In the News

Here is some stuff in the news today...

[Content Note: Racism] It seems like Samsung's new smart watch has a race problem: A Shaker who works in a Samsung call center, and who wants to remain anonymous, emailed me with a heads-up about the new family of Samsung smart watches launched in April. The watches feature a heavily touted embedded heart-rate monitor. However, the sensor is not working particularly well — especially on skin tones other than white. Shaker Anon says, as far as zie can tell, Samsung is aware of the issue, but hasn't halted sales, nor has publicly disclosed that people of color with darker skin tones may have issues with their technology. "The last I heard," says Shaker Anon, "is a vague 'it's being looked into' statement."

The uninsured rate for US adults has dropped to a record low of 13.4%: "This is the lowest monthly uninsured rate recorded since Gallup and Healthways began tracking it in January 2008, besting the previous low of 13.9% in September of that year. The uninsured rate peaked at 18.0% in the third quarter of 2013, but has consistently declined since then." Huh! I wonder what it is that could have had this remarkable effect? "This downward trend in the uninsured rate coincided with the health insurance marketplace exchanges opening in October 2013." Welp. The floor is yours, Republicans! *crickets*

(I will note, again, that I have problems with the ACA, and also observe that 13.4% uninsured is still far too high. But that doesn't mean this hasn't been a game-changer for a hell of a lot of people. More and more and more progress on access to healthcare, please!)

[CN: War; violence] The situation in Ukraine continues to deteriorate: "Ukrainian troops fought pitched gun battles Monday with pro-Russian militias occupying the eastern city of Slovyansk, and the government sent an elite national guard unit to the southern port city of Odessa as Kyiv scrambled to bring much of the country back under the capital's control. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said four officers have been killed and another 30 soldiers injured in the fighting. Gunfire and multiple explosions were heard in and around Slovyansk, a city of 125,000 people that has become the focus of the armed insurgency against the new interim government in Kyiv."

[CN: Terrorism; school violence] In Waseca, Minnesota, a 17-year-old's plan to kill his family and cause massive damage and injury at his high school was thwarted by police: "The investigation began in late March after three small explosive devices were discovered at an elementary school playground in the city of 9,400 people, about 80 miles south of Minneapolis. The youth allegedly admitted setting off practice bombs there. He allegedly told police he planned to shoot his mother, father and sister, then start a fire in a rural field to distract first-responders while he went to the school to set off pressure-cooker bombs in the cafeteria. He also allegedly planned to throw Molotov cocktails, gun down students, and kill a school liaison officer while he helped injured students. He said his ultimate goal was for a SWAT team to kill him. ...Police recovered seven firearms, ammunition and three functional bombs from the boy's home, along with black clothing and a ski mask." What a huge relief that he was caught in time. What a terrifying situation for the residents of Waseca nonetheless.

[CN: Christian Supremacy] The Supreme Court has ruled "that a town in upstate New York may begin its public meetings with a prayer from a 'chaplain of the month,'" because of course they have. Background on the case here and here.

In good news: "The United States Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued guidelines this week clarifying for the first time that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination against transgender students. 'Title IX's sex discrimination prohibition extends to claims of discrimination based on gender identity or failure to conform to stereotypical notions of masculinity or femininity and OCR accepts such complaints for investigation,' the guidelines state. The guidance, included in a larger document on school's responsibilities to protect students from sexual violence, also declares that schools must provide equal access to all programs and facilities for transgender students, consistent with the student's gender identity."

[CN: Sexual violence] Last month, director Bryan Singer was accused in a lawsuit of drugging and sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1999. Another suit has been filed, alleging sexual abuse of another teenage boy. Singer's lawyer denies the allegations, naturally.

[CN: Guns; violence] The latest news from the Oscar Pistorius trial is that a neighbor testified Pistorius was upset after shooting and killing Reeva Steenkamp. I'm sure he was.

And finally, this is one of the best stories ever: After their dog Reckless was separated from them during Hurricane Sandy, the James family searched and searched for him, but couldn't find him. "Eighteen months later, the James family decided it was time to welcome another dog to their hearts and restored home. ...Charles and Elicia walked into Monmouth County SPCA to adopt their new family member but instead spotted Reckless, the one they had lost 1.5 years ago. 'I told my wife 'That dog looks like Reckless' and she said 'It is Reckless!'' Charles James told NY Daily News. 'He started jumping three feet in the air and we started crying.'" ALL THE BLUBS FOREVERRRRRR!