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Wednesday, November 8, 2017




November 8, 2017


News and Views


MENTAL PATIENTS ARE NOT ALWAYS VIOLENT, AND VIOLENT INDIVIDUALS ARE NOT ALWAYS “INSANE,” THOUGH THEY ARE ALMOST ALWAYS MENTALLY “UNBALANCED,” AND LIKELY TO BECOME VIOLENT. IT IS MY BELIEF THAT THERE ARE VERY, VERY FEW INDIVIDUALS WHO “COULDN’T” KILL; MOST GOOD CITIZENS UNDER THE RIGHT KIND OF PRESSURE CAN BECOME VIOLENT; AND ALMOST ANYONE “CAN” UNDER GREAT ENOUGH STRESS KILL THEMSELVES WITHOUT HAVING “TURNED THEIR BACKS ON GOD.”

IT’S NOT A MORAL ISSUE, BUT A PSYCHIATRIC ISSUE. PEOPLE CAN “SNAP” AND BECOME TEMPORARILY DERANGED, AND IF THEY GO AROUND SHOOTING STRANGERS LIKE THIS, MAYBE THAT HAS HAPPENED. I THINK A PSYCHIATRIST SHOULD BE CONSULTED IN ALL SUCH MATTERS AND NOT THE POLICE OFFICER OR EVEN A JUDGE. UNTIL THIS NATION STEPS AWAY FROM ITS’ RELIGIOUS ORIENTATION ON CRIME AND MENTAL DISORDERS, TOWARD A STRICTLY LOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC ONE, WE WILL FOREVER HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE TOTALLY BONKERS BEING JAILED.

NOTICE IN THIS ARTICLE IT SAYS THAT HE “WAS ORDERED TO SERVE A YEAR IN CONFINEMENT.” THAT IS A CRIMINAL SENTENCE FROM A JUDGE, AND NOT THE TERMS OF A MENTAL HEALTH HOSPITALIZATION. SO REAL PSYCHIATRY APPEARS NOT TO HAVE BEEN USED IN THIS CASE. “CONFINEMENT” IS SIMPLY NOT ENOUGH. OUR LAWS ARE WOEFULLY INADEQUATE IN CASES OF MENTAL ILLNESS.

I’M OLD ENOUGH THAT I FAIRLY OFTEN FIND MYSELF WONDERING WHETHER SOME GOALS WILL BE ACHIEVED BEFORE I DIE. THIS PARTICULAR GOAL IS MOST PROBABLY NOT GOING TO OCCUR WITHIN THE NEXT TEN YEARS – BUT PERHAPS IT WILL BE BEFORE I’M 90 YEARS OLD. WE ARE STILL IN AN AGE IN WHICH SCIENCE IS CONSIDERED, BY TOO MANY, TO BE THE VOICE OF THE DEVIL. HEAVEN HELP US!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/devin-kelley-texas-church-shooting-suspect-may-have-ordered-guns-online/
By CRIMESIDER STAFF CBS NEWS November 8, 2017, 5:38 PM
Texas suspect may have ordered guns online before fleeing mental health facility

Before the suspect in Sunday's deadly mass shooting at a Texas church fled a mental health facility in 2012, he allegedly told other patients being treated at the hospital he'd ordered guns online, according to police documents obtained by CBS affiliate KENS.

Devin Patrick Kelley: What we know about the Texas church shooting suspect

Devin Kelley was sent to the Peak Behavioral Health Services Center in Santa Teresa, New Mexico after multiple incidents between June 2011 and April 2012 in which he beat his wife and stepson, who suffered a fractured skull in one incident. He escaped on June 13, 2012 with his wallet and credit card, according to the documents.

Kelley, who was listed at the facility as a high-risk patient — a danger to himself and to others — told other patients that he ordered guns online about 48 to 72 hours before he fled the facility, according to the documents.

Police were notified through a 911 call at 10:49 p.m. that night that Kelley was missing. He was found at an El Paso bus station, just over an hour and a half later, at 12:30 in the morning.

While Kelley was missing, 911 dispatchers alerted officials at Hollaman Air Force Base, where Kelley was stationed, that he escaped.

Texas church shooting victims: Pregnant mother, children among lives lost

An El Paso Police Department report from the incident warned that Kelley had already been caught sneaking firearms" onto the base, where he "was attempting to carry out death threats that (he) had made on his military chain of command."

El Paso police arrested Kelley without incident at a bus stop and turned him over to New Mexico police.

Kelley was sentenced about five months later, on November 7, 2012 for the assaults on his wife and child, and was ordered to serve a year in confinement. In 2014, Kelley received a bad conduct discharge from the Air Force, which was supposed to notify the FBI of his domestic violence conviction. Kelley should have been barred from buying the weapons used in Sunday's shooting, federal officials say.

The Air Force acknowledged Monday that it failed to flag Kelley as banned from buying firearms. The Air Force said it has launched a review of how the service handled Kelley's criminal records.

Texas authorities say Kelley did not have a license to carry firearms. However, Kelley purchased four weapons in total during the years 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017. Two were bought in Colorado and two in Texas, ATF officials said. Three weapons were recovered at the scene of the shooting -- a Ruger AR-556 rifle found at the church, and two handguns, a Glock 9mm and a Ruger 22, found in his car, according to Fred Milanowski, special agent in charge of the ATF Houston.

In a statement to CBS News, Peak Behavioral Health said it would not confirm whether Kelley was a patient at the facility, citing federal and state law, as well as the company's policies.

"Our hearts go out to the victims of this horrible act and their families and friends, and like everyone else in Texas, we are doing everything we can to help the community in recovering and healing from this tragedy," the company said.

Deadly church shooting in Texas
47 Photos
Deadly church shooting in Texas
© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



ON THIS AIRLIFT – A REAL BOON -- ANOTHER GROUP, WHO IT SEEMS TO ME THEY WERE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY, OFFERED THIS SERVICE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, BUT I CAN’T REMEMBER SEEING HOW THAT TURNED OUT. I’M GLAD TO SEE THAT OUR VERY OWN PEOPLE ARE NOW DOING IT. BETTER LATE THAN NEVER.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fema-to-help-puerto-ricans-in-shelters-airlift-to-mainland-temporarily/
CBS NEWS November 8, 2017, 5:42 PM
FEMA offers to airlift Puerto Ricans to mainland U.S.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is offering to airlift victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico to the U.S. mainland to reach temporary housing -- a complex operation that would be the first of its kind for the agency.

