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Graziers have witnessed an unprecedented amount of rainfall around McKinlay in the state's north west, saying it's the "biggest flood on record".
As Ex-Tropical Cyclone Kirrily moves across the north west interior, properties around McKinlay and Kynuna have been inundated with rainfall totals between 500mm to 300mm in 48 hours.
Wade McConachy at Moorooka Station, 15 kilometres south of McKinlay, said he had almost received his average annual rainfall in two days.
"We had 309mm in two days and our average is around 14 inches (355mm)," Mr McConachy said.
"The water reached the workshop shed but it hasn't reached the house. At its highest peak it would have been three foot of water around the house.
"Water has started to recede. The weather at the moment (January 31) is still overcast and a bit stormy looking, I hope it doesn't rain anymore."
After having a chat to neighbours, Mr McConachy said this was the biggest flood on record.
"I was having a chat to Billy Allison at Broadlands, he has been here all his life and his record books go back to 1952 and he couldn't see anything that compared to this scale of rainfall," Mr McConachy said.
"We've had a lot of flooding. I got up in a helicopter yesterday and we have lost two dams, more than 10 kilometres worth of fencing, it has ripped rail line assembles out, floodgates, everything.
"We haven't lost any cattle, luckily, it is still quite warm here so they aren't getting that hypothermia like they did in 2019.
"We've had a lot more rain than we did in 2019, and it is worse flooding than what was in 2019 and a lot more infrastructure damage."
At Moonamarra Station, six kilometres north of McKinlay, Robert Bulley said he had received nine inches (228mm) over three days.
"It was good soaking rain, but it was everyone upstream of me that got stupid rain that has caused all the dramas," Mr Bulley said.
"All my river country has gone under, plus some. I flew over at its peak and I saw half the cattle that was suppose to be in that paddock so hoping the other half might be in the neighbours somewhere. Expecting the worst and hoping for the best.
"Floodwaters are about a kilometre from the house, but there is more water coming downstream now but we don't know how big it will get from the rain upstream. Cannington got big rain overnight between three to four inches."
Mr Bulley said he had lost masses of infrastructure to the flood.
"It is going to be massive, we've lost anywhere the water came down. I went for a drive along the bitumen and there are fences down that I wouldn't have thought would be down in 100 years," he said.
"This flooding is much bigger than in 2019 and 2023. Last year the flooding was big but it went up and down quick.
"Anything along the McKinlay, Gilliat and Diamantina rivers have copped it."
At Glenholme, 70 kilometres south of McKinlay, Will Allan said he had recorded 704mm for the month of January.
"I'm currently at Longford (between Cloncurry and Julia Creek), so I'm not sure how the stock is at Glenholme at the moment, we should be ok down there," Mr Allan said.
"We've got some good hard ridges through there so they shouldn't flood or anything.
"It's so hard to assess the damage or losses that people face at the moment, given roads are cut and it's difficult to manoeuvre around the properties with so much water."
Many roads remain closed around the north west as ex-tropical cyclone Kirrily begins to track north.
The Landsborough Highway from Winton to Cloncurry remains closed. Flinders Highway from Cloncurry to Julia Creek is closed. Cloncurry to Four Ways and Julia Creek to Four Ways are closed. Cloncurry to Duchess and Dajarra are closed. As are many other roads in between.
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https://www.northqueenslandregister.com.au/story/8505354/mckinlay-graziers-hit-by-historic-flood-in-north-west-queensland/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:01Z
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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — For the first time in her 65-year history, Barbie will be decked out in the colors of this year’s Super Bowl champion.
Ahead of the Feb. 11 game between the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers, Mattel Creations announced its first Super Bowl Champion doll, which will be decked out in the colors of the winning team.
According to a news release, the world’s most famous doll will be one of three items offered after the big game. There will also be a Fisher-Price Little People Collector and a UNO Fandom deck available for purchase.
Toy manufacturer Mattel is returning to what it says was a winning game plan last year, and adding some new plays, in a bid to sell collectible toys tied to this year’s Super Bowl. https://t.co/j79io1DTML
— Forbes (@Forbes) January 30, 2024
The toys can be pre-ordered, but they will only be issued in the uniform jersey and hat of the winning team, USA Today reported. The Barbie doll will have a $30 price tag, and so will the Little People collectible. The UNO Fandom deck will be sold for $12.
The Little People figurines will feature three players from the winning team, plus a “super fan,” Mattel said in its release.
The Fandom deck will feature the winning team’s official logo, cards featuring players from the champions and a collectible foil card in each pack.
“As football fans across the country get ready for The Big Game, we’re thrilled to offer San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs superfans the chance to commemorate a historic win with these special collectibles from our Fisher-Price, Barbie, and UNO brands,” Lisa McKnight, Mattel’s executive vice president and chief brand officer, said in a statement. “Whichever team reigns supreme on February 11th, Mattel Creations is the place to find that must-have piece of Super Bowl LVIII memorabilia worthy of any collection.”
Last year’s Little People Collector line from Super Bowl LVII included Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, tight end Travis Kelce, defensive tackle Chris Jones and a Kansas City super fan.
The Barbie and Fisher-Price items are officially licensed NFL products. Fans and collectors can preorder the items through Feb. 25 at MattelCreations.com/thebiggame. Items will begin shipping in August, Mattel said.
People who preorder the losing team will have their money refunded.
Orders are only valid for U.S. customers.
The Fandom deck will be available in March.
Last year, Mattel asked fans to vote for their Super Bowl favorite by preordering sets featuring the Chiefs or Eagles, Forbes reported. While the Eagles got more preorders, the Chiefs got the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
© 2024 Cox Media Group
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https://www.hits973.com/news/trending/super-bowl-lviii-mattel-creating-barbie-doll-commemorate-big-game/ZMZWHWSLKVEVRI2CE33NEILQXE/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:02Z
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Nsambya babies home seeks families for 15 abandoned children
Nsambya Babies Home is searching for families of at least 15 children abandoned in different parts of the city and currently under their care. According to the administrator of the Child Welfare and Adoption Society, Sister Maria Teddy Nakyanzi, a significant proportion of the children at the home have been abandoned. Children are brought to this home strictly by police and probation officers. NOBERT ATUKUNDA reports.
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https://www.ntv.co.ug/ug/nsambya-babies-home-seeks-families-for-15-abandoned-children-4510096
| 2024-01-31T23:14:03Z
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Drought conditions spark government action, raise questions over wildfire response
With parts of Alberta gripped by severe drought, fire chiefs across the province are asking the government to share its strategy for fighting wildfires this year.
The Alberta Fire Chiefs Association (AFCA) published an open letter to the Alberta government Wednesday, expressing "significant concern" over the upcoming wildfire season.
AFCA president Randy Schroeder said fire chiefs have been meeting with government officials, but no plans for this year's wildfire response have been shared yet.
"They're acknowledging that if things don't change in 2024, it's going to be a problem for this province," said AFCA president Randy Schroeder. "And we don't have a plan in place that says, 'This is what the province is doing to prepare for response for the upcoming wildfire season.'"
In 2023, more than 2.5 million hectares of land was burned and more than 38,000 Albertans were displaced by wildfire.
Schroeder said data on drought conditions suggest this year could be similar.
On Wednesday, 56 wildfires were burning in Alberta. Forty-five were under control and 11 were being held. All the fires being held were in the severely dry Peace River and High Level Forest Areas.
"If things don't change in the next 10 weeks in terms of moisture, [the wildfire season] is going to be equally unprecedented and equally severe," he added.
A large wildfire burns this handout image provided by the Government of Alberta and posted on their social media page. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Government of Alberta- Alberta WilfireThe AFCA wants to see a comprehensive plan for wildland firefighting, including a working group dedicated to response readiness and public education.
Fire chiefs and their departments are ready to help, Schroeder said, but they want to see proactive plans that will protect municipal resources and personnel.
"[Last year] we saw local resources being deployed for extremely long periods of time. That has an impact on employers and families at the local level while we have volunteers out responding to need," he added.
"We can't continuously react. We're calling for more proactive measures and we're certainly willing to lift our weight when it comes to more and better planning."
Wildfire season officially begins March 1.
CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the minister of public safety and emergency services and the minister of forestry and parks for comment but has not yet received a response.
'We'll have to pray'
The letter comes as parts of Alberta are experiencing some of the worst drought conditions on record, including the Dustbowl years of the 1930s.
Keith Degenhardt is a seed producer and rancher operating south of Wainwright.
His sloughs and dugouts dried up last spring and there hasn't been enough moisture since to replenish them.
"We are actually in worse shape this spring," Degenhardt said. "Our snow so far has been minimal … We did get a snowfall, but that snow is all but disappeared."
The lack of snowfall, record-low river levels and dwindling reservoirs have prompted the Alberta government to begin negotiations over water-sharing agreements in the Red Deer River, Bow River and Old Man River basins.
The Alberta government said the negotiations will be the largest water-sharing effort in Alberta since the drought of 2001-2002.
The agreements aim to protect water downstream by limiting upstream use during severe drought.
"We ask all those water users to come together to say, 'Look, if we don't need our full allocation, here's what we might be able to share with other users,'" said Rebecca Schulz, minister of environment and protected areas.
The province will ask large water licence holders to voluntarily use less water. Schulz said there are no plans to impose mandatory restrictions at this time.
A stock photo shows a seeding rig planting a canola crop at a farm near Cremona, Alta. on May 16, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)Alberta is currently in the fourth stage of the province's water shortage management, with large-scale shortages impacting multiple water management areas.
Stage 5 is an emergency under the Water Act, where insufficient water poses a significant risk to human health and safety.
"We're not in an emergency situation; not a Stage 5 emergency situation just yet," Schulz said. "If we get to a point like that, that would be where the province would have the ability to maybe be more directive in situations where we need to be."
Degenhardt said this year's conditions are very similar to those during the early 2000s, when he personally saw a tenfold loss in crop production.
He plans to dig more wells for watering his cattle and will be planting seeds a little deeper, but he's still worried about what will happen if spring precipitation doesn't arrive.
"We'll have to pray that we get some moisture, enough to germinate the crop and get the crop going," Degenhardt said. "In the simplest terms, without water you can't grow a plant."
With files from the Canadian Press and CTV News Calgary's Bill Macfarlane
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https://edmonton.ctvnews.ca/drought-conditions-spark-government-action-raise-questions-over-wildfire-response-1.6750378
| 2024-01-31T23:14:04Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), overall survival (OS) is improved for those receiving pembrolizumab versus placebo at a median follow-up of about 57 months, according to a study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual Genitourinary Cancers Symposium, held from Jan. 25 to 27 in San Francisco.
Toni Choueiri, M.D., from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, and colleagues randomly allocated 994 adults with histologically confirmed ccRCC to receive pembrolizumab 200 mg or placebo intravenously every three weeks for ≥17 cycles (about one year) or until disease recurrence, intolerable toxicity, or withdrawal of consent (496 and 498 patients, respectively). The primary end point was disease-free survival (DFS) by investigator assessment; OS was a key secondary end point. Results from the third prespecified interim analysis with a median follow-up of about 57 months were reported.
The researchers found that OS improved significantly with pembrolizumab versus placebo (medians not reached; hazard ratio, 0.62). There were 55 and 86 OS events in the pembrolizumab and placebo arms, respectively. At 48 months, the estimated OS rate was 91.2 and 86.0 percent with pembrolizumab and placebo, respectively. Across key subgroups, there was an OS benefit observed, including in patients with M0 disease (hazard ratio, 0.63). For pembrolizumab versus placebo, the observed DFS was consistent with that of prior interim analyses (hazard ratio, 0.72). There were no new safety signals.
"We can now tell our patients that pembrolizumab after surgery not only delays recurrences but also helps them live longer," Choueiri said in a statement.
Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Merck, which manufactures pembrolizumab and funded the study.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/cancer/pembrolizumab-shows-survival-benefit-for-patients-with-renal-cancer
| 2024-01-31T23:14:04Z
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Footage of Hamas Attack Shows Brutality of War
A film screened Tuesday in Washington, D.C. for a select audience showed the savagery of Hamas and the human cost of war.
Universal signs of a savage enemy: Toyota pickups with paint across the tailgate scratched off to read “TOY,” “OYO,” or just “YO”; a half dozen young men with AK-47s raised in the air piled in the bed of the truck.
Several of these Toyota caravans sped down highways at an undisclosed location in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Dozens of cars, burnt out and riddled with bullet-holes, lined the side of the road. One of the pickups with a 50-cal. mounted on the back came to a stop; the gunner attempted to slay Israelis fleeing into the desert.
At the International Religious Freedom Summit in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday evening, the Philos project and the Embassy of Israel hosted a private screening of footage from the Oct. 7 attack.
The approximately hour-long video was primarily a compilation of footage captured by CCTV cameras, traffic footage, dash cams, victims’ social media posts, victims’ personal devices, Hamas terrorist body cams, Hamas personal devices, and Hamas social media posts. At times the video showed Hamas radio communications intercepted by the Israeli Defense Forces and uncensored stills of Hamas’s slain victims.
Barbaric, harrowing, horrific, gruesome—none of these words do justice to the footage aired Tuesday night in the nation’s capital. The footage itself couldn’t encompass the tragic events. The film claimed that Hamas terrorists murdered 900 civilians, killed 300 soldiers, and kidnapped 240 in the day’s attacks. After an hour of portraying nothing but death and destruction, the film claimed it depicted the deaths of 139 people—less than 10 percent of the fatalities that occurred on Oct. 7.
As civilians tried to flee the attacks, Hamas terrorists cut off major escape routes. Dozens of terrorists lined major roadways, ambushing anyone driving by and operating like a moving firing squad. Some drivers managed to get past one squad of Hamas terrorists, another would be waiting just a few yards down the road.
Dash-cam footage captured a windshield shattering before the vehicle veered to the side of the road and crashed into one of the many others that had suffered the same fate. The Hamas terrorists encircled the vehicle and closed in to finish the job. Badly wounded victims tried to escape the vehicle, but could only crawl or lie on the ground, probably hoping to convince the terrorists they were already dead. “Shoot them,” one Hamas terrorist yelled as he approached a vehicle. “One is alive on the ground.” Two pops shook the terrorist’s body cam.
In one especially horrific scene, a father and two children, still only in their underwear, attempted to hide in a shed-like bomb shelter in their backyard when it became clear their neighborhood was under attack. As they made it to the shelter, a Hamas terrorist leaned over a low fence on the side of the back yard, and banked a grenade into the bomb shelter, killing the father and wounding the two boys. The boys were pulled from the shelter and into their house. For the next few minutes, they screamed for their father and mother as blood seeped from lacerations all over their body. The mother, who was not at the house at the time, eventually returned. IDF soldiers had to pry her away from her husband’s body and drag her to safety.
Hamas communications intercepted by the IDF on Oct. 7 boasted about murdering Israelis.
One Hamas terrorist used a mobile phone taken off a woman he killed to call his parents. He told his parents about how he had gotten the phone. “Dad, I killed 10 with my bare hands,” he told his father. Later, when his mother came to the phone, she told her son to, “kill, kill, kill.”
In radio communications intercepted by the IDF, one Hamas foot soldier told his higher-up that the men were playing with severed heads of Israelis. The officer told the foot soldier to send pictures. “Allahu Akbar,” one terrorist yelled. He took a gardening hoe to the neck of an Israeli murdered in their home. With each successive blow, “Allahu Akbar”—until the job was done. Another, later in the film, took a combat knife to a lifeless IDF soldier’s neck. He hoisted the severed head and marched it around like a standard.
Philos Project President Robert Nicholson took the stage with the Israeli Embassy’s Deputy Head of Mission Eliav Benjamin. Nicholson gave the crowd a moment of silence to mourn and gather themselves before starting the conversation. He tried to start the conversation twice before tears welled up in his eyes and he pulled the microphone from his mouth. When he collected himself, he asked Benjamin how he first heard of the attack. On Oct. 7, Benjamin was in Washington, D.C., where he is living with his wife while on assignment. He said he was informed that something big was happening by a member of the embassy’s communications team around midnight, about seven in the morning in Israel. For Benjamin, it was a mix of panic and heartbreak. His three children are in Israel. Two are in the military. One just had a child and is starting a family.
Benjamin reflected on the terrorist’s regular invocation of the name of Allah. That’s not his God, he said. That’s not the God of anyone in this room, he surmised. Nor is it “the God of our interlocutors in the region,” who have worked with Israel towards a more stable Middle East, especially since the Abraham Accords in September of 2020.
This strange war, already past a hundred days old, will probably carry on for a hundred more. Intelligence failures have continued since the Israeli government failed to take warnings of what might come on Oct. 7 seriously. Its strategy, tactics, and some of its politicians’ rhetoric have tarnished the justness of its cause in the eyes of many. Ius ad bellum does not confer ius in bello by default.
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As the war carries on, more questions crop up: What is Israel’s goal? Is it actually achievable? What are Israel’s acceptable terms for a post-war Gaza? The Israelis have given a multitude of answers. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed Israel’s goal is “complete victory.” At other points, he’s claimed the goal is to “defeat Hamas,” at others, the government has claimed it wants to destroy Hamas completely and remove it from power (which is likely an unachievable goal).
Meanwhile, the Biden administration appears to be pursuing a Middle East strategy that will likely prolong hostilities. Biden seems intent on further undermining the prospect of returning to the tenuous yet stable conditions of the late Trump administration, against the national interest of both the U.S. and Israel. Then there’s Ukraine, not to mention a confrontation with China always lurking in the background.
Tuesday’s screening was a reminder of the human cost of war. Blood will always be worth more than treasure. The price, in Israel, Gaza, Ukraine, Russia, is already steep. When the dust settles, it could be astronomical. “It is well that war is so terrible,” Robert E. Lee once said, “otherwise we should grow too fond of it.”
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https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-cost-of-war/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:04Z
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One Minnesota City Named Among The 'Happiest Cities' In The US
By Logan DeLoye
January 31, 2024
Are you happy with where you live?
Happiness is a very objective ideal that can differ from human to human based on preference and personality. What makes you happy might not make someone else happy. Similarly, it might take a little bit more for someone to be happy than it takes for you to be happy, or vice versa.
Regardless of preference, there is one city in Minnesota that is loved by tourists and locals alike. This city seems to bring about a sense of "happiness" that you cant find just anywhere.
According to a list compiled by Travel Alot, the happiest city in Minnesota is St. Paul ranking 17th on the list. Other cities on the list include Sarasota, Florida, McAllen, Texas, Boston, Massachusetts, and more!
So, what makes this city so special? Let's find out!
Here's what Travel Alot had to say about the happiest city in Minnesota:
"Minneapolis-Saint Paul residents say they aren't worried about money and are proud of their community. Plus, they aren't too shabby when it comes to being active. The area comes in at #2 on our list of 15 Fittest Cities in America. Low cost of living and tons of public parks sound pretty happy to us."
For a continued list of the happiest cities in the country visit travel.alot.com.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-one-minnesota-city-named-among-the-happiest-cities-in-the-us/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:05Z
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The number of syphilis cases in the U.S. are on the rise. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases increased by nearly 80% to more than 207,000 between 2018 and 2022.
Rates increased among all age groups, including newborns, and in all regions of the country. In 2022, 3,755 cases of babies born with syphilis in the U.S. were reported, which reflects an alarming 937% increase in the past decade, the CDC said.
The report continued that racial and ethnic minorities are most disproportionately affected due to "long standing social inequities that often lead to health inequalities."
Experts point to various reasons for the increase, including increases in substance abuse tied to risky sexual behavior, decrease in condom use, ongoing social and economic conditions and reduction in sexually transmitted infections (STI) services at the state and local level.
"Because STIs often do not show symptoms, and screening is necessary for timely diagnosis and treatment, changes in access to sexual health care can affect the number of infections diagnosed and reported," the CDC said.
The stigma surrounding STIs can also keep people from seeking care, and "buries the truth that all people deserve quality sexual health care," said Laura Bachmann, acting director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, in an interview with NPR. "It also can cause issues at the provider level when it comes to talking with people about these issues."
The CDC said that its findings signal an urgent need for a closer look at public health efforts and prevention strategies.
"Some people face tremendous barriers to STI prevention and health services," said Bachmann ina statement. "So, the most important work is often outside the clinic, whether it be reaching out to communities with testing, interviewing patients to offer services to their partners, or delivering treatment directly to someone."
She added that there is still a need for more innovation around diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
"In the United States, syphilis was close to elimination in the 1990s, so we know it's possible to reverse this epidemic," said Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, in a statement. "I have hope for innovative prevention tools – such as a pill after sex that prevents STIs, and better tests for syphilis – but they will only be successful if they reach the people who will benefit. And that is going to require coordinated and sustained efforts at the federal, state, and local levels."
The U.S Department of Health and Human Services is also continuing to address the issue through the establishment of a federal task force last year.
"Addressing the resurgence of syphilis and congenital syphilis requires a concerted effort," said Admiral Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health and chair of the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force, in a statement. "We can collectively work towards reducing the incidence of syphilis and its devastating consequences, and we will turn the tide on the syphilis epidemic."
Without the appropriate funding however, it's difficult for communities to follow through with the recommendations by government officials, said Elizabeth Finley, director of communications at the National Coalition of STD Directors.
Over the past year, there has been a shortage of Bicillin, an antibiotic used to treat syphilis. In addition, last year states lost funding for STD prevention, affecting their ability to respond to syphilis.
"The 2022 data is devastating to see, but it's already a year old," said Finley. As a result, she said that "we have every reason to believe that the 2023 numbers will be much worse."
The CDC report also included data on other sexually transmitted infections, stating that "reported gonorrhea cases declined for the first time in at least a decade while reported chlamydia cases were level."
There were more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia reported in the U.S. in 2022 alone.
Without treatment, syphilis can cause serious health problems including damage to the heart and brain, and can cause blindness, deafness and paralysis. If transmitted during pregnancy, it can cause miscarriage, infant death and lifelong medical issues. With the right antibiotics, the STI is curable.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/syphilis-cases-rise-to-their-highest-levels-since-the-1950s-cdc-says
| 2024-01-31T23:14:05Z
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The last time Canada’s rental vacancy rate was this low, George Michael and Rick Astley were at the top of the charts.
It’s kind of fitting, in a way, because asking prices for rents have made us feel like we’re getting trolled, or more suitably, Rickrolled.
According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) most recent report, strong rental demand outpaced supply for the second year in a row in most of the country’s major markets.
That resulted in less available purpose-built rental apartments and lower affordability in Canada’s primary rental market.
“In 2023, strong rental demand continued to outpace supply in communities across the country, making it very difficult for renters to find housing they can afford,” Kevin Hughes, CMHC’s deputy chief economist, said in a statement.
“The vacancy rates and rent increases we are observing are further evidence the current level of rental supply in Canada is vastly insufficient and the need to increase this supply is urgent.”
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The national vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments in the primary rental market is at 1.5%, according to the report, representing the lowest level since CMHC began recording a national vacancy rate in 1988.
Average national rent growth for a two-bedroom purpose-built apartment grew sharply to 8% from 5.6% over the previous 12-month period.
This new high is above the average from 1990 to 2022 of 2.8% and outpaced both inflation at 4.7% and wage growth at 5%.
Calgary and Toronto tied at the bottom
Calgary tied Toronto in 2023 for the second-lowest vacancy rate out of the six largest Canadian cities markets.
Alberta’s largest city was particularly affected by high levels of interprovincial migration as well as significant international migration.
Montréal’s vacancy rate dropped to a low not seen since before the pandemic, CMHC said, while Calgary and Edmonton both have their lowest vacancy rates in a decade.
In 2023, vacancy rates held steady in Vancouver and Ottawa, but these markets remain very tight.
“Vancouver remains Canada’s tightest major rental market with the highest monthly average rents,” the report reads.
No relief in 2024
This year doesn’t look like it’s getting better for much for the country.
Several predictions have estimated that rent will continue to increase throughout 2024 for a lot of the country, with policies in BC coming into effect, continued migration, and a strong labour market influencing demand in Alberta.
In a report of its own, rental platform rentals.ca and Urbanation predicted a similar outcome, saying that rental demand is expected to remain strong while experiencing some moderation compared to 2023.
It’s due to a slowing economy, a reduced number of non-permanent residents, and an improvement in homebuying activity as interest rates begin to decline, the report said.
“The rental market in Canada will remain undersupplied but should become somewhat more balanced this year.”
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https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/canada-rental-vacancy-rate-36-year-low
| 2024-01-31T23:14:05Z
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From the occupied West Bank, an emergency hotline assists rescue efforts in Gaza By Aya Batrawy Published January 31, 2024 at 4:39 PM CST Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 5:17 NPR visits an emergency hotline center in the West Bank assisting first responders in the Gaza Strip. Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/from-the-occupied-west-bank-an-emergency-hotline-assists-rescue-efforts-in-gaza
| 2024-01-31T23:14:06Z
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These industries are responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions
Panksvatouny // Canva
These industries are responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions
dark smoke rises out of smokestack of coal-fired plant
While industries could drive the growth of local economies, high emissions can also have a negative impact on the environment of those markets and put the overall economic and social health of those communities at risk. Examining emissions levels may help communities understand the total impact and tradeoffs associated with local industries, as well as help inspire innovations to reduce emissions.
With these factors in mind, SmartAsset ranked 1,016 industries based on the estimated greenhouse gas emissions generated by individual supply chains, measured in equivalent kilograms of CO2 (CO2e) per dollar spent.
SmartAsset
Key findings
table showing top 25 industries with the most greenhouse gas emissions
- Solid waste landfills contribute more than three times the greenhouse gas emissions of the second-ranking industry. An estimated 10.99 kg of CO2 equivalent is emitted from the solid waste landfill industry. No other industry emits more than 3.8 kg of CO2 equivalent.
- In manufacturing, cement and fertilizer are the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases. Cement manufacturing is the second-biggest emitter of greenhouse gasses across all industries. Fertilizer production – particularly nitrogenous and phosphatic fertilizers, as well as the mixing of fertilizers – also tie for 14th place across all industries, generating about 2.03 kg of CO2e each.
- Among recreational hobbies, these emit the most greenhouse gases: Golf courses and country clubs, skiing facilities, marinas, bowling centers, and fitness and recreational sports centers emit about 0.31 kg CO2e. By comparison, hotels, casinos, museums, food service, amusement parks, sports teams, and clubs emit just a fraction of that.
- The cattle and beef industry contributes some of the highest emissions rates. Beef cattle ranching and farming, cattle feedlots, and dual-purpose cattle ranching and farming each contribute an equivalent of 3.23 kg of CO2, tying for the third-most prominent industry for greenhouse gas emissions. Other prominent emitters in farming include dry peas and beans, wheat, corn, rice, oilseed, and grain – each of which contributes an estimated 2.87 kg of CO2e.
- Artists have particularly low emissions impacts. Independent artists, writers, and performers collectively only emit the equivalent of 0.013 kg of CO2e. Music publishers, sound recording studios, record production and distribution, and other sound recording industries similarly come in at only about 0.026 kg each. Many insurance-related industries, including claims adjusting and agencies and brokerages, also emit particularly low levels of emissions (0.034 kg).
- Bottled water manufacturing generates more greenhouse gasses than tobacco manufacturing. The bottled water supply chain is estimated to be responsible for about 0.322 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent, while tobacco manufacturing contributes 0.073 kg.
- Financial advice and management has very low associated emissions. Financial advisors, which fall under the investment advice industry, contribute 0.062 kg of CO2e, ranking near the bottom of the list. Other aspects of financial management including portfolio management, trust, fiduciary and custody activities, and securities brokerages have similarly low emissions.
Data and methodology
This study ranked 1,016 commodities as defined by the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) according to the most recent data on the respective supply chain’s greenhouse gas emissions without margins, as expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per 2021 USD. Emissions data is from 2019. Data comes from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
This story was produced by SmartAsset and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
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https://kvia.com/environment/2024/01/31/these-industries-are-responsible-for-the-most-greenhouse-gas-emissions/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:06Z
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Love Island All Stars fans have spotted a new feud brewing as the boys turned on Anton Danyluk.
During Wednesday night's explosive episode, two more Islanders were sent packing. It comes after Liberty Poole and Mitchel Taylor were voted out of the villa during Tuesday's episode. The remaining Islanders were tasked with splitting up into boys and girls to decide which other Islanders should pack their bags.
Molly Smith and Tom Clare were rattled as the decision of who went would ultimately come down to them as they were voted the favourite couple by the public. The boys had to choose to send home a girl, and the girls had to choose which male Islander to boot out of the South African villa.
