Doug roper

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 8 Beth Roper had already sold her husband Doug's boat and his pickup truck. Her daughter sends $500 a month or more. But it was nowhere near enough to pay the $5,950-a-month bill at Doug's assisted-living facility. So last year, Roper, 65, abandoned her own plans to retire. To the public school librarian from Poquoson, Va., it feels like a betrayal of a social contract. Doug Roper, a longtime high school history teacher and wrestling coach, has a pension and Social Security. The Ropers own a home; they have savings. Yet the expense of Doug's residential Alzheimer's care poses a grave threat to their middle-class nest egg. At nearly $72,000, a year in assisted living for Doug, 67, costs more than her $64,000 annual salary. "It's devastating," she said. "You can't wrap your head around it." A wave of Americans has been reaching retirement age largely … [Read more...] about Senior care is crushingly expensive. Boomers aren’t ready.

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's longtime Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette abruptly resigned on Friday, saying he was leaving three months into his 11th consecutive term “to focus on my personal needs” after watching the office be stripped of its power over the past 50 years. Gov. Tony Evers appointed former Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, who ran for U.S. Senate last year but dropped out of the race ahead of the primary, to fill out the four-year term. Wisconsin's secretary of state has not been in charge of elections since 1974 and has almost no official duties. “After many years of frustration, I've decided that I don't want to spend the next three and a half years trying to run an office without adequate resources and staffing levels,” the 82-year-old La Follette said in his resignation letter. He did not immediately return a telephone message left … [Read more...] about Wisconsin Democratic Secretary of State La Follette resigns

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Just six months after passing what was billed as the largest tax cut in Missouri history, the Republican-led state House voted Tuesday for an even bigger income tax cut that could return over $1 billion annually to individuals, corporations and retirees. The Missouri legislation is the latest in a series of aggressive tax reductions that swept across U.S. states last year and have continued into 2023 — even as some warn that it might be wise for states to hold on to record large surpluses amid economic uncertainty. “Wouldn’t it be a good idea for us to all just pause for a year?” Democratic state Rep. Deb Lavender asked rhetorically before her Republican colleagues endorsed the tax cut on a 109-45 party-line vote. The Missouri legislation still has a ways to go — it needs a second House approval before it can move to the Senate and then to the governor. But legislatures and governors in several states already have given final approval to tax cuts and … [Read more...] about States cranking out even more tax cuts amid cash surpluses

After watching NRG Stadium empty out amid a dismal 11-38-1 stretch over the past three seasons, the Houston Texans have already taken steps toward invigorating their fan base in recent months. The excitement started with the hiring of DeMeco Ryans , a former star linebacker and a highly-regarded young coaching mind, as the team's new head coach. They've also added an array of veterans that should provide a boost to a roster that was one of the NFL's worst last year, and with the No. 2 and No. 12 picks in next month's draft , there's plenty for fans to look forward to in both the immediate and long-term future. Houston took another step toward establishing a greater connection with its supporters on Monday, as the team announced it is launching a fan council ahead of the upcoming season. Per a press release from the Texans, the 50-person volunteer group will "collaborate with the team on decisions that will help influence aspects of the organization and the fan experience." … [Read more...] about Houston Texans seek fan input on future of franchise

A symbolic resolution that would acknowledge the persecution and murders of Connecticut residents — mostly women — tried as witches during the Colonial era, has resulted in some minority Republicans doubling down on their skepticism and opposition to the legislation. One member of the law-writing legislative Judiciary Committee stressed that there still needs to be evidence of their innocence, while another, the top minority member of the panel, said the legislation is better left to Great Britain, because Connecticut did not become a state until after the American Revolution, more than 100 years after the prosecution and execution of 11 people, including two men. Victims of the witchcraft persecutions, which occurred between 1647 and 1663, included Alice Young, Mary Johnson, John and Joan Carrington, Goodwife Bassett, Goodwife Knapp, Lydia Gilbert, Mary Sanford, Nathaniel and Rebecca Greensmith, Mary Barnes. Another alleged witchcraft practitioner, Elizabeth Seager, was … [Read more...] about Republicans double down against resolution that would acknowledge persecution, murder of ‘witches’

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. government to resume oil and gas lease sales on federal lands in North Dakota, even as a legal battle continues over the Biden administration's decision to pause the leasing program two years ago in an effort to combat climate change. Hailing the ruling as a victory, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said the canceled lease sales have cost North Dakota over $100 million in revenue each year and deprived the nation of “much-needed access to oil and gas during these difficult times of high inflation and threats to our energy security,” the Bismarck Tribune reported. But the judge also denied the state's request to force the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency, to hold sales that were canceled in 2021 and 2022. “North Dakota has a substantial likelihood of prevailing on the merits and has met the other factors favoring a preliminary injunction,” U.S. District Judge Daniel Traynor wrote in his 82-page order filed Monday. … [Read more...] about Judge orders US to resume oil, gas leasing in North Dakota

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 6 PHOENIX (AP) — In Arizona’s most populous county, elected officials are bracing for what could happen when it comes time to replace its $2 million-a-year contract for voting equipment. Officials in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, say they have no concerns about their current vendor, Dominion Voting Systems. The problem is that the company has been ensnared in a web of conspiracy theories since the 2020 presidential election that have undermined public confidence in U.S. elections among conservative voters, led to calls to ban voting machines in some places and triggered death threats against election officials across the country. “I have concerns over my own personal security if we re-enlist Dominion,” Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, a Republican elected in 2020, said in a court filing. “It went from a company that nobody had heard about to a … [Read more...] about Fox lawsuit highlights effects of conspiracies on Dominion

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 EDITORS: EMBARGOED UNTIL SUNDAY, MARCH 19 - - - PITTSBURGH - During every Adam Sandler stand-up show, he straps on his electric guitar and sings a song. Unlike the bite-size ditties he's peppered through the set about selfies or baggy shorts, this one concerns his late, great "Saturday Night Live" buddy, Chris Farley. It is a perfect tribute. Sandler, singing softly as he strums in G, captures the complicated beauty of Farley as clips of his most memorable high jinks play on a giant screen behind him. The crowd roars as he references Farley's electrifying SNL turns as a Chippendales dancer and a motivational speaker "living in a van down by the river." There is a hush as Sandler slips into the bridge, a peek into his friend's vulnerability. "I saw him in the office, crying with his headphones on "Listening to a KC and the Sunshine Band song "I said, 'Buddy, how the hell is … [Read more...] about Adam Sandler doesn’t need your respect. He just wants to make you laugh.