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Letters: Impoverished Hoosiers need financial assistance to support families

Lawmakers should support SB 111 as an investment to make Indiana families stronger now and in the future, a letter to the editor says.

      




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IMPD's new chief understands the pain of violence. His father-in-law was murdered.

Randal Taylor, who became police chief last week, has felt the grief that lies behind every shooting in Indianapolis.

       




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Twitter is on fire after the latest instance of Kamaring

Bulldogs senior hits a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to knock off Xavier in the Big East regular-season finale.

      




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Butler's Veasley returns to Horizon League as UIC assistant coach

Butler basketball's Willie Veasley is back in Horizon League as new UIC assistant coach

      




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Hamilton SE hires ex-Fishers assistant, Seymour coach Michael Kelly as new football coach

Kelly coached at Seymour past three years, formerly was an assistant at Fishers

       




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Jayme Comer, former assistant at Western Boone, named new football coach at Danville

Comer was offensive coordinator for Western Boone's back-to-back state title teams

      




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Hinchcliffe too tired to stand … and ready for more DWTS

IndyCar Series driver James Hinchcliffe has asked to sit for this "Dancing With the Stars" interview because his body is too tired – his feet too sore – to stand.

       




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Where IU basketball stands in race for blue-blood darling Matthew Hurt

Right now, there's a 1 in 8 chance the Hoosiers land the consensus top-10 talent out of Minnesota. But they're competing with NCAA royalty.

      




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Hindistan da nükleer denizaltı aldı

Hindistan da nükleer denizaltısı olan ülkeler arasına katıldı. Hindistan böylece, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri, Rusya, Fransa, İngiltere ve Çin'in ardından nükleer denizaltısı olan altıncı ülke oldu.




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Notre Dame basketball: 2015 Elite Eight team gathers from a distance

Fighting Irish went 32-6 and also went to the Elite Eight the next season.

       




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Tennessee prep standout Chloe Moore-McNeil commits to IU women's basketball

Indiana women's basketball roster retooling has hit overdrive the past few days.

       




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IU football: Cornerback Tiawan Mullen stays engaged despite distance

Tiawan Mullen, who will be a sophomore, has been throwing questions at IU football cornerbacks coach Brandon Shelby all spring

       




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Mr. Basketball Anthony Leal well-equipped to understand expectations that await at IU

Anthony Leal put individual numbers aside at Bloomington South. The result was a 26-0 record.

       




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US Field Hospitals Stand Down, Most Without Treating Any COVID-19 Patients

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NPR: As hospitals were overrun by coronavirus patients in other parts of the world, the Army Corps of Engineers mobilized in the U.S., hiring private contractors to build emergency field hospitals around the country. The endeavor cost more than $660 million, according to an NPR analysis of federal spending records. But nearly four months into the pandemic, most of these facilities haven't treated a single patient. Public health experts said this episode exposes how ill-prepared the U.S. is for a pandemic. They praised the Army Corps for quickly providing thousands of extra beds, but experts said there wasn't enough planning to make sure these field hospitals could be put to use once they were finished. "It's so painful because what it's showing is that the plans we have in place, they don't work," said Robyn Gershon, a professor at New York University's School of Global Public Health. "We have to go back to the drawing board and redo it." But the nation's governors -- who requested the Army Corps projects and, in some cases, contributed state funding -- said they're relieved these facilities didn't get more use. They said early models predicted a catastrophic shortage of hospital beds, and no one knew for sure when or if stay-at-home orders would reduce the spread of the coronavirus. "All those field hospitals and available beds sit empty today," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said last month. "And that's a very, very good thing." Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, said: "These 1,000-bed alternate care sites are not necessary; they're not filled. Thank God." Senior military leaders also said the effort was a success -- even if the beds sit empty.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.




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Local musician Tim Brickley entertains socially distant neighbors with impromptu show

Tucked into his porch, musician Tim Brickley sang classics for a tiny group of neighbors and passersby as relief from home isolation.

      




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Wander Women St. Pete Recap Part II: Stand Up Paddle to Paradise

Where we’re at: I’m recapping my travels in 2019, including this retreat to Florida in July. There are more details about our upcoming 2020 retreats at the end of this post. I realize for some this is a difficult time to read about travel. I am writing often about our current global crisis — the impact it’s […]
 




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Butler's Veasley returns to Horizon League as UIC assistant coach

Butler basketball's Willie Veasley is back in Horizon League as new UIC assistant coach

      




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Coronavirus: Social distancing cuts public transport passenger capacity by 90%

The transport secretary warns social distancing will mean severely-reduced passenger capacity.




