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Fed rate hikes, recession fears and political backlash leave ESG investors at a crossroads

  • Written by Sehoon Kim, Assistant Professor of Finance, University of Florida
imageESG investing looks for companies that do well on environmental, social and governance benchmarks. Zhengshun Tang/Moment via Getty Images

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again on May 3, 2023, by a quarter point, making it the Fed’s 10th rate hike since March 2022 in an ongoing fight to tame inflation. These rate hikes have been...

Read more: Fed rate hikes, recession fears and political backlash leave ESG investors at a crossroads

Black mothers trapped in unsafe neighborhoods signal the stressful health toll of gun violence in the U.S.

  • Written by Loren Henderson, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
imageThe stress of experiencing high levels of community violence harms entire families.skynesher/E+ via Getty Images

Black mothers are the canaries in the coal mine when it comes to the mental and physical harms of stress from living with gun violence in America.

In the U.S., Black people are likelier than white people to reside in impoverished, racially...

Read more: Black mothers trapped in unsafe neighborhoods signal the stressful health toll of gun violence in...

Yellen puts Congress on notice over impending debt default date: 5 essential reads on what's at stake

  • Written by Matt Williams, Senior Breaking News and International Editor
imageTreasury Secretary Janet Yellen doesn't want to look back in anger over a debt deadline missed.Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

Lawmakers have been given notice of a new deadline if they are to avoid a damaging default on U.S. debt: June 1, 2023.

If Congress fails to raise the nation’s borrowing limit by that date, Treasury Secretary Janet...

Read more: Yellen puts Congress on notice over impending debt default date: 5 essential reads on what's at...

Online predators target children’s webcams, study finds

  • Written by Eden Kamar, Postdoctoral research fellow, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
imageChildren's webcams are a safety risk.Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images

There has been a tenfold increase in sexual abuse imagery created with webcams and other recording devices worldwide since 2019, according to the the Internet Watch Foundation.

Social media sites and chatrooms are the most common methods used to facilitate contact...

Read more: Online predators target children’s webcams, study finds

Twitter played a role in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – new research

  • Written by Tony Cookson, Associate Professor of Finance, University of Colorado Boulder
imageGarnering lots of tweets can contribute to a bank's woes.SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Prior to Silicon Valley Bank’s March 10, 2023, collapse, conversations on Twitter among investors about the bank spiked – helping fuel the SVB bank run. As we...

Read more: Twitter played a role in the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank – new research

The thinking error that makes people susceptible to climate change denial

  • Written by Jeremy P. Shapiro, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University
imageExpecting black-and-white answers can make it hard to see the truth.bubaone via Getty Images

Cold spells often bring climate change deniers out in force on social media, with hashtags like #ClimateHoax and #ClimateScam. Former President Donald Trump often chimes in, repeatedly claiming that each cold snap disproves the existence of global warming.

Fr...

Read more: The thinking error that makes people susceptible to climate change denial

Body lotions, mothballs, cleaning fluids and other widely used products contain known toxic chemicals, study finds

  • Written by Robin Dodson, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Environmental Health, Boston University
imageCommon household products such as cleaning agents can contain a wide range of harmful chemicals.gawriloff/istock via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Consumer products released more than 5,000 tons of chemicals in 2020 inside California homes and workplaces that are known to cause cancer,...

Read more: Body lotions, mothballs, cleaning fluids and other widely used products contain known toxic...

Math teachers hold a bias against girls when the teachers think gender equality has been achieved

  • Written by Yasemin Copur-Gencturk, Associate Professor of Education, University of Southern California
imageEffects of biases can snowball over time.PeopleImages via Getty Images

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

Math teachers who believe women no longer face discrimination tend to be biased against girls’ ability in math. This is what we found through an experiment we conducted with over 400 elementary...

Read more: Math teachers hold a bias against girls when the teachers think gender equality has been achieved

Rejected Oklahoma plea for death penalty commutation highlights clemency’s changing role in US death penalty system

  • Written by Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
imageProtesters demonstrate against the conviction and death sentence of Richard Glossip.Larry French/Getty Images for MoveOn.org

When the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board decided not to recommend clemency for death row inmate Richard Glossip, the case highlighted the role clemency plays in the death penalty system.

Glossip had asked the board to commute...

Read more: Rejected Oklahoma plea for death penalty commutation highlights clemency’s changing role in US...

Are some human rights more important than others? Religious freedom advocates often put it first

  • Written by Laura E. Alexander, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Goldstein Family Community Chair in Human Rights, University of Nebraska Omaha
imageA protest for Mahsa Amini, who died after being arrested by Iran's morality police for allegedly not complying with dress code laws, in Tehran on Sept. 19, 2022. Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Every year, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) releases a report on religious oppression around the world,...

Read more: Are some human rights more important than others? Religious freedom advocates often put it first

More Articles ...