It was decided Hannah Elizabeth and Tyler Cruickshank would be booted off the show in sad scenes. Upon their exit two new bombshells entered the villa. Yet tension was still brewing over the vote of who to send home. Talk soon turned between the couples as to whose name was suggested to be sent packing.
Viewers quickly noticed the tension between the boys after Anton opened up to Georgia Harrison about who voted for who. Yet fans were quick to point out that Toby had also done to same and confided in Kaz about the votes. One said: "I just watched back when the boys were discussing who to dump and Anton was heavy on Arabella leaving not Kaz. Toby was just lying #LoveIsland." However, another viewer defended Toby by saying: "You do know they didn’t show the full discussion yh?"
Another added: "I’m sorry Tobey, did kissing Arabella last night make you lose your memory?! How are you b**ching about Anton telling Georgia H that she was close to being voted out when YOU did the exact same thing with Kaz!" Someone else commented: "Not Toby slagging off Anton to the boys about telling Georgia H when Toby literally went and told Kaz ?!?!?! Make it make sense tobes hypocrite."
A fifth wrote: "Toby complaining when Anton told Georgia H but didnt he run to Kaz too like what." Another quipped: "Everyone needs to get off Anton's back. The three girls with their head on the chopping board were all his friends, he just felt the least close to Kaz. Doesn't mean he was doing her dirty. Jesus."
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https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/itv-love-island-stars-fans-32015742
| 2024-01-31T23:14:07Z
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Uganda Taekwondo team gears up for all Africa Games after intensive training
After over two weeks of training at the CSKA Club in Kisugu, the Uganda national taekwondo team is set to enter a residential camp next week in preparation for the All Africa Games scheduled from March 8 to 23 in Accra, Ghana. The team will also receive tips from a South Korean coach ahead of the competition. Players express their readiness for the challenge.
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https://www.ntv.co.ug/ug/uganda-taekwondo-team-gears-up-for-all-africa-games-after-intensive-training--4510074
| 2024-01-31T23:14:10Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- In adults with overweight or obesity, aerobic exercise alone or a combined resistance plus aerobic exercise program leads to improvements in composite cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk profiles at one year, according to a study published online Jan. 17 in the European Heart Journal.
Duck-chul Lee, Ph.D., from Iowa State University in Ames, and colleagues randomly assigned 406 adults (aged 35 to 70 years) with overweight or obesity and elevated blood pressure to resistance exercise (102 participants), aerobic exercise (101 participants), combined resistance plus aerobic exercise (101 participants), or a no-exercise control (102 participants). Interventions lasted one hour, three times per week, for one year.
The researchers found that at one year, there were declines in the composite Z-score, indicating improved CVD risk profile, in the aerobic (mean difference, −0.15) and combination (mean difference, −0.16) groups. However, no improvement was seen in the resistance group (mean difference, −0.02). Compared with the resistance group, both aerobic and combination groups had greater reductions in the composite Z-score, with no difference between the aerobic and combination groups. All three exercise groups experienced a decrease in percent body fat at one year. Compared with the control group, the no-exercise group experienced decreases in systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and fasting glucose.
"If you’re bored with aerobic exercise and want variety or you have joint pain that makes running long distances difficult, our study shows you can replace half of your aerobic workout with strength training to get the same cardiovascular benefits," Lee said in a statement.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/cardiovascular-diseases/cardio-cardio-resistance-training-improve-cvd-risk-profile-at-one-year
| 2024-01-31T23:14:10Z
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Passengers Accused Of Sneaking Over 100 Bags Of Marijuana On Florida Cruise
By Zuri Anderson
January 31, 2024
Two cruise passengers are facing serious charges after federal agents reportedly found over 100 bags of marijuana in their luggage. Michael Quesenberry and Savannah Minami were arrested on a slew of drug-related charges earlier this month, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) affidavit obtained by WKMG.
Officials said the duo boarded the Norwegian Joy cruise ship on January 11 for a trip from Miami to Southampton, England. When investigators confronted them in a passenger room, Minami claims she just met Quesenberry at a bar on the ship, the affidavit reads. DHS agents reportedly let her leave the room.
Documents state officials discovered 56 vacuum-sealed bags holding a “green, leafy substance,” which later tested positive for marijuana, inside Quesenberry's bags. The traveler told investigators the weed was for personal use and he had a medical marijuana card in California, according to the affidavit.
Officials then brought Minami back to her room and found 56 more sealed bags of marijuana in her luggage, according to DHS.
Altogether, federal agents reportedly seized 112 bags of marijuana weighing more than 150 pounds from the duo.
Quesenberry and Minami were charged with conspiracy to export a controlled substance, attempted exportation of a controlled substance, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The pair pleaded not guilty to the indictment, according to court records. Reporters said a jury trial is scheduled for March 11.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-passengers-accused-of-sneaking-over-100-bags-of-marijuana-on-florida-cruise/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:11Z
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New reports show a big academic recovery after schools reopened. But not for all students. Stanford professor Sean Reardon tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how the pandemic worsened education inequality.
Copyright 2024 NPR
New reports show a big academic recovery after schools reopened. But not for all students. Stanford professor Sean Reardon tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how the pandemic worsened education inequality.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/u-s-students-are-starting-to-catch-up-in-school-unless-theyre-from-a-poor-area
| 2024-01-31T23:14:11Z
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15 Countries With The Highest Labor Shortages In The World
In this article, we will look at the 15 countries with the highest labor shortages In the world. We have also discussed the latest labor shortages in the US. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, head straight to the 5 Countries With The Highest Labor Shortages In The World.
The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic is often called 'The Great Resignation, as it witnessed a major labor force disruption in the United States. With over 50 million workers quitting their jobs in 2022, following a trend of 47.8 million resignations in 2021, the workforce experienced a shift. However, in 2023, this trend began to ease, with 30.5 million workers resigning by August.
As workers sought improved work-life balance, flexibility, higher compensation, or a stable company culture, it drove them to transition to other jobs. As the US Chamber of Commerce closely monitors job opening trends, labor force participation, and quit rates countrywide, it noticed how certain industries bear the brunt of these dynamics. Despite American businesses creating hundreds of thousands of jobs monthly, there's a major shortage, particularly in the professional and business service sector. Hence, to cope with shortages, businesses around the US are engaging in deals and collaborations to fill their job positions as quickly as possible.
For instance, United Parcel Service, Inc (NYSE:UPS) recently made a deal with the Teamsters Union, promising United Parcel Service, Inc (NYSE:UPS) drivers an average of $170,000 per year. This could solve the long-standing problem of truck drivers shortages. The job has often been overlooked and not well-paid, making it unattractive to job seekers. The new agreement aims to change that by offering better pay and benefits. United Parcel Service, Inc (NYSE:UPS) hopes that by investing more in its drivers, it will boost productivity and bring about positive changes in the logistics industry.
While United Parcel Service, Inc (NYSE:UPS)’s stock initially dropped because of this deal's costs, it's seen as a necessary step. The $170,000 package is designed to attract experienced drivers, essential for successful parcel delivery. This decision also sets the stage for introducing new technologies like drones and hubs in the delivery process.
Despite the growing labor shortages, a number of industries are being revolutionized by AI and automation and the fast food industry is no exception. For example, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE:CMG) is testing an avocado-cutting robot, "Autocado," designed to reduce guacamole prep time by 50% and thus, addresses a task that takes employees about 50 minutes. While the robot efficiently cuts, cores, and peels avocados, human employees still handle tasks like hand-mashing and adding ingredients. The robot is developed in collaboration with Vebu Labs and is part of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE:CMG)’s initiatives to improve employee experiences, including faster grills and order streamlining.
Nevertheless, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE:CMG) is set to hire 19,000 employees in anticipation of its busy "burrito season" from March to May. The company introduced new benefits to address Gen Z's financial challenges. The benefits include a free Employee Assistance Programme with six counseling sessions, tackling mental wellbeing. Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc (NYSE:CMG) will pay off student debt and contribute up to 4% of an employee's salary to their 401(k) when eligible, using SoFi's Student Loan Verification. Additional perks involve financial education from SoFi and credit score improvement through Cred.ai.
A porcine cell platform in a Mount Sinai Hospital laboratory with medical professionals operating a microscope.
Methodology
For countries with the highest labor shortages in the world, we utilized Manpower Group’s Report on Talent Shortages for 2024 to get the percentage by country of skilled labor shortage. In the case of similar skilled labor shortage percentages, we utilized the World Bank’s data on the ageing population (as % of total population) by country as tiebreaker. The country with a higher percentage of ageing population was ranked higher.
In case both the ageing population and skilled labour shortages percentages are similar for the two countries, we have looked at permanent migrants accepted in 2021 to break the tie. The list is presented in ascending order.
By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that uses a consensus approach to identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The website tracks the movement of corporate insiders and hedge funds. Our top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 stock index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). So, if you are looking for the best stock picks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.
15. Singapore
Skilled Labor Shortage: 79%
Ageing Population: 15%
Singapore is addressing its workforce shortages by hiring 260,000 professionals, with a focus on IT & Software, Banking, and Engineering sectors. The hiring surge comes in response to a decline of 194,000 foreign workers during the pandemic. Sales and compliance specialists, engineers, software developers, product managers, and AI specialists are particularly sought after. Singapore is one of the countries with a shortage of IT professionals.
14. Slovakia
Skilled Labor Shortage: 79%
Ageing Population: 17%
In 2022, Slovakia witnessed a major increase in Indian workers, quadrupling their numbers to 1,350 due to severe staff shortages in the IT and automotive sectors. The Labour, Social Affairs, and Family Office confirmed this spike, highlighting the assistance provided by citizens from India and other Asian countries in filling crucial job vacancies, such as truck drivers and welders. The trend continues, with the Jaguar Land Rover factory in Nitra hiring an additional 173 workers from India.
13. Romania
Skilled Labor Shortage: 79%
Ageing Population: 19%
A 2019 national study in Romania highlighted a 300,000-person labor shortage, projected to reach 549,000 by 2023. Randstad HR Trends Study suggested a workforce deficit of one million in the country. Migration of professionals which includes healthcare workers, temporary laborers, IT specialists, and students, contributes to this gap. It is one of the countries facing the greatest skill shortages.
12. Hongkong
Skilled Labor Shortage: 79%
Ageing Population: 20%
According to Bloomberg, Hong Kong plans to address a labor shortage by easing entry rules and recruiting 27,000 foreign workers, targeting sectors with severe shortages such as construction and aviation. It is one of the countries with shortage of skilled workers.
11. Brazil
Skilled Labor Shortage: 80%
Ageing Population: 10%
Brazil is facing critical labor shortages in key sectors and services such as health, and ICT, as outlined by the 2018 OECD Skills for Jobs database. Occupations in personal care, protective services, and health professionals show a huge deficit, with a shortage of medical imaging technicians and ICT professionals, numbering in the thousands. Customer service clerks and business professionals are also in high demand. In contrast, there's a surplus in electrical trades, metal-related trades, and sales workers.
10. United Kingdom
Skilled Labor Shortage: 80%
Ageing Population: 19%
Foreign interest in UK jobs has doubled since the post-Brexit points-based immigration system began, especially from non-EU countries like India and Nigeria, according to Indeed. The share of foreign job searches rose to 5.5% in June 2023, compared to 2.2% in April 2021. The top job categories are social care and software development. The number of permanent migrants accepted in the UK in 2021 was 338,300. The UK is the also one of the best countries for education.
9. Canada
Skilled Labor Shortage: 80%
Ageing Population: 19%
Canada plans to welcome 485,000 permanent residents in 2024, rising to 500,000 in 2025 and maintaining the same in 2026. The Immigration Levels Plan focuses on addressing labor shortages, promoting economic growth, and family reunification. French-speaking immigration targets increase to 8% by 2026. Critical sectors like health, STEM, trades, and agriculture are prioritized. Express Entry aims for 117,500 admissions yearly, and Provincial Nominee Program targets 120,000 by 2025. The number of permanent migrants accepted in 2021 in Canada was 401,100.
8. France
Skilled Labor Shortage: 80%
Ageing Population: 22%
France's hydrogen sector faces a workforce challenge and hence, requires tens of thousands of workers by 2030, with over 100,000 projected jobs. However, labor shortages and insufficient training have been hindering progress. In 2022, 6,800 positions existed in the sector, up 77% from 2019. It is one of the countries with labour shortage in Europe.
7. India
Skilled Labor Shortage: 81%
Ageing Population: 7%
India is facing a unique labor challenge despite a growing workforce. Annually, 12 million young Indians enter the job market, set to reach 1.04 billion by 2030. Despite this demographic advantage, India grapples with a shortage of skilled and unskilled labor. The implications are vast and will affect both its domestic and international manufacturing capabilities. It is one of the top 10 countries with the highest labor shortages in the world.
6. Ireland
Skilled Labor Shortage: 81%
Ageing Population: 15%
Ireland is struggling with a severe labor shortage crisis, as revealed by an Irish Sun investigation. Across 10 key industries, there are approximately 100,000 vacancies, with construction, hospitality, and healthcare sectors being the hardest hit. To address the shortfall, reland is bringing in 40,000 non-EU workers annually. The government has expedited the issuance of non-EU visas for skilled workers, with 39,955 issued last year.
Click here to see the 5 Countries With The Highest Labor Shortages In The World.
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Disclosure: None. 15 Countries With The Highest Labor Shortages In The World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-countries-highest-labor-shortages-225003625.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:12Z
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Canadian MMA legend Georges St-Pierre had a UFC career most fighters could only dream of before hanging up the gloves for good in 2019.
That’s precisely why so many fans were thrilled when it was announced that St-Pierre would participate in a UFC grappling with Nate Diaz event back in December. Unfortunately, injuries made it impossible for both fighters to make the date.
But with no title card set for April’s UFC 300 yet, reports of St-Pierre coming back to the ring have continued to circulate, with the 42-year-old’s name being thrown around for the PPV event.
St-Pierre shot down those rumours during a recent seminar at Bangtao Muay Thai & MMA in Phuket, Thailand.
“It’s a rumour. I’ve never been offered a fight [for UFC 300]. I’ve made that clear, that I have no desire of coming back to fight in mixed martial arts,” St-Pierre said, according to Bloody Elbow.
He stressed that he’s still not at 100%, making any future bouts unlikely.
“I was supposed to compete in a grappling competition, but because I had an injury in November… I partially tore my labrum, my rotator cuff, and I’m still not recovered. There’s things that I can’t do right now, like live wrestling, live grappling,” the Saint-Isidore, Quebec, native explained. “I have to be very careful. I can hit pads, but I’m not fully recovered yet.”
St-Pierre, whose last UFC fight was against Michael Bisping back in 2017, admitted to missing the rush of winning in the octagon.
“I miss sometimes the adrenaline, the victory. When you win a fight, there’s nothing that can come close to that, and unfortunately, I will probably never have that feeling,” he said. “I will never have that feeling again of winning another championship, and I miss that feeling. But that’s reality and I’m good with it. I have to accept it.”
The fighter, who amassed an impressive record of 26 wins and just two losses throughout his MMA career, also pointed to a lack of motivation as one reason for not attempting a comeback.
“I’m 42 years old. I’m not the same person I used to be when I was competing,” he said. “There was a time I had an incredible drive, I wanted to become champion… I was ready to do almost anything to achieve my goal, but I’m not that person anymore.”
- You might also like:
- UFC fighter goes on anti-Canada, homophobic tirade in Toronto
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https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/georges-st-pierre-ufc-300-rumours
| 2024-01-31T23:14:12Z
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8 banking mistakes the middle class should avoid to maximize their savings potential
Canva
8 banking mistakes the middle class should avoid to maximize their savings potential
photo illustration concept of saving money with graph rising and stacks of money in background
You might not put too much thought into the banking accounts you use and how you use them, but this can be a costly mistake. If you are a middle-income earner (defined by the OECD as those with an income that is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income), you should be mindful of where you keep your money to ensure that it is making money — or at the very least, that you aren’t losing it to hidden bank fees.
GOBankingrates breaks down eight banking mistakes commonly made by middle class Americans.
Not using high-yield savings accounts
If you’re keeping your cash in a traditional savings account, chances are you are not earning as much interest as you could be.
“The national average is only 0.06% APY, while many online banks offer over 2% APY,” said Derek DiManno, founding financial advisor at Flagship Asset Services. “That difference really adds up over time.”
Keeping too much cash in checking
Most checking accounts are not interest-bearing accounts, and even the ones that do pay interest typically have much lower APYs than what you would get elsewhere. While you should have some cushion in your checking account, keeping too much cash there is a mistake.
“Beyond your one- to two-month buffer, excess funds would be better in savings earning interest,” DiManno said.
Not shopping around for the best CD rates
CD accounts are a great way to earn guaranteed interest on your cash, but the offerings will vary greatly from bank to bank.
“Issuers like online banks and credit unions often offer higher yielding CDs than national banks,” DiManno said.
Using out-of-network ATMs
While some banks allow for fee-free withdrawals at any ATM, the majority will charge a fee for using an out-of-network ATM. While you might find these ATMs convenient, you are throwing money away on unnecessary fees.
“ATM surcharges can add up,” DiManno said. “Try to use your bank’s ATM or in-network machines as much as possible.”
Paying monthly fees on your checking account
Depending on your checking account, you might be paying a monthly maintenance fee and not even realize it. Make sure your account does not charge a fee, and if it does, switch to a free account ASAP.
“Many online and local banks offer great checking with no monthly fees and minimums,” DiManno said.
Not setting up automatic transfers to savings
If your goal is to build up your savings, whether as an emergency fund or for another goal, automating the process will ensure you get there. If you have to manually transfer money each month, you’re less likely to do it.
“Automating transfers helps effortlessly build your savings each month,” DiManno said.
Keeping your emergency fund in an uninsured account
It’s true that you can typically earn more money on your cash when you invest it instead of holding it in savings, but emergency funds should always be kept in a secure account.
“Savings should be in FDIC insured accounts, while long-term investments can afford more risk,” DiManno said.
Not taking advantage of CD laddering
CD laddering is a strategy that involves investing in multiple CDs and setting each one to mature at a different time.
“Laddering CDs can help retain access to cash while still earning higher rates,” DiManno said.
This story was produced by GOBankingRates and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
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https://kvia.com/money/stacker-money/2024/01/31/8-banking-mistakes-the-middle-class-should-avoid-to-maximize-their-savings-potential/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:12Z
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Every student in Kentucky would be required to begin their school day with a one to two minute moment of silence under the measure passed Wednesday.
House Bill 96 says students can use the time to “meditate, pray, or engage in any other silent activity which does not interfere with, distract from, or impede other pupils' exercise of individual choice.”
Opponents say the legislation is an unnecessary overreach and would institutionalize school prayer in the classroom. Bill sponsor Rep. Daniel Fister, a Republican from Versailles, said it will give kids freedom to do as they will, as long as it's silent, with a parent’s guidance.
“It will require school boards to send home a letter explaining the moment of silence and asking the parent or guardian to instruct that student and how to spend that time,” Fister said.
The bill passed the House with 79 “yes” votes Wednesday and now moves to the Senate for consideration. Fister proposed a basically identical bill in 2022, where it also passed the House but did not progress in the Senate.
U.S. schools can neither restrict a student’s religious expression nor promote any one religion over another because of the First Amendment. A 1962 U.S. Supreme Court ruling clarified that state officials cannot compose an official school prayer or require its use in public schools.
However, state law lets local school districts allow the recitation of the traditional Lord’s prayer in elementary schools, saying that it is an “affirmation of the freedom of religion” in the U.S.
Democratic Rep. Daniel Grossberg from Louisville said the bill could easily open the door for religion to creep further into schools. Grossberg is Jewish, and said he believes the legislation could be used to encroach upon children’s religious freedoms.
“Although I could never live without my faith, I couldn't sleep at night if I thought I was forcing it upon your children. I asked you not to force yours upon ours,” Grossberg said. “This bill is a threat not just to my community, which nearly universally opposes it, but to every dissenting believer in the Commonwealth.”
Louisville Democratic Rep. Tina Bojanowski said students already have ample opportunity to pray throughout the school day.
“This is just a way to push prayer into public schools. However, students can already pray in public schools,” Bojanowski said. “Students are impressionable and their attendance is involuntary … All students should feel welcome in their school, not just those who engage in a particular religious practice.”
The bill restricts any school personnel from instructing students on how to use their time, other than requiring that they remain seated, silent, and unobtrusive to other students. Fister said it would be up to local school boards to decide how they would choose to enforce the moment of silence and if there are punishments for not adhering to the policy.
One legislator besides the sponsor stood to speak in support of the bill on Wednesday. Republican Rep. Tom Smith from Corbin said he believes giving students time to pray at the beginning of the school day would allow God to watch over students and teachers.
“I want to stand on the floor and say I'm proud to be a Christian. Also, I'm proud that my grandkids will have this opportunity,” Smith said. “I think what we're lacking in our schools from years ago is to stand up and pledge allegiance to our flag and to take time to thank God for our day.”
LPM's state government and politics reporting is supported in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/ky-bill-requiring-a-moment-of-silence-at-school-passes-state-house
| 2024-01-31T23:14:12Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- From 2014 to 2022, there was a shift toward shorter gestational age, according to the Jan. 31 National Vital Statistics Reports, a publication from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Joyce A. Martin, M.P.H., and Michelle J.K. Osterman, from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, used data from all birth certificates for singleton births registered in the United States from 2014 to 2022 to examine the changes in the distribution of singleton births by gestational age. Gestational age was categorized as early preterm (less than 34 weeks), late preterm (34 to 36 weeks), total preterm (less than 37 weeks), early-term (37 to 38 weeks), full-term (39 to 40 weeks), and late- and postterm (41 weeks and later).
The researchers found that despite some fluctuations in most gestational age categories during the pandemic (2020 to 2022), there was a shift toward shorter gestational ages in trends from 2014 to 2022. Increases of 12 and 20 percent were seen in preterm and early-term birth rates, respectively, while declines of 6 and 28 percent were seen in full-term and late- and postterm births, respectively. Across maternal age and race and Hispanic-origin groups, shifts for each gestational age category were similar. By single week of gestation at term, the largest change was for 37 weeks, which had a 42 percent increase.
"This report demonstrates a shift from 2014 through 2022 across gestational age categories, with the largest changes occurring among early-term births -- particularly those delivered at 37 weeks -- and among late- and postterm births," the authors write.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/child-health/cdc-shift-toward-shorter-gestational-age-seen-from-2014-to-2022
| 2024-01-31T23:14:16Z
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Quavo Responds After Fans Debate Whether He's Bigger Than Chris Brown
By Tony M. Centeno
January 31, 2024
Quavo decided to weigh in after a debate about him and Chris Brown's relevance began to gain traction on social media.
On Tuesday afternoon, January 30, the New Rory & Mal podcast released a clip from their discussion about who's a bigger name within the culture at the moment. Mal argued that Chris Brown is a more prominent name in the entertainment space while Rory and the rest of the crew agreed Quavo, and even his former group Migos, are bigger than CB. The clip sparked a debate on X/Twitter, which apparently caught Quavo's attention.
"The biggest QUAVO HUNCHO!! Aint goin back and forth," the Atlanta rapper wrote.
The biggest QUAVO HUNCHO!! Aint goin back and forth
— QuavoYRN (@QuavoStuntin) January 31, 2024
The conversation about Quavo and Chris Brown happened amid the latest update in their years-long feud. Both superstars were spotted seated next to each other at Rhude' fashion show in Paris a couple of weeks ago. They didn't make a scene during the show, but afterward, Brown took to social media and shot down any suspicions that they had patched things up.
“Can’t pick who you sit by,” CB said. “F**k all that growth s**t. N***a not finna fumble my bag for little n****s.”
The BREEZY singer and the Rocket Power rapper have been at odds ever since Quavo reportedly got into a relationship with Brown's ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran. Their beef escalated after Migos and Brown's entourage got into a scuffle outside of a BET Awards after party in 2017. A few years later, they got into a spat online over who was the best basketball player in Hip-Hop after Quavo and Jack Harlow won the 2021 All-Star Weekend Celebrity game against 2 Chainz and Lil Baby.
See the clip that sparked all the debates below.
who’s more relevant @chrisbrown or @QuavoStuntin ⁉️ pic.twitter.com/VIAA9AGDGL
— New Rory & MAL (@newrorynmal) January 30, 2024
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-quavo-responds-after-fans-debate-whether-hes-bigger-than-chris-brown/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:17Z
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A look from Maui six months after devastating wildfires By Debbie Elliott Published January 31, 2024 at 5:39 PM EST Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 5:06 As we approach the six-month anniversary of the Maui fires, we look at the biggest issues that people on the island are still facing. Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/a-look-from-maui-six-months-after-devastating-wildfires
| 2024-01-31T23:14:17Z
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Average credit score in the US climbs to 715 in 2023: Here's why that matters
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Average credit score in the US climbs to 715 in 2023: Here’s why that matters
a man and woman at a table look over documents and tablet
The average FICO Score in the United States was 715 in 2023, according to Experian data, increasing by one point from its 714 average in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022. It marks the tenth consecutive year that average FICO Scores in the U.S. haven’t decreased on an annual basis. The last annual decline occurred in 2013.
Here are some of the key consumer credit highlights of in 2023:
- Despite economic headwinds, consumer finances remained strong. Except for the anomalous-in-every-way recession sparked by the pandemic in 2020, economic growth, near-full employment levels, lower delinquency rates, and lower debt service obligations, as well as a more informed consumer borrower, have all played a role in the average FICO Score increases over the past decade.
- Consumers are now largely aware of the importance of credit scores. Many financial transactions most consumers engage with—such as auto financing and credit card purchases—depend on credit scores to qualify and participate. The economic turmoil of the past few years has caused some consumers to take a renewed interest in their personal creditworthiness (more on that later).
- Credit scores continue to tick upward (for now, at least). While an average FICO Score on the upswing can indicate, in very broad terms, that consumers have fared well in recent years, it doesn’t necessarily mean that average score increases will persist indefinitely.
The following analysis examines the effects economic forces have on Americans’ credit scores.
Experian
Since 2013, the average credit score has risen nearly 25 points
average us fico score from 2013-2023
Despite the slight increase over the past 12 months, average FICO Scores have meandered throughout 2023, with average scores increasing from 714 to 716 this past summer, before settling at 715 at the end of the Q3 2023. Nonetheless, average balances for most types of loans, as well as both fixed and variable rates on those loans, have increased sharply as the Federal Reserve attempted to keep the lid on inflation by raising the key fed funds rate throughout 2023.
Experian
Average credit scores by age increase slightly for most
table: average credit score by generation
FICO Score increases were broadly distributed among the generations, with only the Silent Generation not showing an increase in their average FICO Score over the past year. Other generations notched a one-, two- or three-point increase in 2023. On average, younger generations have scores that are considered good, while the average scores of the two older generations are considered very good to lenders.
Although a consumer’s age isn’t considered in determining a FICO Score, the length of their credit history is a factor, as the scores above neatly illustrate. Seniors likely have accrued years of credit history, while Generation Z is just getting started on their financial journeys.
Experian
Average credit score by state changes slightly
map showing each state to see credit scores in 2018 and 2013
Average FICO Scores in most states remained unchanged or only moved by one point since 2022, suggesting that consumer credit remains stable regardless of regional or local economic conditions. The outlier states were dispersed throughout the country, with Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia average scores jumping three points in the past 12 months.
Average credit scores over the past five years have shown significant improvement at the state level, with average scores increasing by anywhere from six to 19 points during that time frame.
Credit utilization ratios increase as lenders mind credit limits
Lenders are being more discerning about how much credit they’ll extend to their borrowers in the form of unsecured credit lines. That tightening of credit limits, combined with an overall increase in credit card balances throughout 2023, contribute to consumers now using 30% of the credit extended to them, up from 28% in 2022 (both figures as of Q3 of respective years).
At an individual level, 30% usage of one’s credit is the point at which credit utilization begins to have a greater negative effect on credit scores. In general, the lower the utilization ratio, the better for credit scores.
Average utilization ratios for those with a 660 FICO Score (considered fair by lenders) was 54% in 2023. But for those with a 720 FICO Score (considered good), the average utilization ratio was 34%.
Experian
Delinquency rates return to normal levels, but trend is still upward
table showing Percent of Mortgage and Credit Card Accounts Considered Delinquent
Delinquency levels were abnormally low during the pandemic, as government relief programs and subdued economic activity meant more consumers than usual were keeping up with credit card and other debt obligations.
