A&Z News

Dogs parade at Rio Carnival as their owners protest against animal cruelty RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Dozens of dogs dressed as alligators, fairies and superheroes gathered Saturday at a  Rio de Janeiro Carnival  street party as their owners protested cruelty against pets. The canines wagged their tails to  samba music , ate a delicious breakfast from several bowls and made new friends at the so-called Blocao, a traditional event during Brazil’s biggest bash. About 300 people and their pets gathered in the neighborhood of Barra da Tijuca, on Rio’s west side. They sang and danced to old-style Carnival songs as their pets kept their paws protected in the shade as Rio’s thermometers marked 30 Celsius degrees (86 Fahrenheit). “Dogs are a part of our families. Families come to a  street party  for dogs because it’s sweet, it is joyful and loving,” said Marco Antonio Marinho, 72, the Blocao’s chief organizer. “When we are sad at home, they are by our side, they are sad too...

Colorectal cancer is rising in younger adults. Here’s who is most at risk and symptoms to watch for WASHINGTON (AP) — Colorectal cancer is a threat not just to older adults but  increasingly  to young men and women, too. It’s now the top cancer killer of Americans younger than 50. The deaths of  “Dawson’s Creek” actor James Van Der Beek  at 48 this week, and a few years ago  “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman  at 43, highlight the risk for younger adults. “We’re now starting to see more and more people in the 20-, 30- and 40-year-old range developing colon cancer. At the beginning of my career, nobody that age had colorectal cancer,” said Dr. John Marshall of Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, who has been a cancer doctor for more than three decades. That trend “is shaking us all, to be blunt,” said Marshall, who is also medical consultant to the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. Here’s what to know about colorectal cancer — at any a...

Four new astronauts arrive at the International Space Station to replace NASA’s evacuated crew CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The  International Space Station  returned to full strength with Saturday’s arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns. SpaceX delivered the U.S., French and Russian astronauts a day after  launching them  from Cape Canaveral. Last month’s medical evacuation  was NASA’s first in 65 years of human spaceflight.  One of four astronauts  launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty return. That left only three crew members to keep the place running — one American and two Russians — prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research. Moving in for eight to nine months are NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former milit...

MSF suspends some work at Gaza’s Nasser Hospital due to presence of armed men TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Doctors Without Borders has announced the suspension of some operations at one of  Gaza  ‘s largest functioning hospitals after patients and staff reported seeing armed, masked men roaming parts of the building. Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis is one of the territory’s few functioning hospitals. Hundreds of patients and war-wounded have been treated there daily, and the facility was a hub for Palestinian prisoners released by Israel in exchange for Israeli hostages as part of the current  ceasefire deal . It was a rare announcement by an international organization about the presence of armed men in a medical facility in Gaza since the war began over two years ago. The aid group also known by its acronym MSF said in a statement all its noncritical medical operations at Nasser Hospital were suspended due to security breaches that posed “serious” threats to its teams and pati...

How Jeffrey Epstein used the glamour of the Nobel Peace Prize to entice his global network of elites STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Jeffrey Epstein repeatedly played up his ties to the former head of the Nobel Peace Prize committee in invitations to and chats with elites like Richard Branson, Larry Summers, Bill Gates and Steve Bannon, a top ally of President Donald Trump,  the Epstein files show. Thorbjørn Jagland, who headed the Norwegian Nobel Committee from 2009 to 2015, turns up hundreds of times in the millions of  documents about the former U.S. financier  and convicted sex offender that were released by the U.S. Justice Department last month. Since the release, Jagland, 75,  has been charged  in Norway for “aggravated corruption” in connection with an investigation prompted by information in the files, the economic crime unit of Norwegian police Økokrim said. Økokrim has said it would investigate whether gifts, travel and loans were received in connection with...

More conflict in curling as Canadian women are accused of the same violation as men CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Canada’s women’s curling team at the  Milan Cortina Olympics  was accused Saturday of the same violation that prompted an  expletive-laden outburst  from a Canadian men’s curler a day earlier. The latest accusation in a controversy that has divided the curling community led to more tense moments on the ice at the Cortina Curling Center. In the first end of the women’s game against Switzerland, which the Swiss ultimately won 8-7, officials called a foul, saying that skip Rachel Homan had touched her stone again after releasing it. In curling, that’s known as “double-touching,” and it’s against the rules. Swedish curler Oskar Eriksson accused  Canada  ’s Marc Kennedy of the same infraction during Canada’s 8-6 win in  round-robin play  late Friday. On the ice, Kennedy repeatedly used profanity while denying he broke any rules. Although ...

 Patriots’ Stefon Diggs pleads not guilty to assault allegation BOSTON (AP) — New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs on Friday pleaded not guilty to felony  strangulation and other criminal charges  stemming from an alleged dispute with his personal chef. Massachusetts Dedham District Court Judge Jeanmarie Carroll released Diggs, 32, on personal recognizance and ordered him to have no contact with the alleged victim. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for April 1. Wearing a white shirt and tie under a gray sweater, Diggs stood beside his attorney during the brief proceeding, which lasted less than five minutes. Both Diggs and his legal representation declined to speak with reporters. The arraignment was originally scheduled for Jan. 23 but was postponed so Diggs could play in  Super Bowl LX . The Patriots lost 29-13 to the Seattle Seahawks. According to court records, the chef told Dedham officers she and Diggs argued about money he owed her for her work. Duri...