Jan 12, 2024 3 min read

MISS: There probably aren’t many people who would relish the idea of revealing their private medical information for the whole world’s scrutiny. Would you want everyone to know that you, say, had an operation for hemorrhoids? But when you’re a public official who is in the line of presidential succession, such disclosures are necessary. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin committed an unforced error when he failed to inform President Biden and other officials that he had been taken to the hospital on Jan. 1, for complications following surgery on his prostate. Austin was reportedly taken to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in pain and was admitted to the intensive care unit. The Pentagon seemed to operate without any problem in Austin’s absence, but the defense secretary should have been open with Biden – and the public he serves – about his whereabouts.

MISS: It’s become a cliche to say that we may be done with COVID-19, but COVID-19 is not done with us. That reality has become all the more clear in recent weeks. Thanks to the holidays, the United States is in the midst of its largest wave of COVID-19 cases since 2021. It’s estimated that 2 million people are being infected every day, with people who had managed to dodge the virus for almost four years finally getting a dreaded positive test. The good news, though, is that fewer people have died or been hospitalized from COVID-19 compared to this time last year. It’s likely that the coronavirus will be a part of our lives for at least the next several holiday seasons, and at other times of the year, too. More American adults need to get the latest booster shot – only 19% have so far – and keep getting boosters as they are updated.

HIT: In the post-pandemic summer of 2022, the price for a gallon of gas reached $5 in some parts of the country, which drained all too much money from the wallets of consumers. The price has been coming down since, and AAA reported this week that the average price nationally for a gallon of gas was $3.07, and was $3.38 in this region. The reasons for the decrease are lower demand following holiday-season travel, and increased supply. And while some of us still remember how jarring it was when we had to pay more than $20 to fill the tanks of our cars, $3.07 for a gallon of gas is pretty typical when adjusted for inflation. In January 1984, for instance, the average price nationally for a gallon of gas was $1.13, which would be $3.40 today. Few would disagree that gas prices coming down is a good way to start 2024.