PUBLICATIONS

Author: Laura Pettigrew July 17, 2026 A broom factory for the blind [Image credit: National Photo Company Collection, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons] The History and Current Status of Subminimum Wage in the United States In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act was passed in the United States (U.S.). It banned child labor, set overtime pay, and established a minimum wage (Grossman, n.d.). It also established exceptions to the minimum wage. One possible exception is people

Author: Kate Minichiello July 16, 2026 A woman carries a baby near a residential house damaged after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, June 2, 2026 [Image credit: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP] Introduction The Russia-Ukraine war has taken a back-seat when it comes to dominating news headlines while the Iran war replaced it. The Russia-Ukraine war has now gone on longer than World War I and shows no signs of de-escalation, putting civilians at continued risk; however, Ukrainian citiz

Author: Yumna Azeez July 15, 2026 Gaza City's al-Hassaina mosque, damaged in an Israeli bombardment during the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via The Guardian] Introduction The destruction of cultural heritage has increasingly emerged as a deliberate tactic of warfare. Aimed not only at physical eradication, but also to undermine the identity, memory, and social fabric of targeted communities (Brosché et al.,

Author: Kaitlyn V. Andres, MS & MPH July 14, 2026 A food giveaway in San Diego where flags and banners let LGBT people know they are welcome there. [Image credit: Feeding San Diego] Introduction As acceptance and awareness increase, more adults in the United States (U.S.) are identifying as a member of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community--that is as something other than heterosexual and/or cisgender. According to a Gallup poll, about 9% of U.S. adults id

Author: Jim Hamilton July 9, 2026 President of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenka. [Image credit: Serge Serebro, Vitebsk Popular News, via Wikimedia Commons] Introduction On March 19, 2026, the Belarusian government, led by longtime authoritarian ruler Alyaksandr Lukashenka, released 250 political prisoners in exchange for the lifting of several United States (U.S.) sanctions on key sectors of the country's economy. This marked the largest in a series of U.S.-brokered prisoner exc

Author: Gaynor Vambe July 8, 2026 Bikita Minerals' new spodumene plant [Photo credit: Newzwire] Introduction Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in Southern Africa that is richly endowed with a variety of mineral resources, including lithium, gold, platinum, nickel, and chrome (Murombo, 2010). Zimbabwe’s mining sector is dominated by transnational mining corporations, particularly in lithium, platinum, gold, and diamonds, with foreign companies such as Valterra Platinum, Implats

Author: Sarisha Harikrishna July 7, 2026 Malaysian mothers and their children holding up placards with the words ‘Saya Juga Anak Malaysia’ (I am also a child of Malaysia) [Image credit: Family Frontiers via Al Jazeera] Introduction: A History of Struggle and Reclamation of Dignity After over 450 years of foreign colonial rule by various nations including the United Kingdom, Portugal, Japan, and the Netherlands, Malaysia’s fight for sovereignty succeeded on August 31, 1957. A

Author: Jasmyn J. Tang, MPH July 2, 2026 [Image credit: Pixabay] Brief Summary Medical school admissions assess a multitude of skills and aptitudes required for successful matriculation. However, concerns about the diversity of the student body and racial/ethnic admissions violations led to legal precedents that significantly decreased the number of matriculants from underrepresented groups in medicine within the United States. University medical school investigations are ong

Author: Irem Cakmak, LLM July 1, 2026 Women holding a sign that says “Reverse the decision, enforce the Convention.” [Image credit: Emir Eğricesu on Unsplash] Effective from July 1, 2021, Turkiye officially withdrew from the Istanbul Convention. The Convention was drafted by the Council of Europe, following a domestic violence case of gender-based violence and femicide within Turkiye itself. Turkiye became the first signatory and the first withdrawal from the convention. The

Author: Mathilde Guenin June 30, 2026 View the interactive report on Tableau. Since 2019, the total number of displaced people has risen from 49.1 million in 2019 to 83.4 million in 2024, driven by both conflict and disasters. Conflict remains the dominant driver, with conflict-related internal displacement rising from 44.6 million (2019) to 73.5 million (2024), accounting for approximately 90% of all internally displaced people. Conflict-Related Displacement and Aid For bot