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After years of scandal, Boy Scouts of America changes its name to Scouting America

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After years of scandal, Boy Scouts of America changes its name to Scouting America

An Eagle Scout Award is seen pinned to a uniform. After a lengthy sex-abuse scandal and bankruptcy, the Boy Scouts are changing their name to Scouting America.

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An Eagle Scout Award is seen pinned to a uniform. After a lengthy sex-abuse scandal and bankruptcy, the Boy Scouts are changing their name to Scouting America.

David Ryder/Getty Images

After being embroiled in a sex-abuse scandal, the Boy Scouts are changing their name. The 114-year old organization known as BSA or Boy Scouts of America will be rebranding as Scouting America early next year.

Boy Scouts of America President Roger Krone announced Tuesday that the name change is part of an evolution as the organization seeks to ensure that everyone feels welcome.

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“We are an organization for all. It’s time our name reflects that,” Krone said during a virtual news conference during its annual meeting in Florida.

“Scouting under the name Scouting America will enable us to chart a course towards continued growth, relevance and impact.”

Five years ago, the Boy Scouts opened its programs to girls after allowing LGBTQ youth in 2013, and gay scout leaders in 2015.

“We want to make sure that all youth in America understand that they are welcome in our organization, that this is a safe place for them to learn and grow and to be their authentic self,” said Krone.

The Irving, Texas-based organization emerged from bankruptcy last year after facing more than 82,000 lawsuits from people sexually assaulted by scout leaders as children.

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“I think it’s time that we have a game that reflects the youth that we serve today and frankly, the youth that we want to welcome in the future as part of our post-bankruptcy plan for scouting,” said Krone.

The organization, founded in 1910, had been targeted by sexual predators from its earliest days. The Scouts began keeping a secret list of accused predators back in 1919, but the national organization didn’t share the information with local chapters so suspected sexual predators could move from troop to troop.

“It institutionalized child molestation,” former scout Frank Spinelli told NPR in 2021. He was sexually assaulted for 3 years by a scoutmaster starting when he was ten years old. “It’s protected these perpetrators.”

Last year, BSA established a $2.4 billion fund to settle the flood of claims from sex abuse victims.

The Boy Scouts had more than 2 million members in 2018, but currently serves a little over a million youth with 176,234 girls.

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“There’s nothing about scouting that is inherently masculine or inherently feminine,” said Bob Brady, scoutmaster of Troop 1150, an all-girls’ BSA troop in New Jersey.

“The name change is exactly what I would advocate,” said Scouts BSA Program Chair Angie Minett, the first woman to hold the position. “The most important message that people need to understand is that it’s [scouting] for everybody.

The announcement is drawing criticism from conservatives.

“The Left has now taken “Boy” out of “Boy Scouts,” Republican U.S. Representative Andrew Clyde of Georgia said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Wokeness destroys everything it touches.”

The new name, Scouting America, will go into effect next February on the organization’s 115th anniversary.

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What the Supreme Court did on the final day of its term

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What the Supreme Court did on the final day of its term

The U.S. Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court Tuesday upheld the long-established right of children born on U.S. soil to automatic American citizenship, regardless of their parents’ immigration status. In so doing, the court rejected President Trump’s most aggressive attempt to limit immigration in the United States.

Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts traced birthright citizenship back to the founding of the nation. Just as the colonists demanded “the rights of Englishmen” more than 250 years ago, he said, Congress, after the Civil War, amended the Constitution to specify automatic citizenship for any child born on U.S. soil.

“Citizenship then and now was the right to have rights”—and the framers of the 14th amendment extended that promise to every free born person in this land. He concluded: “We keep that promise today.”

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The vote was 6-to-3, depending on how you count it. Altogether, five justices signed on to the Roberts’ majority opinion. A sixth, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, agreed only that federal legislation enacted in the 1950s grants automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S.

Justice Clarence Thomas wrote the lead dissent, a 91-page opus that agreed with Trump’s assertion that the 14th amendment only applied to former slaves and their descendants. The Thomas dissent added ominously that he “was not sure that “today’s opinion will stand the test of time.” The dissent was joined by Justice Neil Gorsuch, with Justice Samuel Alito writing a separate dissent.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who, like Thomas is African American, responded to some of the themes in the Thomas dissent.

