Psychology news

• Women and Girls Bear Brunt of Water Shortages Globally, U.N. Reports

  19-03-2026 09:35
  Source: The Guardian - Climate CrisisWomen and girls are bearing the brunt of water shortages and a lack of sanitation around the world, hindering the economic and social development of poorer countries, the United Nations has warned. Women are responsible for collecting water in more than 70% of rural households that do not have access to water mains across the developing world. Globally, women and girls spend 250 million hours a day collecting water—a problem made worse by...
  
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• Canada to Launch AI and Culture Advisory Council

  19-03-2026 09:35
  Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Canadian NewsCanada announced a new advisory council to help protect its creative industries from rapid advancements in AI, as the first National Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Culture wrapped up in Banff on Tuesday. The Advisory Council on AI and Culture—a joint venture between Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture—will consist of 12 rotating members across creative and
  
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• A Nordic Nation Is the World's Happiest Country for the Ninth Year in a Row

  19-03-2026 09:35
  Source: Google News - HealthIf happiness were an Olympic event, Nordic countries would be guaranteed a spot on the podium. Actually, all three spots on the podium. According to the World Happiness Report, which is compiled by researchers at the University of Oxford, the three happiest countries in the world are Finland, Iceland, and Denmark. Finland was named the happiest country for a record 9th time in a row, with Iceland at number 2 and Denmark number 3.
  
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• Your Daily Coffee May Be Protecting Your Brain, 43-Year Study Finds

  18-03-2026 10:24
  Source: Science Daily - Top NewsYour morning coffee or tea could be quietly supporting your brain health. A long-term study found that moderate consumption of caffeinated coffee or tea was linked to an 18% lower risk of dementia and better cognitive performance over time. The benefits appeared strongest at 2–3 cups of coffee or 1–2 cups of tea daily—and even held true for people genetically predisposed to dementia. The new findings were recently published in the journal JAMA.
  
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• The Cognitive Cost of Frequent Smartphone Notifications

  18-03-2026 10:23
  Source: PsyPostA new study has found that receiving a smartphone notification disrupts a person's concentration for an average of about seven seconds. The research, published in Computers in Human Behavior, suggests that the frequency of checking a phone and the volume of notifications received are better predictors of distraction than total daily screen time. The findings also suggest that digital habits play a significant role in how technology affects human...
  
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• An AI "Val Kilmer" Is Set to Posthumously Appear in New Movie

  18-03-2026 10:23
  Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - World NewsIn one of the boldest uses yet of artificial intelligence in moviemaking, a generative AI version of deceased actor Val Kilmer. First Line Films announced Wednesday that Kilmer's likeness has joined the cast of As Deep as the Grave. The producers said that, before his death, Kilmer had signed on to perform in the movie but was unable to because of his health. Kilmer's estate gave permission for his digital replication and is being compensated...
  
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• International Olympic Committee Urged to Drop Reported Gender Test Plans

  18-03-2026 06:24
  Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - World NewsMore than 80 human rights and sport advocacy groups released a joint statement Tuesday calling on the ‌International Olympic Committee to end reported plans to introduce genetic sex testing for female athletes and impose a ban on transgender and intersex competitors. "Gender policing and exclusion harms all women and girls and undermines the very dignity and fairness the IOC claims ‌to uphold," said the executive director of the Sport &
  
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• Evidence Weak That Cannabis Is an Effective Mental Health Treatment

  18-03-2026 06:24
  Source: NPRAlong with chronic pain, mental health conditions are some of the top reasons people use marijuana for medical purposes. But a sweeping review of cannabis studies over the past 45 years concludes there is little to no high-quality evidence showing this practice is effective. The findings, published in the medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry, underscore the extent to which the public's embrace of cannabis has outpaced the scientific research.
  
