CCF’s Weekly Media Roundup by Steve Mintz, March 7, 2019

CCF Briefing

1. When Schools Tell Kids They Can’t Use the Bathroom
2. The ‘Hidden Mechanisms’ That Help Those Born Rich to Excel in Elite Jobs
3. Well-meaning offers to help someone who’s depressed sometimes go awry. Here’s how to really make a difference.
4. The Opioid Crisis Isn’t White
5. England Greatly Expands Sex Education, Despite Some Parents’ Protests
6. I Didn’t Kill My Baby
7. Quotas for Women: A Step Toward Equality
8. Britain, Trying to Boost Organ Donations, to Make Most Adults Presumed Donors
9. Seeking a Fair Trial and a Voice in Sexual Assault Cases. For Victims.
10. ‘Executing Babies’: Here Are the Facts Behind Trump’s Misleading Abortion Tweet
11. Confirmation Bias Hurts Social Science
12. The Anger of Amy Klobuchar
13. Another Obstacle for Women in Science: Men Get More Federal Grant Money
14. Fast-Acting Depression Drug, Newly Approved, Could Help Millions
15. How to Quit Antidepressants: Very Slowly, Doctors Say
16. More Migrants Are Crossing the Border This Year. What’s Changed?
17. How to Stay Sane When Working from Home with Children
18. Let’s Stop Ignoring the Truths of Puberty. We’re Making It Even More Awkward.
19. One More Time, With Big Data: Measles Vaccine Doesn’t Cause Autism
20. Border at ‘Breaking Point’ as More than 76,000 Migrants Cross in a Month
21. Harvard Law School’s Class of 1979: The ‘Love Section’
22. Parents of West Point Cadet Killed in Accident Obtain Order to Preserve His Sperm
23. Do Kids Need Recess?
24. Reducing Maternal Mortality
25. Denmark’s ‘Pervasive Rape Culture’ Is Detailed in New Report
26. Nursing Homes Are Closing Across Rural America, Scattering Residents
27. Growing Up With Murder All Around
28. Want to Leave a Legacy? Be a Mentor
29. The Opioid Dilemma: Saving Lives in the Long Run Can Take Lives in the Short Run
30. Thousands of Immigrant Children Said They Were Sexually Abused in U.S. Detention Centers, Report Says
31. How to Rebuild Credit
32. The Deepening ‘Racialization’ of American Politics
33. The 11-year-old Argentine girl is not alone. Latin America’s abortion laws are a form of torture.
34. The Twins That Are Neither Identical nor Fraternal
35. The Servant Economy
36. A Stark Divide in America’s Retail Industry Is Coming Into Focus
37. How Much Does Nancy Pelosi Have to Worry About a Left-Center Split?
38. What Really Makes a Difference in Vaccination Rates?
39. How Breast Size Affects How Women Exercise
40. Hospital and Time of Delivery May Affect Mother’s Health
41. California Sues Trump Administration to Block Restrictions to Family Planning Program
42. Google Moves to Address Wage Equity, and Finds It’s Underpaying Many Men
43. ‘You Have to Pay With Your Body’: The Hidden Nightmare of Sexual Violence on the Border
44. Bigger, Saltier, Heavier: Fast Food Since 1986 in 3 Simple Charts
45. Not ‘My Grandfather’s Boy Scout Troop’: It’s Now for Girls, Too
46. Who Are Online, Recruited by Advertisers and 4 Years Old? Kidfluencers
47. San Francisco Is Beating H.I.V. Why Can’t Houston?
48. Behind Illicit Massage Parlors Lie a Vast Crime Network and Modern Indentured Servitude
49. The New 30-Something
50. $23 Billion Funding Gap Exists Between White and Nonwhite School Districts, Report Finds
51. States Consider Longer School Recess, and the Adults Aren’t Complaining
52. ‘Revenge Porn’ Law Finally Passes in New York
53. New York Has a Public Housing Problem. Does London Have an Answer?
54. Massachusetts Bill Would Ban Tackle Football Until After Seventh Grade
55. Supplements Won’t Prevent Dementia. But These Steps Might.
56. Unable to Post Bail? You Will Pay for That for Many Years
57. One Twin Committed the Crime – but Which One? A New DNA Test Can Finger the Culprit
58. How to Support a Friend or Loved One Who Has Been Sexually Abused
59. Readers Respond to ‘When Weddings Ruin Friendships’
60. Covering Pre-existing Conditions Isn’t Enough
61. Split-Sex Animals Are Unusual, Yes, but Not as Rare as You’d Think

1. When Schools Tell Kids They Can’t Use the Bathroom

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/02/the-tyranny-of-school-bathrooms/583660/

By imposing harsh restrictions on when students can use the restroom, educators are teaching kids to ignore their bladder.

