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VIDEO: 2 U.S. Astronauts Venture Out For 1st All-Female Spacewalk

YouTube Updated at 3:30 p.m. ET About 35 years after the first American woman walked in space, NASA set another milestone on Friday, as astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir conducted the first all-female spacewalk. Koch, an engineer, and Meir, a biologist, suited up and entered the "crew lock" that serves as the International Space Station's doorway into space. They switched on the battery power in their suits at 7:38 a.m. ET, signaling the official start of the spacewalk. The outer...

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cornell.edu

Report: Workplace sexual harassment widespread in New York

Brett Dahlberg / WXXI News

URMC opens dental clinic designed for people with disabilities

As vaping lung injuries rise, state faces obstacles in data gathering

By • Oct 16, 2019
New England Journal of Medicine

Many of the growing number of lung injuries caused by vaping in New York state are being treated in Rochester.

In the state health department’s regional breakdown of New York state, western New York is a 17-county region that stretches from the shore of Lake Erie in the west nearly to Syracuse and Binghamton in the east.

Thirty-one cases of vaping lung injuries have been reported in that region. More than half of them have been treated at one hospital: Strong Memorial in Rochester.

Worries grow over Medicaid overruns

By • Oct 16, 2019
The Empire Center

A policy seminar titled Medicaid Migraine, held Wednesday by the fiscal watchdog group the Empire Center as part of the Gov. Hugh L. Carey Policy Forum, addressed the rapidly increasing health care costs in New York that led to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget office delaying a $1.7 billion payment to providers last year.

Foundation started in memory of fire prevention officer

By • Oct 16, 2019
Gates Firefighters IAFF Local 3792

A leader in the local fire prevention community has a new foundation that’s been established in his memory. 

Joseph Manuse was honored Wednesday for his decades of fire prevention efforts. He was a volunteer firefighter for Gates-Chili from 1989 until his death last month. He died off duty, after complications from a bee sting... Later on he became a fire prevention officer for the Gates Fire Department. 

Landmark Society announces 2019 'Five to Revive' sites

By • Oct 16, 2019
Kyle Benjamin

The Landmark Society of Western New York announced the 2019 Five to Revive on Wednesday.

The list highlights buildings and structures that the organization has identified as strategic opportunities for revival.

Executive Director Wayne Goodman says the organization is highlighting historical houses of worship this year. Or more exactly, adaptive use of places of worship.

ESL donates $5 million to United Way of Greater Rochester

By • Oct 16, 2019

ESL Federal Credit Union says that its charitable foundation will provide a $5 million grant to United Way of Greater Rochester to support people in the Rochester community in addressing barriers related to poverty and improving quality of life.

The grant will be separated into two categories, one of which is called “Project Uplift.”  According to Jaime Saunders, who is the President and CEO of the local United Way chapter, $4 million  of the grant will be used to help provide  support for people who need anything ranging  from car repairs to childcare expenses and medical bills.

Connections: Bridging cultural divides

By & • Oct 16, 2019

Ed Nichols has been teaching about cultural competency for years. His work feels more urgent than ever in 2019, and he's coming to Rochester as a guest of the Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.

He joins us to discuss bridging cultural divides. Our guests:

  • Ed Nichols, clinical psychologist with emphasis in the field of cultural competency
  • Kristin Hocker, co-specialty director in the health care management program at the University of Rochester School of Nursing

Connections: The state of homelessness in Western New York

By & • Oct 16, 2019

New York State is cutting funding for several organizations that serve the homeless population. The cuts total more than half a million dollars.

The winter cold is coming, and we explore the impact of the cuts, as well as the state of homelessness in Western New York. In studio:

Volunteers needed for 2020 Special Olympics Winter Games in Rochester

By Alex Crichton • Oct 16, 2019
specialolympics-ny.org

Special Olympics New York is preparing for its Winter Games in Rochester February 21-22, 2020. The games officially opened Wednesday, because there's a need for around 1,500 volunteers to help out.

Robyn Armando, Special Olympics New York vice president for marketing and communications, says it’s the third time Rochester will host Special Olympics.

“They're (Rochester) just completely open to embracing us, embracing our community and literally helping to do whatever needs to be done to make the games a success,” she said.

House Democrats Walk Out Of White House Syria Meeting, Accusing Trump Of 'Meltdown'

By • Oct 16, 2019

Updated at 8:30 p.m. ET

Congressional Democrats walked out of a bipartisan White House meeting with President Trump about his decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, a meeting in which Trump called House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "a third-rate politician" according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Speaking to reporters on the White House driveway Wednesday after the meeting, Pelosi said the president had a "meltdown" inside, looked shaken, "and was not relating to reality."

GM And UAW Reach Tentative Agreement To End National Strike

By • Oct 16, 2019

General Motors and the United Auto Workers have reached a tentative agreement to end the strike that began one month ago, the labor union announced Wednesday. The UAW GM National Council will vote on the deal Thursday.

