Understanding Dementia

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Understanding Dementia

Understanding Dementia
Dementia—Comprehensive overview covers symptoms, causes, and treatments of this mental deterioration.

Overview

Dementia isn’t a specific disease. Instead, dementia describes a group of symptoms affecting memory, thinking, and social abilities severely enough to interfere with daily functioning.

Though dementia generally involves memory loss, memory loss has different causes. So memory loss alone doesn’t mean you have dementia.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of a progressive dementia in older adults, but there are a number of causes of dementia. Depending on the cause, some dementia symptoms can be reversed.

Symptoms

Dementia symptoms vary depending on the cause, but common signs and symptoms include:

Cognitive changes

  • Memory loss, which is usually noticed by a spouse or someone else
  • Difficulty communicating or finding words
  • Difficulty reasoning or problem-solving
  • Difficulty handling complex tasks
  • Difficulty with planning and organizing
  • Difficulty with coordination and motor functions
  • Confusion and disorientation

Psychological changes

  • Personality changes
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Inappropriate behavior
  • Paranoia
  • Agitation
  • Hallucinations

When to see a doctor

See a doctor if you or a loved one has memory problems or other dementia symptoms. Some treatable medical conditions can cause dementia symptoms, so it’s important to determine the underlying cause.

Causes

Dementia involves damage of nerve cells in the brain, which can occur in several areas of the brain. Dementia affects people differently, depending on the area of the brain affected.

Dementias are often grouped by what they have in common, such as the part of the brain that’s affected or whether they worsen over time (progressive dementias). Some dementias, such as those caused by a reaction to medications or vitamin deficiencies, might improve with treatment.

Progressive dementias

Types of dementias that progress and aren’t reversible include:

  • Alzheimer’s disease. In people age 65 and older, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia.

    Although the cause of Alzheimer’s disease isn’t known, plaques and tangles are often found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Plaques are clumps of a protein called beta-amyloid, and tangles are fibrous tangles made up of tau protein.

    Certain genetic factors might make it more likely that people will develop Alzheimer’s.

  • Vascular dementia. This second most common type of dementia occurs as a result of damage to the vessels that supply blood to your brain. Blood vessel problems can be caused by stroke or other blood vessel conditions.
  • Lewy body dementia. Lewy bodies are abnormal clumps of protein that have been found in the brains of people with Lewy body dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. This is one of the more common types of progressive dementia.
  • Frontotemporal dementia. This is a group of diseases characterized by the breakdown (degeneration) of nerve cells in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, the areas generally associated with personality, behavior, and language.

    As with other dementias, the cause isn’t known.

  • Mixed dementia. Autopsy studies of the brains of people 80 and older who had dementia indicate that many had a combination of Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Lewy body dementia. Studies are ongoing to determine how having mixed dementia affects symptoms and treatments.

Other disorders linked to dementia

  • Huntington’s disease. Caused by a genetic mutation, this disease causes certain nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord to waste away. Signs and symptoms, including a severe decline in thinking (cognitive) skills usually appear around age 30 or 40.
  • Traumatic brain injury. This condition is caused by repetitive head trauma, such as experienced by boxers, football players, or soldiers.

    Depending on the part of the brain that’s injured, this condition can cause dementia signs and symptoms, such as depression, explosiveness, memory loss, uncoordinated movement, and impaired speech, as well as slow movement, tremors and rigidity (parkinsonism). Symptoms might not appear until years after the trauma.

  • Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This rare brain disorder usually occurs in people without known risk factors. This condition might be due to an abnormal form of a protein. Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease can be inherited or caused by exposure to diseased brain or nervous system tissue.

    Signs and symptoms of this fatal condition usually appear around age 60.

  • Parkinson’s disease. Many people with Parkinson’s disease eventually develop dementia symptoms (Parkinson’s disease dementia).

Dementia-like conditions that can be reversed

Some causes of dementia or dementia-like symptoms can be reversed with treatment. They include:

  • Infections and immune disorders. Dementia-like symptoms can result from fever or other side effects of your body’s attempt to fight off an infection. Conditions such as multiple sclerosis that result from the body’s immune system attacking nerve cells also can cause dementia.
  • Metabolic problems and endocrine abnormalities. People with thyroid problems, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia), too little or too much sodium or calcium, or an impaired ability to absorb vitamin B-12 can develop dementia-like symptoms or other personality changes.
  • Nutritional deficiencies. Not drinking enough liquids (dehydration); not getting enough thiamine (vitamin B-1), which is common in people with chronic alcoholism; and not getting enough vitamins B-6 and B-12 in your diet can cause dementia-like symptoms.
  • Reactions to medications. A reaction to a medication or an interaction of several medications can cause dementia-like symptoms.
  • Subdural hematomas. Bleeding between the surface of the brain and the covering over the brain, which is common in the elderly after a fall, can cause symptoms similar to dementia.
  • Poisoning. Exposure to heavy metals, such as lead, and other poisons, such as pesticides, as well as alcohol abuse or recreational drug use can lead to symptoms of dementia. Symptoms might resolve with treatment.
  • Brain tumors. Rarely, dementia can result from damage caused by a brain tumor.
  • Anoxia. This condition, also called hypoxia, occurs when organ tissues aren’t getting enough oxygen. Anoxia can occur due to severe asthma, heart attack, carbon monoxide poisoning, or other causes.
  • Normal-pressure hydrocephalus. This condition, which is caused by enlarged ventricles in the brain, can cause walking problems, urinary difficulty, and memory loss.

