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COVID health emergency over: WHO downgrades pandemic

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization said Friday that COVID-19 no longer qualifies as a global emergency, marking a symbolic end to the devastating coronavirus pandemic that triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies worldwide and killed at least 7 million people worldwide.WHO said that even though the emergency phase was over, the pandemic hasn't come to an end, noting recent spikes in cases in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The U.N. health agency says that thousands of people are still dying from the virus every week.“It’s with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.“That does not mean COVID-19 is over as a global health threat,” he said, adding he wouldn't hesitate to reconvene experts to reassess the situation should COVID-19 “put our world in peril.”Tedros said the pandemic had been on a downward trend for more than a year, acknowledging that most countries have already...

FDA weighing 1st over-the-counter birth control pill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health regulators are weighing the first-ever request to make a birth control pill available without a prescription.Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration meet next week to review drugmaker Perrigo’s application to sell a decades-old pill over the counter. The two-day public meeting is one of the last steps before an FDA decision.If the FDA grants the company’s request, Opill would become the first contraceptive pill to be moved out from behind the pharmacy counter onto store shelves or online.In an initial review posted Friday, the FDA raised several concerns about studies of Opill, citing problems with the reliability of some of the company’s data and raising questions about whether women with certain other medical conditions would correctly opt out of taking it. It also noted signs that study participants had trouble understanding the labeling instructions.The agency will ask the panel to consider whether younger teenagers will be ab...

Suspect in slaying of Syrian surrenders to German police

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

BERLIN (AP) — German authorities said Friday that a man sought in connection with the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old Syrian in the western town of Luedenscheid has been detained after surrendering to police.Prosecutors in the western city of Hagen said the 23-year-old suspect is also a Syrian citizen and knew the victim, who died at a hospital hours after Monday’s shooting in the nearby town of Luedenscheid.Police declined to immediately provide further details about the suspect or the circumstances of the shooting.Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have come to Germany since the start of the conflict in their country more than a decade ago.Source

Nigerian senator, wife jailed in UK for organ-harvest plot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

LONDON (AP) — A senior Nigerian politician and his wife were handed prison sentences Friday for conspiring to transport a street trader to the U.K. as part of an organ-harvesting plot. Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy president of the Nigerian Senate, and his wife Beatrice were convicted in March of conspiring to arrange the travel of a 21-year-old man to be a kidney donor for their sick daughter.Ike Ekweremadu, 60, was sentenced to nine years and eight months by a judge at London’s Central Criminal Court. Beatrice Ekweremadu, 56, was jailed for four and a half years and 51-year-old Dr. Obinna Obeta, described by prosecutors as a medical “middleman” in the plot, received a 10-year sentence.The case was the first to convict suspects of an organ-harvesting conspiracy under the U.K.’s modern slavery laws.Passing sentence, judge Jeremy Johnson said that “people-trafficking across international borders for the harvesting of human organs is a form of slavery.” “It treats human beings a...

Unprecedented number of primaries prompt some Democrat angst

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Since their wipeout in the 2021 election cycle, Virginia Democrats’ one remaining hold on state government has been in the General Assembly’s upper chamber. The narrow Senate Democratic majority prides itself on being a “brick wall” against Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s agenda. Operatives from both parties see a roadmap for Democrats to keep that majority in November, when all 140 legislative seats are on the ballot. But first come the primaries. Newly drawn legislative maps have led to a wave of retirements and more nomination contests in both assembly chambers than any other comparable election cycle in recent decades. But there’s a sharp discrepancy in the 40-member Senate: There are nearly twice as many Democratic nomination contests as Republican ones. As the races start to heat up, the imbalance in numbers has sparked some concerns among Democrats that spending in the primaries could diminish their current financial advantage, limiting their abili...

