🐤 Nurse-case scenario

🏦 Markets: Recession? What recession? The economy might still be in store for a downturn, but GDP numbers show healthy growth during the final quarter of 2022.

The news served to instill some optimism among stock traders despite the common belief that a downturn will be necessary to slow inflation and stop the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hikes.

All three major indexes finished higher on Thursday, with the Nasdaq seeing the biggest gains — 1.8% — on the strength of a major rally by Tesla. The S&P 500 added more than a percent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6%.

🔥 Great balls of fire: Those of you who enjoy cinnamon whiskey have probably encountered Fireball at some point. Of course, if you picked up a miniature bottle of Fireball Cinnamon at a store recently, you might’ve been disappointed to learn that it didn’t actually contain any liquor. Instead, the company’s producer marketed a malt beverage that was crafted to deliver the taste of Fireball but without any actual whiskey. Now, a lawsuit against the company is claiming that it misled consumers. Even though the small bottles don’t technically claim to contain hard liquor, attorneys assert that the bottles were otherwise designed almost identically to the whiskey product with the intention to deceive consumers.

📱 Replatforming Trump: After Elon Musk acquired Twitter last year, he decided to restore former President Donald Trump’s account, which had been suspended since shortly after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot on Capitol Hill. Now, Facebook and Instagram have followed suit by reinstating his profile after a two-year ban came to an end. As usual, Trump was quick to post his response via his own Truth Social platform, asserting that Facebook “has lost Billions of Dollars in value since ‘deplatforming’ your favorite President,” concluding: “Such a thing should never again happen to a sitting President, or anybody else who is not deserving of retribution.” It is unclear when or if he will resume posting on any of the sites that have reinstated his account.

🏠 Exceeding its goals: The Department of Veterans Affairs offers a wide variety of assistance for men and women who served in the U.S. military — including efforts to address the skyrocketing homeless rate among American vets. Last year, the agency exceeded its goal of providing permanent housing for 38,000 veterans by finding reliable homes for more than 40,400 individuals. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough celebrated the achievement but acknowledged that there are many more veterans who need assistance, concluding: “We at VA will not rest until the phrase ‘homeless veteran’ is a thing of the past.”

💫 Upcoming close encounter: Stargazers across the Southern Hemisphere will have something new to look at in the sky on Thursday evening as an asteroid roughly the size of a moving truck passes a mere 2,200 miles from the planet. NASA navigation engineer Davide Farnocchia called it “one of the closest approaches by a known near-Earth object ever recorded.” The rock, known as 2023 BU, was first discovered last weekend and experts stress that there is no danger of a collision with our planet. It is likely to provide a visually stunning sight — especially for those living in South America below its projected trajectory.

When it comes to health care, it is important to be able to trust the training and expertise of providers, including the nurses who provide so many services to aid the doctors and other specialists at any facility.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that many people working as nurses didn’t complete the study and coursework needed for accreditation.

“One of the most brazen schemes that I’ve seen”

Health and Human Services Special Agent in Charge Omar Perez Aybar offered some details about an ongoing investigation into what is being described as a $100 million scam involving fraudulent diplomas and transcripts.

It is believed that thousands of supposed nurses actually paid their way to qualification instead of taking certain aspects of the national exam required to legitimately receive a license.

Aybar explained that the fraud has led investigators through the states of Florida, New York, New Jersey, Texas, and Delaware, where the forged paperwork was allegedly sold to those seeking a shortcut into the nursing profession.

“For them, it was worth the investment, or the risk," he asserted, concluding: “It does shock the mind.”

“Shortcut is not a word we want to use”

Along with the DOJ and HHS, the FBI is also involved in the investigation that has led to criminal charges against more than two dozen suspects already.

For his part, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Markenzy Lapointe elaborated on why this alleged crime is such a serious matter.

“When we take an injured son or daughter to a hospital emergency room, we don’t expect — really cannot imagine — that the licensed practical nurse or registered nurse treating our child took a shortcut.”

Bypassing the system, he said, an underqualified nurse skipped “hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of clinical training.”

It all comes down to this. After a year filled with standout performances among pro football players, the Associated Press has announced its finalists for MVP and other top awards for the 2022 NFL season.

The MVP finalists are …

… Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals, Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles, Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings, and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. (Hurts, Jefferson, and Mahomes are also up for Offensive Player of the Year).

Hurts seems to be in a good position for the MVP nod after posting more than 3,700 passing yards while scoring 760 rushing yards and 35 combined touchdowns to help the Eagles finish with a stellar 14-3 regular season record.

Other top award contenders

Aside from the aforementioned finalists for Offensive Player of the Year, the AP has six additional categories from which to pick award winners:

• Defensive Player of the Year: Nick Bosa of the San Francisco 49ers, Chris Jones of the Chiefs, and Micah Parsons of the Dallas Cowboys.
• Offensive Rookie of the Year: Brock Purdy of the 49ers, Kenneth Walker of the Seattle Seahawks, and Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets.
• Defensive Rookie of the Year: Ahmad Gardner of the Jets, Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions, and Tariq Woolen of the Seahawks.
• Comeback Player of the Year: Saquon Barkley of the New York Giants, Christian McCaffrey of the 49ers, and Geno Smith of the Seahawks.
• Coach of the Year: Brian Dabol of the Giants, Doug Pederson of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers.
• Assistant Coach of the Year: Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryan, and Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.

Winners will be announced on Feb. 9.

Apple and Android have been in a game of oneupmanship since before Google acquired the OS popular in smartphones, tablets, and certain other devices. When the iPhone was still in its infancy, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs accused Android of stealing the iOS framework and vowed “thermonuclear war” on Google as a result.

Apple’s “grudge”

Although it might seem that iOS and Android have found a way to coexist, two former Apple engineers recently confirmed that Apple has no intentions of letting go of its “grudge” against rival Google.

This animosity has apparently driven Apple to become even more innovative in a bid to offer better quality, service, and functionality to establish its operating system as the clear champion.

What iPhone owners can expect

As this “silent war” becomes a bit louder, there are some reports emerging about how iOS seeks to improve and expand its offerings to take Android on directly. Here are a few ways Apple hopes to achieve its goal.

• Improved maps: After more than a decade of improving on what critics said was an inferior alternative to Google Maps, iOS is ready to launch a new Business Connect feature that offers recommendations and connectivity beyond standard navigation functions.
• Improved search: Google is known for its search capabilities, but Apple is fine-tuning its rival engine with help from artificial intelligence firm Laserlike — a startup founded by former Google engineers with the goal of providing “high-quality information and diverse perspectives on any topic from the entire web.”
• Improved ads: Advertising is the lifeblood of almost any tech company, and Apple is going toe-to-toe with Google on this front too. With a focus on privacy, an iOS approach might be more popular among those of us who are tired of companies tracking us online to deliver annoying ads.