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The nation's $59 billion newspaper industry is facing an uncertain future even while its biggest companies are enjoying enviable profits averaging around 20 percent. Newspaper circulation has been declining for many years, especially among young adults. Now, newspapers are losing readers and some advertising to the Internet. In fact, only 52 percent of adults read the paper on a typical weekday. Many newspapers are working on redesigns aimed at making their print editions more readable. Most also have created Web sites to deliver news and information, including special features and interactive options not included in the print product. But newspaper executives are struggling to incorporate their online editions into viable business plans. Meanwhile, slipping profit margins are resulting in layoffs at several of the major newspaper companies and opening up the country's second-largest -- Knight Ridder -- to a possible takeover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ever since the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, presidential papers have been collected in individual libraries for use by scholars and the general public. Usually located near the president's birthplace, the libraries also house museums that highlight the president's accomplishments. The National Archives administers the sites, but presidents have to raise the funds to build the libraries and help pay for operations. With the growing volume of paper and electronic records, archivists need many years to finish processing documents. Besides the lag in gaining access to records, some historians complain that the museums go too far in glorifying each president instead of presenting objective historical accounts. Congress has also been concerned about the growing size and cost of the facilities, including fund raising while presidents are still in office. President George W. Bush favors Southern Methodist University in Dallas as the site for his library, but some faculty members oppose a policy institute Bush wants built there too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the late 1980s, acting on fears that landfill space was running out, communities across the country began curbside collection of paper, glass, metal and plastic waste. Polls suggest that Americans strongly support recycling, despite the fact that the United States remains the world's leading "throwaway society." But critics say recycling is often a wasted effort, helping consumers' consciences more than the environment or the economy. Markets for recycled materials are notoriously volatile, and it often costs more to recycle waste than it does to simply bury it in a landfill. Recycling supporters, however, say the benefits of recycling far outweigh its drawbacks and predict a strong market for recycled materials in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vote-counting controversies in both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections have left a cloud of concern hanging over the upcoming November 2006 congressional vote as well as the not-so-far-off 2008 presidential election. The issues range from the trustworthiness of electronic, touch-screen voting machines to fears that laws requiring more stringent verification of citizens' identities would disenfranchise minority voters. Some computer experts insist that touch-screen machines are vulnerable to hackers and that "paper trails" are needed to ensure that the vote counts can be verified if challenged. But the devices are so popular with election officials that up to 40 percent of voters will use touch-screen machines this year, many of which will not produce backup paper print-outs. Meanwhile, scrutiny of the entire voting process, from voter registration to ballot counting is intensifying in courthouses and statehouses across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ten years after the Supreme Court gave school administrators broad powers to censor student journalists, high school papers are still publishing unflinching stories about AIDS, drug abuse and other teen problems. But would-be journalists face an uncertain future. College journalism programs turn out far more graduates than the nation's newsrooms can hire. Public trust in the news media is at a shockingly low level, and for those who labor within the industry, long hours and low pay are the usual rewards. Moreover, campus protests of editorial content have become commmonplace. On the plus side, the rise of the Internet offers new job possibilities, and career prospects for minority journalists are better than ever. And while high school journalism has nearly disappeared from America's inner-city schools, it thrives elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-quarters of all Americans recycle at home, making recycling one of the nation's most popular environmental activities. Skeptics argue that recycling does little to help the environment and often costs more than burying waste in landfills, but rising energy prices and concerns about climate change are strengthening the supporters' case. Making new goods from scrap metal, glass or paper uses less energy and generates fewer greenhouse gases than extracting and processing virgin materials. Today the U.S. recycles more than 30 percent of its municipal solid waste, and advocates say that figure could be much higher. Diverting more waste from landfills, however, will involve finding ways to handle new materials such as food scraps. Meanwhile, a growing stream of junked computers, televisions and other electronic trash -- much of it containing toxic materials -- is forcing manufacturers to take responsibility for disposing of their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forty-eight University of Virginia students quit or were expelled recently for plagiarism. New York Times reporter Jayson Blair plagiarized or fabricated parts of more than three-dozen articles. Best-selling historians Doris Kearns Goodwin and Stephen Ambrose were accused of stealing from other writers. Journalists