SALT LAKE CITY — There was a childlike joy radiating from Donovan Mitchell as he prepared to play his first game in three weeks.
It had been a long recovery from a concussion he suffered back on Jan. 17. He had nausea, lasting headaches and false hope. So when the moment neared for him to actually play again, he was a bit excited.
“I was making the joke before the game: I didn’t give a damn if the ball went in or out,” Mitchell said.
The ball went in — a lot.
Mitchell was near flawless in his return — 27 points, six assists and three rebounds — as the Jazz flattened Brooklyn 125-102 Friday at Vivint Arena.
On Utah’s first offensive possession, Mitchell looked off a defender and hit a cutting Royce O’Neale on a no-look pass under the rim.
In quick succession, he drew a foul for two free throws, hit a pull-up 3-pointer, and partnered with Udoka Azubuike for a perfect pick and roll. A little over two minutes into the game, the Jazz already had a double-digit lead.
It turns out, the Jazz (32-21) are better with their All-Star guard in the lineup — who knew? Well, just about everyone.
“He takes pressure off the other guys, especially Mike (Conley),” acting head coach Alex Jensen said. “There’s so much focus on him that he frees up other guys offensively. He’s Donovan Mitchell; he makes everything a lot easier for everybody.”
For the first time in a long time, the game was easier for the Jazz.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 19 points and 11 rebounds, Eric Paschall had 16 points, and Trent Forrest continued his strong run of play with 8 points and seven assists. Everything was clicking.
The Jazz shot 56.5% from the field, 45% from 3-point range and led by as many as 34 points. Defensively, the Jazz limited the Nets, who were without stars James Harden and Kevin Durant, to 41% shooting. Kyrie Irving was just 6 of 20 on the night for 15 points.
Mitchell brought a new energy to a team that’s been desperately searching for a spark. He was 8 of 10 from the field, 6 of 7 from the 3-point line and added six assists.
“Tonight, it was catching it in rhythm, taking the same shots I was working out with, being able to get rhythm that way,” Mitchell said. “To see the ball go in on your first two shots definitely helps.”
His opening stretch set the tone for the rest of the blowout win — and it wasn’t even Mitchell’s best run of play Friday; in the third quarter, he scored 12 points in just under three minutes. It was right around then that Azubuike had to make sure what he was seeing was actually real.
“It looked like a video game,” Azubuike said. “There was one time I caught myself in the moment because I thought I was actually in a video game because it seemed like he couldn’t miss. Every shot was going on. Don, he’s a stud.”
Speaking of Azubuike, he was part of another move Friday that was a catalyst to Utah’s blowout win. In a surprise, Azubuike started over Hassan Whiteside at center — and it proved to be a masterstroke.
Azubuike had a career-high 10 points and 11 rebounds and played what might have been his best game of his young career. He played sound defense and even jumped out to contest shots.
As for Whiteside, he came off the bench with what looked like a renewed focus, making multiple defensive efforts on plays and helped lead the Jazz to a strong defensive performance. Was that him getting back into shape after dealing with a bad case of COVID-19 or was it a case of a player who felt his job was suddenly threatened?
Whatever the answer, he finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The version of the Nets the Jazz routed Friday was far from the championship-hopeful team the Nets hope to be by the playoffs; but for at least one night, things were fun again for Utah.
“I was happy just to be out there running around, guarding, thinking the game, just having fun playing with my teammates,” Mitchell said.
People are using twice as much melatonin as they used to, sometimes at dangerously high levels, a study shows. (Tero Vesalainen, Shutterstock)
Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
WASHINGTON — More and more adults are taking over-the-counter melatonin to get to sleep, and some of them may be using it at dangerously high levels, a new study has found.
While overall use among the United States adult population is still “relatively low,” the study does “document a significant many-fold increase in melatonin use in the past few years,” said sleep specialist Rebecca Robbins, an instructor in the division of sleep medicine for Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the study.
The study, published Tuesday in the medical journal JAMA, found that by 2018 Americans were taking more than twice the amount of melatonin they took a decade earlier. Experts worry that the pandemic’s negative impact on sleep may have further increased the widespread reliance on sleeping aids, Robbins said.
“Taking sleep aids has been linked in prospective studies with the development of dementia and early mortality,” she said.
