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apnews.com Judge blocks Ohio from enforcing laws restricting medication abortions

Two more Ohio abortion restrictions have been blocked in court as the legal impacts of a 2023 constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to the procedure continue to be felt.

Two more Ohio laws restricting abortions have been blocked by the courts as the legal impacts of a 2023 constitutional amendment guaranteeing access to the procedure continue to be felt.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Alison Hatheway issued a preliminary injunction Aug. 29 that extends an existing order temporarily halting enforcement of a law banning use of telemedicine in medication abortions.

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www.nbcnews.com States with strictest abortion laws offer the least support for women and families

Researchers evaluated states on access to maternal and family social services, childcare assistance and supplemental nutritional programs for families with children.

New research from Northwestern Medicine in Chicago shows that states with the most severe abortion restrictions often lack robust public support programs for low-income families. The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, categorized states based on their abortion laws and assessed access to reproductive healthcare and social services. The research also revealed that the most restrictive states had the highest rates of uninsured women of reproductive age and lower enrollment in state-funded assistance programs.

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www.statnews.com Doctors use problematic race-based algorithms to guide care every day. Why are they so hard to change?

A STAT Investigation looks at how race became a predictor in medical diagnoses, and the difficulty in separating implicit bias and science in revising clinical algorithms.

A STAT investigation reveals that race-based algorithms are still prevalent in healthcare, affecting millions of patients. Clinicians and researchers are debating the best ways to modify these tools to reduce harm and promote fairness. The Biden administration has introduced a rule to address discriminatory tools, but advocates remain skeptical about its impact.

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tennesseelookout.com Rutherford DA and victim advocates say county’s largest hospital stopped providing rape kit exams • Tennessee Lookout

Rutherford County District Attorney Jennings Jones says Ascension St. Thomas refuses to provide rape kit exams, a claim the hospital disputes.

Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro has reportedly stopped offering forensic exams for sexual assault survivors since early this year. Ericka Downing, director of the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center, said no exams have been performed since January. District Attorney Jennings Jones expressed concern, stating the hospital’s refusal to provide forensic exams hampers prosecution efforts. Despite these claims, hospital spokesperson David Leaverton denied any change in services, citing challenges in maintaining 24/7 nurse coverage. Rachel Freeman, CEO of Nashville's Sexual Assault Center, confirmed her facility has conducted exams for Rutherford County survivors.

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arstechnica.com City of Columbus sues man after he discloses severity of ransomware attack

Mayor said data was unusable to criminals; researcher proved otherwise.

cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/16488072

> A judge in Ohio has issued a temporary restraining order against a security researcher who presented evidence that a recent ransomware attack on the city of Columbus scooped up reams of sensitive personal information, contradicting claims made by city officials. > > The order, issued by a judge in Ohio's Franklin County, came after the city of Columbus fell victim to a ransomware attack on July 18 that siphoned 6.5 terabytes of the city’s data. A ransomware group known as Rhysida took credit for the attack and offered to auction off the data with a starting bid of about $1.7 million in bitcoin. On August 8, after the auction failed to find a bidder, Rhysida released what it said was about 45 percent of the stolen data on the group’s dark web site, which is accessible to anyone with a TOR browser.

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arstechnica.com City of Columbus sues man after he discloses severity of ransomware attack

Mayor said data was unusable to criminals; researcher proved otherwise.

A judge in Ohio has issued a temporary restraining order against a security researcher who presented evidence that a recent ransomware attack on the city of Columbus scooped up reams of sensitive personal information, contradicting claims made by city officials.

The order, issued by a judge in Ohio's Franklin County, came after the city of Columbus fell victim to a ransomware attack on July 18 that siphoned 6.5 terabytes of the city’s data. A ransomware group known as Rhysida took credit for the attack and offered to auction off the data with a starting bid of about $1.7 million in bitcoin. On August 8, after the auction failed to find a bidder, Rhysida released what it said was about 45 percent of the stolen data on the group’s dark web site, which is accessible to anyone with a TOR browser.

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www.newsweek.com Donald Trump faces backlash over rally locations: "Sundown towns"

A viral TikTok said Trump's recent rallies have been held in "sundown towns," places where Black residents were historically barred from living.

Former President Donald Trump is facing backlash for holding rallies in places described as "sundown towns."

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www.nbcnews.com Death threats, legal risk and backlogs weigh on clinicians treating trans minors

The rise in transgender health care bans is putting providers in the crosshairs.

