Search
Menu
Home Blog Page 432

Travel trends turn vacations into the ultimate relationship test

US-NEA
-
0
Travel trends turn vacations into the ultimate relationship test

play

  • There is a growing trend for travelers to use travel to test the compatibility of their relationships.
  • According to a Booking.com survey, 37% of U.S. travelers are open to this “turbulence test.”
  • Traveling reveals how your partner deals with stress, solves problems, and keeps pace with you.

Dan Lidwin loved a good adventure, and whoever he married would have felt the same way. So in 2021, after a few months of dating, he put their burgeoning relationship to the test.

A well-travelled man, Lidwin has visited more than 80 countries in search of active experiences such as scuba diving and hiking. While on a trip to Ecuador with friends, the publicist went on a solo side quest, renting a car and going on a bird safari in the middle of the Colombian jungle.

Naturally, Lidwin knew he needed someone to keep up with when it came to love. That’s where I met Sydney.

The two met while volunteering for the same service organization and began dating in March 2021. Her love of travel caught his attention, and she herself was a daredevil, having visited around 30 countries. She went on trips like running marathons and hiking from one end of the Grand Canyon to the other in one day.

“I knew she had a passion for adventure,” Lidwin said.

During the first few months of their relationship, the couple made plans to visit Yosemite National Park. TWe wanted to see how they travel together, from their paces to overcoming travel troubles. “You really learn a lot about a person when you’re in a pressure cooker, when you’re in a difficult situation, or when you have to think quickly or change direction,” the Georgia-based resident told USA TODAY.

He’s not alone in this sentiment: Booking.com’s 2026 travel forecast shows that 37% of U.S. travelers are willing to experiment with romantic, platonic, or professional relationships through travel.

Whether it’s watching how they deal with the chaos of a stressful plane ride or navigating a new city together, traveling can make or break relationships.

“The ultimate human relationship check”

Travel can be a powerful pathway to growth by pushing people to their limits, revealing how they cope with stressors, and broadening their horizons. When you introduce a companion, it becomes a real compatibility test.

“In 2026, we expect travelers to lean into what we call the Turbulence Test, which uses travel as the ultimate relationship check to see how well you’re in sync with the people in your life,” said Ben Harrell, Booking.com’s managing director in the US. “Let’s be honest, traveling is no longer just about where you go. It’s also about discovering who you are and who is actually worth going with, because nothing tests compatibility and communication more than traveling together.”

Lidwin has a similar philosophy. Some of his dream destinations are Peru and Bolivia, but he knows he can’t travel there with everyone. “I know what it’s going to be like there, the long bus rides, the insects and the nature of that stretch. I have a lot of people I don’t want to go with, but my wife will go,” he said.

He said he knew shortly after their first trip together that Sydney embodied many of the qualities he was looking for in a partner, but it quickly clicked. It started with a missed flight change and connection, and continued with a minor rental car accident that forced me to return to San Francisco that night.

Nature can make you feel small. You should seek that feeling when you travel.

Even though we were both exhausted, she quickly came up with a solution and remained calm. (He also notices that she packs less and is a better hiker than he is, and loves to show it off.)

“She showed me that our ideas about good times, our ideas about great trips, and our ideas about how much we want to cram into a long weekend are actually really, really similar,” he added. From there, the rest is history, and the two recently welcomed their first child together.

Teammate or not?

Romantic bonds aren’t the only relationships that can benefit from traveling together. Some travelers have used their trips to see if they can take their relationships to the next level, from work colleagues to friends. That’s what travel influencer and writer La Carmina did in 2015 with her photographer friend Joey Wong.

She met Wong through a mutual friend and liked his work, so she took him on a trip to Iceland as a photographer. Not only did they work well together, they quickly realized they had a lot in common, from their travel styles to shared interests like trying local cuisine.

“There are so many important things on a trip that you only think about when you’re always together, like how they spend their money, what experiences they prioritize, their quirks and habits,” she told USA TODAY. To this day, La Carmina and Wong remain close friends and have traveled together numerous times for both work and leisure.

Somatic coach and writer Vera Graham also tested a working relationship with a friend in 2022. At the time, Graham hosted wellness events for women under her Muse by Midnight brand and was considering hiring a friend to work as a cinematographer to film the retreats.

They went on a scouting trip to Italy’s Lake Como and Cinque Terre to see “how we’ve been working professionally, creatively and energetically before committing to a larger collaboration,” she told USA TODAY. They encountered some challenges during their trip, including accommodation issues and inclement weather that canceled the sunset boat ride, but they smoothly overcame them.

By the end of the trip, the two found themselves growing closer as friends and creative collaborators, and worked together for several years.

“The future of a relationship, whether it’s romantic, platonic, or professional, can usually be determined based on observations from when you travel together,” Graham says. “You can quickly tell whether you feel safe with someone, whether you can trust them, whether you can rely on them, and whether you truly enjoy being with them.”

(This story has been updated to correct a typo.)

$905 billion bet on the future of agents

US-NEA
-
0
5 billion bet on the future of agents

Walmart’s December 9 move to the Nasdaq was more than just a symbolic gesture. The US$905 billion retailer is making its boldest claim yet. The company is no longer a traditional discount chain, but a technology company that uses AI to fundamentally reshape retail operations.

But beyond the parade of marketing spin and AI announcements, what is truly changing at the world’s largest retailer, and where is the gap between ambition and execution?

Axis of Agentic AI: Built purpose-built, not off-the-shelf

Walmart’s AI strategy is very different from its competitors, which chase general-purpose, large-scale language models. CTO Hari Vasudev said the company is deploying what it calls “dedicated agent AI,” meaning specialized tools trained on Walmart’s own retail data rather than a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Walmart’s approach to agent AI is surgical,” Vasudev wrote in a May 2025 blog post. “Early and extensive testing has proven to us that agents work best when deployed for very specific tasks, producing outputs and stitching them together to orchestrate and solve complex workflows.”

The company says this will lead to concrete applications. Walmart’s “Trend-to-Product” system cuts fashion production schedules by 18 weeks. GenAI Customer Support Assistant now routes and resolves issues autonomously without human intervention.

Developer productivity tools handle test generation and error resolution in your CI/CD pipeline. Meanwhile, the company’s retail-only LLM, Wallaby, is trained on decades of Walmart transaction data to power everything from comparing products to completing personalized shopping journeys.

What infrastructure supports this? Element is Walmart’s proprietary MLOps platform designed to avoid vendor lock-in and optimize GPU usage across multiple cloud providers. It’s an internal “factory” that gives Walmart speed and flexibility that competitors struggling with third-party platforms can’t match.

Real numbers: When AI has measurable impact

Walmart is unusually transparent about certain ROI metrics, offering a glimpse into the company’s AI economics.

Data manipulation: According to CEO Doug McMillon’s August 2024 earnings call, GenAI has improved over 850 million product catalog data points. This required 100 times more people than using manual processes.

Supply chain efficiency: AI-powered route optimization reduced 30 million unnecessary delivery miles and avoided 94 million pounds (42,000 tons) of CO2 emissions. The company won the prestigious Franz Edelman Prize in 2023 for this technology and has since commercialized it as a SaaS product for other companies.

Store management: Digital twin technology predicts chiller failures up to two weeks in advance and automatically generates work orders with visual models, wiring diagrams, and required parts. Sam’s Club’s AI-powered exit technology has reduced member checkout times by 21%, and more than 64% of members now use the friction-free system at all locations.

Customer experience: The dynamic delivery algorithm analyzes traffic patterns, weather conditions, and order complexity to predict delivery times to the minute, enabling expedited deliveries in 17 minutes in the markets the company tested.

Human cost: “AI will change every job”

McMillon did not clearly explain the impact on the workforce. “It’s clear that AI is going to change literally every job,” he said, speaking at the Workforce Conference in Bentonville in September 2025. “There may be jobs in the world that won’t change because of AI, but I’ve never thought about that.”

But Walmart sees this as a transformation, not an exclusion. McMillon expects total headcount to remain flat even as sales increase. In other words, jobs will not disappear, but will change. White-collar roles will be among the earliest to be disrupted by chatbots handling customer service and supply chain tracking, while store and warehouse workers will eventually see their tasks absorbed by autonomous systems.

The company is investing heavily in reskilling programs. “We have to create an opportunity for everyone to get to the other side,” McMillon said at a news conference in Bentonville. “It used to be 85% physical, but now it’s 85% mental,” said Chance, an automation equipment operator at a Walmart distribution center in Palestine, Texas. “I’m solving problems with my mind, not just my body.”

Nasdaq Strategy: Repositioning High-Tech Ratings

Walmart’s exchange move was clearly framed around AI transformation. CFO John David Rainey said the move reflects the company is “setting a new standard in omnichannel retail by integrating automation and AI.”

Subtext? Walmart wants the valuation multiples that tech companies demand. With a P/E ratio of 40.3x, higher than Amazon and Microsoft, the market partially supports the transformation story. A potential inclusion in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index would encourage passive fund investing regardless of AI implementation.

Analysts are divided on whether the premium is justified. Jefferies’ Corey Tarlow argued that the move shows Walmart is “a technology company, not a traditional retailer.” But skeptics point out that despite commercializing tools like route optimization, the company still makes money from razor-thin retail margins rather than higher-margin software and cloud services.

Verdict: Real Transformation with Execution Risk

Walmart’s AI strategy is neither just hype nor guaranteed success. The company has made structural investments in its own infrastructure, deploying AI at full scale with published operational benefits, and recognizes the impact on employees that most companies avoid.

However, significant execution risks remain, including managing a fragmented agent ecosystem, preventing large-scale algorithmic bias, competing with external shopping agents, and determining appropriate automation boundaries while maintaining accuracy.

