WORCESTER, Mass. —
Officials said that two people including a girl were bitten Thursday by a Fox in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Around 8:45 am, a woman was playing with grandchildren behind Granite Street when she said a gray-colored fox attacked her.
Zena Bottom, a reporter for NewsCenter 5, said: “I saw something out of the corners of my eyes and didn’t want to run, so I kicked. It grabbed my toe and I wrestled with it a bit to get it to move. I then yanked the thing by its neck and threw across the yard.”
The foot injury was treated at a hospital in the area. She is expected to recover.
The fox has been euthanized and will be tested for rabies by state officials.
The fox was not the first to attack Worcester.
Video below: Victims describe attacks
Authorities reported that on Wednesday evening, a Janessa Paman-Williams (6 years old) was also bitten in the arm, leg and finger on Granite Street.
She said NewsCenter 5, she almost got dragged by a fox.
Pagan-Williams reported that “it growled and charged at my leg, which caused me to fall off.” It was first biting at my leg, but then moved on to my arm. It bit so hard that the tissue came out after it got on my arm. “It went deeply, deeply, deeply into the tissue.”
The fox was kicked away by Pagan-Williams’s brother when he saw the disturbance.
She said, “As it began to bite my arm it tried to drag me.” I was really scared.
Uncertain if the fox who bit Bottom Thursday was still around.
At the hospital, both Pagan-Williams (Pagan) and Bottom (Bottom) received rabies vaccinations.

My goal is to continue walking fast into my 80s. Now I know that maintaining this habit can help me maintain my mental health.
Scientists have been studying “SuperAgers” – older adults with exceptionally sharp memories. Scientists are now looking at a new group of people: the “super-movers”, or 80+ year olds that walk faster than others.
A new study in Neurology published on the 14th of July found that faster-than-normal walkers are less likely to suffer from cognitive impairment.
Can we all learn to walk faster as we age and maintain brain health?
Leana WEN, CNN’s wellness expert, spoke to me about the latest research on physical and mental health and how people can improve their own. She was previously Baltimore’s Health Commissioner and is a clinical associate professor of George Washington University.
CNN: What are super movers and what has this study found about their cognition?
Leana WEN: Researchers defined super-movers as 80+ year olds whose walking speeds were at least 1.5 standard errors above average, based on their age and gender. In practical terms this means that they walk unusually quickly for their age.
Researchers drew from several older adult studies. Nearly 4,000 older adults aged 80 or over were included in the largest analysis. They had been followed between three to five years. Researchers found that after excluding people with cognitive impairments, super-movers were at half as likely to develop cognitive impairment as those not in super-moves.
Researchers also examined a group of 200 individuals who underwent more in-depth cognitive tests and brain imaging scans, namely MRI scans. Memory and cognitive ability declines were slower in super movers. The MRI scans of super movers also revealed better volume preservation in certain parts of the mind, such as areas that are essential to learning and memory. In a study of 690 super-movers, the researchers found that they had better cognitive abilities and a lower incidence of Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.
CNN: How can the speed at which you walk have any relation to how your brain functions?
Wen: Although walking seems easy because we do it unconsciously, it’s actually a very complex task. The brain controls muscles and nerves, while processing data about our balance, vision, and environment.
Imagine yourself walking on a busy road. While maintaining balance, you may also be looking to the right and left at people, traffic and other obstacles, and making decisions about where and how quickly you want to go. Multiple parts of your brain must work in harmony to accomplish these tasks.
CNN: Could fast walking be an indication of a brain or body that is already healthy?
It is important to note that. This study only shows an association, not a causal relationship. The super movers may differ in several ways from the rest of us. For example, they may have been physically more active all their lives. The study did not determine when people started to walk faster.
Super movers are likely to be more physically active than the average adult. Also, they may be less likely to have chronic illnesses, a healthier diet, genetic advantage, higher incomes, or stronger social supports. These factors may all contribute to their mobility as well as better cognition.
Also, it’s possible that those whose brains age well are better able to maintain a higher walking speed. This research does not prove that faster walking will help prevent cognitive decline. However, it suggests that maintaining good physical health into your 80s could be an indicator of a healthy brain.
CNN: Is it possible for someone in their 70s to walk faster?
This study does not address the question. However, previous studies have shown that physical fitness can be improved well into old age. In a March Geriatrics study, it was found that 45% of older people improved their cognitive or physical function after an average of 12 years of follow-up.
Sedentary people can begin with short walks in a comfortable environment around their block, and then gradually increase the length and frequency of those walks. If you already walk regularly, try increasing the distance or speed.
Someone who can walk comfortably for 30 minutes might be able to increase their pace by a few minutes before slowing it down. They could gradually increase the intervals. You can also make your walking harder by adding hills.
Consult your healthcare provider if you haven’t exercised in a while, have medical problems or limitations and are not sure what type and level of exercise to do. The most benefit is gained when you increase your exercise from little or no to a lot. Each little improvement is helpful.
CNN: What should someone do if they notice that their speed of walking has decreased? Should they discuss this with their physician?
