“I’m sure Vera would be absolutely furious.”

— Jacqueline Mitton, co-author of a biography of astronomer Vera Rubin, whose landmark research on dark matter earned her the National Medal of Science. Rubin was an outspoken advocate for the equal treatment and representation of women in science, but revisions to her online biography on the website for the federally funded observatory that bears her name removed references to current inequalities and the observatory continuing Rubin’s work on removing barriers for women in science.

While there are far more seismic changes afoot in America than the revision of three paragraphs on a website, Lisa Song writes, the page’s edit trail provides an opportunity to peer into how institutions and agencies are navigating the new administration’s intolerance of anything perceived as “woke” and illuminates a calculation officials must make in answering a wide-open question: How far is too far when it comes to acknowledging inequality and advocating against it?

Half of all Americans die in hospice. To qualify for the government benefit, two doctors must certify a patient as terminally ill, with a life expectancy of six months or less. When done right, hospice offers Medicare beneficiaries an intimate, holistic and vital service — one that allows them to experience as little pain as possible and to spend meaningful time with loved ones.

But a 2022 ProPublica investigation of the hospice industry found that the design of the program enables some profit-seeking providers to exploit seniors with few consequences. 

We developed a guide to help you research hospice providers and spot common signs of hospice fraud.