LifestyleFood and DrinkAs the story of Weight Watchers founder Jean Nidetch is told is a new biography, Sophie Morris reflects on where her movement has taken us

Tuesday, 28th April 2020, 2:17 pm

Im keeping track of lots of small things at the moment. Checking off minutiae seems one way of grasping at the weeks flying by in this life of lockdown. I know many others are keeping journals or counting steps or eating dinner as a family at the same time every evening, where before they nurtured a relaxed or disinterested approach to any such ritual. But while I track my hours of sleep, ponder my units of alcohol, and shake myself awake if I spot a cul-de-sac of despondency ahead, I am content at the one thing I am not counting: calories.

When people say diets dont work - something that my 35-plus years of experience tells me is accurate - what they really mean is that diets dont work unless you stay on them. For ever. Your whole life. Thats how Jean Nidetch, the Brooklyn-born founder of Weight Watchers who died aged 91 in 2015, managed it.

She had a public image as the figurehead of a global weight-loss corporation to maintain. She lost more than 70lb in the early 60s, started a support group for friends who also wanted to lose weight, and transformed herself from plump housewife to glamorous celebrity.

Most remarkably, she achieved something very, very few people do. She kept the weight off. More or less.

Of course, I can tell you that we can say, 'the hell with it, were going to be how we are, and we dont care'," Nidetch once said. "But deep down, there is a part of every fat person that does care its a pose, a pretence based on denial."

I read this quote in This Is Big, a new biography of Nidetch that is also an examination of the author Marisa Meltzers own relationship with dieting and her body. Nidetch is no longer here to respond, but her view is increasingly outdated.

The modern view of dieting culture

Today we live in bodies that might be fat and also healthy. We are at least partly aware that our reverence for thin is the creation of companies such as Weight Watchers that peddle hope. But as body positivity grows, so does our obsession with attaining narrow ideals of beauty.

Whether you call it dieting, clean eating or wellbeing, the weight-loss industry is worth more than 2bn in the UK alone. Meanwhile, in 2015, 63 per cent of English adults and 28 per cent of children were overweight or obese. The cost to the NHS is over 6bn a year, and 27bn to wider society.

Meltzer began dieting as a pre-schooler, as did I, and went to her first Weight Watchers meetings with her mother, as did I. We have both spent most of our lives if not actually on one completely pointless diet or another, then wishing we were on one, or were able to stick to one. Except that I have been clean for a decade.

I am now above all this. I see the damage and manipulation and wholesale abuse wrought by diet culture on fallible human beings, and I want no part of it.

My cure began with giving up diet foods. There are only full-fat products in my fridge. Twenty years on from having eaten one, I remain offended that Weight Watchers called the compacted sawdust rusks they sold at meetings cookies. This is the kind of snack that pokes fun at your craving and chips out a hole in your stomach and heart the size of the rest of the pack of cookies, topped off with a pile of jammy dodgers and a tub of Ben & Jerrys.

A brief history of Weight Watchers

The group approach

Group therapy, as used by Weight Watchers, is used and praised in all sorts of settings. At its core, writes Meltzer, Jeans group was about giving women a place to listen to and support each other.

She decided to find a Weight Watchers group and to give herself a year on the programme, approaching it in, hopefully, a wiser way than she had her many previous, costly interactions with the industry. Every diet is a promise that if you change your weight, youll change your life. What did transformation mean to me after all these years of chasing one?

When you think about how famous Weight Watchers is, the chain of familiarity that led me to write this article looks more causal than coincidental. I recognised something of myself in Meltzer, just as she found common ground with Nidetch, despite her early assumption the dieting queen was the she-devil to blame for Meltzers own tortured history.

Enjoying food shouldn't feel like a sin

The comedian Jessica Fostekew hosts a podcast about the enjoyment of eating, called Hoovering. Her current tour, Hench (now on hold), explores the power she has found in becoming physically strong while rejecting her own history of dieting.

The night I see the show, Fostekew is heckled by a Slimming World fan, so I call her to find out how her zip-bustingly funny turn about female strength also addressed dieting.

She admits to having only recently stopped wishing she was thin. When a therapist asked her a few years ago, before she began Hoovering, how she was with food, I honestly felt like shed asked me to get undressed. Today, Fostekew appears before audiences in a bra and a see-through top.