and educators alike call plagiarism a growing problem, and many say the Internet is partly to blame. Studies show 90 percent of college students know plagiarism is wrong, but educators say many do it anyway because they don't think they'll get caught, or because in today's ethical climate they consider plagiarism trivial compared to well-publicized instances of political and corporate dishonesty. Other educators say many high-school students don't understand — or were never taught — about copyright regulations and how to properly cite sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheating is at or near an all-time high in schools and colleges. In addition to cheating on tests, students are plagiarizing from on-line term-papers mills. Many educators say the intense pressure created by high-stakes tests fosters cheating by students who worry that college admission, or graduation, hangs on the outcome of a single test. Moreover, teachers are cheating too, test critics say, because test results often determine whether schools retain their accreditation, whether educators get fired or get raises -- and even whether local real estate values go up or down. Exasperated ethicists ask whether educators are doing everything they possibly can to curtail cheating and instill core values, while others think implementing honor codes in more schools and curtailing high-stakes tests might help solve the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book-publishing industry is all abuzz over electronic books. E-book advocates say they will revolutionize reading, much as Gutenberg's invention of movable type did more than 500 years ago. Electronic books, they say, provide useful computerized features along with portability and durability. Many bibliophiles, however, sneer at the digitized products. They rhapsodize about the feel of ink-on-paper books as well as useful features of print products that they say e-books lack. Consumer acceptance is uncertain. The $200 to $600 price tag for handheld e-book readers is one barrier. In addition, only a small percentage of books are now available in electronic format. But e-book entrepreneurs are working hard to expand the market and say that prices will come down as that happens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cheating scandals among some of the nation's best students at Harvard University and New York City's Stuyvesant High School have highlighted a problem experts say is widespread. In surveys, a majority of college and high school students admit to cheating on a test or written assignment. Some experts blame the cheating culture on cutthroat competition for college admissions and jobs. The simplicity of copying from the Internet or cribbing from smartphones makes plagiarism and cheating easier, teachers say. However, in the case of works of art and entertainment, some see a refreshing new ethic of sharing and "remixing" creative material in digital media. Researchers find that cheating increases when educators "teach to the test" instead of emphasizing learning. But experts question whether shifting to learning for learning's sake is realistic when public school funding now depends on standardized-test results and families think their children's future depends on high grades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public support for capital punishment in the United States remains strong on paper, but opponents say it is weakening in practice. The number of new death sentences fell in 2009 to its lowest point in four decades and seems likely to end even lower in 2010. The number of executions has also fallen, to at least half the number in the 1990s. Opponents of the death penalty say prosecutors may be seeking the death penalty less often because of the costs of a capital trial, sentencing and post-conviction proceedings. Jurors may also be worried about the costs of the system, the delay between sentence and execution and the risk of executing an innocent person. Supporters of capital punishment counter that the costs and delays result primarily from obstructionism by death penalty lawyers and that the risk of a wrongful execution is all but nonexistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thomas Jefferson once famously remarked that if he had to choose between government without newspapers or newspapers without government, he wouldn't hesitate to preserve newspapers. Today, however, newspapers across the country are declining in circulation, advertising and profitability. Some are ceasing to publish. Others are reducing or closing Washington and state-capital bureaus, laying off staff and cutting back the news coverage they provide. Many journalists, scholars, political activists and government officials worry that government without newspapers could be on the horizon, and that citizens then would be unable to obtain sufficient information for effective self-government. As more Americans turn to the Internet and cable television for news, however, others are hopeful that new forms of journalism will fill the gaps. Meanwhile, newspapers are attempting to give themselves new birth online. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the year cyberpolitics came of age. Building his organization and fundraising efforts online, Howard Dean sped to an early lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Despite Dean's ultimate failure, other candidates emulated his online tactics, raising a record amount of campaign cash from small donors in the process. MoveOn.org — an Internet-based advocacy group started at home in 1998 by two California activists — became one of the most prominent players in the electoral and public-policy debate, cracking the $30-million mark in fundraising and claiming 3 million members. The Defense Department began, and then abandoned, an effort to enable military personnel overseas to vote over the Internet, while Michigan Democrats added online voting to their presidential caucuses. Exploiting other information technology, political organizations mined computer databases as never