Now that economic activity has normalized, relatively speaking, so have derogatory marks on credit reports, which can reduce FICO Scores. As of Q3 2023, 2.45% of credit card accounts were 30 or more days past due, according to Experian data, up from 2.07% in Q3 2022.
Among other delinquency data, mortgages remain a bright spot. As most homeowners with mortgages financed them at rates significantly lower than the 7% or higher rates prevailing for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in 2023, more homeowners are keeping up with their payments than before the pandemic. Only 1.88% of mortgage borrowers are behind on their payments in Q3 2023, versus 2.48% in Q3 2019.
Experian
Where consumers stand heading into 2024
Average Consumer FICO Scores, Balances and Credit Utilization Rates
While there’s no such thing as an average consumer, there are plenty of measurable attributes credit bureaus collect about U.S. consumers to compile averages. Trends, if any, can confirm other observations about the economy.
In general, while average balances for most types of debts were higher in 2023 than in 2022, the rate of the current increase is significantly less than the 2021-to-2022 increases. Broadly speaking, the slowdown in inflation throughout 2023 contributed, as expected, to a slowing of the amount of debt consumers are assuming.
Meanwhile, average FICO Scores remain healthy, and increased by a point from 714 to 715 in 2023, which places the average FICO Score in the higher end of the good credit score range. A decade ago, the average FICO Score was on the lower end of the good range.
Experian
Why are average scores significantly higher than 10 years ago?
Percent of Consumers by FICO®Score Bands
There are a number of causes behind the steady increase in scores over the past decade. Some are observable in the economic data, such as steadily decreasing unemployment levels between 2010 and now. Demographic changes have also played a role as the number of older consumers grows. The number of Americans over age 65 grew by almost 40% in 10 years, and older Americans have been shown to be less likely to miss payments.
But perhaps the biggest contributor to rising credit scores is that more consumers are willing and able to pay all of their bills. Credit awareness and education has grown exponentially since the global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008.
This change contributes to credit score increases as much as improved economic conditions.
Experian
Most consumers claim to know their credit score
graph showing results of survey: Question: Do you know your credit score, either roughly or exactly?
Most consumers—nearly 4 in 5—say they know their credit score, according to a November 2023 survey. The youngest consumers surveyed (ages 18 to 24) were less sure where they stood. Understandable, as many young adults under age 25 are only beginning to pay their own bills and handle other financial tasks.
Nonetheless, consumers broadly appear to have a decent understanding of where they stand with their current credit scores, which equips them with key information they can use to make better financial decisions.
How to improve your credit score
First things first: If you’re one of the consumers with an exceptional credit score of 800 or higher, there may still be some extra points for you to collect—by continuing to make on-time payments on any debt obligations. But keep in mind it won’t necessarily result in lower loan or credit card rate offers from lenders, as you’re likely already receiving their lowest rates.
But for the vast majority of consumers with FICO Scores lower than that, the same rules apply that likely allowed those consumers to reach the exceptional level over a number of years. Some of the primary factors affecting your FICO Score are:
- Paying all of your bills on time: Most types of missed payments are reported to credit bureaus by lenders after being 30 or more days late, although some types of bills won’t be reported depending on the amount and type of bill received.
- Per Federal Reserve data, average credit card APRs are exceeding 22% as we enter 2024. For consumers carrying balances, reducing the balances on credit card accounts can improve FICO Scores faster than waiting around for your credit to age. And if your credit is already good or better, then perhaps consider either a 0% introductory APR balance transfer offer from a new lender, which could lower interest paid for a number of months, or a debt consolidation loan, which for those with good credit will likely result in a fixed-rate loan that’s lower than the balances on one’s variable-rate credit card balances.
- Applying for credit only when needed: New credit card offers—especially those enticing consumers with bonus airline miles or other incentives—may be exciting, but consider that many offers will result in a hard credit inquiry from the lender. Typically, applying for new credit will temporarily depress your score slightly. This is especially important for consumers who are considering financing bigger-ticket items like a car or a home in the near future, where higher scores can translate into significant savings in lower interest payments.
Adhering to the three suggestions above will improve credit scores for most people. An added bonus: The longer you lower balances and make on-time payments, the older your credit history also becomes, which is another positive that influences credit scores.
Methodology: The analysis results provided are based on an Experian-created statistically relevant aggregate sampling of our consumer credit database that may include use of the FICO Score 8 version. Different sampling parameters may generate different findings compared with other similar analysis. Analyzed credit data did not contain personal identification information. Metro areas group counties and cities into specific geographic areas for population censuses and compilations of related statistical data.
This story was produced by Experian and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
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https://kvia.com/money/stacker-money/2024/01/31/average-credit-score-in-the-us-climbs-to-715-in-2023-heres-why-that-matters/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:18Z
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35 Low-Stress High-Paying Jobs In The World
In this article, we will look at the 35 low-stress high-paying jobs in the world. We have also discussed initiatives of different companies regarding the mental well-being of their employees. If you want to skip our detailed analysis, head straight to the 10 Low-Stress High-Paying Jobs In The World.
A Gallup poll reveals that over 50% of American employees experience daily work-related stress, highlighting the prevalence of job burnout in the country. Various factors such as demanding schedules, extended working hours, and emotionally challenging situations contribute to employee burnout. Certain professions are particularly susceptible to extreme stress levels. To read more about high-stress jobs, see the most stressful jobs in the US.
Moreover, a recent survey indicates that 92% of graduating college seniors believe employers should provide mental and emotional health benefits, and over one-third of them are actively seeking companies that prioritize such benefits in their job search. As Gen Z is projected to make up 27% of the workforce by 2025, executives aiming to attract top talent should reassess the mental health benefits they provide and their dedication to ensuring employees actively utilize them.
According to Mental Health America's Mind the Workplace 2023 Report, individuals working in unhealthy environments report increased rates of psychological distress, leading to mental health issues. In the previous year, 81% of workers acknowledged that workplace stress negatively impacted their mental well-being, compared to 78% in 2021. Additionally, three-quarters of employees noted that workplace stress had adverse effects on their relationships. To read more about how some workplaces ensure their employees’ wellbeing, see best companies to work for in 2023.
One such company is Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX). The media giant places a huge emphasis on the mental wellbeing of its employees. Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) asserts its commitment to supporting employees during tiring moments by providing benefits aimed at boosting productivity.
One notable aspect of this work culture is the absence of fixed work hours. In line with its work/life philosophy, Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) eschews a rigid 9-to-5 workday and refrains from imposing specific time-off policies for salaried employees. The absence of a prescribed holiday and vacation schedule also allows employees to prioritize what matters most to them, be it personal needs or moments when a mental and physical break is essential.
Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) also offers the job of a Netflix tagger, which is one of the low-stress jobs which are fun.
On the other hand, Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) has taken a progressive approach to employee well-being by integrating mental health questions into its engagement tracking. The company, with 20,000 global employees, now includes queries about workload and work-life balance in its internal surveys. Executives, too, openly discuss their mental health challenges to destigmatize the issue.
Additionally, Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) opted for a modern approach by partnering with Lyra Health, a mental health services provider, rather than relying on a traditional employee assistance program. This decision ensures that all Levi Strauss & Co (NYSE:LEVI) employees worldwide have access to 17 sessions with mental health professionals annually.
wavebreakmedia/Shutterstock.com
Methodology
To list the low-stress jobs high paying jobs in the world, we identified 50 jobs with three major characteristics; jobs with predictable workload, jobs with a supportive environment, and jobs with flexible scheduling and remote options. Subsequently, we gauged the collective perception of stress levels associated with these 50 jobs by consulting Reddit as our primary reference.
Out of those 50 jobs, the 35 highest paying ones have been shortlisted and added to our list. We obtained the average salaries for these jobs from our salary database.
By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that uses a consensus approach to identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The website tracks the movement of corporate insiders and hedge funds. Our top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 stock index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). So, if you are looking for the best stock picks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.
Here is a list of the low-stress high paying jobs in the world.
35. Proofreader
Average Salary: $53,032
In May 2022, Proofreaders and Copy Markers in the United States had an employment estimate of 5,120, with a mean hourly wage of $23.45 and an annual mean wage of $48,770. The top-paying industry was Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services, with an hourly mean wage of $33.87 and an annual mean wage of $70,450.
34. Archivist
Average Salary: $56,964
Archivists usually play a crucial role in preserving important historical documents. Their responsibilities include organizing and assisting individuals in accessing and researching the origins of documents.
33. Painter
Average Salary: $60,344
Two of the most renowned contemporary painters in the United States are Jackson Pollock and Jean-Michel Basquiat. It is one of the least stressful jobs in the world.
32. Virtual Assistant
Average Salary: $61,721
Two of the most important companies in the United States that frequently hire virtual assistants are Time Etc and Boldly. It is also one of the high paying remote jobs without a degree or experience.
31. Technical Writer
Average Salary: $62,022
Technical writing is often considered a low-stress job due to its structured nature and clear guidelines. As a technical writer, one typically translates complex technical information into user-friendly documentation. Platforms like Upwork Inc (NASDAQ:UPWK) and Fiverr International Ltd (NYSE:FVRR) offer opportunities for freelance technical writers to find projects that match their expertise. It is one of the low stress jobs for introverts.
30. Remote Travel Consultant
Average Salary: $62,445
Companies such as Cornerstone OnDemand and TTEC are known to hire remote training consultants in the United States.
29. Machine Operator
Average Salary: $64,000
The field currently has 879,500 jobs in the US, and the job outlook from 2022-32 is a 4% growth, adding 31,700 positions in the coming decade.
28. Gardener
Average Salary: $64,407
Engaging in gardening allows anyone to connect with nature, stay physically active, and cultivate a sense of accomplishment through nurturing plants. It is one of the low stress high paying jobs in the world without a degree.
27. Food Critic
Average Salary: $64,820
A food critic is a professional who evaluates and reviews food, beverages, and dining experiences. Their reviews often influence restaurant reputations and customer preferences.
26. Plumber
Average Salary: $65,190
With an impressive number of 482,700 jobs in 2022, the demand for these skilled workers is expected to grow at a steady pace, with a 2% job outlook from 2022 to 2032.
25. Electrician
Average Salary: $65,280
Electricians work in different settings, from residential homes to commercial buildings. They read blueprints and ensure electrical safety.
24. Life Insurance Agent
Average Salary: $66,999
In the United States, aspiring life insurance agents can explore opportunities with reputable companies such as New York Life and State Farm.
23. Interpreter and Translator
Average Salary: $69,800
Interpreters and translators are highly valued professionals for businesses as they facilitate effective communication with global clients, partners, and customers. They bridge language barriers and ensure accurate understanding that can help with successful negotiations.
22. Art Director
Average Salary: $72,005
Publicly traded giants like Adobe and The Walt Disney Company frequently hire art directors. It is one of the low-stress careers that pay well.
21. Food Stylist
Average Salary: $72,421
Food stylists have the creative ability to make food look enticing and mouthwatering, and thus, they create captivating images that engage audiences. It is one of the high paying dream jobs you didn’t know existed.
20. Freelance Photographer
Average Salary: $72,800
A freelance photographer can find opportunities with Shutterstock Inc (NYSE:SSTK) and Adobe Inc (NASDAQ:ADBE). It is one of the most fun low-stress jobs.
19. Sales Representative
Average Salary: $73,835
Sales representatives looking for employment in the US may find opportunities with industry giants such as Salesforce Inc (NYSE:CRM) and Oracle Corp (NYSE:ORCL)
18. Telemarketer
Average Salary: $80,484
They engage in outbound calling campaign and deliver sales pitches. Telemarketing is one of the dying professions to avoid like a plague.
17. Mobile Application Tester
Average Salary: $80,797
Mobile application testers are hired by technology companies, software development firms, and mobile app development companies. It is one of the least stressful IT jobs.
16. Audiologist
Average Salary: $82,735
An audiologist is a healthcare professional specializing in diagnosing and treating hearing and balance disorders. Two companies in the US that may hire audiologists are Starkey Hearing Technologies and Sonova Holding AG, both prominent in the hearing healthcare industry.
15. Dental Hygienist
Average Salary: $84,860
Dental hygienists have a median salary of $81,400 per year and typically hold an associate's degree. They usually require no related work experience or on-the-job training. In 2022, there were 219,400 jobs for the role, and the profession is expected to grow 7% from 2022 to 2032,
14. Postsecondary Philosophy and Religion Teachers
Average Salary: $87,100
Postsecondary Philosophy and Religion teachers often enjoy a low-stress job due to flexible schedules, autonomy within curriculum designing, and a supportive academic environment.
13. Artist
Average Salary: $89,045
Artistic pursuits can be low-stress for individuals as they provide a therapeutic outlet, allowing them to engage at their own pace without rigid deadlines. The absence of hierarchical pressures often associated with traditional jobs offers seniors autonomy, boosting confidence and well-being. It is one of the least stressful jobs in the world.
12. Environmental Economist
Average Salary: $89,748
The role of environmental economists in analyzing and proposing solutions for environmental issues provides them with a sense of purpose which contributes to a more relaxed professional environment.
11. Postsecondary Mathematical Science Teacher
Average Salary: $90,110
Usually, post secondary mathematical science teachers focus on theoretical and abstract concepts, rather than high-stakes deadlines or external pressures. This very characteristic contributes to a more relaxed teaching atmosphere.
Click here to see the 10 Low-Stress High-Paying Jobs In The World.
Suggested Articles:
Disclosure: None. 35 Low-Stress High-Paying Jobs In The World is originally published on Insider Monkey.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/35-low-stress-high-paying-223705186.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:18Z
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We Simplyfied our New Year's resolutions with these delicious plant-based protein snacks
As we welcome the new year, a major resolution of mine is to focus on my health — which starts with smarter snack options. Sure, on the surface a bag of chips is satisfying, but it’s not really doing a lot for me when all I want after one bag, is another bag.
Managing my frequent hunger, especially as someone who often gets hangry, is a real challenge. In my experience, there’s the option of meal prepping, which requires time and
planning, or quick fixes like generic granola bars made of raisins and what might as well be street gravel. So far, I haven’t found a solution that seamlessly fits into my busy schedule.
This is a common challenge, as a recent survey conducted by Maru/Blue on behalf of SimplyProtein* reveals that over half of Canadians (54%) agree when they are in a rush and need a snack they tend to reach for the most convenient option, but wish they were making healthier choices.
This year, I’m changing that narrative. SimplyProtein sent us their Plant Protein+ Shakes and Snack Bars to help keep my life a bit more Simplyfied going into 2024.
As an essential building block for the human body, protein helps us maintain muscle, brain function, and overall health. Offering a convenient way to crush your mid-day hunger during your busy days, SimplyProtein stands out with its convenient, nutritious, and tasty products, available in various flavours to suit any palate.
Surprisingly, the same SimplyProtein survey* reveals only 8% of Canadians are fully aware of their daily protein needs, highlighting the importance of accessible and nutritious snacking options. In fact, barely 11% consistently meet their protein goals, with 33% admitting their protein intake is hit or miss.
Containing 12 grams of protein and two grams of sugar per bar, the SimplyProtein Snack Bars have a light and crispy texture. Rich in fibre with added ingredients like whole almonds, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and flax seed, these Non-GMO Project Verified bars are gluten-free, and while compact, deliver on flavour.
While I was trying to stay on deadline for this article, I found myself gravitating toward these bars to help give me that extra push when I was feeling those pesky hunger pangs.
For Snack Bar flavours, I got to try Dark Chocolate Almond, Peanut Butter Chocolate, and Lemon Coconut. While the Dark Chocolate Almond and Peanut Butter Chocolate provided a rich, indulgent familiarity from other protein bars I’ve tried, the Lemon Coconut was definitely the standout for me — providing a light, citrusy-infused punch to a midday writing session.
After savouring the zesty lift from the Lemon Coconut Snack Bar, I wanted to see if the SimplyProtein Plant Protein+ Shakes could elevate my morning routine, too. These smooth, creamy shakes come in two flavours — Rich Chocolate and Creamy Vanilla — and they’re made with the added benefit of veggie and fruit extracts.
I don’t have to settle for burnt toast as a subpar start to my usually-hectic work day, as these shakes come packed with 20 grams of protein, and four to five grams of sugar, depending on the flavour, providing a much-needed boost.
Miranda Galati, a registered dietitian, encapsulates the essence of SimplyProtein’s appeal:
“If your New Year’s resolution is to eat more plants and reduce your consumption of animal products, incorporating more plant-based snacks is key. SimplyProtein snacks are an easy and convenient way to eat more nourishing snacks while working toward your 2024 wellness goals,” she says.
“The key to finally sticking to your health goals in 2024 is keeping things simple and realistic. You can feel confident adding SimplyProtein to your New Year’s wellness plan because they offer plant-based protein and nutrition without adding more prep and stress to your plate.”
Not only am I getting to my morning meetings a little faster, but I’m also more attentive and ready to contribute instead of just keeping my camera off and my mic on mute.
With SimplyProtein products — available on Amazon and at major retailers like Costco, Farm Boy, Loblaws, Shoppers Drug Mart, Metro, and Sobeys — getting your daily nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated.
So, get a taste of how simple nutrition can be by visiting SimplyProtein’s website to explore all the different options available to you, and keep your year Simplyfied!
* Maru Public Opinion survey of 1,532 Canadians, December 14-15, 2023, weighted to Census data, margin of error +/- 2.5%.
Branded Content
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https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/simplyprotein-bars-snacks-shakes
| 2024-01-31T23:14:18Z
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Democratic state Rep. Lindsey Burke of Lexington filed a trio of bills Wednesday to support abortion access and maternal mental health care.
The bills would repeal basically all abortion restrictions implemented in Kentucky since 2015, formalize protections for people who seek abortion out-of-state, and give resources to families about maternal and postpartum depression.
The three proposals
House Bill 428, dubbed the “North Star bill,” would repeal the state’s near-total abortion ban as well as other restrictions on abortion the Kentucky Legislature has passed since 2015.
House Bill 429, nicknamed the “shield bill,” would provide a range of legal protections when a Kentuckian seeks an abortion in a state where that’s still legal. Among other things, the proposal would:
- Protect anyone involved in arranging for or obtaining the abortion, including health care providers, from civil or criminal liability in Kentucky.
- Shield medical records and other documents related to the abortion from disclosure for the purpose of “investigating, tracking or attempting to identify” anyone involved.
- Prohibit public agencies from enforcing policies that may impede or retaliate against someone traveling across state lines to get a legal abortion or anyone who assists that person.
- Allow people to file a civil lawsuit for damages if the protections they’re granted under this bill are violated.
“It's not fair that someone should be forced into a horrible situation, make an impossible decision, and then have to live with the fear of being criminalized, attacked, doxxed … for the rest of their lives,” Burke said at a news conference Wednesday. “And the shield bill is how we can protect other Kentuckians.”
Burke said the federal HIPAA law already provides a lot of protections for patient records, but she sees her proposal as a bid to formalize such rights and to give people a new avenue for a lawsuit if their records are wrongfully accessed.
She added that the shield bill isn’t based on template legislation, and that it’s “unique to Kentucky.”
Burke also indicated the bill is, in part, a direct response to when former Attorney General Daniel Cameron and other Republican attorneys general publicly argued they should be able to access medical data for residents who get abortions in other states.
The final proposal Burke introduced Wednesday is House Bill 430. It would require Kentucky’s Health Access Nurturing Development Services program, or HANDS, to give participating families information on maternal and postpartum depression.
The Kentucky Legislature’s Republican supermajority won’t vote to repeal the anti-abortion laws it passed in prior years. And Burke’s shield bill is a long shot.
But HB 430 could garner bipartisan momentum. A priority proposal for the GOP-led House, known as House Bill 10 or the “Momnibus bill,” also aims to improve maternal health care and would expand other aspects of the HANDS program.
Burke shares her difficult journey to motherhood to underscore need for these bills
When Burke announced the new legislation Wednesday, she spoke about her own experiences to emphasize the complexities of pregnancy and why she’s working for more access to reproductive health care, including abortion.
“I want to start today by sharing a very, very personal set of stories,” she said as she stood alongside other women, in front of a row of TV cameras. “Normally at a press conference like this, we would bring in individuals from the community to tell their stories. But as a legislator who is working on these issues, I think it's important for me to be transparent with the world.”
Burke said she was raped as a teenager.
“Fortunately, I was infertile and that rape did not lead to a child. But I wonder what would have happened if that had been my story,” she said.
Burke went on to describe the hardships she experienced with her husband, more than a decade later, as they pursued parenthood through a series of fertility treatments — medical care they took out a loan of over $50,000 to afford.
Burke said they saw a specialist in Cincinnati because Kentucky has limited access to doctors capable of providing such services, even in Lexington, where she lives.
She described experiencing a missed miscarriage in 2020, when her body physically did not recognize she had lost her pregnancy. To treat that condition, she underwent a surgical procedure that’s also used for abortions.
When she later became pregnant with twins, Burke described the horror of learning that one of her children had fatal fetal anomalies.
“Any one of them was like a one in 100,000 chance,” she said. “But unfortunately, my baby had three. That’s like [a] ‘one-in-10-million’ type chance, a perfect embryo that developed wrongly.”
She and her husband made the hard choice to go out-of-state for a “selective reduction” abortion in order to protect the life of their other child.
“I loved all three of those children, and I still do,” she said Wednesday.
“So when we talk about reproductive health care access in Kentucky, this is a more critical issue than people realize,” Burke said. “This is about women and people who want to be mothers, who desperately want to experience being a parent, who don't have access to the care that they need. …
“We have eliminated access that used to exist, and we didn't have enough to start with. And then we cut it down to nothing. This must be fixed.”
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/ky-bill-would-repeal-abortion-bans-protect-people-seeking-care-out-of-state
| 2024-01-31T23:14:19Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The risk for prolonged severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) varies across immunosuppressive conditions, according to a study published in the Jan. 24 issue of Science Translational Medicine.
Yijia Li, M.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues performed a detailed viro-immunologic analysis of a prospective cohort of patients with COVID-19 to examine the immune defects that predispose an individual to persistent COVID-19.
The researchers found that in individuals with severe immunosuppression due to hematologic malignancy or transplant (S-HT), the median times to nasal viral RNA and culture clearance were 72 and 40 days, respectively, which were significantly longer than clearance rates for patients with severe immunosuppression due to autoimmunity or B cell deficiency (S-A), those with nonsevere immunodeficiency, and those who were not immunocompromised. Greater SARS-CoV-2 evolution and a higher risk for developing resistance against therapeutic monoclonal antibodies were seen in severely immunocompromised individuals. Diminished SARS-CoV-2-specific humoral responses were seen for S-HT and S-A patients, while reduced T-cell mediated responses were only seen in the S-HT group.
"Our results highlight the finding that the risk of chronic SARS-CoV-2 infection is not uniform across immunosuppressive conditions and provide clarity on which immunosuppression conditions predispose individuals to delayed SARS-CoV-2 RNA and culture clearance as well as viral evolution," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/coronavirus/prolonged-sars-cov-2-risk-varies-across-immunosuppressive-conditions
| 2024-01-31T23:14:23Z
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Rick Ross Announces The Title Of His Forthcoming Solo Album
By Tony M. Centeno
January 31, 2024
Rick Ross is preparing to release his next solo album.
On Tuesday, January 30, the Miami native took to his Instagram Story and confirmed the title of his 12th studio album. With a glass of bubbly in his hand, Rozay revealed plans to fund his first-ever film and announced the title of his forthcoming body of work Champagne Moments.
"2024 this is only the beginning," Ross said into the camera. "I'm doing my first movie. I'm paying for it. I'm choosing the director. Me --- I'm doing it. We not playing no games. We only getting bigger. My solo album Champagne Moments. It's coming."
Ross hasn't dropped a solo album in over two years. His previous LP Richer Than I Ever Been arrived in December 2021 with joints like "Outlawz" featuring 21 Savage & Jazmine Sullivan as well as "Rapper Estates" with Benny The Butcher. Since then, he's teamed up with the likes of French Montana, Fat Joe, The LOX and more for numerous collaborations.
His announcement comes a few months after he teamed up with Meek Mill for their joint album Too Good To Be True. The 17-track projects comes with bangers like "SHAQ & KOBE" plus the remix featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Damian Lillard. It also has collaborations with DJ Khaled, Teyana Taylor, Future, The-Dream, Wale, Cool-N-Dre and more.
Ross' interest in the film industry has increased over the years especially after he allowed Coming 2 America to shoot scenes at his Georgia mansion and appeared in the movie. There aren't a lot of details about his upcoming film, but we're sure he'll reveal more updates in his Instagram Story soon.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-rick-ross-announces-the-title-of-his-forthcoming-solo-album/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:23Z
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Broadway star Hinton Battle, who played the original Scarecrow at the 1978 "The Wiz", has died at 67. He was a three-time Tony Award winner.
Copyright 2024 NPR
Broadway star Hinton Battle, who played the original Scarecrow at the 1978 "The Wiz", has died at 67. He was a three-time Tony Award winner.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/broadway-legend-hinton-battle-who-originally-played-scarecrow-in-the-wiz-has-died
| 2024-01-31T23:14:24Z
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These 7 hidden property manager fees are costing landlords millions
Canva
These 7 hidden property manager fees are costing landlords millions
A young Black couple is expressing frustration over financial documents
Comparison shopping for property management fees can be a minefield. You may think you’re getting a great deal with a low management fee, only to pay more as the add-ons mount up. This is because traditional property management companies often hide their fees or charge for items that feel essential.
Excessive fees in rental housing have become such a problem that the Biden-Harris administration is taking on the issue to lower costs impacting rental housing. From 2024, landlords and property managers who try to slug residents for exorbitant application fees, late fees, admin fees, or costs for services that aren’t provided, could find themselves in hot water if their local jurisdiction outlaws it. As a homeowner, you should be cautious of fees that could be unlawful or are costing your residents more than they can afford.
The best way to protect yourself (and your residents) is to rent your home with full transparency. Either as a self-managing landlord or by partnering with a modern alternative to property management.
If you’re ready to scrutinize what you’re really paying for, Belong outlines 7 common property management fees that get hidden in the fine print.
Key takeaways
- Cheap property management fees are often accompanied by a long list of extra charges
- Lease renewal fees penalize homeowners for having reliable long-term tenants
- Some eviction protection fees cost homeowners more but don’t cover much more than legal filing costs
- The White House is calling for more transparency in rental housing costs — something Belong already offers all homeowners and residents
How much does property management really cost?
Property management fee structures are usually a percentage of the monthly rent, between 4% and 15%. But low percentage costs or even flat-rate fees often come with a long list of service exclusions. Homeowners should be aware of common extras that disguise the true cost of property management.
1. Account set-up fees
Found a new property management company? Welcome, here’s your first invoice. Some property managers charge a one-time fee to cover your initial paperwork. This fee is also a disincentive to take your business elsewhere because you’ve already handed over cash before you’ve begun. It’s unlikely you’ll want to do the same again with someone else.
2. Placement fees and application fees
Homeowners who outsource property management should expect to pay a placement fee. This isn’t a hidden cost, but it’s a cost you should know upfront because it will vary, and as it can be up to 100% of the first month’s rent.
In March 2023, the National Consumer Law Center found that 89% of renters surveyed were being charged application fees — anywhere from $25 to $350 — to cover the cost of processing and screening to apply for a property. This makes sense if you’re a self-managing landlord. But if your property management company is charging both you and your residents to screen them, this could be double-dipping and considered one of the “junk fees” that the White House is seeking to abolish.
3. Advertising and online marketing fees
Some property management companies charge fees for advertising and marketing your property. Or they include the cost of listing your home online, but charge for photography and video — even though your listing won’t get much attention without these basic essentials. Don’t assume these costs are in your placement fees without checking the fine print first.
4. Lease renewal fees
Lease renewal can be similar in price to placement fees and are one of the more egregious types of hidden fees. It should be a goal to keep a great, reliable resident in place — not something that you’re penalized for financially.
5. Eviction fees or ‘protection’ add-ons
Managing an eviction is a complicated and stressful process. It’s one of the big things that homeowners want to outsource. But evictions are rarely covered in standard property management fees.
‘Eviction protection’ upgrades can be misleading. Not only does eviction protection increase your costs, most still charge for overseeing the eviction process, especially if attending court on your behalf. When we ranked the top-rated property management companies in California, we found that many eviction protection packages only cover filing fees. Or they impose strict limitations that can leave you out of pocket.
