CNN World | The world is banking on giant carbon-sucking fans to clean our climate mess. It’s a big risk.

Hellisheiðarvirkjun, Iceland (CNN)The windswept valleys surrounding the Hengill volcano in southwestern Iceland are dotted with hot springs and steam vents. Hikers from all over the world come here to witness its breath-taking scenery. Even the sheep are photogenic in the soft Nordic light.

Right in the middle of all that natural beauty sits a towering metal structure resembling four giant Lego bricks, with two rows of six whirring fans running across each one. It’s a contraption that looks truly futuristic, like something straight out of a sci-fi film.

Humans have emitted so much carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere that machines like this are being used to literally suck the gas back out, like giant vacuum cleaners, in an attempt to slow the climate crisis and prevent some of its most devastating consequences.  —read more—  

CNN politics | Why large age gaps in marriages are declining

(CNN) – A while ago, my friend told me a 30-year-old friend of ours was engaged to marry a 50-year-old.

The large gap made my mind think about the old — and some might argue sexist — “half plus seven rule,” which has shaped cultural understandings of what is an acceptable age gap in relationships.

It’s a simple math equation that most often comes up these days in references to relationships involving older men and younger women. You take the older partner’s age (50 in the example above), divide it by two (25) and add seven (32). If that number is smaller than or equal to the younger partner’s age, “the rule” suggests that younger partner is old enough for the older partner to date. And if it’s higher, that suggests the younger partner is too young.  —read more—  

CNN BUSINESS | Zillow slams the brakes on home buying as it struggles to manage its backlog of inventory

Zillow will stop buying homes through Zillow Offers for the rest of the year, as the company’s iBuying program goes from full speed to full stop.

The company announced on Monday it would not contract to buy any more homes in 2021 in order to work through the backlog of homes it has already bought.

The “iBuyer” model used by Zillow and other real estate companies entails purchasing homes directly from sellers, and then re-listing the properties after doing minor work. But thanks to the current shortage on labor and materials, Zillow can’t close, renovate and resell the homes fast enough.  —read more—  

CNN BUSINESS | North America’s biggest container port is backlogged, and it may impact holiday shopping

(CNN Business) – Approximately 200,000 shipping containers remain gridlocked off the coast of Los Angeles on Monday as pandemic-related disruptions continue to affect various supply chains, according to Gene Seroka, the executive director of the Port of Los Angeles.

“We have about two weeks’ worth of work sitting at anchor right now,” Seroka said in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper. “The question right now is how do we segment this cargo.”

Easing the backlog is crucial during the final months of the year because retail items are in high demand as holiday shopping begins to kick off, Seroka said. Automotive parts are also being prioritized because US auto manufacturers and many suppliers through the Midwest are waiting on components so they can build their final products.  —read more—  

CNN health | Seniors decry age bias, say they feel devalued when interacting with health care providers

(Kaiser Health News) – Joanne Whitney, 84, a retired associate clinical professor of pharmacy at the University of California-San Francisco, often feels devalued when interacting with health care providers.

There was the time several years ago when she told an emergency room doctor that the antibiotic he wanted to prescribe wouldn’t counteract the kind of urinary tract infection she had.

He wouldn’t listen, even when she mentioned her professional credentials. She asked to see someone else, to no avail. “I was ignored and finally I gave up,” said Whitney, who has survived lung cancer and cancer of the urethra and depends on a special catheter to drain urine from her bladder. (An outpatient renal service later changed the prescription.)  —read more— 

CNN politics | Colin Powell, first Black US secretary of state, dies of Covid-19 complications amid cancer battle

(CNN) – Colin Powell, the first Black US secretary of state whose leadership in several Republican administrations helped shape American foreign policy in the last years of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, has died from complications from Covid-19, his family said on Facebook. He was 84.  —read more— 

Related: Colin Powell’s life in pictures

F1 | WATCH: Hamilton and Mercedes’ pit stop dilemma at the 2021 Turkish Grand Prix dissected

It’s rare to get such an insight into the decision-making process that goes in to pitting a driver for new tyres, but we got exactly that insight when Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton was called in to pit with the laps ticking down in Turkey.

Hamilton was keen to complete the Turkish Grand Prix on the set of intermediate compounds that he had started the race on, hoping that staying out of the pits would help him keep track position and perhaps let him fight for the podium.

READ MORE: Hamilton was frustrated with Mercedes’ late pitstop call in Turkey – but what would have happened if he’d stayed out?

But the defending champion’s team had a different opinion, that difference becoming clear from Lap 40 of the race. What followed was a spirited debate over the radio that ultimately led to Hamilton being convinced to pit for new tyres on Lap 50 of the race. He eventually finished fifth – a solid return – from 11th on the grid.  —read more—  

CNN underscored | How to access some of the world’s best airport lounges

(CNN) – The feelings often associated with flying tend to be dreary. Between time spent waiting in line to check in and get through security, dodging other passengers in narrow corridors and waiting in a gate area that never seems to have enough seats, there’s plenty that makes the flying experience less than ideal.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  —read more—  

CNN travel | Giant inflatable sails could make shipping greener

(CNN) — Sailing boats date back more than 5,000 years, when the ancient Egyptians floated up and down the Nile in wooden vessels powered by wind and oars. But when steam and diesel engines arrived and globalization increased the need for timely trade, the sails dropped.

Today, they are making a comeback as the shipping industry looks to decarbonize. But the new sails look nothing like those of the past. Tall, white and puffy, the giant inflatable sails designed by tire manufacturer Michelin more closely resemble the Michelin man — the company’s mascot — than a traditional cloth sail. Made from a flexible material that the company would not reveal, the sails can inflate or deflate at the push of a button. No crew is required to rig them, and they pivot automatically to catch the wind, equipped with sensors that measure the wind direction and speed.  —read more—  

CNN BUSINESS | The glitzy electric Mercedes EQS could be the most important Mercedes in decades

Half Moon Bay, California (CNN Business) – The all-electric Mercedes EQS may well be one of the most important cars in company’s history. And that’s saying a lot, because that’s a whole bunch of history.

Mercedes-Benz and its direct ancestor companies have been making internal combustion-powered automobiles longer than any company on Earth. Karl Benz applied for a patent on a gas-engined car in 1886, a decade before Henry Ford built his first car.

Throughout much of that history, Mercedes-Benz has remained a dominant maker of big luxury cars. Over the past few decades, if you wanted a nice, comfortable car for around a hundred thousand inflation-adjusted dollars, your handful of top choices would almost surely have included a Mercedes and maybe a few European competitors and maybe a Lexus.  —read more—