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-John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union, calls for the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max until it’s been determined why Ethiopian Airlines 302 crashed.
-Elaine Chao, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, flies on a Southwest Airlines 737 Max 8 from Austin, Texas, to Washington DC in defiance of a public outcry to ground the jet.
-The increasingly isolated FAA faces its own credibility crisis, as regulatory bodies follow China’s example instead of that of the U.S. agency. Media outlets, including Bloomberg and The New York Times, note China’s state-owned company Comac has a competing airplane model. The C919 is seeking certification from the CAAC and EASA.
-Canada bans all Boeing 737 Max 8 and Max 9 operation, because satellite tracking data indicates similarities between the Ethiopia Airlines crash and the Lion Air crash, according to Transportation Minister Marc Garneau.
-Trump orders all Boeing 737 Max jets grounded via executive order. After speaking with Muilenburg, Trump says that Chao and acting FAA head Daniel Elwell "are all in agreement with the action. Any plane currently in the air will go to its destination and thereafter be grounded until further notice."
Women with autism: do they really suffer less than men?
Are autistic women the ultimate masters of disguise? New research suggests women could face yet another gender-related disadvantage.
Full-time teaching is tough nowadays. Endless admin, prescriptive lesson plans and navigating the minefield of childhood friendships is painstaking. Imagine you’re a teacher who can’t look a student in the eye or hold a conversation for longer than a minute and you’re plagued by a crippling fear of loud noises.
Rachel doesn’t have to imagine. She’s a 28-year-old teacher and she lives with Asperger’s syndrome.
“Eye contact is hard,” she says. “Knowing how or when to join in with a conversation is hard – especially small talk. I have mild face blindness and difficulties when I’m with a group of people because there’s too many distracting noises”.
It’s taken Rachel until the age of 28 to finally establish her identity, following a series of both depressive and severely anxious episodes throughout her early twenties. Despite regular contact with mental health professionals, it was Google that ultimately provided her long-awaited resolution.
20-year-old Lucy Harding was diagnosed with Asperger’s three years ago, following experimentation with self-harm scars and an admission to an anorexia inpatient unit.
“Instead of just talking about what I’m upset about,” Lucy explains, “I’ve engaged in unhelpful ways to communicate – like not eating.” Growing up, Lucy’s literal thinking patterns made regular teenage relationships traumatic. “If somebody told me that they loved me, I would never have thought twice about that being untrue,” she says. Once late adolescence hit, her social world became increasingly perplexing and with the addition of a fresh batch of hormones, she was catapulted into her “coping strategy” – anorexia nervosa. After years of intensive behavioural and cognitive therapies, an NHS psychologist finally detected Lucy’s underlying Asperger’s and treatment was altered to account for her spectrum disorder.
“The diagnosis has given me confidence in myself,” says Lucy. “I’ve had a lot of support from occupational therapists and it’s helped other people to understand me better, but more importantly it has made me accept myself.” Recognition of Lucy’s autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was the key to her getting the right support – and all it took was a hospital admission and one suicide attempt.
According to the research, four times as many boys as girls suffer from an ASD. The National Autistic Society reports that only one in five female Asperger’s sufferers receive a diagnosis by the age of 11, compared to half of boys. This gender discrepancy is largely accepted as fact – boys are more likely to be on the spectrum. Or are they? Recent revelations suggest that it’s this assumption that has failed generations of autistic women.
Autistic spectrum disorder is a lifelong developmental disability that can have a debilitating impact on the way someone relates to others as well as their experience of the outside world. According to the eminent autism researcher, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, the definitive factor in autism is a deficit in “theory of mind” – the ability to identify emotions or mental states in others and act accordingly. In 1997, following a series of psychological empathy tests, Professor Baron-Cohen hypothesised that autism is the manifestation of the “extreme male brain”.
