Critics question the timing of the newest referendum, coming about a month after Puerto Rico’s governor announced the island would enter a bankruptcy-like process to restructure part of its $73 billion public debt. “Pushing statehood under normal times would be difficult enough; to push while literally under bankruptcy court is absolutely ridiculous,” said Amilcar Barreto, […]

Prosecutors must prove that Carter’s actions directly caused Roy’s death, though not that she acted intentionally, Cevallos said. If convicted in juvenile court, where she’s being tried because of her age at the time of the alleged crime, Carter could spend 20 years in prison. “The wrinkle here is whether she coerced him or pressured […]

John Kwoka, a professor of economics at Northeastern University in Boston, believes that taking a tougher line on mergers and acquisitions won’t necessarily be enough to combat the rising power of giants like Amazon. These firms also gain power as they amass user data and shape the flow of information, controlling consumer access to the […]

But Northeastern University School of Law professor Leo Beletsky isn’t convinced the FDA’s request will do anything to help the crisis. “It allows policymakers at the FDA and elsewhere to feel like they’re doing something,” explained Beletsky, who studies drug policy. He predicts the powerful pharmaceutical industry will likely scare the FDA out of asking […]

Drinking water for 15 million Americans in 27 states is contaminated with a toxic chemical that was used to make nonstick cookware, according to a new report released Thursday. These chemicals, known as PFCs (perfluorochemicals), have been linked to cancer, thyroid disease and weakened immune systems. Even small concentrations in drinking water is considered a […]

Specialists say it may signal there has not have been enough awareness, outreach, and education for school officials, campus police, and students about identifying, taking seriously, and reporting hate crimes, and administrators may not have been diligent about tracking statistics. “It raises questions,” said Jack McDevitt, director of the Institute on Race and Justice at […]

A new study released Thursday by the non-profit Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University in Boston shows harmful types of PFCs, known as PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) or PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate), can be found in drinking water systems in 27 U.S. states and in the tap water supplies of 15 million people.

David DeSteno, a psychology professor as Northeastern, explained that there are a couple of methods people can use to build loyalty and trust. One is, you meet someone, work with them, and learn about whether they’re going to have integrity and cooperate with you, DeSteno said. “Trust is a bet that a person is going […]

“Most involuntary manslaughter cases involve physical action, but her words and text messages provided the action,” said Daniel Medwed, a professor of law and criminal justice at Northeastern University’s School of Law. “The question is whether her morally despicable behavior constitutes manslaughter under the law, and I don’t know that it does.”

Among the sites, tracked by Northeastern University researchers, are 21 military bases, 20 industrial facilities and seven civilian firefighting locations. Phil Brown, Northeastern University’s Social Science Environmental Health Institute director, said the hope of the tracking project is to make more Americans aware of the problem’s ubiquity. “Chemical policy has not done an adequate job […]

Leo Beletsky, a Northeastern University professor researching the use of murder charges for drug overdoses, said prosecution like this can actually hurt. “These kinds of prosecutions, I believe, run counter to efforts to encourage people to seek help in all of this,” Beletsky said. “…We misappropriate public funding toward things that are counterproductive instead of […]

Max Abrahms, an expert on terrorism and radical Islam at Northeastern University, said that counterterrorism services are often unfairly criticized. Terrorism is very difficult to counter for two main reasons, Abrahms said: terrorists are indiscriminate in their targets, and they are prepared to die. However, he said the last two attacks in the U.K. “reflect […]