US Liver Donor Marries Organ Recipient

This unconventional love story started when Former Marine Officer Christopher Dempsey decided to be a liver donor to a stranger who he never thought would become his wife.

Heather Krueger was diagnosed with a stage 4 liver cancer and she had been sick for about 2 years. Doctors told her that she only had 50% chance of living more than two months.

Her family was under pressure to find the right donor. This was a difficult task in a country with more than 119,000 people on its waiting list for a transplant.

That is where code enforcement officer Mr. Dempsey entered, he was in the break room in Frankfort, a village south of Chicago, Illinois one day when he overheard a guy talking about this woman who needed a liver donor.

In his statement, he said, “I heard a co-worker talking about his cousin who needed a liver transplant.”

“I just thought to myself, I would want someone to help me or my family in that situation.” He added.

Mr. Dempsey {38 years old} went in for the test and discovered he was a match.
On February 2015, they talked for the first time. Dempsey called Krueger to inform her about the good news, that she finally had a donor.

In the same way, Krueger also wanted to tell him how she and her mother had cried to tears after receiving the good news.

He later then treated Ms. Krueger to lunch, and that was their first meeting.
Love grows

As time went by and surgery came closer, they started to spend more time together as Mr. Dempsey and his motorcycle club was going to hold a fundraiser to help her with her medical bills.

“We were going out looking for donations for a benefit, and I just started thinking, she’s a really nice girl, she is somebody I would like to get to know.” Mr. Dempsey said.

By the time of the surgery at the University Of Illinois Hospital on March 16, they had already been on a couple of dates. Nevertheless, they only made it official afterwards.

“I was really confident everything was going to be okay,” said Mr. Dempsey. “I was still nervous – there is always the chance [something might go wrong] – but at no point did I rethink the decision.

“It was just really good knowing she was going to be okay.”

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“Trigger happy buffoon” – How British MPs described Donald Trump

British MPs (Members of Parliament) have been giving their verdicts on Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in the run up to the US presidential electon.

In the anonymous survey of 50 MPs, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton fared better than Republican rival Trump, but neither exactly received a ringing endorsement.

However it is Trump who came in for the most criticism – with MPs feeling they could speak more openly knowing that they would not be named.

Buffoon

Trump was described as “dangerous”, “narcissistic”, “trigger happy”, “protectionist” and a “buffoon” and one MP said he was “unfit to run a bath let alone a country.”

One senior Labour politician was particularly vitriolic about the Republican nominee saying: “Trump is the most grotesque manifestation of populism driven by discontent worldwide.

The same MP dismissed Clinton as “uninspiring” while another observed: “It is a mystery how more than 300 million people could come up with such losers.”

The survey, said to be  the most extensive polling of British politicians in this presidential election, was conducted by The House magazine.

Dangerous

The MPs were chosen to reflect the party political make-up of the British House of Commons

Not one of the 50 politicians believed Trump would make the world safer while two thirds said it would actually be ‘much more dangerous’ with the Republican running the US.

Clinton polled almost the opposite, with no MPs believing the world would be any more dangerous under her leadership and 82% believing her experience as a senator and secretary of state would lead to improved global security.

As for who is going to win, nine out of ten of the British MPs surveyed said they think it will be Clinton.

“Clinton will get home, Donald Trump has shot himself in the foot so many times that I can’t see him winning,” concludes a Tory backbencher.

British politicians on Trump:

• “He’d be a disaster for our countries. He’s ghastly, a threat to world peace and thoroughly obnoxious.” – Former Conservative minister.

• “Trump would be an absolute disaster; the man is a buffoon.” – Labour backbencher.

• “Trump doesn’t have the temperament; he’s trigger happy and narcissistic.” – Conservative MP

• “Trump is so unpredictable he could do something really quite radical and dangerous. Whatever you think of Hilary Clinton, she is a professional politician.” – Conservative MP.

