- Over 1 in 3 people affected by neurological conditions, the leading cause of illness and disability worldwide World Health Organization (WHO)
- Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill-health worldwide, finds study The Guardian
- Neurological conditions now leading cause of ill health and disability globally, new analysis finds Medical Xpress
- Nervous system disorders found to be biggest cause of poor health Financial Times
- Brain stroke, Alzheimer’s and diabetic nerve damage going up sharply: What a new Lancet neuro study means The Indian Express
Tag Archives: Disability
Racial, economic disparities skew New Jersey data on autism, intellectual disability | Spectrum
Community watch: A larger proportion of Black autistic children in New Jersey are identified as having intellectual disability, compared with their white autistic peers.
xavierarnau / iStock
Black children are significantly more likely than white children to be identified as having autism with intellectual disability, according to data from New Jersey published today in Pediatrics. Autism with intellectual disability is also more commonly identified among children from poorer areas of the state than among those from wealthier areas, the study shows.
Racial and ethnic disparities in autism diagnoses have declined across the United States over the past 20 years. And prevalence gaps among white, Black and Hispanic children in New Jersey have historically been fairly small, according to data from 2014 and 2018. But the new analysis, which looked at data collected there from 2000 to 2016, reveals that significant racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities persist in the identification of intellectual disability among autistic children.
“We didn’t expect the level of disparities that we saw,” says study investigator Josephine Shenouda, program manager and epidemiologist at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark.
Universal autism screening could go a long way toward bridging these gulfs, which likely reflect inequalities in access to a diagnosis rather than true differences in prevalence, Shenouda and others say.
The work does not clarify what drives the demographic disparities, says Andres Roman-Urrestarazu, director of studies in psychology and behavioral science at the University of Cambridge in England, who was not involved in the study. The data come from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network, which relies on children’s educational and clinical records but lacks information on their insurance status, and thus give only part of the picture, Roman-Urrestarazu says. “Knowing how the U.S. health-care system works, it’s kind of an important thing, as much as ethnicity is a crucial factor to consider. That’s my main criticism.”
The new study dug specifically into the prevalence of autism with and without intellectual disability among 8-year-old children in four New Jersey counties, which account for about a quarter of the state’s 8-year-olds. Together, these counties have consistently shown a higher autism prevalence than most of the other 10 ADDM sites around the country, and the region is highly diverse. Examining county-level data offers valuable insights into who is being identified and when, says David Mandell, professor of psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, who was not involved in the study.
Of the 29,470 children included in the analysis, researchers identified 1,505 who have autism with, and 2,764 who have autism without, intellectual disability.
Autism without intellectual disability was 30 percent less likely to be identified in non-Hispanic Black children compared with non-Hispanic white children, Shenouda’s team found. And it was about 60 percent as likely among children who live in less affluent areas compared with those in wealthier areas.
Because public-school funding is tied to property taxes, children from poorer areas attend poorly funded schools, where their developmental concerns are less likely to be correctly identified, Mandell says. Systemic racism may influence how health-care and educational professionals view minority children, too, he says. “We’ve got a lot of data and a long history showing that for Black kids who have developmental disabilities, those developmental disabilities are often missed or misdiagnosed.” Autistic Black children tend to need to be more severely affected to receive the same attention as autistic white children, he says.
Overall, about 1 in 42 white children has autism without intellectual disability, the study suggests. That number is 1 in 82 for Black children. If the figure for white children can be considered close to the actual prevalence, then officials are likely missing about half of Black children with autism, Mandell says.
Over the 16-year study period, autism prevalence in New Jersey went from about 1 in 104 children in 2000 to about 1 in 31 as of 2016. The prevalence of autism without intellectual disability increased by a factor of five, whereas that for autism plus intellectual disability only doubled. These disparate growth rates could be due to better recognition of autistic children who have average or above-average intellectual abilities, Shenouda says.
The differences are not due to the 2013 change in diagnostic criteria for autism, because the team used the same case definition throughout the entire study period, Shenouda says, and many of the children identified had not been formally diagnosed.
