Amazon, FirstCry and J&J’s BabyCenter among those seeking info to offer tailored content, discounts; move may violate proposed data law.

The eco-friendly startup commenced operations in early 2016 out of Utagi’s spare bedroom with a personal investment of Rs 24 lakh.

On Wednesday at 9 AM, the full House of Representatives will debate and vote on the two articles of impeachment that have now been passed out of committee. Listen to NPR's live special coverage on PRE News & Ideas at 89.3 across Eastern North Carolina and 88.1 in Greenville. You can also watch the full house floor debate and vote on impeachment on the video stream below.

Two brush fires in Apache Junction are believed to be human-caused.

You might be asking when it will be safe to use a public pool or water slide. Here's what an expert said about coronavirus transmission in water.

Leander, through video conference, told the hosts about the rally at the Capitol where she stood, arms crossed, amid rally attendees.

Each week, The Republic highlights some of the adoptable pets in the Valley. This week also includes a sassy cat.

The letter by the prosecutor marked the second time businesses in town were contacted by authorities for being in violation of Gov. Ducey's order.

Arizona Republic reporters are fanning out across the Valley to document how shoppers and shop owners are responding to the lifting of restrictions.

Erika Clary of Arcane Hair Parlour in downtown Phoenix talks about slowly reopening as barber shops and salons are allowed to reopen on May 8, 2020.

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey's stay-at-home order is ending Friday as salons open on Friday and restaurants open on Monday.

Sgt. Matt Feddeler, a spokesman for the Tempe Police Department, said the shooting stemmed from a hit-and-run involving two vehicles.

The latest coronavirus updates from around Arizona, including COVID-19 deaths and health restrictions.

Arizona colleges and universities have dramatically altered graduation ceremonies to adapt to COVID-19.

“What does a landscape dream of in its unsettled dreams?” Todd Davis’s newest collection of poems, titled “Native Species,” opens with this question. The question is gentle and idle. It’s the kind of thing you ask yourself while half-asleep on a streambank on a hot day. But then there’s that word “unsettled.” The landscape may be “settled.” It may be cultivated into farm and town… but its dreams are unsettled, uneasy, perhaps even wild. As the poem winds through images of a flooded house, the reader becomes unsettled, too. And is reminded that landscapes––including the ones that humans shape––can shift in ways that we do not expect or control. Todd Davis excels at this kind of movement––the kind that starts in streambank idling but ends in a landslide. Or, just as often, the kind that begins in an abstract concept and distills into a single, sparkling image. In “Native Species,” his sixth full-length collection of poetry, Davis returns to themes his readers will find familiar:

Recognizing the author’s name led me to “Hidden Tapestry” by Debra Dean . Her debut historical novel, “The Madonnas of Leningrad,” is one of my favorite WW II novels. “Hidden Tapestry: Jan Yoors, His Two Wives, and the War That Made Them One” was like no other book I’ve ever read. It’s a historical biography, but it reads like an unbelievable novel. It’s the biography of Flemish-American artist Jan Yoors, who was known for his giant tapestries. Yoors was born to a family of Flemish artists in 1922. He grew up in a bohemian liberal home with a deeply engrained cultural respect for art. Throughout his childhood his parents accepted his departures every summer to live among the Gypsies, or Romas. He developed deep admiration for this unique group of people, and many years later, he wrote a memoir about his time living with them. His award-winning 1965 book, “The Gypsies,” was hugely popular. It is still the seminal work on the Romas. Dean’s research is thorough, and her writing is

How do we love the land, even as we participate in doing damage to it? How do we honor those who have come before us, even as we acknowledge the destruction they advanced? These are the questions that came to me as I read “Pennsylvania Furnace” a new book of poems by Julie Swarstad Johnson. In poems that weave effortlessly, sometimes magically, between past and present, Johnson considers the significance of resource extraction in relation to American lives. Her poems step back and forth across the continent, juxtaposing the Arizona desert-cities of the author’s home with the ridges and valleys of central Pennsylvania. Here in Appalachia, where her parents are from, Johnson finds the remnants of Pennsylvania’s booming 19 th -century ironmaking industry and goes on a journey to learn about those old furnace stacks that stand, as one poem puts it, “like lone towers left from fortresses / by the roadside.” Like students of this local history who came before her, Johnson acknowledges that

Wonderchef, a Rs 200-crore company had recently entered north Indian market by launching its first flagship store in Gurugram.

