PepsiCo Defies Fears Of Consumer Slowdown With Strong Earnings And Forecast
PepsiCo Defies Fears Of Consumer Slowdown With Strong Earnings And Forecast https://digitalalaskanews.com/pepsico-defies-fears-of-consumer-slowdown-with-strong-earnings-and-forecast/
Business|PepsiCo Defies Fears of Consumer Slowdown With Strong Earnings and Forecast
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/12/business/pepsi-earnings-inflation.html
Quarterly results provided a sign that shoppers continued to spend despite high inflation squeezing their wallets.
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PepsiCo reported that its profit expanded by more than 20 percent in the third quarter.Credit…Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Oct. 12, 2022Updated 4:03 p.m. ET
PepsiCo reported robust quarterly earnings on Wednesday, and raised its forecasts for sales and profit this year, in a sign that shoppers continued to spend on soda and snacks despite rapidly rising prices squeezing household budgets.
The company, which owns Doritos, Gatorade and other brands along with its namesake soft drink, said that third-quarter revenue grew 9 percent from a year earlier and that profit expanded by more than 20 percent. Both results were higher than analysts had expected, amid fears that high inflation, particularly for food and other staples, would lead consumers to cut back on purchases significantly.
“Our global business momentum remains strong,” Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The company raised its full-year forecast for revenue growth for a third time this year, to 12 percent from 10 percent. In part, that reflects increasing prices for its products. Notably, the company also upgraded its forecast for profit growth this year, to 10 percent from 8 percent, suggesting that it was managing to balance its own rising costs and the prices it charges consumers without denting its bottom line.
“Our brands are being stretched to higher price points, and consumers are following us,” Mr. Laguarta said on a call with analysts.
But as in recent quarters, growth in PepsiCo’s revenue outpaced sales volumes, as measured by the number of cans of soda and bags of chips that consumers were willing to buy. At its Frito-Lay North America unit, for example, revenue in the third quarter increased 20 percent from a year earlier while volumes fell 2 percent, meaning the company was able to earn more from selling less.
PepsiCo’s profit would have been bigger if not for the strength of the U.S. dollar, which shaved 3 percent from earnings growth in the third quarter, as the company’s extensive sales abroad were worth less when converted into dollars.
PepsiCo is one of the first big companies to report their earnings each quarter, so investors pay particular attention to its finances as they look for clues about how other companies will fare. Conflicting signals have made it hard to predict where corporate earnings are headed this quarter, as increasingly dire predictions about the effect that rising interest rates will have on the global economy clash with some signs of moderating inflation and a resilient labor market.
PepsiCo’s better-than-expected results, and bullishness about the future, provided a positive start to the earnings season, piercing some of the gloom that was reflected in the stock market’s losses for five straight days through Tuesday, erasing a rally early in the month. PepsiCo’s stock rose more than 4 percent in trading on Wednesday, and the S&P 500 fell 0.3 percent.
Other corporate bellwethers reporting earnings this week include Delta Air Lines on Thursday and JPMorgan Chase on Friday.
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Jury Decides Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Should Pay Nearly $1 Billion In Damages To Sandy Hook Families For His Lies About The School Massacre | CNN Business
Jury Decides Conspiracy Theorist Alex Jones Should Pay Nearly $1 Billion In Damages To Sandy Hook Families For His Lies About The School Massacre | CNN Business https://digitalalaskanews.com/jury-decides-conspiracy-theorist-alex-jones-should-pay-nearly-1-billion-in-damages-to-sandy-hook-families-for-his-lies-about-the-school-massacre-cnn-business/
Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images
CNN Business —
Far-right talk show host Alex Jones should pay eight families of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims and one first responder nearly $1 billion in compensatory damages, a Connecticut jury decided Wednesday, capping a wrenching weeks-long trial that put on display the serious harm inflicted by the conspiracy theorist’s lies.
With its punishing award, the decision could shrink or even doom Jones’ Infowars media empire, which has been at the center of major conspiracy theories dating back to former President George W. Bush’s administration and was embraced by President Donald Trump.
The decision marks a key moment in the years-long process that began in 2018 when the families took legal action against Jones and his company, Free Speech Systems, the parent of the fringe media organization Infowars.
Jones baselessly said again and again after the 2012 mass shooting, in which 26 people were killed, that the incident was staged, and that the families and first responders were “crisis actors.” The plaintiffs throughout the trial described in poignant terms how the lies had prompted unrelenting harassment against them and compounded the emotional agony of losing their loved ones.
Plaintiffs in the trial included family members of eight school students and employees, in addition to one FBI agent who responded to the scene. The three cases were all condensed into the single trial.
Christopher Mattei, an attorney for the plaintiffs, urged jurors to award at least a half a billion dollars for having permanently mangled the lives of his clients. The figure, he said, would represent the more than 550 million online impressions Jones’ Sandy Hook lie allegedly received online.
“You may say that is astronomical. It is,” Mattei said. “It’s exactly what Alex Jones set himself up to do. That’s what he built. He built a lie machine that could push this stuff out. You reap what you sow.”
The decision in Connecticut comes two months after a separate jury in Texas determined that Jones and his company should award two Sandy Hook parents who sued in that state nearly $50 million. Later this month, the judge in that case will consider whether to reduce the punitive damages awarded under Texas law.
While Jones initially lied about the 2012 shooting, he later acknowledged that the massacre had occurred as he faced multiple lawsuits. But he failed to comply with court orders during the discovery process of the lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas, leading the families in each state to win default judgments against him.
During the latest trial, families of the Sandy Hook victims offered emotional testimony, telling the jury in haunting terms how Jones’ lies about the shooting had permanently altered their lives and compounded the pain of losing their loved ones.
Jones, who was cross-examined by the plaintiffs’ attorneys, but chose not to testify in his own defense as was originally planned, sought to portray himself as a victim of an elaborate “deep state” conspiracy against him.
In a particularly explosive moment in the trial, Jones tangled with an attorney for the plaintiffs, accusing him of “ambulance chasing,” before descending into an unhinged rant in court about “liberals.”
The judge overseeing the case admonished Jones several times during his testimony, warning him even at one point that he could be held in contempt of court if he violated her rules moving forward.
Jones has attacked the judicial process, even acknowledging in court that he had referred to the proceedings as those of a “kangaroo court” and called the judge a “tyrant.” He has already indicated that he plans to appeal.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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Fitch Affirms Anchorage AKs Water Revs At AA; Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings
Fitch Affirms Anchorage, AK’s Water Revs At ‘AA’; Outlook Stable – Fitch Ratings https://digitalalaskanews.com/fitch-affirms-anchorage-aks-water-revs-at-aa-outlook-stable-fitch-ratings/
Fitch Affirms Anchorage, AK’s Water Revs at ‘AA’; Outlook Stable Fitch Ratings
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The Age Of P.C.R. Prosperity? Chinas Covid-Testing Strategy Comes Under Strain.
The ‘Age Of P.C.R. Prosperity’? China’s Covid-Testing Strategy Comes Under Strain. https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-age-of-p-c-r-prosperity-chinas-covid-testing-strategy-comes-under-strain/
As a stubborn strain of Covid-19 rippled through China this year and forced hundreds of millions of people into lockdown, officials turned to a new tool: regular mass P.C.R. testing. By testing every citizen several times a week, the authorities hoped to isolate cases more quickly and avoid future crippling lockdowns.
But in recent months that approach has failed to slow some of China’s biggest outbreaks. Now, with the politically important Communist Party congress just days away, the mass testing program that has become the cornerstone of China’s “zero-Covid” strategy appears to be foundering, even as it remains a fixture of the country’s urban landscape and balloons into a multibillion-dollar business.
Desperate to isolate recent outbreaks, health workers have resorted to barricading buildings and even cordoning off single individuals in public spaces. Nearly two hundred million people are in some form of lockdown in China. In every village, town and city, testing requirements have become more burdensome and the punishments for failing to comply more severe.
Yet with the testing apparatus growing bigger and bigger, the resources to support it have come under more financial strain, and the government, which funds most of the testing, has shown signs that it is struggling to pay up.
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Getting tested in Beijing last month.Credit…Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times
The mass testing strategy in China — which has yet to approve an mRNA vaccine — began in May with an order for cities with more than 10 million people to do regular testing and provide testing facilities within a 15-minute walk of anywhere in the city. Overnight, tens of thousands of testing booths popped up in cities like Shanghai and Beijing.
Blythe Dai said she gets tested for the coronavirus as frequently as possible. Her grandmother was recently dying in the hospital, but Ms. Dai wasn’t allowed to see her because her 48-hour negative P.C.R. test had expired.
“Covid is not so scary,” said Ms. Dai, a 30-year-old resident in Shanghai. Instead, she said, it is the emotional cost that she and others have to pay. “We have sacrificed too much to control the epidemic,” she said.
For smaller local governments already under pressure to stimulate a slowing economy, building a testing network as large of those found in Shanghai and Beijing has created a huge financial strain.
Local authorities in provinces such as Shanxi and Jiangxi have already diverted money from public projects in order to fund pandemic monitoring and control. In some cities, civil servants have faced pay cuts. In others, bonuses for officials have been frozen to help prop up testing.
And yet there are signs from some of China’s biggest testing companies that there is a cash shortfall.
Dian Diagnostics said this summer that the amount of money it was still owed in payments had nearly doubled over the past year and warned of the “risk of bad debts.” Shanghai Runda Medical Technology recently said unpaid bills had increased by a quarter over the same period. Guangzhou Kingmed Diagnostics warned that delays in payments could raise its risk profile.
“There is a serious imbalance between local government revenue and expenditure,” analysts at the Bank of China Research Institute wrote in a note to clients in late September. They estimated that regular mass testing would cost nearly $100 billion a year if 900 million people were tested every three days.
Cases continue to rise as these financial pressures mount. Last week, a top official in the Xinjiang region, Liu Sushe, made a rare admission of defeat when he said, “We have not been able to achieve dynamic zero Covid for more than two months,” citing the “ineffectiveness of our control measures.”
While the testing measures are proving to be less effective, the industry continues to make huge profits. Bigger companies like Dian Diagnostics have reported revenues that more than doubled over the first six months of this year, said Jialin Zhang, head of China health care research at the Japanese bank Nomura.
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A temporary testing booth in a commercial neighborhood of Beijing.Credit…Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times
For Chinese citizens like Chen Yaya, these riches have come to symbolize the futility of Beijing’s zero-Covid policy.
Ms. Chen, a Shanghai resident, said she was quietly protesting the city’s testing requirements by refusing to get swabbed more than once a week, as required. She organizes her schedule so that she does her grocery shopping and sees friends within the first 72 hours after her weekly test. By limiting the number of tests she gets, she’s hoping to avoid lining the pockets of testing companies and her chances of being swept into a lockdown.
“Reducing the profits of testing companies is only a superficial reason” to avoid testing, Ms. Chen said. She is mostly concerned that she will be caught in a lockdown or sent to a government isolation facility if she tests positive. “That’s why I try to do as little as possible.”
To force people to submit to the swab, the authorities have reached for more punitive measures. In the south, north and east of China, the police have detained people for days for skipping P.C.R. tests, sometimes locking them up for more than a week.
There was a time when China’s ability to find and isolate cases was considered the crown jewel of its pandemic strategy. While countries around the world saw infections soar and hospitals reach capacity, China’s Covid numbers remained low, allowing officials in Beijing to relish in their success handling the virus while Chinese consumers kept the economy humming.
But the new, near-daily testing regime meant to combat stubborn variants is being met with growing frustration as the true costs of sustaining such a program become more clear. For gig workers who get paid only by the order, for example, waiting in line for a test can mean lost wages.
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A temporary Covid-19 testing facility in China’s southern Hainan Province in August.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
For people like Haily Zhao, who gets swabbed every 72 hours as required by the authorities in Beijing, testing cuts into the time she needs to decompress after work. “It’s not, ‘I can do whatever I want as long as I’m doing P.C.R. testing,’” said Ms. Zhao, 26. “It’s, ‘Whatever I’m doing or want to do, I have to do a P.C.R. test first.’”
When one conference recently used the tagline “The age of P.C.R. prosperity” in its marketing material, the backlash was so swift that the organizers had to cancel the event and later clarified it was not meant to promote P.C.R. testing. “Some people are rubbing salt in the wounds of those who are suffering,” one commenter wrote of the conference online.
Even some of the workers who swab throats and noses and process test results have lost enthusiasm for the country’s testing protocols. Before China’s mass testing mandate, there were 153,000 people employed as testers and hundreds of thousands of Communist Party member volunteers ready to help fight the coronavirus.
But the job is tiring and pays little. While a lab technician can make as much as $4,250 a month, advertisements for swabbing jobs offer something closer to $1,000.
“It’s a boring, tedious, repetitive, mechanical job,” said Hu Shixin, a college student in the eastern city of Nanjing. Mr. Hu volunteered for two weeks in August to help with testing in the industrial city of Taiyuan as part of a youth Communist Party program. Dressed in a sweaty protective suit, he scanned ID cards and handed out the P.C.R. testing tubes.
Other community and medical workers sometimes cut corners and pretended to test people without taking samples, Mr. Hu said. “Maybe they don’t think that doing the P.C.R. test is so necessary,” he added. “For them, doing P.C.R. testing is just a job.”
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A Covid testing booth in Beijing operating at night last month.Credit…Gilles Sabrié for The New York Times
Li You contributed research.
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McConnell On Remaining GOP Senate Leader Despite Trump Attacks: I Have The Votes
McConnell On Remaining GOP Senate Leader Despite Trump Attacks: ‘I Have The Votes’ https://digitalalaskanews.com/mcconnell-on-remaining-gop-senate-leader-despite-trump-attacks-i-have-the-votes/
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is laying to rest the notion from former President Donald Trump that GOP senators will boot the Kentucky Republican from his leadership role.
If re-elected to his post as Senate GOP leader in the next Congress in January, Mr. McConnell will surpass the record of longest-serving party leader in the chamber held for more than 40 years by the late Mike Mansfield, Montana Democrat.
“I have the votes,” Mr. McConnell told CNN in a recent interview.
This is despite Mr. Trump routinely pushing for “The Old Crow” — as the former president calls Mr. McConnell — to be ousted from Republican leadership because of his criticism of Mr. Trump and refusal to back claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen by Democrats.
Even with dissenting views in the Republican Conference about Mr. Trump, Mr. McConnell has maintained loyalty from his members, including his top deputies who would be first in line to succeed him.
Mr. Trump’s latest attack against Mr. McConnell came Monday over campaign spending. A super PAC aligned with the minority leader dumped nearly $10 million on ads for GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s run against Trump-backed GOP opponent Kelly Tshibaka in Alaska’s ranked-choice election. Mr. Trump suggested the money should instead go toward Republican Blake Masters in Arizona, who is trailing Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly.
The McConnell-aligned Senate Leadership Fund pulled nearly $10 million in ads from the Arizona race last month.
“The Old Broken Crow, Mitchell McConnell, is authorizing $9 Million Dollars to be spent in order to beat a great Republican, Kelly, instead of $9 Million Dollars that could be used for Blake Masters, and other Republicans, that with this money would beat their Democrat opponent,” Mr. Trump said in a statement. “Isn’t it ironic?”