Earlier this year I went to a very nice hotel with my mother and sisters. When, in its restaurant, each of us was offered a second slice of bread, the three of them gave the same reply: Oh no. I mustnt. I shouldnt. Oh, go on then. Ill take that small one. Maybe the waiter wondered why we didnt all take 10 slices given what we were paying for it. He certainly wasnt interested in our carb shame.

Greed of almost every kind is rewarded in our society, but physical hunger, which often verges on the greedy, is demonised. Why cant we put our hands up and say, I love eating? asks Fostekew.

As for me, well I didnt need a second slice of that fresh ciabatta oozing with garlic oil. My stance that diets dont work, and make you fat, stands. But the reality is Im mid-relapse with an online dieting app thingy called Noom.

Digital dieting

Noom claims to create long-term results through habit and behaviour change, not restrictive dieting. Therefore I was furious when I paid up and found myself with 1,200 calories to spend each day and the requirement that I track every mouthful. I remained furious for months. But I returned to the app each morning, unsure what else to do as my pyjama waistband dug further into my c-section scar.

I read the cheery posts on exercise and positive thinking, absorbed the subliminal messaging, and grimaced only to myself when my virtual coach suggested I swap glasses of wine for herbal teas. I stopped reading it when lockdown hit.

Nine months in, as Noom promised, the weight hasnt returned. Im guiltily aware that last sentence will smell like a calorie-free Christmas to any lapsed dieter. My sincerest apologies. Ive enjoyed my decade of freedom, and Im well past all the bad stuff. I dont skip meals or deny myself puddings or starve or vomit. When I see people doing any of these things, I feel immense pity for them.

Its all about the food for me. Making it. Eating it. Writing about it. Planning it. Shopping for it. Dreaming about it. I am able to see all of the desirable, indulgent, life-giving and lusty things about food.

The desire to be thin, though, will never leave me. I see you, positivity movement. I rate you. But when you have grown up in a world that reveres slimness as saintliness, its hard to fully buy into you.

The admission of this conflict is one of the many things I like about This Is Big. I wanted to lose weight without losing myself, Meltzer writes. We were supposed to cultivate a healthy sense of wellbeing [at the WW group she attends] but we lived in a world where being fat was looked down upon, and those myriad stigmas affected wellbeing too. US studies show these stigmas stretch to doctors failing their overweight patients by finding them annoying, a waste of time and not referring them for diagnostic tests.

'Peace is not blind capitulation to dieting culture or fat-acceptance culture'

The hour I spend watching the recent BBC Horizon show The Restaurant that Burns off Calories is time I can never be compensated enough for. One half of the restaurant, created for the show, feeds gastropub favourites to happy diners, and in the other groups of fitness addicts work off every calorie eaten.

The nutritional science is explained in a manner surely aimed at five-year-olds, only I would never show a five-year-old such offensive and potentially damaging material. It entirely misses the point of food, and of eating out. If youre only thinking about working off the calories while eating your fish and chips, it will never meet your hunger.

At the end of her year with Weight Watchers, is Meltzer still hungry? Peace is not blind capitulation to dieting culture or fat-acceptance culture, she finds. I am just beginning to understand that I will always live in that paradox. If I can find greater happiness with what I choose to eat and how much I weigh, imagine what I could do when applying it to the rest of my life.

The truth is, my outlook has changed for the better since losing 6kg on Noom. I have five pairs of jeans to choose from, when for a year I had one. Dieting remains evil, but we all need to find a body we can put on with pride each morning. Obesity is a social issue we must work on.

However, I would like to lose another 6kg, and this is where things get tricky. Its not only that losing weight gets harder, though it does. Its the parts of you that you have to give sacrifice to the hollow dream.

I didnt eat chocolate for six months because Noom (it is a very clever app, believe me) brainwashed me into thinking I didnt want it. At the time, I genuinely mourned it. But I do want chocolate, and Ive welcomed it back into my life.Its just a shame I cant wipe from my brain the number of calories in every square I snap off.

Read the rest here:
I've been dieting most of my life Weight Watchers gave us a world that's worse for its manipulations - inews

Jose Aldo and Cris Cyborg share a few things in common. They both reigned at the top of the featherweight mountain in mixed martial arts for years and years, arguably the greatest of all times in their weight classes, and both lost their crowns in less than a minute.

The Nova Uniao star was unbeaten for a decade when Conor McGregor dropped him with a left hand to become the UFC titleholder in just 13 seconds. Cyborg, who also hadnt been beaten since 2005, lost her gold in a 51-second knockout defeat to Amanda Nunes.

