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People are losing more money to scammers than ever before. Here’s how to keep yourself safe

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — With the help of technology, scammers are tricking Americans out of more money than ever before. But there are steps you can take to keep your money and information safe. In 2022, reported consumer losses to fraud totaled $8.8 billion — a 30 percent increase from 2021, according to the most recent data from the Federal Trade Commission. The biggest losses were to investment scams, including cryptocurrency schemes, which cost people more than $3.8 billion, double the amount in 2021.Younger adults ages 20-29 reported losing money more often than older adults ages 70-79, the FTC found. But when older adults did lose money, they lost more. Many retirees have assets like savings, pensions, life insurance policies or property for scammers to target.With the rise of the digital economy, scammers now reach targets by social media and text, as well as phone and email. Online payment platforms, apps, and marketplaces have also increased opportunities. Still, many of their tact...

Book Review: James McBride’s latest novel is a tour de force celebrating community and compassion

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store” by James McBride (Riverhead Books)“The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store,” James McBride’s tour de force of a new novel, opens in 1972, when authorities discover a human skeleton and mezuzah at the bottom of a well in the small community of Pottstown in southeast Pennsylvania. Suspecting foul play, they question an old Jewish man who lives in the ramshackle neighborhood of Chicken Hill, where the town’s Jews, Blacks and immigrant whites once lived together in harmony. Waving off the suggestion that something is amiss because the mezuzah wasn’t attached to its customary place on the door of a Jewish home, Malachi offers up this sage observation: “Jewish life is portable.” The very next day, Hurricane Agnes barrels into the region, churning up flood waters that wipe out every trace of the potential crime, prompting this humorous aside from a chorus of elderly Black women: “White folks was jumping off their rooftops in Pottstown like they was on th...

The UK government moves asylum-seekers to a barge moored off southern England in a bid to cut costs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A small group of asylum-seekers has been moved onto a barge moored in southern England as the U.K. government tries to cut the cost of sheltering people seeking protection in the country, British news media reported Monday.The asylum-seekers were transferred to the Bibby Stockholm, a floating hostel that will ultimately house up to 500 men, from other sites around the country. More were expected to arrive later Monday as authorities seek to reduce the number of asylum-seekers housed in expensive hotel rooms that were requisitioned on an emergency basis as the number of arrivals has surged in recent years.The barge, which is owned by UK-based Bibby Marine, is normally used to provide temporary housing for workers when local accommodation isn’t available. With three stories of closely packed bedrooms, the barge resembles a college dormitory, though the rooms are utilitarian. It also includes a kitchen, dining area, common rooms and laundry facilities.The Bibby Stoc...

Sri Lankan air force training aircraft crashes, killing pilot and flight engineer

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan air force training aircraft crashed Monday, killing the pilot and flight engineer, an official said.The Chinese-built PT-6 plane crashed during a training flight two minutes after taking off from the air force academy at China Bay base in the eastern city of Trincomalee, air force spokesperson Group Captain Dushan Wijesinghe said.He said the bodies of the pilot and flight engineer, the only people on board, were recovered. Wijesinghe did not say what caused the crash. He said air force commander Air Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa has appointed a special committee to investigate.Sri Lanka uses PT-6 planes mainly to train new pilots. The China Bay base is a former British air base that came under attack by Japan during World War II.Trincomalee is about 260 kilometers (165 miles) east of the capital, Colombo. Sri Lanka is a former British colony that gained independence in 1948.Bharatha Mallawarachi, The Associated Press

19-year-old suburban man charged in deadly shooting of teen in Chicago

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A 19-year-old man from North Chicago has been charged in the murder of a 17-year-old shot and killed on the Northwest Side in May.Jesus Toledo was arrested Saturday in the 3900 block of Fountain Square in Waukegan. Authorities believe he was one of the suspects responsible for the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old boy on May 20 in the 2000 block of North Pulaski Street. Previous: Boy, 17, shot and killed on Northwest side Toledo was charged with first-degree murder.

