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COVID-19 pandemic stalled progress on eliminating tuberculosis among Inuit: officials

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

Nunavut’s health minister says the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted efforts to eliminate tuberculosis in Inuit communities, and questions remain over whether targets to stamp out the disease can be met.“COVID has had a huge impact on every area of health care, and that includes TB,” said John Main. “While we were putting so much effort toward dealing with COVID, we did have to slow the pace of work on other areas.”Five years ago, Ottawa and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national advocacy group, announced plans to reduce active tuberculosis across Inuit Nunangat by at least half to no more than 100 cases per 100,000 people by 2025, and eliminate it entirely by 2030. Inuit Nunangat, or Inuit homeland in Canada, is made up of more than 50 communities in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Labrador.Public Health Agency of Canada data indicates reported rates of active tuberculosis dropped significantly among Inuit between 2019 and 2020 from 188.7 cases p...

The latest data on tuberculosis among Inuit in Canada

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

Ottawa and Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, a national advocacy group, announced plans in March 2018 to reduce active tuberculosis across Inuit Nunangat by at least half to no more than 100 cases per 100,000 people by 2025, and eliminate it entirely by 2030. Inuit Nunangat, or Inuit homeland in Canada, is made up of more than 50 communities in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Labrador.Here is a breakdown of rates and cases of tuberculosis across Canada and among Inuit from 2010 to 2021, as reported by the federal government. CanadaFor most people in Canada the risk of developing active tuberculosis is very low. Rates are much higher, however, among the foreign-born population, Inuit and First Nations people living on reserve. Rates and case numbers of tuberculosis, as well as deaths related to the disease, have fluctuated little across the country over the past decade.2010: 4.7  per 100,000 population (1,586 cases)2011: 4.7 (1,621 cases)2012: 4.9 (1,700 cases)2013: 4.7 (1,651 ...

'Multitude of injuries,' 4 killed in Alabama birthday party shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

DADEVILLE, Ala. (WRBL) - At least four people were killed Saturday night in a shooting at a celebration in Alabama, according to law enforcement.Witnesses said the shooting occurred at a 16th birthday party at Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville. Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said shots were fired at 10:34 p.m.Witnesses reported hearing multiple gunshots and seeing people running and screaming from the building.The total number of people shot was initially reported as more than 20. The State Bureau of Investigations, which confirmed the deaths Sunday morning, did not give an updated number of people injured. A spokesperson only said there were a "multitude of injuries" during a Sunday morning press conference, and described the investigation as a "long, complicated process." Does your state allow teachers to carry a gun? Pastor Ben Hayes, who serves as the chaplain for the Dadeville Police Department and for the local high school foo...

Why do mass shooters kill? It's about more than having a grievance

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

(THE CONVERSATION) – An acutely troubling aspect of life in contemporary America is the growing proliferation of mass shootings that claim thousands of innocent lives year after painful year and make everyone feel unsafe.The year 2023 is still young, and already there have been at least 146 mass shooting events in the U.S. on record, including the killing of five people in a Louisville, Kentucky, bank that the shooter livestreamed. There were 647 mass shootings in 2022 and 693 in 2021, resulting in 859 and 920 deaths, respectively, with no respite in sight from this ghastly epidemic. Since 2015, over 19,000 people have been shot and wounded or killed in mass shootings.In the wake of most shootings, the news media and the public reflexively ask: What was the killer’s motive?As a psychologist who studies violence and extremism, I understand that the question immediately pops to mind because of the bizarre nature of the attacks, the “out-of-the-b...

New city earns title of nation's top city for weed: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Denver lost its place as the nation's marijuana mecca, according to an analysis from Clever Real Estate. The new king of kush is Portland, Oregon. Oregon was two years behind Colorado in legalizing recreational cannabis. Washington and Colorado legalized it in 2012, while Alaska and Oregon legalized it in 2014. To be the nation's top hash hub, cities had to score highly in a handful of categories including legality, number of dispensaries and cannabis doctors, dispensaries' customer ratings, pot prices, Google search trends for marijuana-related terms, public perception and the number of hiking trails, concert venues, and – most importantly – Taco Bells. Where is marijuana legal in 2023? Portland took the top spot mainly because Portland's pot is cheaper than other cities'. High-quality cannabis costs $210 per ounce in Portland as opposed to $242 in Denver. Portland also has more dispensaries per 100,000 residents - 13.7 to Denver's 11.5. While no California cities...

