James' World 2

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Amid reports of record lows in unemployment for Black Americans and talk of “Black jobs” at June’s presidential debate, economic echoes of historical racism still resonate in the U.S. Today Black Americans face higher unemployment rates, lower earnings and deeper poverty than white Americans.

A legacy of injustice is most starkly evident in the economic disparities that persist in the places that were once plagued by lynchings.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, lynchings were widespread in the U.S., with more than 4,700 extrajudicial murders taking place from 1882 to 1968, according to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi shocked the nation and galvanized the early Civil Rights Movement.

These horrific acts still shape the economic landscape of many counties where the lynchings occurred. Today the legacy of lynchings hurts Black Americans’ economic prospects, limiting upward mobility and perpetuating a cycle of poverty. This is more than a historical anecdote; it’s an ongoing reality backed by rigorous research.

How do we know that? For a study published in June in Kyklos, I and my colleague looked at economic opportunity levels for Black individuals in counties with the highest rates of historical lynching. The economic difference between these regions and counties without a lynching history is as large as that between New Orleans and San Francisco; the median income in the latter is more than 170 percent higher. This contrast is significant, given the U.S.’s reputation as the “land of opportunity.”

Previous research by others has shown the lingering effects of lynchings. A 2021 study found that families of lynching victims were still suffering psychologically and economically decades and generations later. “We went from prosperity to poverty overnight,” the 77-year-old daughter of a victim told that study’s authors. The same year, in a paper in Health & Place, researchers looked at life expectancy in 1,221 counties in the U.S. South and found it was lower in those with a history of lynching by more than a year on average, compared with counties with no recorded lynchings.

The notion that anyone, regardless of their background, can achieve economic success through hard work is a cornerstone of the American dream. These findings, however, reveal a different reality for many Black people in the U.S., whose economic prospects are still heavily influenced by the legacy of racial violence and discrimination. The promise of equal opportunity remains elusive, highlighting the need for continued efforts to address these deep-seated inequalities. How accessible is the American dream when historical injustices endure and blight today’s prospects for prosperity?

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About eight years ago, I was hosting an open house at my Montessori school. Classrooms were buzzing with parents and kids, yet one mother stood out. She was speaking to her 4-year-old son in a performative manner, loudly narrating feelings he may be having as he moved through the room.

“I know you want to have that, but it is in the hands of another child. That makes you sad and frustrated, but I am here to help you,” she said to her child. When she spoke to me, she slipped back into a more natural tone and manner of speaking, her voice coming down a full octave.

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The author says parenting scripts can harm parent-child relationships. FG Trade Latin/Getty Images

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High school sports teams start practices soon in what has been an extremely hot summer in much of the country. Now, before they hit the field, is the time for athletes to start slowly and safely building up strength and stamina.

Studies have found that the greatest risk of heat illness occurs in the first two weeks of team practices, while players’ bodies are still getting used to the physical exertion and the heat. Being physically ready to start increasingly intense team practices can help reduce the risk.

I am an athletic trainer who specializes in catastrophic injuries and heat illnesses. Here’s what everyone needs to know to help keep athletes safe in the heat.

Why should athletes restart workouts slowly?

One of the biggest risk factors for developing dangerous exertional heat illnesses is your physical fitness level. That’s because how fit you are affects your heart rate and breathing, and also your ability to regulate your body temperature.

If an athlete waits until the first day of practice to start exercising, their heart won’t be able to pump blood and oxygen through the body as effectively, and the body won’t be as adept at dissipating heat. As a person works out more, their body undergoes changes that improve their thermoregulation.

That’s why it’s important for athletes to gradually and safely ramp up their activity, ideally starting at least three weeks before team practices begin.

There is no hard and fast rule for how much activity is right for preparing – it varies by the person and the sport.

It’s important to remember not to push yourself too hard. Acclimatizing to working out in the heat takes time, so start slow and pay close attention to how your body responds.

How hot is too hot for working out outside?

Anything that is hotter than normal conditions can be risky, but it varies around the country. A hot day in Maine might be a cool day in Alabama.

