Story at a glance UPS workers in New York City took to the streets on Thursday to protest unsafe working conditions. Workers rallied outside a UPS distribution center in Brooklyn, and called on leadership to provide air conditioning in delivery trucks. Unlike Amazon and the USPS, UPS trucks do not have AC and workers need…
Author: Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech
Western wildfire smoke plumes are getting taller, study shows
Story at a glance Smoke streams from wildfires in the West are growing taller, researchers have found. he plumes are most likely increasing in size due to hotter temperature, smaller snowpack and an increase in aridity stemming from climate change. In at least one area, the average height of smoke plumes increased about 720 feet…
Two thirds of Gen Z men ok with trying male oral birth control pill
Story at a glance Online wellness guide Innerbody Research recently conducted a survey of over 1,000 sexually active adults across four generations to note differences in practice and opinions. Survey crafters found that men in Generation Z are far more likely to be willing to try an oral contraceptive compared to other generations. This increased…
Biden administration launches Heat.gov website as heatwave hits country
Story at a glance The Biden administration launched a new heat preparedness website called Heat.gov on Tuesday. The website comes as the country deals with rolling heat waves that have broken hundreds of local high temperature records. As global warming worsens due to human-influenced climate change summers are expected to get hotter and more dangerous. …
DOI moves toward final steps to remove derogatory name from federal lands
Story at a glance On Friday, the Department of the Interior announced that a special task force has finished their review of the use of “squaw” in hundreds of place names on federal lands. The task force, dubbed the Derogatory Geographic Names Task Force, reviewed over 660 place names of towns, lakes, rivers and creeks…
Disney swaps ‘fairy godmother’ role at parks for gender-neutral ‘apprentice’
Story at a glance Cast members at The Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at the Magic Kingdom Theme Park in Florida will now be called Fairy God Mothers’ “apprentices.” Workers at the boutique were formerly called “Fairy God Mother’s in Training.” The new title aims to create a more inclusive environment. Employees at Disney’s famed Bibbidi Bobbidi…
One in 10 abortions performed on people who had to travel out of state, report finds
Story at a glance New data from the Guttmacher Institute shows that almost one in 10 people seeking an abortion in 2020 traveled out of their home state. Report crafters found that the rate of abortion seekers traveling out of state has gone steadily up. In 2011, 6 percent of people searching for abortion care…
Thousands report changes to menstrual bleeding after COVID-19 vaccine, study shows
Story at a glance A new study published in the journal Science Advances offers one of the most comprehensive looks at menstrual changes post COVID-19 vaccine. Two researchers, Kathryn Clancy and Katharine Lee, led the effort to study reported changes in menstrual bleeding in people who have been vaccinated against the virus. Over…
Overdose deaths spiked in 2020 among Black and Native American communities
Story at a glance A new analysis from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows a spike in drug overdose deaths occurring in 2020. While white Americans accounted for most of those deaths — over 26,500 — the death rates are increasing the most among Black Americans and Native Americans. A total of…
Asian American Studies Center to create free online ‘textbook’ for high school teachers
Story at a glance California has allotted $10 million to go towards the creation of a new online textbook that will help high school and college instructors educate students on AAPI history and cultures. The textbook is being created by the Asian American Studies Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Teachers will be…