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Boris Johnson asked scientists if COVID could be killed by hairdryer up nose, ex-aide claims

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

LONDON — Boris Johnson asked the U.K.’s most senior scientist and medical professional if it was possible to use a hairdryer to kill coronavirus, his former top aide Dominic Cummings claimed Wednesday.In his written submission to Britain’s ongoing coronavirus inquiry, Cummings — who was sacked by Johnson in 2020 and has made clear his ongoing disdain for his old boss — was highly critical of both Johnson’s management of the COVID pandemic and Britain’s governing systems.In the 115-page document, Cummings said Johnson at one stage “circulated a video of a guy blowing a special hair dryer up his nose ‘to kill COVID’.” The video, which Johnson sent to top advisers and officials via WhatsApp, has since been removed from YouTube.The former adviser said Johnson then asked the U.K. government’s Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance and Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty “what they thought.” Cummings did not detail how th...

‘Existential to who?’ US VP Kamala Harris urges focus on near-term AI risks

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

LONDON — U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris urged the international community Wednesday to focus on the “full spectrum” of artificial intelligence risks, and not just far-off existential threats from the emerging tech.Speaking at the U.S. Embassy in London as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s AI Safety Summit kicked off 50 miles away at Bletchley Park, Harris nodded to the existential risks such as AI being used to create bioweapons and launch cyberattacks that are the focus of Britain’s summit.But she called for a broader definition of AI safety to include existing and near-term threats of the tech. “Let us be clear, there are additional threats that also demand our action. Threats that are currently causing harm, and which to many people also feel existential,” Harris said.“When a woman is threatened by an abusive partner with explicit deepfake photographs, is that not existential for her?,” she asked by way of example. “When a young father is wrongfully imprisoned because ...

Salem State University student killed in overnight shooting near campus

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

Authorities say a university student was killed early Wednesday morning after a shooting in Salem.The Essex District Attorney’s Office said 18-year-old Carl Hens Beliard of Salem State University was found inside a vehicle suffering from gunshot wounds around 1:30 a.m. after officers were called to Forest Avenue for a report of a shooting.According to the DA’s office, Beliard was pronounced dead after he was taken to Salem Hospital.“As both the Salem State president and a college dad, this tragedy is heartbreaking for all in our community and every parent’s worst nightmare,” Salem State University President John Keenan stated.“This senseless gun violence is tragic not only for the victim’s family but for the SSU community and beyond. State Police detectives assigned to my office are working closely with the Salem Police Department and Salem State University officials to identify and bring the person responsible to justice,” Essex District Attorney Paul Tucker said....

More adults should be screened for lung cancer under updated guideline, American Cancer Society says

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

(CNN) — Nearly 5 million additional people are recommended to get screened for lung cancer under an updated guideline from the American Cancer Society, which expanded its recommendations to include older adults who smoke or formerly smoked — no matter how long ago they quit smoking.Previously, the American Cancer Society recommended annual lung cancer screening for adults ages 55 to 74 with at least a 30 pack-year smoking history who either currently smoke or quit smoking less than 15 years ago. Now, the organization says how long ago you quit smoking should no longer be a factor in whether you get screened for lung cancer.In its updated guideline, published Wednesday in the CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the American Cancer Society recommends annual lung cancer screening for current or past smokers, ages 50 to 80, with at least a 20 pack-year smoking history. A pack-year is defined as smoking an average of one pack of cigarettes per day for one year. For instan...

Wu Details Changes Occurring At Mass. And Cass

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

Of the roughly 80 unhoused people who had been living on the street at Boston’s intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard, 52 have already moved into a shelter unit and another 25 people have confirmed shelter and are waiting to pack up and make the move, Mayor Michelle Wu said Wednesday.Wu provided the update during a live interview on “Java with Jimmy” ahead of a 10:15 a.m. press conference about the latest changes at Mass. and Cass, the epicenter of the region’s substance use disorder, mental health, and unsheltered homelessness crises. The mayor said the city has been busy since Monday clearing out encampments in the area and connecting people who had been staying there to services and shelter.“The environment, which isn’t healthy for anyone, which is dangerous in the cold, which is dangerous because of violence and drug trafficking and some of the activity that is kind of attracted around that environment, and it also was...

Column: This World Series continues a disturbing trend of diminishing audiences. Why is no one watching?