Fast-forward almost twenty years and the psychological school of thought has taken an unexpected U-turn. As it turns out, women with ASD may not be unusual at all, but merely hidden by their expert disguising techniques. Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have found that girls at high risk of autism, aged 6 to 12 months, are much more capable of reacting to social cues than boys of the same age. It’s exactly this “social competency” that autism expert Dr William Mandy argues leaves thousands of autistic women undiagnosed and as a result, vulnerable to a whole host of mental health illnesses. “We kept coming across girls who we thought, no she definitely doesn’t have ASD,” he says of his experience treating children at Great Ormond Street’s specialist clinic.
It’s no secret that the diagnostic criteria for autism are awash with gender bias. Dr Mandy’s findings, based on a vast collection of interviews with ASD women, echo earlier research highlighting the vast differences in the way in which ASD manifests between girls and boys. According to Dr Mandy, the female ability to “mask” autistic traits is somewhat of a phenomenon.
The effect of “masking” or “camouflaging” can be so strong that even a specialist such as Dr Mandy is at risk of missing the signs.
Bizarrely, the masking phenomenon that Dr Mandy speaks of is almost exclusively seen in the female autism phenotype. Seemingly, autistic traits are much more noticeable in men. According to the experts, the social and emotional advantages of being a woman are in this case, somewhat of a curse.
Janet Treasure has led pioneering research into the relationship between eating disorders and ASD and argues that autistic women are undiagnosed due to their natural “copying” skills.
Dr Mandy points out the “very high standard” of social interaction involved in female peer groups. Unlike boys, young girls’ friendships tend to be formed around “shared interests” and a heightened desire to fit in, hence the increased appetite to “be normal”. As Dr Mandy puts it, “you can’t get away with just kicking a football around at break time”.
A diagnosis of autism often comes alongside very specific specialist interests – chess, mathematics and fine art are among the clichéd assumptions. What about Jane Austen novels, or a fascination with the scientific intricacies of human behaviour? For women, such intense interests can also signal an autistic spectrum disorder.
Another common preoccupation for female ASD sufferers is food. Louise Karlsson, a PhD student and clinical psychologist from the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre specialises in the ASD cohort who are also diagnosed with an eating disorder. Karlsson’s patients often respond poorly to recommended treatment for anorexia and “when the treatment doesn’t work as usual, you have to start investigating and think, maybe there’s something else,” she says.
The parallels between the two disorders are considerable and the difficulty lies in deciphering where one stops and the other begins. “There’s a lot of restricted eating in autism. It could be a colour, quantity of food and even perception, [autistic people] can be sensitive to touch, smells or texture.
“The anorexia may not be weight driven but it could still be a special interest”, she explains. “One patient found a particular seed, for example, and was convinced it had everything she needed to survive. That was the only thing she’d eat.
“Who should treat them? When it comes to gaining weight – you send them to eating disorders clinic.” Karlsson highlights the importance of an extensive developmental history in order to separate the two, especially as, “it’s more and more clear that conditions are overlapping”.
Last month’s survey, conducted by the National Centre of Social Research, found 31 per cent of women in the UK are suffering from mental health problems – how many of these women are victims of a missed diagnosis of ASD?
Up until her diagnosis in January 2016, 32-year-old Jill McKenzie was one such victim. Since seeking help from NHS mental health services in July 2013 (although first seen by mental health professionals at 19), Jill was received a plethora of diagnoses before a re-referral to yet another psychiatrist who finally identified her ASD.
“I had been under my local NHS community mental health team since July 2013,” Jill says, “with various diagnoses – bipolar, Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), depression and anxiety”. Jill was offered a support group for BPD sufferers and attended for a year, desperate to find solace in the similarities with others. The treatment had the opposite effect. “I began to question my diagnosis, I couldn’t identify with what the other women in the group were saying,” she says. Confused and exasperated, Jill turned to her family and it was only then that she became aware of a family history of autism.
“I discovered that my half-brother and his son both had ASD,” she says. After relaying this to her community mental health team, Jill’s previous diagnoses were scrapped and ASD is now her sole diagnosis.
