Media Today

[Rick Plant]

Prostate cancer deaths could be prevented if men lose weight - study
https://www.rawstory.com/prostate-cancer-deaths-could-be-prevented-if-men-lose-weight-study/

[Rick Plant]

Thousands refuse to evacuate largest U.S. wildfire in New Mexico



TAOS, N.M. (Reuters) - Thousands of people told to flee the largest wildfire burning in the United States have chosen to stay and defend generational homes in the mountains of northern New Mexico, even as some run out of food and water, officials said.

In Mora County, population 4,500, around 60% of residents in evacuation areas have remained in centuries-old farming and ranching communities where electric power has been lost, said Undersheriff Americk Padilla.

"This is their livelihood, this is all they know, so these elderly people, and a lot of the people, our constituents are not leaving," Padilla said.

The forested mountains around 40 miles northeast of Santa Fe are known for tough, self-sufficient residents, many of whom can trace lineage to 18th century Spanish settlers and Native American tribes.

Local doctor Matthew Probst said residents had high “social vulnerability,” families possibly owning a $15,000 mobile home outright but having no home owner's insurance and few financial resources.

Keeping these "norteños" or northerners in their homes was a strong sense of "querencia," or belonging to the land, he said.

"It's more than just your place or your personal belongings and your material things. This is your land, your soul connected to it generationally," said Probst, who has evacuated his family and livestock from the village of Ojitos Frios.

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said worried relatives were asking her to get family members out.

“I have no doubt that we have people without power who are on oxygen. I have no doubt we have individuals who are running out of food and water,” Lujan Grisham told a news briefing.

Padilla feared violent winds forecast for the weekend could push the fire into villages and even neighboring Taos County after it destroyed at least 166 homes, burning 165,276 acres (67,000 hectares) in Mora and San Miguel counties. He was distributing food and power generators to homes.

"I cannot neglect the people that decided to stay," he said.

© Reuters

[Rick Plant]

Astronaut crew returning to Earth after six months on ISS



NASA's Crew-3 mission was returning home to Earth on Thursday after six months aboard the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon Endurance spacecraft with NASA astronauts Kayla Barron, Raja Chari, and Tom Marshburn, as well as European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer undocked from the orbital laboratory overnight.

Their 23.5 hour journey back should see them splash down off the coast of Florida at 12:43 am on Friday (0443 GMT).

They leave behind the one Italian and three American astronauts of Crew-4, and three Russian cosmonauts. Ahead of departure, Marshburn handed command of the station over to Russian Oleg Artemyev.

During their mission, Crew-3 carried out hundreds of scientific experiments, including growing chiles in space to add to knowledge of cultivating crops on long term missions, exploring how concrete hardens in space, and Earth monitoring.

"Every day on @Space_Station is #EarthDay for @NASA_Astronauts since we see how thin the precious layer is that protects everything we know & love as a human race," Crew-3 commander Chari wrote in a tweet.

"Hopefully, @NASA research will help w/ H20 purification & carbon dioxide reductions but the rest is up to us."

Chancellor Olaf Scholz wished Maurer, the 12th German in space, "a good and safe journey back with a soft landing," thanking him on Twitter for "all the new discoveries in space that are so important for us here on Earth."

Crew-3's expedition came at an increasingly busy time for commercial space.

They welcomed aboard a private crew that included three wealthy businessmen that came and went on another SpaceX Crew Dragon, as well as a Japanese mission that flew on a Soyuz aircraft to the Russian segment.

The ISS now awaits docking with an uncrewed Boeing Starliner capsule, which is set to launch from Florida on May 19.

NASA is looking to certify a second company to ferry astronauts to the region of space called Low Earth Orbit, leaving it to develop its super heavy space launch system (SLS) rocket for missions to the Moon, and eventually Mars.

© 2022 AFP

[Rick Plant]

7 hours of sleep is ideal for middle-age and elderly people, study finds

Don’t sleep on this study.

Middle-age and older people should sleep seven hours each night for ideal rest and recovery, according to a study published last week.

The research, published in Nature Aging, studied nearly 500,000 people between the ages of 38 and 73.

