THE QUESTION MAY seem odd in the midst of a global pandemic, but among people in places with serious mask-wearing and social-distancing measures, and with the luxury to hunker down, it is forgivable to wonder: Will I ever get sick again? In the southern hemisphere, in places like Australia and South Africa, winter flu season came and went without a trace. The western United States is coughing through clouds of smoke, and people everywhere have endured wet-eyed allergy seasons. But over the past 6 months, people were far less likely to get sick sick—at least from respiratory viruses that aren’t called SARS-CoV-2.
Category: News and Views
Does sugar make kids hyper? | Live Science
If a child eats cotton candy, a chocolate bar or any other kind of sugary treat, will a hyperactive frenzy follow? While some parents may swear that the answer is “yes,” research shows that it’s just not true.
Yes, that’s right. “Sugar does not appear to affect behavior in children,” said Dr. Mark Wolraich, chief of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, who researched sugar’s effect on children in the 1990s.
Instead, parent’s expectations of so-called “sugar highs” appear to color the way they view their children’s behavior, Wolraich said. It’s easy to see why parents make the link: Sugar is often the main attraction at birthday parties, on Halloween and other occasions when children are likely to bounce off the walls. But all that energy is due to kids being excited, not from the sugar in their systems, he said. [Is Sugar Bad for You?]
‘No One Knows What’s Going On’: Unease Lingers Over TikTokers After Oracle Claims Victory In Acquisition Race
The past few weeks have been one of the more stressful periods in 16-year-old Parker Pannell’s life. His comedy vlogs had amassed sizable fanbase on TikTok, some 2.2 million followers, and he was earning thousands of dollars from creating sponsored content for businesses like Cash App and House Party. Much of that work evaporated over the last month. “Super discouraging,” says Pannell. “But who wants to put money into a brand that could potentially be on the decline?” Companies were shying away from advertising on TikTok as the Chinese-owned app raced to appease President Trump’s demand for it to sell itself or face a ban in America.
39 PPP Fraud Prosecutions So Far, and Counting | Small Business Trends
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans have aided more than 5 million small business owners, providing a much-needed lifeline during the Coronavirus outbreak crisis. The overwhelming majority of business owners are legitimate and will use the money as intended to retain employees and stay operational.
But the PPP program has attracted a few rotten apples. And you won’t believe how rotten they are.
To date, the Justice Department has filed 39 PPP fraud cases, charging about 56 defendants. Defendants are charged with bilking taxpayers out of tens of millions of dollars. Luckily, the Feds have recovered a large part of the loan proceeds already.
And what’s been recovered tells a wild tale.
If You Have AT&T, Alexa Is Now a Giant Speakerphone | Digital Trends
Amazon Alexa can now make and receive calls if you’re an AT&T customer, essentially turning your smart home device into a giant speakerphone.
The tech giant announced the new feature called “AT&T calling with Alexa.” Starting Wednesday, September 9, AT&T customers can use Alexa-enabled devices to answer incoming calls or start a new call, even if their phone is far away or turned off.
The new feature only works for AT&T customers in the U.S. that have a compatible HD-voice mobile phone like an iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy.
The ‘brushing’ scam that’s behind mystery parcels | BBC News
If you’ve ever received a parcel from a shopping platform that you didn’t order, and nobody you know seems to have bought it for you, you might have been caught up in a “brushing” scam.
It has hit the headlines after thousands of Americans received unsolicited packets of seeds in the mail, but it is not new.
It’s an illicit way for sellers to get reviews for their products.
And it doesn’t mean your account has been hacked.
California wildfires: Gender reveal party blamed for fire | BBC News
Officials have blamed a gender reveal party for one of several wildfires raging in the US state of California.
A “smoke-generating pyrotechnic device” at the event sparked the El Dorado fire, which has now spread over 7,000 acres.
It is one of more than two dozen blazes across the state.
California is currently experiencing a record heatwave, with Los Angeles reporting its highest ever temperature of 49.4C (121F).
The National Weather Service described Sunday as “one of the hottest days since weather records began across much of south-western California”.
Apple won’t force developers to let users opt out of tracking until next year | TechCrunch
At its global developer conference in June, Apple said its forthcoming iOS 14 update would allow users to opt out of in-app ad tracking, a privacy feature that quickly drew ire from advertising giants over fears that it would make it harder to deliver targeted ads to users.
But now Apple is delaying enforcing the feature until “early next year”, the company confirmed.
iOS 14, expected out later this year, will contain a new prompt that asks users whether they would like to opt into this kind of targeted ad tracking. Developers will be able to integrate this prompt into their apps as soon as iOS 14 is released, but they will not be required to, as Apple indicated they would earlier.
Facebook to block new political ads 1 week before Nov 3, adds more tools and rules for fair elections | TechCrunch
We’re now 61 days away from the U.S. presidential election, and Facebook is once more ramping up its efforts to level the playing field and attempt to keep its platform from being manipulated to influence how people vote.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg today announced a series of new measures, including the news that it will block new political and issue ads in the final week of the campaign — although campaigns can still run ads to encourage people to vote, and they can still run older political ads. Other announcements today detailed more work to counter misinformation, and stronger rules to counter voter suppression, including misleading references to COVID-19 at the polls.
Tesla’s stock split: Here’s what you need to know – CNN
Tesla shares are much, much cheaper Monday after the stock’s 5-1 split.
Even though Tesla’s stock closed 12.5% higher at $498.32 a share Monday, that’s still around $1,800 cheaper than where it was trading on Friday. The company announced the stock split earlier this month, making shares more affordable for average investors.
The split will not change the value of investors’ total holdings of the company. It will just grow the number of shares making up their portfolios. Tesla (TSLA) stockholders are getting four shares for each share they held last week.
Dispatches From The Front 