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Bullying is common in elementary school – and it’s more likely to happen in classrooms that are chaotic

  • Written by Qingqing Yang, Research Scientist of Education, University at Albany, State University of New York
imageExperiencing bullying frequently in childhood can have lifelong consequences. Malte Mueller/iStock illustrations/Getty

About 1 in 4 elementary students in the United States reports being bullied at least once during a given school year.

Children who are frequently bullied are more likely to struggle in school, experience poorer physical health and...

Read more: Bullying is common in elementary school – and it’s more likely to happen in classrooms that are...

Is it wrong to pay incarcerated people in jail? This Pennsylvania county says no

  • Written by Nancy La Vigne, Dean of the Rutgers School of Criminal Justice, Rutgers University - Newark
imageUnlike prison, jail confinement is primarily about custody and court processing, not punishment for convicted criminals. The Washington Post/The Washington Post Collection via Getty

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, is experimenting with a policy that has drawn national attention and local skepticism: providing cash compensation to people confined in...

Read more: Is it wrong to pay incarcerated people in jail? This Pennsylvania county says no

A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question

  • Written by Barbara Clark Smith, Curator, Division of Political History, Smithsonian Institution
imageA Harper's Weekly image of the first reading of the Declaration of Independence outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia on July 8, 1776. MPI/Getty Images

As the nation observes its 250th birthday, historians can help settle one present-day dispute: Is the United States a democracy or a republic?

For years, advocates have argued the point.

Yet the...

Read more: A democracy or a republic? History shows that some Americans are asking the wrong question

How balcony solar can help renters and homeowners save money

  • Written by Moncef Krarti, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder
imageSmall-scale solar panels mounted on balconies can help more households use renewable energy.Jens Büttner/picture alliance via Getty Images

Somewhere between 5% and 7% of U.S. households have rooftop solar panels. Many more Americans want them, but high costs, building locations and landlord restrictions are key obstacles.

As someone who has...

Read more: How balcony solar can help renters and homeowners save money

A quiet Alaska fault is missing the fluids scientists expected – and it’s changing what we know about earthquake zones

  • Written by Yinchu Li, Ph.D. Candidate in Marine Geology, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageLarge earthquakes have been common along the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone, except at the Shumagin Gap. Yinchu Li

Not all earthquake faults behave the same. Some stick and snap, causing earthquakes. Others move slowly over time.

For years, the leading explanation for slow-moving faults has been that high-pressure fluids along the fault lubricate...

Read more: A quiet Alaska fault is missing the fluids scientists expected – and it’s changing what we know...

Biological age tests reveal what slows or hastens aging – but they’re useful only for researchers, not consumers

  • Written by Idan Shalev, Associate Professor of Biobehavioral Health, Penn State

Imagine receiving a test result that tells you your body is biologically five years older than your chronological age. You exercise regularly, get good sleep, eat healthy meals and have a happy personal life. What have you been doing wrong? Can this test be trusted?

Dozens of companies are marketing products that promise to reveal a person’s...

Read more: Biological age tests reveal what slows or hastens aging – but they’re useful only for researchers,...

Why the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents

  • Written by Jasmine Farrier, Professor of Political Science, University of Louisville
imageA TV displays U.S. President Donald Trump's prime-time address on the war in Iran inside a Cheesecake Factory on April 1, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

May 1, 2026, marks the 60th day of Operation Epic Fury in Iran – a symbolically significant date designating when a president who has mounted unilateral military...

Read more: Why the 60-day War Powers Resolution deadline doesn’t actually constrain presidents

What’s in the price of a gallon of gas?

  • Written by Robert I. Harris, Assistant Professor of Economics, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageGas prices were well over $4 a gallon on April 28, 2026, in Brooklyn, N.Y.Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects nationwide retail gasoline prices to average near US$4.30 a gallon for April 2026 – the highest monthly average of the year. The political response has been familiar. Georgia has suspended its...

Read more: What’s in the price of a gallon of gas?

How Harriet Tubman and Philadelphia abolitionists coordinated dangerous journeys to freedom

  • Written by Nilgun Anadolu-Okur, Professor of Africology and African American Studies, Temple University
imageA large-scale version of artist Alvin Pettit's design of a Harriet Tubman statue is coming to Philadelphia. Courtesy of Alvin Pettit

A roughly 14-foot-tall bronze statue of the United States’ most famous abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, will become a permanent fixture outside Philadelphia’s City Hall later this year. It will be the first...

Read more: How Harriet Tubman and Philadelphia abolitionists coordinated dangerous journeys to freedom

AI chatbots can prioritize flattery over facts – and that carries serious risks

  • Written by Nir Eisikovits, Professor of Philosophy and Director of Applied Ethics Center, UMass Boston
imageSycophancy eats away at truth and trust.Andriy Onufriyenko/Moment via Getty Images

In the summer of 2025, OpenAI released ChatGPT 5 and removed its predecessor from the market. Many subscribers to the old model had become attached to its warm, enthusiastically agreeable tone and complained at the loss of their ingratiating robotic companion. Such...

