As New Hampshire caucuses approach, Nikki Haley continues to promote Donald Trump’s conservative base while hospitals face scrutiny over aggressive debt collection tactics and Sports Illustrated faces an uncertain future.
Recent headlines: pole vaulter Shawn Barber passed away due to medical complications, while Texas prosecutors opened an investigation into a school shooting and low temperatures sapped cars’ energy reserves.
Jack Burke Jr. dies at age 100
Jack Burke Jr. was golf’s oldest living champion and Hall-of-Famer when he died Friday at 100 in Houston. One of his many accomplishments in golf, Burke won 16 PGA Tour events on his way to two major victories – The Masters Tournament in 1954 and PGA Championship of 1956. Additionally, Burke built Houston’s renowned Champions Golf Club while offering wisdom that resonated throughout society.
Burke was born and raised near his father’s River Oaks Country Club. While attending Rice University in Houston, he left before graduating to accept a position at Galveston Country Club as pro. When World War II broke out, he served in the Marines and taught physical fitness and judo training to Marines preparing to fight in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
After moving to New York City, Burke worked as an assistant under Claude Harmon at Winged Foot before becoming head professional of Metropolis Country Club in White Plains. Burke became an outstanding Ryder Cup player; competing on five consecutive U.S. teams and twice serving as captain; winning seven matches over that time period.
Prince Harry drops libel lawsuit
Prince Harry is withdrawing a libel lawsuit filed against Associated Newspapers Limited over an article published in February 2022 that cast doubt upon his efforts to retain publicly funded protection despite leaving royal duties behind. Harry, currently taking action against Ravec (the committee that the Home Office delegate security decisions for royals and high-profile figures), wanted to demonstrate that this article contained false statements that caused damage.
On Friday morning, Harry’s lawyers informed Associated that they would withdraw the case hours before its deadline to produce documents and pay costs related to any potential legal victory for Harry.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry tells PEOPLE that Harry remains focused on his security and legal action he is taking against Ravec, as well as calling on social media platforms to implement more robust content-moderation policies to safeguard public figures from abuse by aggressive paparazzi and trolls. Since his mother Princess Diana’s tragic car crash while fleeing paparazzi in 1997, Harry has made reforming British media his top priority.
Alec Baldwin indicted on manslaughter charge
Alec Baldwin has been charged with manslaughter by a New Mexico grand jury over the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during filming of Rust. Baldwin denies pulling the trigger of any prop gun that went off during rehearsal and could face up to 18 months of jail time if found guilty.
Prosecutors believe Baldwin and Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed demonstrated reckless disregard for safety protocols by failing to ensure all rounds used in filming were fake rounds, or by not adhering to filming restrictions that would have prevented firings from taking place. Baldwin eventually settled a lawsuit brought by Hutchins’ family that accused Baldwin and other producers of disregarding safety precautions.
In April, prosecutors dropped charges against Baldwin due to “new facts.” However, they noted the case remains active and reserved the right to re-charge him in future proceedings. An FBI report on their analysis of Baldwin’s weapon found it could go off without being pulled; for instance if force were applied directly onto an uncocked hammer such as when dropping it. It eventually broke during testing.
Gloria Allred, representing Hutchins’ parents and sister in civil litigation against Baldwin, stated her clients have always desired clarity regarding the shooting incident. Allred said they look forward to a criminal trial to determine whether Baldwin should be held liable for Hutchins’ untimely death.
Respiratory viruses
Respiratory viruses cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide, with influenza virus being the most virulent agent. Other respiratory viruses commonly involved include parainfluenza viruses, metapneumoviruses, adenoviruses, coronaviruses associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), as well as influenza A virus circulating globally as both endemic and epidemic causes of viral upper respiratory tract infection in both children and adults alike.
HRV infections are among the primary causes of Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI), while they also account for many colds in children. An infection with HRV can lead to bronchopulmonary dysplasia in infants and exacerbations of chronic lung diseases in adults, and its genome has high degrees of similarity to that of other human paramyxoviruses; its capsid protein was successfully solved, showing it to be icosahedral with fivefold vertices around a central canyon; after infection of respiratory epithelial cells the VP1 protein initiates its lytic cycle resulting in the release of mature virions into saliva or nasal secretions from respiratory epithelial cells into saliva/nasal secretions/secretions from respiratory epithelial cells via respiratory epithelial cells thereby initiating its spread further downwind from infection sites.
Recently, a human metapneumovirus has been identified through antibodies detected in banked serum samples from patients suffering from urinary tract infection in wintertime. This new agent closely resembles paramyxoviruses of the Pneumovirinae family as well as coronaviruses like SARS-CoV coronaviruses.
Cold weather
An unprecedented cold snap swept across the United States this week, prompting state and city governments to close schools, warn residents about icy roads and advise people seeking shelter to seek it out. From Montana through central Florida there has been a wind chill advisory issued while in some regions blizzard-like conditions have brought snow and freezing rain bringing further danger.
Midwest and Northeast regions had experienced brief respite from subzero temperatures, but by Friday morning they were back down below zero degrees – forcing residents to remain indoors, closing dozens of airports, and leading to several traffic accidents – including one where an American Airlines jet skidded off its runway at Rochester International Airport.
Tennessee officials advised residents to boil drinking water, while New York warned of dangerous black ice on sidewalks and roads. As temperatures have dropped significantly since Thanksgiving, blood donations have dropped significantly as a result. Blood Assurance advised hospitals cancel elective surgeries until inventories had increased sufficiently to cover elective surgeries.
Dangerous conditions are expected to persist through the weekend. A cold airmass has settled over much of the nation, and according to National Weather Service projections some locations could experience their lowest wind chill temperatures in 30 years.
Unmarked graves
Two recent discoveries of unmarked graves at residential schools across Canada are sending shockwaves through the country and drawing attention to an abhorrent chapter in our nation’s history. Indigenous children were taken from their families and forced into schools run by churches financed by government funds; there they were forced to assimilate into European culture.
Last month, researchers used ground-penetrating radar to detect possible gravesites of 215 students at Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia using radar scanning. On June 2, the Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan announced it had found 751 more graves using radar scanning at Marieval Residential School which had closed down earlier.
Societies that mark burial sites often perceive unmarked graves as a source of shame, with various charities dedicated to providing markers to those without. But Christ made clear in the Gospel of Matthew that an unmarked grave should not tarnish one’s eternal reputation.
Only New York, New Jersey, Wyoming and Ohio do not currently have laws protecting unmarked graves in their respective states, although a bill in Florida could soon change this situation.
