Daily Archives: August 27, 2022

While Royal Caribbean has been quiet about what Icon of the Seas will look like when completed, we have our own construction photos to share of the progress.

Icon of the Seas is the next new cruise ship Royal Caribbean is building, and it's a brand new class of cruise ship. This means we don't yet know any details about the features or activities offered onboard, or even what the ship design looks like.

Royal Caribbean has been keeping the entire project as secretive as possible up to now in order to maintain a competitive edge, as well as to likely drum up intrigue among cruise fans eager to know more.

While we wait for an official update from Royal Caribbean, RoyalCaribbeanBlog comissioned its own aerial drone photos to share what we can see so far from the shipyard.

Since these are exclusive photos, please do not share these photos on social media.

Construction of Icon of the Seas began in June 2021with a steel cutting ceremony at the Meyer Turku shipyard in Finland.

Icon of the Seas is being built behind the new Carnival Celebration cruise ship.

These photos were taken earlier this week, and you can see the bottom half of the hull is mostly there, with just the bow missing.

Icon already has a baby blue hull color to it, which has been a design change Royal Caribbean has been steadily making with its newer ships. Instead of a plain white hull color, new ships are debuting with a light blue hue to it.

In a slightly elevated aerial view, we can see there are at least three open air sections visible.

Read more:3 hints what Icon of the Seas could look like

The Oasis Class ships first introduced the idea of open parts of the ship for the Boardwalk and Central Park neighborhoods.

Whether Icon has its own Boardwalk and Central Park, or Royal Caribbean is developing a new concept, remains unknown.

A view of the rear of the ship shows an opening at the end of Icon that could be theater of some kind at the very bottom.

We also have a better look at one of the open air sections, which certainly mirrors the Boardwalk general layout.

The ship's name is not yet painted onto the back of the hull.

It also appears the shipyard is working on what is likely a feature for the front of Icon of the Seas.

While we don't yet know what this is, the overall design reminds me of the glass enclosure that sits atop of the Solarium on the front of other Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

The Solarium glass for Wonder of the Seas seems to have a similar look to it.

Much of the middle of the ship will be the future home for stateroom balconies.

You'll notice most of the cabins are still wrapped up. Cruise ship cabins are assembled elsewhere and then inserted into the ship later as a more efficient construction method.

Some of the balconies towards the rear of the ship are unwrapped, which provide a glimpse of what to expect elsewhere.

Icon of the Seas is scheduled to start sailing inlate 2023.

It's not quite clear yet when exactly Royal Caribbean intends to reveal the look of the ship, but earlier this summer, Royal Caribbean International President and CEO Michael Bayley hinted at September 2022.

One other key detail about Icon of the Seas is it could be bigger than the Oasis Class ships.

Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations, Sean Treacy, said in May 2022 that Icon of the Seas will be larger than the Oasis class cruise ships.

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Aerial photos show Icon of the Seas cruise ship construction progress - Royal Caribbean Blog

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.(KRQE) The latest report from the outside group tasked with reviewing the Albuquerque Police Departments use of force investigations shows the department is making progress towards acting within police policy. The group, known as the External Force Investigation Team (EFIT) calls APDs progress a marked improvement.

Run by an outside team of contractors from Florida, EFIT came to existence in February 2021. The team was designed as a breakout accountability mechanism within the citys now nearly eight-year-old settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

In court, APD has faced continued criticism over the process, speed, and quality of use of force investigations. According to court filings, EFIT was designed to to assist APD in conducting investigations of Level 2 and Level 3 uses of force by APD officers, while also assisting APD with improving the quality of its own Internal Affairs (IA) force investigations.

Level 2 use of force is described as force that causes injury, could reasonably be expected to cause injury, or results in a complaint of injury. Level 3 is defined as force that results in, or could reasonably result in, serious physical injury, hospitalization, or death. APD defines all uses of force in an operating procedures document.

Per Albuquerque Police Department (APD) policy currently under review, police officers are required to use the minimum amount of force that is reasonable, necessary, and proportional based on the totality of the circumstances. And after each use of force, such as a firearm discharge, the department is supposed to document and review the incident.

