By GEOFF MULVIHILL, Associated Press

Most adults catching a flight in the U.S. starting May 7 will be required to present a passport or an upgraded state-issued identification card that meets federal REAL ID standards.

The requirement is 20 years in the making, but with just weeks to go, not everyone is ready for it.

Officials in at least one state have requested another extension before enforcement begins.

Here’s what you need to know:

What is REAL ID?

It’s a driver’s license or other state-issued ID that meets security requirements mandated in a 2005 law passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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Obtaining an ID with the designation — indicated by a white star in a yellow circle in most states — means taking more documents to the motor vehicle agency than most states require for regular IDs.

The program has already been delayed several times by states that weren’t prepared to offer the IDs, people being slow to update their documents and by the coronavirus pandemic. With those hurdles mostly passed, the government is set to require the new IDs rather than old state drivers licenses and IDs for commercial air travel starting May 7.

People will also be required to carry the new IDs or a passport to enter secure federal facilities such as military bases or to get into nuclear power plants.

Is the country ready?

It’s clear not everyone is. But it’s less clear whether the nation is prepared.

The Department of Homeland Security said in a report earlier this year that 56% of IDs in circulation nationally met the requirements as of January 2024. In 16 states, more than three in five IDs met the new standards, while the number was below two out of five in 22 states.

About 81% of people flying recently have shown ID that would work once the new requirements kick in, according to a recent statement by Homeland Security.

A group of state senators from Kentucky this week asked the agency to delay implementing the new requirements yet again. They said the state has limited appointments available to people seeking the new cards and that there has been a rush to meet the May 7 deadline.

Do you need a REAL ID, and if so, how do you get one?

People who don’t fly or visit military bases or other sites where the IDs are required may not need new identification. People who have photo IDs from federally recognized tribal nations don’t need anything new. Employment authorization green cards are already acceptable, as are some other less common identifying documents on the government’s list.

REAL ID is not required to drive, vote or receive state or federal services or benefits.

Still, a lot of people may need one.

The enhanced cards have been available for years from every U.S. state and territory’s motor vehicle agency. People who haven’t obtained one by May 7 can still apply after that.

The Department of Homeland Security website links to information in each state on scheduling appointments and lists the documents needed.

But appointments can be hard to come by. None of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission offices had REAL ID appointments available as of Thursday afternoon. The same was true for most Illinois Department of Motor Vehicle sites.

And in some states, the May 7 deadline might not be a big deal. In Florida and Texas, for instance, all drivers licenses are REAL ID compliant, so anyone who has a current one can use it to fly domestically.

By DEVNA BOSE, Associated Press

Whooping cough cases are rising, and doctors are bracing for yet another tough year.

There have been 8,485 cases reported in 2025, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s twice as many cases as this time last year, based on the CDC’s final tally.

Rates of whooping cough, or pertussis, soared last year, which experts said wasn’t unexpected. The number of cases fell during COVID-19 because of masking and social distancing. Plus, experts said, the illness peaks every two to five years.

But experts say the outbreaks of vaccine-preventable illnesses, like measles and whooping cough, could be indicative of changing attitudes toward vaccines. U.S. kindergarten vaccination rates fell last year, and the number of children with vaccine exemptions hit an all-time high.

“There’s unfortunately been increasing anti-vaccine sentiment in the United States,” said Dr. Ericka Hayes at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “Our recovery is not nearly as quick as we expected it to be and we needed it to be. And again, when you fall below 95% for vaccinations, you lose that herd immunity protection.”

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Whooping cough tends to peak around this time of year and in the fall. It’s usually spread through respiratory droplets in the air, when people with pertussis cough, sneeze or breathe close to others. The symptoms are similar to a cold but the cough becomes increasingly severe with a distinctive sound — a “whoop” as the person tries to take in air. It is treated with antibiotics.

In the past six months, two babies in Louisiana and a 5-year-old in Washington state have died from whooping cough.

The pertussis vaccine, which also protects against diphtheria and tetanus, is given at two months, four months and six months. The CDC recommends adults get follow-up doses every 10 years.

The illness is most dangerous for infants, especially before they receive their first round of vaccinations. That’s why the vaccine is also recommended for expecting mothers — it can protect newborns. But not enough people are getting the vaccine during pregnancy, said Hayes, who is the hospital’s senior medical director of infection prevention and control.

“The uptake of the vaccine for pregnant mothers is not where we need to be at all,” she said.

Pennsylvania, one of the states hit hardest by the illness last year, has recorded 207 whooping cough cases in 2025.

Neil Ruhland, a state health department spokesman, said the biggest increases are in populated areas like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and in middle and high schools and colleges. He said 94.6% of the state’s kindergarteners are vaccinated.