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CORE Instant Pop-Up Canopy Review

A beachgoers favorite item must be the canopy tent. You can relax under it, watch the sea, and save yourself from the sun; all at the same time! Many of us even use these sheds in other places like parks, camps, mountains, and even backyards. When it comes to canopies, there’s actually no definite site. […]

The post CORE Instant Pop-Up Canopy Review appeared first on Patriot Outdoor News.



  • Camping & Hiking

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Afghanistan investigates reports Iran guards forced migrants into river

Afghanistan is investigating the alleged torture and drowning of migrants at the Iranian border.




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Qatar Airways warns of 'substantial' job losses

State-owned Qatar Airways plans significant staff cutbacks as it deals with the coronavirus downturn.




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McClaren under instant pressure

England's new coach will not have a honeymoon period




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Timeline: Uzbekistan

A chronology of key events




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Timeline: Turkmenistan

A chronology of key events




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Timeline: Tajikistan

A chronology of key events




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Kyrgyzstan timeline

A chronology of key events




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Timeline: Kazakhstan

A chronology of key events




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Country profile: Uzbekistan

Key facts, figures and dates




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Country profile: Turkmenistan

Key facts, figures and dates




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Country profile: Tajikistan

Key facts, figures and dates




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Country profile: Kyrgyzstan

Key facts, figures and dates




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Country profile: Kazakhstan

Key facts, figures and dates





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Regions and territories: Dagestan

Key facts, dates and events




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Social distancing and coronavirus: The science behind the two-metre rule

Ministers are reportedly considering relaxing the two-metre rule for social distancing in workplaces.




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Some landscapes show resistance to ash dieback

Certain habitats can help dampen the spread of ash dieback, which threatens ash trees.




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Territories: St Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha

Key facts for St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha







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Coronavirus: Six killed in clashes at Afghanistan food aid protest

Clashes erupt after people complain about a perceived failure to help the poor during the pandemic.




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‘Green Eggs and Ham’ showed us how to get along with people we don’t understand

Dr. Seuss used only 50 words to write the book. Now it's an entire Netflix TV series.




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Virgin Atlantic puts advisers on standby as industry teeters

Virgin Atlantic Airways has put advisers on standby to handle a potential administration as it races to secure a £500m rescue that would enable Sir Richard Branson’s flagship company to survive the coronavirus pandemic.




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Istanbul’s new airport is one of the world’s largest. A fleet of humanoid robots is helping passengers find their way around.

How do you help millions of passengers navigate one of the world's largest airports? In Turkey, the answer is a fleet of humanoid robots.




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Banking that electric cars can also be cool, Ford introduces an all-electric Mustang

Ford Motor has unveiled the Mustang Mach-E, an all-electric sport utility vehicle that the company claims will have a range of at least 230 miles.




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As dating apps try to pivot to virtual events, some users are trying to get people to violate social distancing rules

  • Dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge have reported increased use amid the coronavirus pandemic, while touting virtual dating alternatives for users instead of meeting up in person.
  • Swaths of users are still encouraging matches to break quarantine to have sex and go on dates, despite social distancing guidelines and fines to comply with them.
  • An illustrator on Instagram has been collecting screenshots of these situations, and told Business Insider that users will brand themselves as "badasses," dispute the effectiveness of isolating, and lash out in anger and hurl abusive language when they're rejected.
  • Spokespeople for Grindr, Tinder and Bumble told Business Insider they've informed users to adhere to social-distancing guidelines, but did not respond to inquiries about actions they're taking against users in places where violating lockdown orders can be against the law.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

As millions remain confined to their homes to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the desire for human contact and connection has risen dramatically and led some to search for ways to break those social distancing rules.

Popular dating apps — including Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge — have reported significant increases during the outbreak of swiping activity, matches between users, and messages exchanged. It's also led to the introduction of a breed of users who are interested in shirking lockdown orders, and are encouraging their matches to join them in doing the same.

Dating app users have shared stories across social media, and recently with Mashable, about messages they've received from matches who ask them to come over or want to hook up. Artist Samantha Rothenberg, who uses the handle @violetclair on Instagram, has been collecting these screenshots from followers, and told Business Insider she's received close to a thousand of such stories.

