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Woman in recovery after shark attack in St. Petersburg

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WSVN) — There was a birthday party surprise for a woman who was attacked by a shark. She didn’t even see the shark in the water, and now, she’s just thankful to be alive and able to tell her story.About 2-3 miles out from the St. Petersburg pier, near Tampa Saturday night, Natalie Branda swam in the water as she celebrated her friend Allie Muck’s birthday.“I remember trying to attach two floaties together, and then I accidentally dropped one and splashed the water,” Branda said. She didn’t see what happened next, but felt it. “I just felt pressure and then it released, and I was like, ‘I got bit,’ and I swam the fastest I ever swam to the boat,” she said.“I think the look in their eyes kind of made us realize it was a little bit more serious than we were anticipating,” Mucks said.With her boyfriend by her side, Branda climbed a board the sailboat.“I could only see my stomach at t...

Don’t throw a spotlight on Northern Ireland stalemate, Sunak urged

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

DUBLIN – Rishi Sunak should postpone plans for an international investment conference in Northern Ireland because it will cast a counterproductive spotlight on its political paralysis, the U.K. prime minister has been warned.Sunak announced plans for the September 12-13 conference following his Windsor Framework agreement with the European Union. That painstakingly negotiated compromise was designed to minimize post-Brexit restrictions on British goods movements into Northern Ireland and reinforce the U.K. region’s unique access to the EU single market, a potential selling point for multinationals.While the deal ended years of Brexit headbutting between London and Brussels, it failed to persuade the Democratic Unionists – the main pro-British and pro-Brexit party in Northern Ireland – to end their boycott of local government at Stormont.With no prospect of a political breakthrough, the other parties in Northern Ireland’s mothballed coalition government are arguing that it ...

Tractor-trailer driver in critical condition after truck crashes through home in Bellingham

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

The driver of a tractor-trailer truck was critically injured after their vehicle appeared to leave a roadway and crash through a home in Bellingham, according to officials.Emergency crews could be seen responding to an area off of Hartford Avenue Thursday morning, where police said a major motor vehicle crash occurred around 10 a.m.Significant damage to a house, including a caved-in wall and piles of debris, were visible to SKY7-HD when it spotted a tractor-trailer truck that appeared to go off-road and through the back of a house before coming to a stop against the structure.According to Bellingham Fire Chief Bill Miller, the driver of the truck was left in critical condition and taken to UMass Memorial Medical Center as a result. Speaking to reporters, Miller added that the home itself was believed to be vacant at the time. He also noted animal control officers were called in when emergency crews came upon the driver’s dog, which Miller said was OK.The Bellingham Police Depa...

Woman sues drug makers of Ozempic and Mounjaro over severe gastrointestinal issues

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

(CNN) — In a lawsuit filed on Wednesday, a Louisiana woman is claiming she has suffered severe injuries due to her use of Ozempic and Mounjaro, which were prescribed by her doctor. The two injectable medications, developed to manage diabetes, have gained popularity for weight loss.Attorneys for Jaclyn Bjorklund claim that the 44-year-old woman used Ozempic for more than a year until around July 2023 and then began using Mounjaro. She is suing the makers of both drugs, Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, for failing to warn of the risk of severe gastrointestinal events that could be caused by taking the medications.“As a result of using Defendants’ Ozempic and Mounjaro, Plaintiff was caused to suffer from severe gastrointestinal events, and as a result sustained severe and permanent personal injuries, pain, suffering, and emotional distress, and incurred medical expenses,” the lawsuit alleges.Bjorklund has suffered from “severe vomiting, stomach pain, gastrointestinal burning, bein...

Bankrate: How to choose a student credit card

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

By Ashley Parks, Bankrate.comOne of the most accessible paths to building credit is a student credit card. Cultivating consistent, positive credit-building habits with a card that fits your needs will set you on the right track. As with any credit card, student card or not, there are many factors to consider to help you choose the right one.A student credit card works similarly to most standard credit cards. What sets student cards apart is their focus on student-related perks and benefits. For starters, this often means the credit requirements for approval are more relaxed to account for a student’s lack of credit history.If the card offers rewards, these rewards are usually generous in spending categories that are popular among students, like dining, entertainment and Amazon purchases. Typically, student credit cards are also affordable to hold since they’re often free of charges like annual fees and foreign transaction fees.Read on to learn more about how to choose the best stude...

