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Abu Mohammed al-Golani may become the face of post-Assad Syria – but who is he and why does he have $10M US bounty on his head?

  • Written by Sara Harmouch, Ph.D. candidate in Public Affairs, American University
imageSupporters greet Abu Mohammed al-Golani as the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on Dec. 8, 2024. Aref Tammawi/AFP via Getty Images

The fall of President Bashar al-Assad has left a critical question: After a half-century of brutal dynastic rule has come to an end, who speaks for Syrians now?

One group staking a major claim for that role is Hayat Tahrir...

Read more: Abu Mohammed al-Golani may become the face of post-Assad Syria – but who is he and why does he...

Why does Colorado have so many ballot measures?

  • Written by John Matsusaka, Professor of Finance and Business Economics, University of Southern California

Colorado voters had the chance to weigh in on 14 ballot measures when they voted in November 2024, covering a wide range of issues, including abortion, school choice, taxes, trophy hunting and primary elections.

Denver voters faced an additional 11 ballot measures.

These measures were in addition to voting for president and other federal, state and...

Read more: Why does Colorado have so many ballot measures?

In 2024, independent voters grew their share of the vote, split their tickets and expanded their influence

  • Written by Thom Reilly, Professor & Co-Director, Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy, School of Public Affairs, Arizona State University
imagePolitical independents vote differently from those who say they are Democrats or Republicans.VectorMine/iStock via Getty Images Plus

With a growing number of American voters identifying as politically independent, many pollsters, most members of the media and the campaigns themselves viewed the independent vote as crucial to the outcome of the 2024...

Read more: In 2024, independent voters grew their share of the vote, split their tickets and expanded their...

How utilities are working to meet AI data centers’ voracious appetite for electricity

  • Written by Anurag Srivastava, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University
imageHigh-voltage transmission lines provide electricity to data centers in Ashburn, Va., to power AI and other internet uses. AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey

Across the U.S. and worldwide, energy demand is soaring as data centers work to support the wide and growing use of artificial intelligence. These large facilities are filled with powerful computers, called...

Read more: How utilities are working to meet AI data centers’ voracious appetite for electricity

How to combat toxic bosses: Social media and flexible work can save careers, new research shows

  • Written by Andrew Edelblum, Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of Dayton
imageSlack can be a haven. So can flexible work.iStock/Getty Images Plus

In today’s high-pressure business world, demands like meeting sales targets and managing customer relationships are challenging enough. But for some workers, the real battle is surviving the toll of an abusive manager.

Toxic behavior from supervisors — including public...

Read more: How to combat toxic bosses: Social media and flexible work can save careers, new research shows

Meditation can reduce stress – but the pressure to overwork remains

  • Written by Jaime L Kucinskas, Associate Professor of Sociology, Hamilton College
imageAre meditation practices in the workplace effective in changing the culture of high stress?Jason Koerner/Getty Images Alo Yoga

Overwork and burnout are affecting many Americans.

The American Psychological Association’s 2023 Work and Well-being Survey found that 77% of Americans suffered from workplace stress. Over half of the respondents...

Read more: Meditation can reduce stress – but the pressure to overwork remains

Trump’s plans for tougher border enforcement won’t necessarily stop migrants from coming to US − but their journeys could become more costly and dangerous

  • Written by Katrina Burgess, Professor of Political Economy, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University
imageA section of the US-Mexico border fence is seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, on Oct. 21, 2024. Guillermo Arias/AFP via Getty Images

The screen fills with images of migrants dodging highway traffic. “They keep coming,” says a narrator. “The federal government won’t stop them yet requires us to pay billions to take care of...

Read more: Trump’s plans for tougher border enforcement won’t necessarily stop migrants from coming to US −...

What is the universe expanding into if it’s already infinite?

  • Written by Nicole Granucci, Instructor of Physics, Quinnipiac University
imageThe universe is full of stars, galaxies and planets − it's expanding every day. NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Wisconsin via APimage

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

What is the universe expanding into if it’s already...

Read more: What is the universe expanding into if it’s already infinite?

Assad leaves behind a fragmented nation – stabilizing it will be a major challenge for fractured opposition and external backers

  • Written by Sefa Secen, Assistant Professor of International and Global Studies, Nazareth University

The brutal 54-year reign of the Assad family in Syria looks to be over.

In a matter of days, opposition forces took the major city of Aleppo before advancing southward into other government-controlled areas of Hama, Homs and finally, on Dec 7, 2024, the capital, Damascus.

The offensive was all the more astonishing given that the 13-year civil war...

Read more: Assad leaves behind a fragmented nation – stabilizing it will be a major challenge for fractured...

Assad leaves behind a fragmented nation – stabilizing Syria will be a major challenge for fractured opposition and external backers

  • Written by Sefa Secen, Assistant Professor of International and Global Studies, Nazareth University

The brutal 54-year reign of the Assad family in Syria looks to be over.

In a matter of days, opposition forces took the major city of Aleppo before advancing southward into other government-controlled areas of Hama, Homs and finally, on Dec 7, 2024, the capital, Damascus.