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• Closing Your Eyes Could Muffle Your Hearing in Noisy Settings

  18-03-2026 06:24
  Source: Google News - HealthIt's a common practice: to hear a faint sound better, we squeeze our eyes shut. Yet new research suggests this strategy actually backfires in noisy environments. By monitoring brain activity via EEG, researchers found that closing your eyes triggers a state of "neural criticality" that causes the brain to over-filter sound, silencing the very thing you are trying to hear. The study was published this week in the Journal of the Acoustical Society...
  
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• Just 24 Minutes of Music Can Reduce Anxiety, Study Finds

  16-03-2026 17:01
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA clinical trial found that listening to specially designed music with auditory beat stimulation can significantly reduce anxiety. Among several listening lengths tested, a 24-minute session delivered the biggest benefits, easing both mental and physical symptoms of anxiety. The results suggest there may be an ideal "dose" of therapeutic music that works quickly without requiring long listening sessions. The report appears in the journal PLOS...
  
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• India's Parliament Adds an Openly LGBTQ+ Voice for the First Time

  16-03-2026 17:01
  Source: DW- top storiesThe election of Menaka Guruswamy to India's upper house of parliament marks a significant moment for LGBTQ+ visibility in the country's political life. Guruswamy is a constitutional lawyer educated at the University of Oxford, Harvard Law School, and India University. Now, she has become India's first openly queer member of parliament and has said she will stand for "equality, fraternity and non-discrimination."
  
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• Watching Violent Video Game Characters May Fuel Implicit Biases

  15-03-2026 07:07
  Source: PsyPostWhen people watch violent video game characters, the race of those digital avatars can shape the viewers' racial biases in real life. A recent experiment published in the International Journal of Psychology found that seeing a Black character perform violent acts increased unconscious prejudice among White participants. Black participants actually reported lower levels of overt racism after watching the same footage.
  
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• People Often Overestimate Backlash of Changing Their Political Beliefs

  15-03-2026 07:07
  Source: PsyPostA new study suggests that people consistently overestimate how much their political peers will judge them for changing their minds on polarizing issues. This inflated fear of rejection then leads them to hide their shifting views. The research, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, provides evidence that the social penalty for political dissent within one's own party is generally much milder than expected.
  
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• Millions of Kids Take Melatonin, But Doctors Are Raising Red Flags

  15-03-2026 07:05
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthMelatonin is now widely used to help children sleep, but scientists say the enthusiasm may be getting ahead of the evidence. A major review found clear benefits for children with conditions like autism and ADHD, yet far less research exists on typical childhood insomnia. Researchers also warn about accidental ingestions among young kids. Experts say melatonin should be used carefully and only alongside proven behavioral sleep strategies.
  
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• Want to Reduce Your Dementia Risk? Try This Brain Training Game

  13-03-2026 15:57
  Source: Google News - HealthRegular exercise, a Mediterranean diet, and an hour of video games? According to new research, that could be the perfect prescription for dementia prevention. A new study from Johns Hopkins found that one type of brain-training computer game may help reduce dementia risk by up to 25%. What's more, that protective effect appears to last for decades after completing just a few months of exercises. Here are the details and a chance to try it...
  
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• Single Workout Sparks Brain Ripples in Humans

  13-03-2026 15:57
  Source: Google News - HealthWe've long known that exercise is good for the brain, but a groundbreaking study suggests one reason why. For the first time in humans, researchers found that a single 20-minute session on a stationary bike triggers a burst of high-frequency brain waves called ripples. These ripples originate in the hippocampus and surge toward the regions responsible for learning and recall, rapidly reshaping brain networks used for thinking and memory.
  
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• Official Resigns Over Owning Signed Copy of Hitler's Mein Kampf

  13-03-2026 15:57
  Source: Canadian Broadcasting Company - Canadian NewsA Canadian official, Bob Gale, abruptly resigned just hours after local anti-racism groups demanded he apologize for owning a signed copy of Adolf Hitler's infamous manifesto, Mein Kampf. A spokesperson of one group said Mr. Gale needed to "apologize for owning one of the most notorious pieces of antisemitic hate." Hitler was the leading architect of the Holocaust, in which six million Jewish people were murdered along with millions of other..
  
