Plenty of #MeToo skeptics, many among his base, who will happily explode his message when he gives them permission.
Last Tuesday, many liberals woke up worried that President Trump's Supreme Court pick, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, will usher in the overturning of the decades-old Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion.
Depending on whom you talk to, their fears are either wholly justified or nothing more than midterm scare tactics.
Either way, too few are concerned about a far likelier and imminent threat to significant progress in American sexual politics -- Trump's plans to overturn #MeToo.
He hasn't begun his campaign in earnest, but it's coming. He workshopped it at a rally in Montana last week, joking about throwing an ancestry testing kit to Sen. Elizabeth Warren to make her prove her claimed Native American heritage.
"We are going to do it gently because we're the #MeToo generation, so we have to be very careful," he chided.
Blink and you might have missed it. And on the Trump scale of incendiary invective, it hardly moved the needle.
But the line drew laughs. And when Trump's material works, he doubles and triples down.
The expediency of Trump's undermining the months of progress seen by a sexual harassment national reckoning, which followed decades of suffering in silence, is obvious: It discredits his own accusers by mocking the movement they would benefit from.
But it's actually far more dangerous -- and brilliant -- than that.
It would seem to those of us who have covered #MeToo and the countless powerful men it exposed and brought down, to those of us who were prompted to share our stories, and those in industries where tectonic shifts have already taken place that Trump's impotent, self-serving jabs at such a powerful movement would have little effect.
But like everything else he has discredited -- from the media to the Mueller investigation, the NFL to the FBI -- the impact is all too real.
And there are plenty of #MeToo skeptics, many among his base, who will happily explode his message when he gives them permission.
Plenty of polls show a growing suspicion for #MeToo efforts.
A recent Pew poll of 6,251 adults found 51 percent of respondents believe "the increased focus on sexual harassment and assault" would make it harder for men "to know how to interact with women in the workplace."
Likewise, a poll commissioned by The Salt Lake Tribune and the Hinckley Institute of Politics of 654 registered voters statewide found that 87 percent of respondents who identified as "very liberal" said their opinion of the movement is either very or somewhat favorable, while only 16% of "very conservative" respondents said the same.
Trump won Utah 45.9 percent to Clinton's 27.8 percent.
But others risk providing false comfort. An NPR/Ipsos poll from December found 9 in 10 Americans believe that "a zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment is essential to bringing about change in our society."
Go to any under-employed town in America and you're unlikely to find 1 in 10 who would answer this way. Further, go to polite suburbs where, for the same reason, Trump support was under-reported in 2016 polls. I've talked to numerous people who've said they don't see #MeToo as progress, but would never say so publicly.
Watch that change when Trump gives it his treatment at a rally.
The scary simplicity of this attempt at overturning a seminal cultural movement is that he doesn't need to appoint anyone to do it. He doesn't need Senate confirmation. He just needs his base to help and his rivals to be complacent.
For #MeToo proponents, the mistake will be in assuming Trump can't turn back the clock. He can, and he will try. Here's hoping they are ready.


Patrick Reinikainen '12, Jessica Ortiz '05, Hon. Julio M. Fuentes '75, Jennifer Pacella '08, and Marc Davies '03. In attendance, but not pictured, was interim Dean James Gardner.
A road of legal scholarship and practice that began at UB School of Law led Julio M. Fuentes ’75 to the second-highest court in the nation. With Justice Fuentes’ appointment in March, 2000, by President Clinton to the United States Court of Appeals, 3rd Circuit, he became UB Law’s highest-ranking federal jurist. Now, after Judge Fuentes assumed senior status in July, his friends and family recently gathered for a portrait presentation and ceremony honoring his judicial career.
Among those expressing praise for Fuentes’ service were former colleagues on the Third Circuit bench and current Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and President Barack Obama (via official letter), Fuentes’ three daughters, and former law clerks Jennifer M. Pacella ‘08 and Jorge Tenreiro.
Fuentes' portrait will hang in the Ceremonial Courtroom of the Frank R. Lautenberg U.S. Post Office and Courthouse. It is the same courtroom where Fuentes tried his first case as a new attorney.
The 3rd Circuit encompasses New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands, so Justice Fuentes works not only in the Newark federal courthouse, but also in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and the islands.
Born and reared in Puerto Rico, Justice Fuentes grew up in Toms River, N. J., where his mother, a single parent, worked as a practical nurse. After high school, he joined the military, serving as a lieutenant with the military police of the U.S. Army’s Special Forces Group in Panama, from 1966 to 1969. Later, his undergraduate work was at Southern Illinois University. After law school, he also completed master’s degrees in Latin American affairs at New York University and in liberal arts at Rutgers University.
Justice Fuentes had been a judge on New Jersey’s Superior Court bench in Essex County since 1987, having served on the court’s Family, Criminal, Civil, Chancery and General Equity divisions. Before becoming a Superior Court judge, he was a municipal court judge from 1978 to 1987. Previous to that, he practiced civil and criminal law in the firm of Fuentes, Plant & Velazquez, in Jersey City, N.J.
The jurist is the first person of Hispanic origin to sit on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals.


VISITORS enjoying the sights of Fraser Island have been warned not to go swimming on the western side of the island after several serious incidents involving marine stingers.
An alert, issued last week by the Department of Environment and Science, warned that marine stingers and other dangerous marine life was present in the waters off the island, Hervey Bay and the Great Sandy Strait.
The statement said stingers had been reported by swimmers on the western side of the island, in particular Platypus Bay and around creeks, including Awinya and Wathumba.
The alert said several visitors to the island had been stung recently, with symptoms requiring paramedic attention.
Visitors were advised to to take into consideration the limited nature of medical assistance on the island, remembering that marine stingers and some other marine life could cause serious injury or death.
Swimming is not recommended, the alert stated.
Earlier this year an irukandji jellyfish was discovered in waters off the island.
The potentially deadly Irukandji was found at Arch Cliffs during a drag conducted by lifesavers on Sunday, January 7. James Cook University Associate Professor Jamie Seymour was sent the sample which he identified as a Carukia Barnesi, a true Irukandji.
At the time, Surf Life Saving Queensland regional manager Craig Holden said the discovery of the Irukandji meant beachgoers visiting the western side of Fraser Island needed to take extra care.
"We're urging everyone to stay out of the water entirely on that western side of the island while conditions are hot and humid," he said.


With excitement high after the trailer for the upcoming Star Wars game Jedi: Fallen Order was revealed at Star Wars Celebration last weekend, Dark Horse Comics has announced plans to publish an art book companion for the game. Featuring concept art of characters, equipment, and locales, as well as artists’ commentary and other behind-the-scenes info, The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is set to hit stands on November 19th, four days after the game hits stores.
Check out the press release below.
MILWAUKIE, Ore. (April 15, 2019)—Dark Horse Books, Lucasfilm Ltd., Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts present The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. The new book, which was created in close collaboration between the four companies, is a full-color, oversized hardcover volume that captures the design process of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a galaxy-spanning, action-adventure video game from Respawn Entertainment and Electronic Arts arriving later this year.
The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order will guide readers through Cal Kestis’ perilous and heroic journey across the galaxy in an attempt to rebuild the Jedi Order as he learns the ways of the Force, travels to exotic worlds, and battles tyrannical foes. This uniquely designed work is sure to thrill dedicated Star Wars fans and gamers alike.
With detailed concept art of all-new characters, exciting equipment, and locales both familiar and new, this tome offers a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of a highly anticipated video game—all accompanied by intimate artists’ commentary that reveal how this incredible galaxy is brought together.
The Art of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order goes on sale November 19, 2019, and is available for pre-order through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Things From Another World, and at your local comic shop.


Gold prices tumbled to six-week lows on Thursday, under pressure from a strengthening dollar on expectations of further U.S. rate rises this year and receding political uncertainty in Europe.
Spot gold was down 0.76 percent to $1,228.55. U.S. gold futures for June delivery fell $19.90 to settle at $1,228.60 an ounce.
Traders said the sell-off accelerated after New York opened.
The dollar strengthened after the U.S. Federal Reserve played down any threats to this year's planned rises in interest rates, supporting forecasts of another move in June.
A rising U.S. currency makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for holders of other currencies, potentially subduing demand for gold.
Expectations that centrist Emmanuel Macron would win the French presidential election on Sunday were reinforced after a TV debate with the far-right's Marine Le Pen.
"Since the first round (April 23) of the French election we have seen gold come under pressure," said ING commodities strategist Warren Patterson.
Investors breathed a sigh of relief after Macron won the first round of the election on April 23, seeing his victory as the best of all possible outcomes.
Gold fell 1.5 percent on Wednesday — its worst single-day drop since Nov. 23 — breaching both its 50-day and 200-day moving averages. Next support comes in around $1,221, the 100-day moving average.
Sachs analysts said in a note.
Higher U.S. interest rates are a negative for gold, which earns nothing and costs money to insure and store. The focus is now shifting to Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls report for April, which could reinforce perceptions of higher U.S. interest rates in June.
Spot silver lost 0.55 percent to $16.30. It has fallen more than 10 percent since touching a 5-month high of $18.65 in mid-April.
Platinum was up 1.06 percent at $902 from an earlier $890.50, its lowest since December.
Palladium rose 0.08 percent to $799.95. It touched $831.50 on Wednesday, its highest since March 2015 on expectations of robust demand from carmakers.


