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Massachusetts declared a ‘safe haven’ as Pride flag is raised at State House

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Top state officials made clear Wednesday that Massachusetts welcomes people of all sexual orientations as they raised the Pride flag outside the State House and lambasted governors in other states for what they say are restrictions on LGBTQ rights.As legislatures across the country consider bills restricting drag performers, transgender healthcare, and books they deem inappropriate, politicians in Massachusetts said the state is a “safe haven” for people from across the country. Their remarks come as Boston prepares for a Pride parade on Saturday.There are “so many efforts to simply deny who we are and deny civil rights and protections, basic protections for people” in other states, said Gov. Maura Healey, one of the first lesbians elected governor in the United States.“We are open for business in Massachusetts. Come to school here. Raise a family here, maybe meet someone here. Get married here. Grow a business here, vacation here. There’s so much about our beautiful, beautifu...

Want to talk to your child about race? This children’s book from a pediatric psychologist and family therapist may help.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

It’s Zahra’s first day of school. And she remembers her mother’s words about how her brown skin “glows and glows” as she steps into the classroom. But that self-confidence is shaken when her classmate, Zoey, says, “You’re so dark. I don’t like brown.”Zahra and Zoey are characters in a children’s book, “The Proudest Color,” written by Irvine-based authors and spouses Sheila Modir and Jeff Kashou. Modir drew from discrimination she faced as a child in elementary school to portray the racial incident Zahra experienced in the book.Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Modir and Kashou were inspired to contribute to the movement for social justice and wrote a children’s book using their clinical background — Kashou is a licensed family and marriage therapist, and Modir is a psychologist at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County — to give parents and children tools to navigate conversations about race and racism.Sheila Modir, a pediatric psychologist, and her husband Jeff Kashou...

More misery as Ukraine rushes drinking water after dam breaks

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

KHERSON, Ukraine — Authorities rushed to rescue hundreds of people stranded on rooftops and supply drinking water to areas flooded by a collapsed dam in southern Ukraine, in a growing humanitarian and ecological disaster along a river that forms part of the front line in the 15-month war.The collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and emptying of its reservoir on the Dnieper River added to the misery the region has suffered for more than a year from artillery and missile attacks.With humanitarian and ecological disasters still unfolding, it’s already clear that tens of thousands of people have been deprived of drinking water, many are homeless, crops are ruined, land mines have been displaced, and the stage is set for long-term electricity shortages.Some residents of Russia-occupied areas hit by high water complained that help was slow in arriving, with some stranded on roofs and streets passable only by boat in scenes more like natural disasters than wars. Others refused to leav...

Pope Francis has scar tissue removed, hernia repaired during 3-hour abdominal surgery

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

By NICOLE WINFIELD, TRISHA THOMAS and MARIA CHENG (Associated Press)ROME (AP) — Pope Francis underwent successful surgery Wednesday to remove intestinal scar tissue and repair a hernia in his abdominal wall, the latest maladies to befall the 86-year-old pontiff who had part of his colon removed two years ago.The Vatican said there were no complications during the three-hour surgery, which required Francis to be under general anesthesia. The pontiff was expected to remain at Rome’s Gemelli hospital for several days, and all papal audiences were canceled through June 18.Dr. Sergio Alfieri, director of abdominal and endocrine sciences at Gemelli, who also performed Francis’ 2021 colon surgery, said the operation was successful, the pope was awake, alert and even joking.“When will we do the third one?” he quoted Francis as saying.During the operation, doctors removed adhesions, or internal scarring, on the intestine that had caused a partial blockage, as we...

‘The Flash’ a fast-moving, Bat-tastic, universe-altering thrillfest

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

If it’s not one multiverse, it’s another.Coming hot on the superhero heels of the mind-blowingly multidimensional animated work of art that is “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “The Flash” is an almost-as-excellent universe-hopping live-action extravaganza.Almost always moving at what feels like the speed of light (but, ironically, not in theaters until next week), this first feature film featuring the subatomically fast DC Comics hero is a zippy and entertaining blast. And yet it nonetheless manages to serve up a few heartfelt moments amid all its carefully choreographed chaos.As trailers have made very clear, among the familiar faces showing up in “The Flash” is Michael Keaton, who played the Dark Knight in Tim Burton’s 1989 megahit “Batman” and its 1992 sequel, “Batman Returns.”You wanna get nuts? This movie will GET NUTS.And while we get a lot of Keaton — initially as wealthy industrialist Bruce Wayne, retired from caped crusading and living alone in his mansion in a now-mu...

