Thompson is one of several candidates that are in the running to take the helm at CNN, according to the news site Semafor. Read More 

With one in 604 airline flights experiencing a medical emergency — or around 144 emergencies per day, according to a 2020 study — it’s critical that crews are equipped to provide quick, quality care.

To help ensure the safety of passengers in distress, Delta Air Lines is rolling out upgrades to its onboard medical tools and technology, with a goal of having them installed on its entire fleet of 1,500 planes by the end of 2023.

“Our primary goals are to protect the health and safety of our crew and our passengers in flight when they have a medical emergency,” said Dr. Henry Ting, the Atlanta-based chief health officer for Delta Air Lines. 

FAA HOLDS RUNWAY SAFETY MEETINGS AT MAJOR AIRPORTS NATIONWIDE AFTER MULTIPLE CLOSE CALLS

“We felt that there were opportunities to improve and add processes, equipment and technology onboard.”

While medical events are relatively rare, they are still the most frequently encountered non-routine event during Delta’s flights, according to the company.

For every calendar year, the airline sees about 4,000 in-flight medical events, which equates to approximately 25 per 10,000 flights.

Ting, who is also a cardiologist, spoke to FOX Business about the company’s plans to enhance its capabilities to handle in-flight medical emergencies.

AMERICAN AIRLINES PILOTS APPROVE NEW CONTRACT THAT INCLUDES PAY BOOST, BENEFITS

The first enhancement was to add MedLink. This technology gives flight attendants quick and direct access to doctors on the ground through an app on their company mobile devices.

MedLink is provided by MedAire, an Arizona-based medical technology company that will function as Delta’s new “24/7 partner for medical expertise,” Ting said.

“Using the synchronous digital technology, our crews will have the ability to use an app to text back and forth, or get on the phone to speak to the medical provider on the ground,” he said.

“We believe that gathering data from wearables and technology is the future of in-flight medical care, because it can be transmitted via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi directly to the provider,” Ting went on.

“So we can get measurements beyond blood pressure, heart rate and temperature.”

DELTA AIR LINES FLIGHT RETURNS TO BOSTON AFTER ALLEGED THREAT

Delta’s other key health initiative is an upgrade of its medical diagnostic equipment, which includes a pulse oximeter, temporal thermometer, automatic blood pressure cuff and enhanced medical-grade stethoscope.

These expand flight crews’ capability to quickly gather and securely communicate vital information needed by doctors, Ting noted.

For each flight, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires the airline to have an “emergency medical kit” on board.

“A commercial flight cannot take off without a complete, sealed Emergency Medical Kit,” the FAA said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“Airlines must regularly inspect all equipment, including the emergency medical kit. If the seal of an emergency medical kit is broken, and any item is used, the entire kit must be replaced before the next flight departs,” the FAA added. 

“U.S. air carriers typically carry two emergency medical kits to ensure that they have a sealed one for the next flight.”

The bags include the medications and diagnostic equipment that are mandated by the FAA, but Ting said Delta “goes above and beyond.”

“We have something we call the ‘red pouch,’ which contains additional medical equipment for the most common issues we encounter in the air,” he said. 

A lot of the equipment upgrades are based on feedback that Delta has received from its own customers and flight attendants.

For example, the previous stethoscope was of a lower quality and didn’t allow the crew to hear much. So Delta has replaced it with a medical-grade stethoscope that a cardiologist would use.

An automatic blood pressure monitor is another upgrade.

“Instead of trying to manually blow up the provider cuff and listen with a stethoscope, we have a machine where you can press a button and get accurate blood pressure measurements in-flight,” Ting said.

Rounding out the suite of upgraded medical tools is a new pulse oximeter, which allows the crew to get real-time oxygen measurements, as well as a digital temperature thermometer that gets an immediate reading when pointed at someone’s forehead.

Compared to today’s in-flight health care capabilities, Ting said airlines used to practice what he calls “wilderness medicine.”

“There was no cell phone signal, and if you called 911, no ambulance was coming in the next five minutes,” he said. 

“You could be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and you could be four hours from each coast.”

Back then, the flight attendant would gather information — such as a passenger’s heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and symptoms — and record it on a sheet of paper. 

“That piece of paper was passed underneath the flight deck door to the pilot, who was on a satellite phone with headphones, talking to the provider on the ground,” Ting said.

