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Save more money by breaking these 9 bad financial habits, starting now

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

Like brushing your teeth or getting enough sleep, the first step to developing effective financial habits is to break out of the bad ones.Many Americans are struggling to save. According to Bankrate’s emergency fund report, only 43% of people say they could pay for a $1,000 emergency expense from their savings. A great way to start saving is by recognizing what bad money habits you have and committing to a plan to leave them behind.Here are nine of the most common bad money habits and how you can break out of them.1. Not having specific savings goalsSetting specific savings goals is important not only for the sake of knowing how much you need to save, but also to give you a tangible reason to save.If you don’t have specific savings goals, you may not be deliberately thinking about how much you should be saving and what strategies to undertake to meet those goals. Breaking out of this habit will help set the stage for every other savings habit — and it’s an easy place to start.Take s...

Photos: Tropical Storm Hilary sweeps through Southern California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

Related ArticlesNation | Post-Tropical Storm Hilary pushes into Nevada after drenching Southern California Nation | Deluge from Tropical Storm Hilary hits California  Tropical Storm Hilary deluged arid parts of Mexico and then drenched Southern California from the coast to the desert resort city of Palm Springs and inland mountains, forcing rescuers to pull several people from swollen rivers.Hilary weakened to a post-tropical storm early Monday as it left behind drenched Southern California and moved into Nevada. Some Southern California schools canceled in-person classes because of storm-related safety concerns.The storm first made landfall in Mexico’s arid Baja California Peninsula on Sunday in a sparsely populated area about 150 miles south of Ensenada. One person drowned. It then moved through mudslide-prone Tijuana.The first tropical storm to hit Southern California in 84 years, Hilary dropped more than half an average year’s worth of rain on som...

Italian wedding back on! Groom told new passport arriving in Boston mid-week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

Strike the wedding bells!A South Boston couple’s romantic Italian ceremony appears to be back on track as planned next week, with the groom likely to be in attendance.Donato Frattaroli submitted an application for a new passport at the Boston Passport Agency today, just days after his Golden Retriever puppy, Chickie, turned his old one into a “nice new toy to play with,” the North End native told the Herald.U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch’s office confirmed with the Herald that it had been handling the case ever since Frattaroli’s fiancee Magda Mazri reached out for help from the congressman. A spokesperson said the office secured the appointment for the couple.Frattaroli will be heading back to the passport office on Wednesday when he said he will “hopefully” pick up the new one.“It really means everything to us,” he said in a phone interview. “It’s over a year-and-a-half of planning, and it’s me being able to marry the love of my life in front of our friends and family who are making a bi...

The initial online search spurring a raid on a Kansas paper was legal, a state agency says

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

MARION, Kan. (AP) — The initial online search of a state website that led a central Kansas police chief to raid a local weekly newspaper was legal, a spokesperson for the agency that maintains the site said Monday, as the newspaper remains under investigation.Earlier this month, after a local restaurant owner accused the Marion County Record of illegally accessing information about her, the Marion police chief obtained warrants to search the newspaper’s offices and the home of its publisher, as well as the home of a City Council member who also accessed the driver’s license database. The police chief led the Aug. 11 raids and said in the affidavits used to obtain the warrants that he had probable cause to believe that the newspaper and the City Council member had violated state laws against identity theft or computer crimes.Both the City Council member and the newspaper have said they received a copy of the document about the status of the restaurant owner’s license with...

Two lawyers barred from practising in Manitoba judge-followed case

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

WINNIPEG — The Law Society of Manitoba has barred two Alberta lawyers from practising in the province and ordered them to pay $5,000 after receiving complaints they hired a private investigator to surveil a judge who was hearing a case involving COVID-19 public health orders.John Carpay, president of the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, and Randal Jay Cameron faced charges from the independent regulator, including undermining public respect for the administration of justice and breach of integrity.Ayli Klein, the law society’s counsel, said Carpay and Cameron’s actions brought the administration of justice into disrepute and that banning them from practising was the most serious penalty available.  Lawyers for the two men say they never meant to interfere with a case before the courts. Both men represented several churches that attempted in 2021 to overturn Manitoba public health orders that prevented in-person religious services during the heigh...

