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7xm asia login philippines ‘Smartest Thing They Ever Did’: Katie Couric, Jessica Tarlov Admit GOP Leaders Sending Migrants North Was Game ChangerAuthored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com, Healthcare costs have soared. Obamacare failed to live up to its promises. And my lead image dramatically understates the problems with costs... Data from the BLS, chart by Mish The numbers look bad but they are much worse than they look because of the way the BLS calculates the CPI. On all CPI calculations, the BLS only counts costs directly paid by consumers. To the extent corporations and Medicare are obscuring more of the costs, the CPI numbers are understated. The above is an AI-generated response. It totals 86.6 percent. Census. Gov says that in 2022, 92.1 percent of people, or 304.0 million, had health insurance at some point in the year. Those in various Medicare plans have seen smaller increases than those buying insurance for themselves. And the cost of direct pay is outrageous. Large corporations can get better deals than smaller ones. The BLS averages this all in to arrive at the numbers posted in the chart. Heaven help anyone paying for their own insurance who gets cancer or other serious needs. Obamacare penalizes young and healthy for the benefit of those older and with conditions. Young adults not working for a company that provides health care benefits frequently opt out. No one can blame them. The Wall Street Journal discusses the ObamaCare Con Progressives are at last acknowledging that ObamaCare is a failure. They aren’t doing so explicitly, of course, but their social-media screeds against insurers, triggered by last week’s murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, suggest as much. “We’ve gotten to a point where healthcare is so inaccessible and unaffordable, people are justified in their frustrations,” CBS News medical contributor Céline Gounder said during a Friday segment on the roasting of health insurers. Remember Barack Obama’s promise that if you like your health plan and doctor, you could keep them? Sorry. How about his claim that people with pre-existing conditions would be protected? Also not true. The biggest howler, however, was that healthcare would become more affordable. Grant Democrats this: The law has advanced their political goal of expanding government control over insurers, in return for lavishing Americans with subsidies to buy overpriced, lousy products. (One might observe that Democrats are driving a similar Faustian bargain to induce automakers to produce more electric vehicles.) One problem is that simply having insurance doesn’t change people’s behavior. It does, however, cause them to use more care. This is a particular problem in Medicaid, since beneficiaries often rush to the emergency room for nonemergencies because they don’t have deductibles or co-pays. Another problem: The nearly 100 million Americans on Medicaid or tightly regulated and generously subsidized exchange plans struggle to find doctors to treat them. Physician access for Medicaid patients has long been limited owing to the program’s low reimbursement rates. It has gotten worse since ObamaCare expanded eligibility, as states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements. A 2019 study found that patients were only half as likely to get an appointment with a doctor compared with privately insured patients before the law passed. Post-ObamaCare, they were less than one-third as likely. Medicaid is insurance in name only. Patients with exchange plans hardly fare better. Affordable Care Act plan networks include on average only 40% of local physicians and 21% of those employed by hospitals. Patients must pay significantly more out of pocket to see out-of-network doctors. If you find a doctor in network, there’s no guarantee he’ll continue to be. Insurers are narrowing coverage to keep down costs. They are also hiking deductibles, which this year averaged $5,241 for a typical plan . That’s up from $2,425 in 2014. Although subsidies reduce how much people with ObamaCare plans pay toward their premiums, they are stuck paying out of pocket until they hit their deductible. Most healthy young people never do. That means their insurance is worthless except in the event of a catastrophic emergency, which was the gist of recent rants against insurers. Perhaps they should take up their grievances with Mr. Obama, since his law’s mandates and regulations are to blame. ObamaCare requires plans to cover myriad government-determined “essential benefits” regardless of whether people need them. It also prohibits insurers from charging higher premiums based on a patient’s health-risk factors and limits their ability to do so for older people. The young and healthy are thus required to subsidize their elders, while taxpayers are required to subsidize everyone on the exchanges . The WSJ noted “states have tried to hold down Medicaid costs by reducing reimbursements.” Everyone else pays more because if it. Wait times and the struggle to find a doctor who takes Medicaid are not factored into the CPI at all. The Huffington Post reports ‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing Two of the biggest critics of the U.S. health care system condemned the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson while calling out “vile” insurance company practices aimed at maximizing profits. “The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told HuffPost in an interview on Tuesday when asked about the cold response to Thompson’s death, which included celebratory posts on social media. “Violence is never the answer, but people can be pushed only so far,” Warren added. “This is a warning that if you push people hard enough, they lose faith in the ability of their government to make change, lose faith in the ability of the people who are providing the health care to make change, and start to take matters into their own hands in ways that will ultimately be a threat to everyone.” After drawing some criticism for her remarks, Warren clarified her comments in a statement provided to HuffPost on Wednesday. “Violence is never the answer. Period,” the senator said. “I should have been much clearer that there is never a justification for murder.