Comment on PROMISES, PROMISES: Little transparency progress

When the celebrated Brazilian author Marcelo Paiva started writing his 2015 memoir Ainda Eustou Aqui (I’m Still Here), he wanted to record his family history as his mother, Eunice Paiva, started losing her memory. Eunice was in her eighties and had been living with Alzheimer’s for over a decade—causing her to forget her past as an influential human rights lawyer and activist in Brazil.

Less than two weeks before Donald Trump is reinstated as President, Meta is abandoning its fact-checking program in favor of a crowdsourced model that emphasizes “free expression.” The shift marks a profound change in how the company moderates content on its platforms—and has sparked fierce debate over its implications for misinformation and hate speech online. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram and Threads, had long funded fact-checking efforts to review content.

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minneapolis City Council on Monday approved an agreement with the federal government to overhaul the city’s police training and use-of-force policies in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. The deal incorporates and builds on changes the Minneapolis Police Department has made since Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white officer in 2020, prompting a national reckoning with police brutality and racism. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The 171-page agreement, filed in federal court shortly after the council voted 12-0 to approve it, says the department will require its officers to “promote the sanctity of human life as the highest priority in their activities.” It says officers must ”carry out their law enforcement duties with professionalism and respect for the dignity of every person.” And it says they must not allow race, gender or ethnicity “to influence any decision to use force, including the amount or type of force used.” The agreement, known as a consent decree, will put the department under long-term court supervision.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday declined to rule out using the U. S. military to acquire Greenland or the Panama Canal, ideas he has repeatedly floated since winning the election. “It might be that you’ll have to do something,” Trump said during an hourlong press conference at Mar-a-Lago when asked about whether he would vow to not use the military.

Justin Trudeau had a special bond with Canadians, who had known him since he was born, on Christmas Day in 1971, as the son of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. That bond helped him get his Dad’s old job. In his first federal election as Liberal leader in 2015, his Conservative opponents warned Canadians that he was a lightweight, a celebrity with nice hair but no relevant work experience.

Your skin is your largest organ, but it doesn’t get the attention it deserves—especially when it comes to skin checks for cancer. That should change, says Dr. Susan Massick, associate professor of dermatology at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, because a skin cancer screening exam is one of the easiest you’ll ever have.