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Israel moves into Gaza’s second-largest city and intensifies strikes in bloody new phase of the war

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

By Wafaa Shurafa, Jack Jeffery and Sam Magdy, Associated PressDEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel said Tuesday that its troops had entered Gaza’s second-largest city as intensified bombardment sent streams of ambulances and cars racing to hospitals with wounded and dead Palestinians, including children, in a bloody new phase of the war.The military said its forces were “in the heart” of Khan Younis, which has emerged as the first target in the expanded ground offensive into southern Gaza that Israel says aims to destroy Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union. Military officials said they were engaged in the “most intense day” of battles since the ground offensive began more than five weeks ago, with heavy firefights also taking place in northern Gaza.In other developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the military would have to retain open-ended security control over the Gaza Strip long a...

12 things to help you find community and combat loneliness

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

By Andrea RichardsThe global pandemic intensified what was already classified as an epidemic of loneliness in America.A 2021 study commissioned by Cigna concluded that more than half of adults in the U.S. (58 percent) are considered lonely. The many health consequences of loneliness — increases in conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, anxiety, addiction and suicide — prompted U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murty to issue an advisory in April 2023 warning that lack of social connection increases the risk of premature death as much as daily cigarette smoking.Because social connection is such a significant predictor of longevity, Murty made increasing it a priority for public health, creating a national plan for how to foster these essential connections. A key recommendation is to actively participate in social and community groups — in other words, adults need more play.“When we talk about and think of play, we often imagine children running arou...

It’s getting harder to find long-term residential behavioral health treatment for kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

Aaron Bolton, MTPR | KFF Health News (TNS)HELENA, Mont. — Connie MacDonald works for the State Department at the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. It’s a dream job, and she loved living abroad with her two sons.But earlier this year, MacDonald said, her 8-year-old son started to become aggressive. At first the family thought it was ADHD. Her son was indeed eventually diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — as well as disruptive mood dysregulation disorder, which makes it difficult for her son to control his emotions, particularly anger.“He was hurting me. He was threatening to kill his brother. One of the last straws was they had four people at school holding him down for almost an hour trying to calm him down,” she said.The American International School of Jeddah told her that her son couldn’t come back. His behavior was so severe that MacDonald started to look for residential treatment back in the U.S.She found Intermountain Residential in Montana. Children...

Bill Belichick has made it ‘pretty clear’ Bailey Zappe is Patriots’ starting QB

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

FOXBORO — Get ready to see Patriots quarterback Bailey Zappe start his second game of the season Thursday night against the Steelers.Zappe said Tuesday that head coach Bill Belichick has “made it pretty clear” that he’s starting.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Patriots RB Rhamondre Stevenson may miss rest of season with high ankle sprain New England Patriots | Patriots-Chargers film review: Bill Belichick’s worst roster flaw is killing the offense New England Patriots | Patriots-Steelers projected injury report: Rhamondre Stevenson, two receivers out Monday New England Patriots | Bill Belichick reacts surprisingly positively to Bailey Zappe’s performance after Patriots shutout loss New England Patriots | Bill Belichick leaves door open for Matthew Judon’s return to Patriots practice “But I’ll let him announce it to everybody,” Zappe continued. ...

Medicaid ‘unwinding’ makes other public assistance harder to get

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

Katheryn Houghton, Rachana Pradhan, Samantha Liss | KFF Health News (TNS)MISSOULA, Mont. — An hour before sunrise, Shelly Brost walked a mile in freezing rain to the public assistance office. She was running out of time to prove she still qualified for food aid after being stymied by a backlogged state call center.Twice, she’d tried to use Montana’s public assistance help line to complete an interview required to recertify her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits. Each time, the call dropped after more than an hour on hold.“I was ready to cry,” Brost said as she stood in line with about a dozen other people waiting for the office to open on a recent November morning. “I’ve got a hungry 13-year-old kid.”Low-income families that need safety-net services, such as food and cash assistance, have become collateral damage in the bureaucratic scramble to determine whether tens of millions of people still qualify for Medicaid after a pandemic-era freeze on disenrollme...

