Banks and building socities have launched a range of offers on ISAs as the new tax year begins.

The isolation shelter at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium for people experiencing homelessness and COVID-19 symptoms has seen around 30 people since opening April 5. At this time, it's unknown if they were positive for the new coronavirus. Jennifer Mariano, director of homeless programs with Community Health Partnership , said the location recently received COVID-19 testing supplies, and will begin testing people this week.

A couple years ago, Chris Andrews, a senior at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, realized he was addicted to his smartphone. “It was something I was using as a crutch,” he explains. “Something that I was using in moments of boredom, moments of anxiety, or a moment of silence in a group of friends – we’d all reach for our phones.”

Spencer McQueen says looking at his art isn’t enough. He wants you to feel his paintings. “It’s just this little extra ability that you can give someone to connect with you and the things that you created,” he says.

On this edition of Your Call, we're speaking with epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves about the current status of testing for COVID-19 across the US.

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later

So what do you buy in 2020 if you want an inexpensive ILC that you're going to use primarily for video? Panasonic? I'm thinking of buying used for less than, say, $850 with lens. Probably just leave the kit lens on there for the moment, probably just use it for family videos. I love the form factor of the GX9 but the lack of a mic jack is a bummer. But if I'm not shooting super serious video do I even need a mic jack?

Please don't suggest phones, I really hate phones.

As of Friday in Texas, you can go to a tanning salon. In Indiana, houses of worship are being allowed to open with no cap on attendance. Places like Pennsylvania are taking a more cautious approach, only starting to ease restrictions in some counties based on the number of COVID-19 cases. By Monday, at least 31 states will have partially reopened after seven weeks of restrictions. The moves come as President Trump pushes for the country to get back to work despite public health experts warning that it's too soon. "The early lesson that was learned, really, we learned from the island of Hokkaido in Japan, where they did a really good job of controlling the initial phase of the outbreak," said Bob Bednarczyk, assistant professor of global health and epidemiology at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta. Because of that success, many of the restrictions on the island were lifted. But cases and deaths surged in a second wave of infections. Twenty-six days later

Interested in learning how to create an online experiment that helps you better understand your business? This course can help you get up to speed. Instructor Monika Wahi shows learners without a background in experimental design how to build an A/B test for a web page, run the test, analyze the data, and make decisions based on the results of the test. Monika begins by explaining exactly what A/B testing is and under what circumstances it is useful. She then covers potential strategies for increasing conversion rates, as well as how to choose both A and B conditions for testing. Next, she explains how to define conversion rates and develop and document case definitions, conduct a baseline analysis in Excel and, based on the results of the analysis, design an A/B test. Plus, she demonstrates how to conduct a chi-square test in Excel and get a sample size estimate using G*Power.

This device will calculate the note length in (milliseconds and Hz) based on the BPM input. Useful for timing decay, delay, envelope loops, etc.. to your music. 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, 1/64...

For nearly 15 years, National Medal of the Arts award-winning poet and author Julia Alvarez has focused on writing picture books and novels for children. But earlier this year, she published her first novel for adults in more than a decade, called Afterlife . The protagonist, Antonia Vega, is a woman in her late 60s reckoning with isolation and her new identity after her husband’s sudden death. In a world upended by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and wrestling with its own kind of communal grief, the themes of the novel resonate in ways that Alvarez never could have predicted.

Just about everybody can recall an influential teacher who nurtured and inspired them. But not all great teachers are “warm and fuzzy.” In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton explore dealing with fantastic teachers who have challenging personalities. Ed recalls a wonderful Philosophy teacher...

Fewer college students than you might think make it from Freshman orientation all the way to graduation. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss why students drop out, and what colleges and universities can do to help them stay in. David Kirp’s book...

Sometimes an online configuration and spec sheet is worth 1000 words. And yeah, if you want to see why some users in the pro market are switching OSes - this sums it up.

The post Apple sticker shock? Try this simple experiment – look at Razer’s configuration page appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

It's a rarified way of making music - the ultra-minimal monome grid and norns open music platform. But what is it really about? We turn to reviewer Andreas Roman to find out.

The post monome’s alternative musical world: a hands-on creative expedition with norns and grid appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

We have been separated from God because of our sin. God created us to be with Him. The plan of salvation is about how to get back into the presence of God.

Joanna Stern returns to the show to talk about working from home, the utter suckitude of laptop webcams, the new MacBook Air, and Face ID in our new world of face-mask-wearing.

We have been separated from God because of our sin. God created us to be with Him. The plan of salvation is about how to get back into the presence of God.

