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☆ Kaiser Permanente's unionized healthcare workers continue strike across Washington, California, Colorado, and Oregon locations
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Los Angeles CNN —The largest health care strike in US history is now in its third, and final, day. The temporary work stoppage will end at 6 am Pacific Time on Saturday morning, concluding a massive labor effort involving more than 75,000 health care workers and spanning four states. Picketers across California, Colorado, Oregon and Washington who are represented by a coalition of unions walked off the job Wednesday. Nearly 200 workers from Kaiser facilities in Virginia and Washington, DC, joined the picket lines for a single day on Wednesday, as well. Kaiser Permanente health care employees, joind by Union members representing workers, walk the picket line in Los Angeles during the second day of their strike on October 5, 2023.

Persons: Kaiser, Frederic J . BROWN, FREDERIC J . BROWN, Frederic J . Brown, Kaiser Permanente, CNN they’ve, Jennifer Fry, Fry, “, ”, Larriesha Malbrough Organizations: Los Angeles CNN, Unions, Kaiser Permanente, joind, Union, Getty Images, Getty, CNN Locations: California , Colorado , Oregon, Washington, Kaiser, Virginia, DC, Los Angeles, AFP, Vacaville , California

☆ As China churns out warships, the US Navy is looking for drones and AI to help it pick up the pace at its struggling shipyards
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Meanwhile, China's navy is growing thanks to shipyards that churn out naval and commercial ships. The US Navy is now looking for new tools to improve maintenance and reduce delays at its shipyards. AdvertisementAdvertisementWith maintenance backlogs hampering fleet readiness, the US Navy is hoping that autonomous systems and artificial intelligence can fix its overburdened shipyards. The solicitation cited penetrant testing, ultrasonic testing, and magnetic testing as possible solutions. AdvertisementAdvertisementAt the same time, "the Federal Government sees the development of these capabilities as benefiting industrial maintenance activities in partnership with the Navy at commercial shipyards.

Persons: —, PO1 Emmitt, MCS3 Brandon Roberson, Michael Peck Organizations: US Navy, Service, Technologies, DON, Department of, Navy, sustainment, Corpus Christi, Navy Shipyards, Norfolk Naval Shipyard, PO1 Emmitt Hawks, Federal Government, Labor, Office, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Corpus, Pearl, Norfolk, Boise, China, Forbes

☆ Beige flags: Why they can doom your dating profile
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Faye Chiu | Terry Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

That these traits are neither here nor there only makes beige flags all the more confusing. She first heard of beige flags on X (formerly known as Twitter) in the context of “fannish discussions about what BTS members’ beige flags are, and beige flags for other K-pop bands,” she said. Beige flags and your dating profileFor Blaine Anderson, who runs a coaching website for heterosexual men called Dating By Blaine, strategizing with clients to eliminate beige flags from their conversations and dating profiles is essential to help them stand out in an enormous pool of suitors, particularly online. One of the most common beige flags on anyone’s dating profile is the line “I love to travel,” she said. Dig beyond labeling it a beige flagA little grace surrounding beige flags can go a long way.

Persons: who’s, ”, Jennifer McGillan, “, Alyssa Mairanz, ” Mairanz, Mairanz, Blaine Anderson, Blaine, ” Anderson, “ It’s, Sharin Shafer, it’s, Clarissa Silva, Silva, ” Silva, Shafer, ” Shafer, Terry Ward Organizations: CNN, New, Adobe, The Agency Locations: TikTok, Starkville , Mississippi, New York City, Venice, London, Florida

☆ What Happens When New York’s Shelters Run Out of Room?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Nicole Hong | More About Nicole Hong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But for New York City, the scene — made up of migrants waiting for beds in the city’s overburdened shelter system — was unusual. And it raised a difficult question: Will this become a new normal? New York has avoided the kinds of widespread encampments that are more common in cities on the West Coast, largely because of a unique legal agreement that requires the city to provide a bed for anyone who requests one. No other major city in America has a similar mandate, known as a “right to shelter.”But what happens when a city that is obligated to provide shelter for everyone runs out of shelter? This week, Mayor Eric Adams declared, in dire terms, that there was no more room left for migrants.

