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Undue influence? Anonymous donations to World Health Organization’s new foundation raise concerns

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

Nearly 40% of the money raised by the WHO Foundation in its first two years came from anonymous sources, worrying some that donors may be trying to influence the World Health Organization and its role in shaping global health policy with their gifts.The foundation, launched in 2020 to help raise private sector funds for the WHO, said it received $66 million in direct gifts through 2022, with $26 million coming from donors who chose not to be publicly named. Anil Soni, WHO Foundation CEO, told The Associated Press the foundation’s board, which includes a representative from the WHO, knows the donors’ identities and that the foundation will not accept a gift if there is a conflict of interest. “They want to be anonymous because they’re otherwise solicited or even targeted because they’re seen to be a source of wealth,” Soni said in an interview. “And I respect that.”The foundation, which is based in Switzerland, is not required to disclose its donors. Some global health practiti...

Jaguars associate strength coach Kevin Maxen comes out as gay in a first for US-based pro leagues

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Kevin Maxen, an associate strength coach with the Jacksonville Jaguars, has become the first male coach in a major U.S.-based professional league to come out as gay.Maxen spoke about his sexual orientation in an interview published Thursday by Outsports.“I don’t want to feel like I have to think about it anymore,” Maxen said. “I don’t want to feel like I have to lie about who I am seeing, or why I am living with someone else.“I want to be vocal in support of people living how they want to live, but I also want to just live and not feel fear about how people will react.”While Maxen’s announcement is a first for a male coach, NFL players have come out previously. Michael Sam became the first openly gay player to be drafted when the then-St. Louis Rams selected him in 2014. In 2021, Carl Nassib, then with the Las Vegas Raiders, became the first active NFL player to come out publicly. Nassib played for Tampa Bay last season.A few female coaches in U.S.-ba...

Mom at centre of Amber Alert for two B.C. children may be travelling with others

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

SURREY, B.C. — Police say the woman alleged to have abducted her two children in British Columbia may also be travelling with two men, likely her father and boyfriend.Surrey RCMP spokeswoman Cpl. Vanessa Munn says police have seen images from Merritt, B.C., on July 7 showing Verity Bolton with the two men along with her children, eight-year-old Aurora and 10-year-old Joshuah Bolton.Munn says police believe the two men are Verity Bolton’s father, 74-year-old Robert Bolton, and boyfriend Abraxas Glazov, 53.July 7 was the last time the children were seen, and police say their mother was spotted by closed-circuit TV emerging from a grocery store in Kamloops on July 15, two days before she was expected to give her children back to their father after a vacation.   The children live in Surrey with their father and were the subject of an Amber Alert on Wednesday, when police said they have concerns about both the mother’s mental health and the children’s well-being. RCMP s...

Chicago police search for 29-year-old man last seen in May

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

CHICAGO — Chicago police are asking for help finding a missing man last seen near a medical facility in May in Edgewater.John Ovink is described as being about 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing about 196 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. MORE: Missing people in Chicagoland According to the Chicago Police Department, Ovink was last seen near a medical facility in the 5400 block of North Broadway Street.Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Area Three SVU detectives at 312-744-8266.

Texas judge could take "weeks" to weigh in on exceptions to state abortion laws

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On the second day in court over a lawsuit regarding exceptions to Texas' near-total abortion ban, one doctor refuted other physicians' claims that the law is confusing, saying doctors who do not provide abortions when a patient has severe pregnancy complications are misunderstanding the law.The two-day hearing concluded Thursday, with mostly expert witnesses testifying on the second day in court. The Center for Reproductive Rights filed the lawsuit in March on behalf of 15 Texas women who said the law put their lives in danger. Attorneys called two out-of-state physicians as witnesses Thursday, who both said they found the language about exceptions in Texas' abortion law to be confusing. Current Texas abortion lawsOnce the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer, Texas was one of 13 states where abortion bans were automatically instated. Texas’ trigger law prohibits all abortions except under limited circumstances, such as a “life-thre...