British politicians on Clinton:

• “If Trump does win, it will be the grotesque selfishness of the Clinton mafia that foisted him upon us.” – Former Tory shadow minister.

• “Clinton’s not the best candidate there has ever been, but she is a safe pair of hands.” – Scottish Nationalist MP.

• “Whatever Clinton’s faults at campaigning, she’ll be a good executive president, probably better than Obama.” – Former Tory shadow minister.

• “I think she’ll be a lame duck from the start. Whoever wins I predict will be a one term president.” – Backbench Conservative MP.

Read more: The MPs’ verdict

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Venezuela Protesters Call For Overthrow of President Maduro

CARACAS, Venezuela – Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the streets of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas on Wednesday, shouting, “Democracy yes! Dictatorship no!” Citizens of Venezuela want to overthrow the incumbent President Nicolas Maduro, accusing the president of neglecting his job. The outcry fired up when the president’s allies stopped a recall referendum to remove the president from power.

Opposition leaders called the nationwide demonstration as “the takeover of Venezuela.” According to the Foro Penal human rights group, police detained at least 140 people and one police officer was shot and killed. Two other people were injured in central Miranda state for unknown reasons.

One of the opposition leaders, Henrique Capriles said, “Maduro has shown how scared he is that the people will express themselves”.

Last week, the electoral authorities impeded a retraction vote against Maduro. The move sparked the uproar of the Venezuelans. The conflict intensified on Tuesday when the opposition voted to put the president on trial blaming him for staging a coup.

“Neglecting his job”

Opposition leaders claimed that the president had effectively abandoned his job because of neglect. Venezuelans blame Maduro’s administration for the “country’s triple-digit inflation”, degrading economy, food, and medicine shortages.

While a violent nationwide protest raged on, a smaller group of government supporters held a rally downtown of the city, which President Maduro attended.

Correspondingly, opposition leaders ended “Wednesday’s national day of protest” to prepare for a bigger demonstration on Friday. According to activists, they will launch another protest on the presidential palace on November 3 if they continue to prevent the referendum to retract the president.

However, a ban exists on holding demonstrations in front of the presidential palace since 2002. It was the year a massive uprising occurred against the former President Hugo Chavez.

Nationwide demonstration

Police deployed tear gas in the provincial capitals which caused injuries to many. The left-wing activists broke into the protected regional electoral office in the border state of Tachira. They also spray painted anti-government slogans in the main entrance.

A viral video posted on social media shows a young man shouting in the face of a soldier wearing riot gear. In the video, he can be heard screaming, “I’m going hungry! If you’re going to shoot me because I’m hungry, shoot me,”

On the other part of Caracas, students have shown their disapproval at the administration by casually sitting on the country’s main highway. Victoria Rodriguez aged 18 and a recent high school graduate is one of the many protesters. She said that she wants to cast her first vote against Maduro because she feels like “living in an emptying country”. Out of her 25 classmates, 15 have already left since July, just after graduation.

Rodriguez said, “People are tired of going to the streets and then going home. The opposition is letting the streets go cold. They are giving the government too much time to maneuver.” Her statement conveys her disappointment to the opposition leaders for the slow progress to veto the president.

Supreme Court ruling

On Thursday, the congress expects deliberation on Maduro’s responsibility issues which caused the deteriorating political and economic crisis. However, the result will not make much of a difference. Venezuela’s National Assembly cannot impeach the president, only the Supreme Court has that power. Sadly, the institution has never voted against the president.

Both the administration and the opposition agreed to a bilateral talk to resolve the crisis. On Sunday, the Vatican and other South American governments are set to mediate the dialogue in the Caribbean island of Margarita. Maduro said he will personally travel to Margarita to commence the meeting. In lieu of the talk, the president met privately with Pope Francis on Monday.

During the previous crises, the two parties tried dialogue but the opposition had a very limited hope of winning. The administration is in full control of all the government institutions including the military, which displayed no interest in siding with the opposition.