Risk factors

Many factors can eventually lead to dementia. Some factors, such as age, can’t be changed. Others can be addressed to reduce your risk.

Risk factors that can’t be changed

  • Age. The risk rises as you age, especially after age 65. However, dementia isn’t a normal part of aging, and dementia can occur in younger people.
  • Family history. Having a family history of dementia puts you at greater risk of developing the condition. However, many people with a family history never develop symptoms, and many people without a family history do. Tests to determine whether you have certain genetic mutations are available.
  • Down syndrome. By middle age, many people with Down syndrome develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Mild cognitive impairment. This involves difficulties with memory but without loss of daily function. It puts people at higher risk of dementia.

Risk factors you can change

You might be able to control the following risk factors of dementia.

  • Heavy alcohol use. If you drink large amounts of alcohol, you might have a higher risk of dementia. Some studies, however, have shown that moderate amounts of alcohol might have a protective effect.
  • Cardiovascular risk factors. These include high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, buildup of fats in your artery walls (atherosclerosis), and obesity.
  • Depression. Although not yet well-understood, late-life depression might indicate the development of dementia.
  • Diabetes. If you have diabetes, you might have an increased risk of dementia, especially if it’s poorly controlled.
  • Smoking. Smoking might increase your risk of developing dementia and blood vessel (vascular) diseases.
  • Sleep apnea. People who snore and have episodes where they frequently stop breathing while asleep may have reversible memory loss.

Complications

Dementia can affect many body systems and, therefore, the ability to function. Dementia can lead to:

  • Inadequate nutrition. Many people with dementia eventually reduce or stop their intake of nutrients. Ultimately, they may be unable to chew and swallow.
  • Pneumonia. Difficulty swallowing increases the risk of choking or aspirating food into the lungs, which can block breathing and cause pneumonia.
  • Inability to perform self-care tasks. As dementia progresses, it can interfere with bathing, dressing, brushing hair or teeth, using the toilet independently, and taking medications accurately.
  • Personal safety challenges. Some day-to-day situations can present safety issues for people with dementia, including driving, cooking and walking alone.
  • Death. Late-stage dementia results in coma and death, often from infection.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing dementia and determining what type it is can be challenging. A diagnosis of dementia requires that at least two core mental functions be impaired enough to interfere with daily living. They are memory, language skills, ability to focus and pay attention, ability to reason and problem-solve, and visual perception.

Your doctor will review your medical history and symptoms and conduct a physical examination. He or she will likely ask someone close to you about your symptoms, as well.

No single test can diagnose dementia, so doctors are likely to run a number of tests that can help pinpoint the problem.

Cognitive and neuropsychological tests

Doctors will evaluate your thinking (cognitive) function. A number of tests measure thinking skills such as memory, orientation, reasoning and judgment, language skills, and attention.

Neurological evaluation

Doctors evaluate your memory, language, visual perception, attention, problem-solving, movement, senses, balance, reflexes, and other areas.

Brain scans

  • CT or MRI. These scans can check for evidence of stroke or bleeding or tumor or hydrocephalus.
  • PET scans. These can show patterns of brain activity and if the amyloid protein, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, has been deposited in the brain.

Laboratory tests

Simple blood tests can detect physical problems that can affect brain function, such as vitamin B-12 deficiency or an underactive thyroid gland. Sometimes the spinal fluid is examined for infection, inflammation, or markers of some degenerative diseases.

Psychiatric evaluation

A mental health professional can determine whether depression or another mental health condition is contributing to your symptoms.

Treatment

Most types of dementia can’t be cured, but there are ways to manage your symptoms.

Medications

The following are used to temporarily improve dementia symptoms.

  • Cholinesterase inhibitors. These medications—including donepezil (Aricept), rivastigmine (Exelon), and galantamine (Razadyne)—work by boosting levels of a chemical messenger involved in memory and judgment.

    Although primarily used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, these medications might also be prescribed for other dementias, including vascular dementia, Parkinson’s disease dementia, and Lewy body dementia.

    Side effects can include nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

  • Memantine. Memantine (Namenda) works by regulating the activity of glutamate, another chemical messenger involved in brain functions, such as learning and memory. In some cases, memantine is prescribed with a cholinesterase inhibitor.

