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Air pollution may increase dementia risk, Harvard researchers find: ‘A big step in providing actionable data’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

Air pollution exposure may lead to an increased risk for dementia, according to Harvard researchers who call this new finding “a big step in providing actionable data” for the EPA.The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health scientists found consistent evidence of a link between the exposure to fine particulate air pollutants (PM2.5) and dementia.The Environmental Protection Agency is looking at a proposal to strengthen PM2.5 regulations, and the researchers emphasized that their findings support the public health importance of limiting exposure to these fine particulate air pollutants.“This is a big step in providing actionable data for regulatory agencies and clinicians in terms of making sense of the state of the literature on this hugely important health topic,” said lead author Marc Weisskopf, who’s a Cecil K. and Philip Drinker professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology.“The results can be used by organizations like the Environm...

3 things we learned from the Chicago Cubs’ rain-shortened series in Cincinnati, including the top of the order setting the tone

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

The Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds tried to wait out the stormy weather to conclude their three-game series Wednesday.Instead, after a 1-hour, 43-minute rain delay before a pitch was thrown, the series finale was postponed.The game was rescheduled as part of a split doubleheader Sept. 1 at Great American Ball Park. Both games, scheduled to start at 12:10 and 5:40 p.m. CDT, will be nine innings. Major League Baseball played seven-inning doubleheader games during the 2020 and 2021 seasons.The postponement gives the Cubs back-to-back days off with Thursday’s scheduled day off. They are pushing their starters back one game, lining up Marcus Stroman, Justin Steele and Jameson Taillon to start the weekend series at Wrigley Field against the Texas Rangers.Here are three more things we learned during the Cubs-Reds series.1. The top of the lineup is setting the tone.The top third of the Cubs lineup has raked to open the season.Nos. 1-3 hitters Nico Hoerner, Dansby Swanson and Ian Hap...

NPR blasts Twitter’s ‘state-affiliated media’ tag

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

NEW YORK — Twitter has labeled National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media” on the social media site, a move some worried Wednesday could undermine public confidence in the news organization.NPR said it was disturbed to see the description added to all of the tweets that it sends out, with John Lansing, its president and CEO, calling it “unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.”It was unclear why Twitter made the move. Twitter’s owner, Elon Musk, quoted a definition of state-affiliated media in the company’s guidelines as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”“Seems accurate,” Musk tweeted in a reply to NPR.NPR does receive U.S. government funding through grants from federal agencies and departments, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The company said i...

Jayson Tatum among two Celtics starters ruled out Wednesday against Raptors

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla ruled out Jayson Tatum and Marcus Smart before Wednesday’s home tip-off against the Raptors.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Guregian: Level of Patriots dysfunction growing by the minute New England Patriots | Bill Belichick reportedly shopped Patriots QB Mac Jones to 4 teams in trade talks New England Patriots | NFL notes: There’s a lot riding on Bill O’Brien fixing Patriots QB Mac Jones New England Patriots | After cardiac arrest, NFL’s Damar Hamlin backs plan for more defibrillators in schools New England Patriots | Where does the Patriots’ roster stand heading into the NFL Draft? Both players had been listed as questionable on the team’s injury report. Smart is dealing with a neck spasm, while Tatum has a left hip contusion, per the Celtics. Tatum played one of his worst offensive games of the season Tuesday against the Sixers, scoring 19...

Chinatown affordable housing project secures $26M

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

An 85-unit income-restricted rental housing complex going up on Chinatown’s Harrison Avenue has secured just under $26 million in funding, developers announced in a release Tuesday — showing staunch support for fostering affordable housing opportunities in the area.“A key piece to solving the state’s housing crisis is reimagining underutilized spaces and recognizing the development potential of such properties,” said Dan Rivera, president and CEO of MassDevelopment, noting the company is “proud” to partner to fund the project.The complex, proposed by Beacon Communities and the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of New England (CCBA), is set to go into a parking lot at 288 Harrison Ave. currently serving the Tai Tung Village affordable housing community.The $26 million tax-exempt bond was issued by MassDevelopment and bought by Citizens, in addition to $22.7 million in federal low-income housing tax credits.“The provision of tax-exempt fin...

