Cops Reveal Chilling New Details About Nashville Shooter Audrey Hale

Daily Beast

Cops Reveal Chilling New Details About Nashville Shooter Audrey Hale

Josh Fiallo – April 3, 2023

Authorities revealed Monday that Nashville mass killer Audrey Hale fired off 152 rounds during the assault at the Covenant School that left six dead and sent a church community into mourning.

The shocking detail emerged in the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department’s latest update on their investigation, which also revealed that Hale plotted the massacre for months in writings found inside his car and home.

“[Hale] documented, in journals, [their] planning over a period of months to commit mass murder at The Covenant School,” police said in a news release Monday.

Nashville Shooter Amassed an Arsenal Despite Being Under Doctor’s Care–

Cops say Hale’s writings have been turned over to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, Virginia, which is working with local detectives to determine what drove Hale to slaughter three kids and three staffers at his former primary school.

While a precise motive hasn’t been discovered, police said they’ve determined that Hale “considered the actions of other mass murderers.”

Hale’s motive has been a mystery from the start. Nashville Police Chief John Drake initially speculated that 28-year-old Hale, who attended the private religious school as a kid, held “resentment” toward former teachers there. It’s since been revealed that Hale was devastated by the recent death of a close friend, was under the care of a doctor for an emotional disorder, and had sent a series of dark messages to a friend just before the assault began.

On the day of the shooting, March 27, Drake said Hale left behind a “manifesto” that was being studied by detectives, but its contents haven’t been made public.

The barrage of bullets fired by Hale came from two assault rifles and a handgun, cops said Monday. The three weapons were part of a seven-gun arsenal Hale had legally amassed behind his parents back—stashing the weapons throughout the Nashville home they shared, Drake said last week.

Hale was gunned down by two Nashville officers just 14 minutes after he broke into the school by shooting through locked glass doors. Police said Monday those officers each fired four shots, killing Hale at the scene.

Associated Press

Nashville police: School shooter planned attack for months

Travis Loller, Jonathan Mattise and Kimberlee Krues – April 3, 2023

Students march from Hume Fogg High School to the State Capitol for the March For Our Lives protest against gun violence in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Nashville School Shooting
Students gather outside the State Capitol for the March for Our Lives anti gun protest in Nashville, Tenn., Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Maggie Williams wipes away tears as she is comforted by Ruby Barton at the March for Our Lives anti gun violence protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Josia Arteaga, front right, takes part in the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Students participate in the March for Our Lives anti gun violence protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Cheyenne Harris yells with other demonstrators at the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Robin Casler draws a chalk outline around Noah Williams at the March for Our Lives anti gun protest outside the State Capitol in Nashville, Tenn., on Monday, April 3, 2023. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

A balloon with names of the victims is seen at a memorial at the entrance to The Covenant School on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As students across Nashville walked out of class on Monday to protest gun violence at the Tennessee Capitol following a school shooting last week, police said the person who killed six people, including three 9-year-old children, had been planning the massacre for months.

Police have not established a motive for the shootings at The Covenant School, a small Christian elementary school where the 28-year-old shooter was once a student, according to a Monday news release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. Both Nashville police and FBI agents continue to review writings left behind by Audrey Hale, both in Hale’s vehicle and home, police said.

“It is known that Hale considered the actions of other mass murderers,” police said.

The three children who were killed in the shooting were Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney. The three adults were Katherine Koonce, 60, the head of the school, custodian Mike Hill, 61, and 61-year-old substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.

Hale fired 152 rounds during the attack before being killed by police. That included 126 rifle rounds and 26 nine-millimeter rounds, according to police.

Outside the state Capitol on Monday, thousands rallied in a call for gun reform, many of them students from Nashville-area schools who walked out of their classes en masse. Some other students sat outside the House speaker’s office in the legislative building.

The crowd outside the Capitol echoed chants such as “thoughts and prayers are not enough” and sang along to songs like “All You Need is Love” – adding to it, “and action!” At one point, they sat for a moment of silence, raising posters above their heads that read, “Thoughts and prayers are useless to dead children,” “Book bags not body bags,” and “2nd graders over 2nd amendment.” Some students wore orange shooting-target stickers on their shirts.

Vivian Carlson, a senior at Hume-Fogg High School nearby in downtown Nashville, helped organize her school’s walkout. She told the crowd that her biggest fear last week, when the shooting unfolded, should have been “missing the bus or my stepmom scolding me for not cleaning the cat litter box.” Instead, she said she was missing English class Monday because politicians are “protecting old laws for a new society.”

Carlson, like many others who addressed the crowd, called for changes to Tennessee’s gun laws, including a ban on assault weapons, tougher background checks and a “red flag” law. Red flag laws generally allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate weapons from people whose statements or behavior are deemed to make them a danger to themselves or others.

“To my fellow students, we cannot let this pressure and fire escape us,” Carlson said. “Feel the fear as you walk into school and let it inspire you to fight for change. And please, if there is one thing you can do, I beg you to vote.”

Tennessee’s Republican governor and supermajority Republican legislature have moved to loosen gun laws in recent years. The same day as the Covenant shooting a federal judge quietly cleared the way to drop the minimum age for Tennesseans to carry handguns publicly without a permit to 18 — just two years after a new law set the age at 21.

As thousands swarmed the Capitol, Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers held a press conference nearby to unveil legislative proposals that would add more funding for school resource officers and mental health resources.

The proposals included $140 million to place an armed security guard at every public school, as well as $27 million to enhance public and private school security. Lee is also proposing adding $30 million to expand the state’s homeland security network that will work with both public and private schools.

The governor’s proposals must now clear the Legislature as lawmakers are in their final weeks of the session.

Notably absent from Lee’s announcement were any calls to tighten the state’s access to guns. As he stood surrounded by top Republican leaders, Lee said he believed that people who are a threat to themselves should not have access to weapons, but also stated that any law designed to address those concerns shouldn’t impede 2nd Amendment rights.

He called on the Legislature to find the appropriate solution. Yet that call to action may be short-lived after Sen. Todd Gardenhire, who chairs the influential Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that he has no plans to consider any new gun-related bills this session.

“We all agree that we should all find something that we agree upon,” Lee said. “I think we can do that and I think we should do that.”

Lee added that he had not talked to Gardenhire about his stance on halting new gun legislation.

An AP investigation last year found that most U.S. state barely use the red flag laws touted as the most powerful tool to stop gun violence before it happens. It’s a trend experts blame on a lack of awareness of the laws and resistance by some authorities to enforce them even as shootings and gun deaths soar.

Even after the main rally ended Monday, hundreds of protesters remained at the Capitol as lawmakers went into the House and Senate chambers for their evening sessions. Many protesters made their way inside the building, where they sang “This Little Light of Mine” before erupting into chants, “Save our kids!”

The scene recalled a rowdy gun control protest last week. On Thursday, protesters were forced to leave the Senate chamber gallery after yelling, “Children are dead!” — and two Democratic lawmakers caused the House to temporarily shut down by chanting, “Power to the people!” through a megaphone.

Police have said Hale was under a doctor’s care for an undisclosed “emotional disorder.” However, authorities haven’t disclosed a link between that care and the shooting. Police also said Hale was not on their radar before the attack.

Social media accounts and other sources indicate that the shooter identified as a man and might have recently begun using the first name Aiden. Police have said Hale “was assigned female at birth” but used masculine pronouns on a social media profile. However, police have continued to use female pronouns and the name Audrey to describe Hale.

Here’s how the polarizing M16 or AR-15 rifle went from a symbol of America’s lost war in Vietnam to being owned by about 16 million Americans in 70 years

Business Insider

Here’s how the polarizing M16 or AR-15 rifle went from a symbol of America’s lost war in Vietnam to being owned by about 16 million Americans in 70 years

James Pasley – April 1, 2023

Reporter Betsy Halstead stands on the bed of a truck holding an M16 automatic rifle — Reporter Betsy Halstead learns how to fire an M16 automatic rifle during the Vietnam War in 1965.Bettmann/Getty Images

The M16 or AR-15 rifle is one of the US’s most divisive symbols
To gun enthusiasts, it is an effective, lightweight weapon. To anti-gun advocates, it’s a symbol of mass shootings.
Experts estimate approximately 16 million adults in the US now own at least one of these rifles.

