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The article reports that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced a legal challenge to 'heartbeat' legislation, a law in Ohio that prohibit abortion as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. Topics discussed include origin of the pro-life and pro-choice phrases, remarks from Mike Gonidakis, president of anti-abortion group, Ohio Right to Life, and statement from Mary Ziegler, a legal historian at Florida State University, about 'heartbeat' bills.

The article profiles African-American mathematician and Pomona College professor Edray Goins, particularly focusing upon racism in academia and his rise to the top of his field.

The article offers information on confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S.; and mentions the U.S. President Donald Trump's constitutional power to impose a quarantine on Americans returning from the area around Wuhan, China.

The article reports on a shooting that killed 10 people at the Santa Fe High School in Texas on May 18, 2018. Some political leaders and people have asked to pray for the victims. The Department of Justice has proposed to ban bump stocks through regulations rather than wait for Congress to act on the gun control debate. According to witnesses, a student named Dimitrios Pagourtzis perpetrated the shooting.

The article discusses the challenges confronting American scientists under the new administration of U.S. President Donald Trump as of early 2017. Also cited are Trump's negative position on science, climate change and the role of federal offices like the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as the decision by evolutionary biologist Michael Eisen to enter politics to fight for science.

The article reports on several U.S. colleges that are linked to college admissions scandal including the University of Southern California , Yale University and the University of Chicago.

The article reports that news report accusing Representative Jim Jordan of ignoring accusations of sexual abuse as a wrestling coach at Ohio State University has left a cloud over the powerful congressman as conservative activists put him forward as potentially the next speaker of the House.

The article offers questions and answers on the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's losing track of immigrant children after separating them from their parents, including U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' perspective on immigrant families crossing the U.S. border.

The article discusses aspects of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's proposed guidelines for labeling foods that contain genetically modified organisms (GMO) and its implications for consumers in 2018.

The article reports on the efforts of schools in the U.S. to prevent mass shootings following the shooting at a high school in Florida as of February 17, 2018 which include conducting lockdown drills and installation of metal detectors.

The article reports on O. J. Simpson being released on parole in Nevada after having served nine years in a state prison on the charges of armed robbery in a Las Vegas hotelroom in 2007, Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi has said that he is not welcomed there.

The article explores the culture war among U.S. science students in relation to climate change, based on the author's encounter with climate skeptics and activists at Wellston High School in Ohio.

The article reports on impact of an executive order of U.S. President Donald J. Trump regarding immigration on a number of immigrants in the U.S., as of January 2017. Topics include stories of different Muslim immigrants such as Tareq Aqel Mohammed Aziz from Yemen, who were stranded at Dulles International Airport in Virginia; Masoud Zarepisheh and Mahmood Zarepisheh, who were held at airport terminals at Kennedy International Airport; and Samira Asgari, who was not allowed to board a plane.

The article reports that many U.S. patients seeking medical care are reluctant to undergo DNA testing to see if they are at enhanced genetic risk for illnesses for fear of losing their health insurance. Some spend large sums to take tests an insurer would otherwise cover. Doctors express concern that this trend might negate the advances made in genetic research and their application to medical treatment.

The article focuses on Americans in there 20s and 30s who are deciding on their own what drugs to take, in particular stimulants, antidepressants and other psychiatric medications. Often skeptical of psychiatrists' expertise, they rely on their own research and each other's experience in treating such problems as depression, fatigue and anxiety. They trade unused prescription drugs and order medications without prescriptions from the Internet. Sometimes they lie to doctors to obtain medications. The goal for many young adults is not to get high, but to feel better. Health officials fear that information about risks and dosage are being overlooked. INSET: Finding Information Online From Peers and Professionals.

Examines attitudes of Americans as the crew of the space shuttle Discovery prepares to return to earth. How problems on Discovery have provoked a wave of self-doubt; Questions of Americans concerning the space program; Reference to the problem that caused the shuttle Columbia to break up on re-entry in 2003; Reasons for the popular disillusionment with the shuttle; Views of supporters of the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration; Ways that human space travel has been portrayed in novels and movies.

Offers a look at the use of genetic tests in research on the genealogy of African Americans descended from slaves. Profile of several African Americans who have used genetic testing to investigate their family histories in Africa prior to American slavery; Report that the use of genetic tests has increased the popularity of genealogical research; Potential for genetic tests to link African Americans to a specific region or people group in Africa; Comments on limitations of the tests; Frequency with which genetic tests show a partial European genetic history among African Americans; Psychological and social impact of genealogy research on African Americans. INSET: Tracing Roots to an Ancestral Land.

