The Associated Press

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With a majority of Americans preferring to live in their own homes as long as possible, experts stress the importance of modifications to keep dwellings safe and accessible. Here’s a summary of tips from the National Institute on Aging and AARP, which offers a free room-by-room guide with practical suggestions for older adults living independently.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — After 20 years at the Mercedes-Benz factory in Alabama, Brett Garrard said he is “not falling for the lies anymore” and will vote for a union. The company has repeatedly promised to improve pay and conditions, but Garrard said those promises have not materialized. “Mercedes claims that we’re a family, one team, one fight. But over the years, I’ve learned one thing: This is not how I treat my family,” Garrard said. A month after workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee overwhelmingly voted to unionize, the United Auto Workers is aiming for a key victory at Mercedes-Benz in Alabama. More than 5,000 workers at the facility in Vance and a nearby battery plant will vote next week on whether to join the union. A win at Mercedes would be a major prize for the UAW, which is trying to crack union resistance in the Deep South, where states have lured foreign auto manufacturers with large tax breaks, lower labor costs and a nonunion workforce.

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https://lnkd.in/eY2dd_5P. NEW YORK (AP) — Brenda Edwards considers the four bedroom ranch-style house where she has lived for 20 years her forever home. It’s where the 70-year-old retired nurse and her 79-year-old husband want to stay as their mobility becomes more limited. So she hired an interior designer for $20,000 and spent another $95,000 to retrofit their house in Oakdale, California. She had the kitchen aisles widened to accommodate a wheelchair in case she or her husband ever need one. The bathroom now has a walk-in steam shower and an electronic toilet seat that cleans the user when activated. “We felt comfortable,” Edwards said in explaining why the couple decided to invest in the property instead of downsizing. “We have a pool. We have a spa. We just put a lot of love and effort into this yard. We want to stay.” Even if they wanted to move, it wouldn’t make financial sense, Edwards said. Their house is almost paid for, and “it would be too hard to purchase anything else,” she said. Like Edwards and her husband, a vast majority of adults over age 50 prefer the idea of remaining in their own residences as long a possible, according to an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. But staying put is becoming less of a choice. Some baby boomers and older members of Generation X are locked into low mortgage rates too good to give up. Skyrocketing housing prices fueled by lean supply further complicate the calculations of moving house. #agingathome #AARP #renovations Please see my story The Associated Press

Smarter vehicles could mean some of the most dramatic changes for the traditional traffic signal since the yellow light was added more than a century ago.

The U.N. General Assembly voted by a wide margin on Friday to grant new “rights and privileges” to Palestine and called on the Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become the 194th member of the United Nations. https://bit.ly/4dBLDMd

Maggie Steffens asked for more support for the U.S. women’s water polo team, and the captain received one particularly surprising response. From a clock-wearing rap icon, Flavor Flav. https://bit.ly/4dwynIN

A cyberattack on the Ascension health system operating in 19 states is forcing some of its 140 hospitals to divert ambulances, causing patients to postpone medical tests and blocking online access to patient records.  With its systems down, Ascension is advising patients to bring notes on their symptoms and a list of prescription numbers or prescription bottles with them to appointments.

The U.K. economy bounced back strongly in the first three months of the year, bringing to an end to what economists termed a "technical recession."