On Monday, a mass shooter killed three students and three adults at a school in Nashville. The shooter used two AR-15 rifles in the attack.

Semiautomatic rifles, including AR-15s, are becoming more common weapons used in recent mass shootings in the US, according to the National Criminal Justice Association. Since 2012, 10 out of 17 of the deadliest shootings in the country featured an AR-15 rifle, the Independent reported.- ADVERTISEMENT -https://s.yimg.com/rq/darla/4-10-1/html/r-sf-flx.html

AR-15 rifles are light, accurate, and quick. When they were used by the military, they were called M16 rifles.

As of 2023, about 16 million adults in the US own at least one, according to polling conducted by The Washington Post and Ipsos. It is the country’s best-selling rifle, but it has also become a divisive political symbol.

According to CJ Chivers, when a discussion turns to AR-15s, it stops being rational.

“The conversation is burdened by history, cluttered with conflicting anecdotes, and argued over by passionate camps,” Chivers wrote in an article for The New York Times.

In the 1950s, Eugene Stoner, an engineer with firearms company ArmaLite, was tinkering with gun designs in his garage.

Soldiers looking at an M-15 rifle in 1965.Stuart William MacGladrie/Fairfax Media/Getty Images

He wanted to create a new gun that could shoot steadily with a single pull of the trigger after studies showed soldiers dealing with the pressure of combat during World War II and the Korean War were not pulling the trigger on their weapons.

Sources: New Yorker, New York Times

Stoner ended up inventing the AR-15 (as in the “ArmaLite Rifle) to rival the Soviet-created AK-47. He understood the importance of a light gun and how deadly a small bullet could be.

A pile of empty brass casings from M16 rifles on the group at the Fort Dix firing range, New Jersey, in 1967.Leif Skoogfors/Getty Images

He spoke to Congress about his gun and explained its effectiveness, saying all bullets were designed to fly through the air, but they became unstable when they hit a target.

What wasn’t so obvious was that a smaller bullet grew unstable quicker and caused far more damage to the target — meaning more brutal injuries for their opponents.

Sources: Washington Post, Washington Post, New Yorker, Poynter

In a recent investigation, The Washington Post examined the damage a modern AR-15 can inflict, finding an AR-15 bullet can destroy entire organs or rip apart a human skull.

A US soldier holding an M16 rifle beside abandoned vehicles with their doors open in Saudi Arabia in 1991.David Turnley/Corbis/VCG/Getty Images

Joseph Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a gunshot survivor, told The Washington Post that when he operated on people who had been shot by an AR-15, their body tissue “literally just crumbled into your hands.”

The Washington Post compared the bullet’s damage to the wake of a boat — where a blast ripples out, damaging body parts otherwise untouched by the bullet.

Source: Washington Post

The US army wanted this kind of lethal weapon for the Vietnam War. It needed a decent alternative to the North Vietnamese’s AK-47s.

President John F. Kennedy examines an early Colt AR-15 in the White House in 1963.Cecil Stoughton courtesy JFK Library/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, New York Times

Unlike the cumbersome M-14 that soldiers had been using, the AR-15 was accurate, quick, and light to carry. Soldiers could go into battle with it, as well as plenty of ammunition.

A soldier uses his M16 during a battle in the Vietnam War in 1971.Neal Ulevich/AP

It used a gas operating system, making reloading quicker, and it included a new design that redirected gas from the fired cartridge, which made it easier to aim.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, New York Times

After initial testing in 1958, the US government bought 8,500 in 1962 and renamed it the M16. An internal report from the Pentagon called the gun “an outstanding weapon with phenomenal lethality.”

The M16 rifle in 1967.Bettmann/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, New Yorker, CNN

But the design of the M16 wasn’t ready for combat. The government probably should have refined the design. Instead, it hurried out production of the rifle.

US Marines in Vietnam use their M16 rifles in 1968.AP

By 1966, issues with the M16 were widespread. Soldiers’ rifles were jamming during battles. A report from 1967 said four out of every five troops from a group of 1,585 had dealt with jamming.

Paratroopers carry a wounded soldier while another holds an M16 in Vietnam in 1965.Horst Faas/AP

It got so bad that soldiers had to use a metal rod to dislodge a cartridge case. The gun was compared to a single-shot musket rifle.

Source: New York Times

Even so, the US army kept to its story — this was the weapon that would win them the Vietnam War.

A soldier keeps his M16 out of the water while crossing a Mekong Delta waterway in Vietnam in May 1969.Robert Shaw/AP

Source: New York Times

At the same time, American firearms manufacturer Colt Industries was working on modifying the M16. By 1967, it was made of plastic, aluminum alloy, and steel and was capable of shooting 30 rounds over nine football fields at a speed far faster than the speed of sound.

A cavalry soldier looks through a "starlight scope" that is attached to an M16 rifle in Vietnam in 1967. — A cavalry soldier looks through a “starlight scope” that is attached to an M16 rifle in Vietnam in 1967.Claude Bohner/AP

Source: Washington Post

During this period, Colt also turned to the domestic market. The company released a civilian M16 which was, once again, called an AR-15. It had the same gas operating system and was advertised to campers and hunters.

A weapons expert shows an officer how to use an AR-15 at a firing range in 2002.Luke Frazza/AFP/Getty Images

Though the M16 was fully automatic, the AR-15 was a semi-automatic weapon, meaning one-trigger pull shot one bullet, and the gun automatically reloaded the chamber.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Poynter

The National Rifle Association called it “America’s rifle.” It later was advertised using questions like, “Should you shoot a rapist before he cuts your throat?”

A child is beside a table of bumper stickers at an NRA convention in 1995. — A table of bumper stickers at an NRA convention in 1995.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, New Yorker

After 1977, when the patent for Stoner’s original gas system expired, a dozen manufacturers started selling their own AR-15 rifle, and “AR-15” became an umbrella name for a type of rifle.

A person holds gun while others look at guns at an NRA convention in 1995. — People looking at guns at an NRA convention in 1995.Mark Peterson/Corbis/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, Poynter

But the AR-15 didn’t become a domestic hit overnight. A large portion of the gun industry wasn’t sure about it. Many people called it the “black rifle” and considered it too expensive and ugly for hunting.

An army instructor inspects US-made M16 rifles during a training exercise in El Salvador in 1982.Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Instead, throughout the 1980s, AR-15s were mainly bought by law enforcement and “survivalists.”

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, CNN

Things began to change in 1989 after a mass shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California. A lone gunman shot 34 people, killing 5 children, before killing himself. In response, Colt stopped selling AR-15s for a whole year.

Daniel Correa shows one of the guns that was used in the mass shooting at Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California.AP

But Chris Bartocci, former Colt employee and author, told CNN the shooting actually increased the AR-15’s profile. Before the shooting, many people didn’t know this type of gun was available on the domestic market. But they knew about it afterward.

Source: CNN

Weapon bans were discussed during the Bush administration, but nothing was formalized until 1994 when the Clinton administration passed a bipartisan law that banned the manufacturing and selling of about 118 types of military-grade guns.

President Bill Clinton shakes hands with Stephen Sposato after he signed a sweeping crime bill that included a ban on assault weapons. — President Bill Clinton shakes hands with Stephen Sposato, whose wife was killed by a gun violence, after he signed a sweeping crime bill that included a ban on assault weapons.J. Scott Applewhite/AP

They were defined for the first time as “assault weapons.” The ban was imposed on guns that had magazines that could hold more than 10 bullets.

“Today, at last, the waiting ends,” then-President Bill Clinton said at the signing. “Today, the bickering stops, the era of excuses is over.”

Sources: New York Times, New York Times, Poynter

But the new law didn’t include guns that were made before 1994, and due to loopholes, buyers could still buy slightly modified AR-15s. The Washington Post called the law “largely toothless.”

A civilian tries out an M16 at a gun shop in 1993.Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe/Getty Images

Some experts also believed that banning assault weapons made them more attractive to some Americans.

Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Poynter

In the early 2000s, the gun industry, which had been in a slump, harnessed the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks to stoke patriotism and increase demand for AR-15s.

