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Smoking prevalence soars in 12 states, exceeding national average by 50%”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

(CNN) — Residents of 12 states in the South and Midwest are more likely to smoke – and to smoke more – than people living in the rest of the United States, according to a new report.Truth Initiative, a nonprofit focused on ending tobacco use, has dubbed that group of states “Tobacco Nation,” a region that spans Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia.This group of states is home to about 21% of the US population but 28% of smokers in the country.Overall, smoking prevalence is about 50% higher there than in the rest of the US. About 19% of adults smoke in this group of states, compared with about 13% of adults in other states.A similar pattern holds among young adults. About 11% of adults under 25 in these states smoke, compared with less than 8% in other states. Teenagers in these states are also more likely to smoke.Smoking prevalence has been consistently higher than average among these 12 states...

Man in critical condition after near-drowning incident near PortMiami

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

A man was left in critical condition following a near-drowning incident near Port Miami, Tuesday night. The incident occurred around 8:30 p.m. in Fisherman’s Channel, located on the south side of PortMiami and west of Fisher Island. Emergency crews responded to the distress call. One Miami Fire Rescue vessel and two Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boats were also dispatched to the scene.According to officials, the man had reportedly jumped off a boat, which may have been a charter vessel, and began swimming before encountering trouble in the water. A bystander immediately dialed 911 after they noticed the man’s distress.After a 15-minute search, rescue crews successfully located the submerged individual. The victim was found unresponsive and not breathing, requiring immediate medical attention. Paramedics administered life-saving measures on the scene before transporting the man to a nearby hospital.“He was taken to the surface and treated by paramedics, then was transporte...

Labour splits erupt as left-wing stalwart blasts Keir Starmer

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

LONDON — Labour leader Keir Starmer has allowed a “right-wing faction” of the opposition party to become “drunk with power,” a key ally of Jeremy Corbyn has claimed.Senior backbench MP John McDonnell — who ran the shadow treasury team for four years under Starmer’s left-wing predecessor — said Starmer’s closest allies were attempting to “destroy” the left of the Labour Party. Figures on Labour’s left flank have grown increasingly disgruntled with Starmer’s leadership — despite the party’s commanding polling lead over the governing Conservatives. They have pointed to the lack of selection of non-Starmer allied candidates in winnable Westminster seats, as well as the suspension of some high profile left-wing figures.Corbyn himself was suspended by the party and then blocked from standing as a Labour candidate, after he claimed the scale of antisemitism in Labour — an issue which rocked his leadership — was dramatically ...

Don’t be put off by riots, France tells tourists and foreign investors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

PARIS — France is still safe for tourists despite the ongoing riots, French Economy Minster Bruno Le Maire has said. Le Maire has made multiple interventions in foreign media to stress that rioting will have no impact on the French tourism season. His calls come as several countries — such as the U.K., the U.S. and Canada — urge their citizens to be particularly careful when traveling to France. “All the major democracies today are faced with this kind of problem,” he told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, adding that “our British friends should be happy to visit France and have no fear.” At the same time, the French minister is trying to reassure foreign investors and rating agencies that helping businesses impacted by riots won’t result in more public debt.Violence “has no impact on the daily life of the 65 million French citizens and this will not have a deep impact on the French growth and the French economy,” Le Maire told CNN on Tuesda...

Meta’s Twitter rival Threads not yet launching in Europe

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

Europeans will have to wait before they get their hands on Meta’s Twitter rival Threads, the company and its chief EU regulator confirmed Wednesday. Facebook’s parent company Meta will release its alternative to Elon Musk’s social media platform on Thursday in the U.S. and the U.K., according to App Store data. But Meta is not planning to roll out the Instagram-linked app in the EU at this point, a spokesperson for the Irish Data Protection Commission told POLITICO. Ireland’s regulator oversees the company because the firm has set up its EU headquarters there. The spokesperson added Meta said it would be in contact ahead of rolling out the app in the EU.Meta confirmed to POLITICO that it would not launch Threads in Europe at the current time. A spokesperson for the company declined to comment further. The company faces a range of new EU tech laws putting pressure on its business model, including the Digital Markets Act on digital competition, which prohibits ...

