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Tick Threat: What to know about tick season’s return to New England and the threat it poses

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

They may seem like a tiny nuisance – but they carry a big health risk.Tick season is here and another threat is on the rise in New England. “My whole body was just like burning. It was aching. Like throbbing and there was nothing I could do to get it to stop,” Michaela Sheranko Walz said.She was bitten by a tick on Cape Cod back in 2017. She says it nearly destroyed her life.“The pain never went away,” Michaela said.The small tick bite infected her with a parasite called babesia.  “It caused like seizure stroke like symptoms… And the first episode lasted like 7 hours,” Michaela said.“Lyme disease gets a lot of press but Babesia can kill you,” Dr. Timothy Lepore, a reknowned expert in tick-borne illnesses, said.He’s with Mass General Brigham Health and says the parasite breaks down red blood cells.“People that are immuno-compromised. It could be very much like being hit by a truck. You have 104° fe...

David Pastrnak’s OT goal lifts B’s to club-record 58th win

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

The Bruins captured the Presidents’ Trophy and simultaneously catapulted themselves past the 1970-71 Big, Bad Bruins to post the single-season club record for wins on Thursday at the Garden.And it took all the bigness and badness of their own to get past the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets to post win No. 58.The B’s started listlessly but woke up with a rocking second period in a game that featured three fights. Yet it still took David Pastrnak’s overtime goal 41 seconds into the extra session to nail down the two points. Hampus Lindholm sent Pastrnak in a break up the right wing and Pastrnak scored his 53rd goal to seal the 2-1 victory.Despite the fact that Columbus came in as the league’s worst team, it was never easy.The first period on Thursday looked like an extension of Tuesday’s game against Nashville. The B’s earned the first power play of the night just 1:27 into the game and it promptly stalled any attack-mentality they brought into the game...

Dansby Swanson stars in his Chicago Cubs debut, a 4-0 opening-day win against the Milwaukee Brewers: ‘I’m really soaking up these moments’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

Dansby Swanson needed only one game to understand how “Go, Cubs, Go” hits differently when the tune resonates at Wrigley Field while wearing the home pinstripes.Swanson’s Chicago Cubs debut Thursday encompassed exactly what the organization expected in the all-around shortstop when they signed him to a seven-year, $177 million contract in the offseason. He became the first Cub to have three hits in his team debut since, fittingly, Nico Hoerner on Sept. 9, 2019. The duo teamed up to turn an inning-ending double play in the top of the third inning to help right-hander Marcus Stroman escape the bases-loaded jam.Swanson also drove in a run, the Cubs’ first of the season, to spark a four-run third en route to a 4-0 opening-day win against the Milwaukee Brewers. A day that began with an early wake up and prayer ended with Swanson putting a rough offensive spring performance behind him to lead the Cubs to a complete win in front of contingent of supporters that incl...

Local leaders support Supervisor Nathan Fletcher's resignation

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Since San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher announced his resignation on social media late last night, local leaders have come out in support of the decision by their colleague and condemned his alleged misconduct."I'm deeply disturbed by the allegations against Sup. Fletcher and support his resignation," San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Nora Vargas said in a tweeted statement late Wednesday. "We must work to create a safe environment for all the dedicated people who work in San Diego County, and I won’t accept anything less," she continued.Fletcher's decision to step down came hours after claims of sexual assault and harassment were made public in a complaint filed with the court on Tuesday by a former employee of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, Grecia Figueroa.The document details two alleged instances of sexual assault by the County Supervisor in his role as chairman of the MTS board. Lawsuit against Supervisor Fletcher alleges sexu...

