Latest news with #PatrickQuinn
Sunday World
3 days ago
- Sunday World
Man said he wanted to ‘stab any fat, blonde woman' to ‘make himself feel better'
Patrick Quinn had said 'killing someone who looked like his late mother might make him feel better' A Co Antrim man who told his foster mother he wanted to make himself 'feel better' by stabbing any 'small, blonde, fat woman,' has admitted having a knife in public. Patrick Quinn appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court by video link, where the 26-year-old entered guilty pleas to two of the three charges against him, including possessing a bladed article in public and attempting to cause criminal damage to a police cell van on 16 April this year. While a third charge accusing Quinn of possessing a weapon, namely a Stanley knife, with intent to wound 'an unknown female, resembling his mother' was withdrawn, it is understood the guilty pleas are on a full facts basis. Ballymena Courthouse None of the background facts of the case were opened, but when Quinn was granted bail last month, the court heard how the police received a report from the defendant's foster mother, saying the defendant had a knife and he was 'going to kill a small blonde fat woman". Quinn, from Dunclug Park in Ballymena, had been with a mental health team at Antrim Area Hospital the day before, and had told them he had a "desire to stab any small fat blonde woman,' the court heard. 'That was the description of his biological mother and he had recently found out that she had died,' said the lawyer, adding that according to the report, Quinn had said 'killing someone who looked like his late mother might make him feel better.' When officers found Quinn close to a Gospel hall on the Old Grange Road in Ballymena, a search uncovered a Stanley knife and he was arrested. Due to concerns that he had taken an overdose, Quinn was taken to Antrim Area Hospital but while outside in the police cell van, he continually kicked the internal door and camera, trying to cause damage. During police interviews, Quinn admitted having the bladed article 'and that he intended to hurt someone with it but couldn't remember that he wanted to kill someone.' In court, defence counsel Grant Powles said Quinn was eager to have the case dealt with but District Judge Nigel Broderick said he had to ensure the sentence was just and further that 'the public are protected.' 'I am not going to sentence today,' the judge ruled, adjourning the plea and sentence until a pre-sentence report is obtained. Remanding Quinn back into custody, he adjourned the case to 4 September.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? It's back.
More than a decade after the viral trend first got its start, thousands of people are dusting off their buckets and dumping ice water on their heads all over again—but this time, for mental health. The viral 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge raised $115 million in six weeks for what was, at the time, a severely neglected disease—amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which degrades nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord over time, leading to loss of muscle control and, ultimately, the ability to talk, move, eat, and breathe. But the global social media phenomenon did more than that. It forever changed the trajectory of ALS, leading to the discovery of disease-specific genes and treatments, greater scientific collaborations, and technology that improved patients' quality of life. (A decade later: How the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge made a lasting impact.) But how did those close to the original challenge feel about the revamped version—and what progress has been made since? We spoke with Patrick Quinn, father of the late Pat Quinn, one of the original Ice Bucket Challenge's three co-founders, as well as Brian Frederick, chief marketing and communications officer for the ALS Association (ALSA), to find out. After losing friends to suicide, Wade Jefferson, a student at the University of South Carolina, wanted to work towards squashing stigmas around mental health. He started the college's Mental Illness Needs Discussion (MIND) club, and thought a reimagined ice bucket challenge could breathe new life into mental health advocacy. Thus, the recent #SpeakYourMIND Challenge was born. The campaign, which launched March 31, has raised nearly $420,000 for Active Minds—the largest nonprofit in the United States that's working to change mental health norms among teens and young adults. It has even attracted some high-profile attention, including from former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning and TODAY show host Jenna Bush Hager. While the campaign began to pick up some steam, some feared the revamped social media trend might take away from spotlighting the challenges associated with ALS. At the same time, people on social media were tagging the ALSA in their videos, connecting the original driving factor behind the trend with mental health. Shortly after, the ALSA and Active Minds joined forces to raise awareness for both causes, using the challenge to bring attention to the fact that ALS doesn't just affect people physically, but emotionally as well—a reality that isn't often discussed. 'Even in ALS support groups, mental health is something that was never brought up,' says Quinn. 'It was always physical. But when you really peel back each of one of those negatives, how much mental impact does that have?' Also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, ALS affects roughly 30,000 people in the U.S., and most live only two to five years after symptoms develop. Because much more progress is needed to address patients' debilitating loss of function, Quinn feels like the mental health of these patients has been put on the back burner. Even though ALS was first identified more than 150 years ago, few studies have analyzed how the disease impacts mental health and vice versa. At least one questionnaire found that as physical impairment worsens among those with ALS, so does depression. Other self-reported surveys show that up to 64 percent of ALS patients feel depressed and 88 percent feel anxious. A 2019 study even found that poorer emotional well-being was associated with faster disease progression. Quinn, who watched his son battle ALS for seven-and-a-half years, said it can be difficult to recognize how people with the disease feel, especially once they lose the ability to speak, and even more so 'because they have a funny way of hiding it to avoid being a burden on their families.' (9 simple ways to boost your mental health, according to science.) But hope is on the horizon for ALS patients and their families. A study published in January found that Qalsody—the first gene-based therapy for ALS approved by the FDA in 2023—not only slows the progression of a rare form of the disease, but also helps restore patients' function. Companies are also leveraging AI tools to search through massive datasets to pinpoint biological targets that can help accelerate drug discovery and development, says Frederick. And advancements in technology are continuing to help ALS patients who have lost the ability to speak to communicate with others. 'There are many more things now that make it easier for them to not just give up,' says Quinn, adding that he's grateful that the #SpeakYourMIND Challenge has opened his and others' eyes to the importance of mental health for ALS patients. 'ALS doesn't have a face until it comes into your house' he says. 'One of Pat's big things before he passed is, no matter how bad things get, find a reason to find your smile—and just keep going.'
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Global Media Consumption Will Decline This Year For First Time Since 2009
Fueled by national elections in more than a dozen countries and mass tune-in for the Summer Olympics in Paris, global media consumption rose 2.4% in 2024 but it is heading for a fall. That's one key takeaway from research firm PQ Media's 12th annual Global Consumer Media Usage Forecast for 2025 to 2029. The report sees total consumption falling 0.3% this year compared with 2024, which would be the first decline since 2009, during the financial crisis. One drag on consumption is the fact that digital device penetration rates have peaked in major markets including the U.S., the report noted. More from Deadline War Between "Deeply Disappointed" AP & Trump Heats Up Again As Wire Services' White House Access Degraded - Update Judge Rules Trump White House Cannot Prohibit Associated Press From Oval Office Access As Punishment For Its Editorial Choices Wall Street Has Wild Swing As Social Media Post Falsely Claims That Donald Trump May Pause Tariffs 'Also contributing to the media consumption decline in 2025 is expected deceleration in discretionary spending on media devices and content, as consumers worldwide tighten their overall budgets due to an expected rise in inflation and possible recession due to the tariff wars instigated by the new Trump administration in the United States,' PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn said. In 2026, with more elections on tap along with the Winter Olympics in Italy and the FIFA World Cup in North America, Quinn said, total usage will climb again. The average global consumer spent 8.17 hours per day with media in 2024, up from 7.36 hours in 2019. In some markets, like Japan and the Netherlands, daily media usage exceeded 12 hours per day, according to the study. Television (including live, digital, streaming and over-the-top video) leads all 11 media categories tracked by PQ Media in terms of consumption, reaching 28.07 hours per week in 2024. One ongoing trend evident in the report is the shift from traditional media to digital media, with digital rising to 39.7% share globally, up from 37.3% in 2023 and 28.6% in 2019. While that number may appear modest at first blush, PQ Media emphasized that the statistic stems from data from China and India, each of which has populations of more than 1 billion, with many residents too poor to afford internet access and mobile phones. In 11 of the top-20 markets, including the U.S., South Korea, the Netherlands and Spain, digital media usage accounts for more than 50% of overall consumption. Ad-driven media consumption tops 50% in more than 11 global markets, led by Spain and Japan at 57.9%. On average, it accounted for 52.7% of time spent in 2024, down from 55.5% in 2019. A new group of media consumers is identified in the report: the 'AI-Gen,' which is comprised of individuals born between 2025 and 2039, the first generation to live its entire life with artificial intelligence. 