Have Yourself a Porny Little Christmas
Kangah/Getty Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. It could be the gift-giving, the mistletoe, or the spiked eggnog—but something about Christmas seems to make people want to get it on. In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, a group of researchers from Portugal and Indiana University analyzed Google searches between 2004 and 2014…
What Siri Says When New Zealanders Ask About Sex
Mother Jones illustration Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. “Tell me about menopause.” “Am I at risk of HIV?” “Is it OK to put a jade egg in my vagina?” A team of New Zealand researchers posed these questions and 47 others to digital assistants to determine how effectively Siri et…
Study: Fracking Can Stunt the Growth of Your Baby
Kanawa_Studio/Getty Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. The practice of drilling into the ground to release natural gas—known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking—first made national headlines in 2011 when drinking water taps in fracking towns in Pennsylvania began catching fire because flammable methane was seeping into water supplies. Since then, fracking has been linked…
A Hospital Charged $1,877 to Pierce a 5-Year-Old’s Ears. This Is Why Health Care Costs So Much.
knape/Getty Looking for news you can trust?Subscribe to our free newsletters. Two years ago, Margaret O’Neill brought her 5-year-old daughter to Children’s Hospital Colorado because the band of tissue that connected her tongue to the floor of her mouth was too tight. The condition, literally called being “tongue-tied,” made it hard for the girl to…
Kellyanne Conway Has Zero Experience In Drug Policy But Is Running the White House Opioid Response
Kellyanne Conway is spearheading the Trump Administration’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a press conference Wednesday. Conway will “coordinate and lead the effort from the White House,” according to Sessions. “I think her appointment represents a very significant commitment from the president and his White House team.” Conway has “zero background” on drug…
Trump’s War on the Environment Is a Civil Rights Emergency
Children play basketball in Port Arthur, Tex. neighborhoodDavid Goldman/AP This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The Trump administration’s dismantling of environmental regulations has intensified a growing civil rights battle over the deadly burden of pollution on minorities and low-income people. Black, Latino, and disadvantaged people have…