Abandoning the case is the latest step in a pattern of dismantling the work of the Russia investigators. A former prosecutor likened it to eating the department from the inside out.

Seattle is closing more than a dozen of the city’s largest and most popular parks for the weekend because officials are worried about people crowding into the parks to enjoy the pleasant spring weather and spreading the novel coronavirus to each other, Mayor Jenny Durkan said Thursday.

A "virus" decimated in-game cities. Player behavior may prove instructive for researchers projecting the spread of covid-19.

Chuck Jaffe: As they shelter at home, Americans have been building their knowledge on seemingly every subject. That doesn't make them financial experts.

NO DISRESPECT TO anybody who really loves the winter holiday season, but for most gardeners, spring is actually “the most wonderful time of the year.” Here in the Northwest, spring starts early. March is the de facto launch of each year’s vegetable garden season. Of course, with proper planning, you can have crops in the […]

Seattle real estate is expected to be a hotspot next year, continuing a long trend of investing and building. But the prospects for housebuilding are more muted.

Starbucks' U.S. experience is similar to that of McDonald's, which Wednesday announced a dramatic contraction in March after what had been a healthy pace of sales.

Fans holding tickets for MLB games in 2020 could be notified as soon as Wednesday about options for exchanges or in some cases refunds, with specific ticket policies to be decided by individual teams.

SO MUCH IS so sweet here — with virtually zero DIY experience, but decades of memories and dreams (and only two trips to the ER), Ty Warren successfully pulled off the lovely-on-many-levels remodel of his childhood home in Kenmore — but the sweetest might be how we learned of this sentimental act of derring-do-it-himself in […]

Responses to Ron Judd's September cover story on social-media site Nextdoor mostly confirmed his satire wasn't too far from reality.

IT WAS ONE of my first years covering spring training in Arizona, during a stint in the early 1990s as the San Francisco Giants beat writer for the San Francisco Examiner. Every day, after our work was done, Bay Area media members would assemble at a Scottsdale park for a pickup basketball game, spirited affairs […]

Times reporter Bob Young and a trio of marijuana experts held a live chat on Friday. State Liquor Control Board Deputy Director Rick Garza, ACLU of Washington drug-policy director Alison Holcomb, and dispensary owner John Davis all answered questions on marijuana legalization. Read their comments below. [do action=”scribblelive” chatid=”110649″ width=”630″ height=”500″/]  

Chuck Jaffe: As they shelter at home, Americans have been building their knowledge on seemingly every subject. That doesn't make them financial experts.

DO NOT PICK your own mushrooms. Not alone, anyway, and I bother to say this because you probably want to. Tromping through the fecund woods, you would see little trumpets and toadstools winking at you from under every dripping leaf and at the base of every moss-covered tree, and you’d want to pick them and […]

If you work in a senior or long-term care facility in Washington, we want to hear from you and learn how you have navigated the challenges of your job both before and during the pandemic.

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese spaceship is working normally in orbit, with its solar panels in position and a communication link established, the government said Thursday. The craft was launched aboard a new heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March 5B, from Hainan island Tuesday. It’s on a experimental mission without any crew, but the capsule […]

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese spaceship is working normally in orbit, with its solar panels in position and a communication link established, the government said Thursday. The craft was launched aboard a new heavy-lift carrier rocket, the Long March 5B, from Hainan island Tuesday. It’s on a experimental mission without any crew, but the capsule […]

Vlatko Andonovski is well aware of the expectations he faces as the new coach of the U.S women's national team. His predecessor, Jill Ellis, led the team to consecutive World Cup titles — an accomplishment her successor can only hope to equal.

Classes will likely be very different, UW President Ana Mari Cauce said during a virtual town hall on Friday. “I don’t think any university leader can say it’s going to be business as usual, or back to normal.”

By the end of December, snowpack statewide was only half the long-term average The vast and vital frozen reservoir provides water that supports fish, farm irrigation and power generation.

While there’s still uncertainty about the cause of Beekman's death, individual accounts from teammates leave little ambiguity as to the character of the person behind the No. 26 jersey.

A Seattle expert is estimating about 20,000 people in the U.S. are now infected with the new coronavirus, nearly 10 times more than the roughly 2,300 confirmed cases. Trevor Bedford, a computational biologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, posted his estimates in a series of 13 tweets Friday night. “I could easily be […]

The study will add a "real-time" element to what UW researchers already know about social isolation, loneliness and their related health risks.

It is very difficult for people hospitalized with COVID-19 to communicate with their families. At one medical center, psychologists are helping with some of those tough conversations.