'Compared with previous generations, the AI-Gens will be introduced to digital media at an earlier age, as broadband, smartphone, and tablet penetration rates have emerged as the highest ever in 2025, with children knowing how to use smartphones and tablets almost from the time they can walk,' Quinn said. Best of Deadline Everything We Know About 'The Gilded Age' Season 3 So Far 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'Proud of the heritage': Center for Metal Arts undertaking air hammer fundraising effort
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Back in 1941, Bethlehem Steel Corp. purchased a Chambersburg Engineering Co. air hammer that was 'most likely' used to support the nation's World War II effort, according to Patrick Quinn, executive director of the Center for Metal Arts. But now, it is silent, rusted and in need of restoration after having sat idle inside the company's blacksmith shop on Johnstown's Iron Street for decades. So an effort is underway to restore the 2,000-pound hammer and other components. Before the work can be done, though, money needs to be raised. Center for Metal Arts, which holds classes in the old blacksmith shop that was built in the 1860s, has been presented a grant challenge by the Arkansas-based Windgate Foundation. If CMA raises $50,000 by Oct. 31, then the organization will provide a matching grant of $50,000, bringing the total to $100,000 for the project. However, if that target is missed, then Windgate will not give any funding. The center has already raised more than $10,000 through its website, and other sources. 'They support the mission that we have here at CMA of restoration, reuse, as it relates to education, research, historic preservation and creativity and wanted to be part of us restoring that shop and asked me to sort of select a project that I felt like would be a good matching grant candidate,' Quinn said. CMA has already restored two of the five historic power hammers in the blacksmith shop. One was fixed using 'sweat equity, bootstrapping, chipping away at it little by little,' as Quinn described the process. The effort to restore the second hammer was aided by an $80,000 grant. 'That's why I'm comfortable reaching out to the community to ask for support for the third because we have a nice track record of success leading up to it,' Quinn said. Quinn added: 'When offered this opportunity by this foundation, I felt like restoring another hammer was a really good project because it resonates with the Johnstown community and it resonates with the blacksmith community. "I felt like it was a project where everybody could get on board from the students whose lives are being affected positively by the restoration of that shop to Johnstown locals who are proud of the heritage of the city and want to see that shop running again.' Restoring and using the Chambersburg 2000 would enable CMA to bring in more students for certain classes. The hammer can be used for different types of blacksmithing than the two that have already been repaired. 'It can hit with a little bit more finesse and it can reciprocate a lot smoother,' Quinn explained. 'The hammers that we have restored already are exceptional single-blow machines that excel at forging with handheld tooling. They fall a little short when it comes to drawing out material or forging longer cross-sections and things like that. Because this new hammer can reciprocate and it has a little bit more control and finesse, it's going to help us out when we have those sort of jobs and tasks in there that we want to accomplish.' The blacksmith shop, where the hammers are located, and other buildings sat unused from when Bethlehem's Johnstown mill closed in 1992 until the Center for Metal Arts started offering classes in February 2018. Most recently, Joshua Prince, owner of Princeworksforge in Rhode Island, was in town, teaching students how to forge pizza cutters. 'When I come here, it's not because of a big, fat paycheck,' Prince said. 'It's because I want the opportunity to learn how to teach people and to develop as both a maker and a teacher. That's the value I find here. I'm not as strongly motivated as Pat, but no one is. But I appreciate his mission. He invited me to come down here and teach, which was an honor. It's not many people that teach here.'
