Paradise News

Tag: General News

  • Fact Check: Are GOP Senate candidate’s claims about national debt under Biden, Baldwin correct?

    Eric Hovde, a businessman who is the first Republican candidate to announce a challenge to Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin this November, says reining in the national debt will be one of his top priorities.

    Hovde has talked about the size of the national debt on his campaign website, in his first speeches to supporters, and now in a clip published March 4 that’s part of his video series “Just Facts.”

    Perhaps the most eye-popping claim Hovde makes is on his website, which he’s paraphrased elsewhere:

    “Since the end of the 2020 fiscal year, President Biden and Senator Baldwin have added over $7.3 trillion of debt, more than the first 228 years of our nation’s history combined,” his website says.

    The national debt is a complicated subject, so we called in two economics experts to explain it as Hovde’s campaign kicks into gear.

    Here’s what we found. 

    Numbers are correct, but size of the economy has grown dramatically over history

    First, let’s look at Hovde’s raw numbers. He says $7.3 trillion has been added since the end of the 2020 fiscal year, and it took 228 years for the debt to reach that same number. 

    One point right off the bat: The 2020 fiscal year ended in September 2020, which means the numbers include the last few months of former President Donald Trump’s time in office. 

    Overall, Hovde is “pretty close on the actual numbers,” said Menzie Chinn, a public affairs and economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 

    However, Chinn said, “the basic point is that the numbers are meaningless.”

    Part of that is because prices have increased over time. Something that cost $1 in 1776 costs more than 30 times as much in 2023, Chinn said.

    And the economy has just gotten much bigger. The first estimate from 1790 shows the economy is now 141,750 times larger, so using plain dollar comparisons doesn’t make sense, Chinn said. 

    “It’s not a fair comparison,” agreed Kundan Kishor, economics department chair at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

    “The size of the economy is much bigger now than it used to be, and the average price level is also increasing,” he said. 

    So, although Hovde’s numbers look correct, economists say it’s not fair to compare them with earlier in history, when the U.S. economy was smaller and prices were lower.

    Another measurement did spike during pandemic, but continues high trend

    Economists say a better measurement is the debt-to-GDP ratio. Gross domestic product refers to how much a country produces and gives a picture of how the economy is doing.

    “Think about your credit card debt,” Kishor said. If you have more income, your capacity to pay off debts is much easier. 

    Currently, the debt-to-GDP ratio is around 121%, data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows. 

    For context, when Trump took office, the ratio was around 102%. The ratio peaked around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching nearly 133%. 

    The ratio has been rising since it was at 30% in 1981, Kishor said, apart from a dip around 2000 toward the end of the Clinton administration. 

    So, if the debt-to-GDP ratio has been increasing for at least 20 years, how much are Biden and Baldwin responsible for? 

    Pandemic-era policies did lead to spike in debt-to-GDP ratio, similar thing happened in 2008

    Let’s look into a last element in Hovde’s claim: that his opponent, and Biden, are responsible for debt increases. 

    In his video, Hovde is clear in who he blames for the increase in the debt: “Joe Biden and his Democratic allies take the cake for the damage that they have done.” It includes a side-by-side photo of Biden and Baldwin.

    Earlier in the video, though, Hovde acknowledges that politicians over the last 15 to 20 years are also to blame for government finances. The numbers from the St. Louis Fed support that.

    Ben Voelkel, Hovde’s campaign spokesperson, pointed to policies such as the American Rescue Plan Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Baldwin voted for and Biden signed into law. 

    The second bill, known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was also supported by 32 Republicans — and Baldwin is just one vote in Congress. The American Rescue Plan Act’s goal was to stimulate the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

    When “something unanticipated” like the pandemic happens, Kishor said, “the government has to step in, and that leads to a temporary increase.” The same thing happened during the 2008 financial crisis.

    So, Hovde is correct that pandemic-era spending packages supported by Baldwin and Biden led to a spike. 

    Although the ratio has since cooled off, the deficit — which is related but different to the national debt — remains above pre-pandemic levels, PolitiFact National found.

    But regardless of the large increase during the pandemic, the trend of higher debt-to-GDP ratios has been around during other administrations. 

    “What people usually lose track of is the fact that this is a long-run problem. One particular president or one particular party is not responsible for it,” Kishor said. 

