As China seeks to shore up its faltering economy, officials are rewarding citizens with travel discounts and offering

Uma Thurman and her doppelganger son Levon Hawke made a striking entrance at the 76th Cannes Film Festival

George Russell was confirmed as Lewis Hamilton’s new team-mate at Mercedes on this day in 2021. The much-anticipated announcement came after Valtteri Bottas sealed a move to Alfa Romeo for 2022. English driver Russell, then 23, earned the switch to the Silver Arrows after three impressive campaigns with Williams. Commenting on his blockbuster transfer, Russell said: “It’s a special day for me personally and professionally. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t absolutely buzzing. It’s a huge opportunity and one I want to grab with both hands. “But I’m under no illusions as to the scale of the challenge; it’s going to be a steep learning curve. “I want to do my new team-mates proud. Of course, one of those new team-mates is in my opinion the greatest driver of all time. “I’ve looked up to Lewis since I was in go-karts and the opportunity to learn from someone who has become a role model both on and off track can only benefit me as a driver, a professional, and a human being.” In a message posted on Instagram, seven-time world champion Hamilton said: “I want to take a moment to welcome George Russell to the team. “I remember meeting him when he was young, dreaming of one day being a Formula One driver. I’d only just reached my own dream of becoming an F1 driver, so I know what this day means and how it will feel for him. “He is a great example to all the kids out there that dreams do come true when you chase them wholeheartedly. “Through hard work he has rightly earned his spot on our team. I look forward to seeing him grow as a driver with this great team and working with him to raise Mercedes higher. See you next year.” In his first season with Mercedes, Russell landed his maiden victory at the penultimate round in Brazil. He also outscored Hamilton. Ahead of last weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Mercedes announced Russell, 25, will continue to partner Hamilton, 38, at Mercedes until at least the end of 2025. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz gets goosebumps after landing pole for Italian Grand Prix Carlos Sainz’s pace in practice gives Ferrari fans hope for Italian Grand Prix How Max Verstappen equalled Sebastien Vettel’s record for consecutive race wins

The brain’s appetite control centre is different in the brains of people who are overweight or live with obesity, a new study suggests. The researchers said their findings add further evidence to the relevance of brain structure to weight and food consumption. Current estimates suggest that more than 1.9 billion people worldwide are either overweight or obese. And, according to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, almost two-thirds of adults in the UK are overweight or living with obesity. This increases the risk of developing health issues like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and stroke, cancer and poorer mental health. The last two decades have given us important insights about appetite control and how it may be altered in obesity Professor Paul Fletcher, University of Cambridge A number of factors influence how much people eat and what they eat, including genetics, hormone regulation, and the environment they live in, researchers say. However, it is not entirely clear what happens to the brain to tell us that we are hungry or full. Past studies have shown that the hypothalamus – a small region of the brain about the size of an almond – plays an important role. Dr Stephanie Brown, from the Department of Psychiatry and Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, said: “Although we know the hypothalamus is important for determining how much we eat, we actually have very little direct information about this brain region in living humans. “That’s because it is very small and hard to make out on traditional MRI brain scans.” Professor Paul Fletcher, the study’s senior author, from the Department of Psychiatry and Clare College, Cambridge, said: “The last two decades have given us important insights about appetite control and how it may be altered in obesity. “Metabolic researchers at Cambridge have played a leading role in this. “Our hope is that, by taking this new approach to analysing brain scans in large datasets, we can further extend this work into humans, ultimately relating these subtle structural brain findings to changes in appetite and eating and generating a more comprehensive understanding of obesity.” The majority of evidence for the role of the hypothalamus in appetite regulation comes from animal studies, which indicate complex interacting pathways within the hypothalamus, with different cell populations acting together to tell us when we are hungry or full. To get around this researchers used an algorithm developed using machine learning to analyse brain scans taken from 1,351 young adults across a range of BMI scores. They looked for differences in the hypothalamus when comparing individuals who are underweight, healthy weight, overweight, or living with obesity. According to the findings, the overall volume of the hypothalamus was significantly larger in the overweight and obese groups of young adults. The researchers describe a significant relationship between volume of the hypothalamus and body mass index (BMI). The differences were most apparent in those sub-regions of the hypothalamus that control appetite through the release of hormones to balance hunger and fullness. While the exact significance of the finding is unclear, one explanation is that the change relates to inflammation, the researchers suggest. Eating a high-fat diet could trigger inflammation of our appetite control centre Dr Stephanie Brown, University of Cambridge Previous animal studies have shown that a high-fat diet can cause inflammation of the hypothalamus, which in turn prompts insulin resistance and obesity. In mice, just three days of a fat-rich diet is enough to cause this inflammation. Other studies have shown that this inflammation can raise the threshold at which animals are full – in other words, they have to eat more food than usual to feel full. Dr Brown added: “If what we see in mice is the case in people, then eating a high-fat diet could trigger inflammation of our appetite control centre. “Over time, this would change our ability to tell when we’ve eaten enough and to how our body processes blood sugar, leading us to put on weight.” More research is needed to confirm whether increased volume in the hypothalamus is a result of being overweight or whether people with larger hypothalami are predisposed to eat more in the first place. It is also possible that these two factors interact with each other, causing a feedback loop, the study published in Neuroimage: Clinical, and supported by the Bernard Wolfe Health Neuroscience Fund, Wellcome and the NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, with additional funding from Alzheimer’s Research UK, suggests.

