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Sunday World
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
New voice in Irish fiction Vicki Notaro dreams of her stories making it to the big screen
LONG STORY SHORT | Vicki Notaro gave up a solid career in magazines to pursue her ambition of writing books, and she tells Denise Smith how she dreams of her stories making it on to the big screen some day 'I love a sex scene,' laughs the 39-year-old Dubliner, who's just released her second novel, Long Story — a whip-smart tale of the complexities of female friendship, with plenty of sex, sass and chaos in between. 'I feel like they're a bit less filthy and overt than they were in my first book. Maybe they're not. Maybe I'm just more used to it. Either way, I do feel sorry for the poor actress who has to narrate the audiobook — it must feel awkward,' she grins. 'But for me, sitting alone writing them, it's grand. I enjoy it.' Vicki's debut, Reality Check, was a commercial and critical success, topping book charts and cementing her place as an exciting new voice in Irish fiction. Despite her seamless segue into the literary world, her decision to leave her role as editor-in-chief of Stellar magazine wasn't made lightly. Reflecting on the identity shift of stepping away from a high-status job, the You Had Me at Hello podcast host explains: 'For me, it was more about disengaging my ego. I had worked my way up in Irish media and I was managing director of a company that publishes three amazing magazines. For me, that's your job title and not who you are, and once you make a decision to walk away from that, you are also walking away from people licking up to you in a way,' she says with impressive candour. Vicki Notaro Laughing, she adds: 'And getting great opportunities like press trips and free makeup. You have to be secure in doing that, and hopefully you've built yourself a strong enough reputation that people will still remember you and want to talk to you about your work. And that has come to pass. So I feel very lucky in that way as well.' Delving into the financially viability of her career change, Vicki laughs when we probe if she's now on the pig's back. 'I'm still very much the new girl. So I mean, the hope is that eventually I'll be on the pig's back. But I have a very supportive husband. And yeah, I mean, of course I was walking away from a salary, so I was walking away from guaranteed money. But really I'd already made the decision to leave my job before I even knew I had a book deal,' she explains. 'The magazine industry has changed a lot, and selling on shelves is harder than ever.' Though still a relatively new name in fiction, there's no denying that the Tallaght native is quickly carving out her niche in a literary tradition rich with Irish women's voices that spotlight women's lives with wit, warmth and insight. 'We've such a rich literary tradition in Ireland. I'm not claiming to be any sort of literary writer, but I think we do have such a rich history of the likes of Marian Keyes, Patricia Scanlan, Cathy Kelly, writing for women and writing about women's stories at every stage of their lives. Vicki's new book Long Story delves into female friendships and all that goes with them News in 90 seconds - June 2nd 'And I think other Irish women just really relate to that. And there's nothing, to me, like reading an Irish book because you just relate to it so much more. We've such a specific humour and turn of phrase.' While Long Story is full of sex, sass, and escapism, it's also got heart. 'It's about female friendship — the complexity of it, how it's rarely straightforward,' Vicki says. 'We tend to put all our energy into romantic relationships, but our platonic ones deserve just as much attention. I hope people come away from the book laughing, maybe crying, and feeling like they've spent time with characters they recognise or relate to. It's glossy, it's fun, it's light — but it's meaningful, too. And honestly, I just want to keep doing this forever.' Like most authors, Vicki dreams of a screen adaptation but she's fully aware of how difficult it is to break into the TV and film industry. 'I think it's a lot harder than anyone realises, even harder than I realised,' she admits. 'There are so many books published every week, not just in Ireland but globally. Everyone has that dream. What you really need is a producer to say, like my publisher did, 'I get you. I see your vision.' Look at Marian Keyes —30 years on, her Walsh Sisters books are being adapted into a series, and Grown Ups is on the way too. It can happen at any time.' When asked who she'd cast to play her beloved characters, she politely declines to comment. 'I'm far too close to them. I have a very specific image in my head, and I think there's a reason authors shouldn't cast their own work,' she says. Still, she gives us a taste. 'Sean Sweeney, the romantic interest-slash-villain of Long Story? I saw someone in my head who's a mix of Paul Mescal and Colin Farrell — rugged, tattooed, kind of bad-boy energy. If any man out there fits that description… congrats, the role is yours!' Now already putting pen to paper as she writes her third book, this is one seasoned journalist that is truly keeping her feet on the ground. 