St. Petersburg Development Property Sells for $13 MillionIn the past few years, state and local governments across the U.S. have begun spending billions in opioid settlements paid by companies accused of fueling the overdose crisis. But where is that money going, who is getting it, and is it doing any good? KFF Health News, partnering with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Shatterproof , a national nonprofit focused on addiction, undertook a yearlong investigation to find out. Dozens of interviews, thousands of pages of documents, an array of public records requests, and outreach to all 50 states resulted in a first-of-its kind database that catalogs more than 7,000 ways opioid settlement cash was used in 2022 and 2023. It’s the most comprehensive resource to date tracking some of the largest public health settlements in American history. Among the findings: --States and localities received more than $6 billion in opioid settlement funds in 2022 and 2023. According to public records, they spent or committed about a third of that amount and set aside about another third for future use. The final third was untrackable, as many jurisdictions did not produce public reports on the funds. --Reports of spending tracked the minuscule to the monumental, from $11.74 to buy postage in Yavapai County, Arizona, to more than $51 million to increase the addiction treatment workforce in California. --States allotted, on average, about 18% of their funds for addiction and mental health treatment; 14% for recovery services such as housing, transportation, and legal aid; 11% for harm reduction efforts such as overdose reversal medications; and 9% for prevention programs that aim to stop people from developing substance use disorders. States committed, on average, about 2% for syringe service programs, through which people can get sterile needles. (A variety of entities received this money, from law enforcement to nonprofit organizations to government agencies.) --Governments reported spending more than $240 million on purposes that did not qualify as opioid remediation. (Most settlements allow states to spend up to 15% of their funds this way.) Most of this tranche went to legal fees, but several jurisdictions funneled money to their general fund. One county even sent funds to its road and bridge department. --Several cities and counties reported expenditures they said addressed the overdose crisis but that would leave an average person scratching their head — such as $33.07 to an anti-abortion pregnancy center in Sandborn, Indiana, and $30,362 to screen first responders for heart disease in Oregon City, Oregon. “When people know that people aren’t watching and there’s no accountability, then they can kind of do what they want,” said Tonja Myles , a community activist in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who is in recovery. “That’s why we have to have some kind of database and accountability.” Despite the recent decline in overall overdose deaths in the U.S., more than 90,000 people still died in the 12 months ending July 2024 and rates are rising in many Black and Native American communities . “We can’t mess up or miss this moment,” Myles said. Opioid settlement payouts are expected to total about $50 billion over nearly two decades, paid by more than a dozen companies that made or distributed prescription painkillers, including Johnson & Johnson, Walgreens, and Walmart. Although it’s a large sum, it’s dwarfed by the size of the crisis, making each dollar that’s spent critical. KFF Health News and its partners reviewed hundreds of settlement spending reports, extracting expenditures line by line, and developed a methodology to sort the expenditures into categories like treatment or prevention. States were given an opportunity to review the data and comment on their spending . To be sure, the database does not capture the full picture of opioid settlement spending nationwide. Some places do not publish spending reports, while others declined to engage with this project. The data presented here is a snapshot as of the end of 2023 and does not account for further spending in 2024. The differences in how states control , process , and report on the money make apples-to-apples comparisons nearly impossible. Still, the database helps fill a gap left by a lack of national reporting requirements and federal government inaction . It is “a tool for those who want to objectively measure whether everything that can be done is being done,” said Matthew Myers, a former president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, which compiles similar annual reports on tobacco settlement money. Treatment a Clear Winner The top priority to emerge from early opioid settlement spending was treatment, with more than $416 million spent or committed to residential rehabs, outpatient counseling, medications for opioid use disorder, and more. The state of New York — which spent the most on treatment — allocated about $22 million of that for programs that make the gold standard for care as easy as possible for patients: providing same-day prescriptions for buprenorphine, a medication that decreases cravings for opioids. The result was a program that John Greene said changed his life. Greene, 57, used to live in the woods down the street from Family & Children’s Counseling Services in Cortland, New York. He cycled through jails and hospitals, overdosing half a dozen times and trying rehab just as many. But now he has four months of recovery under his belt — the longest stint since he started regularly