Read more: AI chatbots can prioritize flattery over facts – and that carries serious risks

More Articles ...

  1. England’s ‘once in a generation’ housing law takes effect as US housing legislation sits in congressional purgatory
  2. Syphilis cases in expectant mothers have dramatically risen since the pandemic – here’s what’s driving the trend
  3. When immigration detention becomes a system of concentration: Lessons from research on 150 historical cases
  4. Fiber’s structural integrity keeps plants strong – and its indigestibility keeps your digestive system healthy
  5. AI data center boom is leaving consumer electronics short of chips − even though they don’t use the same kinds
  6. Cheers! Welcome to the Nepalese village where everybody knows how to distill
  7. Synthetic biology promised to rewrite life – with the death of its pioneer, J. Craig Venter, how close are scientists?
  8. Gerrymandering is unpopular with Florida voters – my recent survey shows why DeSantis pushed it through anyway
  9. Three women sit for Israeli Rabbinate’s exam, amid growing recognition for Orthodox Jewish women’s religious leadership
  10. ‘A study showed…’ isn’t enough – scientific knowledge builds incrementally as researchers investigate and revisit questions
  11. Seeing an eclipse from Earth is awe-inspiring – for astronauts seeing one from space, the scene was even more grand
  12. Supreme Court ruling: The latest in history of diminishing minority voting rights
  13. What Trump’s post as a Jesus-like figure tells us about political messianism
  14. Warmer temps bring soaring tick populations – here’s how to stay safe from Lyme disease
  15. Supreme Court bolsters donors’ free speech rights in unanimous crisis pregnancy center ruling
  16. Universities returning Native American remains and artifacts isn’t just about physical objects – it’s about dignity and justice
  17. Americans care more about future generations than many think – and that gap could matter for policy
  18. The US has long used economic coercion to achieve foreign policy goals — the war in Iran shows how that power has declined
  19. How much should politics influence science, and vice versa? National Science Board’s ousting resurrects an existential debate
  20. Supreme Court considers how much states can protect consumers when federal agencies won’t
  21. Supreme Court geofencing case weighs constitutionality of digital dragnets – and how far your rights go in the data Big Tech collects on you
  22. Supreme Court considers whether police can use Big Tech data to capture info from all cellphone users in a place and time
  23. Supreme Court’s Voting Rights Act ruling makes it harder to protect minority voting power and alters the landscape of future elections
  24. Students are taught to hide in closets and under tables if there is a school shooting – but does practicing for this possibility keep kids safe?
  25. Can the nearly $1 trillion-a-year US military really be depleting key weapons in Iran?
  26. What courage is, how to build it and why you should take a risk
  27. Reclassification of marijuana opens doors for much-needed medical research into the benefits and risks of the drug
  28. Stockings once worn by Philly’s wealthiest man show the value of women’s mending in early America
  29. Thousands of employed Colorado workers need SNAP benefits to make ends meet
  30. Trump’s Medicaid fraud crackdown may sound sensible, but it could harm Americans who require long-term care
  31. The race to mine critical minerals for AI and clean energy is creating ‘sacrifice zones’ that harm water and health of world’s poor
  32. UAE’s OPEC exit has been long in the works – and may mark the beginning of a Gulf realignment
  33. Facial recognition data is a key to your identity – if stolen, you can’t just change the locks
  34. More than 140,000 Americans die from COPD each year – here’s why survival depends on more than avoiding smoking
  35. Wearable glucose monitors offer real-time data, but for healthy people no guidelines exist to interpret the numbers
  36. How the concept of ‘medical freedom’ is reshaping the military’s decades-long stance on the flu vaccine mandate − and endangering troops’ readiness
  37. Reading gains in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana are often touted, but don’t show full picture of literacy
  38. Tapping your genome with AI and quantum computing could deliver on the promise of personalized medicine – but practical and ethical hurdles remain
  39. Your local storm forecast is likely based on weather miles away – we’re trying to bring it closer to home
  40. Why is water wet?
  41. Potential signs of life on distant planets sound exciting – but confirmation can take years
  42. Perseverance doesn’t always pay off for companies – sometimes it’s better to ‘fail fast’
  43. Texas proposes Bible readings for K-12 students, reigniting century-old legal battle over their place in public schools
  44. Donkeys are a symbol of endurance for Palestinians – they are also a target of settler violence and care
  45. America’s founding promise of religious freedom has long coexisted with prejudice, even as many Christians have worked to confront it
  46. Older Americans who vote live longer than those who don’t – new research
  47. Sora’s downfall signals broader problems with AI’s creative utility
  48. Latest attack threatening President Trump reflects rising political violence in US
  49. What to know about sex trafficking as Pittsburgh hosts the NFL draft
  50. Justice Department’s effort to strip citizenship from naturalized Americans could face widespread judicial pushback