Wen: While a gradual slowing in walking can be attributed to normal aging and other factors, if the change occurs quickly, or is associated with additional symptoms, it is important to pay attention.
Many possible causes can be attributed to this. Walking can be made more difficult by joint arthritis or back pain. Gait can be affected by a variety of factors, including loss in muscle strength, side effects from medications, neurological disorders, changes to vision, or disturbances in balance. If you have experienced an unexplained or substantial decline in your mobility, it is important to discuss this with your healthcare provider.
CNN: What other activities, besides walking, are important to staying fit as we age?
Walking is a great form of exercise. But there are many others. Cycling, both indoor and outdoor, swimming or any other activity that increases heart rate can be considered aerobic exercise. Pickleball, golf, tennis and other activities that combine socialization with physical activity are popular among people who enjoy both.
Strength training is also important, as numerous studies have shown. As people age, maintaining muscle mass and strength is more important because it allows them to remain independent and mobile. Balance-enhancing activities can reduce your risk of falling.
There are also other practices that can improve your cognitive and general health. The health of your blood vessels and brain are closely linked. This is why it is so important to control high blood pressure, diabetes and cholesterol. Stop smoking and eat foods that are low in processed food, such as vegetables, fruit, grains, beans, nuts, seeds, etc. Also, get enough sleep. Staying socially and intellectually engaged through hobbies, new learning, maintaining friendships with friends and family, and participating in activities that keep you mentally and physically active are also ways to maintain your body.

Bernie Marcus dreamed to become a physician before he cofounded Home Depot. The home improvement retailer is now worth $343 billion.
Marcus died at the age of 95 in November 2024. His family could not afford for him to attend medical school. According to Home Depot’s memoir, Marcus would skip class to go door to door selling Amana refrigerators. He still earned his Rutgers University degree.
He worked through the ranks of manufacturing companies after college and experienced a pivotal moment when, in 1978, he lost his job at a home improvement shop called Handy Dan. He decided to reinvent his career and founded Home Depot. When he passed away, a value of $11 billion was estimated.
Marcus’ legacy continues to live on and now his foundation pays homage to his first passion: medicine.
Bernie Marcus and Billi Marcus, who founded the Marcus Foundation in 1989, have donated 28.7 millions dollars to Dr. Chuck Murry of University of Southern California Stem Cell Center to help advance clinical trials of stem-cell therapies for regenerating damaged tissue following a heartattack.
Jonathan Simons said that “Murry’s team has advanced gene-edited cell therapy to a point where it is time to embrace cells as living medicines in this new treatment.”
The Marcus Foundation’s gift to USC is its largest to date and it ranks among the biggest gifts to academic medicine. The Marcus Foundation has donated $24.9 million in 2024 for research on stroke at Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System’s Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center. In 2019, it gave $20,000,000 to Jefferson’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College’s Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences.
Marcus Foundation’s commitment to medical research
The Marcus Foundation has a long history of giving. The Marcus Foundation was founded in 1989 by Bernie and Billi. Since then, the organization has given out more than $2.7 Billion through over 3,500 grants. These have covered medical research, Jewish causes and veterans’ welfare, as well as free enterprise and other charitable endeavors.
The main focus was medicine. It calls itself the U.S.’s leader in philanthropic biomedical research. The focus is on five key areas, including stem cell and regenerative research, early cancer diagnosis and treatment; autism treatment and diagnosis; integrative medicine and cardiovascular diseases, such as stroke.
Emory’s Egleston Children’s Research received the foundation’s initial grant of approximately $110,000. Marcus provided the initial funding for Autism Speaks to be launched in 2005. He also built three centers: the Marcus Stroke and Neuroscience Center, at Grady; the Marcus Autism Center, at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; and the Marcus Institute for Brain Health, at University of Colorado Anschutz.
He has been giving with purpose.
Marcus, speaking to Philanthropy Roundtable, in 2012, said that he had narrowed the scope of his search to only those causes whose cause he was truly passionate about. He described this as a move away from a “buckshot” approach.
Mike Leven said, “People might not realize how difficult it is,” a Marcus Foundation trustee. People are always coming to you, with great causes. You’ll overgive if you don’t discipline yourself. Bernie is better than anyone I know at this.”

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She was angry and upset, and her son has considered suing.
A person’s food allergy should not be ignored. It could cause a disaster.
This mother’s lesson was hard-learned when she made dinner for the girlfriend of her son.
The first meeting was supposed to be a pleasant evening, but ended up in the hospital.
Son was upset by his mother’s behavior
Food intolerance is different from food allergies. The difference can be life-threatening.
It is possible that Brit was mistakenly misunderstood as having a severe food intolerance. This is a very different condition from an allergy.
According to the academy, food intolerance occurs when your body cannot properly break down foods. It could be caused by a number of factors, including an enzyme deficiency or sensitivity to chemicals and food additives.
Clarifies that intolerant people are still allowed to eat small quantities of foods they dislike without having any problems.
A reaction is an allergic one when your immune system reacts excessively and misidentifies the allergen. The immune system then produces antibodies which cause an allergic reaction.
