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Many states are expanding their Medicaid programs to provide dental care to their poorest residents

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — For months, Carlton Clemons endured crippling pain from a rotting wisdom tooth. He couldn’t sleep, barely ate and relied on painkillers to get by.The 67-year-old from Nashville, Tennessee, could not afford to see a dentist on the $1,300-a-month his family gets in Social Security and disability payments. So he waited for the state to roll out a program this year that offers dental care to the more than 650,000 Medicaid recipients like him who are 21 and older. Tennessee is spending about $75 million annually on the program.“Man, I thought I had made it heaven because the pain was over,” he said after the tooth was pulled in July at the Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry. “When they did pull it out, I was so happy. I was so glad. Everything just changed after that.” His wife, Cindy, who also is on Medicaid, has had her teeth pulled at the clinic.Medicaid, the federal and state health insurance program for the poor, requires states to provide dental cov...

Health Canada recalls multi-purpose lighter due to fire, burn hazard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

A popular multi-purpose lighter is being recalled due to a potential fire and burn hazard. Health Canada says the X-Lite Multi-Purpose Lighter does not meet regulations, noting it may exceed the allowable flame height during ignition; may exhibit an abnormal, sudden increase in flame height; and may continue to burn after the trigger mechanism has been released.The affected product bears the UPC code 8 77318 00180 3 and Lot Number 22C and comes packaged within a set of eight. “These lighters have a metal black barrel with a coloured handle. Handles may be red, green, blue, purple or orange in colour. These lighters feature an adjustable flame height, fuel level window, and safety switch,” the federal agency said in a statement. “Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact X-Lite Corporation for a refund.”Health Canada says more than 28,000 units of the affected product has been sold in Canada between April 27, 2023 and June 30, 2023. As of...

Tropical Storm Ophelia makes landfall in North Carolina, bringing wind, rain, flooding to East Coast states

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ophelia was moving inland across North Carolina early Saturday, lashing coastal areas with rain, damaging winds and dangerous surges of water, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.Life-threatening flooding was forecast for parts of eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia, but the system is expected to weaken after landfall.Radar, hurricane hunter aircraft and observers on the ground found that Ophelia's center came ashore at around 6:15 a.m. near Emerald Isle with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph), the hurricane center said. An update at 8 a.m. put the storm's center about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Cape Lookout, weakening slightly with maximum winds dipping to around 60 mph (105 kph).Ophelia is likely to turn north Saturday and then shift northeast on Sunday, the hurricane center said. The storm promised a weekend of windy conditions and heavy rain up to 7 inches (18 centimeters) in parts of North Carolina and Vi...

Two days of heat, then the rain comes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Autumnal Equinox happened at 1:49 a.m. today. However, it will still feel like the first two weeks of August as most highs today and tomorrow afternoons reach the upper half of the 90s to several at 100°.There will be a very low chance of a few spot showers in Fayette County late this afternoon. A slightly higher chance of rain comes through the Hill Country late tomorrow afternoon. The intensity of the rain increases to a few thunderstorms across the eastern Hill Country.Stronger thunderstorms are predicted late Sunday night in our eastern counties. Some of the thunderstorms could produce brief periods of heavy rain. For now, these thunderstorms are forecast to remain below severe criteria.A cold front approaches Monday morning to keep rain and storms going Monday, which has our best chance for additional showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms Monday could be strong enough to reach severe limits so the Storm Prediction Center has much of our area under a...

LIST: Best employers in Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Forbes released its fifth annual list of America’s best employers in each state, and Texas' top 3 might not be surprising.Forbes put together the list by surveying 70,000 full and part-time employees across the country by asking them to evaluate employers by criteria such as working conditions, diversity and potential for development.No. 3 – GoogleGoogle, a company that focuses on IT, internet, software and services, has accumulated roughly 156,500 employees since its founding in 1998.In July, Forbes also named Google the third-best employer for women.No. 2 – H-E-B Grocery CompanyH-E-B focuses on retail and wholesale. Headquartered in San Antonio, the company, which was founded in 1905, now has roughly 145,000 employees at its more than 300 stores in Texas and Mexico.With Forbes, H-E-B was also named No. 5 for "America's Best Large Employers," and No. 11 for "Best Employers for Women."No. 1 – NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) focuses o...