Eerder dan gedacht kondigde het kabinet deze week een 'routekaart' aan met versoepelingen. De veranderingen die volgende week ingaan, zijn door de modelleurs van het RIVM nauwkeurig doorgerekend. Maar wat de grotere versoepelingen die later gepland staan voor effect hebben, is nog onduidelijk.

Toch zijn ze bij het RIVM niet bang dat het opheffen van de maatregelen tot een nieuwe golf aan besmettingen leidt. Ze maken zich meer zorgen over de vraag of mensen zich wel aan de basisregels - handen wassen, afstand houden en thuisblijven bij ziekte - blijven houden. "De onzekerheden zijn best wel groot", zeggen hoofd infectieziektebestrijding Jaap van Dissel en Jacco Wallinga, bij het RIVM verantwoordelijk voor de rekenmodellen.

De NOS sprak met hen over het risico om nu al versoepelingen voor de zomer af te kondigen en waarom ze mensen niet gaan adviseren zelfgemaakte mondkapjes te dragen.

Vorige week vonden jullie het nog te vroeg voor een exitstrategie, en nu ligt er een exitstrategie. Wat is er in een paar dagen gebeurd?

Van Dissel: "Wij zeiden niet dat er geen exitstrategie mogelijk was. Waar het vorige week over ging, is of je al een heel plan tot aan november kunt vaststellen. En daarvan hebben we gezegd: we monitoren, we kijken wat er gebeurt, en op grond daarvan ga je stappen zetten. En dat is in feite ook de logica van wat er nu gepresenteerd is. En er is afgesproken dat steeds voordat de volgende stap plaatsvindt, het kabinet naar alle waarschijnlijkheid vragen zal stellen aan het Outbreak Management Team (OMT), zodat we dingen kunnen doorrekenen."

De exitstrategie is dus: trial and error, kijken hoe het gaat en hoe we eruit komen?

Van Dissel: "Trial and error klinkt alsof er te weinig bekend is. De logica zit er vooral in dat de eerste stappen met name gericht zijn op het vrijgeven van lokale en van individuele activiteiten: in eigen stad en persoon-op-persoon contact. Terwijl je ziet dat naarmate je verder komt in de routekaart, afhankelijk van het effect van de versoepelingen, ook meer de gezamenlijke en regionale activiteiten een rol krijgen."

De effecten van de versoepelingen van volgende week zijn doorgerekend. Hebben jullie ook doorgerekend wat er gebeurt als de terrassen en musea na 1 juni weer opengaan?

Wallinga: "Nee, dat komt later. Wij doen het in stapjes. Als we alles vooruit zouden rekenen, dan stapelen we onzekerheid op onzekerheid. Daar kun je niet zoveel mee."

Maar kun je wel schatten wat de impact gaat zijn?

Wallinga: "Eigenlijk niet. Onze berekeningen over de versoepelingen van volgende week geven aan hoe het gaat onder gelijkblijvende omstandigheden. Misschien is dat wel een beetje misleidend: we weten ook dat die omstandigheden niet gelijk blijven. Mensen gaan op een gegeven moment hun gedrag aanpassen. Die onzekerheden zijn best wel groot."

Wallinga: "We weten bijvoorbeeld niet hoe de basisregels, handen wassen en afstand houden, worden nageleefd in de zomervakantie. En dat gaat best wel veel verschil maken. Dat is voor ons de grote onzekerheid. En misschien zou dat effect belangrijker kunnen zijn dan het effect van een van de pakketten met versoepelingen."

"Waar ik zelf heel erg naar kijk, is de stijging van het besmettingsgetal in Denemarken. Dat valt niet samen met het openen van de scholen daar. Maar het zou wel kunnen samenvallen met de aankondiging van het openen van de scholen. Wat misschien een effect is - zeg ik naar aanleiding van de persconferentie nu - is dat mensen denken: 'ach het gaat allemaal wel meevallen', en dat ze die basisregels niet naleven."

Was het dan wel verstandig van het kabinet om nu al een routekaart voor de zomer te presenteren?

Wallinga: "Dat is een beleidsvraag. Wij rekenen alleen de gevolgen uit. Die vraag moet je echt in Den Haag stellen."

Hoeveel mensen worden er op dit moment nog besmet?

Wallinga: "Dat weten we op dit moment niet. De laatste schatting is van bijna een maand terug. Wij konden dat tot een paar weken geleden nog wel reconstrueren, maar voor de meest recente weken lukt dat niet meer goed. Omdat er bijvoorbeeld bij de Nivel-peilstations, de huisartsen, te weinig positief geteste mensen komen."

