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‘Financial ruin is baked into the system’: Readers on the costs of long-term care

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Jordan Rau and Reed Abelson |  KFF Health News (TNS)Thousands of readers reacted to the articles in the “Dying Broke” series about the financial burden of long-term care in the United States. They offered their assessments for the government and market failures that have drained the lifetime savings of so many American families. And some offered possible solutions.In more than 4,200 comments, readers shared their struggles in caring for spouses, older parents, and grandparents. They expressed anxieties about getting older themselves and needing help to stay at home or in institutions like nursing homes or assisted living facilities.Many suggested changes to U.S. policy, like expanding the government’s payments for care and allowing more immigrants to stay in the country to help meet the demand for workers. Some even said they would rather end their lives than become a financial burden to their children.Many readers blamed the predominantly for-profit nature of American medicine and ...

Bankrate: Should I pay off my mortgage or invest?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Jeff Ostrowski |  Bankrate.com (TNS)Many people view debt as the financial enemy and strive to pay it down as quickly as possible.That strategy is a wise one for high-interest obligations like credit card balances, but when it comes to mortgages, the math isn’t as clear-cut. You might be better off putting those payoff funds toward investing, some experts say, while others believe it’s better to unload your debt, then focus on investments.As you weigh your options, here’s what to consider.Should I pay off my mortgage or invest?Questions to ask:—Do I have sufficient emergency savings?—Am I putting away enough for retirement?—How much other debt do I carry?—What are my prospects for increasing my income?—What moves (if any) am I looking to make in the next year? In five years?—How does my mortgage rate compare to expected portfolio returns?Because of this, some financial advisors believe you should leverage your mortgage rather than eliminate it. Take out that 30-year loan, keep it fo...

Woman stabbed in San Marcos dies

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

SAN MARCOS, Calif. -- A woman was stabbed to death Tuesday night in San Marcos, authorities said.According to the San Diego Sheriff's Department, a call came in around 10:20 p.m. reporting a man had stabbed his girlfriend in the 100 block of North Twin Oaks Valley Road. Drivers’ warning: CHP to implement Maximum Enforcement Period for new year Authorities described the incident as a domestic violence situation. The woman was transported to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Her identity is being withheld pending notification of family. SDSO said the man has since been detained. There are no outstanding suspects and no apparent danger to the community.Sheriff's homicide detectives are investigating the deadly stabbing. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at (858) 285-6330/after hours at (858) 565-5200, or call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Indian foreign minister in Moscow meets Putin and Lavrov, praises growing trade

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

MOSCOW (AP) — India’s foreign minister met Wednesday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said relations between the countries are progressing even amid turbulent times.Subramanyam Jaishankar’s meeting was part of a five-day visit. At the start of the meeting, Putin said he would inform the Indian diplomat about the fighting in Ukraine, on which Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a neutral stance.“I know about his desire to do everything to resolve this problem through peaceful means,” Putin said.India is increasingly important to Russia as a market for oil exports, the backbone of its economy, as Western sanctions curtail oil shipments.“It is very important to make our trade interaction more sustainable. We need to think about how to achieve this,” Jaishankar said, according to a Kremlin transcript of the meeting’s opening.Jaishankar also met with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who said they discussed “the prospects for military-technical...

Bodies suspected to be pregnant woman and boyfriend were shot, police in Texas say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The dead bodies that Texas investigators believe to have been a pregnant woman and her boyfriend were found with gunshot wounds days after they were reported missing, police said Wednesday.A medical examiner has yet to confirm that it was the bodies of Savanah Nicole Soto, 18, and Matthew Guerra, 22, that police found in a car parked outside a San Antonio apartment complex Tuesday. But the fact that they were shot offers the first indication of what may have happened at a crime scene that the city’s police chief described as “very, very perplexing.”Authorities have so far offered limited details on the case, which is being investigated as a capital-potential murder. A Wednesday statement from the San Antonio police department listed the victims as an 18-year-old woman, a 22-year-old man and an unborn child. Soto was a week overdue to deliver her baby and was scheduled to have an induced labor at a hospital last Saturday night, her family told KENS-TV. But he...

