American Women Suck

— Family road trips are a rite of passage. They are the stuff of cherished memories, inside jokes, and stories that get retold for years. But let’s be honest, they are also a masterclass in logistics, patience, and spatial reasoning. The modern man is often at the center of this planning, juggling the roles of driver, packer, navigator, and chief entertainment officer. The biggest challenge? Space. Or, more accurately, the lack of it. Cramming luggage, sports equipment, camping gear, and the essential comfort items for kids into a car can feel like a losing game of Tetris. It creates a cramped, uncomfortable environment before you’ve even left the driveway. This isn’t just about discomfort; it’s about safety and sanity. Loose items in the cabin can become projectiles in a sudden stop, and a cluttered car creates a stressful atmosphere. This article explores how a simple piece of equipment can transform your family travel, making it safer, more comfortable, and infinitely more enjoyable. Reclaiming Your Car and Your Sanity The core problem with family travel is that the car’s interior has to serve two purposes: transporting people and transporting their things. This conflict is where the stress begins. Every square inch of the trunk is packed, so bags start creeping into the backseat, footwells disappear under a mountain of coats and toys, and the rear view is often obstructed. This is more than a simple inconvenience. A cramped car affects everyone’s mood. Kids get restless when they can’t stretch their legs, and parents get tense navigating the chaos. The solution is to create a clear separation between passenger space and cargo space. You need to move the “stuff” out of the cabin. This is where a roof box becomes an essential tool for the modern father. By securely stowing your luggage on the roof, you reclaim the entire interior of your vehicle for its primary purpose: comfortably and safely carrying your family. Imagine a journey where your kids have room to play, read, or nap. Imagine being able to see clearly out of your rear window. Imagine a calm, organized space that sets a positive tone for the entire trip. This isn’t a fantasy; it’s the direct result of adding external storage. Choosing the Right Gear for the Job Once you’ve decided to elevate your travel game, the next step is choosing the right equipment. The market is filled with options, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. You need something reliable, secure, and suited to your specific needs. For many families, tried-and-tested brands offer peace of mind. For instance, a halfords roof box is often a popular starting point for families in the UK. They are known for providing a good balance of quality, functionality, and value. These boxes are designed to be user-friendly, with straightforward mounting systems and durable construction that can handle the rigors of the road. They come in various sizes, allowing you to choose one that fits your vehicle and your typical luggage load. The key is to look for aerodynamic designs that minimize wind noise and impact on fuel consumption, ensuring a smoother, quieter ride. Making an informed choice means considering what you’ll be carrying. Are you a skiing family needing space for long, narrow equipment? Or do you need a wide, deep box for bulky suitcases and camping gear? Thinking through these scenarios will help you select a model that serves your family for years to come. Investing in Premium Quality for Peace of Mind While there are many great options available, some brands have built a reputation for being the gold standard in vehicle-mounted cargo solutions. When you’re carrying precious cargo inside the car, it makes sense to invest in premium protection for the cargo on the outside. This is where brands synonymous with quality and innovation come into play. A thule roof box, for example, is widely regarded as a top-tier investment for serious travelers. This brand has forged its name on a foundation of superior engineering, security, and design. Their products undergo rigorous testing to withstand extreme conditions, from harsh weather to high speeds. Features like the SlideLock system, which automatically locks the lid in place and indicates when it’s securely closed, provide an extra layer of confidence. While the initial cost might be higher, the value is found in the longevity, ease of use, and robust security features. For the man who sees family adventures as a core part of his life, investing in premium gear is not an expense; it’s an investment in smoother, safer, and more frequent experiences. It’s about knowing that your equipment is as ready for the adventure as you are. The Journey Awaits The role of a father and partner has evolved. Today, it’s about being present, engaged, and actively creating a life full of rich experiences for your family. A stressful, cluttered car ride detracts from that goal. It puts everyone on edge and can sour the start of a much-needed vacation. Taking control of your family’s travel comfort is a practical way to be a better dad and partner. By thoughtfully adding a roof-mounted cargo carrier, you are not just buying a piece of plastic; you are buying space, calm, and safety. You are transforming the journey from a necessary evil into an enjoyable part of the adventure. Free from the clutter and confinement, you and your family can focus on what truly matters: the open road, the shared laughter, and the creation of memories that will last a lifetime. — This content is brought to you by Sky Link Building iStockPhoto The post The Modern Man’s Guide to Family Adventures and Less Stress appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

By Tim DeRoche, The 74 This story first appeared at The 74, a nonprofit news site covering education. Sign up for free newsletters from The 74 to get more like this in your inbox. The decline of local education coverage. Shrinking enrollment. An angry workforce. Disillusioned parents. The gutting of the federal Department of Education. A political system that is distracted at best. With this toxic stew of factors both internal and external, I fear America may be entering a dangerous period for K-12 public education, with an increased risk of corruption and malfeasance. Look at what’s happening in Illinois. The state Board of Education recently voted to change how scores are calculated for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, the standardized test used in the public schools. The result: 53% of students will now be judged to be proficient in reading, rather than 38%. It appears to be a blatant effort to lower standards in order to make the public schools in Illinois look better. The board claims that it has to do this, because so many of those students are going on to college despite falling short of proficiency. But talk to anyone who works with incoming university freshmen and you will realize that, in the current era, college enrollment is not a good measure of college readiness. The K-12 school system is embattled: Enrollment declines just keep coming, and public support is at an all-time low. Since the pandemic, student achievement has gone from stagnant to declining, especially when compared with that of other wealthy countries. Many districts have unfunded pension plans that will add even more financial strain. And the current workforce, especially in the big urban districts, is stressed-out and pessimistic about the future of public education. K-12 districts are largely controlled by local politicians — school board members — who often have strong incentives to keep powerful interest groups happy in the short term, whether they are parent organizations or union leaders, instead of making difficult decisions that would protect their school system’s long-term integrity. These include closing schools, reducing administrative positions or redrawing (or eliminating) attendance zone lines. These board members control hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funding every year and what may be over a trillion dollars worth of underutilized real estate assets. This is a powder keg of risk with vast amounts of money at stake, not to mention the public trust and the educational opportunities of a generation of children. Adding to the problem, local journalism has deteriorated in the last two decades, as newspapers around the country have gone out of business or cut their news desks. The education beat seems to have taken a particularly big hit. What’s more, after being gutted by the Trump administration, it’s unlikely that the federal Department of Education is going to be able to play much of a watchdog role in coming years. The legal oversight of the public schools mainly falls to state legislatures. But most Republican lawmakers have other fish to fry, focusing on culture war issues and giving families escape routes from the system in the form of tax credit scholarships or educational savings accounts. Democrats, reeling from recent electoral losses and paralyzed by internal divisions, are reluctant to even acknowledge the potential for bad behavior in the school system, as the public districts and their unions are a tremendous store of political power for them — even in red states. As Dana Goldstein observed in The New York Times, “Democrats, for their part, often find themselves standing up for a status quo that seems to satisfy no one.” As a result, powerful interest groups can often exert their influence over the system and extract special privileges or take advantage of wasteful spending. Here are just a handful of recent stories, many of which received little to no coverage in the mainstream press: In Chicago, the district proposes to sell 20 empty school buildings, which could be worth tens of millions of dollars. But, in a classic case of anti-competitive behavior, the district prohibits future owners from operating charter schools there, meaning the properties will go for millions below their true market value. “Our goal is not to sell them for the highest dollar amount,” admits a district spokesperson. In New Jersey, the state teachers union spends $17 million in dues to fund the gubernatorial campaign of a candidate — the union’s president — who finishes fifth in the Democratic primary. In Tampa, the district shuts down Just Elementary School, a failing school serving African-American students. The nearest school for many of these families is A-rated Gorrie Elementary, which primarily serves wealthy white families. But not one of the Just students is allowed to enroll in Gorrie, instead getting bused to C-rated schools farther from their homes. In Los Angeles, the district spends $70 million to increase permanent capacity at Ivanhoe Elementary School, one of the most coveted in the district, despite thousands of empty seats in schools just five to six minutes away. Outside Sacramento, the Center Joint Unified School District fights efforts of local families to be allowed to attend the brand-new public school that is just blocks from their home, because the district fears losing funding if its archaic district boundaries are redrawn. Strong investigative journalists are needed to step into this void, for there will be important stories to tell. Nonprofit watchdogs, like my organization, Available to All, will play a role, too. Most importantly, state legislators need to step up their oversight of local districts. Legislators need to ensure they do not lower our academic standards to make their schools look better. There also need to be strong transparency laws, and districts should be subject to external audits of their financials and real estate holdings. Public education can survive the current crisis and emerge stronger than ever, but only if those of us who believe in public education work together to ensure that trust in the system is restored. — This story was produced by The 74, a non-profit, independent news organization focused on education in America. *** Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. Photo credit: unsplash The post A Political & Societal Toxic Stew Makes This a Dangerous Time for K-12 Education appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

