The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony Thursday under new safety measures being taken as the campus is roiled by protests stemming from the Israel-Hamas war. The university announced the move Thursday, the day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. Colleges around the country have called in police to break up demonstrations, resulting in ugly scuffles and dozens of arrests. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The USC ceremony was scheduled for May 10. The university says it will still host dozens of commencement events, including all th ..read more

It’s tough to resist squeezing a juicy pimple. You probably want to get rid of it quickly and may feel like you know exactly how to do it after having watched hundreds of pimple-popping videos online. Dermatologists get the temptation, but say you should leave your zits alone. “As a general rule, you shouldn’t pop your pimples,” says Dr. Jody Alpert Levine, a dermatologist and director of dermatology at Plastic Surgery & Dermatology of NYC.  [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Pimples form when excess oil, bacteria, and dirt clog hair follicles. When the trapped follicles stay beneath ..read more

(PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti) — Ariel Henry resigned Thursday as prime minister of Haiti, leaving the way clear for a new government to be formed in the Caribbean country, which has been wracked by gang violence that killed or injured more than 2,500 people from January to March. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Henry presented his resignation in a letter signed in Los Angeles, dated April 24, and released on Thursday by his office on the same day that a council tasked with choosing a new prime minister and Cabinet for Haiti was sworn in. Henry’s remaining Cabinet meanwhile chose Economy and Finan ..read more

After decades of waging a ruinous and counterproductive war on drugs, the U.S. government is finally taking steps in a new direction. President Biden has issued mass pardons for marijuana possession offenses and urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to reschedule pot, so that it may be legally prescribed by physicians. The Food and Drug Administration has been teeing up clinical trials for MDMA and magic mushrooms. Lawmakers from both parties have endorsed “harm reduction” strategies to combat the opioid crisis. Compared to the zero-tolerance policies of the recent past, this emerging ap ..read more

Can a President order a political rival’s assassination and avoid criminal prosecution? What if he sold nuclear secrets to a foreign adversary or staged a coup? These are some of the hypothetical questions posed during oral arguments at the Supreme Court on Thursday as the Justices wrestled with the practical implications of what could happen if they grant former President Donald Trump immunity from criminal prosecution in special counsel Jack Smith’s election interference case against him. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] “This case has huge implications for the presidency, for the future o ..read more

Puerto Rico is participating in the U.S. presidential primaries in late April: Republicans selected delegates for the Republican National Convention (RNC) on April 21, and Democrats hold their primaries a week later. While Puerto Ricans cannot vote in the general election despite being U.S. citizens, they do have the power to shape presidential contests. Puerto Rico will send 23 delegates to the RNC, while Democrats will have 56 delegates from Puerto Rico at the Democratic National Convention. This is more delegates than many states have at party conventions. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true ..read more

On Wednesday, Joe Biden signed into law  a bill that could lead to TikTok being banned in the U.S. if ByteDance, the app’s Chinese-owned parent company, does not sell it within a year. Lawmakers are increasingly worried that the app could pose national security concerns to the U.S. if the  Chinese government were to access data collected by the app.  [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] TikTok’s CEO, Shou Zi Chew, spoke in front of Congress in January of this year, defending the platform’s position. “We have not been asked for any data by the Chinese government and we have never p ..read more

What does it tell us, my students ask, that nine years after Donald Trump oozed down the golden escalator and into contention as Leader of the Free World, the American press, mainstream edition, is still arguing about how to cover him?   [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Once the charge was that he gets millions of dollars in free media because reporters obsessively overcovers him; now it’s that he gets a free ride because they have outrage fatigue. If you fact-check his lies, you risk spreading them further; if you don’t, you are normalizing nonsense. Round and round the arguments ..read more

I might like to think of my body as a thing of bone and blood and tissue and water, but as I recently learned, it’s also a thing of plastic—home to an alarming amount of plastic toxins known as bisphenols. Used to manufacture mostly hard, durable plastics—such as water bottles and takeout containers—bisphenols are often found in the company of phthalates, which are used to make more flexible plastics such as raincoat linings, vinyl boots, and packing tape. Both types of chemicals are known to be hormone disruptors, leading to numerous health problems, including early puberty, obesity, heart ..read more

LONDON — Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in serious condition after undergoing operations, a U.K. government official said Thursday. The animals were among a group of four horses that broke free during routine exercises Wednesday near Buckingham Palace and caused chaos as they galloped loose through central London during morning rush hour. A fifth horse that tried to bolt hadn’t been able to break free. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Two of the horses underwent operations and ..read more