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More menopausal women are using medical cannabis for symptoms

In recent years, medical cannabis has been used to treat a host of symptoms ranging from those of Parkinson’s disease to side effects of chemotherapy. 

Now, a new survey from the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) shows more women are turning to the treatment during perimenopause and postmenopause, too.

Perimenopause is defined as the time period when an individual’s ovaries gradually stop working, and can include symptoms like irregular menstrual flow, hot flashes or night sweats. Postmenopause is the time following menopause when an individual’s period has stopped for 12 consecutive months. 

To better understand medical cannabis use among these cohorts, researchers conducted a survey of 131 perimenopausal and 127 postmenopausal individuals. They found individuals experiencing perimenopause reported higher incidence of depression and anxiety diagnoses, and were more likely use medical cannabis to treat menopause-related mood and anxiety symptoms than postmenopausal individuals. 

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Eighty-six percent of the total cohort reported currently using cannabis as an adjunct treatment for menopause-related symptoms, the most common of which were sleep disturbances and mood and anxiety. Smoking and edibles were the most popular form of ingestion 

Menopause-related symptoms are caused by fluctuating hormones, and although hormone replacement therapy is an option for managing these symtpoms, many women are unable or not willing to use this option, creating an opportunity for alternative options.

Thus far, only observational studies have been carried out assessing medical cannabis’ impact on anxiety, mood, sleep and pain, while no studies have investigated the substance’s safety or efficacy for menopause-related symptoms. 

“Given the lack of clinical trial data on the efficacy and safety of medical cannabis for management of menopause symptoms, more research is needed before this treatment can be recommended in clinical practice,” said NAMS Medical Director Stephanie Faubion in a statement. 

“Healthcare professionals should query their patients about the use of medical cannabis for menopause symptoms and provide evidence-based recommendations for symptom management.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Jobless claims tick higher as layoffs rise

New applications for jobless benefits ticked higher during the final week of July, according to data released Thursday by the Labor Department.

In the week ending July 30, initial claims for unemployment insurance rose to 260,000, up by 6,000 from the previous week. While claims still remain near pre-pandemic lows, they’ve risen to the highest level since November as the job market slows down.

The steady rise in jobless claims comes as businesses feel the squeeze of high inflation and interest rate hikes meant to slow down price and wage growth. As the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, businesses tend to hire fewer employees and avoid offering higher wages.

“We think initial claims are more likely to rise from current levels than decline, but we don’t expect a surge in new claims. While the labor market may be getting marginally cooler, overall demand for workers continues to exceed the supply,” wrote Nancy Vanden Houten, lead US economist at Oxford Economics, in a Thursday analysis.

The U.S. has still added more than 2.5 million jobs since the start of 2022, including more than 1 million over the past three months alone. The unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in July, just 0.1 percentage points above its pre-pandemic level, and there were almost two open jobs for every unemployed American in June, according to Labor Department data.

“Given that imbalance between the supply and demand for workers, we think employers are more likely to first slow hiring rather than lay off workers as the economy slows,” Vanden Houten wrote.

Even so, some  businesses in technology, real estate, retail, and other sectors hit hard by rising interest rates have been forced to lay off workers as the economy slows and their sales fall.

“Major corporations, including the country’s biggest employer, Walmart, are announcing layoffs as the economy cools. Losing a job is often traumatic, but there’s some comfort for those laid off that the jobs market is still strong and voluntary job switching for higher wages is still prevalent,” wrote Robert Frick, corporate economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, in a Thursday analysis.

Jobseekers have remained confident in their ability to find new positions for better pay and career opportunities even as consumer confidence in the economy has plunged.

Roughly 4.2 million Americans quit their jobs in June, according to Labor Department data released Tuesday. The percentage of workers who quit their jobs in June held even at 2.8 percent, just 0.1 percentage points below a record high set in April.

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Liz Cheney’s battle with two ‘T’ words: Trump and traitor

In 1996, when I was a correspondent for CBS News, the Wall Street Journal published a column I wrote about liberal bias in the media. I had been complaining about it for years, quietly, diplomatically, in-house — but I might as well have been talking to the wall; none of my liberal colleagues took me seriously. So, I threw caution to the wind and wrote the op-ed.  

When I got a call from an editor at the paper saying the piece would “run on Tuesday,” I said, “Be prepared to run my obituary on Wednesday.” I knew that what I wrote wouldn’t go over well at CBS. And it didn’t. Some of my colleagues actually called me a “traitor.” No fooling. But you know what they say about sticks and stones and all that. I knew what I was talking about. I was telling the truth, even if they didn’t want to hear it. 

