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☆ How to focus with a short attention span
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In her book “Attention Span: A Groundbreaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity,” Mark explains how decades of research have tracked the decline of the ability to focus. “In 2004, we measured the average attention on a screen to be 2½ minutes,” Mark said. “In fact, our research shows it takes 25 minutes, 26 seconds, before we go back to the original working sphere or project,” Mark said. “And then you go back and pick up the original interrupted project,” Mark said. For over 25 minutes, you’re actually working on other things.”(At least I can tell my boss that when I miss my deadline.)

Persons: CNN — I’ve, ”, Gloria Mark, Mark, ” Mark, “, you’re, there’s, “ You’re, it’s, Bora Bora, ” It’s, — Organizations: CNN, Pixar, University of California, Adobe Stock Locations: Irvine, Bora

☆ Factbox: The 10 biggest U.S. retail bankruptcies in 5 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

J.C. PenneyAssets: $7.99 billionLiabilities: $7.16 billionStores: 846After more than a century in business, the department store chain filed for bankruptcy protection in May 2020, weighed down by mounting debt. At the time, its bankruptcy was the biggest collapse of a U.S. retailer by assets since Kmart in 2002. It soon emerged from bankruptcy with much of its store base intact and $400 million in fresh financial aid. Tailored BrandsAssets: $2.48 billionLiabilities: $2.84 billionStores: Over 1,400The owner of tuxedo and business suit chain Men's Wearhouse filed for bankruptcy in August 2020. It emerged from bankruptcy just days short of a year since it filed for bankruptcy under a new name, Premier Brands.

☆ How to Restore Our Dwindling Attention Spans
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Gloria Mark | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

A question has increasingly plagued me since I began studying our relationship with technology about two decades ago: Will we ever pay attention again? The concern arose from measuring the shrinking attention spans of hundreds of knowledge workers in a variety of work roles. Whether we’re talking about a Gen Z or a baby boomer, a CEO or an administrative assistant, attention spans on our computers and phones are short and declining. We used sophisticated computer logging techniques to measure attention spans and heart rate monitors and wearable devices to measure stress. Back in 2004, we found that people averaged 150 seconds on any screen before switching to another screen.

☆ Social media created a generation of 'weakened kids' threatening American culture and capitalism, NYU business school professor says in WSJ op-ed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Madeline Stone | Gloria Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A recent WSJ op-ed argued that Gen Z is a generation of "weakened kids." Haidt said that social media and a culture of victimhood are to blame for Gen Z's state. Haidt pointed to high rates of anxiety and depression among young people and said that a "performative" social media culture was to blame. Gen Z, typically defined as those born between 1997 and 2012, live in "defend mode," Haidt said. The concern about giving feedback to Gen Z workers is occurring just as social media promotes an organizational culture of fear and could have larger knock-on effects, Haidt said.

☆ Final farewell: From Sidney Poitier to Pope Emeritus Benedict a look back at the influential figures who died in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +55 min

Other world leaders who died in 2022 include former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who died in August. The final days of 2022 saw the loss of some exceptionally notable figures, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. Here is a roll call of some influential figures who died in 2022 (cause of death cited for younger people, if available):___JANUARY___Dan Reeves, 77. A Cuban-born artist whose radiant color palette and geometric paintings were overlooked for decades before the art world took notice. A prolific character actor best known for playing villains and tough guys in “The Manchurian Candidate,” “Ocean’s Eleven” and other films.

☆ A delivery driver's car was stolen with her kids inside — and it reveals the complicated reality of juggling gig work and childcare
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Gloria Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A DoorDash delivery driver had her car stolen with her infant twins inside. The children were eventually found, but the frightening incident highlighted a reality for many gig workers — their kids come with them on deliveries. It is not uncommon for delivery drivers to bring children along for deliveries, and it is allowed under DoorDash's guidelines. Last year, a DoorDash delivery driver in Georgia had her car stolen with her 1-year-old daughter inside. In San Francisco, a DoorDash driver's car was also stolen with his children inside last year.