The former UFC champions sat down to chat on Cyborgs YouTube channel Friday and discussed how their lives changed after losing titles so quickly.

We never expect to lose and lose like that, Aldo said. Its a sport and its 50-50, of course, it could happen one day. As long as were fighting, losing is a possibility, but I was so confident in my head going into this fight. No, Im super well-prepared, I cant see how this guy wins. For everything that was said and everything that was going on, my team and I were positive that we would get there and defeat him. And thats not what happened.

Aldo admits he started having doubts in my head after going down in just 13 seconds following a long training camp. He also recalled reaching out to Cyborg for advice on how to get my chin strong because he thought I have to train this aspect because the guy landed one punch and I went down, I have a bad chin.

The UFC booked a rematch between Aldo and Frankie Edgar for an interim belt at UFC 200, and Aldo admits he fought playing safe, not taking risks, not putting myself in danger because that was a fight I had to win no matter how. The Brazilian star won a decision that night, and was later promoted to undisputed champion after the company stripped McGregor of his belt.

Right after that I said, no, Im the champion, that was only one fact that will never happen again in my life. Thats why I have to train twice as hard, see the mistakes I made and never make them again, Aldo said.

Cyborgs reign was also shattered in seconds. However, at the end of the day, she felt a weight getting off my back after losing at UFC 232.

The former Strikeforce, Invicta FC and UFC queen says her nine-month camp for Nunes was chaotic, switching managers and teams, but still felt in my heart that I was prepared.

I think thats something wrong when there are no problems in my camp because I always have a problem in my camp and that motivates me, Cyborg said. I trained nine months for that fight and had so much stress around me. Its not an excuse, but I acted emotionally in the fight. Its not what I trained, I acted emotionally. We never think were going to lose in the first round. You say Ill give my all, Ill go until the end, and if they defeat me, Im going until the end. Thats what we think.

The worst thing there is after you lose a fight is to take a shower, she continued. You take a shower by yourself and that flash comes in your head all the time, and then you start to question (yourself). One side says something, the other side says something else. Theres a fight inside your head every time you take a shower. The week after that fight was a difficult moment.

Cyborg eventually returned to the eight-sided cage to give Felicia Spencer a decision loss and left the promotion to join Bellator and become the 145-pound queen by knocking out Julia Budd.

I see everything that happened as something for the better because I definitely became a better athlete and a better person, and Im grateful, Cyborg said. Im grateful for everything that happened.

The Lioness Nunes continues to reign as a two-division champion in the UFC, and Cyborg awaits her next contender in the Bellator cage. That said, the Grand Slam Champion hasnt given up on the idea of promotion a cross-promotion clash with Nunes.

Its not a dream, its a goal in MMA, to do something different, Cyborg said. A super fight between the Bellator champion and the UFC champion, Amanda Nunes and I. I think it would help MMA a lot.

Read the original:
Aldo, Cyborg reflect on what happened after losses to McGregor, Nunes - MMA Fighting

Monday through Friday, 5:45 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. used to be my time at the gym. I miss my hour-long workouts! Lately during the week, between balancing working from home and homeschooling my two kids, I'm lucky if I can carve out a 30-minute workout here and there. So when my CrossFit coach announced he was offering a Zoom "Power Hour" last Saturday, I almost slept with my dumbbells - I was so excited!

Jade Jenny, head CrossFit coach and owner of Champlain Valley CrossFit, called this "a true hopper-style workout," meaning you don't know what's coming next. Hopper workouts involve a random mix of exercises in a random order, which keeps your mind and your muscles guessing, and because of that, it makes the workout both challenging and exciting.

Related:

Build Strength and Endurance With This Heart-Pumping 30-Minute CrossFit HIIT Workout

For this 60-minute EMOM workout (every minute on the minute), Jenny chose eight basic CrossFit exercises that were either bodyweight (hello burpees and v-ups!) or dumbbell moves (squats and lunges). He wrote down numbers one through eight on pieces of paper, put them in a hat, and picked them out so he knew the random order of the workout before it started - but we didn't! He'd call out the exercise right before the minute started, so we'd have to quickly get into position.

In order to not let things get too crazy with movement rotations, Jenny did 30 randomized draws, so we did each movement twice. And yes, sometimes the same exercise came up twice in a row, which meant four minutes of burpees or four minutes of v-ups!

