Media

Science - Over 30,000 field experiments with The Washington Post and Upworthy showed that readers prefer simpler headlines (e.g., more common words and more readable writing) over more complex ones. A follow-up mechanism experiment showed that readers from the general public paid more attention to, and processed more deeply, the simpler headlines compared to the complex headlines. That is, a signal detection study suggested readers were guided by a simpler-writing heuristic, such that they skipped over relatively complex headlines to focus their attention on the simpler headlines.

NPR -  Jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich will stand trial on espionage charges in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Gershkovich was arrested in March of 2023 while on a reporting trip for The Wall Street Journal. Russian authorities allege that Gershkovich collected information under "instructions from the CIA" about a factory in Yekaterinburg that plays a significant role in building tanks and weapons for Russia in its war against Ukraine. Prosecutors have not publicly presented any evidence to support their claim. The U.S. is still trying to win Gershkovich's release, NPR's Michele Kelemen tells Morning Edition. She reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has made it no secret that he wants the U.S. to get Germany to release a Russian hitman serving a life sentence in Berlin on murder charges. U.S. officials have not publicly commented on this. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the U.S. put forth a substantial deal that Russia rejected.