Persons: —, Eric Adams, Adams Locations: Midtown Manhattan, New York City, York, West Coast, America, San Francisco, Seattle, New York

☆ Some U.S. government agencies are testing out A.I. to help fulfill public records requests
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Lewis Kamb | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Still, some open government and civil rights advocates are already raising concerns that the government's move toward using AI to help address FOIA problems may create new ones. So far, government agencies haven't widely disclosed to the public what kinds of AI tools are being used, and in what fashion, Marshall said. But experts widely agree the FOIA process must be modernized and fixed, as requests can sometimes take months, even years, to fulfill. An increasing number of requesters have turned to the courts for help in prying records loose in a timely manner. The state department is now testing two AI models to help process FOIA requests, Stein said.

Persons: —, Jason R, Adam Marshall, Marshall, they're, Michael Sarich, Eric F, Stein, that's, There's, Bradford Brown, Brown, Mitre, Baron, Clinton, Brett Max Kaufman Organizations: State Department, Justice Department, Centers for Disease Control, NBC News, University of Maryland, Freedom, Press, Justice Department's, Information, Department of Veterans Affairs, Justice, CDC, NBC, Mitre Corp, National Archives, Records Administration, Mitre Locations: —

☆ A historic settlement could bring environmental justice to a Chicago neighborhood that's been filled with polluting industries
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-21 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

"If you take away our health, you take away our wealth," Sanchez, a community planning manager at the Southeast Environmental Task Force, told Insider. The first-of-its-kind settlement with HUD could be a model for environmental justice advocates in other cities. If the city didn't agree to address environmental harms, it risked losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal housing money. "Now all levels of city government have to listen to us and develop policies that are protective of public health." Sanchez said the case underscored the importance of updating city policies, because administrations come and go.

Persons: Oscar Sanchez, Sanchez, polluters, Robert Weinstock, who's, he's, Cheryl Johnson, Johnson, Jamie Kelter Davis, Weinstock, Brandon Johnson, Charles Rex Arbogast, Angela Tovar Organizations: Service, Environmental, Force, US Department of Housing, Urban Development, Northwestern University's Pritzker School of Law, Urban, Community, Factories, Washington, Getty, Chicago AP Locations: Chicago's, Chicago, Lincoln Park, Black, Calumet

☆ Southwest Airlines endorses plan to boost Washington Reagan flights
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) - Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) said on Tuesday it will support legislation to add seven new round trip flights a day at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, an issue that has been fiercely contested by major U.S. airlines. American Airlines (AAL.O), United Airlines (UAL.O) and Alaska Airlines (ALK.N) have strongly opposed adding flights to airport arguing to it would boost congestion and lead to more delays, while Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) strongly supports adding more flights to boost competition. In the 1960s, the federal government restricted flights at Reagan National to manage congestion and delays at the airport and direct longer flights to Dulles. The so-called “perimeter rule” limits most non-stop flights serving Reagan National to a distance of 1,250 miles. Congress previously exempted 20 round-trip flights to airports more than 1,250 miles from Reagan National (DCA).

Persons: Ronald Reagan, Regan, Republican Burgess Owens, Owens, Reagan, Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, David Shepardson, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Southwest Airlines, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, U.S, American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S . House, Southwest, Republican, FAA, Reagan National, Reagan, Thomson Locations: Ronald Reagan Washington, U.S, Capitol, Dulles, Virginia

☆ Morgan Stanley says 4 cybersecurity giants will benefit from a $30 billion A.I. trend
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Ganesh Rao | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Morgan Stanley has named four cybersecurity stocks it expects to gain from the increasing use of artificial intelligence. The investment bank said Palo Alto Networks , Microsoft , Fortinet , and CrowdStrike are set to benefit from a potential $30 billion opportunity AI is expected to unlock in cybersecurity. This trend indicates that there could be a cybersecurity workforce shortage of around 3.4 million people, according to the ISC. They calculated their estimated $30 billion opportunity by talking to more than 20 chief investment security officers and IT security experts. They found that tasks that can be automated currently occupy between 20-40% of a security analyst's time.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Mogan Stanley, Hamza Fodderwala, PANW, FTNT Organizations: Palo Alto Networks, Microsoft, Information, ISC Locations: Palo, cybersecurity

CARE Hospitals Group, according to another investor source, is in talks to sell a 70% stake to U.S. investment giant Blackstone (BX.N) in a deal valued at $800 million. MORE ATTRACTIVE THAN EVERAs government hospitals became increasingly overburdened and incomes rose in India's vast middle class, demand for private healthcare rose over the years. "The India healthcare opportunity has always been attractive, but never more than now. In 2022, PE investors spent $3.2 billion buying stakes in hospitals in India. "Big private hospitals are more reliable," said 35-year-old G. Chavan said as he accompanied his wife to see a doctor.

