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Editor's note
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Overdose deaths in the U.S. have tripled since 2000. This month, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency. But that decision, argues Erin Winstanley at West Virginia University, comes years too late: communities need more money and support and treatment options that the government seems hesitant to back.
Last Friday the White House announced a number of controversial decisions, including the president’s official pardon of convicted Arizona county former sheriff Joe Arpaio. As legal scholar and former federal prosecutor Steven Mulroy puts it, “pardoning Arpaio may send the message that state and local officials can aggressively enforce federal immigration law, even if it risks racial profiling and violating the due process rights of citizens and noncitizens.”
Demand for caregivers who assist seniors already far exceeds their supply and experts say this shortfall will grow increasingly dire. But University of Maryland, Baltimore County robotics researcher Cynthia Matuszek sees a way out of this encroaching crisis: “I believe artificial intelligence has the potential not only to care for our elders but to do so in a way that increases their independence and reduces their social isolation.”
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Aviva Rutkin
Big Data and Applied Mathematics Editor
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Top story
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People without ID, like Steven Kemp, are sometimes turned away from the country’s already threadbare system of drug treatment centers.
Matt Rourke/AP Photo
Erin Winstanley, West Virginia University
On August 10, President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency. But we need to do a lot more to prevent this crisis from escalating even further.
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Politics + Society
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Steven Mulroy, University of Memphis
Pardoning a man who has illegally used racial profiling to round up Latinos could send a message to law enforcement that aggressive tactics are OK by the president.
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Richard S. Slotkin, Wesleyan University
Whether it be African-Americans, Catholics or transgender people, the armed forces have played a vital role in shaping US social policy toward the country's minorities.
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Economy + Business
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Ramsi Woodcock, Georgia State University
The deal escaped scrutiny because the two aren't direct competitors, yet Amazon's huge marketing platform will help Whole Foods steamroll rivals. In the past, the Supreme Court has said this violates antitrust law.
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Cynthia Matuszek, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Robots have the potential to help support a growing population that wants to age in their own homes. But those helpful machines won't be the humanoid butlers of science fiction.
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Trending on site
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James E. Hawdon, Virginia Tech
Given recent events, you might have had an inkling that extremist views have been resonating. Researchers from the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention have the hard data to back it up.
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Jean Twenge, San Diego State University
Move over millennials, there's a new generation in town. Dubbed 'iGen,' they differ from their predecessors on a range of measures, from mental health to time spent with friends.
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Richard G. "Bugs" Stevens, University of Connecticut
Study uses satellite data to add to growing evidence that nighttime light exposure raises risk of breast cancer, with the strongest link among young women.
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