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How to get on top of your personal finances in 2024

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

While losing weight or learning a new language can be a good New Year’s resolution, the beginning of the year can also be a good time to get your finances in order.Your financial goals will likely change based on age, but there are still tried-and-true goals that people of any age should strive for. If you or your kids are starting their career think about those first steps.“Before you do any kind of retirement savings, tackle that debt first,” said Candace Lee, client adviser and vice president at Glassman Wealth Services.Credit card debt alone surged to nearly a trillion dollars in late 2023.“We’re looking at sometimes north of 20-25% interest for having that debt,” she said. “Whatever kind of helps you get the ball rolling to, to pay down that type of debt aggressively. I think that almost comes before saving.”Another goal to consider is saving cash in an emergency fund. Lee said you want at least three to six months of household expenses in a high-yield savings account.“Do you h...

Rams to sit Stafford, Kupp, Donald, Kyren in regular-season finale vs 49ers to rest for playoffs

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald, Kyren Williams, Cooper Kupp and linebacker Ernest Jones will not play in the playoff-bound Los Angeles Rams’ regular-season finale at San Francisco, coach Sean McVay said Wednesday.Carson Wentz will make his Rams debut when they visit the 49ers on Sunday, McVay said. Los Angeles also will be without Williams, the NFL’s second-leading rusher; Kupp, the Super Bowl 56 MVP; Donald, the seven-time All-Pro defensive lineman; and Jones, the Rams’ leading tackler.The Rams (9-7) have clinched a playoff spot, and earning a slightly higher seeding clearly means little to McVay with most of the NFC playoff picture still in flux behind No. 1-seeded San Francisco.The 49ers are sitting starting quarterback Brock Purdy and running back Christian McCaffrey. Sam Darnold will start in Purdy’s place.Los Angeles will finish sixth in the NFC if it beats the 49ers or if Green Bay loses to Chicago on Sunday. If the 49ers a...

Imam killed in shooting outside New Jersey mosque, and the shooter remains at large, authorities say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

A New Jersey imam was shot multiple times and killed outside his mosque Wednesday, and authorities continue to search for the shooter, officials said.Imam Hassan Sharif was in his car when he was shot more than once at about 6 a.m. near the Masjid-Muhammad Mosque in Newark, Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said at a news conference. He was taken to a nearby hospital but died in the afternoon.Authorities are still searching for a shooter, but there’s no evidence indicating the shooting was motivated by an anti-Muslim bias, Attorney General Matt Platkin said. Despite that, Platkin said law enforcement has stepped up outreach to houses of worship, particularly Jewish and Muslim ones, since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. “I know that in light of global events and with a rise in bias directed at many communities we’re experiencing across our state — particularly the Muslim community — there are many in New Jersey right now who are feeling a heightened sense of fear or anxiety at the ...

Michigan QB McCarthy says sign-stealing saga masked work of players who ‘did things the right way’

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

The sign-stealing scandal that has hung over Michigan’s season has overshadowed the work the team has put in to go unbeaten and reach the College Football Playoff championship game, quarterback J.J. McCarthy said Wednesday.Michigan plays Washington for the national title in Houston on Monday as the NCAA continues to investigate allegations that the Wolverines, over three years extending into this season, had a staff member do in-person advance scouting against NCAA rules and used video equipment to pick off future opponents’ play-call signs from the sideline.Asked during a CFP media teleconference about the possibility of the NCAA ordering Michigan to vacate wins, McCarthy said it would be unfortunate for the players not to be recognized for what they’ve achieved.“But at the end of the day,” he said, “it’s not going to change the amount of accomplishment and the amount of pride for being on this football team and just everything that we accomplished because we know what ...

Colombia’s Barranquilla removed as host of 2027 Pan American Games

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The Colombian city of Barranquilla was stripped on Wednesday of its rights to host the next edition of the Pan American Games in 2027.Panam Sports, the executive body that organizes the largest multi-sports event in the Americas, said in a statement it made the decision after the city failed once more to comply with its contractual obligations.“The decision was made after repeated uncompliance with the current contract,” Panam Sports said in a statement without giving more details about the next steps to pick a host. “Due to no response after we reached another deadline, the executive committee of Panam Sports … has made the indeclinable decision to strip the city of its rights to host the continental event in 2027.” The latest edition of the Pan American Games was held in Santiago, Chile, between Oct. 22 and Nov. 5, during which Panam Sports gave Colombia a new deadline to comply with its obligations until January.Alejandro Char, the mayor...

