Lesley Kruger

Jun 29, 2023 | newsakmi.com | Lesley Kruger

Last fall, I joined a group of runners on a demanding but rewarding hut-to-hut run through New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Over four days, we ran more than 30 miles and accumulated nearly 10,000 feet of elevation gain on technical trails full of boulders and undulating ridgelines teasing us with false summits. Our goal each day was to reach a new Appalachian Mountain Club hut, where we enjoyed a hot meal and sleeping bunks. When morning came, we’d hit the trail again.

Jun 29, 2023 | newsakmi.com | Lesley Kruger

NASA has been sending non-crewed spacecraft to Mars for decades, but the idea of humans stepping foot on the Red Planet one day has long seemed out of our reach. Thanks to four brave volunteers, the space exploration authority will be able to learn more about what life will look like for astronauts on Mars. On June 25, NASA locked four strangers in its “Mars Dune Alpha” simulator, where they’ll remain for a total of 378 days.

Jun 29, 2023 | newsakmi.com | Lesley Kruger

WhistlePig changed the game for rye whiskey. Founded by Raj Bhakta back in 2007 and launching its first whiskey in 2010, the brand became synonymous with premium rye. After a not-so-amicable split in 2019, Raj stepped away from the brand and started a new company, Bhakta Spirits—which has unveiled its latest expression, Bhakta 1990 rum. This is Bhakta’s first step into the rum world, after spending its first few years focused on brandy and, particularly, Armagnac.

Jun 29, 2023 | newsakmi.com | Lesley Kruger

Diet soda drinkers everywhere might want to reconsider their go-to beverage options. The World Health Organization (WHO), long regarded as the global authority on public health, is expected to name aspartame, one of the world’s most popular artificial sweeteners, as a cancer-causing compound. According to Reuters, WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) will announce aspartame’s carcinogen status in the coming weeks.

Jun 29, 2023 | newsakmi.com | Lesley Kruger

Could beans be the secret to a long healthy life? In addition to being overall healthier, better for the planet, and more filling than animal-based proteins, that’s what anecdotal evidence seems to suggest. This is according to Dan Buettner, a New York Times bestselling author who has been researching and reporting on so-called “blue zones” for over 20 years. Blue zones refer to regions where people live longer than the average life expectancy, up to 100 years or more.