STM Daily News
Unanimous Supreme Court Decision Preserves Access to Widely Used Abortion Medication
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously preserved access to mifepristone, a medication used in nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the United States last year. This ruling is the court’s first major abortion decision since the conservative justices overturned Roe v. Wade two years ago. The nine justices ruled that abortion opponents lacked the legal standing to challenge the federal Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval and regulation of the drug.
The Case and Its Implications
The ruling came as a relief to many in the medical community and those advocating for reproductive rights. The case had the potential to restrict access to mifepristone nationwide, even in states where abortion remains legal. Currently, abortion is banned at all stages of pregnancy in 14 states and is heavily restricted after six weeks in three others.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the majority opinion, emphasized that federal courts are not the appropriate venue for contesting the FDA’s decisions. His opinion, which managed to unite a deeply divided court, focused narrowly on the legal issue of standing, avoiding any broader judgments on the FDA’s actions or the drug’s safety.
Reactions to the Decision
President Joe Biden praised the decision, highlighting its significance in maintaining access to a safe and effective medication. He noted, however, that the ruling does not change the broader challenges women face in accessing abortion services in many states. Biden signaled that Democrats will continue to emphasize abortion rights in their campaign efforts leading up to the November elections.
On the other side, Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of SBA Pro-Life America, expressed disappointment but directed her criticism towards the Democrats, accusing them of pushing for unrestricted access to abortion.
Public Opinion and Future Legal Battles
Public opinion on mifepristone reflects a divided nation. According to a KFF poll conducted in February, about two-thirds of U.S. adults oppose banning the use of mifepristone nationwide, while about one-third support such a ban.
The Supreme Court’s decision has not quelled the ongoing legal battles over abortion access. Another case before the court involves whether a federal law on emergency medical treatment overrides state abortion bans in cases where a pregnant patient’s health is at serious risk.
Mifepristone: A Safe and Effective Option
Since its approval in 2000, over six million people have used mifepristone. The drug works by blocking the hormone progesterone, which prepares the uterus to respond to a second drug, misoprostol, that induces contractions. This two-drug regimen is effective through the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.
Healthcare providers have expressed concern that if mifepristone becomes unavailable or difficult to obtain, they would have to rely solely on misoprostol, which is less effective on its own.
The FDA’s Role and Broader Implications
Biden’s administration and drug manufacturers argued that siding with abortion opponents in this case could undermine the FDA’s authority and drug approval process, potentially leading to increased judicial interference in scientific judgments. Abigail Long, a spokeswoman for Danco Laboratories, which manufactures mifepristone, highlighted that the decision safeguards access to a drug with a long track record of safety and efficacy.
Looking Ahead
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, the push to restrict access to abortion pills is likely to continue. Erin Hawley, an attorney for the group Alliance Defending Freedom, suggested that future lawsuits might arise, potentially involving states like Idaho, Kansas, and Missouri, which have shown interest in challenging the FDA’s regulations.
As the nation navigates the complex landscape of abortion rights post-Roe, this unanimous Supreme Court decision represents a significant, albeit narrow, victory for reproductive rights advocates. The ruling underscores the importance of the upcoming 2024 elections and the potential impact of future FDA leadership on access to reproductive healthcare.
https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-abortion-mifepristone-fda-4073b9a7b1cbb1c3641025290c22be2a
Source: AP
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Why people tend to believe UFOs are extraterrestrial
Barry Markovsky, University of South Carolina
Most of us still call them UFOs – unidentified flying objects. NASA recently adopted the term “unidentified anomalous phenomena,” or UAP. Either way, every few years popular claims resurface that these things are not of our world, or that the U.S. government has some stored away.
I’m a sociologist who focuses on the interplay between individuals and groups, especially concerning shared beliefs and misconceptions. As for why UFOs and their alleged occupants enthrall the public, I’ve found that normal human perceptual and social processes explain UFO buzz as much as anything up in the sky.
Historical context
Like political scandals and high-waisted jeans, UFOs trend in and out of collective awareness but never fully disappear. Thirty years of polling find that 25%-50% of surveyed Americans believe at least some UFOs are alien spacecraft. Today in the U.S., over 100 million adults think our galactic neighbors pay us visits.