using drugs at 14. He said it’s because the counseling center’s new program — funded by a mix of state and local opioid settlement dollars — has a different approach. Counselors aren’t didactic and judgmental. They don’t force him to stop smoking marijuana. Several staff members have experienced addiction themselves. They drive Greene, who doesn’t have a car, to doctor appointments and the pharmacy for his buprenorphine prescription. Now Greene lives and works with his brother, looks forward to weekly counseling sessions, and is notching small victories — such as buying his nephew toy cars as a stocking stuffer. “It made me feel good to do something for somebody and not expect nothing back,” Greene said. Emily Georgia , one of Greene’s counselors, said the center has worked with nearly 200 people like him in the past year. Without the settlements, “the program probably wouldn’t exist,” she said. Across the country, the money supports other innovative treatment approaches: --$21 million for a new program in Kentucky that diverts people with mental illness or addiction who face low-level charges away from incarceration and into treatment, education, and workforce training --More than $3 million for, in part, three new mobile methadone programs in Massachusetts, to bring the medication to rural and underserved areas --Tens of thousands of dollars each in Iowa and Pennsylvania to cover out-of-pocket treatment costs for people without insurance or those with high deductibles Philip Rutherford , an expert on substance use disorder at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, said these efforts “are really positive” and many have been “historically difficult or impossible to achieve with federal or state funding.” But some funds are also flowing to treatment approaches that defy best practices, such as denying people medications for opioid use disorder. Some in the recovery community consider methadone and buprenorphine a crutch. But study after study show that the medications help people stay in treatment and reduce the risk of overdose and death . Research even suggests that treatment without these medications can be more harmful than no treatment at all. Although not everyone will want medication, settlement funds shouldn’t “prop up a system that doesn’t allow people to have that choice,” said Regina LaBelle , a professor of addiction policy at Georgetown University. Babies, Forgotten Victims of the Epidemic While treatment received a windfall in early opioid settlement spending, another aspect of the crisis was neglected: neonatal abstinence syndrome , a condition in which babies exposed to drugs in the womb experience withdrawal. Nationwide, more than 59 newborns a day are diagnosed with it. Yet only about $8.4 million in settlement money was committed to the issue — less than 0.5% of all funds publicly reported as spent or committed in 2022 and 2023. Experts in public health and addiction, as well as affected families, say it’s due to stigma. “A mom using drugs and being a parent is a very uncomfortable reality to face,” said Ashley Grant, a 38-year-old mother of three in Mesa, Arizona. “It’s easier to just push it under the rug or let them fall through the cracks, as sad as that is.” It almost happened to her. Grant learned she was pregnant with her third child last year. At the time, her partner was in jail and she was using drugs after an eight-year period of recovery, was estranged from her family, and didn’t know how she’d survive the next nine months. During a visit to a methadone clinic, she saw a booth about Jacob’s Hope , a specialty nursery that cares for substance-exposed newborns and their moms. Nursery staff connected her with a therapist, helped her enroll in parenting classes, and dropped off diapers and a playpen at her home. After delivering at the hospital, Grant and her baby boy stayed at Jacob’s Hope for about a week. Nurses showed her how skin-to-skin contact calmed his withdrawal symptoms and more frequent feedings and burpings decreased gastrointestinal discomfort, which is common among substance-exposed newborns. Today, Grant has roughly five months of recovery. She got certified as a peer recovery specialist and hopes to join Jacob’s Hope one day to help moms like her. But the nursery’s future is uncertain. After opening in 2019, Jacob’s Hope nearly shut down this summer due to low reimbursements and delayed payments from insurers, said Lyndsey Steele , its associate director. Community donations kept the nursery afloat, but “it’s still hanging on by a thread,” she said. She’s hoping opioid settlement money can help. In 2022, Jacob’s Hope received about $250,000 from Arizona’s opioid settlements. But this year, the legislature captured the state’s share of remaining funds and, in a controversial move , gave it to the Department of Corrections. Jacob’s Hope has now turned to local governments, which control their own settlement dollars. Its home city of Mesa said a first round of grant applications should open in the spring. Steele prays it won’t be too late for babies in need — the epidemic’s “forgotten victims,” she called them. Heart Disease Screening, Robot Ambulances, and More Some opioid settlement expenditures have sparked fierce disagreement. They generally fall into three buckets: money for law enforcement , funding for youth prevention programs , and purchases unrelated to the opioid crisis. Settlement dollars nationwide have bought body scanners , K-9 units , bulletproof vests , patrol trucks , and laptops and printers for police and sheriffs. Some