Pendleton police chief praises proactive planning of BLM organizers – East Oregonian

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PENDLETON Pendleton Police Chief Stuart Roberts praised the proactive safety planning of organizers with the Black Lives Matter protest on Saturday, Aug. 29, as a key in keeping the event peaceful.

And aside from a few minor incidents between some protesters and counterprotesters, the planning paid off.

I think what really gave us an opportunity to prepare to the best of our ability was the willingness on the part of the BLM organizers to communicate, Roberts said on Aug. 31.

Roberts said he held five meetings with the protests organizers Briana Spencer, Nolan Bylenga and John Landreth in the days leading up to the event, and said they were communicative, engaged, and flexible in their planning.

Roberts said he also made contact with those associated with the counterprotest, which he noted as being more loosely organized.

In addition to 11 Pendleton police officers stationed at the event, Roberts said there were also two deputies from the Umatilla County Sheriffs Office, two officers from the Umatilla Tribal Police Department and 10 troopers from Oregon State Police providing assistance on Aug. 29.

While police had a number of operational and contingency plans in place ahead of time, according to Roberts, there was still the need to be fluid and reactive to unexpected events.

Probably the most significant thing that occurred that wasnt anticipated was when some of the Three Percenters decided to rush the back of the march and created a lot of conflict, he said.

As the protests planned speeches ended at Roy Raley Park on Southwest Court Avenue, those with the Black Lives Matter group took to the streets of Pendleton, while law enforcement officers helped block and secure the route from other traffic as planned.

However, some counterprotesters carrying flags and firearms, who were standing on the south side of Court Avenue quickly crossed the street and attempted to follow the march. That resulted in verbal jawing and minor pushing and shoving between some protesters and counterprotesters while Pendleton police, including Roberts himself, tried to keep the groups separated.

At one point, Roberts said a firearm from one of the counterprotesters fell to the ground, exemplifying the heightened safety risks brought on by those who introduced firearms to the event.

I get the whole Second Amendment piece of this, but why carry the firearm? Roberts said.

Though the counterprotest claimed to be there to voice support for police, Roberts said the actions and intentions of some in attendance were merely antagonistic.

When I challenged them verbally they wanted to debate with me their rights and said they were here to support the police, Roberts said of the counterprotesters who tried to trail the march. My position is youre not supporting me by creating more work for me or making my job more difficult.

As the march returned to Roy Raley Park and participants on both sides began dispersing shortly after 6 p.m., a small group of Black Lives Matter protesters remained on the north side of Court and traded obscenities, insults and offensive gestures with a group of counterprotesters who remained on the south side until groups left sometime after 10 p.m.

The fact that we have to stand there for multiple hours and endure that Im less than impressed, Roberts said. Its not representative of this community and, quite frankly, its offensive to a lot of people.

Along with trying to keep each group to their respective side of the street, Roberts said nearly every officer at the protest was on overtime pay.

Make no mistake, it was an expensive day for the city and state, Roberts said.

Roberts also provided a written statement to organizers that was read at the start of the event and supported protesters voicing their pain over the killings of George Floyd and other people of color, which he condemned as inexcusable, while urging protesters to hold officials accountable and seek change peacefully.

Rest assured, I applaud your unwillingness to accept the status quo, but I also challenge you to do everything within your power to affect the change you seek through peaceful dialogue and debate, not just presenting problems with no thoughtful solutions, Bylenga read from Roberts statement.

Roberts stressed his statements werent political or personal but were completely his own words and thoughts on the current protest movement.

I cant think of a more contemporary issue that requires leaders to lead than this activity thats going on currently across this nation involving civil unrest, Roberts said.

After the event, Bylenga, a local organizer and Democratic candidate for House District 58, praised the efforts of police to maintain safety between the groups.

Chief Roberts has done everything in his power to let everyone here exercise their rights, Bylenga said.

A Facebook message from one person associated with organizing the counterprotest indicated they couldnt be reached for comment by deadline on Aug. 29. A message from the East Oregonian to the person listed as the host of the protests Facebook event went unanswered.

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Pendleton police chief praises proactive planning of BLM organizers - East Oregonian

Parting Shot: The U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Give Us Our Freedom – America’s 1st Freedom

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by Charles C.W. Cooke - Saturday, August 29, 2020

Defenders of the right to keep and bear arms might be forgiven for wondering whether the U.S. Supreme Courts copy of the United States Constitution is missing a few pages.

It has been twelve years since the Court affirmed in D.C. v. Heller that the right of the people to keep and bear arms actually means the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and ten years since the court affirmed in McDonald v. Chicago that the Second Amendment applies to the states as well as to the federal governmentand yet, as valuable as those decisions are, the last decade has made it clear that the U.S. Supreme Court is not especially interested in ensuring that they are enforced. In June, the justices continued this unfortunate trend by denying certiorari on no fewer than ten Second Amendment cases. For now, then, the right will remain a mere abstraction to the nations network of courts.

This matters, as it is difficult to think of another right that has been so willfully ignored and abused by our lower-court judges. In case after case, panels at the state and circuit levels have elected either to pretend that Heller and McDonald never happened at all, or, alternatively, to parse their language so carefully as to render those cases meaningless. Despite this insubordinationand it is just that: insubordinationthe Court has done nothing.

This abdication of responsibility has not sat well with all of the justices. Teaming up first with Justices Scalia and Alito, and then with Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh, Justice Clarence Thomas has taken to dissenting when the Court declines to take an important gun case. The Second Amendment, Thomas has complained, is a disfavored right in this Court, and its steadfast refusal to consider gun-related appeals stands in marked contrast to the Courts willingness to summarily reverse courts that disregard our other constitutional decisions. Ultimately, Thomas has concluded, the Courts unwillingness to step in has had the effect of relegating the Second Amendment to a second-class right.

In and of itself, the Courts refusal to do its job is a big problem: A right delayed, we are told, is a right denied. But, as time rolls on, it is hard not to agree with Justice Thomas when he suggests that the continued refusal to hear Second Amendment cases only enables this kind of defiance. In law, as elsewhere, human beings respond to incentives, and at present, the incentives all line up in the wrong direction. Why did the Fourth and Seventh Circuits ignore the plain language of Heller in upholding bans on the most commonly owned rifles in America? Why has the Ninth Circuit allowed California to turn the right to carry into a privilege for the well-connected? Why do New Jerseys flagrantly illegal gun laws still exist? Because the judges who heard those cases knew that the chance of their work being reviewed and overturned by the Supreme Court was vanishingly small, and they acted accordingly.

For those of us who believe that the U.S. Constitution should be read and upheld as it is written, it has proven extremely frustrating that the U.S. Supreme Court seems willing to involve itself in all sorts of areas that are not mentioned anywhere in the document, but seems unwilling to protect a right that is explicitly mentioned in the text. That most of Americas progress in restoring the Second Amendment has come from the people themselves is a blessing indeed; the story of the last three decades has been the story of legislatures, at the behest of voters, changing their laws to minimize restrictions on law-abiding gun owners. But we have a Constitution so that the people who are left behind have somewhere to appeal. For now, at least, the Court seems to have shut its doors on them.

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Republican National Convention 2020: Fact-checking the second night – Detroit Free Press

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First lady Melania Trump closes the second night of the Republican National Convention with an address on opportunity in America, but also division. Associated Press

The second night of the Republican National Convention painted a picture of a compassionate White House in action. But it also showed the blurring of long-standing traditions, and maybe laws, about not mixing politics and government.

President Donald Trump pardoned a man who robbed a Nevada bank and now runs a nonprofit. Trump conducted a small naturalization ceremony inside the White House. Mike Pompeo broke from previous secretaries of state by not only giving a convention address, but doing so from Jerusalem.

First lady Melania Trump wrapped up the night with a speech from the renovated Rose Garden, telling a largely unmasked audience seated on the lawn that her husbands administration has been relentless in its effort to find a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19.

"Donald will not rest until he has done all he can to take care of everyone impacted by this terrible pandemic," she said.

Before ending her address, she alluded to her husbands brash reputation. "Total honesty is what we as citizens deserve from our president," she said. "Whether you like it or not, you always know what he's thinking."

Her speech didnt leave much work for fact-checkers, but other remarks from the presidents adult children, a former impeachment lawyer and his economic adviser did.

Experts also hadplenty to sayabout top administration officials possibly violating the Hatch Act, a 1939 law that limits government officials from mixing political activities with their official duties.

Heres what we fact-checked from the RNCs second night.

Eric Trump, son of U.S. President Donald Trump, pre-records his address to the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium on August 25, 2020 in Washington, DC. 603791(Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images)

"Biden has pledged to defund the police and take away your cherished Second Amendment."

Both claims areFalse.

Biden has directlysaidhe does not support defunding the police. He said that abuse of power in police departments must stop and reforms are needed. But hes said police departments should be given the money they need to institute changes. Biden proposed an additional $300 million for community policing.

Bidensplan to end gun violencecalls for banning the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines and for the regulation of existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act. His plan also calls for a buy back of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. But it does not say the Second Amendment should be revoked. "Its within our grasp to end our gun violence epidemic and respect the Second Amendment, which is limited," his plan says.

In a heated exchange with an auto worker in Detroit in March, Bidenrejectedthe idea that he supported taking guns away from people.

"Biden has pledged to stop border wall construction and give amnesty and health care to all illegal immigrants."

Some elements of this claim are true but need clarification.

Biden hassaid"there will not be another foot of wall constructed" if he is elected president. "I'm going to make sure that we have border protection, but it's going to be based on making sure that we use high-tech capacity to deal with it and at the ports of entry," Biden said during aninterviewaired Aug. 6.

