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Dueling healthcare plans both blocked in the Senate. Democrats and Republicans each put their healthcare proposals up for a vote in the Senate yesterday, and both plans failed to pass. The Democrats’ plan, which would have extended subsidies to the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) for three years, earned the support of four Republicans, but still fell short of the 60 votes necessary, losing 51–48. The Republicans’ plan would have replaced the subsidies with federal funds for health savings accounts, but that failed by the same vote margin. With lawmakers soon to leave DC for their holiday break, this all but assures that more than 20 million Americans will see their healthcare premiums rise starting on Jan. 1.
The South Carolina measles outbreak is “accelerating.” At least 111 people have contracted the contagious viral infection in South Carolina since October, and more than 250 people are quarantined, according to the state’s public health department. Officials blamed the outbreak on “lower-than-hoped-for” vaccination rates: Of the 111 cases, 105 were unvaccinated, the health department said. Measles, which is most common among unvaccinated children, was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have led to outbreaks in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona this year.
OpenAI rolled out a more advanced ChatGPT model. Unsatisfied with the waves made by its $1 billion deal with Disney, OpenAI made more news yesterday when it unveiled GPT-5.2, the latest version of its signature chatbot that the company says can perform a range of tasks better than predecessors. Per OpenAI, the model is faster at finding information, translating, and coding, and is better at figuring out more complex tasks like math. The announcement comes about a week after CEO Sam Altman declared a “code red,” telling employees that ChatGPT needed to beef up, or risk falling behind rivals like Google’s Gemini 3.—AE
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