Contaminated drinking water: Why some states reject federal money to replace dangerous lead pipes
As the Biden administration makes billions of dollars available to remove millions of dangerous lead pipes that can contaminate drinking water and damage brain development in children, some states are turning down funds. Washington, Oregon, Maine, and Alaska declined...
Reggie Jackson: My childhood miseducation and the institutional control of Negro thinking
“The thought of the inferiority of the Negro is drilled into him in almost every class he enters and in almost every book he studies. If he happens to leave school after he masters the fundamentals, before he finishes high school or reaches college, he will naturally...
Milwaukee approves resolution seeking to restrict gun access for people convicted of domestic violence
Mayor Cavalier Johnson took a significant step to address the issue of domestic violence in Milwaukee, particularly its intersection with easy access to firearms, by signing Common Council Resolution 231169 on November 29 at City Hall. The commonsense resolution...
From Scott Walker to Ron DeSantis: What drives “Imperial Governors” to seek being elected as President
By Raymond Scheppach, Professor of Public Policy, University of Virginia Many people believe governors make good presidents. In fact, a 2016 Gallup Poll found that almost 74% of people say that governing a state provides excellent or good preparation for someone to be...
How America could slide first into Oligarchy and then Fascism without the infrastructure of Democracy
For far too many years, Americans have made the mistake of assuming that our republican democracy will be safe as long as we elect competent and well-intentioned politicians as leaders. Sadly, that is like thinking your surgeon, who is very good at what she does, will...
American violence: The sad racial history behind why mass shooters tend to be young White men
By Colin Kohlhaas, Doctoral Candidate, History, Binghamton University, State University of New York In recent years, the United States has seen a surge of White Supremacist mass shootings against racial minorities. While not always the case, mass shooters tend to be...
Zepbound: FDA approves new version of Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro diabetes drug to assist with weight loss
A new version of the popular diabetes treatment Mounjaro can be sold as a weight-loss drug, U.S. regulators announced in early November. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Eli Lilly’s drug, named Zepbound. The drug, also known as tirzepatide, helped...
Elevating free speech: Universities form partnership in response to threats against democracy
The presidents of a wide-ranging group of 13 universities are elevating free speech on their campuses this academic year, as part of a new nonprofit initiative announced in August to combat what organizers call dire threats to U.S. democracy. The Campus Call for Free...
Middleman strategy: Türkiye faces competing pressures to pick a side on Russia’s war in Ukraine
By Ozgur Ozkan, Visiting Professor of International Studies, Tufts University From the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Türkiye has performed a delicate balancing act, portraying itself as an ally to the warring sides while reaping economic and political benefits...
Ukraine sheds Russian-imposed tradition by officially moving Christmas Day holiday to December 25
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 28 signed a law moving the official Christmas Day holiday to December 25 from January 7, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church observes it. The explanatory note attached to the law said its goal is to...
A geopolitical transition: Why Ukraine’s push for NATO membership is rooted in its European identity
By Kateryna Shynkaruk, Senior Lecturer of International Relations, Texas A&M University During a meeting with the nation’s diplomatic corps, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave Ukraine’s ambassadors their marching orders for the rest of the year: Work to help...
Thanksgiving Anxiety: The unexpected stress of normal routines that feel anything but normal post-COVID
Much has been written about the holiday season in America, particularly Thanksgiving. And with an induced amnesia only two years after COVID, many people are desperate to cling to their nostalgic memories from before the pandemic in the rush back to...
