FERNANDA FIGUEROA

This cover image released by St. Martin's Press shows "Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder" by Rachel McCarthy James. (St. Martin's Press via AP)
Book Review: ‘Whack Job’ tells the story of a simple survival tool turned murder weapon
In “Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder,” Rachel McCarthy James set out to tell the story of the axe, and how a once simple tool became a murder weapon.
May 13
A float rider hands candy to a Dallas police officer during a Cinco de Mayo parade in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Cinco de Mayo celebrates resilience and culture of Mexican people
Cinco de Mayo festivities are taking place across the U.S. with music, tacos and tequila flowing. In the U.S., the date is seen as a celebration of Mexican American culture, stretching back to the 1800s in California.
May 5
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., right, presents the Congressional Gold Medal to Stanley Earley III, son of Lt. Col. Charity Adams Earley, second from right, as Judith Earley, second from left, and retired Amy Col. Edna W. Cummings, left, watch during a ceremony honoring the Six Triple Eight, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)
Black female WWII unit, ‘Six Triple Eight,’ receives congressional medal
The only Black, all-female unit to serve in Europe during World War II, known as the “Six Triple Eight,” has been presented with the Congressional Gold Medal. It follows a long-running campaign to recognize their efforts.
April 30
The hat and sunglasses of Dominican singer Rubby Perez, who died in the roof collapse at the Jet Set nightclub during his merengue concert, sit on his casket during his wake at the Eduardo Brito National Theater in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Thursday, April 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Mourners pay tribute to merengue icon Rubby Pérez, who died in the Dominican roof collapse
Legendary music icon Rubby Pérez has died. He was 69. Pérez was one of several people to die on Tuesday after the roof at the Jet Set club in Santo Domingo collapsed.
April 10
Florencia Cuenca, from left, Justina Machado, and Tatianna Córdoba appear during a rehearsal for the Broadway production of "Real Women Have Curves" on Friday, March 28, 2025, in New York. (Photo by CJ Rivera/Invision/AP)
Broadway welcomes ‘Real Women Have Curves: The Musical,’ which lets the Latino community see itself
“Real Women Have Curves: The Musical” is a new Broadway show with a predominantly Latino casts that brings the Latino immigrant experience to life in one of the biggest stages in New York.
March 31
This book cover image released by William Morrow shows "Elphie: A Wicked Childhood" by Gregory Maguire. (William Morrow via AP)
Book Review: ‘Elphie’ a psychological backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West
“Elphie” the fifth book in the Wicked Years series by Gregory Maguire, explores the earlier moments in Elphaba’s life that led her to become the Wicked Witch of the West.
March 24
Raul Luis checks an order at his Birrieria Chalio Mexican Restaurant in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Prices rose along border ahead of Trump’s tariffs — now disruption looms
Companies that depend on cross-border trade were already facing higher prices in anticipation of the tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada that took effect Tuesday.
March 4
Signs in Spanish and English are displayed the Brooklyn borough of New York, Friday, Feb. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
What Trump’s order making English the official language in the US could mean
President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, and activists and advocacy groups are alarmed by what that will mean for non-English speakers when it comes to immigration, voter access and other issues.
February 28
Vicky Lazo, a teacher with Southwest Miami Senior High School, speaks Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in Miami during a Hispanic Federation event where they announced a new investment from Google.org to provide workforce development workshops to help Latinos learn digital skills. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Latino workers working to overcome a technological divide brought on by automation, AI
As jobs become more reliant on technology some Latino workers can be left behind due to a lack of digital skills exacerbated by a lack of accessibility.
February 9
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Trump order ending federal DEI programs leaves agencies and stakeholders on uncertain ground
Federal agencies, employees and contractors are trying to process how President Donald Trump’s sweeping anti-DEI executive order will upend their work.
January 23
This screenshot captured on Jan. 21, 2025, shows the error message that now appears on what was the Spanish language version of the White House homepage during President Joe Biden's administration. (AP Photo/Fernanda Figueroa)
Trump administration shuts down White House Spanish-language page and social media
Within hours of President Donald Trump’s inauguration, his administration took down the Spanish version of the official White House website.
January 22
Puerto Rican Jose “Cha Cha” Jimenez, left, founder of the Young Lords in Chicago-area Puerto Rican group, attends a news conference led by Bobby Rush, deputy defense minister of the Illinois Black Panther party, in Chicago, June 4, 1969. Jiménez, a prominent civil rights and liberation movement figure died at the age of 76 his sister announced Friday, Jan. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/EK, File)
Prominent Puerto Rican civil rights leader José ‘Cha Cha’ Jiménez dies at 76
José “Cha Cha” Jiménez, a prominent civil rights and liberation movement figure and founder of the Young Lords in Chicago and Co-Founder of the Rainbow Coalition, has died. He was 76.
January 15
FILE - Supporters of former President Donald Trump with signs and t-shirts that read "Blacks for Trump" gather near the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Federal Courthouse, Aug. 3, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
Young Black and Latino men say they chose Trump because of the economy and jobs. Here’s how and why
Black and Latino voters moved toward Republican Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election, and some of the biggest shifts were among men under age 45, and that helped expand his margin over Democrat Kamala Harris.
November 10, 2024
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaks during a watch party on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, at the Marriott Marquis in Houston. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Republican Ted Cruz of Texas wins a third term to the US Senate
Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz has won reelection in Texas to a third term after a campaign in which he criticized his Democratic challenger as too liberal. Cruz defeated U.S. Rep.
November 6, 2024
President Joe Biden meets with President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
Biden hosts formal ceremony to celebrate federal support for Hispanic-serving institutions
President Joe Biden hosted a formal ceremony Wednesday to publicly celebrate his executive order establishing an initiative to increase funding for Hispanic-serving institutions.
