SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " much " 3,255 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
You can reverse much of the damage alcohol has done to your body, science says
Even mild drinking is toxic to the body, contributing to long-term disease. Yet in many cases you can reverse that damage, experts say.
You can reverse much of the damage alcohol has done to your body, science says
Even mild drinking is toxic to the body, contributing to long-term disease. Yet in many cases you can reverse that damage, experts say.
Cardinals Have Unique 2026 Schedule Advantage
The Arizona Cardinals won't have to travel much compared to most other teams.
Surprise! Iran Is Much Stronger Than Trump Has Been Claiming.
A new report shows that Operation Epic Fury is neither epic nor furious enough to slow down the Iranian military.
The other coach in charge of rewiring the Cowboys secondary
The Cowboys secondary figures to be much improved in 2026.
Science doesn't have a monopoly on good ideas
Scientific disciplines often shy away from asking fundamental "what if" questions. But philosophy – if unencumbered by dogma or ideology – has much to offer evidence-based enquiry
Disgruntled researcher releases two more Microsoft zero-days
Security pros warn YellowKey claim could make stolen laptops a much bigger problem
This daily habit could lower dementia risk by 35%, scientists say
A huge long-term study found that drinking two to three cups of coffee a day was linked to a much lower risk of dementia, especially before age 75. Researchers say caffeine may help keep brain cells active while reducing inflammation and harmful plaque buildup associated with Alzheimer’s disease. But more coffee wasn’t better — the protective effect appeared to level off after moderate intake.
What do the Red Sox have in Jake Bennett?
Pitching injuries happen. They have always happened, and they always will happen. That’s why when someone says “there’s no such thing as too much pitching”, they’re correct, regardless of how much pitching that team actually has. You could have a rotation of prime Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, Pedro Martinez, Cy Young, and Randy Johnson, and […]
You should probably eat more fiber. Here's why — and how to do it
The average person eats 10-15 grams of fiber per day, according to the USDA. The problem? That’s WAY under the recommended daily amount. Fiber – a type of carb that our bodies are unable to digest – is prevalent in foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, and beans. And it’s key for everything from feelings of fullness, to gut health, to good poop. That’s why a lot of people online are “fibermaxxing”: trying to meet or exceed the daily recommendation of fiber, in hopes it’ll improve their health. But how should YOU add fiber to your diet… and are the fibermaxxers overdoing it? Gastroenterologist Berkeley Limketkai is here to help parse the science on how little fiber is too little, how much fiber is too much – and, like Goldilocks, how we can figure out the amount that’s just right.Interested in more food and dietary science? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.
Duterte vs. Marcos: Inside the Impeachment Shaking Philippine Politics
Political dynasties have long shaped the Philippines, where alliances can matter as much as policy. So when the country’s two most powerful families joined political forces in 2022 — with Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as president and Sara Duterte as vice president — a new era of stable politics looked promising.
Scientists discover a mysterious silicone pollutant that may be everywhere
Researchers have uncovered unexpectedly high levels of silicone-based pollutants called methylsiloxanes floating through the atmosphere across cities, rural regions, and even forests. Much of the pollution appears to come from vehicle emissions, likely linked to engine oil additives that survive combustion and escape into the air. Scientists say humans may inhale more of these compounds daily than other notorious pollutants like PFAS or microplastics.
'Speculation' and 'egregious failure': 30 researchers publish scathing critiques of study that questioned date of early human occupation of Monte Verde in Chile
Dozens of scientists have banded together to pen scathing research letters to the journal Science about the publication of a study claiming the 14,500-year-old Monte Verde archaeological site in Chile is much younger than shown.
Netflix Reveals Content Spend Over The Past Decade As Ted Sarandos Says: “While Other Entertainment Companies Pull Back, We’re Leaning In”
Netflix has revealed for the first time how much it spent on content over the past decade, with Ted Sarandos saying “while other entertainment companies pull back, we’re leaning in.” Marking 10 years ...
RFK Jr. Says Men in the '70s Had Twice as Much Sperm as Teenage Boys Today: 'Existential Crisis'
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. characterized the United States' declining birth rate as an "existential crisis," claiming that men in the 1970s had "twice the sperm count" as teenagers today during a White House event on maternal health on Monday, May 11.
Spike in tick bites raises health concerns
MADISON, Wis. — The CDC has reported a spike in emergency department visits for tick bites and tick-related illnesses across much of the country, especially in the northern states.
Uncharted 4 Deep Dive Reveals Cut Content And Much More
The 2016 game underwent a significant rework after the departure of original creative director Amy Hennig
Trump Endorses Feeble Way to Lower Gas Prices
President Trump has endorsed suspending the federal gas tax, which won’t do much to solve the problem he created when he started the Iran war.
Kansas baseball drops out of top 10 in USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
KU baseball didn’t find much joy in its results this past week, losing all four games it played. So, it dropped in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Samsung widely rolling out stable One UI 8.5 update, five months after the beta started
Samsung has gotten much faster at software updates over the past few years, but One UI 8.5 is an odd...
Update Hints Steam Machine Will Arrive in 512GB and 2TB Versions, Despite AI-led SSD Pricing Surge
How much would you pay?
Carolina’s Cap Comparison: Wide Receivers
How much money are the Panthers spending on wide receivers compared to the rest of the NFL?
IndyCar Fans React To Danica Patrick's 'Most Disliked' Title
Danica Patrick was named the "most disliked" driver in IndyCar history. A new poll, conducted by IndyCar's official Reddit page, announced that Patrick, who retired from full-time racing in 2018, was named the most detested driver in the history of the sport. She didn't have much competition. ...
Survey Sunday: How much home battery backup do YOU need?
We asked you, our brilliant Electrek readers, what you were looking for in your home battery system. Here's what you said.
H.S. Baseball: Favorites and dark horses in each division
We’ve reached the halfway point in the NHIAA baseball regular season. Although we know much more now than we did when the season began, there’s still plenty to be determined.
Yankees Birthday of the Day: Ed Barrow
The de facto general manager helped shape so much of what we know about the Yankees.
Science 4 Everyone: How much rain do we need to properly moisturize soil?
While the D.C. area did get some rain over the past few days, did it improve the amount of moisture in the soil? Storm Team4 meteorologist and science teacher Ryan Miller checks it out in Arlington, Virginia.
