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☆ Women are seeing historic labor market gains. AI could disrupt that
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Minneapolis CNN —More prime working age women are employed in the United States now than ever before. The labor force participation rate for women between 25 and 54 years old set a record high in April and then again in May, rebounding from the pandemic “she-cession” and returning to its pre-pandemic form of making progressively historic labor market gains. Estimates that nearly eight out of 10 women workers could be affected “are just staggering,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist with online job marketplace ZipRecruiter. “Some of these things are becoming more prevalent, and that’s supportive of more women in the labor market,” she said. On the other hand, AI could prove harmful and threatening for any role that is highly “automatable,” Peterson said.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, University of North Carolina’s, ”, Julia Pollak, it’s, Mark McNeilly, Flagler, “ It’s, ‘ I’m, ’ ” McNeilly, “, Pollak, didn’t, Dana Peterson, that’s, ” Peterson, Ben Zweig, Jobs, Peterson, we’ve, Sara Mannheimer, Kathrin Ziegler, ” Meredith Nudo, you’re, Nudo Organizations: Minneapolis CNN —, University of North, University of North Carolina’s Kenan, Flagler Business School, Kenan, Flagler, UNC Kenan, CNN, of Labor Statistics, Conference Board, Baby Boomers, Labs, Montana State University, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Librarians, Digital, National Association of Voice Locations: Minneapolis, United States, Houston

Against this backdrop, the court is again poised to decide cases with the potential to reshape key areas of law and impact life for millions of Americans. The court began its term in October and typically finishes by the end of June each year. The Supreme Court already has ruled in two major race-related cases. In the student admissions cases, the challengers - a group founded by anti-affirmative action activist Edward Blum - accused the two schools of discriminating against white and Asian American applicants. The justices also are due to decide the legality of President Joe Biden's plan to cancel $430 billion in student loan debt.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Clarence Thomas, Edward Blum, Joe Biden's, Lorie Smith's, Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Harvard University, University of North, Republican, Harvard, UNC, Colorado, U.S . Postal Service, Thomson Locations: University of North Carolina, Texas, Alabama, Arkansas , Iowa , Kansas , Missouri , Nebraska, South Carolina, Louisiana, U.S, Colorado, North Carolina, New York, Washington

☆ Amid US-China rivalry, a landmark science deal faces new scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Michael Martina | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Extending the Science and Technology Agreement between the U.S. and China would only further jeopardize our research and intellectual property," said Representative Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of a congressional select committee on China. "The administration must let this outdated agreement expire." "It is hoped that the U.S. side will expedite the internal review before the expiration of the agreement," he said. Given the state of U.S.-China ties, trying to renegotiate could derail the agreement, they said. Proponents of renewing the deal argue that without it, the U.S. would lose valuable insight into China's technical advances.

Persons: Florence Lo, Antony Blinken, Mike Gallagher, Liu Pengyu, Joe Biden, Kurt Campbell, Denis Simon, Anna Puglisi, Michael Martina, Don Durfee, William Mallard Organizations: REUTERS, WASHINGTON, ., China Science, Technology, Science, U.S, State Department, National Security Council, Hudson Institute, University of North, Chapel Hill, Georgetown University's Center for Security, Emerging Technology, Thomson Locations: China, U.S, United States, Beijing, Washington, Pacific, University of North Carolina, East Asia

☆ Your job rejection may have been an A.I. mistake—how to spot and fix it
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Rebecca Picciotto | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In 2015, before anyone had ever uttered "ChatGPT," artificial intelligence already impacted job seekers in a big way. That year, Amazon realized that its machine-learning algorithms, meant to speed up its hiring process, were biased against women. Other cases of AI hiring discrimination abound, so much so that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission offers guidance for employers to ensure AI doesn't jeopardize fair hiring processes. Hiring bias isn't a new phenomenon: Some groups have long been unjustifiably overlooked in the job pool. In the meantime, job seekers are caught in the crossfire of AI's hiring mistakes.

Persons: Ifeoma Ajunwa, Lindsay Greene, who's Organizations: Amazon, Commission, University of North, Chapel Hill, Law, Technology, CNBC Locations: University of North Carolina, New York City

☆ Opinion | If the Supreme Court Abolishes Affirmative Action, Here’s What Women Need to Do
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( Shira A. Scheindlin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Any day now the Supreme Court will decide two cases that will determine the future of affirmative action — one involving race-conscious admissions at the University of North Carolina and a companion case involving Harvard. Although debates around affirmative action have typically focused on people of color, the policy has also applied to gender, and women have been among affirmative action’s greatest beneficiaries. Now, after decades of allowing these programs in college admissions, the Supreme Court appears poised to weaken or dismantle efforts to make higher education more available to members of historically underrepresented minority groups. If the Supreme Court overturns or neuters this well-settled law, every one of us who proudly bore the title “the first woman” must work to ensure underrepresented communities maintain access to elite educational institutions. Opponents of affirmative action suggest that it is no longer needed because the United States has reached the stage where everyone is treated equally.

