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The sound of success: How improved hearing aids career change

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

Joel Streed | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkWhen does a trickle sound like a waterfall? After you get hearing aids, according to Charlie Pierce.“I spent so many years not hearing the things that I can hear now. I can hear the smallest noise in the next room,” he says. “It’s incredible.”Charlie’s improved hearing has done more than amplify the sounds he hears ― it helped the 55-year-old start a new career.Construction work and overcoming addictionFor over 40 years, Charlie worked in construction. But his career was beginning to take a toll on his body, and he felt drawn to a different path — working with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).“I started the application process to work for the TSA, but I talked myself out of it,” Charlie recalls, feeling that the timing wasn’t right.Charlie continued his job as a construction superintendent in Tennessee. He also overcame a 38-year addiction to drugs and alcohol, thanks to...

Jaylen Brown explains why Celtics have ‘clarity’ as season begins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

A year ago at this time, as the Celtics prepared for their season opener, they were operating within unknowns. Joe Mazzulla had suddenly been promoted as the head coach. Robert Williams was out until December, which shook up their lineup. Emotionally, they were still trying to get over the suspension of Ime Udoka.But now, as the C’s get ready for Wednesday’s season opener in New York, there is a sense of calmness and ease. There’s no drama. Everybody is healthy. While they lost key pieces of their team over the offseason, the additions of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday have fit in nearly seamlessly. All of that combined has seemed to give these Celtics an extra dose of confidence as they begin their journey.“Excitement level is high,” Jaylen Brown said. “Probably one of the best preseasons I’ve been a part of, so now it’s time to perform. Now it’s time to take the work to actual real life and I’m excited.”Why does Brown view this preseason as one of the best? It comes back to t...

A third of schools don’t have a nurse. Here’s why that’s a problem

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

Colleen DeGuzman | (TNS) KFF Health NewsJodi Bobbitt, the school nurse at William Ramsay Elementary in Alexandria, Virginia, is always ready to see children with a wide range of injuries and illnesses. One day during the first week of school, the parade started before the first bell when a little girl walked in with red, irritated eyes.Then it got busy.A student fell from the monkey bars and another tripped while playing tag. Two kids hit each other’s heads with lunchboxes and needed ice packs. A young boy had a stomachache. Bobbitt also saw her regular kiddos: one who has special needs and uses a wheelchair and another who has diabetes and gets his blood sugar checked daily before lunch.“Every day, I’m seeing more and more [youngsters],” Bobbitt, who is a certified nurse practitioner, said with a smile. “I saw more today than yesterday, so we just have to wait and see what the year has in store.”As the only school nurse at this suburban Washington, D.C., elementary school, Bobbitt’...

Unwrapping the truth: Parents navigating financial hardship during the holiday season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

René Bennett | Bankrate.com (TNS)The holiday season, synonymous with joy and celebration, often carries a hidden burden for many parents. Economic challenges, paired with the escalating costs of holiday traditions, can stretch already thin budgets to their limits.A recent Bankrate survey provides startling insight: U.S. parents with children under 18 need almost $25,000 more annually than those without children to feel financially secure. Moreover, 56 percent of these parents say that to feel financially comfortable, they’d need to make at least $100,000 on average.Beyond just the financial weight of buying gifts and planning gatherings, holiday travel, especially with children, adds a substantial strain to budgets. Whether it’s booking flights during peak travel times or ensuring comfortable stays for the family, the costs can rapidly accumulate.With dedicated advanced planning and the right tools, such as a free checking account, parents can manage these financial challenges and a...

How your employer can help you save for emergencies

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

By Liz Weston | NerdWalletThe investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.When I wrote about employer-provided emergency savings accounts four years ago, the idea was still pretty novel. Some companies were experimenting with ways to help their workers save for short-term needs, but the concept wasn’t even on the radar for many employers.What a difference the pandemic made. Millions were thrown out of work with little warning, and few had the financial reserves to survive even a few months of unemployment. Big employers, and lawmakers, took notice, says Claire Chamberlain, global head of social impact for investment manager BlackRock. The result: Hundreds of thousands of workers now have options to build emergency savings through their employers, and Congress passed laws to encour...

