Government

Flooding in Livingston, Montana, in June

Federal Flood Maps Are Outdated Because of Climate Change, FEMA Director Says

The maps don't take into account intense rainfall events, like those plaguing many parts of the country this summer

Many of the children who survived Hurricane Katrina are still healing from the trauma of their experiences.

The Black Children of Hurricane Katrina Finally Tell Their Stories

A new documentary, 'Katrina Babies,' spotlights the disaster's youngest survivors

Few arguments showcase the fraught politics of state foods than the debate over red and green chiles in New Mexico.

The Contentious History of Official State Foods

How a bill about muffins, chili, or plums becomes law—or doesn't

Dropping water levels in Lake Mead, a reservoir of the Colorado River, revealed this formerly submerged boat.

Western States Are Fighting Over How to Conserve Shrinking Water Supply

The Colorado River, which supplies water to 40 million people, is drying up

The bill aims to help the nation slash its greenhouse gas emissions.

What the Inflation Reduction Act Hopes to Do About Climate Change

The spending bill aims to spur investment in renewable energy and slash greenhouse gas emissions

 Online inflation calculators are only as good as the Consumer Price Index (CPI). “They’re as accurate as we can make them,” says economist Joe Mahon.

What Online Inflation Calculators Can—and Can't—Tell Us About the Past

Most of these tools are based on the Consumer Price Index, a measure of changing prices in the U.S. over time

The van Gogh painting is one of the Courtauld Gallery’s best-known works.

Climate Activists Glue Themselves to Van Gogh Painting in London

The protesters hope to combat political inaction in the face of the climate crisis

Recreational fishers have discovered a new way to scout for fish and cast a line.

Is Fishing With a Drone the Way of the Future?

Not everyone is on board. The technology is dividing the fishing community and drawing the ire of some politicians and scientists

A 14th-century illustration depicts accused witches being burned at the stake. More than 2,500 witches were executed under Scotland's 1563 Witchcraft Act.

Scotland Issues Formal Apology to Thousands Accused of Witchcraft

An estimated 2,500 Scots were executed as witches between the 16th and 18th centuries

One mountain, named with a racist slur and slated for renaming, is located in Routt County in northern Colorado near the state's border with Utah. 

History of Now

U.S. Will Rename 660 Mountains, Rivers and More to Remove Racist Word

A task force is identifying new names for sites on federal land that bear a derogatory term referring to Indigenous women

Symbols on the ancient coin, which is about the size of a U.S. quarter, are an argument for the triumphant overthrow of a brutal dictatorship.

Cool Finds

A Roman Coin Minted as a Salute to Julius Caesar's Assassination Is Up for Auction

The 2,000-year-old gold piece, perhaps worn by one of the murderers, could sell for $2 million

The Bonhams sale features more than 1,000 books from the late Supreme Court justice's personal library.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Personal Library Is Up for Auction

The late Supreme Court justice's collection includes novels, law books, notes and other documents dating back to her youth

Barbados officially became a republic early Tuesday morning, casting off Elizabeth II as head of state and swearing in Sandra Mason as the country's new president.

History of Now

Barbados Breaks With Elizabeth II to Become the World's Newest Republic

The Caribbean island removed the British monarch as head of state but will remain a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

The free silver movement—which fought to allow for unfettered silver coinage alongside the gold standard—reflected the divides of 1890s America.

The U.S. Government's Failed Attempt to Forge Unity Through Currency

In the late 1890s, the Bureau of Printing and Engraving tried to bridge the divide between silver and gold with a series of educational paper certificates

Deb Haaland speaks at the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the National Native American Veterans Memorial, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019.

Smithsonian Voices

Indian Country Weighs In on Deb Haaland's Confirmation as Secretary of the Interior

Seen as "one giant leap for Native women, "Haaland (Laguna and Jemez Pueblos) is hailed for her experience, strength and wisdom

Teeth with dental inlays from a nonroyal elite Mayan tomb.

Archaeologists Uncover a 1,300-Year-Old Skeleton of a Maya Diplomat

The remains revealed that the government official was wealthy as an adult, but he had a difficult childhood

The Royalists used the cookbook to paint Oliver and Elizabeth Cromwell as commoners unfit to rule the kingdom.

This 17th-Century Cookbook Contained a Vicious Attack on Oliver Cromwell's Wife

The Cromwell Museum has republished a text first issued by the English Lord Protector's enemies as propaganda

The Peace Memorial stands in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 2021, nine days after the storming of Congress.

The Tragic Irony of the U.S. Capitol's Peace Monument

An unfinished Civil War memorial became an allegory for peace—and a scene of insurrection

A framed display of locks of George and Martha Washington's hair is estimated to sell for upward of $75,000.

Trove of Presidential Memorabilia, From Washington's Hair to JFK's Sweater, Is Up for Sale

RR Auction is offering a collection of nearly 300 artifacts, including a signed photo of Abraham Lincoln and a pen used by FDR

Artist Simon Berger created the portrait by strategically hammering cracks into a pane of glass.

Kamala Harris Portrait Draws Inspiration From the Glass Ceiling She Shattered

Artist Simon Berger created the unconventional likeness of the vice president in just one day

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