PERSPECTA

News from every angle

Results for "West Virginia"

41 stories found

West Virginia Is America's Fattest State
Healthzerohedge1mo ago

West Virginia Is America's Fattest State

West Virginia Is America's Fattest State More than one in three adults is obese in most U.S. states, according to the latest CDC data. In several Southern states, the rate now exceeds 40%. This map, via Visual Capitalist's Bruno Venditti, shows the percentage of adults with a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher across all 50 states and U.S. territories. The Highest Obesity Rates Are Concentrated in the South West Virginia tops the list, with 41.4% of adults classified as ob...

US Court Clears State Medicaid Ban On Transgender Surgeries For Adults
Healthzerohedge1mo ago

US Court Clears State Medicaid Ban On Transgender Surgeries For Adults

US Court Clears State Medicaid Ban On Transgender Surgeries For Adults Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), West Virginia’s ban on Medicaid coverage of surgical procedures for people with gender dysphoria is legal, a federal court ruled on March 10. A sign in support of Medicaid rests in a walking device on the House steps of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on April 27, 2025. Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images A 2025 U.S. Supreme Co...

I spent 60 hours traveling on Amtrak trains from New York to Texas. Here are 10 things that surprised me most.
CultureBusiness Insider2mo ago

I spent 60 hours traveling on Amtrak trains from New York to Texas. Here are 10 things that surprised me most.

I rode two Amtrak trains on a long-haul journey from New York to Texas. Michael Rosenthal I spent 60 hours in coach across two Amtrak trains to get from New York to Austin via Chicago. Getting to see historic landmarks and beautiful views was a pleasant surprise. The delays got tedious and a bit frustrating, but the train felt like home by the end of my trip. Spending 60 hours on Amtrak trains in coach isn't ideal for a lot of people. Fortunately, I don't mind a long ride. To get from New York to Austin, I booked two different Amtrak routes that would take me to Texas via Chicago. Ultimately, my long journey over several days was pretty nice. After this trip, I'd still say Amtrak trains are one of the most pleasant and enjoyable modes of travel. Here are a few things that surprised me about the 60-hour ride. At times, I forgot I was even on a train. Sometimes I forgot I was even on a train. Michael Rosenthal Local train rides can be slow and clunky, so I prefer long-distance ones — you can largely sit back, relax, and enjoy the journey because the stops are much farther apart. The ride was smooth and enjoyable, and I watched the country pass by right outside my window, as if I were watching TV or a movie. Sometimes I was so distracted by a conversation with someone else on board that I forgot we were moving. However, there's also a lot of potential for delays. Many Amtrak lines run on a single track. Michael Rosenthal Long-distance trains are great when they run properly, but delays can be tough to avoid. Amtrak mostly operates on freight railroad lines, which means you're often at the mercy of those dispatchers. To make matters worse, some lines run on a single track. So if there's an oncoming train, you have to wait on a track siding until it clears. Freight trains can cause anywhere from 10 minutes to multiple hours of interference. These delays — which came every hour or so on my trip — interrupted the joy and relaxation that came with the otherwise smooth ride. Sometimes passengers didn't receive announcements about delays, or only got vague ones. I wish I'd brought a radio scanner that picked up on the frequencies used by the dispatchers so I could stay up to date on the information or estimate the delay time myself. Many passengers relied on the café car for food. I mostly ate the food I brought from home. Michael Rosenthal I brought enough of my own food for my two and a half days on the rails, and my short layover in Chicago gave me a chance to grab a hot meal. I also packed a reusable bottle so I could fill it up with tap water on the train. However, I was surprised by how many people depended on Amtrak's onboard dining options. The café car is OK in a pinch: It has basic snacks, beverages, and hot foods like burgers and pizza. The prices aren't unreasonable, but I still don't think they're worth it for food that generally gets taken out of a plastic wrapper and microwaved. I expected more people to get off the train to stretch their legs at the stops. I wanted to take the opportunity to stretch my legs in fresh air. Michael Rosenthal Every so often, the train made an extended stop at a station for a crew change or servicing, and passengers were allowed to step off for a