Broome County confirms first case of monkeypox

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Broome County detected its first case of monkeypox. Health officials say it was only a matter of time. The risk of exposure remains low and there is no cause for panic.

Arts

Author and disability rights activist Elsa Sjunneson on fighting ableism

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Author and disability rights activist Elsa Sjunneson talks with host Crystal Sarakas about disability representation in the media, harmful tropes, and fighting ableism in society. As a deafblind woman with partial vision in one eye and bilateral hearing aids, Elsa Sjunneson lives at the crossroads of blindness and sight, hearing and deafness—much to the confusion of the world around her. While she cannot see well enough to operate without a guide dog or cane, she can see enough to know when someone is reacting to the visible signs of her blindness and can hear when they’re whispering behind her back. And she certainly knows how wrong our one-size-fits-all definitions of disability can be. As a media studies professor, she’s also seen the full range of blind and deaf portrayals on film, and here she deconstructs their impact, following common tropes through horror, romance, and everything in between.

Gillibrand: Some Supreme Court justices ‘lied’ about Roe v. Wade during confirmation hearings

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New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said some Supreme Court justices lied during confirmation hearings about whether they would overturn Roe v. Wade. 

The decision protects the right to an abortion up to 24 weeks into pregnancy. A recently leaked draft of an opinion appears to throw out the landmark case. 

But Gillibrand said several Supreme Court justices, including Justice Alito, who authored the draft opinion, stated during their confirmation hearings that they would not overturn Roe v. Wade. “Every single one of them said they would not undermine a settled precedent, every single one of them said under oath, that they would actually preserve Roe,” Gillibrand said. “So the fact that they all lied, is shocking.”

Gillibrand said the U.S. House of Representatives oversight committee should hold hearings on the issue, and review testimony made by justices. “I hope we have hearings, because I don’t know how you can accept Supreme Court justices who lied in order to be confirmed,” Gillibrand said.