Under FEMA's Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program, displaced residents and families who are still living in shelters on the island can opt to relocate to housing in Florida and New York. The agency is working with the governors in both states to work through logistical issues for families interested in participating.

Mike Byrne, a federal coordinating officer for FEMA, said the program is the first time the agency has attempted what it calls an "air breach," or a relief operation requiring the transportation of individuals from a disaster area. In most disasters, FEMA pays for displaced residents to stay in hotels under the TSA program. In Puerto Rico, the hotels are filled to capacity, so FEMA is turning to the mainland and working with states to find accommodations.

"A thousand miles adds a whole level of complexity to this," Byrne said.

Byrne says agency teams are traveling to shelters on the island to ask longtime occupants about their housing options going forward, telling them about FEMA's offer. He said the level of interest in the program has so far been low, with only about 30 out of 300 families interviewed on Tuesday expressing interest in participating.

"People really don't want to leave their homes," Byrne said. "We want to give them every opportunity we can to be able to stay here, whether it's providing financial assistance or repairing their homes. So we are going to work hard on those things so people don't have to leave."

FEMA says it will work with interested residents and families to develop a comprehensive plan of action before sending them to the mainland, including transportation to and from the airport and coordination to keep families together once they reach the states. FEMA would pay for the flights to and from the mainland.

The extent of the devastation on Puerto Rico continues to hamper efforts to restore power, clean water and basic necessities to residents who remain on the island of 3.4 million Americans. Damage from the storm could eventually total $90 billion, and FEMA has said it has distributed more food and water than any other disaster it has been involved in.

Thousands of evacuees have fled Puerto Rico on their own accord. More than 100,000 evacuees have fled to Florida, with 1,300 Puerto Rican students enrolling in schools in the Orlando area alone.

"You can see it every day at the San Juan airport," Gov. Ricardo Rossello said on Sunday's broadcast of "60 Minutes." "There are tearful goodbyes as families break up and head off to start a new life on the mainland. The JetBlue solution they call it. More than 100,000 have left since Maria struck Puerto Rico 46 days ago. Some will return, many won't."

CBS News' David Begnaud, Chris St. Peter and Stefan Becket contributed to this report.


FOR THIS ARTICLE GO TO THE INDIVIDUAL BLOG CALLED “GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF IT, BUT SHOULDN’T WE HAVE LAWS AS WELL?

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-church-shooting-governor-greg-abbott-on-gunman-devin-kelley/
CBS NEWS November 6, 2017, 10:53 AM
Texas governor says "there was a connection" between suspect and church

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says it appears "there was a connection" between the shooting suspect Devin Patrick Kelley and the Sutherland Springs church where 26 people were killed on Sunday. The investigation into the suspect's motive is ongoing.




LET’S FACE IT, THAT WICKED FAIRY NAMED VLAD PUTINSKY FLEW AROUND THE COUNTRY PUTTING PIXIE DUST IN EVERYBODY’S EYES, AND THEY WERE BLINDED TO THE TOTALLY OBVIOUS REALITIES ALL AROUND THEM. MANY OF THEM ARE ALREADY WAKING UP. AS THE MUELLER PROBE CONTINUES THERE WILL BE MORE CHANGES IN TRUMP’S POPULARITY, I FEEL SURE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/one-year-after-election-americans-sound-off-trump-presidency-we-the-people/
CBS NEWS November 8, 2017, 11:16 AM
One year later, Americans sound off on Trump presidency

Photograph -- (L to R) Leo Smith, Cesar Vargas, Halle Minchin-Skook and Steven Shook CBS NEWS
Video – CBS THIS MORNING -- We the people

One year ago today, Americans elected Donald Trump as our 45th president. What do they think now?

Democrat Halle Minchin-Skook, a special education teacher who voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, said her views on President Trump have not changed since the election.

"His rhetoric – he's just a bully," Michin-Skook told CBS News' Elaine Quijano. "And I just morally, I cannot support someone like that."

Republican Steven Shook, a musician who voted for Mr. Trump, said he'd still cast the same vote.

"I really feel like, in a lot of ways, he got a crash course in Politics 101, but at the same time, he's really come through fairly well," Shook said.

In our ongoing series, "We the People," we've followed four people from across the country with varying political beliefs and perspectives. We brought the four of them – Michin-Skook, Shook, Leo Smith and Cesar Vargas – to New York City to meet for the first time.

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(L to R) Leo Smith, Cesar Vargas, Halle Minchin-Skook and Steven Shook CBS NEWS

Smith, an activist and businessman, also voted for Mr. Trump last fall. He ran for a seat in Georgia's state senate and lost the election on Tuesday.

"I think even more today, I'm more convinced that Donald Trump was the right person for what we needed in America at this time," Smith said. "The economic growth that we are experiencing. I think that the last couple of months we've experienced three percent growth and that is a bigger number than I thought that was even possible."

Vargas, a lawyer and undocumented immigrant who couldn't vote, wasn't as positive.

"This administration disappointed me because of the fact that he is trying divide all of us, when, in fact, we're all in this together. And, yeah, I cannot support someone like that," Vargas said.

"We have… been divided, we've just been silent about it," Smith said in response.

The group also reflected on the Charlottesville white supremacist rally in August that led to violent clashes, which starkly exposed divisions within the country.

"You have people who are truly racist, people who are truly anti-immigrant, people who truly want to have this nation as a white nation," Vargas said. "And this administration is just simply, surprisingly is just fueling that division amongst us."

"I was horrified by that entire situation in Charlottesville," Smith said. "I mean, Donald Trump did not create white nationalism. He did not create the Nazis. … Those people existed. And so we needed to see them. They are in the light now. … And so, yeah, the way I've always looked at Donald Trump is sort of like he's a catalyst to bring awareness."

"There is nothing more anti-American than those groups," Shook said. "No offense to the media, but I think the media really construes it into that whole thing and helping place blame on the president."

