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Portugal’s Costa apologizes for cash seized at his official residence

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa apologized to the country’s people on Saturday, expressing embarrassment for the corruption probe launched against himself and several members of his administration.Costa said he felt betrayed when he learned that authorities had found tens of thousands of euros in envelopes in the office of his chief of staff, Vítor Escária, during a police raid of the prime minister’s official residence on Tuesday.“It is something that embarrasses me and I have a duty to apologize,” Costa said in a televised speech.Costa, who resigned on Tuesday but will remain the country’s caretaker prime minister until snap elections are held in March 2024, said that Portugal continued to be a place where it was safe for foreigners to invest.Authorities are investigating possible acts of corruption, influence peddling and malfeasance in connection with the concession of lithium mining projects in the north of the country, a green hydrogen meg...

‘Catastrophic situation’ at Gaza’s main hospital as Israel vows to press on with war

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

Medical aid organizations warned on Saturday about “catastrophic” conditions at Al-Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s main medical facility, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will continue its war against Hamas with “full force.” Netanyahu pushed back against growing international calls for a cease-fire, saying a cease-fire would be possible only if all the hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza are released. The Israeli leader also insisted that after the war, now entering its sixth week, Gaza would be demilitarized and Israel would retain security control there.Doctors Without Borders said early Saturday that its staff at the Al-Shifa facility “reported a catastrophic situation,” according to a posting on X. “We are extremely concerned about the safety of patients and the medical staff,” the humanitarian organization said. Robert Mardini, director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross, called i...

Virginia Tech rolls over Boston College 48-22 at Alumni Stadium

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

Boston College’s five-game win streak collapsed under a system wide breakdown.Virginia Tech scored 31 points in the first half and rolled over BC 48-22 before 33,665 on a spectacular, sun-splashed Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.BC fell to 6-4, 3-3 in the ACC, and resumes league play on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Panthers at Acrisure Stadium. The Hokies improved to 5-5 overall and 4-2 in the ACC.“When you go on a couple of games win streak you have to be focused, be on your details and execute at a high level and if you don’t you get humbled pretty quick,” said BC coach Jeff Hafley. “We have to flip the page quickly and this group will respond as we’ve done it all year.”Tech quarterback Kyon Jones ripped through the BC defense on the ground and in the air before exiting the fray after three quarters. Jones rushed for 135yards on 20 carries and completed 12-of-17 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Tech had 600 yards of offense on 72 plays and were five-of-five ...

Study: Weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced heart attack risk by 20%

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

The popular weight-loss drug Wegovy reduced the risk of serious heart problems by 20% in a large, international study that experts say could change the way doctors treat certain heart patients.The research is the first to document that an obesity medication can not only pare pounds, but also safely prevent a heart attack, stroke or a heart-related death in people who already have heart disease — but not diabetes.The findings could shift perceptions that the new class of obesity drugs are cosmetic treatments and put pressure on health insurers to cover them.“It moves from a kind of therapy that reduces body weight to a therapy that reduces cardiovascular events,” said Dr. Michael Lincoff, the study’s lead author and a heart expert at the Cleveland Clinic.Wegovy is a high-dose version of the diabetes treatment Ozempic, which already has been shown to reduce the risk of serious heart problems in people who have diabetes. The new study looked to see if the same was true in those who don...

Howie Carr: Musings on the Boston-area brothel johns and other news

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

With a nod to Jimmy Cannon, nobody asked me but:When you first heard about the “high end brothel” and the secret list of johns that the feds refuse to release, what was the first name that came to your mind?Speaking of which, when are we going to find out the name of the local billionaire that the skanky hooker from Stoughton was convicted of trying to shake down back in 2009?Asking for a friend….Whatever happened to local TV news?Ditto, magazines.If Rich Shertenlieb is thinking of jumping to WEEI, I have three words for him:“Don’t do it!”Suicide would be a better option, although you could say that working for Entercom, er, Audacy, is a form of suicide — career suicide.Atty. Gen. Andrea J. Campbell’s middle name is “Joy.”Which is exactly what she delivered to the legislative leadership when she pretty much nixed Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s ballot question to audit the legislature.Now can the AG bring the rest of us some joy by finally filing criminal charges against the bust-out GOP l...