In the past, APD has been criticized for having an extensive backlog of over 600 use of force cases that had piled up over the years and deficiencies in its investigative process. The department said a lack of manpower was at the heart of the problem.

Now in its second year of work with the city, EFIT has churned out four reports since November 2021. Their latest fourth quarterly report covers a timeframe from April 22, 2022, to August 5, 2022.

The new report suggests that APDs use of force investigations are improving in terms of following the rules. As of the previous report, from last quarter, 44.45% of the investigations reviewed by EFIT were found to be out of compliance with whats called a process narrative. A process narrative is essentially a roadmap for how investigators are expected to conduct their job or conduct an investigation.

The newest report shows there were fewer out of compliance investigations as of the fourth quarter report. The report states that roughly 1/3 of the investigations, or 33.51% of investigations reviewed by the EFIT, were found to be out of compliance when evaluated against the process narrative.

While this is still an obvious concern for [APDs Internal Affairs Force Division] EFIT, we are very encouraged by the approximately 11-point reduction, the report states.

Between July 16, 2021 and August 5, 2022, EFIT and IAFD responded to and/or opened investigations on 502 use of force incidents, including 15 officer involved shootings. The investigative teams also made three referrals to the Multi-Agency Task Force (MATF, which is made up of multiple law enforcement agencies and prosecutors) for potential criminal violations by APD staff. The report does not state the conclusions of those investigations.

Of the 502 investigations mentioned, EFIT/IAFD have completed 361 investigation within the 90-day time period outlined in the Department of Justice settlement agreement.

EFIT is pleased to report that it witnessed a marked improvement in the workings of IAFD, the latest report says. While there remains a great deal of work to be done, the tone and tenor within IAFD has improved substantially. The report notes that this improvement has come about since APD has assigned Commander Scott Norris to head the IAFD Department.

On top of that, 11 new APD internal affairs force investigation staff members could be joining the ranks soon. If the progress continues, the APDs internal team could take over without the supervision of EFIT, the report notes. In the long run, that could save the city money.

Shaun Willoughby, the president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association previously noted that paying for a non-APD, external team is expensive. In February, Willoughby told KRQE News 13, These investigators, they are not cheap, so this is another attribute of millions of dollars being spent by taxpayers of this community because of this of reaching consent decree that has been going on for the last 8 years.

While progress is being made, it will still be some time before the city can stop paying the external team. Earlier this year, the City Council extended EFITs contract through May 2024. EFITs next report is expected in mid-November 2022.

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Report: Albuquerque Police show progress in investigating uses of force - KRQE News 13

Equine hepacivirus (EqHV) is common liver virus that can cause fatal chronic hepatitis in horses. The virus causes disease that mimics that caused by the closely related hepatitis C virus (HCV) in humans.

Because its unclear to what extent equine hepacivirus causes disease in horses, and some horses do not show obvious clinical signs, owners are often unaware their horses are infected until the liver has already been severely damaged, explained Janet Daly, BSc (Hons), PhD, of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at the University of Nottingham, in the U.K. Daly was part of a research team working on a hepacivirus vaccine study led by Marcha Badenhorst, BSc, BVSc, MSc, PhD, of the Clinical Unit of Equine Internal Medicine at the University of Veterinary Medicine, in Vienna, Austria.

In her researchBadenhorst noted that multiple factors have impeded the development of a hepatitis C vaccine for horses. Among them are divergent virus strains, difficulty establishing a culture system, and limited experimental vaccine models.

The main challenge is that it is not easy, virtually impossible, to culture viruses that replicate in liver cells, such as EqHV and hepatitis C, in the laboratory, Daly said. This means we cannot develop traditional inactivated virus vaccines against them.

The study included six healthy Shetland ponies ages 8 to 12. Half were mares, half were geldings. Before the study began, researchers confirmed on a serum analysis that none had equine hepacivirus.