Presents the author's views on the prevalence of digital pictures in email. View that some people elect to include too many pictures in email; Suggestion that despite the ease and popularity of digital imagery, less is still more; Comments from various people regarding digital images in email; Reports on how amateur photographers in American took approximately twenty-billion pictures last year alone.

Focuses on Blake Brunson of Louisiana, who has four sets of grandparents. Comments of Brunson, who is nine; How, as the first generation of the so-called divorce boom arrives at grandparenting age, a child may end up having eight or more grandparents; Reference to the steep climb in divorce in the 1970s; Views of the grown-up children of divorced parents; Why, for some new parents, the extra grandparent support is welcome.

Explores Sonoran Desert and caves in Tucson, Arizona. Visit to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum in the Tucson Mountain Park; Features of the saguaros; Amenities of the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.

The message seemed innocuous enough, coming as it did from the federal agency tasked with promoting sustainable agriculture and dietary health: ''One simple way to reduce your environmental impact while dining at our cafeterias,'' read a United States Department of Agriculture interoffice newsletter published on its Web site this week, ''is to participate in the 'Meatless Monday' initiative.'' Thousands of corporate cafeterias, restaurants and schools have embraced the idea of skipping meat on Mondays in favor of vegetarian options, an initiative of the nonprofit Monday Campaign Inc. and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- On a recent sunny morning at the Big Y grocery here, Cynthia LaPier parked her cart in the cereal aisle. With a glance over her shoulder and a quick check of the ingredients, she plastered several boxes with hand-designed stickers from a roll in her purse. ''Warning,'' they read. ''May Contain GMO's (Genetically Modified Organisms).'' For more than a decade, almost all processed foods in the United States -- cereals, snack foods, salad dressings -- have contained ingredients from plants whose DNA was manipulated in a laboratory. Regulators and many scientists say these pose no danger. But as Americans ask more pointed questions about what they are eating, popular suspicions about the health and environmental effects of biotechnology are fueling a movement to require that food from genetically modified crops be labeled, if not eliminated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rarely have school science fairs, a source of pride and panic for generations of American students, achieved such prominence on the national stage. President Obama held one at the White House last fall. And last week he said that America should celebrate its science fair winners like Sunday's Super Bowl champions, or risk losing the nation's competitive edge. Yet as science fair season kicks into high gear, participation among high school students appears to be declining. And many science teachers say the problem is not a lack of celebration, but the Obama administration's own education policy, which holds schools accountable for math and reading scores at the expense of the kind of creative, independent exploration that science fair projects require. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

GRAND ISLE, La. -- The directors of the Grand Isle Speckled Trout Rodeo had sold 500 tickets to the Memorial Day weekend event when the oil washed up on the beach here last week. They had paid for the band and the food, the visors and the door prizes. So it may be understandable that a visit from the president of the United States, when they would ordinarily have been out on the water fishing for the Big One, seemed like small consolation for the closing of the beaches, the sudden decline in their real estate values -- and the cancellation of their 14th annual rodeo. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A bill that would prohibit discrimination by health insurers and employers based on the information that people carry in their genes won final approval in Congress on Thursday by an overwhelming vote. The legislation, which President Bush has indicated he will sign, speaks both to the mounting hope that genetic research may greatly improve health care and the fear of a dystopia in which people's own DNA could be turned against them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Next time you're considering whether to run for president, don't forget to weigh the value of the fast and free genealogical research that comes with candidacy, guaranteed to uncover your ancestral connection to a modern-day celebrity -- or at least a minor historical figure. Last fall, The Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Senator Barack Obama and Vice President Dick Cheney are distant cousins. On Tuesday, the New England Historic Genealogical Society said Mr. Obama had at least six presidents in his very, very extended family, including President Bush and his father, Gerald R. Ford, Lyndon B. Johnson, Harry S. Truman and James Madison. Can you see Mr. Obama's resemblance to Brad Pitt? Well, no. Because their common ancestor lived 11 generations ago, the chance that they share genes is minuscule. But for genealogists of ''notable kin,'' ninth cousins count. (Pedigree charts of the candidates are available at NotableKin .org). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Focuses on the electronic mail petition circulated by liberal advocacy group, MoveOn.org, in an effort to solicit signatures a U.S. House committee voted to cut federal support of National Public Radio and television shows like "Sesame Street."