Lukaku and Dybala score as Roma beats Cremonese 2-1 to set up Italian Cup derby with Lazio

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

ROME (AP) — Romelu Lukaku and Paulo Dybala each scored and Roma came back from a goal down to beat Cremonese 2-1 on Wednesday and set up a derby with Lazio in the Italian Cup quarterfinals.The Serie B team had eliminated Roma in the quarterfinals last season and it looked like it might be a repeat when Frank Tsadjout put Cremonese ahead late in the first half.But Dybala came on after halftime and set up Lukaku’s score before converting a penalty five minutes from time.Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini had hit the crossbar midway through the first half.The derby with Lazio will be played next week, with Lazio having eliminated Genoa last month.Also, Charles De Ketelaere scored two goals and set up another to lead Atalanta to a 3-1 win over Sassuolo and a quarterfinal matchup with AC Milan.Milan eliminated Cagliari on Tuesday.On loan from Milan, the 22-year-old De Ketelaere didn’t meet expectations upon his arrival in Italy with Milan last season. But he’s flourishing on loan at Atalant...

New York City evicts vendors from Brooklyn Bridge, ending a bustling tourist market to ease crowding

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Scores of sellers who once peddled cheap souvenirs to tourists atop the Brooklyn Bridge were evicted Wednesday under a new city rule that prohibits vending on the famed crossing.The ban is aimed at easing congestion on the bridge’s heavily-trafficked pedestrian walkway, which has seen a spike in both visitors and tabletop businesses offering items like New York-branded hats and keychains.As crowds flocked to the bridge over the holiday season, the situation turned dangerous, according to New York City Mayor Eric Adams. He has pointed to videos that showed pedestrians leaping from the pedestrian promenade onto a bike lane several feet below in order to bypass a human traffic jam.“It’s not only a sanitary issue, it’s a public safety issue,” Adams said earlier this week. “People would’ve trampled over each other. We need order in this city. That is one of our major landmarks.”Police officers were stationed in pairs Wednesday along the mile-long span as a group of ...

Speaker Johnson demands hard-line policies during a border visit as Ukraine aid hangs in the balance

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

EAGLE PASS, Texas (AP) — U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson led about 60 fellow Republicans in Congress on a visit Wednesday to the Mexican border to demand hard-line immigration policies in exchange for backing President Joe Biden’s emergency wartime funding request for Ukraine. He expressed serious doubts about whether he would support a bipartisan compromise.The trip to Eagle Pass, Texas, came as the Senate engages in delicate negotiations in hopes of striking a deal.With the number of illegal crossings into the United States topping 10,000 on several days last month, the border city has been at the center of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, his nearly $10 billion initiative that has tested the federal government’s authority over immigration and elevated the political fight over the issue.An agreement in the lengthy talks in Washington could unlock Senate GOP support for Biden’s $110 billion package for Ukraine, Israel and other U.S. security priorities...

Luke Littler, 16, loses World Darts Championship final to end stunning run

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

Luke Littler’s history-making run at the World Darts Championship ended Wednesday after the 16-year-old sensation was beaten 7-4 in the final by Luke Humphries.The unseeded Littler would have become the youngest-ever winner of darts’ biggest prize, but lost an epic match at the Alexandra Palace in London.At one point the teenager had the chance to take a 5-2 lead, but world No. 1 Humphries came back to win five straight sets and his first world title.As runner-up, Littler won 200,000 pounds ($250,000) in prize money and looks likely to contend for major titles for years to come. He made history by becoming youngest finalist.Humphries was the No.3 seed for the tournament and went into it on the back of winning three major titles in the space of two months.He will pick up the top prize of 500,000 pounds ($630,000) for Wednesday’s win.___James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson___AP sports: https://apnews.com/sportsSource

Parents warned about rise in knockoff car seats

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:00:18 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — In the last couple of weeks, staff at Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center and Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children have seen an increase in the number of knock-off infant car seats that may not meet safety standards.Nurses inspect the car seats before a family takes their newborn home, and that is one way the knockoffs are being spotted. Denver nears housing oversupply, potential pricing drop: report Just last weekend, nurses saw one without a chest clip or hip straps."Because these fake car seats are missing some of these proper straps, they are missing the chest clip, in an accident the baby could come flying out of the car seat," said Kirsten Dehmlow, parent education coordinator.Dehmlow said families unknowingly buy the knockoffs at discounted prices through eBay or third-party sellers on other major sites, and they may not realize the seats don't meet safety standards."They are made to look like car seats that are a lot more expensive. So, families see the...