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Planned blackouts are becoming more common − and not having cash on hand could cost you

  • Written by Jay L. Zagorsky, Associate Professor Questrom School of Business, Boston University

Are you prepared for when the power goes out? To prevent massive wildfires in drought-prone, high-wind areas, electrical companies have begun preemptively shutting off electricity. These planned shutdowns are called public safety power shutoffs, abbreviated to PSPS, and they’re increasingly common. So far this year, we’ve seen them in T...

Read more: Planned blackouts are becoming more common − and not having cash on hand could cost you

GOP lawmakers eye SNAP cuts, which would scale back benefits that help low-income people buy food at a time of high food prices

  • Written by Tracy Roof, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Richmond
imageA shopper who gets SNAP benefits shops for groceries at a supermarket in Bellflower, Calif., on Feb. 13, 2023.AP Photo/Allison Dinner

Congress may soon consider whether to cut spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the main way the government helps low-income Americans put food on the table. The Conversation U.S. asked Tracy Roof...

Read more: GOP lawmakers eye SNAP cuts, which would scale back benefits that help low-income people buy food...

US earthquake safety relies on federal employees’ expertise

  • Written by Jonathan P. Stewart, Professor of Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles
imageThe 6.9 magnitude Loma Prieta earthquake near San Francisco in 1989 caused about $6.8 billion in damage and 63 deaths.J.K. Nakata/U.S. Geological Survey

Earthquakes and the damage they cause are apolitical. Collectively, we either prepare for future earthquakes or the population eventually pays the price. The earthquakes that struck Myanmar on...

Read more: US earthquake safety relies on federal employees’ expertise

Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle Paleolithic, like in Europe and Middle East

  • Written by Ben Marwick, Professor of Archaeology, University of Washington
imageThe artifacts found at Longtan, southwest China, were as old as 60,000 years.Qijun Ruan

New technologies today often involve electronic devices that are smaller and smarter than before. During the Middle Paleolithic, when Neanderthals were modern humans’ neighbors, new technologies meant something quite different: new kinds of stone tools...

Read more: Stone tool discovery in China shows people in East Asia were innovating during the Middle...

Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions likely to reach the Supreme Court

  • Written by Jennifer Selin, Associate Professor of Law, Arizona State University
imagePrisoners stand in a cell as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on March 26, 2025.AP Photo/Alex Brandon

A federal appeals court on March 26, 2025, upheld a temporary block on President Donald Trump’s deportation of hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants,...

Read more: Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador sparks legal questions...

Doctor shortages have hobbled health care for decades − and the trend could be worsening

  • Written by Rochelle Walensky, Bayer Fellow in Health and Biotech, American Academy in Berlin, Senior Fellow in the Women and Public Policy Program, Harvard Kennedy School
imageSpecialists across numerous fields of medicine are in short supply. sudok1/iStock via Getty Images

Americans are increasingly waiting weeks or even months to get an appointment to see a health care specialist.

This delay comes at a time when the population of aging adults is rising dramatically. By 2050, the number of adults over 85 is expected to...

Read more: Doctor shortages have hobbled health care for decades − and the trend could be worsening

Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans − but there are ways to slow down viral evolution

  • Written by Ron Barrett, Professor of Anthropology, Macalester College
imageWorkers who are in frequent contact with potentially sick animals are at high risk of bird flu infection.Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Disease forecasts are like weather forecasts: We cannot predict the finer details of a particular outbreak or a particular storm, but we can often identify when these threats are emerging and prepare...

Read more: Bird flu could be on the cusp of transmitting between humans − but there are ways to slow down...

Measles can ravage the immune system and brain, causing long-term damage – a virologist explains

  • Written by Peter Kasson, Professor of Chemistry and Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
imageMeasles infections send 1 in 5 people to the hospital. wildpixel/ iStock via Getty Images Plus

The measles outbreak that began in west Texas in late January 2025 continues to grow, with 400 confirmed cases in Texas and more than 50 in New Mexico and Oklahoma as of March 28.

Public health experts believe the numbers are much higher, however, and...

Read more: Measles can ravage the immune system and brain, causing long-term damage – a virologist explains

Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy

  • Written by Simon F. Haeder, Associate Professor of Public Health, Texas A&M University
imageThe new plan will shrink the Health and Human Services workforce from more than 82,000 to 62,000 employees.Sarah Stierch via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY

On March 27, 2025, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced plans to dramatically transform the department. HHS is the umbrella agency responsible for...

Read more: Massive cuts to Health and Human Services’ workforce signal a dramatic shift in US health policy

Jets from powerful black holes can point astronomers toward where − and where not − to look for life in the universe

  • Written by David Garofalo, Professor of Physics, Kennesaw State University
imageBlack holes, like the one in this illustration, can spray powerful jets.S. Dagnello (NRAO/AUI/NSF), CC BY-SA

One of the most powerful objects in the universe is a radio quasar – a spinning black hole spraying out highly energetic particles. Come too close to one, and you’d get sucked in by its gravitational pull, or burn up from the...

