The case against a DoorDash driver accused of pulling a gun on a group of women advanced to Oakland County Circuit Court following a preliminary exam this week on an amended charge.

Andrew Boyer, 36, had initially been charged with a misdemeanor — brandishing a firearm in public — in connection with the alleged incident on Feb. 28 in Bloomfield Township. Soon after his arrest, police said a verbal disagreement between Boyer and the women outside a home on Woodland Pass reportedly escalated after he dropped off an order, prompting him to pull out his gun, chamber a round and yell at the women to get away from him. The group reportedly had followed Boyer to his car while yelling at him, police said.

The prosecution subsequently amended the charge to felonious assault, and a district court judge determined there was probable cause established at the July 8 preliminary exam to bind over the case to the higher court for possible trial.

Jeff Wattrick, spokesperson for the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, told The Oakland Press that the new charge was based on “evidence available.” Now, rather than a maximum 90 days in jail and/or a $100 fine, Boyer is now facing up to four years in prison and/or a fine of up to $2,000 if convicted.

The prosecution amended the charge a few weeks ago.

Boyer is scheduled for arraignment in Oakland County Circuit Court on July 21 before Judge David Cohen. For now, he’s out of jail after posting a $3,000 bond.

Rochester Hills man dead 3 days after crashing vehicle into tree

Teen dead, another hospitalized in Pontiac shooting

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow Florida to enforce an immigration law making it a crime for people who are living in the U.S. illegally to enter the state.

The high court’s action will keep the law on hold while a legal challenge continues. The court did not explain its decision and no justice noted a dissent.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law in February in support of President Donald Trump’s push to crack down on illegal immigration.

Immigrants rights groups filed lawsuits on behalf of two unnamed, Florida-based immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, arguing that immigration is a federal issue beyond the power of the states.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams barred the enforcement of the new law in April. The attorney general’s office then unsuccessfully petitioned the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to override that decision.

The law is similar to a Texas law that also has been blocked by a federal appeals court.

In todays Health Alert, some alarming news about young people and their risk of developing diabetes. New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that 1 in 3 teens has prediabetes.

This is definitely a wake-up call for parents. The study included teens and preteens, ages 12 through 17. The CDC found that about 8.4 million young people in this age group had prediabetes in 2023 when the latest data was collected. That amounts to 32.7 percent of the adolescent population in the United States, and it represents a major increase over previous years.

A person with prediabetes has blood sugar levels that are higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes.

However, it is a critical warning sign. Prediabetes increases the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and other serious health conditions like heart disease and stroke.

According to the CDC, the main risk factors for prediabetes include being overweight, having a parent or sibling with Type 2 diabetes, not getting enough physical activity, and eating foods high in sugar.

The good news is that prediabetes is preventable and reversible by making some simple lifestyle changes. For example, make sure your teenager eats a balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Also, encourage them to stay physically active with at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week, such as walking, cycling, or swimming. And, losing weight can significantly improve blood sugar levels.

These changes, along with regular check-ups with your healthcare provider, can help teens reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and improve their overall health.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit against two men accused of creating fake companies to harass and intimidate small business owners in Ferndale in an attempt to extort money, her office announced Wednesday. The lawsuit, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court, alleges Eric Vander Ley, with the help of his brother Daniel Vander Ley, formed 17 limited liability companies using the exact names of well-known Ferndale businesses, including Como’s Restaurant, Urbanrest Brewing Company, Bags and Beads, Tin Can Cocktails, and Beau’s Grillery.

By LEAH ASKARINAM, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Senate on Wednesday confirmed Bryan Bedford to lead the Federal Aviation Administration, putting him in charge of the federal agency at a precarious time for the airline industry after recent accidents, including the January collision near Washington, D.C. that killed 67 people.

Bedford was confirmed on a near party-line vote, 53-43.

Republicans and industry leaders lauded President Donald Trump’s choice of Bedford, citing his experience as CEO of regional airline Republic Airways since 1999. Sen. Ted Cruz, the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, called Bedford a “steady leader with executive experience.”

But Democrats and flight safety advocates opposed his nomination, citing Bedford’s lack of commitment to the 1,500-hour training requirement for pilots that was put in place by Congress after a 2009 plane crash near Buffalo.

Bedford declined during his confirmation hearing to commit to upholding a rule requiring 1,500 hours of training for pilots, saying only that he would not “have anything that will reduce safety.”

Sen. Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Commerce panel, accused Bedford of wanting “to roll back safety reforms and unravel the regulatory framework that made the United States the gold standard” in aviation safety.

Congress implemented the 1,500-hour rule for pilot training and other safety precautions after the 2009 Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, New York. In that flight, the pilot had not been trained on how to recover from a stall in the aircraft. His actions caused the plane carrying 49 people to fall from the sky and crash into a house, where another man was killed.

Families of the victims of the Colgan crash pushed for the the stricter training requirements and remain vocal advocates for airline safety. They joined Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to express concern about Bedford’s nomination.

Marilyn Kausner, the mother of a passenger on the 3407 flight, said she and other families requested a meeting with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy after Bedford’s confirmation hearing. Her husband, she said, was “discouraged” after hearing what Bedford had to say at his hearing

Pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, made famous for safely landing a plane in the Hudson River, also opposed Trump’s pick, posting on social media that “with the nomination of Bryan Bedford to be FAA Administration, my life’s work could be undone.”

Republican Sen. Todd Young, who is also on the committee, called the 1,500-hour rule an “emotional topic” but maintained that Bedford’s approach to safety is clearly “analytical,” prioritizing what “we ascertain leads to the best safety for passengers.”

“All you have to do is look at his credentials and his testimony to be persuaded that he’s the right person for the job,” Young said.

Bedford has support from much of the industry. The air traffic controllers union noted his commitment to modernize the outdated system.

Airlines for America, a trade association for major airlines, called Bedford a “superb choice.” And United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said, having worked with Bedford, he had “total confidence in his ability to lead the FAA.”

A Texas summer camp had a state-mandated emergency plan in place before devastating flash floods took the lives of dozens of campers and staff, state records confirm.

A state health report dated July 2  two days before the flooding emergency began showed Camp Mystic passed its annual inspection to maintain its state youth camp license.

Inspectors in Texas visit licensed camps annually and check for a variety of health and safety measures, from first aid kits and flotation devices, to staff background checks and the sanitation of kitchens and bathrooms.

On July 2, a state health inspector on site at Camp Mystic answered Yes to the question, Is there a written plan of procedures to be implemented in case of a disaster, serious accident, epidemic, or fatality formulated and posted in the camps administrative on-site office or location?

The inspector also confirmed staff and volunteers were made aware of the emergency plan, that the camp documented it had trained or briefed staff and volunteers on those procedures, and that the camp had a telephone available for emergency use.

