
A COVID spike is expected after the holidays. What you can do right now to prepare.
With the emergence of the omicron variant, local hospital leaders are preparing for a spike in COVID-19 cases following upcoming holiday gatherings.
BALTIMORE, MD, May 13, 2025 – As communities across the United States continue to confront the devastating toll of mass shootings, new research reveals a staggering economic dimension to these tragedies. A study published in the INFORMS journal Marketing Science finds that mass shootings cause an estimated $27 billion in annual lost revenue for U.S. retailers driven by sharp declines in foot traffic, reduced transaction volume and long-term store closures.
BALTIMORE, MD, May 13, 2025 – Researchers who took a close look at loosened concealed carry laws between 2010 and 2017 have found that “Shall Issue” regulations, which remove local authority discretion on the issuance of concealed carry gun permits, contribute to a significant increase in handgun purchases. At the same time, the researchers found that in states that adopted “Permitless Carry” policies, there was no noticeable change in gun purchases.
With sweeping new tariffs on Chinese-made products set to take effect this summer, Americans are being urged to prepare for price hikes on everyday goods. President Donald Trump's reinstated trade policies are expected to affect a wide swath of consumer imports, including electronics, furniture, appliances, and baby gear. Retail experts are advising shoppers to act before the tariffs hit and prices rise.
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With the emergence of the omicron variant, local hospital leaders are preparing for a spike in COVID-19 cases following upcoming holiday gatherings.
Flights are booked. Bags are packed. To cancel Christmas travel plans seems unfathomable at this point. But for many, so does the speed at which the omicron variant is spreading. The highly transmissible Covid-19 variant — which was first detected in late November but has since been detected in nearly 90 countries — is causing travel uncertainty around the globe.
As the omicron variant surges and COVID-19 cases spike, the Joe Biden administration is launching a number of initiatives in response: Military medical workers will prepare to help out civilian hospitals, new testing and vaccination sites will open, and the federal government will distribute 500 million at-home COVID tests for free.
A group of scientists funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is projecting the omicron variant may break pandemic records for coronavirus hospitalizations across North Carolina.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that over 77 percent of eligible people have received one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 65 percent are fully vaccinated with two doses and 32 percent have been boosted with an additional dose. Vaccines are weapons in keeping the virus at bay and preventing hospitalizations and deaths.
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