The company’s candor about its challenges – “often the most effective approach is a co-pilot model, where humans and AI work as a team” – suggests that leaders understand that AI is not a silver bullet.

The lesson for companies looking at Walmart’s strategy is to build on specificity, not generality. Even if you invest in your own data moat, plan to transform your workforce as well as reduce costs, and have vast resources and technical talent, recognize that agent AI is still a nascent technology with real limitations.

The question isn’t whether Walmart uses AI. It’s obvious that it’s actually used. The question is whether this surgical, infrastructure-focused approach provides a sustainable competitive advantage, or whether the company is automating itself into the same low-margin trap with better tools.

The answer won’t be clear for several years, but Walmart’s willingness to bet its $905 billion market capitalization on this transformation suggests that management believes in the former.

SEE ALSO: Walmart and Amazon power retail transformation with AI

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out the AI ​​& Big Data Expo in Amsterdam, California, and London. This comprehensive event is part of TechEx and co-located with other major technology events. Click here for more information.

AI News is brought to you by TechForge Media. Learn about other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars.

Grocery store pricing is a struggle for more than two-thirds of shoppers

US-NEA
-
0
Grocery store pricing is a struggle for more than two-thirds of shoppers

play

More than two-thirds of shoppers surveyed recently said they struggle with grocery costs.

In the Swiftly survey, 68% of shoppers said they were struggling to pay their grocery bills due to overall inflation and rising food costs.

“Affordability is a big challenge,” Swiftly co-founder and chief technology officer Sean Turner told USA TODAY. “Shoppers are suffering from inflation. To get the same amount of food and calories, they actually have to spend more money…to get the same basket.”

Additionally, nearly 80% said they trust local brick-and-mortar grocery stores to offer fair, personalized deals and offers over national retail giants like Amazon and Walmart.

Grocery shoppers are going way over budget

Turner said the percentage of shoppers who say they struggle to buy groceries has remained relatively high and stable over the past four years that Swiftly has been asking shoppers. Last year, 70% of respondents said they were having trouble paying for groceries.

Turner said consumers typically tend to save money or spend less at the grocery store by purchasing cheaper items to lower their overall costs. But consumer spending in raw dollars has remained relatively flat, or even increased with inflation as consumers “look for ways to get more value for the same dollar through coupons, loyalty programs, discounts, etc.,” he said. More than 45% of shoppers said they spend between $100 and $500 on groceries each week.

Shoppers said they are looking for more ways to stretch their grocery budget, with 55.71% saying they shop based on discounts and promotions. According to the survey, nearly 7 out of 10 people, or 69.31%, said they relied on point cards and their discounts, and 70.85% said they relied on coupons.

Approximately 38% of shoppers are willing to try a new brand if it offers a promotion or discount. Just over a third, or 33.23%, said they would be more likely to switch to a generic or private label brand if their preferred brand was too expensive.

Shoppers are cutting back on other budget areas

According to the survey, shoppers said they had to cut spending in other areas of their budget to buy groceries, with 75.22% of respondents saying they would cut back.

67.75% of respondents said they have reduced their spending on entertainment such as movies, concerts and shows, followed by 45.92% who have postponed or canceled travel plans, 45.23% who have bought new clothes less often, and 40.31% who have eaten out or had fewer drinks. Almost a quarter (22.62%) said they had cut back on personal services such as subscriptions, streaming, and salon or gym memberships.

Consumer behavior: More and more shoppers are admitting to stealing from self-checkouts. What do they take?

Local grocery stores give more confidence to shoppers

Turner said Swiftly did not ask survey respondents why they trusted local grocery stores to offer fair and personalized deals more than national retailers. But Turner said it could be a general distrust of large institutions, or a reaction to large retailers adopting AI-based pricing strategies.

David Cutler, vice president of media relations and public affairs for the National Grocers Association, which represents local independent grocers, said local grocers are also members of the community.

“Shoppers trust independent grocers because they have deep roots in their communities and are accountable to the neighborhoods they serve every day, not their stockholders,” Cutler told USA TODAY in response to questions. “These are family-run businesses where relationships, service and fairness are important, especially as families work hard to stretch their grocery budgets as much as possible.”

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her at @blinfisher on X, Facebook and Instagram and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky.. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, breaking down complex consumer and financial news. Subscribe here.

Rob Reiner, Bondi Beach shooting, Brown shooting, ICE, Patrick Mahomes: Daily Briefing

US-NEA
-
0
Rob Reiner, Bondi Beach shooting, Brown shooting, ICE, Patrick Mahomes: Daily Briefing

morning! Welcome to the daily briefing. This morning’s breaking news is:

nicole farato Here’s the news you need to know on Monday. We discuss the sudden death of a Hollywood legend and the investigation by authorities behind the deadly Brown University shooting. Next, we meet the ICE agent’s family.

Rob Reiner, 78, was found dead next to his wife Michelle Singer.

Rob Reiner, the celebrated actor, director and producer who shaped American television and film for decades, has died at the age of 78, according to Variety and TMZ. His death, along with that of his wife Michelle Singer, 68, is being investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department after the couple was found in their Brentwood home.

At a press conference Sunday night, the Los Angeles Police Department said the Robbery-Homicide Unit plans to release more information Monday morning. Follow this developing story live on USA TODAY.

coffee break

  • Filmed at Bondi Beach: At least 16 people were killed in a shooting at a Jewish Hanukkah party on the beach in Australia. NSW Police said in a press conference that a father and son duo were taken into custody, one of whom later died. At least 42 people, including one child, were hospitalized.
  • Most states have cut their pollution control budgets, according to a new report. This could mean fewer inspectors at nearby power plants to protect the air you breathe, longer response times to chemical spills, weaker enforcement of drinking water permits in your city, and a patchwork of protections where some people live under strong environmental protections while others are left vulnerable.
  • Exclusive: Is America ready for a female president? “I always thought a woman would be president of the United States, long before a woman became speaker of the House,” Pelosi told USA TODAY in an exclusive interview after announcing her retirement after nearly 40 years in Congress.

Let’s take a look

Brown University shooting incident

Authorities announced late Sunday that they would release a high-ranking official detained after the Brown University shooting that left two people dead and nine injured. USA TODAY continues to follow the ongoing investigation.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, hundreds of people gathered in a newly snowy Providence Park to share a ray of solidarity in the wake of the Brown University shooting. For some students, the reaction to a mass shooting on campus was all too familiar.

I want to talk to you about something.

Exclusive article: A father and his three children work for ICE

In November, USA TODAY went behind the scenes of the Trump administration’s deportation campaign. We spent three days with ICE in Kansas City, part of the Chicago field office responsible for immigration enforcement in six states across the vast Midwest.

We spoke to John and his family, who asked that their full names not be used for fear that their work would be targeted. They agreed to speak with USA TODAY with permission from their supervisors to counter misconceptions about their work as ICE agents. John and his family have long considered themselves public servants charged with enforcing the laws Congress has enacted. But this view is increasingly at odds with shocking headlines and viral videos of detentions that many Americans consider to be unjust or excessively violent.

before going

Have feedback about the daily briefing? Email Nicole at NFallert@usatoday.com.

Victims of Brown University shooting mourn after mass shooting

US-NEA
-
0
Victims of Brown University shooting mourn after mass shooting

play

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — With temperatures hovering near freezing, hundreds of people gathered on freshly fallen snow at Lippitt Park in Providence late Sunday, Dec. 14, to remember the victims of the Brown University shooting.

The shooting at the Ivy League school, which occurred during students’ exams before winter break, shocked the nearby community and the university, one of the oldest in the United States. The school canceled exams and classes for the rest of the year, and the campus was quiet on Dec. 14 as light snow blanketed the city.

“We gather this evening in stunned sadness and shock,” Rabbi Sarah Mack of Temple Beth El said, as reported by the USA TODAY Network’s Providence Journal. “We can use our light to shine even more light, so we can get through this dark moment.”

The shooting is the latest of about 400 in the U.S. this year that left at least two students dead and nine injured, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Authorities and school officials have not released the names of the victims who died in the shooting. Providence Mayor Brett Smiley said authorities had not yet contacted all family members as of noon Sunday, Dec. 14, because some were traveling.

Here’s what we know so far about the shooting victim.

Ella Cook

One of the students killed in the shooting was Ella Cook, a parishioner at Advent Cathedral Church in Birmingham, Alabama, the church announced during a service on Sunday, Dec. 14.

“Many of you have heard about this tragedy…and sadly, tragically, one of them is one of our parishioners,” Pastor Craig Smalley said in livestreamed remarks.

Mr Smalley described Mr Cook as a “bright light”, engaged in the church and wider community and “incredibly down to earth, generous and loyal”.

Brown University shooting incident: After the deadly attack, the person of interest is released.

Kendall Turner

Kendall Turner, 19, a freshman at Brown University from North Carolina, was injured in the shooting, the News & Observer and WTVD reported.

Turner’s family said Brown was in serious but stable condition, according to WTVD. She is a 2025 graduate of Durham Academy.

“Her parents are with her and we wish her continued strength and recovery,” Durham Academy director Michael Urck-Steiner told the TV station. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Kendall, her family, and everyone in the Brown University community during this incredibly difficult time.”

Contributed by: Reuters

H-1B visa applicants must undergo social media screening. what it means

US-NEA
-
0
H-1B visa applicants must undergo social media screening. what it means

play

As part of a new State Department policy that went into effect Dec. 15, certain visa applicants will have their online presence screened.

The policy expands the previous online screening requirements, which applied to international students and exchange visitors, to include all H-1B applicants and their dependents seeking temporary admission to the United States for professional employment.

