States with Total Abortion Bans Have Seen 65,000 Pregnancies from Rape

Sunday, January 28th, 2024

This week’s core story is about: Texas vs. the U.S. at the southern border.

Reminder: This week’s issue is in a new format! Let me know what you think below!

Heads up: The Bagel is returning to a daily format on Monday, February 5! 

• There will be no issue published on Sunday, February 4.

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KNEAD TO KNOW

The U.S. economy grew at a 3.3% annualized pace last quarter. The figure beat economists’ expectations and marks the sixth consecutive quarter in which the national GDP has grown more than 2%.

The U.N.’s top court ordered Israel to prevent death, destruction, and genocide in Gaza. The International Court of Justice stopped short, however, of adopting South Africa’s allegation that Israel’s acts in Gaza already amount to genocide.

Former President Donald Trump was ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation. The jury handed down the verdict after deliberating for less than three hours.

Florida House lawmakers passed a bill banning social media for users under 16. If passed by the Senate and signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the bill would be one of the strictest social media restrictions in the country.

QUICK BITES

States with Total Abortion Bans Have Seen 65,000 Pregnancies from Rape

A new study by researchers at Planned Parenthood of Montana found 64,565 pregnancies have resulted from rape in the 14 states that instituted total abortion bans after Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022. Nine of the states do not provide an exception for rape.

• Why it matters: Aside from common sense and compassion, the figure matters because nearly 59,000 of the pregnancies from rape happened in states that do not have rape exceptions, including an estimated 26,000 in Texas alone. 

U.S. Gen Z-ers Are More LGBTQ+ than Republican

A new survey by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute found 21% of U.S. Gen Z adults identify as Republican, far fewer than any other generational group aside from Millennials (also 21%). At the same time, 28% of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+, far more than every other group.

• Why it matters: The study found Gen Z adults – who now represent about 1 in 6 eligible American voters – are more Democratic (36%) and liberal (43%) than prior generations.

An HPV Vaccine Study Found No Cases of Cervical Cancer Among Vaccinated Women 

A new study by researchers at the Universities of Strathclyde and Edinburgh in Scotland found no cases of cervical cancer in women born between 1988 and 1996 who were fully vaccinated against HPV at the ages of 12 and 13.

• Why it matters: The study underscores the effectiveness of the HPV vaccine, and is the first to monitor a national cohort of women over an extended study period and find no cases of cervical cancer.

OUTSIDE THE LOX

Here’s Why You Shouldn’t Eat Salad in Space  

You probably won’t be asked to eat lettuce grown on the International Space Station, but, if you ever are, you might want to take a pass, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Delaware.

Why pass on space lettuce? It turns out leafy greens grown in microgravity are more prone to infections from pathogens, like E. coli or Salmonella. 

• The Delaware researchers made the discovery by growing lettuce in simulated microgravity created by spinning the plants at the speed of a rotisserie chicken, approximating the conditions found on the ISS, where astronauts eat lettuce grown in onboard control chambers.

What’s behind it:

Stomata are the tiny pores plants use to breathe, which normally close in response to stressors, like nearby bacteria or pictures of Elon Musk at the Met Gala.

• The researchers found the lack of gravity caused the leafy greens to open their stomata wide rather than close when bacteria was introduced, allowing pathogens to invade more easily under microgravity than they can on Earth.

Why it matters:

Astronauts aboard the ISS enjoy the lettuce grown onboard because it’s some of the only fresh produce they can consistently get, however, the researchers warn their findings suggest a pathogen could more easily spread throughout the crew, potentially impacting missions.

OVEN-FRESH STATS

• 36% - The percentage of LGBTQ+ young people (ages 13 to 24) in the U.S. who believe their chances of living to the age of 35 are low, according to a new report by The Trevor Project.

• 21.3 million - The number of people who signed up for insurance under the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a., “Obamacare”) this year, topping last year’s record by more than 5 million people, according to new data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.  

• 112 minutes - The average amount of time children ages 4 to 18 around the world spend on TikTok each day, according to a new report by Qustodio.

• 942 years - The age of one of the fake directors uncovered by Moody Analytics in its new report of 472 million shell companies around the globe. The listing suggests the director was born in the 11th century.

EXTRA SCHMEAR

Long Video. Why are countries racing back to the Moon? (15 min) 

Short Video. Learn whether it’s actually normal to talk to yourself. (5 min)

Fun Video. Take an architectural tour of the Oval Office and White House with President Joey B himself. (8 min)

Good Read. Read about the turbulent life of Charles Robert Jenkins, an American soldier who defected to North Korea instead of fighting in Vietnam. (2,343 words; 10 min)

Neat List. Check out Nature’s 10, highlighting the 10 people (and one non-human) that shaped science in 2023.

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Written by Ryan Wittler