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McCarthy rejects Senate spending bill while scrambling for a House plan that averts a shutdown

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

By KEVIN FREKING and STEPHEN GROVES (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — A government shutdown appeared all but inevitable as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy dug in Thursday, vowing he will not take up Senate legislation designed to keep the federal government fully running despite House Republicans’ struggle to unite around an alternative.Congress is at a crossroads days before a disruptive federal shutdown that would halt paychecks for many of the federal government’s roughly 2 million employees, as well as 2 million active-duty military troops and reservists, furlough many of those workers and curtail government services.But the House and Senate are pursuing different paths to avert those consequences even though time is running out before government funding expires after midnight on Saturday.The Senate is working toward passage of a bipartisan measure that would fund the government until Nov. 17 as longer-term negotiations continue, while also providing $6 billion...

Pumpkin Spice Tres Leches: a PSL for Hispanic Heritage Month

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

Season creep is creepier than ever. And no, it’s not my imagination. I say this because pumpkin beer was out on the hay bales on Aug. 6.AUG. 6! It’s downright extreme.Now, the most sensible of the food-holiday folk dumped all the pumpkin-related days of honor in October, which makes sense, but even my cravings start to activate earlier than that.Come mid-September, by which time Michael’s has the 40%-off signs out beneath all the Halloween wreaths, lights and craft kits, I am more than ready for that handful of candy corn that reminds me why it only takes one handful of candy corn to decide I can wait a year to have it again. I’m ready to light the Halloween tree and plan the costume. I’m ready to bake pumpkin stuff.I’m also ready to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.Now, imagine if there was one super-recipe that would allow me to scratch both itches simultaneously?Mix it up with autumnal flavors, Hispanic Heritage Month-style. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)Enter my Instagram...

When you think about your health, don’t forget your eyes

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

By Bernard J. Wolfson, KFF Health NewsI vividly remember that late Friday afternoon when my eye pressure spiked and I staggered on foot to my ophthalmologist’s office as the rapidly thickening fog in my field of vision shrouded passing cars and traffic lights.The office was already closed, but the whole eye care team was there waiting for me. One of them pricked my eyeballs with a sharp instrument, allowing the ocular fluid that had built up to drain. That relieved the pressure and restored my vision.But it was the fourth vision-impairing pressure spike in nine days, and they feared it would happen again — heading into a weekend. So off I went to the emergency room, where I spent the night hooked up to an intravenous tube that delivered a powerful anti-swelling agent.Later, when I told this story to friends and colleagues, some of them didn’t understand the importance of eye pressure, or even what it was. “I didn’t know they could measure blood pressure in your eyes,” one of them to...

Bankrate: The best free robo-advisers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

Brian Baker, CFA | Bankrate.com (TNS)Robo-advisers are a great choice for investors who want to simplify their investment management at costs below that of traditional financial advisers. In fact, some robo-advisers don’t even charge an annual management fee.Here’s what else you should know about robo-advisers and five that will manage your money without a fee.What is a robo-adviser?Robo-advisers use algorithms to build an investment portfolio for you based on your answers to a handful of questions about your risk tolerance and investment goals. Many robo-advisers also offer other features such as tax-loss harvesting and automatic rebalancing, which can boost your returns and make investing as hands-off as possible.The best robo-advisers have fees that are considerably lower than those of traditional financial advisers and you can typically get started with a limited investment. Some robo-advisers will manage small amounts of money for free, while others don’t charge a management fe...

Patriots look healthy before Cowboys game — with one exception

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots practiced with a full roster for a second straight day Thursday, though one player was notably limited.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots rookie Christian Gonzalez recognized for stellar start to career New England Patriots | How JuJu Smith-Schuster feels about role on Patriots through slow start to season New England Patriots | Callahan: Why this change in Mac Jones’ game could spur an upset of the Cowboys New England Patriots | Patriots-Cowboys injury report: Mac Jones gets more help than Dak Prescott on Wednesday New England Patriots | Ezekiel Elliott knows why he’s coming off his best game as a Patriot Left guard Cole Strange, who was listed as limited on Wednesday’s initial injury report, did not appear to be close to full participation at the start of Thursday’s shorts-and-shells session. Strange left last weekend’s win at the ...