    Finally, the economists do agree that the national debt is a problem. If the government has to make very high interest payments, that would come at the expense of other spending, Kishor said. 

    The national debt does need to be reined in, Chinn said, through spending cuts and changes to entitlement programs such as Social Security, which are driving the debt-to-GDP ratio up over the long term.

    Our ruling

    On his campaign website — and elsewhere — Hovde says “since the end of the 2020 fiscal year, President Biden and Senator Baldwin have added over $7.3 trillion of debt, more than the first 228 years of our nation’s history combined.”

    Hovde’s raw numbers look correct, apart from including some of the last months of Trump’s presidency. 

    But economists say it’s not meaningful to compare present-day numbers with numbers from far back in U.S. history, when the economy was much smaller and prices were lower. 

    Instead, it’s better to look at the debt-to-GDP ratio, which did spike under Biden when the government spent more money to respond to the pandemic. 

    Still, that ratio has been increasing under other administrations, so it’s not only the fault of Biden and Baldwin. Some Republicans also voted for the infrastructure law Hovde’s campaign mentioned.

    Our definition of Half True is “the statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.” That fits here.

     



    Source

  • A’s hitters no match for Cubs’ pitching phenom Shota Imanaga

    The A’s witnessed first hand what all the fuss was about during the winter over Shota Imanaga, an unimposing 5-foot-9 pitcher from Japan with a confounding four-pitch arsenal.

    Imanaga, who the Chicago Cubs signed to a four-year, $53 million free-agent deal, baffled A’s hitters with his mix of a mid-90s fastball, a splitter, slider and curveball while striking out nine of the 16 batters he faced in a 3-1 victory.

    If it’s any solace, the A’s aren’t alone in their inability to solve the 30-year-old Imanaga, who has now struck out 19 of the 41 hitters he’s faced this spring – an unheard of 46.3% strikeout rate.

    Zack Gelof, Oakland’s top hitter and owner of the second-best OPS (1.209) of any hitter in baseball this spring, struck out all three times he faced Imanaga.

    The A’s, though, also got an impressive performance from their left-handed starter, JP Sears, who went five strong innings while allowing five hits and two runs. Sears retired nine in a row after allowing a first-inning RBI double by Seiya Suzuki, enabling him to lower his Cactus League-leading ERA to 2.08.

    JP Sears #38 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the first inning of a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on March 14, 2024 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
    JP Sears #38 of the Oakland Athletics pitches during the first inning of a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park on March 14, 2024 in Mesa, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

    Major League Baseball has requested teams refrain from announcing their Opening Day starters until March 19, but it’s a pretty strong bet Oakland will at one point soon name Sears as its starter against Cleveland at the Coliseum on March 28.

    Struggling on offense wasn’t the only concern on Thursday for the A’s, who had to deal with some unfortunate injury news about hot-hitting Miguel Andujar (calf injury), former Giants lefty reliever Scott Alexander (left ribcage) and bullpen hopeful Angel Felipe (right elbow).

    Andujar, who is batting a robust .406 with a team-leading 13 RBIs, was scratched from the lineup with a right calf injury the team believes is minor.

    Alexander was shut down after suffering a left rib stress reaction that team is calling a deep bruise. Alexander has been rocked for nine hits and eight runs in just 2 1/3 innings.



    Source

  • An HBCU Campus May Be Coming To California

    Attendees gather to eat at the HBCU Convening event on Feb. 2, hosted by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. (Photo Courtesy of American Legal Video Service)

    By Sabreen Dawud, Howard University News Service

    San Francisco officials and civil rights organizations are advocating for the city’s first HBCU satellite campus.    

    As California is a state without an undergraduate HBCU, the satellite campus or branch of a campus far from the original university would be the first in the Bay Area. 

    While the initiative has not been finalized, officials and civil rights advocates have come together to explore the idea further.

    On Feb. 2, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission hosted an HBCU Convening event in order to highlight the potential HBCU campus. Administrators from universities in the area, as well as other national HBCUs, were in attendance. 

    The HBCUs represented included Morris Brown College and Morehouse School of Medicine, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Howard University, and Tuskegee University. San Francisco’s current mayor, London Breed, was also in attendance. 

    According to Saidah Leatutufu-Burch, director of The Dream Keeper Initiative, the organization’s interest in exploring an HBCU satellite campus was sparked by its launch. 

    Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, Breed, San Francisco Board of Supervisors member Shamann Walton, and Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, Sheryl Davis allocated $60 million a year to San Francisco’s Black community as a result of community organizing.

    City officials and organizers said they were looking to establish an experience where students in the Bay Area could receive culturally affirming teachings, curriculum, and professors as part of the Dream Keeper Initiative. 

    In 2021, Shamann Walton established the African American Reparations Advisory Council for San Francisco, which recommended introducing an HBCU satellite campus to operationalize reparations in San Francisco. 

    “The importance of an HBCU experience is one to remind young scholars, to remind Black students, Black learners about their greatness, about our beauty, our excellence,” Leatutufu-Burch said. “The second is to feel loved on and to be a part of a community where excellence is the bar.”

    Leatutufu-Burch said that her closest friends who attended HBCUs described unique experiences they wouldn’t have had at PWIs.

    “We could just be Black,” she said. “Be Black and be okay and be in a safe space and be brave and be courageous.” 

    Diane Gray, co-founder and director of education at 100% College Prep, a Black-led nonprofit organization that focuses on college readiness, said she had advocated for bringing an HBCU campus to California since 2017 when she served as a city commission member for the southeastern districts of San Francisco. 

    “Doing these tours for so many years, so many students would come back and be like, ‘Wow, I wish we had an all-Black college here,’” she said. “It’s just an environment that builds their confidence, it’s an environment that they feel like they’re being seen and they belong.

    “It’s an environment where they feel like the professors and almost everyone on campus are concerned about them, about their well-being, about their education.”

    Some Black college students attending predominantly white institutions in California, such as Kayla McCullum, a sophomore at the University of Southern California (USC), said an undergraduate HBCU campus benefits Black students interested in college in California.

    “A lot of people here didn’t even know that was a thing, and so I feel like having an HBCU in California can educate people or give the opportunity to experience parts of Black culture that they haven’t,” McCullum said.

    The initiative’s first phase is anticipated to start this summer when 20 to 30 “transplant students” will be hosted in partnership with the University of San Francisco.

    Source

  • FDA approves first drug for serious liver disease

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first drug to treat serious liver disease, the agency announced in a release Thursday.

    The FDA approved Rezdiffra (resmetirom) for the treatment of adults with a common form of liver inflammation called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH.

    NASH, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH, happens when the liver becomes inflamed because of excessive fatty cells. Liver inflammation from NASH, over time, can lead to liver scarring and liver dysfunction.

    Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure are other health conditions often associated with NASH, according to the FDA.

    “Previously, patients with NASH who also have notable liver scarring did not have a medication that could directly address their liver damage,” said Nikolay Nikolov, M.D., acting director of the Office of Immunology and Inflammation in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. “Today’s approval of Rezdiffra will, for the first time, provide a treatment option for these patients, in addition to diet and exercise.” 

    One estimate cited in the FDA’s release says approximately 6-8 million people in the U.S. have NASH with moderate to advanced liver scarring. Rezdiffra is a partial activator of the thyroid hormone receptor, and activation of this receptor by Rezdiffra in the liver “reduces liver fat accumulation,” according to the release.

    Common side effects of Rezdiffra included diarrhea and nausea. In addition, warnings for the drug include drug-induced liver toxicity and gallbladder-related side effects. 

    Patients with decompensated cirrhosis should not use Rezdiffra, according to the release. Meanwhile, patients should stop using the treatment if they develop signs or symptoms of worsening liver function.

     Using Rezdiffra with other drugs, in particular statins for lowering cholesterol, may result in potentially significant drug interactions, per the release.

    Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

    Source

  • Planet Fitness ‘Bans’ Woman After She Calls Out Man Shaving in Women’s Locker Room


    Woman confronted man who claimed to be ‘queer LGBT,’ and said a 12-year-old girl was also taken aback by him.

    A woman who witnessed a man shaving in a women’s Planet Fitness locker room was allegedly banned by the gym for complaining.

    The lady documented the incident on social media, complete with a photo of the man.

    The woman elaborated further in a follow-up video, saying she’d confronted the man when she spotted him, noting there was also a 12-year-old girl in a towel who “kinda freaked out a man was shaving in her locker room.”