It’s been a busy couple of days for Bermuda’s branch pilots with four arrivals yesterday and a couple more departures today.
The town of St George welcomed its first cruise visitor yesterday morning when the Silver Spirit arrived at Penno’s Wharf.
At around the same time, the liner Regatta, and her 700 passengers, arrived in Hamilton from the Bahamas.
Meanwhile, a little later on the same day, the Celebrity Eclipse rolled into Dockyard completing the ‘Full Monty’ of cruise ships in all of Bermuda’s ports.
Finally, the cement carrier Diego also arrived yesterday and came alongside at the Commercial berth in Dockyard where she will remain until Thursday when she departs.
The Silver Spirit and the Celebrity Eclipse will both leave today, while the Regatta will set sail from Hamilton tomorrow, bound for Norfolk.
The arrival of this week’s car carrier, Southern Highway, has been put back a week due to industrial action in Port of Spain.
Today sees the arrival of the Somers Isles from Florida, which will be followed into Hamilton on Friday by the Bermuda Islander — a day behind schedule.
The Explorer of the Seas is back in Dockyard again on Saturday for her fourth visit of the seas.
And the Oleander will make up the week’s schedule when she arrives in Hamilton on Sunday.


When the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced its first National Goodwill Ambassador to promote environmental responsibility yesterday, they picked the right person: actress Zhou Xun. Sure, Zhou has green cred -- she turns off the tap while brushing, she prefers bikes to SUVs, and she urges her film crews to use reusable chopsticks, she says. But more importantly, she's Chinese.
In a country where the rhetoric on environmental protection seems inversely proportionate to public awareness (especially among young people!), celebrity environmentalism may be one of the more effective ways to get the message out. And aside from fur-wearing Gong Li (or Leo, on a recent stop in Hong Kong), few stars in China have become known for their green choices. Too bad. Star-powered campaigns can be a relief from the typical government initiatives, not least because they are cool (and hot, see below) in a way that China's apparatchiks just aren't (sorry guys!).
Zhou starred in The Banquet, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, and Suzhou River, among others. Get the bigger picture here.
And since celebrities' daily goings-on are often a topic of conversation (they spew carbon just like us!"), their green lifestyle choices can set a strong example -- an important aspect of the Confucian tradition. "To save water, I personally try not to take baths anymore (only showers)," she said yesterday. "Habits can be very hard to change but I want to let people know that we can all make a difference."
Of course, it's worth noting that in Chinese cities, baths, like cars, are still mostly the province of the privileged; most of us still have to make do with showers and bicycles. Zhou said she wants to find "clever ways to communicate with people, and help people to protect the environment in clever ways." At a time when the standard of living is rising fast in China, and media scrutiny is increasing, the challenge of being a jet-setting green leader may be greater than usual. Forget the usual "turn off the faucet" message: if Zhou can demonstrate that a lavish, luxury-loving lifestyle like the one she and other stars exemplify is not ideal -- and show China's aspiring middle class how to keep a low footprint while keeping their Manolos on -- she would be sending the cleverest environmental message in China now.


Funeral services have been scheduled for Michael Sot, the 20-year-old college student who died after his car was struck by a motorist who was allegedly intoxicated.
CLARK - Funeral services have been scheduled for Michael Sot, the 20-year-old college student who died after his car was struck by a motorist who was allegedly intoxicated.
Services will be held 3 p.m Sunday at the Higgins and Bonner Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave., Westfield. A funeral Mass will be held 10 a.m. Monday at St. John the Apostle Church on Valley Road here.
Born in Livingston to Candice Buno-Sot and Michael Sot, he graduated from Arthur L. Johnson High School where he was a star baseball player and a member of the National Honor Society.
Sot was a sophomore at The College of New Jersey where he was majoring in math with the hope of becoming an actuary. He was a member of the Phi Kappa Psi national fraternity.
Besides his parents, he is survived by his younger brothers Jon Sot and Matthew Sot, sister Jessica Sot and stepbrother Frankie Fabio; stepmother Jana Fabio; grandparents Jasmin and Tom Buno, and Carolyn and Ed Sot and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
Sot, who was serving as a designated driver, died on Tuesday from the injuries suffered in an accident early Sunday morning.
The crash remains under investigation, but authorities determined that shortly after 2 a.m., David Lamar V, 22, of West Windsor was driving south on Pennington Road near the college's Ewing campus, crossed over the double line and crashed head-on into Sot’s 2007 Dodge Charger, which was heading north.
Police on Monday charged Lamar with seven counts of assault by auto after investigators determined he was impaired during the crash, which injured eight people, including five TCNJ students who were passengers in Sot’s car.
Hours after Sot died, the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office announced that a charge of vehicular homicide will be filed against Lamar.
April 21, 2019, 5:14 p.m.


Kelly Rowland took center field Sunday night (Oct 3) and performed the National Anthem just before the New York Giants vs. Chicago Bears football game in New Jersey. And to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the R&B singer (dressed in a pink jacket) was joined by 120 breast cancer survivors who formed a giant pink ribbon in the middle of the field.
FYI: Kelly almost canceled her performance due to her catching a cold, but decided to go ahead with it at the last minute!


Their truth will be here – as UFOlogists, alien abductees and flying-saucer flicks headline the first Culture of Contact convention in the city this weekend.
The three-day festival, which begins today and will take place around the Lower East Side, marks the 60th anniversary of a sighting that launched the modern era of UFO study. The festival features music, theater as well as abductees’ art.


Planes, trains and automobiles are what first come to mind when most people think of the act of traveling. But really, some of the best people and experiences are discovered by simply walking. This fun video, created by filmmakers Kerrin Sheldon and Gaston Blanchet, takes viewers on a long walk through 12 different – including India, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan. The pair made the video over a period of eight months while shooting for their project, Humanity.TV, in which they are working to document the lives of individuals all over the world. It’s a great reminder that sometimes going back to basics and taking things in slowly is the best way to really discover places. If you agree, check out the project’s Kickstarter page.


The new home for Stanford GSB opened its doors April 29 with a dedication and open house that drew thousands.
Stanford GSB christened its new home, the Knight Management Center, at a lively April 29 celebration that began with a formal dedication ceremony and later let loose as a flash mob, and the Stanford Marching Band descended on the school's new town square.
The event marked the end of a three-year building project that produced a facility that will enable the business school to move forward and grow in the areas of curriculum and innovation.
“We’re now able to turn the physical spaces that have been created here into intellectual learning places,” Stanford GSB Dean Garth Saloner said of the 8 new buildings on the 12.5-acre site.
Six hundred banners bearing words and phrases meant to inspire change, written by members of Stanford GSB and Stanford communities, flowed from the new buildings. The banners echoed the business school’s slogan: Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world. Visitors also had the chance to contribute their words of change on banners that can be seen online and will be displayed in the future.
Knight wrote his business plan for Nike in a small business class at the school taught by the late Professor Frank Shallenberger.
The Knight Management Center is the new home of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Thousands of visitors, alumni, and members of the Stanford community toured the 8 buildings after the dedication ceremony and had the opportunity to see some of the 100 classrooms of various sizes that enable teaching a new curriculum in flexible learning spaces.
As visitors enjoyed the Stanford Gospel Choir and Mendicants a capella group, they had the chance to sample locally grown foods at the Arbuckle Dining Pavilion, coffee specialties from the TA Associates CafÃ©, and appetizers from Schwab Residential Center dining services. The crowd also sampled the terraces, patios, and shaded picnic benches, which are designed as spaces to meet, share a meal or cup of coffee, and think collaboratively.
The firm Hit and Run T-Shirts helped guests of the open house customize T-shirts bearing messages of change, while some visitors took self-guided tours of the 360,000-square-foot facility using cell phones to call in and learn about specific locations and features of the buildings.
The green features of the sustainably designed center, which is seeking a LEED Platinum® rating for environmental sustainability from the U.S. Green Building Council, were visible during the open house, including the roof-mounted photovoltaic panels; the long, narrow buildings that allow more natural light in; and the 870-space underground parking structure that eliminates the "heat-island effect" of traditional uncovered parking lots.
Visitors also had the chance to view the public art pieces dedicated to change, such as the cornerstone that reads: “Dedicated to the things that haven't happened yet and the people who are about to dream them up”or the Monument to Change as it Changes, a wall composed of panels that constantly change color, creating constant movement and different patterns.
And they could stand in Phil Knight’s footsteps. An installation imbedded near the town square’s entrance includes a quotation from the man whose lead gift launched the project and imprints of two distinctive waffle-soled shoes.
The $345 million Knight Management Center will enable innovative curriculum in one of the world's most sustainable business school facilities.
New facility is expected to earn the highest LEED Platinum rating for environmental sustainability from the U.S. Green Building Council.


A 23-year-old man arrested on suspicion of the murder of an 81-year-old woman has been taken to hospital for medical treatment.
Albertina Choules was attacked at her home in Ragmans Lane, Marlow, Buckinghamshire.
She was reportedly found on the lawn. A post-mortem examination found that she died as a result of blunt trauma head injury before she was set on fire.
Detective Chief Superintendent Gilbert Houalla appealed for anyone who saw a man suspected of being involved, prior to the attack.
The man is described as white, about 6ft tall, wiry, with short cropped dark hair that is slightly longer on top than on the sides. He has very noticeable, pale blue eyes.
Mr Houalla said: ``We are appealing for witnesses and would particularly like to speak to anyone who may have seen a man matching the description between the times of 10pm on Saturday July 2, and noon on Sunday July 3.
The victim's family said in a statement released through police: ``Tina was incredibly special, as was her simple, self-sufficient way of life with no electricity, television or washing machine.
``She never liked to sit still and worked tirelessly to maintain her beautiful garden and produce all year round.
``Even in her old age she would chop trees, dig up flowerbeds and wrestle with her lovely dog, Georgie.
``She was completely selfless in giving away her fantastic fruit and vegetables to friends and family as well as sharing her wonderful Buddhist Stupas (that she built with her own hands) with those that chose to walk in the woodland.


