This morning, the Supreme Court term begins, with three major constitutional topics on its agenda: abortion, guns and religious freedom. In the coming weeks, Americans are going to be hearing a lot more about each of these issues and the specific court cases that have brought them before the highest court in the land.
Court scholar Morgan Marietta at the University of Massachusetts Lowell summarizes each of the three situations and explains how the court has handled these topics before. Think of it as a brief for the upcoming court term, to find your bearings before the show actually begins.
Also today:
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As October begins, the Supreme Court opens its new term.
AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana
Morgan Marietta, University of Massachusetts Lowell
The big case is about abortion, but there are other very important issues before the Supreme Court – including gun rights and government funding for religious schools.
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Politics + Society
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Charise Cheney, University of Oregon
Americans’ collective memory of school desegregation involves crowds of screaming white protesters. But less well known are the whites who stood by quietly, and those who approved of the changes.
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Health
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Ann Z. Bauer, University of Massachusetts Lowell
Tylenol has long been considered a go-to medication for low to moderate pain and for fever reduction, even during pregnancy. But mounting evidence suggests that it is unsafe for fetal development.
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Education
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Chris Knoester, The Ohio State University; James Tompsett, The Ohio State University; Kirsten Hextrum, University of Oklahoma
Students who come from families that are more well-off financially have an advantage in their quest to become a college athlete, researchers have found.
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Gerald K. LeTendre, Penn State
If national teacher policies are not comprehensive, practical and inclusive of teachers, they can undermine the very workers they aim to help, a global education policy expert argues.
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Environment + Energy
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Erica Nielsen, University of California, Davis; Sam Walkes, University of California, Davis
The Blob, a long-lasting mass of warm water, sat off the Pacific coast of North America for years, bringing new species to formerly cold waters. What allows some to survive while others fade away?
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Patrick Parenteau, Vermont Law School; Rachel Stevens, Vermont Law School
Four years after Hurricane Maria wreaked havoc on Puerto Rico, federal money to rebuild its electricity system is finally about to flow. But it may not deliver what islanders want.
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Ethics + Religion
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John Fea, Messiah College
A historian of the Bible in American life explains how Bible verses are being picked out of context to make a case for the anti-vaxxer movement.
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Trending on site
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Karen Musalo, University of California, Hastings
The Biden administration has used a public health provision to deport thousands of Haitian migrants entering the US via Mexico.
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Anna Nagurney, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Before the container was standardized, loading and unloading goods was very labor-intensive, inefficient and costly.
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Jessica Bernard, Texas A&M University
Reduced brain volume in people who have experienced COVID-19 resembles brain changes typically seen in older adults. The implications of these findings are not yet clear.
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