International News
Assisting a suicide is not always a crime, rules Italian court
The Guardian
Italy’s constitutional court has ruled it was not always a crime to help someone in “intolerable suffering” kill themselves, opening the way for a change of law in the Catholic country.
Parliament is now expected to debate the matter, which was highlighted by the Milan trial of an activist who helped a tetraplegic man die in Switzerland.
Australia abortion laws: Terminations now legal in New South Wales
BBC World News
The legislation was passed 26-14 in the state's lower house after discussions about more than 100 possible amendments. It has already been approved by the upper house.
The law makes it legal for terminations to be conducted up to 22 weeks into a woman's pregnancy - or later if two doctors agree.
China's economic slowdown: How bad is it?
BBC World News
China became a key engine of world economic growth as developed countries licked their wounds after the 2008 global financial crisis.
Now, the world's second-largest economy is expanding at its slowest pace since the early 1990s.
China saw industrial output grow at its slowest pace since 2002 in August.
Boeing settles with some victims of Lion Air 737 MAX plane crash
Al Jazeera
The Boeing Company has settled the first claims stemming from the crash of a Lion Air 737 MAX in Indonesia, a lawyer for a plaintiff in the United States said, and three other sources have said families of those killed will receive at least $1.2m apiece.
US News
Will luxury towers edge out the last of the working-class Chinese in New York’s iconic Chinatown?
Vox News
The displacement of the poor by the rich is a familiar story in cities across the nation. But Chinatown and the Lower East Side have been holdouts — the only remaining working-class neighborhoods in Manhattan south of Central Park. Their fight to keep developers at bay has highlighted the fears and struggles of a working-class Asian-American community often ignored in the larger narrative of “model minorities.”
Juul stops e-cigarette ads as teen vaping, illnesses grow
AP News
WASHINGTON (AP) — Juul Labs Inc. will stop advertising its electronic cigarettes in the U.S. and replace its chief executive as mysterious breathing illnesses and an explosion in teen vaping have triggered efforts to crack down on the largely unregulated industry.
The nation’s largest e-cigarette maker and other brands are fighting to survive as they face backlash from two public health debacles.
Late-night TV hosts party as Trump faces impeachment inquiry
LA Times
If anyone watched late-night talk shows with the volume low on Tuesday night, they might have assumed, from triumphant expressions, that each host had just won the lottery.
In reality, Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, Jimmy Fallon and others were celebrating House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement Tuesday that the House would open an impeachment inquiry into President Trump.
Science/ Environment News
Can a Universal Basic Income Reduce Childhood Obesity?
Scientific American
The Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), the yearly distribution of unconditional cash to all Alaska residents, is providing researchers with a one-of-a-kind source of information on the effect of a universal basic income (UBI) on socioeconomic well-being. The latest study shows that a $1,000 PFD reduces the probability of an Alaskan child being obese by the age of three by as much as 4.5 percentage points. That translates to about a 22 percent reduction in obesity.
Note: Sorry I missed last week. I was exhausted after work and went straight to bed. Hope everyone is safe and well. I-7.