“Wait, did that really just happen?” This was my thought as I was being swung around the room. I had recently decided to try out a new country swing dancing venue. Naturally, a new location also meant new dance partners, and I honestly didn’t know how to read this one. The first couple of times it happened, I thought maybe I was making it up. However, every night I went dancing, he was there, asking me to dance. You’d think that would be flattering — and in a way, it was. But there was one awkward thing that kept happening. Whenever we would dance, this particular dance partner would repeatedly caress my face throughout the dance. I literally knew next to nothing about this man, yet he would go all-in with this flirty behavior. I could tell he was trying to be “sexy” and “exciting,” but instead, it left me feeling really awkward and, sadly, like I didn’t want to dance with him anymore. This man (while I’m sure, very well-meaning) had fallen into the trap far too many singles end up in. He was far too focused on “being sexy.” So focused on it in fact, that it became awkward and off-putting. As a dating and relationship coach, I see many singles struggle with this, thinking it makes them more lovable. But what they don’t realize is this isn’t the solution they’re looking for. We’re bombarded with messages, images, movies, telling us that if we were only more sexy, our lives would be amazing. And when done appropriately, there’s nothing wrong with being sexy! But here’s the big truth most people don’t realize… You can be sexy and not be loved. There are plenty of people who are ridiculously sexy, but they still don’t have someone to come home to, someone who knows everything about them and still loves them, someone who still wants them even if they gain a little weight or their hair looks funny. When we focus so intently on being a “sexy person,” we tend to miss the big picture entirely. You can be the sexiest person in the world and not be loved. But when you’re truly loved, you’re the sexiest person in their world. You don’t have to go around caressing random dance partners’ faces. You don’t have to show more skin, make grand gestures of affection, or say “just the right thing” for someone to care about you. Instead, you can be yourself, lead with your best traits, and cause someone to fall deeply in love with the real, authentic you. Because most people think what they want is to be sexy. However, what they truly desire is to feel loved, accepted, and yes, desired by the right person. So, where do you go from here? If you’re someone who desperately wants to be loved, cherished, and respected, to be the sexiest person in that special someone’s world, where do you start? That’s a perfect question! Here are some of the strategies I teach my clients: 1 — Practice Confidence-Building Habits Most people don’t know this, but confidence is a habit! We’re either creating and maintaining habits that build or tear down our confidence and feelings of self-worth. When you support confident habits, you’re automatically becoming irresistible! People love being around people who have a healthy self-worth and present themselves like they matter. We see them as good partners. Confident people are sexy people without having to overshare themselves. 2 — Master Simple Connection Skills We often think attraction is super complicated, when in reality it’s very simple. People like people who make them feel good. This means when you interact with them in a way that makes them feel important, listened to, interesting, and even attractive, you become the person they’re obsessed with! A few people skills like appropriate flirting, listening when the other person is talking, and having interesting things to talk about will make you someone delightful to be around. And when that happens, it’s easy for someone to start imagining the rest of their life with you by their side. 3 — Choose to Be a Bright Spot in the World Have you ever been around someone who drains all the energy out of you? They never have anything good to say, the world feels like a darker, scarier place after talking to them, or you simply feel stressed out after spending time together. This is not the kind of person who usually has hoards of people interested in them, right? Think instead of someone you know who’s kind, positive, and encouraging. You feel lighter, uplifted, and happier after seeing them. Wouldn’t you rather be around that person instead? Most people would! This is why being someone who chooses to see the good in the world sets you apart and makes you desirable. You’re the breath of fresh air, the one they want to spend time with, the person they think of first. To this day, I still wish there was a way to go back in time and let my previous dance partner know that his worth isn’t dependent on how “sexy” he is. And, if he’d loosen up and be the best version of himself, he can be loved, cherished, and adored (without the awkward face caresses to strangers). My message for you today is the same. Please don’t stress about being “sexy” but instead focus on being loved by the one who sees and adores the authentic you. Focus on creating authentic love. Because when you have that, you’ll truly be the sexiest person in their world. Sexy, and authentically you. — Previously Published on Medium iStock image The post Why ‘Being Sexy’ Isn’t the Goal (And How to Be Loved Instead!) appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Carlo Acutis, a teenage gamer and computer whiz, used his skills to help bring the Catholic faith into the digital age The Vatican has canonized as the Catholic Church’s first millennial saint an Italian teenager who used his computer skills to spread the faith online, earning the nickname “God’s Influencer.” Carlo Acutis, who died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of just 15, inspired a worldwide youth following as one of the first to bring the Catholic faith into the digital age. During his illness, he created a multilingual website cataloging accounts of Eucharistic miracles – events in which believers say bread and wine consecrated during Mass became the actual body and blood of Christ. “He grew up naturally integrating prayer, sport, study and charity into his days as a child and young man,” the Pope said while presiding over Mass in Saint Peter’s Square in Vatican City on Sunday. Acutis was canonized alongside Pier Giorgio Frassatti, who died in 1925 at age 24 and is remembered for his service to the poor and involvement in Catholic associations. Some critics have questioned the decision, arguing that Acutis was too focused on Eucharistic miracles and overlooked other aspects of the faith. “It seems to me that there is a desire to steer the Church towards a very problematic devotion and a search for ‘special signs,’” Andrea Grillo, a professor at the Pontifical Athenaeum of Sant’Anselmo told CNN on Sunday. It is “not a virtue” to seek miracles, he added. In recent months, the Vatican has stepped up efforts to reach younger audiences and expand its digital outreach. In July, it hosted a digital evangelism event that brought together more than 1,000 Catholic influencers. A number of the social media personalities gained followers not only through their Catholic teachings but also by their appearance. Such clerics were dubbed “hot priests” by fans and news outlets. View the full article

