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Loneliness and social isolation linked with a higher risk of early death, study finds

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

(CNN) — If you’re lonely or socially isolated, you might have a higher risk of early death, according to a large new study.There have been many studies on the associations between social isolation, loneliness and the risk of dying early, but some results have been controversial or mixed, according to the paper published Monday in the journal Nature Human Behaviour. Those conflicting results could be due to research only focusing on a specific group or region, said Turhan Canli, a professor at Stony Brook University in New York state. Canli wasn’t involved in the study.The new paper, however, is a meta-analysis of 90 studies that had examined the links between loneliness, social isolation and early death among more than 2 million adults. Study participants were followed for anywhere from six months to 25 years.People who experienced social isolation had a 32% higher risk of dying early from any cause compared with those who weren’t socially isolated. Participants who report...

‘50 Pies, 50 States’ cookbook author ponders pies, dreams and streusel swirl

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Baking is a great metaphor for a well-lived life. You take ingredients, sometimes from far-flung places, combine them with care and make something unique that ultimately tastes better shared with those you love.In her debut cookbook, “50 Pies, 50 States: An Immigrant’s Love Letter to the United States” (Voracious, $35), Brooklyn pie queen Stacey Mei Yan Fong has written not just a recipe book, but a celebration of her adopted home, her life and all the people who have helped her along the way. It’s bursting with color, flavor, personal stories, and passion — and mouth-watering pie recipes.Stacey Mei Yan Fong’s new cookbook, “50 Pies, 50 States” (Copyright © 2023 by Stacey Mei Yan Fong. Photography by Alanna Hale. Food styling by Caitlin Haught Brown.)Perfect for a Fourth of July feast, each pie recipe in the book was created to represent a single state, with ingredients inspired by the place and its people, from Georgia’s Honey Peach Pie to Missouri’s Frozen Custard Pie with St. Lou...

Jonathan Eig wrote ‘King: A Life’ about Martin Luther King Jr. — the man this time, instead of the myth

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Christopher Borrelli | Chicago Tribune (TNS)CHICAGO — The air-conditioned tour bus with tinted windows stopped outside Bright Star Baptist Church in Bronzeville and out came several dozen congregants from the Anshe Emet Synagogue of Lakeview. They moved slowly up the sidewalk and concrete steps of the church. Before anyone reached the doors, welcomes erupted, like the clamor from a surprise party. “I assume you’re here for Jonathan Eig?” a Bright Star parishioner asked.“That’s right, and all this,” a grinning elderly woman said, waving at the growing line queuing up behind her to get in, “is what you would call the Jonathan Eig Fan Club.”They laughed.You would also call this a decent part of the congregation at Eig’s synagogue. They came here the other day because the North Side resident and acclaimed biographer was about to publish “King: A Life,” the first major biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in 40 years. Bright Star and Anshe Emet have had a kind of sister-congregation...

Obi Toppin is worth monitoring during trade season

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

The clock is starting in earnest on Obi Toppin.The power forward has wowed fans with his electric dunks, but remains on the end of any rotation featuring Julius Randle, leaving Toppin as one of the main Knicks to monitor as trade season approaches.Toppin, the eighth overall pick in 2020, is eligible for a contract extension before the season. If the sides don’t reach an agreement by the October deadline, Toppin becomes a restricted free agent next summer.Then the Knicks risk losing him for nothing, or a lot less than what could be retrieved in a trade before that point.It wouldn’t make sense for either side to sign a new contract as long as Toppin is Randle’s backup. With Randle’s workload consistently high, Toppin’s averages in minutes (15.7), points (7.4), rebounds (2.8), assists (1.0) and field-goal percentage (44.6%) all fell last season. On offense, the 25-year-old became more of a spot-up 3-point shooter with the reserves. A source said Toppin was...

Savvy Senior: Health insurance options after a spouse retires

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Dear Savvy Senior,My 63-year-old wife, who’s doesn’t work, is on my health insurance plan through my employer. When I retire next month and go on Medicare, what are our options for getting her health coverage until she turns 65? Is there some kind of Medicare coverage for dependent spouses?Need InsuranceDear Need,Unfortunately, Medicare does not provide family coverage to younger spouses or dependent children when you qualify for Medicare. Nobody can obtain Medicare benefits before age 65, unless eligible at a younger age because of disability. With that said, here are your best options for covering your wife:Affordable Care Act: In most cases, your best choice is to get your wife an individual health insurance policy through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance marketplace (a.k.a. Obamacare). The marketplace offers comprehensive health coverage, and she won’t be denied coverage or charged extra for preexisting health conditions.And thanks to the American Rescue Plan and I...