How do you pronounce 'Whataburger'? A linguist weighs in on the debate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – Hundreds of Whataburger fans found themselves questioning reality last month, but not because they found out that Whataburger sells knockoff Snuggies in addition to burgers.Rather, it was because they were told they may have been pronouncing “Whataburger” wrong their entire lives.The team behind the restaurant chain recently suggested on Twitter that “Whataburger” is pronounced “WAT-ER-BRR-GRRR” — a pronunciation embraced by many Texans, but not directly conveyed by the spelling of the word.Making matters murkier is the fact that Whataburger’s own commercials have featured several different pronunciations, including those that sound like “WHUT-uh-burger,” “WATT-uh-burger” and, as mentioned above, “WAT-er-burger" or WUD-der-burger.” What does CVS stand for? A series of commercials produced in the 1980s, for instance, features country singer Mel Tillis clearly pronouncing the restaurant’s name as “Water-burger.” But other ads feature voiceover artists using “Watt-a-burge...

This area of Illinois is seeing the biggest inflation spike: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

ILLINOIS (WMBD) – Inflation is everywhere — from the gas pump to the grocery store, you’ve most likely felt the sting in your wallet by now.Depending on where you live, however, inflation may be hitting your area harder than others, according to a new study.A recent ranking from WalletHub, a personal finance website, sought to rank “cities where inflation is rising the most.” Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, WalletHub compared 22 major Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) based on metrics involving the consumer price index, which is used to measure inflation.Those metrics concerned changes to the consumer price index from the latest month versus two months before, and changes to the consumer price index from the latest month versus a year ago.WalletHub included only one Illinois MSA in its ranking of major metro areas where inflation is rising more quickly: the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin MSA, at No. 14.Below is the list of the top 10 MSAs where inflation is increa...

These are the most popular Make-A-Wishes in Texas

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

Editor’s Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today’s top headlines for April 16, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) -- For nearly four decades, Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas has helped grant thousands of wishes for children diagnosed with life-threatening conditions. On April 29, the nonprofit will celebrate its anniversary, dubbed "World Wish Day."With thousands of wishes completed, what are the most popular requests? That, nonprofit officials said, trickles back to faith, trust and a little bit of Disney-inspired pixie dust. RELATED: Make-A-Wish eyes $150K fundraising goal to support Central Texas kids Trips to Disney World are by and large the most common wish type, a Make-A-Wish CSTX spokesperson told KXAN. "In a typical year, over half of the wishes we grant are Disney," she said. "The next most popular wish types would be domestic travel and shopping spree wishes."With World Wish Day less than two weeks away, the nonprofit has eyed a $150,000 fundraising goal for the month of Apri...

‘The leader every single team wants’: Wild captain Jared Spurgeon brings calm to every storm

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

It was a couple of months ago and the Wild were in the process of completely melting down.A comfortable lead over the Nashville Predators in a game at home had evaporated in no time flat thanks to some sloppy play in the final minutes. Not ideal considering the Wild were trying to get themselves back on track after struggling mightily coming out of the bye week.With the Xcel Energy Center crowd getting restless, which instantly raised the temperature in the building, Wild captain Jared Spurgeon snapped into action. And in the only way he knows how.No breaking sticks. No slamming doors. No yelling at teammates.“He goes up and down the bench and says, ‘It’s OK, guys. We’re fine,’ ” Wild coach Dean Evason said. “It’s a tone that has a very calming affect on our group.”Almost as if on cue, the Wild scored less than 30 seconds later to win the game in regulation.The snapshot moment was almost immediately forgotten because the Wild played a game less th...

Max Stier: The IRS is becoming a model of efficiency. Really

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:00:19 GMT

Paying taxes is like paying a visit to the dentist: We might not like doing it, but deep down we know we need to. Among other things, our federal taxes fund national defense, health care for veterans, loans to small businesses, critical repairs for crumbling road and rail bridges, and responses to national emergencies like the COVID pandemic.During the past decade, the pain associated with paying taxes has increased greatly due to the inefficiencies of the Internal Revenue Service. Customer service fell into the abyss because the agency has been starved for resources, understaffed and reliant on outdated technology.As the federal tax filing deadline approaches on April 18, the IRS appears to be at the beginning stages of a major overhaul that promises improved customer service and more efficient tax administration. Time will tell, but the signs are hopeful.Danny Werfel, the newly minted IRS commissioner, has promised speedier processing of tax returns, an end to long taxpayer wait t...