Israel hit 300 targets in Lebanon after announcing Monday that it is ramping up its attacks against Hezbollah's stockpile of Russian-made missiles in Lebanon. The IDF has warned civilians to evacuate areas where the terror group stores and fires its weapons. The escalation follows a weekend rocket barrage of Hezbollah rockets hitting Israeli cities as far south as Haifa and Nazareth. and reprisal strikes by the Israel Air Force. Early Monday, Israel Defense Forces ...

In Latino exile communities across the country, a question is being asked: is Kamala Harris really a communist? The vice-president has been the subject of numerous misleading claims that she is a socialist or communist since becoming the Democratic candidate for president, according to the US’s largest Spanish-language fact-checker Factchequeado. Experts say these claims capitalise on genuine fears held by some voters who fled repression in countries like Cuba and Venezuela. In one...

A Secret Service Uniformed Division officer suffered a self-inflicted, non-life-threatening injury on duty Saturday in the “negligent discharge” of a service weapon, the division told HuffPost on Monday. Some media reports initially said it was a Secret Service special agent involved in the incident but a spokesperson for the uniformed division clarified the matter. “There are no reported injuries to any other individuals and the officer was evaluated at an area...

An overarching Baby Boomer stereotype is that they have a problem with the younger generations, especially Millennials because they were coddled growing up and lack the determination to do hard things.Many believe that when helicopter parents shelter kids from discomfort, they never develop the emotional resilience that it takes to succeed on their own.Some may even attribute this to the increase in mental illness.A writer on X, who goes by Katie, recently admitted that Boomers who believe facing discomfort has a significant benefit may be right. Her post has been seen over 4 million times. — (@) “My boomer-est opinion is that you have to force yourself to do things that are difficult and uncomfortable and you have to do it often, while you’re young and your brain is still flexible." Yes, even if you are (functionally) mentally ill,” Katie wrote. “Buying groceries can be uncomfortable. going to school/work can be uncomfortable. Socializing can be uncomfortable. The more you do it, the less uncomfortable it will be. If you can do these things (I know that there is a % of the population that isn’t), you have to do them often.”“I’ve never come back to a piece of life advice more than this one,” she continued before quoting Virgil Thompson. “Try a thing you haven't done three times. Once, to get over the fear of doing it. Twice, to learn how to do it. And a third time to figure out whether you like it or not.”Many people agreed with Katie’s Boomer-adjacent thoughts on building emotional resilience.literally how i forced myself to heal from my social anxiety— Sunny (@Akpochimara1) March 20, 2024 This is actual science. You literally build pathways in the brain by doing hard things, pathways that make it easier to repeat doing hard things. By quitting, fleeing, avoiding hard stuff you make it less likely you’ll succeed next time. This is actual brain science.— Tom (@mulltf) March 20, 2024 This is what’s been saving my life from depression, it’s very sound advice even if it doesn’t feel that way in the moment!— Viktoria Katanov ☭ ?? (@viktoriakatanov) March 21, 2024 my life only started improving when i forced myself to do the shit i had no desire to do. you either rot in that dark hole or claw your way out of it. having support and encouragement is wonderful, but at the end of the day you’re the only one who can change the outcome— demon twink from hell (@medi4wh0re) March 20, 2024 Some folks are on the fence. It is true in a sense, but this ability to "force" oneself may itself be governed by processes you don't have control over.— Loads of Daffodils (@LODProduces) March 20, 2024 I agree, but the boomer take extends this to include everything: "it's normal to hate your job, your partner, and life itself, and you just have to push through it." Doing initially uncomfortable things to live a better life is good; ignoring your own needs and happiness isn't.— Matty "Nails" Sheephard (@DeprivedSheep) March 20, 2024 Others disagreed with Katie’s point, saying that the idea that we can all “pull ourselves up by our bootstraps” is ableist and erases the struggles that people with anxiety, depression and other mental illnesses have.I get what you’re saying, but that last part is pretty ableist tbh. Some of us with somatic anxiety disorders are physically unable to do certain things. Like I have issues with driving, and one of my anxiety symptoms is vertigo. Bad combo there. I’m otherwise fully functional.— Lemur ?️‍?????????? (@floatinglemur) March 20, 2024 Clearly you don't understand that people can have executive dysfunction where this is literally impossible, or PTSD where doing "uncomfortable" things is actually very triggering and can cause full blown panic attacks. You have to be comfortable and safe first.— B (they/them) (@normalishvegan) March 20, 2024 I can’t exactly force myself to stop being autistic ?— Ayden Zabelle (@AydenZabelle) March 21, 2024 So, what does the research say?Dr. Simon Sherry, a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, says that coddling has caused real problems for the younger generations. "There is nothing wrong with wanting to keep kids safe, but we must recognize there are unintended consequences in our current approach of excessive caution and vigilance. Instead, we must teach our youth to face anxiety, take risks, and overcome fears,” Dr. Sherry told CTV News. "We need to get control of this societal problem before it causes further damage for future generations.”When it comes to confronting uncomfortable situations, Dr. Launa Marques, Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Former President of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, says avoiding discomfort can make anxiety even worse.“Psychological avoidance isn’t about the actions we take or don’t take, but the intentions behind them,” she told The Washington Post. “If our actions aim to squash discomfort hastily, then we’re probably avoiding. For each of my clients, avoidance became a crutch, initially tempering their anxiety but progressively amplifying it. Psychological avoidance, rather than alleviating anxiety disorders, can exacerbate them.Obviously, everyone’s situation is different and people who are experiencing mental health issues should consult their therapists to determine the best course of action to overcome their challenges.This article originally appeared on 4.5.24