“There has never been a better accidental advertising campaign in history,” Doug Painter, former president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told The Washington Post.

Source: Washington Post

This continued into 2004 when the Clinton administration ban ended. At this point, the US was in the midst of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and patriotic images of soldiers using M16s prompted an increase in civilians buying AR-15s.

A woman is instructed how to handle an M16 rifle by Marine Sergeant Richard Diaz in California in 2002.David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Sources: New York Times, New York Times, CNN, Washington Post

First-person shooter video games like Call Of Duty increased the popularity of AR-15s by showing people what it was like to use one in a virtual setting.

A man holds a video game controller while playing Call of Duty 3 as seen on a screen in 2006. — A man plays Call of Duty 3 in 2006.Joerg Sarbach/AP

Sources: Washington Post, Poynter

AR-15s could also be reconfigured based on their owners’ needs — cosmetically or for different uses, like hunting, target practice, or law enforcement — which helped their growing popularity.

A gun salesman holds an AR-15 with a bayonet mount at a Pittsburgh gun shop in 2004.Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Source: CNN

In 2005, the gun lobby was bolstered by the Bush administration. It passed a law called the Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act, which protected gun companies from being sued when their guns were used unlawfully, like in a mass shooting.

Former President George W. Bush is applauded for signing the Protection of Lawful Commerce Arms Act in 2005.Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

Sources: Poynter, CNBC

In 2007 and 2008, during Barack Obama’s run for president, the gun lobby didn’t miss a beat. They claimed the US had never “faced a presidential candidate — and hundreds of candidates running for other offices — with such a deep-rooted hatred of firearm freedoms.”

A sign explaining a version of Obama's gun control policies sits taped at a gun store in 2008. — A sign explaining a version of Obama’s gun control policies sits taped at a gun store in 2008.Kasha Broussalian/Digital First Media/Boulder Daily Camera/Getty Images

The fear of another gun ban caused sales to go up again. According to CNN, gun production increased by more than 50% once Obama took office.

Sources: CT Post, New Yorker, CNN

According to Ryan Busse, a senior policy advisor who worked for a gun control policy group called Giffords, it was during this era that the AR-15’s image began to change.

A woman holds an AR-15 at a gun rights rally at the Utah State Capitol in 2013.George Frey/Getty Images

“By the time Obama was leading in the polls in 2007, the AR-15 was starting to become the poster child, both of industry growth, but also what we now see, which is right-wing politics wrapped in and around the firearms industry and firearms ownership,” Busse told Poynter.

Source: Poynter

The AR-15’s popularity began to show in another way, too — it became more prevalent in mass shootings. From 1996 to 2009, AR-15s were used in one out of every three mass shootings. But from 2009 to 2019, it was used in more than half of mass shootings.

People embrace by a memorial for a mass shooting in Oregon in 2019 — People at a memorial for a mass shooting in Oregon in 2019, where the shooter used an AR-15 rifle.Scott Olsen/Getty Images

At the same time, a Pew gun survey conducted in 1999 and 2017 showed gun owners had done a complete reversal in why they bought guns. In 1999, 26% of participants owned a gun for protection. By 2017, it was up to 67%.

Sources: Washington Post, Poynter, CNN

Despite the increase in use during mass shootings, the industry continues to grow. As of 2023, about 16 million adults in the US own at least one AR-15 rifle. It has become the country’s best-selling rifle.

A man and his 7-year-old son look at an AR-15 rifle at an NRA convention in 2022.Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The gun industry believes there are about 20 million AR-15s across the country.

Source: Washington Post, Insider

In 2021, President Joe Biden said if he could do one thing to the gun industry, it would be to let victims of gun violence sue gun makers. But so far, he hasn’t achieved that.

President Joe Biden speaks about efforts to reduce gun violence at The Boys & Girls Club of West San Gabriel Valley in Monterey Park, California.Evan Vucci/AP

Last year, his administration did pass a new gun law, but it doesn’t specifically restrict AR-15s and is actually less restrictive than the 1994 law.

Sources: Poynter, CNBC

Going forward, it remains difficult to impose any limits on selling and purchasing AR-15s because of the rifle’s popularity and powerful lobbying by gun companies and the NRA.

A man holds an AR-15 while the gun shop owner looks on at a Maryland gun shop in 2023.Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Source: Washington Post

As Senator Chris Murphy told The Washington Post, protecting the AR-15 has become the gun lobby’s “number one priority.”

US Sen. Chris Murphy speaks during a gun protest in 2022.Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

Why Does America Keep Killing it’s Children?: ‘Radiant’ 9-Year-Old Killed While Leading Nashville Classmates to Safety, Family Believes

Daily Beast

‘Radiant’ 9-Year-Old Killed While Leading Nashville Classmates to Safety, Family Believes

Eileen Grench – March 30, 2023

A 9-year-old girl killed during the deadly school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee may have been leading her classmates to safety after a fire alarm was tripped when the killer entered the school, her aunt told The Daily Beast.

Evelyn Dieckhaus’ aunt said that while exact details of Evelyn and other victims’ final moments are still unclear, she heard her “radiant” niece died after leading her classmates in what she possibly thought was a fire drill.

“We’re finding out the shooter may have pulled the fire alarm to get kids out of their classroom. Evelyn being one of the class leaders was at the front of the line assuming fire drill,” read a private Instagram post provided to The Daily Beast by the aunt, Kelly Dorrance.

“She was trying to lead her classmates to safety and possibly didn’t hear the shouts to come back in the room. Things children should never worry about,” read the post.

Evelyn, Dorrance told The Daily Beast, was “radiant—a beacon of joy in our family. She had a calm confidence and a natural sense of purpose—alongside a whip smart sense of humor and a sly little smile.”

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed to The Daily Beast on Thursday that their investigation currently indicates “that the alarm originated from the area of the shooter’s entry” at The Covenant School on Monday morning.

Contrary to some reports that Dieckhaus was killed as she tried to pull the fire alarm, MNPD spokesman Don Aaron told The Daily Beast Thursday, “The investigation at present does not support a ‘pulling’ of the alarm.” MNPD declined to comment on whether Dieckhaus was killed while leading a fire drill from the classroom.

The other two 9-year-old victims were identified by police as William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs. Three school staff were also killed: 61-year-old custodian Mike Hill; head of school Katherine Koonce; and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak.

Harrowing body-camera footage released on Tuesday showed officers Michael Collazo and Rex Engelbert rushing into the school and following the sounds of gunfire to the second floor.

Once upstairs, Engelbert and Collazo saw the shooter, Audrey Hale, standing in front of a window, and opened fire. Hale was killed within 14 minutes of the initial call to police.

Dorrance said the death of her niece is a “nightmare you can’t wake up from,” but told The Daily Beast by text message that ”the support and love our family has received has proved that humanity is, ultimately, good.”

“How our country puts assault rifles in the hands of civilians, I’ll never understand. We are in disbelief. Devastated. Heartbroken. Sick,” she said on Instagram.

And though the family is grieving, they want to make sure Evelyn’s memory will live on, Dorrance told The Daily Beast: “After we get through this initial phase of grief, we’re committed to make her memory an important one that will save the lives of other children.”

Funerals begin for 6 victims of Nashville school shooting

ABC News

Emily Shapirof – March 31, 2023

Funerals begin for 6 victims of Nashville school shooting

Mourners will gather on Friday for the first of six funerals in the wake of Monday’s mass shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee.

Friends and family of 9-year-old victim Evelyn Dieckhaus were asked to wear pink and green to her funeral service on Friday afternoon.

“Our hearts are completely broken,” the Dieckhaus family said in a statement. “We cannot believe this has happened. Evelyn was a shining light in this world.”

PHOTO: Evelyn Dieckhaus is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy The Dieckhaus Family)

MORE: Nashville school shooting updates: Slain head of school lauded for her forethought

The service for 9-year-old victim Hallie Scruggs will be on Saturday. Hallie’s funeral will be at Covenant Presbyterian Church — the church connected to the school where she was killed and where her father, Chad Scruggs, is a senior pastor.

Chad Scruggs told ABC News in a statement, “We are heartbroken. She was such a gift. Through tears we trust that she is in the arms of Jesus who will raise her to life once again.”

