Progressive state lawmakers said the $2 billion in rebates are fiscally irresponsible due to President Trump’s funding cuts.

A new school year marks the beginning of a statewide ban on smartphones in schools. The state launched a site where you can check what your district's policies are.

New York’s students are showing marked improvement in English, math and science. That’s according to the preliminary 2024/2025 statewide testing data released by the New York State Education Department earlier this week. The results show 53% of New York third and eighth grade students are proficient in English Language Arts – up from 46% of students a year ago – while the percentage of students in those grades proficient in math increased from 52% last year to 55% this year. Meanwhile, fifth and eighth grade science proficiency rates have jumped from 35% to 44% over the past year. WAMC’s Andrew Waite discussed the test results with NYSED’s Assistant Commissioner for the Office of State Assessment Zachary Warner.

New York state Democrats have criticized the federal immigration arrests, but have little authority to stop them. They say they do have the power, however, to ban all law enforcement from wearing face masks and coverings that are used during the detentions.

On August 7 new mental hygiene laws quietly went to effect in New York, allowing for people to be committed against their will if they cannot provide or refuse help with basic needs.

When President Trump was flying to Alaska to meet Vladimir Putin, he said the goal was a ceasefire. But after they talked, Trump aligned himself with Putin and downplayed the need for a truce.

Alieu Kamara is the first and only neurosurgeon in Sierra Leone. "Before Dr. Kamara, there was no hope," said professor Kehinde Oluwadiya of the University of Sierra Leone Teaching Hospital Complex.

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe plays the puzzle with Weekend Edition puzzle master Will Shortz and NEPM listener Alison Triebwasser of East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.

Heavy rain is still expected across the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, with rainfall of up to 8 inches in some areas.

In small town Washington — where hydropower is plentiful — data centers are creating jobs and funding amenities. But water and energy aren't unlimited — and some worry about long-term sustainability.

Protesters marched to the White House on Saturday as D.C. Metropolitan Police officers and National Park Service police looked on from a distance.

The U.S. State Department says it's halting visas for visitors from Gaza as it reviews its process for granting visas for medical evacuees.

Immigration arrests falter in July after a big push for mass deportations in June. Activists in sanctuary jurisdictions hope their resistance plays a role.

The world got a glimpse of Marwan Barghouti for the first time in years in a video of a far-right Israeli minister berating him.

Canada's government forced Air Canada and its striking flight attendants back to work and into arbitration Saturday after a work stoppage stranded more than 100,000 travelers around the world.