NewsPronto

 
Men's Weekly

.

The Conversation

Why is US health care still the most expensive in the world after decades of cost-cutting initiatives?

  • Written by Patrick Aguilar, Managing Director of Health, Washington University in St. Louis
imageTwo-thirds of Americans are very worried about being able to pay for their health care. Morsa Images/DigitalVision via Getty Images

In announcing its “Great Healthcare Plan” in January 2026, the Trump administration became the latest in a long history of efforts by the U.S. government to rein in the soaring cost of health care.

As a...

Read more: Why is US health care still the most expensive in the world after decades of cost-cutting...

Reading to young kids improves their social skills − and a new study shows it doesn’t matter whether parents stop to ask questions

  • Written by Erin Clabough, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia
imageA father reads a bedtime story to his daughter in 1955. Lambert/Getty Images

In 2024, 51% of families read aloud to their very young children, while 37% read aloud to their kids between the ages of 6 and 8 years old.

Some parents have said they stop reading aloud to their school-age children because their kids can read on their own.

I’m a neuro...

Read more: Reading to young kids improves their social skills − and a new study shows it doesn’t matter...

Historically Black colleges and universities do more than offer Black youths a pathway to opportunity and success – I teach criminology, and my research suggests another benefit

  • Written by Andrea Hagan, Instructor of Criminology & Justice, Loyola University New Orleans, Loyola University New Orleans
image Jackson State University students attend an event in Mississippi in October 2025. Aron Smith/Jackson State University via Getty Images

Historically Black colleges and universities, often known as HBCUs, are well known for their deep roots in U.S. higher education and proven effectiveness at graduating Black students who go on to become...

Read more: Historically Black colleges and universities do more than offer Black youths a pathway to...

Local governments provide proof that polarization is not inevitable

  • Written by Lauren Hall, Associate professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology
imageLocal officials get to participate in events such as ribbon cuttings, celebrating projects they may have helped make happen.NHLI/Eliot J. Schechter via Getty Images

When it comes to national politics, Americans are fiercely divided across a range of issues, including gun control, election security and vaccines. It’s not new for Republicans...

Read more: Local governments provide proof that polarization is not inevitable

How a 22-year-old George Washington learned how to lead, from a series of mistakes in the Pennsylvania wilderness

  • Written by Christopher Magra, Professor of American History, University of Tennessee
imageA young George Washington was thrust into the dense, contested wilderness of the Ohio River Valley as a land surveyor for real estate development companies in Virginia.Henry Hintermeister/Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

This Presidents Day, I’ve been thinking about George Washington − not at his finest hour, but possibly at his...

Read more: How a 22-year-old George Washington learned how to lead, from a series of mistakes in the...

RNA is key to the dark matter of the genome − scientists are sequencing it to illuminate human health and disease

  • Written by Thomas Begley, Professor of Biological Sciences, Associate Director of The RNA Institute, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageThere is still a great deal unknown about RNA and its modifications.Christoph Burgstedt/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Although there are striking differences between the cells that make up your eyes, kidneys, brain and toes, the DNA blueprint for these cells is essentially the same. Where do those differences come from?

Scientists are...

Read more: RNA is key to the dark matter of the genome − scientists are sequencing it to illuminate human...

Mapping cemeteries for class – how students used phones and drones to help a city count its headstones

  • Written by Robbyn Abbitt, Associate Director of the Geospatial Analysis Center, Miami University
imageMiami University students in the author's advanced GIS course collect headstone data.Robbyn Abbitt, CC BY-SA

If you told me a decade ago that I’d become an expert in mapping cemeteries, I would’ve laughed and been very confused about the dramatic turn my professional life must’ve taken at some point.

I’m an environmental...

Read more: Mapping cemeteries for class – how students used phones and drones to help a city count its...

Why eating cheap chocolate can feel embarrassing – even though no one else cares

  • Written by Siti Nuraisyah Suwanda, Doctoral Student and Graduate Researcher in Marketing, West Virginia University
imageHow you feel about a treat can change based on the judgment of others.DeanDrobot/iStock via Getty Images Plus

It’s February, and you grab a box of cheap Valentine’s chocolate from the grocery store on your lunch break. Later, you’re eating it at your office desk when you realize someone else is watching. Suddenly, you feel a...

Read more: Why eating cheap chocolate can feel embarrassing – even though no one else cares

‘Which Side Are You On?’: American protest songs have emboldened social movements for generations, from coal country to Minneapolis

  • Written by Ted Olson, Professor of Appalachian Studies and Bluegrass, Old-Time and Roots Music Studies, East Tennessee State University
imageBruce Springsteen and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine perform on Jan. 30, 2026, in a concert in Minneapolis in protest of federal agents' actions in Minnesota.Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images

The presence of Department of Homeland Security agents in Minnesota compelled many people there to use songs as a means of...

Read more: ‘Which Side Are You On?’: American protest songs have emboldened social movements for generations,...

As Jeff Bezos dismantles The Washington Post, 5 regional papers chart a course for survival

  • Written by Dan Kennedy, Professor of Journalism, Northeastern University
imageThe ranks of The Washington Post's newsroom have shrunk since this photo was taken in 2016.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Washington Post’s evisceration at the hands of its billionaire owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, didn’t have to happen.

