Category Archives: Progress

The final frenzy at the White House began Monday, with a private reception for conservative news publications, a tariff on softwood lumber imports from Canada and the late-night debut of a website highlighting President TrumpsFirst 100 Days achievements.

It continued Tuesdayin the form of an executive order designed to help farmers and ranchers, an assurance that construction will begin soon on a wall along the nations southern border The walls going to get built, the president said and media briefings by senior administration officials who gave their takes on Trumps successes.

And by Wednesday, the White House plans to unveil its tax plan, which wouldcut the corporate tax rate drastically, to 15 percent.

Trump has called Saturdays 100-day marker a remnant of President Franklin D. Roosevelts initial flurry of legislative action an artificial construct, and he is not incorrect. Yet the kinetic energy emanating from the West Wing, which at times borders on frenetic, reveals a White House eager to cross the threshold with some tangible wins.

The whirlwind of activity this week seems aimed at demonstrating forward momentum from a young administration criticized for a lack of signature legislative achievements a sense that doing something, anything, is better than the perception of stagnation.

As the president himself quipped Tuesday afternoon, preparing to sign his latest executive order: Its a lot of words. I wont bother reading everything.

Trump is under considerable pressure, some of it self-imposed, to deliver. From funding construction of the border wall to spurring $1 trillion in infrastructure investments over the next decade, the presidenthas implemented zero of the 10 major pieces of legislation he promised as a presidential candidate for his first 100 days ina contract with American voters.

Only one bill has been introduced in Congress an ill-fated measure to scale back President Barack Obamas health-care law that culminated inan embarrassing defeat at the hands of Trumps own party.White House officials and several Republican lawmakers said Tuesday that they were nearing a deal to try again, though details were sparse.

[Everyone tunes in: Inside Trumps obsession with cable TV]

In many ways, Trump, more than any modern president before him, runs his White House like a television drama, believing that sometimes projecting an image of energy and progress is as important, if not more so, than the reality.

But Peter Wehner, a former official in the George W. Bush White House who is now a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center, said noadministration can bluff its way through four years.

You have to produce, Wehner said. Ultimately the achievements will matter. You can spin and you can sell and you can put things in bright neon lights, but when everything is said and done, presidents are judged on their results.

The Trump White House has producedsome accomplishments already, from regulatory rollbacks intended to promote economic growth to the successful installation of Justice Neil M. Gorsuch on the Supreme Court.

We see a president thats working at breakneck speed and somebody whos going as fast as he can in the confines of the law, running through that punch list of promises he made during the campaign, Reince Priebus, Trumps chief of staff, said Tuesday.

But on his largest promises those boomed from campaign trail stages and enshrined in his voter contract Trump has fallen short, a gap in signature legislative triumphs that has sent the president and his aides scrambling to notch victories, some of them more tenuous and less substantial than others.

Out of 60 promises from Trumps voter contract, The Washington Posts Fact Checker finds that five have been kept, five have been broken and 36 others have had no action at all. The remainder have either been launched or are in limbo.

Asked about Trumps failure to implement many of the key items in the contract, which he unveiled in October, Marc Short, the White House director for legislative affairs, said the administration had, in some ways, run up against the inherently slow-moving federal bureaucracy.

There are certain promises that you need to work with House and Senate leadership on, and its a process, Short said in a morning meeting with reporters.I think on the House side, obviously, the health-care legislation took longer than we would have wanted, but were excited as to where that stands today, and we think well get that completed.

Short said the administration was not backing down on its commitment to its early promises but added,Perhaps the timetable was ambitious.

[Opinion: Trump says his first 100 days have been a historic success. History disagrees.]

Still, in the run-up to the 100-day mark, the administration has become a whirling dervish of activity.

In a memo Tuesday that contained a number of factual inaccuracies including a claim that Roosevelt signed only nine executive orders, rather than the actual 99, in his first 100 days the White House boasted of the presidentshistoric accomplishment, citing the 13Congressional Review Act resolutions, the 28 laws, and the 30 executive orders that Trump has implemented or passed.

The presidents teamhas also deployed Cabinet secretaries throughout the countryto tout what they say are Trumps robust successes. And Saturday, the president will headline a 100-day political rally in Harrisburg, Pa.

But even as Trump sought to project strength, a federal judge in San Francisco delivered a new setbackTuesday, blockingthe administrations plans to withhold federal funding from sanctuary cities, those that refuse to detain undocumentedimmigrants for deportation.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans largely defended the president, with some seeking to separate his domestic achievements from his foreign policy moves as they reflected on what Trump has and has not achieved so far.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who had dinner with Trump on Monday night, said he was pleased with Trumps national security team and praised the cruise missile strikes the president launched in Syria. But he sized up Trumps domestic agenda differently.Obviously, its been stalled, McCain said.

However, McCain partially blamed members of the hard-line conservative House Freedom Caucus for thwarting the effort to overhaul Obamas Affordable Care Act last month, echoing a criticism Short had offered more gently earlier in the day.