This was the first time I'd done a hopper-style workout, and I loved the physical and mental challenge. It had been weeks since I'd worked out that long, and I was breathing hard and dripping with sweat by the end. I'm not going to lie - halfway through, I wanted to throw in the dumbbells and call it a day, but seeing over 50 of the other gym members pushing through on my screen motivated me to keep going.

Story continues

I wrote down the order of this 60-minute workout so you can follow along at home. You'll know what's coming next, but the order is so random, your body and brain will still benefit from the variety of movements.

Related:

I'm Not Going to My CrossFit Gym - Here's the Simple 2-Week Workout Plan I'm Doing at Home

Equipment needed: one pair of dumbbells (I used 15-pound dumbbells) and a jump rope if you have it (just pretend to jump rope if you don't have one)

Directions: Before the workout, complete a five-minute dynamic warmup. This is a 60-minute workout, but do whatever you have time for, whether it's 20, 30, or 40 minutes. There will be eight different exercises in this workout, completed in the specific (yet random) order listed in the chart ahead. Repeat each movement twice (so for two minutes) before moving on to the next exercise. For each exercise (not including the jump rope or air squats), choose a rep scheme that takes just under 45 seconds to complete, so you have a 15-second rest after each movement. Rep suggestions are listed below; beginners can do fewer reps and more advanced athletes can go for higher reps.

After the workout, make time for this 10-minute stretching routine. Read on for a rundown of the exercises you'll be doing and directions on how to do each exercise.

Exercise 1: Dumbbell squat: 10 to 15 reps

Exercise 2: Dumbbell shoulder press: five to 10 reps

Exercise 3: Single-arm dumbbell-overhead reverse lunge: 10 to 16 reps (five to eight reps per side)

Exercise 4: Burpee dumbbell squat press: four to eight reps

Exercise 5: Burpee: eight to 12 reps

Exercise 6: Jump rope: 30 seconds

Exercise 7: V-up: 10 to 20 reps

Exercise 8: Air squat: 40 seconds

Time

Exercises

Minutes 1-10

3-2-4-4-2

Minutes 11-20

6-7-7-3-8

Minutes 21 to 30

7-6-4-2-1

Minutes 31-40

6-1-7-2-2

Minutes 41-50

3-7-4-6-8

Minutes 51-60

5-3-8-3-5

To be clear on how this workout is carried out, for minutes one and two, I did 14 single-arm dumbbell overhead reverse lunges. During the third and fourth minutes, I did 10 shoulder presses, and during the fifth and sixth minutes, I did five burpee dumbbell squat presses.

Related:

This 35-Minute CrossFit Workout Wasn't Grueling Until After - I Was Sore For 3 Days!

Dumbbell Squat

Overhead Shoulder Press

Single-Arm Dumbbell Overhead Reverse Lunge

Burpee Squat Press

Burpee

Jump Rope

V-Up

Air Squat

The rest is here:
This 60-Minute CrossFit Workout Will Leave Every Muscle in Your Body Guessing - Yahoo Lifestyle

A masked pedestrian carrying water bottles walks past the Charging Bull statue in lower Manhattan on April 02, 2020 in New York City.

Bruce Bennett | Getty Images

The biggest technology stocks halted their recent strong rally and turned sharply lower on Tuesday, putting pressure on the broader market. Stocks traded higher at certain points throughout the day on hopes that the economy will soon reopen, but ultimately the gains didn't hold and stocks finished the day lower. Earnings letdowns and guidance withdrawals amid the pandemic were among the factors hurting investor sentiment.

This is a live blog. Here's what happened.

After spending parts of the day in positive territory stocks couldn't hold onto gains and ended the session in the red. The Dow dropped 32 points for a loss of 0.13%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.5% and 1.4%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was dragged lower by a 3% drop in Alphabet, as well as Netflix shares' 4% decline. Stevens

Former Goldman Sachs president and COO Gary Cohn said on "Closing Bell" that the combination of low interest rates and fear of rising defaults was weighing on bank stocks.

"The margins that you're going to make on lending with interest rates as low as they are are going to be tough. And look, there are going to be a lot of loan loss reserves taken. Remember, the lending business is not a risk-free business, and we get reminded of that every cycle," Cohn said.

Cohn said investment banks could earn revenue as more companies tap the debt markets, but that he was unsure there would be opportunities in the equity markets and the mergers and acquisitions space.

