2023 - Page 2 of 9 - Cactus three

Covid Variant JN.1 Now Accounts for Nearly Half of U.S. Cases

29

Dec

Health

Covid Variant JN.1 Now Accounts for Nearly Half of U.S. Cases

As the holiday season winds down and Covid-19 cases start to pick up, a variant called JN.1 has now become the most common strain of the virus spreading across the United States.JN.1, which emerged from the variant BA.2.86 and was first detected in the United States in September, accounted for 44 percent of Covid cases nationwide by mid-December, up from about 7 percent in late November, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To some extent, this jump is to be expected. “Variants take some time to get going,” said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease…

NFL’s best touchdown celebrations of 2023: A favorite from all 32 teams

29

Dec

By Benjamin Hall

New miscellaneous

NFL’s best touchdown celebrations of 2023: A favorite from all 32 teams

Scoring touchdowns during each offensive possession is the unspoken goal for every NFL team. For decades, celebrations have been the norm in accompanying touchdowns. It goes back all the way to the 1960s with Homer Jones and his touchdown spike.Touchdown celebrations have become a choreographed production for some teams. Think back to the 1980s when Washington’s “Fun Bunch” made enemies after its group of players participated in a jumping high-five after a score. And think recently when the Seattle Seahawks did their best New Edition and *NSYNC impersonations, or when the Minnesota Vikings decided to play a game of Duck,…

The First Secret Asteroid Mission Won’t Be the Last

28

Dec

By Benjamin Hall

Science and Technology

The First Secret Asteroid Mission Won’t Be the Last

For generations, Western space missions have largely occurred out in the open. We knew where they were going, why they were going there and what they planned to do. But the world is on the verge of a new era in which private interests override such openness, with big money potentially on the line.Sometime in the coming year, a spacecraft from AstroForge, an American asteroid-mining firm, may be launched on a mission to a rocky object near Earth’s orbit. If successful, it will be the first wholly commercial deep-space mission beyond the moon. AstroForge, however, is keeping its target asteroid…

Holiday Spending Increased, Defying Fears of a Decline

28

Dec

By Benjamin Hall

Investments and Business

Holiday Spending Increased, Defying Fears of a Decline

Despite lingering inflation, Americans increased their spending this holiday season, early data shows. That comes as a big relief for retailers that had spent much of the year fearing the economy would soon weaken and consumer spending would fall.Retail sales from Nov. 1 to Dec. 24 increased 3.1 percent from a year earlier, according to data from Mastercard SpendingPulse, which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment. The numbers, released Tuesday, are not adjusted for inflation.Spending increased across many categories, with restaurants experiencing one of the largest jumps, 7.8 percent. Apparel increased 2.4 percent, and groceries…

27

Dec

By Benjamin Hall

New miscellaneous

The 8 Most-Read Travel Stories of 2023

Another year in travel, another 12 months of meltdowns and debacles. As one analyst put it, 2023 “took chaos to a new level.” Yikes. Still, travelers kept flying, including in record-breaking numbers on Thanksgiving weekend.Whether they decided to enter the fray or just armchair travel, our readers loved stories that took them away, whether it was about a journey across London on the new Elizabeth rail line, hiking long-distance walking routes (like the new Pekoe Trail in Sri Lanka or the 637-mile Michinoku Coastal Trail in Japan), or the slow-motion ballet of whales off the coast of Long Island in…

Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought Hospitals

27

Dec

By Benjamin Hall

Health

Serious Medical Errors Rose After Private Equity Firms Bought Hospitals

The rate of serious medical complications increased in hospitals after they were purchased by private equity investment firms, according to a major study of the effects of such acquisitions on patient care in recent years.The study, published in JAMA on Tuesday, found that, in the three years after a private equity fund bought a hospital, adverse events including surgical infections and bed sores rose by 25 percent among Medicare patients when compared with similar hospitals that were not bought by such investors. The researchers reported a nearly 38 percent increase in central line infections, a dangerous kind of infection that…