https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2019/11/21/personal-loans-are-growing-like-weed-potential-warning-sign-us-economy/?utm_campaign=first_reads&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Newsletter&wpisrc=nl_rainbow&wpmm=1

More than 20 million Americans have taken out these loans, and the average balance is over $16,000



Americans are hungry for personal loans that they can use as quick cash to pay for anything from vacations to credit card debt, a potential red flag for the economy.

Personal loans are up more than 10 percent from a year ago, according to data from Equifax, a rapid pace of growth that has not been seen on a sustained basis since shortly before the Great Recession. All three of the major consumer credit agencies — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — report double-digit growth in this market in recent months.

Experts are surprised to see millions of Americans taking on so much personal loan debt at a time when the economy looks healthy and paychecks are growing for many workers, raising questions about why so many people are seeking an extra infusion of cash.

“Definitely yellow flares should be starting to go off,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, which monitors consumer credit. “There’s an old adage in banking: If it’s growing like a weed, it probably is a weed.”

When a deep red town’s only grocery closed, city hall opened its own store. Just don’t call it ‘socialism.’

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/22/baldwin-florida-food-desert-city-owned-grocery-store/



BALDWIN, Fla. — When Sean Lynch ran for mayor, he never anticipated that the job would involve hiring a butcher and tracking the sale of collard greens.

But in 2018, two years into his first term, the only grocery store in town shut down. People in Baldwin, Fla., a rural outpost in northeast Florida, were left with few options. They could leave town, driving 10 miles through road construction to nearby Macclenny or battling 20 miles of freeway traffic through Jacksonville’s suburban sprawl. Alternatively, they could cobble together a meal out of canned goods from the local Dollar General, or head to a nearby truck stop for greasy, deep-fried fast food.

For many of Baldwin’s roughly 1,600 residents, though, traveling for food wasn’t really a choice. The town’s median household income of $44,271 is well below the state average, and it’s not uncommon for families to juggle their schedules around sharing one car. Senior citizens also make up a significant percentage of the population, and many no longer drive.

So Lynch came to his colleagues with a proposal: What if the town opened its own grocery store?

Abandoned by mainstream supermarkets whose business models don’t have room for low profit margins, both urban and rural communities nationwide have turned to resident-owned co-ops or nonprofits to fill the gap. But Baldwin is trying something different. At the Baldwin Market, which opened its doors on Sept. 20, all of the employees are on the municipal payroll, from the butcher to the cashiers. Workers from the town’s maintenance department take breaks from cutting grass to help unload deliveries, and residents flag down the mayor when they want to request a specific type of milk.

The revolutionary male contraceptive is reportedly effective for 13 years and is said to have passed clinical trials with flying colors.

https://scoop.upworthy.com/worlds-first-male-contraceptive-injection-six-months

Congratulations, gentlemen. Soon you could finally be sharing the responsibility of birth control with your partners. Potentially ending the centuries-long tradition of placing the onus of birth control almost exclusively on women, a biomedical research agency in India has now successfully completed a clinical trial on an injectable male contraceptive. The revolutionary contraceptive passed the trials with flying colors and awaits approval from authorities. If all goes well, the product could be made available for men across the globe as early as six months. Do you hear that? That's the sound of women everywhere yelling, "Finally!"

According to a report by the Hindustan Times, the first-of-its-kind male contraceptive has been developed by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a government-funded biomedical research agency. Designed as a replacement for a surgical vasectomy — the only male sterilization method existing in the world today — the contraceptive is reportedly effective for 13 years, after which its potency wanes. "The product is ready, with only regulatory approvals pending with the Drugs Controller. The trials are over, including extended, phase 3 clinical trials for which 303 candidates were recruited with 97.3% success rate and no reported side-effects," said Dr. R.S. Sharma, a senior scientist with ICMR who has been spearheading the trials.

https://twitter.com/htTweets/status/1196654332600565760

"The product can safely be called the world’s first male contraceptive," Sharma added. According to the New York Post, the newly developed male contraceptive is a polymer called styrene maleic anhydride that has to be injected into the vas deferens (the sperm-containing tube near the testicles) by a registered medical professional. The injection is administered under local anesthesia, so those clutching their groins in horror at the prospect of having a needle stuck into their family jewels can calm their gonads.

