Latest news with #Covert
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
DuPage County Board District 5 incumbents Sadia Covert, Dawn DeSart to seek reelection
Two Democrats who have represented Naperville on the DuPage County Board for the past seven years will be vying to keep their seats in next year's midterm elections. Sadia Covert and Dawn DeSart have confirmed that they will be running for reelection in District 5. Covert will be seeking a four-year term while DeSart will be running for a two-year term. District 5 comprises most of Naperville and sections of Aurora in DuPage. Covert's and DeSart's intentions to run come in the wake of Naperville City Councilman Ian Holzhauer announcing last week that he will be challenging Covert for the four-year District 5 seat as a Democrat. Holzhauer was just elected to a second term on Naperville City Council. He announced his bid for county board hours after being inaugurated. 'We work hard for our seats,' Covert said in a call last week. 'We paved the way and we have to fight. We always have to fight to retain our seats. This is my first primary on the county board, so it's very different for me. … All I do know is that women have to stand tall and strong.' Covert was first elected to the board in 2018. A Naperville resident for more than a decade and a half, Covert is a licensed attorney and one of the founding partners of Covert Marrero Covert LLP. She initially ran for county board to expand the body's representation, she said. Before Covert was elected, 'there were absolutely zero South Asian and Muslim Americans on the board,' she said. Asked what she would do with a third term, Covert listed off several priorities. She wants to focus on continuing to ensure community members have access to housing and basic necessities, she said. She'd also said she'd like to see through ongoing work to preserve cultural diversity and cultural heritage in the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton. As chair of the Technology Committee, Covert is also interested in exploring how artificial intelligence can be integrated into the board's work, a project that has already started, she said. 'Being in the midst of things, it's important to have the same people working on these initiatives and just seeing them through,' Covert said. Covert also said she was surprised to hear about Holzhauer's bid for board. 'He didn't even have the courtesy to give me a call to let me know,' she said. The county's 18-person board is divided into six districts, with three seats apiece. Alongside Covert and DeSart, District 5 is also represented by Saba Haider, of Aurora, who was elected to the board last fall after unseating former Naperville City Council member Patty Gustin. Her term continues through 2028. Seats are elected separately. When more than one candidate from a party vies for a seat, there's a primary election to decide who gets the nomination. Covert emphasized that she wants to focus on her own race. 'We work very well together as a board,' she said. 'I'm just happy to serve. It's been an honor to serve all my constituents.' DeSart, who has likewise sat on the board since 2018, said in an email Monday that she 'never considered not running for my seat.' 'I've accomplished so much through my work on the board that I feel compelled to continue the work,' she said. A graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, DeSart is former reporter for NBC-TV Channel 5 in Chicago. She continues to work as a journalist in the radio broadcast industry, she said. DeSart first moved to Naperville in 1980 with her family. She later moved to Aurora in 2016. Prior to serving on the board, DeSart was a member of the Indian Prairie District 204 School Board from 2009 to 2013. To her, the biggest issue facing the county right is 'all of the federal government's cuts to the food insecure, to heating grants, to homelessness,' DeSart said. 'It's going to be up to the county to help those most in need,' she said. Asked if there are any initiatives or issues she hopes to focus on should she be reelected, DeSart said, 'Food insecurity is number one, and the need will only get greater.' It's a subject that's addressed at almost every meeting of the board's Human Services Committee, of which she's a member, she said. She added that working 'with our state legislators has never been more important.' DeSart serves as chair of the board's Legislative Committee, which advises and provides recommendations to the board relating to state and federal legislation, according to the county's website. 'There are many initiatives I'd still like to accomplish,' she said. tkenny@
Chicago Tribune
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
DuPage County Board District 5 incumbents Sadia Covert, Dawn DeSart to seek reelection