    A common side effect of memantine is dizziness.

  • Other medications. Your doctor might prescribe medications to treat other symptoms or conditions, such as depression, sleep disturbances or agitation.

Therapies

Several dementia symptoms and behavior problems might be treated initially using nondrug approaches, such as:

  • Occupational therapy. An occupational therapist can show you how to make your home safer and teach coping behaviors. The purpose is to prevent accidents, such as falls; manage behavior; and prepare you for the dementia progression.
  • Modifying the environment. Reducing clutter and noise can make it easier for someone with dementia to focus and function. You might need to hide objects that can threaten safety, such as knives and car keys. Monitoring systems can alert you if the person with dementia wanders.
  • Modifying tasks. Break tasks into easier steps and focus on success, not failure. Structure and routine also help reduce confusion in people with dementia.

Alternative medicine

Several dietary supplements, herbal remedies, and therapies have been studied for people with dementia. Some may be beneficial.

Use caution when considering taking dietary supplements, vitamins, or herbal remedies, especially if you’re taking other medications. These remedies aren’t regulated, and claims about their benefits aren’t always based on scientific research.

Some alternative medicines for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia that have been studied include:

  • Vitamin E. Evidence for taking vitamin E to slow Alzheimer disease is soft. Doctors warn against taking large doses of vitamin E because it may have a higher risk of mortality, especially in people with heart disease.
  • Omega-3 fatty acids. There is some evidence that eating fish three times a week might lower your risk of dementia.

    However, in clinical studies, omega-3 fatty acids haven’t significantly slowed cognitive decline in mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. More research is needed.

  • Ginkgo. Although ginkgo is considered safe, study results have been inconsistent in determining whether ginkgo helps people with dementia.

Other therapies

The following techniques may help reduce agitation and promote relaxation in people with dementia.

  • Music therapy, which involves listening to soothing music
  • Pet therapy, which involves use of animals, such as visits from dogs, to promote improved moods and behaviors in people with dementia
  • Aromatherapy, which uses fragrant plant oils
  • Massage therapy
  • Art therapy, which involves creating art, focusing on the process rather than the outcome

Preparing for an appointment

Most likely, you’ll first see your primary care provider if you have concerns about dementia. Or you might be referred to a doctor trained in nervous system conditions (neurologist).

Here’s some information to help you get ready for your appointment.

What you can do

When you make the appointment, ask if there’s anything that needs to be done in advance, such as fasting before certain tests. Make a list of:

  • Symptoms, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment
  • Key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes and family medical history
  • All medications, vitamins, or supplements being taken, including the doses
  • Questions to ask the doctor

Even in the early stages of dementia, it’s good to take a family member, friend or caregiver along to help you remember the information you’re given.

For dementia, basic questions to ask the doctor include:

  • What is likely causing my symptoms?
  • Are there other possible causes for my symptoms?
  • What tests are necessary?
  • Is the condition likely temporary or chronic?
  • What’s the best course of action?
  • What alternatives are there to the primary approach being suggested?
  • How can dementia and other health issues be managed together?
  • Are there brochures or other printed material I can have? What websites do you recommend?

Don’t hesitate to ask other questions.

What to expect from your doctor

The doctor is likely to ask questions, such as:

  • When did your symptoms begin?
  • Have symptoms been continuous or occasional?
  • How severe are symptoms?
  • What, if anything, seems to improve symptoms?
  • What, if anything, appears to worsen symptoms?
  • How have the symptoms interfered with your life?

Lifestyle and home remedies

Dementia symptoms and behavior problems will progress over time. Caregivers might try the following suggestions:

  • Enhance communication. When talking with your loved one, maintain eye contact. Speak slowly in simple sentences, and don’t rush the response. Present one idea or instruction at a time. Use gestures and cues, such as pointing to objects.
  • Encourage exercise. Exercise benefits everyone, including people with dementia. The main benefits of exercise include improved strength and cardiovascular health. There is growing evidence that exercise also protects the brain from dementia, especially when combined with a healthy diet and treatment for risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

    Some research also shows physical activity might slow the progression of impaired thinking in people with Alzheimer’s disease. And it can lessen symptoms of depression.

  • Encourage activity. Plan activities the person with dementia enjoys and can do. Dancing, painting, gardening, cooking, singing, and others can be fun, can help you connect with your loved one, and can help your loved one focus on what he or she can still do.
  • Establish a nighttime ritual. Behavior is often worse at night. Try to establish going-to-bed rituals that are calming and away from the noise of television, meal cleanup, and active family members. Leave nightlights on in the bedroom, hall, and bathroom to prevent disorientation.

    Limiting caffeine, discouraging napping and offering opportunities for exercise during the day might ease nighttime restlessness.