In Victoria Rowell’s new Christmas movie, “Blackjack Christmas,” the writer, producer, actress and director said she was drawn to create a holiday film to hit both the gloomy and the bright. Charmin Lee as Corrine Allen in "Blackjack Christmas." “It’s intrinsic to my personal being.”Adam Lazarre-White as Graham Wilkes, Charmin Lee as Corrine Allen, Kyrie McAlpin as Marsha Matthews and Leigh-Ann Rose as Gloria Matthews in "Blackjack Christmas." That’s why in many of her works, including “Blackjack Christmas,” she focuses on Black women as central characters and shares their experiences. “This is such a Christmas movie and people are watching it again and again,” Rowell said.

☆ Analysis: U.N. nature deal can help wildlife as long as countries deliver
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Conservationists praised the deal's ambition, saying it amounted to a Paris Agreement for nature in setting out 23 specific targets against which countries can measure their progress. "This is equivalent to the 1.5 degrees Celsius global goal for climate," said Marco Lambertini, director-general of World Wildlife Fund International. "Otherwise, there is a big risk that the cheapest areas are protected rather than those that matter most for biodiversity." During the talks, delegates discussed whether protected areas should be entirely off-limits to human settlement and development, or if some resource extraction should be allowed if managed sustainably. Canada, one of the world's largest nations, is expanding protected land and marine areas in the Arctic.

The defamation case brought by actor Johnny Depp against his ex-wife Amber Heard came to an end on Wednesday after a seven-person jury unanimously ruled in favor of Depp. The jury awarded Depp $10 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in his defamation suit. Depp also claims she is not the victim of domestic violence but instead the perpetrator. 2022On April 11, the weekslong defamation trial kicks off, with Heard and Depp appearing in court in Fairfax County, Virginia. The jury unanimously finds that Heard defamed Depp, awarding him $5 million in punitive damages and $10 million in compensatory damages.

Here are some of the key areas agreed on after two weeks of negotiations hosted in Montreal, Canada. CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND RESTORATIONDelegates committed to protecting 30% of land and 30% of coastal and marine areas by 2030, fulfilling the deal's highest-profile goal, known as 30-by-30. Wealthier countries should contribute at least $20 billion of this every year by 2025, and at least $30 billion a year by 2030. BIG COMPANIES REPORT IMPACTS ON BIODIVERSITYCompanies should analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues. This reporting is intended to progressively promote biodiversity, reduce the risks posed to business by the natural world, and encourage sustainable production.

☆ Congo says unable to support U.N. nature deal in current form
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

MONTREAL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The Democratic Republic of Congo is unable to support the adoption of a proposed global deal to protect nature after two weeks of United Nations-backed negotiations, a representative from the country told a summit on Monday. Talks are likely to continue Monday morning. The summit is due to conclude on Dec. 19. Reporting by Gloria Dickie and Isla BinnieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. A Congolese representative argued that developed nations should provide more resources to nature conservation efforts in developing countries. [1/6] The leadership of the U.N.-backed COP15 biodiversity conference applaud after passing the The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in Montreal, Quebec, Canada December 19, 2022. Developed countries will provide $25 billion in annual funding starting in 2025 and $30 billion per year by 2030. The agreement, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020.

MONTREAL, Dec 19 (Reuters) - A United Nations summit approved on Monday a landmark global deal to protect nature and direct billions of dollars toward conservation but objections from key African nations, home to large tracts of tropical rainforest, marred the final passage. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, reflecting the joint leadership of China and Canada, is the culmination of four years of work toward creating an agreement to guide global conservation efforts through 2030. "The parties which are developed nations should provide resources to parties which are developing," the Congolese representative said through a translator. The deal, which contains 23 targets in total, replaces the failed 2010 Aichi Biodiversity Targets that were intended to guide conservation through 2020. Investment firms focused on a target in the deal recommending that companies analyse and report how their operations affect and are affected by biodiversity issues.