Cohn also said that he didn't think any major banks made significant profits during last week's historic oil plunge, saying he thought they would have already exited that market ahead of the May oil contract expiring. Pound

The iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) jumped more than 7%, and was on track for its fifth straight day of gains. D.R. Horton jumped more than 11%, while Lennar, PulteGroup and KB Home were all up more than 7%. The ITB is up 25% this month, putting it on track for its best month since April 2009. Francolla, Stevens

With roughly one hour left in the trading session, the Dow was on pace to post its fifth consecutive daily gain as investors cheered the prospects of reopening the economy. The 30-stock average traded about 49 points higher, or 0.2%. It would be the Dow's longest winning streak since January. The S&P 500 gained 0.1% while a decline in the so-called FAANG stocks pushed the Nasdaq Composite lower by 0.8%. Imbert

Oil alternated between gains and losses in a volatile trading session that at one point saw U.S. crude drop more than 20%.

Traders continue to eye dwindling storage capacity worldwide, although some of the losses were offset by optimism around reopening of economies.West Texas Intermediate futures for June delivery fell 44 cents, or 3.4%, to settle at $12.34 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude gained 47 cents, or 2.35%, to settle at $20.46. Earlier WTI had been down more than 20%, touching a session low of $10.07, while also trading as high as $13.69. Stevens

The Russell 2000 was running well ahead of other U.S. indexes in the early afternoon, gaining about 1.9%. The index more than doubled the S&P 500 yesterday, gaining 3.96% compared with 1.47% for the large cap index.

But that type of outperformance is usually short-lived, said Frank Gretz, technical analyst at Wellington Shields

"What happened yesterday was the Russell 2000, the small-cap index, was up twice as much as the S&P. Which is very rare, and when that happens, they usually cool off for a couple of weeks," Gretz said. Pound

The S&P 500's 5% rally over the past week has been led by some of the hardest-hit names during the coronavirus sell-off. PVH Corp. the parent company of Tommy Hilfiger and other brands, is up over 32% in the past week, Expedia Group has rallied over 26% in that time period while Capri Holdings is up nearly 30%. These stocks all took a massive hit as the coronavirus pandemic curbed discretionary and travel spending. They are still sharply lower for the year.

There are the other stocks leading the one-week rally and how they are faring for 2020. Imbert, Rattner

Steve Odland, The Conference Board CEO, said on "The Exchange" that consumers seem to expect a fairly quick economic recovery. Consumer confidence fell to 86.9 in April, down from 118.8 the month before.

However, 40% of consumers said they expect business conditions to be better in six months, up from 18.7% in March. The survey ended on April 17, when ballooning unemployment numbers and predictions of significant declines in GDP growth were widely known.

"These are really stunning numbers, but the consumers think 'hey, we're going to get out of this,'" Odland said.

Odland said governments need to move quickly to allow businesses to open outside of coronavirus hot spots to ensure that the economy avoids a long, protracted recovery. Pound

Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Alphabet The so-called FANG stocks fell as investors appear to be rotating into the riskier bets on reopening the economy like retailers and out of the prior bull market's leaders. Streaming giant Netflix fell nearly 3.5%. Amazon ticked 2.5% lower. Facebook and Google-parent Alphabet both fell about 1%

Merck Shares of Merck fell nearly 4% to become the biggest loser in the 30-stock Dow after the drug maker cut its 2020 forecast due to the uncertainties from the coronavirus pandemic. "The company has assumed the majority of the negative impact will be in the second quarter," Merck said in a statement. The company did report sales of $12.1 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 11%, driven by strong growth in its cancer-fighting treatment Keytruda.

Keurig Dr Pepper Shares of the beverage company rose nearly 8% on Tuesday after reporting better-than-expected results for the first quarter. The company said its packaged beverages segment saw volume gains at the end of the quarter as consumers stocked up. The company reported 29 cents in adjusted earnings per share and $2.61 billion in revenue, above the 27 cents of earnings per share and $2.55 billion expected by analysts, according to Refinitiv. Keurig Dr Pepper also reaffirmed its full-year guidance.