An off-duty pilot is accused of trying to shut down the engines of a Horizon Air jet in midflight

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

By DAVID KOENIG and CLAIRE RUSH (Associated Press)PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An off-duty pilot riding in the extra seat in the cockpit of a Horizon Air passenger jet tried to shut down the engines in midflight and had to be subdued by the crew, according to a pilot flying the plane.Authorities in Oregon identified the man as Joseph David Emerson, 44. He was being held Monday on 83 counts each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. The San Francisco-bound flight on Sunday diverted to Portland, Oregon, where it was met by officers from the Port of Portland, who took Emerson into custody.Seattle-based Alaska Airlines, which owns Horizon, a regional carrier, did not name Emerson, but said Monday that the threat was posed by one of its pilot who was off duty but authorized to occupy the cockpit jump seat.The airline said the captain and co-pilot reacted quickly, “engine power...

Aruba requests van der Sloot case documents, including his description of killing Natalee Holloway

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Authorities in Aruba have requested documents from the U.S. Department of Justice in the extortion case against Joran van der Sloot, including his description of killing Natalee Holloway on the island nearly 20 years ago. Van der Sloot, as part of a plea deal in the extortion case, agreed to describe what happened to Holloway in 2005. Van der Sloot said he bludgeoned her to death on a beach after she resisted his sexual advances and then put her body in the ocean, according to court documents.“We have requested the U.S. Department of Justice for the court documents, transcripts and all the documents related to the investigation,” Ann Angela, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office in Aruba, wrote in an email. She said they will, “review and analyze them before deciding on the procedural steps to be taken against Joran van der Sloot.”“The disappearance of Natalee Holloway, is still an open investigation in Aruba,” she wrote. An attorney for Holloway...

Suspects sought in daytime robbery at Sherway Gardens

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

Toronto police are searching for multiple suspects following a daytime robbery at Sherway Gardens mall in Etobicoke.Authorities were called to the shopping centre at around 1:45 p.m. on Monday for reports of a robbery.It’s alleged that three male suspects used a hammer to smash displays and steal merchandise. The men then fled the area on foot.No injuries were reported. It’s unclear what store was targeted. Investigators said the three men were wearing black hoodies and blue face masks. ROBBERY:Sherway Gardens Plaza1:45 pm– police o/s– 3 male suspects used a hammer to smash displays– merchandise stolen– fled on foot– no reported injuries– all male, black, wearing hoodies, and blue face masks#GO2460816^sc— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) October 23, 2023

US Forest Service sued over flooding deaths in the wake of New Mexico’s largest recorded wildfire

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Relatives of three people who died last year in a flash flood stemming from the largest wildfire in New Mexico’s recorded history are suing the U.S. Forest Service.The wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this month alleges the Forest Service was negligent in the management of the prescribed burn and also failed to close roads and prevent access to areas at risk for flooding that followed the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon Fire.The three West Texas residents were staying at a family cabin in northern New Mexico in July 2022 when monsoon rains hit the burn scar near Tecolote Creek. That created a flash flood that swept the three victims to their deaths.According to the Albuquerque Journal, the lawsuit also contends that the Forest Service failed to provide adequate warnings to the victims about the dangers caused by the wildfire and the dangers of potential flooding in the area.Neither the Forest Service nor its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Agricult...

Book Review: ‘A Brief History of Intelligence’ may help humans shape the future of AI

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:28:11 GMT

Ever wonder how Homo sapiens got so smart? How come we developed actual language when all the other animals didn’t? How about what first made a nematode turn its body in a different direction? Or… what’s a nematode?Answers to those questions and much, much more can be found in the pages of Max Bennett’s new book “A Brief History of Intelligence: Evolution, AI and the Five Breakthroughs that Made Our Brains.” At 365 pages plus 45 more with a glossary, chapter notes and a bibliography, readers can quibble whether it’s indeed brief, but it is certainly thorough. Bennett’s premise — he’s a software entrepreneur who founded a company called Bluecore that “helped predict what consumers would buy before they knew what they wanted” — is that humans won’t ever create true artificial intelligence without understanding exactly what led to the real intelligence we already possess. So he begins with those nematodes — worms, to you and me — and painstakingly details the five breakthroughs that ov...