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School closures can hit rural communities hard

  • Written by Mara Casey Tieken, Associate Professor of Education, Bates College
An abandoned Arkansas high schoolMara Casey Tieken, CC BY-SA

The school bus begins picking up children before 6 a.m. in Elaine, Arkansas, a small, mostly African American town on the Mississippi River floodplains about 120 miles east of Little Rock. It crawls past long stretches of oxbow lakes, acres of soybean and cotton fields, and two closed...

Read more: School closures can hit rural communities hard

What Trump's tweet threatening Iran's cultural sites could mean for Shiite Muslims

  • Written by Kishwar Rizvi, Professor in the History of Art Islamic Art and Architecture, Yale University
Golden Iwan, Shrine of Fatima Masuma, built in the eighth century, is also a leading Shii seminary in Iran.Kishwar Rizvi, CC BY-SA

President Donald Trump warned the Islamic Republic of Iran in a tweet on Jan. 4 that the U.S. would target Iranian cultural sites, if provoked.

His threat followed the United States’ killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem...

Read more: What Trump's tweet threatening Iran's cultural sites could mean for Shiite Muslims

Tweets about cannabis' health benefits are full of mistruths

  • Written by Jon-Patrick Allem, Assistant Professor of Research, University of Southern California
Thomas Uhle, a grow manager, tends to marijuana plants growing at GB Sciences Louisiana in Baton Rouge in August 2019.Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

There has been a lot of talk in the U.S. about legalizing recreational cannabis, and about cannabis’ potential to help with health issues.

Scientists working in medicine may have a lot to discover about...

Read more: Tweets about cannabis' health benefits are full of mistruths

How countries in conflict, like Iran and the US, still talk to each other

  • Written by Klaus W. Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor; Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Diplomacy has provided a solution for how countries in conflict can communicate.Shutterstock/cybrain

Even countries that have broken ties with each other need to communicate in times of crisis and war.

That includes the U.S. and Iran, which have not had an official way to talk directly to each other since President Jimmy Carter cut off diplomatic...

Read more: How countries in conflict, like Iran and the US, still talk to each other

Children of color already make up the majority of kids in many US states

  • Written by Rogelio Sáenz, Professor of Demography, The University of Texas at San Antonio
The U.S. white majority is shrinking. Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock.com

Demographers project that whites will become a minority in the U.S. in around 2045, dropping below 50% of the population.

That’s a quarter-century from now – still a long way away, right?

Not if you focus on children. White children right now are on the eve of becoming a...

Read more: Children of color already make up the majority of kids in many US states

Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?

  • Written by Denisa Gandara, Assistant Professor, Southern Methodist University, Southern Methodist University
Colleges are increasingly being judged on how many students graduate. But is tying funding to graduation rates the way to go?George Rudy/Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: Performance-based funding – a policy where a portion of state funding for public colleges and universities is based on how well they perform – is gaining in...

Read more: Should college funding be tied to how many students graduate?

Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working from home?

  • Written by Mohja Rhoads, Research Consultant and Lecturer in Policy, Planning and Development, California State University, Dominguez Hills
More workers are demanding the flexibility to work out of the office.AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

More Americans are using flexible workplace practices – including telecommuting, co-working and off-peak start times – to add flexibility to their lives and eliminate or improve their commute.

One motivation? Rush hour traffic is getting...

Read more: Telecommuters create positive change – so why aren't employers more flexible about people working...

Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved

  • Written by Kristen S. Morrow, PhD Student in Anthropology and Integrative Conservation, University of Georgia
A capuchin monkey in Brazil hoists a stone tool to crack open nuts.Luca Antonio Marino, CC BY-ND

Human beings used to be defined as “the tool-maker” species. But the uniqueness of this description was challenged in the 1960s when Dr. Jane Goodall discovered that chimpanzees will pick and modify grass stems to use to collect termites....

