On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Feb. 3 at 6 a.m. CT:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sometimes a story is more appealing than the truth. Experts say that's one of the reasons to explain the popularity of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories have always been around. They're alternative explanations for world events and they're often not supported by the facts. Today, they're playing an outsize role in politics and culture. Some of the examples are QAnon, as well as conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and stolen elections. Psychologists say conspiracy theories offer a sort of mental shortcut, giving believers a way to navigate a world that to them seems random, frightening and chaotic.
NEW YORK (AP) — Payroll payments per small business moderated as 2023 came to a close, according to new data from Bank of America. The BofA report found payroll payments rose 1.7% in December at small businesses. That’s consistent with the trend last year, with payroll payments rising most months. But the pace of payroll growth slowed “significantly” from its peak in March 2022, the report said. Data is culled from Bank of America’s business clients with less than $5 million in annual revenue. Small businesses have been pressured over the past two years due to high inflation, high costs and a labor crunch.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Preliminary tests by a University of Nebraska road safety research facility and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers point to concerns that the nation’s roadside guardrails are no match for new heavy electric vehicles. At a news conference Wednesday, a university official said a first-of-its-kind test crash of a nearly 4-ton EV pickup truck last fall showed the guardrail did almost nothing to slow the truck. Cody Stolle with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility says more extensive testing is planned. But he says tens of thousands of miles of guardrails along roads in the nation will likely need to be adapted as more electric vehicles populate the roads.
Those grounded Boeing jets are coming back starting Friday. Air travelers will want to know if they are safe. The head of the Federal Aviation Administrations says he is confident they will be, as long as airlines follow new inspection procedures approved by his agency. Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners have been grounded since early January, shortly after one of them suffered a midflight blowout of a panel on the side of the plane. Alaska Airlines resumed flights with inspected planes beginning on Friday. United Airlines, the only other U.S. carrier to use the Max 9, says its planes will come back starting Sunday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study shows the return of sea otters and their voracious appetites has helped rescue a section of California marshland. Sea otters eat constantly and one of their favorite snacks is the striped shore crab. Left unchecked, the crabs can turn marsh banks into Swiss cheese that can collapse when big waves or storms hit. Researchers found that the return of the crab-eating sea otters to a tidal estuary near Monterey, California, since the 1980s helped curb erosion. The research was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, illnesses like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis that occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks their own bodies. That gender disparity has baffled scientists for decades but new research may finally explain why. Females have two X chromosomes and Stanford University researchers say how cells handle that extra X can be a red flag for the immune system, essentially an early risk factor. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Cell, could lead to better ways to detect autoimmunity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The company behind a global recall of sleep apnea machines says it will stop selling the devices in the U.S., under a tentative agreement with regulators. Philips has recalled more than 5 million pressurized breathing machines due to risks that their foam can break down over time and be inhaled by users. The deal announced Monday has not yet been finalized and will have to be approved by a U.S. court. Philips would continue servicing existing machines in the U.S., but would not be able to sell new ones until meeting several corrective actions laid out by the FDA.
NEW YORK (AP) — Infectious syphilis cases in the U.S. rose by 9% in 2022. That's according to a new federal government report released Tuesday on sexually transmitted diseases in adults. The rate of new gonorrhea cases fell for the first time in a decade, while chlamydia rates were relatively flat. Total cases of syphilis surpassed 207,000 in 2022. That count includes the most infectious stages of the disease but also latent cases and cases in which pregnant women passed syphilis on to their babies. It is the highest count in the United States since 1950, and is rising in heterosexual men and women.
Allegations of research fakery at a leading cancer center have turned a spotlight on scientific integrity and the amateur sleuths uncovering image manipulation in published research. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced last week it’s requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after a British blogger flagged problems in early January. The blogger is 32-year-old Sholto David of Pontypridd, Wales. He is a scientist-sleuth who detects cut-and-paste image manipulation in published scientific papers. And he’s not the only hobbyist poking through pixels. Other champions of scientific integrity are keeping researchers and science journals on their toes.
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A new state law requires Nevada to hold a primary election next week, but the Nevada GOP voted to hold their own caucuses, or party-run meetings open to Republicans only. The state GOP will only award delegates needed to win the nomination through the caucuses, rendering the state-run presidential primary purely symbolic. Former President Donald Trump is competing in the caucuses, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is running in the primary. The unusual arrangement has confused some voters, including some who have received primary ballots in the mail and wonder why Trump's name isn't on it. Critics say the state GOP changed rules to help Trump win.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. adults are only feeling slightly better about the economy, despite stocks being near record highs and surprisingly strong growth last year. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 35% of U.S. adults call the national economy good. That’s an uptick from 30% who said so late last year and up from 24% who said so a year ago. While 65% still call the economy poor, that’s an improvement from a year ago, when 76% did. Voters’ confidence in the economy could be the pivotal factor in this year’s election. President Joe Biden is running for reelection in part on the economy. The poll puts his overall approval rating at 38%.
