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On Dec. 11, Governor Andrew Cuomo presented contact tracing data that found that 74 percent of COVID cases from September to November were from private gatherings in people’s homes. That’s a much larger number than the 1.4 percent of cases from bars and restaurants. As of Dec. 14, restaurants have paused indoor dining, per Cuomo’s directive. And the 74 percent from household gatherings is nearly 10 times higher than the second-highest driver of COVID cases: healthcare delivery....

RELATED: If You and Your Partner Can’t Agree on This, It’s Time to Break Up. It seems the citizens of Columbus know the secret to long-lasting love: the city boasts a divorce rate of just 3.52 percent. Though the data shows that residents of this mid-sized city are among the least likely to get married—they had the lowest marriage rate among all of the considered cities—when they do, they commit for the long haul, rarely parting ways after saying “I do....

In a press conference on Sept. 2, Canada’s chief medical officer, Theresa Tam, MD, said, “Like other activities during COVID-19 that involve physical closeness, there are some things you can do to minimize the risk of getting infected and spreading the virus.” In addition to explaining that refraining from locking lips during sex could help protect you from catching the novel coronavirus, Tam advised wearing a mask as another safety precaution, as well as monitoring you and your partner’s symptoms before engaging in any sexual activity....

RELATED: Jeopardy! Just Shot Back at Fans Criticizing the Current Champ. On Oct. 11, Fisher beat Amodio and another contestant, Jessica Stephens, meaning that Amodio’s reign came to an end after 38 games. In fact, Stephens also bested Amodio, since she came in second during the episode in which he was dethroned. Then, Fisher went on to a streak of his own. As of publication, he is still the current champion....

As the pandemic forced people indoors over the last 18 months, many turned to home improvement projects to create better environments for working, working out, homeschooling, or simply relaxing in comfort. With this major uptick in home renovations and repair came more spending—$420 billion, according to HomeAdvisor.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb The company, which connects homeowners to service providers for home projects, recently surveyed 975 homeowners who’ve done some sort of home improvement project with their partner....

RELATED: The Pfizer CEO Just Made This Chilling COVID Prediction. A recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) found that during the week ending Aug. 26, children accounted for 22.4 percent of reported weekly COVID cases. This means that 203,962 children were diagnosed with COVID between Aug. 19 and Aug. 26. That percentage has risen substantially since the beginning of the pandemic, when children only represented 14.8 percent of total cases....

Major names in retail, the shops that really used to rule the roost, are become permanent casualties of the retail apocalypse. While they might not be completely out of business just yet, there may be no righting the ship with such low-sinking sales. These 10 strip mall stores have shuttered hundreds (in some cases, thousands) of locations as they struggle to survive—meaning this may be your last chance to visit these stores ever again....

From the moment the long-awaited Star Wars: Episode I hit theaters in 1999, the film faced accusations of racism. Several alien species speak with accents that sound like stereotypical approximations of different ethnicities, but Jar Jar Binks, portrayed by Ahmed Best, was a particular point of contention. In an article for The Nation at the time, Patricia J. Williams wrote, “Whether intentionally or not, Jar Jar’s pratfalls and high jinks borrow heavily from the genre of minstrelsy....

RELATED: ’80s Child Actors Who Quit Hollywood and Why. Ben Savage, like his brother Fred, became famous when he was just a kid. He first played the role of Cory Matthews in Boy Meets World from the ages of 13 to 20, then took a break from acting to further his education. (Among other things! TV Guide reported that he and his dad, Lewis Savage, followed Bruce Springsteen on tour together one summer....

RELATED: 13 Celebrities Who Say They Don’t Want Kids. In total, Eddie Murphy has 10 children, but did you know that former Spice Girl Mel B. (real name Melanie Brown) happens to be the mother of one of his daughters? In 2007, she and Murphy welcomed a baby girl named Angel, who is now a teenager, though their relationship didn’t last much longer. Kate Beckinsale has one daughter: Lily Mo Sheen, who is now in her twenties, with Good Omens star Michael Sheen....

In fact, supermodels have been morphing into supremely capable actresses for years. To illustrate our point, we’ve compiled the ultimate list of former Dior models, Miss America contestants, and former Playboy Playmates who left the catwalk and emerged on the silver screen for good (including one Israeli goddess you may recognize from a certain WWI-era action film from earlier this year). Here they are. And for more Hollywood coverage, be sure to check out the 30 most beautiful women who are aging in reverse....

Best Icebreaker Game for Office Happy Hour: We! Connect Cards $25; buy now on amazon.com A set of We! Connect Cards can make any office happy hour a touch more fun. Rather than playing the typical icebreaker games that only scratch the surface, this game features cards with truly thought-provoking questions on a range of office-friendly topics (for example, “what’s the strangest food you’ve ever eaten?” and “what’s one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime?...

Nowadays, if you say something is awful, you’re not being kind. However, in the past, it was actually a term that people used to praise things, seeing as it literally meant that someone or something was “worthy of awe.” As awful became more negative, the word awesome largely replaced it in terms of its original meaning. Centuries ago, the term cheater was used to describe the royal officers who looked after the king’s escheats, or the land he acquired when someone died without a legal heir....

If you’re interested in additional U.S. destinations, you can also check out the Top 5 Most Affordable Things to Do in Each State. Acorn Street is one of Boston’s most photographed sites, but you’ll need to go on something of a scavenger hunt to find it. Beacon Hill, a tony neighborhood just east of the Boston Common and the Boston Public Garden, is filled with brick lanes—each lined with gaslit lamps and Federal- and Colonial-style townhouses....

You might want to be careful about your workouts as you enter your 30s, or you could find yourself dealing with painful tendinitis. As you get older, your tendons tend to become less elastic, often leading to injuries with overuse and repetitive movement. And for some ideas on how to improve your well-being, check out 100 Easy Ways to Be a (Much) Healthier Woman. While many people think of asthma as a condition that primarily affects children, it’s often a concern for the over-30 set, as well....

But speaking of the pandemic, that may be a large part of why we crave the non-family-friendly jokes that make us cringe as much as laugh. Research, including a 2016 study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, has shown that laughter doesn’t just make us feel good, it may also increase our body’s ability to fight pain, decrease stress, and even prevent disease. So here are 30 new filthy jokes to make you smile while you wince—which just might be the very thing your head and heart need right now....

It’s pivotal to check what kind of batteries you’re tossing before throwing them in your bin. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, rechargeable batteries containing nickel-cadmium and lead-acid need to be brought to special facilities. (You can find a list of suitable recycling facilities here.) Otherwise, “regular alkaline, manganese, and carbon-zinc batteries are not considered hazardous waste and can be disposed of with ordinary trash,” according to the USDA....

“With a more transmissible virus, that means every exposure has increased likelihood of leading to spread,” explain immunologist and microbiologist Andrea Love, PhD, and public health scientist Jessica Steier, DrPH, co-hosts of The Unbiased Science Podcast. “Imagine a mask as a maze for these droplets to make their way through. The more convoluted the maze is, the more droplets you will trap and prevent from escaping to the environment. So, not just any mask will do—quality matters....

READ THIS NEXT: If Your Breath Smells Like This, Get Your Liver Checked, Experts Say. If you notice a buildup of fluid in your legs, ankles, or feet, experts say the swelling could be due to one of several related liver conditions: hepatitis B, hepatitis, C, cirrhosis, fatty liver disease, or even liver cancer. The Cleveland Clinic explains how having one of these conditions can snowball into having several conditions at once....

Read the original article on Best Life. As more conversations began taking place without seeing the other person’s face or hearing their voice, people needed a way to express shock or excitement that went beyond using a bunch of exclamation points. Thus, OMG was born. And for some fascinating regional language, check out These Are All the Slang Terms You’ll Only Hear in the Midwest. A lot of internet slang stems from a desire for brevity when typing, and especially when writing from your phone....