myGrilloCOM | Category: All

Resale value of Gucci, Chanel, Louis Vuitton handbags is falling

January 19, 2023 Published by CNN

New York
CNN
—

Consumers, spooked by accelerating job cuts, looming recession fears and continuing high prices for goods and services in 2023, are trading down when they’re shopping, and that includes in secondhand stores.

Demand for secondhand goods remains red hot, with the resale market expected to reach $82 billion in sales by 2026, nearly doubling from $43 billion in 2022, according to industry data.

But, just as they are doing with their weekly groceries and purchases of new items such as clothes and shoes, consumers are looking for better value in the resale market.

“We started noticing it in late summer, early fall of last year,” said Sasha Skoda, director of merchandising with online luxury reseller The RealReal

(REAL). “Demand for higher-priced luxury brands at resale is down, which is pushing prices for brands like Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton down.”

At the same time, she said, demand for previously owned lower-priced luxury brands — such as Miu Miu and Bottega Veneta — is up.

“Consumers are worried about the economy and they are not spending as much. They are no longer willing to pay the same price at resale that were willing to pay last year for brands like Hermes, Gucci and Louis Vuitton,” Skoda added.

According to The RealReal’s Annual Luxury Consignment Report 2023, which was released Thursday, handbag resale prices fell 20% for Louis Vuitton, 17% for Gucci, 10% for Hermès and 9% for Chanel over the past 90 days.

On average, the resale value of higher-end luxury bags from these brands is beginning to level out, with prices down 5% in the last six months, said Skoda.

Resale prices are cooling somewhat for luxury handbag brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, according to The RealReal.

“A potential recession, the climate crisis, and global unrest are all reasons that, going into 2023, consumers are making shopping decisions based on value,” Rati Sahi Levesque, co-CEO and president of The RealReal, said in the report.

As they embrace lower prices, resale shoppers have become less picky about the condition of the items they buy.

Demand has nearly doubled for “fair condition” items, such as those showing signs of heavy wear through worn corners and significant scratches, the report said. Fair condition merchandise sold by The RealReal is on average 33% cheaper that products being resold in good or excellent condition.

Skoda noted that Millennial and Gen Z shoppers, who are the core shoppers of secondhand merchandise, are gravitating to more affordable contemporary brands like Miu Miu, Bottega Veneta and Telfar instead of investment pieces from top-tier luxury brands.

But what’s old — or perhaps more properly, “vintage” — continues to strike the fancy of younger shoppers, said Skoda

Data from searches on The RealReal’s website show that pearl jewelry, ultra-feminine dresses, low-heeled mules, tailored suits, loafers, and brooches are emerging as 2023’s most bankable fashion trends. Also hot: Y2K fashion.

“Pearls are a value play. They’re less expensive than diamonds and timeless,” said Skoda. Oversized clothing, in suits or dresses, is popular because casual comfort remains popular with consumers.

Demand for clothing and anything from the 1990s and early 2000s is strong, in great measure because fashions aimed at Gen Z buyers are so commercialized that “they are like walking advertisements for brands,” Skoda said.

“They see buying vintage clothing at resale as a way to be different, creative and sustainable.”

source

Little kids can tell good excuses from bad ones

January 19, 2023 Published by Futurity (National Geo)

When it comes to broken promises, children as young as 3 to 5 recognize that some excuses are better than others.

“At 3 to 5 years old, kids are on to you. They know when you’re giving a bad excuse,” says first author Leon Li, who did the research with developmental psychologist Michael Tomasello as part of his PhD in psychology and neuroscience at Duke University.

For the study in the journal Cognitive Development, 64 3- and 5-year-olds were shown a series of videos in which puppets promised to show them a cool toy, left the scene to go get it, but then came back empty-handed.

Afterwards, the puppets either gave a good excuse for going back on their word (“I had to help my friend with his homework”), a bad excuse (“I wanted to watch TV”), or no explanation at all. The children were then asked whether they thought the puppets’ actions were wrong or not, and why.

No matter what the excuse (or lack thereof), the children agreed that it was generally wrong to break a promise. But they were more understanding when the puppets offered a good excuse (i.e., they had to help someone), versus a bad one (i.e., they just wanted to do something fun instead).

