These researchers are trying to diagnose CTE during life. They’re recruiting former football players

• May 10, 2025

Researchers are hoping they can tackle the mystery of how to diagnose CTE in the living.

The Boston University CTE Center and other research centers have received a $15 million NIH grant to diagnose CTE during life, as the scientists recruit hundreds of former football players for the new study.

Former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck is among the first to sign up for “The DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project-II.”

“As a former NFL player, I know I am at risk for CTE, but right now I am blessed to be feeling healthy,” said Hasselbeck, a three-time Pro Bowler during his 18-season career.

“As a former quarterback, I’m choosing to volunteer for DIAGNOSE CTE II to honor my teammates, especially those who blocked for me and took hits to the head, so I didn’t have to,” he added. “I encourage former college and pro football players age-50 and over to join me in signing up for the study to help researchers learn how to diagnose and treat CTE.”

Right now, CTE only can be diagnosed definitively after death following an autopsy.

Researchers in the study will look at new disease biomarkers to help doctors diagnose the progressive brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy in living patients.

Scientists are also trying to learn how to differentiate CTE from similar diseases like Alzheimer’s.

“This study will create unprecedented data sets needed to accurately diagnose CTE during life,” said Michael Alosco, associate professor of neurology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine.

“It will fill two missing links in the literature preventing us from developing definitive diagnostic criteria for CTE during life,” Alosco added. “First, we need longitudinal studies that include brain donation. Second, we need to better compare people at risk for CTE to other disease groups.”

Although this study will only study male football players, researchers said the findings will benefit all groups at risk for CTE — including male and female contact sports athletes and military veterans.

The study will examine new potential biomarkers using blood and brain imaging to help doctors accurately diagnose CTE in living patients.

Participants will enroll in one of the five NIA-funded Alzheimer’s disease research centers to complete neurological, cognitive and neuropsychiatric exams, multimodal brain imaging, tau PET imaging, and blood draws.

The information will be analyzed to characterize the specific signs, symptoms, and biomarkers of people at risk for CTE. Travel support for participants is provided.

Chris Nowinski and the Concussion Legacy Foundation will lead recruitment efforts. Robert Turner, an associate professor from Duke University, will help with recruitment focusing on understudied groups.

The DIAGNOSE CTE Research Project-II will recruit 350 men, age 50 and older, including 225 former college and professional football players, 75 control participants and 50 people with Alzheimer’s disease.

Former football players, as well as men who have no history of contact and collision sports, who are interested in participating are encouraged to sign up for the Concussion Legacy Foundation Research Registry at CLFResearch.org.

​ Orange County Register 

What your net worth statement is telling you

• May 10, 2025

By Amy Arnott of Morningstar

A summary of all your assets and liabilities is a crucial first step toward getting a better handle on your finances. Before you start putting together a net worth spreadsheet, gather as much information as you can to get the best sense of what it can tell you.

Overall net worth (assets minus liabilities)

The ultimate insight from a net worth statement is exactly what it says: the net worth number, which is simply assets minus liabilities. The number in isolation doesn’t tell you too much, but it is a useful benchmark to track over time. A negative net worth figure would obviously indicate room for improvement.

Debt ratio

To calculate your debt ratio, you’ll need to add up all required monthly debt payments, including mortgage payments, student loans, auto loans, and credit card debt. Then take the total and divide it by your monthly gross (pretax) income. Lower is better for this number, and any number greater than 43% will likely create problems in obtaining or refinancing a mortgage.

Emergency fund

Most financial advisors recommend keeping at least three to six months’ worth of monthly living expenses in cash or other low-risk, highly liquid assets to cover a sudden job loss or other unforeseen events, such as car repairs, appliance replacement, or other home repairs. Some investors may want to keep closer to 12 months’ worth of expenses in cash if variable pay makes up a significant portion of their total compensation.

