Reading view

Shockoe Institute explores enduring impact of slavery and how to expand freedom today

The Shockoe Institute in Richmond, Virginia, opened its doors this spring to try to open minds about the enduring impact of enslavement and how to seek solutions to improve civic life now. Amna Nawaz has a look at the effort for our Art in Action series, exploring how art and democracy shape one another, as part of our CANVAS coverage.

  •  

Tent collapses during Virginia church celebration, killing 1 and injuring 22

Heavy rain, lightning and strong winds tore through Moneta, about 124 miles south-west of Richmond

A large tent collapsed during a Virginia church’s 20th anniversary celebration on Friday evening, killing one person and injuring nearly two dozen others, officials said.

Heavy rain, lightning and strong winds tore through Moneta, a small community about 124 miles (200km) south-west of Richmond, as the EastLake community church was holding an outdoor service, Shelley Basinger, a spokesperson for Bedford county, said in a statement. The group was in the process of leaving the event tent when it collapsed, according to Abbey Johnston, acting chief of Bedford county fire and rescue.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Google

© Photograph: Google

© Photograph: Google

  •  

Judge extends block on Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

Trump administration created fund to resolve his lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns

A federal judge in Virginia has extended an order blocking the Trump administration’s nearly $1.8bn slush fund, saying the administration’s public statements that the fund was dead were not assuring enough.

The US district judge Leonie Brinkema, an appointee of Bill Clinton, said she would lift her order if the acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, and the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, filed a declaration under penalty of perjury that the fund was not moving forward in the next week.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Kent Nishimura/AFP/Getty Images

  •  

Tornadoes rip through central US while extreme heat and humidity creep into the north-east

One man died in Iowa after a tree fell on him as nearly 700 severe weather events were recorded over three days

An Illinois man whose home was destroyed by a tornado on Thursday was pulled from the rubble by a police officer and a photojournalist, who captured the terrifying storm and subsequent rescue in dramatic video footage.

Scott Lasker, who describes himself as a storm chaser, recorded the tornado ripping through the town of Streator and was filming the damage it inflicted when he came across the man trapped in the debris of his house.

Continue reading...

© Photograph: Brandon Eliott/Reuters

© Photograph: Brandon Eliott/Reuters

© Photograph: Brandon Eliott/Reuters

  •  

The battle to redraw electoral districts ahead of the midterms: Where changes have been confirmed and where they are awaiting approval

The redrawing of electoral districts, or gerrymandering, in the United States is reaching unprecedented levels. After the Supreme Court’s late-April ruling changed electoral rules and curtailed minority rights, Republicans have stepped up efforts to dismantle majority-Black districts, especially in the South, though the strategy extends to states beyond that region.

Seguir leyendo

© Jay Janner (The Austin American-Statesman vía Getty Images)

Redistricting map of Texas congressional districts at the Capitol in Austin, August 20, 2025.
  •  
❌