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Free Covid-19 tests are now available for order from the US government

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

(CNN) — Covid-19 tests are now available to be ordered for free from the US government.Starting Monday, people can order four tests per US household through Covidtests.gov. People without an internet connection can call 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489) to request tests.Covid-19 rapid tests can be taken at home and can be used regardless of whether someone has symptoms. The tests should be good through the end of the year. Some of the dates on the tests may show that they are expired, but the US Food and Drug Administration has extended those dates.The US government previously shipped more than 755 million free Covid-19 tests to people who requested them. The program has been suspended since May. Covid hospitalizations have been on the rise in the United States since July, with weekly admissions now more than triple what they were two months ago.The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends people test if they have any Covid-19-like sym...

Van Dyke throws for 3 TDs, Parrish rushes for 2 scores, unbeaten No. 20 Miami routs Temple 41-7

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Tyler Van Dyke’s dad was a Philadelphia Eagles fanatic, so that meant the family rooted on the team and hit the road for games at the Linc — even if game days for the season-ticket holders meant a 3 1/2-hour trip from their Connecticut home.Van Dyke didn’t recall the exact section he sat inside the big stadium in south Philly but he remembered the seats were up high. High enough that he was almost at eye level to the 2017 Super Bowl banner.Now the starting quarterback for No. 20 Miami, Van Dyke wears No. 9 — just like former Eagles QB Nick Foles — and made a new favorite memory inside the stadium. He threw for three touchdowns and helped the Hurricanes beat Temple 41-7 on Saturday and move to 4-0 for the first time since 2017.“I was looking up at the stadium where he had our season tickets, where we used to sit,” Van Dyke said. “It’s just very cool, and it’s a blessing to play in the stadium where you grew up watching pro football games.”H...

BSO seeks public assistance in locating missing 77-year-old man

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Missing Persons Unit is seeking the public’s assistance in locating a 77-year-old man who has gone missing from Pompano Beach.According to investigators, Patrick Mcaleer was last seen on Friday at approximately midnight in the 2900 block of Northwest Second Street. Officials said that Mcaleer has been diagnosed with dementia and may also go by the name “Patrick Wolfe.”At the time of his disappearance, Mcaleer was wearing an orange shirt and black shorts. He stands at 6 feet tall and weighs around 200 pounds, with grey hair and brown eyes.Anyone with information is urged to contact BSO Detective Chris Blankenship at 954-321-4268 or utilize the BSO non-emergency number at 954-764-HELP (4357).

8 injured when JetBlue flight from Ecuador hits severe turbulence as it approaches Fort Lauderdale

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A JetBlue flight from Ecuador to Fort Lauderdale hit extreme turbulence while landing in Florida on Monday, injuring seven passengers and a crew member, the airline said in a statement.JetBlue flight 1256 was headed from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport for a landing shortly after 5 a.m. when it “experienced sudden severe turbulence as it neared Florida,” the statement said.The injured were taken by paramedics to the hospital for treatment and evaluation, the statement said. The airline said it could not comment on the severity of the injuries. Broward County Fire-Rescue, which treated the injured, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.The airline said the Airbus 320 twin-engine plane was taken out of service for inspection.The Fort Lauderdale airport directed all questions to the airline.

Macron pitches non-punitive green transition with new package

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

France is betting on the carrot rather than the stick to meet its climate goals. French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said that green transition should focus on providing incentives rather than imposing outright obligations as he presented a plan to halve carbon emissions by 2030, the so-called planification écologique package. “We want an ecology that is accessible and fair, an ecology that leaves no one without a solution,” Macron said at the end of a meeting with key ministers involved in the plan at the Elysée palace. The French president stressed that France’s green policy should not be punitive.The plan comes as other nations wrestle with similar choices, with the U.K. rolling back on its climate goals for electoral reasons and Germany increasingly questioning the EU’s environmental agenda. Macron wants to show that he is committed to emissions-reduction goals while not burdening citizens through costly obligations — a perfect example of the centrist pre...

