No Shit Sherlock

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/15409667

The economy as a whole has proved resilient amid the highest rates in decades. But beneath the surface, many low- and moderate-income families are struggling.

High interest rates haven’t crashed the financial system, set off a wave of bankruptcies or caused the recession that many economists feared.

But for millions of low- and moderate-income families, high rates are taking a toll.

…

The overall economy has proved unexpectedly resilient to high interest rates. Consumers have continued spending on travel, restaurant meals and entertainment thanks to rising wages and debt levels that, despite their recent increase, remain manageable as a share of income for most people.

But aggregate figures obscure an underlying divide that is likely to widen the longer interest rates remain high. Affluent households, and even many in the middle class, have largely been insulated from the effects of the Fed’s policies. Many took out long-term mortgages when rates were at rock bottom in 2020 or earlier — if they don’t own their homes outright — and most have little if any variable-rate debt. And they are benefiting from higher returns on their savings.

For poorer families, it is different. They are likelier to carry a balance on credit cards, meaning they’re more likely to feel high rates. According to Fed data, about 56 percent of people earning less than $25,000 carried a credit card balance in 2022, compared with 38 percent of those earning more than $100,000. Black Americans, like Ms. Dorsey, and Latinos are also more likely to carry balances.

Non-paywall link

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13082132

The headquarters of the New Orleans Police Department is in such a state of decay that rats are eating drugs in the evidence room, the department's chief said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13117336

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13097520

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/6232190

In a report published on Thursday, three U.N.-appointed experts said they had found practices in U.S. prisons that amounted to "an affront to human dignity" in visits in April and May.

The U.S. diplomatic mission in Geneva declined to comment. The Federal Bureau of Prisons said it was committed to ensuring the safety and security of incarcerated individuals as well as employees and the public.

One such practice is restraining and shackling women prisoners during childbirth, the report said.

The experts "heard, first hand, unbearable direct testimonies of pregnant women shackled during labour, who due to the chaining, lost their babies", it said. Asked to give details, a U.N. rights spokesperson referred to "several" cases and confirmed they all involved Black women.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11606296

TheHill.com

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/5870422

Fifteen states — all but one run by Republican governors — skipped the deadline to apply for a new federally-funded program that will provide $120 per child for groceries during the summer months to families of children who already qualify for free or reduced-price lunch at school.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/13510885

Political violence is at historic levels in the US, and if recent events are any indication, things are about to take a turn for the worse just as we approach the 2024 presidential election campaign. This continues a trend that started in 2016, when politically-motivated violence spiked to levels not seen in decades, but what we’re seeing now seems to represent a shift in the trajectory of political violence — a shift towards more widespread, targeted, and high-impact violence. It’s the type of violence that accelerationist extremists have long espoused; the type that is meant to pave the way to another civil war.

In just the past few weeks, we’ve seen a rash of swatting incidents targeting political figures, along with bomb threats sent to government offices in at least 23 states, resulting in the evacuation of at least nine state capitals. Most recently, Donald Trump’s trial in New York — where he faces fraud charges — was briefly paused after the judge overseeing the trial received a bomb threat against his home in Long Island.

. . .

These incidents are in line with a longer-term trend of increasing levels of political violence that began in 2016 and likely still hasn’t reached its peak despite reaching levels not seen in half a century. From 2021 through 2023, Reuters identified 213 cases of political violence in the U.S., representing “the biggest and most sustained increase in political violence since the 1970s.” At least 39 people were killed in these incidents, nearly all of which were perpetrated by people with right-wing political leanings. Compared to the last major peak of political violence in the 1970s, the aims, tactics, and style associated with political violence today are notably different. In the 1970’s, political violence in the U.S. was often perpetrated by left-wing radicals and focused largely on destroying property like government buildings, whereas the recent wave of violence from right-wing extremists is much more focused on harming or killing people. This may be due in part to differences in the broader political climate: traditionally, political divisions have been driven mostly by policy differences between those on the left vs. right, but today’s divisiveness tends to be rooted in beliefs that members of the opposing political party are evil actors working to destroy America.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10849127

While it is well known that cannabis can cause the munchies, researchers have now revealed a mechanism in the brain that promotes appetite in a set of animal studies at Washington State University.

The discovery, detailed in the journal Scientific Reports, could pave the way for refined therapeutics to treat appetite disorders faced by cancer patients as well as anorexia and potentially obesity.

After exposing mice to vaporized cannabis sativa, researchers used calcium imaging technology, which is similar to a brain MRI, to determine how their brain cells responded. They observed that cannabis activated a set of cells in the hypothalamus when the rodents anticipated and consumed palatable food that were not activated in unexposed mice.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10849383

Intermittent fasting is popular. However, you should not expect to lose weight unless you also restrict your caloric intake. But there are still many important health benefits to intermittent fasting.

Not eating anything for 16 or 18 hours every day. Or not eating anything for two days a week. These are typical examples of popular intermittent fasting protocols, often followed by people who want to lose weight. The idea is that the body begins to tap into its fat stores when it doesn't receive food during the fasting period, resulting in weight loss over time.

“There are indeed many health benefits to intermittent fasting, but fasting itself does not lead to significant weight loss”, says Philip Ruppert, a postdoc at the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, where he studies the body's energy metabolism and has a particular interest in ketogenesis; the state where the body burns fat instead of carbohydrates.

Together with Sander Kersten, a professor at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands, he has authored a review article summarizing and discussing existing research on metabolic processes such as ketogenesis and fatty acid oxidation that come into play during fasting. The article is published in Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism and can be seen here.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10700099

Aliens have not been discovered in South America after all. The doll-like figures, photos of which went viral online last year, are just that – dolls, according to scientists.

The controversial artifacts were seized by Peruvian customs agents in October and intended for "a Mexican citizen," the Associated Press reported.

Mexican journalist and self-described "UFOlogist" Jaime Maussan brought similar unidentified fraudulent objects in front of the Mexican congress last September, claiming that they had been recovered near Peru's ancient Nazca Lines and dated over 700 years old.

...

"They are not extraterrestrials, they are not intraterrestrials, they are not a new species, they are not hybrids, they are none of those things that this group of pseudo-scientists who for six years have been presenting with these elements," Estrada said.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10658026

Men who identify as incels have "fundamental thinking errors" about what women want, research shows.

A study at Swansea University found incels - or involuntary celibates - overestimated physical attractiveness and finances, while underestimating kindness, humour and loyalty.

The study's co-author Andrew Thomas said "thinking errors" could "lead us down some quite troubling paths".

He said mental health support was crucial, as opposed to "demonisation".

The term refers to a community, largely online, of mainly heterosexual men frustrated by their inability to form romantic or sexual relationships.

The idea dates back more than 30 years and was popularised by a website offering support for lonely people who felt left behind.

Study: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00224499.2023.2248096

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/10534112

A new study has revealed that a specific group of Republicans, known as MAGA Republicans, are more likely than other groups to endorse political violence. The findings, published in PLOS One, indicate that this group, making up approximately 15% of the US adult population, showed distinct beliefs on race and democracy, differing significantly from other Republican factions and non-Republicans.

In recent years, the United States has witnessed a surge in political tensions, culminating in events like the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. This has prompted a growing concern among experts and researchers about the potential for widespread political violence. Such incidents have not only immediate physical repercussions but also long-term societal and public health consequences.

To address this concern, researchers embarked on a study to better understand the attitudes towards political violence among different political factions, with a particular focus on MAGA Republicans – a term often associated with supporters of former President Donald Trump who strongly deny the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election results.