Dr. Kade Goepferd, medical director of Children’s Minnesota Hospital’s Gender Health Program, like many providers who treat transgender youths, has received death threats. Goepferd said the growing waitlist, which has expanded due to surrounding states' bans on gender-affirming care, is more concerning. The program has seen a 30% increase in calls, leading to a waitlist of at least a year. NBC News found that clinicians in states like Connecticut and California are similarly overwhelmed by the influx of out-of-state patients. Legal risks and logistical challenges, such as insurance denials, are straining providers. Shield laws are "a tenuous protection," according to Dr. Molly McClain of the University of New Mexico’s Deseo clinic. A "majority of gender-affirming care providers NBC News interviewed had received threats, ranging from angry calls and emails to arson."

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Insufficient Hospital Nurse Staffing Linked With Higher Risk of Patient Death
  • Exactly so; while it seems obvious to anyone who has worked in healthcare in direct patient care, health facilities are increasingly owned by private investors.

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    Loss of smell during COVID linked to structural, functional brain alterations
  • It can be, but isn't necessarily so. As an AuDHD (autism + ADHD) person, I have "structural alterations" that result in things being different in ways that can be positive or negative. The brain is also EXTREMELY plastic and able to adjust to a lot. That said, the short-run effects are almost always going to be inconvenient at best for the person in question.

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  • healthimaging.com Brain enlargement may be linked to symptom severity in kids with autism spectrum disorder

    Social and communication symptoms appear to be more severe in children who display brain overgrowth on MRI scans.

    cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/16044688

    > Brain enlargement may be linked to symptom severity in kids with autism spectrum disorder > > Specifically, social and communication symptoms appear to be more severe in children who display brain overgrowth on MRI scans. Experts believe this overgrowth may be associated with alterations in the activity of the Ndel1 enzyme, which is related to embryonic neuron differentiation and migration. > > Study: https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-024-00602-8 > >

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    healthimaging.com Brain enlargement may be linked to symptom severity in kids with autism spectrum disorder

    Social and communication symptoms appear to be more severe in children who display brain overgrowth on MRI scans.

    Brain enlargement may be linked to symptom severity in kids with autism spectrum disorder

    Specifically, social and communication symptoms appear to be more severe in children who display brain overgrowth on MRI scans. Experts believe this overgrowth may be associated with alterations in the activity of the Ndel1 enzyme, which is related to embryonic neuron differentiation and migration.

    Study: https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-024-00602-8

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    VPN and tailscale blocked on hotel wifi
  • You could try using a relay somewhere in your process; while I was on a travel gig I had to do some finicky work with a travel router (though this may not work, since you need a VPN for your work, but maybe it'll give you an idea: https://ideatrash.net/2022/05/howto-secure-and-share-your-internet-on-free-wireless-wifi.html

    Also if you have your DNS resolvers manually put in, you may not encounter their portal. Had that problem when on hotel wifi as well.

    All that said, I ended up using phone data a lot.

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  • In a cohort of over 600,000 hospitalized patients, each day of low RN staffing was associated with an increased risk of death within 30 days of admission (adjusted HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.07-1.09), as was each day of low nurse support staffing (aHR 1.07, 95% CI 1.06-1.08), reported Peter Griffiths, RN, PhD, of the University of Southampton, and co-authors in JAMA Network Open.

    While these findings aren't novel, knowing the level of nurse staffing for every single day of a patient's stay makes it more likely that the findings are causal, Griffiths told MedPage Today. Of note, when low staffing was prevented with the use of temporary staff, the risk of patient death was reduced but remained elevated compared with the baseline, the authors said.

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    healthimaging.com Loss of smell during COVID linked to structural, functional brain alterations

    According to data shared by the CDC last year, around 34% of patients who contracted COVID between 2020 and 2023 reported losing their sense of smell.

    Many individuals who lost their sense of smell when infected with COVID-19 show structural and functional brain alterations on imaging, according to new work published in Nature. Now, experts are concerned that the symptoms could be associated with long-term brain alterations. In a group of people who reported anosmia as one of their COVID symptoms, experts recently observed an association between the loss of smell and decreased functional activity during decision-making tasks, reduced cortical thickness and other neural measures.

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    www.fox5dc.com Every American's Social Security number, address may have been stolen in hack

    Hackers claimed to have stolen more than 2 billion records containing sensitive information including Social Security numbers, with some data reportedly leaked online.

    A hacking group called USDoD claims to have stolen 2.7 billion records of personal information from Americans, including their Social Security numbers and physical addresses. USDoD offered to sell the stolen records, which included personal data for everyone in the US, UK, and Canada, to a forum of hackers. The data was stolen from National Public Data, a platform that offers personal information to employers, private investigators, staffing agencies and others doing background checks.

