School Cop Who Shot Teen Is Fired as Police Open Homicide Probe

The day after 18-year-old Mona Rodriguez—who was shot by a Southern California school safety officer last week—was taken off life support, the Long Beach Police Department announced that it is investigating the incident as a homicide.

“Yesterday, Oct. 6, 2021, Manuela ‘Mona’ Rodriguez, who was struck in the upper body in a shooting incident on Sep. 27, 2021, succumbed to her injuries,” the department said in a statement released Thursday. “In light of this news, detectives are now investigating this matter as a homicide.”

A Long Beach PD spokesman confirmed to The Daily Beast that an investigation is underway, but could not provide a timeline for its completion.

The announcement follows Wednesday’s firing by the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) of the officer involved, Eddie F. Gonzalez, for violating district policy on the use of force, Superintendent Jill Baker said at a news conference.

“After our internal review, we clearly saw areas where the employee violated district policy and did not meet our standards and expectations,” Baker told reporters. “We believe the decision to terminate this officer’s employment is warranted, justified and quite frankly, the right thing to do.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/school-cop-eddie-f-gonzalez-who-shot-california-teen-mona-rodriguez-is-fired-as-police-open-homicide-probe?ref=home

Toxic Culture': Prominent Law School Dean Quits After Students Stage Walkout

The University of Montana law school dean announced his resignation on Thursday amid allegations his administration tried to discourage women from reporting sexual assaults and mishandled other misconduct allegations.

In a Thursday letter to the Alexander Blewett III School of Law community, Dean Paul Kirgis wrote that he and Associate Dean Sally Weaver would step down from their roles.​​ Kirgis, who joined the university in Missoula in 2015, will remain as a tenured faculty member. In a statement, the school said that the provost will temporarily oversee the law school.

“I have come to the conclusion that the School of Law and its students would be best served by a change in leadership,” Kirgis said in a Wednesday night resignation letter. “Consequently, I have decided to step down as dean. My priority is to make that transition in a way that minimizes disruptions for students, faculty, and staff. I will work with those groups and the provost to plan the process and timing for this transition.”

Their resignations come just two days after more than 100 students and community members staged a walkout and rally at the law school to demand Kirgis’ and Weaver’s termination after allegations emerged that they ignored or mishandled sexual assault and harassment complaints.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/university-of-montana-dean-paul-kirgis-amid-allegations-of-trying-to-stifle-title-ix-cases?ref=home

Their interracial romance ended painfully after college. They reunited 42 years later

When Jeanne Gustavson spontaneously booked a trip to Chicago last summer, she had no idea what to expect. She was going to visit her first love — whom she had not seen in 42 years.

The last time Gustavson, now 68, spoke to Steve Watts was in the spring of 1979. They were young and in love, but there was one persistent issue: Watts was Black, and Gustavson’s family forbade her to see him.

“They had this mentality that Blacks and Whites don’t belong together,” said Gustavson, who was raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago, and now lives in Portland, Ore. “In my heart, I knew it wasn’t right.”

So, she flouted her family’s strict rule and dated Watts in secret.

Although she did not like disobeying her parents, “I couldn’t let him go,” Gustavson said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/10/04/college-breakup-interracial-relationship/
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This story might make you "cry for happy". I did.

Rachel Maddow undergoes surgery for skin cancer: 'You should get checked'

Rachel Maddow is sending an important message to her viewers about taking care of their skin health.

The MSNBC primetime host took time on her Wednesday show to "address a quick personal matter" revealing she had been gone for a few days because she had surgery to remove skin cancer on her neck. Maddow said she returned to the show still bandaged because she knew she needed to "pay this back."

"I want to use this moment to tell you something, which is: you should get checked," the 48-year-old political commentator said. "If you've got moles like I do, just get on a schedule with your doctor."

Maddow said her partner , photographer Susan Mikula, noticed the cancerous mole while they were attending a minor league baseball game.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/10/07/rachel-maddow-skin-cancer-mole-checked-show/6032440001/

Something is going on in East Tennessee

The FBI has raided the Sevier County Courthouse in Sevierville (Dolly Parton's hometown, just FYI)> Nobody can get any further information.

https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/developing-story-fbi-raids-sevier-county-courthouse/51-bc88a757-0a1a-4fcd-92c8-be615ea456c4

https://www.wvlt.tv/2021/10/07/fbi-knoxville-investigating-sevier-county-courthouse/

https://www.wate.com/news/fbi-agents-raid-sevier-county-courthouse-amid-investigation/

All three Knoxville TV stations, and that's all I got. The newspaper site has nothing, which is usual for them. This could be interesting/ As Rachel says, watch this space.

