Category Archives: National News

Is America becoming less patriotic?

Photo: Gallup

The 38% of U.S. adults who say they are “extremely proud” to be American is the lowest in Gallup’s trend, which began in 2001. Still, together with the 27% who are “very proud,” 65% of U.S. adults express pride in the nation. Another 22% say they are “moderately proud,” while 9% are “only a little” and 4% are “not at all” proud.

This record-low level of extreme national pride comes at a challenging time in the U.S. as a pandemic-weary public is struggling with the highest U.S. inflation rate in more than four decades. These data are from a June 1-20 poll that was conducted after mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, claimed 31 lives, including 19 children.

Read more from Gallup News…

From Near Death to Superstar: Texas Resident Kechi Okwuchi Reveals All in Her New Memoir

Kechi (courtesy of Kechi Okwuchi)

The name “Kechi” (pronounced Ketchee) may not be new to some people, as she finished 6th overall on the popular show, America’s Got Talent, in 2017. Which contestant was she? She was the one with the voice of an angel that had burn scars all over her face and body, which was evidence of her strength and her earlier life. She even got a “Golden Buzzer” from Simon Cowell when she returned for America’s Got Talent: The Champions in 2019. Clearly, many people saw past the scars.

Kechi Okwuchi, originally from Nigeria and now settled in Pearland, TX with her family, was one of two survivors of the ill-fated Sosoliso flight 1145 on December 10, 2005, that was packed by passengers from her private school, Loyola Jesuit College in Nigeria, going home for Christmas break.

A total of 107 lives were lost, including 60 of Okwuchi’s classmates.

Read more from NewsBreak…

National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 24–30, 2022

Since 1981, National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) has challenged the Nation to confront and remove barriers to achieving justice for all victims of crime. During NCVRW, we celebrate the accomplishments of the victims’ rights movement and reflect on how far we have come.

Save the date for NCVRW 2022, which will be observed April 24–30. The 2022 NCVRW theme is Rights, access, equity, for all victims. The theme underscores the importance of helping crime survivors find their justice by:

  • enforcing victims’ rights
  • expanding access to services
  • ensuring equity and inclusion for all

The theme also highlights the need for victims of violent crime to have the necessary resources to allow them to heal and receive the fundamental justice they deserve. The events also recognize crime victims, survivors, and their family members in our community.

For more information, visit https://ovc.ojp.gov/program/national-crime-victims-rights-week/overview.

Only 9% of Americans Can Properly Read a Nutrition Label

Photo: Reuters

Americans are often advised to eat healthier, more nutritious foods in an effort to stifle diabetes and the obesity epidemic striking the nation. Researchers find that many can not identify healthy foods in the grocery store aisle, though.

A research team at Attest, a consumer research platform, found that when presented with multiple food options – all of varying levels of health and nutrition – only nine percent of people are able to correctly identify which was the healthiest.

Even more worrying, 13 percent identified the least nutritious food option as the healthiest – more than the amount who properly identified the healthiest.

Experts say that many are misled by labels on packaging like ‘whole grain’ and ‘low calorie’, and either do not bother to or cannot properly read the nutrition label on the back of the box. 

Read more from Daily Mail…

How Amazon plans to fix its massive returns problem

Amazon is handling a rapidly growing number of returns that are causing a massive problem for the e-commerce giant and the planet.

A National Retail Federation survey found a record $761 billion of merchandise was returned to retailers in 2021. That amount surpasses what the U.S. spent on national defense in 2021, which was $741 billion. 

Amazon wouldn’t share its overall returns numbers, but in 2021, the National Retail Federation estimates 16.6% of all merchandise sold during the holiday season was returned, up more than 56% from the year before. For online purchases, the average rate of return was even higher, at nearly 21%, up from 18% in 2020. With $469 billion of net sales revenue last year, Amazon’s returns numbers are likely staggering. 

Read more from CNBC…

Plan to search school lunches, limit snacks sparks backlash in Pennsylvania district

A Pennsylvania school on Monday started limiting the amount of snacks students can bring to school, sparking outrage from some parents.

A Facebook post from Aliquippa School District posted last week said that Aliquippa Junior/Senior High School students had started bringing an “excessive amounts of outside snacks,” like shopping bags full of chips and canned drinks.

Because of that, students’ bags will be searched, the district said in the post. Anything more than one 4-ounce bag of chips and one beverage up to 20 ounces will be thrown out by security.

Read more from NBC News…

Thanks to Real News PR for the story

March is more than St. Patrick’s Day: March 26 – 31: Part 6 of 6

March is full of lesser-known and even strange “holidays.” Check out my previous articles to see what you may have missed!

Here’s what’s going on March 26 – 31:

March 26:

Make Your Own Holiday Day is the perfect day to celebrate whatever you’d like! The only guidelines are to make sure that your chosen topic for celebration is not already an official or unofficial holiday, and, of course, be courteous to your fellow humans.

Just FYI, “Joe Day” is taken, but I’m sure there are plenty of other things available.

Today, you can skip all the red tape and effort, and just declare Your Own Holiday!

It’s also Live Long and Prosper Day, which was created by Matt McCarthy in 2017 on Make Your Own Holiday Day. McCarthy’s purpose for this day is to encourage people to think about how they can live long and prosper. Whether it’s through exercise, eating right, or swearing off robbing banks, this is the day for self-improvement.

Read more from NewsBreak…

Amazon drivers demand higher pay to cope with surging gas prices

REUTERS/Mike Blake

Delivery drivers are trying to pressure Amazon to pay more to its Flex program drivers to accommodate surging gas prices.

Around 50 delivery and rideshare drivers, including drivers for the Flex delivery program, gathered to protest outside an Amazon warehouse near Los Angeles on Wednesday, CNBC reported.

Gas prices have spiked since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, and the price of gas had already been rising in the months running up to the invasion. The national average price for gas was $4.27 a gallon as of Thursday, according to the American Automobile Association Gas Prices, an increase of about 75 cents from a month earlier.

Read more from Insider…

Thank you to Real News PR for the story.

Some Colorado high schools are doing away with ‘valedictorian’

A school district in Colorado has plans to do away with valedictorian awards at its high schools.

Starting with the class of 2026, the Cherry Creek School District in western Arapahoe County, Colorado, will not give special recognition to students who have earned the highest grade-point average in their class at graduations, according to FOX 31 Denver KDVR.

The school district notified parents about the ceremonial change in a recent newsletter, the local news station reported.

Read more from FOX News…

Thank you to Real News PR for the story.

Six Grocery Items Still Facing Shortages

Shutterstock

Manufacturers and stores alike are trying to anticipate the best way to avoid the supply chain snarls that have followed the grocery sector for the past year, but there’s only so much they can control. Costs are going up due to a myriad of supply challenges, and shoppers are feeling the effects as prices keep rising.

We’ve seen shortages before, and with continuing disruptions to supply chains, we were bound to see them again. These are six of the products you’re likely to see running low—if you need them, you may have to plan more in advance, visit a couple of different stores, or shop for more plentiful alternatives to avoid the sight of empty store aisles

Read more from Eat This, Not That!…