Those are the word of John Leigh Baker, whose Skellow home was broken into two men.
Ridgill Avenue in Skellow, Doncaster.
John was home with his wife and step-daughter at the time of the incident, which took place at around 10.30pm last night on Ridgill Avenue.
After smashing his back fence, the men had forced their way into his house via the back door where they took the keys to his car, a VW Bora.
The Bora was then involved in a collision with a 4x4-type vehicle on Ridgill Avenue, causing damage to both vehicles and several others that were parked on the street.
There was then multiple reports of disorder in the area, with a man in his 30s suffering serious facial injuries. He was taken to hospital and has been arrested on suspicion of aggravated burglary.
This afternoon, John told the Doncaster Free Press that they had been ‘up to their necks in it all day’.
He said: “I haven’t got a clue who they were. They just saw our low wall at the back and came through the house to escape.
The back alley from which the man gained access to Mr Baker's house.
“The police haven’t told us anything and we have had forensics here but they didn’t really do much.
Some of the damage they caused.
An eyewitness, who spoke to the Doncaster Free Press this morning on condition of anonymity, said it was ‘chaotic’.
“The mum and her child, who must have only been about three or four-years-old, came running out of the house screaming, he said.
“They were hysterical, as you would be.
“Then as the gang tried to get away in their car this 4x4 turned up and started going into the parked vehicles. There was smoke coming out of some of them.
Police say enquiries in the area are ongoing and are exploring the possibility that the incidents are linked to an earlier dispute between groups known to one another.
Anyone with any information is asked to call 101, quoting incident number 935 of 5 October 2018.


Russians who have taken out mortgages are finding it increasingly difficult to meet loan repayments as the credit crunch continues to bite.
The problem is particularly acute for those who took out loans in foreign currencies. The Central Bank of Russia has released new data this week showing that late payments on foreign currency denominated loans have trebled, with one in ten estimated to have stopped making payments at all. Olga Belenkaya, analyst at Sovlink, says the slide in value of the Rouble against most international currencies is driving more mortgagees to the wall.
The Central Bank says the value of mortgages debts rose by 63% in 2008 to reach 995.2 billion roubles, or $28 billion. Ilya Zibarev, Deputy Head of Retail business at Alfa Bank says this reflected a focus on providing the rapid expansion of loan portfolios led to a lessened focus on borrower quality. “The major banks were… aggressive in providing real estate loans, participating in the national project ”Affordable housing,“ thus the quantity of loans trumped quality.” Indicative of the approach adopted by major banks was VTB which redeemed mortgage portfolios of regional banks, often of a lesser quality.
Experts say the trend is likely to continue for some time, as the threat of unemployment becomes greater, with the Ministry of economic development forecasting a 2.2% contraction in GDP this year, and the banking system continuing to experience financing difficulties.
Overdue debts on rouble denominated real estate loans have grown 13.4 times, to 5.8 billion roubles ($162 million), while overdue debts on foreign currency denominated loans have grown 17 times to 6.3 billion roubles ($176 million).
Previously it had been thought that banks which were more stringent in their lending assessments of potential borrowers would be able to minimize the extent of late mortgage payments. But the situation is worsening with little prospect of a turnaround in the short term.
Sovlink analyst, Olga Belenkaya, believes that solvency issues will remain in focus, and that repayment delays will worsen, along with bank provisions for ‘bad’ debts. As a result banks will be compelled to create additional reserves to support 'bad' loans which will lead to a reduction in capital sufficiency. To further add to the gloom, falling real estate costs raise the risk that more people will find themselves stretched to repay loans on an asset of diminishing value.


The Navy wouldn't confirm where the carrier is headed, but all signs point to a final farewell from its long-time Bremerton homeport.
The USS John C. Stennis departed Bremerton without much fanfare early Monday afternoon for what could be the ship's final time getting underway for deployment as one of Naval Base Kitsap's two homeported carriers.
Navy officials would not confirm that the carrier was deploying or if this departure was the last time the Stennis was leaving its more than decade-long homeport before its scheduled homeport shift to Virginia, although many signs point to such action.
"I can confirm John C. Stennis is underway, however we do not discuss future operations," said U.S. Third Fleet spokesman Cmdr. John Fage.
When the Stennis last deployed in 2016, the Navy issued a statement two days in advance of the carrier's departure to notify the public. This time around, no prior announcement was made.
A small handful of onlookers stood along the popular waterfront spot at Bachmann Park to bid a possible final farewell to the carrier as Navy tugboats guided the Stennis through Rich Passage.
Among them was Lydia Collins, who watched as her husband, a nuclear machinist's mate, sailed away on the Stennis. She brought their infant daughter, Zoe, to the pier-side farewell.
"It's kinda terrible," Collins said. "She's three months old, and so he won't see her until she's 10 months old."
Collins previously served in the Navy and met her husband, George, while they were both assigned to the USS Abraham Lincoln while it was homeported at Naval Station Everett.
"I was previously in the Navy, so this should be easy for me, but it's not," Collins said. "It's heartwrenching. You know it's going to be fine, and the days are going to pass by quickly, but the first couple of days are awful for me."
Many Stennis families have already moved across the country in advance of the carrier's upcoming homeport swap to Virginia, and Collins said she and her family would soon be packing up and heading east after spending almost two years in the Pacific Northwest this time around.
"When we came back up here it was kind of special," Collins said. "But I'm excited to go back to Virginia, because that's where my best friend lives and my family's from Texas, so it's slightly closer."
For those who live in Bremerton long-term, the carrier will be missed.
Upon the completion of the carrier's deployment, the Stennis is scheduled to conduct a homeport swap to Naval Station Norfolk in advance of the 23-year-old carrier's planned mid-life refueling overhaul.
It was a bittersweet departure that "was like saying goodbye to family," said Alan Beam, a retired Navy captain who is a former president of the Bremerton Olympic Peninsula Council of the United States Navy League.
"During her stay in Bremerton we got a chance to know her crew and have developed life-long relationships," Beam said. "They were active in the community and could always be counted on lending a helping hand. They truly will be missed."
The carrier has spent the past year getting ready to deploy following a six-month maintenance period at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, which was the largest work package ever completed on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in a six-month timeframe.
"Our entire shipyard takes great pride in seeing the warships we maintain depart to execute their mission in support of our Navy and our nation," said shipyard commanding officer Capt. Howard Markle.
When the Stennis returned from its last underway period in September, the carrier had completed what's often the final stage in the pre-deployment workup cycle, the composite training unit exercise, known as COMPTUEX. A press release said the carrier was certified as a "deployment-ready and capable of commencing missions overseas."
The carrier's under-the-radar departure was the latest demonstration of the Navy's policy shift of refraining from publicly discussing ship movements of any kind — whether it's for training exercises, maintenance cycles, homeport changes or deployments.
The change comes as the Navy seeks to implement the Department of Defense's "Dynamic Force Employment" strategy, which calls for greater flexibility and unpredictability in how Navy vessels operate.
Under the new deployment strategy, there is a chance the Stennis could return to Bremerton at some time during deployment for such a port visit, but Navy officials declined to comment on the likelihood of such an event occurring.
Naval Base Kitsap's dock space won't remain vacant for long after the Stennis' departure since the Navy plans for Bremerton to remain a two-carrier town for the foreseeable future.
The USS Carl Vinson will conduct a homeport swap to Bremerton from San Diego sometime within the next few months in advance of a year-long planned dry dock maintenance cycle at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
The Navy also recently announced the decision to continue homeporting the USS Nimitz in Bremerton rather than have the carrier return to its former homeport of Naval Station Everett in 2019.
The Stennis came to Bremerton from its former homeport of San Diego in January 2005, just before the Carl Vinson changed homeports from Bremerton to Virginia in advance of its own mid-life refueling overhaul.
In the years the carrier has called Bremerton home, the Stennis has deployed a number of times in support of combat operations in the Middle East and conducted freedom of navigation patrols all across the globe.
The carrier launched almost 8,000 combat sorties in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom from the Arabian Gulf in 2007. Pilots flew more than 22,000 flight hours and dropped nearly 90,000 pounds of ordnance in support of coalition forces operating on the ground in Afghanistan and Iraq.
In 2011, the carrier once again returned to the Arabian Gulf to launch more air support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation New Dawn.
Aircraft from the Stennis' embarked carrier air wing flew the Navy's last sortie over Iraq in support of New Dawn in December 2011.
The Stennis returned from deployment in March 2012, but it found itself back at sea five months later for an unplanned, surge deployment in August 2012.
During the seven-month deployment to the Middle East and Western Pacific, the Stennis launched planes into Iraq and Afghanistan, rescued Iranian fishermen from Somali pirates and passed through the Strait of Hormuz just as Iran was threatening to shut it down.
When the Stennis last deployed in January 2016, the carrier was the centerpiece of the Navy's "Great Green Fleet" initiative that used biofuel and energy conservation measures with the goal for the Navy to "become a more flexible fighting force," according to a press release.
While underway, the Stennis spent seven months operating in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including 60 days spent patrolling the South China Sea, and participated in numerous multinational exercises.
Although the Navy has not announced where the Stennis will go while underway, the carrier returns to patrolling the seas amid rising tensions with China over its activity in the disputed waterways of the South China Sea.
For decades, China has asserted a historical claim to much of the sea's strategically and economically important waterways and reefs. Its claim is not recognized by international maritime law.
At the beginning of October, a Chinese destroyer sailed within 45 yards of the Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer USS Decatur in what Navy officials called an "unsafe and unprofessional maneuver" as the Decatur sailed within 12 miles of the disputed Spratly Island chain.
In September, China denied a U.S. request to make a port call in Hong Kong from the Wasp Expeditionary Strike Group with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard the strike group's lead amphibious assault ship.
A similar situation occurred the last time the Stennis was underway in May 2016, when Chinese officials canceled the strike group's scheduled port visit to Hong Kong due to rising political tensions between the two countries.
Earlier this year, the Navy uninvited the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy from participating in the major multinational biennial training exercise Rim of the Pacific because of the growing militarization of the South China Sea's disputed reefs.


