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For nearly a month, COVID-19 hospitalizations have been increasing following weeks of decline and relatively low levels throughout the summer, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As of Nov. 25, there were 19,444 weekly hospitalizations due to the virus compared to 15,006 four weeks earlier, data shows. While this marks an increase of 29.6%, it is lower than the 150,650 weekly hospitalizations at the peak of the omicron wave during the 2021-22 season. Rates of COVID hospitalizations remain elevated among senior citizens, middle-aged adults and children under age 4, meaning the virus is affecting...

(WHNT) — The millions of people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to help cover the cost of groceries and other necessities are about to get a bump in their benefits starting on Oct. 1. SNAP, which stands for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, used to be called the Food Stamp Program. Next month, the benefits will automatically rise to reflect the recent changes in the cost of living due to high inflation. Benefit changes will be based on the Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for June 2022. According to a report from Forbes Advisor,...

During an interview aired on Friday’s broadcast of Bloomberg’s “Wall Street Week,” Steve Rattner, who served as counselor to the Treasury Secretary in the Obama administration, stated that a lack of workers due to stricter immigration policies is not driving the problems with inflation and that changing immigration policy wouldn’t make “that much of a material difference” in the immediate or medium terms After playing a clip of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink blaming economic problems on policy, host David Westin asked, “Steve, what he’s talking about there in terms of policy-generated are things like some of our trade policies, some...

Executive Summary ... This report finds that these higher marginal tax rates result in a smaller economy, fewer jobs, less investment, and lower wages. Specifically, this report finds that the higher tax rates will have significant adverse economic effects in the long-run: lowering output, employment, investment, the capital stock, and real after-tax wages when the resulting revenue is used to finance additional government spending. Long-run macroeconomic impact of increasing tax rates on high-income taxpayers in 2013 Through lower after-tax rewards to work, the higher tax rates on wages reduce work effort and labor force participation. The higher tax rates on...

A report released on Monday revealed that wait times for availing treatment in Canada have surged 18.2 weeks in 2010. This is for the first time that an increase has been experienced in waiting times in the country since 2007. The report `Waiting Your Turn: Wait Times for Health Care in Canada' by the Fraser Institute brought out that the average waiting time in B. C. rose to 18.8 weeks from 17 weeks in 2009. Mark Rovere, the Fraser Institute's Associate Director of health policy and co-author of the report said, "We're seeing continued government rationing, which is leading to...

The government of Great Britain has begun advising its supermarkets on how to distinguish between Jewish and Arab manufactured foods from the Judea and Samaria regions of Israel. The British Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), has recommended that food labels for products made in Judea and Samaria say either “Israeli settlement produce” or “Palestinian produce.” The labels are intended to increase pressure on Israel to surrender these areas and to result in the exulsion of all Jewish residents. DEFRA, in keeping with Britain’s longstanding opposition to a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, said that traders...

One in two believes racism is increasing By Christopher Hope, Home Affairs Correspondent Last Updated: 2:06am GMT 18/01/2008 Record numbers of people believe racial prejudice is worsening, according to Government figures. However, the study of views of 15,000 people in England and Wales found that more than eight out of 10 people feel a strong sense of belonging to Britain, despite evidence of growing nationalism. For the first time, more than half of people surveyed in the Citizenship and Communities survey said racism had become more of a problem in the previous five years. In the poll conducted from April...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush demanded Saturday that Congress send him legislation that keeps middle-class Americans from being hit at tax time next year by the dreaded alternative minimum tax. Bush says because the IRS had to send 2007 tax forms to be printed before AMT is resolved, many forms will be wrong. That's not likely to happen anytime soon. Congress has adjourned for the Thanksgiving holiday. The legislation is muddled in the House and Senate. And Bush has threatened to veto any bill that raises taxes as a way of fixing the tax, known in shorthand as AMT. "I...

WASHINGTON - Just days after the Nobel prize was awarded for global warming work, an alarming new study finds that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing faster than expected. Carbon dioxide emissions were 35 percent higher in 2006 than in 1990, a much faster growth rate than anticipated, researchers led by Josep G. Canadell, of Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, report in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Increased industrial use of fossil fuels coupled with a decline in the gas absorbed by the oceans and land were listed as causes of the...

