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New weight loss drugs are out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare won’t pay

WASHINGTON (AP) — New obesity drugs are showing promising results in helping some people shed pounds but the injections will remain out of reach for millions of older Americans because Medicare is forbidden to cover such medications. Drugmakers and a wide-ranging and growing bipartisan coalition of lawmakers are gearing up to push for that to change next year. As obesity rates rise among older adults, some lawmakers say the United States cannot afford to keep a decades-old law that prohibits Medicare from paying for new weight loss drugs, including Wegovy and Zepbound. But research ...

Wall Street ends higher at the start of a holiday-shortened week

Stocks notched more gains Tuesday as Wall Street kicked off what’s expected to be a quiet, holiday-shortened week of trading. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, finishing less than 0.5% below its all-time high set nearly two years ago. The benchmark index is coming off eight straight weekly gains, its longest winning streak since 2017. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.4%, while the Nasdaq composite ended 0.5% higher. Trading was relatively light as U.S. markets reopened following the Christmas Day holiday. Still, the latest gains were widespread, with advancers outnumbering decliners ...

Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge tumbles in November as prices continue to ease

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of prices fell last month, another sign that inflation is easing and that Americans should benefit from reduced interest rates and get relief from painful price shocks in 2024. Friday’s report from the Commerce Department showed that U.S. consumer prices slid 0.1% last month from October and rose 2.6% from November 2022. The month-over-month drop was the largest since April 2020 when the economy was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core inflation last month rose ...

Still haven’t bought holiday gifts? Retailers have a sale for you

NEW YORK (AP) — Retailers are stepping up sales and other enticements in the final days before Christmas to lure shoppers who’ve been waiting for the best deals, or who didn’t have the time or the urge to wrap up gift-buying early. Incentives to spend last minute are an extension of ongoing efforts by stores to keep shoppers engaged, an effort that began as early as October this year. Some retailers have put goods on clearance racks and shelves before the holiday to lure bargain hunters. Michaels, the arts and crafts chain, trimmed prices on holiday trees by up to 75% on Dec. 15, ...

Study bolsters evidence that severe obesity increasing in young U.S. kids

NEW YORK (AP) — A new study adds to evidence that severe obesity is becoming more common in young U.S. children. There was some hope that children in a government food program might be bucking a trend in obesity rates — earlier research found rates were dropping a little about a decade ago for those kids. But an update released Monday in the journal Pediatrics shows the rate bounced back up a bit by 2020. The increase echoes other national data, which suggests around 2.5% of all preschool-aged children were severely obese during the same period. “We were doing well and now we ...