Mr. Trump received criticism after he blamed "both sides" for the Charlottesville violence.

"You had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit and they were very, very violent," Mr. Trump said in August.

"It's true," Shook said. "There is violence on both sides of it. There is bad people on both sides of it. And it's not just Donald Trump."

Minchin-Skook, on the other hand, said she was "appalled" by Mr. Trump's response.

"I think Donald Trump's rhetoric has allowed these people to be more vocal about it. And honestly, I think it's a good thing because now we can do something about it," she said.

A recent CBS News poll shows the president's overall job approval rating is 39 percent. Among Republicans, 84 percent approve of his performance.

"The last time we talked to you, Steven and Halle, you both agreed that the president was effective in dealing with global issues like Syria and with Korea," Quijano said.

"I do agree with that," Minchin-Skook said. "We have the strongest military in the world. We need to keep it that way. And I agree with… Syria, how we bombed over there."

But she said the president "needs work" on his rhetoric and how he speaks about other world leaders, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

"Like the 'Rocket Man' and the 'fire and fury,'" Minchin-Skook said. "Like you can say those things but not using that verbiage."

"It's one thing to be tough in the world arena but another things to be reckless," Vargas added.

Shook said he believes Mr. Trump has a "compassionate side."

"I do believe that he's improving," Shook said. "The thing about Donald Trump is that he's not a politician, he's a businessman. And he's also a TV personality, too. … And he's learning… what it's like to be a leader of this country. And I think that seeing that gave me a lot of hope."

But Vargas said Mr. Trump's rhetoric has "concrete, detrimental effects." Despite having been a businessman and TV personality, he said the country needs Mr. Trump to be a president right now.

"Like what happened in Puerto Rico — U.S. American citizens who have suffered and lost everything," Vargas said. "And then he throws napkins as if this is a football game."

"Is there anything that you heard today that surprised you or changed your opinion at all?" Quijano asked the group.

"Well, being able to engage with folks from all over the country with, you know, sort of different, divergent backgrounds… Look, we are very similar. We are very similar," Smith said. "We all have aspirational hopes for our country, for our communities."

"I think, for me, it's just bringing all of us together and appreciating each other as neighbors, not as, 'Oh, you're Republican, you're my enemy,'" Vargas said.

"We don't always agree on things, but if more people would just talk to one another respectfully and respect people's differences of opinion, I think the United States would be a much better place," Minchin-Skook said.

"For the most part, I think that we all want to see everybody doing well," Shook said. "And we all want to see the president succeed."

Inauguration of Donald Trump
Inauguration of Donald Trump

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



WHILE WE ARE FOCUSING ON THIS PROBLEM, LET’S SEE TO IT THAT CONGRESS WILL INCLUDE PAIN AMELIORATION IN WHATEVER HEALTH PLAN THEY FINALLY GET AROUND TO PUTTING IN PLACE OF “OBAMACARE,” BECAUSE THE NEED FOR PAIN AIDS WHICH ARE GENUINELY EFFECTIVE IS ONGOING AND VERY REAL, AMONG THE OVER 60 CROWD. GOVERNMENT SPONSORED EXERCISE GROUPS LIKE TAI CHI OR YOGA? MORE SENIOR CITIZENS CENTERS FOR THE ELDERS TO BE WITH PEOPLE AND TALK, PLAY CARDS, SIP SODAS? THAT’S ALL I CAN THINK OF RIGHT OFF, BUT THERE ARE REASONS FOR DEPRESSION IN SENIORS, WHICH CAUSES PAIN, WHICH CAUSES A DESIRE FOR SOMETHING TO ELIMINATE IT. AS A NATION, LET’S THINK ON IT.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-epidemic-drug-addiction-treatment-new-approach-tom-mclellan-gary-mendell/
By PETER MARTINEZ CBS NEWS November 8, 2017, 10:20 PM
Public health experts say there's a "central flaw" in how addiction is treated

The opioid crisis that has swept across America continues to be a critical issue, and although there are more than 14,000 facilities around the country dedicated to treating addiction, a group of public health experts say there is a "central flaw" in how addiction is treated and are calling for a change.

CBSN spoke to two individuals leading the task force urging a new approach: Tom McLellan, former deputy drug czar under the Obama administration and founder/chairman of the Treatment Research Institute, and Gary Mendell, founder and CEO of Shatterproof, a national nonprofit dedicated to stopping the devastating effects families feel from those with addiction.

3 ways to help stop the opioid epidemic
White House opioid crisis commission releases final report

DEA responds to explosive "60 Minutes"/Washington Post report about opioid crisis
McLellan and Mendell on Wednesday released a set of eight recommendations for treating substance abuse called the "National Principles of Care."

The principles include:
Universal screening
Personalized diagnosis
Rapid access to care
Long-term outpatient care
Coordinated mental & physical treatment
Access to behavioral health experts
Access to FDA approved medication
Access to non-medical recovery support

Last month, President Trump declared the devastating opioid epidemic sweeping the county a public health emergency. In a press conference Oct. 26, he called the problem a "national shame" and a "human tragedy."

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have more than doubled over the past decade. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 188,000 people have died from opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2015.

Record haul of drugs collected at DEA event, officials say
171108-cbsn-tom-mclellan.jpg
Tom McLellan CBSN

McLellan told CBSN that addiction treatment should address the fundamental flaw of how one conceptualizes addiction.

"When you imagine addiction is something that happens to very few people that have underlying character flaws or personality disorders, then the kind of treatment you provide is not medical, is not covered by the same kind of insurance that the rest of medicine is covered ... that you treat it differently," McLellan said. "But now what the science shows -- without question -- is it is a brain disease. The use of alcohol and other drugs at high doses -- regularly -- produces changes in the brain that give you the characteristics of addiction. Compulsion. The ability [sic] to stop. The loss of interest of things you used to hold dear."

"When you see it as a chronic illness, then you understand that you need the same kind of treatment ... the same kind of individualized care that other chronic illnesses have," McLellan added. "With that you can get success. Without, you're just asking for repeated relapses."