Melatonin has been linked to headache, dizziness, nausea, stomach cramps, drowsiness, confusion or disorientation, irritability and mild anxiety, depression and tremors, as well as abnormally low blood pressure. It can also interact with common medications and trigger allergies.
While short term use for jet lag, shift workers and people who have trouble falling asleep appears to be safe, long-term safety is unknown, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health.
Larger dose, little regulation
Since 2006, a small but growing subset of adults are taking amounts of melatonin that far exceed the 5 milligram a day dosage that is typically used as a short term treatment, the study found.
However, pills for sale may contain levels of melatonin that are much higher than what is advertised on the label. Unlike drugs and food, melatonin is not fully regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, so there are no federal requirements that companies test pills to be sure they contain the amount of advertised melatonin.
“Previous research has found that that melatonin content in these unregulated, commercially available melatonin supplements ranged from – 83% to +478% of the labeled content,” said Robbins, who coauthored the book “Sleep for Success! Everything You Must Know About Sleep But are Too Tired to Ask.”
Nor are there any requirements that companies test their products for harmful hidden additives in melatonin supplements sold in stores and online. Previous studies also found 26% of the melatonin supplements contained serotonin, “a hormone that can have harmful effects even at relatively low levels,” according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, a department of the National Institutes of Health.
“We cannot be certain of the purity of melatonin that is available over the counter,” Robbins said.
Taking too much serotonin by combining medications such as antidepressants, migraine medications and melatonin can lead to a serious drug reaction. Mild symptoms include shivering and diarrhea, while a more severe reaction can lead to muscle rigidity, fever, seizures and even death if not treated.
It’s a hormone, not an herb
Because it is purchased over the counter, experts say many people view melatonin as an herbal supplement or vitamin. In reality, melatonin is a hormone made by the pineal gland, located deep within the brain, and released into the bloodstream to regulate the body’s sleep cycles.
“There is a view that if it’s natural, then it can’t hurt,” Robbins told CNN in a prior interview on the impact of melatonin on children. “The truth is, we just really don’t know the implications of melatonin in the longer term, for adults or kids.”
Another reality: Studies have found that while using melatonin can be helpful in inducing sleep if used correctly — taking it at least two hours before bed — but the actual benefit is small.
“When adults took melatonin, it decreased the amount of time it took them to fall asleep by four to eight minutes,” Dr. Cora Collette Breuner, a professor in the department of pediatrics at Seattle Children’s Hospital at the University of Washington, told CNN last March.
“So for someone who takes hours to fall asleep, probably the better thing for them to do is turn off their screens, or get 20 to 40 minutes of exercise each day, or don’t drink any caffeinated products at all,” Breuner said.
“These are all sleep hygiene tools that work, but people are very reticent to do them. They rather just take a pill, right?”
Training your brain to sleep
There are other proven sleep tips that work just as well, if not better than sleeping aids, experts say. The body begins secreting melatonin at dark. What do we do in our modern culture? Use artificial light to keep us awake, often long past the body’s normal bedtime.
Research has found that the body will slow or stop melatonin production if exposed to light, including the blue light from our smartphones, laptops and the like.
“Any LED spectrum light source may further suppress melatonin levels,” said Dr. Vsevolod Polotsky, who directs sleep basic research in the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in a prior CNN interview.
So ban those devices at least an hour before you want to fall asleep. Like to read yourself to sleep? That’s fine, experts say, just read in a dim light from a real book or use an e-reader in night mode.
“Digital light will suppress the circadian drive,” Polotsky said, while a “dim reading light will not.”
Other tips include keeping your bedroom temperature at cooler temperatures of about 60 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit. We sleep better if we’re a bit chilly, experts say.
Set up a bedtime ritual by taking a warm bath or shower, reading a book or listening to soothing music. Or you can try deep breathing, yoga, meditation or light stretches. Go to bed and get up at the same time each day, even on weekends or your days off, experts say. The body likes routine.
If your doctor does prescribe melatonin to help with jet lag or other minor sleep issues, keep the use “short-term,” Robbins said.
If you are planning to use melatonin for a short-term sleep aid, try to purchase pharmaceutical grade melatonin, she advised. To find that, look for a stamp showing the product has been tested by the independent, nonprofit U.S. Pharmacopoeial Convention Dietary Supplement Verification Program.
