Hundreds of people are thought to have died during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia - most of them due to extreme heat as temperatures soared past 51C (123F). AFP news agency quoted an Arab diplomat as saying 658 Egyptians had died. Indonesia said that more than 200 of its nationals had died. India said 98 people were known to have died. Pakistan, Malaysia, Jordan, Iran, Senegal, Sudan and Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region have also confirmed deaths. The US believes a number of...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced several small-scale measures advertised as an effort to boost the country’s housing supply as families suffer from an explosive rise in home prices and mortgage rates under President Joe Biden. Yellen will unveil the policies during a speech on Monday in Minneapolis. Among the measures is $100 million over the next three years in a new housing fund, which is designed to support financing for affordable housing. The Treasury Department said the new...

An estimated 1,301 people have died during this year’s Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, known as Hajj, due to sweltering temperatures at the Saudi Arabia holy site, CNN reported Sunday, citing Saudi officials. “The health system addressed numerous cases of heat stress this year, with some individuals still under care. Regrettably, the number of mortalities reached 1,301,” CNN reported, citing a statement by Saudi government officials. One of Islam’s most significant rites of...

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday unveiled a new slate of financing initiatives to support housing development, including a $100 million fund specifically for affordable housing. The announcement came days before President Joe Biden faces off against former President Donald Trump in the first presidential debate, where inflation is likely to be a key point of contention. The past several inflation reports have shown prices slightly cooling off, but shelter costs have remained...

The Biden administration announced new steps to increase access to affordable housing as still-high prices on groceries and other necessities and high interest rates have dramatically pushed up the cost of living in the post-pandemic years. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen promoted the new investments on Monday during a visit to Minneapolis. The investments include providing $100 million through a new fund to support affordable housing financing over the next three years, boosting the Federal...

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to weigh whether or not a Tennessee law banning specific gender-affirming care for minors breaches the Constitution, marking the first time that the justices will consider arguments around medical treatments for trans children. The Biden administration is challenging a ruling from a lower court that upheld the state ban on treatments including hormones and surgeries for children who experience gender dysphoria. Other Republican-led states have similarly...

Vice President Kamala Harris is using the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade to argue that Donald Trump is “guilty” of rolling back women’s freedoms and setting off a nationwide health care crisis. Harris said Monday that Trump “intended” for his three Supreme Court picks to overturn Roe. “It was premeditated,” she said. “Trump has not denied, much less shown remorse, for his actions.” The vice president, in a nod to her background as a California...

Infant deaths surged 12.9% in Texas compared with 1.8% for the rest of the country after the state in 2021 enacted a strict abortion ban with no exceptions for birth defects, according to a new study in JAMA Pediatrics. Why it matters: The findings add to a body of evidence showing infants born in states with more abortion restrictions are likelier to die before they're 1 year old. What they found: The analysis of monthly death certificate data showed that between 2021 and 2022 the number...

"I sat for two hours in front of this blue door..." The post Judy Collins was the first person to hear Bob Dylan’s ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ first appeared on Far Out Magazine.