Which brings me to Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a woman I admire and respect more than almost any other politician. Before I go too far, let me be clear: I’m not about to make any comparisons between Cheney and myself. I’m not delusional. She’s a national hero, as far as I’m concerned, and if she ever decides to run for president, I’ll vote for her “early and often,” as the saying goes.  But we do have at least one thing in common: She also has been called a traitor.

Her crime is that she voted to impeach Donald Trump and then agreed to sit on the House committee investigating what role he may have played in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot (or insurrection, if you prefer) at the U.S. Capitol. For this, as one report put it, “To Trump’s allies on and off Capitol Hill … Cheney is simply a traitor to the party — a ‘Pelosi Republican.’”

Despite what we have in common, there’s one big difference between Cheney and me: I did not lose my job at CBS News for telling the truth about liberal bias in the news. Fortunately, Michael Jordan came to my defense. No, not that Michael Jordan — another Michael Jordan, the one who ran Westinghouse, which at the time owned CBS.

Liz Cheney, however, just might lose her job.

On Aug. 16, they’ll hold a primary election in Wyoming and it’s not looking good for the GOP congresswoman, who since 2017 has held Wyoming’s lone seat in Congress. As Brad Coker, who conducted a recent poll, put it: “I can’t remember the last time I saw an incumbent down 22 points in a House race, unless it was somebody who had been indicted or convicted of a crime.” 

Cheney’s crime, as far her detractors are concerned, is that she went rogue. She gave Trump supporters ammunition to use against him by telling the truth about his role in what happened that day at the Capitol. Maybe it’s simply human nature, but sometimes it’s easier to swallow a lie than to have to deal with the truth.

In my case, my fellow CBS News journalists didn’t want to hear one of their own saying, “Yes, there really is a liberal bias in the news.” And what made it even tougher to take, in 28 years I had never even once been accused of injecting bias in my stories — and I wasn’t even a conservative at the time. 

In Cheney’s case, a lot of Republicans don’t want to hear that Donald Trump tried to steal an election that he claims Democrats stole from him. They don’t want to hear that he tried to subvert the peaceful and orderly transfer of presidential power.   

I don’t want to write her political obituary too soon, but in a few weeks, I’m afraid we’re going to learn that Liz Cheney lost her job because she was courageous and unafraid and stood up for the truth. Her opponent, if you were wondering, has the endorsement of Donald Trump.

Whatever her detractors may think of Liz Cheney, she’s no traitor. The charge isn’t worthy of a serious response. But let’s say, just for argument’s sake, that she loses the election and claims — without any evidence — that she really won, that she lost only because the Democrats “stole it from her,” that “the fix was in,” that the election was “rigged.” And then let’s imagine that she somehow tries to stay in office, despite the fact that she lost the election.

If that were to happen, then there’d be some justification for bringing up the “T” word. After all, if a politician consciously tries to subvert American democracy, that sounds like something, well, a traitor might do. But no patriotic American would ever do something crazy like that, right?

Bernard Goldberg is an Emmy and an Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University award-winning writer and journalist. He was a correspondent with HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” for 22 years and previously worked as a reporter for CBS News and as an analyst for Fox News. He is the author of five books and publishes exclusive weekly columns, audio commentaries and Q&As on his Substack page. Follow him on Twitter @BernardGoldberg.

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Zelensky says Russia wouldn’t be deploying reserve troops if it wanted to negotiate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Russia accumulating reserve troops in the south of Ukraine shows that Moscow is not interested in negotiating. 

Zelensky said in an address to his people that Russia is activating emissaries that the country wants to hold negotiations on the conflict, but they should not be believed. 

He said Russia is recognizing the “inevitability” of being recognized as a terrorist state and added that the country is “number one among terrorists.” 

Zelensky called for the United Nations to label Russia a terrorist state and expel it from the organization after a Russian bomb hit a shopping mall in late June. Members of Congress have urged the Biden administration to label Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, which is defined as a country that has “repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism.” 

Zelensky said Russia is trying to brand the Azov Regiment, a unit in Ukraine’s National Guard, as terrorists, which he called “absurd.” 

He noted in his address that Switzerland, which pursues policies of neutrality in international conflicts, joined the most recent sanctions package that the European Union placed on Russia, which he said he is grateful for. 

“When such a country does not remain neutral in the protection of values and human morality, it is a very important signal for the whole world,” he said. 

Zelensky said he met with students from more than 20 universities in Australia to urge the country to help Ukraine in fighting Russian disinformation about the war and spread the truth of “Russian terror.” He said the Ukrainian point of view needs to be heard in parts of the world still hearing Russian propaganda like the Pacific, South and East Asia, the Arab world, Africa and Latin America.

