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Less than a week after NBC News detailed how the hospital system Atrium Health of North Carolina aggressively pursued former patients’ medical debts, placing liens on their homes to collect on hospital bills, the nonprofit company announced it would cancel those obligations and forgive the unpaid debts associated with them. Some 11,500 liens on people's homes in North Carolina and five other states will be released, Atrium’s parent company, Advocate Health, said with some dating back 20 years or more. The company declined NBC News’ request for an interview about the shift. When Belk could not afford to pay them, Atrium Health pursued him in court, the company confirmed. Mike Belleme for NBC News fileBelk said he was stunned to receive a phone call from an Atrium Health executive Tuesday advising him that his debts would be forgiven.

Persons: Health, Lester Holt ”, Terry Belk, Belk, what’s, Mike Belleme, “, ” Belk, Rebecca Cerese, Atrium’s, “ I’m, Terry, ” Cerese, ” Organizations: NBC, Health, Advocate, Charlotte, NBC News, North Carolina Justice Center Locations: North Carolina, Charlotte, N.C

“I’ve been battling this for over 20 years,” Belk, 68, said of his medical debt. The burden of medical debt has contributed to financial anxiety among voters and has become an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign. Guill, who has multiple sclerosis, lives in Aiden, North Carolina, a rural community just south of Greenville. She volunteers with a nonprofit called Down Home North Carolina to help her neighbors gain access to Medicaid. “We have a ton of people with medical debt in the state because our insurance plans didn’t cover our medical bills,” she said.

Persons: “ I’ve, ” Belk, KFF, ”, Berneta Haynes, Terry Belk's, Mike Belleme, “, it’s, don’t, Cynthia Fisher, they’ve, PatientRightsAdvocate.org, Darcy Guill, Darcy Guill Guill, Harold Miller Organizations: National Consumer Law Center, U.S, NBC, Atrium Health, Health, American, of Public Health, Nonprofit, Affordable, The Commonwealth Fund, Urban Institute, Center for Healthcare Locations: South Dakota, Mississippi, North Carolina, American, Charlotte, N.C, United States, U.S, Aiden , North Carolina, Greenville

☆ Jessica Fern's 'Polysecure' promised a world beyond monogamy. She didn't say it would be easy.
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-05 | by ( Anna Silman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +40 min

The psychotherapist's 2020 book, "Polysecure," has become the poly bible for an increasingly queer and fluid generation. As consensual nonmonogamy went mainstream, searches for Fern's "Polysecure" spiked. "I've heard authors joke they get a cup of coffee from their book," Fern said. When Jessica Fern and Dave Cooley opened up their relationship, Cooley was surprised at the "searing anguish" he felt about his wife seeing other men. Fern, Cooley, and Fern's partner bought the property together and settled in, planning to live there long term.

Persons: Jessica Fern, Feeld, Lionel Messi, Fern, John, nonmonogamy, Molly Roden Winter's, Miranda July's, I've, Nielsen BookScan, you've, we're, Hannah, Dave Cooley, Cooley, Esther Perel, Dan Savage, Guralnik —, Ross Geller, it's, butch barista, deblasio, Chirlane McCray, Suki Waterhouse, Allison P, Davis, Clinton, isn't, Gilmore, Diego, — they're, Fern disentangled, polyamory, Julia, Apryl, Jessica, John Bowlby, Mary Ainsworth, Fern's polyamorous, she's, It's, Mike Belleme, Tobias, Lindsay, Molly Roden Winter, compersion, Fern's, —, Abby, she'd, Axios they'd, Christopher Gleason, they'd, Gleason, We've, curt, Escher, Franklin Veaux, Eve Rickert's, Rickert, aren't, I'm, Daniel Lavery, " Lavery, polysecurity hasn't, She's, pats, hasn't, polysecurity, Fern isn't, We're, Myers, Briggs, there's Organizations: New York Times, New York Magazine, SUNY, Kinsey Institute, George Mason University Locations: Costa Rica, North Carolina, Russian, Manhattan, Asheville, patrick, Fort Greene, San Francisco, Cooley, Sheepshead Bay , Brooklyn, British, polyworld, Boulder , Colorado, Vancouver, Brooklyn, COVID, Bahamas, Feeld, Fern

Those quiet times, less than three years ago, soon became a whirlwind. The flurry of activity reflects new investments in a region of North Carolina that has lagged behind: the Triad. The average income in Randolph County, which includes Liberty, is $47,000, and some jobs at Toyota will offer an hourly wage comfortably above that. More people moving into the area could breathe life into Liberty’s downtown. Mr. Kidd worried that many local workers lacked the education and skills to work at the plant.