The State Department announced the new policy in early December, saying applicants “are directed to adjust the privacy settings on all social media profiles to ‘public’ to facilitate review.”

“The Trump Administration is focused on protecting our nation and its people by upholding the highest standards of national security and public safety throughout the visa process,” a State Department spokesperson told USA TODAY. “A U.S. visa is a privilege, not a right.”

The change comes months after President Donald Trump introduced a $100,000 annual application fee for H-1B visas.

Courts have historically affirmed that First Amendment rights apply to people legally within U.S. borders, even if they are not U.S. citizens. That includes a September ruling by a district court against the Trump administration over efforts to deport unpatriotic student protesters for pro-Palestinian speech.

“Of course, no one’s freedom of speech is unlimited, but the restrictions are the same for citizens and non-citizens alike,” the judge wrote in the ruling, and the government vowed to appeal the decision.

Governments have far greater discretion in making speech-based visa decisions for foreign nationals who are physically present in the country.

Here’s what you need to know about the new policy and its First Amendment implications.

What online content will disqualify an applicant?

“We use all available information in visa screening and review to identify visa applicants who cannot enter the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security or public safety,” the department said in a statement.

The announcement did not provide details on what exactly the authorities are looking for in the review or what types of content would be considered disqualified.

Reuters previously reported that participating in “censorship,” which includes disinformation, content moderation, fact-checking, and other tasks, would be considered a potential disqualifier when reviewing H-1B applications, according to State Department cables obtained by the news agency.

“If we discover evidence that the applicant was responsible for or complicit in the censorship or attempted censorship of protected speech in the United States, it should pursue a finding that the applicant is ineligible,” according to Reuters.

Why was this policy created?

The new policy was announced around the same time that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services suspended immigration applications from 19 countries deemed high-risk.

The agency’s Dec. 2 memo specifically cited the failed 2024 Election Day terrorist attack and the shooting of two National Guardsmen on patrol in Washington in late November.

In the first case in April, an Afghan man took a plea deal.

Another Afghan man has also been arrested in connection with the Washington shooting that killed Sarah Beckstrom, 20, a member of the West Virginia National Guard. Another victim of the attack was 24-year-old US Air Force Staff Sergeant John Johnson. Andrew Wolfe was “slowly recovering” as of early December.

“Given the identified concerns and threats to U.S. citizens, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States after January 20, 2021, is necessary,” the memo states.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Dec. 9 proposed rules that would impose new biometric requirements and enhanced data collection on international travelers.

Why are some people concerned about this policy?

Some experts said immigration lawyers are unsure how to advise their clients because of the lack of public information about what exactly online presence screening entails.

Immigration attorney Matthew Maiona said the expanded requirements could cause a “major disruption” to U.S. companies wanting to hire foreign workers whose applications have been slowed by more thorough vetting.

He said many visa applicants have already been told that their appointments will be delayed by several months.

However, he noted that consulates and embassies have the right to investigate applicants’ backgrounds and determine potential threats.

But there are also “grey areas” and the lack of detail has left lawyers “scrambling” about how to advise their clients, said Kate Angustia, supervisory policy and practice advisor at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

For example, she said it’s unclear whether the government will deny an H-1B applicant’s child because the child posted “Liberate Palestine” on social media.

“We don’t know the scope of the issue, but the fact that anyone’s freedom of speech could be curtailed is a problem and we do not support it,” Angstia said.

Why do some people support this policy?

But others took issue with the idea that the policy posed a challenge to free speech.

“People who are not U.S. citizens have no inherent right to come to the United States,” said Ira Melman, media director for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which aims to reduce overall immigration. “We can make decisions based on a variety of considerations.”

He noted that the policy is not based on immutable characteristics such as race or religion, adding that the U.S. Supreme Court has given presidents “broad discretion” to define what constitutes a national security threat.

Mellman distinguished between simple policy disagreements and “blatant anti-American rhetoric,” saying the latter could be disqualified because granting a U.S. visa is “a privilege, not a right,” echoing language used by the State Department in announcing the new policy.

“Ideological exclusion has always existed,” Melman said. “Even if Microsoft wanted to hire Nazis, we would not allow Nazis into our country.”

Breanna Frank is USA TODAY’s First Amendment reporter. please contact her bjfrank@usatoday.com.

USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded by the Freedom Forum in collaboration with our journalism funding partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

Police resume search for gunman

US-NEA
-
0
Police resume search for gunman

play

Authorities resumed the search for the gunman responsible for the deadly attack at Brown University on Monday after announcing they were releasing investigators.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley and other Rhode Island officials told reporters at a news conference late Sunday that the investigation was moving in “different directions.”

“We have not yet solved this case, but I am confident that we will in the near future,” Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement.

Authorities did not elaborate on why the man was taken into custody in the first place. Multiple media outlets reported the identities of those involved, citing officials briefed on the investigation. USA TODAY is not publishing the person’s name further because he has not been named or charged as a suspect in the shooting.

The shooting left at least two students dead and nine others injured and shocked the Rhode Island community of one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious universities.

Schools canceled exams and classes for the rest of the year, and campuses were quiet as light snow blanketed the city on Sunday.

After authorities announced the release of the person in custody, Brown University officials issued a message late Sunday urging community members to “remain vigilant regarding activity on campus.”

“We understand that this update may raise many questions,” the school said in a statement. “This remains an active police investigation, and the university must comply with the Providence Police Department’s release of any information it deems appropriate.”

After the deadly attack, the school canceled exams and classes for the rest of the year.

The shooting at the Ivy League school occurred as students were taking exams before winter break. One of the students killed was Ella Cook, a parishioner at the Cathedral Church of Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, the church announced during a service on Sunday, December 14th.

“Many of you have heard about this tragedy…and sadly, tragically, one of them is one of our parishioners,” Pastor Craig Smalley said in livestreamed remarks.

Mr Smalley described Mr Cook as a “bright light”, engaged in the church and wider community and “incredibly down to earth, generous and loyal”. Click here for details.

Contributor: Antonia Noori Farzan, The Providence Journal, Reuters

2026 Strategy and Return on Investment

US-NEA
-
0
2026 Strategy and Return on Investment

Business leaders are pushing ahead with the adoption of artificial intelligence, although early results remain mixed. Report from wall street journal and Reuters According to , most CEOs expect spending on AI to continue to increase through 2026, even though it is difficult to link AI investments to clear benefits for the company as a whole.

This tension highlights where many organizations are currently in their AI journey. Although this technology has moved beyond testing and proof of concept, it has not yet established itself as a reliable source of value. Companies are in an in-between stage, where ambition, execution and expectations are all under pressure at the same time.

Expenses continue even if revenue lags

Over the past two years, AI budgets have been steadily increasing across large enterprises. Competitive pressures, board oversight and fear of being left behind are all at play. At the same time, executives are becoming more open about the limitations they see. Profits often appear in pockets rather than across the business, pilots are not widespread, and the cost of connecting AI systems to existing tools continues to rise.

a wall street journal A survey of senior executives shows that most CEOs believe AI is central to long-term competitiveness, even though short-term benefits are difficult to measure. For many, AI is no longer an option. This is treated as a capability that must be developed over time, rather than a project that can be paused if the results are disappointing.

This perspective helps explain why spending has remained stable. Leaders worry that cutting now could weaken their position in the future, especially as rivals improve their use of technology.

Why pilots struggle to scale up

One of the main barriers to achieving greater benefits is the transition from experimentation to routine use. Many organizations launch AI pilots across different teams without shared rules or coordination. While these initiatives can generate insight and interest, they rarely lead to changes that impact the broader business.

Reuters Companies looking to scale AI report frequently encountering issues with data quality, system links, security controls, and regulatory requirements. These issues are not just technical. These reflect how work is organized. Responsibility is often divided between teams, ownership is unclear, and decisions are delayed as projects involve legal, risk, and IT departments.

The result is a pattern of costly trials and limited progress toward systems integrated into core operations.

Infrastructure costs reshape the equation

Infrastructure costs are also weighing on AI revenues. Training and running models requires large amounts of computing power, storage, and energy. Cloud prices can rise quickly as usage increases, but building on-site systems requires upfront investment and long planning cycles.

named the executive Reuters It warns that infrastructure costs can outweigh the benefits provided by AI tools, especially in the early stages. This forces companies to make difficult choices: centralize their AI resources or let their teams experiment on their own. Should you build your own system or rely on a vendor? and how much waste is allowed while capacity is still being formed.

In reality, these decisions, along with model performance and use case selection, shape your AI strategy.

AI governance at the center of CEO decision-making

As spending on AI increases, so will surveillance. Boards of directors, regulators, and internal audit teams are asking even tougher questions. In response, many organizations are tightening controls. Decision-making power is moving to a central team, AI councils are becoming more common, and projects are more closely tied to business priorities.

of wall street journal reports that companies are moving away from loosely coupled experimentation toward clearer goals, measures, and timelines. While this may slow progress, it reflects a growing belief that AI should be managed with the same discipline as other major investments.

This change signals a shift in the way we treat AI. It’s no longer a side hustle or a curiosity. It is brought into existing operating and risk structures.

Expectations are reset, not discarded.

Importantly, continued spending on AI is not a sign of blind optimism. Rather, it reflects a reset of expectations. CEOs are learning that AI rarely delivers big benefits right away. Value tends to emerge gradually as organizations adjust workflows, retrain staff, and improve their data infrastructure.

Rather than abandoning their AI efforts, many companies are narrowing their focus. They are prioritizing fewer use cases, demanding clearer ownership, and aligning projects more closely with business outcomes. This realignment may reduce short-term excitement, but increases the potential for sustainable returns.

