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Hurricane Idalia downgraded to tropical storm after leaving Florida communities forever changed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

CRYSTAL RIVER, Fla. (WSVN) — Hurricane Idalia, the first major hurricane to hit Florida’s Big Bend in over 100 years, left a deadly path of destruction after downing trees and flooding homes as the sea surged onto shore. The Category 3 storm slammed into Florida on Wednesday, wreaking havoc on communities along the coast and cutting power to hundreds of thousands of people throughout the state.In Crystal River, businesses and homes were left damaged on Thursday. As residents pick up the pieces of their community, officials said the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Idalia may be unrecognizable. “I was quite the storm. It was a bad one,” said one resident. “These are all little old-school Florida villas and they were just picked up and carried into the gulf,” said Michael Bobbit, a man who chose to stay behind to help in rescue missions. As the storm continued to thrash communities up the coast into Georgia and the Carolinas overnight into Thursday mo...

Barbie and Oppenheimer don’t live up to our values, Russia says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

Western blockbuster movies fly in the face of Russian values and aren’t worth showing in the country’s cinemas, Moscow’s Ministry of Culture has insisted, amid calls for the government to allow bootleg screenings in spite of a Hollywood embargo. The vice-speaker of Russia’s parliament, Vladislav Davankov, wrote to officials asking them to launch a pilot scheme where theaters could show popular new releases, including Barbie and Oppenheimer, even if studios have refused to license them in the country.However, in a response seen by state news agency TASS on Thursday, Deputy Culture Minister Andrei Malyshev rejected the appeal based on his choice of movies.“We believe that the films you have proposed for viewing by the citizens of our country — Barbie and Oppenheimer — do not meet the aims and objectives set out by the head of state, to preserve and strengthen traditional Russian spiritual and moral values,” he said.It’s not the first time that...

Trump pleads ‘not guilty’ in Georgia racketeering case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to charges that he conspired to subvert the 2020 election in Georgia, formally signaling his intent to fight the charges in the sprawling racketeering case brought by Fulton County prosecutors.Trump entered his plea Thursday in a two-page court filing meant to waive his appearance at an arraignment scheduled for Sept. 6, when he was slated to have the charges read to him in court. Several of the 18 defendants charged alongside him have also waived their appearances at the scheduled arraignment.In the filing, Trump refers to himself three times as “President Trump” or “President Donald Trump.”The plea signals a new phase of the criminal proceedings against Trump in Georgia, triggering the start of evidence-sharing by prosecutors as they advance toward a still unscheduled trial. District Attorney Fani Willis is seeking to try Trump and the other defendants at an expedited Oct. 23 trial date that was demanded by Kenneth Chesebro, an attorney charged ...

Macron slams two-term limit on French presidency as ‘damnable bullshit’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron slammed the two-term constitutional limit that means he must step down in 2027 as “damnable bullshit” in comments at a meeting with party leaders on Wednesday.According to the far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, Macron said it was “damnable bullshit that one could not be reelected,” words that were also confirmed to the AFP news agency by two participants. In France, presidents cannot be elected for more than two five-year terms, which means Macron is set to become the country’s youngest former president, aged only 49. The deadline has raised questions over whether the French president’s power is already waning as his allies and supporters start looking ahead to a future without him at the helm.Macron was first elected in 2017 and was reelected in 2022, following a presidential campaign overshadowed by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Macron reportedly expressed his frustration at France’s rules at a meeting he called with party lea...

Long COVID brain fog may be caused by blood clots, say scientists 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

LONDON — Answers for patients suffering from long COVID-19 symptoms are finally starting to trickle in, with new research indicating that blood clots may result in longer-term cognitive problems. A study published Thursday in Nature Medicine looked at more than 1,800 adults who were hospitalized with COVID-19 and found raised levels of two proteins during their COVID-19 infection — fibrinogen and D-dimer. Both these proteins are involved in blood clotting. The research also found that presence of these clotting biomarkers during a patient’s hospital stay was linked to ongoing cognitive problems six and 12 months after infection with COVID-19, leading the researchers to believe there may be a causal link between blood clots and long COVID.”I feel optimistic that the science is beginning to give us real insights into what the causes [of long COVID] are and then the potential treatments,” said Chris Brightling, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of Leicester...

