benefits – Page 2

Widows Of COVID-19 Struggle To Get Benefits As Social Security Offices Remain Closed

1Feb

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

Widows Of COVID-19 Struggle To Get Benefits As Social Security Offices Remain Closed

The day after her husband’s funeral, Rondell Gulick called Social Security. Now alone with their nine children, the stay-at-home mom faced what would become a months-long process of claiming the benefits she was counting on to keep her family afloat. Gulick, like many people trying to access benefits, is at the mercy of phone calls. Across the country, Social Security Administration offices have been closed since the start of the pandemic and with nearly 900,000 additional deaths caused by coronavirus, there are thousands of people seeking Social Security survivors benefits, some who know little about the process. The majority of people seeking survivors benefits, by far, are women. In December 2021, the most recent month of data, about 92 percent of those seeking young survivors benefit...

Less Paranoia And Anxiety? – Can Delta-8 THC Provide Some Of The Benefits Of Pot

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Less Paranoia And Anxiety? – Can Delta-8 THC Provide Some Of The Benefits Of Pot

Over the past year, you may have seen something called delta-8 THC or “delta 8” appear in convenience stores and pharmacies alongside CBD gummies, oils and lotions. Delta-8 THC is a hemp-derived compound that’s closely related to delta-9 THC – what’s commonly called THC and is the psychoactive component of cannabis that’s responsible for the high that users feel. Like garden variety marijuana, delta-8 THC can be vaped or eaten. However, it’s rarely smoked. Anecdotally, its fans swear by its benefits – that it helps with relaxation and pain relief without intense highs that can veer into anxiety or paranoia. Yet there’s been a dearth of research on this compound. As public health scholars, we decided to conduct the first survey of delta-8 THC users to find out who was using it, why they ...

An Economist Answers 3 Questions – Who Benefits From A Break On Federal Student Loan Payments?

12Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION, Journalism

An Economist Answers 3 Questions – Who Benefits From A Break On Federal Student Loan Payments?

Although President Joe Biden has extended the pause on federal student loan payments from February 1 to May 1 – a move that includes a suspension of interest on the loans – some advocates want the president to cancel student loan debt altogether. Here, economist William Chittenden illuminates who benefits and who pays when borrowers get a break on paying back their federal student loans. 1. How helpful is this pause to individual borrowers? It depends. 18.1 million borrowers – out of 43.4 million borrowers – were making federal student loan payments prior to the current loan pause. Now, these borrowers will continue to get a break on making payments until May 1, 2022. With an average monthly payment of US$393, the collective direct benefits to these 18.1 million borrowers have been over $...

E-Cigarettes Get FDA Approval: Essential Reads On The Harms And Benefits Of Vaping

18Oct

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

LIFESTYLE

E-Cigarettes Get FDA Approval: Essential Reads On The Harms And Benefits Of Vaping

Matt Williams, The Conversation After being on the U.S. market for around 15 years, an e-cigarette has, for the first time, been authorized for sale by the Food and Drug Administration. The government agency announced on Oct. 12, 2021, that three products from the vaping company Vuse had been given the green light to be marketed, along with one device in which the approved cartridges are placed. Although limited in scope – the authorization only relates to tobacco-flavored e-cigarettes and not the wider range of flavors that critics say are aimed at younger consumers – the move by the FDA is seen as a major development for the vaping industry. Many manufacturers of e-cigarettes are currently in a state of limbo, with their products still awaiting official authorization. The FDA said th...

Thanks To A Long-Overdue ‘Thrifty Food Plan’ Update, SNAP Benefits Are Rising For Millions Of Americans

4Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIETY

Thanks To A Long-Overdue ‘Thrifty Food Plan’ Update, SNAP Benefits Are Rising For Millions Of Americans

Tracy Roof, University of Richmond The U.S. Department of Agriculture adjusts Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program benefits to reflect changes in food prices once a year. The government agency will take two other factors into account when it increases those benefits, which help people buy food, on Oct. 1, 2021. One is an unprecedented update of the Thrifty Food Plan – an estimate of the minimum cost of groceries to meet a family’s needs. That revision is behind the largest-ever permanent increase in benefits and puts a healthier diet within reach for the 42 million Americans enrolled in SNAP, which replaced food stamps. The other change, the expiration of a temporary 15% increase in SNAP benefits to offset some of the economic hardship caused by the coronavirus pandemic, will hav...

