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Belsito: Technology can help reduce maternal mortality rate

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

Every mother knows that pregnancy is a full-time job. Expectant mothers make over two dozen trips to their health provider, navigate a maze of health insurance hurdles, make financial plans for their growing family, and prepare as best as they can for a physical, mental and lifestyle change.  While pregnancy is exciting for many, the costs and time commitment it requires can be overwhelming.For some women, mental health challenges can make it even harder. I learned this firsthand. Now, I’m an advocate for maternal mental health during and after pregnancy.The United States has the highest rate of maternal mortality in the industrialized world.  According to a study done by the Commonwealth Fund in 2022, 66% of these deaths are preventable. Women of color are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women.  These statistics are staggering.It doesn’t have to be this way.The United States is home to the most robust health care system in the world, a...

Serve up the fresh flavors of spring with these recipes

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

This is the time of year when people can’t wait to shed their heavy winter coats and head outside to look for the many signs of spring.What we want to see is green. After so many months of cold and dreary weather, green grass and blossoming trees are proof positive that the tide is turning and that our yards and gardens are (finally) coming back to life.Spring also brightens up menus with tender, seasonal veggies and fresh flavors.TAG GOES HERESpinach PestoINGREDIENTSFor pasta1 pound spaghetti, or other pasta of choice2 teaspoons kosher saltExtra Parmesan, shaved or shredded, to serveBaby spinach, to serveToasted pine nuts, to serveFor pesto4 tightly packed cups baby spinach leaves1 teaspoon finely minced garlic1/2 cup toasted pine nuts1/2 tightly packed cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt1/4 teaspoon black pepper1 teaspoon lemon zest3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oilDIRECTIONSMake pesto: Place all ingredients except oil int...

Moore: The left has killed America’s great cities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

Mark down Tuesday, April 4, as the night Chicago died.That’s when we learned that Second City voters narrowly elected Brandon Johnson as their next mayor. This is a city that was flattened during the reign of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Lightfoot, elected in 2019 after a career as a federal prosecutor who then held several appointed positions in Chicago, shut down the city for more than a year during COVID-19. She also bankrupted small businesses, allowed rioters to burn down whole neighborhoods, presided over the worst crime wave in 50 years and let the schools go to hell.Now, the voters have selected Johnson. Elected to the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 2018, Johnson narrowly won the mayoralty of America’s third-most-populous city on April 4 over Paul Vallas, a former Chicago schools CEO and a Democrat who presented himself as a political moderate compared to the far-left Johnson.The incoming mayor may turn out to be a worse mayor than Lightfoot. Johnson’s occu...

Upgrade breakfast with DIY toaster pastries

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

Is there any more memorable and cherished taste from childhood than a Pop-Tart?The sugary toaster pastries have been an iconic grab-and-go breakfast food since Kellogg Co. introduced them in the 1960s, probably because they taste more like a dessert than a healthy way to start your day. They’re even more of a guilty pleasure when you make them from scratch.This recipe comes from Pittsburgh-based recipe developer Michelle Lettrich, the voice behind the food blog Brown Eyed Baker. It’s a winner because it’s relatively easy for even non-bakers to follow and the end result is incredibly tasty.The key to a great pastry dough is to start with super chilled ingredients, so be sure to use very cold butter and ice-cold water. Also beware of overworking the dough (that makes it tough) or adding too much filling between the layers.While this recipe calls for a homemade strawberry filling, feel free to get creative with other fillings such as Nutella, cinnamon brown sugar and ...

Dear Abby: Old flames rekindle spark – but 1 is married

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

Dear Abby: After being divorced for 18 years, I have reconnected with my high school sweetheart. She got in touch with me, and we started talking and seeing each other. She says she loves me, and to be honest, I love her, too. The problem is, she’s married. She has grown kids and is raising her 8-year-old granddaughter. She says she’s sorry about what happened to us years ago and that she and her husband have had nothing in common for the past 16 years. They sleep in separate rooms and don’t do anything as a family.I know it was wrong to get involved with her because she’s married. I asked her why now and why me. She said it’s because she never stopped loving me and had tried to find me in the past. (I work in construction and have been in different places over the years.) I told her I don’t want to break up her home, but she insisted that she’s not happy. She told me that a few years ago she moved out but returned because of the granddaught...

