The Know Daily - Tuesday 12 March

_{Read in 5m 18s ∙ Listening to Bleachers ∙}

A nonprofit organisation is giving free coding classes to low-income students living in New York City’s public housing, in a bid to make it “easily accessible” to the families living there. Founded in 2019 by Jason Gibson, Hood Code has taught coding basics to around 300 children so far, also helping them to develop “problem-solving skills, self-confidence and innovative thinking”.

🗳️ The rise of Reform UK

Former Conservative MP Lee Anderson defected to Reform UK on Monday - but what does the party stand for?

First things first - what happened yesterday?
The former Conservative Party deputy chairman and MP for Ashfield in Nottinghamshire announced his decision to defect to Reform UK at a press conference yesterday, making him the party’s first MP in the House of Commons.

Anderson was suspended from the Tory party last month for refusing to apologise after alleging that “Islamists” had “control” of London mayor Sadiq Khan - comments that were “widely seen as Islamaphobic” and “prompted an immediate backlash”, said Yahoo News.

How did Reform UK come about?
Reform UK was founded with backing from Nigel Farage in 2018 as the Brexit Party, explained The Independent. The party changed its name in 2021, with Farage stepping down as leader the same year and Richard Tice taking over.

What does it stand for?
Reform UK backs “populist causes” such as “tougher immigration laws”, said Reuters. On the party’s website, it calls for “net zero immigration” and also wants to cut foreign aid by 50% and scrap net zero subsidies. Here’s a full list of Reform UK’s policies.

What does all this mean?
According to The Guardian, Downing Street is “braced for more defections”, with senior Conservatives “worried at support draining away” to Reform UK.

The latest voting intention poll from YouGov - which asks people the party they would vote for if there were a general election held tomorrow - puts Reform UK on 13%, with the Conservatives on 20% and Labour on 47%.

🍽️ Unpacking “menu anxiety”

Most people experience “menu anxiety” when dining out, a new study has revealed.

What did the study find?
Italian restaurant chain Prezzo surveyed over 2,000 people in the UK about how relaxed they felt while eating out. 67% of those surveyed said they experienced anxiety when dining out, with the figure slightly higher among Gen Z respondents at 86%.

What’s behind menu anxiety?
A few things. The rising cost of meals out was cited as the “main source of anxiety”, said Yahoo, while other factors included worries around not being able to find something they liked on the menu and regretting what they ordered.

Nearly 40% of Gen Z and millennials said they wouldn’t go out for dinner if they couldn’t check the menu first, with Business Insider noting that for over a third of millennials, having “too many options” on a menu was also a “trigger”.

Why is Gen Z more impacted?
Gen Z communication expert Cedar Roach told The Food Institute that this age group’s tendency toward menu anxiety is simply a manifestation of Gen Z's overall "decision fatigue", which comes from being “the first fully digital generation”.

But the stats show that menu anxiety isn’t a uniquely Gen Z phenomenon - and it’s worth bearing in mind that more broadly, we’re eating out at restaurants less and ordering in more. Spending in restaurants fell by 6.7% in the UK last year while Brits spent 8.1% more on fast food and takeaways, statistics from Barclays revealed.

🏠 Surveillance ban: Airbnb is introducing a worldwide ban on all indoor security cameras, their use having “long drawn frustration” among those using the platform.

🇭🇹 Haiti latest: PM Ariel Henry has issued his resignation following weeks of “mounting pressure and increasing violence” in the country. 

🧑‍⚖️ Tate detained: Andrew Tate and his brother have been detained in Romania after European arrest warrants were issued by the UK. 

🎨 Overdue exhibition: The Picasso Museum in Paris is set to display artwork by Françoise Gilot, Picasso’s ex-partner who was “shunned” in France after their split. Take a peek at her work here.

🔭 Calling all stargazers: A comet that’s “larger than Mount Everest” could be visible to the naked eye as it passes by Earth in the coming weeks. Here’s how to catch it. 

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Trivia answer: A) Lil Jon, the Grammy award-winning rapper, producer and TV star, last month  released Total Meditation, a 10-track project that aims to “improve mindfulness, concentration, and overall health”

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