Chicago Teachers Union wants $8.5 million dues hike to fund politics
“Has your brand become toxic?” This was a pointed question from WGN Political Editor Tahman Bradley, posed to Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates in a recent interview. Her immediate response: “I don’t understand the question.” When pressed, Gates added, “The Chicago Teachers Union is not a political party, it is a labor union.” But internal union documents show CTU leadership is trying to skim $8.5 million more from teacher paychecks explicitly for politics, while trying to silence union members critical of Gates’ leadership. Under the proposed dues hike, Chicago teachers would see up to $800 more per year flow from their paychecks to union coffers. The union already takes in more than $40 million a year, mostly from dues. And it spends less than 18 cents of every dollar on teacher representation. The No. 1 reason for the proposed dues hike? Politics. “We must win a majority of the first 21 person fully elected school board in November,” reads the first point in CTU’s member FAQ document.1 This directly contradicts CTU’s promise to members about how leadership uses dues money. The official CTU handbook tells members that the union does not use dues money for politics, so if they are interested in funding political activity, they should consider voluntary donations to CTU’s political action committee. “Our dues are not used for political purposes,” according to the handbook. “So our PAC relies on extra contributions from our members to support progressive candidates and to impact elected officials at the city, county and state levels.” This kind of double-speak is one reason members are concerned about another constitutional change slipped into the dues hike vote, which will take place on May 20-21: an attempt to stop members from holding the union accountable. A proposed amendment to the union constitution tries to place limits on when members may bring a lawsuit against the union for violating members’ rights.2 This provision is clearly a response to members’ lawsuit against union leadership regarding Gates’ years-long refusal to publish audited financial statements. The judge in that case has repeatedly denied the union’s attempts to dismiss it. Teachers opposed to these changes have been circulating this flier, urging members to vote no. What will CTU members get in return for millions of dollars in additional dues? If the 2024 school board elections are any indication—not much. CTU leadership’s record on school board races may not inspire confidence among members. A Chicago Policy Center analysis of a dozen affiliated PACs found CTU spent nearly $2.9 million on school board races in 2024. Of that spending, more than $2.1 million (75%) went to losing candidates. And while CTU-backed candidates lost six of the nine competitive seats overall, they fared worse in their biggest-spending races, losing five of six contests in which the union and its affiliates put up more than $250,000 for their candidate. The Chicago school board elections take place Nov. 3.3 Is another $8.5 million enough to clean up a toxic reputation? Not likely. Update on federal tax credit scholarship: Last week, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she plans to opt into the federal tax credit scholarship program. If Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker follows suit, Illinois could unlock $1 billion in donor money statewide for both public- and private-school students. If Illinois does not opt in, that money will flow to other states. The Last Ward reported in February on how Illinois Democrats could unlock at least $100 million in new resources for Chicago public-school students by opting in. Update on the investigation into how Chicagoans learned about a meeting to hike their property taxes: The Last Ward reported in January on an absurd, taxpayer-funded investigation into how local media learned of a planned Chicago school board meeting to hike the district’s property tax levy. That investigation is now complete. Lawyers interviewed two dozen witnesses, and found nothing. Update on Illinois’ muni debt crisis: My colleague Joe Tabor last week published a must-read piece in Crain’s Chicago Business about how Illinois recently rejected south suburban Harvey’s request to be designated a “distressed city.” The saga shows why the state must implement a better structure to assist insolvent local governments, including allowing for the option to pursue debt relief via Chapter 9 bankruptcy. The Last Ward reported in October on how Harvey is tipping the first domino in Illinois’ municipal debt crisis. Mincing Rascals: I joined the Mincing Rascals podcast to discuss the SAFE-T Act, the millionaires tax, and more. My “green light” recommendation: Force Majeure (2014). 1 Notably, the No. 2 reason cited is “resources to fund a state-wide millionaires tax campaign in order to fully fund the state’s school funding formula.” The constitutional amendment necessary to implement a progressive income tax in Illinois recently died in the Illinois House, meaning this question would not appear on the ballot until 2028 at the earliest. 2 There is seemingly no single-subject rule for CTU constitutional amendments. So members only get one vote on the full package. One cannot vote “yes” on the dues hike and “no” on the restriction of members’ rights, for example. 3 Illinois law grants far too much power over local government to unelected officials like Gates. State lawmakers should fix that.
How much you really have to pay to follow RFK Jr.’s new dietary guidelines
Trump administration officials have repeatedly touted the affordability of its new dietary guidelines. But following them on a budget requires a lot of time and labor.
The Knicks Have Finally Hit the Gas
A change in New York’s post-season offense has made the team more precise, more urgent, and much harder to stop as it pushes toward the Eastern Conference Finals.
📸 Top 5 tifos at Camp Nou for El Clásico
El Clásico is as much a cultural battle as it is a sporting showdown. And in this psychological war between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, the Camp Nou tifos have often played a central role. Some hav...
Democratic Candidates Scramble in Virginia After Court Tosses Map
A court ruling that struck down an election map swiftly ended some Democratic House candidacies and pushed others into much tougher races.
Poll: 72 percent say there’s too much money in American politics
A new poll shows that a large majority of Americans say they think there is too much money in U.S. politics. Politico released a poll on Saturday showing that 72 percent of Americans say there̵…
Engineering, business, education grads look to bright futures - News
Final of six Campbell University commencement ceremonies ends with message of ‘achieving the unimaginable’ Susan Lawrence had achieved so much… More on this post
Americans say there’s too much money in politics — and it’s driving election outcomes
As campaign spending hits record highs, voters across parties question how deeply money shapes elections.
Sleeping giant has awakened for Southern Section baseball playoffs
Defending champion St. John Bosco enters the Division 1 baseball playoffs on an 11-game winning streak, but it didn't get much love from the seeding algorithms.
Ice age humans in China crafted surprisingly advanced stone tools 146,000 years ago
Scientists in China discovered that ancient humans were making surprisingly advanced stone tools during a harsh ice age 146,000 years ago. The tools, created by Homo juluensis, show careful planning and complex thinking rather than simple stone-chipping. Researchers dated the site using tiny calcite crystals inside animal bones, revealing the tools are much older than expected. The discovery challenges the idea that human creativity only thrives in easy, prosperous times.
Goalie Alex Lyon fuels Buffalo Sabres' surge into 2nd round of the playoffs
He and the Sabres took a step back with a 5-1 loss on Friday night. Lyon allowed four goals on 27 shots, and didn't get much support from sloppy defensive play in front of him.
Goalie Alex Lyon fuels Buffalo Sabres' surge into 2nd round of the playoffs
He and the Sabres took a step back with a 5-1 loss on Friday night. Lyon allowed four goals on 27 shots, and didn't get much support from sloppy defensive play in front of him.
The new CEO flex: Bragging about how much AI code your company shipped
CEOs like Meta's Mark Zuckerberg can't stop talking about how agentic AI is changing how engineers code — and it's not just the Big Tech bosses.
