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Kimberly Palmer: How to use a tax refund to fight inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

If inflation has eaten away at your budget the way waves erode a beach, then your tax refund might just provide a much-needed protective barrier.As of March, prices are up 6% over the past 12 months, according to the most recent consumer price index. At the same time, just over half of filers (55%) are expecting tax refunds for the 2022 tax year, with an average expected refund of $2,205, according to the 2023 Nerdwallet Tax Report. Financial experts say consumers can use that windfall — which is really just a delayed paycheck that you already earned — to help offset the strain of those higher prices.“Tax refunds are going to arrive at just the right time for many consumers this spring,” says Drew Wessell, a certified financial planner at Fiduciary Financial Advisors in Grand Rapids, Michigan.UNLOAD HIGH-INTEREST DEBTWith rising interest rates, variable-rate debt becomes more expensive — including credit cards. That’s why many financial experts put paying off debt at the top of the ...

Remembering author, writer and friend of the WGN Morning News Bill Zehme

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

WGN Morning News is remembering a longtime friend who has died.Bill Zehme was everyone's friend, including some of the biggest names in show business.  A frequent and favorite guest on WGN, Zehme died Sunday succumbing to his 10-year battle with colorectal cancer.A brilliant writer and even better friend, Zehme  was a kid from the South Side who was able to get interviews no one else could get, but every time, bringing sides of his interview subjects out that no one else could do.  He wrote for Esquire Playboy, Vanity Faire, Rolling Stone, Chicago magazine and the Chicago Tribune. He wrote a great Sunday Magazine piece on the retirement of Bob Bell as WGN’s Bozo.   He was a big fan.   Some of his crowning achievements included scoring a rare interview with Frank Sinatra and writing the book "The Way You Wear Your Hat."  He did pieces on David Letterman and more books on comedian Andy Kaufman, Regis Philbin and Jay Leno.He also g...

Pandemic 3 years later: Has the COVID-19 virus won?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

On the third anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still spreading and the death toll is nearing 7 million worldwide. Yet most people have resumed their normal lives, thanks to a wall of immunity built from infections and vaccines.The virus appears here to stay, along with the threat of a more dangerous version sweeping the planet.“New variants emerging anywhere threaten us everywhere,” said virus researcher Thomas Friedrich of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “Maybe that will help people to understand how connected we are.”With information sources drying up, it has become harder to keep tabs on the pandemic. Johns Hopkins University on Friday shut down its trusted tracker, which it started soon after the virus emerged in China and spread worldwide.Saturday marks three years since the World Health Organization first called the outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and the United Nation's health organization says it's not yet ready ...

Schumer wants DEA team deployed to tri-state area to fight rising threat of 'tranq'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

NEW YORK (WPIX) -- Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer is calling on the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to send a specialized team of experts to the tri-state area to address the increasing threat of xylazine, also known as "tranq." The veterinary sedative has started to saturate street drugs in New York City and on Long Island. “Xylazine is dangerous, it’s deadly, and it’s here,” said Schumer. "It’s a deadly, skin-rotting zombie drug that evil drug dealers are now mixing with fentanyl, heroin and other drugs." Last week, the DEA issued a rare public safety alert about the widespread threat of fentanyl mixed with xylazine, which places users at a higher risk of a deadly overdose. The administration claims Mexican cartels source the drug from China and then bring it into the United States.Schumer is proposing a two-part plan. The first part asks for more federal dollars to help fund law enforcement, substance abuse treatment and mental health services. ‘Tranq’ turns ...

Greenland staying in daylight saving time permanently

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Residents of Greenland have switched to daylight saving time and moved their clocks one hour forward this weekend for the very last time.Unlike most of Europe, Greenlanders will leave their clocks untouched come autumn when daylight saving time ends. While Europe and the U.S. debate whether to stick to the twice-yearly practice, Greenland -- a vast Danish semi-independent territory in the Arctic -- has resolved to perennially remain only three hours behind Copenhagen and most other European countries instead of four.Greenland's parliament, Inatsisartut, voted to stick to daylight saving time year-round on Nov. 24 last year. Officials say it will give Greenlanders another hour of daylight in the afternoons and more time to do business with Europe and farther afield.“The shift of time zone marks an exciting new beginning, an equal connection to North America and Europe, and an opportunity to slow down in a fast-paced world,” Visit Greenland, the local govern...