Outside the U.S, a similar pattern has emerged, with a higher proportion of new diagnoses being on the less severely affected end of the spectrum, according to a 2017 study of children in Australia. Based on the four New Jersey counties’ racial and economic diversity, Shenouda and her colleagues suspect the region’s numbers are more representative of the U.S. picture overall than other ADDM study sites are, suggesting that the New Jersey site may predict future national trends.
Across all demographic categories, children do not seem to receive the early screenings recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics at 18 and 24 months, Shenouda says. But even when children are screened, most do not receive the recommended follow-ups, past research has shown.
One obstacle, Shenouda says, is that many underserved families obtain their routine health care through Federally Qualified Health Centers, which adhere to a different set of screening guidelines: These publicly funded clinics provide care regardless of a person’s ability to pay, but they follow the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s recommendation against universal screening.
“If I were to think of something that could help children be identified and have the greatest impact for underserved communities, it would be to follow that recommendation and use effective screeners at 18 and 24 months,” she says.
Cite this article: https://doi.org/10.53053/HKAG7622
Long-COVID symptoms worsened by stressful events
A recent study published in the Journal of Neurological Sciences reported that life stressors impact post-acute symptoms and long-term outcomes after hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC) have been observed in 25% to 69% of non-hospitalized patients and 33% to 90% of hospitalized patients. The variable prevalence could stem from differences in study design, symptoms, and assessment timing. Notwithstanding the numerous studies reporting the prevalence of post-COVID-19 sequelae, there is limited data on predictors of long-term quality of life and cognitive and functional outcomes.
Study: Life stressors significantly impact long-term outcomes and post-acute symptoms 12-months after COVID-19 hospitalization. Image Credit: / Shutterstock
About the study
In the present study, researchers prospectively examined the impact of demographics, hospital clinical variables, pre-COVID-19 comorbid conditions, and life stressors on six-month and one-year outcome metrics post-COVID-19 hospitalization. This observational study was conducted on patients hospitalized with COVID-19 from March 10 to May 20, 2022.
Follow-up interviews were conducted six months and one year after the initial COVID-19 diagnosis. Subjects were eligible if they were 18 years or older and hospitalized with a positive SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, with consent for the follow-up interview. Individuals were excluded if evaluated in the emergency room or outpatient setting.
Data on demographics, medical/neurologic history, new in-hospital neurologic or other complications, and medications used during acute COVID-19, were recorded. Disease severity was graded based on ventilation requirement and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score. The modified Rankin scale (mRS) was used to assess subjects’ pre-COVID-19 baseline functional status.
Longitudinal assessments were conducted via telephonic interviews. Contact was attempted at six and 12 months post-initial COVID-19 diagnosis. Functional and disability status was assessed using the mRS; cognitive outcomes were examined with the telephone Montreal Cognitive Assessment (t-MoCA).
The Barthel index was used for assessing activities of daily living (ADL), and the self-reported health metrics of depression, fatigue, sleep, and anxiety, were collected through the quality of life in neurologic disorders (NeuroQoL) short forms. PASC outcomes were defined as new/persistent symptoms occurring four weeks after COVID-19.
Findings
Follow-up interview attempts were made on 790 and 590 patients at six and 12 months, respectively. Of these, only 382 (48%) and 242 (41%) patients completed interviews at six and 12 months, respectively. Participants who completed only the six-month interview were older (median age: 69 years) than those completing the 12-month (65 years) interview.
No differences were found in sex, education level, race, pre-COVID-19 mRS scores, history of dementia/psychiatric disease, COVID-19 severity, and the rates of neurologic complications during hospitalization between patients who completed interviews at six months and 12 months. Headache, anxiety, cognitive abnormalities, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbances were the common neurologic symptoms at 12 months.
About 90% of patients at six months and 87% at 12 months showed abnormalities on at least one assessed metric, with abnormalities on the mRS and t-MoCA being the most prevalent. A small but significant correlation was observed between post-acute COVID-19 symptoms and NeuroQoL anxiety scores ≥ 60. In addition, the authors noted an association of older age with poor mRS, t-MoCA scores, and Barthel Index at both time points and with NeuroQoL depression scores at one year.
