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Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Yahoo
Nurse keeps her license, but now faces nine felony counts of stealing patient medications
(Photo illustration by Clark Kauffman/Iowa Capital Dispatch) An Iowa nurse who was allowed to keep her license under an agreement approved by the Iowa Board of Nursing last month is now facing nine felony counts of stealing patient medications. The board alleges Amber Herzmann, 44, was working as a travel nurse from June 2024 through September 2024. On Sept. 10, 2024, the board alleges, her employment contract was suspended due to suspicion of medication misappropriation. The board alleges a review of her charts suggests she was administering the narcotic painkiller fentanyl to women after they gave birth, although the drug is typically prescribed to patients during active labor. Multiple patients denied receiving the medication or the number of doses of medication Herzmann claimed to have administered, according to the board. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Herzmann's employer later submitted a report to the Drug Enforcement Administration indicating 14 vials of fentanyl and two syringes of hydromorphone were lost or were suspected of being stolen. The board charged Herzmann with misappropriation of patient medications. In resolving the case, the board agreed on April 10 to let Herzmann retain her license as a registered nurse, and Herzmann agreed to participate in the Iowa Practitioner Health Program, a program that offers assistance to health care professionals with substance abuse issues. Court records show that on April 24, two weeks after the board approved that settlement agreement, Herzmann was criminally charged with nine felony counts of unlawfully obtaining a prescription drug, plus one aggravated misdemeanor charge of tampering with records. Prosecutors allege that in October, November and December of 2024 — after her travel-nurse employment contract was suspended — Herzmann was working on the maternity floor of Mercy Hospital in Clinton where she claimed to have administered the narcotic painkillers fentanyl, oxycodone and Dilaudid to multiple patients but instead kept the drugs for her own purposes. Herzmann is scheduled to be arraigned on May 22, 2025. She has yet to enter a plea in the case. Other nurses recently sanctioned by the Iowa Board of Nursing include: — Stephanie Erdman, an advanced registered nurse practitioner who was charged with failing to assess and report the status of a patient, and failure to establish a relationship with a patient. The board alleges that at some unspecified time in the past, Erdman was working as the medical director of a medical spa where she prescribed drugs to a patient she didn't see and then failed to follow up with the patient. The board settled the case by requiring Erdman to complete 30 hours of educational training on clinical supervision and documentation. — Jean Havugimana, a licensed practical nurse who was recently charged by the board with leaving a nursing assignment without first ensuring the safety of his patients, and with committing an act or omission that might adversely affect a patient. According to the board, Havugimana was working a 12-hour overnight shift at The Views of Marion, which operates the Oakview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, on Jan. 27, 2024. On that night, Havugimana was the only nurse on duty to assist two certified nursing assistants in caring for roughly 40 residents. The facility's video surveillance allegedly shows Havugimana was inside the facility for less than three hours during his 12-hour shift, and that he repeatedly exited and reentered the building. The board alleges that during the night, the two CNAs were unable to reach Havugimana to assist with residents' needs; that Havugimana had the keys necessary to access residents' medications; and that he was the only person on duty authorized to administer medications. At one point during the night, Havugimana was 'observed in his vehicle, parked in the lot, playing loud music with a female passenger,' the board alleges. At a board hearing on the matter, Havugimana claimed he was working his shift as required, but was busy caring for patients in other areas of the building. According to the board, he offered no explanation as to why his colleagues couldn't locate him or reach him via their cellphones and walkie-talkies. In resolving the case, the board suspended Havugimana's license for one year and stipulated that after the license is reinstated, it will be placed on probationary status for one year. As part of that probation, Havugimana will have to complete additional educational training and submit to chemical screening. In 2009, the board charged Havugimana with falsely claiming to have completed his educational requirements for licensing and for failing to inform the board of a conviction for driving while barred as a habitual offender. The board suspended Havugimana's license as a result of those charges. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The Navy may revive this forgotten Alaskan base that sits halfway to Russia
