Millions of older Americans are targeted by financial scams each year. One analysis published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury found $27 billion in suspected elder financial exploitation in just a 12-month period. As digital banking, payments and communication become more common, scammers have more ways to reach victims and impersonate trusted institutions. Phishing scams, including business imposter and government imposter fraud, are among the most common methods used to target older Americans.

SmartAsset analyzed fraud reports filed with the Federal Trade Commission by state and age group to determine which areas show the highest rate of reported scams involving residents aged 60 and older. The analysis also identified the most common scam type targeting older Americans in each state.

Key Findings

• This popular retirement state recorded the highest rate of reported scams involving older Americans. Arizona led the analysis with seven reports involving residents aged 60 and older per 1,000 people in that age group. Delaware and Colorado followed in the rankings.
• North Dakota recorded the lowest rate of reported scams involving older Americans. With just three reports involving residents age 60 and older for every 1,000 people in that age group, North Dakota had the fewest reported incidents in the analysis.
• Business imposter scams were the most commonly reported scam type involving older Americans in most states. Among the 10 most common scam types, older Americans most often reported business imposter scams in every state except Alaska, Iowa, Maryland, South Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia. In those states, residents most often reported government imposter scams.
• Older Americans report job fraud and online shopping fraud less often than younger groups. Nationwide, reports involving older Americans were less likely than those involving younger age groups to cite either scam type. 

States Where Older Americans are Targeted for Financial Fraud

1. Arizona
   Fraud reports involving victims ages 60 and older per 1,000: 7
   Share of all fraud reports involving victims ages 60 and older: 12%
   Top scam type affecting victims ages 60 and older: Business imposters
2. Delaware
   Fraud reports involving victims ages 60 and older per 1,000: 6.9
   Share of all fraud reports involving victims ages 60 and older: 10%
   Top scam type affecting victims ages 60 and older: Business imposters
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It’s rare in an era of partisan division to hear a veteran of the Clinton and Obama presidencies agreeing with a right-leaning economist who worked for George W. Bush.

Yet these prominent voices from opposite ends of the political spectrum teamed up to mostly praise a law passed by the Republican Congress and signed by President Donald Trump.

The purpose of the law: to protect college students from borrowing federal money to enroll in programs that give them little or no financial payoff when they graduate.

This new rule is “the greatest step forward in increased accountability” for colleges since the creation more than a decade ago of the federal College Scorecard website, which discloses graduates’ earnings by institution. That was the conclusion of Bob Shireman, a senior fellow at the progressive Century Foundation, and Beth Akers, who holds the same title at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, or AEI.

The new accountability rule is among a series of measures that the left-leaning advocacy group EdTrust calls the most dramatic changes to higher education policy in nearly two decades. Many were part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or OBBBA, and will become effective this year. And several could improve protections and lower costs for families and students.

It may seem a surprise to hear bipartisan acclaim for laws affecting higher education passed by this White House and its congressional allies. After all, such reforms come against the backdrop of bans on diversity policies, restrictions on international students, cuts to research funding, huge fines on elite universities, and Trump’s relentless rhetorical attacks on “radical,” “woke” campuses.

But “there are definitely some positive steps that have been taken,” too, said Catherine Brown, senior director for policy and advocacy at the National College Attainment Network, or NCAN, who particularly likes an “earnings indicator” added to the FAFSA, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. That tool warns college applicants that graduates from a particular school with the majors they’re considering have historically earned no more than those with only a high school diploma.

“A lot of times the big headlines — like, ‘We want to cut funding for higher education’ — create a culture where it’s not easy to see improvements that are being made,

Researchers and mental health professionals are gaining deeper insight into how identity shapes emotional well-being, stress, and support needs.

Throughout the 21st century, mental health awareness has risen, encouraging public conversation on issues once taboo to talk about. Societal awareness helped de-stigmatize going to therapy, taking medication, and talking openly about mental health issues, especially for younger generations.

Mental health experiences are not universal

While most Americans today believe mental health care is necessary, 75% still believe society discourages them from seeking help, BetterHelp reports. Modern mental health research is exploring how identity shapes mental health experiences, including access to care.

Gender and sexuality impact people’s lived experiences and stressors. Mental health care needs to take identity into account to provide accessible and effective care.

Today, providers are increasingly adopting a personalized, identity-informed treatment approach to improve mental health outcomes for people from all backgrounds.

How identity can shape mental health experiences

How people identify shapes most aspects of their lives. Race, gender, sexuality, culture, religion, and personal beliefs influence how people see each other and experience the world.

Identity can greatly impact people’s mental health. Not everyone has the same lived experience, and external factors play a role in emotional well-being. Certain communities and professions are exposed to higher rates of trauma and stress than the general population. Identity-related stressors, such as discrimination, can increase the prevalence of certain mental health issues.

