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'Avengers: Endgame' is nowhere near the worldwide box office record – here's why

  • Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Senior Lecturer, Boston University

Marvel’s gambit to propel “Avengers: Endgame” to become the top-grossing movie of all time finally paid off.

The studio re-released the final film in its “Avengers” series earlier this month with extra footage and a post-credit tribute in an effort to pass James Cameron’s 2009 film “Avatar” as the...

Read more: 'Avengers: Endgame' is nowhere near the worldwide box office record – here's why

Why does the US sentence people to hundreds of years in prison?

  • Written by Darryl K. Brown, Professor of Law, University of Virginia
The U.S. gives out relatively strong sentences compared to other western democracies.Billion Photos/Shutterstock.com

On July 15, a Virginia judge sentenced James Fields Jr. to a life sentence, plus 419 years, for killing Heather Heyer at the 2017 Charlottesville white nationalist rally by ramming his car into a crowd.

Some may wonder about the point...

Read more: Why does the US sentence people to hundreds of years in prison?

Asylum restrictions: The president can enforce the law, but can't change it

  • Written by Jean Lantz Reisz, Supervising Attorney, USC Immigration Clinic and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law, University of Southern California
President Donald Trump keeps trying to change immigration law and the courts keep blocking him.AP/Alex Brandon

Since his inauguration, President Trump’s immigration policies have been frustrated by the laws the U.S. Constitution requires him to “faithfully execute.”

While the Constitution has been interpreted to give the president...

Read more: Asylum restrictions: The president can enforce the law, but can't change it

Waiting for an undersea robot in Antarctica to call home

  • Written by Jennifer Walsh, Research Biologist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
One of two underwater gliders is deployed from a research ship into Antarctic waters.NOAA

“Call! Just call!” I think loudly in my head. “Did something happen? Are you okay?”

I might seem like a worried parent waiting for a teenager to report in from an unsupervised outing. Rather, I’m a research biologist with the...

Read more: Waiting for an undersea robot in Antarctica to call home

Could a tax on stock trades pay off the nation's student debt?

  • Written by Melissa Knox, Senior Lecturer, University of Washington
The 2020 Democratic candidates all have a plan to eliminate student debt.AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

If several of the Democratic candidates for president have their way, student debt will be a thing of the past – at least for current student loan borrowers.

Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed ambitious legislation that would cancel all student loan...

Read more: Could a tax on stock trades pay off the nation's student debt?

What's really behind baseball's home run surge?

  • Written by Brian J. Love, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Michigan
Some pitchers are convinced the balls are being messed with behind the scenes.Aspen Photo/Shutterstock.com

At the 2019 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander griped that too many home runs had been hit so far this season. He accused the league of altering, or “juicing,” the balls, making it easier...

Read more: What's really behind baseball's home run surge?

What is at stake in the Strait of Hormuz?

  • Written by Rockford Weitz, Professor of Practice & Director, Fletcher Maritime Studies Program, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Tensions between the United States, Iran and other countries are flaring again in the Strait of Hormuz.

There are competing explanations for what’s going on in the narrow seaway through which 21% of the world’s crude oil currently passes.

Most of the reports of attacked tankers, smuggled oil and downed drones involve Iran and the United...

Read more: What is at stake in the Strait of Hormuz?

Smokey (the) Bear is still keeping his watchful eye on America's forests after 75 years on the job

  • Written by Wendy Melillo, Associate Professor, American University School of Communication
The PSA star, deployed in the wildJoseph Sohm/Shutterstock.com

Smokey Bear turns 75 on Aug. 9.

The star of the longest-running public-service advertising campaign in U.S. history is now big on social media, with Facebook, Flickr, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

Americans are also still sending the imaginary character loads of real mail. The postal...

Read more: Smokey (the) Bear is still keeping his watchful eye on America's forests after 75 years on the job

What Amazon's decision to retrain a third of its employees means for the future of work

  • Written by Scott F. Latham, Associate Professor of Strategic Management, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Amazon’s announcement that it will invest US$700 million to retrain 100,000 employees – a third of its U.S. workforce – in new technologies is the latest reminder that the much-heralded future of work is well underway.

