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We're Paving the Way for the Next Pandemic
We're Paving
the Way for the
Next Pandemic
longform
Mar 26, 2023 5:05 PM CDT

We're Paving the Way for the Next Pandemic

Deforestation encourages the spillover we need to avoid

(Newser) - Stopping the next pandemic from happening might rely on stopping tree loss—and we're failing woefully on that front. In its deep dive into the subject, ProPublica goes down two paths: It takes a look at what happened in Meliandou, Guinea, in 2013 to cause the worst Ebola outbreak...

This Romance Scam Also Had a Crazy Sting Operation
This Tinder Scam Ended
With a Crazy Police Sting
longform
Mar 26, 2023 4:00 PM CDT

This Tinder Scam Ended With a Crazy Police Sting

The Verge explores a carjacking via the online hookup site

(Newser) - Stories about online romance scams are fairly common these days, but the one recounted by the Verge has some strange twists. For one thing, the victim wasn't an older person unsavvy about tech; it was a 32-year-old tech entrepreneur with deep pockets named Mike Vallejo. For another, this scam...

Mississippi Has an Oyster Problem
Mississippi Has
an Oyster Problem
longform
Mar 26, 2023 2:25 PM CDT

Mississippi Has an Oyster Problem

State's once-vital industry is collapsing as government efforts to rebuild reefs fail

(Newser) - Mississippi has a rich history in the oyster industry, but that industry appears to be on the brink of collapse. A story in ProPublica details the steep decline over the last two decades or so, pointing out that the number of companies licensed to process oysters in the state has...

The Treasure Hunt Is Over. Long Live the Treasure Hunt

'Popular Mechanics' looks at the never-ending Forrest Fenn hunt

(Newser) - The thing about treasure hunts is that they end when the treasure is found. Or at least they're supposed to. But in the case of the famous Forrest Fenn treasure , that hasn't quite happened. As Svati Kirsten Narula explains in a deep dive at Popular Mechanics , many obsessed...

'Gayness Is Built Into Batman'
'Gayness Is Built
Into Batman'
longform
Mar 19, 2023 3:45 PM CDT

'Gayness Is Built Into Batman'

Glen Weldon digs into the subtext at Slate

(Newser) - Batman and Robin weren't gay, writes Glen Weldon at the start of his deep dive into the subject at Slate . After all, writers who penned the strips decades ago repeatedly said that wasn't their intent. The wrinkle, however, is that not all the writers agree on that. "...

They Went Underground in Search of Gold, Stayed for Years

Inside South Africa's abandoned gold mines and the zama-zamas who enter them

(Newser) - More than 40% of all the gold ever mined on Earth has come from South Africa's mines—and it's thought that zama-zamas mine about 10% of what the country annually produces each year. That's the name (it roughly translates to "take a chance") that's...

No Individual May Have Hurt the Planet More Than Him

Thomas Midgley Jr. invented leaded gas and Freon with the best of intentions

(Newser) - Thomas Midgely Jr. was by all accounts a brilliant American scientist who died in the 1940s. He also just happens to have a remarkable claim to fame, or infamy, as laid out by Steven Johnson in the New York Times Magazine : "There may be no other single person in...

Ben Affleck Addresses Those Grammys Memes
Ben Affleck Addresses
Those Grammys Memes
longform
Mar 17, 2023 3:00 AM CDT

Ben Affleck Addresses Those Grammys Memes

And more, in wide-ranging 'Hollywood Reporter' sit-down

(Newser) - Ben Affleck can't help it, OK? He just has Resting Ben Face. That's one of many topics the actor discussed during a wide-ranging interview with the Hollywood Reporter . For anyone who missed it, Affleck was the subject of many memes following the apparent dismay written all over his...

The Timing of These Trades Is 'Exquisite.' And a Little Fishy?

ProPublica looks at how corporate execs make millions buying and selling stocks of rival firms

(Newser) - Corporate execs appear to have a handy way to make a lot of money for themselves—buying and selling stocks of rival companies. ProPublica conducted a first-of-its kind analysis of such trades and discovered that lots of executives have an uncanny knack for making profitable trades with what it calls...

One American Constant for Decades: Poverty
The Cause of American
Poverty: 'Exploitation'
longform
Mar 12, 2023 4:35 PM CDT

The Cause of American Poverty: 'Exploitation'

Matthew Desmond in 'New York Times Magazine' looks at how the poor are systemically taken advantage of

(Newser) - Back in 1970, roughly 12.6% of the US population lived in poverty. In the 50 years since, the figure has remained remarkably constant—to graph it "amounts to drawing a line that resembles gently rolling hills," writes Princeton sociologist Matthew Desmond in the New York Times Magazine ...

