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☆ America's broken housing market is making millennials and Gen Z lonelier
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Loneliness is a perceived lack of connection — the discrepancy between the social connection someone has and the connection they want. Holt-Lunstad's widely-cited research has found that loneliness and social isolation have health impacts comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. People who live in communities with more walkable neighborhoods, shared space, greenery, and diverse types of housing, feel more socially connected and less lonely. In her work, Peavey has come up with six design strategies for creating third spaces — places that aren't home, work, or school — to facilitate social connection. But neighborhoods need to be dense and walkable in order for people to easily access these places because cars and physical distance get in the way.

☆ This 44-year-old founder and CEO is stepping down to go on a 3-year religious mission. 'I feel such confidence that this is the right thing.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Davis Smith founded Cotopaxi, an outdoor gear company and certified B Corporation, in 2014. In July, he will step down as CEO to go on a 3-year religious mission in Brazil. Damien Huang, Cotopaxi's president who joined the company from Eddie Bauer, where he was CEO, will move into the role. "But I feel such confidence that this is the right thing." And we don't do that by isolating ourselves or saying, "We're better than you," or "You're not doing it right."

☆ Can AI answer your money questions? We put chatbots to the test
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Chris Taylor | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

NEW YORK, April 13 (Reuters) - Face it, we could all use a little help with our money. So who better to ask for personal finance advice than a couple of the most powerful chatbots on the planet? Each has far more processing power than, say, any individual personal finance writer (ahem). That in mind, we asked our AI assistants-slash-overlords these classic personal finance questions:What is one great business idea? I couldn’t leave our new AI friends without asking a deeper question about money and its role in our existence.

☆ The IRS plans to tax some NFTs as collectibles — and the rich would pay up to 28% on profits
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Greg Iacurci | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Noam Galai | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty ImagesHow the IRS plans to tax NFTsNFT enthusiasm swelled in recent years along with the popularity of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin . An NFT offering a right to use or develop that virtual plot also generally isn't a collectible, the IRS said. Profit on those sales is taxed at ordinary income tax rates, which apply to wages, for example. (There are seven marginal tax rates, ranging from 10% up to 37%.) These tax rates are generally lower than ordinary income tax rates.

☆ The Great Salt Lake in Utah is disappearing, leaving behind a toxic bowl of dust and potentially one of the greatest environmental disasters in US history
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Scientists have warned that the Great Salt Lake in Utah could disappear within five years. "Great Salt Lake is facing unprecedented danger. When clouds of dust roll into Salt Lake City, they can make the air toxic. The Great Salt Lake is used for recreation, natural resource extraction, and brine shrimp fishing, a multimillion-dollar industry. Agriculture is the largest user of water in the Great Salt Lake watershed, accounting for 85%, according to the Utah Rivers Council.

☆ Elon Musk said he had to 'save Twitter from bankruptcy.' Here's what would happen if it filed for Chapter 11.
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk has floated bankruptcy as a possibility for Twitter, but had said costs are "under control." Twitter reportedly has roughly $13 billion in debt from a group of banks, with $1 billion annual interest payments. Companies can use Chapter 11 to slash debt, but it could give lenders control over its future. He tweeted earlier this month that his goal was "to save Twitter from bankruptcy," as his handling of the social media platform's finances has also come under scrutiny. In a Chapter 11 reorganization, parties like secured lenders and other creditors have leverage to demand leadership changes as a condition of approving a plan to exit bankruptcy.

☆ With Great Salt Lake at rock bottom, lawmakers aim for rescue
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

Water volume on the Great Salt Lake has dropped by more than two-thirds since pioneers once settled the Salt Lake Valley. Much of the lake surface is now exposed. Photographs of empty marinas and the cracking crust of the lake’s surface often illustrate the lake’s decline. The rivers and streams that feed The Great Salt Lake are overallocated, which means farmers and other water users collectively have rights to more water than what typically flows through each year. Spencer Cox last November closed the Great Salt Lake basin to appropriations for new water uses, effectively capping the line of water users wanting to use what flows into the lake.

☆ How 'Real Housewife' Jen Shah's fabulous life came crashing down
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Stephanie Clifford | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +43 min

The woman wrote to the judge overseeing Shah's case that she'd had to remortgage her house, almost divorced, and "thought about ending my own life." The couple decided that he should get his degree while Jen Shah dropped out of college to work. (Shah told a judge at her 2022 plea hearing that she had been treated for "alcohol and depression" two years prior. Koa Johnson, Jen Shah's former fashion designerWhen Sharrieff Shah did participate in filming, he quickly became a fan favorite, calm and sensible. Once the show aired and Jen Shah developed a fan base, her behavior became more dramatic, Johnson said.

☆ Brigham Young University offensive lineman dies in construction accident
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

HONOLULU — Brigham Young University offensive lineman Sione Veikoso was killed in a construction accident in his hometown in Hawaii, family members said. Veikoso, 22, died Friday after a retaining wall he was helping repair during holiday break from school collapsed, his family confirmed. He was reliable and caring,” Veikoso’s cousin Joshua Kava said in a written statement to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Rescuers called them off because of the wall’s instability and manually removed rocks to free two of the men in about 15 minutes. After high school, Veikoso spent two years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Manaus, Brazil, before enrolling in college.