RELATED STORY | Crews dig through debris in Texas flood zone with more than 160 still missing

Records reviewed by Scripps News show inspectors found Camp Mystic had an emergency plan in place as required by state law in each of its annual inspections going back at least to 2021. Camps are required to include procedures for emergency shelter and for evacuation in their plans.

Scripps News contacted Camp Mystic on Wednesday morning, requesting the camps emergency plan. However, Scripps News has not yet heard back. Its still unclear whether the plan was followed when disaster struck.

Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the State Department of Health Services, told Scripps News inspectors do not scrutinize the substance of summer camp emergency plans, and the state does not obtain copies of the plans.

Camp Mystic confirmed with a statement on its website that 27 campers and counselors died in the flooding.

The devastating floods in central Texas have left families and communities in urgent need of support. Scripps News and the Scripps Howard Fund are partnering to provide critical relief to those impacted. Every dollar donated 

here

 will go directly to helping victims recover.

The Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network (DWIHN) has expanded its network of autism service providers, contracting with several new agencies to meet the rising demand for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy in the region. Among the most notable additions is Success On The Spectrum (SOS), a national ABA therapy franchise now serving Medicaid-eligible families at two locations in Wayne County — Trenton and Southgate.

By SOPHIE AUSTIN, Associated Press

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration sued the California Department of Education on Wednesday for allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams, alleging the policy violates federal law.

The move escalates a battle between the Republican administration in Washington and Democratic-led California over trans athletes.

The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department says California’s transgender athlete policies violate Title IX, the federal law that bans discrimination in education based on sex. The department says California’s rules “are not only illegal and unfair but also demeaning, signaling to girls that their opportunities and achievements are secondary to accommodating boys.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi warned other states that allow trans girls to compete in female athletics that they could also face challenges by the federal government.

“If you do not comply, you’re next,” she said in a video posted on social media. “We will protect girls in girls sports.”

The state Education Department and the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports that was also named a defendant, said they would not comment on pending litigation.

California has a more than decade-old law on the books that allows students to participate in sex-segregated school programs, including on sports teams, and use bathrooms and other facilities that align with their gender identity.

Trump criticized the participation of a transgender high school student-athlete who won titles in the California track-and-field championships last month. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon wrote in a letter after the meet that the California Interscholastic Federation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution by allowing trans girls to compete against other female athletes.

The federal Education Department earlier this year launched an investigation into California’s policies allowing athletes to compete on sports teams consistent with their gender identity. The agency said last month that the policies violate Title IX, and it gave the state 10 days to agree to change them. But the state this week refused.

Trump also sparred with Maine’s Democratic governor over that state’s transgender-athlete policies. Gov. Janet Mills told the president in February, “We’ll see you in court,” over his threats to pull funding to the state over the issue. His administration filed a lawsuit in April alleging Maine violated Title IX by allowing trans girls and women to compete against other female athletes.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit against California says its policies “ignore undeniable biological differences between boys and girls, in favor of an amorphous ’gender identity.’”

“The results of these illegal policies are stark: girls are displaced from podiums, denied awards, and miss out on critical visibility for college scholarships and recognition,” the suit says.

Meanwhile, on his podcast in March, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom angered some party allies when he questioned the fairness of trans girls competing in girls sports. GOP critics have called on the governor to back a ban, saying his remarks do not square with his actions.

The issue is part of a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth in which states have limited transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams, barred gender-affirming surgeries for minors and required parents to be notified if a child changes their pronouns at school. More than two dozen states have laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some of the policies have been blocked in court.

Trump signed an executive order in February aimed at barring trans girls and women from participating on sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

Proponents of a ban, including the conservative California Family Council, say it would restore fairness in athletic competitions. But opponents, including the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Equality California, say bans are an attack on transgender youth.

In Oregon, three high school track-and-field athletes filed a federal lawsuit against the state this week seeking to remove records set by transgender students and prevent them from participating in girls sports. They say allowing trans girls to compete against other female athletes is unfair and violates Title IX.

The U.S. Education Department launched investigations earlier this year into Portland Public Schools and the state’s governing body for high school sports to over alleged violations of Title IX in girls high school sports.

Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington and Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon, contributed.

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

Substantial new sanctions targeting Russia are gaining momentum in the Senate, with bipartisan support growing as President Donald Trump appears to be on board. Both Republicans and Democrats are coalescing around a bill designed to punish Russia with severe economic sanctions, aiming to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a key proponent, emphasized the urgency of the sanctions, citing recent aggressive actions by Russia, including an attack on Kyiv.

"Putin is pounding Kyiv. He hit hard last night," Graham said. "We have to stand up to Putin and make it harder, not easier."

"July is gonna be the magic month for bone-crushing sanctions on Vladimir Putin," Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, added.

RELATED STORY | Russia unleashes biggest drone attack on Ukraine since start of war

Senate Majority Leader John Thune echoed Graham's sentiments on the Senate floor, expressing confidence that the sanctions will be discussed before the August recess. The proposed legislation would empower President Trump with additional tools to exert pressure on Putin, potentially paving the way for diplomatic negotiations.

Despite broad support, some dissenters are outspoken in their opposition to further sanctions. However, Sen. Markwayne Mullin remains optimistic, noting bipartisan backing and claiming alignment with Republican leadership.

"I support it wholeheartedly... I think it's heavily bipartisan. Its not just Republicans; it's Democrats too," Mullin stated.

The so-called "Trump factor" continues to play a role, as the president has yet to explicitly dictate whether he wants the sanctions bill expedited. Though Trump may allow Congress to pass the bill, his ambiguous stance could affect the timeline for any legislative action.

With Senate leaders committed to advancing the sanctions package by August, all eyes are on Trump's next move, which could either accelerate or stall the process.

RELATED STORY | Russia unleashes biggest drone attack on Ukraine since start of war

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

By Roberta Burkhart, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Many people don’t know it, but men under age 40 are the most likely age group to develop testicular cancer.

Just ask Jay Riepenhoff of Upper Arlington, Ohio, who was 29 and still adjusting to life as a new father when he discovered a suspicious lump.

He wasn’t thinking cancer. In fact, Riepenhoff got up for work the next morning and forgot all about it.

He felt the lump again that night, and thought he’d maybe set an alarm to remind himself to call the doctor the next day.

Riepenhoff didn’t feel the first twinge of worry until his doctor told him to come in immediately. And then sent him the same day for an ultrasound.

“Still, I even thought in my head, ‘I’ll go check it out. It’s not like it’s cancer,’” he said.

Soon, Riepenhoff discovered what many don’t realize: Of the approximately 10,000 cases of testicular cancer diagnosed annually, 51% are diagnosed in young men between the ages of 20 to 34, according to the National Cancer Institute, part of the NIH.

