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Olympic gold is great, but athletes say some cash to go with it is even better

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Lamont Marcell Jacobs, of Italy poses with his gold medal following the men’s 100-meters final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Tokyo. Track and field is set to become the first sport to introduce prize money at the Olympics, with World Athletics saying Wednesday, April 10, 2024, it would pay $50,000 to gold medalists in Paris. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)

By HOWARD FENDRICH and EDDIE PELLS AP National Writers

NEW YORK (AP) — They compete for a trophy, a ring, the chance to be called a champion and, sometimes, a place in history. Most of the world’s best athletes in all sorts of sports compete for cold, hard cash, too.

After more than 100 years of striving to earn Olympic gold — but nothing else from the folks organizing the event — track and field athletes at the Paris Games will join that money-making club thanks to the sport’s governing body, World Athletics.

In a first-of-its-kind development, the runners, throwers and jumpers lining up at the Stade de France in August will be trying to win a $50,000 check to go with the gold. It’s a novel — some might say overdue — concept that has athletes in other sports wondering if they can get a piece of that action. Continue reading

Only 26% of Americans say they get at least eight hours of sleep, new Gallup poll says

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – A traveler takes a nap as he waits for a ride outside Miami International Airport, Friday, July 1, 2022, in Miami. The Gallup survey, released Monday, April 15, 2024, says that a majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep. But in the U.S., where the ethos of grinding and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is ubiquitous, getting enough sleep can seem like a dream. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

By DEEPTI HAJELA and LINLEY SANDERS Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — If you’re feeling — YAWN — sleepy or tired while you read this and wish you could get some more shut-eye, you’re not alone. A majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep, according to a new poll.

But in the U.S., the ethos of grinding and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is ubiquitous, both in the country’s beginnings and our current environment of always-on technology and work hours. And getting enough sleep can seem like a dream.

The Gallup poll, released Monday, found 57% of Americans say they would feel better if they could get more sleep, while only 42% say they are getting as much sleep as they need. That’s a first in Gallup polling since 2001; in 2013, when Americans were last asked, it was just about the reverse — 56% saying they got the needed sleep and 43% saying they didn’t. Continue reading

Spring Cleaning: A Waste of Time or Essential for Happy Living?

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Marly Garman | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Upwards of 86% of United States respondents plan to declutter and deep clean their homes this spring, according to Nextdoor’s January 2024 survey. As many as 29% plan to dedicate an entire day to the process, and others plan to spend more than a week getting their house in perfect order.

One might expect to see parks buzzing with people enjoying the sun after months inside. There’s something else topping many to-do lists that people are eager to accomplish this spring.

Is spring cleaning more ritual, tradition, habit, or necessity for well-being? Recent data suggests it may be a combination of all four. But one thing is clear: removing clutter and enjoying a clean, fresh-smelling home are the top priorities for feeling happier at home this spring. Continue reading

Even in the age of Google Earth, people still buy globes. Here’s why they remain so alluring

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

An artist paints a globe at a studio in London, Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. Globes in the age of Google Earth capture the imagination and serve as snapshots of how the owners see the world and their place in it. Peter Bellerby made his first globe for his father, after he could not find one accurate or attractive enough. In 2008, he founded Bellerby & Co. Globemakers in London. His team of dozens of artists and cartographers has made thousands of bespoke globes up to 50 inches in diameter. The most ornate can cost six figures. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Find a globe in your local library or classroom and try this: Close the eyes, spin it and drop a finger randomly on its curved, glossy surface.

You’re likely to pinpoint a spot in the water, which covers 71% of the planet. Maybe you’ll alight on a place you’ve never heard of — or a spot that no longer exists after a war or because of climate change. Perhaps you’ll feel inspired to find out who lives there and what it’s like. Trace the path of totality ahead of Monday’s solar eclipse. Look carefully, and you’ll find the cartouche — the globemaker’s signature — and the antipode ( look it up ) of where you’re standing right now.

In the age of Google Earth, watches that triangulate and cars with built-in GPS, there’s something about a globe — a spherical representation of the world in miniature — that somehow endures.

London globemaker Peter Bellerby thinks the human yearning to “find our place in the cosmos” has helped globes survive their original purpose — navigation — and the internet. He says it’s part of the reason he went into debt making a globe for his father’s 80th birthday in 2008. The experience helped inspire his company, and 16 years later is keeping his team of about two dozen artists, cartographers and woodworkers employed. Continue reading

Who wouldn’t like prices to start falling? Careful what you wish for, economists say

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Plastic bottles of Pepsi are displayed at a grocery store in New York on Nov. 15, 2023. Before inflation began heating up, a 2-liter bottle of soda it cost an average of $1.67 in supermarkets across America. Three years later it is going for $2.25 – a 35% increase.(AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)

By PAUL WISEMAN AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans are in a sour mood about the economy for one main reason: Prices feel too high.

