Volkswagen is facing a lawsuit from the parents of an Illinois toddler who was in the backseat of his mother's car when it was stolen by carjackers. The lawsuit alleges that after being contacted by authorities, Volkswagen refused to disclose the location of the missing child and vehicle until $150 was paid for the company's connectivity service.

After a multi-year investigation following George Floyd's murder, the DOJ revealed in an 89-page report that the Minneapolis Police Dept. disproportionately targets Black & Indigenous individuals, frequently employing officers who engage in conduct that violates people's rights. The tragic death of Floyd sparked a wave of protests and widespread unrest across the U.S., ultimately leading to rare criminal convictions for the officers involved.

Protests have erupted across Greece following the shipwreck carrying as many as 750 passengers, leaving dozens dead and hundreds still missing. The gravity of the situation drew intense criticism over the European Union’s failure to establish a comprehensive migration and asylum policy. Greece’s coast guard defended its response to the shipwreck off the country’s south coast.

António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, called out fossil fuel companies for ‘kneecapping’ progress toward net-zero goals on June 15. He said that governments must remain committed to net-zero goals to avert climate disaster and that fossil fuel companies should start helping, instead of hindering, the energy transition.

NASA has revealed a new ‘postcard’ from Mars rover Curiosity and already, it has astounded researchers by capturing the Martian landscape and skies. Scientists say it offers a unique glimpse into the varying conditions of the red planet throughout the day. According to NASA's news release, Curiosity, which has been exploring Mars since August 2012, utilized its black-and-white navigation cameras on April 8, 2023, to take images during the morning and afternoon.

In a new scathing report, the former British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has been implicated in intentionally deceiving Parliament regarding alcohol-fueled gatherings held at his official residence and Downing Street office in central London during a severe COVID-19 lockdown. The comprehensive 30,000-word report was published on Thursday by the House of Commons' privileges committee, responsible for investigating alleged parliamentary misconduct.

In a controversial move for what was supposed to be a day of celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community, the White House condemned the behavior of certain attendees at the Pride event held on the South Lawn, describing it as ‘unacceptable.’ On June 13, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized that the actions displayed in a video from the event on June 10, which showed some attendees removing their tops while dancing, were unfair to the majority of attendees.

In a speech filled with complaints, former President Donald Trump presented a distorted analysis of the case against him. He selectively argued that previous presidents had taken classified documents after leaving the White House, but omitted the crucial fact that they were never accused of obstructing justice by defying a subpoena to return those documents.

Tornadoes over the weekend of April 1 killed at least 32 people in at least 7 states. In Little Rock, AR, which was hit by a powerful EF-3 tornado with estimated winds of 165 mph, roughly 2,600 buildings were damaged, sending approx 50 people to area hospitals. Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. told CNN, ‘It’s unbelievable anytime that you see, literally, vehicles flying across the air, structures being flattened.’

California has enacted new legislation to stop oil companies from price gouging by capping the profit that they can make from gasoline. The new legislation will force companies to report their price margins to a watchdog group and allow the California Energy Commission to create penalties for any gouging.

On March 25, during a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Joe Biden said that despite approving the Willow Project, he had a ‘strong inclination’ to shut the project down. The Willow Project, developed by ConocoPhillips, will drill for oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The project has undergone much scrutiny.

A tornado touched down in Montebello, CA, on March 22, destroying buildings and injuring at least 1 person. The injury was reportedly minor, but 11 buildings were damaged beyond repair, according to CNN. Typically, there are fewer than 15 tornadoes in California each year, making them relatively rare. California has seen a multitude of extreme weather events in the past few months, with 12 atmospheric storms causing massive flooding and destruction around the state.

Rep. Maxwell Frost angrily walked out of a House Judiciary Committee hearing on guns on Thursday, saying the proceedings had ‘nothing to do with policy and everything to do with politics.’ The hearing, organized by the committee’s GOP majority, titled ‘ATF’s Assault on the Second Amendment: When is Enough Enough?’

On March 21, President Biden unveiled the Ocean Climate Action Plan, which outlines ocean adaptation and climate mitigation policies, shows where science and management concerning the ocean are lacking, and recommends actions to mitigate the climate crisis. It also aims to conserve coastal and marine habitats, expand marine-protected areas, and achieve net-zero from international maritime shipping by 2050.

(warning: distressing)

Authorities are praising a trio of security guards as heroes, after they worked together to stop an armed gunman from entering a strip club in Tampa, FL, on March 19 — preventing a possible mass shooting. CCTV footage from outside the club shows a 44-year-old suspect approaching the club with a gun, before multiple guards engage with him.

On March 21, President Joe Biden designated 2 new national monuments that will conserve more than 500,000 acres of U.S. public land. The first is Avi Kwa Ame, or Spirit Mountain, in Nevada. It’s sacred to the Paiute and Hopi people and is home to animals like the desert tortoise and desert bighorn sheep. It also has a Joshua tree forest.

This is the sad reality of education in the U.S. in 2023: An elementary school in Cullman, AL, is piloting a new bulletproof panic room that could be built into classrooms, for easy 'pull out' access for teachers and students during a hypothetical mass shooting. According to the company that designed them, KT Solutions, the ‘Rapid Access Safe Rooms’ (RASR) are 8 ft by 8 ft and can be deployed in 10 seconds.

The EPA announced its 'Good Neighbor’ plan on March 15, which will cut emissions from power plants and other industrial facilities that harm downwind areas. The plan is expected to cut approximately 70,000 tons of nitrogen oxide pollution from 23 states during 2026. This nitrous oxide reacts at the ground level to create ozone (a.k.a. smog) that has severe effects on human health.

The Biden administration and the EPA have proposed the first nationwide restrictions on toxic 'forever chemicals' in drinking water. These chemicals are linked to significant health problems in humans, and the levels of exposure have recently been discovered to be more dangerous than previously known.

Several environmental organizations are suing the Biden administration for its recent approval of the Willow project, an oil-drilling venture in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. The project is expected to produce enough oil over its 30-year lifespan to emit at least 263 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions, and will require roads and infrastructure to be built.

That’s a lot of couscous: Chefs and organizers in Sabratah, Libya, broke a world record for the largest couscous dish, weighing in at more than 5,500 pounds. The giant dish was prepared as part of the third-ever ‘Couscous Day,’ an annual event intended to celebrate Libyan cuisine and culture.