And another day of brutal weather, a FL shooting, the disgrace that is MTG, a ‘Classical’ Christian alternative to the SAT/ACT in FL, a 4-day work week, ‘forever chemicals,’ and a 30-day paid ‘marriage leave’ comes to a close:
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid. " — Benjamin Franklin
Covid Deaths
US: 1,143,760
World: 6,794,272
Covid Cases
US: 105,092,404
World: 679,134,209
Flights canceled, highways closed as winter storm wallops US. A brutal winter storm closed interstate highways from Arizona to Wyoming Wednesday, trapped drivers in cars, knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the first blizzard warning in Southern California in decades — and the worst won’t be over for several days.
Florida shooting spree leaves 3 people dead, including a child and a TV news employee covering one of the shootings. An Orlando television reporter was among the dead in a shooting spree in Florida that killed three on Wednesday, while covering one of the shootings, police said.
Marjorie Taylor Greene calls again for ‘a national divorce’. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) resurrected her calls for a “national divorce” on Monday, arguing that Republican and Democratic states needed to be separated and the federal government needed to shrink.
“I'd love to hear GOP leaders explain why it's all right for a House Homeland Security Committee member to publicly endorse the dissolution of the United States.” — Steve Benen
Florida Mulls 'Classical' Christian Alternative To SAT And ACT Testing. Tate told the Miami Herald that the College Board’s SAT has become “increasingly ideological” due to having “censored the entire Christian-Catholic intellectual tradition” and other “thinkers in the history of Western thought.” On Twitter, he called the College Board “one of the most ideologically extreme organizations in American education.” — Florida is on a fascist theocracy trajectory.
Chinese provinces give 30 days' paid 'marriage leave' to boost birth rate. Some Chinese provinces are giving young newlyweds 30 days of paid leave in the hope of encouraging marriage and boosting a flagging birth rate, the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily Health said on Tuesday. China's minimum paid marriage leave is three days, but provinces have been able to set their own more generous allowances since February.
The five-day workweek is dead. The calls for something better are just getting louder. Now, there’s a growing conversation about how American workers can take back more of their time. The trauma and disruption of the last three years have prompted a lot of Americans to reevaluate their relationships to work, whether it’s restaurant servers tired of risking their safety for poverty-level wages or office workers quitting rather than giving up remote work. And part of that reevaluation is about the workweek, which many say is due for a reboot…Today’s work schedules, with their combination of “overwork and then no work,” in many ways mirror the conditions that preceded the reforms of the 1930s, Loomis said…As of 2014, the average salaried worker worked 49 hours per week, according to a Gallup survey, with 25 percent working more than 60 hours — and working hours for many have actually gone up, not down, during the pandemic.
Dozens of UK companies trialled a four-day working week last year. On average, their revenue went up. The results of the world's largest four-day working week trial are in — and most companies are sticking with the change…The companies saw a 57-per-cent drop in resignations. Employees reported a decrease in their anxiety levels, fatigue and sleep issues and improvement in their mental and physical health.
Companies can no longer silence laid-off employees in exchange for severance. Employers can no longer include a broadly written confidentiality clause that requires you to keep mum about the terms of your severance agreement. And they can no longer include a broadly written non-disparagement clause that prohibits you from discussing the terms and conditions of your employment with third parties.
Sexual attacks against teen girls increased at school, online and at home during lockdown. The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior survey is given to more than 17,000 U.S. high school students every other year. Based on the responses in 2019, an estimated 850,000 high school girls reported that they’d been raped. By 2021, that estimate soared to more than 1 million.
Sexual assault and domestic violence injuries, like bruises, can be challenging to spot on darker skinned victims under the standard white light found in most exam rooms. New research shows using alternate light sources could help. Researchers at George Mason University, in partnership with Texas A&M University, analyzed data from more than 31,000 observations of bruised areas on the arm among a diverse sample of skin colors and found that blue or purple light was five times more effective at showing bruises on people with darker skin than white light, the study says.
'Forever chemicals' found in animals around the world. More than 330 species of wildlife around the world are contaminated with widely used chemicals known as PFAS, according to a new analysis that identified traces of the synthetic chemicals in animals on every continent except Antarctica...Synthetic PFAS compounds (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are commonly known as “forever chemicals” because they do not break down over time and thus can remain permanently in the air, soil, water and in the body. These chemicals have been used extensively since the 1940s in industrial manufacturing and to make products ranging from nonstick cookware and cleaning products to foams and stain- and water-resistant fabrics.
No cow needed: Oat and soy can be called milk, FDA proposes. Food and Drug Administration officials issued guidance that says plant-based beverages don’t pretend to be from dairy animals – and that U.S. consumers aren’t confused by the difference.
Taking an antibiotic after sex helps gay men curb STDs — but might fuel drug resistance. A growing body of research shows taking doxycycline after sex helps prevent STDs, but some experts fear such intervention could fuel drug-resistant pathogens.
Bing’s chat mode is now on mobile — and you can speak to it. Yes, you can now speak directly to Bing or add it to a Skype conversation if you’re feeling particularly lonely.
Flood of AI-Generated Stories Prompts Sci-Fi Magazine to Shut Down Submissions. On Tuesday, Clarke said they do plan to eventually open up submissions again, but he elaborated that “We don’t have a solution for the problem. We have some ideas for minimizing it, but the problem isn’t going away.”
Space telescope uncovers massive galaxies near cosmic dawn. Astronomers have discovered what appear to be massive galaxies dating back to within 600 million years of the Big Bang, suggesting the early universe may have had a stellar fast-track that produced these “monsters.”
Life’s short. Live, love, create, and help others.
Until next time, my friends. Stay safe and stay sane. Good night.
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