Latest news with #Weintraub
Fox News
12-08-2025
- Health
- Fox News
Study reveals why ‘super agers' maintain ‘outstanding memory' into their 80s
Many assume that memory loss and cognitive decline are an inevitable part of aging — but new research suggests that doesn't have to be the case. A 25-year study from Northwestern University analyzed the brains of "super agers" to determine what traits they share that may contribute to their mental resilience. "Super agers" are defined as people 80 and older who show "outstanding memory performance" that is on par with those who are three decades younger, according to the researchers. "'Super ager' is not a condition, but rather a term we defined at Northwestern on the basis of a score on a memory test over age 80," lead author Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and neurology at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital. "We were interested in memory aging because memory decline is the most common complaint in older adults. One can be 'super' in many ways, and this is just one." In the study, the researchers analyzed 79 brains that were donated by super agers and identified some key differences compared to those who "age typically." Some of the brains contained amyloid and tau proteins, which typically accumulate in people with Alzheimer's disease, while other brains showed no sign of these toxins. "Some super agers have very few of these proteins, so for some reason they don't manufacture them," Weintraub noted. "But we found some super agers' brains contained large numbers of these proteins, despite maintaining their cognitive health until death." This means there may be different biological pathways to super aging — "one resistance and the other resilience," she said. "If your relative is forgetful at age 80, it may not be part of aging, but of disease." With the resistance group, they don't make the plaques and tangles, Weintraub said. In the resilience group, they make them, but they don't have any impact on their brains. While "typically aging" brains show thinning of the cortex — which is the outer layer of the brain that helps with decision-making, motivation and regulation of emotions — the super agers' brains did not show this characteristic. Super agers were also found to have a greater number of "von economo neurons," which are brain cells that control social behavior. The researchers also found that this group had larger "entorhinal neurons," which are essential for powering memory, the release stated. In terms of behavior, the super agers were also found to be "highly social" with strong interpersonal relationships, according to the study findings. "There is the common assumption that aging implicitly brings cognitive decline and that loss of short-term memory is part of 'normal aging,'" lead author Sandra Weintraub, professor of psychiatry and neurology at Northwestern Medicine, told Fox News Digital. "The truth is that on average, cognitive test scores decline, but the variance among individuals within that average span gets larger and larger with age," she continued. "That means that loss is not inevitable, and that if your relative is forgetful at age 80, it may not be part of aging, but of disease." Christopher Weber, Ph.D., senior director of global science initiatives at the Alzheimer's Association in Chicago, was not involved in the study but commented on the "exciting" findings. "This increases our understanding of people's brains as they age and gives some insight into what makes some resilient or resistant to age-related brain changes," Weber told Fox News Digital. The study shows that super agers have "more preserved brain structure" that is similar to much younger adults, according to Weber. "The findings suggest that cognitive decline is not an inevitable part of aging — especially for individuals who have more protective factors that preserve brain health and cognition," he said. Weber pointed out, however, that the "super aging" study population is small and not representative of the real-world population. "They are primarily well-educated and White," he said. "Also, this group was self-selected into the study. These individuals may be more health-conscious or cognitively engaged than average older adults." Even so, the findings could help scientists create more — and better — strategies for treating and preventing cognitive decline, according to Weber. "The more we know about successful aging, the more opportunities we have to discover and create interventions to enhance resistance and resilience." To help reduce the risk factors that affect brain health, Weintraub said, "What is good for your heart is good for your brain." "What is good for your heart is good for your brain." "We know that adopting certain lifestyle changes will reduce the risk of a bad outcome, but are not guaranteed to eradicate it," she told Fox News Digital. "Having said that, eat well, sleep well, exercise, socialize and value social relationships, treat whatever condition you have that you can treat, and stay away from harmful substances." For more health articles, visit The study was supported by the Northwestern Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health. The findings were published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Stories Don't Have to Be About Disability' to Feature Actors with a Disability: A Call for Change