Persons: Rana Mehta, PwC's, Atlantic, Indira, Blackstone, Gaurav Sharma, Investcorp, Nishant Sharma, Sharma, Chavan, Sriram, Aditya Kalra, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: PwC, General Atlantic, CARE Hospitals, Blackstone, CARE, Kedaara Capital, ASIA'S PACE, Temasek, Reuters Graphics, Apollo Hospitals, Thomson Locations: India, PUNE, Pune, Indira, Bahrain, Mumbai, Manipal, Asia

[1/2] Workers lift a solar panel onto a roof during a residential solar installation in Scripps Ranch, San Diego, California, U.S. October 14, 2016. "This historic boost in solar investments will advance millions of residential solar projects nationwide, protect people and the planet, deliver environmental justice," said EPA Administrator Michael Regan. Regan announced the launch of the "Solar for All" grant program in Vermont, where he joined Independent Senator Bernie Sanders to tour a residential solar project. The awards will help communities develop low-income solar programs that will provide financing and technical assistance like workforce development and ensure that low-income households receive the benefits of rooftop solar, including household savings, community ownership and energy resiliency. The program will guarantee a minimum 20% total electricity bill savings for households.

Persons: Mike Blake, Biden, Michael Regan, Regan, Bernie Sanders, Valerie Volcovici, Aurora Ellis Organizations: Workers, Scripps, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Environmental Protection Agency, Wednesday, Alaska Natives, Reduction, Independent, Clean Investment Fund, Communities Investment, Thomson Locations: Scripps Ranch, San Diego , California, U.S, Americans, Vermont

☆ Why backing prevention can yield better health: podcast
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Aimee Donnellan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

LONDON, June 27 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Treating illnesses like cancer consumes 11% of global GDP, according to the World Health Organization. In this Exchange podcast, Dr. Katie Tryon, director of healthcare strategy at Vitality, explains that overburdened care systems need to spend their way back into shape. Listen to the podcastFollow @aimeedonnellan on TwitterSubscribe to Breakingviews' podcasts, Viewsroom and The Exchange. Editing by Katrina HamlinOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

Persons: Katie Tryon, Katrina Hamlin Organizations: Reuters, World Health Organization, Twitter, Thomson

☆ Trump was accused of breaking a Nixon-era law by withholding funds to Ukraine. Now, he wants to get rid of it entirely.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Brent D. Griffiths | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Trump pledged to restore a sweeping presidential power that Nixon abused to the point of it being curtailed. The former president wants to restore the ability for presidents to impound funds. "I will fight to restore the president's historic impoundment power," Trump said at an event in New Hampshire. In the wake of Trump's first impeachment for withholding funds for Ukraine, the Government Accountability Office concluded that Trump had violated the Nixon-era law. Impoundment refers to when a president refuses to spend funds that Congress has provided for.

Persons: Trump, Nixon, —, Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, It's, Trump's, Nixon White, Thomas Jefferson Organizations: Trump, Service, Ukraine, Office, Constitutional, Congress, Congressional Locations: New Hampshire, Ukraine

☆ Opinion | Communities of Color Have Suffered Environmental Injustice for Far Too Long
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Nick Tabor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

For decades, Democrats have talked about using a “whole-government approach” to reduce the environmental hazards that so many minority communities face. In 1994, President Bill Clinton signed an executive order to address environmental justice and ensure that low-income citizens and minorities do not suffer a disproportionate burden of industrial pollution. Federal action could also have mitigated the risks for disease in places like Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.”Instead, minority communities throughout the United States have continued to suffer disproportionately. This time around, ‌there will also be ‌an Environmental Justice Scorecard, designed to ‌concretely measure what each federal agency is doing — so the departments can be held to certain benchmarks. The White House is seizing on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as a chance to fund environmental justice projects.