“While we can’t say conclusively that too little or too much sleep causes cognitive problems, our analysis looking at individuals over a longer period of time appears to support this idea,” co-author Jianfeng Feng said in a statement.

Researchers found that people who got exactly seven hours of sleep on a consistent basis saw better mental health, better memory, increased ability to pay attention and fewer symptoms of depression.

Previous studies have also suggested that seven hours is the ideal amount of sleep.

The latest study was conducted using the U.K.’s Biobank program and completed by researchers from the U.K. and China. It relied on participants reporting their own nights of sleep.

While the negative effects of sleep deprivation have been extensively studied, the researchers were confused by the downside of extra sleep.

“We don’t really understand why sleeping longer would be a problem,” co-author Barbara Sahakian told The Guardian.

© New York Daily News

[Rick Plant]

Paul McCartney signals support for Johnny Depp at concert



Johnny Depp’s reputation might be getting by with a little help from his friends.

Paul McCartney, during a concert in Seattle this week, appeared to lend the “Pirates of the Caribbean” star, 58, his support amid the contentious defamation trial between Depp and ex-wife Amber Heard.

Philanthropist and former model Jill Vedder, wife of Eddie Vedder, shared video on Instagram Tuesday that shows McCartney — a reported pal of Depp’s — performing “My Valentine” at the piano, in front of footage of Depp playing guitar.

“Might be controversial to post this video with J.D,” Vedder, 44, captioned the clip. “Don’t care. Know him only to be a gentleman .. And while I support women and the ‘me too’ movement I also know some women who have destroyed the lives of innocent & good men. ... p.s verbal abuse is not cool either.. watch your tongue.”

Vedder posted additional footage from the concert earlier that day.

McCartney had scheduled tour stops in Seattle on both Monday and Tuesday.

Depp is suing “Aquaman” star Heard, 36, for $50 million over a 2018 Washington Post op-ed she penned, referring to herself as “a public figure representing domestic abuse,” which he says derailed his career and reputation. Heard counter-sued for $100 million.

Other celebrities who may be subtly supporting Depp include Heard’s “Aquaman” costar Jason Momoa, who late last month followed Depp on Instagram. While the Oscar nominee’s proponents view this as a mark of support, others believe it could signal objectivity as Momoa’s texts with Heard are expected to be read in court.

A representative for McCartney did not immediately respond to the Daily News’ request for comment.

© New York Daily News

[Rick Plant]

'A great start': News of Chuck Todd's MSNBC show demotion met with cheers



MSNBC's Chuck Todd will have his daily show aired as a streaming service instead of as cable news, a decision that generated a great deal of social media discussion on Friday.

"Meet the Press Daily, the MSNBC program based on the Sunday public affairs show, will go streaming-only beginning next month. The show, which is anchored by Meet the Press moderator Chuck Todd and runs at 1 pm weekdays, will be renamed Meet the Press Now, and will stream at 4 pm weekdays," Alex Weprin reported for The Hollywood Reporter.

Chris Jansing we inherit Todd's slot on MSNBC.

Todd has been a controversial figure at MSNBC and the network has received pressure to "fire Chuck Todd."

At the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, host Trevor Noah roasted Todd's journalism.

The Daily Beast reported, "To Meet the Press host Chuck Todd, Noah asked, 'How are you doing? I’d ask a follow-up, but I know you don’t know what those are.' When the crowd groaned, he added, 'Don’t boo him, he’s trying!'"

It was against this backdrop that social media weighed in on Todd's demotion.

Media analyst Jeff Jarvis described it as a move to the "kiddie table."

"I'm sure the company line is that this is an investment in the digital future. And others will say good riddance," he noted.

Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko referenced Noah's joke.

"Trevor Noah’s joke was so good it booted Chuck Todd off MSNBC," he said.

But New York University journalism professor Jay Rosen disagreed.

"I have no inside information, but I doubt that Trevor Noah's dig is the reason NBC decided to move Chuck Todd's MSNBC show to streaming," Rosen said. "If they concluded that, yes, he's too weak an interviewer, would they keep him in his marquee job as host of Sunday's Meet the Press on NBC?"
Historian Kevin Kruse suggested that NBC News also fire Todd from Meet the Press.