Tensions rise between Germany and Poland as Scholz mulls border checks

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

BERLIN — The German government is weighing whether to impose checks on the border with Poland in order to stem an influx of asylum seekers, but tense relations between the two countries — and now an open diplomatic row — may complicate those plans.Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government is under heightened pressure to crack down on rising levels of irregular migration, with many asylum seekers now coming into the country over the Polish and Czech borders. Officials in Berlin say the government is now in discussions with Poland and the Czech Republic over introducing temporary border checks.But at a political rally over the weekend, Scholz linked the current border crisis with an alleged visas-for-bribes scandal that has rocked Poland’s anti-immigrant government just weeks ahead of a national election in that country.“I don’t want Poland to simply wave people through and then have a discussion about our asylum policy afterwards,” Scholz told a crowd during a polit...

Serbian president turns to Russia amid rising tensions with Kosovo after monastery gun battle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

Serbia has turned to its longtime ally Russia after Kosovo accused it of orchestrating an attack in an ethnic Serbian-majority region of northern Kosovo on Sunday.Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić met with Russian Ambassador Aleksandr Botsan-Kharchenko on Monday to discuss the fallout from a deadly stand-off at a Serbian Orthodox monastery between ethnic Serb gunmen who stormed the village and Kosovo police. One policeman and three of the approximately 30 gunmen were killed, according to Kosovo forces.Kosovo’s leaders, who declared Monday a day of mourning, described it as a terrorist attack and blamed Serbia for seeking to destabilize their country.“Afrim Bunjaku was killed during an attack on Kosovo policemen and on our state itself, by a group of highly armed and heavily equipped, professionally trained and planned, politically supported, materially financed and logistically supported by Serbia,” Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said during a ceremony in honor of the polic...

UK police open investigation after allegations of sexual offenses against Russell Brand

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

London (CNN) — London’s Metropolitan Police said it has launched an investigation into allegations of “non-recent” sexual offenses in the United Kingdom, after a joint investigation by British media outlets revealed the comedian Russell Brand was accused of rape and sexual assault.“Following an investigation by Channel 4’s Dispatches and The Sunday Times, the Met has received a number of allegations of sexual offences in London,” the force said in a statement Monday.“We have also received a number of allegations of sexual offences committed elsewhere in the country and will investigate these. The offences are all non-recent,” it added.Brand has publicly denied the allegations and accused the UK government of trying to censor him.Detectives from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command, led by Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, will carry out the investigation, according to the Met’s statement.“We continue to encourage anyone who believes they may have b...

Venice to impose tourist tax for day-trippers in spring of 2024

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

Patrick Clarke | (TNS) TravelPulseThe popular Italian tourist destination of Venice will soon trial a tourist tax that was originally supposed to take effect in the summer of 2022.In an ongoing effort to combat overcrowding during the city’s peak visitor days, officials will charge a €5 or $5.35 tax to day-trippers visiting Venice’s Old City starting in the spring of 2024.Overnight travelers with hotel stays, commuters and those with properties in Venice will be exempt.Visitors will pay the tax via an online booking system that has yet to be introduced. Those who are exempt from the fee will still need to register their trip in the online booking system.UNESCO recently recommended adding Venice to its endangered list amid overtourism compounded by cruise ships and a surge of day-trippers during its busiest periods._____©2023 Northstar Travel Media, LLC. Visit at travelpulse.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Mayo Clinic Q&A: Is erythritol a safe and healthy sugar substitute?

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:40:55 GMT

By Mayo Clinic News NetworkDEAR MAYO CLINIC: A friend has a family history of diabetes and obesity. She is diligent about eating healthfully and enjoys sharing new recipes and information about food. Recently she mentioned a sugar substitute called erythritol. I’m not familiar with this product. Can you explain what it is and if it is healthy?ANSWER: Sugar is one of those ingredients that always seems to be in the news.Eating and drinking too much sugar can negatively affect one’s health. Sugar found naturally in food, such as whole fruits, is not associated with increased health issues. But added sugar has been shown to contribute to dental cavities and is associated with multiple chronic diseases such as heart disease, obesity, fatty liver disease and Type 2 diabetes.Sugar has many forms. Most people are familiar with sucrose, the white granulated sugar found most often in kitchens, and raw sugar, also called turbinado sugar, which is crystalized and light brown. Other...