How can we uncover these hidden women and protect them from the revolving door of mental health services? According to Louise Karlsson, the secrets are buried deep within childhood and it’s the duty of professionals to unearth the history – no matter how silent it seems.
“We have to be able to give each individual adaptive treatment, no matter how many disorders they have. That’s just human rights, isn’t it?” For most, the right diagnosis provides a key component of happiness - unconditional self-acceptance.
The Widow is Kate Beckinsale's first small screen outing in two decades. She plays Georgia Wells, the eponymous widow whose husband Wil died in a plane crash on a trip to Africa.
Kate Beckinsale says starring in the television drama The Widow was a “gamble” for her as the actor did not know how the story ended when she received the script of the show.
The Widow, an ITV show, is the actor’s first small screen outing in two decades. In the show, she plays Georgia Wells, the eponymous widow whose husband Wil died in a plane crash on a trip to Africa.
Three years after Wil’s death, she sees a man resembling him on a news story reporting civil unrest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Suspecting her husband may have faked his death, Wells travels to Kinshasa to uncover the truth.
“I was sent three scripts but I didn’t know how the story ended, so it was a little bit of a gamble. I was a little bit nervous of that. I thought, ‘Hang on… what if I end up not liking it?’ In fact, it was terrifying,” Beckinsale told RadioTimes magazine.
The eight-episode series is created and written by Williams brothers – Harry and Jack and it was her trust in the duo that she took the plunge.
“But I am a big fan of the boys, as I call them. When I met them, I could tell that it was bad form to say, ‘Please tell me what happens in the end.’ In a way it makes sense not to know: Georgia starts out not really knowing what she’s doing or where she’s going, and I was in the same position,” she said.
Beckinsale said the evolution in the industry recently made her confident of taking up the show.
“The industry has changed a lot recently in that you can explore a character in a much more complete way over eight hours than one and a half. That’s why a lot of actors are getting really seduced by television,” she said.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- One day after his Republican rival reached out to an influential Latino political organization, President Obama fired back by reminding the same audience that Mitt Romney had promised to veto a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants.
Obama, in a speech that brought the crowd out of its seats three times, reminded members of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials that Romney had told them just the day before that he keeps his promises. The Republican made the remark in the context of a pledge to pursue bipartisan action to overhaul the immigration system, if he’s elected.
“Well, he has promised to veto the Dream Act, and we should take him at his word,” Obama declared, and a rumble of surprise swept the audience, which apparently hadn’t expected such a frontal attack. NALEO, bipartisan in membership, is heavily Democratic, and at times Obama’s appearance took on the air of a campaign rally.
Throughout his remarks, Obama sought to ally himself, on a personal level, with members of his audience. He said his Kenyan father, like millions of immigrants, had been “drawn by the promise of America.” The senior Obama was a graduate student who did not stay in the U.S. for long and didn’t seek citizenship.
“Nobody personifies these American values, these American traits, more than the Latino community," he said.
Despite a 2008 campaign pledge to take early action on immigration, the president and congressional Democrats have not tried to advance a comprehensive overhaul in the last 3½ years. Republicans blocked a less sweeping proposal, the Dream Act, which would have provided a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants.
Last week, Obama took executive action to provide a form of protection for many of the same undocumented Americans, by barring the deportation of many of those who are under 30. The NALEO audience cheered his mention of the decision and rose to its feet as he attacked Republicans for blocking the Dream Act. Obama’s administrative action is reversible by the next president (Romney has not said whether he would do so or not). It also fails to offer a route to citizenship, putting those who take advantage of it at potential risk of deportation if the policy is overturned by another president.
He blamed “a small faction” in the Republican Party for blocking action on immigration, and pivoted from the point to attack laws in states such as Arizona and Alabama that have targeted immigrants with tough enforcement and prompted a legal challenge that the Supreme Court is expected to rule on next week.
