Trump Announces plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)

The sickening dismantling of science in the U.S. continues with the dismantling of NCAR,  the National Center for Atmospheric Research. From high-wind forecasts and wildfire behavior to floods, aviation hazards, air quality and space weather, science developed at  NCAR informs decisions that aim to reduce risk to all Americans. This dumbass- Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget says it causes "climate alarmism." Apparently he didn't graduate from the second grade, because even children understand climate change effects.   It's going to take decades to put things back together that are being destroyed by idiots who don't understand science. 

(Photo of NCAR: By :Daderot/ Collage by R.G)

Forced closure of premier US weather-modeling institute could endanger millions of Americans 

Live Science, Jane Palmer January 16, 2026

On Dec. 16 2025, the Trump administration announced plans to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) — one of the world's leading weather and climate research centers. In a statement to USA Today, Russell Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said NCAR is "one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country."

But dismantling NCAR could seriously impact the nation's capacity to ensure public safety and its ability to protect economic stability, Holly Gilbert, the institute's interim deputy director, told Live Science. "The research we do here directly applies to protecting the public," she said.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) established NCAR in 1960 to shield human life and property from atmospheric and solar hazards. At its core, the center's research translates vast atmospheric data from satellites, aircraft and ground sensors into forecasts that can potentially save lives.

'Nobody knew why this was happening': Scientists race to understand baffling behavior of 'clumping clouds'

NCAR Increased Awareness Flight Hazards- Making Flying Safer

For example, taking a flight used to be a riskier endeavor. Pilots encounter an abundance of challenges — from turbulence and tornadoes to ice on wings and rapidly varying pockets of wind known as microbursts. But thanks in no small part to the research conducted at the NCAR, flying has become safer, helping pilots avoid these hazards: There hasn't been a single crash on a commercial airline caused by sudden, sharp changes in wind speed in more than 25 years.

NCAR models Assist in Earlier Severe Weather Warnings

But the center's impacts stretch well beyond aviation safety. NCAR models help forecast tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, extreme heat, drought and the potential for wildfires. "Whenever there has been an early warning, NCAR science and models have been part of bringing that warning to the people who need to hear it," Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, told Live Science.

Swain, a research partner of NCAR, also stressed that without these early warnings, people could lose their properties or die unnecessarily in weather-related disasters.

NCAR also partners with insurance and reinsurance industries to assess the risks these hazards pose to lives and property. "NCAR provides leading weather research that helps keep people safe and protect homes, businesses, and jobs," Nicole Austin, senior vice president and director of federal affairs at the Reinsurance Association of America, told Live Science in an email. "Its long-term studies of hail and wildfires, along with real-time weather data, help reduce damage and help communities recover faster after disasters." One center, multiple impacts NCAR's models currently save the national aviation system an estimated $27 million annually. For terrestrial disaster resilience, NCAR's WRF-Hydro system powers the National Water Model (NWM), which monitors flood risk for more than 2.7 million stream locations.

NCAR has also developed GPS dropsondes—packages of instruments, tethered to little parachutes, that measure atmospheric conditions. These dropsondes reduced hurricane track forecast errors by up to 30%. Modern economic analyses estimate that such improvements in forecast accuracy save the nation up to $2 billion per major storm by optimizing protective decisions and reducing unnecessary evacuations.

NCAR also engages with private entities such as The Weather Company, which operates key digital consumer brands like The Weather Channel and Weather Underground. "Our proprietary forecasting capabilities — which are vital to national safety and security, economic resiliency, and aviation efficiency — greatly benefit from the basic and applied science and technology produced at NCAR and widely used across the entire weather enterprise, including directly at The Weather Company," Peter Neilley, senior vice president of science and forecasting operations at The Weather Company, told Live Science in an email.

NCAR's models also forecast phenomena beyond the weather. 

Its Wildland Fire model simulates how wildfires create their own weather, giving first responders critical on-the-ground intelligence, while its Fire INventory from NCAR (FINN) model tracks toxic smoke transport, alerting health officials to air quality hazards thousands of miles downwind.

