Can you photograph and publish people in public in the United States?

Photographing people in public is generally legal: there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in public places. Editorial use, news and selling a photo as art generally don't need a release.

Sources: Wikipedia: Model release · PCB Law Firm: legal issues in photographing people

Using a recognizable person to advertise or sell something needs their consent, usually a signed model release. This right of publicity is state law, not federal; California Civil Code 3344 and New York Civil Rights Law sections 50–51 are the best known.

Sources: Digital Media Law Project: California right of publicity · EFF Internet Law Treatise: right of publicity