If it’s significantly hotter outside than you’re used to, you’re more likely to get a heat illness.

To stay safe, avoid exercising outside in the hottest periods. Work out in the shade, or in the early mornings or evenings when the sun’s rays aren’t as hot. Wear loose clothing and light colors to dissipate and reflect as much heat as you can.

Hydration is also important, both drinking water and replenishing electrolytes lost through sweating. If your urine is light-colored, you are likely hydrated. Darker urine is a sign of dehydration.

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Communication with teens can be challenging. And receiving any sign of affection can also sometimes feel impossible, particularly after you say “I love you” to them, and you are met with just an aloof “K.” 

There’s a new way teens are communicating with their parents and loved ones that appears to be breaking the emotional barrier. (Maybe not fully breaking, but it is creating tiny little cracks in the facade.) 

It’s called “pebbling,” which is often used to describe a romantic relationship but has been crossed over into other types of relationships, including between parent and child. The term originated from the actions of gentoo penguins in Antarctica, who were observed presenting rocks to each other as a form of courtship. The rocks symbolized a desire to build a nest together.

Pebbling, in its current trending form, refers to little signs of love or affection that are gifted to a friend or a loved one that you think they would enjoy. It now often comes in the form of memes, GIFs, or social media videos that you would send to someone to help brighten their day. 

“Recently I learned that the act of sending your friends & family little videos and tweets and memes you find online it’s called pebbling, like how penguins bring pebbles back to their little penguin loved ones,” an X user recently wrote in a viral post.

There can be many pros to this, and experts say parents can also benefit from engaging in some pebbling with their kids.

Why ‘Pebbling’ Can Be Positive

If you’re wondering why kids are sending endless memes and videos via social media, you’re not alone. But in today’s world, experts say pebbling on social media has become a way for them to connect, strengthen interactions, and show affection.

Not only does pebbling feel good for the person on the receiving end, but it can also trigger a positive chemical chain reaction in the sender’s brain as well, according to Cameron Caswell, PhD, an adolescent psychologist and mom of a teen.

“When you perform a kind act, your brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure, motivation, and reinforcement,” she explains. “Feeling recognized and valued gives the receiver a surge of dopamine, too.”

Of course, there are also benefits when the affection is shown through a tangible object. “When you see the joy on the recipient’s face after receiving your thoughtful gesture, your brain releases oxytocin,” says Dr. Caswell. “This hormone fosters feelings of trust, empathy, and bonding.”

The more “good feelings” each party experiences, she says, the more likely they will repeat the act, “triggering the release of more happy hormones, creating a cycle of kindness.” Dr. Caswell recommends encouraging your teen to pebble others when they’re feeling down because it could be a powerful mood-lifter.

Parents can also do it. Something as simple as a little meme or a song could go a long way, making the bond with your teen more solid. 

My sister Francesca consistently participates in pebbling with her two teenagers. She said it is common to feel disconnected from her kids, who often see her as “uncool” or “cringe.” But she says instead of taking it personally, she has embraced the dynamic by sending self-deprecating memes and reels that poke fun at the parent-teen relationship. 

My kids might roll their eyes at first, but they always end up laughing and sending back funny responses,” she says. “It’s become a fun way for us to bond and keep the lines of communication open.” 

Dr. Caswell agrees. “Affection, in any form, is a vital building block for strong bonds with teens,” she says. “It shows you see them and care about them. A well-chosen meme or GIF can be a playful way to show you’re thinking of them.”

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The Summer Olympics will soon begin in Paris, against the backdrop of heat waves and drought throughout much of Southern Europe.

The organizers of the games say that in light of climate change, they’ve made sustainability a centerpiece of their enterprise. Channeling their inner Greta Thunberg, they promise that the event will be “historic for the climate” and “revolutionary Games like we’ve never seen before.”