NCAR Warns of Geomagnetic Storms that would affect satellites, cell service and more

NCAR's High Altitude Observatory (HAO) also anticipates threats to U.S. infrastructure from events originating in space, such as geomagnetic storms. Predicting space weather is essential for safeguarding the nation's power grid, GPS satellites and communication networks from solar flares that can trigger widespread blackouts and equipment failure.

Greater than the sum of its parts

A statement from the NSF said it "is reviewing the structure of the research and observational capabilities" of NCAR and will "explore options to transfer stewardship" of several of its strategic projects "to concentrate on needs such as seasonal weather prediction, severe storms, and space weather."

But the unique value of NCAR lies in its capacity to treat Earth as a single system, where all the different components — the atmosphere, the oceans, the land and water — are connected to one another, Gilbert said. "Risks to public health and safety are inherently complex and multidisciplinary," she said, "which makes it important to have the expertise and capabilities in one organization to look at where the Earth systems come together."

Modeling the path of a catastrophic wildfire, for example, takes more than data around the fuel available and local wind patterns; it requires simultaneously tracking how heat from the fire creates its own violent, localized winds and determining how multi-year drought has desiccated the fuels. Understanding the public health impact also requires modeling how the resulting toxic smoke will travel. NCAR's expertise is unique because it ensures that the intertwined components of fire, air temperature, dry land, water availability and air quality are modeled simultaneously using shared tools and computational resources, Gilbert said.

Discovery: Some Pompeii victims were wearing woolen cloaks when they died in August

 Some of the victims at Pompeii were wearing woolen cloaks when they died, even though it was August, new research finds. That's today's blog. 

(Photo: University of Valencia archeologist Llorenç Alapont among some of the plaster casts of the victims at Pompeii. (Image credit: University of Valencia )

Pompeii victims were wearing woolen cloaks in August when they died — but experts are split on what that means 

Live Science, By Tom Metcalfe, Dec. 17, 2025

Pompeii may have been unseasonably cold when the eruption of Mount Vesuvius destroyed the Roman city in A.D. 79, new research proposes.

A new analysis of 14 of the iconic plaster casts made of the victims at Pompeii has revealed that at least four were wearing woolen clothing when they were buried, even though late August — when the eruption is thought to have happened — is typically hot in this region. It's also possible that people were wearing woolen clothes for protection against the eruption, the researchers noted.

The research, which has not been published in a peer-reviewed journal, was presented in late November at an archaeological conference near Pompeii in Italy.

"They were wearing wool because that's what people wore at that time," said Pedar Foss, a historian and archaeologist at DePauw University in Indiana who was not involved with the research. Sheep's wool was tough, warm even when wet, and relatively cheap; linen from flax was available but delicate; and only the elites wore silk and cotton in ancient times. "About 90% of all clothing anywhere was wool," Foss told Live Science.

The research was led by Llorenç Alapont, an archaeologist at the University of Valencia. According to a translated statement from the university, the researchers studied the weaves of fabric imprinted on the plaster casts of the Vesuvius victims at Pompeii. "From our study … we can know how people dressed on this specific day in history," Alapont said in the statement.

Disputed date 

A total of 104 casts have been made at Pompeii since the 19th century by using plaster to fill the voids where victims had been buried by ash and debris from the erupting volcano.  Casts are no longer made, because it's now thought they could destroy any remains.

The imprints of the weaves of garments from the victims at Pompeii show most were wearing a two-piece outfit of a woolen tunic and cloak, Alapont said. But "we do not know if this particular clothing was to protect themselves from the gases or the ambient heat caused by the volcanic eruption," he said. In other words, he wondered whether the people killed at Pompeii were wearing woolen clothes for protection, perhaps from gases, heat or falling ash, during the roughly 18-hour-long eruption.

Foss explained that the Roman author Pliny the Younger was a teenager when he witnessed the eruption and described it about 30 years later in letters to the Roman historian Tacitus. Pliny firmly dated the eruption to "Nonum Kalendas Septembres" — the ninth day before the Kalends (first) of September, which is Aug. 24 of A.D. 79 in the modern Gregorian calendar.

But Pliny the Younger's written account was badly copied during the Middle Ages, and the month of the eruption was disputed until recent scholarship confirmed that Pliny — who was by that time an accomplished Roman magistrate — had recorded the August date, Foss said.

