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President Trump vowed at this year’s National Prayer Breakfast that he would “destroy” the Johnson amendment, a 63-year-old law that bans houses of worship and other charities from engaging in political activities. Nonprofit experts Philip Hackney and Brian Mittendorf examine the law’s origins, how the president might go about getting rid of it and the potentially explosive consequences of this move for the charitable world.
Consequences could also be serious for millions of low-income and disabled Americans if the president gets his wishes to change how Medicaid is funded. University of Texas professor Cossy Hough walks us through the world of block grants..
And as scientists report record warm winter temperatures in the Arctic, Colorado State University biologist Joel Berger explains how these extremes may be affecting muskoxen and other animals in the world’s coldest places.
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Lyndon Johnson, who was friends with evangelist Billy Graham, wasn’t targeting religious groups when he pushed his eponymous amendment in 1954.
AP Photo
Philip Hackney, Louisiana State University ; Brian Mittendorf, The Ohio State University
President Trump recently repeated his pledge to eliminate the 63-year-old law, which bans charities from engaging in political activities, at the National Prayer Breakfast.
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Economy + Business
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Jay L. Zagorsky, The Ohio State University
President Trump downgraded the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from its perch on the Cabinet. Should we care?
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Health + Medicine
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Cossy Hough, LCSW, University of Texas at Austin
President Trump has proposed a major funding shift for Medicaid, the joint federal-state program that pays for health care for about 75 million poor people. Would the safety net fray if he did so?
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Politics + Society
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Steven Mulroy, University of Memphis
The court's reasoning suggests deep skepticism of Trump's position and spotlights the main issues for the further appeals that will surely follow.
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Environment + Energy
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Joel Berger, Colorado State University
How is rapid warming in the Arctic affecting animals that are adapted to cold? A wildlife biologist is using many techniques to find out, including stalking muskoxen in a polar bear costume.
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Elizabeth Suhay, American University
Scientists are concerned that politics will trump evidence in the new administration. A researcher of political psychology explains why these worries matter far beyond questions of science.
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Science + Technology
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Gary W. Lewandowski Jr., Monmouth University
Looking for a lifelong Valentine? Psychologists suggest taking a closer look at your best friend. The things we want in a good friend are many of the same things we expect from a romantic partner.
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Arts + Culture
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Jeanette Purvis, University of Hawaii
Data from swiping apps like Tinder are giving researchers a window into how dating and relationships could be changing.
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Rest of the World
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United Kingdom
Ceri Houlbrook, University of Hertfordshire
This universal symbol of love has proven remarkably divisive. Australia
Yossi Rathner, Swinburne University of Technology; Joshua Luke Ameliorate, Swinburne University of Technology, and Mark Schier, Swinburne University of Technology
Some people swear by cold showers to cope with a long, hot summer. Here's why they'd be better off taking a warm one. Africa
Kenneth Wilson, Lancaster University
A combination of armyworms native to Africa and those normally found in the Americas are ravaging crops in sub-Saharan Africa.
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