    “Well, I was offended,” the woman who filmed the video stated. “I took a picture of him and I asked him why are you there? ‘You’re a man with a penis. Why are you in the women’s locker room?’”

    “And he justified by saying, ‘I’m queer LGB.’ and I said, ‘You shouldn’t be in the women’s locker room.

    According to the woman, staff members reportedly defended the man and revoked her membership after complaining.

    The woman’s report sparked calls to boycott the company until they address the issue.

    Evidently, Planet Fitness’s policy claims they allow “all members, including transgender members,” to use any facility that corresponds with “their self-reported gender identity.”

    The lady went on to encourage other women who feel like their right to privacy is being stripped to stand up against the transgender insanity.



    Source

  • Tinubu Says Hardship Declining, Asks Nigerians To Expect ‘Brighter’ Days Ahead

    Tinubu-with-governors

    At an Iftar dinner with governors and ministers on Thursday, President Bola Tinubu declared that the hardships plaguing Nigerians are on the decline, calling on citizens to brace themselves for “brighter and brighter” days ahead.

    The remarks came during the Ramadan gathering with state governors at the State House in Abuja, where he made a plea for unity and cooperation between the federal and state governments.

    Tinubu said at the gathering that there was pressing need to shift focus from political rivalries to the critical task of governance.

    “Since we recognize the need to build our nation together, the time for politics is over. It is now time for governance.

    “We are of the same family and parents; living in the same house, but sleeping in different rooms. We must cooperate and spread love among each other,” he stated.

    Despite the challenges facing the nation, Tinubu said the policies of his administration are yielding positive results.

    He declared, “I am glad that the headwinds are almost over. The tunnel is not as dark as when we started. It is going to be brighter and brighter. We must communicate with each other, stick together, and share joy.”

    Tinubu also used the occasion to emphasize the significance of the holy month of Ramadan, urging Nigerians to use the period for reflection, prayer, and acts of charity towards others.

    In response, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who is the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Kwara State, commended the federal government’s distribution of 42,000 tons of grains, underscoring the importance of collaborative efforts between national and state governments in overcoming shared obstacles.

    “Wet season farming is almost here, and I want to implore all governors to engage in the farming business, so that we can all appreciate the challenges of ordinary farmers and ensure that we have a bumper harvest at the end of the farming season,” the NGF Chairman said.

    Meanwhile, as part of efforts to address challenges facing different sectors of the economy, the Federal Government on Thursday announced plans to provide the sum of N100 billion through consumer credit fund to support the manufacturing sector.

    The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, said this while briefing newsmen on clarifications on the implementation of 2024 Appropriation Act in Abuja.

    Bagudu, who noted that the manufacturing sector was facing serious challenges, said that the fund would help to revive the sector.

    “Our economy can gain if many people can pay for goods and services over a period of time just as it’s being done around the world. And it will help our manufacturing sector.

    “The Consumer Credit is a veritable tool to provide access to goods and services to a lot of Nigerians. A committee is working on this.

    “It has not been implemented. The money has not been withdrawn; the fund is a catalytic fund and it’s expected to grow,” he said.

    The minister said that the government will also provide N100 billion for the agriculture sector.

    Bagudu further stated that the government had equally earmarked N100 billion Energy Transition Fund to support the provision of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) vehicles.

    He said that when fuel subsidy was removed, government quickly provided N100 billion to support the provision of CNG vehicles which would consume less gas than fuel.

    Bagudu added that a total of N60 billion had also been earmarked as student loan. He said that although N50 billion was captured in the budget, another N10 billion was appropriated in the supplementary budget.

    The minister said that the Federal Government had also made provision for the Youth Development Fund and Project Preparation Fund.

    Addressing the controversy surrounding the alleged padding of the 2024 budget to the tune of N3.6 trillion, “the National Assembly has the last word when it comes to appropriation. So, they have the right to increase the budget line.

    “When people talk about padding, the word has been narrowed to a negative form. Whereas in reality, there can be no appropriation without either addition or subtraction,” he added.

    Tinubu Says Hardship Declining, Asks Nigerians To Expect ‘Brighter’ Days Ahead is first published on The Whistler Newspaper

    Source

  • Fact Check: Ron DeSantis said Citizens Property Insurance ‘is not solvent.’ That’s misleading

    As Floridians continue to grapple with a state property insurance crisis, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has warned that the state-backed insurer of last resort for disaster damage is insolvent.