Yet a recent survey from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that few Americans — just 13% — associate the disease with young men.

“When you’re young, in your 20s or your 30s, you certainly do think your health is just something you might take for granted,” said Shawn Dason, a urologic oncologist at OSU’s cancer center and an associate clinical professor of urology at The Ohio State College of Medicine. “You’re more focused on other parts of life: your career, your family, your education.”

While 6% of testicular cancer cases are diagnosed in children and teens and another 8% affect those older than age 55, the vast majority of cases affect men aged 20 to 50. The average age of diagnosis is 33, according to the American Cancer Society.

It is the most common form of cancer among men 20 to 40 and the second most common cancer (trailing leukemia) in ages 15 to 19, but it can happen at any time, according to John Hopkins Medicine.

The Ohio State survey questioned 1,008 respondents about their knowledge of testicular cancer and found general awareness lacking in many areas.

While most — 63% — knew that testicular cancer is often curable if caught early, just over half correctly said that self-checks should be conducted every month. Additionally, two-thirds of respondents thought that medical evaluations should be conducted during annual exams after age 40.

But waiting until 40 would miss the men most at risk — young men like Riepenhoff.

Self-exams are most relevant between the ages of 20 and 40 and are especially important for anyone with a family history of testicular cancer or who has had an undescended testicle at any time during their life, Dason said.

A painless lump is the most common first sign that testicular cancer may be present, Dason said. Often, that lump will continue to grow and possibly harden.

Few men report that pain is associated with lumps, he said, adding that many incorrectly assume that the absence of pain means the lumps are harmless.

If the cancer has spread — becoming metastatic — other symptoms could develop, like abdominal and back pain, or a cough and shortness of breath if it has spread to the lungs.

Still, testicular cancer is among the rarer cancers compared to, for instance, prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer. There are approximately 313,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed annually and nearly 36,000 deaths from it every year, according to the American Cancer Society.

While not as prevalent as other cancers, testicular cancer is a fast-growing one, Dason said, and one that will spread to other parts of the body if left untreated.

The majority of testicular cancer cases are curable, however, especially when they’re caught early.

“Now that might beg the question, ‘Well, if it’s mostly curable, what would be the harm in just finding it later?’ And the harm is really that he might need more treatment to ultimately cure it. And these treatments, they can be pretty serious.”

When testicular cancer metastasizes, it often requires a far more invasive surgery — one with a longer, more challenging recovery, Dason said.

Chemotherapy, too, is generally necessary when the cancer spreads. It is a life-saving measure and “a critical instrument in achieving a cure in many patients,” but it can have a variety of both short- and long-term side effects, many of them unpleasant.

“We really do have evidence that some men will pass away from testicular cancer. And so could those men, if they had presented earlier, have been saved? Very, very possibly,” Dason said.

In Riepenhoff’s case, testing following his radical orchiectomy — the surgery to remove his cancerous testicle — revealed that the cancer had begun to spread, and he underwent three weeks of chemotherapy. All of his treatment took place at the OSU cancer center, although he was not treated by Dason.

Fertility especially becomes a concern when chemotherapy is necessary, Dason said.

Riepenhoff and his wife, Rana, had welcomed their first child, John Patrick Riepenhoff V, just five months before he discovered the cancerous lump. They had long hoped for three children, so before surgery, Riepenhoff chose to freeze sperm in case treatment affected his ability to have more children.

His fertility was not affected, and they expect to welcome their second son in August.

While testicular cancer is highly curable — the 5-year survival rate is 95%, per the National Cancer Institute — dismissing the early symptoms such as a newly discovered lump can make it much more challenging to treat.

Dason pointed out that younger men — and, often, men in general — have acquired a reputation for putting off medical care until absolutely necessary.

In his experience as a physician, Dason said, younger men tend to eschew annual physicals. “When you’re in your 20s and your 30s, there aren’t a lot of chronic health conditions that these young men have, and a lot of them are not regularly visiting their primary care provider.”

Plenty of patients put off seeking care “because they were embarrassed about it, or they were busy or they were hoping it would go away.” Often, a partner is the one who insists they finally see a doctor, he said.

“It’s normal to have a male sexual health complaint. It’s normal to feel something abnormal and go get it checked out. And that’s what our medical practitioners are there for: to help out with all of these concerns, not just a flu or an ankle injury.”

And like Riepenhoff once did, many young men see cancer as a far-off threat. And it’s just not discussed much, Riepenhoff said.

Riepenhoff pointed out that breast cancer awareness is everywhere. “You hear it from parents, schools and physicians,” he said. “But with testicular cancer, I don’t really recall. I’m sure in school we talked about it one time or something, but I don’t ever recall that being hammered into your brain the way that breast cancer is.”

He understands well the reasons men might wait to reach out to a physician.

“I’m sure there are a lot of men out there that got testicular cancer that waited to go to the doctor because they just thought it was an abscess or something. Nothing to be worried about. Had they known that this could be testicular cancer, they may have gone to the doctor earlier, and that can change your diagnosis pretty dramatically.”

Riepenhoff said he asked his doctor what would have happened if he had waited to come in or if he skipped the chemotherapy.

“He said within a year or two, I would have been dead.”

© 2025 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Visit www.post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

NEW YORK (AP) — Mattel has introduced its first Barbie representing a person with Type 1 diabetes, as part of wider efforts from the toy maker to increase inclusivity among its dolls.

In an announcement Tuesday, Mattel said it had partnered with Breakthrough T1D — a Type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization formerly known as Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, or JDRF — to ensure that the design of the doll “truly captures the community.” That includes accessories that “accurately reflect the medical equipment” people with Type 1 diabetes may need, the California-based company noted.

“Visibility matters for everyone facing Type 1 diabetes,” Emily Mazreku, director of marketing strategy at Breakthrough T1D, said in an accompanying announcement. And as a mother who lives with Type 1 diabetes, she added, “it means everything to have Barbie helping the world see T1D and the incredible people who live with it.”

The new Barbie wears continuous glucose monitor (CGM), a device that tracks blood sugar levels, on her arm — while holding a phone displaying an accompanying app. She also has an insulin pump attached to her waist. And the doll carries a blue purse that can be used to carry other essential supplies or snacks on the go.

The Barbie’s outfit is blue, too — with polka dots on a matching top and skirt set. Mattel says that this color and design are nods to symbols for diabetes awareness.

This new doll “enables more children to see themselves reflected in Barbie,” Mattel wrote Tuesday, and is part of the company’s wider Fashionistas line committed to inclusivity. The line features Barbies with various skin tones, hair colors and textures, disabilities, body types and more. Previously-introduced Fashionistas include a Ken doll with a prosthetic leg and a Barbie with hearing aids. Mattel also introduced its first doll with Down syndrome in 2023.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 38.4 million Americans of all ages — amounting to about 11.6% of the U.S. population — were estimated to have diabetes as of 2021, the latest year with data available. About 2 million had Type 1 diabetes, including about 304,000 children and teens younger than 20.