In other words, children this age grasp that obligations to help others take priority over selfish desires, Li says.

The children’s responses also revealed that a poor excuse was just as bad as none at all.

“Previous research has suggested that in some cases, young kids will just take any reason to be better than no reason at all,” Li says. “But here we showed that kids do pay attention to the actual content.”

When asked to explain their answers, the children’s justifications changed with age. Compared with 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds were better at articulating their thinking in terms of what the puppets “should” do, or are “supposed” to do, suggesting that kids’ understanding of obligations to others is more fully developed by this age.

Surprisingly, lousy excuses didn’t make the children less inclined to say they “liked” some puppets, or would invite those puppets to a play date.

“Usually if someone breaks a promise and gives you a [bad] reason, it implies they’re not really a good friend,” Li says. “Children this age don’t make that connection. They’re just not there yet.”

This study is part of a larger field of research on how children come to appreciate and act on cultural and moral norms for how we behave and treat each other.

“Morality is a type of common ground that we have with others, with mutual expectations about how we should behave and what counts as good grounds for justification,” Li says.

“We’re showing that young children become attuned to this common ground at an early age.”

Li says the findings are also relevant to any adult who has uttered the classic fallback phrase, “Because I said so.”

“Kids are paying attention and can tell that is a [bad] reason,” Li says.

Support for the research came the Duke psychology and neuroscience department.

Source: Duke University

source

George Santos denies performing as a drag queen in Brazil despite photo: 'categorically false'

January 19, 2023 Published by Fox News

Embattled Rep. George Santos, R-NY, denied reports that he once performed as a drag queen named Kitara in Brazil, calling the claims “categorically false” on Thursday.

Claims of Santos time as a drag queen first arose early this week when a Substack by reporter Marisa Kabas unveiled a 2009 photo that appears to Santos in a drag costume. The photo appears to show Santos and another drag queen standing arm-in-arm with a caption naming them “Eula Rorard” and “Kitara Ravache.”

The other drag queen in the photo, Eula, was the source of the report.

“The most recent obsession from the media claiming that I am a drag Queen or ‘performed’ as a drag Queen is categorically false,” Santos argued on Twitter.

“The media continues to make outrageous claims about my life while I am working to deliver results. I will not be distracted nor fazed by this,” he continued.

GEORGE SANTOS DISMISSED CALLS TO RESIGN FROM CAMPAIGN STAFF AFTER BACKGROUND CHECK UNCOVERED LIES: REPORT

Santos has been plagued by a slew of scandals since being elected to Congress in November. He has admitted to lying about his work and education history, and numerous people have accused him of going by various aliases.

Most recently, a homeless veteran accused him of stealing $3,000 in fundraised cash that was meant to pay for his dog’s surgery.

Santos denied that report as well. Santos said he has no knowledge of the purported scheme involving a charity he claimed to have founded.

“Fake. No clue who this is,” Santos told Semafor.

GEORGE SANTOS REFUSES TO RESIGN AFTER NASSAU COUNTY GOP CALLS ON DISGRACED CONGRESSMAN TO STEP DOWN

Santos faced his first major call to resign last week when Nassau County GOP leaders condemned him in a press conference. Nassau County lies in his New York Congressional district.

“George Santos campaign last year was a campaign of deceit, lies, and fabrication,” Nassau County GOP Chairman Joe Cairo said in a statement. “He has no place on the Nassau County Republican committee, nor should he serve public service, nor as an elected official. He’s not welcome here at GOP HQ.”

Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., departs Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

UNITED STATES – JANUARY 12: Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., is seen in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, January 12, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Santos is embroiled in multiple local, federal and international investigations regarding allegations of fraud and fabricating his past. During his congressional campaign, Santos falsely claimed he graduated from college with degrees in finance and worked for Goldman Sachs and Citibank. Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly opened an investigation into Santos in late December.

Brazil has also reopened a fraud investigation into Santos relating to a stolen checkbook. Santos has repeatedly ignored requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Despite his slew of scandals Santos was named to two committees — Small Business and Science, Space, and Technology — by House Republican leadership on Tuesday.

Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

source

New home construction in the US fell in December

January 19, 2023 Published by CNN

Washington, DC
CNN
—

US home building fell in December, as the housing market continued to slow.

