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☆ Scientists were delighted to discover that parrots willingly made video calls to bird friends and were less lonely as a result
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

The ability to make video calls to other parrots, then, may give birds the chance to access the socialization and species identity they have in the wild, Cunha said. Parrot caregivers learned, for instance, to recognize signs of stress during the video calls and offer encouragement to help reduce any fear associated with the new experience. The researchers released three parrots from the study in its early stages, as these birds didn't seem to like the calls at all. But most of the parrots apparently enjoyed the experience and chose to make plenty of calls to other birds. The study authors acknowledge the need for additional research, as this study is the first exploring video calling for parrots.

☆ How Reuters pinpointed bat-virus risk zones worldwide
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +12 min

Areas where conditions are similar are more prone to spillover, scientists say. The Reuters analysis, which assessed spillover risk through 2020, has proven to have some predictive power. Similar statistical models are used widely to analyze data in ecology, and researchers use them to understand spillover risk. More than one of every five people on the planet is living in areas where the risk is highest for spillover. Using epidemic modeling software called GLEAMviz, the news agency simulated a worldwide pandemic originating from the spillover of a theoretical novel virus.

☆ Fact Check- Image does not show ‘last Neanderthal giant’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A fabricated image of a giant man towering above a crowd of people is being shared alongside false claims that it shows the “last Neanderthal giant”, but the image was likely generated using artificial intelligence, experts said. A Facebook post sharing the image states: “This is the last know human Giant Neanderthal!” and adds that Neanderthals “died out” thousands of years ago, so “no Neanderthal's DNA is found in modern times” (here). Contrary to the online claims, Neanderthal DNA has been extracted from these skeletal remains and analysed extensively. The earliest version of the image of a purported “Neanderthal giant” that Reuters could find appears on the official subreddit for Midjourney, an AI-based system that generates images based on text prompts entered by users (bit.ly/423OozQ). The image does not show the last Neanderthal giant, it is likely AI-generated.

☆ C.D.C. to Scale Back Covid Tracking Efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

still plans to collect will not provide enough actionable information at the state and local level, said Sam Scarpino, a public health expert at Northeastern University. As with other pathogens like influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, state and local health officials will need to make decisions based on limited data, he said. to require health data from state agencies. Collecting and reporting Covid data to the C.D.C. doesn’t have a choice” but to narrow its surveillance efforts, said Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency room physician and deputy dean of Brown’s School of Public Health.

☆ Why Prices, Inflation Are Still Soaring: Corporate Price Gouging
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

While many of the problems that helped trigger the upward spiral have abated, prices are still high and getting higher. The idea that companies are taking advantage of disruptions to push price increases on consumers has many names — greedflation, excuseflation, price gouging, corporate profiteering — but the gist is the same. Supply-chain issues and other disruptions made sense as drivers of higher prices, Chris Becker, a senior economist and the associate director of policy and research at the Groundwork Collaborative, told me. "Working people are suffering thanks to corporate greed, so we need to enact tougher rules to ensure corporations pay a price when they price gouge." Working people are suffering thanks to corporate greed, so we need to enact tougher rules to ensure corporations pay a price when they price gouge.

☆ How to haggle with your college over financial aid
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Dayun Park | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In some cases, filing an official financial aid appeal may even delay the deadline for putting down a deposit. Here, according to college financial aid and admissions officers, consultants and students, are the steps to take:Email, don’t call, and handle it yourself. “If there has been a significant reduction in income compared to your application, inform the school’s financial aid office; in some cases, financial aid can increase,” said Phil Asbury, Director of Financial Aid of Northwestern University in Illinois. The opportunity to increase need-based aid depends on the accuracy of your documented financial change and the financial ability of the school to make a change,” John Leach, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and University Financial Aid at Emory University, told CNN. Northwestern has a “priority deadline” so that the financial office can notify students early, but students can still apply for financial aid all year round.

They said two in five people seeking food assistance in the Atlanta region this year have not done so before. In central Ohio, the local food bank says the number of households seeking aid has increased by nearly half since last year. Craig Gundersen, a Baylor University economics professor who is a prominent researcher for Feeding America, said that food banks experiencing spikes above COVID levels are outliers. The Highland Food Pantry in Winchester, Virginia, said it served about 90 families a week during the pandemic. In early April, White visited a community center to donate old clothes and noticed a line for the food pantry.

About half of the new gun owners were female, 20% were Black, and 20% were Hispanic. Overall, gun owners were 63% male and 73% White. “The face of gun ownership is changing somewhat and the people who are becoming new gun owners today are less likely to be male and more likely to be non-White, more likely to be somewhat younger than existing and long-standing gun owners,” Miller said. “Most people are coming in as new gun owners looking for something for personal defense or we spend a lot of time with inquisitive people. “I have a Ruger and a Rossi – both rifles,” Shelby said.

