Feb 18, 2025
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A Newsday story on racial disparities in maternal mortality rates in New York featured an interview with Dr. Martine Hackett, associate professor and chair of Hofstra’s Department of Population Health. While national statistics have improved overall in recent years, experts say it will take more time to close the gap.
National statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show overall maternal mortality across the U.S. dropped for the second year in a row. However, while the rate for white women, decreased from 19 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022 to 14.5 in 2023, it rose from 49.5 to 50.3 for Black women.
Dr. Hackett, cofounder of Birth Justice Warriors, called the disparity “shocking” and said, “When you’re looking to address a problem as big and complex as maternal mortality, it is going to take a long time.”
Dr. Hackett's research focuses on public health and health inequities, particularly in the American suburbs and minority communities.
1 min
Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, recently joined FOX Weather to talk about his research that offers a virtual reality simulation of being caught in a rip current and teaches ways swimmers can navigate to safety.
1 min
Professor James Sample of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University continued to provide legal analysis for national and regional media this month, appearing on ABC News, MSNBC’s MS Now, CNN, Sirius XM and Newsday to discuss developments involving executive power, federal investigations, election law, and high-profile litigation. Across these appearances, Professor Sample examined legal disputes surrounding President Trump’s proposed anti-weaponization fund, Department of Justice investigations and enforcement actions, election administration and redistricting battles, and questions involving government ethics and accountability. He also provided analysis of major court proceedings, including litigation involving OpenAI and Elon Musk, as well as broader issues at the intersection of law, politics, and democratic governance. Full story: https://lawnews.hofstra.edu/2026/06/10/professor-james-sample-provides-legal-analysis-for-abc-news-cnn/
1 min
Beyond bad luck, could there be a reason why recent weekends have been more rainy than the rest of the week? From the start of spring to the end of May, it rained on half, or 10, of 20 weekend days. By comparison, it rained one-third of the 46 workweek days. Newsday interviewed Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, to see if there is a scientific explanation for the frequently soggy Saturdays and Sundays. According to the National Weather Service, data collected over five, 10 and 40 years found that rain was not any more frequent on weekends than weekdays. It also found no statistically significant change in the overall occurrence of rain events. “You try to slice up these data sets in all these different ways, and inevitably, you will find random patterns that at first seem like something meaningful.” But often, he said, “when you peel back the data, look at an appropriate sample size, you realize it goes away, there wasn’t anything actually meaningful here.”
Check out some other posts from Hofstra University
1 min
Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, recently joined FOX Weather to talk about his research that offers a virtual reality simulation of being caught in a rip current and teaches ways swimmers can navigate to safety.
1 min
Professor James Sample of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University continued to provide legal analysis for national and regional media this month, appearing on ABC News, MSNBC’s MS Now, CNN, Sirius XM and Newsday to discuss developments involving executive power, federal investigations, election law, and high-profile litigation. Across these appearances, Professor Sample examined legal disputes surrounding President Trump’s proposed anti-weaponization fund, Department of Justice investigations and enforcement actions, election administration and redistricting battles, and questions involving government ethics and accountability. He also provided analysis of major court proceedings, including litigation involving OpenAI and Elon Musk, as well as broader issues at the intersection of law, politics, and democratic governance. Full story: https://lawnews.hofstra.edu/2026/06/10/professor-james-sample-provides-legal-analysis-for-abc-news-cnn/
1 min
Beyond bad luck, could there be a reason why recent weekends have been more rainy than the rest of the week? From the start of spring to the end of May, it rained on half, or 10, of 20 weekend days. By comparison, it rained one-third of the 46 workweek days. Newsday interviewed Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, to see if there is a scientific explanation for the frequently soggy Saturdays and Sundays. According to the National Weather Service, data collected over five, 10 and 40 years found that rain was not any more frequent on weekends than weekdays. It also found no statistically significant change in the overall occurrence of rain events. “You try to slice up these data sets in all these different ways, and inevitably, you will find random patterns that at first seem like something meaningful.” But often, he said, “when you peel back the data, look at an appropriate sample size, you realize it goes away, there wasn’t anything actually meaningful here.”
