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Tool of faith or digital distraction? Catholic Church offers indulgences to faithful who fast from social media

  • Written by Heidi A. Campbell, Professor, Texas A&M University
imagePope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience at the Vatican on Feb. 15, 2017.AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia

The year 2025 is a Year of Jubilee: an event held every quarter-century that calls Catholics around the world to embark on a holy journey of faith and repentance.

For some, that journey is a literal pilgrimage; for others, it is an...

Read more: Tool of faith or digital distraction? Catholic Church offers indulgences to faithful who fast from...

Acute stress and early signs of PTSD are common in firefighters and other first responders − here’s what to watch out for

  • Written by Ian H. Stanley, Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine & Clinical Psychologist, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
imageA firefighter surveys the destruction at the Auto Fire in Oxnard, Calif.Etienne Laurent/AFP via Getty Images

The thousands of firefighters and other first responders on the front lines of the fires that are raging in the Los Angeles area are at increased risk for anxiety, depression, acute stress and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Amanda...

Read more: Acute stress and early signs of PTSD are common in firefighters and other first responders −...

Israel-Hamas deal shows limits of US influence – and the unpredictable impact of Trump

  • Written by Gregory F. Treverton, Professor of Practice in International Relations, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imageRelatives and supporters of Israeli hostages held in Gaza gather in favor of the ceasefire deal in Tel Aviv on Jan. 16, 2025. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is expected to take effect on Jan. 19, 2025, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Even as Israel’s cabinet delayed until Jan. 17...

Read more: Israel-Hamas deal shows limits of US influence – and the unpredictable impact of Trump

How constitutional guardrails have always contained presidential ambitions

  • Written by Victor Menaldo, Professor of Political Science, Co-founder of the Political Economy Forum, University of Washington
imageSince the U.S. Congress first met in 1789, it has been a key check on the power of the president.Allyn Cox, via Architect of the Capitol

As Donald Trump’s second inauguration fast approaches, concerns he threatens American democracy are rising yet again. Some warnings have cited Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric, willingness to undermine...

Read more: How constitutional guardrails have always contained presidential ambitions

MLK’s ‘beloved community’ has inspired social justice work for decades − what did he mean?

  • Written by Jason Oliver Evans, Research Associate and Lecturer, University of Virginia
imageVolunteers paint columns in a hallway during the Martin Luther King Jr. National Day of Service at Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in Washington, D.C., in 2019.Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Since 1983, when President Ronald Reagan signed Martin Luther King Jr. Day into law, many Americans have observed the federal...

Read more: MLK’s ‘beloved community’ has inspired social justice work for decades − what did he mean?

Civil servants brace for a second Trump presidency

  • Written by Jaime L Kucinskas, Associate Professor of Sociology, Hamilton College
imageGovernment workers worry they may not know where the perils lie as they do their jobs.z_wei/iStock / Getty Images Plus

On the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, some people who work for the federal government are concerned.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly promised to dismantle the...

Read more: Civil servants brace for a second Trump presidency

How Trump could try to stay in power after his second term ends

  • Written by Philip Klinkner, James S. Sherman Professor of Government, Hamilton College
imageDonald Trump portrays himself as uniquely strong and powerful.Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Think Donald Trump can’t be president after his second term is up in January 2029? Think again.

When President-elect Donald Trump met with congressional Republicans shortly after his November 2024 election victory, he floated the idea of another term:...

Read more: How Trump could try to stay in power after his second term ends

The US ambassador to the UN is tasked with doing a careful dance between Washington and the world

  • Written by Abiodun Williams, Professor of International Politics, Tufts University
imageA view of the United Nations headquarters building in New York in July 2024. Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican, is set to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Jan. 16, 2025, as part of her confirmation process to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

Internationa...

Read more: The US ambassador to the UN is tasked with doing a careful dance between Washington and the world

Soaring wealth inequality has remade the map of American prosperity

  • Written by Tom Kemeny, Associate Professor, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto
imageNew data highlights an increasing wealth divide across the United States.pick-uppath/Getty Images

One need only glance at headlines about Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and other super-wealthy individuals to understand that wealth in America is increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. Inequality is sharply on the rise.

Until now, however, little...

Read more: Soaring wealth inequality has remade the map of American prosperity

Joe Biden leaves a complicated legacy on the federal courts

  • Written by Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst
imageClarence Thomas shakes hands with Joe Biden, then-chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, before Thomas' Sept. 10, 1991, confirmation hearing to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court.Arnie Sachs/CNP/Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s farewell to elected office on Jan. 20, 2025, presents an opportunity to reflect on the legacy he...

