Breaking News

Health and Home

New president and CEO takes leadership of STEP

The STEP board of directors recently announced Rachelle A. Abbott as the new president and CEO of Lycoming-Clinton Counties Commission for Community Action (STEP) Inc. “Following an extensive search by the STEP board of directors, the board appointed Abbott, who has served the agency in various planning and operations capacities since 2011, most recently as chief operations and planning officer,” a news release said. Abbott succeeded Jim Plankenhorn, who stepped down at the end of 2024 after nearly 20 years with the nonprofit in a variety of roles. “Prior to her work with ...

Is spending all day on your feet at work an occupational hazard?

NEW YORK (AP) — As a citizen of both France and America, Margaux Lantelme has noticed a difference in how store cashiers work in the two countries: in France, they do their jobs sitting down. In the U.S., where Lantelme works a register at REI, cashiers typically spend eight hours a day on their feet. For Lantelme, a former kayaking instructor, prolonged standing can trigger flare-ups of chronic pain that limit her mobility. She requested a chair to use during her shift and got one. But after a change in management, she had to fill out paperwork to keep the chair, which required ...

Beauty market shifts to target the young at heart in a rapidly aging Japan

TOKYO (AP) — Yoshiko Abe is about to turn 89, but that hasn’t stopped her from going to the gym every day and trying the free-of-charge makeup course at her housing complex. “It was really helpful,” she said, all smiles and glowing after putting on foundation and pink lipstick, something she hadn’t done in years. Japan is the fastest-aging society in the world, where more than a quarter of its population is 65 and older, at 36 million people. In about a decade, the ratio will be one in three. No wonder the young-at-heart, like Abe, is a growing target for Japan Inc. The ...

How to cope when disasters strip away photos, heirlooms and other pieces of the past

They’re the possessions that tell your story: the photos of old friends and relatives. The ring your mom left you. The hand-knit Christmas stockings. Your grandfather’s secretary desk and the letters inside. When disasters strike, these artifacts of your own rich history might be the toughest belongings to lose. “It still hits me now — a picture of my dad that my grandmother painted, which was hanging on the wall by the piano,” says Martha Tecca, whose house in Lyme, New Hampshire, burned to the ground 10 years ago. She and her husband had been on a hike, and lost ...

How to cook the perfect boiled egg, according to science

NEW YORK (AP) — Scientists say they've cracked the code for boiling the perfect egg. It's a recipe you can test for yourself — though the timing isn't ideal with soaring egg prices in the United States from a bird flu outbreak. The perfect boiled egg has a velvety yolk paired with a ...