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Social media could have a ‘profound risk’ on kids and teens, US surgeon general warns

May 23, 2023 by WDNY Radio

NEW YORK — U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned in a new advisory Tuesday that excessive social media use can be a “profound risk” to the mental health of youth in the United States.

“I’m very concerned that social media has become an important contributor to the pain and the struggles that many of our young people are facing,” Murthy said in an interview on ABC News Live.

A surgeon general’s advisory is “reserved for significant public health challenges that require the nation’s immediate awareness and action,” according to the report released by the surgeon general’s office.

The surgeon general said that while we’re in the “middle of a youth mental health crisis” it’s important to identify possible causes. The advisory recognizes that social media has both positive and negative effects on young people, but that ultimately there’s not enough “research and clear data” to determine if it’s “safe” for adolescents to use.

Ninety-five percent of teens are on social media. Although age 13 is commonly the required minimum age for users of social media platforms, nearly 40% of children ages 8 through 12 still use the platforms, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Children and teen users are not only scrolling on these accounts, but are also becoming hooked. Young people on average report spending three and a half hours per day engaging in or creating social media content, according to a study referenced in the advisory.

Murthy calls this “deeply concerning,” as the studies he points to indicate that at least three hours on social media a day doubles a young person’s risk of developing depression and anxiety disorders. The advisory also highlights social media’s negative impact on body image and disordered eating behaviors.

Not only is it “chipping away at their self esteem,” the U.S. surgeon said, but that these platforms are also “taking time away from activities that are critical for health and development.”

On a typical weekday, nearly one in three adolescents report using screen media until midnight or later, the surgeon general told us.

“Poor sleep has been linked to altered neurological development in adolescent brains, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts and behaviors,” according to a study referenced in the advisory.

Murthy also highlighted the harmful content children are being exposed to on social media, including violence, sexual content, harassment and bullying.

The entire burden of managing social media use in children is currently being placed on parents, according to Murthy, who is also a parent to young children.

“It can’t be on parents alone to manage this,” Murthy told ABC News, detailing why he’s calling for “immediate action” on policymakers and technology companies.

The advisory has a number of suggestions for actions technology companies can take: conducting independent assessments of the impact of their products on adolescents, disclosing findings with researchers, creating effective systems to address complaints and requests from users and their families, as well as prioritizing health and safety while designing products.

“We’ve got to make sure these platforms are actually safe for our kids,” said Murthy. “The way we do with other products that children use, whether it’s medications, cars, car seats, infant formula, we make sure that these are safe so that parents have the support that they need to make the best decisions for their kids.”

The surgeon general’s advisory asks policymakers to create “age-appropriate health and safety standards,” require higher standards for privacy protection, fund future research, support implementation of digital literacy education in schools and require tech companies to share health-related data.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan pair of lawmakers introduced the Kids Online Safety Act, focused on protecting children online and holding social media companies accountable.

Though the bill failed last year, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, after conversations with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, said he has “hope” and expects to have a vote this session.

Prince Harry loses legal challenge in police protection case

May 23, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(LONDON) — Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has lost his bid to challenge a decision that he cannot pay for police protection while he is in the United Kingdom.

A judge ruled Tuesday that Harry cannot bring a second case against the U.K. Home Office, querying their stance that Metropolitan Police protection could not be bought.

Harry, the fifth in line to the throne, has been fighting back against a 2020 decision by the government that denied his family automatic police protection while in Britain after he and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stepped down from their roles as senior working royals.

At the time, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, known as RAVEC, made a decision that security for the Sussexes would be granted on a case-by-case basis.

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan declined to comment Tuesday about the court ruling.

Harry, who now lives in California with Meghan and their children Archie and Lilibet, has said he wants police protection for his family while on British soil and is willing to pay for the cost himself, but the Home Office denied that request.

The judge ruled Tuesday that Harry could not seek to challenge that decision.

Harry is still involved in a separate, ongoing case with the Home Office as to whether he should still be entitled to Met Police security while he is in the U.K.

Harry has only returned to the U.K. a handful of times since moving in 2020.

The latest court ruling in the U.K. comes just days after Harry and Meghan claimed they were involved in a “near catastrophic car chase” while being pursued by paparazzi in Manhattan, where Meghan received an award.

A spokesperson for the couple accused paparazzi of being “highly aggressive” and driving on the sidewalk and running red lights during a two-hour “relentless pursuit” of the famous pair. Harry and Meghan were returning from the Ms. Foundation’s annual gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom on May 16, along with Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, when the incident reportedly occurred.

“While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” the spokesperson said.

Police sources, however, have said the episode did not involve the amount of paparazzi the spokesperson claimed.

Police sources told ABC News two New York Police Department detectives were present at the Ziegfeld when Harry and Meghan emerged from the event and drove alongside the couple’s private vehicle to get them home.

Along the way, police sources said photographers on bicycles are visible on security cameras, but not the kind of caravan described by sources close to Harry and Meghan. The police sources didn’t discount the idea that whatever occurred may have been scary for those involved.

Since moving to California, the Sussexes have relied on a privately funded security team.

The family’s current security situation is similar to that of Harry’s late mother Princess Diana, who had to rely on private security protection after her divorce from Harry’s father King Charles III in 1996.

One year later, in 1997, Diana died in a car crash in Paris after the car she was riding in was pursued by paparazzi.

“When Diana died, she didn’t have police protection. She had a private security team at that point,” Victoria Murphy, ABC News royal contributor, said last year. “And I think it’s very clear that Prince Harry feels that the police protection is superior and that that is what he wants for his family.”

Super Typhoon Mawar set to hit Guam as potentially ‘catastrophic’ storm

May 23, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A powerful typhoon is headed toward Guam, which could be the strongest tropical cyclone to impact the island in decades.