'Over 70 million Americans and 1.3 billion globally have disabilities,' Nancy Weintraub said at the 'Reimagining Hollywood: A New Lens on Disability,' panel at the American Pavilion during the Cannes Film Festival. Weintraub is the Chief Advancement Officer at Easterseals Southern California. For over a century has been the leading disability support and advocacy organization in the U.S. Easterseals works heavily to increase opportunities for disabled performers in the film and TV industry, and Weintraub was joined by actor, writer, producer, and founder of the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, Nic Novicki, for a lively conversation about the state of disability inclusion in entertainment — and the importance of authentic representation. More from IndieWire 'In Your Dreams' Teaser: The Search for the Sandman Powers Netflix's New Animated Sibling Fantasy Sam Rockwell Says 'Sinners' Success Is 'Encouraging' for Hollywood: 'It's a Big Swing' 'One in four of the population has a disability, yet we're in less than 3 percent of film and TV shows,' Novicki, who's appeared in 'The Sopranos' and 'Boardwalk Empire,' said. The time is right for inclusive change. So Novicki founded the Easterseals Disability Film Challenge, 'an annual film competition where you make a one-to-five-minute film that has somebody with a disability involved in front of or behind the camera. The films don't have to be about disability, it's just about including people with disabilities.' The Challenge winners then receive coveted access to already established entertainment industry professionals as a prize. Earlier in the year at Sundance, Easterseals launched a new report on the subject of representing disability onscreen that Weintraub explained looks 'at how far we've come with disability inclusion, but also recognizes there are more opportunities to grow together. Over 50 talented individuals with disabilities helped curate it. We held a national survey in October of 800 adults with disabilities.' Novicki, who has been in over 40 television shows and films, revealed that the Film Challenge had resulted in 135 films being created this year from around the world. Easterseals' report from earlier this year featured an important point from Novicki: 'A lot of times, accessibility does not requiremore money, it requires more planning — strategically planning ahead and integrating accessibility from the very beginning.' Money need not be a barrier. Both Weintraub and Novicki love celebrating successes alongside their ongoing work to increase inclusion. 'There have been some amazing success stories recently,' Novicki said. ''Wicked'! Marissa Bode is a wheelchair user. The future is bright. 'Coda,' winning the Oscars, an all-deaf cast.' 'The buying power, the disposable income of the disability community in the United States is $490 billion, and that translates to over $1.3 trillion globally,' Weintraub said. 'Not only do we have a critical mass of people who want to see themselves represented, but they're a large part of the market. Authentic disability representation has financial incentives.' The report showed the audience wants more representation, and wants networks and studios to fix the lack of representation. 'I wondered why more people with disabilities weren't creating their own content. I wanted to play a gangster. So, I started shooting it myself,' Novicki said. 'I started creating my own opportunities. I created the Disability Film Challenge and it started small. We had 5 films that first year. I partnered with Easterseals in 2017. Now we have had 850 films created from around the world over the last 12 years. These become working databases. The Casting Society of America shares these films. With the challenge, it's not talking about the problem of the lack of representation, it's about being part of the solution.' 'Amazon MGM Studios is a partner of the challenge,' Novicki said. 'They reached out to us looking for an actor on the autism spectrum. We were able to send dozens of talented actors from the challenge. Nic Sanchez ended up booking a role in that film, which was 'The Accountant' sequel, and worked with Ben Affleck. It's a challenging landscape, but I'm optimistic because it's a global population of people with disabilities that hasn't been tapped into.' 'Stories don't have to be about disability,' Weintraub noted. 'A lot of the stories that come out of the challenge are seeing people with disabilities being moms, dads, lawyers, doctors, gangsters, bad guys, and being in romantic relationships too. The studios can see them in roles outside of roles that are just about their disability.' 'People with disabilities have largely not been given the same amount of auditions and opportunities,' Novicki said. Weintraub added, 'There are a lot of background crowd shots in movies. Always consider putting people with disabilities in those. Again, it's one in four, so they should be represented everywhere as well.' 'When you talk about one in four of the population,' Novicki continued, 'You're also talking about your neighbor, your son, your father, your uncle. Everybody has their own connection to disability. It's just about how do you meet them? That happens here (at Cannes). This is the largest film market in the world.' 'The disability community wants to see themselves represented. There's so much pride in our community,' Novicki said. 'I'm proud to have a disability, to be a little person, to be a part of this community. With 1.7 billion, there's a lot more room for awareness. There are a lot of success stories. We have a lot of our own within the challenge, but there's still room to grow.' Watch the video above to find out how to submit films to the Disability Film Challenge, and learn more about Easterseals' disability inclusion work. Best of IndieWire Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Movies: 56 Films the Director Wants You to See 'Song of the South': 14 Things to Know About Disney's Most Controversial Movie Nicolas Winding Refn's Favorite Films: 37 Movies the Director Wants You to See
San Francisco Chronicle
12-06-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
Feds detain two Palestinian visitors at SFO who arrived for humanitarian mission
