US road traffic fatalities are rising again

2/3/22 7:00PM

Road traffic fatalities have risen in the USA, with preliminary data showing 11,750 fatalities in the 3 months to September 2021 and 31,720 fatalities in the first 9 months of 2021. That's a 32% rise in just the last decade, and a 12% rise on last year.

Why are roads getting more dangerous?

It's not immediately obvious, considering the ongoing improvements in car safety and design, but blaming the pandemic is probably not a bad bet.

Stress from job losses and ill health, coupled with fewer cars on the road, may have encouraged more risk-taking behind the wheel. Indeed, that's been the conclusion from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, with some behavioral research showing that speeding and traveling without a seat belt have been more common in the last couple of years. Drive safe, folks.

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Tom Jones7/10/26

The most watched soccer match in US history got less than a third of the views the Super Bowl did

Between a top-spot finish in the group stage, a sweeping performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 32, and the president’s controversial intervention, Monday evening’s USMNT game against Belgium had, to put it lightly, shaped up into a box-office clash.

And though the US players’ performance on the pitch might not have lived up to the high drama off it, American soccer fans certainly showed up. According to early estimates, the 4-1 defeat against Belgium was the most watched soccer telecast in US history, hauling some 40 million viewers on average across the coverage on Fox and Telemundo.

That may be a record tally in the US for the sport that much of the world calls some variant of “football” — besting the 36.2 million who tuned in to watch the team’s previous knock-out match — but it’s still peanuts in comparison to the sport that shares the same name in the States.

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Over 50% of Americans say climate change is a serious threat; only 10% think their compatriots feel the same

That perception gap on the issue is among the highest in the world, per a new Gallup poll.

Youth Climate Strikes Break Out Across The U.S.

Reddit’s advertising business is getting bigger. It’s already booming.

The platform will plow more money into its ad offerings as it cements itself as a “trove of human intelligence.”

Tom Jones6/22/26

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45% of Americans say they’re not taking a summer vacation this year, mostly due to costs

Flight comparison site Skyscanner is recommending some cheaper alternatives closer to home.

Bored annoyed man looking funny and angry during his summer staycations

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Despite slight declines, Japanese tourism figures are still hovering around record highs

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