Persons: ” Organizations: University of North, Harvard, U.S, Southern, of, National Association of Law Locations: University of North Carolina, of New York, United States

☆ The Deception of ‘Affirmative Action’
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

As protests erupted outside a Glendale, Calif., school board meeting discussing LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom on June 6, 2023, opponents highlighted their concerns about teachers discussing sexual orientation and gender identity with children. Images: The Orange County Register via AP/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyThe Pew Research Center has released a new report headlined “Asian Americans Hold Mixed Views Around Affirmative Action.” But the subtitle on the same report suggests the respondents have far clearer views when they’re asked about what affirmative action actually means. “Most are skeptical of considering race and ethnicity in college admissions,” Pew says. The report comes as the Supreme Court is expected to issue rulings on the use of race in admissions by Harvard and the University of North Carolina.

Persons: Mark Kelly The, they’re, ” Pew Organizations: AP, Zuma, Mark Kelly The Pew Research Center, Harvard, University of North Locations: Glendale, Calif, Orange, University of North Carolina

☆ The mother-daughter duo behind the thrift store Buffalo Exchange explains how they built a $103 million company from used clothes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Jennifer Ortakales Dawkins | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Kerstin and Spencer Block founded the resale chain Buffalo Exchange in 1974. Back then, secondhand clothing carried a stigma as a lower-class necessity, said Kerstin Block, the president and co-owner of Buffalo Exchange. The industry is expected to double in size, reaching $350 billion by 2027, and Buffalo Exchange is at the forefront of resale's emerging appeal. Popularizing the 'buy, sell, trade' modelKerstin (left) and Spencer Block in their first resale store in Tucson, Arizona. "It really is the fun part of the job — being in the store and helping customers," Rebecca said.

Persons: Kerstin, Spencer Block, Rebecca, —, Kerstin Block, Rebecca Block, Tucson , Arizona . Buffalo Exchange Kerstin, Spencer, Jennifer Le Zotte, Le Zotte, Buffalo Exchange Spencer, Buffalo Exchange's Organizations: Buffalo Exchange, Service, Google, Buffalo, Tucson , Arizona . Buffalo Exchange, University of North, tote, Nike Locations: Buffalo, Tucson , Arizona, University of North Carolina, New York, Buffalo Exchange's Ventura , California

☆ Racial Preferences Won’t Go Easily
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Brian T. Fitzpatrick | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Charles Payne interviews Corey DeAngelis. Images: AP/Austin American-Statesman via AP Composite: Mark KellyThe U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule soon that Harvard and the University of North Carolina violated the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause and associated federal statutes by considering race in admissions. I expect most universities will try to evade the ruling by using proxies for race to select students.

Persons: Charles Payne, Corey DeAngelis, Mark Kelly The Organizations: Austin American, Statesman, AP, Mark Kelly The U.S, Supreme, Harvard, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ Opinion | Let’s Smash the College Admissions Process
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( David Brooks | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Within days or weeks, the Supreme Court is going to render a decision on the future of affirmative action in higher ed. If things go as expected, conservatives will be cheering as these policies are struck down — and progressives will be wailing. But maybe we can all take this moment to reimagine the college admissions process itself, which has morphed into one of the truly destructive institutions in American society. The modern college admissions era was launched over half a century ago with the best of intentions — to turn finishing schools for the Protestant establishment into talent factories for all comers. In that same year, students from the top income quintile were 16 times more numerous at the University of North Carolina, a state school, than students from the bottom quintile.

Persons: —, Raj Chetty Organizations: Ivy League, University of North Locations: University of North Carolina

☆ The Most Common Eating Disorder in the U.S. Is Also the Least Understood
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Dani Blum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Binge eating disorder is the most common eating disorder in the United States. What is binge eating disorder? Binge eating disorder is a relative newcomer in the world of diagnosable mental health conditions; it entered the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, which clinicians and researchers use to classify mental health conditions, 10 years ago this month. But the behaviors of binge eating disorder are distinct, he said. People with binge eating disorder also tend to eat more quickly than usual during an episode; many also eat in secret and grapple with guilt, said Kelly Allison, the director of the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at the University of Pennsylvania.

