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England’s health service says it won’t give puberty blockers to children at gender clinics

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

LONDON (AP) — The publicly funded health service in England has decided it will not routinely offer puberty-blocking drugs to children at gender identity clinics, saying more evidence is needed about the potential benefits and harms.The National Health Service said Friday that “outside of a research setting, puberty suppressing hormones should not be routinely commissioned for children and adolescents.”Children can still be given puberty blockers in exceptional circumstances, the NHS said, and a clinical study on their impact on kids is due to start by next year.The four new regional clinics are due to open later this year. They replace London’s Gender Identity Development Service, previously the only facility of its kind in England. It is scheduled to shut down after a review said it was overburdened by increasing demand and there was not enough evidence about the outcomes of its treatment.Hormone blockers are drugs that can pause the development of puberty, and are sometimes presc...

Elvis Presley’s cousin lifts Democrats’ hope of ‘sleeper’ win in Mississippi governor’s race

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

GRENADA, Miss. (AP) — Conservative Mississippi is tough territory for Democrats, but the party sees an unusual opportunity this year to unseat first-term Republican Gov. Tate Reeves. They’re pinning hopes in November on a candidate with a legendary last name who has used his own compelling story to highlight the economic plight of working families in a state that has long been one of the poorest in America.Democrat Brandon Presley is a second cousin of Elvis Presley, born a few days before the rock ’n’ roll legend died. While campaigning, Brandon Presley talks frequently about government corruption, focusing on a multimillion-dollar welfare scandal that developed when Reeves was lieutenant governor. Presley, an elected member of the Mississippi Public Service Commission, is unopposed for the Democratic nomination for governor. He is pushing for Medicaid expansion to help financially strapped hospitals while telling voters about his own difficult childhood. “I understand ...

Abstinence not required: How a Baltimore drug treatment program prioritizes saving lives

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

BALTIMORE (AP) — Anthony Kelly trudged through southwest Baltimore, each labored footstep a reminder of the roofing accident that left him with chronic pain and a raging opioid addiction several years after he returned home from serving in the Marines.Doctors used metal plates to reconstruct his lower legs and Kelly spent months learning to walk again. So began his plodding journey into the depths of substance use disorder, a downward spiral that would gradually weaken his body and consume his mind.After his prescribed painkillers ran out, Kelly turned to a combination of heroin and cocaine that sometimes cost $500 per day.More than a decade later, his substance use is more manageable and less expensive, though it remains a controlling force in his life. He takes buprenorphine, a prescription medication that’s considered the gold standard for treating opioid addiction by reducing cravings and easing withdrawal symptoms.He gets the medication through a mobile health clinic housed in ...

Join the military, become a US citizen: Uncle Sam wants you and vous and tu

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Esmita Spudes Bidari was a young girl in Nepal, she dreamed of being in the military, but that wasn’t a real option in her country.Last week, she raised her right hand and took the oath to join the U.S. Army Reserves, thanks in part to a recruiter in Dallas who also is Nepalese and reached out to her through an online group. Bidari, who heads to basic training in August, is just the latest in a growing number of legal migrants enlisting in the U.S. military as it more aggressively seeks out immigrants, offering a fast track to citizenship to those who sign up. Struggling to overcome recruiting shortfalls, the Army and the Air Force have bolstered their marketing to entice legal residents to enlist, putting out pamphlets, working social media and broadening their outreach, particularly in inner cities. One key element is the use of recruiters with similar backgrounds to these potential recruits.“It is one thing to hear about the military from locals here,...

Following owners, thousands of cows, buffaloes evacuated away from restive Philippine volcano

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

DARAGA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine authorities were evacuating more than 2,000 cows and water buffaloes away from a restive volcano to minimize potential losses in case of a major eruption, officials said Sunday.The farm animals were being herded out of rural communities within a 6-kilometer (3.7-mile) radius of Mayon volcano’s crater in northeastern Albay province to 25 temporary grazing area. They’re following more than 12,600 villagers who have moved to emergency shelters since last week, when Mayon began spewing superheated gas and heavy ashfall in a sign of a possible major eruption within days or weeks. Thousands more people may still need to be relocated to shelters, usually schools and other public buildings, officials said. “It’s not only people that should be brought to safety but their farm animals too,” Albay provincial veterinarian Manny Victorino told The Associated Press. He said authorities were taking steps to avoid a deeper economic impac...