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called Thompson’s killing “outrageous” and “unacceptable” before similarly criticizing insurance company practices. “I think what the outpouring of anger at the health care industry tells us is that millions of people understand that health care is a human right and that you cannot have people in the insurance industry rejecting needed health care for people while they make billions of dollars in profit,” Sanders said. Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) also criticized “vile” social media posts for celebrating an “assh*le that’s going to die in prison.” “If you gun someone down that you don’t happen to agree with their views or the business that they’re in, hey, you know, I’m next, they’re next,” he added. “And people want to celebrate it. It’s twisted.” Government meddling is one of the reasons healthcare is so expensive. Obamacare failed across the board. And it did so by creating big pools of those who overpay and underpay. Let’s not mince words. People who smoke ought to pay more for healthcare because they are a higher risk. Those who are grossly overweight ought to pay more as well. Medicaid encourages emergency visits by paying primary care doctors so little that the doctors refuse new patients. To avoid lawsuits, doctors perform more tests than necessary. Fraud is rampant. Paperwork is excessive. “Medicare for All” would enhance problems in all of the above. Customers who have already reached their max out of pocket deductibles have no skin in the game. And that’s a huge problem. According to Medicare.Gov “ No Medicare drug plan may have a deductible more than $505 in 2023. Some Medicare drug plans don’t have a deductible. In some plans that do have a deductible, drugs on some tiers are covered before the deductible. ” Once deductibles are reached, sometimes in one month, consumers have no incentive to shop around. Other customers, unaware of cost differentials, fill prescriptions on the basis of convenience, that being the nearest pharmacy. January 24, 2024: Denver Health at “Critical Point” as 8,000 Migrants Make 20,000 Emergency Visits The Denver hospital system is turning away local residents because it is flooded with migrant visits. March 9, 2024: Medicaid Expansion Was Supposed to Pay for Itself, Instead Hospitals Are Closing 10 states did not fall for the Medicaid expansion trap under Obamacare. The rest are suffering. Private payers (you, one way or another) make up the loss. Medicaid does not pay enough to cover hospitals’ costs, meaning hospitals need to make up for the shortfall by charging private payers more. This was one of the easiest “I Told You So” advance predictions in history. Best of all, we have a decade of data to prove it thanks to ten states that resisted the trap. May 9, 2024: Hospitals Turn to Pay In Advance, In Full If you are in the hospital emergency room, and that’s where most people without insurance go, then you get treated. Otherwise, many hospitals are turning to pay in advance for services. It’s interesting to note that hospitals want payment in advance for births. Most illegals just walk in and never pay for anything. Nonpayment is one of the reasons costs are soaring for everyone who does pay. Obama claimed Medicaid expansion would pay for itself. Whenever you hear that claim please run. Free government handouts are never free and most often backfire completely. As long as we are going to have Medicare, and no politician will ever get rid of it, It would behoove Medicare and insurers to require the cheapest cost alternative on all drugs. That would force competition and eliminate fraudulent collusion. US consumers are subsidizing the rest of the world. I would put an end to that by allowing drug imports. It’s an uncomfortable topic, where demagoguery about “death squads” abounds, but we need to have a talk about the right to die and how much money we spend prolonging a terminal patient’s life, in massive pain, for a few weeks or months. I have made my wishes known. I do not want to be kept alive by heroic means if the quality of my life is expected to be grim. That’s a personal decision. At the national level, we must face this very uncomfortable question: Should we spend hundreds of thousands of dollars keeping someone alive whose life expectancy is 3 months? 6 months? a year? I say no to all for those without insurance, and no for me personally, regardless. Also, hospitals should be free to turn away those without insurance. We need tort reform to cut down legal expenses. When consumers have no skin in the game or not enough skin in the game, no one other than the insurers are interested in reducing costs. That is the fundamental problem with US healthcare. Senators Warren and Sanders proposals would make everything worse.