The San Jose Sharks Will Be the NHL’s Next Dynasty
It’s always hard to predict which team will be the next big dynasty, but there are always signs. The San Jose Sharks are beginning to show exactly those kinds of signs, building a foundation that suggests something much bigger could be on the horizon. San Jose hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2019 and has […] The post The San Jose Sharks Will Be the NHL’s Next Dynasty appeared first on The Lead.
AATS helps heart surgeons diagnose and manage heparin-induced thrombocytopenia
Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia after heart surgery is a major concern, but prior guidelines were developed without much feedback from actual cardiac surgeons.
New York Is Working on a Blueprint for Greener Buildings
The city is investigating just how much carbon it takes to build its famous skyline, from the concrete foundations all the way up to the glass that frames skyscrapers.
See How the G.O.P. Cut Up Tennessee’s Only Majority Black District
A recent Supreme Court ruling makes it much harder to argue that a map illegally dilutes Black voting power. Tennessee has since broken up a predominantly Black district.
Summer of STEM adventures awaits at the Saint Louis Science Center
Visit the Saint Louis Science Center this summer and never stop learning! From special exhibition experiences to major upgrades of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium, guests of all ages will have ample opportunities to engage in STEM and spark their curiosity. This season is jam-packed with events, OMNIMAX® Theater films, and much more. The Blue […]
Resident Evil Requiem update live, adds Leon Must Die Forever mini-game
The much-discussed mini-game for Resident Evil Requiem has just been made available as part of a new update for the game, which is revealed to be Leon Must Die Forever. Nintendo Switch 2 players can access it now. The mode can be unlocked after finishing the main story. According to Capcom, it includes “the nonstop combat action that players know...
GOP Senator’s Health Reveal Proves Trump, 79, Can’t Hide Much Longer
This is a moment of intensified scrutiny over aging politicians and their health conditions. What are voters going to do about it?
White House weighs how much it’s open for business with China
The wrangling over a business delegation for next week's summit in Beijing is just one sign of the delicate balancing act the administration is trying to strike on the commercial relationship between the world’s two largest economies.
Robert Downey Jr. says idea that influencers are 'stars of the future' is 'absolute horses---'
"Nowadays, people can create celebrity without ever doing much besides rolling a phone on themselves," the Marvel star lamented.
Digital health technology offers new hope for better health outcomes
Deborah Estrin was less than a minute into her presentation when she posed the question.“How do we best leverage data from all these digital sources, like wearables and apps and devices, to improve clinical care in patient’s lives?” Estrin asked a crowd of about 200 people at the second annual Arizona Digital Health Symposium.Then, her response.“It’s so much easier said than done,” she said.
How Much Microplastic Is Really In The Human Brain? Here's The Science Behind The Headlines
"This is a research field in its infancy, while the general public is being fed with sensational scraps of information."
Storm not enough to help summer sports venues
While the snow provided much needed relief for reservoirs and fire prone areas, it wasn’t quite enough to help some high country outdoor sports venues.
Google Is Rebranding the Fitbit App to ‘Google Health’
Google is sunsetting Google Fit by year’s end. While Fitbit remains very much alive, the rebranded Google Health app is your one-stop shop for all things health and fitness.
Google Is Rebranding the Fitbit App to ‘Google Health’
Google is sunsetting Google Fit by year’s end. While Fitbit remains very much alive, the rebranded Google Health app is your one-stop shop for all things health and fitness.
FDA's New Playbook: Lots of Media Announcements but Not Much Rulemaking
WASHINGTON (AP) — In one of his first major announcements as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called a news conference to unveil a plan to “phase out” synthetic food dyes. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary opened the event by saying his agency was “removing all ...
Science diplomacy lessons from a North Korean volcano
Mount Paektu, a mythic, active volcano on the border between North Korea and China, is almost the epitome of a scientific challenge that crosses political lines. In 946 CE, it erupted in one of the five biggest volcanic events of the past 10,000 years, kicking up huge quantities of ash and sending destructive mud flows down river channels for hundreds of kilometres. Should this happen again, the entire region, including easternmost Russia, South Korea and even Japan could be hit. “It’s definitely got the potential to be big,” said James Hammond, a professor of geophysics at Birkbeck, University of London. An eruption on the scale of 946 would have “huge regional impact.” For the past 15 years, Hammond has helped lead a groundbreaking collaboration with North Korean scientists to study the volcano, navigating scientific sanctions, tough export controls on scientific equipment and a long, pandemic-enforced exodus from the country. Although he seems more at home on far-flung research expeditions – before speaking to Science|Business, Hammond was camping out on a Greenland ice sheet – he has also advised the European Commission on its changing science diplomacy strategy. His long experience with North Korea has made Hammond sceptical of blanket bans on science collaboration, no matter the country.This is a live question in Europe, where in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, institutional ties with Russian universities were almost entirely severed, although some scientists fear this could undermine our understanding of climate change’s impact on the Arctic. Here, Hammond tells the story of the Mount Paektu mission and the policy lessons he takes from it. Ominous rumblingsThe genesis of Hammond’s collaboration came in 2002, when Mount Paektu began to rumble ominously. Earthquake activity picked up and the volcano began to emit unusual gases. North Korean scientists took notice. “People felt we need to know more about this volcano,” said Hammond. In 2011, North Korean vulcanologists put out a request for international expertise to help them learn more. At the time, Hammond and his collaborator, Clive Oppenheimer, were working on a vulcanology project in another sanctioned country, Eritrea, and so decided to answer the call. Within a month, they had flown into Pyongyang. “It was pretty incredible,” recalls Hammond (left). “We were made to feel like honoured guests, and invited to official celebrations.” The scientific opportunity was huge. Paektu is unusually positioned, a thousand kilometres from where tectonic plates rub against each other in the Pacific. “It was an incredibly interesting volcano, but not much research had been done, at least not in the international community,” he said. “There was so much we felt we could do. And we had these partners that were super keen to engage.”The mission received an unusual visitor in the form of volcano-obsessed filmmaker Werner Herzog, who accompanied Hammond and Oppenheimer while directing his 2016 film Into the Inferno about volcanos across the world. Four days into the trip, the German director delivered a long speech about reunification to his North Korean hosts, recalls Hammond. “He got to the heart of the Koreans and how they felt, and how they thought, in a way that I'm not sure I ever will,” he said. UN sanctionsHowever, Hammond realised he’d been “naïve” about how difficult it would be to collaborate with North Korea, which was sanctioned far more heavily