Archive for August 2025

For years, Uber has said it is one of the safest ways to travel. But a New York Times investigation found that the company has been contending with a major problem: Hundreds of thousands of people reported that they were sexually assaulted or harassed during Uber rides. Emily Steel, who broke the story, discusses what executives knew about the problem and how they failed to take certain steps that were supposed to make riders safer.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and agency leaders have attributed a panoply of chronic diseases and other medical issues — such as autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression, diabetes, and obesity — to consumers and their lifestyle choices, according to a review of 15 hours of recorded interviews, social media statements, and federal reports.

The consequence of an eviction from public housing for people in Maine is especially challenging because there are not enough affordable housing options in the rural state, and those evicted are more likely to face homelessness. Maine public housing authorities file a disproportionately high share of eviction cases compared with all landlords in the state, according to an analysis of court data obtained by the Bangor Daily News and ProPublica.

OSCR has told an American company to stop misrepresenting itself as a Scottish Charity. It has since transpired that the owner of the company, Nicholas Gray, has been falsely representing himself as a trustee of registered charity the James Gray Nicol Trust.

In 2015, police outside of London identified a pattern of more frequent arrests of young people and vulnerable adults, implicated in drug supply outside of their local areas. They were also frequently suspected to be associated with members of criminal gangs. Thus, “county lines” was born. The National Crime Agency used the term “county lines” to describe the phone or “deal” line used to organise the sale of drugs – mainly heroin and crack cocaine – from cities with oversaturated supplies, to rural, coastal areas with less supply.

Every night, a covert crisis unfolds in the heart of Garowe’s market. Groups of street-connected children boys and girls alike gather in roadside booths, market corners, and abandoned buildings, seeking safety, shelter, and a way to survive. These children, some as young as ten, have been pushed to the margins of society by poverty, displacement, and domestic strife.