"This is a great start, but can we get his Sunday morning gig moved to Quibi or the Weather Channel's app and replace that spot with an actual journalist too?" Kruse wrote.

He then clarified that "the Weather Channel is actually useful, and doesn't deserve being linked to Chuck Todd."

Nelly Torres of the watchdog group Center for Public Integrity said Todd is "among the worst."

"Can't interview and doesn't know how to challenge lies and misinformation. So bye Felicia! Streaming news is where you go to die," she wrote.

Journalist Allen McDuffee argued it is worse than it looks.

"Most people would take this spiral as a sign they should exit. Kinda suggests nobody else is opening a door for him to enter. And it's telling that NBC didn't even try to offer Chuck Todd's show as premium content to paying Peacock subscribers. Instead, they're putting it on the NBC News app, which anybody can watch for free," he noted.

https://www.rawstory.com/chuck-todd-2657278623/

[Rick Plant]

Fred Savage fired from 'The Wonder Years' for 'inappropriate conduct'



Actor Fred Savage came to prominence on the 1988 television series "The Wonder Years," but has been fired from the reboot of the show, People magazine reported Friday night.

"Recently, we were made aware of allegations of inappropriate conduct by Fred Savage, and as is policy, an investigation was launched. Upon its completion, the decision was made to terminate his employment as an executive producer and director of 'The Wonder Years,'" a spokesperson for 20th Television told the magazine.

Savage, 45, starred as Kevin Arnold in the original series.

"The allegations come four years after actress Alley Mills, who played Savage's mother Norma Arnold in the original series, alleged in 2018 that a sexual harassment lawsuit against the actor and Jason Hervey ended the show in 1993. Hervey portrayed Savage's older brother Wayne Arnold," the magazine reported. "Costume designer Monique Long sued the TV brothers in 1993, claiming that their alleged verbal and physical harassment prevented her from properly doing her job and led to her being fired, per Vanity Fair. The lawsuit was ultimately settled and dropped."

Deadline predicted the news would stun many.

"The accusations probably come as a shock to a generation of Americans who grew up with Savage and his hugely popular characters as a child actor: He played the grandson in 1987’s modern classic 'The Princess Bride,' and Kevin Arnold, a teenager growing up in a suburban middle-class family in the late 1960s and early 1970s, on the original Wonder Years series, which aired on ABC from 1988-93. He was 12 when he was cast in the series, and at 13 he received the first of two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series — becoming the youngest actor ever nominated in the category," Deadline noted.

The Hollywood Reporter says Savage issued a statement saying “none of the accusations being leveled at me are true.”

https://people.com/tv/fred-savage-fired-director-ep-of-the-wonder-years-for-alleged-inappropriate-conduct/

[Rick Plant]

Former Fox News reporter complains about being fired because she compared Dr. Fauci to infamous Nazi



Lara Logan, a former Fox News reporter who frequently fell for internet hoaxes, revealed this week the reason she was fired from the right-wing cable news network.

While appearing at an event to raise money for Republican candidates in Kerrville, Texas, Logan was asked by an audience member what happened to her job at Fox News.

Logan replied that she got the axe when she compared Dr. Anthony Fauci to a notorious Nazi war criminal.

"I was on a show, I think it was with Pete Hegseth, who's a great person," she began. "And Anthony Fauci had just done an interview with Margaret Brennan at CBS... and she asked him about the criticism he was getting, and he said, 'Well, I am science, so anyone who questions me is questioning science.' So I was asked about this on this Fox show and I said, 'A lot of people I talk to, they don't see Fauci as science, they see him more as Dr. Joseph Mengele."

This remark drew cheers from the audience.

Logan then acknowledged that the comparison of Fauci to a doctor who ran horrific experiments on people in concentration camps gave "an opening" for people to pressure the network to fire her.

Logan first revealed she'd been "dumped" by Fox this past March.

Watch the video below:

https://twitter.com/i/status/1522544386697007104