Author: Reporter

Hundreds of people gathered on August 27 at prayer vigils and in church, in frustration and exhaustion, to mourn yet another racist attack in America: this one the killing of three Black people in Florida at the hands of a White, 21-year-old man who authorities say left behind White Supremacist ramblings that read like “the diary of a madman.” Following services earlier in the day, about 200 people showed up at a August 27 vigil a block from the Dollar General store in Jacksonville where officials said Ryan Palmeter opened fire August 26 using guns he bought legally despite...

Georgia’s oldest city, steeped in history predating the American Revolution, made a historic break with its slavery-era past on August 24 when Savannah’s city council voted to rename a downtown square in honor of a Black woman who taught formerly enslaved people to read and write Susie King Taylor is the first person of color whose name will adorn one of Savannah’s 23 squares. It is the first time in 140 years that Savannah has approved a name change for one of the picturesque, park-like squares that are treasured features of the original plan for the city founded in...

The powerful algorithms used by Facebook and Instagram to deliver content to users have increasingly been blamed for amplifying misinformation and political polarization. But a series of groundbreaking studies published in July suggest addressing these challenges is not as simple as tweaking the platforms’ software. The four research papers, published in Science and Nature, also reveal the extent of political echo chambers on Facebook, where conservatives and liberals rely on divergent sources of information, interact with opposing groups and consume distinctly different amounts of misinformation. Algorithms are the automated systems that social media platforms use to suggest content for...

Drinking water from nearly half of U.S. faucets likely contains “forever chemicals” that may cause cancer and other health problems, according to a government study released in July. The synthetic compounds known collectively as PFAS are contaminating drinking water to varying extents in large cities and small towns — and in private wells and public systems, the U.S. Geological Survey said. Researchers described the study as the first nationwide effort to test for PFAS in tap water from private sources in addition to regulated ones. It builds on previous scientific findings that the chemicals are widespread, showing up in...