Eophylica priscatellata, one of two flowers discovered perfectly preserved in amber. Such flowers suggest that some flowering plants in South Africa today have remained unchanged for 99 million years, a new study reveals.
(Shuo Wang)
Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
ATLANTA — Flowers discovered perfectly preserved in globs of amber bloomed at the feet of dinosaurs, suggesting that some flowering plants in South Africa today have remained unchanged for 99 million years, a new study reveals.
The two flowers once bloomed in what is now Myanmar and may shed light on how flowering plants evolved — a major episode in the history of life that was once described by Charles Darwin as an “abominable mystery.”
Flowers are ephemeral: They bloom, transform into a fruit and then disappear. As such, ancient flowers aren’t well represented in the fossil record, making these ancient blooms — and the history they carry with them — particularly precious.
“Leaves are generally produced in larger numbers than flowers and are much more robust — they have a higher preservation potential. A leaf is discarded ‘as is’ at the end of its useful life, while a flower transforms into a fruit, which then gets eaten or disintegrates as part of the seed dispersal process,” said study author Robert Spicer, a professor emeritus in the School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences at the Open University in the United Kingdom.
“These particular flowers are almost identical to their modern relatives. There really are no major differences,” added Spicer, who is also a visiting professor at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden in China.
The evolution and spread of flowering plants (angiosperms) is thought to have played a key role in shaping much of life as we know it today. It brought about the diversification of insects, amphibians, mammals and birds and ultimately marking the first time when life on land became more diverse than in the sea, according to the study, which published in the journal Nature Plants on Monday.
“Flowering plants reproduce more quickly than other plants, have more complex breeding mechanisms — a wide variety of flower forms, for example, often in close ‘collaboration’ with pollinators. This drives mutual coevolution of many lineages of plants and animals, shaping ecosystems,” Spicer said.
One of the flowers preserved in amber was named by researchers Eophylica priscatellata and the other Phylica piloburmensis, the same genus as the Phylica flowers that are native to South Africa today.
Mystery solved?
The sudden appearance of flowering plants in the fossil record in the Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago), with no obvious ancestral lineage from earlier geologic periods, had puzzled Darwin. It appeared to be in direct contradiction to an essential element of his theory of natural selection — that evolutionary changes take place slowly and over a long period of time.
It was in a private letter to botanist Joseph Hooker in 1879, published in a 1903 volume of Darwin’s letters, that he described it as an “abominable mystery.”
Exactly when flowering plants first emerged still isn’t clear, Spicer said, but the early flowers preserved in amber do shed some light on the mystery.
The specimens exhibit traits that are identical to those seen in flowers in fire-prone areas, such as the unique fynbos regions of South Africa. All 150 species of Phylica are native to this biologically rich and diverse region. They were also found alongside amber that contained partially burned plants.
“Here we have preserved in amber all the details of one such early flower just at the time when flowering plants begin to spread across the globe, and it shows superb adaptation to seasonally dry environments that supports vegetation exposed to frequent wildfires,” Spicer said.
“If many of the early flowers were exposed to fires in such semi-arid landscapes, it explains why the early phases of angiosperm evolution are so poorly represented in the fossil record — fossil(s) do not normally form in such semi-dry environments,” he added.
Spicer said that fire must have been a frequent event over a long period of time for evolution to have shaped the flowers into a form that could cope with fire and produce seeds that can find their way into the burned land surface. In Phylica’s case, their flowers are protected by leaves that cluster at the twig tip.
While many ferns, conifers and some flowering plants seen today, such as plane trees and magnolia, grew during dinosaur times, Spicer said that Phylica piloburmensis was the first flowering plant known to have an all but identical relative alive today.
Dinosaur-era amber fossils are only found in deposits from Kachin State in northern Myanmar, and ethical concerns related to human rights abuses about the provenance of amber from the region have emerged in recent years.
The Society of Vertebrate Paleontology called for a moratorium on research on amber sourced from Myanmar after 2017, when the country’s military took control of some amber mining areas.
Spicer said the amber was acquired from local sellers before 2016 and was legally obtained under the rules in place at the time.
