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California lawmakers OK emergency loans to failing hospitals

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Alarmed by the closure of a rural hospital earlier this year, California lawmakers on Thursday voted to loan $150 million to struggling medical centers in the hope of preventing a cascade of similar failures across the state.The only hospital in Madera County closed in December, leaving the community of nearly 160,000 people with no medical center within a 30-minute drive. The closure was a startling reminder of the plight of many community hospitals in mostly rural areas of the country that have struggled to stay open during the coronavirus pandemic.Since then, hospitals in El Centro, Montebello, Hawkins and Visalia have all teetered on the brink of collapse, with one declaring bankruptcy and another being taken over by a state university to prevent its closure. A report last month paid for by the California Hospital Association warned that 20% of the state’s more than 400 hospitals were at risk of closing.California lawmakers typically don’t a...

LOCALIZE IT: Attendance falls at Black Protestant churches

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS:As most Americans try to return to normalcy more than three years after the COVID-19 pandemic, emptier pews have become a common reality among many Black Protestant churches across the nation.Attendance fell 15 percentage points at Black Protestant churches after the COVID outbreak, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Researchers say “no other religious group has registered a decline of this magnitude.”A story published Monday by the AP explores the reasons behind the drop at congregations across the U.S., and how parishioners still feel that the Black church remains crucial to the Black community as a source of refuge and hope.___READ AP’S STORY Black Protestant church still vital despite attendance drop ___SEE THE DATAThe recent Pew survey also found that Black Protestants are the only group in which more than half (54%) still attend services virtually.Read the survey here.Pew defines Black Prote...

Los Angeles Rams sign QB Brett Rypien

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) — The Los Angeles Rams signed quarterback Brett Rypien on Thursday.Rypien spent his first four NFL seasons with the Denver Broncos, passing for 778 yards with four touchdown passes and eight interceptions in eight appearances. He made two of his three career starts last season for Denver, which signed him as an undrafted free agent out of Boise State in 2019.Rypien will compete for a backup job in Los Angeles behind Super Bowl winner Matthew Stafford, who was limited to just nine games by injuries last season. The Rams also drafted Stetson Bennett, Georgia’s two-time national championship-winning quarterback, in the fourth round last weekend.Rypien’s arrival makes it unlikely the Rams will re-sign John Wolford and Bryce Perkins, their two backup quarterbacks for the past three seasons. Wolford had modest success after replacing an injured Jared Goff in 2020, but both Wolford and Perkins struggled in place of Stafford last season.The Rams eventu...

Evenepoel and Roglič favorites for upcoming Giro d’Italia

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

MILAN (AP) — This year’s Giro d’Italia is being billed as a two-horse race between the experienced Primož Roglič and the younger Remco Evenepoel.But the Italian Grand Tour, which starts on Saturday, is often wet, wild and unpredictable — especially with a brutal final week.Both Roglič and Evenepoel know that anything can happen over a three-week race and that even unheralded outsiders could lift the “Trofeo Senza Fine” in Rome at the end of the month.Evenepoel became world champion last year and the Belgian also claimed his first Grand Tour success when he won the Spanish Vuelta, ending a run of three straight victories for Roglič.The 23-year-old Evenepoel comes into the Giro having won the prestigious Liège–Bastogne–Liège last month for the second year in a row.“I think I can be here only with a positive feeling,” Evenepoel said Thursday. “I just won Liège for a second time, so that’s a good way to start the Giro. The season has been very good so far. I won the UAE tour, we came se...

Boy hospitalized after being struck by car while on bicycle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

A boy riding his bicycle has been airlifted to the hospital after, officials said, he was struck by a vehicle in North Lauderdale. According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred Thursday afternoon just outside Broadview Elementary on the 1800 block of SW 63rd Avenue. Officials said the boy was struck while crossing the street and ended up pinned under the car. He was able to communicate with first responders who were able to free him. The boy, believed between the ages of 9-10, was airlifted to Broward Health Medical Center as a precaution because of his age but is said to be in stable condition. Please check back on WSVN.com and 7News for more details on this developing story.

