Category Archives: News

Politics: Democratic Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Interview

PBS Newshour LogoEntrepreneur and 2020 Democratic candidate Andrew Yang tells NewsHour Weekend he was ‘honored and disappointed’ to be the lone candidate of color at the last debate. He joins Yamiche Alcindor to discuss his plan to give every American adult $1,000 a month, why he believes headlines about the economy are misleading, and how he would handle North Korea if he became president.

1960’s Cinema Icons: Remembering French “Bond Girl” Claudine Auger (1941 -2019)

From a France24.com online release:

Thunderball Movie 007The film’s trailer introduced Auger as: “Young. Beautiful. Trapped. Could be dangerous”.

French actress Claudine Auger, best known to international audiences playing alongside Sean Connery in the 1965 James Bond film “Thunderball”, has died aged 78, her agent said Thursday.

She played the character “Domino” in the film, the fourth in the Bond franchise, which was set in the Bahamas providing ample opportunity for swimsuit action scenes.

To read more: https://www.france24.com/en/20191219-auger-thunderball-bond-girl-dies-aged-78

Politics: Mark Shields And David Brooks On The Latest In Washington (PBS)

Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the latest political news, including risks for red-state Democrats who voted to impeach President Trump, how Trump reacted to impeachment, the potential for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to delay transmitting the articles to the Senate for trial and takeaways from the sixth Democratic debate.

Future Of Homebuilding: World’s First 3D-Printed Community Being Built

The Vulcan 2 3D printer can print a house in just 24 hours of print time. This technology is currently being put to the test in rural Mexico, where it’s being used to build the world’s first 3D-printed community, designed for residents living on less than $3 a day.

Baby Boomer Economics: American 50+ Population Would Be World’s Third Largest Economy (AARP)

From an AARP.org online article:

AARP Real Possibilities logo“As the number of people over 50 grows, that age cohort is transforming markets and sparking new ideas, products and services across our economy,” AARP CEO Jo Ann Jenkins says. “And as people extend their work lives, they are fueling economic growth past the traditional retirement age.

AARP People 50+ are a growing economic engine that benefits society now and in the future December 20 2019

Americans age 50 and up contribute so much to the U.S. economy that they’d constitute the world’s third-largest economy if they were counted as their own country, a major new AARP study finds.

The economic contributions of 50-plus Americans totaled $8.3 trillion last year, which puts them just behind the U.S. and China when measured by gross domestic product.

And that economic impact will grow significantly in decades to come, tripling to more than $28 trillion by 2050 as millennials and Generation Z begin to turn 50 in 2031 and 2047, respectively, the report finds.

To read more: https://www.aarp.org/politics-society/advocacy/info-2019/older-americans-economic-impact-growth.html?cmp=EMC-DSO-NLC-RSS—CTRL-122019-P1-4245164&ET_CID=4245164&ET_RID=46870725&encparam=tVgeMOhoNxx%2bfrc9AGTzSoruA9hrsex1YvrQ7Ez59ks%3d

Homebuilding: World’s Biggest “3D Printed” Building Completed

World's Biggest 3D Printed Buiding in Dubai Dezeen video December 20 2019Robotic construction company Apis Cor has used its technology to build the world’s largest 3D-printed building, a two-storey administrative office in Dubai. 

Measuring 9.5 metres high with a floor area of 640 square metres, Apis Cor built the record-breaking structure for the Dubai Municipality. Apis Cor developed a gypsum-based material to run through the printer and sourced a local producer. The printing took place out in the open, to prove that the technology could handle a harsh environment without humidity and temperature control.

Politics: Key Moments From 6th Democratic Debate (PBS Video)

At the sixth Democratic debate–hosted by PBS NewsHour and POLITICO — the seven Democrats who are vying for their party’s presidential nomination in 2020, took on the issues of healthcare, immigration, race and impeachment. The debate on Dec. 19 was also the last of 2019. Watch the major moments from the debate between former Vice President Joe Biden, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Bernie Sanders, businessman Tom Steyer and entrepreneur Andrew Yang.

Healthiest Adults: Early Risers With 7-8 Hours Of Sleep, No Insomnia Or Daytime Drowsiness

From a European Heart Journal study:

European Society of Cardiology logoWhen the five sleep factors were collapsed into binary categories of low risk vs. high risk (reference group), early chronotype, adequate sleep duration, free of insomnia, and no frequent daytime sleepiness were each independently associated with incident CVD, with a 7%, 12%, 8%, and 15% lower risk, respectively (Table 3). Early chronotype, adequate sleep duration, and free of insomnia were independently associated with a significantly reduced risk of CHD; while only adequate sleep duration was associated with stroke.European Society of Cardiology Sleep patterns, genetic susceptibity and incident cardiovascular disease a prospective study of 385,292 participants lowest risk factorsCardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke, is among the leading causes of mortality globally.1 In addition to traditional lifestyle behaviours, emerging evidence has implicated several unhealthy sleep behaviours were important risk factors for CVD.2,3 For example, short or long sleep duration,4–9 late chronotype,10,11 insomnia,12–17 snoring,18,19 and excessive daytime sleepiness20,21 were associated with a 10–40% increased CVD risk. European Society of Cardiology Sleep patterns, genetic susceptibity and incident cardiovascular disease a prospective study of 385,292 participants

 

To read more: https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/advance-article/doi/10.1093/eurheartj/ehz849/5678714

New Study: Nearly 50% Of Americans Will Have Obesity By 2030, 25% Severely Obese (NEJM)

From a New England Journal of Medicine online study release:

The findings from our approach suggest with high predictive accuracy that by 2030 nearly 1 in 2 adults will have obesity (48.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 47.7 to 50.1), and the prevalence will be higher than 50% in 29 states and not below 35% in any state.

New England Journal of Medicine logo

Nearly 1 in 4 adults is projected to have severe obesity by 2030 (24.2%; 95% CI, 22.9 to 25.5), and the prevalence will be higher than 25% in 25 states. We predict that, nationally, severe obesity is likely to become the most common BMI category among women (27.6%; 95% CI, 26.1 to 29.2), non-Hispanic black adults (31.7%; 95% CI, 29.9 to 33.4), and low-income adults (31.7%; 95% CI, 30.2 to 33.2).

Projected National Prevalence of BMI Categories in 2030, According to Demographic Subgroup. New England Journal of Medicine December 2019

Although severe obesity was once a rare condition, our findings suggest that it will soon be the most common BMI category in the patient populations of many health care providers. Given that health professionals are often poorly prepared to treat obesity,27 this impending burden of severe obesity and associated medical complications has implications for medical practice and education.

In addition to the profound health effects, such as increased rates of chronic disease and negative consequences on life expectancy,25,28 the effect of weight stigma29 may have far-reaching implications for socioeconomic disparities as severe obesity becomes the most common BMI category among low-income adults in nearly every state.

To read more: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsa1909301?query=featured_home