According to the company, Tupperware intends to leverage its existing consultant and distributor base and make them a part of the brand’s new initiative. The Tupperware family will have the opportunity to either become “Tupperware Authorised Sellers” on the e-commerce platforms, or take charge of “Exclusive Tupperware Outlets”.

Tupperware India's managing director Deepak Chhabra talks about how integrating the direct sales force with the retail franchisee model is working for the home and kitchen-ware maker.

“We plan to launch 100 additional exclusive brand outlets to deepen our penetration across geographies and are confident of a warm reception across markets," said Deepak Chhabra, managing director of Tupperware India.

The decorative business segment in India recorded high double digit volume growth.

On March 23, the company had informed bourses about disruption of operations across the country on account of COVID -19 pandemic.

Pepperfry may see another up to $40 million capital infusion over the next few months, said a senior executive at the online furniture retailer, without disclosing its valuations following the latest fundraising.

The Mumbai-based startup is currently in talks with local furniture players in the country. It is looking to add 8-10 new partners every month and take the count to a total of 150-180 suppliers by the end of 2020.

According to the company, the online presence will further strengthen the brand’s reach by covering 2,000+ pin codes. Basis the demand and sales, Godrej Interio also plans to introduce selected online-only models to cater to a larger section of customers who love purchasing online.

A majority of IKEA stores are or have been temporarily closed in recent months. A few stores in Germany and Israel, as well as the one in Wuhan, the city in China where the coronavirus was first discovered, reopened this week.

Peter Forster is an associate professor who teaches security and risk analysis at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology. His research focuses on cybersecurity, counter-terrorism and social networks. Forster has worked on improving law enforcement’s situational awareness of issues such as drug and human trafficking. He also oversees a research project on better understanding of how extremist organizations recruit Americans in cyberspace. He talks with WPSU about why cybersecurity shouldn’t be an afterthought in today’s world and how the cyber world and the physical world are inseparable. Plus, how to practice “cyber hygiene.” Transcript: Min Xian: Welcome to Take Note on WPSU. I’m Min Xian. Peter Forster is an associate teaching professor who teaches security and risk analysis at Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology. His research focuses on cybersecurity, counterterrorism and social networks. Forster has worked on improving law enforcement’s

A recent study published in the journal Science found the number of birds in North America is plummeting. The bird population dropped by more than a quarter over the past 50 years. Grassland birds, shore birds and songbirds are all affected. WPSU's Anne Danahy spoke with Greg Grove, editor of Pennsylvania Birds, and Doug Wentzel, president of the State College Bird Club, about bird watching and those trends

Bill Doan is a professor of theatre at Penn State. The university selected Doan to be the 2019-20 Penn State Laureate, a role that spotlights the arts and humanities. For Doan, that means performances, drawings and talks focused on anxiety and depression and how art, science and health can work together. WPSU's Anne Danahy spoke with Doan about his work and his own struggles with anxiety, depression and loss.

Matthew Ferrari is an epidemiologist and associate professor of biology at Penn State who studies infectious diseases and how they spread across populations. He uses mathematical and statistical tools to understand patterns of disease incidence. He talked with WPSU's Cheraine Stanford about the new coronavirus, what we know, what we don’t and what it means for our community and our country.

On this Take Note, we talked about public health messaging, specifically how the U.S. government has communicated about and reacted to the coronavirus outbreak. Also, how dealing with a pandemic is different in a democracy than in an authoritarian country. Our guest was Nita Bharti, an assistant professor of biology and the Lloyd Huck Early Career Professor in the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State. This interview is from the Democracy Works podcast, a collaboration between WPSU and the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State. TRANSCRIPT: Jenna Spinelle: This is Jenna Spinelle here today with Nita Bharti. Nita, thanks for joining us on Democracy Works. Nita Bharti: It's my pleasure. Thanks Jenna. Spinelle: We are going to talk today in the midst of the corona virus outbreak about the relationship between information, government and the public in the midst of an outbreak. That's a complex topic. We're going to kind of come at it from a couple of different angles