Read more: Monkeys smashing nuts with stones hint at how human tool use evolved

Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance

  • Written by Klaus W. Larres, Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor; Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
President Donald Trump speaks from the White House on January 08, 2020 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images

U.S. President Donald Trump took a tough line in his address to the nation Jan. 8 in response to the Iranian airstrikes on two U.S. bases in Iraq.

Trump announced that he would impose more sanctions on Iran. He said he believed that...

Read more: Trump asks NATO allies for help with Iran after years of bashing the alliance

What happens when community college is made free

  • Written by Bruce Sacerdote, Professor of Economics, Dartmouth College
Free community college proposals are gaining attention. But do they work? And if so, for whom?MediaNews Group/Long Beach Press-Telegram via Getty Images

Policymakers and presidential hopefuls are having a spirited debate over whether the U.S. should offer free community college, free public college in general or additional college subsidies...

Read more: What happens when community college is made free

More Articles ...

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  5. AI can now read emotions – should it?
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  7. Coyotes are poised to enter South America for the first time
  8. Should government assistance cover pet food or potato chips? It depends who you ask
  9. Congressional Republicans abandon constitutional heritage and Watergate precedents in defense of Trump
  10. How a Chilean dog ended up as a face of the New York City subway protests
  11. Could Iran-US tensions mean troubled waters ahead in the Strait of Hormuz?
  12. If Democrats nominate a woman for president, don't try to make predictions about how she'll do
  13. EPA's proposed 'secret science' rule directly threatens children's health
  14. Universal coverage, single-payer, 'Medicare for All': What does it all mean for you?
  15. The dark side of supportive relationships
  16. Unemployment pushes more men to take on female-dominated jobs
  17. Trump's Twitter threat to destroy Iran's cultural sites is a historic mistake
  18. An Earth-sized planet found in the habitable zone of a nearby star
  19. In Iran showdown, conflict could explode quickly – and disastrously
  20. China can still salvage 'one country, two systems' in Hong Kong – here's how
  21. Asians are good at math? Why dressing up racism as a compliment just doesn't add up
  22. The mental health crisis on campus and how colleges can fix it
  23. A new way to identify a rare type of earthquake in time to issue lifesaving tsunami warnings
  24. How to write better pet adoption ads
  25. Building a digital archive for decaying paper documents, preserving centuries of records about enslaved people
  26. With the US and Iran on the brink of war, the dangers of Trump's policy of going it alone become clear
  27. Why there's a separate World Chess Championship for women
  28. Lawyers are trying to scare you with Facebook ads
  29. Buyers should beware of organic labels on nonfood products
  30. Unrest in Latin America makes authoritarianism look more appealing to some
  31. Want to know what will happen in 2020? Look to state polls for the answer
  32. 5 things you can do to make your microbiome healthier
  33. How to use habit science to help you keep your New Year's resolution
  34. What everyone should know about Reconstruction 150 years after the 15th Amendment's ratification
  35. America's love affair with the single-family house is cooling, but it won't be a quick breakup
  36. 3 big ways that the US will change over the next decade
  37. Why your New Year's resolution to go to the gym will fail
  38. A new way to give an old TB vaccine proves highly effective in monkeys
  39. Countries to watch in 2020, from Chile to Afghanistan: 5 essential reads
  40. How putting purpose into your New Year’s resolutions can bring meaning and results
  41. Higher education in America's prisons: 4 essential reads
  42. Why the race for the presidency begins with the Iowa caucus
  43. Deaf Christians often struggle to hear God's word, but some find meaning in the richness of who they are
  44. What do kids really think about Santa?
  45. Washington's perilous Christmas night crossing of the Delaware: Health hazards worse than war
  46. Lemurs are the world's most endangered mammals, but planting trees can help save them
  47. Hate exercise? Small increases in physical activity can make a big difference
  48. Archaeological discoveries are happening faster than ever before, helping refine the human story
  49. 3 internet language trends from 2019, explained
  50. Statistic of the decade: The massive deforestation of the Amazon