Div. 1 cross country: Cambridge’s Shovlin, BC High’s Larnard rule

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

GARDNER — It was the type of performance the Cambridge coaches had been waiting for junior Aoife Shovlin to have.Fortunately for the Falcons, it came at just the right time on Saturday at Gardner Municipal Golf Course in the Division 1A championships.The junior took the lead midway through the first of the two loops around GMGC and she never looked back in blowing the field away with a time of 18:16.77, over a half minute ahead of the pack.“I tried to go into the race feeling good and I know when I feel like that, I’ve always run better,” Shovlin said. “Once I got to the front, I had a good feeling and just tried to keep that pace.”Led by Shovlin’s brilliant performance, the Falcons also excelled as a group. They placed three runners in the top 16 places, but it was Audrey Jordano’s 27th place that proved pivotal as it gave her squad enough breathing room to hold off Weymouth by three points (111-114) for the team title.Newton North (123) and Acton-Boxboro (129) completed a top four...

US military aircraft crashes over eastern Mediterranean Sea

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military aircraft has gone down over the eastern Mediterranean Sea, U.S. European Command said Saturday.The command said in a statement that the aircraft crashed while conducting training operations. It said the cause is under investigation, but there are no indications of any hostile activity involved. The command said that out of respect for the families affected, no other information would be released on personnel involved.It wasn’t immediately clear what military service the aircraft belonged to. The Air Force has sent additional squadrons to the region and the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, which has an array of aircraft on board, has also been operating in the eastern Mediterranean.Lolita C. Baldor, The Associated Press

Former NFL cornerback D.J. Hayden and 5 others killed in crash in downtown Houston

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — A crash at a red light killed six people including former NFL cornerback D.J. Hayden in downtown Houston early Saturday. The two-vehicle crash occurred about 2 a.m. when a Chrysler 300, apparently “going very fast, high velocity,” ran the red light and collided with an SUV, Houston Police Assistant Chief Megan Howard said.Five men and one woman died, including Hayden, the Houston Chronicle reported.Four people were pronounced dead at the scene. Those killed included the driver of the Chrysler and a man who appeared to be homeless, Howard said. Four people were taken to the hospital and two of them died, Howard said, while one female passenger was in critical condition with life-threatening injuries.Police interviewed a male passenger from the SUV at the hospital. Investigators were working to identify the driver of the SUV, Howard said. Hayden, 33, was born in Houston and starred at the University of Houston, according to his profile page on ESPN.com. A first-ro...

Pennsylvania man arrested in fire that killed more than two dozen horses at New York racetrack

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

NICHOLS, N.Y. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the deaths of more than two dozen racehorses in a barn fire at an upstate New York track that they believe was deliberately set.The horses were killed early Thursday after the barn where they were housed at the Tioga Downs Casino Resort complex was set on fire, the state police said in a news release. The track and casino are in Nichols, a town of about 2,500 people near the border with Pennsylvania and roughly 150 miles (200 kilometers) northwest of New York City.A 32-year-old Athens, Pennsylvania, man was charged with arson, burglary and other counts.According to the state police, an investigation revealed that an individual entered the barn and intentionally set a fire, causing thousands of dollars in damage. The agency didn’t disclose a possible motive.Someone who entered the burning barn to try to save horses suffered second-degree burns and was taken to Robert Packer Hospital for treatment, police said. That person’s nam...

Funerals for Maine shooting victims near an end with service for man who died trying to save others

Published Mon, 23 Dec 2024 12:01:28 GMT

AUBURN, Maine (AP) — A series of funerals for the 18 victims of the mass shooting in Maine last month is nearing a somber conclusion, with one of the remaining memorials held Saturday for a husband and father of two sons who was killed while trying to save others from a gunman in a bowling alley. Jason Walker, 51, of Sabattus, was described by family at the service as an ambitious man with many self-taught skills, from gardening and playing the guitar to beekeeping, making sausage and sourdough bread. He was quick-witted, generous and caring, family said. “Whatever my dad did he did not do it poorly,” Walker’s son Collin said. “He would meticulously study and perfect his many crafts and I would always be in awe of how one man could possibly learn and successfully apply such a wide breadth of knowledge.”Walker and his best friend, Michael Deslauriers, 51, were among those killed in the shooting spree at Just-in-Time Recreation bowling alley and at Schemengees Bar and Grille, in Lewis...