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☆ Redistricting battles could determine control of US House in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Joseph Ax | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

But a series of legal challenges, including a major U.S. Supreme Court ruling, have cast many of those district lines into doubt. Legal experts said the ruling bolsters similar challenges in Georgia and Louisiana, where voting rights groups have argued that Republican-drawn maps marginalized Black voters. In Ohio, the state Supreme Court appears set to alter course after previously finding Republican maps violated the state constitution’s prohibition on gerrymandering. In Wisconsin, the most expensive state Supreme Court election in U.S. history resulted in a new liberal majority. OTHER BATTLESLast month, the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments over the state’s Republican-drawn congressional map, which carved Democratic Salt Lake County into four separate districts.

Persons: reconvenes, Leah Millis, –, ”, Michael Li, University’s, “, Kathy Hochul, Janet Protasiewicz Organizations: YORK, House, U.S . Capitol, Republican, REUTERS, Republicans, Census, Supreme, Center for Justice, U.S, Democrat, REPUBLICAN, STATE, Democratic, Ohio’s Republican, DEMOCRATIC, Utah Supreme Locations: New York, Utah, U.S, Washington , U.S, New, Black, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, In Wisconsin, Democratic Salt Lake County, New Mexico

☆ Can You Mix Booze and Exercise?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Danielle Friedman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

You’re at brunch with friends, and mimosas are on the house. You’re tempted, but you also want to go for a run later. Despite the popularity of boozy athletic events like Craft Brew Races and Bikes and Beers, exercise physiologists and nutrition experts strongly discourage drinking alcohol before, during or after exercise. “It’s like trying to do that workout uphill.”Few rigorous clinical trials have studied the effects of alcohol on workouts, said Jennifer Sacheck-Ward, the chair of the exercise and nutrition science department at George Washington University. Still, the research that does exist indicates that mixing the two can counteract many of the health benefits of exercise — or even leave you worse off than if you didn’t exercise in the first place.

Persons: You’re, ”, Amy Stephens, “, Jennifer Sacheck Organizations: New York, George Washington University, Still Locations: New

☆ Credit ratings agencies like Moody's decide the US credit rating. Here's what you need to know
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Credit rating agencies are once again in the spotlight amid the ongoing high-stakes debt ceiling negotiations in Washington. What is the purpose of credit rating agencies? Put simply, credit rating agencies provide their opinions and issue a score evaluating the likelihood that a borrower will repay its debt. Rating agencies first rose to prominence over a century ago, but today, the three major agencies dominate the market. Bonsall has studied the effectiveness of credit rating agencies and their possible conflicts of interest.

☆ Summer Is Coming. It’s Time to Check Your Feet.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Jancee Dunn | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the past few months, my feet have been sheathed in socks and slippers — like cave fish, hidden from the light. In preparation, I carefully inspect every inch of my feet to ensure they are ready to show to the world. Suddenly swollen feet can indicate high blood pressure, said Dr. Kirk Geter, the chief of podiatry at Howard University Hospital. Swelling can also be a sign of gout or kidney problems, Dr. Geter added, while tingling and numbness in the feet can indicate diabetes. So each day, you should inspect the bottoms and tops of your feet — as well as between your toes — and wiggle your toes around, Dr. Geter said.

☆ Regular internet use may be linked to lower dementia risk in older adults, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

A study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that older people who regularly used the internet were less likely to develop dementia. Scientists still don’t know what causes dementia, so the new research can’t pinpoint the exact connection between internet usage and brain health. A 2020 study found an association between cognitively stimulating jobs and a lower risk of dementia, for example. Research also suggests that most older adults most frequently use the internet for basic tasks like email, news or online banking. And learning new skills may be protective against dementia, studies suggest.

☆ Your Hair Is Going Gray. This Glitch May Explain Why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But gray hairs are one of the most obvious clues that the body isn’t working like it used to. Our hair turns gray when melanin-producing stem cells stop functioning properly. “This is a really big step toward understanding why we gray,” said Mayumi Ito, an author of the study and a dermatology professor at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which develop into all sorts of different organs, adult stem cells have a more set path. The melanocyte stem cells in our hair follicles are responsible for producing and maintaining the pigment in our hair.