Proponents of a later month cite the evidence of autumnal fruits at Pompeii, an inscription scrawled in charcoal on a wall there, and what may be a slightly later coin found in the ruins. However, none of it is conclusive.

Tulane University historian and archaeologist Allison Emmerson explained the dispute to Live Science in an email. "The manuscript tradition is quite secure — the only date provided by the text is August 24," she said. "Whether that reflects the date of the actual event, however, is still subject to controversy."

The latest study does not make a pronouncement about the date of the Vesuvius eruption. It says only that the clothing worn by the Pompeii victims might be a sign that the day of the eruption was unseasonably cold for August — but, then again, it might not have been, or the wool might have been for protection.

The researchers also determined that people who died both inside and outside the houses at Pompeii were wearing the same types of clothes, according to the statement.

Foss said the research by Alapont and his team was important because it established what people at Pompeii were wearing when they were killed, but it did not add to any issue about the weather. "I just don't think it makes an argument either way," he concluded.

Our Snowblower Purchase Adventure!

Everything is an adventure. And I often find that what works for other people doesn't always work for me. Websites, phone apps, and buying things are all things that give me issues. On January 23, two days before one of the biggest snow events in this region in many years, we finally bought a Toro snowblower. Well, it was defective! Here's the story.

(Photo: After getting a working snowblower it made clearing the driveway much easier) 

On Friday, we drove up to Lowe’s in Rochester, NH which is about a 25 minute drive and bought a Toro Snowblower. We took it home we filled it with gas we filled it with oil and Tom get it started and turned it over to me so that I could try and clear some snow on the front of the house for our generator if we need it. It worked for 60 to 90 seconds then it shut off. When we tried to restart it, the ripcord that starts the snow blower,  jammed tight and would not budge. We had no idea what happened.

(Photo: Cody says, "You still have to shovel out a run for me on the grass.")

Tom spent a good half hour online looking at YouTube videos to find out how to fix it and there was no solution. So, I quickly called Lowe’s told them what happened. Customer Service said,
"Well, you have 48 hours to bring it back for an exchange." They also told me that there were no more snow blowers currently in the store, but they expected a shipment coming in the next day on Saturday. So, on Saturday, I called the store, confirmed the time of the shipment (4pm) and we loaded the snowblower onto our pickup truck. 

We drove to Lowes with the dead snow blower. It took two employees to confirm that it was indeed, ded. 

Fortunately, the new snowblowers arrived earlier and an employee had put a couple together, so we got our new snowblower in exchange. 

When we got it home, we immediately tried it out and let it run. We stopped it, tried it again, and all was well. The next day, the snow began on Sunday afternoon around 2 p.m. and didn't end until Monday morning around 2 a.m., so it was a 36 hour non-stop snowfall. 

We received 20" inches of snow. Fortunately, it was bitter cold (Only a high of 17 degrees Fahrenheit) so the snow was light and fluffy and there was no ice, sleet or freezing rain (like the U.S. Southeast experienced).  Snowblowers don't work so well in heavy, wet snow. I look at it this way. In the Spring, Summer and Fall, you mow the lawn with equipment. In the winter, you just swap it for a snowblower for "mowing/clearing" the driveway of snow. 

Idiot of the Week: Man Assaults a Woman and Dem. Representative at Film Festival

There are no boundries with the cult of the felon. A man (white, 20 something guy) broke into the Sundance Festival and assaulted a woman and a Democratic member of Congress telling him he needs to be deported because he's African-American and Latino. These idiots are learning from ICE and the felon that its acceptable to assault innocent people who politically disagree with them.

(Image credit: Scitech daily)

Man arrested for assaulting Woman and US Rep. Maxwell Frost at the Sundance Film Festival

By LINDSEY BAHR, Asspocated Press, January 25, 2026

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — A man was arrested Friday night at a party during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, for allegedly assaulting a Florida congressman.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost wrote on X on Saturday that he was punched in the face by a man who told Frost that President Donald Trump was going to deport him. The altercation occurred at a private party hosted by talent agency CAA at the High West Distillery, a popular venue for festival-adjacent events.

“He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off,” Frost wrote. “The individual was arrested and I am okay.”

Frost, the first Gen Z member of Congress, thanked the venue security and the Park City Police Department for their help. A Park City Police Department representative said officers arrived on the scene just after midnight.