    Over the past year, several major insurance carriers have left the state, citing Florida’s high risk of a costly weather calamity. Loose regulations and repeated hurricane damage have left residents paying the highest average property insurance premiums in the country — about $6,000 a year, or more than triple the national average.

    This squeeze has pushed more homeowners to explore insuring with Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which holds about 1.2 million policies. The company is considered the “insurer of last resort” because it offers policies to customers who are seen as high risks because their properties are particularly vulnerable to damage, making them unattractive to conventional insurers.

    Insurers of last resort do not have to agree to cover properties they consider too risky, and they may require potential policyholders to adhere to certain conditions for protecting a property before offering a policy.

    During the legislative session, DeSantis touted efforts to improve Florida’s insurance market, saying new companies have entered the state. 

    On Feb. 27 on CNBC’s “Last Call,” DeSantis said the companies that recently entered the Florida market “have taken out hundreds of thousands of policies from this Citizens Property Insurance, which was created decades ago. 

    “It is not solvent,” DeSantis said of Citizens, “and we can’t have millions of people on that because if a storm hits, it’s going to cause problems for the state.”

    DeSantis has repeated the claim several times over the last year — catching Washington, D.C.’s attention. In a Nov. 30 letter to Florida officials and Citizens, U.S. Senate Budget Committee Chair Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said his committee began investigating Citizens’ finances “in light of the state’s acknowledgment of Citizens’ potential insolvency.” Whitehouse outlined concerning implications for the Florida insurance market, state taxpayers and the potential of a federal bailout.

    However, the company’s financial data undermines DeSantis’ use of “not solvent.” Financial experts said that term is inaccurate for the situation.

    Citizens’ latest financial report, from December 2023, shows that the insurer had a $5 billion surplus at the end of 2023. The company expects a $6.3 billion surplus by the end of 2024. (A surplus is the amount of money or resources an organization has that is not immediately being used to pay expenses.)

    Additional state funding, and the company’s ability to draw funds from Florida taxpayers in a pinch, brings the insurer’s total reserves to about $17.8 billion, according to the report.

    Jeremy Redfern, the governor’s press secretary, told PolitiFact that Citizens was never meant to accommodate as many policies as it currently does, and, therefore, “at its current growth rate, Governor DeSantis is correct.” 

    But this is not what “insolvency” means — it means that an entity can no longer meet its financial obligations today. Citizens could be considered insolvent if its debts exceeded the value of its assets, economics experts said.

    If the company can now pay out claims and other expenses it isn’t insolvent. This remains true even if Citizens had to offload its expenses onto policyholders, which is allowed by Florida law, but would likely be unpopular.

    “Citizens has the capacity to levy surcharges on property insurance policies,” said Hakan Yilmazkuday, an economics professor at Florida International University. “In other words, Citizens can never be ‘insolvent’ in technical terms.”

    Redfern acknowledged that Citizens can’t run out of money to pay claims.

    “Citizens is structured so that it will always be able to protect its policyholders and pay claims,” Redfern said. “But this comes at the expense of all Florida insurance policy holders.” These charges can be levied on nearly every type of property and casualty policy in Florida, including homeowner, renter, auto, boat and pet insurance policies.

    Citizens CEO Timothy Cerio made a point similar to Redfern’s in a Dec. 15 reply to Whitehouse, writing the senator’s concern about insolvency showed “a fundamental misunderstanding” of how the company operates and its ability to pay claims. 

    He told PolitiFact in an email that DeSantis has been “consistent and clear” in his concern that, if there were a major storm or series of storms and Citizens exhausted its surplus and reinsurance, Florida law would require the company to levy an emergency charges on state policyholders — “83% of whom are not even Citizens’ customers.”

    “Although Citizens’ assessment authority means that it will always be able to pay claims. Citizens’ rates are currently actuarially unsound,” Cerio wrote. “It is critical that Citizens be able to charge actuarially sound rates to help minimize the risk of such assessments on the people of Florida.” (Citizens said “actuarially unsound” means charging rates that inadequately cover potential losses.)

