Latest news with #DeWitt
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Lane closures planned for Monday and Tuesday on I-81 in DeWitt as part of Viaduct Project
DEWITT, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The New York State Department of Transportation is alerting motorists that Interstate 481 northbound and southbound will be reduced to one lane between Exit 4 (I-690 West/Syracuse) and Exit 5E (Kirkville Rd East) in the Town of DeWitt. The closures will be taking place from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m., on Monday, June 2, and Tuesday, June 3, to facilitate the installation of beams on the bridge over the CSX rail yard, as part of the Interstate 81 Viaduct Project. Construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change based on conditions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Working4You: White County Central School District implements locker room audio recording devices
WHITE COUNTY, Ark. – A new law, known as Eli's Law, requires all public and charter schools in Arkansas to install audio recording devices in locker rooms in an effort to prevent bullying in unsupervised areas. Arkansas State Representative Keith Brooks shared a powerful statement about the legislation just weeks before it was signed into law. 'There has been a total failure in terms of leadership that allowed this to happen on their watch. Children's lives have been impacted forever, which is unacceptable in my view, and it should be unacceptable in all of our views,' Arkansas State Representative Keith Brooks said. Mothers allege mishandling of bullying in Quitman school locker room Brooks, who was the sponsor of this bill, made it very clear that the law was in direct response to allegations of bullying and harassment in the Quitman football locker room. Working 4 You first uncovered the alleged abuse in August of last year. At the time, parents say the faculty and staff did not do enough to protect their children. Through all the allegations, lawsuits, and changes the year brought for their boys, these parents stayed true to their goal that this story would spark change. Audio recording devices aren't required until the 2027-2028 school year, but one school in central Arkansas already has them up and running. Bill to place audio recording devices in Arkansas school locker rooms headed to governor's desk The locker room has been a private space for teammates to gear up, strategize and zone in. Some say its seclusion from coaches, teachers, and staff can also open the door for bad behavior. 'Other districts had some serious accusations of sexual assault, there had been bullying, hazing, kids skipping class going to locker rooms,' White County Central School District Superintendent Pharis Smith said. Smith said he's heard it all. Last year, his team started looking into ways to monitor the space without physically putting eyes on it. 'Right now, we have it recording all the time,' WCCSD technology employee Matt Jones said. You wouldn't notice it unless you knew what you were looking for. 'It's getting everything from back in the stalls to right as you come in the door and all the locker areas,' Jones said. DeWitt student alleges classmate made racist comments after painting face black The device doesn't record videos. It's in a place to detect all sounds of bullying, distress, or harassment. 'It's not a gotcha thing, but it's here to help [students], it's here to help us as well,' WCCSD Boy's Head Basketball Coach Zach Kersey said. The superintendent said the devices pick up everything from a scream to a whisper. 'It protects the coaches,' Smith said. 'If a parent says they berated them in the locker room at halftime or after a game, we've got the audio to go back and see if that happened.' Smith said the superintendent and principals are the only ones who have access to the recordings, and they can only be used when a serious allegation is presented by students, staff or parents. If it is determined there was a case of bullying, parents would be notified and allowed to listen, and the proper authorities would be contacted. 'To tell you the truth, we haven't even listened to one,' Smith said. Miss Greater Little Rock Jada Simpson creates non-profit to combat bullying in schools The recording devices were installed in October. Smith says he hasn't received one allegation of bullying in the locker room since. 'In this day in age, you don't know, it may save a life,' Smith said. Five minutes in the locker room can change the outcome of a game. It could be just what a team needs to pull off a win, but five minutes in the locker room could also be the worst part of a student's day, away from supervision. Far from a hand to help. 'If we can put a stop to some of that, then as a superintendent, it makes you feel you've not only done your job, but you've been preventative and you've put stuff in place that hopefully we don't ever have to those conversations,' Smith said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
If PBS Is Defunded, Here's What Happens to Your Kid's Favorite Shows