PHOTO: Hallie Scruggs is seen with her family in this undated family photo. (Courtesy Chad Scruggs)

Saturday will also be the visitation and service for 61-year-old Cynthia Peak, who was a substitute teacher at The Covenant School.

Her family called her “a pillar of the community, and a teacher beloved by all her students.”

“Her favorite roles in life were being a mom to her three children, a wife to her husband, and an educator to students,” Peak’s family said in a statement. “We will never stop missing her.”

PHOTO: Cindy Peak is seen in this undated photo. (Courtesy of the Peak Family)

The service for the third child killed, 9-year-old Will Kinney, will take place on Sunday.

PHOTO: Parishioners participate in a community vigil at Belmont United Methodist Church in the aftermath of a school shooting in Nashville, March 27, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (John Bazemore/AP)

On Tuesday, beloved school custodian, 61-year-old Mike Hill, will be laid to rest.

He was a father of seven and a grandfather of 14.

MORE: Nashville school shooting: What to know about the 6 victims

“We pray for the Covenant School and are so grateful that Michael was beloved by the faculty and students who filled him with joy for 14 years,” his family said in a statement.

Former student Bex Lithgow called Hill “the kindest soul who loved all the students so much.”

PHOTO: Mike Hill is seen here in an undated file photo. (Mike Hill/Facebook)

The final funeral service will be on Wednesday for 60-year-old Katherine Koonce, the head of the school.

“Katherine was devoted to her family, her friends, and especially the children she cared for. She gave her life to protect the students she loved,” Koonce’s family said in a statement. “It is our privilege to honor Katherine’s legacy and to celebrate her remarkable spirit.”

PHOTO: Katherine Koonce, a victim in The Covenant School shooting in Nashville, Tenn., March 27, 2023. (The Covenant School)

MORE: Timeline: How the shooting at Covenant School unfolded

A former local school administrator, Tricia Drake, told ABC News that her last conversation with Koonce was in August, discussing companies they used for active shooter training.

Drake said she knew Koonce had initiated her active shooter protocols on Monday when she saw footage police released from two of the responding officers’ body cameras. One of the videos shows a Covenant School staff member meeting an officer at the school’s main entrance, telling him, “The kids are all locked down, but we have two kids that we don’t know where they are.” The staffer is then seen using a key to unlock the door so officers could go inside.

“Students were in their classrooms, locked up, the professional outdoors to lead the Metro policeman. She had a key, what her headcount was, she knew exactly where the students would be, she was prepared,” Drake said. “I’m sure they had run those drills, and it’s because of Katherine and the foresight she had to make sure her staffers were prepared.”

PHOTO: People attend a vigil after a deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., March 29, 2023. (Cheney Orr/Reuters)

ABC News’ Steph Wash, Morgan Winsor and Miles Cohen contributed to this report.

Record snowfall buries California mountain town

ABC News

Record snowfall buries California mountain town

Phaedra Singelis – March 30, 2023

Major storm threatens to bring more tornadoes to hard-hit South

ABC News Chief Meteorologist Ginger Zee tracks the cross-country storm heading East as areas pummeled by the deadly tornado outbreak prepare for more severe weather.

A series of mega-storms throughout March has brought snow to Mammoth Mountain in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, burying homes, cars and businesses.

PHOTO: Snowboarders walk and cars attempt to drive in the Sierra Nevada mountains, as now reached record levels, March 29, 2023 in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Workers remove snow from the roof of a condominium complex in the Sierra Nevada mountains, after yet another storm system brought heavy snowfall, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Earlier this week, 20.7 inches fell in 24 hours at Mammoth Mountain, surpassing the all-time season snowfall record, according to the UC Berkeley Snow Lab, with more than 700 inches for the season. The previous record, set in the 2010-2011 season was 668 inches.

MORE: Cross-country storm to bring more severe weather, tornado threat

PHOTO: A person removes snow in front of lodging obscured by snowbanks piled up from new and past storms in the Sierra Nevada mountains, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

PHOTO: Snow blows in the Sierra Nevada mountains after yet another storm system brought heavy snowfall, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

People were out shoveling snow off roofs and trying to keep roads passable with windy conditions. Wind gusts at the ski resort were reported to be as high as 98 mph.

PHOTO: People make their way down a road is lined with snowbanks piled up from multiple storms, after more heavy snow fell, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

PHOTO: A skier passes by as workers remove snow from the roof of a condominium complex in the Sierra Nevada mountains after another storm system brought heavy snowfall, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

That will stretch the ski season through at least July at Mammoth Mountain ski resort, which has recorded 870 inches at the base of the Main Lodge.

SLIDESHOW: Storms bring epic rain and snow to California

Another 30 inches fell in the last 24 hours and the forecast is for snow this weekend and early next week.

PHOTO: Jeff Wright checks on his neighbor's home in the Sierra Nevada mountains, as snow piled up from new and past storms, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) — PHOTO: Jeff Wright checks on his neighbor’s home in the Sierra Nevada mountains, as snow piled up from new and past storms, March 29, 2023, in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

PHOTO: As night falls, a person shovels snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, March 29, 2023 in Mammoth Lakes, Calif. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Record snowfall buries California mountain town originally appeared on abcnews.go.com

Lyme is not the only disease to worry about this tick season. What you need to know this spring.

Yahoo! News

Lyme is not the only disease to worry about this tick season. What you need to know this spring.

Cases of babesiosis — a tick-borne disease that can cause flulike symptoms — are on the rise in the Northeast, according to the CDC.

Laura Ramirez – Feldman, Reporter – March 30, 2023

A black-legged tick waving its front legs at the tip of a blade of vegetation. — The black-legged tick, otherwise known as the deer tick, can spread Lyme disease and babesiosis. (Reuters)

Spring is in full swing, and that means more sunlight, warmer temperatures and more time spent outdoors. It also means that for most of the United States, tick season has begun. Although tick exposure can occur year round, these insects are most active during the warmer months, starting in April.

Some states with greater tick activity have started to urge citizens to take precautions when enjoying the outdoors. Ticks carry several types of disease — Lyme disease being the most common — but health experts say Americans should be aware of a rise in other tick-borne illnesses in some regions of the country, including babesiosis.

What is babesiosis?

Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by a parasite called Babesia microti and spread by the black-legged tick, otherwise known as the deer tick. In the U.S., the disease is more commonly found in the Northeast and Midwest, where deer ticks are abundant.

A bite from a tick carrying this parasite can infect red blood cells. While not everyone who is infected develops symptoms, some people can experience flulike symptoms such as fever, chills, muscle pain and fatigue.

Severe cases of babesiosis are rare, but the disease can be fatal for some people, particularly those who are immunocompromised, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The agency also notes that the disease can lead to health complications, including acute respiratory distress and kidney failure.

Cases of babesiosis are increasing in the Northeast

This month, the CDC warned about a significant increase in tick-borne illnesses in the U.S. A study conducted by the agency found that U.S. tick-borne disease cases had risen by 25%, from 40,795 cases reported in 2011 to 50,856 in 2019. During the same period, “a total of 16,456 cases of babesiosis were reported to CDC by 37 states, including 16,174 (98.2%) reported from the 10 states included in this analysis,” the report noted.

Cases of babesiosis in particular climbed significantly in eight Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Three New England states — Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — saw the fastest growth in cases, which prompted the CDC to add them to the list of places where the disease is considered endemic (meaning it is consistently present).

“It’s certainly something that is of concern,” Griffin Dill, tick lab coordinator at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, told Yahoo News. “It hasn’t reached the kind of case numbers that we’re seeing with Lyme disease or anaplasmosis quite yet, but it is certainly on the rise and something to be aware of.”

Although babesiosis cases are increasing, Lyme disease continues to be the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the U.S., with approximately 35,000 cases reported to the CDC each year.

Dill and his team provide tick identification and testing services in Maine. By testing ticks that people bring to the lab, his team can identify the type of pathogens the insects could be carrying. Dill explained that this tool is an important one because it provides people with “a piece of risk information about the ticks on their property.” It also gives researchers a better understanding of the geographical spread of ticks and the diseases they carry.

The recent CDC report, Dill said, confirms what he’s been seeing in his lab.

