NewsPronto

 
Times Advertising


.

The Conversation

When oil prices spike, where does the money go?

  • Written by Matthew E. Oliver, Associate Professor of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageThe oil industry is all about the Benjamins.Diy / iStock / Getty Images Plus

The market for oil is global, which is why events like the war in Iran affect oil prices – and prices of the wide range of products made from oil – literally everywhere. Federal data shows that the price at the primary crude oil hub in the U.S. was US$66 a...

Read more: When oil prices spike, where does the money go?

Hampshire College’s demise is yet another blow to creative, outside-the-box options in higher education

  • Written by Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
imageHampshire College's campus entrance on April 16, 2026, a few days after the school announced it is closing. Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Hampshire College, a private college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, announced on April 14, 2026, that it was joining the list of small, experimental liberal arts colleges that have closed...

Read more: Hampshire College’s demise is yet another blow to creative, outside-the-box options in higher...

Why the future of marijuana legalization remains hazy despite high public support

  • Written by William Garriott, Professor of Law, Politics and Society, Drake University
imageCannabis plants are seen at Harborside Oakland Dispensary on Aug. 11, 2025, in Oakland, Calif.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Thousands of Americans will soon gather to celebrate April 20 – or “4/20” – the most important day of the year for cannabis enthusiasts.

But this year, a cloud of uncertainty will hang over these...

Read more: Why the future of marijuana legalization remains hazy despite high public support

Trump sidelined Congress’ authority over war on Iran – and lawmakers allowed it, extending a 75-year trend

  • Written by Sarah Burns, Associate Professor of Political Science, Rochester Institute of Technology; Institute for Humane Studies
imageCongress has not used its constitutionally granted power to influence the war in Iran.Bloomberg Creative via Getty Images

Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives set April 21, 2026, as the date to hear from and question top Pentagon officials Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, and Gen. Dagvin R.M. Anderson, head of U.S....

Read more: Trump sidelined Congress’ authority over war on Iran – and lawmakers allowed it, extending a...

Trump’s coercive tactics in Latin America evoke era of gunboat diplomacy – and the rise of anti-imperialism it helped spur

  • Written by Tony Wood, Assistant Professor of History, Modern Latin America, University of Colorado Boulder
imageOne of scores of murals Diego Rivera painted in the interwar period that sits above the Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico City, Mexico.Apolline Guillerot-Malick/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

In Latin America, as in other parts of the world, the second Trump administration has adopted an increasingly aggressive policy.

From drone s...

Read more: Trump’s coercive tactics in Latin America evoke era of gunboat diplomacy – and the rise of...

I’ve fired one of America’s most powerful lasers – here’s what a shot day looks like

  • Written by Ahmed Helal, Research Scientist, The University of Texas at Austin
imageInside a laser clean room. The beam is contained within the blue pipe.Ahmed Helal

If you walk across the open yard in front of the Physics, Math and Astronomy building at the University of Texas at Austin, you’ll see a 17-story tower and a huge L-shaped building. What you won’t see is what’s underneath you. Two floors below...

Read more: I’ve fired one of America’s most powerful lasers – here’s what a shot day looks like

About half of young Americans can’t name a single Holocaust site, repeating a pattern of ignorance seen in postwar Germany

  • Written by Daniela R. P. Weiner, Teaching Assistant Professor of the First Year Experience and Humanities, Stevens Institute of Technology
imageIrene Fogel Weiss holds a photograph of her mother and brothers, who were killed during the Holocaust, during a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol on April 14, 2026, in Washington. Heather Diehl/Getty Images

In 2025, 48% of Americans ages 18-29 could not name a single concentration or death camp, according to a survey by the nonprofit Conference on...

Read more: About half of young Americans can’t name a single Holocaust site, repeating a pattern of ignorance...

Ancient teeth reveal clues to the environment humans’ early ancestors evolved in millions of years ago

  • Written by Zelalem Bedaso, Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Geosciences, University of Dayton
imageChemicals in your tooth enamel record evidence of your diet that can last millions of years.Zelalem Bedaso

Teeth are like tiny biological time capsules. They tell stories about ancient diets and environments long after their owners have died and landscapes have changed.

After bones break down, tooth enamel stays hard and unchanged, even in...

Read more: Ancient teeth reveal clues to the environment humans’ early ancestors evolved in millions of years...

How Islamophobic rhetoric leaves an impact on the mental health of Muslim Americans

  • Written by Anisah Bagasra, Associate Professor of Psychology, Kennesaw State University
imageDemonstrators in New York City take part in a protest against growing Islamophobia in March 2019. Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Image

The war with Iran has led to a surge in anti-Muslim rhetoric – spilling into political discourse.

U.S. Rep. Randy Fine of Florida posted on X that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult...

Read more: How Islamophobic rhetoric leaves an impact on the mental health of Muslim Americans

‘Right to race’ laws and the battle over America’s local racetracks

  • Written by Joshua Vadeboncoeur, Assistant Professor of Sport Management, Gardner-Webb University
imageGreenville-Pickens Speedway in Easley, S.C., held its last race in 2022. The track is at the center of debates over redevelopment and the future of local racing facilities.Tony Crescibene/flickr, CC BY

Across the United States, the local auto racing tracks that have anchored rural and working-class communities for generations are disappearing.

