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Dangerous pregnancy outcomes doubled in Mass. over the last decade, DPH says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

Despite the state boasting world renowned medical care availability and nation leading rates of health insurance coverage, Massachusetts is still struggling to combat some seriously dangerous medical outcomes associated with being pregnant and having a child.According to a new report released by the Department of Public Health, the rate of maternal morbidity among pregnant patients in Massachusetts has soared in the last decade, especially among the state’s most vulnerable populations.“The data show that the rate of severe maternal morbidity for all birthing people in the state nearly doubled during (a) ten year period,” DPH Commissioner Dr. Robert Goldstein told reporters. “The most troubling finding was that for Black, non-Hispanic birthing people the rate of severe maternal morbidity in 2011 was twice that of white non-Hispanic birthing people. But by 2020 it was two-and-a-half times higher.”The report, An Assessment of Severe Maternal Morbidity in Massachusetts: 2011 to 2020, ex...

Music streams top 1 trillion at the fastest pace yet, reflecting more global industry, report finds

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Is non-English language music the future of the music business? Perhaps.The global music industry surpassed 1 trillion streams at the fastest pace, ever, in a calendar year, Luminate’s 2023 Midyear Report has found. The number was reached in three months, a full month faster than 2022. Global streams are also up 30.8% from last year, reflective of an increasingly international music marketplace.Additionally, Luminate found that two in five — or 40% — of U.S. music listeners enjoy music in a non-English language. And a whopping 69% of U.S. music listeners enjoy music from artists originating outside of the U.S.According to the report, Spanish, French, Japanese, Korean, Italian, German, and Arabic are the most popular languages for non-Anglophonic music among U.S. music listeners, with Latin genres and K-pop leading the charge.“Specifically, our streaming data shows that Spanish and Korean language music are the most popular when taking a look at the top 10,00...

Fidelity signs private real estate investment deal with Brookfield Asset Management

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

TORONTO — Fidelity Investments Canada ULC has signed a deal that will offer investors exposure to private real estate investments through Brookfield Asset Management.Under the agreement, Brookfield Asset Management will invest in and manage a portfolio of Canadian real estate assets on behalf of Fidelity.The company says it plans to allocate the portfolio to a number of Fidelity private investment pools and is exploring other opportunities.Fidelity says the agreement with Brookfield will allow it to continue to grow its alternative investment offerings and broaden its overall investment capabilities. Fidelity Canada president Andrew Wells says the move adds another tool to its tool box as it plans to expand its offerings and build a new private real estate market portfolio.Brookfield Asset Management has more than $825 billion of assets under management including renewable power and transition infrastructure, private equity, real estate, and credit. This report by The Canadian Press...

Aryna Sabalenka reaches Wimbledon semifinals. Queen Camilla sits in Royal Box

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals at Wimbledon for the second straight time, with a one-year break in between because she was banned from the tournament in 2022.Sabalenka, a Belarusian who is seeded second at the All England Club, had to sit out last year’s competition along with other players from her country and from Russia because of the war in Ukraine. She advanced Wednesday by beating Madison Keys 6-2, 6-4 on No. 1 Court.“It really feels amazing to be back in the semifinals. I can’t wait to play in my second semifinal at Wimbledon,” said Sabalenka, who lost to runner-up Karolina Pliskova in 2021. “Hopefully I can do better than I did last time.”The victory improved Sabalenka’s record to 17-1 at major tournaments this year. She won the Australian Open and reached the semifinals at the French Open before her five wins so far on the grass at Wimbledon.Sabalenka also improved her record to 6-0 in Grand Slam quarterfinal matches, and she di...

Stop attacks against interim AFN chief, New Brunswick leader implores at assembly

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

HALIFAX — A First Nations leader from New Brunswick is imploring others to help stop social-media attacks targeting the new interim chief of the Assembly of First Nations.Terry Richardson, chief of Pabineau First Nation in northern New Brunswick, addressed leaders gathered in Halifax today for the assembly’s annual meeting, held weeks after the ousting of former national chief RoseAnne Archibald. Archibald attended the three-day meeting virtually on Tuesday and was eventually barred from participating after pleading with chiefs to challenge the organization’s leadership, whom she accused of orchestrating her removal. Joanna Bernard, a regional chief from New Brunswick tapped to serve temporarily as interim national chief, told leaders the decision to remove Archibald was “not taken lightly,” and acknowledged it has thrown the assembly into a period of transition. Richardson requested today that chiefs reach out to their members to stop social media attacks ag...