'I still feel like the new girl,' she says with a grin. 'But I'm so grateful. Vicki's new book Long Story 'The feedback has been gorgeous. You can go through life thinking the world's a bit dark, and then something like this reminds you people are actually lovely. 'Sometimes I am like, 'I can do this, you've built a great career and you have brilliant contacts, it's all about ideas and you've got good ideas and the ability to see them through' and the other side of it is 'who do you think you are?' which is so Irish. Right now though I couldn't be happier.' Long Story Short is available in all good book stores now.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Clinton, Franklin, Essex Reality Check youth take action against tobacco at national conference
PLATTSBURGH — Clinton Franklin Essex Reality Check youth traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to stand up to Big Tobacco as part of the 2025 Mobilize Against Tobacco Lies conference. Reality Check is a youth-led program that empowers teens to fight back against tobacco marketing and work toward a healthier, tobacco-free future for their generation. The event took place from May 14 to May 15 and brought together young advocates from across the country to call out tobacco industry deception and demand change. The two-day event began with intensive training led by national public health organizations such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and Counter Tools. These sessions covered rally planning, media engagement and current nicotine trends equipping students with the tools to make their voices heard. The conference culminated in a powerful demonstration outside the Washington, D.C. lobbyist office of Altria Group, which was holding its annual virtual shareholder meeting. Just steps from the U.S. Capitol, youth delivered a bold message: 'Don't Get Caught in Altria's Web of Lies.' 'Being there in person and seeing the effect we had on shareholders and the general public was really impactful,' Ada Burgess, a local Reality Check participant, said. 'Even negative reactions showed they noticed us and were affected by what we were saying. It's powerful to realize we can actually make a difference.' Reality Check participants and national youth leaders also made their voices heard inside the virtual shareholder meeting by using Altria stock to submit tough questions to company executives during the Q&A session. These powerful contributions challenged the company's narrative and brought youth concerns directly to the forefront. McKenna McGrath, another Reality Check advocate, said 'it was a really powerful and valuable experience.' After the demonstration, the group gathered with peers and mentors to reflect on the day's actions, share insights, and plan how to bring the momentum back to their local communities. Alice Elizabeth Ladue, Reality Check Coordinator for Clinton Franklin Essex, praised the students. 'These young people are fierce, informed, and fearless,' Ladue said. 'They're taking on one of the most powerful industries in the world and they're already making a real impact.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Cancer probe at KC-area elementary school expands to former students, staff
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. After six teachers at one Liberty elementary school were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past five years, advocates desperate for answers are making a plea for more information. They want to know if former students or past teachers at Warren Hills Elementary have been diagnosed with cancer or other illnesses since leaving the school, which has a 120 foot cell phone tower located 130 feet from the building. The goal, advocates say, is to understand the scope of what they may be dealing with and ultimately see what, if anything, is making people sick. 'It's important to know if former students, staff or teachers at Warren Hill Elementary have cancer or other illnesses related to the wireless radiation because often there is a long latency in cancer awareness or cancer diagnosis,' said Ellie Marks, founder of the California Brain Tumor Association, who has been working alongside Liberty parents and has spoken to the school board and superintendent about the dangers of cell towers. 'There's a long latency period between the time of exposure and the actual diagnosis,' Marks said. 'Students, staff or teachers could have been in the school and diagnosed 10 or even 20 or 30 years later with cancer.' The search for information is the latest development at Warren Hills Elementary, where teachers have been concerned for years about a potential health risk at the Liberty school. The cell tower's close proximity has caused the most consternation, not just by local residents, but also by national experts. Questions have also centered around other potential environmental concerns, from water to soil and air quality. On top of the six breast cancer diagnoses since 2020, plus another one in 2013, there have been at least three other cases of various cancers in staff at the school, according to anecdotal information provided to Clay County health officials. After several reports in The Star about the diagnoses, parent Tiffany Schrader, a nurse, has heard from many who are worried whether the school is safe for children and those who work there, some of whom have offered their help with awareness efforts. 