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Nancy Callery walks through her childhood home while salvaging belongings after the flood. She's standing in a room with a ceiling fan and lots of windows.

FEMA’s flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks, leaving homeowners unprepared

Jeremy Porter, City University of New York

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A person holds a sign in front of a federal building.

How citizenship chaos was averted, for now, by a class action injunction against Trump’s birthright citizenship order

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

Inequality has risen from 1970 to Trump − that has 3 hidden costs that undermine democracy

Nathan Meyers, UMass Amherst

People hold a sign at a march.
Why it can be hard to warn people about dangers like floods – communication researchers explain the role of human behavior

Keri K. Stephens, The University of Texas at Austin and Hamilton Bean, University of Colorado Denver

a vertical yellow sign with black numbers stands in the middle of flowing water
Why do so many American workers feel guilty about taking the vacation they’ve earned?

Karen Tan, Middle Tennessee State University

A desk in an office featuring a phone and computer monitor in the foreground, with a calendar hanging on the wall with one week marked off in red text that reads 'Vacation.'
IRS says churches may endorse political candidates despite a decades-old federal statute barring them from doing that

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, University of Notre Dame

Man in a suit speaks at a church service.
AI in health care could save lives and money − but change won’t happen overnight

Turgay Ayer, Georgia Institute of Technology

A lifelike AI instructor studies an illustration of the human brain.
School smartphone bans reflect growing concern over youth mental health and academic performance

Margaret Murray, University of Michigan

Students put their smartphones in a box.
Spacecraft equipped with a solar sail could deliver earlier warnings of space weather threats to Earth’s technologies

Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, University of Michigan

An illustration showing four spacecraft in a pyramid formation following a thin sail which is moving towards a stream of particles coming form the Sun.
Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels – new research

Jalees Rehman, University of Illinois Chicago

Computer illustration of blood vessels branching out in different directions

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AI-generated child pornography is surging − a legal scholar explains why the fight against it is complicated and how the law could catch up

Wayne Unger, Quinnipiac University

The AI therapist will see you now: Can chatbots really improve mental health?

Pooja Shree Chettiar, Texas A&M University

AI-produced image of a robot therapist sitting in a chair holding a clipboard while a robot patient cries in its hands
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Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation's Quizmaster

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Justice Department efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans likely violate constitutional rights

Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University and Irina D. Manta, Hofstra University

Dozens of people lift their right hands in the air as they recite an oath.
Trump’s ‘big’ bill gives millions of taxpayers a new charitable tax break, but whether it will help nonprofits is unclear

Daniel Hungerman, University of Notre Dame

Dollar bills float randomly around the U.S. Capitol building.
How weather changes cause migraines – a neurologist explains the triggers and what you can do to ease the pain

Danielle Wilhour, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

A women with freckles holds her fingers against her temple and closes her eyes. She has the look of someone with a severe headache.
That $20 dress direct from China now costs $30 after Trump closed a tariff loophole – and the US will soon end the ‘de minimis’ exemption for the rest of the world, too

Vivek Astvansh, McGill University

Clothes are displayed on hangers at a Chinese-founded fashion brand Shein pop-up store in Paris on May 4, 2023.
Wildfire smoke can make your outdoor workout hazardous to your health – an exercise scientist explains how to gauge the risk

John C. Quindry, University of Montana

Silhouette of a woman running outdoors in hazy air
This tropical plant builds isolated ‘apartments’ to prevent battles among the aggressive ant tenants it relies on for survival

Guillaume Chomicki, Durham University and Susanne S. Renner, Washington University in St. Louis

Two pairs of ants colored orange and black fighting
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Trump administration

The U.S. Capitol Building is lit up at dusk.

‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will have Americans paying higher prices for dirtier energy

Daniel Cohan, Rice University

My city was one of hundreds expecting federal funds to help manage rising heat wave risk – then EPA terminated the grants

Brian G. Henning, Gonzaga University

A woman holds an umbrella to ward off the heat.
Trump administration’s lie detector campaign against leakers is unlikely to succeed and could divert energy from national security priorities

Brian O'Neill, Georgia Institute of Technology

A woman's three fingers on right hand, resting on a table, are connected to a polygraph machine.
How slashing university research grants impacts Colorado’s economy and national innovation – a CU Boulder administrator explains

Massimo Ruzzene, University of Colorado Boulder

Two people stand behind an "atom interferometer" which glows blue.
What is the ‘Seven Mountains Mandate’ and how is it linked to political extremism in the US?

