A year into pandemic, Polis reflects on where we ve been and who we ve lost gazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from gazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
A recently released study finds that Europe has reduced the number of babies born with Down syndrome by 54 percent. In 2016, the same researchers found that the US rate of Down syndrome births had declined by 33 percent. Some friends and colleagues have asked me whether such reductions, which entail prenatal diagnosis and elective pregnancy termination, mean that we are still practicing some form of eugenics.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder usually associated with an extra copy of chromosome 21 – hence its other name, trisomy-21. Children with Down syndrome generally exhibit growth delays, reduced intelligence, and a shortened life span of around 60 years. The risk of having a baby with Down syndrome increases with parental age. When prenatal testing reveals the diagnosis, some parents, including apparently many in Europe and the US, elect to terminate the pregnancy.
Special Olympics Virginia athletes share their stories with lawmakers
One Special Olympian said it’s taught him how to be a part of a team
Taj Simmons, Reporter
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Special Olympics Virginia representatives talked with state lawmakers about why their organization deserves funding.
The speakers included Matt Crowder, a Special Olympian from Roanoke who spoke with Rep. Ben Cline. Crowder believes the organization has changed his life and will continue to do the same for others in his position.
“It’s taught me to be responsible, it’s taught me how to be part of a team,” Crowder said. “I’m now a leader when I’m with my teammates, on and off the court.”
Grim COVID-19 milestone: Staten Island tops 1,500 suspected deaths; victims from all walks of life
Updated Feb 12, 2021;
Posted Feb 11, 2021
Those who have succumbed to the disease include, clockwise from the left: Rabbi Avraham Hakohen (Romi) Cohen, NYPD traffic enforcement agent Richard Austin, retired FDNY Battalion Chief Albert “Al” Petrocelli, Msgr. Richard Guastella, retired Firefighter Matthew F. Moore and teacher Sharon Nearby.
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Staten Island has topped 1,500 suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths, city Health Department data shows.
Since March 20, the deadly disease has claimed the lives of beloved priests, 9/11 heroes, war veterans, a Holocaust survivor, teachers, members of the NYPD, a former FDNY battalion chief, a Special Olympian and scores of others.
The Driving Force Behind Barry Switzer s Post-Coaching Years
Ask a Sooner fan who is the biggest name in OU football history. Sure, there s plenty of contenders. But one man stands out among the rest: Coach Barry Switzer.
How does a poor young man from the Mississippi Delta become an Oklahoma football legend? Ask coach and he ll stop you right there.
“I’ve said if you make me out to be more than I am it’s your fault, and if I ever begin to believe it it’s my fault,” Coach Switzer told News 9’s Dean Blevins.
A humble man from humble beginnings. He s never made it a secret that his father was a bootlegger, selling liquor to make ends meet. But behind those sales his father was building up the lives of young men.