Speaking Grief is a multi-platform project that aims to create a more grief-aware society. The public television documentary, Speaking Grief, premieres Tuesday, May 5 th at 8pm on WPSU-TV. It will also air on public TV stations around the country starting this month. Our guest on this edition of Take Note (recorded from home, via telephone to observe social distancing) is Lindsey Whissel Fenton of WPSU, producer & director of the film, who talks about the project, how we can overcome the taboo against talking about grief, and how we can learn how to support those who grieve.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper says the state's stay-at-home order from COVID-19 will remain in place for at least another two weeks because current data doesn't support loosening restrictions that began in mid-March. The Democratic governor said this and other prohibitions on dine-in restaurant services and mass assemblies has now been extended until May 8. The stay-at-home order was supposed to expired next week. Cooper also unveiled a three-phase plan for reopening based on expanded tracing and testing and declining case growth. Republican governors in Tennesse, South Carolina and Georgia this week announced they would ease restrictions so that some nonessential businesses could open.

Carteret County officials on Monday reopened all county-maintained beach access points, including Salter Path, Radio Island and Harkers Island beach accesses. A news release from the Carteret County Department of Human Services said those who visit the beach should continue to practice social distancing and avoid mass gatherings to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

On Tuesday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order No. 138 that implements phase one of easing restrictions. The order takes effect Friday, May 8th at 5pm. The governor said the modification to the statewide stay at home order will allow some businesses to reopen. “Retail stores will now be allowed to increase to 50% capacity as long as they can implement social distancing and frequent cleaning,” said Cooper. “The order allows people to leave home to visit any business that is open and it encourages parks and trails to reopen.” However, businesses like salons, barbers, theaters, gyms, and bars will remain closed for phase one. The governor said church services can resume as long as they are held outdoors and social distancing measures are practiced. “COVID-19 is still a serious threat to our state, and Phase 1 is designed to be a limited easing of restrictions that can boost parts of our economy while keeping important safety rules in place,” said Cooper.

Three counties on North Carolina's tourist-reliant Outer Banks have announced plans to lift coronavirus-related visitor restrictions. Officials in Currituck, Dare and Hyde counties released a joint statement on Wednesday announcing restrictions on entry for visitors will be lifted at noon on Saturday, May 16. According to the statement, reopening to visitors on that date will allow local businesses, attractions, and accommodation providers time to follow the new business operating requirements put in place by Gov. Roy Cooper's executive order. Officials are also reminding potential visitors to observe restrictions such as social distancing because the pandemic is not over.

As Governor Roy Cooper’s order to ease restrictions takes effect later this week, 29 state parks will reopen to the public on Saturday, May 9th. That includes Fort Macon, which is one of the most visited state parks each year. “Our main goal is to give people access to the park without it getting too crowded,” said Katie Hall, the Public Information Officer for the North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation. Fort Macon State Park closed almost seven weeks ago because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Saturday, beach areas, trails, and restrooms will reopen to the public. However, the visitors center and the exhibit will remain closed. Hall said park rangers are expecting a record number of visitors this weekend, surpassing park visitation numbers during the Memorial Day, Labor Day, and Independence Day holidays. “We’re not really opening the park for people to hang out. The idea is to get to the park, get some fresh air, get some exercise, run on the beach, whatever you like to do, and

“You’ll be gone by spring,” said the same voice that drove me to retire. I was afraid this might be true, that I’d be dead by the time the weather warmed. Recent estate planning put death on my mind. I’ve heard enough about the frailty of old age, that it’d be all right by me to leave here with my faculties intact. You’ll be gone by spring. I couldn’t tell Bruce. Then came the snotty nose, my appetite gone, and sleep rising. While my pneumonia wasn’t COVID-19, I needed breathing treatments four times a day. Good doctors cared. I tell you there is healing beyond the science, in their touch, their listening. Then a dear friend said he might not survive this pandemic. An author wrote she was sick with COVID-19. You’ll be gone by spring. Was it Jesus’ voice or the voice, clanging like a train banging from one track to another, the cars jostling against their couplings, the voice of my life, maybe all our lives, rolling onto a siding while the pandemic roared by? Here on Good Friday we

