Category Archives: Ascension

Special to Gannett / USA TODAY NETWORK| Northwest Florida Daily News

MIRAMAR BEACH Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has again been named to the 100 Top Hospitalslist among 2,650 acute care hospitals in the United States.

Merative, formerly IBM Watson Health, released its 2022 rankings of the top hospitals and health systemsin partnership with Fortune on June 30. This award marks the sixth time that the Ascension Sacred Heart hospital has made the list of the top-performing hospitals in the nation.

More from the health system: Ascension Sacred Heart adds third Womens DiagnosticCenter in Watersound Origins. See photos.

Related: Two of Ascension's first patients return to celebrate anniversary of Walton County's first NICU

Earning this national recognition for the sixthtime is truly remarkable and a testament to all of our associates and physicians who always put patients first," said Henry Stovall, regional president of Ascension Sacred Heart. "We've had a special relationship with this community for almost 20 years. We will continue to deliver the compassionate, high-quality health care that everyone in our community deserves.

This years 100 Top Hospitals study found that significantly better outcomes were provided by the top hospitals. Compared to most hospitals, the winners:

Merative, a health care analytics company, developed this year's list to help identify best practices that may help other health care organizations achieve consistent, balanced and sustainable high performance. The list is determined using independent and objective research, including data from Medicare patient records. Organizations do not apply or pay for this honor or pay to promote their award.

The annual list is now published by Fortune Magazine.

Since its opening in 2003, Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast has consistently been ranked high among U.S. hospitals for the quality of its care and patient satisfaction survey scores. In May, the hospital earned the top safety grade of "A" from Leapfrog Group, a national organization focused on preventing errors, accidents, injuries and infections in U.S. hospitals.

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Ascension Sacred Heart named in 100 Top Hospitals in US by Merative - The Northwest Florida Daily News

Together, Nick Bolton and Willie Gay know they are capable of being a perfect combination.

As linebackers, Bolton and Gay are expected this season to anchor the Chiefs defense, a unit that will rely on several youthful defenders. Bolton, a second-year player at age 22, is the Chiefs new middle linebacker, someone who is direct, both in how he communicates and tackles opposing ball carriers. At 24, Gay, a third-year player, is wildly athletic. He is perhaps the defenses second-most exuberant player (behind star defensive tackle Chris Jones) who can produce flashy highlights alongside Boltons impressive consistency.

The rest of the Chiefs observed such qualities from the linebackers last month during the final phase of the teams offseason practices, including the mandatory minicamp. Next to one another, Bolton and Gay had several strong repetitions, often on back-to-back occasions. Together, Bolton and Gay realize their teamwork in the middle of the field could be critical to the defenses success, which could be a testament to their blossoming relationship.

It feels like were brothers, Gay said last month. Thats how we treat each other, how we interact. On that field, we just keep the energy flowing.

Later this month, the Chiefs will open their annual training camp at Missouri Western States campus in St. Joseph, Mo. Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo hopes to see in camp what he watched last month, which included Bolton intercepting a pass from superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who was targeting star tight end Travis Kelce. With Mahomes throwing the ball into the linebackers coverage often, the unit will get the opportunity to make more such plays in camp, even when the practices include pads. Thats because this era of the NFL, a pass-happy league, requires linebackers to be strong enough to tackle ball carriers and yet skilled enough to disrupt an opponents aerial attack.

If Bolton and Gay can accomplish such objectives, the Chiefs know they will have one of the leagues best linebacking duos.

I know Pat is making me better, Bolton said last month. I like to compete against him, Travis Kelce and the receivers we just got in. I definitely feel Im trending in the right direction, but I still have a long way to go.

I want to be in a (condition) where I can go sideline to sideline. Im kind of like where I was weight-wise last season (232 pounds), so Im just going to continue to get in better shape as we go along.

The onus for how well the Chiefs linebackers perform this season, for better or worse, is on Bolton and Gay. The team began its offseason in late February by releasing veteran linebacker Anthony Hitchens, a move that cleared $8.4 million in salary-cap space. Hitchens, an eighth-year veteran, was a team captain and the Chiefs most experienced linebacker, an integral member of the teams championship run in 2019. He also spent last season mentoring Bolton and Gay.

