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What does a chatbot know about eating disorders? Users of a help line are about to find out

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

Kate Wells, Michigan Radio | KFF Health News (TNS)For more than 20 years, the National Eating Disorders Association has operated a phone line and online platform for people seeking help for anorexia, bulimia, and other eating disorders. Last year, nearly 70,000 individuals used the help line.NEDA shuttered that service in May, saying that, in its place, a chatbot called Tessa, designed by eating disorder experts with funding from NEDA, would be deployed.When NPR aired a report about this last month, Tessa was up and running online. Since then, both the chatbot’s page and a NEDA article about Tessa have been taken down. When asked why, NEDA said the bot is being “updated,” and the latest “version of the current program [will be] available soon.”Then NEDA announced on May 30 that it was indefinitely disabling Tessa. Patients, families, doctors, and other experts on eating disorders were stunned. The episode has set off a fresh wave of debate as companies turn to artificial intelligenc...

Healey recommends 7 pardons, including those passed up by former Gov. Baker

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

For Terrance Williams, the chance to be pardoned for what he says was “horsing around” with a friend at 15 years old means he can join a security business his friend started years ago.Williams was found delinquent of assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon in 1984. He said his friend hit him “with something” and his reaction was just to “hit him with something.”“It’s gonna make a big change,” he said of the pardon at the State House Thursday afternoon. “Years ago, me and a friend of mine, we were supposed to start a business together, a security business. And because of this (conviction), it denied me starting it with him. But he proceeded on with it.”Gov. Maura Healey recommended pardoning Williams alongside six other people who were convicted of everything from low-level drug offenses to assault and battery on a police officer. It marks the first time in three decades a governor has done so during their first year in elected office.The group of seven were convicted at y...

Dark spots? Wrinkles? Dermatologists say they’ve got new and improved weapons against sun damage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

Like most Floridians, you’re probably overexposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays — and the result can be sun damage.Dark spots, freckles, hyperpigmentation and wrinkles appear, and they tend to be most noticeable on places like your face, hands, neck and upper chest. But local dermatologists say there are advanced treatments available now, including improved topical creams, lasers and procedures such as microdermabrasion and chemical peels to help eliminate marks and remove blemished, damaged layers of skin.“The technology has gotten much better to repair the damage in a way that is more comfortable with less downtime,” said Dr. Chere Lucas Anthony of Rendon Center Dermatology and Aesthetic Medicine in Boca Raton.Lucas Anthony is among the South Florida dermatologists who shared the options available today.Carline JeanA sunbather on Fort Lauderdale Beach soaks up the rays. Improved treatments now exist for the damage the sun may cause. (Carline Jean/South Florida Sun Sentinel)TOPICAL PROD...

Arrests made in thefts of Yogi Berra’s World Series rings, Warhol and Pollock art

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

By CLAUDIA LAUER (The Associated Press)Federal authorities announced charges against a ring of nine people for thefts of millions of dollars worth of paintings, sports memorabilia and other valuables including an Andy Warhol silkscreen, a Jackson Pollock painting and nine World Series rings belonging to the late Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.The thefts took place over more than two decades at 20 different museums and institutions across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and North Dakota, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania said Thursday.Investigators believe some of the sports memorabilia had been melted down, including nine of Berra’s 10 World Series rings, U.S. Attorney Gerard M. Karam said at a news conference. It was unclear which items would be returned to their owners or to the museums, but authorities said some of those valuables had been recovered. Eight of the nine people named as part of the theft ring Thursday have turned themselves in, Karam sai...

These San Diego areas are among most expensive metros for renters: study

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO -- Rent payments may be breaking the bank for many San Diego area residents.In fact, these parts of the region -- San Diego, Chula Vista and Carlsbad -- are considered to be among the most expensive metros in the country.That's according to a new study by Lawn Love, which compared 172 of the biggest U.S. metros in three categories to figure out which residents are paying the most for rental housing. Alaska Airlines now offering nonstop flights from San Diego to these cities When compiling their data, Lawn Love considered average rent prices, year-over-year rent changes and the share of renters spending over 30% of their income on rent and utilities. These categories were among nine total metrics that were weighted based on importance, Lawn Love explained. These metrics were then grouped into three categories: rent prices, rent affordability and cost inflators.The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area ranked as the fourth-most expensive for renters in 2023, according...