Persons: Bill Clinton, Jackson, Biden Organizations: Environmental, White, Law Locations: Alabama, Flint, Mich, Miss, United States, ‌, Detroit, Jackson

☆ Middle-income buyers face the most severe housing shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Anna Bahney | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

These would-be buyers face the most severe housing shortage of any other income bracket, according to a new analysis from the National Association of Realtors and Realtor.com that found the market is short more than 300,000 affordable homes for these buyers. Given that income, these buyers can purchase homes valued up to $256,000 without being overburdened with housing costs. Middle-income buyers can afford to buy less than a quarter — only 23% — of listings that are currently on the market. In a balanced market, buyers earning $75,000 can afford to purchase 66% of the listings in the Youngstown metro area. However, these buyers would be able to afford to buy more than 50% of the listings in a balanced market.

Persons: ”, Nadia Evangelou, that’s, ” Evangelou, “ It’s, Toledo —, Danielle Hale, “ Organizations: DC CNN, National Association of Realtors, NAR, El, homeownership Locations: Washington, United States, homeownership, Ohio, — Youngstown , Akron, Toledo, Youngstown, El Paso , Texas, Boise , Idaho, Spokane , Washington, In Boise, Boise

The settlement between BP Products North America Inc., the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency will also require the company to invest approximately $197 million in new technology and other capital improvements to reduce air pollution. The BP refinery near Lake Michigan released nearly 16 times the legal limit of benzene allowed by the Clean Air Act, the EPA said in 2009. Following the EPA's investigation, BP spent about $4 billion to expand the Whiting refinery to process heavy Canadian crude. The company also agreed to undertake a $5 million supplemental environmental project to reduce diesel emissions in the communities surrounding the Whiting Refinery and install 10 air pollutant monitoring stations. Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Laura Sanicola in Washington; Editing by Chizu NomiyamaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Gun-loving Texas, where most households own a firearm, has become an epicenter of mass shootings
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Emma Tucker | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +23 min

CNN and the GVA define a mass shooting as a shooting that injures or kills four or more people, not including the shooter. They argue that more firearms and higher gun ownership increases public safety – a stance that continues to be at odds with gun violence experts and data. The area around the Robb Elementary School signs has become a memorial dedicated to the victims of the May 24 mass shooting. Mass shootings are just a piece of that, and the strategies that we’re laying out will impact mass shootings. They’ll also impact a lot of other types of gun violence and that’s absolutely critical to saving lives,” Horwitz said.

☆ Embattled St. Louis Prosecutor to Resign Amid Effort to Disqualify Her
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Mitch Smith | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The chief prosecutor in St. Louis, who made history as the first Black woman to hold the post but faced widespread criticism for her handling of violent crime, said on Thursday that she would resign on June 1. The prosecutor, Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, a Democrat, was facing an effort by Missouri’s attorney general, a Republican, to remove her from office. Her resignation means the governor, also a Republican, can appoint a replacement to serve as the lead prosecutor in an overwhelmingly Democratic city that has long struggled with high crime rates and disinvestment. In recent months, Attorney General Andrew Bailey accused Ms. Gardner of overseeing an office that failed at its most basic tasks, with warrant applications that went unreviewed for months and overburdened assistant prosecutors who sometimes failed to show up for court. Mr. Bailey said on Thursday that there was no reason for Ms. Gardner to stay until June, and that his office was “undeterred with our legal quest to forcibly remove her from office.”“Every day she remains puts the city of St. Louis in more danger,” said Mr. Bailey, who has asked a judge to remove her.

☆ Title 42: Why the Biden administration expects a surge at the US-Mexico border next week
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Migrant surge expectedThe surge of migrants is expected because Title 42, the Trump-era policy that allowed the government to quickly turn away certain migrants at the border during the Covid-19 pandemic, is expiring. These deployments are not unprecedented in recent years, but this one is notable since it coincides with an expected surge of border encounters. Biden administration’s plan to discourage border crossingsThe administration has tried to discourage migrants from simply crossing the border and promised that people apprehended will be turned away and potentially barred from reentry. Anger from New York’s mayorTexas has been transporting thousands of migrants to cities like New York, Chicago and Washington, DC. “Governor Abbott sent asylum seekers to NY – Black mayor; to Washington – Black mayor; to Houston – Black mayor; to Los Angeles – Black mayor; to Denver – Black mayor.

☆ Youth climate activists plan to protest the biggest social event for Washington's political-media class
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

On Saturday, the group plans to blockade the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC. So the White House Correspondents' Association dinner is an appropriate target, Salamon said. The White House did not return requests for comment. Haught acknowledged she had little political choice because GOP candidates have shown paltry interest in prioritizing climate action. "If you're putting your body on the line and risking a record of arrest, that shows you're serious," Haught said.

