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Law

The Salem Witch Memorial in Salem, Massachusetts

Last Convicted Salem ‘Witch’ Is Finally Cleared

Elizabeth Johnson Jr. has been officially exonerated—thanks to a dogged band of middle schoolers

An alkaline hydrolysis machine at White Rose Aqua Cremation in Escondido, California

Could Water Cremation Become the New American Way of Death?

A sustainable option for what to do with our remains is trickling into popular consciousness

Drawing of a woman being dragged to a ducking stool at a river in Ipswich, Suffolk, around 1600

When Authorities Dunked Outspoken Women in Water

In early modern England, women accused of being “common scolds” were immersed in rivers and lakes while strapped to contraptions known as ducking stools

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's flag hangs on the door of a hijacked TWA Boeing 707 at Dawson's Field in Libya in September 1970.

A Brief History of Airplane Hijackings, From the Cold War to D.B. Cooper

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, hijackings occurred, on average, once every five days globally

Maurizio Cattelan's “Comedian,” featuring a banana duct-taped to a wall

The Famous Banana Taped to a Wall Is Now at the Center of a Copyright Suit

Several years after the irreverent piece’s debut, another artist claims he had the idea first

Members of the Ponca delegation pose with the repatriated pipe tomahawk.

Good News

Harvard Returns Chief Standing Bear’s Pipe Tomahawk to the Ponca Tribe

The Native American leader gifted the artifact to his lawyer in a landmark 1879 civil rights case

Attorney Gloria Allred (left) and Norma McCorvey (right), the anonymous plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, during a pro-choice rally in Burbank, California, on July 4, 1989

Women Who Shaped History

Who Was Norma McCorvey, the Woman Behind Roe v. Wade?

Dubbed “Jane Roe,” McCorvey sought an abortion after becoming pregnant in 1969 but was thwarted by Texas’ restrictive reproductive laws

World Cup champion Samantha Mewis (above: in the May 26, 2019 International Friendly match against Mexico) and her colleagues sued the U.S. Soccer Federation for equal pay. In 2022, U.S. Soccer agreed to pay the women some $24 million in back pay.

Enacted 50 Years Ago, Title IX Is More Relevant Than Ever

New exhibit highlights female athletes who gained opportunities and the controversies that still surround the statute

In 1951, mobster Frank Costello (seated, center) testified in front of the Kefauver Committee during a televised congressional hearing on organized crime that captivated the country.

History of Now

A Brief History of Televised Congressional Hearings

From a 1951 investigation into organized crime to the Watergate scandal, the ongoing January 6 hearings are part of a lengthy political tradition

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

The archive of written work and speeches delivered by suffragists simply doesn’t indicate that abortion was at the forefront of discussions about women’s rights during the mid-19th to early 20th centuries.

History of Now

What Did the Suffragists Really Think About Abortion?

Contrary to contemporary claims, Susan B. Anthony and her peers rarely discussed abortion, which only emerged as a key political issue in the 1960s

Left: Photo of the dress from a Bonhams auction listing. Right: Father Gilbert Hartke with the gifted garment

There’s No Place Like Home—but What’s the Right Place for Dorothy’s Dress From ‘The Wizard of Oz’?

Donated to the head of Catholic University’s drama department in 1973, the garment’s ownership is now at the center of a legal dispute

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Untold Stories of American History

Escape From the Gilded Cage

Even if her husband was a murderer, a woman in a bad marriage once had few options. Unless she fled to South Dakota

Demonstrators at a pro-choice march in April 1989

History of Now

In 1973, a Leak at the Supreme Court Broke News of an Imminent Ruling on Roe v. Wade

Nearly 50 years later, a similar disclosure revealed that the court is poised to overturn legalized abortion in the U.S.

Federal prosecutors have charged three men in connection with a large art and sports memorabilia fraud scheme. 

How Fraudsters Allegedly Fooled the Art World in 15-Year Scheme

Federal prosecutors say scammers sold fraudulent paintings and memorabilia to collectors and auction houses

The 700-year-old book is thought to be the oldest surviving document of its kind. 

Holocaust Survivors Ask Israel Museum to Return One-of-a-Kind Haggadah

Their lawsuit claims the Passover book was stolen, then purchased under dubious circumstances

Archaeologists and members of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe worked together on the project, which revealed the longstanding genetic roots of the region's Native peoples. 

Innovation for Good: Game Changers

This Native American Tribe Wants Federal Recognition. A New DNA Analysis Could Bolster Its Case

The new findings could help Mukwema Ohlone prove they never went “extinct”

Woolly monkeys have thick dense fur, and are found in the rainforests of the western Amazon River basin.  

Ecuador’s High Court Rules Wild Animals Have Legal Rights

The landmark case involved a deceased woolly monkey named Estrellita

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson testifies during her confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 23, 2022.

Women Who Shaped History

Meet the Black Women Judges Who Paved the Way for Ketanji Brown Jackson

Jane Bolin, Constance Baker Motley and Julia Cooper Mack laid the groundwork for the Supreme Court nominee

Stephen Thaler's AI creation, A Recent Entrance to Paradise, has been denied copyright protection by the US Copyright Office.

U.S. Copyright Office Rules A.I. Art Can’t Be Copyrighted

An image generated through artificial intelligence lacked the “human authorship” necessary for protection

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