Weve learned that the House Republican Party, to its credit, is enormously diverse in its opinions, but that also sometimes creates larger challenges in bringing them together on a big legislative issue, Short said, reflecting on lessons his legislative-affairs team had learned in the failed health-care effort.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), a Trump ally, faulted Congress for the presidents lack of domestic accomplishments.

[The Daily 202: Trump is caving on border wall funding after showing his base that he tried]

Congress has to pass bills for him to sign them into law, Collins said. If there is a frustration, its really aimed at Congress, not the president.

For congressional Democrats, who have waged a full-fledged war against much of the presidents agenda, there is some relief that he has not delivered on many of his promises, most notably his vow on the ACA, also known as Obamacare.

But Democrats are also trying to blame Trump for what he hasnt accomplished. They argue that while he campaigned on a populist platform, vowing to help average Americans, he has instead spearheaded efforts that benefit the wealthy at the expense of the working class.

In some ways, Trumps blustery two-step leading up to Saturday is simply the repackaging of a strategy he learned as a real estate developer a technique he described inThe Art of the Deal astruthful hyperbole. In the 1987 book, he chronicled creating an aura of success before hed actually achieved it such as when he orderedhis Atlantic City construction crews to dig up dirt on one side of a site to simply deposit it back on the other, in order to present a sense of progress.

ButWarren Tompkins, a longtime Republican strategist based in South Carolina, said that at some point, voters will demand evidence of signature legislation.

Our problem is people voted to give us the keys to the bus, and weve forgotten how to drive, Tompkins said.

Amid Trumps struggles, even the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library felt emboldened this week. On Monday, the library posteda tweet noting the laws and executive orders President Carter had signed in his first 100 days, before ending with the most devastating statistic of all Carters approval rating of 63 percent.

Trump, the least-popular new president in modern times, has an average approval rating currently hovering in the low 40s.

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Trump scrambles to show progress as the 100-day mark approaches - Washington Post

Miles Robinson, Atlanta Uniteds first-ever draft pick , has yet to play this season for the MLS expansion squad.

The central defender, selected No. 2 from Syracuse during the SuperDraft in Los Angeles in January, said he has no regrets about leaving school after two seasons to turn professional.

Im just trying to work hard and let Tata (Gerardo Martino) make the decision that he feels comfortable with, Robinson said.

Robinson has made the 18 for three of Atlanta Uniteds games, including last weeks 3-1 win at Real Salt Lake. The team will host D.C. United on Sunday at Georgia Techs Bobby Dodd Stadium.

Robinson said he knew that he needed to improve his technical skills when he turned pro. Playing behind Michael Parkhurst and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who are very good passers and dribblers, has helped him learn.

Robinson said he frequently talks with either of the players about passes theyve made, how they spotted space, and other aspects of the position in which he hopes to improve.

He said he is also improving in those areas because the training focuses on technical ability. Its a different teaching regiment than he experienced at Syracuse because the style of play is different. The Orange wanted to get the ball into the opponents half, and win or keep possession there. Training focused on that.

Martino wants to keep possession no matter where the ball is. So, passes between defenders and even the goalkeeper are valued more than a long-ball approach.

Miles has progressed a lot in his technical ability and circulating the ball out of the back as we start moving forward, Pirez said. Miles is a great player. He just needs to play more.

Robinsons strength, and one that his teammates have noticed, is his one-on-one defending.

Hes really strong and takes the ball from a lot of people, Pirez said. He just needs to get experience and talk a little bit more. Hes going to be a great player with a lot of potential.

Robinson said theres always a little disappointment that he has yet to play, but hes not worried.

Its nothing to hang your head on this early in the season and in my career, he said. Its a matter of working hard and earning the spot that will come. I have to get better every day to do that.

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Atlanta United's Robinson likes progress - Atlanta Journal Constitution

Antonio Tajani. (photo credit:TAMARA ZIEVE)

European Parliament President Antonio Tajani on Wednesday urged European countries to step up efforts to ensure the return of property and possessions seized from Jewish victims during the Holocaust.

Speaking at the opening of an international conference in Brussels titled Unfinished Justice: Restitution and Remembrance, Tajani stressed the importance of restitution.

Declaring that restitution across Europe was still challenged by legal and technical problems, leaving victims without their property, Tajani said: Restitution, together with remembrance and reconciliation, is a fundamental element to restore justice after the Holocaust.

The European Parliament has called on the [European] Commission to develop common principles and guidelines, he added, highlighting that the 2009 Terezin Declaration provides a clear reference point for restitution and a commitment for all European countries.

Forty-seven countries, including all 28 members of the European Union, approved the Terezin Declaration, which recognizes the importance of restituting or compensating Holocaust-related confiscations made during the Holocaust era between 1933-45.

According to the World Jewish Restitution Organization, only a small fraction of private and communal property illegitimately seized from Jewish victims during the Holocaust has been returned or compensated.

WJRO also emphasized that, of the remaining 500,000 survivors alive today, up to half are estimated to live in poverty.

Progress has been made over the last years. Some countries have done a lot and have even developed best practices. Others should do more, Tajani said.

The European Shoah Legacy Institute which commissioned a comprehensive study on the status of restitution in each of the countries that endorsed the Terezin Declaration called out Poland as being the only country that has yet to enact legislation dealing with restitution or compensation of private property nationalized by the Polish postwar Communist regime.

