Daily Archives: September 27, 2021

Starbucks' (SBUX) famous Pumpkin Spice Latte has not only helped boost the coffee chain's foot traffic, but also social media conversations about the classic fall flavor.

Social media analytics company Sprout Social compiled data on volume, keywords and conversation trends between August 1 and September 21. The firm found that pumpkin is still the most talked about fall flavor despite the fact that Starbucks recently debuted its new Apple Crisp Macchiato this year.

Online conversations favored the chain's Pumpkin Spice Latte compared to the new addition by a large margin (40.53K to 17.58K, respectively). Pumpkin conversations have also tracked significantly more volume than apple conversations 146K compared to 24K, the company said.

For Starbucks, the Pumpkin Spice Latte has consistently been a strong driver for growth. The signature drink debuted in 2003, with more than 500 million sold to date.

Recently harvested orange pumpkins in a random pile

The social media data further highlighted consumers' obsession with fall with search trends related to seasonal flavors, like pumpkin spice or apple crisp, jumping toward the end of the summer.

According to Sprout Social, total conversation volume spiked 4,265% with 9.5K conversations on August 24 (the date Starbucks rolled out its fall flavors) compared to the day prior.

That momentum continued into the first week of September, with volume surging a whopping 347% versus the last week of August well before fall's official start on September 22.

Overall, sentiment surrounding the return of fall and those classic autumnal flavors came in largely positive at 43%. This was followed by 35% neutral and 21% negative.

With consumers ready and eager to embrace the change of season, companies have been quick to incorporate new fall items. Brands embracing pumpkin-flavored products this year include Pepperidge Farm (CPB), Dairy Queen (BRK-B), Tim Hortons (QSR) and Samuel Adams (SAM).

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Alexandra is a Producer & Entertainment Correspondent at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193

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In battle of pumpkin spice vs. apple, one fall flavor has the edge - Yahoo Finance

(Reuters) - Instagram has hit pause on a new app it is creating for kids, the photo-sharing service owned by Facebook Inc said on Monday, in a move that comes amid growing opposition for the project.

Instagram Kids had been touted as requiring parental permission to join, and was supposed to provide ad-free, age-appropriate content, but U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups have urged the social media giant to drop its launch plans, citing safety concerns.

"We won't stop pressuring Facebook until they permanently pull the plug," said Josh Golin, executive director of Fairplay, an advocacy group focused on kids.

Instagram said in a blog post that building Instagram Kids was the right thing to do, but that it was pausing the work and would continue building on its parental supervision tools.

"The reality is that kids are already online, and we believe that developing age-appropriate experiences designed specifically for them is far better for parents than where we are today," it said, noting that there were app versions of Alphabet Inc's YouTube and ByteDance's TikTok for those under 13.

Nick Clegg, Facebook's vice president of global affairs, said on Monday that the company is exploring features that would "nudge" a teen away from content on Instagram that its tech system perceives could be negative, or encourage them to take a break from the app. He spoke in an interview at the Atlantic Festival.

Four Democratic lawmakers including U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal said on Monday they were pleased by Facebook's decision but said the pause "is insufficient."

"Facebook has completely forfeited the benefit of the doubt when it comes to protecting young people online and it must completely abandon this project," said the lawmakers, who also include U.S. Representatives Kathy Castor and Lori Trahan.

In 2017, Facebook had launched the standalone Messenger Kids app, an instant messaging platform for children under the age of 13, which is controlled by a parent's Facebook account.

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Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal published a report that focused on data suggesting that Instagram had a harmful effect on teenagers, particularly teen girls, and that Facebook had made minimal efforts to address the issue.

Facebook said on Sunday that the report is "not accurate."

(Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru, David Shepardson in Washington and Sheila Dang in Dallas; Editing by Anil D'Silva and Matthew Lewis)

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Facebook puts Instagram Kids on hold amid criticism of planned app - Yahoo Finance

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still hesitant to approve the many applications to start a much-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), and one major player in the space is calling on the SEC to give investors a choice.

David LaValle, managing director and global head of ETFs at Grayscale, said the SEC should allow investors to choose their own exposure that meets their own investment needs and their own investment thesis.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has expressed lukewarm enthusiasm for investment vehicles that provide exposure to crypto assets.

In August, he suggested he may be more willing to support the formation of products tied to bitcoin futures (contracts that bet on the future price of bitcoin), but fretted over what he sees as a lack of investor protection in the Wild West of crypto.

The SEC has so far rejected a number of ETF applications hoping to track the price of bitcoin itself (often referred to as a spot ETF product).

LaValle said he would prefer that the SEC give its blessing to both a bitcoin futures ETF product and a bitcoin spot ETF product at the same time.