Nancy Rose, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021, said she continues to exhibit long-haul symptoms including brain fog and memory difficulties in Port Jefferson, N.Y. More than a third of COVID-19 survivors by some estimates will develop such lingering problems. (John Minchillo)
Estimated read time: 8-9 minutes
NEW YORK — More than a year after a bout with COVID-19, Rebekah Hogan still suffers from severe brain fog, pain and fatigue that leave her unable to do her nursing job or handle household activities.
Long COVID has her questioning her worth as a wife and mother.
“Is this permanent? Is this the new norm?” said the 41-year-old Latham, New York, woman, whose three children and husband also have signs of the condition. “I want my life back.”
More than a third of COVID-19 survivors by some estimates will develop such lingering problems. Now, with omicron sweeping across the globe, scientists are racing to pinpoint the cause of the bedeviling condition and find treatments before a potential explosion in long COVID cases.
Could it be an autoimmune disorder? That could help explain why long COVID-19 disproportionately affects women, who are more likely than men to develop autoimmune diseases. Could microclots be the cause of symptoms ranging from memory lapses to discolored toes? That could make sense, since abnormal blood clotting can occur in COVID-19.
As these theories and others are tested, there is fresh evidence that vaccination may reduce the chances of developing long COVID.
It’s too soon to know whether people infected with the highly contagious omicron variant will develop the mysterious constellation of symptoms, usually diagnosed many weeks after the initial illness. But some experts think a wave of long COVID is likely and say doctors need to be prepared for it.
With $1 billion from Congress, the National Institutes of Health is funding a vast array of research on the condition. And clinics devoted to studying and treating it are popping up around the world, affiliated with places such as Stanford University in California and University College London.
Why does it happen?
Momentum is building around a few key theories.
One is that the infection or remnants of the virus persist past the initial illness, triggering inflammation that leads to long COVID.
Another is that latent viruses in the body, such as the Epstein-Barr virus that causes mononucleosis, are reactivated. A recent study in the journal Cell pointed to Epstein-Barr in the blood as one of four possible risk factors, which also include pre-existing Type 2 diabetes and the levels of coronavirus RNA and certain antibodies in the blood. Those findings must be confirmed with more research.
A third theory is that autoimmune responses develop after acute COVID-19.
In a normal immune response, viral infections activate antibodies that fight invading virus proteins. But sometimes in the aftermath, antibodies remain revved up and mistakenly attack normal cells. That phenomenon is thought to play a role in autoimmune diseases such as lupus and multiple sclerosis.
Justyna Fert-Bober and Dr. Susan Cheng were among researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who found that some people who have had COVID-19, including cases without symptoms, have a variety of these elevated “autoantibodies” up to six months after recovering. Some are the same ones found in people with autoimmune diseases.
Another possibility is that tiny clots play a role in long COVID. Many COVID-19 patients develop elevated levels of inflammatory molecules that promote abnormal clotting. That can lead to blood clots throughout the body that can cause strokes, heart attacks and dangerous blockages in the legs and arms.
In her lab at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, scientist Resia Pretorius has found microclots in blood samples from patients with COVID-19 and in those who later developed long COVID. She also found elevated levels of proteins in blood plasma that prevented the normal breakdown of these clots.
She believes that these clotting abnormalities persist in many patients after an initial coronavirus infection and that they reduce oxygen distribution to cells and tissue throughout the body, leading to most if not all symptoms that have been linked to long COVID.
It can hit nearly anyone
While there’s no firm list of symptoms that define the condition, the most common include fatigue, problems with memory and thinking, loss of taste and smell, shortness of breath, insomnia, anxiety and depression.
Some of these symptoms may first appear during an initial infection but linger or recur a month or more later. Or new ones may develop, lasting for weeks, months or over a year.
Because so many of the symptoms occur with other illnesses, some scientists question whether the coronavirus is always the trigger. Researchers hope their work will provide definitive answers.
Long COVID affects adults of all ages as well as children. Research shows it is more prevalent among those who were hospitalized, but also strikes a significant portion who weren’t.
Jacki Graham, a 64-year-old COVID survivor, sits for a photo outside her home in Los Angeles, Thursday. (Photo: Jae C. Hong, Associated Press)
Retired flight attendant Jacki Graham’s bout with COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic wasn’t bad enough to put her in the hospital. But months later, she experienced breathlessness and a racing heart. She couldn’t taste or smell. Her blood pressure shot up.
In the fall of 2020, she became so fatigued that her morning yoga would send her back to bed.
