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  South Korea -- Frigid winter weather gripped East Asia for the second straight day on Wednesday, causing several deaths and multiple injuries in Japan and a scramble for flights out of South Korea's resort island of Jeju following delays by snowstorms. Heavy snow and record cold temperatures brought widespread disruptions in Japan. South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety didn’t immediately report any major damage or injuries from subzero temperatures and icy conditions that have affected most of the country since Tuesday. But at least eight roads and 10 sea routes remained closed as of Wednesday afternoon. About 140 homes in capital Seoul and nearby regions reported busted water pressure pumps or pipes as temperatures dipped to around minus 15 to minus 20 degrees Celsius (5 degrees to minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit) across the mainland. A man died in Oita, southern Japan, after being hit by a fallen tree and two more deaths in the northern prefecture of Niiga...

  A man is dead and a Georgia state trooper injured Wednesday after law enforcement officers attempted to move protesters from the site of a controversial proposed public safety training facility near Atlanta. Activists have been occupying the area they call "Cop City" since late 2021 in an attempt to halt the project. Officers from several agencies were clearing people out of the area early Wednesday when the shootings happened, the Associated Press reported. "One person fired shots at law enforcement. Law enforcement fired back," the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said on Twitter. "A Georgia State Trooper was hit and taken to the hospital and is in surgery. One man was killed." Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said on Twitter he and his family are "praying for this brave Trooper and public safety officers across all law enforcement agencies today." According to a statement  released by the Altanta Community Press Collective, which has supported the...

  Two   mass shootings  in California last week that killed   dozens of   people   in public spaces, as well as a third attack days earlier that killed six family members in their home, have again raised questions about whether such violent incidents inspire new ones. Data on mass public shootings going back to 1966 suggests such attacks are becoming more frequent, said James Densley, co-founder of the Violence Project, a nonprofit research center. But it’s not yet clear if shootings that come close together in time are intertwined. "You find even in random simulations, there are times when there’s a cluster and times when there are not," said James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University who serves on USA TODAY’s Board of Contributors. Are mass shootings happening more often? The frequency of fatal mass shootings has increased from 23 a year in 2010 to 27 a year through the end of 2022, based on five-year averages of dat...

  The only HIV vaccine in a late-stage trial has failed, researchers announced Wednesday, dealing a significant blow to the effort to control the global HIV epidemic and adding to a decadeslong roster of failed attempts. Known as Mosaico, the trial was the product of a public-private partnership including the U.S. government and the pharmaceutical giant Janssen. It was run out of eight nations in Europe and the Americas, including the U.S., starting in 2019. Researchers enrolled nearly 3,900 men who have sex with men and transgender people, all deemed at substantial risk of HIV. The  leaders of the study   decided to discontinue  the mammoth research effort after an independent data and safety monitoring board reviewed the trial’s findings and saw no evidence the vaccine lowered participants’ rate of HIV acquisition. “It’s obviously disappointing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, who as the long-time head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was an...

  The family of a California public defender who died while celebrating his wedding anniversary in Mexico believes he was the victim of a "brutal crime," their lawyer said Tuesday. Elliot Blair, 33, died Saturday outside his hotel room at Las Rocas Resort and Spa in Rosarito Beach, roughly 32 miles south of San Diego, the lawyer, David Scarsone, said in a statement. The incident occurred in an open-air walkway on the resort's third floor, he said. Blair's family has not heard about his death directly from local authorities; instead, they learned about what happened from a "liaison" to the local coroner's office, the lawyer's statement said. The liaison, who is not identified in the statement, told the family that Blair died of severe head trauma and that his case had been forwarded to prosecutors for a possible homicide investigation, the statement said. Neither Rosarito Beach Mayor Hilda Araceli Brown Figueredo nor Las Rocas Resort responded to requ...