spending strayed even further from the spirit of the settlement. In Oregon City, Oregon, more than $30,000 was spent on screening first responders for heart disease. Police Chief Shaun Davis said his staff respond to opioid-related emergencies and experience trauma that increases their risk of heart attack. But some people question if settlement funds should be footing the bill. “This looks to me like you’re trying to defray other costs” from the police budget, said Stephen Loyd , chair of Tennessee’s Opioid Abatement Council. “I don’t think that there’s any way that this opioid money was earmarked for stuff like that.” A second area of contention is youth prevention. Although most people agree that stopping children from developing addictions is important, the execution is tricky. Nearly half a million settlement dollars have gone to the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, commonly known as D.A.R.E. Decades of research suggest its original curriculum is ineffective . Robeson County, North Carolina, spent about $10,000 in settlement money to buy “ Andy the Ambulance ,” a robot ambulance with big eyes and an audio system through which a human operator can discuss the dangers of drugs. EMS Director Patrick Cummings said his team has taken the robot to churches and elementary schools. We “don’t have any studies that show it’s working,” he said, but educating kids seems like a good investment because “if they never try it, they don’t get addicted.” Then there’s the chunk of money — up to 15% of each state’s funds — that’s a free-for-all. Flint, Michigan, spent nearly $10,000 on a sign for a community service center. The city reported that the expense did not qualify as “opioid remediation.” In other words, it’s unrelated to addressing the crisis. But Caitie O’Neill, a city spokesperson, said that “the building sign makes it possible for residents to find” the center, which houses city services, “including Narcan kits, fentanyl testing strips, and substance abuse referrals.” Jurisdictions across 29 states reported non-remediation spending in 2022 and 2023. Most opioid settlements require such reports but operate on an honor system. No one is checking if the other 21 states and Washington, D.C., were truthful. Jackie Lewis, an Ohio mother whose 34-year-old son, Shaun, died of an overdose in October 2022, finds that hard to stomach. “This is blood money,” she said. Some people have “lost sight of that.” Lewis is raising Shaun’s daughter, ensuring the 9-year-old receives counseling at school and can attend the hip-hop music classes she enjoys — all on Lewis’ Social Security payments. This year they moved to a smaller town with lower costs. As settlement funds continue flowing, she wants officials in charge of the money to help families like hers. “We still exist and we’re still struggling,” she said. KFF Health News’ Henry Larweh and Megan Kalata, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Sara Whaley and Vivian Flanagan, and Shatterproof’s Kristen Pendergrass and Sahvanah Prescott contributed to this article. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has taken a leading role in providing guidance to state and local governments on the use of opioid settlement funds. Faculty from the school collaborated with other experts in the field to create principles for using the money , which have been endorsed by over 60 organizations. Shatterproof is a national nonprofit that addresses substance use disorder through distinct initiatives, including advocating for state and federal policies, ending addiction stigma, and educating communities about the treatment system. Shatterproof is partnering with some states on projects funded by opioid settlements. KFF Health News, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Shatterproof team who worked on this report are not involved in those efforts. ( KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs of KFF — the independent source for health policy research, polling and journalism.) ©2024 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Ray'Sean Taylor had 27 points, Ring Malith scored 24 with 10 rebounds and SIU Edwardsville beat Ball State 82-69 on Sunday. Taylor went 9 of 22 from the field (7 for 15 from 3-point range) for the Cougars (6-4). Malith hit 7 of 13 shots and 9 of 10 at the free-throw line. Brian Taylor II shot 5 of 8 from the field and 2 for 4 from the line to finish with 13 points. Juan Sebastian Gorosito led the way for the Cardinals (3-6) with 17 points. Ball State also got 13 points and six rebounds from Ben Hendriks. Malith scored 10 points in the first half and SIU-Edwardsville went into the break trailing 41-39. Ray'Sean Taylor scored the last seven points for SIU-Edwardsville to finish off the 13-point victory. The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .The World Health Organization’s director-general said airstrikes on Yemen’s main airport occurred as he was about to board a flight in the Houthi rebel-held capital of Sanaa. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport as well as power stations and ports. One of the U.N. plane’s crew was wounded, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a post on X, but he and his WHO colleagues were safe. He said the strikes hit the airport's air traffic control tower, departure lounge and runway. Israel's strikes on Thursday follow several days of Houthi launches setting off sirens in Israel, and last week, Israeli jets bombed Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people. The Houthis have also been targeting shipping in the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's bombardment and ground invasion in Gaza has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. The Hamas-led militant attack on Israel in October 2023 resulted in the deaths of about 1,200 people. Around 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza , although only two-thirds are believed to still be alive. Here’s the latest: UNITED NATIONS — The head of the U.N. health agency says he and his team were about to board a flight in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa when the airport came under aerial bombardment. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the airport as well as power stations and ports in Houthi-controlled areas. “The air traffic control tower, the departure lounge — just a few meters (yards) from where we were — and the runway were damaged,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X. He said one of the U.N. plane’s crew was injured but he and his WHO colleagues were safe. “We will need to wait for the damage to the airport to be repaired before we can leave.” Tedros said the U.N. team was in Yemen to negotiate the release of U.N. staff detained by the Houthis and to assess the health and humanitarian situation in the country, which faces one of the largest humanitarian crises in the world. JERUSALEM — Houthi rebels in Yemen said Israeli airstrikes on Thursday targeted the rebel-held capital of Sanaa and the port city of Hodeida, following several days of Houthi launches that set off air-raid sirens in Israel. The Israeli military said it attacked infrastructure used by the Houthis at the international airport in Sanaa and ports at Hodeida, Al-Salif and Ras Qantib along with power stations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Wednesday that “the Houthis, too, will learn what Hamas and Hezbollah and Assad’s regime and others learned.” The Iran-backed Houthis’ media outlet reported the strikes in a Telegram post, but gave no immediate details. The U.S. military also has targeted the Houthis in Yemen in recent days. The United Nations has noted that the ports are important entryways for humanitarian aid. Over the weekend, 16 people were wounded when a Houthi missile hit a playground in Tel Aviv . Last week, Israeli jets struck Sanaa and Hodeida, killing nine people, calling it a response to previous Houthi attacks. The Houthis also have been targeting shipping on the Red Sea corridor, calling it solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. QAMISHLI, Syria — Thousands of people in northeastern Syria attended a funeral Thursday for six fighters from a Kurdish-led, U.S.-backed force who were killed in ongoing clashes with Turkish-backed militias. The Turkish-backed groups are launching attacks to take the Arab cities west of the Euphrates River that are under the control of the Kurdish group . The Turkish-supported groups helped overthrow Bashar al-Assad’s rule of Syria, and have since kept pushing eastward against the Kurdish groups. “We thought that Syria today has entered a new stage after the fall and escape of Assad. We thought that we got rid of all of this, but this attack on us changed everything and those who came in are taking orders from Turkey,” said Nihayet Hassan, the uncle of a killed fighter. The fighters were killed during attacks on Tishreen Dam near the strategic city of Manbij in recent days. The bodies were returned to the city of Qamishli in northeastern Syria where the U.S.-backed group, known as the Syrian Democratic Forces, has a strong presence. Ankara sees the SDF as an affiliate of its sworn enemy, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which Turkey classifies as a terrorist organization. Turkish-backed armed groups backed by Turkish jets have for years attacked positions where the SDF are present across northern Syria, in a bid to create a buffer zone free from the group along the Turkish border. “It is obvious that Turkey’s issue is with the Kurds. It is not about an organization, or the PKK, no, their target are the Kurds,” said Ahmad Ammo, a Qamishli resident who attended the funeral. The U.S. has about 2,000 soldiers in eastern Syria to help fight the Islamic State group and protect critical oil fields there. BEIRUT — The Lebanese military said Thursday that Israeli troops encroached on areas of southern Lebanon, violating a ceasefire agreement that ended the war between Israel and the Hezbollah group. The U.S.-brokered ceasefire that went into effect a month ago called for Hezbollah militants and Israeli troops to leave southern Lebanon over a 60-day period as Lebanese army soldiers gradually deploy in the country south of the Litani River. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the reported incident. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli bulldozers are setting up dirt barricades that would close off the road between Wadi Slouqi and Wadi Hujeir. Lebanon’s military said it brought reinforcements into the areas entered by Israeli troops. NNA said the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, sent a patrol unit to an area near the southern town of Qantara where Israeli forces are present. UNIFIL in a statement expressed its “concern at continuing destruction by the IDF (Israeli military) in residential areas, agricultural land, and road networks in south Lebanon.” Lebanese army chief Gen. Joseph Aoun traveled to Saudi Arabia earlier Thursday as part of ongoing efforts by the cash-strapped military to find financial support to deploy in larger numbers. The Lebanese military and government have complained about Israeli strikes and overflights in the country to a new monitoring committee headed by the U.S. that also includes France. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said Thursday. The Israeli army said it had targeted a group of militants. The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local news outlet Al-Quds Today, a television channel affiliated with the Islamic Jihad militant group. The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press video showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors. The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds. This post has been corrected to show that the name of the local news outlet is Al-Quds Today, not the Quds News Network. BEIJING — China has pledged two more shipments of humanitarian aid to Gaza, in an indication of support for the Palestinian Authority, state media reported Thursday. The agreement was overseen in Cairo by Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang and Palestinian Ambassador to Egypt Diab al-Louh. “To ease the humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip, the Chinese government has continued to provide assistance to Palestine,” Liao was quoted as saying. The types and quantities of aid to be delivered via Egypt were not given, but China has previously shipped food and medicine to Gaza. China has longstanding ties with the Palestinian Authority but has also sought to strengthen economic and political relations with Israel. Al-Louh “voiced appreciation for China’s consistent and firm support for the just cause of the Palestinian people and for raising this issue on international occasions," state media said. UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council will hold an emergency meeting on Monday at Israel’s request to discuss recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Israel’s U.N. Mission said Wednesday the meeting will take place at 10 a.m. Monday. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said he expects the council will condemn the Houthi attacks. He urged the council “to enforce international law and hold Iran, the Houthis’ patron, accountable.” Alluding to Israeli retaliation for the attacks, Danon said ”It seems that the Houthis have not yet understood what happens to those who try to harm the state of Israel.”
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Joe Douglas is gone. Robert Saleh already was fired. Aaron Rodgers could be next to leave the New York Jets. Douglas lost his job as the general manager on Tuesday, six weeks after the head coach was replaced following a 2-3 start. The Jets have gone 1-5 under interim coach Jeff Ulbrich so owner Woody Johnson sent Douglas packing. Rodgers has played more like a 40-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles tendon injury than a four-time NFL MVP. He's expressed a desire to play another season. The big question is whether the Jets will want him back. Maybe they'll decide to take one more shot at a playoff run with Rodgers while having him mentor a rookie quarterback. Or, they could start fresh. There are significant contract ramifications either way. Rodgers is slated to make a non-guaranteed $37.5 million in 2025 with a dead cap hit of $49 million as his salary cap total goes from $17.1 million to $23.5 million. People are also reading... The Jets could spread the dead money over two years by releasing Rodgers with the use of post-June 1 designation. He has a no-trade clause in his contract so they would need his permission to make a deal. If Rodgers doesn't retire and New York's new regime wants a clean slate, here are potential destinations for the future first-ballot Hall of Famer: SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS: This could only happen if Brock Purdy's shoulder injury is more significant than is known. Rodgers is a native of northern California and grew up a Niners fan. Returning home to help San Francisco win its sixth Super Bowl has to be attractive. Playing for coach Kyle Shanahan surrounded by playmakers Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle would be a quarterback's dream. Again, Purdy is the team's present and future. And, he's resilient. Purdy rebounded from elbow surgery following his rookie season to start Week 1 last year and ended up finishing fourth in MVP voting, leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl. Purdy also is due for a contract extension and a major raise so the salary cap makes this even more of a longshot. But never say never in the NFL. MINNESOTA VIKINGS: Sam Darnold has been more than a stopgap, helping the Vikings (8-2) to an impressive start. J.J. McCarthy is the future, however, and Darnold will be a free agent after the season. If the Vikings fall short of a Super Bowl and Rodgers shows over the final six weeks that he can play championship football, this could be a fit. The Vikings could let McCarthy sit and learn for another year, especially coming off a knee injury that required a second surgery earlier this month. NEW YORK GIANTS: Rodgers wouldn't have to move. The Giants will need a quarterback after benching Daniel Jones and eventually releasing him. They could draft a quarterback in the first round and have him learn behind Rodgers for a season. That'll depend on which pick New York ends up with because it's a thin draft class. Unlike the Jets, the Giants (2-8) haven't made any coaching or GM changes yet. If it's status quo with GM Joe Schoen and coach Brian Daboll, one year with Rodgers isn't unrealistic. LAS VEGAS RAIDERS: They also need a quarterback. Brock Bowers could set an NFL record for most catches by a tight end if he had Rodgers next season. The Raiders (2-8) are aiming for a high pick to get a shot at a quarterback of their choice. New minority owner Tom Brady believes rookie quarterbacks need time to develop and learn. The seven-time Super Bowl champion would have to be in favor of having Rodgers start and tutor a youngster. TENNESSEE TITANS: If Will Levis doesn't prove over the final seven games that he can be a No. 1 quarterback, the Titans (2-8) will be in the QB market and likely have a high draft pick. It's another scenario where Rodgers would fit as a one-year bridge. Be the first to knowUS to require passenger vehicles to sound alarms if rear passengers don't fasten their seat belts
