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How AI can lead to false arrests and wrongful convictions

  • Written by Maria Lungu, Postdoctoral Researcher of Law and Public Administration, University of Virginia
imageAI algorithms such as facial recognition systems produce probabilities, not facts.Matthew Horwood/Getty Images

In Baltimore on Oct. 20, 2025, a 17-year-old student named Taki Allen was sitting outside his high school after football practice when an artificial intelligence-enhanced surveillance camera falsely identified the Doritos bag in his pocket...

Read more: How AI can lead to false arrests and wrongful convictions

How does your brain decide between the road not taken or the same old route? Resolving conflicting memories is key to navigation

  • Written by Paulina Maxim, Ph.D. Candidate in Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageWhich route should you take? The familiar or the unknown?francescoch/iStock via Getty Images Plus

When was the last time you paid attention to your commute? And I don’t mean a couple of feet in front of you, at the car merging into your lane without a blinker. I mean really paid attention to the route you take.

Did you see the landmarks in...

Read more: How does your brain decide between the road not taken or the same old route? Resolving conflicting...

Why a landmark Supreme Court ruling has failed to keep racial bias out of jury selection

  • Written by Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
imageIn 1986, the Supreme Court barred prosecutors from striking jurors solely because of race.Bloomberg Creative/Getty Images

On April 30, 2026, Texas executed James Broadnax, a Black man who was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of two men in 2008.

Before the jury was seated, the prosecutor moved to dismiss each of the seven Black people...

Read more: Why a landmark Supreme Court ruling has failed to keep racial bias out of jury selection

How Pennsylvania’s new paid leave bill leaves the sandwich generation behind

  • Written by Kate Perepezko, Research Scientist, Miami University
imageApproximately 63 million Americans are family caregivers.Jub Rubjob/Moment Collection via Getty Images

The number of family caregivers has grown from 53 million Americans in 2020 to 63 million as of 2025. This number is expected to increase as the baby boomer generation ages and faces the limitations of our current health and social services systems...

Read more: How Pennsylvania’s new paid leave bill leaves the sandwich generation behind

Black, Hispanic, female and low-income elementary students are less likely to be identified with autism

  • Written by Paul L. Morgan, Director, Institute for Social and Health Equity, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageUnderstanding whether different groups of kids are more likely to be identified as having autism can help ensure that all students have equal access to the appropriate services at school. Adrian Vidal/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Students who are Black, Hispanic, female, from low-income families or multilingual learners are less likely to be identified...

Read more: Black, Hispanic, female and low-income elementary students are less likely to be identified with...

Teens aren’t as disengaged as you may think: What adults get wrong about adolescents’ civic contributions

  • Written by Kimia Shirzad, Associate Researcher and Adjunct Instructor in Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, Penn State
imageTeens contribute in ways that go far beyond organized volunteering.Maskot/DigitalVision via Getty Images

A teenager scrolls through their phone at the dinner table, barely looks up and answers questions with one-word replies. For many adults, that image has come to stand for a larger fear: that today’s young people are disconnected from...

Read more: Teens aren’t as disengaged as you may think: What adults get wrong about adolescents’ civic...

Thoreau the scientist – how environmental research informed ‘Walden’ and later works

  • Written by Robert M. Thorson, Professor of Earth Science, University of Connecticut
imageHenry David Thoreau investigated the Sudbury River as America's first river scientist.Robert M. Thorson

The steam locomotive chugged its way toward Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Aug. 15, 1859. On board was an impatient young scientist wanting to understand the math and science governing how river channels should behave. After disembarking at Harvard...

Read more: Thoreau the scientist – how environmental research informed ‘Walden’ and later works

People with premenstrual dysphoric disorder have higher rates of suicidal thinking, planning and attempts

  • Written by Eliza Zhitnik, PhD Student in Health Policy and Management, UMass Amherst
imagePremenstrual dysphoric disorder is a severe form of premenstrual syndrome.SimpleImages/Moment via Getty Images

People with premenstrual dysphoric disorder – a more serious form of premenstrual syndrome, commonly known as PMS – are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and behaviors than people without it.

That is a key finding of ou...

Read more: People with premenstrual dysphoric disorder have higher rates of suicidal thinking, planning and...

Conspiracy theorists are building AI interfaces to the Epstein files – and presenting their views as data analysis

  • Written by Matthew N. Hannah, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Politics and Culture, University of Wisconsin-Madison
imageRedacted documents from the Jeffrey Epstein files can fuel conspiracy thinking. Brendan Smialowski via Getty Images

Jeffrey Epstein’s death on Aug. 10, 2019, sparked a flurry of conspiracy theories, and the release of Epstein’s purported suicide note on May 6, 2026, is a good bet to be fodder for more.

But Epstein’s death is only...

Read more: Conspiracy theorists are building AI interfaces to the Epstein files – and presenting their views...

