The Daily Valet. - 12/20/24, Friday
Friday, December 20th Edition |
By Cory Ohlendorf, Valet. EditorWe're taking off for winter break, but will be back to regular publishing on January 6th. |
Today’s Big Story
U.S. Life Expectancy Increases
And COVID dropped from the fourth-leading cause of death to the 10th, according to a CDC report
Here’s some good news to end the year on: Life expectancy in the United States is rising nearly as quickly as it fell at the start of the pandemic as deaths from COVID-19 and drug overdoses drop.
After falling 2.4 years between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy rose by more than a year in 2022, and new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that it increased by nearly another full year in 2023. Which means that kids born in 2023 are now estimated to live 78.4 years, according to the CDC. That’s still shy of the 78.8-year life expectancy from 2019, but it’s a significant improvement driven by lower death rates in each of the 10 leading causes of death.
It’s a significant rise—nearly a full year—from the life expectancy of 77.5 years in 2022. “Life expectancy in the United States never goes up or down any more than one- or two-tenths,” Ken Kochanek, a statistician at the National Center for Health Statistics who co-authored the report, told NBC News. “The increase we had this year—the 0.9 year—that's unheard of prior to the pandemic.”
COVID deaths fell significantly last year: Whereas COVID was the fourth leading cause of death in 2022, it was the 10th in 2023, according to the new report. Last year, COVID was the underlying or contributing cause of more than 76,000 deaths, according to an August CDC report, compared with more than 350,000 such deaths in 2020.
What’s more, mortality declines were widespread by race and ethnicity. According to U.S. News & World Report, the country’s boost in life expectancy and overall 6% drop in death rate coincided with mortality declines among men and women across racial and ethnic groups. American Indians and Alaska Natives saw death rates fall the most sharply, by 13.5% to 920.3 per 100,000 in 2023 among AIAN women and by 11.5% to 1,277.7 per 100,000 among men.
“Returning to pre-pandemic levels is good news, but we are hardly out of the woods,” says Dr. Steven Woolf, a professor in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine who was not part of the CDC analysis. “Americans continue to die at higher rates than people in other high-income countries.”
FYI: | According to the new report, the top five causes of death in the U.S. last year were heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, stroke and chronic lower respiratory diseases. |
House Rejects Trump-Backed Plan on Shutdown
A day after a bipartisan proposal fell apart, lawmakers are racing to pass legislation by midnight
A day before a potential government shutdown, the House resoundingly rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s new plan Thursday to fund operations and suspend the debt ceiling, as Democrats and dozens of Republicans refused to accommodate his sudden demands.
According to the Associated Press, in a hastily convened evening vote punctuated by angry outbursts over the self-made crisis, the lawmakers failed to reach the two-thirds threshold needed for passage—but House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared determined to reassess, before tonight’s midnight deadline. “We’re going to regroup and we will come up with another solution, so stay tuned,” Johnson said after the vote. The cobbled-together plan didn’t even get a majority, with the bill failing 174-235.
The Washington Post says that the mess casts some doubt on Johnson’s ability to maintain the speaker’s gavel in next year’s Congress. Johnson must run for the position again when the new House is sworn in on Jan. 3, and enough GOP members have questioned his leadership, both publicly and privately, that he may lack the support he needs.
Worst Case: | If the government does shutdown, TSA employees and air traffic controllers would largely continue to work. But like during the 2018 shutdown, travelers could face delays at airports. |
Will It Be a White Christmas?
There's hope, depending on where you live
Perhaps it was all those years living in Los Angeles, but I’m a sucker for snow. Especially around the holidays. But what are your odds of most Americans seeing a white Christmas this year? While the forecast for Christmas Day is still being refined, those of you in search of this ultimate holiday decoration may want to begin the trek west, or north.
Santa’s magic won't bring snow to the majority of the country, but some parts might just get lucky, Scott Kleebauer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center, told NPR. While hopes for a white Christmas are on the minds of many each year, experts say the chances of experiencing one may diminish in the future, in part because of shifts in weather patterns driven by global warming.
Of course, if you're looking for a near-surefire way to get a white Christmas, you might want to head to Fairbanks, Alaska, which has seen snow on the ground practically every Christmas since weather record keeping began, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In the Lower 48, here's typically where you should go if you want to see snow on December 25th: Minnesota, Maine, upstate and western New York, the Allegheny Mountains of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, practically anywhere in Idaho and, of course, the Rockies or the Sierra Nevada Mountains, NOAA said.
FYI: | Most of the country is also expected to have temperatures that are "milder than average" on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, according to NOAA. |
A Weekend Pairing
‘Squid Games’ + a Soju
We've waited for so long ... and you have to wait just a little past this weekend, unfortunately. But Squid Games is finally returning to Netflix on December 26th. The show was such a runaway hit when it debuted in the haze of the pandemic, that the limited series (which only intended one season) confirmed it would be back for season two. We knew Seong (Lee Jung-jae) was itching for revenge after he won his squid games, but now we know he’s back in for round two to destroy it from the inside.
Several critics and members of the press have released their first opinions on Season 2 on social. While the official review embargo still stands until closer to next week's release date, Netflix clearly have confidence in the show's second season (which has already been nominated for a Golden Globe before even being released)... and they are absolutely right to. According to the first reactions, Squid Game Season 2 is a triumphant return, that features nerve-rackingly tense scenes and builds upon the mystery ahead of the third and final season.
Pair It With
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Also Worth a Watch: | 'Ilana Glazer: Human Magic' on Hulu; 'The Creator' on Prime Video |
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The Best Gifts Under $25
Perfect options for stocking stuffers and exchanges
You’ve got a lot of gifts to buy this season. Sometimes you don't want to spend a ton of money, but that doesn't mean your gift can't be thoughtful and covetable. Whether you're looking for a stocking stuffer, a versatile gift for an exchange or just a present for a hard-to-please or a tasteful friend, we've got you covered. These items are perfect for those needs: Tiny bursts of excitement with each little trinket, toy or tasty piece of candy. And they're all extremely affordable too.
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