Policymakers hope an ambitious deal can spur nature conservation in the same way that an international pact in Paris in 2015 helped mobilize efforts to limit planet-warming carbon emissions. However, the text mentions only that $20 billion to $30 billion per year comes from developed countries by 2030. "Probably we will have to reach an agreement between $30 billion and $100 billion," Colombia's Muhamad told reporters. The draft deal does not mention setting up a separate facility. Lastly, risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals would be reduced by at least half, but the text does not address slashing their overall use.

The presidency of the Montreal summit is held by China, which is responsible for releasing the draft text, based on the last two weeks of negotiations, as the best compromise for parties to discuss going forward. However, the 30-by-30 target does not contain a global goal and makes limited mention of the ocean, which could leave international waters unprotected. Financial mobilization has remained another key sticking point at the talks, and the draft puts forward allocating $200 billion per year for conservation initiatives - a target seen as critical for the successful implementation of any deal. The draft does not mention setting up a new facility. Lastly, the text does not address slashing the use of pesticides but does say that the risks from pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals should be reduced by at least half.

☆ Explainer: What the world's nature-rich nations want out of a global conservation deal
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

REUTERS/Nacho Doce/File PhotoMONTREAL, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Tangled expanses of Amazon rainforest, high mountains of the Himalayas, and cloud-shrouded forests are just some of the unique landscapes contained within the world's most nature-rich nations. Governments are trying to work out a new global agreement to guide conservation and wildlife protection through 2030 at a U.N. summit in Montreal this week. Of the nearly 200 countries assembled, five are considered to be among the world's most biodiverse nations — measured in the number of unique species. That's more than a third of all the world’s flowering plants, and more than half of all bird and mammal species on Earth. Here's what some of the world's most nature-rich nations want to happen at the talks.

The deal, which includes significant raises for the employees, ends the grad students' five-week strike. Sarah Reingewirtz / Los Angeles Daily News via Getty ImagesOn Friday evening, United Auto Workers, the union representing the striking student workers, hailed the tentative agreement and praised Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg for helping accelerate negotiations. The University of California said it would make health care accessible to the dependents of student employees and enhance paid family leave benefits. System president Michael V. Drake was pleased with Friday's outcome and recognized the workers' role in the system's lauded education and research. "Our Academic Student Employees and Graduate Student Researchers are central to our academic enterprise and make incredible contributions to the University’s mission of research and education," he said in a statement.

☆ Alex Murdaugh, disgraced South Carolina lawyer accused of killing wife and son, faces new legal trouble
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Prosecutors said Murdaugh, 54, made nearly $14 million as a lawyer over nine years, but also stole nearly $7 million from his law firm at the same time. The latest indictments bring the total number of charges against the disgraced attorney to more than 100. In his best year, Murdaugh reported making $5.3 million in 2013 after making $2.4 million the year before. Murdaugh said he made just $219,000 in 2017 and only $1.6 million over the next two years, according to the indictment. Murdaugh and his family were the biggest players in the legal scene in tiny Hampton County.

As the new network comedy "Lopez vs. Lopez" airs its midseason episode Friday, Afro Latina actor Selenis Leyva said she's excited about a TV series that wants to change the way Americans see Latinos. “Specifically during these times, we’re always talking about Latino representation.”“Lopez vs. Lopez,” which airs on NBC (NBC News and NBC are part of NBCUniversal), focuses on the generational tension between Mayan Lopez and her estranged father George Lopez — who's also her father in real life. “That connects with a lot of people.”Matt Shively, Selenis Leyva, Brice Gonzalez and Mayan Lopez in "Lopez vs. She believes that “Lopez vs. Lopez” will do the same for other Latinos in TV and film. It feels like I’m representing a group of people that you don’t necessarily see in roles like this.”The midseason episode will feature cameos from the original cast of the "George Lopez" show.