2. The ‘Hidden Mechanisms’ That Help Those Born Rich to Excel in Elite Jobs

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/02/class-ceiling-laurison-friedman-elite-jobs/582175/

When two sociologists interviewed highly paid architects, TV producers, actors, and accountants, they encountered work cultures that favor the already affluent.

3. Well-meaning offers to help someone who’s depressed sometimes go awry. Here’s how to really make a difference.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-can-you-help-someone-who-is-depressed-1543242613

An expert describes how well-meaning offers of support can go awry-and how to really make a difference

4. The Opioid Crisis Isn’t White

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/opinion/opioid-crisis-drug-users.html

Contrary to media portrayals, overdose deaths are ravaging communities of color.

5. England Greatly Expands Sex Education, Despite Some Parents’ Protests

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/world/europe/sex-education-uk.html

The first revision of the curriculum in two decades will include information on same-sex relationships, as well as warnings against sexting and forced marriage.

6. I Didn’t Kill My Baby

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/opinion/born-alive-abortion.html

When he was born, my husband at the time and I knew he couldn’t survive. That doesn’t make me a murderer.

7. Quotas for Women: A Step Toward Equality

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/opinion/letters/quotas-women-equality.html

Two readers disagree with an Op-Ed writer’s belief that counting women is the wrong approach.

8. Britain, Trying to Boost Organ Donations, to Make Most Adults Presumed Donors

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/world/europe/uk-organ-donation.html

Under the new rules, by 2020, most adults in Britain would be considered potential organ donors unless they registered their wish to the contrary.

9. Seeking a Fair Trial and a Voice in Sexual Assault Cases. For Victims.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/world/australia/australia-sex-abuse-secrecy.html

The justice system in Australia shrouds cases of sexual assault in secrecy even when victims want to speak out.

10. ‘Executing Babies’: Here Are the Facts Behind Trump’s Misleading Abortion Tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/health/abortion-bill-trump.html

Infants are rarely born alive after abortion procedures, and if they are, doctors do not kill them.

11. Confirmation Bias Hurts Social Science

https://www.wsj.com/articles/confirmation-bias-hurts-social-science-11551831789

The debunking of an implausible study shows the need for viewpoint diversity in the academy.

12. The Anger of Amy Klobuchar

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/03/telling-reactions-tales-amy-klobuchars-rage/584104/

Don’t sell cruelty and pathological behavior as a feminist victory.

13. Another Obstacle for Women in Science: Men Get More Federal Grant Money

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/science/women-scientists-grants.html

A study finds that female scientists who win grants from the National Institutes of Health get $41,000 less than men.

14. Fast-Acting Depression Drug, Newly Approved, Could Help Millions

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/depression-treatment-ketamine-fda.html

A nasal spray version of the drug ketamine has shown promise as an antidepressant, even if its properties still aren’t well understood.

15. How to Quit Antidepressants: Very Slowly, Doctors Say

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/depression-withdrawal-drugs.html

Mustering solid evidence, two psychiatrists have denounced their field’s standard guidelines for how best to wean patients from depression medications.

16. More Migrants Are Crossing the Border This Year. What’s Changed?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/us/crossing-the-border-statistics.html

In the past, undocumented immigrants were mostly single men from Mexico, but that’s no longer the case. A look at who is coming and what is driving them.

17. How to Stay Sane When Working from Home with Children

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/smarter-living/wirecutter/how-to-stay-sane-when-working-from-home-with-children.html

If you work from home with your kids around, you know it can be a challenge when you need to focus on one or the other. These tips can help.

18. Let’s Stop Ignoring the Truths of Puberty. We’re Making It Even More Awkward.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/sex-education-us-puberty.html

Sex education in U.S. schools is lacking, but new efforts to broaden its scope are bubbling up.

19. One More Time, With Big Data: Measles Vaccine Doesn’t Cause Autism

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/health/measles-vaccine-autism.html

A 10-year look at more than 600,000 children comes at a time when anti-vaccine suspicion is on the rise again.

20. Border at ‘Breaking Point’ as More than 76,000 Migrants Cross in a Month

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/us/border-crossing-increase.html

The number of migrants apprehended on the southwest border is up about 90 percent from levels recorded at the same time last year, the authorities said.

21. Harvard Law School’s Class of 1979: The ‘Love Section’

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/fashion/weddings/harvard-law-schools-class-of-1979-the-love-section.html

Six couples from one section in the 1979 Harvard Law class married, and they remain married today. They offer some advice for lawyer couples.

