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What you need to know about COVID variant arcturus — and a new, odd symptom

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

Cindy Krischer Goodman | South Florida Sun SentinelA new omicron subvariant is spreading across the country with an odd potential symptom: conjunctivitis, also known as pink eye.Helix, a surveillance company that tracks emerging variants across the nation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, discovered the variant known as XBB.1.16 or arcturus makes up as much as 5% of new COVID cases in Florida. Arcturus appears to be more contagious than other subvariants, and doctors are reporting the strain may be linked to a rise in red itchy eyes.Health experts say it’s unlikely conjunctivitis would be the only symptom associated with a COVID-19 infection, and note that allergy season is here, too. However, doctors are reporting that along with cough and cold symptoms associated with COVID, children are coming in with “itchy conjunctivitis with sticky eyes, not seen in earlier waves.”Conjunctivitis is a swelling of the thin layer that lines the white part of the eye and can caus...

How Dolphins’ tampering in pursuit of Tom Brady cost them 1st-round pick in Thursday’s draft

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

Amid an abundance of excitement surrounding the Miami Dolphins’ offseason, the 2023 NFL draft is a painful reminder that the team was stripped of its first-round pick due to tampering violations.That’s why Thursday night’s first round will only consist of 31 picks, instead of the usual 32 — one for every NFL franchise. The league found Miami had “impermissible communication” with quarterback Tom Brady and coach Sean Payton while they were employed by other teams.The NFL, in August, docked the Dolphins their 2023 first-round draft selection and 2024 third-round pick. Owner Steve Ross was fined $1.5 million and suspended for the first six weeks of the 2022 regular season for the tampering findings.The Dolphins once held two first-round selections in the 2023 draft. They had another one from a previous trade with the San Francisco 49ers, but that one was later sent to the Denver Broncos at last season’s trade deadline for Pro Bowl outside lineb...

Ticker: Ice cream mogul launches ‘joint’ venture; Consumer confidence falls again

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

One of the co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s has gone from ice cream to ‘blunts,’ promising a line of marijuana products with a social mission.Ben Cohen has started Ben’s Best Blnz, a nonprofit cannabis line with a stated mission of helping to right the wrongs of the war on drugs. The company says on its website that 80% of its profits will go to grants for Black cannabis entrepreneurs while the rest will be equally divided between the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance and the national Last Prisoner Project, which is working to free people incarcerated for cannabis offenses.“The War on Drugs (first so named by President Richard Nixon) has targeted lower income Black and Brown people thru over policing, discriminatory prosecution, and discriminatory sentencing,” the website states. “That’s why despite using pot at the same rate, Black people are 4 times more likely to be arrested than Whites.”Consumer confidence falls againConsumer c...

Column: If Jalen Carter remains available at No. 9, could the Chicago Bears pass on drafting him?

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

Bryce Young appears ticketed to be the first pick in the NFL draft Thursday night by the Carolina Panthers, who acquired the pick from the Chicago Bears in March.But what will happen with the No. 1 pick remains up in the air, as does much of the top half of the first round. It’s a draft with a ton of intrigue, in part because few positions have a consensus top prospect.The unknowns extend to the Bears and general manager Ryan Poles, who moved down to No. 9 in the trade with the Panthers. Conventional thinking puts the Bears in play for an offensive lineman, maybe a cornerback — or perhaps Georgia defensive tackle Jalen Carter if he slips through the top eight picks.Teams picking in the top 10 have been working overtime to understand Carter. He has evidence on film of his ability to be a game wrecker. There are also lapses in play on film, and teams had lots of homework they wanted to complete on his character and makeup even before his involvement in a road-racing incide...

New Google Maps features aim to make it easier to explore national parks

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

Before you hit the trail, it’s always smart to be prepared and have maps handy. Now, Google Maps is making some upgrades to help people be better prepared to travel to America’s national parks.Ahead of National Park Week, which kicked off April 22 and runs through April 30, Google announced four new updates for Maps on iOS and Android that the tech company hopes will help users navigate park trails and help them discover things to do and see.The first update allows hikers to find popular spots in a park, including attractions, campgrounds, visitor centers and trailheads. Google’s example uses Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park.“Search for the park and you’ll see photo highlights for key attractions, like Old Faithful,” the company said in its statement. “Tap on any of the photos to get even more details — like videos and reviews — from people who have been there before, so you can decide whether to add it to your itinerary and plan a trip that rocks.” View this post on Insta...