Bidensayshe supports a path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living illegally in the country; they would have to have paid taxes and pass a background check. Some argue any path is a form of amnesty. Thecommon reference for amnestyin modern U.S. politics is the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, signed by President Ronald Reagan. The law paved the way for immigrants who were in the country illegally to become lawful permanent residents if they met certain requirements, including being in the country by Jan. 1, 1982.

Biden hassaidthat people should have access to health care, regardless of immigration status; he has not said it should be free. A task force comprised of appointees of Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.recommendedthat Biden extend Affordable Care Act coverage to immigrants illegally in the country who are protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. It recommended allowing additional immigrants illegally in the country to also buy health insurance, without financial assistance from the government.

"My father on the other hand, delivered the largest tax cuts in American history."

False.Several billssince 1980 were larger than the2017 tax bill, measured not only by contemporary dollars but also by inflation-adjusted dollars and as a percentage of gross domestic product, which is a measure of the size of the overall economy. In inflation-adjusted dollars, the recent tax bill is the fourth-largest since 1940. And as a percentage of GDP, it ranks seventh.Weve summarized the tax laws here.

"A corrupt Ukrainian oligarch put Hunter on the board of his gas company, even though he had no experience in Ukraine or in the energy sector. None. Yet he was paid millions to do nothing."

Bondi has a point that Hunter hadno experience in Ukraine or the energy sector.

Despite the lack of expertise, he joined the board of Burisma beginning in 2014 when his father as vice president was publicly representing U.S. policy on the country, which had become the center of a tug-of-war between Russia and the West.

Most of thecriticismwevefoundfocused on the conflict of interest Hunter Biden created by accepting the position. We foundno evidenceto suggest Joe Biden did anything wrong or inappropriate in his official capacity as vice president.

Hunter Bidens work attracted attention at the time. Theoligarch behind the firm, Mykola Zlochevsky, faced investigations for money laundering and tax evasion. (Zlochevsky and the company have denied the allegations.)

Staff at the State Department said they expressed concerns in 2015 when Hunter Biden started serving on the board of Burisma.

The details of what Hunter did have been mysterious.Reuters, using unnamed sources, reported that Hunter weighed in during scheduled meetings but did little of substance. The report suggests he was compensated for contributing his high-profile name.

Exactly how much Hunter Biden was paid remains unclear. As a director, Biden made up to $50,000 per month some months,according tothe New York Times. He left Burisma in spring 2019, around the time that the elder Biden announced his 2020 presidential run.

In 2019, the Democratic-led U.S. House of Representatives launched animpeachment inquiryinto Trump for withholding aid to Ukraine while asking the government there to look into the Bidens activities.

Wefound no evidencethat Hunter Biden himself was investigated by Ukrainian or American authorities for his role as a board member of Burisma.

Read more of our fact-checking of Bondi's case against the Bidensin this story.

Tiffany Trump speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020.(Photo: Republican National Convention)

"And if you believe in expanding quality and affordable healthcare, only President Trump, my father, signed Right to Try into law, the favored nations clause, and other actions to lower drug prices and keep Americans from getting ripped off."

This is somewhat misleading. TheRight to Try lawthat Trump signed in 2018 law allows individuals who have life threatening conditions, have tried all approved treatment options and cannot participate in clinical trials to access unapproved treatments. It did not, however, lower drug prices.

Trump also signed anexecutive orderon July 24, that both hehas referenced as the "favored nations clause." But it has not been put into action. Nor has the text of this executive order been made public, so the details of how it would be executed are unclear. The idea of the "favored nations" proposal is that the U.S. would pay similar prices as European countries do for some Medicare Part B physician-administered drugs. This proposal has been strongly opposed by drugmakers andexperts told usthey were skeptical that it would actually be implemented.

While Trump has long talked about lowering drug prices as one of his top health care goals, he has made little progress in doing so, outside of issuing several executive orders that have yet to be enacted.

Says Joe Biden "voted for the Iraq War He supported war in Serbia, Syria, Libya."

This isMostly True.

Biden as a senator voted for resolutions that supported interventions in Iraq and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro).

As vice president, Biden publicly followed the policies of the Obama administration, which included interventions in Syria and Libya. Bidens campaign pointed to 2016 reporting that said Biden within the White House argued against intervention in Libya.

President Donald Trump inherited "a stagnant economy" and then "rebuilt" it.

The idea that Trump inherited a weak economy from President Barack Obama and turned it into a strong one isFalse and that was before COVID-19 through the country back into a recession. In the big picture, Obama inherited the most severe recession in decades. Trump inherited a slow but steady recovery several years in the making.

For instance, for unemployment rates and median weeks of unemployment, the declines under Obama were at least as fast if not faster than they were under Trump, pre-coronavirus. That holds for several racial and ethnic groups as well as women. The pattern of monthly job gains was also similar under both Obama and Trump.

Inflation-adjusted wages fell for much of Obamas first term, but they began rising again during his second term. Their path under Trump has been rising on much the same trajectory.

The poverty rate and food stamp use declined under Trump, but those declines began during Obamas final years in office. The big declines in foreclosures, bankruptcies and bank failures occurred under Obama, with marginal advances under Trump. Even the stock market, which Trump often notes has risen to record highs on his watch, rose at roughly similar rates under both presidents.

Its important to remember that no president has total control over the factors affecting the economy.

The pandemic "was awful. Health and economic impacts were tragic. Hardship and heartbreak were everywhere. But presidential leadership came swiftly and effectively, with an extraordinary rescue for health and safety to successfully fight the coronavirus."

To hear chief White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow say it, the pandemic is in the rearview mirror. There are states, such as Texas and Florida, where a deadly surge has eased. Nationally, however, the death toll continues to climb.

Data from theCovid Tracking Projectshow deaths topping 170,000. And the recent rise in deaths is only slightly less compared with the early months of the pandemic.

TheInstitute for Health Metrics and Evaluationat the University of Washington estimates that the number of deaths will exceed 300,000 by Dec. 1. That would be nearly double the deaths seen so far.

Kudlow offered an optimistic picture of the economic recovery and the growth to come, telling Americans to expect 20% growth in a "V-shaped recovery" in the second half of the year.

But much hinges on the course of the virus. Current trends show an ongoing threat to the prosperity Kudlow described.

"Margaret Sanger was a racist who believed in eugenics. Her goal when founding Planned Parenthood was to eradicate minorities."

This statementis misleading.Sanger has been routinely criticized for supporting eugenics the belief of improving the population by controlled breeding for desirable characteristics. But historians and scholars who have studied Sangers life say her opinions concerned public health, and were not specific to race.

The basic concept that humanity could be improved by selective breeding was firmly held belief for many in the years before World War II. Winston Churchill, Herbert Hoover, Theodore Roosevelt, George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells all supported the eugenics movement. The philosophy fell out of favor afterNazis adopted eugenicsto support exterminating non-Aryan races.

Still, Planned Parenthoodrecently announcedthat it would remove Sangers name from its Manhattan Health Center over her eugenics beliefs, and there issome disagreementabout her views and whether they should be reevaluated amid protests against systemic racism and a pandemic that has disproportionately affected minorities.

Sanger was a birth control activist, which means that she wanted women to be able to avoid unwanted pregnancies. The historical record shows she worked for women of all classes and races to have that choice.

Those who call Sanger a racist often cite her work on what was called the Negro Project, an effort that started in 1939 that brought birth control services (but not abortion) to Black communities in the south. Black leaders such as W.E.B. DuBois and Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of the National Council of Negro Women, were members of its advisory council.

Louis Jacobson, Amy Sherman, Samantha Putterman, Jon Greenberg, Miriam Valverde and Kaiser Health News reporter Victoria Knight contributed to this report. Photos by the Associated Press.

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Republican National Convention 2020: Fact-checking the second night - Detroit Free Press

C.H. Robinson heralds integration of 19 TMS and ERP providers into its Navisphere offering – Logistics Management

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Earlier this week, Minneapolis, Minn.-based global logistics services provider and freight forwarder C.H. Robinson said it is taking steps to integrate 19 transportation management systems (TMS) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems into its flagship technology offering, Navisphere.

Navisphere is the companys single global technology platform, which provides end-to-end visibility, consistent business processes, and strategy-driven business intelligence on a global basis and is used by CHRW employees, customers, and service providers to manage transportation and sourcing activities globally.

Company officials explained that this integration provides real-time pricing and capacity assurance access, coupled with nearly eliminating the required time to get market quotes and also book loads, which it termed a virtually instantaneous process, that saves shippers one hour for every shipment, on average. Whats more, they added that the automation provided through these processes gives shippers increased flexibility and efficiencies, which comes at an opportune time, due to changing consumer buying habits and supply chain disruptions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This was made clear with C.H. Robinson noting that its digital transactions are up 55% annually.

The 19 TMS and ERP providers that are integrating into Navisphere include a host of well-known industry players, including Blue Yonder, Oracle Transportation Management, Oracle NetSuite, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, among others.

In an interview, Mike Neill, Chief Technology Officer, C.H. Robinson, said that the company is always working to create innovative solutions that address its customers shipping needs.

Integrating these 19 TMS and ERP systems into Navisphere allows us to further meet them where they are, he said. We have seen shippers turn to automation to streamline their shipping process in response to the pandemic, with our overall digital transactions up 55% compared to a year ago. These integrations answer their need for more shipping automation.

In terms of the shipper benefits this integration providers, Neill observed that the integration of these 19 TMS and ERP systems allows shippers to work within their own native platforms to get real-time rates for multi-modal solutions across both Truckload (TL) and Less Than Truckload (LTL), , which, he said, is something no other company offers.