Division of assets between partners

This question normally comes up in the context of divorce, but it can be worth considering for couples who plan to remain married, as well. Depending on your state’s estate-tax limits — and potential future changes to federal estate-tax laws— it can be beneficial for couples to try to balance out the assets owned by each individual. It’s also important for each member of a couple to have their own retirement assets.

Allocation of assets among taxable, tax-deferred, and real estate holdings

There’s no particular reason why the allocations need to be exactly one third each, but the principle of equitable distribution helps avoid assets that are out of balance in any particular area. In particular, it’s wise to avoid an overly large concentration in residential real estate because it’s not particularly liquid. Investors should generally direct most of their savings toward tax-deferred retirement accounts, but once those have accumulated a healthy balance, it can make sense to steer some savings toward taxable accounts.

Single-company risk

If any one stock accounts for a large share of your net worth, that might be cause for concern. That’s particularly true in the case of employer stock because it means that your human capital — your ability to generate income and earn a living — and financial capital both depend on the fortunes of one company.

Liquidity and valuation issues

For most assets, valuation is straightforward. But things get a bit trickier for collectibles that aren’t liquid, such as antiques and baseball cards. For any physical assets, make sure all of these assets are both securely stored and itemized on their homeowners’ insurance policy.

Number of accounts

Life is complicated enough without having a bunch of financial accounts scattered across different institutions. It’s easy to accumulate multiple accounts if you changed jobs and never moved assets from a previous employer’s plan or set up different IRAs at different times. But the hassle of keeping track of account numbers, passwords, and updated account balances may not be worth it. That’s particularly true for investors approaching age 72 when required minimum distributions kick in.

Investors don’t have to take RMDs from each account but will need to base their withdrawals on the account totals in every covered account. Having a limited number of accounts to deal with also makes things easier for family members if you die or become incapacitated.

This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to  https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance

Amy Arnott is a portfolio strategist at Morningstar.

​ Orange County Register 

Larry Wilson: Why do we let Trump trash the free press?

• May 10, 2025

All — all! — American presidents have problems with the press.

They don’t like reporters, the nosey parkers, and while the reporters may occasionally like them, they must try to hide any such feelings, as what they — we — are really after is a scoop. And these days, it is entirely bad form in the newsroom to cozy up to a politician, whether that pres is a liberal Barack Obama or a conservative George W. Bush.

The current president, Donald Trump, is neither a liberal nor a conservative. He’s a one-of-a-kind narcissist who, in a former life, made a business career out of cozying up to various journalists in the pursuit of furthering his Queens dreams of New York real estate domination. He would literally telephone any number of scribes pretending to be someone else with a hot tip about something, anything, that would further his up-and-down fortune.

And now, more’s the pity, he is again the president, pretending for the time being to see the journos who formerly made his bacon as the Enemy of the People.

It’s been 65 years since a president was elected who had cordial relations with the American press. From today’s rather prim perspective, matters were nuttily chummy.

Donald Trump does not drink. Joe Biden does not drink.

But Jack Kennedy would have any number of drinks, often, with his Georgetown neighbor Ben Bradlee — Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee — who was two years the junior of the blue-blooded politician at Harvard and served as he did with high distinction in World War II naval battles in the South Pacific. Their relationship continued though the 1950s as Bradlee took on senior positions at Newsweek and the Washington Post and Kennedy progressed from senator to president. Couldn’t, wouldn’t, doesn’t happen today.

I just finished “Fierce Ambition,” a fascinating biography of Maggie Higgins, the first American woman journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for war reporting. She was on the front lines with our troops in Germany, in Korea — where she won the Pulitzer and very nearly died in battle — and in Vietnam. A great beauty, she was also a Kennedy neighbor in Georgetown, and a drinker of many drinks with him. In the end she went native, as we say in the newspaper business, so much so that she married an Army general, and died at 45 from a tropical disease picked up in the Vietnamese jungle. While still a great reporter, she also endlessly lobbied JFK in letters and cables to expand the American fight against Ho Chi Minh.