The offensive was all the more astonishing given that the 13-year civil war...

Read more: Assad leaves behind a fragmented nation – stabilizing Syria will be a major challenge for...

More Articles ...

  1. What does the NASA administrator do? The agency’s leader reaches for the stars while navigating budgets and politics back on Earth
  2. Trump attacks diversity, but a fellow New Yorker − US Rep. Vito Marcantonio − worked to represent all Americans in a multiracial democracy
  3. What is Salt Typhoon? A security expert explains the Chinese hackers and their attack on US telecommunications networks
  4. Extraterrestrial life may look nothing like life on Earth − so astrobiologists are coming up with a framework to study how complex systems evolve
  5. Protests, sectarian violence and a growing spat with India: Bangladesh’s new leaders are beset with challenges to its democracy
  6. What is the ‘way of the warrior’? Students investigate the arts of war and peace in this course about virtue and the ethics of violence
  7. Love it or hate it, nonliteral ‘literally’ is here to stay: Here’s why English will survive
  8. Adults grow new brain cells – and these neurons are key to learning by listening
  9. White and Black activists worked strategically in parallel in Detroit 50 years ago, fighting for civil rights
  10. What is a self-coup? South Korea president’s attempt ended in failure − a notable exception in a growing global trend
  11. Some black holes at the centers of galaxies have a buddy − but detecting these binary pairs isn’t easy
  12. Long-standing American principle of birthright citizenship under attack from Trump allies
  13. Avian flu virus has been found in raw milk − a reminder of how pasteurization protects health
  14. Can you choose to believe something, just like that?
  15. ‘Lebanon wanted us gone … it was a risk to leave’ − Syrian refugees who fled Israeli bombs face hostility and uncertainty on return
  16. Bluesky isn’t the ‘new Twitter,’ but its resemblance to the old one is drawing millions of new users
  17. How a director of national intelligence helps a president stay on top of threats from around the world
  18. Prenatal supplements largely lack the recommended amount of omega-3 fatty acids to help prevent preterm birth − new research
  19. Supreme Court could narrow the scope of federal environmental reviews, with less consideration of how projects would contribute to climate change
  20. Water fluoridation helps prevent tooth decay – how growing opposition threatens a 70-year-old health practice
  21. Notre Dame reopens in Paris 5 years after fire – its reconstruction preserves the past and illuminates France’s modern ambitions
  22. America’s counties are less purple than they used to be
  23. AI Jesus might ‘listen’ to your confession, but it can’t absolve your sins − a scholar of Catholicism explains
  24. One’s a Hugh Grant thriller, one’s a hot-mess reality show – and both center on stereotypes about Mormon women
  25. Is masculine anxiety spurring support for Trump among Gen Z?
  26. How right-wing media is like improv theater
  27. What South Korea’s short-lived martial law says about nation’s democracy and the autocratic tendencies of President Yoon
  28. Why you should talk to people you disagree with about politics
  29. Threatening texts targeting minorities after election were vile − but they might not be illegal
  30. Rape survivors like Gisèle Pelicot are choosing to speak out, refuting the idea that they should feel shame
  31. We surveyed hundreds of vacationers to confirm this ancient wisdom: The journey matters as much as the destination
  32. New IRS funding boosted tax enforcement and improved taxpayer services during the Biden administration
  33. NEOWISE, the NASA mission that cataloged objects around Earth for over a decade, has come to an end
  34. Noam Chomsky at 96: The linguist, educator, philosopher and public thinker has had a massive intellectual and moral influence
  35. Are trans women ‘biologically male’? The answer is complicated
  36. Wildland firefighters face a big pay cut if Congress doesn’t act − that’s taking a toll on a workforce already under stress
  37. Wildland firefighters face up to $20,000 pay cut if Congress doesn’t act − that’s taking a toll on a workforce already under stress
  38. What is Hayat Tahrir al-Sham? And how did the Islamist group evolve into a key player in Syria’s civil war?
  39. Pardon who? Hunter Biden case renews ethical debate over use and limits of peculiar presidential power
  40. Do Mom and Dad really know what’s best? A psychologist explains why kids see their parents as bossier than they are
  41. Music can change how you feel about the past
  42. The apocalypse that wasn’t: AI was everywhere in 2024’s elections, but deepfakes and misinformation were only part of the picture
  43. Why sending a belated gift is not as bad as you probably think − and late is better than never
  44. Tip pressure might work in the moment, but customers are less likely to return
  45. Dozens of cyclists and pedestrians are killed each year in Philly − an injury epidemiologist explains how to better protect bike lanes, slow drivers down and reduce collisions
  46. US attorney general’s professionalism can protect Americans’ privacy, former federal judge explains
  47. Tiff Massey’s ‘7 Mile Livernois’ exhibition isn’t just about a neighborhood – it’s a tribute to Black Detroit
  48. Fossilized footprints reveal 2 extinct hominin species living side by side 1.5 million years ago
  49. 208 million Americans are classified as obese or overweight, according to new study synthesizing 132 data sources
  50. An upward spiral – how small acts of kindness and connection really can change the world, according to psychology research