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Tee Thursday: Pre-round prep will help your game

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

To tweak a line from the Bay State’s own Meghan Trainor, when it comes to setting yourself up for a great golf round, it’s all about that prep, ‘bout that prep; no trouble.Now that I take my game seriously, I no longer toss my clubs into the car and zip to the course last-minute, just in time to tee off. Rather, I plan ahead, think through my upcoming round and take steps to set myself up for my best chance at success.It takes time, but I’m finding it’s worth it. Teaching pros agree, saying it’s not just about stretching out muscles and warming up your swing (which is important); it’s about easing into a positive, ready and confident mindset.And we all know one thing is for sure: Golf is very much a game of the mind.Here are some steps I take to be ready for a round.The day(s) before: Once I’ve chosen a course and set a tee time, I do some research to get to know the course as best I can before I arrive.I study the scorecard (most, if not all, are available online). How many super l...

DeVaan: Young people can’t sit on sidelines with Social Security

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

If young Americans had a nickel for every time they were advised to start saving for retirement ASAP, well… they wouldn’t have to worry about retirement. But many young workers are finding it impossible to put aside even a fraction of their paychecks.Why? Skyrocketing apartment costs are one factor. With a down payment for a home increasingly out of reach, most young people rent — and rents have never been higher than in recent years.Americans aged 18 to 29 are also twice as likely as any other adults to shoulder student debt, according to the Education Data Initiative. The end of the pandemic moratorium on student debt payments this fall will be crushing, leaving young people with even less disposable income to set aside for their retirement.Younger workers are also heavily represented in low-wage jobs. In 2020, those under age 25 made up less than 20% of hourly paid workers but 48% of those earning the federal minimum wage or less.Even if low-wage workers have a 401(k) retirement ...

Dear Abby: Young nephew tags along on grownup gatherings

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

Dear Abby: My brother is 53. He has one child, my 12-year-old nephew, “Conner.” Our father was difficult, and neither of us has many happy memories of times we shared with him. Perhaps in response to this, my brother seems incapable of socializing without his son. Many times, he suggests outings to my husband or his friends and then throws in that he’s planning on bringing Conner. We do not want the boy included in what should be adult outings, but we can’t find a way of saying it.If I’m planning a dinner out or something else where I think he might invite his son, I preface it with a grownups-only clause. I can’t discuss it with my sister-in-law because even though I know she would understand, she wouldn’t be tactful in mentioning it to my brother. My husband is not the type to say anything; it would mean more coming from him, but he doesn’t want to cause upset. By the way, my brother is very outgoing and socially adept, so it’s...

All evacuation orders lifted for 'Bunnie Fire' in Ramona

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

RAMONA, Calif. -- A brush fire in Ramona burned nearly 200 acres and prompted temporary evacuations Wednesday.Around 11:20 a.m., crews responded to the fire, dubbed the "Bunnie Fire," near Bunnie King Lane and San Vicente Road. Officials say the fire was burning at a moderate rate of spread and warned that structures on Chuck Wagon Road were threatened.By 2 p.m., the fire had grown to 183 acres. More than 300 firefighters from departments across San Diego County worked to stop the spread of flames, Cal Fire Capt. Mike Cornette said to FOX 5. By 7 p.m., the fire was 184 acres and 20% contained.Authorities issued an evacuation order around 3:30 p.m., but as of 8:23 p.m., all evacuation orders and warnings in Ramona were lifted."If you had to leave, it is now safe to go back home. Drive slowly and carefully. Be mindful of firefighters, deputies, road and utility crews working in the area," the San Diego County Sheriff's Department tweeted.A temporary evacuation point was set up at Oliv...

Padres raise 2024 season ticket prices: report

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- If you are already looking to next year for the Padres, get ready to pay more to go to games.The Padres will raise all season ticket prices by a weighted average increase of 9% for the 2024 season, a team spokesperson told the San Diego-Union Tribune.The increase is the third straight year the Padres have raised prices, the paper reports. During the 2022 season, the Padres' season ticket prices hiked up to a weighted average of 18% while the 2021 season saw around a 20% jump, the UT said. This quaint East County farm is a hidden gem perfect for a daytime stroll With big money spent on players like Fernando Tatis’ $340 million contract, Xander Bogaerts’ $280 million deal and Manny Machado’s $350 million extension, the team possesses the third-highest payroll in baseball, according to the sports contract resource Spotrac.On Aug. 30 at Petco Park against the Texas Rangers, the Padres recorded a new franchise record with its 45th sellout this season. The previous record ...

