Categories
Small Business Lifestyle

Jill Biden reveals plan that focuses on women’s health [Video]

First lady Jill Biden is unveiling a new set of actions to address health inequities faced by women in the United States, plans that include spending at least $500 million annually on women’s health research.Biden was making the announcement Monday while closing out the first day of this year’s Clinton Global Initiative annual meeting in New York.The additional government spending will mainly come from the Department of Defense, which provides medical care to more than 230,000 active duty military women and nearly 2 million military retirees, as well as their family members. The research will focus on why these women experience endocrine, hematological and other immunity-related disorders twice as often as men. “Our nation is home to the best health research in the world, yet women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded,” Biden said at a separate event on Friday. “And we still know too little about how to affectively prevent, diagnose, and treat a range of health conditions in women, from heart disease to cancers.”The commitment was among the largest of the more than 100 expected at the two-day meeting of political, business and philanthropic leaders gathering to address some of the world’s most pressing issues. Former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton have set this year’s theme as “What’s Working,” a way to look for potential solutions and effective programs in tumultuous times.”You don’t look at a problem and say, ‘That’s impossible,” Bill Clinton said in his opening remarks. “You don’t just throw up your hands. You roll up your sleeves.”An example of that strategy came from the announcement that a wide-ranging group of 15 nonprofits, humanitarian aid organizations and other funders will join forces to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan following more than a year of conflict.The Coalition for Mutual Aid in Sudan which includes The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Giving, Global Fund for Women, and The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee will donate at least $2 million to mutual aid groups in the country by the end of the year. It also pledged to raise another $4.5 million for those groups within the next two years.Patricia McIlreavy, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, which has been representing the coalition, said that, while much more aid is needed, the collaboration and problem-solving of the group is an important step forward.”It gets us started,” McIlreavy told The Associated Press. “And it models the behavior you want to see from others. If you wait until it’s the perfect opportunity, you’ve missed many of the opportunities that were good enough.”World Food Program director Cindy McCain said earlier this month that ” Sudan’s nearly a forgotten crisis ” and that 25 million people there already face acute hunger. Last week, the top United Nations humanitarian official said fighting is escalating in the conflict that began in April 2023 when long-simmering tensions between Sudan’s military and paramilitary leaders broke out in the capital Khartoum and spread to other regions. The U.N. says more than 14,000 people have been killed and 33,000 injured.”With ongoing impediments to a large-scale international aid response, Sudanese community groups have become the primary frontline responders and are currently the most effective means of reaching millions on the brink of starvation,” Patricia McIlreavy, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy, said in a prepared statement on behalf of the coalition. “With so many lives on the line, the imperative to support local aid efforts in Sudan has never been more urgent.”The Center for Disaster Philanthropy says more than 12 million people have been forced from their homes in Sudan, creating what is now the world’s largest displacement and hunger crisis. The danger from the conflict has prevented most international aid agencies from delivering supplies to those in need.Greg Milne, the Clinton Global Initiative CEO who convened a panel in April to raise awareness and support for the Sudanese people, said the new coalition is an example of what bringing organizations from varied sectors can do.”We know strong, diverse partnerships can help address often overlooked and even dire challenges, and develop unexpected and innovative solutions,” he said.Philanthropic leaders, including Bill Gates, World Central Kitchen founder Jose Andres, Open Society Foundations President Binaifer Nowrojee, and Rockefeller Foundation President Raj Shah will share information about their work during CGI, as will Prince Harry, who will discuss the launch of The Archewell Foundation Parents’ Network, which supports parents of children harmed online. In his Tuesday appearance, the Duke of Sussex will also address his work with the World Health Organization and others to reduce violence against children, an issue he and his wife Meghan outlined on a recent trip to Colombia.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Kosovo President Vjosa Osmani Sadriu, and Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics are set to address the conference, as are CEOs from Pfizer, Mastercard, IKEA, Pinterest, Sanofi and Chobani.

