Government Boosts Program to Offer Households Additional Free COVID Tests
Video Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories - Duration: 01:27s - Published
Government Boosts Program to Offer Households Additional Free COVID Tests
Government Boosts Program , to Offer Households Additional , Free COVID Tests.
ABC reports that the government will offer households
an additional four free COVID-19 tests ahead of the
approaching holiday season and a potential rise in cases.
The offer, available at covidtests.gov,
is one of the last remaining ways for people
in the U.S. to obtain free at-home rapid tests.
.
Last spring, the end of the public health
emergency also ended insurance companies'
requirement to provide eight tests per month.
.
Based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, health officials have anticipated a similar
number of hospitalizations in 2023 as there were last year.
In 2022, hospitalizations peaked
at almost 45,000 per week.
.
In September, the government relaunched
its test ordering site, offering
four tests for every household.
.
The government has now offered an
additional four tests, bringing the total number
of at-home tests to eight per household.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness
and Response (ASPR) says that about 14.5 million
households have ordered tests since the site
relaunched, equalling 58 million free tests distributed.
.
Health officials have said that the tests are
meant to help people prepare for gatherings,
particularly with those more vulnerable to COVID.
We're going to see families gather
with older loved ones and younger
loved ones and it's important that
they are able to protect their loved
ones from COVID as we head
into the winter months, Dawn O'Connell, Head of ASPR, via ABC.
We're going to see families gather
with older loved ones and younger
loved ones and it's important that
they are able to protect their loved
ones from COVID as we head
into the winter months, Dawn O'Connell, Head of ASPR, via ABC
Pat Sajak is NOT coming out of a short-lived retirement to host the upcoming "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune" season -- instead, this was always in the cards ... TMZ.. TMZ.com
ABC brass did NOT threaten to take "Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos off the air if he didn't apologize for taking a dig at President Biden's.. TMZ.com
Mortgage Rates Continue , to Fall, Raising Hopes of the , Fed Cutting Rates.
ABC reports that borrowing costs for
home loans continued to ease this week,
with the average rate on a 30-year mortgage
falling to its lowest level since April.
According to mortgage buyer
Freddie Mac, the rate fell from
6.95% to 6.87% last week. .
That figure is still significantly higher than
what the rate was during the same time last year,
which was at an average of 6.67%. .
15-year fixed-rate mortgages
also eased, falling from
6.17% last week to 6.13%. .
During the same time last year,
the average rate was at 6.03%.
Those higher rates can add hundreds of dollars
to monthly costs for borrowers, which limits the
purchasing options of potential homebuyers.
Mortgage rates fell for
the third straight week
following signs of cooling
inflation and market
expectations of a
future Fed rate cut, Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist, via ABC.
ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number
of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest
rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield.
ABC reports that rates are influenced by a number
of factors, including the Federal Reserve's interest
rate policy and the 10-year Treasury yield.
Due to yields also beginning to ease, the Federal
Reserve could start to drop its main interest rate
after hiking it up to the highest level in over 20 years.
Last week, Fed officials suggested that they would make
just one cut to their benchmark interest rate in 2024,
down from previous projections of three cuts for the year.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
Surge of New Applications for , Unemployment Benefits , May Signal Cooling Job Market.
Last week, the number of people in the
United States filing for unemployment benefits
reached the highest level in ten months last week. .
ABC reports that the news comes as a potential
sign that the U.S. labor market may be slowing
under the burden of high interest rates. .
The week ending June 8 saw
applications for jobless benefits
rise by 13,000 to reach 242,000. .
According to Labor Department
data, that is up from 229,000 new
applications the week before.
The number also represents the highest
number of new applications since August
of 2023, while also being significantly higher
than the 225,000 new claims forecast.
ABC reports that weekly unemployment claims have
lingered at historically low levels since millions of
jobs disappeared with the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABC reports that weekly unemployment claims have
lingered at historically low levels since millions of
jobs disappeared with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since March of 2022, the Federal Reserve has raised
benchmark rates 11 times in an attempt to reign in
inflation which has risen to a four-decade high.
While the latest data suggests that consumer
inflation cooled in May, the Federal Reserve
has decided to leave rates at a 23-year high.
According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, officials
are waiting for more evidence that prices
are reaching their target of two percent.
ABC reports that a total of 1.82 million
Americans were collecting unemployment
benefits in the week ending June 1. .
ABC reports that a total of 1.82 million
Americans were collecting unemployment
benefits in the week ending June 1.
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:30Published
T-Mobile Announces Deal , to Acquire Most of , U.S. Cellular .
T-Mobile Announces Deal , to Acquire Most of , U.S. Cellular .
On May 28, T-Mobile announced that
it will acquire most of competitor
U.S. Cellular in a massive $4.4 billion deal.
ABC reports that the deal would give T-Mobile,
already one of the largest wireless providers in
the United States, an additional 4 million customers.
ABC reports that the deal would give T-Mobile,
already one of the largest wireless providers in
the United States, an additional 4 million customers.
The deal will also see T-Mobile acquire
hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores
and a wider presence in rural areas.
The deal will also see T-Mobile acquire
hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores
and a wider presence in rural areas.
The acquisition will also expand T-Mobile's
spectrum rights, a federal license permitting
the transmission of mobile signals.
According to T-Mobile, the deal
is expected to close sometime
in the middle of 2025.
As customers from both
companies will get more
coverage and more capacity
from our combined footprint,
our competitors will be forced
to keep up -- and even more
consumers will benefit, Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile, via ABC.
As customers from both
companies will get more
coverage and more capacity
from our combined footprint,
our competitors will be forced
to keep up -- and even more
consumers will benefit, Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile, via ABC.
T-Mobile added that U.S. Cellular
will retain control of a portion of the
company's spectrum rights and cellular towers. .
According to T-Mobile, the deal will provide
customers with more competitive options to the
two largest U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon and AT&T.
According to T-Mobile, the deal will provide
customers with more competitive options to the
two largest U.S. wireless carriers: Verizon and AT&T.
By tapping into the additional
capacity and coverage created
through the combined spectrum
and wireless assets, T-Mobile
will spur competition, T-Mobile statement, via ABC.
The news comes after a series of
acquisitions for T-Mobile aimed at
accelerating the wireless provider's growth
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
US Surgeon General , Declares Gun Violence in America , a ‘Public Health Crisis’.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy
made the declaration in a new advisory released on June 25, CNN reports.
It is the first time that a surgeon general
has focused on gun violence's "profound consequences" in a national publication. .
Over the last decade or two,
this problem has been worsening and we
have now reached the point where gun violence is the leading cause of death among kids and teens – the leading cause of death. , Dr. Vivek Murthy, to CNN's John Berman.
That is something that we should
never take as the new normal.
There’s nothing normal about that, Dr. Vivek Murthy, to CNN's John Berman.
According to Murthy, the advisory is intended to take the polarizing issue of firearms "out of the realm of politics and put it into the realm of public health, which is where it belongs.".
According to Murthy, the advisory is intended to take the polarizing issue of firearms "out of the realm of politics and put it into the realm of public health, which is where it belongs.".
The advisory highlights measures that Murthy believes can have an impact on gun violence.
just as steps to address vehicle crashes and tobacco-related illnesses have in the past. .
just as steps to address vehicle crashes and tobacco-related illnesses have in the past. .
Historically, we have seen how the
release of Surgeon General reports on
public health issues such as the dangers
of smoking ignited a wave of policy,
legal, and public health initiatives.., Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, Brady board chair
and chief medical officer, via CNN.
... that saved countless American
lives and in this case led to
deprogramming our nation from
the tobacco industry’s lies. , Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, Brady board chair
and chief medical officer, via CNN.
We hope this report will have
the same resounding impact on
the gun violence epidemic, Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, Brady board chair
and chief medical officer, via CNN.
In 2022, over 48,000 people in America died from gun-related injuries, according to CDC data.
In the new advisory, Dr. Murthy said, "It is up to
us to take on this generational challenge with
the urgency and clarity the moment demands.".
The safety and well-being
of our children and future generations are at stake, Dr. Vivek Murthy, via advisory
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
FDA Reverses Ban , on Juul E-Cigarettes.
On June 6, the Food and Drug Administration
announced that it has reversed its ban on Juul
e-cigarettes while the agency reviews new information.
On June 6, the Food and Drug Administration
announced that it has reversed its ban on Juul
e-cigarettes while the agency reviews new information.
NBC reports that the FDA first ordered Juul to take its
product off the market in 2022, however the e-cigarettes
have remained on shelves pending the company's appeal.
NBC reports that the FDA first ordered Juul to take its
product off the market in 2022, however the e-cigarettes
have remained on shelves pending the company's appeal.
In that time, Juul has maintained
its position as the second-most
popular e-cigarette in the U.S.
The FDA noted that reversing the ban
temporarily was not an indication that the
company's product would be ultimately cleared. .
The FDA noted that reversing the ban
temporarily was not an indication that the
company's product would be ultimately cleared. .
Sales of alternative nicotine
products, like e-cigarettes, have
continued to grow in the past decade. .
In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported that e-cigarette use had
grown by almost 50% between 2020 and 2022. .
In 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention reported that e-cigarette use had
grown by almost 50% between 2020 and 2022. .
Juul released a statement
following the FDA reversal, .
... saying the company looks forward to "re-engaging
with the agency on a science- and evidence-based
process to pursue a marketing authorization.".
We remain confident in the quality
and substance of our applications
and believe that a full review of
the science and evidence will
demonstrate that our products
meet the statutory standard
of being appropriate for
the protection of public health, Juul statement, via NBC.
We remain confident in the quality
and substance of our applications
and believe that a full review of
the science and evidence will
demonstrate that our products
meet the statutory standard
of being appropriate for
the protection of public health, Juul statement, via NBC.
'The Wall Street Journal' reports that Juul has argued
that the 2022 ban significantly disrupted the company's
finances, resulting in an investor bailout.
Currently, the FDA has only granted approval for 23
e-cigarette products, manufactured by only three
companies, to be marketed and sold to consumers
Credit: Wibbitz Top Stories Duration: 01:31Published
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