Mass shootings that result in mass casualties are almost a weekly occasion in the United States, whichnot coincidentallyalso has the most guns per capita in the world. Viewed from outside the U.S., it seems that Americans are not bothered by the constant deadly gun violence and have simply adapted ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/05/05/assessing-the-social-and-emotional-costs-of-mass-shootings-with-twitter-data/

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On Earth Day, April 22, President Joe Biden hosted a global summit on climate change to emphasize that the United States is back in the game on climate policy and to encourage greater climate ambition among other countries. Just over 100 days into his administration, Biden has largely put his cards ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/planetpolicy/2021/05/10/barriers-to-achieving-us-climate-goals-are-more-political-than-technical/

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So many peoplefrom U.S. President Joe Biden to U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson to World Bank Managing Director Axel van Trotsenburghave been exhorting us to Build Back Better after the COVID-19 pandemic that it is worth examining what is implied by the phrase. First, it suggests that the way we ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/11/3-reasons-why-we-may-build-back-better-after-covid-19/

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The short-term economic and health impacts of COVID-19 in Africa have been myriad, and policymakers are just beginning to anticipate and prepare for the pandemics long-term effects. Recently, another consequence of the pandemic has been under study: How might the pandemic be affecting conflict in ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/05/13/figure-of-the-week-covid-19s-impact-on-conflict/

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On July 10, 2021, Bab al-Hawa, the last remaining border crossing between Turkey and the Syrian rebel province of Idlib, may close as Russia plans to veto an extension to U.N. Security Council Resolution 2533. For the 3.4 million civilians in Idlibover 2 million of them displaced from elsewhere in ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/13/the-coming-crisis-in-idlib/

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The European Unions proposed artificial intelligence (AI) regulation, released on April 21, is a direct challenge to Silicon Valleys common view that law should leave emerging technology alone. The proposal sets out a nuanced regulatory structure that bans some uses of AI, heavily regulates high-...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/05/04/machines-learn-that-brussels-writes-the-rules-the-eus-new-ai-regulation/

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Today Facebooks Oversight Board, (its self-designated supreme court) upheld the decision to ban Trump from its platform. His account was suspended the day after the January 6 insurrection for his role in promoting and condoning the violent attacks on the Capitol that resulted in 5 deaths, at least ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/05/05/what-will-facebooks-ban-mean-for-donald-trumps-future/

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It is unclear whether child-care issues will prevent women from returning to employment as the economy recovers, wrote economist Betsey Stevenson (University of Michigan) in a July 2020 essay for The Hamilton Project. In the essay, Stevenson laid out a set of economic indicators and issues that if ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/05/06/mothers-are-being-left-behind-in-the-economic-recovery-from-covid-19/

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U.S. troops are beginning the process ofleaving Afghanistan, after almost 20 years of fighting. Announcing his decision to complete the U.S. withdrawal by September,President Biden declared: I believed that our presence in Afghanistan should be focused on the reason we went in the first place: to ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/05/04/dont-expect-an-al-qaida-reboot-in-afghanistan/

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Through the course of the pandemic, we have investigated the disproportionate pandemic impacts on U.S. families. In June, we reported that Black and Hispanic Americans faced higher rates of housing hardship than white Americans, and we emphasized the importance of identifying a long-term rather than...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/04/30/inequalities-in-housing-hardship-declined-because-everybody-is-now-worse-off/

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In addition to its devastating public health impacts, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated inequality around the world. Poor populations have disproportionately experienced COVID-19 infection while enduring greater financial hardship as a result of lockdown orders and business closures. And despite...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/07/how-ai-powered-poverty-maps-can-increase-equity-in-the-covid-19-response/

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In just a few short years, the idea of free college has moved from a radical idea to mainstream Democratic thinking. President Biden made free college one of his core campaign planks, and one that the first lady has been promoting for years. In his speech to Congress two weeks ago, the president ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2021/05/10/is-free-college-a-good-idea-increasingly-evidence-says-yes/

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A majority of Americans understand that climate change is a problem. A recent poll found that about six in 10 adults in the United Sates say the effects of global warming are already happening and a slightly greater proportion believe human activities are to blame for the Earths rise in temperature...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/planetpolicy/2021/05/10/republicans-in-congress-are-out-of-step-with-the-american-public-on-climate/

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The nations current antitrust laws have historical regulatory and enforcement precedents. Recent congressional hearings featuring Big Tech companies have begun to question whether existing laws are adaptable to current corporate behaviors and provide sufficient policing of deceptive or anti-...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/05/03/techtank-podcast-episode-18-what-to-expect-from-the-biden-administration-on-antitrust-regulation-and-big-tech/

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Short of dealing with a crisis, a presidents largest responsibility at the start of an administration is to fill the highest levels of government with hand-picked appointees. Doing so enables the chief executive to steer the massive ship of state in the direction that advances their policy ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/05/03/president-bidens-commitment-to-diversity-in-the-first-100-days/

