The Daily Valet. - 6/21/23, Wednesday
✔️ Mind the Gap
Wednesday, June 21st Edition
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. Editor
Do you get jet lag? I've been lucky to avoid it often, but when it hits, it hits hard.
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Today’s Big Story
U.S. Falls Behind in Gender Gap
The U.S. is 43rd out of 146 countries, sliding 16 slots from last year, an annual report found
So much for progress. The U.S. ranking for gender equality fell significantly over the past year due to a widening gap in political empowerment and health outcomes between men and women, according to a report released on Tuesday by the World Economic Forum.On the bright side, global gender parity—which was rocked by labor disruptions and other aspects of the pandemic—is back to pre-Covid levels. But according to the WEF researchers, the gap isn't expected to close entirely for another 131 years, to be exact. In other words, not until 2154. So ... there's hope for our great-great-great-grandkids?“We've sort of stalled in terms of progress, even if some of the numbers have started to recover,” Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF, wrote in the report. She added, the “tepid progress” has created an “urgent case for renewed and concerted action.”The report, which assesses equity between men and women on indexes ranging from economic participation and political leadership to work and physical well-being, ranked the U.S. 43rd out of 146 countries studied—ranking directly beneath Colombia and above Luxembourg. But last year, the U.S. ranked 27th.The falloff in the U.S. ranking from last year is largely due to a widening gap between men and women in the realm of political empowerment, which measures factors such as the share of women who hold positions in the federal legislature and as heads of state, the study found. However, Iceland—a country that has taken the lead in closing the gender wage gap and has had multiple female leaders—was given the title of most gender-equal country in the world for the 14th consecutive year.
Meanwhile:
NASA is awarding more than $5 million in funding to Women’s Colleges and Universities to tackle the STEM gender gap.
Hunter Biden Takes a Plea Deal
The agreement puts him in the cross-hairs of President Biden’s adversaries again
President Biden's son, Hunter, has faced scrutiny over his finances for years. On Tuesday, the younger Biden agreed to a plea deal regarding a pair of tax-related misdemeanors and a deferred prosecution agreement on a felony gun charge. He will likely avoid jail time if a judge signs off.The deal with federal prosecutors marks the culmination of a five-year investigation by the U.S. attorney in Delaware, David Weiss, who was appointed by former President Trump and has remained in office under the Biden administration to see through the criminal inquiry into the president's son.The charges brought against him are rarely prosecuted, legal experts say. But the agreement put Hunter in the cross-hairs of President Biden's political adversaries once again. A White House spokesperson said in a statement on Tuesday: “The President and First Lady love their son and support him as he continues to rebuild his life. We will have no further comment.”
Dig Deeper:
Here are the charges in Hunter Biden’s plea deal, and what exactly they mean.
Partner
You probably don't need more coffee, but you could very well be deficient in an essential element.
Qantas Aims to Reduce Jet Lag
The Aussie airline is testing out new practices to make long-distance travel more comfortable
Traveling to far-flung locations enriches your life in a myriad of ways, but one of the few downsides of skipping over a few timezones is jet lag. Rather than enjoying your trip the first couple of days, you have trouble sleeping at night, feel drowsy and sluggish during the day. According to the CDC, it affects your mood, your ability to concentrate, and your physical and mental performance.Thankfully, researchers for the Australian airline Qantas are working to find a cure to lessen the impact of that scourge on its passengers. The carrier released some of the ways in which it's trying to reduce jet lag on upcoming “Sunrise” flights, which will fly nonstop from New York and London to Sydney. Those direct flights will take around 20 hours—and the change in time difference and hemispheres is sure to mess with some travelers' internal clocks.Working with researchers from the University of Sydney, the airline's team of 10 sleep experts, circadian researchers, and nutrition and movement specialists found that adjusted lighting and sleep schedules, paired with light stretching and meals featuring specific ingredients—like chili and chocolate—improved passenger's well-being by reducing their jet lag. The volunteers reported less fatigue, better sleep during the flight, and better cognitive performance in the two days after traveling.
Meanwhile:
Delta has just added a jet lag-busting daytime flight from New York City to Paris.
Fruits Really Are Getting Bigger
Why is so much fresh produce suddenly so large?
For the past year, there's been a lot of talk about “shrinkflation,” as products shrink in size but stay the same price in order to make back lost profits. But at least one food category has been seeing the opposite. While processed foods keep getting smaller, fresh produce only seems to have gotten bigger.This has promoted The Takeout to ask: What's with all the giant fruit? Writer Luke Gralia noticed his blueberries swelling, but bigger isn't always better. Spoon University seems to agrees that the small ones taste better, despite many people's preference for the new, larger (but gooier) blueberries.Delish has noticed this as well and found a few reasons for the inflated fruits. For one, larger berries (like blueberries and strawberries) have a longer shelf life. And farmers make more money when they fill more boxes with fewer, larger fruits. And even climate change factors into this. As The Telegraph points out, abnormal weather patterns can shrink a harvest of apples. Conversely, abnormally warm weather can lead to apples that grow two to three times their regular size.
FYI:
There are over 1,000 different kinds of apples and none of them are native to America. Actually, they’re said to have originated from Kazakhstan.
In Other News
But it's really just a formality. Don't expect it to start next month.
Have you heard about ...
Partner
A Smarter Swap for Sports Drinks
If you're active, or following a keto or paleo diet, you Could be low on vital Elctrolytes
It's easy to be electrolyte deficient during the summer when we're more active and sweating. Did you know that you can lose up to seven grams of sodium per day just from sweat? What you probably did know is that electrolytes are vital for most bodily functions. That's why we feel so cruddy when we run low on them. When they aren't replaced, it's common to experience muscle cramps and fatigue. That's why proper rehydration is so important.But grabbing your average sports drink might not be doing what you hope it is—most have around 34 grams of sugar in them. And only 270 mg of sodium. LMNT is a smarter (and tastier) alternative. The single-severing drink mix has all the vital electrolytes you need and nothing you don't. That means a generous dose of salt, along with potassium and magnesium but absolutely no sugar. LMNT also skips the artificial ingredients and colors. Plus, they've got a science-backed electrolyte ratio of 1,000 mg sodium, 200 mg potassium and 60 mg magnesium. The fruit flavors (like new Grapefuit Salt) are refreshing and sweetened only with natural, no-calorie stevia. Now I can see why it's used by everyone from pro athletes and Olympians to Navy Seals.
Try it:
Free sample pack with any purchase. That's eight single serving packets with any order.
Shopping
What We’re Buying
A striped t-shirt
This soft retro-inspired T-shirt features custom-dyed stripes and is reminiscent of something you'd see in The Sandlot.
Get It:
Franklin T-shirt, $60 / $42 by OnlyNY
Morning Motto
Only let the good stuff in.
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