Central Texas Food Bank opens new food pantry at St. Edward's University

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Friday, the Central Texas Food Bank cut the ribbon on a new food pantry.The Monarchs Food Pantry is located on the St. Edward's University campus to serve the student community.The pantry is stocked with frozen and nonperishable foods, as well as school supplies and toiletries.The pantry will be accessible 24-7, for anyone with a St. Edward's ID.

Salvation Army, city agree to lease for downtown Austin shelter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Salvation Army said it approved a one-year lease with the City of Austin to use the nonprofit's former downtown shelter on Friday. The lease is non-renewable. Urban Alchemy, a nonprofit that also runs the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, will run the single-adult emergency shelter at 501 8th St., according to a release. The Salvation Army will be the shelter's landlord, while the city and Urban Alchemy will be responsible for repairs, maintenance, operations and management. In February, The Salvation Army announced it would close its downtown shelter. It said the nonprofit "has come to the decision that they can no longer continue to offer the level and quality of care their brothers and sisters need at the facility." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: City of Austin could reopen downtown Salvation Army homeless shelter The city said the people at the now-closed shelter were relocated to other shelters, permanent housing and other housing options—ensuring no one would ...

Fall officially arrives with unseasonably warm weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Welcome to fall, officially! Now that we're in fall, temperatures will actually be about 10 degrees warmer than normal, in the mid to upper half of the 80s. We'll have sunshine, especially early on, with an increase in clouds later in the day as a line of storms approaches from the west. This line of storms weakens as it tries to push into our area. Rain chances into tonight are highest across central and northeast Missouri and lessen the farther east you get. The weakening showers and storms struggle to make much progress into our viewing area late tonight into early Sunday. Mostly cloudy, with overnight lows in the 60s. A few showers or rumbles of thunder will be possible on Sunday, but this will also depend on how much the cloud cover can break up. Mostly cloudy, with highs in the upper 70s.

Editorial: California should exercise caution on self-driving trucks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

The recent San Francisco experiment involving self-driving taxis shows the risk posed by putting self-driving trucks on California roads and highways. The thought of a fully loaded semi barreling down a busy highway without a driver on board raises legitimate concerns. But a bill passed by the state Legislature goes too far in slowing efforts to implement the new technology.Gov. Gavin Newsom should veto AB 316, which would ban self-driving trucks weighing more than 10,000 pounds from operating on public roads without a human driver until 2029. The Legislature should instead designate the state Department of Motor Vehicles and other stage agencies with the necessary expertise to determine when self-driving trucks are safe to transport products in California.Under the legislation, the DMV would not be able to issue permits for self-driving trucks until after five years of testing or Jan. 2020, whichever comes later. That means the earliest California could allow autonomous trucks to o...

Opinion: Why support for reparations in California should be greater

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:15:19 GMT

An August poll by UC Berkeley found that most Californians oppose paying cash reparations to the descendants of the enslaved.As a supporter of reparations, I found the results disappointing. But not surprising. Most of the state’s 40 million people residents probably don’t know our dark history of enslavement. The poll didn’t provide that context, making it hard for people to feel responsible for something that happened long ago.I grew up thinking mistakenly there was no slavery in California.I got that impression in the fourth grade, the time when California students study our state’s history. My 1963 textbook, “California: Story of Our Past,” presented an idealized version of the conquest of California, with Indians delighted to meet the “kind and brave captain,” Juan Cabrillo, the first European to explore the coast. There was no mention of the deliberate killing of Native Americans or how they were forcibly kept at the 21 missions.Fortunately, students today learn a more nuanced...