As a rookie, Bolton exceeded the Chiefs expectations of him, as he led the team with 112 tackles, including 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

He picked up right where Hitch left off, Gay said of Bolton. Every week, hes growing as a (middle) linebacker, as a leader. I know Im older than him, but we both feed off of each other. Hes doing a great job.

Meanwhile, Gays athleticism was an added element that helped the Chiefs defense improve from its sluggish start in September and October.

Last season, though, the two players werent on the field much for one of the sports more critical moments: third down. Just nine percent of Boltons snaps occurred on third down (57 from his 624 total), while Gays tally was just seven percent (32 snaps of his total 437), according to TruMedia.

Bolton and Gay are expected to be on the field together more on third down this season. Coach Andy Reid believes the teams offseason practices, and the upcoming practices in camp, are crucial for linebackers to enhance their techniques and spatial awareness in coverage.

I think both of them are much more comfortable with what were doing right now than what they were at the beginning of last year, Reid said last month. Thats where you see linebackers make a little jump from their first year into their second and third year. They get all these reps with the pass game, and I think thatll help (Bolton) down the road rounding off his game. And hes attacking it like crazy right now. Hes really put a lot of effort into that.

Both linebackers understand they can become better playmakers by generating more interceptions.

Gay, in 12 games last season, couldve led the Chiefs in the statistic. He produced 48 tackles, four pass breakups and just two interceptions. But he dropped a pass from Teddy Bridgewater, the former Denver Broncos quarterback, while in zone coverage. Gay was also close to intercepting a short pass from Dallas Cowboys star quarterback Dak Prescott, one he might have returned for a touchdown.

Bolton also had a few balls that got away.

I had a couple of opportunities late in the season, two of them against Cincinnati, I believe, that I couldve brought in, Bolton said.

The game Bolton referenced was the Chiefs final game last season, their disheartening collapse in the AFC Championship Game to the Cincinnati Bengals, who won in overtime after rallying from an 18-point deficit.

Late in the first quarter, during the Bengals second drive, Bolton almost made a diving interception on a short pass that was dropped by tight end CJ Uzomah. Early in the fourth quarter, with the score tied, Bengals star Joe Burrow scrambled to his right before throwing an ill-advised pass. After sliding to the turf as a measure to ensure he stayed away from the sideline Bolton tracked the ball as it came his way. But the ball slipped through Boltons hands, falling to the turf. With his head bowed, Bolton grabbed the ball and squeezed it with both hands in frustration. Both of the Bengals drives ended with them scoring on a field goal, six points that proved to be pivotal.

That probably couldve changed the game, Bolton said of his missed interceptions. Im just working on those things, getting on the Jugs (machine). Not everything is going to be perfect, so when you get opportunities presented to you, youve got to make them.

In addition to the two linebackers switching positions this season Bolton from weakside to middle and Gay from strongside to weakside they also have a new position coach. Brendan Daly, the longtime defensive line assistant, replaced Matt House, who became LSUs defensive coordinator. Daly wanted to evolve and challenge himself as a coach and felt he also offered Spagnuolo a bit of continuity with already having a relationship with Bolton and Gay.

Hes one of those people that the more youre around them, the more impressed you become with them, Daly said last month of Bolton. Hes grown from a mental, communication and leadership standpoint. Its been really fun to watch. Its pretty amazing the amount that hes handling at such a young age.

Daly added of Gay: Weve seen some jump from Willie, for sure, from a leadership and football standpoint. Hes able to do multiple things at this point. He moves really well. His energy at practice is great.

One example was last month, when Bolton intercepted Mahomes. Gay was the most demonstrative on the field as the defenders celebrated Boltons highlight, as he pumped his fist several times. Later in the same practice during a red-zone period, Gay danced in the back of the end zone after the defense prevented the offense from scoring a touchdown.

Ive always been like that, Gay said, smiling. I love making plays myself, but Ive never been selfish. When I see other guys make plays, I act like its me making the play. I call myself the Juice Man for a reason, so I can give the defense some energy. Thats how I approach it.

Bolton and Gay are optimistic that practicing against Mahomes, the leagues most talented quarterback, will be beneficial for them when they drop into coverage.

