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Millions of Americans at risk of losing free preventive care after Texas ruling on ACA

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(THE CONVERSATION) – Many Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the Supreme Court left the Affordable Care Act in place following the law’s third major legal challenge in June 2021. This decision left widely supported policies in place, like ensuring coverage regardless of preexisting conditions, granting coverage for dependents up to age 26 on their parents’ plan and removing annual and lifetime benefit limits.But now, millions of people in the U.S. are holding their breath again following a March 30, 2023 ruling in Braidwood v. Becerra that would eliminate free coverage for many basic preventive care services and medications.Litigating preventive careSection 2713 of the ACA requires insurers to offer full coverage of preventive services endorsed by one of three federal groups: the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices or the Health Resources and Services Ad...

Man impersonating Detroit police officer is arrested after trying to pull over off-duty cop

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(WJW) – A Michigan man was arrested for impersonating a police officer after attempting to pull over an actual off-duty cop during a fake traffic stop.Christian Mansoor, 18, of Macomb Township, was driving a silver BMW with flashing red and blue lights on Monday through the city of Rochester Hills, the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release. He then tried to pull over another car being driven by an off-duty police officer with the Waterford Township Police Department.Mansoor "positioned his vehicle behind hers in an attempt to conduct a traffic stop," according to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office. 78-year-old Missouri woman accused of bank robbery — for a third time Mansoor passed the off-duty officer, but she followed and confronted him, according to a news release from the sheriff's office. When asked for ID, he said he worked for the Detroit Police Department. He then claimed he needed to retrieve his identification from the car, but instead drove off to a ...

Zelda fans: What you need to know about Nintendo's long-awaited game

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(WJW) – Nintendo and nostalgia? Those go hand in hand for many — and it’s time to look forward to even more coming up in May."The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom," the highly anticipated sequel to "Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild," is set to be released May 12, according to Nintendo.During the Nintendo Direct video presentation on September 13, 2022, the reveal of the game's official name and launch date was released, along with a short trailer.According to Nintendo, the latest chapter of Link’s endless adventure will now take players, "Up into the skies with an expanded world that goes even beyond the lands of Hyrule." This ‘Super Mario’ character is more beloved than Mario and Luigi: survey GameplayOn March 28, Nintendo released a long-awaited extended preview of Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay.In the nearly 14-minute Youtube video, video game designer Eiji Aonuma is shown playing Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, demonstrating how players will...

Richest billionaires in Illinois

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

The first billionaire ever is thought to be Standard Oil magnate John D. Rockefeller back in 1916, or perhaps Henry Ford in 1925.Fast forward some 100 years to 2021: As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage, a record-breaking 660 people became billionaires globally, growing the previous year's number by 30%.While the U.S. is home to the most billionaires out of any other country, Americans are somewhat split in their feelings on the billionaire class. According to Pew Research Center data, people in the U.S. became somewhat more critical of billionaires between 2020 and 2021.Although support for individual billionaires like Bill Gates is relatively strong, many Americans view the ultra-rich—as a group rather than as individuals—negatively. Meanwhile, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is projected to become the world's first trillionaire by 2026.The U.S.'s wealthiest billionaires are mostly concentrated within just a couple of industries: finance an...

Controversy surrounds Peeps candies ahead of Easter: Here's what to know

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI/NEXSTAR) — It's peak Peep season, but the company that produces the candies is coming under fire from Consumer Reports for its use of a particular dye.In a press release issued earlier this week, the consumer advocacy organization said a number of Peeps candies, including the iconic pink marshmallow chicks and bunnies, are made with Red Dye No. 3. This dye is typically used as a color additive in food, despite being banned from use in cosmetics by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).Consumer Reports is currently pushing the FDA to ban the use of the dye, which has been linked to cancer in animals, as a food additive. The organization had also sent a letter to Just Born Quality Confections, the maker of Peeps, to urge them to discontinue the use of the dye in March, but said they had yet to get a response from the company. California lawmaker wants Peeps to change its ingredients In Monday's press release, the organization urged consumers to peti...

What does 'Oreo' mean? The mysterious (and maybe controversial) story behind the cookie

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – It’s probably fair to say that the average American has eaten an Oreo cookie or two in their lifetime.It’s also probably fair to say that the average American has no idea where the name “Oreo” actually came from. Why is Ruth’s Chris Steak House called ‘Ruth’s Chris Steak House’? The company that owns the Oreo brand — Mondelez International — does not appear keen on confirming the origins of the “Oreo” name, despite numerous opportunities for its media team and public relations department to do so. Fans, therefore, have only been able to speculate on the etymology.The most popular theories, as reported by such outlets as Tasting Table and Thought Co., include the idea that Oreo takes its name from the French word for gold (“or”), and was chosen because Oreo Biscuits originally came in a gold-colored tin. Others hypothesize that the word “Oreo” is somewhat of a visual representation of the sandwich cookie itself, with both O letters representing the top and bottom biscui...

Pennsylvania murder suspect found hiding in washing machine

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (WHTM) – A Pennsylvania murder suspect was arrested by police in New Jersey after he was found hiding in a washing machine.According to the Montgomery County District Attorney's office, Cody Reed and Marquise Johnson had been wanted in connection with last month's murder of Daquan Tucker, after Tucker's body was found with multiple gunshot wounds near the Schuylkill River Trail in Montgomery County.On April 6, U.S. Marshals, with assistance from Atlantic City Police and the Atlantic City Police SWAT, located Reed and Johnson at an Airbnb in Atlantic City. Reed was found in the apartment and arrested without incident.The district attorney's office says Johnson arrived at the apartment and barricaded himself inside. After a nearly four-hour standoff, Atlantic City SWAT entered the apartment and found Johnson hiding inside a washing machine, according to the district attorney's office. VIDEO: Murder suspect escapes Oregon courthouse during jury selection Reed and ...

Innies, outies and omphalophobia: 7 navel-gazing questions about belly buttons answered

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(The Conversation) - Everyone has one, but you might not know much about it. Here biologist Sarah Leupen, who teaches human and comparative animal physiology, explains the ins and outs of belly buttons.1. Why do I even have a belly button?Your belly button, or navel – clinically, your umbilicus – is the permanent scar left from where your umbilical cord connected your circulatory system, when you were a fetus, to the placenta. Fetuses don’t breathe, eat or eliminate waste, so the placenta provides an exchange site for the mother to deliver oxygen and nutrients from her bloodstream to the fetus, as well as collecting its wastes to eliminate from her body.After the baby is born, the physician or other attendant cuts the cord and clamps off the stub, which then dries and falls off after about a week, leaving the point of connection – your belly button – remaining.If the cord is not cut, as has been the practice in some times and places and as is becoming trendy again in other...

Biden slams Texas abortion pill ruling as 'political, ideological' attack

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

(The Hill) – President Biden slammed the ruling by a federal judge in Texas rejecting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of an abortion pill as a “political, ideological” attack. Biden said in a statement on Friday that the court has substituted its judgment for that of the FDA, which he called the “expert agency” on approving drugs. He said mifepristone, the pill, has been available for more than 22 years and safely and effectively used by millions of women in the United States and throughout the world. “If this ruling were to stand, then there will be virtually no prescription, approved by the FDA, that would be safe from these kinds of political, ideological attacks,” he said. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, ruled that the FDA improperly rushed the approval process for the pill, violating federal standards and allowing an unsafe drug regimen to be on the market.  Federal judge blocks abortion pill approval The pill was app...

6 injured in South Carolina beach shooting; video captures moment shots ring out

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 16:50:16 GMT

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – Frightened beachgoers fled the scene of a shooting in South Carolina after gunshots rang out on a crowded Isle of Palms beach, video obtained by Nexstar's WCBD shows.Six people were injured in Friday evening's shooting following a series of altercations during local senior skip-day festivities, Isle of Palms officials confirmed during a news conference."We know there was a fight that broke out, then a second fight that broke out. While officers were dealing with those two incidents, that's when the shooting started," Isle of Palms Police Chief Kevin Cornett said.The Isle of Palms Police Department (IOPPD) said that most of the victims were teens, and at least one victim appeared to be in her thirties to mid-forties. Several people were detained on weapons charges as of Friday evening, though IOPPD had not yet confirmed if any of those individuals were responsible for the shooting.Chief Cornett said the department was still...