It wasn’t always so. Linking objects in the sky with visiting extraterrestrials has risen in popularity only in the past 75 years. Some of this is probably market-driven. Early UFO stories boosted newspaper and magazine sales, and today they are reliable clickbait online.
In 1980, a popular book called “The Roswell Incident” by Charles Berlitz and William L. Moore described an alleged flying saucer crash and government cover-up 33 years prior near Roswell, New Mexico. The only evidence ever to emerge from this story was a small string of downed weather balloons. Nevertheless, the book coincided with a resurgence of interest in UFOs. From there, a steady stream of UFO-themed TV shows, films, and pseudo-documentaries has fueled public interest. Perhaps inevitably, conspiracy theories about government cover-ups have risen in parallel.
Some UFO cases inevitably remain unresolved. But despite the growing interest, multiple investigations have found no evidence that UFOs are of extraterrestrial origin – other than the occasional meteor or misidentification of Venus.
But the U.S. Navy’s 2017 Gimbal video continues to appear in the media. It shows strange objects filmed by fighter jets, often interpreted as evidence of alien spacecraft. And in June 2023, an otherwise credible Air Force veteran and former intelligence officer made the stunning claim that the U.S. government is storing numerous downed alien spacecraft and their dead occupants. https://www.youtube.com/embed/2TumprpOwHY?wmode=transparent&start=0 UFO videos released by the U.S. Navy, often taken as evidence of alien spaceships.
Human factors contributing to UFO beliefs
Only a small percentage of UFO believers are eyewitnesses. The rest base their opinions on eerie images and videos strewn across both social media and traditional mass media. There are astronomical and biological reasons to be skeptical of UFO claims. But less often discussed are the psychological and social factors that bring them to the popular forefront.
Many people would love to know whether or not we’re alone in the universe. But so far, the evidence on UFO origins is ambiguous at best. Being averse to ambiguity, people want answers. However, being highly motivated to find those answers can bias judgments. People are more likely to accept weak evidence or fall prey to optical illusions if they support preexisting beliefs.
For example, in the 2017 Navy video, the UFO appears as a cylindrical aircraft moving rapidly over the background, rotating and darting in a manner unlike any terrestrial machine. Science writer Mick West’s analysis challenged this interpretation using data displayed on the tracking screen and some basic geometry. He explained how the movements attributed to the blurry UFO are an illusion. They stem from the plane’s trajectory relative to the object, the quick adjustments of the belly-mounted camera, and misperceptions based on our tendency to assume cameras and backgrounds are stationary.
West found the UFO’s flight characteristics were more like a bird’s or a weather balloon’s than an acrobatic interstellar spacecraft. But the illusion is compelling, especially with the Navy’s still deeming the object unidentified.
West also addressed the former intelligence officer’s claim that the U.S. government possesses crashed UFOs and dead aliens. He emphasized caution, given the whistleblower’s only evidence was that people he trusted told him they’d seen the alien artifacts. West noted we’ve heard this sort of thing before, along with promises that the proof will soon be revealed. But it never comes.
Anyone, including pilots and intelligence officers, can be socially influenced to see things that aren’t there. Research shows that hearing from others who claim to have seen something extraordinary is enough to induce similar judgments. The effect is heightened when the influencers are numerous or higher in status. Even recognized experts aren’t immune from misjudging unfamiliar images obtained under unusual conditions.
Group factors contributing to UFO beliefs
“Pics or it didn’t happen” is a popular expression on social media. True to form, users are posting countless shaky images and videos of UFOs. Usually they’re nondescript lights in the sky captured on cellphone cameras. But they can go viral on social media and reach millions of users. With no higher authority or organization propelling the content, social scientists call this a bottom-up social diffusion process.
In contrast, top-down diffusion occurs when information emanates from centralized agents or organizations. In the case of UFOs, sources have included social institutions like the military, individuals with large public platforms like U.S. senators, and major media outlets like CBS.
