Big retail chains are heading out of town

+ making beer without the booze US Edition - Today's top story: Big-box retail chains were never a solution for America's downtowns − and now they're fleeing back to suburbia [View in browser]( US Edition | 13 December 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Health misinformation is rampant on social media]( - [A road map for the lawful use of stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia]( - [How the warmest summer in 2023 affected the Arctic]( Lead story In December, big retailers decorate stores to the nines to lure holiday shoppers through the doors. This year, however, many are sending a different message. Target, Walmart, Nordstrom, Macy’s, CVS and other chains are closing stores across the U.S., especially in urban areas. The companies blame shoplifting and weak law enforcement, but urban policy scholar Nicholas Dagen Bloom argues that [big-box retailers were always a poor fit for downtowns](. In his view, smaller stores typically return more revenues to their communities, have more realistic growth targets and offer personal service that produces a safer and better shopping experience. One last note: we’re starting to test out a new service to let you get some of our headlines via text. If you’d like to try it, [sign up here](. [ [Science from the scientists themselves. Sign up for our weekly science email newsletter.]( ] Jennifer Weeks Senior Environment + Cities Editor Today's newsletter supported by [readers like you]( Merchandise is locked in cases to guard against theft in a Target store in New York City on Sept. 23, 2023. Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images [Big-box retail chains were never a solution for America’s downtowns − and now they’re fleeing back to suburbia]( Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Hunter College Shoplifting has been hyped as a driver of chain-store closures, but did these companies ever really understand urban environments in the first place? Economy + Business - [Growth of autocracies will expand Chinese global influence via Belt and Road Initiative as it enters second decade]( Richard Carney, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen More autocratic governments, growing urbanization and emerging technologies will bolster the spread of Chinese influence around the world, an expert on emerging economies explains. Health + Medicine - [Health misinformation is rampant on social media – here’s what it does, why it spreads and what people can do about it]( Monica Wang, Boston University Studies show that health misinformation on social media has led to fewer people getting vaccinated and more lives lost to COVID-19 and other life-threatening diseases. Politics + Society - [A road map for the lawful use of stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia – and elsewhere]( Michael D. White, Arizona State University; Henry F. Fradella, Arizona State University In a bid to reduce violent crime, the city’s new mayor is calling for a revitalization of a controversial practice the police department had mostly abandoned. Environment + Energy - [Arctic Report Card 2023: From wildfires to melting sea ice, the warmest summer on record had cascading impacts across the Arctic]( Rick Thoman, University of Alaska Fairbanks; Matthew L. Druckenmiller, University of Colorado Boulder; Twila A. Moon, University of Colorado Boulder The early heat melted snow and warmed rivers, heating up the land and downstream ocean areas. The effects harmed salmon fisheries, melted sea ice and fueled widespread fires. Science + Technology - [Nonalcoholic beer: New techniques craft flavorful brews without the buzz]( Clark Da​nderson, Auburn University Nonalcoholic beer may sound like an oxymoron, but newer techniques are producing tasty, high-quality options in this growing beverage category. - [How QR codes work and what makes them dangerous – a computer scientist explains]( Scott Ruoti, University of Tennessee Here’s what happens when you scan one of those ubiquitous two-dimensional black-and-white patterns, and why the FTC urges you to use caution. Arts + Culture - [‘Good Times’: 50 years ago, Norman Lear changed TV with a show about a working-class Black family’s struggles and joys]( Angela M. Nelson, Bowling Green State University Norman Lear brought the first nuclear Black family to prime-time television in 1974. Trending on site - [Why do people have wisdom teeth?]( - [Why university presidents find it hard to punish advocating genocide − college free speech codes are both more and less protective than the First Amendment]( - [Was King Herod the Great really so ‘great’? What history says about the bad guy of the Christmas story]( Today's graphic 📈 [The number of Americans age 10-19 who are dying from a drug overdose that involves fentanyl is growing. While in 2019, only 253 of these deaths were recorded, there were 884 in 2021.]( From the story, [Dozens of US adolescents are dying from drug overdoses every month − an expert on substance use unpacks the grim numbers with 3 charts]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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