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• Kansas Driver's License Law Leaves Some of Trans Resients in ID Limbo

  13-03-2026 15:57
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsA new state law in Kansas has invalidated the driver's licenses and other government-issued documents of transgender residents. No law has ever retroactively invalidated legally-obtained documents before. A few states prohibit trans people from changing gender markers, but they don't invalidate previous licenses. The new law also orders the state registrar to "correct" birth certificates that do not match the state's binary definition of male...
  
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• EU States Must Provide Proper ID for Transgender Citizens

  13-03-2026 15:57
  Source: DW- top storiesThe European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday ruled that European Union nations must provide transgender citizens with identification documents reflecting their "lived gender" rather than their gender at birth. Bulgaria's Supreme Court of Cassation referred the case to the ECJ, saying it was unclear whether Bulgaria could issue such documentation. The court's ruling emphasized that European Union law supersedes national law across member...
  
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• A Surprising Blood Protein Pattern May Reveal Alzheimer's Disease

  13-03-2026 15:57
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA new study suggests Alzheimer's disease may be detectable through shape changes in proteins found in the blood. Researchers found that structural differences in three blood proteins closely track the progression of the disease. By analyzing these changes in more than 500 people, the team was able to distinguish healthy individuals from those with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's with impressive accuracy, which could move up diagnosis...
  
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• Study Finds Single Dose of Psilocybin Helps Smokers Quit

  11-03-2026 07:08
  Source: NPRThe long-running campaign against smoking could find support from research on psychedelics. Though much of the attention around psychedelics has focused on depression and other mental health conditions, researchers believe these substances also hold the potential to transform addiction treatment. A new study makes the strongest case yet for a psychedelic drug's impact on smoking, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S.
  
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• Anthropic Sues Trump Administration for Retaliation Over Safety Rules

  11-03-2026 07:08
  Source: NPRThe tech firm Anthropic filed two federal lawsuits on Monday against the Trump administration alleging that Pentagon officials illegally retaliated after the company said it would not allow its Claude AI model to be used for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance of American citizens. The lawsuit says the administration's decision to block all Pentagon suppliers from using Claude was an effort to punish the company over its AI safety guardrails.
  
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• My teenager is exploring her spirituality. I support her leap of faith, even as a non-religious parent | Jackie Bailey

  08-03-2026 15:00
  My daughter is dipping her toes into sacred waters, seeing what it feels like to surrender and finding a sense of meaning to life that is bigger than herselfMaking sense of it is a column about spirituality and how it can be used to navigate everyday lifeMy teenager has decided to believe in God. She bought herself a silver cross pendant and has begun wearing it every day.When I was a teenager, I also wore a cross around my neck, and I also believed in God. I had been raised as a churchgoing, ti
  
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• Golden Retriever Genes Linked to Anxiety and Intelligence in Humans

  07-03-2026 16:32
  Source: Science Daily - Social Psychology Scientists studying 1,300 golden retrievers have uncovered genetic clues explaining why some dogs are more anxious, energetic, or aggressive than others. Remarkably, several of the same genes linked to canine behavior are also tied to human traits like anxiety and intelligence. The discovery suggests dogs and humans share biological roots for emotions and behavior. Understanding these links could help improve dog training and veterinary care.
  
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• Apocalyptic Views Are Surprisingly Common Among Americans

  07-03-2026 16:32
  Source: PsyPostMany people believe the world will soon end, and these apocalyptic views shape their response to global threats like climate change and artificial intelligence. A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology suggests that these beliefs may affect whether individuals ignore or work to prevent looming global crises. By mapping features of these doomsday beliefs, researchers can predict public reactions to major hazards...
  
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• What the Science of Music Reveals About Cognition, Emotion, and Identity

  05-03-2026 16:50
  Source: APA MonitorMusic is an extraordinary feature of the human species. It unites us and conveys feeling when words fail. It speaks to our identity as individuals and as members of a group. It is universal—found in nearly every culture and society—yet wildly diverse. It is emotionally potent but cognitively complex. In all its intricacy, music is a mirror of the brain itself, and it has its own implications for cognition, emotion, and identity.
  