Fact checked by Sarah Scott In early May 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order that called for an end to federal funding for NPR and PBS—the country's primary public broadcasters. This represents a cut of $1.1 billion in federal funding provided to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which helps fund PBS, explains Robin Berlinsky, MS, founder of The Abundant Nonprofit and adjunct professor in the School of Education at The College of Charleston. Shortly after the executive order, the CPB said in a statement that the Department of Education had terminated a federal grant program known as Ready to Learn. This program helped fund some programming for PBS and was approved by the first Trump administration. Here's what you need to know about these cuts including how they will impact children's programming and what parents can do in response. To defend the cuts, the presidential administration issued an executive order that states that neither PBS or NPR presents 'a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.' Experts however, offer different points of view regarding the purpose of these public programming stations. 'Another perspective might see PBS and NPR programming as shared social investments in the provision of high-quality, evidence-based information that is not dependent upon a user's ability to pay,' says Jamie Shenton, PhD, an associate professor of anthropology at Centre College in Kentucky who researches social media, political discourse, and identity. The proposed funding cuts are part of a larger package of cuts and still need to be approved by Congress. But the Department of Education already cut its Ready to Learn program which helps fund some programs for PBS to a study conducted by Pew Research in March 2025, only about one-quarter of adults in the U.S., or 24%, say NPR and PBS should no longer receive federal funding. Meanwhile, 43% say NPR and PBS should continue to receive funds and 33% indicate they are KIDS has received funding through the Department of Education's Ready to Learn grant for more than 30 years, points out Sara DeWitt, MA, senior vice president and general manager, PBS KIDS. 'It has funded series like Arthur, Super Why!, Sesame Street, and Reading Rainbow, and more recently Odd Squad, Work it Out Wombats!, and Lyla in the Loop.' 'Federal funding accounts for about 15% of the total amount, costing taxpayers roughly $1.60 per year,' says DeWitt. In addition to this federal funding, PBS also receives funding through private donations, foundations, and programming dues, she says. Funding was abruptly terminated on the evening of May 2 by the Department of Education, says DeWitt. 'The sudden and early termination of this grant puts educational content and resources from PBS KIDS in immediate jeopardy.' Children's programming, games, parent and teacher resources, and so much more are at risk, she says. Content development and distribution have already been interrupted or delayed. 'It also directly impacts our staff,' says DeWitt. 'We were forced to furlough 25% of the PBS KIDS team. And local stations have already had to cancel or put community events and offerings like summer camps on hold, along with staff furloughs of their own.' The continued threat to federal funding also would put even more high-quality programming and resources PBS provides to communities across the country in jeopardy, she says, with the greatest impact falling on smaller and rural stations and their communities. To put this into perspective, one study found that without funding from CPB, 26 stations would go off the air and 23 stations would need to reduce their coverage areas. These changes would leave many rural communities without much-needed programming. 'Cutting funding to PBS weakens or eliminates equitable access to high-quality, non-commercial education for our children,' points out Berlinsky. 'Many rural and underserved communities could lose their local PBS stations altogether.'"The thought of pulling federal funding from PBS isn't just a policy change, it's the loss of a trusted, consistent, and equitable educational lifeline for millions of kids. PBS isn't just television. It's a classroom for children who may not have access to books, high-quality learning programs, or even the internet."According to researchers, 90% of parents view PBS as a trusted and safe resource for kids to watch TV and play games. And, PBS KIDS is available in 98% of households in the U.S. However, the loss of funding puts these early childhood resources in danger and has a dramatic effect on the most vulnerable, says Anamara Ritt-Olson, PhD, associate professor in residence in the Department of Health, Society, and Behavior at UC Irvine. Rural, isolated, or low resourced children rely on the programming from PBS to learn the basic foundations, she says. 'More affluent and resourced families can afford the structured play places, the engaging toys, Disney+, or an iPad loaded with apps,' she says. 'So many children don't have access to those things but they have access to PBS and Wild Kratts or Elmo.' PBS also has a long-standing tradition of collaborating and supporting local educators, says Ritt-Olson. 'They will not be able to continue providing that support.' These cuts will dramatically hinder PBS from doing the work that they do to support children's learning and well-being, says Ritt-Olson. 'We need children's programming for all to help build a foundation for success. Losing these quality programs hurts all of us eventually.' Decades of research show that the PBS programming helps children learn to read, understand math, stay safe, and absorb fundamental science concepts, adds Ritt-Olson. The programs also teach compassion and help children learn to understand emotions in themselves and children's programming, families also benefit from adverse weather alerts, emergency broadcasts, documentaries, storytelling initiatives, podcasts, music, award-winning historical dramas, multicultural programming, and science programming, says Shenton.'[PBS even] helps children affected by crisis, conflict, and displacement to continue learning even in situations where they have fled their homes,' says Ritt-Olson. 'They can turn to the characters from Sesame Street for comfort, because these characters are so universally known, trusted, and loved.'The beauty of PBS is that anyone can access the programming. But, for some, especially those in rural or low-income families, a loss of funding for their local stations may impact their access to programming more substantially, says Shenton. 