“That process itself could take five minutes. It was a real struggle and a potentially dangerous period.”

As technology and knowledge have advanced — bringing medical expertise on the ground digitally closer to the passenger — flying has become safer for crews and passengers, Ting said.

HEART DRUG COMBINING THREE MEDICATIONS IN ONE IS ADDED TO WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S ESSENTIAL MEDICINES

“We’re not trying to make the airplane a hospital or an emergency room, but for the most common emergencies, where we can save a life, we will do that,” he went on.

Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor, emphasized the importance of fully equipped planes and trained crews.

“Good Samaritans are great, but we can’t rely on a doctor with appropriate training always being there,” he told FOX Business.

“The plane needs people trained in advanced cardiac life support,” he went on. “All planes need defibrillators and crash carts and at least one person trained to use them.”

The doctor added, however, that “communication with a doctor on the ground doesn’t add that much except in terms of when to use diuretics, nitroglycerin, inhalers, Narcan, etc.”

In the future, Delta plans to advance its technology to include telemedicine and remote monitoring, such as recording an electrocardiogram and sending it digitally to doctors on the ground to determine whether a passenger is having a heart attack.

“We’re excited to continue to make flying as safe as possible for our crew and our passengers,” Ting said.

All Delta flight attendants undergo a rigorous six-week training program, which includes emergency medical response and CPR, Ting said.

READ MORE FROM FOX BUSINESS

“They’re also trained on the use of the emergency medical equipment, including an automatic defibrillator that could save someone’s life if their heart would stop beating,” he noted.

Ting said the team is making “great progress” in the rollout, using a “thoughtful, logical process.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

“We started by putting this equipment on longer flights and also on flights where we had the most medical emergencies,” he said.

The company is on track to equip all its planes by the end of the year, Ting said.

Read More 

Netflix reportedly experienced a strong level of U.S. sign-ups in July, a signal that its ongoing efforts to curb password-sharing have so far not deterred subscribers from joining the streaming service.

The California-based streaming giant posted 2.6 million worth of gross additions in America in July, the second full month since it started subjecting its U.S. members to its policy limiting account-sharing with individuals outside their households, Antenna said Wednesday. 

While the amount of gross sign-ups Netflix posted in July dropped 25.7% compared to June, it was “overall elevated compared to normal,” the subscription analytics company said. 

NETFLIX SUBSCRIBERS SURGE IN SECOND QUARTER DESPITE PASSWORD SHARING CRACKDOWN

In June, the first full month of Netflix’s password-sharing crackdown in the U.S., gross additions in the country increased 128.9% from the prior month, Antenna’s report showed. That, according to the subscription analytics company, broke a record.

Netflix’s new policy that an account “is meant to be shared by people living together in one household” has been applicable to the U.S. and many other countries since late May. That required people outside the subscriber’s home to get their own account or become an “extra member” charged on the account they were already using. 

DISNEY TO UP STREAMING PRICES. WHAT DO COMPETING SERVICES CHARGE FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS?

The streaming service experienced month-over-month gross addition growth of 27.8% in May with about 1.5 million, per Antenna.

The subscription analytics company reported Netflix’s Standard with Ads subscription option had growth in the share of sign-ups it drew in July. That tier attracted 23% of total sign-ups, up from 19% in June and 20% in May, according to Antenna.

The standard plan generated the largest share of U.S. sign-ups in July, at 35%, while the more expensive premium option saw 29% and the now-discontinued basic tier got 12%, the report showed. 

FOX Business previously reported last month that Netflix had updated a Help Center page to reflect that the Basic plan was “no longer available for new or rejoining members” in America.

NETFLIX STOPS OFFERING BASIC MEMBERSHIP PLAN IN US

In July, the streaming giant said its global subscriber count totaled 238.39 million. It brought in about 5.89 million net subscribers in the second quarter, a 236% increase in the amount of net additions compared to what it reported for the prior three-month period. 

Netflix said in its quarterly letter to shareholders that “cancel reaction” to the password-sharing crackdown “was low.” 

“While we’re still in the early stages of monetization, we’re seeing healthy conversion of borrower households into full paying Netflix memberships as well as the uptake of our extra member feature,” the company said. “We are revenue and paid membership positive vs. prior to the launch of paid sharing across every region in our latest launch.”

Read More 

A special edition of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” will hit the auction market in September after surviving — what could have been — a disastrous fire. 