Worcester Red Sox officially sold to Diamond Baseball Holdings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

NASHVILLE — The Worcester Red Sox are officially under new management.Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns a significant percentage of MLB’s minor league affiliates including the Portland Sea Dogs and Salem Red Sox, announced Tuesday it is buying a majority stake in the Worcester Red Sox.The club will remain the Triple-A affiliate of the Red Sox and play at Polar Park under the continued leadership of Larry Lucchino as chairman, Dr. Charles Steinberg as president and Dan Rea as general manager. The existing front office staff will also remain in place, and Lucchino and local leaders Ralph Crowley and Jim Skeffington Jr. will be retained in the club’s ownership group.“At 78, and after 44 years in baseball, I believe it’s time to have a succession plan, one that assures a commitment to baseball and a commitment to Worcester,” Lucchino in a statement. “There is no organization more committed to Minor League Baseball than Diamond Baseball Holdings, and we welcome Pat Battle...

California-Las Vegas connecting high-speed railway receives billions in funding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A long-planned project that would connect Las Vegas and Southern California via high-speed railway gained $3 billion in funding, a news release indicated Tuesday.The funding secured to begin construction of a 218-mile track that would connect Las Vegas to Southern California is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen took credit for in a Tuesday news release, saying the efforts would "bolster tourism, create 35,000 good-paying jobs, ease traffic on Interstate-15, and reduce more than 400,000 tons of carbon emissions each year."Concept art of the Las Vegas Brightline West train station located on Las Vegas Boulevard between Warm Springs and Blue Diamond.” (Brightline)Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen updates an audience about Brightline West operations Friday morning.” (KLAS)The expected route of Brightline West, showing the additional Metrolink travel between Los Angeles’ Union Station and Rancho Cucamonga.” (Brightline)The plan ...

US makes offer to bring home jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. Russia rejected it

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has made a new and significant offer aimed at securing the release of American detainees Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, but Russia has rejected the offer, the State Department said Tuesday.Spokesman Matthew Miller did not reveal the details of the offer nor why Russia had turned it down, but the revelation of the proposal was a fresh indication that Washington is continuing to try to negotiate with Moscow to get both men home.“This was a new proposal, in recent weeks. It was a significant proposal,” Miller said. “And it was rejected by the Russians but it does not, it will not deter us from continuing to do everything we can to try and bring both of them home.”The U.S. government has declared both Whelan and Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained.Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government dispute. He was se...

Paraguay rounds up ex-military leaders in arms smuggling sting carried out with Brazil

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Several former top military officials in Paraguay have been arrested as part of a cross-border law enforcement operation with Brazil to disband an arms smuggling ring that brought firearms from Europe to South America, officials said Tuesday.The U.S. Department of Homeland Security was also involved in the year-long investigation, according to Paraguay authorities.“The weapons were imported from Europe to Paraguay, where they were defaced and resold to intermediary groups operating on the Brazil-Paraguay border, ultimately reaching major criminal factions in Brazil,” Brazilian federal police said in a statement.Close to 43,000 pieces of such weapons — worth around $243 million — were imported to Paraguay over the past three years under the scheme, Brazilian authorities said.At least 13 people have been detained in Paraguay, including the former head of Paraguay’s office in charge of controlling the imports and distribution of firearms known as Dimabel,...

The Gaza Strip: Tiny, cramped and as densely populated as London

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:51:01 GMT

The war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip has seen fierce Israeli bombardment that has flattened broad swaths of the territory. Thousands have been killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced. And all that is happening in a tiny, densely populated coastal enclave.Gaza is tucked between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea. The strip is 25 miles (40 kilometers) long by some 7 miles (11 kilometers) wide. It has a population of 2.3 million people living on an area of 139 square miles (360 square kilometers), according to the CIA Factbook. That’s about the same land size as Detroit, Michigan, a city that has a population of 620,000, according to the United States Census Bureau. It’s about twice the size of Washington, D.C and 3 1/2 times the size of Paris.Gaza has a population density of about 14,000 people per square mile (5,500 per square kilometer). That’s about the same as London, a city brimming with high-rise buildings, but also many parks. Gaza has few open s...