A Massive Expansion Of Solar Power, Who Pays And Who Benefits?

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

ENVIRONMENT, VIDEO REELS

A Massive Expansion Of Solar Power, Who Pays And Who Benefits?

Felix Mormann, Texas A&M University Electricity generation produces a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. The electric grid also is highly vulnerable to climate change effects, such as more frequent and severe droughts, hurricanes and other extreme weather events. For both of these reasons, the power sector is central to the Biden administration’s climate policy. President Joe Biden’s proposal to produce 45% of the nation’s electricity from solar energy by 2050 seeks to transform the power sector from problem child into child prodigy. As the details evolve, two cornerstones have emerged. First, Biden has repeatedly called for extending tax credits for solar power and other renewables, at a projected cost of US$200 billion over the next decade. Second...

Bans To Benefits On The Outside, Ex-Prisoners Are Going Hungry Amid Barriers

2Jun

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

CULTURE

Bans To Benefits On The Outside, Ex-Prisoners Are Going Hungry Amid Barriers

Around 600,000 people are released annually from the U.S.‘s sprawling prisons network. Many face considerable barriers as a result of their convictions when it comes to essentials in life, like getting a job or a home. It can even be harder to feed themselves. Formerly incarcerated people are twice as likely to suffer food insecurity as the general population, with 1 in 5 ex-prisoners finding it difficult to obtain regular, nutritious meals. A 2013 survey of recently released prisoners came up with an even more stark finding: More than 90% were food insecure. Of the more than 100 formerly incarcerated people included in that study, 37% reported that they did not eat anything for a whole day at one point in the previous month. Lifelong ban on benefits Compounding the problem is that some ...

A Doctor Explains Why Benefits Far Outweigh Risks – Restart Of The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19, VIDEO REELS

A Doctor Explains Why Benefits Far Outweigh Risks – Restart Of The Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration lifted the pause on the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine on April 23, 2021, but the labels and fact sheets given to patients will carry a warning about the exceedingly low risk of developing blood clots. Also, close monitoring of the J&J vaccine along with the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines that were given emergency use authorization will continue. Dr. William Petri, an infectious-disease physician and immunologist at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, explains this development and why the agencies decided that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh the risks. What was the concern with the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine? The FDA and CDC paused the use of the J&J vaccine on...

Expanding SNAP Benefits On Campus Will Help Stave Off Hunger For 1 In 3 College Students

2Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION, Journalism

Expanding SNAP Benefits On Campus Will Help Stave Off Hunger For 1 In 3 College Students

It’s harder to learn when you are suffering from hunger or searching for your next meal. But while around 30 million K-12 students in public schools are eligible for free or reduced lunch, it is a different matter when they leave. Many of those who graduate from high school and enroll in higher education institutions find they no longer have access to federal food programs. The nation’s leading anti-hunger program for adults, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, provides food assistance to almost 44 million Americans. Only an estimated 18% of college students have been eligible for the program in recent years, with a low 3% actually receiving food assistance. This may be changing. Congress recently passed legislation that included relief for the estimated one in three...

Parents Can Help Kids By Playing With Them – Gaming Has Benefits And Perils

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

GAMING

Parents Can Help Kids By Playing With Them – Gaming Has Benefits And Perils

As the pandemic forced many Americans to hunker down at home, the video game industry saw record spending and profits in 2020. Interacting with other people through gaming became, for some players, essential for social connection. As an education researcher and professor of digital literacy, I study the education benefits and perils of digital gaming. These range from providing opportunities for collaborative problem-solving to displaying content that perpetuates racism and sexism. Connection and collaboration Digital games can provide a forum for a diverse group of people to come together. That’s especially important now, while our physical locations are restricted. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, undergraduates have shared with me the vital importance of digital games for the...