171108-cbsn-gary-mendell.jpg
Gary Mendell CBSN

Mendell, who lost his son to addiction in 2011, told CBSN that "statistics show 10 kids will go into the woods and try beer and pot ... nine it will be fine and one will become addicted just the way it connects to their brain."

"Once it connects, regions of your brain change and it makes it really difficult for that person to control urges and makes them incapable of making a decision and following through with it," Mendell said. "Just like someone who has diabetes, incapable of producing enough insulin ... and some 25 million people in this country are looked at like the bad person ... the bad kid ... and that obviously makes it that much worse."

McLellan says that rethinking how one thinks about addiction could be the key to conquering it -- along with the principles they shared.

"Addiction was always thought as a personality disorder or a character disorder," McLellan explained. "In the mid-70s, when returning war veterans came back with opioid addiction problems, it was simply impossible to incarcerate or stigmatize those people. So they created a purposely separate system of 15,000 addiction programs ... separated from the rest of medicine: Financially, geographically and culturally. It was never part of health care because it was never thought to be part of health care. I don't fault anybody for that -- the science wasn't there. Well, now it is."

"It's important to say that the principles that we're talking about ... these derive from the surgeon general's report on facing addiction ... reviewed by hundreds of experts, agreed to by all five federal agencies responsible," he added. "They call for recognition of the new science that this is a brain disease that manifests in terrible behavioral problems."

There is hope, McLellan stressed: "It is preventable ... you can intervene early before the brain changes occur ... it's cheap to treat ... but once it occurs you need enduring, continuing, individualized care and monitoring. Recovery is an expectable result."

Mendell said, however, the Trump administration's announcement a couple weeks ago hasn't sparked much change.

"It's definitely a step in the right direction," he says, "But there was really no tactical business plan ... here are the 10 things we are going to do ... here's the date we're going to get them done by ... it lacked substance."

For more of the conversation with McLellan and Mendell, watch the video in the player above.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



https://www.cbsnews.com/news/opioid-crisis-dea-responds-60-minutes-report/
CBS NEWS October 16, 2017, 7:37 AM
DEA responds to explosive "60 Minutes"/Washington Post report about opioid crisis

WASHINGTON -- Lawmakers and the Drug Enforcement Administration are facing tough questions following an explosive joint investigation by "60 Minutes" and The Washington Post that says Congress helped disarm the DEA.

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have more than doubled over the past decade. The CDC says 188,000 people have died from opioid overdoses from 1999 to 2015.

Joe Rannazzisi used to run the DEA's diversion control. He told "60 Minutes" correspondent Bill Whitaker that the opioid crisis was aided in part by Congress, lobbyists and the drug distribution industry.

The DEA says it has taken actions against far fewer opioid distributors under a new law. A Justice Department memo shows 65 doctors, pharmacies and drug companies received suspension orders in 2011. Only six of them have gotten them this year.

The DEA has issued no suspension orders against a distributor for nearly two years. It says in a statement it will continue to "use all the tools at our disposal to combat this epidemic."

"During the past seven years, we have removed approximately 900 registrations annually, preventing reckless doctors and rogue businesses from making an already troubling problem worse," the DEA said in a written statement. "Increasingly, our investigators initiated more than 10,000 cases and averaged more than 2,000 arrests per year."

CBS News' Paula Reid reports the Justice Department, which oversees the DEA, does not dispute any of the "60 Minutes" reporting. It says the drug crisis is a top priority for the Trump administration.

"One of the president's and the attorney general's highest priorities is ending the devastating and unacceptable drug crisis in America that saw 64,000 deaths in 2016, many of them caused by opioids," Ian D. Prior, principal deputy director of public affairs at the Justice Department, said in a written statement. "From street dealers to corrupt doctors to the distributors that allow diversion of deadly pills, this administration is absolutely committed to reversing this disturbing and heartbreaking trend and will use every tool available to do so."

But as the "60 Minutes" report detailed, the DEA's efforts may have been undermined by the so-called "revolving door" culture in Washington.

At least 46 investigators, attorneys and supervisors from the DEA, including 32 directly from the division that regulates the drug industry, have been hired by the pharmaceutical industry since the scrutiny on distributors began.


Among them is Linden Barber, former associate chief council at the DEA. He's now a senior vice president at Cardinal Health, one of the nation's top drug distributors.

Mike Gill, chief of staff for the former acting DEA administrator, was hired by one of the country's largest healthcare law firms.

And most recently, Jason Hadges, a senior DEA attorney overseeing enforcement, joined the pharmaceutical division of a high-powered D.C. law firm.

CBS News reached out to former acting DEA administrator Chuck Rosenberg, who oversaw the agency from May 2015 until earlier this month when he stepped down. He said he has not seen the "60 Minutes" story and does not intend to do so.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



HOW DOES THIS DIVESTING WORK? WHAT LAW MANDATES IT, OR IS IT A “CUSTOM.” WE AS A NATION OUGHT TO BE LOOKING AT IT WITH SOME SERIOUSNESS, BECAUSE THE PRESIDENT HAS FLOUTED EVERY RULE, SOMETIMES IN IGNORANCE IT SEEMS, BUT OTHER TIMES OUT OF PURE IMPUDENCE.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trumps-family-business-opens-online-store-with-trump-merchandise/
CBS/AP November 8, 2017, 7:46 PM
Trump's family business opens online store with Trump merchandise

CBSN VIDEO WITH MAJOR GARRETT

The company owned by President Donald Trump opened an online store on Wednesday to sell its branded apparel, golf gear and gifts to capitalize on the Trump family name.

The online Trump Store was featured on the Trump Organization website but otherwise launched with little fanfare. It features hats, bags, shirts and other items similar to ones you could buy at the company's golf resorts and hotels, but it also includes new items.

Many products appear manufactured abroad. The website's inventory includes items described as "Decorated in the USA," not "Made in the USA," including "Charlie the Beagle," a 12-inch stuffed dog with a blue ribbon with the Trump name on it.

The website says the dog was inspired by Eric and Lara Trump's own beagle, Charlie. It costs $35.

The dog appears similar to a 12-inch stuffed dog available from a website called Everything Branded. That dog is called "Buddy," and doesn't have a ribbon. It costs $7.61.

