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Like a macabre odometer that wont stop spinning, the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus steadily ticks upward, day after day, reducing the deceased to a mere statistic. Attempting to bring human faces to these cold numbers, a team of Northeastern journalism students are chronicling the lost lives of these moms, dads, sisters, and unclesand, in the process, are learning a lot about themselves.

Every time I look at the coronavirus statistics, I remember that these numbers are not just numbers; They are people, says Sharmila Kuthunur, one of several student journalists who took part in a class writing assignment to capture the spirit of the mostly elderly people who diedoften alone and without family and friends by their sidefrom the coronavirus. The elegies are then published in The Boston Globe.

One of the deceased was William Aldrich, who died at 84 earlier this year. Kuthunur captured him in these words:

He often puttered around his house, his handy toolbox in tow, finding things to fix and projects to take on.

One Christmas, not only did he build a large wooden dollhouse, but he also furnished its rooms with miniature beds, tables and chairs, and hung tiny frames of family photos on its walls. He presented the completed dollhouse to his daughter as a gift from Santa Claus.

Kuthunur says it was a challenge to sum up a life in 600 words, but she remains grateful to the Aldrich family for sharing the many details that helped her do her job. I got to know this person through his familys eyes and experiences, says the graduate student.

These are the sorts of moments and details that we want to try to capture, says Carlene Hempel, a teaching professor in the School of Journalism, of the personalized elegies. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

She likes the fact that the Globe makes it a point to concentrate on the little things that made the deceased who they were, rather than focusing on how they died.

If you look at the published elegies, not one mentions COVID-19 in detail. The focus is always on the lives they lived, she points out.

An elegy is different in substance and form to the more common obituary, explains Carlene Hempel, a former reporter turned teaching professor in Northeasterns journalism department. They try to capture an aspect of the victims life as opposed to an obituary, which is sort of a review of the totality of their life, she says.

Hempel connected over Zoom in the summer with Roy Greene, the Globes assistant news editor and its former obituary editor. He says the paper started doing the elegies in the spring with its own staff before an infection surge forced the paper to deploy reporters to other stories, resulting in the elegy project losing steam.

Ensuing conversations between Globe staff, assistant professor of journalism Meg Heckman, and other Northeastern faculty resulted in a go-forward plan to resurrect a database of victims created by the paper. The daily gave journalism professors access to it, and the students took it from there.

When the project first began, the death toll in Massachusetts (almost all of the dead lived in the state) from the virus was around 9,000, Hempel says. Months later it was up to about 10,000. The Globe will never get to write about 10,000 people, she says. The idea was to eulogize as many as possible.

That includes people of color, Greene adds. They are predominantly affected by COVID-19, so were trying to make that a priority.

Northeastern journalism students, as well as faculty, will have penned about 100 elegies in all, says Hempel. More than 30 of them have been posted to the Globes elegies landing page while slightly fewer have made it into the papers print version. Not all will make it into print because of competing space for other stories, says Greene.

Still, the project has been such a success that plans are already in place to continue the elegies in the spring semester, he adds.

The writing assignment brought family members raw emotions to the surface, something for which students werent prepared. Some of the surviving kin were quite upset at how their relatives died alone in nursing homes and hospitals. The anguish and the bitterness and the resentment spilled over into some of these conversations, Hempel recalls.

Other relatives, however, have been thrilled to talk, says Kelly Chan, a second-year student pursuing a journalism degree with a photojournalism minor. She spoke with the families of two women who died in their late 80s. Chan eulogized one of them in the following lines:

Lillian Lita Siagels career was focused on floral design, but she found beauty in everything she did.

She painted her alpine boots pink 40 years ago, said Errin Siagel, Litas youngest son. She painted the toilet seat in our house when I was 5. She glued rhinestones on her sunglasses. She was just one of these crazy artistic people.

Chans other elegy opened with this introduction:

Lieselotte Serven was stunning, her daughter, Evelyn Rezendes, recalled. She was known for impeccable taste, with matching clothes and jewelry, painted nails, and a perfect hairdo.

Anyone who knew my mother knew that she never had a hair out of place. She always looked beautiful, Evelyn said. As a child growing up, my mother went every week to get her hair done. Every single week.

The conversations were as cathartic for Chan as they were for the families because they caused her to re-examine what was most important. The talk with Servens daughter made me rethink my relationship with my parents and rethink how I should lead my life, the New Jersey native says.

For Kuthunur, the other journalism student, family is a 17-hour flight away in India. Sometimes, I wish I were closer so that I could visit them more often, the Boston-based Kuthunur says. Missing those in her inner circle allowed her to approach the elegy assignment with greater empathy, she says.

It is worth noting that many of the students, as accomplished writers as they may be, are only in their late teens, and were suddenly thrust into real-world reporting, which can get messy at times, says Hempel.

Every single one of them rose to the occasion, she says. They put forth not only an amazing piece of journalism, but an amazing tribute.

Hempel fondly recalls the little details of her own grandmothers life, from her singing voice to the Italian meals around the dinner table on Sundays. These are the things that carry on through life, she says. These are the sorts of moments and details that we want to try to capture.

For media inquiries, please contact media@northeastern.edu.

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These Northeastern students made sure that COVID-19 victims' stories were told in the Boston Globe - News@Northeastern

As the holiday season ramps up, daily schedules can easily fill with the demands of the season, like shopping, cooking, wrapping and planning. To avoid overload, its all too easy to shift self-care priorities like regular exercise to the bottom of the list. Skipping workouts, however, can actually make it more difficult for our bodies and minds to deal with added holiday stressors.

Instead of letting exercise slide, taking a less-is-more approach to working out will enable you to avoid schedule overload without sacrificing your health. By training smarter, not longer, you can increase time available for holiday to-dos while still decreasing the impact of seasonal treats on the waistline. This plan will also help reduce stress and safeguard your overall well-being.

Below, I outline four strategies to help you stay fit during the holiday season.

Important note: If you experience pain while performing any of the exercises, stop immediately. Check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program.

