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Mass General Brigham limiting new patients amid primary care physician shortage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

Getting in to see a doctor this flu season may prove difficult as Mass General Brigham, the state’s largest healthcare system, now says its two Boston hospitals do not have enough primary care doctors at some locations. Mass General Brigham shared a statement Wednesday regarding the situation, announcing it is limiting new patients while it experiences “historic and unrelenting capacity challenges.” David Martin, CEO of the Massachusetts Health Council, separately spoke to 7NEWS.“Primary care is always one of the more challenging practice areas,” he said. The Massachusetts Health Council is a health advocacy organization. Speaking on Wednesday, Martin said doctors are complaining about doing more data entry and having less patient interaction. “From the physician’s angle, it’s a barrier between them and a patient,” he said. “And it really impacts their ability to see the patient, be present with the patient and it also just adds to their administration tasks.” Wi...

Winter Outlook 2023-2024

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

Welcome back to another installment of “how much snow am I getting this winter?” because let’s face it, that’s all anyone who reads a Winter Outlook is really interested in, amiright? Well, let’s not waste any time…let us do this!Before we move forward, let’s take a quick recap of last….winter?? I mean, yes, we technically had winter, but it was like living on easy street (or Nightmare On Elm Street depending on your point of view) with the incredible lack of snow and warm temps.It was 4th Least Snowiest winter and the 5th warmest winter for Boston. Can that happen all over again? Doubtful, as I think we’ll see more snow than last winter and have a little more cold air to experience than last winter as well. In a nutshell, here is what I am expecting:Let’s look into the players for the upcoming winter.ENSOFor starters, I like to look at the state of Equatorial Pacific Ocean temperatures and more directly, their anomalies (warmer or col...

Prosecutor asks judge to revoke bond for Harrison Floyd in Georgia election case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

By KATE BRUMBACK (Associated Press)ATLANTA (AP) — The Georgia prosecutor pursuing a case against former President Donald Trump and others on Wednesday asked a judge to revoke the bond of defendant Harrison Floyd, saying he has been intimidating witnesses and codefendants in the case.Floyd, Trump and 17 others were indicted in August by a Fulton County grand jury in August, accused of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Four defendants have pleaded guilty after reaching a deal with prosecutors and the rest have pleaded not guilty.The charges against Floyd stem from allegations of harassment of Ruby Freeman, a Fulton County election worker who had been falsely accused of election fraud by Trump and his supporters. Floyd took part in a Jan. 4, 2021, conversation in which Freeman was told she “needed protection” and was pressured to make false statements about election fraud, the indictment says.Prosecutors ...

Judge tosses school voucher challenge in NH

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

CONCORD, N.H. — A judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a leader of one of New Hampshire’s teachers’ unions to stop public dollars from being spent to fund private schools through the Education Freedom Account program, saying she has not shown that it violates the state constitution.The lawsuit was filed in Merrimack County Superior Court last year. It sought an injunction to stop the voucher-like program.Deb Howes, president of the American Federation of Teachers New Hampshire, had said the program runs afoul of the constitution because money from the state’s education trust fund is specifically set aside for public education and cannot be used for private purposes.The state had moved to dismiss the case, arguing that Howes failed to make a claim that the program was illegal or unconstitutional.A judge ruled Monday that Howes failed to allege facts supporting her claims. The judge also ruled that Howes’ challenge to the state’s use of education trust ...

Some Mass General Brigham primary care practices have limited spots for new patients: ‘Deeply concerned’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have limited spots for new primary care patients at some practices, as the Massachusetts Medical Society warns that the lack of doctors in the state is a “major public health crisis.”Certain primary care practices in Boston at Mass General Hospital, along with Brigham and Women’s, have limited space for new patients, Mass General Brigham confirmed on Wednesday.“While capacity for new primary care patients is limited at select practices at Brigham and Women’s and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, there is availability in the Mass General Brigham system for new primary care patients,” the health care giant said in a statement.“We have primary care availability in practices associated with our community hospitals, in our suburban community physician practices, and with our affiliated practices throughout the region, including One Medical,” Mass General Brigham a...