bit. There's no smoking on the trains, so I noticed a fair number of people using these stops as smoke breaks. However, I expected more people to take the opportunity to get some fresh air and stretch, rather than stay on the train. There were only so many of these opportunities, and it was great to walk around, feel some sun on my face, and say that I set foot in a different place, instead of just passing through it. The history all around me felt remarkable. We passed through so many interesting towns. Michael Rosenthal My trip took me through more than a dozen states, including six state capitals and the US capital. The trip from New York to Washington, DC, started out on tracks that were part of the historical Pennsylvania Railroad and continued down one of the busiest rail corridors in the country. The bulk of my Cardinal-line trip went along old Chesapeake and Ohio Railway tracks. There was a lot of interesting history to learn about the railroad towns that sprang up along the tracks when they were first laid. My trip through Virginia took me across tracks that played a vital role in the Civil War. The train also traveled through old boom-and-bust towns in West Virginia — some of which still exist, but others have only scant remnants. There was no WiFi on the Texas Eagle line. The coach car on an Amtrak train. Michael Rosenthal The Texas Eagle is one of the few Amtrak trains that doesn't have WiFi, and some areas we passed through had little-to-no cell reception. The Cardinal line also passed through areas with poor cell reception, which made the onboard WiFi quite unstable. For this reason, I'm glad I brought an AM/FM HD radio with me. I had a lot of fun tuning in to different stations as my trains traveled the country. It helped me feel more connected to the small towns and gave them more life. I found surprisingly good content in some remote areas. I didn't really end up watching all of the entertainment I downloaded. I mostly ate the food I brought from home. Michael Rosenthal I came prepared for my train ride by downloading a bunch of TV shows and movies onto my laptop. However, surprisingly, the 60 hours went by so quickly that I didn't watch any of them. I only kept my laptop open on the Cardinal line to look at Amtrak's "Track Your Train" map. I was also having too much fun with the radio and didn't want to miss out on live broadcasts. Plus, I could continue fully taking in the sights out the window while listening. The train was a very social place at times, too, so I was often busy speaking with the people around me. The camaraderie with other passengers is second to none. I met a lot of interesting people on my trains. Michael Rosenthal The camaraderie I've experienced on Amtrak train rides is pretty much unmatched. I didn't get to talk with as many people as I have on past trips, but it was still enjoyable to journey together with a bunch of people for such an extended time. It was great to see others get off at their destinations, but, in a funny way, it also made me a little sad to see them (and the ways they contributed to the train's atmosphere) go. Getting to spend time with fellow passengers from all over the world while different parts of the country passed by provided some true slices of American life. There was no observation car on the Texas Eagle during my trip. I had to make due with the views from my window. Michael Rosenthal It's great to switch things up by sitting and socializing in the café cars. However, the Cardinal and Texas Eagle trains have combined café and dining cars, so seating was very limited and only for passengers who purchased something. I missed hanging out in observation cars, as I've done on past trips. I knew this would be the case for my time on the Cardinal, but the Texas Eagle usually has an awesome sightseeing lounge with a variety of seating and viewing windows. The fact that my train didn't have one was by far the biggest disappointment of the trip. However, the Eagle has since brought back its observation cars. It's definitely worth checking whether your train has an observation car before booking a long Amtrak ride. I fell into a routine on the train that made it feel like home. Michael Rosenthal When you spend enough time somewhere, it can start to feel very familiar and comfortable, which was my case on the train. Doing things like making room while walking in the aisle so someone else can pass, heading down the stairs to the bathroom, and refilling water bottles felt as routine as anything I'd do at home. There was almost a weird comfort in walking around and seeing different parts of the train that became very familiar to me during my many hours aboard. This story was originally published on November 9, 2021, and most recently updated on February 17, 2025. Read the original article on Business Insider

