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Study: Milder autism far outpacing ‘profound’ diagnoses

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — As autism diagnoses become increasingly common, health officials have wondered how many U.S. kids have relatively mild symptoms and how many have more serious symptoms, such as very low IQ and inability to speak. A first-of-its-kind study released Wednesday shows the rate of such “profound” autism is rising, though far slower than milder autism cases.“It’s very important to know how many people have profound autism so that we can properly prepare for their needs,” including more health and education services, said Alison Singer, executive director of the advocacy and research group Autism Science Foundation.Singer — the mother of a 25-year-old woman with profound autism — was a co-author of the paper, which was published by the journal Public Health Reports. Scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led the research.Though autism has been diagnosed for at least 80 years, the new study is the first to put a number on the share of U.S. ch...

Sports on TV for Thursday, April 20

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

(All times Eastern)Schedule subject to change and/or blackoutsThursday, April 20AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL6 a.m. (Friday)FS2 — AFL: Western at FremantleCOLLEGE BASEBALL7 p.m.SECN — Arkansas at Georgia7:30 p.m.ESPNU — Florida at South CarolinaCOLLEGE BEACH VOLLEYBALL (WOMEN’S)3 p.m.PAC-12N — Southern Cal at UCLA5 p.m.PAC-12N — Southern Cal vs. Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles7 p.m.PAC-12N — Loyola Marymount at UCLACOLLEGE LACROSSE (WOMEN’S)5:30 p.m.ESPNU — North Carolina at Duke6 p.m.BTN — Ohio St. at Rutgers7 p.m.ACCN — Boston College at SyracuseCOLLEGE SOFTBALL7 p.m.ESPN2 — Florida St. at Virginia Tech9 p.m.ESPN2 — Oklahoma St. at TexasGOLF11 a.m.GOLF — LPGA Tour: The Chevron Championship, First Round, The Club at Carlton Woods, Woodlands, Texas3 p.m.GOLF — PGA Tour: The Zurich Classic Of New Orleans, First Round, TPC Louisiana, Avondale, La.11 p.m.GOLF — DP World Tour: The ISPS Handa Championship, Second Round, Ishioka Golf Club, Omitama, JapanHORSE RACING1 p.m.FS2 — NYRA: America’s D...

Could this Jurassic-themed license plate end up on your car?

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A new specialty license plate is making its way through the Colorado Capitol, and it's a must-have for any paleontology fan.SB23-145 is currently under consideration and would create a license plate known as the "Protect Colorado's Fossils" plate. It features the stegosaurus, a four-legged herbivore that was designated as the official fossil of Colorado. The Jurassic-themed plate is sponsored by Sen. Jessie Danielson, Sen. Lisa Cutter, Rep. Tammy Story and Rep. Brianna Titone. New to Colorado? 20 facts you should know According to sponsor Danielson, if the bill is approved, each sale of the fossil license plate will benefit Dinosaur Ridge located in Morrison. Dinosaur Ridge is home to the world's first Stegosaurus discovery back in 1877.A new bill at the Capitol would create a specialty license plate featuring Colorado's state fossil. (Sen. Jessie Danielson)The sponsors of the bill want the plate to raise awareness about protecting Colorado's fossils. The rollo...

60-year-old Naples woman breaks record at the USA Track and Field Masters Championship

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

NAPLES, Fla. (WSVN) – A Naples woman is the new 60-meter-event world-record holder and now she has an inspiring message to share.Johnnie Reid, 60, said coming out of the blocks is a crucial component in any race. For the past 10 years, she was been perfecting it.“They never taught us how to come out of the blocks, how to explode how to drive. And now with technology with YouTube and everything I got my families helping me out. Then I go on YouTube and that’s the only reason I was able to execute everything the way I did,” Reid said.At the USA Track and Field Masters Championship in Louisville, Kentucky those lessons and support paid off in a historic wayLast month, Reid ran an 8.49 in the 60-meter which broke an American and world record for the event.“I’m still on this wow right now. I’m on this amazing high and I still have to pinch myself,” Reid said.Reid said she takes her training very seriously which has helped put her name in the record books.“For the last ten years, I...