Categories
Small Business Lifestyle

Bartlett steps up in a big way for families after fire [Video]

BARTLETT, Tenn. A massive fire at an apartment complex in Bartlett is bringing the community together. Families at the Quail Ridge Apartments that have been displaced are now moving into new homes and restarting their lives from scratch. Multiple families lost everything, but Quail Ridge Church of Christ and other churches in the area are working []

Categories
Small Business Lifestyle

Mobile woman accused of robbing two men working on her home [Video]

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) A local woman accused of robbing two men at gunpoint in her home has been arrested, according to the Mobile Police Department. Police identified the woman as 50-year-old Jenit Lee Avery. According to the MPD, Avery was arrested after officers responded to a robbery at her home in the 3900 block []

Categories
Small Business Lifestyle

New Orleans City Park coyote concerns in Lakeview [Video]

Lakeview residents continue to sound the alarm about a dangerous pack of coyotes near City Park. A bulletin was sent to Lakeview residents over the weekend after a pack of coyotes ate a family of ducks in the 6800 block of General Diaz. Video showed the coyotes roaming in people’s front yards as well as walking down sidewalks in front of homes. According to Val Cupit with Lakeview Crimewatch, over 20 coyotes were seen at their den on Marconi Drive. Cupit is urging residents in the neighborhood to be vigilant and keep pets and children inside. This is not the first time Cupit has voiced concerns about the coytoes in Lakeview. Just last month, she spoke with WDSU after her pet was killed by a coyote. After that incident, City Park told WDSU they were working with the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to address the coyote problem. WDSU reached out to City Park about the recent sightings, and received this response: “City Park Conservancy is working with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, which did a site visit to the Park to survey coyote activity and identify areas in the Park where they may be living.”Consistent with a wildlife mitigation/containment plan supplied by LDWF, CPC is trapping the animals and making areas of the Park less hospitable to coyotes. CPC staff are securing unnatural food sources for these wild animals, including garbage left behind by Park visitors, and practicing deterrent tactics or hazing such as using loud noises to encourage coyotes to leave the area.”CPC is committed to continuing to minimize the presence of coyotes in the Park and asks for the publics help. Park visitors and neighbors are asked to keep pets on a leash, secure their own garbage in bins with tight lids and refrain from leaving food sources like cat food outside.”If a visitor is approached by a coyote, the Humane Society of the United States advises people to be loud and large, yelling and waving arms so the animals know to not approach. Anyone who sees a coyote in their neighborhood should report it to the New Orleans Department of Mosquito, Rodent and Termite Control at 504-658-2400 or mosquitocontrol@nola.gov.”For more information on coyotes, visit the LDWFs website and learn more about Living with Coyotes.”

Categories
Small Business Lifestyle

Middle East conflict edges closer to ‘open-ended battle’ [Video]

Escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon is raising concerns of a broader conflict in the Middle East, with U.S. efforts to mediate a ceasefire in Gaza facing little to no progress.Overnight, Israel launched airstrikes in southern Lebanon, targeting what officials say were Hezbollah terrorists. The strikes come in response to over 100 rockets fired by Hezbollah over the weekend, following the death of one of its leaders and an attack through communications devices.One Hezbollah leader declared the attacks an “open-ended battle” as both sides spiral closer to an all-out war.”We did not want this war. We are not seeking war,” Israeli President Isaac Herzog said. “Hezbollah’s been attacking us on a daily basis, demolishing Israeli villages and towns. Basically leading to the eviction of 100,000 Israelis from their homes. Life has been shattered in our northern border.””We will take whatever action is necessary to restore security and to bring our people safe back to their homes,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised address. “No country can accept the wanton rocketing of its cities. We can’t accept it either.”Meanwhile, U.S. mediators have been working alongside international negotiators to secure a ceasefire deal in Gaza, but stalled progress and the escalating violence are threatening hope of bringing American hostages home.”We have not achieved any progress here in the last week to two weeks- not for lack of trying,” White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby, said. “We will certainly keep up those conversations as best we can. And we’re talking to both sides here.”President Joe Biden acknowledged the latest surge of violence and expressed concern of spreading conflict.”We’re going to do everything we can to keep from a wider war from breaking out,” he said.There are other concerns that the same type of attacks on explosive communications devices used in Lebanon could happen in the U.S. Experts believe Israel infiltrated the international supply chain and placed the rigged devices in imports headed to Lebanon. According to the Associated Press, the complex operation likely took months to pull off but little evidence has emerged so far.The White House did not comment on whether it is taking steps to protect the U.S. supply chain as a result, offering instead that Biden wants the supply chain to be largely self-sufficient, with most goods originating from within the U.S.Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are scheduled to meet with leaders of the United Arab Emirates Monday before Biden travels to New York for the United Nations General Assembly.