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Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock as laws and policy are made in the nation's capital

  • Written by Jeb Barnes, Professor of Political Science, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
imagePresident Joe Biden signs the $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill into law Thursday. Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images

So much for gridlock.

President Joe Biden just signed a nearly $US1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package. Its swift passage relied on a process known as “budget reconciliation,” which allowed Congress to enact the plan without a...

Read more: Debunking the myth of legislative gridlock as laws and policy are made in the nation's capital

New Jersey State Police's first 100 years characterized by racial prejudice

  • Written by W. Carsten Andresen, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice, St. Edward's University
imageNew Jersey state troopers salute before an NFL football game.AP Photo/Adam Hunger

The New Jersey State Police, founded 100 years ago, was created to counter the influence of the state’s rising populations of African Americans and immigrants, whom white residents feared.

My research into the agency’s culture found that the agency emerged...

Read more: New Jersey State Police's first 100 years characterized by racial prejudice

Women grow as much as 80% of India's food – but its new farm laws overlook their struggles

  • Written by Bansari Kamdar, Graduate Student, University of Massachusetts Boston
imagePlanting paddy saplings in Patiala, India. Three-quarters of Indian farmers are women, but most don't own their land.Bharat Bhushan/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Indian women are left behind on farms to make ends meet as more men in India migrate from rural areas to cities, seeking higher incomes and better jobs.

Nearly 75% of the full-time...

Read more: Women grow as much as 80% of India's food – but its new farm laws overlook their struggles

Texas distorts its past – and Sam Houston's legacy – to defend Confederate monuments

  • Written by Jeffrey L. Littlejohn, Professor of History, Sam Houston State University
imageHuntsville reveres hometown hero Sam Houston. And he did not revere the Confederacy. Jimmy Henderson/flickr, CC BY-SA

At least 160 Confederate symbols were removed from public spaces across the United States in 2020, according to the the Southern Poverty Law Center. Even Virginia, the former capital of the Confederacy, has removed a statue of Gen....

Read more: Texas distorts its past – and Sam Houston's legacy – to defend Confederate monuments

Sewage-testing robots process wastewater faster to predict COVID-19 outbreaks sooner

  • Written by Smruthi Karthikeyan, Postdoctoral Research Associate in Pediatrics, University of California San Diego
imageSewage samples mixed with magnetic beads and loaded onto the liquid-handling robot for viral concentrationC. H. Sheikhzadeh @ HOMA Photographic Art

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

The big idea

By using a sewage-handling robot, our laboratory has been able to detect coronavirus in wastewater 30 times faster than...

Read more: Sewage-testing robots process wastewater faster to predict COVID-19 outbreaks sooner

How the quest for significance and respect underlies the white supremacist movement, conspiracy theories and a range of other problems

  • Written by Arie Kruglanski, Professor of Psychology, University of Maryland
imageUnemployed Blackjewel coal miners, their family members and activists man a blockade along railroad tracks leading to their old mine on Aug. 23, 2019, in Cumberland, Kentucky. Scott Olson/Getty Images

President Joe Biden’s fundamental pitch to America has been about dignity and respect. He never tires of repeating his father’s words...

Read more: How the quest for significance and respect underlies the white supremacist movement, conspiracy...

Deaf women fought for the right to vote

  • Written by Joan Naturale, Reference Librarian, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries, Rochester Institute of Technology
imageWomen protested outside the White House in 1917, seeking the right to vote.Harris & Ewing via Library of Congress

If Susan B. Anthony had a deaf sister, everyone would know that deaf suffragists fought tirelessly for expanding women’s right to vote, right alongside Anthony herself. Everyone would know deaf suffragists contributed to...

Read more: Deaf women fought for the right to vote

Millions of American parents will soon get a monthly allowance: 4 questions answered

  • Written by Joya Misra, Professor of Sociology & Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst
imageThe stuff kids need adds up, especially during pandemics.Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

The federal government’s US$1.9 trillion relief package that President Joe Biden signed on March 11 will temporarily expand the child tax credit.

This credit, currently pegged at up to $2,000 a year per child until they turn 17, will instead total $3,600 for...

Read more: Millions of American parents will soon get a monthly allowance: 4 questions answered

Skipping the vaccine line is not only unethical – it may undermine trust in the rollout

  • Written by Katharine Young, Professor of Law, Boston College, Boston College
imageWaiting in line for a vaccine at the Balboa Sports Complex in Encino, California.Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine has been accompanied by reports of line-jumping as people farther down the list attempt to get ahead of those deemed higher priority.

In late February, for example, one health provider, One...

