NewsPronto

 
Times Advertising


.

The Conversation

New reading textbooks, same problem: Why children’s reading scores in the US aren’t rising

  • Written by Shawn Datchuk, Associate Professor of Special Education, University of Iowa
imageApproximately 34% of U.S. fourth grade students without disabilities and 72% of students with disabilities scored below basic reading levels in 2024. Anna Maslennikova/iStock/Getty Images Plus

Recently, I worked with a group of elementary teachers in Iowa to select new reading textbooks and software. They wanted new materials to improve their...

Read more: New reading textbooks, same problem: Why children’s reading scores in the US aren’t rising

What we lose when artificial intelligence does our shopping

  • Written by Mark Bartholomew, Professor of Law, University at Buffalo
imageAmazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus, on a computer monitor on Dec. 1, 2024, in New York. Company apps, including Rufus, may make it easier to shop, but consumers might balk at giving up too much of the shopping experienceAP Photo/Peter Morgan

Americans spend a remarkable amount of time shopping – more than on education, volunteering or even...

Read more: What we lose when artificial intelligence does our shopping

If Justice Alito resigns before the midterms, a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court is likely to sail through confirmation

  • Written by Paul M. Collins Jr., Professor of Legal Studies and Political Science, UMass Amherst
imageSupreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas share a laugh at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 20, 2025.Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Washington is buzzing with the possibility that President Donald Trump might name one or more Supreme Court justices before the November midterm elections.

In a conversation with Fox Business TV host Maria Bartiromo...

Read more: If Justice Alito resigns before the midterms, a Trump nominee to the Supreme Court is likely to...

Extreme rain on snow is testing aging dams across Michigan and Wisconsin – this is the future in a warming world

  • Written by Richard B. (Ricky) Rood, Professor Emeritus of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan
imageIn the upper Midwest, aging infrastructure, from dams to city drains, was overwhelmed by floodwater in April 2026. Jonathan Aguilar/Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service/CatchLight via Getty Images

Michigan and parts of Wisconsin are in the midst of a historic flooding event in spring 2026. Days of heavy rainfall on top of snow have sent lakes and...

Read more: Extreme rain on snow is testing aging dams across Michigan and Wisconsin – this is the future in a...

Heavy rain on snow is testing aging dams across Michigan and Wisconsin – this is the future in a warming world

  • Written by Richard B. (Ricky) Rood, Professor Emeritus of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan
imageIn the upper Midwest, aging infrastructure, from dams to city drains, was overwhelmed by floodwater in April 2026. Jonathan Aguilar/Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service/CatchLight via Getty Images

Michigan and parts of Wisconsin are in the midst of a historic flooding event in spring 2026. Days of heavy rainfall on top of snow have sent lakes and...

Read more: Heavy rain on snow is testing aging dams across Michigan and Wisconsin – this is the future in a...

Sorry, Tampa Bay, mixed-use districts don’t reverse the dismal economics of sports venues

  • Written by J.C. Bradbury, Professor of Economics, Kennesaw State University
imageThe plan for a new Rays stadium looks promising. But will it deliver for Tampa taxpayers?Tampa Bay Rays

When the Atlanta Braves opened Truist Park in 2017, Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred called it a “watershed” moment.

What drew so much attention to the new Braves’ stadium in suburban Cobb County, Georgia, at the...

Read more: Sorry, Tampa Bay, mixed-use districts don’t reverse the dismal economics of sports venues

Chernobyl at 40: Secret Stasi files reveal extent of Soviet misinformation campaign over nuclear disaster

  • Written by Lauren Cassidy, Lecturer German and Russian Studies, Binghamton University, State University of New York
imageA German security guard checks for radiation after the Chernobyl accident in April 1986.Patrick Piel/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

On April 26, 1986, Soviet engineers at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant were conducting a safety test. Doomed by a fatal design flaw and pushed to the limit by human negligence, reactor 4 exploded amid an attempted...

Read more: Chernobyl at 40: Secret Stasi files reveal extent of Soviet misinformation campaign over nuclear...

What a Muslim folk trickster can teach us about the danger of holding a single worldview

  • Written by Perin Gürel, Associate Professor of American Studies, University of Notre Dame
imageA man wearing a Nasreddin Hoja costume poses with children during Eid al-Fitr at Sunnyside Gardens Park in New York.Volkan Furuncu/Anadolu via Getty Images

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told CNN in January 2026 that “we live in a world … that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by...

Read more: What a Muslim folk trickster can teach us about the danger of holding a single worldview

Rotavirus cases in children are rising – but a highly effective vaccine has slashed hospitalizations from the virus by 80% in 2 decades

  • Written by Annette Regan, Adjunct Associate Professor of Epidemiology, University of California, Los Angeles
imageOne of rotavirus infection's main symptoms is diarrhea, which can lead to severe dehydration that needs to be treated in the hospital.hxyume/E+ via Getty Images

Rotavirus is a highly contagious virus that spreads easily and can make babies and young children very sick. This year, doctors have been seeing more cases earlier in the season than usual.

