When Brooklyn juries gentrify, defendants lose | New York Post

By Josh Saul

Brooklyn’s courthouses are being rocked by the “Williamsburg Effect.”

The influx of well-off and educated white people to trendy neighborhoods such as Williamsburg is rapidly “gentrifying’’ the borough’s jury pool — and transforming verdicts, lawyers and judges told The Post.

It’s good news for prosecutors in criminal cases — and bad news for plaintiffs in civil lawsuits, they said.

Continue reading When Brooklyn juries gentrify, defendants lose | New York Post

Oregon ‘Pay It Forward’ Tuition Plan Would Cost Up To $20 Million A Year To Implement

The first government examination of a radical new tuition model called “Pay It Forward” was presented to lawmakers in Oregon last week, explaining for the first time how much a state would pay to implement the new system.

Sending 4,000 students to college without a tuition bill would cost the state of Oregon $5 to $20 million a year for two decades, the Oregonian reports. Continue reading Oregon ‘Pay It Forward’ Tuition Plan Would Cost Up To $20 Million A Year To Implement

What Is the Difference Between Sunni and Shiite Muslims–and Why Does It Matter? | History News Network

The Islam religion was founded by Mohammed in the seventh century. In 622 he founded the first Islamic state, a theocracy in Medina, a city in western Saudi Arabia located north of Mecca. There are two branches of the religion he founded.

The Sunni branch believes that the first four caliphs–Mohammed’s successors–rightfully took his place as the leaders of Muslims. They recognize the heirs of the four caliphs as legitimate religious leaders. These heirs ruled continuously in the Arab world until the break-up of the Ottoman Empire following the end of the First World War. Continue reading What Is the Difference Between Sunni and Shiite Muslims–and Why Does It Matter? | History News Network

Olga Khazan: U.S. Healthcare: Most Expensive and Worst Performing | The Atlantic

The origin of the phrase “You get what you pay for” is sometimes attributed to the fashion mogul Aldo Gucci, who said, “The bitterness of low quality is remembered long after the sweetness of low price has faded.” But when it comes to healthcare, Americans get neither quality nor affordability.

The United States healthcare system is the most expensive in the world, but when it comes to health outcomes, it performs worse than 11 other similar industrialized nations, according to a new report released today by the Commonwealth Fund. Continue reading Olga Khazan: U.S. Healthcare: Most Expensive and Worst Performing | The Atlantic

Mother Jones: These Popular Plastic Bottles May Be Messing With Your Hormones

By Mariah Blake

Many BPA-free plastics leach BPA-like chemicals that are potentially damaging to human health, a dilemma Mother Jones explored in our expose on the plastics industry earlier this year. But consumers have had no way of knowing which of the items lurking in their pantries might wreak havoc on their hormones. Until now. A new paper in the journal Environmental Health identifies specific plastic products—including AVENT baby bottles, CamelBak sippy cups, and Lock & Lock food storage containers—that leach estrogen-mimicking chemicals. Perhaps more importantly, it also names a few options that are hormone free. Continue reading Mother Jones: These Popular Plastic Bottles May Be Messing With Your Hormones

New Findings on Timing and Range of Maternal Mental Illness – NYTimes

By Pam Belluck

When her second son was born, six weeks premature, Emily Guillermo recalled thinking, “You’re not supposed to be mine. You were not supposed to be made.”

Postpartum depression isn’t always postpartum. It isn’t even always depression. A fast-growing body of research is changing the very definition of maternal mental illness, showing that it is more common and varied than previously thought.

Scientists say new findings contradict the longstanding view that symptoms begin only within a few weeks after childbirth. In fact, depression often begins during pregnancy, researchers say, and can develop any time in the first year after a baby is born. Continue reading New Findings on Timing and Range of Maternal Mental Illness – NYTimes