Source: TEST FEED1

Watch live: Senate panel investigates economic impacts of climate change

The Senate Banking Housing and Urban Affairs Committee will hold a hearing focused on the effects the climate crisis has on the economy. Testimony will include viewpoints from environmental advocates, the fossil fuel industry, labor unions and finance experts.

The event begins at 10 a.m. ET.

Watch the live video above.

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Michelle Obama wishes Barack a happy birthday: 'You always make me proud'

Michelle Obama is sharing a birthday message with her husband, saying life with former President Obama “just keeps getting better.”

The ex-commander in chief marked his 61st birthday on Thursday. The former first lady took to Twitter to wish her “honey” a happy birthday.

“You always make me proud,” Obama wrote in the tribute to her spouse.

Obama, 58, also continued her social media tradition of sorts of including a throwback photo to recognize milestone events. The snapshot she posted for her nearly 22 million Twitter followers showed a younger Obama staring off into the distance.

The Obamas will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in October.

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Incomes, home prices soared in 'pandemic boomtowns': research

Pandemic boomtowns experienced outsized income growth and soaring home prices from 2019 to 2021 as remote work enabled high wage earners to relocate from coastal cities into smaller markets, according to new research. 

Median homebuyer incomes in Boise, Idaho, for example, rose by 24 percent over two years to $98,000. But housing prices increased 53 percent during the same period, research from real estate brokerage Redfin shows. 

Austin, Texas, another popular relocation spot early in the pandemic, saw median homebuyer income surge by 19 percent from 2019 to 2021 while housing prices grew by 48 percent. 

Three Florida cities – Cape Coral, North Port and West Palm Beach — saw the largest increases in both homebuyer median income and housing prices. 

“For white-collar workers earning high salaries, remote work is a huge financial boon. It enables them to move from a tech center like San Francisco to a more affordable part of the country like Boise or Salt Lake City, get more home for their money and save some for a rainy day,” Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari, said in a media release. 

“It can have the opposite effect on locals in those destinations–especially renters–who are watching from the sidelines as home prices skyrocket while their income stays mostly the same.” 

Nationally, homebuyer wages jumped by nearly 7 percent, yet earnings were outpaced by skyrocketing housing costs that soared by 29 percent.    

Median home prices across the U.S. in June increased by 10.9 percent from the year before at nearly $428,000. 

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Redfin’s analysis shows boomtown housing markets are beginning to cool, driven by rising mortgage rates and unsustainable pricing. Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates increased year over year by 2.5 percentage points in June. 

Yet cooling markets in towns like Austin and Cape Coral are unlikely to lead to housing crashes, the analysis noted. 

“People are still moving in from California and they still have enough money to buy nice homes in desirable neighborhoods, sometimes with all cash,” said Austin Redfin agent Gabriel Recio.  

“But the days of homes selling for 25% over asking price with multiple offers are over. Buyers are no longer as eager now that mortgage rates are up and there’s buzz in the air about the slowing housing market. Local buyers–and even buyers coming from out of town–now have a chance to take their time and buy a home at asking price or even under asking price.”

Source: TEST FEED1

Watch Live: FBI Director Chris Wray testifies before Senate panel

FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify Thursday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The event is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Watch the video above.

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Jeh Johnson on missing Jan. 6 texts: ‘It does smell’

Former Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson on Thursday said missing texts from Trump officials on Jan. 6 are problematic.

“At the seniormost levels of those departments I’d have to say, it does smell, it is problematic,” he said during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

Morning Joe host Willie Geist had asked the former Obama administration official whether the missing communications “passed the smell test.”

Geist referenced missing texts from the Secret Service, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) “in and around a critical day” when a group of rioters staged an attack on the U.S. Capitol in protest of President Biden’s election victory.

Watchdog group American Oversight disclosed earlier this week that the DOD wiped the phones of top officials after Jan. 6, erasing communications from the date.

The DHS and Secret Service both said that technical processes led to the loss of that day’s text messages.

The Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has been in the spotlight this summer as the House select committee investigating the insurrection held a series of televised hearings aimed at publicizing evidence linking former President Trump to the deadly riots.

Johnson said that he could understand missing communications on the part of low-level members of the organizations, but on the part of high-level officials they are concerning.

“January 2021 was a moment for the Secret Service of high anxiety, the nation was on high alert, during the midst of a presidential transition and an outgoing president frankly who was unhinged,” he said. “So I am not surprised that in that context the line agents of the secret service who protect us didn’t get the data migration exactly right.”

However, he added: “The higher level folks, that’s a different story, and there needs to be an inspector general investigation in my judgement.”