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

Seven years ago Thursday the Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians staged an epic Game 7 of the World Series that averaged 40 million TV viewers.The once-in-a-lifetime win by the Cubs led MLB and Fox to crow that the game was healthier than ever, and who could dispute them after an audience like that?It was the most-watched World Series game in 25 years, since the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves before 50 million viewers in another Game 7 in 1991. The 2016 Cubs were a likable, young team that figured to be back again, and around the league, team executives plotted their own rebuilds to emulate Chicago’s success. But that didn’t happen. The Cubs’ win in ’16 turned out to be a blip, not only for their hopes of creating a dynasty but for baseball’s resurgence on the national sports scene.Fast-forward to 2023, a year when new rules were implemented to bring fans a faster-paced game with more hitting and added speed on the base paths. It was an instant ...

Gaza crossing opens for foreign passport holders and wounded as Israeli strikes pound refugee camp

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

By NAJIB JOBAIN and SAMY MAGDY (Associated Press)RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — After more than three weeks of siege, the first Palestinians — dozens of dual passport holders and seriously injured — were allowed to leave Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes pounded a refugee camp for the second day Wednesday.Even as bombings have driven tens of thousands from their homes and food, water and fuel run low, no one has been allowed to leave the embattled enclave, except for four hostages released by Hamas. Another captive was rescued by Israeli forces earlier this week. But a limited agreement appeared to have been reached Wednesday.Meanwhile, Al-Jazeera television, one of the few media outlets still reporting from northern Gaza, aired footage of devastation in the Jabaliya refugee camp near Gaza City and of several wounded people, including children, being brought to a nearby hospital. The Hamas-run government said the strikes killed and wounded many people, but the exact toll was not yet known.Th...

Healey administration projected shelter costs could reach $1.1B in FY24, court docs say

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

The Healey administration expected it could spend up to $1.1 billion this fiscal year on emergency shelters and associated costs for local homeless and migrant families if caseload trends continued and space was readily available, according to court documents.In a signed affidavit filed in Suffolk County Superior Court, Administration and Finance Assistant Secretary Aditya Basheer laid out the projected cost as a judge weighed whether to put a hold on a plan to cap the number of families in emergency shelter, which has swelled this year partly because of a surge in migrant arrivals.“If family shelter net caseload continues to expand at a rate consistent with the activity of the last several months, the state projects a shelter caseload of approximately 13,500 families by the end of (fiscal year 2024),” Basheer wrote. “This would represent a 187% increase over the caseload contemplated in the FY24 budget. This projected caseload would result in family shelter and associated programs ...

The Supreme Court confronts the question of trademark rights in the ‘Trump too small’ case

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

By MARK SHERMAN (Associated Press)WASHINGTON (AP) — Another day, another Supreme Court case with a mention of former President Donald Trump.In arguments Wednesday, the justices will weigh a California man’s attempt to trademark a phrase mocking the former president and current Republican front-runner for 2024 as “too small.”Following a day of arguments in social media cases with echoes of Trump, the Justice Department is supporting President Joe Biden’s once and possibly future rival in urging the court to deny a trademark for the suggestive phrase “Trump too small” that Steve Elster wants to put on T-shirts.Government officials said the phrase “Trump too small” could still be used, just not trademarked because Trump had not consented to its use. But a federal appeals court said refusing trademark registration violated free speech rights.The high court has considered a raft of Trump-related cases in recent years. The justices hav...

‘Makes me sad’: New Quebec poll sees Premier Legault losing ground to Parti Québécois

Published Fri, 27 Dec 2024 12:10:58 GMT

Quebec Premier François Legault says he takes full responsibility for his party’s sagging poll numbers.He told reporters that a new Leger poll published today, conducted for the Journal de Montréal and Journal de Québec, makes him “sad.”His Coalition Avenir Québec party collected 30 per cent support, down four percentage points from September — and way off the highs of more than 40 per cent it consistently received before the 2022 election.The sovereigntist Parti Québécois — with only four seats in the legislature — is up four points from September to 26 per cent, good for second place. The PQ, led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is fresh off an October byelection victory in Quebec City, during which it collected more than 44 per cent of the vote and double what Legault’s party won.Meanwhile, the Quebec Liberal Party and Québec solidaire are tied at 15 per cent, and the Conservative party led by Éric Duhaime collected 12 per cent support in the Leger poll.Among ...