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    www.techtarget.com Trauma activation charges 60% higher at for-profit hospitals | TechTarget

    Learn more about trauma activation charges, their intended purpose and the variation in trauma activation fee amounts by trauma center and payer type.

    A study offers insights into the inequity in trauma activation fees, showing that for-profit hospitals have trauma activation charges that are 60% higher than those at nonprofit hospitals. What's more, "much of the variation in trauma fees can't be explained by clinical need, indicating that the current system for financing trauma centers is inequitable for both the patients receiving care and the hospitals themselves, the researchers said."

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    www.nytimes.com Are We Thinking About the Youth Mental Health Crisis All Wrong?

    Global trends in economics, climate and technology are weighing on young adults, a report finds. It recommends overhauling how we approach mental health care.

    cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/15700734

    > The mental health of adolescents and young adults has been on the decline and it’s partly because of “harmful megatrends” like financial inequality, according to a new report published on Tuesday in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry. The global trends affecting younger generations also include wage theft, unregulated social media, job insecurity and climate change, all of which are creating “a bleak present and future for young people in many countries,” according to the authors. > > Full text link: https://dnyuz.com/2024/08/13/are-we-thinking-about-the-youth-mental-health-crisis-all-wrong/

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    www.nytimes.com Are We Thinking About the Youth Mental Health Crisis All Wrong?

    Global trends in economics, climate and technology are weighing on young adults, a report finds. It recommends overhauling how we approach mental health care.

    The mental health of adolescents and young adults has been on the decline and it’s partly because of “harmful megatrends” like financial inequality, according to a new report published on Tuesday in the scientific journal The Lancet Psychiatry. The global trends affecting younger generations also include wage theft, unregulated social media, job insecurity and climate change, all of which are creating “a bleak present and future for young people in many countries,” according to the authors.

    Full text link: https://dnyuz.com/2024/08/13/are-we-thinking-about-the-youth-mental-health-crisis-all-wrong/

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    nypost.com Disney wants NYU doctor allergy death suit tossed because of widower’s Disney+ subscription

    Jeffrey Piccolo’s attorneys have slammed Disney’s latest motion as “preposterous” and “outrageously unreasonable.”

    You will not often get me to agree with the NY Post, but this is that one time:

    Disney is trying to get a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the husband of a doctor who died because of a food allergy (after staff were warned repeatedly) tossed — because he signed up for the Disney+ streaming service years earlier, which included an arbitration agreement.

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    www.theguardian.com Cannabis could help people cut down or stop opioid use, research shows

    USC study finds cannabis can help manage withdrawal symptoms, as well as cravings and anxiety after withdrawal

    cross-posted from: https://midwest.social/post/15659995

    > New research from the University of Southern California indicates cannabis may help individuals reduce or quit opioid use. Lead author Sid Ganesh, a PhD student at USC's medical school, interviewed 30 opioid and cannabis users in Los Angeles. Participants, receiving services from a methadone clinic and syringe exchange, found cannabis useful for managing opioid use due to easier access. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, highlights cannabis's role in easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

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    www.theguardian.com Cannabis could help people cut down or stop opioid use, research shows

    USC study finds cannabis can help manage withdrawal symptoms, as well as cravings and anxiety after withdrawal

    New research from the University of Southern California indicates cannabis may help individuals reduce or quit opioid use. Lead author Sid Ganesh, a PhD student at USC's medical school, interviewed 30 opioid and cannabis users in Los Angeles. Participants, receiving services from a methadone clinic and syringe exchange, found cannabis useful for managing opioid use due to easier access. The study, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports, highlights cannabis's role in easing withdrawal symptoms and cravings.

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    www.advocate.com Trans, nonbinary youth face inequities in foster care, justice system, homeless services

    The new "Safe Havens II" report urges action to support these young people.

    cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/18587310

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    Man suffers heart problem after rapid weight loss: A GLP-1 cautionary tale
  • True; the rapidity of the weight loss is one of the main draws of GLP-1 agonists, and that shifts the timeframe for adjusting those meds. My thyroid levels get checked about twice a year, for example.

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    In Most States, Undocumented Immigrants Pay Higher Tax Rates Than Top 1%.
  • You are completely correct; what it's doing is not presenting new ideas so much as pushing back against the narrative of the freeloading immigrant, which is only supported by cherry-picking what taxes "count" as taxes and ignoring the regressive taxes that you, appropriately, note that most people don't think of when they say "taxes".

