Instead of an “all-or-nothing” approach to disease prevention, Americans need guidance on how to safely return to school, work, and other activities mid-pandemic, said panelists at a May 13 COVID-19 Conversations webinar.

Consumers have an increasing desire for complex and nuanced flavors, all while keeping comfort and familiarity in their baked goods.

Does anybody else feel like 2022 just flew right by, or is it just me? It seems too early for Christmas decorations and music — just a few short weeks ago, Michigan was still having 70-degree weather! But ‘tis the season!

Looking forward, Drizly highlights which drinks trends are poised to have the biggest impact on the beverage alcohol industry, surveying 1,000 adults about the drinks they plan to purchase most in 2024.

Netflix has released a new documentary about Lyle and Erik Menendez, offering fresh interviews with the infamous brothers at the center of the shocking 1989 murder case.

FFTV Media Technology Launches Token Staking Model, Offering Exclusive Content Access Through Participation

Toronto, ON – A professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management who has become known for his research and teaching on catastrophes and risk management has been named to the 2017 Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers in the world most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed […]

An HVAC tech was stuck on a roof as a trio of brazen thieves made off with all his tools after kicking over his ladder during a daylight heist.

In a recent survey conducted by Jabil, we discovered that in just over a year, the number of companies utilizing 3D printing as well as the variety of applications rocketed dramatically; the percentage of companies using additive to manufacture production parts…

If the words Super Nintendo bring back fond memories, Nintendo intends to keep refreshing your memory banks with more nostalgia. The next Super Nintendo World Direct will be presented today, November 11, at 5 PM ET with new exciting tidbits. The primary candidate on the calendar is not the limelight superstar Mario, nor is it his green-wearing

World Wide Technology Championship, Round 4: How to watch, featured groups, live scores, tee times, TV times  PGA TOUR

These roofing contractors have what it takes to make it onto next year’s Top 100 list.

These roofing contractors were just off making Roofing Contractor's 2024 Top 150 list; we suspect we'll see these names in the future, 

Music scenes are not monoliths…

New findings from Hub Research show that expanded content licensing is offsetting the decline in studio output.

YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul had to wait an extra four months for his high-profile match with 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.

Redefining #BlackGirlMagic for us all.

Take it easy, peeps.

#StayWoke! These actors are about to break records.

A new comedy from 'The Good Place' creator, a prequel to 'Dune' and the conclusion of one of America's most popular shows

Actor and activist Dash Mihok, who played Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in Showtime's Ray Donovan, urges you to watch our award-winning documentary, Vigilantes Inc. “You'll be better for it, I promise.” ... READ MORE

Check out some of NOVA’s best space documentaries available for streaming.

Check out some of NOVA’s best nature documentaries available for streaming.

Counting is still going on, nearly a week after election day, with Republicans a handful of seats short.

NBC's newest workplace sitcom is here, and we'll show you where to watch St. Denis Medical if you don't have cable.

July was a big month for model releases: There are new large models from Mistral and Meta, smaller multilingual models from Mistral and DeepL, another Mistral model that specializes in code generation, and a small version of GPT-4o. The security world saw another software supply chain disaster when CrowdStrike released a bad software update that […]

This month, we’ll give AI a rest. Alex Russell has finished an excellent series of posts titled “Reckoning.” It’s a must-read for web developers. If you want to understand why our networks and laptops are much faster than they were 15 or 20 years ago, but the web is slower, it comes down to one […]

The model release train continues, with Mistral’s multimodal Pixtral 12B, OpenAI’s o1 models, and Roblox’s model for building 3D scenes. We also have another important AI-enabled programming tool: Cursor is an alternative to GitHub Copilot that’s getting rave reviews. Security will never cease to be a problem, but this month seems particularly problematic. The Mirai […]

October had many language model releases. The mid-size models, and even the small models, are catching up to frontier models like GPT-4.5o in performance. But the release that blew us all away wasn’t a language model: It was Claude’s computer use API. Computer use allows you to teach Claude how to use a computer: how […]

20th CCP National Congress: Five issues to watch Expert comment LJefferson 13 October 2022

Interpreters of the Chinese Communist Party’s tea leaves will be paying close attention to the issues that will shape China’s trajectory for the next five years.

Xi Jinping’s expected anointment for an unprecedented third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is likely to generate global headlines when the party’s five-yearly National Congress begins on 16 October.

But with that outcome so widely forecast, interpreters of the CCP’s tea leaves will be paying closer attention to a range of more contested – and sometimes byzantine – issues that will shape China’s trajectory for the next five years, and reverberate around the world.

