The Biden administration recently announced a policy mandate that would cap credit card late fees at $8, significantly lower than the current fee of $32. The policy aims to alleviate the burden of junk fees on credit card users by capping late fees at $8 starting in June, potentially saving American families more than $10 billion in late fees, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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The U.S. was the sole naysayer in a U.N. Security Council vote on Feb. 20 to produce a demand for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. According to AP News, the vote stood 13-1, with the U.K. abstaining, putting an end to the Arab-backed call for a cessation of violence in the Gaza Strip and the provision of vital humanitarian aid to the region.
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The Supreme Court has recently been hearing oral arguments on whether to prohibit social media companies and platforms from removing posts or accounts based on content they deemed hateful. While there is still a long path before the Supreme Court arrives at its final decision, there is no doubt that the result of the decision would have a significant impact on the relationship between social media and state laws.
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The Year of the Dragon has begun, and last week, scientists found a 240 million year old “dragon” fossil. According to NPR, the fossil of the Dinocephalosaurus orientalis is from the Triassic period and was found in southern China, specifically in the Guizhou Province. This is not the first discovery of this animal but it is the first full skeleton found, with the fossil ranging 16 feet long.
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Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition figure and outspoken Kremlin critic, unexpectedly died on Feb. 16 at the Arctic prison where he was serving a 19-year prison term, according to Russia’s prison agency. The 47-year-old was one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's most prominent domestic foes and was known for his anti-corruption activism and fierce criticism of the government's policies.
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Capital One recently announced its plan to merge with Discover Financial Services in late 2024 or early 2025, valuing the deal at over $35 billion. Following the announcement, Capital One released a statement to investors that provided further insight into the deal, including the projected revenue of $2.7 billion and the aim to reach more than 100 million customers worldwide following the acquisition.
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The Alabama Supreme Court recently ruled that frozen embryos stored in test tubes should be considered children. Since the ruling, health systems around the state have paused their in-vitro fertilization treatments, impacting hundreds of families.
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Since 2020, there has been an upward trend in debt collected by the Evergrande Group, hinting at its inevitable bankruptcy. The Evergrande Group is listed in Hong Kong Stock Exchange with headquarters in Shenzhen, China.
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The war in Gaza has further inflamed pre-existing tensions in the remainder of the Middle East, made apparent in the heated activity between the Yemeni Houthis and cargo ships in the Red Sea. The beginning of the war in Gaza brought an end to headway in peace talks, as the Houthis vowed to attack any ships in the Red Sea they believed to have ties to Israel, according to the BBC. Many of these attacks have included assaults on U.S. and British freighters, drawing the ire of the United States.
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A pod of 14 killer whales were trapped by sea ice, discovered off the coast of Japan’s Hokkaido on Feb. 6. Following the report, the news of the trapped pod spread quickly. According to The Guardian, environmental groups raised concerns, and social media posts soon prompted government action.
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The homecoming celebration of a winning team after any major sporting event is reason for great pride and national attention, giving both fans and players an opportunity to revel in their victory after a season’s worth of trials and tests of faith. To see places of such joy marred, with the Super Bowl Parade of the reigning Kansas City Chiefs descending into bloodshed on Feb. 14, is a reminder of the ubiquity of the issue of gun violence in America.
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An Oregon resident got diagnosed with the bubonic plague last week, sparking concern and worry from officials. How did they get it? Their pet cat.
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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, announced on Feb. 6 that AI-generated images will be labeled to indicate they were created with AI tools. These labels will appear in all languages supported by each app within the coming months, allowing users to sort between what is real and what is not.
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There have been five storms in the past decade that could be classified as hurricanes with “category 6 strength,” defined as winds of 192 mph or more. Michael Wehner, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory proposed the new category with James Kossin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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A federal appeals court unanimously ruled on Feb. 6 that former president Donald Trump can face trials for the alleged crimes he committed to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, sharply rejecting his claims that he is immune from prosecution, according to Reuters.
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Elon Musk has made a prolific name for himself in the past decade, not only through the accumulation of wealth, but also as through his innovative and often divisive technological endeavors to which he has pledged his backing and resources. One such endeavor is Neuralink, a company co-founded by Musk in 2016, which aspires to produce significant advances in the realm of what neuroscientists and engineers term “the brain-computer interface.”
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In a recent back-and-forth between New York City Council and the city’s Mayor Eric Adams, the NYC Council voted to override Adams’ veto on two criminal justice bills. According to ABC7, the decision passed in a 42-9 majority, a greater approval than when the bills were initially passed.
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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Jan. 30 that expands the legal definition of rape to include a broader range of sexual assault in an effort to hold perpetrators accountable and protect survivors. The new legislation will be implemented this year and will apply to sex crimes that are committed on or after Sept. 1.
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After a joint meeting on Jan. 30, President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping of China reached a common ground on the opioid crisis because the opioid crisis affects both countries.
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The Republican party failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas earlier this week. On Feb. 6, the impeachment charges moved to the House floor for a vote. Not only did this impeachment fail, but it failed narrowly, in a final vote of 214 to 216. The division present in the Republican party has become potentially problematic with some of its own representatives voicing their disagreements with the actions of other members
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