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Shockwaves ripple through Massachusetts after Supreme Court ends affirmative action

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

A Supreme Court ruling striking down affirmative action Thursday sent shockwaves through the Massachusetts education and political ecosystems, prompting leaders across the state to label the conservative-led court as “extreme” and pledge to uphold diversity.Justices ruled admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause by allowing for the consideration of race in the entrance process. The admissions landscape after the ruling will force institutions of higher education to seek out different methods for achieving diverse student populations.Writing in the majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts said that for too long universities have “concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”In Massachusetts, where more than a hundred colleges...

Bladder cancer: What you should know about diagnosis, treatment and recurrence

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

Jessica Saenz | (TNS) Mayo Clinic News NetworkBladder cancer is one of the most common cancer types in the U.S., according to the National Cancer Institute. It’s also one of the most likely types of cancer to recur.Experts are developing ways to reduce bladder cancer recurrence, and, with treatments and follow-up care tailored to each person’s cancer, outcomes are improving. Mark Tyson, II, M.D., a Mayo Clinic urologic surgeon, explains:Blood in the urine may be the first sign of bladder cancer.The first symptom of bladder cancer is often blood in the urine, but Dr. Tyson says it isn’t always visible. “Patients will either be told that they have blood in the urine on a test done by a primary care physician or they’ll see blood in their urine. And those types of situations require immediate urologic evaluation,” he says.Some types of bladder cancer come with other symptoms, says Dr. Tyson: “This isn’t common, but increased frequency and...

Need-based financial aid: What it is and how to qualify

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

Dori Zinn | Bankrate.com (TNS)Need-based financial aid is money that’s awarded to you based on your family’s income and finances. If you need additional funds to pay for school and can demonstrate financial need, you may qualify for different types of need-based federal aid, like work-study and Direct Subsidized Loans. To check your eligibility, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)Types of need-based financial aidSeveral types of need-based financial aid exists, including:—Pell Grants. Pell Grants are awarded to undergraduate students who display strong financial need. How much you get depends on your course load and cost of attendance. Not all students who get a Pell Grant will get the same amount, but you can get up to $7,395 for the 2023-24 award year.—Work-study. Work-study programs are part-time jobs available to students to earn money to pay for school. Jobs can be on or off campus, and you’ll earn at least the federal minimum wage. Your total...

Olivia Chow names chief of staff, sets priorities ahead of taking office

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

Mayor-elect Olivia Chow has appointed a chief of staff and established three immediate priorities as she prepares to take the reigns at City Hall in less than two weeks’ time.City Hall veteran Michal Hay, who spearheaded Chow’s election campaign, has been named her chief advisor. He previously served as chief of staff for councillor Mike Layton and was recently the executive director of Progress Toronto. “Michal’s dedication to this city, to bringing people together to drive change, is unmatched. Her leadership style and experience at City Hall is a perfect fit with my own approach to governing. I’m proud to have her as my chief of staff, building and leading an exceptional Mayor’s Office team,” Chow said in a statement. Chow also outlined her plans for a “people-focused” approach to transition by bringing in front-line experts, community leaders and the civil service to define possible solutions to the three immediate priorities she plans to focu...

Deadly germ behind infant formula shortage joins CDC watchlist of bad bugs

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

U.S. health officials will start formally tracking infections caused by the rare but potentially deadly germ that sickened babies and triggered a nationwide shortage of infant formula last year.A group that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed Thursday to add infections caused by cronobacter to the list of serious conditions reported to the agency. There are about 120 infections and diseases on the national watchlist. States will be asked, but not required, to notify the CDC about cronobacter infections, although they usually comply. Such infections are required to be reported now in only two states, Minnesota and Michigan. The change will take effect next year, though states may begin reporting earlier. The action by the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, a nonprofit group, caps months of demands from experts and food safety advocates who called for better surveillance of the deadly infections that typically strike the most vulnerable babies....

