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Bears having summertime fun in Massachusetts; many police departments report sightings, offer tips

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

Bears are having summertime fun in the Bay State.From delaying school in Arlington by an hour to traversing across the South Shore, all just this week, there is no sign that bears are getting tired of Massachusetts.The furry beasts are catching the attention of local police departments and animal control officers who are telling the public to stay away from them and let them be.Needham Police is the latest department to join others in offering residents tips on what they can do to deter bears from their properties. The main tip: Secure all trash and recycling containers and remove bird feeders.“The Animal Control Officer is doing what he is supposed to do,” Needham Police posted on Facebook Friday. “DO NOT, under any circumstances follow or track the bear. You are causing it undo stress. If it is causing a public safety threat (acting aggressive, attempting to enter homes), then call 911.”The mere presence of a bear in a populated area is not a public safety threat, and the bear wil...

Harvard Medical School threatened with class action lawsuit; up to 400 cadavers cited

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

A lawsuit has been filed after the disclosure of an alleged human body parts trafficking operation connected to the Harvard Medical School where up to 400 donated cadavers could be involved.“The law recognizes that human beings are entitled to be treated with decency and dignity after death including by not having their bodies mishandled, viewed, dismembered, and/or sold by those entrusted with them,” the lawsuit filed Friday in Suffolk Superior Court states.“Families who lose loved ones find solace in temporarily entrusting the bodies of their loved ones to an institution such as Harvard Medical School with the goal of furthering academic and medical research,” it continues. “The actions of the Harvard Medical School morgue manager in mishandling and selling the body parts of cadavers donated to the school was a reprehensible tragedy that should have never happened.”The lawsuit, which seeks recognition as a class action claim and a jury trial, was filed by attorney Jeffrey Catalano...

San Diego State plans to leave Mountain West: report

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre sent a withdrawal letter Tuesday to the Mountain West, saying that the school "intends to resign" from the conference, an ESPN report said.SDSU, which does not appear to have received an invitation from a Power 5 conference at the moment, requested the Mountain West for a "one-month extension given unforeseen delays involving other collegiate athletic conferences beyond our control," sources told ESPN. However, the school informed the league the letter was "not the official notice of resignation," the report said. "San Diego State would need to give a year of notice to withdraw next June. If it waits past June 30, the exit fee it would owe jumps from nearly $16.5 million to nearly $34 million," ESPN said. Alaska Airlines now offering nonstop flights from San Diego to these cities SDSU has previously been linked to the Pac-12, but has not received an invitation from that conference, which is in the process of landi...

‘We know what’s at stake’: Manitoba minibus drivers say safety paramount for seniors

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

For seniors in communities across Manitoba, minibuses or handivans are essential means of travel.“Without the use of the handivan as a service, there isn’t much else for seniors who are in wheelchairs or walkers to be able to move around,” said Justin Cicholski, manager of a non-profit handivan service in Neepawa, Man., a town about 190 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg.Fifteen people on a handibus who were headed out on a day trip from a seniors centre to a casino were killed Thursday when it crashed with a semi-trailer truck near Carberry, Man.The bus was carrying 25 men and women between the ages of 58 to 88.Cicholski drives seniors and people with disabilities around in minibuses and minivans in the Neepawa area with Neepawa District Handi Transit.He said a traffic light should be installed at the intersection of the Trans-Canada Highway and Highway 5, where Thursday’s crash happened.Greg Shaw, a driver with the Neepawa company, agreed it’s a busy in...

Brittney Griner is honored in Washington despite missing Mercury’s game with a hip injury

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Brittney Griner waved to fans who applauded her as she walked onto the court, embraced Elena Della Donne and signed an autograph before taking a seat on the bench. A video tribute and standing ovation followed at the first timeout.A hip injury prevented Griner from playing for the Phoenix Mercury against the Washington Mystics on Friday night. Still, Griner was embraced by opponents and the sellout crowd in her first public appearance in the nation’s capital since returning from her imprisonment in Russia, down the road from many of the folks in the U.S. government who worked to get her home. “That was a hard time for all of us,” said Washington guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who played the 2020 season with Griner in Phoenix. “Just knowing her, just knowing her character, knowing her heart, it was just really tough. It’s just an honor and a blessing to see her out, to give her a hug, to talk to her, to hear her voice. And, honestly, she looks great.”Gr...