  • Encourage keeping a calendar. A calendar might help your loved one remember upcoming events, daily activities and medication schedules. Consider sharing a calendar with your loved one.
  • Plan for the future. Develop a plan with your loved one while he or she is able to participate that identifies goals for future care. Support groups, legal advisers, family members and others might be able to help.

    You’ll need to consider financial and legal issues, safety and daily living concerns, and long-term care options.

Coping and support

Receiving a diagnosis of dementia can be devastating. Many details need to be considered to ensure that you and those around you are as prepared as possible for dealing with a condition that’s unpredictable and progressive.

Care and support for the person with the disease

Here are some suggestions you can try to help yourself cope with the disease:

  • Learn as much as you can about memory loss, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Write about your feelings in a journal.
  • Join a local support group.
  • Get individual or family counseling.
  • Talk to a member of your spiritual community or another person who can help you with your spiritual needs.
  • Stay active and involved, volunteer, exercise, and participate in activities for people with memory loss.
  • Spend time with friends and family.
  • Participate in an online community of people who are having similar experiences.
  • Find new ways to express yourself, such as through painting, singing, or writing.
  • Delegate help with decision-making to someone you trust.

Helping someone with dementia

You can help a person cope with the disease by listening, reassuring the person that he or she still can enjoy life, being supportive and positive, and doing your best to help the person retain dignity and self-respect.

Caregiver support

Providing care for someone with dementia is physically and emotionally demanding. Feelings of anger and guilt, frustration and discouragement, worry, grief, and social isolation are common. If you’re a caregiver for someone with dementia:

  • Learn as much about the disease as you can and participate in caregiver education programs
  • Find out about supportive services in your community, such as respite care or adult care, which can give you a break from caregiving at scheduled times during the week
  • Ask friends or other family members for help
  • Take care of your physical, emotional and spiritual health
  • Ask questions of doctors, social workers and others involved in the care of your loved one
  • Join a support group

Prevention

There’s no sure way to prevent dementia, but there are steps you can take that might help. More research is needed, but it might be beneficial to do the following:

  • Keep your mind active. Mentally stimulating activities, such as reading, solving puzzles and playing word games, and memory training might delay the onset of dementia and decrease its effects.
  • Be physically and socially active. Physical activity and social interaction might delay the onset of dementia and reduce its symptoms. Move more and aim for 150 minutes of exercise a week.
  • Quit smoking. Some studies have shown smoking in middle age and beyond may increase your risk of dementia and blood vessel (vascular) conditions. Quitting smoking might reduce your risk and will improve your health.
  • Get enough vitamin D. Research suggests that people with low levels of vitamin D in their blood are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. You can get vitamin D through certain foods, supplements and sun exposure.

    More study is needed before an increase in vitamin D intake is recommended for preventing dementia, but it’s a good idea to make sure you get adequate vitamin D.

  • Lower your blood pressure. High blood pressure might lead to a higher risk of some types of dementia. More research is needed to determine whether treating high blood pressure may reduce the risk of dementia.
  • Maintain a healthy diet. Eating a healthy diet is important for many reasons, but a diet such as the Mediterranean diet—rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and omega-3 fatty acids, commonly found in certain fish and nuts—might promote health and lower your risk of developing dementia.

Ryan Zinke Is Leaving Interior Department

New York Times

By Julie Turkewitz and Coral Davenport     December 15, 2018
Mr. Zinke had been the subject of at least a half-dozen federal investigations, one of which was recently referred to the Justice Department.CreditCreditCliff Owen/Associated Press.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a key figure in President Trump’s sweeping plan to reshape the nation’s environmental framework, resigned under pressure on Saturday as he faces numerous ethics investigations into his business dealings, travel and policy decisions.

“Secretary of the Interior @RyanZinke will be leaving the Administration at the end of the year after having served for a period of almost two years,” Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. “Ryan has accomplished much during his tenure and I want to thank him for his service to our Nation.” The president said he would name a replacement this coming week.

Mr. Zinke is the latest Trump official to exit an administration plagued by questions of ethical conflict. And his departure comes as Mr. Trump has begun a shake-up in his administration. In early November, the president fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and last weekend he announced that his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, was leaving.

In one of the final acts of Mr. Kelly’s tenure, his team told Mr. Zinke that he should leave by year’s end or risk being fired in a potentially humiliating way, two people familiar with the discussion said.

Mr. Trump has been looking at replacing a number of other cabinet officials. He has been telling associates for weeks that the commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, will be leaving now that the midterm elections are over, and he has also frequently complained about Betsy DeVos, the education secretary. The homeland security secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, is also seen as likely to depart soon.

But Mr. Trump is aware that the confirmation processes for any new nominees are likely to be more contentious in the second half of his term, as he faces re-election.

Mr. Zinke, a former Montana congressman and member of the Navy SEAL’s best known for riding an Irish sport horse through Washington on his first day in office, oversaw mineral extraction and conservation on roughly 500 million acres of public land. He had become the subject of several federal investigations, one of which his department’s top watchdog has referred to the Justice Department, a potential step toward a criminal investigation.

