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International Women’s Day is a celebration and call to action. Beware the flowers and candy

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Women attend a protest marking International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, in Berlin, Germany. Women across the world will demand equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice and other essential needs during demonstrations marking International Women’s Day on Friday, March 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

By REGINA GARCIA CANO Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Women across the world will demand equal pay, reproductive rights, education, justice, decision-making jobs and other essential needs during demonstrations marking International Women’s Day on Friday.

Officially recognized by the United Nations in 1977, International Women’s Day is commemorated in different ways and to varying degrees in places around the world. Protests are often political and, at times, violent, rooted in women’s efforts to improve their rights as workers.

Demonstrations are planned from Tokyo to Mexico City, and this year’s global theme is “Inspire Inclusion.”

Here is what to know about the March 8 global event:

WHAT IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY?

International Women’s Day is a global celebration — and call to action — marked by demonstrations, mostly of women, around the world, ranging from combative protests to charity runs. Some celebrate the economic, social and political achievements of women, while others urge governments to guarantee equal pay, access to healthcare, justice for victims of gender-based violence and education for girls. Continue reading

Kids are using phones in class, even when it’s against the rules. Should schools ban them all day?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

A ninth grader places his cellphone into a phone holder as he enters class at Delta High School, Friday, Feb. 23, 2024, in Delta, Utah. At the rural Utah school, there is a strict policy requiring students to check their phones at the door when entering every class. Each classroom has a cellphone storage unit that looks like an over-the-door shoe bag with three dozen smartphone-sized slots. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

By JOCELYN GECKER AP Education Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — In California, a high school teacher complains that students watch Netflix on their phones during class. In Maryland, a chemistry teacher says students use gambling apps to place bets during the school day.

Around the country, educators say students routinely send Snapchat messages in class, listen to music and shop online, among countless other examples of how smartphones distract from teaching and learning.

The hold that phones have on adolescents in America today is well-documented, but teachers say parents are often not aware to what extent students use them inside the classroom. And increasingly, educators and experts are speaking with one voice on the question of how to handle it: Ban phones during classes. Continue reading

$1B donation makes New York medical school tuition free and transforms students’ lives

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

The campus of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine is seen, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024, in the Bronx borough of New York. The medical school will be tuition-free for all students from now on thanks to a $1 billion donation from former professor Ruth Gottesman, the widow of a Wall Street investor. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

By MICHAEL CASEY Associated Press

First year student Samuel Woo had been considering a career in cardiology so he would be able to pay off his medical school debt until the announcement this week of a generous donation that will remove tuition fees at his New York City school.

Now, without the fear of crippling student debt, the 23-year-old whose parents emigrated from South Korea said Tuesday that he can afford to pursue his dream of providing medical services to people living on the streets.

“I was definitely very emotional and it changes a lot,” said Woo, who had been working as a tutor and at a cafe to help cover his costs. Continue reading

Consumers are increasingly pushing back against price increases — and winning

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Stuart Dryden reaches for an item at a grocery store on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, in Arlington, Va. Dryden is aware of big price disparities between branded products and their store-label competitors, which he now favors. (AP Photo/Chris Rugaber)

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Inflation has changed the way many Americans shop. Now, those changes in consumer habits are helping bring down inflation.

Fed up with prices that remain about 19%, on average, above where they were before the pandemic, consumers are fighting back. In grocery stores, they’re shifting away from name brands to store-brand items, switching to discount stores or simply buying fewer items like snacks or gourmet foods.

More Americans are buying used cars, too, rather than new, forcing some dealers to provide discounts on new cars again. But the growing consumer pushback to what critics condemn as price-gouging has been most evident with food as well as with consumer goods like paper towels and napkins. Continue reading

Presidents Day: From George Washington’s modest birthdays to big sales and 3-day weekends

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – The likeness of George Washington is seen on a U.S. $1 bill, March 13, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

By BEN FINLEY ASSOCIATED PRESS

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Like the other Founding Fathers, George Washington was uneasy about the idea of publicly celebrating his life. He was the first leader of a new republic — not a tyrant.

And yet the nation will once again commemorate the first U.S. president on Monday, 292 years after he was born.

The meaning of Presidents Day has changed dramatically, from being mostly unremarkable and filled with work for Washington in the 1700s to the consumerism bonanza it has become today. For some historians the holiday has lost all discernible meaning.

