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Pushing students to take Advanced Placement courses does not help anyone

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imageDoes the Advanced Placement program foster academic excellence?PROThe U.S. National Archives

Millions of American high school students take the Advanced Placement (AP) test each year. In 2014, that number was over 2.3 million.

However, these numbers do not tell the complete story. Approximately one-third of the enrolled students end up not taking...

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Can corporate America solve growing problem of youth unemployment?

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imageGood news for the young unemployed. Hiring letters via www.shutterstock.com

As of 2014, there were approximately 39 million people aged 16-24 in the US, and 5.4 million of them were neither employed nor in school. That’s almost 14% of the age cohort, or more than two-and-a-half times the national rate of unemployment.

These 5.4 million...

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Why Medicare should reimburse doctors for end-of-life care conversations

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imageLet's talk. Doctor and patient via www.shutterstock.com

On July 8, Medicare announced plans to reimburse physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants for services to help their patients plan the care they would want if they were too ill to speak for themselves. If approved, the plan will take effect in January 2016.

It’s about time....

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The green and the gold: can we soften the environmental impact of the Olympics?

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imageThe bird cage in Beijing: ready for its next close-up.Damir Sagolj/Reuters

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) just announced that Beijing will host the 2022 Winter Olympics. There will no doubt be many surprises during the Games, but we already know there will be a substantial environmental toll to locating in Beijing.

Where will the snow...

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'Banning the box' would help people released from prison rebuild their lives

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imageObama is the first sitting president to visit a federal prison. REUTERS/Kevin LamarqueREUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The plight of the imprisoned has America’s attention.

The first visit by a sitting president to a penitentiary, bipartisan activities in Congress, policy reforms in red states, and ideology-spanning alliances (eg, Coalition for Public...

Read more: 'Banning the box' would help people released from prison rebuild their lives

After Cincinnati, the big question: who are the campus police, anyway?

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imageIt was only in the seventies that campus police came to be formally recognized.C Holmes, CC BY-NC

On July 29, University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing was indicted on murder charges in the shooting death of unarmed motorist Samuel Dubose.

In 2013, University of South Alabama police officer Trevis Austin shot and killed Gil Collar, an...

Read more: After Cincinnati, the big question: who are the campus police, anyway?

Your mobile phone knows where you go and what you do – and maybe even when you're feeling down

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imageHow do you feel?Smartphone via www.shutterstock.com.

Today’s smartphones are equipped with powerful sensing capabilities. Using these sensors, your smartphone potentially has a record of how active you are, how much you sleep and where you go. If we look at the data those sensors gather, we can get a pretty good idea of what someone’s...

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Will the administration’s congressional testimony on Iran tilt the balance?

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imageGetting ready for CongressGary Cameron/Reuters

In an all-out promotional blitz, John Kerry spoke at a hastily arranged Q&A July 24 to a Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Five days later, he faced two less restrained audiences, testifying before the House of Representatives’ Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday and turning up...

Read more: Will the administration’s congressional testimony on Iran tilt the balance?