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New York City rats can catch the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, study finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

(CNN) — The millions of Norway rats that live alongside New Yorkers are among the animals that can catch the virus that causes Covid-19, a new study says. However, reports of the virus spreading from any types of animals to humans remain rare.Pets like cats, dogs and hamsters; zoo animals such as big cats, primates and hippos; farmed mink; and wildlife such as deer and anteaters are among the animals in which Covid-19 infections have been reported. For the study, published Thursday in the American Academy of Microbiology’s journal mBio, the researchers captured 79 rats from three sites in Brooklyn in fall 2021 and tested them for exposure to SARS-CoV-2.“Most of the rats were trapped in city parks within Brooklyn, although some were captured near buildings outside of park boundaries,” study co-author Dr. Tom DeLiberto, SARS-CoV-2 coordinator with the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, said in a ...

State police: 19 year old charged with manslaughter allegedly drove 120 mph before fatal I-93 crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

Massachusetts State Police say a 19-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal car crash in Braintree.Hedweens Quetant was arrested without incident on Wednesday, March 8, according to an MSP spokesperson. The Boston resident was taken into custody nearly three weeks after a crash on I-93 in Braintree resulted in the death of Michael Wojdag, 46, of Hanson.Authorities said Wojdag was ejected after a vehicle struck the Chevrolet Tahoe SUV he was in at a high rate of speed around 9 p.m. on Feb. 19. Two other passengers in the SUV, a 45-year-old woman and teenage boy, were also injured in the crash, which sent both vehicles off the right side of the road.According to state police, Quetant and four other passengers riding in the Honda Civic that struck the SUV were uninjured and were found standing in a breakdown lane near the sedan.Electronic evidence from both vehicles, physical evidence from the scene and witness accounts were later collected by authorities, leading inv...

Bruins notebook: Tyler Bertuzzi set to face old teammates with new linemates

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

This weekend’s back-to-back games against Detroit promises to be bring some different emotions for Tyler Bertuzzi, but coach Jim Montgomery is adding a little extra juice for the former Red Wing.Bertuzzi, who until last week had been a member of the Red Wing organization since being drafted by Detroit in the second round in 2013, was bumped up onto the David Krejci-David Pastrnak line in Friday’s practice, moving Pavel Zacha to the Charlie Coyle-Trent Frederic line.Whether it sticks remains to be seen, but Montgomery said the thinking is two-pronged.“Just a little bit of experimentation to see what it would look like,” said Montgomery. “We know from early in the year that Zacha with Coyle and Frederic is a real good shutdown line, so there’s a real good secondary shutdown line. Zacha has penalty killed all year and he knows our D-zone coverage. That has a lot do with it. And I thought Bertuzzi has made a lot of plays, so we put him with some other playmakers. He ma...

Dolphins picking up Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option, affirming franchise’s commitment to its quarterback

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

In a move that reaffirms the franchise’s confidence in its quarterback, the Miami Dolphins are exercising Tua Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option, according to a league source on Friday.The decision locks in Tagovailoa through the 2024 season. The Dolphins had already stated their commitment to the 2020 draft’s No. 5 pick for the 2023 season, Tagovailoa’s fourth. Now, he is set to make $23.2 million in 2024.In 2022, Tagovailoa the league in passer rating (105.5) and yards per pass attempt (8.9). He threw a career-high 25 touchdowns to eight interceptions, completing 64.8 percent of passes for 3,548 yards.The greater concern now is his durability. Tagovailoa missed 5 1/2 games last season, including Miami’s playoff loss to the Buffalo Bills, due to two separate stints in concussion protocol.This breaking news story will be updated. ()

Chris Perkins: Brazilian black belt reveals how jiu-jitsu could help Dolphins’ Tua reduce concussions

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

If Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa strengthens his neck muscles, keeps his chin close to his chest when he falls and learns to land on his shoulder and roll instead of landing on his back, it’ll go a long way toward avoiding concussions.That’s not me talking, that’s what Ailton Barbosa thinks. Barbosa is a third-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and instructor at American Top Team/Coconut Creek, one of the nation’s best MMA teams.The Dolphins are having Tagovailoa study jiu-jitsu in the offseason. They hope it’ll teach him how to fall without that whiplash effect of his head hitting the ground.“I think it’s going to be helpful for him,” Barbosa said.Jiu-jitsu turned out to be the winning idea for the Dolphins.Coach Mike McDaniel said the team had lots of ideas for teaching Tagovailoa how to fall and avoid concussions.“We were willing to go to any length,” McDaniel said at last week’s NFL scouting combine. R...

