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☆ Federal Reserve Meeting Fed Expected to Resume Rate Increases
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The Federal Reserve has already raised its benchmark rate, the federal funds rate, to a range of 5 to 5.25 percent to rein in inflation, which is showing signs of slowing. The average credit card rate was 20.44 percent as of July 19, according to Bankrate.com, up from around 16 percent in March last year, when the Fed began its series of rate increases. The average rate on new car loans in June was 7.2 percent, up slightly from the start of the year, according to Edmunds.com. The average rate for an identical loan was 5 percent the same week in 2022. But yields on money market funds offered by brokerage firms are even more alluring because they have tracked the federal funds rate more closely.

Persons: ”, Anna N’Jie, Bankrate.com, Matt Schulz, Jonathan Smoke, that’s, —, Freddie Mac, Ken Tumin, DepositAccounts.com Organizations: Federal Reserve, Federal, Fed, Re, LendingTree, Cox Automotive, Treasury, Savings Vehicles Savers, Consumers, DepositAccounts.com Locations: Chicago

☆ Rise of Far Right Leaves Germany’s Conservatives at a Crossroads
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Catie Edmondson | More About Catie Edmondson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mario Voigt, a leader of Germany’s mainstream conservative party, has watched with concern the slow but steady string of victories notched by the far-right Alternative for Germany, known as the AfD. In his home state of Thuringia, in eastern Germany, the AfD just last month won the district administrator’s seat, giving the far right bureaucratic authority over an area for the first time. Since the spring, the AfD has only gathered momentum. The party has gained at least four points in polls since May, rising to 20 percent support and overtaking the country’s governing center-left Social Democrats to become Germany’s second-strongest party. A more recent poll, released on Sunday, put the AfD at a record high of 22 percent support.

Persons: Mario Voigt, Voight’s, Angela Merkel Organizations: Social Democrats, Christian Democratic Union Locations: Germany, Thuringia

☆ A Positive Covid Milestone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( David Leonhardt | More About David Leonhardt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Most immunocompromised people are at little additional risk from Covid — even people with serious conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or a history of many cancers. The C.D.C.’s main Covid webpage estimates that about 80 people per day have been dying from the virus in recent weeks, which is equal to about 1 percent of overall daily deaths. data suggests that almost one-third of official recent Covid deaths have fallen into this category. “I don’t know anybody who thinks we’re going to eradicate Covid,” Jha said. Given the politics of vaccination, the recent victims are also disproportionately Republican and white.

Persons: —, we’re, ” Jha, Shira Doron, ” Organizations: Tufts Medicine Locations: Covid, Massachusetts

☆ We Can Stop the Rise in Maternal Mortality - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-16 | by ( Veronica Gillispie-Bell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, or AIM, is a quality improvement initiative designed to put in place and support best practices to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality. Maternal outcomes are not determined by health care alone. What we call social determinants of health — where we live, work and play — also affect health outcomes. When we think about maternal mortality, we should also look to economic stability, education access, health care access, neighborhood and the built environment and community. There is a biased belief that Black women are overly loud and demanding and that we can take more pain than our white counterparts.

Persons: GYN, — Organizations: Alliance, Innovation, Maternal, AIM, The, Medicare, Services, Black, Commonwealth Locations: United States, Wyoming

☆ She Steals Surfboards by the Seashore. She’s a Sea Otter.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Annie Roth | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For the past few summers, numerous surfers in Santa Cruz, Calif., have been victims of a crime at sea: boardjacking. The culprit is a female sea otter, who accosts the wave riders, seizing and even damaging their surfboards in the process. After a weekend in which the otter’s behavior seemed to grow more aggressive, wildlife officials in the area said on Monday they have decided to put a stop to these acts of otter larceny. Local officials call the animal Otter 841. The 5-year-old female is well known, for both her bold behavior and her ability to hang 10.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: Monterey Bay Aquarium, California Department of Fish, Wildlife Locations: Santa Cruz , Calif, Monterey

☆ Drowning Is No. 1 Killer of Young Children. U.S. Efforts to Fix It Are Lagging.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Emily Baumgaertner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

said it planned to do an in-depth analysis of childhood drownings in several states to better understand the contributing factors. (Research shows that drownings rise with every degree on a thermometer.) There are still over 4,000 of them in the United States annually, and about a quarter of the deaths are of children. shows that Black children between ages 5 and 9 are 2.6 times more likely to drown in swimming pools than white children, and those between ages 10 and 14 are 3.6 times more likely to drown. Disparities are also present in most age groups for Asian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, and Native American and Alaska Native children.

