PHILADELPHIA -- For a “real lesson in torture,” try calling your local Social Security Administration office with a question.

That’s what Marcia Chestnut, a 62-year-old former housekeeper from Philadelphia, sardonically suggests.

In February, Chestnut — who lives with various disabilities — received a notice from the SSA saying her ...Read more

We’re sipping hot chocolate and watching a mama bear and her cubs nose around the beach when we catch sight of a shower of ice chunks plunging into the waters of Alaska’s Disenchantment Bay.

Standing on the deck of a catamaran anchored half a mile from Hubbard Glacier, we had been hoping to witness such a scene: North America’s largest ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA -- For a “real lesson in torture,” try calling your local Social Security Administration office with a question.

That’s what Marcia Chestnut, a 62-year-old former housekeeper from Philadelphia, sardonically suggests.

In February, Chestnut — who lives with various disabilities — received a notice from the SSA saying her ...Read more

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mike Leslie, 66, sits at a desk beneath the buzz of fluorescent office lights, his fingers hovering over his new laptop keyboard. He smiles, eyes crinkling beneath a worn baseball cap. It’s a place he never imagined he’d be sitting.

Before last year, he’d never used a computer.

For most of his life, Leslie hadn’t ...Read more

The average Social Security benefit for a retired worker in February 2025 was $1,980 per month. That’s enough to help cover a few bills, but it’s far from what you may need for a comfortable retirement.

Many people dream of locking in the maximum Social Security benefit when they retire — and it’s easy to understand why. As the cost of ...Read more

During multiple tours in Afghanistan, Jeff Pharris conducted countless combat patrols and narrowly survived two bomb blasts. After 20 years of U.S. Army service as a communications specialist and combat advisor, he was honorably retired from active duty.

Soon after, he started substitute teaching at his local middle school and elementary school...Read more

When you’re in Washington, D.C., surrounded by fellow members of Congress, it’s probably easy to distance yourself from the human cost of your actions back home. So when the vote comes on a bill that will slash America’s largest anti-hunger program, you say yes.

In another era, it would have been a complete non-starter to go after a ...Read more

The National WWI Museum and Memorial has undergone some big changes over the last three years. The latest is a one-of-a-kind, immersive exhibit to its already loaded walls.

Encounters, the new exhibit, uses storytelling bolstered by state-of-the-art audio and video technology to share first-person narratives from individuals whose lives were ...Read more

MIAMI — Easing herself into the sofa in her Cutler Bay studio apartment, Alida Gonzalez said she’s been trying to relax recently. But, she continued, living in a daily state of “counting pennies,” particularly at the grocery store, takes its toll. And that’s even with the help of the roughly $100 she receives each month from the ...Read more

This is the little ship that could. And did so, beautifully.

Victory Cruise Lines’ Victory I made her much anticipated 2025 inaugural voyage in early April to the delight and enthusiasm of a large and loyal fanbase — many of whom were onboard for the voyage from Portland, Maine, to Toronto.

Leading up to this sailing, Victory I and sister ...Read more

Jim Johnson woke up at his usual time of roughly 6 a.m. Something, though, was different.

His right side felt numb.

He shifted onto his back, thinking that changing positions would make a difference. It didn't.

"This could be bad," he said to himself.

He managed to get out of bed but noticed his right leg was dragging.

Definitely bad, he ...Read more

A prime example of elderspeak: Cindy Smith was visiting her father in his assisted living apartment in Roseville, California. An aide who was trying to induce him to do something — Smith no longer remembers exactly what — said, “Let me help you, sweetheart.”

“He just gave her The Look — under his bushy eyebrows — and said, ‘...Read more

PICO RIVERA, Calif. -- Infielder Eddie Castorena, 75, wore two braces under his Old Spice uniform, one for his knee and one for his back.

Big Red catcher Tony Spallino, 67, was moving pretty well behind the plate, hoping he won't need a second hip replacement.

His teammate Agustin Quezada, 83, limped through the dugout between innings, leaning...Read more

PICO RIVERA, Calif. -- Infielder Eddie Castorena, 75, wore two braces under his Old Spice uniform, one for his knee and one for his back.

Big Red catcher Tony Spallino, 67, was moving pretty well behind the plate, hoping he won't need a second hip replacement.

His teammate Agustin Quezada, 83, limped through the dugout between innings, leaning...Read more

A visit to the emergency room is no fun for anybody. But older people face challenges that can make a tough situation worse.

The lights, noise and endless activity can be confusing and even trigger delirium. Slick floors pose fall risks, as do hospital beds that can be hard to get in and out of.

Some emergency departments, however, are taking ...Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Aboard his boat in Moss Landing harbor, Tai Huynh, 71, bent over a pile of grenadier, then flung one of the deep sea fish into a large bin. Next to him, Tham Vo tipped them into a 500-pound crane lift box, swigging glass bottles of Heineken between loads.

In just over two hours recently, the pair offloaded 3,854 pounds of ...Read more

It happened more than a decade ago, but the moment remains with her.

Sara Stewart was talking at the dining room table with her mother, Barbara Cole, 86 at the time, in Bar Harbor, Maine. Stewart, then 59, a lawyer, was making one of her extended visits from out of state.

Two or three years earlier, Cole had begun showing troubling signs of ...Read more

It happened more than a decade ago, but the moment remains with her.

Sara Stewart was talking at the dining room table with her mother, Barbara Cole, 86 at the time, in Bar Harbor, Maine. Stewart, then 59, a lawyer, was making one of her extended visits from out of state.

Two or three years earlier, Cole had begun showing troubling signs of ...Read more