“I’m an early riser, so I’d get up and push myself, but then I was done for the day,” said Graham, 64, of Studio City, California. “Six months ago, I would have told you COVID has ruined my life.”
Hogan, the New York nurse, also wasn’t hospitalized with COVID-19 but has been debilitated since her diagnosis. Her husband, a disabled veteran, and children ages 9, 13 and 15 fell ill soon after and were sick with fever, stomach pains and weakness for about a month. Then all seemed to get a little better until new symptoms appeared.
Hogan’s doctors think autoimmune abnormalities and a pre-existing connective tissue disorder that causes joint pain may have made her prone to developing the condition.
Potential answers
There are no treatments specifically approved for long COVID, though some patients get relief from painkillers, drugs used for other conditions, and physical therapy. But more help may be on the horizon.
Immunobiologist Akiko Iwasaki is studying the tantalizing possibility that COVID-19 vaccination might reduce long COVID symptoms. Her team at Yale University is collaborating with a patient group called Survivor Corps on a study that involves vaccinating previously unvaccinated long COVID patients as a possible treatment.
Iwasaki, who is also an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which supports The Associated Press’ Health and Science Department, said she is doing this study because patient groups have reported improvement in some people’s long COVID symptoms after they got their shots.
Nancy Rose, right, who contracted COVID-19 in 2021 and continues to exhibit long-haul symptoms including brain fog and memory difficulties, cooks for her mother, Amy Russell, left, at their home, on Tuesday, in Port Jefferson, N.Y. (Photo: John Minchillo, Associated Press)
Study participant Nancy Rose, 67, of Port Jefferson, New York, said many of her symptoms waned after she got vaccinated, though she still has bouts of fatigue and memory loss.
Two recently released studies, one from the U.S. and one from Israel, offer preliminary evidence that being vaccinated before getting COVID-19 could help prevent the lingering illness or at least reduce its severity. Both were done before omicron emerged.
Neither has been published in a peer-reviewed journal, but outside experts say the results are encouraging.
In the Israeli study, about two-thirds of participants received one or two Pfizer shots; the others were unvaccinated. Those who had received two shots were at least half as likely to report fatigue, headache, muscle weakness or pain and other common long COVID symptoms as the unvaccinated group.
Uncertain future
With few clear answers yet, the future is murky for patients.
Many, like Graham, see improvement over time. She sought help through a long COVID program at Cedars-Sinai, enrolled in a study there in April 2021, and was vaccinated and boosted.
Today, she said, her blood pressure is normal, and her sense of smell and energy level are getting closer to pre-COVID levels. Still, she wound up retiring early because of her ordeal.
Hogan still struggles with symptoms that include agonizing nerve pain and “spaghetti legs,” or limbs that suddenly become limp and unable to bear weight, a condition that also affects her 13-year-old son.
Some scientists worry that long COVID in certain patients might become a form of chronic fatigue syndrome, a poorly understood and long-lasting condition that has no cure or approved treatment.
One thing’s for sure, some experts say: Long COVID will have a huge effect on individuals, health care systems and economies around the world, costing many billions of dollars.
Even with insurance, patients can be out thousands of dollars at a time when they’re too sick to work. Graham, for example, said she paid about $6,000 out of pocket for things like scans, labs, doctor visits and chiropractic care.
Pretorius, the scientist in South Africa, said there is real worry things could get worse.
“So many people are losing their livelihoods, their homes. They can’t work anymore,” she said. “Long COVID will probably have a more severe impact on our economy than acute COVID.”
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A volunteer crew (from left to right) of Pietro Di Tillio, Dragos Michael Popescu, Jared Broddrick and Patrick Ridgley have embarked on a simulated journey to Mars inside a ground-based habitat at NASA. (NASA)
Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
HOUSTON — Four volunteer crew members have embarked on a simulated journey to Mars inside a ground-based habitat at NASA to study the isolation and confinement of exploration missions.
The simulated journey to Mars’ moon Phobos began on Friday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and will last for 45 days.
The volunteer crew, which includes Jared Broddrick, Pietro Di Tillio, Dragos Michael Popescu and Patrick Ridgley, entered a structure called the Human Exploration Research Analog, or HERA, which is “designed to serve as an analog for the rigors of real space exploration missions,” NASA said in a statement.