Well, I thought I was. You know, we called today looking for my ticket. And they were like, 'You're not in the first group. So, the first tickets that they give out, I'm not on that list.
This doesn't necessarily mean that Lil Rel Howrey won't eventually get an invitation. As he pointed out in his remarks to Jimmy Kimmel he simply wasn't in the "first group" of invited members of the Get Out party. But considering the fact that his role as Rod is one of the main characters in the movie, it arguably seems somewhat bizarre to think that the comedian wasn't included in that group -- particularly when some have already taken to classifying it as a comedy through awards season.
It was a lucky break for Lil Rel Howrey to reveal his lack of an invitation to The Oscars on Jimmy Kimmel Live. After all, Kimmel is once again going to take on hosting duties, which means that he probably has the ability to pull some strings to get the comedian into the events. Kimmel even made a promise to try after Howrey explained that he had not been invited, so we will have to wait and see if the host can come through. Considering the sheer amount of cheers and applause that Kimmel received when he told Howrey that he would get him in, it seems clear that there's a lot of fan enthusiasm for it to happen.
It will probably be a night to remember for Lil Rel Howrey if he does manage to get into The Academy Awards this year. The Best Picture category is fairly stacked, but Get Out definitely seems to have a good chance of walking away with Oscar gold this year. Whether or not that will actually happen remains to be seen, but it's going to prove fascinating to watch all nominees duke it out.
With all of that said, make sure to catch The Academy Awards when the ceremony airs on Sunday, March 4 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. As for all of the films that could potentially contend for next year's Oscars ceremony, make sure to hop over to CinemaBlend's comprehensive 2018 movie premiere guide and fill out your moviegoing calendars accordingly!


In the Bible, Moses goes into the desert, God tells him he should go to Pharaoh and tell Pharaoh to let his people go and Moses doesn’t want to do it. And he runs away into the desert, and he comes across a burning bush and presumably God’s in the bush, the bush keeps burning, but it’s never consumed. And this voice speaks to him and tells him what he ought to go and do. And Moses says to him, “Who shall I say sent me?” And the voice says to him, “Tell him, I am that which I am," which is Jehovah, the word for God. It’s the same root: I am that which I am.
So God is saying, "You can’t compare me to anything else, this is just the way things behave. I’m not a metaphor, I’m not an analogy, there is nothing like me. This is just the way I am."
The reason I stumbled into Spinoza was that he has a theory which is really about morals and how to live, but he starts out with emotions. He’s very entranced by Euclid and by the mathematical approach to setting down principles and deducing the consequences like Pythagoras’ theorem. Spinoza tries to study human emotions because he thinks they’re the source of all of our trouble and he’s going to find a solution to all of this.
So Spinoza starts by analyzing all of the emotions and he says at the bottom of the heap, so to speak, is pain and pleasure and desire. He defines them and everybody kind of knows what a point is and everybody knows what pleasure, pain and desire is.
Then he builds up all the other emotions on top of them. So he says, love is pleasure associated with an external object and hatred is pain associated with an external object. And envy is pain at somebody else’s pleasure and now it’s a hybrid thing that is connected to pain and pleasure. And cruelty is somebody else’s desire to inflict pain on someone that you love.
Spinoza gets very sophisticated, it’s really cleaver. He’s looking at emotions and saying, "This is the way they work and you can take it or leave it, but there’s nothing metaphorical about it." He’s looking at what there is and trying to categorize it and say "That’s the way it works." I think Freud is like that too in a sense in that he’s not trying to compare the mind to anything; he’s just describing the structure.
So one of the things Spinoza leads up to which I sort of like is not distinguishing between mind and matter and saying that it’s not that matter is the cause of mind or mind is the cause of matter, but that they both are two sides of the same thing, which is kind of not pragmamorphic. I kind of like it.
And the other thing he goes on a lot about is related to ethics and to Wall Street which is the understanding that other people are really just another version of you. It’s nothing fancier than saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” But he sort of keeps stressing that there’s one universal substance that we’re all made of and you sort of think of other people as being just another version of you in some sense.


This year, filmmaker Eli Roth, acclaimed director of blockbuster horror films such as Hostel and Cabin Fever, makes his commercial directorial debut with Universal Studios' new Halloween Horror Nights television spot, entitled "The Mourning After." Halloween Horror Nights kicks off at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort on Friday, September 15. The commercial begins airing after the Labor Day weekend and can be seen below, along with a behind-the-scenes making of video that includes the extended Director's Cut version, and a photo of the filmmaker on the set.
With Roth's creative direction and filmmaking expertise, the compelling 30-second commercial becomes one of the most cinematic, horror-film-inspired, Halloween Horror Nights commercials ever created. "The Mourning After" spot follows a group of friends as they attend an unusual Halloween costume party and unfolds with a series of suspenseful twists and turns that begs for more. Viewers will see an array of hidden references woven throughout the spot that pay tribute to the horror films and television-themed mazes guests will encounter at this year's Halloween Horror Nights events.
These include FX's critically-acclaimed, Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning television series, American Horror Story, Stanley Kubrick's psychological horror film, The Shining and the upcoming SAW: The Games of Jigsaw movie. Roth is a long-time fan of Halloween Horror Nights and has previously served as a creative consultant for the event, including a Hostel-inspired maze. He said the commercial gave him the opportunity to combine a love of horror films with how those films are brought to life within Halloween Horror Nights. Here's what Eli Roth had to say about directing this commercial.
"I first got involved with Halloween Horror Nights as a fan. I felt that I was in a horror movie and I didn't want it to end. For this spot, I wanted to pay homage to these brilliant and scary films, and yet put my own spin on it."
Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights is the ultimate Halloween event. For more than 20 years, guests from around the world have visited Halloween Horror Nights in Hollywood and Orlando to become victims inside their own horror film. The streets of each coast's event are transformed into highly-themed scare zones where menacing "scare-actors" lunge from every darkened corner. Multiple movie-quality haunted houses are erected throughout the event, based on everything from iconic slasher films to hit horror television series to haunting original stories.
For more information and to purchase tickets to Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Orlando Resort, visit HalloweenHorrorNights.com. For exciting updates and exclusive Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood content, visit HalloweenHorrorNights.com/Hollywood, like Halloween Horror Nights Hollywood on Facebook; follow @HorrorNights #UniversalHHN on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat; and watch the terror come to life on Halloween Horror Nights YouTube. Take a look at the new Halloween Horror Nights ad below, along with the behind-the-scenes video with the extended cut.


Junior Caleb Berry pitches in the sixth inning.
Casey Toler started on the mound for the Mavericks.
Cutter Buchea is too late with the tag on Jackson's Ryan Contreras.
Head coach Bill Hummel flashes signs to his team.
Zach Matson pitched three innings in relief.
Three Jackson Timberwolves’ pitchers limited Meadowdale Maverick hitters to just three hits in a 9-1 victory over the Mavs in a non-conference game played Tuesday at Meadowdale High School.
Jackson starter Case Matter earned the mound win as the junior gave up just one run to the Mavs in five innings of work, striking out 10 and walking just one.
In other Meadowdale sports results on Tuesday, the Mavs softball team lost a heartbeaker to the Lake Stevens Vikings 8-7 at Lake Stevens High School. After falling behind 6-2, Meadowdale scored two runs in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth to take a 7-6 advantage; but the Vikings pushed across two runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off victory.
The Mavs girls tennis team beat the Mount Vernon Bulldogs 4-3 at Mount Vernon High School.


Hall does the hard yards to get Visa and MasterCard back onside, clock up 100 million registered users.
Full-length 870 metre sealed airstrip on the farm Mr Lentino used for his private Lear jet.
The Napier-born business man owned Super Black Racing, and was one of the original investors in Kim Dotcom's Mega — before ultimately falling out with the accused pirate.
A Freed spokesman refused to confirm or deny allegations.
NBR ONLINE understands Stephen Hall was prompted to step down as chief executive of data storage and encryption company Mega by some of the company’s shareholders.
The journalist/blogger distinction may no longer be an issue for Whale Oil founder Cameron Slater.