Michigan is on track for a similar pertussis season to last year’s, said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state’s chief medical executive. The state has recorded 516 cases thus far, mostly among children aged 5 to 17, and saw a total of 2,081 cases in 2024.

Bagdasarian said vaccination rates vary from county to county. Some schools have rates as low as 30%, creating pockets of vulnerable communities to vaccine-preventable diseases like pertussis and measles, she said.

“We’re watching pertussis numbers very carefully, but a lot of our resources are going into contact tracing our measles cases right now,” she said. “And public health is doing much more with fewer resources in 2025 than we’ve had to do before.”

AP data journalist Kasturi Pananjady contributed to this report.

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

“The absence of federal oversight doesn’t mean the city is powerless; rather, it should be a turning point. With the cost of living continuing to rise, New York needs a homegrown partner whose model is rooted in their success, not in taking advantage.”

(NYC Council/William Alatriste)

With New York City’s affordability crisis growing more dire by the day, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been a lifeline most took for granted, shielding consumers and businesses from fraud, abuse, and any unfair banking practices in a city where few have a cent left to spare.

Now with the agency on the line, consumers and businesses alike face heightened financial vulnerability when they need protection the most, raising the critical question of who will step in to fill the federal watchdog’s shoes and safeguard everyday Americans and their bank accounts from exploitation? 

The impact may not be immediate—in fact, most people might not fully understand the role of the CFPB. However, predatory practices often slip under the radar, building up over time, whether through misleading charges or hidden interest rates, leading to irreparable damage before anyone realizes it.

Just earlier this year, New York Attorney General Letitia James secured a $1.065 billion judgment against capital lenders found to have been misleading small businesses about the nature of their cash advances for years, charging interest rates as high as 820 percent. And in 2025, the Federal Trade Commission reported a nearly 25 percent increase in fraud complaints since the prior year, with losses surpassing $12.5 billion, largely driven by a rise in digital scams, phishing attacks, and unregulated digital lending and fintech. The staggering figure underscores the critical need for safeguards as new threats continue to emerge.

In New York in particular, where countless individuals live paycheck to paycheck, the stakes are sky-high. With consumer debt trending upwards due to credit and auto loans, especially among younger borrowers, New Yorkers can’t afford to be complacent about their finances. Finding trusted institutions that have their best interests at heart, such as their local nonprofit credit union or a reliable personal advisor, can offer reassurance.

These partners are driven by their customers’ long-term success and financial education, not just quarterly profits. In 2024, Municipal Credit Union hosted a financial literacy workshop series that reached over 5,000 New Yorkers. It was our way of building on the work we do with our members, because like many other credit unions, we see our members as co-owners in our organization, and their success mirrors our own.

The alternative doesn’t bode well—not just for individual consumers, but for New York’s economy as a whole. With credit card debt and home interest rates soaring, leaving both consumers and businesses with little to no financial cushion, the entire city is at risk of a significant downturn.

The situation eerily mirrors 2008, before the CFPB opened its doors, when the country entered a great recession due to predatory lending practices that left millions in foreclosure. If New Yorkers don’t leave their finances in the right hands, we could find ourselves on the brink of a similar economic collapse, stalling the region’s growth and stability for years to come.

The landscape is evolving, but so are New Yorkers. The absence of federal oversight doesn’t mean the city is powerless; rather, it should be a turning point. With the cost of living continuing to rise, New York needs a homegrown partner whose model is rooted in their success, not in taking advantage.

Traditional banks aren’t going anywhere, but New Yorkers can still take charge of their financial futures by choosing institutions that truly have their best interests at heart—and always have their backs.

Kyle Markland is the CEO of Municipal Credit Union in New York City.

The post Opinion: With Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Limbo, New Yorkers Need a New Financial Partner appeared first on City Limits.

The National Weather Service will resume translating its products for non-English speakers.

The weather service paused the translations this month because its contract with the provider had lapsed. Experts said the change could put non-English speakers at risk of missing potentially life-saving warnings about extreme weather.

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The weather service said Thursday the contract has been reinstated, and the translations will resume by the end of the day Monday.

Lilt, an artificial intelligence company, began providing translations in late 2023. That replaced manual translations that the weather service had said were labor-intensive and not sustainable. It eventually provided them in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, French and Samoan.

Nearly 68 million people in the U.S. speak a language other than English at home, including 42 million Spanish speakers, according to 2019 Census data.

The translations are important during extreme weather events, but general weather forecasts are also essential for people who work in tourism, transportation and energy, experts say.

The weather service’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is among the federal agencies targeted by the Trump administration for aggressive staff and budget cuts.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.