    Cerio further explained to Politico’s E&E News that the company’s premiums are 55% below their actuarially sound level and, in some areas, 40% below rates charged by insurance companies. The Insurance Information Institute verified the data with PolitiFact.

    With a major storm, Citizens may not have enough resources to pay its customers. It would then need to rely on financial assistance from the state, and that would mean a hit to Florida taxpayers. 

    “If certain property insurance policies are transferred to multiple private policy companies, the stress on each company would be easier to handle … without any impact on the Florida State budget,” Yilmazkuday said.

    Still, he said that DeSantis inaccurately defined Citizens’ fiscal position in the CNBC interview. DeSantis could have described Citizens as financially stressed, financially vulnerable, under financial strain, or a state budget risk, Yilmazkuday said. 

    Efforts to shift policies from Citizens to other insurers have led to some small results. The number of Citizens’ policies declined from 1.4 million in September to about 1.2 million in January. That’s still about three times more Citizens policies than the company had in 2019.

    Our ruling

    DeSantis said that Citizens Property Insurance is “not solvent.” 

    Insolvency means a company cannot pay its bills today. That’s not so with Citizens, which has a $5 billion surplus and expects a surplus of more than $6 billion by the end of 2024.

    Citizens faces significant financial challenges and must worry about one or more massive storms pressuring those surpluses. If that happens, the company can rely on backstopping from taxpayers under state law. That would be unpopular, but is different from insolvency.

    We rate the statement Mostly False.



    Source

  • Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks lose to Pittsburgh Penguins

    Third periods have not been kind to the San Jose Sharks all season, an unfortunate trend that’s only been exasperated in the last few weeks and on this road trip.

    The Sharks allowed third-period goals to John Ludvig and Rickard Rakell before Bryan Rust added an empty-net goal in a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.

    Fabian Zetterlund, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, and Klim Kostin all scored for San Jose, with Kostin’s goal, off an assist from Mikael Granlund, tying the game 3-3 with 1:18 left in the second period.

    But Ludvig scored at the 2:38 mark of the second period, and Rakell’s goal, a deflection off a shot by Pierre-Olivier Joseph, came two minutes later. Rust’s empty netter came with 1:56 to go.

    Goalie Magnus Chrona stopped 25 of 30 shots for the Sharks, who also gave up a third period goal in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

    On a streak that’s now seen them lose 11 of their last 12 games, the Sharks have been outscored 19-6 in the third period. For the season, San Jose has scored 49 goals and allowed 93.

    The Sharks had a scary moment in the second period as Granlund had to be assisted off the ice after he suffered what appeared to be a right leg injury.

    Granlund had the puck on his stick to the right of the Sharks’ net when he was checked against the boards by Penguins forward Bryan Rust. As the two fell after the check, Granlund’s leg got caught under Rust, and he remained on the ice in obvious discomfort as the play left the zone.

    Granlund left the ice with the help of head athletic trainer Ray Tufts, and fellow forward Luke Kunin with 7:10 left in the second period. But he was back on the Sharks’ bench shortly afterward and returned to the ice with 3:38 left in the second period.

    Granlund also assisted on Vlasic’s first-period goal and now has a team-leading 33 assists and 42 points on the season.

    Vlasic and Zetterlund both scored in the first period as the Sharks took a 2-1 lead.

    After Henry Thrun kept the puck in the Penguins’ zone, he fired it across the ice to Calen Addison, whose shot on net was stopped by goalie Tristan Jarry,  Zetterlund, though, was left open in front of the net, and easily knocked in the rebound to tie the game 1-1 at the 14:31 mark.



    Source

  • Howard University Orthopedic Surgery Program Loses Accreditation, Citing ‘Structural Issues’

    The Howard University Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program may soon lose its accreditation. Officials say that the program is responsible for training more Black orthopaedic surgeons than any other program in the country. (Jasper Smith, HU News Service)

    By Jasper Smith, Howard University News Service

    A graduate medical education body has withdrawn accreditation from the Howard University Orthopaedic Surgery Residency program due to a resident complaint, according to a program official.

    Effective Feb. 21, the program’s accreditation is withdrawn but is under appeal, according to accreditation council’s website. 

    If the decision withstands appeal, the 19 residents in the program will be dispersed to various accredited programs beginning in June – leaving the nation’s only historically Black orthopedic surgery program unaccredited and without residents, according to the council. 

