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One way to reduce holiday stress: reframe gift traditions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

By Annie Millerbernd | NerdWalletHave you made your holiday gift shopping list yet?Do you find that question stressful?Holiday shopping can bring up plenty of anxiety-inducing questions. What does the scent you pick for your sister-in-law’s candle say about what you think of her? Does your son still want the video game he mentioned in August? Why does a hair curling iron cost $600?More than half of holiday shoppers (55%) say buying gifts stresses them out, according to NerdWallet’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Report.To cut back on shopping stress, consider making gift-giving a smaller and less expensive part of your holiday. Traditions don’t change easily in many circles, so here are some tips to get you started.Communicate spending expectationsIf you want to change the way your group gives gifts, communicate your financial boundaries clearly, says Ambus Hunter IV, an accredited financial counselor based in Baltimore. This could mean setting a spending limit that’s lower than previous yea...

Catholic Memorial routs BC High, earns share of CC title

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

Zach Brown’s final high school football act was memorable.Brown rushed for 174 yards and two second-half touchdowns as Catholic Memorial pulled away from rival BC High for a 50-22 win on Thanksgiving Day at Murphy Family Stadium.The Knights’ win, coupled with Xaverian’s defeat of previously unbeaten St. John’s Prep, means the Catholic Conference finishes in a three-way tie.Brown’s standout performance was fitting for the Knights as the senior filled the void left behind by a litany of injured Knights.“The number of injuries we’ve had was incredible so that just makes it extra rewarding for Zach and the team today,” Catholic Memorial coach John DiBiaso said. “We’d prefer to be playing next week but it’s a good way to end for the seniors.”After the game was over, DiBiaso presented the game ball to 42-year assistant coach Mike Milo who has been by DiBiaso’s side for each of his 15 Super Bowls.“(Milo) ha...

Homelessness problem growing, shelter demand up 30%, staff at Pine Street Inn say

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

Needs at Boston’s Pine Street Inn are rising dramatically as the state is flooded with migrants and housing prices skyrocket, according to organizers.While the state’s shelter system is at or near its 7,500 family limit and Massachusetts housing prices on the rise with very little spare stock, the homeless shelter on Harrison Avenue in Boston is seeing an increase in requests for their meal and overnight services, according to Director of Communications Ross Condit.“We are seeing an increase of need this year over last,” Condit said. “It’s the migrants, but it’s also senior citizens, many of whom have been living in their homes for decades and then suddenly a new landlord jacks up the rent and they can’t afford it any longer.”The shelter currently provides permanent housing more than 900 individuals, according to President and Executive Director Lyndia Downie, but will soon expand to more than 1,000.Those people, she said, are the lucky ones. They have left the shelter system ...

Hoffmeister runs wild as Needham defeats Wellesley

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

WELLESLEY – With Needham football running so deep in third-generation running back Tate Hoffmeister’s bloodline, failing to win a game between the nation’s oldest public school rivals would’ve been a tough pill to swallow.But he’ll never have to.Hoffmeister rushed for 235 yards and three touchdowns in his final high school game Thursday morning, helping the Rockets (10-2) win the 136th edition of their Thanksgiving Day matchup against Wellesley, 21-7.The defense played a critical part with a pair of red zone stops, bringing the Frederick J. Gorman Centennial Trophy back to Needham for the first time since 2018.Wellesley still owns the 66-61-9 all-time record.“It means a lot,” said Rockets head coach Doug Kopsco. “We haven’t even had our team meeting yet because everyone is still clustered around the trophy. You see all the alumni coming back here, being a part of that. I wish we could’ve given that to them, but for them to share in that experience this year, it means everything.”“I’...

Search resumes for the missing after landslide leaves 3 dead in Alaska fishing community

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

WRANGELL, Alaska (AP) — Ground search teams returned Thursday to the site of a massive landslide that killed three to search for an adult and two juveniles who remain missing, officials said.K-9 teams plan to search along the waterline by small boat and will join ground teams in the slide area at multiple areas of interest, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson with the Alaska Department of Public Safety. Searchers used heat-sensing drones and a cadaver-dog on Wednesday but had no luck.Monday night’s slide churned up the earth from near the top of the mountain down to the ocean, tearing down a wide swath of evergreen trees and burying a highway in the island community of Wrangell, about 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of Juneau. Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search Monday night and the bodies of two adults late Tuesday.Around 54 homes are cut off from town by the landslide, and roughly 35 to 45 people have chosen to stay in that area, interim borough manager Ma...