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U.S. Predicts Ukraine Will Battle Through Winter; Allies Bolster Air Defenses
U.S. Predicts Ukraine Will Battle Through Winter; Allies Bolster Air Defenses https://digitalalaskanews.com/u-s-predicts-ukraine-will-battle-through-winter-allies-bolster-air-defenses/
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to media on the day of a NATO defence ministers meeting, at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 12, 2022. REUTERS/Yves Herman
BRUSSELS, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Ukraine is expected to battle through harsh winter conditions to try to recapture even more territory from Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Wednesday, as allies announced delivery of new air defenses and committed more aid in the wake of Russian missile strikes.
Military analysts are watching to see whether fighting subsides during Ukraine’s tough winter, potentially giving an opportunity for troops on both sides of the conflict to reset after months of brutal fighting since Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
But Austin, speaking at a gathering at NATO headquarters in Brussels of about 50 countries providing military aid to Ukraine, said he expected Kyiv to do what it could to press ahead after regaining territory occupied by Russian forces in recent weeks.
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“I expect that Ukraine will continue to do everything it can throughout the winter, to regain its territory and to be effective on the battlefield,” Austin told a news conference.
“And we’re going to do everything we can to make sure that they have what’s required to be effective.”
A senior U.S. defense official said there was an “outpouring” of support to help Ukraine get through the winter fighting months, including provision of winter clothing.
“But what about those Russian forces? What kind of support are they going to have through the winter? Right now, the Russians are isolated and alone,” the official said.
Many countries have condemned the invasion, which Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a “special military operation” to ensure Russian security and protect Russian-speakers in Ukraine.
Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of waging war to grab territory or even occupy a pro-Western neighbor.
MISSILE ATTACKS
Austin opened the NATO event, sitting next to his Ukrainian counterpart, by condemning Putin’s deadly missile attacks against “targets with no military purpose” across Ukraine two days ago.
U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the strikes met the definition of war crimes under the international rules of war. Kyiv and its allies have repeatedly accused Russian forces of war crimes and targeting civilians, charges Russia rejects.
“Russia has deliberately struck civilian infrastructure with the purpose of harming civilians,” Milley told reporters.
“They have targeted the elderly, the women, and the children of Ukraine. Indiscriminate and deliberate attacks on civilian targets is a war crime in the international rules of war.”
The latest Russian air attacks killed 19 people in Ukraine, wounded more than 100 and knocked out power supplies across the country, adding new urgency to Kyiv’s long-standing calls for air defenses to protect its cities.
Germany announced that the first of four IRIS-T air defense systems had reached Ukraine. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht called it a “very important support for Ukraine in the fight against missile attacks”.
‘PHYSICAL RESPONSE’?
The gathering in Brussels is also the first big NATO meeting since Moscow proclaimed in September that it was annexing four regions of Ukraine, announced a mobilization and issued veiled nuclear threats – moves that the alliance has classified as a clear escalation of the war.
A senior NATO official said a Russian nuclear strike would change the course of the conflict and almost certainly trigger a “physical response” from Ukraine’s allies – “and potentially from NATO itself.”
The official did not detail what a physical response might entail.
NATO’s nuclear planning group will hold a closed-door meeting on Thursday, but the alliance has not released details about what specifically will be discussed.
Speaking ahead of the two-day meeting of the alliance’s defense ministers, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the alliance would proceed with its annual nuclear preparedness exercise next week.
He was referring to the “Steadfast Noon” exercise, in which NATO air forces practise the use of U.S. nuclear bombs based in Europe with training flights, without live weapons.
Cancelling the drills because of the war in Ukraine would send a “very wrong signal”, Stoltenberg said.
“It’s an exercise to ensure that our nuclear deterrent remains safe, secure and effective,” he said, adding NATO’s military strength was the best way to prevent any increase in tensions. Moscow has accused the West of intensifying the conflict by supporting Kyiv.
Europe is already on edge after attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines running under the Baltic Sea, although it remains unclear who was behind the explosions.
NATO has said it would meet attacks on allies’ critical infrastructure with a “united and determined response” and has already doubled its presence in the Baltic and North seas to more than 30 ships supported by aircraft and undersea activities.
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Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Philip Blenkinsop and Phil Stewart; Additional reporting by John Chalmers and Jan Strupczewski; Editing by Nick Macfie, Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Thursday's Jan. 6 Committee Hearing To Reportedly Focus On Trump
Thursday's Jan. 6 Committee Hearing To Reportedly Focus On Trump https://digitalalaskanews.com/thursdays-jan-6-committee-hearing-to-reportedly-focus-on-trump/
The House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol will hold another public hearing on Thursday.
According to The Washington Post, the hearing is expected to focus on newly obtained Secretary Service documents that reportedly Donald Trump was warned about potential violence but continued to fan the flames, echoing conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
Thursday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. ET.
Since the last public hearing, committee members said they have collected new evidence and heard from additional witnesses, including Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Reports indicate that Thomas communicated with various state officials in hopes of overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election.
No in-person witnesses are expected to testify at the hearing, CNN reported on Wednesday. However, sources told the network that the committee may air taped interviews with Trump’s former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin.
The House panel had originally scheduled the hearing to take place on Sept. 28. It was canceled because Hurricane Ian was battering Florida on that day.
Whether the hearing will be the panel’s final meeting remains unclear. Several key committee members, including Vice Chair Liz Cheney, will no longer be in Congress at the start of 2023. There is also a likelihood the committee will cease if Republicans win a majority of seats in next month’s election.
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Judge: Donald Trump Must Sit For Deposition In Defamation Lawsuit
Judge: Donald Trump Must Sit For Deposition In Defamation Lawsuit https://digitalalaskanews.com/judge-donald-trump-must-sit-for-deposition-in-defamation-lawsuit/
Ukrayinska Pravda
Russians surveyed about whether they are ready to “lose” Crimea
STANISLAV POHORILOV – TUESDAY, 11 OCTOBER 2022, 16:53 The Russian authorities are conducting a secret survey to study public opinion regarding the possible loss of control over occupied Crimea. Source: National Resistance Center Quote: “Russian state organisations that “study” public opinion in the Russian Federation have received an urgent task to conduct a survey regarding the return of Crimea to Ukrainian control.
MarketWatch
COLA is coming: Here’s how much Social Security benefits are likely to rise next year
Retirees will have to wait a few more days to get official news about next year’s Social Security cost of living adjustments, but they are on track for an average benefit hike of $140 a month starting January, according to data published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. According to the Social Security Administration the average monthly retirement benefit is $1,627. The Social Security Administration will use those numbers to calculate the official annual COLA.
Reuters
China’s ‘liberal’ Wang Yang seen as possible premier as reshuffle looms
When Wang Yang was Chinese Communist Party boss of economic powerhouse Guangdong province, the man now considered a top contender to be China’s next premier displayed a liberal streak that has been less visible since Xi Jinping took power. During his time in Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, Wang made his mark by pushing an upgrade of rusting industries and touting socially inclusive policies.
Bloomberg
DOJ Asks Supreme Court to Reject Trump Classified Records Review
(Bloomberg) — The Justice Department on Tuesday urged the US Supreme Court stay out of the Mar-a-Lago documents dispute and reject Donald Trump’s bid to have an outside special master review more than 100 records with classified markings.Most Read from BloombergHere’s How Weird Things Are Getting in the Housing MarketIntel Is Planning Thousands of Job Cuts in Face of PC SlumpUS Core Inflation Seen Returning to 40-Year High as Rents RiseA First Look at the Ritz-Carlton Superyacht: PhotosHome Fli
Reuters
Russia’s FSB arrests eight for Crimean Bridge bombing
MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia’s Federal Security Service said on Wednesday that it had detained five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia in connection with the bombing of a vital bridge to Crimea, an attack it said was masterminded by Ukraine. The FSB said the attack was organised by Ukrainian military intelligence and its director, Kyrylo Budanov – echoing accusations by President Vladimir Putin over what he has called a “terrorist attack” against critical civilian infrastructure.
Ukrayinska Pravda
Ukraines Air Force shoots down 4 Russian helicopters in 18 minutes
WEDNESDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2022, 13:30 On the morning of 12 October, units of the Ukrainian Air Force shot down at least four Russian attack helicopters in 18 minutes. Source: press service of the Air Force Quote: “From 8:40 to 8:58 on 12 October, in the south of Ukraine, anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force destroyed at least four attack helicopters of the enemy (presumably Ka-52s) which provided fire support to occupying troops on the ground on the southern front.
The Hill
McConnell, McCarthy public splits raise questions about ability to govern
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) have drifted apart over the past two years, raising questions about whether they’ll be able work together if Republicans win back the House. Republicans who know both men say they have a good relationship and continue to meet regularly, but also acknowledge…
NextShark
GOP lawmakers demand explanation for ‘deeply troubling’ Chinese police station in New York City
The reported presence of China’s Fuzhou police in New York City has prompted a group of Republican House lawmakers to seek answers from President Biden’s Cabinet Secretaries. Headed by Study Committee Chairman Jim Banks (R, IND-3), Reps. Michael Waltz (R, FL-6) and Mike Gallagher (R, WI-8), the group of 21 lawmakers sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Attorney General Merrick Garland to demand answers on how the Chinese police were able to establish a branch in the U.S. “We are writing to express our grave concern over reports of the law enforcement presence of the People’s Republic of China in New York City,” the letter began.
The Root
Oh Snap, NYC Mayor Eric Adams Coming for the Gun Nuts Today
Love him or hate him, one thing you have to give New York City Mayor Eric Adams is that he’s equal opportunity when he DGAF. In his first year as mayor, hizzoner hasn’t backed down from critics (including here at The Root) of his pro-cop stances, his NYPD-honed beliefs about how to fight rising violent crime in NYC, his liberal attitude toward legalized weed or his defense of New York as a so-called sanctuary city for undocumented migrants.
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Stock Market News Today: Dow Rises On Inflation Data Investors Await Fed Minutes
Stock Market News Today: Dow Rises On Inflation Data, Investors Await Fed Minutes https://digitalalaskanews.com/stock-market-news-today-dow-rises-on-inflation-data-investors-await-fed-minutes/
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Last Updated: Oct 12, 2022 at 2:06 pm ET
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Meet The New MacArthur ‘genius Grant’ Winners https://digitalalaskanews.com/meet-the-new-macarthur-genius-grant-winners/
The call. MacArthur fellows remember the call as a blur, a fog, a shock, a what? Especially in this era of cell spam and the season of incessant political solicitations and polls, many recipients failed to answer calls from an unknown number. Repeatedly. One fellow went so far as to block the good people at the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation when they were calling with the most felicitous news imaginable.
Artist and architect Amanda Williams, 48, recalls standing before her former Cornell University dorm and telling her 9-year-old daughter, “When I was here, my life changed.”
At that very moment, her phone buzzed and her life changed again.
“So many things don’t give us hope, the feeling that we can’t surmount,” says Williams, celebrated for her large art installations on the South Side of Chicago. “This feels like it helps swing the pendulum in the other direction.”
October is awards season for the exceptionally smart. First, the Nobel Prizes and now the MacArthur fellowships, revealed Wednesday: highly remunerative honors that you can’t apply for, forever brand you as a genius and arrive, fabulously, with almost no strings attached.
When his phone rang, Reuben Jonathan Miller believed that the call would only bring more problems that he would have to solve, MacArthur fellows being in the business of solving immense problems the rest of us cannot.
“My work follows people who have been locked away in prison,” says Miller, 46, a University of Chicago sociologist and criminologist. “I thought the call was from a lawyer representing someone who had been in prison.”
Miller, who is rehabbing his South Shore home, was in the midst of repairing some drain issues with the help of YouTube videos. The person on the call asked Miller if he was in “a confidential place” and alone. Foundation staff asks this of all fellows, confidentiality being key. Miller, author of “Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration,” thought “Oh, what’s the bad news now?”
The bad news is that Miller, 46, had won one of these “genius grants.” This class of fellows is particularly fortunate, literally so. The stipend is now $800,000 paid over five years, a delightful 28 percent jump from the previous cohort and the first increase since 2014.
“It took 60 seconds to register the information,” Miller says. Then, he screamed. A minute later, uncontrollable laughter. Did he ever imagine this? “Never. I thought about the 19 reasons I wouldn’t be chosen.”
This year’s diverse class includes musicians, artists, writers, activists, plenty of hyphenates and many, many academics. It is composed of 15 women and 10 men, who hail from 15 states. The group includes nine Black fellows, seven Asian American, two Indigenous and one Chicana. The youngest recipient is 35 and the two eldest, age 69. So, possibly, there’s still time for the rest of us.
Among this year’s better-known recipients is Robin Wall Kimmerer, a botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation who wrote the stealth bestseller “Braiding Sweetgrass,”which blends Indigenous wisdom with scientific learning, asking readers to reconsider how they view and treat the natural world. Kimmerer ignored multiple calls from MacArthur administrators, to the point that they employed the ruse, which they’ve used to inform other winners, that “they wanted my confidential evaluation of a candidate,” she says. So she pulled to the side of a road on her way to a faculty retreat.
Cries to remove books from classrooms and library shelves is nothing new. Some of what has shifted are the storylines, characters and authors being silenced. (Video: Allie Caren/The Washington Post, Photo: Illustration: Brian Monroe/The Washington Post)
This year’s group includes Kiese Laymon, the Black Southern author of “Heavy: an American Memoir,” which has been acclaimed by critics, named one of the best personal histories of the last half century and banned by several school boards. Martha Gonzalez, another newly minted fellow, is a professor, “Chicana artivista,” feminist music theorist and member of the Grammy-winning ensemble Quetzal.
The fellows are “architects of new modes of activism, artistic practice and citizen science,” program director Marlies Carruth says. “They are excavators uncovering what has been overlooked, undervalued or poorly understood. They are archivists reminding us of what should survive.”
Winners spoke of the fellowship as an honor, a responsibility, a gift and an enduring seal of approval for their work. But it’s also a magnet for more. It has the ability to attract interest, investment and legitimacy to fellows’ projects. The stipend may last for five years but the title MacArthur fellow, the sobriquet of “genius,” is forever.
Melanie Matchett Wood, 41, a Harvard number theorist who also studies algebraic geometry, is an infectious mathematician. Her conversation frequently erupts into fireworks of laughter.
“I am filled with joy doing math — that’s why I love it,” Wood says. “It’s incredibly fun and fulfilling to me to work on. Nothing could beat my love of working on trying to figure out ways to solve new math problems.” As a teenager, she was the first female American to make the U.S. International Mathematical Olympiad Team, receiving silver medals in 1998 and 1999. She was also a cheerleader and editor of her school paper.
“Math can be very specialized,” says Wood, one of the few women on Harvard’s math faculty. (Before that, she was one of the few women on Stanford’s math faculty.) “One of the big parts of my work is bringing together different parts of mathematics to solve problems that we don’t know how to solve.” One potential use for her stipend would be to reduce barriers to finding solutions by funding inter-specialty workshops. “I thought this sounded like fun,” she says. Again, laughter.
Wood is one of two mathematician fellows this year. June Huh, 39, at Princeton, once dreamed of being a poet. Growing up in Korea, his math potential was not first widely acknowledged by graduate schools. “In my first attempt, I didn’t get any offer,” he writes in an email. When he tried again two years later, he received only one, from the University of Illinois. Huh is having some year. In July, his work in geometric combinatorics won him the Fields Medal, given every four years to mathematicians younger than 40 and known as the “Nobel Prize in Mathematics.”