6. Vacancy fees
Vacancy fees penalize homeowners for having an empty home. Some property managers ask for one month’s rent to compensate for their need to find a tenant for your property. Vacancy fees can also be a monthly cost charged to the homeowner for every month the unit does not have a tenant. In this case, that fee may start at $50 and can exceed $100.
7. Early termination fee
Does your property management contract have a length? You could face an early termination fee if you want to leave. Some contracts have a notice period, making it harder to take your business elsewhere. Before signing a contract, find out what happens if you’re unhappy with your services.
This story was produced by Belong and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
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https://kvia.com/money/stacker-money/2024/01/31/these-7-hidden-property-manager-fees-are-costing-landlords-millions/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:24Z
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Asian Stocks Eye Early Slump After Powell Pushback: Markets Wrap
(Bloomberg) -- Asian stocks are set to follow US declines as Wall Street slumped the most since September after Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve wants to keep options open instead of rushing to cut interest rates.
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Speaking after the January Fed decision, Powell said he doesn’t think it’s likely the central bank will ease policy in March. In a sign that officials are not in a hurry to lower rates, the central bank also said it “does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%.”
Equity futures in Australia, Japan and mainland China all point to a decline of more than 1% at the open after the S&P 500 fell 1.6%. Losses on Wall Street were led by big tech as Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. slumped after disappointing investors betting that an artificial-intelligence bonanza would quickly fuel results. Treasuries remained higher after Powell’s comments as fresh concerns about regional lenders added to economic worries after New York Community Bancorp’s surprise loss.
“Interest rates took the elevator going up — but are going to take the stairs coming down,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate Inc. “The Federal Reserve is getting closer to the first interest rate cut, but we’re not there yet.”
More Comments on Fed:
Whitney Watson at Goldman Sachs Asset Management:
“With steady economic growth, it is expected that policymakers will wait for more evidence of a sustained downtrend in inflation before making any changes. For investors, now is the time to secure attractive yields on high-quality bonds to earn attractive income and position for rate relief as central bank policy rates look set to end the year lower for the first time in two years.”
Chris Zaccarelli at Independent Advisor Alliance:
“The Fed today officially acknowledged that they would like to lower rates in the near future, but have not yet given an indication of how soon they will begin the rate cutting process. Given that the Fed is planning to be higher for longer – but it’s not a matter of if, but when, they will be cutting rates – we believe the path of the stock market is higher. Ultimately, a recession or collapse in corporate earnings could derail the market, but in the absence of that, the path of least resistance is higher.”
Chris Larkin at E*Trade from Morgan Stanley:
“Although the Fed softened some of its hawkish language, they also suggested it wasn’t yet clear that inflation was entirely under control. As usual, they said they’d let the economic data dictate their course. For a while, the debate has been whether the market is too optimistic about a March rate cut. Inflation has been a little stickier than expected lately, and the labor market has mostly continued to surprise to the upside.”
The dollar climbed 0.2% amid short covering after Powell’s comments. The yield on 10-year Treasuries fell 12 basis points to 3.91%. Australian and New Zealand bond yields followed the moves.
Treasuries were also supported by data Wednesday that showed a broad gauge of US labor costs cooled by more than forecast in a fresh sign of easing inflation pressures that give Fed officials room to cut interest rates this year. A separate report from the ADP Research Institute showed companies added a smaller-than-expected 107,000 jobs in January, and worker pay growth slowed.
The market has been too quick to dismiss the threat posed by inflation after a “miraculous” decline toward central bank targets, said Greg Peters at PGIM Fixed Income. He’s worried that the hardest part of the fight against inflation is still ahead, implying plenty more market volatility and a potential wake-up call for bondholders betting on deep interest-rate cuts this year.
January Barometer
Despite Wednesday’s losses, the S&P 500, and a gauge of global stocks, capped its third straight monthly advance.
As goes January, so goes the year. That’s the theory of a phenomenon known as the “January Barometer” — Wall Street folklore positing that if stocks rise in January, they’ll be poised to finish the year higher, and vice versa. Since 1938, the January Barometer has been right about 74% of the time, with the next 11 months higher 67% of the time, according to the Stock Trader’s Almanac.
In commodities, oil fell 2.5% but capped its first monthly gain since September amid tensions in the Middle East while gold edged higher. |
Key events this week:
China Caixin manufacturing PMI, Thursday
Eurozone S&P Global Manufacturing PMI, CPI, unemployment, Thursday
US productivity, construction spending, ISM Manufacturing, initial jobless claims, Thursday
Apple, Amazon, Meta, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas earnings, Thursday
Bank of England interest rate decision, Thursday
US employment report, University of Michigan consumer sentiment, factory orders, Friday
Some of the main moves in markets:
Stocks
Hang Seng futures rose 0.7% as of 7:27 a.m. Tokyo time
S&P/ASX 200 futures fell 1.1%
Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index rose 0.2%
The euro was little changed at $1.0819
The Japanese yen was little changed at 146.93 per dollar
The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.1869 per dollar
The Australian dollar was little changed at $0.6567
Cryptocurrencies
Bitcoin rose 0.3% to $42,574.12
Ether rose 0.1% to $2,279.96
Bonds
The yield on 10-year Treasuries declined 12 basis points to 3.91%
Japan’s 10-year yield advanced 2.5 basis points to 0.730%
Australia’s 10-year yield declined seven basis points to 3.94%
Commodities
Spot gold rose 0.1% to $2,039.52 an ounce
This story was produced with the assistance of Bloomberg Automation.
--With assistance from Rita Nazareth.
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©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/asian-stocks-eye-early-slump-222906677.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:25Z
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Transit providers push for essential service declaration as strike poised to escalate
BC Rapid Transit Company (BCRTC) applied on Wednesday for an essential services designation before the BC Labour Relations Board in an effort to keep buses, trains, and SeaBuses moving as a dispute between CUPE 4500 and its employer continues.
BCRTC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TransLink and says that it is a necessary move because should CUPE 4500 ally declaration be successful, it will lead to a complete shutdown of the entire network.
“We are applying in conjunction with West Coast Express Ltd. (‘WCE’), South Coast British Columbia Transportation Authority (‘Translink’), ProTrans BC Ltd. (‘ProTrans’) and Coast Mountain Bus Company (‘CMBC’). We submit that all of these applications should be considered together by the Board. Such consideration is consistent with the purposes of the Code and furthers the public interest,” the application reads in part.
“Every weekday, on average, the SkyTrain provides approximately 211,000 rides to passengers,” it argued.
If the board designates an essential status to transit, it would mean that the union would not be allowed to impact services due to a strike.
To reach that status, it has to constitute something that poses a “threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of British Columbia.”
“A designation made under this section may be amended, varied or revokes and another made in its place, and despite section 135 the board may, in its discretion, on application or on its own motion, decline to file its order in a Supreme Court Registry.”
It comes as escalation efforts are underway from the union, as it’s also set to ask the board to allow its 180 transit supervisors to expand their picket lines to other facilities, including SkyTrain Stations.
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It has also threatened that if no collective agreement is reached by its deadline, members will strike again on Saturday at 12:01 am, thus triggering a three-day shutdown of the buses and SeaBuses and potentially the Expo and Millennium services. That’s because the unions for those workers could also be a part of the strike because they won’t cross picket lines.
“To be clear, CUPE 4500’s ally declaration encompasses all of the public transit options in Metro Vancouver, save HandyDART,” the application reads in part.
Suggesting that while some might be able to use alternatives like taxis or rideshare, that’s only an option for “most well-off public transit users.”
Adding, ‘This impact will be significant.”
This is a developing story.
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https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/transit-essential-service-bc-labour-application
| 2024-01-31T23:14:25Z
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Lawmakers grilled the CEOs of top social media companies in a hearing today By Dara Kerr Published January 31, 2024 at 4:21 PM CST Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 3:45 During a contentious hearing, lawmakers demanded that social media companies do better to protect children online. Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/lawmakers-grilled-the-ceos-of-top-social-media-companies-in-a-hearing-today
| 2024-01-31T23:14:25Z
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Clapham: Nine people including mother and two children injured in ‘chemical attack’
A woman and her two children were harmed in the incident in Clapham in south London
Nine people have been injured after a ‘corrosive substance’ was thrown in Clapham, South London, the Met Police said on Wednesday.
Based on police information, officials responded at the scene of Lessar Avenue SW4 in Lambeth around 7.25pm in the evening. A total of nine individuals, including a woman, her two children and three officers were injured as a result of the incident.
It’s believed that three passersby had tried to come to the aid of the woman and her children, before suffering injuries themselves. The injuries of the responding officers are thought to be minor, Detective Superintendent Alexander Castle said in a news release.
Some of the injured individuals have been transported to a major trauma centre for treatment, while at least one was discharged at the scene, Sky News reported.
Mr Castle said officials will release more information about the victims’ conditions once details become available.
“While tests are ongoing to determine what the substance is, at this stage we believe it to be a corrosive substance,” Mr Castle said. Marina Ahmad, a London assembly member, said the attack stemmed from a traffic collision in which a man assaulted people in a car and threw acid at them.
An arrest has not yet been made in the incident.
“A man was seen fleeing the scene. We are drawing on resources from across the Met to apprehend this individual and work is ongoing to determine what has led to this awful incident,” Mr Castle said.
Any members of the public who have information regarding the incident are encouraged to call 999.
This is a developing story...
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/acid-attack-clapham-corrosive-substance-b2488430.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:26Z
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WATERTOWN – Since young adulthood, Michael Ganem has been auditioning for his new role as director of parks, recreation, senior and social services, which he began Monday. As the volunteer…
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https://www.rep-am.com/localnews/2024/01/31/his-dream-job-ganem-getting-comfortable-as-watertowns-new-parks-director/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:26Z
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ORLANDO, Fla. — (ORLANDO, Fla.) -- A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a lawsuit filed by Disney against Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials over the state legislature's decision to alter the governing structure of the Reedy Creek Improvement District.
Disney had argued in the lawsuit, filed last April, that the change to the district, for which the company was the main landowner, was made in retaliation for criticism of the Parental Rights in Education Act, known by opponents as the "Don't Say Gay" bill.
The Florida Legislature voted to dissolve the former governing board of the district and create a DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District in its place. The board voided a contract made before the CFTOD was in place, according to the lawsuit.
DeSantis has been at odds with Disney since it publicly criticized a DeSantis-backed controversial Florida law that restricts content concerning sexual orientation and gender identity in grades kindergarten through third grade.
Disney, citing concerns of discrimination, had said it "should never have passed and should never have been signed into law."
Taryn Fenske, the communications director for DeSantis, told ABC News when the lawsuit was filed, "We are unaware of any legal right that a company has to operate its own government or maintain special privileges not held by other businesses in the state."
DeSantis and J. Alex Kelly, the secretary of Florida's Department of Commerce, had argued a lack of standing and 11th Amendment immunity in the case, both of which Winsor agreed on, while the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District argued a lack of merit in the case.
"The clerk will enter a judgment that says, 'This case was resolved on motions to dismiss. Plaintiff's claims against the Governor and the Department Secretary are dismissed without prejudice for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Plaintiff's claims against the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board members are dismissed on the merits for failure to state a claim," U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed by then-President Donald Trump in 2018, wrote in concluding his decision.
Winsor wrote that Disney had not shown standing to sue the governor or secretary.
"The analysis could be different if the Governor had not yet made any appointments," Winsor wrote. "But as things stand, if this court enjoined future appointments, Disney would face the same situation it faces now: it would be operating under the CFTOD board, over which it has no control. Stopping hypothetical future appointments would not redress any alleged imminent harm."
The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it can be brought again with proper standing.
"This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here," a Disney spokesperson said. "If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case."
Disney is the parent company of ABC News.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wsbradio.com/news/business/federal-judge/GIV2P7XOKKSMCP4SRXN44MKHXI/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:26Z
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The Kansas City Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl and star tight end Travis Kelce loves how head coach Andy Reid is letting Taylor Swift enjoy the ride.
After the Chiefs knocked off the Baltimore Ravens last weekend in the AFC Championship to advance to the big game, Reid was pictured pointing to the “Cruel Summer” hitmaker while she was on the field and he was on stage celebrating.
“This was the great photo tweeted out of Big Red showing a little love to Taylor up on the stage. He’s got a little point, they’re pointing at each other,” Jason Kelce said about the picture on the Jan. 31 episode of the “New Heights” podcast he does with his brother Travis Kelce.
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“Going to the Super Bowl, baby,” Travis Kelce said. “We’re going to the Bowl. We did it.”
Reid and Swift have history, too, that goes back a lot further than this season when she began turning up at Chiefs games because of her romance with Travis Kelce. Reid used to coach the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce said Swift and Reid knew each other “from the Philly days,” before he mentioned her father, Scott Swift.
“Shoutout to big Scott,” he said. “Him and Andy are good friends.”
Entertainment News
“That was a cool moment to see afterwards. I didn’t get to see it because I was up on the stage screaming, ‘Fight for your right.’ Yeah, that was a cool one,” he continued, while reflecting on the moment between Reid and Swift, who was on the field, as well as Jason Kelce and his parents.
Jason Kelce also congratulated Swift for her role this year.
“Shoutout to the newest members of the Chiefs kingdom, Taylor Swift, who has officially reached the Super Bowl in her rookie year,” he said, prompting Travis to laugh.
“Thanks for joining the team,” Travis said, before he thanked all of the Chiefs fans.
Reid, who once joked that he set up Swift and Travis Kelce, has talked about what life has been like with Swift around the team.
“She’s been great,” he said on the Jan. 29 episode of the “Let’s Go!” podcast, while noting he already knew her from her dad playing football at the University of Delaware.
“That was the last thing Trav wanted to hear, that I knew her before him. She told him, ‘I know your coach,” he continued.
Reid says Swift has been a pleasure to have around.
“She’s a good girl and I’m happy for Trav and there has been no distraction that way, at all. And Travis handled it right. She’s handled it right. We just move forward, so it hasn’t been a problem at all.”
The Chiefs will now set their sights on winning the franchise’s third Super Bowl in the last five years when they play the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 11 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. The run to the big game was slightly different this season for the 11-6 Chiefs, who were not as dominant as past years. Travis Kelce says that makes this experience even more enjoyable than previous AFC titles.
“It feels like it’s a little bit sweeter, man,” he said on “New Heights.” “I don’t want to rip out anyone’s heart in KC, but this road to where we are now has been more of a challenge, which means you have to overcome more, which means it kind means a little bit more.”
Travis Kelce also said winning the game on the road in Baltimore, instead of their home field at Arrowhead Stadium, was something he won’t soon forget.
“Although I cherish all the games that I play in Arrowhead (Stadium), every single one of them, baby, this one meant a lot, man, because, it meant a lot because the guys we had and how we persevered through a lot of the things we weren’t doing during the season and it just felt that much better with those guys,” he said.
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/travis-kelce-breaks-down-the-viral-photo-of-taylor-swift-and-chiefs-coach-andy-reid-pointing-at-each-other/3449828/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:28Z
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In a groundbreaking development for Nigeria’s maritime industry, the first Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)-powered container vessel, ‘CMA CGM Scandola,’ made history by berthing at the Lekki Freeport Terminal in the Lagos Free Zone, Ibeju Lekki, on Monday.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu welcomed the vessel, highlighting that the Lekki Deep Sea Port stands as the sole port in Nigeria equipped to handle such large container vessels.
Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed his excitement about this significant milestone, stating on X (formerly Twitter), “It is nice to start off the week with some great news today; the LNG-powered CMA CGM SCANDOLA, a 14,812 TEUs container vessel, has made history by berthing at the Lekki Deep Sea Port—the most modern and deepest seaport in Nigeria.”
Emphasizing the importance of the Lekki Deep Sea Port’s capabilities, the governor continued, “The CMA CGM SCANDOLA is the first LNG-powered container vessel to sail to West Africa, arriving in Tema before making its mark at Lekki Port. It is important to note that the Lekki Deep Sea Port is the only port in Nigeria with the facilities to receive such large container vessels.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed pride in the collaboration between Lekki Deep Sea Port, Lekki Freeport Terminal, and CMA CGM, highlighting the impact of this achievement on Nigeria’s maritime sector. He remarked, “I’m proud of the Lekki Deep Sea Port, Lekki Freeport Terminal, and CMA CGM for elevating Nigeria’s maritime industry. The key to economic prosperity lies within the Lekki Economic Zone.”
This historic arrival follows the announcement by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on January 21, 2024, about the berthing of another significant vessel, ‘Maersk Edirne,’ the largest container carrier to sail in Nigerian territorial waters, at the Lekki Deep Seaport.
The consecutive arrival of such vessels underscores the growing prominence of the Lekki Deep Sea Port and its pivotal role in advancing Nigeria’s maritime capabilities.
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https://naija247news.com/2024/01/31/lekki-deep-sea-port-welcomes-historic-arrival-of-lng-powered-container-vessel/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:28Z
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NHL players Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames have been charged with sexual assault in connection with an alleged assault by several members of Canada's 2018 world junior team.
Attorneys representing Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube said Tuesday that each player has been charged with sexual assault by police in London, Ontario. They denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their clients.
Hart's lawyers, Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani, said their client is facing one count of sexual assault, adding, "He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false accusation in the proper forum, a court of law."
Legal teams representing McLeod and Dube said the players would be pleading not guilty.
"(We) will vigorously defend the case," McLeod's attorneys, David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein, said in a statement. "We ask that the public respect Mr. McLeod's privacy, and his family's privacy. Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time."
Dube's lawyers, Louis Strezos and Kayleigh Davidson, said their client "maintains his innocence (and) will defend the allegations in court."
Foote's lawyer, Julianna Greenspan, said her client was "innocent of the charge and will defend himself against this allegation to clear his name."
"What is most critical at this time is the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial that everyone in Canada is entitled to," Greenspan said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "As the matter is before the court, I ask that Cal's and his family's privacy be respected."
A Devils spokesperson said the organization is aware of the reports and have been told to refer all inquiries to the league. A Flyers spokesman echoed a similar sentiment, saying the team "will respond appropriately to this very serious matter when the outcomes of the investigations are made public."
"We have now become aware of the charge of sexual assault that has been laid against Dillon Dube," the Flames said in a statement. "We take this matter very seriously. Because the matter is now pending legal proceedings, we will have no further comment at this time."
The NHL was not expected to address the situation Tuesday. Commissioner Gary Bettman is set to speak at the league's upcoming All-Star Weekend.
The latest developments in the case come two days after former NHL player Alex Formenton surrendered to police to face charges. Attorney Daniel Brown said Formenton is innocent "and asks that people not rush to judgment without hearing all of the evidence."
All five players have taken leave from their current clubs over the past 10 days. Their agents have not spoken publicly since.
London police have scheduled a news conference for Monday to address the situation. A spokesperson for police told the AP by email no updates on the investigation will be provided before the news conference.
Investigation followed a settlement in a lawsuit
London police launched their investigation in 2022 after it was disclosed that Hockey Canada had settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by eight members of that gold medal-winning team after a Hockey Canada Foundation fundraising gala. London is approximately halfway between Toronto and Detroit.
According to court documents, the woman, then 20, alleged that a man, identified only as "John Doe #1," took her from a bar to a hotel room and invited seven other people into the room to perform undisclosed sexual acts, intimidating her and preventing her from leaving. The woman said in the lawsuit the men directed her to take a shower and asked her to say on video that she was sober.
The woman sought $3.55 million in damages and dropped the lawsuit after reaching a settlement with Hockey Canada.
The NHL has also been investigating
The NHL opened its own investigation in 2022 and has pledged to make those findings public. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly last week said the league would issue a statement if and when it is appropriate.
The Flyers said Hart requested and was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons. General manager Daniel Briere declined to provide details when asked follow-up questions related to the 25-year-old No. 1 goaltender's departure.
The Devils did not give a reason when announcing McLeod and Foote were granted indefinite leaves of absence. McLeod, who turns 26 on Saturday, is in the middle of his fourth full season with the team, while Foote — son of former NHL player Adam Foote — has spent much of this season in the American Hockey League and appeared in four games for New Jersey.
The Flames said Dube was on indefinite leave to tend to his mental health. As part of their statement Tuesday, they said they "had no knowledge of pending charges at the time Dillon's request for a leave of absence was granted."
The 25-year-old Dube has played for Calgary since 2018.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://news.wgcu.org/2024-01-31/4-nhl-players-charged-with-sexual-assault-in-a-2018-case-in-canada-their-lawyers-say
| 2024-01-31T23:14:28Z
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BANGKOK – The Deputy Chief of Immigration Police, Pol. Maj. Gen. Pantama Nutnarot, said on Wednesday that members of the Russian rock band Bi-2 were arrested in Phuket last Thursday because they did not have a work permit in Thailand. But if they have political reasons, they will not return them to Russia.
According to the Associated Press report, members of a rock band that has been critical of Moscow’s war in Ukraine fear that they could be deported to Russia.
Maj. Gen. Pantama explained that Phuket Immigration Police officers adhere to legal procedures. When it was discovered that these band members did not have a work permit, they were sent to the investigating officer for charges and then to the detention room at the Immigration Police Office.
He stated that one of the seven members of the Russian rock band Bi-2 has been deported to a third country, while the rest can seek assistance from the the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Those with dual nationality might apply to return to another country instead of Russia.
It’s unknown whether Thailand has already signed an extradition deal with Russia, but individuals sought for political or ethnic reasons will not be returned to Russia. In the case that they do not agree to return to their country of origin according to their entry passports, they must coordinate with the third country.
According to human rights principles, extradition is excepted in the case of political prisoners. Even they are the offenders, the Immigration cannot force someone to leave the country. The authorities will let them apply to international agencies such as the UNSCR or the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to become political refugees.
Under the human rights principles, they can be released on bail to live as a refugee, but with the condition of not being able to pursue a career or do anything that is against the laws of Thailand.
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Related articles:
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https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/02/01/thai-authorities-will-not-send-rock-band-bi-2-to-russia-if-it-is-political/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:28Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Interventions that improve mood can reduce levels of inflammation in people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a review published online Jan. 24 in eBioMedicine.
Natasha Seaton, from King's College London, and colleagues conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to determine whether interventions targeting mood outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, and stress) impact inflammation levels in IBD.
Based on 28 randomized controlled trials (1,789 participants), the researchers found that interventions demonstrated small, statistically significant effects on biomarkers (−0.35) and medium effects on mood outcomes (−0.50). There was no evidence of substantive heterogeneity or publication bias. Interventions had small effects for improved fecal calprotectin (−0.19) and C-reactive protein (−0.29). Compared with exercise or antidepressants, effect sizes were larger for psychological therapy interventions and when there was an effect (standardized mean differences ≥0.2) on mood.
"This adds to the growing body of research demonstrating the role of inflammation in mental health and suggests that interventions working to improve mood could also have direct physical effects on levels of inflammation," coauthor Valeria Mondelli, also from King's College, said in a statement.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/digestive-system/interventions-that-boost-mood-cut-inflammation-with-ibd
| 2024-01-31T23:14:29Z
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Seattle Seahawks Make Historic Coaching Hire: Report
By Jason Hall
January 31, 2024
The Seattle Seahawks are reportedly expected to hire Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their next head coach, league sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to ESPN's Adam Schefter on Wednesday (January 31).
Macdonald, 36, will become the NFL's youngest head coach in history, breaking the record set by newly promoted New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo earlier this month.
"A youth movement in Seattle: Seahawks are expected to hire Ravens’ defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach, league sources tell ESPN. They’re still finalizing the deal, but Seattle has its man. At 36, Macdonald now becomes the NFL’s youngest head coach," Schefter wrote.
A youth movement in Seattle: Seahawks are expected to hire Ravens’ defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as their new head coach, league sources tell ESPN. They’re still finalizing the deal, but Seattle has its man.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 31, 2024
At 36, Macdonald now becomes the NFL’s youngest head coach. pic.twitter.com/uZ3vbXTS4n
Macdonald rejoined the Ravens' coaching staff in 2022 after spending one season working under head coach John Harbaugh's brother Jim's staff at the University of Michigan as a defensive coordinator in 2021. The Boston native had previously joined the Ravens as a coaching intern in 2014 before being promoted to defensive assistant in 2015, defensive backs coach in 2017 and linebackers coach in 2018.
The Ravens ranked first among all NFL teams in points allowed (16.5) during the 2023 regular season and sixth in total defensive with an average of 266.0 yards allowed per game.
Macdonald will replace former Super Bowl champion Pete Carroll, who "amicably agreed" to part ways with the Seahawks earlier this month.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-seattle-seahawks-make-historic-coaching-hire-report/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:29Z
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Drugmaker Biogen is pulling the plug on its controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, following disappointing sales. It had been expected to be a blockbuster product.
Copyright 2024 NPR
Drugmaker Biogen is pulling the plug on its controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm, following disappointing sales. It had been expected to be a blockbuster product.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/expected-to-be-a-big-deal-alzheimers-drug-is-pulled-after-disappointing-sales
| 2024-01-31T23:14:30Z
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5 reasons your car could be uninsurable
Canva
5 reasons your car could be uninsurable
A car speeding down the highway.
Auto insurance is one of the most common types of insurance in the U.S. Nearly all state require drivers to have liability car insurance covering a minimum amount of property damage and bodily injuries resulting from accidents.
If a crash happens, the laws are clear that uninsured drivers are themselves financially responsible for any damage or injury. States determine penalties for violating car insurance laws. Depending on the severity of the offense, penalties can include fines up to $1,500, driver’s license suspension, vehicle impoundment, and even imprisonment, depending on the state.
However, while car insurance is necessary to drive in most states, some vehicles may be considered too risky for insurers to cover. Insurify researched why insurance providers may not insure a car and how people can avoid being put in that position. The common reasons include poor driving history, past attempts at claim fraud, vehicle modifications, and driving an improperly imported car. The list is based on data from the Insurance Research Council, the Insurance Information Institute, and other industry sources.
Canva
Your driving history
A man in a white dress shirt in a car looking at a cell phone.
– Too many at-fault accidents or violations make insurers wary.
Poor driving history is a top reason drivers can face challenges obtaining auto insurance. A track record of collisions, traffic violations, or DUI convictions can make getting coverage difficult and extremely costly. Insurers consider drivers with such records high-risk; some may deny coverage altogether.
When companies do insure such drivers, they charge higher fees. The average annual car insurance premium in the U.S. is $1,668, according to a report by Insurify. However, the cost can be much higher for drivers with a poor driving history due to a “risk premium.” For example, a driver with a recent DUI can expect an increase of up to 80% in their annual premium for at least three years, according to Experian.
Keeping a good driving record will go a long way toward reducing your premiums and the likelihood of being denied coverage.
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Your claims history
A police car pulling up to a minor car crash.
– Too many claims or fraudulent claims make insurers nervous.
A record of excessive insurance claims or past attempts at insurance fraud indicates a higher risk of future claims, often prompting insurers to deny coverage.
A 2017 Verisk study estimated that auto insurance companies lose $29 billion annually because of premium leakage, a significant portion of which is attributable to fraudulent claims. The practice is especially damaging to the industry, considering insurance companies apply higher rates universally to all customers, meaning innocent drivers end up paying the price of someone else’s fraud.
Maintaining a clean driving record and steering clear of insurance fraud are essential for keeping your rates down.
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Car modifications
A white car on the street that has been lowered and has wheel and other modifications.
– Modifications, alterations, or customizations can make your car harder to insure.
One of the primary reasons insurance companies dislike aftermarket vehicle modifications is that they may increase the risk of accidents. Certain alterations can worsen the vehicle’s handling, braking, and overall performance on the road, such as installing oversized rims and tires, lowering the car by shortening suspension springs, and adding on larger mufflers or rear spoilers.
Customized cars are often more attractive to thieves, leading to a higher risk of carjacking and theft. As a result, insurance companies may charge higher premiums or even deny vehicle coverage with such customizations.
Car owners should always consult with their insurance providers before making any modifications to ensure they remain adequately covered.
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Antiques and imports
Various antique cars.
– Gray-market cars and antique or rare vehicles can also pose a challenge to insure.
It is generally difficult to determine the accurate value of antique vehicles, as they often have unique features, limited production, or historical significance. Without a solid idea of what they’re worth, these cars can be hard for insurance companies to determine how to cover.
Similarly, gray-market cars—which their manufacturers never offered for sale in the U.S. and are brought into the country outside of manufacturers’ and dealers’ import channels—often fall short of local safety and emissions standards, making them riskier to insure.
Buying a new vehicle from a dealer or ensuring the used car you’re buying was originally bought in the U.S. is crucial for preventing any potential insurability issues.
Canva
How you use your car
A person making deliveries from the back of a car.