An isolated Navy station known for brutal Alaskan winter storms and thousands of unexploded bombs might soon be reborn as a frontline base to counter Russian and Chinese advances in the Arctic. Last week, the top commander in the Pacific, Adm. Samuel Paparo, joined other military officials in calling for a revival of a base on Adak Island, a tiny, rocky outpost in Alaska's Aleutian Island chain. The island, which sits halfway between mainland Alaska and Russia, would give the U.S. 'an opportunity to gain time and distance on any force capability that's looking to penetrate,' Paparo said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Service members assigned to Adak in the past found it to be a fairly rough tour. With a 'harsh and demanding' climate, the treeless island base earned its reputation as a hardship duty station before it was shuttered in the 1990s, according to an article by Barry Erdman who was one of roughly 150 Marines based at Adak during the Cold War. For most of the year, wrote Erdman, precipitation was daily and in winter, troops were greeted by storms of horizontal snow mixed driven by wind blasts that the Aleuts referred to as 'Williwaws.' Under the worst of it, Erdman recalled, 'when you held your arm outstretched and you could not see your hand.' But troops got some reprieve with a week's worth of 'all-day sun in the summer,' which led base schools to close 'so the students could enjoy the day,' he wrote. During World War II, Adak Island in Alaska was used by the U.S. to launch offensives against the Japanese during battles which included the most recent foreign military occupation on American soil. After WWII, the base became Naval Air Station Adak and was used for submarine surveillance during the Cold War. But with rising tensions in the Pacific, the island is once again viewed by many as a strategic asset. Alaska Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, who has actively pushed the Pentagon to build up Alaska-based forces, called Adak 'the gateway to the Arctic,' noting that it sits nearly 1,000 miles west of Hawaii. 'It would enable up to ten times the maritime patrol reconnaissance aircraft coverage of that key and increasingly contested space,' Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, INDOPACOM, said. The defunct base remains largely intact, with three piers, two 8,000-ft runways — long enough for any plane in the U.S. arsenal, including B-52s — a hangar, and 22 million gallons of fuel storage, according to Sullivan. Videos from more recent visitors highlight entire neighborhoods of decaying but still-standing base housing. The potential future of Adak would follow a larger trend as part of the broader U.S. military's pivot to the Pacific. Several WWII bases used during American offensives against the Japanese have been reactivated in recent years including the Marine Corps' airfield on Peleliu in Palau and Air Force fields on both Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands and at the Northwest Field on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam. Even without concrete plans to re-open Adak NAS as a formal base, Paparo said at the hearing that Indo Pacific Command's Alaska-based fifth-generation fighter jets would operate out of the base during this summer's Northern Edge exercise. In 2019, nearly 3,000 sailors and Marines were part of an Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise on Adak to test expeditionary logistics in the Arctic region and train for an Indo-Pacific crisis response. The location would be important since Russia's Pacific Fleet 'frequently' travels through the Great Circle, a shipping route that goes through the Aleutian Islands, Papro said, adding that the U.S. should also look to 'enhance the ability to operate' out of Eareckson Air Station, formerly Shemya Air Force Station on Shemya Island. Their comments reflect growing national security concerns over new shipping lanes opening up due to melting ice caps, prompting more economic interests by Russia and China. They are also the latest officials to show an interest in basing troops on Adak Island. According to Amanda Coyne, a spokesperson for Sullivan, the Navy is 'crafting three different options for redevelopment of Adak' which vary from 'basic infrastructure upgrades to a full-blown naval base.' When asked about the report, the Navy referred Task & Purpose to Navy Secretary John Phelan's February testimony to Congress where he said he would discuss Adak's future with combatant commanders. During a discussion prompted by Sullivan around Chinese and Russian bomber incursions into Alaska airspace, Northern Command's Gen. Gregory Guillot said he would support Adak for maritime and air access because U.S. fighter jet responses include 1,000-miles-or-longer flights and require nighttime air refueling stops. 