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Day: June 29, 2024
Carlos Barria/Reuters
- Unpasteurized milk may be spreading the H5N1 bird flu between cows and to humans.
- A new study showed the virus can survive in raw milk on milking equipment for over an hour.
- Better cleaning of milking equipment and protective gear for workers could limit the virus’s spread.
Contaminated milk may be spreading H5N1 bird flu between dairy cattle, contributing to a major outbreak across 12 US states. It may also be how humans are getting infected.
A new study shows the virus can survive for over an hour in raw (unpasteurized) milk left on the surfaces of materials used in equipment for milking dairy cattle.
That’s a clue in the mystery of how the virus has spread so rapidly between US dairy cattle, infecting over 130 herds in Idaho, Michigan, Colorado, Texas, and more.
The cattle outbreak has scientists increasingly worried that the H5N1 virus could mutate enough to cause an outbreak in humans. The more the virus spreads through cattle, the more opportunity it has to mutate.
An avian influenza A H5N1 virion, viewed through an electron microscope.
Cynthia Goldsmith, Jackie Katz/CDC via AP
Since April, three farmworkers have tested positive for the virus, but experts have found no evidence of human-to-human spread.
Understanding how the virus spreads between cattle is key to reigning in the outbreak and preventing further human infection.
“We need to know which dairy herds are infected, with what strains of virus, how infection is spread between farms, and how frequently dairy farm workers and other people are exposed,” Christopher Dye, an infectious disease expert and professor at the University of Oxford, told Business Insider in an email.
According to the FDA, pasteurized milk purchased at the grocery store remains safe to drink. However, raw milk could be an agent of infection.
How to help stop the spread of H5N1 bird flu
Driver Tony Kanaan of Brazil takes the traditional drink of milk after winning the 97th running of the Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Jeff Haynes/Reuters
Officials already knew that H5N1 was jumping farm-to-farm through the movement of cows, equipment, and people and that the virus concentrates in sick cows’ udders and milk.
“That means even just a small splash of milk can spread the disease,” Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack wrote in an op-ed on June 21.
Indeed, the new study found that H5N1 virus remained infectious in raw milk for over an hour on stainless steel and rubber inflation lining — material used in milking equipment.
The research was published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases on Monday.
Milk may not be the only transmission route. It’s possible that cows infect each other by licking each other or shoving their heads into feed together, for example, according to Meghan Davis, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and former dairy veterinarian.
However, the study suggests that cleaning milking equipment between cows and outfitting workers with protective gear could help prevent the spread.
“The workers are down in a, usually, recessed area and the udder is at face height,” Davis told BI.
That’s for their comfort and ability to work at milking for long periods of time, but it puts them at risk of milk splashing into their faces.
Workers tend to cows in the milking parlor at a farm in Clinton, Maine.
Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo
Goggles and face shields could help. For now, they are not common practice on the dairy floor.
Other forms of protective gear, such as N95 masks, can be difficult to implement on dairy farm floors because of hot and humid conditions, Davis said. That can make heavy protective gear incredibly uncomfortable or even put workers at increased risk of heat-related illness.
As for cleaning the milking equipment, she added, “there are processes for cleaning, but the level of disinfection that you need in order to inactivate virus is generally going to be beyond what might be normal practice.”
The ideal cleaning process may look different farm-to-farm depending on the transmission dynamics, the vulnerability of the different cows there, and how finicky the animals are.
Long pauses for cleaning in between milkings can affect how much milk a cow produces and even be harmful to the animal, Davis said. It could also result in longer exposure periods for workers because it takes longer to milk a lineup of cows.
On the consumer side of the dairy industry, the study is also further evidence that nobody should drink raw (unpasteurized) milk.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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Banks are fighting for customer dollars right now, and people with cash to spare are well-positioned to benefit from a high rate environment. With rates rapidly changing, how can you feel confident that you’re getting the best savings account or best CD?
We monitor rates from banks and credit unions daily to help you feel confident before you open a new account. Experts don’t expect CD rates to go up in 2024, so now could be a great time to lock in a rate if you’re ready. Here are the top rates for popular savings accounts and CDs on Saturday, June 29.
