The Vatican’s orthodoxy office has issued a formal response to a question about whether Catholic clergy have the authority to bless same-sex unions, saying the Catholic Church won’t bless same-sex unions since God “cannot bless sin.” Professors Landon Schnabel (sociology) and Kim Haines-Eitzen (religious studies) comment.
The Biden administration plans to unveil its comprehensive immigration bill on Thursday alongside Congressional leaders. The following Cornell University experts, including Gustavo Flores-Macias, professor of government and the former Director of Public Affairs in Mexico’s Consumer Protection Agency, speak about the bill.
NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA/JPL-Caltech
NASA’s Perseverance rover fires up its descent stage engines as it nears the Martian surface in this illustration.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has been on a journey to Mars since its launch in July 2020 and is set to land on the red planet on Feb. 18. Alex Hayes, professor of astronomy, is a co-investigator for Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z — a set of stereo cameras that will be the “eyes of the rover.”
Facebook announced on Wednesday that it will begin implementing changes to its algorithm to reduce political content on its users’ news feeds. Doing so, Facebook risks sowing more discord, says Sarah Kreps, professor of government.
Magnus Fiskesjö, professor of anthropology at Cornell University and expert on Southeast Asia, comments on continuing protesters in Myanmar against the military coup that reversed last November’s election.
With support from the National Institutes of Health, Phillip J. Milner, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, is developing metal-organic frameworks—a class of porous, crystalline nanomaterials—that can stabilize volatile fluorine-containing reagents.
After earning an undergraduate degree from New York University, David Dunham, doctoral student in Germanic studies from Springfield, Virginia, chose to pursue further study at Cornell due to the strength of the Germanic studies field and the university’s location in Ithaca.
On Wednesday, former Senator and Vice President Joe Biden will be inaugurated as President of the United States. His inauguration takes place amid continued challenges presented by COVID-19 and the violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
U.S. Capitol Police failed to stop a mob of Trump supporters from breaching the Capitol building on Wednesday and disrupting Congress’ final electoral count.
The results of the November 2020 elections are schedule to be certified by Congress this week, as allies of President Trump seek to delegitimize the election and the president was revealed to have pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find more votes” for him.
The first mention of the word “coronavirus” in a Cornell Chronicle story in 2020 came on Jan. 29, when the university designated mainland China as an elevated-risk destination, and imposed travel restrictions on students, faculty and staff.
The White House issued an executive order this week requiring state and local governments to issue occupational licenses to workers who have received a similar license in another jurisdiction — as long as they are in good standing. The goal of the new order is to increase economic and geographic mobility.
Today, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced major changes to the way the city’s middle and high schools admit their students. Those changes include eliminating all admissions screens for middle schools for at least one year; eliminating a policy that allows some high schools to give students who live nearby first claim at spots in the school; and issuing grants to be used by schools to develop diversity and integration plans.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the country, federal data shows more than a third of Americans live in areas where hospitals are running critically short on intensive care beds. The data has caused some panic about the possibility of health care rationing over the coming months.
Today New York City Councilman Daniel Dromm is set to introduce a bill that prohibits solitary confinement as a means of punishment. On Friday, the New York City council will hold a hearing on the proposed bill, fast-tracking the process to stop the controversial practice.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro claimed victory after congressional elections this week, consolidating power in the National Assembly, Venezuela’s last remaining independent political institution. Many influential opposition leaders boycotted the election.
Lawmakers in Israel passed a preliminary measure on Wednesday to dissolve the coalition government, headed by Benjamin Netanyahu. If negotiations between parties does not stall the dissolution, it would result in a fourth election in just two years.