INTERNACIONAL
Boston mayor denies funding LGBTQ migrant ‘wellness’ perks after program touts up to $500 benefits
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office is denying reports that city funds were used to support a program offering LGBTQ migrants up to $500 in «wellness» perks, after a local advocacy group advertised the benefits and later scaled back its description amid backlash.
Through its program «Belonging Matters,» the group had planned to provide yoga, arts and other recreational services.
«No funds have been distributed or directed for these purposes. This organization received a $7,500 grant through a City program to support mental health services. Those funds were not designated for and may not be used for the voucher program referenced,» a spokesperson for the city told Fox News Digital.
The dispute highlights conflicting claims about what the «Belonging Matters» program actually offered and whether any city-backed funding was tied to those benefits, drawing scrutiny over how Boston distributes and oversees grants to outside advocacy groups.
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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ordered the release of ICE body cam and surveillance footage, accusing federal agents of unconstitutional actions and pledging transparency and accountability. (Getty Images)
OUTnewcomers is listed as one of 45 recipients of a larger $200,000 push to support LGBTQ communities in Boston. The $200,000 figure was approved by Wu last year as a part of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ+ Advancement (MOLA).
According to Boston officials, OUTnewcomers was awarded a $7,500 mini-grant allocated from the 2026 budget. The city has not green-lighted grant funding or cash assistance.
«These investments represent our continued dedication to uplifting LGBTQ+ Bostonians by putting resources directly into the hands of trusted community organizations,» Wu said in a press release at the time.
The mayor’s office declined to answer questions about what the $7,500 fund had originally been approved for.
The registration form for Belonging Matters offered applicants yoga, breathwork and meditation, gym memberships, creative arts, peer support, storytelling, nature-based wellness and hair styling. If approved, the program promised applicants $250 to $500 in «wellness allowances» evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
But the organization later described the program as offering vouchers of $50 or less, creating a discrepancy between how the initiative was initially presented and how it was later characterized.
«Our City of Boston-funded program is modest and need-based. It provides small vouchers of $50 or less to eligible LGBTQ+ migrants living in Boston to access limited wellness support such as haircuts, acupuncture, or massage,» the organization said in a press release.
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Boston, Mass., skyline. (Getty Images)
The program drew scrutiny online, with critics calling it a waste of taxpayer dollars.
«Handing out perks & benefits like this all the while telling the tax payers of Boston you need to pay more because we have a huge shortfall in our budget,» one observer wrote in a post to X, alluding to property tax hikes approved by the Boston City Council in 2025.
OUTnewcomers did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on how many registrants are expected to join or how many have enrolled so far. The group announced on Thursday that it had temporarily suspended the program due to «security threats.»
Founded by Sal Khan, a queer journalist originally from Pakistan, OUTnewcomers describes itself as a «grassroots and volunteer-run organization based in the Greater Boston Area» focused on «community-led advocacy, resource navigation and collective care.»
Mayor Wu speaks as the Mayor and City leaders hold a press conference on violence and drug use in DTC on February 26. (Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald/Getty Images)
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OUTnewcomers only recently launched its website in April, according to a post to X put up by the organization.
Their website does not list a 990 form, the required disclosure for nonprofits that normally lays out an organization’s structure, leadership and revenue.
immigration, fitness and wellbeing, immigrant rights, boston, massachusetts
INTERNACIONAL
Former Attorney General Pam Bondi hails Trump admin’s ‘justice and transparency’ on Epstein files
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Former Attorney General Pam Bondi, who spoke before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Friday, stood behind the Trump administration’s work releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files, according to a copy of her prepared opening remarks obtained by Fox News Digital.
«Before we start today, I want to reiterate what I have said many times regarding the Department’s handling during my tenure as Attorney General of the voluminous materials that are now commonly known as the Epstein Files,» she told the committee, according to the document.
«I am proud of the Department’s record and commitment to transparency under my leadership. We demonstrated an unprecedented commitment to transparency in the Department’s search for, collection, and review of the Epstein files, producing nearly 3 million pages of material, including thousands of videos and hundreds of thousands of images,» Bondi asserted.
Bondi has since departed from the Capitol following her voluntary transcribed interview with the House Oversight Committee, Fox News has learned. Friday’s interview was transcribed, though not video recorded.