Click here to read more about midday movers. Fitzgerald

Wall Street analysts are sticking by Alphabet but urging investors to use caution when the company reports its first quarter earnings after the bell on Tuesday. "We believe that an OUTPERFORM rating is warranted given valuation upside and an unrivalled collection of high-profile and omnipresent core products and platforms," Wedbush said. Mizuho was a bit more sanguine in its preview note to clients. "We believe the stock will likely be under pressure in the NT due to negative Street revisions and would be buyers on any weakness post the quarter," they said. Bloom

The economy could take one to two years to rebound to full strength and the Federal Reserve and Congress, having already committed historic sums to fight the coronavirus pandemic, will have to commit trillions more, according to respondents to the CNBC Fed Survey. With the Fed's balance sheet already at an unprecedented $6.45 trillion, the 36 respondents see it rising on average to $9.8 trillion. The additional trillions will be added by the end of the current quarter, the respondents expect. Congress, having already committed about $2.5 trillion, is seen putting in an additional $2 trillion. Steve Liesman

The Dow Jones Industrial Average went negative around 11 am ET on Tuesday. The 30-stock average gave up a 378 point gain from earlier in the session. The Dow last traded down about 50 points. All three major average are in the red. Fitzgerald

U.S. equities gave back most of their gains in morning trading as technology giants continued to fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which was up more than 370 points at its high, is now only up about 50 points. The S&P 500 is in the green but the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite slipped into negative territory.Fitzgerald

Shares of major U.S. banks rose on Tuesday in early trading on hopes that if the economy reopens faster-than-expected, banks will take fewer credit losses as borrowers catch up on payments. Shares of Bank of America jumped nearly 5%. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs both rose more than 2%. Citigroup jumped 4% and Wells Fargo gained about 3.5%. Melloy, Fitzgerald

Shares of oil tanker stocks traded higher on Tuesday amid ongoing fears that worldwide crude storage will soon reach capacity. Nordic American Tankers led the group higher, jumping more than 13% and bringing its return over the last month to 102%. Teekay Corporation rose more than 3%, while Scorpio Tankers traded modestly higher. - Stevens

Jim Cramer said on "Squawk on the Street" that all public companies should pull guidance due to the uncertainty around the economy caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Many companies, including 3M on Tuesday morning, have withdrawn full-year guidance because of uncertainty about how long major swaths of the economy will be shutdown. Cramer said some of the companies may also take the chance to stop giving guidance even in future quarters, similar to how Berkshire Hathaway operates. "This is the greatest opportunity for these companies to say, you know what, I'm done giving guidance. I'm going to go the Warren Buffett way," Cramer said. Pound

Weakness in the so-called FANG stocks capped the market's gains on Tuesday. Investors in recent days appear to be rotating into the riskier bets on reopening the economy like retailers and out of the prior bull market's leaders Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google-parent Alphabet which have held up well during the pandemic. All four tech giants were down again on Tuesday. The biggest loser on Tuesday was streaming giant Netflix, which fell nearly 3%. Melloy

Oil turned positive in mid-morning trading Tuesday, reversing a more than 20% loss earlier in the session as reopening of economies outweighed fears about dwindling storage capacity worldwide. West Texas Intermediate futures for June gained 61 cents, or 4.7%, to trade at $13.31 per barrel, while international benchmark Brent crude traded $1.11, or 5.4%, higher at $21.08. Earlier WTI had been down more than 20%, touching a session low of $10.07. Tuesday's jump is a sharp reversal to Monday's trading session, which saw WTI tumble 24.56%. Stevens

Shares of retail stocks led the market higher for a second day as hopes that a partial reopening of the economy will save the battered industry. Shares of Gap and JCPenney both surged more than 10% in early trading. Nordstrom and L Brands rose 6.5% and 7.8%, respectively. Apparel company PVH soared 11.5%, bringing its week-to-date gain to nearly 30%. Discount retailers also saw sharp increases. Dillard's rose 10.5% and Ollie's Bargain Outlet jumped more than 5%. Dollar Tree and Dollar General rose 2.8% and 1.2%, respectively. Fitzgerald

U.S. equities rose at the opening bell on Tuesday adding to Monday's gains fueled by hopes of a partial reopening of the economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 350 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 rose 1.4% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.97%. Fitzgerald

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchinsaid Tuesday he was surprised that the Los Angeles Lakers took a loan designed to help small businesses weather the coronavirus pandemic. "I'm not a big fan of the fact that they took a $4.6 million," Mnuchin toldCNBC's "Squawk Box." "I think that's outrageous." The Lakers were the second most-valuable team in the National Basketball Association entering 2020, with a valuation of $4.4 billion, according to Forbes.Imbert

Shares of Merck fell 2.4% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the drug maker cut its 2020 forecast due to the uncertainties from the coronavirus pandemic. "The company has assumed the majority of the negative impact will be in the second quarter, with a gradual return to normal operations beginning late in the second quarter and extending through the third quarter, with a full return to normal operations in the fourth quarter," Merck said in a statement. The company did report sales of $12.1 billion in the first quarter, an increase of 11%, driven by strong growth in its cancer-fighting treatment Keytruda. Merck reported adjusted quarterly profit of $1.50 per share, above the $1.22 earned in the same quarter a year ago. Li