'If smaller, local stations are affected by these cuts, caregivers may lose out on content that supports early childhood literacy and numeracy, STEM-related skills, and social-emotional learning,' says Shenton. 'Gaps in educational opportunities between these families and other families who can fill the void left by a reduction in programming would continue to widen.' If you are concerned about the longevity of PBS or worried that programming like Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger may be cancelled, start by supporting your local station. You also can share stories of how PBS and PBS KIDS have impacted your life. And, visit for more information on how to make their voice heard, says DeWitt. 'We've seen an outpouring of support from parents and families in the last few weeks, including so many personal stories about the impact PBS KIDS has on children's lives,' she says. 'My own teenager sang a Daniel Tiger song to me last night. It's been at least a decade since he watched the show, so it was yet another example of the lasting impact of thoughtful, educational content for young children.' You also can advocate for your local station and call your local representatives, says Ritt-Olson. 'I don't think supporting children's access to these educational tools is a partisan issue. The money invested in early childhood is money well spent, the return on investment is clear…[It] is estimated to provide a return on investment of approximately $4 for every $1 invested.' Read the original article on Parents
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
DeuteRx CEO Honored with Two Industry Awards for Entrepreneurial Success and Innovation in Biopharma R&D
Lead preclinical program, DRX-184 (d-S-bupropion), granted new US patent with term to May 2044. BOSTON, April 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- DeuteRx, LLC, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel small molecule therapeutics, today announced that Chair, President, and CEO Sheila DeWitt, PhD, has been honored with two prestigious industry awards recognizing her groundbreaking contributions as a leader in drug discovery and biopharma entrepreneurship. Dr. DeWitt was awarded the 2025 Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success by the American Chemical Society (ACS) for her achievements in deuterium-enabled therapeutics, microfluidics, and combinatorial chemistry. She accepted the award and delivered a lecture, "Reactions to Failure: Catalysts to My Success as a Drug Discovery Entrepreneur," at the ACS Spring Meeting in San Diego on March 23, 2025 (MEDI 4198051). Dr. DeWitt will receive her second award, the 2025 Gertrude Elion Medicinal Chemistry Award, at the ACS Fall Meeting in Washington, DC, on August 17. These two honors celebrate the legacies of trailblazers Kathryn Hach-Darrow and Gertrude Elion, and spotlight Dr. DeWitt's 35-year track record of innovation and leadership in pharma R&D. "It is a tremendous honor to receive these awards that recognize the groundbreaking work of two exceptional women, Kathryn (Kitty) Hach-Darrow and Gertrude Elion. While these awards reflect my individual achievements, they also pay tribute to the exceptional contributions of the colleagues and collaborators that I have had the opportunity to work with over my career as a scientist and business leader," states Dr. DeWitt. "Sheila's entrepreneurial achievements are vast in scope," said Dr. Bruce Ganem, Franz and Elisabeth Roessler Professor, Cornell University. "She has led the start-up or turnaround of nine biotechnology companies or business units and managed global R&D organizations with annual budgets of up to $30 million." A recognized pioneer in deuterated drug development, Dr. DeWitt invented Deuterium-Enabled Chiral Switching (DECS), a unique approach to create new chemical entities (NCEs) with composition of matter patent protection and the potential for expedited and derisked drug development versus traditional R&D. Using deuterium to stabilize and characterize the desired stereoisomer provides a never-before-realized opportunity to deliver a superior therapeutic with improved efficacy or tolerability for patients. Under her leadership, the team has completed three M&A transactions and advanced a pipeline of over 10 deuterated drug candidates from preclinical to Phase 2. DeuteRx is advancing several drug candidates including first-in-class NCEs for psychiatric, neuromuscular, dermatology, anti-infective, cardiorenal, and oncology indications. The lead program, deuterium-stabilized bupropion (DRX-184), is being advanced for major depressive disorder (MDD) with anhedonia. The compound was recently granted U.S. Patent 12,180,137, securing protection through at least May 2044. About DeuteRx, LLCDeuteRx is a privately held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing differentiated new medicines with improved therapeutic profiles for patients. The company has pioneered DECS (deuterium-enabled chiral switching) to create differentiated NCEs with new composition of matter patent protection and the potential for an expedited and derisked development path. Success to date includes 3 M&A transactions, a Phase 2b NASH drug candidate (PXL065 in collaboration with Poxel SA), remarkable discoveries with DECS, and >50 issued patents. For more information visit DeuteRx Contact: info@ Investors: mwallace@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE DeuteRx LLC
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Stranded' NASA astronauts carried away on stretchers after return from space. Here's why.
