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A man in a baseball cap watches flood water pouring down a river.

Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed dozens, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding

Hatim Sharif, The University of Texas at San Antonio

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The Capitol building is seen against stormy clouds, partially reflected in a mirror.

One ‘big, beautiful’ reason why Republicans in Congress just can’t quit Donald Trump

Charlie Hunt, Boise State University

Along with the ideals it expresses, the Declaration of Independence mourns for something people lost in 1776 − and now, too

Maurizio Valsania, Università di Torino

Five men in colonial attire working around a table.
How well have you been following the news?

Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation's Quizmaster

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Conservatives notch 2 victories in their fight to deny Planned Parenthood federal funding through Medicaid

Rachel Rebouché, Temple University

People hold a gigantic pink banner that says 'defund Planned Parenthood' in white letters, with the Supreme Court in the background.
Astronomers have discovered another puzzling interstellar object − this third one is big, bright and fast

Darryl Z. Seligman, Michigan State University

A star-filled sky over a ridge with a building on it.
War, politics and religion shape wildlife evolution in cities

Elizabeth Carlen, Washington University in St. Louis

Man standing on boat releasing fish from a net into the water
What MAGA means to Americans

Jesse Rhodes, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, UMass Amherst; Douglas Rice, UMass Amherst; Gregory Wall, UMass Amherst, and Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst

A crowd of people with one holding a sign that says "Make America Great Again!"
Hurricane forecasters are losing 3 key satellites ahead of peak storm season − a meteorologist explains why it matters

Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Beachfront homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole at Daytona Beach, Fla., on Nov. 11, 2022.
Employers are failing to insure the working class – Medicaid cuts will leave them even more vulnerable

Sumit Agarwal, University of Michigan

An elderly doctor with glasses places a stethoscope to a baby in a doctor's office.

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A photo of the U.S. Capitol building is juxtaposed with the New York City skyline.

Capitalism and democracy are weakening – reviving the idea of ‘calling’ can help to repair them

Valerie L. Myers, University of Michigan

From glass and steel to rare earth metals, new materials have changed society throughout history

Peter Mullner, Boise State University

A bright, hot rod of steel in a factory, lifted by a metal arm.
Parents who oppose sex education in schools often don’t discuss it at home

Robin Pickering, Gonzaga University

The words "Sex Education" written in pink chalk on a blackboard.
Philadelphians with mental illness want to work, pray, date and socialize just like everyone else – here’s how creating more inclusive communities is good for public health

Mark Salzer, Temple University

View from behind of man sitting on edge of bed looking out of window lined with houseplants.
Legal wrangling over estate of Jimmy Buffett turns his widow’s huge inheritance into a cautionary tale

Reid Kress Weisbord, Rutgers University - Newark and Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia

A balding man in sunglasses and a woman in a white dress hold hands against an HBO-Lincoln Center backdrop.

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War in Iran

a man in a military uniform stands behind a podium next to a poster of a map

What damage did the US do to Iran’s nuclear program? Why it’s so hard to know

Joshua Rovner, American University

Why the US bombed a bunch of metal tubes − a nuclear engineer explains the importance of centrifuges to Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons

Anna Erickson, Georgia Institute of Technology

two parallel rows of vertical metal tubes with hoses attached to the tops
Military force may have delayed Iran’s nuclear ambitions – but history shows that diplomacy is the more effective nonproliferation strategy

Stephen Collins, Kennesaw State University

A display of the United Nations logo.
Iran emerged weakened and vulnerable after war with Israel − and that could mean trouble for country’s ethnic minorities

Shukriya Bradost, Virginia Tech

The picture of a man is seen between red, white and green flags.
What happens next in US-Iran relations will be informed by the two countries’ shared history

Gregory F. Treverton, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Dozens of protesters wave flags as they march down a street.
Read more on the conflict in Iran

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Trump administration

A woman in a light blue raincoat holds a sign covering her face that says SAVE THE ACA.

The Supreme Court upholds free preventive care, but its future now rests in RFK Jr.’s hands

Paul Shafer, Boston University and Kristefer Stojanovski, Tulane University

Supreme Court upholds childproofing porn sites

Meg Leta Jones, Georgetown University

a green metal statue of a cherub in the foreground with a large stone building with Greco-Roman columns in the background
What the Supreme Court ruling against ‘universal injunctions’ means for court challenges to presidential actions

Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University

A man runs in front of a federal building.
Trump’s attack on long-standing principle of birthright citizenship stands, as Supreme Court sidesteps constitutional issue − for now

Carol Nackenoff, Swarthmore College and Julie Novkov, University at Albany, State University of New York

A young child runs in a field with rows and rows of American flags on posts across the grass.
Universities in every state care for congressional papers that document US political history − federal cuts put their work at risk

Katherine Gregory, Mississippi State University

Shelves with manila folders on them.
Read more about the Trump administration

International

The back of a person's head is visible as the person looks at screens showing numbers and line charts of financial data.