It nearly eliminates the time required to get market quotes and book loads, making this a virtually instantaneous process, he said. And by accessing the largest capacity network, they are improving their service on their spot market freight with unrivaled capacity assurance.

When asked about next steps as it relates to this Navisphere integration, Neill noted that the current 19 TMS and ERP systems it have integrated are industry leaders who were ready to be integrated into C.H. Robinsons technology.

We will continue to expand this list because we can seamlessly connectTMS and ERP systems our customers may use, he said.

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C.H. Robinson heralds integration of 19 TMS and ERP providers into its Navisphere offering - Logistics Management

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Global Impact of Covid-19 on Prostate Cancer Devices Market to Record Significant Revenue Growth During the Forecast Period 20202025 | Galil Medical,…

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The Prostate Cancer DevicesIndustry study now available at Grand View Report, is a detailed sketch of the business sphere in terms of current and future trends driving the profit matrix. The report also indicates a pointwise outline of market share, market size, industry partakers, and regional landscape along with statistics, diagrams, & charts elucidating various noteworthy parameters of the industry landscape.

The Prostate Cancer Devices Market research report offers an exhaustive analysis of this business space. The key trends that define the Prostate Cancer DevicesIndustry market during the analysis timeframe are mentioned in the report, alongside other factors such as regional scope and regulatory outlook. Also, the document elaborates on the impact of current industry trends on key market driving factors as well as top challenges.

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Top Key Players Profiled in This Report: , Elekta, Varian Medical Systems, Bard Medical, Eckert & Ziegler, Healthtronics, Galil Medical, AccuTarget, SonaCare Medical, EDAP TMS, Accuray, Nuesoft, Intuitive Surgical

The study also provides with a summary of the competitive spectrum as well as an in-depth assessment of the raw materials and downstream buyers.

Under COVID-19 outbreak globally, this report provides 360 degrees of analysis from supply chain, import and export control to regional government policy and future influence on the industry. Detailed analysis about market status (2015-2020), enterprise competition pattern, advantages and disadvantages of enterprise products, industry development trends (2020-2025), regional industrial layout characteristics and macroeconomic policies, industrial policy has also been included. From raw materials to end users of this industry are analyzed scientifically, the trends of product circulation and sales channel will be presented as well. Considering COVID-19, this report provides comprehensive and in-depth analysis on how the epidemic push this industry transformation and reform.

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Elaborating on the competitive landscape of Prostate Cancer DevicesIndustry market:

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Global Impact of Covid-19 on Prostate Cancer Devices Market to Record Significant Revenue Growth During the Forecast Period 20202025 | Galil Medical,...

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Innovative Report on High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Market 2020 Major Players: Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology, Philips Healthcare, Insightec,…

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The 2020-2029 Report on Global High Intensity Focused Ultrasound Market by Player, Region, Type, Application and Sales Channel report gives detailed analysis with reference to changing competitive dynamics and changing factors that drives or restrains market growth. The report is visualized to understand the market dynamics, trends, perspectives and opportunities to identify, where it has a scope to grow in future. In a nutshell, the report breaks down the capability of market in the present and the future prospects from different edges in detail.

Summary:

Both top-down and bottom-up approaches are used to estimate and validate the total size of the High Intensity Focused Ultrasound market. These methods are also used extensively to estimate the size of various sub-segments in the market. Furthermore, primary and secondary research are considered while preparing this report. The study involves the continent-level and their characteristics-wise analysis of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound market. On the other hand, this report analysis also involves historical trends as well as existing market penetrations by country as well as by vehicle type and application.

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Key Companies included in this report:Chongqing Haifu Medical Technology, Philips Healthcare, Insightec, Sonacare Medical, Edap Tms, Shanghai A&S, Changjiangyuan Technology Development, Wikkon, Theraclion, Alpinion Medical Systems, Mianyang Sonic Electronic Ltd.

Market split by Type, can be divided into:

Ultrasound-Guided

Mr-Guided

Market split by Application, can be divided into:

Prostate Disease

Uterine Fibroids

Bone Tumor and Soft Tissue

Other Diseases

Market split by Sales Channel, can be divided into:

Direct Channel

Distribution Channel

Market segment by Region/Country including:

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Russia and Spain etc.)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and Southeast Asia etc.)

South America (Brazil, Argentina and Colombia etc.)

Middle East & Africa (South Africa, UAE and Saudi Arabia etc.)

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‘Scared and confused:’ DHS says teachers shouldn’t wear N95 masks; scientist says that makes ‘no sense’ – fox6now.com

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DHS says teachers shouldnt wear N95 masks; scientist says that makes no sense

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Governor Tony Evers and his top state health advisors have repeated the mantra, Were going to listen to the science. But the administrations current guidance on face masks for teachers has one scientist scratching his head.

WHITEFISH BAY - The Wisconsin Department of Health Services says teachers should not wear N95 respirators to school this fall, but a scientist at Duke University says that advice makes no sense. And at least one local school district will not allow staff members to wear N95 masks brought from home.

Im mad. Im scared, said a woman we will refer to as Angela, a teacher in the Whitefish Bay School District who asked that we not use her real name. Angela said the thought of spending long days in an old school building around a classroom full of students in the midst of a pandemic is worrisome enough.

Can I even work? Can I go back to work? Do I quit my job, she recalled wondering aloud.That was before she saw the districts policy on face masks.

"I think a lot of people are scared and just confused about why, she said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Governor Tony Evers and his top state health advisors have repeated the mantra, Were going to listen to the science. But the administrations current guidance on face masks for teachers has one scientist scratching his head.

Dr. Martin Fischer, Ph.D. developed a simple, low-cost technique to visualize the effect of face masks on droplet emissions during normal wear. Shawn Rocco/Duke Health shawn.rocco@duke.edu office: 919-668-0994 cell: 919-812-8291

It doesnt make any sense to me, said Dr. Eric Westman, one of a team of researchers who devised an experiment to answer an important question facing millions of Americans this year: How good is the mask youre wearing?

The Duke researchers shined a laser beam through a sealed, black box, with an opening on one end for a test operator to speak into -- first, without a mask -- and then, with one. They used a smartphone to record breath particles as they passed through the scattered beam of light, then used computer algorithms to count the particles.

You actually do express particulate matter or droplets when you speak, Dr. Westman said.

Dr. Martin Fischer, Ph.D. developed a simple, low-cost technique to visualize the effect of face masks on droplet emissions during normal wear. Illuminated through a sheet of laser light, droplets from speaking with no mask are seen on the top right

They repeated the experiment with 14 different masks, but one result got the most attention. The mask labeled #11, a single-layer fleece neck gaiter, actually registered more breath particles than wearing no mask at all. The researchers suspect the fleece broke down larger particles into smaller particles, increasing the number, rather than blocking them from spreading.

We didntanticipate that some would be bad, Dr. Westman said.

Dr. Martin Fischer, Ph.D. developed a simple, low-cost technique to visualize the effect of face masks on droplet emissions during normal wear. Seen here are droplets from speaking without a mask which are being illuminated through a sheet of laser l

While the poor performance of the neck gaiter grabbed headlines, Dr. Westman said most of the other masks performed reasonably well. The best was hardly a surprise --the N95 respirator.

"I would want someone to wear the best mask that they have, scientifically speaking, Dr. Westman said.

Like many other school districts around the state, Whitefish Bay settled on a hybrid model of instruction for the fall, with two cohorts of students each attending part-time in person and part-time online. The reduced class size allows them to spread desks apart to maintain a safe social distance. In addition, the district will require both staff and students to wear face coverings. What caught some teachers off guard was the districts decision to ban the use of N95 masks, even on a voluntary basis.

Its one thing to say N95 masks won't be provided, Angela said. "But the next level is when it said theyre prohibited.

It makes no sense to me to tell someone you cant wear one, Dr. Westman said. "Because it is better protection.

When the FOX6 Investigators asked Whitefish Bay schools to explain the N95ban, they did not provide an answer. Instead, the districtsdirector of buildings and groundssent the same memo we had already seen the one that bans the use of N95 masks.

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction offered nothing more, writing that it has no specific guidance on what types of masks should or should not be worn in schools.

The Wisconsin Education Association Council -- the state teachers' union -- had little to say on the matter, insteadwritingthat schoolsshould not be openat all until certain COVID-19 benchmarks are met.

The only guidance we could findon masks for teacherscomes from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.

We would recommend people continue to wear their cloth face coverings, said Traci DeSalvo, director of communicable diseases for DHS. N95 respirators really work best in a health care setting where someone is available to be fit tested and so are not necessarily the best thing to be using in a school setting.

Dr. Westman acknowledges that fit testing assures the best seal and, therefore, the best protection.

But the material still gives very excellent protection if itsmaking a good seal without the fit testing, he said.

The Duke physician says restrictions on the use of N95s should be limited to areas of the country that have an ongoing shortage of personal protective equipment, or PPE.

At Duke, where I work, we have plenty, he said.

In Wisconsin, data tracked by the Wisconsin Hospitals Association finds concerns over a shortage of PPE are at their lowest levels since the pandemic began. Just 5 out of 133 hospitals report having less than a weeks supply on hand. And even those 5 likely have access to more if demand would ramp back up.

I want to protect myself as best as I can so I can protect my loved ones, Angela said.

She has access to her own supply of N95 respirators and wants to be able to wear them as she and her colleagues head back out onto the front lines of the pandemic.

It makes me frustrated that people arent taking the risks that teachers are going to be exposed to seriously, she said.

She hopes speaking out wont be a waste of breath.

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'Scared and confused:' DHS says teachers shouldn't wear N95 masks; scientist says that makes 'no sense' - fox6now.com

The Unmasked Ball: Trump Creates His Own Pandemic-Free Reality – The New York Times

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Donald J. Trump could not truthfully appear at the Republican National Convention as a president who got America safely through the Covid-19 pandemic.