Concert Week: You can attend these shows for $25 this summer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Concert tickets can cost a pretty penny after taxes and fees. That is why Live Nation has announced its ticket sale with the return of Concert Week where you can attend a local show for $25.Concert Week is an annual program that runs from May 10-16 and allows fans to fill their calendars with live shows for a good price.So, how does it work?From May 10-16 concert fanatics can head to Live Nation's website to see the full list of shows. Once you select the show you want to attend, there should be a ticket type labeled "Concert Week Promotion," add those tickets to your cart and enjoy the show. How to purchase tickets during Concert Week from Live Nation. Full list of concerts at Ball Arena for 2023 What Colorado shows are participating?During Concert Week, you can buy tickets to shows at most of Colorado's iconic venues from Ball Arena to the Fillmore. Here are all the shows that will be included:Ball ArenaSnoop Dogg Rod StewartLL Cool JAvenged Sevenfold Alicia Key...

Mass. Gets C- Grade For Lead In School Drinking Water

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

Massachusetts made slight improvement over the past four years in its efforts to remove lead from school drinking water, and environmental advocates believe proposed legislation would send the Bay State soaring to the top of the class.The U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Environment America Research & Policy Center published a new report Thursday grading all 50 states and Washington, D.C. on their work to protect students from lead-tainted water at school, the first time those groups have rolled out state-by-state assessments since 2019.Massachusetts landed a D grade in the 2019 iteration and improved slightly to a C- in the latest version, which MASSPIRG Legislative Director Deirdre Cummings attributed to “incremental policy steps toward safer drinking water for kids at school.”That still put the Bay State on better footing than most other states. Twenty-seven states earned F grades for their lead prevention efforts in school water and eight received a D.Washi...

American mountaineer dies during climb to Mount Everest

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

(CNN) — A US climber has died on his way to scale Mount Everest on Monday, according to an expedition organizer.“Jonathan Sugarman died at Camp 2 after he began to feel unwell,” Pasang Sherpa told CNN on Tuesday.Seattle-based Sugarman was part of an expedition arranged by Washington state-based International Mountain Guides (IMG) with Beyul Adventure handling the local logistics.Sherpa added that “his body remains at Camp 2 with the rest of the climbing team.”This comes after Nepal has issued permits for a record 463 climbers by April 26, for this spring season’s expeditions to Mount Everest.Following Sugarman’s death, the Embassy of the United States issued a statement. “We can confirm Dr. Jonathan Sugarman passed away while climbing Mt. Everest Monday May 1,” it said. “Our deepest sympathies go out to his family and friends.“The Embassy is in contact with Dr. Sugarman’s family and with loca...

TurboTax customers to receive checks for $141M settlement

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Millions of Americans who qualified for free tax services — but were instead deceived into paying TurboTax for their returns — will soon get settlement checks in the mail.In a settlement last year, TurboTax’s owner Intuit Inc. was ordered to pay $141 million to some 4.4 million people across the country. Those impacted were low-income consumers eligible for free, federally-supported tax services — but paid TurboTax to file their federal returns across the 2016, 2017 and 2018 tax years due to “predatory and deceptive marketing,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said.All 50 states and the District of Columbia signed the May 2022 settlement, which was led by James.Consumers eligible for restitution payments do not need to file a claim, the New York Attorney’s General Office said Thursday. They will be notified by an email from Rust Consulting, the settlement fund administrator, and receive a check automatically.Checks will be mailed starti...

Ex-Mets star Matt Harvey announces retirement from baseball: ‘Thank you, and goodbye’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:44:51 GMT

The Dark Knight is dropping the curtain on his baseball career.Matt Harvey, who rose to superhero heights with the Mets early in his career before the bright lights faded, announced Friday in an Instagram post that he is retiring from the game.Harvey’s emotional farewell post featured a photo of the right-hander in a Mets uniform from his magical 2013 season.“A game I will always remember,” Harvey wrote about April 19, 2013 when he hurled seven innings in a 7-1 win over the Washington Nationals at Citi Field opposite Stephen Strasburg.“I haven’t gone back to really feel or relive some of the highest moments pitching in the big league, especially for the New York Mets. But this particular game hits me extremely hard, making this a difficult thing to write.“I pitched to win,” Harvey, who has not pitched in the big leagues since the 2021 season with the Baltimore Orioles, wrote in his social media post. “To fire up my team and more import...