The book is one of 15 published to mark the 15th anniversary of Harry Potter. Author J.K. Rowling signed it and dedicated it. 

Although those books were never sold for profit, Carina Haouchine claimed her copy by winning a competition in 2012, according to Hansons Auctioneers.

HOGWARTS ACCEPTANCE LETTER FROM FIRST ‘HARRY POTTER’ MOVIE COULD BE YOURS: HERE’S HOW

At just 15 years old, Haouchine entered a competition by publisher Bloomsbury by writing a letter explaining why she loved Harry Potter. 

She also created a watercolor portrait of the three main characters and hand-carved a wand.

The now-26-year-old from Scotland told Hansons that she grew up reading the books and that she and her little brothers wanted to win the ultimate prize — a trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando. 

“I really wanted to enter to win the first prize of a family trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, especially as my little brothers were big Potter fans,” she recalled. 

RARE ‘HOLY GRAIL’ HARRY POTTER BOOK COULD BE WORTH $65G AFTER IT WAS FOUND ‘SITTING ON A SHELF’

The competition would give the top 15 contestants a signed and dedicated special edition copy of “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” — which Haouchine ended up receiving. 

“It felt amazing to be one of only 15 people chosen — but I have to admit I was also the littlest bit frustrated that I was a runner-up and had just missed out on the first-prize [vacation],” she told Hansons. 

The filmmaker said she kept the book hidden away in her childhood bedroom — and then in a storage cabinet in her apartment — until earlier this year, when a fire erupted downstairs.

RARE, 1ST EDITION ‘HARRY POTTER’ BOOK GOES UP FOR PRIVATE SALE AT CHRISTIE’S

“Thankfully nobody was injured … I’m very grateful the book survived,” she said. 

With an estimated sale price of between $8,000 and $13,000, Haouchine said she hopes the sale of her prized possession will help pay for her upcoming wedding. 

Jim Spencer, the head of Hansons’ Library Auction, said in a press release that this is technically the rarest edition of the book. 

“Until last year, the public had no idea what this book even looked like because there was no visual record of its existence online,” he said to Hansons. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX BUSINESS APP

Hansons sold another edition of the book last year from another runner-up — for over $8,000. 

“The market is flooded with convincing forgeries of Rowling’s signature, so this is a golden opportunity to buy a signed book with absolute confidence in its authenticity,” he said. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER

The book will be offered in Hansons Auctioneer’s Library Auction at Bishton Hall in Straffordshire, England, on September 5. 

Read More 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk took a production version of the company’s Cybertruck for a spin on Wednesday after the long-awaited truck’s production has been delayed for years.

Musk took to X, the social media platform he owns that was formerly known as Twitter, to show off a picture of the Cybertruck, which was built at the company’s Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. Tesla announced on July 15 that its first Cybertruck rolled off the factory’s assembly lines.

Tesla and Musk first announced their plans for the futuristic-looking electric pickup truck in 2019 at an event that went viral when the vehicle’s designer cracked the truck’s purportedly unbreakable “armor glass” windows during a demonstration.

TESLA DATA BREACH AFFECTS 75,375 PEOPLE, STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ANNOUNCES

Since its unveiling, production of the Cybertruck has been delayed on several occasions. Last year, Musk cited supply chain shortages affecting the sourcing of components as a factor in pushing back Cybertruck production to 2023.

During a Tesla shareholder meeting in May of this year, Musk said the company is aiming to produce roughly 250,000 Cybertrucks annually, depending on demand.

When the Cybertruck was first announced in 2019, Tesla allowed would-be buyers to pay $100 to reserve a future Cybertruck which, at the time, had a projected initial price of less than $40,000. 

ELON MUSK SAYS SPACEX USING STARLINK TO AID MAUI WILDFIRE RECOVERY

Pricing details for the Cybertruck aren’t yet available, and Tesla hasn’t announced specific details about its specifications or an official date for when initial deliveries to dealers will begin. 

Over the last year, Tesla has regularly changed the price points for its various vehicles with aggressive discounts intended to meet consumer demand in an environment where higher interest rates make it harder for buyers to finance new car purchases, so it is possible the company will pursue similar flexibility with the Cybertruck.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Tesla’s Cybertruck will give the company an EV offering in the pickup segment – one of the most profitable in the U.S. market – along with a direct competitor to the EV pickups launched by Ford and Rivian in small quantities.

Read More