The conference was hosted by the European Parliament and organized by the European Alliance for Holocaust Survivors, a coalition of members of the European Parliament committed to issues impacting Holocaust survivors, the WJRO and ESLI, together with the European Jewish Congress and Bnai Brith International. The permanent missions of the State of Israel, the Czech Republic, and the United Kingdom to the European Union and their respective foreign ministries were also partners in the conference.

During the conference, members of the European Parliament called on the European Commission and all member states to each appoint special envoys for Holocaust-related issues, including restitution, to accelerate activities aimed at securing justice for victims.

Gideon Taylor, chairman of operations for the World Jewish Restitution Organization, praised Tajanis announcement as a significant step toward helping Holocaust survivors achieve justice regarding confiscated property.

The support of the European Parliament sends a strong signal about the importance of fulfilling the pledges countries made under the Terezin Declaration, he said. Countries have a moral obligation to ensure that workable property restitution laws are put in place, and we hope that they will respond by reaffirming their commitment to providing justice for the remaining survivors, their families and Jewish communities as a matter of urgency.

Polish-born British Holocaust survivor Ben Helfgott also emphasized the importance of the issue, saying that committing to a substantial, broad and coordinated program of restitution goes some way to recognizing the suffering, anguish and torment that occurred directly to those Jews present at the time, and the damage it caused for generations afterwards.

The conference was attended by members of the European Parliament, diplomats, leaders of international Jewish organizations and European Jewish communities as well as Holocaust survivors.

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European Parliament president urges post-Holocaust restitution progress - Jerusalem Post Israel News

WASHINGTON -- In an Associated Press interview, President Donald Trump claimed more progress than hes achieved on his 100-day plan and showed he was not completely familiar with what he had promised in that contract with voters.

A look at some of his assertions in the interview conducted Friday and other statements he made over the past week:

TRUMP, on his 100-day plan: Im mostly there on most items. -- AP interview

THE FACTS: Hes not. Many have yet to be taken up.

Of 38 specific promises Trump made in his 100-day contract with voters, hes accomplished 10, mostly through executive orders that dont require legislation. For example, hes withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal, created a violent crime task force and lifted restrictions on fossil fuel development. Of the 10 pieces of legislation he promised, none has been achieved and most have not been introduced, with the notable exception of the health care overhaul that was put in play but withdrawn from Congress because of insufficient support. That proposal is being reworked.

He hasnt started on 15 of his 100-day promises, which include several immigration laws, college affordability, infrastructure incentives and punishment for companies that move jobs overseas. Saturday will be his 100th day.

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President Donald Trump will look to avoid a government shutdown as he heads into the final week of the first 100 days of his administration. Mr. ...

TRUMP: I think the 100 days is, you know, its an artificial barrier. Its not very meaningful. -- AP interview

THE FACTS: Hes right that a 100-day measurement of a new president is artificial. As for whether its meaningful, that depends on how much meaning a presidential candidate invests in that benchmark. Trump invested it with a series of promises by which he was to be measured in 100 days, released in an appearance at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 22.

What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again, says the manifesto. It is a contract between myself and the American voter.

It continued: On November 8th, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government. This is my pledge to you.

Trump has grown dismissive of the 100-day mark, calling it ridiculous, and now plays down his manifesto even as he boasts of his achievements. In the AP interview, he appeared to attribute the plan to his campaign staff, saying Somebody, yeah, somebody put out the concept of a 100-day plan.

TRUMP: I didnt put Supreme Court judge on the 100 (day) plan, and I got a Supreme Court judge. -- AP interview

THE FACTS: He actually did promise in his plan to begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia. On this, he delivered more than promised -- not only starting the process of finding a new Supreme Court justice but winning Senate confirmation of Neil Gorsuch, who now sits on the court.

TRUMP: No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days. -- Tuesday at the Kenosha, Wisconsin, headquarters of Snap-on tools

THE FACTS: Trumps legislative victories are minor, surpassed by those of a variety of high achievers in the White House.

Taking office in the Great Depression, Roosevelt quickly declared a banking holiday to quiet panic, called a special session of Congress and won passage of emergency legislation to stabilize the banking system. He came forward with a flurry of consequential legislation that set the pillars of the New Deal in place within his first 100 days, the most concentrated period of U.S. reform in U.S. history, say Alan Brinkley and Davis Dyer in The Readers Companion to the American Presidency. No fewer than 14 historic laws were enacted in that time.

Trumps big agenda items, like his promised tax overhaul and infrastructure plan, have yet to reach Congress. His attempt to secure the borders from people from terrorism-prone regions is so far blocked by courts. His first attempt to repeal and replace President Barack Obamas health care law failed in Congress.

Trump neednt look as far back as FDR to see a president who got off to a fast start. Obama signed a $787 billion stimulus package into law in his first month, while also achieving laws expanding health care for children and advancing equal pay for women in that time.

Like Roosevelt, Obama came to office in an economic crisis, the worst since the Depression. Lawmakers from both parties were inclined to act quickly and did, even as they fought over the details of the big stimulus package that defined Obamas early days.