Barbie’s new doll with Type 1 diabetes was also introduced at Breakthrough T1D’s 2025 Children’s Congress held in Washington, D.C. this week, where the organization is advocating for continued federal research funding. This year, Breakthrough T1D has been particularly focused on the Special Diabetes Program, which is currently set to expire in September.

By Bernadette Joy, Bankrate.com

“Renting is throwing money away.” Has anyone ever told you this? Well, I’m here to say: It’s bad financial advice.

My husband and I have owned four different homes in three cities since 2010. If I wanted to, I could buy a house in cash today. But for the last three years, I’ve chosen to rent instead — and my net worth has grown by leaps and bounds because of that choice, not in spite of it.

This is always a hot topic, especially because renting challenges the traditional rhetoric that homeownership is the ultimate path to wealth. And I get it — owning a home is part of the “American Dream.” But if it doesn’t lead to financial freedom, homeownership may be more like a nightmare.

Let me show you how renting, when done intentionally, can actually make you richer.

Renting avoids the hidden costs of homeownership

When you own a home, you’re not just paying the mortgage — you’re also responsible for home maintenance, property taxes and insurance. In fact, Bankrate’s 2025 Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study found that the average annual cost of owning and maintaining a single-family home is more than $21,000.

Now, you’ll incur some of these costs when renting, too. Unless your rental unit includes utilities and internet, you’re probably going to have to pay out of pocket. You’ll probably pay less in electricity than you would in a large, single-family home, but for the sake of argument, let’s take these average costs at face value.

Omitting the expenses you’ll still have when renting, homeownership costs an average of $15,391 — that’s almost $1,300 you could free up each month.

While there aren’t any states that require renters insurance, most landlords have a provision in their rental contracts requiring this form of coverage. While typically less expensive than homeowners insurance, renters insurance is another cost to factor into your calculations.

And don’t forget about mortgage interest

My clients are always shocked when I have them review the amortization table for their 30-year mortgage. In the early years of your mortgage, a large percentage of your monthly payment goes toward interest. You’re not really building equity in the first few years of a mortgage — you’re mostly paying interest.

Let’s say you borrowed a $420,000 mortgage. You qualified for a 6.75 percent mortgage rate on a 30-year term. Your monthly payment is $2,724.

Of your first mortgage payment, only $362 pays down the principal balance — a whopping $2,363 goes toward interest. The balance does shift over time, and by the end of your 30-year term, the bulk of your payment goes toward the principal. But how likely is it that you’ll see the mortgage through to the bitter end, without selling or refinancing (and starting the clock all over again)?

I’ve helped five clients make the decision to sell their homes in 2025, and none of them lived there longer than a decade. So much of their money has gone to interest, and they won’t get much equity in return.

After five years of dutifully paying $2,724 every month, you’ve only gained about $25,000 in home equity. Meanwhile, your mortgage servicer will have made nearly $138,000 from your loan interest. Your five years’ worth of mortgage payments cost you $163,440, and in return, you got $25,000 in equity. Hardly seems worth it.

Rather than paying $15,000 per year in homeownership costs and vast sums of mortgage interest, I pay my rent. Sure, I won’t get a return on that money, but more cash stays in my pocket — cash I can put toward investments. Use a mortgage calculator to take a look at your amortization table and crunch the numbers for yourself.

Renting frees up capital for wealth-building

“Real estate always appreciates in value.” This one’s a myth — just ask anyone who sold a home during the 2008 financial crisis. My husband and I paid $10,000 out of pocket to sell his home at the time.

Yes, real estate can appreciate, but it’s also highly market- and location-dependent. In the past three years, the investments I’ve made in the stock market and my financial education business have significantly outpaced the return I would’ve made on a home in my local market — and with much less headache.

Unfortunately, several of my clients bought their homes at the height of the pandemic boom and are now seeing their home values decline from their peaks.

In today’s economy, renting is increasingly the more affordable option.

According to those numbers, you could save more than $9,000 per year by renting. That money could go a long way for many Americans, and even further if you reallocate that money into wealth-building assets.

After selling my home and returning to renting, I took the proceeds of the sale and invested in growing my business — that cash injection allowed me to surpass my first $1 million in revenue. In the time since, my husband and I have also contributed the maximum amount to our 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), allowing us to pursue early retirement.

When I transitioned from homeownership to renting, I used the proceeds from my home sale and invested in low-risk, interest-bearing accounts, like high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). This passive income has covered my rent and other living expenses.

I have more money working for me as a renter than I did as a homeowner.

Renting can offer new social networks and income opportunities

Some of my older coaching clients tend to wrongly believe that renting equates to a decrease in quality of life. I’ve been happy to dispel that myth when they comment on the dance, improv and travel that my renting lifestyle accommodates.

I live in a one-bedroom rental in a walkable neighborhood filled with restaurants, music, theater and fitness. Post-COVID apartment buildings often feature co-working spaces, gyms and even social events that allow me to meet people from all walks of life. I felt a lot more isolated in the suburb where I used to live, which was more homogeneous, less active, and farther away from cultural events.

I’ve also been able to find more side hustles than when I lived on the outskirts, like teaching financial literacy classes or dog walking and babysitting for neighbors in my building.

The combination of downsizing and renting has also allowed me to pick up and move quickly to capitalize on potential business or job opportunities in other cities. I can afford global travel with business partners using the money I previously spent on lawn care and home DIY projects. I’ve expanded my social and professional networks and spend more time doing things that bring me joy.

Why renting can be strategic

According to Bankrate’s 2025 Emergency Savings Report, fewer than half of U.S. adults have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses, and about a quarter have no emergency savings at all. When you don’t have money set aside for a rainy day, it’s especially important to have tight control over your monthly spending — predictable monthly payments are key.

A fixed-rate mortgage may seem stable, but property taxes can always go up. Insurance premiums can rise, and maintenance is always more expensive than you think. Avoiding surprise repairs to water heaters, HVAC systems or roofing can also decrease the anxiety of not having enough cash savings on hand, especially when those repairs cost thousands of dollars.

Your next steps

• What expenses will actually help me build the life I want?
• Do I want a house in the suburbs because I believe it’s what’s expected of me?
• Could my money be better spent elsewhere?
• If I already own a home, have I considered the real-world costs associated with my mortgage, maintenance and other housing costs?
• How do my homeownership costs compare to rentals in my area?

