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Mass. Hospitals Report “Major Distress” In Clogged Care System

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

Patients who no longer need expensive, acute care in hospitals are nonetheless occupying 15 percent of medical-surgical beds in Massachusetts as they wait for discharge plans, causing a chain reaction in the system that requires other patients to get stuck in emergency rooms, according to a new report. The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association report said nearly one of every seven medical-surgical beds in the state are occupied by patients who are ready to be discharged but are waiting for spots to open in a post-acute care facility, a community-based setting, or a psychiatric unit. “Hospital case managers are spending endless hours and dozens of phone calls trying to get patients to the next level of care they need,” said Amanda Ford of Lowell General Hospital. “But the obstacles have become so numerous and so intense that it sometimes feels like an impossible task. We want to share a glimpse into this crisis and the solutions that have been identified f...

Charges dismissed against man shot by New Hampshire state troopers

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

OSSIPEE, N.H. (AP) — A judge has dismissed multiple charges against a man who was wounded during a confrontation with three state troopers in 2019.The charges, including criminal threatening and reckless conduct, were dismissed against John Swanson, 57, following a competency hearing, the New Hampshire attorney general’s office said in a news release Monday.He had been charged by the Carroll County Attorney’s office after police said he had threatened them and that they heard gunshots from his house when they tried to arrest him.Police showed up to Swanson’s home in Ossipee in November 2019 to arrest him after he allegedly phoned in threats to police, according to a report from the attorney general’s office. But he refused to come out and they heard gunshots coming from the house. The report said Swanson came out with a loaded rifle, and that’s when the three troopers fired, wounding him in the shoulder, forearm, and buttocks. He survived. No one els...

Grocery prices are rising in America again. Here’s what got more expensive

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

New York (CNN) — US grocery prices ticked up in May after dipping in March and April. Inflation in America continued to fall significantly, but rising prices at the supermarket is unwelcome news to those struggling to pay for food.From April to May, adjusted for seasonal swings, grocery prices got 0.1% more expensive, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index, a key measure of inflation. Menu items got 0.5% in that time.Overall, grocery prices were 5.8% more expensive in May than they were a year ago. Menu prices have risen 8.3% over the past year. Together, food prices jumped 6.7% throughout the year, once again outpacing overall annual inflation, which came in at 4%.Certain food items got quite a bit more expensive over the course of the year.Margarine spiked 22.5%, flour jumped 17.1%, bread spiked 12.5% and sugar rose 11.1%. Meanwhile, juice and other nonalcoholic drinks popped 9.9%, lettuce went up 9.4%, ham grew 8....

9 people wounded in Denver shooting after Nuggets win NBA Finals; injured suspect in custody

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

By COLLEEN SLEVIN (Associated Press)DENVER (AP) — Nine people were wounded in a mass shooting early Tuesday in Denver in an area where basketball fans had been celebrating the Nuggets first NBA title win, police said. A wounded suspect was taken into custody.Police believe multiple shots were fired in a dispute between several people roughly a mile from Ball Arena, where the Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat on Monday night. The shooting happened at around 12:30 a.m. — about 3 1/2 hours after the game — and three of the wounded were in critical condition, the Denver Police Department said in a statement. The suspect, a man, was one of the seven people who suffered injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.“As far as what led up to this altercation that resulted in the shots being fired, that’s still under investigation at this time,” police spokesperson Doug Schepman said. “It did occur in the area where we had the largest gathering of folk...