than Eritrea. “We didn’t fully appreciate the all-encompassing nature of restrictions,” he said. In 2016, as tensions escalated over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests, a United Nations resolution banned all joint scientific work with North Korea. However, the UN sanctions did allow countries to request carve outs, and the UK successfully requested an exemption for Hammond’s work. Related articlesEU pushes for joint science diplomacy, but care needed to avoid gridlock, experts sayRussia severs its last ties with German scienceAnchor Greenlanders in Arctic climate research, experts tell EU ahead of policy updateExport controls have also delayed Hammond’s work. In one case, it took 18 months to get approval from the UK government to take seismometers, which measure earthquakes, to North Korea. “It was frustrating,” he said. “But they didn’t just say no.” However, one instrument, called an induction coil, used to measure how the earth conducts electricity, was blocked entirely because it can in theory be used to detect submarines. Karaoke bondingSince the collaboration started in 2011, Hammond has visited the country around 15 times, although the pandemic closed off North Korea for more than five years. A trip last November was Hammond’s first since the outbreak. Despite this lengthy interlude, Hammond has deep bonds in the country. The North Korean scientists Hammond works with are somewhat isolated, as they struggle to access the latest research papers and travel to international conferences. That said, they are “excellent geophysicists” and are “very well trained in the field,” he said. Over karaoke and chats about their families, “we’ve made friendships, for sure,” he said. The authorities have to sign-off things like the placement of seismometers, for example, but Hammond said these requests have been approved. “Everything that we've asked for within a scientific context has been delivered.”Scientific backchannels? These kind of personal links between scientists across political lines are one purported benefit of science diplomacy. During the Cold War, some historians argue, scientific contact between the US and Soviet Union laid a groundwork of trust for other cooperation, such as on arms control. Hammond agrees that backchannel contacts to North Korean geophysicists are hardly likely to defuse a military crisis on the Korean peninsula, but the simple fact of the scientific collaboration makes contacts between diplomats that little bit easier. “It creates opportunities to understand each other a little bit better,” he said. “When maybe you have those more difficult discussions as diplomats, it's coming from a slightly better place.” Cutting tiesDrawing lessons from the Mount Paektu mission for today’s links with Russian science isn’t simple. The analogy is far from exact, Hammond said, “because one is essentially a Cold War, versus a pretty hot war in the case of Russia.” But Hammond’s broader argument is that the challenges we face, such as climate change, pandemics, biodiversity loss, pollution and so on, have globalised in an unprecedented way, making blanket shutdowns in collaboration with any country unwise.He’s somewhat critical of the UN scientific sanctions imposed on North Korea in 2016, even though they did allow for exceptions. “I think a blanket halt to some of these things, when we face big global challenges [. . .] that’s quite a risky thing to do,” he said.Institutional endorsement?European academics are still by and large free to work individually with Russian counterparts. However, official, institutional partnerships have largely ended. Shortly following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian university rectors wrote a public letter endorsing the war, meaning European universities fear official collaboration could also be seen as a kind of endorsement. Hammond acknowledges there is a risk of legitimising regimes, and state-controlled universities, through scientific cooperation. “That’s the trade off you have to make,” he said. Strategic projectsWith Russia, instead of giving a green light to restart all Arctic science, a middle ground might be firing up a few carefully selected “strategic” projects, said Hammond. After all, European countries are still collaborating with Russia on the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, an experimental nuclear fusion plant in the south of France. However, even if Europe did try to revive Arctic science with Russia, there’s no guarantee Russian scientists would play ball. A series of high-profile arrests of physicists in Russia accused of sharing their findings with the outside world has made collaboration fraught. Even before the invasion of 2022, “the Russian regime made it increasingly difficult, and this sort of discouraged people,” Dag Rune Olsen, rector of the Arctic University of Norway, told Science|Business last year.
Is the FDA Really Suppressing Science? Plus. . .
It’s Thursday, May 7. This is The Front Page, your daily window into the world of The Free Press—and our take on the world at large. Today: Aaron MacLean says Trump is poised to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in the Iran war. Joe Klein on the life of CNN founder Ted Turner. Jillian Lederman on why cruise ships are here to stay. And much more. But first: Is the FDA suppressing science? On Tuesday, The New York Times published a story with an alarming takeaway. “FDA Blocked Publication of Research Finding Covid and Shingles Vaccines Were Safe,” read the headline. It is the latest in a string of stories that all have the same message: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other agencies, are engaged in a cover-up—and silencing scientists trying to get the word out about the Covid vaccine. What all these stories suggest—some more subtly than others—is that the outsiders now running the public health establishment, officials such as Marty Makary at the FDA and Jay Bhattacharya at the National Institutes of Health, are on a revenge tour. That they are doing harm to the country to get back at the scientists and bureaucrats who ostracized them for deviating from the public-health consensus during the pandemic. It’s a seductive narrative. But is it true? That’s the question we address in our latest editorial. —The Editors Read [ Marty Makary's FDA Has All the Right Enemies ](https://www.thefp.com/p/marty-makary-vaccine-study-fda) [ Trump Blinks First ](https://www.thefp.com/p/iran-peace-deal-pakistan-trump-strait-of-hormuz) Aaron MacLean In return for no detectable concessions, President Trump this week gave up on forcing open the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the Trump administration looks desperate for a deal to end the war with Iran. It’s easy to understand the desire to end the war, but are they blowing the chance at victory? Aaron MacLean makes sense of the administration’s latest moves—and Iran’s response—in his column today. Read full story Aaron MacLean and Niall Ferguson: Live in New York City Join Aaron MacLean and Niall Ferguson on May 19 for a live recording of School of War at the iconic New York Historical. In a conversation as timely as it is wide-ranging, Aaron and Niall will explore the strategic stakes of the moment, including the Middle East, China, and the future of American leadership on the global stage. Get Tickets Now [ Ted Turner, the Optimist Who Built CNN ](https://www.thefp.com/p/ted-turner-cnn-tribute) Joe Klein The man who gave us CNN and the 24-hour news cycle, Ted Turner, died Wednesday at the age of 87. Today, political writer Joe Klein—who almost ghostwrote Turner’s autobiography—remembers his friend, the American media mogul who stood out for his idealism and lack of a filter—something that got Turner in trouble more than once. “His was not a traditional intelligence, but one of horizon: Ted saw things before other people did,” Joe writes. Read full story [ Nothing Can Sink the Cruise Ship ](https://www.thefp.com/p/cruise-ship-hantavirus) Jillian Lederman A viral outbreak on a cruise ship that left three passengers dead has left some people wondering: Are cruise ships on the way out? Not so fast, says Jillian Lederman, who has been on many a cruise herself. Read her piece on why 38 million people a year take a cruise—and aren’t about to stop. Read full story [ The Great Writers Who Were Terrible People ](https://www.thefp.com/p/the-great-writers-who-were-terrible) Shilo Brooks Throughout history, some of the greatest literary geniuses have also been immoral bigots. In the latest episode of Old School, Shilo Brooks is joined by Eli Lake for a conversation about those geniuses, from Voltaire to Norman Mailer and Roald Dahl—and why we should read their work despite their odious prejudices. Listen on MORE FROM THE FREE PRESS [ Inside the Digital Intifada ](https://www.thefp.com/p/digital-intifada-social-media-hamas-terror) Warren Kinsella Read full story [ This Week in American History: Trump’s Over-Arching Problem ](https://www.thefp.com/p/this-week-in-american-history-trumps-over-arching-problem) Jonathan Horn Read full story [ Humanity Is Still Evolving—and Fast ](https://www.thefp.com/p/humanity-is-still-evolvingand-fast) Razib Khan Read full story THE NEWS Thirteen D.C. Metropolitan Police officers have been placed on administrative leave and could face termination after an internal investigation found evidence that crime statistics were manipulated to make the city look safer. The Republican-led House Oversight Committee previously alleged that former D.C. police chief Pamela Smith pressured officers to skew data. Tennessee Republicans unveiled a redrawn U.S. House map yesterday that would split up Memphis’s black-majority Democratic district, the latest move in a nationwide push to redraw congressional boundaries ahead of the midterms. The effort follows a Supreme Court ruling last week on Louisiana’s districts, which Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton said gave states the green light to redraw maps along partisan lines. Israel struck Beirut for the first time since a ceasefire with Hezbollah took effect last month, saying it targeted a commander of the militant group’s elite Radwan force in the city’s southern suburbs. The strikes risk destabilizing that truce at a delicate moment, as Iran and the U.S. report progress toward a deal to resolve their own standoff. The U.S. Air Force is aiming for a Fourth of July delivery of a Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, hoping to add it to the Air Force One fleet in time for the U.S.’s 250th anniversary, Reuters reported. (For more on the controversy surrounding the aircraft, read Jed Rubenfeld’s piece “It’s a Terrible Idea, but Trump Probably Can Accept a Free Jet from Qatar.”) Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick testified privately before Congress that he has no memory of why he and his family dined on Jeffrey Epstein’s private island in 2012, according to Reuters. The admission contradicts Lutnick’s earlier claim that he had cut ties with the convicted sex offender well before that visit. Weeks before a former JPMorgan investment banker filed a lawsuit packed with explosive allegations, the bank reportedly offered him $1 million to settle his sexual assault and harassment claims, according to The Wall Street Journal. The suit, filed by Chirayu Rana, alleges he was sexually assaulted by a female colleague, subjected to racial discrimination, and forced into a degrading dynamic at work. JPMorgan says the claims lack merit, and the female colleague’s lawyers call the accusations fabricated. A new report from the Hartford Institute for Religion Research shows that, for the first time in roughly 20 years, church attendance is trending upward, with more people volunteering and clergy expressing renewed optimism. The study’s authors described the findings, based on a survey of more than 7,400 congregations, as showing signs of widespread recovery from low attendance numbers.
Yankees news: Ryan Weathers scratched from Thursday start
Weathers scratched due to illness; Stanton not ready to be activated; Rodón likely to return Sunday; Offense dominant without much from the leadoff spot.
AMC Entertainment (AMC) Q1 Losses Keep Pressure On Bullish Margin Expansion Narratives
AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) opened Q1 2026 with revenue of US$1,045.4 million and a basic EPS loss of US$0.22, compared with Q1 2025 revenue of US$862.5 million and a basic EPS loss of US$0.47 as the stock trades around US$1.64. Over the past year, revenue has ranged between US$862.5 million and US$1,397.9 million per quarter, while quarterly basic EPS losses have moved between roughly US$0.01 and US$0.58, leaving investors focused on how much of that top line is dropping through to the...
Lankas turns multi-disciplinary drive at Nebraska Into Hudl career
“I’ve always been super passionate about dance, sports, academics, entrepreneurship and keeping my social life interesting. When searching for colleges, it can sometimes feel like you’re having to settle for less in one area to get more in another. However, as an overly ambitious person, those weren’t really tradeoffs I wanted to make, and I’ve been able to do so much at such a high level all at Nebraska.” — Lena Lankas, May 2026 graduate
Lumentum CEO on business: Very much levered to the hyperscalers
Michael Hurlston, Lumentum CEO, joins 'The Exchange' to discuss the company's quarterly earnings results, clients the company has and much more.
A Mutation Gave Humans the Gift of Speech. These Mice Have It, Too.
Scientists wanted to know why the chatter of Alston’s singing mice sounds so much like human conversation. What they found might change how we study both species.
Carolina’s Cap Comparison: Running Backs
How much money are the Panthers spending on running backs compared to the rest of the NFL?
CVS’s Results Add to Positive Momentum for Health-Insurance Industry
The company attributed much of the improvement to a turnaround at its insurance unit, Aetna.
Scientists stunned by 'sheer spectacle' as sea creatures flood beaches
Scientists still have much left to learn about the creatures, even as hundreds of thousands of them wash ashore.
Tennesseans bet billions on sports last year. See how much
Tennessee residents wagered more money than the GDP of three dozen countries last year.
Jaylen Brown fined again by NBA for latest ref complaints from Celtics' Game 7 loss
Brown accused officials of having an "agenda" against him and even declared that referees told him as much.
Ascension’s small businesses are gaining an edge through free training and certifications
The Microbusiness Enterprise Corporation of Ascension is working to position small businesses to capitalize on the region’s industrial growth, while providing entrepreneurs access to free resources designed to help them scale. Connect with the Microbusiness Enterprise Corporation of Ascension at mbeca.org. “We are a nonprofit organization, very much like the small business development centers located […]
Your Google Pixel Phone's May Update Arrived
Google released the May 2026 Pixel update this morning, giving us at least one final Android 16 build before they release Android 17 to the masses. While Android 17 is very much in the final...
Capital One Venture Business review: Earn up to 150,000 bonus miles, $100 in annual credits
Capital One miles transfer to a long list of travel partners, which makes the Venture Business card's welcome offer much more valuable.
Hedman stepped away from Lightning because of mental health
Tampa Bay captain did not play in playoffs, says he's 'in a much better place today'
Contributor: How the waste in healthcare drives the U.S. debt
About half of U.S. healthcare spending yields no added health benefit. Taxpayers foot much of that bill.
Samsung Galaxy A57 5G Review: Not Worth It at Full Price
The Samsung Galaxy A57 will be a much better value when it goes on sale.
