System Is Shutting the Door on Condo Ownership
Condominiums are often the most affordable path to homeownership, yet the condo market is stalling. An Urban Institute report says broken approval rules and rising insurance costs are choking financing.
Ben Sullivan
Why Are Black-White Marriage Rates So Low?
Why do Americans so rarely marry across race and class lines? A new Census-linked study of 31 million people finds residential segregation explains over a third of class-based marriage sorting but less than 5% of racial sorting. Desegregation could boost interclass marriage, while barriers to interracial marriage run far deeper than neighborhoods.
When Scientists Slip From Evidence Into Advocacy, Climate Policy Pays the Price
A systematic review of 23 net-zero energy and transport studies finds that scientists’ policy recommendations consistently fall short. Every study rated poorly on evidence-communication standards. Many drifted into advocacy, used emotive language, and hid uncertainties. Researchers urge the same rigor for policy advice as for the science behind it.
Not All Right: What 29,000 European Kids Think of a Social Media Ban for Children
A survey of 29,169 children across 19 European countries finds most are already on social media well before mid-teens. Only half feel safe online. Children are deeply ambivalent about age bans. Many fear losing friends, freedom and learning opportunities. Researchers argue safety-by-design, not blanket bans, best protects children’s rights.
Chornobyl War Zone: Ukraine Wildlife Under Occupation
Camera traps in Chornobyl show war reshaping wildlife behavior as fighting, fire and occupation altered animal routines.
Paywalls Lose Most Readers, But the Few Who Stay Are Worth 84x More
What the Study Found You’ve hit one before. The article you wanted, three paragraphs in, then a grey box sliding up over the text: please
AI Usage Stats 2026: Americans Use It More but Trust It Less
About half of U.S. adults now use AI chatbots, roughly double the 2024 share. But a new Pew Research Center survey finds views tilting negative. Most say AI is moving too fast and will make their data less secure. Even younger adults, the heaviest users, are the most skeptical about AI’s future impact.
Clearing Tents Is Pushing Los Angeles Homeless Onto Bare Pavement
A four-year RAND street census across Hollywood, Venice, and Skid Row finds unsheltered homelessness has stopped falling. Tent encampments have shrunk, but rough sleeping now dominates and carries higher clinical need. New evidence links tent confiscation to rising rough sleeping, suggesting LA’s encampment-focused strategy has hit its limits.
Hidden Link Between Alzheimer’s and Sleep May Depend on a Single Gene
A large Australian study finds that variants in the AQP4 gene are linked to memory and brain structure in older adults at risk for Alzheimer’s. Sleep quality shaped these effects. Poor sleep worsened brain atrophy and cognitive decline in certain genotypes. The findings point to sleep as a possible way to reduce genetic risk.
Two Failed Garage Columns Began the Collapse That Killed 98 in Surfside
NIST has released technical findings on the 2021 Champlain Towers South collapse that killed 98 people. Investigators traced the disaster to two failed garage column connections beneath the pool deck. Weak safety margins, design and construction deviations, and long-term corrosion left the Surfside building dangerously vulnerable. A final report with safety recommendations is forthcoming.
Most Countries Have Already Lost the AI Race. Here Is What They Do Next
A new Chatham House paper argues middle powers cannot escape dependence on US and Chinese AI, but can secure meaningful sovereignty through four strategies: specialize, align, share, or hedge. The authors map eight critical building blocks and case studies from the UAE to Japan, urging pragmatic choices over unrealistic bids for full independence.