– Using your car for commercial use can make it uninsurable; lying or omitting information can get your insurance canceled.
Using your personal vehicle for commercial purposes, such as deliveries, runs the risk of making it uninsurable.
The Insurance Information Institute states personal auto policies are not designed to cover the risks associated with commercial use, such as ride-sharing, because injuries suffered by a paying passenger would likely not be covered under a regular policy, which covers noncommercial passengers in your car. Lying or purposefully omitting information about commercial use can lead an insurer to cancel your insurance policy, leaving you financially vulnerable in the event of an accident.
Be upfront with your insurance provider and obtain the appropriate commercial auto insurance coverage to protect yourself, those around you, and your vehicle.
Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Lacy Kerrick.
This story originally appeared on Insurify and was produced and
distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
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https://kvia.com/news/2024/01/31/5-reasons-your-car-could-be-uninsurable/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:30Z
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Calix (ASX:CXL) Is In A Good Position To Deliver On Growth Plans
Just because a business does not make any money, does not mean that the stock will go down. For example, although Amazon.com made losses for many years after listing, if you had bought and held the shares since 1999, you would have made a fortune. But while history lauds those rare successes, those that fail are often forgotten; who remembers Pets.com?
So should Calix (ASX:CXL) shareholders be worried about its cash burn? For the purpose of this article, we'll define cash burn as the amount of cash the company is spending each year to fund its growth (also called its negative free cash flow). The first step is to compare its cash burn with its cash reserves, to give us its 'cash runway'.
Check out our latest analysis for Calix
When Might Calix Run Out Of Money?
You can calculate a company's cash runway by dividing the amount of cash it has by the rate at which it is spending that cash. As at June 2023, Calix had cash of AU$75m and such minimal debt that we can ignore it for the purposes of this analysis. In the last year, its cash burn was AU$30m. That means it had a cash runway of about 2.5 years as of June 2023. That's decent, giving the company a couple years to develop its business. You can see how its cash balance has changed over time in the image below.
How Well Is Calix Growing?
Notably, Calix actually ramped up its cash burn very hard and fast in the last year, by 137%, signifying heavy investment in the business. That's not ideal, but we're made even more nervous given that operating revenue was flat over the same period. Taken together, we think these growth metrics are a little worrying. Clearly, however, the crucial factor is whether the company will grow its business going forward. So you might want to take a peek at how much the company is expected to grow in the next few years.
How Easily Can Calix Raise Cash?
Calix seems to be in a fairly good position, in terms of cash burn, but we still think it's worthwhile considering how easily it could raise more money if it wanted to. Issuing new shares, or taking on debt, are the most common ways for a listed company to raise more money for its business. Many companies end up issuing new shares to fund future growth. We can compare a company's cash burn to its market capitalisation to get a sense for how many new shares a company would have to issue to fund one year's operations.
Since it has a market capitalisation of AU$306m, Calix's AU$30m in cash burn equates to about 9.9% of its market value. That's a low proportion, so we figure the company would be able to raise more cash to fund growth, with a little dilution, or even to simply borrow some money.
How Risky Is Calix's Cash Burn Situation?
On this analysis of Calix's cash burn, we think its cash runway was reassuring, while its increasing cash burn has us a bit worried. While we're the kind of investors who are always a bit concerned about the risks involved with cash burning companies, the metrics we have discussed in this article leave us relatively comfortable about Calix's situation. An in-depth examination of risks revealed 1 warning sign for Calix that readers should think about before committing capital to this stock.
If you would prefer to check out another company with better fundamentals, then do not miss this free list of interesting companies, that have HIGH return on equity and low debt or this list of stocks which are all forecast to grow.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/calix-asx-cxl-good-position-222439270.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:31Z
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Vancouver home of former lululemon CEO sells for $360K under asking
The Vancouver home of a former lululemon CEO has been sold, and it went for well under the asking price.
It’s not the CEO you’re thinking about, as this Vancouver home belonged to Christine Day, the head of lululemon between 2008 and 2013.
An original listing for the home, which was built in 2015 and is located in MacKenzie Heights, with an asking price of $5,188,000, was terminated, according to Zealty. It was then sold for $4,725,000 on January 29, $363,000 under the asking price of $5,088,000.
While it sold under the initial asking price, it still sold above the most recently assessed value of the home, which is $4,257,000.
Finally selling after over two months on the market, the four-bedroom, five-bathroom home features 3,473 sq ft of space.
Rumours of the home belonging to a former lululemon CEO were first shared by a notable Vancouver social media reporter on X.
Former Lululemon CEO, happy seller today… pic.twitter.com/f5TBzrKhGr
— Mortimer (@mortimer_1) January 30, 2024
Daily Hive Urbanized was able to independently verify the claims.
The home’s value pales in monetary comparison to lululemon founder Chip Wilson’s Point Grey home.
Still, this home is no slouch, featuring 270-degree panoramic mountain, city and water views from the primary bedroom, and the rooftop deck.
A lower floor includes a media room and a wet bar under nine-foot ceilings.
Opinions on the value were divided, with some saying it was too much and others suggesting it wasn’t enough.
sold too cheap, gonna be over $10M in a decade.
— Junk Brandon(Stupid/Non-sense) (@JunkBrandon1) January 30, 2024
Others assumed the home belonged to Wilson.
I hope he’s leaving the city
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out
— strong at the broken places (@MChand13) January 30, 2024
We’re honestly surprised that the home of a former CEO of a major corporation sold for less than the home of a former Vancouver Canucks captain.
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https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-home-lululemon-ceo
| 2024-01-31T23:14:31Z
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The dueling contests surrounding the Nevada Republican's nominating process has led to voter confusion. And with it, an outcome many in the state saw as inevitable: Trump is the de facto winner.
Copyright 2024 NPR
The dueling contests surrounding the Nevada Republican's nominating process has led to voter confusion. And with it, an outcome many in the state saw as inevitable: Trump is the de facto winner.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/nevadas-gop-nominating-process-is-confusing-and-already-yielded-a-likely-winner
| 2024-01-31T23:14:32Z
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Taylor Swift + Super Bowl = conspiracy theories. The claims are baseless
Superstar Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce, have become the focus of a raft of false claims and political conspiracy theories on social media this week as the team advances to the Super Bowl on Feb. 11
Taylor Swift + Super Bowl = conspiracy theories. The claims are baseless
Show all 3The budding love story featuring music superstar Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce took an unexpected turn into the world of political conspiracy theories this week after the team advanced to the Super Bowl.
Myriad baseless rumors emerged on social media — everything from claims that Swift has played a part in Pentagon psychological operations to the idea that she and her two-time Super Bowl champion boyfriend are key assets in a secret plot to help President Joe Biden get reelected in 2024. Another variant: That the Chiefs’ success was rigged as part of the plan for the game on Feb. 11 in Las Vegas.
Political and media figures on the right, including former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, political activist Laura Loomer and One America News Network host Alison Steinberg, have amplified the allegations.
The claims are ludicrous and may well reflect the fear on the right that someone as famous as Swift, whose landmark Eras Tour is the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, could indeed influence the presidential race should she urge her legion of fans in one direction.
Pop culture and politics have long been entwined. The entertainment industry has been a deep well of political contributions. And candidates often try to draft on the celebrity of stars to add to their own allure.
The potency of the impact is less clear. In Swift's case, there is some proof that she can at minimum generate more voter registration.
In September, Swift posted a short message on her Instagram account encouraging her 272 million followers to register to vote. The post led to more than 35,000 registrations on the nonpartisan nonprofit Vote.org.
Swift’s massive fan base gives her a powerful voice. An SSRS poll conducted in October 2023 found that about 6 in 10 U.S. adults called themselves at least casual fans of the singer, with 8% saying they’re big fans. The poll also found that 8 in 10 U.S. adults said they had heard of her relationship with Kelce and the majority of those familiar with it considered it a real relationship, rather than a publicity stunt.
“Pop culture people identify with this stuff, they pay attention to it. And that’s what moves politics now. It’s attention and identity,” Joel Penney, an associate professor at Montclair State University whose research includes the intersection of politics and pop culture, said. Indeed, Donald Trump's improbable march to the presidency in 2016 was propelled in part from the celebrity he gained as a reality television star.
But the false claims about Swift are of such an extreme nature that they will test the limits of how potent a conspiracy theory can be. Penney sees the recent deluge of posts aimed at Swift as an attempt to preemptively blunt her impact by discrediting her.
Penney said Swift’s influence could prove a difficult force to contend with, especially if she publicly supports Biden, as she did in the 2020 race.
The attacks on Swift could also galvanize young voters who want to rally around her.
“Young people are fighting their political battles through a language drawn from pop culture,” said Henry Jenkins, a professor at the University of Southern California who also studies politics and pop culture. “That’s what connects them. That’s what they’re engaged with.”
Both Swift and Kelce have made public statements about politics and other issues that put them at odds with the far-right.
Swift broke her long-standing refusal to discuss her political views in 2018 when she announced in an Instagram post that she would be voting for Tennessee’s Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen and Democratic House incumbent Rep. Jim Cooper. She also slammed then-U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican candidate, citing Blackburn’s opposition to certain LGBTQ+ rights and her vote against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2013. Blackburn won election to the Senate.
In 2020, Swift endorsed Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in an interview with V Magazine, noting that “under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs.”
Kelce faced criticism in September for appearing in an ad promoting the double dose of the flu and COVID-19 vaccines, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ad was part of a partnership with Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company that developed a vaccine in response to the pandemic and has since become a common mark for anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists.
Pop culture figures and the industry that surround them have been enmeshed in political campaigns long before the duo some fans refer to as Swelce. Former President Bill Clinton first appeared on MTV during his 1992 campaign while he was still governor of Arkansas. Major stars including Johnny Cash, Mary Tyler Moore and Willie Nelson endorsed former President Jimmy Carter more than 40 years ago when he made his second run for the White House. Ronald Reagan got his start in politics after a career as an actor.
“That question of, does this stuff work in pop culture? It absolutely can,” Penney said. “And it does. And history has shown that.”
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https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/travis-kelce-ap-joe-biden-taylor-swift-pfizer-b2488434.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:32Z
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PONTIAC, Mich. — (PONTIAC, Mich.) -- Brian Meloche, a longtime friend of Jennifer Crumbley and with whom she was having an affair with at the time of the 2021 Oxford School shooting, took the stand to testify in her manslaughter trial on Wednesday.
In texts sent after the shooting, Jennifer Crumbley told Meloche that the shooting "could have been prevented," according to evidence. In other texts, she told him the school was "nonchalant" about concerns surrounding Ethan Crumbley and said that the school should have taken the concerns seriously and not allowed him to return to class.
Jennifer Crumbley and James Crumbley are each facing four counts of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the school shooting, which was carried out by their then-15-year-old son Ethan Crumbley. James Crumbley is being tried in a separate trial in March.
Ethan Crumbley has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing four students and injuring seven others in November 2021.
After Jennifer Crumbley's attorney, Shannon Smith, questioned Meloche -- suggesting that police intimidated and threatened him into providing his testimony -- prosecutors sought to allow the judge to include evidence that the two had an affair. In a previous ruling, Judge Cheryl Matthews excluded all evidence regarding their extramarital affair.
The jury was excused from the room and Matthews spoke directly to Jennifer Crumbley, who said she supported her attorney's decision to admit information about the affair into evidence.
Meloche, a fire department captain, initially appeared to testify that police interviewing him threatened his job and benefits, including his pension, if he helped Jennifer Crumbley by refusing to share information. However, he later clarified that he was pressured by police to share information about the Crumbleys but was always told to tell the truth. Meloche admitted on the stand that he did not want his affair to be revealed and had sought to protect his family and wife by withholding information.
Meloche testified Wednesday that Jennifer Crumbley had told him she was able to leave work to meet up with him even though she allegedly told school officials on the day of the shooting that she could not take her son home or for mental health care that day because she needed to return to work.
Jennifer and James Crumbley decided to send their son back to class despite a meeting the morning of the shooting in which school officials expressed concerns about him.
Andrew Smith, the CEO of the real estate company where Jennifer Crumbley worked at the time of the shooting, testified on Tuesday that she would have been allowed to leave for the day if she needed to take care of her son and could have brought him to work if she needed.
Meloche testified about conversations he had with Jennifer Crumbley in the days leading up to and after the shooting. The two texted regularly leading up to the shooting and in the days after it.
Meloche said he regularly deleted the messages between himself and Jennifer Crumbley. He testified that one of the deleted texts from her -- sent on the day of the shooting -- said that the gun was gone. He responded, telling her to contact police.
Meloche told Crumbley in texts before she was arrested that she needed to "disappear" when she was allowed to do so.
Prior to the shooting, Meloche said he was aware that the Crumbleys had gotten a handgun for their son and said he was "surprised" that they chose to do so. Meloche also testified that he did not believe Jennifer Crumbley should have been charged, but has since learned more information that makes him believe otherwise.
Meloche testified he didn't think a shooting would take place, but he thought that Ethan Crumbley might hurt himself.
Evidence shown in court of the text messages also showed an unsent message from Jennifer Crumbley to Meloche in which she told him that the gun was locked with a string lock.
"I'll never be OK I lost my son. And he's a murderer and I'll forever have to live with the guilt of that. I'm not even sure life is worth living anymore," Crumbley said in another message that was never sent.
Meloche testified that the two normally met in the parking lot of a Costco across the street from her job during the morning hours of work days, when Ethan Crumbley was at school. He testified that he never felt that Jennifer Crumbley did not care about her son.
He stopped communicating with Jennifer Crumbley when he saw on the news that police were trying to apprehend her and her husband, Meloche testified. The last time the two communicated was Dec. 4, 2021, he said.
Lt. Sam Marzban, an Oakland County detective, also testified that Jennifer Crumbley did not want to hand over her phone to police and was concerned about being able to contact people while police were conducting a search.
Marzban testified that he told Crumbley she could get a replacement phone and asked that she share the number with police. Marzban said Jennifer Crumbley seemed "irritated and frustrated" but was not crying while police searched their house, just hours after the shooting.
The prosecution said it expects to call two more witnesses Thursday morning before they rest. The defense is expected to begin presenting its case in the afternoon.
Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
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https://www.wsbradio.com/news/national/man-who-had-affair/PSLN4DGWY3JULT5MSTVWMT6JME/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:33Z
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Every year U.S. News & World Report ranks schools across America on how they’re educating kids.
One of the best high schools in Texas is an all-girls science and leadership school in Dallas ISD, which is doing so well, that the district is paying close attention to their success.
"I never knew like the actual scale of the sun," said Samantha Wang in her 6th-grade science class learning about the solar system.
"I just think it's harder to see that the sun is so much bigger than them if you can't see it in 3D."
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
It’s all part of science at Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Dallas ISD. The 6-12 campus is the first all-girls public school in Texas and was recently named the #2 high school in the state. It’s in the top 20 nationwide.
"One of the reasons why I wanted to come here is because it's a school for young women, which are heavily underrepresented in the STEM fields, specifically in science. And it's motivating to me to see so many of our girls just so engaged," said Ari Torralba.
Torralba, a sixth-grade teacher, has a doctorate and comes to class with a suit and tie daily.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
There’s a level of seriousness here at this school that focuses on STEM and leadership and helping young women grow in those areas.
"We also do a lot of like, confidence building. And we even like, for example, in our debate, we learned how to public speak. We have a bunch of electives here so that people can find out like, 'Oh, I want to be this when I grow up," said Alexa Torres, a student in the school.
The girls say their school's combination of advanced science, learning to speak up for themselves, and yes, the single gender is all part of the secret sauce of success here.
Dallas ISD is giving it an extra look too, there are three similar all-girl schools in the district.
"There's the ability to yet compete, but yet also lift each other up, because it's such a sisterhood. And you know, there is some real truth to the fact of the of the sisterhood that's created in the bonds that are created," said Principal Yvonne Denise Rojas.
And with that confidence of speaking your mind, Alexa Torres happily says she likes her all-girl, stem-focused school, but she thinks something else is behind the success.
"Oh, without boys, it's gonna be so different. It's the same. I think the personality is what matters more, because people like to say boys are very loud. Well, at least in my experience, but I think it's, yes, like the same with girls. It depends on the personality," she said.
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/carter-in-the-classroom/dallas-school-named-one-of-nations-best-with-its-focus-on-leadership-and-stem/3449730/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:34Z
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MIAMI — A federal judge has dismissed the Walt Disney Company's lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney sued after DeSantis and state lawmakers removed its self-governing status in 2023.
Backed by Republican lawmakers, DeSantis dissolved a special district near Orlando that for more than fifty years had governed Walt Disney World. He acted after Disney's CEO opposed a law limiting how sex orientation and gender identity can be discussed in the schools. The Parental Rights in Education Act was labeled "Don't Say Gay" by opponents.
At DeSantis' request, Florida's GOP-controlled legislature created a new special district, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, controlled by the Republican Governor's appointees. Disney sued in federal court, saying DeSantis was retaliating against the company, punishing it for exercising its First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Disney also canceled plans for a $1 billion campus in Florida.
In a 17-page order, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed the case, saying Disney lacks standing to sue the governor. The judge also said while Disney could sue the new DeSantis-appointed board, it hadn't shown evidence that actions by the new board had harmed the company. In addition, Winsor said the law prohibits plaintiffs from bringing a free speech challenge to constitutionally enacted laws.
A DeSantis spokesman hailed the decision saying, "the Corporate Kingdom is over. The days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone. Disney is still just one of many corporations in the state and they do not have a right to their own special government."
Disney says it will "press forward with its case." In a statement after the ruling, a company spokesperson said, "If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with."
Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board are also embroiled in lawsuits in state court.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://news.wgcu.org/2024-01-31/a-federal-judge-dismisses-disneys-lawsuit-against-florida-gov-ron-desantis
| 2024-01-31T23:14:34Z
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Stolen Jackie Robinson Statue Found Dismantled And Burned In A Trash Can
By Bill Galluccio
January 31, 2024
A statue of Jackie Robinson that was stolen from a park in Wichita, Kansas, was found dismantled in a burning trash can. Authorities said they received a call about a fire at Garvey Park, which is about seven miles from McAdams Park, where the statue was stolen from.
After the flames were extinguished, firefighters found the remnants of the bronze statue.
"It's really disheartening to see the remnants of the statue, the disgraceful way it's been disrespected," Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said. "This is a direct indication of the pressure our investigators are putting on the perpetrators that committed this act."
While investigators have interviewed over 100 people, they have not made an arrest in the case.
"For those of you who are in any way involved in this...this means whether you were involved in stealing the statue, whether or not you accepted the statue, you were part of the destruction of the statue...it is only a matter of time, and in your best interest, to turn yourself in, come forward, and admit your part in this," Sullivan said.
Officials said they are planning to rebuild the statue, which was handcrafted over two years by the late sculptor John Parsons. Luckily, he saved the molds for the statue so it could be replaced.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-stolen-jackie-robinson-statue-found-dismantled-and-burned-in-a-trash-can/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:35Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Change in cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is inversely associated with the risk for prostate cancer incidence, but not mortality, according to a study published online Jan. 30 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Kate A. Bolam, Ph.D., from the Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences GIH in Stockholm, and colleagues conducted a prospective study to examine the associations between changes in CRF in adulthood and prostate cancer incidence and mortality. The study included men who completed an occupational health profile assessment, including at least two valid submaximal CRF tests.
The researchers found that 592 of the 57,652 men (1 percent) were diagnosed with prostate cancer during a mean follow-up of 6.7 years, and 0.08 percent died with prostate cancer as the primary cause of death. In the fully adjusted model, there was an association seen for an increase in absolute CRF with a reduced risk for prostate cancer incidence (hazard ratio, 0.98), but not mortality. In the fully adjusted model, when participants were categorized as having increased, stable, or decreased CRF (+3, ±3, and −3 percent, respectively), the risk for prostate cancer was reduced for those with increased versus decreased fitness (hazard ratio, 0.65).
"The findings of this study provide further clarity on the associations between CRF and cancer incidence in an area of research with conflicting results," the authors write. "The results of this study highlight the important role of supporting the general public to increase their CRF or aim to reach moderate fitness levels."
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/exercise-and-fitness/change-in-cardiorespiratory-fitness-linked-to-prostate-cancer-incidence
| 2024-01-31T23:14:35Z
|
Activists renew push to repeal Kentucky’s near-total abortion ban
By BRUCE SCHREINER
Associated Press
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Abortion-rights supporters are mounting another push to restore abortion access in Kentucky. But the lawmaker sponsoring the bill acknowledges the long odds against them. A near-total abortion ban has been in place in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. It bans abortions except when carried out to save the mother’s life. A bill unveiled Wednesday by Democratic Rep. Lindsey Burke would roll back Kentucky’s abortion laws to the time before Republicans won the House majority in the 2016 election, which consolidated their control of the legislature. Since then, lawmakers put more restrictions on abortion, culminating with the near-total ban.
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/activists-renew-push-to-repeal-kentuckys-near-total-abortion-ban/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:36Z
|
Jorge Rubiano arrived alone in Chicago, but his pain and trauma came with him.
For months, he tried to find steady work. For months, he's been sleeping in a crowded temporary shelter, worrying about his wife and mother back in Colombia. Are they safe? Did I make the right decision?
He recalls a frightening phone call with his wife in Colombia, cut short when the bus she was riding on was being robbed.
Rubiano, 43, is also haunted by memories of his harrowing journey to Chicago, during which he says he was kidnapped for a month, before escaping.
He left his country, he says, over a land dispute in which the government threatened his life.
"I'm still in between two dangers," Rubiano says in Spanish. "If I return it's very possible they kill me, and if I stay I don't know what can happen here."
More than 30,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Chicago since August of 2022 — most of them from South and Central America. They are fleeing the collapse of their economies, a lack of food and jobs, and violence back home.
Many came here on a bus from Texas, sent by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who said Chicago — and other so-called sanctuary cities that embrace immigrants — would provide much-needed relief "to our small, overrun border towns."
The buses haven't stopped since.
Migrants fleeing hardship, danger, fear and loss
Interviews with more than 30 people reveal the emotional toll migrants face, and the efforts of individuals and organizations that are trying to fill the gaps of a frayed mental health system.
Some of those efforts are catching the attention of leaders in other big U.S. cities also coping with large influxes of newly-arrived migrants.
For many, their journeys here were terrifying. A young girl who fell into a river, her pregnant mother struggling to hold her small hand, so the current wouldn't whisk her away. Women who were forced to have sex with gang members to get from country to country. People who walked over the dead in the jungle, or are wracked with guilt over the sick and injured left behind.
Their stories have unfolded across Chicago: in the quiet space of a therapist's office, at an informal healing circle in the back of a store, with a nurse at a folding table propped up outside a police station.
But for many migrants, taking care of their mental health might not be a priority.
"They're in survival mode," says Sharon Davila, a school-based social worker who has screened migrant families. "They need their basic needs met. The number one thing is they're looking for jobs."
Just getting in front of a therapist or a social worker can be extremely difficult for even the most savvy and persistent. With a shortage of mental health workers, wait lists for an appointment can be months long.
Layer on being new to this country, speaking a different language, and having no health insurance. Getting help can seem impossible.
Therapist Susie Moya worries about a mental health crisis brewing for many migrants.
"Right now it's on the back burner," says Moya, who has worked with migrants on Chicago's Lower West Side. "But I'm thinking a year from now when these families are settled in. Who is going to be providing that support?"
Informal support, with a side of soup
It's a Monday night in the back room of an insurance agency on the Southwest Side. About 20 migrants have arranged their chairs in a circle. Each person takes a turn describing how they feel on a scale of one to 10, as social worker Veronica Sanchez gently encourages them to share why.
Warm homemade chicken soup and arepas await them for dinner.
A woman says her husband got deported, and she's heartbroken that she left her children behind. A man says he worked several days that week, but never got paid. Another says he is grateful to God for bringing him to America, but he misses his mom, dad and brothers.
Finding work and reuniting with family is important, Sanchez tells them. But right now she's concerned about their mental health.
"Maybe we have answers. Maybe we don't. But when you open up a safe space where you can share your sorrows... you don't feel so alone," Sanchez says in Spanish.
Sanchez understands the migrants' desperation. She comes from a long line of pottery makers in Mexico. Sanchez was just four years old when her father left to work in Cicero, a suburb outside Chicago. She didn't see her father for almost seven years, until they were reunited as a family in Cicero.
Those memories fuel her work with the healing circle. "When I was talking to them, it really came from the heart," Sanchez says. "I was seeing the migrants' faces, that they were so scared."
Informal support groups like this one have popped up around Chicago in shelters, storefronts, churches and schools, led by volunteers or mental health professionals.
Many of these support groups don't last long. Volunteers get burned out. Migrants prioritize other needs. Or the city moves them from place to place.
The costs of ignoring loss and trauma
Some volunteers and mental health providers emphasize that not every migrant might be experiencing severe trauma.
But for many, trauma can have lasting impact. Trauma can change the wiring in a person's brain and make someone more vulnerable to depression and anxiety.
Daily or ongoing stressors can add up to what Chicago psychologist Laura Pappa calls "little t trauma" — like not feeling welcomed right away.
"A lot of people come here seeking the American dream and they realize that that's not there," says Pappa, who came to the U.S. from Argentina as a teen. "A lot of people were not expecting that, how hard it is on this side. I've had a lot of parents who've come alone and ask themselves, was it worth it?"
It can be hard to persuade migrants to seek help, however. There's a stigma about the need for mental health care in many immigrant communities, particularly among Latino men, Pappa says.
But, she adds, the stigma is easing as talking about emotions becomes more common.
Training the front-line workers in shelters
One effort to provide faster help involves training hundreds of peoplewho don't have a medical background, but work in city-run shelters. These front-line workers, such as case managers and shelter supervisors, are learning to lead support groups called Café y Comunidad charlas — coffee and community talks.
The initiative is led by the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health, the University of Chicago's Crown Family School, and Lurie Children's Center for Childhood Resilience.
The idea is to help migrants feel less isolated and try to prevent the most extreme outcomes, such as suicide.
"We have to help people the minute they arrive," explainsAimee Hilado, an assistant professor at UC's Crown School and chair of the coalition. "That's actually going to promote healing down the line."
Case manager Albert Ayala has led a charla in the ballroom of a downtown shelter. He recalls moments of joy, such as when a woman said she was searching for love — and hands shot up hoping to catch her attention.
Ayala says he's watched migrants who arrive scared and shy blossom after attending a charla.
"We try to tell them we're no different from you," says Ayala, who is Mexican American. "Your dream is possible."
Leaders in Philadelphia and San Jose have reached out asking how to replicate the effort, Hilado says.
Outside his shelter, Rubiano, the migrant from Colombia, says he hasn't attended one of these support groups. He says he tries to keep busy working on his English skills. And he recently found a full-time job in a supermarket.
He longs for his family, and for the chance to bring them here — once there is a stable life he can offer them.
WBEZ is part of the Mental Health Parity Collaborative, a group of newsrooms covering stories on mental health care access and inequities in the U.S. The Collaborative's partners include The Carter Center, the Center for Public Integrity and newsrooms in select states across the country.
WBEZ's Manuel Martinez contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 WBEZ
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/for-chicagos-new-migrants-informal-support-groups-help-ease-the-pain-and-trauma
| 2024-01-31T23:14:36Z
|
Deadly school bus crash in Ohio yields new safety features and training — but no seat belt mandate
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — After a deadly school bus crash last summer, a task force convened by Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recommended Wednesday more training, driver benefits and safety features — but not a seat belt mandate.
How and when safety upgrades are made would be up to individual school districts, DeWine said at an event releasing the Ohio School Bus Safety Working Group's final report. He said his office has begun discussions with the Legislature about establishing a grant fund to help school districts pay for vehicle upgrades or new safety-enhanced buses.
DeWine created the working group in August, after a school bus crash in Clark County's Lawrenceville, about 55 miles (88.51 kilometers) southwest of Columbus, left one child dead and 23 others injured.
“We know that buses are the safest way to transport children to school; that remains true,” he said Wednesday. “But when we have a tragedy like this, I think it's important for us to reexamine what we can do to make the trips that our kids are taking, and grandkids are taking, as safe as we can.”
The working group issued 17 recommendations. Sixteen related to bus driver recruitment and retention, training and education, school bus safety features, road and traffic safety, and emergency response.
Ohio Public Safety Director Andy Wilson said the group stopped short of recommending that the state mandate that all school buses have seat belts, instead leaving the decision to individual school districts.