The female sex was linked to elevated anxiety scores at one year and poor Barthel Index at six and 12 months. Neurologic complications such as hypoxic-ischemic brain injury and toxic metabolic encephalopathy strongly predicted poor Barthel Index and mRS at six and 12 months and worse fatigue and depression scores at one year. Poor SOFA scores and mechanical ventilation predicted a poor Barthel Index at six months.
The researchers did not find any consistent effect of COVID-19 medications on outcome metrics. However, more than 50% of participants reported having experienced a minimum of one life stressor in the month preceding the follow-up at 12 months. New personal illness, social isolation, financial insecurity, and illness/death of a close acquaintance were the most common life stressors.
The presence of stressors was strongly linked to post-acute COVID-19 symptoms and poor NeuroQoL scores. There was a significant association between food and financial insecurity, new disability/death of close contact, social isolation, and personal illness with worse NeuroQoL metrics. In contrast, new disability and personal illness were associated with Barthel Index and mRS.
Conclusions
In summary, the authors found independent associations of conventional predictors of poor outcomes, such as advanced age, poor pre-COVID-19 functional status, and disease severity, with worse t-MoCA, Barthel Index, and mRS scores and post-acute symptoms of COVID-19. In addition, they found that life stressors negatively impacted post-acute COVID-19 symptoms, depression, fatigue, sleep, and disability metrics. Taking life stressors into account, interventions aimed at alleviating life stress are associated with better cognitive, neuropsychiatric, and functional outcomes 12 months after hospitalization with COVID-19.
Over-The-Counter Hearing Aids: Disability Experts Weigh Benefits And Concerns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration finalized a ruling Monday that will make hearing aids available over the counter without a prescription or an appointment.
It’s a game-changer for many disabled people, who say the ruling will benefit millions of Americans with hearing loss. At the same time, the ruling illuminates barriers to hearing aid access that members of the disabled community say still need to be addressed. HuffPost spoke to experts in the field who unpacked the benefits of over-the-counter hearing aids ― and aired some concerns about their rollout.
“I’m thrilled with this leap forward,” Glenda Sims, chief information accessibility officer at the digital accessibility firm Deque, told HuffPost. “People that want to enhance their hearing, or get back to a level of hearing that they had, if they have mild or moderate hearing loss, [and] that couldn’t afford it in the past, are really going to have it much more within their reach when there are some that are going to be available at $200 versus thousands of dollars.”
Tens of millions of Americans experience hearing loss, but only 16% of them use hearing aids, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Cost is a major factor preventing access to these devices. The average cost of one prescription hearing aid is approximately $2,000, not including the cost of audiology visits for fittings and other services.
Over-the-counter hearing aids are now available at major retailers such as Walgreens and CVS at a significantly lower cost, and are estimated to save consumers $3,000 per pair of hearing aids. Sims said that her best friend had been experiencing hearing loss in one of her ears, but she struggled to afford hearing aids as a single parent on an elementary school teacher’s salary. She ended up paying $2,000 out of pocket for prescription hearing aids.
“She couldn’t pay for it,” Sims said. “It’s riding on credit card debt because she needed it. She can’t hear the ends of the words that the kids are saying to her in class.”
OTC hearing aids can also be beneficial to someone with mild to moderate hearing loss who previously may not have had access to prescriptions. Laura Pratesi, a doctor of audiology who is also hard of hearing, said many patients fall into that category and would benefit from having some technology, but can’t afford or don’t necessarily need prescription hearing aids.
One important point, Pratesi notes, is that OTC hearing aids could allow early adoption of hearing technology. The longer a person lives with hearing loss, the more difficult it can be for them to successfully transition to hearing aids if they so choose. And studies have shown that adults will wait more than a decade after they first experience hearing loss to get fitted for hearing aids, which Pratesi believes is partly linked to stigma.
Sims believes that commercialization of OTC hearing aids, along with more innovation, could destigmatize the devices. Pratesi notes that the advent of Bluetooth technology and AirPods has breathed new life into the hearing health care sphere.