Read more: Skipping the vaccine line is not only unethical – it may undermine trust in the rollout

The US delivers $1.9 trillion jolt of economic relief: 4 essential reads

  • Written by Bryan Keogh, Senior Editor, Economy + Business
imageDemocrats celebrate passing the first big legislation of the Biden presidency.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The U.S. economy and millions of people struggling because of the pandemic are about to get a US$1.9 trillion jolt of stimulating relief.

On March 10, the House of Representatives approved a version of President Joe Biden’s coronavirus package...

Read more: The US delivers $1.9 trillion jolt of economic relief: 4 essential reads

More Articles ...

  1. How a silent movie informs the current debate over the right to be forgotten
  2. It's not just a social media problem – how search engines spread misinformation
  3. Kids spending too much time staring at screens? Focus on positive goals to get them moving and reading and talking
  4. US army chaplain Emil Kapaun advancing toward sainthood
  5. I went down the 'rabbit hole' to debunk misinformation – here's what I learned about Big Ben and online information overload
  6. Netflix series 'Last Chance U' speaks to the reality of athletes I study
  7. China's 'mask diplomacy' wins influence across Africa, during and after the pandemic
  8. Biden ends policy forcing asylum-seekers to 'remain in Mexico' – but for 41,247 migrants, it's too late
  9. How 18 million Americans could move into rural areas – without leaving home
  10. Pollen can raise your risk of COVID-19 – and the season is getting longer thanks to climate change
  11. How a 'feminist' foreign policy would change the world
  12. How urban planning and housing policy helped create 'food apartheid' in US cities
  13. Traffic is down on American highways during the pandemic, but vehicle deaths are up – here’s how to stay safe on the road
  14. COVID-19 survivor's guilt a growing issue as reality of loss settles in
  15. 3 medical innovations fueled by COVID-19 that will outlast the pandemic
  16. A global semiconductor shortage highlights a troubling trend: A small and shrinking number of the world's computer chips are made in the US
  17. Biased AI can be bad for your health – here's how to promote algorithmic fairness
  18. Growing food and protecting nature don't have to conflict – here's how they can work together
  19. Vaccinated and ready to party? Not so fast, says the CDC, but you can gather with other vaccinated people
  20. New York Gov. Cuomo is the textbook example of how not to apologize
  21. Growing cannabis indoors produces a lot of greenhouse gases – just how much depends on where it's grown
  22. Alumni gratitude and support for causes are behind donations of $50 million or more to colleges and universities
  23. Is gaming good for kids?
  24. 5 strategies to prepare now for the next pandemic
  25. How Black Americans used portraits and family photographs to defy stereotypes
  26. Immune interference – why even 'updated' vaccines could struggle to keep up with emerging coronavirus strains
  27. A year into the pandemic, the coronavirus is messing with our minds as well as our bodies
  28. Economists: Biden's $1,400 COVID-19 checks may be great politics, but it's questionable economics
  29. States drop COVID-19 mask mandates but still expect people to mask up – will they?
  30. Women in Afghanistan worry peace accord with Taliban extremists could cost them hard-won rights
  31. 10 years after Fukushima, safety is still nuclear power's greatest challenge
  32. The oil industry says it might support a carbon tax – here's why that could be good for producers and the public alike
  33. Backlash against Johnson Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine is real and risky – here's how to make its rollout a success
  34. Support for QAnon is hard to measure – and polls may overestimate it
  35. Support for Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package may not be as broad as it seems – it's all a matter of perspective
  36. Women used to dominate the beer industry – until the witch accusations started pouring in
  37. Going forth with standardized tests may cause more problems than it solves
  38. Fungal microbiome: Whether mice get fatter or thinner depends on the fungi that live in their gut
  39. Why white supremacists and QAnon enthusiasts are obsessed – but very wrong – about the Byzantine Empire
  40. The science behind frozen wind turbines – and how to keep them spinning through the winter
  41. January warm spells, March freezes: How plants manage the shift from winter to spring
  42. Revisiting reparations: Is it time for the US to pay its debt for the legacy of slavery?
  43. What the policing response to the KKK in the 1960s can teach about dismantling white supremacist groups today
  44. Queer in the country: Why some LGBTQ Americans prefer rural life to urban 'gayborhoods'
  45. Motivation is a key factor in whether students cheat
  46. Public transit drivers struggle to enforce mask mandates
  47. Even before COVID-19, US nursing homes were filling empty beds with psychiatric patients
  48. Your favorite fishing stream may be at high risk from climate change – here’s how to tell
  49. Why repressive Saudi Arabia remains a US ally
  50. Pope's upcoming visit brings attention to the dwindling population of Christians in Iraq