Hoe controleren jullie dan of het aantal besmettingen oploopt?

Wallinga: "Dat is een belangrijke vraag. We hebben natuurlijk de ziekenhuisopnames, IC-opnames en de berekening van het besmettingsgetal. Maar die lopen allemaal achter op de besmettingen. We hebben ook snellere indicatoren, zoals de infectieradar: een website waar mensen klachten kunnen doorgeven."

Van Dissel: "En belangrijk is natuurlijk ook dat er wordt gewerkt aan de testuitbreiding. Dat het straks mogelijk is om iedereen met klachten te testen, dat is natuurlijk een hele snelle indicator."

Is het een harde voorwaarde voor versoepeling dat het testen op 1 juni op orde is?

Van Dissel: "We hebben gezegd dat we graag zien dat het op orde is. Maar het zou onwaarschijnlijk zijn dat er zich een geweldige uitbreiding van besmettingen voordoet, zonder dat we het zien bij de Nivel-peilstations. Het kan allemaal, maar is onwaarschijnlijk."

Opnieuw ging het deze week over de mondkapjes. Het kabinet heeft besloten vanaf 1 juni mondmaskers in het openbaar vervoer te verplichten. Een besluit dat niet is genomen op advies van het OMT. Volgens Van Dissel is er "onvoldoende wetenschappelijk ondersteuning om daar een positief advies over te geven".

Hij stelt dat alle wetenschappelijke studies gedaan zijn in een situatie waarin mensen in de publieke ruimte geen afstand hielden, handen wasten en thuis bleven bij ziekte. "En zelfs dan vind je maar in een paar studies een klein beetje effect", aldus Van Dissel.

Twee weken geleden ging u nog verder. Toen zei u dat er studies zijn die zeggen dat specifiek de zelfgemaakte maskers kunnen leiden tot meer infecties.

Van Dissel: "Dat is ook zo. Een deel van de onderzoeken toont aan dat je een schijnveiligheid creëert, bijvoorbeeld bij verkeerd gebruik. Dat is een beetje het punt. Tegelijkertijd zie je dat alle Europese landen ongeveer tot een zelfde beoordeling komen. En dan kunnen landen nog steeds kiezen. Een aantal landen zegt dan: we adviseren niks, zoals de Scandinavische landen. En er zijn landen die zeggen: er zijn wat studies die toch wat effect laten zien, en als men mondkapjes dan op een goede manier worden gebruikt, dan vinden we het vanuit de politiek toch een zinvolle maatregel."

Maar waarom adviseert u dan niet: kies dan voor de iets betere mondmaskers, die je kunt kopen bij de drogisterij, en niet de zelfgemaakte?

Van Dissel: "Dan moet ik je toch naar het beleid verwijzen. Want onze mening is helder. Maar hier ontstaat natuurlijk een markt, waarbij het makkelijk is om ze aan te schaffen in een automaat bij het station of in de supermarkt. Dus niet iedereen hoeft ze zelf te gaan knippen en naaien."

China's exports expanded in April despite the global outbreak of coronavirus, or covid-19, pandemic hurting global demand, data from the General Administration of Customs revealed Thursday. In dollar terms, exports grew 3.5 percent on a yearly basis in April, confounding expectations for a decline of 12.1 percent. Shipments had declined 6.6 percent in March.

Indonesia's economic growth eased more than expected in the first quarter as the coronavirus, or Covid-19, outbreak weighed heavily on consumption, investment and tourism, official data showed Tuesday. Gross domestic product climbed 2.97 percent on a yearly basis in the first quarter, much slower than the 4.97 percent expansion seen in the fourth quarter.

While reporting financial results for the first quarter on Friday, Northwest Natural Holding Co. (NWN) on Friday reaffirmed its earnings from continuing operations guidance for the full-year 2020, but now expected toward the lower end of the range given potential effects from the COVID-19.

Shares of Roku Inc. (ROKU) are currently slipping over more 6% on Friday morning after the video streaming platform shared a downbeat outlook for ad revenues going forward.

German stocks advanced on Thursday after China's exports saw a surprise 3.5 percent rise in April despite the global impact of the coronavirus pandemic, reflecting a faster-than-anticipated recovery in production.

The Taiwan stock market has finished higher in two straight sessions, gathering more than 50 points or 0.5 percent along the way. The Taiwan Stock Exchange remains just beneath the 10,775-point plateau and it's expected to remain in that neighborhood again on Thursday.