Donald Trump, formerly almost equally chummy with liberals such as Maureen Dowd of The New York Times, in his ancient age has gone on a ballistic rampage against the media. He bans the Associated Press from covering him because it won’t rename the Gulf of Mexico, after 400 years, the Gulf of America. While he clearly loves Fox News and has, way beyond any Kennedyesque chumminess, nominated 19 current and former Fox folks to work in his administration — oftentimes because he thinks they look the telegenic part — he sued CBS for literally $20 billion for what he considers misleading edits of an interview with then-Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris. He sued the pollster for The Des Moines Register for predicting that Trump would lose the race in Iowa last November, which he very much did not lose. The pollster was wrong. But what kind of president in a non-Stalinist nation thinks that being wrong is a federal offense?

Let’s pause for a moment to consider the dangerously insane situation this presents in the one nation in the world that considers freedom of speech and the freedom of the press fundamental to its existence, in its Constitution. Brendan Carr, Trump’s FCC chair, after opening investigations into NPR and PBS underwriters, last week said in an interview that he is considering pulling CBS’s broadcast license.

Maybe it’s too chummy — I think it is — for a president to have a lot of drinks with people who cover him. But that’s nothing compared to suing them for $20B and trying to put them out of business. Calling them “human scum.” You know what’s scummy? An American president baldly trying to throw the First Amendment to the Constitution in the trash.

Why, Americans of all political stripes, are you letting him do it?

Larry Wilson is on the Southern California News Group editorial board. lwilson@scng.com.

​ Orange County Register 

Encino insurance adjuster tried to scam Eaton fire victims and others, state alleges

• May 10, 2025

An Encino-based public insurance adjuster and a series of related companies allegedly submitted false claims, stole insurance funds and failed to complete repairs for more than a dozen clients, including two Eaton fire victims, according to a newly filed class-action lawsuit and a complaint from the state Department of Insurance.

The Department of Insurance is now moving to fine and revoke the licenses of Aleksandr Guldshtadt and his company, Nationwide Insurance Claims Advocates (NICA), and to reject a license application from his wife, Evghenia Gaiju, as result of its investigation, documents showed.

The revocation is pending a hearing expected to take place within the next month.

State investigators believe Guldshtadt controlled NICA while having financial interests in at least three of the contractors hired using client insurance funds. It is illegal in California for an insurance adjuster to “receive remuneration from or have a finance interest in” any firm that obtains business related to an insurance claim handled by the adjuster.

Gaiju is considered to have “aided and abetted” Guldshtadt, the complaint states.

Those related companies include Evolve Construction & Restoration, CalMaster Restoration and WD Contractor Services Inc, according to the Department of Insurance. Contractor licenses for each were issued to Guldshtadt or listed him as having at least 10% ownership stake, investigators alleged. One company was registered to Guldshtadt’s mother-in-law and two used the same business address as NICA.

Altadena resident Nadine Isenberg filed a class-action lawsuit April 30 that her attorney, Brett Moore, estimates could include 40 to 100 other victims across the state and potentially nationwide. Moore alleges NICA has taken advantage of not only families impacted by the January wildfires here in Los Angeles County, but other disasters as well.

“There are multiple victims, it is not just from the Eaton fire,” Moore said. “He owns Evolve, he owns Nationwide Insurance Claim Advocates, he owns the people who do the testing. So all of the money that insurance pays out goes to him, goes into his pocket.”

Reached by phone, Guldshtadt denied the allegations.

“I don’t own those companies myself,” he said. “The (same) address doesn’t mean that I own the company.”

In a text message, Guldshtadt said his attorneys are in the process of responding to the Department of Insurance.

“There is not a single victim that lost any money due to our work,” he said.

The state’s investigation included interviews with 15 alleged victims, stretching from San Francisco to Bakersfield, Long Beach, Altadena and Pasadena, over a five-year period. The company allegedly forged a signature, filed false claims and “used illegal means in the collection or attempted collection of a debt.”

“Respondent Guldshtadt harassed one Victim until she passed away and then harassed Victim’s sister for unearned fees,” the investigators wrote. “Two of Respondents’ representatives drove to the home of the other Victim, who was 80 years old at the time, and demanded a fiduciary check when it was accidentally sent to that Victim’s home.”