One of the best ways to train smarter, not harder, in this busy time of year is to ensure youre exercising consistently at least a few minutes every day by making it a habit. And one of the most effective ways to create a daily habit that sticks is to stack it on an existing one.

Consider some of common everyday habits that are so ingrained in your routine, you automatically do them, such as brushing your teeth, showering and making your bed. By adding an exercise right before, during or directly after one of those habits, its easier to make it stick in your daily routine. For example, for nearly eight years now, Ive been doing 50 body-weight squats or two-minute wall sits while I brush my teeth.

It wasnt until a couple years ago when I read James Clears book Atomic Habits that I realized what Id been doing was called habit stacking.

In a blog post on Clears website, he explains why synaptic pruning in our brains supports habit stacking. Connections (synapses) between neurons in our brains, he wrote, decrease when not used and strengthen when used frequently. Consequently, existing habits have stronger synaptic connections that we can leverage through habit stacking to create new habits.

Thats why my squat habit while toothbrushing was so easy to start and maintain. After reading Clears blog, I also added 10 push-ups before showering to my daily routine and I formed that habit easily as well!

What daily habits could you stack with different forms of exercise?

Feel free to use mine or come up with your own. Maybe 30 jumping jacks before morning coffee? Or 20 alternating step-back lunges right after putting on your shoes? Choose what feels right for you to slot into your routine.

Although spending time on your smartphone might seem like a habit, its usually more of a time waster that happens sporadically throughout the day rather than a natural part of a daily routine. And leading up to the holidays, many people experience an increase in mobile screen time. Whether people are online shopping, answering texts or scrolling social media to keep up with friends holiday plans, many folks inevitably spend a significant chunk of the day looking down at their phones.

What if you could make even a fraction of that time better for your health? And maybe even dissuade yourself from spending so much time looking at your phone? You can by incorporating posture-improving, core and leg-strengthening wall sits in your smartphone time.

By design, wall sits are challenging. So, even though theyre good for you, you arent going to want to hold them for very long or do very many sets. So if you pair them with your smartphone time, youll likely reduce your scrolling minutes just to avoid them which isnt a bad thing for your mental health.

How to do a wall sit:

Stand with your head and back flat against a wall and your feet hip-distance apart.

Step your feet forward about 18 to 24 inches as you slide down the wall into a squat position where your knees align with your hips and thighs are parallel to the floor (see top photo).

If keeping your thighs parallel to the floor is too tough to maintain, only slide down the wall until you feel a challenging muscular effort you can sustain for at least 30 seconds. As you get stronger, youll be able to go deeper.

Engage your core as you continue pressing your back into the wall.

Try to hold this position for at least 30 seconds at a time or as long as you can comfortably while continuing your mobile tasks.

Dont bend your neck to look down at your phone! Give your text neck a break and your posture a boost by keeping the back of your head against the wall while holding your phone up to meet your gaze.

In between wall sits, stand upright, take a few deep breaths and repeat.

Even at the height of the holiday bustle, strive to find four minutes to exercise a few times per week. And less really is more with high-intensity interval training, or HIIT. Studies have shown that HIIT can burn 25% to 30% more calories in a shorter amount of time than other forms of exercise while also being effective at decreasing visceral (or belly) fat without dietary changes.

So, if youre up to the challenge of maintaining periods of elevated heart rate alternated with short recovery periods, four-minute Tabata-style HIIT workouts could be your time-efficient recipe for staying fit over the holidays.

Tabata drills, created by Japanese scientist Izumi Tabata, consist of the same exercise performed through eight rounds of 20 seconds of activity and 10 seconds of rest for a total of four minutes. You can use almost any body-weight exercise, but I recommend selecting one that requires a total-body effort and fits your current fitness level and preference.

For instance, mountain climbers and jumping jacks are two very different, yet effective, total-body exercises. Because I prefer a more intense, core-oriented challenge with this drill, I use mountain climbers.

How to perform mountain climbers Tabata style:

Set your phones timer for four minutes.

Begin in a plank position with your core engaged and back flat.

Place your phone on the floor in front of you, so you can easily see and reach it.

Hit start on your time and begin doing mountain climbers, by alternating bringing each knee up to your chest, then back to plank position, at a pace you can sustain throughout the drill.

When the timer hits the 3:40 mark, rest for 10 seconds and restart at the 3:30 mark.

Rest again at 3:10 and begin again at 3:00.

Repeat through all four minutes.

Despite all their splendor, the holidays take a toll on both our mental and physical health. Family demands like shopping and cooking and indulgences such as increased intake of high-fat, high-sugar treats and alcohol consumption deliver stressors of all types. And the shorter, darker days of winter make it even harder on some.

To recover from this onslaught of stress, its important to get adequate sleep and take intentional mental and physical energy breaks. Prioritizing recovery is important all the time but especially during the holidays. Consequently, this is one area where less is not more more is more.

Get all the sleep you need: Your body needs sleep to repair and replenish itself, so dont skimp on it in your schedule. If youre having trouble falling or staying asleep, try my pre-bedtime six-minute routine based on programs I use with pro-athlete clients.

Feel like you need a nap? You probably do! A 15- or 25-minute nap can provide a much-needed energy boost.

Take breaks to recharge: Its important to unplug at least once a day. That means taking at least a few minutes away from all your tasks and yes, your phone to revitalize your mind and body. You can do this by practicing a mindfulness meditation or breathing exercise, taking a walk or simply relaxing in a comfortable position, like this legs-up-the-wall pose.

Staying fit over the holidays doesnt have to mean depriving yourself of all the seasons treats; it just requires a more strategic approach to fitness. And following the tips above will create healthy lifestyle changes that will continue to serve you long after the holidays pass.

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4 ways to stay fit and stress less during the holidays - kuna noticias y kuna radio

Physical activity may have an important role in the prevention of osteoporosis among individuals aged at least 65 years, according to results of systematic review published in International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

As limited data are available on the association between physical activity and osteoporosis prevention in the elderly, the objective of the current review was to explore the role of physical activity in the primary prevention of osteoporosis among individuals aged at least 65 years. With this review, the study authors aimed to inform the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior.