The inquiries include an examination of a real estate deal involving Mr. Zinke’s family and a development group backed by the Halliburton chairman, David J. Lesar. Mr. Zinke stood to benefit from the deal, while Mr. Lesar’s oil services company stood to benefit from Mr. Zinke’s decisions on fossil fuel production.

Mr. Zinke has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. “I love working for the President and am incredibly proud of all the good work we’ve accomplished together,” he said on Twitter. “However, after 30 years of public service, I cannot justify spending thousands of dollars defending myself and my family against false allegations.”

Mr. Trump had tolerated the seemingly endless drips of scandal surrounding Mr. Zinke in part because he liked him personally and in part because his focus on the cabinet was concentrated on his desire to oust Mr. Sessions.

At the same time, though, Mr. Trump disliked the bad press that was amassing for Mr. Zinke, given how it reflected on him personally. And as the incoming House Democratic majority made clear that Mr. Zinke would be a prime target, Mr. Trump’s aides convinced him that the time had come to shove out Mr. Zinke.

A few months ago, the White House Counsel’s Office indicated to some West Wing aides that officials would be less likely to be subpoenaed by the new House majority if they left before the new Congress was sworn in in January. That has helped speed up the departures of several.

“This is no kind of victory, but I’m hopeful that it is a genuine turning of the page,” said Representative Raúl M. Grijalva, who as the incoming chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee has repeatedly tangled with Mr. Zinke. He added, “The next interior secretary should respect the American people’s desire for strong environmental standards and an end to corporate favoritism.”

Mr. Zinke’s exit follows that of the other major architect of the Trump administration’s environmental policies, Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Pruitt, also known for his aggressive rollback of environmental regulations, resigned in July amid questions about alleged spending abuses, first-class travel and cozy relationships with lobbyists. Among other actions, Mr. Pruitt came under fire for reaching out to the chief executive of Chick-fil-A with the intent of helping his wife open a franchise.

Beyond examining the real estate deal, the Interior Department’s inspector general had faulted Mr. Zinke for allowing his wife, Lola, to travel in government vehicles, contrary to department policy, and chided him for using $12,000 in taxpayer money to take a charter plane after a talk to a hockey team owned by one of his biggest donors.

The inspector general has also been examining the secretary’s decision to block two Native American tribes from opening a casino in Connecticut after his office received heavy lobbying from MGM Resorts International. The entertainment giant had been planning its own casino not far from the proposed tribal one.

Delaney Marsco, ethics counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group, said Mr. Zinke’s actions had sometimes been overshadowed by Mr. Pruitt’s more obvious fumbles. That let the secretary operate in an “ethical Wild West,” she said.

“There are these laws and these ethical norms that are being blown to bits by these cabinet secretaries,” Ms. Marsco said. “And that’s the pattern, the problem, that keeps us up at night.”

You’re Hired! You’re Fired! Yes, the Turnover at the Top of the Trump Administration Is … “Unprecedented.”

Since President Trump’s inauguration, White House staffers and cabinet officials have left in firings and resignations, one after the other.

The federal investigations follow several other examinations of Mr. Zinke’s behavior. He has been criticized for claiming on dozens of occasions that he is a geologist, though he has never held a job as one. When he was a candidate for Congress, campaign finance experts questioned whether it was legal for him to benefit from a super PAC that he had created. And as a Navy SEAL, he admitted to improperly billing the government $211 for a trip home to Montana, something that two admirals told The New York Times prevented him from rising to senior levels in the Navy.

Mr. Zinke’s resignation, rather than an end to his pro-fossil fuel policies, quite likely signals a passing of the playbook. Mr. Zinke’s deputy, David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist, is expected to step in as acting head of the department.

Mr. Zinke, 57, grew up in Whitefish, Mont., a timber and tourism town at the edge of Glacier National Park. When he took charge of the Interior Department, he promised that his youth in the West would help him balance conservation and extraction on the land in his care. Much of that land is in the West, and it includes the national parks and monuments that have become the nation’s environmental icons.

With his flashy leadership style and aggressive approach to deregulation, Mr. Zinke had largely escaped the public thrashing that Mr. Trump has directed at other cabinet members. But in recent weeks the president had signaled that the secretary’s tenure might be coming to end, possibly as a result of the ethics inquiries.

“I do want to study whatever is being said,” Mr. Trump said at a news conference on Nov. 7, referring to the investigations into Mr. Zinke. “I think he’s doing an excellent job, but we will take a look at that, and we’ll probably have an idea on that in about a week.”

Mr. Zinke was considered a surprise choice for the position. He had reportedly gained favor with Donald Trump Jr., because, like the president’s son, he is an avid game hunter.