Iran has increased arms shipments to both Iraq's Shiite extremists and Afghanistan's Taliban in recent weeks in an apparent attempt to pressure American and other Western troops operating in its two strategic neighbors, according to senior U.S. and European officials. In Iraq, Iranian 240mm rockets, which have a range of up to 30 miles and could significantly change the battlefield, have been used recently by Shiite extremists against U.S. and British targets in Basra and Baghdad, the officials said. Three of the rockets have targeted U.S. facilities in Baghdad's Green Zone, and one came very close to hitting the U.S....

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2007 – Military personnel going to Iraq or Afghanistan are trained, equipped and ready to do their jobs, but there is more to defending the United States and its interests than counterinsurgency operations, the nation’s top military officer said today. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace listens to comments made by the members of the House Armed Services Committee Feb. 7. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services...

For what experts say is probably the first time, more American women are living without a husband than with one, according to a New York Times analysis of census results. In 2005, 51 percent of women said they were living without a spouse, up from 35 percent in 1950 and 49 percent in 2000. Coupled with the fact that in 2005 married couples became a minority of all American households for the first time, the trend could ultimately shape social and workplace policies, including the ways government and employers distribute benefits. Several factors are driving the statistical shift. At one...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 -- Robert M. Gates vowed today to be an independent voice if he is confirmed as defense secretary. “I don’t owe anybody anything,” Gates said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I’ve come back here to do the best I can for the men and women in uniform and for the country in terms of these difficult problems that we face.” Gates, who was nominated for the top DoD post by President Bush, also said he is open to increasing the end-strength of the Army and Marine Corps. Gates said he thinks the...

How effective were UN sanctions against Saddam ? Liberals say, "Very effective !" This cynic says otherwise. Read and draw your own conclusions.

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The U.S. military is stepping up operations in the Gulf of Guinea to enhance security in this strategic and resource-rich region, the commander of U.S. European Command's naval surface combatant warships told the Pentagon Channel. U.S. military engagement along southwestern Africa's Atlantic coast has increased exponentially, Capt. Tom Rowden, commander of Task Force 65, said during a Pentagon interview last week. It's increased from almost no activity in 2004 to 130 "ship days" in 2005 to even more planned ship days this year, he said. The goal is to build long-term relationships that promote greater security and...

Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis has received more than $1 million in donations from lobbyists and current and past clients of a top Washington lobbying firm under investigation by federal authorities, an analysis of campaign-finance data shows. A federal grand jury issued subpoenas last month to Inland cities and counties asking them to turn over documents about their decision to hire the firm, billing statements and communications between local officials, Lewis and the lobbying firm Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White. Clients of Copeland Lowery have received millions of dollars in congressional earmarks -- the special projects lawmakers insert into federal...

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2006 – As Iraqi forces assume more responsibility for security duties, they're receiving backup and other kinds of support from the U.S. military, a senior Defense Department spokesman said here today. "U.S. military forces remain in supporting roles with the ability to offer a surge capability to Iraqi security forces," Bryan Whitman told Pentagon reporters. U.S. forces in Iraq also provide logistical support to fledgling Iraqi security forces, Whitman said. Whitman agreed with Army Lt. Gen. Martin Dempsey's assessment during a briefing from Iraq earlier today that Iraqi forces are rapidly moving toward taking over border- control...

Afghan Women Increasing Role in Army Currently, there are 147 women serving in the Afghan National Army, including two who were among the first group of 58 pilots in the Afghan National Army's Air Corps. By U.S. Army Lt. Col. Janet Kai Office of Security Cooperation-Afghanistan KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 17, 2005 — Only four years after the Taliban was ousted from power, Afghan women are playing an increasing role in their country's security through an accessions program allowing them to become members of the Afghan National Army. "When I wear my uniform and I'm flying the helicopter, my only...

Sunlight is increasing on Earth By Nic Fleming, Science Correspondent (Filed: 06/05/2005) More sunlight is reaching the Earth's surface than it was 15 years ago, scientists reveal today. American researchers say there has been a four per cent rise in the amount of solar radiation reaching the planet's surface since 1990. Several studies have shown that up until the late 1980s, four to six per cent less sunlight penetrated the atmosphere than during the 1950s. Researchers believe the shift could be explained by the varying quantity and composition of aerosols, tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the air. Other...

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