“As a group — after hearing form the experts, hearing from our bus drivers, looking at the data or the lack of data from states that have mandated seat belts, and listening to the school districts who have tried pilot programs on their buses — we became convinced that the statewide mandate of seat belts on buses is not the most effective use of government resources to keep our kids safe,” he said.
Ohio Department of Education and Workforce Director Stephen Dackin said adding seat belts to a bus costs about $19,000. By contrast, the other twelve safety features the group recommended — including collision avoidance systems, electronic stability control, lighted crossover mirrors and fully illuminated stop arms at the front and rear — would cost about $13,000 per bus.
The final recommendation, involving commercial bus services, addressed a second Ohio bus crash that took place even as the task force was working. In that November accident, a charter bus of high school students was rear-ended by a semi truck on an Ohio highway, killing six and injuring 18.
To address private buses, the working group recommended that school districts adopt policies requiring “thorough evaluation of contracted commercial bus services.”
For public school bus drivers, the group recommended that the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce develop a uniform training curriculum, as well as a regional advanced training program, and that Ohio require six hours of training for drivers each year. The grant program DeWine has in mind would allow the state to offer the training to school districts at no cost, he said.
Other recommendations include improved access to professional development, wellness support and regular performance reviews for bus drivers, expanded engagement with parents and the public, school zone and bus route safety audits, and enhanced penalties for drivers of other vehicles who violate traffic laws in school zones or around school buses.
According to state data, between 2018 and 2023, the other driver was at fault in 68% of school bus crashes involving minor injuries, in 80% of crashes involving serious injuries; and in 75% of crashes involving fatalities.
DeWine said about 13,000 school buses are operating in Ohio at this time, but school districts typically don't replace them all at once, but perhaps at a pace of one or two a year. New buses run about $120,000, Dackin said.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/deadly-school-bus-crash-ohio-224827447.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:37Z
|
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Vivian McCall, reporter for The Stranger, about recent raids in Seattle's gay bars. Members of the city's LGBTQ-plus community are looking for answers.
Copyright 2024 NPR
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Vivian McCall, reporter for The Stranger, about recent raids in Seattle's gay bars. Members of the city's LGBTQ-plus community are looking for answers.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/seattles-queer-community-is-furious-after-gay-bars-were-raided-over-the-weekend
| 2024-01-31T23:14:38Z
|
US Bank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citizen, Chase and PNC are shutting hundreds of branches a year - here is what to do if your bank closes
- In the last 10 years, American banks have shuttered 13,000 branches for good
- If your local branch shuts you may be able to access services without traveling
- Has your local branch shut? Tell us how it affected you at money@dailymail.com
Banks are shutting hundreds of branches a year - this month some 41 closures were announced in a single week and among those affected were nine US Bank locations.
Bank of America, Chase, PNC, Citizen, Capital One, First National Bank of Pennsylvania and Huntington also said they were axing branches.
Such closures deal a huge blow to customers looking to visit in person to submit a document, make a withdrawal or deposit, cash in a check or simply run through their finances with a trusted bank manager.
Others, particularly the elderly, may struggle with accessing banking services online due to a lack of fluency with the internet or smartphone apps.
Customers can visit the next town or city but it can mean driving an hour or even across state lines, as one DailyMail.com reader told us. So what can you do if your bank has closed your local branch and you don't want to travel?
In the last 10 years, American banks have closed around 13,000 branches. Pictured is a shuttered Bank of America branch in New York
Concerns around the closure of bank branches are most pronounced among the elderly, for whom getting to grips with online banking may not be so straightforward
Unfortunately, the options are limited to either switching your bank or exploring what sort of services can be accessed using a nearby ATM.
The number of bank branches in the US peaked at over 85,000 in around 2011. Over the last 10 years, it has shrunk by approximately 13,000, according to a combination of data from the FDIC and the OCC.
The Covid pandemic catalyzed the already-rapid uptake of online banking and although 2020 saw the sharpest decline in the number of branches, closures have continued.
Online banks
While traditional banks have increased the breadth of services they offer via an internet browser or smartphone app, online-only banks are optimized to provide a full range of services remotely.
Some of the most popular online banks include Ally and SoFi, which have slick mobile apps with convenient and intuitive user interfaces.
Since such banks do not have their own ATMs, many waive or refund fees incurred using ATMs run by other banks at the end of the month.
SoFi, for example, advertises that it has a large fee-free ATM network which can be viewed in its mobile app.
Online-only banks like Ally and SoFi refund fees incurred using ATMs run by other banks
Traditional banks are increasing the breadth of services they offer via an internet browser or smartphone app
Check ATM capabilities
ATMs - or 'automated teller machines - have become increasingly capable, and often offer services in addition to simple cash withdrawals.
Simon Powley, senior director and head of banking advisory services at Diebold Nixdorf, told the publication ATM Marketplace that banks are exploring different machines that make the 'experience for the customer... as good as at the teller'.
Also being introduced is the ITM, which stands for 'interactive teller machine'. It is a computer with a touch screen designed to offer customers a virtual version of the in-person experience.
Sometimes, the customer will be able to view and speak with a real teller via a video call hosted on the machine.
Powley said the primary purpose of ITMs is to expand bank hours to help more customers just outside of a branch's lobby.
If such devices are offered in your area, you may be able to make day-to-day deposits and withdrawals for some services and not need to go to the lengths of switching banks.
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https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/yourmoney/banks/article-13025343/bank-closue-Bank-Wells-Fargo-Bank-America-PNC-options.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:39Z
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Residents at a Mesquite apartment complex reached out to NBC 5 saying they’ve been without heat and hot water for weeks.
Neighbor Vincent Bledsoe said he moved into the Tradewind Apartments near Highway 80 four months ago and has yet to have reliable utilities.
“Didn’t have any hot water at all unless we heat it on the stove,” Bledsoe said. “[We] ain’t ever had no heat on the bottom floor. Upstairs works alright, but the bottom floor doesn’t work at all.”
That includes when temperatures plunged well below freezing for days in mid-January.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
“We never got the heat on,” Bledsoe said.
The apartment's online reviews show similar complaints from residents including one person writing the hot water has been off for more than a month and the heat for three weeks.
A response from the property management team below the post said their team is working on the issue.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
NBC 5 reached out to the Houston-based owners, KPM Property Management, but have yet to receive a response.
The city of Mesquite is aware of the ongoing problems.
“We are very concerned with what’s going on with the residents,” said Mesquite City Manager Cliff Keheley.
Keheley said city inspectors have been visiting the complex for more than two weeks, writing daily citations with fines exceeding hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He said the city was first notified of utility issues after the complex lost power when the region experienced snow and ice on MLK Day.
“The apartment complex has been making repairs but it’s a very old system and the repairs they make just don’t hold,” Keheley said.
This week the city entered into a repair agreement with the owners requiring them to move residents somewhere with heat and hot water by Friday or ultimately face legal action.
He said residents should continue to file any complaints with apartment management but encouraged them to speak with city workers conducting inspections on the property.
“When we have inspectors out and they’re knocking on doors it’d be helpful if they could talk to us and explain what the situation is so we get a better understanding,” Keheley said.
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/mesquite-apartment-residents-without-reliable-heat-or-hot-water-for-weeks/3449771/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:40Z
|
Jorge Rubiano arrived alone in Chicago, but his pain and trauma came with him.
For months, he tried to find steady work. For months, he's been sleeping in a crowded temporary shelter, worrying about his wife and mother back in Colombia. Are they safe? Did I make the right decision?
He recalls a frightening phone call with his wife in Colombia, cut short when the bus she was riding on was being robbed.
Rubiano, 43, is also haunted by memories of his harrowing journey to Chicago, during which he says he was kidnapped for a month, before escaping.
He left his country, he says, over a land dispute in which the government threatened his life.
"I'm still in between two dangers," Rubiano says in Spanish. "If I return it's very possible they kill me, and if I stay I don't know what can happen here."
More than 30,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Chicago since August of 2022 — most of them from South and Central America. They are fleeing the collapse of their economies, a lack of food and jobs, and violence back home.
Many came here on a bus from Texas, sent by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who said Chicago — and other so-called sanctuary cities that embrace immigrants — would provide much-needed relief "to our small, overrun border towns."
The buses haven't stopped since.
Migrants fleeing hardship, danger, fear and loss
Interviews with more than 30 people reveal the emotional toll migrants face, and the efforts of individuals and organizations that are trying to fill the gaps of a frayed mental health system.
Some of those efforts are catching the attention of leaders in other big U.S. cities also coping with large influxes of newly-arrived migrants.
For many, their journeys here were terrifying. A young girl who fell into a river, her pregnant mother struggling to hold her small hand, so the current wouldn't whisk her away. Women who were forced to have sex with gang members to get from country to country. People who walked over the dead in the jungle, or are wracked with guilt over the sick and injured left behind.
Their stories have unfolded across Chicago: in the quiet space of a therapist's office, at an informal healing circle in the back of a store, with a nurse at a folding table propped up outside a police station.
But for many migrants, taking care of their mental health might not be a priority.
"They're in survival mode," says Sharon Davila, a school-based social worker who has screened migrant families. "They need their basic needs met. The number one thing is they're looking for jobs."
Just getting in front of a therapist or a social worker can be extremely difficult for even the most savvy and persistent. With a shortage of mental health workers, wait lists for an appointment can be months long.
Layer on being new to this country, speaking a different language, and having no health insurance. Getting help can seem impossible.
Therapist Susie Moya worries about a mental health crisis brewing for many migrants.
"Right now it's on the back burner," says Moya, who has worked with migrants on Chicago's Lower West Side. "But I'm thinking a year from now when these families are settled in. Who is going to be providing that support?"
Informal support, with a side of soup
It's a Monday night in the back room of an insurance agency on the Southwest Side. About 20 migrants have arranged their chairs in a circle. Each person takes a turn describing how they feel on a scale of one to 10, as social worker Veronica Sanchez gently encourages them to share why.
Warm homemade chicken soup and arepas await them for dinner.
A woman says her husband got deported, and she's heartbroken that she left her children behind. A man says he worked several days that week, but never got paid. Another says he is grateful to God for bringing him to America, but he misses his mom, dad and brothers.
Finding work and reuniting with family is important, Sanchez tells them. But right now she's concerned about their mental health.
"Maybe we have answers. Maybe we don't. But when you open up a safe space where you can share your sorrows... you don't feel so alone," Sanchez says in Spanish.
Sanchez understands the migrants' desperation. She comes from a long line of pottery makers in Mexico. Sanchez was just four years old when her father left to work in Cicero, a suburb outside Chicago. She didn't see her father for almost seven years, until they were reunited as a family in Cicero.
Those memories fuel her work with the healing circle. "When I was talking to them, it really came from the heart," Sanchez says. "I was seeing the migrants' faces, that they were so scared."
Informal support groups like this one have popped up around Chicago in shelters, storefronts, churches and schools, led by volunteers or mental health professionals.
Many of these support groups don't last long. Volunteers get burned out. Migrants prioritize other needs. Or the city moves them from place to place.
The costs of ignoring loss and trauma
Some volunteers and mental health providers emphasize that not every migrant might be experiencing severe trauma.
But for many, trauma can have lasting impact. Trauma can change the wiring in a person's brain and make someone more vulnerable to depression and anxiety.
Daily or ongoing stressors can add up to what Chicago psychologist Laura Pappa calls "little t trauma" — like not feeling welcomed right away.
"A lot of people come here seeking the American dream and they realize that that's not there," says Pappa, who came to the U.S. from Argentina as a teen. "A lot of people were not expecting that, how hard it is on this side. I've had a lot of parents who've come alone and ask themselves, was it worth it?"
It can be hard to persuade migrants to seek help, however. There's a stigma about the need for mental health care in many immigrant communities, particularly among Latino men, Pappa says.
But, she adds, the stigma is easing as talking about emotions becomes more common.
Training the front-line workers in shelters
One effort to provide faster help involves training hundreds of peoplewho don't have a medical background, but work in city-run shelters. These front-line workers, such as case managers and shelter supervisors, are learning to lead support groups called Café y Comunidad charlas — coffee and community talks.
The initiative is led by the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health, the University of Chicago's Crown Family School, and Lurie Children's Center for Childhood Resilience.
The idea is to help migrants feel less isolated and try to prevent the most extreme outcomes, such as suicide.
"We have to help people the minute they arrive," explainsAimee Hilado, an assistant professor at UC's Crown School and chair of the coalition. "That's actually going to promote healing down the line."
Case manager Albert Ayala has led a charla in the ballroom of a downtown shelter. He recalls moments of joy, such as when a woman said she was searching for love — and hands shot up hoping to catch her attention.
Ayala says he's watched migrants who arrive scared and shy blossom after attending a charla.
"We try to tell them we're no different from you," says Ayala, who is Mexican American. "Your dream is possible."
Leaders in Philadelphia and San Jose have reached out asking how to replicate the effort, Hilado says.
Outside his shelter, Rubiano, the migrant from Colombia, says he hasn't attended one of these support groups. He says he tries to keep busy working on his English skills. And he recently found a full-time job in a supermarket.
He longs for his family, and for the chance to bring them here — once there is a stable life he can offer them.
WBEZ is part of the Mental Health Parity Collaborative, a group of newsrooms covering stories on mental health care access and inequities in the U.S. The Collaborative's partners include The Carter Center, the Center for Public Integrity and newsrooms in select states across the country.
WBEZ's Manuel Martinez contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 WBEZ
|
https://news.wgcu.org/2024-01-31/for-chicagos-new-migrants-informal-support-groups-help-ease-the-pain-and-trauma
| 2024-01-31T23:14:40Z
|
Supplements Recalled In Colorado Pose 'Life-Threatening' Side-Effects
By Zuri Anderson
January 31, 2024
A company is voluntarily recalling all lots of branded supplements sold across Colorado after an undeclared, "life-threatening" drug was discovered.
Neptune Resources, LLC announced they've recalled Neptune's Fix Elixir, Neptune's Fix Extra Strength Elixir, and Neptune's Fix Tablets because they contain tianeptine, an antidepressant not FDA-approved for medical use, according to a food safety alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday (January 29).
No adverse events connected to these recalled products have been reported as of Monday.
Officials warn children, adolescents, and young adults aged 25 and younger could experience life-threatening behavior, including suicidal ideation, if they consume these supplements. People who may unintentionally overdose may be at risk of suffering several symptoms, including confusion, seizures, drowsiness, dry mouth, and shortness of breath, the alert reads.
"The risks of adverse effects associated with use of tianeptine along with antidepressants, known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOls), are potentially serious and life-threatening," the agency added.
Customers can recognize these products by Neptune's Fix logo, which features an illustration of the Roman God Neptune with a green beard and a trident. Neptune Resources confirmed the tainted supplements were distributed and sold nationwide. They've also notified both distributors and customers about the undeclared tianeptine.
FDA officials urge anyone who has these supplements to stop using them, destroy them, or return them to the place of purchase immediately.
Consumers can visit FDA's website for contact information, pictures, and additional details about the recall.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-supplements-recalled-in-colorado-pose-life-threatening-side-effects/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:41Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Flourishing-Life-Of-Wish Virtual Reality Therapy (FLOW-VRT)-Relaxation, which has a special focus on relaxation, outperforms traditional relaxation for patients in palliative care, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in Frontiers in Virtual Reality.
Olive Kit Ling Woo, from the University of Hong Kong, and colleagues presented a structured, personalized, and innovative psychological intervention, FLOW-VRT, which makes use of VRT for symptom management. FLOW-VRT-Relaxation was designed for patients in need of palliative care to enhance end-of-life coping through personalized VR relaxation. The efficacy of FLOW-VRT-Relaxation was examined by comparing it to traditional relaxation practice in palliative care in a randomized trial involving 128 participants.
The researchers found that the symptoms of distress, physical or emotional in nature, which patients in palliative care have to endure, were significantly reduced following a FLOW-VRT-Relaxation session.
"Here we show that relaxation assisted by virtual reality outperforms traditional relaxation therapy in terms of physical and psychological symptom management in palliative care," Woo said in a statement.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/health-technology/virtual-reality-relaxation-outperforms-traditional-relaxation-in-palliative-care
| 2024-01-31T23:14:41Z
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Boston doctor found not guilty on charge of lewd acts near a 14-year-old girl on an airplane
By STEVE LeBLANC
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) — A Boston doctor was found not guilty Wednesday on a charge of lewd acts near a 14-year-old girl on an airplane after a three-day trial in federal court in Boston. Lawyers for Dr. Sudipta Mohanty, 33, said more than a dozen passengers sitting in seats near Mohanty and flight attendants charged with serving the passengers said they didn’t see anything consistent with the accusation while on the flight. Mohanty said the accusation and trial have been incredibly difficult for himself and his family for a crime he didn’t commit. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said he was disappointed in the outcome.
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/boston-doctor-found-not-guilty-on-charge-of-lewd-acts-near-a-14-year-old-girl-on-an-airplane/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:42Z
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From the occupied West Bank, an emergency hotline assists rescue efforts in Gaza By Aya Batrawy Published January 31, 2024 at 5:39 PM EST Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Listen • 5:17 NPR visits an emergency hotline center in the West Bank assisting first responders in the Gaza Strip. Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/from-the-occupied-west-bank-an-emergency-hotline-assists-rescue-efforts-in-gaza
| 2024-01-31T23:14:43Z
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FDA warns of contaminated copycat eye drops
The Food and Drug Administration is warning the public against copycat eye drops because of the risk of infection.
South Moon, Rebright and FivFivGo eye drops are offered in packaging that could easily be mistaken for Bausch + Lomb's Limify brand eye drops, an over-the-counter product approved for redness relief, the FDA said on Wednesday.
The copycat products claim to address conditions like glaucoma, which is treated with prescription drugs or surgery, the agency noted.
The FDA tested samples of South Moon and Rebright eye drops purchased online, finding the former to be tainted with burkholderia cepacia complex, a group of bacteria that could cause an antibiotic-resistant infection. While Rebright testing did not find contamination, the agency advised against its use.
FDA testing also found South Moon and Rebright drops lacked brimonidine tartrate, the active ingredient in Limify. The agency was not able to obtain FivFivGo samples.
The origin of the copycat products is not yet clear, but the federal agency continues to investigate.
The FDA has received reports related to possibly fake Lumify including quality concerns, eye irritation, pain and infection, according to the agency, which advised eye drop users to only buy products from reputable retailers, like state-licensed pharmacies.
The warning comes just months after an eye drop recall in which 28 products were pulled from store shelves due to safety concerns prompted by investigators finding unsanitary conditions at a manufacturing facility in India. That November recall was one of eight separate announcement related to eye drops last year.
The spate of recalls involving eye drop products last year were linked to four deaths and multiple cases of vision loss.
U.S. troops killed in drone strike identified
Where Trump's legal cases stand ahead of fraud trial ruling
Iran vows to "decisively respond" to any retaliatory U.S. attack
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fda-warns-contaminated-copycat-eye-223115988.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:44Z
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Scientists have found that spiderwebs can be used to capture environmental DNA, which reflects the animal population of an area. The technique may help track the biodiversity of an ecosystem.
Copyright 2024 NPR
Scientists have found that spiderwebs can be used to capture environmental DNA, which reflects the animal population of an area. The technique may help track the biodiversity of an ecosystem.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/spiderwebs-could-offer-a-snapshot-of-an-ecosystem-study-shows
| 2024-01-31T23:14:44Z
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five Texas cities saying they've violated state law by "adopting amnesty and non-prosecution policies" for marijuana possession and distribution.
In a series of lawsuits, the attorney general's office is targeting the cities of Denton, Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, and Elgin claiming they illegally adopted ordinances or policies instructing police to not enforce state laws concerning the possession of marijuana.
In November 2022, voters in Denton approved a proposition to decriminalize some marijuana offenses, ending citations and arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Even though it was voter-approved, city leaders said implementing the policy was tough because it was superseded by the ‘Texas Code of Criminal Procedure,’ which required officers to enforce state law.
KXAN-TV in Austin reported in January 2020 that the state capital was not decriminalizing marijuana possession, but rather deprioritizing it because such cases were a waste of resources and because the cases weren't being prosecuted.
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Paxton's office said in a statement that "Texas Local Government Code forbids any political subdivision from adopting 'a policy under which the entity will not fully enforce laws relating to drugs.' Further, the Texas Constitution notes that it is unlawful for municipalities to adopt ordinances that are inconsistent with the laws enacted by the Texas Legislature."
“I will not stand idly by as cities run by pro-crime extremists deliberately violate Texas law and promote the use of illicit drugs that harm our communities,” said Paxton in a statement. “This unconstitutional action by municipalities demonstrates why Texas must have a law to ‘follow the law.’ It’s quite simple: the legislature passes every law after a full debate on the issues, and we don’t allow cities the ability to create anarchy by picking and choosing the laws they enforce.”
In his statement, Paxton did not specify which city leaders he considers to be a "pro-crime extremist," but in each of the five suits filed by his office, he named the city's mayor, each member of the city council, the city manager and the police chief as defendants.
Texas News
News from around the state of Texas.
Though district attorneys were not named on the lawsuits, Paxton said he'll continue going after "rogue district attorneys whose abuse of prosecutorial discretion has contributed to a deadly national crime wave."
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-news/ag-paxton-sues-denton-other-texas-cities-that-adopted-marijuana-amnesty-policies/3449791/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:46Z
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Senate Republicans demanded that President Biden's national security funding package for Ukraine be tied to policy changes to address the crisis at the southwest border. But now that negotiators say they are ready to release details of a bipartisan plan to reduce the surge of migrants at the border, Republican divisions could scuttle the plan.
Months of negotiations between the Republicans, Democrats and the Biden administration officials are now threatened by politics. Former President Trump, the GOP's likely 2024 presidential nominee, has been publicly slamming the deal and urging lawmakers to oppose it.
Negotiators started the week promising to release a bill in the coming days. But by Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell appeared to signal he's ready to move on, and focus on getting money to two key U.S. allies at war.
"It's time for us to move something, hopefully including the border agreement, but we need to get help to Israel and Ukraine, quickly," McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters.
McConnell has consistently argued that divided government is the moment to extract demands on border policy from Democrats.
Pressed about what voters would think of GOP lawmakers who sink a bill because Trump directed them to, McConnell sidestepped the question. "I still favor trying to make law when you can" and said what the bipartisan group is working on is better than current immigration law, adding, "you're asking me, a question I can't answer right now, which is the fate of it."
Senators already know key details
The top Democratic negotiator working on a border plan, Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has signaled for days that the deal is basically done, but getting sign off from the GOP to move ahead is the hold up.
"We have a bipartisan agreement to help address the crisis at the border. Republicans have been desperate for that. Why would they walk away from it?"
Senate Republicans huddled at their weekly lunch on Wednesday to discuss next steps, but the consensus coming out of the meeting was that lawmakers want to see the details.
But after weeks of negotiations, the key provisions have already been explained to lawmakers from both parties.
The bill includes several tools to address the border, including: giving the president the ability to shutdown the border if the numbers of migrants attempting to enter the U.S. climbs above a certain threshold, adjusting the rules for who qualifies for asylum and allowing migrants authorization to work while awaiting adjudication of their asylum claim.
Extended negotiations opened space for critics
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said the effort is "an uphill climb" because as the talks have continued, some members have impressions about what the proposal will do and "there are certain people who will never change their mind."
Tillis has said a border plan needs to get the majority of Senate Republicans in order to move ahead. But Trump injecting himself into the process has caused many lawmakers to refrain from backing the framework, making it tougher to meet that test.
Oklahoma GOP Sen. Jim Lankford is crafting the plan along with Murphy and Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. Lankford spent time on Sunday talk shows swatting down leaks about the plan that conservative media outlets are painting as a green light for 5,000 additional migrants a day.
Texas Republican Sen, John Cornyn, who was an early advocate of linking money for Ukraine to changes to the Biden administration's policies, said people need time to see an official piece of legislation.
"People are talking about what they think is in it, and what they've heard is in it, what's not in it,' Cornyn told reporters. "I think the first thing we need to do is see where the conference is based on the text rather than just based on rumors and hearsay."
Tillis called Wednesday's meeting "a good discussion." But added, "I would ask those same members who are calling for time to read it, but not judge something they haven't read."
Others who came out against the bill already are already dismissing the proposals.
"I think this is a bad bill," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tx., told reporters. "And the simplest reason is it doesn't solve the problem."
Cruz blamed Senate Democrats for crafting a bill that "allows Joe Biden to continue the open borders," despite the months of bipartisan negotiations that have taken place. President Biden endorsed the proposal and said last week if Congress passes it he would immediately shutdown the border.
Some optimisim remains
Murphy remained optimistic on Wednesday that the deal would survive and come to the floor for a vote, possibly as soon as this week.
He said a "sizable, important group of Republican senators" are making a good faith effort to get something done on the border, and suggested that others are making disingenuous arguments about needing to see the full text.
"This is not a detailed study of the issue. This is a question as to whether they are going to put Trump before solving the problem," Murphy said.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://news.wgcu.org/2024-01-31/senate-gop-split-risks-bipartisan-border-deal-as-trump-looms-large
| 2024-01-31T23:14:46Z
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Supplements Recalled In Florida Pose 'Life-Threatening' Side-Effects
By Zuri Anderson
January 31, 2024
A company is voluntarily recalling all lots of branded supplements sold across Colorado after an undeclared, "life-threatening" drug was discovered.
Neptune Resources, LLC announced they've recalled Neptune's Fix Elixir, Neptune's Fix Extra Strength Elixir, and Neptune's Fix Tablets because they contain tianeptine, an antidepressant not FDA-approved for medical use, according to a food safety alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday (January 29).
No adverse events connected to these recalled products have been reported as of Monday.
Officials warn children, adolescents, and young adults aged 25 and younger could experience life-threatening behavior, including suicidal ideation, if they consume these supplements. People who may unintentionally overdose may be at risk of suffering several symptoms, including confusion, seizures, drowsiness, dry mouth, and shortness of breath, the alert reads.
"The risks of adverse effects associated with use of tianeptine along with antidepressants, known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOls), are potentially serious and life-threatening," the agency added.
Customers can recognize these products by Neptune's Fix logo, which features an illustration of the Roman God Neptune with a green beard and a trident. Neptune Resources confirmed the tainted supplements were distributed and sold nationwide. They've also notified both distributors and customers about the undeclared tianeptine.
FDA officials urge anyone who has these supplements to stop using them, destroy them, or return them to the place of purchase immediately.
Consumers can visit FDA's website for contact information, pictures, and additional details about the recall.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-supplements-recalled-in-florida-pose-life-threatening-risk/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:47Z
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Californians don’t have to pass a background check every time they buy bullets, federal judge rules
By ADAM BEAM
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled California residents don’t have to pay for and pass a background check every time they buy bullets. U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez ruled Tuesday the law is unconstitutional. His ruling took effect immediately. California Democratic Attorney General Rob Bonta has asked Benitez to delay his ruling to give his office time to appeal the decision. It’s unclear if Benitez will grant that request. California has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. Many of them are being challenged in court in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that set a new standard for interpreting gun laws.
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/californians-dont-have-to-pass-a-background-check-every-time-they-buy-bullets-federal-judge-rules/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:49Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Deployment of COMPOSER for early prediction of sepsis is associated with significant improvements in outcomes, including mortality, according to a study published online Jan. 23 in npj Digital Medicine.
Aaron Boussina, from University of California in San Diego (UCSD), and colleagues assessed the impact of a deep learning model (COMPOSER) for the early prediction of sepsis on patient outcomes. The analysis included a before-and-after quasi-experimental study design at two emergency departments that saw 6,217 adult septic patients from Jan. 1, 2021, through April 30, 2023.
The researchers found that the deployment of COMPOSER was significantly associated with a 1.9 percent absolute reduction (17 percent relative decrease) in in-hospital sepsis mortality. Additionally, there was a 5.0 percent absolute increase (10 percent relative increase) in sepsis bundle compliance and a 4 percent reduction in 72-hour sequential organ failure assessment score change after sepsis onset in a causal inference analysis.
"Our COMPOSER model uses real-time data in order to predict sepsis before obvious clinical manifestations," coauthor Gabriel Wardi, M.D., also from UCSD, said in a statement. "It works silently and safely behind the scenes, continuously surveilling every patient for signs of possible sepsis."
Several authors are co-founders of Healcisio Inc., a UCSD start-up focused on commercialization of advanced analytical decision support tools.
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/infectious-disease/ai-model-for-early-prediction-of-sepsis-improves-outcomes
| 2024-01-31T23:14:49Z
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Donald Trump has yet to officially clinch the Republican presidential nomination, but he's already begun to tease about a running mate. The NPR Politics Podcast dives into who might be on his list.
