Today: September 08, 2024
Today: September 08, 2024

Latest From Serena McCloud

Environment|Local|WrittenByLAPost

LA Reaps Benefits of "Cool Roofs" While Turning Down the Heat

Homeowners in Los Angeles who want to stay cool and reduce energy expenses are opting for “cool roofs” – roofs constructed with reflective materials that absorb less sunlight. Due to climate change causing higher temperatures, cool roofs offer a straightforward option to reduce excessive roof heat absorption. Studies indicate that they have the potential to decrease air conditioning usage by an average of 20% and lower indoor temperatures by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.  “A roof and a wall that reflect light are straightforward and dependable passive methods that only require you to make the correct decision when it’s

November 06, 2023
LA Reaps Benefits of "Cool Roofs" While Turning Down the Heat
Health|WrittenByLAPost

Are you relationshopping or ready for a relationship?

The proliferation of dating apps and social media has entirely transformed the quest for love in the 21st century. With a tap you can access seemingly endless romantic possibilities tailored to your every preference. But beware – having too many options can backfire for the lonely heart. Enter the rise of “relationshopping” – the habit of endlessly swiping through potential matches like items in a catalog, seeking the ideal romantic product. This mentality causes singles to constantly wonder if someone better awaits in their queue of virtual admirers. According to dating coaches, the assumption that a perfect soulmate exists perpetually

March 18, 2024
Are you relationshopping or ready for a relationship?
Health|WrittenByLAPost

Experts reveal why women's sex drives tanked after COVID

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt a crushing blow to many women’s sex drives – one that hasn’t recovered even years later. Studies show female desire dropped steeply since lockdowns began and remains suppressed. But why are women still struggling with lagging libido? And how can couples reignite passion after the prolonged intimacy rut? Experts say pandemic-fueled stress overloaded already-taxed women juggling remote work, childcare, and household chores alone. With school and support gone, sex often slipped to the bottom of a lengthy to-do list. But even as life regains normalcy, many couples remain stuck in a sexual disconnect. The good news?

March 13, 2024
Experts reveal why women's sex drives tanked after COVID
Health|WrittenByLAPost

Could this simple homemade drink be the key to better sleep?

In a world where bleary-eyed scrollers desperately seek the perfect night’s sleep, a simple homemade concoction has taken social media by storm. The “sleepy girl mocktail,” a sweet blend of tart cherry juice and magnesium powder, promises to lull even the most restless minds into a blissful slumber. But can this trendy drink really live up to its lofty claims? As the siren call of this seemingly miraculous elixir grows louder, experts weigh in on the science behind its ingredients and offer insights on how to effectively incorporate it into a holistic sleep routine. Discover whether the sleepy girl mocktail

March 07, 2024
Could this simple homemade drink be the key to better sleep?
Health|WrittenByLAPost

The hidden epidemic of compulsive skin picking

Excoriation disorder, also called skin picking disorder, is a mental illness in which people can’t stop picking at their skin, sometimes so badly that they draw blood and hurt themselves.. Research shows that skin picking provides momentary relief from difficult emotions and anxiety. This disorder is officially recognized as a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and body-focused repetitive behavior in the DSM-5 psychiatric manual. Skin picking tends to be a chronic condition that is linked to underlying mental health issues like depression, anxiety, trauma, and body image issues. Although misunderstood, skin picking disorder causes great distress and impairment for millions

February 26, 2024
The hidden epidemic of compulsive skin picking
Health|WrittenByLAPost

The Power of Intentions: Why Intentions Beat Diet Resolutions

As the calendar flips to January, Lucy is tempted by the glossy magazine covers at the grocery checkout, promising rapid weight loss through restrictive regimens. She eyes the bold declarations to “Lose 10 Pounds Fast!” and “Drop 2 Sizes By Spring!” After indulging over the holidays, part of Lucy feels drawn to make an ambitious weight loss pledge for the new year. Yet the 35-year-old mom worries about falling short of rigid goals that could torpedo her self-esteem. This January, Lucy contemplates a different approach. Across America, the annual ritual of New Year’s resolutions often focuses squarely on diets and

December 21, 2023
The Power of Intentions: Why Intentions Beat Diet Resolutions
Health|WrittenByLAPost

The Risks of Letting Dogs Lick Your Face and Sleep in Your Bed

As man’s best friend, dogs enrich our lives in countless ways – easing anxiety, reducing loneliness, spurring physical activity, and even potentially lowering cardiovascular disease. However, these beloved pets can also transmit illness-causing germs to humans through bites, scratches, face licks, or accidental ingestion of feces. Thankfully, simple precautions can greatly mitigate sickness risks for people snuggling up to their furry companions. Veterinarians caution that dogs harbor diverse bacteria, parasites, and fungi transmissible to humans – including salmonella, E. coli, campylobacter, giardia, cryptosporidium, hookworm, and roundworm. These can spark gastrointestinal troubles like diarrhea or abdominal pain. Dogs may also spread

November 30, 2023
The Risks of Letting Dogs Lick Your Face and Sleep in Your Bed
Health|WrittenByLAPost

Is 98.6 No Longer Normal Body Temperature?

Modern evidence increasingly challenges long-accepted baselines about “normal” human body temperature established over 150 years ago. Recent studies of large populations find average readings substantially lower than the near-universal 98.6 Fahrenheit etched into medical lore. That leaves unsettled debates around properly identifying fevers amid shifting data that both reveals we run cooler today and highlights natural individual variations. With core measures declining below standardized cutoffs, some propose personalizing fever benchmarks while others argue widening diagnosis criteria risks overlooking serious infection. The new normal results prime modern medicine to revisit physiological assumptions rooted in a different era. In the late 1860s,

November 27, 2023
Is 98.6 No Longer Normal Body Temperature?
Health|WrittenByLAPost

Inside the Hidden Eating Disorder Symptom That Sabotages Recovery

While sensationalized disorders like anorexia, bulimia and binge eating capture headlines, a lesser-known but exceedingly common disordered behavior hides in plain sight. Compulsive exercise afflicts up to 80% of those with eating disorders, yet few recognize the immense dangers it poses. Understanding this prevalent symptom is key to providing proper support for recovery. Also called excessive exercise or over-exercising, compulsive exercise involves working out excessively in a rigid, rule-bound way, both as part of an eating disorder and as a standalone issue. Those who suffer feel internally driven or compelled to exercise for long hours daily, even when injured, ill

November 13, 2023
Inside the Hidden Eating Disorder Symptom That Sabotages Recovery
Economy|Health|Local|WrittenByLAPost

LA Rejects Renewed Mask Mandates for Medical Workers This Fall

Los Angeles County has opted not to reinstate a mask mandate for healthcare workers this fall, diverging from most other counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. Instead, LA County issued a September health order requiring healthcare employees get both the flu and updated COVID-19 vaccines or mask up when in patient areas. A widespread healthcare mask order would only return if COVID hospitalizations substantially worsen, said county health officer Dr. Muntu Davis on Tuesday. Specifically, new coronavirus hospital admissions per 100,000 residents would need to exceed 20 per week, a threshold last exceeded locally during January-February 2022’s Omicron surge.

November 08, 2023
LA Rejects Renewed Mask Mandates for Medical Workers This Fall
Health|WrittenByLAPost

Time to Ditch Your Toxic Workout Wear? The Health Hazards Hiding in Your Activewear

The stretchy, sweat-wicking workout clothes that make exercising comfortable contain hidden health hazards. New research shows that the synthetic fabrics commonly used in activewear can leach potentially toxic chemicals onto your skin when you sweat. Scientists at the University of Birmingham in the UK found that the oil in human sweat acts as a conduit for chemical additives in plastics to dissolve from fabrics and be absorbed into the body. Their study focused specifically on flame retardants added to some textiles. However, the findings likely apply to other plastic chemicals like bisphenols and PFAS commonly used in workout clothes. With

November 06, 2023
Time to Ditch Your Toxic Workout Wear? The Health Hazards Hiding in Your Activewear
Sports|WrittenByLAPost

Lakers Lock In Rising Star Austin Reaves With $56M Max Deal

Despite his unexpected rise to fame and leap from a small Arkansas town to the bright lights of Los Angeles, Lakers star Austin Reaves remains grounded. While captivating fans and fellow players with his skills, the Team USA member stays humble amidst his newfound stardom. During a typical Las Vegas drive, Reaves spotted a mobile billboard displaying his image for an upcoming Team USA exhibition game. Seeing his face towering over the Strip’s bustling streets took Reaves by surprise. But this glimpse of fame was just the start of a journey that would become even more surreal. Later, Reaves’ photo

November 09, 2023
Lakers Lock In Rising Star Austin Reaves With $56M Max Deal
World|WrittenByLAPost

How three Zebras escaped from a private farm

In August 2021, three zebras that got away thrilled the whole country. But when their difficult past came to light, it showed that the exotic animal trade had serious problems with regulation. People in rural Maryland were confused when the zebras showed up out of the blue. Soon, though, the amazement turned to fear when two zebras were discovered dead in strange ways. The deaths set off a cascade of turmoil around owner Jerry Lee Holly, 78, whose exotic animal businesses have operated for decades despite chronic legal violations. Prince George’s County officials charged Holly with animal cruelty misdemeanors for

January 30, 2024
How three Zebras escaped from a private farm
World|WrittenByLAPost

Police Knew Her Missing Son Was Dead But Kept Mother In The Dark For Months

For over five agonizing months, Bettersten Wade searched in vain for her missing 37-year-old son Dexter after he disappeared from their Mississippi home. Unbeknownst to her, Jackson police had known since the night he vanished that Dexter died after being struck by one of their vehicles on a highway. Yet they failed to identify him or notify his mother, leaving his body unclaimed in the morgue for months. Bettersten filed a missing persons report two weeks after Dexter left home on March 5 and called police repeatedly seeking updates. But investigators told her nothing even as the county coroner buried

November 07, 2023
Police Knew Her Missing Son Was Dead But Kept Mother In The Dark For Months
Technology|Entertainment|WrittenByLAPost

Alleged celebrity catfishing scheme dupes woman

Deception in romance has taken on new forms in the internet age. “Catfishing” – luring someone into an online relationship using a fictional persona – has become increasingly common, enabled by the anonymity of online interactions. A recent high-profile case in Kentucky has drawn national attention, where a woman divorced her husband after falling for someone she thought was actor Dacre Montgomery. After speaking with the catfishing investigation service Social Catfish, it was revealed she lost over $10,000 supporting this fictional romance. While this instance gained much scrutiny, it represents a broader trend that is devastating people across America. The

April 03, 2024
Alleged celebrity catfishing scheme dupes woman
Technology|WrittenByLAPost

Can this tiny nuclear battery finally liberate life from the plug?

China’s recent unveiling of a miniature “nuclear battery” with a functional lifespan of up to 50 years, developed by Beijing-based startup Betavolt, has generated both optimism and ethical concerns within the scientific community. The technology aims to revolutionize power sources for electronic devices by converting energy released from radioactive decay into steady electric output. Betavolt’s initial BV100 prototype uses the nickel-63 isotope as its radioactive fuel. This nickel radionuclide, with a 100-year half-life, gradually sheds electrons as it decays. The emitted energy gets captured by thin layers of diamond semiconductors within the battery unit, generating usable electricity. The company claims

February 13, 2024
Can this tiny nuclear battery finally liberate life from the plug?
Health|News|WrittenByLAPost

Woman Discovers Live Spider and Shed Exoskeleton in Ear Canal. Watch the Video.

A 64-year-old woman in Taiwan was disturbed from sleep for several nights by strange noises and sensations in her left ear, only to discover the startling source – a live spider and its shed exoskeleton dwelling inside her ear canal. Documented in a recent case study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the arachnid intruder measured just 2-3 millimeters, or around 1/10 inch. But its movements and activity generated disturbing sounds described as “abnormal beating, clicking and rustling.” Beyond disrupted sleep, the woman reported feeling a “creature moving” inside her ear over several days. The sensations prompted her to

November 21, 2023
Woman Discovers Live Spider and Shed Exoskeleton in Ear Canal. Watch the Video.
News|WrittenByLAPost

9th Grader's Medicated Soap Invention Wins America's Top Young Scientist Award

A 14-year-old boy from Virginia who invented an innovative soap to treat skin cancer has been awarded the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist” along with a $25,000 prize. Heman Bekele, a ninth grader from Annandale, VA, spent months creating the medicated bar soap as an affordable way to help combat rising skin cancer rates. Bekele was one of ten national finalists in the prestigious competition run by 3M and Discovery Education. The contest recognizes outstanding innovation by students in grades 5 through 8. Bekele rose above entrants from across the country to claim the top honor and recognition as

November 07, 2023
9th Grader's Medicated Soap Invention Wins America's Top Young Scientist Award
Health|Food|WrittenByLAPost

Outraged guest exposes hotel's $20 frozen Trader Joe's meal scam

A recent viral TikTok video has sparked outrage and raised concerns over the authenticity of some hotels’ room service offerings. The video, posted by Elle McLemore, exposes how one upscale hotel tried to pass off a $3.79 frozen Trader Joe’s meal as a $20 “Calming Cacio e Pepe Pasta with Truffle Oil” room service order. This deceitful bait-and-switch signals broader issues around truth-in-marketing and transparency from hotels. It also speaks to the loss of trust between hospitality providers and increasingly savvy consumers in the social media age. Most disturbingly, it highlights how some hotels are flat-out lying to charge exorbitant

February 22, 2024
Outraged guest exposes hotel's $20 frozen Trader Joe's meal scam
Food|WrittenByLAPost

Spicy snacks and sublime sweets: Inside Trader Joe's customers' top picks

Trader Joe’s fans have decided on the most obsessively devoured foods. The envelopes have been sealed, votes cast, and cravings accounted for. Now, step this way across aisles packed fuller than your reusable tote bags to discover the savory, sweet treats and convenient fan favorites deemed irresistible in Trader Joe’s 15th Annual Customer Choice Awards. From the snack you can’t stop reaching for to the frozen meal you eagerly anticipated all day, find out which beloved products shoppers voted to the top of charts and stomachs this past year. As Trader Joe’s continues expanding its reach across America, over half

February 20, 2024
Spicy snacks and sublime sweets: Inside Trader Joe's customers' top picks
Local|Food|WrittenByLAPost

Only in Los Angeles: 7 restaurants defining the city

Los Angeles is known for having a wide range of new and interesting restaurants, from fancy ones with Michelin stars to quick food on the street. In this article, we explore ten restaurants in Los Angeles, exemplifying the city’s ascendant food scene through excellence in cuisine, service, and atmosphere. Mírate on North Vermont Avenue prepares traditional Mexican fare with local ingredients, earning praise for standouts like Yucatán-style cochinita pibil served with plantains alongside inventive specials like crab tostadas with exquisite corn. Vibrant decor complements the modern yet authentic cooking in this lively venue, championing regional Mexican cooking. Tucked away in

February 15, 2024
Only in Los Angeles: 7 restaurants defining the city

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