☆ Biden to order all federal agencies to prioritize environmental justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

(Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)President Joe Biden on Friday will sign an executive order directing federal agencies to invest in disadvantaged communities disproportionately affected by pollution and climate change, the White House said. The order will create a new Office of Environmental Justice in the White House to coordinate all environmental justice efforts across the federal government and require agencies to notify nearby communities if toxic substances are released from a federal facility. The president, who is preparing to announce his reelection bid next week, will make the announcement during a ceremony at the White House Rose Garden. Biden is expected to argue that his administration's historic environmental justice and climate agenda contrasts with "the dangerous vision Speaker McCarthy and his extreme caucus have for our planet, our economy, and public health," the official said. Early in his presidency, Biden pledged that addressing environmental justice would be a core component of his climate agenda and signed an executive order that launched the Justice40 Initiative, which requires agencies to deliver at least 40% of benefits from investments to overburdened communities.

"Indian firms that do not increase their prices and (don't) focus hard on profitability do so at their own peril. The move, while long-sought by overseas law firms, appears to have been somewhat unexpected in its timing. Foreign law firms have yet to announce plans for new offices in India but international firms like Allen & Overy and Herbert Smith Freehills told Reuters they are examining the new rules. Lalit Bhasin, who heads the Society of Indian Law Firms, said there were concerns that a foreign law firm might de facto operate as a full-service firm by hiring local law firms to advise on areas concerning Indian law. "Who is going to monitor whether that foreign law firm is not engaged in practice of Indian laws?"

☆ UK govt, teaching unions to start 'intensive' talks to end strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, March 17 (Reuters) - The British government and teaching unions agreed on Friday to begin "intensive" talks to end strikes by hundreds of thousands of teachers in England who say they are overburdened and underpaid. The government and teaching unions said the National Education Union (NEU) — the largest striking union — would maintain a "period of calm" for two weeks in which no fresh strikes would be announced. "The Education Secretary and all unions will meet (on Friday), beginning intensive talks, which will continue over the weekend," the government and the unions said in a joint statement, adding that they hoped to reach "a successful conclusion". Teachers staged their latest strikes across England this week, coinciding with the government's annual budget. Scotland's largest teaching union has also accepted a pay deal to end long-running strikes, which it said would amount to a 14.6% increase in pay for most teachers by January 2024.

☆ Exclusive: UK debt agency treads careful path to sell near-record volume of bonds
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( David Milliken | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

After finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced his budget plans earlier on Wednesday, the DMO said it would need to sell 241.1 billion pounds ($291 billion) of government bonds in the 2023/24 financial year - the highest on record apart from 485.8 billion pounds sold in 2020/21. The Bank of England is no longer a buyer in the market, and instead is reducing its own gilt holdings by 80 billion pounds a year. "We can issue larger cash amounts in, for instance, a short-dated auction than in a long- or index-linked auction," Stheeman said. Over the coming year, the DMO aims to sell 86.7 billion pounds of short-dated bonds, 65.3 billion pounds of medium-dated, 50.1 billion pounds of long-dated gilts and 26.2 billion pounds of inflation-linked debt. The medium- and long-dated debt includes 10 billion pounds of 'green' bonds - a volume that is capped by the requirement for the government to designate investment projects which meet certain environmental criteria.

March 15 (Reuters) - A U.S. judge in Texas is set to hear arguments on Wednesday in a bid by anti-abortion groups to ban sales of the abortion pill mifepristone across the country, even in states where abortion is legal, as they challenge regulatory approval granted more than two decades ago. Twelve of the 50 states now ban abortion outright while some others prohibit it after a certain length of pregnancy, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights. The judge cited death threats and harassment directed at the court during the case and a wish to avoid disruption. After appealing to the 5th Circuit, the losing side could seek to take the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court. Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Will Dunham and Alexia GaramfalviOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Millions of Americans are facing a hunger cliff as food stamps are slashed: 'The poorer you are, the poorer you eat'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Juliana Kaplan | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Those emergency allotments ending will leave some with hundreds less in SNAP benefits each month. Courtesy of David WelchWelch is one of the millions of Americans suddenly contending with the end of pandemic-era expanded food stamps. The emergency allotments also helped keep many out of poverty. For some, the emergency allotments meant more than just sustenance — it also meant nutrition. The recipients Insider spoke to are just a handful among the millions of people who were still receiving the emergency allotments.

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