A new hot spot for Americans

Classic ’50s cars on the streets of Havana.
 
Tribune Media Services
 
In January 2011, President Obama lifted additional restrictions on allowing Americans to legally travel to Cuba. The eased restrictions allow for educational, cultural and religious groups to acquire “people-to-people” licenses for Cuban travel with the intention of encouraging greater contact between Americans and Cubans. This is the second time the Obama administration has allowed more access to Cuba; in April 2009, Obama permitted unlimited travel to and from Cuba by Cuban-Americans visiting family members. 

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Beware of Unemployment Insurance Scams Unemployment Insurance Agency reminds citizens to file claims through official state website LANSING, MI — The State of Michigan is warning unemployed workers to avoid using non-official State of Michigan website

LANSING, MI — The State of Michigan is warning unemployed workers to avoid using non-official State of Michigan websites that solicit fees or personal information in order to apply for unemployment benefits.
 
Recently, customers have reported receiving solicitations by email where they are asked to provide personal and financial information or are charged fees to file unemployment claims.

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Ask Tamara: It’s Not the Right Time to Go Back to School!

Dear Tamara:
 
I have been thinking about going back to school for a couple of years now. But it seems like every time I get serious about it, something happens, or something comes up that prevents me from going. 
 
I just got accepted into a program and am not sure if I am going to be able to actually go. I just started a new job and would now have to go to school in the evenings. That means finding a sitter for my two sons. 

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Your Other 8 Hours: Bad Day? 5 Tips to Keep Your Motivation

By Robert Pagliarini, 
Tribune Media Services
 
A couple of weeks ago I had a bad day. Actually, it was a terrible day. Every piece of news I got was disappointing. Did it affect me? I still have bruises from the rock I tried to hide under.
 

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The Kid’s Doctor: K2: Teens embracing new legal ‘drug’ to get high

K2 is a mixture of herbal and spice products that are then sprayed with a psychotropic drug. 
 
By Sue Hubbard, M.D.
 
  I was seeing patients the other day when I spotted a teenage boy in the waiting room whom I’d cared for since birth (one of the perks of being a pediatrician). He’d come in over lunch with his mother, who wanted him to be screened for drug use. The mother had found a “pipe” in a pair of the boy’s trousers and was concerned that he was smoking marijuana.

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Interpersonal EDGE: Let Anger Energize your Effectiveness

By Dr. Daneen Skube
Tribune Media Services
 
Q. I’ve been in my career for about 20 years, and the older I get, the crankier I get. Even little things will set me ruminating for hours. I’ve tried just shifting my attention, but my thoughts go right back to what upsets me. Is there any way to work with anger that doesn’t leave you drained at the end of the day?

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Retire Smart: The phases of retirement

By Jill Schlesinger
Tribune Media Services
 
 Everyone loves to read “The Best/Worst Places to Retire,” but the choice of where to live in your non-working years is about more than just financial analysis and weather, isn’t it? 

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Your vision is just an answer away!

By Cedric Dukes

You are just an answer away from understanding who you are. Most people don’t realize who they are; some don’t realize that they have the power, ability and strength to become anything. Your vision is right at the door. Sometimes people go through life by trial and error.

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Students Rally For Anti Bullying Summit

Youth attend the “Spread the Word to End the Word”  Anti-Bullying Summit at Hill Center.  
 
Photo by Kimberly Purdy
 
LANSING, MI —  Hundreds of students, teachers, community members and parents packed the auditorium at the Hill Center on March 14, to talk about the impact of bullying.

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Movie Review: 21 Jump Street

Studio:  Columbia Pictures (109 min)
Plot:  A pair of underachieving cops go undercover to a local high school to bring down a synthetic drug ring.
Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson, DeRay Davis, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle
Rating:  R
Bottom Line:  **1/2
 
 
By Samantha Ofole-Prince
 
Whenever movies start out with sexual innuendos for humor gags, things usually don’t get much better. Within the first five minutes of this action-comedy, a guy is arrested and humped on, and it’s that moment that tells you exactly where you’ll be during the movie’s next hundred-plus minutes: toddling back and forth between crude and crass humor with numerous references to the male body parts.

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