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Man receives the first eye transplant plus a new face. It’s a step toward one day restoring sight

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

By LAURAN NEERGAARD (AP Medical Writer)NEW YORK (AP) — Surgeons have performed the world’s first transplant of an entire human eye, an extraordinary addition to a face transplant — although it’s far too soon to know if the man will ever see through his new left eye.An accident with high-voltage power lines had destroyed most of Aaron James’ face and one eye. His right eye still works. But surgeons at NYU Langone Health hoped replacing the missing one would yield better cosmetic results for his new face, by supporting the transplanted eye socket and lid.The NYU team announced Thursday that so far, it’s doing just that. James is recovering well from the dual transplant last May and the donated eye looks remarkably healthy.“It feels good. I still don’t have any movement in it yet. My eyelid, I can’t blink yet. But I’m getting sensation now,” James told The Associated Press as doctors examined his progress recently.“...

Free gas for veterans, active military members at these San Diego locations

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Did someone say free gas? You heard it correctly. During select hours on Thursday, Nov. 9 and Friday, Nov. 10, veterans and active military members can get their tanks filled free of charge at two CIRCLE K locations in San Diego County. Prince Harry, Meghan visit San Diego ahead of Veterans Day Those at "Helpful Honda," a campaign that was set up by Southern California Honda dealerships to perform random acts of kindness in the community, will be pumping gas for those who have served the country in celebration of Veteran's Day.Active and retired military members with valid I.D. will be greeted by "Helpful Honda people" between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on both days at the following gas stations: ‘Take a Veteran to School Day’ celebrated in Coronado -- Thursday: CIRCLE K located 4360 Genesee Ave. in San Diego.-- Friday: CIRCLE K located 2903 Jamacha Rd. in El Cajon.Free gas will be offered on a first-come-first served basis with up to 100 drivers per location. ...

Elnaz Hajtamiri’s ex-boyfriend charged with 1st-degree murder

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

Missing woman Elnaz Hajtamiri’s ex-boyfriend Mohamad Lilo is now facing a first-degree murder charge. Hajtamiri hasn’t been seen since disappearing from a Wasaga Beach home in early 2022.An Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) spokesperson confirmed with CityNews that Lilo is facing the charge for Hajtamiri’s death. Hajtamiri was forcibly removed from the Wasaga Beach residence by three suspects dressed in police gear on Jan. 12, 2022. They fled in what is believed to be a white Lexus RX sport utility vehicle.Police have arrested four people in the kidnapping case. An outstanding arrest warrant has been issued for a fifth suspect in the case — Deshawn Davis, 35, of Toronto. Related: 4th suspect arrested in kidnapping of Elnaz Hajtamiri 5th suspect charged in frying-pan attack on woman who was later abducted in Wasaga Beach A few weeks before her abduction, on Dec. 20, 2021, Hajtamiri was attacked at an underground parking garage on ...

Puerto Rico declares flu epidemic as cases spike. 42 dead and more than 900 hospitalized since July

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Rico health officials on Thursday declared an influenza epidemic in the U.S. territory.At least 25,900 cases have been reported since July, with 42 deaths and more than 900 hospitalizations on the island of 3.2 million people, Health Secretary Carlos Mellado said.Epidemiologist Melissa Marzán noted that officials have seen nearly six times more cases so far this year compared with the same period last year.Those who are 0 to 19 years old have been most affected, with more than 13,600 cases reported in that population, Mellado said.Health officials said there were plenty of vaccines, tests and treatments available on the island.A record 53,708 influenza cases were reported in 2015 in Puerto Rico.The Associated Press

NDP MP calls on Commons to support her bill seeking to criminalize coercive control

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

OTTAWA — New Democrat MP Laurel Collins says she began paying close attention to the issue of coercive control when her sister showed up to her door in tears.The member of Parliament from Victoria says her sister’s partner had taken away her keys and bank cards, and tried preventing her from leaving.Collins shared her sister’s story during a press conference in Parliament Hill today, as she called on MPs to support her private member’s bill seeking to criminalize a pattern of behaviour known as coercive control.She says advocates who support women dealing with domestic violence have called it a “crucial” step to criminalize behaviour in which abusers seek to limit their partners’ independence and keep them in potentially violent situations.Justice Minister Arif Virani expressed an openness to criminalizing such actions in a letter he penned to Ontario’s chief coroner this summer following an inquest into the 2015 slaying of three women in th...