☆ Fact Check-March 2023 posts saying Manhattan DA has resigned and dropped Trump investigation stem from edited video
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s probe into whether Donald Trump falsified business records is ongoing and there’s no evidence that Bragg has resigned from his position. One Facebook user said: “Manhattan D.A., Alvin Bragg has now stated that all charges (what charges?) against President Trump have been dropped, and that Bragg is now resigning as D.A. There is no evidence Bragg has resigned, and his office has not indicted Trump on any charges. The claim appears to stem from a digitally altered video of Bragg.

The tumult that broke out last month during the election of Kevin McCarthy for speaker illustrated the potential for profound dysfunction in the new House Republican majority. Here is a closer look at the fractious House Republican caucus. Chart of House Republicans highlights members who denied the 2020 election results, were supported by the House Freedom Fund, or both. Representative Harriet Hageman of Wyoming, who has also denied the 2020 election results, defeated Representative Liz Cheney in the primary. A Venn diagram shows the Republican newcomers in the House who either denied the 2020 election results, were supported by the House Freedom Fund, or both.

☆ Hogwarts Legacy breaks record before official release, despite controversy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Vanessa Yurkevich | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Hogwarts Legacy – the new open-world video game by Avalanche and Warner Bros. Hogwarts Legacy is based on Harry Potter but is set in the late 1800s, well before the action in the Harry Potter books take place, and opens the Harry Potter World beyond Hogwarts Castle. Videogamesnewyork, a New York City store that sells modern and retro video games, is ordering just enough games to their store based on pre-orders. Some gamers also are boycotting Hogwarts Legacy over the controversy. The company says J.K. Rowling is not involved in the Hogwarts Legacy game.

☆ Are You There, M.B.A.? It’s Me, Industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( Suzy Welch | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

I awoke again not long ago to news of layoffs, in this case Alphabet cutting 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its thought-to-be-impervious workforce. My immediate thought wasn’t “too bad” or “not again.” It was “bingo.”Yes, bingo, albeit not the game of chance you played at summer camp. I’m thinking of Industry Bingo, a game I invented to play with my students at New York University’s Stern School of Business, where I teach a class called “Becoming You: Crafting the Authentic Career You Want and Need.”

☆ Meta, Twitter, Microsoft and others urge Supreme Court not to allow lawsuits against tech algorithms
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The diverse group weighing in at the Court ranged from major tech companies such as Meta, Twitter and Microsoft to some of Big Tech’s most vocal critics, including Yelp and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Section 230 has been used to shield all websites, not just social media platforms, from lawsuits over third-party content. “If Yelp could not analyze and recommend reviews without facing liability, those costs of submitting fraudulent reviews would disappear,” Yelp wrote. “The feed uses algorithms to recommend software to users based on projects they have worked on or showed interest in previously,” Microsoft wrote. “Without a liability shield for recommendations, platforms will remove large categories of third-party content, remove all third-party content, or abandon their efforts to make the vast amount of user content on their platforms accessible.

☆ Amazon workers press company on climate change response after Pakistan floods
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Eli M. Rosenberg | Eli Rosenberg Is An Investigative Tech Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The employees say the aid is a way for Amazon to take greater responsibility for its role in producing the greenhouse emissions that cause climate change. Scientists have said the flooding that killed more than 1,700 people and displaced millions in Pakistan was much more likely to occur because of climate change. And it is attracting some Amazon workers not previously involved in workplace activism. One letter received 8,700 signatures from Amazon employees. “It definitely had an effect on people,” said Eliza Pan, a former program manager at the company who left in 2019 to go work on climate change issues, but is still involved with Amazon Employees for Climate Justice.