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• ‘Our consciousness is under siege’: Michael Pollan on chatbots, social media and mental freedom

  05-03-2026 16:00
  In his new book, the celebrated author explains why we need ‘consciousness hygiene’ to defend ourselves from AI and dopamine-driven algorithmsEach day when you wake up, you come back to yourself. You see the room around you, feel your body brush against your clothes and think about your plans, worries and hopes for the day. This daily internal experience is miraculous and mysterious, and the subject of Michael Pollan’s new book, A World Appears.It also may be under siege, Polla
  
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• U.S. High Court Blocks California Ban on Schools Outing Trans Students

  05-03-2026 14:28
  Source: PBS News HourThe U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way Monday for California schools to tell religious parents if their children identify as transgender without getting the student's approval, granting an emergency appeal from a conservative legal group. The order blocks for now a state law that bans automatic parental notification requirements if students change their pronouns or gender expression at school, there by allowing schools to out students to their...
  
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• Transforming Cellblocks Into Psychology Classrooms

  05-03-2026 14:19
  Source: APA MonitorWhen the 1994 Crime Bill eliminated Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, higher education programs in prisons across the U.S. plummeted from nearly 1,000 in the 1990s to just 12 by 2005. That changed in 2023 when Pell Grant eligibility was restored. As a result, there has been an upsurge in colleges and universities partnering with correctional facilities to offer credited courses and degree programs that duplicate what's available...
  
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• U.S. Military Using Anthropic's Artificial Intelligence in Iran War Despite Ban

  05-03-2026 14:14
  Source: CBS News - U.S. NewsTwo sources familiar with the U.S. military's use of artificial intelligence confirm that the U.S. used Anthropic's Claude AI model over weekend for the attack on Iran — and is still using it. The Pentagon has not said exactly how the AI tool is being deployed, but it's being used despite a government-wide ban on the technology announced after a dispute last week with the Pentagon.
  
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• OpenAI Reaches Deal with Pentagon After Trump Drops Anthropic

  05-03-2026 14:14
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsOpenAI announced it secured a deal to provide artificial intelligence tools to the Pentagon hours after the White House told all federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI services. OpenAI—a tech company founded by Sam Altman, Elon Musk, and others—developed applications such as ChatGPT and DALL-E. Contract negotiations between Anthropic soured after the company wanted limits on the government using AI to spy on Americans or create..
  
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• Is Bubble Tea Bad for You? New Research Raises Red Flags

  05-03-2026 14:14
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthThat photogenic cup of bubble tea may come with hidden downsides. Tapioca pearls made from cassava can absorb heavy metals like lead, and in large amounts they may slow digestion or even cause blockages. The drink is often loaded with sugar—sometimes more than soda—raising risks for cavities, obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. There are even reports linking frequent consumption to kidney stones and poorer mental health.
  
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• Boy's Birth Brings Hope for Amazon People Facing Extinction

  05-03-2026 14:14
  Source: CBS News - World NewsPugapia and her daughters Aiga and Babawru lived for years as the only surviving members of the Akuntsu, an Indigenous people decimated by a government-backed push to clear parts of the Amazon rainforest for meat and dairy production. As they advanced in age without a child to carry on the line, many expected the Akuntsu to vanish when the women died. That changed in December, when Babawru—the youngest of the three, in her 40s—gave birth to...
  
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• Understanding Nutrition to Optimize Mental Health

  05-03-2026 10:56
  Source: APA MonitorGrowing evidence suggests that what we eat influences not just our physical health but also our mood, emotions, and overall well-being. Dietary changes such as reducing ultra-processed food intake and eating more fruits and vegetables—as well as taking certain nutritional supplements—have been associated with improvements in depression and other mental health problems in adults and with a healthier start to life for children.
  
