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Ask Amy: Financial instability can wind up generational

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

Dear Amy: My son married a wonderful woman several years ago. They have a 1-year-old child.I genuinely like her side of the family and have a good relationship with her mother, “Marianne.”My issue is with Marianne’s financial irresponsibility, which is an apparent generational ingrained pattern.My son and his wife just purchased their first home. They both make enough to pay the bills — but just barely.Her mother has a good career and makes very good money at her job.However, she has very little to show for it, with no savings or home ownership.There are many examples of her being impulsive and wasteful.The issue is her regularly needing and asking for help with her bills or unexpected expenses.If she was less impulsive with her spending, she wouldn’t have to do this.This puts a burden on my son and his wife and creates friction.My DIL’s extended family are in no position to help.Related ArticlesAsk Amy | Ask Amy: Patience with the elderly in-laws is waning Ask...

Fisheries ministers adopt 2024 fishing opportunities for the North-East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

On 12 December, the Council agreed on fishing opportunities for 2024 for the fish stocks managed by the EU in the Atlantic, Kattegat and Skagerrak, as well as the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius said: “We had intense negotiations spanning over three days. For the Commission and me personally, it was important to reach an agreement that is both balanced and responsible - preserving fishers' livelihoods in the long term, and improving the chances for stock recovery and healthier stocks. Finally, I would like to thank fishers for their tremendous efforts over recent years to fish sustainably and to live up to their key role.”In the North-East Atlantic, the Council set 14 total allowable catches (TACs) in line with maximum sustainable yield (MSY) advice as proposed by the Commission. This includes an increase for megrims, anglerfish, hake, horse mackerel in the Iberian waters, as well as undulate rays. The Council has...

Israel-Hamas war prominent topic on the agenda of EU leaders meeting in Brussels

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

Spain, Ireland, Belgium and Malta want EU leaders to debate the situation in Gaza and jointly call for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire that would end the conflict, they said in a letter to Charles Michel. Developments in the war between Israel and Hamas will be a prominent topic on the agenda of European Union leaders who meet Thursday and Friday in Brussels, writes Yossi Lempkowicz.In his invitation letter to the 27 leaders, European Council President Charles Michel wrote: "We must call for all hostages to be released and vigorously address the alarming humanitarian situation in Gaza."He added: "We have to be strong in supporting Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself against Hamas, as well as in unequivocally defending international law and international humanitarian law.""Our broader reflection will include working towards security and stability in the region and prospects for lasting peace based on the two-state solution," he wrote."We should also address all forms of hat...

Enjoy the gift of an easy move in

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

For new-home buyers moving in anytime from November through January, organization can make all the difference in the experience. So, too, can treating the move-in process as a holiday gift in itself.The upcoming move might be the perfect excuse for a minimalistic holiday season. Instead of elaborately decorating the old house like usual, save time and energy for more constructive pursuits that will simplify the move and ensure you don’t forget important tasks.To prepare, let’s review a checklist of tasks to finish in advance so there are as few surprises as possible come moving day.Plan storage systemsThere’s nothing better than a beautiful new home. Except, perhaps, a well-organized, beautiful new home.The decision to have closet and garage organization and storage systems installed before move in can save the new homeowner time. If the systems aren’t in place on moving day, you’ll either not want to unpack or you’ll have to repack and unpack again later.During the last stages of c...

Putin says there will be no peace in Ukraine until goals are achieved, while offering rare details

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation marking the national holiday celebrated on December 12 - Constitution Day, at the Novo-Ogaryovo State residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)(AP/Mikhail Tereshchenko) Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting with judges of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation marking the national holiday celebrated on December 12 - Constitution Day, at the Novo-Ogaryovo State residence outside Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023. (Mikhail Tereshchenko, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)(AP/Mikhail Tereshchenko) ...

Orban tests the European Union’s promises to help Ukraine as he stands firm on blocking aid

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

BRUSSELS (AP) — European Union leaders struggled at the start of a two-day summit Thursday to keep their two most elementary promises to Ukraine at war intact — to give it the money and wherewithal to stave off the Russian invasion and maintain its hope that one day it will be able to join the wealthy bloc.And stunningly, the threat to that commitment does not come from outside, but from within, from its increasingly recalcitrant member Hungary. The vision of its prime minister, Viktor Orban, heartily shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin two months ago still hung heavy over the summit.Orban came into the summit vowing to both block the plans by his 26 fellow leaders to officially declare that membership negotiations with Ukraine can start, and more pressingly, deny Kyiv 50 billion euros ($54 billion) in financial aid that the country dearly needs to stay afloat.“The European Union is about to make a terrible mistake and they must be stopped — even if 26 of them want t...

Fewer Md. schools at five-star status in state’s report card

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

Although the majority of Maryland’s public schools experienced no change this year in the state Department of Education’s five-star rating system, there was a statewide decrease of schools to receive top-star status.According to data released Wednesday, 85 schools received five stars during the 2022-23 school year, compared to 215 schools from the 2021-22 school year.One main reason for the difference stems from absenteeism, a measure in the rating system that wasn’t used two years ago because of chronic absenteeism related to the COVID-19 pandemic.The new report cards also include an assessment of academic growth of elementary and middle school students and eighth-grade social studies scores from the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP).“This is a new baseline year for Maryland, in terms of where we are and where we want to be,” interim State Superintendent Carey Wright said in a statement. “Due to the difference in calculating results between the two school years, we c...

Steel Connect: Fiscal Q1 Earnings Snapshot

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — NEW YORK (AP) — Steel Connect, Inc (STCN) on Thursday reported earnings of $4.4 million in its fiscal first quarter.On a per-share basis, the New York-based company said it had net income of 15 cents.The supply chain business process management services company posted revenue of $41.3 million in the period._____This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on STCN at https://www.zacks.com/ap/STCNSource

Xavi under pressure as Barcelona visits Valencia after two straight defeats

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Another poor performance by Barcelona in a defeat at modest Antwerp has increased the pressure on Xavi Hernández to turn things around.The 3-2 loss in Belgium on Wednesday didn’t mean much in practical terms. The final group game of the Champions League came with Barcelona already assured of a spot in the knockout rounds for the first time in three seasons.However, Xavi could surely have used a good result because his star-filled side had just been outplayed by Spanish league leader Girona 4-2 last weekend, a setback that dealt a blow to its domestic title defense.After falling at Antwerp, which finished the group in last place, the Barcelona-based sports papers opened fire on their team. “No Forgiveness” was Mundo Deportivo’s headline, while Sport went with “Enough Is Enough!”“The defeat that really hurt was the one against Girona,” Xavi said this week after trying to find the bright side of his side’s stumble against Antwerp that also cost the club a ...

2023: The year we played with artificial intelligence — and weren’t sure what to do about it

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:47 GMT

Artificial intelligence went mainstream in 2023 — it was a long time coming yet has a long way to go for the technology to match people’s science fiction fantasies of human-like machines.Catalyzing a year of AI fanfare was ChatGPT. The chatbot gave the world a glimpse of recent advances in computer science even if not everyone figured out quite how it works or what to do with it.“I would call this an inflection moment,” pioneering AI scientist Fei-Fei Li said. “2023 is, in history, hopefully going to be remembered for the profound changes of the technology as well as the public awakening. It also shows how messy this technology is.”It was a year for people to figure out “what this is, how to use it, what’s the impact — all the good, the bad and the ugly,” she said.PANIC OVER AIThe first AI panic of 2023 set in soon after New Year’s Day when classrooms reopened and schools from Seattle to Paris started blocking ChatGPT. Teenagers were already asking the chatbot — re...