Two Palestinian visitors expected to participate in a Bay Area interfaith speaking series were detained at the San Francisco International Airport Wednesday, despite having valid visitor visas, and are being denied entry into the U.S., advocates told the Chronicle. San Francisco Supervisor Bilal Mahmood told the Chronicle early Thursday morning that there was an 'urgent situation unfolding' at the airport after police detained the two men, who were scheduled to speak at a series of Bay Area interfaith events. Protesters were already expected to swarm SFO to support the two men, whose identities are being withheld to protect their safety. The two men, residents of a Bedouin village on the West Bank, were invited by local faith communities, including the Kehilla Community Synagogue and the Buena Vista and Los Altos United Methodist Churches, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. One of the men is an artist and photographer. The other is a teacher. Both are parents. Phillip Weintraub, a lead organizer of the Kehilla Community Synagogue's partnership with the men's village, said both men were not connected to any Palestinian political organizations and were committed to nonviolence. One had met previously with congressional representatives, including the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Weintraub said. The two activists had speaking engagements in Alameda, Santa Clara, Oakland and other Bay Area cities. 'They had valid visas but were invalidated on entry without cause,' Mahmood said in a text. 'I am here with their Jewish sponsors, whose synagogue they were here to speak at tomorrow.' Mahmood said in a social media post that the two activists have been held at the airport since 1 p.m. Wednesday and were prepared to send them back on a plane to the Middle East. Bay Area faith leaders demanded that the two men be released immediately and for the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to 'stop targeting Palestinian travelers' and uphold the right to free speech and 'peaceful interfaith exchange.' Weintraub said his community has had a relationship with the men for three years as part of an interfaith 'reparative alliance' envisioned as connecting American Jews, Israelis and Palestianians to promote non-violence in Israel and Palestine. 'They're known, wonderful folks,' Weintraub said. 'Coming over to connect, promote interfaith connection between Christian, Jewish and Muslim communities. They're trying to survive and live in peace.' Weintraub said he arrived at the airport after 1 p.m. yesterday to pick them up for a flight from Doha, but they never showed up. He received a call from a Customs and Border Protection agent that night saying, 'they will not be entering the United States,' he said. This is a developing story. Check for updates.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tester, Weintraub join Democratic organization to counter corruption
Former Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont) and ex-Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chair Ellen Weintraub are officially joining the Democratic nonprofit group End Citizens United on Tuesday to help fight corruption and get big money out of politics, The Hill has learned. Both Tester and Weintraub will work at End Citizens United, a group that advocates for campaign finance reform, as senior fellows. The pair will be doing press interviews, writing op-eds, helping advise on legislation and participating in town halls and other public events across the country. 'We know that they're both going to use their unique set of experiences to help educate Americans on the unprecedented levels of corruption that we're seeing today, each of them brings a little bit different experience,' End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller said in an interview with The Hill. Tester, a three-term senator who lost his reelection bid to businessman and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy (R) in November, formally joined MSNBC in May as a political analyst. Last week, the former senator also joined Unite the Country, a Democrat-aligned super PAC, where he will work as a senior adviser. The outside group spent nearly $3.6 million in supporting Democratic presidential nominees, initially former President Biden and later ex-Vice President Kamala Harris, during the 2024 election cycle, according to FEC records. 'If we want a government that listens to working people — not just billionaires and corporate CEOs — we have to crack down on corruption and the role of big money in our elections. I've seen firsthand just how corrupting Citizens United has been on our government,' Tester said in a statement. 'Too many politicians are focused on raising money and keeping their biggest donors happy instead of addressing the struggles of regular folks.' In early 2010, the Supreme Court struck down the independent expenditure blockade for unions and corporations. The amount of money in politics has exploded since, especially as other court rulings have also eased campaign finance regulations. The spending by super PACs to influence elections has been on the upward trajectory, along with expenditures from so-called dark money groups, commonly nonprofits that are not obligated to disclose their donors. Dark money groups, including nonprofits and shell corporations, spent more than $1.9 billion during the 2024 election cycle, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice that was published in early May. Weintraub, who was terminated by President Trump from the FEC in early February, said she will 'fight' for reforms that restore the 'laws and institutions designed to protect our democracy from corruption.' Weintraub was initially appointed to serve on the FEC's six-person commission by former President George W. Bush in 2002. Her term expired after five years, but no successor was appointed, which permitted her to continue being the 'acting' commissioner. She was the chair of the independent agency four times during her 23-year stint. 