Oprah Winfrey, the queen of daytime television who has united Americans in front of her screens for many years, once more united the nation at a Unite for America event to learn Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign. “This people power movement behind Kamala Harris has unleashed a unifying force unlike anything we’ve seen in politics in a very long time,” Winfrey said.

The star-studded event, held in the important thing swing state of Michigan, with 400 people in attendance and nearly 300,000 viewers virtually, aimed to construct on the momentum of the primary Win With Black Women charity phone event, which drew an astonishing number of individuals $1.6 million inside hours of the July announcement that Harris would replace President Joe Biden because the Democratic presidential nominee.

Her success led to fundraising conversations with dozens of other groups, including Win With Black Men, White Dudes for Harris and Cat Ladies for Kamala, breaking fundraising records along the best way. Unite for America was inspired by a conversation between Oprah and Win With Black Women founder Jotaka Eaddy. Reflecting on the pivotal role black women have played in bringing the country thus far, Eaddy said, “I just think it’s an honor for all of us to be able to usher in this moment, knowing that those who watered this mighty field are now allowing us to eat the fruit.”

While latest Pew poll shows that Black women overwhelmingly support Harris (87%), with support amongst Black men barely weaker. Eighty percent plan to vote for Vice President Harris, while 17% say they are going to vote for Trump. Oprah said she has heard from several Black men who’re voting for Trump due to stimulus checks they received in the course of the pandemic.

Khalil Thompson, founding father of Win With Black Men, explained the matter: “Congress paid for the check…45 people signed it.” While he acknowledged that individuals must make their very own decisions, his selection was clear: “I don’t want someone with 34 convictions. I don’t want someone who will choose hate over choosing the best way to unite us as a country. That’s why I think Vice President Harris is the best person.”

Voters across the country expressed concerns about several issues, including abortion, immigration, the economy and gun violence. Unite for America kept those issues at the forefront, resulting in some very emotional moments in the course of the event.

In the context of abortion rights, a moving story of a 28-12 months-old woman has emerged Amber Nicole Thurman from Georgia, who was a single mother of a six-12 months-old son and wanted an abortion when she discovered she was pregnant with one other child. Because abortion is against the law in Georgia, she traveled to North Carolina, where she was given abortion drugs. After Thurman returned to Georgia, she became very unwell and located that she had not completely expelled the fetus and needed what known as a dilation and curettage (D&C).

Doctors waited 20 hours to perform the procedure on her due to state’s strict abortion ban, and he or she died. Thurman’s mother, who only recently learned from Propublica Informing that her death might have been prevented, she said, “Amber was not a statistic, she was loved by her family, a strong family, and we would do anything to make sure my child, our child, got the help that she needed.” In a deeply moving moment that brought many in the audience to tears, Thurman’s mother continued, “You look at a mother who is broken. The worst pain that a mother, a parent, could ever feel, her father, me and her family, you’re looking at that.”

Vice President Harris reiterated her support for abortion rights, calling it “health care,” and said that on the subject of a lady’s right to come to a decision what happens to her body, “you don’t have to abandon your faith or deeply held beliefs to agree that the government shouldn’t tell you what to do.”

In one other moving moment, the audience witnessed the human toll that gun violence has on our nation’s children. Oprah shared that 383,000 children have been exposed to gun violence and introduced one in all those children, Natalie Griffith, and her parents, Doug and Marilda. Natalie, still bandaged from the gunshot wounds she suffered in the Apalachee High School shooting earlier this month, sat next to her mother, Marilda, who shared the pain she felt when she learned her daughter’s school had been the positioning of one other school shooting, while she had no idea whether her daughter was alive or not. “You don’t know what it’s like until you experience it.” In a tearful plea, Marilda called for immediate motion to stop gun violence. “We can’t let this continue,” she said.

Vice President Harris, who was a staunch gun control advocate and co-sponsored a bill banning assault weapons as a California senator, said, “I’ve seen the autopsies. I’ve seen what these weapons do to the human body, and we have to agree that assault weapons in particular… have no place on the streets of civil society. They’re designed to kill a lot of people quickly.” She also reiterated her support for the Second Amendment and made clear that as a gun owner, she’s not attempting to take guns away from everyone.