When asked by host Mika Brzezinski about whether there might have been a directive to wipe phones after the insurrection, Johnson said, “I think that’s possible.”

Johnson added that missing communications had the potential to violate laws like the Federal Records and Freedom of Information Acts, which protect government data from erasure and entitle citizens to information.

Source: TEST FEED1

Is Russia high on war crimes?

Remember the bombing of the theater and hospital in Mariupol? Or the destruction of Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and Kharkiv? Or the mass executions in Irpin and Bucha? The daily rapes? The bombing of the shopping mall in Kremenchuk and the city center in Vinnytsia? And, most recently, the destruction of over 50 Ukrainian POWs and the online castration of a soldier?

Don’t the Russians ever tire of committing atrocities? Evidently not. Indeed, one has the distinct impression that they are acting with purposeful glee, perhaps because engaging in brutality offers them some kind of psycho-cultural satisfaction, while enabling them to thumb their noses at the West and assert their sense of historical uniqueness and righteousness.

Students of the Holocaust point out that war can brutalize a population and make it more inclined to tolerate and engage in brutality. That dynamic is surely at work in Russia. But the Nazis intensified their extermination of Jews in 1944 and 1945, even when it was manifestly clear that killing Jews was reducing their military capacity to fight on both fronts. Historian Daniel Jonah Goldhagen attributed that strategy to an “eliminationist anti-Semitism” that effectively perverted Nazi understanding of reality and made them incapable of seeing their true interests.

A similar “eliminationist anti-Ukrainianism” appears to be present in today’s Russia. Russia’s political elites have been perfectly open about their goal of destroying Ukrainians as a nation and Ukraine as a state. Many ordinary Russians, just like the ordinary Germans discussed by historian Christopher Browning, likely have been brutalized and desensitized by the war, to the point of becoming indifferent to or supportive of atrocities. Many appear to derive genuine satisfaction from the regime’s pursuit of genocide.

Why? Ultimately, there is no escaping the disturbing fact that Russian political culture — or perhaps even Russian culture, pure and simple — bears as much responsibility for the dehumanization of Ukrainians as does Putinite fascist ideology. Just as genocide was not only the handiwork of Adolf Hitler, so, too, the ongoing genocide of Ukrainians is a function of deeper cultural stereotypes that reduce Ukrainians to the equivalent of Nazi images of Jews. Russian culture requires a thorough housecleaning before it will become fit for normal human consumption again.

But killing Ukrainians — and especially killing them brutally — also gives Russians the opportunity to assert themselves in polar opposition to the decadent West that claims to stand for human rights, tolerance and mutual respect. Better still, it gives them the opportunity to expose the West’s hypocrisy when it comes to European and American behavior in many former colonies. It’s as if the Russians are saying, “We don’t care what you think and, in any case, don’t think you’re any better.”

In fact, the West is worse, as far as Russians are concerned, because its real or supposed moral values are passé and unsuitable for the new world, within which Russia will play a leading role as a kind of Nietzschean Übermensch that rejects all ethical constraints and alights the historical stage as a uniquely endowed civilization that will act as it wants to and not as the rest of the world expects it to act. In essence, the new, emergent Russia will be a 21st century equivalent of the Thousand-Year Reich. Not a bad prospect for a country that still regards itself as the Third Rome.

Ironically, although much of the world expresses outrage at Russia’s instrumentalization of brutality, much of the world — in particular, the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America — appears indifferent to the ongoing genocide. They should know better. After all, they were the victims of an equally reprehensible brutality that should lead them to condemn Russia’s indifference to modern norms. One can appreciate their geopolitical reasons for staying on the sidelines. Unfortunately, their silence makes them complicit in Russia’s brutality and nullifies their case against European colonialism.

Not that their outrage would make any difference. Vladimir Putin’s fascist regime and the Russian population that adores it will continue to engage in brutality no matter how many fingers are wagged, tears are shed, and declarations of condemnation are produced.

The only way to stop Russians’ love affair with killing Ukrainians is to deprive them of the ability to kill Ukrainians. Peace treaties and ceasefires won’t stop Putin and his narod, just as they didn’t stop Hitler and his Volk. Only a humiliating and thorough military defeat will.

Alexander J. Motyl is a professor of political science at Rutgers University-Newark. A specialist on Ukraine, Russia and the USSR, and on nationalism, revolutions, empires and theory, he is the author of 10 books of nonfiction, as well as “Imperial Ends: The Decay, Collapse, and Revival of Empires” and “Why Empires Reemerge: Imperial Collapse and Imperial Revival in Comparative Perspective.”

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