Following months of speculation, the Post cut at least300 of its 800 journalists on Feb. 4,...

Read more: As Jeff Bezos dismantles The Washington Post, 5 regional papers chart a course for survival

More Articles ...

  1. Why Christian clergy see risk as part of their moral calling
  2. Held captive in their own country during World War II, Japanese Americans used nature to cope with their unjustified imprisonment
  3. Valentine’s Day cards too sugary sweet for you? Return to the 19th-century custom of the spicy ‘vinegar valentine’
  4. Philadelphia was once a sweet spot for chocolatiers and other candymakers who made iconic treats for Valentine’s Day and other holidays
  5. Infusing asphalt with plastic could help roads last longer and resist cracking under heat
  6. How do scientists hunt for dark matter? A physicist explains why the mysterious substance is so hard to find
  7. Americans are asking too much of their dogs
  8. Fifteen years after Egypt’s uprising, how faith and politics reshaped a generation
  9. How the law can add to child sex trafficking victims’ existing trauma
  10. Sixth year of drought in Texas and Oklahoma leaves ranchers bracing for another harsh summer
  11. Why ‘The West Wing’ went from a bipartisan hit to a polarized streaming comfort watch over 2 decades, reflecting profound shifts in media and politics
  12. Journalism may be too slow to remain credible once events are filtered through social media
  13. No animal alive today is ‘primitive’ – why are so many still labeled that way?
  14. Winter Olympians often compete in freezing temperatures – physiology and advances in materials science help keep them warm
  15. Whether it’s yoga, rock climbing or Dungeons Dragons, taking leisure to a high level can be good for your well-being
  16. New technologies are stepping up the global fight against wildlife trafficking
  17. US experiencing largest measles outbreak since 2000 – 5 essential reads on the risks, what to do and what’s coming next
  18. Federal and state authorities are taking a 2-pronged approach to make it harder to get an abortion
  19. What is the American Dream, and has it become harder to achieve in recent years?
  20. Will a ‘Trump slump’ continue to hit US tourism in 2026 − and even keep World Cup fans away?
  21. Has globalization lessened the importance of physical distance? For economic shocks, new research suggests ‘yes’
  22. Aldi is coming to Colorado, and the disruption could lead to lower food prices
  23. There’s a competition crisis in America’s state legislatures – and that’s bad for democracy
  24. From ski jumps and sliding bobsleds to engineering snow, here are 5 essential reads on the science of the Winter Olympics
  25. Fears about TikTok’s policy changes point to a deeper problem in the tech industry
  26. What Olympic athletes see that viewers don’t: Machine-made snow makes ski racing faster and riskier – and it’s everywhere
  27. Clarence ‘Taffy’ Abel: A pioneering US Olympic hockey star who hid his Indigenous identity to play in the NHL
  28. A terrorism label that comes before the facts can turn ‘domestic terrorism’ into a useless designation
  29. Why corporate America is mostly staying quiet as federal immigration agents show up at its doors
  30. You’ve reached your weight loss goal on GLP-1 medications – what now?
  31. Overactive immune cells can worsen heart failure – targeting them could offer new treatments
  32. AI-generated text is overwhelming institutions – setting off a no-win ‘arms race’ with AI detectors
  33. How women are reinterpreting the menstrual taboos in Chinese Buddhism
  34. Has Little Caesars Arena boosted economic activity in Detroit? We looked at hotel and short-term rental industry data to find out
  35. ‘Less lethal’ crowd-control weapons still cause harm – 2 physicians explain what they are and their health effects
  36. ICE and Border Patrol in Minnesota − accused of violating 1st, 2nd, 4th and 10th amendment rights − are testing whether the Constitution can survive
  37. Schools are increasingly telling students they must put their phones away – Ohio’s example shows mixed results following new bans
  38. Women have been mapping the world for centuries – and now they’re speaking up for the people left out of those maps
  39. Congress has exercised minimal oversight over ICE, but that might change
  40. Lüften sounds simple – but ‘house-burping’ is more complicated in Pittsburgh
  41. ‘Inoculation’ helps people spot political deepfakes, study finds
  42. Philly theaters unite to stage 3 plays by Pulitzer-winning playwright James Ijames
  43. Trump wants to shutter the Kennedy Center for 2 years – an arts management professor explains what that portends
  44. An epic border: Finland’s poetic masterpiece, the Kalevala, has roots in 2 cultures and 2 countries
  45. Medicare is experimenting with having AI review claims – a cost-saving measure that could risk denying needed care
  46. Reclaiming water from contaminated brine can increase water supply and reduce environmental harm
  47. The Supreme Court may soon diminish Black political power, undoing generations of gains
  48. Climate change threatens the Winter Olympics’ future – and even snowmaking has limits for saving the Games
  49. Confused by the new dietary guidelines? Focus on these simple, evidence-based shifts to lower your chronic disease risk
  50. Federal power meets local resistance in Minneapolis – a case study in how federalism staves off authoritarianism