City council approves $15M TTC request to extend health and safety measures

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

Toronto city council has approved a request from the Toronto Transit Commission to withdraw $15 million from its reserve funds to take care of what it calls “interim measures.” TTC CEO Rick Leary says the funding is needed for health and safety, such as extending the contracts for safety officers on the transit system until the end of the year. Leary acknowledged on Thursday that people are scared to ride the TTC.“That’s what I hear from people, it makes them very nervous,” said Leary. “They are nervous, they’re nervous to send their kids out on the TTC.”“That’s part of the approach that we’re taking by bringing as many staff as possible into the TTC, as many outside help as possible so that people start having that comfort level again.”Back in January, the city added security guards and community safety ambassadors to address immediate concerns. Toronto police also stepped up its presence on the transit network...

Suburban Chicago teen told he’s indicted on 3 murder charges

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

JOLIET, Ill. (AP) — A suburban Chicago teen accused of fatally shooting his 17-year-old girlfriend, a 9-year-old girl and the child’s father was told Thursday a grand jury has indicted him on three charges of first-degree murder.Byrion Montgomery, 17, of Bolingbrook, went before a Will County judge and was informed that the grand jury indicted him in the March 5 slayings of 40-year-old Cartez Daniels, 17-year-old Samiya A. Shelton-Tilman and Sanai Daniels, 9.Judge Dave Carlson told Montgomery, who is currently being held at the River Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet, that he will be transferred to the Will County Jail after he turns 18 on April 27, the Arlington Heights Daily Herald reported.Carlson also granted an order to have Montgomery submit to DNA testing.The 13-count indictment contained the same adult charges that were filed against Montgomery on March 6. They include multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, home invasion, aggravated b...

Australia concerned journalist still awaits verdict in China

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

SYDNEY (AP) — Australia remains deeply concerned that Australian journalist Cheng Lei has not learned of a verdict a year after standing trial in China on national security charges, the foreign minister said on Friday.Foreign Minister Penny Wong marked the first anniversary of the closed trial in Beijing with a statement that said her government had “advocated at every opportunity for Ms. Cheng to be reunited with her family.”“She is still waiting to learn the outcome of the trial,” Wong said. “We share the deep concerns of Ms. Cheng’s family and friends about the ongoing delays in her case.” “Our thoughts today are with Ms. Cheng and her loved ones, particularly her two children,” she added. The children live with family in the Australian city of Melbourne. The anniversary comes as troubled relations between China and Australia show signs of improvement since Wong’s center-left Labor Party came to power at elections last year.Cheng, 47, was born in China and was a journalist for CG...

SIU investigates after man falls from west end apartment balcony

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

The Special Investigations Unit has been called in to look into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 56-year-old man on Thursday. The SIU says around 4:30 p.m. Toronto police were called to an apartment on Martha Eaton Way in the area of Black Creek Drive and Trethewey Drive for reports of a person in crisis.Police located a man on a balcony and according to the SIU one officer began communicating with him. The man then fell from the balcony and was pronounced dead at the scene. The SIU is an independent government agency that investigates the conduct of officials that may have resulted in death, serious injury, sexual assault and/or the discharge of a firearm at a person.

Missing Massachusetts woman’s husband indicted for murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

COHASSET, Mass. (AP) — A Massachusetts man has been indicted in the death of his wife who has not been seen since Jan. 1, a top prosecutor said Thursday.Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey said Brian Walshe, 47, has been charged with first-degree murder as well as misleading a police investigation/obstruction of justice and improper conveyance of a human body. A first-degree murder conviction in Massachusetts carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole. Walshe is accused of murdering his wife, dismembering her and disposing of her body.Ana Walshe, a mother of three who is originally from Serbia, was reportedly last seen leaving the family’s home in Cohasset, south of Boston, in the early morning hours of Jan. 1. She was on her way to the airport for a flight to Washington, where she worked for a real estate company, authorities said. Her employer reported her missing Jan. 4.Starting Jan. 1 and for several days after, Brian Walshe made multiple online searche...

One man injured in Brampton shooting

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:35 GMT

One man is in hospital suffering from a gunshot wound after a shooting in Brampton.Peel police say they were called to the area of Dixie Road and Northclife Street, south of Bovaird Drive East, for reports of shots fired. When they arrived they found one man suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to hospital in stable condition. Police have not released any suspect information at this time.