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A common treatment for back and neck pain may not work, study suggests

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

(CNN) — Opioid medications are one of the most typically prescribed treatments for the worldwide problem of low back pain — but they might not work, a new study has found.Experiencing pain in the neck and lower back is common. In fact, lower back pain is globally the leading contributor to years lived with disability, and neck pain is the fourth, according to an analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021.Low back pain is defined as acute when symptoms last for up to six weeks, and chronic when the pain lasts for more than 12 weeks, according to the North American Spine Society (PDF).When it comes to treating this pain, physicians should cautiously limit patient use of opioids and restrict it to a short time period, the society’s clinical guidelines state. Opioids for pain relief are recommended only once other pharmacological treatments haven’t worked or if a person can’t take them for personal reasons.Despite these guidelines and “there being no evidence of their...

La revista National Geographic despidió al último de sus redactores

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

(CNN) — National Geographic, la icónica revista enmarcada en amarillo que ha narrado el mundo natural durante más de 100 años, despidió esta semana a los últimos escritores que quedaban, dijeron varios miembros del personal que se marcharon.No estaba claro cuántos empleados fueron recortados durante la última ronda de despidos en la revista, pero la medida se produce cuando la empresa matriz Walt Disney Co. recortó miles de empleados en todas sus divisiones este año.National Geographic, que tenía más de 1,7 millones de suscriptores a fines de 2022, continuará publicando números mensuales, dijo un portavoz de la revista a CNN en un comunicado este miércoles.“Los cambios en el personal no cambiarán nuestra capacidad para hacer este trabajo, sino que nos darán más flexibilidad para contar diferentes historias y encontrarnos con nuestras audiencias donde se encuentran en nuestras muchas plataformas”, dijo el vocero. “Cualquier insinuación de que los cambios recientes afectarán neg...

A French prosecutor says judges have opened an investigation for ‘voluntary homicide’ after a teen was killed by police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

PARIS (AP) — A French prosecutor says judges have opened an investigation for ‘voluntary homicide’ after a teen was killed by police.Source

UK appeals court rules government plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is unlawful.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

LONDON (AP) — UK appeals court rules government plan to send asylum-seekers on a one-way trip to Rwanda is unlawful.Source

Noel Gallagher y Garbage cancelan concierto en Wisconsin debido a la mala calidad del aire debido a los incendios en Canadá

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

(CNN) — Garbage y la banda High Flying Birds de Noel Gallagher se vieron obligados a cancelar un concierto en Wisconsin, que iban a encabezar conjuntamente este miércoles, debido a la mala calidad del aire en la región mientras cientos de incendios forestales continúan ardiendo en Canadá.Citando un aviso de calidad del aire para los condados de Madison y Dane, “el concierto High Flying Birds and Garbage de Noel Gallagher en Breese Stevens Field originalmente programado para esta noche fue cancelado”, decía una publicación en la página de Instagram de Gallagher este miércoles.“Estamos absolutamente destrozados por decepcionarlos a todos, pero su seguridad es primordial”, publicó la líder de Garbage, Shirley Manson, en la página de Instagram de la banda este miércoles, y agregó: “Este es esencialmente el espectáculo de nuestra ciudad natal, incluso para mí es el espectáculo de mi ciudad natal estadounidense y no puedo subrayar cuán aplastados estamos todos por este alarmante gir...

Al menos 16 personas resultaron heridas después de que un tren de pasajeros de Amtrak descarrilara parcialmente en el sur de California tras chocar contra un vehículo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

(CNN) — Al menos 16 personas resultaron heridas este miércoles cuando un tren de Amtrak chocó con un camión que bloqueaba las vías en el sur de California y descarriló parcialmente, dijeron funcionarios locales.El conductor del camión fue transportado a un centro de trauma y otra persona fue llevada a un centro médico con una “emergencia médica menor”, según el Departamento de Bomberos del Condado de Ventura. Otros 14 fueron transportados de la escena con heridas leves, dijo en un tuit.Tren de Amtrak con 243 pasajeros se descarrila en Missouri tras chocar contra camión volquete: al menos 3 muertosEl departamento de ayuda a los otros pasajeros del tren Coast Starlight parecía ileso.El tren No. 14 viajaba de Los Ángeles a Seattle alrededor de las 11:15 a.m. (hora del Pacífico) cuando chocó contra el vehículo que obstruía las vías en Moorpark, California, a unos 80 kilómetros al noroeste de Los Ángeles, dijo la línea ferroviaria en un comunicado.“El tren descarriló producto del i...