December housing starts, a measure of new home construction, dropped by 1.4% from November, and were down 21.8% from a year ago, according to data released Thursday by the Census Bureau.

But after mortgage rates declined modestly in December, builders have begun to feel more optimistic that conditions may improve in 2023.

Housing starts had big drops in May and July last year, when rising mortgage rates pushed many prospective home buyers to the sidelines. Starts bounced back slightly in August, but have been falling since then.

Building permits, which track the number of new housing units granted permits, also fell in December, down 1.6% from the revised November rate, and were down 29.9% from a year ago.

“The combination of slightly reduced mortgage rates and discounts and specials on for-sale pricing may bring more buyers to the market, especially after the historically slow holiday season is over — and as spring buying season approaches,” said Kelly Mangold of RCLCO Real Estate Consulting. “Inflation is also beginning to decline, and the job market remains relatively strong — so it will be interesting to track how the housing market continues to react in the early part of 2023.”

Separately, a survey released Wednesday found home builder confidence rose for the first time in a year. But while builders continue to face headwinds with the high cost of construction, supply chain disruptions and challenging affordability conditions for buyers, the data suggests the worst may be over for the market, said Jerry Konter, NAHB chairman.

“The rise in builder sentiment means that cycle lows for permits and starts are likely near, and a rebound for home building could be underway later in 2023,” he said.

source

Hikers may create ‘landscape of fear’ for animals

January 19, 2023 Published by Futurity (National Geo)

Hikers appear to have a strong negative influence on the movement of wildlife, research finds.

A study of Glacier National Park hiking trails during and after a COVID-19 closure adds evidence to the theory that humans can create a “landscape of fear,” as do other apex predators. Their presence seems to change how species use an area.

Researchers found that when human hikers were present, 16 out of 22 mammal species—predators and prey alike—changed where and when they used areas. Some completely abandoned places they previously used, others used them less frequently, and some shifted to more nocturnal activities to avoid humans.

“When the park was open to the public, and there were a lot of hikers and recreators using the area, we saw a bunch of changes in how animals were using that same area,” says Daniel Thornton, wildlife ecologist at Washington State University and senior author of the study in the journal Scientific Reports.

“The surprising thing is that there’s no other real human disturbance out there because Glacier is such a highly protected national park, so these responses really are being driven by human presence and human noise.”

The researchers had also expected to find an effect known as “human shielding,” in which human presence causes large predators to avoid an area, providing opportunity for smaller predators and perhaps some prey species to use an area more frequently. In this case, they found this potential effect for only one species, red fox. The foxes were more present on and near trails when the park was open–perhaps because their competitors, coyotes, avoided those areas when humans were around.

Several species showed a decline in use of trail areas when the park was open, including black bear, elk, and white-tailed deer. Many decreased their day-time activities, including mule deer, snowshoe hare, grizzly bears, and coyotes. A few, including cougars, seemed indifferent to human presence.

While the influence of low-impact recreation is concerning, the researchers emphasize that more research is necessary to determine if it has negative effects on the species’ survival.

“This study does not say that hiking is necessarily bad for wildlife, but it does have some impacts on spatiotemporal ecology, or how wildlife uses a landscape and when,” says Alissa Anderson, a recent master’s graduate and first author of the study. “Maybe they are not on the trails as much, but they’re using different places, and how much does that actually impact species’ ability to survive and thrive in a place, or not? There are a lot of questions about how this actually plays into population survival.”

The study came about in part because of the pandemic. Both humans and wildlife like to use trails, so the researchers had set up an array of camera traps near several trails to study lynx populations in Glacier National Park when COVID-19 hit. In an effort to keep the virus from spreading to the nearby Blackfeet Indian Reservation, the eastern portion of the park was closed in 2020 with only minimal access allowed to administrators and researchers.

This allowed Anderson, Thornton, and coauthor John Waller of Glacier National Park to conduct a natural experiment. They captured images in summer of 2020 when the park was closed as well as in 2021 when it opened again.

Glacier, which covers nearly 1,600 square-miles of northwestern Montana, sees more than 3 million human visitors a year. It is also home to diverse range of animals with almost the full complement of mammal species that has existed in the region historically.