Magic remain optimistic despite the pain of crushed postseason hopes

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

As the Orlando Magic walked off Rich and Helen DeVos Court after Tuesday’s 117-113 home loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the consequences of the defeat started to settle in.Those ramifications made the loss sting more than most.“I’ve come a long way with my mental stuff, from last year to this year. Just staying solid and trying to move on to the next play and being in a better mental space. I’ve come a long way,” guard Jalen Suggs told the Orlando Sentinel at his locker at Amway Center. “But this [expletive] hurts. I’m not going to lie to you. Once the realization on the court when it was over, that [expletive] hurt.”The loss to the Cavaliers eliminated the Magic (34-45) from contending for a spot in the play-in tournament.Orlando was four games behind the Chicago Bulls for the No. 10 seed in the East entering Tuesday and the Magic’s “magic” number was one — meaning they’d be eliminated from postseason co...

Citing gender-equity gap in NIL money, two college athletes join fight to level playing field

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

Edward Lee | (TNS) Baltimore SunLast fall, Mia Ewell and a male college athlete did the same promotional work for an online employment company. But when it was time to get paid, Ewell, a junior shortstop for the Morgan State softball team, received $30 less than her counterpart.“It’s not a huge amount of money that I’m that upset about. But it was the fact that it even happened,” she said. “It was kind of like, ‘If I’m doing the same work, why am I not receiving the same compensation?’ It’s disappointing, but as a woman and as someone who has lived the life of a young girl and has done all this, it’s not that surprising.”Ewell and Olivia Rothfeld, a junior singles player for Towson tennis, are hoping to change that outlook. They signed a name, image and likeness deal last month with H&R Block’s “A Fair Shot” program to raise awareness about the imbalance of NIL deals between male and female college athletes.“I was really honored to be chosen to be a part of this project because ...

BU’s win streak on the line against Minnesota in the Frozen Four

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

The Boston University Terriers are the hottest team to reach the Frozen Four.The No. 5 ranked Terriers (29-10-0, 18-6-0) will put their nine-game win streak on the line when they take on No. 1 Minnesota (28-9-1, 19-4-1) in the opening semifinal on Thursday (5 p.m.) at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. BU is playing in its 38th NCAA tournament and making its 23rd visit to the Frozen Four.Big 10 tournament champion Michigan (26-11-3) will make its record 27th appearance in the Frozen Four against ECAC regular season champion Quinnipiac (34-4-3) in the nightcap.The Terriers own the longest active win streak in the nation, which also doubles as the longest active unbeaten streak, that began with a win at Vermont on Feb. 24.“These guys all year long have taken what we’ve talked about and they have gone out there and done it,” said BU first-year head coach Jay Pandolfo. “That is what their mindset has been the last month or so now.“We are just playing the right way, playing to our identity and ...

Defense Department detains hotel guest in training mix-up

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

BOSTON (AP) — Participants in a Department of Defense training exercise at a Boston hotel entered the wrong room Tuesday and mistakenly detained a hotel guest instead of the person assigned the role of the person to be detained, according to the FBI.The mistake happened about 10 p.m. with the Boston Division of the FBI helping the U.S. Department of Defense in conducting the Defense Department exercise.The exercise was meant to simulate a situation that personnel might encounter during an actual incident.“Based on inaccurate information, they were mistakenly sent to the wrong room and detained an individual, not the intended role player,” an FBI said in a written statement. “Thankfully nobody was injured.”A call to the Department of Defense was not immediately returned.The Boston Police Department was called and responded to the scene to confirm that the event was indeed a training exercise, officials said.“Safety is always a priority of the FBI, and our law enforcement partne...

US House leader and Taiwan president meet as China protests

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:36:51 GMT

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — Risking China’s anger, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday as a “great friend of America” in a fraught show of U.S. support at a rare high-level, bipartisan meeting on U.S. soil.Speaking carefully to avoid unnecessarily escalating tensions with Beijing, Tsai and McCarthy steered clear of calls from hard-liners in the U.S. for a more confrontational stance toward China in defense of self-ruled Taiwan. Instead, the two leaders stood side by side in a show of unity at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California, acknowledging China’s threats against the island government but speaking only of maintaining longstanding U.S. policy.“America’s support for the people of Taiwan will remain resolute, unwavering and bipartisan,” McCarthy said at a press conference later.McCarthy evoked Reagan’s peace-through-strength approach to foreign relations and emphasized that “this is a bipartisan meeti...