From kidney stones to sand burns: The offbeat health dangers of extreme heat

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

By Cindy Krischer Goodman, South Florida Sun-SentinelWhen a middle-aged man arrived Monday at HCA Northwest Hospital emergency room in Margate, Florida, with major muscle cramping from his feet to his shoulders. Dr. Craig Kushnir knew right away what was going on“He was dehydrated,” the emergency room doctor said, adding that he has seen several patients with intense muscle cramping in the last few weeks as South Florida temperatures have climbed.Doctors say all kinds of offbeat heat-related illnesses are cropping up from this summer’s extreme heat and sending people to local emergency departments. While heat stroke is one of the most worrisome health risks, the health impacts of scorching temperatures can include anything from horrible anxiety dreams, to painful kidney stones —  to people being burned just by falling on the ground.Rashes and burnsAt Cleveland Clinic Florida, Dr. Aisha Subhani, chair of the emergency department, has had patients arrive with ghastly rashes. “They don...

Lizzo breaks silence on allegations; former dancers’ lawyer doubles down

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

By Vivian Kwarm, New York Daily NewsLizzo is responding to the allegations from her former dancers, who this week sued the Grammy winner for alleged harassment, weight-shaming and more.In the bombshell lawsuit filed Aug. 1, Crystal Williams, Arianna Davis and Noelle Rodriguez list a series of accusations such as discrimination, weight shaming, and sexual harassment that included ‘inviting cast members to take turns touching the nude performers’ at a club in Amsterdam.“Yeah, she was there with the dildos and the bananas and the vaginas,” the dancer’s attorney Neama Rahmani told the New York Daily News. “She’s the one that asked everyone to go and everyone felt pressure to go to get along with Lizzo. Telling Arianna to touch the nude woman and telling the security guard to pull down his pants. He was whipped by one of the nude performers. Lizzo was an active participant in all of this.”Lizzo attends The 2023 Met Gala Celebrating “Karl Lagerfeld: A Line Of Beauty” at The Me...

This hot summer is even more frustrating when car batteries die and tires wear out

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

By Jack Lemnus, South Florida Sun SentinelThe summer heat can become a bigger headache when we’re suddenly stuck on the road with car trouble. Batteries die. Tires wear out, blow out, go flat. And drivers, in a haste, lock themselves out of cars.Roadside helpers and mechanics see a rise in such car woes as temperatures climb each summer — and this scorching summer has been no exception, with July marking one of the most persistent extreme heat waves in recent years.What can you do to avoid such problems?Here’s what car experts suggest for keeping your car running (and keeping your cool).Two million calls for dead batteriesThe three most common issues that arise with intense heat are dead batteries, flat tires and lockouts, said Michele Harris, director of Florida public affairs for AAA.“As it relates to batteries, for example, last summer, AAA responded to two million calls for dead batteries,” Harris said. “Many times, people will see a slow start, or a stuttered start, or their he...

Philippine troops find trainer plane’s wreckage and retrieve the bodies of the pilot and student

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine troops found the wreckage of a small plane and retrieved the bodies of its Filipino trainer pilot and his Indian student Thursday after a three-day search that was hampered by bad weather, officials said.The Cessna 152 crashed in a hinterland village near Luna town in the mountainous northern province of Apayao, which lies east of Ilocos Norte province, where the plane took off on Tuesday.Army troops, police and volunteers launched a search after the two-seater plane failed to land three hours later as expected in Cagayan province near Apayao. Two aerial searches were called off due to strong wind, heavy rains and poor visibility, officials said.Civil aviation officials said pictures of the wreckage they saw showed the plane’s registry number still visible on the side of its twisted tail.The plane had received clearance to take off from Laoag city in Ilocos Norte province after weather there had cleared. A powerful typhoon lashed Ilocos Norte, C...

US military may put armed troops on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran seizures

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 20:58:26 GMT

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, four American officials told The Associated Press on Thursday. America didn’t even take the step during the so-called “Tanker War,” which culminated with the U.S. Navy and Iran fighting a one-day naval battle in 1988 that was the Navy’s largest since World War II. While officials offered few details of the plan, it comes as thousands of Marines and sailors on both the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, a landing ship, are on their way to the Persian Gulf. Those Marines and sailors could provide the backbone for any armed guard mission in the strait, through which 20% of all the world’s crude oil passes.Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comm...