Many of this year’s fellows pursue new interdisciplinary areas of exploration and, with them, fresh job descriptors. Jenna Jambeck, 48, who’s an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia, considers herself an “open data citizen scientist,” sharing information with the public. Her interest in waste dates to early childhood. “As a kid, I was completely fascinated with what we then called a ‘dump,’ ” Jambeck says. She encourages lay people to become involved, recording waste they see in the Marine Debris Tracker mobile app she developed, to provide useful data about plastic waste pollution for scientific research. “I don’t share recommendations. I share data information so that communities around the world can be decision-makers,” Jambeck says.
The MacArthur will “allow me not to have to worry about things. I’m at a public university. I never expected that my work would reward me personally,” Jambeck says. “When you have out-of-the-box ideas, it’s hard to get traditional funding. This is a big surprise. It takes away some burdens.”
Like Miller, Yale University School of Medicine physician and researcher Emily Wang devotes her work to the formerly incarcerated as director of the SEICHE Center for Health and Justice. She’s interested in their long-term health outcomes and care once they’ve been released.
Wang, too, ignored the first calls from the MacArthur Foundation. Then again, she’s immensely busy professionally and the mother of four girls: 12-year-old triplets and a 6-year-old.
“My first response was one of tears,” Wang says. “I’m still kind of processing the enormity and the honor.” Called last month, fellows were instructed that they could share their life-altering news with precisely one person until the announcement. Wang has yet to determine what she might do with the stipend. But she’s thinking big. “I’d like to partner with world health-care organizations,” she says. The MacArthur “gives us some more bandwidth and these big opportunities.”
The MacArthur carries the gift of time. The stipend potentially removes the grind of some tasks — grant writing was mentioned more than once — and frees up hours, potentially weeks and months to invest in essential work and travel.
“It gives me time to stop and think,” says Miller, who is writing a book about countries that have “recovered from slavery” and how they regard people who have committed violent acts. “It gives me the time not to do the other stuff. Time is the premium.”
The grant permits recipients to plan big. Williams needs to purchase red tulip bulbs, 100,000 of them to plant Saturday with volunteers for an “art activation” installation in Chicago’s Washington Park neighborhood. Titled “Redefining Redlining,” the bulbs will bloom in spring where 16 buildings were demolished.
The MacArthur “is an affirmation to keep pushing, to lean into the way I’ve been thinking about things,” Williams says. “It allows me some much more aggressive life planning. It elevates people’s thinking about what’s possible in the every day.”
She sees the award as something that inspires not only the winners but collaborators and colleagues. “I just want to be open to the excitement and of all the things that are born from other people’s excitement,” Williams says.
Full list of 2022 MacArthur fellows:
Jennifer Carlson, 40, sociologist
Paul Chan, 49, artist
Yejin Choi, 45, computer scientist
P. Gabrielle Forem...
ALUMNI ROUNDUP: Carver Begins College Career With A Win
ALUMNI ROUNDUP: Carver Begins College Career With A Win https://digitalalaskanews.com/alumni-roundup-carver-begins-college-career-with-a-win/
By DEREK CLARKSTON sports@kodiakdailymirror.com
Oct 12, 2022
1 hr ago
0
DEREK CLARKSTON/Kodiak Daily Mirror
Nick Carver swims the 100-yard breaststroke for Kodiak High School in 2020.
Nick Carver didn’t waste time picking up his first collegiate swimming victory.
In his second meet, the William Jewell College freshman won the 100-meter breaststroke, touching the wall in 1 minute, 6.25 seconds in Friday’s dual against Maryville in Liberty, Missouri.
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By MAISIE THOMAS Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Apr 4, 2022
1
In Alaska, Covid-19 cases are leveling off after reaching record highs during the Omicron surge, but a new and even more highly contagious variant is on the rise. The BA.2 variant of Omicron now accounts for over 50% of new cases nationally, and just under half of cases in Alaska, state epid…
LINDA F. HERSEY Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Apr 1, 2022
0
North Pole Rep. Mike Prax was one of eight lawmakers diagnosed with Covid-19 Wednesday in an outbreak that has swept through the Alaska House.
By LIV CLIFFORD Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Mar 31, 2022
0
Alaskans lost more than $13 million to suspected internet crimes in 2021, federal data shows.
Read More Here
Saudis In Grit And Hustle To Get Trump Re-Elected https://digitalalaskanews.com/saudis-in-grit-and-hustle-to-get-trump-re-elected/
By slashing oil production, the Al Saud is going to great lengths to get Donald Trump re-elected as the US president and it is also making efforts for the Republicans to win the midterms in the United States, according to a media report quoting a number of political analysts.
“The Saudis are working to get Trump re-elected and for the MAGA Republicans to win the midterms,” Bruce Riedel, a senior fellow of the Brookings Institution, told The Intercept. “Higher oil prices will undermine the Democrats.”
Congressional Democrats facing reelection amid soaring gas prices were similarly incensed.
Representative Ro Khanna, California Democrat, also said oil prices affect not only the price at the pump but also the cost of virtually everything and are a major driver of inflation. “There’s no doubt that the Saudi-led OPEC oil production cuts are a strategic effort to hurt Americans at the pump and undermine our work to tackle rising costs.”
The decision by OPEC+ earlier this month put US President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party in a bind by potentially kickstarting fuel price hikes, just a few weeks ahead of midterm elections, where the Republicans hope to take control of Congress.
Experts now say the price hikes were a foray by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MBS, into the US electoral politics. It was a move against Biden and in favor of Trump, they say.
White House officials called the recent oil production cut a “hostile act” and said the administration was “re-evaluating” the Saudi relationship.
The Capitol Hill normally resorts to expressing ‘deep concern’ in response to the Saudi kingdom’s myriad human rights abuses. This time around, Congressional Democrats have struck back, vowing to block weapons sales and even taking the unprecedented step of introducing legislation to withdraw US troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Bin Salman’s affinity for Trump is hardly a secret. Trump broke with presidential tradition by paying his first foreign visit to Riyadh, where he inked a record $350 billion weapons sale to the autocracy. He also repeatedly defended MBS amid reporting, including by his own CIA, that the crown prince had ordered the brutal murder of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
“I saved his a**,” Trump reportedly said. “I was able to get Congress to leave him alone” — referring to three times he vetoed Congressional resolutions blocking billions in weapons sales to the Saudis.
The cozy relationship between Trump’s circles and the Saudis persisted after the president left office.
Just six months after leaving the White House, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and former top White House adviser, won a $2-billion investment from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund with favor of MBS.
And Trump’s Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s firm, Liberty Strategic Capital, raised $1 billion from the Saudi sovereign wealth fund.
Biden had promised when he ran for office that he would hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its human rights abuses, including the murder of Khashoggi.
The US president was under fire this summer for meeting with bin Salman, giving him a fist-bump greeting. The meeting had come together as global oil supplies tightened and prices soared due to the war in Ukraine. The meeting flew in the face of Biden’s campaign promise to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah.”
Read More Here
The Best PC Accessory Deals From Amazons Fall Prime Day Event
The Best PC Accessory Deals From Amazon’s Fall Prime Day Event https://digitalalaskanews.com/the-best-pc-accessory-deals-from-amazons-fall-prime-day-event/
All of the deals on display during Amazon’s Prime Day Early Access Sale give us a chance to highlight some cool accessories that typically won’t find their way into our regular deals roundups. Yes, we know that we’ve already got a roundup of the best gaming deals of Prime’s Early Access Sale, but this one is explicitly for the best discounts we could find on PC accessories. That means we’re not just looking at mice and keyboards, but we’re diving into motherboards, water coolers, and graphics cards, too.
While gaming accessories get all the glory, we’re including plenty of PC accessory deals that are productivity first. Whether you’re looking for an ultra-fast external hard drive or a slick-looking PC case, our roundup of PC accessories has got you covered. Make sure to also check out our collection of the best deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale for the latest discounts.
The best Prime Day CPU Cooler deals
$139.99
The 360mm MSI MAG CoreLiquid AIO Cooler is compatible with LGA 1700 and AM5 sockets to support the latest generation of processors.
The Thermaltake UX100 is a low-profile CPU cooler currently discounted to just $17.99 (normally $19.99). Designed for Mico-ATX builds, the UX100 is compatible with 11th Generation Intel CPUs and AM4 CPUs from AMD.
The best Prime Day PC storage deals
The massive 2TB model of the SanDisk Extreme Pro originally had a price tag of $509.99 but is currently discounted to $219.99. The ruggedized SSD is designed to withstand falls and has an IP55 waterproof rating. The Extreme Pro is capable of transfer speeds of up to 2000MB/s via a USB-C connection, but it also comes equipped with a USB-A cable, should you need it.
$219.99
SanDisk’s Extreme Pro SSD is a portable storage option that’s protected against water, dust, and impacts. It supports USB 3.2, and while it uses USB-C, SanDisk includes a USB Type-A adapter to make it compatible with more devices.
The 2TB configuration of the popular Samsung 980 Pro SSD is currently discounted to $189.99 from its usual price of $379.99 — the lowest price yet for the M.2 SSD. The 980 Pro supports transfer speeds of up to 7,000MB/s, letting you quickly bulk transfer files and, in some cases, speed up loading times for games. This model of the 980 Pro doesn’t come with a heatsink though, so don’t try to use it with a PlayStation 5. However, you can also find the 2TB equipped with a heatsink for $209.99 (normally $399.99).
$189.99
Samsung’s high-end 980 Pro NVMe M.2 SSD is among the fastest available. It’s PCIe 4.0-ready, so it can achieve fast read / write speeds of 7,000MB/s and 5,000MB/s, respectively. It’ll also work in more prevalent PCIe 3.0 motherboards, but with slightly slower speeds.
Another excellent M.2 SSD option, the 1TB configuration of the WD_Black SN770 SSD is currently discounted to $79.99 from its usual price of $129.99 — matching the best price yet for the slim storage device. The SN770 can support transfer speeds of up to 5,150MB/s but doesn’t come packaged with a heatsink.
It’s not quite as popular as other SSD models, but the 2TB configuration of the Crucial P5 Plus M.2 SSD is currently on sale for $169.99, down from its usual price of $319.99. It certainly isn’t the fastest SSD on the market, but the advertised 6600MB/s transfer speed makes the Crucial worth checking out if you need some inexpensive storage.
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The best Prime Day RAM deals
If your motherboard supports DDR5 RAM and you haven’t upgraded yet, you can currently find a 32GB module of Kingston Fury RGB RAM on sale for $157.99, a modest discount on its usual price of $169.42. This CL40 DDR5 module is rated for speeds of up to 5200MT/s and is compatible with Intel XMP 3.0 overclocking.
Amazon is also featuring a discount on a pair of 32GB Kingston Fury DDR5 RAM modules, dropping their combined price from $286.47 to $271.99. These modules aren’t equipped with RGB lighting, but they are rated for speeds of up to 4800MT/s and are compatible with Intel XMP 3.0.
The best Prime Day case deals
The Thermaltake Core P3 is an open-air ATX case that resembles a piece of brutalist architecture. Normally priced at $159.99, the Core P3 is currently discounted to $134.99 at Amazon. The large case can be mounted vertically or even on a wall if you’re brave and supports radiators up to 360mm in length.
If you’re in the market for a white Mini-ITX case, the Cooler Master NR200P case is currently on sale for $99.99 from its usual price of $144.99. Every panel of the NR200P is removable, and the vented side panel can be swapped out with an included tempered glass side panel. The internals of the case are compact but still capable of supporting radiators up to 280mm long.
$99.99
The NR200P from Cooler Master is designed for Mini-ITX motherboards, comes with an interchangeable mesh and tempered glass side panel, and supports radiators up to 280mm.
One of Cooler Master’s ATX mid-tower cases, the HAF 500, is currently on sale for $132.14 at Amazon, knocking roughly $37 off the original price. The spacious interior of the HAF 500 features numerous options for cable management and support for radiators up to 360mm in either top or front-mounted configurations. The HAF 500 ships with three RGB fans linked to a built-in RGB hub, including two 200mm fans mounted behind the mesh front panel for awesome airflow.
The best Prime Day motherboard deals
The Asus ROG Strix Z690-E usually costs $469.99 but is currently discounted to $379.99. The ATX board uses an LGA 1700 socket compatible with 12th Generation Intel processors, can support up to four M.2 SSDs, and DDR5 RAM with speeds up to 6400MHz.
$379.99
The Asus ROG Strix Z690-E is an ATX motherboard designed for 12th Generation Intel processors using the LGA 1700 socket.
Another, less expensive LGA 1700 motherboard, the Asus Tuf Z690-Plus is currently discounted to $229.99 from its usual $259.99. The Tuf Z690-Plus is compatible with 12th Generation Intel CPUs, has enough space for up to four M.2 processors, and supports DDR5 RAM with speeds up to 6000MHz.
Power Supply deals
$279.99
The 1200W modular power supply from Asus features a 10-year warranty and an 80 Plus Platinum power efficiency rating.
The Asus ROG Thor 1200 modular power supply is matching its lowest price yet. Usually priced at $349.99, the 1200W PSU is currently discounted to $279.99. The 80+ Platinum power efficiency rating is accompanied by a 10-year warranty and more than enough juice for even the most demanding setup.
The best Prime Day gaming monitor deals
You can currently find Pixio’s 32-inch PXC325 curved gaming monitor on sale for $215.99, which knocks $54 off the usual retail price for the budget-friendly gaming monitor. The PXC325 is a 1080p gaming panel that supports refresh rates up to 165Hz and sports a 1ms response time. AMD FreeSync compatibility rounds out the list of features for this inexpensive gaming panel.
MSI also has a 27-inch gaming panel on sale. The MSI Optix MAG273R2 is discounted to $194.99 at Amazon (normally $239.99) — its lowest price yet. The 165Hz, FHD panel features a 1ms response time and is compatible with Nvidia G-Sync.
The Samsung G9 Odyssey is an absolute lad of a gaming monitor that you can currently pick up at Amazon for $999.99 instead of its usual price of $1,399.99, matching the best price yet for the massive monitor. The 49-inch curved gaming panel is compatible with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-sync for delivering ultra-smooth performance and supports a maximum refresh rate of 240hz. With a maximum resolution of 5120 x 1440, the G9 offers the same screen space as a pair of 27-inch QHD monitors. Read our review.
$999.99
The Samsung Odyssey G9 is a gargantuan 48.8-inch PC monitor with 32:9 aspect ratio and fast 240Hz refresh rate. It lacks HDMI 2.1, but it can do the multitasking job of three monitors.
LG’s 27-inch QHD gaming monitor is usually priced at $299.99 but is currently discounted to $237.49 — its lowest price yet. The Nvidia G-sync compatible monitor features a maximum resolution of 2560 x 1440, a 1ms response time, and a 144hz refresh rate. The packaged stand is height, tilt, and swivel adjustable and supports horizontal or vertical orientation.
$237.49
LG’s 27-inch UltraGear gaming monitors are a fantastic value. This particular model features a QHD IPS panel with HDMI and DisplayPort to let you hook up a PC and a gaming console. It also touts a 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and G-Sync compatibility.
