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Medical debt is disappearing from Americans’ credit reports, lifting scores

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

Noam N. Levey | KFF Health News (TNS)The share of American consumers with medical debt on their credit reports has declined dramatically over the past year as major credit rating agencies removed small unpaid bills and debts that were less than a year old, according to a new analysis from the nonprofit Urban Institute.At the same time, millions of Americans have seen their credit scores improve, making it easier for many to get a job, rent an apartment, or get a car.“This is a very significant change,” said Breno Braga, an economist at the Urban Institute and a co-author of the study. “It affects a lot of people.”The analysis found that, as of August, just 5% of adults with a credit report had a medical debt on their report, down from almost 14% two years earlier.Urban Institute researchers also found that Americans with a medical debt on their credit report in August 2022 saw their VantageScore credit score improve over the next year from an average of 585 to an average of 615.That...

It’s Election Day. Here is what you need to know

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

By The Associated PressThough its an off-year general election, races across the country will have far-reaching implications for 2024 and beyond. For example, there are two races that will determine state governors. Other races will provide insight into how abortion rights are shaping American politics. Some contests, such as Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court race, could play a significant role in voting-related cases during the 2024 presidential campaign. There could also be some historic firsts, as in Rhode Island, which could elect its first Black representative to Congress. Here is what you need to know as you cast your vote. Your polling place depends on where you live. You can find your polling place by checking your voter registration. Here’s a helpful tool from the National Associations of Secretaries of State that can help you find your polling location. Kentucky governor’s race Voters in Kentucky are deciding whether to give a secon...

Drugs aren’t required to be tested in people who are obese. Here’s why that’s a problem

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

By JONEL ALECCIA (AP Health Writer)More than 40% of American adults are considered obese, yet the medications many take are rarely tested in bigger bodies. That’s because they are not required to be included in drug studies. And often, they’re explicitly excluded.“Clinical trials and dosing instructions don’t always ensure that drugs will be safe and effective for people with obesity,” said Christina Chow, a drug researcher who’s reported on the challenges of considering obesity in drug development. “There’s no real emphasis for them to be studied at all.”Many widely prescribed drugs and over-the-counter medications work differently in people who are obese, but exactly how and at what dose often isn’t clear. Research suggests that may include antibiotics and antifungal drugs used to treat serious infections, synthetic hormones used in Plan B emergency contraception and even ibuprofen, the common painkiller sold as Advil. Th...

Ex-gang leader gets June date for Vegas murder trial stemming from 1996 killing of Tupac Shakur

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

By KEN RITTER (Associated Press)LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Nevada judge set a June 3 date for the murder trial of a former Southern California street gang leader who has become the only person ever charged in the 1996 killing of hip-hop music icon Tupac Shakur in Las Vegas. Duane “Keffe D” Davis made a brief court appearance in shackles Tuesday and spoke quietly with two court-appointed attorneys who were named to his case before he pleaded not guilty last Thursday.Davis remains jailed in Las Vegas.His public defenders, Charles Cano and Robert Arroyo, said they intend to file documents seeking his release on bail ahead of trial. The attorneys declined outside court to comment about the case, saying they have not yet had time to examine what prosecutor Marc DiGiacomo termed “voluminous” evidence.Davis, 60, is originally from Compton, California. He was arrested Sept. 29 outside a Las Vegas-area home where police served a search warrant July 17.Davis said publicl...

Residential school records released day before archbishop testifies at Senate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

OTTAWA — A Catholic archdiocese that includes parts of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario released long-awaited residential schools records this week.The news comes as religious leaders face accusations they are keeping information about the largely church-run institutions secret.Archbishop Murray Chatlain says the Keewatin-Le Pas archdiocese gave the documents to the Winnipeg-based National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation on Monday.That was one day before his testimony at a Senate committee that is studying the withholding of records.Chatlain says an archdiocese staff member found a box of files containing some residential school lists in 2021, and they agreed to digitize the records in consultation with the national centre.But he says copies had been shared only with a local historical society to date, and the records didn’t make their way to the centre until Monday.A report from Kimberly Murray, Ottawa’s special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked grave...

Spanish author Luis Mateo Díez wins Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s top literary honor

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish author Luis Mateo Díez has been awarded the Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor, Culture Minister Miquel Iceta said Tuesday.The prizes are presented each April 23 on the anniversary of the death in 1616 of Miguel de Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote,” in a ceremony attended by King Felipe VI.Iceta praised Díez, 81, “for being one of the great narrators of the Spanish language, heir to the Cervantes spirit.”He described him as a “writer in the face of all adversity, a creator of imaginary worlds and territories with a prose, a sagacity and a style that make (his work) unique in literature of the highest level.”The award includes prize money of 125,000 euros ($134,000).A member of the Royal Spanish Academy, Díez has previously won Spain’s National Narrative Prize twice. A prolific writer, he is known for his unreal and dreamlike stories based in the fictional region of Celama.Venezuelan poet Rafael Cadenas won the Cervantes ...

Man with gun arrested in park near US Capitol

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A man with a gun was arrested near the U.S. Capitol Tuesday afternoon, police said. The man was in a park outside Senate office buildings and across from Washington’s Union Station when he was arrested, the U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter. Police searched the area where he was arrested as well as his belongings “out of an abundance of caution.” Officers said they did not believe there was an “ongoing threat.”Openly carrying firearms in public is prohibited in Washington and on U.S. Capitol grounds. The Associated Press

Ottawa ‘must act’ to overhaul RCMP’s federal policing program, committee report says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

A committee of parliamentarians says the RCMP’s federal policing program suffers from challenges that undermine its ability to fulfil an essential role in the security and intelligence community.In a report released today, the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians blames the problems on factors including the RCMP’s focus on front-line policing across Canada, weak governance and inadequate data management.The committee of MPs and senators, which hears witnesses behind closed doors, announced its review of the RCMP’s federal policing mandate two years ago.It studied the capabilities and results of the mandate’s programs and activities and how the RCMP carries out federal criminal investigations in areas of national security, complex crimes and major organized crime.The report says the government should take a clear role in driving reforms to federal policing.It urges the federal public safety minister to provide clear, ongoing directi...

WeWork seeking to exit some Canadian locations as part of bankruptcy filings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

TORONTO — WeWork is seeking an early exit of several Canadian leases as part of bankruptcy proceedings for the once high-flying office sharing company.Filings show the company is looking to get out of two leases in Toronto, two in Vancouver, and one in Burnaby, B.C. as part of its efforts to improve its balance sheet.The five Canadian locations make up a small portion of the 69 total leases it sought permission to leave early, with most in New York.The company said in a late Monday announcement that it had a deal in place with the majority of its stakeholders to “drastically reduce” its debt as it works to reduce its commercial office lease portfolio. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, with plans to also file recognition proceedings in Canada, according to Monday’s announcement.WeWork locations outside of the U.S. and Canada will not be affected by the proceedings, the company said, as well as franchisees worldwide.This report b...

Industry minister won’t say whether new military planes will be a sole-source deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 21:08:14 GMT

OTTAWA — Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne won’t say whether the process to replace a fleet of aging military patrol planes will be an open-source bid.On Tuesday, Champagne told reporters in Ottawa the federal government has made no decision so far on whether Bombardier Inc. will have a chance to submit a proposal on new reconnaissance aircraft.For months, Bombardier CEO Éric Martel has been pushing Ottawa to put out a call for tenders as he promotes the company’s still non-existent surveillance plane over a Boeing Co. alternative — the apparent frontrunner.Bombardier joined forces earlier this year with U.S.-based General Dynamics on a patrol aircraft, a modified Global 6500 business jet with submarine-hunting technology, which they hope will supplant the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 14 CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol planes in the early 2030s.However, Public Services and Procurement Canada describes Boeing’s P-8A Poseidons as the only currently avai...