Featured Nationally Available Savings Rates
| Account Name | APY (Annual Percentage Yield) Accurate as of 6/28/2024 | Minimum Account Opening Balance |
| Western Alliance Bank High-Yield Savings Premier | 5.36% | $500 |
| BrioDirect High-Yield Savings Account | 5.30% | $5,000 |
| Forbright Growth Savings | 5.30% | $0 |
| CIT Bank Platinum Savings | 5.00% (with $5,000 minimum balance) | $100 |
| Capital One 360 Performance Savings | 4.25% | $0 |
Featured Nationally Available CD Rates
| Account Name | APY (Annual Percentage Yield) Accurate as of 6/28/2024 | Minimum Account Opening Balance |
| Barclays 1 Year Online CD | 5.00% | $0 |
| Banc of California 3 Month CD, powered by Raisin | 5.34% | $1 |
| Barclays 6 Month Online CD | 4.85% | $0 |
| Freedom Bank 1 Year No Penalty CD | 5.00% | $1 |
| Discover 18 Month CD | 4.40% | $2,500 |
| Bread Savings 2 Year High-Yield CD | 4.65% | $1,500 |
| Quontic 5 Year CD | 4.30% | $500 |
Savings Account Bonus
Alliant High-Rate Savings Account
Earn a $100 bonus when you deposit at least $100 a month for 12 consecutive months and have a balance of $1,200 or more at the end of the 12-calendar-month period (offer expires December 31, 2024).
See more savings account bonuses »
Leading Checking & Savings Combo Account Bonus
Earn up to $300 with qualifying direct deposit for eligible customers (offer expires 12/31/24). Earn up to 4.60% APY on savings balances (including Vaults) with direct deposit.
See more bank account bonuses »
About High-Yield Accounts
High-yield savings accounts aren’t the only accounts paying favorable rates right now. You’ll typically see the highest rates at online or lower-profile institutions rather than national brands with a significant brick-and-mortar presence. This is normal; online banks have lower overhead costs and are willing to pay high rates to attract new customers.
High-Yield Savings Accounts
The best high-yield savings accounts provide the security of a savings account with the added bonus of a high APY. Savings accounts are held at a bank or credit union — not invested through a brokerage account — and are best for saving cash in pursuit of shorter-term goals, like a vacation or big purchase.
High-Yield Checking Accounts
The best high-yield checking accounts tend to pay slightly lower rates than high-yield savings, but even they are strong in today’s rate environment. A checking account is like a hub for your money: If your paycheck is direct deposited, it’s typically to a checking account. If you transfer money to pay a bill, you typically do it from a checking account. Checking accounts are used for everyday spending and usually come with checks and/or debit cards to make that easy.
Money Market Accounts
The best money market accounts could be considered a middle ground between checking and savings: They are used for saving money but typically provide easy access to your account through checks or a debit card. They usually offer a tiered interest rate depending on your balance.
Cash Management Accounts
A cash management account is also like a savings/checking hybrid. You’ll generally see them offered by online banks, and, unlike a checking account, they usually offer unlimited transfers. A savings account often limits the number of monthly transfers, while a checking account doesn’t. Cash management accounts typically come with a debit card for easy access, but you may have to pay a fee if you want to deposit cash.
Certificates of Deposit
The best CD rates may outpace any of the other accounts we’ve described above. That’s because a certificate of deposit requires you to “lock in” your money for a predetermined amount of time ranging from three months to five years. To retrieve it before then, you’ll pay a penalty (unless you opt for one of the best no-penalty CDs). The longer you’ll let the bank hold your money, the higher rate you’ll get. CD rates aren’t variable; the rate you get upon depositing your money is the rate you’ll get for the length of your term.
About CD Terms
Locking your money into an account in exchange for a higher interest rate can be a big decision. Here’s what you need to know about common CD terms.
No-Penalty CDs
Most CDs charge you a fee if you need to withdraw money from your account before the term ends. But with a no-penalty CD, you won’t have to pay an early withdrawal penalty. The best no-penalty CDs will offer rates slightly higher than the best high-yield savings accounts, and can offer a substantially improved interest rate over traditional brick-and-mortar savings accounts.
6-Month CDs
The best 6-month CDs are offering interest rates in the mid-5% range. Six-month CDs are best for those who are looking for elevated rates on their savings for short-term gains, but are uncomfortable having limited access to their cash in the long term. These can be a good option for those who may just be getting started with saving, or who don’t have a large emergency fund for unexpected expenses.
1-Year CDs
The best 1-year CDs tend to offer some of the top CD rates, and are a popular option for many investors. A 1-year term can be an attractive option for someone building a CD ladder, or for someone who has a reasonable cash safety net but is still concerned about long-term expenses.
2-Year CDs
The best 2-year CD rates will be slightly lower than 1-year and no-penalty CD rates. In exchange for a longer lock-in period, investors receive a long-term commitment for a specific rate. These are best used as part of a CD ladder strategy, or for those worried about a declining rate market in the foreseeable future.
3-Year CDs
The best 3-year CDs tend to have rates that are comparable to 2-year CDs. These are usually less popular for your average investor, but can be an important lever when diversifying investments and hedging against the risk of unfavorable rate markets in the long term.