“I’ve had patients that don’t necessarily love the idea of getting hearing aids, but when I tell them, ‘This can connect to your iPhone, this can connect to your Android,’ you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s so cool,’” she said.
One issue professionals see with OTC hearing aids is that consumers may not have the technological savvy to choose the right products. Jaipreet Virdi, a history professor at the University of Delaware, said she believes the FDA’s ruling for OTC hearing aids is a good thing, especially given the cost-saving advantages. However, she’s concerned that not everyone will have the technological know-how to take full advantage.
“It’ll be great that people will go and buy the right hearing aid that’s more affordable for them, but they might not get the full benefit from the products that they would need,” Virdi told HuffPost.
Audiologists can calibrate hearing aids and program them to an individual’s audiological range, as well as provide services such as aural rehab, auditory training, cleaning and software updates, to ensure the user is getting the most out of the device. Still, affording these services along with the cost of prescription hearing aids can be difficult. Sims notes that this is a reason some people may want to get OTC hearing aids rather than prescription ones.
“If I needed [hearing aids] right now … I would go to an audiologist,” Sims said. “They’re going to walk me through step by step, they’re going to know all kinds of things about sound and ears and adjustments.”
“I just spoke from privilege,” she added. “I could afford to do that, instead of doing the research myself. I could also do the research myself and be patient and have a little bit more trial and error. So I think audiologists and doctors are still an important piece of the puzzle. It’s just nice to not force it.”
OTC hearing aids are limited in some ways because they don’t help children or people with profound hearing loss, Pratesi said. For example, Maria Page, 53, said that her hearing loss is too great to be able to benefit from OTC hearing aids.
“Due to my inner ear hearing loss, my very small, in-the-ear-canal hearing aids have a custom fit so that I can wear them all day, every day,” Page told HuffPost. “Will the over-the-counter hearing aids have custom fits? I suspect not, because that would mean additional expense.”
Hearing aids aren’t a one-size-fits-all model, Virdi said. She uses the analogy of getting eyeglasses: Some people, depending on their visual needs, can go to the store and try on different glasses to figure out which ones help them see more clearly. But other people need to get their eyes examined and assessed by an ophthalmologist to determine which prescription lens would work best for them.
Page worries that the FDA’s ruling on OTC hearing aids and the one-size-fits-all mindset will lead some people to jump to the wrong conclusions.
“If anything, this FDA decision will have a negative impact on me, because everyone else will expect that I will be able to easily and somehow more cheaply get hearing aids on a regular basis,” she said. “I will have to explain even harder how that is not the case.”
Pratesi said that since her practice is unbundled ― a cheaper alternative to bundled services ― she can assist people who bring in OTC hearing aids. However, the costs can still be high out of pocket, since audiological services, as well as the actual hearing aids, are not covered by insurance.
“I want audiological care to be affordable and accessible for everybody,” Pratesi said. “If over the counter works for what someone needs, that’s fantastic. If over the counter doesn’t work for what somebody needs, nobody should have to go without audiological care because of cost.”
Pratesi said this barrier to access could be addressed if insurance companies categorized audiologists as limited licensed practitioners rather than as equipment suppliers, and hearing aids as medical devices rather than cosmetic or consumer products. This issue has been heavily debated since the development of the first electric hearing aid 100 years ago, and particularly during congressional hearings starting in the 1960s, Virdi said.
“As long as they’re being promoted as a consumer product, where consumers make the decision about which hearing aid fits their need, and not as a medical device that means it’s covered by insurance … we’re always going to be limited,” she said.
Some states have passed insurance mandates for hearing health care coverage, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. However, Pratesi notes that federal legislation would help. The Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act is a federal bill that would require insurance coverage of hearing aids and audiological services. It would also improve access to licensed providers for people who suspect they have hearing loss, by eliminating the medical doctor referrals that are required in order to receive a hearing test.
“If we think about where we’re going in the future, I think we should push more for the devices to be covered by insurance ― and not just the devices, but all associated costs that go along with it,” Virdi said. “I think that’s one thing that I really hope will change.”
Some experts predict that OTC hearing aids will ultimately lead to more innovation and lower costs. Pratesi believes there will be a shift in practices offering more unbundled services, which would also result in lower costs.