Quebec community mourns four family members killed in home construction accident

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

MONTREAL — A rural community in Quebec’s Bas-St-Laurent region was in mourning on Monday after four family members died in a tragic home construction accident over the weekend.Investigators said two men and two women were atop a scissor lift on Saturday in St-Léandre, Que., when the device toppled for an unknown reason.Sixty-year-old Marco Roy and 53-year-old Jocelyne Bouchard were killed, as were 27-year-old Émerik Chenard and 24-year-old Kim Blouin.Police said the older two victims came from Rivière-du-Loup, 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City, and that the younger two were from St-Léandre, a town of less than 400 people, about 400 kilometres northeast of the provincial capital.St-Léandre Mayor Steve Castonguay said on Facebook that the entire town is in shock and is mourning the victims.“There are no words to express the pain of this tragedy that takes our breath away,” the mayor’s message said.“The municipality of St-Léandre is in shock. We can ...

John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF and co-founded Adobe Systems, dies at age 82

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF and co-founded Adobe Systems, has died. He was 82.The Silicon Valley entrepreneur and computer scientist died Saturday surrounded by family, Adobe said in a statement. The company didn’t give a cause of death or say where Warnock died.“John’s brilliance and innovations left an indelible mark on Adobe, the technology industry and the world,” Adobe said.Warnock worked for Xerox before he and colleague Charles Geschke created a company around a rejected idea in 1982. Nearly a decade later, Warnock outlined an early version of the Portable Document Format, or PDF, transforming the way documents are exchanged. Originally from the Salt Lake City suburb of Holladay, Warnock described himself as an average student who later flourished in mathematics. He earned an undergraduate in math and doctorate in electrical engineering, or computer science, from the University of Utah and maintained close ties with his home state after...

Putin was meant to be at a summit in South Africa this week. Why was he asked to stay away?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call. The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.Here’s what is expected when the group of emerging economies holds three days of meetings starting Tuesday in South Africa’s biggest city and financial hub.PUTIN DIALS INAll the leaders from the BRICS countries traditionally attend its summits, and Chinese Premier Xi Jinping is making a rare trip overseas to be at the bloc’s first in-person summit since before the COVID-19 pandemic.But Putin’s indictment by the International Criminal Court in March charging him with war crimes over the removal of child...

Music Review: Turnpike Troubadours back after extended hiatus with resilience – and gratitude

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Turnpike Troubadours, “A Cat in the Rain” (Bossier City Records/Thirty Tigers)When a band steps aside just as it appears to be peaking, it sets itself up for a unique challenge. That’s what the Turnpike Troubadours did a few years ago, taking a hiatus to deal with personal challenges after their first five albums had turned them from an Oklahoma roadhouse band into a phenomenon. But the Troubadours are back with “A Cat in the Rain,” their first new album since 2017. And they’ve returned with the kind of ferocity that feels destined to put them right back on that long-term upward trajectory.The album combines the Troubadours’ signature blend of country and rock — the tight sound built around the plaintive singing and vulnerable lyrics of front-man Evan Felker — with a new message of resilience and gratitude. The fresh material will only endear them to their extremely devoted fans, and it’s compelling enough to introduce a really good ba...

Cyprus rescues 115 Syrian migrants aboard 3 separate boats over the last three days

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:01:35 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Cyprus police on Monday rescued 18 Syrian migrants after their boat started taking on water some 3.5 miles off the Mediterranean island nation’s southeastern coast.Police said the 11 men, three unescorted minors, one woman and her three children had set sail from Tartus, Syria and were brought ashore aboard a police patrol vessel.State-run Cyprus News Agency reported that the woman and her children were taken to the hospital after one of the kids had fainted. The migrants’ boat reportedly sank.The remaining 14 migrants were taken to a reception center on the western fringes of the capital, Nicosia. A 23-year-old man was taken into custody on suspicion of facilitating illegal entry, police said.The latest rescue comes after police rescued another 97 Syrian migrants aboard two boats over the last 72 hours.Police said they intercepted on Sunday a 40-foot boat with 57 men, six women and 23 children aboard some 14 miles off the island’s southeastern coast. All 86 p...