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☆ The Economic and Human Costs of Protecting Criminals
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Jason L. Riley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

He is also a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and provides television commentary for various news outlets. Mr. Riley joined the paper in 1994 as a copy reader on the national news desk in New York. He moved to the editorial page in 1995, was named a senior editorial page writer in 2000, and became a member of the Editorial Board in 2005. He joined the Manhattan Institute in 2015. Born in Buffalo, New York, Mr. Riley earned a bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

☆ Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. hospitalized patients experience a harmful event, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Kaitlin Sullivan | Kaitlin Sullivan Is A Contributor For Nbcnews.Com Who Has Worked With Nbc News Investigations. She Reports On Health | Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The stark findings underscore that, despite decades of effort, hospitals in the United States still have a long way to go to improve patient safety, experts say. A total of 222 adverse events were considered preventable, meaning an error resulted in patient harm. Twenty-nine people, or 1% of the total of those admitted, experienced serious preventable adverse events that resulted in serious harm. The most common adverse events overall (nearly 40%) were related to medications given in the hospital. It used data from patients hospitalized in New York state in 1984, and found that only about 4% of hospitalized patients experienced harm.

☆ New guidelines for treating childhood obesity include medications and surgery for first time
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Kaitlin Sullivan | Kaitlin Sullivan Is A Contributor For Nbcnews.Com Who Has Worked With Nbc News Investigations. She Reports On Health | Science | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Intensive behavioral and lifestyle changes should be the first-line approach, but the AAP also includes recommendations for anti-obesity medications and surgery for the first time. The guidelines say that pediatricians should offer weight-loss drugs for children age 12 and up with obesity. She also acknowledged that these lifestyle changes can be really hard to adopt, especially for overworked and low-income parents. The more adverse the environment around you, the harder it is to live a healthy lifestyle,” Hassink said. Medications and surgery are expensive, and asking overstretched parents to implement lifestyle changes is not always realistic.

New York City's Department of Education announced a ban on the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT — which some have warned could inspire more student cheating — from its schools’ devices and networks. It was not immediately clear if the ban applied to the City University of New York system. In New York public schools, ChatGPT can still be made available upon request to classes studying artificial intelligence. In an email statement responding to the New York City public schools ban, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the company "doesn't want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else." We’ve always called for transparency around the use of AI-generated text," the spokesperson said.

The disharmony between the Justice Department’s case and the Biden administration’s gun safety efforts as well as the fears and pressure that a lost appeal could damage gun safety laws are at the crux of the survivors' acrimony. Why are you doing all this (gun reform) and yet you’re fighting it over here?’” said Juan “Gunny” Macias, a survivor who was shot numerous times in the attack and viewed the president’s gun safety priorities as dissonant with the potential Justice Department appeal. The Justice Department has received two extensions to file its appeal brief, now due next week, and is unlikely to receive another one. “I assume the Justice Department is taking this position because the lawyers are looking for the best legal avenues that will give them the outcome they want,” he said. That’s what creates problems like the ones we’re facing.”For fear of what an appeal could mean for U.S. gun laws, a coalition of 37 gun safety organizations sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in October about the Justice Department’s intention to appeal.

☆ College students could start using their dining dollars for DoorDash meals thanks to this startup
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Phood allows students to order DoorDash using their university dining dollars. The startup works with university campuses to let students spend their dining dollars on off-campus food purchases such as delivery through DoorDash, founder Alex Parmley told Insider. Parmley said that he sees opportunities to open up college students' dining dollars to lots of off-campus services and retailers. At first, the New York-based startup provided food delivery itself, using a team of couriers to send dining-hall food to students' dorm rooms and apartments. The company now connects students' dining accounts to the Discover Global Network, which allows them to use their dining dollars like a regular debit card outside of their university.

This year brought a fascinating and eclectic number of books by Latino authors to store shelves and online selections, spanning different genres and earning high praise from readers and reviewers alike. Below is our list of 10 very distinctive works by U.S. Latino authors. The compelling novel has been recognized as one of the top 10 books of 2022 by The New York Times and The Washington Post and as one of the best books of 2022 by Time, NPR, Vogue, Oprah Daily and others. Although Villanueva's life took a different turn, many of his followers and their children, known as "Inca Jews," are still in Israel. She writes about how an abortion saved her life and candidly details her experiences dealing with suicidal thoughts and depression.

