>>Legacy Health Merger With OHSU
(Portland, OR) -- OHSU and Legacy Health have started planning for a merger. They've signed a letter of intent that starts the process. Legacy would become part of OHSU. The combined system would have more than 32-thousand employees and over 100 locations, including 10 hospitals and three-million patients. A definitive agreement is expected in the next few months and the deal would close next year, pending regulatory review.
>>Federal Reserve Concerned About Inflation Leading To More Rate Hikes
(Washington, DC) -- The Federal Reserve warns the pace of inflation may mean more interest rate hikes. In a recent meeting, Fed officials were somewhat optimistic the last quarter percentage point rate hike would be the last of the cycle and officials would wait and see how the hikes were impacting inflation. But new data shows the economy is expected to slow and unemployment will rise. That might mean another rate hike in September.
>>TikTok Banned On NYC-Owned Devices
(New York, NY) -- New York City is getting tough on TikTok. Starting immediately, the app is banned from city-owned devices which means city employees can't used or download TikTok on any city-owned device. City cyber safety officials say TikTok poses "a security threat to the city's technical networks" and this measure will help keep data safe. City agencies must remove the app within the next 30 days.
>>Holiday Shopping Season Coming On Early
(Washington, DC) -- Never mind pumpkin spice season -- it's already holiday shopping season with some big retailers rolling out string lights and Christmas trees. At Home Depot, holiday products including eight-foot Santa's and giant nutcrackers launched online last week, and Costco is rolling out its artificial Christmas trees. According to Google, more than a quarter of Americans are already shopping for the holidays in July. E-commerce platform Shopify says sales of ornaments last month were up over 25-percent compared to last year, and seasonal village sets and accessories up about 240-percent.