Copyright 2024 NPR
Donald Trump has yet to officially clinch the Republican presidential nomination, but he's already begun to tease about a running mate. The NPR Politics Podcast dives into who might be on his list.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://radio.wpsu.org/2024-01-31/trump-says-vp-pick-wont-impact-the-race-so-whats-he-looking-for-in-a-running-mate
| 2024-01-31T23:14:49Z
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Back in Blue! South Dakota Alum Streveler Signs with Winnipeg
Chris Streveler has had a very memorable pro football career. After a Grey Cup title with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers back in 2019, he took aim at the NFL.
After stints with the Cardinals, Ravens, Dolphins, and Jets, Streveler then took his talents to the broadcast booth.
This past season, he was involved on USD Coyote Football broadcasts, and was still in search of his next pro opportunity.
Beloved by the city of Winnipeg since helping bring home the Grey Cup in 2019, Streveler is back with the Blue Bombers as of Wednesday:
It's huge news for a quarterback that brings his own unique style and substance both on and off the field.
He's a blast to watch, and Winnipeg fans know exactly what they're getting. In 2 seasons with the Blue Bombers in 2018 and 2019, Streveler threw for 19 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, and also added over 1,100 yards rushing and 22 scores on the ground.
Winnipeg has been to four consecutive Grey Cup Title Games (winning twice), and are coming off of a 14-4 finish to last season where they finished as runners up to Montreal.
Winnipeg has won double digit games in every season dating back to 2015.
Streveler joins Zach Collaros, Dakota Prukop, and Eric Barriere as quarterbacks on the current roster. Collaros was the starter last season, tossing 33 touchdowns on the season.
Source: BlueBombers.com and Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Twitter
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Gallery Credit: Jeff Harkness/B1027.com
A Survival Guide For Your First Winter in South Dakota
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10 Small-Town South Dakota Restaurants That Are Worth The Drive
Gallery Credit: Andy Gott
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https://espnsiouxfalls.com/chris-streveler-cfl-winnipeg-blue-bombers-south-dakota/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:49Z
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Federal judge dismisses Disney’s lawsuit against DeSantis
ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed Disney’s free speech lawsuit accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis and state officials of political retaliation in response to the entertainment giant’s criticism of a law limiting classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor ruled that Disney did not have legal standing to sue DeSantis and Florida’s commerce secretary.
He also wrote that Disney’s claims against members of the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board “failed on the merits.”
Disney issued a statement signaling that it will appeal the decision.
“This is an important case with serious implications for the rule of law, and it will not end here,” a company spokesperson said in an unsigned statement. “If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with. We are determined to press forward with our case.”
The ruling dealt a major setback to Disney’s efforts to regain control of the special district that provides government services to its Central Florida theme parks and resorts.
DeSantis’ office praised the ruling, saying that “the days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone.”
“The federal court’s decision made it clear that Gov. DeSantis was correct: Disney is still just one of many corporations in the state, and they do not have a right to their own special government,” spokesman Jeremy Redfern said in a statement. “In short — as long predicted, case dismissed.”
Disney alleged DeSantis and state officials engaged in a “targeted campaign of government retaliation” after it opposed what critics called the “don’t say gay” law in 2022.
As the feud intensified, the Legislature voted in early 2023 to overhaul Disney’s district and give the governor the power to pick its board members. DeSantis replaced Disney loyalists with Republican allies, upending an arrangement that effectively allowed the corporation to self-govern Disney World for more than 50 years.
Disney filed its suit in April 2023, asking the courts to undo the state takeover.
Winsor, though, didn’t accept Disney’s argument that changing the governing structure of the special district amounted to a constitutional violation.
“(I)t is settled law that ‘when a statute is facially constitutional, a plaintiff cannot bring a free-speech challenge by claiming that the lawmakers who passed it acted with a constitutionally impermissible purpose,'” wrote Winsor, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.
The ruling doesn’t affect a separate lawsuit in state court that the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District filed against Disney. That suit deals with development agreements between the previous Reedy Creek Improvement District board and Disney that limited the new board’s authority over development.
The new DeSantis-appointed board is asking the courts to void those agreements.
Martin Garcia, chairman of the tourism oversight board, said he was “delighted” with the ruling.
“Our board and the district will now continue to make the appropriate changes to operate and function as an independent government agency to promote transparency and accountability while bringing more prosperity to more people in Florida,” he said in a statement.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/federal-judge-dismisses-disney-lawsuit-225200937.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:50Z
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Donald Trump has yet to officially clinch the Republican presidential nomination, but he's already begun to tease about a running mate. The NPR Politics Podcast dives into who might be on his list.
Copyright 2024 NPR
Donald Trump has yet to officially clinch the Republican presidential nomination, but he's already begun to tease about a running mate. The NPR Politics Podcast dives into who might be on his list.
Copyright 2024 NPR
|
https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/trump-says-vp-pick-wont-impact-the-race-so-whats-he-looking-for-in-a-running-mate
| 2024-01-31T23:14:50Z
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White Settlement Police are looking for a man they say is connected to two victims of child sexual assault.
Police Chief Christopher Cook said 39-year-old Steven Skalij knew his victims, and they had received a tip from a parent.
Cook said officers arrested Skalij in October 2023 on one count of sexual assault of a child.
NBC 5 found Skalij has an extensive criminal record that dates back to 2004, with charges ranging from theft to assault with a deadly weapon, terroristic threat, and family violence.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
He was living in a home on Bomber Road that had police asking questions.
“There were multiple locations at the property, living locations. There were multiple teenagers, there were multiple other adults staying at the location," Cook said.
He said all the teens at the home were girls, and the adults were both men and women.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“There was some allegations, again, that people just didn’t go by state law, that if a teenager wanted to engage in a romantic sexual relationship with an adult — that they’d just turn the other way, and that’s very concerning," Cook said.
Cook said police had requested a $500,000 bond for Skalij, “because we felt like there was a lot of stuff that was pretty egregious in this particular case."
Police were also concerned after their interview with Skalij.
"Our detectives gathered that, again, he felt like the teenagers could consent but that’s just — that’s not allowed under Texas law, that a child can consent to a sexual relationship with an adult," Cook said.
Judge Christopher Gregory, Tarrant County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 4, set Skalij's bond for $500,000.
“What stood out to me was the age of the victim and the ability for the alleged offense that occurred to manipulate her that was brought across in the arrest warrant. So, that’s where I believed that, to protect her, and to protect public safety, it needed to be about $500,000," Gregory said.
Another judge decided to reduce that bond to $100,000.
“That always frustrates ... but ... that is within their authority to do that," Cook said.
“What was most concerning to our team is once he was released, he actually picked up one of the victims, according to our team. Again, it just goes to show you, that’s what we were concerned about to begin with," Cook added.
That would have violated the terms of his bond. According to court records, Skalij's bond conditions include no contact with the victim, her family, or anyone under the age of 17.
“That’s the reason why I set a half-a-million-dollar bond, is to protect the public safety. I don’t set it haphazardly," Gregory said.
Police have found more evidence and another victim, and issued two more felony warrants against Skalij for sexual assault of a child. But now, they can't find him.
“We have checked the location where he resided in our city, we’ve had our officers there multiple occasions, they have not seen him at this location. So, we don’t think he’s staying in our city, anymore," Cook said.
Cook said they've made contact with Skalij over the phone. At one point, he said Skalij told officers he'd turn himself in, but never showed up.
They believe Skalij is still somewhere in North Texas.
"We’re hoping that somebody recognizes the photos that we provided, knows where he’s been staying," Cook said.
He said Skalij has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty but they want to arrest so that the now three cases against him can move through the court system.
Gregory has set the bonds for Skalij's two new warrants at a total of $1.5 million, to make sure he doesn't bond out again and commit another crime.
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/white-settlement-police-search-for-child-sexual-assault-suspect/3449702/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:52Z
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The number of syphilis cases in the U.S. are on the rise. According to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases increased by nearly 80% to more than 207,000 between 2018 and 2022.
Rates increased among all age groups, including newborns, and in all regions of the country. In 2022, 3,755 cases of babies born with syphilis in the U.S. were reported, which reflects an alarming 937% increase in the past decade, the CDC said.
The report continued that racial and ethnic minorities are most disproportionately affected due to "long standing social inequities that often lead to health inequalities."
Experts point to various reasons for the increase, including increases in substance abuse tied to risky sexual behavior, decrease in condom use, ongoing social and economic conditions and reduction in sexually transmitted infections (STI) services at the state and local level.
"Because STIs often do not show symptoms, and screening is necessary for timely diagnosis and treatment, changes in access to sexual health care can affect the number of infections diagnosed and reported," the CDC said.
The stigma surrounding STIs can also keep people from seeking care, and "buries the truth that all people deserve quality sexual health care," said Laura Bachmann, acting director of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention, in an interview with NPR. "It also can cause issues at the provider level when it comes to talking with people about these issues."
The CDC said that its findings signal an urgent need for a closer look at public health efforts and prevention strategies.
"Some people face tremendous barriers to STI prevention and health services," said Bachmann ina statement. "So, the most important work is often outside the clinic, whether it be reaching out to communities with testing, interviewing patients to offer services to their partners, or delivering treatment directly to someone."
She added that there is still a need for more innovation around diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
"In the United States, syphilis was close to elimination in the 1990s, so we know it's possible to reverse this epidemic," said Jonathan Mermin, director of CDC's National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, in a statement. "I have hope for innovative prevention tools – such as a pill after sex that prevents STIs, and better tests for syphilis – but they will only be successful if they reach the people who will benefit. And that is going to require coordinated and sustained efforts at the federal, state, and local levels."
The U.S Department of Health and Human Services is also continuing to address the issue through the establishment of a federal task force last year.
"Addressing the resurgence of syphilis and congenital syphilis requires a concerted effort," said Admiral Rachel Levine, assistant secretary for health and chair of the National Syphilis and Congenital Syphilis Syndemic Federal Task Force, in a statement. "We can collectively work towards reducing the incidence of syphilis and its devastating consequences, and we will turn the tide on the syphilis epidemic."
Without the appropriate funding however, it's difficult for communities to follow through with the recommendations by government officials, said Elizabeth Finley, director of communications at the National Coalition of STD Directors.
Over the past year, there has been a shortage of Bicillin, an antibiotic used to treat syphilis. In addition, last year states lost funding for STD prevention, affecting their ability to respond to syphilis.
"The 2022 data is devastating to see, but it's already a year old," said Finley. As a result, she said that "we have every reason to believe that the 2023 numbers will be much worse."
The CDC report also included data on other sexually transmitted infections, stating that "reported gonorrhea cases declined for the first time in at least a decade while reported chlamydia cases were level."
There were more than 2.5 million cases of syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia reported in the U.S. in 2022 alone.
Without treatment, syphilis can cause serious health problems including damage to the heart and brain, and can cause blindness, deafness and paralysis. If transmitted during pregnancy, it can cause miscarriage, infant death and lifelong medical issues. With the right antibiotics, the STI is curable.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://news.wgcu.org/2024-01-31/syphilis-cases-rise-to-their-highest-levels-since-the-1950s-cdc-says
| 2024-01-31T23:14:52Z
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Supplements Recalled In Washington Pose 'Life-Threatening' Side-Effects
By Zuri Anderson
January 31, 2024
A company is voluntarily recalling all lots of branded supplements sold across Washington State after an undeclared, "life-threatening" drug was discovered.
Neptune Resources, LLC announced they've recalled Neptune's Fix Elixir, Neptune's Fix Extra Strength Elixir, and Neptune's Fix Tablets because they contain tianeptine, an antidepressant not FDA-approved for medical use, according to a food safety alert issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday (January 29).
No adverse events connected to these recalled products have been reported as of Monday.
Officials warn children, adolescents, and young adults aged 25 and younger could experience life-threatening behavior, including suicidal ideation, if they consume these supplements. People who may unintentionally overdose may be at risk of suffering several symptoms, including confusion, seizures, drowsiness, dry mouth, and shortness of breath, the alert reads.
"The risks of adverse effects associated with use of tianeptine along with antidepressants, known as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOls), are potentially serious and life-threatening," the agency added.
Customers can recognize these products by Neptune's Fix logo, which features an illustration of the Roman God Neptune with a green beard and a trident. Neptune Resources confirmed the tainted supplements were distributed and sold nationwide. They've also notified both distributors and customers about the undeclared tianeptine.
FDA officials urge anyone who has these supplements to stop using them, destroy them, or return them to the place of purchase immediately.
Consumers can visit FDA's website for contact information, pictures, and additional details about the recall.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-supplements-recalled-in-washington-pose-life-threatening-side-effects/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:53Z
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Chicago becomes latest US city to approve cease-fire resolution in Israel-Hamas war
By SOPHIA TAREEN
Associated Press
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago’s City Council narrowly approved a resolution Wednesday calling for a permanent cease-fire in the war between Israel and Hamas, with Mayor Brandon Johnson casting the tiebreaking vote. The symbolic declaration in the nation’s third-largest city follows weeks of rowdy public meetings with disruptions from demonstrators, including on Wednesday where council chambers had to be temporarily cleared. The resolution, approved 24-23, includes a call for humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages. Supporters in the chambers included the Rev. Jesse Jackson. Chicago is latest U.S. city to approve such a non-binding resolution, following Atlanta, Detroit and San Francisco in recent months.
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/chicago-becomes-latest-u-s-city-to-approve-cease-fire-resolution-in-israel-hamas-war/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:55Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with gout, especially those younger than 60 years, have an increased risk for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), according to a study published online Dec. 26 in Diagnostics.
Woo Jin Bang, from the Hallym University College of Medicine in Anyang, South Korea, and colleagues retrieved data from 514,866 Korean National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohorts from 2002 to 2019 to examine the risk for BPH in patients with gout. Data were analyzed for 14,961 gout patients and 58,764 matched controls.
The researchers found that the incidence of BPH was 23.40 and 20.70 percent in gout and control participants, respectively. The hazard ratio for BPH was 1.13-fold higher for gout versus control patients, in the adjusted model. Among gout patients, those aged younger than 60 years had a higher hazard ratio for BPH compared with the age group 60 years and older (1.19 versus 1.07). A consistent risk for gout was seen according to various comorbidities.
"The elevated risk of BPH in gout patients was independent of lifestyle factors and comorbid conditions," the authors write. "Clinicians may need to consider the potentially increased risk of BPH when managing patients with gout and the need for early monitoring or intervention."
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/men-health/risk-for-benign-prostatic-hyperplasia-increased-for-patients-with-gout
| 2024-01-31T23:14:55Z
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Here's Why We Think Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) Is Well Worth Watching
Investors are often guided by the idea of discovering 'the next big thing', even if that means buying 'story stocks' without any revenue, let alone profit. Unfortunately, these high risk investments often have little probability of ever paying off, and many investors pay a price to learn their lesson. While a well funded company may sustain losses for years, it will need to generate a profit eventually, or else investors will move on and the company will wither away.
In contrast to all that, many investors prefer to focus on companies like Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR), which has not only revenues, but also profits. Even if this company is fairly valued by the market, investors would agree that generating consistent profits will continue to provide Emerald Resources with the means to add long-term value to shareholders.
View our latest analysis for Emerald Resources
Emerald Resources' Improving Profits
Emerald Resources has undergone a massive growth in earnings per share over the last three years. So much so that this three year growth rate wouldn't be a fair assessment of the company's future. So it would be better to isolate the growth rate over the last year for our analysis. Emerald Resources' EPS skyrocketed from AU$0.084 to AU$0.11, in just one year; a result that's bound to bring a smile to shareholders. That's a impressive gain of 36%.
Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. On the revenue front, Emerald Resources has done well over the past year, growing revenue by 45% to AU$299m but EBIT margin figures were less stellar, seeing a decline over the last 12 months. So if EBIT margins can stabilize, this top-line growth should pay off for shareholders.
The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.
While it's always good to see growing profits, you should always remember that a weak balance sheet could come back to bite. So check Emerald Resources' balance sheet strength, before getting too excited.
Are Emerald Resources Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?
It's pleasing to see company leaders with putting their money on the line, so to speak, because it increases alignment of incentives between the people running the business, and its true owners. Emerald Resources followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. Indeed, they have a considerable amount of wealth invested in it, currently valued at AU$385m. That equates to 18% of the company, making insiders powerful and aligned with other shareholders. So there is opportunity here to invest in a company whose management have tangible incentives to deliver.
It means a lot to see insiders invested in the business, but shareholders may be wondering if remuneration policies are in their best interest. A brief analysis of the CEO compensation suggests they are. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Emerald Resources with market caps between AU$1.5b and AU$4.9b is about AU$2.1m.
The Emerald Resources CEO received total compensation of just AU$662k in the year to June 2023. That's clearly well below average, so at a glance that arrangement seems generous to shareholders and points to a modest remuneration culture. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.
Does Emerald Resources Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?
You can't deny that Emerald Resources has grown its earnings per share at a very impressive rate. That's attractive. If you need more convincing beyond that EPS growth rate, don't forget about the reasonable remuneration and the high insider ownership. This may only be a fast rundown, but the key takeaway is that Emerald Resources is worth keeping an eye on. However, before you get too excited we've discovered 1 warning sign for Emerald Resources that you should be aware of.
While opting for stocks without growing earnings and absent insider buying can yield results, for investors valuing these key metrics, here is a carefully selected list of companies in AU with promising growth potential and insider confidence.
Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-why-think-emerald-resources-225425393.html
| 2024-01-31T23:14:57Z
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New reports show a big academic recovery after schools reopened. But not for all students. Stanford professor Sean Reardon tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how the pandemic worsened education inequality.
Copyright 2024 NPR
New reports show a big academic recovery after schools reopened. But not for all students. Stanford professor Sean Reardon tells NPR's Mary Louise Kelly how the pandemic worsened education inequality.
Copyright 2024 NPR
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https://www.wkyufm.org/2024-01-31/u-s-students-are-starting-to-catch-up-in-school-unless-theyre-from-a-poor-area
| 2024-01-31T23:14:57Z
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What to Know
- The spotlight returns to Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania this week, when handlers of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil will announce his verdict on seeing his shadow — six more weeks of winter or an early spring.
- Groundhog Day is part of a tradition rooted in European agricultural life and marks the midpoint between the winter solstice and the spring equinox.
- By all accounts, Punxsutawney Phil predicts more winter far more often than he predicts an early spring.
The spotlight will be on Gobbler’s Knob in western Pennsylvania early on the morning of Friday, Feb. 2, 2024, when handlers of a groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil will announce whether he saw his own shadow and predicts six more weeks of winter or an early spring.
Thousands are expected to attend the annual event that exploded in popularity after the 1993 Bill Murray movie, “Groundhog Day.”
You can watch the festivities live on this page the morning of Feb. 2.
Get DFW local news, weather forecasts and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC DFW newsletters.
It's part of a tradition rooted in European agricultural life, marking the midpoint between the shortest day of the year on the winter solstice and the spring equinox. It's also a time of year that figures in the Celtic calendar and the Christian holiday of Candlemas.
And in eastern and central Pennsylvania, where people of German descent have been watching the groundhog's annual emergence from hibernation for centuries, there's a tradition of groundhog clubs and celebrations that are independent of Phil.
Some dismiss the Punxsutawney event as an unworthy rival to their own festivities, which they say forecast more accurate weather predictions. There have been weather-predicting groundhogs in at least 28 U.S. states and Canadian provinces, and less formal celebrations far and wide.
One thing it's not: serious business.
“We know this is silly; we know this is fun,” said Marcy Galando, executive director of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. “We want people to come here with a sense of humor.”
What are Groundhog Day's origins?
Celtic people across Europe marked the four days that are midway between the winter solstice, the spring equinox, the summer solstice and the fall equinox. What the Celts called Imbolc is also around when Christians celebrate Candlemas, timed to Joseph and Mary's presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem.
Ancient people would watch the sun, stars and animal behavior to guide farming practices and other decisions, and the practice of watching an animal’s emergence from winter hibernation to forecast weather has roots in a similar German tradition involving badgers or bears. Pennsylvania Germans apparently substituted the groundhog, endemic to the eastern and midwestern United States.
Historians have found a reference in an 1841 diary to groundhog weather forecasts in early February among families of German descent in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, according to the late Don Yoder, a University of Pennsylvania professor whose 2003 book about Groundhog Day explored the Celtic connection.
Yoder concluded the festival has roots in “ancient, undoubtedly prehistoric, weather lore.”
Why is Groundhog Day celebrated in Punxsutawney?
Punxsutawney is an area where Pennsylvania Germans settled — and in the late 1880s started celebrating the holiday by picnicking, hunting and eating groundhogs.
Members of Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, organized in 1899, care for Phil at a customized space beside Punxsutawney Memorial Library — where there's a window with a view into the creature's burrow.
The Punxsutawney groundhog makes predictions but he's not always predictable. The designated groundhog emerged before sunrise in 1929 and didn't come out until late afternoon in 1941.
The Bill Murray movie caused such a resurgence of interest that two years after it came out, event organizers voiced concern about rowdy crowds drinking all night, people climbing trees and others stripping to their underwear. In 1998, a groundhog club leader wearing a $4,000 groundhog suit reported being assaulted by a half-dozen young men.
Alcohol is now prohibited at Gobbler's Knob, Phil's spot some 80 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
Does Phil have competition in Pa.?
The early festivities in Punxsutawney were followed in 1907 by folks in Quarryville, a farming area in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania's southeastern corner. The roughly 240 members of the Slumbering Groundhog Lodge there report the winter forecast from Octoraro Orphie, or least via his well-preserved remains.
Quarryville Lodge board chair Charlie Hart said the organization has dinners and other social events throughout the year but is largely focused on Groundhog Day.
Hart credits Orphie as a far better forecaster than Phil.
“Octoraro Orphie has never been wrong," Hart said. "This is the 116th year, and in the previous 115 he has been right on the money every year.”
Whistle pigs on the menu?
The groundhog is a member of the squirrel family and related to chipmunks and prairie dogs. It's also known as a woodchuck, a whistle pig — or in the parlance of Pennsylvania Dutch, a language with German roots, a “grundsau.”
Groundhogs are herbivores that are themselves edible to humans, although they are not widely consumed. Their lifespan in the wild is typically two or three years.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission says about 36,000 hunters reported killing more than 200,000 groundhogs last year.
Game Commission spokesperson Travis Lau found groundhogs a bit stinky to clean, with thick skin.
“It was actually really good, no doubt about it — and to my taste, more like beef than venison is,” Lau said. “The whole family ate it and liked it, and everybody had apprehensions."
Some cooks advise groundhogs are best taken when they are young and after clover is in bloom, since a clover diet is thought to improve the meat's taste.
When did groundhog clubs and lodges first spring up?
Starting in the 1930s, groundhog lodges opened in eastern Pennsylvania. They were social clubs with similarities to Freemasonry.
Intended to preserve Pennsylvania's German culture and traditions, clubs would sometimes fine those who were caught speaking anything but their Pennsylvania Dutch language at meetings. They were traditionally all-male groups and 15 such clubs remain active.
They all share the unifying feature of a groundhog's weather prognostication, said William W. Donner, a Kutztown University anthropology professor and author of “Serious Nonsense,” a book about such lodges and other efforts to preserve German heritage.
“I think it's just one of these traditional rituals that people enjoy participating in, that maybe take them away from modern life for 15 minutes,” Donner said.
What's Phil's record for getting his weather prediction right?
Some well-meaning efforts have sought to determine Phil's accuracy, but what “six weeks of winter” means is debatable. Claims that a groundhog has or has not seen its shadow — and that it's able to communicate that to a human — are also fair territory for skeptics and the humor impaired.
By all accounts, Phil predicts more winter far more often than he predicts an early spring.
Groundhogs are mostly solitary creatures who start to emerge in midwinter to find a mate. The science behind whether they can make any accurate weather predictions is problematic at best.
Among the skeptics is the National Centers for Environmental Information, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The government agency last year compared Phil's record with U.S. national temperatures over the prior decade and concluded he was right only 40% of the time.
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https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/national-international/groundhog-day-phil-punxsutawney/3449798/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:58Z
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Tennessee Restaurant Serves The 'Best Fried Chicken' In The State
By Sarah Tate
January 31, 2024
Around the South, you can bet you're never too far from delicious fried chicken. Whether you prefer your fried chicken perfectly-spiced and crunchy, on top of syrupy waffles or covered in a special hot sauce and served with white bread, there is no shortage of incredible restaurants waiting to serve up the savory, crispy dish.
Taste of Home gathered up an updated list of the best spot in each state to find fried chicken, from true Southern delicacies in the Deep South to even incredible dishes up North and even a few surprises like vegan chicken.
According to Taste of Home, the best fried chicken in all of Tennessee is served at Prince's Hot Chicken Shack in Nashville, largely considered to be the place that started the trend of the now-famous Nashville Hot Chicken. Prince's has multiple locations around Nashville. Find your nearest one by visiting the website.
Here's what the site had to say:
"In Music City, you don't get fried chicken... you get Nashville Hot Chicken! If you think you can handle the heat, head to Prince's, the place where it all began. Just make sure you order a cold soda and creamy coleslaw to soothe your burning mouth afterward."
Check out the full list at Taste of Home to see what other restaurants are serving up the best fried chicken in the country.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-tennessee-restaurant-serves-the-best-fried-chicken-in-the-state/
| 2024-01-31T23:14:59Z
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Donations pour in to replace destroyed Jackie Robinson statue on his 105th birthday
By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH
Associated Press
Donations poured in Wednesday to replace a destroyed statue of Jackie Robinson on what would have been the 105th birthday of the first player to break Major League Baseball’s color barrier.
Major League Baseball pledged support. And the total raised just through one online fundraiser surpassed $145,000, which is far in excess of the estimated $75,000 value of the bronze statue that was cut from its base last week at a park in Wichita, Kansas. Police are searching for those responsible.
Only the statue’s feet were left at McAdams Park, where about 600 children play in a youth baseball league called League 42, which is named after Robinson’ s uniform number with the Brooklyn Dodgers, with whom he broke the major leagues’ color barrier in 1947.
Fire crews found burned remnants of the statue Tuesday while responding to a trash can fire at another park about 7 miles (11.27 kilometers) away. A truck believed to be used in the theft previously was found abandoned, and police said the theft was captured on surveillance video.
Bob Lutz, executive director of the Little League nonprofit that commissioned the sculpture, said Wednesday in a message on X, formerly Twitter, that the MLB commissioner’s office and 30 clubs had committed funding toward the cost of replacing the statue and providing other support.
“Amazing, huh?” he said.
Lutz had said earlier that the money raised also could enhance some of its programming and facilities. In April, the group opened the Leslie Rudd Learning Center, which includes an indoor baseball facility and a learning lab.
“We’re not just baseball,” Lutz said. “We have after school education, enrichment and tutoring.”
One of the largest donations is a $10,000 pledge from an anonymous former Major League Baseball player who won a World Series. Wichita police Chief Joe Sullivan, who announced the donation over the weekend, has urged anyone involved in the theft to surrender and vowed that arrests were imminent.
“The community, along with the business community and the nation as a whole, have demonstrated an incredible outpouring of support,” Sullivan said in a statement Wednesday. “This effort highlights the kindness of the people and their determination to rebuild what was taken away from our community.”
Lutz, whose friend, the artist John Parsons, made the statue before his death, said the mold is still viable and anticipated that a replacement can be erected within a matter of months.
“We value what it represents,” he said. “It’s important that our 600 kids understand what it represents. And, we make every effort to educate our kids about the role that Jackie Robinson played in life and civil rights, his life beyond sports. He’s the absolute best role model you could imagine.”
League 42 drew attention to Robinson’s birthday Wednesday in a Facebook post, noting that “his legacy will hold up forever” and asking for donations.
Robinson played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues before joining the Brooklyn Dodgers, paving the way for generations of Black American ballplayers. He’s considered not only a sports legend but also a civil rights icon. Robinson died in 1972.
Lutz said that the league appeals to “all kids, but especially to kids of color” and that the connection to Robinson resonated.
“We can’t imagine, being named League 42 without a Jackie Robinson statue in our park,” he said. “It was a no-brainer when we went about trying to name our league. And the name League 42 came up. It was like lightning and struck. We knew we had our name.”
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/donations-pour-in-to-replace-destroyed-jackie-robinson-statue-on-his-105th-birthday/
| 2024-01-31T23:15:01Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- The prevalence of mental health disorders exceeds 11 percent for children and youth aged 5 to 24 years, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in JAMA Psychiatry.
