National News

SBA announces 2022 National Veterans Small Business Week

WASHINGTON – SBA  Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, the voice for America’s 33 million small businesses in President Biden’s Cabinet, announced that the SBA will celebrate National Veterans Small Business Week (NVSBW) Oct. 31 – Nov. 4, with a series of virtual and in-person events highlighting the entrepreneurial spirit and resilience of our veteran small business owners.   Under

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Social Security implements self-attestation of sex marker in Social Security number records

WASHINGTON, D. C. – Kilolo Kijakazi, Acting Commissioner of Social Security, announced that the agency now offers people the choice to self-select their sex on their Social Security number (SSN) record. The agency has implemented this policy change and the new option is now available.   “The Social Security Administration’s Equity Action Plan includes a

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CPSC approves new federal safety standard for dressers and other clothing storage units

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has approved a new federal mandatory safety standard for clothing storage units (CSUs) that will significantly change the way clothing storage units are tested and labeled. Young children are most at risk of injury or death from tip over incidents with this type of furniture, which

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Halloween and your furry friends

SEATTLE, Wash. – As Halloween approaches, Trupanion, a leader in medical insurance for cats and dogs, scanned its database of more than 750,000 pets and found that historically there is a noticeable increase in chocolate toxicity claims beginning now, through the end of the year. In some years, toxicity claims have spiked more than 70% at Halloween.   In

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CDC expands updated COVID-19 vaccines to include children ages 5 Through 11

ATLANTA, Georgia — The Centers for Disease Control has approved the expanded use of the updated (bivalent) COVID-19 vaccines to children ages 5 through 11 years.   This follows the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) authorization of updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech for children ages 5 through 11 years, and from Moderna for children and

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EPA seeks nominations for Local Government Advisory Committee

LENEXA, KAN. (OCT. 14) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing a solicitation for nominations to serve on its Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC), which advises EPA on critical environmental issues impacting local governments. The agency is also accepting nominations for LGAC’s Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee (SCAS). “EPA works closely with local governments

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Food prices rise 12.7 percent, energy prices are up 20.7 percent

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Prices in the Midwest Region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), increased 0.2 percent  in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. The index for all items less food and energy was up 0.4 percent , and the food index rose 0.8 percent 

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Leadership Conference Poll: 54 percent fear America is on the path to another civil war, 53 percent think democracy may be done in four to five years

WASHINGTON – A new national poll commissioned by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and conducted by brilliant corners Research and Strategies has found that ahead of the 2022 midterm election, strong majorities of likely voters, across the political spectrum and across race and gender, believe our democracy is under threat and fear it

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Social Security announces 8.7 percent benefit increase for 2023

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for approximately 70 million Americans will increase 8.7 percent in 2023, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday.  On average, Social Security benefits will increase by more than $140 per month starting in January. The 8.7 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) will begin with benefits payable

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