Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid narcotic about 100 times as potent as morphine, continues to be in the news, as deaths from fentanyl overdose continue to rise and even more potent nonpharmaceutical forms become available on the street. It was the drug in Prince’s body...

On June 13, when a judge in Oregon allowed a person to legally choose neither sex and be classified as “nonbinary,” transgender activists rejoiced. It’s thought to be the first ruling of its kind in a country that, until now, has required that people mark “male” or “female” on official identity documents.

Th...

Supporters of the Islamic State, or ISIS, around the world gather online, becoming members of virtual communities in much the same way any of us might join online groups focused on some common...

If you like binge-watching Netflix, streaming audio or online gaming, then you should be celebrating this week. And if your business depends on reaching a wide audience online, you should join in. A federal appeals court decision this week means...

Orlando has long been characterized as a place of transients, a perpetual churn of people moving in and out. Orlando is a stop, a stepping stone, not a destination. The city once even referred to its homeless as “transients” – as if they were something temporary, rather than permanent.

I certainly felt temporary when I took my...

New technology could lead humans to relinquish control over decisions to use lethal force. As artificial intelligence advances, the possibility that machines could independently select and fire on targets is fast approaching. Fully autonomous weapons, also known as...

The men and women of a Bible study at Charleston, South Carolina’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church welcomed Dylann Roof into their circle on June 17, 2015. Then, after an hour of discussion and prayer, the 21-year-old white supremacist took out a gun and opened fire on them. Declaring his hatred of African-Americans, Roof...

As the case against Brock Turner, the Stanford swimmer who sexually assaulted a woman when she was unconscious, unfolded in court, his attorneys presented him as a young man whose inexperience with alcohol and desire to fit in with his teammates led to a drunken night of consensual sex.

Following Turner’s conviction and six-month sentence,...

In the United States, public support of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community has increased in recent years. These changes are associated with increased visibility of openly gay characters on television, the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell" and the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage.

Neve...

Outstanding student loan debt in the United States reached a record US$1.35 trillion in March, up six percent from a year earlier.

About 10 million people who borrowed from the government’s main student loan program – 43 percent – are currently behind or no longer making...