☆ Jonathan Haidt on the ‘National Crisis’ of Gen Z
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Tunku Varadarajan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

New YorkThe phrase “generation gap” became popular in the late 1960s, as baby boomers were coming of age. To hear social psychologist Jonathan Haidt tell it, today’s generation gap has widened into a chasm. “We have a whole generation that’s doing terribly,” he says in an interview at his professorial office, book-lined and hushed, at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He calls it a “national crisis.”

☆ How Elon Musk’s Twitter Faces Mountain of Debt, Falling Revenue and Surging Costs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Mark Maurer | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +10 min

Elon Musk says his $44 billion Twitter takeover might result in a bankruptcy filing. To make the deal work, Mr. Musk has been trying to add subscription revenue and reassure advertisers about the platform’s future. What’s more, the company’s debt stack now includes floating-rate debt, meaning that interest costs are set to rise as the Federal Reserve continues to increase interest rates. Twitter’s credit ratings, which were below investment grade before the transaction with Mr. Musk, have deteriorated further. For that, Mr. Musk would need to persuade potential investors that he has a viable long-term business plan, he said.

☆ Twitter could be a new wild card for the midterms
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN Business —For years, Twitter has been a leader in countering misinformation and protecting elections. But concerns are growing that tumult inside Twitter in the first week after it was acquired by Elon Musk could weaken its safeguards for elections, just before the midterms are set to take place. Musk promised not to alter any of Twitter’s content policies until after the midterms. He tweeted: “Going forward, any Twitter handles engaging in impersonation without clearly specifying ‘parody’ will be permanently suspended,” and without warning. The shakeup at Twitter has turned the company itself into an election wildcard.

☆ CPS workers search millions of homes a year. A mom who resisted paid a price.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( Eli Hager | Eli Hager Is A Reporter For Propublica Covering Issues Affecting Children | Teens In The Southwest. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

Ferguson, a nurse working 16-hour double shifts, knew instantly who she’d find in her hallway that day in February 2019. A domestic violence survivor who previously lived in a shelter, Ferguson had never been accused of child abuse, ACS case records show. But many parents don’t know that they have the right to deny these government agents or don’t push back for fear of losing their children, according to parents and their advocates. It’s a staggering reality — likely millions of warrantless searches a year — and one that has not been reported before. Ferguson believes her constitutional rights were violated that day at her apartment, and is now suing New York City in federal court.

☆ Justice Department Targets Executive Pay, Probationary Deals to Curb Corporate Crime
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Dylan Tokar | Dave Michaels | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | Risk and Compliance Journal Our Morning Risk Report features insights and news on governance, risk and compliance. “What you’re seeing here is an approach that is focused on both individual accountability and corporate responsibility,” she said. The policy changes are likely to face some pushback from companies and lawyers, and could be rolled back by future administrations. It also targets corporate policies concerning executive compensation, pushing companies to design clawback policies that would apply in cases where an executive is involved in wrongdoing. Companies that do so may be eligible for probationary deals and can avoid additional oversight measures that prosecutors sometimes impose after a settlement is struck.

Patient advocates were disappointed with Sunday’s vote — Republican senators blocked the $35 insulin cap for private insurers — and expressed hope that federal and state measures could be included in legislation down the road. Clayton McCook of Edmond, Oklahoma, is among those who support capping the cost of insulin for people with private health insurance. A federal insulin cap for private insurance would have made “a huge difference to our family,” he said. “This year, with an evenly divided Senate, the insulin cap for people with private insurance didn’t secure enough votes,” Neuman said. McCook also advocated for changes besides a cap on insulin costs, saying Congress pass legislation that would lower the list price.

☆ Opinion: The metaverse holds great promise — and great risk
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-12 | by ( Opinion Scott Galloway For Cnn Business Perspectives | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But the metaverse could be so much more than one man’s quest for control over our virtual lives. Like the real world (at least in any capitalist society), it has to incentivize individuals to participate in and grow the economy. The metaverse needs to be a reasonable facsimile of the real world, where I can spend my money and wear my Adidas where I want. Just as in the physical world, freedom is easily lost and our lives easily manipulated. No metaverse built by humans is going to be void of the human instinct to want power, and that power could be enormous.

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