In a video posted to NASA’s Johnson Space Center Twitter account, the four men were seen entering the HERA structure before the hatch was officially closed and will not be opened until March 14.
New year, new crew! 🧑🚀
HERA’s new 4-person crew just entered their new home for the next 45 days. They’re simulating a trip to Mars to help NASA study isolation & confinement in exploration scenarios. The hatch is officially closed. Their mission has begun! pic.twitter.com/k6kF17ELca
— NASA’s Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) January 29, 2022
While inside the HERA structure, the men will experience up to five minutes of delayed communication with the rest of the world, the agency said. The goal, according to NASA, is to help train the crew and NASA coordinators to practice communicating under these circumstances while ensuring a smooth operation.
“In this HERA campaign, we’re learning more about how teams function in an autonomous environment where they have limited contact with Earth,” said Brandon Vessey, research operations and integration element scientist for NASA’s Human Research Program.
“What we learn will inform how future exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit are performed. This will help ensure that our astronaut crews can work effectively through challenges unique to long-duration spaceflight, including communication delays,” Vessey said.
This is the second of four “Campaign 6” missions conducted by HERA to facilitate research into the “behavioral and team performance of longer duration missions,” NASA’s website says. The final mission as part of the campaign is scheduled for Sept. 12.
To qualify for the missions, individuals must be healthy nonsmokers between the ages of 30 and 55. Applicants to be part of the HERA crew submit their resumes to Johnson Space Center’s Test Subject Screening group and must pass a physical and psychological test to be selected.
The Human Research Program is set to perform 15 studies throughout the missions to collect data that will help NASA land the first woman and first person of color on the moon, a plan known as “Artemis.” The goal is to establish the first long-term presence on the moon, which will help inform the agency as it prepares to send the first astronauts to Mars, according to NASA.
The median home sales price was $346,900 in 2021, up 16.9% from 2020, and the highest on record going back to 1999, according to the National Association of Realtors. Home sales had the strongest year since 2006, with 6.12 million homes sold, up 8.5% from the year before.
While that was bad news for would be buyers, it was a boon for those who already owned a home. A typical homeowner accumulated $50,200 in housing wealth, looking at the median price from 2020 to 2021.
“That is a sizable wealth gain for homeowners across the country,” said Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “The housing market has seen a spectacular performance this last year with sales rising and prices rising. But inventory is at an all-time low.”
By the end of 2021, there were fewer homes for sale than ever. The inventory of unsold existing homes fell to a record low of 910,000 at the end of December. That’s a 1.8-month supply of homes at the current pace, also an all-time low.
Yun anticipates total annual home sales to drop a bit in 2022 as mortgage rates tick up. But he added that employment gains, stricter underwriting standards and continued demand are strong indications that the market is not in danger of crashing.
“This year, consumers should prepare to endure some increases in mortgage rates,” Yun cautioned. “I also expect home prices to grow more moderately by 3% to 5% in 2022, and then similarly in 2023 as more supply reaches the market.”
Inventory hits new low
Because of scarce inventory, sales of existing homes — which include single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops — dropped 4.6% in December from November, and 7.1% from a year ago.
“December saw sales retreat, but the pullback was more a sign of supply constraints than an indication of a weakened demand for housing,” said Yun.
The low inventory has also knocked down the sales of homes in affordable price ranges.
Home sales in the $100,000 to $250,000 range were down 23.2% in December from the year before. Meanwhile, homes priced between $750,000 and $1 million saw sales rise 32.2% from last year, according to the report.
“The upper end of the market is moving along,” Yun said. “But at the lower end, there is not enough inventory or some homes are being pushed into the higher price brackets.”
More homes are expected to come onto the market during the spring home selling season, Yun said. And good news also came from the Commerce Department on Wednesday that home building grew in December.
“This new supply is clearly needed, as move-up buyers purchasing new homes will free up existing inventory for the wave of first-time buyers,” said Mike Fratantoni, senior vice president and chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association. “We continue to expect that 2022 will see growth in home sales, decelerating home-price growth, and a record volume of purchase mortgage originations.”
“Homebuilders have already made strides in 2022 to increase supply, but reversing gaps like the ones we’ve seen recently will take years to correct,” said Yun.