The analysis included reviews and studies published in PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and SPORTDiscus. Eligibility criteria were records that included individuals aged at least 65 years; a greater volume, duration, frequency, or intensity of physical activity; control participants; and outcome-related measures, such as bone mineral density (BMD). The primary outcome of the current review was osteoporosis, as defined by the WHO on the basis of BMD measurement relative to reference values of young adults of the same sex.

A total of 59 studies, including 12 observational studies and 47 trials, were included in the analysis. Included study results reported on a range of different outcomes, including measures of BMD and bone mineral content; however, none of them reported diagnosis of osteoporosis as an outcome measure.

Review findings indicated moderate-quality evidence that physical activity may have a significant effect on bone health, especially lumbar BMD (standardized effect size, 0.17; 95% CI, 0.04-0.30; 11 trials), while there was low-certainty evidence for femoral neck BMD, from which a small and nonsignificant effect was observed (standardized effect size, 0.09; 95% CI, -0.03 to 0.21; 14 trials).

The optimal exercise intervention to prevent osteoporosis was not clear; however, according to available data, the effect of physical exercise programs that included multiple exercise types and resistance exercises was greater. Study authors noted a dose-response relationship between physical exercise and bone protective effect. Typical programs for which significant intervention impact were detected in trials were undertaken for at least 60 minutes, twice or thrice a week for at least 7 months.

The study had several limitations, including low overall quality of the eligible studies, the small sample size of trials, and the relatively short follow-up period. Furthermore, as most studies did not use the absence of osteoporosis at baseline as an inclusion criterion, it was likely that the studies included data of individuals with mixed bone health status.

The studies included in this review suggest that physical activity is likely to play a role in the prevention of osteoporosis in older people, the study authors concluded.

Pinheiro MB, Oliveira J, Bauman A, Fairhall N, Kwok W, Sherrington C. Evidence on physical activity and osteoporosis prevention for people aged 65+ years: a systematic review to inform the WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behavior. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. Published online November 26, 2020. doi:10.1186/s12966-020-01040-4

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Physical Activity May Be Important in the Prevention of Osteoporosis - Rheumatology Advisor

We review Apple's AirPods Max headphones, Apple Fitness+ launches, plus an update on ProRaw format, and Facebook is attacking Apple over its iOS 14 ad privacy program.

Apple has launched AirPods Max, its high-end noise cancelling over-the-ear headphones. At the price of $549 many are comparing these to other noise cancelling headphones that cost hundreds of dollars less, but now that we've been using them, there are features that set AirPods Max apart.

We discuss the overall hardware design and build quality, but then go truly in-depth on sound quality in various styles of music from classical to jazz fusion. You can check out some of our test tracks in the links below, on your AirPods Max, or any headphones.

In addition to music quality, the AirPods Max also brings Spatial Audio, previously only available on AirPods Pro, to a new level. We discuss what this adds to the experience of watching movies and TV shows, plus how the noise cancelling feature performs in loud environments.

Then Apple's Fitness+ service launched earlier this week, and we've being doing many workouts in the strength training and core categories. What we perhaps like the most is how the integration between Apple Watch and Apple TV allows a user's heart rate and Activity rings to display on screen.

What we like the least, though, is how Fitness+ is for one person at a time. We would really like to see the ability for multiple users to workout simultaneously. Plus Apple could add progressive exercise programs, and it would be good to make the background styles of music available across all workouts.

As we listen to music and do our workouts, Facebook is going in to battle against Apple. The social media giant says iOS 14's privacy program will be "devastating" for small businesses.

Users are going be able to opt-out of sharing their personal information with in-app ad-tracking, and Facebook says this will change the internet as we know it, "for the worse." Apple, on the other hand, believes users should be made aware of how an app is tracking and using their information and recently launched privacy "nutrition" labels in the App Store as well.

We'd love to interact with you on Twitter. If you have questions or comments on the show, tweet at @stephenrobles and @Hillitech, or email us here. Find us in your favorite podcast player by searching for "AppleInsider" and support the show by leaving a 5-Star rating and comment in Apple Podcasts .

Tune in to our HomeKit Insider podcast covering the latest news, products, apps and everything HomeKit related. Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or just search for HomeKit Insider wherever you get your podcasts.

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AirPods Max, Fitness+, Facebook vs. Apple on the AppleInsider podcast - AppleInsider

No one will ever accuse President Trump of being overly careful in his exercise of his pardon power.

So, it makes sense that advocates of Edward Snowden, the man responsible for the most damaging classified leak in U.S. history, are mounting a last-minute push to get the president who pardoned Sheriff Joe and Roger Stone to issue his most outrageous and indefensible pardon yet.

Its a transpartisan alliance. Glenn Greenwald, Snowdens journalistic partner and foremost advocate, has, of course, been banging the drum. Rose McGowan has urged Trump on Twitter to be punk as (expletive)- and pardon Snowden. Renegade Democratic Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is on board, as are Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Matt Gaetz.

As Trumps presidency winds down, his power to grant clemency will be even more alluring to him, and he said over the summer that hes considering a Snowden pardon.

Working for a National Security Agency contractor, Snowden stole massive amounts of classified material and began sharing it with journalists in 2013. When the Justice Department filed criminal charges, he fled to Russia, which kindly provided him asylum and recently permanent residency.Snowden is a self-styled whistleblower. He says he was motivated by his constitutional qualms about an NSA bulk data collection program and his disgust with official deceptions about the program.

None of this holds up. If Snowden wanted to be a genuine whistleblower, he could have pursued concerns about the NSA program through lawful avenues instead of fleeing the country and purloining so many documents that authorities still cant be sure how much he stole.

The Snowden disclosures were much more wide-ranging than the NSA program, in fact so wide-ranging that its almost impossible to keep track. As Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith has asked, why did Snowdens devotion to the Constitution require him to disclose details of how we spy on other countries, how we cooperate with Sweden and Norway to spy on Russia, or an NSA program called MasterMind to respond to cyberattacks?