How to pay for promising medications like Ozempic

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

Steve Haines always loved to go for walks, but exercise had become a nightmare when he was 380 pounds and diabetic. The 49-year-old from Champaign, Illinois, says he would get ulcers on his feet after long walks.About six years ago, Haines’ doctor prescribed Ozempic, a medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat diabetes that also helps with weight loss. Haines lost weight and began to feel more active. Now, at 220 pounds and with his diabetes under control, he gets out of the house a lot.“I sometimes walk 10 to 15 miles in a day,” says Haines.Haines is one of many Americans who live with diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1 in 10 Americans have diabetes, and the vast majority have Type 2, a condition in which the body can’t control the amount of sugar in the blood.Ozempic, generically known as semaglutide, can be a lifeline for many. Semaglutide stimulates insulin secretion and controls blood sugar, which helps manage ...

Head-on crash kills 6 and critically injures 3 on North Texas highway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

CLEBURNE, Texas (AP) — A pickup truck slammed head-on into a minivan on a north Texas highway, killing six people and critically injuring three others, Texas authorities said Wednesday.The deadly crash happened Tuesday near Cleburne, about 33 miles (53 kilometers) south of Fort Worth, according to the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.A preliminary investigation shows a southbound Silverado pickup truck driven by a 17-year-old from the nearby town of Glen Rose entered the northbound lanes in a no-passing zone and crashed head-on into a Honda Odyssey minivan, the sheriff’s office said. The crash killed the 28-year-old male driver of the minivan, who was from Irving, Texas, and five passengers in the vehicle who ranged in age from 9 to 64, all of whom were from Alpharetta, Georgia, the sheriff’s office reported.A seventh passenger in the van, a 26-year-old Georgia man, and two 17-year-olds in the pickup truck were transported to a Fort Worth hospital in critical condit...

Man died in Christmas Day tent fire in downtown Vancouver

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

VANCOUVER — A man has died in a Christmas Day tent blaze in downtown Vancouver, with the fire service saying a crew arrived to find the man still on fire.Vancouver Fire Rescue Services say they responded to a call of a tent and possibly a person on fire at around 9 a.m. Monday.Emergency crews and police responding to the scene near Canada Place found the man had already died from his injuries.Acting Assistant Chief of Operations for the fire rescue service Geoff Clark says there were no other injuries from the incident.No additional details on the cause of the fire or the victim’s identity have been released.Clark says the victim and the tent were both still partially ablaze when crews arrived.“When crews arrived, they found a gentleman who had succumbed to his injuries, was deceased and still partly on fire and partly smouldering,” he says. “So they put him out with a fire extinguisher and then continued to put out the tent fire.”Environment Canada dat...

NBA approves sale of Dallas Mavericks to families that run Las Vegas Sands casino company

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — The NBA on Wednesday approved the sale of controlling interest of the Dallas Mavericks from Mark Cuban to the families that run the Las Vegas Sands casino company.The deal was approved just shy of a month since the families of Miriam Adelson and Sivan and Patrick Dumont announced their intention to buy the club. The purchase is in the valuation range of $3.5 billion.Patrick Dumont, Adelson’s son-in-law and president and chief operating officer of the Las Vegas Sands company, will serve as Mavericks governor. Adelson is the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson.Cuban is expected to maintain control of basketball operations, and there’s no indication the club will leave Dallas.Cuban has said he wanted to partner with Las Vegas Sands with a long-range plan of building an arena in downtown Dallas that also would include a hotel and casino.Gambling isn’t legal in Texas, and efforts to legalize it face steep odds. Still, Miriam Adelson has made no secret of her...

Illinois father shoots man accused of harming daughter, police say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:58 GMT

WOOD RIVER, Ill. (KTVI) – Two men are recovering after shooting each other in Wood River, Illinois, early Tuesday morning after police said a father took matters into his own hands.According to the Wood River Police Department, the shooting happened off North 6th Street, near Lewis and Clark Junior High School, after a woman showed up at her parents’ home around 2:30 a.m. She had been severely beaten, authorities said.Police allege the woman's father then tracked down the man accused of harming his daughter and shot him in the middle of the street.Both men suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to a local hospital, one by ambulance and the other via helicopter, according to police. Nexstar's KTVI spoke with neighbors who said they witnessed the shooting. One neighbor said that after he heard a pop, he stepped outside and saw the older man standing over the younger, pointing a gun at him. He heard the younger man beg the older man not to shoot him, followed by the older man saying, “...