Final thoughts: Owning a home can be great — if it fits your financial plan

As a first-generation American, I felt the weight of my family’s expectation to live out the American Dream — after all, they emigrated here so I could realize it. But I’m living proof that renting isn’t a step back, nor should you feel any shame for choosing to rent.

It’s been a strategic move that’s made me richer — financially, mentally, and emotionally.

Think of rent the same way you think of a gym membership or software subscription — it’s a monthly cost that may support the lifestyle you want. It’s not “throwing money away.” It’s buying peace of mind, freedom of movement and time to grow wealth in other ways.

For me, real wealth isn’t found in square footage. It’s in the daily opportunity to move and live freely according to what aligns with my own version of the American Dream.

©2025 Bankrate.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

ANAHEIM, Calif. — When Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill married in 2003, you might be forgiven for thinking that a song, an album or a show might follow.

After all, Peterson cofounded the Bangles in 1981 with her sister Debbi Peterson, Susanna Hoffs, and bass player Annette Zilinskas (who would be replaced by Michael Steele). And from the mid-’60s, Cowsill was a member of the Cowsills with siblings Bill, Bob, Barry, and Susan Cowsill, as well as their mother Barbara Cowsill.

That’s a lot of musical legacy between them, but no, there was nothing more than the occasional backing vocals for friends or fellow musicians over the years, until April when the first-ever Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill album, “Long After the Fire,” arrived.

Maybe that’s how it was meant to be, though. The album is a collection of covers of songs written by Bill Cowsill, who died at 58 in 2006, after a long run of poor health, and Barry Cowsill, who died at 50 in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina tore through his then-hometown of New Orleans.

“The idea was floating around for years and years,” Peterson says on a recent phone call with Cowsill. ” And some of the songs have been in our world for decades, including the song ‘Don’t Look Back,’ which was recorded by the Cowsills back in 1970. So as a kid and a Cowsills fan, I knew that song and loved it.

“It was an idea John and I talked about for a long time, and then finally, circumstances kind of came to the point where we were able to start recording together,” she says. “We have a studio here in our home, but John was touring with the Beach Boys for 23 years, and was rarely actually physically home. So it took a while to actually get into the studio and make the commitment to, like, we’re going to do this.”

Recording together isn’t the only thing Cowsill, 68, and Peterson, 67, have learned. With only one or two exceptions, they’d never shared a live stage either.

“It’s brand new,” Cowsill says, as both laugh. “We were just a domestic couple for, like, the longest time of our relationship. I mean, other than playing 20 years at Bill’s benefit, singing ‘A Thousand Times’ [which is now on their album] of all songs, we never really did anything together. Unless occasionally somebody would send us a file and ask us to put vocals on it, and we’d go downstairs in the studio and put vocals on other people’s stuff.

“Then we’d come upstairs and make dinner and that was it,” he says.

“We’re a baby band,” Peterson says. “We’re the oldest baby band in the world.”

“Because nobody knows who we are really,” Cowsill adds. “That’s why, like, Vicki wanted to call it the Peter-Sills – “

“No, I didn’t,” she says in mock offense as both laugh again.

“OK, but she wanted to name us something else than our names,” says Cowsill, who earlier this year toured with the Smithereens in place of the late singer Pat DiNizio. “I said, ‘No way, we need all the help we can get. Somebody might recognize those names and answer the phone when we call.’”

In an interview edited for length and clarity, Peterson and Cowsill talked about how they picked the songs from Bill and Barry Cowsill’s individual catalogs, what it was like taking on songs for loved family members who no longer alive, and why Peterson says Cowsill was inconsiderate on the day they first met some 47 years ago now.

Q: My understanding, John, is that ‘”Is Anybody Here” was the song that got the ball rolling when Paul Allen [who produced the record] called you from Nashville one day.

Cowsill: That’s right, yep. He was in Nashville and I was playing with the Beach Boys in Memphis and he called me up and asked me randomly: Do I want to record at Sun Studio? And I kind of laughed and said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because you’ve been telling me about the Dead Brothers Project forever,’ and I kind of said, ‘Oh yeah sure.’

So we went there, it was a perfect choice. [“Is Anybody Here”] is a very Roy Orbison-y kind of melody and feel to it. It just was a beautiful place to record that song. It came out nice. So that started the project for sure.

Q: I’d heard that you and Vicki were calling this the Dead Brothers Project as you worked on it.

Cowsill: Yeah, we called it that forever. We were gonna even name it that, but then went on the internet and everybody has a ‘dead brothers’ something. To me, it was like that was risqué, but it wasn’t at all.

Q: Didn’t Bill used to do something where he’d only play songs by dead rock stars?

Cowsill: He said, ‘We only do dead guy music.’ So he would totally appreciate the Dead Brothers Project. My family’s pretty fun and dark like that.

Q: You chose six songs by each of Bill and Barry. Was it difficult to decide which ones to do?

Peterson: I would say it was easy, but there were definitely choices that had to be made. These were just the ones that rose to the top for us. We love the songs that Bill recorded with his bands Blues Shadows and Blue Northern, but some of those songs on those albums Bill did not write, so they weren’t eligible.

And Barry just has a very eclectic songbook, and some of the stuff is quite out there and quite particular to his artistry. We had to really think about that, like that’s so Barry, how can we put ourselves into that song and perform it and find a way that would feel comfortable doing that? Because he was such a character in so many ways. The guy was like a vaudeville character or something.

Cowsill: He didn’t do a lot of cowriting. He wrote for himself. Bill always loved writing with other people. Him and Jeffrey Hatcher wrote a lot of songs on the Blue Shadows, and Jeffrey is an incredible songwriter. Those guys tell stories even if it didn’t happen to them. They can get outside themselves. But Barry is very personal. He lives by example.

Q: What was a song of Barry’s you did that you had to really think about including?

Peterson: I would say “Ol’ Timeless.’ It’s just his voice and sort of a harmonium sound, and so, so personal that it felt a little ballsy in a way to take a stab at it. We wanted to honor the almost spiritual quality of that song, but then frame it very differently musically. That one was like, we’re taking kind of a giant step here.

Cowsill: And it pertains to people on the outside. Like, we couldn’t do a song like “My Car Don’t Lock.” It’s so Barry. I mean, you could do any of them, but it’s still very stylized. I wouldn’t want to mess with it.

Q: Bill and Barry have been gone for about 20 years now. I’d imagine that working on this record stirred some strong memories of them for you both.

Peterson: I knew them mostly as a fan. But I did spend quite a bit of time with Barry because he lived in New Orleans at the same time that I did, so we crossed paths many times there. I had a couple of misadventures with Bill in the ’90s at South By Southwest, but he was mostly a guy on the other end of the phone for me.