“Just over the past five years that we’ve been doing this, we’ve seen an increase over time in the infection rate for Babesia,” he said. “So even just in a relatively short, five-year time frame, we’re seeing increases in the parasite within the tick itself, which then can correspond to increases in human cases as well.”

Experts believe that the actual number of cases is probably higher, because babesiosis is not reportable in all states. A main concern about the increased prevalence of the disease is that the parasite that causes it can be transmitted via blood transfusions. This, the CDC said, could pose a threat to the blood supply.

“Persons who acquire babesiosis through contaminated blood have been shown to have significantly worse health outcomes and a higher risk for death than do those who acquire the disease from a tick bite,” the agency said in the report.

However, government health agencies have already taken steps to protect the blood supply from the tick-borne disease. Since 2019, the Food and Drug Administration has recommended screening for the parasite at blood donation centers in 14 states and Washington, D.C., where the disease is more prevalent.

A collection of purple cells, one enlarged with a much darker purple blotch. — Blood sample showing the Babesia parasite. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)

Why are tick-borne diseases on the rise?

The CDC hasn’t explained why cases of babesiosis and other tick-borne diseases are up, but tick experts have a few theories as to why this may be happening.

Researchers say global warming is a contributing factor. Ticks thrive in warm and humid weather, usually anywhere there is lush greenery. As winters get warmer and shorter, the pests can stay active year round, causing more infections.

Dill said that seasonality patterns of black-legged ticks have almost disappeared.

“Normally, we get kind of a break in tick activity during the winter months, when it’s cold, it’s snowy, but with warmer weather [and] warmer temperatures, we can and do see them active year round, unfortunately,” he said.

The changes in climate and weather patterns have also had an impact on the geographic range of ticks. The habitat of black-legged ticks and other tick species is expanding, Dill explained.

“The black-legged tick, we’re certainly seeing them advance further and further north into northern New England and into Canada,” he said.

Another type of tick that has been on the move in the past two decades is the lone star tick. These ticks can spread an unusual disease called alpha-gal syndrome, which causes an allergic reaction to mammal meats such as beef, pork and lamb. They were historically found in the Southern U.S., but Stephen Rich, director of the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, said they are moving north, and farther inland. Their population is also growing.

“There are spots like Long Island, N.Y., where basically the lone star ticks have almost replaced the ticks that transmit Lyme disease — the black-legged ticks. So they’re definitely moving northward,” he said.

Both Dill and Rich said climate change is not the only reason why ticks and tick-borne diseases have spread throughout the country.

“We can’t say that it’s not global warming. But the stronger evidence is that this has to do with the way we manage our landscapes,” Rich said.

The way we like to see our properties, with stone walls and lawns with wooded edges, turns out to be perfect for deer and for deer ticks or black-legged ticks. “We’ve cultivated landscapes that are perfect for ticks and tick-borne diseases,” he added.

A live specimen of the lone star tick (A. Americanum) in a lab in Morrill Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2017. — The lone star tick gets its name from the single, silvery-white spot on the female’s back. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

How to prevent tick-borne disease

The best way to protect yourself from babesiosis and other tick-borne illnesses is to avoid getting bitten by a tick.

These critters live in grassy, brushy and wooded areas, so you are more likely to have encounters with them when going outside to garden, walk your dog or go camping or hiking.

To prevent tick bites, Dill recommends that people create a layer of protection.

“That barrier can be something as simple as just wearing protective clothing, so wearing long pants and tucking those pants into your boots or into your socks, just anything that’s going to prevent a tick from actually getting to your skin,” he said.

Using repellents is also a good option. Certain repellents are designed to be used on clothing; others can be applied directly to the skin. The CDC recommends using Environmental Protection Agency-registered insect repellents. If you are not sure which product to use, the EPA has a search tool that can help find the best fit for you.

Checking your body for ticks after spending time outdoors is also highly recommended.

“Just make it a routine to look over your body and see if you have ticks,” Rich said, adding that people should check their children and pets as well.

Finally, if you do find a tick on yourself, the experts said there’s no reason to panic, because not every tick is carrying a disease. If the insect has bitten you, the CDC recommends removing it with fine-tipped tweezers and cleaning the bite area with rubbing alcohol or with soap and water.

Rich told Yahoo News that people should also consider saving or photographing the tick so a professional can evaluate it and determine if it is carrying harmful bacteria. He recommended the University of Rhode Island’s TickSpotters program, which offers free tick identification service, as one place where this can be done.

If you develop a rash or fever after getting bitten by a tick, the CDC recommends that you consult a medical professional.

“I think awareness is kind of the key there,” Dill said. “We don’t want people to be afraid of these illnesses and … prevent people from going outdoors and enjoying outdoor activities. But be aware and take some precautions when recreating outside.”

Doing This One Thing Every Day Could Lower Your Risk of Dementia

Parade

Doing This One Thing Every Day Could Lower Your Risk of Dementia

Beth Ann Mayer – March 30, 2023

Plus, the habit that comes in second—according to a neuropsychologist.

More than six million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common form of dementia, according to a 2023 Alzheimer’s Association report. The report also notes that Alzheimer’s starts about 20 years or more before a person develops memory loss or other hallmark symptoms of the devastating disease.

Damage to the brain cells causes dementia. Genetics can play a role, so it’s not possible to prevent it 100 percent. But research discussed at the 2019 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference indicated that lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.

“Research shows that keeping our mind sharp by continued learning and cognitive challenge can help our brains remain healthier as we age,” says Dr. Jessica Caldwell, Ph.D., the director of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention Center at Cleveland Clinic.

It’s like lifting weights—you do it to keep your muscles strong.

“Although the process of keeping your mind sharp is different from keeping your muscles strong, the phrase ‘use it or lose it’ can be applied to the brain as well as the body,” Dr. Caldwell says. “The types of thinking-based activities involved in keeping your mind sharp—for example, attending classes, learning languages and debating topics—may also offer benefits for our mental health, as we feel a sense of accomplishment, and may offer opportunities to socialize, which is another way of reducing dementia risks.”

But you may be surprised by her top daily tip for reducing dementia risk.

What Is the No. 1 Tip for Keeping the Mind Sharp?

You may have heard that exercises like crossword puzzles, word searches or Sudoku can help keep the mind sharp. And while they certainly won’t hurt, the very best way to prevent cognitive decline is a different type of exercise: physical exercise.

“Some people are surprised to hear it, but we know that exercise has both immediate and long-term brain benefits, from increasing brain chemistry that supports the health of your brain cells to reducing factors such as chronic bodily inflammation, which can be harmful to the brain,” Dr. Caldwell says.

Physical activity also has some sneaky perks for cognition.

“Exercise also has benefits for the brain that are indirect—for example, improving mood and sleep, reducing stress, supporting heart health and increasing chances to socialize, all of which, in turn, reduces risks for poor memory with age,” Dr. Caldwell says.

Beyond prevention, a 2020 study conducted on mice indicated that exercise may even reverse age-related cognitive decline, but more research is needed on duration, frequency and exercise types to fully understand how this applies to humans. A review of previous research from the same year also suggested that physical activity could reduce cognitive decline and lower behavioral issues in individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia. The authors suggested moderate-intensity (or greater) aerobic exercise would have the most significant effect on cognition.

How Can I Get More Exercise To Keep My Mind Sharp?

Though more research is needed on exercise and cognition, Dr. Caldwell says the American Heart Association’s guidelines provide a good baseline.

“The goal for exercise for brain health for life is at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise [per week], and for healthy adults, more is better,” Dr. Caldwell says.

If you aren’t currently exercising, talk to your doctor first. From there, Dr. Caldwell says you can increase your physical activity—and your chances of making it a habit—with two big tips.

“First, pair exercise with something you like or already do. Think stationary biking while watching a favorite program or walking while listening to a podcast episode,” Dr. Caldwell says. “Second, find a partner for accountability and motivation.”

Your accountability partner can motivate you from afar. “Even if you can’t find an in-person partner for runs or visits to the gym, checking in with a long-distance friend regularly about fitness goals can offer support and make it more likely that you will stick with your goals,” Dr. Caldwell says.

What Are Other Ways To Reduce Cognitive Decline Risk?