Waukegan mayor invites Chicago Bears to explore possible move to city

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

Waukegan Mayor Ann Taylor has joined other Chicagoland communities in trying to lure the Chicago Bears to their municipality.Taylor suggested to Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren in a letter written Monday that the Bears build a new stadium on lakefront property in Waukegan, expanding the team’s footprint in Lake County.“The City of Waukegan has multiple large parcels including lakefront property which could be developed into both the state of the art stadium and entertainment district the team has publicly expressed in building,” Taylor said in the letter.This is a developing story. Check back for updates. ()

Live updates: Tight security, road closure in advance of Trump court appearance in downtown Miami

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon for his first appearance in a historic criminal case against him.Trump has been charged with 37 felony counts. The Justice Department said he hoarded top-secret government documents, boastfully displayed them to visitors and tried to hide them from investigators who demanded them back.Please check back for updates throughout the day.Updated post 11:42 a.m.; original post 11:06 a.m. | Unattended packagePolice moved people away from an area near the courthouse after an unattended package was spotted. The suspicious package was a sign with wires coming out. The sign expressed intense displeasure for what the writer called “the Communist media.”Miami Police said on Twitter they were assisting the Department of Homeland Security with an investigation at North Miami Avenue and Third Street. As a result North Miami Avenue is temporarily closed at Northwest Fifth Street to Northwe...

Police say about 100 people returning from wedding killed when boat capsizes in northern Nigeria

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A boat carrying residents returning from a wedding capsized in northern Nigeria killing about 100 people, police and local residents said Tuesday, as a search for survivors intensified.The boat capsized early Monday on the Niger River in the state of Kwara close to neighboring Niger state, police spokesman Okasanmi Ajayi said. “What we gathered was there was a boat that capsized and about 100 people died,” he said. The victims, including women and children, were returning from an overnight wedding ceremony in the village of Egboti in Niger state, said Usman Ibrahim, a resident.It was not immediately clear if there were survivors.“People in the boat were to take their bikes to their various communities (upon disembarking). The boat was carrying more than 100 people when it sank,” said Ibrahim. Many of the victims drowned because the accident happened at about 3 a.m. and not many knew of it until hours later, he said. “Up till now, some dead bodies are still bein...

Justice minister says accusation that he intimidated Tory MP in email is ‘ridiculous’

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

OTTAWA — An accusation from Tory MP Frank Caputo that the Liberal attorney general tried to intimidate him with an email is “ridiculous,” Justice Minister David Lametti argued on Tuesday. Caputo, who is a lawyer, said during a point of privilege in the House of Commons Monday that Lametti had seemed to threaten his reputation in the legal community.In an email, the minister had said he would “let the community know” that he clapped in the House of Commons after fellow Conservative MP Michael Barrett questioned the impartiality of former Supreme Court justice Frank Iacobucci.Barrett’s comments came after ex-foreign interference watchdog David Johnston said he sought Iacobucci’s legal advice on whether he was in a conflict of interest because of former ties to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and said Iacobucci gave him clearance. Lametti told reporters Tuesday morning that it was the Italian-Canadian community he was referencing, not the lega...

North York school closed, students sent home after alleged bomb threat

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

Students have been sent home from a North York high school as police investigate an alleged bomb threat.Toronto police say Georges Vanier Secondary School received an online bomb threat just after 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The school is located in the area of Don Mills Road and Van Horne Avenue.The school was initially place in hold and secure but a Toronto police tweet, sent at 11:43 a.m., said the school had been closed and students were sent home.No injuries have been reported.Police continue to investigate.BOMB THREAT: (UPDATE)Georges Vanier Secondary School9:39am– school has been closed– student sent home – police continue to investigate#GO1351749^se— Toronto Police Operations (@TPSOperations) June 13, 2023

Monahan tells US lawmakers that PGA Tour was left on its own to fend off Saudis

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:12:24 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Commissioner Jay Monahan has told congressional members the PGA Tour was “left on our own” to fend off Saudi Arabia’s bid to take over the sport with LIV Golf because of the United States’ geopolitical alliance with the kingdom.Monahan sent the letter to various lawmakers on June 9, three days after the PGA Tour’s stunning announcement of an agreement with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and the European tour to pool commercial business and rights in a new company.The agreement, while still not finalized, would end all litigation between the PGA Tour and the Public Investment Fund. In the last year, LIV Golf had lured away some of golf’s biggest stars with signing bonuses of $100 million or more, prompting the PGA Tour to respond by pouring millions into its own tournament purses.“During this intense battle, we met with several Members of Congress and policy experts to discuss the PIF’s attempt to take over the game of golf in th...