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The obscure federal agency that soon could raise your electric bill: 5 questions answered on FERC

  • Written by Joshua D. Rhodes, Research Fellow of Energy, University of Texas at Austin
imageMaking sense of the Department of Energy's plan. Shutterstock.com

Editor’s note: On or before Dec. 11, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to take action on a controversial proposal by Energy Secretary Rick Perry that seeks to prevent noncompetitive coal and nuclear power plants from retiring...

Read more: The obscure federal agency that soon could raise your electric bill: 5 questions answered on FERC

President Trump's national monument rollback is illegal and likely to be reversed in court

  • Written by Nicholas Bryner, Emmett/Frankel Fellow in Environmental Law and Policy, University of California, Los Angeles
imageSupporters of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments during a rally Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017 in Salt Lake City.AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

On Dec. 4, President Trump traveled to Utah to sign proclamations downsizing Bears Ears National Monument by 85 percent and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument by nearly 50 percent....

Read more: President Trump's national monument rollback is illegal and likely to be reversed in court

The constitutional right to education is long overdue

  • Written by Derek W. Black, Professor of Law, University of South Carolina
imageSCOTUSJ. Main / Shutterstock.com

Public school funding has shrunk over the past decade. School discipline rates reached historic highs. Large achievement gaps persist. And the overall performance of our nation’s students falls well below our international peers.

These bleak numbers beg the question: Don’t students have a constitutional...

Read more: The constitutional right to education is long overdue

Why the president's anti-Muslim tweets could increase tensions

  • Written by Michael Pasek, NSF Graduate Research Fellow, Pennsylvania State University
imageAP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File

Last week, President Trump retweeted to his nearly 44 million followers a series of videos purporting to show Muslims assaulting people and destroying Christian statues. These videos, originally shared by an extremist anti-Muslim group in the U.K., were shown to be inaccurate and misleading.

In response to widespread...

Read more: Why the president's anti-Muslim tweets could increase tensions

A new collaborative approach to investigate what happens in the brain when it makes a decision

  • Written by Anne Churchland, Associate Professor of Neuroscience, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
imageWhat's going on in there when you decide?Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock.com

Decisions span a vast range of complexity. There are really simple ones: Do I want an apple or a piece of cake with my lunch? Then there are much more complicated ones: Which car should I buy, or which career should I choose?

Neuroscientists like me have identified some of the...

Read more: A new collaborative approach to investigate what happens in the brain when it makes a decision

How the tax bill opens wide a big back door to overhaul health care

  • Written by Simon Haeder, Assistant Professor of Political Science, West Virginia University
imageSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a Nov. 30, 2017 photo as he talked to small business owners about the tax bill. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The U.S. Senate on Dec. 2 passed its version of one of the most sweeping tax reform bills on a party-line vote of 51-49. After reconciliation with a House version, the bill is expected to be passed...

Read more: How the tax bill opens wide a big back door to overhaul health care

Turning hurricanes into music: Can listening to storms help us understand them better?

  • Written by Mark Ballora, Professor of Music Technology, Pennsylvania State University
imageHurricane Maria, September 2017.lavizzara/shutterstock.com

During the 2017 hurricane season, major storms in the North Atlantic devastated communities in and around Houston, Florida, Puerto Rico and the wider Caribbean.

The destruction shows how important it is to understand and communicate the serious threats that these storms pose. Scientists...

Read more: Turning hurricanes into music: Can listening to storms help us understand them better?

Two little-known ways GOP tax bill would make chasm between rich and poor even wider

  • Written by Daniel Hemel, Assistant Professor of Law, University of Chicago
imageA Democratic aide carries a chart past the Senate chamber.AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

The tax bill passed by the Senate in the wee hours of Dec. 2 will – if it becomes law – widen the gap between the rich and the poor at a time when income inequality is already approaching historic heights.

Initially, most U.S. households are likely to...

