The people's voice of reason
The people's voice of reason
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For athletes and sports fans alike, the Olympic Games are the pinnacle of sporting events. Every four years, more than 10,000 athletes from nearly every country come together for the Summer Olympics and compete in dozens of sports. With over 3 billion people watching, it's arguably the most popular sporting event in the world, showcasing sports and countries both large and small on the global stage. Every Olympics has great competitions, but upsets are the most memorable. Underdogs take the...
The American population is aging—and much-needed mental health care providers are in short supply. Earlier this year, the federal government rolled out new rules to help older Americans access more services and give health care professionals the flexibility to help those in their community with the greatest needs. But better health care access only works if the people poised to benefit understand the new rules. It's not unusual for Medicare patients to need to advocate for themselves in h...
The first full school year since OpenAI launched ChatGPT on Nov. 20, 2022 has come to a close. Since then, educators' attitudes toward artificial intelligence have changed. For example, New York City Public Schools was the first district to ban ChatGPT in January 2023, only to lift the ban later that year in May. In fact, 70% of educators in New York report that AI has actually increased their passion in teaching. It's not just New York, though. Data shows that, across the country, educators'...
The Fourth of July can be a miserable day for dogs. The fireworks make scaredy-cats out of many canines. That's because dogs, like humans, are hardwired to be afraid of sudden, loud noises. It is what keeps them safe. Some dogs, though, take that fear to the extreme with panting, howling, pacing, whining, hiding, trembling and even self-injury or escape. And, unlike humans, they don't know that the fanfare on the Fourth is not a threat. Dogs hear the fireworks and process it as if their world...
Which cities are best for grilling a steak outside this summer? With summer here and National Grilling Month around the corner, Lawn Love ranked 2024's Best Cities for Grilling Meat. We compared nearly 470 of the biggest U.S. cities based on 4 meaty categories. We looked at local interest in grilling, access to butcheries and home improvement chains, and the average cost of meat in the area. We also considered ideal weather conditions for cooking outdoors, among 17 total metrics. Fire up the...
When Cortni Borgerson thinks about the trillion or so periodical cicadas emerging from underground, she sees more than clumsily flying insects flitting from tree to tree in search of a mate. She sees lunch. Some may find that idea revolting, a belief often, if unknowingly, steeped in colonialism and the notion that eating insects is "uncivilized." But Borgerson, an anthropologist at Montclair State University, is among those eager to change that perception. She's a big fan of dining on bugs of...
The glitz and glam of Hollywood captures the attention of Americans starting from an early age. Beyond celebrities' Instagram Stories and red carpet poses, there are actors out there paying their dues and honing their craft in pursuit of a sustainable career or a fulfilling sideline. Submitting to casting calls is a big part of that journey. Whether you're a working actor or an aspiring one, you might be curious to know which movies and TV shows are casting roles near you. Backstage compiled a l...
The average cost for a gallon of gasoline has hardly budged in the past week as an increasing domestic supply and less demand from drivers are keeping prices tame. Prices at the pump are just a few cents below where they sat this same time last year in the midst of the Fourth of July holiday week. Analysts are watching the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hezbollah, backed by major oil producer and Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries member Iran, as it could grow...
Layoffs are down from a year ago, but job cuts across major U.S. employers and rising unemployment across nearly half of states are leaving Americans anxious and uncertain. Layoffs among major employers, including Google and Tesla, have driven the narrative. May layoffs were up 7% from the previous month and 8% from 2023. That represents about 123,000 more layoffs nationwide in May 2024 compared to the same time last year. Notably, 2023 saw a major spike in job losses, with about 2 million more...
Recurring: The 50 places where homes are selling the fastest The pace at which homes sell in the U.S. tends to ebb and flow over the calendar year, with homes selling fastest in the summer and slowest in the winter. But high home prices and mortgage interest rates are keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines. The median number of days a home spent on the market in May was 32, the same as the year before. When homes sell faster, it can be a sign that any given market is less...
Which U.S. states have the highest and lowest cost of raising a child? When it comes to two working parents raising one child, the median annual cost across all states is $22,850 – but the range of costs from state to state can vary and even be much higher. In fact, it costs twice as much in some states as compared with others. With this in mind, SmartAsset set out to find where it's most and least expensive for working parents to raise a child, ranking states by additional annual costs for t...
Free school breakfasts, in one form or another, have been a mainstay of American education for nearly a century. Increasingly, schools and state administrations are developing new ways to meet the needs of children who suffer from food insecurity across the United States. The longstanding national School Breakfast Program is a federally funded program that operates in public and nonprofit private schools, and its impact goes far beyond the cafeteria. In 2022, around 2.2 billion breakfasts were...