Why energy markets fluctuate during an international crisis

Skip York, Rice University

Scandinavia has its own dark history of assimilating Indigenous people, and churches played a role – but are apologizing

Thomas A. DuBois, University of Wisconsin-Madison

An altar of a church whose walls are made of dark wood, with red carpet running down the center of the room.
Southeast Asian nations look to hedge their way out of troubled waters in the South China Sea

John Rennie Short, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

A boat is seen through a wiindow.
German chancellor’s rebuke of Israel marks a shift in state policy that has long put such criticism out of bounds

Elisabeth Weber, University of California, Santa Barbara

Two men in suits stand next to each other, one with his hand outstretched.
When developing countries band together, lifesaving drugs become cheaper and easier to buy − with trade-offs

Lucy Xiaolu Wang, UMass Amherst and Nahim Bin Zahur, Queen's University, Ontario

Illustration of debossed globe with longitude and latitude lines, pill capsules filling the circumference
Read more world news

New research in health and science

Rodent climbing the rungs of a small, colorful abacus

Humans and animals can both think logically − but testing what kind of logic they’re using is tricky

Olga Lazareva, Drake University

Speedballing – the deadly mix of stimulants and opioids – requires a new approach to prevention and treatment

Andrew Yockey, University of Mississippi

Two small sacks of cocaine, a syringe, cocaine on a spoon and opioids spilling out of a pill bottle sit on a table.
Mitochondria can sense bacteria and trigger your immune system to trap them – revealing new ways to treat infections and autoimmunity 

Andrew Monteith, University of Tennessee

Yellow blob emanating green threads trapping thin purple blobs and one red blob
More than half of US teens have had at least one cavity, but fluoride programs in schools help prevent them – new research

Christina Scherrer, Kennesaw State University and Shillpa Naavaal, Virginia Commonwealth University

A group of elementary school children crowding before the camera and smiling.
Neuropathic pain has no immediate cause – research on a brain receptor may help stop this hard-to-treat condition

Pooja Shree Chettiar, Texas A&M University and Siddhesh Sabnis, Texas A&M University

Illustration of brain with thorns wrapped around it
Read more new science research

Extreme weather and natural disasters

A lodge hangs precariously over the edge of a deeply eroded river bank. Tall mountains rise directly behind the lodge and along the river.

Hurricane Helene set up future disasters, from landslides to flooding – cascading hazards like these are now upending risk models

Brian J. Yanites, Indiana University

6 tips for staying safe in extreme heat if you’re a runner, cyclist or anyone else active outdoors

Susan Yeargin, University of South Carolina

A man runs past the WWII Memorial on a hot day in Washington, D.C., with the Lincoln Memorial in the background
How to stay cool during heat waves – and heat stroke warning signs to watch for

Brian Bossak, College of Charleston

A young man stands under a waterfall and splashes water onto his face. The photo catches the rippling waves of the water falling.
After the smoke clears, a wildfire’s legacy can haunt rivers for years, putting drinking water at risk

Ben Livneh, University of Colorado Boulder

The blackened trucks of fill what was once dense forest. Below it, the ground is mostly bare.
Extreme weather’s true damage cost is a mystery – that’s a problem for understanding storm risk

John Nielsen-Gammon, Texas A&M University and William Baule, Texas A&M University

Large hail the size of golf balls covers the ground and street.
Read more articles related to extreme weather

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Photo of bald man with goatee sitting on a desk with both hands raised.

AI is advancing even faster than sci-fi visionaries like Neal Stephenson imagined

Rizwan Virk, Arizona State University

The rule of law is key to capitalism − eroding it is bad news for American business

Robert Bird, University of Connecticut

A photo illustration shows the scales of justice in silhouette in front of a backdrop made of dollar bills.
Bill Moyers’ journalism strengthened democracy by connecting Americans to ideas and each other, in a long and extraordinary career

Julie Leininger Pycior, Manhattan University

Photo of a man in glasses with a big smile.
1 in 4 Americans reject evolution, a century after the Scopes monkey trial spotlighted the clash between science and religion

William Trollinger, University of Dayton and Susan L Trollinger, University of Dayton

A man in a white shirt looks downcast as he stands among rows of seated people.
The hidden cost of convenience: How your data pulls in hundreds of billions of dollars for app and social media companies

Kassem Fawaz, University of Wisconsin-Madison and Jack West, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Giant eyeball looks at woman on computer at desk

Most read this week

1.
Iran emerged weakened and vulnerable after war with Israel − and that could mean trouble for country’s ethnic minorities

Shukriya Bradost, Virginia Tech

Iran emerged weakened and vulnerable after war with Israel − and that could mean trouble for country’s ethnic minorities
2.
Nuclear scientists have long been targets in covert ops – Israel has brought that policy out of the shadows

Jenna Jordan, Georgia Institute of Technology and Rachel Whitlark, Georgia Institute of Technology

Nuclear scientists have long been targets in covert ops – Israel has brought that policy out of the shadows
3.
What MAGA means to Americans

Jesse Rhodes, UMass Amherst; Adam Eichen, UMass Amherst; Douglas Rice, UMass Amherst; Gregory Wall, UMass Amherst, and Tatishe Nteta, UMass Amherst

What MAGA means to Americans

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