The ViewSonic Elite XG320U is a 32-inch, high refresh rate gaming panel that typically costs $1,009.99 but is currently discounted to $799.99 — the lowest price yet for the AMD FreeSync compatible monitor. Supporting a 4K resolution, the ViewSonic Elite also features a 150hz refresh rate and is compatible with Nvidia Reflex technology to deliver the lowest possible latency. The packaged stand is height, tilt, and swivel adjustable and supports horizontal or vertical orientation.
You can also find the Acer Nitro XV272U gaming monitor on sale at Amazon right now for $209.99 (normally $299.99), its best price to date. The 27-inch flat panel supports 1440p resolutions at a maximum refresh rate of 170Hz. Like many other gaming monitors, the XV272U also has a 1ms response time and is AMD FreeSync compatible.
The best Prime Day CPU deals
As long as you’re not using an integrated graphics card, you may want to check out this discount on Intel’s Core i9-12900KF CPU. Initially selling for $549.97, Amazon has the unlocked 12th-gen CPU on sale for $439.98, roughly $60 cheaper than the 12900K. The 12900KF is a 16-core processor that uses the LGA 1700 socket and is capable of speeds up to 5.2GHz out of th...
Bomgaars To Open First Lincoln Location Following Acquisition Of Part Of Orscheln Retail Chain
Bomgaars To Open First Lincoln Location Following Acquisition Of Part Of Orscheln Retail Chain https://digitalalaskanews.com/bomgaars-to-open-first-lincoln-location-following-acquisition-of-part-of-orscheln-retail-chain/
SIOUX CITY, Iowa — Bomgaars, the Sioux City-based retail chain, announced Tuesday a deal to acquire 73 Orscheln Farm and Home store locations, making Bomgaars the second-largest farm and ranch retailer in the U.S., after Tractor Supply Co.
The “mega-deal,” as Bomgaars described it in a news release, was a somewhat complex one, as Tennessee-based Tractor Supply had been seeking to acquire Orscheln for more than a year.
A pickup is parked outside Bomgaars’ distribution center in Sioux City, Iowa.
Sioux City Journal file photo
The Federal Trade Commission only agreed to allow the sale on condition that 73 of the Orscheln stores be sold to Bomgaars. Another dozen Orscheln stores are being acquired by Buchheit, a farm retailer operating in Missouri and Illinois, leaving Tractor Supply with 81 Orscheln locations.
The Orscheln store in Lincoln, at 56th Street and Cornhusker Highway, is to become the city’s first Bomgaars location. In Beatrice, the Orscheln store will transition to Buchheit.
Tractor Supply already has locations in Lincoln and Beatrice.
Tractor Supply paid roughly $238 million cash for its share of the Orscheln chain, according to a news release on the retailer’s website. Bomgaars, which unlike Tractor Supply is privately held, has not disclosed the price it paid for its share of Orscheln.
The deal will give the rapidly growing Bomgaars chain a total of 180 locations throughout its expanded 15-state trade region. Bomgaars will also acquire Orscheln’s 330,000-square-foot distribution center in Moberly, Missouri.
Tractor Supply will grow to more than 2,100 stores.
Orscheln Farm and Home, based in Missouri, was founded in 1960 by W.C. “Colonel” Orscheln, who opened his first store in Sedalia, Missouri. The Orscheln chain grew to more than 85 locations by 2003.
Lowest-paying jobs in Lincoln
Lowest-paying jobs in Lincoln
The U.S. may be one of the wealthiest countries in the world but there’s a growing trend of financial inequality, with middle-class households feeling the most impact. In fact, the number of adults who live in middle-class households dropped from 61% in 1971 to 50% in 2021, according to an April 2022 analysis from Pew Research Center. On the other hand, the upper-income level rose from 14% to 21%. The declining middle class in the U.S. can be attributed to various factors including a decrease in unions and manufacturing jobs and an increased need for college-educated, tech-savvy employees.
The COVID-19 pandemic also played a major role in exposing the harsh financial gap as those who fell under the middle- and upper-income brackets were able to keep their jobs and/or work remotely. At the start of the pandemic in the U.S., workers who fell under the lower-income tier found themselves unemployed or having to be out of work, even if temporarily, as their place of employment was closed.
Those who worked in the leisure and hospitality industries were hit the hardest financially. In December 2020, employment in the hospitality industry was down by 23% compared to pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, an unemployment rate that surpassed other industries. Service employees such as housekeepers, food preparation workers, kitchen cooks, automobile glass installers, and animal caretakers were some of the lowest-paying jobs in the nation.
Stacker compiled a list of the lowest-paying jobs in Lincoln, NE, using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Jobs are ranked by average annual salary with information up to date as of May 2021.
You may also like: Metros where people in Lincoln are getting new jobs
Ryan Everton // Unsplash
#50. Nursing assistants
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $32,350
– #165 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 2,290
National
– Annual mean salary: $33,250
– Employment: 1,314,830
– Entry level education requirements: Postsecondary nondegree award
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($47,690)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($47,500)
— Salinas, CA ($44,210)
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
#49. Cooks, restaurant
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $32,140
– #108 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 640
National
– Annual mean salary: $31,630
– Employment: 1,193,860
– Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($43,900)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($43,380)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA ($41,690)
Jorge Royan // Wikimedia Commons
#48. Funeral attendants
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $31,900
– #41 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 40
National
– Annual mean salary: $31,630
– Employment: 32,490
– Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($45,440)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($45,270)
— Trenton, NJ ($43,730)
Don LaVange // Flickr
#47. Social and human service assistants
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $31,750
– #341 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 320
National
– Annual mean salary: $40,460
– Employment: 398,380
– Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT ($56,140)
— Danbury, CT ($54,870)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($54,590)
Dragon Images // Shutterstock
#46. Receptionists and information clerks
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $31,670
– #151 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 1,050
National
– Annual mean salary: $32,910
– Employment: 983,150
– Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($45,080)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($44,680)
— Vallejo-Fairfield, CA ($41,290)
You may also like: Cities with the fastest growing home prices in Lincoln metro area
New Africa // Shutterstock
#45. Bakers
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $31,590
– #136 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 200
National
– Annual mean salary: $32,300
– Employment: 181,800
– Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($41,850)
— Chattanooga, TN-GA ($41,660)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($41,160)
Canva
#44. Automotive and watercraft service attendants
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $31,440
– #81 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 90
National
– Annual mean salary: $29,960
– Employment: 111,480
– Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($50,340)
— Fairbanks, AK ($41,840)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($39,120)
Canva
#43. Cooks, institution and cafeteria
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $30,900
– #174 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 390
National
– Annual mean salary: $31,520
– Employment: 392,860
– Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
– Metros with highest average pay:
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($48,130)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($47,400)
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($47,000)
Canva
#42. Switchboard operators, including answering service
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $30,580
– #130 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: data not available
National
– Annual mean salary: $34,590
– Employment: 48,190
– Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, HI ($51,610)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($51,250)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($47,440)
ESB Basic // Shutterstock
#41. Demonstrators and product promoters
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $30,540
– #98 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 60
National
– Annual mean salary: $36,990
– Employment: 40,680
– Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($64,820)
— Boulder, CO ($51,470)
— Prescott, AZ ($47,200)
You may also like: Closest national parks to Lincoln
Canva
#40. Floral designers
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $30,390
– #114 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 110
National
– Annual mean salary: $32,100
– Employment: 36,000
– Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New Haven, CT ($44,600)
— Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT ($43,780)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($43,120)
Unsplash
#39. Cleaners of vehicles and equipment
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $30,320
– #141 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 550
National
– Annual mean salary: $30,550
– Employment: 351,960
– Entry level education requirements: No formal educational credential
– Metros with highest average pay:
— New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA ($40,840)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($38,980)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($38,780)
Nejron Photo // Shutterstock
#38. Tire repairers and changers
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $29,670
– #229 highest pay among all metros
– Employment: 150
National
– Annual mean salary: $32,520
– Employment: 93,180
– Entry level education requirements: High school diploma or equivalent
– Metros with highest average pay:
— Urban Honolulu, HI ($44,520)
— San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA ($43,520)
— San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA ($43,370)
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#37. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
Lincoln, NE
– Annual mean salary: $29,650
– #...
Lucy Letby Trial: Nurse Killed Baby And Sent Parents Card Trial Told
Lucy Letby Trial: Nurse Killed Baby And Sent Parents Card, Trial Told https://digitalalaskanews.com/lucy-letby-trial-nurse-killed-baby-and-sent-parents-card-trial-told/
Image source, SWNS
Image caption,
Lucy Letby, 32, of Hereford, denies 22 charges at Manchester Crown Court
A nurse accused of murdering babies on a neonatal ward killed a premature baby girl on the fourth attempt before sending her parents a sympathy card, a court has heard.
Lucy Letby is charged with murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others at Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.
Manchester Crown Court was told Ms Letby allegedly tried to kill the girl by injecting her with air.
Ms Letby, 32, denies 22 charges.
Continuing the prosecution’s opening statement for a third day, Nick Johnson KC said the circumstances of the girl’s death were “an extreme example even by the standards of this case”.
“There were four separate occasions on which we allege Lucy Letby tried to kill her,” he said.
The child, referred to for legal reasons as Child I, was “resilient,” he said, “but ultimately at the fourth attempt, Lucy Letby succeeded in killing her”.
He said on the first occasion Ms Letby, of Hereford, had injected Child I with air.
On her second attempt, he said she had stood in the doorway of the girl’s darkened room and commented she looked pale.
The girl’s designated nurse then turned on the light and saw Child I was not breathing.
Following a third alleged attempt to kill her, Child I was again found to have excess air in her stomach, which had affected her breathing.
She was transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital where she stabilised, before being taken back to Chester, the court heard.
Image caption,
Lucy Letby is accused of murdering seven babies and trying to kill 10 others
When Child I’s medical alarm went off following a fourth attempt, another nurse found Ms Letby next to the incubator, the jury was told.
The baby died that morning.
Mr Johnson said: “[Child I] was born very early and very small.
“But she survived the first two months of her life and was doing well by the time Lucy Letby got her hands on her.
“It was persistent, it was calculated and it was cold-blooded.”
The court heard how in the immediate aftermath of Child I’s death her parents were taken to a private room and asked if the baby’s mother wanted to bathe her daughter.
As the mother bathed her child, Ms Letby came into the room and, in the words of the mother, she “was smiling and kept going on about how she was present at the baby’s first bath and how much the baby had loved it”.
The jury was told Ms Letby later sent a sympathy card to the child’s parents and kept an image of the card on her phone.
During a police interview she agreed this was unusual but said it was not often nurses got to know a family as well as they had got to know Child I’s, the court heard.
Image source, PA Media
Image caption,
Lucy Letby worked on the neonatal ward at the Countess of Chester Hospital
The court was also told how a suspicious doctor walked in on Ms Letby as she allegedly attempted to kill another baby.
Dr Ravi Jayaram, a paediatric consultant, had helped deliver Child K, who was born at 25 weeks, and later became aware Ms Letby was alone with the baby.
Mr Johnson told the jury: “Feeling uncomfortable with this because he had started to notice the coincidence between the unexplained deaths, serious collapses and the presence of Lucy Letby, Dr Jayaram decided to check on where [Ms Letby] was and how Child K was.
“As he walked in he saw Ms Letby standing over Child K’s incubator.
“Dr Jayaram could see from the monitor on the wall that Child K’s oxygen saturation level was falling dangerously low, to somewhere in the 80s.”
He said an alarm should have been sounding as Child K’s oxygen levels were falling.
“We allege she was trying to kill Child K when Dr Jayaram walked in,” Mr Johnson said.
Dr Jayaram found Child K’s chest was not moving and asked Ms Letby if anything had happened, to which she replied: “She’s just started deteriorating now.”
Mr Johnson said Dr Jayaram found Child K’s breathing tube had been dislodged.
The prosecutor said it was possible for this to happen in an active baby, but Child K was very premature and had been sedated.
‘Remarkable recovery’
The jury heard the alarm should have sounded but could be overridden for one minute.
Despite his concerns at the time, Dr Jayaram did not make a note of his suspicions, the court heard.
Later the same morning Ms Letby was again at Child K’s cot calling for help.
She was assisting the baby with her breathing and it was found Child K’s breathing tube had this time slipped too far into her throat, the court heard.
Child K was transferred to another hospital later that day but remained unwell and died two days later. Ms Letby is not accused of her murder.
Image source, Julia Quenzler/BBC
Image caption,
Lucy Letby’s trial is continuing for a third day
Earlier, Mr Johnson told the court about attempts made on the life of another premature girl, Child H, on two consecutive night shifts.
He said that girl had a series of known medical problems but had suffered two inexplicable collapses.
He said on the first night, Ms Letby was the girl’s designated nurse and, after she collapsed, she was transferred to Arrowe Park Hospital and underwent a “dramatic improvement”.
He said Ms Letby had not been Child H’s designated nurse the following night, after she was returned to Chester.
Mr Johnson said: “It is a notable fact in the case of [Child H] and others that as soon as children were removed from the Countess of Chester and the sphere of influence of Lucy Letby, it was often followed by their sudden and remarkable recovery.”
He said a week after the baby’s collapses, Ms Letby searched Facebook for the girl’s parents and for the families of two other children she is accused of attacking.
The court also heard about Child J, who Ms Letby is accused of trying to murder.
She was a premature baby girl who was “doing well and healthy” after a bowel operation.
Image caption,
Lucy Letby has been described in court as “a poisoner at work” within the hospital
But she suffered two serious problems with her breathing overnight in November 2015 when Ms Letby was one of the six nurses working, the jury was told.
She was moved to a high-dependency room and had a seizure at 06:56 GMT. At 07:20 Ms Letby gave the baby a glucose infusion.
Minutes later Child J collapsed again with a seizure and had to be resuscitated, with the help of a doctor, but he could not explain why it had happened again, the jury heard.
An independent medical expert who reviewed Child J’s case said it was “of concern and consistent with some form of obstruction of her airways, such as smothering”.
Again, Ms Letby, made searches on Facebook for the child’s parents .
The jury was told of twin baby brothers, Child L and M, who the nurse is charged with attempting to murder in April 2016.
By this time, Ms Letby was supposed only to be working day shifts because consultants were concerned about the correlation between her presence and unexpected deaths and life-threatening episodes on the night-shifts.
Mr Johnson said the defendant had volunteered to work an extra shift after she noted Child L’s low glucose levels shortly after his birth the previous day.
“We say that in effect she saw the opportunity to complete what she had attempted [with Child F],” he said.
The prosecution said Ms Letby attacked Child L first by adding insulin to his nutrient feed and then, while that attack was underway, administering air into Child M’s circulation.
Image source, Julia Quenzler/BBC
Image caption,
Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said Lucy Letby would search for the parents of the poorly babies on social media
Child M suffered an unexpected life-threatening event “without warning” and came close to death and his twin’s blood sugar was left dangerously due to the insulin poisoning, the court heard.
When Ms Letby’s home in Chester was searched two years later, medical notes were found detailing how many doses of adrenaline were given to Child M during his collapse and a note of his collapse was in her diary.
“She denied the notes were a souvenir and she denied deliberately trying to harm [Child M],” Mr Johnson said.
The nurse allegedly tried to kill another premature baby, referred to as Child N, who had a blood disorder, on three occasions.
