheaded by LA Mayor Eric Garcetti…

CHEERS erupted when the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday, July 21, to officially increase the minimum wage to $15 by 2020. However, the supervisors now face a more daunting political challenge: convincing other local governments to join the movement. The widely anticipated move by the US’ largest local government applies to…

New documentary hosted by Jose Antonio Vargas “THE time is ripe for some real talk about race.” This week, #WhitePeople became a trending topic. People across the nation were really talking about what it means to be White—as well as what it means to be Black, Hispanic, Asian, etc. Jose Antonio Vargas wants people to get…

AS widespread job growth and a shrinking workforce continues nationwide, unemployment rates fell last month in 21 states and were unchanged in 17, according to analysts. Statistics point to overall improvement in the United States job market. There is also evidence that the falling unemployment rates in many states could be boosting wage growth, according…

IN June, the Supreme Court historically ruled that same-sex marriage was legal across the nation, and that states must grant civil union licenses regardless of religious beliefs or previous legislation. The landmark decision has left Americans sharply divided, according to a new poll from the Associated Press-GfK. The poll found a near-even split over issues…

A LONG-term study suggested that coffee drinkers were about half as likely to develop type 2 diabetes as those who didn’t drink coffee. Researchers think an inflammation-lowering effect in the caffeine beverage might be the answer why. “Extensive research has revealed that coffee drinking exhibits both beneficial and aggravating health effects,” said Demosthenes B. Panagiotakos…

DURING California’s historic drought, a two-day rainstorm in the southern and central regions brought flash floods, thunder and lightning along the state’s dried-up beaches, and forced authorities to close a 70-mile stretch over the weekend. The rare weekend downpour that calmed forest wildfires also washed away a 30-foot bridge that carries commuters to Arizona. An…

Following his win against Manny Pacquiao on May 2, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is taking his time choosing his next opponent. With undefeated boxer set to protect his 48-0 record in less than two months, Mayweather appears “really close” to officially choosing who he will face in the ring for what could be the final round…

RESEARCH shows that multiracial Asian Americans have moved to the top of the racial hierarchy of online dating preference patterns in the US. In a new study to be published in “American Sociological Review,” researchers from the University of Texas and University of Massachusetts examined 6.7 million initial messages sent between heterosexual women and men…

PRESIDENT Barack Obama has called for a major overhaul of the nation’s criminal justice system, urging Congress to pass legislation to improve sentencing laws, particularly those affecting minorities, for non-violent crimes. “Mass incarceration makes our country worse off, and we need to do something about it,” Obama said on Tuesday, July 14 at the NAACP’s…

SOCIAL media was ablaze on Wednesday, July 15 when the hashtag #GrowingUpFilipino became a trending topic. From Instagram posts to telling tweets, nostalgic people everywhere took to social media to post about what it was like to grow up in a Pinoy household. YouTube sensation AJ Rafael tweeted: “Before going outside – grandma: ‘where’s your…

FRUSTRATED by the lack of governmental action on immigration reform, California lawmakers are considering a measure to allow work permits for undocumented farmworkers. A similar effort died three years ago, opposed by immigrant rights groups and powerful California labor unions, preferring a comprehensive national approach to immigration issues. But a divided Congress did not overhaul…

FRUSTRATED by the lack of governmental action on immigration reform, California lawmakers are considering a measure to allow work permits for undocumented farmworkers. A similar effort died three years ago, opposed by immigrant rights groups and powerful California labor unions, preferring a comprehensive national approach to immigration issues. But a divided Congress did not overhaul…

ACROSS the nation, gas prices are on a downward drift. However in California, prices are rapidly shooting up – and drivers are angry. Analysts predicted that prices will peak at $4 a gallon for regular gas before California drivers – who pay nearly 70 cents more than the national average – will get a break….

NEW research published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal suggests that mammograms reduce the risk of breast cancer-related deaths by 10 percent, rather than the original 20 to 25 percent. The analysis signals “widespread overdiagnosis” in US women, researchers say. The study examined the relationship between screening rates in US communities and breast cancer death…

ALMOST two-thirds of Republicans oppose the Supreme Court’s nationwide ruling in support of same-sex marriage, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. The numbers give hope for conservative presidential candidates who have come out strongly against marriage equality. Republicans anticipated a major struggle to make opposition to same-sex marriage a winning issue in the November 2016…

A NEW essay by the Pew Research Center examined the experience of adult multiracial Americans, nearly fifty years after the landmark 1967 Supreme Court case, Loving v. Virginia, which legalized interracial marriage nationwide. Although 2.1 percent of Americans ages 18 and older self-identified as multiracial on the 2010 US Census, that figure was actually much…

UNDEFEATED no more? Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been stripped of the welterweight world title he won after his anticipated match with Manny Pacquiao, for failing to comply with World Boxing Organization (WBO) rules. Mayweather, whose record stands at 48-0 after beating Pacquiao in May, missed a deadline by which he had to pay a $200,000…