None of these programs or actions raise any constitutional issues whatsoever. Exposing them makes sense only as sheer nihilism i.e., Snowden was in a position to steal the information, so why not take it and disclose it? or as a calculated act of hostility to U.S. national security policy as such.

Snowdens defenders say not to worry, that Snowden and the journalists reporting on his documents have been careful not to disclose anything needlessly damaging to the U.S. and its allies. But there is no reason that the responsibility for protecting sensitive information involving no crimes or government misconduct should, via Snowdens theft, have been transferred from U.S. officials to assorted reporters and editors.

Its also naive to believe that Snowden was allowed to make a home in Vladimir Putins Russia without the government exploiting his trove of secrets.

The presidents pardon power is plenary, but that doesnt mean it should be wielded with no standards whatsoever. Traditionally, the Justice Department looks for contrition when reviewing possible exercises of clemency.

Not only does Snowden exhibit none, we dont even know the full scope of his offense, and he remains a fugitive through the good offices of an enemy of the United States.

Surely, Trump will be bombarded with bad ideas in the final days of his presidency, but pardoning Edward Snowden has to rank among the worst.

Rich Lowry is editor of the National Review.

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Trump shouldnt give pardon to Snowden - Boston Herald

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons report a spike in injuries as many people resort to at-home exercises.

Rosemont, Ill., Dec. 18, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons report a spike in injuries as many people resort to at-home exercises. Follow these tips to stay active and avoid foot and ankle pain while at home during this difficult time.

The most common injuries were seeing are ankle fractures, sprains, and toe fractures, said foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon, Sudheer C. Reddy, MD, from Shady Grove Orthopaedics in Maryland. I typically recommend sticking to low-impact strengthening exercises or cardiac programs such as running in place or doing jumping jacks.

Raymond J. Walls, MD, a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon from Yale Orthopaedics and Rehab in Connecticut, suggests patients participate in fitness classes over Zoom or other social media platforms with friends for motivation and safe social interaction.

Drs. Reddy and Walls encourage patients to stay active while at home, and offer these five tips to keep your feet and ankles injury free:

If you do injure your foot or ankle, Drs. Reddy and Walls recommend applying ice to the area, consider taking anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin, and resting for a few days to allow the injury to heal. If you notice swelling, bumps, bruises, or discoloration around the injury, see a foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeon for an examination and treatment.

For more ways to keep your feet and ankles healthy at home, visit FootCareMD.

About Foot and Ankle Orthopaedic Surgeons

Foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons are medical doctors (MD and DO) who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries of the foot and ankle. Their education and training consist of four years of medical school, five years of postgraduate residency, and a fellowship year of specialized surgical training. These specialists care for patients of all ages, performing reconstructive surgery for deformities and arthritis, treating sports injuries, and managing foot and ankle trauma.

About the AOFAS

The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) mobilizes our dynamic community of foot and ankle orthopaedic surgeons to improve patient care through education, research, and advocacy. As the premier global organization for foot and ankle care, AOFAS delivers exceptional events and resources for continuous education, funds and promotes innovative research, and broadens patient understanding of foot and ankle conditions and treatments. By emphasizing collaboration and excellence, AOFAS inspires ever-increasing levels of professional performance leading to improved patient outcomes. For more information visit the American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society online at aofas.org.

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5 Ways to Prevent Foot and Ankle Injuries at Home - GlobeNewswire

In the summer of 2001, I made my first attempt at self-improvement. One of the teen magazines I begged my mom to buy me had a section of ab workouts that promised to turn my nearly 11-year-old body into something akin to Britney Spears's. Every night, I spent 20 minutes doing what amounted to neck crunches. They did not turn me into an early aughts pop star, but they did birth a longstanding addiction to molding myself into someone better.

In 2004, I started running. In the summer of 2005, I read "He's Just Not That Into You" to better understand why all the boys in school rejected me. In 2015, I started doing yoga. In 2017, I read pop psychology books on codependency and picked up Pilates. In 2018, I watched YouTube tutorials so I could put on eye makeup without looking like I got punched in the face.

I bought free weights. I bought a planner. I read articles on how not to be single. I tried feng shui and meditation. I went to networking events and parties that might as well have been networking events. I deep-conditioned my hair.

The goal was to make myself better, thinner, prettier, smarter, more emotionally grounded, more appealing to men, more successful in my career. The endeavors were tiring, but they were necessary. Without constantly bettering myself, I would sink, like a shark. Worse, I'd be worthless.

Then the pandemic hit, and I gave up.

I didn't sleep. I didn't eat. I didn't exercise. I didn't get dressed. I didn't wear makeup. I didn't read. I ignored my planner. Ordinarily a workaholic freelance journalist, I stopped pitching and writing. I was depressed and terrified and lonely and terribly sad, and the only thing my body wanted to do was sit on the couch and let other people's stories wash over me. I don't even remember what I watched. I gave up on letting any of it penetrate.

A few stars of "Real Housewives: Salt Lake City," which I watch religiously. Bravo/Contributor/Getty

Now that the initial shock of all this has passed, I've become marginally more functional. (Sometimes, I actually leave the house.) But the urge to make myself better has not yet returned.

I don't care about learning a language or pitching an ambitious story or mastering an alluring cat-eye. I gave up on running and forward folds. I gave up on moving forward at all. March turned into April turned into May turned into June, and all I learned to do was stop crying.

The quest for self-improvement has long propelled people. In recent years it has felt inescapable, like we all live inside a Silicon Valley startup that prizes optimization at the expense of everything else. The economy runs on pop psychology books and diet fads and increasingly expensive exercise programs. People buy new clothes and take personality quizzes and hand over rent money to Sephora. Be prettier, we're told. Be thinner, smarter, younger, more desirable, more accomplished, richer, and all-around better.

Friends and strangers alike say they can't finish a book, get their work done, or put on pants. With a federal government that gave up trying to fight a deadly pandemic that has now killed hundreds of thousands, the economy faltering in fits and starts, a looming eviction crisis, a likely future depression, and an extended period of isolation and crippling social distance, just getting out of bed is an accomplishment.