From Orlando, the president flew to the other end of the I-4 corridor, a swing section of the nation’s largest swing state, for a rally at a Tampa community college. There, he planned to attack Romney over a report that highlighted the Republican's work as a private-equity executive in helping companies outsource U.S. jobs to other countries.
James Cameron is not a fan of Netflix’s strategy to coincide cinema releases with home streaming.
The Canadian filmmaker has helmed some of Hollywood’s biggest films, including 1984’s The Terminator, 1997’s Titanic and the 2009 sci-fi epic Avatar.
While the decision of Netflix bosses to release original films on both streaming platforms and in some theaters simultaneously sparked outrage at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Cameron has now weighed in on the debate.
Cameron also spoke about his famous intensity on film sets, and the impact his work ethic has had on his relationships, including his separation from fourth wife Linda Hamilton within days of his Oscar victory for Titanic. He now divides his time between California and his home in New Zealand, where he is helming the Avatar sequels, and has praised his wife Suzy Amis for keeping him grounded.
“She’s been through Avatar with me. She knows what’s coming over the horizon. She is very supportive. And I’ve found a way to integrate filmmaking into my life. Part of it is about not taking filmmaking that seriously. I probably have a healthier attitude than I had making The Terminator or Terminator 2,” he said.
Elsewhere, Cameron explained that he sometimes wishes he had some input on the recent sequels to his hit films helmed by other directors – such as the recent Alien or Terminator reboots.
“If I had 20 minutes with the filmmaker ahead of time, I might have been able to help. But that’s just not how this business works,” he mused.
Published: Aug. 1, 2014 at 11:19 a.m.
Updated: Aug. 1, 2014 at 11:48 a.m.
Quarterbacks league-wide are telling Father Time to go pound salt.
With Tom Brady wanting to play beyond his 40th birthday and Drew Brees talking about starting until he's 45, veteran Michael Vick wants in on the action.
"I want to play until I'm 40," the Jets quarterback told Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News on Thursday.
At 34, Vick -- with his 4.4 speed -- remains one of the game's more athletic signal-callers, which he proved by besting former teammate LeSean McCoy in a Philly footrace last summer.
"I'll be running a 4.4 when I'm 39," Vick said, drawing a laugh from Mehta, which prompted this: "When I'm 39, you come find me ... and bring some money."
Jets coach Rex Ryan called Vick "the youngest 34-year-old there is," telling the newspaper, "God touched him. He's got so much natural ability. It's amazing."
Not amazing enough, though, to keep young Geno Smith from absorbing the majority of first-team reps during New York's training camp.
All signs point to Vick starting the season as a No. 2 passer, a role he's bound to occupy -- in Gotham or elsewhere -- if he plans to continue his career into a fifth decade of life.
Opinion\|My State Needs Obamacare. Now.
My State Needs Obamacare. Now.
FRANKFORT, Ky. — SUNDAY morning news programs identify Kentucky as the red state with two high-profile Republican senators who claim their rhetoric represents an electorate that gave President Obama only about a third of its presidential vote in 2012.
So why then is Kentucky — more quickly than almost any other state — moving to implement the Affordable Care Act?
Because there’s a huge disconnect between the rank partisanship of national politics and the outlook of governors whose job it is to help beleaguered families, strengthen work forces, attract companies and create a balanced budget.
It’s no coincidence that numerous governors — not just Democrats like me but also Republicans like Jan Brewer of Arizona, John Kasich of Ohio and Rick Snyder of Michigan — see the Affordable Care Act not as a referendum on President Obama but as a tool for historic change.
That is especially true in Kentucky, a state where residents’ collective health has long been horrendous. The state ranks among the worst, if not the worst, in almost every major health category, including smoking, cancer deaths, preventable hospitalizations, premature death, heart disease and diabetes.
We’re making progress, but incremental improvements are not enough. We need big solutions with the potential for transformational change.
The Affordable Care Act is one of those solutions.
For the first time, we will make affordable health insurance available to every single citizen in the state. Right now, 640,000 people in Kentucky are uninsured. That’s almost one in six Kentuckians.