☆ South Carolina lawyer accused of killing family indicted for tax evasion
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Tyler Clifford | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Alex Murdaugh, 54, the scion of a South Carolina legal dynasty, is accused of willful attempt to evade state taxes on millions of dollars in income between 2011 and 2019. The new charges are in addition to dozens of state charges, including embezzlement and murder, brought by a Colleton County grand jury. Murdaugh is accused of fraudulently making nearly $7 million, which was left off on annual tax filings with the state, according to the indictment. He is suspected of skipping out on more than $486,800 in payments owed to South Carolina. He faces two counts of murder and two counts of possession of a weapon in connection with the murders.

☆ Analysis: Protecting 30% of the planet to save nature is not as simple as it sounds
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

More than 110 countries have come out in support of the 30-by-30 goal, including Canada, the United States and France. But as is often the case with science-based policy, the details matter to whether a 30% global conservation goal can truly save the world's imperiled species and places. "They would like to be able to leave Montreal and say we're going to protect 30% of the planet. "If we do things the right way, we protect most biodiversity by being smart — by protecting the areas that matter." Were such countries to protect only 30% of their territories, that could actually result in a significant loss of nature.

REUTERS/Amanda PerobelliSAO PAULO/MONTREAL, Dec 14 (Reuters) - Deforestation in Brazil's Cerrado savanna rose to a seven-year high, government data showed on Wednesday, destroying a vital habitat for threatened species and releasing huge amounts of greenhouse gases that drive climate change. Destruction of native vegetation rose 25% to 10,689 square kilometers (4,127 square miles) – an area larger than Lebanon. Brazil's official deforestation statistics run from August to July to minimize clouds obscuring the destruction. The Cerrado, the world's most species-rich savanna, has given way to Brazil's expanding agricultural frontier for decades. "We need COP15 negotiators to prioritise ending deforestation and conversion in areas where the yearly rate of ecosystem losses prove alarming, like the Cerrado."

☆ Struggling sneaker brand Vans is trying to lure millennials away from Nike and other brands with nostalgia, high heat collabs, and better arch support
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Danni Santana | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

But Harrer, who joined Vans from Dollar Shave Club in April 2021, noted that Vans wasn't reminding people about those classic shoes. Vans stopped marketing its classic sneakers for some time before resuming earlier this year with the "Classic Since Forever" campaign. "Our top-tier limited-distribution footwear, which you may know as Vans Vault, has previously met the needs of influential footwear-trend accounts in the past," he said. With Vans Vault, the company takes classic shoes and collaborates with popular designers and boutiques on new colorways. Vans Vault releases compete with Nike, Adidas, Converse, and others for the general sneaker lover.

☆ Dorothy Pitman Hughes, Black Feminist and Activist, Has Died at 84
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Ginger Adams Otis | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Dorothy Pitman Hughes in 2013 with a 1970s image of her and Gloria Steinem. Dorothy Pitman Hughes , a Black feminist, activist and child-welfare advocate who collaborated with Gloria Steinem , has died. She was 84 years old. Ms. Hughes died Dec. 1 of natural causes at the home of her daughter Delethia Ridley Malmsten in Tampa, Fla., Ms. Ridley Malmsten said Sunday.

☆ Dorothy Pitman Hughes, pioneering feminist who co-founded Ms. Magazine, dies at 84
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a pioneering Black feminist, child welfare advocate and activist who co-founded Ms. Magazine with Gloria Steinem, formed a powerful speaking partnership with her and appeared with her in one of the most iconic photos of the feminist movement, has died. Gloria Steinem, left, and Dorothy Pitman Hughes attend the Ms. Foundation for Women Gloria Awards in New York in 2014. Hughes, a pioneering voice in child care, organized the first shelter for battered women in New York City and co-founded the New York City Agency for Child Development. She met Steinem in 1968, according to a biography on the Ms. Magazine website, when Steinem, then a journalist, was writing a story for New York Magazine about Pitman Hughes’ child care center. Hughes was born Dorothy Jean Ridley on Oct. 2, 1938, in Lumpkin, Georgia, her family wrote in an obituary posted by the funeral home.

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