Next, four ponies received an equine hepacivirus E2 recombinant protein vaccine with an adjuvant (an ingredient used to modulate or amplify the immune response). One month later they received a booster. Two ponies, serving as controls, received only adjuvant injections.

The researchers then infected all the study ponies with equine hepacivirus. Over 26 weeks they collected blood samples and liver biopsies and observed how the vaccine changed their responses to the virus.

Although vaccination did not result in complete protective immunity against experimental EqHV inoculation, most vaccinated ponies cleared the serum EqHV RNA earlier than the control ponies, the study authors wrote. Most vaccinated ponies appeared to recover from the EqHV-associated liver insult earlier than the control ponies. The equine model shows promise as a surrogate model for future hepacivirus vaccine research.

This was a small study, and further research is needed to understand what constitutes a protective immune response to the virus, so scientists know what to aim for when developing a vaccine, Daly explained.

The type of vaccine (recombinant protein) used in this study is very safe and does not require the virus to be cultured but is known to be relatively weak at stimulating an immune response, so it would be worth exploring other vaccine strategies, she added.

An Equine Model for Vaccination against a Hepacivirus: Insights into Host Responses to E2 Recombinant Protein Vaccination and Subsequent Equine Hepacivirus Inoculation first appeared in Viruses in 2022.

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Progress Toward an Equine Hepacivirus Vaccine The Horse - TheHorse.com

In a packed College Park Center on Wednesday night, white rally towels rhythmically waving in unison, the Cinderella story for the Dallas Wings appeared to be coming to fruition.

They were hosting their first playoff game since 2009, after winning their first playoff game four days earlier on the road against the Connecticut Sun, 89-79, in Game 2 of the best-of-three first-round series.

Game 3 was a battle from the first whistle. With the game tied at halftime, the sixth-seeded Wings were 20 minutes from reaching the WNBA semifinals for the first time in franchise history.

Among the more than 5,000 fans in the building were Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, WNBA champions Natasha Cloud (Washington Mystics) and Karima Christmas-Kelly (Tulsa Shock), Baylor womens basketball coach Nicki Collen, NaLyssa Smith of the Indiana Fever and Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies.

But the fairytale ending didnt materialize. The Sun punched their ticket to their fourth straight semifinals with a 73-58 victory.

It was yet again a tale of two teams and a tale of two halves, as the Wings outperformed their opponent in one game, only to look like a different team in the next. It didnt help that Isabelle Harrison, one of the teams most consistent players went down in the first half with an ankle injury and did not return. Her rebounding and defense were missed.

And although she valiantly returned to the court for the first time since Aug. 6 after missing seven games due to abdominal surgery, Arike Ogunbowale was held scoreless in six minutes of playing time. Marina Mabrey led the Wings in scoring with 20 points and Veronica Burton chipped in 10, but no other player was in double figures on a night the Wings shot 20-of-55 from the field.

That didnt stop coach Vickie Johnson from seeing the positives and a bright future.

I am proud of this team, she said. At the end of the day we fought. We gave 110 percent of effort and energy. It just didnt go our way. We had too many turnovers, took some quick shots, and werent able to get back into transition. But I am proud of this team. Could we have played better? Of course we could have. They played hard.

There are plenty of positives to take away from a season in which the Wings moved the needle in the right direction. They avoided a losing season for the first time in seven years one year before moving from Tulsa by going 18-18. In addition, Sundays Game 2 dominating win at Connecticut was their first playoff victory since 2009, when the franchise was in Detroit.

If they want to advance in the playoffs next season, the Wings most likely need to add more players who have a defensive presence and can reboundlike Teaira McCowan, the teams leading rebounder, who in the last week of the regular season was named the leagues Player of the Week and Player of the Month. They also still need a veteran presence in the locker room and on the court.

Another area that needs to be addressed: identifying a true point guard. Those duties were split this year among Mabrey, Allisha Gray, Ty Harris, and rookie Veronica Burton.