Home prices still climbing
With fewer than one million homes on the market at the end of December, prices continued to climb as buyers raced against the clock to secure low mortgage rates on the homes for sale.
“Even as sales are falling, prices are rising showing that demand is still there,” Yun said.
The median existing home price for all housing types in December was $358,000, which was up 15.8% from a year ago, marking 118 straight months of year-over-year increases, the longest-running streak on record. Prices rose across the country, with the south seeing the biggest appreciation.
In November, the share of first-time buyers fell to just 26% of all buyers. But in December the share of first-time buyers perked back up to 30%.
“There was a significant surge in first-time buyers at the end of the year,” Yun said. “With mortgage rates expected to rise in 2022, it’s likely that a portion of December buyers were intent on avoiding the inevitable rate increases.”
At least 62 homes are currently “unlivable,” said Cecil Pendergrass, co-chairman of the county’s board of commissioners, at a news conference.
The twister was an EF2 tornado with maximum winds of 118 mph. It may have completely destroyed 30 mobile homes of the 108 mobile homes damaged near Fort Myers, according to a damage survey by the National Weather Service.
Four injuries were reported, but no one was taken to a hospital, officials said.
In Charlotte County, north of Fort Myers, an EF1 tornado with winds of 110 mph left behind a path of destruction, according to the weather service.
“A waterspout moved across Gasparilla sound near Boca Grande Causeway before then moved ashore as a short-lived tornado near Placida damaging at least 35 homes and a marina storage facility,” the NWS said in a bulletin.
No one was injured, but some residents have been displaced, the Charlotte County government said in a tweet.
Netflix has raised its monthly subscription price by $1 to $2 per month in the United States depending on the plan, the company said on Friday, to help pay for new programming to compete in the crowded streaming TV market. (Dado Ruvic, Reuters)
Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
LOS ANGELES — Netflix has raised its monthly subscription price by $1 to $2 per month in the United States depending on the plan, the company said on Friday, to help pay for new programming to compete in the crowded streaming TV market.
The standard plan, which allows for two simultaneous streams, now costs $15.49 per month, up from $13.99, in the United States.
Prices also rose in Canada, where the standard plan climbed to C$16.49 from C$14.99.
Shares of Netflix gained nearly 3% to $533.84 on Nasdaq after Reuters broke the news of the price rises. They closed 1.3% higher at $525.69.
The increases, the first in those markets since October 2020, took effect immediately for new customers. Existing members will see the new prices in the coming weeks when they receive their monthly bills.
“We understand people have more entertainment choices than ever and we’re committed to delivering an even better experience for our members,” a Netflix spokesperson said.
“We’re updating our prices so that we can continue to offer a wide variety of quality entertainment options. As always we offer a range of plans so members can pick a price that works for their budget,” the spokesperson added.
The world’s largest streaming service is facing the most competition ever from companies looking to attract viewers to online entertainment. Walt Disney, AT&T’s WarnerMedia, Amazon and Apple are among the rivals pouring billions into new programming.
Netflix has added customers despite prior price increases, which shows its members have been willing to accept higher costs, Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney said.
“This is evidence that Netflix has pricing power,” Mahaney said.
Netflix had said it would spend $17 billion on programming in 2021. The company has not disclosed spending for 2022.
The U.S. price of Netflix’s premium plan, which enables four streams at a time and streaming in ultra HD, was increased by $2 to $19.99 per month. For Netflix’s basic plan, with one stream, the cost rose by $1 to $9.99 per month.
In Canada, the premium plan rose by C$2 to C$20.99, and the basic plan was unchanged at C$9.99.
At $15.49 per month, the standard U.S. plan from Netflix now costs more than competitors. HBO Max, owned by AT&T, is currently offering an $11.99-a-month promotion for 12 months.
The price of Walt Disney’s Disney+ is $7.99 a month or $79.99 a year.
The United States and Canada are Netflix’s largest region with 74 million streaming customers as of September 2021. The region accounted for nearly 44% of the company’s revenue in 2021’s third quarter, or about $3.3 billion.
Most of the company’s recent pickup in subscribers has come from overseas.
Netflix’s subscriber growth slowed from a boom early in the COVID-19 pandemic but rebounded with help from global phenomenon “Squid Game,” a dystopian thriller from South Korea released in September. Total global subscriptions reached 213.6 million.
