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Putting a spiritual spin on my love affair with vinyl
I am a vinyl record aficionado. My father, also a musician, recently gave me his vinyl collection, and it made me reflect: Why, despite limited use of my arms due to disability, do I still go to the effort of playing vinyl albums, old or new, daily?
The historian in me acknowledges a bit of nostalgia and fascination with vintage audio...Read more
FDA’s new regulations underscore the complexity around screening for women with dense breasts
The Food and Drug Administration implemented a rule to go into effect on Sept. 10, 2024, requiring mammography facilities to notify women about their breast density. The goal is to ensure that women nationwide are informed about the risks of breast density, advised that other imaging tests might help find cancers and urged to talk with their ...Read more
US oil and gas production surged to record highs under both Trump and Biden-Harris, despite very different energy goals
The United States is producing more oil and natural gas today than ever before, and far more than any other country. So, what roles did the Trump-Pence and Biden-Harris administrations play in this surge?
The answer might surprise you, given the way each has talked publicly about fossil fuels: former President Donald Trump embracing ...Read more
Is it time to retire the ‘Arab-Israeli conflict’? Hostilities now extend beyond those boundaries
The current phase of fighting in the Middle East began almost a year ago, with the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas and the subsequent pummeling of Gaza by Israel. But to many academics, foreign policy experts and international observers, what is taking place is also the latest episode in the decadeslong conflict commonly referred to as the “...Read more
Neutral news sources could exploit today’s polarized mediascape to boost revenue − here’s why they may choose not to
Even news outlets perceived as politically neutral can benefit from today’s polarized media environment.
The past decade has seen a surge in partisan online news sites that patently skew toward one side of the American political spectrum, from the right-leaning Blaze Media to the openly liberal Axios. Money is a primary driver of ...Read more
How Russia employs ‘hard soft power’ to influence overseas media and sow dissent and fear among foreign populations
Public diplomacy – the art of rallying a foreign audience behind a nation’s interests – used to be about attracting support through charm, values and cultural exports. It is what political scientist Joseph Nye first referred to as “soft power.”
But our peer-reviewed study of Russian attempts to use foreign media as a ...Read more
Politicians often warn of American decline – and voters often buy it
Presidential candidates talk about national decline while campaigning. A lot. This was front and center during the June 2024 debate between former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.
“Throughout the entire world, we’re no longer respected as a country,” Trump said, as he has repeatedly.
Trump continued by ...Read more
How Democrats are making a mistake in rural America – by not showing up
Rickey Cole, 58, is a farmer and the former two-term chair of Mississippi’s Democratic Party. If anyone understands rural Mississippi voters – and their shift from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party – it’s Cole.
“You learn from losing,” the lifelong Democrat said.
He should hope so.
In 2001, when ...Read more
Chicago Transit Authority boosted security spending, but violent crime rate remains above pre-pandemic levels
A gunman’s attack on four people sleeping on the Blue Line last Monday came during a difficult week on the Chicago Transit Authority, highlighting the challenges city and transit officials face in tackling violent crime rates that have remained persistently higher than before the pandemic.
The likelihood of being a victim of violent crime on ...Read more
A new frontier? How Alaska's elections could show what's to come for Nevada's
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Evergreens and aspens cover the luscious mountainscapes, and clouds settle heavy over Cook Inlet. The hum of float planes can be heard overhead as Alaskans travel to the remote wilderness, while locals drive to work.
Though at a smaller scale than the crowds who flock to the glittering lights and jingling slot machines of ...Read more
Inside the investigation of a Colorado Bureau of Investigation scientist's years of misconduct: 'God forbid we have someone in prison that shouldn't be'
DENVER -- Everyone knew Yvonne “Missy” Woods worked fast.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation DNA scientist made her way around the state laboratory in a walk-run, a signature forward-leaning gait. She handled two and three times as many cases as other analysts, worked the maximum 40 hours of overtime a month. Spent nights, weekends on the...Read more
Errors in Deloitte-run Medicaid systems can cost millions and take years to fix
The computer systems run by the consulting giant Deloitte that millions of Americans rely on for Medicaid and other government benefits are prone to errors that can take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to update. While states wait for fixes from Deloitte, beneficiaries risk losing access to health care and food.
Changes needed to fix ...Read more
If Colorado voters ban mountain lion hunting, would the feline's population explode -- or stabilize on its own?
For decades, licensed hunters have killed hundreds of Colorado mountain lions every year to control the state’s population of the elusive feline.
Voters in November will decide whether to ban the practice, along with the trapping of bobcats. That prospect has set off a deluge of competing claims about what will happen if big-cat hunting ...Read more
Tanzania president orders probe into pre-election abductions
Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan ordered a probe into abductions of political figures and government critics ahead of upcoming elections in the East African nation.
The investigation follows the abduction and murder of a senior member of the main opposition Chadema party, Ally Mohamed Kibao.
“I have ordered investigative agencies...Read more
Republicans accuse Biden team of lying about Afghanistan pullout
Republican lawmakers accused the Biden administration of lying to Americans and sacrificing the safety of U.S. soldiers during the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, in a report that sought to implicate Vice President Kamala Harris before the presidential election.
The report said President Joe Biden’s team “misled and, in some instances, ...Read more
'Newest assistant coach on God's team:' Slain teacher remembered as a hero
FLOWERY BRANCH — A sea of sports jerseys filled the stadium at Flowery Branch High School on Sunday as more than 1,000 people gathered to honor the life of Ricky Aspinwall.
Aspinwall, a 39-year-old math teacher and assistant football coach, was one of four people who were shot and killed last week at Apalachee High School in nearby Barrow ...Read more
Silver State may become solar state under new federal plan
The U.S. is preparing for a gargantuan spike in the amount of energy it harnesses from the sun, and vastly changing the desert landscape of the Silver State’s public lands is a major component of that vision.
Within the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial plan that updates preferred solar zones for the first time in 12 years, Nevada ...Read more
Schumer Warns of Government Shutdown Ahead of Sept. 30 Deadline
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer emphasized the importance of avoiding a government shutdown on Sept. 30, as lawmakers return to Washington after the August break with the U.S. election ahead in November.
In a letter to his Democratic colleagues on Sunday, Schumer said his party favors a short-term funding extension, known as a continuing ...Read more
Strengthening Gulf Storm could slam Texas, Louisiana coasts
A storm system in the Gulf of Mexico is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane early this week, bringing heavy rain, damaging winds and potentially life-threatening storm surges to parts of the Texas and Louisiana coastlines.
The system is forecast to become a tropical storm on Monday as it moves north, with storm watches in effect for parts ...Read more
Anchorage and tribe push for more studies on Eklutna River restoration as governor moves toward decision
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy will soon make a historic decision that could restore water to the long-dammed Eklutna River.
The decision could mark a turning point in a dispute between two electric utilities on one side, and the municipality of Anchorage and Native Village of Eklutna on the other.
The Chugach and Matanuska electric associations ...Read more