HMI Glass, MITER Brands, and West Shore Home join the fight against sudden cardiac arrest MECHANICSBURG, Pa. , Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Huddle For Hearts , a sudden cardiac arrest prevention program started by the Peyton Walker Foundation , is expanding its reach across the country with the help of its new partners. HMI Glass , MITER Brands , and West Shore Home have collectively pledged more than $27,000 to the initiative to ensure youth sports organizers have the tools and training needed in case a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) occurs. Huddle For Hearts collaborates with student athletes across the country to donate AEDs and CPR training to underserved youth sports organizations. Penn State University athletes across multiple sports announced today that they are joining Huddle For Hearts: Cooper Cousins (football), Luke Reynolds (football), Kachi Nzeh (men's basketball), Allie Campbell (women's basketball), Izzy Starck (volleyball), and Zack Ryder (wrestling). "We are so grateful for our partners who have 'joined the Huddle' in helping us to protect hearts and save lives, especially in the communities where these resources are most needed," said Julie Walker , president of The Peyton Walker Foundation and Huddle For Hearts. "We look forward to collaborating with this group of Penn State athletes to help raise awareness about sudden cardiac arrest, which will have a tremendous impact on our mission." Each athlete will receive an AED to donate to the organization of their choice and can host a fundraiser to purchase additional AEDs and provide CPR training in their communities. Supporting the program was a natural fit for West Shore Home and MITER Brands, which have already worked with the Foundation in their home state of Pennsylvania . "We are proud to continue our support of the Peyton Walker Foundation and the work they do every day to save lives," said B.J. Werzyn, President and CEO of West Shore Home. "Last year, West Shore Home was able to donate five AEDs through the Huddle For Hearts program and we are thrilled to make an even bigger impact in the coming year. "We're grateful for the opportunity to partner with Huddle For Hearts," said Gwen Mallon , MITER Foundation Specialist. "Children's wellbeing is one of the pillars of the MITER Foundation. We want to help ensure that children around the country can experience the joys of sports participation in a safe environment." HMI Glass, based in Kentucky , is helping to launch the Huddle For Hearts program in Louisville . "HMI Glass is excited to partner with West Shore Home and MITER Brands in supporting Huddle For Hearts," said Rob Zawtocki , CEO of HMI Glass. "We are honored to participate in this important cause to provide lifesaving tools for student athletes." If you are interested in becoming a Huddle For Hearts athlete to help donate AED and CPR training in your community, fill out a submission form with the Peyton Walker Foundation. About West Shore Home West Shore Home, headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pa. , is a leading technology-enabled home remodeling services provider with an expanding national footprint. Founded in 2006, West Shore Home's national brand promise is Bringing Happiness to Every Home by delivering a fast, easy, and convenient home remodeling experience. From the first phone call to the final installation, customers have a streamlined experience and associate the West Shore Home brand with consistent high quality, transparency, and trust. For additional information visit westshorehome.com . About MITER Brands Founded in 1947, MITER Brands is a residential window and door manufacturer that produces a portfolio of window and door brands for the new construction and replacement segments with an owner-operated, family-first approach. With more than 20 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States , MITER Brands is a nationwide supplier of precision-built and energy-efficient products. Through optimized manufacturing, valued relationships, and dedicated team members coast to coast, MITER Brands instills confidence and drives quality customer experiences. About Peyton Walker Foundation Peyton Walker was a 19-year-old Mechanicsburg native, 2012 Trinity High School graduate, and a sophomore at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania who was pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant when she suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) that took her young and vibrant life on November 2, 2013 . Afterwards, her family started researching Sudden Cardiac Arrest and established THE PEYTON WALKER FOUNDATION in honor of Peyton's memory and her dreams of working in the medical profession to help and care for others. The