Several of the victims alleged they entered into contracts with NICA or one of the other related entities to repair roofs or water leaks, only to have the company stop responding after its employees tore up kitchens and walls.

Others stated NICA tricked them into signing contracts, intercepted insurance money and then kept significant portions without doing any work.

One former client alleged NICA and WD Contractor Services cut out water damaged walls, installed humidifiers and only returned 10 days later to remove the humidifiers and then never showed up again. Her insurance provider ultimately denied her claim and stated she would have to pay $28,000 to repair the walls.

WD Contractor later tried to bill her $5,740 for the work it didn’t finish and threatened to harm her credit and to sue, according to investigators.

Three of the victims were coerced into signing contracts presented exclusively in English, though they could speak and read only Spanish.

In Long Beach, a woman contacted her insurance company after noticing a water leak in December 2023 and, a month later, a man showed up at her home and gave her the impression he’d been sent by insurance company. She signed a contract under that belief, only to later learn that was not the case. NICA submitted a claim on her behalf and would not provide her with a list of the supposed work that had been done, according to investigators.

In Pasadena, a 65-year-old stated she received a phone call from Evolve offering to provide smoke and damage remediation services and was “cajoled into signing a Public Adjuster contract” with NICA. Though her insurer, AAA, estimated the work would cost roughly $15,000, Evolve and NICA submitted a claim for $215,865 to the insurance company that included items that “could not possibly be attributed to her property, including removing creosote from a chimney that does not exist.”

Isenberg’s lawsuit indicates she was referred to Evolve in February for the repair and remediation of her home damaged by the Eaton Fire. She alleges she unknowingly signed an agreement granting NICA permission to serve as a public adjuster on her behalf while filling out a stack of documents provided by Evolve.

The two companies submitted claims of more than $200,000 to Farmers Insurance, including costs for cleaning carpet, though she has “very little carpet in her home and certainly not in the square footage identified in the estimate,” the lawsuit states.

“She looked at her estimates and said to herself, ‘this doesn’t look right,’ ” Moore said.

NICA received checks from Farmers but did not pass along the funds to Isenberg until after the lawsuit was filed, Moore said. When Isenberg requested that her insurance company cease communicating with NICA, the insurance company informed her “that her public adjusting agreement with NICA required her to continue to use NICA as a public adjuster and that Farmers was bound to continue to communicate with Guldshtadt,” the lawsuit states.

Moore said the hope is that the class-action lawsuit will help others get out of their contracts with NICA.

Guldshtadt, in his phone conversation, called the lawsuit frivolous and said the complaint doesn’t qualify as a class-action lawsuit because it only has one former client on board so far. “This is not a class-action lawsuit by any means,” he said.

He acknowledged the carpet cleaning estimate may have been a mistake on NICA’s part, but stressed that the estimate was not paid out and that his company did not receive a “a single dollar” from Isenberg.

“It does not constitute something fraudulent by any means,” he said.

NICA had only about three clients related to the Eaton fire and is “not doing much work on the fires at all,” Guldshtadt claimed.

“It is absolutely nonsense litigation,” he said.

Nationwide Insurance Claim Advocates’ Yelp and Better Business Bureau pages feature two dozen additional — and similar — complaints.

“This company forged my signature on a letter of representation in order to get more money from my insurance company,” wrote one reviewer from Illinois. “They had 3 separate checks sent directly to them and were able to cash them without my or my mortgage companies endorsement which were both on the checks as well.”

“DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT use this company or their other company, WD contractors,” wrote a Los Angeles resident. “My kitchen, living room, laundry room and bathroom are gutted to the studs. It’s been like this for months.”

California’s case against Guldshtadt and NICA alleges that both failed to report disciplinary actions in Utah and Colorado as well. At least one other fraud lawsuit has been filed in Colorado.