President Ronald Reagans 100 days were considered the hardest-driving since FDRs time, even though Reagan was shot March 30, 1981. He presented Congress with the most consequential tax, spending and government-overhaul plan it had seen in decades, a comprehensive package that exceeds in scope anything Trump has brought forward, including his first run at health care. Congressional approval came later.

TRUMP: The weak illegal immigration policies of the Obama Admin. allowed bad MS 13 gangs to form in cities across U.S. We are removing them fast! -- tweet, Tuesday

THE FACTS: Obama cant be blamed for allowing MS-13 to form as a nationwide gang because that happened long before he became president.

A fact sheet from Trumps own Justice Department states that the gang, which originated in the 1980s in the Central American community in Los Angeles, quickly spread to states across the country.

The department indirectly credits the Obama administration, in its early years, with helping to rein in the group: Through the combined efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement, great progress was made diminishing or severely (disrupting) the gang within certain targeted areas of the U.S. by 2009 and 2010.

The U.S. carried out record deportations during the Obama administration and, on MS-13 specifically, took the unprecedented action of labelling the street gang a transnational criminal organization and announcing a freeze on its U.S. assets.

Such actions were not enough to bring down the group and the Trump administration says it will do more.

According to an FBI assessment from January 2008, before Obama took office, the gang was operating in at least 42 states and the District of Columbia, roughly the same number of states estimated now. The assessment said the group was made up of Salvadoran nationals and first-generation Salvadoran-Americans. The FBI at the time did not provide a breakdown of how many of the gangs members were immigrants or U.S. citizens.

TRUMP: I didnt soften my stance on China. Nobodys ever seen such a positive response on our behalf from China, and then the fake media goes Donald Trump has changed his stance on China. I havent changed my stance. Chinas trying to help us. - Fox interview Tuesday

THE FACTS: Its hard to imagine a clearer switch in positions than the presidents abandonment of his campaign pledge to declare China a currency manipulator, a move that would have set the stage for trade penalties. China had once devalued its currency to make its exports artificially cheaper, crowding out other countries products, but in recent years has let market forces do more to shape currency exchange rates. Even as Trump railed against Chinese currency manipulation in the presidential campaign, there already were signs that China was taking steps to keep the value of the yuan from sinking further against the dollar.

Trump didnt let go of his accusation easily. As recently as April 2 he told The Financial Times that the Chinese are world champions of currency manipulation.

TRUMP, speaking about fellow NATO members, says he wants to make sure these countries start paying their bills a little bit more. You know, theyre way, way behind. -- remarks in Kenosha

THE FACTS: Thats an oversimplification of NATO financial obligations, and one Trump has made repeatedly. NATO members are not in arrears on payments. They committed in 2014 to ensuring that by 2024, they would be spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on their military budgets. Most NATO countries are spending less than that now, and Washington is putting pressure on them to do more.

In any event, the commitment is for these nations to spend more on their own military capabilities, which would strengthen the alliance, not to hand over money.

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Fact-checking Trump's claims about his progress in first 100 days - CBS News

FRISCO, Texas For all the intrigue surrounding this years NFL draft, the loudest buzz in the Cowboys organization is about one of last years draft picks.

More than a year removed from undergoing major surgery on his injured left knee, Jaylon Smith is continuing to show signs of progress in his recovery. Given what that could mean for the Dallas defense, its a story that has garnered plenty of attention during the offseason.

Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones stoked the fire further on Monday, when he acknowledged that Smith has started to feel sensations in his left foot.

His doctors are very encouraged, which is the one that I spend the most credibility to, Jones said. They are very excited about his feelings, about his feelings in his foot area. Hes lifting those toes.

Jones has long been optimistic about Smiths odds of returning to his previous ability back when he was considered one of the five best prospects in the 2016 NFL Draft, prior to tearing both his ACL and LCL and damaging his peroneal nerve in a New Years Day bowl game 16 months ago.

But the revelation that Smith has begun to move his toes is plenty enough reason for optimism. Due to the nerve damage in his leg, the 21-year-old linebacker has been experiencing dropfoot since the injury, and there has been speculation since last spring that he would require a brace to be able to move properly on the football field.

Jones acknowledged that Smith is still dealing with that issue as it stands right now though not in the same capacity as he has in the past.

Not as much as it was by a significant degree three weeks ago. Not as much as it was in relation to three weeks ago as it was three weeks before that or three weeks before that, Jones said. And dont make it a given that hes going to have the brace on Im just telling you what I do see, his arrow is going up.

Only time will tell if that comes to pass, but theres no denying what it would mean to the Cowboys if Smith is in fact capable of playing like his old self. The organization decided to draft the Notre Dame standout 34th overall last spring, knowing full well the long recovery that awaited.

Most draft analysts agree that Smith would have been one of last years top 10 picks had he remained healthy.

I think as much as anything else, one of the reasons that we felt good enough to draft him with the situation that he was in last year was the kind of person he is, said Cowboys coach Jason Garrett. Thats the thing that just leaped out at us, the kind of spirit he has, his willingness to work hard at it.