OTC hearing aids have also started important conversations about inaccessibility, and how hearing aids, American Sign Language and cochlear implants are all tools to help people with various communication goals, Pratesi said. Still, she doesn’t want change to stop here.
“I’m excited for what this legislation does. But I don’t want people to think that ‘OK, great, we passed OTC and now we’re there.’ We’re not there,” she said. “There’s still more people that need to be helped, there’s still more changes that we need to make so that audiological care is affordable and accessible for everyone.”
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Lawsuit filed against Chicago Cubs alleging disability law violations
The much-heralded renovation of Wrigley Field seemingly ensured its status as a jewel of the game for decades to come, but when it comes to complying with a federal law protecting access for disabled fans, the U.S. attorney’s office in Chicago says the Cubs struck out.
Following a yearslong investigation, U.S. Attorney John Lausch’s office filed a lawsuit on Thursday alleging the team violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to make Wrigley “appropriately accessible” to fans who use wheelchairs or have other disabilities.
The 19-page suit filed in U.S. District Court comes nearly three years after it was revealed in a separate court action that federal authorities had launched an investigation into whether the Cubs’ $1 billion, five-year renovation of the century-old ballpark met the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit alleged that the extensive rebuild of the bleachers and lower grandstand, which was dubbed the “1060 Project,” failed to provide wheelchair users with adequate sightlines, as compared with standing patrons. In the lower grandstand, the suit says, “a wheelchair user can barely see any of the infield when spectators stand up — often during the most exciting parts of the game.”
In general admission areas, wheelchair seating is largely clustered in the last row of seating sections, according to the suit. The Cubs also failed to incorporate wheelchair seating into new premium clubs and group seating areas, such as the Catalina Club in the upper deck and the Budweiser Patio in right field, and the overall design failed to remove architectural barriers to access in unaltered portions of the ballpark, according to the suit.
>>> Read the lawsuit: U.S. attorney sues Chicago Cubs alleging disability law violations
The lawsuit names the Cubs and other corporate owners and operators of the Wrigley Field facility as defendants. The government is seeking a court injunction forcing the team to fix any deficiencies at the ballpark as well as unspecified compensatory damages “in an appropriate amount for injuries suffered.”
Cubs spokesman Julian Green said in an emailed statement the team had been cooperating with the federal probe and was “disappointed” with the Justice Department’s decision to sue.
“(We) hope the matter can be resolved amicably, but we will defend Wrigley Field and our position it meets accessibility requirements for fans,” the statement read. “The renovation of Wrigley Field greatly increased accessibility of the ballpark and was completed in accordance with applicable law and historic preservation standards consistent with the ballpark’s designation as a National and City of Chicago landmark.”
In response to the federal inquiry, Green said, the Cubs have “made several offers to voluntarily further enhance accessible features of the ballpark, including seating, restrooms, concessions and other key accessibility elements.”
Those claims were disputed, however, by Chicago attorney David A. Cerda, who filed a lawsuit in December 2017 on behalf of his son, David F. Cerda, a lifelong Cubs fan with muscular dystrophy who uses a wheelchair.
Cerda’s lawsuit, which is ongoing in Chicago federal court, alleges the renovated Wrigley Field made it a much worse experience for disabled patrons to attend a game.
“We’re very happy to see the Justice Department picked up on one of the central allegations that we made: that the Cubs out of sheer greed, replaced the good ADA seating that existed with luxury seating, which excluded ADA patrons in knowing violation of ADA rights,” the elder Cerda said Thursday.
Before the renovation, Cerda and his son often sat in an accessible seating section about 15 rows behind home plate. Those seats were moved farther away from the field during the course of the renovation.
Other accessible seats in the right field bleachers and in the upper deck under the press box were converted to premium seats, Cerda said, relegating disabled patrons to less desirable vantage points.
“They did it for money, for greed, for profit,” said Cerda, 61.
The suit by the Justice Department, meanwhile, includes photos of some of the worst alleged violations of federal law, singling out the overhaul of the bleachers as being particularly bad for wheelchair users.