Persons: drownings, Deborah Girasek Organizations: National Institutes of Health, Uniformed Services University of, Health Sciences Locations: Florida, Wisconsin, Yosemite, United States, Pacific, American, Alaska

☆ Opinion | Pro-Vaccine Views Are Winning. Don’t Fear the Skeptics.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

With Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, vaccine skepticism has been back in the headlines. (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine outweigh the risk — the same percentage that Pew found in 2016 and 2019. When you look at rates of vaccination among young children for potentially dangerous infectious diseases, the data is encouraging. According to a study published in January in the C.D.C.’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report:Vaccination coverage among young children has remained high and stable for most vaccines, although disparities persist. Per the C.D.C., for children born in 2018 and 2019, coverage was over 90 percent for the polio, M.M.R., hepatitis B and varicella (chickenpox) vaccines.

Persons: Robert F, Kennedy Jr, ’, Kennedy, Dennis Kucinich, Kennedy “, ” Kennedy, He’s, I’d, Pew, Per, there’s, ” Organizations: Democratic, Pew Research, Centers for Disease Control

☆ C.D.C. Director Rochelle Walensky Shares a Message About Covid and Public Health - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Rochelle P. Walensky | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

All of this is made easier with strong institutions and a strong public health work force. Some estimates suggest we are 80,000 public health workers short across the ‌United States to meet basic public health needs. ‌To this day some of our public health data systems‌‌ are reliant on old fax machines‌. The responsibility of the public health community and its leaders to articulate strategy and communicate regularly with the public has also never been more apparent. We felt our primary audience was mostly health scientists, academics and public health practitioners, and our initial pandemic messages were frequently speaking to those scientifically attuned.

Persons: leaders‌, ‌, underfunding Organizations: ‌, Chickasaw Nation Locations: U‌nited, United States, Bronx, Montana, Chickasaw, Oklahoma, Guam

☆ Sasha Colby Owned the ‘Drag Race’ Runway. Next Category, the Airport.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Ainara Tiefenthäler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From the time Sasha Colby first took the stage in the latest season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” her eventual victory appeared almost inevitable. The 38-year-old — whose tagline is “Your favorite drag queen’s favorite drag queen” — brought her work ethic and two decades of experience to every revealing-yet-revelatory costume, heartfelt lip-sync routine and comically timed neck crack. First, congratulations on your win on “Drag Race.” How has it been since? I’m going to a different city every day. Drag queens have to lug around a lot of stuff: costumes, wigs, etc.

Persons: Sasha Colby, ”, ” —, Colby, I’m, I’ve, — Organizations: New York Times Locations: Oklahoma City, Los Angeles, Canada, Australia, Philippines, Japan, Paris

☆ E-Cigarette Sales Tapered Off Last Year After Big Surge
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Christina Jewett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The increase over that period occurred while teenagers and young adults reported in surveys that they had recently tried e-cigarettes at much higher rates than older adults did. According to the C.D.C., about 4.5 percent of all adults said they used e-cigarettes. But the rates went up as the age dropped. About 14 percent of high school students and 11 percent of young adults reported using the devices within the last 30 days of the survey, the C.D.C. Sales were still growing through May of last year, but then dropped by 12 percent through December.

Organizations: Centers for Disease Control Locations: United States

☆ F.D.A. Panel Advises Vaccine Makers to Aim at Only One Covid Variant
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Christina Jewett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The bivalent shots offered last fall included protection against the Omicron variant and an early Covid variant. is expected to make a more official recommendation to vaccine makers soon. The manufacturers will be expected to study the new formulas and submit data to the agency. spokesman said it expected that an updated vaccine would be available by late September, assuming the data support safe and effective vaccines. It remains unclear whether or when the vaccine makers or the F.D.A.

Persons: ”, Peter Marks, Natalie Thornburg Organizations: Pfizer, Moderna, Centers for Disease Control, World Health Organization, Agency Locations: United States

☆ Fed Expected to Pause Rate Increases: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

The Federal Reserve has already raised its benchmark rate, the federal funds rate, to a range of 5 to 5.25 percent to rein in inflation, which is showing signs of slowing. The average credit card rate was 20.44 percent as of June 3, according to Bankrate.com, up from around 16 percent in March last year, when the Fed began its series of rate increases. The average rate on new car loans was 7.1 percent in May, according to Edmunds.com, up from 5.1 percent last year. Used-car rates were even higher: The average loan carried a 11 percent rate in May, up from 8.2 percent a year earlier. The average rate for an identical loan was 5.23 percent the same week in 2022.

Persons: ”, Anna N’Jie, Bankrate.com, Matt Schulz, Jonathan Smoke, Edmunds.com, that’s, —, Freddie Mac, Ken Tumin, DepositAccounts.com Organizations: Federal Reserve, Fed, Re, LendingTree, Cox Automotive, Treasury, Savings Vehicles Savers, Consumers, DepositAccounts.com Locations: San Francisco .

