Health
Lack of movement on extension of radiation compensation fund worries NM Downwinders
An extension for the fund to support people exposed to radiation will not be included in the omnibus spending bill Congress is working on to keep the government open. The 32-year old fund enacted in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) provides lump sums to people exposed to radiation — or their families — who […]
‘For us who have lost loved ones, there is no return to normal’
Janeth Nuñez del Prado’s father Hugo lived in Bolivia and didn’t have access to the vaccine to protect against COVID-19. He died after catching the virus in May 2021, just two weeks before he was planning to come to the United States to get vaccinated and meet her children for the first time. Hugo was […]
COVID aid stripped from U.S. spending bill after protests states would lose relief money
WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders on Wednesday pulled more than $15 billion in emergency COVID-19 aid from a government funding bill after infuriated Democrats said their states would get shut out of promised cash from a 2021 pandemic relief package. Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that it was “heartbreaking” to remove the COVID-19 funding, […]
Even mild cases of COVID-19 can leave a mark on the brain, such as reductions in gray matter
Researchers have been steadily gathering important insights into the effects of COVID-19 on the body and brain. Two years into the pandemic, these findings are raising concerns about the long-term impacts the coronavirus might have on biological processes such as aging. As a cognitive neuroscientist, I have focused in my past research on understanding how […]
U.S. government shutdown days away as Congress struggles on Ukraine aid, COVID-19 relief
WASHINGTON — With just four days left before government funding expires, Democrats and Republicans are trying to reach agreement on $1.5 trillion in federal spending as well as billions more in assistance to Ukraine and COVID-19 relief. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Monday afternoon that both political parties were “very close” to reaching […]
The map colors changed, but did the risk?
Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Mexico Department of Health are asking the public to adopt a new way of thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic. On Feb. 25, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky announced that the agency “updated its framework to monitor the level of COVID-19 in communities.” CDC updated […]
Stanley NM fire department ‘effectively dissolved’ after staff terminated for refusing to get vaxxed
Four of six responders at the Stanley Volunteer Fire Department in Santa Fe County have resigned or were terminated as of Thursday due to the county’s vaccine requirement, the department’s former fire chief told Source New Mexico. The Stanley district is the biggest in Santa Fe County, covering 420 square miles in the southeast section […]
Welfare is no substitute for a child tax credit
Those in Congress who are blocking President Biden’s proposed child tax credit — a monthly federal stipend for families with children of up to $300 per child — have been making a curious claim of late. They’ve been saying that there is already a highly effective cash assistance program for low-income parents and kids: Temporary […]
White House wants $10 billion for Ukraine aid, $22.5 billion for more COVID help
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is asking Congress to provide $10 billion in assistance to Ukraine and $22.5 billion in COVID-19 funding on a fast timeline — within the next week. White House acting budget director Shalanda Young wrote in a letter to lawmakers that this likely won’t be the last emergency funding request for […]
Scrase: NM mask mandate gone for good barring catastrophe
New Mexico would have to encounter disastrous circumstances in order for state officials to even consider reimplementing a statewide mask mandate, the state’s top public health official said Wednesday. “I don’t know that we’re predisposed to mandates,” said David Scrase, acting health secretary of New Mexico. He said bringing the mandate back would be possible […]
Pandemic sidelines immunocompromised teacher
As the state struggles to find teachers — even calling on members of the National Guard to remedy staffing shortages in public schools — some longtime instructors are blocked from doing the job by COVID risk. Manan Reese has taught as a substitute in Albuquerque high schools for about five years. But for the past […]
Here’s what you will hear Biden talk about in his debut State of the Union
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address is set to focus significantly on the economy, with the former member of the U.S. Senate calling on Congress to pass much of the agenda stalled in the so-called Build Back Better bill. During the Tuesday night speech, which begins at 9 p.m. ET, […]