    Dr. Andrea Hayes Dixon, dean of the College of Medicine, confirmed the accreditation withdrawal and said the university is working to challenge the decision but declined to provide reasons why the program lost its accreditation. 

    “We will not comment on the specifics of the decision or our appeal of it while the appeal is pending,” Dixon said in an emailed statement. “The University is working with the affected residents and their collective bargaining representative to secure appropriate placement in programs sponsored by other Universities and Academic Medical Centers.” 

    Dr. Robert Wilson, the interim program director, said that the accreditation withdrawal was the result of a series of problems that developed within the program over the last few years, leading to a formal complaint from a resident to the Accreditation Council for Medical Graduate Education (ACGME). 

    “We had some structural issues, as many residencies do,” Wilson said. “Sometimes you need to do a certain amount of surgeries, or you have to have a certain number of doctors who teach. We’re the only HBCU program in the country. We don’t always have all the resources that we need like many other places.”

    According to the ACGME records, the orthopedic program received accreditation warnings from 2019 to 2020, followed by a “probationary accreditation” status from 2021 to 2023. University officials did not confirm if the accreditation withdrawal was congruent with the probationary periods. 

    Due to confidentiality between the ACGME and sponsoring institutions, the accrediting body cannot disclose details surrounding a program’s accreditation status.

    However, the medical council’s policy states that accreditation can be withheld when a sponsoring institution “has not demonstrated substantial compliance with the applicable requirements.”

    Accreditation requirements include overseeing resident assignments, quality of working and learning environments and dedicated professional time to perform surgical procedures. 

    Wilson said that in addition to the resident complaint, the number of completed surgeries for the program was a minor issue in the accreditation review. 

    “We met the requirements for how many surgeries each resident needs to obtain before they leave,” Wilson said. “The only issue is our numbers were a little lower than the national average, and we were called out on that.” 

    Accredited orthopedic surgery programs must complete a minimum of 200 pediatric procedures, according to ACGME guidelines

    This includes 10 ACL reconstruction procedures and 15 ankle fraction procedures, among other practices totaling more than 250 surgical procedures.

    Wilson added that the program had since made changes to address the surgery concerns.

    The university did not respond to comment on the number of surgical procedures the program completed. 

    Some orthopedic surgeons who completed their residency at Howard said they fear that the accreditation loss will have a significant impact on the racial diversity of the orthopedic field. As of 2022, researchers were calling orthopedics the “least diverse surgical specialty,” as less than 2% of orthopedic surgeons are Black.

    “Howard is a safe space for Black orthopedic surgeon trainees,” Dr. James Carson, a Texas-based orthopedic surgeon, said. “I know a lot of people who have faced a lot of discriminatory actions and even malicious activities towards them at other programs.”

    Carson said he believes the loss of residents in the area may also impact the community, as residency programs allow for patients to receive a greater amount of care. 

    Rotational sites in the Howard program include the Howard University Hospital, Children’s National Hospital, Doctors Community Hospital, Veteran Affairs Medical Center and the Washington Hospital Center. 

    Second-year orthopedic surgery resident Miranda Barnes described the accreditation loss as “heartbreaking,”

    The Florida native said she was drawn to the program for its mentorship opportunities from other Black orthopedic surgeons at Howard. 

    “I think that this is one of the most significant losses in orthopedics ever,” Barnes said. “There’s a reason why people are coming to Howard, and it’s to see doctors who look like them and to be taken care of by doctors who understand them.” 

    Since she received notice of the accreditation loss, Barnes has spent much of her time reaching out to orthopedic surgery programs across the country in hopes of finding a place for her to complete her residency. 

    Barnes said she has not learned from the university why the program lost its accreditation but emphasized her support for the program and HBCU education. 

    “Howard orthopedics must continue. It has to continue,” she said. “We can’t take our foot off the gas when it comes to supporting our HBCUs.”

    Source

  • Don Lemon Bites The Hand That Feeds Him


    Don Lemon complains after his show on X gets canceled!

    Political insider Roger Stone reacts to former CNN anchor Don Lemon’s fallout with X over his disastrous interview with Elon Musk.

    Of course, his take was much different when the far leftists who previously owned Twitter imposed an arbitrary ban on former President Donald Trump, defending the ban as the decision of a private company free to do as it likes.



    Source