'I spent more than 20 years at the FEC fighting to enforce campaign finance laws and to protect our elections from corruption,' Weintraub stated. 'Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United unleashed unlimited money into our elections, supercharging the influence of billionaire donors.' The fellows have already done a handful of events around the country where they advocated for campaign-finance reforms. Tester and Muller held a roundtable discussion with Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo) in Aurora, Colo., on May 28, focusing on dark money. Later that day, Tester held a town hall with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The event, at times, was disrupted by demonstrators protesting Israel's war in Gaza. Weintraub participated in a town hall with Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) on May 17. 'I think that this is all about building as many platforms as possible to get the messaging out about the corruption and chaos being caused by the Trump administration, the very real cost it is having on Americans' day-to-day lives, and how we all have to join together to fight back against it,' Muller said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
03-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Tester, Weintraub join Democratic organization to counter corruption
Former Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont) and ex-Federal Election Commission (FEC) Chair Ellen Weintraub are officially joining the Democratic nonprofit group End Citizens United on Tuesday to help fight corruption and get big money out of politics, The Hill has learned. Both Tester and Weintraub will work at End Citizens United, a group that advocates for campaign finance reform, as senior fellows. The pair will be doing press interviews, writing op-eds, helping advise on legislation and participating in town halls and other public events across the country. 'We know that they're both going to use their unique set of experiences to help educate Americans on the unprecedented levels of corruption that we're seeing today, each of them brings a little bit different experience,' End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller said in an interview with The Hill. Tester, a three-term senator who lost his reelection bid to businessman and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy (R) in November, formally joined MSNBC in May as a political analyst. Last week, the former senator also joined Unite the Country, a Democrat-aligned super PAC, where he will work as a senior adviser. The outside group spent nearly $3.6 million in supporting Democratic presidential nominees, initially former President Biden and later ex-Vice President Kamala Harris, during the 2024 election cycle, according to FEC records. 'If we want a government that listens to working people — not just billionaires and corporate CEOs — we have to crack down on corruption and the role of big money in our elections. I've seen firsthand just how corrupting Citizens United has been on our government,' Tester said in a statement. 'Too many politicians are focused on raising money and keeping their biggest donors happy instead of addressing the struggles of regular folks.' In early 2010, the Supreme Court struck down the independent expenditure blockade for unions and corporations. The amount of money in politics has exploded since, especially as other court rulings have also eased campaign finance regulations. The spending by super PACs to influence elections has been on the upward trajectory, along with expenditures from so-called dark money groups, commonly nonprofits that are not obligated to disclose their donors. Dark money groups, including nonprofits and shell corporations, spent more than $1.9 billion during the 2024 election cycle, according to an analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice that was published in early May. Weintraub, who was terminated by President Trump from the FEC in early February, said she will 'fight' for reforms that restore the 'laws and institutions designed to protect our democracy from corruption.' Weintraub was initially appointed to serve on the FEC's six-person commission by former President George W. Bush in 2002. Her term expired after five years, but no successor was appointed, which permitted her to continue being the 'acting' commissioner. She was the chair of the independent agency four times during her 23-year stint. 'I spent more than 20 years at the FEC fighting to enforce campaign finance laws and to protect our elections from corruption,' Weintraub stated. 'Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United unleashed unlimited money into our elections, supercharging the influence of billionaire donors.' The fellows have already done a handful of events around the country where they advocated for campaign-finance reforms. Tester and Muller held a roundtable discussion with Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo) in Aurora, Colo., on May 28, focusing on dark money. Later that day, Tester held a town hall with Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.). The event, at times, was disrupted by demonstrators protesting Israel's war in Gaza. Weintraub participated in a town hall with Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) on May 17. 'I think that this is all about building as many platforms as possible to get the messaging out about the corruption and chaos being caused by the Trump administration, the very real cost it is having on Americans' day-to-day lives, and how we all have to join together to fight back against it,' Muller said.