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. On Tuesday (March 18) NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore splashed down into the Gulf of Mexico inside a SpaceX crew capsule, ending a more than nine-month stay in space that was originally slated to last just a few weeks. When their capsule was finally opened, the astronauts were carried out of the spacecraft and loaded onto stretchers. The astronauts were not sick or injured; the reason for this procedure has nothing to do with Williams and Wilmore's specific mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), but is simply a matter of protocol that all astronauts must follow, experts told Live Science. When astronauts return to Earth from space, they can't immediately walk upon landing. This is due to temporary changes to the body that occur in space — a fact that NASA addresses with strict safety procedures. "A lot of them don't want to be brought out on a stretcher, but they're told they have to be," John DeWitt, director of applied sports science at Rice University in Texas and a former senior scientist at NASA's Johnson Space Center, where he developed methods to improve astronaut health during spaceflight, told Live Science. Just like someone might experience motion sickness on a roller coaster or while riding in a boat on choppy waters, astronauts can experience dizziness and nausea when they return to Earth. Primarily for this reason, astronauts are typically rolled out on a stretcher after their landing as a precautionary measure, DeWitt said. The temporary sensation occurs because our bodies are designed to take advantage of the constant force pulling us down here on Earth — gravity. However, orbital space habitats such as the ISS are in perpetual freefall toward our planet, which creates a feeling of weightlessness for the astronauts inside and prompts their bodies to adapt to the altered environment. Related: Boeing Starliner astronauts spent nearly 300 days stuck in space — is that a new record? One significant change occurs in the sensory vestibular system within the inner ear that's crucial for maintaining balance, DeWitt said. In space, this system becomes accustomed to ignoring certain sensory inputs as the brain adjusts to weightlessness. So when astronauts return to Earth and gravity is reintroduced, they begin readjusting once again, which can temporarily cause "space motion sickness," DeWitt said. Another change astronauts experience, especially those who spend long durations in space, is gradual muscle and bone loss. While walking here on Earth is usually sufficient to keep our muscles strong due to gravity, astronauts in space don't need to use their muscles as much. This lack of activity causes the muscles to weaken and shrink over time, leading to a condition known as muscle atrophy. To counteract these and other spaceflight-related effects, astronauts who spend extended periods in space — including Williams Wilmore — follow a thorough daily exercise regimen using a suite of equipment on board the station. "Been working out for the past nine months," Williams told Live Science via an email to DeWitt. "We feel strong and ready to tackle Earth's gravity." Williams and Wilmore are part of the Crew-9 mission alongside NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who all returned to Earth aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on March 18. Their return marked the end of an unexpected nine-month stay for Williams and Wilmore, after the Boeing Starliner capsule they launched on encountered several issues during its journey to the ISS, including thruster malfunctions and leaking propulsion, which led NASA to bring the spacecraft back to Earth empty. RELATED STORIES —Liftoff! NASA launches SPHEREx telescope — an infrared observatory that will help JWST solve the mysteries of the universe —Top-secret X-37B space plane returns to Earth in dead of night after mysterious 434-day mission, US military reveals —Saucer-like 'Winnebago' space capsule lands in Australia — marking 1st for commercial space industry Despite the setbacks, "They're in good spirits and feel very confident that there's not going to be any major issues because of being on the space station so long from a physiological perspective," DeWitt said. "They're getting exactly what they would have gotten had their trip been planned to be nine months." The effects of long-term spaceflight on the human body are an active area of research. Currently, Russian Cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov holds the record for the longest consecutive time in space having spent 437 days — just over 14 months — aboard the now-defunct Mir space station in 1994 and 1995. Editor's note: This article was updated on March 18 after the astronauts succesfully returned to Earth.
