16 days ago
A solar panel company which is planning to create hundreds of jobs is calling for certainty from politicians to aid its expansion.
Power Roll currently employs around 35 people at its test plant in Murton, County Durham, where it is developing pioneering new technology using cells smaller than human hairs.
But the firm said it needed clarity on government green policies as it was making plans for up to 20 years ahead.
Labour MP Luke Myer told Politics North "clean power" was "an opportunity for our region... it's also an opportunity to make sure we have energy security as well".
Power Roll chief executive Neil Spann said the flexible film they were developing was "first of a kind" and not being done "anywhere else in the world".
Power Roll currently employs around 35 people at its test plant in Murton, County Durham, where it is developing pioneering new technology using cells smaller than human hairs.
But the firm said it needed clarity on government green policies as it was making plans for up to 20 years ahead.
Labour MP Luke Myer told Politics North "clean power" was "an opportunity for our region... it's also an opportunity to make sure we have energy security as well".
Power Roll chief executive Neil Spann said the flexible film they were developing was "first of a kind" and not being done "anywhere else in the world".
19 days ago
Emergency crews in New York City have stabilized the building in Midtown Manhattan that had been showing signs it could partially collapse and Mayor Zohran Mamdani says the high-rise hasn't moved since Tuesday. Brand new images show temporary supports stabilizing the 21st floor where two structural support beams had buckled. NBC's Sam Brock reports for TODAY.
20 days ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Middle-income Americans straining to pay for Affordable Care Act health insurance are unlikely to get relief next year, according to a new ****** ysis that shows insurers in the marketplace are proposing a second straight year of double-digit premium hikes.
Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday's ****** ysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.
The rise in premiums adds to what already was a significant jump in 2026, when the median rate increase was 20%, according to KFF.
While most Americans in Obamacare still qualify for subsidies that protect them from paying the full premiums, middle-class enrollees who don't get those subsidies will face an especially stark increase in costs. That group includes households with incomes at or above 400% of the poverty level — about $63,000 per year for an individual or $129,000 for a family of four.
The rate increases come as federal lawmakers have proposed various policy changes to overhaul the expensive U.S. healthcare system, but no comprehensive legislation has amassed enough support to pass. The higher costs are contributing to Americans' existing worries about overall affordability, a concern that many voters say is front of mind with November's midterm elections looming.
Across the 77 insurers in the ACA program that have submitted rate filings that are publicly available, the median proposed premium increase for 2027 is 14%, according to Wednesday's ****** ysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. The insurers cited mounting healthcare costs, federal regulatory changes and the recent expiration of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies as the biggest factors driving premiums higher.
The rise in premiums adds to what already was a significant jump in 2026, when the median rate increase was 20%, according to KFF.
While most Americans in Obamacare still qualify for subsidies that protect them from paying the full premiums, middle-class enrollees who don't get those subsidies will face an especially stark increase in costs. That group includes households with incomes at or above 400% of the poverty level — about $63,000 per year for an individual or $129,000 for a family of four.
The rate increases come as federal lawmakers have proposed various policy changes to overhaul the expensive U.S. healthcare system, but no comprehensive legislation has amassed enough support to pass. The higher costs are contributing to Americans' existing worries about overall affordability, a concern that many voters say is front of mind with November's midterm elections looming.
22 days ago
A Ukrainian drone attack struck an oil terminal in St. Petersburg on Saturday, Russian officials said, as Kyiv presses on with bombardment of Russia's oil infrastructure.
Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year.
Gov. Alexander Beglov said the city's Kirovsky district on the Baltic Sea was hit. He also said that air defenses shot down 72 Ukrainian drones across Russia's second-largest city and the surrounding region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" against Russia. He said that Ukrainian forces also hit a military target on the island of Kronstadt, just off the coast of St. Petersburg.
"The Ukrainian defense forces hit the port oil infrastructure, which earns money for the Russian war, and there were also hits on Kronstadt — an important military target," he said in a post on Telegram.
Almost daily long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities have created a fuel crisis and heaped political pressure on the Kremlin as its all-out invasion of Ukraine stretches into its fifth year.
Gov. Alexander Beglov said the city's Kirovsky district on the Baltic Sea was hit. He also said that air defenses shot down 72 Ukrainian drones across Russia's second-largest city and the surrounding region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the attack as part of Ukraine's "long-range sanctions" against Russia. He said that Ukrainian forces also hit a military target on the island of Kronstadt, just off the coast of St. Petersburg.
"The Ukrainian defense forces hit the port oil infrastructure, which earns money for the Russian war, and there were also hits on Kronstadt — an important military target," he said in a post on Telegram.