The Department of Insurance intends to seek tens of thousands of dollars in penalties against Guldshtadt and his company, including $5,000 to $50,000 for each violation involving someone 65 years or older and $5,000 to $10,000 for each unfair or deceptive act

​ Orange County Register 

A reasonable, incremental approach to student loan reform

• May 10, 2025

The student debt crisis is coming to a head this month as collections resume on millions of defaulted borrowers after a pause for much of the past five years.

The federal student loan experiment has not been a success and solutions are hard to come by, but House Republicans are pushing for what could be the best path forward for borrowers now as well as those in the future.

Nearly 25% of current borrowers are in or near default and the program itself is projected to lose billions despite the fact that the federal government assumed the responsibility for issuing student loans to make money.

As part of the massive reconciliation omnibus bill, dubbed President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” House Republicans are pitching a sensible path to reducing costs and borrowing limits and making it easier for borrowers to pay back loans.

For current borrowers, the plan offers new terms based on the adjusted gross income of the borrower, provides balance assistance and allows for the chance to rehabilitate their loan again. Currently, rehabilitation (where the borrower is put on a generous repayment plan for a little less than a year to get their loan and credit back on track), can only happen once.

While the balance assistance being offered helps by waiving some unpaid interest and providing modest matching for payments to principal, the plan stops far short of the Biden-era plan to wipe out $189 billion in unpaid loans.

As it should: wiping out nearly $200 billion in student loans was a bizarre scheme where low-income workers, blue-collar workers and workers without college degrees, among everyone else, would bailout those with a much higher earning capacity. It was unfair to those who hustled to pay off their loans. And it would have had disastrous inflationary effects. The Biden plan was absurd on its face, and the Republican plan at least makes sense.

Of course, helping borrowers in default is nice, but it by itself does not address the underlying issue of escalating student loan debt. It’s become a cliche that people default because they got a useless degree in poetry, but the problem is more complicated than that.

Tuition has grown significantly over the years. The free, guaranteed money from the government gives incentive to keep costs high. This has fueled a rise in administrative costs and demand.

The rise of tuition has outpaced inflation and wages, so with each year borrowers are getting weaker return on investment. In the past 20 years, the average cost of in-state tuition at a four-year, public university has risen 141%, while median household incomes have risen just 18%, and inflation rose 65%.

It’s unsurprising that, according to a NerdWallet survey, 30% of borrowers don’t think their college education was worth the debt, especially considering 20% of borrowers said they borrowed more money than they needed just because it was offered.

The Republican plan caps borrowing limits for unsubsidized loans at $50,000 for undergrad, $100,000 for advanced degrees and $150,000 for professional degrees (such as a law degree).

The proposal also requires institutions to put some “skin in the game” by making them liable for a percentage of lost funds, based on “how much of a return on investment the degree provided,” according to a fact sheet provided by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

It also reduces the number of repayment options to two: one with set payments and another based on income. This second option differs slightly from the current payment method that is contingent upon income. The main difference is that payments based on income will likely be lower for those who have lower incomes and higher for those with higher incomes.

The plan gets more complicated than that and addresses other issues, but the main point is that the Republican proposal is a dramatic improvement over the current system. With any luck these sensible changes will not be casualties of Trump’s high-risk omnibus strategy.

Matt Fleming is a columnist for the Southern California News Group. Follow him on X @FlemingWords

​ Orange County Register 

‘Love, Camera, Action’ author Noël Stark shares a book that ‘wrecked’ her

• May 10, 2025

Noël Stark has experience in almost every film and TV industry position, from writing for “Paw Patrol” to appearing on “Degrassi.” She’s a Canadian who lives in Hollywood with her family, and “Love, Camera, Action” is her debut novel.

Q. Please tell readers about your new book.

“Love, Camera, Action” is a sizzling workplace, enemies-to-lovers rom-com set against a film and television industry backdrop.

