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Experts say wild box turtles as pets is a bad idea

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

(CNN) – As the temperatures warm up in the summer, people like to spend more time outdoors and many animals and reptiles are doing the same.Conservationists are informing the public that if they would come across a wild box turtle, they should leave it alone and not keep it as a pet.“We can tell who is who we all have nicknames for them all,” said Joanna Prosser at the Walden’s Puddle Wildlife Center. Joanna Prosser is passionate about taking care of animals.“I wish I could find Mr. Handsome,” said Prosser. As the animal care director of Walden’s Puddle Wildlife Center, she sees people taking wild box turtles and turning them into pets.“And they come out in the spring and summer,” said Prosser. “You can’t take any turtle that’s less than four inches and so these are two regulations.”All the turtles in a Nashville encampment are the ones that the owners didn’t want anymore. A turtle named Kenny keeps ...

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, Carter Center says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Washington (CNN) — Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady of the United States and wife of former President Jimmy Carter, has dementia, the Carter Center announced on Tuesday.“The Carter family is sharing that former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia. She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the center announced. Additional details about Carter, 95, were not immediately provided and the Center said it did not expect to comment further.The Center said that, in sharing news of Carter’s diagnosis, it helped to “increase important conversations at kitchen tables and in doctor’s offices around the country.” As first lady, Carter made mental health advocacy her platform and formed a presidential commission on the matter during her time in the White House, a legacy that continues today.President Carter, 98, began home hospice care in February after a series of short hospital stays.At an event in...

Minnesota becomes 23rd state to legalize recreational marijuana

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Washington (CNN) — Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota signed a bill into law on Tuesday legalizing recreational marijuana use in the state.With Walz’s signature, Minnesota becomes the 23rd state to legalize adult-use cannabis and the third Midwestern state to do so.“What we know right now is prohibition does not work. We’ve criminalized a lot of folks. We’re going to start the expungement process on those records. We have a situation where buying cannabis on the streets is dangerous,” Walz said at a signing ceremony Tuesday, adding that adults should be able to make their own decisions “around these types of choices.”The Minnesota House and Senate chambers, which are both Democratic-led – passed the bill earlier this month with bipartisan support – after months of review following its introduction in January.Under the measure, Minnesota residents who are 21 years and older will be able to possess up to two ounces of marijuana flower in public and two poun...

State Bureau Reports 200 Fraud Cases In First Quarter

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

A bureau charged with investigating public assistance fraud allegations identified fraud in 14 percent of the cases it examined between January and March. Examiners at the Bureau of Special Investigations uncovered more than $4 million worth of fraud over the three-month period, including $1.6 million in Medicaid fraud and $1.3 million in fraud connected to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Auditor Diana DiZoglio, whose office runs the bureau, informed legislators of the fiscal 2023 third quarter numbers in a May 23 letter that was posted last week to the Legislature’s website. The bureau identified fraud in 200 of the 1,407 cases it investigated. The bureau’s investigative authority extends to any assistance program administered by the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Division of Medical Assistance, which administers MassHealth (the state’s Medicaid program). The Department of E...

Mass. Regulators Join Call For DOJ To Probe Offshore Gaming Sites

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

For decades, Massachusetts tolerated various forms of illegal gaming. Now that the state is openly regulating, taxing and promoting casino gaming and sports wagering, regulators here have agreed to join calls on the U.S. Justice Department to crack down on illegal operators that are out there. Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday agreed to send a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that is similar to one that regulators from Colorado, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey and Illinois sent on April 28. Officials in those states asked the department to protect Americans from illegal offshore sportsbooks and online casinos that they said do not invest in “responsible gaming” programs, contribute to the loss of state tax revenue, do not impose age verification requirements to protect minors, and lack controls to prevent money laundering and guarantee fair payouts to customers. The state gaming regulators said they also want to...

Sick workers tied to 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks, CDC says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.Norovirus and salmonella, germs that can cause severe illness, were the most common cause of 800 outbreaks, which encompassed 875 restaurants and were reported by 25 state and local health departments.Investigators with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called for better enforcement of “comprehensive food safety policies,” which emphasize basic measures like hand washing and keep sick workers off the job.Although 85% of restaurants said they had policies restricting staff from working while sick, only about 16% of the policies were detailed enough to require workers to notify managers and to stay home if they had any of the five key symptoms — including vomiting, diarrhea, and sore throat with fever.About 44% of managers told the CDC their restaurants provided paid sick leave t...

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, The Carter Center says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

By BILL BARROW (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dementia, her family announced Tuesday.Carter, now 95, remains at home with former President Jimmy Carter, who has been at home receiving hospice care since early this year.“She continues to live happily at home with her husband, enjoying spring in Plains and visits with loved ones,” the family said via The Carter Center, the global humanitarian organization the couple founded in 1982 after leaving the White House.Married nearly 77 years, the Carter are the longest-married first couple in U.S. history.The family noted in its statement that Rosalynn Carter has spent her long public life advocating for individuals and families affected by mental illness and for those in caregiving relationships with loved ones.“Mrs. Carter often noted that there are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who ...

Saugus Police find woman’s body in Breakheart Reservation, Massachusetts State Police investigating

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

A woman’s body was found in the water on Breakheart Reservation in Saugus.Saugus Police officers located the woman shortly after 11 a.m., according to Massachusetts State Police spokesman David Procopio.“We have patrols, crime scene techs and detectives on scene. Nothing further is available at this time,” he said in a statement.The Saugus Police say their presence is one of assistance in the matter and that the State Police are the primary agency for more information.“We were assisting with an unattended death at Breakheart Reservation,” Assistant Saugus Police Chief Ron Giorgetti told the Herald.This is a developing story. 

Florida police search for 3 gunmen who wounded 9 at crowded beach on Memorial Day

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

By TERRY SPENCER (Associated Press)HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (AP) — Police launched a search Tuesday for three suspects they believe to be the gunmen who opened fire along a crowded Florida beachside promenade on Memorial Day, wounding nine people and sending others frantically running for cover. Hollywood police sought the public’s help in identifying the gunmen, who ran from the scene during the chaos of hundreds of people fleeing for their lives and diving for cover as shots hit bystanders. Two people involved in the altercation that led to the shooting have been arrested on firearms charges, police said. Five handguns have been recovered, with one of them reported stolen in the Miami area and another in Texas, they said. Police and witnesses said the shooting began as a group of people fought in front of a busy stretch of shops on the Hollywood Oceanfront Broadwalk about 7 p.m. Monday.The sound of gunshots sent witness Alvie Carlton Scott III ducking for cover behind a tree be...

Recipe: Enjoy a light salad like tabbouleh in warmer weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:12 GMT

By Esther Kennedy for the Times-StandardNow that we’re heading into summer, it’s the perfect time to switch from hearty soups to light, filling, healthy meals. Salads tend to have a bad rep for being just boring lettuces and veggies thrown together, but there are endless opportunities to showcase your favorite veggies and fruits.Rather than starting with a typical bed of lettuce and piling up all the delicious veggie toppings, use bulgur as the base for a delicious tabbouleh that is a Mediterranean staple. In my opinion, this dish can have many interpretations from wanting loads of veggies to how much dressing should be on the salad. This is mostly a vegetarian dish, but I’m sure the carnivores can add their favorite meats to this dish to make it unique.As much as I love hearty, stick-to-your ribs soups, pasta dishes and steak, I’m a sucker for a fresh salad. I’ve been craving Mediterranean food recently, so I made tabbouleh with just a slight personal touch. It’s easy to create, ma...