But he could play one on TV.

Thursday night, Mr. Trump slowly walked down the steps of the White House with his wife, Melania, just he as came down the escalator of Trump Tower in 2015 treating it, in much the same way, like his personal property. He walked to a campaign lectern with a presidential seal and looked out on a crowd of faces. Unmasked faces.

Denied a traditional convention in a Charlotte hall, he created his own at home. And denied a reality in which the virus had faded away the way he said it would in its early days, he created that too, by stage-directing it.

Mr. Trumps 70-minute renomination speech dwelled, for a few minutes here and there, on the pandemic and his administrations response. But its setting, like much of his convention, told a simpler story visually: That the coronavirus didnt exist, or at least was no big deal.

The chairs were packed in tightly on the White House lawn. Hundreds of people in the crowd had not been tested for the coronavirus upon attending.

The mostly maskless guests were seated cheek by jowl for hours, like the teeming crowd for the big finale of a pandemic reality show: The Celebrity Appestilence.

In the midst of a plague that has reshaped American life for half a year, the R.N.C. spent as much time effacing its evidence as the Democrats did highlighting it. The imagery of masks, already politicized, maps easily on our partisan differences. The premise, that I wear a mask to protect you and vice versa, meshes badly with the Republican rhetoric of individualism.

The video intro for the final R.N.C. night made that point clear. Over a photo of Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris wearing masks, it warned of Democrats telling you what to wear.

But the imagery has recurred all week. In the White House Rose Garden audience for Melania Trump, hardly a mask could be seen on any attendee. Likewise at the Fort McHenry speech by Vice President Mike Pence, the head of the coronavirus task force, who mingled afterward with attendees face to face, breath to breath.

Thats the advantage of, as Mr. Trump called it Thursday, an invisible enemy. It doesnt show up on camera.

No incumbent wants to run on a crisis, at least one thats not under control. One way of addressing this is to emphasize that you have a plan to get back to better times and point to successes in executing it. The other is to rush through that part, or ignore it altogether.

This is a technique first articulated by the political strategy guide Seinfeld. The R.N.C. decided to yada yada yada the coronavirus. This administration accomplished great things through 2019, yada yada yada, well do great things in 2021.

Just so, Mr. Trump sandwiched the virus discussion among his preferred topics, as if it were a speed bump. The tastier portions of the speech boasting of his wins and savaging his opponents seemed to engage his interest more, and the crowds.

About that crowd. It was, whatever the public health implications, bracing to hear a mass of people chanting Four more years!, or anything, in the cursed year 2020. The invited group had more a garden-party energy than the Lock her up! throng that hailed Mr. Trump in 2016. But the president, denied his rallies since a botched attempt to revive them in June, seemed refreshed by the live cheers.

This was fortunate, because his speech often fell into the flat, book-report cadence Mr. Trump resorts to when reading from the prompter. It was not an intimate, fireside-chat address like Mr. Biden gave last week, nor an incendiary rally-hall rave.

Around an hour into it, Mr. Trump began ad-libbing, splashing little flourishes for zest like ketchup on a steak. He baselessly accused the Obama administration, again, of spying on his 2016 campaign, and taunted his doubters by saying, The fact is, Im here whats the name of that building?, with a turn toward the peoples palace that he was using as his launchpad.

The zinger captured one of the many contradictions in a speech that had a tougher case to make than Mr. Trump made in 2016, when he claimed that he alone could fix the problems of someone elses presidency.

Now, citing unrest in the streets as Americans protested racism and police violence, he wanted to warn of the dangers of a Bidens America that, in fact, were flourishing in his own America. He was an incumbent who wanted to boast of accomplishments, yet run as a challenger.

It was a lot, and by the end, he drooped at the podium, swallowing the same sort of kicker a promise to make America stronger that he delivered throatily four years ago.

But in the end, he could enjoy another perk of his position, a massive fireworks display engulfing the Washington Monument, which for a few minutes became the Trump 2020 monument.

The image contrasted with the modest fireworks, over a parking-lot tailgate, that ended Mr. Bidens convention. That display was a respite, in the middle of what Mr. Biden treated as a long fight against Covid with many losses to mourn. Mr. Trumps, true to brand, was bigger, a celebration, a declaration of victory.

The victory wasnt real, but the image was. If Mr. Trumps promises of a vaccine by years end come true, or dont, it will most likely be after the election. If any attendee comes down sick, it will be after the chairs are put away and the cameras shut down.

Either way, Mr. Trump will have already gotten his crowd, his moment, his image. Seeking a second lease on that White House lawn, he relied on what he has known his whole media-focused career: That on TV, if not in life, dreams can come true.

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The Unmasked Ball: Trump Creates His Own Pandemic-Free Reality - The New York Times

The Bi-Annual IT Ops Ready Virtual Summit – AiThority

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Featured Speakers Include Executive Producer and Host Mike Rowe and Retired Navy SEAL and Podcaster Jocko Willink

BigPanda, Inc., provider of the first Event Correlation and Automation platform powered by AIOps, announced IT Ops Ready, a virtual summit taking place on September 30 and October 1, 2020. Over the course of the two-day summit, IT Ops, DevOps, NOC and SRE speakers will discuss the factors that set them up to successfully manage the past six months, how they are getting ready for critical projects on their 2021 roadmaps, and insights on how their teams are able to stay ready for anything.

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The professionals we serve want ways to come together, especially now, said Cari Jaquet, VP of Marketing, BigPanda. The feedback from our first virtual summit in April was so positive, we are keeping the same format for this and future summits: no vendor endorsements, no sales pitches and no death by PowerPoint. Just conversations with real leaders and practitioners explaining how they stay ready for change, disruption and the unknown.

Who should attend?Heading into a final quarter of the year, and surrounded by uncertainty, the theme for this virtual conference isIT Ops Ready IT Ops, NOC, DevOps and SRE teams need to be ready for anything, and each session will help answer questions these professionals are asking, including:

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When:Wednesday, Sept. 30, and Thursday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.

Each day of the event will include four hours of keynotes and breakout sessions, along with opportunities for attendees to network in the BigPanda Lounge and Resource Library, play trivia and win prizes. The first 250 registrants will get a BigPanda swag pack and lunch passes for both days of the conference. Pleaseclick hereto register now.

Why attend?In addition to speakers from a dozen household brands and industry thought leaders, attendees will enjoy:

In addition, BigPanda and Blackrock3 will announce the winners of the first-ever 2020 Incident Commander award. The awards acknowledge IT heroes who rise above alerts and outages to perform their jobs like true Incident Commanders. This is a community-based award program with nominations and voting for winners completely crowd-sourced.

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The Bi-Annual IT Ops Ready Virtual Summit - AiThority

Get Your Kids Helping In The Kitchen – Southlake Style

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Kids of all ages will love to help in the kitchen!Everything from breakfast to baking possibilities are on the table! See tasks by different ages that kids can easily help with, followed by some simple and nutritious recipes.

Count Ingredients

Wash fruits and vegetables

Add ingredients to a bowl

Put paper liners in muffin tins

Rinse dishes

All of the above plus:

Help gather ingredients

Pour from measuring cups

Mix ingredients in a bowl

Mixand knead yeast dough

Rollbread or pie dough

Usecookie or biscuit cutters

Spreadbutter on bread

Whiskbatter

Mashbananas

All of the above plus:

Measureand pourdry ingredients

Crackand whiskeggs

Usespecialized hand tools such as a can opener, juicer or garlic press

Gratecheese

Peelfruits or vegetables

Usea paring or other small knives

Mixcookie dough or brownie batter

Frostcupcakes and icing cookies

Createtheir own recipe books

All of the above plus:

Use specialty appliances such as panini press, waffle maker, pasta maker and griddle

Use a food processor, blender and stand mixer

Putfoods in the oven and removethem

Workwith timers and thermometers

Bakequick breads and muffins

Adjust recipes using multiplication and division

If you are stuck inside on a rainy day,try making this Bread in a Bagrecipe. Or, on a sunny day, have kids help make a fun lunchtime picnic with thisEgg-cellent Egg Saladrecipe.

Yields: 2 mini loaves or 1 large loaf

1 cupall-purpose flour

1 cupwhole wheat flour

3 tbsp white sugar

1 .25 package of rapid rise yeast (2 tsp)

1 C warm water

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

In a resealable plastic bag place 1cup all-purpose flour, sugar and yeast and add in warm water.

Squeeze the air out of bag and seal.

Squish with your hands until well mixed together.

Let it rest for 10 minutes at room temperature. Abubble will form.

Open the bag and put in cup all-purpose flour and cup wheat flour. Add oil and salt.

Seal the bag again and squish until well blended.

Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Seal and continue mixing in the same manner until well blended.

Remove dough from bag and put onto a lightly floured surface.

Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes or until smooth.

Divide dough in half and place each half into a greased mini loaf pan or make one large loaf.

Cover with a towel and allow to rise for about 30 minutes.

Bake in a 375-degree oven for 25-30 minutes or until bread is golden brown.

Serves 4-6

Eggs: 8

Mayonnaise: cup

Salt & Pepper: Add to Taste

Place eggs in a medium saucepan and fill with water (so eggs are fully covered). Bring eggs to boil. Place lid on top and remove from heat.Let sit for 13 minutes.

Place eggs in an ice bath or run under cold water to chill eggs.

Peel and chop hard-boiled eggs. Kids can help chop eggs with a butter knife.

Mix eggs, mayonnaise and seasoning.

Chill for up to 3 hours.

Serve with crackers or make into sandwiches.