Driver charged for allegedly trying to run down Toronto parking enforcement officer

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

An arrest has been made related to an alleged road rage case involving a Toronto parking enforcement officer.Police were called to the area of Eglinton Avenue West and Atlas Avenue, west of Bathurst Street, where a parking enforcement officer was working on Nov. 9.Investigators say the accused was verbally abusive before getting into a vehicle and speeding away. He allegedly returned a few minutes later and deliberately drove toward the officer at a high speed before taking off again.The parking enforcement officer was not injured. Officers were called to the scene and located the suspect a short time later. On Nov. 10, police arrested and charged 22-year-old David Ariel Steinberg of Toronto with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. He’s expected to appear in court on Dec. 22.

Federal COVID loan repayments could put St. Clair West store out of business: owner

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

A small business owner says federal COVID-19 loan repayments could force her to shut down her business and the Canadian Federal of Independent Businesses (CFIB) says she is not alone.Kym Klopp opened ecoexistance on St. Clair West 12 years ago to offer an alternative to conventional products with more eco-friendly options.Klopp said she has struggled to get the store back up-and-running since the COVID-19 lockdowns.“The day that we were allowed to open I had a massive flood here. So the whole upstairs fell into my store. So I was closed when it was going to be really great for people to come in for an additional two months.”She decided to keep going and signed a new lease this year.“I decided to sign that lease again because I’d say about in the last five years we’ve had 7,000 new residents move into the neighbourhood, strictly based on all the condominiums,” Klopp said.But with the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan repayment deadlin...

West Africa responds to huge diphtheria outbreaks by targeting unvaccinated populations

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Authorities in several West African countries are trying to manage their huge diphtheria outbreaks, including in Nigeria where a top health official said Thursday that millions are being vaccinated to cover wide gaps in immunity against the disease.At least 573 people out of the 11,640 diagnosed with the disease in Nigeria have died since the current outbreak started in December 2022, though officials estimate the toll — now on the decline because of treatment efforts — could be much higher across states unable to detect many cases.In other countries like Niger, 37 people had died out of the 865 cases as of October, while Guinea has reported 58 deaths out of 497 since its outbreak started in June.“As far as the history that I am aware of, this is the largest outbreak that we have had,” Ifedayo Adetifa, head of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, told The Associated Press.The highly contagious bacterial infection has been reported in 20 of Nigeria’s 36...

Here’s what the federal government’s tight fiscal outlook could mean for pharmacare

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Liberals and New Democrats appear to be inching closer to an agreement on proposed pharmacare legislation, but a national drug plan may be farther out of reach than ever after this week’s federal fiscal update. The Liberals promised to table and pass the legislation by the end of the year as part of a supply-and-confidence deal, in which the NDP is supporting the minority government on key votes in exchange for progress on shared priorities. It is now nearly impossible for a bill to pass before the holiday break, but the NDP appears to be willing to offer some wiggle room on the terms of the deal if it means the Liberals table a plan for a universal, single-payer drug program. The negotiations are taking place as Ottawa pledges to install new fiscal guardrails that would keep deficits below one per cent of gross domestic product beginning in the 2026-2027 financial year.Health Minister Mark Holland says the economic climate is one of the reasons negotiations with the ...

CPD: Group with rifles conducts 12 robberies on Southwest Side in an hour

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:35:25 GMT

CHICAGO — A group armed with rifles and handguns conducted 12 robberies in an hour on Thanksgiving morning throughout the Southwest Side.The group was driving a light or dark blue Toyota or Hyundai sedan.No injuries were reported, but property was taken before the group fled in the sedan.A timeline of the robberies is below, per Chicago police. All times are approximate.2300 Block of West 21st Street at 7:20 a.m.2000 Block of West 23rd Street at 7:25 a.m.1700 Block of West Cermak Road at 7:30 am.3700 Block of South Wolcott Avenue at 7:47 a.m.4900 Block of South Paulina Street at 7:55 a.m.4700 Block of South Hermitage Avenue at 8:00 a.m.5800 Block of South Sacramento Avenue at 8:07 a.m.5000 Block of South Fairfield Avenue at 8:08 a.m. 4700 Block of South Honore Street at 8:10 a.m.5200 Block of South Rockwell Street at 8:15 a.m. 1900 Block of West Cermak Road at 8:20 a.m. 5900 Block of South Mozart Street at 8:20 a.m. No one is in custody. Anyone with information can leave an anonymou...