'Also the harsh conditions if a pilot should have to eject,' Guillot said. A base like Adak, Guillot said, 'would allow us to preposition search and rescue aircraft or be able to land there in an emergency which are capabilities that we just don't have right now. At the hearing, Sullivan said officials from the Navy, state of Alaska, and the Aleut Corporation conducted a site assessment earlier this year. Kate Gilling, a spokesperson for the Aleut Corporation confirmed to Task & Purpose that they worked with Sullivan's office and the Navy to coordinate an Adak visit to evaluate potentially reestablishing a naval presence on the island again. In March 2004, the Aleut Corporation received more than 47,000 acres of land and many repurposed facilities on Adak Island from a land transfer agreement with the federal government. 'Aleut stands ready to support, collaborate, and provide insight as the Navy continues evaluating the feasibility of returning to Adak,' Gilling said in an email to Task & Purpose. 'This is a continuing conversation with the Senator's office and the Navy.' Sullivan's office is 'awaiting the results' of the site assessment which would give an estimate on the cost and scope of the project. The Alaska senator is looking to 'push for funds' in the budget reconciliation process or through an amendment through the upcoming national defense authorization bill, Coyne said. The northern half of Adak Island has been used by the U.S. military going back to the 1940s. During WWII, when nearly 90,000 troops were mobilized to the Aleutian Islands, Adak was used by the Army Air Corps for defensive operations against the Japanese during battles at Attu and Kiska Islands. Following WWII, the military's presence on the island fluctuated but has 'generally not exceeded 6,000 persons,' according to the city. The base, and the island, was later transferred to the Air Force and renamed Davis Air Force Base. In 1950, the Air Force withdrew and the Navy took over the U.S. military's facilities. Less than a decade later, a public land order withdrew more than 79,000 acres of northern Adak Island from Navy use. The military's mission at Adak officially ended in 1997. Since then, the Navy's presence has included environmental restoration and cleanup after military landfills and chemical spills contaminated the island's groundwater, surface water, sediments, and soil. The Environmental Protection Agency described current Navy operations as Superfund site maintenance due to hazardous substances like petroleum, chlorinated solvents, batteries, transformer oils, pesticides and solvents that were disposed of across the island. According to the EPA, the island also has roughly 70,000 unexploded ordinances which has led to restrictions in some areas. 'When Navy use for military purposes is no longer needed, the only legally permissible action Navy may take to dispose of the property is to relinquish it back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,' according to an Adak city website. Navy fires commanding officer, command master chief of expeditionary security squadron The Marine Corps has settled the debate over the size of a rifle squad Leg day: Army cuts down on number of paid parachutists Navy commissions its newest submarine, the USS Iowa Why veterans are the real target audience for 'Helldivers 2'
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Weather Delays Masters Monday Practice Round
Monday's practice round at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, got off to a bumpy start with weather delays amid threats of rain and thunderstorms. After initial concerns over a possible weather delay, gates opened at 8 a.m. But media who showed up around that time were told to shelter in place, according to WRDW-TV. By 10 a.m. patrons wearing rain jackets and carrying umbrellas lined the course under a drizzling rain, but only a few players ventured out. Then, at 11:25 a.m., practice was suspended and the course was evacuated. "A frontal system is sliding through the Southeast Monday, bringing bands of showers and thunderstorms to the Savannah River valley, including Augusta," senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said. While that may frustrate those who have practice round tickets Monday, things are looking up for the rest of the week. "The weather will be much better Tuesday and, for those interested in the actual Masters Tournament which begins Thursday, the only chance of rain, for now, appears to be early Friday, which may clear out before the second round tees off," Erdman said. That's a welcome change from last year, when wild weather rocked the storied tournament played each spring at the Augusta National Golf Club, located about 135 miles southeast of Atlanta. The first round on opening day of tournament play in 2024 was delayed by rain. The next day, round two was rocked by winds gusting up to 43 mph. Since then, the course was also hit by Hurricane Helene, which made landfall in Florida as a Category 4 hurricane Sept. 26 and then ripped through the Southeast with heavy winds and extreme rainfall. Trees are part of what makes Augusta National so famous, and several of its giant pines and other trees were knocked down by storms over the years. Helene took down hundreds of them. And while Augusta National didn't sustain any catastrophic damage like other places across the Southeast, its landscape is much different now. 