On the economy, one area where Trump continues to outperform Vice President Harris in the polls, Harris has promised to create an “opportunity economy” where persons are helped to attain their financial goals. For example, she desires to combat price gouging, give first-time homebuyers $25,000 in down payment assistance, give small-business owners a $50,000 tax deduction (up from $5,000 available now) to assist them grow their businesses, and expand the kid tax credit to $6,000 in a baby’s first 12 months.

Immigration is one other area where Trump is leading in the polls — despite his raising of the Haitian rumor that Haitian migrants are stealing and eating pets. Vice President Harris noted that bipartisan border bill that laws she supported would have provided more border patrol agents, asylum officers and immigration judges, and would have stopped the flow of fentanyl across the border, nevertheless it never passed because Donald Trump encouraged Republican lawmakers to not vote for it. Harris said that was because “he would rather run with the problem than solve it,” but that if elected president, she would sign the bill into law.

But ultimately, Harris portrayed the stakes of this election as much larger than her or anybody particular position. It’s about “fundamental freedoms,” she continued. There’s a lot at stake in this election, and ultimately the query before us is, what sort of country do we would like to live in? And the fantastic thing about democracy — so long as we are able to stick with it — the fantastic thing about democracy is that every one in all us has the facility to reply that query.”

Women’s sports are having a moment, and the most recent news confirms it: Off-White™ has been named the official curator of fashion and culture for the New York Liberty, a groundbreaking partnership between high fashion and women’s basketball.

As Liberty dominates the WNBA and seeks their first championship, this partnership couldn’t have come at a greater time. Given Off-White’s fame for setting trends and Liberty’s electrifying presence in the world of sports, this partnership is about greater than just basketball—it’s about culture, representation, and the long run of ladies in sports.

The multi-yr agreement, Off-White’s first collaboration with a U.S. sports team, will kick off with the revealing of a custom varsity jacket prior to Liberty’s playoff opener. Designed with the fierce harmony and unique brand aesthetic in mind, the jacket is the right mix of fashion and athleticism. But this partnership extends far beyond the court. Over the following few seasons, we will expect Off-White™ to release exclusive fashion capsules, host community-focused events and work with Liberty players to focus on key cultural moments like Women’s History Month, Black History Month and Pride.

This partnership is greater than only a win for Liberty and Off-White™—it’s an enormous step forward for girls’s basketball and women’s sports as an entire. The WNBA is having fun with a season of unprecedented growth, with viewership surging, arenas filling up and a roster of players becoming cultural icons in their very own right. From their glamorous pregame looks to their off-the-court activism, the WNBA’s players are redefining what it means to be an athlete. And the New York Liberty are on the forefront of this movement. Known for his or her fierce competition and ability to push boundaries, the Liberty turn heads each on and off the court.

“WNBA players are being embraced as style icons like never before, while also driving culture in ways never before imagined,” said New York Liberty General Manager Keia Clarke. It’s true—today’s WNBA stars are usually not only excelling in the sport, they’re also pushing boundaries in relation to fashion and culture. With this partnership, Off-White will help them proceed to thrive, pushing the boundaries of what athletes can do and the spaces they will occupy.

Off-White™ CEO Cristiano Fagnani expressed his excitement concerning the partnership, saying, “Sports is evolving and women are making history by owning it. We are thrilled to partner with this inspiring team and together create a space that doesn’t exist by pushing boundaries to create the future. For everyone.” His words echo the feelings felt across the sports and fashion communities—a partnership built on shared values ​​of empowerment, innovation, and disruption.

The timing of this partnership is especially significant. Both brands are at pivotal moments—Off-White™ is fresh off its New York Fashion Week debut and Liberty is gunning for its first WNBA title. Their collaboration heralds a brand new era where fashion, sports, and culture seamlessly intertwine, especially for Black female athletes who proceed to interrupt barriers and define their very own space in the world of sports.

As Liberty’s fan base grows and Off-White’s boundary-breaking designs proceed to push the boundaries, the probabilities for this collaboration are countless. It’s not only concerning the clothes, it’s about creating experiences that talk to the facility of representation. For Black women, this collaboration is one other reminder of how far we’ve come in the world of sports—and how far we will go when fashion, culture, and athletics intersect.

Latest motions submitted to parliament Health Commission makes one thing clear: New Zealand’s aged care sector is facing a crisis.

This crisis is concentrated on the funding and staffing of aged care homes (ARCs) and residential care and support services.