Super Typhoon Mawar could directly hit Guam with winds as strong as 160 mph — equivalent to a Category 5 hurricane. The strong tropical cyclone is expected to strike around noon local time Wednesday, which would be around 10 p.m. ET Tuesday.

A typhoon warning has been issued for the U.S. island territory, located in the western Pacific.

Rainfall could reach as high as 20 inches, and storm surge is forecast to reach as high as 25 feet. The super typhoon is already producing waves up to 45 feet in the ocean near Guam.

Guam’s Office of Civil Defense advised residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately, as Mawar is “expected to make a direct hit or very near passage for Guam.”

“There is a potential of a catastrophic and devastating event for Guam,” the office said in a bulletin.

Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero also urged residents on Tuesday to seek shelter immediately as “damaging winds” were expected to start soon.

“Please take all the necessary precautions in an abundance of safety before we feel the full strength of the super typhoon,” she said on social media.

One emergency shelter in northern Guam had already reached capacity, the governor said.

President Joe Biden declared an emergency in Guam due to Mawar and ordered federal assistance to support the response to the typhoon.

A super typhoon is used to connote a tropical cyclone with sustained winds of at least 150 mph.

Mawar could be one of the strongest typhoons to impact Guam since the 1960s — the start of the satellite era.

The most destructive typhoon to hit Guam was Karen in 1962, with 155 mph winds and wind gusts of at least 170 mph, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Most homes on the island were destroyed.

More recently, in 2002, Super Typhoon Pongsona moved near the island with 144 mph winds and gusts up to 173 mph, causing $700 million in damage at the time, according to NOAA.

Older Americans worry debt default means no Social Security to pay bills

May 23, 2023 by WDNY Radio

(WASHINGTON) — If the United States defaults on its financial obligations, millions of Americans might not be able to pay their bills as well.

With Social Security and other government benefits at risk amid a political stalemate over the government’s debt ceiling, experts and older Americans told ABC News that the consequences of the impasse in Washington could be dire, including for older Americans who need the money to pay for basic needs such as food, housing or health care costs.

A quarter of Americans over age 65 rely on Social Security to provide at least 90% of their family income, according to the Social Security Administration.

Fred Gurner, 86, of New York, told ABC News that he uses his Social Security payment for his $800 rent. But now there is real risk that his payment might not come in time in June — when the Treasury Department says the government might not be able to send him the money he counts on.

“It’s very stressful, gives me a heart attack,” Gurner said about how the issue has become politicized.

How are Social Security payments affected by the debt ceiling?

Since 2001, the United States has spent more money than revenue it has taken in overall.

To cover the difference, the United States Treasury issues debt through securities, according to University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business professor Olivia Mitchell. Backed by the United States, those securities are happily bought by investors who see it as a safe guarantee they’ll get paid back with interest.

However, the United States and Denmark are the only two countries to limit the amount of debt the government can issue, known as a debt ceiling, Mitchell noted.

Lawmakers can pass new laws that require government spending, but the debt ceiling will remain in place until lawmakers vote to increase it. That has happened 78 separate times in the United States since 1960.

If that debt ceiling does not increase by June 1, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned House Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the country will not be able to satisfy all of its financial obligations.

Beyond not being able to pay interest and principal on government securities — which economists broadly agree would rattle the stock market and possibly damage the U.S. credit rating — the Treasury would be unable to issue new debt to cover expenses like Social Security, according to Mitchell.

The government projects to spend roughly $100 billion on Social Security in the month of June, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“It’s going to be pretty tight for people for a while, unless Congress and the president can get together on this problem,” Mitchell said.

When would Social Security payments become delayed?

The Social Security Administration plans to send contributions to beneficiaries on four dates next month — June 2, 14, 21, and 28. Those checks would be the first ones at risk of being delayed, according to Max Richtman, President and CEO of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

“Millions and millions of Social Security beneficiaries are worried about having the income to pay their basic bills,” he noted.

Lynda Fisher, 80, told ABC News that her budget relies on her monthly Social Security check and that a delay would complicate her essential spending, frustrating the 80-year-old who has spent her life contributing to the system.

“I paid into Social Security, and I paid into Medicare,” she said. “And now they’re trying to take it away. It’s not their money, it’s my money that I paid into.”

Richtman is now actively encouraging older residents to save money in anticipation of a delayed Social Security payment, fearing negotiations will not yield a compromise in time to avoid default.

On NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday, Yellen indicated that certain bills might be prioritized, including interest payments, Social Security and military contractor payments. However, Richtman expressed doubt that such a prioritization would be legally possible.

What does this mean for the future of Social Security?

Some Republican lawmakers have framed the debt ceiling fight as necessary to slow government spending; however, some economists, including Mitchell, see this as a “manufactured crisis” that threatens essential services, retirement savings and the overall economy.

“Every time one of these crises occurs, it’s signaling to the rest of the world, and to American investors that U.S. Treasuries are not as safe as we thought,” Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff said.

Kotlikoff expressed further concern that the Social Security system will have over $65.9 trillion in unfunded financial obligations over the indefinite horizon, based on the entity’s own report.

However, the debate over the debt ceiling appears unlikely to produce a meaningful solution to the broader Social Security shortfall, though, according to Kotlikoff, Mitchell and Richtman.

When will retirees receive their payments?

Mitchell and Richtman remained optimistic that Social Security recipients would eventually receive their checks once a deal is made, albeit with some delay.

“I’m pretty confident that payments would be fulfilled,” Richtman said. “That’s not much comfort to those people who will not be able to pay for their groceries, their utilities or their rent while they’re waiting to receive a back payment.”

‘It’s not their money’: Older Americans worried debt default means no Social Security