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Get Your Kids Helping In The Kitchen - Southlake Style

Letter: We need cops, along with respect for law and order – Yakima Herald-Republic

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To the editor On defunding cops: Reporters show lots of cop cars and even SWAT teams called out for one or two individuals. This makes me think: What about the rest of the town or city while this is going on? Many may be called in on overtime or volunteers suiting up to help. My cousin used to be a Navy SEAL and would suit up for backup as a volunteer to help out.

We seem to disrespect our laws, especially when using drugs or alcohol.

In 1950s Astoria, Ore., had the Andy Griffith approach, which worked most of the time. Some bar brawls required Mutt and Jeff: Two cops, one tall and the other short and heavyset, who would go in, and men came flying out of the bar. They know how to use night sticks to break things up.

We need cops to stay safe. But we need to respect law and order. Destroying public buildings raises our taxes and takes money from programs that help cover the poor and needy. Think about it.

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Letter: We need cops, along with respect for law and order - Yakima Herald-Republic

Damage assessment brings President to Orange – The Record Newspapers – TheRecordLive.com

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With Reporting from Mark Dunn

President Donald Trump made a quick 90-minute stop in Orange County Saturday afternoon at the end of a tour of Hurricane Laura storm damage in Louisiana and Texas.

The visit was anticipated and predicted by The Record Newspapers website a day earlier, but went unannounced by the White House except to local Republican Party officials and invited key civil and political personnel.

His time in Texas' most southeastern city was strictly private, local media members were told.

Trump joined Orange County Judge John Gothia, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, U.S. Reps. Dr. Brian Babin and Randy Weber and other state and local officials to discuss the successes in storm preparations and the problems that linger in Texas after the Category 4 storm did its worst damage across the state line in Louisiana.

High winds ripped down many trees and rooftops locally and a third of all Orange County homes and businesses are currently without electricity, including the Orange County Convention and Expo Center, where the leaders met.

Built to do double duty as the Orange County Emergency Operations Center, the Expo Center is being operated by generators that were part of the building's design when it was constructed more than a decade ago.

President Donald Trump traveled aboard his Marine One helicopter and the Texas leaders who traveled to meet him flew aboard two $70 million U.S. Marine Osprey Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. They landed at Orange County Airport a few minutes after 3 p.m. Saturday after a stop in Lake Charles, Louisiana, to view first-hand damage from Category 4 Hurricane Laura.

Trump then traveled via motorcade from the location on Texas 87 to the Orange County Expo and Convention Center on FM 1442. The event was private and only a limited number of media members pre-approved by the White House and few, if any, of them local, were allowed in.

The WhiteHouse.gov stream that carried some of his remarks over the internet went off at 4:30 p.m.

Trump wore his usual weekend outfit, white pants and white golf shirt topped by a black windbreaker with the Presidential seal and a red cap, this one with "USA" on the front and "Trump" on the back.

He sat at the head of a U-shaped set of tables and chairs, in front of a backdrop of United States and Texas flags separated by an Orange County seal, and behind a Presidential seal.

Others with a seat at that table's wings extending from the President besides the previously named leaders were Pete Gaynor, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security Chief Chad Wolf, Texas Department of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Mayor Becky Ames of Beaumont and Orange County Sheriff Lane Mooney.

Orange Mayor Larry Spears Jr. was missing at the meeting. He reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 during the wait for the President to arrive.

Several other Orange County mayors, county commissioners and other dignitaries were assigned secondary seating for what essentially was a campaign event in advance of the Nov. 3, 2020 election.

According to the latest poll available on the website FiveThirtyEight, Trump currently trails Democrat Joe Biden 48 percent to 47 percent among likely Texas voters in the race for the White House. That poll was conducted among 764 Texans a week ago by North Carolina's Public Policy Polling, which rates a "B" rating from the website.

Trump landed in Lake Charles at about 12:45 p.m. to visit with supporters there about the government's response to Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm that hammered southwest Louisiana with winds up to 140 mph early Thursday morning.

Wind gauges in Orange captured gusts of 100 mph, and a huge swath of the Gulf Coast, from Port Arthur to Mississippi, has suffered power outages.

At the airport, police vehicles from as far away as Houston lined the entryway from Texas 87 and the area was patrolled "by guys with guns," one reporter said. A gun-packing man dressed in camouflage ordered a staffer of The Record News to leave, saying the press was restricted to the later gathering at the Expo Center.

Trump supporters lined Texas 87 near the airport, and FM 1442, near the Expo Center, summoned by national or local Republican Party social media posts. They were ready with flags and campaign signs set to greet the President's motorcade, but first had to endure some heavy rain showers.

School buses from Bridge City Independent School District and West Orange Cove Consolidated Independent School District were parked end to end on the airport's fence line, to block the public's view and/or for safety reasons to block sight of the taxiway and tarmac.

At 1:30 p.m., as Trump began a tour of a storm damaged neighborhood in Lake Charles, Precinct 3 Constable Brad Frye was working to gut out his office at the Orange County Airport. Both his and the office of Precinct 3 Commissioner Kirk Roccaforte, located at the county airport, lost their roofs to Hurricane Laura.

Back in Lake Charles, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and U.S. Senator John Kennedy showed Trump around the storm's devastation as workers scurried in the background cutting up huge fallen trees with chainsaws, according to a livestream from KPLC TV.

Over at the Orange County Expo Center, security was again turning back most of the media members who gathered there. A representative of Orange County's biggest circulating published news source, the Record Newspapers, was turned away along with a crew from Trump-friendly Sinclair Broadcasting station KFDM Channel 6 and a reporter from Beaumont radio station KLVI. They were told that only invited press members would be allowed to hear or photograph the president's speech.

The young aide who was refusing the access explained the White House had pre-approved "a local pool reporter and five state pool reporters."

An Orange radio station owner was among those who received an invitation from the White House to enter the Expo Center. Like the government officials allowed inside, he had to take a rapid COVID-19 test upon entry to the building.

Orange City Hall was the site of a Thursday GOP-managed press conference that included Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and an all-star roster of Texas politicians and government chiefs, including U.S. Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. The list included two U.S. Representatives (Dr. Brian Babin and Randy Weber), State Senator Robert Nichols and State Reps. Dade Phelan and Joe Deshotel.

That followed a flyover of east Texas by the governor to look at damage from the hurricane. He declared, "Of all the areas we saw, the worst we saw was Orange. We saw more rooftops ripped off, more shingles missing, more big pieces of metal wrapped around trees."

Abbott praised Trump's reaction to Laura, which included approving the pre-placement of people and material and for declaring a national disaster in 62 Texas counties all ahead of the storm's making landfall. The two-term governor who was previously Texas' Attorney General said in nearly two decades in elected office, "Never before have I seen an administration respond as quickly as President Trump has been."

Orange County, which may be without electricity for another two weeks or more because of the wind blowing over trees onto power lines and blowing over poles that downed transformers, has recorded no storm deaths.

Texas had at least five storm deaths, a Hemphill man crushed by a tree and four in Jefferson County killed by carbon monoxide poisoning caused by running a gas-powered generator indoors.

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Damage assessment brings President to Orange - The Record Newspapers - TheRecordLive.com

Placing Of The Cincture (Sash) Of The Most Holy Mother Of God – GreekCityTimes.com

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n August 31 the Greek Orthodox Church commemorates The Placing of the Cincture (Sash) of the Most Holy Mother of God.

The event is honoured by the Greek Orthodox Church on the last day of August, which is the month dedicated to Panagia.

The Placing of the Venerable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos in a church of Constantinoples Chalcoprateia district took place during the reign of the emperor Theodosius the Younger. Before this, the holy relic, entrusted to the Apostle Thomas by the Mother of God Herself, was kept by pious Christians at Jerusalem after Her Dormition. During the reign of Emperor Leo the Wise (886-911), his wife Zoe was afflicted with an unclean spirit, and he prayed that God would heal her.

The empress had a vision that she would be healed of her infirmity if the Belt of the Mother of God were placed upon her. The emperor then asked the Patriarch to open the coffer. The Patriarch removed the seal and opened the coffer in which the relic was kept, and the Belt of the Mother of God appeared completely whole and undamaged by time. The Patriarch placed the Belt on the sick empress, and immediately she was freed from her infirmity. They sang hymns of thanksgiving to the Most Holy Theotokos, then they placed the venerable Belt back into the coffer and resealed it.

In commemoration of the miraculous occurrence and the twofold Placing of the venerable Belt, the Feast of the Placing of the Venerable Belt of the Most Holy Theotokos was established. Parts of the Holy Belt are in the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, in Trier monastery, and in Georgia.

Today the faithful pray to Panagia and the Holy Belt for healing and for help.

Xronia Polla!

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Placing Of The Cincture (Sash) Of The Most Holy Mother Of God - GreekCityTimes.com

CharJenPro AirFoams Pro: Premium Memory Foam Ear Tips for AirPods Pro. Stays in Your Ears. No Silicone Ear tip Pain. The Original from Kickstarter. (2…

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Product Description

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Conforms and expands to your inner ear and alleviates any pain from silicone ear tips.

Includes 2 sizes: Small/Medium & Medium/Large. Fit all ear sizes from small, medium, and large.

Stays in your ears without slipping out. Replace slippery painful silicone ear tips.

Fits small, medium, and large ears

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If you wear Medium silicone tips, both Small/Medium and Medium/Large fits.If you wear Small silicone tips, please wear the Small/Medium sized tips.If you wear Large silicone tips, please wear the Medium/Large sized tips.

Exercise without them falling out. Listen to music and podcasts hours on end. Great for any situation.

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The Ear Tip Seal test software will have varying results as these are made of foam and not silicone material. But no worries, as AirFoams Pro still provides great seal and sound. The real test is your actual hearing.

