Older americans act

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 NEW YORK (AP) — Playwright and actor Tracy Letts was inspired to write his latest Tony Award-nominated play while watching one of those old black-and-white Frankenstein movies. It wasn't the hideous monster or its wide-eyed creator that drew his attention. It was the single-mindedness of the town's angry villagers. “The villagers always appear with their pitchforks and torches and they’re completely unified. That really struck me,” he said. "I thought, 'There must have been a meeting before this among the villagers where one of the villagers voiced dissent and said, ‘No, we should not go after the monster. I think this is the wrong idea for us to form a vigilante mob and kill the monster.’” That initial creative impulse eventually resulted in “The Minutes,” a powerful play that uses a city council meeting to expose delusions at the dark heart of American history. The Frankenstein … [Read more...] about Tracy Letts on writing his play and then having to act in it

Under current rules, Brits get free NHS prescriptions when they turn 60. But this could change under new proposals currently being weighed up by Health Secretary Sajid Javid . One of the government's suggestions would see free prescriptions being scrapped for those aged 60 to 66 in England - affecting more than three million older Brits. According to the government's own analysis, this would disproportionately affect women , minorities, and those on lower incomes the most. NHS prescriptions charges currently stand at £9.35, with the price frozen for the next year in the wake of the cost of living crisis. A public consultation on the scrapping of free prescriptions for those aged 60 to 65 was held in September 2021, but the publication of its findings has been delayed by months. A petition against the change, which gained 40,000 signatures in January, received a government response, stating: "The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care is considering the … [Read more...] about NHS free prescriptions: Age rise would see millions of older Brits miss out

The massacre in El Paso, Texas, has, for the moment, reminded Americans of the danger posed by far-right terrorists. Former national-security officials have demanded that the U.S. government “make addressing this form of terrorism as high a priority as countering international terrorism has become since 9/11.” Retired Marine General John Allen and the former senior U.S. diplomat Brett McGurk have argued that far-right extremism poses “an equal threat” as jihadist groups such as ISIS. This is incorrect. White nationalism is a far greater threat to American democracy than jihadism, and always has been. But there are actually two challenges posed by white nationalism: One is the threat posed to American communities by attacks like the one in El Paso, which law enforcement can and should prevent. The other is the threat the ideology the attackers support poses to American democracy, which can be defeated only through politics, and only by the American people themselves. “There’s an … [Read more...] about Only the Right Can Defeat White Nationalism

Some 2,000 Black people were killed from 1865 to 1876, during the Reconstruction era, the result of a widespread effort to use white supremacist terror to maintain economic, political and social control over newly emancipated Black people, according to the Equal Justice Initiative . This reign of terror worked to stamp out any semblance of Black progress after slavery, working hand in hand with oppressive Jim Crow laws that enforced legal segregation throughout the country for decades. A white man is accused of continuing this legacy of white supremacist terror on Saturday when he allegedly traveled to a supermarket in a Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York, and killed 10 people , most of them Black. Experts say his act was not episodic or unprecedented, but is part of America’s violent history of using racial terror to intimidate and exert power over Black people. In the days since the shooting, conversations about hate crimes and gun control have consumed the nation. … [Read more...] about The Buffalo shooting was centuries in the making, experts say

The U.S. has now reached the once unthinkable toll of 1 million deaths from COVID-19 . How could this happen in the wealthiest country in the world? In a word, because of poverty—and the policy choices that perpetuate it. Our task now is to make different choices. Americans across the country have suffered during this pandemic. But new research by the Poor People's Campaign strongly suggests the poor and low-income have suffered the most. Even controlling for vaccination rates, they found that COVID-19 death rates in poorer U.S. counties were nearly double those in wealthier counties. During the deadliest phases of the pandemic, it rose to five times as many. White Americans still make up the largest share of America's poor and those who've died from COVID-19. But Black, Hispanic and Indigenous Americans are significantly overrepresented in America's poorest counties, and COVID-19 casualty rates run significantly higher for many communities of color. Poor Americans are … [Read more...] about One million COVID-19 deaths is a searing indictment of inequality in America | Opinion