Jones said Monday he expects Smith to be able to function just like any other player by the time the Cowboys get to training camp. If that is in fact that case, it could be quite a boost for the Cowboys.

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Cowboys Encouraged By Jaylon Smith's Continued Progress In Recovery - DallasCowboys.com

CBS Chicago

Levine: White Sox Pitching Coach Inspects Progress Of Rehabbing Carlos Rodon CBS Chicago CHICAGO (CBS) The White Sox really don't have much to say about the Carlos Rodon pitching plan. The 24 -year-old Rodon has been on the shelf after injuring his left biceps in mid-March. There are no plans to get him on the mound at this time ... and more »

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Levine: White Sox Pitching Coach Inspects Progress Of Rehabbing Carlos Rodon - CBS Chicago

Twelve-year-old Zachary Gomez loves ceiling fans.

The Jacksonville boy has been assembling them right out of the box, using no instructions, since he was 6.

Zac has shelves full of a variety of different ceiling fan parts. From the blades, the motors, arm brackets, bulbs, light shades, tools and a compartment for all of the screws, and some things that I dont even know what they are called, said his mother, Sara Gomez. He spends most of his free time either watching instructional videos on how to install ceiling fans, or how to build things, or assembling his own fans in his room.

When he was 1 year to 18 months old, his parents began noticing that he had such over the top obsessiveness about certain things, she said. They also noticed he was losing his early verbal babbling skills. Those and other concerns led to a diagnosis of moderate autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, shortly after he turned 2. The spectrum refers to a range of conditions characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors.

Zachary has made vast improvements since then, first in public-school autism programs and now at a private school. He also has attended special camps, and received a service dog and other support through the Ponte Vedra Beach-based HEAL (Healing Every Autistic Life) Foundation, which has raised about $2 million for the autism community. In line with Autism Awareness Month, the foundation will have its annual Zoo Walk fundraiser April 30 at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.

Most people would respond to hearing of an ASD diagnosis as an Oh my gosh, I am so sorry situation, similar to a death in the family. Id be lying if I said we werent feeling similar emotions initially, Gomez said. In the end, when you jump into this journey of autism, you realize that it is not a death sentence.

Zacharys verbal capacity is limited, but he has other attributes that echo other 12-year-old boys.

He is a very bright, inquisitive, gentle-natured, happy boy, she said. He definitely has a goofy sense of humor and it doesnt take much for one to be able to know how he is feeling at any given time.

By the numbers

Leslie and Bobby Weed established HEAL in 2004, inspired by their daughter, Lanier, now 19, who is nonverbal and profoundly affected by autism. When she was diagnosed in 2000, 1 in 500 people in the United States had the disorder, Leslie Weed said.

By 2007, the numbers had exploded to 1 in 150, she said. The schools were bursting at the seams and there were no summer camps, sports leagues or programs for those with autism. Bobby and I saw a great need in our community.

HEAL has given grants to public-school autism programs in six counties and to private schools, including the North Florida School of Special Education, which Zachary attends, and Jacksonville School for Autism. The foundation has donated iPads for use in classrooms of children with autism, and funded 50 autism service dogs, 15 camps, educational seminars, and year-round recreational and social events for families, among other things, Leslie Weed said.

The current rate of autism diagnoses is in the 1-in-50 to 1-in-68 range, depending on the source.

The recent sharp rise in numbers of autism has been described as an epidemic among children, Weed said. Many with autism also suffer from a constellation of illnesses, intestinal disorders and autoimmune diseases. The cause of autism is a heavily debated subject. Scientific researchers are looking into genetics and environmental causes.

HEALs iPad program has become a revolutionary tool in teaching for the area children with autism who cannot speak, she said.

This technology helps students communicate, finally giving them a voice, she said.

Making it personal

Nick Dunham was about 18 months old when he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. His mother wanted a comprehensive learning program for him. Like Weed, when she could not find adequate resources, she created them. She is founder and executive director of the Jacksonville School for Autism, which her son attends.

It started out of fear and hope, Michelle Dunham said. I wanted Nick to have the ability to have experiences.

Founded in 2005, the school combines aspects of applied behavior analysis therapy, speech and language therapy, motor skills training, sensory integration therapy, play and socialization with peers. Students learn a blend of academics and social skills.

We teach them how to act in all types of environments, Dunham said.

Enrollment is at about 50, ages 2 to 30. Their needs vary because individual cases can be mild, moderate or severe.

If youve met one individual child with autism, youve (only) met one individual child with autism, she said. They all have intelligence. Its how we reach them.

Jackson McLean, 9, is one of the students.

He said his favorite thing to do at school is play games, but he proudly showed his academic prowess by reciting numbers up to 20 in Spanish, Uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis, siete, ocho

Jackson quickly jumped from one topic to another.

Monday were moving into a new house. Its perfect, he said.

Students also participate in art and music programs, and do chores. Young students help prepare daily meals, older students help clean the cafeteria.

Dunhams son, now 18, is on the cafeteria clean-up crew. He has limited verbal skills, but is very sensory and uses his body to show his emotions, she said. When she visited the cafeteria while he was working, he greeted her with hugs and kisses.