Police searching for suspect who shot at photography student

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

SAN DIEGO — A $1,000 is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a man suspected of shooting at a photography student in the Oak Park neighborhood.The incident happened around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 23 when the victim was taking photographs of Tradewinds Liquor, located at 3111 54th Street, as part of their college photography class, the San Diego Police Department said in a news releaseAccording to police, as the victim was taking photos of the business, the suspect approached the victim, pointed a handgun at them and demanded the camera.The victim entered their vehicle and sped away from the scene, prompting the suspect to fire at the victim once, hitting the vehicle. Woman killed, man injured in North County house fire During the course of their investigation, police obtained surveillance footage and were able to identify the suspect as Darrick Anthony Coleman.According to police, Coleman is believed to be associated with a local street gang and should be conside...

Argentine judge calls for detention of four Lebanese citizens in AMIA bombing probe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A federal judge in Argentina has called on Interpol to detain four Lebanese citizens, so they can be questioned for their suspected role in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center that killed 85 people.“Regarding these individuals, there are well-founded suspicions that they are collaborators or operational agents of the … armed wing of Hezbollah,” judge Daniel Rafecas wrote in a resolution dated June 13 that the Associated Press obtained Thursday.Argentine prosecutors have long alleged that Iranian officials used the Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah to carry out the deadly attack. Iran has long denied any involvement in the incident.Both the United States and Argentina have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.Most of the Lebanese citizens now being sought by Rafecas have ties to the porous tri-border region that connects Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay and that the United States has long said is a hub for terrorism finan...

Jury deliberations underway in trial of gunman who massacred 11 at Pittsburgh synagogue

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A truck driver who hated Jewish people turned a sacred house of worship into a “hunting ground” when he burst into a Pittsburgh synagogue and killed 11 congregants, a federal prosecutor said Thursday before jury deliberations got underway in the man’s capital trial.Robert Bowers is charged with 63 criminal counts, including hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death, after opening fire with an AR-15 rifle and other guns in the nation’s deadliest antisemitic attack. Some of the charges carry a potential death sentence. The jury got the case Thursday afternoon,.In closing arguments, a prosecutor told the jury that Bowers targeted his victims because of their religion. “He is filled with hatred for Jews,” prosecutor Mary Hahn said, noting Bowers had an extensive history of posting antisemitic and white supremacist content online. “That is what propelled him to act.”Bowers’ attorney, Elisa ...

Florida deputy didn’t follow extensive training during Parkland school massacre, supervisor says

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A former Florida sheriff’s deputy didn’t follow his extensive training on how to stop an active shooter when he didn’t confront the killer who murdered 17 people at a Parkland high school, a former training commander testified Thursday.Former Broward County Deputy Scot Peterson had undergone training both in a video simulator and with live actors several times before the Feb. 14, 2018, massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward County Lt. Col. Sam Samaroo testified. He said Peterson was taught that even if he was alone, he would need to confront the shooter without waiting for backup. Samaroo worked at the agency’s training unit from 2013 to 2018, and was ultimately made its commander. He said deputies are taught that active shooters, if confronted, will kill or barricade themselves, surrender, or engage authorities in a gunfight, giving civilians time to flee or take shelter. That’s why deputies must go towar...

Wildfire evacuation order lifted for residents of Tumbler Ridge, B.C.

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 09:15:22 GMT

Residents forced out by a wildfire last week in the northeastern British Columbia community of Tumbler Ridge were allowed to return home Thursday. More than 2,000 people had been ordered to leave last week when a fast-moving wildfire encroached on the town. A statement on the District of Tumbler Ridge website says an evacuation alert will remain in place indefinitely, “and residents are reminded to be ready to evacuate the area with little notice should the need be determined.”Residents were told to leave on June 8 when the West Kiskatinaw wildfire threatened to overrun the community. Recent rain and a change in winds calmed the wildfire, although it remains classified as out of control. For returning residents, the district says Highway 52-N has reopened between Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge, and residents will also be able to use highways 29S and 52E, via the Kelly Lake Road. The BC Wildfire Service says the West Kiskatinaw fire has grown to 250 square kilometres sinc...