Which US States Are Seeing Incomes Rise The Fastest (And Slowest)
Financezerohedge2mo ago

Which US States Are Seeing Incomes Rise The Fastest (And Slowest)

Which US States Are Seeing Incomes Rise The Fastest (And Slowest) Since 2019, U.S. household incomes have surged - rising from $68,700 to $83,730 nationally, a 21.9% increase in just five years. But where you live matters a lot. While some states tracked close to the national average, others saw incomes climb at nearly double the pace, driven by booming local industries and major investment. States like Colorado posted outsized gains, while Georgia’s expanding EV industry brought billions in investment and rising paychecks. The map, via Visual Capitalist's Dorothy Neufeld, shows which states saw the fastest growth in median household income from 2019 to 2024, using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Trends in Median Income by State Below, we show the change in median household income for all 50 U.S. states and D.C. between 2019 and 2024 using nominal figures (not adjusted for inflation): Rank State Change in Median Household Income Median Household Income 2019 Median Household Income 2024 1 Colorado 46.9% $72,500 $106,500 2 Georgia 43.4% $56,630 $81,210 3 Maine 36.3% $66,550 $90,730 4 Montana 36.1% $60,190 $81,920 5 Tennessee 34.0% $56,630 $75,860 6 Rhode Island 31.6% $70,150 $92,290 7 Massachusetts 29.9% $87,710 $113,900 8 Florida 29.6% $58,370 $75,630 9 Iowa 29.4% $66,050 $85,480 10 Missouri 29.4% $60,600 $78,390 11 California 28.8% $78,100 $100,600 12 New Hampshire 28.7% $86,900 $111,800 13 North Dakota 25.8% $70,030 $88,080 14 Mississippi 25.0% $44,790 $55,980 15 Ohio 24.5% $64,660 $80,520 16 South Dakota 24.3% $64,260 $79,850 17 Michigan 23.9% $64,120 $79,460 18 South Carolina 23.8% $62,030 $76,780 19 Idaho 23.7% $65,990 $81,650 20 Utah 23.0% $84,520 $104,000 21 Wisconsin 22.6% $67,350 $82,560 22 New York 20.8% $71,850 $86,830 23 Texas 20.8% $67,440 $81,490 24 Wyoming 20.8% $65,130 $78,680 25 New Mexico 20.8% $53,110 $64,140 26 Oregon 20.5% $74,410 $89,700 27 Virginia 20.2% $81,310 $97,720 28 Kansas 19.9% $73,150 $87,690 29 Arizona 19.9% $70,670 $84,700 30 Arkansas 18.9% $54,540 $64,840 31 Washington 18.3% $82,450 $97,500 32 New Jersey 18.0% $87,730 $103,500 33 Nebraska 17.9% $73,070 $86,140 34 West Virginia 17.6% $53,710 $63,150 35 Louisiana 17.5% $51,710 $60,740 36 Alabama 16.7% $56,200 $65,560 37 Alaska 16.4% $78,390 $91,260 38 Kentucky 16.4% $55,660 $64,790 39 Delaware 15.7% $74,190 $85,860 40 Indiana 15.0% $66,690 $76,710 41 Maryland 14.8% $95,570 $109,700 42 Vermont 14.7% $74,310 $85,260 43 Connecticut 13.7% $87,290 $99,240 44 Nevada 13.7% $70,910 $80,590 45 Pennsylvania 13.4% $70,580 $80,060 46 Minnesota 13.4% $81,430 $92,350 47 Illinois 13.2% $74,400 $84,210 48 District of Columbia 12.6% $93,110 $104,800 49 Hawaii 11.6% $88,010 $98,240 50 Oklahoma 9.9% $59,400 $65,310 51 North Carolina 9.9% $61,160 $67,220 Colorado’s thriving tech industry helped push median income up 46.9%, the fastest rise across states. With $165,606 in average earnings across the sector in 2023, Colorado ranked sixth-highest nationally. From software to renewable energy, employment growth has expanded by double- or even triple-digit percentages across various roles since 2018. Georgia ranks in a close second, with median incomes climbing 43.4%. In particular, the EV and aerospace sectors are playing a key role in job creation. Since 2018, the state has seen $27.3 billion in investment across EV, aerospace, and battery manufacturers including Rivian and SK Battery America. Maine, meanwhile, saw wages rise 36.3%. In 2024, wages across the tech sector saw the steepest jump of 11.4% while those in the construction sector saw strong gains of 8.5%. Other factors, such as its older population and tight labor market, have further boosted wages. Falling near the middle of the pack were New York and Texas, each with wage gains of 20.8% between 2019 and 2024. By contrast, North Carolina and Oklahoma saw only 9.9% cumulative wage growth, the weakest performance nationwide. Median household income in both states remains well below the U.S. average and still trails pre-pandemic levels. To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on average hourly earnings by state in 2025. Tyler Durden Sat, 02/14/2026 - 22:45

Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Against Trump Continue, Millions Rally
PoliticsBBCThe GuardianNPR+16ruvtagesschauberlingskeNHK Worldorfsydney-morning-heraldYahoola-vanguardia+8 more24d ago19 sources

Nationwide 'No Kings' Protests Against Trump Continue, Millions Rally

Millions of anti-Trump 'No Kings' and 'No Dictators' protests continue across the US and Europe, with an estimated eight million people participating in 3,300 events across 50 US states. A specific incident involved a bomb threat at the Hawaii State Capitol during a 'No Dictators' protest, which led to an evacuation but no explosives were found.

Justice Department Sues 5 More States For Refusing To Provide Voter Rolls
Politicszerohedge1mo ago

Justice Department Sues 5 More States For Refusing To Provide Voter Rolls

Justice Department Sues 5 More States For Refusing To Provide Voter Rolls Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times, The federal government has filed lawsuits against five states—Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Jersey—accusing local officials of failing to provide full voter registration lists as requested, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a Feb. 26 statement. “The Attorney General is uniquely charged by Congress with broad authority to request e...