Real and durable wins for pro-choice? Maybe not so much
My regular reader (Hi, Jeff!) knows I don’t go out seeking to offend or bother my kindly readers. I don’t always try to upset people, even though I propose our president should be removed from office via the 25th Amendment, if his cabinet were not bootlicking sycophants and vaccine denying minions who regularly fail to […]
'Devil Wears Prada 2' Producer Finerman: Current movie business is the most difficult I've ever seen
'Devil Wears Prada 2' Producer Wendy Finerman joins 'Fast Money' to talk the kick off to the summer movie season, the state of the entertainment business, and much more.
Scientists Identify Another Contributor to Global Warming—and It's Everywhere
Researchers found that airborne microplastics trap nearly one-fifth as much heat as black carbon.
Yankees announcer John Sterling passes away at 87
The sports world is mourning the loss of one of its most iconic voices. Longtime New York Yankees radio voice John Sterling has passed away at the age of 87. Sterling stepped into the Yankees broadcast booth in 1989 after spending much of the 1980s calling games in Atlanta for the Hawks and Braves. He…
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen $56B eBay offer: 'An opportunity to build a much larger business'
GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss details of the company's offer to buy eBay for $56 billion, the rationale behind the offer, how the combined company would rival Amazon, and more.
Mom's Health: Expert advice on getting better sleep
Doctors say, when it comes to the impact on health, it's not just about how much rest you get.
Globe readers pan a return to five days a week in the office
Readers didn’t pull any punches when lambasting last week's column that argued Boston’s economy would get a much-needed boost if more employers required workers to return to the office full time.
GameStop Proposes Acquiring eBay for $55 Billion
Analysts question the feasibility of this long-shot bid by the video game retailer to acquire the much larger online marketplace.
An ace and his catcher remember Cocalico baseball\'s golden era 6 decades later
They stood 60 feet, 6 inches apart, just like the old days. The mind was willing to try to recreate the magic. The body? Not so much.
Google finally explains why AICore uses so much storage
The AICore app on many Android phones can balloon in size, but Google has now revealed why it's a storage hog.
Record-Setting Retreat of Hektoria Glacier
Scientists relied on satellite data to understand how the Antarctic glacier lost so much ice so rapidly.
Empowering Veterans: The 2026 Fayetteville Veterans Business Expo aims to close the opportunity gap
This is the first year of the Veteran Business Expo, and it grew out of Fayetteville PWC’s Economic Impact Program, which focuses on expanding access and opportunity in public-sector contracting while strengthening the local economy. It builds off the success of previous events held by PWC, like the 2024 Industry Day (pictured above). Photo provided by PWC. The Fayetteville Public Works Commission (PWC) will host the inaugural 2026 Veterans Business Expo on May 14 at the PWC Main Operations Complex at 955 Old Wilmington Road, seeking to connect former U.S. Military members with vital business opportunities in their community. The event, which will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., is part of a partnership between PWC and the Veterans Business Outreach Center at Fayetteville State University (VBOC) and Fayetteville-Cumberland Regional Entrepreneur and Business HUB (FSU HUB).Aaron Harris, PWC’s manager of economic inclusion programs, said the event is designed to connect Veteran-owned businesses with partners and decision-makers who can help move opportunities forward.“This event brings together Veteran entrepreneurs alongside government agencies, public entities, contractors and resource partners in one place, creating a purposeful space to build relationships, exploring procurement and contracting possibilities and strengthening our region’s Veteran-owned business community,” Harris said. The Veterans Business Expo was devised to feature, highlight and facilitate direct connections and commerce. “We want to get our Veterans a platform for their businesses,” said Camille Little, the supplier diversity analyst at PWC. “Here at PWC, we have 20 departments, and we procure… I can’t tell you all the goods and services. This is our first expo. We’re looking for general contractors, electricians, landscapers, janitorial, construction suppliers, architecture, farms and engineering firms.” Little said, much like businesses in every industry, Veterans are often in need of assistance getting their foot in the door.“When Veterans are starting up, they have to know what resources are [available],” Little noted. “They have this ample amount of resources, but they need to know how to get started.” Identifying those resources and connecting Veteran business owners with opportunities and business development programs are made possible by the partnership between PWC and VBOC, Little said. The partnership has allowed the expo to flourish, she added.“There are opportunities, there are consultant workshops and different things that we partner with them for all the time,” Little said. “It’s about easing that transition because starting a business is hard. Having the dedication to continue after that first year is even harder right now.” That is why, Little said, the partnership with resources from Fayetteville State University brings decision makers to the table. “If you are a Veteran business owner, you may not know how to do business with PWC or the City of Fayetteville or FSU, or partners,” Little said. “‘Where do I get started?’ ‘How do I get contracts?’ Bringing people to an understanding and then having an opportunity like this, where you’re talking to that person who’s making the decision… that is our goal.”Those meetings between Veteran-owned businesses and other decision-makers will present a chance to showcase products and services directly to organizations seeking qualified vendors and capable partners, Harris said. Agencies and contractors, he added, can meet and engage businesses ready to support upcoming needs. Little said PWC and all of its departments, as well as the City of Fayetteville, and FSU will be on hand. Additionally, there will be procurement officers from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety. “Resource partners who support small business development will also be on hand, helping make introductions and reinforcing pathways that support growth for Veteran entrepreneurs,” Harris said.For Veteran entrepreneurs, Little said she recommends two things: an answer to “why?” and a business plan.“I would ask them, what problem are they solving with their business?” she noted. “Then I would also tell them to start making a business plan. I run into a lot of firms, and it’s like, ‘What is your plan?’ So just knowing where you want to go with your business is important.”Little said it is important to differentiate between a business that helps transition servicemembers away from the U.S. Military versus a business that Veterans consider the next chapter of their lives.“How much dedication are you going to give to this business to make it successful?” Little noted. “So I would always start with what’s your business plan.”For Harris, the event will be able to cover the needs of all types of Veteran-owned businesses.“Another important lesson is the need to meet businesses where they are,” he said. “Veteran-owned businesses are at different stages of development, so offering multiple entry points, networking, education and referrals has proven essential.”Registration information can be found at: www.eventbrite. com/e/2026-veterans-business-expo-connecting-heroes-to-opportunity-tickets-1984308563329?aff=ebdssbdestsearch
Ducks bring speed to challenge the playoff-tested Golden Knights
If the first round of the NHL playoffs played out almost exactly like the opening series a year ago when the Golden Knights eliminated Minnesota in six games, their next opponent is a striking reminder to the one they just vanquished. The Golden Knights again are the more playoff-seasoned team, but the Anaheim Ducks counter with a faster team interested in more of a track meet when their best-of-seven series opens Monday night in Vegas. Much like the Utah Mammoth, a team Vegas eliminated in six games on Friday night.
