Jefferson County Sheriff Cadet Andrew Sevitts directs traffic as police stop drivers to see if they are under the influence of drugs or alcohol at a mobile Driving Under the Influence (DUI) checkpoint in Golden, Colorado in 2008.
Rick Wilking/Reuters
Wendy Wall, Binghamton University, State University of New York
Previous efforts to cement national cohesion offer a model but also, says a historian, a warning.
“Every day I wake up determined to deliver for the people I have met all across this nation that have been neglected, ignored, and abandoned.”
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Trump appeared surprisingly presidential. According to a scholar of American political rhetoric, there were echoes of Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan.
Protesters at the Supreme Court rally to stop Texas abortion regulations.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
A 20-year conservative trend in the Supreme Court is on the line. A constitutional scholar examines why this issue alone will drive herds of voters to the polls in November.
Higher carbon dioxide levels will not result in faster-growing forests – just the opposite in many places, study finds.
rosskevin756/flickr
Study using tree ring data and climate projections shows that buildup of CO2 will not benefit most northern forests and that growth rates will actually fall.
Soldiers patrol on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, France, July 18, 2016.
REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
The far right isn’t afraid to admit to fear in the wake of brutal attacks like the one in Nice. More mainstream politicians would be wise to follow suit.
Injectable progestin contraceptives are particularly popular in sub-Saharan Africa.
Shutterstock
Studies have suggested that women using a particular kind of injectable contraceptive are more susceptible to HIV infection. Research in mice offers new insights.
Who’s making the decisions around here?
White House (Pete Souza)
With shootings and explosions and a coup in recent weeks, it’s only natural that anxiety would besiege us. There are research-tested ways, however, that can help us deal with it.
Donald Trump speaking via satellite to Republican National Convention.
REUTERS/Mike Segar
Elected officials and the media are in cahoots. Both have succumbed to a two-party system that treats voters not as independent thinkers, but as blind partisans.
The Lincoln Brigade Memorial in San Francisco.
Tom Hilton
For many contemporary observers, the Spanish Civil War was seen as very much of a piece with the war against Hitler and Mussolini. But then things changed. Why?
A protester outside the Republican convention in Cleveland.
REUTERS/Jim Urquhart
RNC protests in Cleveland have been peaceful, but are they effective? A historian explains what happened at the DNC in 1968 and why activists may want to reconsider their tactics.
One ethical consideration: How customizable should avatars be?
Character image via shutterstock.com
Recent tragedies have shown the depth of racism in society. As we ask ourselves how to move forward, we also need to ask how these events affect African-American children through vicarious racism.
President Obama hugs Carey Dixon, who has a loved one affected by addiction. Via REUTERS.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Senate passed a bill July 13 to address the opioid epidemic. Georgia recently passed a bill that would limit rather than expand the number of treatment centers. Could others follow suit?
Graham McNamee called the 1928 World Series between the New York Yankees and St. Louis Cardinals.
Associated Press
With the surge in e-books and digital devices, one concern has been whether students are learning as much. Research shows that some crucial elements of learning are indeed being lost.
Upon request, Facebook will remove content for violating local laws. In the last six months of 2014, it restricted access to 3,624 pieces of information in Turkey.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic
The U.S. State Department and the United Nations are spending big bucks to support the internet as a boon for democracy. But new research shows just providing access isn’t enough.
The Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California is closing and the state has committed to replacing it with greenhouse-free sources of electricity.
Doc Searls
Our complex modern society is very vulnerable to everything from the attack in France to power failures. The good news is we can fix this.
Detail from a satellite photo of Lake Okeechobee’s algae bloom and the St. Lucie canal into which water was released. Rising water levels from heavy winter rains had water managers worried that water would breach the dike.
NASA
For centuries, written communication was tinged with formality and finality. But since the emergence of casual forms like texting, using proper grammar can be fraught with misinterpretation.
Man in a hospital via Shutterstock.
From www.shutterstock.com
Thousands of people acquire infections while hospitalized. Many are caused by urinary catheters, a routine part of a hospital stay. But cutting back on their usage can lower infection rates.