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Egypt’s leader incorrectly claims his country never persecuted Jewish people

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi falsely claimed on Sunday that Egypt had never persecuted Jewish people living in the country.“You spoke about the crisis and you spoke as a Jewish person,” Sisi said to Secretary of State Antony Blinken via an interpreter. “I am an Egyptian citizen, and I was born and brought up in a neighborhood where we had Jewish neighbors. And Jews who used to live here in Egypt [did] not ever suffered from oppression and persecution.”Sisi’s comments directly contradict Egypt’s history, including the enslavement of ancient Israelites as characterized in the biblical story of Moses and violence against Jews during the early centuries of Christianity. In modern times, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt led a campaign to expel Jews from the country during the late 1950s and ’60s. The Jewish population in Egypt once numbered around 80,000, but today almost no Jews live there.The comments came following a meeting between Sisi and Blinken, who trav...

Larnard brothers fuel strong BC High cross country team

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

Brothers Chris and Shamus Larnard are in the midst of their best cross country seasons to date and working to lift the B.C. High squad into elite team territory in Massachusetts.The Scituate brothers packed in the miles over the summer months and are a huge reason the Eagles are undefeated in the Catholic Conference.Their success is hardly a surprise though. Competing and excelling in athletics are par for the course for the Larnard family. The brothers are the latest family members to shine in their sport.“Everyone in my family has played sports and excelled in their own way,” said Chris, the Eagles’ No. 1 harrier.Parents Eric and Michelle starred at Amherst College. Eric, who attended Central Catholic, was a safety on the football team and Michelle played basketball and competed in the heptathlon, just as she did in high school at Notre Dame Academy. Michelle’s brother is Brian Boyle, a former NHL standout who was the 26th pick taken by the Los Angeles King...

Patriots promising rookie Keion White ruled out with head injury vs. Raiders

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

LAS VEGAS — Patriots rookie defensive end Keion White has been ruled out of Sunday’s game with a head injury.White suffered the injury while tackling Raiders running back Josh Jacobs for no gain on first-and-10 with 10:15 left in the first quarter. White was slow to get up before departing for the Patriots’ blue medical tent with trainers. He initially was ruled questionable to return after departing for the locker room.The 6-foot-5, 290-pound defender was ruled out for the rest of the game early in the second quarter.White, 24, has four tackles through six games. The 2023 second-round pick out of Georgia Tech took on a greater role on defense after Matthew Judon suffered an elbow injury.

6 killed in Russian attacks on Ukraine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

KYIV, Ukraine — Russian attacks on Ukraine over a 24-hour period killed six people, local officials reported Sunday.Two people were killed and three more injured in the Kherson area after more than 100 shells bombarded the region over the weekend, local governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on social media.Two guided bombs later hit key infrastructure in Kherson city, sparking a partial blackout and disruption to the area’s water supply, reported the head of the city’s military administration, Roman Mrochko.Local officials said two more people died in the Donetsk area and that a 57-year-old man and a 54-year-old woman were killed by an airstrike that destroyed their home in the Kharkiv region.In a separate incident, a 14-year-old boy was killed by a mine in a field in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. The explosion also injured another 12-year-old boy.Fighting remained fierce across eastern Ukraine over the weekend, with Russian forces re...

Suzanne Somers, of ‘Three’s Company,’ dies at 76

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

By LINDSEY BAHR (AP Film Writer)Suzanne Somers, the effervescent blonde actor known for playing Chrissy Snow on the television show “Three’s Company” as well as her business endeavors, has died. She was 76.Somers had breast cancer for over 23 years and died Sunday morning, her family said in a statement provided by her longtime publicist, R. Couri Hay. Her husband Alan Hamel, her son Bruce and other immediate family were with her in Palm Springs, California.“Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th,” the statement read. “Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly.”In July, Somers shared on Instagram that her breast cancer had returned. “Like any cancer patient, when you get that dreaded, ‘It’s back’ you get a pit in your stomach. Then I put on my battle gear and go to war,” she told Entert...