When the national council reviews the deal's terms, it will also decide whether nearly 50,000 workers should remain on strike or whether they should go back to work before the full membership ratifies the agreement.

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Jeff Spevak Arts Column

Your Name Here: WXXI launches arts column

By • Oct 17, 2019
David McClister / futurebirdsmusic .com

This is the start. It’s like the opening moments of a “Star Trek” episode, where you know the new young guy in the blue shirt will be the one to die at the hands of an alien, before Captain Kirk works it out. Likewise, the editors at WXXI have shot down all of my suggestions, so you can help name this column. Until then, it’s called “Your Name Here.”

News from NPR

Impeachment Inquiry Update: What The Past Week Revealed About The Ukraine Affair

By • 2 hours ago

President Trump deputized lawyer Rudy Giuliani to run a shadow foreign policy for Ukraine outside the State Department, witnesses told Congress this past week — and the White House said people should "get over it."

It's been a busy week. Here's what you need to know about the latest in the Ukraine affair and the impeachment investigation.

Mister mayor

Giuliani has been an important figure in Trump world for years but what investigators heard was how central he was in the plan to get Ukraine's government to launch investigations that Trump wanted.

California Can Expect Blackouts For A Decade, Says PG&E CEO

By • 8 hours ago

The CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. told California energy regulators that the state will likely see blackouts for another 10 years like the one imposed last week that left as many as 800,000 customers without power.

The revelation by corporation CEO Bill Johnson came Friday at a California Public Utilities Commission meeting at which he said his company is trying to reduce the chances of wildfires by trimming more trees and using technology to target smaller areas of the grid when fire dangers require power outages.

Boeing Pilots Detected 737 Max Flight Control Glitch 2 Years Before Deadly Crash

By • 11 hours ago

New evidence indicates that Boeing pilots knew about "egregious" problems with the 737 Max airplane three years ago, but federal regulators were not told about them.

Investigators say the plane's new flight control system, called MCAS, is at least partially to blame for 737 Max crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia this year that killed 346 people. Acting on data from a single, faulty angle-of-attack sensor, MCAS repeatedly forced both planes into nosedives as the pilots struggled, but failed to regain control.

White House Adviser Peter Navarro Calls Fictional Alter Ego An 'Inside Joke'

By • 13 hours ago

A publishing company plans to add an advisory note to future copies of a book written by White House adviser Peter Navarro, after it was revealed that Navarro fabricated one of the people he quoted.

The character Ron Vara appears in Navarro's 2011 book, Death By China, offering dire warnings about Chinese imports.

"Only the Chinese can turn a leather sofa into an acid bath, a baby crib into a lethal weapon, and a cellphone battery into heart-piercing shrapnel," Vara is quoted as saying.

More news from NPR

From the Inclusion Desk

URMC opens dental clinic designed for people with disabilities

By • 14 hours ago
Brett Dahlberg / WXXI News

The Eastman Institute for Oral Health at the University of Rochester has opened a new clinic designed to serve people with disabilities and complex health issues. 

Wayne Lipschitz, who recently started a new job as the clinic’s director, said typical dentists’ offices are not designed for people with disabilities, and dentists themselves often are not trained to treat them.

That results in people staying away from the dentist and postponing or avoiding an important part of their health care, Lipschitz said.

URMC opens dental clinic designed for people with disabilities

By • 14 hours ago
Brett Dahlberg / WXXI News

The Eastman Institute for Oral Health at the University of Rochester has opened a new clinic designed to serve people with disabilities and complex health issues. 

Wayne Lipschitz, who recently started a new job as the clinic’s director, said typical dentists’ offices are not designed for people with disabilities, and dentists themselves often are not trained to treat them.

That results in people staying away from the dentist and postponing or avoiding an important part of their health care, Lipschitz said.

Golisano Foundation boosts campaign for Lifetime Assistance renovations

By • Oct 17, 2019

An effort to update facilities at Lifetime Assistance that are used to help people with developmental disabilities is getting a financial boost.

The Golisano Foundation is offering a $750,000  challenge grant, toward Lifetime’s capital campaign.  That means the foundation will match every dollar up to $750,000 contributed by the community.

James Branciforte is President & CEO of Lifetime Assistance. He says as the general population ages, it has also meant that Lifetime has been serving people with more serious disabilities.

Volunteers needed for 2020 Special Olympics Winter Games in Rochester

By Alex Crichton • Oct 16, 2019
specialolympics-ny.org

Special Olympics New York is preparing for its Winter Games in Rochester February 21-22, 2020. The games officially opened Wednesday, because there's a need for around 1,500 volunteers to help out.

Robyn Armando, Special Olympics New York vice president for marketing and communications, says it’s the third time Rochester will host Special Olympics.

“They're (Rochester) just completely open to embracing us, embracing our community and literally helping to do whatever needs to be done to make the games a success,” she said.

More stories from the Inclusion Desk

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