Arrested teens speak after being given jobs

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

CHICAGO — A non-profit is working to provide jobs to teenagers who have previously been arrested for participating in the so-called teen takeovers, as well as other crimes such as carjackings.Monday, an event organized by Early Walker, CEO of I'm Telling, Don't Shoot, will highlight a community effort to employ teenagers in the restaurant industry. Five teens, with their parents, are expected to speak publicly about receiving the job offers and why they were involved in alleged criminal activity.WGN plans to livestream the event within this story beginning at approximately 10 a.m. Girl, 8, fatally shot in head in Portage Park; offender in custody Multiple teen takeovers have occurred across Chicago during the summer months including one at a gas station in Bronzeville and another along the streets of Lakeview.

Which airlines are most likely to bump you? DOT data explains

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

(NEXSTAR) – For most of us, flying is usually a breeze, from arriving at the airport to boarding the plane to picking up your luggage and moving on to your destination. Unfortunately for some, despite their best efforts, they may find themselves watching their plane take off without them. Maybe it’s happened to you: You book your flight in advance, you pick your seat (if your airline allows it), and you arrive on time at your gate — only to find out your flight is overbooked. An airline overbooking the flight (also known as "overselling" the flight) is completely legal, the U.S. Department of Transportation explains. The practice allows carriers to sell more boarding passes than there are seats on a plane to compensate for passengers that do not arrive for the flight. When a flight is oversold, airlines will first ask for volunteers to give up their seat. If there aren't enough volunteers, some passengers will be involuntarily denied boarding. This is more commonly known ...

Bear bites camper relaxing in hammock in Colorado, officials say

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) - Colorado Parks and Wildlife says officers are searching for a black bear that bit a man's arm while he was relaxing in a hammock at a campground near Trinidad.The victim told CPW that he heard a rustling noise late Saturday night while in the hammock and turned on his headlamp. He saw a dark-colored bear next to him. Repeat offender bear euthanized in Boulder The bear then bit the man on his upper right arm before turning and wandering off.The man left the campground and went to a motel before calling an ambulance for treatment of his wound, which appeared to be a 2-3-inch bite, CPW said.He told CPW that he had no food or other attractants with him in the hammock that may have lured the bear.CPW was notified of the attack after 10 p.m. and immediately began a search of the campground. A trap was set at the campground in case the bear came back, and dogs were called in to initiate a hunt in the area. Bear cub rescued from dumpster in Douglas County Under CPW poli...

Trump knocks 'woke' US women's soccer team after World Cup departure

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

(The Hill) - Former President Trump knocked the "woke" U.S. women’s soccer team after its loss in the round of 16 of the Women's World Cup over the weekend. “The 'shocking and totally unexpected' loss by the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team to Sweden is fully emblematic of what is happening to the our once great Nation under Crooked Joe Biden,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday evening. “Many of our players were openly hostile to America - No other country behaved in such a manner, or even close. WOKE EQUALS FAILURE. Nice shot Megan, the USA is going to Hell!!! MAGA,” Trump continued, taking aim at 38-year-old midfielder Megan Rapinoe.During the 2019 Women's World Cup, Rapinoe said, "I'm not going to the f‑‑‑ing White House” if the team won, which it eventually did. “We’re not going to be invited," Rapinoe, a progressive LGBTQ activist, added at the time. "I doubt it.”"Megan should never disrespect our country, the White House or our flag, especially since so much ha...

Here's what the Farmers' Almanac has predicted for the next Texas winter

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 19:17:40 GMT

TYLER, Texas (KETK) - As summer continues, some people are wondering when things will finally cool down.The Farmers' Almanac has been publishing their forecasts for over 200 years using their secret formula and this week they have predicted that "the brrr is back" for the 2023-2024 winter.In their extended winter forecast, it is predicted that Texas will see an unseasonably cold, stormy winter for this year.Last winter, the Farmers' Almanac predicted a chilly winter with normal precipitation for the area, and, according to the Texas Department of Emergency Management, a cold air mass shifted over Texas on Dec. 22 causing temperatures to plummet statewide."Much of Texas endured temperatures below freezing - in some cases well below freezing - for dozens of hours," the department said in their overview of the 2022 Texas winter. "Most Texans faced frigid conditions through at least the morning of Dec. 25, with morning lows around freezing on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27."In their predictions fo...