Christian Joel Young, 28, was arrested on charges of aggravated burglary, assaulting an elected official and assault and transported to Summit County Jail, according to court records.

(This part from the Hindustan Times) 

Young Assaulted a Woman

After reportedly hitting Frost, Young allegedly approached two female visitors and started "making strange conversation" that was "racially charged," according to the police.

One of the women told police that Young allegedly said, "You are the kind we are going to deport," as he grabbed her and slammed her against the bar when they attempted to break off the conversation. He said to them, “You are being deported.”

Young was detained

As security came to capture Young, an unidentified man held him. Young apparently denied knowing where he obtained the pass, but security informed police that he had a Sundance Film Festival pass that did not belong to him.

Hero of the Week: Firefighter Colter Mirtes Saves Cat Frozen to a Tree

This week's hero story is one you may rarely hear! A cat escaped a home, climbed a tree in winter in Maine, and it's tail froze to a tree branch. It took a fireman to climb the tree to free the cat in the bitter cold.

(Photo: Cat rescued from tree in Lincoln by Firefighter Colter Mirtes.  SOURCE: Lincoln Fire Department) 

Cat frozen to a tree in Maine Saved by Firefighters

WMTW-TV Dec 18, 2025, Adam Bartow

LINCOLN, Maine — A cat in the town of Lincoln is safe after spending about two days stuck high in a tree.

Firefighters say Lucy, an indoor cat, escaped last weekend and got stuck about 95 feet up in a tree. Firefighter Colter Mirtes, who is just off his probationary period, was able to get up the tree and found Lucy's tail was actually frozen to a branch.

(Photo: Colter Mirtes, Credit: Lincoln Maine, Fire Department) 

Mirtes freed Lucy from the branch and brought her back to the ground. He says she was excited to return home.

On September 30, 2025, Colter Mirtes was one of four Probatinary Firefighters that became Pro-Boad certified firefighters. The others include: Carson Munson, Geroge Church and Jeremy Freier.

"We can’t promise that we’ll be able to help in these situations, but we’re always willing to take a look and help out, provided we can do so without damaging our equipment or your property. Lucy may be down to 8 lives - but if cats had thumbs, I’m sure Colter would have 1 more Christmas card on the way this year," the fire department wrote.

Book of the week: Renegade by Frederic Bean (A Western)

 I enjoy reading westerns, and last year I came across a book by Frederic Bean called "Hangman's Legacy" and enjoyed it, so I've looked for others. I recently enjoyed "Renegade" about a group 4 Texas Rangers that were tasked with hunting down a renegade group of Comanches.

The story was good and kept you reading. The main character, Will, the lead Ranger was struggling with being in his 40s and feeling almost too old for the job, while leading 3 other rangers that included a good tracker, a crack rifleman, and another who was clearly an alcoholic with a gun. They were tasked with bringing a band of 10 or so isolated, renegade Comanches who brutally murdered anyone, including other native americans, because they could. They were led by a fierce, and obviously psychotic (I read between the lines) Comanche named Iron Horse. The book opens with a lot of violence by the renegades, and sets up the reason why they need to be stopped.

Will and his Rangers set out to do what the U.S. Army couldn't do - track the renegades and try to bring them to justice. It was a well-written story that kept me reading. 5 of 5 stars. .

Discovery! Medieval 'super ship' found wrecked off Denmark is largest vessel of its kind

Divers have unearthed the largest cog shipwreck ever discovered in a strait off Denmark. Hidden for more than six centuries, the large vessel has been identified as the largest known medieval cargo ship, a revelation that could offer new insights into shipbuilding of the era. That's today's blog.

(Photo: The Svælget 2 shipwreck. Photo courtesy of the Viking Ship Museum.) 

Medieval 'super ship' found wrecked off Denmark is largest vessel of its kind

By Patrick Pester, Live Science, January 20, 2026

Archaeologists have discovered a massive medieval shipwreck sitting at the bottom of a strait off Denmark.

The 600-year-old ship was a cog: a round, single square-sailed vessel that was one of the most advanced ship types in the Middle Ages. At around 92 feet (28 meters) long and 30 feet (9 m) wide, the newly-found ship is the largest cog ever discovered, according to researchers at Denmark's Viking Ship Museum.

