News Above the Noise: Week of February 26, 2023
1. Train Derailment in Ohio Draws National Attention and Scrutiny
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich, who discovered that groundwater contamination from Pacific Gas and Electric Company was sickening Hinkley, California residents in the 1990s, has called the derailment of a train carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, a disaster “like one I’ve never seen.” To find out more about the local and federal responses that have drawn national attention, check out this article on The Hill. You can read more about Brockovich’s activism surrounding the water crisis here.
2. Most Young Men Are Single. Most Young Women Are Not
More than 60 percent of young men are single, almost double the rate of single young women. Experts say this signals a larger breakdown in the social, romantic and sexual life of the American male and point to an epidemic of declining marriage, sexuality and relationships that afflicts all young Americans. Read more on The Hill about how this staggering statistic came to be.
3. This is What Homelessness is Really Like
According to a 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, over 580,000 people across America may be experiencing homelessness on any given night. In a recent project, The New York Times profiled 30 people living without housing to illuminate the wide range of people’s experiences and the challenges they face. You can learn about each of their stories, how they differ, and the common thread they share by clicking here .
4. What is Section 230?
Two cases with striking similarities are before the Supreme Court this week and could break the internet as we know it. The shield that protects internet speech is on trial in Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh, and at the heart of each case is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Read more about the significance of Section 230 and the potential impact the Supreme Court’s rulings could have on USA Today .
5. How to Tell If Your Brain Needs a Break
Experts say that brain slumps are real and instead of muddling through when we experience one, we should be giving our brains a break. This periodic alleviation can improve our ability to do quality work, and an analysis found that the longer the break, the better the performance boost. Learn how to tell if your brain is in need of a break and how you can put this into practice on The New York Times .
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