The impact of inflation continues to burden families on a wide range of issues, such as childcare.
A report by the online caregiver listing service Urban Sitter found that babysitting costs are outpacing the current inflation rate, weighing upon families across the country, with a 9.7 percent jump in rates for sitters in 2022.
The average cost per hour for a sitter was $22.68 for one child and $27.70 for two. The increase is being linked to a number of factors, including the need for longer care times as many Americans return to the office full time and a shortage of available workers, allowing the available ones to charge higher rates.
While the federal government deems 7 percent or less of a family's income spent on childcare as being affordable, a Care.com survey found that more than half of Americans were spending upwards of 20 percent of their earnings.
As surging costs continue to take their toll on families, more states are beginning to provide childcare aid, according to Axios. Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island are among those to offer programs, and even many businesses are stepping up to help their employees in an effort to ease the burden.
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