Amateur organizations also promote active personal involvement for many thousands of members, the Mutual UFO Network being among the oldest and largest. But as Sharon A. Hill points out in her book “Scientifical Americans,” these groups apply questionable standards, spread misinformation and garner little respect within mainstream scientific communities.
Top-down and bottom-up diffusion processes can combine into self-reinforcing loops. Mass media spreads UFO content and piques worldwide interest in UFOs. More people aim their cameras at the skies, creating more opportunities to capture and share odd-looking content. Poorly documented UFO pics and videos spread on social media, leading media outlets to grab and republish the most intriguing. Whistleblowers emerge periodically, fanning the flames with claims of secret evidence.
Despite the hoopla, nothing ever comes of it.
For a scientist familiar with the issues, skepticism that UFOs carry alien beings is wholly separate from the prospect of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe. Scientists engaged in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence have a number of ongoing research projects designed to detect signs of extraterrestrial life. If intelligent life is out there, they’ll likely be the first to know.
As astronomer Carl Sagan wrote, “The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”
Barry Markovsky, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology, University of South Carolina
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/
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Near-Earth Object 2024 UQ: A Close Call from the Cosmos
In a remarkable demonstration of both the unpredictability of space and the extraordinary capabilities of modern astronomical detection, a small asteroid, designated 2024 UQ, recently made headlines after it struck Earth just hours after being identified. This event, which took place on October 22, 2024, marks the third “imminent impactor” recorded this year, highlighting the continual and often daunting reality of near-Earth objects (NEOs).
Discovered by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) in Hawaii, a network of four telescopes dedicated to scanning the night sky for potential collision threats, 2024 UQ was small—measuring only about 3 feet (1 meter) in diameter. While news of an asteroid making contact with Earth can evoke concern, there was no cause for alarm in this instance. The diminutive size of the asteroid meant that it posed very little threat to anything on the ground. In fact, it burned up in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean near California, leaving no trace or damage.
However, the swift timeline of events raises critical questions about the effectiveness of our current monitoring systems. The impact occurred just two hours after the initial detection, which meant that by the time data was transmitted to the impact monitoring systems operated by the European Space Agency’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center, the impact had already taken place. According to their November 2024 newsletter, the ATLAS survey had successfully obtained images identifying the asteroid on a collision trajectory, but due to its position near the edge of two adjacent observational fields, it was not recognized as a significant threat until it was too late.
This incident serves as a reminder of the complexities involved in tracking and predicting the paths of NEOs. While advancements in technology have undoubtedly improved our ability to detect these celestial objects, the circumstances surrounding 2024 UQ showcase the potential for oversights in our monitoring capabilities. Despite this event being minor in scale, it emphasizes the importance of continued investment in space surveillance systems, as well as international collaboration in tracking potential hazards lurking in the vast expanse of space.
As we look forward, this close encounter reaffirms the need for vigilance in our exploration and observation of the cosmos. Each NEO presents an opportunity for learning and growth in our understanding of near-Earth dynamics. While 2024 UQ may have come and gone without incident, it certainly sparks curiosity about what lies ahead in our ongoing quest to safeguard our planet from the skies.
Reference Links:
Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS): https://fallingstar.com/
The Danger from Asteroid Impact: https://fallingstar.com/danger.php
The science section of our news blog STM Daily News provides readers with captivating and up-to-date information on the latest scientific discoveries, breakthroughs, and innovations across various fields. We offer engaging and accessible content, ensuring that readers with different levels of scientific knowledge can stay informed. Whether it’s exploring advancements in medicine, astronomy, technology, or environmental sciences, our science section strives to shed light on the intriguing world of scientific exploration and its profound impact on our daily lives. From thought-provoking articles to informative interviews with experts in the field, STM Daily News Science offers a harmonious blend of factual reporting, analysis, and exploration, making it a go-to source for science enthusiasts and curious minds alike. https://stmdailynews.com/category/science/
STM Daily News is a vibrant news blog dedicated to sharing the brighter side of human experiences. Emphasizing positive, uplifting stories, the site focuses on delivering inspiring, informative, and well-researched content. With a commitment to accurate, fair, and responsible journalism, STM Daily News aims to foster a community of readers passionate about positive change and engaged in meaningful conversations. Join the movement and explore stories that celebrate the positive impacts shaping our world.