McGeeney 'won't read much' into dominant semi-final win
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney insists he would not read too much into his side's emphatic Ulster semi-final win over Down, despite a dominant performance in Clones.
Rumored PvP Assassin’s Creed's Playtest Reportedly A Letdown
The repeatedly delayed and much speculated Fall Guys-esque “Assassin’s Creed Invictus” had a reportedly rocky outing last month
Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace: What Glasner said
It was just really overwhelming for us, this match and the win against Shakhtar Donetsk. Overall, Bournemouth were much better. Against a team that presses like Bournemouth, playing square passes around their box doesn't make sense - but that's what we did.
Science 4 Everyone: Why do data centers need water?
Why do data centers generate so much heat? Storm Team4 meteorologist Ryan Miller explains its water use and what it has to do with droughts.
Mars will tear its own moon apart. Now scientists think it could be sooner – and more destructive – than expected | BBC Sky at Night Magazine
New modelling suggests the Martian moon Phobos’s demise could be earlier – and much more dramatic – than we expected
iPhone 18 Pro has broken a four-year curse, leaked image shows
A mistakenly published image reveals a much-awaited iPhone 18 Pro design change.
Study: In Arizona, party politics play outsized role in passing bills
Arizona's Democrats have been nearly shut out of getting their legislation into law — much more so than the minority party in other states, a study says.
All Life on Earth Comes From One Single Ancestor. And It's So Much Older Than We Thought.
All Life on Earth Comes From One Single Ancestor. And It's So Much Older Than We Thought.
All life on Earth can be traced back to a Last Universal Common Ancestor, or LUCA—and it likely lived on Earth only 400 million years after its formation.
We the people are no longer the government of Colorado
We the people of Colorado no longer control our own state constitution. I found this out the hard way. In Colorado, a government for, by, and of the people is a fib. We lowly citizens no longer have much of a say in altering our own state constitution. Even though that seems to violate the […]
Bullpen avenges itself in walk-off win over Mets
The bullpen delivers a much-needed shutdown performance in the Angels' 4-3 walk-off win over the New York Mets.
‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field
‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field ‘The reality, for better or worse’: Columbia comp sci students and faculty grapple with AI’s disruption of the field A field that once seemed like a direct path to stable, lucrative work is becoming less certain under AI, students and faculty told Spectator. By Ria Vasishtha and Arjun Menon May 3, 2026 Shanying Liu / Deputy Illustrations Editor Asia Genawi, SEAS ’29, first encountered artificial intelligence during her sophomore year at her high school in Indiana. Back in 2023, policies on AI varied widely—even within the same district—and some schools had no guidance at all. As Genawi began to see the effects of AI trickle into her classroom, she turned to guidance from her home state’s Department of Education, which she said she found “outdated and inaccessible.” Genawi spent the rest of her high school career dedicated to the issue, including writing a 15-page memo exploring varying AI policies across Indiana schools, which she sent to every Indiana state senator and representative whose contact information she was able to find. She later helped draft a bill that would have required public high schools to establish and share their own AI policies with students in an accessible format. But with so many other bills already awaiting referral, hers never made it to committee. When Genawi arrived at Columbia to study computer science, she found that the gaps she had spent years trying to address in Indiana had followed her there. Many students and professors were also grappling with what AI meant for the field. Across Columbia’s undergraduate schools, computer science has become the most popular major—accounting for around 11 percent of degrees awarded in Columbia College, 32 percent in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and 12 percent in the School of General Studies in 2024. While the number of computer science majors in SEAS grew from 166 to 173 during the 2024-25 academic year, the total number across the three schools fell around 4.5 percent from 393 to 375, driven by declines at Columbia College and General Studies. At Barnard, it has grown to become the second most popular major as of 2025, up from third the year prior. The number of degrees awarded have grown fivefold since 2016. Faculty members and students in the department told Spectator that the surge in the major’s popularity has been driven in large part by its apparent promise of a secure, well-paid career path. However, they noted that the recent rise of generative AI has compromised the sense of stability that once defined the field, even as interest in technical skills among students persists. According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2024, out of 74 majors tracked, computer science had the fifth highest unemployment rate among majors at 7 percent, while computer engineering had the second highest at 7.8 percent. “Anecdotally, people are moving away from CS as a major,” Daniel Bauer, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, said. “They’re still taking some of our classes, right, because they think they need that, but they’re instead majoring in other things.” Bauer described a field that had shifted from what he called a “nerdy outlier discipline” to one that “everyone needs,” a sign that technical skills have become a baseline expectation across industries with the emergence of AI. “A lot of people thought, ‘Oh, it’s a guaranteed path to a stable income. You get a six-figure job right out of your undergrad,’” Bauer said. Now, companies may see AI as a way to reduce demand for entry-level programmers, especially in what he calls “code monkey jobs,” roles where a large number of employees are “just writing out code nine-to-five.” Chris Murphy, a senior lecturer in the computer science department, described the current moment as the convergence of two forces: the downturn of the job market and generative AI coming onto the scene. “Things kind of started to really pick up in 2014, 16,” he said, recalling the years after the weaker 2010 market. Murphy added that this was also a period where “students were getting more experience outside of class than they were inside of class” through internships, jobs, and side projects. Murphy suggested that the earlier momentum helped make computer science feel like both an academic program and a reliable pathway into work. That feeling is harder to sustain now as the industry reconfigures, which is a shift that students are seeing firsthand. Rebecca Yu, SEAS ’27, said that during a recent internship in Big Tech, she saw that “every single tech company was racing to integrate” large language models. She added that her manager said her intern class was the first to complete their assigned projects, which she attributed to the increased efficiency that comes with AI. Frank Liu, SEAS ’29, said that with AI lowering the barrier to coding, companies now expect everyone to write code. “A lot of companies outright say if you’re not using coding in your job, you might get fired for not being productive enough,” Liu said. Yu similarly expressed that students increasingly have to accept AI being a part of industry workflow, adding that many also “make use of it to maximize their productivity.” Richard Li, CC ’28, described a “franticness” among his peers as the pace of change accelerates. He explained how “some new tool” is released regularly, noting that tools rise and fall in prominence within weeks. He has come to believe that he doesn’t need to “match that speed all the time” and keep up with every development. Li has learned that AI tools allow him to “take a breath” and “get back into the loop much easier than before” when he needs to. While some companies specifically target Columbia when hiring, sending representatives to campus career fairs and recruiting large numbers from Columbia, a computer science degree cannot be treated as a static credential, Yu described. “You can’t just get your degree and stop learning after that. You have to always be learning,” Yu said. “That is something you basically have to expect for your job.” AI has not only affected students’ decisions to major in computer science, but also reshaped how the subject is taught. Across