If you’re not following Jonathan Lower and his golden retriever Teddy on their @aguyandagolden TikTok channel, you’re missing out on some grade A wholesome entertainment. According to an interview with Fox, Lower noticed that audiences were more interested in videos of Teddy than his regular videos home improvement projects. So Lower gave the people what they wanted—extremely well edited skits, all with Teddy as the star. And now, they are both full-time content creators.To give you a taste of what they do, Lower recently posted a video of Teddy revealing some pretty impressive piano playing skills.In the clip, Lower drops Teddy off at grandma’s for the day, where Teddy is so moved by grandma’s piano rendition of “Beauty and The Beast” that he sheds a single tear. As soon as grandma leaves, Teddy begins tinkering at the keys, and even pulls up a Youtube tutorial for piano playing. Teddy’s hard work pays off too, because by the time Lower gets back, he’s able to play “Colors of the Wind” like it’s nothing! Watch: @aguyandagolden My dog learned how to play the piano! #dog #goldenretriever #dogsoftiktok ♬ original sound - AGuyandAGolden That wide shot at the end is particularly cool. It really does look like Teddy has turned into Beethoven. The composer, not the movie dog. Needless to say, people were blown away by Teddy’s talent. “Johan Sebastian Bark,” one person commented. Another wrote, “Wow Teddy is a fast learner. When is he going on tour?” Another just commended Teddy’s acting chops, saying he “should have his own movie.” We are past due for another movie series starring a gifted dog. Of course, Teddy might be too busy to film, as he’s already taken on other jobs, including electrician, caped crime fighter and “dogtor.” On the bright side, Lower told Fox that they still have plenty of skit ideas to bring to life. “I have a notebook at home with about 500 to 600 video ideas,” he said. "A lot of them are ambitious and they might take a little bit of time to come to fruition but we think of a lot of short hitting ones and easy ones that we can do now and we knock those out.”To not miss any of those videos, be sure to follow Lower and Teddy on TikTok.This article originally appeared on 5.14.24

It’s funny how once something sort of abstract experience gets a name attached to it, it suddenly becomes much easier to relate to and talk about. The internet—and primarily TikTok—has been great for that. Sure, things get out of hand quite easily (like the overuse of “therapy speak”) but there has also been quite a lot of validation and meaningful conversations that have spawned from these overnight buzzwords. Case and point, “gramnesia.” “Gramneisa,” which combines the words “grandparent” and “amnesia,” has been popping up on Reddit discussions for a while now, though the coiner of the term seems unknown. But only recently has it been really gaining traction. Back in June, Maryland-based therapist and mom Allie McQuaid, really brought “gramnesia” to the forefront of the conversation when she made an Instagram video all about it. “I just heard this term called ‘gramnesia’ when grandparents forget what it’s really like having young kids and I can’t stop thinking about how accurate it is,” she said in the clip. And then in her caption, McQuaid shared how so many of her clients would get “slammed” by their parents about how different (i.e. “easier”) raising kids was for them whenever they brought their own children around. See on Instagram These hyperbolic memories are, as McQuaid put it, so “ridiculous” that they're clearly “forgot[ten] what it was really like in those early years of parenthood.” Some example of “gramnesia” statements could be: “You never had tantrums when you were a kid” “I potty trained you before you were one”“You were always happy to eat whatever we fed you.”“You were spanked and turned out fine!” Clearly, Mcquaid’s video struck a chord, because it wasn’t long before people begin chiming in with their own stories of gramneis. “My MIL, over the years, loved to act like her children were perfect growing up. I love to tell the stories of her son (my hubby) getting into all kinds of trouble as a kid - oh the shock.” “*Baby makes any kind of noise* Grandma: "Oh they must be teething!" Me : "Umm she's 4 months old, She isn't teething yet - just has feelings and is you know - A BABY" grandma: ‘well my kids had all their teeth by 4 months’ ??” “5 months old and not sleeping through the night? Did you try rice cereal? Baby not walking ? Rice cereal. Baby not in college yet? Have you tried rice cereal?” “Ugh my dad literally just said this to me last week… ‘I don’t remember you guys having this many tantrums’… ? right after my boys were upset.” Mcquaid posited some theories as to why gramnesia exists in the first place. One could simply be the natural tendency to have a cognitive bias which puts past experiences in a more positive light than they actually were, aka having “euphoric recall.”. As she told Huffpost, we tend to have a “foggier memory of how things truly were” as we get older, “especially if the experience we had was particularly difficult or even traumatic.” Plus, the first few years of parenthood are often such a blur anyway. Mcquaid herself admitted that I” I even have a hard time remembering the first year of motherhood, and that was only four years ago.” In addition, Mcquaid theorized that a gramnesia exists because previous generations “were not given space to express emotions or indicate that they were struggling to adjust to motherhood.” Honestly, a sound hypothesis. And for the frustrated folks itching to confront their boomer parents about this, Mcquaid suggests picking your battles. “Check your capacity if you have the space or energy to even consider bringing up your frustration with your parents,” she told Huffpost. “You are likely in the throes of parenting right now, and maybe all you can do is smile and nod after hearing for the 100th time how ‘you were never like this.’” However, if you are determined to bring it up, Mcquaid suggests to keep it centered around you the situation makes you feel, rather than combating their memories. So instead of “that’s NOT how it happened!” try something like “When you said that I never did X when I was Y’s age, it makes me question how well I’m doing as a parent.” Probably easier said than done, to be sure. And while this sore spot might never come to a full resolution for a lot of millennial parents, at least take some solace in knowing that you’re not crazy, nor are you alone. Clearly.

“How on earth can one person do it all?”This is a question so many mothers ask themselves. Especially after giving birth, when life seems to expect them to take care of their newborn, get their body back, return to work and keep a clean house all at the same time. It’s a question that had completely overwhelmed Monica Murphy, only one month into welcoming her third child, while still recovering from a C-section and taking care of her other children, who were also nursing, according to Today.com.Luckily for Murphy, her mom had the perfect piece of advice to ease her troubled mind. And luckily for us, it was all caught on the family’s doorbell cam.In a now-viral Instagram post, Murphy wrote her formidable to-do list, which included: WorkingStaying present on social mediaMaintaining a clean homeTandem breastfeedingBeing present with my kidsEating a nutritious dietMaking time for my husbandKeeping in touch with friendsMaking time for myselfPlanning activities for kidsFrick decorate for ChristmasFollowed by that burning question: “How on earth can one person do it all?”Of course, Murphy hadn’t expressed any of these stresses to her mom, who had been visiting. But still, her mom knew something heavily weighed on her daughter's mind. So, as she was walking out, Murphy’s mom left her with these words of wisdom: “They aren’t gonna remember a clean house, they are gonna remember how much you loved them and hung out with them.” See on Instagram Murphy told Today.com that she “broke down” crying after her mom had left, and was instantly inspired to share the video for other moms who needed similar encouragement. Indeed, the message struck an emotional chord with thousands of viewers. “The way I would’ve just bawled if she said that to me,” one person commented. Another added, “I needed to hear this today.”Some shared how it was a sentiment they sadly would never hear from their own mothers, and how they are now re-parenting themselves.“My mom would just nag I’m lazy and how am I supposed to leave my house a mess. So I’m just easing my anxiety with gentle words from other people’s mothers. As I’ve been doing my whole life. Clean house was above happy children,” one person wrote. It can be so easy for moms to lose themselves in the never ending cycle of responsibilities and, frankly, unrealistic societal expectations. But hopefully this sweet message can help moms everywhere go a bit easier on themselves, and actually enjoy the time they have with their kids. That’s part of what family is all about, after all. This article originally appeared on 11.15.23

