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Undocumented immigrants can't get a REAL ID, but may still qualify for other state papers

One of the key provisions to the REAL ID law is that a compliant document establishes a person's status as a lawful resident in the United States. In order to get a REAL ID-compliant identification document, applicants will have to provide their state ID issuer with proof of residence and proof of their lawful status in the U.S.

That means undocumented immigrants will not be able to lawfully obtain a REAL ID-compliant document, but it doesn't mean they will be completely ineligible to receive IDs from the state in which they live.

Alabama sues TikTok: State AG accuses app of fueling youth mental health crisis

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced last week that the state is filing a lawsuit against TikTok Inc. and ByteDance Inc. to hold the companies accountable for a mental health crisis on the youth of Alabama.

Here's what we know:

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media app best known for short-form videos that keep users scrolling for hours. Creators can upload videos that are just a few seconds long or up to 10 minutes long.

Vatican reveals the complex system that will signal a new pope

Stoves used in a complex, but not quite ancient, tradition have arrived in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

In a few days, they will be used to generate smoke that will mark the progress of the conclave in its mission to choose a new pope.

Workers have been preparing for the meeting of cardinals, set to begin May 7, which will end with the election of a new pope. Pope Francis died April 21 at the age of 88.

Photos released by the Vatican Media show two stoves and a series of chimney pipes installed within the Sistine Chapel and workers installing a chimney on the roof.

In these cities, you can earn a six-figure income and still be broke

In one of every four large American cities, a family can earn six figures and still feel broke. 

That’s the takeaway from an analysis by LendingTree, the personal finance site, which measured monthly expenses in the 100 largest metropolitan areas. 

In 25 of those 100 cities, average monthly spending on basic expenses exceeds monthly income for a family of three that is earning $100,000, the report found. San Jose tops the list, with average monthly expenses of $10,540. 

Trump's national parks proposal: Cut $1 billion, transfer many sites to states

The new budget proposal from President Donald Trump would reduce the budget for the nation's national parks, monuments, historic sites, seashores and trails by nearly 25% and hand over many of those to the states.

The proposal suggests cutting more than $1.2 billion from the $4.8 billion park service budget. It quickly sparked outrage from leaders of organizations devoted to national parks and recreation lands, who had already voiced concern about the staff cuts ordered by the Department of Governmental Efficiency and other plans raised by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.

Coins are literal cash. Why do Americans treat them like trash?

Learn to love your coins. 

That’s the message from Kevin McColly, CEO of Coinstar, the company behind those coin-cashing machines you see in supermarkets. 

American consumers made only 16% of their payments in cash in 2023, according to the Federal Reserve. A 2022 Pew survey found that two-fifths of consumers never use cash at all.  

President Trump has ordered the Treasury to stop minting pennies, because their production cost exceeds their value. (Intriguingly, the same is true of nickels.) 

RFK Jr.'s MAHA movement is coming to a state near you

Texas is looking at bills to bring back exercise. West Virginia is taking soda out of food stamp programs and outlawing chemical dyes. Utah is removing fluoride from water. Arizona has banned ultra-processed food in public school cafeterias.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again movement, which focuses on ending what President Donald Trump's health secretary calls the “chronic disease epidemic,” is finding success in state capitals as lawmakers and governors take up or oppose health-related measures ranging from vaccine "advisories" to food safety.

H5N1 bird flu virus has experts fearing new pandemic amid spread to 50 states

Experts warn about the possibility of a new pandemic in 2025 as the H5N1 bird flu virus spreads across all 50 states, impacting US dairy farms and leading to human infections. Here's what to know.

While bird flu has been around for decades, the discovery in 2024 that the deadly pathogen spread from a wild bird to a cow came as a surprise to virus watchers, according to news officials. In just over a year, the virus has ravaged America's dairy herds, poultry flocks and other mammals — humans.

Chronic illness can be hard on marriage. Studies show it's worse when the wife is sick.

Jennifer Whitlock married her husband, Ronnie Whitlock, in rural Texas in 2021, weeks after he was diagnosed with stage 4 blood cancer.

They'd talked about getting married before he got sick, she said, but it came down to logistics: Her employer at the time wouldn’t grant Whitlock family leave unless they officially tied the knot.

“That was obviously never how I expected to get married," Whitlock said.

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