The proportion of US adults who smoke cigarettes dropped to 13.7% last year, the lowest level since tracking started in 1965, but e-cigarette users increased to 3.2% in 2018 from 2.8% in 2017, partly because of rising use among young adults ages 18 to 24. Overall, 19.7% of American adults used tobacco products last year, including cigarettes, cigarillos, cigars, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, hookah and pipes.
Identify the people and activities that affect your energy levels as a starting point for choosing more of what invigorates you, writes Scott Eblin. "There's even a chance that you might influence the energy draining people in your life to take a more productive path," he writes.
Some students in rural Knott County, Ky., are learning about the importance of the census and are working to educate families and communities about the process and the importance of participating in the 2020 count by the U.S. Census Bureau. A regional student government created by the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative is spearheading education efforts and some teachers are incorporating the census into lessons.
Deere & Co. this year has increased its purchasing of tractors and construction equipment for leasing to farmers and builders. Leasing is more complicated than selling, and the company runs the risk that customers will come to prefer leases over outright purchases, Bob Tita writes.
Amazon has yet to disclose details on its plans for a new grocery concept set to launch in Los Angeles next year, which has industry watchers speculating. Some guess the spaces will double as fulfillment centers with robots quickly picking and packing orders while others guess the format could be more like no-frills, low-priced German grocery chain Lidl.
Apple is funding three large medical research studies involving the company's iPhones, Watches and apps, including a women's health study led by researchers at Harvard University. These "virtual studies" potentially expand access to participation by enabling the collection of data from patients across a broad geographic area, and Apple has acquired its own health and wellness startups and added medical researchers.
Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales launched WT:Social in October, an ad-free online networking and news sharing site that he hopes will contend with Facebook and Twitter. The site also features SubWikis reminiscent of Facebook groups and enables users to follow hashtags or add them to posts, but signup access is currently limited to a small group of 50,000 individuals.
Zappos has created a new platform called Goods for Good, which will feature a curated collection of products from more than 150 brands that promote causes. The socially conscious platform will organize products into five categories: sustainably certified, recycled, vegan, organic and give back.
⋅ Axios
Apple is removing all 181 apps related to vaping from its App Store, noting concerns expressed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Heart Association regarding the health hazards of vaping. Users who already have the apps, which offer vaping-related news and social networks and can be used to control vaping pens, will still have access to them.
Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have proposed legislation to establish a Bureau of Prescription Drug Affordability and Access and give the federal government the authority to control list prices and dismantle patent protections for drugmakers that don't cooperate. The Prescription Drug Affordability and Access Act would require companies to justify proposed prices by disclosing costs for research and development, marketing, and executive salaries, among other measures.
The federal government could take action to break up giant technology companies that abuse their power, Makan Delrahim, the Department of Justice's antitrust division chief said this week at the WSJ Tech Live conference. Delrahim has assigned several members of his staff to study artificial intelligence and machine learning to gain deeper insight into tech companies' work as an antitrust investigation into companies like Facebook and Google continues.
Ford will release an electric Mustang crossover utility vehicle next year. The company is spending $11 billion on the 40 models of electric or hybrid vehicles it will roll out by 2022, and hybrid and battery versions of the F-150 are next.
High school students have inspired throngs of activists and ordinary citizens worldwide to join the Global Climate Strike today to demand action on climate change from their national leaders. Over a million students were excused from school in New York City to participate in strike protests, while similar demonstrations are occurring in major cities all over the world.
Hawaiian Airlines shared highlights from its iconic 90th anniversary milestone, which took place Monday. The airline charted "the ultimate flyback flight" on HA1111, which mirrored a similar flight itinerary as the first flight in the carrier's history. Passengers were served by flight attendants in original uniforms from the 1960s, '70s and '80s and even received a copy of the Nov. 11, 1929, Honolulu Star-Bulletin newspaper as well as 90,000 HawaiianMiles.
Russian airline Aeroflot was accused by some of "fat cat shaming" upon learning that Mikhail Galin's frequent flier miles were taken away after he smuggled his 22-pound cat, Viktor, onto a plane. Galin earlier chose to miss a flight when he wasn't allowed to board with Viktor, who is 4.5 pounds over the limit -- then found a lookalike cat to take Viktor's place for a weigh-in for a later flight, ultimately swapping the two cats before boarding and getting caught.