Colorado health insurers ask for 10% increase on individual marketplace next year

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

People on Colorado’s individual health insurance market could see an average premium increase of 10% next year, though less for people on Colorado Option plans, if requested rate changes are approved.The state Division of Insurance and Gov. Jared Polis’ office announced the requested rate changes Thursday. The division will consider and decide on the requests in the fall, with a possibility they decline during regulators’ review process. Open enrollment begins in November.About 200,000 Coloradans are covered on the individual market, and about 28,000 of marketplace enrollees are on Colorado Option plans (though another 12,000 people are on those plans through other means). Most Coloradans are covered through employer-offered plans, Medicaid and Medicare.Health insurance companies are asking to increase premiums by an average of 11.1% for non-Colorado Option plans and 7.7% for Colorado Option plans. The exact increase varies from plan to plan. Officials did not have...

Texas man charged with kidnapping, raping teen and driving her to L.A. County

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

A Texas man has been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teen girl who he allegedly abducted at gunpoint and then drove to Los Angeles County earlier this month.The United States Department of Justice announced Thursday that Steven Robert Sablan, 61, of Cleburne, Texas, has been charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of transporting a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.Charging documents state that Sablan approached the victim as she was walking on the street in San Antonio, Texas on July 6. He allegedly pulled out a black handgun and told the victim to get in his car or else he would harm her. Fearing for her life, she complied, the DOJ said.He allegedly asked the girl her age, to which she replied she was 13. At one point she mentioned she had a friend in Australia, and Sablan apparently told her he could take her on a cruise ship to visit her friend, but she "had to do something for him first."In the days that followed, Sablan dr...

Police searching for alleged shooting suspect in South L.A.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

Officers with the Los Angeles Police Department are searching for a suspect reportedly involved in a shooting Thursday in the Historic South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles that may have injured at least one person.  Police responded to the area of Hill Street and Adams Boulevard after calls about a shooting near a liquor store came in at around 4:42 p.m.  Aerial footage from Sky5 confirmed that medical personnel with the Los Angeles Fire Department were outside the liquor store, with reporter Gil Leyvas saying the shooting victim had been transported to a nearby hospital. LAFD personnel on the scene of an alleged shooting in South L.A. that may have injured one person on July 20, 2023. (KTLA)The shooting suspect is described only as a Hispanic male who may be inside an apartment building near 25th Street and Hills Street, about a block away from where the alleged shooting occurred.  No further details were provided. This is a developing story. Please stay with KTLA fo...

Los Angeles man who died at Death Valley National Park identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

A Los Angeles man who was found dead at a trailhead in Death Valley National Park was identified on Thursday.The hiker was confirmed to be Steve Curry, 71, from Sunland, according to the Inyo County Coroner’s Office.Curry was found collapsed outside of a restroom at Golden Canyon around 3:30 p.m. amid a blistering heatwave as temperatures hit 121°F in the area.National Park Service officials believe Curry had likely just been hiking on the popular trail shortly before he died.Earlier in the day, Curry was interviewed at Zabriskie Point by a reporter with the Los Angeles Times. He was photographed “slathered in sunscreen, huddled beneath a metal interpretive sign that afforded a small amount of shade,” officials said.According to the article, Curry had hiked to Zabriskie Point from Golden Canyon which was about two miles away. At some point, Curry left the point and hiked back to the Golden Canyon trailhead where he had parked his car.A sign warns people of extreme heat in multiple l...

‘Shark Week’: Momoa set to host popular TV spectacle

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:14:32 GMT

By Mark Kennedy | Associated PressNEW YORK — Discovery Channel has landed the perfect host this year for “Shark Week,” none other than a huge fan of all ocean creatures — Aquaman.Jason Momoa, who in real life dreamed of a career as a marine biologist before Hollywood anointed him an ocean god, is going back to his roots to celebrate all things shark.“My heart is in the ocean,” Momoa told The Associated Press from Tahiti, moments before taking a trip to swim with some of the apex predators. “Doing ‘Shark Week’ is a no brainer.”Momoa will be the week’s recurring master of ceremonies, dipping in and out of the channel’s roughly 20 new hours of programs that start Sunday. Episode encores run most nights, too.Viewers will get to see rare sharks off the coast of South Africa, examine deadly shark attacks off the posh beaches of Egypt’s Red Sea and investigate whether sharks in Florida waters are getting high on cocaine.The ...