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WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government will allow Medicaid dollars to treat some people in prisons, jails or juvenile detention centers for the first time ever, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday. CMS will allow California inmates to access limited services, including substance use treatment and mental health diagnoses, 90 days before being released. Since Medicaid was established, federal law has prohibited Medicaid money from being used for people who are in custody, with inmates having access to their health care coverage suspended. The move will provide more stability for inmates and juvenile detainees as they exit institutions and reenter the outside world, CMS administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure said Thursday. She said the change will allow the state to “make unprecedented advancements for incarcerated individuals who have long been underserved.” At least 10 other states have asked CMS for exemptions to use Medicaid dollars to treat … [Read more...] about California prison inmates to get some Medicaid care

NEW YORK (AP) — The next novel by Jesmyn Ward, the two-time National Book Award winner, is the story of an enslaved teenage girl that the publisher is calling a blend of magical realism, historical narrative and Dante's “Inferno.” Scribner, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, announced Friday that Ward's “Let Us Descend” will come out Oct. 3. It's her first novel since “Sing, Unburied, Sing,” winner of the National Book Award in 2017, and first fictional work set in the distant past. The 45-year-old Ward, the only Black author to receive two NBAs for fiction, has been widely praised for her striking lyricism and deep, uncompromising perspective. In a statement issued by Scribner, Ward said that she wanted to explore the “hard truth” of her new book's protagonist, Annis, and what it meant to “have little to no physical agency over her own body.” “I also wanted to encourage readers to feel with and for Annis, and to recreate her experience as viscerally as possible. It took years … [Read more...] about Jesmyn Ward novel ‘Let Us Descend’ to be published Oct. 3

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge eased further in December, and consumer spending fell — the latest evidence that the Fed's series of interest rate hikes are slowing the economy. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that prices rose 5% last month from a year earlier, down from a 5.5% year-over-year increase in November. It was the third straight drop. Consumer spending fell 0.2% from November to December and was revised lower to show a drop of 0.1% from October to November. Last year's holiday sales were sluggish for many retailers, and the overall spending figures for the final two months of 2022 were the weakest in two years. The pullback in consumer spending will likely be welcomed by Fed officials, who are seeking to cool the economy by making lending increasingly expensive. Still, the decline in year-over-year … [Read more...] about US inflation and consumer spending cooled in December

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Representatives of several student groups at a Minnesota college that dismissed an adjunct art instructor for showing an image of the Prophet Muhammad to her class say they do not want the school's embattled president to resign. In a letter published Wednesday in The Oracle, the student news site at Hamline University in St. Paul, the students said they strongly support President Fayneese Miller. On Tuesday, Hamline's faculty leaders called overwhelmingly for Miller to resign, saying Miller's dismissal of the instructor violated violated academic freedom and harmed the university’s reputation. Erika López Prater showed the 14th century painting of the Prophet Muhammad to her students as part of a lesson on Islamic art after warning them beforehand and giving them an opportunity to opt out. She has sued the private liberal arts school over Miller's decision not to renew her contract. In their letter, the students said their voices have been ignored during … [Read more...] about Student groups show support for Minnesota college president

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — A prosecutor has asked a judge not to dismiss a second-degree murder charge against a former Grand Rapids police office r accused of shooting a Black motorist in the back of the head during a struggle over a Taser. Kent County Prosecutor Chris Becker filed court papers this week opposing a bid by an attorney for former Officer Christopher Schurr to dismiss the charge in the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya last April. Becker said in court documents filed Tuesday that the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding probable cause to bind Schurr over on the charge. Therefore, Schurr’s request to dismiss the charge should be denied, the prosecutor said. Kent County Circuit Judge Christina Elmore will hear both sides' arguments during a motion hearing scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Feb. 2. The case currently is set to go to trial March 13. Attorneys … [Read more...] about Prosecutor: Don’t dismiss murder charge against ex-cop

NEW YORK (AP) — American Express saw its fourth-quarter profits fall by 9%, as the credit card giant had to set aside significantly more money to cover potentially bad loans. The company saw charge offs and delinquencies rise, a troubling sign for a company whose customer base is usually well-to-do and extremely creditworthy. But the company did announce it planned to raise its quarterly dividend and also forecast higher-than-expected profits for 2023, which helped lift the stock in early trading as investors seemed to look past the delinquencies and more at how cardmembers were still strongly spending on their accounts. The New York-based company said it earned a profit of $1.57 billion in the quarter, or $2.07 a share, that is down from $1.72 billion, or $2.18 a share, in the same period a year earlier. That is below what analysts had forecasted. While AmEx saw a double digit rise in card usage from a year ago — cardmembers spent $413.3 billion on their cards last quarter — … [Read more...] about AmEx profits fall 9% as customers fall behind on payments

MADRID (AP) — Spain’s National Court said Friday it had charged a 74-year-old retired man with terrorism for allegedly sending six letters containing explosive material to Spain’s prime minister and the U.S. and Ukrainian embassies in the country. The as-yet-unidentified man appeared before a judge in Madrid on Friday and was detained without bail, the court said. The suspect, referred to only by the initials PGP, was charged with six separate terrorism offenses, it added, after being arrested in the northern city of Miranda de Ebro on Wednesday. The man was charged with the manufacture and use of explosive devices for terrorist purposes, according to court documents. Two of the alleged offenses were classified as aggravated as they involved members of the government. Spanish media reported that the suspect had links to Russia, was strongly active on social media and was purportedly a flight risk. The six letter bombs were sent in November and December last year and required … [Read more...] about Spanish court charges letter bomb suspect with terrorism

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 STOCKHOLM (AP) — Low-cost fashion brand H&M said Friday that shutting down its business in Russia and Belarus had a significant negative impact on its results, while increases in the costs of raw materials and freight and a strong U.S. dollar made purchases more expensive. The Sweden-based group said its net profit for the year ending Nov. 30 fell 68% while it reported a loss of 864 million Swedish kronor ($84 million) in the fourth quarter. However, although 2022 was “a turbulent year,” in the words of Chief Executive Helena Helmersson, the company noted that overall full-year sales increased by 6%. “Having left the worst of the negative effects of the pandemic behind us, war broke out in Ukraine,” Helmersson said in a statement. "Our decision to wind down the business in Russia, which was an important and profitable market, has had a significant negative impact on our … [Read more...] about Low-cost fashion chain H&M reports 4th-quarter loss

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. is moving to ease restrictions on blood donations from gay and bisexual men and other groups that traditionally face higher risks of HIV. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday announced draft guidelines that would do away with the current three-month abstinence requirement for donations from men who have sex with men. Instead, potential donors would be screened with a questionnaire that evaluates their individual risks for HIV based on sexual behavior, recent partners and other factors. If finalized, the shift would be the latest FDA move to broaden donor eligibility, with the potential to boost the U.S. blood supply. Gay rights groups have long opposed blanket restrictions on who can give blood, saying they discriminate against the LGBTQ community. Medical societies including the American Medical Association have also said such exclusions are unnecessary given advances in technology to test blood for infectious diseases. “Current and former … [Read more...] about FDA eases rules again for gay men seeking to donate blood