Thats my big Nick, she said. Hes a happy boy.

Adulthood

Helping students learn workforce skills is critical, Dunham said. At her school, vocational students work on gardening and landscaping projects, among other things, and have jobs at stores and restaurants. Nick works in the produce department of a Publix, where his fruit displays are meticulously arranged.

Over the next five years, Dunham envisions a new, larger campus with more vocational training and housing for students who are aging out of the program. Because of the 1-in-50 diagnosis rate, there will be a nationwide tsunami of such young adults in coming years, she said, and there have to be jobs, housing and other support services for them.

Now a lot of (aged-out) kids are just sitting at home, Dunham said. They have to have a sustainable income.

The North Florida School for Special Education serves about 150 students ages 6 to 22 who have intellectual disabilities, including autism. In addition to vocational programs, the school helps prepare students for the workplace by visiting regular education students at other schools and community events.

Such reverse inclusion opportunities allow other people to see the students abilities rather than their disabilities and give students the chance to practice appropriate social skills, said Deb Rains, assistant head of school and director of admissions.

The school has a transition program for ages 18 to 22 and a post-graduate program for young adults for ages 22 to 40.

Sara Gomez has high hopes for Zacharys future.

A lot of things change when you get that diagnosis, she said. It may not be the route we expected to take, but you learn to appreciate and celebrate the little things in life, and how much we used to take for granted. We look at it as a different journey with a few detours.

Beth Reese Cravey: (904) 359-4109

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Jacksonville foundation, schools help youth with autism make progress - Florida Times-Union

BANGKOK

Concerted campaigns in the Greater Mekong Subregion [GMS] to radically reduce the impact of malaria has lifted hopes a vital target to eradicate malaria from the region may be within reach.

Deyer Gobinath, a malaria technical officer with the World Health Organization (WHO) in Thailand, said the outlook is positive for eliminating severe forms of malaria across the region within the next decade.

The goal is for most of the GMS countries by 2025 to try and eliminate falciparium malaria the most severe form of malaria the falciparium malariia - and then by 2030 basically all forms or all species of malaria, Gobinath said.

In 2015, WHO leaders said there were 14 million malaria cases across Southeast Asia, resulting in 26,000 deaths. Globally, in the same year, the WHO reported 438,000 lives lost, mostly in Africa and warned that 3.2 billion people almost half the worlds population face health risks from the disease.

Mortality rates decline; challenges remain

The campaigns in Southeast Asia cover Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, all reporting consistent declines in mortality rates, by as much as 49 percent since 2000.

Populations most vulnerable to the mosquito-borne disease are largely in remote border regions, isolated from infrastructure and immediate medical support.

The key areas of concern lie in regions between Thailand and Myanmar also known as Burma and in Cambodia among others.

But Saw Nay Htoo, director of the Burma Medical Association, said collaboration between medics and local communities has had a positive impact in reducing malarias impact.

In the ground level we set up the malaria [clinic] post which we have at least one malaria health worker, according to the population they have, to detect malaria, he said. And if there is malaria positive then the patient is given the malaria medicine. So we have been doing this for three years. It seems our program is going very well there are less malaria cases in the border areas.

Combination of drugs

The fight against malaria is largely based on a combination of drugs known as Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy, or ACT, as the main line of drug treatment.

The World Health Organization's Gobinath said Thailands medical infrastructure and funding support have all contributed to lowering the numbers of malaria cases.

For malaria in Thailand heres been quite a remarkable decrease a steady decrease, decline in the number of confirmed cases of malaria. In the past 10 years or so something like 30,000 cases in 2012; to 2015 it was 19,000 to 20,000 cases. So its been a gradual but persistent decline of confirmed malaria cases, he told VOA.

But he said for progress to be sustained it will require continued political will and commitment.

WHO officials said attention needs to focus on migrant worker populations moving across the regions borders. Thai health authorities have taken steps to enable medical access to migrant populations at risk of malaria, largely in remote border areas.

The battle far from over

But challenges remain, said Maria Dorina Bustos, a WHO technical officer with responsibilities for monitoring drug resistant strains of malaria across 18 countries in the Asia Pacific.

Dorina Bustos said the region with drug resistant forms of malaria is spreading. The Thai-Cambodia or the Thai-Myanmar border, you need to think about the Thai-Laos border because the Southern Laos drug resistance is also about evident is documented, it is also there. And what is actually more alarming is happening in the Cambodia side, she told VOA.

She said drug resistance becomes evident in the delay in clearance of the parasite from the patient. Dorina Bustos says the use of fake drugs and self-treatment also opens the way to drug resistance.

What we are seeing in the last five years is that it is really emerging in the most parts of the region initially just in the Western border of Cambodia and now it has also spread to the east and almost the whole country, Dorina Bustos said.

She said there is a need for close monitoring of major population centers especially in India and Africa to ensure successful treatment and avoiding issues of the use of fake medicines.

A positive note has been ongoing investment and research in new drugs, including commitments by major pharmaceutical industries.

Its really here in the Mekong where we really have a problem. Cambodia, the borders of Thailand, the borders of Thai/Laos and Cambodia/Vietnam its very specific in the Mekong region, she said. For Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and even India, Bangladesh and Nepal the ACT [Artemisinin-based Combination Therapy] is all working perfectly well.