Regular physical activity is important, but Dr. Caldwell says fighting cognitive decline requires a multi-prong approach.

She says it’s also important to prioritize getting seven to eight hours of continuous sleep. “Sleep is when we cement new memories into long-term storage, and also when our brains have a chance to clear debris, including the types of proteins that build up in Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Caldwell says.

Research published in 2021 underscores the importance of sleep for brain health. The study, which was conducted on 8,000 British people aged 50 and over, indicated that people in their 50s and 60s who got six hours of shuteye or less per night were 30 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than their peers, who were getting a least seven hours of sleep nightly.

Alcohol intake is another lifestyle habit to evaluate. “Our bodies process alcohol differently as we age, and drinking more than seven drinks per week has been linked to risk for dementia,” Dr. Caldwell says.

Finally, don’t put your mental health on the back burner. “Depression is a risk factor for dementia, and those feelings of sadness and lack of interest that can come with depression can also make it difficult to engage in other brain-healthy behaviors,” Dr. Caldwell says.

What Are Signs of Cognitive Decline?

You can’t remember if you brushed your teeth today. Should you be concerned? Probably not.

“Anyone can make a memory mistake at any age—some forgetfulness is normal,” Dr. Caldwell says. “Signs of memory decline would include forgetting what happens frequently, such as needing several reminders throughout the day about a conversation you had that morning. Another sign would be forgetting essential information, such as forgetting the name of a loved one or an event you looked forward to.”

If you notice these signs, Dr. Caldwell suggests seeing a doctor. “A primary care doctor may give you or your loved one a short memory test—one that takes about five minutes,” Dr. Caldwell says.

From there, your doctor may suggest additional testing or appointments. Dr. Caldwell says this workup may include bloodwork, a brain scan, a referral to a neurologist who specializes in memory problems, or a referral to a neuropsychologist, like Dr. Caldwell.

“This is a specialist in memory and other thinking skills, who will administer several hours of paper or computer tests to better understand if you or your loved one are having a change in your thinking compared to others your age,” Dr. Caldwell explains.

No matter what type of appointments and tests you or your loved one get, the goal is to get to a diagnosis—whether that is normal memory, some mild changes called mild cognitive impairment, or more significant changes, called dementia.

“Memory changes can appear for many reasons, and your doctor will talk with you about possible reasons for your diagnosis, though figuring that all out may take time,” Dr. Caldwell says.

Next up: This Supplement Could Lower Dementia Risk By 40%

Sources

Dr. Jessica Caldwell, Ph.D., director of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement Prevention Center at Cleveland Clinic.

Parkinson’s disease symptoms disappeared with exercise, man claims: ‘Use it or lose it’

Fox News

Parkinson’s disease symptoms disappeared with exercise, man claims: ‘Use it or lose it’

Melissa Rudy – March 29, 2023

Parkinson’s disease has no cure, but multiple studies have shown that exercise can alleviate symptoms and slow progression.

A recent review published in Cochrane Library — led by Dr. Elke Kalbe, professor of medical psychology at the University of Cologne, Germany — analyzed data for nearly 8,000 people around the world with Parkinson’s.

Researchers found that those who participated in any type of physical activity showed “mild to large improvements” in motor skills and quality of life compared to those who didn’t exercise.

IS PARKINSON’S DISEASE, ‘WORLD’S FASTEST GROWING BRAIN DISEASE,’ MOSTLY PREVENTABLE? STUDY OFFERS CLUES

For Scott Hanley, a 57-year-old native of Belfast, Ireland, the benefits have been life-changing. After two years of what he described as “stumbling in the dark with Parkinson’s,” he started a new workout routine. He credits it with completely stopping his symptoms.

When Hanley was first diagnosed, his Parkinson’s was still in the early stages — level 2, with level 5 being the most advanced. But over time, he started to notice more symptoms.

“I had something called dystonia, where multiple parts of my body would go rigid, leaving me incapacitated,” he said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“I would be walking along, and suddenly my right foot would just lock out or stick to the ground and I would fall over.”

Hanley’s doctors put him on medication with plans to review his symptoms every six months.

Scott Hanley (shown here) is a 57-year-old native of Belfast, Ireland, who is living with Parkinson’s disease. For him, the benefits of exercise have been life-changing.

“They said I could expect a progression of the disease and that there was precious little we could do about it,” he said. “And I found that hugely frustrating.”

After a couple of years of struggling with worsening symptoms, Hanley said his mindset shifted.

“My tolerance for putting up with Parkinson’s had run out,” he said. “I decided to try something else.”

At the time of his diagnosis, his physical health wasn’t the greatest, Hanley admits.

“I was overweight, I wasn’t active and my diet wasn’t good,” he said.

After reading a few success stories, he decided to try CrossFit classes, which incorporate strength and conditioning exercises at a high intensity.

The workouts focus on building cardiovascular/respiratory endurance, stamina, strength, flexibility, power, coordination, agility, balance and accuracy, according to the CrossFit website. Typical movements include burpees, deadlifts, rowing, squats, medicine ball throws, pull-ups and barbell presses.

For Hanley, the key was that the exercises all had a cognitive element. He had to really think about each movement.

“When we work different parts of the body, they get stronger. So I figured, why not try to make the brain stronger?” Hanley said. “I didn’t want to just go for a run or ride a bike — I wanted to challenge my brain pathways with physically intense exercise.”

PARKINSON’S DISEASE AFFLICTS THOUSANDS MORE AMERICANS THAN PREVIOUS ESTIMATES: NEW STUDY

Within six months, Hanley said his symptoms had disappeared — even without any medications.

During one period last year, Hanley injured his shoulder and couldn’t work out for four weeks. By the end of that month, he started getting tremors in his hand and his foot began to “stick” again while walking.

Scott Hanley - CrossFit — Just a few months after starting CrossFit classes, Hanley (pictured on a rowing machine) said his symptoms disappeared.

After he returned to the gym, the symptoms went away again.

“That’s what really validated the benefits for me,” Hanley said.

Blake Bookstaff, an entrepreneur in Knoxville, Tennessee, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s when he was just 47, he told Fox News Digital in an interview.

Some of his early symptoms included a change in gait, involuntary hand movements and “frozen shoulder,” which is when the tissues around the shoulder joint become inflamed and make it difficult to lift the arm.

Medications helped lessen the symptoms somewhat, but Bookstaff decided to try ramping up his exercise for greater benefits.

“I saw something on the news about Rock Steady Boxing, which is a franchise that offers workouts for people with Parkinson’s,” he said.

He contacted the owner and scheduled a personal training session — which he now does twice a week.

Scott Hanley split — “When we work different parts of the body, they get stronger — so I figured, why not try to make the brain stronger?” said Hanley, pictured here in both frames.

In the sessions, the trainer focuses on functional movements to help Bookstaff in regular day-to-day activities, such as standing up from a chair or getting in and out of a car.

“The compound exercises that combine multiple movements have been the most effective for me,” he said. “For example, when I’m boxing and I have to think about throwing different types of punches and hitting moving targets, I can actually feel my brain opening up, as if the cobwebs have been lifted.”

MICHAEL J. FOX SAYS HE DOESN’T FEEL SORRY FOR HIMSELF BECAUSE OF PARKINSON’S DISEASE: ‘NO REGRETS’

During weeks when he doesn’t work out, Bookstaff notices that his body becomes stiffer and harder to move.

Robert D’Egidio, a physical therapist at Atlantic Rehabilitation in Gillette, New Jersey, has seen firsthand how exercise can slow and modify symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

“It directly improves ease of movement for activities of daily living, reduces symptoms such as tremor and rigidity, and improves gait features for more normalized stepping and balance,” he told Fox News Digital.

Julie Pilitsis, M.D., a neurosurgeon at Marcus Neuroscience Institute in Boca Raton, Florida, agreed with that assessment.

“Exercise is the best thing that people with Parkinson’s can do to take care of themselves,” said Pilitsis, who specializes in functional neurosurgery and Parkinson’s disease, in an interview with Fox News Digital.

“It has some of the most dramatic effects on limiting disease progression. It helps with stiffness, mind-body connection and fitness, just to name a few.”

“A good mantra for all of us, but particularly for those with Parkinson’s, is ‘use it or lose it,’” she added.

