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Paris is banning cars. Here's why U.S. cities need to follow suit — basically now.

Paris' romantic air just got more breathable, and its world-famous streets more stroll-able.

The city's government unveiled an ambitious plan to ban gas-powered cars from the city by the end of the next decade.

"We have planned the end of thermic vehicle use, and therefore of fossil energies, by 2030," Christophe Nadjovski, Paris deputy mayor in charge of transportation, told France Info radio.


The city's mayor, Anne Hidalgo, had already announced a plan to ban diesel-powered vehicles from the city by 2024.

The French capital is the latest in a string of European cities cracking down on cars.

Oslo recently announced plans to ban parking spaces by 2019. Madrid plans to ban gas-powered cars from the bulk of its city center by 2020.

These moves may seem drastic, but recent research suggests many more similarly extreme steps could be necessary to avert climate catastrophe.

A University of Michigan study recently released estimates the U.S. automotive and electricity industries have fewer than nine years to take large-scale emission-limiting action before runaway warming becomes the most probable outcome.

The Los Angeles skyline in 2015. Photo by Mark Ralston/Getty Images.

"If we do not act to reduce greenhouse gas emissions forcefully prior to the 2020 election, costs ​to reduce emissions at a magnitude and timing consistent with averting dangerous human interference with the climate will skyrocket," Steven Skerlos, University of Michigan professor of mechanical engineering, said in a news release announcing the results. "That will only make the inevitable shift to renewable energy less effective in maintaining a stable climate system throughout the lives of children already born."

Some U.S. cities and states are taking steps to reduce vehicle emissions within their borders.

In May, California regulators announced stringent targets for reducing carbon emissions over the next eight years, including a requirement that automakers sell a higher percentage of low-emission vehicles in the state. A month later, a coalition of 30 mayors, three state governors, and over 100 businesses petitioned the United Nations to join the Paris Climate Accord, in the wake of the Trump administration's announced decision to withdraw from the agreement.

In August, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his administration was exploring congestion pricing — a toll on cars that enter certain central regions of New York City, though similar proposals have previously floundered in the state's legislature.

Could an enterprising American metropolis follow Paris' lead and banish gas-powered motor vehicles entirely?

With 218 million licensed drivers in the U.S., it's a tall political order.

But, to save the planet, they might have to go the extra mile.

Family

Mom calls out teacher who gave her son a 'zero' grade for not providing class with supplies

Her viral video sparked a debate as to whether or not providing school supplies should be mandatory for parents.

@shanittanicole/TikTok

A zero grade for not providing school supplies?

The debate as to whether or not parents should supply classroom supplies is not new. But as prices continue to rise, parents are growing more baffled as to how they can be expected by teachers to provide all the various glue sticks, colored pencils, rulers and other various items the incoming students might need.

What’s even more perplexing, however, is penalizing the children of parents who won’t (or can’t) provide them.

This was the case for Shanitta Nicole, who discovered her son received a zero grade in his new school for not bringing school supplies for the entire classroom.
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A group of men look at paperwork.

The massive changes to the American workplace caused by the COVID-19 pandemic invited many to reconsider their professional lives. This reevaluation has led people to push for improved work-life balance, and many now are looking for work to provide a greater sense of meaning and purpose.

When the world returned to work after COVID, many believed they deserved to be treated better by their employers. This resulted in many taking a break from the workforce or changing professions altogether. It also helped usher in a more comfortable culture for calling out companies that don’t treat their employees respectfully.

Recently, a group of thousands came together on Reddit to expose the common mistruths that people often hear at the workplace. It all started when a Redditor named PretenstoKnow asked: "What's the most common lie employers tell their employees?" And over 2,600 people responded.

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A pitbull stares at the window, looking for the mailman.


Dogs are naturally driven by a sense of purpose and a need for belonging, which are all part of their instinctual pack behavior. When a dog has a job to do, it taps into its needs for structure, purpose, and the feeling of contributing to its pack, which in a domestic setting translates to its human family.

But let’s be honest: In a traditional domestic setting, dogs have fewer chores they can do as they would on a farm or as part of a rescue unit. A doggy mom in Vancouver Island, Canada had fun with her dog’s purposeful uselessness by sharing the 5 “chores” her pitbull-Lab mix does around the house.

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Photo Credit: William Fortunado via Canva

Amanda Seals breaks down history of DAP handshake

We've all seen people do it. Anywhere from basketball players on television to kids meeting up at the skating rink. Even former president Barack Obama when greeting a mixed group of men gave "DAP" to the Black men in the group, yet switched to a firm handshake when greeting the other men.

It was almost like watching the president code switch, but with body language, in a move that many Black Americans recognize as a gesture of acceptance and comradery. But did you know that there's an actual history behind the DAP that has nothing to do with looking cool? Social justice educator and actress, Amanda Seales, recently re-shared a clip from "The Real" where she was diving into the history of the handshake.

Seales, who has a master's degree in African American Studies from Columbia University, was also admittedly surprised when she learned there was a deeper meaning to the gesture.

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Health

Neuroscientist reveals perfect amount of time to spend on social media for your mental health

Over several weeks, the participants felt less loneliness, depression and anxiety.

@rachelle_summers/TikTok

Anyone can use this checklist.

There are pretty clear cut guidelines on how much screen time kids should have, but for adults…not so much. And perhaps it’s this lack of clarity that leaves people to go on full blown digital detoxes or get off social media entirely.

And while there is certainly a case to be made for that decision, for many of us, that isn’t quite feasible—especially in certain lines of work.

Luckily, according to neuroscientist Rachelle Summers, there is a way we can still be on social media, without being subjected to its negative side effects.
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Photo by Kats Weil on Unsplash

Ready for a refreshingly wholesome story?

The stereotypical image we get of bachelor parties is a booze-filled evening of depravity and bad choices. Followed of course by a massive hangover…and some regrets.

And granted, there are plenty of viral videos to show that this is sometimes the case. But there are also plenty of grooms who don’t see it as their “last night as a free man.” On the contrary, they see it as an opportunity to simply celebrate the next chapter with close friends.

Case and point: a husband-to-be named Luke, who apparently couldn’t stop “gushing” about his bride, Sam. This, according to a woman also named Sam, who happened to be at the bar Luke was having his bachelor party at.
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