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Dear Abby: Sister’s claims of illness lose sympathy bid

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

Dear Abby: I have an older sister I’ll call “Vicky,” who has been a hypochondriac for as long as I can remember. Every sniffle, cough or sneeze is always a dayslong or weekslong complain-a-thon about how sick she is, and sometimes these illnesses or injuries are simply invented for attention.While this has always been annoying, it was fairly easy to brush it off — until after I married. My husband, “Jay,” a wonderful man, is chronically ill. Like many chronically ill individuals, his life is filled with doctors’ appointments, various treatment plans, trying new medications and a lot of financial stress around how to pay for it all.Through it all, Jay perseveres. He goes to work, cares for me and our animals and does his best to live a full, joyous life. Watching my husband suffer has been one of the biggest challenges of my life. He is strong and brave, and now that I see how chronically ill people struggle to live a normal day, my sister an...

4 Indigenous siblings found alive after surviving Amazon plane crash and 40 days alone in jungle

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Four Indigenous children survived an Amazon plane crash that killed three adults and then wandered on their own in the jungle for 40 days before being found alive by Colombian soldiers.The announcement of their rescue on Friday brought a happy ending to a saga that had captivated many Colombians, a watch with highs and lows as searchers frantically combed through the rainforest hunting for the youngsters.President Gustavo Petro celebrated the news upon returning from Cuba, where he signed a cease-fire with representatives of the National Liberation Army rebel group. He said he hoped to talk with them Saturday, and officials said late Friday that the youngsters were being brought to Bogota to be checked at a hospital.An air force video showed a helicopter using lines to pull the youngsters up because it couldn’t land in the dense rainforest where they were found. The craft flew off in the fading light, the air force said it was going to San Jose del Guaviare, ...

Trump’s GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s indictment on charges of mishandling classified documents is set to play out in a federal court in Florida. But hundred of miles away, part of Trump’s defense is well underway in a different venue — the halls of Congress, where Republicans have been preparing for months to wage an aggressive counter-offensive against the Justice Department.The federal indictment against Trump, unsealed Friday, includes 37 counts, including allegations that the former president intentionally possessed classified documents, showed them off to visitors, willfully defied Justice Department demands to return them and made false statements to federal authorities about them. The evidence details Trump’s own words and actions as recounted by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses. The Republican campaign to discredit federal prosecutors skims over the substance of those charges, which were brought by a grand jury in Florida. GOP lawmakers are instead...

Runway closed at Tokyo’s Haneda airport after 2 jets accidentally contact each other

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Two passenger planes accidentally touched each other on a runway at a major Tokyo airport Saturday, but no injuries were reported.A Thai Airways International jet headed to Bangkok made contact with an Eva Airways plane headed to Taipei at Haneda airport, and the runway was subsequently closed, Japanese media reports said.Footage broadcast by TBS TV News showed two commercial jets stopped on the same runway.The airlines, the airport and Japan’s Transport Ministry were not immediately available for comment and did not answer repeated calls.The cause of the accident was not clear.Some flights were delayed. A winglet may have been damaged on one of the planes, reports said.The Associated Press

‘Flared back up’: Alberta town of 8,400 evacuated for second time due to fire

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

EDSON, Alta. — A town in western Alberta was under an evacuation order late Friday due to an out-of-control wildfire — its second such order this spring.Local officials issued the evacuation for Edson and parts of Yellowhead County.“We’re still evacuating the community and evacuating the hospital,” said Edson mayor Kevin Zahara.“All things considered, so far so good — but the next 72 hours are going to be critical for us. We have a lot of warm temperatures in the forecast and it’s windy here right now.“It’s going to be dependent on those winds and the weather on how this fire behaves.”Alberta government officials said the fire burning near the community of about 8,400 jumped fire guards and moved closer to populated areas, including the town. They warned that there could be impacts to roads and highways if the fire crossed the guards and blocks evacuation routes.“Because that fire is so out of control, some of the forestry crews ...

