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TikTok Sued for "Wreaking Havoc" on Teen Mental Health
Source: BBC News - BusinessMore than a dozen states in the U.S. have sued TikTok, accusing the social media platform of helping to drive a mental health crisis among teenagers. A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country allege that the company uses addictive features to hook children to the app and that it has intentionally misled the public about the safety of prolonged use. TikTok called the lawsuits "disappointing" and said it would fight them.
Damage to Brainstem Implicated in Long COVID
Source: United Press International - Health NewsDamage to the brainstem could be behind the physical and psychological effects of long COVID, a new study suggests. Brain scans of 30 long COVID patients found they had damage to the region of the brainstem associated with breathlessness, fatigue, and anxiety, researchers reported Monday in the journal Brain. Post-mortem studies of people who died of severe COVID-19 have also shown changes in their brainstem, researchers said in background notes.
3% of U.S. High School Students Identify As Transgender, Survey Finds
Source: U.S. News and World ReportAbout 3% of U.S. high school students identify as transgender, according to the first federal attempt to gather national data on trans teens. Another 2% question their gender identity, results from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey showed. The survey also found that trans and gender-questioning teens face much higher rates of bullying, persistent sadness, and suicidal thoughts or behaviors compared with their cisgender peers.
Mental Health App May Help Prevent Depression in Young People
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthGlobally, concern is growing about high and steadily increasing rates of anxiety and depression in young people. A pair of studies published in The Lancet Digital Health suggest, however, that a cognitive behavioral therapy app can significantly prevent increases in depression in young people who are at high risk—and that the app might represent a cost effective way to improve mental health.
Nations Around the World Mark the Anniversary of Hamas Attack on Israel
Source: U.S. News and World ReportCommemorations and protests unfolded across the world Monday to mark the anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel—an assault that sparked a war that has devastated the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip, fueled bloodshed in other Mideast lands, and stirred protests far away. Those effects were visible in New York, where a crowd gathered for a remembrance ceremony in Central Park even as pro-Palestinian protesters converged in the park less than...
Antisemitic Incidents in U.S. Surge to Record High
Source: BBC News - AmericasReports of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. have reached a record high since last year's Hamas attack in Israel, according to a preliminary report from the Anti-Defamation League Center for Extremism (ADL). The group found more than 10,000 incidents from October 7, 2023, to September 24 of this year—more than a 200% increase compared to the same period a year earlier. It is the highest ever since the ADL began tracking such incidents in 1979.
As Life Expectancy Growth Slows, Focus Turns to Healthier Aging
Source: Google News - HealthLife expectancy has grown dramatically over the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to healthier diets, medical progress, and other advances. But after nearly doubling during the 20th century, the rate of increase has slowed in the last three decades, according to a study published in the journal Nature Aging. As a result, some experts have shifted their focus from extending lifespans to extending "healthspans"—that is, the number of years a...
Racial Bias Still Taints the Academic Tenure Process, Study Concludes
Source: ScienceGoing up for tenure and promotion can be nerve-wracking for any academic. It's supposedly an unbiased evaluation of a scholar's work, but other dynamics can come into play. Now, research published in Nature Human Behaviour highlights the impact of race. Among more than 1,500 tenure and promotion decisions at five U.S. research-intensive universities, Black and Hispanic faculty received more negative votes than equally productive White and Asian...
High Court to Hear Woman's Claim She Lost Jobs Due to Being Straight
Source: U.S. News and World ReportThe U.S. Supreme Court is taking up the case of a woman who claims she suffered sex discrimination in her employment because she is straight. The justices on Friday agreed to review an appeals court ruling against the woman, who worked for the Ohio Department of Youth Services for 20 years and claimed she was passed over for a promotion and then demoted because she is heterosexual. Both the job she sought and the one she had held were given to...
"Sensory CBT" Shows Promise for Treating Hoarding Disorder
Source: Science Daily - Top HealthHoarding disorder is a highly debilitating condition that worsens with age. People who hoard form intense emotional attachments to objects, accumulate excessive clutter, and have difficulty discarding possessions. Many people with the condition avoid getting help, but new research has found a promising treatment strategy: rehearsing alternative outcomes of discarding through imagery rescripting.