But the federal government doesn’t should look far to resolve the issue. Australia has modified the best way it funds the sector, calling on wealthier members of society to pay a fairer share of the prices.

New Zealanders in nursing homes

Last yr, an estimated 32,000 people lived in residential aged care. The government’s means-tested residential care grant covers most of the associated fee of care for many who qualify – about 63% of ARC residents.

The ARC subsidy eligibility threshold is total assets of NZ$284,636 or less for a pair aged 65 or over. New Zealand Superannuation, the universal age pension, pays the remaining and provides a modest weekly expenses allowance.

Those with assets above the brink pay for their very own care, increasingly in “care apartments.” These beds, available only to those that can afford the associated fee, reduce what is on the market to subsidized residents, which creates equity issues.

In 2022/23 Health NZ contributed $1.352 billion to ARC providers. Resident fees contributed an extra $1.1 billion.

During the identical period, about 80,000 people over age 65 with social service records or chronic health conditions used home support services (at a value of $2 billion). These services included personal care, cooking, cleansing and respite care. Personal care services weren’t income or asset tested.

Elderly care overview

In July 2023, Health NZ launched Funding Review and models of elderly care services.

The aim of the review is to make recommendations that may ensure equitable access and outcomes for older people across New Zealand, while balancing the necessity to implement a cheap system.

The first phase of the review was accomplished in late December 2023. report Five key issues were identified and there have been no surprises:

• residential care services for older people and residential and social support services are underfunded
• the financing models used to distribute funds to the sector usually are not suited to the intended purpose
• there are material ethnic inequalities in access to eldercare services
• the aged care sector continues to face significant staffing pressures
• Aged care issues are more serious in regional and rural New Zealand.

Phase two involves developing recommendations for service and financing models that may result in a more integrated model of care, efficient use of resources, and regulatory and financing systems which are fit for purpose.

Despite the federal government claiming $1.4 billion in savings under Health NZ, Seniors Minister Casey Costello says the federal government we don’t intend to chop spending on elderly care.

A recent survey found that 56% of respondents’ ARC establishments made a net loss within the 2022/23 financial yr.

Insufficient funding has caused some nursing home providers to scale back the variety of ARC beds of their facilities. Many smaller providers have closed beds or shuttered their doors for good.

In addition, an acute shortage of registered nurses will see greater than 1,000 beds closed permanently and 1,200 closed temporarily in 2023. It is not any wonder that Health NZ estimates a shortfall of 12,000 residential care beds over eight years.

But underfunding the sector is clearly a false economy. The cost of hospital-level care in ARC facilities is lower than 1 / 4 of the associated fee of a bed day in a public hospital medical ward.

As Aged Care Commissioner Carolyn Cooper says in her statement: last report:

A key problem is the shortage of a selected strategy and planning that takes under consideration the health needs of an ageing population.

Common crisis

The aged care crisis is just not confined to New Zealand.

The Australian government has just accomplished sector overview and adopted 23 recommendations of the Task Force on Care for the Elderly.

One of the more significant changes is the requirement for wealthier people to contribute more to overall costs, relatively than counting on taxpayer subsidies.

The urgency of this modification comes from the undeniable fact that greater than half of all residential aged care facilities in Australia usually are not financially viable. Providers need sufficient revenue to cover the prices of providing services. Every facility that closes reduces the supply of residential aged care for the elderly.

The Australian Government will proceed to cover 100% of the associated fee of clinical care services, while increased means-testing arrangements for each day living costs and non-clinical care will be certain that individuals with assets are in a position to self-fund their care.

Taxpayer funding will be certain that people without assets have access to the care they need.

These changes will improve the financial health of healthcare facilities and in addition improve intergenerational equity by reducing the burden on taxpayers.

An unimaginable burden

New Zealand could learn from Australia. NZ Statistics It is predicted that by 2028 the share of individuals aged 65+ will reach 20% of the population. Within 4 years, there may very well be 30 people aged 65+ for each 100 people aged 15–64.

Older persons are frequent users of health services, and most care and support for older people is currently funded by taxpayers. Without a change within the funding model, working-age residents will face an increasingly heavy burden.

The sector review must be certain that wealthier users of aged care services contribute adequately. Intergenerational equity must be considered in any redesign of aged care provision.