New voting districts could change again in some states before the 2024 elections

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

The 2022 elections marked the first using new voting districts drawn from updated census data. Those districts typically last for a decade, but they could be short-lived in some states. Court challenges could force lawmakers or special commissions to draw yet another set of maps before the 2024 elections for representatives in Congress and state capitols. That means voters who were just shifted into new U.S. House or state legislative districts could be grouped with different communities when they go to vote the next time. Here’s a look at some places where voting districts could change, and the reasons why. RACE IN REDISTRICTINGThe U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that Alabama’s congressional districts likely violated the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the political power of Black voters.The ruling means the state’s Republican-led Legislature and GOP governor likely will have to draw new U.S. House districts in which Black voters compris...

Wildfires still causing smoke problems in much of Canada, though weekend may improve

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

OTTAWA — Air pollution from wildfires remained well above healthy levels across much of southern and northern Ontario and several communities in British Columbia and Alberta on Thursday.There may be some hope on the horizon after the number of fires burning across the country fell slightly, but forecasts suggest smoke warnings will remain in place in several provinces into the weekend.Meanwhile, hot temperatures and high winds forced the evacuation of Edson, a town of about 8,400 in northwest Alberta, after a fire jumped a fire guard and threatened the community. “All things considered, so far so good,” said town mayor Kevin Zahara. “But the next 72 hours are going to be critical for us.”The record-setting air pollution that blanketed Ottawa and much of eastern Ontario with a yellow-tinged haze Wednesday had mostly cleared by Thursday morning, and the sun was even glimpsed briefly. But further south, towards the Greater Toronto Area and in areas around Sudbur...

Trump set for first public appearances since federal indictment, speaking in Georgia, North Carolina

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump will make his first public appearances since his federal indictment, speaking on Saturday to friendly Republican audiences in Georgia and North Carolina as he seeks to rally supporters to his defense.Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes, is expected to use his scheduled speeches at state party conventions in the two states to deliver a full-throated rebuke of the charges and amplify his assertions that he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch hunt” by Democratic President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.His appearances will come a day after the unsealing of an indictment charging him with 37 felony counts in connection with his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The indictment accuses the former president of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telli...

Analysis: What makes a fair election? Recent redistricting the most politically balanced in years

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

Democrats have for years bemoaned partisan redistricting plans that helped Republicans win far more congressional seats than expected. But that advantage has disappeared.In the first elections held with 2020 census data, Democrats battled back with their own gerrymandering that shaped districts to their advantage and essentially evened the outcome. Though Republicans won control of the House from Democrats, the closely divided chamber more accurately reflects the ratio of Republicans to Democrats among voters nationally than at any time in recent years, according to a new Associated Press analysis.“On the one hand, we have fairer, more representative outcomes. But it looks like we have more gerrymandering happening,” said Doug Spencer, a law professor at the University of Colorado Boulder who administers the All About Redistricting website. The AP’s analysis found that Republicans won just one more U.S. House seat in 2022 than would have been expected based on the average shar...

Florida center says ‘Grey Team’ technology, exercise help veterans overcome PTSD and other ailments

Published Sat, 28 Dec 2024 04:58:59 GMT

BOCA RATON, Fla. (AP) — Before Fred Kalfon began exercising at the Grey Team veterans center a couple months ago, the 81-year-old rarely left his Florida home.Parkinson’s disease, an inner ear disorder and other neurological problems, all likely caused by the Vietnam vet’s exposure to the infamous defoliant Agent Orange, made it difficult for him to move. His post-traumatic stress disorder, centering on the execution of a woman who helped his platoon, was at its worst. Treatment through the federal Department of Veterans Affairs didn’t work, he said.“I felt stupid the way I walk around and stumble,” said Kalfon, who led a medical aid unit as a first lieutenant in 1964-65. “I was depressed.”But after months in a veteran-specialized gym and recovery program, the retired pharmaceutical researcher and sales manager is socializing and has thrown aside his walker for a cane. He’s among the latest of 700 veterans of all ages working with the Grey Team, a 7-year-old ...