New York City, where I live, became a ghost town in March. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

We are focused on staying healthy. We are focused on staying employed, if possible. We are focused on feeding ourselves. We are focused on not panicking. That's a lot more work than learning a perfect cat-eye. Even the things people picked up in quarantine cooking, baking, biking feel more like an act of survival than self-improvement. As my friend Molly put it, "We are keeping ourselves alive. Everything else is fluff."

Another friend has been working at two bars in Brooklyn throughout the pandemic. Between overstretching herself to make ends meet, dealing with customers who refuse to follow rules, and fearing constantly she'll lose her job, she is burnt out and overwhelmed.

"My therapist recently asked me what I was doing to take care of myself and have self-care, and my reaction was to laugh out loud," she told me. "She was like, 'Well, what are you doing to take care of yourself?' I did not have an answer for her." For fun, she says, she watches reality TV.

In many ways, it's been freeing. It is easier to care less, to do less, to want to be less instead of more. I have more time to watch TV now that I'm not watching YouTube makeup tutorials. I save money by not buying pop psychology books. No one's breaking my heart because I'm not looking for love. I don't get disappointed in myself because I'm never falling short of the self-improving expectations I haven't set.

At the same time, I miss the drive. There is promise in self-improvement. There is hope. There is the belief, wrong or right, that when you are better, things will be better, and right now, it doesn't feel like things will be better anytime soon. More than 300,000 Americans are dead, and more will follow. Jobs are lost, and more will follow. The world as we knew it has changed significantly, and we don't know what we'll be left with when the dust clears. It would be nice to have some of that drive back, mostly because I miss the hope.

Dr. Leslie Becker-Phelps, a psychologist and author of "Bouncing Back From Rejection," told me I wasn't the only one failing to function optimally in the Year of Our Dark Lord 2020. "People are really struggling deeply," she said. "If you're having more profound struggles emotionally, some of the other stuff that's not as essential falls off the plate."

"Part of what allows people to feel OK is they have some kind of routine, some kind of structure in their days," she said. "People have lost structure, they've lost regular contact with people, they've lost things they did before that gave them value. That heightens stress, it forces people to deal with things that create more distress. So you don't have as much bandwidth to be dealing with things that are not as essential."

Pandemic fatigue looms over America as new daily coronavirus cases skyrocket. Elva Etienne/Getty Images

So was it OK to just stay in bed and watch TV all day? I asked, as a professional, but also in part because I wanted someone to tell me it was OK.

"It's OK to take a break, as long as it's not inherently unhealthy and moving you in a direction you want," Becker-Phelps said, which I guess works when the direction you want is to complete all 12 seasons of "Murder, She Wrote."

A vaccine is here and help is finally on the horizon, and maybe in 2021, I'll go back to washing my face and going to Serious Talks and learning why my brain and body spent a whole year shutting down. Or maybe this is how things are now. Maybe the best thing is to just be, even if being means doing nothing more than letting yourself fuse to the couch.

Rebecca Fishbein is the author of "Good Things Happen To People You Hate" and a contributor to Jezebel. Her work has been published in Gothamist, Baltimore City Paper, Time Out New York, Vice, Splinter, Adweek, The Cut, Lifehacker, and Curbed NY. She lives in Brooklyn.

Read more:

In quarantine, self-optimization is out. Now I'm just pasting trash into elaborate collages while the world caves in.

What months of lockdown does to your body and brain

The US coronavirus response has finally shattered the myth of American exceptionalism

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I gave up this year and so can you - Insider - INSIDER

Just as it seemed Congress might finally reach a deal on a new stimulus package, there was a new and unexpected wrinkle: Some Republicans have suddenly discovered theyre really worried about a handful of emergency lending programs from the Federal Reserve that most Americans have probably never even heard of. And they have told Democrats that unless these programs are wound down, therell be no deal.

The hitch comes after months of back-and-forth, and amid great time pressure. Republicans and Democrats this week have been inching toward a $900 billion agreement to help boost the economy as the Covid-19 pandemic rages on, and they made plans to attach the deal to government spending legislation that must be passed by Sunday night to avoid a government shutdown.

Both sides made some concessions in the bill Democrats let go of aid for state and local governments, and Republicans dropped their ask for liability shields for corporations (which would ensure companies couldnt be sued for coronavirus-related issues). But while there were still some issues to be ironed out what to do on unemployment aid and stimulus checks, for example it seemed like there might finally be a breakthrough. And yet.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) is leading a push by Republicans to try to rein in some of the Feds capabilities to intervene in the economy through lending programs aimed at small businesses and state and local governments. Specifically, Toomey says he wants to wind down emergency lending programs that were created by the CARES Act back in March; and, on top of that, include provisions in this new legislation that would stop the Fed from being able to restart those programs or create similar ones.

Toomeys argument is that the Fed, which has taken extraordinary actions to try to boost the economy during the pandemic, risks becoming a lender of first resort instead of last resort, as it is meant to be, if its powers are extended.

Democrats, on the other hand, are crying foul and argue that this has nothing to do with when businesses and governments turn to the Fed, and that the effort actually represents an effort from Republicans to limit the economic tools available to President-elect Joe Biden before he even takes office.

After weeks of refusing to acknowledge Bidens victory, some Republicans have now decided that sabotaging his presidency is more important than helping our economy recover, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said in a statement on Friday. Proposals to sabotage President Biden and our nations economy are reckless, theyre wrong, and they have no place in this legislation.

And Democrats are also concerned that if the language on new Fed limits is too broad in the final legislation, this would severely weaken the Feds ability to do emergency lending in times of economic stress. Toomey insists that the language is targeted and that concerns about its broader impact both with respect to future crises and Bidens presidency are overblown.

The situation is a bit of an odd one. Republicans have been dead set against support for state and local governments throughout the pandemic, and this appears, in part, to be a way to make sure the Biden administration doesnt find a workaround to get them money through the Fed.