A clear sky. Low 51F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Renewable Properties hosted a ground breaking for construction on the American Canyon Solar Project on April 5. Pictured here: Bruce Wilson, executive director, Workforce Alliance North Bay; Brad Wagenknecht, Napa County supervisor, district 1; Belia Ramos, Napa County supervisor, District 5; Aaron Halimi, president, Renewable Properties; Alexandra McGee, community power organizer, MCE.
Renewable Properties LLC will build the county’s first commercial solar farm near American Canyon along Interstate 80. The area where the solar array will be built is in green.
After “months of development, planning and preparation,” Renewable Properties hosted a ground breaking on April 5 for construction on the American Canyon Solar Project.
The project is located at 2180 American Canyon Road.
According to a news release, the annual electricity generated from the project is enough to meet the consumption of 1,000 average U.S. homes per year.
That’s equivalent to avoiding more than 5,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, similar to the volume of greenhouse gases emitted from 1,218 passenger vehicles driven over one year, said the release.
Renewable Properties developed the small-scale utility solar project that will supply Marin Clean Energy with 3 megawatts of in-service area solar electricity.
The project is expected to begin delivery of clean, locally-produced electricity to Marin Clean Energy (MCE) by July of this year through a 20-year power purchase agreement.
“We’re grateful to Renewable Properties not only for investing in clean, renewable solar energy but for partnering with the Workforce Alliance of the North Bay to provide experience and local green-collar job opportunities to Napa County residents,” said Dawn Weisz, CEO of MCE.
A feed-in tariff is a program that’s designed to encourage renewable energy development which then allows energy producers to sell energy back to the grid.
Located on approximately 21 acres, the American Canyon Solar Project will utilize “horizontal single-axis tracking solar photovoltaic (PV) technology,” said the release.
“Renewable Properties is pleased to partner with Marin Clean Energy to supply affordable, local, in-service area solar energy to its customers through the American Canyon Solar Project,” said Aaron Halimi, president of Renewable Properties.
Founded in 2017, Renewable Properties specializes in developing and investing in small-scale utility and commercial solar energy projects throughout the U.S., said the release.
MCE is a not-for-profit, public agency that began service in 2010 with the goals of providing cleaner power at stable rates to its customers, reducing greenhouse emissions, and investing in targeted energy programs that support communities’ energy needs, said the release.


It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Henry Cavill sporting his Man of Steel haircut! Want to see another photo? Maybe you want to read how he’s preparing his mind and body for the role of Superman? Curious about a Batman themed fan-film called GCPD? What set from The Avengers could be moving across into Iron Man 3? And do we have a major clue to the ultimate baddy in The Dark Knight Rises? Read all of this, and more, in today’s Superhero Bits.
Doesn’t that picture just bring a tear to your eye? It’s Henry Cavill, of course, sporting his best Superman hairdo in preparation for Zack Snyder‘s Man of Steel. The pics come from Moviehole (via Ain’t It Cool).
I’m on 5000 calories a day… You’ve got to eat protein first, then a little bit of carbs…you’ve gotta keep your hunger levels going. I’m training two and a half hours a day, pushing my body beyond its normal limits, putting on a lot of muscle mass and just making myself look like Superman.
I did love Superman: Doomsday, The Death of Superman, Superman Returns, The New Krypton Saga especially, Red Son. Red Son was cool because it had the alternate story line. A lot of them I love, but recently, the one I read most recently was The New Krypton Saga, and I really enjoyed that.
CNet (via CBM) talked to Joss Whedon at Comic Con and he definitely said that Ant-Man is not in The Avengers. But it has been a challenge for him.
The late, legendary comic book artist Jack Kirby has been in the news lately because of his family’s lawsuits with Marvel. But since many younger people might not know the man responsible (or not so, according to the courts) for the look of iconic characters like Captain America and the Hulk, Gamma Squad has come up with 17 things you may not know about Jack Kirby.
Luke Skywalker might be best known for voicing the Joker these days and that’s what he talks about in this clip from The Flickcast (via CBM). He mentions both Batman: Arkham City and The Killing Joke. Oh, wait, he’s Mark Hamill, not Luke Skywalker.
News of a developing Doctor Strange movie broke earlier this week and that means fans can start wildly speculating about casting. What Culture has a bunch of great ideas (eight of them to be exact) of who could play the role but they’re a little too ambitious. I mean, Johnny Depp? Dare to dream, I guess.


A “vile” Wigan predator who stalked a stranger for two hours before sexually assaulting her in a car park, has been jailed.
Peter Gibson, of Melrose Drive in Winstanley, has been locked up for four years following the attack, which happened in small parking area off Wallgate on November 31 last year.
The 53-year-old faced a judge at Bolton Crown Court this week after handing himself in following a police manhunt.
CCTV footage captured Gibson, 53, following his victim as she walked down the main road on her own.
The woman, who was in her 20s, was then brutally assaulted and left bleeding until she was discovered by a passerby and taken to hospital for treatment.
The court heard how the victim had gone out with her friends on the evening of Friday, November 30.
A spokesperson for the Crime Prosecution Service, said: “By her own admission she was very intoxicated and has no memory of what happened to her. Her last memory of the evening was being in club called Rock Box, dancing.
“Her next memory is waking up in Accident and Emergency.
Gibson had also tried to speak to the victim earlier in the night.
After his sentencing, his victim spoke out about how the attack has had a lasting effect on her.
The brave woman said she felt she had a duty to put him behind bars to protect other woman.
“He is vile and a danger to society”, she said. “I was just enjoying a night out.
“It’s horrible having to second-guess everything now.
His victim said that she does not believe four years in prison is enough for what he did to her.
“He got a maximum of six years for the offence. Then two years got taken off because he pleaded guilty and handed himself in.
“He had no remorse just sat scratching his nose and scratching his head on the video link.
Following the incident, police launched a widespread manhunt for the attacker, who they believed could have been seen by revellers out on the town. This led to Gibson handing himself in three days after the assault.


AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Texas land commissioner candidate George P. Bush has become a father.
Spokesman Trey Newton said Bush and his wife Amanda had their first child, a boy named Prescott Walker Bush, Monday afternoon.
Bush is son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and grandson of former President George H.W. Bush. Another former president, George W. Bush, is his uncle.
Newtown said the baby is a third generation Texan and joked that "George P. looks forward to his son carrying on his tradition of playing baseball for the Rice Owls."
A Spanish-speaking attorney and consultant based in Fort Worth, Bush is considered a rising star among conservative Hispanics.
So, in 18 years, Prescott Walker Bush can check the "Hispanic" box on his Rice application.


"It crossed my mind several times that he might pull me over," said Marshfield kayak angler Jordan Isaacs.
When it hit his lure, kayak angler Jordan Isaacs thought the big striped bass at the end of the line might actually capsize his 11.5-foot boat.
"It about jerked the rod out of my hand," Isaacs recalled of that July 22 night. "It crossed my mind several times that he might pull me over. I had a friend on the bank who saw me take off downstream. He said he could see my lights going down the river."
Fishing in the deep hole below the Ozark Beach dam (formerly known as Powersite dam), Isaacs had already caught two striped bass in the 10- to 12-pound range. About 10:30 p.m. he cast his 12-inch Storm Kickin' Minnow lure and let it sink about 7 feet deep.
The Marshfield angler was using a Lew's baitcasting reel filled with 175 yards of 20-pound test line. The striper inhaled the lure and took off on a massive run, pulling Isaacs' kayak downstream into Bull Shoals Lake.
The fish was tearing line off the reel so fast, Isaacs said he was afraid it would take it all.
"There were about 10 wraps left on the spool so I pulled up the anchor and let him pull me," he said. "It ran four or five times, and I'd gain back on him. It finally stopped running and hung out on the bottom. You wouldn't think a fish could pull that hard."
He worked the striper up from the deep and was stunned by its size when it breached the surface.
"I tried to pull it into the boat, but it was so big I didn't know what to do," he said. "I finally got a leg under it and held it by the mouth so I could pull him in. I got my legs wrapped around him, with its head up against my chest like a puppy dog. It was a long paddle back!"
On shore, Isaacs said the fish weighed 62 pounds — just a few shy of the Missouri striper record of 65 pounds, 14 ounces caught in 2015 by Lawrence Dillman, also in Bull Shoals Lake.
He and a friend eventually got the fish to the conservation department's Shepherd of the Hills Hatchery in Branson, which has a set of certified scales. The delay cost a few pounds; the striper came in at 58 pounds even.
The fish was 48 inches long, with a girth of 32.5 inches, according to Isaacs.
It's not a Missouri record, but Isaacs did earn a certificate from kayakfishing.com as the world record striper caught from a kayak. The fish is still in his freezer, awaiting a taxidermist's handiwork so Isaacs can display it on his wall.
"I've been fishing my whole life, ever since I was old enough to walk," said Isaacs, 30. "I've been kayak fishing competitively for two years now."
Striped bass were accidentally introduced into Bull Shoals Lake in 1998, a shipment of young fish that were supposed to go to nearby Norfork Lake. Stripers thrived in Bull Shoals, which has a hefty population of shad that stripers eagerly devour.
Twenty years later, those original transplants are now huge, though reaching the end of their lifespans.
Isaacs said he knows there are bigger stripers than his 58-pounder still in the lake. Maybe even a record fish.
"I'm going to beat it next year," he predicted.
The all-time striper record, according to the International Game Fish Association, is held by a Connecticut angler, who landed an 81-pound, 14-ounce fish from the Atlantic Ocean in 2011.