He ran the office with a swaggering flair that won him the admiration of the president and conservative Westerners, many of whom applauded his effort to move major department operations to places like Denver or Boise, Idaho. But his style also drew derision from the environmental community and the quiet mockery of many career staff members in his own agency.

In Washington, he flew a special interior secretary flag above the Interior building when he was present, and he often skipped a coat and tie for fishing shirts and boots. Beyond the capital, he hiked and rode across landscapes in a cowboy hat, even as he pushed plans to drastically reduce monument boundaries.

In June, Politico reported that Mr. Lesar, the Halliburton chairman, was lending financial backing to a major development in Mr. Zinke’s hometown, Whitefish, that would significantly raise the value of property owned by Mr. Zinke. The development would include a hotel, shops and a brewery, and Mr. Zinke’s wife had pledged in writing to allow the developer to build a parking lot that would help make the project possible. The land for the potential lot is owned by a foundation created by Mr. Zinke.

Because Halliburton is the nation’s largest oil services company, and because Mr. Zinke regulates the oil industry on public land, the deal raised questions as to whether it constituted a conflict of interest. Mr. Zinke’s schedule also showed that he had hosted Mr. Lesar and a developer involved with the hotel-brewery project in his secretarial office in 2017.

In response, three Democrats sent a letter to the Interior Department’s top watchdog, Mary L. Kendall, requesting an investigation into whether Mr. Zinke had used his position as secretary for personal financial gain. In July, Ms. Kendall complied, opening an investigation. In October, her department forwarded at least one inquiry to the Justice Department.

Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for Mr. Zinke, has said that the secretary did nothing wrong and that he resigned from his charitable foundation’s board of directors before the deal was made.

Before Mr. Zinke joined the Trump administration, he often called himself a conservative conservationist. But as secretary, he quickly became one of the chief proponents of Mr. Trump’s energy-first agenda, promoting policies that seek to open the East Coast to offshore drilling, weaken the standards of the Endangered Species Act and shrink two national monuments, constituting the largest rollback of federal land protection in the nation’s history.

Last year under Mr. Zinke, the United States offered up 12.8 million acres of federally controlled oil and gas parcels for lease, triple the average offered during President Barack Obama’s second term, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

These policies won Mr. Zinke favor with Mr. Trump, who had made promotion of the fossil fuel industry a key part of his campaign platform, as well as from the oil and gas companies that had increasingly made up Mr. Zinke’s donor base as a Montana politician.

His policies have angered environmentalists, who have filed lawsuits trying to block these plans. Many have argued that Mr. Zinke has turned his back on the nation’s environmental heritage just as dire news about climate change has made land, water and air protection increasingly urgent.

The likely replacement by Mr. Bernhardt of his former boss in an acting capacity echoes events that followed the resignation of Mr. Pruitt at the E.P.A. Mr. Pruitt, once a favorite of Mr. Trump’s for many of the same reasons as Mr. Zinke, was replaced in an acting capacity by his deputy, Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist with a low profile and a deep knowledge of the agency he ran and the regulations he sought to undo.

While Mr. Zinke spent his tenure as the face of many of the Trump administration’s efforts, many on the inside saw Mr. Bernhardt as the effective manager who was able to push policies through. Mr. Bernhardt, with years of experience in the George W. Bush administration, and as a former lawyer and lobbyist for some of the nation’s largest oil companies, brings a deep insider’s knowledge to his job that Mr. Zinke lacked. His former legal clients included the Independent Petroleum Association of America and Halliburton.

Since his Senate confirmation last summer, Mr. Bernhardt has generated criticism from environmental and government watchdog groups that his new role will create a conflict of interest, as he oversees proposals that could directly benefit his former clients.

Maggie Haberman and Sheryl Gay Stolberg contributed reporting.

7-year-old immigrant girl dies after Border Patrol arrest

Associated Press

7-year-old immigrant girl dies after Border Patrol arrest
Associated Press        December 14, 2018

Wisconsin Republicans couldn’t accept that Scott Walker lost an election

Vice News posted an episode of Vice News Tonight
December 14, 2018

Wisconsin Republicans couldn’t accept that Scott Walker lost an election.

So they did this. And he just signed it into law.

Wisconsin Republicans Are Trying to Strip Power From Newly Elected Democrats

Wisconsin Republicans couldn't accept that Scott Walker lost an election.So they did this. And he just signed it into law.

Posted by VICE News on Friday, December 14, 2018

Scott Walker Signs Wisconsin GOP’s Massive Power Grab Into Law

Trump says GM shift to electric vehicles is ‘not going to work’

Reuters

Trump says GM shift to electric vehicles is ‘not going to work’

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Thursday said General Motors’ decision to shift much of its focus to electric vehicles will not succeed, and he asserted a new trade deal will make it harder for the company to move work to other countries.

GM last year said it planned to launch 20 new electric vehicles by 2023 as it faces rising regulatory requirements for zero-emission vehicles in China and elsewhere.

