A Recap of This Week’s Top News – August 4, 2023
Changes to policy, scientific discovery, and expert recommendations and opinions all have the power to rapidly influence the landscape of a sector. Whether you’re a leader at a non-profit, a member of a university’s marketing department, or a stakeholder for a public health agency, being informed about the latest industry happenings can be the difference between exceeding and falling short of organizational goals. At Hager Sharp, our experts vigorously scan media coverage to identify areas of opportunity. And now, with the introduction of the Sharp Round-Up, you too can review what we consider to be some of the top news of the week.
Below you will find a compilation of news spanning the health and education, labor, and economy sectors. This list includes mainstream, DC-focused, and trade publication coverage from Saturday, July 29, to Friday, August 4. Let these clips serve as a resource when developing thoughtful strategies and use them to further foster organizational innovation and adaptability.
Here’s what you need to know.
Mainstream News:
- Large parts of the world are experiencing extreme heat waves, with July recorded as the Earth’s hottest month in recorded history. However, one can acclimate their body to the heat by safely exposing oneself to short bouts of heat and humidity, and gradually increasing the length of exposure.
- A recent study spanning over decades has linked the long-term consumption of artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and saccharin, with increased fat stores in the abdomen and fat within muscle. This conclusion was reached even when accounting for other factors, including how much a person eats or the quality of their diet.
Education News:
- Last week, a judge dismissed a case of families suing the Fairfax County School Board and Virginia Department of Education. The case alleged that for decades, the school system has denied resources to students with disabilities that are guaranteed to them under federal law. Now, the families have asked the state attorney general to investigate the two entities.
- The University of Virginia issued a “clarification” to its legacy applicants admissions policy, stating that parental ties will no longer be conveyed to admissions officers in a direct “checkbox” way, but rather applicants will be able to write about a “personal or historic connection” with the university.
- The state of Florida has “effectively banned” the Advanced Placement psychology course due to being noncompliant with newly enacted standards, barring hundreds of districts from offering the class due to discussion of gender and sexual orientation.
Health News:
- An MIT professor published new research—a flexible ultrasound bra designed to detect breast cancer sooner. The new design could one day be used to screen for breast cancer more comfortably.
- A simple, relatively inexpensive blood test can now check dozens of genes associated with different kinds of cancer, but it remains widely unknown by those who are at the greatest risk.