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• ChatGPT As a Therapist? New Study Reveals Serious Ethical Risks

  05-03-2026 10:56
  Source: Science Daily - Social Psychology As millions turn to ChatGPT and other AI chatbots for therapy-style advice, new research raises a serious red flag: even when instructed to act like trained therapists, these systems often violate ethical standards of mental health care. In side-by-side evaluations with peer counselors and licensed psychologists, researchers found 15 distinct ethical risks—from mishandling crises to biased responses to "deceptive empathy" that mimics caring.
  
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• As a psychologist, I’ve seen that polyamory doesn’t fix relationships – it reveals them | Carly Dober

  01-03-2026 15:00
  The success of any relationship hinges on the same pillars of trust, respect, honesty and shared values. Polyamory simply tests their integrity dailyThe modern mind is a column where experts discuss mental health issues they are seeing in their workEmilio* and Jessica* sat in front of me, disconnected and barely looking at each other. They had been together for seven years and had recently opened up their relationship and tried polyamory, upon Emilio’s suggestion. Jessica agreed to this, b
  
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• Should you overshare more?

  01-03-2026 13:00
  We may cringe at influencers and friends who let it all hang out, but research shows that keeping quiet might be worseDo you recoil at oversharers on social media, or joke among your friends about “TMI”? I know I do. But while mocking public confession comes easy, it’s harder to appreciate the risks of normalising silence: withheld anxieties, unspoken family histories, and the little omissions that make workplaces and relationships brittle. The instinct to pour scorn on “
  
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• President Trump Bans Government Use of Anthropic AI Products

  01-03-2026 09:32
  Source: NPRPresident Trump ordered the U.S. government on Friday to stop using the artificial intelligence company Anthropic's products, and the Pentagon moved to designate the company a national security risk. The twin decisions are a response to the company's refusal to allow its products and services from being used in mass surveillance of American citizens or to power autonomous weapon systems, as part of a military contract worth up to $200 million.
  
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• Living with hyperphantasia: ‘I remember the clothes people wore the day we met, the things they said word-for-word’

  27-02-2026 15:00
  It’s hard to know what people can see in their own mind’s eye. But for Maddie Thomas there was no doubt: she had especially vivid mental imageryGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailI close my eyes and picture a boat making its way towards the mainland. Lit only by moonlight, a silhouette walks towards a post box and mails three letters, one by one. Then, the familiar tune of ABBA’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) starts to play, and the musical begins.Sometime
  
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• Mahzarin Banaji Is Probing the Black Box of Large Language Modules

  27-02-2026 07:11
  Source: Association for Psychological ScienceIn 2023, Mahzarin Banaji was talking with her student Tessa Charlesworth about ChatGPT, and the two decided to ask the AI tool a brief question: "What are your implicit biases?" Banaji is the Harvard professor who co-coined the term "implicit bias" decades ago, and ChatGPT's answer steered her research in a whole new direction. The response was, "I am a white male." Since then, Banaji has been testing whether AI models like ChatGPT harbor...
  
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• Shingles Vaccine May Slow Biological Aging and Cognitive Decline

  26-02-2026 16:59
  Source: Science Daily - Top HealthA shingles shot might do more than prevent a painful rash—it could help slow down the aging process. In a national study of Americans age 70 and older, those who received the shingles vaccine showed slower biological aging, lower levels of chronic inflammation, and slower changes in gene activity linked to aging, suggesting the vaccine may calm the body's "inflammaging"—the low-grade inflammation tied to heart disease, frailty, and cognitive...
  
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• Polls Show Increasing Concerns About President Trump's Mental Acuity

  26-02-2026 16:59
  Source: Google News - HealthDonald Trump won the 2024 presidential race after his initial opponent, then-President Joe Biden, withdrew over worries about his age and mental sharpness. But now, polls suggest Americans aren't just increasingly unhappy with Mr. Trump's job performance; they're increasingly concerned about his mental capacity as well. The unease is not at the levels it was with Biden, who was 81 when he ended his campaign, but it is growing as Mr. Trump...
  