While the Street is focused on oil storage reaching capacity, there are a number of other factors that could send oil prices back into negative territory. The Chicago Mercantile Exchange recently raised its margin requirements for forward oil contracts, which could trigger selling when key levels are reached. Additionally, S&P Dow Jones Indices said that all of its commodity indices will roll out of the June oil contract and into July, joining the United States Oil Fund which is also rolling out of the June contract. On Tuesday West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, traded 8.8% lower at $11.66 per barrel, while international benchmark rose 28 cents to trade at $20.27. Stevens

Dow-member Pfizer gained more than 2% in the premarket on the back of better-than-expected earnings for the first quarter. The company posted a profit of 80 cents a share, topping a Refinitiv estimate of 73 cents per share. Pfizer also reaffirmed its full-year earnings guidance. However, the company's total sales dropped 8% on a year-over-year basis as Pfizer works to find a coronavirus vaccine. Imbert

Data compiled by BofA Securities showed the bank's clients were net sellers of U.S. equities last week for the first time in four weeks. Overall, they sold more than $1.3 billion in equities last week as the major averages posted their first weekly decline in three. Tech stocks had the biggest outflows, with BofA Securities clients taking $752 million from the sector. Consumer discretionary had an outflow of $223 million. Imbert, Bloom

Shares of multinational industrial conglomerate 3M rose 3.5% in premarket trading Tuesday after the company said a surge in sales in its personal safety equipment helped grow first-quarter revenues. 3M, the lead producer of key N95 masks, said the Covid-19 outbreak forced it to double global global respirator output to 100 million per month since the beginning of 2020. It reported adjusted per-share earnings of $2.16 on sales of $8.08 billion, growth of 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Franck

Caterpillarexperienced a sales drop of 21% in the first quarter as the coronavirus pandemic disrupted demand in the construction and mining sectors. The industrial giant on Tuesday reported revenues of $10.6 billion in the first quarter, compared with $13.5 billion in the first quarter of 2019. Caterpillar posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.60 in the first quarter, compared with $3.25 per share in the same quarter a year ago.The company said it is not providing a financial outlook for 2020 at this time given the "continued global economic uncertainty" due to the pandemic. Li

U.S. stock futures pointed to another strong day of gains as traders increased bets on the reopening of the U.S. economy. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up more than 300 points, or 1.4%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively. Alaska, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas are among the states that have let some businesses resume operations. Wall Street was coming off a strong rally on Monday, with the Dow surging more than 350 points. Oil was lower again, but off the worst levels of the overnight session. Imbert

With reporting from Yun Li, Jesse Pound, Tom Franck, John Melloy, Michael Bloom and Nate Rattner.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

View post:
Stock market live Tuesday: Stocks fall in volatile session, FANG in the red, retailers surge - CNBC

By: Lifestyle Desk | New Delhi | Updated: April 29, 2020 2:36:12 pm Infection is one of the causes of colon inflammation. (Source: File Photo/Getty Images/Thinkstock)

Intestinal infections continue to be a cause of worry for many patients and their families. As per a June 2019 study published in Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, in a developing country like India, intestinal parasitic infections remain an important public health concern. The infection remains the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, especially among children. It is presumed that the prevalence is high in developing countries probably due to poor sanitary conditions and improper personal hygiene practices.

Colitis is a chronic digestive disease characterised by inflammation of the inner lining of the colon, the long, coiled, tube-like organ, also known as the large intestine, that is known to remove water and salt from digested food. When the body is ready for bowel movement, the waste is dumped into the rectum. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), the colon is a common site of infection for a heterogeneous group of bacterial pathogens.

As per Dr Vivek Vij, director, Fortis Hospital, Noida; Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram; Fortis Escorts Heart Institute, Okhla Road, Colon infection or colitis is a broad term comprising any infection (bacterial, viral, amoebic etc.) of the large intestine. It can happen due to unhygienic food, water, etc.

Inflamed colon symptoms include diarrhoea with or without blood, abdominal pain and cramping, fever, nausea, fatigue, weight loss and bloating, among others.

Infection is one of the causes of colon inflammation. Colitis can be caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites. Infection colitis can be contracted from contaminated water, foodborne illnesses or poor hygiene.