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U.S. Forces Ready to Retake ISIS ‘Capital’ City of Raqqa

United States Defense Secretary Ash Carter released a statement on Wednesday that it would launch an all-out offensive to retake the city of Raqqa.

At a NATO meeting in Brussels, Carter told reporters that troops are now being mobilized for the siege of Raqqa that would take place in the next couple of weeks; he declined to give more specifics about the attack.

“The plan has us generating those forces in a matter of weeks … generating them and positioning them for the isolation of Raqqa,” Carter said.

Earlier this month, the U.S. backed the attack on Mosul. It has been “long planned” that the attack on Raqqa would be next, Carter added.

Ready to Attack

The assault preparation comes amid fears that the terror group would plot an attack somewhere in the world from inside of the city.

U.S. Commander in Iraq, Gen. Stephen Townsend, told reporters that it is “imperative to get isolation in place around Raqqa,” he added, “there are significant external operations attack planning” taking place inside the city.

“We actually aren’t sure how pressing it is, and that’s what’s worrying,” Gen. Townsend added, “We know they are up to something, and it’s an external plot. We don’t know exactly where; we don’t know exactly when.”

Secretary Ash Carter said the military has enough resources to launch the operation in both Mosul and Raqqa.

“We’re going to win this, and so if there’s anything we need to do to accelerate, I’m prepared to ask for it,” he said.

Secretary Carter and his NATO counterparts shared the same insight and committed that anti-ISIS operations would be its major focus.

The transatlantic alliance committed to increasing its participation and launch aerial surveillance flights in the Black Sea Region.

NATO has been training Iraqi military officers in Jordan as it avoids direct involvement in the anti-ISIS fight, leaving the decision to its members to be involved in the U.S. led coalition.

NATO’s commitment for Peace

NATO spokesperson Dylan White said on Tuesday, “We will improve the coalition’s overall air picture by providing surveillance and situational awareness, thereby making the skies safer,”

“This is a meaningful contribution to the (anti-ISIS) effort and a clear signal of NATO’s determination to help fight terrorism,” he added.

NATO showed its determination despite the recent criticism made by Presidential nominee Donald Trump.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “NATO has played a key role, has been in a front line in a fight against terrorism for many, many years with our operation in Afghanistan, training Iraqi officers supporting Tunisia, Jordan and many other ways.”
“As I stated many times, the adaptation of NATO — where you focus more on intelligence, where you step up of our efforts to fight terrorism, where we increase defense spending — is not related to (the) US election campaign,” he added.

Other than anti-ISIS operations in Syria and Iraq, NATO also focuses on Russia’s recent aggression in Eastern Europe.

Secretary Carter said that the U.S. will deploy rotations of U.S.-based armored brigade combat teams to Europe early next year to strengthen deterrence in the region

 

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First Direct Evidence of Hoary Bats Migration And Hibernation

Nestled in the heart of the California redwood forest is a roving colony of hoary bats, scientifically known as Lasiurus cinereus. A hoary bat has the ability to travel hundreds of miles. It flies throughout western North America before resting to California’s North Coast.

It is uncommon for some species of bats to migrate or hibernate. However, it’s rarer to find species to do both. The Hoary Bat, North America’s largest bat at 5 inches length, is covered with unique fur from which it takes its name.

Researchers together with the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Research Station have recorded the first evidence of hoary bats migrating to the state of torpor, or hibernation. The coverage has been published earlier this month in Scientific Reports just in time for National Bat Week, Oct. 24-31, “First Direct Evidence of Long-distance Seasonal Movements and Hibernation in a Migratory Bat” reports newly discovered behaviors in hoary bats.

“It’s commonly assumed that species that migrate do so to reach areas that allow them to continue feeding and remain somewhat active throughout the winter,” said lead author

Ted Weller, an ecologist with the Forest Service said, “but our findings surprised even our own research team by showing that hoary bats spend much of the winter in hibernation.”