India passes data protection legislation in Parliament. Critics fear privacy violation

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

NEW DELHI (AP) — Indian lawmakers Wednesday approved a data protection legislation that “seeks to better regulate big tech firms and penalize companies for data breaches” as several groups expressed concern over citizens’ privacy rights.The legislation will limit cross-border transfer of data and provide a framework for setting up a data protection authority to ensure compliance from tech companies, Information Technology and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said.Several opposition lawmakers and digital experts say the legislation would allow the government and its agencies to access user data from companies and personal data of individuals without their consent as well as collect private data in a country where digital freedoms have been shrinking since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014. Digital experts also fear that the legislation will weaken the landmark Right To Information law — passed in 2005 — that allows citizens to seek data from public officers, suc...

41 dead in migrant shipwreck according to 4 survivors who set off from Tunisia

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

ROME (AP) — Forty-one people are believed dead after a boat carrying migrants capsized off Tunisia in rough seas, the Italian Red Cross and rescue groups reported, citing four survivors who were rescued and brought to land Wednesday.The survivors reported having left Sfax, Tunisia, on a metal boat with a total of 45 people on Aug. 3. About six hours into their voyage, a huge wave overturned the vessel, RAI state television reported.The Red Cross said in a statement that the four survived using inner tubes and managed to climb onto another empty vessel nearby, evidence of the large number of boats setting out from Sfax and the rough seas that hit the area in recent days, causing several other capsizings too.Photos released by the Sea-Watch humanitarian rescue group taken by its monitoring aircraft showed the four survivors waving for help from the boat and making their way to a commercial tanker, the Maltese-flagged Rimona. The migrants rescued by the Rimona were then transferred ont...

North Korean leader Kim calls for his military to sharpen war plans as his rivals prepare drills

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his military to sharpen its war plans and signed off on expanding combat operations of frontline units, state media said Thursday, as the United States and South Korea prepare for a large-scale combined military exercise.Condemning the allies’ expanding drills as invasion rehearsals, Kim has used them as a pretext to further accelerate his weapons demonstrations, which have included the testing-firings of more than 100 missiles since the start of 2022, driving tensions on the Korean Peninsula to their highest point in years.Experts say Kim’s nuclear push is aimed at forcing the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power so he can eventually negotiate economic and security concessions from a position of strength.Thursday’s meeting of the North Korean ruling Workers’ Party’s central military commission, which Kim controls as chairman, was to discuss advancing his military’s war readiness and establ...

Paper exams, chatbot bans: Colleges seek to ‘ChatGPT-proof’ assignments

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

When philosophy professor Darren Hick came across another case of cheating in his classroom at Furman University last semester, he posted an update to his followers on social media: “Aaaaand, I’ve caught my second ChatGPT plagiarist.”Friends and colleagues responded, some with wide-eyed emojis. Others expressed surprise.“Only 2?! I’ve caught dozens,” said Timothy Main, a writing professor at Conestoga College in Canada. “We’re in full-on crisis mode.”Practically overnight, ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence chatbots have become the go-to source for cheating in college.Now, educators are rethinking how they’ll teach courses this fall from Writing 101 to computer science. Educators say they want to embrace the technology’s potential to teach and learn in new ways, but when it comes to assessing students, they see a need to “ChatGPT-proof” test questions and assignments.For some instructors that means a return to paper exams, after years of digital-only tests. Some professors wi...

Biden in Utah to mark anniversary of PACT Act expanding veterans benefits

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 17:00:00 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — President Joe Biden will mark the first anniversary of a law that is delivering the largest expansion of veterans benefits in decades on Thursday by showcasing the bipartisan PACT Act in the company of Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox.The Democratic president and GOP governor will visit the George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center to promote a law that is intended to improve health care and disability compensation for exposure to toxic substances, such as burn pits that were used to dispose of trash on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 348,000 veterans have had their claims approved in the last year, and about 111,000 who are believed to have toxic exposure have enrolled in health care.The president is winding up a three-state western swing in which he has been combining events focused on achievements from his first term with campaign fundraisers aimed at helping him win a second. Both Biden and Cox have stressed the need...