State lottery advertising tells players half of the story

State lotteries spend more than a half-billion dollars a year on pervasive marketing campaigns designed to persuade people to play often, spend more and overlook the long odds of winning.

Scientific Games’ lottery playbook succeeded, then spread

The growth of the lottery business nationwide was inspired in large part by the lobbying innovations of a single multinational gambling company, Scientific Games Holdings LP.

State lotteries are increasingly ceding control to multinational firms

Lottery systems nationwide are evolving into quasi-privatized operations, with state governments assuming an oversight role while private companies reap millions running this sophisticated form of gambling.

Unlevel Playing Fields

This collaboration between the Howard Center, The Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and PBS NewsHour revealed that high school girls are still at a disadvantage nearly 50 years after Congress passed the sweeping Title IX law that guarantees equity for girls and boys in school-based athletics. In nearly a dozen stories and a national poll, the investigation illustrated girls’ second-class status, explained why the law isn’t working and examined solutions to fix the situation.

Title IX, which passed in 1972, is a federal law that prohibits sex-based discrimination at any school that receives funding from the federal government, including in sports programs. While Title IX has led to a significant increase in girls playing scholastic sports, it has fallen short of achieving equity for high school girls in areas such as facilities, equipment, scheduling and publicity, the four-month, student-led investigation found.

Fairness, mental health are concerns in debate over transgender women in competitive sports

Phillip Westry is legal director at Free State Justice, a Maryland organization that acts as an advocate for members of the LGBTQ+ community. When he saw a poll showing most Americans oppose transgender women competing in sports against cisgender women,…

The Russian War Kills 15 Journalists, Scatters Others to Safe Haven A Few Remain in Ukraine, Russia, Continue Work Underground

The war in Ukraine forced many independent journalists from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus to stop working and flee to safer locations; others in Ukraine never made it that far before being imprisoned by Russian forces or killed in the fighting,…

Ukrainian reporter jailed in Crimea sent to crowded cell block to make room for prisoners of war, says U.S.-funded employer Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

Vladislav Yesypenko, a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty correspondent sentenced to six years in prison for his reporting in Russian-occupied Crimea, has recently been moved to a dirtier, more crowded prison floor.

One Reporter’s Story Shows Outlook For Release Of Kurdish Journalists Worsens Under Turkey’s Authoritarian Path

Nedim Turfent, already imprisoned for six years, lost more privileges this year

Hong Kong journalists and activists fear China’s retaliation, even abroad

Vague China-imposed national security law wiped out protests and independent reporting.

Imprisoned journalist Katerina Andreeva charged with treason just months ahead of release

“The situation itself is frightening,” Igor Ilyash, Katerina Andreeva’s husband and a journalist, told Capital News Service recently. “She is, apparently, too bright and famous of a journalist to let her go now.”