Used cars have become unaffordable

High prices and rising interest rates are putting used cars out of reach for a growing number of car shoppers.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/business/used-cars-unaffordable/index.html

Massive rescue efforts underway as Ian floods Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Federal and state officials on Thursday escalated assistance and rescue efforts as Tropical Storm Ian continued to batter Florida, causing widespread flooding and leaving more than 2 million people without power.

GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday morning said the state launched efforts to rescue possibly thousands of people stranded in their homes by the historic flooding unleashed by the storm. President Joe Biden also declared a major disaster in Florida, which brings with it federal aid to supplement state, local and tribal recovery efforts in areas affected by the storm.

“You’re looking at a storm that’s changed the character of a significant part of our state,” DeSantis said during a briefing Thursday. “And this is going to require not just emergency response now in the days or weeks ahead — this is going to require years of efforts to be able to rebuild and come back.”

The storm, which at one point was a Category 4 hurricane, unleashed winds of 150 mph when it made landfall on Wednesday, causing what DeSantis described as a “500-year flood event.” At least 15,000 people are currently sheltering in place. Before the storm made landfall, more than 2.5 million people were under evacuation orders.

Floodwaters in some of the hardest hit areas surpassed 6 feet; videos on social media depicted water bursting through doors and swelling to the second story of homes. Chunks of bridges crumbled into the water, massive trees fell as a result of the weather carnage, contributing to the power outages across the state. The storm is one of the worst ever to affect the state.

“Lee and Charlotte [counties] are basically off the grid at this point,” DeSantis said Thursday. The storm made landfall near Fort Myers, Fla., which is in Lee County.

While officials had no official tally for fatalities, DeSantis said there were at least two deaths “likely” caused by the storm. The governor said more clarity on deaths is expected in the “next day or so,” while remaining optimistic that rescue efforts can reach those stranded by floodwaters.

“We’re obviously hoping that they can be rescued at this point, and I know the folks there locally, those are the areas they want to spring into action to,” DeSantis said.

There are some 28 Chinook helicopters performing rescue missions in the hardest hit areas. The state also deployed 100 engineers to survey damage to bridges, including the Sanibel Causeway and Pine Island Bascule Bridge, which are not currently passable, DeSantis said,

The governor and Biden spoke Thursday morning about the storm after Biden declared Ian a major disaster, opening up more aid for the state and individual assistance to residents of nine counties.

Biden will send FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell to Florida on Friday to “check in” on the response and gauge where Florida needs more support. “The President and Governor committed to continued close coordination,” White House officials said in a readout of the call.

As of Thursday morning, Ian was moving over the east coast of Florida at about 8 mph, with maximum sustained winds lowered to 65 mph — compared twith Wednesday’s 150 mph winds. Tropical storm-force winds are expected spread across northeastern Florida toward the coasts of Georgia, North and South Carolina through Friday, according to the National Hurricane Center. A hurricane watch is still in effect for these areas. The storm is expected to leave Florida as early as Thursday. It has brought catastrophic flooding across the state as well as powerful winds that have battered homes and businesses.

The federal assistance released by the president could include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low cost loans to cover uninsured property loss and other programs to assist with disaster-recovery.

Criswell said Thursday that “we have some reports on fatalities” in Lee County, including from the local sheriff, and that “they expect the number to go up.” Criswell added she hadn’t heard of many fatalities in other parts of Florida throughout the night, “but I think as soon as daylight comes and the first responders continue to get out there, we’re going to continue to get more information.”

“What I know right now is Lee County was basically ground zero for the impacts that were seen from Hurricane Ian,” Criswell said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And we know that we are going to have catastrophic impacts to that area.”

The FEMA administrator said officials will gather post-storm imagery as soon as it’s safe to fly to further assess the greatest areas of impact and “get boots on the ground in the areas of greatest need.” Search and rescue teams worked throughout the night as individuals called 911 to report they were being trapped by the storm and needed rescue, and those crews will continue to deploy Thursday as officials prepare for the storm’s toll on the eastern coast of Florida, Criswell said.

The White House said in its disaster declaration that damage assessments are continuing in other areas of the state, ”and additional areas may be designated for assistance after the assessments are fully completed.”