Strong earthquake rattles northern Japan; no damage reported

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — A magnitude 6.2 earthquake shook Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.No tsunami warning was issued. There were no reports of problems at the nuclear plants in the area, or of disruptions to power supply or bullet trains running in northern Japan.The quake, which hit at 6:55 p.m, was 140 kilometers (87 miles) deep and struck the southwestern part of Hokkaido, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency.It shook much of the island, including the cities of Chitose and Atsumacho, the agency said.Parts of northern Honshu, the nation’s biggest island where Tokyo is located, were also rattled. Tokyo was not affected.Japan is one of the world’s most earthquake-prone nations.The Associated Press

Crosses from New Zealand shipwreck sent to Quebec in honour of 19th-century Patriot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

MONTREAL — A pair of wooden crosses made from a shipwreck in New Zealand have been sent to Quebec to honour the 185-year-old wish of a francophone man who rebelled against British rule.François-Xavier Prieur was one of dozens of Patriots who were exiled to Australia aboard the HMS Buffalo as punishment for their part in the 1837-1838 uprising in Lower Canada, now Quebec. He later wrote in his memoir of his desire that pieces of the ship be sent to his home as a reminder of what he had suffered.Last month, his wish was granted, thanks to a Quebec-Australian film crew and officials in New Zealand, where the HMS Buffalo was wrecked in 1840 shortly after Prieur arrived in Australia, which used to serve as a British penal colony.Kurt Bennett, who works for Heritage New Zealand and is a member of the HMS Buffalo Re-examination Project, helped organize a ceremony in April to mark the start of the crosses’ journey to Canada. He said it was an emotional moment, in part because of the a...

Boy, 15, injured after shooting in Austin overnight

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

CHICAGO -- A 15-year-old boy was shot in the city's Austin neighborhood early Sunday morning.According to police, the boy was standing in the street on the 200 block of North Kilpatrick Avenue around 12:49 a.m. when he was shot in the right hand by an unknown individual. 4 people shot during funeral procession in Oak Park Police say he was transported to Stroger Hospital in good condition. Police are investigating the incident.

APD searches for missing, endangered man last seen in downtown Austin

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Saturday, the Austin Police Department said it was attempting to locate a missing and endangered person last seen in downtown Austin.APD said 33-year-old Nikko Jackson was last seen near the Dell Seton Medical Center on Thursday at approximately 9 p.m."Jackson’s relatives are worried for his wellbeing due to his need for immediate medical assistance related to a serious chronic illness," police said.APD described Jackson as a 5-foot-6-inch tall Black man weighing 190 pounds. Police said he has black hair and was last seen wearing a dark jacket over a hospital gown. Anyone with information on Jackson’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 or contact the Austin Police Department’s missing persons unit at 512-974-5250.

Urgent care, freestanding ER or hospital? How to choose

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:11:48 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – When Kathy Gassman’s dog, Sophie, has to go outside to do her business, she has to go.Even if it’s in the middle of that brutal ice storm at the start of 2023.“It was the ice storm of Jan. 31,” Gassman recalled.When she opened the back door to let Sophie out, Gassman slipped on some ice on the patio.Kathy Gassman looks at paperwork associated with her injuries (KXAN Photo/Mike Rush)Kathy Gassman plays with her dog Sophie in her Round Rock backyard (KXAN Photo/Mike Rush)Kathy Gassman's foot soon after slipping on ice on her patio (Courtesy Kathy Gassman)“Boom, I went right down,” she said. “I still opened the gate for the dog and I went in to see what was happening with my body.”Gassman’s right wrist and left foot were hurting. “So, I went to this freestanding emergency place, which I thought was like an urgent care,” she said.It was called the Brushy Creek Family Hospital, and it's just minutes from her house in Round Rock.After a quick exam and a couple of X-rays, t...