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It’s time to buy health insurance through the marketplace. Experts suggest doing your research first

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

It’s time to pick health coverage for next year on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance marketplaces, and experts caution against focusing your choice on price alone.In order to prevent thousands of dollars in financial surprises, buyers should know what a plan covers, how it works and what costs you may have to pay upfront for care. An annual enrollment window starts Wednesday and runs into December for Americans looking to buy individual coverage that begins Jan. 1. You’re eligible if you don’t have coverage through work, Medicare or Medicaid. The marketplaces saw record enrollment of more than 16 million for this year. Officials expect business to be brisk again for 2024 plans partially because people have been losing Medicaid coverage that they kept through the COVID-19 pandemic.Here are some things to consider when assessing marketplace plans. Tax creditsThe marketplaces offer plans with a range of premiums, which is the cost of coverage. They are grouped into platin...

Sidewalk plaques commemorating Romans deported by Nazis are vandalized in Italian capital

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

ROME (AP) — Italian politicians and Jewish leaders have condemned the vandalizing this week of four tiny memorial plaques embedded in sidewalks in front of apartment buildings where Roman Jews were living when they were deported from the Nazi-occupied city in 1944 and sent to their deaths in Auschwitz. A woman passing by Tuesday on one sidewalk in the Trastevere neighborhood known for its nightlife noticed the blackening of two side-by-side plaques. The markers name the residents and cite the date the two were hustled away during the German occupation of Rome in the last years of World War II. Two other plaques were also vandalized in apparent acts of antisemitism on a nearby block outside the building where two other deportees lived. “I hope that unfortunately what is happening in other European countries, particularly in Paris, isn’t being repeated by us,’’ said Victor Fadlun, who is president of the Jewish Community of Rome. He was referring to the discovery of anti-Jewish graffi...

Teachers kick off strike in Portland, Oregon, over class sizes, pay and resources

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Teachers in Portland, Oregon, walked off the job on Wednesday for the first day of a strike that will shutter schools for some 45,000 students in Oregon’s largest city.Concerns over large class sizes, salaries that haven’t kept up with inflation and a lack of resources prompted the strike, one of the latest signs of a growing organized labor movement in the U.S. that’s seen thousands of workers in various sectors take to the picket lines this year.The Portland Association of Teachers, which represents more than 4,000 educators, said it was the first-ever teacher’s strike in the school district. The union has been bargaining with the district for months for a new contract after its previous one expired in June. Portland Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.Schools are closed and there is no classroom or online instruction during the strike.Mike Bauer, a union representative and speci...

80-foot Norway spruce gets the nod as Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, will be cut down next week

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — An 80-foot-tall (24-meter) Norway spruce from the Binghamton area has been selected as this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and will be cut down and trucked to New York City next week, Rockefeller Center officials announced Wednesday.The tree will be cut on Nov. 9 in Vestal, New York, and will arrive at Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan on Nov. 11, the officials said.After it’s wrapped in more than 50,000 lights and crowned with a star, the tree will be lighted during a live television broadcast on Nov. 29. It will be on display until Jan. 13, 2024.The Rockefeller Center tree is one of New York City’s most popular holiday attractions, drawing throngs of admirers every year.Vestal is about 190 miles (306 kilometers) northwest of New York City.The Associated Press

Kenya is raising passenger fares on a Chinese-built train as it struggles to repay record debts

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya announced Wednesday a sharp increase in passenger fares on the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway as the country struggles with repaying loans owed to Beijing and others along with higher fuel prices.State-owned Kenya Railways said in a statement that the 470-kilometer (290-mile) journey between the port city of Mombasa and the capital, Nairobi, will cost around $30 in first class, up from $19, and $10 in economy, up from $6.Kenya Railways cited the global rise in fuel prices: “This increase is informed by changes in the energy and petroleum sector, where prices of fuel have significantly increased, thus affecting the cost of our operations.”Wednesday’s announcement came days after Kenya’s central bank governor, Kamau Thugge, said the Kenyan shilling had for years been overvalued by 25%, which “ led the country to maintain an artificially strong exchange rate.”Two weeks ago President William Ruto was in China, where he sought a $1 billion loan to ...

Bears fire an assistant coach on Wednesday ahead of Saints' game

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — For a second time during the 2023 regular season, a change is coming to the Bears' coaching staff.This time, it's the firing of their running backs coach.The Bears have let go of David Walker after a year-and-a-half with the team, head coach Matt Ebeflus confirmed at his news conference on Wednesday. It comes ahead of the team's Week 9 game against the Saints in New Orleans on Sunday at Noon. Omar Young, who has worked with the wide receivers and quarterbacks this season, will take over Walker's duties with the running backs."As a head coach, we are building a program and have standards to uphold to as a staff and organization both on and off the field," said Eberflus, who said he had the support of team president and CEO Kevin Warren, general manager Ryan Poles, and ownership to fire Walker. "Those standards were not met."This move occurred a month and a half after defensive coordinator Alan Williams abruptly resigned on September 20. Per a report from Adam Sche...

Car stolen with 1-year-old inside on Southwest Side; child found safe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

CHICAGO — Police are searching for a man who stole a vehicle with a toddler inside on the city's Southwest Side.The incident happened around 12:54 a.m. Wednesday in the 7100 block of South Western Avenue. Police said a man entered a vehicle that was left running and drove off in it.According to police, a 1-year-old child was inside the vehicle at the time it was stolen.The vehicle was recovered a short time later in the 6900 block of South Maplewood with the child safely inside.The child was transported to Comer Children's Hospital for evaluation. 2 arrested in attempted crash and grab at retail store on West Side No one is in custody. Area One Detectives are investigating.

Jeff 'The Roastmaster General' Ross returns to Chicago

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

CHICAGO — He's a friend of the WGN Morning News having done one of his trademark shows at the expense of our anchors a number of years ago in the studio.On Wednesday, the "Roastmaster General" was back on Channel 9 to talk about his upcoming show in the area. Jeff Ross will be hosting his one-man show "Take a Banana for the Ride" at Park West at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night as her performs for the audience for just a single night in Chicago. Before that, the comedian decided to stop by the WGN Morning News to discuss the show along with other aspects of his career with Larry Potash and Robin Baumgarten. You can watch Jeff's segment on the November 1 show in the video above.Love the WGN Morning News? We love you, too. And you can have all the hijinks delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Sign up and subscribe to our WGN Morning News newsletter.

Don't trash your pumpkins. Do this instead

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — After the sunny fall weather leaves and the cold and snow move in, the pumpkin on your front porch might not be doing so well. Before trash day arrives, make sure you consider how to properly dispose of your pumpkins.Instead of just throwing your pumpkin in the trash, there are plenty of sustainable ways to reuse a pumpkin, including cooking with it or planting it. You can watch a thousand-pound pumpkin get carved on Halloween If you are indeed ready to say goodbye to your pumpkin, though, don't just let it rot on your porch after Halloween. Instead, follow these eco-friendly practices. How to throw out your pumpkinsDo'sCompostThe National Wildlife Federation recommends composting the pumpkin. You can do this by cutting it up into pieces and leaving it in a composting area in your yard. Covering with leaves allows the nutrients to soak into the soil. Local composting programs are also available throughout the country. Donate them to ranchesLocal ranches will take ...

Terri Hemmert celebrates 50 years on WXRT

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:16:26 GMT

Friday, November 3rd marks five decades of Terri Hemmert on Chicago's Very Own 93WXRT FM.She's celebrating the big anniversary with a weekend of events, both on air and across the city.