New Illinois Law Allows Victims of Gun Violence to Sue Gun Makers

Disclosure: State of Alabama-based writer. This article is a work from cited sources for informational purposes and is used with permission. No affiliate links are included. During a March 20, 2025, appearance on the All-On Podcast, President Trump's Department of Commerce appointee Howard Lutnick said he believes fraud is possibly happening within the Social Security Administration's disability program.

Listen up, fellow Americans! I've learned the hard way that hospital billing is a minefield. My personal experiences have taught me one crucial lesson: NEVER pay a hospital bill without thorough scrutiny. I once received a mysterious bill during college that turned out to be for someone with my same name who had no insurance. Last year, they overcharged me $100 and even sent it to a collection agency after I spent hours on the phone challenging it.

Kania Brunson had an infectious smile. The beautiful young woman dreamed of becoming an orthodontist or veterinarian and enjoyed cosmetology. Kania Brunson also had a secret. According to the Milwaukee Prosecutor’s Office, 20-year-old Kania was in a relationship with Sultan Shareef, a married man, since she was a teen. Kania and 54-year-old Sultan Sultan dated for years, and Kania fell in love.

I recently dove into some updates about the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program, and let me tell you, there’s a lot going on. First of all, don’t worry – Section 8 isn’t affected by any temporary federal funding freezes, so if you're relying on this program, you're still covered. The Trump administration never had a valid reason to cancel it, and it’s still going strong.

LITTLETON – Residents of six Grafton County communities have lost representation of their freshman Republican Representative on a House Committee because he has been removed from it by Republican House leadership.

Regional offices assisting U.S. citizens with Social Security benefits are being closed by the Trump administration. The Department of Government Efficiency has terminated leases for five of Georgia’s 34 Social Security offices.

Health officials with the Kentucky Department for Public Health (KDPH) and Franklin County Health Department announced a confirmed case of measles identified in an adult Kentucky resident.

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced a young dog named Coco who is searching for her forever family. This adorable 3-month-old puppy may be small in size, weighing in at approximately 4.5 pounds, but she makes up for it with her endless energy and loving personality. Despite her tiny stature, even smaller than the resident cats in her foster home, Coco approaches life with curiosity and enthusiasm. "She has bounds of energy, loves playing with all types of toys, and then ultimately adores snuggling up on her foster mom's lap to get lots of pets," explains Sandy Paws Rescue.

Denver’s homeless hotels and clogged traffic on Pena Boulevard dominated the public comment period Monday during the City Council meeting. Homeless advocate Ana Miller told the council the conditions at the former Best Western homeless hotel on Quebec, one of many such hotels owned by the city, are “Absolutely grotesque … worse than most poorly run prisons ....(I’m) tired of hearing things are fixed. When you’re done using (a hotel) it will need to be completely gutted for habitation again. I want the council to look into these conditions and do something about it. Push for better oversight of how they’re running their shelters.”

As employees at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sit anxious in anticipation of losing their jobs, they were visibly absent from a conference held in Los Angeles this week by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.

When I bought my first house, I thought I was finally free—my own space, my own rules. Then I met the HOA. At first, it seemed harmless. A small monthly fee, some basic upkeep rules. No big deal, right? Wrong.

The 101st Airborne Division sent an unspecified number of soldiers to the U.S. southern border in January, and a Thursday press release said about 300 more soldiers are being sent.

Virginia fans of The Bold and the Beautiful may have noticed that Steffy Forrester Finn (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) has been standing behind objects, wearing loose or dark clothing, and putting her hands in front of her stomach. The actress has four sons, Rise, Lenix, Brando, and Valor, with her husband, Elan Ruspoli.

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a dedicated foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced a young puppy named Chucky who is searching for his forever family. Currently weighing in at only 12 lbs, this Great Pyrenees mix puppy is expected to be a larger dog when he grows up. At just 2 months and 3 weeks old, Chucky embodies all the delightful traits of a typical puppy. His daily routine revolves around the simple pleasures of eating, sleeping, and playing - a cycle that brings joy to everyone around him.

I’m in a tough spot. My partner was somehow signed up for Medicaid without us applying for it. Now his psychiatrist just called to say that they can’t give him his medication because they can’t work with Medicaid clients, even if we pay out of pocket. Apparently, he could even be fined for prescribing to him. My partner really needs his meds, and this has become urgent.

U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell introduced The Protecting American Farmlands Act, legislation that reduces the tax burden on selling farmland, encouraging farmers to keep their land in agricultural production and curbing the loss of farmland across the country.

CALIFORNIA – California federal judge William H. Alsup, ordered, March 13, the Trump Administration to reinstate thousands of employees who were recently mass-fired. Alsup ordered immediate reinstatement of terminated probationary employees of the Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Interior, Energy, Defense, and Treasury departments. These agencies must also cease termination of probationary employees, effective immediately.

