How long can you last without checking your phone? Administrators at Buxton School, a small private boarding school in Massachusetts, announced a ban on smartphones in 2022. Meet the teens who adapted to life with less social media and gained a new perspective on their relationships with devices.

'Absolute chaos': What happened when a boarding school banned smartphones

Wed
Mar 13 2024
01:47 am

Interesting program on Trump, 2020 election, Jan 6 capital riot and subsequent Jan 6 committee proceedings.

Democracy on Trial (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

Corporate America has enjoyed healthy profit margins in recent years, even as many people have had to make sacrifices to cope with the surge in prices. Inflation hit 40-year highs in 2022, and though it has cooled since, consumers have not gotten a break.

Profit margins at nonfinancial firms should remain elevated this year, as they benefit from lower costs, according to Goldman Sachs analysts. Companies are typically slower to reduce their prices when costs decline than they are to raise prices when their expenses jump.

“Corporations just got used to ‘If I can charge the consumer X, Y and Z during the pandemic, and I can still continue charging them that now and they’re going to pay it ...

Why are prices still so high? Corporate greed, some say

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The total annual cost of owning and maintaining a new car climbed to more than $12,000 last year, up from about $11,000 the previous year. Monthly car payments also spiked along with rising interest rates. NBC News’ Christine Romans has the story.

Cost of car ownership on the rise, becoming unsustainable for some drivers

Car ownership is getting more expensive due to rising repair costs

Department of Labor officials decried "Tosh Pork’s appalling actions and clear attempts to intimidate and retaliate against its employees."

Tennessee farm worker finds severed pig's head at workstation after asking about pay, complaint states

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WBIR Survey: What would you ask Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty?

In January, Borne took a foster baby, born extremely premature at just over 2 pounds, to her first doctor’s appointment. The health providers said that without the consent of the child’s mother, they couldn’t vaccinate her against diseases like pneumonia, hepatitis B, and polio. The mother hasn’t been located, so a social worker is now seeking a court order to permit immunizations. “We are just waiting,” Borne said. “Our hands are tied.”

Tennessee vaccine law pits parental rights against public health

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a new study Tennessee is among the seven states with the highest rate of people suffering from "long COVID." That study said nearly one in 10 Tennesseans suffers from it.

CDC study says nearly 1 in 10 Tennesseans has suffered from 'long COVID'

But, under the new public records exemption the department is pursuing, any future contract or expense could remain hidden from the public for at least five years and potentially forever depending on the length of the contract signed.

Tennessee’s tourism department tries to close public records with Super Bowl bid on the horizon

Surge pricing is common with sports and concert tickets and for ride-hailing apps, with services like Ticketmaster and Uber using sophisticated dynamic pricing algorithms that change minute by minute, based on demand. However, there hasn’t been widespread adoption from restaurants because of the labor it takes employees to change menus.

Wendy’s will test new menus that change prices throughout the day

“Measles is the most infectious pathogen in humans that we know of,” said Kimberlin. “It’s like a heat-seeking missile. It will find the people who are not immune, and they’re going to get sick.”

Measles is a 'heat-seeking missile' experts warn as Florida outbreak grows

The company didn’t release a list of closed restaurants. Local reports show that Outback locations in Pennsylvania, Iowa and every Outback restaurant in Hawaii recently shuttered. Bonefish Grill locations in New Jersey and Virginia also closed, plus at least three Carrabba’s locations in New York closed.

41 locations of Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill and Fleming’s to close

Last week, Tennessee state lawmakers passed HB 878, which states “a person shall not be required to solemnize a marriage.”

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signs law that allows people to refuse to ‘solemnize’ marriage licenses

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The Labor Department said that Tennessee-based Fayette Janitorial LLC illegally employed 15 children to clean a Perdue Farms poultry plant in Virginia and nine to clean a Seaboard Triumph Foods pork processing plant in Iowa. They cleaned such equipment as head splitters and meat bandsaws.

Labor Dept. says Tennessee firm employed minors to clean meat saws, head splitters at slaughterhouses

Beginning this year, the registration fee for electric vehicles is $200, and $100 for hybrid and hybrid plug- in vehicles. If you own a gas-powered car, there is no extra fee.

Hybrid drivers in TN surprised by $100 extra fee for registration

SB 1683 was introduced by Sen. London Lamar (D - Memphis) and did not get a second when it was proposed in the committee. During the meeting, Sen. Paul Bailey (R - Sparta) asked if the federal government had already instituted a $35 cap for insulin. Lamar said the federal legislation only applied to Medicare patients, and her bill would have covered all people.

Bill that would have capped payments for insulin at $35 fails in TN Senate committee

The latest campaign finance reporting period covers July 1, 2023, to January 15, 2024 and the following covers donations to lawmakers of both political parties.

Tennessee Realtors: $220,500
Wine Spirits and Wholesalers of Tennessee: $217,000
HCA Healthcare: $192,000
Build Tennessee PAC: $186,000
Tennessee Highway Contractors PAC: $150,000
Tennessee Banks Association: $149,300
Tennessee Hospital Association: $147,740
Advance Financial: $136,500
BlueCross BlueShield: $130,000
Amazon: $125,500

Jones, Sexton hold $1M+ in cash, Save Nashville donors, plus more notes from campaign filings

Two pieces of proposed legislation aim to prevent that from happening again. One GOP legislator has filed a bill that would prohibit legislators expelled from the General Assembly from holding their seat for four years, while another’s would prevent a county legislative body from nominating the expelled member to fill their former seat.

The Tennessee legislature couldn’t keep out Rep. Justin Jones. But it’s still trying

This looks pretty good....

In 2025, Medicare beneficiaries will pay no more than $2,000 out of pocket for prescription drugs covered under Part D, Medicare’s outpatient drug benefit. This is due to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included several changes to the Medicare Part D program designed to lower patient out-of-pocket costs and reduce what Medicare spends on prescription drugs.

Millions of People with Medicare Will Benefit from the New Out-of-Pocket Drug Spending Cap Over Time

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