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A record-breaking blob of smelly seaweed is arriving in Key West — and tourists aren’t happy about it

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

(CNN) — Ginny Matts and her boyfriend were excited to celebrate her 60th birthday in Key West. But their vacation was spoiled by an unexpected guest: a record-breaking amount of smelly seaweed known as sargassum that is coating the iconic Florida island’s popular beaches.What Matts and her boyfriend, Jason Hytreck, encountered was the Great Atlantic Sargassum Seaweed Belt, a floating mass of brown seaweed that spans more than 5,000 miles and forms yearly from the shores of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico.The mass this year set a new record with scientists finding more seaweed from the blob present in the Caribbean Sea than any other April on record, according to a report from the University of South Florida. Scientists measured 3 million tons of seaweed, which emits a gas that can smell like rotten eggs, in the Caribbean, the report shows.The blob of smelly seaweed is hitting beach shores just as Florida’s tourist season hits its stride — a major ...

Acton PD: Officer placed on leave after being arrested in Stow over the weekend

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

A member of the Acton Police Department was placed on administrative leave after he was arrested over the weekend, according to authorities.Interim Police Chief James Cogan announced that Officer Steven Stalzer was placed on leave after the department learned he had been arrested over the weekend in neighboring Stow.A news release announcing the move described Stalzer as being a member of Acton PD since 2015.No details on the nature of his arrest were given, though Cogan noted that Stalzer’s license to carry was suspended and that his badge and service weapon were taken.“The Acton Police Department will release no further information at this time, as this is an ongoing personnel matter,” the release stated. “Further inquiries should be directed to the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.”Stalzer was arraigned in Concord District Court sometime on Monday.

Have a Health Savings Account? Here’s how you can invest with it

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

More and more people are using health savings accounts, or HSAs, to help save for future medical expenses or even give a boost to their retirement funds. Almost one-third of covered workers were enrolled in health insurance plans with a savings option in 2021, up from 17% in 2011, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation.These accounts come with many benefits, including the opportunity to invest and grow your funds tax-free.Here are tips for how to invest your HSA and some other things you should know about these increasingly popular savings vehicles.What is an HSA and how do the tax breaks work?An HSA is a health savings account that is available if you have a high-deductible health insurance plan, and it helps pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. In 2023, the minimum deductible for a HDHP is $1,500 for an individual and $3,000 for a family.HSAs come with a triple tax benefit that make them attractive savings options:• Contributions to HSAs are tax deductible, wit...

New pediatric guidelines aim to treat obesity without stigma. Critics say they’ll make bias worse.

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

From the time Alexandra Slick was little, she knew that when she went to the doctor’s office, at least one person was probably going to tell her that she needed to lose weight.She remembers sitting in an examination room as a middle schooler, watching her mother cry as a nurse practitioner asked her if she wanted her daughter to die. At that point, while Slick’s weight was considered obese by the body mass index, she already had been dieting for about four years and practiced karate every week.“It used to be that if I had a doctor’s appointment in the day, I wouldn’t eat or drink anything until I had gone to the doctor — whether or not that appointment was at 10 a.m. or if that appointment was at 3 p.m.,” she said. “I just wanted to be as small as I could going into the doctor’s office.”When Slick, a 31-year-old Baltimore resident, heard about the American Academy of Pediatrics’ new guidelines for treating childhood and adolescent obesity, she shuddered.The guidelines, released in J...

New Mexico mom sentenced for tossing baby in trash bin

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

A New Mexico teenage mother was sentenced Monday to a mandatory 18 years in prison for tossing her newborn son into a trash bin behind a shopping center, but a state district judge cited mental health concerns and the defendant’s age in suspending two years of the punishment.Jurors convicted Alexis Avila, 19, of child abuse involving great bodily harm following a days-long trial last month in which her public defender argued her actions were not premeditated and that a previously undiagnosed mental health disorder played a role.Judge William Shoobridge told Avila that had it not been for luck and the grace of God he would have been deliberating a sentence in a murder case as there was a high probability the child would have died had it not been found that winter day in Hobbs, near the Texas border.Avila told the judge she wants to learn how to deal with stress and anxiety and said she regrets missing out on her son’s first milestones.“I regret his first hours of life wer...