We think that the SEC should really take an equitable approach to allowing investors to choose which type of bitcoin exposure in the form of an ETF that they would like, said LaValle at Yahoo Finances All Markets Summit Plus: Crypto Investing (an event sponsored by Grayscale) Monday.

Grayscale currently offers investor exposure to bitcoin through its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). But private placement in the trust is only available to accredited investors, which is why LaValle hopes to convert the trust to an ETF if regulators approve it.

Bitcoin can be a little bit challenging for many investors to determine how to seek exposure or store it reliably and have a component of their investment portfolio in that asset class. I think the ETF opens up the pool to a much larger investment universe," LaValle said.

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Davis Polk Capital Markets Group Partner Joseph Hall told Yahoo Finance that there may be reason to be optimistic about the SEC coming around to approving bitcoin ETFs.

Hall noted that the commission has turned down previous bitcoin ETF applications on the basis of market manipulation, mostly in markets abroad. One example: wash trading, in which a trader buys and sells a coin for the sole purpose of pumping volume and intentionally misleading the market.

But Hall pointed out that manipulation would have an impact on futures markets as well, which means that any support of a bitcoin futures ETF could show a dwindling emphasis on the rationale the commission has used historically to deny a bitcoin spot ETF.

At least I would say theres some glimmer of hope in the orientation that Chair Gensler seems to have here, said Hall Monday in the same panel.

Brian Cheung is a reporter covering the Fed, economics, and banking for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter @bcheungz.

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SEC should allow investors to 'choose their own' bitcoin exposure: Grayscale head of ETFs - Yahoo Finance

Less than two weeks after her incredible, historic run at the US Open, Emma Raducanu has split with her coach.

Raducanu, the 18-year-old who won the US Open earlier this month after entering as a qualifier, split with her coach, Andrew Richardson on Friday.

Richardson, a former Davis Cup player, had coached Raducanu for two years when she was competing at the youth level, and joined her on a short-term deal ahead of the US Open.

At the time, I thought Andrew would be a great coach to trial so we went to the States but never did I even dream of winning the U.S. Open and having the run I did, and now Im ranked No. 22 in the world, which is crazy to me, she said, via The Associated Press.

Raducanu beat Leylah Fernandez in straight sets to win the US Open earlier this month, which made her the first qualifier in tournament history to do so. She didnt drop a single set in the entire tournament, either, in what was a truly dominant run through Arthur Ashe Stadium.

She is now ranked No. 22 in the world, despite the US Open being her second grand slam event ever.

That immediate rise, she said, was a big part in why she wanted to split with Richardson. Though she doesnt have a new coach in mind, she knows that she wants someone who can help her navigate the highest level of tennis.

Im looking for someone who has been at that level and knows what it takes, she said, via The Associated Press. And especially right now because Im so new to it, I really need someone to guide me whos already been through that.

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Emma Raducanu splits with coach just two weeks after winning US Open - Yahoo Sports

The killing of Sabina Nessa, a 28-year-old London teacher who police believe was murdered on a five-minute walk from her house to a pub last Friday, has sparked a renewed outcry over violence against women in the U.K., while also putting a spotlight on the disparity in coverage of cases involving people of color.

A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder, London's Metropolitan Police announced Thursday. Detectives also released images taken from surveillance cameras of another man they would like to question in the case. The investigation in ongoing.

According to authorities, Nessa left her house just before 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 17 to meet a friend at a bar in nearby Pegler Square. Her body was found in a park the next day.

"Sabina's journey should have taken just over five minutes, but she never made it to her destination," Detective Chief Inspector Joe Garrity said in a statement. "We know the community are rightly shocked by this murder as are we."

Nessa lived with her father, a chef at an Indian restaurant.

No mother or father should have to go through this, her sister tweeted. May Allah grant my parents ease.

In an appearance on "Good Morning Britain" Thursday, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that it was time to "make misogyny a hate crime."

Nessa's death comes six months after the murder of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old white woman who went missing after leaving a friend's house in South London. Her body was found a week later, and a police officer pleaded guilty to her kidnap, rape and murder.

Sabina Nessa, Sarah Everard. (Met Police, Facebook)

Everard's killing prompted an outpouring from women across social media sharing harrowing experiences of sexual assault, and put the U.K.'s epidemic of harassment against women in the global spotlight. According to data released by the U.N. Women U.K. in March, 97 percent of British women between the ages of 18 and 24 said they had experienced sexual harassment in public spaces.

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The intense media interest in Everard's murder also prompted criticism about coverage of similar cases involving women of color. The same questions are now being raised in the wake of Nessa's killing.

"It is quite astounding that the Sabina Nessa murder is not dominating the news," tweeted Hannah Al-Othman, a journalist for the Sunday Times.

"The muted press reaction and lack of public outcry for Sabina Nessa demonstrates, once again, that not all victims are treated with the same respect and reverence," tweeted Mandu Reid, leader of the U.K. Women's Equality Party.