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WHO, Medical Workers, Mark Progress in Southeast Asia Malaria Fight - Voice of America

When one death in four in the United States is due to cancer, progress against this terrible disease is important news. Reading through the recently released Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 19752014, I couldnt help but feel encouraged.

The reportjointly issued by NCI, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Cancer Society, and the North American Association of Central Cancer Registriesfinds continued declines in cancer mortality rates for men, women, and children for most cancer sites. I urge all of you to read the report for an excellent perspective on the current trends in incidence, mortality, and survival rates for cancer.

The optimistic portrait of our progress against cancer led me to also reflect upon other ways we can know whether we are making progress.

The CDCs reported mortality rates (in 2015, the year for which they have the most recent figures) further corroborate a decline in cancer deaths. For the past 5 years, nearly 75% of all deaths in the United States could be attributed to the same 10 causesled by heart disease, cancer, and lung disease. For eight out of the nine major causes other than cancer, mortality rates increased, and for the ninth, they remained flat. Cancer was the only cause where mortality rates actually decreased (by 1.7%) in 2015.

Having spent my entire career working to better understand the biology of cancer cells and how tumors develop and progress, I see this as very exciting news.

Sustained Investment in Research

To what can we attribute this progress? Cancer prevention is one major reasonand a very important one, because it has the potential to save even more lives in the long run than treatment.

NCI has made significant investments in research over many decades to improve prevention, cancer screening, and early detection, as well as to increase uptake of effective prevention strategies so that fewer people will be diagnosed with cancer and suffer from its physical, financial, social, and psychological harms.

Tobacco control effortsoften founded on NCI-supported researchhave certainly paid off in terms of reducing smoking and lung cancer rates over the past few decades. In addition, increased screening for colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer have helped improve mortality rates.

Clearly, NCIs decades-long investment in basic biological research is another critical component of the continued progress we are seeing. Our deeper understanding of cancers complexities has led to new therapeutic approaches that are being applied to a broad spectrum of cancers.

For example, we now incorporate, as part of our treatment arsenal for some cancers, a group of immunotherapy drugs known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. These agents work by removing the brakes on the immune system, allowing immune cells to kill cancer cells more effectively.

Very recently, for example, the checkpoint inhibitor avelumab (Bavencio) became the first ever FDA-approved treatment for Merkel cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer for which there had been no effective treatment until now. Its worth noting that my colleagues in NCIs Center for Cancer Research played an important role in the early trials that led to this approval, something of which we can all be proud.

Childhood Cancer

The outlook has greatly improved for young people who develop cancer. Fifty years ago, childhood cancer was virtually incurable. Today, thanks to advances in treatment, the large majority of children diagnosed with cancer can be cured. This has led to a growing population of young cancer survivors, with approximately 100,000 cancer survivors under age 20 in the United States.

Nevertheless, far too many children are still harmed by or die from cancer. Even one child who dies of cancer is one child too many. And although substantial progress has been made against several types of childhood cancer, there are other childhood cancers for which we have made limited progress and survival rates are still low. NCI is committed to speeding progress against childhood cancer and identifying effective treatments to reduce the number of children who succumb to their disease.

NCI, for instance, has been a leader in developing CAR T-cell therapies for children with leukemia and lymphoma. And Im particularly excited about the expected launch later this year of Pediatric MATCH, the pediatric counterpart to the NCI-MATCH trial of targeted therapies for adults with advanced cancers.

Complexity of Disparities

I was pleased to read in the Annual Report to the Nation that overall cancer death rates decreased for all major racial/ethnic groups over the past decades. However, certain racial/ethnic populations continue to have higher incidence and mortality rates than the general population for some cancers, including liver cancer, kidney cancer, and multiple myeloma.

Survival also varies widely by geographic area, with cancer patients in rural areas, in particular, tending to have poorer outcomes. Although many of these disparities can be attributed to differences in access to cancer screening and quality of cancer care, we need a better understanding of how the complex interplay between genetics and lifestyle influences outcomes.

Our research continues to explore innovative ways to reduce the effects of both biological and nonbiological factors that contribute to cancer disparities. As a society, we must ensure that cancer research and treatment are representative of, and reach broadly across, the entire country, meeting the needs of all demographicsrich and poor, urban and rural, and all racial/ethnic populations.

Survival Rates and Survivorship

Although trends in mortality rates are the most commonly used statistics to assess progress against cancer, trends in survival rates are another key measure. In the last quarter century, the number of cancer survivors in the United States has more than doubledfrom 7 million to over 15 million. Two out of three people diagnosed with cancer will survive 5 years or more after diagnosis.

This upward trend in overall survival rates, reinforced by decreasing cancer mortality rates, is a robust measure of progress and very heartening news.

But we must also pay attention to the quality of survivors lives. This is nowhere more evident than among survivors of childhood cancer.

Young cancer survivors live much longer, on average, than adult survivors. This means that they will have many more years of dealing with serious long-term and late effects of cancer and its treatment, including an increased risk of second cancers. Our goal is to find more-effective and less-toxic treatments so that, to the extent possible, survivors can look forward to a quality of life after their cancers have been treated that is as good as that of people who havent had cancer.

