Editor's note

Across the U.S. heartland, farmers are nearing the end of planting season, but they’re not just sowing seeds. As Penn State University insect ecologist John Tooker explains, many of those seeds – especially major commodity crops like corn and soybeans – are coated with neonicotinoid insecticides. He argues that this strategy uses far more insecticide than needed and threatens wildlife, including helpful insects that prey on pests.

Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has been the central player in an international order governed by clear rules. But those days are gone. “Not only do China and Russia contest America’s global role,” writes Gordon Adams, American University scholar and former national security official, “a growing number of other countries are asserting an independent and increasingly influential role in regional economic and security developments.” And if you think it’s all President Trump’s fault, Adams writes that the change has been underway for some time.

The rules are changing in the U.S., too. Wayne State University law professor Jonathan Weinberg explains how a Supreme Court ruling last week begins to create privacy protections for the digital age.

Jennifer Weeks

Environment + Energy Editor

Top stories

Soybean seeds treated with neonicotinoids (blue) and treated corn seeds (red) versus untreated seeds. Ian Grettenberger/PennState University

Why it's time to curb widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides

John F. Tooker, Pennsylvania State University

US farmers are planting more and more acres with seeds coated with neonicotinoid pesticides. An ecologist explains why this approach is overkill and may be doing more harm than good.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, speaks with U.S. President Donald Trump, at the contentious G7 Leaders Summit in Canada in June. AP/Jesco Denzel/German Federal Government

A new world is dawning, and the US will no longer lead it

Gordon Adams, American University School of International Service

President Trump is criticized for wreaking havoc on the international order, where the US was the established leader. But Trump is simply hastening a change that has been a long time coming.

Your phone knows where you’ve been. LightAndShare/Shutterstock.com

Supreme Court ruling adds privacy protection for the digital age

Jonathan Weinberg, Wayne State University

People's most private information isn't on paper locked in desks anymore – it's online, stored on corporate servers. The Supreme Court now says some privacy protections cover that data.

Ethics + Religion

Politics + Society

  • New data shows US hate crimes continued to rise in 2017

    Brian Levin, California State University San Bernardino; James J. Nolan, West Virginia University; John David Reitzel, California State University San Bernardino

    In 38 US cities, hate crimes rose 12 percent in 2017. There were 1,038 hate crimes in the nation’s 10 largest cities – the most in more than a decade.

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Today’s quote

Immigration proceedings look much like a criminal trial, but the process does not come with the same constitutional protections.

 

How immigration court works

 

Fatma Marouf

Texas A&M University

Fatma Marouf