Patriots veteran leader relays message for Mac Jones after benching

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

FOXBORO — The Patriots head into their bye week in a place no team wants to be: without an obvious answer at starting quarterback.Mac Jones was benched in the final minutes of the Patriots’ Week 10 loss to the Colts after throwing a red-zone interception. Head coach Bill Belichick handed the reins to backup Bailey Zappe in a two-minute drill while trailing 10-6, and he tossed his own pick.Related ArticlesNew England Patriots | Three Patriots assistants named in NFL head coach watch list New England Patriots | Patriots make Mac Jones look like starting QB in practice after benching New England Patriots | Callahan: Mac Jones has lost the locker room and 6 more Patriots thoughts at the bye New England Patriots | Mac Jones says he hasn’t been told if he’s still Patriots starting QB New England Patriots | Patriots captain reacts to Jack Jones release with disappointment In the Patriots...

Hospital director in Haiti says police rescued women and children after gangs surround facility

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

By EVENS SANON (Associated Press)PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — A heavily armed gang surrounded a hospital in Haiti on Wednesday, trapping women, children and newborns inside until police rescued them, according to the director of the medical center who pleaded for help via social media.Jose Ulysse, founder and director of the Fontaine Hospital Center in the sprawling Cite Soleil slum in the capital of Port-au-Prince, told The Associated Press that gangs were torching homes surrounding the hospital and preventing everyone inside from leaving. He had earlier said that it appeared gangs had entered the hospital.Ulysse said Haiti’s National Police responded to his call for help and and arrived with three armored trucks to evacuate 40 children and 70 patients to a private home in a safer part of the city. Among those delicately evacuated were children on oxygen, he said.“Gangs are in total control of the area,” he said. A spokesman for Haiti’s National Police...

Tribe in Oklahoma sues city of Tulsa for continuing to ticket Native American drivers

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Muscogee (Creek) Nation filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday against the city of Tulsa, arguing Tulsa police are continuing to ticket Native American drivers within the tribe’s reservation boundaries despite a recent federal appeals court ruling that they lacked jurisdiction to do so.The tribe filed the lawsuit in federal court in Tulsa against the city, Mayor G.T. Bynum, Chief of Police Wendell Franklin and City Attorney Jack Blair.The litigation is just the latest clash in Oklahoma over tribal sovereignty since the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 2020 ruling, dubbed McGirt, that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s sprawling reservation, which includes much of Tulsa, remains intact. That ruling has since been expanded by lower courts to include several other Native American reservations covering essentially the eastern half of the state.Since that ruling, Tulsa began referring felony and criminal misdemeanor offenses by Native Americans within Muscog...

Israel and Switzerland draw 1-1 in Euro 2024 qualifying game in Hungary

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

FELCSUT, Hungary (AP) — A European Championship qualifying game between Switzerland and Israel ended with a 1-1 draw on Wednesday, a match that brought the Israeli team to Hungary after all scheduled games in Tel Aviv were postponed due to the Israel-Hamas war.The match was one of two “home games” Israel is hosting in Felcsut, a Hungarian village of around 1,900 people, as it chases a qualifying place in the Euro 2024 continental championship. If the team qualifies, it will be its first time since joining the European soccer federation in 1994.Ahead of the game, fans draped in Israeli flags gathered outside the heavily guarded stadium, singing chants as their team’s bus arrived.The mood was celebratory, but some fans — some of whom traveled from as far away as Israel to attend the match — were solemn in describing the significance of the contest.“We’re going through a very, very difficult time right now, and it just felt right,” said Aaron Morali, an Israeli fan who drov...

Jurors begin deliberating in the trial of the man who attacked Nancy Pelosi’s husband

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:32:41 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A lawyer for the man who broke into former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s San Francisco home and attacked her husband told a federal jury Wednesday that David DePape was motivated by his political beliefs, not because he wanted to interfere with her official duties as a member of Congress, making the charges against him invalid.David DePape, 43, is charged with attempted kidnapping of a federal official and assault on the immediate family member of a federal official in the Oct. 28, 2022, attack against Paul Pelosi. During her rebuttal, prosecutor Helen Gilbert said the defense had made a false distinction between Nancy Pelosi’s politics and official duties and that DePape didn’t differentiate between the two. DePape pleaded not guilty, but during testimony on Tuesday admitted to bludgeoning Paul Pelosi with a hammer while trying to carry out a plan to hold Nancy Pelosi hostage. Federal public defender Angela Chuang told the jury during her closing statement ...