Trump has been criticized for not divesting his business, in particular his Washington hotel patronized by foreign diplomats and lobbyists, and for publicizing his golf clubs with his frequent trips to them.


Kathleen Clark, a government ethics lawyer who has been critical of the president, said she was not alarmed.

"Compared with all the other things he's done ... this is not in the top 20," said Clark, a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis. She added, though, that it "breaks the norm of behavior for American politicians."

Among dozens of Trump-branded items were a plastic coin bank shaped like bars of gold bullion, a "Trump Tall Latte Mug," and red baseball cap with an embroidered American flag on the side.

Unlike the "Make America Great Again" hats famous during the campaign, this hat simply says, "Trump."

Amanda Miller, a Trump Organization spokeswoman, said the idea for the online store had been in the works. She described it as a way to get goods in the hands of visitors to the company's many properties who want a reminder or souvenir.

"We realized that there was a void by not having an online presence," Miller said. "We listened to the feedback coming from our customers who were visiting Trump properties and wanted to take a piece of their experience home with them."

The new store comes as the Trump Organization has tried to take advantage of its famous name with two new hotel chains.

Under the leadership of Trump's sons, Eric and Donald Jr., the company launched a chain called Scion aimed at young business travelers. The other is called American Idea, which aims for "flea-market chic," with Americana items that show pride of place.

The rollouts have been slow. The only hotel deal to proceed to construction, a 95-room project in Cleveland, Mississippi, was initially slated for completion this year but has been pushed back to 2018.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



THERE YOU GO, TOM! THAT SIGNIFICANT FACT ABOUT TRUMP IS BECOMING CLEAR. I PERSONALLY DIDN’T VOTE FOR HIM, BUT MANY GOOD AMERICANS WHO ARE NOT “ALT-RIGHT” OR KKK OR TEA PARTIERS, DID IN FACT VOTE FOR DONALD TRUMP. THE TROUBLE WITH THIS PARTICULAR “BUYERS REMORSE” IS THAT WE CAN’T JUST TAKE HIM BACK TO WALMART AND GET OUR MONEY BACK!

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/phil-murphy-ralph-northam-won-because-theyre-sane-dnc-chair-tom-perez/
By EMILY TILLETT CBS NEWS November 8, 2017, 8:41 AM
DNC Chair Tom Perez says Murphy, Northam won because "they're sane"

After a rousing win for the Democratic party in two key gubernatorial races for New Jersey and Virginia, Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez is crediting his party's candidates wins to them being "sane."

"People are so sick of these Twitter tirades. They want leaders they can be proud of. And that's why people like Phil Murphy and Ralph Northam were able to win – because they're sane," said Perez on an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" Wednesday morning.

He added that Murphy and Northam are "people who are speaking to the issues that people care about. They actually care about facts. They actually care about making sure people have a good job and a good opportunity. They're not playing the politics of division."

The DNC head said that the greatest strength for the party in the face of the Trump administration and Republican stronghold over Congress continues to be "unity", calling out President Trump for "trying to divide America."

"The politics of division are not what we want in New Jersey and Virginia and elsewhere," he said.

Perez also spoke to the Democrats' strategy for this off-year election, saying, "The formula for every one of these races was organize, organize, organize, get good candidates and lead with your values."

Perez credited the "most extensive coordinated ground game in Virginia history" as being an asset for Northam's big win in the governor's race, but said voters in key states wanted to stick to the issues on Tuesday, not partisan divides.

"Talk about the issues that matter most to people. Facts matter right now, and what we learned from all these races yesterday is, this tale that the Affordable Care Act's a disaster – that's not the reality on the ground for people," Perez added.

CBS News' Katiana Krawchenko contributed to this report.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



THE INTENSE SOCIETAL REPRESSION AND EVEN HATRED OF THE FEMALE OF THE SPECIES IS SOMETHING THAT I SEE ACROSS THE CULTURES OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND SOUTH ASIA. NO IT DOESN’T OCCUR EVERYWHERE, I HASTEN TO SAY; AND WHEN IT DOES OCCUR, IT IS USUALLY LOCAL AND TRADITIONAL RATHER THAN RELIGIOUS. YET OUR CHRISTIANS, IN SOME CASES, DEMAND THAT WOMEN BEHAVE IN A SUBSERVIENT WAY. THAT’S WHY IT WASN’T UNTIL 1919 THAT WE GOT THE RIGHT TO VOTE, AND THEN IT WAS AT THE COST OF PEACE IN SOCIETY. I’VE SEEN PHOTOGRAPHS OF LITERALLY MOBS OF WOMEN MARCHING JUST LIKE MARTIN LUTHER KING’S FOLLOWERS, AND FOR THE SAME CAUSE. WE WOMEN HAVE INDEED COME A LONG WAY, BUT STILL IN PLACES LIKE PAKISTAN WOMEN ARE FORCED TO MARRY WHOMEVER THE FATHER CHOOSES, TO HECK WITH THE CHOICE OF HER OWN HEART. IN RESPONSE, WITH WHAT IS PROBABLY, A BIT AT LEAST, A CASE OF TRUE INSANITY, A WOMAN MAY RETALIATE WITH FURY. IT ISN’T EVERY PERSON WHO WILL RESPOND TO SUCH REPRESSION WITH SUBMISSIVENESS.

IT ISN’T THAT I AGREE WITH THIS WOMAN’S CHOICE TO ADMINISTER POISON TO HIM, BUT I DO FEEL STRONGLY THAT WOMEN SHOULD ALWAYS BE ALLOWED TO MARRY HER BELOVED OVER SOME MAN WHO CAN BRING WEALTH INTO THE FAMILY, UNLESS HE IS ABUSIVE TO HER OR HER CHILDREN, OR ANYONE ELSE. PHYSICAL AND MENTAL ABUSIVENESS ISN’T JUST A MENTAL HEALTH TRAIT, BUT A CHARACTER TRAIT. CRUELNESS IS PARTLY LEARNED AND PARTLY CHOSEN, AND WHATEVER THE REASON, IT SHOULD BE PUNISHED. THUS SPAKE LUCY WARNER.

THE NECESSITY TO SUBMIT SEXUALLY WITH NO PASSION IS TOTALLY ILLOGICAL, AS IT IS PHYSICALLY PAINFUL AND REPUGNANT. SO, I WILL CLOSE BY SAYING THAT I DO FEEL SORRY FOR THIS LADY. THE FACT THAT HER MOTHER IN LAW SERVED THE POISONED MILK TO 20 OR SO GUESTS WAS CERTAINLY NOT HER INTENTION. MURDER IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE, OF COURSE; SHE COULD HAVE RUN AWAY INSTEAD, AND SHE NEVER SHOULD HAVE PUT POISON INTO ANY FOOD EVER. WE CAN’T, AS FREE AMERICANS, PUT OURSELVES IN THIS LADY’S MOCCASINS, HOWEVER, BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE THAT KIND OF RESTRICTIONS ON US IN OUR CHOICES HERE – AT LEAST IN THIS PERIOD IN HISTORY. IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE, HOWEVER, IT DID OCCUR. IT’S JUST ANOTHER FORM OF PRIMITIVISM. UNFORTUNATELY, IT STILL EXISTS UNQUESTIONED IN TOO MANY PLACES. THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPEN AS OFTEN IN INDIA AS IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD, BECAUSE HINDUISM ALSO ALLOWS SUCH CRUELTY TO WOMEN. MAYBE IN THE NEXT LIFE WOMEN WILL BE TREATED FAIRLY.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pakistan-bride-arrested-in-mass-poisoning-warned-against-forced-marriage/
AP November 8, 2017, 1:27 PM
Pakistani bride arrested in mass poisoning warned against forced marriage

BASTI LASHARI, Pakistan -- Aasia Bibi had warned her parents time and again that if they forced her to marry her cousin, a man she disliked, she would be capable of going to any length to exit the union. She was already in a relationship, she said, and should be allowed to marry the man of her choice.

Now, investigators in this tiny, remote island village in central Pakistan believe the recently married 21-year-old was enticed by her boyfriend in a plot to kill her husband, Mohammad Amjad, by poisoning his milk with rat killer. Amjad did not drink the milk, but his mother used the tainted liquid the following day to make a traditional yogurt drink that she then tragically served to 27 family members, including Amjad.

Amjad and 17 others were sickened and subsequently died at a district hospital, including eight children aged 7 to 12. Among the dead were Amjad's two brothers, his three sisters-in-law and some distant relatives.

"I repeatedly asked my parents not to marry me against my will as my religion, Islam, also allows me to choose the man of my choice for marriage but my parents rejected all of my pleas and they married me to a relative," Bibi told a judge at her initial hearing Oct. 31 following her arrest.

Bibi and her boyfriend Shahid Lashari were charged with murder and are scheduled to return to court Nov. 14. Pakistani police said Wednesday they also arrested Bibi's aunt, 49-year-old Zarina Begum, for her involvement in the alleged plot.

Local police chief Zulfiqar Ali said the deaths quickly drew the attention of police, who quietly began an investigation and were able to expose the plot. He said Bibi was among those who did not drink the traditional lassi, which is made with water and yogurt.

"Her husband was in critical condition at a hospital and she looked as if nothing had happened and she was cool and calm at her home and it raised suspicions," he said.

A waiter serves glasses of lassi at The Punjabi Lassi Stall in Amritsar, India, on April 16, 2010. Lassi is made by blending yogurt with water, milk and spices and is popular across South Asia and with South Asian communities across the world.

A waiter serves glasses of lassi at The Punjabi Lassi Stall in Amritsar, India, on April 16, 2010. Lassi is made by blending yogurt with water, milk and spices and is popular across South Asia and with South Asian communities across the world. NARINDER NANU/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Ali said police first arrested Lashari and he confessed to supplying the rat poison to his girlfriend. He said Lashari also told officers that Bibi's aunt, who used to arrange for the couple to meet at her home, was aware of the plot to kill Amjad.

Ali said that before detaining Bibi, police collected her cellphone data, enabling investigators to surmise that she was in constant contact with Lashari after the attempted poisoning. He said Bibi confessed to her role in the killings upon seeing Lashari in handcuffs at a police station.

Relatives bringing condolences were still arriving in the dusty, isolated village on Tuesday when an AP reporter crossed the shallow Indus River to the island by boat. Sitting among the mourners on a cot in an open area, village elder Abdul Majid vowed to behead the newly married woman and her boyfriend if he got hold of them.

Majid said the couple deserved to be killed to restore the village's honor.

"If I see them, I will behead them with a wood saw," he said, as the jailed bride's father sat nearby.

Zohra Yousaf, a top human rights activist based in Karachi, said Bibi is among countless Pakistani women who are forced by their parents to marry against their wishes, but that it is rare for a wife to kill her husband. She said she believed Bibi's actions show that she suffers from depression and anxiety.

Many parents in Pakistan arrange marriages for their daughters against their will and nearly 1,000 Pakistani women are killed each year by close relatives in so-called "honor killings" for marrying against the family's consent or attempting to flee the forced unions.

According to a report released this year by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, "hundreds of women and girls were murdered in 2016 by family members on the pretext of defending the family honor." It is also common in Pakistan for village councils or elders to order killings or rapes in the name of honor.

In 2002, a village council ordered the gang rape of Mukhtar Mai, a young woman who later took her rapists to court. The case gathered international attention and she later opened a school for rural girls.

Sitting in her mud-brick home in this village of just 45 dwellings about 270 miles south of Multan, Bibi's mother Zakia Begum sobbed Tuesday night, saying she was wrong to force her daughter to marry a man she did not like.

She urged other Pakistani parents to give their daughters the right to marry the person of their choice.

"I feel guilty and I think we should have not forced our daughter to marry Amjad as she did not like him," she told The Associated Press.

© 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.