Of course, Mahomes responded to Boltons interception by completing a strike to Kelce in the intermediate part of the field against the linebackers coverage. The following week, in a seven-on-seven period, Mahomes exceptional pass left Gay stunned. While scrambling to the right, Mahomes used his eyes to manipulate Gay, who was in zone coverage, and urge him to move toward the sideline before throwing a perfect no-look pass in the middle of the field to receiver Josh Gordon. After the repetition, Mahomes celebrated by strutting off the field. Gay demonstrated his amazement and frustration by looking at Mahomes and standing in the exact spot he was in before Mahomes released the ball.

The good thing for me is my quarterback, I feel, is better than all of them, Gay said. When I take pieces away from practice and I use it in a game, it makes it easier, because I know if Patrick is going to throw this no-look (pass), I know this (opposing quarterback) is going to stare (the opposing receiver) down and throw it right to him.

And if such a play occurs this season, the Chiefs hope the Juice Man, or his football brother, will give the rest of the defense energy with a takeaway.

(Photo of Willie Gay and Nick Bolton: Denny Medley / USA Today)

Excerpt from:

Ascension of LBs Nick Bolton, Willie Gay vital to Chiefs expected rise on D - The Athletic

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK| Gonzales Weekly Citizen

New coronavirus cases leaped in Louisiana in the week ending Sunday, rising 11.2% as 15,535 cases were reported. The previous week had 13,968 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Louisiana ranked second among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 4.6% from the week before, with 750,600 cases reported. With 1.4% of the country's population, Louisiana had 2.07% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 24 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

John Hopkins University has been collecting data from Louisiana on an erratic schedule, skewing week-to-week comparisons.

The Fourth of July holiday disrupted who got tested, when people got tested and when both test results and deaths were reported. This may significantly skew week-to-week comparisons.

Ascension Parish reported 387 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 294 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 37,068 cases and 295 deaths.

Within Louisiana, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in East Carroll Parish with 670 cases per 100,000 per week; West Carroll Parish with 600; and Bossier Parish with 564. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were East Baton Rouge Parish, with 1,402 cases; Caddo Parish, with 1,069 cases; and Jefferson Parish, with 1,069. Weekly case counts rose in 45 parishes from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in East Baton Rouge, Ouachita and Orleans parishes.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Across Louisiana, cases fell in 19 parishes, with the best declines in Richland Parish, with 95 cases from 160 a week earlier; in Caddo Parish, with 1,069 cases from 1,122; and in St. Mary Parish, with 125 cases from 164.

In Louisiana, 13 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 26 people were reported dead.

A total of 1,326,364 people in Louisiana have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 17,431 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 88,593,875 people have tested positive and 1,020,861 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, July 10. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Hospitals in 39 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 35 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 42 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

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Ascension Parish reported 387 additional COVID-19 cases this week - Weekly Citizen

Throughout his football career, from high school to the pros, Terry McLaurin has been an underdog. It's part of the reason why the 26-year-old was so emotional on Wednesday when he took the podium after signing a three-year, $71 million extension with the Commanders.

"I cried some real tears. For a lot of my life, I've really had to grind and work for what I have now. I've had a lot of adversity and some people didn't really believe in my abilities," McLaurin said.

McLaurin had to earn his scholarship offer to Ohio State by grinding at summer camps. With the Buckeyes, it took four years for him to earn a prominent role in the offense. But with the Commanders, it took just one half for the 2019 third-round pick to become Washington's best receiver.

As a rookie, McLaurin totaled 919 receiving yards in just 14 games, coming just a handful of yards short of breaking the franchise's rookie record. Yet, McLaurin didn't lose his underdog mindset just because he found instant NFL success.

In his two years since, McLaurin has topped the 1,000-yard in each season despite playing with eight different quarterbacks. He's turned into one of the best young wideouts in the entire sport, evident by his lucrative new deal.

It took a while in McLaurin's football journey to find the success he's had now. The wideout believes that change started when he altered his mindset, focusing more on the things he struggled with on the field than what he excelled in.