That said, the Wings have a solid roster with some good core pieces to build around. Ogunbowale just signed a long-term extension. Gray signed an extension a year ago, and her stock rose tremendously this season as she showed skills on both ends of the court. Harris and Satou Sabally continued to make huge contributions, and veteran Kayla Thornton had the best season of her career. Burton has enormous potential, and she played so well in her first year that she started games at the end of the regular season and in the playoffs.

There will be decisions to make on three players. Harrison becomes an unrestricted free agent, while Mabrey and McCowan will be restricted free agents.

Arguably the biggest question mark involves Charli Collier, the first pick in the 2021 WNBA draft. She averaged only 4.6 minutes per game during the regular season while playing in only 17 games and never saw the floor in the playoff series. The Wings also must decide what to do with Awak Kuier, the second pick in the 2021 draft, and Jasmine Dickey, a 2022 third-round selection who also saw limited action.

After nearly knocking out the No. 3 seed, what did the Wings learn about themselves this season?

They are very good when they play together and are carrying out the offensive and defensive gameplan, Johnson said. When Arike went out, I told them to believe in themselves, play together, play with energy and effort, and thats what they did.

They really believed that they could win. I just felt like they had something to prove in a sense and they carried that type of attitude. We are still good and still can win. It was more of a focus, more of a determination to get the job done.

Wings president and CEO Greg Bibb praised the efforts of the players and believes even better days are ahead.

Its a hard place to win in the WNBA, Bibb said. Every team is very good, and the line between winning and losing is razor thin. Its about health, its about momentum, its about matchups, but you see it building and I am pleased with the progress we made. I am happy that the organization and our fans are starting to get a little bit of a return on their investment theyve made over the last couple of years.

The work the team has put in over the past few years, particularly in the draft, is starting to show, Bibb said. Its been a long road, and this rebuild was from the ground up, he added. If you pull back the covers, its not all about the draft. It takes draft, trades, development of players a lot of moving parts.

Added Johnson, Last year was important for us to get to the playoffs. This year, even though we wanted to go further, to get that first win in the playoffs and get that experience was key.

And now next year will be an opportunity to advance to the semifinals, take the next step forward as a team, offensively and defensively and continue to build our confidence, trust, sisterhood all the things that come with a winning team.

The next challenge for the Wings: take what they learned this season and go places theyve never been.

Be the first to know about Dallas' best events, contests, giveaways, and happenings each month.

Dorothy J. Gentry covers the Wings for StrongSide. A native Dallasite, she is a journalist and educator who covers the

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The Wings Made Progress. How Do They Take an Even Bigger Step in 2023? - D Magazine

KIGALI, Rwanda Women in East and Southern Africa still die during pregnancy and childbirth due to preventable causes, said Dr. Brian Chirombo, WHO Rwanda Representative, at a high-level meeting to track progress on ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths.

High-impact interventions are needed to ensure the provision of quality maternal and newborn health care, from pre-pregnancy, antenatal, labour and delivery, as well as postpartum and neonatal periods, he said.

Significant progress has been made in improving the survival and health of pregnant women and newborns in the East and Southern Africa region. For instance, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR, or number of maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) dropped by 49 per cent between 2000 and 2017. However, the MMR remains well above the global average, and the current pace of reduction is not enough to achieve the SDG targets by 2030.

About 77,000 women lose their lives in pregnancy and childbirth every year in the region, according to 2017 estimates by the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG). For a 15-year-old girl, the probability of dying in her lifetime from maternal causes is 1 in 58, compared to 1 in 11,200 in Western Europe.

While the global neonatal mortality rate was 17 deaths per 1000, in sub-Saharan Africa the rate was 27 per 1000, according to the 2021 Trends in Child Mortality report. Of the 54 countries off track to meet the SDG target of less than 12 deaths per 1000 live births, 40 countries are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The global health agenda has shifted from a focus on reducing mortality to ensuring that all women, newborns, children and adolescents not only survive, but thrive and realize their rights to the highest attainable standards of health and well-being, Dr. Chirombo said.

This paradigm shift requires greater investments in integrated initiatives, together with quality integrated reproductive, maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) interventions that focus on health promotion, disease prevention and treatment.