Foundation's mission is to increase awareness and survival rates of Sudden Cardiac Arrest. Events, screenings and important updates can be found at PeytonWalker.org . To date, they are proud to have donated 800 Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs), screened over 5,500 students and provided CPR & AED training to hundreds of thousands of community members. The Foundation also has provided over $115,000 in educational scholarships for students pursuing degrees in healthcare. About HMI Glass HMI Glass, headquartered in Louisville, KY was founded in 1946. HMI specializes in providing high-quality glass shower enclosures and hardware to glaziers, designers, and builders supporting new home construction and remodeling segments across the country. Our products are manufactured at our Louisville, KY , Boston, MA and Arlington, TX facilities by our more than 500 dedicated Team Members. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/huddle-for-hearts-life-saving-mission-expands-nationwide-302332954.html SOURCE West Shore Home
AP Trending SummaryBrief at 1:21 p.m. ESTA United Kingdom-based businessman, Mr. Blessing Akinleminu, has raised the alarm over plans by the Ondo State Police Command and Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 17, Akure, to sweep the case of his alleged attack by some political thugs under the carpet. Akinleminu, who said he was attacked a few days before the last governorship election in the state by political hoodlums in Idanre community, in Idanre Local Government Area of the state, on 12 November, alleged that the police had been treating the case with kid gloves. According to him, some hoodlums suspected to be political thugs attacked him and shot him in the stomach. He said that despite reporting the incident to the police, they had failed to conduct an investigation into the matter. He maintained that none of the attackers had been arrested since then, alleging that both the offices of the state Commissioner of Police and the AIG have been treating the case with kid gloves. In a statement made available to our correspondent by Akinleminu’s lawyer, Mr. John Olowookere, it was alleged that the attackers had been identified while a petition had been written to the office of the AIG. However, the petition was allegedly suppressed and left unattended. The statement read: “It is our brief also that on or about the 12th day of November 2024, our client (Blessing) was at a place in Idanre, his hometown, with some of his friends together with the two police officers officially assigned to him for his security protection, when all of a sudden, some armed men (some were masked) invaded the place and attacked our client with gunshots. His friends were badly injured, while the police officers were practically helpless in the circumstances, as the attack was sudden and calculated to eliminate our client. “Upon the gunshot received by our client on the side of his stomach from the assailants, our client was rushed to the University of Medical Sciences Specialist Hospital, Akure, Ondo State, where he received medical treatment. He was admitted at the hospital before being moved by his family to another hospital in Akure for intensive medical attention to save his life. “It is further briefed that the ugly incident of the attack was reported first at Alade Police Station and later at Idanre Divisional Police Station, but both stations treated it with kid gloves, which prompted our client to retain the services of a legal practitioner to submit a formal petition to the AIG for discreet police investigation. “The lawyer submitted the petition dated 14 November 2024, and it was approved for necessary investigation. “However, to the consternation of our client, investigation into the aforementioned petition was deliberately suppressed by the police at the AIG’s office without any valid reason for why the incident was not investigated, even though the petition had been approved for discreet police investigation. “This unhealthy and sad development frustrated our client to return to his base in the United Kingdom, against his initial intention to stay for a while in the country.” The legal practitioner called on the government and other stakeholders to assist his client in getting justice, claiming that the alleged perpetrators were still moving around the town untouched. “Our client is crying to high heaven, calling on the government and well-meaning members of society to rise to the occasion and defend the cause of our client against the suspects, who are now boastfully moving around Idanre town, claiming they are untouchable and that they are the reason why the case was not investigated to date. “It is on this note that we are calling on all relevant stakeholders to come to the aid of our client before it is too late. This is the highest demand for justice that we have ever made.” While reacting, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Funmi Odunlami, denied the allegation, saying the command was properly handling the case when the complainant requested the AIG to handle it. She said: “The investigation was ongoing when he (Blessing) said he wanted his case to be handled by Zone 17 (AIG), not that the case was not handled properly,” the PPRO explained. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of Zone 17, Mr. Akeem Adeola, said he was not aware of the complainant’s petition but would find out. “It is not possible for the zone to get the petition and not act on it. I will find out when I get to the office tomorrow (Friday),” Adeola said.