The researchers discovered the vessel off Copenhagen in Øresund, or "the Sound" in English — the strait between Denmark and Sweden. They described it as a "super ship" that could transport hundreds of tons of cargo at low cost during a period of burgeoning trade in the 14th and 15th centuries.

"The find is a milestone for maritime archaeology," excavation leader Otto Uldum said in a statement. "It is the largest cog we know of, and it gives us a unique opportunity to understand both the construction and life on board the biggest trading ships of the Middle Ages."

(Image: The massive hull of the Svælget 2 exposed after centuries of being buried. In Portugese: O casco maciço do Svælget 2 exposto após séculos de  soterramento. Image Credit: https://razaovirtual.com.br/) 

The discovery was made accidentally as part of seabed investigations for a new artificial island that Denmark plans to create off Copenhagen. Researchers removed what they described as "centuries of sand and silt" to reveal the outline of the ship, which they named Svælget 2 after the channel in which it was found.

Svælget 2 was well preserved on the seabed, located 43 feet (13 m) below the surface. Sand protected its starboard side, which retained traces of delicate rigging — unheard of in previous cog wrecks. The researchers also identified a brick galley, the first in a medieval ship in Danish waters, which allowed the crew to cook hot meals on an open fire. Artifacts on the ship included cooking materials, such as pots and bowls, and the crew's personal objects, such as hair combs and rosary beads for prayer, according to the statement.

The researchers have yet to find Svælget 2's cargo. Uldum noted that the hold wasn't covered, so cargo barrels would have floated away from the ship as it sank. However, with no signs of military use, Svælget 2 is likely to have been a merchant ship, the researchers said.

Maine History: Maine’s George Mitchell and his Coppertoe Shoes

Coppertoe shoes came out of the mind of a farmer in Maine, who was frustrated with his kids wearing through shoes quickly. He came up with the idea in the 1850s and it caught on. Today's blog is about that forgotten New England history.

 Maine’s George Mitchell and his Coppertoe Shoes

New England Historical Society, May 25, 2025 

As any parent knows, keeping kids in shoes is a constant chore. If they aren’t outgrowing them, they’re destroying them. It was this second problem that attracted the attention of George Mitchell of Turner, Maine in the mid-1850s and led to the invention of the coppertoe shoes.

Mitchell was a farmer and businessman, and his many children were hard on their shoes. From being knocked around and kicked into things, their footwear always seemed to wear out before it should.

Turner was an inventive sort, however, and he concluded that he didn’t need to spend as much of his available funds on shoes as he had been. Instead, he simply needed better shoes. And if no one was going to make them, he would do it himself. With that in mind, he created a shoe craze that would last more than 50 years: the coppertoe.

Coppertoe shoes patent

Some versions of the story say he started with tin cans, others say it was a worn out copper washboiler. Either way, what he did was cut out pieces of metal and form them over a mold until he had a toe cap to cover the ends of his children’s shoes to thwart their more destructive efforts.

Coppertoe Shoes

As one story has it, his kids were embarrassed at first by the new contraptions their father had put on their feet. As soon as their friends caught sight of the new invention, however, they were instantly jealous of the shiny-tipped shoes. And so a fashion trend was born.

1859 advertisement for coppertoe shoes

Mitchell (no relation to the senator) soon found his services and his new product in high demand, and he patented the improved shoe tips. But he was not one to market his “shoe-upper tip.” Instead, he sold his patents (for as much as $100,000, according to some reports) and by 1859, Chase, McKinney and Company of Boston was marketing “Mitchell’s Celebrated Coppertoe.”

The shoe became a multi-million-seller in the United States. It enjoyed even greater popularity in the UK. For years, parents and kids alike loved the reliable coppertoe shoe. It tripled the life of a shoe, and kids loved the flashy look. Generations of youngsters up into the 1900s prized their coppertoe shoes. They ranked with baseball mitts and first bikes in their treasured childhood memories.

Mitchell’s shoes outlived him by many years, sadly. In 1866, Mitchell’s six-year-old son drowned near Turner and Mitchell died trying to save him.

Construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any major industry

Here's an alarming statistic of which I had no knowledge, so I'm sharing in case you know people who work in this industry. The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any major industry, only second to mining. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. 