The Long-Term Follow-Up StudyExit Disclaimer, helmed by St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital, is an example of some of the important research that NCI is funding in this area.

Last month, during my visit to St. Jude, the only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center that is dedicated solely to pediatric cancer patients, I had an opportunity to hear firsthand a more in-depth perspective on this large-scale, long-term study that is tracking some 24,000 childhood-cancer survivors and their families, and helping us learn more about the long-term health effects of treatment for childhood cancer.

Results from these types of studies have the potential for recommending changes to treatment protocols, such as lower doses of radiation to help survivors live healthier lives.

The Road Ahead

Progress against cancer is big news and inspiring. Yet we know that cancer is still taking too many lives. Moreover, the great strides we are making in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer is not universal for all forms of the disease; mortality rates for some cancers, such as liver, pancreas, brain, and uterine, are still increasing.

My strong belief is that with our recent scientific discoveries, coupled with our steadfast commitment and galvanized momentum to accelerate progress, we will be able to bring mortality rates down faster and improve the lives of all patients and their loved ones.

This article has been republished frommaterialsprovided by NCI. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.

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Encouraging News On Our Progress Against Cancer - Technology Networks

A lot of progress has been made sorting out the final details of theregionalization of Catholic schools in the North Hills, but administrators said there is still much more work to be done.

Two months after the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh announced formal plans to combine seven schools into three, the nine-person board overseeing them has announced tuition rates and preschool hours. Coming next are teacher assignments which are expected this week and proposals for new names, mascots and colors, which will be finalized in time for next school year.

It is a tight timeline, but we are blessed with a lot of great people in place with this whole process, said Michael Killmeyer, the new regional administrator for the schools.

The diocese announced last fall that 11 schools in the North Hills wouldregionalize, in an effort to consolidate resources and address rapidly declining student enrollment.The school changes are part of the larger On Mission for the Church Alive restructuring plan, in which the diocese is attempting to combine an evangelistic push with the need to get leaner amid declining membership and Mass attendance. A similar model eventually will be put in place at all schools throughout the diocese, which has seen a 50 percent drop in overall elementary school enrollment since 2000.

St. Alexis in McCandless and St. Alphonsus in Pine will merge, with the pre-kindergarten students based at St. Alexis and students in kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Alphonsus. St. Sebastian will merge with St. Teresa of Avila, both in Ross, with students in first through eighth grade based at St. Sebastian and the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students at St. Teresa of Avila. St. Mary of the Assumption in Hampton, St. Bonaventure in Shaler and St. Ursula in Hampton will combine, with the pre-kindergarten students at St. Bonaventure and students in kindergarten through eighth grade at St. Mary. St. Ursulas school, which was founded in 1911, will close in June.

The remaining 10 schools will be overseen by a non-profit, North Hills Catholic Elementary Schools, which will be run by a board of five pastors and four lay people.

St. James School in Sewickley and Christ the Divine Teacher Academy also will be included in the new governance structure. Assumption and Northside Catholic schools will be included in the regionalization and spend the next year developing strategic plans, but no changes to those schools are planned for the next school year, diocesan officials said.

Certainly, with any type of announcement that things are going to change, people are going to be skeptical and respond, said Rev. Kevin Fazio, chair of the new board and pastor at St. Alphonsus Church.I think folks are beginning to see the fruits of this hard work and prayer.

Some parents have taken to Facebook to express their frustrations with the regionalization process as a whole. At first, many were worried that combining the schools would mean doing away with the kindergarten through eighth grade model that is so distinctive to Catholic elementary schools. And even though that model has been preserved, some have taken to Facebook to voice concerns about the quick turnaround for the restructuring and higher-than-expected tuition at some of the schools.

But Meredith Kandravy, head of the parent teacher guild at St. Mary, said more parents have been attending the open houses and other registration and fundraising events. Some may have beendisenchanted with the process, she said, but more people seem optimistic about the changes.

Were definitely getting a lot more people who have been giving it a chance, she said.

Parents are being asked to provide input for the new names and mascots for the merged schools. All of that will be discussed at the next board meeting in May and then submitted to Bishop David Zubik for approval, Father Fazio said. The schools will also be forming new parent and athletic associations.

The board plans to announce which teachers will be remaining at the new schools this week. The number who are retained will be based on the current number of students who have enrolled for next year, Mr. Killmeyer said. If enrollment continues to increase, the board may hire more teachers back.

I can empathize with the parents, Mr. Killmeyer said.Theyre very vested in this and trying to help. Theyre anxious to hear what teachers will be in place.

Among the other aspects of the merger the board will be working through are fundraising and finances, Father Fazio said. As part of the new regionalized structure, the 32 parishes in the North Hills will all help support the schools financially. The details of that arrangement still need to be worked through, which will take some time because the diocesewide On Mission plans for parish consolidations will be rolled out over the next five years.

Elizabeth Behrman: Lbehrman@post-gazette.comor 412-263-1590.

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North Hills Catholic schools making progress on consolidation - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette