Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The glasses haven’t gone anywhere. And they aren’t going anywhere. The same goes for Stephen Nedoroscik’s hair, which remains a bit of a floppy, curly brown mess.Nor, insists the gymnast who became forever known as “Pommel Horse Guy” after winning a pair of bronze medals in Paris, has his devotion to the discipline that made him one of the breakout stars of the 2024 Olympics faded in the least.While Nedoroscik leaned into the fame, most notably a long run on “Dancing With the Stars” last fall, followed immediately by a stint co-hosting the show’s national tour,…

ESPN’s much-discussed streaming service finally has its launch date.The network announced Wednesday that its direct-to-consumer service and enhanced app will debut Aug. 21. The announcement coincided with Disney’s quarterly earning report.This week’s expanded deals with the NFL and a new partnership with WWE provides ESPN the more inventory and offerings, which it hopes will bolster the company in a landscape that is divided among cable, satellite and streaming.Will the ESPN service result in more subscribers?According to Nielsen, streaming usage surpassed broadcast and cable combined in U.S. television usage for the first time. Streaming was at 44.8% compared to linear’s 44.2%.…

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — Indian authorities have banned 25 books in Kashmir that they say propagate “false narratives” and “secessionism” in the disputed region, where strict controls on the media have escalated in recent years.The ban threatens people with prison time for selling or owning these works by authors such as Booker Prize-winning novelist and activist Arundhati Roy, constitutional expert A.G. Noorani, and noted academicians and historians like Sumantra Bose, Christopher Snedden and Victoria Schofield. Threat of prison timeThe order was issued on Tuesday by the region’s Home Department, which is under the direct control of Lt. Gov. Manoj Sinha,…

Adults and children in the United States are getting more than 50% of their total calories from ultra-processed foods, according to a new federal report released early Thursday.Among Americans aged 1 and older, an average of 55% of their total calories came from ultra-processed foods, according to results from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey conducted between August 2021 and August 2023 and run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).Children aged 18 and younger consumed a higher percentage of calories from ultra-processed foods at 61.9% compared to 53% for adults aged 19 and older.MORE: How eating…

Most Americans get more than half their calories from ultra-processed foods, those super-tasty, energy-dense foods typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats, according to a new federal report.Nutrition research has shown for years that ultra-processed foods make up a big chunk of the U.S. diet, especially for kids and teens.For the first time, however, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed those high levels of consumption, using dietary data collected from August 2021 to August 2023.The report comes amid growing scrutiny of such foods by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who blames them for causing…

Not only does Airbnb want to be the “everything app” — where users can book literally everything, from accommodations to experiences and services — it also wants to do the booking for you.Brian Chesky, cofounder and CEO of Airbnb, laid out his vision for the travel app’s AI-powered future during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Airbnb beat revenue expectations for quarter two and announced a $6 billion stock buyback, but said it expected slower growth in Q3. The stock was down more than 6% after-hours.”Over the next couple of years, I think what you’re going to see is…

By Steve GormanLOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Wildfires that devastated parts of the Los Angeles area in January indirectly led to hundreds of deaths in the ensuing weeks, far exceeding the official toll of 31 fatalities, according to a study released on Wednesday.The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, or JAMA, estimated 440 “excess deaths” were attributable to the fires from January 5 to February 1, using models that compared predicted mortality under normal circumstances to actual numbers documented during that period.The additional deaths likely reflect a mix of factors, including increased exposure of people with heart and…

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Harvard University professor Alberto Ascherio’s research is literally frozen. Collected from millions of U.S. soldiers over two decades using millions of dollars from taxpayers, the epidemiology and nutrition scientist has blood samples stored in liquid nitrogen freezers within the university’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The samples are key to his award-winning research, which seeks a cure to multiple sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases. But for months, Ascherio has been unable to work with the samples because he lost $7 million in federal research funding, a casualty of Harvard’s fight with the Trump administration.“It’s like…

Bumble isn’t giving up on helping people find and make new friends.In fact, it’s doubling down on Bumble For Friends (BFF) and gearing up to launch a new version of the app in August, the company announced during its second quarter earnings call.Bumble’s CEO, Whitney Wolfe Herd, said the BFF app is “one of our most exciting long-term growth opportunities, especially as demand for friendship, real-world connection, and belonging continues to grow.”The new version of the BFF app is built on Geneva, a community-focused social platform Bumble acquired in 2024, as well as Bumble’s safety infrastructure, Wolfe Herd said. She…

Craving french fries? Dunking your spuds in a deep fryer might be a recipe for elevating your risk of Type 2 diabetes.According to a study published Wednesday in the journal BMJ, swapping out your weekly dose of frites for boiled, baked or mashed potatoes could lower your risk of this chronic condition.The authors examined the diets of more than 205,000 adults in the U.S. who responded to questionnaires about what they ate over nearly four decades. Among those who consumed potatoes, the authors looked at which people developed Type 2 diabetes, a disease that leads to persistently high blood sugar…