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Flamingo sightings are pouring in from states where the birds aren’t usually spotted. Hurricane Idalia may be the cause

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

(CNN) — When you think of flamingos, the images that come to mind are probably of African water holes, the Caribbean, Florida – or almost anywhere else other than Waynesville, Ohio.So, when Jacob Roalef saw Facebook posts about flamingos at Ceasar Creek State Park, near Dayton, last week, he rushed to see them for himself.“I quickly grabbed my gear and told my wife and was out the door,” Roalef, who leads birdwatching tours, told CNN.When he got there, he saw two birds – an adult and a juvenile – in the lake.“The flamingos were just hanging out and sleeping in about a foot of water near the shore,” Roalef said. “They would wake up and drink some water or look up if a gull flew overheard.”He said the birds stayed there until about 6 p.m., when a dog scared them off.Jerry Lorenz, the state director of research for Audubon Florida, says that since Hurricane Idalia blew through, they’ve gotten reports of flamingos from around Florida, as well as Georgia, the Carolinas, Texas, Kentu...

CDC warns that RSV cases may be starting to rise

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

(CNN) — The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning physicians that cases of respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV, are rising in the Southeast — and that regional increase may portend a rise in the rest of the United States in the next two to three months.“Historically, such regional increases have predicted the beginning of RSV season nationally, with increased RSV activity spreading north and west over the following 2–3 months,” according to the CDC Health Alert Network advisory. The notices are communications to physicians and other health care providers across the United States.RSV is a virus that attacks the lower lungs. In babies, who have tiny airways, RSV can cause the lungs to fill with mucus, making it difficult to breathe. It’s the leading cause of hospitalization in the United States for infants under 1 year of age.The infection can also be serious for seniors. RSV hospitalizes an estimated 60,000 to 160,000 adults age 60 and old...

Bill Belichick Patriots to have Jack Jones vs. Eagles, won’t confirm status beyond Week 1

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

FOXBORO — With firearms charges dropped against Jack Jones, head coach Bill Belichick expects the Patriots cornerback to be available in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles.Belichick said he was “not going to get into that” when asked if the NFL has told him whether or not there will be upcoming punishment for Jones.“Talk to the league,” Belichick said. “See what they have to say. Anything from them would come from them, not from me.”Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Callahan: Matt Patricia knows the Patriots better than any ex-coach ever — and they don’t care New England Patriots | Patriots outlook: NFL sources expecting franchise to finish in middle of the pack New England Patriots | Patriots QB Mac Jones reveals that Tom Brady has helped ‘mentor’ him New England Patriots | Patriots OC Bill O’Brien sizes up QBs Matt Corral, Bailey Zappe New Engl...

Gov. Maura Healey raised more than $600K in campaign cash this summer

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

While a relatively sleepy summer set in on Beacon Hill, Governor Maura Healey used the time to pack her campaign war chest.Healey raised more than $600,000 in campaign cash from the start of May to the end of August, according to campaign finance records. Her biggest haul came in June, when she brought in over $274,000.Healey spent more than $216,000 during the same period, with the most expenditures in June. The Democratic governor had nearly $1.1 million cash on hand at the end of August, according to finance records.Healey’s summer featured a multiple fundraisers on the Cape, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket.Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll raised just over $153,000 for her campaign account during May, June, July, and August, according to state records.$94,533 during the same period and had nearly $313,000 cash on hand.

Carmakers are failing the privacy test. Owners have little or no control over data collected

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

By FRANK BAJAK (AP Technology Writer)BOSTON (AP) — Cars are getting an “F” in data privacy. Most major manufacturers admit they may be selling your personal information, a new study finds, with half also saying they would share it with the government or law enforcement without a court order. The proliferation of sensors in automobiles — from telematics to fully digitized control consoles — has made them prodigious data-collection hubs.But drivers are given little or no control over the personal data their vehicles collect, researchers for the nonprofit Mozilla Foundation said Wednesday in their latest “Privacy Not Included” survey Security standards are also vague, a big concern given automakers’ track record of susceptibility to hacking. “Cars seem to have really flown under the privacy radar and I’m really hoping that we can help remedy that because they are truly awful,” said Jen Caltrider, the study’s resear...