At the same time, the CARES Act programs in question havent worked very well so far localities werent really picking up what the Fed was putting down. Democrats say that the programs could be improved to work better under a Biden administration and therefore be used by more potential borrowers: Essentially that they may not be a panacea, but theyre not not worth trying.

Still, according to former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm, Democrats may be overly optimistic about how effective the programs might be in the future.

Those programs had the potential to at least work better in a Biden administration than Trump, Sahm told me, but they were never going to do, without more Congressional authority, what Democrats wanted.

In the midst of the Great Depression in 1932, Congress authorized the Federal Reserve to make direct loans in emergencies. That basically means that in big moments of economic crisis, you want the central bank to be there to make sure markets dont go too haywire.

The Fed makes those loans under section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. In the wake of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, Congress put some restrictions around the Feds emergency lending powers in the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010, which, among other things, required the central bank to go through Treasury to make loans.

So when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Congress, through the CARES Act, directed $454 billion toward the Treasury Department to backstop emergency lending programs, including one aimed at mid-sized businesses and another aimed at municipalities.

A lot of that money wasnt used, and in November, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin asked the Fed to return it at the end of the year. Fed Chair Jerome Powell agreed to return the money, albeit begrudgingly.

As Politicos Victoria Guida laid out on Twitter, Toomey, a longtime skeptic of the Feds power, wants to make sure the CARES Act-related lending programs are permanently ended, because he and other Republicans worry Democrats will give overly generous loans to businesses, cities, and states. Republicans want to make sure the programs are ended now to block incoming Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (assuming shes confirmed) from using other funds to restart the programs.

The rub here is exactly what the language Toomey is describing would do. If it blocks new emergency lending programs for small businesses and municipalities, thats bad for those potential loan recipients, but would just leave them in a fairly similar position to where they are now. The terms of the loans havent been generous enough that many states and businesses were willing to try to take them on, though Democrats argue that under Biden that could be fixed.

Still, the larger concern is that it might hamstring the Feds ability to exercise its broad emergency powers and do real, lasting damage to the central bank and its role in fighting economic downturns.

Former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke issued a statement over the weekend warning about the potential implications of the GOPs proposal. He stressed that it is vital that the Fed be able to respond promptly to damaging disruptions in credit markets and that such ability not be curtailed. The relief act should ensure, at least, that the Federal Reserves emergency lending authorities, as they stood before the CARES Act, remain fully intact and available to respond to future crises.

The concern is that if Toomeys proposals are too sweeping, the Fed might have to ask Congress every time it wants to act on emergency lending during times of crisis.

A spokesperson for Toomey said in an email that the senator doesnt want to change how the Fed operates generally but that what he is seeking is to ensure that lending facilities set up under the CARES Act are wound down at the end of 2020, and that no copycat facilities can be created. The spokesperson said that a speech the Pennsylvania Republican delivered on the Senate floor on Saturday makes clear that the intent of this language is narrow and is not a sweeping rewrite of section 13(3), as some have suggested.

As Jordan Weissmann at Slate points out, however, Republicans want to block the Fed from restarting lending programs that are similar to the ones from the CARES Act. What exactly similar means is where the problem is.

If your language is very squishy, that can either mean you have a very expansive interpretation of it, or you have a very narrow interpretation of it, Sahm said. And if the definition of similiar is too expansive, that could dangerously kneecap the Fed.

These emergency facilities, that power to do emergency lending, that is more important than monetary policy, than bank regulations. This is the thing that the Fed does, its the thing we absolutely have to have, she said. These are core powers of the Fed, and so if youre taking this away, youre really crippling the Fed.

The risk is that it greatly diminishes the ability of the Fed to exercise its emergency powers and support the economy in the next crisis, Roberto Perli a partner at Cornerstone Macro, told Bloomberg. If I were the Fed, I would strenuously oppose this.

The American people need help, and they need help now. Millions are at risk of eviction in January, millions are out of work, and millions are hungry. Congress has the power to change this, and it needs to do it. Its not clear what the really good-faith argument is for why curbing the Feds emergency lending programs mid-pandemic is worth mass homelessness or stopping people from accessing basic necessities.

But on its face, this is an effort by Republicans to limit what Biden can do on the economy when he takes office. Especially in the event where Congress wont take action which its failed to do, basically, since March you want the Fed to have all the tools in the toolbox available. And its reasonable to assume congressional inaction will continue into the Biden administration, making the Fed an even important part of recovery.

It is true that a lot of states and businesses werent falling over themselves to get loans from the Fed, but theres an argument to be made that thats not really the point: Just the knowledge that the Fed is there as a last-resort lender is meaningful in shoring up confidence in the economy and keeping financial markets moving. The Fed just saying it would buy corporate bonds kept the corporate bond market moving in the spring.

The fear that the Fed would help Biden get money to state and local governments is weird. Many in the GOP seem to believe that budget shortfalls are only a blue state problem and therefore have little desire to do anything to help, or, in this case, seem hell bent on blocking any potential aid. States run by Democrats are absolutely not the only ones facing tax revenue declines, but also, the point of lawmakers is to care about all Americans, not just the ones who align with them politically.

It is clear that Republicans in Congress and the administration do not want to give money to state and local governments, Sahm said. Why Republicans would be willing to hurt their own states in order to also hurt Democratic ones is far less clear.

The argument that the Fed should need to rely more on Congress to get the go-ahead on emergency lending programs is tough to swallow, given the events of this year. It was good back in March that Treasury and the Fed could quickly work together to really turn on emergency facilities and enact other market-stabilizing measures. Imagine them having to go through Congress, which is right now getting by on a two-day bill to fund the government, because it couldnt meet a deadline that comes at the same time every year.

And if Republicans really do want to reform 13(3) powers, like lawmakers did for Dodd-Frank, doing so hastily seems not ideal. To rewrite 13(3) lending law like that on the fly seems pretty disturbing, Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the Congressional Oversight Commission that oversees the CARES Act funds, told Slate. He pointed out on Twitter that the GOPs current position seems like a radical evolution of their earlier stance: In stimulus negotiations in the fall, Republicans were trying to end the current the CARES Acts current lending programs, not permanently strip the Fed of those powers.