Raging conflict in Sudan displaces around 3.1 million people, UN says

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

CAIRO (AP) — A raging conflict in Sudan has driven around 3.1 million people from their homes, including more than 700,000 who fled to neighboring countries, the United Nations said Wednesday, amid growing concerns that the country is sliding into a “full-scale civil war.”Sudan has plunged into chaos since mid-April when monthslong tensions between the military and its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere across the northeastern African nation.The conflict derailed Sudanese hopes of restoring the country’s fragile transition to democracy, which had begun after a popular uprising forced the military’s removal of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in April 2019. A coup, led by the military and RSF, disrupted the democratic transition in October 2021.More than 2.4 million people have fled their homes to safer areas inside the country, according to the International Organization for Migration. Around 738,000 othe...

Prosecutors rest sexual assault case against Kevin Spacey in London court

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

LONDON (AP) — Prosecutors rested their sexual assault case against Kevin Spacey in a London courtroom Wednesday after four men testified in the past two weeks that the Oscar winner preyed on them. Prosecutors read jurors statements Spacey gave investigators denying that he aggressively grabbed three men by the crotch and performed a nonconsensual sex act on a fourth. The defense is scheduled to begin presenting its case Thursday in Southwark Crown Court. The stakes are high, with Spacey facing a possible prison term if convicted. The 63-year-old American actor has pleaded not guilty to 12 charges that include sexual and indecent assault counts and one count of causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent. The allegations date from 2001 to 2013 when Spacey was working at the Old Vic Theatre. None of the alleged victims knew each other but each testified that they went to police after Spacey was accused of sexual misconduct in the U.S. in 2017 as the #MeTo...

Afghan Taliban suspend all activities of Swedish aid groups over burning of Islam’s holy book

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Afghan Taliban say they have suspended all the activities of Swedish organizations in the country in response to the recent burning of Islam’s holy book in Stockholm. The announcement left a Swedish non-governmental aid group perplexed about the future of its programs in Afghanistan, which provide education and medical facilities to thousands of people across the country. The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan said it was seeking clarification from the Taliban.Two weeks ago, a man identified in Swedish media as a refugee from Iraq burned a Quran outside a mosque in central Stockholm during the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.The burning drew widespread condemnation in the Muslim world, including Pakistan and Afghanistan. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested that the incident would pose another obstacle to Sweden’s bid for NATO membership, although he later scaled back his objection. On Tuesday, Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban gov...

Vandals in Naples destroy seminal artwork by 90-year-old Italian artist Michelangelo Pistoletto

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

MILAN (AP) — Vandals set fire and destroyed a seminal artwork by one of Italy’s most famous living artists early Wednesday outside Naples’ City Hall.By the time flames were doused, all that was left of the installation by Michelangelo Pistoletto was a charred frame.Pistoletto’s artwork, titled “Venus of the Rags” had been display in Naples since June 28. It featured a large plaster neoclassical nude Venus, inspired by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen’s 19th century “Venus with Apple,” picking through a mountain of rags. Pistoletto made several versions of “Venus of the Rags.” The first, in 1967, had a concrete or cement Venus purchased at a garden center covered with mica to create a glittery surface. Others used plaster casts of the that statue, and one was made out of Greek marble containing mica, according to the Tate Gallery, which owns one of the pieces. Pistoletto told the Corriere della Sera daily newspaper that the reasons for the attack could be many.“It is a work t...

Live Updates | UK defense secretary says Ukraine should be grateful, not treat allies like ‘Amazon’

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:57:49 GMT

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Follow along for updates on the summit of the NATO military alliance in Lithuania’s capital:What to know: — NATO backs Ukraine’s fight vs. Russia but doesn’t invite Kyiv to join— Sweden’s rocky road from neutrality toward NATO membership— What is NATO doing to help Ukraine in the war with Russia?——British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has raised some eyebrows by suggesting that Ukraine should appear more grateful for Western military support and not treat allies like “Amazon.”“Whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude,” Wallace told reporters at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, noting that Ukraine was persuading other countries to give up their own stocks of weapons.In comments cited by multiple British media outlets, including The Times of London, The Guardian and the Independent, Wallace said he had heard “grumbles” from lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington that “we’re not Amazon.”“I mean, that’s true,” he was quoted as ...