The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued an advisory urging all travelers — vaccinated and unvaccinated — to avoid cruise ship travel amidst a record-breaking Covid surge driven by the omicron variant in many states across the United States. “Even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk …
Read More »Biden and Putin hold ‘constructive’ phone call
President Joe Biden spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for almost an hour on Thursday in a “constructive” phone call, agreeing to continue and advance their dialogue ahead of a meeting in Geneva early next year. Their second call this month came amid growing Western concern over Russia’s troop …
Read More »Weekly Jobless Claims Fall To Near 52-Year Low
The number of Americans filing new jobless claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a near 52- year low, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped to a seasonally adjusted 198,000 for the week ended Dec. 25 from a revised 206,000 a week …
Read More »Law to protect patients from surprise medical bills takes effect Jan. 1
A federal law going into effect on Jan. 1 is meant to cut down on surprise medical expenses and safeguard millions from unexpected medical bills. The No Surprises Act is part of legislation meant to protect patients who unknowingly receive care that is not covered by their insurance. In many …
Read More »Minimum Wage Set To Rise In Over Half Of The States In 2022
Workers in half of the nation will earn more money in the new year thanks to an increase in the minimum wage. In more than two dozen states, workers earning minimum wage can expect a raise in 2022. However, many workers will see more substantial pay increases because their employers …
Read More »New law will revamp military investigations into sexual assault, harassment
By Ren Larson, The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Dec. 29, 2021 Commanders will no longer be involved in military sexual harassment or sexual assault investigations under a new federal law named for a murdered Fort Hood soldier that goes into effect on Jan. 1. Provisions of the “I Am Vanessa …
Read More »Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Signs Bill Reopening State’s First HBCU
On Tuesday, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation to reopen the state’s first HBCU in Detroit. D’Wayne Edwards, the founder of the Pensole Design Academy in Portland, Oregon, recently announced plans to turn the former Lewis College of Business, the state’s first HBCU, which closed in 2013, into a design-focused …
Read More »Former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo Won’t Be Criminally Charged In Harassment Cases
Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will not face criminal charges in connection with two incidents of alleged unwanted kisses, a district attorney said on Tuesday. “Our investigation found credible evidence to conclude that the alleged conduct in both instances described above did occur,” Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah …
Read More »Harry Reid, former Senate majority leader, dies at 82
Harry Reid, the former long-serving Democratic senator from Nevada, died Tuesday at 82. “I am heartbroken to announce the passing of my husband, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. He died peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by our family, following a courageous, four-year battle with pancreatic cancer,” his wife of 62 …
Read More »Daily COVID cases in U.S. hit all-time high
The United States recorded a new record high Tuesday, with more than 500,000 new COVID-19 cases reported, according to Johns Hopkins University. According to the database, the U.S. recorded 512,553 positive COVID-19 cases, breaking the all-time record of 294,015 that was set on Jan. 8. CNN and The Washington Post reported that the …
Read More »Family of Harriet Tubman Losing Patience With Progress of $20 Bill Change
In 2016, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced that Harriet Tubman would be placed on the front of the $20 bill. However, after five years and no current plans to revamp the currency, descendants of the abolitionist are disappointed. Plans to place Tubman on the $20 bill were declared under the …
Read More »First Injectable HIV Prevention Drug Approved by FDA
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week that the first injectable long-acting drug to prevent HIV pre-exposure had been approved. As an alternative to HIV prevention pills like Truvada and Descovy, which are shown to reduce the risk of HIV by 99 percent but require adherence to daily doses, …
Read More »CDC Shortens Recommended Isolation and Quarantine Periods
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is shortening the recommended time period for isolation from 10 days for people with COVID-19 to 5 days, if asymptomatic, followed by 5 days of wearing a mask when around others. The change is motivated by science demonstrating that the majority of …
Read More »President Biden signs 2022 defense policy bill into law
President Joe Biden signed into law Monday the $768 billion defense policy bill that includes a pay raise for troops, reforms of the military justice system and billions to spend on research and development deemed critical for the U.S. military to remain competitive with Russia and China. The 2022 National …
Read More »House Oversight Committee To Investigate Deadly Astroworld Tragedy
The U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee has launched a bipartisan investigation into Live Nation, addressing the tragic crowd crush that left ten concertgoers dead at last month’s Astroworld festival in Houston. The Washington Post reports that the probe was initiated on Wednesday (December 22) by Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney, …
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