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

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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 Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 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...

Ukrainian junior golfer gains attention but war not mentioned by Team Europe at Ryder Cup

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 GMT

GUIDONIA MONTECELIO, Italy (AP) — The notes to Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” in the European anthem rang out into the massive crowd assembled on the lawn at the Marco Simone Golf Club.The Frecce Tricolori acrobatic air team flew overhead leaving behind a stream in Italy’s colors of green, white and red.And European captain Luke Donald traded the traditional pleasantries with American counterpart Zach Johnson.But there was no mention of the conflict in Ukraine during the elaborate opening ceremony of the Ryder Cup on Thursday — even though Team Europe represents the war-torn country.There was a Ukrainian presence at the course outside Rome earlier, though, when 15-year-old Lev Grinberg was the youngest member of the Europe team that romped to a record 11-point victory over the United States in the Junior Ryder Cup.“We won the junior one but I also want to win the men’s one and I want to win all the four majors. And then I would satisfy my career,” the precocious Grinberg told The Associat...

Colleges should step up their diversity efforts after affirmative action ruling, the government says

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 18:41:17 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration is asking America’s colleges to renew their efforts to make campuses more racially diverse, urging schools to boost scholarships and minority recruiting and to give “meaningful consideration” to the adversity students face because of their race or finances.The Education Department issued a report Thursday promoting strategies to increase diversity in the wake of a Supreme Court decision in June barring colleges from considering the race of applicants in the admission process. It fulfills a request from President Joe Biden to help colleges advance diversity without running afoul of the court’s decision.In announcing the report, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona called on state and local education leaders to “break down barriers for underserved students and reimagine pathways into higher education.”“Our future is brighter when we prepare students of all backgrounds to lead our multiracial democracy together,” Cardona said in a st...