News from across the United States.
For Muslims, Sharia refers to the divinely guided principles of living a moral life. sean zheng lim/iStock via Getty Images Plus At a campaign rally, in Port Huron, Michigan, on Oct. 25, 2026, President Donald Trump accused U.S. Senate candidate…
Young people are increasingly likely to get political content from social media influencers and popular culture sources. Illustration JDawnInk/Getty Images Plus Research on political polarization points to how people’s preferred news outlets and social media use create information silos, environments…
A volunteer walks along the U.S.-Mexico border near Jacumba Hot Springs, Calif., on June 5, 2025. AP Photo/Gregory Bull In a 2025 investigation, The New York Times reported that officials in President Joe Biden’s administration, in the wake of Biden’s…
Studying organisms that survive in extreme heat, like in geothermal springs, helps scientists learn about how life adapts. Gary Yeowell/DigitalVision via Getty Images Organisms are products of the environments they live and evolve in. While the physical world is governed…
A self-driving tractor-trailer cruises around a test track in Pittsburgh. AP/Gene J. Puskar Driverless trucks with artificial intelligence on board could dramatically change the landscape of freight shipping. A few companies have begun testing early models on some limited routes…
Some local papers that were on the verge of extinction, like the Solon Economist in Iowa, have teamed up with universities as a way to get staffing and support. Photo from Teri Finneman, CC BY Catherine Bilskie, the advertising and…
An 1805 European map depicting the mythical Mountains of Kong range. Wikimedia Commons After the United Nations adopted a resolution in September 2026 endorsing a map that more fairly represents the size of Earth’s landmasses, author and journalist Moky Makura…
A frequent complaint about the U.S. healthcare system is that predicting how much your care will cost is notoriously difficult. The Good Brigade/DigitalVision via Getty Images Imagine you get hit by a car. An ambulance brings you to the nearest…
A defunct grocery store in New Mexico in 2020. Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images When picking up groceries requires a two-hour round trip, fresh produce can become a luxury. As a food systems researcher, I see…
Britain's King Charles III chats with Governor General of the Bahamas Cynthia Pratt in Nassau, Bahamas, on Oct. 27, 2026. AP Photo/Tim Aylen King Charles III touched down in the Bahamas on Oct. 27, 2026, with far more baggage than…
Gadi Eisenkot or Benjamin Netanyahu – under whose direction will Israel head? Erik Marmor/picture alliance via Getty Images The Israeli election of Oct. 27, 2026, was among the most highly anticipated votes in the country’s history. It was consequential, if…
Florida's new governor will have a lot to tackle on Jan. 1, 2027, whether that's David Jolly, left, or Byron Donalds. David Jolly: AP Photo/Marta Lavandier, Byron Donalds: AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, illustration by The Conversation After nearly three decades of…
Patients who think they're getting an annual checkup often end up with an unexpected bill. The Good Brigade/DigitalVision Collection via Getty Images I was teaching health economics when a student raised his hand. We were discussing the Affordable Care Act,…
Paying for childcare remains one of the biggest costs for households, often costing as much as housing. AP Photo/Craig Mitchelldyer While affordability pressures are hitting Americans in many facets of their lives, from groceries to gas prices to housing costs,…
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches on April 19, 2023. AP Photo/John Raoux More than 50% of the nearly 330 spaceflights to low Earth orbit in 2025 were done on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Falcon 9 is much smaller…
Holocaust survivors around the world made around 1,000 different memorial books, called 'yizker bikher' in Yiddish, to commemorate their hometowns. Tim Hawk, Rowan University My grandmother was a Holocaust survivor from Kostopol, Ukraine. Years after she passed away, I was…
If you're going with a lower-cost health insurance plan, make sure to read the fine print. Pla2na/iStock via Getty Images Plus Healthcare costs are a major concern for Americans, and health insurance premiums are a primary fuel for that anxiety.…
U.S. consumer prices rose more than expected in September 2026, driven by surging gasoline costs. Zhang Fengguo/Xinhua via Getty Images Inflation is causing real economic pain. Worries about healthcare costs have jumped sharply. And 7 in 10 Americans believe the…
Audience members cheer as President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at Crossroads Arena on Oct. 26, 2026, in Corinth, Miss. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images President Donald Trump’s approval ratings are cratering. Even his Make America Great Again, or…
Nighttime encounters on lonely roads helped turn a real western Pennsylvania man into the ‘Green Man’ of legend. Natalia Lebedinskaia/Moment Collection via Getty Images Every semester I teach a class called History of Monsters, Aliens and the Supernatural at Penn…
Artists Andy Warhol, left, and Jean-Michel Basquiat collaborated on over 100 works between 1983 and 1985. AP Photo/Richard Drew The productivity gains of generative AI are often touted as the main reason for its rapid adoption. Much like how a…
Many of the stores where people use SNAP benefits are small. O2O Creative/E+ via Getty Images After 10 states began to add new restrictions to what people could buy with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits in early 2026, the number…
Amber Titus, 38, holds a take-home dose of methadone on Sept. 18 in Bisbee Junction, Ariz. Daniela Dawson, CC BY-ND Three times a week, Amber Titus wakes up at 5 a.m. to get ready for the 45-minute drive to the…
Brazilian Christians pray during a service at the Assembly of God Victory in Christ evangelical church in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 27, 2025. AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo Since Brazil’s runoff elections, most attention has been focused on President Luiz Inácio…
Scientists watched as ants encountered earwax with various properties. Candler Hobbs and David Hu Here’s a bit of a riddle for you: What has the consistency of both toothpaste and dough, can absorb twice its weight in water and still…
A new survey will evaluate school library services in Michigan. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images Fewer than 10% of Michigan public schools report having a school library staffed with a trained school librarian. Although Michigan strongly recommends that schools employ certified librarians,…
Ohio ranks No. 4 in the U.S. in terms of how many data centers it has, including this one in Springfield. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images Data centers require enormous investments: land, buildings, computer equipment and power infrastructure. Yet, once they’re…
When traveling abroad, asking your doctor ahead of time about treatments for minor ailments can help keep your trip on track. Nansan Houn/iStock via Getty Images Plus When people prepare to see a doctor before an international trip, vaccines usually…
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman addresses AI risk at the U.N. Security Council on Sept. 23, 2026, two months after his company's latest model hacked into Hugging Face's systems. Alexi J. Rosenfeld via Getty Images As artificial intelligence technologies grow ever…
How well viruses infect cells is partly a question of biomechanics. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases/NIH via Flickr The beauty of physics at the cellular scale is part of what draws biomedical engineers and biologists like us to…
