Vagus nerve stimulation may tame autoimmune diseases The next big advance in treating diseases like rheumatoid arthritis could be tiny pulses of electricity delivered to the vagus nerve. Jon Hamilton
Forgotten for 138 years, a Black composer's magnum opus finds a stage Morgiane, perhaps the oldest opera by a Black American, finally receives its full public performance, shedding light on the forgotten heyday of opera in New Orleans. Matt Bloom
Amid intense grief, a college student is comforted by a stranger on a plane When Cara Beth Rogers was studying abroad in college, her brother died in an accident. On the plane ride home, a stranger made her overwhelming grief a bit easier to bear. Laura Kwerel
How corporate America got DEI wrong President Trump is accelerating the attacks on diversity-in-business programs. But DEI experts say this may be the wakeup call big companies need. Maria Aspan
Rubio warns of U.S. action if Panama does not curb Chinese influence around the canal Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened unspecified action if Panama does not take steps to lessen Chinese influence over the Panama Canal. Juliana Kim
Trump used fentanyl to justify tariffs, but the crisis was already easing The White House says fentanyl smuggled to the U.S. justifies tariffs against Canada, China and Mexico. But fentanyl deaths and smuggling have been dropping fast — and Canada plays almost no role. Brian Mann
Why does Musk want USAID 'to die'? And why did its website disappear? Under the Trump administration, the U.S. agency that funds aid projects has faced layoffs, a stop action order for most aid efforts and a disruption of its website. Now Elon Musk says it should 'die.' Melody Schreiber
Your ears can't prick up, but your ear muscles sure try Humans actually have vestigial muscles that activate when listening closely to something, even though people lost the ability to really move their ears about 25 million years ago. Nell Greenfieldboyce
Astronomers are tracking an asteroid that could hit Earth in 2032 The odds are about 1% that the football field-sized object could hit the Earth, but that makes it the closest call in more than 20 years. Scott Neuman
How did racist mass texts bypass some anti-spam guardrails after the election? Americans across the country received harmful hate messages via text after the election. The communication industry has been trying to figure out how it happened. Jenna McLaughlin
