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Ten lighthouses that for generations have stood like sentinels along America’s shorelines protecting mariners from peril and guiding them to safety are being given away at no cost or sold at auction by the federal government. The aim of the program run by the General Services Administration is to preserve the properties, most of which are more than a century old. The development of modern technology, including GPS, means lighthouses are no longer essential for navigation and not critical to the Coast Guard's mission. Since the passage of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act in 2000, the GSA the ownership of about 150 lighthouses have been transferred.

The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police was three years ago today, and the fervent protests that erupted around the world in response seemed like the catalyst needed for a nationwide reckoning on racism in policing. Along with a few other cities, Minneapolis has issued bans on chokeholds and neck restraints, and restrictions on no-knock warrants. But activist calls to defund the police and to hold officers accountable have mostly failed. The killing of Tyre Nichols by Memphis police earlier this year underscored just how long it’s taking to achieve meaningful change. On Thursday night, more than 100 people gathered at the site of Floyd's killing, known as George Floyd Square to remember him with music, dancing and a candlelight vigil.

The family of one of four University of Idaho students killed in a stabbing attack last fall wanted to celebrate her birthday by remembering the joy she brought others. Madison Mogen’s family created Maddie May Day, urging people to commit random acts of kindness in Mogen’s memory every May 25. The idea quickly spread, and on Thursday the Maddie May Day hashtag and stories of kind acts began spreading across social media. One person donated to a military charity in Mogen's name, another surprised her grandmother with a bouquet of flowers. Other people brought coffee or donuts to coworkers. Mogen's father, Ben Mogen, says he just wants people to remember his daughter in the best way they can.

Thousands of United Methodist congregations have been voting on whether to stay or quit one of the nation’s largest denominations amid intractable debates over theology and the role of LGBTQ people. The dividing line isn’t just running between congregations. It’s running right through the pews of individual churches, separating people who had long worshipped together. Those who come up on the short end of a disaffiliation vote face the dilemma of whether to stay or go. Some United Methodist regional conferences have begun designating what they call “Lighthouse” congregations – ones that actively welcome people who wanted to stay United Methodist but whose former churches voted to leave.

The remains of five more Native American children who died at a notorious government-run boarding school in Pennsylvania will be disinterred this fall and returned to descendants. The children died more than a century ago and are buried at the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School. It's now home to the U.S. Army War College. This will be the sixth such disinterment operation at Carlisle since 2017 as the military transfers remains to living family members for reburial.  Thousands of Native children were taken to such schools and forced to assimilate to white society.

An Arkansas man who propped his feet on a desk in then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in a widely circulated photo from the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced Wednesday to more than four years in prison. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper said Richard “Bigo” Barnett became one of the faces of the Jan. 6 riot, and at times he seemed to enjoy the notoriety that came with the media attention and social media following he amassed. Barnett, a retired firefighter from Gravette, Arkansas, was convicted at trial on eight counts, including felony charges of civil disorder and obstruction of an official proceeding.

Authorities say a 15-year-old student was charged with homicide in the fatal shooting of his 15-year-old schoolmate just outside a Pittsburgh school. Police say the shooting happened by the steps of Oliver Citywide Academy shortly before classes were due to start Wednesday morning. Officers found Derrick Harris with gunshot wounds and he later died at a hospital. Another student, seen running from the scene with a gun, was arrested. Police say he was charged with criminal homicide and possession of a firearm by a minor. A city spokesperson says most students were still on their way to the school when the shooting happened.