Author: EasyReadHeadlines.com

The percentage of American children estimated to have autism spectrum disorder increased in 2022, continuing a long-running trend, according to data released on Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Among 8-year-olds, one in 31 were found to have autism in 2022, compared with 1 in 36 in 2020. That rate is nearly five times as high as the figure in 2000, when the agency first began collecting data.The health agency noted that the increase was most likely being driven by better awareness and screening, not necessarily because autism itself was becoming more common.That diverged sharply from the rhetoric…

A retrial of the yearslong defamation case brought by Sarah Palin against The New York Times got underway before a Manhattan jury on Tuesday.Ms. Palin, the former Alaska governor and onetime Republican vice-presidential nominee, sued The Times in 2017 over an editorial that erroneously linked her campaign’s language to a mass shooting, which she claimed defamed her.A federal judge and a jury both ruled against her in a 2022 trial of the case, but Ms. Palin successfully appealed and a new trial was ordered. The same judge, Jed S. Rakoff, is hearing the case again. The arguments are largely the…

In March, Kat Bolstad returned from an Antarctic expedition where she had used a new camera system specially built to search for the elusive colossal squid.No one had captured footage of one of these animals swimming in the deep sea. She didn’t spot one on this voyage either.On the day she left the ship, though, Dr. Bolstad, a deep sea cephalopod biologist, learned about a recent video taken on March 9 from the South Sandwich Islands. fA dive team searching for new marine life, in a Schmidt Ocean Institute submersible, had happened upon a young cephalopod, and people wanted Dr.…

atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding Earth, another planet or a moon. atom: The basic unit of a chemical element. Atoms are made up of a dense nucleus that contains positively charged protons and uncharged neutrons. The nucleus is orbited by a cloud of negatively charged electrons. calcium: A chemical element and alkali metal common in minerals of the Earth’s crust and in sea salt. It is also found in bone mineral and teeth, and can play a role in the movement of certain substances into and out of cells. calcium carbonate: The main chemical compound in limestone, a rock…

Reporters trying to get interviews with Steven Spielberg would sometimes grouse that his publicist’s job amounted to speaking a single word: “No.”But Marvin Levy, who served as Mr. Spielberg’s publicist for 42 years, was responsible for much more than body blocking the fifth estate (which he usually did with a gentlemanly grace). Mr. Spielberg did not become Mr. Spielberg because of his filmmaking alone: For 42 years, Mr. Levy was behind the scenes — promoting, polishing, spinning, safeguarding, strategizing — to ensure that his boss was viewed worldwide as Hollywood’s de facto head of state.In addition to representing Mr. Spielberg…

A fan got kicked out of a baseball stadium last week because the message on his hat appeared to violate a rule against displaying political slogans.The offending political message? The seemingly anodyne “Canada is not for sale.”Oh, yes, this happened in Canada.On Thursday afternoon, Dan Begley, a retired financial adviser, attended the Blue Jays’ opening game against the Baltimore Orioles at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. On his head was a red baseball cap with white lettering proclaiming Canada’s autonomy. It was seemingly uncontroversial gear for a 70-year-old from the Toronto suburb Etobicoke who has been a fan of the…

Apple’s upcoming foldable iPhone will likely cost around 10% more than Samsung’s rival device, according to a known Weibo leaker. According to a new post from the Weibo user known as “Instant Digital,” Apple’s first foldable ‌iPhone‌ will likely cost between $2,100 and $2,300—just a little more than Samsung’s high-end foldable. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold6 starts at $1,899.99, while the Galaxy Z Flip6 starts at $1,219.99. Apple’s first foldable ‌iPhone‌ is expected to have a book-like design that folds horizontally, just like the Z Fold. The rumored pricing would make Apple’s foldable around $200–$400 more expensive than Samsung’s equivalent…

Q: Several people in my family have had cancer, and I’m terrified of getting it, too. How can I reduce my odds?It’s true that having a family history of cancer raises your risk of developing the disease. But getting sick is not inevitable.In a recent study, researchers used 2019 data on cancer cases among U.S. adults ages 30 and older, and they estimated that about 40 percent of cases were caused by lifestyle factors you can change.“That’s actually good news,” said Dr. Farhad Islami, the lead author of the study and senior scientific director of cancer disparity research at the…

Tax day is nearly here. If you haven’t filed your return for 2024, you’re running out of time.While it has been a fraught time at the Internal Revenue Service, with the Trump administration weighing huge staff cuts and the agency’s head resigning on the eve of tax season, tax returns are still due.Tax professionals report that so far, the agency appears to be functioning fairly well, with returns being processed and refunds being sent. “I’m not hearing anything about delays,” said Susie DiMaggio, board secretary of the National Association of Enrolled Agents, a group for federally licensed tax professionals.Ms. DiMaggio…

As the rebels swept across Syria, symbols that had once seemed omnipresent collapsed.In Aleppo, a statue of one of Mr. al-Assad’s brothers, Bassel al-Assad, on a horse was toppled. The horse remained. In a village north of Damascus, the capital, a giant statue of the ousted leader’s father, former President Hafez al-Assad, was felled.The statues were carried away, possibly for scrap metal.  Source link