Another diabetes drug helps dieters shed pounds 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

The medicine in the diabetes drug Mounjaro helped people with obesity or who are overweight lose at least a quarter of their body weight, or about 60 pounds on average, when combined with intensive diet and exercise, a new study shows.By comparison, a group of people who also dieted and exercised, but then received dummy shots, lost weight initially but then regained some, researchers reported Sunday in the journal Nature Medicine.“This study says that if you lose weight before you start the drug, you can then add a lot more weight loss after,” said Dr. Thomas Wadden, a University of Pennsylvania obesity researcher and psychology professor who led the study.The results, which were also presented Sunday at a medical conference, confirm that the drug made by Eli Lilly & Co. has the potential to be one of the most powerful medical treatments for obesity to date, outside experts said.“Any way you slice it, it’s a quarter of your total body weight,” said...

Job applications spike at MBTA after labor pact

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

New MBTA personnel policies baked into the latest labor deal with its biggest union appear to be yielding early results, though the agency still has a long way to go to hit workforce targets essential to improving service.The T has received a flood of applications for bus operator positions in the two months since officials ratified a collective bargaining agreement that increases pay to $30 per hour, and about four in five workers eligible for retirement have expressed interest in remaining on board in exchange for a bonus, agency data shows.On Aug. 2, the MBTA and Boston Carmen’s Union ATU Local 589 announced a four-year, $55 million collective bargaining agreement, which features 18 percent pay increase over its life, $7,500 sign-on bonuses for drivers, paid commercial driver’s license training and retention incentives.Between Aug. 8 and Oct. 9, the MBTA received 1,809 new applications from people wanting to become bus drivers, according to a presentation MBTA Chief W...

Ticker: Medicare sign-up window opens; Ex-Playgirl exec guilty in $250M fraud

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

Open enrollment for Medicare opened Sunday, providing seniors an annual option to select their plans for the coming year.During the enrollment period, which ends Dec. 7, people will have the opportunity to choose between traditional Medicare and privately run Medicare Advantage plans in their area, as well as prescription drug plans.Medicare is the federal coverage program for those age 65 and over and some people with disabilities who are younger. Medicare Advantage plans provided by insurers frequently offer prescription drug coverage , as well as extra benefits like dental or vision coverage not provided by traditional Medicare.Medicare Advantage coverage experts say people should review their coverage each year during the open enrollment window and compare it to other options, paying particular attention to how regular doctors or medications are covered.Ex-Playgirl exec guilty in $250M fraudA Florida executive whose family business once owned Playgirl magazine has pleaded guilty...

Suzanne Somers of 'Three's Company' dies: reports

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

(NEXSTAR) - Suzanne Somers, well known for her roles in "Three's Company" and "Step by Step," has died, according to multiple reports. In a statement to People and Variety, Somers' publicist R. Couri Hay said the 76-year-old "passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th.""She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years," the statement added. She was diagnosed with a second bout of breast cancer earlier this year.Somers was planning on spending Monday, her birthday, with her "nearest and dearest," she previously told People. "Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th," Hay's statement continued. "Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life, and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly."Somers' first on-screen appearance was in the 1968 film "Bullitt," according to her IMDb page, though she was uncredited. She also appeared in "American Graffiti," "The Rockford Files," and...

Illinois man killed Muslim boy, 6, in hate crime motivated by Israeli-Hamas war, police say

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:00:37 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — Police charged a 71-year-old suburban Chicago man Sunday with a hate crime for fatally stabbing a 6-year-old boy and seriously wounding a 32-year-old woman, alleging he singled out both victims because of their Islamic faith and as a response to the war between Israel and Hamas. “Detectives were able to determine that both victims in this brutal attack were targeted by the suspect due to them being Muslim and the on-going Middle Eastern conflict involving Hamas and the Israelis,” the Will County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted to social media. Officers found both victims late Saturday morning at a home in an unincorporated area of Plainfield Township, roughly 40 miles (65 kilometers) southwest of Chicago.The boy, who was pronounced dead at the hospital, was stabbed 26 times with a large military-style knife, according to an autopsy Sunday, the sheriff’s office said. The woman had more than a dozen stab wounds on her body. She remained hospitali...