  1. Kids cartoon characters that use AI to customize responses help children learn
  2. Generative AI is forcing people to rethink what it means to be authentic
  3. What causes volcanoes to erupt?
  4. Respectful persuasion is a relay race, not a solo sprint – 3 keys to putting it in practice
  5. Whether or not a man convicted of abusing African 'orphans' is exonerated, the missionary system that brought him to Kenya was always deeply flawed
  6. Every cancer is unique – why different cancers require different treatments, and how evolution drives drug resistance
  7. The Federal Reserve and the art of navigating a soft landing ... when economic data sends mixed signals
  8. Recent banking crises are rooted in a system that rewards excessive risk-taking -- as First Republic's failure shows
  9. Cannabis-derived products like delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC have flooded the US market – two immunologists explain the medicinal benefits and potential risks
  10. Sudan's plunge into chaos has geopolitical implications near and far – including for US strategic goals
  11. Emmett Till's accuser, Carolyn Bryant Donham, has died – here's how the 1955 murder case helped define civil rights history
  12. How the US military used magazines to target 'vulnerable' groups with recruiting ads
  13. SNAP work requirements don’t actually get more people working – but they do drastically limit the availability of food aid
  14. In 'Air,' Michael Jordan's silence speaks volumes about the marketing of Black athletes
  15. Human activities in Asia have reduced elephant habitat by nearly two-thirds since 1700, dividing what remains into ever-smaller patches
  16. US-South Korea nuclear weapons deal – what you need to know
  17. Biden's coronation no-show is no snub – more telling is whom he sends to King Charles' big day
  18. Saving broadcasting's past for the future -- archivists are working to capture not just tapes of TV and radio but the experience of tuning in together
  19. Latino youth struggle with sense of belonging in school
  20. Historic flooding in Fort Lauderdale was a sign of things to come – a look at who is most at risk and how to prepare
  21. Why Kurt Vonnegut's advice to college graduates still matters today
  22. 'Got polio?' messaging underscores a vaccine campaign's success but creates false sense of security as memories of the disease fade in US
  23. AI is exciting – and an ethical minefield: 4 essential reads on the risks and concerns about this technology
  24. Cognitive flexibility is essential to navigating a changing world – new research in mice shows how your brain learns new rules
  25. Harry Belafonte leveraged stardom for social change, his powerful voice always singing a song for justice
  26. Leprosy-causing bacteria found in armadillo specimens highlight value of museum collections for tracking pathogens
  27. Arctic sea ice loss and fierce storms leave Kivalina Search and Rescue fighting to protect their island from climate disasters
  28. A tweak to the University of Nebraska's logo shows how the once benign 'OK' sign has entered a 'purgatory of meaning'
  29. Mifepristone is under scrutiny in the courts, but it has been used safely and effectively around the world for decades
  30. Challenging the FDA's authority isn't new – the agency's history shows what's at stake when drug regulation is in limbo
  31. The invasion of Iraq defined US' foreign relations – but in popular Iraqi literature, the war is just a piece of the country's complex history
  32. In protecting land for wildlife, size matters – here's what it takes to conserve very large areas
  33. Willie Nelson at 90: Country music's elder statesman still on the road again
  34. What Socrates' 'know nothing' wisdom can teach a polarized America
  35. White power movements in US history have often relied on veterans -- and not on lone wolves
  36. In centennial year, Turkish voters will choose between Erdoğan’s conservative path and the founder’s modernist vision
  37. South Korea, US presidents to meet in Washington – amid wary glances in the direction of Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow
  38. Social media scatters your brain, and then you buy stuff you don't need
  39. 80 is different in 2023 than in 1776 – but even back then, a grizzled Franklin led alongside a young Hamilton
  40. Fast fashion still comes with deadly risks, 10 years after the Rana Plaza disaster – the industry's many moving pieces make it easy to cut corners
  41. The Supreme Court rules mifepristone can remain available – here's how 2 conflicting federal court decisions led to this point
  42. 'Stand your ground' laws empower armed citizens to defend property with violence – a simple mistake can get you shot, or killed
  43. Watch out for dangerous combinations of over-the-counter cold medicine and prescription drugs – two pharmacoepidemiology experts explain the risks
  44. Boy Scouts of America can now create $2.4 billion fund to pay claims for Scouts who survived abuse – a bankruptcy expert explains what's next
  45. What's going on when the Virgin Mary appears and statues weep? The answers aren't just about science or the supernatural
  46. Keeping NBA players on the court is no small 'feet'
  47. Raw materials, or sacred beings? Lithium extraction puts two worldviews into tension
  48. Fire danger in the high mountains is intensifying: That’s bad news for humans, treacherous for the environment
  49. Emergency contraception is often confused with abortion pills – here's how Plan B and other generic versions work to prevent pregnancy
  50. The US is about to blow up a fake warship in the South China Sea – but naval rivalry with Beijing is very real and growing