David Sherfinski

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) swelled in the United States in the past year, from its rise in immigration enforcement to the growth of so-called grief tech that creates realistic facsimiles of deceased loved ones.

What were the major trends in 2025 and what's in store for 2026?

The demise of the coal industry left the U.S. Appalachian region in tatters, with lost jobs, spoiled water and countless miles of abandoned underground mines.

Now entrepreneurs are eyeing the rural region with ambitious visions to rebuild its economy by converting old mines into solar power systems and data centres that could help fuel the increasing power demands of the artificial intelligence boom.

Floating piles of garbage. Chaos on the lake. And a beloved pet dog called Chicory, her chest ripped open in the devastating aftermath that followed Hurricane Helene. 

This was the scene that greeted Leslie Purser when she returned to her Dandridge, Tennessee home after the September 2024 hurricane that tore through eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina. 

The United States will not send any high-level officials to Brazil for the UN's high-stakes COP30 climate talks that commence next week, the White House confirmed.

The announcement came amid speculation on whether Trump, who announced the U.S. would exit the Paris Agreement on climate change soon after entering office this year, would choose to participate in COP30 in Brazil's Amazonian city of Belém.

As the United States pursues its immigration crackdown, the administration of President Donald Trump is also seeking major overhauls to worker visas intended for specialty occupations like the technology industry.

The Trump administration in mid-September proposed a new $100,000 fee for visa applications and changes that would favour higher-paying jobs.

Vilas Dhar is the president of the U.S.-based Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a global philanthropy that is working to expand the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) aimed at helping under-represented groups and promoting equity.

Dhar, through the foundation, has helped steer more than $500 million in commitments to groups advancing public health, education, climate action and democratic governance as it seeks to promote the responsible use of AI. 

Representatives of nearly every government in the world are expected at the global COP30 summit, scheduled next month in Brazil's Amazonian city of Belém, to discuss and share their efforts to curb climate change.

Many countries face major decisions on how to move towards keeping greenhouse gas emission levels in line with the Paris Agreement – an accord Trump has announced the U.S. is ditching.

In a forthcoming book, Eram Alam, assistant professor of the history of science at Harvard University, examines an often overlooked but vital part of American healthcare: foreign-born doctors, many of whom emigrated from South Asian countries like India.

Chronicling an influx after the passage of a 1965 immigration law, Alam explores the often fraught relationship between the United States and doctors who come from abroad to fill labour shortages, many of whom end up settling in vulnerable communities that are also hostile to immigrants.

President Donald Trump's decision to downplay or outright delete issues and data tied to climate change is raising fears of a wider push to quash debate with dire consequences on scientific research, experts say.

Trump last month dismissed climate change as a "con job" – now his Department of Energy (DoE) is reportedly telling staff to avoid using language that runs counter to the president's views on climate science.

The Trump administration wants to limit abortion access at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), raising fears among advocates for reproductive rights that the president will use his second term to enact "extreme" new restrictions.

Last month, the VA moved to roll back benefits for department healthcare beneficiaries that include access to abortions and abortion counseling.