The Cochrane review found that any type of physical activity — from strength training and endurance to swimming, dance and yoga — can help improve motor skills and quality of life for people with Parkinson’s.

Group fitness — The Cochrane review found that any type of physical activity can help improve motor skills and quality of life in people with Parkinson’s.

“We observed clinically meaningful improvements in the severity of motor symptoms for most types of exercise,” said Dr. Moritz Ernst, first author of the review and a member of Cochrane Haematology, in a press release on the Cochrane website.

“These included dancing, training to improve gait, balance and movement, multi-exercise training and mind-body training.”

Physical therapist D’Egidio recommends doing any aerobic exercise with moderate intensity that will elevate the heart rate 20 to 30 beats above the resting rate for 30 to 40 minutes, three times per week.

EARLY ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE COULD BE DIAGNOSED THROUGH EYE EXAMS, NEW STUDY SUGGESTS

“We have observed consistently in our clinic that more intensified exercise has a direct impact on disease symptoms,” he said. “Exercises should include a variety of functional movements, multidirectional movements and some resistance [strength] training.”

For best results, he suggests mixing up the workouts throughout the year.

People with Parkinson’s, however, should pay close attention to any adverse effects and reduce intensity as needed, D’Egidio added.

Boxing workout — Compound exercises, such as boxing, have been the most effective at alleviating the Parkinson’s symptoms for one man (not pictured).

“Exercise should be discontinued if disproportional pain results from an activity, such as sharp pain in the back, neck, knees and shoulders, or if the person has chest pain or breathing difficulties not consistent with the level of exertion being used,” he said.

Neurosurgeon Pilitsis noted that above all, good judgment should come into play. If there are balance issues, for example, high-impact activities may not make sense.

“Sometimes medications or difficulty swallowing can make the patient a bit dehydrated,” she said. “If you aren’t feeling well, are going through a period where you are recovering from illness or surgery, are dehydrated, or it is very hot outside, it is better to take it slow and adjust your routine.”

Experts agree that it’s always best to get a doctor’s clearance before starting any new exercise program.

While individual exercise may help keep symptoms at bay, having a comprehensive health care team is the optimal way to manage Parkinson’s disease over time, E’Egidio believes.

“This includes a movement disorder specialist, primary care provider, neurologist (to assist or support), physical therapist and/or occupational therapist with neurological background, speech therapist (as needed), support groups, community services directed at Parkinson’s disease and access to exercise facilities or equipment,” he said.

Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease, according to the Parkinson’s Foundation.

By 2030, it is expected to affect 1.2 million people. Parkinson’s is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease, after Alzheimer’s.

DeSantis has one thing in common with trump, they do nothing constructive: No One Is Talking About What Ron DeSantis Has Actually Done to Florida

Time

No One Is Talking About What Ron DeSantis Has Actually Done to Florida

William Kleinknecht – March 29, 2023

Florida Governor DeSantis Kicks Off His "Freedom Blueprint" Tour In Florida — Florida Governor DeSantis Kicks Off His “Freedom Blueprint” Tour In Florida

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during an event spotlighting his newly released book, ‘The Courage To Be Free: Florida’s Blueprint For America’s Revival at the Orange County Choppers Road House & Museum on March 08, 2023 in Pinellas Park, Fl. Credit – Joe Raedle—Getty Images

Media coverage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s all-but-announced candidacy for president is already in full frenzy, and so far the script is exactly as his handlers would like it to be. The governor regularly opens up new fronts in the culture wars, sowing alarm over critical race theory, transgender rights, or border policies. In response, liberal pundits fall into the trap of accentuating the very issues DeSantis has chosen to fire up his base.

Omitted from the public debate about DeSantis’s policies is almost any discussion of his actual record of governance—what exactly he has delivered to the citizens of his state, especially those without seven-figure incomes and lush investment portfolios.

Even a cursory dip into the statistics of social and economic well-being reveals that Florida falls short in almost any measure that matters to the lives of its citizens. More than four years into the DeSantis governorship, Florida continues to languish toward the bottom of state rankings assessing the quality of health care, school funding, long-term elder care, and other areas key to a successful society.

Florida may be the place where “woke goes to die”—as DeSantis is fond of saying—but it is also where teachers’ salaries are among the lowest in the nation, unemployment benefits are stingier than in any other state, and wage theft flourishes with little interference from the DeSantis administration. In 2021, DeSantis campaigned against a successful ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage, which had been stuck at $8.65 an hour. Under DeSantis’s watch, the Sunshine State has not exactly been a workers’ paradise.

DeSantis weaponizes the cultural wars to distract attention from the core missions of his governorship, which is to starve programs geared toward bettering the lives of ordinary citizens so he can maintain low taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Florida is the ideal haven for privileged Americans who don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes. It has no income tax for individuals, and its corporate tax rate of 5.5% is among the lowest in the nation. An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel in late 2019 revealed the startling fact that 99% of Florida’s companies paid no corporate income tax, abetted by tax-avoidance schemes and state officials who gave a low priority to enforcing tax laws.

This is a pattern that shows up in the statistics of many Republican-led states, which on average commit fewer dollars per-capita to health care, public education, and other crucial services compared to their blue counterparts, while making sure corporations and wealthy individuals are prioritized for tax relief. Arizona cut taxes every year between 1990 and 2019, following up with a shift to a flat tax this year that will cost its budget $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, its public-school spending ranks 48 among the 50 states.

In Florida, the state’s tax revenues come largely through sales and excise taxes, which fall hardest on the poor and middle class. A 2018 study by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Florida had the third least-equitable tax system of the 50 states. In the state’s “upside-down” tax structure, the poorest 20% of Florida families paid 12.7% of their income in taxes, while the families whose income was in the top 4% paid 4.5%, and the top 1% paid 2.3%, according to the study.

Florida taxpayers get less for their money than residents of many other states. The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that studies health-care systems globally, found in its 2022 “scorecard” that Florida had the 16th worst health care among the 50 states. It’s no wonder that Florida ranks below the northern blue states in life expectancy and rates of cancer death, diabetes, fatal overdoses, teen birth rates, and infant mortality.

Largely because of DeSantis’s obstinacy, Florida is one of 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, an act of political spite that has cost those states billions in federal health care dollars and cost thousands of people their lives. More than 12% of Floridians are without medical insurance, a worse record than all but four other states. Despite having the country’s highest percentage of retirees, Florida has the worst long-term care among the 50 states, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.

Public schools fare no better than health care in DeSantis’s Florida. Not only did Florida rank 49th in the country for average teacher pay in 2020, but the Education Law Center, a non-profit advocacy group based in New Jersey, found in a 2021 report that the state had the seventh-lowest per-pupil funding in the country. Education Week, which ranks states public school annually, looking beyond mere test scores, placed Florida 23rd in its 2021 report, a lackluster showing for a large and wealthy state.

It says something about the state of our political discourse that Florida’s denuded public sector was not more of an issue in last year’s gubernatorial campaign. In endorsing DeSantis’s Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, the Tampa Bay Times spent so many column inches on the incumbent’s demagoguery, vindictiveness, and authoritarian tendencies that it never even got to the minutiae of his governance. “No matter what you think about the state of the Florida economy or its schools or its future…,” the paper wrote, “the choice really is this simple: Do you want the state governed by a decent man or a bully?”

To be fair to the media, DeSantis and his allies manned the trenches of the culture wars so ferociously that it was all reporters could do to keep up with all the bomb throwing. How do you delve into the state’s tax policy when your governor is flying planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard or declaring war on Disney for issuing a statement in opposition to the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Law”?

But that is very much the point of wedge issues, as they have been wielded by scurrilous politicians for decades, to anger and distract voters so they won’t notice the actions of public officials that mainly benefit the wealthy and are against the public interest.

As the 2024 election draws closer, DeSantis must not be allowed to accomplish nationally what he did in his state—cloak his service to the wealthy by frightening working people with stories about transgender recruiting and “socialist” college professors. There are unmistakable signs that Americans are focused on what an activist government can do for the public good, as evidenced by Floridians’ vote to increase the minimum wage.

The failure of DeSantis to better serve the most vulnerable citizens of his state is his weak underbelly in a national campaign.

