Tracking Early Voting in Midterms — More Than Half Cast Ballots Early or by Mail

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Tracking Early Voting in Midterms — More Than Half Cast Ballots Early or by Mail (Maria)

The author writes, “More than half of all U.S. voters now cast their ballots ahead of Election Day — usually in person at a polling location or by mail. The shift to an ‘election month’ means there are some early indications of overall turnout and hints at enthusiasm among key subgroups. But there are limits to what early voting can tell us because each state has its own rules, and the rules can change from election to election.” 

Bird Flu Is Raging on a Mink Farm. It Could Spark a Human Pandemic, Experts Say, But Officials Won’t Act. (Sean)

From ProPublica: “The strain of bird flu that’s ripped through American barns for the last four years has killed two people who caught it from sick animals. But as far as anyone can tell, humans can’t spread it. The virus has remained a true ‘bird’ flu, tailored to attach to avian cells, not invade human throats and noses, where coughing and sneezing reliably spew droplets. Under the right conditions, however, that could change. A single mutation could give the bird flu a foothold in people and spark a pandemic that experts fear could be deadlier than COVID-19.”

Trump’s Obsession With Somalia Isn’t Just Racist. It’s Been Lethal. (Laura)

From The Intercept: “The Trump administration is waging a multi-pronged war on Somali people, painting them as criminals, murderers, and terrorists and using multiple federal agencies to target them at home and abroad. The campaign includes military attacks in Somalia, as well as arrests, deportations, and the weaponization of federal law enforcement agencies against immigrants and the Somali American community in the United States, including the recent use of Homeland Security agents as a goon squad to target Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar.” 

Will AI Make Your Brain Lazy? Here’s What the New Research Actually Shows. (Russ)

The author writes, “Artificial intelligence is changing the world, and the humans in it, in ways we don’t yet understand. People are increasingly worried that if we rely on chatbots for thinking, our brains will become slower and less engaged. Is A.I. making us stupider? Scientists, too, want to know. A team of researchers from the University of California, Irvine, and the education company McGraw Hill examined a decade of data from a popular online learning tool by McGraw Hill, starting in 2015. Across millions of math sessions by a group that ranged from fifth graders to college students, the researchers compared performance from before 2022, when ChatGPT first came out, with the work that followed its arrival.”

Pomegranate Compound Improves Heart Function by up to 80% in Study (Mili)

The author writes, “A compound the body can make after eating pomegranates, walnuts, and some berries improved measures of heart function by up to 80% in animal models of a difficult-to-treat form of heart failure. Urolithin A helped stiff heart tissue relax and reduced scarring and abnormal enlargement. It also improved relaxation in engineered human heart tissue.” 

Simple Pollinator Conservation Steps Are Transforming City Farms (Dana)

From Happy Eco News: “A two-year study of 18 Ohio farms found one pollinator conservation strategy works better than any other: planting native flowers, especially when paired with a few other simple habits.”