Marijuana use is at an all-time high—Here's how it affects mental health Marijuana use is at an all-time high in the United States. In the past decade alone, Americans' reported marijuana smoking has more than doubled, increasing from 7% to 13% from 2013 to 2023, according to a national poll from Gallup. And, a separate study found that half of adults (50%) now say they have tried marijuana at some point in their lives. The reported increase in marijuana use, known formally as cannabis, p...
For centuries, sports have impacted the lives and cultures of people worldwide. From the first Olympic games in Greece as far back as the 700s B.C. to the formation of the National Association of Base Ball Players—the first professional sports league in America—in the 1800s, the love for sports has always been apparent. What makes sports so popular? Why do so many people gather around a big screen or spend hundreds of dollars on tickets to appear in person at an event? While there doesn't see...
Despite 13% of the American population living with a disability, stigma and discrimination persist. With 44 million Americans living with some form of disability, it is more critical than ever to understand their needs. To give Americans a better idea of accommodations needed in their communities, accessiBe charted disability statistics in Alabama using Census Bureau data. This state-level story is part of a broader national analysis. Shares of state populations with certain disabilities are...
The glitz and glam of Hollywood captures the attention of Americans starting from an early age. Beyond celebrities' Instagram Stories and red carpet poses, there are actors out there paying their dues and honing their craft in pursuit of a sustainable career or a fulfilling sideline. Submitting to casting calls is a big part of that journey. Whether you're a working actor or an aspiring one, you might be curious to know which movies and TV shows are casting roles near you. Backstage compiled a...
Many Colorado high school graduates have headed into this summer uncertain about college. Some still might need an estimate of the cost, commit to enroll at a school, or finish tasks, like turning in immunization records and high school transcripts, before they show up in the fall. While students and families might fear they're behind for the fall, college advisers and admissions experts say they shouldn't worry after a college-going process complicated by Free Application for Federal Student...
For summer travelers, Way.com provides a guide to the best nature destinations in the U.S., from Pigeon Forge,Tennessee, to Asheville, North Carolina, and Page, Arizona. This list was compiled from popular U.S. destinations with the highest number of nature recommendations on the Booking.com platform and includes mountains, desert landscapes, and woodlands. These tempting destinations offer plenty to get you out of your comfy chair and into the great outdoors. Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, Tennessee...
Way.com reports that top earners among the highest-paid athletes include: - Cristiano Ronaldo– $260 million - Jon Rahm – $218 million - Lionel Messi – $135 million - LeBron James – $128 million - Giannis Antetokounmpo – $111 million Observations - The fact that the top two athletes based in Saudi Arabia are on this list shows their financial might. - It's cool to see two basketball players on the list. It shows how well the NBA is doing financially. Soccer Stars Dominate Soccer players a...
Americans' attitudes about life after work have shifted some in the last two years as higher costs of living force them to reconsider retirement plans despite stable incomes and a healthy stock market. Wealth Enhancement analyzed Employee Benefits Research Institute data to illustrate how American confidence in retirement has changed amid rising inflation. The survey included responses from more than 2,500 Americans, roughly half of which were workers and the other half retirees. The good news...
With higher rates of inflation, you may find that common purchases are taking up a larger percentage of your budget. One cost that may have creeped up is your grocery bill. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the last year, the consumer price index for food has increased 2.2% as costs are still on the rise. While everyone is experiencing an increase in prices, some states provide more affordable options than others. To discover which states have the most affordable groceries,...
There are several electric cars with solar panels available today — some recharge the smaller 12-volt battery that runs your air conditioning, while others can top you up with a few miles of electric range — but at this time, no commercially available solar panels are capable of fully powering an electric vehicle (EV). That said, reports Edmunds, this concept isn't as far away as it might've been 20 years ago. Here's why. In theory, the dream of solar energy is an exciting one. You put a few...
Since the days of silent film, music has been instrumental in setting the mood for moviegoers. It is one of the many ways audiences are able to determine whether a scene is meant to be serious, spooky, or hysterical. While many aspects of filmmaking have changed and modernized since the turn of the 20th century, the importance of songs has not. A perfectly placed track—whether it's tear-jerking lyrics over a moving melody or a fast-paced power ballad that pulls audiences into the a...
For decades, the field of artificial intelligence seemed stagnant. Researchers started gaining momentum in the early 2010s as deep learning proved useful in real-world applications such as speech recognition. The real inflection point, however, did not come until November 2022, when OpenAI launched ChatGPT. The chatbot represented a huge leap in AI's capabilities. The ability to build intelligent systems out of computer chips, a goal that seemed decades away, now seems within reach. ChatGPT's...
Throughout the history of college sports, money has always stoked controversy. Since the NCAA was formed, student-athletes have been prevented from earning anything apart from their scholarships. No jobs or sponsorships allowed. And yet, over and over, numerous pay-to-play scandals saturated the billion-dollar landscape. Within the last two decades alone, high-profile players from major institutions were caught selling memorabilia, taking thousands of dollars from marketing representatives, and...