GO DEMS! – TWO ARTICLES – JUST WONDERING, IS THIS THE DONALD TRUMP EFFECT, OR THE BERNIE SANDERS EFFECT? SOME OF BOTH, I AM SURE. BERNIE IN HIS WEEK OR SO AFTER THE 2016 DEFEAT, ANNOUNCED HIS OUTSIDE POLITICAL PAC AND ORGANIZATION “OUR REVOLUTION,” ENCOURAGING ALL PROGRESSIVES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO RUN FOR OFFICE AT THE LOCAL, STATE AND NATIONAL LEVELS. I BELIEVE SOME PEOPLE ARE TAKING THAT SERIOUSLY. BERNIE SANDERS DIDN’T ROUSE THE CROWD WITH HATE SPEECH LIKE TRUMP, BUT WITH IDEALS AND HOPE. IT’S A WINNING COMBINATION.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/some-big-wins-from-the-down-ticket-races/
CBS NEWS November 8, 2017, 2:16 PM
Some big wins from the down-ticket races

Tuesday night saw a number of historic firsts in down-ballot races. Here are some of the 2017 election's big, history-making winners.

Trans candidates

In Virginia, Danica Roem became the first transgender woman to be elected to the state legislature, while in Minneapolis, Andrea Jenkins became the first black openly transgender woman to get elected anywhere in the U.S.

Democratic candidate for Virginia House of Delegates 13th District Danica Roem in Gainesville

Danica Roem, Democratic candidate for Virginia House of Delegates 13th District, is pictured in Gainesville, Virginia, U.S. on December 30, 2016. Courtesy Friends of Danica Roem/Handout via HANDOUT / REUTERS

Roem defeated Republican Robert Marshall, one of the most socially conservative members of the Virginia House of Delegates, on Tuesday. Marshall, who had referred to himself as the state's "chief homophobe," and introduced a "bathroom bill" targeting trans people earlier this year.

Meanwhile in Minneapolis, Jenkins was elected in a landslide to join the city council. She is the first black transgender woman to hold elected office since Althea Garrison, who did not campaign as openly transgender, was elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1992.

Meet the new mayor
ravinder-bhalla.png
photo via Facebook

Ravinder Bhalla, who was elected Tuesday night, will be the first Sikh mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. Bhalla, who served on the City Council, was attacked by a series of racist signs during the campaign that labeled him a terrorist. The ads, which were denounced by Bhalla's opponent, have been reported to the Hoboken police.

Other notable candidates in Virginia

In 2015, Chris Hurst's journalist girlfriend, Alison Parker, was murdered while on assignment. The horrifying tape of the shooting made national news, and Hurst became the face of her loved ones' grief.

Hurst worked with Parker at WDBJ-TV, but after the shooting he decided to leave the station and give politics a shot. Powered in part by a large social media following, Hurst beat a three-term incumbent Tuesday to win a seat in the House of Delegates.

Elsewhere in Virginia, 30-year-old Lee Carter beat a senior-ranking Republican member of the House of Delegates. But what caught people's attention is that Carter, a former Marine, is also an avowed socialist. His victory is a boost to the Democratic Party's resurgent left wing, which has become a real force in the wake of Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign.

View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Elizabeth Guzman @guzman4delegate
Next stop is Rosa Parks! Voters are excited to go vote. Let’s work together to make VA a more inclusive place #TeamGuzman
7:49 AM - Nov 7, 2017 · Dale City, VA
1 1 Reply 17 17 Retweets 41 41 likes
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Tuesday also saw the election of the first two Latina women, Elizabeth Guzmán and Haya Ayala, to the state's legislature. It was all part of a surprisingly strong showing for Democrats in the state, who now appear to be on the verge of capturing the House of Delegates.

And a World War II vet wins big
View image on Twitter
View image on Twitter
Jim Murdoch News12NJ ✔@ReporterJim
@kurtsiegelin 93-year-old Vito Perillo takes the Tinton Falls mayoral race in an upset victory.
10:14 PM - Nov 7, 2017 · Point Pleasant Beach, NJ
Replies 14 14 Retweets 26 26 likes
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Vito Perillo, a 93-year-old World War II vet, defeated Mayor Gerald Turning in Tinton Falls, New Jersey on Tuesday. Perillo, who served in the Navy, due to a series of whistleblower lawsuits involving the local police force, and told [sic] the Asbury Park Press that he wore two pairs of shoes while going door-to-door.

[FORGIVE ME FOR SAYING THIS, BUT THAT LAST SENTENCE HERE REMINDS ME OF MY FAVORITE ONE OF THE HEINRICH SCHNIBBLE COMMENTS: “I’M GOING TO THROW MYSELF DOWN UNDER THE BIRD BATH SOME ROCKS.” IF THAT REFERENCE MEANS NOTHING TO YOU, DON’T YOU WORRY. YOU HAVE TO BE PRETTY OLD TO RECOGNIZE THAT ONE.]

GO TO “https://schott.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/frabjous-mimsy/?_r=0”]

“Dave Morrah aka Heinrich Schnibble entertained us periodically (in the periodical Saturday Evening Post) with his falsch Deutsch.

Needen Ein Nailer:

Mit needen ein nailer, der shoe ben gedroppen;
Mit needen ein shoe, der horser ben stoppen
Und tossen der rider mit grosser geploppen.
Der rider ben missen der shooten-gepoppen
Mit hiden insiden ein blackenschmidt shoppen;
Und das its der reason der battle ben floppen!

In his Wordenbooke, Schnibble defines a jet pilot as a schnortenzoomeruppentooker.

A dentist is an oudtngeyankentooker.

A dental appointment is a Squirmengeflinchenhourmitwishenderblitzenbenstriken.”
Carol Shelton

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https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-did-democrat-phil-murphy-win-the-new-jersey-gubernatorial-race/
By JENNIFER DE PINTO CBS NEWS November 7, 2017, 9:51 PM
How did Democrat Phil Murphy win the New Jersey gubernatorial race?

Democrat Phil Murphy was elected governor of New Jersey with strong support from his party's base, including women, younger voters, and by making inroads with some less traditionally Democratic groups, such as independents and white voters. Murphy defeated the state's lieutenant governor, Republican Kim Guadagno, who was hurt by her association with current Governor Chris Christie, CBS News exit polling shows.

The Christie factor
Guadagno attacked Murphy during the campaign for his work at the Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs, but it was, in fact, her connection to Chris Christie, which Murphy consistently reminded voters of, that resonated more negatively with voters.