One of the standout features of this season is the introduction of the new game mode, Time Warp. In Time Warp, players will find themselves thrust into a chaotic battlefield where time and space are constantly shifting. With unpredictable events and challenges at every turn, Time Warp promises to test the skills and teamwork of even the most seasoned players. Whether you're a casual player looking for some fast-paced action or a competitive player seeking new challenges, Time Warp has something for everyone.

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS): Amit Malviya, the national convener of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s IT cell, on Monday, debunked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's claims after the latter alleged that BJP tried to get his wife's name deleted from the voters list of the New Delhi Assembly constituency ahead of the polls in the national capital. Taking to social media platform X to debunk the AAP leader's claims, Malviya said: "Who can be more degraded than a man who does not hesitate to drag his wife into the quagmire of politics?" The BJP leader also shared pictures of the election affidavit filed by Sanjay Singh's wife on X, saying that Anita Singh, the AAP leader's wife, is a voter of Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh) so how can a person, who is not a voter of Delhi, be removed from the voter list there. Malviya further wrote: "This is the affidavit of Anita Singh, Sanjay Singh's wife, in which she is saying that she is a voter of Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh. Now, how can the name of someone who is not a voter of Delhi be removed from the voter list of Delhi?" The BJP leader also said: "And if she (Sanjay Singh's wife) has described herself as a voter of Sultanpur in the affidavit, but also votes in Delhi, then it is a crime as per law. Now Sanjay Singh should decide how much more he wants to humiliate his wife." Sanjay Singh on Sunday accused the BJP of attempting to get his wife's name deleted from the voters list of the New Delhi Assembly seat. The senior AAP leader, one of the fiercest critics of the BJP, alleged at a press conference that the party was deleting the names of Purvanchali people settled in Delhi. He was flanked by his wife Anita Singh, who hails from eastern Uttar Pradesh. Purvanchalis, who hail from eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, form a sizable vote bank in the national capital. Both the BJP and the AAP are vying for their support in the February elections. Sanjay Singh claimed that two applications were filed on December 25 and 26 for deletion of his wife's name from the voters list of the New Delhi seat represented by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal. "They (BJP) ran a campaign to delete the name of voters from the list. They think that let's teach a lesson to Sanjay Singh. What they have done -- the New Delhi constituency from where Arvind Kejriwal is the MLA, they (BJP) gave an application to delete the name of my wife -- Anita Singh from the voter list, and not just once but twice -- on December 24 and 26," Singh said. He claimed that the BJP was targeting him because he raised in the Rajya Sabha the issue of names of Purvanchali voters being deleted from the voters list in the national capital. The BJP has alleged that the names of Rohingya and Bangladeshi people were added to the voter list at the AAP's behest. It has accused the ruling party of helping illegal immigrants with documents. Earlier on Sunday, Kejriwal accused the BJP of carrying out "Operation Lotus" in the New Delhi constituency from December 15 to delete names of voters from the electoral list. "In my New Delhi assembly constituency -- their (BJP) 'operation Lotus' has been going on since December 15. In these 15 days, they have applied for the deletion of 5,000 votes and the addition of 7,500 votes. Why is there a need to conduct elections if you are manipulating around 12 per cent of total voters in the Assembly? A kind of 'game' is being played out in the name of election," Kejriwal said in a press conference.As Reed aptly summarized, "It was a tough match, but everyone did well. We will keep fighting, keep believing, and keep pushing ourselves to achieve great things."

