May 26 top stories
It is May 26. Here are today’s top stories.
U.S. population’s median age is 39
The U.S. Census Bureau said the median age of the U.S. population, as of 2020, is 38.8. This is older than 37.2 in 2010 and even older than 35.2 in 2000.
CNN said this means the US population has gotten older in the past two decades, with more aging adults and fewer children under the age of 5. This is due to smaller cohorts of children being born from 2010 to 2020.
The population of adults ages 65 and older has grown almost five times faster than the total U.S. population in the past 100 years.
Experts said this means that public leaders need to become prepared to meet growing needs among our aging population.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink gets FDA approval
Elon Musk’s brain implant company, Neuralink, has received approval from the FDA to conduct tests on humans.
BBC said the company hopes to give blind or paralyzed people their vision and mobility back by linking brains to computers.
In separate but related news, a team of Swiss researchers announced that a paralyzed man was able to walk using brain implants, simply by thinking about it. The man had implants in his brain and spine that were wirelessly connected.
South Carolina 6-week abortion ban
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a bill into law that imposes a six-week ban on most abortions. The governor said he supports the bill because “the right to live must be preserved.”
The ban will be challenged by a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood South Atlantic. The organization said the ban “tramples on our right to make private health care decisions.”
CNN said the entire US South, with the exception of Virginia, has moved to significantly curtail abortion rights in the past year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.
Doctor disciplined for talking about 10-year-old’s abortion
A doctor in Indiana, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, was reprimanded by the state’s medical licensing board and fined $3,000 for speaking out about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old girl who was a rape victim from Ohio.
This case became public last July. At that time, Ohio banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, so that’s why the girl had to cross state lines to get an abortion. Dr. Bernard spoke out about the case to highlight the impact of increasing abortion restrictions after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
A 27-year-old man was charged with raping the 10-year-old girl last year.
The board said the doctor violated privacy laws but did not suspend her medical license.
AP News said Ohio’s abortion ban is now on hold as a lawsuit pays out.
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Report: Trump workers moved boxes before FBI came
The Washington Post reported that two of Donald Trump’s employees at Mar-a-Lago moved boxes of papers the day before FBI agents and government officials came to retrieve classified documents in June.
The report said this action may be considered a criminal act of obstruction because there was a subpoena for the documents served in May.
This is before the FBI raided Trump’s home in August. The report said investigators will have to determine the timeline of when boxes with potential classified information in them were moved and whether they could be considered an attempt to conceal.
Special Counsel Jack Smith has been leading an investigation on this matter since November.
Passenger opens door on plane mid-air
In South Korea, a person on a passenger plane opened an emergency exit door while the plane was in the air.
A video shows passengers clinging to their seats with air rushing through the plane, causing their clothes to flap around. There were 194 people on the plane.
Fortunately, the plane landed safely. 12 people were injured. Some experienced severe ear pain or had breathing problems.
Airport police detained the suspected person who opened the door. It is not known who the person is and what their motive is.
Orcas attacking boats in waters off Spain
Reuters said orcas severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of southern Spain on Wednesday and that it is the latest in over 20 incidents between orcas and boats in the area this month.
The incident on Wednesday involved a group of orcas who broke the sailing boat’s rudder and rammed its hull, piercing it. The ship’s crew called for help and they were rescued with the ship towed to a port for repairs.
Earlier this month, a sailing yacht was hit by three orcas and later sank.
A marine biologist from Portugal said he thinks that the incidents began after one orca experienced a traumatic event with a boat and then started attacking boats and other orcas imitated its behavior.
Other experts said the orcas may have been playful instead of being aggressive.
That is all the top stories for today. There will be no news on Monday because of the Memorial Day holiday. Have a nice long weekend and stay with the light.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/health/us-population-median-age-39/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-65717487
https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/25/politics/south-carolina-abortion-ban-bill/index.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/05/25/trump-classified-documents-mar-a-lago/
https://apnews.com/article/south-korea-plane-door-open-6c20f0e63e782036535e1a41afc34e10
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/killer-whales-wreck-boat-latest-attack-off-spain-2023-05-25/