Thornton says park managers are faced with a balancing act between conservation and public use missions.

“It’s obviously important that people are able to get out there, but there might be a level of which that starts to be problematic,” he says. “Some additional research could help get a better understanding of that and help develop some guidelines and goals.”

This study received support from the Glacier National Park Conservancy and the US Department of Agriculture.

Source: Washington State University

source

BAFTA Awards 2023: See the full list of nominees

January 19, 2023 Published by CNN

CNN
—

Nominations for the 2023 British Academy Film Awards, or BAFTA Awards, have been announced.

There were a few surprises among the 24 categories, including a strong showing for “All Quiet on the Western Front,” leading with 14 nominations.

Edward Berger’s adaptation is the first time Erich Maria Remarque’s First World War novel has been made into a German-language film. Released by Netflix last fall with little fanfare, it has nevertheless gained significant momentum as awards season ramps up.

“The Banshees of Inisherin” follows “All Quiet” with ten nominations, including acting nods for lead Colin Farrell and supporting actors Kerry Condon, Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan. With the same tally is “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” the indie hit that became distributor A24’s first film to cross the $100 million mark at the box office.

The awards ceremony, which highlights some of the best British and international contributions in film of the year, will take place on February 19 at 7p.m. GMT, with actor Richard E. Grant on hosting duties at London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Here’s the nominations in full.

Best Film

Courtesy Jonathan Hession/Searchlight Pictures/20th Century Studios

“All Quiet on the Western Front”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Elvis”

“Everything Everywhere All At Once”

“TÁR”

Oustanding British Film

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

“Aftersun”

“The Banshees of Inisherin”

“Brian And Charles”

“Empire of Light”

“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

“Living”

“Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical”

“See How They Run”

“The Swimmers”

“The Wonder”

Oustanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Charlotte Wells, “Aftersun”

Georgia Oakley and Hélène Sifre, “Blue Jean”

Marie Lidén, “Electric Malady”

Katy Brand, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

Maia Kenworthy, “Rebellion”

Film Not in the English Language

courtesy Mubi

“All Quiet on the Western Front”

“Argentina, 1985”

“Corsage”

“Decision To Leave”

“The Quiet Girl”

Documentary

Image’Est

“All That Breathes”

“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed”

“Fire of Love”

“Moonage Daydream”

“Navalny”

Animated Film

Netflix

“Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”

“Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”

“Turning Red”

Director

Ilze Kitshoff/Tristar Pictures

Edward Berger, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Park Chan-wook, “Decision To Leave”

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Todd Field, “TÁR”

Gina Prince-Bythewood, “The Woman King”

Original Screenplay

Merie Weismiller Wallace/Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment

Martin McDonagh, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Tony Kushner and Steven Spielberg, “The Fabelmans”

Todd Field, “TÁR”

Ruben Östlund, “Triangle of Sadness”

Adapted Screenplay

Universal Pictures

Edward Berger, Ian Stokell and Leslie Patterson, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Kazuo Ishiguro, “Living”

Colm Bairéad, “The Quiet Girl”

Rebecca Lenkiewicz, “She Said”

Samuel D. Hunter, “The Whale”

Lead Actress

Allyson Riggs/A24

Ana de Armas, “Blonde”

Cate Blanchett, “TÁR”

Viola Davis, “The Woman King”

Danielle Deadwyler, “Till”

Emma Thompson, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

Michelle Yeoh, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Lead Actor

A24

Austin Butler, “Elvis”

Brendan Fraser, “The Whale”

Colin Farrell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Daryl McCormack, “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”

Paul Mescal, “Aftersun”

Bill Nighy, “Living”

Supporting Actress

Marvel Studios

Angela Bassett, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”

Hong Chau, “The Whale”

Kerry Condon, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Jamie Lee Curtis, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Dolly De Leon, “Triangle of Sadness”

Carey Mulligan, “She Said”

Supporting Actor

Searchlight Pictures

Brendan Gleeson, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Barry Keoghan, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Ke Huy Quan, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Eddie Redmayne, “The Good Nurse”

Albrecht Schuch, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Michael Ward, “Empire of Light”

Original Score

Volker Bertelmann , “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Justin Hurwitz , “Babylon”