A new video from The Atlantic follows a graduating senior as she navigates higher education and the path to citizenship.
The #Not1More campaign created TheExcluded.net to put a face on the undocumented immigrants whose fates the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) program doesn’t address.
TheDream.US joined forces with two states to help undocumented immigrant students continue their education.
“The parallels, the resonance, the familiarity of the situation was really clear,” Dr. Satsuki Ina told the Los Angeles Times.
StepForward tackles immigration issues that directly impact women.
Obama created DAPA, a program that would halt the deportation of some undocumented parents, through an executive order last year. The program has been in limbo due to legal challenges from 26 states. Now, the Supreme Court is getting involved.
Add this to Trump’s endless list of vitriolic, racist and racially tinged statements.
A judge says Texas doesn’t have to issue birth certificates for the U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants—yet.
County officials say that offering preventative services to adult undocumented immigrants will lower costs and improve overall public health.
The study presents data that disproves stereotypes surrounding language acquisition, health and more.


Despite surviving an ample amount of Eli Manning moments on opening night of the 2013 season, the new-look defense ended up saving Sunday evening by coming up with five — count ’em, five — turnovers.
And the Cowboys got off to a winning beginning with a 36-31 victory over the New York Giants, a team that never loses at the Big Yard. Or at least hadn’t until committing six turnovers in all.
To put the Kiffin-Marinelli instant impact into perspective, the Cowboys’ defense had a meager 16 takeaways last season. Sixteen in 16 games, one of the worst ratios in the league.
From training camp, the Cowboys’ emphasis — “emphasis, emphasis, emphasis,” said coach Jason Garrett afterward — was go get the guy with the ball, strip the ball and pounce on the fumble.
Talk is easy in Oxnard. Talk is easy in meaningless exhibition games.
But this was live action. And this was about putting the talk into action.
The biggest turnover of the night, simply because of the timing, belonged to cornerback Brandon Carr, who picked off a deflected Manning pass at midfield and raced 49 yards for the clinching touchdown.
With a mere 1:50 left, the Cowboys’ lead was then 36-24.
Manning, who was airing it out on the defense in the second half, attempted a short pass to running back Da’Rel Scott. Eli wasn’t off target much in the second half, but the pass was behind Scott, although probably catchable.
The ball deflected off Scott’s hand right to Carr, who was off to the races, having to beat only Manning to the end zone.
Eli’s numbers for the night — 27 of 42 for 450 yards and four touchdowns — would suggest it was anything but a fine defensive performance.
But the negative number on Eli spelled doom for the Giants. He threw three picks.
There was also a huge strip and recovery twice on starting running back David Wilson, who fumbled at the Dallas 8-yard line early in the game on a hit by safety Barry Church.
And in the third quarter, Wilson fumbled again on a strip by tackle Nick Hayden, and here came Church again. He returned the fumble 27 yards for a touchdown, and at the time, a 20-10 lead.
The Cowboys would go up 27-10 in the second half, but Manning and his receivers blew through the defense for back-to-back 90- and 80-yard touchdown drives, meaning 85,000-plus in the Big Yard had anxious moments until the Carr pick.
The other turnover came on a muffed Giants punt, a touched ball that Dwayne Harris kept alive by prying it from a New York player, allowing rookie linebacker DeVonte Holloman to make the recovery deep in Giants territory.
That turnover led to a Cowboys TD on a Tony Romo-to-Jason Witten throw.
Harris, by the way, lost his spot in the receivers’ rotation to rookie Terrence Williams but was an absolute demon on the punt coverage team. Speaking of a vast improvement from a year ago, give credit to the Cowboys’ special teams, which had no major gaffes.
Also speaking of defense, a huge play in the game came on a tackle by DeMarco Murray, meaning the Kiffin-Marinelli combo can’t exactly take credit.
After Williams had a rookie mix-up on a route deep in NY territory, the Romo pick on the play was returned 91 yards by Giants safety Ryan Mundy. For a TD, however, Mundy needed 92 yards.
Murray ran down Mundy at the 1-yard line after it appeared to be a sure pick-six.
The Cowboys’ defense got a stuff on first down and then a sack by one of those defensive unknowns, end George Selvie. The Giants, starting at the 1, had to settle for a field goal.
Make it five turnovers created by the defense, plus an end-zone shutdown of the Giants from the 1-yard line.
Give up 500 yards of offense, yet it was still a great debut for the new-look defense.
Go figure as the Cowboys go 1-0 on the season.
And senior citizens can go to Denny’s, at least with a fake ID.
Big Mac Blog: Cowboys on pace for 96 takeaways!


The position is located in the Conference Support Section (CSS) of the Corruption and Economic Crime Branch (CEB), Division for Treaty Affairs (DTA) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, Austria. The incumbent will work under the direct supervision of the Chief of the Section and the overall guidance of the Chief of the Branch.
•Provide substantive and organizational support for fulfilling the mandates of the Section, including legislative and implementation reviews and technical assistance delivery.
•Carry out functions in support of the mechanisms to improve countries’ national capacity in ratifying and implementing the United Nations Convention against Corruption.
•Contribute to the development, implementation and evaluation of assigned programmes and projects in the area of anti-corruption.
•Monitor and analyze programme and project development and implementation; review relevant documents and reports; identify problems and issues to be addressed and initiate corrective actions; liaise with relevant parties; ensure follow-up actions.
•Research, analyze and present information gathered from diverse sources in the field of anti-corruption.
•Provide support and expertise for the coordination of policy development in the area of anti-corruption, including the review and analysis of issues and trends, preparation of evaluations or other research activities and studies.
•Organize and prepare written outputs, e.g. policy and programmatic reports, draft background papers, analysis, sections of reports and studies, inputs to publications relevant to the work of the Section.
•Initiate and coordinate outreach activities; conduct training workshops and seminars; make presentations on assigned topics/activities.
•Cooperate and coordinate with field offices and other relevant entities on matters pertaining to anti-corruption.
•Participate in large, complex field missions, including provision of guidance to external consultants, government officials and other parties and drafting mission summaries.
•Monitor and review best practices, methodologies and programmes in the area of anti-corruption.
•Professionalism: Has knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to the area of economic crime and corruption. Has good knowledge of the legislative aspects of preventing and combating corruption, including their international dimensions. Has knowledge of the work of the United Nations in crime prevention and criminal justice, in particular the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Is able to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Has very good research and analytical skills. Is able to analyze expeditiously extensive substantive legal documentation and prepare comprehensive drafts/reports, summaries and policy briefs. Is able to provide legal advisory services, as well as programme planning and implementation related assistance. Is able to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; remains calm in stressful situations. Takes responsibility for incorporating gender perspectives and ensuring the equal participation of women and men in all areas of work.
Advanced university degree (Master’s degree or equivalent) in law (preferably with a specialization in international law and criminal law), business administration, management, accounting, economics or a related field is required. A first-level university degree in similar fields in combination with two additional years of qualifying experience may be accepted in lieu of the advanced university degree.
A minimum of five years of progressively responsible professional experience in crime prevention and criminal justice or any other related area, preferably with a focus on corruption or closely related issues, is required. Work experience in managing intergovernmental processes, in servicing intergovernmental bodies, in providing legislative assistance and in preparing policy and programmatic reports, as well as in project or programme management is desirable. Experience at the international level including within the United Nations System is highly desirable. Experience in providing advisory services, including legislative assistance is desirable.
English and French are the working languages of the United Nations Secretariat. For the position advertised, fluency in English with excellent drafting and communication skills is required; knowledge of French, Spanish and/or other United Nations official languages (Arabic, Chinese and Russian) is an advantage.
• This position is temporarily available until 31 August 2020. If the selected candidate is a staff member from the United Nations Secretariat, the selection will be administered as a temporary assignment. The regular incumbent is entitled to return to this position at the expiry of the temporary vacancy period. If the regular incumbent exercises the right to return, the appointment or temporary assignment or promotion of the candidate selected for this job opening will not be renewed or extended.


Celebrity trainer and fitness enthusiast Alec Penix is on a mission to inspire people to think deeper about physical — and spiritual — health. Penix, who trains some well-known names in Hollywood, is a Christian whose faith informs his work, as he helps people reach their hopes, dreams and personal fitness goals.
Penix shared his journey to faith, noting that he found God at one of the darkest moments in his life. He was in Mexico for a wedding and woke up feeling pain, despair and lostness.
That’s when Penix heard a voice that changed everything: “Alec, It is time to become the man I’ve called you to be.” That experience transformed the trainer.
Penix realized that his life was transforming, and that he could help others through a combined focus on faith and fitness.
Now, he’s hoping to encourage fans and readers to go on a similar journey.
“Having goals, having purpose is extremely important to push us out of our box into see that we really are created in God’s image and that we have unlimited potential,” Penix said.
The celebrity trainer is hoping that “Seven Sundays” helps people recognize that human beings are far more than mere physical beings, while also encouraging them to build stronger relationships with those around them.
“I really believe that this book is also about how it allows you to share and connect more with the people around you,” he said.
Find out more about “Seven Sundays” here. And if you’re looking for fitness videos and tips for building a healthy life, look no further than PureFlix.com.