Christian Kieling, M.D., Ph.D., from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and colleagues used data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease study to estimate the global prevalence and years lived with disability (YLDs) associated with mental disorders and substance use disorders (SUDs) across four age groups (ages 5 to 9, 10 to 14, 15 to 19, and 20 to 24 years).
The researchers found that globally, 293 million of 2,516 million individuals aged 5 to 24 years had at least one mental disorder in 2019; 31 million had an SUD, with a mean prevalence of 11.63 and 1.22 percent for mental disorders and SUDs, respectively. For those aged 5 to 9, 10 to 14, 15 to 19, and 20 to 24 years, the prevalence of mental disorders was 6.80, 12.40, 13.96, and 13.63 percent, respectively. There was variation observed by age groups in the prevalence of each individual disorder; there was also some variation seen in sex-specific patterns by age. Of 153.59 million YLDs, mental disorders accounted for 31.14 million YLDs and SUDs accounted for 4.30 million YLDs (20.27 and 2.80 percent of YLDs from all causes, respectively). Overall, 24.85 percent of all YLDs attributable to mental disorders during the entire life course were recorded before age 25 years.
"Mental health disorders deserve special attention in terms of prevention and intervention in the first decades of life and that one-fifth of the disease-related nonfatal burden in this age range is attributable to mental disorders," the authors write.
Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical, medical device, and publishing industries.
Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/mental-health/study-examines-prevalence-of-mental-health-disorders-in-childhood
| 2024-01-31T23:15:01Z
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IGB Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust Full Year 2023 Earnings: Revenues Beat Expectations, EPS Lags
IGB Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (KLSE:IGBCR) Full Year 2023 Results
Key Financial Results
Revenue: RM215.1m (up 13% from FY 2022).
Net income: RM65.2m (up 3.4% from FY 2022).
Profit margin: 30% (down from 33% in FY 2022). The decrease in margin was driven by higher expenses.
EPS: RM0.028 (up from RM0.027 in FY 2022).
All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period
IGB Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust Revenues Beat Expectations, EPS Falls Short
Revenue exceeded analyst estimates by 8.3%. Earnings per share (EPS) missed analyst estimates by 3.1%.
Looking ahead, revenue is expected to decline by 1.8% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, while revenues in the REITs industry in Malaysia are expected to grow by 2.3%.
Performance of the Malaysian REITs industry.
The company's shares are up 3.0% from a week ago.
Risk Analysis
Be aware that IGB Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis that you should know about...
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/igb-commercial-real-estate-investment-225014246.html
| 2024-01-31T23:15:03Z
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NHL players Carter Hart of the Philadelphia Flyers, Michael McLeod and Cal Foote of the New Jersey Devils and Dillon Dube of the Calgary Flames have been charged with sexual assault in connection with an alleged assault by several members of Canada's 2018 world junior team.
Attorneys representing Hart, McLeod, Foote and Dube said Tuesday that each player has been charged with sexual assault by police in London, Ontario. They denied any wrongdoing on behalf of their clients.
Hart's lawyers, Megan Savard and Riaz Sayani, said their client is facing one count of sexual assault, adding, "He is innocent and will provide a full response to this false accusation in the proper forum, a court of law."
Legal teams representing McLeod and Dube said the players would be pleading not guilty.
"(We) will vigorously defend the case," McLeod's attorneys, David Humphrey and Seth Weinstein, said in a statement. "We ask that the public respect Mr. McLeod's privacy, and his family's privacy. Because the matter is now before the court, we will not comment further at this time."
Dube's lawyers, Louis Strezos and Kayleigh Davidson, said their client "maintains his innocence (and) will defend the allegations in court."
Foote's lawyer, Julianna Greenspan, said her client was "innocent of the charge and will defend himself against this allegation to clear his name."
"What is most critical at this time is the presumption of innocence, and the right to a fair trial that everyone in Canada is entitled to," Greenspan said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "As the matter is before the court, I ask that Cal's and his family's privacy be respected."
A Devils spokesperson said the organization is aware of the reports and have been told to refer all inquiries to the league. A Flyers spokesman echoed a similar sentiment, saying the team "will respond appropriately to this very serious matter when the outcomes of the investigations are made public."
"We have now become aware of the charge of sexual assault that has been laid against Dillon Dube," the Flames said in a statement. "We take this matter very seriously. Because the matter is now pending legal proceedings, we will have no further comment at this time."
The NHL was not expected to address the situation Tuesday. Commissioner Gary Bettman is set to speak at the league's upcoming All-Star Weekend.
The latest developments in the case come two days after former NHL player Alex Formenton surrendered to police to face charges. Attorney Daniel Brown said Formenton is innocent "and asks that people not rush to judgment without hearing all of the evidence."
All five players have taken leave from their current clubs over the past 10 days. Their agents have not spoken publicly since.
London police have scheduled a news conference for Monday to address the situation. A spokesperson for police told the AP by email no updates on the investigation will be provided before the news conference.
Investigation followed a settlement in a lawsuit
London police launched their investigation in 2022 after it was disclosed that Hockey Canada had settled a lawsuit with a woman who said she was sexually assaulted by eight members of that gold medal-winning team after a Hockey Canada Foundation fundraising gala. London is approximately halfway between Toronto and Detroit.
According to court documents, the woman, then 20, alleged that a man, identified only as "John Doe #1," took her from a bar to a hotel room and invited seven other people into the room to perform undisclosed sexual acts, intimidating her and preventing her from leaving. The woman said in the lawsuit the men directed her to take a shower and asked her to say on video that she was sober.
The woman sought $3.55 million in damages and dropped the lawsuit after reaching a settlement with Hockey Canada.
The NHL has also been investigating
The NHL opened its own investigation in 2022 and has pledged to make those findings public. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly last week said the league would issue a statement if and when it is appropriate.
The Flyers said Hart requested and was granted a leave of absence for personal reasons. General manager Daniel Briere declined to provide details when asked follow-up questions related to the 25-year-old No. 1 goaltender's departure.
The Devils did not give a reason when announcing McLeod and Foote were granted indefinite leaves of absence. McLeod, who turns 26 on Saturday, is in the middle of his fourth full season with the team, while Foote — son of former NHL player Adam Foote — has spent much of this season in the American Hockey League and appeared in four games for New Jersey.
The Flames said Dube was on indefinite leave to tend to his mental health. As part of their statement Tuesday, they said they "had no knowledge of pending charges at the time Dillon's request for a leave of absence was granted."
The 25-year-old Dube has played for Calgary since 2018.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.wkyufm.org/news/2024-01-31/4-nhl-players-charged-with-sexual-assault-in-a-2018-case-in-canada-their-lawyers-say
| 2024-01-31T23:15:03Z
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Tennessee, Virginia AGs Sue NCAA Following UT Investigation
By Jason Hall
January 31, 2024
The attorney generals of Tennessee and Virginia filed a lawsuit against the NCAA Wednesday (January 31) following its investigation into alleged NIL violations it claimed were committed by the University of Tennessee, the Associated Press reports.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the Eastern District of Tennessee, accuses the NCAA of “enforcing rules that unfairly restrict how athletes can commercially use their name, image and likeness at a critical juncture in the recruiting calendar.”
“These anticompetitive restrictions violate the Sherman Act, harm the States and the welfare of their athletes, and should be declared unlawful and enjoined," the lawsuit states.
— TN Attorney General (@AGTennessee) January 31, 2024
The NCAA launched an investigation into the University of Tennessee and its booster-funded name, image and likeness collective, the Vol Club, run by Spyre Sports Group, in relation to the football program's recruitment of starting quarterback and former five-star prospect Nico Iamaleava. UT Chancellor Donde Plowman shared a letter firing back at NCAA President Charlie Baker following reports of the investigation.
We do all know it. @DondePlowman nailed it here. pic.twitter.com/akS9cNrt2Z
— Jayson Swain (@SwainEvent) January 30, 2024
"Instead, 2 1/2 years of vague and contradictory NCAA memos, emails and 'guidance' about name, image and likeness (NIL) has created extraordinary chaos that student-athletes and institutions are struggling to navigate," Plowman wrote. "In short, the NCAA is failing."
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee issued a statement in support of Chancellor Plowman following the reported NCAA investigation.
The University of Tennessee has been nothing but forthcoming with the NCAA, and I thank Chancellor Donde Plowman for taking a stand on behalf of all universities and student athletes. pic.twitter.com/UEiI5tM2Q5
— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) January 31, 2024
"The University of Tennessee has been nothing but forthcoming with the NCAA, and I thank Chancellor Donde Plowman for taking a stand on behalf of all universities and student athletes," Lee said. "It's time for the NCAA to establish clear rules in the interest of student athletes, rather than try to retroactively enforce ever-changing name, image and likeness guidelines."
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-tennessee-virginia-ags-sue-ncaa-following-ut-investigation/
| 2024-01-31T23:15:05Z
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Earthquakes raise alert for Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. But any eruption is unlikely to threaten homes
HONOLULU (AP) — A surge of earthquakes at Kilauea’s summit is prompting scientists to raise the alert level for the Hawaiian volcano. But any eruption is unlikely to threaten homes. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory says it has detected 25 to 30 small earthquakes per hour since 3 a.m. Wednesday at the southern part of the volcano’s caldera. This area is inside Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and far from homes. Kilauea is one of the world’s most active volcanoes. It last erupted in September, spewing lava inside the summit caldera for nearly a week. It also erupted in June.
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/earthquakes-raise-alert-for-hawaiis-kilauea-volcano-but-any-eruption-is-unlikely-to-threaten-homes/
| 2024-01-31T23:15:07Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have lower cognitive performance and lower white matter integrity in midlife, according to a study published online Jan. 31 in Neurology.
Heather G. Huddleston, M.D., from the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues examined possible associations between PCOS and midlife cognitive function and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings using data from the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. A total of 1,163 women with PCOS from an ancillary study (CARDIA Women's Study) were identified; 907 completed cognitive testing at year 30.
The researchers found that 66 women (7.1 percent) met the criteria for PCOS. At year 30, women with versus without PCOS performed lower on the Stroop test (mean z score, −0.323), Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (−0.254), and category fluency test (−0.267). Overall, 25 (8.5 percent) of the 291 participants with MRI met the PCOS criteria; they had lower total white matter fractional anisotropy (coefficient, −0.013); however, white matter was not abnormal.
"Given that up to 10 percent of women may be affected by PCOS, these results have important implications for public health at large," the authors write. "Current recommendations for PCOS include management of cardiovascular risk and screening for depression, and our work suggests that appropriate management of these aspects may serve to also improve brain aging for this population."
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/neurology/lower-cognitive-performance-not-uncommon-in-women-with-pcos
| 2024-01-31T23:15:07Z
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Investors in Ionic Rare Earths (ASX:IXR) have seen enviable returns of 400% over the past five years
It might be of some concern to shareholders to see the Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX:IXR) share price down 23% in the last month. But over five years returns have been remarkably great. To be precise, the stock price is 400% higher than it was five years ago, a wonderful performance by any measure. So it might be that some shareholders are taking profits after good performance. Only time will tell if there is still too much optimism currently reflected in the share price. Unfortunately not all shareholders will have held it for the long term, so spare a thought for those caught in the 43% decline over the last twelve months.
So let's investigate and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.
Check out our latest analysis for Ionic Rare Earths
Ionic Rare Earths recorded just AU$2,761,222 in revenue over the last twelve months, which isn't really enough for us to consider it to have a proven product. As a result, we think it's unlikely shareholders are paying much attention to current revenue, but rather speculating on growth in the years to come. It seems likely some shareholders believe that Ionic Rare Earths will find or develop a valuable new mine before too long.
We think companies that have neither significant revenues nor profits are pretty high risk. There was already a significant chance that they would need more money for business development, and indeed they recently put themselves at the mercy of capital markets and raised equity. So the share price itself impacts the value of the shares (as it determines the cost of capital). While some such companies do very well over the long term, others become hyped up by promoters before eventually falling back down to earth, and going bankrupt (or being recapitalized). Some Ionic Rare Earths investors have already had a taste of the sweet taste stocks like this can leave in the mouth, as they gain popularity and attract speculative capital.
Ionic Rare Earths only just had cash in excess of all liabilities when it last reported. So it is a good thing that the company has looked to remedy the situation by raising more capital recently. It's a testament to the popularity of the business plan that the share price gained 50% per year, over 5 years , despite the recent dilution. The image below shows how Ionic Rare Earths' balance sheet has changed over time; if you want to see the precise values, simply click on the image.
In reality it's hard to have much certainty when valuing a business that has neither revenue or profit. One thing you can do is check if company insiders are buying shares. It's usually a positive if they have, as it may indicate they see value in the stock. Luckily we are in a position to provide you with this free chart of insider buying (and selling).
A Different Perspective
While the broader market gained around 6.3% in the last year, Ionic Rare Earths shareholders lost 43%. Even the share prices of good stocks drop sometimes, but we want to see improvements in the fundamental metrics of a business, before getting too interested. Longer term investors wouldn't be so upset, since they would have made 38%, each year, over five years. If the fundamental data continues to indicate long term sustainable growth, the current sell-off could be an opportunity worth considering. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. To that end, you should be aware of the 4 warning signs we've spotted with Ionic Rare Earths .
We will like Ionic Rare Earths better if we see some big insider buys. While we wait, check out this free list of growing companies with considerable, recent, insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Australian exchanges.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/investors-ionic-rare-earths-asx-224725608.html
| 2024-01-31T23:15:09Z
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MIAMI — A federal judge has dismissed the Walt Disney Company's lawsuit against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Disney sued after DeSantis and state lawmakers removed its self-governing status in 2023.
Backed by Republican lawmakers, DeSantis dissolved a special district near Orlando that for more than fifty years had governed Walt Disney World. He acted after Disney's CEO opposed a law limiting how sex orientation and gender identity can be discussed in the schools. The Parental Rights in Education Act was labeled "Don't Say Gay" by opponents.
At DeSantis' request, Florida's GOP-controlled legislature created a new special district, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District, controlled by the Republican Governor's appointees. Disney sued in federal court, saying DeSantis was retaliating against the company, punishing it for exercising its First Amendment right to freedom of speech. Disney also canceled plans for a $1 billion campus in Florida.
In a 17-page order, U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor dismissed the case, saying Disney lacks standing to sue the governor. The judge also said while Disney could sue the new DeSantis-appointed board, it hadn't shown evidence that actions by the new board had harmed the company. In addition, Winsor said the law prohibits plaintiffs from bringing a free speech challenge to constitutionally enacted laws.
A DeSantis spokesman hailed the decision saying, "the Corporate Kingdom is over. The days of Disney controlling its own government and being placed above the law are long gone. Disney is still just one of many corporations in the state and they do not have a right to their own special government."
Disney says it will "press forward with its case." In a statement after the ruling, a company spokesperson said, "If left unchallenged, this would set a dangerous precedent and give license to states to weaponize their official powers to punish the expression of political viewpoints they disagree with."
Disney and the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board are also embroiled in lawsuits in state court.
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.
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https://www.wkyufm.org/news/2024-01-31/a-federal-judge-dismisses-disneys-lawsuit-against-florida-gov-ron-desantis
| 2024-01-31T23:15:10Z
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The 'Most Unusual Town' In Illinois Has Been Revealed
By Logan DeLoye
January 31, 2024
Have you ever explored a town that instantly gave you an unusual impression?
While some locations appear to be completely average, a few towns scattered across the U.S. are known for places, traditions, or history events that are a little out of the ordinary. Be it a restaurant with a storied past, or something unusually unique about the landscape, something about this town makes it stand out as quite an unusual area, and you don't really have to dig that deep to figure out why.
According to a list compiled by Travel Alot, the most unusual town in Illinois is Collinsville.
Here's what Travel Alot had to say about the most unusual town in the entire state:
"If you ever find yourself in the small town of Collinsville, Illinois, you won't be able to miss the world's largest ketchup bottle! This 65-foot hot sauce-shaped building is just one of many tourist attractions that contribute to a small town's charm and quirkiness. Every summer, visitors can also enjoy the annual Ketchup Festival, which features local food vendors and kids' activities sure to keep the entire family entertained. Next time your adventures take you into the heartland, don't forget to pay this ketchup paradise a visit for maximum enjoyment and laughs!"
For a continued list of the most unusual towns across the country visit travel.alot.com.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-the-most-unusual-town-in-illinois-has-been-revealed/
| 2024-01-31T23:15:11Z
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A Look At The Intrinsic Value Of UMW Holdings Berhad (KLSE:UMW)
Key Insights
Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, UMW Holdings Berhad fair value estimate is RM5.09
UMW Holdings Berhad's RM4.93 share price indicates it is trading at similar levels as its fair value estimate
Our fair value estimate is similar to UMW Holdings Berhad's analyst price target of RM5.09
Today we'll do a simple run through of a valuation method used to estimate the attractiveness of UMW Holdings Berhad (KLSE:UMW) as an investment opportunity by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!
We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.
See our latest analysis for UMW Holdings Berhad
Crunching The Numbers
We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. In the first stage we need to estimate the cash flows to the business over the next ten years. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.
Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we discount the value of these future cash flows to their estimated value in today's dollars:
10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate
("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)
Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM2.8b
The second stage is also known as Terminal Value, this is the business's cash flow after the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 16%.
Terminal Value (TV)= FCF2033 × (1 + g) ÷ (r – g) = RM1.7b× (1 + 3.6%) ÷ (16%– 3.6%) = RM14b
Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM14b÷ ( 1 + 16%)10= RM3.1b
The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is RM6.0b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of RM4.9, the company appears about fair value at a 3.2% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.
The Assumptions
The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. If you don't agree with these result, have a go at the calculation yourself and play with the assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at UMW Holdings Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 16%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.858. Beta is a measure of a stock's volatility, compared to the market as a whole. We get our beta from the industry average beta of globally comparable companies, with an imposed limit between 0.8 and 2.0, which is a reasonable range for a stable business.
SWOT Analysis for UMW Holdings Berhad
Strength
Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.
Debt is not viewed as a risk.
Weakness
Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Auto market.
Opportunity
Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.
Threat
Dividends are not covered by cash flow.
Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 4 years.
Looking Ahead:
Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. If a company grows at a different rate, or if its cost of equity or risk free rate changes sharply, the output can look very different. For UMW Holdings Berhad, there are three essential aspects you should further examine:
Risks: For example, we've discovered 2 warning signs for UMW Holdings Berhad (1 is potentially serious!) that you should be aware of before investing here.
Future Earnings: How does UMW's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart.
Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!
PS. The Simply Wall St app conducts a discounted cash flow valuation for every stock on the KLSE every day. If you want to find the calculation for other stocks just search here.
Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.
This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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https://finance.yahoo.com/news/look-intrinsic-value-umw-holdings-221714384.html
| 2024-01-31T23:15:12Z
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Georgia district attorney prosecuting Trump has been subpoenaed over claims of improper relationship
By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) — A defense attorney who has alleged that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has had an inappropriate romantic relationship with a special prosecutor hired for the Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump has called the two to testify at a hearing next month. Lawyer Ashleigh Merchant, who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, filed a motion Jan. 8 seeking to toss the indictment and to remove Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade from the case. She alleges they were involved in a secret relationship that resulted in Willis profiting improperly from the prosecution.
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https://kvia.com/news/ap-national/2024/01/31/georgia-district-attorney-prosecuting-trump-has-been-subpoenaed-over-claims-of-improper-relationship/
| 2024-01-31T23:15:13Z
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WEDNESDAY, Jan. 31, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Women adhering to vegan diets during pregnancy have offspring with lower mean birth weight than omnivorous mothers, according to a study published online Jan. 24 in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.
Signe Hedegaard, M.D., from the Juliane Marie Centre at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, and colleagues examined associations of different forms of plant-based diets during pregnancy with birth outcomes and pregnancy complications. The analysis included 100,413 pregnancies to 91,381 women in Denmark from 1996 to 2002.
The researchers found that 1.0 percent identified as fish/poultry vegetarians, 0.3 percent as lacto/ovo-vegetarians, and 0.03 percent as vegans. Compared with omnivorous participants, protein intake was lower among lacto/ovo-vegetarians (13.3 percent) and vegans (10.4 percent). Vegans had lower intake of micronutrients, although when dietary supplements were taken into consideration, no major differences persisted. Vegan mothers had a higher prevalence of preeclampsia, and their offspring had on average −240-g lower birth weight.
"Women adhering to vegan diets during pregnancy had offspring with lower mean birth weight compared to omnivorous mothers," the authors write. "Further research is needed regarding possible causality between plant-based diets and pregnancy and birth outcomes to strengthen the basis for dietary recommendations."
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https://www.healthday.com/healthpro-news/womens-health/vegan-diet-during-pregnancy-tied-to-lower-birth-weight
| 2024-01-31T23:15:13Z
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Jorge Rubiano arrived alone in Chicago, but his pain and trauma came with him.
For months, he tried to find steady work. For months, he's been sleeping in a crowded temporary shelter, worrying about his wife and mother back in Colombia. Are they safe? Did I make the right decision?
He recalls a frightening phone call with his wife in Colombia, cut short when the bus she was riding on was being robbed.
Rubiano, 43, is also haunted by memories of his harrowing journey to Chicago, during which he says he was kidnapped for a month, before escaping.
He left his country, he says, over a land dispute in which the government threatened his life.
"I'm still in between two dangers," Rubiano says in Spanish. "If I return it's very possible they kill me, and if I stay I don't know what can happen here."
More than 30,000 migrants and asylum seekers have arrived in Chicago since August of 2022 — most of them from South and Central America. They are fleeing the collapse of their economies, a lack of food and jobs, and violence back home.
Many came here on a bus from Texas, sent by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, who said Chicago — and other so-called sanctuary cities that embrace immigrants — would provide much-needed relief "to our small, overrun border towns."
The buses haven't stopped since.
Migrants fleeing hardship, danger, fear and loss
Interviews with more than 30 people reveal the emotional toll migrants face, and the efforts of individuals and organizations that are trying to fill the gaps of a frayed mental health system.
Some of those efforts are catching the attention of leaders in other big U.S. cities also coping with large influxes of newly-arrived migrants.
For many, their journeys here were terrifying. A young girl who fell into a river, her pregnant mother struggling to hold her small hand, so the current wouldn't whisk her away. Women who were forced to have sex with gang members to get from country to country. People who walked over the dead in the jungle, or are wracked with guilt over the sick and injured left behind.
Their stories have unfolded across Chicago: in the quiet space of a therapist's office, at an informal healing circle in the back of a store, with a nurse at a folding table propped up outside a police station.
But for many migrants, taking care of their mental health might not be a priority.
"They're in survival mode," says Sharon Davila, a school-based social worker who has screened migrant families. "They need their basic needs met. The number one thing is they're looking for jobs."
Just getting in front of a therapist or a social worker can be extremely difficult for even the most savvy and persistent. With a shortage of mental health workers, wait lists for an appointment can be months long.
Layer on being new to this country, speaking a different language, and having no health insurance. Getting help can seem impossible.
Therapist Susie Moya worries about a mental health crisis brewing for many migrants.
"Right now it's on the back burner," says Moya, who has worked with migrants on Chicago's Lower West Side. "But I'm thinking a year from now when these families are settled in. Who is going to be providing that support?"
Informal support, with a side of soup
It's a Monday night in the back room of an insurance agency on the Southwest Side. About 20 migrants have arranged their chairs in a circle. Each person takes a turn describing how they feel on a scale of one to 10, as social worker Veronica Sanchez gently encourages them to share why.
Warm homemade chicken soup and arepas await them for dinner.
A woman says her husband got deported, and she's heartbroken that she left her children behind. A man says he worked several days that week, but never got paid. Another says he is grateful to God for bringing him to America, but he misses his mom, dad and brothers.
Finding work and reuniting with family is important, Sanchez tells them. But right now she's concerned about their mental health.
"Maybe we have answers. Maybe we don't. But when you open up a safe space where you can share your sorrows... you don't feel so alone," Sanchez says in Spanish.
Sanchez understands the migrants' desperation. She comes from a long line of pottery makers in Mexico. Sanchez was just four years old when her father left to work in Cicero, a suburb outside Chicago. She didn't see her father for almost seven years, until they were reunited as a family in Cicero.
Those memories fuel her work with the healing circle. "When I was talking to them, it really came from the heart," Sanchez says. "I was seeing the migrants' faces, that they were so scared."
Informal support groups like this one have popped up around Chicago in shelters, storefronts, churches and schools, led by volunteers or mental health professionals.
Many of these support groups don't last long. Volunteers get burned out. Migrants prioritize other needs. Or the city moves them from place to place.
The costs of ignoring loss and trauma
Some volunteers and mental health providers emphasize that not every migrant might be experiencing severe trauma.
But for many, trauma can have lasting impact. Trauma can change the wiring in a person's brain and make someone more vulnerable to depression and anxiety.
Daily or ongoing stressors can add up to what Chicago psychologist Laura Pappa calls "little t trauma" — like not feeling welcomed right away.
"A lot of people come here seeking the American dream and they realize that that's not there," says Pappa, who came to the U.S. from Argentina as a teen. "A lot of people were not expecting that, how hard it is on this side. I've had a lot of parents who've come alone and ask themselves, was it worth it?"
It can be hard to persuade migrants to seek help, however. There's a stigma about the need for mental health care in many immigrant communities, particularly among Latino men, Pappa says.
But, she adds, the stigma is easing as talking about emotions becomes more common.
Training the front-line workers in shelters
One effort to provide faster help involves training hundreds of peoplewho don't have a medical background, but work in city-run shelters. These front-line workers, such as case managers and shelter supervisors, are learning to lead support groups called Café y Comunidad charlas — coffee and community talks.
The initiative is led by the Coalition for Immigrant Mental Health, the University of Chicago's Crown Family School, and Lurie Children's Center for Childhood Resilience.
The idea is to help migrants feel less isolated and try to prevent the most extreme outcomes, such as suicide.
"We have to help people the minute they arrive," explainsAimee Hilado, an assistant professor at UC's Crown School and chair of the coalition. "That's actually going to promote healing down the line."
Case manager Albert Ayala has led a charla in the ballroom of a downtown shelter. He recalls moments of joy, such as when a woman said she was searching for love — and hands shot up hoping to catch her attention.
Ayala says he's watched migrants who arrive scared and shy blossom after attending a charla.
"We try to tell them we're no different from you," says Ayala, who is Mexican American. "Your dream is possible."
Leaders in Philadelphia and San Jose have reached out asking how to replicate the effort, Hilado says.
Outside his shelter, Rubiano, the migrant from Colombia, says he hasn't attended one of these support groups. He says he tries to keep busy working on his English skills. And he recently found a full-time job in a supermarket.
He longs for his family, and for the chance to bring them here — once there is a stable life he can offer them.
WBEZ is part of the Mental Health Parity Collaborative, a group of newsrooms covering stories on mental health care access and inequities in the U.S. The Collaborative's partners include The Carter Center, the Center for Public Integrity and newsrooms in select states across the country.
WBEZ's Manuel Martinez contributed to this report.
Copyright 2024 WBEZ
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https://www.wkyufm.org/news/2024-01-31/for-chicagos-new-migrants-informal-support-groups-help-ease-the-pain-and-trauma
| 2024-01-31T23:15:16Z
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The 'Most Unusual Town' In Nebraska Has Been Revealed
By Logan DeLoye
January 31, 2024
Have you ever explored a town that instantly gave you an unusual impression?
While some locations appear to be completely average, a few towns scattered across the U.S. are known for places, traditions, or history events that are a little out of the ordinary. Be it a restaurant with a storied past, or something unusually unique about the landscape, something about this town makes it stand out as quite an unusual area, and you don't really have to dig that deep to figure out why (unless you're searching for this town's treasure).
According to a list compiled by Travel Alot, the most unusual town in Nebraska is Tonopah.
Here's what Travel Alot had to say about the most unusual town in the entire state:
"If you're looking to get your hands dirty, Tonopah could be the perfect place for you! The town is home to a unique turquoise mine where ambitious miners can dig around and find these sought-after gems. With an opportunity like that, you could very easily end up rewarded handsomely for a day's hard work. A word of warning, though — it won't be easy! So, if you think you've got the dedication and resilience required to strike it rich, Tonopah could be just what you're looking for."
For a continued list of the most unusual towns across the country visit travel.alot.com.
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https://www.iheart.com/content/2024-01-31-the-most-unusual-town-in-nebraska-has-been-revealed/
| 2024-01-31T23:15:17Z
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