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Patients with neurodegenerative diseases turn to pingpong for rehabilitation. Scientists are paying attention.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

Mark Lauterbach was leaving a brewery in Fort Collins earlier this year when he found himself being pelted by hail. Instinctively, he took off running toward his car.When he made it, he burst into tears.“I felt like Forrest Gump,” Lauterbach said. “I ran, and I just cried. It’s been incredible.”The 58-year-old, diagnosed with multiple sclerosis eight years ago, thought his running days were long over. But playing pingpong, he said, had brought back the gift of running.Lauterbach credits table tennis for a vast improvement in his overall mobility. The Colorado-based NeuroPong program he participates in is now being researched by scientists investigating the link between neurodegenerative conditions and the game often associated with parents’ basements.After his diagnosis, Lauterbach dealt with neuropathy along the right side of his body that rendered the movement of his arm, hand, leg and foot difficult. He developed balance problems and could no longer run or ride his bike around Fo...

Why this economist says the Fed misread rent inflation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

Rent hikes soared into the double-digits in mid-2021, but the Federal Reserve didn’t start raising interest rates until a year later.Ed Coulson, director of the Center for Real Estate at UC Irvine, believes the Fed should have acted sooner. And because rent is now leveling off, he thinks the Fed should halt future interest rate hikes.Rent inflation plays an outsized role in determining the overall rate of inflation, the housing economist said. And the government’s method for measuring it is off-kilter, causing the Fed to misinterpret an important metric in the Consumer Price Index.We asked Coulson to explain his reasoning and to share other insights about the housing market. His comments have been edited for space.Q: You believe the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ method of measuring rent inflation is flawed. Why is that, and why is it important?A: The Fed’s policy is driven by their perceptions of inflation. And I argue with some co-authors that that perception is incorrect. And the re...

What the Chicago White Sox’s signing of shortstop Paul DeJong could mean for the team’s defensive improvement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

Paul DeJong ranks among the top 20 shortstops in several major-league defensive categories since 2018.The Chicago White Sox have been searching for steady gloves up the middle, and they officially added to that collection Tuesday by signing DeJong to a one-year, $1.75 million contract. Reports of the deal first surfaced Nov. 21.DeJong, who went to Antioch High School and Illinois State, has a .229/.299/.417 career slash line with 120 doubles, 116 home runs, 344 RBIs and 341 runs in 729 games during seven seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals (2017-23), Toronto Blue Jays (2023) and San Francisco Giants (2023).He had a combined .207 average with 13 doubles, 14 home runs, 38 RBIs and 41 runs in 112 games between the Cardinals, Blue Jays and Giants in 2023.The Cardinals traded DeJong to the Blue Jays on Aug. 1. He was released Aug. 21, signed with the Giants on Aug. 23 and released again Sept. 21.DeJong, 30, finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting in 2017 after slash...

Israel says 12 more hostages have been freed by Hamas and have arrived in Egypt

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

By WAFAA SHURAFA, JACK JEFFERY and LEE KEATH (Associated Press)DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fragile truce between Israel and Hamas held for a fifth day Tuesday, as the terrorist group released more hostages to delay the expected resumption of the war. Israel came under pressure from the United States to better protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza if its offensive resumes.The latest swap of hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel got underway Tuesday evening. Israel said 10 of its citizens and two foreigners were freed by Hamas and had entered Egypt.Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.Mediators met in Qatar to try to extend the cease-fire beyond Wednesday. For the first time since it began, Israel and Hamas traded accusations of a serious violation with an exchange of fire between troops and fighters in northern Gaza.But there was no indication that it would endanger the truce or the planned exchan...

5 credit card rewards pitfalls to avoid this holiday season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

By Craig Joseph | NerdWalletGrab your wallet because the busiest time of the year for spending is upon us. Despite persistent inflation and dwindling household savings, shoppers are planning to drop up to an estimated $967 billion during this holiday season, a November 2023 study by the National Retail Federation shows.The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in a 2023 report, estimates that 74% of adults in the U.S. had a credit card account in their name as of the end of 2021. And a 2023 NerdWallet survey found that nearly 3 in 4 Americans (74%) are planning to use their card to pay for holiday expenses.If you’re sitting on a stash of points or miles, you may be tempted to use them to offset holiday purchases. And when you’re trying to stick to a holiday budget, this can seem like a great idea. It may not provide an optimal value, but many people aren’t trying to wring the most out of every point. And that’s OK. If you’re responsible with your credit and using your rewards ...