before, and election officials touched off heated controversies by switching to electronic voting machines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Once an urban problem, street gangs have now infiltrated U.S. communities large and small. Gang experts say at least 21,500 gangs — with more than 731,000 members — are active nationwide. Long-established domestic gangs like the Bloods and the Crips remain powerful, but the problem has worsened dramatically in recent years. Heavy immigration, particularly from Latin America and Asia, has introduced highly violent gangs like Mara Salvatrucha and the Almighty Latin Kings Nation. Bound by tight ethnic and racial ties, they often stymie police investigations by assaulting or killing potential witnesses. Having already diversified from illegal drugs into auto theft, extortion, property crimes and home invasion, some East Coast gangs have begun trafficking in fraudulent identification papers that could be used by terrorists. While experts agree gangs are more pervasive than ever, few agree on a remedy. Proposed legislation would increase penalties for gang membership and gang crimes, but critics say it won't solve the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past five years, health-care providers, insurers, drug companies and research institutions have initiated a massive transformation from a paper-based health-care system to one that increasingly relies on computers and the Internet. In addition, patients can download information from medical Web sites and fill prescriptions on-line. But experts say that the large-scale collection of patient information in cyberspace raises questions about access to the data. The privacy concerns are at the center of a broader debate over regulating the Internet. Many politicians, consumer groups and regulators are calling for new security standards and guidelines for proper conduct in cyberspace. Meanwhile, the federal government this fall is expected to release guidelines on access to medical databases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The press is in trouble. Fewer people are reading newspapers or watching TV news, and many Americans say journalists make the nation's political problems worse, not better. But a reform movement is seeking to rebuild public trust for journalists and, in the process, revitalize American democracy. It aims to draw people back into public life and steer political discourse away from attack ads and sound bites toward a more constructive search for solutions to society's problems. Critics worry that this noble-sounding goal could undermine such journalistic ideals as detachment and objectivity. But this is a debate about more than journalism alone. Ultimately, proponents say, the relationship between citizens and their government - and the prospects for participatory democracy - are at stake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

WASHINGTON -- Cults, for many Americans, are a memory from the 1970s. They recall an array of troubling images -- the mass suicide at Jonestown, kidnappings by deprogrammers and squadrons of saffron-robed Hare Krishnas accosting travelers at airports. But in the spring of 1993, this notion of a bygone phenomenon went up in flames as cult leader David Koresh led armed Branch Davidians to their doom near Waco, Texas."News editors thought cults had gone away with Jonestown, but they've been growing in size and numbers," says Margaret Singer, a psychology professor at the University of California-Berkeley who has counseled more than 3,000 former cult members. From 10 million to 20 million Americans have been involved with some form of cult in recent years, Singer wrote in a recent letter to the White House Health Care Task Force prompted by the 51-day standoff in Texas.Singer estimates that there are between 2,000 and 5,000 cults in the U.S., but others say there are only about 700. Whatever the number, interest in the cult phenomenon is growing."Not a week goes by without a local paper or radio station calling us to do a cult story," says Cynthia S. Kisser, executive director of the Chicago-based Cult Awareness Network (CAN), a nonprofit group with 2,000 members that says it receives about 18,000 inquiries a year. "It's clearly an ongoing problem, but it doesn't gain national attention until something explodes into violence, gets extremely costly or has a sensational side," as when a prominent family is involved.If flower-vending cult members have been less visible in recent years, it's because the groups have "spiffed up their image to rely less on street recruiting and more on commerce," says Marcia R. Rudin, director of the New York City-based International Cult Education Program. The subtle approach is more profitable and draws less attention, she says.Though seldom given front-page coverage, the major cults that grew up in the 1970s have remained active and controversial. The Church of Scientology has a $416 million lawsuit pending against Time for a scathing 1991 cover story that called the group "a hugely profitable global racket that survives by intimidating members and critics in a Mafia-like manner."Two Russian students are suing the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church for allegedly luring them to the United States for a conference on human rights that turned out to be an indoctrination session. And in Alexandria, Va., in December, a federal jury acquitted E. Newbold Smith, a member of the wealthy du Pont family in Philadelphia, of conspiracy-to-kidnap charges after he and a deprogrammer allegedly tried to "rescue" his son from organizations headed by jailed political extremist Lyndon LaRouche Jr.Friends and families of people who join cults have watched many of them abandon their jobs and turn over their savings to a newfound "family." Many cut off all communication with their relatives while pursuing an exhausting lifestyle fueled by little sleep or food and imposing constant duties or monotonous chanting. "They all had glassy eyes, like two eggs sunny-side up, open so wide that the pupils seemed to bulge