Up-and-coming TV director Cali Daniels lands her big break directing a steamy episode of the popular series, “The Demon.” All she has to do is deliver an unparalleled show. Unfortunately, butting heads with the effortlessly sexy director of photography, Jory Blair, throws a wrench in her plans. Jory, who has spent years cultivating his career as an A-list cinematographer, finds himself rethinking his life after a recent health scare. He’s craving the director’s spot, but this creative newbie wants to change the look of his show.

As Cali navigates the pressures of her career-defining opportunity, she finds herself constantly challenged by Jory’s traditional approach. Their creative differences ignite sparks, leading to an undeniable chemistry neither can ignore.

SEE ALSO: Like books? Get our free Book Pages newsletter about bestsellers, authors and more

Q. Is there a book or books you always recommend to other readers?

I read fairly widely so I like to hear people’s preferences before I go recommending something, but for romances I love the Regency historical “The Duchess Deal” by Tessa Dare—it’s hilarious, whip-smart and sexy. And regardless of what people read, I always suggest “The Murderbot Diaries,” because, my God, they’re fun.

Q. How do you decide what to read next?

I’m usually chasing a feeling, needing to stay in a world, or pull myself out of one. As my theatre teacher once described acting, I read like, “I’m a canoe on a river of emotion.” For example, I just finished the Arc of the Scythe, a YA series. Not knowing what to expect since I don’t usually read YA, I happily settled into this utopian world that was slowly unraveling until I was so deep in that I read all three books back-to-back. I was so bereft by the end, alternately bawling my eyes out and mutely staring out the window contemplating mortality, that I needed a sharp change. So, I steered my canoe over to calmer waters with Ali Hazelwood’s rom-com, “Not in Love.”

Q. Is there a book you’re nervous to read?

I’m nervous to return to a genre—namely literary fiction. I’ve read a lot of literary fiction in the past, but hit a wall because, for a period of time I couldn’t emotionally handle the unpredictable narratives. For example, I remember throwing José Saramago’s “Blindness” across the room and leaving it on the floor for a week, staring at it as I walked by as though it were a living thing taunting me, until I got up the courage to finish it. I’m glad I did, but it wrecked me.

And that’s kind of literary fiction’s job, to wreck you in various ways. Because of outside influences, I had to retreat into a softer, cozier, more playful space where I knew there would always be a happy ending, hence the obsession with romance novels. But I recently dipped my toe back in with Aimee Bender’s “The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake” and I survived.

Q. Do you have any favorite book covers?

My mind is clearly still deep in the The Arc of the Scythe series because I was wowed by the covers. They are so beautiful, and somehow telegraph a sense of dread.

Q. Which books are you planning to read next?

Banana Yoshimoto’s “Dead End Memories” is on deck.

Q. What’s something about your book that no one knows?

The TV show that Cali and Jory are shooting, “The Demon,” is something I actually want to put out into the world. As a show or a book, I’m not sure yet.

Q. If you could ask your readers something, what would it be?

Most of my readers are women, but I would LOVE to know what male readers want to see in a romance novel. I know they are out there, I’ve seen them on TikTok. I want to sit down and pick their brains about not only what turns them on but also what pulls at their heart.

Noël Stark will be interviewed by author Erin La Rosa at 7 p.m. on May 21 at The Ripped Bodice Los Angeles. Tickets for the event are $22 and include the book. 

​ Orange County Register 

Here’s what moms say they really want for Mother’s Day

• May 9, 2025

Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and while well-meaning spouses and children often shower the mom in their life with flowers and candy, that’s not always what moms are quietly longing for on their day of celebration.

We put out a call for entries, asking moms what they (actually) want on their special day and invited them to submit their answers anonymously. While the answers varied, we definitely saw some common threads running through many of the answers: a little booze, a lot of alone time, a reprieve from bickering siblings, and no planning or organizing of any kind. Most of all, some extra time to sleep in, a handwritten note of appreciation and a clean house.

Here’s what moms had to say about their ideal Mother’s Day.

