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Editorial: Kids can’t tell candy from edibles – that’s a problem

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

If there’s one thing the Massachusetts State Legislature loves to do, it’s legalize ways for people to get high.In 2016 it greenlighted marijuana, and earlier this year lawmakers in the House and Senate filed legislation that would give the nod to certain psychedelic plants and fungi. What’s next after “magic mushrooms – LSD?While the legal cannabis industry in Massachusetts is an economic success story in general, with dispensaries producing billions in revenue for the state, the unintended consequences are nothing short of horrifying.Earlier this week, four students at the Henderson Inclusion School in Boston were hospitalized for eating pot-infused edibles, according to school officials.As the Herald reported, Head of School Stephanie Sibley said in a letter to families that the middle-school students “ingested what appeared to be a cannabis-infused chocolate edible,” on Tuesday.Boston Police spokesman Sgt. Det. John Boyle said the students, three fe...

Prep school All-Scholastics and league All-Stars

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

PREP SCHOOL ALL-SCHOLASTICSEIL BOYS SWIMMING: Leo Bertone (Pingree)EIL GIRLS HOCKEY: Ashtyn Bringardner (Portsmouth Abbey)ISL BOYS HOCKEY: Samuel Caulfield (Milton Academy)EIL GIRLS SWIMMING: Mahika Chopra (Dana Hall)IGC GIRLS BASKETBALL: Sophie Cronin (Montrose School)EIL BOYS BASKETBALL: Ray Cuevas (Pingree)EIL GIRLS BASKETBALL: Thai Davis (Beaver Country Day)ISL BOYS BASKETBALL: AJ Dybantsa (St. Sebastian’s)ISL BOYS BASKETBALL: Jack Graham (Milton Academy)ISL BOYS HOCKEY: Sebbie Johnson (St. Mark’s)EIL WRESTLING: Noah Lim (Lexington Christian Academy)ISL GIRLS HOCKEY: Brooke Manning (Noble and Greenough)ISL BOYS BASKETBALL: Trevor Mullin (St. Sebastian’s)ISL GIRLS BASKETBALL: Grace Oliver (Noble and Greenough)GIL GIRLS BASKETBALL: Lily Papatola (Bradford Christian Academy)ISL WRESTLING: Freddy Pimental (Belmont Hill)EIL GIRLS HOCKEY: Bella Pomarico (Berwick)ISL GIRLS BASKETBALL: Sophia Vital (Tabor) ALL-SCHOLASTICSLEO BERTONEPINGREEThe sophomore dominated i...

They came, they posed, they conquered style at the MET Gala

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

With all due respect to The Academy Awards, the place where celebrities show up every year with the most dramatic career-changing fashion statements is New York’s  Met Gala. There, on the red carpeted steps of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vogue’s Anna Wintour holds court and welcomes attendees to the black-tie fundraising event for The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute.And the goal isn’t to necessarily to look stunning, so much as it is to stun, to present an artistic statement, and of course, to get as much attention as possible. This all coincides with a different theme each year, and this year’s was “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.” Lagerfeld, the late designer who worked for luxury brands including Patou, Chloé, Balmain, Fendi, Chanel, as well as his own label, was a controversial choice this year. After decades of remarks considered racist, homophobic, and intolerant of women’s bodies and dismissive of sexual assault, Lagerfeld’s legacy had alienated a s...

Bakst: EPA targets Americans’ ability to choose their cars

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tailpipe emission regulations for new cars, making it more difficult for Americans to buy gas-powered vehicles. The rule is part of an effort to transform how we live our daily lives, from how we get around town to what appliances we use in our kitchen, ostensibly to address climate change.The agency has stated that the rule could mean as much as 67% of all new cars sold in the country will be electric vehicles by 2032. To provide some context, despite receiving massive subsidies, EVs accounted for just 5.8% of all new vehicle sales in 2022. Less than 1% of all registered vehicles in 2021 were EVs.But through policies such as the EPA tailpipe rule and massive spending to entice EV production and purchase, the federal government is trying to fundamentally change the vehicle fleet, regardless of what consumers want. The end goal is to get rid of gas-powered vehicles, following in the footsteps of California, which is banning the sale of...

Pink eye could be sign you have COVID – what you should know

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

A common and relatively mild malady is yet another symptom people should watch for in the fight against COVID-19, experts say.Conjunctivitis — commonly known as pink eye and typically brought on by a virus, bacteria or allergies — can be a symptom of a COVID infection. And public health leaders are emphasizing the importance of taking note of the potential relationship between pink eye symptoms and the coronavirus as a new variant spreads.Here’s what to know about the connection between pink eye and COVID, what symptoms to watch for and when to seek treatment:Is pink eye a COVID symptom?“COVID conjunctivitis,” or pink eye, “is one of the ocular manifestations of the coronavirus,” per the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and it is a form of viral conjunctivitis.“There are reports in which conjunctivitis was the only sign of COVID-19,” the group says. “Other reports showed that the patients of COVID-19 developed conjunctivitis later in their course of disease after hospitalization.”...