Other causes include Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), ischemic colitis and diarrhea and abdominal pain.

It can also occur spontaneously in some patients with decreased immunity. It can be prevented by ensuring consumption of hygienic food and clean water. Patients with decreased immunity should be in regular touch with their physicians, advised Dr Vij.

Some common tests for colitis include X-rays of the colon, testing the stool for blood and pus, sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy. Additional tests include stool cultures and blood tests, including blood chemistry tests.

As per NCBI, The presentation of disease in the colon is generally in the form of distinct syndromes, and it is important for physicians to recognise the causative organisms, because specific treatment is highly effective.

The treatment depends on what is causing colitis. Many cases require a little more than symptomatic care, including clear fluids to rest the bowel and medications to control pain. Patients who have are acutely ill often need intravenous fluids among other interventions.

While colon infection caused by diarrhoea and colitis may potentially require antibiotics, depending on the cause, viral infections require fluids and time. Some bacterial infections, such as salmonella, do not need antibiotic therapy as the body is able to get rid of the infection on its own. Other bacterial infections, such as Clostridium difficile, require antibiotic treatment.

Medications are often used to control IBD. Anti-inflammatory medications may be used initially and medications that suppress the immune system can be added, if necessary. Surgery may be an option in severe cases, including removal of the colon and small intestine.

Intravenous fluids are given to rest the bowel and prevent dehydration. If sufficient blood supply is not restored, surgery may be needed to remove parts of the bowel that lost blood supply.

Initial treatment at home may include a clear fluid diet for 24 hours and rest. If symptoms resolve quickly, no further care is needed.

The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest Lifestyle News, download Indian Express App.

IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd

Read the original post:
Colon infection: Everything you need to know about it - The Indian Express

An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds 50% say they or someone in their household has lost hours or a job due to the pandemic. They also say their governors are doing a better job it than Trump.

The Paycheck Protection Program, designed to help small businesses struggling during the pandemic, was vulnerable to loopholes that allowed thriving companies to receive money.

New numbers due out Wednesday are expected to show GDP contracted as the coronavirus lockdown began. It would be the first quarterly drop in six years and a precursor to a deep recession.

Trump has also attributed the high number of cases in the U.S. to heightened testing. But testing in the U.S. is still not adequate or widespread enough to know who has coronavirus.

Employees who refuse to return to work out of concern for their safety will lose state and federal benefits. It's a predicament millions will soon face as lawmakers set to restart their economies.

The National Transportation Safety Board concluded that the boat's operator failed to heed weather warnings and that previous safety recommendations made by the agency were never implemented.

For Vice President Mike Pence, leading the task force is his biggest assignment from President Trump. And it has highlighted their vastly different approaches.

Even though Vinton County, Ohio, hasn't had high infection rates of the coronavirus, social restrictions have made it harder to keep drug users and their children safe, says Trecia Kimes-Brown.

Mark Green talks to NPR about what it's like leaving during a global health crisis and what the future may hold for the agency.

On this broadcast of The National Conversation, we answer your questions about the economy, mental health and new symptoms of COVID-19. We'll also look at how people are celebrating big life events.

In this lockdown, low-wage workers have been publicly declared "essential" up there with doctors and nurses. But the workers say their pay, benefits and protections don't reflect it.

To safely reopen without risking new COVID-19 outbreaks, states need enough staffing to do the crucial work of contact tracing. We surveyed public health agencies to find out how much they have.

Read the original here:
What Happened Today: Flyover Salute To Health Care Workers, Economy Questions - North Country Public Radio

Public domain image

Apr 28, 2020 More than 1,000 state prison staff have tested positive for COVID-19 across New York.

The State Department of Corrections isnt saying where those prison staff work, but they are now reporting which facilities have inmates who have contracted the coronavirus.

Among the 310 inmates statewide who have tested positive for COVID-19, 20 of them are at Great Meadow Correctional Facility in Washington County.

According to the Dept. of Corrections, inmates who test positive are "maintained in isolation for a minimum of 14 days." There are more than 29,000 state prison staff and 43,000 inmates at correctional facilities across New York.

There are no additional active cases among inmates at state correctional facilities in the North Country.Across New York, nine inmates and two state prison staff have died due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the federal prison in Ray Brook in Essex County has five inmates and six staff who have tested positive for COVID-19.

More here:
More than 1000 prison staff contract coronavirus statewide, 20 inmates test positive in Washington County - North Country Public Radio