Mr Johnson said this meant Ms Letby believed, wrongly, that his disorder gave her “cover” to attack him because if he bled it would be put down to the condition.
He suffered a sudden life-threatening lowering of his blood oxygen levels but recovered after emergency assistance, the court heard.
Independent medical experts said the baby’s sudden deterioration was consistent with some kind of “inflicted injury” or him having received an injection of air.
Twelve days later, in June 2016, Ms Letby is alleged to have made two more attempts to murder Child N.
The court also heard about Child O and Child P, two boys from a set of triplets. Ms Letby is charged with murdering them both on successive days.
Within a few minutes of the nurse coming into the neonatal unit, Child O suffered his first collapse described as a “remarkable deterioration”, the jury was told.
A breathing tube was inserted by medical staff and the baby was resuscitated but he suffered another episode later and this time doctors were not able to resuscitate him, the court heard.
A year later, on the anniversary of Child O’s death, Ms Letby carried out a Facebook search for his family’s surname, the court was told.
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Identification Of Hub Genes And Candidate Herbal Treatment In Obesity Through Integrated Bioinformatic Analysis And Reverse Network Pharmacology Scientific Reports
Identification Of Hub Genes And Candidate Herbal Treatment In Obesity Through Integrated Bioinformatic Analysis And Reverse Network Pharmacology – Scientific Reports https://digitalalaskanews.com/identification-of-hub-genes-and-candidate-herbal-treatment-in-obesity-through-integrated-bioinformatic-analysis-and-reverse-network-pharmacology-scientific-reports/
Abstract
Obesity is a global epidemic elevating the risk of various metabolic disorders. As there is a lack of effective drugs to treat obesity, we combined bioinformatics and reverse network pharmacology in this study to identify effective herbs to treat obesity. We identified 1011 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of adipose tissue after weight loss by analyzing five expression profiles (GSE103766, GSE35411, GSE112307, GSE43471, and GSE35710) from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We identified 27 hub genes from the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network by performing MCODE using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses revealed that these hub genes have roles in the extracellular matrix–receptor interaction, cholesterol metabolism, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, etc. Ten herbs (Aloe, Portulacae Herba, Mori Follum, Silybum Marianum, Phyllanthi Fructus, Pollen Typhae, Ginkgo Semen, Leonuri Herba, Eriobotryae Folium, and Litseae Fructus) targeting the nine hub genes (COL1A1, MMP2, MMP9, SPP1, DNMT3B, MMP7, CETP, COL1A2, and MUC1) using six ingredients were identified as the key herbs. Quercetin and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate were determined to be the key ingredients. Lastly, Ingredients-Targets, Herbs-Ingredients-Targets, and Herbs-Taste-Meridian Tropism networks were constructed using Cytoscape to elucidate this complex relationship. This study could help identify promising therapeutic targets and drugs to treat obesity.
Introduction
Obesity is a global health problem without a definitive cure. Being overweight enhances the risk of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and reproductive disorders1,2,3,4. Patients with moderate or severe obesity will also face higher all-factor mortality5. A study revealed that the prevalence of high body mass index (BMI) has increased globally over recent decades. To date, no country has been able to reduce its obesity epidemic by following evidence-based policies6,7,8. Although dietary and lifestyle modifications are considered primary solutions to treat obesity, recent studies recommend medications combined with lifestyle modifications to reduce weight among patients having BMI ≥ 27 kg/m2 and other associated diseases, or BMI ≥ 30 kg/m29. Most drugs used to manage obesity focus on appetite control. These drugs help in reducing food intake by stimulating pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons to promote satiation, ultimately leading to weight loss10. However, these current anti-obesity drugs are associated with side effects such as insomnia, dry mouth, constipation, adverse gastrointestinal reactions, and acute liver injury 11,12. Therefore, effective alternative strategies are urgently required.
Several studies focus on using Chinese herbs and other natural medications to treat obesity13 owing to the advantages of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) in enhancing drug safety and reducing complications due to the homologous characteristics of medicine and food14. A systematic review shows that herbal medicines can effectively reduce weight, BMI, waist circumference, hip circumference, and body fat15. They exert anti-obesity effects by suppressing appetite and reducing energy intake, inhibiting pancreatic lipase activity and fat absorption, stimulating thermogenesis and energy expenditure, increasing lipolysis, and reducing lipogenesis15. Moreover, a randomized controlled trial showed that safflower oil intake could modify body weight and shape without lifestyle adjustments and also regulate blood pressure and insulin resistance compared with the placebo16. Drug discovery is associated with challenges such as long development cycles, high costs and turnover rates, and constantly changing regulatory requirements, which are not ideal for inventors17. As opposed to developing brand-new drugs, the extraction of natural ingredients from known herbs has various advantages including considerable saving of both time and economic costs. Therefore, it is necessary to identify novel and natural compounds that are suitable for the treatment of obesity.
Owing to the popularity of gene-microarray and RNA sequencing, integrated bioinformatics has been widely used to analyze high-throughput sequencing data of various diseases. By identifying differentially expressed genes (DEGs) and screening suitable hub genes, disease-related signaling pathways and their mechanisms can be analyzed, becoming the basis for predicting targeted drugs. In addition, network pharmacology has attracted considerable attention for the further exploration of the relationship between drugs, diseases, and targets by using various databases for analysis and simulation18. Many studies have clarified the targets and mechanisms of several Chinese medicines and their components in treating diseases using this technology. However, only a few have focused on mining new targeted drugs. In this study, we used an alternative strategy and reversed this process. Accordingly, the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/) database and the Traditional Chinese Medicine Systems Pharmacology Database and Analysis Platform (TCMSP, https://tcmspw.com/tcmsp.php) were used to identify the hub genes associated with obesity, explore the relevant mechanism through enrichment analysis, and predict the herbs and their ingredients with potential anti-obesity effect.
Results
Identification of DEGs after weight loss
After standardizing gene sets (Fig. 1), 1011 DEGs (|logFC| 1, p � 0.05) were screened out from GSE103766, GSE35411, GSE112307, GSE43471, and GSE35710 based on the above method. The results included 513 downregulated and 498 upregulated genes, as shown in the volcano plot (Fig. 2 and Supplementary Table S1). The abscissa in the volcano plot is log2 (fold change) value, and the ordinate is log10 (p-value).
Figure 1
Box-plots of the expression profiles after consolidation and standardization. The x-axis label represents the sample symbol and the y-axis label represents gene expression values. The black line in the box-plot represents the median value of gene expression. (a) Standardization of GSE43471, (b) Standardization of GSE35411, (c) Standardization of GSE103766, (d) Standardization of GSE35710, (e) Standardization of GSE112307.
Figure 2
Volcano plot to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs). (a) GSE43471, (b) GSE35710, (c) GSE35411, (d) GSE103766, (e) GSE112307. The x-axis label represents fold changes and the y-axis label represents the p-values. Red dots represent the 498 upregulated genes and green dots represent the 513 downregulated genes.
PPI network analysis and identification of hub genes
As shown in Supplementary Fig. S1, the PPI network of DEGs, based on the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database, includes 584 nodes and 1417 edges. Using the MCODE plugin in Cytoscape software, the most significant modules (score = 6.667) were recognized from the PPI network as comprising 27 hub genes, including ACP5, CETP, COL1A1, COL1A2, CSF1, DNMT3B, EED, HIST1H2AI, HIST1H2BB, HIST1H2BD, HIST1H4B, HIST1H4H, HIST2H3C, HP, LCN2, LIPC, LPA, MMP2, MMP7, MMP9, MSR1, MUC1, PLA2G7, SPP1, THBS1, THBS2, and VLDLR (Table 1 and Fig. 3).
Figure 3
Subnetwork of 27 hub genes from the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Node size and temperature color reflect the degree of connectivity (bigger node represents a higher degree and smaller node represents a lower degree; red node represents a higher degree and yellow node represents a lower degree).
GO enrichment analysis of hub genes
An enrichment analysis bubble chart was drawn under GO level 2 classifications using Omicshare tools (Fig. 4 and Supplementary Table S2). As shown in the figure, hub genes were significantly enriched in regulating plasma lipoprotein particle levels, lipid transport, extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, response to reactive oxygen species, and the oxygen-containing compound for biological process (BP). The hub genes were significantly enriched for cell composition (CC) in lipoprotein particles, extracellular regions, ECM, extracellular exosomes, and secretory granules. For molecular function (MF), the hub genes were significantly elevated in lipoprotein particle binding, glycosaminoglycan binding, ECM structural constituents, and peptidase activity.
Figure 4
Biological functions based on Gene Ontology (GO) analysis of obesity-related hub genes. Advanced bubble chart shows significance in GO enrichment items of hub genes in three functional groups: biological process (BP), cell composition (CC), and molecular function (MF). The x-axis label represents the gene ratio (Rich Factor) and the y-axis label represents GO terms.
KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of hub genes
KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that the hub genes were primarily enriched in ECM–receptor interaction, cholesterol metabolism, PI3K-Akt, IL-17, and TNF signaling pathways, endocrine resistance, and leukocyte transendothelial migration (Fig. 5 and Supplementary Table S3).
Figure 5
Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis of hub genes. The x-axis label represents the gene ratio (Rich factor) and the y-axis label represents the pathway.
Screening of active ingredients
We converted 27 gene names of the hub genes into protein names that could be recognized through the TCMSP database using the Universal Protein Resource (Uniprot). Moreover, the hub genes ca...
91-Year-Old Civil Rights Pioneer Stabbed While Walking Dog In Boston's Franklin Park Sources Say
91-Year-Old Civil Rights Pioneer Stabbed While Walking Dog In Boston's Franklin Park, Sources Say https://digitalalaskanews.com/91-year-old-civil-rights-pioneer-stabbed-while-walking-dog-in-bostons-franklin-park-sources-say/
A Massachusetts civil rights pioneer and education activist was stabbed multiple times while walking a dog in Boston’s Franklin Park on Tuesday night, sources tell 5 Investigates.The victim, 91-year-old Jean McGuire, who was the first Black woman on the Boston School Committee and a METCO founder, was stabbed near 25 Playstead Road just before 8:30 p.m., sources said.NewsCenter 5 spotted multiple Boston Police Department cruisers at the scene. Officers, including a K9, were seen searching the area. Multiple evidence markers were placed near White Stadium and Playstead Park.McGuire was taken to a Boston hospital and is expected to survive. Her sister, Jeriline Brady-McGinnis, said McGuire was attacked from behind, and the man ran off when her dog went after the assailant. “Honestly, if you would’ve asked me my name at that point, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. My anger was so high I could hear my heartbeat through my whole body. My anger was that high. Of course, not nice things went through my head. I had to keep myself from going in my own car and doing something stupid. Because it has to be a very, very brave man that can attack a 91-year-old woman in the park,” Brady-McGinnis said.Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she had the chance to speak to the victim, who Wu called McGuire “an inspiration in every way.”“I am disgusted and angry to know that an elder in our community had to fear for her safety going about her daily routine, walking her dog,” Wu said.No arrests have been announced by police. Police said the assailant may have been injured during the attack. In 1981, McGuire became the first Black woman elected to the Boston School Committee and served for more than 40 years as the executive director of METCO. “You hear people say they would give you the shirt off their back, she’d take off her shirt and snatch somebody else’s and give it to you. That’s how her heart is. And to have this happen to her, I’m beyond words. I’m beyond words. My anger is so high right now. If I acted on it, you guys would be talking to me from bars,” Brady-McGinnis said.Detectives are urging anyone that was in the area during that time and may have witnessed the incident or observed anything suspicious to contact Area B-2 detectives at 617-343-4275.
BOSTON —
A Massachusetts civil rights pioneer and education activist was stabbed multiple times while walking a dog in Boston’s Franklin Park on Tuesday night, sources tell 5 Investigates.
The victim, 91-year-old Jean McGuire, who was the first Black woman on the Boston School Committee and a METCO founder, was stabbed near 25 Playstead Road just before 8:30 p.m., sources said.
NewsCenter 5 spotted multiple Boston Police Department cruisers at the scene. Officers, including a K9, were seen searching the area. Multiple evidence markers were placed near White Stadium and Playstead Park.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
Just spoke with civil rights pioneer Jean McGuire’s sister Jeriline Brady-McGinnis, who tells me her 91-year-old sister spent the night in the ER, after being stabbed while walking her dog in Franklin Park Tuesday night #WCVB pic.twitter.com/jPR6vYhmsY
— Matt Reed (@MattReedNews) October 12, 2022
McGuire was taken to a Boston hospital and is expected to survive.
Her sister, Jeriline Brady-McGinnis, said McGuire was attacked from behind, and the man ran off when her dog went after the assailant.
“Honestly, if you would’ve asked me my name at that point, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. My anger was so high I could hear my heartbeat through my whole body. My anger was that high. Of course, not nice things went through my head. I had to keep myself from going in my own car and doing something stupid. Because it has to be a very, very brave man that can attack a 91-year-old woman in the park,” Brady-McGinnis said.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu said she had the chance to speak to the victim, who Wu called McGuire “an inspiration in every way.”
“I am disgusted and angry to know that an elder in our community had to fear for her safety going about her daily routine, walking her dog,” Wu said.
No arrests have been announced by police. Police said the assailant may have been injured during the attack.
Ed Jenner/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Jean McGuire, head of METCO, Oct. 23, 1974.
In 1981, McGuire became the first Black woman elected to the Boston School Committee and served for more than 40 years as the executive director of METCO.
“You hear people say they would give you the shirt off their back, she’d take off her shirt and snatch somebody else’s and give it to you. That’s how her heart is. And to have this happen to her, I’m beyond words. I’m beyond words. My anger is so high right now. If I acted on it, you guys would be talking to me from bars,” Brady-McGinnis said.
Detectives are urging anyone that was in the area during that time and may have witnessed the incident or observed anything suspicious to contact Area B-2 detectives at 617-343-4275.
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Former Trump Lawyer Speaks To DOJ As Merrick Garland Continues To Fill In The Gaps
Former Trump Lawyer Speaks To DOJ, As Merrick Garland Continues To Fill In The Gaps https://digitalalaskanews.com/former-trump-lawyer-speaks-to-doj-as-merrick-garland-continues-to-fill-in-the-gaps/
Drew Angerer//Getty Images
Dawn breaks, as we say up here, over Marblehead. It seems finally to have occurred to various aides and lawyers that marching off the cliff for the benefit of El Caudillo del Mar-A-Lago is rather a zero-sum business, and not just because sending him a bill often ends in accounts receivable receiving a sum of zero. Folks are cutting deals, and the lawyers are turning on each other. From NBC:
Christina Bobb, the attorney who signed a letter certifying that all sensitive records in former President Donald Trump’s possession had been returned to the government, spoke to federal investigators Friday and named two other Trump attorneys involved with the case, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The certification statement, signed June 3 by Bobb, indicated that Trump was in compliance with a May grand jury subpoena and no longer had possession of a host of documents with classification markings at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, according to the three sources who do not want to comment publicly because of the sensitive nature of the sprawling federal investigation[…]After Justice Department officials were given the statement, the FBI subsequently determined the substance of the certification was untrue[…]
It is clear from this report that Bobb suddenly found herself in the same bind in which John Dean found himself when Richard Nixon sent him to Camp David to write his Watergate “report” in April of 1973. If this report is correct, then Bobb has decided that she isn’t going to be the last to the lifeboats on the rest of the former president*’s legal ship of fools.
