The Conversation

How a lone judge can block a Trump order nationwide – and why, from DACA to DOGE, this judicial check on presidents’ power is shaping how the government works

Written by Cassandra Burke Robertson, Professor of Law and Director of the Center for Professional Ethics, Case Western Reserve University

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to limit judges' power to issue what legal experts call 'nationwide preliminary injunctions.'Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

When presidents try to make big changes through executive orders, they often hit a roadblock: A single federal judge, whether located in Seattle or Miami or anywhere in...

Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs are the highest in decades − an economist explains how that could hurt the US

Written by Bedassa Tadesse, Professor of Economics, University of Minnesota Duluth

President Donald Trump unveiled a sweeping new tariff plan on April 2, 2025, to reshape U.S. trade and boost domestic industry.

Framing the announcement as “Liberation Day,” he proposed a 10% tariff on essentially all imports, with steeper rates for major trade partners, including 34% on Chinese goods and 20% on those from the European...

Why tattoos are such an unreliable marker of gang membership

Written by Beth C. Caldwell, Professor of Law, Southwestern Law School

Tattoos of crowns and roses are popular among everyone – not just members of Tren de Aragua, as law enforcement has claimed. Marc Atkins/Getty Images

The United States deported 238 Venezuelan men on three flights to El Salvador on March 15, 2025, claiming that they were members of the Tren de Aragua gang that originated in Venezuela.

Immigrati...

Lessons from El Salvador for US university leaders facing attacks from Trump

Written by Annmarie Caño, Professor of Psychology, Gonzaga University

Salvadorans participate in a procession on Nov. 14, 2015, to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the murder of the Rev. Ignacio Ellacuría, five other Jesuit priests and two employees at Central American University in San Salvador.Marvin Recinos/AFP via Getty Images

Even before President Donald Trump took office, university presidents...

Lowering the cost of insurance in Colorado – a new analysis of the Peak Health Alliance

Written by Mark Meiselbach, Assistant Professor of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University

Health insurance premiums have continued to rise in the U.S.MoMo Productions/GettyImages

A community-led partnership in Colorado designed to negotiate health care prices lowered health care premiums in 2020 and 2021, we find in our new paper in the Journal of Risk and Insurance. The nonprofit organization is called the Peak Health Alliance.

As...

Medicare Advantage is covering more and more Americans − some because they don’t get to choose

Written by Grace McCormack, Research scientist of Health Policy and Economics, University of Southern California

Since the mid-2000s, the Medicare system has dramatically transformed. Enrollment in Medicare Advantage – the private alternative to the traditional Medicare program administered by the government – has more than quadrupled. It now accounts for the majority of Medicare enrollment.

Employers, including state government agencies, are...

Susan Monarez, Trump’s nominee for CDC director, faces an unprecedented and tumultuous era at the agency

Written by Jordan Miller, Teaching Professor of Public Health, Arizona State University

The Trump administration laid off thousands more employees at the CDC on April 1, 2025, as part of its workforce reduction.Anadolu/Getty Images

The job of director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention carries immense responsibility for shaping health policies, responding to crises and maintaining trust in public health institutions.

Sinc...

Vitamin D builds your bones and keeps your gut sealed, among many other essential functions − but many children are deficient

Written by Jacqueline Hernandez, Assistant Professor of Dietetics and Nutrition, Florida International University

Most people in the U.S. get their vitamin D from Sun exposure.Stockbyte/DigitalVision via Getty Images

You’ve likely heard about vitamin D’s important role in maintaining strong bones and teeth. But it also plays several other important roles to keep your body healthy – including the function of your gut.

As part of our research on...

From business exports to veteran care − here’s what some of the 35,000 federal workers in the Philadelphia region do

Written by Todd Aagaard, Professor of Law, Villanova School of Law

Federal layoffs have affected employees at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.Ryan Collerd/AFP via Getty Images

Layoffs of federal employees and cutbacks to federal agencies have direct consequences for the Philadelphia area.

I am a law professor at Villanova University outside Philadelphia, and my research focuses on the work of...

Supreme Court considers whether states may prevent people covered by Medicaid from choosing Planned Parenthood as their health care provider

Written by Naomi Cahn, Professor of Law, University of Virginia

Planned Parenthood clinics, like this one in Los Angeles, are located across the United States.Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Having the freedom to choose your own health care provider is something many Americans take for granted. But the Supreme Court is weighing whether people who rely on Medicaid for their health insurance have that...