"I think what really changed for me, what took my game to the next level was -- I think for a lot of people in general -- I think it's easy to hear the good things about yourself. I think it's easy to hear what you do well, your strengths," McLaurin said. "And I take pride in the strengths in my game, but when my career kind of [took] an upward trajectory is when I started focusing on my weaknesses and trying to make them strengths."

The wideout admitted that he needed to have those "honest and transparent" conversations with coaches as to where they felt he needed to improve the most. But those difficult talks led to him channeling his energy to improve in those certain areas, which led to even more success on the field.

"I started creating drills and attacking those weaknesses to make them strengths. It's nice to see," McLaurin said.

McLaurin might feel that this change in attitude is something new, but his former wide receiver coach at Ohio State, Brian Hartline, has seen it in his for years.

"My first impression [of McLaurin] was there's a lot of things [he] could do," Hartline told NBC Sports Washington in April. "We were going to focus on what he wasn't being optimal in. Once we kind of got that fixed, there were very few things, if any, that Terry couldn't do. I think that that was kind of our mindset. You know, you do a lot of things, but what's holding me back, coach? Let's clean those things up so that no one really has everything that they can point out that Terry doesnt do. That was a lot of the mindset.

Speed and strength have always been two of McLaurin's strengths. But dating back to his college days, route running and consistently catching the football were two areas McLaurin had plenty of room for improvement in.

Over the past two seasons, McLaurin's route running has improved dramatically. His breaks have become a lot crisper.

But the one area McLaurin has grown the most as a receiver has been when it comes to hauling in contested catches. McLaurin admitted that area was a "glaring weakness" in his game when he entered the NFL. In 2021, McLaurinledthe entire NFL in contested catches.

Talk about turning a weakness into a strength.

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Now that McLaurin has earned a multi-year, lucrative extension, it would be easy for him to become complacent. As he made clear during his Wednesday press conference, very few people believed he would ever become the standout NFL receiver he currently is.

But becoming complacent would go against the mentality McLaurin has channeled throughout his football career. Don't expect his work ethic to change now just because his pockets have become a little heavier.

"A lot of people don't see how far I came from college and to where I am now doing it at the highest level," McLaurin said. "And that's just even more motivation to me to keep going and find ways to continue to improve my game and stay on the cutting edge because I feel like as soon as you get complacent, that's kind of when things start to go downhill for yourself."

A two-time team captain, McLaurin is viewed as one of the Commanders' leaders by all of his teammates. Yet when training camp starts later this month, McLaurin plans on arriving in Ashburn with the same underdog mindset that has gotten him to this point.

"I'm just really excited for what's to come and to continue to get back out there and really go back out there with my day one approach of earning my spot on this team like I was my rookie year," McLaurin said. "I'm trying to earn it all over again. That's genuinely my perspective and how I operate each and every day.

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One specific thing Washington's Terry McLaurin credits for his career ascension - NBC Sports

The postseason honors keep coming in for Ascension Catholic baseball players.

Recently, three Bulldog standouts were named to the Louisiana Baseball Coaches Associations All-Region 9 baseball team.

Region 9 is made up of players from the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, Lafourche, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary and Terrebonne. The region is also for non-Class 5A athletes.

Making the squad for Ascension Catholic were Brooks Leonard, Lex Melancon and Jackson Landry.

Leonard made the team as a pitcher. The junior was the Bulldogs best hurler statistically this past season, only losing one regular-season game he started from the mound.

He was also named the District 7-1A MVP.

Leonard is a Northwestern State commit.

Melancon made the All-Region 9 squad as a utility player. The senior has been the Bulldogs starting catcher for the past two seasons. In both years, hes made first-team all-district.

Melancon is a Nicholls signee.

Landry is just a sophomore. He made the All-Region team as an outfielder. Landry served as Ascension Catholics best power hitter this past season.

Ascension Catholic had another strong year. The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 23-8 record, which included an undefeated run in District 7-1A. That earned them their second straight district championship.

All but one of the Bulldogs regular-season defeats came against upper-classification teams, and 15 of their 23 victories came against bigger schools.

Ascension Catholic pulled off some great wins over quality opponents.

The Bulldogs beat: Class 5A state runner-up St. Amant, 3A state champion Lutcher, 3A runner-up Berwick, Division-II state runner-up University and Division-II state semifinalist Parkview Baptist.