Allegations of Brutal Culture Hit Harvard Women's Hockey

The Athletic explores 'mental health Hunger Games' of coach Katey Stone

(Newser) - Katey Stone is the winningest coach in women's college hockey, having racked up more than 500 victories in her 27 seasons at Harvard. But a story at the Athletic suggests the 56-year-old Stone has cultivated a toxic culture, with the parent of one recent player describing it as a...

Ex-Phillies Got Brain Cancer After Playing on Artificial Turf

'Philadelphia Inquirer' digs into the cluster of rare glioblastoma cases

(Newser) - The Philadelphia Inquirer is out with a jarring story about that city's baseball team: The newspaper reports that six former members of the Philadelphia Phillies died of the rare brain cancer glioblastoma, and one thing they had in common is that they played on artificial turf at the since-demolished...

War Game Results Don't Bode Well for US Military
War Game Results Don't
Bode Well for US Military
longform
Mar 7, 2023 11:09 AM CST

War Game Results Don't Bode Well for US Military

'Wall Street Journal' finds that America isn't ready for a new era of conflict with China

(Newser) - Last year, a war game simulation looked at what might happen if China launched an amphibious attack on Taiwan. China would be happy with the results: The US side ran out of long-range cruise missiles in a week, writes Michael R. Gordon in the Wall Street Journal . The reasons behind...

Remember '90s Band Live? Things Took a Nasty Turn

'Rolling Stone' explores the group's breakup

(Newser) - Fans of the '90s band Live can catch them performing these days, but typically at smaller venues in smaller markets, writes Andy Greene at Rolling Stone . Lead singer Ed Kowalczyk still fronts the group, though guitarist Chad Taylor, bassist Patrick Dahlheimer, and drummer Chad Gracey were fired by Kowalczyk...

Vanishing Breed on US Campuses: English Majors
Vanishing From US Colleges:
Majors in English
longform
Mar 5, 2023 10:35 AM CST

Vanishing From US Colleges: Majors in English

'New Yorker' explores plunging enrollments in the humanities at universities

(Newser) - The headline is stark: "The End of the English Major." But after reading Nathan Heller's deep dive in the New Yorker into the state of the humanities at US colleges and universities, it doesn't seem like too much of an overstatement. Stats tell a big part...

Mandela Shrugged Off Rumors of CIA Betrayal
Mandela
Shrugged Off
Rumors of
CIA Betrayal
longform
Feb 27, 2023 10:45 AM CST

Mandela Shrugged Off Rumors of CIA Betrayal

Richard Stengel of 'Time' explores the idea that a US operative got him arrested in 1962

(Newser) - In 1962, Nelson Mandela "was South Africa's most wanted man," writes Richard Stengel in Time . The African National Congress leader had spent years underground, but in August of that year, South African police arrested him pretty easily by pulling over the car he was riding in while...

Tragedy on a Dairy Farm Is Window Into Bigger Issue

Young boy, son of immigrant worker, was killed in equipment accident in Wisconsin

(Newser) - On a summer night in 2019, 8-year-old Jefferson Rodriguez was killed on a dairy farm in Wisconsin when he was struck by a tractor-like machine used to clean up manure. That much is not in dispute. But as ProPublica reports, some of the other pertinent details are. The police report...

Homeless People Face a Worsening Health Crisis
Homeless People Face
a Scary Health Crisis
longform
Feb 26, 2023 2:40 PM CST

Homeless People Face a Scary Health Crisis

Slate: One woman's death from cancer suggests ways things can be improved

(Newser) - It's a story pegged around the confluence of some eye-opening stats: The life expectancy of homeless people is roughly 20 years less than others, and the number of people being driven to homelessness is rising in the US, writes Lori Teresa Yearwood at Slate . This might help explain why...

He Vanished in 2013. Strangers Keep Looking for Him

Jason Nark's piece is about so much more than the search for Matthew Greene

(Newser) - Jason Nark's moving and emotive story for Alpinist is about two quests: a journey through Nark's grief at his friend Anthony's September 2013 suicide, and the years-long search for Matthew Greene, who went missing while climbing in the Mammoth Lakes area of California's Eastern Sierra in...

'This Is Not Medical Treatment. This Is Abuse'
'This Is Not Medical
Treatment. This Is Abuse'
longform
Feb 19, 2023 5:15 PM CST

'This Is Not Medical Treatment. This Is Abuse'

ProPublica looks into allegations of improper ties between hospital, medical device company

(Newser) - The texts are not the sort you'd expect from someone watching a serious medical procedure. "Just used 12 [drug-coated balloons]!!" an employee of the world's largest medical device company, Medtronic, wrote to a colleague. "Does that mean I owe u $$," came the response....

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