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WHO declares widely used sweetener aspartame a possible cancer cause, but intake guidelines stay the same

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

(CNN) — For the first time, a semi-independent committee for the World Health Organization said Thursday that it’s determined that aspartame, a popular artificial sweetener found in thousands of products like diet sodas and sugar-free gum, should be put categorized as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”But as alarming as the designation might sound, this label does not mean your diet soda causes cancer.The designation means that some of the research reviewed by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) shows that there may be a possible link between aspartame and liver cancer, but that science is by no means conclusive, like it is for a substance like asbestos or tobacco.Aspartame is considered one of the most studied food additives in existence. Multiple regulatory bodies like the US Food and Drug Administration have repeatedly said that aspartame is safe for human consumption if used within certain guidelines. In fact, a separate WHO com...

Yankees are the ‘most motivated’ to trade for two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani: report

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

The Yankees could give the ultimate boost to their lineup and rotation — by acquiring Shohei Ohtani.The list of teams interested in adding the Angels pitcher/slugger, an impending free agent, before the Aug. 1 trade deadline starts with New York, according to ESPN’s Buster Olney.“In talking with sources yesterday, they see the Yankees as potentially being the most motivated because Gerrit Cole, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, they’re middle-aged players right in the prime of their careers,” Olney said Thursday on “Get Up.”“This is the Yankees’ window to win now. You bring in Ohtani, suddenly that Yankees rotation with him involved looks so strong. Ohtani hitting in Yankee Stadium, which favors left-handed sluggers, that’s something I’m sure the Yankees would be willing to pay for if Ohtani is made available by the Angels.”Ohtani leads all MLB batters with 32 home runs while pitching to a 3.32 ERA and 117 strikeo...

Residency challenge filed against embattled Boston city councilor Kendra Lara

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

A city resident filed a complaint with the Boston Election Department, challenging the residency of District 6 Councilor Kendra Lara.The complaint, filed Thursday evening and obtained by the Herald, states that the resident is “formally challenging the residency of the district of Kendra Lara, also known as Kendra Hicks, for District 6 of the Boston City Council.”The challenge could trigger a review from the Boston Election Commission. Lara is seeking a second term and faces two challengers in the Sept. 12 preliminary election.Lara denied the allegation, telling the Herald that she lives in the district she represents, at the address listed on her campaign filing with the Boston Election Department and voter registration form: 46 Saint Rose St., a multi-family home in Jamaica Plain.“That is my house,” Lara said. “I moved into this apartment in February.”Prior to that, Lara said she lived at 161 South Huntington Ave. in Jamaica Plain for six years. That complex, Bell Olmsted Park, is...

Manchester Mayor will challenge New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu in 2024

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig has announced she will challenge four-term incumbent Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu in 2024, setting her sights on a seat previously occupied by the state’s current pair of Democratic U.S. Senators.Citing a need to protect reproductive care in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to end protections for abortion nationally, and promising to increase availability of affordable housing and create much needed jobs, Craig announced her candidacy to be the Granite State’s 83rd Governor on Tuesday and held her campaign launch in the Queen City Wednesday evening.“The stakes in this election couldn’t be higher. If we’re going to defend reproductive freedom, invest in public education, and create opportunities for families across this state, we need a leader with a record of delivering results and winning tough elections,” the mayor said in announcing her candidacy.According to Craig, her three terms as the first woman elected mayor of the sta...

Founder of student aid startup Frank shakes head as prosecutor describes case against her

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — The founder of student aid startup Frank shook her head repeatedly Thursday as a prosecutor claimed that she tricked J.P. Morgan Chase into paying $175 million for her business by lying about its client base.Assistant U.S. Attorney Micah Fergenson described criminal charges against Frank founder Charlie Javice and codefendant Olivier Amar, the company’s chief growth officer, to a federal judge at a pretrial hearing during which each of them entered pleas of not guilty to an indictment unveiled Wednesday.Fergenson said the deal two years ago was consummated only after Javice and Amar “created a fake data set” in response to the bank’s data validation request to make it appear that Frank had over 4 million customers rather than the roughly 300,000 clients the company actually had.As Fergenson spoke, Javice, a Miami, Florida, resident, repeatedly shook her head.The prosecutor said Javice, 31, and Amar, 49, produced lots of data for J.P. Morgan Chase but that...

