News in Brief Archives

Nahren Anweya (left) and Rabia Kazan (right), of the Middle Eastern Women's Coalition, call for the resignation of United States Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on March 6th, 2019. The same day, others held a press conference to support Omar in the midst of her controversial comments criticizing pro-Israel lawmakers for potential "allegiance" to a foreign country.

Viewfinder: The Middle Eastern Women’s Coalition Calls for Omar’s Resignation

Members of the Middle Eastern Women's Coalition call for the resignation of United States Representative Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on March 6th, 2019.

Pacific Standard Staff

A woman in silhouette gazes out a window (and is a neutral image for stories about stuff like depression)

News in Brief

A New Drug for Severe Depression Could Make Treatment More Accessible

Scientists have studied the potential for ketamine to treat severe depression for years, but this is the first time the FDA has indicated its use as an antidepressant.

Kelley Czajka

Migrants seeking asylum in the United States are seen in the Juventud 2000 migrant shelter in Tijuana on March 5th, 2019.

Did Trump Just Prove There’s a Crisis on the Border?

The number of people arrested crossing the southern border skyrocketed last month, according to new statistics. But what's happening is more complicated than the numbers show.

Jack Herrera

Recent surveys have found that at least one in five female science, engineering, and medical students report being harassed by faculty or staff at their schools.

New Female Scientists Get $40,000 Less in Federal Grants Than New Male Ones, Study Finds

Bias in funding is an underappreciated barrier for women and underrepresented minorities in science.

Francie Diep

Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman speaks during a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions hearing entitled "Vaccines Save Lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks?" on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on March 5th, 2019.

Experts, Lawmakers, and One Ohio Teen Take on the Anti-Vaccine Movement

While anti-vaccine propaganda continues to spread online, experts and teens are talking about how to fight it.

Emily Moon

News in Brief

Turns Out Liberals and Conservatives Mainly Follow the Same News Sources

New research finds substantial overlaps in where liberals and conservatives get their news.

Tom Jacobs

Viewfinder: Celebrating Mardi Gras in New Orleans

A member of the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club marches down St. Charles Avenue during a Mardi Gras parade on March 5th, 2019, in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Pacific Standard Staff

Timothy Ray Brown, known as the "Berlin patient" and the first person to have been cured of AIDS, holds a press conference at the Westin City Center hotel on July 24th, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

News in Brief

Remembering the First Time a Patient Was Cured of HIV

As news of a second patient entering remission makes headlines, we take a look back at the first time doctors vanquished the virus.

Jack Herrera

An Afghan National Army soldier looks toward the Pakistani border only 200 meters away.

News in Brief

What a Troop Withdrawal in Afghanistan Would Mean for the U.S. and the Taliban

The American military is closing in an agreement to withdraw its troops in return for the Taliban refusing access to anti-American organizations on its territory.

Abdulkader Sinno

A wintry mix of precipitation falls during an unusually cold winter storm system on February 21st, 2019, in Los Angeles, California. Some parts of Los Angeles County received a brief dusting of snow during the storm.

Heavy Winter Precipitation May Not Impact Fire Season in California

Wet weather may seem like good news for the drought-plagued state, but a new study finds that it will have minimal effects on wildfire season.

Kelley Czajka