What the CEO AI strategy means for your plans for 2026

For organizations planning for 2026, the message to all CEOs is not to back away from AI, but to pursue it more carefully as your AI strategy matures. Ownership, governance, and realistic timelines are more important than headline spending levels and bold claims.

Those likely to benefit most are those who view AI not as a means to rapid growth, but as a long-term change in the way their organizations work. In the next stage, the advantage will depend less on how much it costs and more on how well AI fits into daily operations.

(Photo courtesy of Ambre Estave)

See also: AI in 2026: The rise of autonomous systems will end experimental AI

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out the AI ​​& Big Data Expo in Amsterdam, California, and London. This comprehensive event is part of TechEx and co-located with other major technology events. Click here for more information.

AI News is brought to you by TechForge Media. Learn about other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars.

How much will my capital gains tax be in 2025?

US-NEA
-
0
How much will my capital gains tax be in 2025?

play

Capital gains tax is payable to the government on profits earned from selling assets such as homes or stocks.

Here’s what you need to know about capital gains taxes, including 2025 tax rates and the difference between short-term and long-term gains.

What is capital gains tax?

Let’s get started. What is capital gain?

Capital gain refers to the profit earned by acquiring an asset at one price and selling it at a higher price. This does not refer to paper profits, i.e., the profits you would make if you bought a stock and its value increased.

This is a very simple concept, but as with everything related to tax law, many nuances can complicate it.

more: IRS releases 2026 federal income tax brackets

Comparison of long-term and short-term capital gains

Short-term capital gains tax is levied on gains on investments that are held for one year or less and then sold. It will be taxed at the same rate as your income. Check your IRS tax brackets to determine how much tax you pay on each portion of your income.

Long-term capital gains tax applies to investments that are held for more than one year before being sold for a profit. They are generally taxed at lower rates than short-term profits. You can expect to pay up to 20% in taxes on your 2025 tax return.

What is subject to capital gains tax?

Capital gains tax is not limited to the stock market. Anything considered a “capital asset” – any investment that has the potential to increase in value and generate a profit – is subject to tax.

Capital gains tax applies to:

  • real estate
  • bond
  • Mutual funds (but usually not ETFs)
  • NFT/Cryptocurrency
  • Jewelry/coin collection

What is the capital gains tax rate in 2025?

The amount you are taxed on capital gains depends on how long you held a particular capital asset (whether it was a long-term gain or a short-term gain) and your income (which tax bracket you fall into). The higher your income, the more capital gains tax you will have to pay.

For short-term gains, you can follow the usual income tax guide to find out how much you pay on your gains. Long-term capital gains tax rates remain at 0%, 15%, or 20% for the 2025 tax year.

The rate is 0% if:

  • Unmarried individuals filing separately with taxable income of $49,450 or less.
  • Married couples filing jointly with taxable income of $98,900 or less.
  • Married individuals with taxable income of $49,450 or less file separately.
  • Heads of households with taxable income of $66,200 or less.

The tax rate is 15% if:

  • Unmarried individuals reporting taxable income between $49,451 and $545,500.
  • Married couples filing jointly with taxable income between $98,901 and $613,700.
  • Married filing separately with taxable income between $49,451 and $306,850.
  • Heads of households with taxable income between $66,201 and $579,600.

Tax rate is 20%

  • A person whose taxable income exceeds the 15% threshold for that category.

The Rise of Autonomous Systems Ends Experimental AI

US-NEA
-
0
The Rise of Autonomous Systems Ends Experimental AI

The experimental phase of generative AI will end, paving the way for truly autonomous systems that function rather than simply summarize in 2026.

In 2026, the focus will be less on model parameters and more on agency, energy efficiency, and the ability to navigate complex industrial environments. The next 12 months will represent a transition from chatbots to autonomous systems that execute workflows with minimal supervision. Organizations need to rethink their infrastructure, governance, and talent management.

An autonomous AI system takes the wheel

Hanen García, chief architect of communications at Red Hat, argues that while 2025 was defined by experimentation, next year marks a “definitive tipping point toward agent AI, autonomous software entities that can reason, plan, and execute complex workflows without continuous human intervention.”

Telecommunications and heavy industry are the testing grounds. Garcia charts a trajectory toward autonomous network operations (ANO) that moves beyond simple automation to self-configuring and self-healing systems. The business goal is to reverse commoditization and reduce operating expenses by “prioritizing intelligence over pure infrastructure.”

Technically, service providers are deploying multi-agent systems (MAS). These allow different agents to collaborate on multi-step tasks and handle complex interactions autonomously, rather than relying on a single model. However, with increased autonomy comes new threats.

Emmett King, founding partner at J12 Ventures, warns that “as AI agents gain the ability to perform tasks autonomously, hidden instructions embedded in images and workflows become potential attack vectors.” Therefore, security priorities must shift from protecting endpoints to “managing and auditing autonomous AI actions.”

As organizations scale these autonomous AI workloads, they run into a physical wall: power.

King argues that the availability of energy, not access to models, determines which startups scale. “Right now, the computing shortage is dependent on the capacity of the electricity grid,” King said, suggesting that energy policy will become Europe’s de facto AI policy.

KPIs need to adapt. Cloudera CTO Sergio Gago predicts that businesses will prioritize energy efficiency as a key metric. “New competitiveness will not come from the biggest model, but from the most intelligent and efficient use of resources.”

Horizontal co-pilots that lack domain expertise or proprietary data fail the ROI test when buyers measure actual productivity. The “clearest enterprise ROI” comes from manufacturing, logistics, and advanced engineering, where AI is integrated into high-value workflows rather than consumer-facing interfaces.

AI will kill static apps in 2026

Software consumption is also changing. Chris Royles, Cloudera’s field CTO for EMEA, suggests that the traditional concept of an “app” is becoming fluid. “In 2026, AI will begin to fundamentally change the way we think about apps, how they function, and how they are built.”

Users will soon request temporary modules generated by code and prompts, effectively replacing specialized applications. “Once that functionality is done with its purpose, it is closed down,” Royles explains, noting that these “single-use” apps can be built and rebuilt in seconds.

Tight governance is needed here. Organizations need visibility into the reasoning processes used to create these modules to ensure that errors are safely fixed.

Data storage faces similar calculations, especially as AI becomes more autonomous. Wim Stoop, director of product marketing at Cloudera, believes the days of “digital hoarding” are coming to an end as storage capacity reaches its limits.

“Rather than being stored indefinitely, AI-generated data will become disposable, created and updated on demand,” Stoop predicts. Verified, human-generated data increases in value while synthetic content is discarded.

Specialist AI governance agents fill in the gaps. These “digital colleagues” continuously monitor and protect data, allowing humans to “take control of governance” rather than enforcing individual rules. For example, security agents can automatically adjust permissions without human intervention whenever new data enters the environment.

Sovereignty and the human element

Sovereignty remains a pressing concern for European IT. According to Red Hat survey data, 92% of IT and AI leaders in EMEA believe that enterprise open source software is essential to achieving sovereignty. Providers leverage existing data center footprints to deliver sovereign AI solutions and ensure that data remains within a specific jurisdiction to meet compliance demands.

Emmet King, founding partner at J12 Ventures, added that advances in open source are enabling more actors to run frontier-scale workloads, shifting competitive advantage from owning the model to “controlling the training pipeline and energy supply.”

Workforce integration is becoming personal. Nick Brush, co-founder of Persona, argues that tools that ignore human nuances such as tone, temperament, and personality will soon become obsolete. Blasi predicts that by 2026, “AI will alert you to half of workplace conflicts before managers even know they exist.”

These systems will focus on “communication, influence, trust, motivation, and conflict resolution,” Blasi suggested, adding that personality science will be the “operating system” for the next generation of autonomous AI, providing an evidence-based understanding of human personality rather than general recommendations.

Gone are the days of “thin wrappers.” Buyers are now exposing tools that measure real productivity and are built on hype rather than proprietary data. Competitive advantage for companies comes not from renting access to models, but from controlling the training pipeline and the energy supply that powers the models.

See also: BBVA embeds AI into banking workflows with ChatGPT Enterprise

Banner for AI & Big Data Expo by TechEx event.

Want to learn more about AI and big data from industry leaders? Check out the AI ​​& Big Data Expo in Amsterdam, California, and London. This comprehensive event is part of TechEx and co-located with other major technology events. Click here for more information.

AI News is brought to you by TechForge Media. Learn about other upcoming enterprise technology events and webinars.

Russell Simmons addresses Kimora Lee Simmons’ comments about co-parenting

US-NEA
-
0
Russell Simmons addresses Kimora Lee Simmons’ comments about co-parenting

play

For Russell Simmons, there are “two sides to every story” after Kimora Lee Simmons spoke about their current position in a recent interview.

In a thread post published on Sunday, Dec. 14, Russell reposted an interview with Kimora from People magazine in which the model-turned-fashion mogul said she “really doesn’t have a relationship” with her 68-year-old ex-husband.

Kimora and Russell have daughters Ming Lee (25) and Aoki Lee (23). She has a son, Kenzo Lee (16), with actor Djimon Hounsou (61). She has a youngest son, Wolf Lee, 10, with former investment banker Tim Riesner, 54.

Separately, in a recent interview with USA TODAY, the “Kimora: Back in the Fabulous” star also addressed whether he has been in contact with Simmons, Hounsou and Riesner. “No, not at all. No, those aren’t really in my life,” she said. “And we’re not. Yeah, no. It’s not my fault. It’s their fault.”

But at least Russell has reached out to her for comment.

more: Kimora Lee Simmons says her date with 17-year-old Russell Simmons was ‘a mess’

“I gave you 50,000 a month for 20 years,” Russell wrote in the thread. “I was your best/only friend. I’m the godfather of your other three children, until one day you stole my stock. I’ve been fighting for my children’s love and my bread ever since.”