☆ Parrots who video call their 'friends' become less lonely, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Domesticated parrots who video call each other are less likely to be lonely, a new study found. When contacting other birds, the parrots exhibited increasingly social behavior, scientists said. In a new study published in Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing System, domesticated parrots were trained to signal to make video calls to other birds. The parrots who made the most calls also received the most calls from other parrots, which suggests the experiment helped the birds be more social. In the study, caretakers of the parrots, who were volunteers from the US, also bonded more closely with their pets during the study, scientists said.

To report this story, Reuters contacted more than 300 former Tesla employees who had worked at the company over the past nine years and were involved in developing its self-driving system. The company requires car owners to grant permission on the cars’ touchscreens before Tesla collects their vehicles’ data. Reuters found that Tesla employees shared clips that captured sensitive and embarrassing personal moments. Tesla’s own data labelers initially worked in the San Francisco Bay area, including the office in San Mateo. According to several ex-employees, some labelers shared screenshots, sometimes marked up using Adobe Photoshop, in private group chats on Mattermost, Tesla’s internal messaging system.

College enrollment has declined over the last decade. Here are three reasons why college enrollment may have collapsed. Why learn when you can earnThe robust labor market may have also contributed to college enrollment falling. Such attacks on colleges over the years might have caused Republicans to question the skill benefits of a college education. Did you get a job without a college degree?

☆ Biden promised 'no more drilling on federal lands, period.' He just broke that pledge to approve a massive oil project in Alaska.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Eliza Relman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On the campaign trail in 2020, Biden promised to ban all new oil drilling on federal land. But he just broke a key campaign pledge to stop all new oil drilling on federal land in a major way. A Biden administration official insisted that the government's hands were tied by leases granted to ConocoPhillips by prior administrations. Despite these protections, the Willow project is expected to come with significant environmental costs, aside from contributing to planet-warming emissions. March 13, 2023: This story has been updated with comment from a Biden administration official.

Brands will account for 70% of that spend, with most of the rest coming from so-called collectives, alumni groups that funnel money to athletes, according to Opendorse. Female athletes and meme starsGiven the wide-open field, brands’ strategies with NIL deals vary widely. Jill Cress, chief marketing and experience officer of H&R Block in a 2018 picture. Favorability ratings from both Gen Z consumers and parents of college students rose after the campaign, according to Ms. Cress. Bigger deals aheadNIL deals will likely evolve to often include intellectual property agreements with the schools in question, said Mr. Schwab.

☆ How China's shrinking population could have a ripple effect on the global economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Anuz Thapa | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The country's National Bureau of Statistics reported China's population slipped to 1.412 billion last year from 1.413 billion in 2021. Many experts believe that China's one-child policy, introduced in the 1980s, is one of the main reasons for the population decline. "China's one-child policy was a mistake," said Yi Fuxian, an expert on Chinese population trends at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "What's happening in the bedrooms in China is actually affecting what's happening in the rest of the world." Watch the video above to find out what caused China's population decline and how the shrinking population could alter the global economy.

The SEC in 2016 warned companies that non-GAAP measures that replace GAAP-based methods with individually tailored disclosure could violate its rules. That is up from 11 companies in letters released in January and February 2022. The SEC has long expressed concerns about companies placing too much emphasis on their non-GAAP disclosures compared with GAAP disclosures. Changing how certain non-GAAP measures are calculated can be embarrassing and even costly for companies, accountants said. Graham Holdings said it isn’t violating SEC guidance because it didn’t substitute an alternative recognition or measurement method for the related adjustments.

☆ Here's a look at the 2 cases against Biden's student loan forgiveness plan headed to the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration is currently blocked from carrying out its promise of canceling up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of Americans while its relief plan heads to the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, Feb. 28, the nine justices of the court will hear oral arguments over President Joe Biden's historic debt forgiveness policy, which has faced at least six lawsuits since it was rolled out in August. The Supreme Court has agreed to hear two of those cases. "The court frequently takes multiple cases in order to deal with all pending disputes at once," said Dan Urman, a law professor at Northeastern University. Here's what to know about the cases.

☆ A TikTok creator’s homemade pickled products have sparked online conversation surrounding food safety
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Brahmjot Kaur | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

A TikTok creator’s recent apology after people accused her of improperly packaging her homemade pickled products before selling them online has sparked discourse surrounding influencers and whether they should be allowed to promote and sell homemade food items on the app. Britanny Saunier, executive director of the nonprofit organization Partnership for Food Safety EducationSocial media creates "enthusiasm" around homemade products, said Britanny Saunier, the executive director of the nonprofit organization Partnership for Food Safety Education. The backlash toward PickleMeEverything’s products comes several months after another viral product raised eyebrows over similar food safety fears. He said he’s concerned about the growing number of TikTokers who don’t know or use food safety while promoting food products. Food Science Babe pointed out in her video that several popular creators had promoted PickleMeEverything’s products.