  If you bought a   medical insurance policy , and want your sum insured to increase year after year, you can look for an insurance policy that offers cumulative bonus embedded in it. It is, however, important to note that cumulative bonus is different from  no-claims bonus feature that is usually offered to the insured person when s/he does not make any claims during the policy year.  So, let us first understand what exactly is this. What is cumulative bonus? The cumulative bonus refers to a monetary benefit which is added to the insured sum at the start of each policy year. Since the bonus is cumulative — it increases for each year regardless of the fact the claim is made or not. This cumulative bonus is available for individual as well as family floater policies. Generally, insurers offer an increase of 5 to 50 percent of the original sum assured for each year. The insurance policy may specify a maximum threshold on the cumulative bonus amount. Let us un...

  Benefits of health and life insurance Smoking and drinking are lifestyle habits that can cause severe impacts in the long term. Let’s discuss the benefits of health and life insurance for policyholders involved in these lifestyle habits. Life insurance An avid drinker or smoker certainly knows about the repercussions of her habits. By paying some extra premium, a policyholder with lifestyle habits is securing the future of their loved ones. Life insurance provides a policyholder with financial security and protection and a guaranteed death benefit. Health Insurance Health insurance lets policyholders receive the best medical care without burning a hole in their pocket. Health insurance plans can take care of any unexpected medical emergencies or critical illnesses. Thus, policyholders with lifestyle habits like smoking and drinking alcohol have mental peace in case they face any kind of health issues in future. How can they avail health and life insurance? Yes, an avid drinker or...

  The healthcare industry has witnessed a rapid rise in demand across the country, especially since the Covid outbreak. New and complicated ailments, lifestyle diseases and better health awareness are some of the reasons for medical inflation. Going by our lifestyle patterns, there’s no way these figures are coming down in the near future. So, how do we protect ourselves and our savings? Having a good healthcare plan in place can save you from going bankrupt. It will also help you access the best facilities. When it comes to choosing the right health insurance plan, confusion and questions are normal. There are so many healthcare providers to choose from. To add fuel to the chaos, each provider has a plethora of products (same game, different name). This is why it is impossible to cherry-pick the most appropriate health plan for yourself or your family. In case you’re stuck with the same delirium, here are five thumb rules you can follow to make an informed decision. When...

  December 19, 2022   - The majority of Americans are satisfied with their employer-sponsored health insurance and cited it as the most important benefit an employer can offer,   according   to a poll conducted by Seven Letter Insight for the Protecting Americans’ Coverage Together (PACT) campaign. The poll surveyed 2,334 individuals with employer-sponsored health plans between November 14 and November 19, 2022. Employer-sponsored health insurance was the most desired source of coverage, with 89 percent of respondents preferring health plans provided by an employer over coverage through other means, such as government plans Around three-quarters (76 percent) of employees said that the quality of their employer-sponsored plan was better than the quality of plans offered on the open market, while 83 percent thought their plan was more affordable. In addition, most respondents (95 percent) agreed that receiving coverage through employers was more convenient than lo...

  BISMARCK — Rachel Booth and her husband have tried without success for the past three years to have children. Like many couples in that situation, the Booths have turned to fertility treatment. They’ve been through two in vitro fertilization treatment cycles. Both failed. Booth and her husband have exhausted the $20,000 their health insurance provides for fertility treatment. The Fargo couple — she works as a high school teacher and her husband is a police officer — can’t afford the expensive treatment themselves. Booth testified in support of a bill that would mandate coverage for fertility treatment as well as fertility preservation for cancer patients under the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS. Nearly 60,000 current and retired public employees and their dependents are insured through PERS. In North Dakota, before new coverage is mandated for private insurance, it first must be tested through insurance for public employees, so passage could be a step to...

     Prominent   Wikipedia   editor Mark Bernstein has been detained in   Belarus   for editing   Wikipedia   articles about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Main Directorate for Combating Organized Crime and Corruption of Belarus (GUBOPiK) has arrested Bernstein, according to Belarusian publication Zerkalo. The Verge reported that Bernstein's social media accounts, Wikipedia handle and place of work had been shared in GUBOPik's channel on the Telegram messaging app. A video of Bernstein's arrest was also posted, along with his photo and personal details. Bernstein is accused of "distributing fake anti-Russian information" in the photo. Bernstein is one of the top 50 editors of Russian Wikipedia. A Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson said: "The Foundation's Trust and Safety and Human Rights teams have been monitoring the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. "We are in close touch with our communities in the region to ensure their saf...