☆ An NYC group wants to keep homeless college students dropping out so they can achieve "a gateway to the middle class"
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

A New York City non-profit is piloting a program to pay for students' housing so they can complete their degrees. The New York Times spoke with one student who was on the verge of dropping out before receiving this benefit. According to one 2019 reported from The Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice, almost three in five college students reported experiencing housing insecurity the previous year. 18% of two-year college students and 14% of four-year students reported experiencing homelessness at some point, the researchers found. Homeless students reported lower GPAs and higher dropout rates, according to a report by the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.

☆ Private-equity firms are coming around to the idea of using more data in the investment process. It's still an uphill battle.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Take Blackstone, which recently expanded a data tool it originally built for its real-estate business to be used across its PE portfolio. As recently as just a few years ago, PE firms were just starting to warm to the idea of building out data-science teams. But that tech has been a hard sell for PE firms as well, until recently. Many PE firms are just now waking up to the possibilities of the public cloud. To be fair to PE firms, figuring out how to incorporate data analysis into the investing process is no easy task.

☆ Philadelphia schools will require masks as U.S. COVID cases spike
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Philadelphia is among state and local agencies around the United States rolling out mask mandates or recommendations this month to fight a new surge in virus cases, which is expected to grow as Americans travel and socialize around the winter holidays. Health experts say the U.S. healthcare system is under strain because of a "tridemic" caused by COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). There is debate over the mandates' efficacy, as months of stringent public health rules early in the pandemic exacerbated the public's COVID fatigue and stoked political controversy. California's public health department on Thursday told Reuters it was urging people to wear masks, but stopping short of requiring them. While the political will to impose mask mandates may have waned, covering one's face remains the best way to avoid getting sick - and infecting others.

☆ Charter Schools’ Success Makes Them a Political Target
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Jason L. Riley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

It’s quite remarkable.”In his first five-year term on the Standing Committee, Wang ran the party's secretariat, an organ responsible for day-to-day affairs. In Xi's third leadership term, Wang is on track to be in charge of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, an advisory body. "All the major slogans, from Jiang Zemin to Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping, seem to have come from Wang Huning," Lam said. 'AMERICA VS. AMERICA'Where most Standing Committee members have experience such as running a major city or province, Wang is an academic. During 1989's pro-democracy student protests, Wang told Xia not to stand with the students, a warning Xia did not heed.

☆ Who’s Afraid of Randi Weingarten?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Jason L. Riley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ You may pay nearly $8 for a McDonald's Big Mac in Massachusetts versus $3 in Oklahoma. Here's why costs can vary — even for locations across the street from one another.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Until that happens, he's taken on the unofficial position of "fast-food data scientist," thanks to his latest side project, the Fast Food Index. Fast Food IndexAccording to the Fast Food Index, the most expensive Chipotle chicken burrito is sold for $11.10 in Manhattan's garment district. Other Fast Food Index findings:At $7.89, a McDonald's in Lee, Massachusetts, is home to the most expensive Big Mac. The most expensive Taco Bell crunchy taco is sold in a small town in California. Chipotle menu prices increased by 4% in August, and the company has raised prices for delivery.

The move was criticized by some mental health professionals who said the city should focus on long-term solutions and avoid treating people who refuse. New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Donna Lieberman also condemned the plan. New York City continues to contend with crime on public transit. Instead, he said, the city needs sustained engagement, housing, health care support and financial assistance for those in need. “In an ideal situation, you want mental health crisis teams to be the front line.

[1/2] The U.S. Supreme Court building is seen in Washington, U.S., June 26, 2022. The Supreme Court in recent years has limited the latitude of prosecutors in political corruption cases. The charges against Percoco and Ciminelli were brought in 2016 by former Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who also pursued corruption cases against top state lawmakers including former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. They also have asked the Supreme Court to reverse their convictions. A trial judge in July allowed him to be released from prison on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.