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Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives to testify at a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on May 29, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«These investigations span FOUR administrations, dating back to the Bush administration and have gone on through the Obama administration, the first Trump administration, and the Biden administration. The only time federal prosecutors were permitted to launch investigations against Epstein and Maxwell was when President Trump occupied the White House. Only under President Trump were 3 million Epstein related documents released,» Bondi said, according to her prepared remarks.
The former attorney general further described «an enormously complicated and labor-intensive process.»
«To the best of my knowledge, the Department produced everything required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Our diligent and good faith effort to collect materials ensured that all potentially responsive documents that could be reasonably located would see the light of day,» she noted, according to the copy of her remarks.
«All Department components were directed to submit any potentially responsive records, resulting in a comprehensive review of millions of documents. As the head of a large Department with broad responsibilities, I did not lead every aspect of this effort or conduct that document review myself. I delegated oversight over this process to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche,» Bondi continue.
Blanche was appointed acting attorney general on April 2 after President Donald Trump announced Bondi’s departure. He is not considered Bondi’s permanent replacement as head of the DOJ.
President Donald Trump interacts with then-U.S. General Attorney Pam Bondi as he took to the stage to participate in a roundtable discussion regarding the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF) in combating violent crime at the Memphis International Airport on March 23, 2026 in Memphis, Tenn. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)
Bondi told the committee on Friday that «the team of professionals who reviewed all of the materials that we collected assured me the only materials that were withheld were either non-responsive, privileged, or duplicative.»
«Although not required by the Act, the Department has given Congress access to unredacted, duplicative materials in the Reading Room in an effort at maximum transparency,» Bondi said.
«There were redaction errors,» she continued. «But since day one of this process, this Department has been committed to accountability and transparency. Our stance has always been that the Department stands ready to review any potential evidence of criminal activity related to Epstein and his associates and would pursue appropriate investigative or prosecutorial action wherever the facts and law warrant.»
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«I would like to repeat what I shared before the House Judiciary Committee in February: I have spent my entire career fighting for victims and I will continue to do so. I am deeply sorry for what any victim has been through, especially as a result of that monster. If they have any information to share with law enforcement about anyone who has hurt them or abused them, the FBI is waiting to hear from them,» Bondi’s opening statement said.
Then-U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Feb. 11, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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«The bottom line is: justice and transparency in this matter have been delivered at the direction of President Trump and his administration,» she asserted.
Bondi was diagnosed with thyroid cancer shortly after departing the Department of Justice last month, according to reports this week. Katie Miller, a former White House staffer and podcast host who is married to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, reposted an Axios report on X on Tuesday.
«Pam has been quietly kicking cancer’s ass the last few weeks,» she wrote.
politics, pam bondi, jeffrey epstein, justice department, donald trump
INTERNACIONAL
Mundial de Fútbol 2026: 42 expertos en infectología advierten que la vacunación es la mejor defensa para los hinchas viajeros
El Mundial de Fútbol 2026 arranca el 11 de junio y, por primera vez en la historia, tres países organizan juntos el torneo: Canadá, Estados Unidos y México. Son 48 selecciones, 16 ciudades sede y millones de personas de todo el mundo que se van a mezclar en estadios, aeropuertos y zonas de fanáticos durante más de un mes.
Cuando tantas personas se juntan en un mismo lugar, los riesgos de transmisión de enfermedades infecciosas también suben.
En el último artículo editorial de la revista especializada Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease, 42 expertos en infectología y medicina del viajero de Perú, Colombia, Argentina, México y Brasil, entre otros países, advirtieron sobre los principales riesgos sanitarios del torneo y pusieron en el tope de la lista una enfermedad que muchos creían superada: el sarampión.
En diálogo con Infobae, el médico Alfonso Rodríguez-Morales, vicepresidente de la Alianza Latinoamericana de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (ALEIMC) y coautor del artículo, afirmó que “si bien los riesgos de transmisión de infecciones existen, queremos promover que las personas tomen medidas de prevención antes del viaje. También alentamos que se fortalezca la vigilancia activa entre las fronteras”.
El sarampión es una enfermedad viral que se transmite por el aire y provoca fiebre alta, sarpullido y, en casos graves, complicaciones neurológicas o pulmonares.
América la había eliminado, pero en noviembre de 2025 la Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) confirmó que la región perdió ese logro: el virus volvió a circular de forma sostenida y sin interrupciones. El detonante no fue uno solo.