My old workplace had the best lunch system: 11:30-2:00 window, coverage swapped, zero drama. Fast-forward to new management: "EVERYONE MUST LUNCH AT EXACTLY 12:00. NO EXCEPTIONS."

A possible surge in overdose deaths in Denver could indicate some irregularities in the street drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned Monday. The Denver Post reported there have been a dozen outdoor deaths in March in Denver, including nine in a nine-day stretch. “Over the past month, there have been a lot of reported overdoses in Denver being responded to with naloxone by people who use drugs, services providers, and around the Colorado State Capitol,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville said in the needle exchange’s newsletter Monday. “Over the past couple of weeks, we started noticing the public death posts on social media and then multiple sources from the city reached out to let us know they were overdose related. We alerted HRAC participants and other service providers for quick communication. Unfortunately, many in the city have expressed that we will need to wait for weeks and months before they will officially determine these deaths as overdoses. That is incredibly frustrating as we need real time information of the drug supply and the names of those we have lost.”

Gen X’ers swear they had Mad Max-level freedom as kids: biking miles alone, playing in woods until streetlights came on, and surviving on PB&Js packed in brown paper bags. But millennials/Zillennials side-eye this like, “Sure, Jan.” So—did 80s parents really not care, or is this just Hollywood romanticizing?

My wife and I are struggling to agree on tithing. She’s been attending church regularly for years, and while I respect her faith, I don’t participate. Recently, she asked to start giving 10% of our joint income to her church, which is a significant amount for us financially. I told her I’m uncomfortable donating that much to an institution I’m not involved with, and it turned into a heated argument. She says tithing is non-negotiable for her faith, and my refusal feels like a rejection of her values.

Yo, if you (or your kids) have federal student loans, stop scrolling and save your payment history ASAP. Why? Changes are coming—IDR plans/forgiveness could get axed, loans might shift to private servicers, and your records could vanish. You’ll need proof of what you’ve paid/owe.

According to the Hattiesburg Police Department, 19-year-old Asia Martin purchased a bus ticket from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to Denver, Colorado, on May 24, 2005, to assist her ailing mother. Three days later, on the evening of May 27, she spoke with her mother by phone at around 8:40 p.m. Shortly after that conversation, she informed her roommate that she was going out for a walk and left the apartment. That was the last anyone saw or heard from her. Asia Nicole Martin never boarded the bus to Denver and has been missing ever since.

A friend of mine just helped his mother secure a Section 8 apartment in a great neighborhood. The place is beautiful, but the upfront costs? Absolutely insane. The landlord required $15k upfront, including a broker fee, just to allow her to rent under Section 8.

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced a small dog named Jess (after the popular 2011 TV show New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel as Jessica Day) who is searching for her forever family. This one-year-old Chihuahua, currently weighing approximately 8 pounds, has already shown remarkable progress in her foster home, where she's been thriving for the past week. “Jess has been in her foster home for a week and has made friends with the resident dog! She loves to play with balls and squeaky toys,” explains Sandy Paws Rescue.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals unanimously has upheld a lower court order that cleared former Democratic Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes of ethics violation charges. In a 17-page order issued Friday upholding an April 29, 2024 decision by Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd, the three-member appellate court said the Executive Branch Ethics Commission missed its statutory deadline to charge Grimes with improperly ordering the downloading and distribution of voter registration data from her public office while she was Kentucky’s secretary of state.

Last weekend, my sister celebrated her birthday at a local winery. My husband was invited but couldn’t attend due to work. He encouraged me to go and “have a good time,” so I did. However, the entire outing turned sour because he obsessively questioned my location through messages. We share Snapchat locations, and even though the map clearly showed I was at the winery, he fixated on the app’s top-of-screen label, which listed a nearby brewery (likely a glitch or proximity tag). He bombarded me with accusatory texts, demanding explanations.

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a dedicated foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced a gentle, eager-to-please dog named Ava, who has already overcome so much in her short life. Ava was rescued from a rural shelter in Central Texas and is estimated to be about five years old. “Ava spent her early years being used for breeding and living in a garage. She came from a neglectful situation—shockingly, at the hands of a former police officer—and is now beginning her journey toward healing,” explains the nonprofit rescue who stepped in to help her find her forever family.

CONCORD – A judge has denied state Supreme Court Justice Anna Barbara Hantz Marconi’s motion to dismiss all indictments against her alleging she tried to improperly influence a criminal investigation into her husband, Geno Marconi, director of the state Division of Ports and Harbors.

So, I’m almost about to give birth, and suddenly, my husband’s mom is acting like the dog police. We have two dogs, and she’s completely freaking out, saying they’ll hurt the baby. She’s scared of dogs in general and has this old-school mindset that everything must be baby-safe.