|
Listen To This Story
 |
PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org.
AI Eye Checks Can Predict Heart Disease Risk in Less Than a Minute: Study (Maria)
The author writes, “An artificial intelligence tool that scans eyes can accurately predict a person’s risk of heart disease in less than a minute, researchers say. The breakthrough could enable ophthalmologists and other health workers to carry out cardiovascular screening … without the need for blood tests or blood pressure checks, according to the world’s largest study of its kind. Researchers found AI-enabled imaging of the retina’s veins and arteries can specify the risk of cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular death and stroke.”
Area Man Is Arrested for Parody. The Onion Files a Supreme Court Brief. (Reader Jim)
The author writes, “A man who was arrested over a Facebook parody aimed at his local police department is trying to take his case to the Supreme Court. He has sought help from an unlikely source, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief on Monday. ‘Americans can be put in jail for poking fun at the government?’ the brief asked. ‘This was a surprise to America’s Finest News Source and an uncomfortable learning experience for its editorial team.’ The source is, of course, The Onion.”
Dr. Oz’s Scientific Experiments Killed Over 300 Dogs, Entire Litter of Puppies (Mili)
From Jezebel: “A review of 75 studies published by Mehmet Oz between 1989 and 2010 reveals the Republican Senate candidate’s research killed over 300 dogs and inflicted significant suffering on them and the other animals used in experiments. Oz, the New Jersey resident who’s currently running for U.S. Senate from Pennsylvania, was a ‘principal investigator’ at the Columbia University Institute of Comparative Medicine labs for years and assumed ‘full scientific, administrative, and fiscal responsibility for the conduct’ of his studies. Over the course of 75 studies published in academic journals reviewed by Jezebel, Oz’s team conducted experiments on at least 1,027 live animal subjects that included dogs, pigs, calves, rabbits, and small rodents. Thirty-four of these experiments resulted in the deaths of at least 329 dogs, while two of his experiments killed 31 pigs, and 38 experiments killed 661 rabbits and rodents.”
Alabama GOP Chairman Made the Photo ID He Used to Vote (DonkeyHotey)
From AL.com: “When you vote in Alabama, state law requires you to show a photo ID at the polls. For most folks, this means a driver’s license, but other forms of government-issued ID are permitted — a military ID, a passport or a college student ID, among others, will do. … But the last few times Alabama Republican Party Chairman John Wahl voted, he presented poll workers with an ID they’d never seen before. To someone who had never seen a state employee ID, it could be mistaken for one. But it wasn’t. It bore a state seal, a barcode and Wahl’s picture. The badge said Wahl was a media representative for State Auditor Jim Zeigler. As it turns out, Wahl made the ID, he says, with Zeigler’s permission.”
Cop Allegedly Killed by Colleague He Was Investigating for Gang Rape (Dana)
The author writes, “Officer Houston Tipping, a five-year veteran of the LAPD, died of a spinal cord injury on May 26 while practicing a maneuver that involved grappling another officer, the department reported at the time. It was during this maneuver that Tipping, 32, was allegedly dropped on his head, causing a catastrophic injury to his spine, according to police. But attorney Bradley Gage and Tipping’s family believe the officer was beaten to death, and that the department’s version of events doesn’t tell the entire story. During a Monday press conference, Gage said Tipping was actively investigating an alleged gang rape carried out by four members of the LAPD in July 2021, at least one of whom was present when Tipping died.”
Trump, Putin, and the Assault of Anarchy (Gerry)
From The Atlantic: “We are … underreacting to the war in Ukraine. Our attention, understandably, has become focused on the human drama. But we are losing our grip on the larger story and greater danger: Russia’s dictator is demanding that he be allowed to take whatever he wants, at will and by force. He is now, as both my colleague Anne Applebaum and I have written, at war not only with Ukraine, but with the entire international order. He (like his admirer Trump) is at war with democracy itself.”
The Brain Undergoes a Great ‘Rewiring’ After Age 40 (Sean)
The author writes, “In the fifth decade of life, our brains start to undergo a radical ‘rewiring’ that results in diverse networks becoming more integrated and connected over the ensuing decades, with accompanying effects on cognition. The networking changes likely result from the brain reorganizing itself to function as well as it can with dwindling resources and aging ‘hardware.’”