Sting to make San Diego stop on world tour

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Musical icon Sting is bringing his world tour to San Diego.The 17-time Grammy Award winner will head to San Diego on Oct. 4 as part of his My Songs World Tour.The show will take place at the Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre, located on the San Diego State University campus.The San Diego show is among 10 newly-announced shows that will make up the first North American leg of the world tour. More additional cities and dates are expected to be announced soon, according to Live Nation.General sale tickets for the San Diego show and other newly announced dates will go on sale Friday, April 14 at 10 a.m. and can be purchased here. Depeche Mode adds 2nd San Diego show Pre-sale tickets for members of Sting's Fan Club will be available starting on Wednesday, April 12. VIP packages will also be available for purchase here when ticket sales go live.Known for his music as both a solo artist and as lead singer of The Police, fans can expect to hear some of Sting's timeless ...

Who is in running to take Nathan Fletcher's District 4 seat?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- With Nathan Fletcher resigning from his San Diego County Board of Supervisor District Four seat and pulling his name out of the race for State Senate, the future of two political seats are in limbo. "Just a few weeks ago, when people looked at Nathan Fletcher and Lorena Gonzalez, they saw an untouchable power couple, they saw Nathan Fletcher as the heir apparent to the governorship and even the presidency," said Amy Reichert, who ran against Fletcher in November.However, Janessa Goldbeck already announced her candidacy for the District Four seat in February, with the assumption that Fletcher was a shoo-in for Toni Atkins' Senate seat. While her timeline was moved up from a 2026 race, to likely this year, she is remaining ready to take the position if elected, or appointed."I announced that I was running in February because I want to lead and be in this seat, whether or not it goes to an appointment process or an election, I'm ready, I'm ready to jump in, I'm ready to le...

Video: Fiesta Island covered in blooms

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Spring is in full swing at Fiesta Island.A historically wet winter in California has caused wildflowers to sprout all over San Diego and the rest of the state.The heavy rainfall has seen large stretches of wildflowers bloom all at once, offering the chance for breathtaking photo and video opportunities. The best places to see the superbloom in California FOX 5 videographer Aaron Eudaley took advantage of one of these opportunities at Fiesta Island in Mission Bay, capturing drone footage that showed the popular beach destination covered in gorgeous flowers.You can watch the beautiful drone footage in the video player above.The flowers at Fiesta Island are reminiscent of the superbloom phenomenon currently being experienced across the state of California.Visitors are flocking to various state parks up and down California to catch a glimpse of the superbloom, including at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park in the northeastern corner of San Diego County. Coastal fog contribu...

Residents flee as cyclone approaches northwest Australia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

PERTH, Australia (AP) — Miners, cattle ranchers, tourists and Indigenous locals were evacuating from Australia’s remote northwest coast on Wednesday as an intensifying tropical cyclone approached.Cyclone Ilsa is expected to peak as a Category 4 storm as it crosses the sparsely populated Pilbara coast of Western Australia state somewhere between the iron ore export town of Port Hedland in the west and the tourist town of Broome in the east late Thursday or early Friday, Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology said.“Any areas … where that system does cross the coast are going to experience some very destructive winds, winds in excess of 200 kph (124 mph). They’re going to cause a lot of damage,” bureau manager Todd Smith told reporters.Abnormally high tides, large waves and flooding were possible, and people should avoid coastal and low-lying areas, Smith warned.Ilsa could be the most powerful cyclone to cross the Pilbara coast since Cyclone Christine, a Category 4 storm that struck l...

In Kerala, an aging trend bucks India’s booming population

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:52 GMT

KOCHI, India (AP) — When 82-year-old Vasanthi Baby almost tripped while climbing down the stairs in her home in southern India’s Kerala state, she decided, along with her 84-year-old husband V. Baby, to move to an assisted living center. The couple are two of a growing number of people in India’s only aging state that are moving into assisted living centers. They’re happy with the care they receive: round-the-clock access to nurses, the reassuring company of their own generation and healthy, regular meals. “There is a feeling of safety we can only get here,” V. Baby said. “We cannot get this at home.”Like millions of others in the region, Baby, a retired math professor, spent his life savings building a two-floor multi-bedroom home. It was meant to last generations: their son Sony was supposed to have and grow his family here, but he emigrated to the United Arab Emirates for work and a better quality of life. In the past 60 years, the percentage of people age 60 an...