"Because of how common it is, I can honestly say that anyone who is on a dating app right now has dealt with this," Rothenberg told Business Insider. "People are horny, and a lot of people are putting that ahead of the risk and the danger."

For dating platforms whose end goal is inherently to bring its millions of users together in real life, the coronavirus outbreak has put them in a curious predicament. Dating apps are forced to balance a desire to keep people on their platform for the sake of business, with a moral responsibility to discourage users to engage in behavior with potential life-or-death implications.

Since the start of the outbreak, apps have rolled out in-app virtual dating options and touted ways users can go on virtual dates. However, the prevalence of users who are trying to meet up in person, as documented by Rothenberg and screenshots across social media, raise questions about whether these dating platforms are doing enough to stymie such behavior in the time of coronavirus.

Rothenberg has long collected screenshots of users' horror stories from dating app interactions, which she often will depict in illustrations she posts to her Instagram account. But ever since the pandemic led states to instill lockdown orders starting in March, nearly all of the screenshots she's received have had to do with coronavirus.

These lockdown-violating users fall into a few general categories, according to Rothenberg. There's the users who try to paint themselves as "badasses" for breaking the rules, though Rothenberg says they're more like "a--holes." There are the matches who propose meeting up and, after getting rejected, reverse course to say they're were joking or "testing" you, she says. You'll also encounter the anti-quarantine user, whose reasoning is based on claims about herd immunity and the ineffectiveness of social distancing measures.

The last group is made up of users who react to "no" with anger and verbal abuse, Rothenberg told Business Insider. Women told Mashable recently about encounters with men on dating apps who badgered and harassed them after they turned down in-person meetings, going to the point of gaslighting.

These types of users are what led Rothenberg to launch a petition on Change.org to hold dating apps responsible for enforcing social distancing guidelines during the pandemic. She's also been active about calling out dating apps in her Instagram Stories she posts with screenshots she receives.

"People are angry, they tell me, 'can you believe this, this is disgusting, this is wrong,'" Rothenberg said. "Because I have this platform, I feel I have a bit of a responsibility to put these [stories] out in the open and share, and bring some light into what's going on out there to people who may not know."

In late March, platforms sent out various messages and alerts to their users that Rothenberg documented on Instagram. A message to Bumble users from CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said: "Please don't meet your Bumble matches IRL for now." Hinge users were told to "stay safe and keep connected."

Tinder, arguably the most well-know dating app, also discouraged users to meet up in a platform-wide message sent March 26.

"We know there's a lot to stay to each other as we all do our best to stay healthy and prevent the spread of the coronavirus," the message from Tinder said. "We hope to be a place for connecting during this challenging time, but it's important to stress that now is not the time to meet IRL with your match."

Dating apps' responsibilities to pivot from IRL to TXT

As companies across industries adjust business to stay afloat, dating apps have transitioned to emphasize alternatives to in-person meetups. Although online dating success has long been measured by the amount of conversations that turn to real-life connections, platforms are forced to rethink their strategy as users continue turning to them en masse. A poll conducted by Hinge found that 70% of its users said they were open to going on dates on Zoom, FaceTime, and other video platforms.

Some dating brands have introduced new features amid the pandemic. Hinge launched "Date from Home" in April, where users can indicate to a match they're ready to move their conversation off-app. Plenty of Fish started rolling out a livestreaming feature in March to users in the U.S. to allow matches to go on short virtual dates. Tinder, relatively late to the game, announced this week it was launching a video chat feature by the end of June.

A spokesperson for Match Group — the parent company on Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and other dating platforms — told Business Insider that it made updates to its products "to help users better navigate stay-from-home policies and date digitally via phone or video."

Other apps that already enabled video chat and voice call, like The League and Bumble, are pushing these features to their users more than ever. 

But while users on these dating apps are swiping and messaging at new highs, the transition to virtual-only hasn't been as seamless for those on Grindr, the most popular dating app for gay men. Steve, a 26-year-old living in Washington, D.C., told Business Insider that activity on Grindr is "completely dead." He said he doesn't check the app nearly as often any more, but messages he does get on the app are largely from people who say they want to meet up despite the quarantine.