Maybe they’re not rising as fast as they had been, but average prices are still painfully above where they were three years ago. And they’re mostly heading higher still.

Consider a 2-liter bottle of soda: In February 2021, before inflation began heating up, it cost an average of $1.67 in supermarkets across America. Three years later? That bottle is going for $2.25 — a 35% increase.

Or egg prices. They soared in 2022, then fell back down. Yet they’re still 43% higher than they were three years ago.

Likewise, the average used-car price: It rocketed from roughly $23,000 in February 2021 to $31,000 in April 2022. By last month, the average was down to $26,752. But that’s still up 16% from February 2021. Continue reading

Baltimore bridge collapse: Who will pay for the destroyed bridge, harmed businesses and lost lives?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

A crane is seen near the wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Friday, March 29, 2024 in Baltimore. A cargo ship rammed into the major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, causing it to collapse in a matter of seconds. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

By REBECCA BOONE and MICHAEL KUNZELMAN Associated Press

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Maryland is a multi-layered tragedy: For the families and friends of those killed or presumed dead, it’s a profound and personal loss. For businesses that rely on the Port of Baltimore, it’s an economic nightmare.

And for the federal courts, it will soon become a balance of dollars and facts, with a network of insurance companies expected to foot at least some of the bill.

The disaster happened early Tuesday when a cargo ship lost power and rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. Eight people were on the highway bridge when it collapsed. Two were rescued. The bodies of two more were recovered, and four remain missing and are presumed dead.

The wreckage closed the Port of Baltimore, a major shipping port, potentially costing the area’s economy hundreds millions of dollars in lost labor income alone over the next month, according to the economic analysis company Implan. Continue reading

As Food Costs Rise, More and More Americans Are Looking To Their Yards To Save Money in 2024

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Adriana Copaceanu | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Food prices across the board are predicted to increase by 1.3%, according to the latest consumer pricing analysis from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Restaurant dining will see the largest increase – an average of 4.7% and may go as high as 6.2%.

As food costs rise in 2024, even more pennies are squeezed from our monthly budgets. More and more Americans are turning to their own backyards to offset the cost of eating. Planting a garden can save you hundreds of dollars, and for some families, that adds up to thousands of dollars in savings annually.

New Gardener Success

A recent study from Axiom showed that 69.7% of people polled said they would plant more and expand their gardens in 2024. Continue reading

Tired of AI doomsday tropes, Cohere CEO says his goal is technology that’s ‘additive to humanity’

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

By MATT O’BRIEN AP Technology Writer

Aidan Gomez can take some credit for the ‘T’ at the end of ChatGPT. He was part of a group of Google engineers who first introduced a new artificial intelligence model called a transformer.

That helped set a foundation for today’s generative AI boom that ChatGPT-maker OpenAI and others built upon. Gomez, one of eight co-authors of Google’s 2017 paper, was a 20-year-old intern at the time.

He’s now the CEO and co-founder of Cohere, a Toronto-based startup competing with other leading AI companies in supplying large language models and the chatbots they power to big businesses and organizations.

Gomez spoke about the future of generative AI with The Associated Press. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Continue reading

The average bonus on Wall Street last year was $176,500. That’s down slightly from 2022

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE — People pass the front of the New York Stock Exchange, March 22, 2023. The average Wall Street bonus fell slightly last year to $176,500 as firms took a “more cautious approach” to compensation, New York state’s comptroller reported Tuesday, March 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)

By MICHAEL HILL Associated Press

The average Wall Street bonus fell slightly last year to $176,500, as the industry added employees and took a “more cautious approach” to compensation, New York state’s comptroller reported Tuesday.

The average bonus for employees in New York City’s securities industry was down 2% from $180,000 in 2022. The slight dip came even as Wall Street profits were up 1.8% last year, according to the annual estimate from Thomas DiNapoli, the state’s comptroller. Continue reading

Bernie Sanders wants the US to adopt a 32-hour workweek. Could workers and companies benefit?

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., talks to the media as he walks to the House chamber before President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol, March 7, 2024, in Washington. Sanders, the far-left independent from Vermont, introduced a bill Thursday, March 14, that would shorten to 32 hours the amount of time many Americans can work each week before they’re owed overtime. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

By RUSS BYNUM Associated Press

The 40-hour workweek has been standard in the U.S. for more than eight decades. Now some members of Congress want to give hourly workers an extra day off.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, the far-left independent from Vermont, this week introduced a bill that would shorten to 32 hours the amount of time many Americans can work each week before they’re owed overtime.

Given advances in automation, robotics and artificial intelligence, Sanders says U.S. companies can afford to give employees more time off without cutting their pay and benefits.

Critics say a mandated shorter week would force many companies to hire additional workers or lose productivity. Continue reading