☆ Elon Musk has warned in the past that Twitter could go bankrupt. Here's what would happen if it did.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Elon Musk has floated bankruptcy as a possibility for Twitter, but said this week costs are "under control." Twitter reportedly has roughly $13 billion in debt from a group of banks, with $1 billion annual interest payments. Musk has been in intense cost-cutting mode since his Twitter takeover became official on Oct. 27. That can create pressure on lenders to work with Musk to reorganize the debt, whether in court, or privately, experts said. Twitter, whose purchase was facilitated by elite backers including top venture capital firms and foreign investors, could face pressure from secured lenders to figure out a solution.

The Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America doesn’t support same-sex marriage. It demonstrates that the American model of representative democracy — though riddled with divisions — can still address complex contemporary issues. This victory was achieved because the Respect for Marriage Act also includes important principles of religious freedom for those who don’t endorse same-sex marriage itself. On the right, criticism has largely centered on calling for even stronger religious freedom amendments or strenuously objecting to the inclusion of same-sex marriage in any federally codified definition of marriage. But over time, the model of political pluralism embodied in the Respect for Marriage Act can help renew national trust.

☆ Polar bears, pushed on land by climate change, get their own radar
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Evan Bush | Evan Bush Is A Science Reporter For Nbc News. He Can Be Reached At Evan.Bush Nbcuni.Com. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

As climate change diminishes sea ice from coastal communities in the Arctic and the subarctic, researchers expect polar bears to range further into the towns and camps in this remote part of the world. Geoff York and KT Miller install a mobile radar tower in Churchill, Manitoba, which hosts the SpotterRF radar to detect polar bears. When the sea ice along the bay melts, the bears migrate to make their home on land and wait for the ice to return. “It makes it ideal to test new technologies.”Although every season is different, climate change is lengthening the amount of time bears are away from sea ice here. But as climate change limits sea ice habitat, it’s expected to push more hungry bears toward communities that haven’t dealt with these creatures before.

☆ For $15k and a signed NDA, students at Kanye West's unaccredited Donda Academy start the day with 'full school worship' before parkour enrichment classes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

The unaccredited pre-K through 12th-grade school, Donda Academy, costs $15,000 per year to attend, Rolling Stone reported. In comparison, Donda Academy charges $15,000 per student, Rolling Stone reported, with about half of students receiving some sort of financial aid. Donda Academy, its principal, Brianne Campbell; assistant principal, Allison Tidwell; and sports director Shayla Scott did not respond to Insider's requests for comment. Tamar Andrews, an educational consultant for Donda Academy, confirmed to Rolling Stone that parents are asked to sign an "informal agreement" to enroll. "The process of Donda school is for the parishioners, for the attendees," Yusef told Rolling Stone.

During the game, she said, the crowd nearby began chanting “F--- the Mormons.” Over and over. As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, BYU’s sponsoring institution, Aubrey wanted the chanting to stop. Latter-day Saints have a fair track record when it comes to cheek-turning. There’s of course a balance to strike in the case of the Oregon chants. And yet, if you can publicly chant “F--- the Mormons” with only minimal social consequences, it’s time for Latter-day Saints to collectively push, as Aubrey sought to do, for greater and more immediate action.

☆ U. of Oregon apologizes for 'despicable chants' at football game
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Julianne Mcshane | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Oregon's interim vice president for student life, Kris Winter, said in a statement Saturday night that "the university apologizes for the despicable chants made by some University of Oregon fans at today’s football game with Brigham Young University." The Oregon Ducks won the game Saturday at their Autzen Stadium 41-20. "The offensive chant from our student section directed towards BYU during the football game last night does not align with our Trojan values," USC's athletic department tweeted at the time. BYU won that game, played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, 35-31. It is unclear whether the chants from University of Oregon fans could be heard on the television broadcast of Saturday's game, according to the Deseret News.

☆ How 2 colleges are using NFTs to engage sports fans and help athletes make money from NIL
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-16 | by ( Colin Salao | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Colleges like BYU and Syracuse are starting to sell NFTs of their sports teams and athletes. National Research Group said NFTs with real-world utility in sports could change the industry. Unlike the conventional NFTs in the market today, these NFTs also come with real-world benefits. BYU fans storm the field after the team's overtime win over Baylor on September 10, 2022. NRG's study said that sports fans are an ideal market for NFTs, particularly because of the industry's long history of fans purchasing memorabilia.

☆ Satanic panic is making a comeback, fueled by QAnon believers and GOP influencers
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Brandy Zadrozny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +23 min

Utah County Attorney David O. Leavitt speaks on July 31, 2019, in Provo. The accusations were part of a new case from Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith. Discussion about satanism and satanic abuse has increased in recent years, according to data provided to NBC News by Zignal Labs, which analyzes social media conversations. Popular culture and social media have also ferried ideas about satanism and widespread child abuse from fringe to the mainstream. (Anti-LGBTQ politicians and activists have equated LGBTQ people with predators who abuse children as part of a “gay agenda,” the well-worn panic that the gay rights movement’s true motivation is recruitment.

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