By Zoya Teirstein, Grist “This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.” This story is part of The Disaster Economy, a Grist series exploring the often chaotic, lucrative world of disaster response and recovery. It is published with support from the CO2 Foundation. Extreme weather disasters — made larger, longer, and more intense by climate change — are taking an heavier toll on the possession that many Americans consider to be their most important asset: the home. A slew of big events, from deadly wildfires in California and Oklahoma to tornadoes in Missouri and Kentucky to floods in Texas, have already destroyed some 63,000 residential buildings and other structures so far this year and caused more than $20 billion in direct damage. That’s in addition to an unending parade of smaller extreme weather events. These compounding extremes aren’t just being felt by homeowners — they’re changing the financial calculus that underpins the companies that insure them. A report published this week by Realtor.com, a brokerage platform, found that slightly more than 1 in 4 U.S. homes, representing nearly $13 trillion in value, are vulnerable to “severe or extreme climate risk.” The biggest danger by far is hurricane-related wind damage, with some 18 percent of homes vulnerable, followed by flood risk, 6 percent of homes, and wildfire risk, 5.6 percent. The report used data from a nonprofit climate risk assessment group called the First Street Foundation, which incorporates the effects of climate change into its modeling to identify how much of the country’s housing stock is at risk. The report also analyzed how private insurance companies and the federal government, which insures most of the country’s flood-prone properties, are shifting to accommodate the rising costs of providing financial protection in a world altered by climate change. It found that homeowners in low-value, high-risk insurance markets — that is, places where homes are worth less than the national average but are most exposed to climate-driven extremes — are being hit hardest. In these zones, insurance premiums are rising precipitously and becoming an increasingly unaffordable share of the costs of owning a home. “The monthly mortgage rate is already very high, and on top of that you have home insurance, and on top of that you may have other flood and fire insurances,” said Jiayi Xu, an economist at Realtor.com and author of the report. The rising costs across the board compound an existing housing affordability crisis gripping the nation. This double-whammy effect is becoming most apparent in parts of Florida and Louisiana, two states that frequently experience hurricanes. Xu used an equation that represents insurance affordability called a premium-to-market-value ratio, which calculates the cost of insurance against the overall value of a home. The ratio is highest in Miami and New Orleans — 3.7 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. That means someone who owns a $500,000 house in Miami, for example, is paying $18,500 a year in insurance premiums. Nationally, the average ratio is around 0.8 percent. In addition, the report called out Oklahoma, the heart of Tornado Alley, and Texas, also prone to hurricanes and flooding. The 10 housing markets where insurance costs are highest can be found in those four states. Realtor.com isn’t the only real estate platform that has begun to invest in risk mapping and analysis in recent years. Zillow, RedFin, and other similar companies are starting to conduct their own statistical analyses or include climate risks in real estate listings. That, too, said Daniel Aldrich, director of the Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University, is a sign of the times. “By putting out these climate reports, Realtor.com is saying, ‘We’re the smart choice for serious buyers,’ while also getting ahead of what will probably become mandatory disclosure requirements down the road,” said Aldrich, who was not involved in the report. While no national climate risk exposure standards exist, more than two dozen states have some sort of flood risk disclosure on the books, and new wildfire disclosure laws in California took effect this summer.Other states are considering similar regulations. But that’s not the only reason brokerage platforms are starting to offer these services. “There’s real money in this data, and these companies know it,” Aldrich said. “Once you’ve built the infrastructure to analyze climate risks, you could theoretically sell that same data to banks, investors, and government agencies, turning what started as a marketing report into a whole new business line.” This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/extreme-weather/your-home-has-a-1-in-4-chance-of-being-at-severe-risk-from-extreme-weather/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org — This Story Was Originally Published by Grist. *** – The world is changing fast. We help you keep up. We’ll send you 1 post, 3x per week. – Photo Credit: unsplash The post Your Home Has a 1 in 4 Chance of Being at Severe Risk From Extreme Weather appeared first on The Good Men Project. 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— By Julie Jag for The Salt Lake Tribune Jake Schmitt looked up, droplets from the cool stream dribbling down his chin, and locked eyes with his best friend, Buddy. The 6-year-old German shorthaired pointer also had water dripping from his black snout.Schmitt, 34, has been a hunter for most of his life and a hunting guide in Utah for almost a decade. He knew he shouldn’t be drinking from a stream, that his stomach could violently cramp from giardia once the water and parasites worked their way inside. But that was a tomorrow problem. He wasn’t even sure he would make it through the night — or if he would even notice the pain with so much of it already wracking his body. It had been hours — four? Eight? Schmitt wasn’t sure — since his Polaris Ranger had tumbled down a hillside deep in the Uinta Mountains. In the rollover, he shattered both ankles, two ribs and his leg. By the time they reached the river, he and Buddy had been crawling down a rutted logging road, both on all fours, for so long that while the reinforced patches on the knees of Schmitt’s hunting pants remained intact, the skin on his kneecaps was shredded and bleeding. He needed this respite. He could see Buddy needed it, too. “We looked at each other, and I was like, ‘Dude, this water is so good.’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, can we just take a minute? This water is really good,’” Schmitt recalled. “And I was like, ‘We can take five minutes, Buddy. I’m so sorry.’” Schmitt had gotten them into this — what would end up being an 11-hour slog to his truck and another 40-minute drive to help. What got them out, he said, was Buddy. The Salt Lake Tribune shares the story of how Schmitt and Buddy made it through the night after a crash in the Utah wilderness. ‘I had everything you could imagine’ Before he moved to Ogden in 2022, Schmitt made an annual pilgrimage from his home in Buffalo, New York, out West to Montana, Canada or Utah every August to subcontract for four months as a hunting guide. And he always brought Buddy, who had been Schmitt’s sidekick since he was 8 weeks old. With another hunting season around the corner, the pair took a Sunday drive toward Whitney Reservoir, deep into the Uinta Mountains, to scout for big game. It was July 20, and the trip was going well. Schmitt had rescued an elk fawn from a bear trap and also spotted a large buck. Trying to get a better look at the buck, Schmitt steered his Ranger onto a trail about four miles into the forest that he said he’s “been on a million times.” Quickly, though, he realized the trail had become unsafe over the winter. He decided to backtrack and shifted the Ranger into reverse. Before he even put his foot on the accelerator, Schmitt felt the back end start to slip down the incline. “I knew it was going to flip, and I tried to jump out,” Schmitt said. “And upon trying to jump out, it started to roll, and it took my body with it.” Schmitt believes the machine rolled over twice before it spit him out a quarter of the way down the steep hill. It rolled about 15 more times before coming to a rest in a heap in a dry creek bed. The frame was contorted. The roof had been ripped off. The tires were flung dozens of feet away. Buddy had been inside a crate in the back of the Ranger. The crate was nowhere to be seen. But there Buddy was, standing in front of Schmitt, wagging his stubby tail, not a scratch on him. Schmitt hadn’t been so fortunate. He didn’t know the extent of his injuries, but when he put weight on his right leg to stand, his ankle popped and he collapsed back to the ground. Then he looked at his left leg and couldn’t comprehend what he was seeing: His foot was folded back and his lower leg was skewed at a strange angle. Even on healthy legs, it would have been difficult to stand on the incline. In his state, it would be impossible. So, Schmitt opted to roll down to the wreckage instead. Along the way, he hoped he would spot his satellite phone, or his radio or his cellphone, or at very least the gun he carried to scare away bears — anything he could use to signal for help. “I had everything you could imagine,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter when it just gets flung off of you.” The one usable thing he found? A small roll of duct tape. Through the tumult, it remained stuck inside the Ranger’s center console. Schmitt sized up his situation: “I have no communication. I’m screwed. I’m going to have to drag myself out, as painful as that is.” First, though, he had to set his broken leg. The breaks Schmitt wasn’t just some tourist lost in the woods. His years of guiding and backcountry exploration had left him uniquely qualified to deal with his perilous predicament. He was so familiar with the old road that he knew he had to make six stream crossings before he would reach his truck. He knew to drink only from the most rapidly moving sections of those streams to mitigate the chances of contracting giardia. And, he had experience with self-administered wilderness first aid. “If you don’t know how to literally drag yourself out at the end of the day, then probably don’t go out there,” Schmitt said, “because you’re going to die.” Schmitt knew he needed to survive, even if only to make sure Buddy made it out alive. He found a straight piece of metal that had broken off the Ranger, scooted over to it and set his broken leg on top of it. Then, he pulled. “I was way more scared to lose my leg than to rebreak that back,” Schmitt said of his rationalization for putting himself through that pain. “I was terrified.” He created a splint with a mostly straight and sturdy stick and affixed it to the side of his leg with his belt and, of course, the duct tape. By then, the sun had begun to set. So Schmitt called Buddy over and switched on the walnut-sized light on his collar. With just a crescent moon overhead, it would be their only light source for the next 10 hours as they lurched through the dark forest. Crawling through the night It didn’t take long for the adrenaline to wear off. Shock, fatigue and disorientation took its place. Schmitt started the long journey to his truck by scooching backward, using his arms to drag his body down the road. Later, spooked by animal sounds he heard in the forest, he turned onto his belly and, with a rock in each hand for protection against the gravel and the wildlife, began to crawl. His ankle flopped helplessly behind him, and he could feel the bone shards grinding against one another. Ahead of him, Buddy zigzagged back and forth, picking up scents on the wind. Their progress was glacial. At the second stream crossing, Schmitt convinced himself it was the fifth one. When a bend in the road jogged his memory, Schmitt broke down; they still had so far to travel. They stopped often. Sometimes sleep would overtake Schmitt, but he would always be jolted back awake by the sensation of Buddy’s black nose nudging his head. When Schmitt felt like he just couldn’t go on, Buddy would lie down on the road 20 feet ahead of him. Compelled by the dog’s forlorn look, Schmitt would find the energy to scoot over to comfort his friend. “I would pet him, and then he’d go 20 feet more,” Schmitt recalled. “And now I know he was just helping me, step by step.” When daylight broke the next morning, Schmitt called it the “worst sunrise I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” It meant he hadn’t been crawling for three or four hours, like he’d thought, but closer to 10. The adrenaline kicked in, though, when the sunlight illuminated his truck in the distance. Thankfully, he’d left his keys inside it. An unexpected visitor Yenni Saiz was putting yard games out in front of the Oakley Diner, as the 19-year-old waitress usually does to prepare for the 8 a.m. breakfast crowd, when the mud-colored Toyota pulled up next to her. The man inside rolled down his window, and Saiz grew nervous. “You can tell he was in pain,” said Saiz, a Weber State student and Oakley resident, “and he had scratches on his face. He had a dog in the back seat, too.” Schmitt had driven his broken body and best friend more than half an hour to the diner, the nearest place he thought might be open so early. He asked Saiz to call 911 and relayed to her the details of his ordeal and his injuries. Four minutes later, paramedics were on the scene. Schmitt was loaded into an ambulance bound for Park City Hospital. Buddy had to stay behind. But the Oakley Fire Station kept him until Schmitt’s mom flew in the next day from New York to collect him. Schmitt spent a week in the hospital while doctors inserted a rod in his broken leg and gave his ribs time to heal. On his final day, the nurses gave Schmitt’s mom, Mel Lenz, who is also a nurse, the go-ahead to bring Buddy to the hospital. The dog could barely be restrained from climbing into bed with Schmitt. “He cried. I cried,” Schmitt said. “It was pretty wild.” Both are back at home in Ogden now. Schmitt, who is uninsured, is trying to distract himself from his mounting medical bills by managing his welding fabrication company and committing himself to his physical therapy. His ambitious goal is to be guiding again by early September. As for Buddy, he has all the bones — and all the cool, clean water — a dog could want. And, Schmitt said, he always will. “He’s the little man that got me out of there for sure,” Schmitt said. “If he wasn’t there, I probably wouldn’t have made it mentally, spiritually.” A GoFundMe has been set up to help Schmitt pay for medical expenses and loss of equipment. To date, the fund had received more than $29,000 in donations. This story was produced by The Salt Lake Tribune and reviewed and distributed by Stacker. — Previously Published on hub.stacker Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. Photo credit: unsplash The post How a Dog Helped a Utah Man Survive an 11-Hour Night Crawl Through the Mountains appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Governments and corporations should be aware of the risks associated with electronic communications, Dmitry Peskov has said Messaging apps are “absolutely transparent” to intelligence agencies and security services, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. People who use them to share sensitive information should be aware of the risks, he added. “All messengers are absolutely transparent systems, and people who use them should understand that they are transparent…. to the security services,” Peskov told journalists on Friday at the Eastern Economic Forum in Russia’s Vladivostok. He added it was particularly important to consider the risks when sensitive government or commercial data are shared through such apps, which can be accessed by foreign intelligence services. The official was commenting on Telegram and WhatsApp in Russia, as well as on the Russian government’s support for developing a domestic messaging platform. Russian security services have accused Telegram and WhatsApp of using double standards for refusing to share data with the Russian authorities about fraud and terror plots while complying with similar requests from other countries. Back in July, a member of the State Duma’s committee on information policy and technology, Anton Nemkin, called WhatsApp’s continued presence in Russia a “legalized breach of national security.” Russian law enforcement officials have said that Ukrainian intelligence, along with other malicious actors such as swindlers and con artists, often relies on databases containing personal data obtained through WhatsApp and Telegram to recruit agents or identify targets inside Russia. In December 2024, the US government also warned senior officials to switch to encrypted communications after a security breach in which a group of hackers stole data, including information stored under US government surveillance protocols as part of “legal” wiretapping of American suspects. View the full article