☆ Federal Reserve Meeting Fed Leaves Rates Unchanged: Live Updates
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Jeanna Smialek | Joe Rennison | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Credit card rates are closely linked to the Federal Reserve’s actions, which means consumers have seen those rates rise over the past year. After raising interest rates 10 times over the past 15 months, the Federal Reserve is expected to take a break on Wednesday and hold rates steady. The Federal Reserve has already raised its benchmark rate, the federal funds rate, to a range of 5 to 5.25 percent to rein in inflation, which is showing signs of slowing. Used-car rates were even higher: The average loan carried a 11 percent rate in May, up from 8.2 percent a year earlier. Home-equity lines of credit and adjustable-rate mortgages — which each carry variable interest rates — generally rise within two billing cycles after a change in the Fed’s rates.

☆ What It’s Like to Be a Queer Teenager in America Today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +16 min

teenagers, high school is a much more accepting place than even a decade ago. Their experiences highlight a “paradoxical finding,” as researchers have described it: Even as social inclusion for young L.G.B.T.Q. To better understand, we took a national poll and talked to two dozen high school students in five states. It’s a different world from when his older sister, Brianna Henderson, attended just seven years ago, when there were very few openly gay students. His home state has passed laws related to restroom use and sports participation for young transgender people.

Persons: ”, Reese Whisnant, They’re, Stephen T, Russell, It’s, Brianna Henderson, Reese Whisnant Barrett Emke, Henderson, Reese, shouldn’t, Gen, Jareth Leiker, Jareth, Ricardo Nagaoka, “, ” Jerry Strohecker, it’s, ” Adrian Soriano, Kansas Barrett Emke, “ Will, Grace ”, Jason Collins, Caitlyn Jenner, Kardashian, Matthew Rivas, Younger, nonbinary, “ You’re, Jeff Jones, “ It’s, I’m, ’ ”, Athena Stiles, Athena Stiles Barrett Emke, I’ve, Shaggy Sargent, Willow Menashe, Eleanor Woosley, Mr, Rivas, Koehl, GLSEN, ” Logan Hortenstine, ” Jayden, Florida Ricardo Nagaoka, ” Isaac Siegel, Wilson, Shelley L, Craig, “ They’re Organizations: Topeka, Republican, University of Texas, Austin, ”, The New York Times, Gallup, United States, Supreme, North, University of Illinois, New York Times, Social Survey, Topeka High, ” Pew Research Center, Centers for Disease Control, Research, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, University of Toronto Locations: Topeka High, Kansas, Florida , Kansas, Iowa, Oregon, United, Portland ,, ” Jerry Strohecker , Oregon, Cape Coral, Fla, Shaggy Sargent , Iowa, Willow Menashe , Oregon, Southern, West, United States, Europe, ” Logan Hortenstine , Kansas, ” Jayden D’Onofrio, Florida, Portland, Wilson , Oregon, Canada, Beeville , Texas, ”

☆ Biden Is Said to Pick Former North Carolina Health Secretary to Lead C.D.C.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Sheryl Gay Stolberg | Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The selection of Dr. Cohen, which was first reported by The Washington Post, is not final. Dr. Cohen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. If chosen by Mr. Biden, Dr. Cohen, an internist, would replace Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, an infectious disease expert who announced last month that she would step down at the end of June. Dr. Walensky led the C.D.C. through difficult times; the agency had grown demoralized under President Donald J. Trump and drew fierce criticism under both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden.

Persons: Biden, Mandy Cohen, Dr . Cohen, Cohen, Mr, . Cohen, Rochelle, Walensky, Donald J, Trump Organizations: Centers for Disease Control, The Washington Locations: North Carolina

☆ F.D.A. Approves Pfizer’s R.S.V. Vaccine for Older Adults
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Christina Jewett | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Each year, about 60,000 adults 65 and older are hospitalized with R.S.V. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that in one year, more than 21,000 people in that age group would need to take the GSK vaccine to prevent one R.S.V. Several treatments, including a maternal vaccine and a monoclonal antibody for infants against R.S.V., are under agency review. The GSK vaccine, called Arexvy, was nearly 83 percent effective against severe R.S.V. The final vote of the F.D.A.’s advisory panel in favor of the Pfizer vaccine’s safety and efficacy was 7 to 4.

