North & Central America

Good news

Claudia Sheinbaum is sworn in as Mexico’s first female president

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After a smiling Sheinbaum took the oath of office on the floor of Congress, legislators shouted “Presidenta! Presidenta!” using the feminine form of president in Spanish for the first time in over 200 years of Mexico’s history as an independent country. In her inauguration speech, Sheinbaum said that she came to power accompanied by all of the women who have struggled in anonymity to make their way in Mexico, including “those who dreamed of the possibility that one day no matter if we were born as women or men we would achieve our dreams and desires without our sex determining our destiny.”

Good news for scientific research

University of Toronto researchers develop method to accelerate forensic analysis in sexual assault cases

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The entire process currently can take days, weeks, or longer. To speed things up, the researchers focused on the first step: separating two individuals’ DNA from a single sample. At present, this is usually done manually by trained and experienced experts. The new method uses a process called ’differential digestion” using digital microfluidics that helped simplify the overall process and reduce the number of manual steps needed to isolate the assailant’s DNA from 13 to five.

Neurons inside human brain

Synapse-restoring pill set for human trials as novel schizophrenia treatment

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Spinogenix is the American company behind the once-a-day pill that restored lost nerve cell connections in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Having been granted approval from the Australia Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), it is now actively enrolling participants for its Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, effectiveness, tolerability, and pharmacodynamics of once-a-day SPG302 as a treatment for schizophrenia.

Nervous Swans in the Rice Fields

California tears down levee in ‘largest tidal habitat restoration in state history’

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A backhoe loader has dug into a levee in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, breaking down a portion of the earthen embankment and allowing tidal waters to flow across 3,400 acres of land for the first time in 100 years, officials said. The plot of land, located in Solano County and just upriver from Rio Vista, is being called Lookout Slough, and it will provide new habitat for fish and wildlife and increase flood protection for the greater Sacramento area by boosting water storage capacity in the Yolo Bypass.

Women feeling lonely and sad

Washington State considers rape kit backlog ‘essentially eliminated’ 30,000 tests later

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In a moment Washington state officials say has been a long time coming, the state’s crime lab in Vancouver is declaring its sexual assault kit testing backlog “essentially eliminated.” Over the past decade, the lab has tested more than 30,000 kits. In 2019, House Bill 1166 required rape kits to be tested within 45 days as of May 2022. Today, the Washington State Patrol’s Vancouver Crime Lab reports 95% of kits are tested and DNA entered into a database in 45 days.

Produce aisle at grocery store

California bans all plastic shopping bags at grocery stores

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California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers could purchase bags made with a thicker plastic that purportedly made them reusable and recyclable. The new measure, approved by state legislators last month, bans all plastic shopping bags starting in 2026. Consumers who don’t bring their own bags will now simply be asked if they want a paper bag.

Good news for LGBTQ rights

Governor bans use of ‘conversion therapy’ on LGBTQ+ minors in Kentucky

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Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear banned the use of “conversion therapy” on minors in Kentucky on Wednesday, calling his executive order a necessary step to protect children from a widely discredited practice that tries to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling. The governor used his executive powers after Republicans who control the state legislature repeatedly blocked efforts to enact a state law banning the practice. Beshear said he would no longer wait for others to “do what’s right.”

Hollywood sign at sunset

California passes two new bills protecting actors and performers against AI

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In a potentially precedent-setting moment for tech legislation across the country, the new laws not only bolster those existing protections but extend them to everyone in California — not just to people working in front of a camera in Hollywood, as IndieWire notes. Together, the bills make it illegal to use an AI-generated digital replica of an actor’s likeness or voice — or technically, any Californian’s — without their explicit consent. Studios will also be prohibited from cloning deceased actors unless they have permission from their estates.

Gavel

Joe Biden makes history by confirming 12th LGBTQ+ judge, the most of any U.S. presidency

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Judge Mary Kay Costello made history on Tuesday when she became the 12th Senate-confirmed LGBTQ+ judge appointed by President Joe Biden. The Senate voted 52-42 to confirm Costello after a day-long hearing. She’ll now sit on the bench of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Her confirmation helped Biden set a new record, topping both the Obama administration and Biden administration’s previously tied record of appointing 11 out LGBTQ+ judges.

Naloxone and Narcan

U.S. overdose deaths plummet, saving thousands of lives

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For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S. National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6% last year. That’s a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages.