cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/30044102

If the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal goes according to the current draft, then fighting will stop in Gaza for 42 days, and dozens of Israeli hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners will be freed.

Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20250115030931/https://apnews.com/article/israel-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-draft-terms-hostages-3df21b67620fdc8f62aa1d1e96487880

SpinScore: https://spinscore.io/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapnews.com%2Farticle%2Fisrael-hamas-gaza-ceasefire-draft-terms-hostages-3df21b67620fdc8f62aa1d1e96487880

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/32952945

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Capital One, N.A., and its parent holding company, Capital One Financial Corp., for cheating millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest. The CFPB alleges that Capital One promised consumers that its flagship “360 Savings” account provided one of the nation’s “best” and “highest” interest rates, but the bank froze the interest rate at a low level while rates rose nationwide. Around the same time, Capital One created a virtually identical product, “360 Performance Savings,” that differed from 360 Savings only in that it paid out substantially more in interest—at one point more than 14 times the 360 Savings rate. Capital One did not specifically notify 360 Savings accountholders about the new product, and instead worked to keep them in the dark about these better-paying accounts. The CFPB alleges that Capital One obscured the new product from its 360 Savings accountholders and cost millions of consumers more than $2 billion in lost interest payments. The CFPB’s lawsuit seeks to stop the companies’ unlawful conduct, provide redress for harmed consumers, and impose civil money penalties, which would be paid into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/52590720

Summary

Berkshire Hathaway, led by Warren Buffett, operates the nation’s dirtiest coal plant fleet, emitting the most nitrogen oxides (NOx) in 2023 despite $41B in renewable energy investments.

The plants lack advanced pollution controls (SCR scrubbers), causing significant health and environmental damage, including up to 260 annual deaths and $3.9B in healthcare costs.

For example, the plants in Iowa reduce air quality in Omaha and surrounding areas, leading to premature deaths, healthcare costs, and lost school days. Omaha’s air quality ranks in the bottom third of U.S. cities.

Berkshire has resisted installing pollution controls, prioritizing cost-effectiveness over environmental responsibility.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24262115

Summary

Childhood vaccination rates in Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia, traditionally high, are declining due to rising vaccine skepticism.

CDC data shows the percentage of kindergartners with vaccine exemptions reached a record 3.3% nationwide in 2023-24.

Experts link this trend to anti-vaccine movements and "health freedom" advocacy.

This trend could lead to a resurgence of preventable diseases like measles and whooping cough, as seen in states with low vaccine uptake like Florida and Georgia.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24261280

Summary

Several states, including Alabama, Maryland, and New Hampshire, are introducing legislation to ban or restrict cellphones in schools.

The measures claim to reduce distractions and address concerns over teen mental health linked to heavy social media use.

Proponents argue such bans help students focus, but opponents, including parents, warn of safety and communication issues.

“If something were to happen in the school, my child should be able to have their cellphone to be able to call for help, to be able to call me,” said parent Jeara Underwood.

Experts emphasize teaching responsible tech use rather than imposing broad bans.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/32934810

Chronic outages are a way of life throughout the island, where privatization, under-investment, and climate change leave the grid at constant risk of collapse.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/20786729

“Emergency rooms are dangerous places for people with Long COVID,” says David Putrino, who studies and treats the condition as director of rehabilitation innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York.

“Imagine you go to an emergency department, you wait 13 or 14 hours, your condition actually deteriorates, and then you’re told, ‘Hey, good news, everything is normal and we’re sending you home,’” Putrino says. “Going home doesn’t sound like a survivable outcome. So at that point you might break down...and often that gets reinterpreted as ‘Let’s put this person on a psych hold.’”

Such experiences fit into a long, troubling tradition in medicine. Because there often aren’t conclusive tests for these types of complex chronic conditions, and because many patients do not outwardly appear unwell, they’re frequently told that they aren’t physically sick at all—that symptoms are all in their heads. “Mainstream medicine really isn’t geared toward treating conditions and diseases that it cannot see under a microscope,” says Larry Au, an assistant professor of sociology at the City College of New York who has studied one of the consequences of that disconnect: medical gaslighting of Long COVID patients.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/24278901

The ambulance pulls up on a narrow street at the Balata Palestinian refugee camp in Nablus in the West Bank, seemingly no different from one of the many emergency vehicles that drive in the area every day. But then five armed Israeli soldiers emerge from the vehicle, going on to take part in a raid that results in the death of two civilians, including an 80-year-old woman, in an incident that Israel’s army admitted constituted “a serious offence … [and] violation of existing orders and procedures”.

The Guardian has reviewed video captured by a surveillance camera, spoken with witnesses and a survivor of the military operation, conducted by the IDF on 19 December 2024 using a hospital vehicle with Palestinian licence plates. It was described by rights groups as a “flagrant violation” of international humanitarian law, which prohibits the use of medical vehicles to carry out military attacks that result in injury or death of people.