Ascension Catholic also dropped a close game against eventual Class 4A state champion South Terrebonne.

The Bulldogs earned the No. 2 seeding for the Division-IV playoffs and swept Riverside Academy by a combined score of 15-4 in the first round.

That pushed Ascension Catholic through to the state quarterfinals for the eighth straight postseason.

Facing seventh-seeded St. Frederick, the Bulldogs rolled to a 13-3 win in game one. However, standing just one victory away from the state semifinals, Ascension Catholic dropped back-to-back games, ending its season.

The All-Region 9 squads Hitter of the Year was Lutchers Marshall Louque. Louque was actually on the Eastbank All-Stars team that won the 2019 Little League World Series.

Now at Lutcher, he hit .475 this past season with six home runs and 52 RBIs. Louque also helped lead the Bulldogs to a state title victory.

The All-Region 9 Pitcher of the Year was Vandebilt Catholics Owen Schexnaydre.

Schexnaydre was 11-3 this season with a 1.17 ERA. He helped lead Vandebilt to its first state championship victory since 1971.

He is an LSU-Eunice commit.

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All-Region 9 Baseball - Weekly Citizen

At the 1990 Academy Awards, the nominations for documentary featured a surprising number of actors. Dustin Hoffman lent his voice to a film about the Aids memorial quilt, Joe Mantegna told the tale of one US countys crack epidemic, while Gregory Peck narrated a biography of chief justice Earl Warren. Fast forward to this years ceremony and the actors had gone quiet. With the exception of Riz Ahmeds dubbing on the English-language version of Flee, the shortlisted films had no booming star narrator. In fact, they had no traditional narrators at all.

This could, of course, be a quirk of the Academys ever-changing preferences, or an anomalous year. But, says Dr Catalin Brylla, a lecturer in film and television at Bournemouth University, the traditional, authoritative voice-of-God documentary narrator has indeed become an endangered species, as audiences have turned against their pretentious objectivity in favour of more personal accounts. As Roko Belic, director of the 1999 documentary Genghis Blues, put it: Youd hear some guys perfect English voice, [talking about] zebras in Africa, and you didnt really feel like you were there. I wanted to know the whole story, and not just this one guys point of view.

From the 1990s onwards, this led to a rise in personality-led documentaries by such directors as Werner Herzog, who usually narrates his own films, and Michael Moore, who tends to direct, write, star in and voice his work. Activist documentaries, such as Al Gores An Inconvenient Truth, had clear messages, driven home via voiceover. But in recent years, even this form of narration seems to be declining.

Summer of Soul, the 2022 Oscar-winner, was a medley of footage from the 1969 Harlem cultural festival, overlaid with a long list of interviewees. Ascension, Jessica Kingdons eerie documentary about rampant capitalism in China, not only had no voiceover, but no interviews, either. Stanley Nelson, one of the directors of Attica, also on the 2022 shortlist, told the Hollywood Reporter that the film-makers knew from the beginning that we didnt want to have narration. Instead, the plan was to tell the story of the biggest prison riot in history through interviews with those who were there. Even an interview with a historian didnt make the final cut because he was talking about what he had read [while other interviewees] were talking about what they saw and heard and felt.

Brylla connects the death of the narrator to the age of post-truth politics, in which information is presented through emotions, rather than factual accuracy. Another factor may be film-makers changing relationship with their interviewees and audiences. Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, Rowan Deacons two-part Netflix film, used no narration to frame its archival footage and new interviews, because her many interviewees had very different experiences of Savile and I felt that their recollections needed to be presented unmediated and without the potentially judgmental role of a narrator.

In addition, Deacon wanted to focus on telling the story in a way which was compelling but which also asked the audience to do a bit of the work themselves, to draw their own conclusions from the glut of evidence being presented to them as so many failed to do during Saviles lifetime.

Frida and Lasse Barkfors trilogy of documentaries tackles uniquely taboo subjects: profiling, respectively, a community of sex offenders (Pervert Park), parents responsible for their own childrens deaths (Death of a Child), and the parents of school shooters (Raising a School Shooter). All went without narrators because, Frida says, our goal is for the audience to make up their minds for themselves about the complex, difficult stories they are hearing. Lasse adds that narration would give the audience something to hold on to while navigating the moral questions raised by the trilogy, an effect the film-makers wanted to avoid.

