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COVID might have come from a lab leak, says China’s former top scientist

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

It is possible that COVID-19 leaked from a laboratory, the former head of China’s public health body has said.“You can always suspect anything. That’s science,” George Gao, the former director of China’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention, said in a BBC interview. “Don’t rule out anything,” he added.As head of the Chinese CDC, Gao was involved in the early investigations into COVID-19, until he stepped down from his post in July 2022.The origins of the COVID-19 virus are still being investigated. Earlier this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the investigation into the source of the virus had been stalled due to difficulties in collaborating with China.In March, the public health body said that newly released Chinese data linking the pandemic’s origins with racoon dogs sold at an animal market in Wuhan, where the first COVID-19 cases were reported, did not provide a definite answer as to how th...

Federal officials give MBTA deadline to address worker safety issues

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

Runaway trains in track yards, near misses between trains and workers, and an employee hurt while working on overhead power lines on the Blue Line. Federal officials say the MBTA has to address worker safety issues, and do it fast — within the next two months.And commuters are worried about what this means for them.“We don’t need Band-Aids, we need the thing done safely for the people doing the work and the people who have to rely on these things every day,” said Brett Nichols, who rides the MBTA.In a letter to MBTA General Manager Phillip Eng a federal official writes, “Given the immediate risk to worker safety on the ROW (right of way), FTA (the federal transit administration) requires direct and focused actions.”They say a plan submitted by the MBTA earlier this month needs to be redone immediately because it includes fixes not scheduled to be complete until late this year, or next year. Federal officials say worker safety needs to be addressed...

Heartbroken owner calling for change after beloved dog killed by coyote in Nahant

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

A dog owner in Nahant is calling for change after his beloved pet was mauled to death by a coyote.Chris Del Dotto said “his worst nightmare came true” when his silky terrier JJ was attacked by the coyote just steps from his front door and didn’t appear scared by his attempts to fend it off.“They’re very aggressive in this town,” Del Dotto said. “This is the second time I’ve had an encounter with them, and this time they got my dog.” The town of Nahant brought in trained sharp-shooters earlier this year in an attempt to control the coyote population but Del Dotto says more must be done.“Our dog was a part of family and it was ripped from us,” Del Dotto added. “Co-existing with coyotes, what does that mean, do we have to sit there and let our dogs be eaten?”

Jury selection to begin in trial of man accused of killing Weymouth police sergeant, bystander

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

Jury selection is set to get underway on Monday ahead of the trial of the man accused of killing Weymouth police Sgt. Michael Chesna and a woman who was sitting on her porch during a violent confrontation in 2018.Chesna, 42, left behind a wife and two children. Vera Adams, 77, was fatally shot on her porch.Emanuel Lopes, 25, has been ordered held without bail since his indictment. Prosecutors say he was fleeing a traffic stop when he hit Chesna with a rock and then murdered him with his own service weapon. Vera was struck by a bullet while Lopes was shooting at another officer, prosecutors allege.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Incident prompts large police response to North Station MBTA station

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

A large emergency response gathered outside the North Station MBTA station early Tuesday morning.Several ambulances could be seen parked outside the entrance to the Green Line and Orange Line station across from the TD Garden. No additional information was immediately available.This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.

Lucas: DeSantis can beat Biden, his real test is Trump

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis can defeat President Joe Biden.Biden has dropped so low in the polls on all the issues that the only way he can get re-elected is by getting the millions of illegal immigrants he let into the country vote for him.Which means that practically any Republican can beat him, especially a candidate like DeSantis.But first the 44-year-old governor must get by Donald Trump, 76, which will be no easy task.While the field of Republican presidential candidates continues to grow, there is hardly a candidate—outside of DeSantis—with the standing and toughness needed to stand up to the pugnacious Trump.A couple of the candidates, unannounced and official, worked for Trump (Vice President Mike Pence, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley) while a third potential candidate (Chris Christie) tried to but failed to get hired.One only has to recall how Trump, with his slash and burn technique, wrecked the candidacy of several GOP opponents in the 2016 television debates and end...

May Farm Report: Red Sox promote Shane Drohan, Marcelo Mayer

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

It’s hard to imagine anyone having a better start to the season than Shane Drohan had with the Portland Sea Dogs.One of the organization’s strikeout leaders in 2022 with Greenville, the 24-year-old lefty earned a promotion out of spring training and dominated Double-A, going 5-0 with a 1.32 ERA over his first six starts of the year with Portland.In the blink of an eye Drohan went from relative obscurity to arguably Boston’s top pitching prospect, and the club wasted no time promoting him to Triple-A after he proved himself ready for a bigger challenge.But the road to the big leagues isn’t easy and it certainly isn’t always smooth, lessons Drohan quickly learned upon his arrival in Worcester.His first two starts at Triple-A did not go well. Through 7 ⅔ innings he has allowed 10 earned runs while allowing six walks and four home runs to go along with just seven strikeouts.Some adjustments to the higher level will clearly be necessary, but even with the rocky Triple-A debut Drohan has ...

Orioles minor league report: Connor Norby, Coby Mayo continue to show off organization’s deep infield stockpile

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

For much of this season, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Joey Ortiz have garnered the majority of the attention given to Orioles infield prospects.Henderson, the former No. 1 prospect in baseball who has now graduated from such status, is playing almost every day for the Orioles. Holliday has been lighting the lower levels of the minor leagues on fire. Westburg is pushing for a spot in the big leagues with his stellar play in Triple-A, and Ortiz, another Norfolk Tides infielder, spent two short stints with Baltimore and performed well each time.But the organization’s stockpile of infield prospects doesn’t end with those four, of course. Connor Norby and Coby Mayo, Baltimore’s other two young infielders who received top 100 prospect status by at least one major publication in the offseason, both excelled on the farm last week.Norby, the Orioles’ sixth-ranked prospect and No. 78 on Baseball America’s list, had one of the best weeks...

China expresses support for Serbia in renewed Kosovo clashes involving NATO troops

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China on Tuesday expressed its support for Serbia’s efforts to “safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity” following renewed violence between ethnic Serbs and NATO peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. China’s ruling Communist Party has long been a critic of the NATO alliance, stemming partly from the bombing of Beijing’s embassy in Belgrade during the 1999 air campaign to end Serbia’s brutal crackdown on ethnic Albanian separatists in Kosovo. The bombing, in which three Chinese journalists were killed, has long been used by Beijing to mobilize anti-Western sentiment. The U.S. apologized for the attack, blaming it on faulty intelligence. Its diplomatic missions in Beijing and other Chinese cities were assaulted in the fallout, setting ties on a negative trajectory that has grown ever more tense in recent years. China, along with Russia and Serbia, does not recognize Kosovo’s 2008 independence and Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Tuesday placed the blame fo...

Post-soccer match brawl in Germany leaves teen with life-threatening injuries; 16-year-old detained

Published Sun, 29 Dec 2024 13:29:19 GMT

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — A 15-year-old soccer player has been hospitalized with life-threatening brain injuries after being struck by an opposing player in a post-match fight during an international youth tournament in Germany. A 16-year-old from a French team was jailed pending further investigation by a judge in Frankfurt, where the match against a team from Berlin took place on Sunday. Frankfurt police said in a statement Tuesday that a scuffle broke out between players after the final whistle and escalated into punches being thrown. The victim was struck in the head or neck area and collapsed, police said. He was treated by emergency medical personnel at the scene and taken to a hospital.Police are asking witnesses who may have video of the incident to contact police. The Associated Press