Extreme Weather Linked to Partner Violence Two Years Later, Study Finds
Source: Science Daily - Top SocietyClimate change-related landslides, storms, and floods are associated with intimate partner violence against women two years after the event, according to a study published October 2 in the open-access journal PLOS Climate. The reason, say researchers, is that climate disasters reaffirm gender-based economic disparities. The study analyzed 363 national surveys from 156 countries between the years 1993 and 2019.
Mexico's First Woman President Proposes Plan for Gender Equality
Source: U.S. News and World ReportMexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who took office this week as her country's first woman leader, announced reforms Thursday aimed at bolstering women's rights in a country with some of the world's highest levels of gender violence. Sheinbaum proposed reforms to articulate and broaden women's rights, including a constitutional guarantee of equal pay for equal work. In Mexico, women make 65 pesos for every 100 pesos a man earns.
Hurricane Helene Makes Landfall in the U.S. Presidential Race
Source: U.S. News and World ReportThe devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene has brought climate change to the forefront of the presidential campaign after the issue lingered on the margins for months. Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Georgia Wednesday to see hard-hit areas, two days after Donald Trump criticized the federal response to the storm, which has killed at least 200 people in the Southeast—the deadliest storm to hit the U.S. mainland since Hurricane Katrina...
Amazon's Indigenous People Hit by Record Forest Fires
Source: BBC News - Top HeadlinesThe world relies on the Amazon rainforest to absorb carbon, but forest fires mean the region is now emitting record amounts itself. More than 62,000 square kilometres have been burned this year already—an area bigger than countries like Sri Lanka or Costa Rica. "Today it is killing the plants," says Raimundinha Rodrigues Da Sousa, who runs the fire service for an indigenous Amazonian community, but "in a while it will be us."
"Conversion Therapy" Increases Risk of Mental Illness in LGBT People
Source: United Press International - Health NewsBesides being useless in altering a person's sexuality or gender identity, so-called "conversion therapy" can greatly raise the odds that an LGBT person experiences mental health issues, new research finds. Questionnaires completed by over 4,400 LGBTQ+ Americans found that having undergone these bogus interventions was linked to higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal thoughts or attempts.
Trump Calls Harris "Mentally Impaired" But Speaks of Losing Election
Source: U.S. News and World ReportRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump escalated his personal attacks on his Democratic rival, Kamala Harris, on Sunday by calling her "mentally impaired" while also saying she should be "impeached and prosecuted." At the same time, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he might lose the election in November, saying "If she wins, it's not going to be so pleasant for me, but I don't care."
McDonald's and Big Supermarkets Failed to Spot Slavery, BBC Finds
Source: BBC News - Top HeadlinesSigns that modern slavery victims were being forced to work at a McDonald's branch and a factory supplying bread products to major supermarkets were missed for more than four years, the BBC has found. A gang forced 16 victims to work at either the fast-food restaurant or the factory. Well-established signs of slavery, including paying the wages of four men into one bank account, were missed while the victims were exploited.
California Governor Blocks Landmark AI Safety Bill
Source: BBC News - BusinessThe governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has blocked a landmark artificial intelligence safety bill that had faced strong opposition from large technology companies. The proposed legislation would have imposed some of the first regulations on AI in the U.S. Although Newsom expressed concern about losing jobs, the bill's sponsor, Scott Wiener, said the veto allows companies to keep developing "extremely powerful technology" without government...
Far Right Party with Nazi Roots Is on the Brink of Power in Austria
Source: Google News - HealthPolitics in a country of just 10 million people might not seem consequential. But that's not the case in Austria, where there's a good chance that Sunday's election will be won by a far-right party founded by former Nazis. Austria is birthplace of Adolf Hitler, and the current leader of its Freedom Party is known as the "People's Chancellor"—a term the Nazis used to describe Hitler. The party also has strong links with Russian President...
California to Apologize for State's Role in Slavery and Racism
Source: U.S. News and World ReportCalifornia will formally apologize for slavery and its lingering effects on Black Americans in the state under a new law Governor Gavin Newsom signed Thursday. The legislation was part of a package of reparations bills introduced this year that seek to compensate for decades of policies that contributed to racial disparities for African Americans. Newsom also approved laws to improve protections against hair discrimination for athletes.

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