TAMPA, Fla. -- Like a new kid in town, Beverly Giffords walked across the parking lot toward Largo High School anxious about who she’d meet inside and what it would be like.

The 73-year-old retiree carried her blanket, some photos she’d grabbed from her trailer at Encore Vacation Village and the windshield sunshade from her car, so she’d ...Read more

The holidays bring happy times — but also financial burdens. And more than ever this past season. While inflation is easing, prices for just about everything are still considerably higher than they were pre-pandemic.

In fact, Bankrate’s 2024 Holiday Shopping Survey found that 28% of holiday shoppers say they are stressed about the cost of ...Read more

When it comes to shaving, I’m two-faced. One face I have been scraping with a blade since I was a teenager more than five decades ago, the other I recently started buzzing with an electric razor.

Neither face will make me a Hollywood star unless I stop shaving altogether and get the lead role in a remake of “The Wolf Man.”

So I left it ...Read more

ATLANTA -- After a contentious election cycle, many people look forward to the holidays as a time to reset. But some of us dread talking about politics with certain family members. Producer Natalie Mendenhall spoke to Drew Westen, a professor emeritus at Emory University and a licensed psychologist.

Here’s that interview with tips for you on ...Read more

GOODSPRINGS, Nev. — The line to enter the Goodsprings General Store snaked down state Route 161, sometimes spilling out into traffic. Wait times stretched well past an hour. Thankfully, there was nourishment nearby in the form of smoked iguana sandwiches and the ever-popular mole rat on a bun.

Thousands of video game fans descended on the ...Read more

TAMPA, Fla. — Veterans Elementary School in Wesley Chapel, Florida, has a long history of parents volunteering in its classrooms and supporting its activities.

But now, it’s in the process of kicking out its Parent-Teacher Association. The reason? A feud over money and how it was — and wasn’t — spent.

Over the summer, principal ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- The 990-foot SS United States served as a geographical marker of sorts on the Delaware River waterfront in South Philadelphia for almost 30 years. That is slated to change when the vessel is towed to Mobile, Alabama, for a final cleaning before it’s sunk into the Florida Panhandle. It is set to become the world’s largest ...Read more

Not so long ago (this year), in a land not so far away (this one), a debate roiled fiercely about free speech on college campuses.

On one side, students, faculty and interested observers advocated for safe spaces for marginalized groups and trigger warnings on certain materials and protested loudly when speakers whose ideas they abhorred were ...Read more

When its mid-November and your geraniums are still electrifying on the porch or patio you know you are talking about one of the Boldly varieties. Boldly Coral made its debut in 2022 and as such I had the opportunity to trial it in 2021. Since then it has been my go-to geranium because of its dazzling color and incredible longevity.

Boldly Coral...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — For nearly a century, a swashbuckling-style pair of gloves rested in a reliquary in the University of Pennsylvania library. Far from lost, but largely forgotten, the mystical gauntlets were disturbed over the decades only by the awestruck scholars and devotees who came to ponder, "What if?"

After all, it couldn't be true. They...Read more

MINNEAPOLIS -- Dariia Misko sounded remarkably calm as she described her life in Kyiv, Ukraine, where she frequently hears what sounds like popcorn popping in the distance.

The sound is attacks by military drones from Russia.

“I have repeatedly heard explosions and the work of air defense,” said Misko, a 26-year-old Ukrainian studying for ...Read more

Dear Anna,

I’ve been seeing this girl for about two months, and while things have been fun, I’m struggling with how close she still is to her ex. They were together for seven years and broke up six months ago, but it feels like he’s still very present in her life. He even comes over frequently. She has photos of them all over, and her ...Read more

You can’t “create” chemistry, either online or in person, but you can do a few tangible things to increase your odds a bit. I want to share 7 dating mistakes that you can fix right now:

1. Using unflattering profile pictures.

You say, “Does it really matter?” The answer is yes. Yes, it does. You get one chance to make a first ...Read more

‘Tis the season to be thankful, which is why I am hanging tight to the fourth Thursday in November. I may be hanging on by the greasy tip of a wishbone swinging dangerously low over scalding hot gravy, but I refuse to let go of Thanksgiving, the only holiday that has not been grossly commercialized.

For starters, I am thankful there is no ...Read more

Money isn’t just a financial issue — it’s also an emotional one.

For half of Americans, financial stress is taking a serious toll on their mental health, according to a recent survey by Jenius Bank. A striking 50% of respondents reported battling anxiety, stress or depression tied to their finances, while 53% admitted to thinking of ...Read more

CHICAGO -- Customers flocked to the bright red and yellow awning of Mac’s Deli on a cloudy Thursday afternoon, walking away with foil-wrapped workday lunches of warm Italian beef sandwiches and hot dogs.

Inside the new restaurant on Sangamon Street in the West Loop, the grills, fryers and registers were all manned by workers currently in ...Read more

Dear Kid Whisperer,

I teach fourth-grade math. I have rarely had any significant behavior issues in my 32 years of teaching. My question is about helping kids stay focused. I have a few students who drift off even though I am animated, high energy and have good lesson plans.

Answer: I’m going to show you how to effectively prevent, mitigate ...Read more

Q. I have been dating my boyfriend for 6 months. We do not live together but see each other or talk almost every day. His ex died three years ago. They had a daughter, who is 6, who lives with my boyfriend. The problem is my boyfriend has a very large tattoo of both his ex and his daughter’s names on his chest right above his heart. This makes...Read more