22. Parents of West Point Cadet Killed in Accident Obtain Order to Preserve His Sperm

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/nyregion/west-point-peter-zhu-death.html

Peter Zhu, the cadet who died last week, dreamed of having children. His parents said a court order to retrieve his sperm was their last chance.

23. Do Kids Need Recess?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/learning/do-kids-need-recess.html

Some states are now pushing for longer recess. Can more open playtime lead to better learning?

24. Reducing Maternal Mortality

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/05/well/family/reducing-maternal-mortality.html

A new law to help states investigate deaths from childbirth complications is a start, but experts say what is really needed is reducing C-section rates.

25. Denmark’s ‘Pervasive Rape Culture’ Is Detailed in New Report

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/world/europe/denmark-amnesty-rape-culture.html

A new Amnesty International study detailed how the Nordic nation, long held up as a bastion of equality, has a problematic view of rape.

26. Nursing Homes Are Closing Across Rural America, Scattering Residents

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/us/rural-nursing-homes-closure.html

As financial pressures have forced scores of small-town nursing homes to shut down, their residents often must relocate far from their families to find care.

27. Growing Up With Murder All Around

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/books/review/alex-kotlowitz-american-summer.html

Alex Kotlowitz’s “An American Summer” describes life on Chicago’s meanest streets.

28. Want to Leave a Legacy? Be a Mentor

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/well/live/want-to-leave-a-legacy-be-a-mentor.html

How to make a positive impact that would keep you alive in the memories and lives of others.

29. The Opioid Dilemma: Saving Lives in the Long Run Can Take Lives in the Short Run

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/upshot/opioid-overdose-crisis-deaths.html

Limiting prescriptions seems logical, but a simulation study shows it would actually increase deaths, not decrease them, in the initial years.

30. Thousands of Immigrant Children Said They Were Sexually Abused in U.S. Detention Centers, Report Says

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/us/immigrant-children-sexual-abuse.html

There were 4,556 allegations in four years, including a rise in complaints during the Trump administration’s family separation policy.

31. How to Rebuild Credit

https://thewirecutter.com/money/how-to-rebuild-credit/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=RSS%20Feed

It can take years to build great credit-and mere moments to ruin it. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are plagued by poor credit: According to Experian, one of the country’s three main credit bureaus, about 21% of Americans had a deep subprime credit score in 2017. That means they had a cripplingly low credit score of 300 to 499. These people have a very low chance of being able to take out any kind of loan. Credit Cards for No Credit are available to provide short term loans if someone with a low credit score needing a small cash injection. Getting and using a credit card can help rebuild credit ratings as it shows lenders the card user can be responsible with money.

32. The Deepening ‘Racialization’ of American Politics

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/opinion/trump-obama-race.html

Obama was a lightning rod. Trump is a lightning strike.

33. The 11-year-old Argentine girl is not alone. Latin America’s abortion laws are a form of torture.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/03/05/year-old-argentine-girl-is-not-alone-latin-americas-abortion-laws-are-form-torture/

34. The Twins That Are Neither Identical nor Fraternal

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/03/these-twins-are-neither-identical-nor-fraternal/584092

They shared a placenta, but on the ultrasound, one looked like a boy, and the other a girl.

35. The Servant Economy

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/03/what-happened-uber-x-companies/584236

Ten years after Uber inaugurated a new era for Silicon Valley, we checked back in on 105 on-demand businesses.

36. A Stark Divide in America’s Retail Industry Is Coming Into Focus

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/business/dealbook/us-retail-store-industry.html

The current earnings season shows just how sharply the fortunes of the companies that operate the country’s big stores are diverging.

37. How Much Does Nancy Pelosi Have to Worry About a Left-Center Split?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/opinion/nancy-pelosi-democrats.html

38. What Really Makes a Difference in Vaccination Rates?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/upshot/vaccination-social-media-state-policies.html

Social media platforms play a role in spreading misinformation, but state legislatures have the power of law.

39. How Breast Size Affects How Women Exercise

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/06/well/move/how-breast-size-affects-how-women-exercise.html

As women’s breast sizes grew, their participation in physical activity declined, particularly if that exercise was vigorous.

40. Hospital and Time of Delivery May Affect Mother’s Health

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/well/family/hospital-pregnancy-childbirth-delivery-complications.html

The risk for complications in childbirth was highest during night shifts, weekends, holidays and in July.

41. California Sues Trump Administration to Block Restrictions to Family Planning Program

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/us/california-lawsuit-title-x-family-planning.html

Millions of low-income patients receive reproductive health services each year through Title X, a $286 million federal family planning initiative.

