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.
President Joe Biden told a gathering of Native American nations that he would support the bid by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which invented lacrosse, to compete in the sport under its own flag in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Fifty-two endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtles suffering from “cold stun” are rehabbing at four facilities in Florida after a flight on a private plane from the New England Aquarium in Massachusetts.
Last week's crash off the coast of Japan raised new questions about the safety of the helicopter-airplane hybrid, which has been involved in multiple fatal accidents over its relatively short time in service.
Amanda Perez, left, is comforted by fellow student Alejandro Barron following a shooting on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, campus, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Las Vegas. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)
Authorities in Oregon are investigating the deaths of two people whose bodies were found in creeks this week and the U.S. Coast Guard rescued five people from flooded areas on Tuesday.
A liberal activist with an eye for mainstream entertainment, Lear fashioned bold and controversial comedies that were embraced by viewers who had to watch the evening news to find out what was going on in the world.
