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Massage therapists ease the pain of hospice patients — but aren’t easy to find

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

Kate Ruder | KFF Health News (TNS)BOULDER, Colorado — Ilyse Streim views massage for people in hospice care as “whispering to the body through touch.”“It’s much lighter work. It’s nurturing. It’s slow,” said Streim, a licensed massage therapist.Massage therapy for someone near the end of life looks and feels different from a spa treatment. Some people stay clothed or lie in bed. Others sit up in their wheelchairs. Streim avoids touching bedsores and fresh surgery wounds and describes her work as “meditating and moving at the same time.” She recalled massaging the shoulders, hands, and feet of one client as he sat in his favorite recliner and watched baseball on TV in the final weeks of his life.“When you’re dying and somebody touches you without expectation of anything in return, you just get to be,” said Streim.Massage therapists like Streim, who specializes in working with people who are dying or have an advanced form of cancer or other illness, are rare. Fewer than 1% of therapis...

Manitoba health officials praise response to tragic crash near Carberry

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

Manitoba health officials have confirmed 10 people are still in hospital following Thursday’s crash near Carberry that left 15 people dead.Of those patients, six are in critical condition and four are being cared for in surgical units, in both the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre (HSC) and Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC).Shared Health confirms the age of all those in hospital are between early 60s and late 80s.“The response to yesterday’s incident was provincial on a massive scale. Thirteen ambulances were involved in the scene response, with crews assessing, triaging and transporting individuals to Brandon Regional Health Centre (BRHC) and other locations where they were either treated or stabilized before being transferred to HSC,” said Shared Health in a statement.“Air ambulance response was also significant, with Shared Health patient transport, STARS and LifeGuard Sask Air all providing support either at the scene or for transport between hospitals ...

Homophobic chants force US-Mexico soccer match to end early in Las Vegas

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The United States men’s soccer team’s match against Mexico was cut short Thursday night by the referee after repeated homophobic chants could be heard from fans.Four players were ejected in the game, which the U.S. won 3-0 for a spot Sunday in the CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada.Christian Pulisic scored two goals and Ricardo Pepi scored one in a strong showing, but this game will be remembered much more for the ugliness.Play was halted in the 90th minute because of the homophobic chants. When action resumed, 12 minutes of stoppage time were signaled but resumed chants caused Salvadoran referee Iván Barton to end the match in the eighth added minute.FIFA fined Mexico 100,000 Swiss francs ($108,000) in January for anti-gay chants by fans at two games.Americans Weston McKennie and Sergiño Dest were ejected by Barton along with Mexicans César Montes and Gerardo Arteaga during the testy second half.“These are rivalry games. These are derby games....

Abortion providers in North Carolina file federal lawsuit challenging state’s new restrictions

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Abortion providers in North Carolina filed a federal lawsuit Friday that challenges several provisions of a state law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy in the dwindling days before the new restrictions take effect.Planned Parenthood South Atlantic and Dr. Beverly Gray, an OB-GYN at Duke Health, are asking a federal judge to block numerous provisions they argue are unclear and unconstitutional, or to place an injunction on the law to prevent it from being enforced.Though the law may be commonly referred to as a 12-week abortion ban, the plaintiffs argue that it actually includes additional restrictions that many patients are not aware of — hurdles that will “impede health care professionals from providing quality care,” according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court.“Many of these provisions are going to constrain an already very constrained abortion ecosystem in this state,” Planned Parenthood South Atlantic CEO Jenny Black told The Assoc...

Canada should consider legal solution to fight residential school denialism: report

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

OTTAWA — Canada should give “urgent consideration” to legal mechanisms as a way to combat residential school denialism, says a new report from the independent special interlocutor on unmarked graves.Kimberly Murray made that call in an interim report released Friday, just over a year after she was appointed to an advisory role focused on how Ottawa can help Indigenous communities search for children who died and disappeared from residential schools. The former executive director of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada spent much of the past year travelling the country and hearing from different communities, experts and survivors. The Liberal government created her role as it looked for ways to respond to First Nations from across Western Canada and in parts of Ontario using ground-penetrating radar to search former residential school sites for possible unmarked graves. In her interim report, Murray raised concerns about increasing attacks from “deniali...

Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder dies from injuries in crash during Tour de Suisse

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

GENEVA (AP) — Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder died Friday, one day after crashing and falling down a ravine during a descent at the Tour de Suisse.The 26-year-old Mäder crashed after a left-hand turn on a fast downhill road approaching the end of the mountainous fifth stage into La Punt. His fall of about 30 meters was stopped by a stream. “Gino lost his battle to recover from the severe injuries he sustained,” his Bahrain-Victorious team said in a statement. “Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30 a.m. we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team.”Medical staff who reached Mäder found him motionless in the water, race organizers said Thursday. CPR was performed on him before he was airlifted to the hospital.“Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult ti...

Federal officials break up Guatemalan family smuggling ring in 3 state operation, 6 arrested

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Federal authorities have arrested six people for their alleged roles in a human smuggling ring that brought migrants from Guatemala to the United States, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New Mexico said. Alexander M.M. Uballez, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Francisco B. Burrola, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, Texas, said Thursday the arrests followed the unsealing of a federal grand jury indictment on May 24.“Today’s human smuggling organizations prey on the hope of Latin American migrants, targeting those who are most vulnerable for exploitation,” said Uballez. “To combat human smuggling we will dismantle networks, arrest leaders, and seize bank accounts. “Authorities said the six were members of the Lopez Crime Family, which allegedly has smuggling operations in Guatemala, Mexico and the U.S. that use a series of coordinated transports, stash houses and directed electronic money transfer...

Arlington Park demolition begins

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. — The next phase of the Chicago Bears' work on the Arlington Park site began Friday. Once again, it involves putting an end to the old structure that is currently on the land.The Bears have announced that external demolition is set to begin at Arlington Park today. .The demolition of the interior of the building started earlier this month..@WGNNews pic.twitter.com/M3csiq59o3— Larry Hawley (@HawleySports) June 16, 2023The team announced that they will begin the exterior demolition of the buildings at Arlington Park on Friday, which is expected to begin around 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. See the current progress of the Bears' demolition of Arlington Park This comes after the team began the interior demolition of the grandstand, jockey and office buildings in late May. In the news release announcing this latest move in tearing down the old race track, the Bears said that this next phase of demolition "does not mean the property will be developed."In February...

Chicago boy, 7, dies after drowning in Lake Michigan

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

PORTAGE, Ind. — A seven-year-old boy from Chicago has died after he was recovered from Lake Michigan Thursday afternoon.Porter Police received a call of a child missing in Lake Michigan near the Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk beach around 4:50 p.m. First responders later located the child in the water near Ogden Dues around 5:11 p.m.The child was removed from the water where lifesaving measures were enacted. He was further transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Man charged in shooting outside Prime Time Restaurant in Hickory Hills The cause of death has been ruled an accidental drowning, per an autopsy report. Indiana Conservation Officers said the boy was playing waist-deep in water before entering into deeper water. A witness said it seemed the boy was caught in a current that pulled him away from shore. Conservation officers said a family member entered the water in an attempt to rescue him but was also caught in the current and lost sight of the boy.The in...

Pittsburgh Tree of Life synagogue shooter guilty on all charges, could receive death penalty

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:00:17 GMT

The man who killed 11 worshipers in a mass shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh in 2018 was found guilty Friday of federal hate crime charges. A jury will now decide if Robert Bowers will receive the death penalty for committing the most deadly antisemitic attack in U.S. history. Sentencing is scheduled for June 26.Bowers, 50, opened fire on worshipers at Tree of Life on the morning of Oct. 17, 2018; an additional two attendees and five police officers were injured in the attack. Bowers surrendered after being shot multiple times by police.His defense has never claimed his innocence but rather sought to convince the jury to spare his life. His attorneys repeatedly offered a guilty plea on all charges in exchange for life in prison, but federal prosecutors chose to go forward with the trial.The jury found Bowers guilty on all 63 felony charges, 22 of which can carry the death penalty, including the federal hate crime charges. The trial began in April.The specific...