Kimora also claimed that she “threatened that if I sued you, she would never speak to my children again.”

In a Dec. 9 interview with USA TODAY, the reality TV star continued, “I’m trying to foster a relationship and an environment where I can, but sometimes it takes two people to tango, and they don’t always tango. So, we’re not really co-parenting at this point.” “It’s like, no, I’m parenting. I’m both parents now.”

Read more from USA TODAY: Kimora Lee Simmons returns to reality TV – “This is where I belong”

Kimora added that the children are “with me 99.9% of the time. They rarely see the other parent. They do a little bit, but like I say, that relationship is theirs and it’s not something I interfere in.”

more: Russell Simmons owes $8 million in settlement, sexual assault accuser claims

“I hope for the best, but I definitely brood all my little chicks. So no matter how the day goes, I know they’ll be okay because they have support and they have family. They say it takes a village, and my kids definitely have a village.”

The fashion mogul recently returned to reality TV with Kimora: Back in the Fabulous. Meanwhile, Simmons, who has been accused of at least a dozen sexual assaults, has since moved to Bali, Indonesia, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Severe injuries leave painful after-effects

US-NEA
-
0
Severe injuries leave painful after-effects

play

  • Week 15 in the NFL was a tough one for teams that lost superstars to injury, with Patrick Mahomes and Micah Parsons injured.
  • The Chiefs, Bengals and Vikings also join the list of teams eliminated from playoff contention.
  • The Rams and Broncos were the first two teams to qualify for the postseason, each earning a berth in the conference playoffs.

32 things we learned from Week 15 of the 2025 NFL season:

0. Number of points scored by the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. In a game they had to win to stay in the postseason. Remarkably, the Stripes got the bagel against the Baltimore Ravens despite running 71 plays and holding the ball for nearly 40 minutes. This is a virtually impossible situation. It was the first shutout loss for the Bengals since 2017. That’s why they spent so much money on QB Joe Burrow and WRs Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, the latter of whom was unable to play after returning to concussion protocol for the second time in three weeks.

1. Number of times the Kansas City Chiefs have missed the playoffs in the last 10 years. Sunday’s loss to the Los Angeles Chargers confirmed that disappointing result. KC’s last failure was in 2014, coach Andy Reid’s second season with the club.

2. The number of teams that clinched playoff berths on Sunday was the first this season to be secured, with the Los Angeles Rams and Denver Broncos both clinching their tickets to the 60th Super Bowl tournament. Neither team has won their division yet, but both are in position to earn the No. 1 seed in their respective conferences.

2a. The New England Patriots lost a come-from-behind loss to the Buffalo Bills at Gillette Stadium, missing out on a chance to clinch the AFC East championship.

3. The number of teams officially eliminated Sunday fell by the wayside long before the Minnesota Vikings took the field Sunday night, along with the Chiefs and Bengals.

4. But Sunday was an extremely painful game that goes beyond the league’s shifting playoff implications. Several superstars suffered injuries that could have long-term effects.

5. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes suffered a torn ACL in the closing minutes of the loss to Kansas City, an injury that was certain to keep him out of the AFC Championship Game for the first time since becoming the team’s starter in 2018…though the KC loss also served as a testament to that. One of the most remarkable runs in league history ended on that front.

6. Green Bay Packers DE Micah Parsons may have suffered a similar fate to Mahomes, but his loss would be far more damaging in the context of this season, given that the Packers looked like a team capable of winning a Super Bowl.

7. When Parsons went down in Denver, the Pack led 23-21 at the end of the third quarter. Not only did they ultimately succumb 34-26, but the loss also dropped them from second place overall in the conference (and first place in the NFC North) to seventh place, 1.5 games behind the still-dangerous Detroit Lions.

8. The Washington Commanders’ losing streak lasted until Sunday when they defeated the New York Giants 29-21.

8a. The length of the Giants’ losing streak since Sunday’s loss to Cmdr.

9. Hey there, NFC East… After the Philadelphia Eagles plundered the Las Vegas Raiders 31-0, we’re almost certain to have our first repeat division champion since 2004. But even the reigning champions currently look like the least bad team in a largely uninspiring quartet.

10. When it comes to injuries, the Rams have their own relative concerns despite clinching a playoff berth. However, WR Davante Adams’ hamstring injury could be a major setback for LA, especially with a game against Seattle scheduled for Thursday night.

11. Currently 11-3, the Rams defeated the Seahawks in Week 11, but Thursday night’s winner will not only move to the top of the NFC West, but will also clinch the No. 1 seed in the conference. Seattle certainly looks like a healthy team, albeit a little more unstable than LA.

12. Coach LB Von Miller recorded 136 1/2 Sunday, putting him on the NFL’s all-time sack list (this statistic was officially recognized in 1982). Miller had more half sacks than Hall of Famer Jared Allen.

13. What a day for Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence, who threw a career-high five TD passes in a 48-20 win over the AFC South-leading New York Jets. Lawrence also rushed for 51 yards and an additional score. I feel like this guy should have been drafted No. 1 overall. hang on.

14. If the season ended today, which it actually doesn’t, the New York Giants would own the 2026 No. 1 draft pick.

15. However, it seems certain that the Raiders, who fell from No. 1 to No. 2 this weekend, may have to make an offer to the G-Men. Las Vegas gained 75 yards against Philadelphia, snapping a seven-game losing streak.

16. Here are some wild stats about Patriots rookie running back Trevellon Henderson. On Sunday, he joined Chris Johnson as the only players to appear in multiple games and record multiple rushing TDs of at least 50 yards in those games in the same season.

17. Indianapolis Colts QB Philip Rivers will wear his long-time uniform number against Seattle on Sunday, with the permission of his predecessor Daniel Jones and the league.

18. Number of seasons Rivers has now He played in the league by virtue of being on the Colts’ active roster, not to mention playing every game at Lumen Field. And with only a few days of preparation and five years of rust and extra weight, the 44-year-old Rivers put on a valiant effort, passing for 120 yards and a TD in an 18-16 loss to powerhouse Seattle…even if the whole uproar will keep him from becoming a Hall of Famer until at least 2031.

19. But while Indy may be pumping adrenaline and hoping to bounce back this season, the reality is that the Colts (8-6) continue to improve after a 7-1 start and are starting to settle into eighth place in the AFC — not a place any team wants to be, especially one trying to reach for a brass ring.

20. Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward has thrown a TD pass in consecutive weeks, having never thrown one all season until December. The team couldn’t avoid losing 37-24 to the San Francisco 49ers, but they advanced!

21 1/2. Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett’s sack total increased from what was already a career-high in an hour and a half Sunday in Chicago.

22 1/2. Garrett needs one more QB takedown to match the single-season record shared by TJ Watt and Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.

twenty three. Rams running back Kyren Williams (88 total yards, 2 TDs) had a much better day than Lions counterpart Jahmil Gibbs. This was a big key to LA’s victory. Gibbs gained 58 yards but was unable to score as Detroit continued to lose touch with the NFC playoff field.

twenty four. But Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown had a day (13 catches, 164 yards, 2 TDs), and even if it wasn’t enough to produce a win, the USC product shined near his old haunt.

twenty five. However, it created ARSB’s spot in the record books, making the Detroit star the first player in history to record at least 90 receptions in his first five NFL seasons.

26. Houston Texans RB Jauhar Jordan’s uniform number. The second-year player made his regular season debut on Sunday after being promoted from the practice squad 24 hours earlier, rushing for 101 yards on 15 carries.

27. Who do you think will be the No. 1 pick on your fantasy waiver wire this week?

28. More importantly, if Jordan can really contribute to a Houston offense that grabbed three TD passes from quarterback CJ Stroud in Sunday’s 40-20 loss to the Arizona Cardinals, this team could legitimately be the AFC’s best team when the playoffs begin.

29. Despite starting 0-3, the Texans (9-5) remain on track to become just the fifth team since 1990 to qualify for the postseason.

30. It’s been a tough year for the Cards, but it will be a big one for tight end Trey McBride, who had 12 catches for 134 yards and two TDs in Sunday’s loss. The receptions and TD matched McBride’s personal best in an NFL game, and the total yards exceeded his previous career high by one yard.

31. McBride currently has a league-high 105 receptions, making him the first tight end in league history to reach the century mark in consecutive seasons. McBride and Travis Kelce are the only tight ends in the NFL to record 100 catches in multiple seasons, with Kelce doing it three times. With 12 catches over the last three games, McBride will break Zach Ertz’s single-season record for tight end catches.

32. And McBride has had 16 consecutive games with at least five receptions, tying him with Kelce for a new position record.

All your NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY’s 4th Monday Newsletter.

“Tsunami of anti-Jewish hatred.” Bondi Beach mass shooting sparks fear

US-NEA
-
0
“Tsunami of anti-Jewish hatred.” Bondi Beach mass shooting sparks fear

The surge in anti-Semitism was so alarming that just a week before the attacks, Jewish leaders representing the countries with the largest Jewish populations convened in Australia.

play

  • At least 15 people were killed in an anti-Semitic attack at a Hanukkah festival in Australia’s Bondi Beach.
  • Jewish leaders from seven countries recently met in Australia to address the alarming spike in anti-Semitic incidents in the country.
  • Jewish leaders and organizations are calling on governments around the world to take stronger action against anti-Semitism.

The darkness of anti-Semitism has invaded the festival of lights at a popular Australian beach.

Instead of celebrating Jewish holidays, Jews were massacred.

This is the second time in two months that Jews living on the other side of the world have been targeted and attacked on a major religious holiday.