PARIS (AP) — French Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that some 300,000 spectators will be able to attend the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games, about half the size of what was originally planned. The giant show on the River Seine on July 26 will mark the first time that an opening ceremony is held outside of a usual stadium setting. It will also involve a massive security operation, with tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed. The athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route. Both banks of the river will be lined by spectators, behind multiple security cordons.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is acknowledging that at least two well-known Mayan ruin sites are unreachable by visitors because of cartel violence or land disputes. But two tourist guides in the southern state of Chiapas say the routes to two other sites are plagued by drug gang checkpoints and many groups are avoiding trips there too. The government seems unconcerned. And there is even anger that anyone would suggest there is a problem. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s policy is to play down gang violence even as the cartels take over more territory in Mexico. Both guides say the imposing temple complex at Palenque is still open and perfectly safe for visitors. But there are fears tourism could be damaged in Chiapas.
In a sweeping two-year investigation, The Associated Press found goods linked to prisoners wind up in the supply chains of everything from Frosted Flakes cereal and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour and Coca-Cola. They are on the shelves of most supermarkets, including Kroger, Target and Whole Foods. They’re also exported. The prisoners who help produce these goods are disproportionately people of color. Some are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work – or face punishment – and are sometimes paid pennies an hour or nothing at all. They also are excluded from protections guaranteed to almost all other full-time workers, even when they are seriously injured or killed on the job. And it can be almost impossible for them to sue.
—The Associated Press
About this program
Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.
Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.
February 3rd, 2024, 12:00 pm
Hot Off The Wire
The appeal of conspiracy theories, concerns over rising syphilis cases and France downsizes the Paris Olympics opening ceremony
00:00
21m
Published February 3rd, 2024, 12:00 pm
Description
On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Feb. 3 at 6 a.m. CT:
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sometimes a story is more appealing than the truth. Experts say that's one of the reasons to explain the popularity of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories have always been around. They're alternative explanations for world events and they're often not supported by the facts. Today, they're playing an outsize role in politics and culture. Some of the examples are QAnon, as well as conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and stolen elections. Psychologists say conspiracy theories offer a sort of mental shortcut, giving believers a way to navigate a world that to them seems random, frightening and chaotic.
NEW YORK (AP) — Payroll payments per small business moderated as 2023 came to a close, according to new data from Bank of America. The BofA report found payroll payments rose 1.7% in December at small businesses. That’s consistent with the trend last year, with payroll payments rising most months. But the pace of payroll growth slowed “significantly” from its peak in March 2022, the report said. Data is culled from Bank of America’s business clients with less than $5 million in annual revenue. Small businesses have been pressured over the past two years due to high inflation, high costs and a labor crunch.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Preliminary tests by a University of Nebraska road safety research facility and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers point to concerns that the nation’s roadside guardrails are no match for new heavy electric vehicles. At a news conference Wednesday, a university official said a first-of-its-kind test crash of a nearly 4-ton EV pickup truck last fall showed the guardrail did almost nothing to slow the truck. Cody Stolle with the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility says more extensive testing is planned. But he says tens of thousands of miles of guardrails along roads in the nation will likely need to be adapted as more electric vehicles populate the roads.
Those grounded Boeing jets are coming back starting Friday. Air travelers will want to know if they are safe. The head of the Federal Aviation Administrations says he is confident they will be, as long as airlines follow new inspection procedures approved by his agency. Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners have been grounded since early January, shortly after one of them suffered a midflight blowout of a panel on the side of the plane. Alaska Airlines resumed flights with inspected planes beginning on Friday. United Airlines, the only other U.S. carrier to use the Max 9, says its planes will come back starting Sunday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study shows the return of sea otters and their voracious appetites has helped rescue a section of California marshland. Sea otters eat constantly and one of their favorite snacks is the striped shore crab. Left unchecked, the crabs can turn marsh banks into Swiss cheese that can collapse when big waves or storms hit. Researchers found that the return of the crab-eating sea otters to a tidal estuary near Monterey, California, since the 1980s helped curb erosion. The research was published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Women are far more likely than men to get autoimmune diseases, illnesses like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis that occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks their own bodies. That gender disparity has baffled scientists for decades but new research may finally explain why. Females have two X chromosomes and Stanford University researchers say how cells handle that extra X can be a red flag for the immune system, essentially an early risk factor. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Cell, could lead to better ways to detect autoimmunity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The company behind a global recall of sleep apnea machines says it will stop selling the devices in the U.S., under a tentative agreement with regulators. Philips has recalled more than 5 million pressurized breathing machines due to risks that their foam can break down over time and be inhaled by users. The deal announced Monday has not yet been finalized and will have to be approved by a U.S. court. Philips would continue servicing existing machines in the U.S., but would not be able to sell new ones until meeting several corrective actions laid out by the FDA.