Is it time for these film franchises to go away?

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

The lyrics to iconic Kenny Rogers’ song “The Gambler” could double down as the realization that should be coming to movie franchise biz.In that No. 1 1978 hit written by Don Schlitz, Rogers croons:You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, Know when to fold ‘em, Know when to walk away, And know when to run. … Hollywood should tap into that sage advice when it comes to the proliferation of reboots, sequels and franchises that is choking the film industry. But with millions and millions of dollars at stake, and with audiences apparently still hungry for more “Fast and Furious” films (10 are in the books and at least two more are planned), the big-studio norm is to churn out sequels, reboots and origin stories.Sure, some indeed work, but others just clog up the cineplex and offer one empty shot after another.The story is the same for this summer, with franchises ruling the season and familiar faces suiting up to play familiar characters in familiar predicaments. Indiana Jones is back. Ethan ...

FBI: Cyber crimes cost U.S. $10 billion in 2023, $300 million from New England

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Cyber criminals stole over $10 billion from U.S. citizens and entities last year, an ‘unprecedented’ amount of loss resulting from a threat which is both growing in sophistication and increasingly harder for victims to protect themselves from, agents with the FBI said Wednesday.Speaking at Boston College for the seventh Boston Conference on Cyber Security, FBI Boston Division Special Agent in Charge Joe Bonavolonta said that in his division alone — one of the Bureau’s largest, covering Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island — “victims reported more than $298 million in losses” as a result of cyber crime.“FBI Boston continues to receive as many as four reports per week from new victims, and in some cases they’ve suffered tens of millions of dollars in losses per individual report,” Bonavolonta said.In April, the city of Lowell was attacked by a cyber criminal group calling themselves “Play” which used malware — that’s computer software made...

Researchers created a pocket-size blood pressure monitor that attaches to a smartphone

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

SAN DIEGO — Researchers at UC San Diego have developed a new kind of blood pressure monitor that’s small enough to fit in your pocket and attaches to a smartphone.The team out of the Jacobs School of Engineering outlined their invention and findings in a paper that was published in the peer-reviewed journal, Scientific Reports, last week.Researchers note that hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a leading cause of preventable premature death and disability worldwide. Monitoring blood pressure is also crucial for pregnant mothers who could be at risk of life-threatening conditions like preeclampsia.Edward Wang, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at UC San Diego and one of the authors of the study, highlighted the low cost to produce the BPClip as a key for making this tool more accessible.It costs less than $1 to make a BPClip, while traditional at-home blood pressure monitors with a cuff can cost between $30 to $75.Ultimately, he said the goal is not to replace t...

The story behind Juneteenth and how it became a federal holiday

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

Americans will soon celebrate Juneteenth, marking the day when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free.For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts. The U.S. government was slow to embrace the occasion — it was only in 2021 that President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday. And just as many people learn what Juneteenth is all about, the holiday’s traditions are facing new pressures — political rhetoric condemning efforts to teach Americans about the nation’s racial history, companies using the holiday as a marketing event, people partying without understanding why.Here is a look at the origins of Juneteenth, how it became a federal holiday and more about its history.HOW DID JUNETEENTH START?The celebrations began with ensl...

Pat Casey dies in crash at Ramona motocross track

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:22:17 GMT

RAMONA, Calif. — Officials have identified the man who died Tuesday at a motocross track in Ramona.Patrick "Pat" Michael Casey, 29, died after he lost control of the motocross bike he was riding and was ejected from the vehicle, the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office said.The incident happened around 2:45 p.m. at Slayground Motocross Park, which is owned by Axell Hodges, a three-time gold medal winner in X Games Moto X competition.According to authorities, Casey crashed his motorcycle while performing a jump on the park ramps. Bystanders called 911 after the crash and paramedics were dispatched to the track. Medics found Casey pulseless and apneic. Despite life-saving measures, he was not able to be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at the scene."We are deeply saddened by Pat Casey's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, children, parents and siblings," X Games said in a post on Instagram. "A true legend in the action sports community, Pat will alw...