Tracking progress

To support the implementation of evidence-based maternal and newborn health guidelines, the East and Southern Africa UN interagency team (UNICEF/WHO/UNFPA) organized a regional meeting in Kigali, Rwanda this month.Led by the H6 Eastern and Southern Africa Coordination Team (mainly UNICEF, WHO and UNFPA), the aim of the meeting was to track the progress of Every Newborn Action Plan (ENAP) and Ending Preventable Maternal Mortality (EPMM) Frameworks.

Many countries have developed policies on RMNCAH and implemented them at every level of the health system, in alignment with the Global Strategy for Womens, Childrens and Adolescents Health 2016-2030 and setting targets towards achieving the SDGs.

The global ENAP, launched in 2014, provides a road map of strategic actions for ending preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths, and contributing to a reduction in complications during pregnancy and childbirth.

Countries shared their successful practices and challenges on universal health coverage, emergency obstetric care, midwifery and newborn health, as they work to accelerate progress on achieving the SDG targets. Opportunities were identified to scale up high-impact interventions in primary health care, from south-south cooperation to harnessing the power of innovation. This included using new digital technologies, such as portable ultrasound, e-learning and mentoring platforms, safe delivery apps and clinical decision support platforms.

Improving midwifery in East and Southern Africa

Midwives are key to reducing maternal and neonatal deaths, and improving their health and wellbeing. While the region has shown improvements in higher education for midwives and their career pathway, a shortage in the number of midwives remains. In addition, a few countries are falling behind in institutionalizing continuous professional development and re-licensing of midwives.

These critical points were discussed during a side meeting held by UNFPA on the State of the Worlds Midwifery 2021 report for East and Southern Africa, attended by representatives of ministries of health and midwifery associations, and UNFPA midwifery experts.

Country experiences were shared on developing an enabling environment and equipping midwives with the skills and knowledge they need to ensure healthy pregnancies and safe births. Action plans were developed for improving the state of midwifery in their respective countries, where UNFPA will play a key role in providing technical support to implement these plans over the next two years. The plans included increasing the number of qualified midwives equipped with the knowledge and skills they need to help reduce maternal deaths and accelerate progress on achieving the SDGs.

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Regional initiative to speed up progress on ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths in East and Southern Africa - World - ReliefWeb

Negotiations between a healthcare union and the operator of 10 nursing homes progressed this week amid threats of a strike at 24 facilities owned by three different companies across Pennsylvania.

Guardian Healthcare and the SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania labor union reached an agreement, however, details havent been released, a spokesperson for the employer said Friday. A representative for SEIU Healthcare, also on Friday, said the union has made progress with Guardian and that an announcement is expected Monday.

Union nurses and other organized staff at the 24 nursing homes voted this week to send strike notices to their employers: Guardian Healthcare, Comprehensive Healthcare Management Services and Priority Healthcare.

A strike is no longer expected at Guardian facilities, according to a Pennsylvania Department of Health spokesperson.

SEIU Healthcare represents about 1,100 workers across the sites. Their collective bargaining agreement expired in early August.

The union alleges the companies failed to provide information on agency staffing and related costs and also havent included updated regulatory staffing ratios during negotiations of a new collective bargaining agreement.

SEIU Healthcare originally said strikes will begin Sept. 2 at all three facilities. Strikes were still anticipated Friday at facilities owned by Comprehensive Healthcare and Priority Healthcare.

Comprehensive Healthcare and Mt. Lebanon Operations, the latter being unrelated to the SEIU announcement, along with five individuals were indicted this month by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and related health care fraud charges.

SEIU Healthcare seeks a $16 hourly minimum wage for dietary, housekeeping, and other ancillary staff; $20 hourly minimum for certified nursing assistants; $25 hourly minimum for licensed practical nurses. Additionally, the union also seeks step increases to retain experienced employees, employer-paid health insurance and Successorship Language in the new contract to protect terms in the event a facility is sold.

According to the unions formal strike announcement, the employers wont meaningfully bargain over the use of outside agency staff. Pay raises offered to the workers are lower than what was offered a year ago, the union said.

