Story at a glance A Seattle-area lawmaker has introduced a new proposal aimed at banning cashless retailers. The proposal, introduced by Metropolitan King County Councilmember Jeanne Kohl-Welles, would require retailers in non-incorporated parts of the county to accept cash payments of up to $250 for a single transaction. Under the proposal, businesses would also…
Author: Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech
US households’ debt rises to $16.5 trillion
Story at a glance The average U.S. household owes more than $165,000 in debt, according to a new NerdWallet study. That amount of average household debt has pushed the national total to $16.5 trillion, a 7.65 percent increase from a year before. Study crafters also found that the credit card balances carried from…
People in these cities lose the most time in traffic congestion
Story at a glance Chicagoans wasted the most amount of time in traffic last year out of all drivers in the United States, according to new data from transportation analytic company INRIX. INRIX released its 2022 Global Traffic Scorecard Tuesday ranking more than 1,000 cities across the planet on how much time motorists spend in…
90 percent of California under flood watches
Story at a glance Most of California is under flood watches after the latest wave of heavy rainstorms has caused deluged roads and triggered mudslides. The National Weather Service issued flood watches on Monday for about 34 million Californians or around 90 percent of the Golden State’s total population. California has experienced an…
California braces for more severe weather
Story at a glance Millions of Californians are preparing for heavy rain and winds again after a week of powerful storms pummeled most of the state, sparking deadly flash flooding and power outages. California will see at least two “major episodes” of heavy rain and heavy snow during the next two days along with an…
Study: 1 in 4 adults with chronic pain turning to cannabis
More than a quarter of U.S. adults suffering from chronic pain have turned to using cannabis to manage their discomfort, according to a new study published in JAMA Open Network. Researchers at Michigan Medicine surveyed 1,661 adults last spring with chronic pain who lived in one of the 36 states with active medical cannabis programs…
These are the best cities for keeping New Year’s resolutions
Story at a glance People in Seattle, San Francisco and Scottsdale, Ariz., are the most likely to keep their New Year’s resolutions, according to a new WalletHub report. WalletHub researchers ranked 182 U.S. cities in the report by likelihood of its residents sticking to New Year’s goals with cities like Salt Lake City, Utah, and Overland…
Risk advisory firm unveils top threats of 2023
Some of this year’s top global risks include inflation, higher energy prices and water stress, according to a top political risk consulting firm. However, “rogue Russia” is the number one risk facing nations, industries, and institutions in 2023, according to the Eurasia Group’s annual risk report released on Tuesday. “A humiliated Russia will turn from global…
Restricted abortion access linked to increased suicide risk in younger women
Restricted abortion access is associated with heightened suicide risk among younger women, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia conducted an analysis using state-level data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention on adult women from 1974 to 2016. Study crafters incorporated laws restricting reproductive…
NYC subway ridership surpasses 1 billion for first time since 2019
The New York City subway carried over 1 billion people this year, marking a major milestone in the Big Apple’s pandemic recovery. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) announced that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) served its billionth customer for the year on Tuesday morning. “We have been working hard to bring customers back by…