Art Jipson, University of Dayton

Three individuals stand in prayer with their eyes closed, while several others sit nearby. One of the standing individuals is wearing a MAGA hat
Read more about the Trump administration

International

People march at a demonstration

A weakened Iran and Hezbollah gives Lebanon an opening to chart path away from the region’s conflicts − will it be enough?

Mireille Rebeiz, Dickinson College

Nations are increasingly ‘playing the field’ when it comes to US and China – a new book explains explains why ‘active nonalignment’ is on the march

Jorge Heine, Boston University

Three men in suits stand next to each other.
Why energy markets fluctuate during an international crisis

Skip York, Rice University

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

New research in health and science

A photograph of sand ripples and sand dunes. A particularly large dune is in the background.

Dune patterns in California desert hold clues that help researchers map Mars’ shifting sands

Lauren Berger, Texas A&M University

Why recycling solar panels is harder than you might think − an electrical engineer explains

Anurag Srivastava, West Virginia University

A person carries a large black rectangular object down a hallway lined with similar items.
Marco Rubio impersonator contacted officials using AI voice deepfakes – computer security experts explain what they are and how to avoid getting fooled

Matthew Wright, Rochester Institute of Technology and Christopher Schwartz, Rochester Institute of Technology

a man in a business suit stands in front of a window and flag
Scientific norms shape the behavior of researchers working for the greater good

Jeffrey A. Lee, Texas Tech University

people in white lab coats and blue gloves look at a monitor
Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about, and Trump’s order could clear the way for operations soon

Alexus Cazares-Nuesser, University of Hawaii

An aquatic invertebrate that looks like a floating star or an underwater sunflower floats above nodules on the seabed.
Read more new science research

Artificial intelligence

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

Rizwan Virk, Arizona State University

Photo of bald man with goatee sitting on a desk with both hands raised.
How artificial intelligence controls your health insurance coverage

Jennifer D. Oliva, Indiana University

A older man sits up on an exam table during a routine check-up. His female doctor is holding out a tablet as they review some recent test results together.
AI ‘reanimations’: Making facsimiles of the dead raises ethical quandaries

Nir Eisikovits, UMass Boston and Daniel J. Feldman, UMass Boston

a bearded man wearing a sweatshirt and ball cap
Grok’s antisemitic rant shows how generative AI can be weaponized

James Foulds, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Phil Feldman, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and Shimei Pan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

two smartphones, one on top of the other, both showing an icon of a circle with a diagonal slash through it
Read more stories on artificial intelligence

Extreme weather and natural disasters

Three generations of a family stand in front of the remains of home hit by a tornado. They're looking at a photo album they found.

The aftermath of floods, hurricanes and other disasters can be hardest on older rural Americans – here’s how families and neighbors can help

Lori Hunter, University of Colorado Boulder

Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 120 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding

Hatim Sharif, The University of Texas at San Antonio

A man in a baseball cap watches flood water pouring down a river.
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.
Hurricane Helene set up future disasters, from landslides to flooding – cascading hazards like these are now upending risk models

Brian J. Yanites, Indiana University

A lodge hangs precariously over the edge of a deeply eroded river bank. Tall mountains rise directly behind the lodge and along the river.
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
Read more articles related to extreme weather

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AI and art collide in this engineering course that puts human creativity first

Francesco Fedele, Georgia Institute of Technology

Exploring questions of meaning, ethics and belief through Japanese anime

Ronald S. Green, Coastal Carolina University

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How the Catholic Church helped change the conversation about capital punishment in the United States

Austin Sarat, Amherst College

A woman with gray hair peers out from a narrow window next to a red door that says 'Death Row A&B.'
Jimmy Swaggart’s rise and fall shaped the landscape of American televangelism

Diane Winston, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism

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3 basic ingredients, a million possibilities: How small pizzerias succeed with uniqueness in an age of chain restaurants

Paula de la Cruz-Fernández, University of Florida and Avi Ackerman, University of Florida

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1.
Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 120 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding

Hatim Sharif, The University of Texas at San Antonio

Why Texas Hill Country, where a devastating flood killed more than 120 people, is one of the deadliest places in the US for flash flooding
2.
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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