Back in September 2014 at Humboldt Redwoods State Park, Weller and his team equipped several bats with GPS tracking devices and another group of bats with a device to monitor the light levels, body temperature and their activity, in order to study how bats respond to different weather conditions.

Weller said, “While such tracking and monitoring technology has existed for a while, it hasn’t been until somewhat recently that these units were made small enough to be affixed to animals of this size,”

After a month of tracking and monitoring, two of the GPS equipped bats were recovered and their data downloaded. The first bat met the expected behavior of “site fidelity. Its longest recorded trek was about 4 miles from its initial capture site. The second bat has surprisingly exceeded expectations; it had multiple treks in a single day, ranging from 30 to 45 minutes.

After several months, they were able to capture a third bat, and produced the most intriguing behavior. The third bat flew more than 600 miles. It made a loop into southern Oregon, then into California. It then flew over the Nevada border, and then back again into California.

In a statement, Weller said, “It’s hard to determine what led to such a journey,”
“Was he seeking favorable temperatures and humidity for roosting and foraging? Was he trying to intercept females to mate with as they migrated to their wintering grounds?” He added.

Meanwhile, the GPS tracking devices equipped to the other group of bats also gained new insights into the species. Two bats from that group were recovered in spring, with one of the bat’s devices generated 224 days of data. In the span of November 2014 through April 2015, the bat showed signs of being in a state of torpor. This was based on low body temperature and inactivity.

This study leads researchers to the question: Why would a species capable of migrating, hibernate? The answer could lie within the bats’ roosting habitat.

“Hoary bats roost outside in trees as opposed to inside caves,” Weller said. “It’s possible that hoary bats are evolved to hibernate. Hosever, they would freeze if they did so in their northern summer territories.”

The Redwoods is an ideal habitat for the bats because it offers an environment with lots of shelter. Moreover, It has cool temperatures and plenty of moisture to reduce the risk of dehydration.

Research provided a glimpse into Hoary Bat Habits

Similar to other migratory species, understanding seasonal movements and wintering habits are essential for conservation efforts. And because most bat research is confined to summer when bats are most active, these findings are especially useful.

“This research has provided us with a valuable look into the lives of hoary bats rarely before seen, and until now, never before documented to this extent,” Weller said.

“Knowing more about their lives outside of the summer months will help us better understand what steps might best promote their conservation.”

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Alexa Voice Assistant To Be Available On Amazon’s Fire Tablets

On Wednesday, the Alexa voice assistant will begin rolling out to customers and designed to match what users get on other Alexa devices, such as the Echo speaker. By using voice commands, users listen to music from services such as Pandora or Amazon Music, or they can have the news read out to them.

The Fire tablets will have an apparent advantage over Echo by offering full-screen cards with additional details. For instance, when you inquire about the weather, just as she does on Echo, Alexa will speak out the current temperature and offer the day’s forecast. However, the visual card will also show the week’s forecast. The card also offers playback control such as skipping and pausing for news and music.

For those with both Fire and Echo, as long a user enables a Voicecast feature through the Alexa app, making a request on Echo will activate the Fire’s screen and present the detailed cards.

Amazon says Alexa will vary from Google’s Assistant and Apple’s Siri. It was designed for tablets first, instead of phones. That means aiming at activities usually done at home, such as recipes, entertainment, and timers. For tasks on the go, such as locating nearby establishments, the voice assistant carries out a standard web search or directs you to the Alexa app. Google and Apple have special interfaces with price ranges, restaurant ratings and more. Further, both combine that data into their chat apps, too.

Strength through affordability

Amazon.com Inc. has managed to stay strong despite the downturn in the overall tablet market by slashing prices and persuading people to buy more than one. The value of its base model is just $49. The company introduced last month a new 8-inch tablet for $90, down from $150 for comparable models in the past.

So far, Amazon is dodging business-oriented tablets such as Microsoft’s Surface and Apple’s iPad Pro. Senior product manager for Fire tablets Aaron Bromberg said that while such devices work well as laptop alternatives, “we also see an awful lot of people that want tablets to use around the house for entertainment.”

