Free trade raises standards of living

   I find it amazing that there are still people in life who favor trade restrictions and trade wars. If there is anything credible economists agree on, almost 150 years after the publication of Adam Smith’s treatise The Wealth of Nations, it is that free trade is a good thing.

  In every trade, both sides benefit. There is a simple reason for that. Each side is giving up something he values less for something he values more. Thus, at the very moment of the trade, both sides have improved their own respective economic condition. The trade has enabled both parties to the trade to raise their own standard of living.

Emergency alerts and news notifications can make us stressed and anxious — here’s what you can do to cope

  When there’s a disaster, it’s helpful to know what’s going on — and know whether you’re truly at risk. But as essential as emergency alert systems are, they can leave many of us feeling anxious — even when the alert may be a false alarm or test.

  This is because emergency alerts, whether real or tests, can activate the same neural circuits involved in real danger. This can trigger stress, confusion, and anxiety.

Trump’s firings of military leaders pose a crucial question to service members of all ranks

  President Donald Trump gave no specific reason for firing Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff less than halfway through Brown’s four-year term in office.

  Nor did he give an explanation for similarly ousting other senior military leaders, including the only women ever to lead the Navy and the Coast Guard, as well as the military’s top three lawyers – the judge advocates general of the Army, Navy, and Air Force.

The past that Alabama chooses to honor says a lot about us

  When you come out from under the rusty monoliths inscribed with the names of lynching victims and the counties that bear the guilt of their deaths at Montgomery’s National Memorial for Peace and Justice, you come to another set of monoliths lying on the ground.

  They’re duplicates of what you’ve just seen. The Equal Justice Initiative, which runs the memorial, has offered them to each American county where a lynching took place. It’s a reminder that the past lines our paths and runs beneath our feet.

Appreciating appreciation

  There’s a song called “Thank God for Dirty Dishes” that makes the point that if you’re lucky to have enough food to make dirty dishes, you should be grateful.

  So instead of grousing about your property taxes, be thankful you own property. When you have to wait in line at the bank or are stuck in traffic, just be grateful you have money in the bank and a car to drive.

The Trump administration is hurting consumers’ wallets by kneecapping the CFPB

  Most Americans can’t afford to lose money to corporations that cheat them or to banks and credit card companies that charge excessive fees, and they need somewhere to turn for help. They may not realize that the fine print on their car loan says the company can repossess the car after one missed payment or that a term buried several pages into their family’s home mortgage could result in foreclosure. They may not understand why their bank is withdrawing fees from their savings account or why they are charged such a high penalty when they overdraw their account a day before their paycheck is deposited. And seniors and consumers with the fewest resources may find themselves the target of financial scams.

Big cuts at the Education Department’s civil rights office will affect vulnerable students for years to come

  The U.S. Department of Education cut its workforce by nearly 50% on March 11, 2025, when it laid off about 1,315 employees. The move follows several recent directives targeting the Cabinet-level agency.

  Within the department, the Office for Civil Rights – which already experienced layoffs in February – was especially hard hit by cuts.

America is becoming a nation of homebodies

  In his February 2025 cover story for The Atlantic, journalist Derek Thompson dubbed our current era “the anti-social century.”

  He isn’t wrong. According to our recent research, the U.S. is becoming a nation of homebodies.

  Using data from the American Time Use Survey, we studied how people in the U.S. spent their time before, during, and after the pandemic.

Struggle for control of public libraries in full swing across the Deep South

  No one used to envision libraries as battlefields. But in 2025, that’s what they have become.

  Across the South over the last decade, control of what happens on bookshelves has turned into a pitched battle, with white supremacist and Christian nationalist groups on one side facing off against an unlikely coalition of progressives, educators, Black leaders, and drag queens on the other.

  Just two months into a second Trump presidency and its scorched-earth policy against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), the culture wars are heating up the stacks.

Exhausted by the news? Here are 6 strategies to stay informed without getting overwhelmed − or misled by misinformation

  Political spin is nothing new, and identifying reliable news and information can be hard to do during any presidency. But the return of Donald Trump to the White House has reignited debates over truth, accountability, and the role of media in a deeply divided America.

  Misinformation is an umbrella term that covers all kinds of false and misleading content, and there is lots of it out there.

  During Trump’s chaotic first presidency, the president himself promoted false claims about COVID-19, climate change, and the 2020 election.