The treatment of Sabinas death has not been on the same level as others, and time and time again we see how victims from Black and [minority] communities do not receive the same level of attention and support, Farah Nazeer, chief executive of Womens Aid, told the Guardian newspaper. It is simply not good enough, and it has to change. Sabinas death is as unacceptable and shocking as that of any other woman, and our headlines, TV coverage and outrage in our social media posts should reflect this.

The debate over U.K. coverage of the Nessa case comes as the case of Gabby Petito has drawn widespread media attention, particularly in the United States.

Petito's body was found in a remote camping area in Wyoming Sunday, nearly three weeks after the 22-year-old's fianc, Brian Laundrie, returned home to Florida from their cross-country trip without her.

Laundrie, who was named a person of interest by police, was last seen on Sept. 14, when he told his parents he was going to a nearby nature reserve to meditate. His parents reported him missing three days later, and police have been scouring the 24,565-acre reserve for him.

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie. (Facebook)

The wall-to-wall coverage of the Petito case has also prompted criticism of news outlets for not covering similar cases involving people of color.

Some critics have suggested the Petito case is a classic example of "missing white woman syndrome," a phrase coined by the late journalist and PBS NewsHour co-host Gwen Ifill to describe the medias fascination with missing white women while ignoring cases involving people of color.

The Petito family certainly deserve answers and justice, MSNBC host Joy Reid said on air. But the way the [Petito] story has captivated the nation has many wondering: Why not the same media attention when people of color go missing?

Gabby Petito. (Instragram)

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Debates sparked by Gabby Petito case echo in 28-year-old London teachers killing - Yahoo News

Nearly a month after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the federal eviction moratorium designed to keep struggling tenants in their homes as COVID-19 surges anew, assistance is slowly going out to millions of people behind on their rent.

More than $2.3 billion in federal emergency rental assistance went out in August to some 420,000 households, the most of any month to date since the money was made available, according to the Treasury Department.

Despite the uptick in disbursements, however, millions are still living in fear of being evicted in the near future. To date, $7.7 billion in payments have been made to help those in need, out of the $46 billion that was approved last December and March.

And while state and local programs continue to struggle to get money out the door, cash-strapped small and medium-sized landlords and property owners who have been vilified even as many have gone for over a year without payment have had enough.

In New York, a landlord advocacy group is aiming to block the states ongoing freeze on evictions for tenants facing financial hardships due to the pandemic. The Rent Stabilization Association (RSA) filed a motion this month with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging the recently extended moratorium implemented by new Governor Kathy Hochul.

The president of the group, Joseph Strasburg, said the Empire States moratorium, which runs through mid-January 2022, does absolutely nothing to improve on previous measure.

This eviction protection measure was put in place at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis to prevent tenants from losing their home. Yet state legislators have reworked the measure in the wake of the Supreme Courts invalidation of the federal moratorium.

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Under N.Y. 's old policy, tenants who were facing eviction cases could submit a filing to their landlords that attested financial hardship from income loss or say moving would harm their health. That allowed them, in most cases, to avoid a housing court.

However, once the Supreme Court ruled this measure to be unconstitutional, New York state legislators went back to the drawing board, and crafted a new eviction ban.

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2020/07/01: Cancel Rent banner drop in Bushwick. Tenants and Housing Activists dropped banners from their buildings and organized a march in the streets of Bushwick demanding the city to cancel rent immediately as the financial situation for many New Yorkers remains the same, strapped for cash and out of work. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)

More than 8 million households are behind on rent, according to the latest Census Bureau data from the first half of September. However, some property owners have challenged the idea that all tenants who havent paid rent could not do so, because some were working and either refused to pay, or simply never sought rental assistance.

That notion is supported by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau data, which showed that renters credit scores actually jumped by 16 points during the pandemic, compared to 10 points for homeowners with mortgages. Credit scores increased even more for renters with children (25 points) and those earning less than $40,000 (18 points).

The Hochul administration promised several benefits to both landlords and tenants in the new bill, which extends rent assistance through January 15 of next year. Landlords have been given more rights: They can challenge hardship claims, and if theyre deemed false property owners can evict

Yet some property owners are far from impressed.

That's a sham because the courts are closed. I'm being targeted by the city because I have a massive debt, Lincoln Eccles, who owns a 14-unit building in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, said in an interview.

I'm already in debt to New York City for about $180,000 in property tax. That's not including my operational costs and other ongoing business expenses where I'm already in debt there, Eccles added.

The RSAs new court filings argue that New Yorks new ban is essentially the continuation of the previous one and equally as unconstitutional.