Of course, theres no way to know intentions here. Maybe this is another GOP-led effort to tank stimulus. Maybe Republicans just cannot stand the idea of states getting help. Maybe they really want to tie Bidens hands. Or maybe Toomey really thinks this is his one shot at getting reforms at the Fed and hes taking it.

But time is running out a deal (or an extension) has to be passed before midnight Sunday to avoid a government shutdown and a haphazard fix to supposed problem that a couple of weeks ago wasnt even on the radar is a roadblock the American people dont need.

Original post:
Covid-19 stimulus: The Feds role in stimulus talks in Congress, explained - Vox.com

Products featured here are selected by our partners at StackCommerce.If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.Get the chance to win all this by donating to a good cause.

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By StackCommerceMashable Shopping2020-12-18 10:00:00 UTC

TL;DR: Enter the Complete Home Gym Giveaway and get a chance to win a Peloton Bike+, a Mirror, a Theragun Prime, and more. Enter for free or up your chances with a donation to Playing for Change.

Finding a way to exercise is no easy feat during the pandemic. If you dont feel comfortable going to the gym and dont particularly enjoy running out in the cold, what can you do? One idea: Make a donation to charity in the hopes of winning the home gym of your dreams.

Valued at over $5,000, the Complete Home Gym Giveaway is happening just in time to set some health-oriented New Years resolutions. Included in this massive bundle of fitness gear is the extravagant Peloton Bike+, which features on-demand and live bike rides and bootcamps; the otherworldly Mirror, which turns your discreet decor into live fitness classes across over 50 genres; a $100 gift card to either Lululemon, Nike, or Athleta (you pick your own deal) to upgrade your exercise wardrobe; a set of adjustable dumbbells from Bowflex; and a set of TRX PRO4 bands to spice up at-home workouts; the Oura Ring to track your activity, sleep, and recovery; and the top-of-the-line Theragun percussion massager (value $299) for rest and recovery. Did you get all of that?

While you can enter to win for free with your email or social media account, you can increase your chances of winning this giveaway with a charitable donation to Playing for Change, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on music education that currently operates 15 music programs in 11 countries.

For just $10, you can add another 100 entries into the pot. For $15, you can add 150 entries and for $25, you can add 250. Feeling extra generous? You can double or triple your entries with bigger donations.Score an additional 1,000 entries with a $50 donation, 1,500 entries with a $75 donation, or 2,500 entries for a $100 donation.

The winner of the Home Gym Giveaway will be chosen through a random selection process by StackCommerce. But even if you dont win this deal, you can still rejoice in the spirit of giving.

See more here:
How to win a Peloton Bike+, Mirror, Theragun, and more workout gear - Mashable

By Matthew Haag Photographs and Video by Gareth Smit Illustrations by Agnes Lee

Dec. 18, 2020

Of all the ways the pandemic reshaped New York Citys streetscape, the most profound example might have been found on Vanderbilt Avenue as it cut through brownstone Brooklyn.

On weekends jazz bands played on the corners. Friends reunited on the median. Children zigged and zagged on their bikes as diners sat at bistro tables atop asphalt. The faint sound of cars could be heard in the distance.

Just as the early days of the coronavirus forced New Yorkers inside, it eventually pushed them outdoors for fresh air, for exercise, for eating, for relief in what became an organic takeover and reimagining of the citys streets across its five boroughs.

City officials handed over 83 miles of roadway to cyclists, runners and walkers, allowed nearly 11,000 restaurants to stretch onto sidewalks and streets and let retailers expand their storefronts beyond their front doors. People reclaimed the pavement and are, by and large, unwilling to give it back.

Read more in this series

Mayor Bill de Blasio has heralded the programs known separately as Open Streets, Open Restaurants and Open Storefronts as a bright spot in an otherwise dark moment for the city. Once a skeptic, Mr. de Blasio now believes that some of these pandemic-era experiments will be woven permanently into the fabric of New York.

But how exactly will the city look?

With a rare opportunity to rethink the design of the citys streets, The New York Times asked people who have taken advantage of Open Streets what they want to see endure. The Times also asked a noted urban planner and architect, Claire Weisz of WXY Studio, to explore what would be realistic, but also to offer a more ambitious vision and share what has worked elsewhere

The Times selected three streets that were part of the Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs and that represent possibilities applicable to all parts of the city. While the Open Restaurants program has been made permanent, the city has said less about the future of Open Streets, most of which recently ended because of colder weather, beyond that the mayor wants to see it stay in some form.

There is Vanderbilt Avenue in Prospect Heights, a grand mixed-use, European-style boulevard. There is Avenue B on the Lower East Side, which like other Manhattan residential neighborhoods, is anchored by a park. And then there is 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens, a wide street lined with apartment buildings and townhouses.

Vanderbilt Avenue could become a destination for the surrounding areas by taking advantage of the existing median, expanding it with curves that force drivers to slow down and building a stage for performances.

On Halloween morning, Dayna Rosen stood in the middle of the major thoroughfare connecting Fort Greene to the north and Prospect Park to the south, snapping photos of Monty, her Boston terrier mix. Monty wore a jean jacket and a magenta mohawk.

Ms. Rosen, 40, felt for a moment as if she had been whisked away to another country.

It reminds me of all the squares in Europe, she said.

Until Thanksgiving, Vanderbilt Avenue which stretches 60 feet curb to curb was transformed into a central hub in the Prospect Heights neighborhood. Restaurants stretched into the street.

One block of the avenue has a concrete median with a few planted trees, a splash of greenery in the middle of the two-way street.

The transformation started on Saturday mornings with volunteers moving blue barricades onto the avenue, blocking all cars except emergency vehicles.

Since we live right on this block, we are able to bring our chairs, said Molly Marcotte, as she carried a barricade.

When we asked people who have flocked to Vanderbilt what it needs most, almost everyone mentioned more benches and tables. The existing bike lane should be more clearly marked and improved to try to separate faster cyclists from others, especially children, who are traveling more slowly.