“The Cubs’ decision to cluster wheelchair seats on the porches not only isolates wheelchair users from other fans and confines them to the worst seats in the bleachers, it also inhibits their ability to watch the game,” the suit stated. “This is because the wheelchair seats on the porches were not constructed to provide lines of sight to the field over standing spectators.”
Instead, the suit stated, the wheelchair seats rely on a policy that “discourages but does not preclude bleacher fans from sitting and standing in the two rows immediately in front of the wheelchair spaces.” Though the rows are roped off and ushers are supposed to enforce the rules, spectators still wander in front of the seats, according to the suit.
The “Batter’s Eye” area in dead centerfield, which is covered with a mesh tarp and gets abnormally hot in the summer, has also been the subject of numerous complaints from wheelchair users, the suit alleged.
The Cubs first filed notice of the federal review in December 2019 as part of the Cerda lawsuit. At the time, a lawyer representing the team wrote a letter to the judge saying the Cubs believed the overhaul had “significantly increased the accessibility of the ballpark.”
The letter said compliance with the ADA “is of critical importance to the Cubs, as is ensuring the accessibility to all fans to Wrigley Field, a historic and aging ballpark with a limited physical footprint.”
In the statement released after the lawsuit was filed Thursday, the team said Wrigley Field “is now more accessible than ever in its 108-year history,” with 11 more elevators than before, more accessible restrooms, assistive listening technology for fans with hearing impairments, enhanced sound systems and “upgraded ticketing and online systems for purchase of seating, including accessible seating.”
Cerda said the 11 elevators added to the renovated Wrigley Field are needed to shuttle disabled patrons far from the good seats they once enjoyed.
“They’ve got more elevators because they need more elevators to shove disabled patrons to the upper reaches of the bleachers,” he said.
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Cerda’s son, who went to his first Cubs game when he was 3 months old, is now 25 and continues to follow the team. On Tuesday, he attended his first game at Wrigley Field since the pandemic hit, watching the Cubs notch a fifth consecutive loss, falling 4-2 to the Baltimore Orioles.
A native South Sider who grew up rooting for the Cubs, the elder Cerda began attending games at Wrigley Field when he was 8 years old and suffered through a lifetime of losing, including the team’s epic collapse in 1969, which he witnessed from fifth-row seats behind the first-base dugout.
He never wavered in his loyalty, until joining the battle over accessible seating.
“I’ve become a Sox fan,” said Cerda. “I will never set foot in that place again.”
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‘Yellowstone’ actress charged with felony fraud after collecting nearly $97,000 in disability payments
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An actress from the hit TV show “Yellowstone” has been charged with two felonies after allegedly collecting nearly $97,000 through a workers’ compensation fraud even thought she was still able to work.
Q’orianka Kilcher, 32, of North Hollywood, has been charged with two felony counts of workers’ compensation insurance fraud after she received $96,838 in temporary disability benefits between 2019 and 2021, the California Department of Insurance said.
According to the insurance department, Kilcher collected the funds for several months while she was working on the set of “Yellowstone.” Kilcher played Angela Blue Thunder for four episodes that aired in 2020.
FILE – Q’orianka Kilcher arrives at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 17, 2018, in Los Angeles.
(Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
The Paramount Network series “Yellowstone” stars Kevin Costner, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes and Wes Bentley. It has four seasons.
SOFIA VERGARA TURNS 50: A LOOK AT HOW THE STAR ROSE TO FAME IN HOLLYWOOD
Kilcher initially started collecting disability insurance after she injured her neck and right shoulder when she was riding in a production vehicle on the set of “Dora” in October 2018, the insurance company said.
She also denied work the following year citing severe neck pain, resulting from the injury, the company added.
A billboard promotes Paramount Network’s ‘Yellowstone’ television series on June 22, 2022 in Hollywood, California.
(AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)
In its statement, the company said Kilcher returned to work and then resumed her disability payments.
“According to records, she returned to the doctor and started receiving disability benefits five days after last working on the show,” the company said.
Kilcher surrendered to authorities in May.
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Michael Becker, who represents Kilcher, maintains his client’s innocence and that she ever received benefits to which she was not entitled.
