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State: Record 101 Pedestrians Died On Roads In 2022

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

The number of pedestrians and bicyclists involved in on-the-road accidents in Massachusetts is on the rise after record-lows in 2020, with the most pedestrian fatalities on record occurring in 2022.A recent department of transportation assessment on the safety of so-called vulnerable road users — those who use the roads but not in a motor vehicle, including pedestrians, bicyclists, roller bladers, and others — showed that 101 pedestrians died in crashes in 2022. The previous high of 83 pedestrian deaths was recorded in 2012, according to MassDOT data.Bicyclist fatalities were also high in 2022, with 10 cyclists dying on the road, but did not spike to peaks reached in some previous years.Every state is required to prepare a vulnerable road user assessment under the new federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. MassDOT has been collecting and analyzing data, and will next focus on doing outreach and using this information to identify projects to improve road safety....

Mayo Clinic Minute: What does a diagnosis of dense breasts mean?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

Sonya Goins | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkA recent Food and Drug Administration rule requires healthcare providers to notify people if they have dense breasts. Studies have shown that dense breast tissue can make it more difficult to detect breast cancer early.Dr. Kristin Robinson, a Mayo Clinic breast radiologist, says women with dense breast tissue are at a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to women without, and that’s why early detection is so important.“About 50% of women have dense breast tissue,” says Dr. Robinson.Dr. Robinson says you can’t tell by looking at a woman whether she has dense breasts. She says people with dense breasts have less fat and more glandular and connective tissue in their breasts.“When we see a woman’s mammogram, that dense tissue, that fibroglandular tissue, looks white, whereas the fat looks dark or like a black color. So, when we’re looking at a mammogram, the more white tissue we...

Electrical fire at State House forces evacuation of building, state police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

Boston firefighters responded to an electrical fire at the State House Tuesday afternoon, a spokesperson for the state police said.Boston firefighters responded in mass just after 2 p.m. and quickly gathered on Derne Street, where several trucks started extending their ladders towards upper-story windows.State police spokesman Dave Procopio said no injuries were reported and “at this time, it appears the fire was confined to the basement.”“The fire is in a transformer room in the building’s sub-basement. Companies are awaiting electrical utility to cut power before they make entry to extinguish the fire. There are smoke conditions in other parts of the building,” Procopio said in a statement just before 3 p.m.A spokesperson for the Boston Fire Department confirmed companies were responding but did not have additional details.​Hundreds of staffers, lawmakers, and members of the public calmly flooded into a private parking lot before officials asked everyone to...

Gov. Maura Healey’s trade trip to Ireland cost $83,000, partly covered with public funds

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

A trade trip to Ireland Gov. Maura Healey took last month cost more than $83,000, which was largely covered with state funds dedicated to tourism and a technology-focused public agency, the administration disclosed Tuesday afternoon.Healey traveled to Ireland at the end of June with two secretaries, an undersecretary, the head of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, and four staff members. It was Healey’s first international trip since taking over the executive office, one that she billed as a way to “establish and grow relationships” with foreign leaders.The bulk of the trip — nearly $50,000 — was paid for by the Massachusetts Tourism Trust Fund, a $4.3 million account used to promote tourism in the state and help regional tourism councils. It is in part funded by tax revenues from casinos. Another $21,719 was covered by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a public agency focused on the technology sector, the administration said.The rest of the trip ̵...

Orioles minor league report: Mac Horvath, Baltimore’s 2nd-round pick, ‘super excited’ to join baseball’s top farm system

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

Mac Horvath acknowledged that he doesn’t know much about the Orioles.In the week since being selected by them in the second round of the 2023 MLB draft, he’s had more pressing matters than learning the ins and outs of Baltimore baseball history.There is one thing about the Orioles he does know, though.“They’re pulling up a lot of young guys,” Horvath said during his introductory news conference at Camden Yards on Monday. “I think that kind of speaks to how good they are at developing talent.”The Orioles selected Horvath, an outfielder out of North Carolina, with the 53rd pick after drafting Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. in the first round. Baltimore signed both players Monday. Horvath, who will turn 22 on Saturday, said his first stop as an Oriole will be at the club’s facility in Sarasota, Florida.Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek said Horvath’s overall athletic profile stood out most. After hitting ...