“I never thought I would have to ask for food.” The young mother said as a box was placed in her car. In the last three weeks over 500,000 Illinois residents have filed for unemployment. We have never seen such a sudden, dramatic increase in the need for food in our region. There are now growing lines at area food pantries. Numbers of those seeking help has tripled. For 70% of them this is their first visit to a food pantry. This is occurring when food banks are receiving fewer donations from their sources. The food banks are dependent upon the donations from large food chains. Usually food whose shelf life has nearly expired, or produce that is about to go bad. Because nervous buyers have cleared out so many store shelves there is less leftover to donate. When you live at the bottom of the food chain and depend on leftovers, it is extra frightening when there is little left behind. We need to use this crisis to question our present food system built on dependence. We need to ask how

During tough times, my parents sing a song. It's sweet -- two real voices, not quite in tune, but full of energy. Whenever I complained, they’d break into song: You’ve got to accentuate the positive Eliminate the negative Latch on to the affirmative And don’t mess with Mr. In-Between! Listening, I often thought it’s old fashioned mumbo jumbo. It’s parent talk. Finally, I listened to Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters sing the whole song. The lyrics surprised me: You've got to spread joy up to the maximum Bring gloom down to the minimum Have faith or pandemonium’s Liable to walk upon the scene Sitting at home, while medical professionals work long hours, while so many small businesses struggle, we have a choice. We can accentuate the positive. But, it’s rosy skies and all smiles. Does it encompass our entire situation? Those who may be ill, who are alone, who may not be safe at home? Does it lack a realistic message for those whose lives are so far from simple hope? Since we can’t

The disaster movie starts and when bad things start to happen, a scientist always warns the people to change course. But the people never listen. That’s the gist of a mordant Facebook post circulating among scientists as they, along with the rest of us, have watched this frightening scenario play out in real life. The pandemic moved so fast and was so vicious that it’s no mystery why people insisted it couldn’t happen here. After all, we’re not Italy, or China. Scientists knew better, and in January, warned that it was going to happen here. Trump called them alarmist. In February, health experts were sure the virus had been lurking in communities for a while and was spreading fast. Precious weeks passed and the federal government failed to take charge. Against scientists’ advice, Trump urged those with the virus to take an untested drug. What have you got to lose, he said. In the meantime, governors scrambled to prepare hospitals, issue stay-at-home orders, and figure out testing. This

When unprecedented change happens, its repercussions seem to overpower anything worth smiling about in the world. But at the same time, with this huge change in society, comes the effort by so many to heal and reconnect, to positively respond to adversity in the best way we know how. This past week, my choir teacher reached out to our small choir group, one that had just recently been through the trauma of losing one of our own to a car crash. He spoke of the importance of connections and the realness that comes with being involved in a deeply connected group. He spoke of the power of music in sharing emotions, in bringing joy to even the most distraught. He then requested that each of us share a song that has been especially impactful during this unexpected extended quarantine. The shared clips were more than songs...they were deep feelings. Sadness, confusion, a small flutter of hope. With music we can see the raw emotions of our souls. We can see the small rays of sunshine that come

The COVID-19 pandemic is a situation most Americans alive today have not experienced. It’s challenged our American freedoms ranging from how we worship, work, educate, congregate, socialize, shop, vacation, and grieve. As a nation we take pride in our capitalistic economic system. Over the last several weeks we’ve witnessed 401K’s lose value, the stock market crash, along with historic joblessness and unemployment applications. I applaud both sides of the aisle for getting the stimulus package out, which includes the CARES act. But it’s not enough. The long-term effects of this pandemic will be far reaching. As states share their data on new cases and death related to COVID-19; the reality of American racism is being exposed again. According to the Surgeon General, African-Americans comprise 35.7% of confirmed cases and 53.2% of deaths despite only representing 27% of the US population. The US Census Bureau states the white population of Chicago, IL is 49%, and 30% African-American. As

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is one unexpected silver lining that I just have to share. Teachers are finally getting some of the love and respect that they so sincerely deserve from parents who now have that role – at least temporarily. Praise for educators is all over social media right now, and even celebrities and sports stars are acknowledging how challenging it is to teach and how appreciative they are for their children’s teachers. Teachers of all levels – from preschool through college – have shifted their instruction online while also demonstrating their compassion and concern for their students. Teacher car parades are driving through neighborhoods with signs to remind children and families that their teachers care about and miss them. Teachers are calling students to show they care, and online class sessions are routinely beginning with “check-ins” to make sure everyone is OK. Has the shift to at-home learning been perfect? Absolutely not, but educators across

