World

How long do we really need chemicals to last? Sura Nualpradid/EyeEm via Getty Images PFAS chemicals seemed like a good idea at first. As Teflon, they made pots easier to clean starting in the 1940s. They made jackets waterproof and carpets stain-resistant. Food wrappers, firefighting foam, even makeup seemed better with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. […]

Don't expect the Inflation Reduction Act to bring down prices all that much. AP Photo/David Zalubowski The U.S. is about to spend US$490 billion over 10 years on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improving health care and reducing the federal deficit. Where’s all that money coming from? We asked University of Michigan economist Nirupama Rao to […]

The misguided assumption that rural America is hopelessly backward and bigoted erases centuries of same-sex relationships in rural communities. It tells young queer people that they must flee their rural hometowns to far-flung cities in order to find safety and acceptance. That’s why we see so much value in the work of photographer Luke Gilford. […]

Although most medical research is reliable, studies that are flawed or fake can lead to patients undergoing treatments that might cause harm. skynesher/E+ via Getty Images If you are suffering with chronic pain, diabetes, heart problems or any other condition, you want to be confident that your doctor will offer you an effective treatment. You […]

A dog in Paris has become the first case of a pet contracting monkeypox from its owners. Cavan Images via Getty Images A dog in Paris has caught monkeypox from one of its owners, both of whom were infected with the virus, according to a scientific paper published on Aug. 10, 2022. This is the […]

Polish volunteers give Ukrainian refugees food in May 2022. NurPhoto/Getty Images As Russia’s attack on Ukraine neared its six-month mark on Aug. 24, 2022, The Conversation asked Patrice McMahon to share her observations about how Poland is responding to the arrival of around 2 million Ukrainian refugees. McMahon, a political scientist at the University of […]

People attend an exhibition of Russian equipment destroyed by the armed forces of Ukraine, in Lviv, Ukraine, Aug. 11, 2022. Olena Znak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The war being waged by Russia in Ukraine has been described in many ways – an attempt to recreate the USSR, a militant attempt to create a new Eurasia […]

Prisons in more than a dozen U.S. states are not fully air-conditioned. Leo Patrizi/Getty Images Extreme heat is taking an increasing toll across the U.S. in summertime. People who are incarcerated are among society’s most vulnerable groups and have been especially affected. More than a dozen states do not have air conditioning in all of […]

Democrats hope their new health care, tax and climate law begins to rein in soaring prescription drug prices. One of its most touted provisions allows Medicare, America’s health insurance program for seniors, to negotiate some prescription drug prices for the first time, with some calling it “game-changing” and a significant victory over the pharmaceutical industry. […]

Rep. Liz Cheney at a primary Election Day gathering at Mead Ranch in Jackson, Wyo. AP Photo/Jae C. Hong Republican Liz Cheney, a three-term member of Congress and the GOP’s leading – and lonely – critic of Donald Trump, lost her re-election bid on Aug. 16, 2022, to a Trump-supported primary challenger, Harriet Hageman. Cheney […]

People gather at a vigil pray and observe a moment of silence after an attack on author Salman Rushdie on Aug. 12, 2022, in Chautauqua, New York. AP Photo/Joshua Goodman When news broke on August 12, 2022, that the writer Salman Rushdie had been attacked, many people immediately recalled the fatwa, or edict, calling on […]

President Joe Biden applauds Brielle Robinson, daughter of the late Sgt. First Class Heath Robinson, after signing the PACT Act on Aug. 10, 2022. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images During a 13-month stint in Iraq that began in 2006, Heath Robinson served as a medic with the Ohio National Guard. Like thousands of others soldiers stationed there, […]