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Auto insurance for teen drivers

Is there a newly licensed driver in your home? Reduce the stress by understanding the implications for your car policy. For parents, the excitement of having a first-time driver in the house is usually tempered with worry. With little driving experience, immature drivers are at a higher risk for accidents. Of course, safety concern is uppermost in most parents’ minds but other stressors—like the high cost of insuring your new driver and the financial liability implications of a teen driving mishap—can be reduced with these steps. Before getting a learners permit, make a call to your insurance professional Your agent or rep can clearly explain the costs involved in insuring a teenage driver. The good news is, as your teenager gets older, insurance rates will drop—providing he or she has a good driving record. Therefore… Involve your teen in the car insurance discussion From the outset, it’s important to talk to your kid about the relationship between driving a car and the attendant responsibilities, including insurance costs. Explain and reinforce driving safety tips and the serious consequences of driving infractions or accidents, including increasing the cost of insurance. Encourage positive behaviors Auto insurers offer discounts or reduced premiums to: Students who maintain at least a “B” average in school Teens who take a recognized driver training course College students who attend school at least 100 miles away from home and don’t bring their car to campus Choose the right auto insurance company It’s generally less expensive for parents to add teenagers to their auto insurance policy than it is for teens to purchase one on their own. By insuring your teenager’s car with your insurer, you may also qualify for a multi-vehicle discount. That said, insurance companies differ in how they price policies for young drivers, so do some research into prices to be sure to find the best fit for you and your teen. Assign your teen to the right car Find out how your insurer assigns drivers to cars—some insurers will assign the driver who is the most expensive to insure (generally the teenager) to the car that is the most expensive to insure. If possible, assign your teen to the least valuable car. Note that with this kind of arrangement there can be no exceptions; your teen must use only the car to which he or she is assigned, even in an emergency. If your teenager is involved in an accident with an unassigned car, penalties could be imposed and your own premiums might increase. Increase your liability insurance for greater protection If your teen gets into an accident, state minimums for liability insurance will not be enough to fully protect you from lawsuits. Consider purchasing higher amounts of liability coverage—if your teenager is found negligent in an accident and the damages exceed your insurance limits, you will be held financially responsible and could be sued in court for those amounts not covered by your insurance. Depending on the value of your financial assets, you may even want to have the extra protection that a personal umbrella liability policy provides. Raise your deductible to save on your premium The higher your deductible, the more money you can save on your premium, so consider raising your deductible from the minimum amount required. You may want to use those savings to increase your liability insurance.
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A dog who kept sneaking into a store for a unicorn toy gets a new start

The animal control officer who moved Sisu from the Dollar General store to the shelter bought the stray dog his unicorn toy before bringing the canine in Dogs may be man’s best friend, but apparently, a unicorn — a stuffed purple one at that — is a dog’s best friend. Animal control officers were called to a North Carolina Dollar General store after a stray dog kept coming into the store and beelining for the toy aisle. “He went straight for the unicorn, the same one every time,” says Joe Newburn, a supervisor at Duplin County Animal Services. “It was so strange, one of the strangest calls I’ve ever dealt with,” Newburn adds. Workers at the Kenansville store (about 80 miles from Raleigh, North Carolina, USA) told animal control officers that they caught the Lab mix darting into Dollar General every time a customer exited. Each time the stray dog made it in, he went to grab the same plush purple unicorn toy. “Finally, they had to lock the door and called us,” Newburn tells about how animal control became involved in this playful pooch’s story. Samantha Lane, the officer who responded to the Dollar General store’s call, was so taken with the dog’s devotion to the unicorn that she bought the $10 toy for the dog. According to Newburn, the canine was happy to head off with Lane once he had his beloved stuffed animal. Lane brought the dog to a Duplin County Animal Services shelter, where workers named him Sisu after the dragon cartoon character in Disney’s new film, Raya and the Last Dragon. The only thing we can think is that he came from a home where he had a similar stuffed animal or kids in the home did,” Newburn adds. Shortly after Sisu arrived, the shelter posted a picture of the pup and his unicorn on their Facebook page with a caption that read, “This is what happens when you break into the Dollar General consistently to steal the purple unicorn that you laid claim to but then get animal control called to lock you up for your B & E and larceny but the officer purchases your item for you and brings it in with you.” Sisu is currently considered a stray intake at the shelter because no one has come forward to claim him, but the pooch obviously loves affection. He spends every night curled up with his unicorn at the shelter. “It’s so sweet. It’s amazing. I mean, he’s obviously super smart, and even when we got him to the animal shelter, he’s been very obedient. He sits, shakes. Someone should be looking for him,” Newburn says. “I don’t know of any other reason why he would focus on the unicorn other than he had one at home. If the store had called and said he tore open dog food, that would make more sense but not hunting for a purple unicorn.” Newburn says the shelter has received numerous calls from people interested in giving Sisu — and his beloved unicorn — a forever home. And it looks like it’s time for the pair to pack their bags because, according to a Friday Facebook post from Duplin County Animal Services, Sisu and his stuffed animal have an adopter and will be moving out of the shelter soon. Dollar General spokesperson Crystal Luce tells that Dollar General plans to send a “few extra purple unicorns for the adoptive family,” a thank you gift to animal control officer Lane and a pet food donation to Duplin County Animal Services. “We are glad to see Sisu is happy with his new toy!” Luce added. Source: ExpressDigest.com
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Mexico City is Sinking

The land in Mexico City is depressing at an ‘unstoppable rate’ of up to 20 inches a year. Mexico City is sinking at an ‘unstoppable’ with some parts decompressing up to 20 inches a year over the past decades. A new report highlights centuries of pumping water from the aquifer under North America’s most populous city that has caused its foundation to compress at an alarming rate. Mexico City was built on what was once Lake Texcoco, home of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán. The city was built on what was once Lake Texcoco and the lake bed acts as an infrastructure underneath the bustling travel destination. However, the lake bed had become so dry that clay sheets are cracking and compressing, causing it to decompress. If the rate of sinking continues, it will end up contaminating the drinking water for millions. Metropolitan Mexico City is the largest city in North America, with a population of over 21 million people. More than three-quarters of its drinking water comes from wells that extract water from the ground and continue to deplete the area’s aquifers. Experts first noticed the city was sinking in 1900 when it was recorded at a rate of about 3.5 inches a year. Drilling for groundwater wasn’t capped until the late 1950s, by which time Mexico city was sinking at a rate of 11 inches a year. Completed in 2014, the Eastern Wastewater Tunnel in Mexico City is intended to help prevent flooding and the over-exploitation of groundwater resources. That slowed the rate of sinking, or subsidence, back to 3.5 inches a year but it didn’t stop the problem, which only worsened as the city’s population grew and development increased exponentially. A new report published in the journal JGR Solid Earth indicates that parts of the city, including the historic downtown, are now sinking at a rate of up to 16 inches annually. In some areas it’s even worse: the underdeveloped northeast has sunk 20 inches a year and experts say there’s no hope of reversing it. Should the northeast become more industrialized, the situation there would only worsen. Scientists from the US and Mexico analyzed more than a century of data, including more recent information from GPS and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). According to their findings, the level of subsidence in Mexico City is no longer even affected by how much water is being removed from the ground. “Instead, it reflects the steady compacting of the ancient lake bed on which the city was built” reports the American Geophysical Union. According to the AGU, centuries of water extraction have pushed the groundwater further underground, and the minerals in the dry lake bed have been repacking themselves tighter and tighter, ‘causing the ground to shrink and subside.’ The clay layers beneath Mexico City have been compressed by 17 percent, according to the report, and the subsidence ‘is almost fully irreversible.’ If water levels aren’t raised, the clay layers in the lake bed are expected to compress further, to 30 percent. That would cause Mexico City to sink almost 100 feet more in the next 150 years. But even if water levels are raised, the report said, ‘there is no hope for recovering the great majority of the lost elevation and the lost storage capacity of the aquitard.’ An aquitard is a zone that restricts groundwater from flowing from one aquifer to another. The sunken city is especially vulnerable to flooding from rain and spring water washing down the Sierra Madre mountains. Those floodwaters could eventually pollute the groundwater, adding a drinking water shortage to the growing environmental catastrophe. ‘The stage is set for a dual water and subsidence crisis if no drastic water management actions are implemented,’ the researchers write. Completed in 2014, the Eastern Wastewater Tunnel is intended to help prevent flooding during the rainy season and stop the over-exploitation of groundwater resources. Some experts suggest harvesting rainwater is a “viable and necessary” solution to the city’s water crisis. ‘Harvesting rainwater offers a simple, practical, proven, and inexpensive solution that could provide water for up to six months in areas such as homes and schools,’ Eduardo Vázquez, executive director of Mexico City water fund Agua Capital, told BNamericas.
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What are benefits of online education?

Online education refers to the delivery of educational content and instruction through the internet. This type of education allows students to learn from anywhere, at any time, using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. Online education can take many forms, including: Online Courses: Independent courses or modules that can be taken through a website or platform, often offered by universities or education providers. Online Degrees: Complete degree programs that can be earned entirely online, often with the same accreditation and recognition as traditional in-person programs. Virtual Classrooms: Live, interactive classes that are held online, allowing students to participate in real-time discussions, ask questions, and collaborate with classmates and instructors. MOOCs: Massive Open Online Courses, which are free or low-cost online courses that are available to anyone, anywhere in the world. Overall, online education provides students with greater flexibility and convenience than traditional in-person education, allowing them to fit education into their busy schedules and access high-quality content from anywhere. The future of online education The future of online education is expected to continue to grow and evolve as technology improves and more people seek flexible and convenient education options. Some possible trends and developments in online education include: Increased Personalization: The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms will likely allow online education platforms to personalize learning experiences for individual students based on their strengths, weaknesses, and preferences. Blended Learning: A combination of online and in-person learning, also known as blended learning, is expected to become more prevalent, allowing students to benefit from both the flexibility of online education and the interactivity of a traditional classroom. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality: Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are expected to play a larger role in online education, allowing students to experience simulations, interactive exercises, and other immersive learning experiences. Greater Accessibility: Online education is expected to become more accessible for people with disabilities, including those with visual, auditory, and motor impairments, as technology continues to advance and improve. Overall, the future of online education is expected to bring more customization, interactivity, and accessibility to the learning experience. Online education before and after Covid-19 Before Covid-19, online education was already growing in popularity as an alternative to traditional in-person education, but its use was limited to a smaller number of students and specific programs. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated the growth and adoption of online education on a global scale. Some key differences between online education before and after Covid-19 include: Increased Availability: Before Covid-19, online education was mainly offered by a limited number of universities and institutions, but the pandemic has led to a rapid expansion of online education programs and offerings from many more schools. Wider Adoption: Before Covid-19, online education was mainly used by a select group of students who preferred its convenience and flexibility, but the pandemic has forced many students and institutions to embrace online education as a necessity due to school closures and social distancing requirements. Improved Technology: Before Covid-19, online education was often limited by technical limitations, but the pandemic has spurred rapid innovation in online learning technology, including virtual reality and augmented reality, which is improving the online learning experience for students. Greater Acceptance: Before Covid-19, there was often a perception that online education was inferior to traditional in-person education, but the pandemic has led to a growing recognition of the potential of online education and its ability to provide high-quality education to students. Overall, the impact of Covid-19 on online education has been significant, leading to a significant expansion of its availability, adoption, technology, and recognition. Advantages of online education Flexibility: Online education allows students to study from anywhere at any time, making it easier for those with busy schedules to continue their education. Lower Costs: Many online programs are more affordable than traditional programs, as there are fewer overhead costs. Wide Range of Programs: Online education offers a wide range of programs and courses to choose from. Self-Paced: Online education often allows students to progress through coursework at their own pace. Disadvantages of online education Lack of Interaction: Online education can be isolating, lacking the face-to-face interaction that is present in a traditional classroom setting. Technical Difficulties: Technical issues such as internet connectivity, computer problems, and software compatibility can disrupt online learning. Self-Discipline: Online education requires a high level of self-discipline, as students are responsible for pacing themselves and meeting deadlines. Lack of Accreditation: Some online programs and institutions may not be accredited, which can affect the transferability of credits and the recognition of degrees. Whether online education is an advantage or disadvantage depends on the individual student and their learning style, goals, and circumstances. Some students may thrive in the self-directed and flexible environment of online education, while others may struggle with the lack of structure and interaction.
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Elon Musk denies sexual misconduct allegations

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, has denied claims that he groped and exposed himself to an employee at his SpaceX rocket company six years ago. A report in the Business Insider news outlet on Thursday alleged SpaceX paid the ex-flight attendant $250,000 (£200,000) to settle the claim. “Those wild accusations are utterly untrue,” he wrote on Twitter. Mr. Musk told Business Insider its article was a “politically motivated hit piece”. The SpaceX founder suggested the piece was intended to interfere with his stalled $44bn (£35bn) acquisition of Twitter and malign the recent shift in his politics. He had used the social media site to announce he “can no longer support” the Democratic Party on Wednesday, saying he plans to vote for Republicans in future elections. Shares in his electric car company, Tesla, dropped on Friday. According to Business Insider, SpaceX paid the unnamed woman a severance agreement that was settled out of court and, as part of the deal, she was not allowed to sue the company or talk about the alleged incident. The magazine quotes an anonymous friend of the flight attendant, who it claimed had provided a signed declaration as part of the settlement process. The friend said Mr. Musk had exposed himself to the former employee – a cabin crew member on contract for SpaceX’s corporate jet fleet – in 2016 while receiving a massage from her aboard his private jet. He is said to have exposed his genitals to her, touched her leg without consent, and offered to buy her a gift if she would “do more” – referring to the performance of sex acts. The BBC has not been able to confirm these reports independently. In a series of tweets late on Thursday night, he alleged the friend quoted in the report was “a far-left activist/actress in [Los Angeles] with a major political ax to grind” – and challenged her to verify the claims by describing his intimate body parts. Nicholas Carlson, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, defended his outlet’s work, writing on Twitter: “We stand by our story, which is based on documents and interviews and speaks for itself.” Read more at bbc.com
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