Persons: Cynthia Bulik, they’ve, ”, Timothy Walsh, ‘, ’ ”, Holly Peek, Kelly Allison Organizations: National Institute of Mental Health, University of North Carolina’s Center, Excellence, Disorders, McLean Hospital, Center, University of Pennsylvania Locations: United States, Massachusetts

☆ How to Lower Deaths Among Women? Give Away Cash.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

The pandemic drove 97 million additional people into extreme poverty in 2020, according to a World Bank estimate, prompting more countries to start cash transfer programs. Direct cash transfers have been shown to improve school attendance, nutrition and use of health services. The new study is the first to examine the effect of cash transfers on death rates worldwide, the researchers said. The findings suggest that cash transfers may be helpful not just to women, but to families and entire communities. Cash transfers are often accompanied by improvements to health care services or other infrastructure that helps communities, he noted.

Persons: ”, Harsha Thirumurthy, Thirumurthy, Audrey Pettifor, Pettifor, ” Berk Organizations: University of Pennsylvania, University of North, Chapel Hill Locations: Saharan Africa, Africa, Asia, Pacific, America, Caribbean, U.S, University of North Carolina, South Africa

☆ Elite High School’s Admissions Plan May Face Supreme Court Test
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the coming weeks, the Supreme Court is very likely to forbid colleges and universities to use race as a factor in admissions decisions. Indeed, when the cases challenging the admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina were argued in October, some justices were already looking at the next question on the horizon: whether admissions officers may promote racial diversity by using race-neutral criteria. Those changes produced a class with more Black and Hispanic students and many fewer Asian American ones. In a dissent from last week’s decision that seemed to be addressed to the Supreme Court, Judge Allison J. Rushing wrote that the majority had refused “to look past the policy’s neutral varnish” and consider instead “an undisputed racial motivation and an undeniable racial result.”

☆ Lab-grown breast milk startup Biomilq aims to change infant nutrition — if it can release a product
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Natasha Piñon | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

Biomilq, the company behind the breakthrough, had been working for nearly a decade to replicate the process of making human milk — but outside of the body. While the crisis has highlighted the importance of a resilient formula supply, human milk experts, milk bank advocates and Biomilq all stress the same message: Breast milk is best. The startup will likely take a "gradual approach" to introducing its science via "an early-life nutrition product in partnership with one of these bigger companies," Strickland explained. Breast milk is woefully understudied — to the point that it's difficult "to even say what human milk is from a nutritional standpoint," Perrin explained. The company is researching which aspects of human milk its system is best suited to produce.

☆ High schools and colleges require students to pay mandatory fees to walk at graduation. Critics say this discriminates against low-income students.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Misha Valencia | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Most high schools and colleges charge students a graduation fee to attend the ceremony. Critics say these high, mandatory fees discriminate against low-income students. She told Insider that nothing had changed since she graduated; the school was still charging mandatory graduation fees. High schools and colleges across the US are charging students mandatory graduation fees — sometimes called a walking fee — to walk in their graduation ceremonies. For example, California and Minnesota have barred mandatory graduation fees in public schools.

Kevin Lambert grew up in North Carolina in the 1980s, and first visited his mother's native South Korea in 2000. Courtesy Kevin LambertIt might seem an odd desire given many have never set foot in South Korea. But life in South Korea brings its own challenges – and many eventually return to the US. For Kim, it’s a relief to be back in South Korea, where the safety is “100% better.”“I plan to live (in South Korea) until I die,” he said. “If South Korea today was as impoverished as it was when I left, why would I return?” he said.

☆ Lauren Daigle, a Christian Music Superstar, Is Ready for a Bigger Tent
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rob Tannenbaum | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Christian rock began in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when it was known as “Jesus Music,” a grass-roots movement led by longhaired hippie outsiders. Major labels took notice, and began to buy up Christian labels or start imprints of their own. “She left no ambiguity in her music and spoke transparently about her personal relationship to God.”As a child, Daigle dismissed Christian music as cheesy. She was raised in a religious home that welcomed secular music, as long as there “weren’t F-bombs every five seconds,” she said. As her interest in music grew, she cleaned her church choir director’s bathroom in exchange for singing lessons.