Home Office figures show that accommodating asylum seekers is costing taxpayers nearly £6 million a day The UK Defense Ministry plans to house illegal migrants in military barracks after widespread protests over the government’s use of taxpayer-funded hotels. Demonstrations broke out across Britain after a 14-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in July by a migrant housed in a hotel in the town of Epping. As of July, 45,000 asylum seekers were being housed in hotels at a cost of nearly £6 million ($8.1 million) per day – an expense that has fueled public anger amid Britain’s worsening financial crisis. On Saturday alone, more than 1,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats to reach the country, according to the Home Office. “We are looking at the potential use of military and non-military sites for temporary accommodation for the people who come across on these small boats that may not have a right to be here,” Defense Secretary John Healey told Sky News on Sunday. He added that migrants would need to be “processed rapidly” to determine whether they could be deported. I’m looking at it with the Home Office, and I recognize that the loss of confidence of the public over recent years in Britain’s ability to control its borders needs to be satisfied. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reshuffled his cabinet on Saturday, appointing Shabana Mahmood as the new home secretary after pledging to tackle the migrant hotel crisis and the flood of illegals. She has reportedly been given license to crack down on the influx. Starmer has faced a storm of criticism over the crisis, which many have seen as a show that Downing Street prioritizes the rights and safety of migrants over those of the British people. The prime minister’s approval rating has collapsed over his immigration stance, as well as his handling of the Pakistani rape gang scandal. Nearly 70% of Britons have an unfavorable opinion of Starmer, according to a YouGov poll from last month. View the full article

In the hidden war against domestic violence, silence is both a shield and a shroud. It conceals trauma, mutes cries for help, and isolates victims. But it can also be a tool of resistance, a quiet force working behind the scenes to save lives. That’s the idea behind Nexion Solutions, a tech startup founded by Liz Kohler, which is quietly revolutionizing how survivors seek help. At the heart of the company’s innovation is a discreet, wearable safety device designed to transmit GPS, biometric, and audio data without alerting the abuser. “The device needs to stay hidden,” Kohler told me in a recent interview. “People are very respectful of that. It’s a delicate balance.” That balance between invisibility and intervention is exactly what makes Nexion’s technology so potent. Disguised as everyday jewelry or clothing, the device communicates silently with trained dispatchers, enabling emergency response in as little as seven seconds. Unlike smartphone apps that can be detected or deleted, this device stays operational, even under threat. “It’s not an app,” Kohler emphasized. “We don’t advertise. That’s intentional. We talk about outcomes, not products. Our users become advocates.” These outcomes are needed more than ever, in cities like Los Angeles, where domestic violence continues to wreak havoc. In 2023, California police received about 18 reports of domestic violence per hour, underscoring the persistent nature of this crisis. But behind every statistic is a human life: mothers, teenagers, children, men, transgender individuals—all navigating trauma, often in silence. “Tech was both a threat and a tool,” said Taylor Gillette, a former analyst at the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Rochester, NY. “We taught survivors to secure their communications, but digital stalking, spyware, and impersonation were constant threats.” That’s why stealth is everything. Kohler recounted the story of a survivor—let’s call her M—who used the device over 30 times to protect herself from three different abusers, including a gang-affiliated trafficker. “None of them knew what she was doing,” Kohler said. “But just knowing the device existed altered their behavior. It became a deterrent.” In at least six cases, audio recordings from the device have been admitted in court. In one instance, it captured an abduction in progress. “It changes the dynamics of credibility,” Kohler noted. “It’s not just one person’s word. It’s a data trail.” In moments of crisis, seven seconds can mean the difference between escape and tragedy. Yet the most impressive feature of this technology may be its quietness, its ability to keep the survivor safe without making a sound. “This isn’t about fixing a tech glitch,” Kohler said. “This is about closing a lethal gap.” Advocates are ready. A staff member at a women’s shelter in Rochester told me: “So many clients say, ‘No one believed me.’ A device like this shifts the narrative. It creates a record—your voice, your vitals, your GPS. Your truth.” That dual reality is echoed by Danielle Churly, a human trafficking advocate and case manager based in the Greater Toronto Area: There are so many ways traffickers use technology to abuse and control victims. They’re always finding new platforms and websites—it’s hard to keep up, especially when the law and services lag behind. For instance, there’s tech that can crawl the web and remove content involving minors, but I’m not sure the same applies to adult victims. In my case, my phone was under my trafficker’s name. That gave him access to everything. But technology is also helping. One tool I’ve used with a client is the Ruth AI platform. It helps providers build safety plans, locate resources, and answer trafficking-related questions. It was easy to use, and the plan it generated was clear and thoughtful. It’s a really helpful tool. Of course, no gadget alone can reform a broken system. Survivors still face immense barriers: from a shortage of affordable housing to the high risk of violence during attempts to leave. As Gillette explained, “One of the most dangerous misconceptions is that leaving makes you safe. It’s often the most dangerous time.” She speaks from experience. Her 21-year-old cousin, pregnant and trying to leave a violent partner, was killed in 2021. “No piece of technology can fix that,” she said. “We need survivor-centered systems—trauma-informed care, legal aid, mobile advocacy, and non-police crisis options.” Churly agrees. Drawing on her lived experience and frontline work, she emphasized the need to rethink how care is provided and how survivors are understood: The experience of being exploited and failed by the system in so many ways changes how I approach who I advocate for and what I believe in. I’m really focused on the systemic barriers survivors face, and the importance of ethical engagement. In this field, there needs to be a real awareness of how to work with survivors in ways that support their well-being. Healing is a lifelong journey. Every survivor needs to be able to express what they need, and every organization that works with them must meet them where they are. Trauma-informed care is complex—many people don’t truly understand what it means. For me, it’s about meeting survivors exactly where they are, understanding the complexities of their experiences, and providing the proper supports. Supporting survivors where they are, no matter what. That survivor-centered vision drives activists like Colleen Murphy, founder of My Body Tells the Truth (MBTTT), a grassroots initiative that began in a Chicago hair salon and has grown into a national campaign for bodily autonomy and abuse prevention. Murphy helped pass the Child Abuse Notice Act and championed Illinois House Bill 4350, which requires child abuse prevention notices in businesses where youth gather. Her goal: federal expansion. “Just seeing a poster in a salon or airport or school can change someone’s life,” she told me. “It says, ‘You’re not alone. You haven’t done anything wrong.’” Her core message is deceptively simple: listen to your body. “Survivors often say, ‘I should’ve listened to my instincts,’” Murphy explained. “Our bodies know. They always know.” Murphy adds: “Supporting survivors who often doubt themselves and showing them they were right all along is vital. It validates what they endured while restoring the confidence needed to speak out. I don’t want any victim to feel at fault for not speaking up sooner. Many carry the abuser’s voice long after the abuse ends, and my goal is to help them distinguish that from their own survival instincts.” Murphy also sees promise in tools like Tell Sid, a trauma-informed AI chatbot designed for survivors when human support is unavailable. “I tested it by pretending to be a six-year-old,” she said. “The responses were calming, accurate. It felt like holding a flashlight in the dark.” Unlike humans, AI doesn’t sleep. “I know adults who fear talking to a therapist,” she added. “But a chatbot might help them take that first step.” Yet survivor advocates warn against reducing the survivor experience to pain alone. “Survivors need more than safety,” Gillette said. “They need community, dignity, joy, and rest. Not just survival—healing.” In this new frontier of survivor safety, the tools may be powered by AI and cloud data—but their purpose is ancient and human: to bear witness, to protect, to believe. Sometimes the quietest signals carry the greatest power. In the war against abuse, a whisper of data, a hidden heartbeat, or a silent beacon could be the clearest cry for justice we’ve ever heard. — Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * Subscribe If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. Photo credit: iStock The post From Silent Signals to Safe Spaces: How Technology Is Quietly Rewriting Survivor Safety appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and several Ukrainian media outlets have reported that a fire in the building was caused by a downed drone Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Sviridenko has accused Russia of striking a government office in central Kiev, posting a video from inside a damaged corridor. However, reports by Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko and Ukrainian media suggested that the blaze was sparked by debris from a downed drone, not a direct hit. In the video posted to social media on Sunday, Sviridenko said “you can see the consequences of the attack” while standing in a corridor with some scattered debris. She also claimed that the fire caused by the attack covered 800 square meters. No clearly visible signs of any major blaze can be seen in the video except for what appears to be a burnt roof. Klitschko stated earlier on Telegram that a government office caught fire after Ukrainian air defenses brought down a drone. Several local media outlets, including TSN and Focus, also reported that the fire was caused by wreckage from the intercepted UAV. The Russian Defense Ministry stated on Sunday that the nation’s military had targeted two military industrial facilities on the outskirts of Kiev in an overnight strike. It denied striking the government office. Sviridenko used the incident to accuse Moscow of “not seeking peace” and urged Kiev’s Western backers to “help close our sky” and “strengthen sanctions against Russia.” She also published a photo of herself standing inside a severely damaged building, claiming it to be the government office. Photos released by the Ukrainian emergency services on social media only showed fire and smoke coming out of several windows on the upper floor of the government building, with no visible damage to its walls or roof. This is not the first time Ukrainian officials have pointed the finger at Russia for damage caused either by a shot-down projectile or Ukraine's own air-defenses. Such incidents in the past have set residential buildings and infrastructure ablaze, raising questions over Kiev’s placement of anti-air systems close to civilian areas. Moscow maintains that it never targets civilians, only Kiev’s defense industry and military-related facilities. View the full article