US borrowing increases as standoff over debt continues

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Monday it plans to increase its borrowing during the April to June quarter of this year, even as the federal government is close to breaching the $31.4 trillion limit on its legal borrowing authority.The U.S. plans to borrow $726 billion during the quarter. That’s $449 billion more than projected in January, due to a lower beginning-of-quarter cash balance and projections of lower-than-expected income tax receipts and higher spending.While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine remains a burden on U.S. economic growth, Treasury officials say the debate over the debt ceiling poses the greatest risk to the U.S. financial position. Eric Van Nostrand, acting assistant secretary for economy policy, said in a statement that “even if Congress ultimately raises the debt limit before a default occurs, the ensuing uncertainty could raise borrowing costs and induce other financial stress that would weaken our labor market and our standing in the world...

Texas college ballplayer stable after struck by stray bullet

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

TEXARKANA, Texas (AP) — A baseball player for a small college in Texas was in stable condition Monday after he was struck by a stray bullet during a game over the weekend.Matthew DeLaney, who was not in uniform for Texas A&M-Texarkana, was standing near the bullpen and batting cages near the southwest corner of George Dobson Field on Sunday when he was hit by a bullet fired from an adjacent neighborhood, police said.DeLaney, 18, of Princeton, Texas, was struck in the chest and taken to a Texarkana hospital, where he remained in intensive care.“The official status we have for him from the hospital is that he is in stable condition,” university communications manager John Bunch said in an email, “but we think it’s important to note that he has a number of serious injuries, as would be expected with this type of trauma. He has made slight improvements daily but still has significant injuries and complications to overcome.”The game between Texas A&M-Texarkana and Houston-Victori...

Trump travels to Scotland to open golf course amid NY trial

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

LONDON — Former U.S. President Donald Trump traveled to Scotland on Monday to open a new golf course at his resort near Aberdeen, in his first overseas trip since he was indicted in New York on criminal charges in a hush money scheme.Trump and his son Eric were greeted by two pipers, a red carpet and a 10-vehicle motorcade at Aberdeen International Airport as they stepped off his private jet with an American flag painted on the tailfin.“It’s great to be home — this was the home of my mother,” Trump said. His late mother, Mary, was born on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides before immigrating to the United States.Trump’s trip coincides with the second week of a Manhattan civil trial over accusations he raped former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll in a department store dressing room in 1996. He denies the allegation and has not attended the trial, which is expected to last through the week.It’s his first trip abroad since he became the first former U.S. president t...

CNN says Trump to appear in New Hampshire town hall

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — CNN said Monday that former President Donald Trump will participate in a town hall forum next week in New Hampshire.The event will be held May 10 at St. Anselm College. Trump will take questions from New Hampshire Republicans and voters who plan to participate in the 2024 presidential primary, the network said.“CNN This Morning” anchor Kaitlan Collins will moderate. There was no immediate word on when the event will be broadcast.While president, Trump made CNN one of his favorite targets for criticism. Scheduling the event for CNN indicates that he’s trying to reach beyond Republican voters; he’s done interviews on Fox News over the past several weeks.Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung declined to comment on the announcement.The Associated Press

Woman hopes to find newlyweds in candid wedding pictures outside of Bucktown bar

Published Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:33:58 GMT

CHICAGO — A Chicago woman is hoping to find newlyweds after snapping candid pictures of them kissing while taking their wedding pictures outside of Map Room.On Saturday afternoon during a rainy day, Kate Byrne noticed her dog reacted to bagpipes going off outside and she thought to herself "what's going on?"After throwing open the window shade, she was delighted to find a wedding party, complete with an entire bagpipe procession, walking toward the Bucktown bar and café Map Room."The song ended and I noticed them take a bunch of photos and I was like 'I better take some pics," Byrne recalled.One of them catches the couple mid-kiss.What seemed like an obstacle at the time turned out to be a cool effect as Byrne snapped the pictures, which took place at 12:56 p.m., through her window screen. Courtesy Kate ByrneCourtesy Kate Byrne"At first I thought 'oh this is kind of blurry,'" Byrne said. "But the more I looked at it, I thought 'this is kinda 'vintage-y.''"Byrne assumed the newlyweds...