departments, faculty members no longer treat work done outside the classroom as a reliable measure of understanding, shifting instead toward in-person exams, quizzes, and attendance checks. While homework once made up as much as 60 to 70 percent of a student’s grade in computer science classes, Murphy said that breakdown has since flipped, with exams and quizzes now accounting for the majority. “The assumption—especially among pessimists—is that they’re using it to do their homework,” Murphy said. “They take the homework assignment. They put it into generative AI. Out comes the solution. Submit solution. The end.” Murphy said that faculty members ranged in their responses from fully prohibiting AI use to actively teaching students how to effectively work with AI. He said he shifted his approach this year after his teaching assistants called his belief that students weren’t using the technology “naïve,” and now permits students to use AI on assignments. His surveys of students in his introductory classes have told a more complicated story than the one so-called pessimists offer: Around 60 to 70 percent of students who reported using AI said they used it to have concepts explained to them, to clarify assignment instructions, to generate test cases, or to create practice questions. “Those are all ways that you might have had a tutor in the past to do that, and now you have this AI essentially as your tutor,” he said. Bauer has taken a different approach, teaching students how to use AI productively without sacrificing the core principles of the discipline. “People who are trained to actually use AI tools productively, while being in charge of designing the overall project, will be very much in demand in the next couple of years,” he said. Over the past year, a working group of computer science faculty has been redesigning the introductory and intermediate programming sequence to integrate generative AI as both a subject and a tool, representatives from SEAS wrote in a statement to Spectator. The effort is “coordinated” across the department, “not course-by-course,” with a systematic assessment of how AI integration is affecting student outcomes underway to shape the next round of changes. The goal, the department explained, is for students to be able to “read, verify, and reason about code, whether they or a model wrote it.” Tony Dear, senior lecturer in the computer science department, is piloting individualized AI feedback in a discrete mathematics course, while a machine learning course is also testing a Socratic AI dialogue system designed to “guide inquiry rather than supply answers,” the statement reads. Beyond individual courses, SEAS funded seven cross-departmental faculty projects in generative AI this past academic year, spanning biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, industrial engineering, and computer science, according to the statement. This phenomenon extends beyond the computer science department. SEAS’ new AI minor, which it announced in November 2025, reflects the University’s attempt to adapt. The minor is specifically designed for noncomputer science majors and aims to provide “essential AI knowledge” while emphasizing practical and responsible use across disciplines, according to the SEAS website. At the center of the minor is AI in Context, a course taught by a team of faculty from the departments of computer science, applied mathematics, philosophy, music, literature, and the Writing Center, the representatives told Spectator. Bauer described it as targeted at students who want to bring AI into fields like economics or biology, rather than as a path into software engineering itself. At the graduate level, SEAS announced a new Master of Science in artificial intelligence in February, with the inaugural cohort starting in the fall. While recognizing how AI has helped them navigate coursework, students also described its rise as isolating, even among members of the Application Development Initiative, one of Columbia’s largest computer science clubs. “As people start to ask AI for questions that they would normally ask students and members, it starts to isolate people” Li said. Alexa Kafka, BC ’27, echoed Li’s sentiment, pointing out that computer science has always been a collaborative discipline with code reviews and pull requests, even as AI makes independent work easier. Despite this, Kafka noted that she hasn’t been to office hours “in at least a year.” Bauer added that faculty are exploring long-term solutions to the assessment problem. “One of the things that we’re trying to do at the department or school level is to maybe move towards computerized testing facilities,” Bauer said, referring to ideas in the department to revitalize computer labs as an alternative to pen-and-paper exams. “We have to accept that this is the reality, for better or worse.” But more exams, students say, does not mean better learning, nor does it reflect how computer science is actually done. “Code is so variable and can be approached in so many directions, there’s never just going to be one correct answer. There can be multiple optimal solutions,” Kafka said. Students also expressed concern that the shift toward exam-heavy grading pulls focus away from the applied, project-based work that better reflects both discipline and industry expectations. ADI has tried to respond more quickly than the curriculum can. Through a vibe coding workshop this past semester, club members said they wanted to help students understand not just that AI exists, but how to use it deliberately. “Vibe coding” refers to the practice of prompting AI to write code for a task or project, and has become widespread enough that ADI felt the gap in formal instruction was worth addressing, according to Sophia Huang, BC ’29. The workshop introduced students to the concept of context engineering, which Shaina Sahu, SEAS ’27, described as not just writing a prompt, but optimizing “the rest of the relevant information that you would feed into the model.” Without that, students said that AI-generated code can fail at scale or introduce difficult-to-detect bugs. Genawi said the shift toward AI has changed what it means to be good at computer science. “I think the shift has kind of gone towards what can you create and what can you do, instead of, what do you know,” she said. Indeed, during ADI DevFest, its annual hackathon, Li said more teams are trying to complete their projects than in years past. While sign-ups have historically outpaced submissions, Li said this is beginning to change because teams “have a tool that completes the vision for them.” While many students see AI as an equalizer that lowers the barrier to entry for coding and technical work, Murphy said it also creates new equity concerns inside the classroom around who can afford stronger tools and who already knows how to use them. “The equity issues I worry about are students who have access to paid versions of things versus free versions of things,” he said. Although popular AI models like ChatGPT and Claude have free versions available, both have paid models that can reach over $100 per month, which output different qualities of code. Murphy also pointed to differences in prior exposure to AI literacy itself. “Students who go to high schools or K-12 education, where they’re taught AI literacy, prompt engineering, context engineering, they understand how to do this, as opposed to students who go to schools who don’t teach that,” he said. “Then they come in, and then they’re somehow expected to know how to use these tools.” For Genawi, those disparities begin long before students arrive on campus. “It’s very interesting to consider how lucky you were geographically,” she said. “To be born where you were is influencing your ability to get access to these spaces.” Students like Yu, though broadly apprehensive about the future of computer science, are not without hope. “I’m optimistic, because I think if you’re truly passionate about CS, there will definitely be a place in the field to do something you want to do,” she said. Senior Staff Writer Ria Vasishtha can be contacted at ria.vasishtha@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Staff Writer Arjun Menon can be contacted at arjun.menon@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on X @ColumbiaSpec. Want to keep up with breaking news? Subscribe to our email newsletter and like Spectator on Facebook. Produced with Spectate by Emily Ta
Diet soda's mixed science and how to kick the habit
The research on diet sodas has about as much clarity as a glass of Diet Coke. Here's a quick guide by PolitiFact to navigating the low-calorie beverage menu — and weaning yourself off sweet, fizzy sodas, if you’re ready.