*Mornings Archives

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According to WalletHub’s latest ranking of the Happiest States in America – which measured a bunch of factors in categories like “emotional and physical well-being,” “work environment,” and “community and environment” – Hawaii is the happiest state in the country, which is probably no surprise. West Virginia was ranked the least happy state. Michigan didn’t make either list of the happiest or least happy states, in case you were wondering.

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This is interesting … Researchers in the U.S. and Denmark have found that fans of horror flicks, alien invasion movies and post-apocalyptic movies are coping better with the pandemic and experience less anxiety regarding COVID-19. (Study Finds)

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Have you tried a weighted blanket? If you have a hard time sleeping, it might be worth a try. Researchers in Sweden found that weighted blankets not only led to better sleep for study participants, but they also had more energy during the day and had reduced levels of depression and stress. Researchers think the reason weighted blankets are so effective is because the pressure acts almost like a massage on your muscles and joints. (Best Life)

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We’re heading into another weekend of NFL football and if you’ve ever wondered about the amount of money teams will lose because fans aren’t in the stands, just listen to this. For example, the Dallas Cowboys will lose $621 million in revenue this year, the New England Patriots will lose $315 million and the New York Giants will lose $262 million. For sure. Nobody’s crying in their beer for billionaire owners. But, you can almost surely bet that beer and hot dog prices will go up AGAIN when fans return to the stands in the future…

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Have you been making the best of the pandemic at your workplace? Do things seem a bit slow, perhaps even more comfortable? If so, it might not compare to this: Three employees with New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority have been suspended without pay after officials discovered a secret, underground storage room in Grand Central Terminal that they had turned into their own man cave.

The MTA Inspector General says officials weren’t even aware there was a small room under Track 114 and were shocked to find their cozy little nook which included a fridge, a futon, exercise equipment, a microwave, and a flat-screen TV. The workers have been suspended pending further disciplinary actions. (WNBC-TV)

National Punctuation Day: A good day to mind your periods, commas, question marks, semi-colons and more.

Remember Me Thursday: It’s a day to remember all the pets left in shelters that are waiting to be adopted.

Innergize Day: A day to take some time for yourself to relax, re-energize and focus on what makes you feel good.

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Be honest … Are you addicted to online shopping, especially Amazon shopping? You’re not alone. A new survey found that 25% of respondents admitted that they are seriously addicted to online shopping. 82% of those surveyed said they like shopping online, because it’s easier to find what they want. And 53% said they get excited when their package arrives. In fact, the online shoppers surveyed said they look forward to their purchases arriving more than they do to their workday ending or video chatting with family and friends. And – no surprise — COVID has increased our online shopping habits. 52% said they’ve had more home deliveries in 2020 than in previous years. (SWNS)

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Speaking of online shopping … Seems a lot of us have already started Christmas shopping. Why? We’re bored. A survey found that 50% of Americans have already started online shopping for the holidays, because they’re bored at home. 15% of those surveyed said they actually started their holiday shopping … in August. And no surprise – experts predict 48% of holiday shopping will be done online this year. (SWNS)

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CBS says this year’s Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop is going to be virtual because of the coronavirus. New York City plans to limit the number of people allowed in Times Square due to the virus and social distancing concerns

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It appears that being financially well-off isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A new study has found that having lots of money has some downsides – particularly loneliness and lack of real relationships. Researchers at the University of Buffalo and Harvard Business School say the stress of being successful and constantly striving for more can actually cut you off from the world. It’s not that making money is bad – but when someone ties their self-worth to their financial success, and puts that above all else, they can become isolated.

“Feeling that pressure to achieve financial goals means we’re putting ourselves to work at the cost of spending time with loved ones, and it’s that lack of time spent with people close to us that’s associated with feeling lonely and disconnected,” adds Deborah Ward from the University of Buffalo.

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WGN says Johnson & Johnson began testing a new coronavirus vaccine yesterday. Over 60,000 people have agreed to get a single dose shot to see if the vaccine works. But, CDC Director Robert Redfield tells Yahoo News that America may not be completely vaccinated until July. “I think that’s going to take us April, May, June, you know, possibly July, to get the entire American public completely vaccinated”

National Dogs in Politics Day: A day to celebrate all the First Dogs that have lived at the White House.

