New research found that 35% of families in the United States that work full-time year-round do not have enough money to cover the costs of basic needs.

The study was conducted by researchers at Brandeis University’s diversitydatakids.org program at the Institute for Child, Youth and Family Policy.

Researchers said more than half of full-time working Black and Hispanic families cannot afford basic needs. The study showed that 25% of white families and 23% of Asian and Pacific Islander families who work full-time cannot afford basic needs.

According to the study, the situation is especially dire for low-income families with children. The researchers found that 77% of those who work full time do not earn enough to cover housing, food, and child care.

The researchers said that in order for families to afford the necessities, they should be making about $11.00 more per hour.

Black and Hispanic families would need to earn more than $12.00 per hour, the researchers said.

“Full-time work alone isn’t enough to cover the everyday essentials most families need to support themselves, which creates significant financial hurdles to support children,” said Pamela Joshi, Ph.D., senior research scientist and lead study author. “We’re seeing that full-time work provides even fewer necessary resources to Black and Hispanic families. That’s a problem because it drives inequities in child well-being. These results are a wake-up call for decision makers to prioritize policies that address income inequality and racial and ethnic equity and extend real opportunities for economic self-sufficiency.”

"If you liked it, then you should have put a ring on it." Just about everyone knows the words of Beyoncé. But where did this tradition come from? 

Like a lot of old traditions, the exact history of wedding rings is murky. But one belief dates back to ancient Egypt.

Egyptian pharaohs believed rings symbolized eternity, because of their circular shape, with no beginning and no end. Egyptians also believed in the "Vena Amoris" or the "vein of love." They thought a vein in the fourth finger on the left hand connected directly to the heart. That's why it's still common to wear a wedding ring on that finger. 

When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt, Greeks adopted the tradition of gifting a ring to show devotion. The tradition carried on when the Romans conquered the Greeks.

Some accounts say the Romans viewed the ring as a symbol of a husband's ownership over his bride as opposed to a sign of love. 

As time went on, the types of rings and motifs shifted. Rings became more popular in the West during World War II.

Men going off to fight gave them to their wives-to-be, as a promise to wed when they returned. During this time, more men started wearing rings, too. Men wore them while deployed, to remind them of their spouses back home. 

For many years, rings had different types of stones. In 1947, the diamond company De Beers helped popularize a diamond ring thanks to its famous slogan. 

The marketing strategy popularized diamond rings for wedding and engagement bands. According to a survey from The Knot 86% of engagement rings in the U.S. include a diamond center stone today, and the average ring costs $6,000. 

Newsy is the nation’s only free 24/7 national news network. You can find Newsy using your TV’s digital antenna or stream for free. See all the ways you can watch Newsy here.     

Related video above: Is there a "best way" to brew coffee?

Coffee futures are crashing. But that might not mean too much for the price of your cup of coffee.

In August, Arabica coffee futures were trading at $2.43 per pound. By Wednesday, the price had tumbled to $1.59, a roughly 35% decline.

There are a few reasons for the steady drop in prices, explained Carlos Mera, head of the agri commodities markets team at Rabobank.

For one thing, weather in Brazil is better than it has been the past couple of years. Rainfall this fall suggests that the country will have a good coffee crop, securing supply.

"September is usually the start of the wet season," Mera explained. "The start of this wet season was actually very good."

Then there's the strength of the U.S. dollar.

"When the dollar goes up, everything measured in dollars, like international coffee prices, tend to go down," Mera said. Farmers outside of the U.S. are incentivized to sell their products because they'll earn a price in U.S. dollars which translates to a higher amount of currency at home.

"Farmers are keener to sell any stocks that they may be holding," Mera said.

The situation marks a sharp reversal from what was happening last year.

In November 2021, coffee futures climbed to the highest level since January 2012. That was thanks to severe drought and unusual frost conditions in Brazil, which caused turmoil in the market.

And short supplies of shipping containers put roasters on edge, inspiring them to stock up as much as possible.

Now, "there are some delays, but nothing in comparison to what it was before," Mera said.

Coffee has been getting more expensive for consumers, as well.

In the year through October, not adjusted for seasonal swings, coffee prices jumped 14.8% in the grocery store, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Starbucks said in November that it has raised prices this year by about 6%.

But the improved conditions won't necessarily mean a big decline in coffee prices for consumers, Mera noted. That's because while coffee prices are falling, other costs, like labor and distribution, are still high for producers.

"I think if we see dropping prices, [they] are going to be modest," he said.

Plus, big coffee companies like Starbucks secure long contracts, which help protect them from short-term volatility.

Video above: Best cell phone plans for seniors

Verizon is raising the prices on some of its older cell phone plans, the company confirmed to CNN on Monday. The move is part of a broader effort to get more of its customer base on 5G plans.

Customers who decide to stay on one of Verizon's older Unlimited plans will be charged an additional $2 a month. The change will take effect on April 10.

"Customers who are currently on — or choose to stay on — older Unlimited postpaid wireless plans from seven years ago will be notified of a new rate plan adjustment by email, direct mail and in their next bill to account for the added cost of maintaining these legacy plans," the company said in a statement.

Plans facing a rate change include Beyond Unlimited, Beyond Unlimited 55+, Go Unlimited and Verizon Unlimited. The company is encouraging customers to upgrade to plans such as 5G Get More, 5G Start and others that provide more "choice" and "flexibility."

The price hike comes as Verizon looks to grow its consumer unit, a part of the business that's struggled to keep up with competitors. AT&T raised rates last year on some of its older plans by up to $6 for individual lines and $12 for family plans. Verizon followed with the same price increases.

Verizon, whose shares are down 30% over the past year, did not say how many customers will be impacted by the latest price hike.

Last week Verizon announced a management shakeup and appointed Sowmyanarayan Sampath as CEO of the consumer business unit. Verizon's chairman and CEO Hans Vestberg said the appointments reflect the company's mission to strengthen its "competitive capabilities."

U.S. inflation remains much higher than anyone would like — consumers, the White House, the Federal Reserve. In September, prices stayed high, returning to a 13-year peak after dipping a bit in August.Consumer price inflation — one of the key inflation indicators — rose 0.4% in September, adjusted for seasonal swings, faster than in August but slower than in previous months, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.Rising prices for food and shelter contributed more than half of this increase, while prices for new cars, household furnishings and car insurance also climbed. The index that tracks new car prices rose 8.7% over the 12 months ending in September, which marks the biggest jump since 1980.Overall, inflation stood at 5.4% in the 12-month period ended in September. Stripping out food and energy costs, which tend to be more volatile, prices rose 4% over the same period, the same rate as in August.America's annual inflation rate is the highest since the summer, which had matched the highest annual inflation rate since 2008.More expensive food and cheaper plane ticketsFood prices jumped 0.9% in September, far more than in August, as grocery store prices climbed across the board.But not everything in America got more expensive. Plane tickets, for example, keep getting cheaper: The price index for airline fares dropped 6.4% in September, after a 9.1% decrease in August.That's not great for airlines, and it's happening even though demand for travel continues to recover from the worst of the pandemic. Delta said in its earnings Wednesday that the company expected to feel price pressure from rising energy costs.Energy prices rose 1.3% last month, the fourth straight increase. Gas prices rose 1.2%, less than in the prior month. Over the past 12 months, the energy price index rose nearly 24.8% and gas increased 42.1%.