The Conversation

• Trump free to begin gutting Department of Education after Supreme Court ‘shadow’ ruling − 5 essential reads
  The justices overruled a lower court that had paused the Trump administration’s plan to fire over 1,300 workers.
• Florida is fronting the $450M cost of Alligator Alcatraz – a legal scholar explains what we still don’t know about the detainees
  Alligator Alcatraz represents a significant departure from past Florida policy regarding immigration.
• Rethinking the MBA: Character as the educational foundation for future business leaders
  Business school applicants rate high on measures of narcissism and psychopathy. A scholar argues that character education could help change that.
• Many Texas communities are dangerously unprepared for floods − lack of funding plays a big role
  There are ways the state could help these communities, as a team of disaster planning specialists explains.
• Sculptor galaxy image provides brilliant details that will help astronomers study how stars form
  Researchers stitched together hundreds of images from the Very Large Telescope to form a breathtaking photo of a nearby galaxy.
• Weird space weather seems to have influenced human behavior on Earth 41,000 years ago – our unusual scientific collaboration explores how
  Two geophysicists and an archaeologist teamed up to connect space weather 41,000 years ago to human behaviors that might have been in response – and show the value in cross-discipline teamwork.
• Europe is stuck in a bystander role over Iran’s nuclear program after US, Israeli bombs establish facts on the ground
  After more than two decades of hard-nosed diplomacy on Iran’s nuclear program, European negotiators are finding themselves beset by challenges.
• How universities can keep protests from turning violent: 3 lessons from the 2024 pro-Palestinian encampments
  Engaging early and often resulted in less violent protests, according to the authors’ survey of college campuses.
• A law from the era of Red Scares is supercharging Trump administration’s power over immigrants and noncitizens
  A 1952 law that President Harry S. Truman opposed, calling it a step backward, now underpins many actions by the Trump administration against noncitizens in the US.
• How 17M Americans enrolled in Medicaid and ACA plans could lose their health insurance by 2034
  The biggest changes will be to the Medicaid program, which currently covers more than 78 million people. And Congress may cut health care spending further.
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• ABC’s and CBS’s settlements with Trump are a dangerous step toward the commander in chief becoming the editor-in-chief
  Will costly settlements over news stories the president sued about influence network journalists when deciding whether to pursue investigative stories involving the Trump administration?
• Is there any hope for the internet?
  The author of the new book ‘Attention and Alienation’ wonders if the online world can ever become a place where kindness and human flourishing are the prevailing ethos.
• When big sports events like FIFA World Cup expand, their climate footprint expands too
  Sports face a sustainability challenge: They’re under pressure to grow, but more travel means more emissions that add to rising global temperatures. The NCAA is also weighing expanding March Madness.
• Listening to nonhumans: What music can teach about humanity’s relationships with nature and the divine
  Music brings spiritual realms into the world of human senses.
• Zohran Mamdani’s last name reflects centuries of intercontinental trade, migration and cultural exchange
  Mamdanis belong to the Khoja community, who were categorized by the British in the early 19th century as “Hindoo Mussalman” because their traditions spanned both religions.
• Most Pennsylvania voters ignore judicial elections − a political scientist explains why they matter, especially in a battleground state
  The outcome of Pennsylvania’s retention elections in November could change the balance of power in Harrisburg.
• Trump’s Brazil tariffs point more to his enduring bond with far-right Bolsonaro than economic concerns
  US president’s letter to Brazilian counterpart mentioned trade deficit. But don’t be fooled, these tariffs are political rather than economic.
• Who was the first pirate?
  The first mention of a pirate by name may be in a Greek book from 2,500 years ago. But sea-raiding has been around since the very first boats traversed the world’s waterways.
• When disasters fall out of the public eye, survivors continue to suffer – a rehabilitation professional explains how sustained mental health support is critical to recovery
  After a natural disaster, survivors often suffer from prolonged trauma for years to come, particularly in places where mental health services are few and far between.
• FEMA’s flood maps often miss dangerous flash flood risks, leaving homeowners unprepared
  FEMA flood maps are essential tools for identifying flood risks, but they have significant coverage gaps, and politics can get in the way.
• How citizenship chaos was averted, for now, by a class action injunction against Trump’s birthright citizenship order
  The Supreme Court can still invalidate the newest national injunction and allow the order to go into effect anywhere it is not currently barred from doing so. That would create administrative chaos, the authors write.
• Why it can be hard to warn people about dangers like floods – communication researchers explain the role of human behavior
  As flash floods ravage areas like the Texas Hill Country, research shows that technology alone cannot save lives during flooding emergencies.
• Inequality has risen from 1970 to Trump − that has 3 hidden costs that undermine democracy
  The Republican tax bill is set to worsen inequality, government data shows. It’s part of a 50-year trend that’s affecting the social fabric as well as the economy.
• Why do so many American workers feel guilty about taking the vacation they’ve earned?