Instead, Trump’s lead lawyer in the case at the time, Evan Corcoran, drafted it and told her to sign it, Bobb told investigators according to the sources. Bobb also spoke to investigators about Trump legal adviser Boris Epshteyn, who she said did not help draft the statement but was minimally involved in discussions about the records, according to the sources. Epshteyn’s cellphone was seized last month by the FBI, according to a New York Times report, citing sources familiar with the matter. Two sources confirmed to NBC News that his phone was seized.
Looked at from a certain angle, this story fits into the context of a season in which the walls are closing in from every side. Not only is the Mar-a-Lago legal team coming apart, but Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis grand jury is going to be hearing from the January 6 committee’s star witness, Cassidy Hutchinson, and from Hutchinson’s former boss, Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, around whom the walls are closing even faster.
Franklin Foer, writing in The Atlantic, is clearly looking at the situation from the aforementioned angle. He sees Attorney General Merrick Garland proceeding slowly, but inevitably, toward a criminal indictment of El Caudillo del Mar-A-Lago. After a lengthy disquisition on the reasons why Garland might not seek an indictment—all of them based on a devotion to proper procedure and a well-reasoned fear of complete chaos both in and out of the courtroom—he traces Garland’s conception of his job back to his earliest days in the Department of Justice under the administration of Jimmy Carter, and to Garland’s most famous previous case. Foer writes:
The [Oklahoma City] bombing case triggered a strong emotional reaction across America, particularly those who feared the emergence of right-wing militias. Although much more straightforward than the chaotic events of January 6, the crime ignited a similarly intense desire to quickly punish the perpetrators. But Garland vowed to [Janet] Reno that he would take the long way around. Paying strict attention to procedure came naturally to Garland, even when the FBI seemed inclined to take shortcuts. He ordered agents to obtain warrants and subpoenas from courts even when they weren’t unambiguously necessary. In his quest for immaculate justice, his investigators conducted 28,000 interviews.
I have long felt that the Oklahoma City case was the key to understanding Garland’s process in this current investigation. Not only do both cases involve the most dangerous, most violent elements of right-wing politics, they also are studies in careful prosecutions. As Foer illustrates, Garland’s prosecutions of Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols for the Murrah Building bombing was so carefully done that their convictions were absolutely bulletproof. That caution would be even more important in the prosecution of a former president* who might be running again while he’s also on trial. And between the January 6 committee, Fani Willis’s grand jury, and the Pool Shed Papers investigation, we at least should have a precise historical record of the crimes and misdemeanors of a renegade president to whom one of our major political parties continues to pledge its love. The aria of canaries is beginning to sing in tune.
Charles P Pierce is the author of four books, most recently Idiot America, and has been a working journalist since 1976. He lives near Boston and has his three children.
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Purported Trump Supporter Who Claimed Antifa Burned Down His Camper Admits To Staged Attack DOJ Says | CNN
Purported Trump Supporter Who Claimed Antifa Burned Down His Camper Admits To Staged Attack, DOJ Says | CNN https://digitalalaskanews.com/purported-trump-supporter-who-claimed-antifa-burned-down-his-camper-admits-to-staged-attack-doj-says-cnn/
CNN —
A Minnesota man who claimed Antifa set fire to his camper during the political unrest of 2020 because he had displayed a Trump campaign flag admitted to staging the event and committing insurance fraud, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
Denis Molla, age 30, of Minneapolis suburb Brooklyn Cente was indicted by a federal grand jury in July and pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud after being accused of defrauding and attempting to defraud an insurance agency and GoFundMe donors of more than $300,000 following the alleged incident, according to court records.
In September 2020, Molla had “falsely reported to law enforcement that someone had lit his camper on fire and that three unknown males were near his home when he heard an explosion,” according to a DOJ news release. The Justice Department said Molla claimed his property was vandalized with graffiti referencing “Biden 2020,” Black Lives Matter, and Antifa.
Molla falsely told CNN affiliate WCCO shortly after the fire that he believed someone set the blaze in response to Trump 2020 flags he had put in his yard. “These kind of stuff should not happen, especially over beliefs of some sort,” he told WCCO.
“Mr. Molla was obviously remorseful during his federal plea hearing today,” Ryan Garry, Molla’s attorney, told CNN via email Tuesday. “It’s easy for the general public to look down on him, without knowing what was going on in his life, and cast immediate judgement. Mr. Molla is a wonderful husband and father who made a mistake that he sincerely regrets. Unlike many others, he has accepted full responsibility for his actions and is sorry for what happened.”
Federal guidelines call for Molla to receive a sentence of up to 51 months, plus a fine and restitution, but prosecutors did not immediately make a sentencing recommendation.
Judge David Doty released Molla on his own recognizance pending a sentencing hearing to be scheduled at a later date.
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What Are We Waiting For? https://digitalalaskanews.com/what-are-we-waiting-for/
OPINION:
Now we have a fiasco with Saudi Arabia, and President Biden has nowhere left to run to save face over his failed energy policy (“Biden demands reevaluation of U.S.-Saudi relationship after OPEC cuts,” Web Oct. 11). The truth is self-evident: Biden’s executive order banning production of fossil fuels is the single greatest cause of spiraling inflation. And the fix is easy even if we omit the name Trump. End the ban.
Petroleum and natural gas provide about 70% of our energy. Fossil-fuel production is the backbone of our economy. Biden has crippled this most essential industry only to replace it with limited green energy still in its infancy. A strong case could be made that Biden’s ban is oppressive and retrogressive.
The ban has left us at the mercy of the dirty fossil fuels of our adversaries. Is the ecology any better for drilling in Russia, Saudi Arabia or any place other than America? Is their oil any better at saving the world’s environment? If not, then whose side is Biden on?
Through its system of checks and balances, The Constitution provides alternatives. Consider that the federal courts have the power to declare as illegal or unconstitutional an executive order such as Biden’s. Once the courts act to override his catastrophic ban and enable the resumption of full fossil-fuel production, consumers will be freed from Biden’s misguided policy and provided a welcome jolt toward economic recovery.
What are we waiting for?
CHARLES BUTERA
East Northport, New York
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Impeachment Vote Gives Dems Chance At Washington House Seat
Impeachment Vote Gives Dems Chance At Washington House Seat https://digitalalaskanews.com/impeachment-vote-gives-dems-chance-at-washington-house-seat/
VANCOUVER, Wash. — (AP) — A vote to impeach former President Donald Trump led to an outcome Washington Democrats had unsuccessfully sought for years: the ousting of long-time Republican U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler from her seat representing the southwest corner of the state.
Now an open seat heading into November, the 3rd Congressional District is a key race for both parties as the House is up for grabs amid an environment of increasing polarization.
Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Trump-endorsed Republican Joe Kent advanced out of the state’s crowded top two August primary that left the moderate Republican incumbent in third place. Herrera Beutler, one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has not endorsed a candidate in the race, and has not said how she plans to vote.
Where the 22% of voters who voted for Herrera Beutler in the primary fall in the general will be key for who ultimately prevails, said Mark Stephan, an associate professor of political science at Washington State University-Vancouver.
“Even though Republicans continue to dominate the 3rd District, they are split in their perspectives,” he said. “This is a Republican district and it will be for a while. But there’s this small sliver of chance for the Democrats now.”
The former president garnered just 38% of the statewide vote in 2020 but narrowly won southwest Washinton’s 3rd District with 50.6% of the vote. In comparison, Herrera Beutler captured more than 56% in her race that year.
With an “America First” Republican candidate and a rural Democrat now the choice before voters, Stephan said “the polarization of the rest of the country can be visualized in the 3rd District.”
A recent debate in Vancouver, the largest city in the district, showed the vast difference between the two candidates, with Gluesenkamp Perez saying Kent is too extreme for the district and Kent countering that she would be a rubber stamp vote for Democrats .
Kent, a former Green Beret who is a regular on conservative cable and podcasts, has called for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and an investigation into the 2020 election. He’s also called to defund the FBI after the search on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents.
He railed against COVID shutdowns and vaccine mandates at the debate, calling the vaccine “experimental gene therapy” and saying Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, “must be held accountable.”
“Does anyone else here feel like they just spent a month on YouTube?” Gluesenkamp Perez asked the crowd, saying that Kent’s comments are “doing nothing to heal our country.”
Kent responded that the loss of his wife, a Navy cryptologist who was killed by a suicide bomber in Syria during a mission to fight the Islamic State in 2019, was “because our ruling class, Republicans and Democrats, consistently lied to the American people to keep us engaged in wars abroad.”
“That is why I have a skepticism of our federal government,” he said.
Gluesenkamp Perez — who co-owns an auto shop with her husband just across the border in Portland, Oregon — said that as a small business owner who lives in a rural part of the district, she is more in line with voters. She supports abortion access and policies to counter climate change, but also is a gun owner who said she opposes an assault rifle ban, though she does support raising the age of purchase for such guns to 21.
“I am not your typical Democrat,” she told the crowd. “We have got to get people in Congress who fix things again, not people that are out starting flame wars.”
Kent said Gluesenkamp Perez “will vote in lock step” with Democrats.
“How’s your 401k doing right now, how’s your future look for your kids? Very bleak,” he said. “We cannot have two more years of the Democrats at the helm. I’m going there to be a check and a balance on Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden.”
Kent has had to address connections to right-wing extremists throughout his campaign, something Gluesenkamp Perez pointed to during the debate, saying that he wanted to ban immigration “to ensure a white majority.”
“This nonsense about me being a white nationalist is absolutely despicable,” Kent countered. “I fought for this country for over 20 years, I placed my life in the hands of minorities and people of every single race and creed and sexuality, and they’ve placed their lives in my hands.”
Ron Moon, 79, attended the debate wearing a red “Fire Pelosi” hat with a Joe Kent button attached. Moon said he had voted for Herrera Beutler in previous elections, calling her the “lesser of two evils.”
Her impeachment vote following the attack on the U.S. Capitol was the last straw: “That was the end,” he said. “I never again thought about supporting her.”
Nearby, 70-year-old Nancy Everly was wearing a shirt supporting Gluesenkamp Perez and a necklace of Scrabble tiles that spelled out “Vote.”
“I have to support a candidate who is pro-choice,” she said. “We can’t go backwards.”
Ballots will be mailed by Oct. 21 to the state’s nearly 4.8 million registered voters, including the more than 499,000 in the 3rd Congressional District. Because Washington is a vote-by-mail state and ballots just need to be in by Election Day, it often takes days to learn final results in close races as ballots arrive at county election offices throughout the week.
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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Book: Partisanship Led To Disastrous Response To COVID-19 | Cornell Chronicle
Book: Partisanship Led To Disastrous Response To COVID-19 | Cornell Chronicle https://digitalalaskanews.com/book-partisanship-led-to-disastrous-response-to-covid-19-cornell-chronicle/
The halting, confusing response to COVID-19 in the U.S. resulted from decisions by President Donald Trump and his allies to politicize the pandemic by associating it with his own fate in office, according to a new book by a Cornell author.
In the new book, “Pandemic Politics: The Deadly Toll of Partisanship in the Age of COVID,” survey data demonstrates how the Trump administration’s partisan response to COVID-19 led ordinary citizens to prioritize what was good for their “team” rather than what was good for their country.
“The catastrophic death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States was not inevitable,” wrote Thomas Pepinsky, the Walter F. LaFeber Professor of Government in the College of Arts and Sciences and a member of the faculty in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, and co-authors Shana Kushner Gadarian and Sara Wallace Goodman.
“We as Americans must understand this pandemic so as to reconcile the past and attempt to move forward together. The pandemic was a new kind of civil war, American versus American waged through distrust, enmity and misinformation. And it was a cold war. We didn’t have to brandish firearms. Our weapon was politics, and the battlefield is the air we breathe.”
The authors conducted a novel public opinion survey so that they could track changes in how Americans saw public health measures such as handwashing and social distancing and then the availability of vaccines. They surveyed a statistically representative sample of 3,000 citizens, checking in with them six times during the pandemic. Both the size of the sample and the repeated questioning make the results especially revealing, they said.
The survey was first conducted as COVID-19 erupted in spring 2020. It detected the seeds of the growing divide and demonstrated the challenge confronting public health officials: “Community spread cannot be stopped if four out of 10 Republicans keep meeting with people outside their households. It also would mean that more convincing and pro-health messaging would need to take place in these communities, not less.”
The survey also showed a continuing emotional divide about the severity of the pandemic. Republicans downplayed it and were reluctant to adopt behaviors to limit the spread. Democrats were more worried about getting sick and blamed the Trump administration.
“Americans like to believe that wars, economic crises and other moments of national hardship bring us all together,” Pepinsky and his co-authors wrote. “But the feelings of anger, anxiety and hope prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic divided Americans in partisan terms rather than uniting them.”
To reverse the partisan divide over public health, the authors recommend several changes to public policies and public attitudes:
A better, more inclusive, and more equitable health care system with reforms to the way that health care is purchased, subsidized and delivered.
Positive communication campaigns to tout the benefits of public health achievements such as vaccines so that Americans see getting a shot as a civic obligation.
Inclusion of social scientists on government panels on public health and climate science. When science needs to change minds and get people to act, social scientists can help craft messages that resonate with different groups.
“The pandemic is not yet over, but the lessons that we are still learning from COVID-19 should guide policy makers toward a better response to future crises,” the authors conclude.
Jim Hanchett is assistant dean of communications for the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy.
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Social Security COLA 2023 Release Live Online: Estimate Adjustment And Inflation Relief Checks | SSA Updates
Social Security COLA 2023 Release, Live Online: Estimate, Adjustment And Inflation Relief Checks | SSA Updates https://digitalalaskanews.com/social-security-cola-2023-release-live-online-estimate-adjustment-and-inflation-relief-checks-ssa-updates/
2023 Social Security COLA: live updates
Latest News
$270 checks in New York: what are the requirements and how to apply
The United States continues to grapple with high inflation numbers. This comes as OPEC countries have decided to limit their oil production, which could send gasoline prices soaring again later this fall and winter.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the inflation data for September on 13 October. As of August 2021, prices are 8.5 percent across the market in the US.
New York is one of several states offering direct payments to residents due to inflation. Here’s what the requirements are and how to apply for the $270 check.
US NEWS
What month will I get the COLA increase for the 2023 adjustment?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is expected to announce the 2023 annual adjustment later this week, with experts predicting the largest increase for 40 years.
The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is introduced each year by the SSA to ensure that benefits payments increase roughly in line with inflation. Over the past year the United States has recorded sustained levels of high inflation, at an annualised rate of 8.3% at the last count.
But while the SSA will likely announce the 2023 COLA figure on Thursday 13 October, the increase will not take affect for another three months.
Read our full coverage for details onwhen the COLA will be applied to benefits.
STUDENT LOANS
What can cause your total student loan balance to go up and how can you reduce your monthly payments?
The student loan forbearance and moratorium on interest accruing implemented at the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, and extended several times since, is coming to an end. Some borrowers may be fortunate and qualify to have the remainder of their debt cancelled under President Biden’s federal student loan forgiveness program.
