Popular Science – “Methotrexate was introduced in the 1940s as a chemotherapy agent. Misoprostol was developed in the 1970s to treat stomach ulcers. On July 13, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) notified pharmacies that refusing to fill prescriptions for medicines containing ingredients that can induce abortion or prevent pregnancy could be in violation of federal civil rights law. The new guidance, which is aimed at the roughly 60,000 retail pharmacies across the country, breaks down how withholding certain medicines would discriminate against customers on the basis of sex or disability. These drugs include contraceptives, miscarriage treatments, and several non-abortion medications used to treat conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, ulcers, and multiple sclerosis. Experts are concerned that some pharmacists in states that have passed abortion restrictions might be unwilling to dispense common medications, even when they have been prescribed for other purposes besides reproductive healthcare. “Reproductive rights are not only a women’s issue, nor are they only an [obstetrics] issue,” Sara C. LaHue, an assistant professor of clinical neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, said in an email. “Restrictions on abortion will affect the care provided by the vast majority of medical specialties in the US.” ..
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Monthly Archives: July 2022
These Companies Know When You’re Pregnant—And They’re Not Keeping It Secret
Gizmodo identified 32 brokers selling data on 2.9 billion profiles of U.S. residents pegged as “actively pregnant” or “shopping for maternity products.” “A Gizmodo investigation into some of the nation’s biggest data brokers found more than two dozen promoting access to datasets containing digital information on millions of pregnant and potentially pregnant people across the… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 30, 2022
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 30, 2022 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the… Continue Reading
Study finds Wikipedia influences judicial behavior
MIT News: “Mixed appraisals of one of the internet’s major resources, Wikipedia, are reflected in the slightly dystopian article “List of Wikipedia Scandals.” Yet billions of users routinely flock to the online, anonymously editable, encyclopedic knowledge bank for just about everything. How this unauthoritative source influences our discourse and decisions is hard to reliably trace.… Continue Reading
Will the Biggest Publisher in the United States Get Even Bigger?
The New York Times – “When the largest publisher in the country, Penguin Random House, struck a deal in the fall of 2020 to acquire its rival Simon & Schuster, publishing executives and antitrust experts predicted that the merger would draw intense scrutiny from government regulators. The merger would dramatically alter the literary landscape, shrinking… Continue Reading
Household Income Distribution in the U.S. Visualized as 100 Homes
Visual Capitalist: “Household Income Distribution in the U.S. Visualized as 100 Homes – Income inequality and wealth disparity have been frequent topics of conversation, even before the pandemic upended the economy. Now, rising inflation and interest rates, and a possible recession on the horizon are bringing these societal divides into sharp focus. In the above… Continue Reading
U.S. Will Plant One Billion Trees to Combat Climate Change
Smithsonian Magazine: “To help revitalize millions of acres of burned and damaged forests across the American West, the U.S. Department of Agriculture aims to plant more than one billion trees over the next decade. Wildfires and other issues have devastated U.S. woodlands in recent years, and Forest Service arborists can’t keep up with replanting lost… Continue Reading
Seven Key Provisions in the Climate Deal
Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 Summaries Inflation Reduction Act – One Page Summary Tax Summary Prescription Drugs Summary Energy Security and Climate Change Investments Summary Summary from the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Summary from the Committee on Environment and Public Works The National Law Review – Summary of the Inflation Reduction Act of… Continue Reading
Student achievement in 2021–2022: Cause for hope and continued urgency
“NWEA — a not-for-profit, research and educational services organization serving K-12 students – announced today new research highlighting the latest data on achievement during the pandemic. Key findings from this third school year impacted by COVID-19 suggest early signs of rebounding offering some hope. However, results also underscore that recovery is still years away and… Continue Reading
How do you organize your books? 9 authors share their favorite shelves.
Washington Post – “I asked nine writers to share a photo of a favorite bookshelf (or what social media might refer to as a “shelfie”), explain the organizing principle (if there is one) and tell me a bit about what’s on that shelf. Here’s what they said. Shelfies by Elin Hilderbrand, Diana Gabaldon, Garrett Graff,… Continue Reading
Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act Scorecard 2022
The FITARA 14 Scorecard was released on July 28, 2022 – This “scorecard grades federal agencies based on their performance of FITARA-related reform and improvement activities and serves as a tool for Congress, chief information officers, agency heads, and outside stakeholders to better understand how agencies across the government are managing and securing their information… Continue Reading
Justice Department investigating data breach of federal court system
Politico: “House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) told fellow lawmakers that “three hostile foreign actors” attacked the U.S. Courts’ document filing system as part of a breach in early 2020 causing a “system security failure.” The comments — at a committee hearing on oversight of the Justice Department’s National Security Division — were the… Continue Reading