By Alvin Powell | Harvard Staff Writer | Harvard Gazette As anxiety and depression persist at alarming rates among U.S. teens, less than a third of the nation’s public schools conduct mental health screenings, and a significant number of those that do say it’s hard to meet students’ needs, according to a new survey of principals. With staffing that includes counselors and nurses, public schools are uniquely positioned to help address the youth mental health crisis declared in 2021 by the U.S. surgeon general, according to Harvard Medical School’s Hao Yu, a co-author of the study. “Child mental health is a severe public health issue in this country,” he said. “Even before COVID, about a quarter of children had different degrees of mental health problems, and during the pandemic the problem just got worse.” The study, published last month in JAMA Network Open, is the first since 2016 to poll public school principals on children’s mental health, said Yu, an associate professor of population medicine. The intervening years have included COVID-related disruptions, growing worries about screen time, and a surge of artificial intelligence in everyday life, he noted. $1B Cut from previously approved federal funding for school mental health support One positive finding from the survey, which was funded with a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, is that the percentage of U.S. public schools that screen for mental health issues has risen significantly in the past nine years, albeit from just 13 percent to 30.5 percent. The survey asked 1,019 principals three questions: Do you screen for student mental health issues? What steps are taken for students identified with anxiety or depression, two of the most common youth mental health issues? And how easy or hard it is to find adequate mental health care for students who need it? The responses show that the most common step taken for students struggling with anxiety or depression is to notify parents — almost 80 percent of schools did that. Seventy-two percent offer in-person treatment, while about half refer to an outside mental health provider. Less than 20 percent offer telehealth treatment. Responses to the final question highlight the challenge facing those seeking to address the problem, with 41 percent describing the task of getting care as “hard” or “very hard,” a result that Yu said, while concerning, isn’t surprising given the nationwide shortage of mental health providers. The survey, conducted with colleagues from the Medical School, the nonpartisan research organization RAND, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the University of Pittsburgh, the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, and Brown University, also showed that school-based screening programs are concentrated in larger schools, with 450 students or more, and in districts with larger populations of racial and ethnic minority students. Helping young people overcome mental health challenges is a multistep process, Yu said. “We need to make child psychiatry an attractive profession and we need to train more mid-level providers — social workers, school nurses, and counselors — because those middle-level providers play an important gatekeeper role, helping identify children with mental health problems and helping children and their families get into the healthcare system,” he said. It’s also important, Yu said, to get policy right at all levels of government. For example, he said, even though it’s clear that meeting the challenge will require more resources, the federal government recently slashed $1 billion in previously approved school mental health funding. A potentially positive development, he said, is the nationwide trend toward restrictions on smartphone use. “I don’t think any other institution can replace the schools in identifying and treating child mental health problems,” Yu said. “If mental health problems are treated, their severity can be greatly reduced. Mental health problems not treated in childhood can have a long-lasting effect into adulthood. That’s not an optimal situation for our society.” — This story is reprinted with permission from The Harvard Gazette. *** Subscribe to The Good Men Project Newsletter Email Address * If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project, please join us as a Premium Member today. All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. — Photo credit: unsplash The post Missing Teens Where They Are appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

A collection of these horror movies are coming out on 4K Ultra HD I haven’t really watched any of the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I have heard that they are good, but never have seen any of them myself. I am familiar with the character and just how popular this character is. Many years ago I did see Freddy Vs. Jason and thoroughly enjoyed it. Recently it was announced all seven films from this series are coming out on 4K Ultra HD and here is my thoughts on this news. You can read the premise for this collection here: Freddy Krueger, a vengeful child killer burned alive by angry parents, returns to haunt the dreams of their children in this chilling 7-film saga. From his first terrifying appearance on Elm Street to his resurrection through nightmares, Freddy unleashes horror across generations—where sleep is no escape, and dreams become deadly. It is pretty cool to hear these films are being released in a collection. Each one tells the next chapter in this deadly saga and takes viewers of all ages on a wild ride. The new bonus content promises to take a look back at these films and the legacy they have left behind. If you are a fan of these movies then you will want to pick this collection up when it comes out. A Nightmare on Elm Street 7 Film Collection arrives on 4K Ultra HD and Digital September 30th. The post ‘A Nightmare on Elm Street’ 7 Film Collection Is Coming Soon on 4K Ultra HD appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

Passwords everywhere can be a nightmare: That’s why I trust NordPass. It securely stores all my logins and fills them in instantly, so I never get locked out. Get NordPass today for $1.34 a month and experience a smarter way to manage passwords! The post Passwords everywhere can be a nightmare appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

The breakthrough drug reduced tumor size and growth by up to 80% in early testing, according to Veronika Skvortsova Russia’s newly developed cancer vaccine has shown high effectiveness in preclinical trials and is ready for rollout, according to Veronika Skvortsova, head of the Federal Medical-Biological Agency. The breakthrough drug is awaiting approval from the Russian Health Ministry. The vaccine showed excellent results in three years of preclinical trials, the official told Izvestia on Friday on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. “The [trials] have proven the safety of the vaccine, including its repeated use, as well as its high efficiency, which was associated with a reduction in tumor size and a slowdown in tumor growth,” Skvortsova said. She added that in some cancers, the effect reached 60-80%. “Studies have shown an increase in survival, which is also very important.” “We submitted documents to the Ministry of Health to obtain permission for clinical use” at the end of summer, the official added. The vaccine is ready for use, we are waiting for permission. The initial launch is planned for colorectal cancer, with jabs for glioblastoma and melanoma to follow, she added. According to its developer, the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, the drug is an mRNA-based vaccine that uses AI to train the patient’s immune system to attack cancer cells. Institute head Alexander Gintsburg said earlier that the vaccine is subject to a unique regulatory framework due to its nature. “This is a fundamentally different process from the registration of standard drugs,” he noted last month. The institute also developed Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine and is currently working on an HIV vaccine using the same mRNA technology. View the full article