1 migrant found dead in train boxcar, 3 hospitalized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

(The Hill) -- One migrant was found dead and three others were taken to a nearby medical facility after being found train boxcar in Eagle Pass, Texas over the weekend. It was the second time in two days that authorities discovered migrants trapped in a train car in the Lone Star state. Two migrants died and ten others were hospitalized on Friday after police in Uvalde responded to a tip about numerous undocumented immigrants suffocating inside of a train car. On Saturday, U.S. Border Patrol agents searched a boxcar in a Union Pacific railyard in Eagle Pass after one of the individuals in the car called 911.  As US fentanyl deaths jump, GOP casts blame at the border In a statement to The Hill, Union Pacific said that the U.S. Border Patrol notified them that it found 12 individuals in a company boxcar.“Union Pacific is deeply saddened by this incident. Our commitment to safety and to guarding human life is central to who we are as a company and as people,” the company s...

Georgetown collects over 120,000 cubic yards of tree debris

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

GEORGETOWN (KXAN) — It’s been almost two months since the 2023 ice storm swept through Central Texas.Many residents in the region were stuck without electricity for several days, as the severe storm tore apart tons of trees and power lines.In Georgetown, the cleanup effort is still underway every day. City officials say they’ve collected nearly 120,000 cubic yards of tree debris.Jack Daly, assistant public works director for the City of Georgetown, says the magnitude of damage from this storm is much more than what they witnessed in 2021. How Williamson County is paying for ice storm cleanup “During the winter storm of 2021, we had 30,000 cubic yards of debris from that storm,” he said. “We think we'll have five to six times as much debris from this storm.”All the tree debris has been placed into large piles at the TDS Georgetown Transfer Station.It’s been a month since the City of Georgetown hired a third-party contractor, Global Emergency Services, to assist with the curbside co...

Traffic: How to get around CMT Awards in Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Giddy up, the 2023 CMT Music Awards are in Austin this week! Country music fans and artists will be in the capital city for the 2023 award show. The show will air live from the Moody Center on Sunday, April 2. If you're planning to attend the show or the events leading up, or want to avoid event traffic, here are the traffic closures you'll want to look out for.10th Street closed from Colorado Street to Brazos StreetStarting Monday, March 27 at 12:01 a.m., set to reopen Monday, April 3 at 6 a.m.Congress Avenue closed from 8th Street to 11th StreetStarting Monday, March 27 at 12:01 a.m., set to reopen Monday, April 3 at 6 a.m.Colorado Street closed from 9th Street to 10th StreetStarting Monday, March 27 at 12:01 a.m., set to reopen Monday, April 3 at 6 a.m.9th Street closed from Colorado Street to Brazos Street Starting Monday, March 27 at 12:01 a.m., set to reopen Monday, April 3 at 6 a.m.11th Street closed from Colorado Street to San Jacinto BoulvardStarting Wednesd...

At 100, St. Paul WWII vet Gordon Kirk ‘still trying to be of assistance to others’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

There were four generations of Gordon Kirks at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church on Sunday morning.The eldest Gordon Kirk celebrated his 100th birthday last week, and his grandson, great-grandson and great-great-grandson joined about two dozen parishioners in the church’s basement after the 10 a.m. service to mark their namesake’s milestone.“I guess I’m just one of the lucky ones,” Kirk said of his longevity. “I’ve been blessed. I mean, I’m the first Kirk to ever reach 100 years old. Dad died at 99, mother died at 94.”St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz both issued proclamations last week recognizing the World War II veteran’s service to his city and state.Kirk has spent much of his long life helping others. Holy Trinity parishioner Paula Mitchell described Kirk as a pillar of the community.“We could always depend on him,” she said Sunday. “At 100 years old, he’s still trying to be of assi...

Troy man accused of storage unit burglary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:57 GMT

MALTA, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Troy man was arrested for allegedly burglarizing a storage unit in Malta. Michael Fox, 37, is charged with third-degree burglary. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! On February 14, New York State Police got a complaint about a storage unit in Malta that was broken into and had multiple items stolen. Through investigation, police identified Fox as a suspect and found he was one of a few that entered the storage facility without being authorized, broke the lock on the unit, and took items that weren't his.Fox was arrested on a warrant. On Thursday, he was taken from the Saratoga County Correctional Facility, where he was being held on unrelated matters, and processed at Saratoga State Police. He was arraigned at the Malta Town Court and taken back to the Saratoga County Correctional Facility without bail.