☆ Why colds and flu viruses are more common in winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Sandee Lamotte | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It’s almost as if those pesky cold and flu germs whirl in with the first blast of winter weather. So why do people get more colds, flu and now Covid-19 when it’s chilly outside? It turns out the cold air itself damages the immune response occurring in the nose. Once created and dispersed out into nasal secretions, the billions of EV’s then start to swarm the marauding germs, Bleier said. Wearing a mask can protect you from cold air that can reduce your immunity, an expert says.

☆ LGBTQ students wrestle with tensions at Christian colleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

“It’s kind of a tightrope,” said John Scarano, campus ministry director at John Carroll University, a Jesuit school near Cleveland with “safe zone trainings” as part of its ministry to LGBTQ students. Last year, 33 LGBTQ students or former students at federally funded Christian schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, claiming the department’s religious exemption allows schools that receive federal dollars to unconstitutionally discriminate against LGBTQ students. In May, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched a separate investigation for alleged violations of the rights of LGBTQ students at six Christian universities — including Liberty University. A high-stakes clash between students, faculty and the school’s board of trustees over hiring LGBTQ faculty is unfolding at Seattle Pacific University, a 131-year-old school affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. “I find that tragic.”To students like Fisher in Minnesota, concrete actions will show if LGBTQ people can truly be welcomed on Christian campuses.

☆ Supreme Court likely to rule that Biden student loan plan is illegal, experts say. Here's what that means for borrowers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Student loan debt holders take part in a demonstration outside of the White House staff entrance to demand that President Biden cancel student loan debt. Long before the president acted, Republicans had criticized student loan forgiveness as a handout to well-off college graduates. watch nowWhy the Supreme Court may block forgivenessFor a number of reasons, Urman predicts the Supreme Court will rule against Biden. In addition, he said, the concept of loan forgiveness seems to run counter to their notions of individual responsibility. Such a politically fueled decision, however, is likely to further damage the public's perception of the Supreme Court, Urman said.

☆ Railroad workers aren't the only Americans without paid sick leave
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The US does not have a national standard on paid sick leave, a rarity among industrialized nations. “The most disempowered workers – who are low-wage workers – don’t have an opportunity to demand paid sick leave from their employers,” he said. Railroad workers’ battleWhile the vast majority of union members have paid sick days, the freight railroad workers do not. Meanwhile, a growing number of states, cities and counties have been enacting paid sick leave laws in recent years. Advocates see the railroad workers’ battle as an opportunity to renew interest in expanding the availability of paid sick leave.

Critical shortages of the ADHD drug Adderall and the antibiotic amoxicillin have left families reeling as the medicines their loved ones need become harder to find. In the case of amoxicillin, demand has become particularly acute amid a so-called tripledemic of Covid, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and the flu that are converging this season. The Food and Drug Administration's website currently lists amoxicillin and Adderall, also known as mixed amphetamine salts, as being in short supply. NBC News reached out to two of the drugmakers responsible for producing both Adderall and amoxicillin. In 2020, Congress passed the Mitigating Emergency Drug Shortages Act, which aimed to address some of these issues.

"There's a lot of anger about paid sick leave among the membership" who kept goods flowing during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Seth Harris, a professor at Northeastern University. Labor unions have criticized the railroads' sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. There are no paid sick days under the tentative deal. Unions asked for 15 paid sick days and the railroads settled on one personal day. Railroads have slashed labor and other costs to bolster profits and are fiercely opposed to adding paid sick time that would require them to hire more staff.

Train and engine service members of the transportation division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation Workers (SMART-TD) narrowly voted to reject the deal. Three other unions that rejected the deal have already agreed to extend a strike deadline until early December. Labor unions have criticized the railroads’ sick leave and attendance policies and the lack of paid sick days for short-term illness. Beginning on Dec. 9, SMART-TD would be allowed to go on strike or the rail carriers would be permitted to lock out workers, unless Congress intervenes. The Biden administration helped avert a service cutoff by hosting last-minute contract talks in September at the Labor Department that led to a tentative contract deal.

☆ Would Twitter get online publisher immunity in fake 'blue check' suits?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alison Frankel | Thomson Reuters | Alison Frankel Has Covered High-Stakes Commercial Litigation As A Columnist For Reuters Since A Dartmouth College Graduate | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

(Reuters) - Twitter Inc’s introduction last week of a new subscription system to dole out blue-check verification badges was a flop by any standard. Edelson's preliminary theory: By awarding verification badges to the fake corporate tweeters, Twitter enabled the imposters to trick consumers and even shareholders. (Eli Lilly and Co and Lockheed Martin Corp both experienced sharp, if temporary, stock drops after tweets from corporate accounts that carried the blue-check verification.) Twitter also did not respond to my email query about potential private lawsuits arising from last week’s fake tweets. What about shareholders or consumers who claim to have been duped by tweets from fake corporate accounts?

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