A new study indicates a majority of teens have increased their social media use during the coronavirus pandemic.

Experts say you can reduce social media use for teens by not allowing them to use devices in the bedroom or sleep by devices.

A Colorado landlord allegedly sent the tenants of his trailer park a letter warning of big rent increases if Joe Biden is elected president.

“Please understand IF Joe Biden is elected as our next President, everything you do and have to pay for will change completely,” the landlord of the Fort Morgan trailer park allegedly wrote, according to a letter obtained by Denver NBC station KUSA. “Everything will be increased. Like paying ALOT more in taxes, utilities, gasoline, groceries, new permits, fees and regulations…everything! This also means YOUR RENT will be increased to cover these expenses. Most likely, rent would DOUBLE in price!”

Early on in the pandemic, parents joked about encasing their kids in bubble wrap, but seven months in, that seemingly over-the-top idea is now looking pretty practical. In fact, Under the Weather — a brand best known for the pop-up "WeatherPods" that can be seen on the sidelines of kids' outdoor soccer and baseball games during rainy days — is now introducing a child-size "ShieldPod" after it successfully launched a line of Safety Pods designed to help protect healthcare workers on the front lines from possible COVID-19 exposure earlier this summer.

The original ShieldPod generated so many requests from families that Under the Weather modified the design to accommodate anyone looking for, according to the site, "extra protection, added peace of mind, or social distancing solutions."

Some folks just can't help themselves. If they see a baby, it's like they must make faces at them, wave to them, or just say hi before they burst. (It's me. I'm some folks.) Sometimes this goes well. Other times the baby is terrified. But when are babies scared of strangers? I would like to know so I don't cause a meltdown by waving to a baby who is just minding their own business.

A U.S. District Judge has ruled that a former Disney Streaming Service employee “isn’t a member of a protected class” in a lawsuit claiming the employee was fired after the company possibly found out his wife was pregnant by hacking into his personal emails and phone. Obviously, this is not normal workplace behavior, but apparently does not fall under the umbrella of pregnancy discrimination law.

“‘By way of example, Plaintiff was expecting a child but had not disclosed that information to anyone at the Company’ states the complaint, which was filed in New York federal court. ‘Yet, Mr. McConnell [Soeren’s supervisor], in an unrelated conversation, blurted out to Plaintiff, ‘maybe you shouldn’t have a kid.’ Likewise, Mr. Paglia [a co-worker] sent Plaintiff an unsolicited video of children developing in utero. The same sentiments were harbored by Jennifer Kaufmann, Associate Director of UX & Design, who asked if Plaintiff had a good reason for having a child. Mr. McConnell also stated, within hearing distance of Plaintiff, ‘I don’t know why he [Plaintiff] decided to have a kid. At 30 my wife and I thought about it but decided that we’d wait until 40.’”

Growing up as a black kid in England’s white West Country, a car trip east to the busier, more exciting parts of the country meant one thing: KFC on the way back.

No matter how thrilling the purpose of our trip, the promise of salty, greasy chicken on our return would be the highlight of our day. My brother and I would get excited in the back seat just as the colonel’s bright face was due to make an appearance on the horizon. We knew what was coming.

“Shall we?” Dad would ask, as if it were a question and not an inevitability. Mum would nod, and soon enough I’d be savouring my two pieces of chicken – leg, if I was lucky. I can still smell the sharpness of the lemon hand wipe that would clean me up afterwards.

Back then, I was not even conscious of the racist baggage fried chicken came with in the US. But it was seeping into my subconscious, and I felt it.

As with most things, what happens in the US winds its way over to the UK. Including, it turns out, racist tropes. In my day job as a writer on a national newspaper – my supper clubs then were still a hobby – I sat next to someone who would often crack the same joke when I stood up to go for lunch. “What you getting?” he’d grin. “Fried chicken?”

Okay, so you might be too old to go trick-or-treating now, but Halloween season does mean Halloween candy time. Bonus points if you have a kid or know a kid you can "borrow" some Snickers or Kit Kats from. Candy can be found everywhere this time of year—if you go over to a friend's house, they might have a bowl of fun-sized candy bars, or you might find some in your office (thanks, HR). And if you're really smart about buying candy, you'll be at your local drugstore for discounted candies on November 1 (I know I will be!). Bottom line, you're probably going to be tempted with a lot of sweet treats, so how can you indulge while making sure you're not screwing with your healthy eating plan?

The answer: Let yourself live a little. According to integrative dietitian nutritionist Robin Foroutan, MD, RDN, HHC, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, "The best Halloween candy to eat is the one that you love the most!" She continues, "Eat it slowly—enjoy the smell, the flavor, and texture—really savor it so that you get maximum enjoyment. "However, she does caution all you candy lovers to eat a healthy snack before heading to a party so you make better choices once you get there. And if there's one special treat you can't wait to eat every year on Halloween, go for it and move on. "Remember," she says, "one meal at a party or one day of eating a bit of candy is not going to ruin your health. Do your best, get the healthy foods and exercise in, and enjoy."

Downing Street representatives told a briefing of Westminster journalists that partners are free to meet outdoors, but must still adhere to social distancing guidelines, the Evening Standard newspaper reported.

While singles have suffered months of loneliness and asking themselves, “Do I really need this boyfriend pillow?” under the so-called “casual sex ban”, some couples may be barred from seeing one another under certain tiers.

In the raft of new pandemic policies, the first tier duplicates the country’s most recent restrictions. The second tier bars people from different households from socialising together indoors.

