The State of Things

North Carolina lawmakers released new voting maps last weekend. The freshly-drawn district lines come after 28 House and Senate districts were found by the U.S. Supreme Court to be illegally gerrymandered along racial lines.

This week the Trump administration disbanded a federal advisory committee for the National Climate Assessment. It is one of several steps President Donald Trump has taken to diminish the fight against climate change. But Trump’s skepticism of climate change puts him at odds with officials in the Pentagon.

When Josh Sabey’s sister was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, his family wanted to provide her with the best care possible. But after spending thousands of dollars and seeing no improvement for years, they started to investigate what was going wrong.

Confederate monuments have become flash points for a national debate about free speech, race and memory. Statues have been removed in more than a dozen states including Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Florida and New York.

In the gospel musical “Crowns” every hat tells a story. The production is based on a book of photographs and oral history interviews of African-American women in their Sunday best. Their hats provide entry points into conversations about memory, loss, family, and politics.

As a teenager in England in the 1960s, Ray Williams soaked up the sounds of one of British pop’s most iconic eras. After spending years listening to popular music, he got a front-row seat to it all when he landed a job working for Cathy McGowan, presenter of the music television show “Ready Steady Go!”

President Trump continues to receive criticism after his remarks earlier this week about violence that took place last weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Comedian Jordan Carlos has never shied away from politics in his stand-up material, whether it is jokes about the ways African-Americans respond to mass shootings or the influence of President Trump’s Twitter activity.

The Rusty Wright Band made its second public appearance in 2004 when a booking agent asked at the last minute if they could open for Lynyrd Skynyrd. That rain-soaked, lightning-infused concert was an electric start to a career that includes five album releases and tours all over the world.

On Monday, Aug. 21 millions of Americans will experience a cosmic event of a lifetime: a total solar eclipse. This is the first time in 99 years that people from coast to coast can witness the moon completely covering the sun.