Policymakers, analysts and scholars trying to discern the retailer’s motives and objectives chalked it up...

Read more: What Amazon's decision to retrain a third of its employees means for the future of work

Curious Kids: Why do birds sing?

  • Written by David Steadman, Curator of Ornithology, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida
A male Olive-backed Euphonia (_Euphonia gouldi_), photographed in Costa Rica.Andy Morffew, CC BY

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

Birds are some of the most attractive creatures on earth. Who doesn’t like to watch a Blue...

Read more: Curious Kids: Why do birds sing?

More Articles ...

  1. Why do birds sing?
  2. Yes, I'm searching for aliens – and no, I won't be going to Area 51 to look for them
  3. Brain-machine interfaces are getting better and better – and Neuralink's new brain implant pushes the pace
  4. Are Syrian refugees a danger to the West?
  5. What school segregation looks like in the US today, in 4 charts
  6. Cartel kingpin El Chapo is jailed for life, but the US-Mexico drug trade is booming
  7. Adapting cities to a hotter world: 3 essential reads
  8. Heat stroke: A doctor offers tips to stay safe as temperatures soar
  9. Why the federal government isn't prosecuting the officer who choked Eric Garner
  10. Washington state's big bet on 'free college'
  11. Better design could make mobile devices easier for seniors to use
  12. The dysfunctional debt ceiling and why we should kill it: 5 questions answered
  13. A giant leap for humankind -- future Moon missions will include diverse astronauts and more partners
  14. Home birth may start babies off with health-promoting microbes
  15. How the Volkswagen Beetle sparked America's art car movement
  16. Justice Stevens, Babe Ruth and the best law clerk assignment ever
  17. Voices from an age of uncertain work – Americans miss stability and a shared sense of purpose in their jobs
  18. Trump wasn't the first president to confront the Supreme Court – and back down
  19. Robert Hooke: The 'English Leonardo' who was a 17th-century scientific superstar
  20. 5 things parents need to know about 'summer loss'
  21. Counting 11 million undocumented immigrants is easier than Trump thinks
  22. How immigrants give American companies a powerful boost against Chinese rivals
  23. Can protecting land promote employment? In New England, the answer is yes
  24. The Bible says to welcome refugees
  25. 3 myths to bust about breaking up 'big tech'
  26. Americans focus on responding to earthquake damage, not preventing it, because they're unaware of their risk
  27. Did we mishear Neil Armstrong's famous first words on the Moon?
  28. As flood risks increase across the US, it's time to recognize the limits of levees
  29. War's physical toll can last for generations, as it has for the children of the Vietnam War
  30. When migrants go home, they bring back money, skills and ideas that can change a country
  31. Young Americans deserve a 21st-century Moonshot to Mars
  32. What is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty? Here's why it's still important
  33. Mapping the Moon for Apollo
  34. University of California's showdown with the biggest academic publisher aims to change scholarly publishing for good
  35. How do lithium-ion batteries work?
  36. The real midlife crisis confronting many Americans
  37. In divided Alaska, the choice is between paying for government or giving residents bigger oil wealth checks
  38. The ‘giant sucking sound’ of NAFTA: Ross Perot was ridiculed as alarmist in 1992 but his warning turned out to be prescient
  39. Trump's order for more action on kidney disease may shrink organ transplant waitlists
  40. Erdoğan's control over Turkey is ending – what comes next?
  41. Ticks spread plenty more for you to worry about beyond Lyme disease
  42. Could black philanthropy help solve the black student debt crisis?
  43. The Trump administration wants to dismantle the agency overseeing 2 million federal workers – and weaken safeguards against partisanship
  44. Long before Armstrong and Aldrin, artists were stoking dreams of space travel
  45. DNA testing companies offer telomere testing – but what does it tell you about aging and disease risk?
  46. How your diet contributes to nutrient pollution and dead zones in lakes and bays
  47. Commercial supersonic aircraft could return to the skies
  48. Why states and cities should stop handing out billions in economic incentives to companies
  49. How much is your data worth to tech companies? Lawmakers want to tell you, but it's not that easy to calculate
  50. How did people clean their teeth in the olden days?