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West Nile Virus detected in mosquitos in Worcester

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

West Nile Virus has been detected in mosquitos in Worcester, marking the second mosquito sample to test positive for the virus in Massachusetts this year, officials announced. There have been no human cases in Massachusetts to date in 2023 and the risk level for West Nile Virus remained low throughout the state as of Friday, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Still, officials are planning to spray in a designated area in Worcester after sunset on either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, depending on weather. The designated area where mosquitoes tested positive and where officials plan to spray includes part of Burncoat Street and the surrounding area, as detailed in a map from the city of Worcester.West Nile Virus is most commonly transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. While it often causes no symptoms in the people it infects, the virus can cause “flu-like illness” and, in rare cases, more severe symptoms.Worcester officials said there were eig...

Gilgo Beach murders: Suspect taken into custody in Long Island serial killings

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

A suspect has been taken into custody on New York’s Long Island in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.The case has drawn immense public attention since human remains were found along a New York beach highway more than a decade ago. The mystery attracted national headlines for many years and the unsolved killings were the subject of the 2020 Netflix film “Lost Girls.”The suspect was taken into custody in Massapequa late Thursday and investigators were at a home connected to the case on Friday, the official said. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.The suspect’s name was not immediately released.The deaths of 11 people whose remains were found in 2010 and 2011 have long stumped investigators. Most of the victims were young women who had been sex workers. Several of the bodies were found ...

Q&A: Robert Downey Jr. on how ‘Oppenheimer’ represents the Manhattan Project with nuance

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Robert Downey Jr. said he came away from Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer,” thinking about how important context is to understand significant moments in history.The film tells the story of the controversial theoretical physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), who oversaw the development of the first atomic bomb during World War II. Downey plays former chair of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Lewis Strauss, a key figure in the revocation of Oppenheimer’s security clearance.“Oppenheimer” is out in theaters July 21. The interview, which was conducted before the actors strike was called, has been edited for clarity and brevity.AP: You were immersed in this project and have focused on this pivotal moment in history, what has been your takeaway?DOWNEY: Context is so critical. The timing of the Manhattan Project, the need for it, the deployment of it, necessary or not — you can read plenty of data that would support either — regardless, the “why” can...

Biden and Democrats raised $72 million-plus for his 2024 race since he opened his campaign in April

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $72 million for his reelection in the 10 weeks since he announced his 2024 candidacy, his campaign announced Friday.That is all the money raised between April 25, when Biden made his announcement, and the end of June, and includes donations to his campaign and to a network of joint fundraising arrangements with the national and state parties. By comparison, President Barack Obama raised $85.6 million during the April-to-June quarter in 2011 when he launched his campaign for a second term, though he announced his candidacy three weeks earlier that April than did Biden.Biden, who has cleared the field of any serious rivals for for the Democratic nomination, has nevertheless been confronting persistent concerns from within the party about voter enthusiasm for an 80-year-old candidate.The campaign did not detail the sum raised directly by Biden’s campaign. That figure is set to be reported...

Supreme Court orders new trial on criminal organization charge over jury instruction

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

OTTAWA — The Supreme Court of Canada has set aside a man’s conviction for taking part in the activities of a criminal organization, saying the trial judge’s instruction to the jury was insufficient.In a 7-1 decision today, the top court ordered a new trial for Ahmed Abdullahi on the count in question, which stemmed from an investigation into the trafficking of illegal firearms in Ontario.A jury found Abdullahi guilty of various firearm-related offences, and the convictions were upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal.However, a dissenting judge disagreed in one respect, saying the trial judge erred by failing to adequately instruct the jury on the definition of a criminal organization in the Criminal Code.That opened the door to a hearing for Abdullahi in the Supreme Court.His lawyers told the top court the trial judge’s instruction indeed fell short, meaning there should be a new trial on the count of participating in the activities of a criminal organization.This r...