Grindr, like other apps, has attempted to pivot to virtual dating: The platform recently introduced Circles, where groups of up to 20 users can join chats centered around certain topics and interests. However, Steve said he's seen these groups largely dissolve into "all d--k pics."

"I dont think Grindr has the ability to rebrand itself honestly at this point for something other than hookups," Steve said. "They tried to take the opportunity to rebrand itself as something else, and it just right away became sexual."

A Grindr spokesperson told Business Insider it had sent in-app notifications to all users asking them to "refrain from in-person meetings right now."Nonetheless, an app-wide message sent to users — and shared by users on Twitter — made no mention of asking users to social distance. 

For users across these dating apps who encourage the violating of social distancing guidelines, it's unclear how much responsibility platforms have to keep their users' indoors. In some states under lockdown, authorities have doled out fines and even arrested residents found failing to follow at-home guidelines.

Grindr, Bumble and Match Group — the parent company of Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish and others — told Business Insider in statements they have encouraged users to adhere to coronavirus guidelines from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control.

None of the companies responded to Business Insider's requests for comment about whether asking to violate social-distancing guidelines on the platforms is a breach of policy or would garner any ban or suspension on a user.

SEE ALSO: What you need to know about Grimes, the Canadian musician who just had a baby with tech billionaire Elon Musk

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet




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Dock workers in Belgium are wearing monitoring bracelets that enforce social distancing — here's how they work

  • Dockworkers in Belgium are wearing bracelets to enforce social distancing.
  • The bracelets were already used to detect if someone fell into the water, but now they will sound an alarm if workers get to close to each other.
  • Manufacturers say there is no privacy issue and the bracelets don't track workers' locations, despite concerns.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Quarantine and social distancing are going high-tech as countries and companies embrace wearables. In Antwerp, Belgium, dockworkers are instructed to wear bracelets that enforce social distancing rules while they work.

Europe, where more than 100,000 people have died from COVID-19, is slowly starting to reopen in some places. Stay at home orders are expiring in many countries, while nonessential travel has stopped across the EU, and countries look towards the summer to anticipate what kind of travel might be possible. 

People are beginning to go back to work, which in some sectors means inevitable close contact, especially in many essential jobs. Social distancing bracelets in Belgium are one idea bing tested to see what the future of work might look like after coronavirus.

Here's how it works. 

SEE ALSO: People arriving in Hong Kong must wear tracking bracelets for 2 weeks or face jail time. Here's how they work.

The black, plastic bracelets are worn on the wrist like a watch.



They're made by Belgian company Rombit, which says that they are "a fully integrated personal safety and security device, specifically designed for highly industrial environments."

Source: Romware



Rombit already made bracelets useful in the port setting, which could be used to call for help if a worker fell into the water or another accident occurred.



Europe is slowly starting to go back to work, but fears of a second wave are making officials cautious.



Contact tracing is one solution being explored around the world, and the manufacturers of the bracelet believe it could also be used for contact tracing.

Source: The Associated Press



European health guidances say to wash hands, wear masks, and keep at least 1.5 meters, or about five feet, apart.



When two workers are less than five feet apart, the bracelets will sound warnings.



Rombit CEO John Baekelmans told Reuters that the bracelets won't allow companies to track employees' locations, because the devices are only connected to each other. He says there is no central server.

Source: Reuters



Workers in the control tower will be the first to test the bracelets early this month.



Then, the Port of Antwerp will likely expand the devices to tug boat workers.



Baekelmans told Reuters that Rombit already had hundreds of requests in 99 countries, and is hoping to ramp up production to 25,000 in a few weeks.






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Priyanka Chopra is confronted by Pakistani at Beautycon over tweets about India

The "Quantico" actress was called out during her appearance for a tweet sent during military hostility between the neighboring, nuclear-armed countries.




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Dua Lipa for Bernie? Cher for Biden? Here’s where the celebrities stand on Super Tuesday.

Stars tweeted their support for their candidates of choice leading up to one of the most significant days in the Democratic primary race.




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What Will An Ecommerce Website Need To Stand Out In 2020?

ECommerce is undeniably a buzzword. Many people have been discussing this term for a long time since the Internet was opened to commercial use. Through its history, with many advantages over brick and mortar stores as well as mail-order catalogs, eCommerce has become one of the fastest-growing industries.  Did you know that 25% of the […]

The post What Will An Ecommerce Website Need To Stand Out In 2020? appeared first on SpyreStudios.