Habits

Latino buying power this year is estimated at $1.2 trillion - and Clorox Co. wants a piece, launching a new line of products “designed to appeal to Hispanic scent preferences and to specifically meet their needs based on the unique way they approach cleaning.” The company surveyed more than 600 Latino consumers and concluded that most tidy up in a three-step process: first cleaning, then disinfecting and finally scenting. The bleach and disposable wipes maker decided to create a suite of items focused on the third step.

Scott Jurek is a nice guy who exhibits none of the sanctimonious proselytizing that vegans sometimes do. He's also a guy who gave up a fast-food burger diet and runs what many consider to be obscenely long distances. How long? In 2010, he ran an astounding 165.7 miles (more than six marathons) in 24 hours to set a new U.S. record. His long list of running accomplishments has led to much praise, including Ultrarunning magazine three times naming him ultra-runner of the year. He also found time to write the new book "Eat & Run" with Steve Friedman (Houghton Mifflin)

NEW YORK - It was hard to stand out among the crowds in Central Park on Memorial Day, but one man did as he marched into the urban oasis wearing a pith helmet and carrying a shovel and a large backpack. As he headed down a footpath from the West 72nd Street entrance, about 20 people followed, weaving through the tourists, locals and pedicab drivers like ducklings trailing a mother duck. Minutes after entering the park, their bearded leader plunged his shovel into soil moistened by recent rain and urged others to do the same.

— False starts? Kevin Na even drives himself crazy sometimes with the number of times he backs off a shot. Bogeys? Not Saturday. Somehow blocking out the murmurs every time he stepped back from a shot, the South Korean-born pro used two birdies in his final three holes to take a one-stroke lead at the Players Championship — and perhaps set himself up for an even more nerve-jangling final round. "I know how to play under pressure," said Na, whose first PGA Tour win came seven months ago in Las Vegas.

Members of the U.S. military — especially enlisted troops in the Army and Marines — were significantly more likely to cause auto accidents within six months of returning from deployment, according to a study by USAA Property and & Casualty Insurance Group, a major insurer for military families. These veterans probably are engaging in survival driving habits for a war zone, such as not stopping in traffic, driving fast and making sudden, unpredictable turns, experts said. But those same driving practices create havoc back in the United States.

They touch down at another NBA city and check their smartphones to help them adjust to a new time zone while their own bodies struggle. They arrive with bags under their eyes and often depart that city a day later sleepless, jet-lagged, stowing sore joints and heavy legs. During this lockout-shortened NBA season, it's been a grueling routine: 66 games played in 124 days, a pace of one per 1.88 days, or 8.5% faster than a usual season. Every team has played back-to-back-to-back sets and stretches such as nine games in 12 days; the Clippers played 20 games in 31 days in March, a marathon that has not been on the NBA schedule in 45 years.

Diesel prices are at their highest level in nearly four years, topping $4 a gallon, but trucking company executive Fred Johring is taking it in stride. Johring's Golden State Express has bought low-emission, fuel-efficient diesel and natural gas rigs to comply with a clean-truck mandate at Southern California's twin ports — with the fortunate side effect of easing the pain of high-priced diesel. "We went from having one of the oldest local fleets to one of the newest," said Johring, whose Rancho Dominguez company sends trucks mainly on short-haul trips to and from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business Charles Duhigg Random House: 371 pp, $28

When Paul O'Neill took over the floundering Aluminum Co. of America in October 1987, he shocked attendees at an introductory news conference by proclaiming that his focus would not be on expanding sales or improving profitability. Rather, he said, his emphasis would be on improving employee safety. Investors at the conference thought he was crazy and rushed from the room to tell their clients to sell Alcoa stock immediately. "It was literally the worst piece of advice I gave in my entire career," one later said.

Looking for a new planet to colonize? A team of European astronomers says you've got options -- billions of them. Using results from the High Accuracy Radical Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) at the European Southern Observatory, the scientists say there are likely tens of billions of planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone that may be able to sustain life. They estimate that one hundred of those planets are in the sun's immediate neighborhood -- which in space-speak is 30 light years away.