I was just hoping and believing that Barry would be very happy to have this project out in the world. He said more than once – actually we’re sitting in our kitchen right now, and he said it in this very room. One night, he goes, “I just want my music to be heard. I just want it to be heard.” That’s what I keep thinking about

Cowsill: Yeah, we’re reintroducing these songs that have been out before, and so it’s a reawakening of the songs. I always bonded with Bill – in later years we did. He basically raised some of us. Me, for sure. Trained me as a musician and a singer. I consider him our Brian Wilson in our family.

Q: In the making of the record, you must have gotten to know each other musically in ways that were new and different.

Cowsill: Just discovering how we sound together, we were kind of smiling at each other. Said, ‘Oh, this is good.’ Because we started in the living room, you know. The first time we realized that we have a nice blend together was like, ‘OK, we can definitely do this. This is going to be fun.’

And it has been fun. We smile and laugh a lot. If anybody’s a hothead it’s me. I have to put notes on the table telling me, “Be patient. Be calm. Don’t get mad.” Because, you know, I want to hurry up and figure out what’s going on, and sometimes it takes people a little bit longer to do stuff, and you have to be patient.

Q: As you were figuring things out, what were the songs where you had that feeling of ‘this is working’?

Peterson: I think John mentioned “A Thousand Times.” That is a song that actually 21 years ago, we performed at a benefit for Bill to help raise some money for his medical needs. He was having some issues up in Canada and had no money.

So this wonderful concert was put on, hosted by the Cowsills mostly, but with great guests: Peter Tork [of the Monkees], Waddy Wachtel [musician and Bill’s close friend], Shirley Jones [who starred in “The Partridge Family” TV series, which was inspired by the Cowsills].

Q: And Barry’s song from your wedding is on the album, too.

Cowsill: I’ve always loved “Hearts Collide,” and Barry sang it at our wedding. I just love that song. I mean, yes, there’s just so many connections and dots connected doing this project on many, many levels. And it was a very moving project as well, because they’re not here.

Q: The wedding was in 2003, but I’d assume you knew each other for much longer, given the community of musicians in Los Angeles in which you both have traveled. How far back does your friendship go?

Cowsill: Well, I’m going to take a nap, and Vicki can tell you the story. [Both laugh]

Peterson: It’s not long at all. We date back to April 28, 1978.

Cowsill: We did not date.

Peterson: We were not dating. We met that day at a small club in Redondo Beach. But even if we hadn’t met that day – and you can look at it like sliding doors, like if life had worked out slightly differently – we probably would have met in the coming years because the Cowsills were already out and about playing again after many years of not working together.

I was a big Cowsills fan. I would have found them in some other club, Club Lingerie, at the Whisky, at the Troubadour.  At some point, I would have gone to see the Cowsills play, and I would have gone up and introduced myself, because my sister and my best friend and I were already playing in clubs ourselves at that time, just out of high school. And our paths did collide over and over again over the next couple of years.

But as far as personal relationships, no. We met in April, and by May, John was married to Wife No. 1. So that was very inconvenient and inconsiderate of him, I thought.

Then Susan Cowsill and I became very close friends. [They formed the duo the Psycho Sisters and were also members of the Continental Drifters.] So I was just like Susan’s friend for many years to John, I think. Just those girls who used to hang out at rehearsals, and now they’re on MTV.

Q: So, at some point after John’s no longer married and you started to date?

Peterson: We never dated until after Wife No. 2.

Cowsill: I collect the whole series.

Peterson: He does. He was practicing, and he did very well. He’d kind of got it down.

Q: And now that you’ve discovered the joy of performing together – another album, more shows?

Cowsill: We’re planning on going forward. An album will be in the works eventually. But we haven’t really toured yet. We’re happy to have the date in Fullerton. So we’ll see if they come. We want them to come. They’re gonna have a great time, because we’re fun. Let’s see what happens.

In a certain acclaimed musical, characters wonder why Founding Father Alexander Hamilton writes like he’s running out of time.

We might ask the same thing of James Gunn.

In 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery hired the filmmaker behind the largely fantastic “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies for Disney-owned Marvel Studios as co-chairman and -CEO of DC Studios. WBD tasked him with overseeing the construction of the DC Universe — the successor to the DC Extended Universe, home to the polarizing so-called “Snyderverse” movies — and creating a more pleasing and profitable future for characters such as Batman, Wonder Woman and, of course, Superman.

Gunn wrote and directed the first big-screen DCU endeavor, “Superman,” which flies into theaters this week.

It does so breathlessly, packing in too many characters and too many plot threads, resulting in a cinematic affair that is more dizzying than delightful.

Unquestionably, the film has its superior aspects, starting with hints of John Williams’ iconic score from 1978’s “Superman” peppered throughout and the choice of the relatively little-known David Corenswet to portray the Man of Steel, a super-powered, all-but-invincible being sent to Earth from the since-destroyed Krypton. The “Twisters” actor radiates the sincere and optimistic vibe Gunn is going for with his version of the character, created in Cleveland decades ago.

Michigan native Dean Cain honored to have played Superman

And speaking of The Land, it truly shines in “Superman,” much of which was shot in and around the city a year ago. Although shooting also took place in Cincinnati and other spots, Metropolis essentially is Cleveland fused with a larger, digitally created collection of buildings, but landmarks such as the Terminal Tower are rarely out of sight for long. Other downtown locations, such as Public Square, get their moments in the sun, too. That shot of Superman and love interest Lois Lane (a smartly cast Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) elevating in the Arcade that’s teased in the advanced footage? It’s entirely lovely. Plus, Progressive Field sees more action than the Cleveland Guardians have generated of late. Oh, and let’s not forget the sandy Headlands Beach State Park in Lake County, which stands in for a fictional country’s desert landscape.

Gunn has a tremendous gift for blending action, comedy and adventure, which he has done here, albeit far less successfully than in the “Guardians” flicks, which exist within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and his R-rated DCEU film, 2021’s “The Suicide Squad.” Whatever “Superman” is, it isn’t boring.

And we understand why he eschewed the notion of making yet another superhero origin story — the world has plenty of those. That said, despite the on-screen text that greets us in the movie’s opening moments — informing us that, among other facts, metahumans (super types) have been on the planet for three centuries and that Superman introduced himself to humanity three years ago — it always feels like we’re playing catch-up.

Metropolis — where it seems so commonplace for superpowered beings to be clashing above the skyscrapers that some folks barely notice — is also home to a small band of heroes led by Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion, “Firefly”), who wields a powerful ring and insists upon using the name Justice Gang, which ally Hawkgirl (Cleveland native Isabela Merced, “The Last of Us”) insists is very much a working title. Regardless, the group also includes Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi, “For All Mankind”), who’s brilliant but easily irritated.

On the other side is Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor (an appropriately bald Nicholas Hoult, “The Great”), a tech visionary and ever-scheming businessman, and the metahumans he commands, including the shapeshifting Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría, “Animal Control”) and versatile Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan, “Barry”).