 

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Pro-immigrant Protesters Block Morning Traffic On George Washington Bridge

Pro-immigrant protesters briefly halted traffic during the morning rush on the George Washington Bridge on Wednesday. The protesters chained themselves together and blocked lanes on the busiest U.S. bridge between New Jersey and New York City.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said on the bridge’s upper level on the city-bound side, holdups were as long as 90 minutes.

Law enforcement authorities detained 10 protesters, Port Authority spokesman Steve Coleman said.

Coleman said the protesters bore a sign that says, “Deport ICE,” which is an acronym for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,.

The immigration agency administers multitudes of deportations weekly. Under Democratic President Barack Obama, it has deported more than 2 million immigrants, more than under any past administration.

A group which calls itself the Laundry Workers Center acknowledged on its website that they helped organize the protesters. These were composed of immigrants and supporters.

Mahoma López, co-director of the Laundry Workers Center, said in a statement on the website that the immigrant community is tired of being in the shadows.

“For many years we are here, we contribute, we pay taxes, we build this country, but in the end, we don’t have the right to participate in the decisions at the local and national levels,” the statement said.

No one from the group could directly be reached for comment.

The Laundry Workers Center helps out laundry, warehouse and food service workers, according to the website,

Images on social media show protesters holding a sign that says, “Resist, organize, rise up!”

Coleman said they started blocking east-bound traffic at about 8:15 a.m. and were taken off from the roadway by 8:30. Nonetheless, all lanes were reopened by 8:50 and there were no property damage or injuries, he added.

People remembered, on social media, the “Bridgegate” lane closures in 2013 that happened in the same area. In that incident, two aides to New Jersey’s Republican governor Chris Christie were charged with ordering traffic holdup in retaliation for a mayor who had refused to support the governor’s reelection bid. Hence, the two are currently on trial in connection to the scandal.

 

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Obamacare: Obama’s Parting Legacy

President Barrack Obama will soon end his term but his legacy will remain long after he’s gone.

This week, the administration announced a huge rate hike on affordable healthcare premium in the US, and this reflects a failure to the government’s responsibility in managing the cost and access to healthcare.

Obamacare is now littered with issues that need to be fixed, including rising premiums and deductibles, slow enrollment process, and an increasing number of people pulling out of ACA marketplace. All of these issues will be the next administration’s responsibility whether to fix or replace it.

Republican Stand on Obamacare

Trump castigated Obamacare on his recent speech, He promised to ‘repeal and replace it’ than saying how he would deal with the crisis over access and cost. He does not have any health reform highlighted in his campaigns.

In his statement on Tuesday, Trump said, “My first day in office, I’m going to ask Congress to put a bill on my desk getting rid of this disastrous law and replacing it with reforms that expand choice, freedom, and affordability,”

“Hillary Clinton wants to double down on Obamacare and make it even worse. She wants to put the government totally in charge of your health care.” He added.

Meanwhile, Clinton shows a more concrete plan over the Republican candidate.

In her statement, she said “The President and I have talked about it,” Clinton told WHCQ Radio in Florida on Tuesday. “We’re going to get co-pays and premiums and deductibles down. We’re going to tackle prescription drug costs. And we can do that without ripping away the insurance that people now have.”

Clinton’s plan is to increase competition among insurance companies to improve choices for Obamacare customers. This move will improve public’s option for better health care, regulate rising drug prices, and provide tax relief for out of pocket expenses. Her campaign team committed that Clinton’s administration would tackle diseases likeAlzheimer’s, autism, drug abuse, viruses such as Zika, and to improve urban and rural health infrastructure.

Political Agenda

Hillary Clinton, former first lady and New York senator has been in the political healthcare scene for years.

Obamacare’s problem is complex, and Clinton’s broad knowledge about the issue won’t solve it. Due to this, she would need the help and support of the congress, getting support from the Democratic seat sufficient enough to dominate GOP. This political fight to fix Obamacare will be tough.