Over the last 25 years, polarization, extremism, and support for political violence have drastically increased in the U.S., while trust in government and democratic institutions has eroded. These troubling trends led to President Trump's 2016 election and the deadly January 6 insurrection. And today, far-right forces are campaigning on the Big Lie, with at least 57 insurrectionists running for office across the country as of January 2022. The threat to our democracy is real, and the stakes couldn't be higher. We're at a turning point. We can sit back and watch our politics become more and more toxic, or we can elect moderate, pragmatic leaders willing to defend our democracy. It's clear which path we should take. As extremes of the political spectrum get louder and move farther apart, the key to protecting our republic rests in the center. That is who we in the New Democrat Coalition are, and what we represent. New Dems have defended democracy and governed for the majority of … [Read more...] about Meet the New Dems—the moderate members defending our democracy | Opinion

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 ALISO VIEJO, Calif. (AP) — He was known by all as simply Dr. John, the quiet, calm physician who mentored kids in Kung Fu, finding time between patient appointments to encourage people to learn self-defense. So it was no surprise to friends and colleagues that John Cheng spent his final moments saving others by rushing a gunman who opened fire on a Southern California church of mostly older Taiwanese people, including Cheng’s recently widowed mother. The 52-year-old father of two was known for doing all he could to protect people. He was concerned enough about the growing number of mass shootings that he had taken safety courses to prepare himself for a situation like the one that cost him his life Sunday. “It was characteristic of Dr. Cheng to charge forward at that gunman,” said Erica Triplett, Cheng’s office manager. “It does not surprise any of us. … [Read more...] about Doctor who fought gunman remembered as epitome of kindness

A recent report reveals that a lobbying group funded by Facebook has been planting stories in newspapers across the United States in an effort to manipulate the media and fight big tech regulation. A report from the Washington Post reveals that a political advocacy group called American Edge was secretly funded by Facebook (now known as Meta) and has been manipulating news narratives by placing stories in newspapers across the United States. American Edge aimed to oppose Senate-backed antitrust legislation that attempted to reign in the Big Tech Masters of the Universe. Mark Zuckerberg surrounded by guards ( Chip Somodevilla /Getty) American Edge commissioned studies, placed op-eds in newspapers, and worked with minority business associations, former national security officials, and conservative groups to push back against the bill. In sponsored ads, American Edge focused on people’s fear of cybersecurity attacks from Russia and China, echoing arguments made by … [Read more...] about Report: Facebook Fought Against Regulation by Manipulating the News

BRUSSELS — The world economy is heading into a potentially grim period as rising costs, shortages of food and other commodities and Russia’s continuing invasion of Ukraine threaten to slow economic growth and bring about a painful global slump. Two years after the coronavirus pandemic emerged and left much of the globe in a state of paralysis, policymakers are grappling with ongoing challenges, including clogged supply chains , lockdowns in China and the prospect of an energy crisis as nations wean themselves off Russian oil and gas . Those colliding forces have some economists starting to worry about a global recession as different corners of the world find their economies battered by events. Finding ways to avoid a slowdown while continuing to exert pressure on Russia for its war in Ukraine will be the primary focus of finance ministers from the Group of 7 nations who are convening in Bonn, Germany, this week. At a news conference on Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Janet L. … [Read more...] about Economic Headwinds Mount as Leaders Weigh Costs of Confronting Russia

A former gang member from Berkeley, California , has reportedly been arrested over hate crimes after posting threatening messages about Asians online. The Oakland Police Department said a Berkeley man was taken into custody after "social media partners" alerted them to "disturbing messages" directed at Asian communities online. Reginald Jackson, who police flagged as a gang member in previous investigations, shared a series of now-deleted and private posts on Twitter and Instagram that included references to beating up, robbing and blowing up Asians, according to ABC 7. Police records show that Jackson has a lengthy list of past felonies, including attempted robbery and weapons charges, including possession of an AR-15 assault rifle. Jackson was booked into the Santa Rita Jail on Monday and is being held without bail until his next court hearing on March 23, the records show. It comes as the Asian American community in the Bay Area and across the wider U.S. have … [Read more...] about Ex-gang member threatens to kill Asians on social media, arrested by police