With all these moving pieces, there’s barely time for the obligatory romance between Lois and her reporter colleague Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego. They’ve been dating for three months, and cracks are starting to show in their relationship. Until now, Clark has been getting exclusive interviews with Superman, which, as Lois points out, is ethically questionable, to say the least. He grants her one there and then, as Superman, and he is more than taken aback by her tough questions regarding the role he has assumed in world diplomacy, more or less on behalf of the United States but without governmental approval.

“PEOPLE WERE GOING TO DIE!” he exclaims.

(She also calls him out for being pouty after he reads negative social media posts about himself, which also doesn’t go well.)

Thanks to Luthor — who tends to refer to him, with disgust, as “the Kryptonian” — Supes soon has much bigger problems.

As if all of that weren’t enough, the mix also includes, as you probably know, a super dog, the mostly adorable but also unruly and downright violent Krypto.

As “Superman” burns and barks through its slightly more-than-two-hour runtime, we get geopolitics, the swift swaying of public sentiment, a prison within a “pocket universe” and an interdimensional rift that threatens to destroy more than Metropolis.

Exhale.

Some are sure to enjoy this wild ride, while others almost certainly will want off pretty early.

Even though this wasn’t our cup of superhero tea, we still largely believe in the creative Gunn and hope that he has the opportunity to flesh out the DCU. He recently has pushed back on the notion that “Superman” needs to generate a super-sized return at the box office on its reported $225 million budget to be deemed a success, but maybe he literally already is running out of time.

Gunn has made a Superman movie that celebrates and accentuates what he loves about the character, first and foremost his admiration for what it means to be human. Hey, it’s hard to knock that.

However, if Gunn gets to make another, we hope he finds a way to slow things down a bit.

‘Superman’

Where: Theaters.

When: July 11.

Rated: PG-13 for violence, action and language.

Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes.

Stars (of four): 2.

Nearly eight million student loan borrowers will soon begin accruing interest on their debt again. The U.S. Department of Education announced Wednesday that interest charges for people enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan will resume on August 1.

The income-driven repayment program, which was introduced by the Biden administration in 2023, allowed some low-income borrowers to qualify for $0 monthly payments on their federal student loans, while others could have their loans forgiven outright.

IN RELATED NEWS | As federal student loan collections resume, what options do borrowers have?

The White House at the time said that student loan borrowers enrolled in the SAVE Plan who have made payments for at least 10 years and originally took out up to $12,000 are eligible to have their loans automatically forgiven.

Additionally, the White House said for every $1,000 borrowed above $12,000, a borrower can receive forgiveness after an additional year of payments. That means someone enrolled in the SAVE Plan with an original debt of up to $21,000 would have their loans forgiven by the time they reach 20 years of payments.

However, a lawsuit filed by seven Republican-led states argued that taxpayer dollars shouldn't be used to subsidize the student loan repayments of those who benefited from receiving higher education.

A federal appeals court ultimately sided with the plaintiffs, claiming the Biden administration was using the SAVE Plan as a workaround after the Supreme Court blocked former President Joe Biden's sweeping loan forgiveness plan in June 2023.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT | US appeals court blocks Biden SAVE Plan for student loan repayment and relief

The Education Department said it will soon begin reaching out directly to the nearly 7.7 million borrowers currently enrolled in the SAVE Plan, with instruction on how to begin making qualifying payments again.

For years, the Biden Administration used so-called loan forgiveness promises to win votes, but federal courts repeatedly ruled that those actions were unlawful," said U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon. "Congress designed these programs to ensure that borrowers repay their loans, yet the Biden Administration tried to illegally force taxpayers to foot the bill instead."

Detroit Tigers bat boy Frankie Boyd has been named to the 2025 MLB All-Star game, the franchise and MLB announced on Wednesday afternoon.

Boyd has been part of the Bat Boy crew since 2017, earning high praise from players in the clubhouse.

Boyd and Philadelphia Phillies bat boy Adam Crognale will be in Atlanta next week for the All-Star festivities.

The All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, July 15 (8 p.m. ET, Fox). Barring any last minute additions with injuries, Four Tigers players will participate in the game: pitcher Tarik Skubal, infielder Gleyber Torres and outfielders Riley Greene and Javier Baez.

A Wayne County man has won a top prize of $4,000,0000 in an instant game after deciding to buy a ticket after he checked and saw none of the top prizes had been claimed yet.

I like playing the $30 games and saw on the prizes remaining page on MichiganLottery.com that $4,000,000 Winner still had all three top prizes remaining, so I went to the store to buy a ticket, said the 50-year-old player, who chose to remain anonymous, in a press release. The store had three $4,000,000 Winner tickets left, so I bought all three, scratched the barcodes, and scanned the tickets.

One of the tickets came back with a message to file a claim, so I knew I had to have won one of the big prizes, but I was too nervous to scratch the ticket," he continued. "The next day, once I calmed down a bit, I scanned the ticket on the Michigan Lottery app and started screaming when $4 million came up on the screen! It was unreal.

Checking the instant games prizes remaining page on MichiganLottery.com led this lucky player to trying a new game and scoring an incredible $4 million win! said Lottery Commissioner Suzanna Shkreli in the news release. Congratulations to Michigans newest millionaire on his life-changing prize!

The winning ticket was purchased at Superior Market at 5700 Plymouth Road in Ann Arbor.

The man claimed the prize at lottery headquarters, taking the one-time lump sum payment of about $2.7 million. He told lottery officials he plans to pay off his home, take a trip, and then save the remainder.

According to the lottery, players have won more than $72 million playing $4,000,000 Winner, which launched in December 2023. Each $30 ticket offers players a chance to win prizes ranging from $30 up to $4 million. More than $92 million in prizes remain, including two $4 million top prizes, 24 $15,000 prizes, and 132 $5,000 prizes.

The health of U.S. children has deteriorated over the past 17 years, with kids today more likely to have obesity, chronic diseases and mental health problems like depression, a new study says.

Much of what researchers found was already known, but the study paints a comprehensive picture by examining various aspects of childrens physical and mental health at the same time.

The surprising part of the study wasnt any with any single statistic; it was that theres 170 indicators, eight data sources, all showing the same thing: a generalized decline in kids health, said Dr. Christopher Forrest, one of the authors of the study published Monday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has brought children's health to the forefront of the national policy conversation, unveiling in May a much-anticipated Make America Healthy Again report that described kids as undernourished and overmedicated, and raised concerns about their lack of physical activity. But the Trump administration's actions including cuts to federal health agencies, Medicaid and scientific research are not likely to reverse the trend, according to outside experts who reviewed Mondays study.

