Japanese government officials discourage kids from playing outdoors near Fukushima more than a few minutes a day; colleges have trademarked some ridiculous phrases; meanwhile, sleep troubles could have to do with low brain volume. These discoveries and more below.

On a regular basis, Truthdig brings you the news items and odds and ends that have found their way to Larry Gross, director of the USC Annenberg School for Communication. A specialist in media and culture, art and communication, visual communication and media portrayals of minorities, Gross helped found the field of gay and lesbian studies.

Near Fukushima, a Generation of Kids Who Don’t Play Outside This week marks three years since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

Generations Y & Z Still Value Traditional Media Generations Y and Z, having grown up online, are the biggest users of new media.

The Short Memory of Condoleezza Rice How can any editorial by Condoleezza Rice on conflict in Ukraine can fail to directly address the failures of the Iraq War?

Senate Investigation of Bush-Era Torture Erupts Into Constitutional Crisis A gripping battle between the Central Intelligence Agency and the Senate Intelligence Committee broke into public view Tuesday morning.

The Ridiculous Phrases That Universities Have Trademarked Various institutions have obtained federal trademark registrations on certain phrases, presumably to stop other people from using them in any context remotely related to education.

Study Ties Troubled Sleep to Lower Brain Volume People who have trouble sleeping tend to have less volume in certain regions of the brain than those without sleep problems, a new study of Persian Gulf War veterans suggests.

Wall Street Journal Adopts Native Ads, Tactic Its Editor Has Said Can Lead to Faustian Pacts The Wall Street Journal is introducing native advertising to its website less than six months after Editor-in-Chief Gerard Baker described many publishers’ moves in the arena as a “Faustian pact.”

Traveling Through Palestine While Black: A Firsthand Look at a Slow-Moving Annexation In the first several days after returning from Israel and Occupied Palestine, Bill Fletcher, Jr. dreamed of Palestine each night.

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