October 15 through December 7 is the time for all Medicare Part D participants to evaluate their Part D plans for 2024. It is very important every year Part D plans are reviewed and compared. Many plans change their benefits and costs. Also, many times the prescriptions people take change.

During the pandemic, school closures and the transition to online or remote learning were no doubt challenges for our Nebraska students, teachers, and parents. As students logged on to their Zoom calls and worked on their online schooling, parents were often sitting side-by-side to work on their own online remote work.

Struggling to make meals with what you have on hand? Whether you’re wanting to make a favorite recipe but are missing some ingredients, or you’re tired of buying ingredients you only use once, these examples can help spark your imagination. Nebraska Extension Food & Health Educator Nancy Frecks based in Hitchcock County has some suggestions: Want to make sandwiches, but you’ve just eaten your last slice of bread? Use tortillas, bagels, pita breads, French bread, an English muffi n, rolls, focaccia, biscuits or a lettuce wrap instead.

If you ever played baseball, you may have been told to “keep your eye on the ball.” When batting, a baseball player is taught to watch the ball the entire time from when it leaves the pitcher’s hand to when, hopefully, their bat smacks the ball for a hit. It may sound simple, but some pitchers can throw fast and sometimes they throw a curveball. Great hitters use their vision and spot the difference, helping them get a hit. Lose focus, and in the blink of an eye the pitch has whipped past them for a strike.

On and off the court, Jaz Shelley is a star for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) basketball team. Jaz earned first-team All-Big Ten honors for her electric play. She earned Academic All-Big Ten honors for her work in the classroom. She’s beloved with fans and teammates alike. Like many players, she receives requests from businesses and nonprofits to lend her name, image, and likeness (NIL) in support of a local business or work a summer camp for kids. But unlike most of her teammates, Jaz is prohibited from saying yes to these opportunities. The reason? She’s from Australia. This week, I introduced legislation to give international student-athletes like Jaz access to the same NIL opportunities her teammates have.

The heinous attack on Israel by Hamas this month sent shockwaves throughout the Middle East and across the world. War in one part of the world has a ripple effect — we all feel its impact. In this case, the United States is especially affected. Hamas killed American citizens in its assaults on innocent people across Israel. It is holding American citizens hostage underground in Gaza. Hamas has American blood on its hands.

We want to thank the city guys, especially Rich Carpenter for maintaining the south Nature Park of Oxford. It is a great place to walk and have family gatherings, and fishing and the ball field.

Last week, tragedy struck in Israel. The Iranbacked terrorist group Hamas brutally attacked men, women, and children in a hateful act of war. The butchering of babies, the burning of human bodies, the kidnapping, rape, beating, and murder of Israelis is despicable and shocking to the core.

Aristotle is said to have referred to the female as a mutilated male, and this philosophy seems to have carried forward into much more modern times. In 1977, official FDA guidelines recommended that women of “childbearing potential” be excluded from early stage clinical trials.

In the second of our two-part series, we highlight TeamMates+ mentor/mentee Joanna Hergenreder and Betty Books. They share their deep appreciation for the TeamMates program founded in 1991 by Tom and Nancy Osborne.