Stock market today: Wall Street ticks higher after profit reports, heads for another winning week

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ticking higher Friday following profit reports from several big U.S. companies that topped expectations, keeping Wall Street on pace for another winning week.The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in morning trading, coming off its highest close since April 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 137 points, or 0.4%, at 34,532, as of 10:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% higher.Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group rallied 7.2% after it said profit growth during the spring was better than feared. It also raised the bottom end of its forecast for earnings for the full year.JPMorgan Chase gained 0.6% after it said its profit during the spring grew by more than expected thanks in part to its acquisition of the troubled First Republic Bank. Wells Fargo rose 0.1% after it also reported stronger profit for the second quarter than expected. On the losing end was State Street, which fell 9.9% after reporting slightly weaker revenue than expected f...

As inflation inches closer to 3%, economists warn progress will stall this year

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

OTTAWA — As inflation inches closer to three per cent, economists are warning the steady monthly declines in annual price growth will stall and even potentially reverse in the second half of the year. Statistics Canada is set to release its consumer price index report for June next week, and forecasters are anticipating the annual inflation rate fell from 3.4 per cent in May.“We’re expecting a deceleration to three per cent year-over-year. And that’s really mainly because the gasoline prices we’re paying today are being compared with the very peaks of what we saw last year,” said Andrew Grantham, an executive director of economics at CIBC.But inflation isn’t expected to fall much further this year, making the journey back to the two per cent target a long and tumultuous one. Desjardins chief economist Jimmy Jean says the upcoming CPI report marks a turning point in the fight against inflation.“June is going to be really the peak disinflation...

Lawsuit against fast fashion retailer Shein claims RICO violations

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

China’s fast fashion retailer Shein is facing a lawsuit that claims the clothing maker’s copyright infringement is so aggressive, it amounts to racketeering.The filing this week claims that Shein is in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, a law originally crafted to prosecute organized crime. “Shein has grown rich by committing individual infringements over and over again, as part of a long and continuous pattern of racketeering, which shows no sign of abating,” the filing says.In an organized effort to create as many as 6,000 new items per day, Shein uses a “byzantine shell game of a corporate structure” to rip off designers, a coordinated illegal operation that can best be combated through the use of RICO statutes, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit is just the latest in a series of difficulties Shein has faced. In May a bipartisan group of two dozen lawmakers asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to put t...

DeSantis to become 1st GOP candidate to file for South Carolina primary during visit next week

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis plans to file his 2024 candidacy for South Carolina’s Republican presidential primary when he’s in the first-in-the-South voting state next week, becoming the first GOP hopeful to do so.DeSantis will file his paperwork at the state GOP headquarters in Columbia on Tuesday, his campaign told The Associated Press on Friday. DeSantis will make his candidacy official during his third campaign swing through South Carolina, where Republican hopefuls have been stumping for more than a year already. On Monday, he makes a stop in Tega Cay, an affluent community on Lake Wylie along the state line with North Carolina.After he signs his candidacy paperwork, DeSantis plans to make a policy rollout in Columbia, the details of which the campaign did not immediately release. It will be DeSantis’ second policy announcement, following his immigration proposals — which call for ending birthright citizenship and finishing construction of ...

Acropolis’ midday closure leaves many tourists in the lurch as a heat wave lashes southern Europe

Published Wed, 25 Dec 2024 16:50:15 GMT

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) — Disgruntled tourists bemoaned the temporary closing of the Acropolis in Athens on Friday as Greek authorities proactively shut the world monument’s gates between midday and early evening amid a heat wave that continues to grip southern Europe.Red Cross staff handed out bottled water to tourists wilting in long lines hoping to beat the closure and scale the steps up to the gleaming Parthenon temple as temperatures were expected to peak above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) in the Greek capital.Some visitors were frustrated at being left in the lurch because they were unaware of Greek authorities’ last-minute announcement of the Acropolis’ closure at noon. One visitor said he was disappointed as his cruise ship would depart later in the day.“I even bought a €50 ticket to skip the line to enter and I couldn’t enter the place,” Hector from Mexico told The Associated Press.Others who beat the closing timewere elated despite the heat, like Sylvia from Colo...