Collection of Articles Accumulated Over the Last Few Days

GOP’s attack on Americans’ retirement savings just went to the next disgusting level, Opinion, Alternet.

“To protect older Americans’ life savings, President Biden pledged in October to crack down on financial advisers who recommend investments just because they pay higher commissions. Then the insurance industry got to work.”

Explained: The Controversy Over Tim Walz’s Military Service, Snopes.

• The claim that Walz “abandoned” his National Guard unit right before he would have been deployed to Iraq is a subjective allegation leveled by a small number of former National Guardsmen and Minnesota political activists. Having served in the Guard for 24 years, Walz was free to retire when he did. 
• Walz has never claimed to have served in a combat role in war. Such allegations are based on a single misstatement and are undercut by his consistent transparency about not seeing combat in other interviews.
• Walz served as a command sergeant major, but did not retire at that grade because he did not complete the required training. The Guard has said, on numerous occasions, that it is accurate for Walz to state that he has served at that rank.

Disney’s Terrible Argument In Wrongful Death Case Should Be A Lesson For Biglaw Attorneys Everywhere, Above The Law.

I’m also a lawyer by trade and write about the legal industry. So basically, everyone I know has sent me coverage of the latest legal maneuvers in a wrongful death lawsuit facing the mouse. And I’m sure you’ve heard the basics — Kanokporn Tangsuan, a doctor at NYU, died in October after dining in Disney Spring’s Raglan Road. 

Trump Sneers at Veterans. Again. The Bulwark.

Trump characterized it as “the highest award you can get as a civilian,” by which I guess he meant it’s the highest award given by a president to a civilian. Fine. But Trump then went on to say that “it’s the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor” (the Medal of Honor is sometimes mistakenly called the Congressional Medal of Honor).

Flying Becoming More Miserable: Turbulence, Cost, Delays, Business Insider.

“It’s clear blue skies, there’s no storms anywhere, and there’s just this invisible turbulence that, often, the first you know about it is when you’re flying through it,” said Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading in the UK who’s been studying turbulence for about a decade.

August 15, 2024, Heather Cox Richardson, Letters from an American.

In 2021 a study by the RAND Corporation found that drug prices average 2.56 times higher in the U.S. than in 32 other countries. For name brand drugs, U.S. prices were 3.44 times those in comparable nations. Almost exactly two years ago, on August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. 

Gymnast Jordan Chiles says stripping of Olympic medal ‘unjust,’ cites racially driven attacks, MSN.

“While celebrating my Olympic accomplishments, I heard the devastating news that my bronze medal had been stripped away. I had confidence in the appeal brought by USAG, who gave conclusive evidence that my score followed all the rules. This appeal was unsuccessful.”

Trump and Vance Serve Up a Feast of Political Lies & Olympic Boxer Sues Musk and JK Rowling for Cyber Harassment, Kareem Abdul-Jabbarb.

A trio of silly, false claims that JD Vance makes about Kamala Harris: Three lies from Vance are all the more stupefying because they are so easily disproved. J.K. Rowling and Elon Musk Named in Cyberbullying Lawsuit Filed by Algerian Boxer Imane Khelif After Olympic Win: Khelif won a gold medal in boxing, but she’s just begun to fight the rich and famous who tried to tarnish her gold.

Worst Health Mistakes Young People Make, MedPage Today.

There is this belief, if you take the right vitamin or the right IV drip, or eat a lot of superfoods, that must mean you’re healthy. When we are talking about health, it’s not about one nutrient or one type of calorie. It’s about a holistic image of your health. If you are eating perhaps a diet rich in healthy foods, that’s one part of the equation. If you’re then shorting yourself on sleep, getting 4 hours every single night; you’re actually going to have negative health outcomes. Health is multifactorial. All of those things have to happen in combination in order to get good-quality outcomes.

Ohio Utility Corruption – Ohio Citizen Action.

Americans love free speech, survey finds − until they realize everyone else has it, too, The Conversation.

Even if Sahm Rules Might not be Right This Time, the Fed Should Still Cut Employ America.

The rise in the unemployment rate to 4.3% in July was enough to trigger the Sahm rule. This event set off a flurry of  articles asking whether this means the economy is in a recession or if this time is different. To be clear, we don’t think this means we’re currently in a recession, and neither does Claudia Sahm herself.

Our Carrie Bradshaw index: where Americans can afford to live solo in 2024, The Economist.

GOOD NEWS is rare for renters—dealing with elusive landlords, fretting about damage and deposits and getting slammed with sudden price increases are more usual. But in America, at least in some cities, there are some positive developments. 

Sodium Reduction Is A Proven Strategy That Saves Lives—More Work Is Needed To Hold Industry Accountable, Health Affairs.

Setting sodium reduction targets for the food supply is a rare example of a public health policy that  reduces health care costs, saves lives, and is even supported by many food companies. In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) embarked on a sodium reduction strategy, only to meet repeated political hurdles. 

Walmart posts Q2 earnings beat powered by wealthier shoppers, Quartz

As inflation cools and consumers continue to hunt for bargains, Walmart (WMT) is getting a boost. Shares of Walmart (WMT) rose 7% on Thursday, after the retail giant reported robust second quarter earnings. Its most recent quarter was fueled by higher-income households turning to the discount retailer, as well as its advertising and e-commerce units.