[Please note] Foam tips ONLY. DOES NOT include wireless earbuds or AirPods Pro. PLEASE FOLLOW THE PROPER INSERTION METHOD.[Superior mesh wax protection] Keeps wax from entering AirPods Pro. Includes 2 sizes: Small/Medium & Medium/Large. Note: Because of the nature of the material used and the usage in ears, foam will slightly discolor overtime.[Super soft] Conforms and expands to your inner ear and alleviates any pain from silicone ear tips. [Doesnt fall out] Great seal and ultra comfortable to wear for many hours.[Fits perfectly in the charging case] No need to compress the foam. The Ear Tip Seal test software will have varying results as these are made of foam and not silicon material. But no worries, as AirFoams Pro still provides great seal and sound.

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CharJenPro AirFoams Pro: Premium Memory Foam Ear Tips for AirPods Pro. Stays in Your Ears. No Silicone Ear tip Pain. The Original from Kickstarter. (2...

HCA nurses in Nevada and 3 other states will protest unsafe PPE equipment and staffing Tuesday – KLAS – 8 News Now

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LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Registered nurses at HCA hospitals in Nevada, Florida, Kansas, and Missouri will hold public actions Tuesday to highlight ongoing practices they say put nurses and other caregivers in jeopardy and increase the spread of COVID-19 to others.

According to National Nurses United (NNU), at all the hospitals, HCA is requiring RNs to reuse single-use N95 respiratory masks after decontamination, which is a policy that is not proven to be safe or effective for protection against COVID-19.

It is shameful for HCA to put our lives, and the lives of our patients, our co-workers, and our families at risk due to their failure and unwillingness to make workplace safety the highest priority, not a budget item to be constantly squeezed and cut, said Leslie Rogers,an RN at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., where the nurses will be joined by RNs from Menorah Medical Center in Overland Park, Kan.

HCA has had six months to fully prepare, to be a model for how to safely care for patients, and to ensure that our dedicated frontline caregivers have every protection we need so we can be here taking care of our patients, not at home sick with this deadly virus, or worse, said Meghan Jacobsen, also a Mountainview RN.

Additionally, RNs at Blake Medical Center in Bradenton, Fla., Fawcett Memorial Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla., and Mountainview Hospital in Las Vegas are also alarmed at what they call dangerous short staffing, and in some cases cuts in additional staff.

When we are with fewer nurses and the loss of other staff, we are running between patients and have far less time to give each patient the timely, individualized care they need, said Blake Medical Center RN Yulanda Bakare.

Short staffing is a prescription for missing subtle changes in a patients condition, and increasing the potential for mistakes, becoming infected, and passing the virus to other patients and other staff, said Mountainview RN Nicole Koester.

With at least 180,000 lives now lost to COVID-19, among them 1,500 health care workers and nearly 200 RNs, including HCA nurses, we need HCA to commit to the highest standard of safety measures, and not disregard our voices and concerns, said Research RN Angels Davis.

At Research, nurses have been given two choices: They are told to turn in their N95 masks daily for decontamination and reuse, or be given five masks and five paper bags and cycle through them wearing each mask 25 times. The nurses say this is being done with the dubious theory that a five-day break will allow the virus to no longer be a threat so the mask can be reused.

Neither alternative offers proper protection, says NNU. Decontamination must effectively inactivate the pathogen, not degrade the performance of the respirator, including filtration, structural integrity, and face seal, and not introduce an additional hazard to the worker wearing the respirator, notes NNUs Lead Industrial Hygienist Jane Thomason. We have not seen any decontamination method meet these three criteria. Several methods currently in use may be harmful by one or more criteria.

Our nurses report that the reprocessed masks theyve encountered have horrible odors, are deformed in critical areas like the facepiece and the nose bridge, and that the straps have lost their elasticity, says NNU President Zenei Cortez, RN. Theres no way a reprocessed mask will perform like a new one.

NNU has also studied the scientific literature on the five day-five mask approach. It has found that putting an N95 in a paper bag for five days does not reliably decontaminate the N95. Research has shown that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive for extremely long periods outside the human body, including for at least 21 days on N95 respirators.

The nurses say the RNs are also struggling with broken down powered air-purifying respirator (PAPR) face shields that they have to share and are increasingly filthy through reuse.

Disposable parts of PAPRs should also not be reused, says NNU, as repeated donning and doffing (putting them on and taking them off) risks damaging the PAPR, which would render it no longer effective. With the isolation room, the seal is necessary to maintain the negative pressure. If it doesnt close properly, viral aerosols can circulate into hallways and other patient rooms.

The protests scheduled for Tuesday are as follow:

Las Vegas, Nev.Mountainview Hospital

3100 N. Tenaya Way, 7:15 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Bradenton, Fla.Blake Medical Center

2020 59th Street W, 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.

Port Charlotte, Fla.Fawcett Memorial Hospital

21298 Olean Blvd, 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Kansas City, Mo.Research Medical Center

2316 E. Meyer Blvd., 5:45 p.m.

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HCA nurses in Nevada and 3 other states will protest unsafe PPE equipment and staffing Tuesday - KLAS - 8 News Now

The Apocalypse, with Laughs – Highlands Current

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Cold Spring writer publishes second novel, 20 years later

David Hollander, who earlier this year (just before COVID-19 caused widespread shutdowns) debuted his first musical, The Count, at the Philipstown Depot Theatre, is now priming for the release of his second novel, Anthropica, which will be published on Tuesday (Sept. 1).

David Hollander (Photo by Chris Taggart/Sarah Lawrence College)

Hollander, who lives in Cold Spring, describes Anthropica as a big apocalypse comedy taking on climate change, artificial intelligence and the absurd politics of academia. The protagonist is Laszlow, who believes human beings are a stain on Gods otherwise perfect universe, the author says. One of the key players who joins his team is a scientist who has determined that human beings exhaust the earths resources every 30 days.

There are also robots locked up in a hangar in South Korea, the author notes.

The novel, overall, is about Laszlow pursuing the people and ideas he needs in order to bring his ideas to fruition, says Hollander, who has taught fiction writing in the MFA program at Sarah Lawrence College for two decades. There are 50 characters. Its structurally wild, with chapter-to-chapter spacing and harmonic convergence where all these elements come together.

Beneath the madcap structural conceits and layers of irony is a compassionate book about people who wish they could make everything seem like it doesnt matter, because it matters to them, says Hollander. The nihilism is a smokescreen for the desire to take care of people and the world.

He says that while he wrote the novel before the pandemic, it shares the general feeling we all have right now of being perched on the lip of something awful, trying not to go over the edge.

I wouldnt want to write directly about the pandemic, he adds. I have this feeling that it would immediately feel either self-indulgent or false, or maybe both. The earliest fiction about 9/11 seemed to me to be in bad taste. It had to live inside of us for a while before it could be processed in a way that didnt seem superficial or take shortcuts.

Hollanders first novel was published 20 years ago; hes written others since, but nobody wanted them! he says with a laugh. This one, too, I thought would go unpublished. Its experimental. Publishers would say, I love it, but Id never be able to get it through my people, but then one of those people, Katie Rainey, started her own company, Animal Riot Press, and said she wanted to publish it.

His contributions to The Count which was supposed to be performed at the Triad Theater in Manhattan after its Garrison debut but became a casualty of the quarantine were the dramatic episodes that took the characters from song to song. It was his first attempt at playwriting, and Hollander says he found that, as a writer of short stories and novels, writing the monologues was harder than writing dialogue.

His first novel, L.I.E., was a coming-of-age story run through a postmodern filter, Hollander says. It was about a group of post-high school adolescents from the lower-middle-class suburbs of Long Island kids without a lot of hope and a limited palette to choose from. The main character is becoming aware of the fact that hes a character in a book. Should he tell others? Does it matter? Is there a difference between free will and the illusion of free will?

Those are the sort of questions Hollander was aiming to explore, but he found in the end the reactions from readers and reviewers were focused on the depiction of spiritual bankruptcy and suburban malaise. The heavier or more philosophical questions I was interested in were invisible to most readers, with a few exceptions here and there. What I learned was that once the book was out there, my intentions didnt matter anymore.

Whats interesting, he says, is that nowadays, when students of mine come across and read L.I.E., they seem to get exactly what I was doing. Id like to think I was ahead of the curve. Whats more likely is that the undergraduates at Sarah Lawrence are just exceptionally good readers!

At the moment, Hollander is working on a lengthy essay about how Im publishing my second novel 20 years almost to the day after my first, trying to look at how much failure Ive suffered as a writer between those two points, and how it tempered my work, and how I had to surrender all hope of success before any success was actually possible.

A virtual launch for Anthropica, with Hollander in conversation with writer Rick Moody, will take place at 7 p.m. on Sept. 11. Register at bit.ly/hollander-event. Signed copies are available from Split Rock Books in Cold Spring (splitrockbks.com).

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We just passed 6 million cases, and it didn’t have to be like this if we’d had a leader – Salon

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The United Statesthis weeksurpassed 6million cases of COVID-19, the most in the world. Even when measuring relative to population, America's standing is dismal and depressing. We're currently ranked 10th in the world with 18,675 cases per million people, and growing by 30-50,000 new cases every day. As I begin to write this essay, midday on Monday, we've already racked up 14,151 cases for the day so far.

Just for the sake of contrast, Italy is ranked 60th in cases per million residents. France is ranked 63rd. Germany is 83rd. Iraq is ranked 49th. Canada is 76th. Again, the U.S. is ranked 10th. There are "shithole countries," as Trump called them, who are faring better than we are.