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• Kansas Invalidates Trans Residents' Driver's Licenses and Birth Certificates

  26-02-2026 16:59
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsA new Kansas law requiring transgender residents' state-issued identification to reflect their "sex at birth" went into effect Thursday, invalidating hundreds of driver's licenses and birth certificates. Other states ban trans people from changing the gender on their IDs, but the Kansas law also nullifies previous changes made legally. In addition, the new law allows citizens to sue transgender people for $1,000 if they encounter them breaking...
  
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• Kansas Invalidates Driver's Licenses, Birth Certificates of Trans Residents

  26-02-2026 16:59
  Source: United Press International - Health NewsA new Kansas law requiring transgender residents' state-issued identification to reflect their "sex at birth" went into effect Thursday, invalidating hundreds of driver's licenses and birth certificates. Other states ban trans people from changing the gender on their IDs, but the Kansas law also nullifies previous changes made legally. In addition, the new law allows citizens to sue transgender people for $1,000 if they encounter them breaking...
  
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• U.S. Justice Department Sues UCLA Over Anti-Semitism Allegations

  24-02-2026 14:47
  Source: PBS News HourThe U.S. Justice Department is suing the University of California Los Angeles over allegations that the school failed to protect Jewish employees from antisemitic harassment amid pro-Palestinian protests that roiled the campus in 2023 and 2024. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in California, is the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish top universities that it says have been soft on antisemitism.
  
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• Senegal Prime Minister Proposes Doubling Jail Terms for Same-Sex Acts

  24-02-2026 14:47
  Source: DW- top storiesSenegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko unveiled legislation Tuesday to double the maximum penalty for same-sex relations. People are regularly arrested on such charges in traditionalist, Muslim-majority Senegal, where they face a prison sentence of up to five years. The prime minister said the bill changed the penal code to stipulate that any act "of a sexual nature between two people of the same sex constitutes an act against nature."
  
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• Grandiose Narcissists Tend to Show Reduced Neural Sensitivity to Errors

  24-02-2026 14:47
  Source: PsyPostTwo studies of students in the U.K. revealed that individuals with pronounced grandiose narcissism—characterized by a strong need for admiration and a tendency toward self-centeredness—tended to show blunted neural activity in response to errors. This blunting appears to be a mechanism that helps narcissists protect and bolster their positive self-views. The research was published in the Journal of Personality.
  
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• No Time to Heal: the psychological rehabilitation of a Ukrainian soldier after Russian captivity

  24-02-2026 12:01
  Ukrainian soldiers suffering from PTSD, depression and anxiety are sent to the Forest Glade – Ukraine’s first centre for the treatment of psychological trauma – before returning to the frontline.  After three years in Russian captivity following the battle for Mariupol, 25-year-old Kyrylo Chuvak spends three weeks at the centre, a brief opportunity for rehabilitation. Hidden in the pines near Kyiv, this modest building offers soldiers psychological therapy as well as
  
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• I went to a place deep in the forest where Ukraine’s wounded soldiers go to heal. This is what they told me | Ksenia Savoskina

  24-02-2026 12:00
  A former Soviet military facility offers an unlikely respite – before its patients return, too quickly, to the frontlineKsenia Savoskina directed the Guardian documentary No Time to Heal, which follows the psychological rehabilitation of a Ukrainian soldier after three years in Russian captivityImagine a place hidden deep in a pine forest, with small lakes and ponies. Far from the noisy city. In the middle of it there is a modernist Soviet building with marble walls. Walls that have heard
  
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• How loose social ties can help heal political division | Eva M Meyersson Milgrom

  22-02-2026 13:00
  Weak connections known as ‘bridge ties’ cross the boundaries that normally structure our lives. We must restore this connective tissueThe first time a woman I’ll call Shoshana went toBrandi Carlile’s music festival, she arrived alone. She had just been through another unsuccessful round of IVF. During one of the songs, about motherhood, she began to cry in the middle of the crowd. Then two women she had never met stepped closer and wordlessly wrapped their arms around her
  
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