Fire districts and fire departments are governed differently

Special districts are a form of local government focused on a single purpose

Unlike cities or counties, which provide a wide range of services, special districts are created to perform a single function, such as water, transit, or mosquito control. They are governed by appointed boards, have independent taxing authority, and now number nearly 40,000 across the US.

American local government comes in five distinct forms

Counties, municipalities, townships, special districts, and school districts are each created for a different purpose, operating under different rules, and answerable to the state in different ways. Special districts, the least known of the group, are created for specific purposes, such as transit or fire protection.

Deputy sheriffs and city police have different legal authority and chains of command

Sheriffs are elected officials at the county level, and their deputies usually patrol unincorporated areas and manage county jails. City police are hired by local government authorities and operate within city limits under a different chain of command.

Most US fire departments are staffed entirely by volunteers, though they tend to serve smaller communities

According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's 2024 registry, 70% of US fire departments are all volunteer, while 9.5% are fully staffed with paid employees. Volunteer departments are mainly found in rural and suburban areas, whereas most urban Americans are served by career or mixed departments.

See how local, state, and federal governments divide the cost of public services

Federal, state, and local governments share responsibility for funding public services. Education, roads, and social programs are funded through a complicated mix of taxes and intergovernmental transfers.

Two doctrines of local governance determine how much power cities actually have

Under what is known as "Dillon's Rule," local governments can only exercise powers explicitly granted by the state. Under "home rule," cities have broader self-governing authority—but the balance between the two depends entirely on state law.

Some California cities outsource their public services entirely to the county

Southern California's "contract cities" incorporate as municipalities but pay Los Angeles County for police, fire, and other services rather than running their own departments—a cost-saving model common across the region.

How fighting wildfires works

Firefighters use sophisticated strategies to control wildfires that sometimes cover thousands of acres. This video breaks down how teams set up fire lines to isolate the fires by cutting down brush and trees around the existing fire, among other...

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Walt Disney World essentially ran its own local government for more than 50 years

Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District granted the company county-level authority to construct roads, issue bonds, and self-regulate for decades. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis dissolved the arrangement in 2023 after a public dispute with the company.

There are five main types of FIRE

Many different types of FIRE exist, and their methodologies and end goals vary drastically. “Lean FIRE” followers, for instance, are minimalists who plan to live modestly in retirement. “Barista FIRE” proponents plan to work part-time in retirement.

Charter schools are publicly funded, autonomous schools

Charter schools are tuition-free, publicly funded institutions operating under a contract ("charter") that grants autonomy in curriculum, staffing, and budgeting in exchange for accountability to performance metrics. They serve millions of students nationwide.

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states, ranging from a complete ban on non-professional fireworks in Massachusetts to states with more lax rules like Indiana.

How partisan is your district?

The highly-respected Cook Political Report rates how partisan--and therefore, how safe--every district in the US is. Hover over your home district to see the score.

Learn about the bodies that govern the US commercial airline industry, such as the FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulates US air travel, monitoring both safety and advancement. But despite deregulation in the 1970s, the industry has other governing bodies, too, including the US Department of Transportation and the TSA.

Massachusetts is the only state that bans all non-professional fireworks

See this overview of the firework rules across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. It states that Indiana's rules are relatively loose as compared with other states. Beyond state and local rules on firework purchases and use, there are also regulations about the fuses on fireworks—they must burn between three and nine seconds to help reduce the risk of injury if the user doesn't get away quickly enough.

Companies often use different share classes, like Class A or Class B, to structure ownership

Share classes refer to specific types of company stock that are distinguished by the rights they grant, such as voting power and dividend access.

How presidential systems differ from parliamentary governments

In presidential systems like the US, the executive and legislature are separately elected, giving presidents fixed terms and independent authority. In parliamentary systems, executives are elected by legislatures and can be removed by a simple vote of no confidence.

The House of Representatives controls the $7T federal budget

The House holds the exclusive "power of the purse" to initiate revenue bills, a provision in the US Constitution designed to divide power with the Senate and give states with larger populations greater influence over federal budgeting.

Homes in areas increasingly prone to natural disasters often aren't covered by private insurance

Instead, they're often covered under insurance plans of last resort, known as FAIR (Fair Access to Insurance Requirements) plans. However, as more and more homes become covered by FAIR, the program is facing strain. This interactive visual helps explain the new problems FAIR is facing.

Decentralized autonomous organizations organize on the blockchain

Decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) are typically formed with a specific goal in mind. ConstitutionDAO, for instance, was made to raise funds to buy a copy of the US Constitution (it failed).

Mutual funds and taxes

With mutual funds, you can expect a similar tax experience to that of bonds and stocks, although there are a few key differences. Look out for potential taxes on any capital gains or dividend earnings.

City structures cause localized heat zones hotter than nearby rural areas

Urban materials like asphalt and concrete trap heat, while cities lack cooling features like trees and water. Due to hot runoff, urban streams can heat up by as much as 18°F more than forested streams.

What's the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

While both psychiatrists and psychologists are mental health professionals, the big difference is that psychiatrists are medical physicians (MD or DO) while psychologists are not. Learn what makes these two profession different with this brief explainer.

Fantasy and science fiction are distinct genres, though they sometimes overlap

Fantasy stories take place in universes where magic exists; science fiction stories take place in universes that are still grounded in the physics of our world. In science fiction, supernatural powers have scientific explanations. Think of “Spiderman”: Peter Parker gains his powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider.

Day of the Dead differs from All Souls’ Day in several important ways

The holidays share a calendar date and both honor lost loved ones. However, All Souls’ Day is intended to help guide souls in purgatory to heaven, while Day of the Dead celebrates the temporary return of loved ones’ spirits to Earth.

San Francisco's Mission-style burritos were designed for firefighters

It first appeared in the Mission District in the 1960s. Mission burritos are often made in an assembly line so diners can choose their preferred fillings, then wrapped in foil for easy transportation. They’re also usually full to bursting––supposedly because they were originally intended to feed hungry firefighters.

Firework or sparkler burns, even if they cover a relatively small area of skin, can significantly affect our range of motion.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

How fusion—which releases energy when two lighter atoms combine to form a heavier atom—differs from fission

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

Shooting stars, or meteors, are fragments of asteroids and comets that burn up as they enter Earth's atmosphere, creating streaks in the sky called meteor showers.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

Chaos theory—informally known as the butterfly effect—is the reason why weather forecasts are presented with probabilities rather than certainties.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.

Play the role of a student in a game where you try to navigate college and remain debt-free, selecting different income levels, high school experience, race, ethnicity, and more.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes