HGTV | 40 Screened Porches We Wanna Chill On

Protected from the elements and biting bugs, these pretty porches offer indoor-outdoor living at its finest.  —see gallery—

CNN style Beauty | Wolf cuts: Gen Z’s answer to the mullet hairstyle

If you see a teenager with a disheveled mullet that moves like a windblown shag, it’s probably a hairstyle known as the “wolf cut.” This ‘do is recognizable by its voluminous crown, which swiftly tapers into wispy layers, and it is the latest Gen Z beauty trend to take social media by storm.

Popular across genders, the wolf cut is thought to have originated in the salons of South Korea, taking its name from the wild, untamed look the heavy layers create, resembling the fur of its namesake. To take things further, the style is often set in place on loosely permed hair, to ensure an expertly tousled look.  —read more—

CNN health | 5 ways to repair a friendship (or leave it behind if toxic)

Try writing down things you appreciate about your friend.

(CNN) – When a friendship hits a stumbling block, how do you know whether to work on the relationship or let it go?

It can be tempting to let a friendship fade instead of facing conflict — especially when life feels overwhelming in other ways — because conflict is hard. But we are already facing a loneliness epidemic, and relationship repair carries further urgency in the face of biological evidence.

“It actually is a matter of life and death,” wrote Lydia Denworth in her book, “Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond.” “It is carried in our DNA, in how we’re wired. And that means friendship is not a choice or a luxury; it’s a necessity that is critical to our ability to succeed and thrive.”  —read more—

CNN travel | Past, present and future: The evolution of China’s incredible high-speed rail network

(CNN) — At the beginning of the 21st century China had no high-speed railways.

Slow and often uncomfortable trains plodded across this vast country, with low average speeds making journeys such as Shanghai-Beijing a test of travel endurance.

Today, it’s a completely different picture. The world’s most populous nation has — by some distance — the world’s largest network of high-speed railways.

No fewer than 37,900 kilometers (about 23,500 miles) of lines crisscross the country, linking all of its major mega-city clusters, and all have been completed since 2008.  —read more—

CNN BUSINESS | Verizon offloads Yahoo and AOL in $5 billion deal

Verizon Media CEO Guru Gowrappan appears at a 2019 event.

New York (CNN Business) – Verizon is exiting the media business, announcing Monday that it’s selling the unit for $5 billion to private equity firm Apollo Global Management.

The sale includes AOL and Yahoo, which Verizon bought for a combined $9 billion in recent years. Verizon will retain a 10% stake in the spin off and the Verizon Media Group name will be changed to just Yahoo.

Verizon once had great plans to become a dominant player in the online media and ad business. The telephone company bought AOL for $4.4 billion in 2015 and further bolstered its portfolio with its Yahoo purchase at a similar price in 2017. The unit was briefly named Oath, but Verizon admitted that its plans to take on Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB) was essentially a waste when it took a $4.6 billion writedown on Oath in 2018.  —read more—

CNN opinion | My great-grandmother survived the 1921 Tulsa massacre. We’re not heeding her history

(CNN) – A century ago, my Black brothers and sisters were decimated by one of the worst occurrences of racial violence in our nation’s history. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, White gangs flooded into the thriving Greenwood neighborhood and murdered up to 300 Black men, women and children. According to the Tulsa Historical Society, 1,500 Black homes were burned, along with over 600 businesses, and places of worship, healing, learning and gathering.

My great-grandmother, Rebecca Brown Crutcher — a woman who was the picture of Black excellence — lived and worked in the Greenwood community. But in 1921, she fled in fear of her life as White Tulsans burned her neighborhood to the ground.  —read more—

CNN politics | Senate Intel leaders say mysterious directed energy attacks appear to be increasing

(CNN) – The leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee warned Friday that mysterious invisible attacks that have caused debilitating symptoms appear to be on the rise against US personnel.

“For nearly five years, we have been aware of reports of mysterious attacks on United States Government personnel in Havana, Cuba, and around the world. This pattern of attacking our fellow citizens serving our government appears to be increasing,” Senate Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, and the panel’s top Republican, Marco Rubio of Florida, said in a statement. “The Senate Intelligence Committee intends to get to the bottom of this. We have already held fact finding hearings on these debilitating attacks, many of which result in medically confirmed cases of Traumatic Brain Injury, and will do more.”  —read more—

CNN BUSINESS | These electric self-driving tractors could make farming much greener

The Monarch tractor can provide farming data.

London (CNN Business) – A startup based in California says it can help farmers be greener and more profitable by offering what it describes as the world’s first fully electric, self-driving tractor.

The compact tractor can be programmed to perform tasks such as plowing, harvesting and mowing, and can operate for up to 10 hours from a five-hour charge, according to its makers, Monarch Tractor.

Although it doesn’t need a driver, to comply with US regulations it must have a designated remote operator who receives real-time alerts and can stop the vehicle if needed. It has sensors that can detect livestock and crops, and collision prevention systems that allow it to operate autonomously alongside farm workers.   —read more— 

CNN entertainment | Phylicia Rashad appointed dean of fine arts at Howard University

Phylicia Rashad at the October 2019 grand opening of Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta.

(CNN) – Howard University announced Wednesday that alunma Phylicia Rashad has been appointed dean of the recently reestablished College of Fine Arts.

The “This Is Us” star will begin her role on July 1 and report to Provost Anthony K. Wutoh.

“It is a privilege to serve in this capacity and to work with the Howard University administration, faculty and students in reestablishing the College of Fine Arts,” Rashad said in a statement.

The esteemed actress graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s in fine arts from Howard University in 1970.  —read more—