Pastor’s suicide brings grief, warnings of the dangers of outing amid erosion of LGBTQ+ rights

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

SMITHS STATION, Ala. (AP) — After the 2019 suicide of a local teenager, small-town mayor and pastor F.L. “Bubba” Copeland helped students place roadside signs in his Alabama community to try to reach others who might be hurting. “You are worthy of love.” “Don’t give up.” “You matter.”Those were the same messages friends said they tried get through to Copeland before he took his own life along one of those county roads two days after a conservative news site exposed social media posts where he appeared in women’s clothing, a wig and makeup.The disclosure bombarded Copeland, 49, with online ridicule and his death, experts said, underscores the dangers of outing people in an era that has seen the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights as states across the country introduce legislation based on sexual orientation and gender identity.Copeland’s friends said they hope it prompts a wave of self-examination about how we treat others.“I just want to ask you people who thought it humorous to publicly...

Crabby business: N.L. fisheries worker charged with accepting ‘pans of crab’ as bribe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

STEPHENVILLE, N.L. — A federal Fisheries Department employee in Newfoundland and Labrador is accused of accepting bribes of seafood.Scott Fortune, 32, has been charged with forgery, falsifying documents, accepting bribes and two counts of fraud.Documents from the provincial court in Stephenville, N.L., alleged that Fortune was bribed with “pans of crab” to help fishers hide the true amount of crab they had harvested.He is accused of falsifying the actual weight of the harvested seafood and forging a document.The charge sheet says the alleged offences took place between January 2021 and June of this year.None of the allegations have been proven in court, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023.The Canadian Press

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak hospitalized in Mexico

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak remained hospitalized Thursday in Mexico City following a “health problem” while he was in the city to speak at a business conference, according to a source close to the conference who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the incident.Wozniak, 73, had been scheduled to speak at the World Business Forum in Mexico City, a two-day gathering billed as the world’s most important management event. Other advertised speakers were Carly Fiorina, the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer in microfinance who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.The convivial Wozniak, who teamed up with the late Steve Jobs to found Apple in 1976, had been scheduled as the conference’s closing speaker Wednesday afternoon.Wozniak suffered the “health problem” shortly before he was scheduled to arrive at the event, the source said, declining to detail what the health problem was.“At this moment I understand that he ...

Two candidates urge voters to rank the other as second choice for Ontario Liberal leader

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

Two contenders for the Ontario Liberal leadership are banding together to urge their supporters to put the other as a second choice.Party members are set to cast their votes through ranked ballots on the weekend of Nov. 25 and 26 for a leader to replace Steven Del Duca, with a winner to be revealed on Dec. 2.Liberal MP and former provincial cabinet minister Yasir Naqvi and Liberal MP Nate Erskine-Smith are announcing today that they have an agreement to ask supporters to select each other as their number two choice and also to coordinate election weekend get-out-the-vote efforts.Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is currently seen as the race’s front-runner, and former Liberal MP and current provincial caucus member Ted Hsu is also running. Related: Bonnie Crombie to step away from mayoral duties in October to focus on Liberal leadership bid Naqvi and Erskine-Smith say they don’t want their party to be vulnerable to the same criticisms around political bag...

Iceland’s Blue Lagoon spa closes temporarily as earthquakes put area on alert for volcanic eruption

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:25:11 GMT

HUSAVIK, Iceland (AP) — The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa — one of Iceland’s biggest tourist attractions — closed temporarily as a swarm of earthquakes put the island nation’s most populated region on alert for a possible volcanic eruption.Guests rushed to leave the spa’s hotels in the early hours of Thursday, after they were rattled awake shortly before 1 a.m. by a magnitude 4.8 quake, the strongest to hit the region since the recent wave of seismic activity began on Oct. 25.Bjarni Stefansson, a local taxi driver, described a scene of confusion when he arrived at the Retreat Hotel, where lava rocks had fallen on the roadway and the parking lot was jammed with 20 to 30 cabs.“There was a panic situation,” Stefansson told The Associated Press. “People thought a volcanic eruption was about to happen.”The area around Mount Thorbjorn on the Reykjanes Peninsula has been shaken by hundreds of small earthquakes every day for more than two weeks due to a buildup of volcanic magma some 5 kilomet...