The world stands at the dawn of a “third nuclear age” in which Britain is threatened by multiple dilemmas, the head of the armed forces has warned. But alongside his stark warning of the threats facing Britain and its allies, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin said there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war. The Chief of the Defence Staff laid out the landscape of British defence in a wide-ranging speech, after a minister warned the Army would be wiped out in as little as six months if forced to fight a war on the scale of the Ukraine conflict. The admiral cast doubt on the possibility as he gave a speech at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank in London. He told the audience Britain needed to be “clear-eyed in our assessment” of the threats it faces, adding: “That includes recognising that there is only a remote chance of a significant direct attack or invasion by Russia on the United Kingdom, and that’s the same for the whole of Nato.” Moscow “knows the response will be overwhelming”, he added, but warned the nuclear deterrent needed to be “kept strong and strengthened”. Sir Tony added: “We are at the dawn of a third nuclear age, which is altogether more complex. It is defined by multiple and concurrent dilemmas, proliferating nuclear and disruptive technologies and the almost total absence of the security architectures that went before.” He listed the “wild threats of tactical nuclear use” by Russia, China building up its weapon stocks, Iran’s failure to co-operate with a nuclear deal, and North Korea’s “erratic behaviour” among the threats faced by the West. But Sir Tony said the UK’s nuclear arsenal is “the one part of our inventory of which Russia is most aware and has more impact on (President Vladimir) Putin than anything else”. Successive British governments had invested “substantial sums of money” in renewing nuclear submarines and warheads because of this, he added. The admiral described the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers on Ukraine’s border alongside Russian forces as the year’s “most extraordinary development”. He also signalled further deployments were possible, speaking of “tens of thousands more to follow as part of a new security pact with Russia”. Defence minister Alistair Carns earlier said a rate of casualties similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to the army being “expended” within six to 12 months. He said it illustrated the need to “generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis”. In comments reported by Sky News, Mr Carns, a former Royal Marines colonel, said Russia was suffering losses of around 1,500 soldiers killed or injured a day. “In a war of scale – not a limited intervention, but one similar to Ukraine – our Army for example, on the current casualty rates, would be expended – as part of a broader multinational coalition – in six months to a year,” Mr Carns said in a speech at Rusi. He added: “That doesn’t mean we need a bigger Army, but it does mean you need to generate depth and mass rapidly in the event of a crisis.” Official figures show the Army had 109,245 personnel on October 1, including 25,814 volunteer reservists. Mr Carns, the minister for veterans and people, said the UK needed to “catch up with Nato allies” to place greater emphasis on the reserves. The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said Defence Secretary John Healey had previously spoken about “the state of the armed forces that were inherited from the previous government”. The spokesman said: “It’s why the Budget invested billions of pounds into defence, it’s why we’re undertaking a strategic defence review to ensure that we have the capabilities and the investment needed to defend this country.”Carraro India IPO listing date today. Here’s what GMP, experts indicateWorld leaders pay tribute to Carter's legacy

Age is a significant factor that influences sleep needs. As we age, our sleep patterns change, and older adults may find that they require less sleep than younger adults. Additionally, factors such as stress levels, physical activity, and overall health can impact how much sleep a person needs. For example, individuals who are more physically active may need more sleep to support their recovery and performance.Carraro India IPO listing date today. Here’s what GMP, experts indicateOh, (Sigh) Christmas Tree

Geekvape Wins Big At Vaping360’S 2024 Annual AwardsUnited Airlines travelers with lost luggage have a new tool to track their bags. If the lost bag has an Apple AirTag in it, that information can now be passed directly to United, the airline announced Thursday. The new feature, called Share Item Location, allows travelers with an AirTag or other Find My network accessory to share the location with the airline’s customer service team to help locate their luggage in the event it’s misplaced. United says more than 99% of its customers pick up their luggage without a hitch. The feature is now available with iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2 or macOS 15.2. “Apple’s new Share Item Location feature will help customers travel with even more confidence, knowing they have another way to access their bag’s precise location with AirTag or their Find My accessory of choice,” said David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer. People are also reading... Travelers on United whose bags do not arrive at their destination can file a delayed baggage report with United and share the link to the item’s location either through the United app or via text message. After the report has been submitted, customer service agents will be able to locate the item on an interactive map alongside a timestamp of a recent update. The shared location will be disabled after a customer has the bag, and customers can also stop sharing the location of the item at any time on their own. The location link will also automatically expire after seven days. Using AirTags or other tracking devices on luggage is increasingly popular among frequent travelers, with a significant boom following the 2022 Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown , which displaced thousands of travelers over Christmas and into 2023, alongside much of their belongings. United says lost bags are rare, with more than 99% of its customers arriving with their bags. It says the new technology will help those with lost bags to recover them more quickly because the airline will have more information about them. Apple previously announced the new service will also be integrated at other air carriers, including Delta Air Lines. Others include Aer Lingus, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Vueling. 4 tips to help you experience exceptional cruise dining | PennyWise podcast Frontier Airlines introducing ‘first class-style’ seats US budget airlines are struggling. Will pursuing premium passengers solve their problems? Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!