I'm barely scraping by.Lincoln Eccles, New York landlord

It imposes an obligation on the part of the owner to certify under oath in an affidavit under criminal penalties that in fact, the tenant is lying, the RSAs Strasburg told Yahoo Finance Live this week.

It puts the burden solely on the shoulders of the owners and it's really a red herring, he added.

Changes have been made to the former eviction ordinance, but landlords remain skeptical with federal relief dollars still waiting to be distributed.

I have some tenants that have [applied for assistance] and some tenants, it looks like they have put in something so that they can get an eviction protection, but they haven't filed in the documentation, Eccles said.

Still, the burden of proof now lies with landlords, who have to show evidence showing that their tenants are falsely claiming benefits.

So saying we could challenge that when we don't have a court to go to doesnt make any sense and you starve us from funds, said Eccles. I'm barely scraping by.

According to a June Treasury Department report, New York ranked dead last in its distribution of federal rental assistance money from December 2020. Less than 1% had been allocated to landlords.

Roughly over 600,000 households statewide are behind on rent, and each of those owes a rough average of $3,300. Thats a total estimated rent debt of nearly $2.0 billion in New York.

Another concern is already sky-high rent prices, especially in major cities like the Big Apple and San Francisco. Billionaire bond fund manager Jeffrey Gundlach told Yahoo Finance recently, that once moratoriums are fully lifted, there will be all kinds of consequences that will include rents going way up.

New York officials have highlighted the $2.1 billion Emergency Rental Assistance Program, a pot of both federal and state money aimed at giving aid to struggling tenants and landlords.

But the state has struggled to give out aid, they have been deluged with applications and could not meet the demand.

They put these requirements on it, which are nice in terms of trying to make sure that the exact right person is pinpointed to get the funds, but it creates so many problems in getting the funds that money ends up not getting out to people, Ian Wilder, executive director of Long Island Housing Services, told Yahoo Finance in an interview.

While Emergency Rental Assistance Program money has been slow to trickle down to those who need it, the state says rent relief is on the way for those who qualify. But struggling landlords and tenants remain stuck in the middle.

I have to try to figure out what does E.R.A.P really need because it's not really clear, said Eccles.

The website is horrible. It might as well be a DMV website because I've never had success with DMV's, he added. It's the same type of mentality.

Dani Romero is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @daniromerotv

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Why NY's eviction ban 'does absolutely nothing' for landlords as rental crisis drags on - Yahoo Finance

With more than 18 months of the pandemic in the rearview mirror, researchers have been steadily gathering new and important insights into the effects of COVID-19 on the body and brain. These findings are raising concerns about the long-term impacts that the coronavirus might have on biological processes such as aging.

As a cognitive neuroscientist, my past research has focused on understanding how normal brain changes related to aging affect peoples ability to think and move particularly in middle age and beyond. But as more evidence came in showing that COVID-19 could affect the body and brain for months or longer following infection, my research team became interested in exploring how it might also impact the natural process of aging.

In August 2021, a preliminary but large-scale study investigating brain changes in people who had experienced COVID-19 drew a great deal of attention within the neuroscience community.

In that study, researchers relied on an existing database called the UK Biobank, which contains brain imaging data from over 45,000 people in the U.K. going back to 2014. This means crucially that there was baseline data and brain imaging of all of those people from before the pandemic.

The research team analyzed the brain imaging data and then brought back those who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 for additional brain scans. They compared people who had experienced COVID-19 to participants who had not, carefully matching the groups based on age, sex, baseline test date and study location, as well as common risk factors for disease, such as health variables and socioeconomic status.

The team found marked differences in gray matter which is made up of the cell bodies of neurons that process information in the brain between those who had been infected with COVID-19 and those who had not. Specifically, the thickness of the gray matter tissue in brain regions known as the frontal and temporal lobes was reduced in the COVID-19 group, differing from the typical patterns seen in the group that hadnt experienced COVID-19.

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In the general population, it is normal to see some change in gray matter volume or thickness over time as people age, but the changes were larger than normal in those who had been infected with COVID-19.

Interestingly, when the researchers separated the individuals who had severe enough illness to require hospitalization, the results were the same as for those who had experienced milder COVID-19. That is, people who had been infected with COVID-19 showed a loss of brain volume even when the disease was not severe enough to require hospitalization.

Finally, researchers also investigated changes in performance on cognitive tasks and found that those who had contracted COVID-19 were slower in processing information, relative to those who had not.

While we have to be careful interpreting these findings as they await formal peer review, the large sample, pre- and post-illness data in the same people and careful matching with people who had not had COVID-19 have made this preliminary work particularly valuable.

Early on in the pandemic, one of the most common reports from those infected with COVID-19 was the loss of sense of taste and smell.