As younger children increasingly die by suicide, better tracking and prevention is sought

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

By Cheryl Platzman Weinstock, KFF Health NewsIf you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.Jason Lance thought Jan. 21, 2010, was a day like any other until the call came.He had dropped off his 9-year-old son, Montana, at Stewart’s Creek Elementary School in The Colony, Texas, that morning.“There were no problems at home. He was smart. He wore his heart on his sleeve and he talked and talked and talked,” said Lance. It was “the same old, same old normal day. There were kisses and goodbyes and he said, ‘I love you, Daddy.’”A few hours later, school officials called to say Montana had died by suicide while locked in the nurse’s bathroom.“I knew he had some issues going on in school, but I never seen it coming,” said Lance. His shock and grief were complicated by the realization that there may have been more signs his son was struggling.As children across the country step ba...

Dutch police say 2 people are killed in shootings at a university hospital and home in Rotterdam

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

By MIKE CORDER (Associated Press)THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A lone gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opened fire in an apartment and a hospital in the Dutch port city of Rotterdam on Thursday, killing two people and seriously injuring a 14-year-old girl, police said.The shooting sent patients and medics fleeing the Erasmus Medical Center in downtown Rotterdam, including some who were wheeled out of the building in beds. Others barricaded themselves into rooms and stuck hand-written signs to windows to show their location.Police Chief Fred Westerbeke told reporters that the shooter was a 32-year-old student from Rotterdam. He was arrested at the hospital carrying a firearm. His identity was not released, and the motive for the shootings was still under investigation.He first shot and killed a 39-year-old woman and seriously injured her 14-year-old daughter at an apartment close to where the suspect lived, Police Chief Fred Westerbeke said.The shooter then went to the nearby...

Michael Gambon, veteran actor who played Dumbledore in ‘Harry Potter’ films, dies at age 82

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

By SYLVIA HUI (Associated Press)LONDON (AP) — Michael Gambon, the Irish-born actor knighted for his illustrious career on the stage and screen and who went on to gain admiration from a new generation of moviegoers with his portrayal of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore in six of the eight “Harry Potter” films, has died. He was 82.The actor died on Wednesday following “a bout of pneumonia,” his publicist, Clair Dobbs, said Thursday.“We are devastated to announce the loss of Sir Michael Gambon. Beloved husband and father, Michael died peacefully in hospital with his wife Anne and son Fergus at his bedside,” his family said in a statement.While the Potter role raised Gambon’s international profile and found him a huge audience, he had long been celebrated as one of Britain’s leading actors. His work spanned TV, theater, film and radio, and over the decades he starred in dozens of movies from “Gosford Park” a...

NOAA releases 2023-2024 winter predictions for San Diego

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

(WGHP) – For the first time in years, an El Niño winter is upon us. That means this year's winter outlook, release by the Climate Prediction Center, looks a little different than it has in several years.The last three winters have been dominated by La Niña, which typically means a dry winter in the southern half of the country and colder, wetter conditions in the Pacific Northwest. But that's not the case this year, as a strong El Niño looks very likely to stick with us through early next year. How will El Niño affect winter? New long-range outlook released NOAA outlook for winter temperaturesThis year the CPC, which is part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is forecasting above-normal temperatures across the northern United States through the winter months. The best chance for a warmer-than-normal winter to occur in the Northeast, the Pacific Northwest and the upper Great Lakes states. For the southern half of the country, the temperature outlook for Decemb...

2 accused of false Alzheimer’s diagnoses get prison terms for fraud convictions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:52 GMT

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A former director of an Ohio memory-loss clinic accused by dozens of patients of falsely diagnosing them with Alzheimer’s disease has been sentenced on federal fraud charges, along with her physician husband.Sherry-Ann Jenkins received nearly six years in prison on Tuesday, while Oliver Jenkins got a 41-month sentence. The couple was convicted in March on conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud and health-care fraud charges after being indicted in May 2020.The U.S. Justice Department has said Sherry-Ann Jenkins was not trained or licensed to provide any medical care but presented herself as a doctor and billed patients for unneeded treatments.The indictment did not directly accuse the couple of falsely diagnosing her patients, but more than 60 people filed lawsuits beginning in 2017 that said Sherry-Ann Jenkins lied and told them they had Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia.The patients said they spent months undergoing treatment while planning out their final yea...