WASHINGTON (AP) — American Airlines briefly grounded flights nationwide Tuesday due to a technical issu e just as the Christmas travel season kicks into overdrive and winter weather is threatening more potential problems for those planning to fly or drive. American flights were cleared to fly by federal regulators about one hour after a national ground stop order was issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. There were 1,447 delays for flights entering or leaving the U.S. early in the day, with 28 cancellations. Snow was falling early in New York and Dallas-Fort Worth International, which is American Airlines' main hub, was getting hit with rain. Dallas-Fort Worth had the most delays, followed by Charlotte, North Carolina, Washington, New York, Chicago and Miami Because the holiday travel period lasts weeks, airports and airlines typically have smaller peak days than they do during the rush around Thanksgiving, but the grind of one hectic day followed by another takes a toll on flight crews. And any hiccups — a winter storm or a computer outage — can snowball into massive disruptions. That is how Southwest Airlines stranded 2 million travelers in December 2022, and Delta Air Lines suffered a smaller but significant meltdown after a worldwide technology outage in July caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations even more disruptive than during slower periods. That is especially true for smaller budget airlines that have fewer flights and fewer options for rebooking passengers. Only the largest airlines, including American, Delta and United, have “interline agreements” that let them put stranded customers on another carrier’s flights. This will be the first holiday season since a Transportation Department rule took effect that requires airlines to give customers an automatic cash refund for a canceled or significantly delayed flight. Most air travelers were already eligible for refunds, but they often had to request them. Passengers still can ask to get rebooked, which is often a better option than a refund during peak travel periods. That’s because finding a last-minute flight on another airline yourself tends to be very expensive. Just before 7 a.m. Eastern time, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all American Airlines flights grounded in the U.S. at the airline’s request. American had reported a technical issue affecting its entire system with millions traveling for the holiday. American said in an email that the problem Tuesday morning was caused by a vendor technology issue that “impacted systems needed to release flights.” The groundings couldn’t come at a worse time for the millions of travelers expected to fly over the next 10 days. The Transportation Security Administration expects to screen 40 million passengers over the holidays and through January 2. Airlines expect to have their busiest days on Friday and Sunday, and on Dec. 26, Dec. 27 and Dec. 29. Many flights during the holidays are sold out, which makes cancellations more disruptive than during slower periods. Even with just a brief outage, the cancellations have a cascading effect that can take days to clear up. About 90% of Americans traveling far from home over the holidays will be in cars, according to AAA. “Airline travel is just really high right now, but most people do drive to their destinations, and that is true for every holiday,” AAA spokesperson Aixa Diaz said. Gasoline prices are similar to last year. The nationwide average Thursday was $3.04 a gallon, down from $3.13 a year ago, according to AAA. Charging an electric vehicle averages just under 35 cents per per kilowatt hour, but varies by state. Transportation-data firm INRIX says travel times on the nation’s highways could be up to 30% longer than normal over the holidays, with Sunday expected to see the heaviest traffic. Boston, New York City, Seattle and Washington, D.C., are the metropolitan areas primed for the greatest delays, according to the company. —— AP Reporters David Koenig, Mae Anderson and Mike Pesoli contributed to this report.United, Apple rolling out new way to track lost luggage with AirTags

New Jersey’s Andy Kim is named to the Senate early - POLITICO

Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST) Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates In Q3 Earnings, But Stock Soars 5.2%In conclusion, President Zelensky's revelation of the true death toll among Ukrainian military personnel sheds light on the harsh realities of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. It also serves as a call for greater transparency and accountability in reporting and discussing such sensitive issues. Only by acknowledging the full extent of the sacrifices made by those involved can we truly understand and address the challenges facing the region.