San Franciscans mourn closure of 127-year-old pioneering Anchor Brewing Co.

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Beer lovers flocked to Anchor Brewing Co.’s tap room on Thursday to mourn the loss of the iconic San Francisco business — and buy some of its last beers — a day after learning it planned to shut down for good.“I’m a native San Franciscan and I’ve been drinking the beer as long as I can remember,” said Suzanne Greva, who visited the business Thursday. “It’s one of my favorites and its like losing an old friend.”The 127-year-old brewing company, known as a trailblazer of craft beers, said Wednesday it would close after years of declining sales and tough economic conditions. The tap room, which closed on the day of the announcement, reopened Thursday to patrons lined up down the street to purchase T-shirts and cases of beer. Anchor Public Taps will remain open to sell what inventory remains, including a small batch of the popular 2023 Anchor Christmas Ale. Anchor was a trailblazer in the U.S., brewing craft beers in the 1970s when most Americans were lo...

Oil and gas withdrawal around US park stirs debate over economic costs for Native American tribe

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Some Republican members of Congress on Thursday denounced the Biden administration’s recent move to withdraw hundreds of square miles of federal land in New Mexico from oil and gas development, offering their support instead to legislation that would unravel the ban.U.S. Rep. Eli Crane was among those to speak out during a congressional subcommittee hearing on the legislation that he and fellow Arizona Republican Rep. Paul Gosar recently introduced to nullify what they consider overreach by the federal government. Crane’s district includes part of the vast Navajo Nation, which spans portions of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah. The eastern side of the reservation is part of a jurisdictional checkerboard that includes federal, state and private lands along with Chaco Cultural National Historical Park.He acknowledged that the park holds cultural significance for tribes throughout the Southwestern U.S. but that development surrounding Chaco should be determin...

Man convicted of setting up smuggling trip that killed 13 in California gets 15 years in prison

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a man to 15 years in prison for coordinating a smuggling trip in which two dozen migrants were stacked into a Ford Expedition that crashed into a tractor-trailer, killing 13 people outside a California desert town.Jose Cruz Noguez pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges stemming from the March 2, 2021, crash near Holtville, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of San Diego. It was one of the deadliest highway crashes involving migrants smuggled into the United States. Cruz Noguez also admitted to trying to still get payment for the smuggling trip from the survivors, prosecutors said. Neither Cruz Noguez nor his attorney could be reached for comment.“Cruz Noguez organized one of the most callous and inhumane smuggling attempts that law enforcement has responded to in this district,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said. “He and his co-conspirators treated these individuals like a worthless commodity.”Cruz Noguez arranged ...

Arizona Democrats file complaint against No Labels over donor secrecy

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Democratic Party is looking to force new political party No Labels to disclose its donors or lose its status as a political party, an escalation of Democrats’ efforts to block a group they worry will boost Donald Trump’s chances of returning to the White House.Arizona Democrats filed a complaint Thursday with Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who angered some in his party earlier this year when he formally recognized No Labels as a political party in the state. The complaint asks Fontes to suspend the nascent party until it discloses its donors.No Labels says it is seeking ballot access in many states and will run a bipartisan “unity ticket” for president “if the two parties select unreasonably divisive presidential nominees.” The party has also secured ballot access in Alaska, Colorado and Oregon. Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans worry a No Labels candidate couldn’t win but would tip the scales in favor of Trump or a Trump-like ...

One-third of Americans under heat alerts as blistering temps spread from Southwest to California

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:13:49 GMT

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — More than a third of Americans were under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings Thursday as a blistering heat wave that’s been baking the nation spread further into California, forcing residents to seek out air conditioning or find other ways to stay cool in triple-digit temperatures. The sweltering conditions were expected to build Friday and through the weekend in Central and Southern California, where many residents should prepare for the hottest weather of the year, the National Weather Service warned. Highs in the inland desert areas could reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.8 degrees Celsius) during the day, and remain in the 80s (above 26.6 C) overnight, offering little relief.In the desert city of Palm Springs, many homeless people were left to contend with the heat on their own, with just 20 indoor beds at the lone overnight shelter. John Summers, a homeless resident, climbed through a dry riverbed Thursday to seek shade at an encampme...