Alabama police arrest 2 teens for birthday party shooting

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) — Two teenagers have been arrested and charged with murder in connection with an Alabama shooting that killed four young people at a Sweet 16 birthday party, investigators announced Wednesday.District Attorney Mike Segrest said the pair would be charged as adults and that prosecutors would ask a judge to hold them without bail. A bond hearing must be held by Friday under Alabama law.He said four people remain in the hospital in critical condition and that more charges would be coming.“We’re going to make sure all those victims have justice, not just the deceased,” Segrest said.Saturday’s violence shocked Dadeville, a sleepy town of 3,200. In addition to the four young people who died, another 32 were wounded, some critically.The gunfire broke out at a birthday party for Alexis Dowdell, which was being held at a dance studio just off the town’s courthouse square. Witnesses have said multiple people began shooting some time after Dowdell’s mother paused the celebr...

EU lawmakers break ranks to endorse controversial funding for border protection

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

The EU’s brawl over whether to pay for border fencing has spilled into the European Parliament. On Wednesday, EU lawmakers approved a controversial amendment endorsing the use of EU funds to help support border barriers, although it stopped short of explicitly recommending Brussels pay for walls — long a verboten subject that has nonetheless gained momentum of late.The amendment almost instantly became a poison pill, as lawmakers then killed the broader bill it was attached to — which offered budget guidance for the European Commission — rather than move it through with the added text on border funds.The amendment — which came from the center-right European People’s Party (EPP), Parliament’s largest group — passed with a hodgepodge coalition of lawmakers across the political spectrum, some of whom defied their party line to support the text. It cleared with 322 votes in favor and 290 against, according to public voting records.The EPP’s home aff...

This isn’t the end of Fox’s legal headaches. Here’s what’s next

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

(CNN) — Dominion Voting Systems’ blockbuster defamation case against Fox News is over after the right-wing network cuts a check for a staggering $787 million, but there’s still an avalanche of pending lawsuits that are seeking accountability from the right-wing figures who championed false claims about the 2020 election.After more than two years of legal wrangling, Fox reached a last-second settlement with Dominion on Tuesday as the case raced toward opening statements, agreeing to the biggest publicly known defamation payout by a US media company in history.More lawsuits — and perhaps more settlements — might be coming. Here’s a breakdown of the related litigation that’s still pending.What’s next for Fox?In some ways, this isn’t the end of Fox News’ legal headaches. It’s only halftime.While the right-wing network will avoid having to apologize or issuing an on-air retraction over the false Dominio...

Strep infections in the US surged this winter, up nearly 30% from pre-pandemic peak

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

(CNN) — After two years of significantly low levels, strep infections in the US have surged again this season, according to a new analysis.In February, the share of health care visits for strep throat or a related diagnosis was nearly 30% higher than during the previous peak in 2017. And preliminary data for early March shows a continued upward trend, according to the Epic Health Research Network. The findings are based on electronic health records from thousands of clinics and hospitals, representing more than 100 million people across the country.Group A Streptococcus bacteria can cause many types of infections. Some, like strep throat and scarlet fever, can be relatively mild and are usually treated with antibiotics. But in December, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was investigating an apparent increase in invasive group A strep infections, which can cause more rare and serious infections. The US also has an ongoing shortage of liquid amoxicil...

2 cheerleaders were shot in a Texas supermarket parking lot after one opened the door to the wrong vehicle. A suspect is under arrest

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

(CNN) — Authorities have arrested the man they say shot two teenage cheerleaders after one said she mistook the suspect’s vehicle as her own in a supermarket parking lot near Texas’ capital — at least the third incident this week in which young people who’d made an apparent mistake were met with gunfire.Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, was taken into custody early Tuesday, the Elgin Police Department said in a news release later that morning.Officers responding just after midnight Tuesday to an H-E-B supermarket parking lot found two people in a vehicle who’d been struck by bullets, police said, citing preliminary reports. One with serious injuries was rushed by helicopter to a hospital and in critical condition, while the other was treated at the scene, the release said.The latter girl had gotten out of a friend’s car and opened the door to a vehicle she thought was hers, only to find a man sitting in the passenger seat, she said during ...

Twitter removes transgender protections from hateful conduct policy

Published Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:24 GMT

(CNN) — Twitter appears to have quietly rolled back a portion of its hateful conduct policy that included specific protections for transgender people.The policy previously stated that Twitter prohibits “targeting others with repeated slurs, tropes or other content that intends to degrade or reinforce negative or harmful stereotypes about a protected category. This includes targeted misgendering or deadnaming of transgender individuals.” But the second line was removed earlier this month, according to archived versions of the page from the WayBack Machine.Twitter also removed a line from the policy detailing certain groups of people often subject to disproportionate abuse online, including “women, people of color, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual individuals, and marginalized and historically underrepresented communities.”The platform first introduced its policy prohibiting misgendering and deadnaming...