42. Google Moves to Address Wage Equity, and Finds It’s Underpaying Many Men

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/04/technology/google-gender-pay-gap.html

After a recent study, the company gave raises to thousands of men after determining they were earning less than women in similar jobs.

43. ‘You Have to Pay With Your Body’: The Hidden Nightmare of Sexual Violence on the Border

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/03/us/border-rapes-migrant-women.html

Of all the hazards facing migrant women along the southwest border, one of the most ubiquitous and devastating is sexual assault.

44. Bigger, Saltier, Heavier: Fast Food Since 1986 in 3 Simple Charts

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/03/business/fast-food-health-salt-calories-portions.html

Adding lighter fare like salads to the usual burgers and fries has meant more options for time-pressed diners. But the meals are largely less healthy now, a new study finds.

45. Not ‘My Grandfather’s Boy Scout Troop’: It’s Now for Girls, Too

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/03/nyregion/girls-in-boy-scouts-bsa.html

As of Feb. 1, the Boy Scouts of America began accepting girls into all its ranks for the first time in its 109-year history.

46. Who Are Online, Recruited by Advertisers and 4 Years Old? Kidfluencers

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/business/media/social-media-influencers-kids.html

Brands are giving lucrative endorsement deals to young children on YouTube and Instagram, raising questions about whether their young followers should be seeing that kind of marketing.

47. San Francisco Is Beating H.I.V. Why Can’t Houston?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/opinion/hiv-aids-south.html

We know how to fight the epidemic, but patients in the South still aren’t getting the treatment they need.

48. Behind Illicit Massage Parlors Lie a Vast Crime Network and Modern Indentured Servitude

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/us/massage-parlors-human-trafficking.html

In a $3 billion-a-year industry, many women stay on as prostitutes in order to pay debts to smugglers, spa owners and lawyers.

49. The New 30-Something

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/02/style/financial-independence-30s.html

Have you or haven’t you cut the financial cord with your family?

50. $23 Billion Funding Gap Exists Between White and Nonwhite School Districts, Report Finds

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/education/school-districts-funding-white-minorities.html

The report took aim at school district borders, which it said wall off wealthier communities and, crucially, the money their property taxes raise.

51. States Consider Longer School Recess, and the Adults Aren’t Complaining

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/nyregion/longer-school-recess-connecticut.html

Some believe more playtime will encourage creativity and make children less cranky and restless.

52. ‘Revenge Porn’ Law Finally Passes in New York

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/28/nyregion/revenge-porn-law.html

New York will become the 42nd state to criminalize the nonconsensual sharing of sexual explicit photos or videos.

53. New York Has a Public Housing Problem. Does London Have an Answer?

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/arts/design/hackney-london-public-housing.html

After listening to residents, Hackney upgraded its council estates with sleek new apartments, mixing subsidized and market-rate tenants.

54. Massachusetts Bill Would Ban Tackle Football Until After Seventh Grade

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/sports/youth-tackle-football-ban.html

The measure, which is already facing headwinds, follows unsuccessful similar attempts by legislators in five other states.

55. Supplements Won’t Prevent Dementia. But These Steps Might.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/health/dementia-prevention-supplements.html

Scientists still have no magic shield against Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. Yet there is evidence that some strategies may help.

56. Unable to Post Bail? You Will Pay for That for Many Years

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/business/cash-bail-system-reform.html

New research documents the far-reaching effects of the cash bail system, which disproportionately hurts the poor and African-Americans.

57. One Twin Committed the Crime – but Which One? A New DNA Test Can Finger the Culprit

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/01/science/twins-dna-crime-paternity.html

A handful of criminal prosecutions have stalled because DNA tests cannot distinguish between suspects who are twins. Then scientists decided to create one.

58. How to Support a Friend or Loved One Who Has Been Sexually Abused

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/smarter-living/sexual-abuse-assault-support-mental-health.html

It’s been a particularly difficult few months for sexual abuse survivors. If you know someone who’s been abused, here are some tips to best support them and their recovery.

59. Readers Respond to ‘When Weddings Ruin Friendships’

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/27/fashion/weddings/readers-respond-to-when-weddings-ruin-friendships.html

Why a marriage might mean unfriending friends.

60. Covering Pre-existing Conditions Isn’t Enough

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/opinion/pre-existing-conditions-aca.html

Too often, even patients who have coverage can’t afford their medications.

61. Split-Sex Animals Are Unusual, Yes, but Not as Rare as You’d Think

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/25/science/split-sex-gynandromorph.html

From butterflies to chickens to lobsters, mixed male-female bodies offer clues as to why certain diseases strike one gender more often than the other.