Russian shelling of an eastern Ukrainian city kills 16 and wounds dozens, officials say

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — At least 16 people were killed and dozens were wounded Wednesday when Russian shelling struck a market in a city in eastern Ukraine, officials said. The deadly attack came as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Kyiv and was expected to announce more than $1 billion in new American funding.Associated Press journalists at the site of the attack in Kostiantynivka saw covered bodies on the ground and emergency workers extinguishing fires at market stalls, with blackened and mangled cars nearby.Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at least 16 people were killed. At least 28 were wounded, according to Internal Minister Ihor Klymenko.Emergency service workers extinguished the fire that damaged about 30 pavilions at the outdoor market, Klymenko said. Crews searched the rubble for any trapped civilians.Twenty shops, power lines, administrative building and the floor of an apartment building were damaged, according to the prosecutor general’s office.Blinken’...

The death toll from fierce storms and flooding in Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria rises to 12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

ISTANBUL (AP) — The death toll from severe rainstorms that lashed parts of Greece, Turkey and Bulgaria increased to 12 Wednesday after rescue teams in the three neighboring countries recovered five more bodies.A flash flood at a campsite in northwestern Turkey near the border with Bulgaria killed at least five people — with three found dead Wednesday — and carried away bungalow homes. Rescuers were still searching for one person reported missing at the campsite.Another two people died in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, where Tuesday’s storms inundated hundreds of homes and workplaces in several neighborhoods.The victims in Istanbul included a 32-year-old Guinean citizen who was trapped inside his basement apartment in the low-income Kucukcekmece district, Turkish broadcaster HaberTurk TV reported. The other was a 57-year-old woman who died after being swept away by the floods in another neighborhood, the private DHA news agency reported.The surging flood waters affected...

Spanish soccer player Jenni Hermoso accuses Luis Rubiales of sexual assault for World Cup kiss

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

MADRID (AP) — Spanish soccer player Jenni Hermoso has accused Luis Rubiales of sexual assault for kissing her on the lips without her consent after the Women’s World Cup final, the country’s prosecutors’ office said Wednesday.Rubiales, the now-suspended president of the Spanish soccer federation, kissed Hermoso on the lips during the awards ceremony after Spain beat England to win the title on Aug. 20 in Sydney, Australia.Rubiales has insisted the kiss was consensual. Hermoso has denied that. She also said she and her family were pressured by the federation to show her support for Rubiales in the immediate aftermath of the scandal caused by the kiss that tarnished her team’s victory.The prosecutors’ office said that, according to a new sexual consent law passed last year, Rubiales could face a fine or a prison sentence of one to four years if found guilty.Spain’s government, players’ unions, players and many citizens have come out in support of Hermoso. Rubiales, meanwhile, ha...

US Imposes sanctions on Sudanese paramilitary leader for human rights abuses in monthslong conflict

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — The United States imposed sanctions Wednesday on a Sudanese paramilitary commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo for acts of violence and human rights abuses committed by his troops in their monthslong conflict with Sudan’s army. In a lengthy statement, the U.S. Treasury said it had sanctioned Abdelrahim — a senior military commander and brother of Mohammed Hamdan Daglo who is the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces— accusing him of leading a group of soldiers responsible for “the massacre of civilians, ethnic killings, and use of sexual violence.”Sudan plunged into chaos almost five months ago when long-simmering tensions between the military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF escalated into open warfare.According to Wednesday’s statement, the sanctions will block all U.S. property and entities owned by Abdelrahim. Wednesday’s sanction is the first targeting an individual and made public by the U.S. since the conflict broke out. In Jun...

Chinese Premier Li Qian takes a test ride on Indonesia’s new high-speed railway

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:17:53 GMT

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang took a test ride Wednesday on Southeast Asia’s first high-speed railway, which connects two Indonesian cities as part of China’s Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.Li is visiting Jakarta for two days of talks with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations and other countries.The $7.3 billion rail project, funded largely by China, connects Jakarta and Bandung, the heavily populated capital of West Java province. It is to begin commercial operations on Oct. 1 and will cut travel time between the two cities from the current three hours to about 40 minutes.Li rode the train from Halim station in eastern Jakarta to the next station in West Java’s Karawang city, a 40-kilometer (25-mile) distance that took about 11 minutes. He was accompanied by Indonesian officials including the coordinating minister for maritime and investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan.“This is clear proof of modern, high-quality cooperation between the tw...