Read more: Joe Biden leaves a complicated legacy on the federal courts

More Articles ...

  1. How America courted increasingly destructive wildfires − and what that means for protecting homes today
  2. Bird flu flares up again in Michigan poultry – an infectious disease expert explains the risk to humans, chickens, cows and other animals
  3. Community savings groups in Uganda are good stewards of local people’s money – and of outsiders’ funds too, research shows
  4. This course examines Israeli school division to better understand education policy – and society – in the US
  5. The Gilded Age novel that helps explain our fascination with Luigi Mangione
  6. Bezos’ Blue Origin has successfully launched its New Glenn rocket to orbit − a feat 15 years in the making
  7. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy provides in-house science advice for the president
  8. Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal: Why now and what next?
  9. Biden’s move to remove Cuba from terror list continues ‘yo-yo’ policy likely to be reversed by Trump
  10. LA fires: Harm from long-term exposure to wildfire smoke is poorly understood − and it’s a growing risk
  11. LA fires: Long-term exposure to wildfire smoke is a growing health risk, and not well understood
  12. Universities are mapping where local news outlets are still thriving − and where gaps persist
  13. A national, nonpartisan study of the Los Angeles fires could improve planning for future disasters
  14. Meta shift from fact-checking to crowdsourcing spotlights competing approaches in fight against misinformation and hate speech
  15. Joe Biden’s record on science and tech: Investments and regulation for vaccines, broadband, microchips and AI
  16. Insurance for natural disasters is failing homeowners − I don’t have the answers, but I do know the right questions to ask
  17. Kamala Harris memes questioning her cultural background highlight Americans’ contradictions with race
  18. In eyeing Greenland, Trump is echoing long-held American designs on the Arctic expanse
  19. Catholic cardinals play a key role in secular politics as well as the Catholic Church–and the importance of Pope Francis’ choice to head the church in DC
  20. Spending, regulations and DOGE: Office of Management and Budget director plays vital role helping government get stuff done
  21. This class uses museums to show law students the high art of curating ideas
  22. My beautiful ‘practicing’ Christians: As churchgoers’ numbers shrink, their social views grow more similar
  23. Rents rise faster after disasters, but a federal program can help restrain excesses
  24. How the CIA director helps the US navigate a world of spies, threats and geopolitical turbulence
  25. Terrorist groups respond to verbal attacks and slights by governments with more violence against civilians
  26. We study aging family business incumbents who refuse to let go − here’s why the 2024 race felt familiar
  27. 4 reasons why the US might want to buy Greenland – if it were for sale, which it isn’t
  28. What’s an H-1B visa? A brief history of the controversial program for skilled foreign workers
  29. Job of homeland security secretary is to adapt almost continuously to pressures from the department, the public and the world at large
  30. The power of friendship: How a letter helped create an American bestseller about antisemitism
  31. Vaccine hesitancy among pet owners is growing – a public health expert explains why that matters
  32. A brief history of presidential inaugural speeches, from George Washington to today
  33. Larry Krasner, Kensington, the scrapped Sixers arena − and other key concerns that will shape Philly politics in 2025
  34. Lightning strikes make collecting a parasitic fungus prized in traditional Chinese medicine a deadly pursuit
  35. LA fires: Why fast wildfires and those started by human activities are more destructive and harder to contain
  36. LA fires: Why fast-moving wildfires and those started by human activities are more destructive and harder to contain
  37. US secretary of state has an expansive job that could make or break peace deals and key foreign alliances
  38. When presidents would send handwritten lists of their nominees to the Senate, things were a lot different
  39. Firefighting planes are dumping ocean water on the Los Angeles fires − why using saltwater is typically a last resort
  40. Mass deportations don’t keep out ‘bad genes’ − they use scientific racism to justify biased immigration policies
  41. From Myanmar to Gaza, Ukraine to Sudan – 2024 was another grim year, according to our mass atrocity index
  42. One way Trump could help revive rural America’s economies
  43. Is capitalism falling out of favor? We analyzed 400,000 news stories to find out
  44. Trump’s canal canard obscures a truth: Panama just wants to run its shipping passage without interference from China or the US
  45. What the dead, the uncanny and the monstrous tell us about human nature
  46. Why does a rocket have to go 25,000 mph to escape Earth?
  47. From watts to warheads: Secretary of energy oversees big science research and the US nuclear arsenal
  48. Secretary of defense must perform a ‘delicate dance’ between the president, Congress and the public
  49. Wildfires can contaminate drinking water systems with harmful chemicals − here’s what Los Angeles needs to know
  50. Philly sports fans consider themselves ‘gritty’ − but it’s merely a myth used to fuel their passion