out of their faces," a former follower of the Unification Church told Police Product News.In recent years, religious cults have been joined by groups embracing such themes as therapy, business, politics and New Age philosophy. "It's no longer the counterculture, or youth objecting to their parents' values of success," Rudin says. "It's older people, middle-aged people, entire families."Of particular concern to critics are the recruiting tactics of cults that often misrepresent their true purposes and that exert great impact on media and politics. "Some cults have expanded into an international growth industry with hundreds of millions of dollars," notes Louis Jolyon West, a psychiatry professor at the University of California-Los Angeles and a longtime observer of cults. "What concerns me increasingly is the harm to members and their families. Parents essentially lose a child to a cult."The more-secretive cults pose problems for surrounding communities. Children in the groups are often schooled within a cordoned-off compound, there is no outside medical care and births and deaths go unrecorded. The state of Oregon spent hundreds of thousands of dollars caring for 51 children removed from a cult called Ecclesia in 1988. Corporal punishment within cults has been reported regularly by former members, in one case causing the death of a 12-year-old boy.Cults can also play havoc with traditional religious beliefs, overwhelming priests, rabbis and ministers with complaints from families of cult member. "A cult has to have original revelations, a new twist on reality that no one else has, its patented Coca-Cola formula," says Tal Brooke, a former follower of Indian guru Sai Baba who heads the Christian fundamentalist Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, Calif. "The revelator is usually a charismatic leader, the group is exclusive and the world is seen as a dangerous place. The side effect is to blunt the critical functioning and critical thinking of the followers."Were cults as purely evil as their critics maintain, however, it would be hard to imagine why anyone would join. Clearly the groups have their attractions. "The whole room dissolved into a golden light," an 18-year-old enthusiast told Newsday of her first attendance at a lecture by the Long Island-based spiritual and business guru Frederick "Rama" Lenz. "I saw his face change into an Indian warrior, a Buddhist monk….I was totally high. I couldn't wait to see him again."Some mainstream religious bodies and scholars of religion have long warned that efforts to monitor or investigate so-called cults by what they call the "anti-cult cult" risk violating constitutional rights. Particularly offensive, they say, is the technique of deprogramming. "People ought to be free to follow whatever religion they want without being forcibly rescued," says Dean Kelley, who has advised the National Council of Churches on religious liberties for 32 years."Movements are like persons -- you can pick their bad habits and portray them in the worst possible light," says James Lewis, a professor of religious studies at the University of California-Santa Barbara. He recently organized the Association of World Academics for Religious Freedom (AWARE), a group of scholars seeking to form a "neutral information center" for new religious movements.What is clear is that the recent tragedy involving David Koresh and his Branch Davidians has prompted many Americans -- particularly government officials -- to examine a phenomenon that many had not considered relevant to their responsibilities."Hello, mama. It's your boy," the self-proclaimed prophet said in a message on his mother's answering machine after he was apparently wounded by federal agents in March. "They shot me and I'm dying, all right? But I'll be back real soon, OK? I'm sorry you didn't learn the [seven seals from the Bible's Book of Revelations], but I'll be merciful, OK? Tell [younger brother] Roger I love him. Tell grandma I tried. I'll see y'all in the skies. Bye." AMERICAN FAMILY FOUNDATION, P.O. Box 2265, Bonita Springs, Fla. 33959; (212) 249-7693. This tax-exempt research and education center assists former cult members and their families. It publishes Cultic Studies Journal. CULT AWARENESS NETWORK, 2421 W. Pratt Boulevard, Suite 1173, Chicago, Ill. 60645; (312) 267-7777. This national, nonprofit educational organization disseminates information to "promote public awareness of the harmful effects of mind control." It says it focuses on unethical practices and does not judge doctrines. FRIENDS OF FREEDOM, Suite 194, 72 Cranbrook Road, Hunt Valley, Md. 21030; (410) 628-7629. This advocacy and research group run by religious scholar George Robertson seeks to challenge the efforts of anti-cult activists [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journalism is facing a credibility crisis. Declining faith in government and other institutions and a decades-long assault by conservatives have hurt mainstream news outlets. And President Trump has called journalists "the enemy of the American people." Recent incidents involving public figures, including a Montana congressional candidate's alleged assault on a reporter, have underscored the hostility that journalists face. Some traditional media also have suffered from self-inflicted wounds by blurring the lines between news and commentary and ignoring the interests of rural readers to focus on well-off urbanites. Ad revenue and subscriptions at newspapers have plummeted, in part due to the rise of the internet and changing consumer habits. Meanwhile, social media have fostered "echo chambers" in which people seek out news that affirms their beliefs. Journalists and those studying the news business say mainstream outlets must be more transparent about how they do their jobs and more skillful at explaining events to survive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 2021 federal infrastructure law aims to expand intercity passenger rail service throughout the United States, half a century after the federal government became the main provider of this