Category: Technica Aquarius

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Over the last few decades, there’s been a heavy emphasis on techniques that fall under the concept of “proactive policing.” These generally involve identifying the areas of a city that have the highest crime rates and applying more aggressive policing in those locations. While there have been some successes, the approach has often bred resentment, as methods like stop-and-frisk policing generated antagonism between the police and the communities they were meant to help.

In a 2018 report on proactive policing, the US’s National Academies of Science examined approaches meant to keep intensive policing from creating friction with communities. The report found that one promising technique, called “procedural justice,” lacked evidence of efficacy—we couldn’t tell whether it consistently reduced crime and/or improved community relations.

So, some of the people behind the National Academies report decided to change that, running their own controlled study on procedural justice in three US cities. The results aren’t decisive, but they suggest the technique might reduce crime and community friction.

Enlarge / A health worker administers a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to an elderly resident at Ichilov medical center in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. (credit: Getty | Bloomberg)

Update 3/29/2022, 4 pm ET: Swiftly following authorization from the Food and Drug Administration earlier Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced it is updating its recommendations to allow people ages 50 and up as well as certain immunocompromised people to receive a second booster dose of either the Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.

“Today, CDC expanded eligibility for an additional booster dose for certain individuals who may be at higher risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19,” CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement. “Boosters are safe, and people over the age of 50 can now get an additional booster 4 months after their prior dose to increase their protection further. This is especially important for those 65 and older and those 50 and older with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk for severe disease from COVID-19 as they are the most likely to benefit from receiving an additional booster dose at this time. CDC, in collaboration with FDA and our public health partners, will continue to evaluate the need for additional booster doses for all Americans.”

The agency also announced that adults who received a Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and a Johnson & Johnson booster dose more than four months ago are now also eligible to get a second booster dose using an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna).

Enlarge / TurboTax products sit on display at Costco on January 28, 2016, in Foster City, California. (credit: Getty Images | Kimberly White )

The Federal Trade Commission sued Intuit on Monday, alleging that it deceptively advertises “free” tax filing with TurboTax. Intuit’s deceptive tactics pushed customers toward paid products—even in cases where they were eligible for the no-cost Free File program for people with low and moderate incomes, the FTC said.

The FTC asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction forcing Intuit to stop “disseminating the deceptive claim that consumers can file their taxes for free using TurboTax when in truth, in numerous instances Defendant does not permit consumers to file their taxes for free using TurboTax.” If approved by the court, a proposed order submitted by the FTC would force Intuit to either stop claiming its product is free or to conspicuously include all the limitations in ads “so as to leave no reasonable probability that the terms of the offer might be misunderstood.”

The FTC said Intuit makes misleading claims about TurboTax in paid advertisements and on its website. “Much of Intuit’s advertising for TurboTax conveys the message that consumers can file their taxes for free using TurboTax, even going so far as to air commercials in which almost every word spoken is the word ‘free,'” the FTC said in its complaint filed in US District Court for the Northern District of California. Intuit said it will fight the lawsuit in a response that called the FTC’s allegations inaccurate.