  As vacations approach, anxiety often mounts: What if you’re seen as a slacker – or, worse, replaceable?
• IRS says churches may endorse political candidates despite a decades-old federal statute barring them from doing that
  There’s only one known instance of a church losing its tax-exempt status because it violated the Johnson Amendment, but Republicans have tried to get rid of it before.
• Muscle weakness in cancer survivors may be caused by treatable weakness in blood vessels – new research
  Many cancer survivors struggle with muscle weakness, which can be so profound that they may have difficulties walking up a couple of flights of stairs or going shopping for groceries on their own.
• AI in health care could save lives and money − but change won’t happen overnight
  Privacy and bias concerns and integration challenges are brakes on the pace of health care systems adopting the technology.
• Spacecraft equipped with a solar sail could deliver earlier warnings of space weather threats to Earth’s technologies
  As more satellites are launched into orbit, space agencies are looking at how to predict space weather events that could harm them.
• Spotted lanternflies love grapevines, and that’s bad for Pennsylvania’s wine industry
  An entomologist describes how the sap-sucking insects can weaken grapevines and reduce fruit yield and quality.
• School smartphone bans reflect growing concern over youth mental health and academic performance
  Across the US, parents are leading the charge to limit cellphone use in schools.
• This tropical plant builds isolated ‘apartments’ to prevent battles among the aggressive ant tenants it relies on for survival
  Squamellaria plants grow special structures to host the ants they symbiotically rely on for nutrients. Distinct compartments help different ant colonies live peacefully side by side.
• Justice Department efforts to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans likely violate constitutional rights
  In 1967, the Supreme Court said the government usually cannot take away citizenship without a person’s consent.
• The AI therapist will see you now: Can chatbots really improve mental health?
  Mental health chatbots promise therapy at your fingertips, but can AI ease anxiety and depression, or are we confusing conversation with care?
• Trump’s ‘big’ bill gives millions of taxpayers a new charitable tax break, but whether it will help nonprofits is unclear
  A new broadly available tax break of up to $1,000 will become available for those giving to a charity if they file on their own. Couples filing jointly may deduct $2,000 from their taxable income.
• How weather changes cause migraines – a neurologist explains the triggers and what you can do to ease the pain
  Storm systems, heat waves, bright sunlight, even lightning – for millions of people, weather changes can bring on painful headaches.
• Why recycling solar panels is harder than you might think − an electrical engineer explains
  Recycling solar panels seems like a smart idea, but it’s complicated. Built to withstand years of wind and weather, solar panels are designed for strength, not easy breakdown.
• Wildfire smoke can make your outdoor workout hazardous to your health – an exercise scientist explains how to gauge the risk
  Factors like your health status and how hard you exercise can help gauge the risk of wildfire smoke exposure.
• Dune patterns in California desert hold clues that help researchers map Mars’ shifting sands
  Understanding the similarities and differences of the deserts on Earth and Mars will help space travelers survive future missions to the red planet.
• Jimmy Swaggart’s rise and fall shaped the landscape of American televangelism
  Swaggart’s calls for a return to conservative Christian norms live on in today’s world of tradwives, limited access to abortion and calls to repeal gay marriage, writes a scholar of religion.
• 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
  New trade barriers are set to go into effect in July 2027.
• A weakened Iran and Hezbollah gives Lebanon an opening to chart path away from the region’s conflicts − will it be enough?
  For decades, Lebanon has been torn apart by internal division and external conflict. There may currently be a narrow window for a different future.
• My city was one of hundreds expecting federal funds to help manage rising heat wave risk – then EPA terminated the grants
  The administration said the grants were ‘no longer consistent with EPA funding priorities.’ Spokane, which has faced deadly heat waves in eastern Washington, shows who is at risk.
• AI and art collide in this engineering course that puts human creativity first
  An engineering professor teaches students to harness AI’s flaws for creative expression.
• ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ will have Americans paying higher prices for dirtier energy
  The new federal law favors energy technologies that are already profitable and increase global warming over cleaner approaches that could use the investment support.
• Trump administration’s lie detector campaign against leakers is unlikely to succeed and could divert energy from national security priorities
  Historically, the aggressive use of polygraphs in government is associated with weakening morale and diminished information flow.
• Exploring questions of meaning, ethics and belief through Japanese anime
  Anime characters often face challenges that connect to long-standing Buddhist and Shintō teachings. In this course, students look closely at what anime is saying about life.
• How the Catholic Church helped change the conversation about capital punishment in the United States
  Catholic opposition to the death penalty is relatively new in the church’s history, but has helped shape public debate.
• How Philadelphia’s sanitation strike differed from past labor disputes in the city
  An expert on Philadelphia’s municipal workers union talks about how social media helped the workers on strike to get their message out.
• Scientific norms shape the behavior of researchers working for the greater good
  While rarely explicitly taught to scientists in training, a set of common values guides science in the quest to advance knowledge while being ethical and trustworthy.