The Supreme Court in recent years has hemmed in prosecutors in political corruption cases including a 2020 decision to toss the convictions of two aides to Republican former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie relating to the "Bridgegate" political scandal. The charges against Percoco and Ciminelli were brought in 2016 by then-Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who also pursued corruption cases against top state lawmakers including former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. They also have asked the Supreme Court to reverse their convictions. A judge in July allowed all four to be released from prison on bail after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. Ciminelli's lawyers said such intangible information could not qualify as a "property fraud" under Supreme Court's precedents.

☆ Meet Hakeem Jeffries, the New York congressman likely to succeed Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Hakeem Jeffries was born and raised in Brooklyn. Hakeem Jeffries. FacebookUS Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, 52, was born in Brooklyn and grew up in the Crown Heights neighborhood of the borough. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the State University of New York at Binghamton, as well as a master's degree in public policy from Georgetown University. He then earned a law degree from the New York University School of Law, where he served on the Law Review.

☆ Climate justice gets harder as world population passes 8 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Gloria Dickie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

These are also among the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts, and most in need of climate finance. "A SIGN OF HUMAN SUCCESS"Globally, the 8 billion population milestone represents 1 billion people added to the planet in just the last 11 years. Even while the global population reaches ever-new highs, demographers note that the growth rate has fallen steadily to less than 1% per year. "A big part of this story is that this era of rapid population growth that the world has known for centuries is coming to an end," Wilmoth said. Rapid population growth combined with climate change is likely to cause mass migration and conflict in coming decades, experts said.

☆ This 37-year-old NASA engineer is designing a spacesuit for women on the side: ‘It’s not just cool, it’s necessary’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Morgan Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Growing up, Sabrina Thompson dreamed of becoming an artist or fashion designer — she just never imagined she would be designing clothes for space. Thompson, 37, is an aerospace engineer for NASA as well as the CEO and founder of the streetwear brand Girl in Space Club. For the better part of this year, Thompson has been designing and researching how to develop a stylish, pressurized suit for female astronauts. She joined NASA in 2010 and has been working with the organization for the past 12 years designing orbit trajectories for space missions. "Spacesuits have never been designed with women in mind," Thompson points out, despite the fact that women have been instrumental in designing space suits for astronauts.

☆ Lee Zeldin’s New York Republicans Party Like It’s 1994
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Jason L. Riley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ Rev. Calvin Butts, influential pillar of Harlem, dies at 73
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Calvin O. Butts III, who welcomed generations of worshippers as well as political leaders from across the nation and around the world at Harlem’s landmark Abyssinian Baptist Church, died Friday at age 73, the church announced. “The Butts Family and entire Abyssinian Baptist Church membership solicit your prayers for us in our bereavement,” the church said on its website. Butts began serving as a youth minister at Abyssinian in 1972 and was senior pastor there for more than 30 years. Calvin O. Butts III speaks onstage during the André Leon Talley Celebration of Life at The Abyssinian Baptist Church on April 29, 2022 in New York City. Al Sharpton called Butts a major pillar in the Harlem community.

☆ The GOP’s 2022 Midterm Slate Is More Diverse Than Ever
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Jason L. Riley | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

☆ The US never banned asbestos. These workers are paying the price.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Kathleen Mcgrory | Neil Bedi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +39 min

But protocols failed to match reality at the Niagara Falls plant, according to more than a dozen workers. In addition to those signature diseases, which are rare even among asbestos workers, the tiny strands can harm the body in other ways. In the 15 years that followed, congressional attempts to ban asbestos would continue to fall short. OSHA declined to make an official available for an on-the-record interview or comment on ProPublica's findings at the Niagara Falls plant. At the OxyChem plant in Wichita, union president Keith Peacock said he was comfortable with the way asbestos was handled.

Now free from large monthly payments, Nadal will redirect his monthly payments toward building his kids' future. PSLF forgives the student loans of public school teachers and other nonprofit workers after 120 "qualifying payments" (about 10 years of consistent payments). At year five of making payments, Nadal called his student loan servicer to make sure he was on the right track. Finally, weeks later, his student loan account showed a zero balance and he received a letter saying $124,572 of his student loans had been completely forgiven. He says, "Before, it was a different feeling because I just had to pay off my student loans, and I couldn't save money.

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