Mike Cooper, a BBC newsreader turned voiceover artist, points out that the trend may well be cyclical. For a while, it felt like there were voiceovers on everything, but if you go back further to films like Grey Gardens part of the naturalistic cinema verit movement in the 1960s and 70s they were made completely without voiceovers. Either way, Cooper is sanguine about the fortunes of his profession, given voiceovers on other formats such as adverts and TV programmes arent about to disappear. We can assume Morgan Freeman, perhaps the most sought-after voice, is also getting by.

Lasse Barkfors believes what were seeing in documentaries may be a reaction to the intense individualism brought on by social media. Over the past two decades, he says, theres been a lot of me. If the decline of narrators means anything, it seems to suggest that documentary-makers are handing some of the power back to their audiences presenting them with the evidence and the voices of those involved, then letting them find their own messages.

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Struck dumb: why the voice of God got booted out of documentaries - The Guardian

Jeff Cavins, left, and Father Mike Schmitz of Ascension Press, seen in this 2022 photo, are the winners of the 2022 Cardinal John P. Foley Award from the Catholic Media Association. The award, one of the highest honors given by the CMA, was announced July 6, 2022, at the Catholic Media Conference in Portland, Ore. (CNS photo/courtesy Ascension Press)

By Chaz Muth Catholic News Service Posted July 6, 2022

PORTLAND, Ore. (CNS) Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins of Ascension Press are the recipients of the 2022 Cardinal John P. Foley Award from the Catholic Media Association.

The Foley award recognizes demonstrated excellence and innovation in Catholic storytelling in the preceding year, with work presented on various media platforms, including but not limited to video, podcasts, photo spreads, blogs, or a multimedia melding of platforms. Its one of the highest honors given by the CMA.

The announcement was made July 6 during the 2022 Catholic Media Conference in Portland.

Father Schmitz and Cavin won the award for their joint project, The Bible in a Year podcast, which boasted an audience of about 450,000 daily listeners in 2021.

Father Schmitz and Cavin were not in attendance to accept the award in person.

If you ask Father Mike and Jeff, they will say that the Holy Spirit deserves all of the credit; it is Gods story, after all, said Lauren Joyce, Ascensions communications and public relations specialist, in her nomination letter. But we humbly submit that Gods story is most powerful when spirit-filled storytellers bring it to life and tell it anew in their own time and place.

The late Cardinal Foley, who died in 2011, was admired for his media expertise, serving as an editor of Philadelphias archdiocesan newspaper, a host and producer of the Philadelphia Catholic Hour on WFIL radio, head of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. Also, for many he was known as the Vaticans Voice of Christmas in his role as English-language commentator for the popes midnight Mass for 25 years.

Greg Erlandson, director and editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service, has called Foley an indefatigable supporter of the Catholic press who always remained a journalist at heart, and he believed strongly in the importance of this professional vocation for the life of the church.

Father Schmitz and Cavin were two of 10 finalists for the 2020 Foley award.

The other eight finalists were Tony Ganzer of the Faith Full Podcast; Gabrielle Gleason, communications specialist for the Diocese of Syracuse, New York; Jonah McKeown, staff writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency; Bridget OBoyle, social media marketing consultant for Aleteia; Kate OHare, editor for Family Theater Productions; Joseph Pelletier, video producer for the Archdiocese of Detroit; Matt Riedl, director of media production for the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia; and Carol Zimmermann, Washington correspondent for Catholic News Service.

The Second Vatican Council invited all Catholics to read the Bible, and yet many still struggle with understanding this ancient text and connecting it to their daily lives. In 2021, Father Mike Schmitz and Jeff Cavins vaulted this hurdle with excellence, captivating hundreds of thousands of listeners with their innovative The Bible in a Year podcast, said Ed Langlois, managing editor of the Catholic Sentinel, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon, when he announced the Foley award winners.

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Creators of 'Bible in a Year' podcast win national media award - CatholicPhilly.com

One local teen has found a unique way to bring some magic to the pediatric floor of an Evansville hospital.