On October 2, two men were attacked and killed at a synagogue in Manchester, England, during Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year. On Sunday, December 14, two gunmen opened fire on a crowd of about 1,000 people who had gathered on the vast white sands of Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, for an event marking the start of the eight-day Hanukkah festival, killing at least 15 people and injuring dozens more. Australian authorities have labeled the shooting a terrorist attack.

One of the gunmen was later killed, bringing the death toll to 16.

Bondi Beach Attack: Shooting at Jewish Hanukkah party on Australian beach kills 16 people

The attack marks the latest escalation in the rampant anti-Semitism that has plagued leaders of the seven largest Jewish communities since Hamas attacked Israeli Jews on October 7, 2023, during the holiday of Simchat Torah.

Anti-Semitism has been on the rise around the world since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The New York-based Anti-Defamation League reported in January that nearly half of the world’s adult population (an estimated 2.2 billion people) harbor deeply enthralling anti-Semitic attitudes.

“We have seen a tsunami of anti-Semitic hatred here in the United States and around the world over the past two years, and especially since October 7, 2023,” said Marina Rosenberg, senior vice president for international affairs at the Anti-Defamation League.

The rise in hatred against Jews in Australia was so alarming that just a week before the shootings, a group of Jewish leaders representing the United States, Canada, France, Britain, Germany, Argentina and Australia convened in Australia. These countries are home to the largest Jewish population in the diaspora, known as the J7.

Mr Rosenberg, who attended the meeting, said: “I decided to travel to Australia because I am very concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia.”

William Daroff, who attended last week’s rally, was on a flight home when he learned of the shooting. The first news came about 10 hours into the 15-hour flight from Sydney to Houston. Friends began texting to make sure he was okay.

Mr. Daroff, chief executive officer of the Council of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, later learned that a friend who was attending the event had been grazed in the ear by a bullet. Eli Schlanger, an assistant rabbi at Chabad of Bondi and a key organizer of the event, was among those killed.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, 1,654 incidents targeting the Jewish community have been reported in Australia this year alone. Last year, there were 2,062 people. For comparison, there were only 495 cases reported in 2023 and 478 in 2022.

Joel Burney, executive manager of the Australian Council on Israeli and Jewish Affairs, said in a telephone interview from Melbourne that Australian Jewish leaders had been warning the government for months that a tragedy would occur unless some precautions were taken.

“This event was completely avoidable,” Bernie said of the shooting. “It could have been avoided with tough, strong leadership, but unfortunately there is a clear gap in this country.”

ADL’s Mr Rosenberg said leaders at the J7 meeting wanted members of Australia’s Jewish community to know they are not alone and called for the Australian government to better respond to the rise in anti-Semitic hatred.

Last year, the Australian government appointed a special envoy, Gillian Segal, to look at ways to combat anti-Semitism. Mr Segal published a report in June that made 49 recommendations, but the government has yet to act on them.

“I think this tells you all you need to know about the current government’s position,” Bernie said.

more: Person of interest identified in Brown University shooting incident

Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that Australia had severed ties with Iran and expelled its diplomats after the country accused it of ordering attacks on a Jewish business in Sydney and a synagogue in Melbourne.

While in Australia, Daroff and other Jewish leaders were staying about three blocks from Bondi Beach, where the attack occurred. Last weekend, Daroff and others had lunch with Schlanger at the rabbi’s father’s home.

According to him, the shooting incident occurred close to home. That’s because it happened at the beginning of Hanukkah, when Jews light candles to commemorate the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days in the Second Temple. Each night, a candle is added to the menorah, symbolizing the power of light over darkness.

“There will be Hanukkah illuminations all over the world,” Daroff said. “All Jews around the world feel that there could have been one of us in that crowd that attended the[Australian]menorah lighting ceremony and other Jewish events around the world.”

Jews were the targets of more than 9,300 incidents in the United States last year, according to the Anti-Defamation League. Two high-profile attacks occurred this year. In May, two young Israeli embassy workers were shot to death outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. In Boulder, Colorado, a man armed with a flamethrower and Molotov cocktail attacked a group of Jews participating in a “Run for Our Lives” solidarity walk in response to Israel’s Hamas hostage-taking in June.

On December 13, a resident of Redlands, California, said his family was attacked by a gunman from a car who pointed a gun at their Hanukkah-decorated home. Police are investigating.

Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee, said there were similarities between the attacks in Britain, Australia and the United States. He said these were things that happened “to the Jewish community at a time when the Jewish community is proudly Jewish.”

more: Police investigate attack at Redlands, California home decorated for Hanukkah

“What angers us the most, and should anger everyone in society, is that these are attacks on Jews for being Jewish,” Deutsch added. “In each case, the aim was to attack the Jewish community. No group should be targeted for who they are, and that is what we have endured time and time again.”

Mr Rosenberg said Jews around the world were concerned about their safety following the attacks in Sydney and other cities, and many were wondering whether they wanted to participate in public Hanukkah festivities. Police in the United States and cities around the world are taking more steps to protect Jewish communities at events like this.

“It’s the right thing to do,” Rosenberg said. “But we need to get to a place where Jews don’t need armed protection just to celebrate the holiday.”

No matter what happens, Jews, like other religions and minorities, need to continue celebrating Judaism as much as possible, she said.

“We cannot allow anti-Semitism to define us, and we cannot allow fear to extinguish our light,” Rosenberg said.

Still, like everyone else, she’s taking precautions.

This year, there will be no “Happy Hanukkah” sign outside her house.

Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. He is a veteran reporter who has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS

Two bodies found in Los Angeles director Rob Reiner’s home

US-NEA
-
0
Two bodies found in Los Angeles director Rob Reiner’s home

Two people were found dead at Hollywood director Rob Reiner’s Brentwood home on Sunday, Dec. 14, authorities confirmed to USA TODAY.

The Los Angeles Fire Department told USA TODAY on Sunday, Dec. 14, that emergency crews were called to the home in the 200 block of Chadbourne around 3:30 p.m. local time. A man and a woman were found dead inside the home and were approximately 78 and 68 years old, LAFD said.

The victim’s name has not been released. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

USA TODAY has reached out to the Los Angeles Police Department and Reiner’s representatives for further information.

Reiner, 78, is a director, producer, screenwriter and actor whose credits include “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally,” TV’s “All in the Family” and the cult classics “This Is Spinal Tap” and “Spinal Tap II: The End Continue.”

This is a developing story.

Chiefs eliminated from NFL playoffs in spectacular fashion

US-NEA
-
0
Chiefs eliminated from NFL playoffs in spectacular fashion

play

  • The Chiefs will miss the NFL playoffs for the first time since the 2014 season.
  • Kansas City’s fate was sealed by Sunday’s loss to the Chargers and wins over the Bills, Texans and Jaguars.
  • This will be the first time Patrick Mahomes has missed the postseason after leaving Sunday’s game with a knee injury.

Over the past decade, the Kansas City Chiefs have grown from the AFC to the NFL’s biggest power and biggest draw.

The franchise is currently in uncharted territory following a difficult season.

With Sunday’s 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars winning their respective games, the Chiefs are officially eliminated from playoff contention. This will be the first time since 2014 that Kansas City will be absent from the postseason field. It was three years before Patrick Mahomes was drafted and Andy Reid was in just his second season as the team’s coach.

Mahomes, who took a hit with five sacks all day, aggravated his knee injury and left the game with two minutes remaining. Gardner Minshew took over behind center, but his interception in the final seconds of the reversal decided Kansas City’s fate.

The team’s streak of making the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons is the second-longest streak in league history behind only the New England Patriots (2009-19) and the longest active streak in the NFL, followed by the Bills (6 years).

At 6-8, the Chiefs have already suffered their most losses since their last losing season (2-14) in 2012.

Mahomes, Reid and the rest of the core of the team, which has won conference honors in five of the past six seasons, were hoping to bounce back this fall by re-establishing themselves at the top of the AFC after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl 59. Instead, Kansas City started the season with 0 wins and 2 losses, and quickly saw their season go sideways.

The Chiefs managed to bounce back and reach 5-3, but the team has lost five of its past six games since Sunday’s loss to the Chargers.

In the process, Kansas City suffered a sudden change in fortunes in a close game. The Chiefs had a 12-0 record in one-score games late last season, but are 1-7 in such games this year.

Last week’s loss to the Texans not only ended the Chiefs’ nine-year reign in the AFC West, but previous losses to the Jaguars and Bills left Kansas City vulnerable to a potential tiebreaker scenario, dealing a major blow to the team’s playoff hopes.

However, Reed remained unfazed by the odds.

“Listen, it’s never over, so keep fighting,” Reid said after the loss to the Texans. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve seen some things, so you keep going.”

Chiefs playoff history

  • 2025: missed the playoffs
  • 2024: lost in the super bowl
  • 2023: super bowl win
  • 2022: super bowl win
  • 2021: Lost in the AFC Championship Game
  • 2020: lost the super bowl
  • 2019: super bowl win
  • 2018: Lost in the AFC Championship Game
  • 2017: Lost in AFC Wild Card Game
  • 2016: Lost in AFC divisional playoffs
  • 2015: Lost in AFC divisional playoffs
  • 2014: missed the playoffs

School shooting survivors face violence again at Brown University

US-NEA
-
0
School shooting survivors face violence again at Brown University

One was injured in the California school shooting, and the other heard the gunshots and watched the emergency response to the Florida school shooting.

play

Mia Torretta was sitting with friends in her dorm at Brown University when she received a text message about a gunman. Despite her own painful experiences with school shootings, she didn’t believe it at first.

Torretta was a freshman at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. On November 14, 2019, a man armed with a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun opened fire, killing two students and injuring three others. Torretta’s best friend was shot in the abdomen and died.

