On Wednesday, Ford, GM and Toyota announced a new partnership to collaborate on safety standards for self-driving cars. The companies formed a consortium that will work with industry and government to expedite regulations on autonomous vehicles. Arthur Wheaton is an expert on the auto industry and director of Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs for the Worker Institute at Cornell University. He says that in an industry especially averse to uncertainty, working together to cut costs makes complete sense.

Economics and Business

Industrial and Labor Relations

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New York state passed a budget this week that includes measures that would end cash bail for all but certain violent felonies, among other reforms, and Cornell government professor and author of "Incarceration Nation", Peter Enns, says this change indicates New York is a leader in reforming the system.

Law and Policy

New York State

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April 4 marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The alliance, whichmany credit for helping secure a period of unprecedented peace in Europe, has repeatedly been called into question by President Trump who says that NATO’s financial burden is unfairly tilted towards the U.S. Cornell historians say that despite its current challenges, NATO’s legacy is one of remarkable success.

International

Arts and Sciences

Law and Policy

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An obvious and tasty accompaniment for pancakes (and anything else it touches on a breakfast plate), maple syrup is also a healthy sweetener for New York’s agricultural economy. Earning New York state producers an estimated $141 million annually, syrup and maple-related products are big business. With the second of two New York State Maple Weekends hosted March 30 – 31 at various “sugar houses” around the state, Cornell Cooperative Extension Lewis County Executive Director Michele Ledoux talks about how the number two maple syrup producing state in the U.S. produces, processes and markets a wide array of delicious sweet and savory maple products.

Food & Agriculture

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With at least 27 species of ticks in the eastern U.S., ticks and tick-borne diseases have become a serious public health issue. Cornell University experts are warning that in 2019 the Asian longhorned tick will track further into the U.S., humans may be struck with tick-borne infections within 15 minutes of contact, and pets will be exposed to ticks simply by running on a freshly mowed lawn. Laura Harrington, Laura Goodman, Manigandan Lejeune Virapin, and Matt Frye are available for interviews on tick-borne diseases, prevention tips for humans and animals, advice on pest management, and invading tick species.

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

Life Sciences & Veterinary Medicine

Agriculture and Life Sciences

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Rockland County, New York officials declared a state of emergency today and banned anyone who is under 18 years of age and unvaccinated against the measles from public spaces for 30 days or until they receive the MMR vaccination. Cynthia Leifer, professor of immunology at Cornell University, says the general public is at risk when parents choose not to vaccinate their children and compares the situation to the recklessness of drunk drivers.

Health, Nutrition & Medicine

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Rick Geddes, founding director of the Cornell Program in Infrastructure Policy and expert on infrastructure, says congestion pricing has proven successful in other cities around the world and could be beneficial to New York City on many levels.

New York City

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Election results are slowly rolling in in Thailand, accompanied by growing complaints of irregularities. According to the votes counted so far, the pro-military party is set to retain power. Thomas Pepinsky, professor of government at Cornell University and an expert in South East Asian politics, says preliminary results suggest the outcome is unlikely to bring stability to the country’s politics.

International

Arts and Sciences

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Doug Kriner, professor in Cornell University’s Government Department and author of the book “Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power,” says that the Mueller report is likely to represent just the beginning of investigations that will threaten President Donald Trump’s presidency.

Law, Government & Public Policy

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On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to “promote free and open debate on college and university campuses.” Trump said the order was the first in a series of steps to defend free speech on American campuses which, he said, have become increasingly hostile to the First Amendment.  Wendy Williams and Stephen Ceci, professors of developmental phycology at Cornell University, have written about the treatment of controversial topics on campus. When it comes to topics some people find offensive, they say, college campuses today are hardly bastions of free speech.

Arts & Humanities

Human Ecology

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