The Newburgh teen and Signature School student is spending her summer spreading joy on the pediatric floor at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital in Evansville.

I wanted to come up with something creative and unique to help the kids and give back to my community, says princess volunteer Sophie Rodionova.

Shes a student volunteer with a unique talent.

I thought of all the things that I can do and I kind of put them in my tool box. So, I came up with the idea of dressing up as a princess and then going to the kids just to make their day a little bit better, Sophie says.

She dances, reads, sings, and does crafts with the kids, all while getting to know each child and sharing tales of her own.

I ask them questions about themselves and I tell them my story , so they just have a way of connecting with somebody while theyre at the hospital, Sophie tells 44News.

Sophie aspires to be a doctor when she grows up, and continue her journey of bringing joy to children, and impacting kids the way shes been impacted herself.

My mom, shes my biggest role model. Shes been my dance teacher since I was 3 years old. Through dance and theater, all of that has made a really big difference in my life. So, going forward, I would want to be that impact on the kids I see, Sophie says.

She even aims to inspire kids her own age to step out of their comfort zone and do something to make someone else smile.

Just to do something different. You can help in any way. Just to bring water to the patients, really anything like that. Just a smile will brighten up the kids day, she tells 44News.

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Princess visits with children at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital - WEVV

Every year, nearly 15,000 female green sea turtles start the long journey from the eastern shores of Brazil to the small island of Ascension a remote South Atlantic island located almost 2,300 kilometers (about 1,400 miles) away.

These turtles are returning to where they were born, migrating to lay their eggs on the beaches of this 88 square-kilometer island. Their young, once hatched, will make that very same journey every three to four years between the shores of Rio de Janeiro and Ascension.

Ascension Island is the second most populated green turtle breeding ground in the Atlantic Ocean, but overfishing, climate change, and ocean pollution are just some of the factors threatening the endangered green sea turtle along its journey to this remote sanctuary.

Each year the nesting beach sites of Ascension Island witness the laying of millions of eggs as green sea turtles descend across its shores. The island sits atop a 10,000-foot underwater volcano located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, one of the worlds longest mountain ranges, home to unique seabird species critical to the island's ecosystem.

Classified as a United Kingdom overseas territory, the small volcanic island is part of an area that boasts an exclusive economic zone covering almost 445,000 square kilometers nearly the size of France. Also home to the largest Atlantic blue marlin ever recorded, large bird colonies, and a dozen fish species found nowhere else on Earth, Ascension Island has largely avoided intensive commercial fishing due to its remote location.

But nowhere in the ocean, or the world, is safe from the impacts of climate change, and the crisis paired with overfishing has put the survival of green sea turtles at risk. That's the very reason why tens of thousands of Global Citizens took action to support a move to protect the oceans surrounding Ascension Island.

Ahead of the 2016 Global Citizen Festival, 30,000 Global Citizens took action to support the Blue Marine Foundation an organization dedicated to restoring ocean health by addressing overfishing and promoting conservation. Blue Marine, as part of the Great British Oceans Coalition, called on then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron to push the government to increase measures that protect the oceans surrounding overseas territories, including Ascension Island.

Mainly Taiwanese and Japanese boats had historically been fishing Ascension's offshore waters, catching huge tunas and lots of by-catch including sharks for little financial gain at the expense of endangered sea life.

In February, the latest UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report warned that we're running out of time to take urgent action on climate change and protect our oceans, citing overfishing as a key driver of climate change.

Overfishing leads to biodiversity loss through the destruction of the ocean basin, as well as the aimless killing of fish biomass and endangered species. This fish biomass stores and protects the world's atmosphere from up to 38,000 gigatons of carbon emissions more than the earths rainforests. A large number of offshore species, such as bigeye and yellowfin tuna tuna and oceanic sharks, were overfished in Ascension.

Climate change and overfishing, even far away from the small island, have harmed its fragile ecosystems, reducing the nutritional quality of fish eaten by local bird colonies. Today, the local seabird colonies have declined by 80%.

But by protecting large tracts of ocean and demonstrating that it is possible to have a thriving community at the center of a vast marine protected area, Ascension is helping to turn the tide on climate change.