Workforce shortages caused in part by the COVID-19 pandemic spurred the allocation of an additional $515 million to the industry in the latest Pennsylvania budget. Minimum staffing ratios were also changed from one nursing staff employee per 20 residents to one nursing staffer per 10 residents in the day and evening and 15 residents overnight.

The state raised Medicaid reimbursement rates for nursing homes by 17.5 percent, about $35 more per resident per day beginning in 2023, according to an analysis by the Pennsylvania Health Care Association (PHCA). At least 70 percent of the daily reimbursement must be spent on direct patient care, according to SEIU Healthcare.

Additional funding includes $131 million in federal stimulus money for nursing homes plus another $26.7 million in stimulus funds for assisted living communities and personal care homes, $33 million in Medicaid Day One Incentive payments and a $20 million increase to Supplemental Security Income rates for personal care home residents, according to PHCA.

This appropriation came with bipartisan support and was celebrated by both industry and the workforce. Now, less than 60 days after the governors signature on this historic legislation, were hearing of select nursing home operators who are refusing to commit to the types of investments this funding was intended to support, Barry Ciccocioppo, communications director, Department of Health, said.

The increased payments, which go to direct resident care, and the federal funding, which can be utilized for, among other things, staff recruitment and retention, are necessary to maintain and increase quality of care for the residents. The important point is that however the money is utilized, operators must comply with staffing requirements in the forthcoming updated regulations, which are expected to go into effect in 2023, Ciccocioppo said.

The 24 facilities identified by SEIU Healthcare that face strikes are as follows:

Comprehensive Healthcare: The Grove at Irwin, Irwin; The Grove at New Castle, New Castle; The Grove at Harmony, Harmony; The Grove at Washington, Washington, Pa.

Guardian Healthcare: Beaver Valley Healthcare & Rehab, Beaver Falls; Clarion Health & Rehab, Clarion; Meyersdale Healthcare & Rehab, Meyersdale; Oil City Healthcare & Rehab, Oil City; Riverside Rehab & Nursing, Taylor; Titusville Healthcare & Rehab, Titusville; Uniontown Healthcare & Rehab, Uniontown; Guardian Elder Care at Nanticoke, Nanticoke; Richland Healthcare & Rehab, Johnstown; Belair Healthcare & Rehab, Burrell.

Priority Healthcare: The Meadows at Blue Ridge, Camp Hill; The Meadows at West Shore, Camp Hill; The Gardens at Easton/Praxis, Easton; Rose City Nursing & Rehab, Lancaster; The Meadows at York Terrace, Pottsville; Fairlane Gardens Nursing & Rehab, Reading; The Gardens at Wyoming Valley, Wilkes-Barre; The Gardens at East Mountain, Wilkes-Barre; The Meadows at Stroud, East Stroudsburg.

Shenandoah Heights Healthcare: Ridgeview Healthcare & Rehab, Shenandoah.

We are making critical coverage of the coronavirus available for free. Please consider subscribing so we can continue to bring you the latest news and information on this developing story.

Excerpt from:

Nursing home firm, union make 'progress' in labor negotiations; strike likely at other facilities - Meadville Tribune

Running back James Robinson tore his Achilles near the end of the 2021 season but hes close to returning. He showed hes trending in the right direction during the joint practices the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons held before their matchup in Week 3 of the preseason.

Even though Robinson is wearing a non-contact jersey, hes had no limitations and even caught a touchdown reception in 7-on-7 drills. Heres a clip of his trip to the end zone, courtesy of the teams official website.

Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson met with the local media before Thursdays practice and said that Robinson has made strides in his recovery, hopefully, the yellow jersey will come off soon.

Pederson said not long ago that Jacksonville expected Robinson to be back in the fold for Week 1 of the regular season and the running back himself told John Shipley of Jaguar Report that his goal is to be ready to face off against the Washinton Commanders in the season opener.