Relationship dynamics and personal beliefs affect how people feel about themselves. Social acceptance of mental health issues varies within cultures and communities. These factors make it significantly harder for some individuals to address their concerns or seek help.

What research says about LGBTQ+ mental health

Research consistently shows that sexual and gender identity greatly impacts mental health. For over two decades, researchers have used the minority stress model to explore the social, psychological, and structural factors that impact LGBTQ+ individuals’ mental health.

Overall, LGBTQ+ populations experience higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, substance misuse, and suicide than cisgender, heterosexual populations.

Studies show that lesbian and bisexual women have especially high rates of substance misuse, while gay and bisexual men have higher rates of suicide attempts. Transgender and gender diverse youth experience higher rates of psychological distress than any other sexual minority group. Their identity is often more visible, which may lead to increased experiences of rejection, discrimination, trauma, and violent harm.

People from sexual minority groups experience consistent social stress, be it stigma or discrimination, compared to heterosexual popu

Walking into Windsor Park Elementary in Corpus Christi, Texas, it’s hard to miss the mass of bright, colorful paper balloons taped on the wall, displaying photos of dozens of children who have read at least 1 million words this school year.

“It’s something that the students are very, very proud of,” librarian Annelise Rodriguez, who created and manages the Millionaires Club, told The 74. “We’ve had kids come in when they take tours and say, ‘I’m going to be up there some day.’ Some kids get it in 45 books, and for others, it’s taken 360 books.”

The project was created three years ago to motivate and recognize young avid readers in the school of roughly 600 students. Just a few weeks ago, a grandmother who didn’t speak English bowed her head to thank Rodriguez after her grandchild’s photo finally made the display.

Last year, Windsor Park students read 400 million words as part of the Millionaires Club. They are on track to beat that record, with over 315 million words read by the end of February. It’s one of the ways the school has attained its high reading proficiency rates, an achievement that earned its ranking on The 74’s Bright Spots list. The highlighted schools have third-grade literacy scores that are much higher than might be expected, based on the schools’ poverty rates.

With its 29% poverty level, nearly two-thirds of Windsor Park third graders were projected to be proficient in reading in 2024, but its actual score was 96%. That rate jumped to 99% last year. Nearly 50% of students are Hispanic, 29% are white, and 15% are Asian.

Windsor Park is a magnet school for gifted and talented children. Texas schools are required to screen their students, and all children in the Corpus Christi Independent School District who score in the top 3% receive an invitation to transfer to Windsor Park, said Principal Kimberly Bissell. Transportation is provided.

The screening consists of multiple tests that grade students’ achievement in reading and math, as well as problem-solving and critical thinking abilities. Students can transfer in any grade to Corpus Christi’s gifted and talented schools.

Windsor Park is also the district’s only International Baccalaureate elementary school. The worldwide educational program allows teachers to write their own curriculum and offer rigorous instruction along with inquiry-based learning.

“We have kids who are in first grade reading at a middle school or hig

Omaira Garcia didn’t realize life on her small ranch in Abilene, Texas, was about to change forever until clouds of dust — kicked up by a mysterious project next door — began to engulf her home.

The Air Force veteran said she found out about OpenAI’s plans to build its flagship Stargate data center directly beside her property only after construction began in the summer of 2024. Today, the site’s natural-gas-powered electrical plant sits roughly 500 yards from her house, the exhaust stacks clearly visible from her kitchen window.

“We weren’t given any time to understand what this impact was going to be on us,” the mother of two said through tears. “We’re trapped here.”

OpenAI did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

A spokesperson for Stargate’s developer, Crusoe, told Floodlight that the data center has “contributed meaningfully to the economic development” of Abilene, and its investments are “funding new fire trucks, school expansions, and road improvements across the city.”

As President Donald Trump seeks to fast-track AI development across the country, he has found a willing ally in Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has previously referred to the industry as the state’s “gold rush” — though his enthusiasm has recently dampened in the face of widespread opposition.

With some 300 data centers already in operation and 200 more in development, Texas could surpass Virginia as the nation’s leading data center market by 2030. Amid the frenzy to capitalize on the AI boom, a regulatory loophole has allowed dozens of data centers like Stargate to quietly construct massive power sources that emit harmful pollutants with little to no public notice, a Floodlight investigation has found.

Typically, before you can build a major source of new emissions, you have to get a major air permit, which includes extensive environmental reviews and engagement with the local community. But in Texas, regulators have allowed some data centers like Stargate to avoid that process by first obtaining so-called minor air permits — the kind more commonly associated with dry cleaners, autobody shops, and rubber-stamped with minimal review.

“Those lower-level permits get granted very quickly and often without the public knowing,” said Kathryn Guerra, who spent nearly four years at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) before joining the watchdog group Public Citizen. “That feels pretty intentional.”

These minor permits — as well as the nondisclosure agreements many developers require in their dealings with local governments and residents — are how communities like Garcia’s are left stunned whe