Biden’s approval comes a day after DeSantis officially requested the disaster declaration for the entire state. The entire Florida congressional delegation also wrote to Biden in support of DeSantis’ request.

“This historic hurricane will continue to impact the state for some time, and the full extent of damage will not be known for days. However, approving this declaration request will allow Floridians to be better prepared for the recovery phase,” the lawmakers said in a letter, led by Florida Sens. Marco Rubio (R) and Rick Scott (R).

The state activated 5,000 National Guard troops to assist in the recovery efforts. At least 40,000 workers are on standby to help restore power.

Karen Baughman, 81, of Fort Myers, Fla., couldn’t evacuate her home before the hurricane struck and was hunkered down in her home on Wednesday. She said she felt safe and didn’t have any flooding in her neighborhood.

“I’ve been through three hurricanes here and only once did I have to go to a shelter,” she said in an interview. “My home felt safe. It’s always sounded worse — the predictions — than it’s been. And I didn’t really know where I would go.”

Zack Colman and Bruce Ritchie contributed to this report.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/29/biden-ian-disaster-declaration-00059447

Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa expected to play against Bengals: report

Tua Tagovailoa is expected to play in Thursday night’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after the Miami Dolphins’ gritty win on Sunday left the third-year quarterback with back and ankle soreness heading into the short week, according to a report. 

Sources told the NFL Network that Tagovailoa is expected to play on Thursday, a decision head coach Mike McDaniel said he was hoping to announce well before kickoff. 

The initial concern for Tagovailoa was a possible head injury after his head hit the ground in the final two minutes of the half after a hard shove from Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano. 

NFL SAYS THERE IS ‘EVERY INDICATION’ DOLPHINS FOLLOWED CONCUSSION PROTOCOL WITH TUA TAGOVAILOA

But McDaniel said Monday that Tagovailoa was cleared from concussion protocol and able to return, despite suffering from back soreness. He also mentioned that Tagovailoa was suffering from ankle soreness the following day.

“Everyone was so worried about trying to talk to him through the lens of, ‘Hey, is there something wrong with your head’ and he was (like), ‘No, I’m fine.’ And he was dealing with his back. He knew that he was losing his balance a little bit when he was getting up, but it was a completely different source of issue from what everyone else was really looking at from that prism.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Tagovailoa said after the game that he felt like he “hyperextended” his back on a previous play and then while hitting the ground on the next play caused his back to “lock up,” leading him to stumble on the field. 

The NFL also announced Wednesday that the early stages of the NFLPA probe suggests “every indication” that Miami properly followed the league’s concussion protocol in dealing with Tagovailoa’s injury. 

According to reports, wide receiver Jaylen Waddle is also expected to return for Thursday night’s game after dealing with a groin injury.

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/dolphins-tua-tagovailoa-expected-play-against-bengals-report

Husband of Marjorie Taylor Greene, controversial Georgia Republican, files for divorce

Perry Greene filed for divorce Wednesday on grounds his 27-year marriage to Marjorie Taylor Greene is “irretrievably broken.”

     

http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~/713636336/0/usatoday-newstopstories~Husband-of-Marjorie-Taylor-Greene-controversial-Georgia-Republican-files-for-divorce/

Brittney Griner’s former coach faces criticism over refusal to comment on her detainment in Russia

Kim Mulkey, who coached Brittney Griner for four years at Baylor University, is facing criticism over her refusal to comment on her former player’s detainment in Russia at a media conference earlier this week.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/29/sport/brittney-griner-kim-mulkey-russia-detainment-spt-intl/index.html

“Prices Must Come Down”: Germany Redeploys COVID Cash To Fight Inflation

“Prices Must Come Down”: Germany Redeploys COVID Cash To Fight Inflation

In the strange ‘upside down’ world of politicians, Germany is joining an array of other nations that have decided the way to ease the pain of (government intervention-enabled) inflation on their citizens is by throwing more money at it.

In order to limit the impact of soaring energy costs – and avoid the social unrest that is now becoming discussed more loudly in the bureaucratic corridors of power in Brussels – Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s administration is preparing to redeploy funds from its COVID preparedness piggybank (which will be added to in order to reach the €200 billion ($194 billion)  sum that the government believes is necessary) to put a lid of soaring gas prices.

