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Climate change fueled the rise and demise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, superpower of the ancient world

  • Written by Ashish Sinha, Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences, California State University, Dominguez Hills
Ashurbanipal, last major ruler of the Assyrian Empire, couldn't outrun the effects of climate change.British Museum, CC BY-ND

Ancient Mesopotamia, the fabled land between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, was the command and control center of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. This ancient superpower was the largest empire of its time, lasting from 912 BC...

Read more: Climate change fueled the rise and demise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, superpower of the ancient...

Firearm-makers may finally decide it's in their interest to help reduce gun violence after Sandy Hook ruling

  • Written by Timothy D. Lytton, Distinguished University Professor & Professor of Law, Georgia State University
The popularity of semiautomatic rifles increases the risk that mass shootings result in multiple deaths. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong

Mass shootings have become a routine occurrence in America.

Gun-makers have long refused to take responsibility for their role in this epidemic. That may be about to change.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Nov. 12 refused to block...

Read more: Firearm-makers may finally decide it's in their interest to help reduce gun violence after Sandy...

What is a caliph? The Islamic State tries to boost its legitimacy by hijacking a historic institution

  • Written by Ken Chitwood, Journalist-fellow, University of Southern California's Center for Religion and Civic Culture / Lecturer, Concordia College New York, University of Florida
An image of Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died on Oct. 26, 2019..Department of Defense via AP

Just days after the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi on Oct. 27, the Islamic State named Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi as the new “caliph.”

In 2014, IS conquered vast swaths of Iraq and Syria and declared itself to be the...

Read more: What is a caliph? The Islamic State tries to boost its legitimacy by hijacking a historic...

House impeachment inquiry may help restore the political and social norms that Trump flouts

  • Written by Sunita Sah, Associate Professor of Management and Organizations, Cornell University
Trump has broken a lot of norms.AP Photo/Seth Wenig

President Donald Trump regularly uses blatant violations of long-established social and political norms to signal his “authenticity” to supporters.

Asking foreign countries to investigate and deliver dirt on his political opponents, which prompted an impeachment inquiry in the U.S....

Read more: House impeachment inquiry may help restore the political and social norms that Trump flouts

How higher ed can deal with ethical questions over its disgraced donors

  • Written by Deni Elliott, Eleanor Poynter Jamison Chair in Media Ethics and Press Policy; Co-Chief Project Officer on the National Ethics Project, University of South Florida
UCLA gave $425,000 back to Donald Sterling in 2014 after he disparaged Magic Johnson. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes

Private donors are giving colleges and universities record amounts of money – along with increasingly frequent bouts of public shame when they turn out to have embarrassing baggage.

Revelations that Yale, Columbia, Cornell and...

Read more: How higher ed can deal with ethical questions over its disgraced donors

Could the Hyde Amendment be repealed in 2020?

  • Written by Gretchen E. Ely, Professor of Social Work and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Abortion rights advocates wear pink shirts while opponents wear red at a public hearing in Boston.AP Photo/Steven Senne

In 1976, conservative Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois introduced a bill that would ban the use of federal funding for abortion expenses except in instances of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother.

Today, the Hyde...

Read more: Could the Hyde Amendment be repealed in 2020?

Could the Federal government start paying for abortions after the 2020 elections?

  • Written by Gretchen E. Ely, Professor of Social Work and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Abortion rights advocates wear pink shirts while opponents wear red at a public hearing in Boston.AP Photo/Steven Senne

In 1976, conservative Congressman Henry Hyde of Illinois introduced a bill that would ban the use of federal funding for abortion expenses except in instances of rape, incest or danger to the life of the mother.

Today, the Hyde...

Read more: Could the Federal government start paying for abortions after the 2020 elections?

DACA argued at the Supreme Court: 6 essential reads

  • Written by Aviva Rutkin, Data Editor
People rally outside the Supreme Court as oral arguments are heard in the DACA case on Nov. 12.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The future remains uncertain for a group of young people who were brought from other countries to the U.S. as children without legal authorization.

Currently, these young people are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood...

Read more: DACA argued at the Supreme Court: 6 essential reads

DACA heads to the Supreme Court: 6 essential reads

  • Written by Aviva Rutkin, Data Editor
People rally outside the Supreme Court as oral arguments are heard in the DACA case on Nov. 12.AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The future remains uncertain for a group of young people who were brought from other countries to the U.S. as children without legal authorization.