Carter Burwell, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Son Lux, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery”

Alexandre Desplat, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Casting

Lucy Pardee, “Aftersun”

Simon Bär, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Nikki Barrett, Denise Chamian, “Elvis”

Sarah Halley Finn, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Pauline Hansson, “Triangle of Sadness”

Cinematography

James Friend, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Greig Fraser, “The Batman”

Mandy Walker, “Elvis”

Roger Deakins, “Empire of Light”

Claudio Miranda, “Top Gun: Maverick”

Editing

Sven Budelmann, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Mikkel E.G. Nielsen, “The Banshees of Inisherin”

Matt Villa, “Elvis”

Paul Rogers, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Eddie Hamilton, “Top Gun: Maverick”

Production Design

Christian M. Goldbreck, Ernestine Hipper, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Florencia Martin, Anthony Carlino, “Babylon”

James Chinlund, Lee Sandales, “The Batman”

Catherine Martin, Karen Murphy, Bev Dunn, “Elvis”

Curt Enderle, Guy Davis, “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio”

Costume Design

Lisy Christl, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

J.R. Hawbaker and Albert Wolsky, “Amsterdam”

Mary Zophres, “Babylon”

Catherine Martin, “Elvis”

Jenny Beavan, “Mrs Harris Goes To Paris”

Makeup and Hair

Heike Merker, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Michael Marino and Zoe Tahir, “The Batman”

Shane Thomas, Louise Coulston, Mark Coulier and Barrie Gower, “Elvis”

Naomi Donne, Barrie Gower, Sharon Martin, “Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical”

Anne Marie Bradley, Judy Chin, Adrien Morot, “The Whale”

Sound

Lars Ginzsel, Frank Kruse, Viktor Prášil and Markus Stemler, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Julian Howarth, Gary Summers and Gwendoyln Yates Whittle, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Michael Keller, David Lee, Andy Nelson and Wayne Pashley, “Elvis”

Deb Adair, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley, Steve Single and Roland Winke, “TÁR”

Chris Burdon, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Mark Taylor and Mark Weingarten, “Top Gun: Maverick”

Special Visual Effects

Markus Frank, Kamil Jafar, Viktor Müller and Frank Petzoid, “All Quiet on the Western Front”

Richard Baneham, Daniel Barrett, Joe Letteri and Eric Saindon, “Avatar: The Way of Water”

Russell Earl, Dan Lemmon, Anders Langlands and Dominic Tuohy, “The Batman”

Benjamin Brewer, Ethan Feldbau, Jonathan Kombrinck and Zak Stoltz, “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

Seth Hill, Scott R. Fisher, Bryan Litson and Ryan Tudhope, “Top Gun: Maverick”

British Short Animation

“The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse”

“Middle Watch”

“Your Mountain is Waiting”

Britsh Short Film

“The Ballad Of Olive Morris”

“Bazigaga”

“Bus Girl”

“A Drifting Up”

“An Irish Goodbye”

EE Rising Star

Aimee Lou Wood

Daryl McCormack

Emma Mackey

Naomi Ackie

Sheila Atim

source

Sky News Breakfast: Biggest NHS strike in history looms

January 19, 2023 Published by GrilloCOM Grab

Kay Burley talks to Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove as the NHS faces the biggest walkout in its history. Plus all the latest …

Tectonic plates shed light on Alaska’s Denali Fault

January 19, 2023 Published by Futurity (National Geo)

A new study of tectonic plate thickness across the Denali Fault in Alaska begins to fill major gaps in understanding about how geological faults behave and appear as they deepen.

When the rigid plates that make up the Earth’s lithosphere brush against one another, they often form visible boundaries, known as faults, on the planet’s surface.

Strike-slip faults, such as the San Andreas Fault in California or the Denali Fault in Alaska, are among the most well-known and capable of seriously powerful seismic activity.

Studying these faults can help geoscientists not only better understand the process of plate tectonics, which helped form the planet’s continents and mountains, but also better model their earthquake hazards.

The problem is that most studies on these types of faults are (quite literally) shallow, looking only at the upper layer of the Earth’s crust where the faults form.