Dear Abby: Wife furious she’s last to know about baby

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

Dear Abby: My son recently confided that his fiancee is pregnant with our first grandchild. He asked me not to share this information with my wife, his mother. He knew she would be upset because he was in the process of breaking up with his fiancee. I told him I would keep his confidence for a short while, but that he should please tell Mom soon.Two weeks went by before my son finally told his mom about the pregnancy. She was shocked. On the way home, she asked if I had known about it. Well, my life flashed before my eyes. I couldn’t lie, so I admitted I knew. She became furious with me and said I should have prepared her for this news and had thrown her under the bus. A big argument followed. Was I wrong to keep my son’s confidence? — In Retrospect in GeorgiaDear In Retrospect: No, you were not wrong. Because you were asked to keep this in confidence, it was not “your” news to share. Your adult son asked you to keep this to yourself, and it would have ...

Why did Oregon GOP senators stay home? A look at the tension

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — FOR MOVEMENT OVERNIGHT AT 1 A.M. EASTERNPartisan tensions in Oregon skyrocketed this week because Republican state senators didn’t show up to work on Wednesday, denying Democrats who control the chamber a quorum. The move cast doubt on planned votes on legislation about gun control, abortion rights and gender-affirming health care. Here’s what to know about where Republicans and Democrats are divided and what’s at stake.WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE OREGON LEGISLATURE?Republican state senators skipped a Senate floor session on Wednesday. According to the office of Democratic Senate President Rob Wagner, 10 Republicans and the chamber’s lone independent were absent. In Oregon, two-thirds of the state House and Senate members need to be present to conduct business — or 20 of the 30 current members. Currently, 17 senators are Democrats, 12 are Republicans and one is an independent.Two bills on gun control and access to abortion and gender-affirmi...

Artists to Russia: ‘Our Fire is Stronger Than Your Bombs’

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

GOFFSTOWN, N.H. (AP) — As Ukrainian artists Jenya Polosina and Anna Ivanenko watched missiles descend on their country, the two decided to use their creativity to push back against Russia’s invasion. Working in the early days of the war from bunkers or sometimes without electricity and water in Kyiv, they and other artists started drawing. Some of their war posters are now on display in New Hampshire. In the exhibit entitled “Our Fire is Stronger Than Your Bombs,” posters from Ivanenko show children studying in a bomb shelter and Ukrainians fleeing the country soon after the war started. Polosina’s drawings celebrate a female gymnast and a young mathematician who were killed in missile strikes.“We understood that it’s a good pill, a good medicine for not panicking, for keeping yourself together. So, we started drawing,” Ivanenko told The Associated Press from the studio in Kyiv she shares with Polosina. They are among eight artists who contributed 20 posters to the...

Taiwan trade chief warns against ‘unnecessary fear’ of China

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Taiwan’s chief trade representative says his country’s semiconductor makers will expand production in the U.S. as much as they can afford to do so, but he insists Taiwan remains an ideal place for that production and other U.S. trade, business and investment, despite tensions with China.John Chen-Chung Deng spoke to The Associated Press on a visit this week to Washington, where he is leading a Taiwanese trade delegation and meeting with U.S. trade officials.Deng’s visit comes at a time of intensifying efforts to harden the U.S. and Taiwanese militaries and economies against any threat from rival China. As part of this, President Joe Biden and Congress are moving to boost semiconductor production on U.S. soil in the event of any conflict disrupting exports from Asia, especially from Taiwan. Semiconductors make electronics ranging from phones to electric cars to advanced weapons run, and Taiwan produces more than 90% of the world’s more advanc...

Lula’s gun control push starts with counting Brazil’s guns

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:29:50 GMT

SAO PAULO (AP) — Jonathan Schmidt arrived at Federal Police headquarters in the center of Rio de Janeiro with a travel bag carrying a golden pistol and seven rifles, one peeking out of the zipper.“I’m in love with guns,” said Schmidt. “I’d have over 2,000 if the government allowed.” Schmidt already has his firearms registered with the army, as required by law for sport shooters like him, but experts have cast doubt on the reliability of its database, and said lax oversight has allowed such guns to fall into criminal hands. Schmidt was adding his guns to the police registry on Wednesday to comply with a push by Brazil’s new left-wing president.Over four years in office, former President Jair Bolsonaro tried to convert a country with few weapons into one where firearm ownership and lack of regulation meant personal freedom. Now, his successor Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been moving to undo Bolsonaro’s pro-gun policies, and that starts with requiring gun owners to registe...