'We just need to find out what's causing it, if anything is,' Schrader said. 'Just do the research to try to help figure out what is going on. That's all we're asking to do. That's all the teachers have asked since day one.' The push for answers and scrutiny at Warren Hills has gained traction in recent days. U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, a congressman who represents northern Missouri, including Liberty, asked the Department of Health and Human Services for help investigating the cancer cases. And he alluded to students being diagnosed as well. In a letter earlier this month to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Graves asked for the leader's assistance in 'uncovering the root causes in the concerning number of cancer diagnoses amongst staff and students at Warren Hills Elementary School.' A spokesperson for Graves said in an email to The Star last week that HHS received the request and asked for more information. Several people — from health and school officials to parents and teachers — have heard anecdotes about former students getting cancer after leaving Warren Hills, but say there's nothing concrete at this point. In early February, staff at Warren Hills sent an unsigned letter to Superintendent Jeremy Tucker asking for more information and a meeting. Staff said they had 'not felt heard, supported, or have seen the need of urgency to protect our Warren Hills family.' And they told Tucker that they knew of numerous diagnoses of a variety of cancers in people at the school. 'We have not only had breast cancer diagnoses, but throat, cervical, brain, ovarian, and brain tumors,' staff said in a letter The Star received in a Sunshine Law request. 'Not all staff, but students as well. Six cases in the last two and a half years. One leading to the loss of our friend and teacher.' Dallas Ackerman, a spokesperson with Liberty Public Schools, said the district doesn't have access to 'detailed data regarding students diagnosed with cancer.' 'But (district officials) do believe there have been a few over the course of the past two decades,' Ackerman said in an email. 'It's important to bear in mind that Warren Hills has an approximate annual student enrollment between 600-700 students, meaning that several thousand students would have attended the school over this period of time.' Now, advocates hoping to learn more about the situation at Warren Hills, and whether something at the school is making individuals sick, want people to reach out. Marks and Schrader are asking for former students and teachers or staff who have been diagnosed with cancer or other illnesses since leaving the school to email cabraintumor@ 'We're trying to get a bigger picture of those that have moved on, or those that used to go to school here,' said Schrader. 'Do they have complications now that they're older and they didn't realize that maybe they were predisposed to something at a young age?' Teachers began asking questions in the fall of 2022, leading the district to ask the Clay County Public Health Center to initiate a study, which ultimately determined that breast cancer diagnoses at the school were in line with county and state figures. In the fall, a beloved teacher died of cancer and soon after, another teacher was diagnosed with breast cancer. That brought the number of breast cancer diagnoses at Warren Hills to six since 2020 and seven since 2013. It was a breaking point for many. Since then, the cry for additional testing and a review of the cancer cluster has only gotten louder. That review is now happening. On June 25, the Missouri Cancer Inquiry Committee will meet to formally review data provided to the members from Clay County health officials to determine if there is a cancer cluster at the Liberty school. The goal is to determine next steps. Lisa Cox, a spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the purpose of the June meeting is to 'recommend initiating or not initiating a cancer inquiry (investigation).' 'DHSS staff will share their analysis of cancer incidence data and review of the environmental studies that the school district has already completed at Warren Hills,' Cox said. After meeting with school district officials as well as health leaders from the state on multiple occasions, the Clay County Public Health Center (CCPHC) requested the review earlier this month. 'To date, the school has received information on a total of 7 breast cancer cases, 1 cervical, 1 brain and 1 throat cancer among their staff,' wrote Ashley Wegner, deputy director of the CCPHC, in her letter to the cancer inquiry committee. 