(A collage of family photos of TJ Kimball and his dogs over the years is displayed at the home of his mother, Angela Kimball, in Plymouth, Mass., on Nov. 4, 2025. Sophie Park/The New York Times)

A Mass. construction worker’s suicide highlights a wider crisis 

The shattering loss of TJ Kimball was not an isolated incident. The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any major industry in the country, second only to mining, according the CDC.

By Ronda Kaysen, New York Times Service, January 9, 2026...

RAYNHAM, Mass. — A stack of paint buckets. Trowels nestled along the wall. A hard hat. These items remain, untouched since March 15, in Timothy J. Kimball’s backyard work shed.

It has been 10 months since Kimball, at 37, quietly walked into his Raynham, Massachusetts, bedroom on a chilly Saturday afternoon and killed himself. And it is in his work shed where his father, Timothy Kimball, lingers in his only son’s presence. “This is where he’d come out, smoke, have a cigarette — I feel him here,” the elder Kimball, 62, said, after rifling through his son’s first tool bag, from when he became an apprentice in the painters union almost 20 years ago. “I tend to talk to him here.”

The younger Kimball, whom everyone called TJ, was a drywall finisher, known as a taper, the laborer who prepares freshly hung drywall for a coat of paint. He came from three generations in the trades — his father, uncles and great-uncles were all tapers and carpenters in the Boston area.

Over 300 people, stunned by the loss, turned up for his wake.“It’s just like a big, huge tsunami came in and wiped everything out,” said TJ Kimball’s oldest sister, Shannon Kilburn, 43.

The shattering loss of TJ Kimball was not an isolated incident. The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any major industry in the country, second only to mining, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Add in drug overdoses, where construction workers die at a greater rate than workers in any other industry, and a bleak picture emerges of a population in crisis.

Construction is already among the most dangerous jobs in the country, with about 1,000 people dying each year from work-related injuries, more than any other industry. But five times as many workers, 5,100, died by suicide, and 15,900 died from drug overdoses, in 2023, according to an analysis of the most recent federal data by the Center for Construction Research and Training, an occupational safety organization. While the number of overdoses declined from 2022, from 17,000, the number of suicides remained virtually unchanged.

“The crisis affects every single job on every single job site in this country,” said Sonya Bohmann, the executive director of the Construction Industry Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit organization. Employers and unions have expanded access to mental health support and drug treatment programs; job sites often stock Narcan, or naloxone, a drug that reverses the effect of an overdose, in first aid kits; drug testing is increasingly commonplace; and companies and unions offer suicide prevention training programs. But the crisis persists.

Construction workers are particularly vulnerable to suicide because of a collision of risk factors. Men without a college degree and veterans, two groups with high rates of suicide and of gun ownership, often work in construction. 

Guns are used in the majority of all suicides, and men who own handguns are nearly eight times as likely to die by gun suicide than those who do not.  

Construction is hard, physical labor, often done outside in the elements and sometimes far from home.

“It’s also a very cyclical job — you can’t guarantee a 40-hour week,” said Shawn Nehiley, president of the Ironworkers District Council of New England. “You don’t know if you’re going to be laid off, if you’re going to work overtime.”

Get hurt on the job and a painkiller prescription can spiral into addiction, as it did for Nehiley, who was prescribed opioids in 2001 for an injury, leading to a relapse of an addiction that began in adolescence. “The prayers before I went to bed at night were ‘Please God, don’t let me wake up in the morning,’” said Nehiley, 62, now sober for 15 years. In his office hang 45 prayer cards and photographs of union members who died from overdoses or suicide since 2008. “And that’s not all of them,” he said.

No occupation has a higher rate of substance abuse than construction and extraction. A substance abuse disorder, even for someone in recovery, increases suicide risk.

“There’s this high density of risk with this community,” said Craig Bryan, a clinical psychologist and the director of the University of Vermont Medical Center’s suicide care clinic.

Interviews with dozens of construction workers described a culture of widespread drinking and drug use. “There’s cocaine, there’s pills, there’s even alcohol at lunch,” said Paul Reed, a recovering addict who runs Roofers in Recovery, a Colorado nonprofit organization.