South Koreans become younger overnight after country scraps ‘Korean age’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

Seoul, South Korea (CNN) — More than 51 million people in South Korea awoke on Wednesday to find themselves a year or two younger – at least, according to the law.Under legislation that came into effect Wednesday, “all judicial and administrative areas” across the East Asian country will adopt the “international age” system used by most of the world, ending years of debate about the problems caused by the formerly common use of “Korean age” and “calendar age.”Standardizing ages will “reduce various social confusions and disputes,” said Lee Wan-kyu, the Minister of Government Legislation, at a news briefing on Monday.The law, passed by South Korea’s Parliament last December, is also expected to “greatly reduce social costs that have been unnecessary due to the mixed use of age standards,” Lee said, adding this had been a major pledge by President Yoon Suk-yeol, who took office last May.Three systemsIn South Korea, “international age” refers to the number of years since a person was b...

Scientists spot a planet that shouldn’t exist

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

(CNN) — A Jupiter-like planet located 520 light-years from Earth may be an unlikely survivor after its host star had a temper tantrum.The gas planet is known as 8 UMi b and was named Halla after its initial discovery by Korean astronomers in 2015. Halla, regarded as a sacred place, is the highest mountain in South Korea.The exoplanet orbits a giant star larger than our sun named Baekdu, located in the Ursa Minor, or “Little Bear,” constellation.Halla orbits Baekdu at a distance about half that between the Earth and the sun at 0.46 astronomical units, or 42,759,659 miles (68,815,020 kilometers). Halla is considered a “hot Jupiter,” a classification for exoplanets similar in size to Jupiter that have higher temperatures given how closely they orbit their host stars.Astronomers believe that Halla somehow survived after its star experienced a violent transition that should have destroyed nearby planets. A study detailing the findings published Wednesday in the journal Nature.Observation...

France to go after Chinese ‘fast fashion’ giant

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

PARIS — French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire asked the French fraud and consumer protection authority to open an investigation into “fast fashion” companies, specifically singling out Chinese giant Shein.Le Maire said he wants the investigation to focus on the platforms’ environmental impact, consumer protection and “social issues” linked to fast fashion, in an Instagram video posted Wednesday evening.“We don’t know the social conditions under which these clothes are made,” the minister said. He added there isn’t enough information about product safety on goods sold on Shein. In recent weeks, the Chinese e-commerce platform has tried to soften its image with Western audiences with communication campaigns on social media. In one case, U.S. online influencers were invited to China to visit a production site. But the images posted online contrast with damning press reports on working conditions at the company and its subcontr...

Paid family leave approved in Maine’s last-minute budget negotiations, awaits vote

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:31:47 GMT

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The Maine Legislature’s budget-writing committee has reached a bipartisan compromise on the remaining $800 million to $900 million in spending in the upcoming budget, providing startup funding for paid family leave, investing more in child care and providing tax cuts for retirees.The Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee began voting after midnight and didn’t wrap up until nearly 4 a.m. Wednesday. The panel adopted the plan on an 11-1 vote.It’s unclear when the full Legislature will take up the spending proposal, which follows approval of a nearly $10 billion essential services budget along party lines in March to prevent a state government shutdown. It’s possible the Maine Senate won’t reconvene until next week, after the Fourth of July holiday.The proposal includes startup costs for a paid family leave program that both chambers support, along with additional spending for child care workers and to boost a child care affo...