Steven Williams, Keith Cox, Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Gil Birmingham, Kevin Costner, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Chow, Luke Grimes, Kent Alterman and Sarah Levy attend Paramount Network’s “Yellowstone” Season 2 Premiere Party at Lombardi House on May 30, 2019 in Los Angeles, California.
(Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Paramount Network)
“Third-party doctors verified her injury and entitlement to benefits,” Becker said. “Ms. Kilcher was at all times candid with her doctors and treatment providers… and she never intentionally accepted benefits that she did not believe she was entitled to.”
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The actress will “vigorously defend herself and asks that she be afforded the presumption of innocence both in and outside the courthouse,” he added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
USA finance and payments live updates: Child Tax Credit, Inflation, interest rates, CPI report, S.S. disability…
Jobs front of mind as Fed tightens monetary policy
The healthy finances of U.S. banks, companies and households, trumpeted during the pandemic by Federal Reserve officials as a source of resilience, may be an obstacle to battling inflation as central bankers raise interest rates in an economy able so far to pay the price.
In outlining their aggressive turn to tighter monetary policy, Fed officials say they hope to clamp down on the economy without destroying jobs, with higher interest rates slowing things enough that companies scale back the current high number of job vacancies while avoiding layoffs or a hit to household income.
But that means the pain of inflation control would have to fall mostly on owners of capital via a slowed housing market, higher corporate bond rates, lower equity values, and a rising dollar to make imports cheaper and induce domestic producers to hold down prices.
Economists including current and former Fed officials note that unlike prior Fed rate hike cycles, there’s no obvious weakness to exploit or asset bubble to burst to quickly make a dent in inflation – nothing akin to the highly overvalued housing markets of 2007 or the hypervalued internet stocks of the late 1990s to provide the Fed more bang for its expected rate hikes.
The adjustment to tighter Fed policy has been swift by some measures. But it has been spread moderately across a range of markets, none catastrophically, with little impact yet on inflation or consumer spending.
USA finance and payments live updates: Child Tax Credit, Inflation, interest rates, CPI report, S.S. disability…
Inflation a top priority for the Biden adminstration
The White House has responded to the inflation increases, doubling down on their commitment to get prices under control. Compared to this time last year, food prices are up around 10 percent while those for energy are up more than 35 percent. The price for a dozen eggs is up on average $1.20 over prices last year.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as the continued impact of the covid-19 pandemic on global supply chains continue to fuel inflation. The Federal Reserve has begun a series of interest rate increases to decrease the circulation of money and credit within the economy in hopes that it will cool things down a bit.
On Friday after news broke the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by more than 900 points in a single day. Over the last eleven weeks the Dow has closed lower ten weeks, which has not hapened since the Great Depression.
USA finance and payments live updates: $400 check for car owners, Child Tax Credit, S.S. disability…
Why student debt cancellation could yet happen
There was speculation that President Biden might confirm a large-scale program of student debt forgiveness this weekend – but although he did not make such an announcement, Forbes finance specialist Zack Friedman still believes it may come.
In a piece published on Sunday, Friedman offers five reasons why heavy-duty student loan cancellation could yet become a reality, including the benefits it would bring for the US economy.
“If Biden cancels $50,000 of student loan debt, it could also help financially vulnerable student loan borrowers who want a fresh start on their student loans or who are more prone to enter student loan default when student loan payments restart,” Friedman writes.
USA finance and payments live updates: $400 check car owners, Child Tax Credit, S.S. disability…
Headlines: 28 May 2022
– Key measure shows that inflation slowed slightly in April, but remains high at 6.3% year-on-year
– Bitcoin drops back below $29,000, roughly 47% down over the past six months
– US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm accuses Russia of “weaponizing energy” with high gas prices
– Online searches for baby formula soar as shortages continue
– Pennsylvania proposes $2,000 stimulus check for residents.
– Concern over high energy prices and insufficient power grid ahead of the summer months
– Target and Walmart profits drop and stocks plunge after posting financial reports
– Crude oil prices closed above $110 on Thursday, representing a 66% year-on-year increase
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