Southeastern Grocers gives customers extra jingle in their pockets with over $50,000 in free groceriesJeju Air shares slump to record low after deadly plane crashCHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Bryce Thompson scored 17 points, Marchelus Avery had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Oklahoma State beat Miami 80-74 on Friday in the consolation bracket of the Charleston Classic. Oklahoma State (4-1) will play in the fifth-place game on Sunday, while Miami (3-2) will try to avoid going winless in the tournament. Oklahoma State led 43-27 at halftime after making 8 of 15 from 3-point range, while Miami was just 8 of 27 overall. Four different Cowboys made a 3-pointer in the first half, with Brandon Newman making three. Thompson banked in a shot early in the second half to give Oklahoma State a 20-point lead at 49-29. Miami, which opened the game by missing 7 of 8 shots, went 1 for 8 from the field to begin the second half. Miami trailed by double figures the entire second half until Matthew Cleveland made a difficult shot in the lane while being fouled. He made the free throw to pull the Hurricanes within 75-67 with 49 seconds left. Arturo Dean restored a double-digit lead by making two free throws at 43.8. Thompson reached the 1,000 career points with the Cowboys on a shot in the lane with 13:01 left in the second half to give Oklahoma State a 55-38 lead. Nijel Pack scored 20 points and Brandon Johnson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Miami. Cleveland finished with 11 points, and Lynn Kidd and Paul Djobet each had 10. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up . AP college basketball: and

Oh, (Sigh) Christmas TreeThe term "moderately loose" refers to a monetary policy approach characterized by a combination of low interest rates, increased money supply, and relaxed credit conditions. It is often employed by central banks as a means to stimulate economic growth, boost investment, and combat deflationary pressures. However, the use of such a policy stance also comes with its own set of risks and challenges, particularly in terms of inflation management, asset price bubbles, and financial stability.

9 holiday gifts to hit the right note for music loversUNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The team looking for a missing Pennsylvania woman believed to have fallen into a sinkhole has determined that an abandoned coal mine is too unstable for people to safely search underground, authorities said Wednesday while still expressing hope Elizabeth Pollard will be found alive. Rescue workers continue to search for Elizabeth Pollard, who is believed to have disappeared in a sinkhole while looking for her cat, Wednesday in Marguerite, Pa. Emergency crews and others have been trying to find Pollard, 64, for two days. Her relatives reported her missing early Tuesday and her vehicle with her unharmed 5-year-old granddaughter inside was found about two hours later, near what is thought to be a freshly opened sinkhole above the long closed, crumbling mine. Authorities said in a noon update that the roof of the mine collapsed in several places and is not stable. The sinkhole is in the village of Marguerite, about 40 miles east of Pittsburgh. “We did get, you know, where we wanted, where we thought that she was at. We’ve been to that spot," said Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha, the incident's operations officer. “What happened at that point, I don’t know, maybe the slurry of mud pushed her one direction. There were several different seams of that mine, shafts that all came together where this happened at.” Trooper Cliff Greenfield said crews were still actively searching for Pollard. “We are hopeful that she’s found alive,” Greenfield said. Searchers were using electronic devices and cameras as surface digging continued with the use of heavy equipment, Bacha said. Search dogs may also be used. Rescue workers search through the night in a sinkhole for Elizabeth Pollard, who disappeared while looking for her cat, Tuesday in Marguerite, Pa. On Wednesday afternoon, machinery was removing material from the area around the hole while police and other government vehicles blocked a clear view of the scene. Sinkholes occur in the area because of subsidence from coal mining activity. Rescuers had been using water to break down and remove clay and dirt from the mine, which has been closed since the 1950s, but that increased the risk “for potential other mine subsidence to take place," Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper Steve Limani said. Crews lowered a pole camera with a sensitive listening device into the hole, but it detected nothing. Another camera lowered into the hole showed what could be a shoe about 30 feet below the surface, Limani said. Searchers have also deployed drones and thermal imaging equipment, to no avail. Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham, the incident commander, said access to the immediate area surrounding the hole was being tightly controlled and monitored, with rescuers attached by harness. The top of a sinkhole is seen Tuesday in the village of Marguerite, Pa., where rescuers searched for a woman who disappeared. “We cannot judge as to what’s going on underneath us. Again, you had a small hole on top but as soon as you stuck a camera down through to look, you had this big void,” Graham said. “And it was all different depths. The process is long, is tedious. We have to make sure that we are keeping safety in the forefront as well as the rescue effort.” Bacha said they were “hoping that there’s a void that she could still be in.” Pollard's family called police at about 1 a.m. Tuesday to say she had not been seen since going out at about 5 p.m. Monday to search for Pepper, her cat. The temperature dropped well below freezing that night. Her son, Axel Hayes, said Pollard is a happy woman who likes going out to have fun. She and her husband adopted Hayes and his twin brother when they were infants. Hayes called Pollard “a great person overall, a