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Petersburg, Virginia Residents Vote Yes! For Live! Casino Resort: A Historic Moment for the Community
On November 5, 2024, the residents of Petersburg, Virginia, made history by overwhelmingly supporting the casino referendum with more than 80% of votes in favor of the Live! Casino Resort project. This remarkable show of support marks the highest approval for a casino initiative in Virginia history and is a monumental step forward for Petersburg and its future.
A Vision for Economic Prosperity
The approval of the $1.4 billion Live! Casino Resort, co-developed by The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprise, will serve as a catalyst for economic revitalization in Petersburg. Anticipated to open its first phase in 2026, the resort promises to deliver thousands of new jobs, generate billions in economic benefits, and greatly enhance the local community’s infrastructure and services.
Bruce Smith, Pro Football Hall of Fame member and owner of Bruce Smith Enterprise, expressed gratitude for the community’s backing, stating, “The casino will not only create good-paying jobs for our residents but will also attract visitors statewide and beyond, stimulating local businesses.” With this vote confirming the community’s confidence in the project, the developers are eager to secure all necessary permits and licenses to begin construction.
Transformative Development Ahead
This casino project isn’t just about gaming—it represents an ambitious rejuvenation plan for the city, which has faced economic challenges in recent years. Mayor Sam Parham noted, “The approval of the destination resort and casino in Petersburg marks a significant milestone for our City,” emphasizing the transformative potential this initiative holds for future generations.
Once completed, Live! Casino Resort will boast a range of features, including:
- Over 400,000 square feet of gaming, hotel, and dining space.
- A 3,000-seat entertainment venue for top talent and events.
- 1,600 state-of-the-art slot machines and 46 live action table games.
- An upscale hotel featuring a resort pool and 20 suites.
The anticipated development is projected to generate $504 million in tax revenues, with $240 million earmarked for Petersburg alone, helping to support community services such as education and public safety.
Job Creation and Community Engagement
One of the most significant impacts of the Live! Casino Resort will be job creation. The project is expected to generate over 7,500 new jobs, with a commitment to hiring local residents. Roles will span various fields, including gaming operations, hotel management, marketing, and more.
To ensure that Petersburg residents benefit from these opportunities, the developers will host community-based job fairs and workshops, offering tailored recruitment services and training programs. Additionally, Live! Casino Resort is committed to sourcing goods and services locally, boosting economic growth within the region.
A Commitment to Community Partnerships
The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprise have long valued community engagement and support. They plan to act as conveners for local non-profits and community organizations, assisting in fundraising and volunteer efforts to foster a sense of cooperation and shared purpose within Petersburg.
Zed Smith, Chief Operating Officer of The Cordish Companies, stated, “This community has waited a long time for an economic development project of this size and scale… We cannot wait to start hiring local residents and partnering with local businesses and entrepreneurs.”
As Petersburg embarks on this exciting new chapter, residents can look forward to a revitalized city that promises not only economic growth but a stronger sense of community spirit and opportunity for all. With the recent approval of Live! Casino Resort, the future of Petersburg shines brighter than ever.
For more information about the Live! Casino Resort project, please visit valive.casino.
The successful passage of the casino referendum in Petersburg stands as a testament to the city’s vision for a prosperous future. With the commitment of The Cordish Companies and Bruce Smith Enterprise, as well as unwavering community support, Petersburg is on the brink of transformation, setting the stage for a new era of economic vibrancy and community enrichment.
SOURCE The Cordish Companies
STM Daily News is a vibrant news blog dedicated to sharing the brighter side of human experiences. Emphasizing positive, uplifting stories, the site focuses on delivering inspiring, informative, and well-researched content. With a commitment to accurate, fair, and responsible journalism, STM Daily News aims to foster a community of readers passionate about positive change and engaged in meaningful conversations. Join the movement and explore stories that celebrate the positive impacts shaping our world.
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