Persons: Scott Kidd didn’t, Kidd Organizations: Liberty, Toyota Locations: N.C, North Carolina, Randolph County, Liberty, Liberty’s, Greensboro, Winston, Salem

☆ Euro zone business activity fell again in November
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-23 | by ( Jonathan Cable | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Nov 23 (Reuters) - The downturn in euro zone business activity eased in November but remained broadbased, suggesting the bloc's economy will contract again this quarter as consumers continue to rein in spending, a survey showed. "Ongoing weakness in the euro zone business surveys suggests a recession is on the horizon. The new business index rose to 46.7 from 45.6. Manufacturing activity, which has contracted every month since July 2022, fell again in November. Its PMI rose to 43.8 from 43.1, beating the poll expectation for 43.4 but resolutely below breakeven.

Persons: Mike Bell, Stephane Mahe, Bert Colijn, Jonathan Cable, Christina Fincher Organizations: PMI, P Global, Reuters, Morgan Asset Management, REUTERS, European Union, ING, Thomson Locations: October's, J.P, France, Nantes, Britain

☆ Seeds of Native Knowledge Grow in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-21 | by ( Jacey Fortin | Mike Belleme | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

WHY WE’RE HEREWe’re exploring how America defines itself one place at a time. Cherokee, N.C., is a town steeped in Native American history, and a draw for outsiders in search of connection. Oct. 21, 2023There is a mushroom whose beige caps grow wild in the mountains of western North Carolina. But Amy Walker and Tyson Sampson have years of experience. “Tyson can tell you the scientific stuff.

Persons: Amy Walker, Tyson Sampson, Walker, ”, “ Tyson Locations: Cherokee, N.C, North Carolina

The development comes days after SoftBank Group-backed (9984.T) chip designer Arm Holdings made public its IPO filing. Instacart said its revenue had surged to $1.48 billion in the six months ended June 30, compared with $1.13 billion in the same period last year. Net income was $242 million during the six-month period, compared to a $74 million loss a year earlier, Instacart said. Customers can order through the Instacart app, and an Instacart "shopper" delivers the product in as little as 30 minutes. Unlike in an IPO, no shares are sold in advance in a direct listing and investors can sell their shares directly to the public.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Mark Schwartz, Mike Bellin, Instacart, Goldman Sachs, Fidji Simo, Frank Slootman, Niket, Savyata Mishra, Shilpi Majumdar, Shinjini, Maju Samuel Organizations: REUTERS, SoftBank, Arm Holdings, PricewaterhouseCoopers U.S, San, underwriters, Nasdaq, Facebook, Canada, CVS, Reuters, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, United States, Snowflake, Bengaluru

☆ A Year of Upheaval on Abortion’s Front Lines
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Kate Kelly | Marisa Schwartz Taylor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

Erica’s pilots that day were volunteers with Elevated Access, a nonprofit set up last year to help people obtain abortions, often across state lines. In North Carolina, an anti-abortion, church-backed pregnancy center called Mountain Area Pregnancy Services confronted a harassment incident. Before Dobbs, the group’s abortion services operated on a budget of $20,000 per month. But the dearth of pharmacies willing to offer abortion medication meant that Honeybee soon became the main provider of the online-ordered, home-delivered pills. Abortion medication — which now accounts for more than half of abortions in the United States — produces roughly 40 percent of Honeybee’s revenue.

Persons: Wade, Health “, ”, Maren Hurley, Hey Jane, Jenice Fountain, Julia Rendleman, The New York Times Erica, ” Erica, Erica, Andy, “, Gabriela Bhaskar, Dobbs, Kelsea McLain, Roe, —, McLain, Yellowhammer, Fountain, Mike Belleme, Court’s Dobbs, Jeff Porter, Porter, ” Michelle Fenton, Ms, Fenton, Sharon Chischilly, Paddy, Rachael Lorenzo, Tracy Nguyen, Honeybee, Jessica Nouhavandi, Nouhavandi Organizations: Jackson, Health, Private, Yellowhammer Fund, The New York Times, Maryland —, D.C, Cessna, Fund, Birmingham, Pregnancy Services, The New York, Services, The New York Times Indigenous, Roe, Los Angeles Locations: Dobbs v, North Carolina, Hurley’s, Alabama, Louisiana, America, Minnesota, Twin Cities, Illinois, Maryland, Washington, Wisconsin, Birmingham, Ala, Asheville, N.C, Waynesville, New Mexico, Oklahoma , Texas, North Dakota, South Dakota, Culver City, Calif, Roe United States, United States

☆ Prestigious Golf Courses Have a New Mantra: Short but Sweet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-05 | by ( Joe Passov | Photographs Mike Belleme For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

When Adam Blum, a radiologist from Cleveland, arrived at the Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Ore., on a recent golf vacation, the first course he and his seven friends chose to play consisted of 13 par-3 holes, ranging from 63 to 150 yards. Why that one rather than one of the property’s five nationally ranked, championship-length layouts?