Read more: Jets from powerful black holes can point astronomers toward where − and where not − to look for...

More Articles ...

  1. Why do dogs love to play with trash?
  2. What is a ‘revisionist’ state, and what are they trying to revise?
  3. As ‘right to die’ gains more acceptance, a scholar of Catholicism explains the position of the Catholic Church
  4. The Panama Canal’s other conflict: Water security for the population and the global economy
  5. How is classified information typically shared and can officials declassify secrets whenever they want? A national security expert explains
  6. ‘Everyday discrimination’ linked to increased anxiety and depression across all groups of Americans
  7. From censorship to curiosity: Pope Francis’ appreciation for the power of history and books
  8. Cuts to science research funding cut American lives short − federal support is essential for medical breakthroughs
  9. Chronic kidney disease often goes undiagnosed, but early detection can prevent severe outcomes
  10. As federal environmental priorities shift, sovereign Native American nations have their own plans
  11. Want to stay healthier and fulfilled later in life? Try volunteering
  12. We analyzed racial justice statements from the 500 largest US companies and found that DEI officials really did have an influence
  13. First year of Georgia’s ‘foreign agent’ law shows how autocracies are replicating Russian model − and speeding up the time frame
  14. Myanmar’s civil war: How shifting US-Russia ties could tip balance and hand China a greater role
  15. What ‘The White Lotus’ gets wrong about the meaning and goals of common Buddhist practices
  16. Women are reclaiming their place in baseball
  17. Ecological disruptions are a risk to national security
  18. Wild marmots’ social networks reveal controversial evolutionary theory in action
  19. Signal is not the place for top secret communications, but it might be the right choice for you – a cybersecurity expert on what to look for in a secure messaging app
  20. Losing your job is bad for your health, but there are things you can do to minimize the harm
  21. From Greenland to Fort Bragg, America is caught in a name game where place names become political tools
  22. US swing toward autocracy doesn’t have to be permanent – but swinging back to democracy requires vigilance, stamina and elections
  23. Trump’s tariffs on Canada and Mexico could spell trouble for distilled spirits
  24. With Hooters on the verge of bankruptcy, a psychologist reflects on her time spent studying the servers who work there
  25. Mississippi’s education miracle: A model for global literacy reform
  26. Medetomidine is replacing xylazine in Philly street fentanyl − creating new hurdles for health care providers and drug users
  27. Maritime truce would end a sorry war on the waves for Russia that set back its naval power ambitions
  28. Sudan’s civil war: What military advances mean, and where the country could be heading next
  29. Deep-sea mining threatens sea life in a way no one is thinking about − by dumping debris into the thriving midwater zone
  30. The solution to workplace isolation might be in the gap − the generation gap
  31. Trump is not a king – but that doesn’t stop him from reveling in his job’s most ceremonial and exciting parts
  32. Trump’s desire to ‘un-unite’ Russia and China is unlikely to work – in fact, it could well backfire
  33. Engineering students explore how to ethically design and locate nuclear facilities in this college course
  34. Amid a tropical paradise known as ‘Lizard Island,’ researchers are cracking open evolution’s black box – scientist at work
  35. Mae Reeves used showstopping hats to fuel voter engagement and Black entrepreneurship
  36. Rethinking repression − why memory researchers reject the idea of recovered memories of trauma
  37. Ukraine will need major rebuilding when war ends − here’s why the US isn’t likely to invest in its recovery with a new Marshall Plan
  38. How many types of insects are there in the world?
  39. Genomic sequencing reveals previously unknown genes that make microbes resistant to drugs and hard to kill
  40. Poor neighborhoods, health care barriers are factors for heart disease risk in Black mothers
  41. National monuments have grown and shrunk under US presidents for over a century thanks to one law: The Antiquities Act
  42. How Japanese anime draws on religious traditions to explore themes of destiny, sacrifice and the struggle between desire and duty
  43. Egg prices soar as outdated supply chains crack under pressure
  44. Who gets to brand Puerto Rico: Its tourism agency or its biggest star?
  45. Trump’s executive order to dismantle the Education Department was inspired by the Heritage Foundation’s decades-long disapproval of the agency
  46. What are AI hallucinations? Why AIs sometimes make things up
  47. Why the words in your job posting may attract rule-bending narcissists
  48. Avoiding your neighbor because of how they voted? Democracy needs you to talk to them instead
  49. Defending humanitarian aid in terms of national security obscures its real purpose
  50. Trump’s firings of military leaders pose a crucial question to service members of all ranks