I live in a huge apartment complex with about 500 tenants. I happen to live on the back side of the complex, with a window facing the dumpster in the alleyway. Many of the maintenance workers hang out in that alley when they’re not working. I’ve been working from home for six months now, meaning I spend way more time overhearing their conversations than I used to. They probably spend three to four hours a day just shooting the breeze. They laugh loudly, speak at a way higher volume than necessary, and tell an endless number of sexist jokes in Spanish (I speak Spanish fluently so I can understand every word). I hate having to listen to sexist vitriol for literally hours every day. I’ve tried headphones and a white noise machine but neither block out the sound.

I finally gave up and emailed management. Three of the guys were fired. They have been replaced with workers who spend significantly less time joking and hanging out in the back alley. I view this as a win: I don’t have to be subjected to this for hours every day, and the guys learned a valuable lesson about not going on sexist rants at work. My partner, on the other hand, is angry at me. They say I should’ve just talked to the men myself (which seems naïve, considering they clearly hate women) or, in my email to the complex, asked for the men not to be fired. I disagree. All I did was speak up about an issue that affected me—it’s not my responsibility how the complex chooses to handle it. My partner is basically saying I’m a monster for getting blue-collar workers fired. We cannot seem to move past this issue. Did I do the right thing? What can I do now to get my partner and I past this difference of opinion?

—Not Sorry They’re Gone

Like millions of Americans who lost their jobs during the pandemic, Jorge Padilla had hoped to work for many more years before the economic meltdown interrupted his plans. But in March, Padilla was laid off from his job as a banquet server in the Las Vegas area when tourism all but disappeared, and even though his old company has ramped up hiring again, it hasn’t contacted him.

Padilla says that’s because Station Casinos, which owns the Green Valley Ranch Resort Spa and Casino where he worked for nine years, is making anyone who wants a job reapply and is hiring mostly lower-paid workers rather than longtime employees like him. “We worked hard for this company, and we were loyal for many years,” says Padilla, 57, who used to pull in about $13.40 an hour plus tips, which amounted to up to $40 an hour in the busy season. “Now it’s time for them to give us a chance to come back.”

Labor unions agree, and as the bleak U.S. job situation shows no sign of a major revival, they are pushing for legislation to ensure that people who lost jobs in the pandemic get first dibs when those positions reopen. Such ordinances, known as Right to Recall or Right of Recall bills, have passed in both the city and county of Los Angeles, San Diego, Oakland, and Long Beach. Drafts of similar bills are circulating in Honolulu, Providence, R.I., and in Tacoma, Wash. A Baltimore city council committee approved one such bill in September, but it has not yet been signed by the mayor.

During this pandemic, people in the United States are dying at rates unparalleled elsewhere in the world.

A new report in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that in the past five months, per capita deaths in the U.S., both from COVID-19 and other causes, have been far greater than in 18 other high-income countries.

"It's shocking. It's horrible," says Dr. Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a professor of health policy and medical ethics at the University of Pennsylvania and one of the authors of the study.

"The United States really has done remarkably badly compared to other countries," he says. "I mean, remarkably badly."

According to research published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research, a combination of six studies have found that “sleeping less is related to increased perceptions of masculinity, and increased masculinity is related to decreased perceived sleep amounts”.

As well as this, “based on how much they sleep, men face social judgements favouring men who sleep less”.

A COVID-19 outbreak that infected 11 people across four states ? including Illinois ? began with a 13-year-old girl who transmitted the virus during a three-week family vacation over the summer, according to a Centers for Disease Control report.

Several family members involved in the case were from suburban Cook County, local public health officials confirmed, but would not give any more information about the individuals due to privacy concerns. A Cook County Department of Public Health spokeswoman added that the community is not currently at risk from this particular outbreak, which occurred months ago.

But the case highlights that kids and teens can contract and spread the virus, public health experts say. It also serves as a cautionary tale before the holiday season, a traditional time for many large family get-togethers.
“(The) outbreak highlights several important issues that are good to review before the holidays,” a Cook County Department of Public Health spokeswoman said in an email.

My family have known Alex since we were teenagers and point-blank refuse to accept her as a woman. Alex has kept her original first name, as it’s gender-neutral, so it’s not even as though my parents and sister have had to adjust to learning a new name. They just won’t consider it. They refer to her as my “boyfriend” and have made comments about how glad they are that I’ve “finally grown out of my lesbian phase.” This is starting to eat away at my sense of identity. I was never attracted to Alex before her transition or to men in general. But my sister has argued with me that, since I’ve known Alex “since she was a boy,” I’ve obviously been in denial about my feelings toward her and must have been attracted to a guy all this time. My parents have repeated similar theories, and it’s getting to me. I’ve already started cutting them off on the phone every time they refer to my “boyfriend” or are rude to Alex on Zoom, but their constant speculation about my sexuality is gnawing at me. I took a long time accepting my lesbian identity. Does my relationship with Alex undermine that, or is that just transphobic thinking getting to me? How do I shut my parents down permanently on these horrible comments?


—Harried and Harangued

Research has shown that we tend to follow a script at the beginning of a courtship: we ask many of the same questions to get to know a potential partner in those early days of dating. But now, a new study reveals that breakups function in much the same way, by following certain steps to help us through what can be an emotionally messy process.

1

A partner loses interest in his or her significant other. (He watches more football.)

5

The partners spend less time together. ("I wonder how his emergency business trip to the Bahamas went?")

8

The partners communicate their feelings with each other. ("I hate you, you old shrew.")