Republican Congressmen who have voted 50 times to stop the law are not likely to cooperate to fix it. Even Democratic Senators who are up for re-election in 2018 may prolong the issue until the election.

On the other hand, Donald Trump is committed to repealing the individual mandate and modify the laws that prohibit the sale of health insurance. Furthermore, the laws should allow people to pay their insurance premiums from tax returns.

He will promote individual Health Savings Accounts that would allow patients’ access to imported drugs overseas. Hence, prices would go down.

Republican Rep. Chris Collins told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer last Tuesday that he thinks Trump would adopt the health care plan made by House Speaker Paul Ryan during a Republican conference.

He added, “It is my understanding that Mr. Trump has seen that plan and what he is talking about … is in fact a better way, a replacement plan.”

Obamacare hike

The White House released a statement on Monday that premiums for the benchmark plan will rise by 22% next year.

Trump thinks he can use this new issue to bring down Clinton who recently leads most polls. He told reporters last Tuesday at his golf resort in Florida, “It’s blowing up all over the country.” He is committed to replacing Obamacare with something less expensive.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee recently released a video of Katie McGinty. The Pennsylvania Democrat said Democrats should be “proud of” Obamacare.

“Is Shady Katie still proud of Obamacare?” the NRSC released asked.

Iowa Republican Party chairman Jeff Kaufmann also added, “cheers and hollers for the Obamacare disaster,” referring to Democrat Patty Judge.

Jay Carney is a former White House press secretary who spent hours defending Obamacare. He admitted that the law was not as popular as what the President expected. However, voters should give Clinton credit for trying to repair it.

Carney said on CNN’s New Day, “Is it something … that’s going to change the election? No, it’s not.”

“Remember, the opportunity Republicans had to use Obamacare against the Democrats and win the White House was in 2012. Mitt Romney, a far more credible candidate for president of the United States from the Republican Party, you know, beat us hard over the head with Obamacare.”

“And guess what,” Carney added.

“The American people re-elected President Obama.”

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Bottoms Up! Switzerland Approves ‘Slightly Drunk’ Emergency Workers to Go on Duty

SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government passed a legislation allowing “slightly tipsy” emergency response employee to still report on duty. The ease on the alcohol ban intends to furnish staffing shortages of volunteer firefighters and other emergency workers. These are local employees who handle heavy equipment in an emergency situation specifically in the smaller towns.

‘Leniency of alcohol consumption’

Responding officers including off-duty employees of the professed “blue-light” organization whose blood-alcohol level does not exceed.050%, will no longer face sanctions. The legislature blood-alcohol level percentage is the same limit regulatory as to the other drivers, will take effect commencing January 1 next year.

On Wednesday the Swiss Federal Roads Office released the statement about the leniency of alcohol consumption. The current threshold for the blood-alcohol level for the emergency response worker is at 0.10 %.

The agency believed that “This change is necessary as rescue and disaster relief organizations today are increasingly dependent on people who are not on duty or on call. The government is addressing the need for the best possible recruitment of personnel in the event they are needed for unexpected rescue operations.”

On-duty Emergency workers still covered by ban

Zurich emergency services commander, Peter Wullschleger confirmed that the drinking ban is still in effect for all on-duty firefighters and emergency response workers. It also includes on-call officers who they can consider to response in an emergency situation.

The ease of the alcohol consumption targets the small communities which do not have professional firefighters and solely rely on volunteers. The law requires the volunteers to always be vigilant and to assume an emergency call anytime.

Wullschleger said, “With the ban, theoretically it would have been impossible for somebody enjoying even a nice glass of red wine during the Christmas holidays to fulfill their duty in the event of an emergency.”

Previously, the Alpine Republic passed a law for cable car drivers to escape criminal prosecution if caught under the influence of alcohol leading to an accident. Swiss law alcohol consumption leniency is the latest modification in the law for alcohol and occupational safety.

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