great mother” who “never really did anybody wrong.” He said at one point Pollard had about 10 cats. “Every cat that she’s ever come in contact with, she has a close bond with them,” Hayes said. His mother worked for many years at Walmart but recently was not employed, he said. “I’m just hoping right now that she’s still with us and she’s able to come back to us,” he said. Police said they found Pollard's car parked behind Monday's Union Restaurant in Marguerite, about 20 feet from the sinkhole. Hunters and restaurant workers in the area said they had not noticed the manhole-size opening in the hours before Pollard disappeared, leading rescuers to speculate that the sinkhole was new. “It almost feels like it opened up with her standing on top of it,” Limani said. Searchers accessed the mine late Tuesday afternoon and dug a separate entrance out of concern that the ground around the sinkhole opening was not stable. “Let’s be honest, we need to get a little bit lucky, right?” Limani said Wednesday. “We need a little bit of luck on our side. We need a little bit of God’s good blessing on our side.” Pollard lives in a small neighborhood across the street from where her car and granddaughter were located, Limani said. The young girl “nodded off in the car and woke up. Grandma never came back," Limani said. The child stayed in the car until two troopers rescued her. It's not clear what happened to Pepper. In an era of rapid technological advancement and environmental change, American agriculture is undergoing a revolution that reaches far beyond the farm gate. From the food on consumer plates to the economic health of rural communities, the transformation of U.S. farming practices is reshaping the nation's landscape in ways both visible and hidden. LandTrust explores how these changes impact everyone, whether they live in the heartland or the heart of the city. The image of the small family farm, while still a reality for many, is increasingly giving way to larger, more technologically advanced operations. According to the USDA, the number of farms in the U.S. has fallen from 6.8 million in 1935 to about 2 million today, with the average farm size growing from 155 acres to 444 acres. This shift has profound implications for rural communities and the food system as a whole. Despite these changes, diversity in farming practices is on the rise. A landmark study published in Science , involving data from over 2,000 farms across 11 countries, found that diversifying farmland simultaneously delivers environmental and social benefits. This challenges the longstanding idea that practices boosting biodiversity must come at a cost to yields and food security. The adoption of precision agriculture technologies is transforming how farmers manage their land and resources. GPS-guided tractors, drone surveillance, and AI-powered crop management systems are becoming commonplace on many farms. These technologies allow farmers to apply water, fertilizers, and pesticides with pinpoint accuracy, reducing waste and environmental impact while improving yields. However, the digital divide remains a challenge. More than 22% of rural communities lack reliable broadband internet access, hindering the widespread implementation of AI and other advanced technologies in agriculture. While technology offers new opportunities, farmers are also facing significant economic challenges. The USDA's 2024 farm income forecast projects a 4.4% decline in net farm income from 2023, following a sharp 19.5% drop from 2022 to 2023. This financial pressure is compounded by rising production costs and market volatility. Climate variability adds another layer of complexity. Extreme weather events, changing precipitation patterns, and shifting growing seasons are forcing farmers to adapt quickly. These factors could reduce agricultural productivity by up to 25% over the coming decades without significant adaptation measures. But adapting requires additional financial resources, further straining farm profitability. In the face of these challenges, many farmers are turning to diversification as a strategy for resilience and profitability. The Science study mentioned earlier found that farms integrating several diversification methods supported more biodiversity while seeing simultaneous increases in human well-being and food security. Agritourism is one popular diversification strategy. In 2022, 28,600 U.S. farms reported agritourism income, averaging gross revenue of $44,000 from these activities. Activities like farm tours, pick-your-own operations, and seasonal festivals not only provide additional income but also foster a deeper connection between consumers and agriculture. The changing face of agriculture is directly impacting consumers. The rise of farm-to-table and local food movements reflects a growing interest in where our food comes from and how it's produced. If every U.S. household spent just $10 per week on locally grown food, it would generate billions of dollars for local economies. However, the larger challenges in agriculture can also lead to price fluctuations at the grocery store. The USDA's Economic Research Service projects that food-at-home prices will increase between 1.2% and 2.2% in 2024. Looking ahead, several innovations are poised to reshape agriculture: The transformation of American agriculture affects everyone, from the food we eat to the health of our environment and rural communities. Consumers have the power to support sustainable and diverse farming practices through our purchasing decisions. As citizens, they can advocate for policies that support farmers in adopting innovative and sustainable practices. The challenges facing agriculture are complex, but they also present opportunities for innovation and positive change. By understanding and engaging with these issues, everyone can play a part in shaping a more resilient, sustainable, and equitable food system for the future. This story was produced by LandTrust and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. Get local news delivered to your inbox!