This year’s flu season is on full display. Associate professor Nicolas Ziebarth is an international expert on sick leave and studies the interaction of social security systems with labor markets and population health. His research shows paid sick leave has significantly reduced influenza-like-illnesses (ILI) infection rates.

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Damian Helbling, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Cornell University, comments on the environmental impact of chemical compounds known as PFAS.

Physical Sciences & Engineering

Engineering

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

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On Tuesday, an advisory panel on school integration and equity in New York City released a report suggesting that city government pursue policies that would address segregation in NYC’s public school system. Noliwe Rooks says that the report does not sufficiently account for entrenched racism and opportunity hoarding on the part of privileged, white parents.

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Spangler Candy Company announced recently they are not producing Sweethearts candies for Valentine’s Day this year. Kathryn LaTour, says stopping production could be positive for the brand but is risky since young consumers will not have the candies to create memories this Valentine’s Day.

Economics and Business

School of Hotel Administration

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

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The United States and North Korea are set to continue talks this week in preparation for the second Trump-Kim summit in Hanoi later this month. Thomas Pepinsky, a professor of international politics and an expert in South East Asia at Cornell University, says that while all eyes are on the U.S. and North Korea now, we should not forget the broader regional context, as well as the significance of Vietnam being chosen to host the summit. 

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Lara Skinner, executive director of the Worker Institute at Cornell University, says the Green New Deal plans should include sufficient planning, financial support and inclusion of workers' voices.

Energy, Environment & Sustainability

Law and Policy

Cornell in DC

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Elizabeth Sanders, professor of government at Cornell University who studies American political development, says a Green New Deal could succeed, but will likely dissipate without risk-takers and creative funding solutions.

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North Korea dominated the foreign policy section of Trump’s address to the nation, on Tuesday, with the announcement of a new summit with Kim Jong Un in Vietnam at the end of the month. Sarah Kreps, professor of government at Cornell University, is an expert on international conflict. Her recent research focuses on how matters of foreign policy affect Trump’s approval rating. She says that compared to a Democrat, Trump faces less political risk as he negotiates with North Korea.

Law, Government & Public Policy

International

Arts and Sciences

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New York State is facing a $2 billion deficit, said Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday. Cristobal Young, a sociologist at Cornell University who studies income inequality and the effects of taxation on the rich, comments on Cuomo’s explanation that the deficit was caused by Trump’s federal tax cuts.

New York State

Economics and Business

Law and Policy

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Christopher Dunn, a botanist, ecologist and director of the Cornell Botanic Gardens, comments on what melting Himalayan glaciers means for indigenous peoples.

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