For the new study, seismologists dug deeper into the Earth, analyzing how the part of the fault that’s near the surface connects to the base of the tectonic plate in the mantle. The scientists found that changes in how thick the plate is and how strong it is deep into the Earth play a key role in the location of Alaska’s Denali Fault, one of the world’s major strike-slip faults.

The findings could eventually help lead future researchers to develop better earthquake models on strike-slip faults, regions with frequent and major earthquakes.

“That means when geoscientists model earthquake cycles, they’ll have new information on the strength of the deeper rocks that would be useful for understanding the dynamics of these faults, how stress will build up on them, and how they might rupture in the future,” says Karen M. Fischer, geophysics professor at Brown University and author of the study in Geophysical Research Letters.

The paper focuses primarily on the Denali Fault, a 1,200-mile-long fault that arcs across most of Alaska and some of Western Canada. In 2002, it was the site of a magnitude 7.9 earthquake that sloshed lakes as far away as Seattle, Texas, and New Orleans.

The researchers used new data from a cutting-edge network of seismic stations to create a new 3D model of seismic wave velocities throughout Alaska. With this innovative tool, the researchers discovered changes in the thickness and internal strength of the tectonic plate that Alaska sits on. The model shows how these changes in plate strength, that extend as deeply as about 80 kilometers (about 49.7 miles), feed back into the mechanics of where the Denali fault line is produced.

Geoscientists have known that the Earth’s crust that is south of the Denali Fault is thicker, while north of the fault, the crust is thinner. What’s been less clear is data on changes in the deeper, mantle portion of the plate.

In the new study, the researchers documented for what is believed to be the first time that the Denali Fault forms because of an increase in strength on the northern side of the fault that goes all the way through the upper plate.

They found that when they looked at the base of the plate or lithosphere, the lithosphere is stronger and thicker on the northern side of the fault vs. being much thinner and weaker on the southern side. The deeper part of the plate to the north can act almost as a backstop, they describe in the paper. They conclude that the fault at the surface formed and stayed at the edge of this thicker, stronger lithosphere.

“There has been this controversy that faults in the shallower brittle crust wouldn’t connect to structures in the deepest part of the plate, but here we show that they do,” says lead author Isabella Gama, who completed the work last year while she was a PhD student in Brown’s earth, environmental, and planetary sciences department.

“And this could mean a variety of things. For example, it means that we could expect earthquakes occurring deeper than previously thought for strike-slip faults such as the Denali fault, and that plate motions could occur on clear boundaries that extend from shallow faults all the way to the base of the plate.”

The scientists’ avenue of research opened up when IRIS, a research consortium funded by the National Science Foundation and dedicated to exploring the Earth’s interior, deployed the EarthScope Transportable Array in Alaska from 2014 to 2021. The advanced technology—a large collection of seismographs installed temporarily at sites across the US—gave researchers like Gama and Fischer the capability to measure properties of the deeper crust and mantle that hadn’t been possible before.

The researchers next plan to look closer at other strike-slip fault lines around the world to see if they can find similar variations in the structure of tectonic plates the deeper they go.

Other well-known strike-slip fault lines include the San Andreas Fault in California and the Anatolian Fault in Turkey, both of which have caused major earthquakes in the past. The San Andreas Fault, for instance, caused the earthquake of 1906 in San Francisco that killed thousands.

“We hope that projects such as the EarthScope Transportable Array will continue to receive support so that we can obtain higher-resolution images of the Earth’s interior from anywhere on the planet,” Gama says. “We hope to gain a better understanding of plate tectonics by using these images and will begin by investigating how other strike-slip faults appear and behave, looking for parallels with Alaska. This information could then be fed back into improving models for how earthquakes occur.”

The National Science Foundation EarthScope Program funded the work.

Source: Brown University

source

Dolly Parton reflects on 56-year marriage, her husband’s love for ‘living on the farm’: 'We have a lot of fun'

January 19, 2023 Published by Fox News

Country legend Dolly Parton on hosting ACMs

Parton talks hosting Monday’s Academy of Country Music Awards and what’s in store when she’s running the show. Plus, her new novel and album to go with it “Run, Rose, Run” and “Dollyverse”

Dolly Parton is revealing her secret to a successful marriage.

The “Jolene” singer got candid about her 56-year marriage to husband and Nashville, Tennessee, businessman Carl Thomas Dean.