“Prices must go down,” Scholz said at a press conference in Berlin.

“To reach this goal, we are opening a big umbrella.”

Lowering prices by decree?

This, of course, will do nothing to reduce consumption as winter is coming and shortages loom.

In fact, as OilPrice.com’s Irina Slav reports, Germany’s gas consumption rose too much last week to levels higher than in previous years, and without considerable gas conservation – including from households – Europe’s biggest economy will find it difficult to avoid gas shortages this winter, Germany’s Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, said on Thursday.

Starting from today, the agency—the regulator to impose rationing in case of severe shortages—will publish weekly figures about gas consumption in Germany. Last week’s consumption from businesses and households at 483 GWh/week was well above the average seen throughout the 2018 to 2021 period when it was 422 GWh/week. Last week, German gas consumption rose by 14.5 percent compared to the average of the previous years, mostly because that week was colder than comparable weeks in the past four years.

However, the savings needed to avoid gas shortages should be achieved regardless of temperatures, the German regulator said today.

“Without significant savings, also in the private sector, it will be difficult to avoid a gas shortage in the winter,” the agency’s president Klaus Müller said.

The past week’s gas consumption numbers are very sobering, he added.

Germany’s gas storage sites are over 91% full, but the country will survive the winter without rationing and shortages only under three conditions, Müller said.

  • First, bringing the projects for LNG imports online,

  • Second, gas supply in Germany’s neighbors remaining stable, and

  • Third, Germany conserving gas even when it gets colder as winter approaches, he added. 

If the coming winter is colder than usual, Germany could see severe nationwide gas shortages, which it will not be able to predict more than two weeks in advance, Müller said earlier this month.

“I can’t give an exact forecast of where the risk of a shortage is the greatest,” Müller told German business daily Handelsblatt in mid-September.

If we get a very cold winter, we have a problem.

While little to no details of exactly how this will be achieved have been released, we can’t help but see the ugly reflections of UK’s Truss plan to cap energy bills with an unlimited exposure to the UK balance sheet.

Weimar here we come again?

The irony of all of this is that it comes as German inflation reached double digits for the first time since the euro was introduced more than 20 years ago, surging more than anticipated after temporary government-relief measures ended and Europe’s energy crisis worsened.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 09/29/2022 – 10:35

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/prices-must-come-down-germany-redeploys-covid-cash-fight-inflation

They fell in love in Mexico in 1981. Four months later she was diagnosed with cancer

Annie MacDonald was waiting in a long line at a small bank in the coastal city of Zihuatanejo, Mexico when she first laid eyes on Steven Berger.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/chance-encounters-mexico-cancer/index.html

Why is the Senate race between J.D. Vance and Tim Ryan in red state Ohio so close?

You might think that J.D. Vance, the GOP venture capitalist and author Trump endorsed in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio, would be well ahead of Rep. Tim Ryan, his Democratic opponent. But polls show the race is tight.

https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2022-09-29/ohio-senate-vance-ryan-polls

Germany presents new €200 billion relief plan in response to soaring energy prices

Germany’s ruling coalition has come up with a plan to reduce the impact of spiraling energy costs on consumers. The measures include a cap on gas prices, which have soared amid fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

https://www.dw.com/en/germany-presents-new-%E2%82%AC200-billion-relief-plan-in-response-to-soaring-energy-prices/a-63279609?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

Anxiety screenings recommended by US task force will cause overdiagnosis, overprescription, psychologist warns

Pushing primary care doctors to screen all patients for anxiety will lead to overdiagnosis and overprescribing, as well as exacerbate existing shortages in mental health resources, a psychologist said. 

“It’s the wrong solution at the wrong time,” Dr. Jonathan Shedler, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, told Fox News. “You can’t just carve the world into disorders and think you’re doing an adequate job of determining someone’s mental health needs.”

Earlier this month, the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended that all adults under 65 get screened for anxiety as more Americans report symptoms of mental health issues following the COVID-19 pandemic. The advisory group, which released the guidance as a draft, said the purpose was to help prevent mental health disorders from going undetected and untreated.