Government shutdown: Economic cost to total $11 billion, CBO says.
The 35-day government shutdown wiped out $11 billion in economic activity, most of which will be recouped, but the episode will noticeably reduce economic growth in the first quarter, the Congressional Budget Office said Monday.
The shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, reduced the nation’s gross domestic product by $3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018 and $8 billion in the current quarter, CBO estimates. As a result, inflation-adjusted GDP growth will be an annualized 0.2 percentage points lower in the fourth quarter and 0.4 percentage points lower in the first quarter, CBO said.
Many economists now estimate the economy grew about 2.5 percent at an annual rate in the fourth quarter and will expand at about a 2 percent pace in the current quarter.
The shutdown curtailed economic activity by erasing furloughed federal workers’ output, delaying federal spending on goods and services, and curbing the purchases of federal workers and contractors. About 800,000 federal workers were affected by the shutdown, with about half furloughed and the remainder forced to work without pay. The partial shutdown lasted from Dec. 22 to Jan. 25.
Yet the episode will boost GDP growth in the second quarter by a percentage point as the government and its employees make up for the spending they put off.
While most of the losses will be recovered, about $3 billion are permanently wiped out, the agency said. For example, while some of federal workers’ retail purchases will simply be deferred, others such as restaurant meals won’t be. And federal employees will not make up most of the hours they didn’t put in.
The five-week shutdown delayed about $18 billion in federal spending on employee salaries and the purchase of goods and services, CBO said.
CBO says it didn’t estimate other less direct effects of the shutdown, such as businesses that couldn’t get federal permits or loans.
“Such factors were probably beginning to lead firms to postpone investment and hiring decisions,” CBO said. The negative effects of such hurdles would have become more significant if the shutdown had lasted more than five weeks, the agency said.


With that brief statement, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings acknowledged one of the online streaming video service’s perceived competitors in its quarterly letter to shareholders as part of today’s first quarter 2012 earnings report: Amazon Prime Instant Video.
Overall, Netflix came in near the top end of its earlier forecast with 23.41 million domestic and 3.07 million international streaming subscribers, adding nearly three million subscribers in the first quarter. DVD subscribers continued to decline, falling more than one million from Q4 2011 to 10.09 million.
And financially, Netflix lost less than most analysts expected: $4.58 million, or 8 cents per share. A year earlier, it earned $60.23 million, or $1.11 per share.
Hastings and Netflix CFO David Well, in the shareholder letter that accompanied the financial results, mentioned Amazon’s potential competitive threat four times in three paragraphs — without actually calling it a threat.
Netflix says instead, it continues to maintain traditional cable and satellite video companies (in industry parlance, multichannel video programming distributors, or MVPDs) and cable networks with their TV Everywhere initiatives are Netflix’ biggest long-term competition.


DAVID Barron is frustrated the campaign is drawing to a close – because his is just getting started.
The St Mirren full-back has made only nine appearances this season after suffering a medial ligament problem in September.
Barron initially thought the injury would keep him out for a fortnight, but he was sidelined for 10 weeks.
Having battled back to fitness, he has finally reclaimed a spot in the first team, starting the last three games – the 21-year-old’s longest run in the side this term.
Barron has already set his sights on making a major impression next season.
“I’m disappointed the season is coming to an end as I’m just starting to get a decent run in the team,” he said.
“The injury put me out for so long and then I had to do more work to get myself fully fit.
St Mirren moved to within touching distance of safety following their 2-0 win over Falkirk.
With Saints requiring just a point in their final game against Hamilton to stay in the top-flight, Barron is determined they won’t slip up.
The defender said: “It’s in our hands now and that’s important going into the final game.
“We’re not thinking we are safe by any means yet. We have to concentrate on our own game and hopefully get at least the point we need.
“But we’ll be trying to win as we can move above Hamilton and that would be a good way to finish.


An incredibly complex Medicare drug plan is due to go into effect on Jan. 1. More than 60 percent of seniors polled say they can’t make head or tail of it. Only 20 percent say they’ll enroll by the first of the year, despite the high-volume scare campaign by the government and the insurance companies warning that they will pay a penalty for enrolling later. “I have a Ph.D., and it’s too complicated for me,” says William Beard, 73, a retired chemist in Wichita, Kan.
And no wonder there is confusion. The plan contains few specifics about what it will cost the consumer. Those “details” can only be ascertained by investigating the many different private plans that may be available in your area—and may not.
In fact, if this can be called a government benefit plan, the benefit is not going to seniors and disabled people covered under Medicare. The legislation setting it up—the Medicare Modern ization Act of 2003—was crafted by the drug companies and their flacks in Congress. It ensures that the benefits go to them: the owners of the pharmaceuticals, already the most profitable sector of the capitalist economy, with sales in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year. Also on the gravy train, of course, are the insurance companies that will be selling coverage to Medicare recipients under this plan.
These super-rich corporations have contributed millions to the political campaigns of key congressional leaders, as well as the president. Now, in their view, it’s payback time.
The amount people in the U.S. spend on prescription drugs has been rising at a steep rate for years—especially since the pharmaceuticals got the laws changed to enable them to advertise their pills on television. By 2000, the drug companies had increased their spending on promotion to $15.7 billion a year. In 2001, the pharmaceuticals took in $132 billion in sales—20 percent more than a year earlier. About 20 drugs accounted for half the increase—reflecting the effectiveness of advertising to boost these companies’ revenues. In this period, the rate at which drug prices increased tripled the rate of inflation.
By 2002, the average senior on Medi care spent $860 a year out-of-pocket for prescription drugs, according to the Congressional Budget Office—more than what they spent on physician care, vision services and medical supplies combined.
But the drug companies wanted even more.
As the prices of drugs soared and demand increased, more and more people began looking elsewhere for their medicines. The same companies that sell prescription drugs in the U.S. also sell them in other countries around the world, including Canada. The U.S. is the only industrialized country with no regulations limiting drug prices, so the same pills are much more expensive here. As a result, by the summer of 2004, at least 1 million people living in the U.S. were filling their prescriptions in neighboring Canada, at a considerable saving.
Even though Washington was threatening to make it illegal, and even though the U.S. drug companies were threatening to cut off their Canadian distributors, senior groups started chartering buses to go buy their medicines in Canada. Even with the cost of the trip factored in, it was still considerably cheaper.
Soon cities, towns and even states were trying to make arrangements for their residents to buy cheaper medicines from Canada.
The city of Springfield, Mass., for example, arranged for its 3,000 public employees to get cheaper drugs from Canada. “We can save anywhere from $4 million to $9 million on an annual basis if I get everybody enrolled and everybody goes to Canada,” Springfield Mayor Michael Albano told Morley Safer of NBC-TV. (“60 Minutes,” Aug. 22, 2004) The mayor said this would keep Springfield from having to lay off essential workers in a budget crunch.
But when the state of Vermont in the summer of 2004 tried to import prescription drugs for its residents, the Food and Drug Administration barred the way. The state announced it would go to court.
Now the drug plan part of the Medicare reform act is about to go into effect. It will lock seniors and the disabled into plans based on the extortionate prices charged here by the drug companies. And under this act, the federal government is specifically prohibited from negotiating with drug companies to lower their prices.
In November 2005, according to the Social Security Administration, the average monthly check for all types of beneficiaries—retirees, their survivors and the disabled—was $879. Seniors covered by Medicare Part B would pay a $78 premium, leaving them $801, or about $9,600 per year.
If they choose a Medicare drug plan, they will pay an additional $35 a month premium—reducing their Social Security check to $766, or $9,192 a year. There is a deductible of $250 before the plan kicks in. After that, they pay 25 percent of all covered drug expenses up to $2,250.
But what drugs are covered? It all depends on each individual private plan in each area. So does the price of the drugs. That’s why it’s so hard to know what all this will really cost each person out-of-pocket.
Let’s assume that someone receiving the average yearly Social Security payout—$9,192—is lucky enough to get a drug plan that covers the medicines they need, and that the total cost for the year comes to $2,250. They pay $250 for the deductible plus $500 (25 percent of the next $2,000), leaving them with a yearly income of $8,442.
But what if their drugs cost more than that? It’s not uncommon for someone with a heart condition or some other chronic ailment to spend $300 a month on drugs these days.
Here’s where the infamous “donut hole” comes in. With the next $1,350 worth of medicines required, the Medicare drug plan covers—nothing! Zip.
The plan is supposed to provide assistance for very low-income people. But they can’t have more than a few thousand dollars in assets. By the end of November, only one in nine of the 5.7 million low-income seniors not covered by Medicaid had been approved for assistance.
So it’s obvious that the average person on Social Security who requires a significant amount of medications will not be able to survive on this drug plan, unless they have substantial other income.
It will do nothing to lift anyone out of poverty—it may even help put them there.
The lawmakers from both big capitalist parties voted this act into existence under the pressure of the pharmaceuticals. Even the organization that supposedly lobbies in the interests of the elderly—the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP)—capitulated to the pressure and endorsed it. It is now in the business of selling drug coverage to its members—the AARP MedicareRX Plan.
People in the U.S. now pay way more for health care than in any other country in the world, but our health statistics are far down the list.
In its World Health Report for 2000, the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. health system 37th in the world—worse than those of much poorer, smaller countries like Malta, Cyprus, Dominica and Costa Rica. In life expectancy, the U.S. was 53rd out of 219 countries.
These are shocking figures for a country that has for years been on the cutting edge of technology. But they also reflect political priorities: the U.S. spends as much on its military as the rest of the world combined.
They also reflect the great inequality in this country, where tens of millions of people are subject to racial and national oppression and discrimination that degrades their health in a thousand different ways.
The problem is not general underdevelopment. It is not a lack of resources. It is capitalism taken to its extremes, driven in every area of life by nothing but the profit motive and with few restraints coming from a government that has been thoroughly housebroken by the big moneyed interests.
Interns, medical students and other health care workers recently demonstrated in New York for a national health care system, free and available to all. This is a sea change for these professionals. Every progressive and working class organi zation must put the demand for socialized medicine on its agenda.
Health care is a right, not a privilege. It must be totally restructured to remove the profit motive from every level of health care while making quality preventive as well as curative medicine available to everyone.