The regional chapter of Kimball’s union, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, does not track how many of its 4,000 members die by overdose or suicide. But its quarterly magazine memorializes members who died in the intervening months. In the spring issue, of the 28 people commemorated, four died by overdose or suicide. One of them was Kimball. If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources. This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

For Full article, visit: https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2026/01/09/a-mass-construction-workers-suicide-highlights-a-wider-crisis/?s_campaign=email%3Abcomtoday&subid=%2A%7Csubid%7C%2A&audid=%2A%7Caudid%7C%2A

Watched: The Medici TV Series and Reign of the Supermen Animated Movie

Tom loves to watch movies and television series. Rob is a lot more particular and doesn't watch much televisionm, but watched an animated Superman movie recently that was based on a comic book storyline. Tom's latest Television series obesssion is called Medici because he loves historic series.  Today's blog is about both of those and what we think of them.

TOM RECOMMENDS-  Tom loves this series, and because we went to Italy together on vacation, he loves to point out the historic buildings in the series (which is really cool to see). There were only three seasons to this series, sadly. It's really well done. Tom highly recommends this series! 

ABOUT THE MEDICI SERIES -Medici  is an Italian-British historical drama television series created by Frank Spotnitz and Nicholas Meyer.  The series follows the House of Medici, bankers of the Pope, in 15th-century Florence. Each season follows the events of a particular moment of the family's history exploring the political and artistic landscape of Renaissance Italy.

The first season of the series, titled Medici: Masters of Florence, premiered in Italy on Rai 1 on 18 October 2016. It takes place in 1429, the year Giovanni de' Medici, head of the family, died. His son Cosimo succeeds him as head of the family bank, the richest in Europe and fights to preserve his power in Florence.

**************************************************** 

ROB GIVES 2.5 STARS - This animated version of the famous post- "Death of Superman" comic book storyline "Reign of the Supermen" is about 4 different men who create their own version of Superman, to fill in for the fallen hero (who later revives). - Although the characters are there and three of them are accurate to the comics- Superboy the clone, and Steel/John Henry Irons, the Eradicator (an ancient Kryptonian weapon, merged with a human body to form the Last Son of Krypton an extreme vigilante) , the Cyborg Superman was not AND they added in way-overused villain for no reason - and that soured me on the story!!

WHY I DIDN'T CARE FOR IT MUCH: ADDING A WAY-OVERUSED VILLAIN NOT IN THE ORIGINAL STORY - DC Comics feels like they have to insert the cosmic villain Darkseid into every darn storyline to make it interesting, so they ADDED him into this story. The story said Darkseid created the cyborg body for the Cyborg Superman, which is not true.  As a comic reader for about 45 years, I am tired of the Darkseid character, and he was absolutely not part of this famous comics storyline. They should have stuck to the comics story.

THE MOVIE VERSION OF REIGN OF THE SUPERMEN - After Superman is put to rest, following his battle with Doomsday, his body is stolen from it's tomb. As authorities investigate, new and completely different Supermen start appearing on the scene, making everyone wonder if Superman has been reincarnated, and if so, which of the new Supermen is the real Man-of-Steel? Includes Lex Luthor and Darkseid from Apokolips.  

THE ORIGINAL COMIC BOOK STORYLINE - The premise was that, since Superman's death, four other supermen have appeared, claiming to be the resurrected Man of Steel, each with different powers and personalities, each having some claim to the Last son of Krypton's legacy. Each of the four superman books featured one of the four supermen, which were all created by the creative teams of those books.

The Supermen were: Last Son of Krypton (Action Comics), a cold, emotionless Kryptonian persona; Superboy (Adventures of Superman), a teenage clone of Superman; Steel (Superman: The Man of Steel), an engineer who built a high-powered suit of armor to carry on Superman's legacy; and finally Cyborg Superman (Superman), who most resembled the real Man of Steel but who was a cybernetic organism.

Idiot of the Week: Arrested Man had emaciated puppy in car

There is nothing more VILE than an idiot who abuses animals. This Idiot fortunately surrendered the dog during a traffic stop, and what he said about the dog ingesting was horrific. Plus, this unemployed idiot impregnated his girlfriend. The HEROES of this story are the West Bridgewater, Massachusetts Police, who flagged this guy down and took the dog to a shelter. 