“It’s simply terrible care to give somebody a seven-question questionnaire in the office and write a prescription on that basis without addressing the bigger picture,” Shedler, who has authored over 100 scholarly and scientific papers in psychology, said. 

US LIFE EXPECTANCY FELL AGAIN IN 2021, LARGELY DUE TO COVID-19

More than 30% of adults reported symptoms of an anxiety or depressive disorder this summer, the National Center for Health Statistics estimates. The share of adults who received mental health treatment increased to nearly 23% in 2021, up from 19% in 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Shedler worries that mass screening will lead to misdiagnosis, causing doctors to prescribe anxiety medications to patients who may not need them.

“Primary care is not the place to get mental health care,” Shedler said. “The physicians don’t have the time. They don’t have the resources. They don’t have the training.”

The psychologist pointed to a similar recommendation made by the panel in 2002 to standardize depression screenings, which was followed by a rise in people diagnosed with and prescribed anti-depressants. In 1996, roughly five million people were on anti-depressants. That number steadily rose to 13 million in 2015, according to a study by Frontiers in Psychiatry.

FLORIDA PARENTS SOUND ALARM ON MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS AFTER TEEN DAUGHTER COMMITS SUICIDE

A member of the federal task force, American Psychological Association CEO Arthur C. Evans, told The Wall Street Journal that the group’s recommendation “is a really important step forward” in the country’s ongoing battle with mental health. “Screening for mental health conditions is critical to our ability to help people at the earliest possible moment,” he said.

Shedler, who has done extensive research on these types of standardized screening tests, said they are ineffective at identifying mental health disorders

“Psychiatric difficulties don’t exist in a vacuum,” the psychologist told Fox News. “I think for vast numbers of people, the world is feeling increasingly unsafe and unpredictable.” 

“There’s a difference between anxiety and fear,” he added. “On the screening questionnaires, there’s no distinction.”

Shedler said he’s concerned that simplified screenings will yield false positives. 

“This kind of screening is going to diagnose huge numbers of people with a disorder and a good number of them are going to end up on a lifelong path of one medication and one treatment after another,” the doctor said. “When, in fact, they’re responding to realistic circumstances in the world.”

“There’s a lot of things going on in society, in culture, financially, politically, that leave people feeling extremely vulnerable,” Shedler told Fox News. He said fear often stems from these external dangers, while anxiety “is a response to internally arising dangers, psychological dangers.”

“If it’s not anxiety, but fear of something out there, psychological treatment isn’t going to be the answer,” he said.

EFFORTS TO PREVENT MILITARY SUICIDE PLAGUED BY INCOMPLETE DATA AND CONTINUED STIGMA, EXPERT SAYS

Additionally, as mental health issues increase, doctors have raised concerns over a shortage of resources for those seeking help. 

“We have a chronic shortage of psychiatrists, and it’s going to keep growing,” Saul Levin, MD, CEO and medical director of the American Psychiatric Association said during a May briefing. “People can’t get care. It affects their lives, their ability to work, to socialize, or even to get out of bed.” 

By 2024, the U.S. will be short between 14,280 and 31,109 psychiatrists, and psychologists, social workers, and others will be overextended as well, according to a study published in Psychiatry Online.

Shedler said the lack of proper mental health care will only be made worse if the federal task force’s recommendation is finalized, as the number of patients seeking treatment will increase without proportionately adding mental health professionals. 

He also highlighted that health insurers frequently don’t cover mental health treatment. When they do, it’s often only low-quality care that is covered, creating another barrier for those seeking treatment, according to Shedler.

“A competent, skilled mental health professional has the expertise to tease apart what’s a psychological difficulty that we can deal with in psychotherapy, where is medication a reasonable part of a comprehensive treatment and when isn’t it,” he told Fox News.

“That’s what we’re in the business of doing. It’s not what a primary care physician can do with a seven-question questionnaire,” Shedler said. 

The proposed draft guidance is open to public comment through Oct. 17. 

https://www.foxnews.com/health/anxiety-screenings-recommended-us-task-force-cause-overdiagnosis-overprescription-psychologist-warns