Trump pleads not guilty and waives arraignment in Georgia election case

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) — Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday and waived arraignment in the case accusing him and others of illegally trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.That means he won’t have to show up for an arraignment hearing that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had set for next week.Trump and 18 others were charged earlier this month in a 41-count indictment that outlines an alleged scheme to subvert the will of Georgia voters who had chosen Democrat Joe Biden over the Republican incumbent in the presidential election.Several other people charged in the indictment had already waived arraignment in filings with the court, saving them a trip to the courthouse in downtown Atlanta. Trump previously traveled to Georgia on Aug. 24 to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail, where he became the first former president to have a mug shot taken.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film heading to AMC Theatres in October

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

By Jami Ganz, New York Daily NewsTaylor Swift’s Eras Tour is getting the big screen treatment with a concert film that will make Swifties’ wildest dreams come true — at least in North America.The Grammy winner, 33, announced on Instagram Thursday morning that a film compiled from her recent slate of star-studded shows at L.A.’s SoFi Stadium will hit AMC Theatres on Oct. 13. (Dedicated fans will know that Swift — born on Dec. 13 — counts the number as her favorite, often painting it on the back of her hand for performances.)“The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon ,” the “Anti-Hero” singer captioned a trailer. “Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged  1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk).”US singer-songwriter Taylor Swift performs during her Eras Tour at Sofi stadium in Inglewood, California, August 7, 2023. (MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)Speculation em...

Abortion-ban states pour millions into pregnancy centers with little medical care

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

By Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline.orgAfter the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, Louisiana Republican state Sen. Beth Mizell looked for a way to address her state’s abysmal record on infant and maternal mortality, preterm births and low birth weight. Louisiana has one of the nation’s strictest abortion bans, with no exceptions for rape or incest.Mizell and her colleagues borrowed an idea from neighboring Mississippi: a state tax credit program that sends millions each year to nonprofit pregnancy resource centers, also called crisis pregnancy centers. They’re private anti-abortion organizations, often religiously affiliated, that typically offer free pregnancy tests, parenting classes and baby supplies. They are not usually staffed by doctors or nurses, though some offer limited ultrasounds or testing for sexually transmitted infections.“I see [pregnancy resource centers] as a touchpoint for pregnant women who may not know where to go for services or where to begin...

Feds charge former MBTA police officer for alleged false reports to cover up assault

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

Federal agents arrested a former MBTA police sergeant Thursday morning for allegedly falsifying police reports to cover for another officer who pleaded guilty to assaulting a man in July 2018.The case against David Finnerty, 47, of Rutland, pitted top brass at transit police against Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden, whose office was prosecuting Finnerty before dropping the charges last fall, just before it was scheduled to go to trial.Federal prosecutors indicted Finnerty on two counts of filing false reports.  He appeard at Federal court in Boston Thursday morning for an initial appearance.“Our office holds the men and women who wear police uniforms and serve our communities in the highest regard. Instances of police misconduct are rare, but they need to be investigated and prosecuted when they do happen, especially when supervisors are involved as alleged here,” said Acting U.S . Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy in announcing the charges.An arrest warrant was si...

‘All we want is revenge’: How social media fuels gun violence among teens

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:54:51 GMT

By Liz Szabo, KFF Health NewsJuan Campos has been working to save at-risk teens from gun violence for 16 years.As a street outreach worker in Oakland, California, he has seen the pull and power of gangs. And he offers teens support when they’ve emerged from the juvenile justice system, advocates for them in school, and, if needed, helps them find housing, mental health services, and treatment for substance abuse.But, he said, he’s never confronted a force as formidable as social media, where small boasts and disputes online can escalate into deadly violence in schoolyards and on street corners.Teens post photos or videos of themselves with guns and stacks of cash, sometimes calling out rivals, on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok. When messages go viral, fueled by “likes” and comments, the danger is hard to contain, Campos said.“It’s hundreds of people on social media, versus just one or two people trying to guide youth in a positive way,” he said. Sometimes his warnings are ...