Despite rain, fog, crowds celebrate Fourth of July with Boston Pops on the Esplanade

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

Tens of thousands of area residents gathered on the Esplanade for the annual Boston Pops Fourth of July Spectacular Tuesday, braving periods of driving rain to see the Pops and a slate of special guests take the stage.The show began around 8 p.m. and wrapped up with its annual fireworks display at 10:30 p.m.Along the way, R&B icons En Vogue belted their hits alongside the legendary Boston Pops. Country duo LoCash also helped celebrate America’s Birthday, hitting the stage after taking in the Red Sox earlier in the day. “Man, we’re going to bring some energy tonight. We’re going to work the stage a little bit, get everybody’s hands up,” member Preston Brust told 7NEWS before the LoCash set. “We might crowd surf a bit.” This year’s program was put together to highlight the diversity of America. Among acts, it included a portion marking the 25th anniversary of the musical Ragtime. Broadway leading lady Mandy Gonzalez performed classics from Lin-Manuel Miranda mu...

Commuters, residents bracing for traffic trouble as Sumner Tunnel shutdown begins

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

The two-month shutdown of the Sumner Tunnel in Boston has begun and we’re tracking the impact on traffic for the first commute Wednesday morning.Long in the making, the shutdown has had many bracing as some people may see commutes double in length. “It will be a mess,” one person told 7NEWS this week. “More traffic.”The tunnel, which connects East Boston to Downtown, will be closed through the end of August as crews work to replace the tunnel’s ceiling, pavement and lighting. Traffic will be diverted through Everett, Route One and the Ted Williams Tunnel, in the meantime. “A bit more chaotic,” an area driver said of the expected diversions. “You’re diverting traffic from a main artery into two already clogged arteries to get around it.”“It’s going to be a bummer, but it is what it is,” the same driver continued.Josefina Pinto, who lives near the Sumner Tunnel entrance, said her sister lives in Charlestown. “I’m goin...

Young RI man dies after fall at a Rocky Mountain waterfall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

ESTES PARK, Colo. (AP) — A 25-year-old Rhode Island man died after falling and being pulled underwater at a waterfall in Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park on Sunday, according to the National Park Service.The man from Providence has not yet been publicly identified and his body was recovered Sunday evening, officials said.Rocky Mountain National Park covers over 400 square miles (1,036 square kilometers) of rugged mountains and high tundra, drawing typically over 4 million hikers annually.The deceased man fell at West Creek Falls, on the east side of the park. The body was moved to the Larimer County Coroner, on the northern edge of Colorado, who will determine the cause of death.At this time of year, rivers, streams and waterfalls are dangerous cold and swift, said the National Park Service, warning visitors to stay a safe distance from quick-flowing waters.

Return to New York emphasizes Aaron Hicks’ appreciation for ‘change of scenery’ with Orioles

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

When the Orioles’ lineup was announced in Yankee Stadium before Monday night’s series opener, Aaron Hicks’ name drew the loudest boos. They rained again in the middle of the second inning, showering Hicks after a tribute video highlighting his eight years with the New York Yankees. Choruses have come on either side of his at-bats, including the one that ended with a solo home run Tuesday.This week marks Hicks’ first series in the Bronx as a visitor since 2015. But being on the receiving end of booing here isn’t unfamiliar.“I mean, it was like that when I was here,” Hicks said. “I definitely enjoyed my time here. I enjoyed being a Yankee, and I enjoyed the team. It’s kind of one of those things where it’s a little disappointing, but at the same time, it’s like they’re gonna do what they’re gonna do, and I can’t control that.”The Yankees released Hicks in May amid the fifth season of a seven-year...

Heavy monsoon rains return to Pakistan a year after deadly floods

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 14:48:43 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Heavy monsoon rains lashed Pakistan on Wednesday, causing deaths, flooding roads and disrupting lives in areas where residents already were struggling to recover from floods last summer that affected 33 million people and killed 1,739, officials said.At least 18 people have died in weather-related incidents since the rain started last week, including three who were killed in the past day, Pakistani media reported. The monsoon season officially started this week and will continue until September in the South Asian country. The first spell of rainy weather was expected to last until Saturday. Pakistan’s cultural capital, Lahore, received a record 272 millimeters (10.7 inches) of rain in nine hours Wednesday, flooding streets and the city’s canal. Efforts were underway to clear the water, Mohsin Naqvi, the top government official in Punjab province, said. The last time Lahore received such a deluge was 30 years ago, officials said. Pakistan’s capital, Islam...