Dolphins clear major cap space by restructuring Hill, Armstead contracts; RB Ahmed returning for 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

The Miami Dolphins continue to set themselves up financially for the start of free agency Monday, and are now well below the salary cap after two immense moves.After they restructured outside linebacker Bradley Chubb’s contract for $14 million in cap relief, as reported Thursday morning, the Dolphins first cleared another $11.876 million by reworking left tackle Terron Armstead’s deal and a whopping $18 million with a restructure of wide receiver Tyreek Hill’s contract, according to a league source and ESPN on Friday.Between the three moves and the release of tight end Cethan Carter on Tuesday, the Dolphins go from $16 million over the cap to about $29 million under. They’re also clearing $13.6 million by releasing cornerback Byron Jones, but since Miami is making that move with a post-June 1 designation, those savings can’t be realized until then.Free-agency negotiations begin Monday at noon. Free agents can first sign with new teams Wednesday.Contract...

Kentucky man dies in police custody, family seeks answers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The death of a Kentucky man while in police custody has prompted a state police investigation, and family members are questioning why officers apparently didn’t give him medical attention at the scene. Clarence Wilkerson died while in police custody on March 2 after he was detained by Ashland police officers, Kentucky State Police said. Police were serving a warrant to Wilkerson, who is Black. Police have not yet said what the warrant was for.An autopsy by the state medical examiner said Wilkerson’s death was “possibly related to preexisting medical ailments” and not a “traumatic event,” according to a release from state police. Family members said Wilkerson, 34, had a heart condition.Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who Wilkerson’s family has hired, asked for the police department to release footage related to the incident.The requested investigation does not necessarily mean the death occurred under suspicious circumstances, as ...

College removes partial Malcolm X quote that sparked protest

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

KINGSTON, R.I. (AP) — The University of Rhode Island has removed a partial Malcolm X quote from the facade of its main library 30 years after members of the school’s Black Student Leadership Group and others protested because they said the shortened quote misrepresented the fuller meaning of the civil rights leader’s message.The inscription on the Robert L. Carothers Library and Learning Commons was installed in 1992 and was meant to be a tribute, but instead, led to the takeover of a campus building, the university said in a statement Friday.The inscription read, “My alma mater was books, a good library … I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.”The full quote, from “The Autobiography of Malcolm X,” reads: “I told the Englishman that my alma mater was books, a good library. Every time I catch a plane, I have with me a book that I want to read — and that’s a lot of books these days. If I weren’t out here every day battling the white man, I...

In rift with Biden, Manchin vows to block oil, gas nominee

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sign of a deepening rift among Democrats on energy issues, conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin says he will not move forward on President Joe Biden’s nominee to oversee oil and gas leasing at the Interior Department. Manchin, of West Virginia, chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and has great influence on energy and environmental issues in the closely divided Senate. In an op-ed Friday, he cited a leaked memo signed by nominee Laura Daniel-Davis that proposed charging oil companies higher rates for drilling off the Alaska coast.Manchin said the higher rates backed by Daniel-Davis for the proposed drilling project in Alaska’s Cook Inlet “were explicitly designed to decrease fossil energy production at the expense of our energy security.”Even though he had supported Daniel-Davis in the past, “I cannot, in good conscience, support her or anyone else who will play partisan politics and agree with this misguided and...

Ontario’s 2025 accessibility goals impossible without urgent action, report finds

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:42 GMT

A new report says Ontario will not meet its goals of making the province accessible for people with disabilities by 2025 unless the government takes urgent action.The blistering report that examines the implementation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act says a lack of basic leadership, accountability and data will make meeting the 2025 target “difficult, if not impossible to achieve.”Report author Rich Donovan, who was appointed by the province to conduct a legislative review of the act, says it has been 17 years since the law came into effect but Ontarians with disabilities still consistently face barriers in everyday experiences.In the report, which was based on consultations with the disability community, Donovan asks Ontario Premier Doug Ford “do you care?”The government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The report is an interim one that Donovan says he released to emphasize the urgent need for the province to make ...