Substance use among older drivers increases the probability of them being at-fault two to four times during a crash, a new study, analyzing nine years’ worth of US nationwide highway traffic data, shows. Although older drivers are less likely to report using substances, this research found that out of a sample of 87,060 drivers involved...
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Chicago Pollution Varies by Neighborhood
New simulation combines emissions with weather and chemistry in an air-quality model First neighborhood-scale simulation of its kind focused on Chicago tracks air quality hour by hour across areas as small as 1.3 kilometers-sized blocks Simulation can show how pollutants move across space and time throughout the city and surrounding areas Air pollution along highways...
Study Finds Neighborhood Apps Increase Perceptions of Crime Rates
How often do you glance at your neighborhood app, like Nextdoor or others, and learn about some crime in your area? Surely, it was not the intention of the app developers, but every time you hear of a crime nearby you might think that crime in your area is rampant. A new study by a...
Secession Is Here: States, Cities and the Wealthy Are Already Withdrawing from America
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, wants a “national divorce.” In her view, another Civil War is inevitable unless red and blue states form separate countries. She has plenty of company on the right, where a host of others – 52% of Trump voters, Donald Trump himself and prominent Texas Republicans – have...
Miami Beach Struggles with Spring Break Violence, Big Crowds
For the third year in a row, Miami Beach finds itself struggling with spring break violence, including two fatal shootings and unruly crowds, despite a massive police presence and activities designed to give people alternatives to drinking alcohol and roaming the streets. The party-all-the-time vibe in the South Beach section of the popular barrier island...
For God’s Sake: Baylor Researchers Develop a New Model to Predict Smartphone Use During Church Services
Smartphones are a ubiquitous part of daily life, always close by for a quick update or scroll. But there are some spaces where smartphone use may be uncertain or even unwelcome – church services, for instance. Noted Baylor University smartphone researchers Meredith E. David, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing, and James A. Roberts, Ph.D., The Ben H....
Where Do Stolen Bikes Go?
Amsterdam is one of the most bike-friendly major cities in the world. That also means the city is a happy hunting ground for thieves, who steal tens of thousands of bikes per year — a substantial chunk of the estimated 850,000 or so that Amsterdam residents own. Which raises some questions. Where do all the...
DeSantis Nears Takeover of Disney Government in Florida
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis moved closer to taking over Walt Disney World’s self-governing district Thursday after House Republicans approved legislation meant to punish the company over its opposition to the law critics have dubbed “Don’t Say Gay.” The bill would leave the district intact but would change its name and require DeSantis to appoint a five-member governing...
Railway Made Swedish Villages and Towns Greener
Construction of the main railway lines in Sweden included a large-scale garden project. Parks and kitchen gardens were built around the new stations, and long hedges were planted along the railways. A new dissertation from the University of Gothenburg describes how this came to be and explains why almost all of these cultivated areas are...
Analyzing the Blueprints of Redlining in Ohio
Eighty years after the federal Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC) carved up the nation’s metropolitan neighborhoods into redlined maps, researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine performed an autopsy on the discriminatory lending practice. Specifically, researchers examined factors that went into decisions made by Ohio’s loan officers, appraisers and real-estate professionals for mortgage applications from...