Two Democrats who have represented Naperville on the DuPage County Board for the past seven years will be vying to keep their seats in next year's midterm elections. Sadia Covert and Dawn DeSart have confirmed that they will be running for reelection in District 5. Covert will be seeking a four-year term while DeSart will be running for a two-year term. District 5 comprises most of Naperville and sections of Aurora in DuPage. Covert's and DeSart's intentions to run come in the wake of Naperville City Councilman Ian Holzhauer announcing last week that he will be challenging Covert for the four-year District 5 seat as a Democrat. Holzhauer was just elected to a second term on Naperville City Council. He announced his bid for county board hours after being inaugurated. 'We work hard for our seats,' Covert said in a call last week. 'We paved the way and we have to fight. We always have to fight to retain our seats. This is my first primary on the county board, so it's very different for me. … All I do know is that women have to stand tall and strong.' Covert was first elected to the board in 2018. A Naperville resident for more than a decade and a half, Covert is a licensed attorney and one of the founding partners of Covert Marrero Covert LLP. She initially ran for county board to expand the body's representation, she said. Before Covert was elected, 'there were absolutely zero South Asian and Muslim Americans on the board,' she said. Asked what she would do with a third term, Covert listed off several priorities. She wants to focus on continuing to ensure community members have access to housing and basic necessities, she said. She'd also said she'd like to see through ongoing work to preserve cultural diversity and cultural heritage in the DuPage County Historical Museum in Wheaton. As chair of the Technology Committee, Covert is also interested in exploring how artificial intelligence can be integrated into the board's work, a project that has already started, she said. 'Being in the midst of things, it's important to have the same people working on these initiatives and just seeing them through,' Covert said. Covert also said she was surprised to hear about Holzhauer's bid for board. 'He didn't even have the courtesy to give me a call to let me know,' she said. The county's 18-person board is divided into six districts, with three seats apiece. Alongside Covert and DeSart, District 5 is also represented by Saba Haider, of Aurora, who was elected to the board last fall after unseating former Naperville City Council member Patty Gustin. Her term continues through 2028. Seats are elected separately. When more than one candidate from a party vies for a seat, there's a primary election to decide who gets the nomination. Covert emphasized that she wants to focus on her own race. 'We work very well together as a board,' she said. 'I'm just happy to serve. It's been an honor to serve all my constituents.' DeSart, who has likewise sat on the board since 2018, said in an email Monday that she 'never considered not running for my seat.' 'I've accomplished so much through my work on the board that I feel compelled to continue the work,' she said. A graduate of Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, DeSart is former reporter for NBC-TV Channel 5 in Chicago. She continues to work as a journalist in the radio broadcast industry, she said. DeSart first moved to Naperville in 1980 with her family. She later moved to Aurora in 2016. Prior to serving on the board, DeSart was a member of the Indian Prairie District 204 School Board from 2009 to 2013. To her, the biggest issue facing the county right is 'all of the federal government's cuts to the food insecure, to heating grants, to homelessness,' DeSart said. 'It's going to be up to the county to help those most in need,' she said. Asked if there are any initiatives or issues she hopes to focus on should she be reelected, DeSart said, 'Food insecurity is number one, and the need will only get greater.' It's a subject that's addressed at almost every meeting of the board's Human Services Committee, of which she's a member, she said. She added that working 'with our state legislators has never been more important.' DeSart serves as chair of the board's Legislative Committee, which advises and provides recommendations to the board relating to state and federal legislation, according to the county's website. 'There are many initiatives I'd still like to accomplish,' she said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Amherst Police investigating ‘misuse' of AI by high school student
AMHERST, N.Y. (WIVB) — Amherst Central High School administration sent a letter this week to parents after it learned that a student used artificial intelligence (AI) to create and share content that included the names of several students and faculty. The letter by Amherst Central High School Principal Gregory Pigeon was sent out Wednesday to let parents know about a recent incident involving a high school student's misuse of an internet-based AI tool called Flow GPT. That AI software was used by the student to create fictional chat bots that included the names of several students, parents and faculty, as well as some images taken from publicly available sources like social media, according to a new letter that was sent out Thursday by Amherst School District Superintendent Anthony Panella. Amherst Police are now conducting a full investigation. While we still don't know the specifics of what happened, what we do know is this type of thing is being seen all across the country, varying in its degree, where inappropriate photos of students are being used to create artificial images and videos — often times for nefarious purposes. WIVB News 4 sat down with Barry Covert, a local criminal defense attorney, to find out what this could mean for the student responsible. 