If you’re like me, you probably having a hard time changing the idea of social distancing into a habit. That’s not easy. Old habits die hard. Why don’t we wear a mask in public, wash our hands more often…or stay at least six feet apart? We each have our own reasons. Sometimes we just forget. I do. And some people just don’t understand the consequences if someone else is exposed to their cough; their hands or something they touched with the virus on it. Other people resist the whole idea of being told what to do. They think that social distancing imposes on their freedom. Or worse, they just can’t be bothered, no matter who they expose to the virus, even their loved ones. So here’s a thought -- Six Feet is Not That Far Away. Where I live in Princeton, Illinois, right off Interstate-80’s Exit 56, a group of us are asking “What does social distancing mean to us? We’re hoping that artists of all kinds will share their interpretations of that message in photographs, videos and music about

What does it take to govern a nation well? This question has risen to the top of my list of concerns during these challenging Covid-19 days. And yes, it has increased my level of anxiety about the future of our nation and its citizens. Like me, you’re probably experiencing nagging anxieties about staying safe. Will I find toilet paper rolls today? Am I protecting myself enough when I bring groceries into the house, or after handling the pump at the gas station? But a much broader and significant issue for me is leadership – leadership that secures the future of our well-being as individuals, families and a healthy nation. I know leadership theories and training can vary greatly, but I have found a common denominator of leadership excellence. I call it “Maturity of Self-hood.” It’s a leader who is secure as a person, who knows her strengths as well as what triggers negative reactions in her. It is someone who is passionate about new possibilities, but tempers this by listening to ideas

The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred efforts to control the spread of the virus through development of innovative digital contact tracing tools. In Singapore, Israel and India there is already an app for that. In Europe there’s debate between two competing frameworks, which have names that sound like Star Wars’ droids: PEPP-PT and DT-3T. And in the US, Apple and Google recently announced collaboration on a contact tracing feature that will eventually be integrated with updates to the mobile device operating system. Although providing promising solutions, these technologies are not without problems. First, the privacy protections for such systems need to be carefully scrutinized. The US currently does not have a general data protection law, like the EU's GDPR, that would permit government oversight and review of these contact tracing solutions. Second, contact tracing only works when a significant number of users opt-in and agree to use the technology. But there is no guarantee that

I clearly remember stories I heard as a kid from my older relatives about living through the Great Depression. The over-arching lesson I took from those accounts was this: unless you lived through it, you couldn’t truly understand what it was like. When I think of what life was like in the “Dirty 30s,” one image always comes to mind: Dorothea Lang’s “Migrant Mother,” taken in California in 1936 of Florence Thompson, a widow, with two of her seven kids huddled around her. Her look, complete with the 1,000-yard stare often associated with combat veterans, captures the quiet panic of a parent who cannot provide enough for her children. That look is also one of the fear and hopelessness of a victim of the economic system that betrayed her. She looked middle-aged 1936, but she was all of 32. As of April 24 th , close to 50,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, and 27 million have lost their jobs. On top of our catastrophe, we are sorely missing something Florence Thompson’s generation had:

“Come look!” announced my husband on an early spring morning over a month ago. “I have a surprise!” I followed him out to the backyard, and there rising up out of the cold brown earth, were a myriad of green stems with sheathed yellow flowers just beginning to make themselves known. “Two hundred daffodils!” my husband beamed brightly. “I planted them last fall in honor of our 50th wedding anniversary. Looks like they made it through the winter.” Although our 50th anniversary isn’t till June, we had scheduled a celebration trip to the island of Kauai in March, but as the frightening days of the corona virus quickly escalated, that trip was canceled. So many others have had to do the same, canceling weddings, spring breaks, graduations, and sadly, even funerals. So instead of sitting on a beach looking out at the blue Pacific as a rosy sun slid into the sea, we are sheltered at home looking out the windows to our leafless backyard. The bright spot, however, is that those 200 daffodils