In case the Red Hat trolls jump into the comments to rubber-stamp Donald Trump's nonsense about how we have the most cases because we do the most testing, the U.S. is ranked 18th in testing per million residents, far from the most in the world (per million), yet we're 10th in cases, and 11th in deaths. Denmark, on the other hand, is 13th in testing, meaning it does more testing than we do, but it's ranked 82nd in cases and 55th in deaths (all per million residents). If Trump were right, and testing artificially increased cases and deaths somehow, Denmark would have many more cases and deaths per million than we do. It doesn't. We still have more. Many more.

It's difficult to verbalize howmortifying and inexcusable this is.

Trump can't shut up about making America great again. But based on his response to the pandemic alone, we're not even close to being great. We're not even greatness-adjacent.

The once-vibrant concept of marrying civic and societal responsibility with patriotism has all but disappeared from a not-insignificant population of our fellow Americans. Throughout the past four years, and especially during the past six months, far too many shirkers have been hoodwinked into believing that irresponsibility, self-indulgence, recklessness and blind gullibility are patriotic. And it's entirely the consequence of the most irresponsible, self-indulgent, reckless and easily-manipulated president in history.

As of today, thanks to the malicious incompetence of Donald Trump, there's no end in sight. But it didn't have to be this way.

Had the president sucked it up and fulfilled the bogus "presidential" fantasies of Van Jones and Chris Cillizza, if Trump had followed the response strategy he was provided by previous administrations, and if hehad simply looked to presidents who, during a variety of previous national emergencies, rallied the country to achieve actual greatness, we'd surely be ranked far better than the unforgivable status we occupy today. In fact, it's likely we'd be celebrating today, rather than desperately hoping for a vaccine and a change in leadership while more and more of our friends and family get sick and die.

What could the president have done differently? In a word: everything.

During the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the United States led the world's response, deploying thousands of "DOD, CDC, USAID, and other U.S. health officials to Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea to assist with response efforts, as part of a 10,000-person U.S.-backed civilian response." Likewise, during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, within seven days of the first case, the CDC under President Obama had already activated its emergency operations centerthree days prior to the World Health Organization's emergency declaration. The H1N1 outbreak ended with around 12,000 American deaths. Under Trump, during COVID, there were 12,000 deaths in the past 14 days alone, since Tuesday, Aug.18.

On Jan.21, 2020, when the first U.S. case was identified, Trump refused to do a damn thing, failing to take the threat seriously andfailing to mobilize our national infrastructure federal, state and local to isolate the virus before it spread. Instead, his endless record of irresponsible denial began with a statement to CNBC about how everything was"under control" and that "it's going to be just fine." That's all he did.

Trump's "travel ban" from China wasn't authorized until 10days later, on Jan.31, after the virus was already here. It was a full 20 days after the first COVID death in China and the day after the World Health Organization's global health emergency declaration. In the midst of all that, Trump did the least he could do without doing nothing, banning some travel from China.

What if he had banned all travel from China as well as Europe on the same day, given cases and deaths in France, too? Instead, the travel bans were staggered piecemeal, and even after the China ban, 40,000 people entered the U.S. from Chinato repeat: after his flimsy ban. Trump didn't impose a ban on travel from Europe until mid-March, dooming his hometown of New York City, where most of the cases were traced from Europe, not China.

It would be nearly a month later, on Feb.25, before Trump finally requested coronavirus response funds from Congress, launching the White House task force the next day. Imagine if Franklin D. Roosevelt had waited a month to mobilize in response to the Pearl Harbor attack, dilly-dallying before asking Congress for a declaration of war in, say, January 1942, rather than early December 1941. Imagine if John F. Kennedy had waited a month to respond after learning about the introduction of Soviet nukes in Cuba.

By the time the president appointed Mike Pence as the head of the task force, the first American COVID death had already occurred, 20 days before. On Feb.28, Trump assured his disciples that the virus would disappear "like a miracle" also calling it "the new hoax." How's that working out?

Imagine if Trump had declared a national emergency 14 days earlier than he did on March 13, nearly a month after the first U.S. case. A Columbia University study showed he could havereduced deaths by 84 percent. If he had acted just a week earlier than he did, 35,927 lives would've been saved.

Instead of urging Americans to make the sacrifices needed to contain anderadicate the virus, Donald Trump began to loudly insist upon reopening the country at the worst possible time in mid-April, at the initial height of the curve indulging his fanboys with all-caps tweets like "LIBERATE MICHIGAN!" (The day he tweeted that message, 2,597 Americans died from the virus, just 400 fewer than on 9/11.)

He could have taken a difference approach: the path taken by so many other presidents in prior eras of actual American greatness. But he's too brittle, too paranoid, too toxic, too illiterate to do that.

Like the previous Republican president, he could have framed the lockdown and prevention efforts with rah-rah Lee Greenwood patriotism. Trump could have rallied the entire nation by appealing to our national pride rather than resigning himself to being the president of his base alone. Imagine the national mobilization for World War II, but applied to the pandemic, with all Americans chipping in to the war effort. He could have achieved exactly that, but he's incapable of it. He lacks the restraint, discipline, forethought and temperament possessed by even our more lackluster chief executives.

Trump could have marched us to war against the pandemic, framing the isolation, the social distancing and the mask-wearing the minimum requirements advised by experts as intrinsic to our patriotic duty, setting an example himself with photo-ops of his own sacrifices. But he didn't.

He could have pushed for even more financial relief for out-of-work Americans, sandbagging against further economic repercussions until the curve had been flattened.

He could have celebrated every achievement and milestone with triumphant addresses from the Oval Office. He hasn't, because there aren't any achievements to celebrate, beyond the ones he falsely claims as his own.

With a unifying, proactive tone established by the White House, there could have been national telethons to raise money for the victims.

There could have been plans for post-pandemic memorials, like the 9/11 or Vietnam memorials, giving us something positive and inspirational to strive for. After all, Trump fancies himself a builder.

He could have, at the bare minimum, called for national moments of silence for the people we lost. To date, he's never called for a moment of silence for the victims or anyone else. Ever.

He could have leveled with us, yet he's only ever downplayed the threat while embellishing his bungled, ham-fisted non-response.

He could have explained the stakes while calling upon our spirit of community to do what's necessary rather than what's easiest.

The president, for the first time in our national history, chose to frame selfish defiance, irresponsibility and loud ignorance as patriotic, shirking what's right, ignoring expertise and deceiving the public about the true dynamics of the threat.

There never should have been any question ofholding public rallies until after the curve was flattened. Instead, Trump held a rally in Tulsa once again,at the worst possible time, during the second spike of the first curve. Former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is dead now, and the event became a vector for the disease, all due to Trump's unquenchable vanity and his desire for unsubstantiated accolades.

Trump, unlike every president before him, refuses to call the threat by its actual designation.

It's nearly fallnow. Had Trump led the nation as it's been led in the past, I'm confident the pandemic could have been all but ended by now, or would at least be on the way out. We would have seen dramatically fewer deaths and cases with a national strategy, not unlike our national strategies confronting world wars, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and so forth. Instead, Trump chose to defer his duty to the states, lazily delegating his job to others while he plays golf and verbally masturbates on Twitter.

At this rate, and with this president in charge, I'll be shocked if this is over by next August, with Americans more divided than ever. The unity of the post-9/11 era seems like fan-fiction today.

Thanks to Trump, we've become a nation of proud self-destruction, growing increasingly numb to the catastrophic death toll our lack of national leadership has precipitated, while our president encourages and indeed embodies our worst instincts lionizing the negative character traits our parents raised us to reject. (Sadly, some of our Trump-supporting parents have rejected those values, too.) Rather than rising up as we have so often in the past, Trump and his people have given up, many of them choosing to relentlessly screech at anyone who tries to displayeven modestly responsible behavior.

Presidential leadership isn't some kind of magic trick. Rather, it's as easy as borrowing from copious historical precedent and applying it to what we could have accomplished today. By all measures, historical and otherwise, Donald Trump is a failed president, achieving the exact opposite of American greatness 10th worldwide in deaths per million! because he's too stubborn, too vainand too sociopathic to do what's difficult or what's right.

In failing to rise to the occasion, Trump has transformed America from being a proud and noble if imperfect union into a pitiable shell of its former self, cupping its ears under thecovers and shouting "Not listening!" while the president's henchmen tell us we're all going to get the virus anyway, so why bother? This kind of non-leadership, this kind of nihilism, should never be rewarded with a second term.

They say we shouldn't change horses midstream, meaning we shouldn't change presidents mid-crisis. Yet what's become abundantly clear, especially since March, is this: Our horse ran awayat the first sight of water. Nowwe're drowning in a preventable flood and it's long past time for a new leader who can carry the burden of our beleaguered nation to the shoreline. Finally.

By the way, as I finishwriting this, 32,987 new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed so far today, up from 14,151 when I started. That's 18,836 newU.S. cases in the time it took me to write this. Not great. Not even close.

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We just passed 6 million cases, and it didn't have to be like this if we'd had a leader - Salon

Reflections on America, space exploration, moon walking | News – MyEasternShoreMD

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AMAC: Dr. Aldrin, it is a pleasure to hear your views. Last year, you celebrated the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11s historic moon landing, and this year you turned 90, and you seem to be as high-energy as ever, still focused on human space exploration and concerned about Americas future in space. Can you elaborate on your hopes for the future?

Aldrin: I am still focused on Americas leadership in space because I think it matters, for reasons tied to national security and destiny of our species. I am on the Presidents Space Council and offer ideas when asked. Generally, we need to get the right architecture for efficient moon missions and then move on to Mars. We also need to start thinking less about one-off visits and more about permanence, exploring in depth, reaching outward to create a sustained human presence. Sending people out to look around, then return and write books or give speeches seems like something we have done. The time is now to start thinking about permanence, since technologies exist now that did not in 1969.

