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Popular nasal decongestant doesn’t actually relieve congestion, FDA advisers say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

By MATTHEW PERRONE (AP Health Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — The leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient.Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday against the effectiveness of the key drug found in popular versions of Sudafed, Allegra, Dayquil and other medications stocked on store shelves.“Modern studies, when well conducted, are not showing any improvement in congestion with phenylephrine,” said Dr. Mark Dykewicz, an allergy specialist at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine.The FDA assembled its outside advisers to take another look at phenylephrine, which became the main drug in over-the-counter decongestants when medicines with an older ingredient — pseudoephedrine — were moved behind pharmacy counters. A 2006 law had forced the mov...

Jets QB Aaron Rodgers has a torn left Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

Aaron Rodgers has a torn left Achilles tendon and the 39-year-old New York Jets quarterback will miss the rest of the season, coach Robert Saleh announced Tuesday.An MRI revealed the four-time NFL MVP’s injury, confirming what the Jets feared after their 22-16 overtime win over Buffalo on Monday night. Saleh said Rodgers will have season-ending surgery, but he wasn’t certain when that would occur.Torn Achilles tendons typically take several months of recovery due to the extensive rehabilitation needed.On his fourth regular-season snap in a Jets uniform, Rodgers tried to avoid a rushing Leonard Floyd, who wrapped up the quarterback and spun him down to the MetLife Stadium turf. Rodgers stood up after a few moments, looked over to the Jets’ sideline and then sat on the turf — seemingly knowing he was seriously hurt.He needed help from trainers to get to New York’s sideline, where he was taken to the blue medical tent to be examined. Rodgers then got on a cart to go t...

Hurricane Lee to weaken as it approaches Maritimes, but will still pack a punch

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

HALIFAX — Hurricane Lee is expected to lash parts of the Maritimes with strong winds and heavy rain this weekend, but the Canadian Hurricane Centre says much of its strength will be sapped by cooler sea-surface temperatures as it moves north.By early Tuesday afternoon, the Category 3 hurricane was about 900 kilometres south of Bermuda, churning out winds at 185 kilometres per hour. The slow-moving storm was forecast to make a turn to the north on Wednesday and then accelerate toward Canada.The hurricane centre in Halifax issued a statement Tuesday saying the approaching storm is expected to slow the progress of the front of an air mass, increasing the risk of heavy rain over the Maritimes on Thursday and Friday.“As of now, western Nova Scotia has the higher possibility of impacts, which is worth noting since that region wasn’t impacted by recent storms like Dorian (in 2019) and Fiona (in 2022),” the statement said, referring to powerful post-tropical storms that ma...

Serial killer and former police officer Anthony Sully dies on death row at a California prison

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. (AP) — A former California police officer turned serial killer who was on death row after being convicted of murdering six people in the 1980s has died of natural causes, authorities said. Anthony Sully, 79, died Friday at a medical facility outside the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, where he had been housed for decades, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.The Marin County Coroner’s Office will determine Sully’s official cause of death, the department said in a news release Monday.Sully was sentenced to death in June 1986 for the slayings of Kathryn Barrett, 24; Barbara Searcy, 22; Gloria Jean Fravel, 24; Brendan Oakden, 19; Michael Thomas, 24; and Phyllis Melendez, 20.The victims were beaten, stabbed and shot inside an electrical supply warehouse in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1983. Three of the bodies were found stuffed into barrels dumped at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, the San Jose Mercury News reported. Detect...

FBI investigates cybersecurity issue at MGM Resorts while casinos and hotels stay open across US

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Casino operator MGM Resorts International said Tuesday that resorts are open and an investigation is continuing after what it called a “cybersecurity issue” led to the shutdown of computer systems at company properties across the U.S.The FBI characterized the investigation as ongoing but Special Agent Mark Neria, spokesperson for the bureau in Las Vegas, said no additional information is available.Las Vegas-based MGM Resorts said the event started Sunday and that it shut down “certain systems” in efforts to protect data. It did not call it a cyberattack or specify which systems were affected. It said reservations and casino floors in Las Vegas and states including Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York and Ohio were affected.Late Monday, the company posted a statement saying that “resorts, including dining, entertainment and gaming are currently operational” and that “guests remain able to access their hotel rooms and our front de...

