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Who formally declares the winner of the US presidential election?

  • Written by Amy Dacey, Executive Director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, American University
imageThe 2000 and 2020 presidential elections were rarities in that the winner was not declared on election night.Franklin McMahon/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images

Unlike many other countries, where the president or prime minister is chosen by direct popular vote, in the United States a candidate may win the popular vote and still not be elected to the nat...

Read more: Who formally declares the winner of the US presidential election?

Sudan’s civil war has left at least 62,000 dead by our estimate − but the true figure could be far higher

  • Written by Sarah Elizabeth Scales, Post-Doctoral Researcher, Department of Environmental, Occupational, and Agricultural Health, University of Nebraska Medical Center

The ongoing war in Sudan has often been overlooked amid higher-profile conflicts raging across multiple continents. Yet the lack of media and geopolitical attention to this 18-month-long conflict has not made its devastation in terms of human lives any less stark.

Since fighting broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the...

Read more: Sudan’s civil war has left at least 62,000 dead by our estimate − but the true figure could be far...

With Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, Republicans’ ‘strict father’ has become the creepy uncle

  • Written by Karrin Vasby Anderson, Professor of Communication Studies, Colorado State University
imageTucker Carlson at the Trump campaign rally at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, 2024. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

When Tucker Carlson, the reactionary pundit fired in 2023 from Fox News, preceded Donald Trump at the Turning Point rally in Duluth, Georgia, on Oct. 23, 2024, he roused attendees by tacitly likening Trump to a stern father and...

Read more: With Tucker Carlson, Elon Musk and Donald Trump, Republicans’ ‘strict father’ has become the...

Independent voters think for themselves and stay out of politics – 3 essential reads

  • Written by Jeff Inglis, Politics + Society Editor, The Conversation US
imageJessie Harris, left, a registered independent voter in South Carolina, casts a ballot in February 2024.Joe Lamberti for The Washington Post via Getty Images

In the 2024 election, the two major-party campaigns and many news reporters are spending a lot of time talking about independent voters – those who are neither aligned with the Republican...

Read more: Independent voters think for themselves and stay out of politics – 3 essential reads

Tariffs are back in the spotlight, but skepticism of free trade has deep roots in American history

  • Written by Erik Guzik, Assistant Clinical Professor of Management, University of Montana
imageNoted economic nationalist Alexander Hamilton.Douglas Sacha/Getty Images

One of the more surprising developments in recent American politics has been the backlash against free trade.

As recently as a decade ago, Democrats and Republicans alike generally favored free trade. But with the 2024 presidential election just days away, both Republican Donald...

Read more: Tariffs are back in the spotlight, but skepticism of free trade has deep roots in American history

New Orleans schools still separate and unequal 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education

  • Written by Connie L. Schaffer, Professor of Teacher Education, University of Nebraska Omaha
imageFirst graders led the desegregation of New Orleans' public schools in November 1960.Bettmann via Getty

Sixty-four years ago this November, public schools in New Orleans began to desegregate. School buildings once designated as “white” opened their doors to Black students. The integration process, which deeply divided the city, was led...

Read more: New Orleans schools still separate and unequal 70 years after Brown v. Board of Education

In Hawaii, parasites and viruses team up in the battle against fruit flies – an entomologist explains the implication for global pest control

  • Written by Kelsey Coffman, Assistant Professor of Entomology & Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee
imageDiachasmimorpha longicaudata, a parasitoid wasp that helps control pests.Sheina Sim, CC BY

Take a stroll along one of the beaches on Hawaii Island in late summer, and you’ll likely stumble upon almond-shaped fruits lying in the sand. Known as false kamani nuts, or tropical almonds, they fall from tall, shady Terminalia catappa trees that line...

Read more: In Hawaii, parasites and viruses team up in the battle against fruit flies – an entomologist...

Rust Belt voters aren’t all white, but election coverage of the region often ignores the concerns of people of color there

  • Written by Christabel Devadoss, Assistant Professor in Global Studies and Human Geography, Middle Tennessee State University
imageWisconsin voters lining up to cast their ballots in the 2022 midterm election, Oct. 25, 2022, in Milwaukee.Scott Olson/Getty Images

Every four years, national media turn their attention to the Rust Belt, a term that describes Midwestern industrial and manufacturing states whose economies were decimated by the decline of those industries in the...

Read more: Rust Belt voters aren’t all white, but election coverage of the region often ignores the concerns...

The next president will play a key role in shaping US trade policy – here’s what voters need to know

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

From the ports of Los Angeles to the cornfields of Iowa, the U.S.’s international trade policy is a force that shapes the lives of every American. With the presidential election looming in November 2024, discussing trade policy isn’t just an academic exercise – it’s a civic responsibility.

As an economist, I have spent years...

Read more: The next president will play a key role in shaping US trade policy – here’s what voters need to know

Americans own guns to protect themselves from psychological as well as physical threats

  • Written by Nick Buttrick, Assistant Professor of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
imageMany gun owners cite protection as a reason to carry a firearm. RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images

Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, Tim Walz and JD Vance all have something in common. All four of them, along with an estimated 42% of American adults, have lived in a home with at least one gun.