5-Year CDs
The best 5-year CDs will offer lower rates than the other terms on our list, but are still popular options for investors. These CDs are best for those looking to lock in high rates for the long term. CDs are generally viewed as safe investment vehicles, and securing a favorable rate can yield considerable earnings in year three and beyond — even if rates fall elsewhere.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Courtesy of Alison Weinsweig
- Alison Weinsweig told BI she lost over $170,000 in rent and spent almost 3 years trying to evict a tenant.
- When she eventually got access to the apartment, she found it in disarray.
- She said she cried after seeing blood-stained floors, cigarette burns, and a life-sized dummy.
When Alison Weinsweig, 67, rented her luxury Westwood apartment to a tenant in 2020, she never anticipated it would turn into an almost three-year ordeal, let alone one that would set her back more than $200,000.
It was a “strain on many levels,” she told Business Insider.
“I felt terribly violated,” she added. “I never thought I’d get him out. I thought I’d be stuck with him for the rest of my life.”
When Weinsweig finally gained access to her property in April, she found it in an eerie state of disarray, which caused her to run out in tears.
Images provided to BI appear to show blood-stained floors, cracked countertops, and, disturbingly, a life-sized human dummy.
An image provided to Business Insider appears to show a human dummy alongside packets of zip ties in Alison Weinsweig’s apartment. It was photographed in April this year.
Courtesy of Alison Weinsweig
Now she’s left picking up the pieces, needing to fork out thousands in repairs, according to contractor estimates seen by BI, on top of the more than $170,000 she said she had already lost in unpaid rent.
Weinsweig, a semi-retired real estate broker, purchased the two-bedroom penthouse on Wilshire Boulevard in 2004, and lived there for a decade before moving to Pennsylvania to be with her unwell mother.
She had previously rented it out to two tenants without issue and expected Ramin Kohanim’s tenancy to be no different.
“He appeared to be a reasonable tenant,” she said, noting that a rental agency had vetted him, showing a Social Security Number, an acceptable credit score, and an account with significant funds.
But Weinsweig said that even if there were “red flags,” she would have likely overlooked them — she was too focused on her mom getting better.
She explained that the first year of Kohanim’s tenancy was unremarkable, despite some late payments. But after he signed on for a second year in July 2021, things got messy.
“He paid the first month and never paid anything again,” Weinsweig claims.
Kohanim and his attorney didn’t respond to BI’s requests for comment.
Despite repeated excuses, Weinsweig says she received no rent for months, prompting her to take legal action in January 2022.
According to legal documents reviewed by BI, the tenant was subject to the COVID-19 Tenant Relief Act, which prevented evictions for nonpayment of rent for those experiencing hardship due to the pandemic.
After Kohanim’s application for rental assistance was approved, Weinsweig received a fraction of the lost rent, and the case was automatically dismissed that summer.
Later that year, Weinsweig filed another lawsuit seeking possession of the premises and monetary damages, but it did not go as planned.
After dismissing her attorney and the case, she eventually rehired her first attorney and waited for LA County’s eviction Moratorium to expire in March 2023.
It would take months of deliberation before the parties reached a settlement, but under the terms of a stipulated judgment in November 2023, Kohanim was ordered to leave by April this year.
According to legal documents reviewed by BI, Weinsweig agreed to pay the tenant $20,000, half of which was to be held in trust only to be paid out once he had vacated the property and followed the terms and conditions.
Although this felt unfair, Weinsweig thought it would give her a sense of finality, she said.
Kohanim left the property in April, but Weinsweig alleges that her former tenant has yet to return the keys or fob. However, this was the least of her worries.
According to a transcript reviewed by BI, in a hearing on May 23 at the Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles, Weinsweig told the court that the apartment was left in an “absolutely deplorable” condition.
She told BI and the court that when she arrived at the property, she saw cigarette burns and trash everywhere, and what appeared to be blood on the floors of the bedroom and bathroom.
A photograph provided by Alison Weinsweig appears to show blood on the floor of the bathroom in her apartment.
Courtesy of Alison Weinsweig
Images provided to BI and the court appear to show the damage.
Other images provided to BI also appear to show a life-sized dummy on the bathroom floor, next to zip-tie packets. It’s unclear why they were there.
Quotes from contractors, shared with BI by Weinsweig, suggest repairs could cost upwards of $24,000.
During the hearing, Kohanim conceded that there was “discharge” on a mattress, though he and his attorney dismissed the rest of the damage as normal “wear and tear.”
The defense made no suggestion in the hearing that the images were staged or unreliable.
Kohanim’s attorney told the court that his client wasn’t the “best tenant in the world” or the cleanest, but he refuted that the apartment had been intentionally destroyed.
