Editor's note

When two teenage gunmen opened fire and killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, the massacre – and the media coverage that followed – essentially became a how-to manual for future school shooters. This is one of the main findings from an in-depth study of school shootings conducted by researchers Jillian Peterson and James Densley, who call on the media to deprive school shooters of the notoriety they seek.

Measles continues to spread, alarming public health officials – and many other people as well. Should you be worried? If you were vaccinated years ago, is your vaccine still effective? What if you or your child had only one dose? A vaccine expert answers questions about how to keep you and your family safe.

Imagine Martin Sheen, inspired by his role as President Jed Bartlet in “The West Wing,” tossing his hat into the 2020 U.S. presidential race. It sounds absurd, but that’s exactly what’s happening in Ukraine, where a comedian named Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who played the Ukrainian president on a popular TV show, is leading in the polls to become Ukraine’s (actual) president. Penn State’s Lena Surzhko-Arned, an expert in post-Soviet politics, tells the story of Zelenskiy’s political rise, and explores what’s at stake.

Would you lie to save the job of your colleague? Is it OK to cut through traffic because you are late to work? Should you track your child’s emails? Tell us about your everyday moral quandaries and we’ll get an answer from an expert. Write in your questions to ethical.questions@theconversation.com or reply to this newsletter.

Jamaal Abdul-Alim

Education Editor

Top stories

Students leave Columbine High School late April 16, 2019, in Littleton, Colo., following a lockdown at the school and other Denver area schools. David Zalubowski/AP

How Columbine became a blueprint for school shooters

Jillian Peterson, Hamline University ; James Densley, Metropolitan State University

Media coverage of the Columbine school shooting that took place in 1999 has ended up becoming a playbook for school shooters in the United States and beyond, an analysis of school shootings reveals.

Steve Sierzega receives a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y., Wednesday, March 27, 2019. Seth Wenig/AP Photo

If my measles shot was years ago, am I still protected? 5 questions answered

Eyal Amiel, University of Vermont

The growing number of cases of measles has many people asking: Am I safe? A vaccine expert provides some answers.

Ukrainian comedian and presidential candidate Volodymyr Zelenskiy performs on stage during a show in Brovary, near Kiev, Ukraine. AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

A comedian who played a president on TV might actually become Ukraine’s president

Lena Surzhko-Harned, Pennsylvania State University

The blurring of politics and entertainment has become an issue in democracies around the world. But the forthcoming Ukrainian election is in a league of its own.

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Today’s quote

"There is significant interest in harnessing AI for its fullest positive potential. But the significant dangers of abuse, misuse and bias -- whether intentional or not -- have the potential to work against the very principles international democracies have been built upon."

 

As governments adopt artificial intelligence, there's little oversight and lots of danger

 

James Hendler

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

James Hendler
 

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