All clear given after Stranahan High School evacuated due to bomb threat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

A South Florida high school was evacuated Thursday afternoon due to a bomb threat. Police were on the scene at Stranahan High School, located at 1800 SW 5th Place in Fort Lauderdale. 7Skyforce hovered over the school where the student body was seen on the football field.

MSPCA saves rare purebred dogs from Texas

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

Nine purebred Bichon Frisés flew to Massachusetts Thursday after being rescued from an animal cruelty investigation in Texas, MSPCA-Angell announced. The small, hypoallergenic dogs are expensive and rare in shelters.The MSPCA-Angell and the Northeast Animal Shelter took the dogs in after the investigation removed more than 100 dogs and cats from the breeder in Montgomery County, Texas. The shelter there was overwhelmed, even before this surrender, MSPCA said. “Now, they’ve been rescued, and some of the dogs will soon be in Massachusetts, where we’re confident they’ll be able to find the loving homes they deserve,” said Mike Keiley, MSPCA-Angell director of adoption centers and programs and NEAS executive director.Image provided by MSPCA-AngellThis was MSPCA’s largest transport of Bichon Frisés ever, and the nine dogs range from 5 months to 8 years of age. An American pit bull terrier is also headed to Massachusetts. After a two-day quarantine, the dogs will be available fo...

Study Cites Everett Casino’s “Limited Impact” On Crime

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

The region around Encore Boston Harbor in Everett has not experienced a sizable increase in crime rates attributable to the casino’s presence, according to research presented to gaming regulators on Thursday. Consultants for the Massachusetts Gaming Commission studied crime data for Chelsea, Malden, Melrose, Saugus, Lynn and the casino’s hometown of Everett over a period of nearly four years from Sept. 30, 2018 to July 2, 2022. That includes Encore’s opening on June 23, 2019, its brief closure early in the COVID-19 pandemic and then its reopening. They found that while offense rates fluctuated, the trends indicate the casino “has limited impact on crime in the region.” Noah Fritz, the principal investigator at consultant Justice Research Associates, told commissioners on Thursday that the data pointed to a significant increase in crime rates after Encore shut its doors to minimize COVID-19 risks and before the casino reopened, suggesting the hub for leg...

Knicks leaning on road proficiency for Games 3 and 4 in Miami vs. Heat: ‘It’s the next challenge’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

The Knicks have been a better team on the road than at home this season.It’s a strong suit that will come in handy for a team heading to Miami for Games 3 and 4 of their second-round playoff series against the Heat looking for a split at a minimum.The Knicks finished with a 24-17 record away from Madison Square Garden this season, good for the fifth-best road record behind only the Bucks, Celtics, Sixers and Kings. That’s one game better than their home record (23-18) in front of some of the most faithful fans in all of professional sports.With the series tied at one apiece, and the basketball world expecting Heat star Jimmy Butler to return from an ankle injury for Game 3 on Saturday, the Knicks cannot afford to come up empty in Miami.Of the 273 teams that have taken a 3-1 playoff series lead in NBA history, only 13 have ever gone on to lose that series.“I feel like we had confidence going into Game 1, and I feel like we had confidence going into Game 2,” st...

Amid writers’ strike, Boston University is facing heat for picking Warner Bros. CEO as commencement speaker: ‘Boo him off the stage’

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:16:48 GMT

Will boos be raining down at Boston University’s commencement this month?BU is in hot water after the university on Thursday announced that the head of Warner Bros. will be the commencement speaker amid the Writers Guild of America strike.“Hey, BU. Maybe read the room?” TV writer Noah Evslin tweeted following the announcement.David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Warner Bros., is on a viral list of eight Hollywood CEOs who collectively made more than $773 million in 2021, according to the writers’ guild. Zaslav took home $246 million that year, the guild posted online.“Meanwhile, many of the workers who write their shows can’t afford rent,” the guild’s post reads. “That’s why the WGA is ready to go on strike.”Following BU’s announcement on Thursday that Zaslav — a BU Law alum from 1985 — will be the commencement speaker, the university quickly started to face heat online.Many BU grads are now screen...