Russian Society is so broken, they must steal Ukraine’s children, to bolster the millions who fled the country: Kyiv urges Russians not to adopt Ukraine’s ‘stolen’ children

Reuters

Kyiv urges Russians not to adopt Ukraine’s ‘stolen’ children

March 28, 2023

FILE PHOTO: The Wider Image: Ukraine seeks to trace thousands of 'orphans' scattered by war — The Wider Image: Ukraine seeks to trace thousands of ‘orphans’ scattered by war

FILE PHOTO: Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin outside Moscow — Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin outside Moscow

(Reuters) – Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk urged Russians on Tuesday not to adopt children who she said were “stolen” in Ukraine during the war and deported to Russia.

The war that Russia has been waging on its neighbour for 13 months now has seen millions of people displaced, including families and children. The real number of children who have been forcefully deported to Russia is impossible to establish.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant earlier in March against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine.

Vereshchuk said on the Telegram messaging app that orphans have been “stolen in Ukraine” and allegedly given up for adoption in Russia.

“I strongly recommend that Russian citizens do not adopt Ukrainian orphans who were illegally taken out of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” Vereshchuk, in charge of social issues, said.

“Once again I remind all Russian so-called ‘adoptive parents’ and ‘guardians’: sooner or later you will have to answer.”

According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Integration of Occupied Territories, 19,514 Ukrainian children are currently considered illegally deported.

Russia has not concealed a programme under which it has brought thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia, but presents it as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and children abandoned in the conflict zone.

Most of the movement of people and children occurred in the first few months of the war and before Ukraine started its major counter offensive to regain occupied territories in the east and south in late August.

Russia’s defence ministry said in mid-August that 3.5 million people had been brought to Russia by then, including more than half a million children.

The United States said in July that Russia “forcibly deported” 260,000 children, from their homes to Russia.

Russian TASS agency cited Vitaly Ganchev, Moscow-installed official of Russia-occupied parts of the Kharkiv region, as saying on Tuesday that a group of children from the region was sent to Russia last year with the consent of their parents or guardians.

“The children were placed in excellent conditions, they are provided with everything necessary. And we will continue to take care of them until their parents come for their return,” Ganchev added.

(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Ron Popeski in Winnipeg; Writing by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Stephen Coates)

Video shows guards walking away during fire that killed 38 migrants near US-Mexico border

USA Today

Video shows guards walking away during fire that killed 38 migrants near US-Mexico border

Wyatte Grantham-Philips, Christine Fernando and Jeanine Santucci USA TODAY March 29, 2023

Surveillance footage from inside the immigration detention center in northern Mexico near the U.S. border where 38 migrants died in a dormitory fire appears to show guards walking away from the blaze and making no apparent attempt to release detainees.

The fire broke out when migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze late Monday at the National Immigration Institute, a facility in Ciudad Juarez south of El Paso, Texas, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said.

Authorities originally reported 40 dead, but later said some may have been counted twice in the confusion. Twenty-eight people were injured and were in “delicate-serious” condition, according to the National Immigration Institute.

The security footage, which was broadcast and later authenticated by a Mexican official to a local reporter, shows at least two people dressed as guards rush into the frame, then run off as a cloud of smoke quickly filled the area. They did not appear to attempt to open cell doors so migrants could escape the fire.

Authorities were investigating the fire, the institute said. The country’s prosecutor general has launched an investigation, Andrea Chávez, federal deputy of Ciudad Juarez, said in a statement. Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission also was alerted.

What caused the fire?

López Obrador said the fire was started by migrants inside the facility after they learned they would be deported.

“They never imagined that this would cause this terrible misfortune,” López Obrador said.

The immigration institute said it “energetically rejects the actions that led to this tragedy,” without further explaining what those actions may have been.

Video shows guards leaving as fire starts

The video footage shows the area in the facility filled with smoke within seconds, obscuring the view of the camera. In the video, two people dressed as guards are seen rushing into the frame, then walking quickly off as migrants remain behind bars. At least one migrant is seen kicking at a cell door while flames grow.

Mexico’s interior secretary, Adán Augusto López, told local journalist Joaquín López Doriga he was familiar with the video.

Katiuska Márquez, a 23-year-old woman from Venezuela and her two children, ages 2 and 4, were looking for her half-brother in the aftermath of the fire.

“We want to know if he is alive or if he’s dead,” she told The Associated Press. She wondered how all the guards who were inside made it out alive and only the migrants died. “How could they not get them out?”

Migrants from Central, South America caught in blaze

The institute said 68 men from Central and South America were staying at the immigration facility at the time of the fire. Authorities were working with other countries to identify the dead.

Victims were identified as being from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Guatemalans made up the largest contingent, according to the Mexican attorney general’s office.

Guatemalan Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Búcaro said 28 of the dead were Guatemalan citizens.

“We are going to look to find those responsible for this,” Búcaro said.

A migrant cries leaning on an ambulance as a person she knows is attended by medics after a fire broke out at the Mexican Immigration Detention center in Juarez on Monday, March 27, 2023.

Photos show mass law enforcement response in Ciudad Juarez

Photos showed ambulances, firefighters, Mexican soldiers and vans from the morgue swarm the scene. Rows of bodies were laid out under silver sheets in a parking lot outside the facility. Survivors were carried on stretchers into ambulances. A woman wept while leaning her head against an ambulance.

Mexico border fire sheds light on systemic issues, advocates say

Global human rights organizations called for stronger protections for asylum seekers and expressed outrage over the fire, which they said sheds light on systemic issues related to the detention and treatment of migrants.

The fire serves as a “reminder to the governments of the region of the importance of fixing a broken migration system,” said Ken Salazar, U.S. ambassador to Mexico, in a Twitter statement.

The immigration institute has struggled recently with overcrowding in its facilities. About 20 migrants, officials and human rights workers described a southern Mexico immigration detention center run by the institute as crowded and filthy, according to an investigation by The Associated Press in 2019.

The “extensive use of immigration detention leads to tragedies like this,” Felipe González Morales, the United Nations special rapporteur for human rights of migrants, said in a Twitter statement. He said immigration detention “should be an exceptional measure” and not generalized.

Human rights organizations have warned for years about the risks people from Central and South America face when trying to apply for asylum in the United States, Rafael Velásquez, Mexico director for the International Rescue Committee, a global human rights organization, said in a statement. The dangers have increased, and humanitarian infrastructures in the country have been “increasingly strained” amid “historic numbers of new asylum claims” and stricter border policies.

“The news of the fire at the migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez is devastating,” Velásquez said. “This is proof of the extremely urgent need to ensure that there are systems in place to provide safety for people in need of international protection.”

Mounting tensions in Ciudad Juarez

Tensions between authorities and migrants had apparently been running high in recent weeks in Ciudad Juarez, a major crossing point across the border from El Paso for migrants entering the United States. Shelters in the city are full of migrants waiting for opportunities to cross or who have requested asylum in the U.S. and are waiting out the process.

On March 9, more than 30 advocacy organizations and migrant shelters wrote an open letter denouncing the criminalization of migrants and asylum seekers in Ciudad Juarez and accusing authorities of excessive force in detaining migrants.

Mexico’s migrant facilities have seen protests from time to time as the American government has pressured the country to ramp up efforts to reduce the number of migrants coming to United States.

Frustrations reached a fever pitch this month when hundreds of migrants, most of them Venezuelan, heard false rumors that the U.S. would allow them to enter and tried to cross an international bridge to El Paso. In October, migrants rioted at a Tijuana immigration center, and in November, dozens rioted at the country’s largest detention center in the southern city of Tapachula.

A girl lights candle during a vigil for the victims of a fire at an immigration detention center that killed dozens in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. According to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, migrants fearing deportation set mattresses ablaze at the center, starting the fire. (AP Photo/Christian Chavez) ORG XMIT: XMC156

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Video shows guards walking away during fire that killed 38 migrants near US-Mexico border

What caused the fire?

Video shows guards leaving as fire starts

Migrants from Central, South America caught in blaze

Photos show mass law enforcement response in Ciudad Juarez

Mexico border fire sheds light on systemic issues, advocates say

Mounting tensions in Ciudad Juarez