'Where you take a minor's head and use that face, or identifying information from them, and create deep-fake porn, and AI generated porn, that can be a federal offense,' Covert said. 'That can be under child exploitation, under child porn, possessing it would be a federal crime, distributing it even more serious, and producing it is very serious.' While the courts may be different, if the culprit is a minor, Covert says the charges would likely still be the same. 'It looks very differently when a minor is charged in federal court,' Covert said. 'Then there's different rights that are guaranteed to them in the state court as well — you've got family court, you've got juvenile court, but yeah, plausibly, they could be charged.' WIVB News 4 also sat down with a local psychiatrist, Dr. Wendy Weinstein, to find out how children who fall victim to this could be affected. 'Your social life can suffer tremendously, your self-esteem and identity can just be destroyed, you can become anxious, you can become depressed, you can self-isolate,' Dr. Weinstein said. 'You can even do things like, one of my colleagues was talking about, the possibility of self-harm … in the worst case scenario.' Dr. Weinstein went on to discuss the importance of how parents react and the type of support they provide to their child if this happens to them. 'Listen to the child or adolescent with open ears,' Dr. Weinstein said. 'If we judge, the child or adolescent is going to pick up on this and it's going to make them feel worse, and it's going to create a downward drift.' In the letter sent out to parents, Principal Pigeon wrote that they 'take online safety and student well-being very seriously. Please be assured that appropriate steps are being taken to address the situation and support those involved.' Rob Petree is an anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in 2025. See more of his work by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Guardian
10-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Bennelong Liberal candidate declines to say whether Chinese celebrity endorsements complied with guidelines
Liberal candidate Scott Yung and party officials have declined to answer detailed questions about whether his use of Chinese celebrities and a public relations firm in the 2019 state election complied with official guidelines, as the Liberal party confirms an audit of campaign disclosures. A private dinner at a 'luxurious venue' in Sydney to raise campaign funds for Yung, featuring the former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott, has also been cancelled without explanation. While campaigning for the state seat of Kogarah in 2019, Yung secured endorsements from two famous Chinese actors who described him as 'a young talent'. Guardian Australia has confirmed these actors separately charge thousands of dollars for similar endorsements. Yung has also confirmed that the public relations agency Covert provided his campaign with free work, which included the production of favourable Chinese-language social media ads during the 2019 state election. The ads referenced his links for former Liberal prime minister, John Howard. Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter In general, New South Wales rules require all electoral expenditure, including money spent on marketing and advertising during campaigns, to be publicly disclosed. Yung has previously said there was no need to disclose the unpaid work and endorsements as they were voluntarily provided without charge. But general advice issued by the NSW Electoral Commission states candidates do need to disclose voluntary work provided to them in certain circumstances. Yung has not answered questions about whether these circumstances apply to him. 'Political donations need to be disclosed by the party agent in the case of donations to a party or their endorsed candidates for a state election,' an electoral commission spokesperson said. The spokesperson said campaigns can accept contributions – 'such as the waiver of a fee for advertising' – provided the value of work is less than $3,800 for a candidate. 'Voluntary labour might be a political donation – and need to be disclosed – where the person providing the labour ordinarily provides similar services for remuneration.' 'A person will not be a volunteer if they ordinarily charge for the services they provided for free to a campaign,' the spokesperson said. On Wednesday morning, Guardian Australia asked Yung whether he was still confident there was still nothing to declare in response to the additional advice provided by the electoral commission. He and his campaign team did not respond. A NSW Liberal spokesperson said the party 'is continually assessing its compliance obligations in relation to disclosures'. The federal Coalition's campaign also declined to comment on the details provided by the state electoral commission. Shortly after the 2019 state election, in a YouTube video with a marketing expert, Yung confirmed his campaign team had 'got celebrities in China to give us endorsements'. Sign up to Afternoon Update: Election 2025 Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key election campaign stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion One 14-second video recorded by the Chinese-British actor and film director Zhang Tielin said: 'Wishing the talented young Chinese Mr Rong Sicheng [Scott Yung] has great success ahead and a boundless future! All the best! I'm Zhang Tielin from Beijing, China.' Beijing-based media company Star Wind Culture Media collaborates with Zhang to provide personalised videos including endorsements. Its website states this fee can be up to $15,000. It's not known how much Zhang would have charged in 2019. The actor Hu Jun recorded a similar endorsement video for Yung. Guangzhou-based media company Xingdian Entertainment Partners, which partners with Hu to produce personalised endorsement videos, has confirmed Hu also charges people for tailored videos. The public relations agency Covert's website states it 'produced articles that were written in Chinese and distributed across WeChat media outlets as a way to build awareness for what Scott Yung stood for in the community' during the state election. On Wednesday, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg told the ABC that it was 'very important that politicians apply themselves very carefully to all the electoral laws'. 'I imagine that the Liberal party and Yung have complied with the laws,' Bragg told the ABC. Almost one-third of residents in Bennelong have Chinese ancestry. The Labor member, Jerome Laxale, holds the seat with a margin of just 0.1%. The Coalition campaign and Yung did not respond to questions about why the 24 April fundraiser with Abbott had been cancelled. Abbot was also contacted for comment.
USA Today
07-03-2025
- Health
- USA Today
This college freshman never thought the flu could kill her. Then, she went into sepsis.
This college freshman never thought the flu could kill her. Then, she went into sepsis. Show Caption Hide Caption National flu deaths outpace covid deaths More people are dying from the flu than COVID-19 this year, with seasonal influenza reaching its highest levels in more than 15 years. Fox - Seattle Kaitlyn Covert's cousin died from the flu at age 4 — a few years before Covert was born. Growing up, her family adamantly warned others about the dangers of the flu. Covert, 19, never thought she could face the same fate. She got her flu shot yearly without question. But last October, she postponed. Having moved from Philadelphia to Gainesville, Florida, summer weather extended into early flu season. She was still settling into her freshman year at the University of Florida, and while she always intended to get vaccinated, it "didn't feel urgent." Young people have always been encouraged to protect themselves and their communities from the flu by getting vaccinated, but many don't think they are at risk of severe illness, according to Covert. When she started feeling ill, Covert chalked it up to the 'frat flu,' a term used by college students to describe the common cold that spreads throughout dorms and parties. She was otherwise healthy and had no underlying conditions. 'That's kind of normal in my experience at college,' she says. '(Among) most of my friends, it's very rare for all of us, or any of us, to feel 100%.' But as her symptoms progressed and she navigated her first 'real' sickness away from home, her mom encouraged her to go to urgent care. At the time, Hurricane Milton had just hit Florida's Gulf Coast, leaving the eerily empty campus feeling like a 'ghost town.' Covert tested positive for both strains A and B of the flu, which is rare. She was suffering from the worst headache she'd experienced 'in her life,' her blood pressure was concernedly low, and her heart rate had skyrocketed into the 200s (the average heart rate for ages 18 to 20 is 81.6 bpm). She went into sepsis, a life-threatening condition that occurs when the body's infection-fighting processes turn on itself, causing the organs to work poorly. Her lungs, kidneys, liver and other organs were at risk of damage, and she was sent to the emergency room for immediate treatment. More health & wellness news: Sign up for USA TODAY's Keeping it Together newsletter. Young people are more at risk of dire complications than they may presume. Every major hospital sees healthy children, adolescents and young adults "miserably sick" in the emergency room each year, according to William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. "We can't predict if you get sick and you're young and healthy, who's going to be able to endure a relatively mild illness of a few days duration, from someone who that evening or the next day will have to go to the emergency room," he says. "But the virus can do that." The U.S. is facing its worst flu season in over a decade. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began five years ago, flu-related deaths topped COVID-related deaths this winter. Yet, flu vaccination rates among the general population are at their lowest level in three years, according to CDC data. Among children, they're at a six-year low. Covert's near-fatal experience is a reminder of the dangers of the flu, and she hopes her story will encourage others to get their flu shots annually and early. But Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s recent confirmation as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has prompted widespread conversations around vaccine safety, and some scientists are concerned for the future of vaccine accessibility. On Feb. 27, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) canceled the meeting of its vaccine advisory committee to select strains for next flu season's vaccine. The cancellation sparked concern among some public health experts. "Canceling a critically important Food and Drug Administration meeting that is vital to the development of effective vaccines for the next flu season is irresponsible, ignores science and shows a lack of concern for the protection of the public from this potentially severe disease," Dr. Tina Tan, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, said in a statement. The flu and mental health Before getting the flu, Covert was having a great freshman year experience. She made new friends, attended football games and parties and enjoyed her classes. But everything changed when she got sick, and her mental health rapidly declined. Her GPA dropped for the semester after she performed poorly on an important exam while recovering, but her social life took the biggest hit. "I was randomly crying throughout the day for no reason. I did not want to go out. I did not want to be with anyone," she says. "I was so upset all the time. I just wanted to go home." Research shows that viral infections are increasingly recognized as triggers for depressive disorders. After meeting with a therapist, Covert was told about post-viral depression. "The influenza virus stimulates this inflammatory response, and it can actually get into your brain, influence your hormonal function also and result in periods of fatigue, lack of motivation, mood swings, diminished appetite, difficulty concentrating," Schaffner says. Will RFK Jr.'s appointment impact next season's flu shot? The cancelation of the FDA's vaccine advisory committee meeting is the second disruption to vaccine-related advisory panels since RFK Jr. took the helm at the Department of Health and Human Services earlier this month. The health department postponed a meeting of advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccines last week to allow for more public comment. Schaffner says that while the scientific community is disturbed by this period of uncertainty, FDA staff have reassured scientists and physicians via phone calls and emails that they expect the influenza vaccine to be available this fall at the usual time. An FDA spokesperson said the agency would make its recommendations to manufacturers public in time for updated vaccines to be available for the 2025-26 influenza season. No reason was given for the cancellation. Is it too late to get this season's flu shot? Experts say it's never too late to get your flu shot. 'Any family physician would tell you it is not too late to get your flu shot or your COVID booster this year,' Jen Brull, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, told USA TODAY in February. 'Flu and COVID exist all year round.' The CDC recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older get a flu vaccine, ideally by the end of October. Appointments for the flu vaccine are still being offered at walk-in clinics like CVS Pharmacy, and peak flu season typically lasts through March but can go as late as May. Once you get your flu shot, it can take up to two weeks to build immunity. You can still get the flu even if you are vaccinated, but Schaffner says the goal is to turn "wild into mild." Flu vaccines protect best against severe illness and hospitalization. Children and young adults, Schaffner adds, have a stronger immune response to the vaccine, making them even more effective in those populations. The 2024-2025 flu shot has an estimated efficiency rate of 32%-60% against influenza and 63-78% against influenza-associated hospitalization among children and adolescents, according to data released by the CDC on Feb. 27. These estimates drop to 36-54% and 41-55%, respectively, among adults ages 18 and older. "It's something that I take more seriously now. I hope that by sharing my story, other people will too," Covert says. "I would never want anyone to feel the way that I felt. I would never want anyone's family to go through what my family went through. It's not worth it when it's so easy to get the shot and it's so effective." Contributing: Mariam Sunny and Michael Erman, Reuters, Karissa Waddick
