‘It Can Get Lonely, Very Lonely’: Novel Program Aims To Combat Rural Isolation By Connecting The Generations

NPR: Bringing Together Young And Old To Ease The Isolation Of Rural Life
Priscilla Bogema lives in a rural town called McGregor, Minn., in a part of the state that has more trees and lakes than people. She came here about 20 years ago seeking solitude during a major crisis in her life. She had just gotten divorced and was dealing with some health problems. "So I came to a place where nobody could see me," she says. Now, Bogema is in her 60s, frail and mostly confined to her house. Her arthritis and other health problems have limited her mobility. She struggles with the upkeep of her home and yard. She drives into town once a week for groceries and a movie with other seniors. But she doesn't have close friends she sees regularly and her children and grandchildren only visit once every few months. (Chatterjee, 8/7)

The New York Times: Climate Change Threatens The World’s Food Supply, United Nations Warns
The world’s land and water resources are being exploited at “unprecedented rates,” a new United Nations report warns, which combined with climate change is putting dire pressure on the ability of humanity to feed itself. The report, prepared by more than 100 experts from 52 countries and released in summary form in Geneva on Thursday, found that the window to address the threat is closing rapidly. A half-billion people already live in places turning into desert, and soil is being lost between 10 and 100 times faster than it is forming, according to the report. (Flavelle, 8/8)

The New York Times: Another Baseball Mystery: Why Do Players Seem To Live Longer?
Major League Baseball has its problems. Attendance has slipped, fans complain the pace of play has slowed, players are convinced the baseballs are juiced and even the people running it admit its fusty rules could use an upgrade. Yet its players might take comfort in one promising bit of news: they appear to have longer life spans than other Americans. That’s the tantalizing possibility raised by a study published by Harvard researchers in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine. (Bakalar, 8/7)

NPR: Pittsburgh Airport's 'Sensory Room' Supports Travelers Who Have Autism
Pittsburgh International Airport recently opened a suite of "sensory rooms" inside its airside terminal to help travelers on the autism spectrum decompress from the stress of flying. It's one of a handful of airports internationally that's made changes to be more accommodating to people with special needs. The 1,500-square-foot space in Pittsburgh is quiet, muting the hustle and bustle from the terminal. Designed with input from people who have autism, it features soft furniture and whimsical lighting features, including colorful bubble towers, and multiple soundproof rooms. (Davis, 8/8)

The Associated Press: 5 Years After Ferguson, Racial Tension Might Be More Intense
Michael Brown's death at the hands of a white Missouri police officer stands as a seismic moment in American race relations. The fledgling Black Lives Matter movement found its voice, police departments fell under intense scrutiny, progressive prosecutors were elected and court policies revised. Yet five years after the black 18-year-old was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson on a steamy August day, racial tension remains palpable and may be even more intense. (Salter, 8/8)

The New York Times: Catching Waves For Well-Being
Agatha Wallen’s son, Mason, has autism, and when he was 7, she heard about an initiative in San Diego aimed at children with special needs. It involved an unlikely tool: a surf board. She wasn’t sure how it would work for her son, who struggled with behavioral and sensory issues. “Even getting the wet suit on was difficult for him because it was a brand-new sensory sensation,” she recalled. (Amitha Kalaichandran, 8/8)

MPR: Less Sex, Fewer Babies: Blame The Internet And Career Priorities
The confusion over the rules of romance in the digital age shared by Koch and so many others might explain why millions of Americans are having less sex than previous generations did at the same age. Add in a focus on building a career before having a family, and it all may be contributing to a national birthrate that keeps falling. (Sanders, 8/7)

Los Angeles Times: Train Station Experiment Reveals One Way To Counteract Bias Against Muslims
An experiment conducted in German train stations involving paper cups and escaping oranges has found that people are less likely to help a woman if she appears to be Muslim — but they’re more likely to help that same woman if she somehow proves that she shares their social values. The findings, described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal that discrimination is a somewhat fluid phenomenon that can be mitigated — within certain limits. (Khan, 8/7)

Kaiser Health News: Federal Experts’ Advice On HPV Vaccine Could Leave Adults Confused
Vaccination decisions are usually pretty straightforward. People either meet the criteria for the vaccine based on their age or other factors or they don’t. But when a federal panel recently recommended an update to the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine guidelines, it left a lot of uncertainty. The panel recommended that men and women between ages 27 and 45 decide — in discussion with their health care providers — whether the HPV vaccine makes sense for them. (Andrews, 8/8)

The Wall Street Journal: Child Advocates Team Up With PETA On Hot-Car Deaths
The fight to stop children’s deaths in hot cars has gained an unusual ally: PETA and other animal-protection groups. These organizations have formed a surprising partnership with child-safety advocates to support a federal bill that would require car makers to install technology that senses the presence of a child or an animal. Broadening the campaign to include pet owners also aims to overcome a central challenge to solving hot-car deaths: Most people don’t believe it would ever happen to them. (Byron, 8/7)

The Associated Press: Is Pot Safe When Pregnant? Study Seeks Answer, Draws Critics
Pregnancy started out rough for Leslie Siu. Morning sickness and migraines had her reeling and barely able to function at a demanding New York marketing job, so like rising numbers of U.S. mothers-to-be, she turned to marijuana. "l was finally able to get out from under my work desk," said Siu, who later started her own pot company and says her daughter, now 4, is thriving. (Tanner, 8/7)

The New York Times: Do Older People Have A Different Smell?
During an extended period of travel last year, my husband and I lent our house in the Ozarks to an older couple who were having work done on their own house. We returned after a month away to a spotless house and two hostess gifts. But there was also a distinctive smell in the air: slightly stale and sweet, like the musty first whiff of strawberries in a cardboard box. (Bauer, 8/8)