D...

Read more: Rotavirus cases in children are rising – but a highly effective vaccine has slashed...

Is Trump heading to a Pyrrhic victory in Iran?

  • Written by Andrew Latham, Professor of Political Science, Macalester College
imagePresident Donald Trump speaks to the press before departing the White House on April 16, 2026.Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images

President Donald Trump has claimed victory in the war in Iran even before the conflict is over. But despite killing the country’s leader and seriously degrading its military, there is an argument being made that...

Read more: Is Trump heading to a Pyrrhic victory in Iran?

More Articles ...

  1. High school yearbooks focus on the fun students had, obscuring the pain people also experienced
  2. HEPA air purifiers may boost brain power in adults over 40 – new research
  3. Why Trump can’t just decree changes to voting by mail – a former federal judge explains how the president’s executive order is ‘a solution looking for a problem’
  4. How personal finance advice is getting political, thanks to ‘finfluencers’
  5. It’s a sing-off! Myth-busting about birds and sex when it comes to defending the nest
  6. Why the US military is stuck using $1 million missiles against Iran’s $20,000 drones
  7. Research at Chernobyl and Fukushima shows how radioactive materials move in the environment
  8. Hurricanes devastated Florida’s East Coast – then seagrass made an unexpected comeback
  9. Attending multiple places of worship is the norm for many Americans
  10. Agricultural work is dangerous – but good communication can save lives in Colorado
  11. Signs of economic instability emerge in Oakland County, one of Michigan’s wealthiest
  12. US government ramps up mass surveillance with help of AI tech, data brokers – and your apps and devices
  13. Umbilical cord blood may hold clues for a child’s risk of developing Type 1 diabetes
  14. Despite all the likes, literallys and dropped g’s, English isn’t decaying before our eyes
  15. Data centers don’t have to be a burden on local communities – and can even support them by generating power and repurposing waste heat
  16. NATO’s internal cohesion is being threatened (again) – but in pushing for support on Iran, Trump may risk eroding US influence on the alliance
  17. Placebo effect can work as well as real medicine – but your body may need permission to use it
  18. Don’t just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future
  19. We designed the turf for soccer’s biggest World Cup ever – here’s how we created the same playing experience across 3 countries
  20. Intimate partner homicide has clear warning signs – and is often preventable, research shows
  21. Is the science that we do today truth, likely to be a lie, or is it undetermined?
  22. It’s a myth that baby boys are less social than girls – a new look at decades of research shows all babies are born to connect
  23. Most people do not realize when a personal message they receive was written by AI, study finds
  24. Schools are supposed to limit using restraint and seclusion to discipline kids – but parents I spoke with say the practice is wildly misused
  25. ICE’s heavy-handed immigration enforcement was tried once before – by Arizona’s notorious sheriff Joe Arpaio in the early 2000s
  26. 1914 Ludlow Massacre took lives of 25 miners and family members during bitter strike for fair wages and conditions
  27. When oil prices spike, where does the money go?
  28. Hampshire College’s demise is yet another blow to creative, outside-the-box options in higher education
  29. Why the future of marijuana legalization remains hazy despite high public support
  30. Trump sidelined Congress’ authority over war on Iran – and lawmakers allowed it, extending a 75-year trend
  31. Trump’s coercive tactics in Latin America evoke era of gunboat diplomacy – and the rise of anti-imperialism it helped spur
  32. I’ve fired one of America’s most powerful lasers – here’s what a shot day looks like
  33. About half of young Americans can’t name a single Holocaust site, repeating a pattern of ignorance seen in postwar Germany
  34. Ancient teeth reveal clues to the environment humans’ early ancestors evolved in millions of years ago
  35. How Islamophobic rhetoric leaves an impact on the mental health of Muslim Americans
  36. ‘Right to race’ laws and the battle over America’s local racetracks
  37. Cannabis sales and use are high in Michigan – but federal law means research lags behind
  38. Christian satellite TV has broadcast evangelical faith – and end-times prophecies – into Iran for decades
  39. Seeing women govern encourages support for women in politics – with no apparent backlash among men
  40. Students expect their university will mishandle sexual misconduct, if they ever report it
  41. One-way attack drones: Low-cost, high-tech weapons ‘democratize’ precision warfare
  42. Health information delivered as a video game can bridge the communication gap between patients and providers
  43. 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
  44. As renaissance fairs become big business, can they retain their counterculture roots?
  45. Washington DC’s 240 million-gallon sewage spill is a symptom of nationwide trouble
  46. How Trump’s repeated efforts to fire Federal Reserve Chair Powell harm the economy – and make battling inflation harder
  47. Iran’s military forces combine state-of-the-art drones and hackers with out-of-date conventional weapons
  48. Trump’s clash with the pope reenacts a 1,000-year-old question: What happens when sacred and secular power collide?
  49. Salty drinking water could be increasing your blood pressure – people living in coastal areas are most at risk
  50. Why women in groups face a ‘collaboration penalty’ that solo female stars like Taylor Swift and Coco Gauff escape