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How many times a day do you worry about your health? How often do you google your “symptoms”? A new survey has found that the average American has had 560 moments of worry about their health since the start of COVID-19. And two-thirds of those surveyed said that their immune health is a constant source of worry. 30% said they didn’t even know what the immune system did before coronavirus. Since the pandemic started, 80% of respondents said they are re-thinking their health priorities and 85% want to make their healthy lifestyle changes permanent. (SWNS)

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Proof positive that social media challenges for the perfect photo or video are going too far, A woman in England fell out the passenger side window, onto a busy highway – while filming a Snapchat video. Police said it was “only by luck she wasn’t seriously injured or killed.” (Insider)

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Researchers at Oxford University have concluded that people who live near a bar or pub are happier than those who don’t. They found that people who had a pub on their street that they frequented had a larger circle of friends and therefore a better social life. They also found that these people are less likely to get fall-down drunk … probably because it’s easier to fall down if you have a longer distance to walk instead of just down the street. (BroBible)

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Yesterday, pre-orders for the new Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S were offered by retailers and thousands of gamers got online — and got in line — to get one of the new systems when they become available this November. Not surprisingly, there were reports of sites crashing and people struggling to add the product to their online shopping cart. By the end of the day, the pre-orders were pretty much sold out.

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Dr. Bill Lumsden works for a whisky distillery called Glenmorangie. Dr. Bill, whose official title is Director of Whisky Creation, developed a Scotch whisky that can be paired with cake. A Tale of Cake is a smooth, honeyed whisky, with hints of white chocolate and fruit flavors — and will be available in the United States starting October 1st. (Food & Wine)

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The holidays are coming … And in case you want to look like you did difficult yard work permanently, Gucci is selling grass stained jeans … for $770. You can also get some overalls that look you rolled around in the dirt … for $1,400. (In the Know)

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Who are these people? If you had to choose between your dog and your phone, you wouldn’t have to even think, you’d choose your dog. Right? Right?! Well, maybe not. According to a survey from SimpleTexting, 40% of participants said they would choose to be separated from their dog for a month instead of having to give up their phone for a month. Even scarier, 44% of people surveyed said they would give up seeing their significant other for a month if it meant keeping their phone with them at all times. (People)

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New research has found that there’s a link between eating too much at dinner and taking in more calories during the day and having a poorer diet overall. Seems it’s best to eat your bigger meals earlier in the day, and keep it light for dinner. (EurekAlert)

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The world of the Jetsons may be here before we know it. Future Car says General Motors is exploring the possibility of manufacturing flying cars for an aerial taxi program. Hyundai and Uber are already working on a similar program. General Motors would most likely use a vertical takeoff and landing system with electric motors instead of jet engines. Taxis would only be able to fly short routes

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Maybe it’s time to take your work outside … A new survey has found that office workers are more productive and in a better mood after spending time outdoors. Productivity improved by 45% after workers spent just a half-hour outside, and 63% said they felt better after spending time in fresh air. And this is interesting … 57% of managers surveyed said they thought their employees were more productive working from home. Because of that, 50% say they’re focusing on flexible schedules and encouraging staff to spend more time outside. (SWNS)

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The Sunday Blues are more like the Sunday Stress … A new survey found that people start to feel anxiety about the upcoming workweek at 3:58 p.m. on Sundays. 88% of respondents said they regularly feel anxiety on Sunday about what Monday morning will bring. The survey also revealed that a whole lot of us are working on the weekends – with the average worker doing about three hours of unpaid work on Saturdays and Sundays. 45% said they were looking at emails, 38% said they were going over presentations, and 31% said they made business calls over the weekend. And the survey found that people think about work and their jobs about six times a weekend.

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Are you happier around your friends than your family? Don’t be embarrassed to admit it … because you are definitely not alone. A new study from Southern Methodist University found that people are happier when they’re with their friends than with their spouse or kids. In fact, the research found that people reported the lowest levels of happiness when they were with a significant other. Ouch. But there’s a pretty good reason for this: The study found that when people are with friends, it typically involves fun, social events. The time spent with family tends to involve less fun activities – like doing chores. So basically, it’s not so much who you are with – but what you’re doing.

The lesson in all of this – according to SMU psychology professor Nathan Hudson, is to make an effort to do fun things with family – not just with friends. “It’s important to create opportunities for positive experiences with romantic partners and children – and to really mentally savor those positive times. In contrast, family relationships that involve nothing but chores, housework, and childcare likely won’t predict a lot of happiness.”

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IIamas May Hold Key To Beating Coronavirus: Raw Story says Stockholm, Sweden scientists are developing a coronavirus vaccine using llamas and alpacas. Dr. Gerald McInearney tells the website, “Camels, and alpacas and llamas and other animals from that family have special, small single-chain antibodies. Tiny antibodies they’ve proved can block Covid-19. We are very excited that we have something that’s very functional.”