The company’s next subscriber report is due Thursday when Netflix posts quarterly earnings. Analysts project the company will report 8.5 million new sign-ups from October through December, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data, bringing its global subscriber base to 222 million.
Celeste Allred of Orem finds a schedule of regular, sensible fasting improves her overall health.
(Heather Simonsen, KSL-TV)
Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
OREM — Have you ever wondered how effective intermittent fasting is? The hot dieting trend may have health benefits far beyond weight loss, according to researchers.
Until recent changes in her eating habits, including intermittent fasting, Celeste Allred said she felt a lack of energy and focus. “I had such bad brain fog. I couldn’t focus on anything. I couldn’t think,” said Allred, a mother of nine children, who lives in Orem. “Even taking simple phone calls was too much.”
She said adopting a schedule of intermittent fasting improved her focus and cognition.
That’s not surprising, said Dr. Benjamin Horne, with the Intermountain Healthcare Heart Institute.
“It’s kind of recovering and rejuvenating,” said Horne, the institute’s principal investigator and director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology.
In a study presented to the American Heart Association last November, Horne and his team found intermittent fasting, going once a week for 24 hours with only water, reduced inflammation in the body.
They believe it controls galectin-3, a protein tied to inflammatory response, reducing the risk of diabetes, coronary disease and heart failure.
“The lack of food signals to the cells throughout the body that there’s a need to optimize their function,” Horne said. “They do their job better when you move on from the fasting.”
Over time, regular periods of fasting can reset baseline blood sugars to normal levels, according to Horne. It needs to be sustainable, though, a routine you can stick to.
Horne and a colleague tried it themselves. “We both lost about six pounds,” he said.
They found after four months of fasting once a week, they were less tempted to snack in between meals, an added benefit he hears about from patients. “They feel like they are more able to control their eating habits rather than having the desire for food controlling them,” he said.
Intermittent fasting can take on different schedules. Horne said even fasting 12 hours from dinnertime until morning can be beneficial. But generally, the longer you safely stretch those hours, the better.
Allred said by fasting, she feels better. “I like being able to think,” she said. “I like having energy. I like being able to move. I like being able to take care of my family.”
She’s making regular periods without food a part of her healthy routine. As is the case with any diet, consult with your doctor first.
Experts warn that young children and adults with any number of health issues should not fast.
They are also always concerned that fasting could lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and eating disorders.
A U.S. judge on Friday barred Martin Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry for life and ordered him to pay $64.6 million after he famously raised the price of the drug Daraprim and fought to block generic competitors. (Carlo Allegri, Reuters)
Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
WASHINGTON — A U.S. judge on Friday barred Martin Shkreli from the pharmaceutical industry for life and ordered him to pay $64.6 million after he famously raised the price of the drug Daraprim and fought to block generic competitors.
U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in Manhattan ruled after a trial where the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and seven states had accused Shkreli, the founder of Vyera Pharmaceuticals, of using illegal tactics to keep Daraprim rivals out of the market.
Shkreli drew notoriety in 2015 after hiking Daraprim’s price overnight to $750 per tablet from $17.50. The drug treats toxoplasmosis, a parasitic infection that threatens people with weakened immune systems.
In a 130-page decision, Cote faulted Shkreli for creating two companies, Vyera and Retrophin, designed to monopolize drugs so he could profit “on the backs” of patients, doctors and distributors.
She said the Daraprim scheme was “particularly heartless and coercive,” and a lifetime industry ban was needed because of the “real danger” that Shkreli could become a repeat offender.
“Shkreli’s anticompetitive conduct at the expense of the public health was flagrant and reckless,” the judge wrote. “He is unrepentant. Barring him from the opportunity to repeat that conduct is nothing if not in the interest of justice.”
After the ruling, FTC Chair Lina Khan tweeted the decision, calling it a “just outcome.”
Shkreli’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shkreli is serving a seven-year prison sentence for securities fraud. He did not attend the trial held last month.
Vyera was founded in 2014 as Turing Pharmaceuticals, and acquired Daraprim from Impax Laboratories in 2015.
Regulators accused Vyera of protecting its dominance of Daraprim by ensuring that generic drugmakers could not obtain samples for cheaper versions, and keeping potential rivals from buying a key ingredient.
The seven states joining the FTC case included California, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