Yet in the city where global leaders signed a landmark agreement in 2015 to limit postindustrial global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we’re getting a recycled version of green capitalism that is oblivious in its incrementalism, vague with its methodology and loose with its accountability. It’s too late for Paris, but if the Olympic organizers truly want to be sustainable, the Games need to reduce their size, limit the number of tourists who travel from afar, thoroughly greenify their capacious supply chains and open up their eco-books for bona fide accountability. Until then, the Olympics are a greenwash, a pale bit of lip service delivered at a time when climatological facts demand a systematic transformation in splendid Technicolor.

Greenwashing is nothing new for the sports world, where a massive chasm exists between sustainable word and deed. Sports mega-events such as the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup have long voiced concern for the environment and claimed to proffer solutions while doing the bare minimum—if anything—to make genuine ecological improvements.

Nevertheless, Olympic organizers swear they are scything a fresh path. “We want the legacy to be different,” Tony Estanguet, president of the Paris 2024 Olympics, told Time magazine. “We’ve promised to cut the carbon footprint in half from the London Olympics in 2012.” Those Olympics in London emitted around 3.3 million metric tons of CO₂. Paris 2024 is aiming for 1.5 million metric tons.*

To be sure, this summer’s Paris Olympics have made significant sustainability strides. But their earnest efforts have raised a broader question: Can the Olympics truly be an environmentally sustainable event? “There is no version of a sustainable Games as of yet,” said Madeleine Orr, author of Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport, in an interview with the Real News Network. This sentiment is echoed by many, including Christine O’Bonsawin, an Indigenous sport scholar and member of the Abenaki Nation at Odanak in Quebec, who dubbed such measures an “Olympic sustainability smokescreen.” The modern-day supersized Olympics, with its fossil-fuel-guzzling ways, is simply not compatible with an authentic sustainability agenda.

So how has Paris fared?

To limit their carbon footprint, organizers have kept venue construction to a minimum by building only two new sports facilities—an aquatic center and a climbing venue—and two additional sites: the Media Village for journalists and the Olympic Village, where athletes will reside during the Games. Organizers have made an effort to deploy bio-sourced materials—especially wood—and to reuse and recycle supplies, such as the seats in the aquatic center, which are constructed exclusively with local plastic waste. Construction of the Olympic Villageaspires to limit carbon intensity—the amount of carbon dioxide released to create a kilowatt-hour of electricity—by expending less than 650 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent per meter squared (kgCO2e/m²), half of France’s average for the construction of office structures (1,400 kgCO2e/m²) and multifamily housing (1,300 kgCO2e/m²).

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A government investigation has revealed more detail on the impact and causes of a recent AT&T outage that happened immediately after a botched network update. The nationwide outage on February 22, 2024, blocked over 92 million phone calls, including over 25,000 attempts to reach 911.

As described in more detail later in this article, the FCC criticized AT&T for not following best practices, which dictate “that network changes must be thoroughly tested, reviewed, and approved” before implementation. It took over 12 hours for AT&T to fully restore service.

“All voice and 5G data services for AT&T wireless customers were unavailable, affecting more than 125 million devices, blocking more than 92 million voice calls, and preventing more than 25,000 calls to 911 call centers,” the Federal Communications Commission said yesterday. The outage affected all 50 states as well as Washington, DC, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.

The outage also cut off service to public safety users on the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet), the FCC report said. “Voice and 5G data services were also unavailable to users from mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) and other wireless customers who were roaming on AT&T Mobility’s network,” the FCC said.

An incorrect process

AT&T previously acknowledged that the mobile outage was caused by a botched update related to a network expansion. The “outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyber attack,” AT&T said.

The FCC report said the nationwide outage began three minutes after “AT&T Mobility implemented a network change with an equipment configuration error.” This configuration error caused the AT&T network “to enter ‘protect mode’ to prevent impact to other services, disconnecting all devices from the network, and prompting a loss of voice and 5G data service for all wireless users.”

While the network change was rolled back within two hours, full service restoration “took at least 12 hours because AT&T Mobility’s device registration systems were overwhelmed with the high volume of requests for re-registration onto the network,” the FCC found.

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