In 2016, half of Ascensions waters were closed to fishing. Then in 2019, Ascension Island declared 100% of its waters as a marine protected area, with a complete ban on commercial offshore fishing.

To end extreme poverty and meet the United Nations Global Goals, such as Goal 14 to protect life below water, Global Citizen campaigns to protect the oceans and the communities that rely on them to survive.

The Blue Marine Foundations mission is to see at least 30% of the worlds oceans under protection by 2030 and the other 70% managed in a responsible way that promotes a healthy ocean forever, for everyone.

Global Citizens took action in 2016 to support the Great British Oceans Coalitions campaign to help preserve Ascension Island's waters, knowing that key strategic interventions could help communities at the forefront of ocean conservation. With 6.8 million square kilometers of territorial waters, Britain is the custodian of the fifth largest marine estate on the planet.

Blue Marine and the Great British Oceans Coalition worked with the Ascension Island Government and the UK Government to secure the second largest no-take marine protected area (MPA) in the Atlantic. No-take MPAs are rare zones where the destruction of natural resources is completely prohibited, according to National Geographic.

Today, Ascension Island is being supported today by a 2 million ($2.4 million) endowment fund raised by Blue Marine Foundation, replacing the income the island previously received from the sale of licenses to longlining vessels that fished in Ascension's waters. While the British Governments blue belt program monitors and enforces the waters to ensure no illegal fishing takes place within the exclusive economic zone.

As a result, Ascension Island is becoming a safe haven for the green sea turtle. Out of every thousand turtle hatchlings, only one will make it to adulthood, but those that do can return safely to the island to start families of their own.

You can join the Global Citizen campaign to end extreme poverty and take climate action NOW by taking action here. Become part of a movement powered by citizens around the world who are taking action together with governments, corporations, and philanthropists to make a change.

Global Citizen is grateful to the Blue Marine Foundation for its continuous efforts to protect our planet and the most vulnerable communities impacted by climate change.

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How This Organization Helps Millions of Endangered Turtles Safely Reach a Small Atlantic Island - Global Citizen

The NBA always seemed like a fantasy, a far-off dream. Then came Ron Harper Jr.s sophomore year at Rutgers, and everything changed for him.

The 6-foot-6 Harper was putting up strong numbers in the Big Ten, helping the Scarlet Knights play their way into the NCAA Tournament picture before COVID-19 forced the cancellation of the postseason.

We were having a really good season and I was at the front line of that, the former Rutgers star told The Post. We were doing things that everybody told us we couldnt do. I just really started to believe in that dream coming true. It looked more and more realistic every day.

It was only the start of his ascension from an unheralded recruit out of Don Bosco Prep with a famous last name his father Ron Harper won five NBA titles who wasnt even ranked in the top 150 of his class into a potential NBA player.

Thursday night, the next stage of Harpers career will begin, potentially with him hearing his name called in the NBA draft and following in his fathers footsteps. If selected, the Franklin Lakes, N.J., native would become the first Scarlet Knight selected since Hamady NDiaye went 56th overall to the Timberwolves in 2010. Harper has reportedly worked out for the Knicks, Nets, Kings, Hornets, Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz, took part in the draft combine and a number of mock drafts have him getting taken at some point in the second round.

Similar to Julian [Champagnie of St. Johns], real good shooter, an NBA scout said. Has to show other parts to his game as a creator, as a defender. Right now, hes proven hes a shooter with size.

Harpers final year at Rutgers was his best. He produced career-highs in points (15.8), assists (1.9), 3-point shooting (39.8) and free-throw percentage (79.5). He led the Scarlet Knights to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1974-75, and won the Haggerty Award, given to the areas top local player.

He will have to start all over again as a professional, this time against the best players in the world. But Harper has only wanted an opportunity and now he will be getting his shot.

I feel like Ive proven I can play on the highest level from a college standpoint, and obviously the NBA is different, he said. But I feel like I will be able to prove myself there, too.

Its really exciting, I was an under-recruited guy, I didnt expect myself to make it here growing up. But the journey I went through, I wouldnt change it for the world and it shaped who I am as a person, as a player.

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Ron Harper Jr. hopes to go from unheralded prospect to NBA Draft pick - New York Post