The judge disagreed, stating that “80 square feet of blood is not ordinary wear and tear.”
He ordered that the $10,000 being held be returned to Weinsweig and the case be unsealed.
Weinsweig said she wanted the case unsealed to share knowledge of her ordeal. For her, that is a small victory worth holding onto.
“I felt vindicated when they lifted the seal because not only was I subject to all these injustices… I was compelled to keep it quiet,” she said, adding: “This can’t go unnoticed.”
Read the original article on Business Insider
Courtesy of Melissa Drake
- I’m a plus-sized woman who moved from the Midwest to Southern California.
- I was lovingly accepted until a stranger made a derogatory remark in the grocery store.
- I was shocked, and it caused me to reconsider my thinking about my body.
The man who fat-shamed me at a grocery store in Irvine, California, bounced into the store, wearing his too-short shorts and a tank top that revealed his contoured abs. At a glance, he appeared as the epitome of a California stereotype: a health nut and yoga enthusiast, perfectly poised, with his nose a little too high in the air.
I don’t fit in that stereotype. I am a plus-sized woman who spent the majority of my life in the Midwest. When I moved to California to start my life over as an adult, I was shocked by the options for Botox and contouring surgeries, the focus on organic foods, and the attentiveness toward fitness.
And yet, no person I met in California has ever treated me as less than or looked down upon me — at least not until this man showed his face in the grocery store.
I was shocked when the stranger called out my weight
I remember lighting up when I saw this man and greeting him with a huge smile. Honestly, he looked like some of the men I’ve dated — men who were delighted with my plus-sized body, many of whom declared a preference for someone shaped like me.
I’m not sure what I was expecting when I greeted him. But I wasn’t expecting him to say, “You don’t need those,” as I walked by holding my only grocery item — a package of bakery cookies.
It took me a minute to register what he said because I was so shocked. When the message registered, I looked back in horror — only to find him cocking his neck, intently staring back at me with a huge smirk. His piercing glance declared pride in having disseminated such a judgment.
I held it together long enough to walk across the parking lot to my car — a distance I purposely kept to get extra steps in. I asked a stranger to take a photo of me because I wanted to remember the moment when I became fearful, when I no longer felt safe to walk around as myself, and when California’s humanity showed its face as the mean and vile place many people expect.
The photo the author took after the incident.
Courtesy of Melissa Drake
It was October 9th, 2020, at 3:28 p.m. — precisely three years, three months, and three days after I moved to California.
I struggled to move past the interaction
I frequently wondered how I’d gotten so lucky to arrive in a new state where most people look, live, and move differently than I do, yet I’ve been so lovingly accepted. I’ve met many strangers from varying backgrounds and walks of life who’ve become best friends. One such person told me that LA is “the heart chakra of the US,” and I banked on acceptance being an energetic thing. Many people here are accustomed to noticing energy. Most of the time, I’m loving, open, free, and fun. People can feel that and want to connect with me to soak it in.
So, my immediate response was to blame this man for only seeing my size and making judgments about my purchase. Random questions rushed through my mind. Did he not see that I’m a person just like him? Does he not even have feelings? What story did he make up about the cookies? Did he expect me to binge eat and wash them down with dairy milk or a Diet Coke? For the record, I do not drink either.
How did he know the cookies were not a gift or a treat I was taking to an event? The real story is that I went in to buy one cookie, but they only had giant, oversized cookies. Having just come from an important medical appointment and suffering from massive stress, I agonized over my purchase. So, instead of buying one cookie with a tempting, too-large portion, I bought a package with smaller cookies to eat one and freeze the rest.
It was an eye-opening encounter
For nearly four years since that interaction, I’ve pondered what was different about that day and why my interaction with him was so unlike every other interaction I’ve had in California. As hard as it is to admit, the answer is simple.
He read my energy, and he didn’t tell me anything I hadn’t already told myself.
For weeks, I’d been stuck in a cycle of beating myself up for not being perfect. And you better believe I said those exact dreaded words, “You don’t need those,” to myself while shopping for cookies. On that particular day, after feeling extremely stressed from the effects of living alone during a pandemic and arguably one of the most intensive times in history, I wasn’t the same woman who arrived in California full of vim, vigor, and abundant life.
Instead, my energy was laced with fears and worries about not fitting into the mold of what I was “supposed to” look like. Rather than owning my power and settling into the good energy and sharing the heartfelt beauty I carry, I was projecting an energy of feeling and looking “less than,” and he clearly could tell.
Thank you, Sir Fat Shamer, for showing me how vile and ugly the mirror can be when it’s not grounded in love, compassion, and, at the very least, curiosity.
Read the original article on Business Insider
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