Tracking New Voting Laws and Lawsuits Against Them in the Days Before Election
Fifteen states have controversial new voting laws on the books that cut the number of polling places, require voters to prove citizenship or require them provide a photo ID. ProPublica is tracking the laws in each state, including the pending litigation that could stand to overturn the laws before the election on Nov. 8. [ProPublica]
'Patient Zero' Cleared From AIDS Origin Story, Researchers Say
The strain of HIV responsible for almost all AIDS cases in the United States was carried from Zaire to Haiti around 1967 and appeared in New York as early as 1971, according to a new analysis. Until now, one man was thought to have introduced the disease to the U.S. by infecting possibly hundreds of his sexual partners before his death in 1984. But Gaétan Dugas, a French Canadian flight attendant who supposedly picked up HIV in Haiti or Africa, arrived well after the disease started to spread. [NPR and New York Times]
Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Man Accused of Killing Florida Police Officers
After speaking with family members of the two Palm Springs police officers shot and killed on by John Felix Oct. 8, as well as consulting with other officials, prosecutors have decided to pursue the death penalty. [BuzzFeed]
Inside Trump Tower
Take a tour through the tower that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and a selection of ex-cons, billionaires and celebrities make their home. It’s a view into Trump’s world, and gives a glimpse into what life in his White House could look like. [Bloomberg]
Scientists Are Fighting Zika by Releasing Mosquitos
Mosquitos carrying the bacterium Wolbachia don’t spread viruses like Zika. Scientists are releasing Wolbachia carriers in the hopes that they will spread the bacterium by mating with other mosquitoes in Zika-laden areas of South America. The strategy has worked in fighting Dengue Fever in other areas and doesn’t destroy the existing ecosystem, as spraying insecticide does, researchers say. [The Atlantic]
Here’s What Protesting Will Be Like Under the New Surveillance State
Digital tracking by companies like Google and Facebook, combined with a proliferation of facial-recognition software, are already making it really easy for you to be watched. Here’s what it might be like to take part in protests when the state can keep an eye on your every move. [Fusion]
Twitter Is Killing Vine and Laying Off 9 Percent of Its Employees
Twitter intends to fire hundreds of its workers and retire its video app Vine in an attempt to make an annual profit next year for the first time. The move follows nine consecutive quarters of slowing growth in revenue and a stagnation of active monthly users over the past year. Investors have described the social media network's workforce as bloated, and companies including Disney have recently turned down the chance to acquire the it. [Los Angeles Times]
Underwear-Clad Man Torches His Neighbor’s Trump Sign
This election is getting heated — literally. A Wisconsin man was caught on video using a blowtorch to set fire to a pro-Trump sign on his neighbor’s lawn while wearing only his underwear. (A similar sign burning took place on Staten Island this summer.) The sign owner in the Wisconsin torching vowed to replace it with an even bigger sign supporting her candidate. “The next one’s gonna be a billboard,” she said. [Jezebel]
Donald Trump: The Most Feminine-Sounding Candidate
Researchers say that while Trump may be busy with grading how women look, locker room talk and the size of his hands, “the actual words he uses” have a more traditionally feminine style. In fact, a doctoral candidate of political psychology at the University of California at Irvine said his style is the most feminine of any other presidential candidate since 2004. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, the researchers said, is more feminine than George W. Bush, but less than Barack Obama. [Politico]
Tom Hanks or Bill Murray? The Internet’s Newest Debate
The Internet has a new blue or gold dress. People online can't decide whether a picture of a celebrity holding a crying baby is Bill Murray or Tom Hanks. The resemblance between them is uncanny in the photo. [Daily News]
Amazon Is Planning to Open Grocery Stores. Would You Pay to Shop at One?
Amazon, the online shopping giant, is planning to open 2,000 grocery store locations over the next decade and 20 next year. It’s a curious move for a company known for online deals with its own online grocery shopping option. [Slate]
This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Carolina Pichardo, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Shaye Weaver, Gwynne Hogan, Jeanmarie Evelly, Noah Hurowitz, Emily Frost, Allegra Hobbs, Irene Palgianos, Eddie Small and Dartunorro Clark.
