BIAS IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS
A new study published yesterday in Jama found that a test used to diagnose patients with lung cancer had a built-in racial bias. The algorithm in the software used to diagnose patients assumed that Black people had naturally weaker lung capacity, raising the threshold for recommending care and making it less likely that they would be prescribed medication. According to the study, up to 40 percent more Black men would have been diagnosed with breathing problems if the bias had been corrected. The study also pointed out that this specific test isn't the only place where racial bias affects medicine. Prejudices and assumptions about racial differences affect patients looking for heart and kidney care as well.
WARNING ABOUT PAYMENT APPS
There's a new warning for people who store money in payment apps like Paypal, Venmo, and Cash App. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPC) said that the funds may not be secure in the case of a crisis, because while traditional bank accounts are secured up to $250,000, money held in a payment app doesn't have the same protections. So if one of these companies ever had a funding issue or was forced to close, customers could lose their money.
A huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailed across the U.S. on Friday, drawing severe Pentagon accusations of spying and sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars
The driver of a car that plunged off a treacherous cliff in northern California, seriously injuring himself, his wife and their two young children, was charged Monday with attempted murder.
Police said a drive-by shooting left 10 people hurt in Lakeland, FL.
Alec Baldwin was formally charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during the filming of "Rust" in 2021.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and “Full Self-Driving” features.
The costs of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to skyrocket once the government stops buying them, with Pfizer saying it will charge as much as $130 per dose, and millions of people are expected to be kicked off of Medicaid.
Parts of the south are bracing themselves for an onslaught of wet wintry weather that will last for most of the workweek.
The World Health Organization chief says the coronavirus remains a global health emergency.
A sixth officer involved in the beating death of Tyre Nichols was relieved of duty, according to Karen Rudolph, a spokeswoman for the Memphis Police department.
The same day, U.S. health officials reported the first known case in which the new coronavirus was spread from one person to another in the United States.