It has always been [my goal] since I got hurt. I mean, the timeline matched up so that was my goal to come back Week 1 I feel pretty good. I mean, obviously, were still taking stuff slow, got a little bit until the first game. So year, just doing what I can and doing what theyre letting me do, but I feel pretty good right now.

Robinson never got more than 18 carries in a game last year. But in spite of his limited workload, he was one of the top running backs in both traditional and advance statistics at one point of the season.

Running back Travis Etienne is also back from the season-ending injury he suffered in the preseason last year and figures to get a big workload in 2022. But despite Etiennes presence, Robinson will have an important role in the Jaguars offense.

Speaking of Etienne, hes 100 percent healthy and could carry the load for one or two games in case Robinson isnt ready to go in Week 1. Thats another thing to consider. Robinson has made significant strides and hes indeed close to returning but the coaching staff doesnt probably want to overwork him and run the risk of suffering a setback in his recovery.

Week 1 looks like a realistic date to return and Robinson should definitely aim for it. However, the Jaguars could wait a little longer if he isnt ready.

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Jaguars RB James Robinson shows progress in joint pratices with Falcons - Black and Teal

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Children's Wisconsin is celebrating the new emergency department and trauma center that is underway at the hospital. You can see construction taking place with a lot of metal beams, but a very special metal beam was placed on Friday, Aug. 26.

This beam was signed by patients, their families and staff. It's a symbol of the need and importance of a new, modern emergency and trauma department.

That same family and staff was there when the beam was lifted in to place. To celebrate, Children's Wisconsin had construction toys and robots for kids to play with.

The new building will be called the Skywalk Building. It will have 16 more rooms than the current space and it will have features the current hospital doesn't have.

"Weve been working out of a space thats been in place since 1988 and were ready to move into a bigger brighter more accessible space that allows to serve the children and families of Wisconsin," said Amy Drendel the medical director of the emergency department.

Construction is expected to be done by late 2023. Children's Wisconsin is the leading pediatric hospital in the state.

"We serve hundreds of children every day. Yesterday we saw 200 kids in our emergency department," said Drendel.

You can spot the new beam by the tree attached to the top of it.

Originally posted here:

Children's Wisconsin beams with pride as progress is made on new emergency and trauma center - WDJT

Globally, new reported cases declined 21% in the last week, though the World Health Organization says that numbers are still steeply climbing in the Americas. Officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles are also seeing signs that the outbreak is slowing in those areas.

AP:WHO: Monkeypox Cases Drop 21%, Reversing Month-Long IncreaseThe number of monkeypox cases reported globally dropped 21% in the last week, reversing a month-long trend of rising infections and signaling that Europes outbreak may be starting to decline, the World Health Organization said Thursday. The U.N. health agency reported 5,907 new weekly cases and said two countries, Iran and Indonesia, reported their first cases. To date, more than 45,000 monkeypox cases have been reported in 98 countries since late April. (8/25)

San Francisco Chronicle:Monkeypox: SF Cautiously Optimistic Outbreak Is Slowing DownAfter about two months of rapid spread, San Francisco appears to be turning a corner on monkeypox, with early data showing the local epidemic may be slowing down. The number of new cases reported each week hit a high of 143 the week of July 24 and has tapered each week since, first to 87 cases, then 54 and then, last week, to fewer than five, according to figures provided by the San Francisco Department of Public Health. (Ho, 8/24)

Los Angeles Times:Monkeypox Cases Begin To Slow In L.A. CountyAlthough a month ago we were seeing a doubling of monkeypox cases in as few as nine days, we are now seeing a leveling in the number of new cases per week. And our doubling time has increased to 16 days, said Dr. Rita Singhal, chief medical officer for the L.A. County Department of Public Health. (Toohey, Lin II and Money, 8/25)

More on the spread of monkeypox

CIDRAP:Monkeypox Epicenter Moves From Europe To AmericasToday World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, said monkeypox transmission has dropped in Europe, which was the initial epicenter of the current outbreak, but now rising cases are rising in the Americas, making the region the main hot spot. ... Following the United States, Spain, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, the Netherlands, and Peru have the most cases, accounting for 88.9% of the global case count. (Soucheray, 8/25)