service. Amtrak, the company Congress created to offer passenger rail, has suffered from years of inadequate funding and political infighting over its fate. The 2021 infrastructure measure embodies a marked change in Congress' approach to the issue. The law includes $66 billion to improve and expand passenger rail service between cities, reflecting a growing appetite among the U.S. public and politicians for quality train service. But the success of that effort is not guaranteed. It will require accommodations from freight rail companies, continued political support in Congress and the states and, of course, millions of paying customers who are willing to travel by train instead of by planes or cars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 42 percent of U.S. adults have obesity, up significantly in the past 20 years. One-fifth of American children are also living with the disease. The number of states where at least 35 percent of residents have obesity has nearly doubled since 2018, from nine to 16. Some experts call rising obesity a public health crisis because it is estimated to kill as many as 300,000 Americans annually and boosts medical costs by at least $260.6 billion a year. People with obesity have a higher risk of heart problems, stroke, type 2 diabetes and some cancers and are more likely to need hospitalization for severe COVID-19. Obesity is a complex disease with many contributing factors, including genetics, sedentary lifestyles and easy access to low-cost, high-calorie processed foods. Some states have begun taxing sugar-sweetened drinks and restricting the marketing and sale of unhealthy foods to children. Meanwhile, two new drugs have been introduced that lead to significant weight loss, but they are expensive and not covered by insurance for treating obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Supreme Court's June decision overturning Roe v. Wade wiped out the nearly 50-year-old constitutional right to an abortion in the United States. The ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization marked a rare instance in which the court has nullified an existing constitutional right. The decision has led to a near total ban on abortion in more than a dozen states and could profoundly change the country's political landscape. It also may open the door to changes in other constitutional rights, such as same-sex marriage and access to contraception. For now, the legal situation is rife with chaos and confusion over where and when the procedure is lawful. Delayed medical care has become increasingly common, as doctors are uncertain whether their decisions on emergency care for pregnant women violate the new laws. This change has triggered angry debates and could significantly affect the upcoming midterm elections and the 2024 presidential race. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Six decades after sweeping away European colonial rule and beginning to govern themselves, the people of sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly charting their own course. Decades of debt, war, political turmoil and foreign aid are giving way to creativity and industriousness, propelled by a fast-growing young population with global aspirations. Leaders are pushing to topple cross-border trade barriers and expand tech-driven investment to generate higher inclusive growth. Regional integration is strengthening political and economic coordination. Yet the transition faces stiff headwinds, from the COVID-19 pandemic and climate impacts to entrenched bureaucrats and fragile governance. Food security remains precarious and is vulnerable to external shocks, such as the interruption of grain exports from war-ravaged Ukraine. The shortage of electricity limits hundreds of millions of people from enjoying full social and economic participation. Governments operate with little scrutiny from citizens. Still, a mindset of independence and assertiveness is taking hold among leaders and citizens alike. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plastic waste is everywhere. Researchers have discovered plastic particles throughout the world's oceans and atop Mount Everest. Today, the world is producing 353 million metric tons of plastic waste annually -- twice as much as it did two decades ago. Plastic waste is known to harm the environment, wildlife and human health. Currently, less than 10 percent of all plastics manufactured around the world is recycled. Industry officials have acknowledged the need to improve recycling rates and infrastructure, and new approaches and technologies are being developed in response. However, critics say the industry is not doing enough and needs to be held more responsible for the plastics they produce. Several local, national and international entities, including the United Nations, are acting to curb plastic pollution by passing or considering laws that could ban certain plastics, increase regulations and add fees. Meanwhile, experts say the production of plastic is expected to double by 2040. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic ushered in widespread predictions about the death of cities. Data show that the largest U.S. cities experienced a population decline during the first year or so of the pandemic, while urban poverty and income inequality have risen and public transportation usage is dropping. Yet polling shows that people -- especially young people -- are still moving to cities, and rents in some urban areas continue to spike. Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Nashville, Tenn., and other midsized cities are seeing an explosion of people moving in from bigger, higher-cost locales, such as the San Francisco Bay Area and cities in the Northeast, leading to the rising housing costs in those areas. So while the shift to remote and hybrid work, changing traffic patterns and increased inequality may alter the nature of cities, experts believe that predictions about the demise of the city are exaggerated, as they often have been throughout history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]