00202nj.jpg
Christie gets into heated exchange with disgruntled voter
Half of New Jersey voters say Guadagno's ties to the now-unpopular Christie made them think worse of her. Roughly eight in 10 of voters who went to the polls today disapprove of the job Christie is doing as governor.

00203nj.jpg
Demographic groups
Murphy won the support of a majority of women, black and Hispanic voters, and younger voters. Self-identified Democrats and liberals overwhelmingly backed him. Murphy beat Guadango among independents, a group Christie won by 34 points four years ago. Murphy also get the support more than four in 10 white voters.

00230nj.jpg
Republican Guadagno got the backing of seniors and had an edge with white voters, but Christie won these groups by double digits in 2013 when he was reelected with a 22-point margin. Members of Guadagno's own party and conservatives voted for her in strong numbers. Sill, it was Christie's growing unpopularity that appeared to drag down Guadagno. Even among Republicans, more than half disapprove of Christie's job as governor.

Was Trump a factor?
For most New Jersey voters, President Trump was not a factor in their vote for governor. Among those for which he was a factor, more saw their vote as one to express opposition to him, rather than support.

Just a third of voters approve of the job Trump is doing as president.

New Jersey has voted Democratic in recent presidential elections and cast their votes for Hillary Clinton last year.

The image of the Republican party is more negative than that of Democrats. Just about a third of voters in New Jersey view the Republican party favorably, while more than half feel that way about the Democrats.

© 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.



I HAVE BEEN COMING TO THIS CONCLUSION FOR YEARS NOW -- NO MAMMALS ARE TOTALLY STUPID, WITH THE POSSIBLE EXCEPTION OF THE MOST PRIMITIVE EGG LAYING SPECIES LIKE THE PLATYPUS. EVEN SO THOSE EGG LAYERS WE ARE MOST FAMILIAR WITH, THE BIRDS, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO RESPOND INTELLIGENTLY WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT AND ARE ABLE TO MAKE DISCRIMINATIONS WELL FOR A TREAT. CHICKENS, CROWS AND PARROTS (SEE ALEX, THE AFRICAN GRAY PARROT.)

THE ONLY PLATYPUS I HAVE SEEN ALIVE, HOWEVER, WAS IN A 5 MINUTE SEGMENT ON THE SHOW OF THE WONDERFULLY IMAGINATIVE AND OVERLY ADVENTUROUS NATURALIST NAMED STEVE IRWIN. I SAY “OVERLY,” BECAUSE THAT IS HOW HE DIED, NOT FROM A CROCODILE ATTACK, BUT BECAUSE OF SWIMMING TOO CLOSE TO A STING RAY. HE WAS NOT A MAN THAT I WOULD ADVISE THE LOCAL BULLY TO TAKE ON IN A BAR FIGHT.

>https://www.newscientist.com/article/sheep-learn-recognise-celebrity-faces-different-angles/?cmpid=ILC|NSNS|2017_webpush&utm_medium=ILC&utm_source=NSNS&utm_campaign=webpush-sheep
DAILY NEWS 8 November 2017

Sheep learn to recognise celebrity faces from different angles
There are sheep who can recognise Barack Obama
Ahmet Izgi/Anatolia News Agency/AFP Photo/Getty
By Andy Coghlan

Photograph -- There are sheep who can recognise Barack Obama
Ahmet Izgi/Anatolia News Agency/AFP Photo/Getty

They’re looking at ewe. Sheep have shown an unexpected capacity to recognise straight mugshots of four celebrities, but then to identify those same megastars in side profiles they’d not seen before. Humans and monkeys are the only other creatures known to do this from two-dimensional images.

The eight sheep that took part were trained to familiarise themselves with straight mugshots of four celebrities: former US president Barack Obama, UK newsreader Fiona Bruce, and actors Emma Watson and Jack Gyllenhaal.

The sheep viewed pairs of pictures, one of which was always one of the four celebrities. They “chose” the celeb pic by approaching it, and were rewarded with a cereal pellet in the trough below. They got nothing if they chose the other image.

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At first, the celebrity mugshots were paired with black oblongs, then with non-human objects shaped like faces, and finally with mugshots of other people selected because they looked like the celebrities. By the end of training, the sheep correctly picked the celebrity over the stranger 79 per cent of the time.

Next, the researchers showed the sheep the same celebs and a stranger, but now both faces were shown as left- or right-sided profiles. This tested whether the sheep were simply recognising the mugshots as stand-alone images, or actually identifying the people. Again, the sheep excelled, picking out the celebs in 66 per cent of their choices.


Clever sheep
“That’s way more often than by chance,” says lead author Jenny Morton of the University of Cambridge, UK. “With the angled face, the percentage drop in recognition was the same as for humans, around 15 per cent,” she says. “I was surprised they did as well as they did.”

For the first time, the study reveals that sheep can mentally take a two-dimensional image of a face and rejig it into a three-dimensional representation, says Morton. That way, they can still recognise the same person even from different angles.

“It’s amazing sheep can quickly learn to recognise unfamiliar human faces presented in different viewing perspectives,” says Kun Guo of the University of Lincoln, UK. “It’s possible this human-like face perception capability is more widespread in the animal kingdom than we previously thought.”

It makes sense that sheep would have this ability, says John Marzluff of the University of Washington in Seattle. He has shown that crows can recognise human faces, even many years after first viewing them. “Sheep life revolves around interacting with shepherds, other keepers and dogs, so knowledge of this important aspect of their environment should be favoured during the domestication process.”

A test for dementia
The finding adds to the mounting evidence that sheep, despite their dim-witted reputation, are highly intelligent. For instance, scientists have known that they can recognise faces – though not under such testing conditions as these – since 2001.

Despite its fun appearance, Morton says the research has a serious purpose. She plans to present the same face-recognition challenge to new sheep that have been bred in Australia to develop Huntington’s disease.

One of the major symptoms of Huntington’s, and other forms of dementia, is inability to recognise faces. The “celeb test” should allow Morton to monitor the pace of deterioration in the Huntington’s sheep – and possibly in patients too – plus a way to test new treatments before trying them on people. “We would be able to tell if new treatments reduce the deficits,” says Morton.

Journal reference: Royal Society Open Science, DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171228



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