Gun ownership in the United States...

Read more: Americans own guns to protect themselves from psychological as well as physical threats

More Articles ...

  1. Fear, hope and the economy: what is motivating Americans as they decide who to vote for – podcast
  2. Slow vote-counting, flip-flopping leads, careful certification and the weirdness of the Electoral College – people who research elections look at what to expect on election night
  3. ‘Each bears his own ghosts’: How the classics speak to these days of fear, anger and presidential candidates stalking the land
  4. A new president will be elected − but it may take some time to determine who wins
  5. The ‘Courage Tour’ is attempting to get Christians to vote for Trump − and focused on defeating ‘demons’
  6. Religion in the workplace is tricky – but employers and employees both lose when it becomes a total taboo
  7. Simple science summaries written by AI help people understand research and trust scientists
  8. Fighting antibiotic resistance at the source – using machine learning to identify bacterial resistance genes and the drugs to block them
  9. Scholar’s new rap album seeks to turn the tables on the ‘masters’ from the Old South
  10. Time to freak out? How the existential terror of hurricanes can fuel climate change denial
  11. People with blindness and low vision are squeezed by high costs of living − new research
  12. What the presidential candidates have done − and where they stand − on education
  13. Nationalism is not patriotism: 3 insights from Orwell about Trump and the 2024 election
  14. Why vote for Harris or Trump? A cheat sheet on the candidates’ records, why their supporters like them and why picking one or the other makes sense
  15. Misinformation is more than just bad facts: How and why people spread rumors is key to understanding how false information travels and takes root
  16. Abortion and marijuana ballot measures may bring out Florida Democrats, but the GOP has 1M more active voters in the Sunshine State
  17. Why Pennsylvania’s election results will take time to count
  18. Defender su voto: Pasos a seguir si su derecho al voto es cuestionado el día de las elecciones
  19. Cannabis legalization may hit a ‘red wall’ at the ballot box
  20. Making a Snickers bar is a complex science − a candy engineer explains how to build the airy nougat and chewy caramel of this Halloween favorite
  21. The ancient Irish get far too much credit for Halloween
  22. Grow fast, die young? Animals that invest in building high-quality biomaterials may slow aging and increase their lifespans
  23. On foreign policy, Trump opts for disruption and Harris for engagement − but they share some of the same concerns
  24. Beyond bottled water and sandwiches: What FEMA is doing to get hurricane victims back into their homes
  25. How Trump’s racist talk of immigrant ‘bad genes’ echoes some of the last century’s darkest ideas about eugenics
  26. Corporate social responsibility disclosures are a double-edged sword, new research suggests
  27. RFK Jr.’s pivot to Trump is a journey taken by many populists swept along the left-to-right alternative media pipeline
  28. For an estimated 4 million people with felony convictions, restoring their right to vote is complicated – and varies state by state
  29. Israel’s ban on UNRWA continues a pattern of politicizing Palestinian refugee aid – and puts millions of lives at risk
  30. Rising partisanship is making nonprofits more reluctant to engage in policy debates − new research
  31. What to do if your vote is challenged: Practical advice from a civil rights attorney for Election Day
  32. My family lived the horrors of Native American boarding schools – why Biden’s apology doesn’t go far enough
  33. Vampire bats – look beyond the fangs and blood to see animal friendships and unique adaptations
  34. LGBTQ+ voters in these 4 states could swing the 2024 presidential election
  35. Michiganders or Michiganians? A linguist explains why the answer is clear
  36. Trump’s anti-Haitian rhetoric reflects America’s long-standing racism against Haiti and its people
  37. Why do we use gasoline for small vehicles and diesel fuel for big vehicles?
  38. US math teachers view student performance differently based on race and gender
  39. Why donors should ask local communities what matters to them while deciding what success looks like
  40. Israel’s latest strike against Iran may actually de-escalate regional tensions – for now, at least
  41. We analyzed 9 years of Trump political speeches, and his violent rhetoric has increased dramatically
  42. Animals that are all black or all white have reputations based on superstition − biases that have real effects
  43. Hamas at a crossroads: Sinwar’s death leaves a vacuum; Israeli actions make it harder to fill with a moderate
  44. Mexico’s Day of the Dead celebrations blend Indigenous customs and European thinking in surprising ways
  45. The best horror movie you’ve never seen
  46. Threatening ‘the enemy within’ with force: Military ethicists explain the danger to important American traditions
  47. Debates about Columbus’ Spanish Jewish ancestry are not new − the claim was once a bid for social acceptance
  48. Student-athletes find more power in the changing legal landscape of college sports
  49. From Confederate general to Cherokee heritage: Why returning the name Kuwohi to the Great Smoky Mountains matters
  50. Foreign countries are helping autocracies repress exiled dissidents in return for economic gain