October 31, 2024
FILE - Los Angeles Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela tips his sombrero at a news conference after he was named National League Rookie of the Year, Dec. 2, 1981, in Los Angeles. Fernando Valenzuela, the Mexican-born phenom for the Los Angeles Dodgers who inspired “Fernandomania” while winning the NL Cy Young Award and Rookie of the Year in 1981, has died Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024.(AP Photo/Wally Fong, File)
Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela served as a cultural ambassador for Mexican Americans, Mexicans
For Mexicans and Mexican Americans, former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Fernando Valenzuela was a beacon of hope, inspiration and pride.
October 24, 2024
Attendees of a lowrider exhibition, wearing Zoot suits of the Mexican American subculture known as Pachucos, pose for a photo on a vintage car during the 20th anniversary of Lincoln Park in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrés Leighton)
Lowriding is more than just cars. It’s about family and culture for Mexican Americans
Lowrider enthusiasts say the predominantly Latino cultural expression may be on the verge of a renaissance. It is a movement of expression through elaborate vehicle modification with origins in Mexican American and Chicano communities.
October 15, 2024
FILE - Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves to the crowd as she arrives at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Leadership Conference, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
Harris viewed more positively by Hispanic women than by Hispanic men: AP-NORC poll
A solid majority of Hispanic women have a positive opinion of Vice President Kamala Harris and a negative view of former President Donald Trump, but Hispanic men are divided on both candidates, according to a recent AP-NORC poll.
October 11, 2024
FILE- Wilmer Valderrama attends a screening of "NCIS" during PaleyFest on Sunday, April 10, 2022, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
Wilmer Valderrama. Rosario Dawson. America Ferrera. Star-led drive aims to get Latinos to vote
The Voto Latino Foundation has launched a $5 million initiative to encourage Latinos to vote. The “Vota Con Ganas” or ’Vote with Enthusiasm” campaign launched Tuesday.
October 1, 2024
Luis A. Torres stands for a portrait at Balmy Alley in the Latino Cultural District on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Juliana Yamada)
Awareness of ‘Latinx’ increases among US Latinos, and ‘Latine’ emerges as an alternative
Over the last few years, various terms have emerged to describe those in the U.S. with roots in Latin America and Spain. While “Hispanic” and “Latino” remain the most prominent, “Latinx” has become de-facto as a gender-neutral alternative.
September 29, 2024
The Blackwell School classroom is pictured during the school inauguration as the newest National Historic Site in Marfa, Texas, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)
Tough treatment and good memories mix at newest national site dedicated to Latinos
An adobe-style Texas building educated Mexican and Mexican-American children in classrooms that alumni call barracks. They got secondhand textbooks and were paddled for speaking Spanish instead of English.
September 17, 2024
FILE - Members of the Cathedral City High School Ballet Folklorico pose for photo prior to joining in the Kingdom Day Parade in Los Angeles, Jan. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Hispanic Heritage Month puts diversity and culture at the forefront
Huge celebrations across the U.S. are expected to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, an annual tradition that showcases the awe-inspiring diversity and culture of Hispanic people.
September 15, 2024
Melissa Camacho poses for photos at the City College of San Francisco's Mission Center in San Francisco, Thursday, Aug. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
US higher education advocates welcome federal support for Hispanic-serving institutions
Federal education advocates say colleges and universities that serve higher than average Hispanic student populations are vital to the goals of educational equality and economic opportunities.
September 7, 2024
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)
Latinos are excited about Harris, but she has work to do to win the crucial voting bloc, experts say
Latino voters and leaders say they are enthusiastic about Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential nominee, but for her to win their crucial support, they want to know where she stands on issues like the economy, immigration and education.
August 11, 2024
Maritza Guridy poses for a portrait, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024 in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Joe Lamberti)
Census categories misrepresent the ‘street race’ of Latinos, Afro Latinos, report says
Filling out forms that ask for racial and ethnic identification can be a struggle for many Latinos, especially when there is not one box that reflects their identity.
August 8, 2024
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance arrives with his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance at the Republican National Convention Monday, July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
What Usha Vance’s rise to prominence means to other South Asian and Hindu Americans
Usha Chilukuri Vance has entered the spotlight this week as the wife of JD Vance, former President Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election.
July 19, 2024
Dr. Fernando Taveras, a psychiatrist and Hispanic mental healthcare expert with SOMOS Community Care Clinic, stands for a portrait in New York on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. Mental health experts, community clinics and politicians are working to create new programs to break down barriers that Latinos might face to getting therapy or treatment. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Mental health clinics across the US are helping Latinos bridge language and access barriers
Mental health experts, community clinics and politicians are working to create new programs to break down barriers that Latinos might face to getting therapy or treatment.
July 13, 2024
A woman visits the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Tuesday, July 2, 2024, which is now a memorial to the 26 people who were killed by a gunman in 2017. The 100-year-old building has served as a memorial since the shooting, but now some want to raze the building. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Plans to demolish Texas church where gunman opened fire in 2017 draw visitors back to sanctuary
Plans to tear down a small Texas church where a gunman in 2017 killed more than two dozen worshippers are bringing visitors back to the rural sanctuary as there’s a last-minute push to stop the demolition.
July 3, 2024
College graduate Angelina Chavez poses in San Jose, Calif. on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. Earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Riverside was surreal for Chavez, the culmination of overcoming her imposter syndrome and embracing the efforts of her mothers, who walked the stage with her during the Latinx ceremony. (AP Photo/Nick Coury)
Degree attainment rates are increasing for US Latinos but pay disparities remain
U.S. Census data shows the number of Latinos acquiring degrees has steadily increased over the last two decades.
May 31, 2024