Lina Khan’s Federal Trade Commission has already filed three cases against Amazon.com Inc. Now she’s gearing up for

Rupert Murdoch's reign over the insidious right-wing media kingdom he forged into existence over a decades-long career is coming to a close.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 15, 2023--

Former president Donald Trump is taking credit for the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade last year by claiming he nominated the justices who did not agree with the 1973 precedent. On Tuesday night’s episode of Rob Schmitt Tonight on Newsmax, Mr Trump compared his action against abortion to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’, saying he has done more for pro-life people. “First of all, I’m the one that got rid of Roe v. Wade and everybody said that was an impossible thing to do,” Mr Trump boasted. Mr DeSantis recently signed into law a six-week ban that prevents anyone from seeking an abortion after six weeks of gestation, with the exception of cases where ending a pregnancy would save the mother’s life. As of now, Florida allows abortions for pregnancies involving rape or incept until 15 weeks of gestation, so long as the mother can provide documentation such as a restraining order or police report. But despite Florida’s harsh move to restrict abortion access, Mr Trump believes he should be receiving more credit for the work he’s done. “What I’ve done is given the pro-life people, who are wonderful people and loving people, I’ve given them the power of negotiation. Because now they’re able to negotiate something that is going to be very important,” Mr Trump said. During his presidential term, Mr Trump nominated three Justices to the Supreme Court - Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. All three Justices joined the majority opinion of Dobbs v Jackson last summer to help overturn Roe v Wade as well as Planned Parenthood v Casey. This returned the legality of abortions to each state individually. As of May 2023, 19 states have banned abortions either fully or restricted until a certain week of gestation, including Florida. “DeSantis, or Ron Desanctimonious as I call him, he came out with the six weeks — other people agree with and a lot of people don’t,” Mr Trump said. The former president used Mr DeSantis’ recent ban to highlight how unpopular he is with female voters — indicating the ban is too restrictive. “Ron, if you take a look, he’s losing women voters like crazy,” Mr Trump said before citing several news stories about Mr DeSantis’ unpopularity with women. The former president has been comparing himself positively to Mr DeSantis in the last few months as rumours are swirling that Mr DeSantis is preparing to announce his bid for Republican presidential candidate. “I don’t do it for the women, for the men, I do what’s right,” Mr Trump added. It is thought that Mr DeSantis could be a leading contender for Republicans, making him a possible threat to Mr Trump’s campaign. As of recently, any opportunity Mr Trump has to criticise Mr DeSantis, he takes it — as evidenced by the Newsmax interview. Mr Trump both credited himself with overturning Roe v Wade while asserting that Mr DeSantis was unpopular with women due to Florida’s six-week ban. Mr Trump has changed his opinion on abortion throughout his life. In the 1990s the former president claimed he was pro-choice but by 2015 he told reporters he was pro-life. In 2016, Mr Trump said he would have “preferred” if abortion were up to the States but accepted the federal law. After implementing the three Justices who overturned Roe v Wade last year, Mr Trump took credit for the decision. But since then, the former president has never made it clear at what point in gestation abortions should be illegal. Read More DeSantis reacts to Trump implying Florida abortion ban is ‘too harsh’ as 2024 fight heats up Abortion after 12 weeks banned in North Carolina after GOP lawmakers override governor’s veto Abortion pill case moves to appeals court, on track for Supreme Court Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement

Earth Day may have come and gone, but as the age-old adage goes, every day is Earth Day. In 2023, it's not that hard to find ways to put the environment first. From reusable beeswax wraps to compostable trash bags, sustainability goods are a top priority — especially where sleep is concerned. We’re tackling eco-consciousness from the comfort of our beds with Earth-friendly companies that provide lower-impact alternatives to the mattress’s more-affordable cousin: the mattress topper.

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