AMAC: When you went to the moon, you and Neil Armstrong left a plaque that read We Came in Peace for All Mankind. Do you have any reflections on that now?

Aldrin: Yes, I do. We did come in peace for all humankind. America is an exceptional nation and while we defend our liberties, we want the world to be at peace here and out there. We beat the Soviets head-to-head, which may have accelerated the Cold Wars end, and we opened a door to dtente in space with the Apollo-Soyuz program. In any event, we believed in peace and competition, the competition of ideas, which is still going on today. You know, the 1960s were unsettled times, a bit like now, yet the Apollo program showed that with focus and good intent, we Americans can come together and do extraordinary, almost unimaginable things. We must never lose that character trait. We must also never lose the will to explore. Humans must explore or expire.

AMAC: That brings us to recent events. I know you track space-based developments closely and probably watched the recent SpaceX launch.

Aldrin: Yes, I did watch that launch and docking with excitement. The two-man Dragon crew left from pad 39A, the same one Mike, Neil, and I left from for the moon, so that was exciting. America should be launching Americans on American rockets from American soil, and I am glad we are.

AMAC: What does that launch mean for Americas future in space?

Aldrin: It means we are back in the business of launching humans into space, which is a good thing, perhaps overdue. But it also reminds us that we must move beyond Earths orbit back into the heavens. Our destiny is not to orbit but to explore. Our mission cannot be to stay where we have been but must be centered on constantly reaching outward, learning, growing, exploring.

AMAC: Are you optimistic about our spacefaring future as a nation?

Aldrin: Of course. Americas future in space is bright, never more than now. But we do need to get on with it. When we left for the moon, America had already launched 19 manned missions. We just need to readjust our sights, start aiming higher. Next should be humans on the moon, then in short order manned missions to Mars. Getting to Mars will be hard work refining launch trajectories, re-entry speeds, radiation protection; assuring human life support for the duration but if these are lofty goals, they are achievable. Arguably, they are more attainable than our moon mission seemed to many when President Kennedy put us on that track in 1961. Remember, we had not gotten a man into orbit at that time.

AMAC: What do you think draws humans into space? What causes us to imagine a future of humans living in space, on the moon or Mars, if you have ever reflected on the question?

Aldrin: Putting geopolitics and national security to the side although both matter we humans are born explorers. We first learn to walk and yearn to go somewhere, then to run, cycle, and drive always with a destination in sight. Some of us learned to fly, and in that group, some flew spaceships into orbit. A few became lunar module pilots, taking a spacecraft down to the moon from lunar orbit at which point we used our walking skills again. But to put it simply, we humans are curious: we wonder, so we wander. We explore. The universe is vast, but the next steps seem clear. The truth is that humankind loves to explore, needs to explore, and now has the technology, accumulated history in space, and power to explore.

AMAC: You are a visionary and explorer, comfortable with risks, somehow able to manage fear, a dreamer and doer. After West Point, combat missions over Korea, and a PhD from MIT in astronautical engineering, you flew with Jim Lovell on Gemini 12 and then to the moon on Apollo 11. You have experienced things no one on Earth has, or only very few. Let me take you back in time. If you will indulge me, I have a couple of questions about that incredible trip out to the moon. What was sitting in the rocket at launch like?

Aldrin: It was exciting. As countdown proceeded, we were glad we did not have to start over. The launch went smoothly. Nothing unexpected happened. We actually did not know exactly when we had left the ground, except from the instruments we were watching and voice communications. From the instruments, we could see our rate of climb and altitude changing, but we were comfortable in our seats. We sort of looked at each other and thought, We must be on our way, whats next?

AMAC: What went through your mind when you landed on the moon?

Aldrin: As we approached the moon, we leveled off and kept moving down and forward to land. We knew we were continuing to burn fuel. We knew what we had, and then we heard 30 seconds left. So, it was nice to finally touch down. We saw our shadow cast in front of us as we landed, something we never saw in the simulator. That was new. I saw dust creating a haze, not particles but a haze from the engine pushing dust up. The light turned on, I announced contact light, engine stop. We were happy to have landed. I guess Neil and I smiled.

AMAC: Did you think about home while you were flying to the moon or on the moon?

Aldrin: While others thought about what we were doing, we were very concentrated on being on the moon. As Neil climbed down the ladder, mission control told us they were getting an image, but it was upside down. They fixed that, and soon we were both out of the lunar module and on the surface. Neil called it one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind, and the moon looked to me like magnificent desolation. But on the moon, we had jobs to do. We had experiments to set out, and so we concentrated on that more than anything else. As for thinking about all those watching, we really did not think much about that. We were focused on mission control. They were the people we had to think about most.

Of course, it was exciting. Neil decided where to put the camera, and I got out two experiments and carried them. We were focused on the experiments, making sure they were level, pointed toward the sun. One experiment involved a sort of level with a small BB settling in the center of a cone. In one-sixth gravity, the BB kept going around and around. I stepped away, did other work, and then came back to find the BB centered and the experiment level. On the moon, a leveling device does not give level right away!

AMAC: Did you have any special thoughts as you returned, and at splashdown time?

Aldrin: We were glad to be coming home. There is only one Earth. On splashdown, we had to throw a switch to release the parachutes, only it was a bit bumpy, so we tipped over before we could release the parachutes, then the balloons tipped us right side up again. It was good to be back, to see and talk with family. People often remember the photo of us at a window in the containment trailer. Funny story. When they played the national anthem, we wanted to stand up but to be at the window, we had to kneel. We certainly were glad to be back home in America. Even this many years later, it was a privilege to have been on that first mission to the lunar surface, an honor to have worked with so many good and dedicated people and to have left footprints there. Sometimes, I marvel that we went to the moon. I think, it is time for the next generation to aim high, carry the mission forward, and put new prints up there, and on Mars.

AMAC: Thank you so much for this time and your candor. You are truly the living definition of an American hero, and I think I can say everyone at AMAC, in America, and around the world feels that way. For being who you are, for loving this country, for taking risks for a high purpose, and for leaving that plaque on the moon which honors the American spirit and all of us thank you.

Robert Charles is the national spokesman for the 2.1 million member Association of Mature American Citizens. He is a former assistant secretary of state for President George W. Bush, former naval intelligence officer and litigator. Charles served in the Reagan and Bush 41 White Houses, as congressional counsel for five years, and wrote Narcotics and Terrorism (2003) and Eagles and Evergreens (2018), the latter on WWII vets in a Maine town.

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Reflections on America, space exploration, moon walking | News - MyEasternShoreMD

$2.3M in space exploration grants awarded to 3 New Mexico universities – KRQE News 13

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NEW MEXICO (KRQE) NASA awarded three universities in New Mexico grant money to support underrepresented students in STEM fields. The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University received funding through NASAs Minority University Research and Education Project while NMSU and Navajo Technical University also received research grants for space technology research.

The funds were announced by U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Lujan, Deb Haaland, and Xochitl Torres Small in a press release. The combined $2,288,000 in grant funding was awarded as the following:

NASA Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) Awards

Cooperative Agreements for Research Development Programs

NMSU was awarded $750,000 for its Next Generation Additive Manufacturing for Space Applications project.

Planning Grants to Support Space Technology Opportunities

NASAs MUREP Space Technology Artemis Research has awarded funds to 15 universities for 16 projects that will support NASAs advancement of technology needed for its Artemis program that aims to land the first woman and next man on the moon by 2024. NMSU in partnership with San Diego State University has been awarded $604,000 for the MUREP Advancing Regolith-Related Technologies and Education project. Navajo Technical University received $604,000 for its Micro-Gravity Additive Manufacturing of Metals project.

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$2.3M in space exploration grants awarded to 3 New Mexico universities - KRQE News 13

UCF students to go behind the scenes of live NASA asteroid mission – EdScoop News

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Students at the University of Central Florida have the opportunity to observe a historic NASA mission and get an inside look at what it takes conduct research in space through a virtual class this semester.

Students enrolled in the universitys Comets, Asteroids and Meteorites class this semester will get a behind-the-scenes look at NASAs OSIRIS-REx mission which will attempt to collect a sample from the asteroid Bennu, which orbits the Sun in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. The class will provide students an opportunity to learn about concepts like data collection and exploration in space and to learn about what it takes to be a part of a NASA mission, including how scientists collaborate, argue and resolve disagreements, according to UCF physics professor Humberto Campins, a member of the NASA team tasked with recovering the asteroid sample.

The Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer, or OSIRIS-REx, mission was launched in September 2016 and the spacecraft reached Bennu in 2018. Now NASA scientists are getting ready to collect an asteroid sample in October.

The mission, if successful, will help scientists better understand how planets formed and how life began in the solar system, according to NASA. Data will also help scientists understand the nature of asteroids that could potentially hit Earth. (Bennu has a 1-in-2,700 chance of hitting Earth between 2175 and 2199, according to NASA.)

Although teaching during the pandemic has brought about challenges for professors and students, Campins said this class creates a unique opportunity for students to immerse themselves in a real space mission and gain important insight into the realities of space exploration and research.

Because I can teach remotely [during the pandemic], it provided me a golden opportunity for my students to live a NASA mission with me, Campins said in a press release. Theyll get to hear about it all.

Students will hear about the mission in real time, analyze data collected by the spacecraft and discuss peer-reviewed papers on the observations the spacecraft has made so far. They will also get to go on a virtual tour of mission control, which is not open to the public.

My students are going to be among the first who will get to digest and discuss what we are publishing, Campins said. For scientists, it doesnt get better than this and I hope my students get a taste for it and continue to pursue it.

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UCF students to go behind the scenes of live NASA asteroid mission - EdScoop News