Fatal tour boat accident prompts New York governor to propose new oversight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday she wants the state to have regulatory authority over boats that operate in caves and similar waterways following a fatal tour boat accident in an underground water tunnel off the Erie Canal.The Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation regulates commercial boats, Hochul’s office said, but lacks authority to inspect those operating on non-navigable waters, like in the privately owned Lockport Cave.The Democrat will propose legislation to close that loophole, her office said.Earlier this week, a 65-year-old man died and nearly a dozen other passengers were taken to hospitals, mostly with minor injuries, when a flat-bottom boat with 29 people aboard flipped while inside the historic, human-made cavern system in western New York.After the June 12 accident at the Lockport Cave, a human services agency confirmed that a similar incident had occurred during a 2015 outing for clients and staff.“As we mourn the loss of...

Manitoba RCMP: Transport truck in crash that killed 15 had right-of-way

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

Dashcam footage seized from a transport truck that collided with a minibus full of seniors, killing 15, shows the bus pulled into the lane where the truck had the right-of-way, Manitoba RCMP said Friday.“We don’t know why the bus proceeded into the (truck’s) lane, but that is something we’re going to continue to look into,” Supt. Rob Lasson told a news conference.Lasson said they have not yet spoken with the driver of the bus, who remains in hospital along with nine other survivors of the fiery collision west of Winnipeg on Thursday.The bus was crossing the Trans-Canada Highway, heading south on Highway 5, when the eastbound truck struck it.Aerial photography of the crash scene shows that drivers heading across the Trans-Canada Highway would first have to obey a stop sign and then, in the median between the opposite lanes, a yield sign.Lasson stressed that it is early in the investigation, and officers are still examining the mechanics of the vehicles, ...

Mexico says 200 retired Mexican boxers who fought in California may be eligible for pensions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico said Friday that more than 200 retired Mexican boxers who fought in California may be eligible for pensions. The little-known pension fund holds around $2.5 million. Boxers of any nationality over age 50 were eligible, as long as they had fought one fight per year for four years, or 75 professional rounds total, in California. Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department said it had a list of 206 Mexican boxers who might be eligible. The department said it had already located 23 ex-boxers, and given checks to four of them. One of those who got a check was José Refugio “Cuco” Rojas. Rojas said he had no idea the money existed until he got a phone call four months ago telling him he was eligible. “It was very simple,” Rojas said of the application process, adding that “money is always welcome.” The Associated Press

KXAN Founder’s Day: KXANers visited with older Austinites for the annual tradition

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — KXAN celebrated Nexstar Media Group’s Founder’s Day Friday by giving back to the community we serve.This year, KXAN linked up with Meals on Wheels, a Central Texas organization that, in addition to delivering meals, also coordinates sending volunteers to senior centers to spend time with older adults.Loneliness and social isolation are linked to serious health conditions, including some forms of dementia, in older adults, according to the CDC. Further, pew research shows that most older Americans will speed the majority of their day alone. Friday, KXAN teamed up with the nonprofit for the Founder’s Day of Caring, which is a tradition across all Nexstar Media Group stations to volunteer and do community service projects. KXAN employees delivered meals, helped to fix doorbells and decorated care packages the Meals on Wheels delivers to their clients.KXAN staff volunteered at Meals on Wheels June 16, 2023 for Founder’s Day (KXAN Photos)KXAN staff volunteered ...

Republicans play offense on student loans ahead of SCOTUS decision

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:58:48 GMT

Republicans are taking advantage of a perceived opening on student loans, proposing legislation to tackle the issue in both the House and Senate this week ahead of the Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the legality of President Biden’s relief plan. Experts are skeptical the conservative-majority justices will uphold Biden's forgiveness proposal, but his administration has been mum on alternative plans. “I think it's definitely important because if Biden's plan falls down, he hasn’t proposed any solutions that actually address the problem, the underlying cause of why students are being forced to take out so much money just to attend higher education,” a GOP Senate aide told The Hill. While Democrats have stayed quiet, likely to avoid weakening Biden’s case in front of the Supreme Court, Republicans have been on the move. More education coverage from The HillAFT backs Biden for reelection in latest union endorsementCollege Board says it won’t alter AP courses to comp...