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The Biden administration has begun to outline the results of its recently completed review of policy toward North Korea, but only in general terms apparently designed to preserve its negotiating options and avoid giving its critics an early target to shoot at. The administration has adopted the ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/05/04/the-rollout-of-the-biden-administrations-north-korea-policy-review-leaves-unanswered-questions/

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In a recent article from the International Monetary Funds quarterly publication Finance and Development, researchers explore how scientific advances in renewable energy technology, its falling costs, and the continents geography can contribute to renewable energy becoming a prominent, affordable, ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/05/05/figures-of-the-week-africas-renewable-energy-potential/

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On April 22nd President Biden kicked off a virtual Leadership Summit on Climate by declaring that the US will cut its global warming emissions in half by the end of the decade. This goal, as well as the summit, which included 40 world leaders, affirmed President Bidens commitment to combatting ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2021/05/12/tax-carbon-and-consumption-not-middle-class-income/

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In the past four months the COVID-19 vaccination campaign has gone from a desperate, chaotic search for scarce vaccines to enough vaccines for everyone who wants one. The problem now is different; in order to get to herd immunity most experts say we need at least 80% of the population vaccinated, ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2021/05/12/covid-19-vaccines-the-endgame/

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The belief that AI dominance is imperative for economic development, military control, and strategic competitiveness has accelerated AI development initiatives across countries. The release of national strategic plans has been accompanied by billions of dollars in investment as well as concrete ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/05/13/analyzing-artificial-intelligence-plans-in-34-countries/

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Kenyas first national wildlife census, South Africa ends captive lion breeding, and Zimbabwe intends to reintroduce rhinos to its wildlife parks Last Friday, Kenya began conducting its first-ever national wildlife census. The $2.3 million conservation project aims to improve knowledge about wildlife...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/05/15/africa-in-the-news-wildlife-horn-of-africa-and-infrastructure-updates/

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South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott shocked many people when in response to President Joe Bidens Congressional address he stated thatAmericais not a racist country.He admitted that he himself had experiencedthe pain of discrimination, and notedI know what it feels like to be pulled over for ...

https://www.brookings.edu/2021/05/04/is-the-united-states-a-racist-country/

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Over the past 50 years, the United States has experienced the second-largest wave of immigration in its history. As a result, the share of recent immigrants (either foreign-born or children of foreign-born) in public schools reached 23% in 2015, with concentrations over 70% in several school ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2021/04/30/do-immigrants-harm-native-students-academically/

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Todays politics and public discourse is refracted through a prism of polarization. That is evident in debate about Section 230, the once obscure provision in communications law that has become a lightning rod for concerns about the power of and the content on social media platforms like Facebook, ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/05/14/section-230-reform-deserves-careful-and-focused-consideration/

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The summer learning experiences were talking about now really need to be better than they ever were in the past. - Secretary Miguel Cardona, U.S. Department of Education, in the Washington Post Summer schooltwo words that conjure a memory of poorly performing students forced to attend a summer boot ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2021/05/13/rush-to-summer-school-a-moment-for-celebration-and-caution/

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Lately, weve been thinking about how government decisionmakers around the world adopt education innovations at scale. Research shows that national and regional decisionmakers are continually calculating costs and benefits of whichever innovation theyre considering. There are always competing ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/education-plus-development/2021/05/11/when-pilot-studies-arent-enough-using-data-to-promote-innovations-at-scale/

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The latest round of Israeli-Palestinian fighting began in Jerusalem, but it has spread throughout Israel and to Gaza. The bloodshed could become more intense, leading to another Israeli ground operation in Gaza and far more casualties than weve already seen. Even if Israel batters the Hamas leaders ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/05/12/hamas-tries-to-seize-the-day/

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Mozambiques LNG project indefinitely suspended; OPEC maintains global oil demand projections Following insurgent attacks in Mozambique in January and March, this week French oil giant Total has indefinitely suspended its $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the countrys northern Cabo ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/africa-in-focus/2021/05/01/africa-in-the-news-mozambique-chad-and-climate-change-updates/

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President Joe Biden has made it clear that he really, really wants to work with Europe. After the four traumatic years of the Trump presidency, that seems an opportunity not to be missed. Also, Moscow and Beijing are undeterred by U.S. and EU sanctions over the jailing of Russian dissident Alexei ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/05/04/hello-berlin-germanys-future-raises-foreign-policy-concerns-for-allies/

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The global financial system is infected with dirty money. Despite decades of progress in strengthening policies aimed at stamping out cross-border tax evasion and money laundering, many of those looking to stash their money overseas to avoid taxation or prosecution can still do so with relative ...

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/future-development/2021/05/05/the-hacker-the-tax-haven-and-what-200-million-in-offshore-deposits-can-tell-us-about-the-fight-against-illicit-wealth/

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