The health of kids in America is not as good as it should be, not as good as the other countries, and the current policies of this administration are definitely going to make it worse, said Dr. Frederick Rivara, a pediatrician and researcher at the Seattle Children's Hospital and UW Medicine in Seattle. He co-authored an editorial accompanying the new study.

Forrest and his colleagues analyzed surveys, electronic health records from 10 pediatric health systems and international mortality statistics. Among their findings:

Obesity rates for U.S. children 2-19 years old rose from 17% in 2007-2008 to about 21% in 2021-2023.

A U.S. child in 2023 was 15% to 20% more likely than a U.S. child in 2011 to have a chronic condition such as anxiety, depression or sleep apnea, according to data reported by parents and doctors.

Annual prevalence rates for 97 chronic conditions recorded by doctors rose from about 40% in 2011 to about 46% in 2023.

Early onset of menstruation, trouble sleeping, limitations in activity, physical symptoms, depressive symptoms and loneliness also increased among American kids during the study period.

American children were around 1.8 times more likely to die than kids in other high-income countries from 2007-2022. Being born premature and sudden unexpected death were much higher among U.S. infants, and firearm-related incidents and motor vehicle crashes were much more common among 1-19-year-old American kids than among those the same age in other countries examined.

The research points to bigger problems with Americas health, said Forrest, who is a pediatrician at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

Kids are the canaries in the coal mine, he said. When kids health changes, its because theyre at increased vulnerability, and it reflects whats happening in society at large.

RELATED STORY | Alarming number of adolescents have prediabetes, new data from CDC says

The timing of the study, he said, is completely fortuitous." Well before the 2024 presidential election, Forrest was working on a book about thriving over the life span and couldnt find this sort of comprehensive data on childrens health.

The datasets analyzed have some limitations and may not be applicable to the full U.S. population, noted Dr. James Perrin, a pediatrician and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, who wasn't involved in the study.

The basic finding is true, he said.

The editorial published alongside the study said while the administration's MAHA movement is bringing welcome attention to chronic diseases, "it is pursuing other policies that will work against the interests of children. Those include eliminating injury prevention and maternal health programs, canceling investments in a campaign addressing sudden infant death and fueling vaccine hesitancy among parents that may lead to a resurgence of deadly vaccine-preventable diseases," authors wrote.

Officials from the U.S. Health and Human Services Department did not respond to a request for comment.

Forrest said risks highlighted by the MAHA report, such as eating too much ultra-processed food, are real but miss the complex reality driving trends in children's health.

We have to step back and take some lessons from the ecological sustainability community and say: Lets look at the ecosystem that kids are growing up in. And lets start on a kind of neighborhood-by-neighborhood, city-by-city basis, examining it, he said.

By JOSH BOAK

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump sent out tariff letters to seven smaller U.S. trading partners on Wednesday with a pledge to announce import taxes on other countries later in the day.

None of the countries targeted in the first batch of letters — the Philippines, Brunei, Moldova, Algeria, Libya, Iraq and Sri Lanka — is a major industrial rival to the United States. It’s a sign that a president who has openly expressed his love for the word “tariff” is still infatuated with the idea that taxing trade will create prosperity for America.

Most economic analyses say the tariffs will worsen inflationary pressures and subtract from economic growth, but Trump has used the taxes as a way to assert the diplomatic and financial power of the U.S. on both rivals and allies. His administration is promising that the taxes on imports will lower trade imbalances, offset some of the cost of the tax cuts he signed into law on Friday and cause factory jobs to return to the United States.

Trump, during a White House meeting with African leaders talked up trade as a diplomatic tool. Trade, he said, “seems to be a foundation” for him to settle disputes between India and Pakistan, as well as Kosovo and Serbia.

“You guys are going to fight, we’re not going to trade,” Trump said. “And we seem to be quite successful in doing that.”

On Monday, Trump placed a 35% tariff on Serbia, one of the countries he was using as an example of how fostering trade can lead to peace.

Trump said the tariff rates in his letters were based on “common sense” and trade imbalances, adding that he would be sending a letter on Wednesday or Thursday to Brazil. Trump suggested he had not thought of penalizing the countries whose leaders were meeting with him in the Oval Office — Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau — as “these are friends of mine now.”

Officials for the European Union, a major trade partner and source of Trump’s ire on trade, said Tuesday that they are not expecting to receive a letter from Trump listing tariff rates. The Republican president started the process of announcing tariff rates on Monday by hitting two major U.S. trading partners, Japan and South Korea, with import taxes of 25%.

According to Trump’s letters, imports from Libya, Iraq, Algeria and Sri Lanka would be taxed at 30%, those from Moldova and Brunei at 25% and those from the Philippines at 20%. The tariffs would start Aug. 1.

The Census Bureau reported that last year U.S. ran a trade imbalance on goods of $1.4 billion with Algeria, $5.9 billion with Iraq, $900 million with Libya, $4.9 billion with the Philippines, $2.6 billion with Sri Lanka, $111 million with Brunei and $85 million with Moldova. The imbalance represents the difference between what the U.S. exported to those countries and what it imported.

Taken together, the trade imbalances with those seven countries are essentially a rounding error in a U.S. economy with a gross domestic product of $30 trillion.

The letters were posted on Truth Social after the expiration of a 90-day negotiating period with a baseline levy of 10%. Trump is giving countries more time to negotiate with his Aug. 1 deadline, but he has insisted there will be no extensions for the countries that receive letters.

Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s chief trade negotiator, told EU lawmakers in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday that the EU had been spared the increased tariffs contained in the letters sent by Trump and that an extension of talks until Aug. 1 would provide “additional space to reach a satisfactory conclusion.”

Trump on April 2 proposed a 20% tariff for EU goods and then threatened to raise that to 50% after negotiations did not move as fast as he would have liked, only to return to the 10% baseline. The EU has 27 member states, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

The tariff letters are worded aggressively in Trump’s style of writing. He frames the tariffs as an invitation to “participate in the extraordinary Economy of the United States,” adding that the trade imbalances are a “major threat” to America’s economy and national security.

The president threatened additional tariffs on any country that attempts to retaliate. He said he chose to send the letters because it was too complicated for U.S. officials to negotiate with their counterparts in the countries with new tariffs. It can take years to broker trade accords.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba interpreted the Aug. 1 deadline as a delay to allow more time for negotiations, although he cautioned in remarks that the tariffs would hurt his nation’s domestic industries and employment.

Malaysia’s trade minister, Zafrul Aziz, said Wednesday that his country would not meet all of the U.S. requests after a Trump letter placed a 25% tariff on its goods. Aziz said U.S. officials are seeking changes in government procurement, halal certification, medical standards and digital taxes. Aziz he indicated those were red lines.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to arrive Thursday in Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur.

Associated Press writers David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.