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    Ohio Supreme Court rules boneless chicken wings can have bones
  • Milton: We use only the finest baby frogs, dew picked and flown from Iraq, cleansed in finest quality spring water, lightly killed, and then sealed in a succulent Swiss quintuple smooth treble cream milk chocolate envelope and lovingly frosted with glucose.

    Praline: That's as maybe, it's still a frog.

    Milton: What else?

    Praline: Well don't you even take the bones out?

    Milton: If we took the bones out it wouldn't be crunchy would it?

    Praline: Superintendent Parrot ate one of those.

    Parrot: Excuse me a moment. (exits hurriedly)

    Milton: It says 'crunchy frog' quite clearly.

    Praline: Well, the superintendent thought it was an almond whirl. People won't expect there to be a frog in there. They're bound to think it's some form of mock frog.

    Milton: (insulted) Mock frog? We use no artificial preservatives or additives of any kind!

    Praline: Nevertheless, I must warn you that in future you should delete the words 'crunchy frog', and replace them with the legend 'crunchy raw unboned real dead frog', if you want to avoid prosecution.

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    Mounting Folders VS Symlinks?
  • Flatpak can sometimes complain when there's a symlink (Steam, in particular, does this) so you can use the symlink, but have to update XDG-USER-DIRS to point to the actual location. I wrote it up here: https://ideatrash.net/2024/07/howto-update-xdg-user-dirs-to-avoid-symlink-issues-with-flatpak.html

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    Catholic group sues to block Michigan's conversion therapy ban
  • Doesn't really matter if it's Catholic teaching or not if you're not Catholic.

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    Manchin considering rejoining Democratic Party to challenge Harris
  • WV native here. He and his family (see his daughter's involvement in EpiPen pricing) have enriched themselves by swindling those who have less than themselves. He's a Republican dressed up as a Democrat so he could run in WV.

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    Telemental health visits decline when cost-sharing returns, new study finds
  • The whole point of the scientific method is to test -- and re-test -- things that are "obvious". Sometimes they are (as they are here). Sometimes they are not. Having certainty and evidence means that it is harder for those who would cut such benefits to pretend as if it doesn't matter.

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    Oregon county seeks to hold fossil fuel companies accountable for extreme heat
  • You are absolutely correct. Not to mention that -- considering only normal operation -- coal plants release more uncontained radioactivity into the environment. (I'm VERY aware of the caveat that I specified "normal operation" and "uncontained", before anyone brings it up.)

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    The GOP's proposed national platform is extremely transphobic
  • You are making a false equivalency between "being Christian" and "being a bigot". While there is a high correlation, particularly with some denominations of Christianity, they are not synonymous. (Heck, I've seen some religious groups at my local Pride celebrations for years.)

    Presumably you're aware of this.

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    Families urge judge to block law forcing display of ‘Protestant version of the Ten Commandments’ before kids return to public school in Louisiana
  • Well, sure, if they weren't misrepresenting their motives. The real motive is indoctrination and the incorporation of a specific flavor of Christianity into all aspects of USAian society, transforming it into a theocracy. They're not particularly subtle about this. :)

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    PSA May Be Insufficient to Detect Early Prostate Cancer in Transgender Women
  • PSA == Prostate Specific Antigen, referring to a blood test used to screen for prostate cancer.

    I presume the rest of the words are easily understandable or able to be looked up.

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    PSA May Be Insufficient to Detect Early Prostate Cancer in Transgender Women
  • I believe their logic is such (I'm not involved with the study, but have a background in medicine and research):

    Elevated PSA (a blood test) signals prostate cancers.
    PSA tests are relatively routine bloodwork with an assumption of uniform coverage across all patients, trans or not. PSA tests are presumed to uncover early cancer presentation. Therefore, if we're only seeing advanced cancer presentation in trans women, the PSA test is a poor screening device for early prostate cancer in that population.

    Point 2 is a big assumption; I am ignorant if that would be a confounding variable in real life, or if that's even been studied.

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    Fedi Garden to Instance Admins: “Block Threads to Remain Listed”
  • I get this argument... but I keep seeing folks talk about Threads as if it's somehow an existential threat to Mastodon rather than "big crappy instance with asshats on it," and I don't quite understand how it's more than that... at least at a level that users and instance admins have any influence over. Can someone ELI5?

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    US lawmakers vote 50-0 to force sale of TikTok despite angry calls from users
  • Unlike? I think you mean they're JEALOUS of TikTok's appeal to minors...

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