More bad news for dinosaurs: Chicxulub meteorite impact triggered global volcanic eruptions on the ocean floor [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](.
Edition: US
8 February 2018
[[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair](
Editor's note
Our planet was already a tumultuous place when the massive Chicxulub meteorite slammed into Earth. Scientists have long pondered how this extraterrestrial impact might have been related to intense volcanic activity and the mass extinction of dinosaurs, which were happening around the same time. New research from the University of Oregon’s Leif Karlstrom and Joseph Byrnes suggests the [meteorite set off an additional natural disaster]( – massive amounts of magma oozing up along the boundaries of undersea tectonic plates.
Over the next few days, President Trump will decide whether to allow the release of a top secret House Intelligence Committee memo that Democratic leaders say refutes allegations of surveillance abuses in the FBI. An expert on government secrecy, Austin Sarat of Amherst College, asks, “Does the public have a right to "full transparency” about what its government does? [Or are there reasonable limits](?“
A "culture of passing” enabled many students at Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., to graduate despite missing large chunks of the school year. Shaun Dougherty from the University of Connecticut shines light on [the dilemmas chronically absent students create]( – and what allowing them to graduate does to the value of a high school diploma.
Maggie Villiger
Science + Technology Editor
Top stories
Seismic shockwaves after a meteorite’s collision could affect systems all over the planet. solarseven/Shutterstock.com
[More bad news for dinosaurs: Chicxulub meteorite impact triggered global volcanic eruptions on the ocean floor](
Leif Karlstrom, University of Oregon; Joseph Byrnes, University of Minnesota
Research suggests a new threat to life on Earth from the meteorite's crash: Via seismic waves, the impact triggered massive undersea eruptions, as big as any ever seen in our planet's history.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Devin Nunes. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
[Is full transparency good for democracy?](
Austin Sarat, Amherst College
An expert on secrecy in government explains the downsides and limits of transparency.
Millions of American students miss large chunks of the school year. Shutterstock.com
[DC graduation scandal shows how chronic absenteeism threatens America's schools](
Shaun M. Dougherty, University of Connecticut; Michael Gottfried, University of California, Santa Barbara
A new report says a "culture of passing" led to the graduation scandal at Ballou High School in Washington, DC, but the scandal points to the much larger problem of chronic absenteeism in the US.
Health + Medicine
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[What is 'right to try,' and could it help?](
Morten Wendelbo, Texas A&M University ; Timothy Callaghan, Texas A&M University
The 'right to try' legislation is a political winner. But will it give terminally patients the help they need or only bring false hope?
Environment + Energy
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[Why privatizing Puerto Rico's power grid won't solve its energy problems](
Arturo Massol-Deyá, University of Puerto Rico - Humacao
Many Puerto Ricans are happy to see their broke power utility sold off to whoever can get the lights turned back on. But privatizing the island's energy grid may bring more problems than relief.
Arts + Culture
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[When treating sports injuries, does the West do it best?](
Nate Newman, Drake University
As the Olympics head to the Far East this month, two radically different approaches to training and treating athletes will be on display.
Economy + Business
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[Consumers are biggest losers of Trump's ongoing war on regulations](
Jeff Sovern, St. John's University
Mick Mulvaney has only been in charge of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for two months, but he's already made many decisions that will leave consumers worse off.
Ethics + Religion
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[What the joyous solitude of early hermits can teach us about being alone](
Kim Haines-Eitzen, Cornell University
The long, dark days of winter can be a particularly lonely time for some people. But hermits, in many religious traditions, often found joy in being alone.
Trending on site
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[Sessions' war on pot could speed up marijuana legalization nationwide](
Paul Seaborn, University of Denver
The attorney general's memo portended an end to a hands-off approach to this enforcement conundrum. It could backfire.
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[Why the global stock market crash doesn't really matter](
Jay L. Zagorsky, The Ohio State University
An economist explains why the Dow Jones industrial average's biggest-ever one-day drop shouldn't bother you too much.
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[How rich are the rich? If only you knew](
Gil B. Manzon Jr., Boston College
Income inequality, the most common way to measure the gap between the rich and the poor, only tells part of the story. Wealth inequality tells the rest.
Today’s quote
[As for the larger question of which treatments – Eastern or Western – are most effective, the research might not be crystal clear, but the medal counts might offer some clues.](
[When treating sports injuries, does the West do it best?](
Nate Newman
Drake University
[Nate Newman]
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