Login | November 29, 2023
Business
Treating soil and farmers better can help save what's left of Amazon

TEKOHAW, Brazil (AP) — At dawn in this small Amazonian village in Brazil's Para state, flocks of noisy green parrots soar overhead as children run and play between wooden homes, kicking up sandy soil — in places white and bare as a beach.
The ground reveals one of the paradoxes of the rainforest. Renowned for its bea ... (full story)
Beef is a way of life in Texas, but it's hard on the planet. This rancher thinks she can change that

ROSSTON, Texas (AP) — The cattle part as Meredith Ellis edges her small four-wheeler through the herd, silently counting the cows and calves. It's the way she starts most days on her 3,000-acre Texas ranch: ensuring all the cattle are safe, deciding when they should move to another pasture, and ensuring the grass is as healthy ... (full story)
Active vs. passive
Q. What's an "actively managed" mutual fund? -- B.G., Rockville, Maryland
A. There are two strategies for managing a mutual fund: active and passive management. An actively managed fund is run by financial professionals who study and select various investments for the fund. A passively managed fund, in contrast, needs ... (full story)
Local
Fewer U.S. college students are studying a foreign language − and that spells trouble for national security
(THE CONVERSATION) When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, on Oct. 4, 1957, it did more than spark fears about America's ability to compete technologically. It also raised concerns that the U.S. had a shortage of Russian speakers capable of monitoring Soviet scientific and military activities. ... (full story)
Colleges face gambling addiction among students as sports betting spreads
(THE CONVERSATION) Three out of four college students have gambled in the past year, whether legally or illegally, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling.
An estimated 2% to 3% of U.S. adults have a gambling problem. The portion of college students with a problem, however, is potentially twice that number – ... (full story)
State
Their families wiped out, grieving Palestinians in Gaza ask why

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The night a blast struck his family's home in the Gaza Strip, Ahmed al-Naouq was more than 2,000 miles away but he still jolted awake, consumed with inexplicable panic.
He reached for his cellphone to find that a friend had written — and then deleted — a message. Al-Naouq called h ... (full story)
A key US spy tool will lapse at year's end unless Congress and the White House can cut a deal

WASHINGTON (AP) — With less than two months until the end of the year, the Biden administration is running out of time to win the reauthorization of a spy program it says is vital to preventing terrorism, catching spies and disrupting cyberattacks.
The tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, will ex ... (full story)