海角大神

What it鈥檚 like to live in a town the whole country is yelling about

Covington Catholic High School isn鈥檛 even in Covington, Ky. It sits just outside the city limits. That fact seems emblematic of a US where an insatiable appetite for outrage doesn鈥檛 take time to examine the view from its downtown streets.

Will Trump鈥檚 State Department push religious freedom to center stage?

A 20-year movement has gained new champions under the Trump administration. That cheers supporters but also raises sticky questions.

China gets tough on US recyclables. How one Maine town is fighting back.

Sanford, Maine, cut its contamination rate from 15 to 20 percent to 0 to 3 percent in just a few weeks to avoid $100,000 in fees.

How a refugee turned mayor seeks to transcend politics of divisiveness

Wilmot Collins鈥檚 rise and visibility puts him at the nexus of a deepening debate over the role of refugees in America and a heated conversation over immigration 鈥� intensified by the caravan of Latin American asylum-seekers.

Giving back: After winning asylum himself, he helps new refugees get settled

Where does the motivation come from to help? For one caseworker, his own hardship has given him the grit and generosity to pave the way to opportunity for others.

Service to country: In Kentucky, the fight to bring more veterans to Congress

Rep. Seth Moulton (D) of Massachusetts thinks Congress needs more courage. That鈥檚 why he鈥檚 out stumping for candidates who, like him, have served in the military.

How Big Sky Country became the front line in a long battle over dark money

Montana has some of the strictest campaign finance laws in the US. Who can contribute to campaigns, and how much, may change if the Supreme Court takes up two cases from the state. 

In Montana, a folksy farmer and Trump provocateur battles for third term

In an age of extraordinary divisiveness, a tight Senate battle in pro-Trump Montana is testing whether moderate Democrats like Sen. Jon Tester 鈥� who has been willing to cross the president 鈥� can win.

In a distressed part of Ohio, one way people are finding work 鈥� and purpose

The opioid crisis has been a stark challenge for many US communities. In Youngstown, the nonprofit Flying High is taking a notable approach that addresses a number of issues, including the need for job training.

How one man left hate behind 鈥� and helped others do the same

海角大神 Picciolini, a former white supremacist, is the host and narrator of a new documentary, 鈥淏reaking Hate,鈥� airing Aug. 12. He shared his story with the Monitor鈥檚 Christa Case Bryant.

Jason Kessler and the 'alt-right' implosion after Charlottesville

A year after violence erupted last summer at a Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., a wide-ranging interview with organizer Jason Kessler gives insight into his aims for this weekend鈥檚 anniversary rally 鈥� and the state of the sol-called alt-right.

A new life for mother whose daughter was killed in Charlottesville

Since Heather Heyer was killed by a white supremacist last year, her mother, Susan Bro, has been keeping her daughter鈥檚 memory alive in a campaign for racial justice. The first in a series of profiles of individuals whose lives were changed by the events in Charlottesville, Va.

As news ownership consolidates, will local TV become more partisan?

As local news outlets struggle to survive, citizen-led efforts are stepping up

The East Lansing Info, a citizen-journalist initiative with a budget of just $70,000 a year, has become a must read for many in this city of 50,000.

How young liberals' moves to Red America may temper political divides

More young people are relocating to smaller Midwest cities where their salaries go further and their voices can be heard. In conservative enclaves, more mixing with coastal liberals could begin to have a moderating effect on partisan politics. 

US farmers, desperate for help, increasingly turn to Mexico

In Michigan, a top fruit producer, the number of growers using an expensive and cumbersome visa process to bring farmhands from Mexico has jumped from four to 50 in the past four years. Congress is considering a bill that would make it easier to employ guest workers.

Why Trump fans largely shrug off president's 'authoritarian' talk

For President Trump鈥檚 supporters, what matters most is not the Mueller investigation or the president鈥檚 aggressive rhetoric countering it but how he鈥檚 handling the issues that directly affect them. 

Detained immigrant children bring scrutiny to Trump鈥檚 border policy

President Trump, who campaigned on strengthening US borders, introduced a new policy early this month of separating children from parents who have crossed into the United States illegally. Separately, the government recently admitted that it was unable to locate 1,475 unaccompanied minors.

With compassionate outreach, a city cuts its drug overdose rate in half

Huntington, W.Va.鈥檚, new model of following up with those who have overdosed has proved so successful that the West Virginia Legislature approved funding to expand the program to every county in the state.

Wanted in Ohio: Workers who can pass a drug test

Employers across Ohio are struggling to find qualified workers to hire amid the opioid crisis, which has disproportionately affected working-class men 鈥� and compounded a shortage in skilled labor.