☆ When My Husband Had Surgery, Our Social Network Made All the Difference (for Both of Us)
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-11 | by ( Beth Decarbo | Photographs Mike Belleme For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

In January, my husband, Chuck, underwent roughly four hours of open-heart surgery to fix a leaky valve and clogged artery. After five days in intensive care, he was sent home from the hospital—along with verbal instructions and a 28-page document on postsurgical care. My duties—overseeing wound care, physical and breathing exercises, medication—seemed straightforward enough. But deep down, I feared that through some mistake or oversight, I would kill my husband. Conversely, because of my inexperience, ineptitude or impatience, I worried that my husband would kill me, metaphorically speaking.

In March 2020, the virus held many mysteries. Some early assumptions didn’t hold up, while other key findings wouldn’t come until much later. If we could do it all over again…

☆ When Parents Need Care, Sibling Relationships Face New Challenges
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Clare Ansberry | Photographs Mike Belleme For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Caring for an aging parent can bring out the best—and worst—in siblings. Millions of adult children provide unpaid care for their parents or in-laws. The workload and division of responsibilities often create tensions between brothers and sisters. Arrangements work best when siblings can divvy up tasks that play to each other’s strengths. Even then, the stress of caring for parents and making financial decisions can cause rifts.

☆ The year of the restaurant robot: Why chains are investing in automation and what it means for workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Amelia Lucas | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

This year brought a flurry of automation announcements in the restaurant industry as operators scrambled to find solutions to a shrinking workforce and climbing wages. Three-quarters of restaurant operators are facing staffing shortages that keep them from operating at full capacity, according to the National Restaurant Association. Many restaurant operators hiked wages to attract workers, but that pressured profits at a time when food costs were also climbing. "Automation is one word, and a lot of people go right to robotics and a robot flipping burgers or making fries. The labor questionAutomation often faces pushback from workers and labor advocates, who see it as a way for employers to eliminate jobs.

☆ The Year in Pictures 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +57 min

Every year, starting in early fall, photo editors at The New York Times begin sifting through the year’s work in an effort to pick out the most startling, most moving, most memorable pictures. But 2022 undoubtedly belongs to the war in Ukraine, a conflict now settling into a worryingly predictable rhythm. Erin Schaff/The New York Times “When you’re standing on the ground, you can’t visualize the scope of the destruction. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 25. We see the same images over and over, and it’s really hard to make anything different.” Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 26.

Consumer prices rose 11.1% in the 12 months to October, the most since October 1981 and a big jump from 10.1% in September, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday. Economists in a Reuters poll - many of whom think inflation is probably peaking around now - had forecast inflation would rise to 10.7%. In response to the data, Hunt - who is due to outline a new budget on Thursday - said "tough but necessary" decisions were required to tackle rising prices. Producer price data showed there was still inflation pressure in the pipeline but hinted at a possible slowdown. Manufacturers' costs for raw materials and energy rose at their slowest pace since March but at 19.2% the increase was still huge by historical standards.

☆ Shares jump, dollar falls after cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Alun John | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] U.S. Dollar banknotes are seen in this illustration picture taken June 14, 2022. The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasuries dropped 23 basis points after the data to 3.9137%, S&P futures rose 3% and Nasdaq futures rose 4%. In currency markets the dollar sold off sharply, falling 1.75% against the rate sensitive Japanese yen to 143.64, while the euro climbed 1.2% to $1.016 a two-month high. Sky-high inflation has caused the Fed to raise rates aggressively this year, a process that has boosted the dollar and caused U.S. Treasuries and shares around the world to sell off sharply. U.S. crude oil futures were 0.1% higher at $85.93 per barrel, while Brent crude futures gained 1% to $93.58.

☆ Chipotle's Chippy robot is starting to make tortilla chips at a California location —here are all the other robots taking over fast food
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Mary Meisenzahl | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

"We are thrilled that Panera shares in our vision to revamp the coffee monitoring process, and can't wait for CookRight Coffee to be installed at their restaurants to help customers and team members alike," Miso CEO Mike Bell said in a statement. Miso Robotics

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