'I think we had minor damage to the course, the playing surfaces themselves,' Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley said in January, according to Golf Digest. 'But we were able to get that back in shape ... I don't think you're going to see any difference in the condition(s) for the Masters this year.' -The Underrated, Deadly Danger Of Falling Trees -How To Prepare For Severe Weather Like A Met -Here's How Many Tornadoes Your State Sees In A Typical Year senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Falling Trees: An Underreported, Deadly Danger During Severe Weather
Brothers Joshua Leviskia, 11, and Josiah Leviskia, 13, were asleep in their beds near Brevard, North Carolina, as storms rumbled through early in the morning of March 16. What happened next is a family's worst nightmare. A tree, 3-feet in diameter, was uprooted and crashed into the home. First responders who rushed to the scene were told two children - Joshua and Josiah - were trapped inside. The boys didn't survive. 'This family has lost everything – their home, a vehicle, and, most painfully, their children,' a fundraising page set up for the family says. 'No parent should ever have to endure such unimaginable grief.' Death by falling trees is a scenario that plays out year-round in weather ranging from thunderstorms to winter storms to hurricanes. But experts say the numbers are vastly underreported. The National Weather Service doesn't keep statistics on deaths caused by trees. The agency does track fatalities related to wind, which is a common reason why trees fall. Wind killed 71 people and injured more than 210 in the U.S. in 2023, the latest year for which numbers are available. The 10-year annual average of wind-related deaths is 57, according to the NWS. (MORE: 15 Severe Weather Safety Tips That Could Save Your Life) Of those killed by wind in 2023, seven were in mobile homes and nine in permanent homes. Fourteen of the victims were in vehicles. Four were children under the age of 10. Four others were people in their 80s. "In 2024, there were over 16,000 reports of thunderstorm high winds or thunderstorm wind damage in the U.S., according to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center," senior meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said. "In general, winds over 60 mph, which are common in severe thunderstorms, tropical storms, hurricanes and nor'easters, are capable of downing trees." In some cases, the same storm can cause deaths from falling trees hundreds of miles apart. "Long-lived lines of severe thunderstorms known as derechos can produce damaging wind gusts over 250 miles long, downing thousands of trees," Erdman added. "This is not only a danger for homeowners, but also for campers who may be enjoying a vacation in a heavily wooded area." Trees can also fall during other kinds of weather, like flooding or ice storms. And in some cases fatalities might be counted as hurricane or tornado deaths versus wind deaths. Rain, whether during a thunderstorm or otherwise, can also contribute. "If the ground is saturated from previous heavy rain, as can often be the case in the South, it doesn't take as strong a wind gust to blow a tree over," Erdman said. "That's because wet soil doesn't hold the tree's roots in the ground as solidly as dry soil does. Instead, the roots can eventually slosh through the soupy wet soil, increasing the danger of the tree eventually toppling over." (MORE: 10 Tornado Myths Busted) Sixty one of the 65 deaths attributed to Hurricane Helene's winds were due to falling trees, according to the National Hurricane Center's final report. That was the most wind-related deaths from a mainland U.S. tropical storm or hurricane in at least 61 years, the NHC found. Falling trees in Helene also claimed more lives than all of 2024's tornadoes combined (54 killed). The neighborhood where the Leviskia brothers lived in a single-wide mobile home was still recovering from Helene. digital meteorologist Jonathan Belles was working from home in Atlanta on March 15, covering the same severe weather outbreak that spawned the storm that killed Joshua and Josiah. 'I heard a thud,' Belles recounted later. 