What you need to know about food tracking for health and good nutrition

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Food tracking is when you monitor your caloric intake in a journal or via a smartphone food-tracking app or website. It can be a useful tool to build healthful eating habits, reach weight goals, identify food sensitivities and improve overall nutritional intake.At the same time, there are important considerations to make when starting a food-tracking regimen.Here is what you need to know about food tracking before you add it to your nutrition and fitness routine:Popular food-tracking sites, which include MyFitnessPal, Chronometer and MyNetDiary, provide a database with a vast selection of foods and their nutritional facts. Most programs easily track calories and macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein and fat. Many food-tracking programs offer a free basic version and an option to enroll in a paid monthly or annual membership with a cost. While keeping a pen-and-paper food diary does not provide the nutrient data and other high-tech features of an app, this option is still beneficia...

Bruins sign goalie Brandon Bussi

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

The Bruins signed a goalie on Monday, just not the one many fans have been anticipating signing.While Jeremy Swayman remains a restricted free agent, the B’s inked Brandon Bussi to a one-year two-way deal worth an NHL cap hit of $775,000. Bussi will remain a restricted free agent with arbitrations when the deal expires next summer.The 24-year-old Busso, a 6-foot-5, 209 pound out of Sound Beach, New York native who signed with the B’s as a free agent out of Western Michigan in 2022, had an excellent first full pro season. With the Providence Bruins, he posted a 22-5-4 record with a .924 save percentage and 2.40 goals against average. While the P-Bruins dropped their opening round playoff series, Bussi’s numbers actually bumped up a touch as he had a .926 save percentage and and a 2.28 GAA in four games.Whether or not B’s management believes Bussi is ready for big league duty remains to be seen. While keeping Bussi in the fold made sense no matter what happens ...

Biden plans 4 fundraisers in San Francisco area as he revs up his 2024 campaign

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

By JOSH BOAK and ZEKE MILLER (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden ramps up his reelection effort this week with four fundraisers in the San Francisco area, as his campaign builds up its coffers and lays strategic foundations for 2024.In the back half of June, Biden’s campaign will have more than 20 fundraisers involving the president, Vice President Kamala Harris, first lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff, according to a person involved in Biden’s travel plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss the schedule.More than half of the fundraisers are with the Democratic president, who will also be traveling to New York, Maryland and Illinois. Biden hit the themes of his campaign at a Friday fundraising event in Connecticut, saying his goal is to do more to tell voters about his legislative accomplishments with infrastructure, computer chip production and programs for responding to climate change, among other policies.“There̵...

Glenview pediatric patient serves Chicago Cubs as honorary bat girl: ‘One of the best days of our life’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Last February, 10-year-old Mary Ahern fell seriously ill. The Glenview fourth grader was rushed to urgent care and then Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge, where she was diagnosed with life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis and Type 1 diabetes.After four long nights in the PICU, Ahern was released from the hospital and embarked on a lifelong journey of learning to manage and live with a serious medical condition. Type 1 diabetes patients have a pancreas which makes little to no insulin, which can cause high or low blood sugar readings that can damage to the body and cause the more serious complications associated with the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.“We had no idea and just overnight, we found out she was diabetic and it just kind of changes everything,” Anne Ahern, Mary’s mother, said. “It’s a disease that’s manageable but that you have to manage all day, every day.”In the last four mon...

Study highlights pregnancy-related deaths, domestic violence link

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:00 GMT

Roughly a third of pregnancy-associated deaths in Connecticut involved individuals who had experienced intimate partner violence at some point during their lives, according to a study released Wednesday by the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence that sheds new light on missed opportunities for intervention.The first-of-its-kind analysis of Connecticut maternal mortality data from 2015 to 2021 determined that among the 102 deaths that occurred during pregnancy or within one year after the end of pregnancy, 33 of the deceased had experienced intimate partner violence or IPV.Of those who died, eight endured abuse during pregnancy, nine encountered the abuse postpartum, and five faced abuse during both periods — yet the CCADV found that only one of these 22 individuals was referred to domestic violence services, despite the fact that 64% of the women screened positive for IPV in health care settings, some as many as five times.CCADV Director of Health Professional Outreach A...