Persons: Miller Fisher, Jerica Pitts Organizations: Disease Control, GSK, Pfizer, Infants, R.S.V

☆ 2 Are Dead in Suspected Meningitis Outbreak Linked to Surgeries in Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Amanda Holpuch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Two people in the United States have died with probable cases of fungal meningitis and more than 200 others are at risk after an outbreak of the infection among patients who had surgery in Matamoros, Mexico, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday. The people at risk traveled from the United States to the Mexican clinics for surgical procedures that included liposuction, Brazilian butt lifts and breast augmentation. said that as of Friday two people had died who had been classified as having probable cases of fungal meningitis. There were 11 more probable cases of the infection, based on spinal tap results, and 14 suspected cases, based on symptoms consistent with meningitis, the C.D.C. Health authorities in the United States and Mexico have asked the World Health Organization to issue an emergency declaration in response to the outbreak.

☆ Nine dead in stampede at El Salvador stadium - AFP, citing police
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/3] A medical team arrives following a stampede prior to a soccer game between C.D. FAS Vs. Alianza F.C. at the Cuzcatlan stadium, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 20, 2023. REUTERS/ Jose CabezasMay 20 (Reuters) - Nine people died in a stampede at El Salvador stadium, the AFP said on Twitter, citing the police on Saturday. loadingReporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian SchmollingerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Opinion | Why Are Teens in Crisis? Here’s What the Evidence Says.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( The Ezra Klein Show | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

We’re in the midst of a serious teen mental health crisis. The suicide rate for teenagers nearly doubled from 2007 to 2019, and tripled for 10- to 14-year- olds in particular. In her view, the story in the data is clear: Our teenage mental health crisis is the direct product of the rise of smartphones and social media. What about alternate explanations for this crisis, like meritocratic pressure, the economy, school shootings and climate change? If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

☆ Opinion | The Pandemic Threat That Hasn’t Gone Away
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Zeynep Tufekci | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

His father said the man “wanted to die at home” rather than bring shame to his lab and his country. The incident came to light only after the desperate father threatened to kill himself unless his son sought medical help. Back in 2003 her supervisor had been infected with SARS in a lab. But the abilities scientists have developed in the past few decades have increased the threat. Scientists studying animals in the wild can carry back pathogens to their lab and the densely populated areas where they may be situated.

As a result, public trust in the institution has eroded‌. Amid that backdrop, we recently conducted an independent and bipartisan investigation of the C.D.C.’s pandemic preparedness and response during the Covid-19 pandemic. Our study was based on interviews ‌with dozens of experts, including politically diverse policymakers, public health officials‌‌ and state and local leaders; data the C.D.C. State and local public health agencies, ‌‌as well as the private sector, became exceedingly frustrated in their attempts to engage ‌with the agency. This fed a chaotic national response that put people at risk and further eroded public confidence.

☆ C.D.C. to Scale Back Covid Tracking Efforts
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

still plans to collect will not provide enough actionable information at the state and local level, said Sam Scarpino, a public health expert at Northeastern University. As with other pathogens like influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, state and local health officials will need to make decisions based on limited data, he said. to require health data from state agencies. Collecting and reporting Covid data to the C.D.C. doesn’t have a choice” but to narrow its surveillance efforts, said Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency room physician and deputy dean of Brown’s School of Public Health.

☆ Walensky to Resign as C.D.C. Director
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Apoorva Mandavilli | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will step down from her position on June 30, she announced on Friday. In an agencywide meeting, Dr. Walensky admitted to mixed emotions about her decision and broke down in tears, according to people on a conference call with her. “I took on this role with the goal of leaving behind the dark days of the pandemic and moving the C.D.C. — and public health — into a much better and more trusted place,” she said in an email to agency staff that followed the call. It was unclear who would lead the agency after her departure.

☆ America’s New Drug Policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( German Lopez | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In fact, needle exchange programs can reduce overdoses and drug use over time, by acting as hubs that educate people on safe practices and connect them to addiction treatment. First, lawmakers grew desperate to reduce overdose deaths, which have climbed for decades and surpassed 100,000 annually for the first time in 2021. Second, the overdose crisis is now so widespread that many more people, including members of Congress, know someone hurt by it. “Every single member of the House and Senate has grieving constituents coming in, having buried kids or brothers or sisters or moms or dads,” Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University drug policy expert, said. Previous drug crises disproportionately hurt marginalized populations — such as Black people during the 1980s crack epidemic and poor white people during the 1990s-2000s meth epidemic.

The average interest rate on new-car loans was 7 percent in March, according to Edmunds, up nearly a percentage point from six months earlier. The average interest rate on new-car loans was 7 percent in March, according to Edmunds, up nearly a percentage point from six months earlier. The rate for current federal student loan borrowers isn’t affected because those loans carry a fixed rate set by the government. The average rate for an identical loan was 5.1 percent the same week in 2022. Home equity lines of credit and adjustable-rate mortgages — which each carry variable interest rates — generally rise within two billing cycles after a change in the Fed’s rates.

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