The largest U.S. automaker has come under enormous criticism in Washington after it announced on Nov. 26 plans to close four plants in the United States and cut up to 15,000 jobs in North America.

Trump questioned GM CEO Mary Barra’s business strategy in an interview with Fox News. “They’ve changed the whole model of General Motors. They’ve gone to all-electric. All-electric is not going to work … It’s wonderful to have it as a percentage of your cars, but going into this model that she’s doing I think is a mistake,” Trump said.

Barra was on Capitol Hill for two days of meetings last week to discuss the company’s decision with angry lawmakers from states where plants are closing. “To tell me a couple weeks before Christmas that’s she’s going to close in Ohio and Michigan — not acceptable to me,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly said GM should reverse a decision to close an assembly plant in northeast Ohio, an area potentially crucial in the 2020 presidential election. “Ohio is going to replace those jobs in like two minutes,” Trump said. “She’s either going to open fast, or somebody else is going to go in.”

GM shares fell 1.4 percent in trading Thursday.

Asked to respond, GM said it timed its job cut announcement so employees could accept open jobs at other plants.

“We continue to produce great vehicles today for our customers while taking steps toward our vision of a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion,” GM said.

Trump suggested that a new free trade deal with Mexico and Canada makes it “very uncomfortable” for GM to build cars outside the United States.

“I don’t like that General Motors does that … General Motors is not going to be treated well,” he said without elaborating.

Trump signed a new trade deal with Mexico and Canada on Nov. 30 to replace the North American Free Trade Agreement, but that deal has not been approved by the U.S. Congress.

The deal boosts the North American content requirements for vehicles to be traded tariff free and requires a significant percentage of vehicles to be made by workers earning at least $16 an hour.

Some Democrats argue the trade deal may need changes to deter GM and other automakers from continuing significant production in Mexico. GM is not backing off its plans to build the new Chevrolet Blazer SUV in Mexico.

Reporting by David Shepardson and Lisa Lambert

The Border Wall Is Going to Be an Environmental Disaster

GQ

The Border Wall Is Going to Be an Environmental Disaster

Luke Darby             December 13, 2018
The Border Wall Is Going to Be an Environmental Disaster
The Supreme Court has decided that the Trump administration can ignore more than two dozen public health and environmental laws to build the wall faster.

Donald Trump made it clear earlier this week that he was willing to wage all out war on the U.S. government if that’s what it takes to get them to give him money to pay for his border wall, his biggest vanity project since whatever last garish building he slapped his name on. While he hasn’t managed to wrest funding from either Congress or Mexico, the administration has already started moving forward with private land seizures. They’ve also, it turns out, been quietly exempting themselves from environmental and public health laws in the hopes of speeding up construction.

According to The Guardian, the most diverse butterfly sanctuary in the country, the 100-acre National Butterfly Center in Missions, TX, is in the way of Trump’s wall. Normally, the federal government wouldn’t be allowed to cut through and demolish sections of the sanctuary, but the Supreme Court ruled last week that the administration had the right to waive 28 laws that would otherwise have prevented or slowed construction. Now, it’s likely to be bulldozed.

A small sample of the laws that the Court decided the Trump administration doesn’t have to follow include: the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. This seems extreme, but it’s now common Republican ideology that laws and regulations that protect the environment and public health are overly burdensome obstacles for businesses, and it should be up to the free market to determine who does and doesn’t have access to things like drinking water.

But there’s an even more insidious aspect to how and where portions of the wall will be built. From the Guardian:

“This is not just that they will drive ocelots to extinction,” said [Scott Nicol, co-chair of the Sierra Club Borderland team], referring to the critically endangered wild cat found in the Rio Grande Valley. “Families trying to come into this country will be pushed into the desert to die.”

“Border walls are death sentences for wildlife and humans alike,” said Amanda Munro of the Southwest Environmental Center, an organization that works to restore and protect native wildlife and habitats. “They block wild animals from accessing the food, water and mates they need to survive. They weaken genetic diversity, fragment habitat, and trap animals in deadly floods. At the same time, they drive desperate asylum seekers to risk their lives in the unforgiving desert.”

That’s the point, or course. Trump is a fan of using punishing deterrents, and has admitted himself that his family separation policy was designed to horrify immigrants into not trying to enter the U.S. And the Border Patrol has long had an unofficial stance that it’s preferable for people to die crossing the desert than to make it across and be arrested, as shown by video evidence of officers destroying water left throughout the border region to keep migrants from dying of dehydration.

If the administration is willing to so casually engage in atrocities at the border, it should come as no surprise that they’re fine with ignoring laws meant to keep both people and the environment safe and healthy.

Betsy DeVosto forced to cancel $150 M in student loan debt after losing court battle

Thomas Barrabi                  December 14, 2018

The U.S. Department of Education will cancel $150 million in student loans after a judge dismissed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ bid to block an Obama-era rule on the matter.