'I did not feel the apartment shake, but I got up and walked around to see exactly what fell. I went out to the balcony and didn't see much. On a whim, I went into the bedrooms intending to look out the windows. Instead, in my bedroom, I found a 6-8 inch diameter tree branch in my ceiling.' The worst of the weather hadn't even hit yet, illustrating that it doesn't have to be a big storm for trees and limbs to come down. 'It was gusty, but not overly so," Belles said. "The stronger winds and rain came several hours later. In fact, I had enough time to continue working on our severe weather forecast articles, then rush to the store to buy tarps and set up a storage container for the incoming deluge before the big weather arrived.' Erdman says there are several things people can do to help avoid tragedies from falling trees, regardless of where you live or what time of year it is. "Take shelter for a severe thunderstorm warning just as you would a tornado warning, in a basement, or if not available, an interior room on the lowest floor of your home," he said. (MORE: The Different Types Of Tornado Warnings You Should Know About) If in a vehicle or outside, seek shelter in a substantial, sturdy building as soon as possible. Always have multiple ways to receive severe weather alerts. And have an arborist inspect the trees around your home at least once a year. "If you notice a tree leaning, particularly toward your home, have it removed immediately," Erdman said. "Finding and removing an unhealthy or leaning tree that could fall in a storm is a much better option than the danger and damage from a fall onto your home, much less the deductible from your homeowner's policy." And it could save your life. Harvey Hillman Sr. was walking to his truck in Riverdale, Georgia, to head to work on a stormy morning in 2021. Hillman never made it to his vehicle - he was hit and killed by a falling tree in his driveway, WSB-TV reported. Hillman's stepdaughter, Mavis Freeman, shared this with the station: "I'll tell anybody if you have trees over your house, cut them." senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nebraska consumption tax — ‘EPIC Option' — won't be considered in 2025 legislative session
State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering, center, hosts a news conference. Behind him are, from left: State Sens. Margo Juarez of Omaha, Danielle Conrad of Lincoln, Tom Brandt of Plymouth, Jana Hughes of Seward and Glen Meyer of Pender. Jan. 9, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) LINCOLN — The conservative grassroots efforts for an 'EPIC' rewrite of Nebraska's tax code, to eliminate all taxes in place of consumption taxes, will skip the Legislature this year. State Sen. Brian Hardin of Gering, the heir to the 'EPIC Option' effort long carried by term-limited former State Sens. Steve Erdman of Bayard and Steve Halloran of Hastings, filed Tuesday to withdraw Legislative Resolution 10CA and LR 11CA, two related constitutional amendments, and Legislative Bill 331, aimed at adopting the 'Nebraska EPIC Option Consumption Tax Act.' Supporters of the effort have fallen short in the Legislature and through signature-gathering efforts. Still, they are determined to reach voters for whether property, income and corporate taxes — and miscellaneous taxes like the inheritance tax — should go away by Jan. 1, 2028. Grocery items purchased for off-premises consumption would not be taxed through LR 11CA, while LR 10CA would prohibit all taxes except retail consumption taxes and excise taxes. In Nebraska, all bills and constitutional amendments get a public hearing, unlike many other state legislatures. Hardin, speaking with the Nebraska Examiner on Tuesday, said the need for hearings complicated the timing for EPIC in the 2025 legislative session. He awaits a dynamic study on EPIC. 'We just learned yesterday it's not going to be done until late April,' Hardin said Tuesday. 'I can't get the data that I need to get through everything.' Hardin's legislation had not yet been scheduled for a public hearing before the Revenue Committee. Public hearings end in late March. By withdrawing the proposals, Hardin or another senator would need to reintroduce them in January 2026, for a chance to appear on the November 2026 ballot. The three withdrawal motions will go to a procedural vote of the full Legislature later this session. Erdman, who passed the EPIC mantle to Hardin, said in January that 'big, bold changes' take time and that 'EPIC is alive and well.' Erdman said the next effort would be 'far more involved,' with a specific plan to reach the ballot. In a text Tuesday, Erdman said that withdrawing the bills won't impact the movement's future. 'Going forward, we will have a whole new look,' Erdman said in January. 'I think it'll be an opportunity for the Nebraska people that are being taxed out of their homes and farms and businesses to understand that there's only one option, and that's to change the whole system.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