Survey: 77% of travelers plagued by travel problems amid booming season; more than half saw higher prices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

Lane Gillespie | Bankrate (TNS)Nearly two in three U.S. adults have traveled or plan to travel for leisure this year, according to a new Bankrate survey. Of the 32% of U.S. adults who already have traveled for either leisure or business this year, something went wrong for many of them: 77% have run into a travel-related problem.Those issues range from higher prices than they’re accustomed to (53%), long waits (25%), poor customer service (24%), canceled or disrupted plans (23%) and hard-to-find availability (23%).After surging last year when COVID-19 travel restrictions eased, pent-up demand for travel still hasn’t slowed. But with that demand, travelers may have to combat higher prices, in part due to inflation and tighter availability when booking plane tickets, hotels and other travel essentials.About two-thirds of Americans planning travelWhether it’s renting a car for a quick road trip in-state or booking a flight for a luxury international getaway, 63% of U.S. adults plan to t...

Israel’s Herzog tells Biden Israel’s democracy remains sound amid US concerns over judicial overhaul

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel’s figurehead president Isaac Herzog sought to assure President Joe Biden that Israel remains committed to democracy amid deepening U.S. concerns over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plans to overhaul his country’s judicial system and ongoing settlement construction in the West Bank.Sitting by Biden’s side at the start of their Oval Office meeting on Tuesday, Herzog told Biden that Israel’s democracy remains “sound, strong” and “resilient” while acknowledging the country is going through a fractious moment. Herzog’s visit comes a day after Biden spoke with Netanyahu by phone and invited him to meet in the U.S. this fall, although the president expressed reservations about several of the Netanyahu hard-right coalition’s policies. Netanyahu’s government is pushing forward with judicial changes that have sparked widespread protest in Israel and he has authorized the construction of thousands of new housing un...

Belarus arrests a prominent journalist in its continued crackdown on dissent

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Authorities in Belarus have arrested a prominent journalist who has written for the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the latest step in a yearslong crackdown on opposition figures, independent journalists and human rights activists.The Belarusian Association of Journalists said Ihar Karnei, 55, was arrested in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Monday. His apartment was raided, with police seizing phones and computers, his daughter, Polina, told The Associated Press. The authorities have offered no explanation for the arrest and the searches. However, RFE/RL has been labeled extremist in Belarus, and working with it or spreading its content is punishable by up to seven years in prison.Belarus’ oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, reported that Karnei has been placed in the Akrestina pretrial detention center, notorious for its harsh conditions and torture of prisoners. According to Viasna, neither lawyers nor family members have ac...

Lawmakers approve bill allowing French police to locate suspects by tapping their devices

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

PARIS (AP) — French lawmakers on Tuesday adopted a sweeping justice reform bill that includes a provision to allow law enforcement agents to remotely tap into the cameras, microphones and location services of phones and other internet-connected devices of some suspected criminals.The measure plainly stipulates that the procedure can be executed “without the knowledge or consent of its owner or possessor” but is limited to suspects involved in terrorism, organized crime and other illegal activities punishable by five or more years in prison.The language authorizing eavesdropping was contained in a broader reform bill aimed at “modernizing” penal procedures. Reflecting what polls indicate is a public demand for more law and order, the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, adopted two ambitious bills Tuesday that are aimed at bolstering the country’s creaky judicial system.The Senate, controlled by the right, adopted both bills in May. “The goal of this law...

New York prosecutor begins crackdown on illegal cannabis shops with $400K deal with shop owner

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:00:31 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City entrepreneur who illegally sold marijuana at a dozen shops across Manhattan must pay more than $400,000 in taxes and proceeds from illicit sales of cannabis, as part of a crackdown on the thousands of unlicensed operations across the city.The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that business owner Rami Alzandani would not face litigation as part of a non-prosecution agreement. He can keep his stores open but can no longer sell cannabis products.The state of New York’s Office of Cannabis Management has now issued more than 250 licenses for entrepreneurs to open storefronts to sell cannabis in all of its forms, including edibles, flowers and vapes.Azandani must pay $103,000 in restitution to the state Department of Tax and Finance and must also forfeit an additional $300,000 in illegal proceeds, the district attorney’s office said.Last month, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the seizure of $11 million worth of illicit pro...