NEW YORK (AP) — Infectious syphilis cases in the U.S. rose by 9% in 2022. That's according to a new federal government report released Tuesday on sexually transmitted diseases in adults. The rate of new gonorrhea cases fell for the first time in a decade, while chlamydia rates were relatively flat. Total cases of syphilis surpassed 207,000 in 2022. That count includes the most infectious stages of the disease but also latent cases and cases in which pregnant women passed syphilis on to their babies. It is the highest count in the United States since 1950, and is rising in heterosexual men and women.
Allegations of research fakery at a leading cancer center have turned a spotlight on scientific integrity and the amateur sleuths uncovering image manipulation in published research. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced last week it’s requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after a British blogger flagged problems in early January. The blogger is 32-year-old Sholto David of Pontypridd, Wales. He is a scientist-sleuth who detects cut-and-paste image manipulation in published scientific papers. And he’s not the only hobbyist poking through pixels. Other champions of scientific integrity are keeping researchers and science journals on their toes.
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A new state law requires Nevada to hold a primary election next week, but the Nevada GOP voted to hold their own caucuses, or party-run meetings open to Republicans only. The state GOP will only award delegates needed to win the nomination through the caucuses, rendering the state-run presidential primary purely symbolic. Former President Donald Trump is competing in the caucuses, while former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is running in the primary. The unusual arrangement has confused some voters, including some who have received primary ballots in the mail and wonder why Trump's name isn't on it. Critics say the state GOP changed rules to help Trump win.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. adults are only feeling slightly better about the economy, despite stocks being near record highs and surprisingly strong growth last year. A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 35% of U.S. adults call the national economy good. That’s an uptick from 30% who said so late last year and up from 24% who said so a year ago. While 65% still call the economy poor, that’s an improvement from a year ago, when 76% did. Voters’ confidence in the economy could be the pivotal factor in this year’s election. President Joe Biden is running for reelection in part on the economy. The poll puts his overall approval rating at 38%.
PARIS (AP) — French Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said Wednesday that some 300,000 spectators will be able to attend the opening ceremony for the Paris Olympic Games, about half the size of what was originally planned. The giant show on the River Seine on July 26 will mark the first time that an opening ceremony is held outside of a usual stadium setting. It will also involve a massive security operation, with tens of thousands of police officers and soldiers deployed. The athletes will be paraded through the heart of the French capital on boats on the Seine along a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) route. Both banks of the river will be lined by spectators, behind multiple security cordons.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico is acknowledging that at least two well-known Mayan ruin sites are unreachable by visitors because of cartel violence or land disputes. But two tourist guides in the southern state of Chiapas say the routes to two other sites are plagued by drug gang checkpoints and many groups are avoiding trips there too. The government seems unconcerned. And there is even anger that anyone would suggest there is a problem. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s policy is to play down gang violence even as the cartels take over more territory in Mexico. Both guides say the imposing temple complex at Palenque is still open and perfectly safe for visitors. But there are fears tourism could be damaged in Chiapas.
In a sweeping two-year investigation, The Associated Press found goods linked to prisoners wind up in the supply chains of everything from Frosted Flakes cereal and Ball Park hot dogs to Gold Medal flour and Coca-Cola. They are on the shelves of most supermarkets, including Kroger, Target and Whole Foods. They’re also exported. The prisoners who help produce these goods are disproportionately people of color. Some are sentenced to hard labor and forced to work – or face punishment – and are sometimes paid pennies an hour or nothing at all. They also are excluded from protections guaranteed to almost all other full-time workers, even when they are seriously injured or killed on the job. And it can be almost impossible for them to sue.
—The Associated Press
About this program
Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate.
Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.
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Hot Off The Wire
Hot Off The Wire is a collection of news, sports and entertainment reports. The program is produced by Lee Enterprises with audio provided by The Associated Press.
