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Q&A: Hanging Out the Wash in the Fresh, Clean Air

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Hanging Out the Wash in the Fresh, Clean Air
Q. When I hang my laundry outside to dry, what makes it smell so wonderfully of fresh air?
A. It may simply be the absence of bad smells that makes air-dried laundry smell good in comparison, air safety experts have suggested.
Indoor air, especially in a tightly enclosed environment, may have a buildup of scents both benign and dangerous, from cooking odors to mold and mildew to chemical pollutants like volatile cleaning products and heating fuel. Meanwhile, the occupants of the building are breathing the air and depleting it of oxygen, to some extent, and perhaps smoking tobacco.
All these problems are either absent or considerably diluted in the outside air.
Pleasant natural smells may be present, from sources like pine trees and other evergreens, if you are lucky. And the laundry has been cleansed of sweat, mold, bacteria and other potential odor-causing substances and dries quickly in a breeze, removing the moisture on which such smells..

Does Hell Exist? And Did the Pope Give an Answer?

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Does Hell Exist? And Did the Pope Give an Answer? Photo Pope Francis has had several chats with a left-wing Italian journalist who considers himself an atheist and occasionally puts words in the pope’s mouth. Credit Max Rossi/Reuters ROME — The Vatican felt obliged this week to reaffirm that Pope Francis believes in a central tenet of Catholicism, that there is a hell.
That odd declaration came after the newspaper La Repubblica published a front-page article on Thursday by an atheist, left-wing and anticlerical giant of Italian journalism, who reported that during a recent meeting the pope had said hell did not exist.
Bad souls are “not punished,” the journalist, Eugenio Scalfari, 93, reported the pope as saying. “A hell doesn’t exist.”
Nor, for Mr. Scalfari, does a tape recorder or notebook or the orthodoxy of quotations marks.
The Vatican characterized the remarks as misquotations.
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Continue reading the main story In the past, Mr. Scalfari, the founder of La Repubblica..

Global Health: Bologna Blamed in Worst Listeria Outbreak in History

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Supported by Health Bologna Blamed in Worst Listeria Outbreak in History Photo In early March, Enterprise Foods issued a recall of some processed meat products in South Africa, where a yearlong, deadly listeria outbreak was finally traced to a type of bologna. Credit Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters WASHINGTON — The world’s largest known listeria outbreak has spread throughout South Africa for 15 months, killing 189 people. Health officials believe they have identified the source: bologna.
Since January last year, 982 confirmed cases of listeriosis had been recorded, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa reported on Thursday. The infection, caused by food that has been contaminated with the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, is often lethal.
A cluster of gastroenteritis cases among toddlers in a Johannesburg hospital this January led authorities to the sandwich meat in a day care center’s refrigerator — and in turn, to a meat production facility in the northern cit..

Are Today’s Teenagers Smarter and Better Than We Think?

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Supported by Well | Family Are Today’s Teenagers Smarter and Better Than We Think? Photo Emma González, center, is among the Marjory Stoneman Douglas students leading the movement against gun violence. Credit Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Today’s teenagers have been raised on cellphones and social media. Should we worry about them or just get out of their way?
A recent wave of student protests around the country has provided a close-up view of Generation Z in action, and many adults have been surprised. While there has been much hand-wringing about this cohort, also called iGen or the Post-Millennials, the stereotype of a disengaged, entitled and social-media-addicted generation doesn’t match the poised, media-savvy and inclusive young people leading the protests and gracing magazine covers.
There’s 18-year-old Emma González, whose shaved head, impassioned speeches and torn jeans have made her the iconic face of the #NeverAgain movement, which developed after the 17 shooting death..