Skin deep: Six million Americans who describe themselves as ‘white’ have some African ancestry, according to a new study. As The Washington Post reports, that means that, in percentage terms, roughly 3.5% of self-described white Americans have 1% or more African ancestry. “European Americans with African ancestry comprise as much as 12% of European Americans from Louisiana and South Carolina and about 1 in 10 individuals in other parts of the South,” write the authors of the study. To arrive at these numbers, researchers pored over the genetic records of 145,000 people who submitted a cheek swab for testing to 23andme, a private company that provides ancestry-related genetic reports. Read the full story.
Through the fall: U.S. home resales tumbled to a six-month low in November after two straight months of strong increases, underscoring the uneven nature of the housing market recovery. The National Association of Realtors says existing home sales dropped 6.1% from the month previous to an annual rate of 4.93 million units, the lowest level since May. Reuters reports November’s steep decline probably does not signal the start of a weakening trend and in part reflected stubbornly low inventories, which touched an eight-month low, giving buyers limited options. Sales were up 2.1% from a year ago. Read the full story.
Flying the friendly skies: Alarmed by increasing encounters between small drones and manned aircraft, drone industry officials announced today they are teaming up with the government and model aircraft hobbyists to launch a safety campaign. The campaign includes a website—knowbeforeyoufly.com—which advises both recreational and commercial drone operators of FAA regulations and how to fly their unmanned aircraft safely. The campaign was announced by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International and the Small UAV Coalition, both industry trade groups, and the Academy of Model Aeronautics, which represents model aircraft hobbyists, in partnership with the Federal Aviation Administration. The Associated Press has the full story.