Strikingly, the brain regions that the U.K. researchers found to be impacted by COVID-19 are all linked to the olfactory bulb, a structure near the front of the brain that passes signals about smells from the nose to other brain regions. The olfactory bulb has connections to regions of the temporal lobe. We often talk about the temporal lobe in the context of aging and Alzheimers disease because it is where the hippocampus is located. The hippocampus is likely to play a key role in aging, given its involvement in memory and cognitive processes.

The sense of smell is also important to Alzheimers research, as some data has suggested that those at risk for the disease have a reduced sense of smell. While it is far too early to draw any conclusions about the long-term impacts of these COVID-related changes, investigating possible connections between COVID-19-related brain changes and memory is of great interest particularly given the regions implicated and their importance in memory and Alzheimers disease.

These new findings bring about important yet unanswered questions: What do these brain changes following COVID-19 mean for the process and pace of aging? And, over time does the brain recover to some extent from viral infection?

These are active and open areas of research, some of which we are beginning to do in my own laboratory in conjunction with our ongoing work investigating brain aging.

Brain scans from a person in their 30s and a person in their 80s, showing reduced brain volume in the older adult brain

Our labs work demonstrates that as people age, the brain thinks and processes information differently. In addition, weve observed changes over time in how peoples bodies move and how people learn new motor skills. Several decades of work have demonstrated that older adults have a harder time processing and manipulating information such as updating a mental grocery list but they typically maintain their knowledge of facts and vocabulary. With respect to motor skills, we know that older adults still learn, but they do so more slowly then young adults.

When it comes to brain structure, we typically see a decrease in the size of the brain in adults over age 65. This decrease is not just localized to one area. Differences can be seen across many regions of the brain. There is also typically an increase in cerebrospinal fluid that fills space due to the loss of brain tissue. In addition, white matter, the insulation on axons long cables that carry electrical impulses between nerve cells is also less intact in older adults.

As life expectancy has increased in the past decades, more individuals are reaching older age. While the goal is for all to live long and healthy lives, even in the best-case scenario where one ages without disease or disability, older adulthood brings on changes in how we think and move.

Learning how all of these puzzle pieces fit together will help us unravel the mysteries of aging so that we can help improve quality of life and function for aging individuals. And now, in the context of COVID-19, it will help us understand the degree to which the brain may recover after illness as well.

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This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It was written by: Jessica Bernard, Texas A&M University.

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Jessica Bernard receives funding from the National Institute on Aging and the National Institute of Mental Health.

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Preliminary research finds that even mild cases of COVID-19 leave a mark on the brain but it's not yet clear how long it lasts - Yahoo News

On New Year's Day in 2017 the Kansas City Chiefs won their regular-season finale, with Charcandrick West's two touchdown catches from Alex Smith leading the way over the San Diego Chargers.

The Chiefs won the AFC West title that day, taking a tiebreaker with the Oakland Raiders. From that day until Sunday night, the Chiefs held at least a share of first place in the AFC West every single day, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

When the Baltimore Ravens fell on Clyde Edwards-Helaire's fumble Sunday night to seal a win over the Chiefs, Kansas City's streak ended. Not only are the Chiefs not in first place, they're looking up at two teams. The Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos are both 2-0. The Los Angeles Chargers are 1-1.

The Chiefs winning the AFC West has become one of the biggest locks in the NFL. Part of that has been the Chiefs' dominance, but the other part is that the other three division teams have rarely been good enough to make things interesting. This season, they all are.

The Raiders have two quality wins over the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers. The Broncos haven't played a tough schedule, but we can see that Teddy Bridgewater is having a positive impact on the offense. The Chargers lost a last-second game to the Dallas Cowboys, but they'll be a factor too. L.A. has a chance to make things very interesting when it travels to face the Chiefs this weekend.

Tyrann Mathieu and the Chiefs are in an unfamiliar position in the AFC West after a loss to the Ravens. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

Of course, whether the Chiefs win the division yet again depends mostly on the Chiefs. At Kansas City's peak, it's probably the best team in football. But it has been surprisingly rare to see that Chiefs team since the middle of last season.

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Against-the-spread records don't matter in NFL standings, but they can be telling. The Chiefs are just 1-11-1 against the spread since last Nov. 1. They're mostly doing just enough to get by every week. That matters, but elite teams generally have a few blowouts over a 13-game stretch. The only game the Chiefs have won by more than six points since last Nov. 1 was the AFC championship game against the Buffalo Bills.

The Chiefs are still great, but it has been a long time since they were wrecking the rest of the NFL. In Week 1, they needed a furious comeback against the Cleveland Browns to win at home. In Week 2 they blew a double-digit lead and lost. If their inability to pull away from anyone lately is a sign, the AFC West race might actually be pretty good. The Chargers still have the highest ceiling, but we can't rule out the Raiders or Broncos. Both have looked good.

