The latest figures suggest growth in Covid hospitalisations in London - seen as a leading indicator of what may happen in the rest of the country - slowed in the run-up to New Year, although holiday reporting glitches could be affecting the total.

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Wednesday said she was committed to the Northern Ireland protocol bill which would in effect override parts of the Brexit deal with the European Union unless a negotiated agreement with the bloc is found.

LONDON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union have made "some progress" in post-Brexit trade talks but there are still significant gaps and the most likely outcome is for negotiations to end in no deal, Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman said on Wednesday.

However, Mr Johnson insisted that going below the current seven days could have the 'perverse' effect of speeding the spread, as three times more people would still be infectious when they return to workplaces.

This week also marks the American Library Association's Banned Books Week -- an opportune time to learn about bans and to grab a free library card to find books that may no longer be available in your school.

Of the 1,648 books banned last school year, 41 percent "explicitly address LGBTQ+ themes or have protagonists or prominent secondary characters who are LGBTQ+" and 40 percent "contain protagonists or prominent secondary characters of color," according to PEN America's latest report.

These school boards often allow for book "challenges" -- arguments from an individual or group explaining why a book should not be made available to students.  How are books removed from school libraries? Many public school districts are run by local boards of elected officials who have power over the policies of their school libraries.

In addition to likely fee increases, credit card interest rates -- advertised in the form of "APR" -- are also expected to rise. If you're one of the many Americans who took on more credit card debt in recent months, consider this a good time to pay down your balances. With the Fed poised to hike interest rates as early as next week to reduce inflation, you could be on the hook for higher interest payments if you don't act quickly.

Anyone 13 to 21 can now get a free card from the Brooklyn Public Library as part of its Books Unbanned project. The free account can be used to check out ebooks or audiobooks online.  How can teens get a free Brooklyn Public Library card to read banned books?

If you make only the minimum payment, paying off your card's balance would take you 188 months (almost 16 years) and cost you over $4,000 in interest. Let's say you carry a credit card balance of $5,525, which is the national average according to the credit bureau Experian. The current average credit card interest rate is 16.13%, according to CNET sister site CreditCards.com.

Although the library website still says that free cards for teens everywhere will be available "for a limited time," the CNN report notes that, due to the success of the program, the library plans to extend it indefinitely.

Early this year, The New York Times reported that "parents, activists, school board officials and lawmakers around the country are challenging books at a pace not seen in decades." The PEN America study found that a total of 1,648 individual book titles were removed from school libraries in 32 states during the last school year.

School districts usually have committees of librarians or other school officials who will review book challenges. If the committee or ruling group decides to remove the book from school libraries, the book is considered "banned" by the school district.

The New Year return to work is in danger of descending into a shambles with the public sector warned to brace for a worst-case scenario of a quarter of staff - around 1.4million people - being off work.

But adding an extra source of income can help you tackle any kind of debt faster, including your credit card's. That might be the reason you got into debt to begin with -- and that's OK.

Rein in your expenses. The good news is that you can add paying down card debt as one of your ongoing expenses, and you don't have to create a budget from scratch or manage it all on your own. Whether this is your case or not, maybe it's time to align your expenses with your income, create a budget and stick to it. Duh, I know -- it sounds obvious, but it's not that simple. According to the Federal Reserve, almost 40% of Americans don't have $400 in emergency cash. The best budgeting apps can help keep track of your spending and identify expenses to cut back.

Those teens have accounted for about 18,000 checkouts per month so far.  According to CNN, the Brooklyn Public Library has issued more than 5,100 free cards to teens across the country since the program launched in spring 2022.

The titles include Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson, and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.  The library's Books Unbanned List currently has 23 books that are always instantly available for everyone as ebooks, with no holds or wait times.