Bloomberg:Monkeypox Virus Mushrooms Into Global Contagion In Just Four MonthsFrom just a handful of infections in early May, monkeypox has escalated into a global public health emergency, with more than 45,000 cases scattered across 100 or more countries, mostly in Europe and North America. (Gale and Pong, 8/26)

Columbus Dispatch:Ohio Launches Monkeypox Case DashboardThe Ohio Department of Health launched an online monkeypox dashboard on Thursday showing where cases are around the state. The map and data is at odh.ohio.gov (Wu, 8/25)

Richmond Times-Dispatch:Women, Heterosexual Men Now Eligible For Monkeypox Vaccines In VirginiaThe Virginia Department of Health announced Thursday that it would expand eligibility for the Jynneos shot to women and heterosexual men, aligning its policy with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Kolenich, 8/25)

Dr. Fauci weighs in on the monkeypox epidemic

The Hill:Fauci Compares Monkeypox Outbreak To HIV Epidemic, Advises Against Making The Same AssumptionsThe White Houses chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci advised against making the same assumptions about the current monkeypox outbreak that were made during the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Fauci and H. Clifford Lane, deputy director for clinical research and special projects at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), published a piece in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday in which they reflected on the similarities between the monkeypox outbreak and the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which both men spent much of their careers studying. (Choi, 8/25)

New England Journal of Medicine:Monkeypox Past As PrologueIf one compares the situations at the start of the AIDS, Covid-19, and current global monkeypox outbreaks, certain interesting similarities and differences are apparent. (H. Clifford Lane, MD, and Anthony S. Fauci, MD, 8/25)

Also, a virus with blisters that resemble monkeypox is spreading in India

The Washington Post:What Is Tomato Flu, The New Viral Infection Spreading In India?A new, highly contagious viral infection that has been dubbed tomato flu is spreading among children in India, the countrys Health Ministry said this week. ... The infection gets its name from the eruption of red and painful blisters throughout the body that gradually enlarge to the size of a tomato, according to an article published last week in the British medical journal Lancet. The blisters resemble those seen on young monkeypox patients. The disease which appears to spread through close contact and is not considered life-threatening could be an aftereffect of chikungunya or dengue rather than a viral infection, according to the article. (Jeong, 8/25)

CNBC:Tomato Flu: Indian Health Advisory For Rare Virus Infecting ChildrenThe emergence of a rare, new viral infection afflicting young children has prompted health authorities in India to issue a health advisory after more than 100 cases were discovered in the country. (Gilchrist, 8/26)

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Monkeypox Case Trends Hint At Progress In Curbing Spread - Kaiser Health News

Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, held its annual convocation on Saturday, with over 2,000 students getting their degrees.

In his address, Vijay Kumar Saraswat, member, NITI Aayog, focused largely on science and technology and the countrys relationship with this field. He mentioned 10 problems that India, at 75, had overcome, such as hunger, defence and vaccination. As the youth of today, you all have an important role to play in the countrys progress as entrepreneurs, sportspersons, politicians or civil servants, he said.

VIT founder and chancellor G. Viswanathan spoke at length on inequality in education, and urged the State and Union governments to allocate more funds for higher education. He expressed his desire for India to compete with China and South Korea and reach their standard of education. We are spending only a fraction of our GDP on education, and this needs to change in order to provide education to the poor, he said.

Mahesh Babu, CEO, Switch Mobility, India, who was the guest of honour, gave the graduands a perspective of the industry sector. He pointed to three things that would help them create the future - passion, innovation and aspiration - and stressed the importance of practical experience and theoretical knowledge.

VIT vice-presidents Sankar Viswanathan and Sekar Viswanathan, executive director Sandhya Pentareddy and assistant vice-president Kadhambari S. Viswanathan participated in the event. The graduating students took an oath and received their degrees. The gold medallists and rank-holders from various schools were awarded their certificates on the stage.

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Youth have a key role in nations progress: Saraswat - The Hindu