Most of us suspect the rich have a great deal going for them, thanks to the widening wealth gap, but it may be even more obscene than we imagine; it may be unwise for the gay-rights movement to focus too much attention on the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act; meanwhile, scientists have figured out which neurons signal pain and itching. These items and more below.

Why Income Inequality Is So Much Worse Than We Realize A wealth of new research confirms the poor have no idea how good the rich have it and vice versa.

U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015 10% of Americans own a smartphone but do not have broadband at home, and 15% own a smartphone but say that they have a limited number of options for going online other than their cell phone.

Arkansas Governor Will Not Sign Religious Freedom Bill On Tuesday, Arkansas’ legislature passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a measure with the same name—and the same controversial clauses potentially permitting businesses to refuse service to LGBT customers—as an Indiana law that’s also been in the news.

The Misdirected Zeal of Same-Sex Marriage Converts It is immoral to discriminate against gays—and irrational to make a religious freedom law in Indiana the focus of the gay-rights movement.

How Corporations Took Over the First Amendment More and more, it’s companies—not individuals—that are benefiting from free-speech rights.

Pain and Itch Neurons Found Inhibitory nerve cells in the spinal cord stop the transmission of pain and itch signals in mice.

Why a G.O.P. Gambit Backfired in Indiana On Monday, Tim Cook, of Apple, and Marco Rubio, of the Senate, agreed on the answer to a question that Governor Mike Pence, of Indiana, has gone to absurd lengths to dodge.

Dilemma for Israel as Palestinians Join War Crimes Court The Palestinian Authority becomes the 123rd member of the International Criminal Court on Wednesday, a major step that could move its decades-long conflict with Israel into a courtroom.

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