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EU throws weight behind Cypriot plan to ship aid to Gaza

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

Several EU countries on Thursday threw their weight behind Cyprus’ plan to supply Gaza with humanitarian aid, but several hurdles remain, mainly over the feasibility of landing big cargoes safely in Gaza’s tiny port facilities. The president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, presented his country’s proposal to open a maritime corridor to help deliver more aid to the Gaza Strip during the Paris Peace Forum organized by the French President Emmanuel Macron.Being only 210 nautical miles from the conflict zone, Cyprus is the closest EU country and is putting itself forward as the natural stepping stone for collecting and inspecting shipments destined for Gaza. The big idea is to increase the humanitarian relief provided to the Gaza Strip by importing the serious volumes allowed by ship, rather than the limited deliveries currently being made by truck through the Rafah crossing with Egypt.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel,...

Systemwide Subway Shutdowns Planned To Fix MBTA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

In another new development with big implications for riders, the MBTA’s push to trade near-term headaches for long-term improvements will soon be put to the test on an unprecedented scale.Reduced train speeds associated with safety concerns have plagued riders with sluggish travel for months, and MBTA officials on Thursday announced they now plan to shut down segments of all four subway lines in phases over the next 13 months, allowing for repairs they say will eliminate all “slow zones” by the end of 2024.Repair work will replace rails, fix or replace deteriorated ties, install new ballast, improve signals and switches, and more, MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said. Free shuttle buses will replace subway service during closures.The proposal will inflict widespread disruption on riders, with a portion of the core subway system scheduled to be closed on almost exactly half of the days between now and the end of next year.With their new plan, MBTA officials are provid...

National institute will build on New Hampshire’s recovery-friendly workplace program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu will oversee the creation of a national institute to provide training and resources for companies willing to hire and help people in recovery for substance use disorder.Sununu will serve as honorary chairman of The Recovery Friendly Workplace National Institute and lead its advisory board, the White House announced Thursday along with other efforts to help states and businesses expand employment opportunities for those in recovery. The initiatives include a toolkit for businesses and model legislation for state legislatures interested in establishing tax credits, grants and other incentives for employers to become certified as recover-ready workplaces.Sununu was tapped thanks to the success of a program he launched in March 2018 starting with 12 employers, ranging from Walmart to the state of New Hampshire. Since then, about 350 businesses employing nearly 100,000 people have joined, he said on a call with White House officials We...

World’s first whole-eye and partial face transplant gives Arkansas man new hope

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

(CNN) — It was a moment Meagan James never expected to witness.A surgical team at NYU Langone Health in New York had performed the world’s first successful whole-eye transplant in a living person: her husband, Aaron James.After an accident at work led to the loss of his left eye and part of his face, Aaron was given a new window to his soul, as well as a partial face transplant.When Meagan peered into her husband’s new eye for the first time, she noticed the post-surgery swelling and saw that the eye was brown. Aaron naturally has ocean-blue eyes.She also saw his new nose, lips and cheek, which already had some beard stubble growing. She saw a face filled with gratitude, and that’s when the emotion set in.She was happy for her husband of 20 years.“It was a crazy, great, weird, strange, ecstatic, happy feeling,” Meagan said. “I was just happy he made it through, and everything was good in the moment.”On that day in late May, a team of more than 140 surgeons at NYU Langone Health...

Federal trial begins for man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

(CNN) — The federal trial of David DePape, the man accused of attacking the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in their San Francisco home last year, is now underway.Jury selection for the trial concluded Monday, said Liz Noteware, director of courtroom operations for the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The trial is scheduled to run through next week.DePape has pleaded not guilty to federal charges in connection with the attack on Paul Pelosi, including assault on the immediate family member of a federal official and the attempted kidnapping of a federal official. He faces a maximum of 30 years and 20 years, respectively, if found guilty on the charges.Among those expected to testify are the police officers who responded to the break-in and assault, the neurosurgeon who treated Pelosi for his injuries, and Paul Pelosi himself, court documents show. Nancy Pelosi is not expected to testify, accordin...