'There are also potentially concerns about student populations as of 2025.' Wegner also wrote to Warren Hills parents, staff and teachers about the requested inquiry. She told them that Clay County health officials will be 'partnering closely with the school district to follow through on procedures if the Missouri Cancer Inquiry Committee approves and initiates the inquiry process.' 'It's important to note that the CI (Cluster Inquiry) process focuses on determining if the number of cancer cases in a defined location meet a statistically abnormal level to support the need for further investigation,' Wegner wrote. 'If a true cluster is identified, CI staff will assist in the implementation of epidemiological studies, notify agencies responsible for remediation of existing environmental hazards and educate the community regarding the risk and response of state government and other concerned agencies regarding cancer locally.' Wegner told The Star that the public health center provided information to the state that the school had received regarding the diagnoses of teachers and staff. She explained in the letter that 'one of the environmental concerns raised by school staff has been related to the on-site cell tower.' And she told the committee that the school district 'investigated' the tower in 2022-2023 and has conducted 'multiple environmental and facility assessments' to explore other possible risk factors. 'We've also included that there have been parents that have come back and reported, 'Hey, my kiddo went here and they've developed other types of cancer that are not related to breast cancer,'' Wegner said. 'And so we have submitted all that to the state. 'We haven't been able to put a number to that because there is an entirely separate side of student health that is completely outside of the same arena that employee health would operate in. So we wanted to open it up and see what sort of questions might come about from that.' At this time, though, Cox said the state is not looking at former students. Wegner said it was her understanding that on June 25, the committee will 'either make a determination to open an inquiry or not or they will say, 'We're going to table this because we want more information.'' After The Star reported earlier this month that six parents at Warren Hills who were worried about health risks had been denied transfers for next year, additional people reached out to Schrader and others with growing concerns. One is a mom whose son went to Warren Hills for several years and was often sick at the school. Schrader has communicated with the mom. She said her son 'had all kinds of health concerns' while at Warren Hills, from being sick often, to having trouble focusing and experiencing headaches. When the family was gone on an extended trip, and away from the school, the boy didn't have any of those symptoms, the mom said. 'But then as soon as he went back to the school, it started again,' Schrader said. 'Within a week to two weeks, he was back at the nurse's office and he was sick again and they couldn't figure out why.' After moving on from Warren Hills after 5th grade, the student has been good. 'He has none of the same symptoms or none of the same problems he had,' Schrader said. 'It's literally ever since he's left the school or like moved on to middle school, since starting sixth grade, that he has not had any of the same problems that he had before.' After 17 years of studying cell towers, Marks said there are illnesses associated with wireless radiation with symptoms including headaches, vertigo, heart palpitations and drowsiness. Theodora Scarato, director of the Wireless and EMF Program at Environmental Health Sciences, a non-profit scientific organization, has studied the dangers of cell towers and radiation for more than a decade. 'When you actually look at the published research, safety is not assured,' Scarato said. 'And to me, it just makes sense to have safeguards, especially when you have literally hundreds of scientists calling for more protection. Schools should be safe learning environments.' School districts and city officials in pockets of the nation, in states like California, Maryland, Oregon and Virginia, have banned towers near schools or placed other restrictions. Some countries, she said, have also banned cell towers near schools and have other protections in place. Information on that, as well as other details on towers, can be found on the Environmental Health Sciences website. 'Whereas, in the United States, school children lack any special federal protections or safeguards,' she said. 'And we have limits that haven't been properly reviewed since 1996.' Specific Absorption Rate limits set by the Federal Communications Commission nearly 30 years ago are outdated and need to be revised, experts say. These limits from 1996 account for 30-minute exposures. But children and teachers can be at schools for 35 hours a week, if not more, Marks said. Which is why she's urged the school board and superintendent to do something about the tower outside Warren Hills. 'I feel that the cell tower is endangering people in the school,' Marks said. 'However, there could be other contributing factors, and we need to get to the bottom of it.'