Justin Fields delivers late for Chicago Bears. Brad Biggs’ 10 thoughts on the win — their 1st vs. an NFC North foe in more than 2 years.

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

10 thoughts on the Chicago Bears after their first win against an NFC North foe under coach Matt Eberflus and their first overall in the division since Nov. 25, 2021 — more than two years ago.You can’t make any sweeping conclusions from the result Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium after Cairo Santos’ 30-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining lifted the Bears to a 12-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings — especially if you’re resisting weekly referendums on the coach, the quarterback and others. But, boy, everyone involved needed this outcome.1. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell was asked about the conservative approach at the end, and second-guessing the play caller is one of the first orders of business after a loss.The Vikings had just produced their second takeaway in a little more than six minutes of the fourth quarter when safety Josh Metellus stripped quarterback Justin Fields and linebacker Anthony Barr recovered on the Bears 43-yard line.T...

Pope cancels trip to Dubai for UN climate conference on doctors’ orders while recovering from flu

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

By NICOLE WINFIELD (Associated Press)VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis canceled his trip to Dubai for the U.N. climate conference on doctors’ orders Tuesday, even though he is recovering from the flu and lung inflammation, the Vatican said.Francis, who turns 87 next month, was scheduled to leave Rome on Friday to address the COP28 meeting first thing Saturday morning. He also was supposed to inaugurate a faith pavilion Sunday on the sidelines of the conference before returning home. The pope revealed Sunday that he had lung inflammation but said at the time that he still planned to go to Dubai, where he was to become the first pontiff to address a U.N. climate conference. Care for the environment has been a priority for Francis, and presidents and patriarchs alike have welcomed his moral leadership on the issue.Until the announcement late Tuesday, all of the information from the Vatican indicated the trip would proceed. The Vatican spokesman held his traditional pre-trip ...

Hunter Biden tells Congress he’d testify publicly, setting up a potential high-stakes face-off

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Hunter Biden offered Tuesday to testify publicly before Congress, striking a defiant note in response to a subpoena from Republicans and setting up a potential high-stakes face-off even as a special counsel probe unfolds and his father, President Joe Biden, campaigns for reelection.The Democratic president’s son slammed the subpoena’s request for closed-door testimony, saying it could be manipulated. But Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, stood firm, saying Republicans expect “full cooperation” with their original demand for a deposition.Hunter Biden’s lawyer called the inquiry a “fishing expedition,” a response in line with the more aggressive legal approach he’s taken in recent months as congressional Republicans pursue an impeachment inquiry seeking to tie his father to his business dealings. The early-November subpoenas to Hunt...

Massachusetts unveils new strategy to help coastal communities cope with climate change

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey unveiled a new strategy Tuesday that she said will help the state’s 78 coastal communities work together to better cope with the challenges brought on by climate change.One element of the “ResilientCoasts” initiative is grouping distinct geographic regions that share similar landscape characteristics and face similar climate hazards, dubbed “coastal resilience districts.” Massachusetts has more than 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) of coastline that spans salt marshes, beaches, rocky shores, dunes, ports and harbors, as well as residential and commercial areas.The program’s goal is to help the communities within each district come up with tailored policies and strategies to address the impacts of climate change, and to pursue federal funds.Other goals of the strategy announced Tuesday include creating nature-based solutions for coastal erosion — including flood protection — nstreamlining the permitting process, and making sure ...

Fake AI-generated woman on tech conference agenda leads Microsoft and Amazon execs to drop out

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:53:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Tech executives at Microsoft and Amazon have dropped out of an upcoming software conference after at least one of the women on the agenda turned out to be fake.DevTernity organizer Eduards Sizovs admitted on social media that one of the featured speakers was an “auto-generated” woman with a fake title. He was responding to allegations about a number of suspicious profiles on his conference websites that appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence.But he denied that the fake profile was intended to mask the “worse-than-expected level of diversity of speakers” in this year’s lineup and refused to apologize in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter. He didn’t respond to emailed requests for comment Monday.The revelation led other speakers to quickly drop out of the virtual conference that was supposed to start on Dec. 7.“I found out that I was the only woman on the agenda, and some of the others advertised may not be real,” said Amazon Web Services...