Missouri ordered to pay $242K for open records law violations while Josh Hawley was attorney general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri attorney general’s office has been ordered to pay $242,000 in legal fees for violations of the state’s open records law that occurred when U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley held the office.Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled in November 2022 that the attorney general’s office violated the open records law when documents were withheld from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the Republican Hawley’s successful Senate campaign in 2018. Beetem ruled Wednesday that the office must pay $242,000 in legal fees, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. “A big win for transparency, election fairness, and the rule of law,” Mark Pedroli, who represented the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said on Twitter. Pedroli suggested that Hawley should apologize and pay the bill with proceeds from his book, “Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs.” Hawley’s spokesman, Kyle Plotkin, responded that Democrats should retur...

Gatherings combining Pride and Juneteenth give Black LGBTQ+ people a refuge where they can celebrate

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

DALLAS (AP) — From speaking at a health equity forum to striking a pose to the beats of a DJ set at a party on a pedestrian bridge, Naomi Green spent one weekend this month jumping from one event in Dallas to another that celebrated Juneteenth and Pride together.“Sometimes I think the Black community forgets that LGBTQ people are still Black as well,” Green said. “And so we have the opportunity to really celebrate both of those at the same time because just because we’re LGBTQ doesn’t remove our Blackness. We’re both.”As the lives of LGBTQ+ people are celebrated in June during Pride month, groups have found ways to merge those festivities with America’s newest federal holiday, Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 — over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation — that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas, were told they’d been freed. Such gatherings help highlight the struggles against discrimination Black and LGBTQ+ people have faced while celebrating those whose ...

Turkmenistan opens elaborate ‘smart city’ development

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

The president of Turkmenistan on Thursday officially inaugurated a vast, multibillion-dollar development hailed as the country’s first “smart city” and named after the president’s father, who established a pervasive cult of personality when he was the longtime ruler.The city designed for 70,000 is named Arkadag (Protector), a title used by former president Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov, who led the country for 15 years before being succeeded last year by his son Serdar.The opening ceremony, led by Serdar Berdymukhamedov, featured a theatrical procession of local workers singing patriotic songs in honor of the city’s namesake. The city includes a monument of his father’s favorite horse, which established the Guinness world record for running 10 meters on its hind legs.Located about 30 kilometers (about 18 miles) south of the capital Ashgabat, the “smart city” is being presented as a prototype for other Turkmen cities, featuring electric buses and automobiles, solar pow...

Independent media can help fill local news void as legacy media consolidate: experts

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

TORONTO — As Canadians face a potential further decline in local news coverage by legacy media outlets, industry watchers hope independent and non-profit companies can fill the void.The Canadian media industry has suffered multiple blows this month, with BCE Inc. eliminating 1,300 positions, including a six per cent cut at Bell Media, as the company undergoes “a consolidation of news gathering.”Bell simultaneously asked the CRTC to waive local news and Canadian programming requirements for its television stations, saying its obligations are based on outdated market realities.Meanwhile, Postmedia Network Canada Corp. said Tuesday it’s in talks to merge with Nordstar Capital LP, the owner of Metroland Media Group and the Toronto Star, in a bid to create greater scale in response to the “existential threat” facing the media industry.Magda Konieczna, an associate journalism professor at Montreal’s Concordia University, said that as corporate media dec...

Alberta optimistic about this year’s budget forecast despite drop in oil prices

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:10:34 GMT

Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner says the government may have to lower how much it expects to take in from oil this year, but the overall budget outlook remains optimistic.Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative government introduced a spend-heavy budget in February that also promised a $2.4-billion surplus based on West Texas Intermediate — the North American benchmark price for oil — averaging US$79 a barrel.The West Texas price is well under that prediction, currently trading at just under US$70 barrel. Horner said while that is concerning, other factors are working in Alberta’s favour, including the Canada-U. S. exchange rate, the differential between Canadian and U.S. oil prices and the continued diversification of Alberta’s economy. “(The oil forecast) may have to come down,” Horner told reporters in Calgary on Thursday after releasing the final figures for the 2022-23 budget year, which ended March 31. “We’re not as worried as you ...