“I came to Brown because I wanted to escape what happened to me in Saugus, and I wanted to live my life without thinking about this all the time,” she told USA TODAY. “I’ve been chasing you this far.”

On December 13, a gunman burst into a building on the Brown University campus at Providen College in Rhode Island, fatally shooting two students taking an economics exam and wounding nine others.

For two students at an Ivy League school, the reaction to a mass shooting on campus was all too familiar.

more: Brown University shooting: What you need to know about the people in custody

“I was scared like everyone else, confused and a little disgusted that this could happen not just once in my life, but twice,” Toretta said.

Toretta, a junior at Brown University studying international relations and education, recalled the moment she learned of the shooting on campus.

“The fire alarm always goes off, but there’s usually no fire,” she recalled thinking.

Then there was a flurry of text messages and the campus went into lockdown.

Torretta said her friends hunkered down in stairwells, basements and classrooms for hours “without doing anything.”

But her heart went to the victim.

more: Brown University shooting update: 2 dead, VIPs in custody

“I was one of the people talked about in critical condition at a press conference six years ago, and now there are eight more people in critical condition,” Torretta said. “I understand what it feels like to be there.”

The shooting that injured Torretta in 2019 lasted eight seconds, she said. Her road to recovery took years and included a two-week hospital stay, multiple surgeries, physical therapy, and an ongoing battle.

Torretta and her mother, Tiffany Shepis Torreta, became gun violence activists in the years following the 2019 mass shooting. Once she graduates, Toretta hopes to turn her activism into a full-time job.

“America is the only country that accepts gun violence as a fact of life. It doesn’t have to be that way,” she said. “At the end of the day, no life should ever be lost to gun violence, but we should have addressed it as soon as it happened.”

The mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, became emotional as he spoke at a news conference about the frequency of shootings. One of the university students in the hospital told him, “It gave me hope, but it also made me very sad.”

“One of the students who showed tremendous courage literally said to me, ‘That target practice you had me do in high school actually helped me in that moment,'” Mayor Brett Smiley said. “They shouldn’t have to do actual marksmanship training, but it was helpful. And the reason it was helpful, and the reason we do these drills, is because it’s so frequent.”

“Policymakers should be ashamed.”

On December 14, 2012, a gunman opened fire at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 20 first graders and six educators. It was considered one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

In the 13 years since then, hundreds of Americans have been killed in mass shootings across the country, with the latest mass shooting occurring in Brown.

Zoe Wiseman, a dark-skinned sophomore, was sitting outside her middle school in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day 2018 when a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School next door, killing 17 students and teachers.

“The schools share a field and I was outside, so I was closest to Douglas without actually being on school grounds,” Wiseman told the Providence Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

She heard gunshots and saw paramedics arrive at the school to treat the injured.

Wiseman, now 20, was also in his dorm room at Brown University when gunshots rang out inside the Barth & Hawley building.

Wiseman said he was diagnosed with PTSD after the Parkland shooting. Both she and Toretta said they feel in a position to help Brown University students cope with this tragedy.

“This is something I’ve felt every day for the past seven or eight years,” Wiseman said. “I know how to deal with this issue because I’ve been to therapy, so I feel privileged to be in a position where I can help[my colleagues]learn how to deal with this issue the same way I did.”

But Wiseman said he blames policymakers for putting students in this situation by not passing more comprehensive gun control measures in the seven years since the Parkland shooting.

“Policymakers should be ashamed of themselves for letting things go so that someone like me has to go through this twice,” Wiseman said. “And if they actually care about their constituents, they’ll show it by passing a comprehensive gun violence prevention bill, and if they don’t, I refuse to believe that they actually care about the people who elected them.”

Diego Pavia infuriates Heisman Trophy voters after finishing runner-up

US-NEA
-
0
Diego Pavia infuriates Heisman Trophy voters after finishing runner-up

play

On Saturday night, Diego Pavia made history by becoming the first Heisman Trophy finalist in Vanderbilt football program history.

He finished second to Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza, falling just short of college football’s most prestigious individual award, but he didn’t leave New York City without making a statement.

The Commodores’ star quarterback reposted a photo of himself with the offensive line at the Heisman ceremony on Instagram with the caption, “(expletive) – all the voters, but…for my family.”

Must read: Diego Pavia didn’t win the Heisman, but it certainly wasn’t a loss | Estes

What was expected to be a close race between Mendoza and Pavia turned out to be a little more lopsided than previously imagined. Mendoza took first place with 2,362 points and 643 first-place votes, followed by Pavia in second place with 1,435 points and 189 first-place votes.

So despite what he posted on social media, at least 189 voters likely escaped Pavia’s wrath.

In his second season at Vanderbilt, Pavia threw for 3,192 yards, 27 touchdowns, and eight interceptions, and had 826 rushing yards and nine touchdowns. Pavia ranks second among all FBS players with 334.8 total yards per game, behind South Florida’s Byram Brown.

While piling up the yards, he led the Commodores to a program-record 10 wins. He led Vanderbilt to a 17-9 record in two seasons. The Commodores had a combined record of 12-45 in the four seasons before Pavia transferred from New Mexico State.

Vanderbilt will complete its record-setting season on Dec. 31 when it faces Missouri in the Lilliaquest Bowl.

What you need to know about the person you are interested in

US-NEA
-
0
What you need to know about the person you are interested in

A gunman is in custody after a gunman opened fire at Brown University last weekend, killing at least two people and injuring nine others, authorities said.

Providence Police Chief Col. Oscar Perez said Sunday that the person in custody was a man in his 20s. Authorities are not currently searching for anyone else involved in the incident.

According to law enforcement, the attack occurred at the school in Providence, Rhode Island, around 4 p.m. the previous day, prompting a shelter-in-place order and forcing students and staff to spend the night on campus.

Providence Mayor Brett Smiley later told reporters that one of the nine people shot had been released from the hospital, one remained in critical condition and the remaining seven were in stable condition.

Authorities have not yet released the names of the deceased. Smiley also said all of the victim’s families had not been notified as of early Sunday afternoon.

Law enforcement continued Sunday to review surveillance footage, work with prosecutors, collect evidence and interview witnesses to gather more information about the suspected shooter, Perez said.

Here’s what we know so far about the people in custody in connection with the Brown shooting, including where they are reportedly being held.

Live updates: VIPs in custody in connection with Brown University shooting

Who was involved in the Brown University shooting?

Police have released few details about the person of interest other than confirming that the man is in his 20s. Authorities initially described the suspect in the shooting as a man wearing all black.

No charges had been announced in connection with the incident as of Sunday afternoon, and Perez told reporters that the person in custody had not yet been named as a suspect in the shooting.

“It’s going to take time. We need to make sure we have all the right evidence to prosecute,” Perez said at an afternoon news conference.

Governor Daniel James McKee asked the public to pray for the victims, their families, and everyone involved.

“The community is suffering and feeling the pain,” McKee said at a news conference. “We support you.”

Where was the person detained?

The person detained was taken into custody early in the morning at a hotel in Coventry, Rhode Island, according to the FBI’s latest information. Coventry is located in Kent County, approximately 26 miles southwest of Brown.

FBI Director Kash Patel said that based on information from the Coventry Police Department, law enforcement used cell phone data to track the person of interest to a hotel room, where he was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals and Providence Police.

The person was arrested at the Hampton Inn, local WJAR-TV reported.

“We committed local and national resources to process and reconstruct the filming location, providing headquarters and laboratory elements at the scene,” Patel wrote in a social media update. “We have established a digital media capture portal to capture images and videos from members of the public related to this case.”

Patel said the FBI continues to investigate the incident with support from local law enforcement. “FBI victim specialists are working fully with our partners to provide resources to victims and survivors of this horrific violence,” Patel wrote.

Is there only one shooter?

Perez told reporters at an afternoon news conference that officers were not searching for anyone else involved in the shooting. However, he did not reveal the names of those involved, nor did he say whether they were students or faculty members at the school.

The mayor told reporters that the case continues to evolve and remains under investigation.

Shooting incident on Sydney Beach: 11 people killed in shooting at Jewish Hanukkah party in Australia

How long can I be detained by police in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island District Court rules state that a police officer making an arrest on a warrant must produce the suspect before a judge “without unnecessary delay.”

If law enforcement makes an arrest without a warrant, the rules again require police to bring the alleged suspect before a district court judge “without unnecessary delay.” The regulations also require that a bail hearing be held promptly by a judge or magistrate.

Suspects have the right to leave police custody and request access to a lawyer if they are not charged.

Do you have any information about the Brown University shooting?

Police were asking members of the public who have security cameras near the Barth and Hawley Building or on Hope Street in Providence to review their footage and see if anything was captured before or after the shooting.

Anyone with information about the shooting or the shooting suspect is asked to call 911 or contact the Providence Police Department’s non-emergency number at 401-272-3121.

Contributions: Erin Dion, Katie Mulvaney, Katie Landek, Carissa Wadick, Providence Journal

Natalie Neisa Alland is a senior reporter at USA TODAY. Contact her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her at X @nataliealund

Ugly Christmas Sweater for Jeep and other Mopar holiday gift ideas

US-NEA
-
0
Ugly Christmas Sweater for Jeep and other Mopar holiday gift ideas

play

  • Mopar is the parts and service division of Stellantis.
  • Mopar is promoting holiday-themed gift ideas for Jeep fans.

If your special someone already has a bunch of tacky Christmas sweaters that make the season a little too bright, you might be able to add some festive flair to their vehicle, too.

Mopar, the parts and service division of Stellantis, is leading a holiday gift idea guide with something to help you show off a little holiday spirit for the Wrangler enthusiast in your life in the form of the Jeep Wrangler Ugly Sweater Trail Armor.