Above all, locals said they want to be able to dictate the future of Vanderbilt and not cede decision making to City Hall.

Jaykuan Marrero, who has cut hair at two barbershops on the street, said he would love to see Vanderbilt converted into an ambitious events space, with a stage for musical and theatrical performances.

Andy Bachman, a rabbi who was getting his hair cut by Mr. Marrero, agreed.

This is a borough of writers, painters and poets, Mr. Bachman said.

The future of a road like Vanderbilt, Ms. Weisz said, begins with the median a 10-foot-wide by 300-foot-long elevated concrete block broken up by nine Japanese zelkova trees.

On many city streets, the median is purely a kind of visual safety barrier and nothing else, Ms. Weisz said.

Ms. Weisz said Vanderbilts median could be extended along additional blocks and expanded outward, becoming a small park.

The islands in the middle of Vanderbilt, Ms. Weisz said, could also provide something sorely needed across the entire city: public bathrooms, which make places more welcoming and allow people to linger longer.

In some countries, users of public bathrooms pay a small fee 25 cents in American dollars, for instance with the proceeds used to hire workers to keep bathrooms clean and stocked with supplies. (The city has five public, climate-controlled restrooms that cost 25 cents to use for 15 minutes.)

Medians could also be used as loading and unloading zones for deliveries. New kinds of bike lanes one dedicated to fast bicyclists, commuters and delivery workers could be added next to the median. There could be a separate lane for leisurely riders.

That is a model embraced by Copenhagen, the cycling-friendly city in Denmark, which has nine so-called supercycle highways crisscrossing the city and its metropolitan area.

Avenue B could be made more inviting to pedestrians by converting the road into a one-way strip near Tompkins Square Park, which would lose its fencing but gain public bathrooms.

Holding a paintbrush lathered in red wood stain, Darrin Arremony knelt on Avenue B on a recent Sunday, applying the first coat on a newly built outdoor dining structure at Barnyard, his wifes cheese restaurant.

As he spread the stain, Mr. Arremony kept an eye on the narrow lanes behind him, watching for traffic. He said it might be safer to convert the open street section of Avenue B, between East 6th and East 14th Streets, into a one-way street.

Today, with parked cars and some restaurants operating on the roadway, there is roughly a 20-foot wide gap on the street for people, bicyclists and some vehicles. Only local car traffic is allowed through.

We definitely need automobile traffic here, Mr. Arremony said. The businesses will need the support of deliveries.

The focal point of the neighborhood is Tompkins Square Park, developed into a landscaped oasis more than 150 years ago on former swampland.

Many locals said the parks best features a place to sit or relax amid greenery should be adopted along Avenue B. Debora Williams, who has lived in the neighborhood for 25 years, said the sidewalks should have more trees and plants.

Converting Avenue B into a permanent open street, she added, would allow schools to use it as a big playground.

Just more greenery would be great, said Ms. Williams, as she walked on Avenue B.

The park encompasses 10.5 acres but most of it is off-limits to people. Fences seal in its perimeter, except for paved entryways into the park. Benches line the paths but are not surrounded by trees and shrubs, which are protected by even more fencing within the park.

Ms. Weisz said the fences were a relic of a different era when residents worried about farm animals roaming into the parkland. Then, It turned into a weird 1970s security thing, she said. But imagine, she said, what the area would look like without fences.

It would be easy to enter the park with paths weaving amid the trees and landscapes, allowing people to escape in the greenery and stay socially distanced.

An international template for Avenue B could be Barcelona, which has superblocks islands of car-free streets. The avenue could be made one-way as an open street, while reverting to a two-way elsewhere.

A wider street would also make room for public bathrooms, she said.

Breaking up the flow of traffic would force drivers to slow down, increasing safety. Avenue B would also benefit from bike lanes and discrete areas for deliveries.

It looks like the perfect shared street, Ms. Weisz said.

In Queens, 34th Avenue could become a long pedestrian promenade by expanding the existing median, which would allow space for features like a workout area and gardens, and would move the existing bike lane away from traffic.

Twice a day, Laurie Gold takes her pit bull mix, Shani, on a long walk more than two miles along 34th Avenue. The straight roadway, whose lanes are separated by an elevated median with plants and trees, is full of people day and night, running, walking or biking.

I love it, Ms. Gold, 29, said about the Open Streets portion, which extends more than a mile from near the Brooklyn Queens Expressway to Junction Boulevard. I wouldnt change anything.

During the pandemic, the avenue has become a family destination. Neighbors stop to chat. Parents push strollers, while children bounce basketballs or zip around on bicycles. Ashley Cedeno, 8, loves playing tag or hide-and-seek.

The street, Ashley said, is for having fun and playing together.

A gathering area on the western half is Travers Park, a two-acre playground and green space surrounded by apartment buildings and schools. While wanting to maintain the avenues residential appeal, some people said they would like more commercial activity, like fairs, food trucks and sidewalk vendors.

On some weekends, farmers and winemakers have set up tents to sell goods. Edwin Cordero, who has lost five pounds in the past month walking his yellow Labrador retriever, Lucy, said there should be more choices.

We dont get street festivals up here at all, said Mr. Cordero.

A street like 34th Avenue is ripe with opportunities, Ms. Weisz said. The roadway stretches about 55 feet across from curb to curb, enough room for the median to be extended to the sidewalk on one side and create a one-way road on the other.

The extended area would create a large section for pedestrians and for more greenery, she said.

While the avenue has a bike lane, it runs between the roadway and parked cars. Ms. Weisz said it would be safer to move it next to the sidewalk to prevent drivers from hitting cyclists with the door when they get out of their vehicles.

It does feel dangerous, she said.

Travers Park could serve as an anchor, a place to add public bathrooms as well as carve out space for vendors and a workout area.

New York could take inspiration from the Tokyo Toilet, architecturally appealing and wheelchair-accessible restrooms found across Shibuya, a major commercial center in Tokyo.

You need some sort of public facilities here, Ms. Weisz said.

See the original post:
See What Happens When NYC Streets Are Full of People Instead of Cars - The New York Times

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