Supposed Mythical Beings Now Walk the Streets and Stop to Stare Us in the Face In the past, it seemed that the mythical meanings of events were more subtle and hidden, but no more. They walk the streets with us and often stop to stare us in the face. Myth can mean a traditional, sacred, or universal story, a story of heroes and heroines, creator beings and destroyers⎼ a story revealing a more intuitive way of viewing life, an invisible realm that parallels our usual one. And it can also mean an untruth or false belief. And today, our president illustrates both meanings. He has taken lies, corruption, a lust for power and vindictiveness against opponents to such historic levels he has become for many larger than human, a wanna-be deity or devil, a destroyer being walking the halls of our capital. And for too many others who follow him blindly, he’s an angel of vengeance. But instead of this mythical being living only in story and legend, he’s very human and all too real. And what we, the rest of us, are called to do can seem like something only a hero could accomplish. But usually we don’t feel heroic; we feel like ordinary beings facing a reality that is extraordinarily unbelievable, frightening, and despicable. For example, the DT administration is planning to destroy or abandon satellites that collect information about pollution and carbon build up in the atmosphere, as well as terminate the collection of weather data that collects vital information on hurricanes. And why the enmity for weather information? It seems the only reason for terminating the satellites is to end scientific research into⎼ and proof of⎼ human-caused climate change. He wants to block the availability of information that can be used to protect the environment and protect the sustainability of human life on the planet. And instead, he wants to empower private entities and corporations to abuse it. Politico reports that DT has stopped information from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program from being distributed to users. This includes data on hurricanes that has been crucial in protecting people who live on the coast from dangerous weather conditions. Weather collection has greatly improved since Katrina, but DT’s actions can put that at risk, and put lives at risk. Will free weather reports and all regular weather satellites be destroyed next? When I was teaching high school, students wanted me not to use the word ignorance. They disliked anything that sounded like abuse, bullying, being unfair; and calling someone ignorant can do that. And I loved that concern by students. But ignorance can also serve a powerful descriptive purpose. The root ig means not, opposite of. And nore comes from the Latin gnarus, meaning aware or to know. Ignorance is not knowing, not-seeing what’s right there to see and know. It has a connotation of willful not-knowing. In the past, ignorance was considered a detriment, even dangerous for a politician. Now, we have a president working to create a reign of ignorance, particularly about who he is. He’s pushing ignorance and greed over accurate knowledge and favoring the advancement of a few wealthy and politically powerful individuals over protecting the health and safety of all of us on this planet. And instead of protecting our health, he’s undermining it. He’s dismantling health research, distorting the science of vaccines, firing Health & Human Services personnel, and ordering public health scientists and researchers to remain silent. The misnamed Big Beautiful Bill could strip 16 million people from their health insurance and close many hospitals, which could jeopardize the whole health care system. And he lies so brazenly and persistently he makes truth almost impossible to discern. For example, by constantly shouting lies about Democrats stealing the 2020 election, he magically transformed claims of stealing an election into lies. He can then go out and steal an election. He also makes truth difficult to discern by undermining education itself. He’s threatening to end public schooling for the majority and replacing it with for-profit and religious schools. He’s trying to end teaching the truth of historical topics he doesn’t want known, like slavery and other aspects of Black history in the US. He dislikes and fears academic freedom and free speech so he’s acting to destroy the independence of colleges and universities, forcing them to shape their teaching to fit his personal and political agenda. He’s destroying the robust cooperation between government and universities that in the past produced productive discoveries that made our nation stand out over others. For example, drugs for lung cancer or immunotherapy treatments have both been developed through government and university cooperation. He’s even pressuring museums and institutions like the Smithsonian to close exhibits he doesn’t like on aspects of US history and culture. He actually said the museum focuses too much on “how bad slavery was.” Does he think slavery was good? Maybe in some mythical universe, meaning a world dominated by giant-sized lies and hateful beliefs, DT’s actions might appear rational, sane, beneficial. But in one where truth is usually valued and studied, the common good often fostered, and “ordinary” people encouraged to act as heroes in their own stories, his actions are perceived as enervating, corrupt, and malignant. And they must be stopped. — iStock image The post When We Turn Reality Into Myth appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

23-year-old Irina Zarutskaya was allegedly killed by a homeless career criminal on a North Carolina train A video released by the authorities in North Carolina shows the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian woman on a Charlotte train, with the attacker – identified as a homeless man with a long criminal record and mental health issues – stabbing her from behind without warning. Surveillance footage, which was released by the Charlotte Area Transit System on Saturday and went viral on social media, shows the moments leading to the death of Irina Zarutskaya, 23, on August 22. In the video, Zarutskaya, who had fled the fighting in Ukraine, is seen boarding the train and taking a seat. After several seconds, a man sitting directly behind her suddenly stands, draws a knife, and stabs her in the neck. No words are exchanged, and she appears not to respond before the assault begins. The suspect, identified by police as Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, is then seen walking through the carriage past other passengers – who were at the moment apparently unaware of the attack – with a knife in his hand and blood dripping on the floor as he exits the train. Ukrainians' learning what it means to be white A Ukrainian woman who came to the U.S. was stabbed to death in the neck by a homeless POS with a lengthy criminal history in Charlotte, NChttps://t.co/54iP6n3DhY pic.twitter.com/iUx5hA5H52 — Gloria Twiford (@audiegloria) September 6, 2025 Police said Zarutskaya collapsed in her seat and died at the scene. Brown was arrested shortly afterward and has been charged with first-degree murder. According to public records, the suspect was homeless and had been arrested multiple times since 2011. His past convictions include armed robbery, breaking and entering, felony larceny, motor vehicle theft, and misuse of the 911 system. He also served a prison sentence in a North Carolina jail and was released in September 2020. Brown had reported experiencing mental health problems, including claims that a “man-made material” controlled his body. In July 2025, a judge ordered a forensic psychiatric evaluation, but it was never carried out. View the full article

— When Americans click the buy now button, they rarely think about what happens next. But behind every order is a warehouse, and when warehouses stumble, the whole system feels it. The Department of Transportation estimates that freight bottlenecks cost the U.S. economy more than $66 billion each year in lost time and higher expenses. Those delays show up everywhere, from grocery store shelves to hospital supply rooms. For Micheal Odunsi, an operations leader who has spent years inside some of the country’s busiest facilities, warehouses aren’t just buildings. They are the engine rooms of the nation’s supply chain and strengthening them could mean stronger communities and a more competitive economy. “Warehouses are the engine room of any supply chain, where all action happens,” Odunsi told me. “Every online order passes through the warehouse even as little as a pin, this is why being thorough is the baseline of a functional warehouse.” He points out that warehouses are invisible when they’re working well but painfully visible when they fail. One small disruption can cascade into thousands of late deliveries, broken trust with customers, and higher costs across the board. Odunsi has spent his career fixing those choke points. At one site, he helped redesign processes to cut non-value time by more than 70 percent. In plain language, that means eliminating idle minutes when associates are waiting instead of moving freight. “Similar to cutting traffic jams in a busy city, once nonvalue time is cleared everything moves smoothly,” he said. The payoff is measurable including associates staying productive, costs coming down, and for customers it translates into faster delivery and more affordable prices. The vulnerabilities in America’s warehouses became obvious during the pandemic. Facilities short on staff or reliant on manual scanning simply couldn’t keep up. “If the facility lacks the appropriate number of associates, flexibility, and technology needed the whole network slows down,” Odunsi explained. On peak nights, even a small gap in labor or machine availability could roll volume forward, causing thousands of delays. He believes the answer lies in a smarter mix of people and technology, with investments in automated tracking paired with strong planning and team development What happens inside these warehouses doesn’t stay inside. Odunsi points to the ripple effect across industries: “A well-run warehouse means well stocked grocery shelves for families, hospitals avoid shortages, and retailers avoid missed sales.” The link between warehouse performance and everyday life is direct. If a pallet of food doesn’t leave the dock on time, it might mean fewer choices at the supermarket. If medical supplies are delayed, hospitals face risks no one wants to imagine. Odunsi’s philosophy extends beyond metrics like cost-per-hour or on-time departure. He invests in people. “Developing managers and teams is essential because people are the base of operation,” he said. He’s trained managers on workflow and coached process assistants to take on greater responsibility, which has led to smoother shifts and stronger associate engagement. He sees leadership development as a great value, including better managers not only to improve productivity, but also create safer workplaces and leaders who take those skills into their families and communities. At the national scale, the stakes are enormous. Odunsi estimates that applying his strategies broadly, such as cutting idle time, tightening workflows, and strengthening teams, could save billions. “I have seen how the project saves millions of dollars in one building, imagine running that across the country, the savings will be in billions,” he said. Those savings don’t just improve balance sheets. They lower logistics costs nationwide, which means cheaper commodities for customers, more reliable deliveries, and room for companies to grow and hire in the U.S. The invisible warehouse may never get the spotlight, but Odunsi believes it should. The efficiency of those four walls shapes the prices we pay, the trust we place in brands, and the security of critical supplies. America’s supply chain competitiveness depends on what happens inside them. And as Odunsi’s work shows, when warehouses run smarter, the entire country benefits. — This content is brought to you by Melissa Moraes. Photo provided by the author. The post Micheal Odunsi Shares How Warehouses Are The Invisible Backbone of America’s Supply Chain appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

“Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.” Les Brown Franklin Roosevelt memorably said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” And fear is the strongest emotion that you have. It’s what keeps you, me, and everyone else alive. And while the feeling is always real, it isn’t always valid. And that’s where fear can be problematic. Your body cannot recognize the difference between real and valid fear—being chased by a lion—and fear that’s only real—having a difficult conversation with your wife. Both will send you into fight or flight mode. But only one is really life threatening. The other may only be a threat to your lifestyle. But when you are afraid to have a conversation with your wife, your primal brain kicks in and you prepare for the battle you fear will come instead. I get it. One of my greatest fears is my husband telling me he’s leaving. We’ve been together for 40 years, but that fear is deeply embedded in my past. So about 15 years ago, when he needed to talk with me about our intimacy, that fear got triggered. (And, yes, relationship professionals have the same challenges as everyone else.) Using every tool I had, I was able to make it through the conversation. But, I had broken one of my cardinal rules—not to have a serious conversation after 8:00 at night. We started around 11 pm and finished at 1 am. For the next two hours I remained glued in the chair. I slept for about two hours before my fear woke me up. When my husband finally got up, I faced my fear. I asked him if things didn’t change the way he wanted, would he leave? He looked at me like I had three heads and said, “No, where did you ever get that idea?” A huge weight had lifted. My fear had been real, but not valid. Luckily, I didn’t let my fear get the best of me and kept it away from my marriage. And you can too. JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP FOR MEN ONLY, GOOD GUYS, GREAT HUSBANDS — Previously Published on The Hero Husband Project *** All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS. Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here. —– You Might Also Like These From The Good Men Project .10 Things Good Men Should Never Do in a Relationship The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex .. In Modern Relationships, We Cheat Every Single Day Here’s What Happens When You Find The One — Compliments Men Want to Hear More Often Relationships Aren’t Easy, But They’re Worth It The One Thing Men Want More Than Sex ..A Man’s Kiss Tells You Everything iStock featured image The post Don’t Let Fear Destroy Your Marriage appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

🔋 iPhone Clean Energy Charging: By default, your iPhone checks the grid and schedules charging when power is cleaner. That means it may charge slower or delay topping up. Need full power right away? Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging, and toggle off Clean Energy Charging. Bet Apple didn’t tell you that. The post iPhone Clean Energy Charging appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

Phones Don’t Just Steal Our Time. They Steal Our Love. Not because we betray — but because we disappear. Psychologists even have a word for it: phubbing (phone-snubbing). In one experiment, researchers left a phone sitting on the table — unused. That alone was enough to make conversations feel less meaningful, less trusting, and less empathetic (Przybylski & Weinstein, 2013). Other studies show the effect runs deeper when phones actually intrude. In 2016, Roberts and David found that “partner phubbing” — checking a phone during interactions — leads to more conflict, lower relationship satisfaction, and even higher rates of depression. In other words: when the phone wins, someone you love feels like they lose. But what if the same urge to scroll could be transformed into the greatest gift your partner or child ever receives? The Core Quote “When you feel the urge to scroll, don’t hide it. Say it. Every time I tell you about my sacrifice, I don’t lose dopamine — I redirect it. I take the dopamine my brain wanted from scrolling and turn it into the dopamine of loving you.” That’s the heartbeat of the Dopamine Swap Method. 0) First, Drop the Shame If you feel the itch to check your phone at dinner or bedtime, you are not broken. Apps are designed to hijack dopamine. The urge isn’t your weakness — it’s engineering. What matters is what you do with it. 1) Why the Phone Hurts So Much When you reach for your phone in a sacred moment, your loved one feels second place. The message is silent but sharp: “The phone wins. You lose.” Few things corrode closeness faster than being chosen second right in front of you. 2) The Big Flip: Dopamine of Love > Dopamine of Scrolling Scrolling hijacks dopamine with “variable rewards” — maybe a like, maybe a comment, maybe nothing. The unpredictability is what hooks us. But neuroscience has shown something deeper. In classic studies on bonding, Insel and Young (2001) demonstrated that acts of love and attachment activate the same dopamine reward circuits that drugs of abuse do — but in richer, more lasting ways. Here’s the everyday proof: when you’re giving a surprise gift to someone you love, you’re never scrolling. The dopamine of giving is stronger than the buzz of the feed. That’s the breakthrough: you don’t fight dopamine. You redirect it. 3) The Dopamine Swap Method Step 1 — Notice. Catch the spark of temptation. Label it: “Scroll-urge.” Step 2 — Name. Turn to your loved one and say: “You can’t imagine the urge I have to check my phone right now… but my urge to connect with you is stronger.” Research on relationships shows that sacrifices only deepen connection if they’re recognized. Silent sacrifices often go unnoticed. Spoken ones are remembered. Step 3 — Swap. Put the phone down. Replace scrolling with presence: laugh, hug, listen, play. Step 4 — Seal. End with the most powerful phrase in a distracted age: “I chose you.” 4) Make It an Everyday Ritual Phone urges are daily. So Swaps must be daily too. Here’s how to explain it to your family: “Every day I feel the pull to check my phone. By telling you about it, I don’t just resist — I transform it. Speaking the sacrifice helps me battle the addiction, because in that moment I change the dopamine of scrolling into the dopamine of loving you.” Now repetition isn’t awkward — it’s the cure. Each time you say it, it becomes another gift. 5) Sacred Times for Swaps Meals Bedtime School pickup The first 10 minutes home Date nights / car rides Even two swaps a day can shift the emotional climate of a family. The Legacy of Attention For centuries, devotion was proven through presence: writing letters, sharing meals, sitting together without distraction. Today, love has a new test: Can you put the screen away? Each time you say “I chose you,” you’re not just resisting distraction — you’re rewriting memory. Ten years from now, your family won’t remember the notifications you ignored. They’ll remember the words that made them feel wanted, safe, and chosen. And research supports this: psychologist Catrin Finkenauer and colleagues (2002) found that small daily sacrifices are remembered longer, and matter more for relationship satisfaction, than grand gestures. The Dopamine Swap taps into exactly that truth. The Line That Lasts There is no bigger gift than telling your loved one: “I had a huge urge to scroll — but I love you more. I changed that urge into love. I chose you.” A Legacy in the Age of Distraction When history looks back at our century, it won’t be the feeds and apps that matter. It will be whether we found a way to turn distraction into devotion. And the answer can be this: We didn’t just resist the screen. We transformed it into proof of love. — iStock image The post The Dopamine Swap: How to Turn Phone Addiction Into the Greatest Gift appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

I will admit, I was triggered by this social media post today that said, “Cheating doesn’t start with sex, it starts with sneaky conversations.” If you talked to my most recent LTR (long-term relationship) she’d tell you, I’m obsessively intent on expressing my own fidelity. I go out of my way to clarify any relationships with women, so there is no misunderstanding between us. I try to be as clean as possible in my relationships. I know, and I believe, LOVE is what you contribute and how hard you work at being a better lover. Sneaky Conversations When I re-met the mother of my children, we’d not seen each other since high school. She was a grade behind me, we shared typing class in 8th grade. That’s what I remember. Oh, and she has a fantastic smile. Radiant. This was also true when I ran into her on Easter Sunday oh so many years ago. I went in for a handshake, she pulled me in for a hug. I’m a hugger. I was being conservative. We walked together to her breakfast coffee date, another woman I’d known since high school. The three of us sat and caught up on our lives. I was recently divorced (1-year), she was recently divorced and our friend was unmarried. We exchanged hugs and I left to join my mom and my sister’s kids at their Easter service. I could smell her perfume on my neck the entire day. A week or so later, I invited her to lunch. I had gotten her phone number from our mutual friend. We had a great time. She was amazing. I was crushing right off the bat. We began an intense days long series of texts that continued to get more and more flirty. We had lunch again. More flirty texts. Still, above board. Well, except for this next part. THIS ENTIRE TIME, she was living with a man. She was lunching with me. Flirting with me via text. I had not idea there was another man. From her activities and openness to the playful banter I was certain she was single. She was not. A Date for the History Books Still in the dark, we had our first date on a Saturday night. I invited her to dinner and a live concert for a California band called SilverJet. We danced. We hugged. We kissed. She came back to my condo. We kissed some more. She followed me into my hot tub. She went home late. No sex, just a ton of foreplay. A few flirty texts on Sunday, but there was something amiss. Monday morning she invited me to meet her for lunch. She confessed to the “other man” and said she needed to pause any further connections between us. “I need to see if there’s anything left in my other relationship.” The period of silence began. I honored her request and did not call or text her. Five weeks later, she texted me, “Well, we’re done.” Two Kids Later Life was not easy, but it was greatly enhanced by our marriage and eventual birthing of a boy and a girl. We struggled through the ocean waves of life, the ups and downs. Our lives together grew more complex. The kids were just beginning to go to school. In our house I was the computer manager, the IT department. I was on the family iMac clearing away some old files and I was deleted spam from a gmail account. More Sneaky Conversations I was just about to delete a message that looked like it was from our cable provider. Some of the text caught my eye. “Thank you for lunch and introducing me to the library. That was awesome. I’ll see you again soon.” Um… Wait, what? I clicked the outbox and noticed her reply and my entire world blew apart as I read about her “troubled marriage” and “depressed husband” and finally “someone I can talk to.” She was beginning the sneaky conversations with a new person. I get the impulse. Marriage is hard. Couples Therapy is hard. Making it work is hard and sometimes lonely. She needed a therapist, not a male confidant. What about our mutual friend, couldn’t you just talk to her about how hard your life was? It’s true, she did not sleep with this younger coworker. As far as I know. When I confronted her about the email she said, “I can see how that would make you feel. I won’t do it again.” No apology. Even in marriage counseling, she never apologized for her actions, only for causing me pain. I didn’t really see, until we were divorced, how this process she was involved in, was exactly how she replaced her previous relationship for me. Revealed later, the key component of her agenda, “have children.” Her previous boyfriend did not want to have kids. She needed a new boyfriend. The sneaky conversations outside of your marriage are a slippery slope. Just don’t do it. Flirting is fine, in public. Flirting via text messages and phone calls is the opening move of a cheating mind. Closing snipe: she married and changed her name as quickly as possible. There were no indicators that she had been flirting with her new husband before she left me. — Previously Published on The Whole Parent iStock image The post Cheating Doesn’t Start With Sex appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