Some...

Read more: ‘Right to race’ laws and the battle over America’s local racetracks

More Articles ...

  1. Cannabis sales and use are high in Michigan – but federal law means research lags behind
  2. Christian satellite TV has broadcast evangelical faith – and end-times prophecies – into Iran for decades
  3. Seeing women govern encourages support for women in politics – with no apparent backlash among men
  4. Students expect their university will mishandle sexual misconduct, if they ever report it
  5. One-way attack drones: Low-cost, high-tech weapons ‘democratize’ precision warfare
  6. Health information delivered as a video game can bridge the communication gap between patients and providers
  7. Motown girl group Martha and the Vandellas not only recorded an anthem for the civil rights era – they fought for fair pay and proudly called themselves divas
  8. As renaissance fairs become big business, can they retain their counterculture roots?
  9. Washington DC’s 240 million-gallon sewage spill is a symptom of nationwide trouble
  10. How Trump’s repeated efforts to fire Federal Reserve Chair Powell harm the economy – and make battling inflation harder
  11. Iran’s military forces combine state-of-the-art drones and hackers with out-of-date conventional weapons
  12. Trump’s clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?
  13. Salty drinking water could be increasing your blood pressure – people living in coastal areas are most at risk
  14. Why women in groups face a ‘collaboration penalty’ that solo female stars like Taylor Swift and Coco Gauff escape
  15. Ads for GLP-1 drugs are flooding the internet – here’s how to know if it’s safe to buy them online
  16. Your local fishing hole is getting browner, changing which fish species thrive and which ones struggle
  17. Why Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon prayer services challenge traditional notions of separation of church and state – but might be blessed by the Roberts Supreme Court
  18. Thousands of AI-written, edited or ‘polished’ books are being sold – an eerie echo of Orwell’s ‘novel-writing machines’
  19. Strait of Hormuz: Why the US and Iran are sailing in very different legal waters
  20. The Islamabad talks were doomed to failure – and Hormuz blockade has thrown another obstacle to any Iran-US deal
  21. AI companions can give constant support – but distort ideas about what a relationship really is
  22. Antibiotics can trigger bacteria to release bubbles of inflammation tinder, making it harder to treat infection
  23. How debate about gender identity could undermine global efforts to protect victims of violence
  24. A justice department opinion arguing the Presidential Records Act is unconstitutional could revert the nation to a time when presidents freely burned their papers
  25. What if Texas’ destructive Tax Day flood had centered on inner Houston instead? It’s why cities should plan for the improbable
  26. New federal figures reveal 1 in 3 US households struggle to pay energy bills, but the reality is likely even worse
  27. Using atomic nuclei could allow scientists to read time more precisely than ever – what this research could mean for future clocks
  28. What if Texas’ destructive Tax Day storm had centered on inner Houston instead? It’s why cities should plan for the improbable
  29. Industries most exposed to AI are not only seeing productivity gains but jobs and wage growth too
  30. Why rural hospitals in Pennsylvania and across the country are closing in increasing numbers – 5 myths about rural health care
  31. Trump’s exchange with Pope Leo reflects deep-rooted tensions between the Vatican and the United States: 4 essential reads
  32. How a new mapping tool helps Florida planners protect wildlife corridors as the state grows
  33. Cannabis legalization spurs innovation, but not always in ways that benefit patients or public health
  34. AIs have ‘personalities’ – here’s how they affect you more deeply than you may realize
  35. Artemis II crew brought a human eye and storytelling vision to the photos they took on their mission
  36. ‘Bouncing back’ is a myth – resilience means integrating hard experiences into your life story, not ignoring them
  37. 25 million people lost Medicaid after the COVID-19 pandemic — and state policies shaped who stayed covered
  38. Gray whales are dying in San Francisco Bay at an alarming rate – this isn’t normal
  39. The enduring legacy of medieval Christian depictions of Islam in today’s political discourse
  40. District school boards have become political hotbeds for book bans and more – here’s what they actually do
  41. 4 ways the war in Iran has weakened the United States in the great power game
  42. Artemis II crew used modern photography to tell the visual story of their lunar journey – and update some classic Apollo images
  43. Artemis II moonshot reflects a spacefaring vision present in Jules Verne’s 19th-century novel
  44. US ceasefire with Iran: What’s next? A former diplomat explains 3 possible scenarios
  45. In his efforts to remake federal architecture, Trump repudiates the ‘republican ideals’ that have long informed it
  46. I found a new meteor shower, and it comes from an asteroid getting broken down by the Sun
  47. As a philosopher, I’m convinced that Trump isn’t lying − he’s doing something worse
  48. Doctors can refuse to treat LGBTQ+ patients in several states – these religious exemption laws lead to drops in HIV testing
  49. Tobacco is still one of the world’s top killers – here are the key obstacles to enacting generational smoking bans
  50. What declining vaccination rates mean for families in Allegheny County – where 1 in 3 kindergarten classrooms lack herd immunity for measles