Parton shared his interests and opened up about how their differences bring them together.

DOLLY PARTON REVEALS SECRET TO 56-YEAR MARRIAGE WITH HUSBAND CARL THOMAS DEAN: ‘IT WAS MEANT TO BE’

“I think I’ve talked pretty much about everything through the years with Carl, and we’re different people… But we just work so well together,” she expressed to “Entertainment Tonight.”

“He’s kind of a loner, so he doesn’t really like being with anybody but me… he’s not one to kind of get out there and socialize that much. He loves living on the farm, taking care of the property as he has for all these many years, and then, we just have a lot to talk about,” Parton added.

The “Jolene” singer got candid about her 56-year marriage to husband and Nashville, Tennessee, businessman Carl Thomas Dean.
(Getty Images)

The couple has been married since 1966. Parton first met Dean at a laundromat when she was 18, and he was 21.

DOLLY PARTON ISN’T SURE ‘WHOSE D— IDEA’ IT WAS TO RECORD A SECRET SONG AND BURY IT IN DOLLYWOOD

“He loves music, but he’s not in the music business at all, so we have different things to talk about, his world and my world, and we work really well together,” the 76-year-old singer told the media outlet.

Like any relationship, they’ve had a few highs and lows, but the singer-songwriter revealed a good laugh keeps the spark alive.

DOLLY PARTON SAYS SHE’S DONE WITH TOURING, WANTS TO BE ‘CLOSER TO HOME’ WITH HER HUSBAND AS THEY GET OLDER

“We have a lot of love and respect for each other, and I think the key to all of it… we both have a crazy, warped sense of humor, so we have a lot of fun.”

Dolly Parton shared that her husband has always been supportive of her legendary career.
(Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

Last month, Parton shared that her husband has always been supportive of her legendary career and teased that she prepared a special gift for him on her upcoming rock and roll album.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

“He loves all of the songs… I’m doing so many of his favorite songs on the album, so I’ll play it to him when it’s all done,” she told ET Canada in December.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, the country music icon added that although she and Dean have been married for 56 years, they’ve been together for 58.

“That’s a long time to be doing anything. It’s nice to be married in this business.”

Stephanie Giang-Paunon is an Entertainment Writer for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on Twitter: @SGiangPaunon.

source

Jobless claims drop to 190,000 as labor market remains tight

January 19, 2023 Published by CNN

Minneapolis
CNN
—

The number of first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell unexpectedly to 190,000 for the week ending January 14, according to Department of Labor data released Thursday.

The latest total is the lowest in 15 weeks and far below economists’ expectations of 214,000, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv.

The steady level of initial claims, which are considered a proxy for layoffs, show that the labor market remains tight.

Continuing claims, which measure the number of people filing for ongoing unemployment benefits, totaled 1.65 million for the week ending January 7. That’s up from the previous monthly tally of 1.63 million.

Weekly jobless claims data is volatile and frequently subject to revision, especially around the holidays.

The four-week moving average of initial claims, which lessens some of that volatility, was 212,500, down from 214,250 during the last week of December. Through 2019, that four-week moving average hovered at around 218,000, Labor Department data shows.

The US labor market has remained strong despite pandemic-related ripple effects, geopolitical uncertainty, soaring inflation and the Federal Reserve’s attempts to knock down the surging prices.

“The Fed would welcome a more substantial slowing in job growth,” said Stuart Hoffman, senior economic adviser for PNC Financial Services, in a statement Thursday. “Right now, the labor market is too tight for the Fed, and job growth is too strong, with average monthly gains of 247,000 payroll jobs in the three months through December 2022.”

In recent months, job growth has slowed and layoff announcements — particularly from technology firms — have become more widespread. But that doesn’t necessarily equate to more joblessness, said Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union.

“While layoffs from high-profile firms make the headlines, plenty of firms are desperate for more workers, especially tech workers. Those workers are in high demand from the auto industry to the Department of Veterans Affairs to not-for-profits,” he said.

“The labor market is still so tight that many tech workers, and workers with other skills, are snapped up well before they need to collect an unemployment check. And they are more likely to be snapped up by smaller firms, which have a much greater demand for workers than major corporations,” Frick added.

source