Allegheny County passes nation’s first countywide paid parental leave
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Nurses in Pennsylvania joined with a coalition of working parents and advocates to secure the first countywide 12-week paid parental leave policy in the United States.
The Allegheny County Council voted 11 to 4 to approve the program. This policy provides birthing and non-birthing parents with three months of paid leave within the first year of childbirth, adoption, foster placement, or a stillbirth. The initiative also protects the parents' jobs and health benefits during this period.
The policy change follows efforts by Pittsburgh nurses who observed parents returning to work while their babies remained in intensive care. Because the United States is currently the only industrialized nation without any national parental leave, these advocates hope the local policy serves as a model for other regions. In other news, China reported that its first five national parks have improved local ecosystems.
These parks cover 230,000 square kilometers and have helped increase populations of wild Siberian tigers and Amur leopards. Additionally, a clinical trial showed that a personalized mRNA-based melanoma vaccine reduced the risk of cancer recurrence or death by 42% for some patients. In the automotive sector, new-energy vehicles reached a record 67% of new car sales in China in September. Meanwhile, a report found that four-hour battery storage is now cheaper than open-cycle gas in 43 markets globally.
Airbnb also announced a plan to donate 10 cents from every booking to its nonprofit arm to provide 1 million free nights of emergency housing each year.