Historian Alexis Coe, author of “You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George of Washington,” said she thinks about Presidents Day in much the same way as the towering monument in D.C. that bears his name. Continue reading

Dandelions and shrubs to replace rubber, new grains and more: Are alternative crops realistic?

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Katrina Cornish, a professor at Ohio State University who studies rubber alternatives, harvests rubber dandelion seeds inside a greenhouse, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024, in Wooster, Ohio. Cornish spends her days raising dandelions and desert shrubs. She harvests the stretchy rubber substances they produce and uses special machines to dip them into condoms, medical gloves and parts for trachea tubes. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

By MELINA WALLING Associated Press

Katrina Cornish spends her days raising dandelions and desert shrubs. She harvests the stretchy rubber substances they produce and uses special machines to dip them into condoms, medical gloves and parts for trachea tubes. And she thinks those products could forever alter the landscape of agriculture in the United States.

Cornish, a professor at Ohio State University who studies rubber alternatives, isn’t the only one pouring energy into alternative crops like that desert shrub, guayule, or the rubber dandelions that bloom with yellow petals in the greenhouse where Cornish works. In Arizona, too, guayule thrives amidst drought, its blue-green leaves set apart from dry dirt at a research and development farm operated by the tire company Bridgestone. And in Nebraska and other parts of the central U.S., green grasses of sorghum spring up, waving with reddish clusters of grains. Continue reading

New York City files a lawsuit saying social media is fueling a youth mental health crisis

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

By CAROLYN THOMPSON Associated Press

New York City, its schools and public hospital system announced a lawsuit Wednesday against the tech giants that run Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, blaming their “addictive and dangerous” social media platforms for fueling a childhood mental health crisis that is disrupting learning and draining resources.

Children and adolescents are especially susceptible to harm because their brains are not fully developed, the lawsuit said.

“Youth are now addicted to defendants’ platforms in droves,” according to the 311-page filing in Superior Court in California, where the companies are headquartered. Continue reading

A Delicious 800-Pound Block in the Room: The World of Industrial Chocolate

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

By Tara Gerner | Wealth of Geeks undefined

An estimated $2.2 billion is spent on Valentine’s Day candy every year — with the bulk of that money going to chocolate.

The industrial chocolate market size is expected to grow by USD 2.85 billion from 2023 to 2028, according to Technavio. Growing customer awareness of the health benefits of dark chocolate is one major reason behind the market’s continuing success. A myriad of consumer goods contain some form of chocolate or cocoa, and global demand for the product has rarely slowed.

While the target audience for industrial chocolate products continues to be commercial food companies, private customers can still take advantage of the industry’s ability to customize their offerings. For chocolate-related products, there are a lot of customization options. This can include anything from flavor and aroma, composition, viscosity, melting behavior, performance, production cost, and product certifications such as halal and kosher to product claims, which can involve sugar, oils, fat, and dairy. Continue reading

Beyond Tourist Taxes: How Popular European Cities Tackle Overtourism With New Strategies in 2024

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Emese Maczko | Wealth of Geeks undefined

A new requirement for American travelers bound for Europe — an online travel authorization via the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) — has been delayed until 2025.

The requirement restricts travelers from non-EU countries like the United States to 30 European nations, including France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Applications would have brought in €7 apiece, adding up to considerable money.

As popular European cities continue to confront the challenges of overtourism in 2024, they choose to move beyond the financial solutions provided by tourist taxes.

These destinations are now deploying unprecedented innovative strategies aimed not only at managing crowds, but also at preserving their cultural heritage, protecting the environment, and maintaining the quality of life for their residents. Continue reading

Some Americans have become saddled with credit card debt as rent and everyday prices remain high

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

File – A card reader is used at a drive-thru restaurant in Mount Prospect, Ill., March 13, 2021. Noticeable pockets of Americans are quickly running up their credit card balances and increasing numbers are now falling behind on their debts. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)

By KEN SWEET AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — While the U.S. economy is broadly healthy, pockets of Americans have run through their savings and run up their credit card balances after battling inflation for more than two years.

Experts worry that members of these groups — mostly lower- and middle-income Americans, who tend to be renters — are falling behind on their debts and could face further deterioration of their financial health in the year ahead, particularly those who have recently resumed paying off student loans.

“The U.S. economy is currently performing better than most forecasters expected a year ago, thanks in large part to a resilient consumer,” wrote Shernette McLoud, an economist with TD Economics, in a report issued Wednesday. “However, more recently that spending is increasingly being financed by credit cards.” Continue reading