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How to help your children make friends at a new school

For students starting at a new school, the first day holds many questions: Will they see any familiar faces? Who will they sit with at lunch? Who will they play with at recess? “I’m this much nervous,” said Iman Fair-Seldon, 5, holding her hands about 4 inches apart. Iman will start ...

Brain-eating amoeba kills 8-year-old girl in Louisiana

An 8-year-old girl in Louisiana has died after being infected by an extremely rare brain-eating amoeba that is found in warm freshwater, her family says. Lillian Smart died over the weekend after being diagnosed with an infection from Naegleria fowleri, according to Kyle Roberts, a ...

The difference between bed bugs and bat bugs

Finding a small, reddish-brown bug in your home can be concerning, especially when it resembles a bed bug. However, not every bug that looks like a bed bug is one. Bat bugs (Cimex adjunctus) are close relatives of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) and can sometimes be found indoors, making identification important. Traveling to far areas of the globe shrinks our world and allows pests to travel in our belongings home with us. Bed bugs are common in many areas of the world, and many people never think about what is in bed with them. Bed bugs are about the size of an apple seed and feed ...

My experience with comfrey

I have always been fascinated by plants that seem to have a story of their own, and comfrey is one that continues to capture my attention. With its broad, hairy leaves and delicate bell-shaped flowers, comfrey may not look particularly remarkable at first glance. But once I learned more about ...

My sudden boyfriend isn’t the right match

DEAR ANNIE: I’m 22, working full time in the city, and recently started dating a guy I met through a mutual friend. We’ve only been seeing each other for about a month, and he really is a sweetheart. The problem is, the more I get to know him, the more I wonder whether we are simply in very different places in life. He is in his late 20s, lives at home and works part time as a delivery driver while waiting to start a city job sometime next year. I understand that people go through transitional periods, but from what I gather, he was unemployed for about a year before taking this ...