Brunswick’s Cooper Moore stops to set up in the Hotchkiss zone during a game on Jan. 8 at Hartong Rink.
Cooper Moore and Matthew McGroarty will join a list of numerous hockey players who honed their skills at Brunswick School, before competing at the collegiate level.
Moore, a senior, and McGroarty, who is in his sophomore year at Brunswick, recently committed to play hockey for Division I schools. A defenseman, Moore announced his commitment to play hockey at the University of North Dakota. McGroarty, a sophomore, committed to compete for Quinnipiac University’s Division I program.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Moore will joined a North Dakota program that’s regarded as one of the best in the nation. Coached by Brad Berry, North Dakota has won eight NCAA Division I championships, with its most recent title coming in 2016. North Dakota has made 32 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Frozen Four 22 times.
The Fighting Hawks have also won 15 WCHA regular-season titles and 11 WCHA Tournament championships, to go along with two NCHC regular-season titles.
Also a member of Brunswick’s successful lacrosse team, Moore, 18, registered three productive seasons on the ice for the Bruins, the last of which saw him record 13 goals and 18 assists this past winter.
Besides providing stellar play in the defensive zone, Moore, who also plays for the Mid Fairfield program in the state, showed his offensive prowess for Brunswick.
One of Moore’s signature performances occurred when Brunswick skated to a 6-6 tie against New Hampton at the Exeter Invitational at Phillips Exeter Academy.
The Bruins faced a 6-2 deficit after two periods, but Moore brought the squad back, scoring three of his career-high five goals in the third period. His defensive presence throughout the Bruins’ 2018-2019 season was key for the team.
Moore, one of the Bruins’ captains this past season, was selected to the All-NEPSAC West Hockey Team.
McGroarty, 16, who made a verbal commitment to Quinnipiac, emerged as a significant source offensively for the Bruins this past winter, tallying six goals and eight assists.
Since becoming a Division I program in 1998, Quinnipiac has qualified for the NCAA Tournament on six occasions, while reaching the Frozen Four twice. Quinnipiac has won six regular-season conference titles and two conference tournament championships.
Versatility and consistency are among McGroarty’s strengths.
In November, Ryan Carmichael, a 2018 Brunswick graduate committed to play hockey at Notre Dame. Ryan St. Louis, who concluded his sophomore year on the Bruins’ squad this past winter and Paul Davey, also a sophomore also announced their commitment to Division I hockey programs.
St. Louis committed to Northeastern, while Davey is headed to Boston College.


For years she dominated the Greater Boston League mound with her powerful pitching.
As she returns to the hill for her sophomore season with the University of Bridgeport softball team, Ashley Eisnor is looking to reclaim her rightful place in the starting rotation.
After working out of the bullpen her freshman year, the four-time GBL Most Valuable Player is determined to deliver as one of the Purple Knight’s staff aces.
Judging by the early returns, she’s well on her way.
Fresh off a two-week spring training session in Clermont, Fla., Eisnor appeared energized winning her first two home games to open the week.
The hard-throwing right-hander fired a four-hit, complete game victory in a 10-4 decision over American International, March 25. The 5-foot-11 sophomore surrendered one run, fanning four, while issuing two walks. She followed up that gem with a 16-6 decision at Post, March 26, improving her regular season record to 5-4.
The results are just what the doctor ordered for Eisnor, as she goes from ever-ready reliever to solid starter.
“Everything’s going well at school with softball and everything,” Eisnor told the Medford Transcript, March 22, days before their home opener.
A psychology major, Eisnor appears driven to succeed in her second year in the collegiate ranks.
Eisnor along with her roommate senior Amanda Staheli will share starting duties. The pair are expected to work diligently keeping opposing hitters in check. A pair of freshmen fireballers Brittany Prock and Miranda Hillman, working out of the bullpen, will back them.
According to Bridgeport University Softball Coach Dawn Stearns, Eisnor has been a great addition.
If anything, last season’s collegiate introduction has only given the hurler food for thought heading into her second season.
She’s also eager to prove how much of a lethal hitter she can be, something plenty of Greater Boston League pitchers can attest too.
As for the Purple Knights, Eisnor thinks the team is going to come out swinging.
“I can’t wait to get started,” she added.


The Lake County General Health District has released the county’s 2017 unintentional overdose death statistics as part of its most comprehensive report to date.
The health district examined the 329 drug overdose deaths in Lake County over a five-year period from 2013 to 2017. Using vital statistics requested from the Ohio Department of Health, the health district recorded demographic information like occupation, marital status, education level and setting (home, hospital, hotel etc.).
Health district staff hope to use the information to provide a more proactive approach to combating the opioid epidemic that is gripping the county, state and country.
The United States, Ohio and Lake County all saw record levels of overdose deaths in 2017. There were 93 unintentional overdose deaths in the county up from 92 in 2016 -- that figure has been bumped up; a previous health district report listed 86 overdose deaths in 2016.
Data shows fentanyl (and fentanyl analogs) was again the most common drug involved in the county’s overdose deaths in 2017. Fentanyl was involved in 65 of the 93 overdose deaths. That’s actually a decrease from 71 in 2016.
Deaths involving cocaine or a combination of cocaine with another drug or drugs jumped from three in 2016 to 11 last year. The deaths represents 50 percent of the cocaine-related overdose deaths in the past five years.
Heroin deaths continue to fall. Heroin-related deaths peaked in 2014 at 27 and have fallen every year since then as fentanyl became the primary driver of overdose deaths in 2015. There were five heroin-related overdose deaths in Lake County in 2017, falling from seven the previous year.
The health district’s report does not identify the specific types of fentanyl analog involved in overdose deaths. They’re grouped in with fentanyl.
However data provided from the Lake County Crime Lab shows an increasingly diversified number of analogs were tested in 2017. The lab tests drugs seized by Lake County law enforcement agencies.
Fentanyl tests fell from 403 in 2016 to 258 last year. At least nine fentanyl analogs were found for the first time in the county last year, however. Carfentanil cases jumped significantly last year as well. In 2016 there were 40 positive tests for the large animal sedative 100 times more powerful than fentanyl (which itself is 50 times more powerful than heroin). Carfentanil cases increased to 153 last year.
The shift in recent years to highly potent opioids like fentanyl and carfentanil poses a problem when it comes the administering of the opioid-reversal medication naloxone. The health district’s policy, research and planning coordinator Matt Nichols said at its current two milligram formulation, a single dose of naloxone is not enough revive a person who is overdosing on those drugs.
Nichols said that 70 percent of overdoses are requiring multiple doses of naloxone to reverse the effects.
“It’s like trying to put out a fire with a garden hose rather than a fire hose,” Lake County Health Commissioner Ron Graham said of the current formulation.
Graham said there are currently no existing recommendations to give out more doses of naloxone at sites like Project DAWN (Deaths Avoided with Naloxone) clinics. He said research like this helps prompt those changes.
Nichols said the dosage becomes critical because 65 percent of overdose deaths are occurring in the home, and there’s a limited amount of time to revive a person, usually only a few minutes. He said that in addition to a reformulation, an increased focus on third-party naloxone distribution for family and friends of opioid users is needed.
Over the past five years, Lake County overdose victims have been primarily male (72 percent) and non-Hispanic Caucasian (98 percent). The county’s roughly 230,117 residents as a whole are 52 percent female and 92 percent non-Hispanic Caucasian. Seventy-six percent of overdose death victims were between the ages of 25 and 54.
The 25-34 age group accounted for 33.1 percent of the deaths. The second-most common age group was 45-54, accounting for 23.7 percent of overdose deaths. Six people 65 or older died of drug overdoses. None were under the age of 18.
Most victims (61.4 percent) are single/never been married. Twenty-four percent were divorced.
Half of Lake County’s drug overdoses are concentrated in two zip codes. The highest (27 percent) is in the 44077 region comprised of Painesville, Fairport Harbor and Concord Township. Second is the 44060 region comprised of Mentor, Mentor-on-the-Lake and Kirtland Hills. Overdose deaths in the 44060 zip code more than doubled from 2015 (11) to 2016 (25). The 26 overdose deaths in 2017 were the county’s highest by zip code.
Most victims (64.8 percent) are high school graduates (or have the GED equivalent). The next most common group were those with some college education but no degree (12.5 percent) followed closely by those who went to high school but do not have a diploma (11 percent).
Nearly half (46.8 percent) of Lake County’s overdose death victims over the five-year period in the report worked in the labor, maintenance and trade field.
“Obviously Lake County has long history of manufacturing presence,” Nichols said. “But these are folks who are also probably disproportionately at risk for being underinsured or being uninsured and with that may not have access to services or may not be aware of services they do have access to, things like Medicaid.
Given the disproportionate number of overdose deaths in that field, the report states that initiatives could “foreseeably be directed and delivered through relevant Lake County employers, such as those involved with manufacturing, construction and building trades, landscaping and general maintenance.” Initiatives could include drug-free workplace and employee education programs as well as targeted naloxone education and distribution via Project DAWN.
The report comes from the Lake County General Health District’s recently created Office of Health Policy and Performance Improvement.
Nichols will be presenting the health district’s conceptual addiction modeling methodology in conjunction with the CDC and the University of Pittsburgh in November at a conference in Cleveland.
Nichols said to the health district’s knowledge, the modeling hasn’t been done before.
Statistics and demographic information from the Lake County General Health District on unintentional overdose deaths from 2013-2017.