Available on current generation 4-door Wrangler models from MEK Magnet ($648).

“Designed to adhere to the aluminum body with cutting-edge nanohold technology, the holiday-themed red, green and white armored panels provide a protective shield against scuffs and scratches and are easy to install, washable and reusable,” according to a news release.

Trail armor and other items are available for purchase at store.mopar.com and wearmopar.com.

In case you missed it: 15 perfect gifts for car enthusiasts to get their engines pumping

Suggested gifts include a Jeep multi-function tool ($55), a roadside safety kit ($170), a Mopaw backseat pet carrier ($218.50), and a tire table ($185), described as a “powder-coated camping table that uses your vehicle’s tires for its primary support.”

There will also be branded apparel and merchandise, from the Holiday Fuzzy Socks ($13.95), which showcase a “festive design with the Mopar Omega M logo superimposed on the calf amidst gingerbread people and a holiday tree,” to the Hemi 20-ounce Yeti Rambler ($49.95), “a stainless steel, dishwasher-safe mug laser-engraved with the Hemi logo,” according to the release.

If a Mopar or Jeep isn’t quite up to your gift recipient’s speed, you might want to consider something from Ford, perhaps the Ford Bronco Holiday Sasquatch Plush (currently $24) at https://merchandise.ford.com/collections/ford-holiday-gifts.

Staff writer Mark Phelan contributed to this report.

Eric D. Lawrence is senior auto culture reporter for the Detroit Free Press. If you have any tips or suggestions, or have your own unconventional automotive-themed gift suggestions, please contact us at elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

FDA panel questions antidepressants during pregnancy. what the doctor says.

US-NEA
-
0
FDA panel questions antidepressants during pregnancy. what the doctor says.

lisa love
| KFF Health News

play

Before giving birth to her second child, Heidi DiLorenzo felt anxious. She was hospitalized twice during her pregnancy because she was worried about her blood pressure and pre-eclampsia. She feared some terrible unnamed harm would befall her 3-year-old daughter. She worried about whether she would be able to love another baby the way she loved her first baby.

But DiLorenzo, a lawyer in Birmingham, Alabama, wasn’t worried about taking Zoloft. She used the drug to treat anxiety before having her first child and continued to use it throughout that pregnancy and this one. And since giving birth to her second daughter in September, she credits upping her dose with pulling her out of the “dark hole” of grief she felt postpartum. “If I hadn’t accepted that, I wouldn’t have been a better mother to my daughters,” DiLorenzo said. “I wouldn’t have had the energy.”

She is one of the estimated 20% of American women who suffer from depression or anxiety during or after pregnancy. But only half of those mothers receive appropriate treatment, said Kay Russos-Ross, who runs the Perinatal Mood Disorders Program at the University of Florida. And only 5% of people take selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, a type of drug commonly used to treat both conditions.

Now, medical experts are concerned that a panel discussion held by the Food and Drug Administration in July could lead to more cases of untreated depression. Many of the panel’s 10 members expressed concerns about the use of SSRIs such as Zoloft during pregnancy. They include Josef Witt Doering, a psychiatrist who runs a clinic aimed at helping people wean themselves off antidepressants, and Adam Urato, an obstetrician-gynecologist who recently petitioned the FDA to issue stronger warnings against SSRIs.

The discussion did not lead to official FDA guidance, but panelists linked the drug to an increased risk of miscarriage, birth defects and autism in children exposed to the drug in utero, a claim the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists called “outlandish and unsubstantiated.” The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine said its members were “alarmed by the unsubstantiated and inaccurate claims made by FDA reviewers.”

ACOG President Stephen Fleischman said in a statement on the organization’s website that antidepressants are a safe and “lifesaving” measure, given that mental health issues such as suicide and overdose are the leading cause of maternal death in this country.

Christina Raines, a nurse who helped establish the nation’s first inpatient perinatal psychiatry unit in North Carolina in 2011, said SSRIs are “probably the most well-studied drug for pregnancy.” In long-term studies of children exposed to the drug in utero, researchers have found no problems, she said.

It is too early to know whether the panel discussion had an impact on prescribing rates or whether pregnant people became more likely to avoid the drug. But Raines, who teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, said he is already answering questions from patients. She said the misinformation spread by the panelists, along with President Donald Trump’s distorted claims about taking Tylenol during pregnancy, makes her job difficult.

Dorothy DeGuzman is a family physician who treats high-risk pregnancies in California. “There’s already a lot of stigma about taking antidepressants during pregnancy,” she says. “This only adds to the fear.”

graphic: Here’s how Tylenol works

panel

The July panel discussion was one of four the FDA has held since May. The agency had previously vetted advisory committee members to avoid conflicts of interest. However, these panels were selected behind closed doors and the event was held with little publicity. In a July investigation report by MedPage Today, researchers and consultants raised questions about the ethics and legality of the event.

Emily Hilliard, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services, did not respond directly when asked about the selection process for panelists. She called the panel event a “roundtable” where experts consider the latest scientific evidence, assess potential health risks and “explore safer alternatives.”

The July commission appears to follow President Trump’s executive order in February, which established the Commission to Bring America Back to Health and direct it to “assess the threat posed by the prevalence and prescription of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other drugs.”

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who oversees the FDA, has frequently criticized these drugs. He claimed, without evidence, that they may be involved in school shootings.

In his opening remarks at a panel discussion in July, FDA Commissioner Marty McCulley also expressed concerns about the drug. “From a national perspective, the more antidepressants we prescribe, the more depression we see,” he says.

In case you missed it: RFK Jr.’s misinformation about antidepressants has become a problem. Here’s what you need to know:

“It’s not a luxury”

Professor Roussos Ross of the University of Florida, the only board-certified psychiatrist and obstetrician-gynecologist on the panel, raised other concerns. “Studies have shown that women who stop taking their medications during pregnancy are five times more likely to have a relapse,” she says.

Mothers with moderate to severe depression or anxiety during pregnancy are more likely to deliver prematurely and have low birth weight babies, she added. Without treatment, she said, people are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and be at risk of suicide. Roussos-Ross said that sometimes children do not bond well, and those children are at higher risk for problems such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, depression and anxiety, due to the mother’s mental health issues rather than the SSRI.

“I want to emphasize that treating mental illness during pregnancy is not a luxury,” she said during the panel discussion. “It’s a necessity.”

Overall, about 19% of American women in their 20s and 30s experience depression, and about 10% take SSRIs, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, research shows that half of women decide to stop taking antidepressants before or during pregnancy.

Doctors say one reason so few pregnant women seek treatment for depression is because they are already afraid of taking drugs during pregnancy. The majority of DeGuzman’s patients rely on Medicaid, the government’s health insurance for low-income and disabled people. Half are Latino. Although she often prescribes SSRIs, her patients rarely take them, she said.

This issue is especially urgent for Black and Latino mothers. Although they experience higher rates of depression and anxiety than white non-Latino mothers, they are less likely to receive adequate treatment. Many factors contribute to this disparity, including systemic racism, exposure to violence, misdiagnosis, and lack of access to care.

Shana Williams, a perinatal mental health therapist who treats African American mothers in Philadelphia, said many of her clients are already more likely to trust friends and family than their doctors about whether it’s safe to take antidepressants during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The FDA committee is “another voice saying we shouldn’t do this,” Williams said. “And that doesn’t help.”

Judith Blanc, who studies perinatal mental health among women of color, said universal child care and paid parental leave would help. “My research has shown that the most important thing we can provide is social support,” said Brann, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “The village needs to step up.”

Kellyn Haight experienced debilitating depression after moving to the North Carolina mountain town of Brevard. The former labor and delivery nurse was unable to provide childcare for her 2-year-old daughter at the time because her husband was traveling for work, and she had no family or friends nearby.

Her doctor prescribed Prozac, but it didn’t help. She called her husband to come home, but her insomnia only worsened. One morning she begged him to end her suffering. He took her to the emergency room, and staff sent her to a local hospital’s psychiatric ward. She said she was stripped of her clothes and kept in a locked room. “I felt like a living thing, like an animal. One of my biggest fears is that it would happen again,” said Haight, now 37.

After being released, Haight found a psychiatrist and started taking Zoloft. She built a community of friends and began to feel a sense of stability.

Now that her daughter is 5 years old, she is about to have another child and plans to continue taking Zoloft throughout her pregnancy. “I would rather be safe and present for my child,” she said. “I’m fine with taking risks because I know what the alternatives are. I’m not going there.”

If you’re pregnant or a new mom struggling with depression or anxiety, give us a call or text. National Maternal Mental Health Hotline24 hours a day, 365 days a year 833-TLC-MAMA (833-852-6262). Postpartum Support International It can help you connect with a local mental health provider. 800-944-4773 or psidirectory.com.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism on health issues and is one of our core operating programs. KFF — An independent source for health policy research, polling, and journalism.

1...431432433...1,006Page 432 of 1,006

About us

Stay informed with the latest breaking news, expert insights, and in-depth coverage across USA, Politics, Economy, World News, Technology, Health, Sports, Science, and more. Your trusted source for daily news and trending topics.

Editor's Picks

The latest

When will the Trump administration’s Dulles Airport renovation work begin?

Politics 0
President Trump pressured Senator Schumer to rename Penn Station...

Lindsay Clancy, ex-husband’s testimony and nature of mental illness

USA 0
Massachusetts mother goes on trial for killing her three...

Chili’s announces nationwide restaurant renovations. What you can expect

Economy 0
Server impressed by customer's ketchup portraitWhen Jacqueline Mang realized...

Subscribe

©2025 US-NEA.COM. All Rights Reserved.