Three-quarters of NFL players had signs of brain injuries, according to new research. Plus: Buffalo cops and firefighters finally getting vehicles to replace outdated fleets. And Trump ramps up his assault on public health.
I wrote an item a while ago about a study that found one in four NFL players might expect to end up with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or C.T.E., as the result of frequent blows to the head. Another story came out last week that painted yet a grimmer picture: Three-quarters of the 2,362 NFL players it studied who died between 2008 and 2023 had C.T.E.
Reported The New York Times:
C.T.E. symptoms can include memory loss, headaches, mood swings and a loss of impulse control. Addiction issues and a reduction in executive function are not unusual. In the new study, researchers estimated that nearly three in 10 of the players had dementia, but underscored that this was a minimum and that the true number could be higher.
In my previous report, I noted the large number of Buffalo Bills players who suffered brain injuries:
Autopsies determined that Bills greats Cookie Gilchrist and Al Bemiller suffered from C.T.E. Conrad Dobler, too. Big names from other teams include Ken Stabler, Bubba Smith and Jim Kiick.
According to the aforementioned list, former Bills, both living or dead, who have displayed C.T.E. symptoms include Darryl Talley, Thurman Thomas, Joe DeLamielleure, O.J. Simpson and Harry Jacobs.
Besides Joe D and Dobler, former Bills who have sued the NFL claiming brain injuries include Don Beebe, Paul Costa, Joe Cribbs, Joe Ferguson, J.D. Hill, Bruce Jarvis, Rob Johnson, Ron McDole, Reggie McKenzie, Lou Piccone, Dennis Shaw, Fred Smerlas and Phil Villapiano.
Think of this next time a defender lays out Josh Allen or James Cook.
The fleets used by Buffalo cops and firefighters have been a mess for years. Worn out. In disrepair. Well past their shelf life.
Geoff Kelly wrote about the state of fire trucks in 2023 and patrol cars in 2019 and again in 2020. Simply put, Mayor Byron Brown and the Common Council refused to spend the money necessary to update the fleets. The lack of investment was dangerous, contributing to longer response times from police. On several occasions, Geoff reported, aging firefighting vehicles failed to pump water or produce foam at working fires.
That’s changed under the Ryan administration, as reported by WIVB.
The police department has added 24 vehicles, expects delivery of another 105 by January, and intends to replace the entire fleet within five years via a $2.1 million leasing program.
The fire department is in line for 19 fire engines and nine ladder trucks through a 10-year, $31 million lease-to-own deal.
New York State fronts on two of the Great Lakes, the largest source of fresh water in the world. That means we get cheap water, right?
Wrong.
New York’s public water is the 21st most expensive of the 50 states. The annual bill for our drinking water is $495. While below the national average of $531, it’s more expensive than in such landlocked, parched states as Arizona and New Mexico.
Officials at the University at Buffalo aren’t reading the room. They’re moving ahead with plans to install Flock license plate readers all over the campus.
This week’s samplings from NewsGuard AI: election news involving candidates in WNY races, the latest coverage of the gubernatorial election and how major advertisers are underwriting “Pink Slime” websites.
To ask follow-up questions to these stories, fact-check viral claims, and get news from reliable sources only, try NewsGuard AI with a month free, courtesy of Investigative Post, and a discounted rate when you sign up here.
Two deep dives from The New York Times:
Trump’s administration has exempted many of the nation’s worst polluters from environmental regulations.
Since taking office again, Mr. Trump exempted 202 facilities in 39 states and Puerto Rico from clean-air regulations that were going into effect. Some were among the country’s worst industrial polluters, including chemical manufacturers, copper smelters and coal-burning power plants.
Mr. Trump is prioritizing the economic interests of corporations and easing costs for polluting industries, and their immense clout is striking.
The president’s assault on scientific research:
The system of federally funded science that helped make the United States a global superpower is under intense strain from Trump policies, jeopardizing the nation’s advantages in defense, medicine and technology.
If not for the courts curbing the administration’s campaign against universities and lawmakers in both parties rejecting cuts to research funding, the impact on science would have been far deeper. Still, the effects of the broader agenda have rippled through nearly every facet of the nation’s research machine.
And while I’m at it, SFGate reports:
Visitors to the 116 [national] parks that charge entrance fees will no longer get in for free on MLK Day or on Juneteenth, a federal holiday on June 19 that celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S. They will, however, on Trump’s June 14 birthday, which was added to the list this year.
This week’s Doonesbury offering: What you can do with your $5,000 from Trump. Hint: Crypto.
More on the light side: Bono and the Edge talk with The New York Times Magazine and Chuck Berry was hard of hearing, eventually almost deaf. But the man had an ear for music. U2 isn’t too shabby, either.
Tuesday is election day. Vote, damnit.