"The polymer was developed by Prof SK Guha from the Indian Institute of Technology in the 1970s. ICMR has been researching on it to turn it into a product for mass use since 1984, and the final product is ready after exhaustive trials," said Sharma. Although researchers in the US have been working on a similar contraceptive, called Vasalgel, it is still under development. Drugs Controller General of India V.G. Somani revealed that officials are being extremely careful with the approval process of the newly developed male contraceptive product.

https://twitter.com/Subhashitani1/status/1196723464452935680

https://www.boredpanda.com/woman-saves-koala-bushfire-new-south-wales/

The Red List of Threatened Species had already classified the koala as vulnerable, but the species is being threatened even more by devastating bushfires that have already burned more than 2.5 million acres of Australia’s east coast.

But one recent act of bravery has given the country hope in fighting the blaze. After spotting a koala crossing a road amongst the flames in New South Wales, a local woman named Toni rushed to the animal’s aid, wrapping it in her shirt and pouring water over it.

The hero said she was planning to take the injured koala to the nearby Port Macquarie Koala Hospital, a facility that is taking care of up to 15 affected koalas.



Devastating bushfires have already burned more than 2.5 million acres of Australia’s east coast



The koala population have had it particularly bad

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/11/19/white-teen-girl-detailed-plan-racist-attack-black-churchgoers-notebook-police-say/

Police in northern Georgia said Tuesday that they arrested a white teenager who was plotting to kill parishioners at a mostly black church, thwarting an alleged racist attack that highlighted a growing threat of hate-fueled violence against houses of worship.

The 16-year-old girl was charged with attempt to commit murder after students at her high school told administrators she had a notebook filled with “detailed plans” to kill members of the Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Gainesville, Ga., according to police.

The alleged plot was “definitely racially motivated,” said Sgt. Kevin Holbrook of the Gainesville Police Department. The notebook, he said, contained “manifesto-type” language that discussed how she wanted to assault black parishioners with butcher knives and other sharp-edged weapons.

“There were many writings and drawings, different depictions, and a lot of hateful messages in it,” Holbrook told The Washington Post. “As far as the details go, they were down to very specific information.”

Police said the girl researched African American churches online, choosing Bethel AME Church because it is small. Investigators believe she went to the church at some point earlier this month, possibly to carry out the attack, but found the building empty, according to police.

“By pure grace, the church did not have service that evening,” Holbrook said. “We were very fortunate here.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/how-watch-november-democratic-debate-schedule-rules-more-n1084926

The debate is being held at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta and is being co-hosted by MSNBC and the Washington Post. It's scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday and last two hours.

It will feature four moderators: Rachel Maddow, host of MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show"; Andrea Mitchell, host of MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" and NBC News' chief foreign affairs correspondent; Kristen Welker, NBC News' White House correspondent; and Ashley Parker, a White House reporter for The Washington Post.

The debate will be broadcast live at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC and will also stream for free on MSNBC.com and washingtonpost.com as well as across mobile devices via NBC News and The Washington Post's mobile apps. In addition, audio of the debate will be available on SiriusXM Channel 118, and TuneIn.

NBCNews.com will live blog the debate throughout the night, offering live updates, fact checks and analysis.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/americans-have-questions-about-medicare-for-all-canadians-have-answers/2019/11/18/7971c78e-d4d6-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html



HINTON, Alberta — When Bryan Keith was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years ago, he underwent a blizzard of tests, specialist consultations, a month of radiation treatment and a surgical procedure.

His out-of-pocket costs? Zero.

“I’ve never had to reach into my wallet for anything other than my health-care card,” said Keith, 71, who is now in remission.

In this picturesque mountain town of about 10,000 people, Keith’s experience is the norm — and the model often cited by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren as they promote Medicare-for-all as an antidote to some of the problems afflicting U.S. health-care consumers.

No one in this mostly working-class community agonizes over whether they can afford to see a doctor, or take their child to the emergency room. No one faces bankruptcy, or loses their home, because of medical debt. Most residents of Hinton have had babies delivered, broken bones set and cancer treatments provided without ever seeing a bill.

But there are also drawbacks: Some wait months for knee or hip replacements or to see certain specialists. Most also pay premiums for private insurance to cover prescription drugs and other services not included in their government plan.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/19/business/international-students-decline/index.html

New York (CNN Business)Fewer international students are coming to the United States. That's hurting American universities and the economy.

The continued decline in international student enrollment since the fall of 2016 has cost the US economy $11.8 billion and more than 65,000 jobs, according to estimates from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, an international association of professional educators.

"There's many variables, but largely it's been the policies and rhetoric from the current administration that's really driven the numbers to move in that direction," said Rachel Banks, director of public policy at NAFSA.
There's a perception among international students that getting a visa for the United States is more difficult, and they increasingly feel unsafe in America, NAFSA survey data show.

"It's not only the anti-immigrant rhetoric being expressed by this administration, there's also increasing concern with regard to gun violence in this country," said Banks. "There's been a number of shootings and that gets reported worldwide, and parents certainly take all of this into account when they are thinking about where they want to send their children to study."

New international student enrollments declined by 0.9% during the 2018-2019 academic year, following a 6.6% decline in new enrollments in the year prior, according to the most recent US Department of State Open Doors report. This marks the first time the United States has seen a three-year decline.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/18/economy/health-care-jobs-us-labor-market/index.html

New York (CNN Business)America's health care sector is an employment powerhouse that is keeping the US labor market strong. Health care hiring is so robust, the industry would be pretty much immune to a recession or changes in politics.

The population of the United States is aging and living longer. For the health care industry this means more people require care for a longer period of time. "Health care is by far the largest and healthiest sector of the economy," Glassdoor Chief Economist Dr Andrew Chamberlain told CNN Business. And as long people continue to get sick and need care, the sector will blossom. That's what's making it immune to outside shocks like a recession or a government efforts to reform the industry, experts say.

Presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, for example, want to make drastic changes to America's health care industry. Although reforms might change prices and payment structures for care, they won't keep elderly people from needing it.
"I don't worry about [potential] health care reform affecting hiring, which is mostly nurses and elderly care," Chamberlain said.
Over the past decade no sector has added more net jobs to the US economy than health care, analysts at ratings agency Moody's said in emailed comments.

"The growing US health care industry supports the US economy through output, employment and innovation," said the agency's analysts in a 2018 industry report. "The sector has created more jobs than any other industry on a net basis over the past decade — nearly three million — and today employs 16 million people, or 11% of the workforce."

https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/watch-iceland-christmas-ad-banned/?fbclid=IwAR3mxolWzk88Bj-jJEJdJ5MpHjylll-VsAa7cn9mSRQn2pXXcHKTGxbRkac

Supermarket Iceland's advert for Christmas has been banned for being too political.

The commercial, made with Greenpeace, features an animated orangutan and highlights the destruction of the rainforest by palm oil growers.

The advertising clearance body, Clearcast, who screen broadcast adverts, deemed that the film breaks rules banning political advertising laid down by the 2003 Communications Act.

Earlier this year, Iceland became the first major UK supermarket to announce they are removing palm oil from all its own-brand products.

- Which Products Contain Palm Oil And How Can You Avoid It?

Iceland's founder Malcolm Walker said: "This was a film that Greenpeace made with a voice over by Emma Thompson.

"We got permission to use it and take off the Greenpeace logo and use it as the Iceland Christmas ad. It would have blown the John Lewis ad out of the window. It was so emotional."

The watchdog said in a statement: "Clearcast and the broadcasters have to date been unable to clear this Iceland ad because we concerned that it doesn’t comply with the political rules of the BCAP code.

"The creative submitted to us is linked to another organisation who have not yet been able to demonstrate compliance in this area."

More than 890,000 people have since signed a petition calling for the advert to be shown on TV.