Currently, these young people are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood...

Read more: DACA heads to the Supreme Court: 6 essential reads

To stop police shootings of people with mental health disabilities, I asked them what cops – and everyone – could do to help

  • Written by Jennifer Sarrett, Lecturer, Center for Study of Human Health, Emory University
Darren Spencer at a memorial for his childhood friend Saheed Vassell, a 34-year-old father of a teenage son, fatally shot by police in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, April 5, 2018. AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

After Shukri Ali Said left her house during a mental health crisis on April 23, 2018, her sister called 911 for help....

Read more: To stop police shootings of people with mental health disabilities, I asked them what cops – and...

More Articles ...

  1. What Ukrainians think about Trump and his 'quid pro quo' in 3 charts
  2. Ukrainians are divided over Trump's 'quid pro quo'
  3. Law-and-order or conspiracy? How political parties frame the impeachment battle will help decide Trump's fate
  4. Apollo 12: Fifty years ago, a passionate scientist's keen eye led to the first pinpoint landing on the Moon
  5. Can the Paris Agreement on climate change succeed without the US? 4 questions answered
  6. Data science could help Californians battle future wildfires
  7. Why tyranny could be the inevitable outcome of democracy
  8. 30 years after the Berlin Wall came down, East and West Germany are still divided
  9. How the US military has embraced growing religious diversity
  10. GI Bill opened doors to college for many vets, but politicians created a separate one for blacks
  11. Trump's charity woes are uncommon, if not unprecedented, and could get more costly
  12. Senators' silence suggests they may be taking their impeachment trial duty seriously
  13. The battle between NBC and CBS to be the first to film a Berlin Wall tunnel escape
  14. E-bikes are coming to federally owned trails: 4 questions answered
  15. Apple, Disney and Netflix's streaming battle isn't winner-take-all
  16. WTF? Slurs offend young adults more than swearing
  17. World's deadliest inventor: Mikhail Kalashnikov and his AK-47
  18. He was Trump before Trump: VP Spiro Agnew attacked the news media 50 years ago
  19. The forgotten mass destruction of Jewish homes during 'Kristallnacht'
  20. Emperor Penguins could march to extinction if nations fail to halt climate change
  21. Here's why colleges are being forced to close their doors - and what they can do to stay open
  22. Salad bars and water systems are easy targets for bioterrorists -- and America's monitoring system is woefully inadequate
  23. Soft robots of the future may depend on new materials that conduct electricity, sense damage and self-heal
  24. How Pete Buttigieg is reviving the pragmatic, progressive ideals of the Social Gospel movement
  25. Inequality is higher in some states like New York and Louisiana because of corporate welfare
  26. How do we know when a species at risk has recovered? It's not just a matter of numbers
  27. Mormons in Mexico: A brief history of polygamy, cartel violence and faith
  28. Revenge porn is sexual violence, not millennial negligence
  29. Peace advocates have long been found among veterans who fought in America's wars
  30. Making life-or-death decisions is very hard – here's how we've taught people to do it better
  31. Plague was around for millennia before epidemics took hold – and the way people lived might be what protected them
  32. Why there is no Kurdish nation
  33. Anti-Semitism in the US today is a variation on an old theme
  34. Evangelicals in Brazil see abuse of God's earth as a sin – but will they fight to save the Amazon?
  35. Many states now require anti-bullying training that includes a focus on LGBTQ students - but risks remain
  36. To solve the hidden epidemic of teen hunger, we should listen to teens who experience it
  37. Battlefields around the world are finding new purpose as parks and refuges
  38. Health care workers wanted: A veteran needs you to work at a VA hospital
  39. Before you decide to work in college, ask yourself these questions
  40. Curious Kids: What is a whistleblower?
  41. American youth don't know much about the juvenile justice system
  42. NASA's TESS spacecraft is finding hundreds of exoplanets – and is poised to find thousands more
  43. Does the Civil Rights Act protect LGBT workers? The Supreme Court is about to decide
  44. Why Joe Biden was denied communion at a church
  45. California is living America's dystopian future
  46. Homicide is declining around the world – but why?
  47. 3 reasons Midwest farmers hurt by the U.S.-China trade war still support Trump
  48. As the coal industry shrinks, miners deserve a just transition – here's what it should include
  49. World Vision tinkers with its 70-year-old child sponsorship model
  50. Curious Kids: Why do feet stink by the end of the day?