Read more: Two little-known ways GOP tax bill would make chasm between rich and poor even wider

Taking a second look at the learn-to-code craze

  • Written by Kate M. Miltner, Ph.D. Candidate in Communication, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism
imageAre computers in the classroom more helpful to students – or the companies that sell the machines?AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Over the past five years, the idea that computer programming – or “coding” – is the key to the future for both children and adults alike has become received wisdom in the United States. The aim of...

Read more: Taking a second look at the learn-to-code craze

Should lying to the FBI be a crime?

  • Written by Austin Sarat, Professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science, Amherst College
imageFormer National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, center.AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

On Dec. 1, Michael Flynn, former national security adviser to President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to the charge of lying to the FBI about his contacts and conversations with Russians.

Flynn admitted to violating the federal statute 18 USC Section 1001, which prohibits...

Read more: Should lying to the FBI be a crime?

More Articles ...

  1. When should you unfriend someone on Facebook?
  2. Why psychiatrists should not be involved in presidential politics
  3. Historic tax overhaul nears finish line: 5 essential reads
  4. The new tax bill will make Americans less healthy – and that's bad for the economy
  5. The latest threat to peace in Colombia: Congress
  6. The GOP doesn't care if you like their tax plan. Here's why
  7. The GOP doesn't care if you like its tax plan. Here's why
  8. Tax bill's attack on higher education undermines America's economic vitality
  9. Is the British monarchy actually adapting to changing social norms?
  10. Teaching machines to teach themselves
  11. Could the ERA pass in the #Metoo era?
  12. Why society should talk about forced sex in intimate relationships, too
  13. Stop criticizing bizarrely shaped voting districts. They might not be gerrymandered after all
  14. Who are the Baha'is and why are they so persecuted?
  15. Charles Manson and the perversion of the American dream
  16. In growing algae for biofuels, it matters who used the water last
  17. Why Silicon Valley wants you to text and drive
  18. Atomic age began 75 years ago with the first controlled nuclear chain reaction
  19. Got a boss who denies reality? A behavioral scientist's guide to tactful truth telling
  20. Kurdistan earthquake: politics creates roadblocks to relief
  21. Kurdistan earthquake: Politics create roadblocks to relief
  22. A tax increase that's proven to save lives
  23. As students near graduation, career and technical education provides a boost
  24. Living and aging well with HIV: New strategies and new research
  25. Rosie the Riveters discovered a wartime California dream
  26. Has Trump's presidency triggered the movement against sexual harassment?
  27. Taxpayers want more fairness. GOP plan to 'reform' the tax code doesn't deliver
  28. When envisioning the future of TV, think of a shopping mall
  29. Fewer crops are feeding more people worldwide – and that's not good
  30. An ethical guide to responsible giving
  31. The messy reality of religious liberty in America
  32. Philip Morris hides data in plain sight on dangers of new heat-not-burn product
  33. An armed robber's Supreme Court case could affect all Americans' digital privacy for decades to come
  34. Each volcano has unique warning signs that eruption is imminent
  35. Redefining 'safety' for self-driving cars
  36. Parole violations are driving prison’s revolving door
  37. Why faith inspires people to give
  38. Keeping score of 'friends' on Facebook and Instagram may be harmful to your health
  39. Government regulation of social media would be a 'cure' far worse than the disease
  40. Chile heads into presidential runoff with a transformed political landscape
  41. Learning by giving: How today's students can become tomorrow's philanthropists
  42. 5 reasons why people give their money away – plus 1 why they don't
  43. Studying circadian rhythms in plants and their pathogens might lead to precision medicine for people
  44. Before Breitbart, there was the Charleston News and Courier
  45. What the latest FBI data do and do not tell us about hate crimes in the US
  46. Fighting online abuse shouldn't be up to the victims
  47. The way we tell the story of Hollywood sexual assault and harassment matters
  48. How the tax package could blur the separation of church and politics
  49. Who will bury Charles Manson?
  50. Retail rage: Why Black Friday leads shoppers to behave badly