The Chiefs still should win the division. They're the best team. But it has been a long time since there was any real intrigue. We might get some this season.

Here are the power rankings following Week 2 of the NFL season:

32. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2, Last week: 32)

Trevor Lawrence's line Sunday: 14-of-33 for 118 yards. He had a 37.2 passer rating. The Jaguars aren't very good but Lawrence has been part of the reason so far. He has to play better.

31. Houston Texans (1-1, LW: 31)

Tyrod Taylor hasn't been ruled out of Thursday's game yet, but it would be a tough turnaround. The Texans have been very competitive this season, but that job gets tougher if Davis Mills is at quarterback.

30. New York Jets (0-2, LW: 28)

The Jets need something to help Zach Wilson, whether it's an offensive line or a running game or some play-calling that's not putting him in position to force downfield interceptions. He has taken a league-leading 10 sacks. He has five interceptions. The Jets have 20 points through two games. It's not good.

29. Detroit Lions (0-2, LW: 30)

The Lions aren't good, but they have shown some decent signs, whether a comeback to almost tie the 49ers in Week 1 or leading at the half at Lambeau Field on Monday night. Dan Campbell seems like the type of coach who can keep his team engaged, even when the record will look ugly.

28. Atlanta Falcons (0-2, LW: 29)

The Falcons' point differential through two games is minus-49, easily the worst in the NFL. It's not like you can blame the schedule; the Eagles lost right after blowing out the Falcons. It's just a bad team that isn't getting much out of the few blue-chip players it actually has.

27. New York Giants (0-2, LW: 27)

Daniel Jones played well, and if not for an offsides penalty on a missed field goal, the Giants would have gotten a nice win at Washington. Not all is lost, though 0-2 isn't a great place to be.

26. Minnesota Vikings (0-2, LW: 25)

The NFL can be cruel. The Vikings gave up a fourth-and-inches completion to lose in overtime of Week 1. They had a 37-yard field goal to win in Week 2. If they're 1-0-1, they probably are feeling pretty good. Now, they might be wondering if Mike Zimmer is on the hot seat.

25. Cincinnati Bengals (1-1, LW: 24)

Joe Burrow had a rough day, but he doesn't seem like the type who will let that bother him. There are better days ahead for the Bengals, even if they're not there yet.

24. Philadelphia Eagles (1-1, LW: 23)

The Eagles had three plays of more than 10 yards, not including Jalen Hurts runs: Quez Watkins' 91-yard gain in which he didn't score, a 14-yard catch by Dallas Goedert and an 11-yard catch by DeVonta Smith. The Eagles' playmakers around Hurts are better than this, and they'll need to be going forward (as will Hurts).

23. Chicago Bears (1-1, LW: 26)

Justin Fields looked a beat late on most of his throws. But, he was a rookie coming off the bench cold. He should be a lot better in Week 3 with a full week of practice, if he gets the start.

22. Indianapolis Colts (0-2, LW: 21)

When you get zero points on your first two trips inside the 5-yard line then lose by a field goal, there will be regrets. The Colts play at the Titans this weekend, and if they're 0-3 coming out of that they'll be in a hole they might not dig out of.

21. Washington Football Team (1-1, LW: 20)

It was a heck of a win against the Giants, but we need to start wondering when the defense will show up. Daniel Jones had way too much time in the pocket. We'll see what it does Sunday at Buffalo. Washington isn't competing for an NFC East title unless the defense is really good, and it hasn't been yet.

20. Dallas Cowboys (1-1, LW: 19)

Tony Pollard had 109 yards on 13 carries while Ezekiel Elliott had 71 yards on 16 carries. This is why you don't pay running backs top dollar. Regardless, it seems clear the Cowboys have two backs they can trust and use.

19. Tennessee Titans (1-1, LW: 18)

Derrick Henry is from another era, and it's great. No other running back looks like him, plays like him or has anywhere near the workload he does. He had 41 touches and 237 total yards in a win the Titans needed. And if the Titans ask next week, he'll probably do the same thing again.

18. New Orleans Saints (1-1, LW: 7)

Hard to remember the last team that had such a big drop from one week to another. It's arguable the Saints were the NFL's best team in Week 1 and its worst in Week 2. Six first downs, 128 yards? How can you reconcile that with what we saw in the opener against the Packers?

17. Los Angeles Chargers (1-1, LW: 10)

Justin Herbert is still a young quarterback, something that gets forgotten because he has been so good. His two interceptions came in Cowboys territory, including one into the end zone. You're not going to make those mistakes and win in the NFL, and the picks cost the Chargers a shot at what would have been a nice win.

16. New England Patriots (1-1, LW: 15)

Josh Uche, a second-round draft pick last year, did little as a rookie. This season he's off to a fast start with three sacks, including two Sunday. He could be a big piece for the Patriots this season, and maybe for a while.