Lack of health coverage puts their health and financial security at risk.
They roll the dice and pray they don’t get sick. They choose between food and medicine. They ignore checkups that would catch serious conditions early. They put off doctor’s appointments, hoping a condition turns out to be nothing. And they live knowing that bankruptcy is just one bad diagnosis away.
Furthermore, their children go long periods without checkups that focus on immunizations, preventive care and vision and hearing tests. If they have diabetes, asthma or infected gums, their conditions remain untreated and unchecked.
For Kentucky as a whole, the negative impact is similar but larger — jacked-up costs, decreased worker productivity, lower quality of life, depressed school attendance and a poor image.
The Affordable Care Act will address these weaknesses.
Some 308,000 of Kentucky’s uninsured — mostly the working poor — will be covered when we increase Medicaid eligibility guidelines to 138 percent of the federal poverty level.
PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Studies Institute at the University of Louisville concluded that expanding Medicaid would inject $15.6 billion into Kentucky’s economy over the next eight years, create almost 17,000 new jobs, have an $802.4 million positive budget impact (by transferring certain expenditures from the state to the federal government, among other things), protect hospitals from cuts in indigent care funding and shield businesses from up to $48 million in annual penalties.
In short, we couldn’t afford not to do it.
The other 332,000 uninsured Kentuckians will be able to access affordable coverage — most with a discount — through the Health Benefit Exchange, the online insurance marketplace we named Kynect: Kentucky’s Healthcare Connection.
Kentucky is the only Southern state both expanding Medicaid and operating a state-based exchange, and we remain on target to meet the Oct. 1 deadline to open Kynect with the support of a call center that is providing some 100 jobs. Having been the first state-based exchange to complete the readiness review with the United States Department of Health and Human Services, we hope to become the first one to be certified.
Frankly, we can’t implement the Affordable Care Act fast enough.
As for naysayers, I’m offended by their partisan gamesmanship, as they continue to pour time, money and energy into overturning or defunding the Affordable Care Act. It’s shameful that these critics haven’t invested that same level of energy into trying to improve the health of our citizens.
They insist that the Affordable Care Act will never work — when in fact a similar approach put into effect in Massachusetts by Mitt Romney, then the governor, is working.
The Affordable Care Act was approved by Congress and sanctioned by the Supreme Court. It is the law of the land.
Get over it ... and get out of the way so I can help my people. Here in Kentucky, we cannot afford to waste another day or another life.
Steve Beshear, a Democrat, is the governor of Kentucky.
Boerne ISD is a school district in Boerne, TX. As of the 2017-2018 school year, it had 8,651 students. The school received an accountability rating of A. 45.5% of students were considered at risk of dropping out of school. 7.4% of students were enrolled in bilingual and English language learning programs.
An average teacher's salary was $53,260, which is $74 less than the state average. On average, teachers had 13.9 years of experience. The average SAT score at Boerne ISD was 1141. The average ACT score was 24.0. In the Class of 2017, 99.1% of students received their high school diplomas on time or earlier. The dropout rate was 0.1%.
Students in Boerne ISD are part of the Texas Education Agency’s Region 20. Students who started eighth grade in 2006 in this region had a college graduation rate of 20.6 percent. View a more comprehensive breakdown of the higher ed outcomes in Region 20.
This waterfront Cottage faces west and enjoys beautiful views and sunsets over the water. Just being renovated, this cozy spot is going to be crisp and casual with all new furnishings, bath, living room and kitchen overlooking the water. Great back yard with kayaks at the shore line ready to launch and entertinment area for grilling your fresh tuna. Pictures coming soon. Call or email for update and appointment.
Rick Scott is the new Republican governor of Florida, elected on the promise of creating hundreds of thousands of new jobs by cutting government waste and cutting taxes.
Andrew Cuomo is the newly elected Democratic governor New York, who campaigned on the pledge to get the state's budget books in order and rein in government spending.

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