New TIFF documentary shines a light on boil water advisories across Indigenous communities

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

A documentary that sheds light on the unclean water crisis in Indigenous communities across the country is premiering this week in TIFF.The film, Boil Alert, directed by Stevie Salas and James Burns takes viewers on a journey with Layla Staats, an artist and activist from Six Nations of the Grand River.Six Nations is located around two hours away from where the Toronto Film Festival is, yet some of the community is still facing the struggle of unclean drinking water.The film follows Staats as she investigates these issues surrounding unsafe water in Indigenous communities across Turtle Island.“I’m so excited for the world to hear these stories, these voices, and I can’t wait for people to take It in, for people to understand and for it to change them, like it changed me,” Staats told CityNews in an interview.Throughout the documentary, Staats is also on a journey of reclaiming her identity as a Mohawk woman.“I grew up in an urban town and very disconnec...

New Mexico Democratic attorney general won’t defend suspension of right to publicly carry guns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some demonstrators defiantly carried holstered handguns on their hips in a Tuesday rally by gun-rights advocates, protesting Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s surprise order last week to suspend the right to carry firearms to address what she called an epidemic of gun violence.The rally unfolded on Albuquerque’s Civic Plaza shortly before New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez announced he cannot defend the governor’s public health order on firearms, exposing a divide between the state’s top-ranked elected Democrats. In his letter to Lujan Grisham, Torrez said that although he agrees a debate is needed on the impact of gun violence, it cannot be rebranded a public health emergency to justify a blanket 30-day prohibition against carrying firearms. He urged the governor to consider whether her time would be better spent on developing comprehensive legislation. “While I understand that frustration may have led you to undertake a unilateral approa...

Massachusetts city gets more than 9 inches of rain, flooding homes and jeopardizing a dam

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — Heavy rainfall flooded parts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, with two communities declaring a state of emergency as water poured into homes, creating moats around their foundations and leading to boat rescues of residents. Concern about a dam listed in poor condition led to more evacuations.Weather officials described the rainfall as a “200-year event.”More storms were in the forecast for Wednesday, and although it was still early, winds and flooding from Hurricane Lee were expected to affect Rhode Island, eastern Massachusetts, southeastern New Hampshire and central and coastal Maine during the weekend, forecasters said.Up to 300 people were evacuated by Tuesday morning in Leominster, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) northwest of Boston, Mayor Dean Mazzarella said. That included residents of a high-rise apartment building and a nursing home. All schools were closed and two shelters were opened.Mazzarella said the city has not seen such widespread dam...

Missouri clinics halt transgender care for minors in wake of new state law

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

ST. LOUIS (AP) — At least two Missouri health care centers stopped prescribing puberty blockers and hormones to minors for the purpose of gender transition, citing a new state law that the clinic says “creates unsustainable liability” for health care workers.Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital on Monday announced it stopped providing those services, and a spokesman said University of Missouri Health Care stopped treatments for minors Aug. 28. The new Missouri law, which took effect Aug. 28, outlawed puberty blockers, hormones and gender-affirming surgery for minors. But there are exceptions for youth who were already taking those medications before the law kicked in, allowing them to continue receiving that health care. Both Washington University and University of Missouri said physicians there are referring current patients to other providers. Washington University will continue to provide education and mental health support for minors, a...

Ex-NFL Media journalist sues the league, alleging long-standing institutional discrimination

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:16:25 GMT

A former NFL Media journalist is accusing the league of refusing to address what he calls long-standing institutional discrimination and said his contract was not renewed because he repeatedly voiced concerns regarding equity and racial injustice.In making his allegations in a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in New York City, Jim Trotter also cited Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Buffalo Bills owner Terry Pegula as making racially insensitive comments. Trotter said the concerns he raised with league executives, including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, regarding those comments and the lack of diversity among NFL Media employees fell on deaf ears.“The NFL has claimed it wants to be held accountable regarding diversity, equity and inclusion. I tried to do so, and it cost me my job,” Trotter said in a statement released by his law firm, Wigdor. “I’m filing this lawsuit because I can’t complain about things that are wrong if I’m unwilling to fi...