These are five key issues to watch out for during Xi’s political report, a dry but authoritative account of the CCP’s policy priorities for the next five years, and the subsequent deliberations over personnel appointments.

1. From market economy to ‘common prosperity’

As the world grapples with the economic impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Chinese economy is entering particularly choppy waters. China is forecast to grow at a slower rate than the rest of Asia for the first time in more than 30 years, according to the World Bank, as the impact of Xi’s COVID zero policies compounds a growing list of structural and cyclical challenges.

Xi is under pressure to offer some new prescriptions for the world’s second biggest economy, and he is likely to signal further shifts away from the market economics that propelled Chinese growth for decades toward his vision of ‘common prosperity’.

His ambition is to redefine progress, not in terms of producing double-digit growth, but in tackling long-standing challenges such as demographic decline, social inequality and high property prices – thereby meeting ‘people’s ever-growing needs for a better life’.

China’s leader may have arrived at the right diagnosis, but he has so far failed to find measures that deliver common prosperity. He will use the Party Congress to redesign some policy measures, likely putting a stronger focus on the development of rural areas to promote economic dynamism and generate employment opportunities.

2. COVID zero to endure?

While most of the world has opened up and learned to live with COVID-19, China is still pursuing a COVID zero policy that requires frequent lockdowns, stringent movement controls and closed borders. This approach has intensified economic pressures, exacerbated high youth unemployment, and is testing the patience of China’s upwardly mobile middle classes.

Those not employed by the state have been particularly hard hit and it is difficult to see how China’s economy can start to crank up again until Beijing reduces internal restrictions and reconnects with the world.

Xi has championed the COVID zero policy, which Beijing continues to insist is vital to protect vulnerable people and support economic and social stability. So, observers will be playing close attention to his political report for any signs of a possible softening or indications of alternative future pathways for managing the pandemic. But a wholesale shift does not appear to be on the cards.

3. Xi Jinping’s team

Sinologists’ enthusiasm for predicting leadership changes in the CCP is not matched by their ability to do so. The party’s roots as a secret organization ensure that it keeps a tight lid on information about top leaders.

Observers will be closely following appointments to the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, the apex of power for the CCP and China’s supreme decision-making body. These choices will shape China’s future policy trajectory and give some signals about the extent of Xi’s concentration of power and his future plans.

Names to watch for possible promotion include Xi allies such as He Lifeng, currently head of the National Development Reform Commission, a key economic planning entity, and Zhang Qingwei, currently the party secretary of Hunan, an important and populous province.

As Vice Premier Sun Chunlan, the only woman on the Politburo, reaches the retirement age, there is also likely to be a slot open for her replacement, with Shan Yiqin, the party secretary of Guizhou, one potential option.

Tracking the fate of key Xi allies will also indicate how far he has managed to overturn the collective leadership system he inherited in 2012 and how comprehensively the CCP endorses this more centralized approach to governing China.

4. Taiwan

After the escalating tensions of the last few months, analysts will be looking for any possible change in tone when Xi speaks about Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as a renegade province. During the past five years, Xi has approached the outside world with a mix of high-octane rhetoric with pragmatism and patience.

The next five weeks will see lots of shuffling on Major League rosters. Here are the most intriguing positional battles on each of the 30 MLB clubs.

The countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting is down to single digits for all 30 MLB clubs, but as exciting as it is to see the return of Major League stars, it's also a time to dream about the next wave of baseball talent.

Spring Training is imminent, Opening Day is within sight and the big league season isn't complete for fans without a subscription to MLB.TV. The most comprehensive streaming service in professional sports is now available for the 2019 season.

The next five weeks will see lots of shuffling on Major League rosters. Here are the most intriguing positional battles on each of the 30 MLB clubs.

Ten conflicts to watch in 2023 11 January 2023 — 6:00PM TO 7:00PM Anonymous (not verified) 8 December 2022 Chatham House and Online

This event examines the most dangerous wars and crises through the lens of the International Crisis Group’s flagship annual report ‘10 Conflicts to watch in 2023’.

Each year, International Crisis Group compiles a list of the ten conflicts to watch that examines key conflicts across the globe. Please join us for this event at which Dr Comfort Ero, International Crisis Group president and CEO, discusses today’s and tomorrow’s most impactful wars and crises.

Key questions to consider include:

• What far-reaching repercussions and knock-on effects of Russia’s war on Ukraine will have for Europe and the rest of the world?

• Which crises beyond Ukraine warrant collective attention in the year ahead?

• How do rising tensions among major powers impact multilateral efforts to resolve these conflicts, impede progress on global challenges and impact institutions working on crisis prevention?

As with all members events, questions from the audience drive the conversation.

Read the transcript.