Durante la pandemia de COVID-19, millones de niños no accedieron a las vacunas por diferentes razones y nunca las recuperaron. A eso se sumó el crecimiento de la desconfianza hacia las vacunas en varios países, lo que dejó a poblaciones enteras en riesgo de exposición al virus.
El resultado es visible en los números: en 2026, los tres países sede del Mundial ya acumulan más de 20.000 casos de sarampión, y 15 de las 16 ciudades donde se juegan partidos tienen brotes activos.
No es casualidad que los expertos lo pongan en el tope de la lista de riesgos. “El sarampión tiene un índice de reproducción alto y por eso la inmunización de la población es clave. Esto significa que cada persona enferma puede contagiar a más de 3 personas si no hay inmunidad previa en la población”, explicó a Infobae el médico infectólogo Cristian Biscayart, coautor y miembro de la Sociedad Argentina de Infectología (SADI).
Por su parte, Carlos Espinal, investigador del Colegio Robert Stempel de Salud Pública y Trabajo Social de la Universidad Internacional de Florida, en Miami, Estados Unidos, señaló a Infobae: «Debemos preocuparnos por el sarampión debido a la epidemia y al número alto de casos en los tres países sedes del Mundial de Fútbol, además de los brotes en Europa y en el resto de países de América Latina».
“Adicionalmente, tenemos un resurgimiento de la tos ferina en el continente y debemos también tener estrategias para identificar rápidamente ante posibles casos de ébola provenientes de África. El 17 de mayo de 2026, la Organización Mundial de la Salud declaró a la epidemia de ébola una emergencia de salud pública de importancia internacional”, afirmó Espinal, quien también fue coautor.
El sarampión no es el único riesgo. Las infecciones respiratorias, como gripe y COVID-19, también se transmiten con facilidad en espacios cerrados y llenos de personas.
La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) ya advirtió sobre una variante del virus de la gripe o influenza A H3N2 que tuvo transmisión sostenida en Norteamérica durante la temporada 2025-2026.
Otra amenaza frecuente y menos mencionada es la diarrea del viajero. Bacterias como la Salmonella o la Escherichia coli pueden ingresar al organismo por el consumo de agua o comida contaminada, y el riesgo sube cuando los servicios de alimentación atienden a miles de personas al mismo tiempo.
Lavarse las manos con frecuencia, tomar agua embotellada y evitar alimentos crudos o mal cocidos son las medidas más simples y más efectivas.
En México se agrega otro factor: la presencia de mosquitos, según los expertos. El dengue, el Zika y el chikungunya, que son enfermedades que provocan fiebre, dolores articulares intensos y, en algunos casos, complicaciones graves, siguen en expansión en América.
El repelente adecuado según la edad, la ropa que cubre el cuerpo y los alojamientos con mosquiteros o aire acondicionado son la mejor barrera, de acuerdo con los expertos.
Tras hacer un análisis de la situación de riesgos, los expertos afirmaron en el artículo editorial: “Fortalecer la cobertura de vacunación, mejorar la vigilancia, promover la educación preventiva y fomentar la colaboración internacional serán fundamentales para minimizar el riesgo de enfermedades infecciosas durante este evento deportivo sin precedentes”.
Se debería consultar al médico entre 4 y 8 semanas antes del viaje para revisar el esquema de vacunación, no el día antes de tomar el avión.
Las vacunas prioritarias son la triple viral (que da protección contra sarampión, paperas y rubéola), la de la gripe, la del COVID-19, y las de hepatitis A y B.
“Todos las personas que viajen deben constatar que tienen dos dosis de vacuna doble o triple viral”, enfatizó en diálogo con Infobae la médica Susana Lloveras, coautora y ex-presidente de la Sociedad Latinoamericana de Medicina del Viajero (SLAMVI).
Varias de estas enfermedades tienen períodos de incubación (el tiempo que pasa entre el momento del contagio y la aparición de los síntomas) más largos que un vuelo de regreso a casa. Por eso, una persona podría contagiarse un patógeno en el estadio, cruzar la frontera sin ningún síntoma y enfermarse recién días después, ya en su país.
fútbol,Mundial,Copa Mundial,FIFA,trofeo,celebración,victoria,deporte,oro
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Pakistan: America’s most complicated ally — and why Trump is betting on it again
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