“Despite his longstanding endorsement of a colorblind society,” she wrote, “Justice Thomas now surprisingly suggests that the citizenship clause was a race-conscious remedial measure relating only to freed slaves.”

Cecillia Wang, legal director of the ACLU, who successfully argued the case at the Supreme Court, said President’s Trump failed attempt to limit birthright citizenship was transparent.

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Rep. Tom Kean returns to Congress, says depression is why he went missing for months

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Rep. Tom Kean returns to Congress, says depression is why he went missing for months

Rep. Thomas Kean Jr., R-N.J., arrives at the U.S. Capitol with his wife Rhonda Kean on June 30.

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New Jersey Republican Thomas Kean Jr. said it was struggles with depression that kept him away from Congress for nearly four months with no explanation to his constituents.

Kean last voted on March 5th, missing numerous votes and other appearances on Capitol Hill since. In April, House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he had spoken to Kean and that he was dealing with an undisclosed medical issue. Kean was not spotted until recently at his New Jersey home.

Speaking from the House floor on Tuesday, the second term lawmaker said he had checked into a hospital for testing several months ago after health concerns, and was subsequently diagnosed with depression.

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“Talking about myself has never come naturally,” Kean said. “But I believe that I owe an explanation to the people of New Jersey’s seventh district, to my colleagues in this chamber and to the American people for my absence.”

Kean said he originally did not think his diagnosis would result in a long-term absence. Doctors recommended he remain in the hospital to address the illness, and it was his fastest route to recovery, he said.

“It is physical. It is emotional,” he said. “And until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness could be.”

Kean said he miscalculated how long he would be away, estimating it would be a matter of weeks. However, he said like the roughly 48 million Americans who have battled the illness, he learned there is no timeline for recovery.

“I am grateful that I accepted help,” Kean said. “Today I stand before you healthier, stronger and excited to return to the work that I love.”

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Kean’s absence proved a struggle for House Republicans, who contend with a razor thin majority to pass party priorities. For weeks, Kean and his office declined to share additional details on why he was away, feeding rumors and speculation and raising interest in a member known for his privacy.

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Michigan governor threatens to pull troops from D.C. if used for Trump task force

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Michigan governor threatens to pull troops from D.C. if used for Trump task force

Members of the National Guard stand in front of a large image of U.S. President Donald Trump that hangs from the the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building on May 18, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a strongly worded letter to the head of Michigan’s National Guard, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer reiterated troops from her state are only to be used for operations surrounding America 250 celebrations in Washington, D.C., and not for President Trump’s long-running — and controversial — joint task force to fight crime. She said that she would pull her troops from the city if that is not the case, in the letter obtained by NPR.

“Please take all necessary measures to ensure the Michigan National Guard is only supporting the narrow and limited America 250 Mission and is in no way supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Mission,” wrote Gov. Whitmer, referencing the official name for the federal task force.

Trump deployed hundreds of troops to Washington, D.C., in August of 2025, in what experts said was a stunning departure from governing norms. He said he did so to address rampant crime, despite declining crime rates at the time. The number of troops in the city has increased over time to more than 4,800 from Washington, D.C. and almost two dozen states, which until recently were exclusively Republican-led.

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Michigan — which has 161 guard members currently in the city — is one of four Democratic-led states that sent members of their National Guard to D.C. in recent weeks, ahead of an influx of tourists for America 250 celebrations. North Carolina and Kentucky each sent one member of their guard, while Minnesota sent more than a hundred last week.

Kentucky confirmed to NPR Monday that it had recalled its one guard member over the weekend, after that member was “diverted to the task force by the federal government without the knowledge or consent of Gov. Beshear of the Kentucky Guard,” Scottie Ellis, a spokesperson for Gov. Beshear, wrote to NPR in an email.

When contacted by NPR, spokespeople for each respective Democratic governor’s office made it clear that their guard members were sent to help specifically with America 250, not for law enforcement purposes as part of the larger ongoing federal joint task force operation. All four states have been clear about their opposition to the Trump administration’s ongoing deployment of National Guard troops to D.C., filing an amicus brief in support of litigation challenging it as recently as May.

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