☆ Florida board picked by DeSantis countersues Disney
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | Tom Hals | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

(Reuters) - A district board appointed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to oversee development around Walt Disney Co’s Florida theme parks sued the company on Monday to void “backroom deals” favorable to the entertainment giant. The state court lawsuit escalates tensions between Disney and the Republican governor and likely presidential candidate. It comes in response to a case Disney filed last week in federal district court against DeSantis and members of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight district board. DeSantis who is expected to soon declare his candidacy for U.S. president, has repeatedly attacked “woke Disney” in public remarks. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board maintained that Disney rushed through the agreement before the new board assumed oversight of municipal services and development within the 25,000 acres of land in and around Walt Disney World.

☆ Basketball Star Kenny Smith Learned From the Best
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Emily Bobrow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Kenny “the Jet” Smith won back-to-back NBA championships with the Houston Rockets in the mid-90s and has since found yet more fame as a basketball analyst on TNT. Still, he wonders what might have been if he had played for the Chicago Bulls alongside his former teammate at the University of North Carolina, Michael Jordan. “That’s why I was always jealous of Scottie Pippen. When Scottie Pippen first came into the NBA, he wasn’t a threat, but then he became one of the 75 best players of all time. That’s what Michael did for him,” he says.

☆ Opinion | American Road Deaths Show an Alarming Racial Gap
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Adam Paul Susaneck | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +15 min

The year before, pedestrian deaths reached a 40-year high. Pedestrian and cyclist injuries tend to be concentrated in poorer neighborhoods that have a larger share of Black and Hispanic residents. Roosevelt Boulevard North Philly High Injury Network West Philly 3 miles Percent Black and Hispanic 20 40 60 80% Washington D.C. Oslo and Helsinki, which adopted Vision Zero in the 1990s, recorded zero traffic deaths in 2019, and Helsinki had just two pedestrian deaths in 2021. In Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Washington, pedestrian deaths have actually risen since the adoption of Vision Zero.

☆ Kids under 6 ingesting illicit substances rose after Covid-19 outbreak, study shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Madeline Holcombe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The outbreak of Covid-19 presented many dangers for children, and a new study suggests increased illicit substance ingestions were among them. Those numbers grew by 1.8% more per month than they did before the pandemic, the study said. The results could be skewed if health care providers were on the lookout for ingestions, Dodington added. There was no association between medicinal or recreational cannabis legalization and the rate of cannabis ingestion encounters, according to the study. Safer storageIngesting drugs and alcohol are particularly dangerous for young children, Dodington said.

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Fox anchor Neil Cavuto broke into his news show "Your World" about 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to report the settlement. In February court filings, Dominion cited a trove of internal communications in which Murdoch and other Fox figures privately acknowledged that the vote-rigging claims made about Dominion on-air were false. Dominion said Fox amplified the untrue claims to boost its ratings and prevent its viewers from migrating to other media competitors on the right. ANOTHER LAWSUIT PENDINGAdding to the legal risks for Fox, another U.S. voting technology company, Smartmatic, is pursuing its own defamation lawsuit seeking $2.7 billion in damages in a New York state court.

"Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees and our customers," Poulos said in a statement. Shares of Fox Corp closed up slightly at $34 per share, but were down 1% in after-hours trading after the settlement amount was disclosed. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch told Wall Street analysts in February that the company had about $4 billion cash on hand. [1/5] Dominion CEO John Poulos and lawyers speak to the media after Dominion Voting Systems and Fox settled a defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million, avoiding trial, over Fox's coverage of debunked election-rigging claims, in Delaware Superior Court, in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S. April 18, 2023. Fox Corp reported nearly $14 billion in annual revenue last year.

☆ Is Arthritis Avoidable?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Jyoti Madhusoodanan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Q: What can we do to avoid getting arthritis as we age? What was once an easy run may feel tougher to complete. Painful, stiff or swollen joints are a common complaint among older adults — and for many, they’re the first sign of what may feel like an unavoidable diagnosis: arthritis. And about three-quarters considered joint pain and arthritis a normal part of aging. But arthritis is not inevitable as we age, said Kelli Dominick Allen, an exercise physiologist at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

☆ 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.

☆ 6 Tips for Better Meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Alyson Krueger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Steven G. Rogelberg, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the author “The Surprising Science of Meetings,” has thought a lot about meetings, good and bad. “I think for the longest time organizations just believed bad meetings were the cost of doing business and, therefore, there was no appetite to think about trying to solve it,” he said. “Leaders have finally started to say that we have to have a way to do this better.”Here are his top tips on how to meet better (or not at all). Have questions that need to be answered. If you have a question to answer, not only do you have to really think about why you are gathering, you’ll know if the meeting was successful: You’ll have an answer.

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