Reports on the protest of breastfeeding mothers over remarks made by Barbara Walters in the U.S.

Relates the author's experience purchasing a Treo 600, an all-in-one wireless device. Problems finding the item; Costs for the hardware and wireless digital network; Accounts of her mobile adventures in New York City; Drawbacks and advantages of the Treo; Impact of the Treo on the author's life.

Focuses on the services offered by the health resorts in New York City. Life-Dance massage available at the spa in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel; Acupressure and Cellulite Fighter wraps offered by the spa at the Equinox gym; Four-handed massage offered by the spa at Exhale.

Presents a survey on the usability of Internet by most people taking political news, reading the blogs of presidential candidates and sending their friends with campaign-related electronic notes in the U.S. Involvement of college students as users; Interest in political organization; Totality of respondents involved in the survey.

Observes the unusual sense of personal ownership in the current Mars mission by NASA. 32 million people who have visited the NASA web site; Recording of 4 billion hits as visitors browsed through hundreds of pictures; Gathering of tens of thousands of Mars fans at planetariums, around TV sets and in Internet chat rooms to monitor the action; Theory on why the interest is so high; Features available on the web site; How NASA hopes the public interest will help it gain funding; How technology may make it not as compelling to send a man to Mars.

Focuses on the debate over free expression and ethical behavior in computer-simulated worlds. Story of Peter Ludlow, whose account on The Sims Online was terminated as a result of comments he made in a fictional newspaper about the fictional town Alphaville; Allegations that the move is censorship; Comments from Ludlow; Popularity of online role-playing games; Controversy as to what is permissible in the games.

Reports on the growth in the use of self-service machines in the United States. Increase in public faith in technology; Decrease in satisfaction with traditional forms of customer service; Attempt of businesses to speed up the automation process in an effort to cut down on labor costs; Comments of consumers on self-service check-out lines in supermarkets; Industries experimenting with automation including banks, supermarkets, airlines, fast food restaurants, and ski resorts; Psychological aspects of human-computer interaction.

Reports on the decision of Pennsylvania State University to cover the cost of providing students with a legal method to download music from the internet or campus network. Departure from efforts to stop music swapping on college campuses; Deal between Penn State and the revised Napster online service; Expectation that other Universities will follow suit; Comments of Graham Spanier, the president of Penn State; Details of the program; Cost to the university.

States that the recording industry filed 261 lawsuits against people for sharing copyrighted music over the Internet. Outlook for more lawsuits, aimed at Internet users of file-sharing networks, charging copyright infringement; Comment of Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, about taking action on the illegal activity; Amnesty offered to file sharers who turn themselves in and comply with the conditions of the industry's "clean slate" program; Data on the number of people using file-sharing services like KaZaA, iMesh, and Grokster; Discussion of why the recording industry is suing individual users rather than the file-sharing services; Warning from public interest groups that people can be sued by other copyright holders even if they get immunity from the recording industry in the United States.

Discusses how Universal Music Group plans to cut prices on compact discs by thirty percent. Impact of online music piracy on the sound recording industry; Expectations for prices to lower at retail stores; Importance of quality content; Need for marketing ventures that appeal to consumers; How Universal will shift funds from in-store promotions to television and print advertisements; Plans of the Recording Industry Association of America to file suit against those who are suspected of illegally trading music online.

Presents updates on companies in the information technology sector in the U.S. as of May 28, 2003, including the resignation of Nate Davis as president and chief operating office of XO Communications.

Reports on aggressive legal action by the U.S. record industry against college students for online piracy. Lawsuits that were filed against students running music-sharing Web sites; How students and others have been copying music over the Internet without paying for it; Focus of the recording industry on college campuses; How students justify their behavior; Views of record executives and college administrators; Details of the complaints; Background on the proliferation of campus file-trading networks; Outlook.

Discusses the use of realistic video games used to train United States soldiers. Military adaptation of popular commercial games; Moral aspects, such as the possibility that these simulators will make war seem game-like to soldiers; Use of computer simulation in war games.

Examines how instant messaging (IM) is moving into the workplace in the United States. Popularity of instant messages; Advantages of IM technology over phone calls and electronic mail; How the growth is driven in part by the availability of free IM software on the Internet; Observation that employees are bringing IM into the workplace; Why some employers are blocking the technology.

Reports on a pact made by a number of scientific journals in the U.S. to censor articles that could compromise national security.