Why Trump’s $2 billion buyoff to cancel offshore wind farms is a bad deal for American taxpayers and the US energy supply

  • Written by Christopher Niezrecki, Director of the Center for Energy Innovation, UMass Lowell
imageWind farm construction means jobs and locally produced power.AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

The U.S. is in a bizarre situation in 2026: It’s facing a looming energy shortage, yet the Trump administration is making deals to pay offshore wind developers nearly US$2 billion in taxpayer money to walk away from energy projects.

These politically motivated...

Read more: Why Trump’s $2 billion buyoff to cancel offshore wind farms is a bad deal for American taxpayers...

More Articles ...

  1. Health authorities work to contain cruise ship hantavirus outbreak
  2. Ted Turner didn’t just revolutionize television − he changed the way we see our world
  3. Russia’s pared-down Victory Day parade tells a story: Away from the pomp, war in Ukraine is not going to Putin’s plan
  4. Canada is kicking its US booze habit as trade tensions persist
  5. Lower East Side street named for ‘King of Comics’ Jack Kirby, a nod to one of the countless kids of immigrants who shaped the genre
  6. Dogs display many traits of great leaders − here are 5 breeds that can be your leadership role models
  7. Trump’s new ‘Coalie’ mascot and myth of ‘clean, beautiful coal’ have a long history in advertising
  8. Online hate groups sustain their messages by repeating powerful stories or routinely adding new allegations
  9. You know exercise is good for you – so why is it so hard to put it into practice?
  10. The American Revolution’s triumphant story of democracy and freedom overlooks loyalists who paid a steep price for allegiance to Britain
  11. Motown’s Black women songwriters and producers were the invisible architects behind the pop music juggernaut
  12. Can peptide injections help people recover from injuries? Here’s what you need to know
  13. Federal investigation into Smith College probes whether transgender students can attend women’s schools – challenging the evolving mission of women’s education
  14. Recreational fishing in the US catches far more fish than previously estimated
  15. Protestant leaders once championed birth control – not to liberate women, but as part of ‘responsible parenthood’
  16. Fire is transforming the US West’s public lands – research shows overlooked cost to recreation
  17. Using diesel generators to power the AI revolution would kill hundreds of Americans a year
  18. US violent crime is at its lowest in more than a century – but the funding that helped reduce it is disappearing
  19. After the execution of James G. Broadnax in Texas, questions persist over use of rap lyrics as evidence
  20. So your new ‘co-worker’ is an AI agent – here’s how to make the best of your human-machine relationship 
  21. Sleep apnea compromises far more than a good night’s rest – 2 neuroscientists outline the risks and the need for better diagnosis
  22. Clinical trials that are actually marketing ploys targeting doctors – how seeding trials put profit over patients
  23. Alaska’s near-record landslide tsunami sent a wave 1,580 feet up the fjord walls – and left clues for building a warning system
  24. From ancient goddesses to modern peace activists − Mother’s Day celebrates women’s political power
  25. The method in Iran’s madness? Closure of Strait of Hormuz echoes a centuries-old Danish play − and is a tragedy for the world order
  26. White House wants to vet powerful AI models for risks − a computer scientist explains why AI safety is so difficult
  27. Muslim women-led nonprofits are engaging in advocacy despite facing a surge in Islamophobia
  28. The lasting appeal of homeschooling: What motivated families to continue after schools reopened post-pandemic
  29. AI is showing up in court cases – but only a human jury can grapple with the moral weight of assessing guilt
  30. Foreign aid’s hidden benefit: Recipients are more likely to pay the generosity forward
  31. Galaxies of life are collecting dust in museums – digitizing microscope slides can uncover billions of fossils for natural history
  32. Financial strain, lockdowns and fear of infection during disease outbreaks magnify violence against women and girls − new research
  33. In rural Appalachia, abortion pill offers reproductive choice and privacy − but police may see a crime
  34. How workplace stress hijacks the nervous system to cause headaches − and a neurologist’s guide to managing them
  35. Pollen allergies are brutal this year – a doctor explains why, and how to find relief
  36. As government privatization efforts grow, lawsuits against federal contractors get more difficult
  37. Photographic memory is a myth – here’s what research really says about remembering
  38. Themes of peace and human dignity have been central to Pope Leo as he marks his first year in office
  39. Why do you have to wear a helmet when you’re skateboarding?
  40. Denmark’s ‘hands-off’ approach to parenting could offer a blueprint for raising more resilient, self-reliant kids
  41. Gulf state cooperation has long been shaped by the threat of Iran − but shows of unity belie division
  42. Mythos AI is a cybersecurity threat, but it doesn’t rewrite the rules of the game
  43. Bullying is common in elementary school – and it’s more likely to happen in classrooms that are chaotic
  44. Is it wrong to pay incarcerated people in jail? This Pennsylvania county says no
  45. A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question
  46. How balcony solar can help renters and homeowners save money
  47. A quiet Alaska fault is missing the fluids scientists expected – and it’s changing what we know about earthquake zones
  48. Biological age tests reveal what slows or hastens aging – but they’re useful only for researchers, not consumers
  49. Why the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents
  50. What’s in the price of a gallon of gas?