“The thing I would actually want is to stay in a hotel room by myself and get to lie in a bed with crisp, clean sheets and watch what I want to watch on TV. But I couldn’t ask for that because that would hurt their feelings. So I’ll probably get Starbucks cards and that works too!” — Anonymous

“All I want for Mother’s Day is for my kids to write me a letter or a card, and then to have no expectations of me. I’d love to drink coffee and eat a breakfast burrito, take a walk and have some wine with a book in the afternoon.” — M.

“I want to sleep in while somebody else cleans the house. I want snuggles and appreciation, a massage, delicious food that I didn’t cook, silence while I read a book and drink wine, and more snuggles and appreciation.” — R.

“I want no surprises. I want to not have to pretend about anything. I want him to take the kids and leave me in the house alone for hours.” — Anonymous

SEE ALSO: 6 swank spots in Orange County for the matriarch on Mother’s Day

“Someone other than me to pack me a picnic with all my fav nibbles and drop me off at the beach for the day.” — Anonymous

“A night alone in an upscale hotel room where I can take an uninterrupted bubble bath and binge-watch a show and catch up with my book boyfriends and wear a comfy robe and order room service and sleep for 10 hours straight!” — R.

“It’s my first Mother’s Day with my newborn, and I’d love for someone to come over and give me a massage and do a pedicure and manicure. It’s hard leaving the house since my little guy is hungry every 1-2 hours.” — Anonymous

“I’d like to spend one more day with my mom. Just the two of us. And I’d say everything I never got a chance to say.” — Anonymous

“One full day where nothing is organized, executed or arranged by me.” — Anonymous

“A negroni in bed, and then being left alone all day.” — Anonymous

SEE ALSO: 6 summer cocktail recipes to soothe the Southern California heat

“Solo Spa day followed by a margarita.” — Anonymous

“A facial and Botox, or a hot stone massage, followed by my favorite dinner or lunch with my babies and husband. I can’t afford that right now, so we are going to do a family trip to the zoo and have a picnic lunch, soak in the sun and go home safe and sound and snuggle . . . until the kids fight and I ask for a martini.” — L.

“Wake up on my own leisurely time (after 8 a.m.) to breakfast made and the house clean. After we eat, we go on a hike as a family to a place that they have planned, and they have packed snacks and made lunch arrangements and then we go home and relax and hang out, and we order Thai food takeout for dinner. I would just like a day spending quality time with my family, where I am not responsible for planning everything, or cooking anything, or cleaning anything.” — K.

“I want to stay in bed til noon with coffee and a pastry alone, listening to podcasts or reading.” — Anonymous

“Sleeping in and being asked for nothing. A relaxing day of pampering, preferably with my favorite mom friends, and being showered with praise and gifts. Basically, what I do for my kids on their birthdays!” —N.

“To see my son who’s in the Navy and stationed far away.” — Anonymous

SEE ALSO: Recipe: This Croissant Breakfast Sandwich will start the day off right

“An overnight stay in a hotel with room service. Love my family so very much, but an overnight stay somewhere BY MYSELF would be ideal.” — Anonymous

“I am a single mom. Working my tail off to stay afloat. I would love to have a day at Glen Ivy or Murrietta Hot Springs. To relax.” — Anonymous

“For Mother’s Day, all I want is for someone to watch my daughter for the entire day so that I can have crazy wild sex with my husband. Be babied by him with back rubs, head scratches and order fast food for dinner. In other words, I want a kid-free zone where us, the parents, can do whatever we want.” — Anonymous

“An outing with my two young adult daughters, a day filled with laughter and fun. I don’t care what we do. I’ll even pick up the bill! I do not want to stay home, and I definitely do not want to go to an overcrowded restaurant.” — Anonymous

“A handwritten love letter from my children.” — Anonymous

“Sleep in, wake up to a latte, and a CLEAN house. Cool air for a run, no coyotes. Homemade brunch with the family (because crowded restaurants are horrible), a hike, some radical self-care, a yummy dinner (that I did not plan, cook, or order), and good conversation. And TIME to do all of this easily, slowly and with quiet serenity. (As supposed to stressing about all the things.)” — Anonymous

