View time: 1 min 23
Level : Advanced
Author: natixis-ezine
Biden’s decision to drop out leaves Democrats across the country relieved and looking toward future
Read time : 2 mins
Level : Advanced
By JOEY CAPPELLETTI, MIKE HOUSEHOLDER and CHARLOTTE KRAMON Associated Press
HARPER WOODS, Mich. (AP) — After weeks of uncertainty about who would be at the top of the Democratic Party’s ticket in November, many voters expressed relief over the news that President Joe Biden would drop his reelection bid and began to think about who might replace him in a dramatically altered election landscape.
Jerod Keene, a 40-year-old athletic trainer from swing-state Arizona, had planned to vote for Biden in November but was thankful for the president’s decision, calling it “inevitable.” Keene said he’s excited about the next candidate, hoping it will be Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden endorsed on Sunday. Continue reading
Survey: Nearly 9 in 10 Americans Believe in Karma, Embrace ‘Paying It Forward’
Read time : 2 mins
Level : Intermediate
By Michael Dinich
The average American engages in five generous acts per week, totaling 260 random acts of kindness each year. What goes around comes around? That’s the belief of 84% of United States citizens asked by OnePoll on behalf of banking app Chime.
Another 84% say they will go out of their way to “pay it forward” whenever possible. This most often comes in the form of a special treat for their loved ones, generous tips, or helping out a neighbor, carrying their groceries, mowing their lawn, or helping them shovel snow.
Not all of these acts are attributed to karma, or an attempt to rebalance some cosmic scale. Some simply believe in the value of doing good deeds for others, regardless of whether or not they’re rewarded for it. Continue reading
A history of the UK’s State Opening of Parliament
View time : 2 min 02
Level : Intermediate
Barbie’s 65th celebrated in London
View time: 1 min 40
Level : Advanced
World population is projected to grow from 8.2 billion to a peak of 10.3 billion in 2080s, UN says
Read time : 2 mins
Level : Advanced
By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The world’s population is expected to grow by more than 2 billion people in the next decades and peak in the 2080s at around 10.3 billion, a major shift from a decade ago, a new report by the United Nations said Thursday.
The report — released on World Population Day — says the global population is then expected to decline to around 10.2 billion by the end of the century.
John Wilmoth, head of the U.N. Population Division which prepared the report, said the probability that the world’s population will peak within the current century is quite high – about 80%. Continue reading
Four NASA volunteers exit space agency’s simulated Mars habitat in Texas after 376 days
View time : 1 min 12
Level : Intermediate
California fast food workers now earn $20 per hour. Franchisees are responding by cutting hours.
Read time : 2 mins
Level : Intermediate
By JAIMIE DING Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lawrence Cheng, whose family owns seven Wendy’s locations south of Los Angeles, took orders at the register on a recent day and emptied steaming hot baskets of French fries and chicken nuggets, salting them with a flourish.
Cheng used to have nearly a dozen employees on the afternoon shift at his Fountain Valley location in Orange County. Now he only schedules seven for each shift as he scrambles to absorb a dramatic jump in labor costs after a new California law boosted the hourly wage for fast food workers on April 1 from $16 to $20 an hour.
“We kind of just cut where we can,” he said. “I schedule one less person, and then I come in for that time that I didn’t schedule and I work that hour.” Continue reading
Floridians taste ‘lab-grown’ meat for last time before state ban
View time: 1 min 52
Level : Advanced
First Green Roofs, Then Solar Integration, Now Volcanic Ash Is the Way To Cool Our Cities
Read time : 2 mins
Level : Advanced
By Emese Maczko
A 2023 study by the University of Technology, Sydney found green roofs when combined with solar panels, not only increased biodiversity and solar output by 107% but also reduced temperatures by a significant 8° C (46° F).
Green roofs are experiencing a resurgence in interest since a new study published in January 2024 demonstrated that volcanic ash in green roofs stabilizes temperatures, keeps weeds away, is resilient to extreme weather, drains water efficiently, and is low maintenance. Continue reading