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 gunman killed seven people in northern California in what authorities are describing as workplace violence, the state's third mass shooting in eight days.
U.S. officials say the U.S. is poised to approve sending M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, as international reluctance to send tanks to the battlefront against the Russians appeared to begin eroding.
Inflation hit a 40-year high last year, and while inflation has slowed and even declined in recent months, consumers are still shelling out more than usual for their groceries.
New York, Connecticut and Virginia are among states where proposed legislation would prohibit anyone convicted of participating in an insurrection from holding public office or a position of public trust, such as becoming a police officer.
Women's marches across the country demanded the protection of abortion rights on Sunday, the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to legalize the medical procedure that was struck down by the court last year.
