A bill introduced in Republican-controlled Wisconsin to ban abortions 20 weeks after conception is likely to become law in the next few weeks. That would make it the 38th new law across 11 US states set this year to restrict women’s access to abortion.
Republicans’ slow attack on the right to abortion is working. Find out how on Quartz, published May 11, 2015.
Image by ashley rose under CC-BY-NC-ND
When nearly half of US internet users are getting their political news from Facebook, it rightfully raises many worries. Chief among them is that Facebook’s powerful algorithm creates a “filter bubble” in which users mainly see posts they agree with, reinforcing the heavily polarized nature of American political discourse.
In research recently published in Science, researchers from Facebook and the University of Michigan suggest that the news feed algorithm is less influential than some people have made it out to be. Instead, they claim it is mostly users themselves who, through their decisions about what to click on or who to be friends with, are responsible for the creation of any ideological bubbles.
Don’t be so quick to let Facebook off the hook, though. Despite being published in a reputable science journal, the researchers’ conclusion appears to be questionable.
Read more on Quartz, published May 11, 2015.
Nepal was again hit with a major earthquake again. Only three weeks ago a much larger earthquake had hit the country. Together they have left more than 8,000 dead, scores injured and millions displaced. Sadly, scientists had predicted that another earthquake was coming—and many more will come in the future in this seismically active region.
Read more on Quartz, published May 12, 2015.
Akshat Rathi 