Last November, Upworthy published a popular story about Chloe Sexton, a mother who went viral on TikTok for a video she made explaining “daddy privilege” or the idea that fathers are applauded for doing things that mothers are supposed to do."In my opinion, 'daddy privilege' is that subtle upper hand men sidestep into as parents that allows them to gain praise for simply…being a parent," she said. "You fed the baby? What a great dad! You held the baby while mommy bathed? So considerate of you! You picked up something for dinner? What would your family do without you?! It's all the little ways mothers do exactly what the world expects of them without a second thought and then watch fathers get praised for simply showing up."Sadly, the post resonated with a lot of mothers, because it's true. Expectations for fathers are so low that men are commended for handling basic parenting tasks. But if a mother falls short of perfection, she faces harsh criticism.Mary Catherine Starr, a mother living in Cape Cod who owns a design studio and teaches yoga, is getting a lot of love on Instagram for her cartoon series that perfectly explains daddy privilege.In "An Illustrated Guide to the Double Standards of Parenting," Starr shares this concept by showing that when a man comes home with fast food for his kids he's the "fun dad." But if a mom comes back with a bag from McDonald's she is seen as a "lazy mom."In the comics, the same double standards apply whether it's how they handle technology or parent at the park.(Note: Click the arrow on the right-hand side of the image to see the slideshow.) See on Instagram Starr was quick to point out in the comments that the target of her comics isn’t fathers, but society at large. “This is not a dig at dads, it's a dig at our society—a society that applauds dads for handling the most basic of parenting duties + expects nothing short of perfection from mothers (or even worse, shames them for every decision and/or move they make!),” she wrote.The comics resonated with a lot of women."This hit a nerve with so many women! I was a single mom living in an apartment,” an Instagram user named Saturdayfarm wrote in the comments. “Next door - a single dad. Neighbors felt so bad for him that they helped him with his laundry, brought over food, and babysat. For nothing. I just shakily carried on somehow. And I had so much less money and opportunities.”"This is exactly part of the why I feel like being ‘just’ a mom isn’t as valuable. Being so run of the mill. But if my husband has the baby in a sling, the toddler in the pram and is out walking the dog, he’s superman for letting me have one hour for zoom work," rebecca_lee-close_yoga wrote.A father who understands his privilege completely supports Starr’s message."It actually annoys me when I get those types of comments / ‘compliments’ knowing it’s totally a double standard," JonaJooey wrote.Starr’s comics and Sexton’s TikTok videos won't stop the double standards when it comes to parenting, but they do a great job at holding a mirror up to the problem. Where do we go from here? We can start by having greater expectations for fathers and holding them up to a higher standard. Then, we should take the energy we put into praising dads for doing the bare minimum and heap it on mothers who thanklessly go about the most important job in the world.This story originally appeared on 02.01.22

One of the biggest problems with coffee production is that it generates an incredible amount of waste. Once coffee beans are separated from cherries, about 45% of the entire biomass is discarded.So for every pound of roasted coffee we enjoy, an equivalent amount of coffee pulp is discarded into massive landfills across the globe. That means that approximately 10 million tons of coffee pulp is discarded into the environment every year.When disposed of improperly, the waste can cause serious damage soil and water sources.However, a new study published in the British Ecological Society journal Ecological Solutions and Evidence has found that coffee pulp isn't just a nuisance to be discarded. It can have an incredibly positive impact on regrowing deforested areas of the planet.In 2018, researchers from ETH-Zurich and the University of Hawaii spread 30 dump trucks worth of coffee pulp over a roughly 100' x 130' area of degraded land in Costa Rica. The experiment took place on a former coffee farm that underwent rapid deforestation in the 1950s.The coffee pulp was spread three-feet thick over the entire area.Another plot of land near the coffee pulp dump was left alone to act as a control for the experiment."The results were dramatic." Dr. Rebecca Cole, lead author of the study, said. "The area treated with a thick layer of coffee pulp turned into a small forest in only two years while the control plot remained dominated by non-native pasture grasses."In just two years, the area treated with coffee pulp had an 80% canopy cover, compared to just 20% of the control area. So, the coffee-pulp-treated area grew four times more rapidly. Like a jolt of caffeine, it reinvigorated biological activity in the area.The canopy was also four times taller than that of the control.The coffee-treated area also eliminated an invasive species of grass that took over the land and prevented forest succession. Its elimination allowed for other native species to take over and recolonize the area."This case study suggests that agricultural by-products can be used to speed up forest recovery on degraded tropical lands. In situations where processing these by-products incurs a cost to agricultural industries, using them for restoration to meet global reforestation objectives can represent a 'win-win' scenario," Dr. Cole said.If the results are repeatable it's a win-win for coffee drinkers and the environment.Researchers believe that coffee treatments can be a cost-effective way to reforest degraded land. They may also work to reverse the effects of climate change by supporting the growth of forests across the globe.The 2016 Paris Agreement made reforestation an important part of the fight against climate change. The agreement incentivizes developing countries to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, promote forest conservation and sustainable management, and enhance forest carbon stocks in developing countries."We hope our study is a jumping off point for other researchers and industries to take a look at how they might make their production more efficient by creating links to the global restoration movement," Dr. Cole said.This article originally appeared on 03.29.21

Grossing over two billion. The post Which band has made the most money from touring? first appeared on Far Out Magazine.