AP

By Jazmine Knight With teacher shortages nationwide, schools nationwide are focusing on retention and recruitment. In St. Joseph, officials have been working on different strategies to attract and retain teachers. Some of the most notable are the free before- and after-school programs for the children of employees in partnership with the YMCA and the recent

By Associated Press WASHINGTON — Taxpayers are expected to save billions after the Biden administration inked deals with pharmaceutical companies to knock down the lists prices for 10 of Medicare’s costliest drugs. But how much older Americans can expect to save when they fill a prescription at their local pharmacy remains unclear, since the list

By Wealth of Geeks via AP Gold and Bitcoin both enjoyed a sustained dual price surge this year. Bitcoin reached historical highs in March, surpassing $73,000, while gold peaked at more than $2,400 per ounce in May. As economists debate the likelihood of persistent inflation and higher-for-longer interest rates, two alternative assets have captured the

By Wealth of Geeks via AP As Gen Z enters the housing market, young home shoppers say they face many barriers to homeownership, and 60% of zoomers worry they might never be able to afford a house. A new survey from Clever Real Estate asked 1,000 members of Gen Z about their feelings toward homeownership.

By Associated Press NEW YORK — If you’ve noticed that you’re paying more than before for the same amount of groceries, you’re not the only one. Inflation is easing, but grocery prices are still high — up 21%, on average, since inflation started to surge more than three years ago. Unlike some other items, you

By Associated Press KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that his country’s troops had taken full control of Sudzha, the largest Russian town to fall to Ukraine’s forces since the start of their cross-border incursion more than a week ago. Although it had a prewar population of only around 5,000 people, Sudzha

By Associated Press SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Ernesto barreled toward Bermuda on Thursday after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water as sweltering heat enveloped the U.S. territory, raising concerns about people’s health. A hurricane warning was in effect for Bermuda, with Ernesto expected to pass near

By Associated Press DOHA, Qatar — International mediators held a new round of talks Thursday aimed at halting the Israel-Hamas war and securing the release of scores of hostages, with a potential deal seen as the best hope of heading off an even larger regional conflict. The United States, Qatar and Egypt met with an

By Associated Press BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Former President Donald Trump said Thursday that Americans are struggling with massive price hikes that he blamed on Vice President Kamala Harris, looking to saddle his new Democratic rival with the unpopular economic record of President Joe Biden. Trump stuck close to his scripted economic message for more than

By Associated Press A lifelong lover of liverwurst, Sue Fleming relished the smoked sausage her husband brought home every few weeks from the grocery store deli. Patrick Fleming always made sure to buy Boar’s Head braunschweiger, the type she liked best, even though it could be costlier than other brands. “My whole family loves braunschweiger,”

By Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa abortion providers opted to dismiss their lawsuit against the state Thursday, forgoing a continued legal battle after the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the state’s strict abortion law and reiterated that there is no constitutional right to an abortion in the state. Iowa’s law prohibiting most abortions after

By Associated Press ATCHISON, Kansas — Among corporate America’s most persistent shareholder activists are 80 nuns in a monastery outside Kansas City. Nestled amid rolling farmland, the Benedictine sisters of Mount St. Scholastica have taken on the likes of Google, Target and Citigroup — calling on major companies to do everything from AI oversight to

By Associated Press Mike Norvell and Florida State got a taste of the big time last season. The Seminoles are not about to let that slip away this fall. “It sets the stage and opportunity for us to continue to push and continue to elevate this program to ultimately where it deserves to be,” Norvell

By Associated Press The Big Ten championship race has gone through Ohio State and Michigan most years. It’s about to veer left, all the way to the West Coast. The Oregon Ducks are primed to make the grandest entrance of the four former Pac-12 teams joining the league. Expect they of the neon green-and-yellow uniforms

By Associated Press The Big 12 has gotten bigger even after the departures of two national champions, with a westward expansion and a “Prime” addition among the league’s four newcomers. Mike Gundy is going into his 20th season as 17th-ranked Oklahoma State coach and has been part of all the Big 12’s configurations. There was

By Associated Press FERGUSON, Mo. — A Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who was critically injured during a protest on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death is showing “small but significant signs of progress” from a severe brain injury, according to a post on a GoFundMe page set up to support the officer and his

By Associated Press In the 1980s and ‘90s, Ron Spitzer played bass and drums in rock bands — Tot Rocket and the Twins, Western Eyes and Band of Susans. He sang and wrote songs, toured the country and recorded albums. When the bands broke up, he continued to make music with friends. But a stroke

By Associated Press ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs’ starters are expected to play most of the first half of their preseason game against Detroit on Saturday, though it’s possible Carson Wentz will get some snaps with the first-team offense, too. Chiefs coach Andy Reid announced his

By Associated Press Becky Litvintchouk didn’t think she’d be able to manage the mountain of tasks needed to become an entrepreneur. Every other part of her life has been overwhelming because of ADHD, which can impact her ability to concentrate. So, she turned to AI. The app Claude helps her decide which contracts made the

By Associated Press Goodbye, Nick Saban. Hello, Oklahoma and Texas. For the first time in 17 years, Alabama’s iconic coach won’t be prowling the sidelines in the Southeastern Conference. With one longtime juggernaut headed to an ESPN gig and semi-retirement, two others enter the fray. The Sooners and Longhorns join the powerhouse league three years

By Associated Press NEW YORK — Tinashe refuses to retreat from the unknowns of life — or the music industry — but instead, embraces them. That’s what makes the success of her cheeky, inuendo-filled hit, “Nasty,” taste oh so sweet. “You never really know when that’s going to happen. You can’t really predict it,” she

By Associated Press BAYREUTH, Germany — Thorleifur Örn Arnarsson’s phone rang in his Icelandic highlands cabin back in January 2022. Katharina Wagner, the Bayreuth festival director and great-granddaughter of composer Richard Wagner, wanted to get in touch. She invited Arnarsson to create a new production of “Tristan und Isolde” to open the 2024 festival. He

By Associated Press PARK CITY, Utah — Angela Patton has devoted her career to listening to the needs of young girls. Over a decade ago, the CEO of the nonprofit Girls For a Change and founder of Camp Diva Leadership Academy helped start a program in Richmond, Virginia, that created a daddy daughter dance for

By Associated Press There’s an old saying “don’t meet your heroes” but for TV creator, showrunner Bill Lawrence, it was a dream come true. Lawrence’s new series “Bad Monkey” for Apple TV+, premiering Wednesday, is based on a novel by Carl Hiaasen, one of his favorite authors. “I started reading Carl Hiaasen books when I