(Photo: Sprout now in the ASPCA shelter after getting medical care and food. Sprout is a severely neglected pug mix, is getting a new chance at life after she was discovered by a West Bridgewater police officer conducting a routine traffic stop. Credit: ASPCA)

(You can read the ASPCA's Updates on SPROUT - and for awhile it was touch and go, but he seems to be doing better: https://www.apcsm.org/sprout)

Taunton, Mass. man charged with animal cruelty after emaciated puppy allegedly found in car 

The 9-month-old puppy, named Sprout, is slowly recovering from malnourishment at the APCSM. 

By Morgan Rousseau, Boston Globe, December 26, 2025

A Taunton man is facing animal cruelty charges after police say they discovered a severely emaciated puppy in his car during a routine traffic stop in West Bridgewater.

Devin Preeper, 27, was arraigned Tuesday in Brockton District Court on a felony charge of animal cruelty in connection with the severe malnourishment of his pug-mix puppy.

According to West Bridgewater police, an officer stopped Preeper’s vehicle around 11:49 a.m. on Nov. 24 after he allegedly ran a red light on North Main Street. While speaking with Preeper, the officer noticed what appeared to be a “significantly underweight dog” inside the car.

(Photo: Right: how Sprout was found in the back of the idiot's car. Credit: ASPCA).

Police said the dog — a 9-month-old puppy named Sprout — was transported to Westbridge Veterinary Referral Hospital, where she received emergency medical care. Investigators later determined the dog belonged to Preeper and was severely malnourished.

According to a WCVB report, Preeper initially told police he had found the dog in Brockton the night before and had begun caring for her. Authorities allege he later admitted to owning the puppy for at least six months and being unable to properly care for her.

“I haven’t had the money, because I had a job, I don’t have a job anymore, [I’m] under a lot of stress because my girlfriend is pregnant,” Preeper said in body camera video, according to the media outlet.

Preeper also allegedly told police the dog had accidentally ingested birth control pills and UTI medication while under his care. He surrendered the dog and was informed that he would be formally charged.

“During the initial traffic stop, officers took steps to ensure the dog immediately received veterinary care,” police said in a statement. “Investigators then conducted a thorough follow-up investigation, including documenting the dog’s condition, gathering veterinary reports, and conducting follow-up interviews. During that investigation, West Bridgewater Police developed probable cause to charge Preeper.”

Following treatment, Sprout was transferred to the Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts (APCSM) in Brockton, where officials say her condition is slowly improving. The APCSM has shared photos and video of Sprout on its website showing the puppy with bones visibly protruding from her body.

“She was so weak she could hardly lift her head or move her body freely,” rescuers wrote. They described her as “incredibly sweet” and said she seeks affection and closeness.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing. The APCSM is raising funds to support Sprout’s recovery, which includes diagnostic testing and bloodwork, medications and supplements, a carefully monitored nutritional plan, and continued follow-up visits.

Heroes of the week: Waterville,Maine Fire-Rescue Save Man on Roof of Burning Home

This week's heroes are the firefighters of the Waterville, Maine Fire-rescue who saved a man who had to run outside and stand on his roof as his home became engulfed in flames.  

Photo: Waterville fire rescue Waterville fire rescue SOURCE: Waterville Fire-Rescue

Man rescued from the roof of a burning home in Waterville, Maine 

WMTW Dec 17, 2025 , Adam Bartow

WATERVILLE, Maine — A man was rescued from the roof of a burning home in Waterville early Wednesday morning.

Firefighters were called to 12 High St. at about 1:10 a.m. for reports of a fire with a man on the roof. When they arrived, they found a lot of smoke in the air and a man outside his bedroom window on the roof of the 2 1/2 story home.

Firefighters quickly set up a ladder and brought the man to safety. He was checked out at the scene and did not need to go to the hospital.

Investigators say there was heavy fire in the back of the building and part of the roof had collapsed. There was so much fire and danger, crews could only battle the fire from the outside.

An excavator was eventually brought in to help prevent more collapse of the building.

Firefighters said the man was sleeping with his bedroom door closed, which may have saved his life, because it kept the flames from spreading into his bedroom before he could escape.

The cause of the fire was not known Wednesday afternoon.