However, starting 1 January 2023, federal student loans will once again amass interest and borrowers will have to begin repayments on the remainder of any balance they have. Even though you start repaying your loan on time, you may notice that the balance keeps going up month after month. The likely culprit, your payment plan is inadequate.
Read our full coverage for more details on the increasingly complicated landscape that makes up student loan forgiveness in the US.
Latest News
Will everyone get the full amount of the Social Security COLA increase?
Not only those who receive social security benefits will receive the COLA, rather all those who receive benefits from the various programs administered by the SSA will see the COLA applied to their checks. This includes Supplemental Security Income as well as Social Security Disability Insurance.
Since 1982, the COLA increases have been effective with benefits payable for December, which means that recipients will start to see the increased payments from January onwards.
Read our full coverage for more information on the increases, in addition to details on what has led to such high inflation in recent months.
How is the Social Security COLA calculated?
The Social Security Administration calculates the Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) applied to benefits each year by comparing the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers from quarter 3 (July, August, September) from the current year to the previous.
The CPI-W data for July and August is available and the current average sits at 291. The average for Q3 last year was 268.421. This means that if the COLA was determined by the numbers from July and August, seniors would see an 8.4 percent boost in their payment amounts. However, if price increases in September were not as large as those seen earlier this summer, this number could shrink.
Social Security COLA 2023
When does COLA 2023 take effect for Social Security Benefits?
The Social Security Administration adjusts recipients’ benefits on an annual basis in order to keep monthly payments apace with inflation. The COLA 2022 increase of 5.9 percent announced last year was the highest in four decades due to rampant inflation as the economy recovered from the pandemic-induced slowdown.
Once again, with prices still rising at an accelerated rate, another historic COLA increase has been predicted for benefits in 2023, expected to surpass the one from last year. The final results of the Social Security Administration’s calculation will be released Thursday 13 October.
Read our full coverage on when the new benefit amounts will be distributed.
When will the COLA inflation increase be announced?
The inflation figures for September 2022 are expected to be released later this week, at which point the Social Security Administration (SSA) will confirm details of the cost-of-living adjustment for next year. The 2023 COLA increase will be released on Thursday 13 October, if the SSA sticks to the schedule employed in previous years.
Latest news
Are stimulus checks for inflation taxable?
Even though this year no stimulus checks have been granted at the federal level, several states in the country, at least 16, have taken it upon themselves to authorize their own relief checks to help their residents combat the high costs of inflation.
When the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delivered the first, second and third stimulus checks, though, some people had doubts about whether they had to pay taxes on the money received, and at the time, the answer was a resounding NO. As with the federal stimulus checks, the reality is that the inflation stimulus checks are also not taxable.
US NEWS
California Inflation Relief Check: when will I receive the payment & how to track?
The first payments for the Middle Class Tax Refund were sent out on October 7. People will of course be hoping to receive their money as soon as possible and fortunately the Californian Franchise Tax Board (CFTB) has published information for when people should receive their payment.
The CFTB says it expects to send 90 percent of the direct deposit payments for the Middle Class Tax Refund in October 2022. Those who received the first or second Golden State Stimulus (GSS I and II) via direct deposit can expect to see the money in their account between 7 October and 25 October. The remaining direct deposits will be issued between 28 October and 14 November 2022.
Hello and welcome to AS USA’s live blog on the support available to help combat inflation at the household level.
Several states are sending out payments to low-and-middle-income families to help them increase their purchasing power as inflation cuts into it. One of these state, California, is also considering applying a windfall tax on the increased profits from oil and gas companies that will be divided and redistributed to drivers.
Tomorrow the Social Security Administration will announce the 2023 Cost-of-living adjustment, which could be as high as eight percent, based on recent consumer price reports.
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Pro-Trump Georgia Officials Plotted To Swipe Voting Data. We Caught Them
Pro-Trump Georgia Officials Plotted To Swipe Voting Data. We Caught Them https://digitalalaskanews.com/pro-trump-georgia-officials-plotted-to-swipe-voting-data-we-caught-them/
Emails obtained by Rolling Stone reveal how a group of county officials in Georgia tasked with protecting the election instead discussed a plan to pull sensitive data — and have taxpayers pay for it
Weeks before President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Donald Trump’s legal team went to Georgia in a last-ditch effort to find election fraud. Led by lawyer Sidney Powell, the team copied data from voting machines in Coffee County. The effort represented a new front in the MAGA assault on elections, with Trump’s team colluding with friendly local election officials to pull sensitive data out of election equipment. That search has landed Trump’s team in court, with groups charging Powell and company of potentially compromising sensitive data in a failed, partisan effort to overturn the 2020 election. The illegal data breach in Coffee County is now being investigated by a district attorney looking into Republican attempts to overturn the election here. The Washington Post and CNN, among others, have reported extensively on the developments in Coffee County, which come with an undercurrent of the unknown about what exactly the purpose was for the illegal data breach.
But it turns out, Coffee County wasn’t the only Georgia county where pro-Trump forces were working to swipe election data in search of nonexistent fraud. And in Spalding County, it wasn’t Trump’s team leading the effort — it was the election officials themselves.
Emails and contracts obtained by Rolling Stone reveal that Spalding County election officials hatched a plan to illegally obtain data from voting machines. A pair of pro-Trump members of the county election board, alongside the election supervisor, plotted to hire a third-party tech firm to copy data from voting machines, the election server, and even iPhones used by election staff. The plotted data swipe was an effort to prove Trump’s false claims of a stolen election in Georgia, and in Spalding County, the trio wanted to do it all with up to $10,000 in taxpayer dollars.
The trio aborted their plot after Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office stepped in to warn them it was illegal, but even their initial foray has drawn the attention of state-level officials. Rolling Stone has learned that the Georgia State Election Board has launched an investigation into the Spalding County officials’ actions.
“My head is spinning,” says Mike Hassinger, a representative for Raffensperger’s office. “I can see no justification, legal or otherwise, for anyone to have a third party come in and access election equipment. It sounds like they tried to commit a crime.”
The episode reveals just how deep Trump’s voter-fraud lies have penetrated the Republican Party, with even local officials tasked with election security perverting their duty to try to find voter fraud that doesn’t exist. And it reveals a danger ahead, as some of the same officials currently attempting to unwind Georgia’s 2020 election will still be in place when voters head to the polls next month — and also when Trump is likely to be back on the ballot in 2024.
IN AUGUST 2021, a pair of Spalding County officials were concerned about an upcoming Georgia effort to verify that their election system was in good order after the board discovered security issues on county equipment. A representative sent by Secretary of State Raffensperger was coming to Spalding County to test voting machines by running a simulated election. Raffensperger is a Republican, but Spalding’s election officials didn’t fully trust the state office — and they started hatching a plot of their own.
Election supervisor Kim Slaughter emailed the county attorney to ask if the board could even allow the secretary of state’s office access the equipment. “Can we legally proceed with this action?” Slaughter asked county attorney Stephanie Windham in an email from August 16, 2021.
Slaughter was joined by Ben Johnson and Roy McClain, members of the election board who, at the time, were recent additions to the board, put there by the local Republican Party. The board has administrative power over elections, handling everything from the number of voting precincts and their staff to adjudicating ballots and securing voting machines and other election equipment.
Johnson, McClain, and Slaughter did not respond to requests for comment. In emails, Slaughter claimed the effort was made on behalf of the voters of Spalding County, while Johnson, McClain and Windham claimed the illegal data breach was necessary due to a security issue involving election equipment and pending election lawsuits. The secretary of state’s office rejected both of those as a legal rationale.
The board was revamped in early 2021, shortly after a new law specific to Spalding County was passed that required board members and the election supervisor to live in the county. The law resulted in the removal of the election supervisor, a Democrat, and one Democratic board member. Two other Democrats on the board resigned in in protest of the law, also citing harassment from Trump supporters. In total, the five-member board went from a three-two Democrat-Republican split to three Republicans and two Democrats.
That includes Johnson, who posts frequently about a wide array of election and far-right conspiracy theories, including QAnon. “Election fraud is not a myth,” Johnson tweeted last February, using a hashtag that referenced a conspiracy theory about Dominion Voting Machines, which Spalding and every county in Georgia used to conduct elections. (Johnson and McClain are now the subject of an ethics complaint over a July 2021 visit to a room containing election equipment during which they were not accompanied by Democrat board members, as required by law.)
In the run-up to the state review, Johnson and McClain exchanged emails doubting Raffensperger’s office. “Letting someone do a mock election or anything similar to that is going to be questioned,” McClain wrote in an August 16, 2021, email to Johnson and other staff. “Optics!”
Ahead of the secretary of state’s visit to recertify the equipment, the pair wanted a third party to make a “forensic copy” of all data held on the county’s election equipment. According to a pair of proposed contracts obtained by Rolling Stone, this included “on-site collection” of data from the election-management server, as well as data from all 18 voting precincts in the county, poll pads, and iPhones used by election office staff. The company would then provide the data on an “encrypted hard drive” along with a report documenting everything it collected. The cost: between $5,000 and $10,000, to be paid for by Spalding County taxpayers.
Johnson and McClain used the “security issue” of logged-in devices as rationale for the illegal data breach when explaining their plans to Democratic colleagues. They, and later the county attorney, also cited a “litigation hold” as a reason that the illegal breach was necessary — the result of a pair of election-related lawsuits that named Spalding County. Neither of those reasons were legal, however, as explained by the secretary of state’s office.
To sell the illegal scheme to their Democratic colleagues, Johnson came up with a seemingly harmless comparison. “It’s basically like taking pictures of a car before you rent it and noting any damage,” Johnson wrote to skeptical Democratic board members on Aug. 16.
For their “photographer,” the two made a fateful choice: SullivanStrickler. The Atlanta-based tech firm is the same one Powell tapped in Coffee County for their data-copying operation. There, the firm’s actions are under investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is probing Trump-led Republican efforts to bolster false claims of voter fraud in an attempt to overturn the election. SullivanStrickler has not responded to questions from Rolling Stone about its operations in Spalding County and elsewhere.
On Aug. 17, SullivanStrickler sent over a pair of contracts that detailed the work it would perform. That work included copying unidentified data from iPhones used by elections office staff, as well as the “forensic copy” of election equipment described by Johnson and McClain.
“Unless anyone else has any concerns we need to move forward quickly,” Johnson said in an email that same day to his fellow board members. Johnson wanted to move forward with the contract to not “hold up” Slaughter, who was negotiating with the secretary of state’s office on a date to travel to Spalding County and recertify election equipment.
As it turns out, others did have concerns about Johnson’s plans for an election board to use taxpayer dollars to hire a third-party tech firm to make copies of sensitive voting data. It’s not clear exactly how or when, but, at some point, Raffensperger’s office learned of the board’s plans to hire SullivanStrickler and quickly stepped in to squash the operation.
“Do NOT allow an IT company to image or conduct any activity on voting equipment,” an office staffer told Slaughter on Aug. 18. “That is NOT allowed.”
Slaughter defended the attempted hiring of SullivanStrickler, saying the board “had only good and proper intentions for the voters of Spalding County when considering” the plan. Johnson then asked if the data breach would be permissible if a representative of the secretary of state was present. But it seems the admonition was enough to short-circuit the attempt.
After discovering the emails, Rolling Stone sought comment from the State Election Board, a bipartisan body — separate from Raffensperger’s office — with investigative power over elections and voting. The board says it was not aware that SullivanStrickler was at work anywhere other than Coffee County, and it had no idea about Spalding County’s attempted h...