15. Miami Dolphins (1-1, LW: 13)

It's hard to know what to do with the Dolphins. Had they lost 35-0 with their starting quarterback that would have been a big blow, but Tua Tagovailoa exited with bruised ribs after four passes. We'll check back with the Dolphins when they have Tua healthy again. A Week 3 game against the Raiders is very interesting.

14. Carolina Panthers (2-0, LW: 22)

Sam Darnold will get a lot of attention, but it's the defense that needs more respect. This is a really exciting unit with what looks like a top-end pass rush. The Panthers made life miserable on the Saints' offense. Keep an eye on Carolina as this could be a playoff team.

13. Green Bay Packers (1-1, LW: 14)

Through six quarters, when the 0-1 Packers trailed the Lions at halftime of Week 2, it looked scary for Green Bay. The Packers still need to get better on defense, but it was a step forward. And at least a win. It would not have been a fun week in Green Bay at 0-2.

12. Cleveland Browns (1-1, LW: 11)

Odell Beckham Jr. is still out, having not fully recovered from his torn ACL. Jarvis Landry has a sprained MCL, and that's not an easy injury for a receiver. Until the Browns get their top two pass catchers back, the offense could be one dimensional.

11. Buffalo Bills (1-1, LW: 9)

Because the offense gets the attention, and the Bills have lost a game, their defense isn't getting enough credit. It has played very well two straight weeks. A lot of Sunday's shutout was the Dolphins losing starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa to injury, but Miami still had an NFL offense. Once the Bills' offense really takes off, Buffalo still could reach the heights expected of it before the season thanks to a stifling defense.

10. Pittsburgh Steelers (1-1, LW: 8)

The offense seems stuck. You can't pin all of Sunday's loss, with just 17 points, on Ben Roethlisberger, but the passing game wasn't great. Pittsburgh, who drafted running back Najee Harris in the first round, never got a running game established. And when the defense gives up 382 yards passing, it's not going to turn out well.

9. Denver Broncos (2-0, LW: 16)

Courtland Sutton's huge day is a great sign for the Broncos. Eventually they'll get Jerry Jeudy back from a high ankle sprain, and they have a fun group of skill-position talent. The defense is good too. This is an interesting team, and since they play the Jets on Sunday, they're likely going to be 3-0.

8. Baltimore Ravens (1-1, LW: 12)

The Ravens were looking at starting 0-2 from a weird overtime game and a last-second loss to the Chiefs after a great comeback. A loss Sunday night would have been devastating but rookie Odafe Oweh knocked loose a fumble and recovered it. It's way too early to say that saved the Ravens' season, but it might turn out to be true.

7. Las Vegas Raiders (2-0, LW: 17)

When we hear so-and-so is the "most underrated player," they're usually not underrated at all, just under the radar for whatever reason. Derek Carr really is underrated. He keeps playing good, solid football, and he's off to a fantastic start this season. He's much lower on those quarterback ranking lists than deserved. It's time to give Carr some long-overdue credit.

6. Seattle Seahawks (1-1, LW: 5)

The Seahawks lose in overtime to fall to 1-1, and they're all alone in last place of the NFC West. They're No. 6 in these power rankings (not going to penalize them too much for an overtime loss) and yet the fourth NFC West team on this list. This is going to be a tough division.

5. Arizona Cardinals (2-0, LW: 6)

The good news is that playoff teams need to win when they don't play their best. This wasn't the Cardinals' best. Kyler Murray made some bad mistakes and the defense wasn't close to as good as it was in the opener. The Cardinals needed a missed 37-yard field goal to win. But they won. That'll matter in a few months when the playoff field is set.

4. Kansas City Chiefs (1-1, LW: 1)

It's not like a loss at Baltimore is bad. It stinks for Clyde Edwards-Helaire that it'll be on him for his late fumble, but he hasn't built up enough goodwill for everyone to forgive and forget. He has been nowhere near the playmaker the Chiefs thought they were getting in Round 1 of the 2020 draft.

3. Los Angeles Rams (2-0, LW: 4)

Cooper Kupp had a magnificent day and posted a dominant 9-163-2 line in the win. There will be weeks it's Robert Woods' turn or Tyler Higbee turns in a big game, but Kupp is going to put up a monster season.

2. San Francisco 49ers (2-0, LW: 3)

The offense carried a Week 1 win. In Week 2, it was a defensive gem. At some point both sides will both dominate for a stretch. About the only issue for the 49ers now is finding a healthy running back to face Green Bay in Week 3.

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-0, LW: 2)

Is Tom Brady really going to set a single-season touchdown record at age 44? It sure seems like the Buccaneers are making that a goal because Brady is throwing it early and often. What he's doing at this age is something we'll be talking about decades from now.

