A new study published yesterday in Jama found that a test used to diagnose patients with lung cancer had a built-in racial bias. The algorithm in the software used to diagnose patients assumed that Black people had naturally weaker lung capacity, raising the threshold for recommending care and making it less likely that they would be prescribed medication. According to the study, up to 40 percent more Black men would have been diagnosed with breathing problems if the bias had been corrected. The study also pointed out that this specific test isn't the only place where racial bias affects medicine. Prejudices and assumptions about racial differences affect patients looking for heart and kidney care as well.
WARNING ABOUT PAYMENT APPS
There's a new warning for people who store money in payment apps like Paypal, Venmo, and Cash App. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPC) said that the funds may not be secure in the case of a crisis, because while traditional bank accounts are secured up to $250,000, money held in a payment app doesn't have the same protections. So if one of these companies ever had a funding issue or was forced to close, customers could lose their money.
Muslim and Jewish civil rights groups say they’ve seen large increases in reports of harassment, bias and sometimes physical assaults against members of their communities since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks.
Shocked and fearful Maine residents are keeping to their homes for a second night as hundreds of police and FBI agents search intently for Robert Card, a U.S. Army reservist authorities say fatally shot 18 people at a bowling alley and a bar.
Dozens were arrested in Las Vegas Wednesday after a rally on the Vegas Strip after thousands of hotel workers protested in a fight for new union contracts.
Doctors in Taiwan made a surprising discovery when a 64-year-old female patient complained of a clicking and rustling sound in her ear, which turned out to be a spider.
Israel rolled tanks into northern Gaza for what the military called a targeted raid aiming to destroy Hamas infrastructure. Meanwhile, the UN Security Council failed to pass two separate resolutions proposed by the U.S. and Russia on humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza.
Maine’s governor says at least 18 people were killed and 13 were injured in shootings in Maine. Gov. Janet Mills made the remarks at a press conference Thursday.