DNA Led Baltimore Prosecutors To Drop Charges Against Adnan Syed
DNA Led Baltimore Prosecutors To Drop Charges Against Adnan Syed https://digitalalaskanews.com/dna-led-baltimore-prosecutors-to-drop-charges-against-adnan-syed/
DNA test results led Baltimore prosecutors to drop charges against Adnan Syed.During a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Erica Suter, Syed’s public defender, said, “(Syed) is elated, he is joyful, he is still processing this.”Syed, 41, who was released in September after serving 23 years in prison for the killing of Hae Min Lee in 1999, had his conviction vacated by a Baltimore judge. It was found out that prosecutors failed to tell Syed’s defense attorneys about evidence that would have allowed him to defend himself, including details that established two other people had threatened Lee’s life.Early Tuesday afternoon, Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby said “justice over convictions” is the mantra of her office, and she apologized to both the Syed and Lee families.”Although my administration was not responsible for neither the pain inflicted upon Hae Min Lee’s family nor was my administration responsible for the wrongful conviction of Mr. Syed, as a representative of the institution, it is my responsibility to acknowledge and to apologize to the family of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed,” Mosby said.The state had a 30-day period to decide to refile the case or to not prosecute. “Today, justice is done, and that means today, tomorrow and until my administration ends, we will continue to utilize every available resource to find who is responsible for the death of Hae Min Lee,” Mosby said. “It is my duty to ensure that justice is not delayed, justice is never denied, but justice be done. Today, justice is done.”Mosby said her office on Friday received the results of touch DNA testing on items that were not tested before that included a skirt, pantyhose, shoes and a jacket belonging to Lee. Mosby said there was a DNA mixture of multiple contributors on both shoes and that Adnan Syed’s DNA was excluded.Last year, prosecutors and Syed’s defense attorney teamed up for an investigation that uncovered two possible suspects in the case. Mosby declined to release more information Tuesday. “I think you can imagine, this has been, there has been so many ups and downs over the past 23 years. So, he is really just taking it all in. He is incredibly grateful for all of the people who have supported him and believed in him over the years,” Suter said.Video below: Public defender’s news conference in its entiretyMosby said that because of advances in DNA testing from when the case was initially tried, they were able to exclude Syed from the case, saying, “The case is over.””It’s actually touch DNA. It analyzes skin cells left behind on evidence at a crime scene and has been available since 2003, and this case started in 1999,” Mosby said.”This is a clear indication that the state’s attorney’s office does not believe they can prove Adnan Syed is guilty, and in fact, they have said they believe this is evidence of his actual innocence and this is hugely significant,” said Professor David Jaros, University of Baltimore Law School faculty director of the Center for Criminal Justice Reform.The public defender’s office confirmed that Syed is now off home detention.”Today’s the day that Adnan Syed and his loved ones have been waiting for 23 long years. The results of the DNA testing excluded Adnan and confirm what Adnan and his supporters have always known: That Adnan Syed is innocent. The state of Maryland has dropped the charges. Adnan Syed is free,” said Suter, assistant public defender and director of the Innocence Project Clinic at University of Baltimore Law School.Mosby said there are procedural steps to go before the courts, including a recertification process, before Syed can be considered “innocent” in the case. Certification will take place as soon as possible, Suter said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference.Video below: State’s attorney’s news conference in its entirety Syed family respondsAdnan Syed’s brother, Yusuf Syed, said he was happy his brother can finally have a life, and they can all move on.”Now, my mom is happy, and I’m happy, too, that this is done,” Yusuf Syed said. “Something Mrs. Mosby said in her press hearing that I appreciated a lot that not many people know is that she said, for 23 years, the family has been in prison. A lot of people, they don’t understand that it wasn’t just Adnan who was affected. We were all affected.”Yusuf Syed said it was especially hard on his father to have his brother in prison.”He was really depressed because him and Adnan were very close. Adnan was his favorite child, so to lose Adnan. that really destroyed him a lot,” Yusuf Syed said.Lee family attorney respondsThere was no public notice of the latest court hearing in the Adnan Syed case because prosecutors in Baltimore City are allowed to appear at any time without notice to nolle prosequi. Court officials said the court received an email Friday from the prosecutor, indicating that they wished to call the Adnan Syed matter Tuesday morning.An appeal brought by the Lee family in the Court of Special Appeals remains pending. The court has not dismissed the appeal as of Tuesday.Mosby said she e-mailed Lee family attorney Steve Kelly on Monday morning and said her office tried to wait for confirmation of notice before releasing anything publicly but have since not heard back from the attorney.Steve Kelly released a statement later Tuesday afternoon, saying: “We are representing Hae Min Lee’s family on a pro bono basis to enforce their rights as Maryland crime victims. The family’s goal is simply to understand the reasons for the state’s sudden reversal of its position and to have a voice on that issue. Both the family and the public deserve answers that the state has failed to provide.”After 23 years of having Hae’s murder dredged up again and again, the family deserves more than an e-mail sent to their attorney four minutes after news of today’s dismissal broke in the media. Truly respecting victim’s voice in the process requires far more than that.”Timeline of the caseLee and Adnan Syed were students at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore County. Lee was strangled, and her body was found buried in Leakin Park in Baltimore City. At the time, police believed Adnan Syed killed Lee because he was distraught over their breakup. His first trial ended in a mistrial. A jury convicted him in a second trial. Adnan Syed had been in jail since his arrest in February 1999. In 2000, a jury found Adnan Syed guilty of murder. Prosecutors relied heavily on cellphone data and the testimony of a friend of Adnan Syed’s, who said he helped him bury the body. In 2014, the podcast “Serial” debuted and raised doubts about the case, explaining that a girl, Asia McClain, said she was with Adnan Syed in the library at the time when police said Lee was killed.It was learned that Adnan Syed’s attorney knew about the potential alibi but did not call McClain to testify. That attorney was later disbarred after a series of complaints involving numerous cases.”With greater media attention, it brings a light to injustices that are commonplace. So, what has happened to Adnan is tragic and horrible but it is incredibly common,” Suter said. “This kind of violation is not unusual.”Between 2015 and 2019, there was much back-and-forth procedural developments in court. A judge granted Adnan Syed a new trial, and, after a series of appeals, the Maryland Court of Appeals denied the trial.In March 2022, prosecutors agreed to new DNA testing because of advances in genetic profiling.Last month, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office filed a motion to vacate the conviction, saying it uncovered the potential involvement of two “alternative suspects.” The motion also admits the case was ruled largely on circumstantial evidence, and prosecutors said they lacked confidence “in the integrity of the conviction.”What’s next for Adnan Syed?Adnan Syed is at home spending time with his family, and he’s asking for privacy as he processes Tuesday’s announcement and begins to heal.WBAL-TV spoke with his attorney, who said Adnan Syed is setting his sights on the future.Adnan Syed’s attorney, Erica Suter, said this is the day he and his family have been waiting for. He is elated. He’s joyful, but with so many ups and downs over the past 23 years. Now, he’s just trying to take it all in.Suter said Adnan Syed is just spending time with his family doing the everyday little things, the freedoms many of us take for granted. She said Adnan Syed is incredibly grateful for all of the people who have supported him and believed in him over the years, including his brother Yusuf Syed.”We’ve been able to hug him to have him in our house to talk to him to see him right in front of us,” Yusuf Syed said.As for what’s next, Suter said Adnan Syed wants to continue his education at Georgetown University, something he started behind bars.”I know that he’s very committed. He was only 17 when he was incarcerated. He was accepted to college. He was really at the precipice of his young life and I think he wants to complete that and earn his degree,” Suter said.Once he’s earns that degree, Suter said Adnan Syed wants to go to law school. Suter also said, like all of us, Adnan Syed wants to know what happened to Lee and to see her true killer brought to justice.”Because Adnan is innocent and didn’t have any role in this, I think he wants to know like the rest of us what really happened,” Suter said.When asked whether Adnan Syed would seek compensation for his wrongful conviction, Suter said that’s a question for another day.
BALTIMORE —
DNA test results led Baltimore prosecutors to drop charges against Adnan Syed.
During a Zoom call with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Erica Suter, Syed’s public defender, said, “(Syed) is elated, he is joyful, he is still processing this.”
Syed, 41, who was released in September after serv...
Six In Ten Children With Epilepsy Visiting The University Of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Were Undernourished: A Cross-Sectional Study BMC Nutrition
Six In Ten Children With Epilepsy Visiting The University Of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital Were Undernourished: A Cross-Sectional Study – BMC Nutrition https://digitalalaskanews.com/six-in-ten-children-with-epilepsy-visiting-the-university-of-gondar-comprehensive-specialized-hospital-were-undernourished-a-cross-sectional-study-bmc-nutrition/
BMC Nutrition volume 8, Article number: 112 (2022) Cite this article
Abstract
Background
The burden of undernutrition among children with epilepsy in low- and middle-income countries is not well studied. This study aimed to assess the magnitude of undernutrition and associated factors among children with epilepsy at the University of Gondar Comprehensive and Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia.
Method
A single-center cross-sectional study was conducted on 239 epileptic children with epilepsy visiting the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital pediatric neurology clinic from June 2021 to September 2021. A pre-tested, researcher-administered questionnaire and medical record review were used for data collection. We included all participants who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. We did anthropometric measurements and defined undernutrition based on the world health organization criteria. Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were employed to determine factors associated with undernutrition. The statistical association between dependent and independent variables was declared at p-value of ≤ 0.05.
Result
The mean(+/-SD) age was 9.38 ± 0.29 years, with a male to female ratio of 1.8: 1, and school-age children account for 35.6%. The overall magnitude of undernutrition was 141(59%) of which 89(63.1%) had moderate to severe stunting, 91(64.5%) moderate to severe wasting, and 39(27.7%) had both. Being male (AOR = 1.96, 95%CI, 1.05–3.69), low paternal level of education (AOR = 1.88, 95%CI, 1.01–3.50), presence of delay in motor development (AOR = 5.91,95%CI, 1.55–22.49), and gum hyperplasia (AOR = 0.32,95%CI, 0.12–0.81), were significantly associated with undernutrition.
Conclusion
The magnitude of undernutrition among children with epilepsy was high. Male sex, low paternal level of education, presence of delay in motor development, and gum hyperplasia were significantly associated with undernutrition. Therefore, nutritional screening and intervention are recommended to be part of routine epileptic care.
Peer Review reports
Background
Undernutrition is one of the major underlying causes of death in children and often complicates chronic illnesses and affects the treatment outcome. It is also associated with longer negative health consequences such as developmental delay, recurrent infections, neurocognitive problems, and generational defects[1,2,3]. According to the 2016 global report, about 45% of under-five mortality was associated with undernutrition[4].
Epilepsy is the top cause of neurology clinic visits worldwide, and its cognitive, psychological, and social consequences affect all ages, races, social classes, and geographic locations[5]. Even though primary undernutrition is an important public health problem, one should not lose sight of the fact that undernutrition often happens secondary to an underlying chronic illness. Undernutrition jeopardizes these deleterious consequences of the epileptic disorder leading to poor quality of life and increased mortality and morbidity[6, 7]. Undernutrition among children with epilepsy could be due to inadequate intake as a result of vomiting, chewing and swallowing difficulty, and cognitive impairment.
In patients with poorly controlled epilepsy, disturbing quality of life for patients and guardians is worth screening for and managing undernutrition, especially in developing countries. Undernutrition negatively affects seizure control possibly by lowering the seizure threshold due to biochemical alterations induced by undernutrition such as electrolyte abnormalities and hypoglycemia as well as the immunological vulnerability of undernourished children which predisposes them to various types of infections. Several studies showed that undernutrition is highly prevalent in children with epilepsy. The magnitude and factors associated with undernutrition in children with epilepsy are believed to vary by socioeconomic and demographic factors status including age and sex, comorbid condition, clinical presentation, and treatment-related factors [8,9,10].
The risk of undernutrition depends on the severity and type of underlying neurologic disorder that affects ambulation, cognitive status, seizure type, and the number and type of anti-epileptic drugs used. Moreover, epilepsy in developing countries is considered as an evil spirit, and children with epilepsy are usually socially isolated and neglected. Some food items are excluded from the diet of children with epilepsy because they are thought to provoke seizure attacks. Thus, the knowledge, attitude, and practice of guardians towards feeding children with epilepsy can also affect the nutritional status in such population[8,9,10].
Evidence on the magnitude and associated factors of undernutrition in children with epilepsy is scarce in developing countries. There are limited studies in Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the magnitude and associated factors of undernutrition among children with epilepsy visiting the university of Gondar comprehensive specialized hospital.
Method
A single-center cross-sectional study was conducted at the pediatric neurology clinic of the University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (UOGCSH). This is the only tertiary care hospital in Northwest Ethiopia. The pediatric neurology clinic delivers care for a total of 372 children with epilepsy which accounts for 40% of the chronic care burden on the pediatric side. The team composition is limited to Medical Interns, General practitioners, pediatric residents, nurses, and general pediatricians.
All children with epilepsy who visited the pediatric neurology clinic at UOGCSH during the data collection period were considered as the study population. Children who had major surgery other than Epilepsy surgery or surgery for traumas sustained during seizure attacks within the past three months were excluded. The sample size for this study was determined using a single population proportion of p = 50% with a 5% margin of error with correction for � 10,000 population; the sample size became 217, and after adding 10% contingency, it became 239 and we took them with consecutive sampling technique.
Data were collected by trained physicians using a structured questionnaire. Informed consent was taken from parents, legal guardians, or assent was taken from the patient when applicable. Ethical clearance was obtained from the school of medicine Ethical Review Committee.
Socio-demographic variables including the age of the child, parental age, sex, family size, residence, parental level of education, parental occupation, and maternal marital status were included in the questionnaire. Nutritional and dietary history, presence of comorbid illness, and clinical data of underlying disorder; age at diagnosis, duration of illness, adherence, drug side effect, frequency of seizure, and frequency of admission were also assessed.
Children implies to any human being who is less than 18 years old[11]. Epilepsy was defined as the presence of two or more seizures 24 h apart or a single seizure with possibility of recurrence. Well-controlled seizure; Maximum of one seizure episode in the last 3 months after treatment initiation. Good control seizure; Maximum of three seizure episodes in the last 3 months after treatment initiation[12]. Poorly controlled epilepsy; Maximum of nine and a minimum of four seizure episodes in the last three months after treatment initiation. Uncontrolled epilepsy; Ten and above seizure episodes in the last three months after the start of treatment. Excellent Adherent; if the patient is taking 90% of monthly prescribed medication [12] Good adherence; if the patient is taking 85% of monthly prescribed medication Poor adherence; if the patient is taking � 85% of monthly prescribed medication.
Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index (BMI) and mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), height-for-age (HFA), and measurements were interpreted in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) standards. For the anthropometric measurements, data analysis was performed using Emergency Nutrition Assessment (ENA) for SMART 2007 software.
Data were entered into EpiData V.4.6 and exported to STATA version 15.1 for cleaning and analysis after it was double-checked for consistency and completeness. Descriptive statistics like mean, median, and proportions were computed to summarize baseline socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. A p-value of less than 0.2 was used to select candidate variables for multivariable analysis. A binary logistic regression model was fitted to identify factors associated with undernutrition. Adjusted odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI) was calculated and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 in the multi-variable analysis were considered to declare factors associated with undernutrition.
Model fitness was tested using the Hosmer Lemeshow goodness of fit test (p = 0.2208).
Result
Socio-demographic characteristics
We studied two hundred thirty-nine children with epilepsy who visited the pediatric neurology clinic during the study period with a response rate of 100%. The mean (+/- SD) age was 9.38 ± 0.29 years, with a male to female ratio of 1.8: 1, and school-age children account for 35.6%. About half (50.6%) of the mothers of the participants were housewives, and two-thirds (77.4%) were married. Nearly half (45.6%) of the fathers of participants were unable to read/write. (Table 1)
Clinical and treatment-related characteristics
The mean age at diagnosis of epilepsy was 5.28 ± 0.27 years. The majo...
Who Are Horacio Gutierrez And Olivia Kaiser? The Challenge Partners Are Ready To put Life On Line For Each Other
Who Are Horacio Gutierrez And Olivia Kaiser? The Challenge Partners Are Ready To “put Life On Line” For Each Other https://digitalalaskanews.com/who-are-horacio-gutierrez-and-olivia-kaiser-the-challenge-partners-are-ready-to-put-life-on-line-for-each-other/
Season 38 of the MTV show, The Challenge: Ride or Dies will see returning veterans and a new group of rookies competing to win the finale of the new competition series. One such team is of Horacio Gutierrez and rookie Olivia Kaiser, who are gearing up for The Challenge.
Newcomer Olivia Kaiser will be making her debut on the show with Horacio. The pair trust each other and will not shy away from putting their “life on the line” for each other. In a preview clip, the partners spoke about their trust, with Olivia saying:
“I can trust him literally with my life.”
Agreeing with her, Horacio says:
“Her being with her crazy, amazing, loud personality and me being more on the quite side, calm, I think its a perfect scenario for us, that’s a ride or die for me. I love everything Adeline and all that but if I had to put my body, my life on the line for her, I am gonna do it. I don’t care about myself, I will do it for her.”
All about Horacio Gutierrez and Olivia Kaise from The Challenge
1) Horacio Gutierrez
Soccer superstar and an all-around nice guy, Horacio Gutierrez, made it to the finals of Exatlón Estados Unidos but couldn’t make it to the end.
With The Challenge’s new season, he hopes to redeem himself with rookie Olivia as his Ride or Die. However, his loyalty can become an issue in his win as he takes it very seriously. Speaking about his weakness in the preview clip of The Challenge, Olivia said:
“I think his biggest weakness is you take loyalty seriously. It’s going to be really hard for you to screw someone over.”
“The leader,” Horacio, could not help but agree with his partner, saying:
“It’s hard for me to get over that. It’s true. “
2) Olivia Kaise
The 30-year-old business owner, Olivia, is a licensed cosmetologist in Scottsdale, Arizona, who offers various beauty services, including lip blush, touch-ups, microblading, and other makeup procedures.
Before appearing on The Challenge, the Alaska native Olivia was on Love Island USA 3 and won the reality show alongside Korey Gandy. The couple dated for a while before calling it quits late last year. Her official MTV bio reads:
“On “Love Island,” Olivia was the woman who got it all. She got the man, half the money and rode off into the sunset, but that wasn’t the case in the end. She dealt with a breakup shortly after winning, and Olivia has been watching the sunset alone in her hometown of Anchorage, AK, as she prepares for her rookie season of “The Challenge.””
After Love Island, viewers saw her on CBS’ The Challenge: USA spinoff show, but only as an alternate who didn’t make the final cast.
She will now finally appear with Horacio in Season 38 of the reality series in the hope of winning the competition.
The new season will be challenging for many as veterans Jordan Wiseley, Aneesa Ferreira, Darrell Taylor, and Veronica Portillo, among others, are returning to win the trophy of the new season.
Tune in to MTV on Wednesday, October 12 at 8 pm ET/PT to watch Horacio Gutierrez and Olivia Kaise compete against the OGs on The Challenge.
Edited by Shreya Das
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