Alzheimer's: The heretical and hopeful role of infection

It is more than 150 years since scientists proved that invisible germs could cause contagious illnesses such as cholera, typhoid, and tuberculosis. The role of microbes in these diseases was soon widely accepted, but "Germ Theory" has continued to surprise ever since – with huge implications for many apparently unrelated areas of medicine.

It was only in the 1980s, after all, that two Australian scientists found that Helicobacter Pylori triggers stomach ulcers. Before that, doctors had blamed the condition on stress, cigarettes and booze. Contemporary scientists considered the idea to be "preposterous", yet it eventually earned the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2005.

The discovery that the human papillomavirus can cause cervical cancer proved to be similarly controversial, but vaccines against the infection are now saving thousands of lives. Scientists today estimate that around 12% of all human cancers are caused by viruses.

We may be witnessing a similar revolution in our understanding of Alzheimer's disease. Lifestyle and genetic factors certainly play a role in the development of the illness. But it looks increasingly possible that some common viruses and bacteria – the kinds that give us cold sores and gum disease – may, over the long term, trigger the death of neural tissue and a steady cognitive decline. If so, infections may be one of the leading causes of the dementia.

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20211006-what-if-dormant-microbes-trigger-alzheimers
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Mind-blowing

Life at 50C: Keeping cool in India's heatwaves

Ivermectin: How false science created a Covid 'miracle' drug

For some years ivermectin has been a vital anti-parasitic medicine used to treat humans and animals.

But during the pandemic there has been a clamour from some proponents for using the drug for something else - to fight Covid and prevent deaths.

The health authorities in the US, UK and EU have found there is insufficient evidence for using the drug against Covid, but thousands of supporters, many of them anti-vaccine activists, have continued to vigorously campaign for its use.

Members of social media groups swap tips on getting hold of the drug, even advocating the versions used for animals.

The hype around ivermectin - based on the strength of belief in the research - has driven large numbers of people around the world to use it.

Campaigners for the drug point to a number of scientific studies and often claim this evidence is being ignored or covered up. But a review by a group of independent scientists has cast serious doubt on that body of research.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-58170809

"Friday will be my last day as a KCS student" Knox County Schools mask mandate sparks emotion

The Knox County Board of Education held met to discuss the process for selecting a new superintendent, but during the public forum portion of the Wednesday night meeting, students and parents turned the conversation to a federal judge’s temporary mask mandate.

65 people spoke at the public forum in total, with the vast majority arguing against the mandate.

“I will never comply with a mask I have not worn one yet. I will never get a COVID shot and I will never get one and I’ll take it to the death. And I will defend it under our constitution to our death,” said an upset Knox County man at the meeting.

Some students also got emotional at the meeting, with one saying he would not be attending school past Friday.

https://www.wvlt.tv/2021/10/07/friday-will-be-my-last-day-kcs-student-knox-county-schools-mask-mandate-sparks-emotion/

Body cam footage shows Minneapolis police 'hunting' anti-police brutality protesters

Newly released body camera footage shows Minneapolis police officers allegedly celebrating the "hunting" of anti-police brutality protesters just five days after the murder of George Floyd.

In one video, a protester yells: “We’re unarmed! This is America. We can say what we want!”

In response, an officer appears to shoot at the protester with rubber bullets.

Floyd's death set off months of protests against police violence and racism. The city of Minneapolis, where Floyd was killed by then-MPD officer Derek Chauvin, set a curfew in response to the unrest.

The body cam footage released to the public by the court captures the police department's enforcement of the 8 p.m. curfew: Officers firing rubber bullets at numerous people out on the streets in an attempt to forcefully clear them of demonstrators. Some officers can be seen and heard celebrating and even fist-bumping over their successful hits.

https://abcnews.go.com/US/body-cam-footage-shows-minneapolis-police-allegedly-hunting/story?id=80434010