The debt forgiveness applies to about 15,000 student borrowers who were eligible for “closed school” loan discharges. Roughly half of the canceled debt belongs to students who attended Corinthian Colleges, a chain of for-profit schools that shuttered in April 2015, with the remaining debt tied to students who attended schools that closed from 2013 to 2018.

“On Friday, Dec. 14, 2018, we will begin emailing borrowers to inform them that the company that handles billing and other services related to their federal student loans will discharge some or all of the borrower’s loans within the next 30–90 days,” the department said in a press release.

DeVos had sought to block efforts to cancel debts for students who attended schools that closed or the Corinthian Colleges, which were accused of providing inflated job placement statistics to lure attendees. A group of 18 states and Washington, D.C., successfully challenged DeVos’ effort, and a judge ordered the loan discharges to proceed last September.

DeVos had argued that the Obama-era mandate made it too easy for students to escape their debt, at the expense of colleges and taxpayers, Politico reported.

Federal officials fined Corinthian Colleges $30 million over the misleading statistics in April 2015. The for-profit chain closed shortly thereafter.

New rules meant to make golf faster, fairer and simpler

Reuters

Golf: New rules meant to make golf faster, fairer and simpler

By Andrew Both, Reuters      December 14, 2018
FILE PHOTO: A golf club is positioned near a ball as a boy plays a game near the beach in Gargaresh area in Tripoli
A golf club is positioned near a ball as a boy plays a game near the beach in Gargaresh area in Tripoli September 17, 2013. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori.
(Reuters) – The New Year will usher in dozens of new rules in the biggest revamp of golf regulations in decades, even if at the recreational level it is more a case of catching up to what many casual players have been doing for years anyway.

Formulated by the U.S. Golf Association and the Royal & Ancient Club of St. Andrews, with input from professional bodies including the PGA Tour, the rules should among other things speed up the game.

“It’s the most significant rules change in the modern era, certainly the biggest this generation of professional players are going to see,” said PGA Tour rules official Steve Rintoul, who was on the committee that wrote the rules.

“This was a complete overhaul to make the rules easier to understand, eliminate silly penalties and be more player friendly.”

Some rules have been revamped for recreational golfers but will stay the same at the elite level. One important example is the procedure for a ball hit out-of-bounds or lost.

Under the current ‘stroke-and-distance’ rule, a one-stroke penalty is incurred and the player must return to the same spot to hit another ball, meaning a tee shot that results in a lost ball forces them to return to the tee for their third shot.

In reality, many recreational players instead drop a ball in the vicinity of where it was lost and play on.

In 2019, courses have the option of implementing a rule that will allow players to take a two-stroke penalty and hit from an equidistant point from where they estimate their ball to be lost or out-of-bounds.

In effect they can play their fourth shot from the fairway after an errant tee shot, instead of their third from the tee.

Another rule that should help recreational golfers is the option of accepting a two-stroke penalty for relief from a bunker.

At all levels of the game, players will now be able to repair spike marks on greens and while there has been suggestions that might slow down play, Rintoul disagreed.

“Players are already repairing ball marks,” Rintoul said. “It’s not going to take any longer to press down one or two spike marks on their line.

“If everyone’s allowed to repair the damage they’ve caused, greens will be much better throughout the whole day.”

There will also be no penalty for accidentally moving a ball on the green, while another change would allow players to putt with the flagstick in the hole and American Ryder Cup player Bryson DeChambeau said recently that he might try it, but Rintoul thought that experiment would be short-lived.

“I don’t think it’s going to impact professional golf,” Rintoul said. “The first time that Bryson’s ball hits the flagstick and doesn’t go in will be the last time he does it.”

Rintoul, however, thought one new rule dealing with damaged clubs could be problematic.

Players can currently replace a club damaged during the normal course of play, even if it has borne the brunt of their frustration.

The new rule will no longer allow players to replace the club during a round, which could cause issues as newer thin-faced drivers are developed, which tended to crack more often.

“We’ve had so many incidents of driver faces that have cracks, or are starting to cave in,” he said.

“From the tour side, six months from now this may be seen as the most controversial change.

“The first high profile tournament that the leader cracks a driver-head or cracks a shaft, and can’t replace it, it will certainly be a hot topic.”

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)

World’s funniest wildlife photos of 2018

Thousands of photographs depicting wildlife in various stages of “funny” were submitted to the fourth annual Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, and the judges have narrowed the list down to a group of finalists.

Wildlife photographers Tom Sullam and Paul Joynson-Hicks created the awards in concert with the Born Free Foundation to highlight the serious side of wildlife, that being the importance of conserving our wildlife.

Officials from The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards were kind enough to allow BNQT to share photos of the finalists for your enjoyment. Winners will be announced Nov. 15.

The titles used by the photographers introduce the photos and we caption them afterward. Enjoy!

All photos are copyrighted and used here with permission.