SEE ALSO: 14 free and lovely ways to celebrate Mother’s Day 2025

“I would like a thank you from my husband and teenagers. I don’t just mean, ‘Hey, thank you.’ I mean like a list of specific things I’ve done that they are grateful for without any tweaks, sarcasm, or criticism. I do things without expecting gratitude (and we are a very funny family), BUT it would be nice to be acknowledged and feel seen. And it might teach me what ACTUALLY matters to them, because I don’t think it is clean dishes and paid bills.” — Anonymous

“A housekeeper for a day, no need to be anonymous, I want EVERYONE to know.” — Cindy Campoy

“I’m a widow, so a solo mom to two amazing young kids (13 and 10), it’s just the three of us, no family. My kids always feel so sad that they can’t do something or buy me something without me driving them, and knowing what they are picking up, and me buying myself the sweet gestures of their hearts. I always say I just want them, as they are truly my gifts, but I know their sweet hearts wish they could do something without me knowing.” – Margo R.

“What Mothers want? A day where she doesn’t have to referee any sibling arguments. A day where her coffee stays hot, her kids stay entertained, and her laundry folds itself, and the house magically is sparkling clean. A nap that lasts longer than a toddler’s attention span. A meal she doesn’t have to cook or clean up after. A shower without an audience (that includes pets) and maybe a moment of peace and quiet. Oh and lots of affirmation of her value and your love and appreciation. And her favorite thing? Your time. We don’t need things, we have you and that is our gift.” — Anonymous

“I don’t know if this counts, but one year, my husband and son set up a Bloody Mary crawl for me. We went from one gorgeous breakfast place to another so I could try a bunch of different Bloody Marys, which was my favorite drink at the time. I didn’t make it to all the locations (I think I crashed out after three bloodys), but that afternoon I had the best nap of my life.” — Maggie Downs

“For me, a day alone. No kids, no laundry and no worries. Literal quiet.” — Anonymous

​ Orange County Register 

Liam and Olivia dominate — again — with top baby names for a sixth year in a row

• May 9, 2025

By FATIMA HUSSEIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Liam and Olivia dominate. Still.

The two names have, for a sixth year together, topped the list of names for babies born in the U.S. in 2024.

The Social Security Administration annually tracks the names given to girls and boys in each state, with names dating back to 1880. In time for Mother’s Day, the agency on Friday released the most popular names from applications for Social Security cards.

Liam has reigned for eight years in a row for boys, while Olivia has topped the girls’ list for six. Also, for the sixth consecutive year, Emma took the second slot for girls, and Noah for boys.

The girls’ name Luna slipped out of the Top 10 and was replaced by Sofia, which enters at number 10 for the first time.

After Liam, the most common names for boys are, in order: Noah, Oliver, Theodore, James, Henry, Mateo, Elijah, Lucas and William.

After Olivia, the most common names for girls are Emma, Amelia, Charlotte, Mia, Sophia, Isabella, Evelyn, Ava and Sofia.

Sophie Kihm, editor-in-chief of nameberry, a baby naming website, said the latest data showcases how American parents are increasingly choosing names that have cross-cultural appeal. Kihm’s first name shows up in two variations on the annual list.

“A trend we’re tracking is that Americans are more likely to choose heritage choices,” Kihm said, including names that work “no matter where you are in the world.”

”More families in the U.S. come from mixed cultural backgrounds and I hear parents commonly request that they want their child to travel and have a relatively easy to understand name.”

The Social Security Administration’s latest data show that 3.61 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2024. That’s a slight increase from last year’s 3.59 million babies, representing an overall increase in the American birthrate.

Social media stars and popular television shows are having some impact on the rising popularity of certain names, Social Security says.

Among those rising in popularity for girls: Ailany, a Hawaiian name that means “chief,” topped the list. The boys’ name Truce, an Old English name meaning “peace,” rose 11,118 spots from last year’s position to rank 991.

The complete, searchable list of baby names is on the Social Security website.

​ Orange County Register