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
JFK hearing revives cover-up talk; Geraldo, Ross Coulthart respond
(NewsNation) — A House panel hearing last week featured testimony calling into question the official explanation that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Geraldo Rivera and Ross Coulthart, two journalists who appear regularly on NewsNation, offer their take on whether there is cause for concern or whether skeptics are going down the same dead end. Wednesday's hearing of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets was the second devoted to the opaqueness surrounding Kennedy's death. Declassified: The JFK Assassination At the meeting, witnesses to the assassination or its immediate aftermath expressed doubts about the Warren Commission's conclusion, and lawmakers heard allegations about tainted medical files, fake X-rays and lost bullet fragments. Media veteran Rivera, a NewsNation correspondent-at-large, said it's simple enough for him: Oswald, an ex-Marine sharpshooter with an ax to grind, acted alone. 'Lee Harvey Oswald was a low-down, dirty communist,' he said. 'The only thing in his life he ever did well was the assassination. He was a marksman. He was a sharpshooter.' Rivera insists that if there were a viable alternative explanation, it would have surfaced long ago. 'If it had been something other than the Warren Commission finding — that Lee Harvey Oswald and Lee Harvey Oswald alone killed John Kennedy — we would know it by now,' he said. 'I am unconvinced by all this recent testimony. And it always seems to me that the congresspeople involved are always the most eager to get on TV, and they make news by outrageous or outlandish or unprovable claims.' Witnesses accuse CIA of obstructing JFK investigations Coulthart, host of the 'Reality Check' podcast, said the case is worth re-examining. He said he was intrigued by last week's testimony, including remarks from a surgeon at Parkland Memorial Hospital who received the mortally wounded Kennedy. Coulthart noted the physician said the president's wounds appeared as if they came from the front of Kennedy, not from behind, where Oswald was believed to be in the Texas Book Depository. 'I just think the media is locked into a cycle of denial, that it's such an incomprehensible thing to contemplate the possibility that a president was killed in a coup d'état in 1963, and that's what we're talking about,' Coulthart told 'NewsNation Prime' on Saturday. Coulthart said the CIA may still be withholding certain files in the Kennedy assassination. Earlier this year, the Trump administration ordered the release of thousands of documents on Kennedy's death, but many observers said there was little new information included and no smoking gun that would solidify a different premise. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Tornado hits Kansas town days after staffing cut at weather service office
Reality Check is a Star series holding those with power to account and shining a light on their decisions. Have a suggestion for a future story? Email our journalists at RealityCheck@ Have the latest Reality Checks delivered to your inbox with our free newsletter. A tornado swept through Grinnell, Kansas, Sunday evening, causing widespread damage just over a week after the National Weather Service announced it was cutting around-the-clock staffing at its Goodland office in the northwestern part of the state. The cuts at the Goodland office came as President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency continue their efforts to shrink the government, according to The Washington Post. Nationally, the weather service had more than 4,200 employees before Trump took office, but since then nearly 600 people have left amid staffing reductions and early retirements, a union official representing the weather service staff told The Washington Post. The cuts have left weather forecasting offices nationwide without enough meteorologists to staff overnight shifts that run from midnight to 7 a.m., with neighboring offices taking over the duties to monitor the weather and issue forecasts and warnings, The Washington Post reported. The Goodland office continues to issue weather warnings and provide weather support for local emergency managers, according to the Hays Post. On Sunday, severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings were issued before the tornadoes swept through Grinnell shortly before 7 p.m. , and weather service staff interacted with people on social media. 'Our severe/tornado threat has ended for the day (Sunday),' the weather service in Goodland said on X shortly after midnight. Managers at the Goodland weather service office were not immediately available for comment Monday Tornadoes that occur at night are nearly twice as likely to be deadly as those during the day, according to a recent study. The study, led by Stephen Strader from Villanova University, examined 140 years of tornado records and found that the proportion of all tornado fatalities that occurred during daytime hours decreased 20%, while the nocturnal fatality proportion increased 20% during that time period. The weather service said people are less likely to receive warnings overnight because they are asleep. Tornadoes are also more difficult to spot in the dark. The Lexington Herald-Leader, which is owned by The Star's parent company McClatchy Media, reported Sunday that the weather service's office in Jackson, Kentucky, is also among the eight forecasting offices that no longer have overnight staff. On Friday night, deadly tornadoes tore through southeast Kentucky. The Hearald-Leader reported that the Jackson was staffed overnight when the strong winds and tornadoes swept through Laurel and Pulaski counties. Other forecasting offices that either ceased or are expected to stop 24-hour staffing include Sacramento, California, Hanford, California, Cheyenne, Wyoming, Marquette Michigan, Pendleton, Oregon and Fairbanks, Alaska. The Star's PJ Green contributed reporting.