Past Fox firings carry lessons for network after Carlson

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — Before ousting Tucker Carlson, Fox News had twice fired wildly popular hosts – and both times the network recovered better than the stars it cut loose.Fox’s dismissals of Glenn Beck in 2011 and Bill O’Reilly in 2017 offer lessons in what the post-Carlson fallout might be. Carlson was let go on Monday, less than a week after Fox agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787 million for airing bogus claims of voter fraud following the 2020 election.Fox’s two most popular programs last year — Carlson’s being one of them — were the replacements for Beck and O’Reilly.“It seems like the parts are interchangeable,” said SiriusXM and CNN personality Michael Smerconish. “They’ve built a machine over there that seems to function even when the pistons are replaced.”Still, Carlson’s ability to connect with supporters of former President Donald Trump could benefit him wherever he lands. Beck was a sensation at Fox during the first term of fo...

S&P/TSX composite falls more than 200 points led by energy, U.S. markets also slide

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points Tuesday with broad-based losses led by energy, while U.S. markets also fell. “We’re now entering the heart of earnings season,” said Angelo Kourkafas, an investment strategist at Edward Jones, adding that Canadian earnings also start ramping up this week.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 236.87 points at 20,439.87, with the TSX energy index down more than two per cent. In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 344.57 points at 33,530.83.The S&P 500 index was down 65.41 points at 4,071.63,while the Nasdaq composite was down 238.04 points, or almost two per cent, at 11,799.16.Tuesday’s swing comes after a long stretch of unusually low volatility as investors anticipated an avalanche of earnings, said Kourkafas. Results have been mixed so far, he said.“I think the theme of a slowdown is emerging.” Investors were more defensive Tuesday, said Kourkafas, with bond yields moving lower. “I think ...

NFL draft a boon for cities, teams since it hit the road

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

Once a fixture at Radio City Music Hall, the NFL draft has been an even bigger hit since it took to the road. When NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell steps to the podium on the giant stage in front of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, and announces the No. 1 pick on Thursday night, it’ll be ninth draft since it left New York — and it’s becoming a major boon for the league, teams and host cities.“It’s the second-biggest thing that we do and it’s smack dab in the heart of our ‘offseason.’ There is no offseason,” said Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s executive vice president, club business, major events and international. “And that’s a testament to our fans and they’re the ones who made the draft so much bigger and more special.” The NFL draft was in New York from 1965 to 2014. Radio City Music Hall, which hosted the draft nine times, saw the Rockettes’ spring spectacular push the NFL draft into May in 2014. The league decided it wouldn’t be kicked around again...

Canadian flight attendants rally against unpaid work

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

Flight attendants across Canada took part in a national day of action on Tuesday, to demand what they say is a no-brainer — that when they’re at work, they should be getting paid.Unlike most other professions, flight attendants do not get paid when they start their shifts, but rather only from when the plane pushes off from the gate and is in the air until it lands at its destination.The union representing flight attendants says they work the equivalent of almost one week per month without pay.“So when we report for work, say eight o’clock in the morning is my report time — I’m doing a pre-flight briefing. I’m doing all of my safety checks, my catering, I’m not paid for that. When we’re down station and passengers are deplaning, we’re not paid for that as well. If there’s a medical and we have to stay on board to assist, we’re not paid for that either,” explains Rena Kisfalvi, a flight attendant and presid...

Texas man involved in online romance scams gets 3 years

Published Wed, 12 Feb 2025 12:05:09 GMT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Texas man was sentenced on Tuesday to more than three years in prison for his role in an online romance scam in which the identities and images of real U.S. military generals were used to cheat victims from across the nation out of a total of $1.5 million, federal prosecutors said.In addition to three years and a month behind bars, Fola Alabi, 52, of Richmond, Texas, was also sentenced in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island to three years of probation, ordered to pay full restitution and forfeit his home valued at $560,000, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office.The victims were often women in their 70s and 80s and either widowed or divorced, according to court documents.In one case, a widow from Rhode Island was contacted by a member of the conspiracy claiming to be a “General Miller,” who convinced the woman to hand over $60,000 to help pay for the shipment of his personal belongings to the U.S., prosecutors said.A check from the v...