Because the gut produces a lot of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and anxiety, disruptions to gut health can contribute to some mental symptoms.
Author told mom of Brit’s allergy, but she ignored it. It was right for him to be upset, because it placed his girlfriend in danger. At the very least, he and his girlfriend should receive a genuine apology.
The author’s mother was the target of a lot of harsh comments from readers
Author provided an updated to his story
He said that the problem was finally resolved.
The majority of readers were pleased with the outcome.

The wildest HIPAA compliant patient stories from 23 healthcare workers. I was not prepared for a single one.
The Plan B treatment only helped one of the twins. The twins were both alive …”
No amount of training will prepare healthcare workers for the chaos that some patients can bring to the office. You already knew that healthcare workers did not disappoint when @peyt_wheels, TikToker, asked them to share the wildest, “HIPAA compliant” stories and pictures of patients. These are some of the most hilarious, shocking and unbelievable answers:
1. I had a seven-year-old boy come into my office with a blade lodged in his cheek. “He was talking with us as if nothing were wrong.”
2. “I saw a patient of 90 years old with a tattoo that read ‘Bobby’ and had a slash through it. Also crossed out was “Keith” below. Mark was also crossed out. At the bottom was her name, Allen.
–sharpshootress89
3. “One of the residents I liked best was a 75-year old man who had an ostomy. He waited for her to take care of him before ripping off his ostomy bag and throwing his “shit bomb” at her. She was covered. They transferred me from another hall to his room so I could clean him and change the bag. “She’d better not be mean anymore,’ he said as he looked me in the eye.
4. “I saw a 89-year old patient who had a vertical clitoral-hood piercing …”
–kaitlinrnguyen
5. I pulled off the sock of a man and it came off his toes. He replied, “Well, it seems I don’t really need to have my toenails trimmed after all.”
6. I had a woman come to me while in labour. She said she was not pregnant, because she took Plan B. Plan B only worked for one twin. “The other twin lived.”
–alemonstaaa
7. A patient’s snow globe was exactly where they thought it would be. They had it for over two months and only brought it in when the snow globe cracked. “You could see everything, including the snowman.”
8. She knew that the door would open if she activated the fire alarm in her facility. This is how she’d escape.
–mikayla.c.smith
9. I recently saw a woman for her 10th C section. “Her 10TH.”
10. I work in gynecology, and asked one patient about their sexual preferences. “Um, I have dreads,” they said.
–chrissyconrad4
11. I had a 41/26 blood pressure and 29 mean arterial pressure patient come in. “They walked in.”
12. I am an OB/GYN Ultrasound Tech. When I was scanning the mom, who was about 38 weeks along with the newborn baby in the hall, a woman walked by. The infant started to cry. I looked up at the baby’s father and he said: “Oh, my god, is that you?!?” “He thought that he heard the mother’s baby cry from within her womb.”
–emilyburleson96
13. Here’s an intriguing way to determine if you are allergic to corn.
14. I once saw a patient who listed their hobby as “drinking beer” and “talking sh*t.”
–ohnoalssndra
15. I work as an OB-GYN and had a female patient that somehow pushed her NuvaRing in her urethra. The NuvaRing traveled to her bladder, causing an infection.
16. Years ago, I treated a patient that was over seven feet tall. The patient was usually very quiet and nice, but one time he “broke out” because the security guards were too scared to stop him. The next day, he came back, looked me in the eye, and told me that the police could easily find his father-in law chained at the bottom of the lake. He walked off and went to sleep.”
–reginas.george5
17. I had a patient who was diabetic and had severe neuropathy on both feet, come to me because while sleeping her puppy chewed one of her left-footed toes. She returned a week later because her puppy chewed off a toe on her right foot.
18. I work in dental practice. A patient who had an extraction a few months ago was complaining of pain in the gum area. The wisdom tooth had grown in because of the removal. “Well, I’m not sure if you believe it, but at 80 or so, your teeth are growing!” said the dentist.
–craftyswiftie
19. I’m a addiction therapist. When I was reviewing the drug history of a client, he said that he’d tried it all. He replied, “Well, I tried everything.” “I even tried to inject my mother’s mascara one time, just to see if it would make me high.
20. I had her name on a list of emergency contacts, but there was no phone number. “I asked her what we should do to reach him and she said, “Pray.”
–zxrnzax
21. I had a patient who was 104 years old beat COVID by 2020. Our local news asked her how she felt after surviving. “I don’t like it but I have to deal with it.” She said.
22. “I tried to calm down a patient in psychiatry who was acting up. He actually listened. He explained to me that he stopped only because he was concerned about me. “He could see that I had a difficult day and did not want to add more stress.”
–chaneldavis2015
23. Last but not least, I would like to present you with “a baby’s hand X-ray”.
What’s your wildest HIPAA-compliant patient story? Can you relate to these stories? Please let us know what you think in the comments below (and don’t hesitate to include a picture if possible) or by using the anonymous form. You may see your response in a future BuzzFeed Community article!
Please note that all submissions were edited to length or clarity.