The rest is here:

NFL Power Rankings: Maybe this is the season someone challenges Chiefs in AFC West - Yahoo Sports

In her new drama The Starling, Melissa McCarthy plays a grocery store clerk engulfed in grief after the death of her young daughter a tragedy that's lingering traumatic effects have landed her art teacher husband (Chris O'Dowd) in a psychiatric hospital.

In Matt Harris's original script for the film, which was circulating around Hollywood for years after landing on the Black List for best unproduced screenplays in 2005, McCarthys main character was a man whose wife was institutionalized.

The Starling's gender-flipping calls to mind another project McCarthy was involved with in recent years 2016s Ghostbusters, which famously rebooted the beloved action-comedy series with four female leads, also including Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon. Though the Paul Feig-directed film was generally well-received by critics and still has a strong following, it notoriously became a flash point for toxic fandom, with angry and oftentimes blatantly sexist fans of the original films angrily railing against it and bullying its co-star Jones off of social media with racist attacks.

Five years later and in the lead-up to a new Ghostbusters release (November's sequel Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which reportedly ignores the events of the 2016 film) McCarthy reflected on the vitriol their film received in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment.

Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon in Ghostbusters (Sony)

"There's no end to stories we can tell, and there's so many reboots and relaunches and different interpretations, and to say any of them are wrong, I just dont get it," McCarthy told us (watch above).

I don't get the fight to see who can be the most negative and the most hate-filled. Everybody should be able to tell the story they want to tell. If you don't want to see it, you don't have to see it."

McCarthy is proud of the approach The Starling director Ted Melfi (Hidden Figures) took in recognizing how and why the film's parental roles could be reversed.

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"This one was a wonderful switch," she says. "This was Ted's idea. He said when he read it, he was raised by a single mother, he was like, 'I didn't buy the woman falling apart. In his life, it's always been the females that have kind of kept it together and kept trudging.

"I also think a man could be vulnerable and broken in a way that we've not traditionally seen."

The Starling premieres Sept. 24 on Netflix.

Watch the trailer:

-Video produced by Stacy Jackman and edited by Luis Saenz

See original here:

Melissa McCarthy reflects on 'Ghostbusters' backlash 5 years later: 'I don't get the fight to see who can be the most hate-filled' - Yahoo...

The vast majority of money managers remain cautious on cryptocurrency investing, despite some big name investors putting their money behind digital coins, according to one analyst.

Speaking at Yahoo Finances All Markets Summit Plus, Fairlead Strategies founder Katie Stockton said crypto adoption still remains in the "very early stages" with limited institutional money flowing into the space.

We're kind of at the very low end of that curve, right? That could accelerate to the upside, she said. That goes not just for individuals but institutions as well, especially pension funds is one source of major assets out there. Really which have not largely been deployed to cryptocurrencies now.

More than half of the worlds largest banks now have exposure to crypto, either through direct or indirect investments in projects related to digital currencies and blockchain, according to Blockdata. But more conservative wealth managers, including state and local pension funds, have largely remained on the sidelines, concerned about the price volatility and regulatory uncertainty clouding the industry.

Earlier this month, two Virginia public pension funds announced they were seeking approval for a $50 million investment in a fund that buys digital tokens and cryptocurrency derivatives, becoming one of a few pension funds to publicly announce they are jumping in.

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I think when we get there, we will see that greater liquidity and sort of tighter spreads, if you will, influence them in a positive way such that there will be less volatility, said Stockton. But we found that using the charts and the technical indicators at our disposal that the cryptocurrencies are really minding support resistance levels. So while there is expected volatility, we have ways to manage risk to navigate those short-term swings by identifying key levels, and combining them with indicators that measure things like momentum and overbought oversold readings.

Adoption among retail traders have accelerated at a faster rate, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The price of bitcoin alone has increased nearly 500%, from March 2020. The ease with which investors can now buy digital coins, through platforms like Coinbase (COIN), Paypal (PYPL), and Robinhood (HOOD), have also led to increased exposure. A recent study by the University of Chicago found that 13% of Americans traded crypto over the last 12 months, compared to 24% who invested in stocks.

Regardless of adoption rates, Stockton sees a "long-term uptrend in crypto." Despite a recent sell-off triggered by Chinas central bank banning all crypto transactions, and fears around the Chinese property market, Stockton said crypto assets have held on to key resistance levels, signaling support in the market.

Bitcoin has tended to outperform when they're collectively going lower and [crypto assets] do tend to remain directionally in step, she said. So even though you can always find sources of outperformance and underperformance, you'll find that most [coins] are all up on the same day and all down on the same day and I think that that is something that we can depend upon.

Akiko Fujita is an anchor and reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @AkikoFujita

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Crypto is in the early stages of a long-term upward trend: Analyst - Yahoo Finance