Mystery of ‘Stick Man’ on Led Zeppelin album cover finally solved

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

London (CNN) — After more than half a century, the identity of the elderly, stick-carrying man featured on the “Led Zeppelin IV” album cover has finally been revealed.The “Stick Man” who featured on the cover of English rock band Led Zeppelin’s 1971 fourth studio album was a thatcher from the late-Victorian era, the Wiltshire Museum in southwestern England said in a statement Wednesday.The thatcher is thought to be Lot Long – sometimes known as Longyear – who was born in the town of Mere, Wiltshire in 1823 and was a widower living in a small cottage when the photograph was taken. He died in 1893, according to the museum.Brian Edwards, a visiting research fellow with the Regional History Centre at the University of the West of England (UWE Bristol), made the finding after rediscovering the black and white original photograph, which had “A Wiltshire Thatcher” handwritten on it.The photograph is thought to be the original because it has a thumb print in the corner, Edwar...

Massachusetts emergency shelters for homeless, migrants max out, triggering waitlist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

Massachusetts emergency shelters have maxed out at 7,500 families, leaving adults and children with few alternative options as they work their way through a state-run waiting list for temporary housing, according to data released Thursday.Shelters in the state reached the Healey administration’s self-imposed limit just as House lawmakers passed legislation that requires the creation of an overflow site for waitlisted families. But the bill still needs Senate approval and sign-off from Gov. Maura Healey.As advocates warn adults and children could find themselves stuck sleeping outside as they wait for shelter, the Healey administration moved this week to set up a $5 million grant program for nonprofits, community, and religious groups to offer overnight shelters.But overnight shelters are still in the works and any potential opening of an overflow site is still weeks away at best leaving immediate options for people seeking shelter limited. Interim solutions by community-based and fa...

Bruins notebook: Charlie McAvoy lays out his case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

Charlie McAvoy knows he screwed up. His hit on the Florida Panthers’ Oliver Ekman-Larson on October 30, made in the heat of a 2-2 game that he’d just tied up, was late and high and he understands there had to be consequences.But the Bruins’ defenseman appealed his four-game suspension because he felt it should have had a game lopped off of it. Commissioner Gary Bettman, who heard the appeal, did not agree and thus McAvoy was set to serve the fourth and final game of the suspension on Thursday.McAvoy spoke to reporters for the first time since the hit on Ekman-Larson on Thursday morning after the B’s morning skate at Warrior Ice Arena.“What we were hoping for was just to get it reduced. I understand the need for discipline there and take responsibility for my actions. I know I made a mistake on the play,” said McAvoy. “But really the way that we understood it, and sort of the way it was explained to us by (head of Player Safety) George (Parros) and Player Safe...

Chicago White Sox lose another veteran as announcer Jason Benetti leaves for the Detroit Tigers TV booth

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

The Chicago White Sox have plenty of holes on the field to fill in 2024.Now they’ll have another one in the TV broadcast booth.Jason Benetti, who replaced Ken “Hawk” Harrelson as the TV voice of the Sox on NBC Sports Chicago eight years ago, was signed by the Detroit Tigers to do a minimum 127 games for Bally Sports.“I’m incredibly proud to join this historic and ascending Tigers franchise,” Benetti said in a statement. “From every single person I talked with throughout the interview process it was clear why so many respected professionals and creative people have joined the organization in the last several years. There’s something special about it, and I’m excited to bring that energy to Tigers fans around the globe.”Benetti, 40, who grew up a Sox fan in Homewood and attended Homewood-Flossmoor High School, said after interviewing with the Tigers it was “clear this was the right place” for him.“I was born...

Ohio voted on abortion. Next year, 11 more states might, too

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:17:44 GMT

Bram Sable-Smith | (TNS) KFF Health NewsUNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. — As activists parse the results of Tuesday’s vote to protect abortion rights in Ohio, Jamie Corley is already well on her way to putting a similar measure in front of Missouri voters next year.Corley, a former Republican congressional staffer, filed not one, but six potential ballot measures in August to roll back her state’s near-total ban on abortion, triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision to end federal protections for terminating pregnancies.“I can’t emphasize enough how dangerous it is to be pregnant in Missouri right now,” Corley said at a restaurant near her home in this St. Louis suburb. “There is a real urgency to pass something to change the abortion law.”Missouri is one of at least 11 states considering abortion-related ballot measures for next year, part of the wave of such actions since the Supreme Court’s decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. And while November 2024 is s...