🤝 Free Perplexity, kinda: If you use PayPal or Venmo, they’re handing you a free year of Perplexity Pro (normally $200) and early access to its AI browser. Just tap a button in the app. Only catch? You’re paying with your data, obviously. And yes, it auto-renews at the $200 price, because of course it does. The post Free Perplexity, kinda appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article

The unilateral measures were associated with more than 560,000 excess deaths annually from 1971 to 2021, a recent study suggests Western sanctions contributed to nearly 29 million excess deaths worldwide over five decades – a toll comparable to that of wars, according to a recent study. The research, published last month in the Lancet Global Health, has gained attention around the world. Examining age-specific mortality in 152 countries from 1971 to 2021, using statistics from the Global Sanctions Database, researchers compared mortality rates before and after sanctions, tracking long-term trends to estimate their toll in excess deaths. They focused on three sanctioning authorities: The UN, the US, and the EU (and its predecessor). “We estimate that unilateral sanctions over this period caused 564,258 deaths per year, similar to the global mortality burden associated with armed conflict,” the authors noted, with a total of 28.8 million deaths across the 51-year span. We found the strongest effects for unilateral, economic, and US sanctions, whereas we found no statistical evidence of an effect for UN sanctions. Most excess deaths occurred among the most vulnerable – the very young and the elderly. “Our findings reveal that unilateral and economic sanctions, particularly those imposed by the USA, lead to substantial increases in mortality, disproportionately affecting children younger than 5 years,” the study said, noting that the age group accounted for 51% of the total death toll. The report found that the sanctions undermine economic and food security, often causing hunger and health problems among the poorest. Additionally, the dominance of the dollar and euro in global transactions allowed the US and EU to amplify the impact of their sanctions. At last year’s BRICS summit, member nations called for “unlawful unilateral coercive measures” to be eliminated, warning of their disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable. Members have increasingly avoided the dollar “to shield themselves from US arbitrariness,” Moscow has said. At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin this week, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a fairer global governance system based on mutual respect and opposition to Western dominance. Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed the proposal as especially relevant when “some countries still do not abandon their desire for dictatorship in international affairs.” View the full article

All language is symbolic. Let’s go ahead and begin there. When I write the word “chair,” what happens in your mind is that an image emerges. Without further description, that chair could be imagined as anything from an old wooden kitchen chair to a modern La-Z-Boy recliner. The word “chair” is not the actual chair you might be sitting in right now; it is a symbolic representation of your grandmother’s favorite chair, the chair at your office, or even, I suppose, the chair on the ski slope chairlift. We use words to attempt to describe a reality we may have witnessed or imagined. We are trying to communicate with others something of the essence of the truth of what we experienced in the chair. Describing a chair is one thing, but the challenge grows substantially when discussing less concrete items. Thus, the difficulty of speaking about God arises. I often run into people who do not participate in religious activities. When they inevitably learn about my background as a minister, the topic of God or religion comes up. Once I’ve dispelled their suspicions that I might belong to some extremist fringe Christian sect that dances with snakes and promotes pre-enlightenment ideas, we usually have a good conversation. Sooner or later, they will say something like, “I don’t believe in God” or “I’m not religious but…,” followed by any number of statements suggesting it’s not so much God they have a problem with, but a particular idea of God. Davide CantelliUnsplash So, what do we mean when we talk about God? The author, Rob Bell, wrote an excellent book titled What We Talk about When We Talk about God. The gist of Bell’s book is that the world is humming with spirituality (I love that phrase: humming with spirituality). God is present in this world and the universe, far from being distant and removed. We need to be reawakened to God; we need the eyes to see God’s active nature. Bell contends that doctrines get in the way of truly experiencing God. What once helped us now harms us and holds us back. But God is ahead of us, beckoning us forward to a new world that is being born. Bell guides the reader through the scientific, cultural, and anthropological movements of the past 600 years, illustrating how these have altered our perceptions of God. For instance, very few people in the Western world still believe that God resembles the figure painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo’s work is magnificent, particularly when he painted it while lying on his back for months. However, most of us no longer envision God as a bearded old white man micromanaging every activity in the known universe. Calvin CraigUnsplash So, what do we mean when we say God? If I gather 100 people in a room, I suspect we’ll get 100 different answers. Yes, there would be patterns and some overlap, but further probing would reveal distinctions even among the most similar. This suggests that within each human being, there exists a God-image. This was Carl Jung’s idea: the human psyche contains an intrinsic God image and possesses an innate religious function. Therefore, religion is an essential and inevitable part of human existence. However, translating that impulse into a modern worldview struggles to find its way. Many traditional forms of religious expression no longer suffice. But that does not mean the God-impulse does not need expression. Throughout the years, as I’ve spoken with many religious and non-religious people, I’ve rarely encountered a confirmed atheist. Some dismiss and despise the concept of the old man in the sky micromanaging life. Yet, as the conversation evolves, it’s not unusual to hear people describe some vague, hard-to-define form. They use words and phrases such as “a kind of magnetic field,” or “an essence that interconnects,” or “something spiritual that touches us all.” The theologian Paul Tillich tried to assist people in this struggle. “Many confusions in the doctrine of God and many apologetic weaknesses could be avoided if God were understood first of all as being-itself or as the ground of being.” (Systematic Theology vol.1) God is existence itself rather than just a being, as in the supreme being. Greg RakozyUnsplash The title of this essay, “What do We Mean when We Say God,” creates a problem. I can’t answer that question for the collective “we,” so I’ll sidestep it and provide my perspective. After years, maybe decades, of wrestling with this idea of God, I’ve come to conclude that God is much bigger than any word could capture. However, I’ll try out a little God definition. For me, the word symbolizes an all-encompassing sacred dynamic immediately present to each of us while simultaneously being beyond the here and now. I’d love to have that reduced to a bumper sticker or t-shirt slogan, but all my efforts have failed so far. I have learned that there is a word for my views: Panendeism in philosophical circles. How did I not know a club would be willing to have someone with my ideas as a member? The word could easily be mistaken for its cousin Panentheism, but there is a slight difference. Panentheism and panendeism are both theological concepts that explore the relationship between God and the universe; however, they differ in their views on God’s existence and role in the cosmos. Panentheism suggests that God’s being encompasses and includes the universe while remaining distinct from it. Conversely, panendeism posits that God is both immanent within the universe and transcendent beyond it, potentially encompassing a supernatural realm. I’ve also come to view Jung’s idea of the God-Image as more than what some Jungian psychologists wish to reduce it to. They leave it as something within the psyche alone, almost as if it is an individual and isolated concept. In my view, this God-image exists in the psyche; however, it is also present because the entirety of life is imbued with the sacred, namely God. We know God through the God-image within. Could this be what Jung meant in his famous BBC television interview? When asked if he believed in God, he said, “I know. I don’t need to believe. I know” Alexei ScutariUnsplash All of this is symbolic chatter; even these words written on a computer screen are symbols attempting to convey an understanding. As I wrote in my book Ordinary Mysteries, “A symbol is a mark, sign, or even a word that is understood or represents an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to consciously go beyond what is known and comprehend meaning and connections between otherwise very different concepts and experiences.” What makes this intriguing is our collective desire to connect with others. A deep-seated yearning for intimacy within us fuels my passion for writing about these themes. It feels like that diving image is reaching out for connection and understanding with its different aspects, which can only be discovered through other people. “At the core of Carl Jung’s perception is intimated the expression ‘the symbolic life.’ There is a very deep, autonomous process at work in each of us which reaches the surface in metaphor or in symbol.” Dr. James Hollis And yet, as I look back k on this essay, I see there is something missing. I sense an incompleteness. I’m compelled to add the caveats that appear moments before pushing send. This piece is unfinished, it needs something concrete, tangible…an incarnation. Previously Published on substack iStock featured image The post What Do We Mean When We Say ‘God’? appeared first on The Good Men Project. View the full article

🔥 Free up space on Fire Stick: You don’t need to delete apps to boost performance. Go to Settings > Applications > Manage Installed Applications. Open each app on the list, select Clear Cache and hit Confirm. This removes junk files while keeping the app and your login details saved. The post Free up space on Fire Stick appeared first on Komando.com. View the full article