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K-LOVE On Demand Presents Around the Table with Randi Tyler

KLOVE On Demand Presents Around the Table

Summer Strong: KLOD Presents Around the Table with Randi Tyler

By MICHAEL TARM, KATHLEEN FOODY and STEPHEN GROVES Associated PressHIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) — The gunman who attacked an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago fired more than 70 rounds with an AR-15-style gun that killed at least seven people, then evaded initial capture by dressing as a woman and blending into the fleeing crowd, police said Tuesday.A spokesman for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force told a news conference that the suspected shooter, who was arrested late Monday, used a high-powered rifle “similar to an AR-15" to spray bullets from atop a commercial building into a crowd that had gathered for the parade in Highland Park. The affluent community of about 30,000 on the Lake Michigan shore includes mansions and sprawling waterfront estates.Authorities also reported the death of a seventh person. More than 30 others were wounded in the attack, which task force spokesman Christopher Covelli said the suspect had planned for several weeks.Investigators who have interrogated the suspect and reviewed his social media posts have not determined a motive for the attack or found any indication that he targeted anyone by race, religion or other protected status, Covelli said.Authorities have not filed criminal charges.Earlier in the day, FBI agents peeked into trash cans and under picnic blankets as they searched for more evidence at the site where the assailant opened fire. The shots were initially mistaken for fireworks before hundreds of revelers fled in terror.A day later, baby strollers, lawn chairs and other items left behind by panicked parade goers remained inside a wide police perimeter. Outside the police tape, some residents drove up to collect blankets and chairs they abandoned.David Shapiro, 47, said the spray of gunfire quickly turned the parade into “chaos.”“People didn’t know right away where the gunfire was coming from, whether the gunman was in front or behind you chasing you,” he said Tuesday as he retrieved a stroller and lawn chairs.The shooting was just the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/dallas-texas-buffalo-new-york-alabama-f752f9a70ba8f54474d557275e42d359">latest to shatter</a> the rituals of American life. Schools, churches, grocery stores and now community parades have all become killing grounds in recent months. This time, the bloodshed came as the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-government-and-politics-united-states-3afaab2efa613b5218dbc19ea4bd598d">nation tried to find cause to celebrate</a> its founding and the bonds that still hold it together.“It definitely hits a lot harder when it’s not only your hometown but it’s also right in front of you,” resident Ron Tuazon said as he and a friend returned to the parade route Monday evening to retrieve chairs, blankets and a child’s bike that his family abandoned when the shooting began.“It’s commonplace now,” Tuazon said. “We don’t blink any more. Until laws change, it’s going to be more of the same.”A police officer pulled over Robert E. Crimo III north of the shooting scene several hours after police released his photo and warned that he was likely armed and dangerous, Highland Park Police Chief Lou Jogmen said.Authorities initially said Crimo, whose father once ran for mayor of Highland Park, was 22, but an FBI bulletin and Crimo’s social media said he was 21.The shooting occurred at a spot on the parade route where many residents had staked out prime viewing points early in the day.Among them was Nicolas Toledo, who was visiting his family in Illinois from Mexico. He was shot and died at the scene, his granddaughter, Xochil Toledo, told the Chicago Sun-Times. Also killed was Jacki Sundheim, a lifelong congregant and “beloved” staff member at nearby North Shore Congregation Israel, which announced her death on its website.Police have not released details about the victims, but Toledo’s granddaughter told the Sun-Times that Toledo had spent most of his life in Morelos, Mexico. Xochil Toledo said she remembers looking over at her grandfather, who was in his late 70s, as a band passed them.“He was so happy,” she said. “Happy to be living in the moment.”Xochil Toledo said her father tried to shield her grandfather and was shot in the arm. Her boyfriend also was shot in the back and taken to a hospital.Sundheim had spent decades on the staff at North Shore Congregation Israel, teaching at the congregation’s preschool and later coordinating events, “all of this with tireless dedication,” the congregation said in its statement announcing her death.“Jacki’s work, kindness and warmth touched us all,” the statement said.NorthShore University HealthSystem said it treated 39 people at four of its hospitals after the shooting. Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized Tuesday.Since the start of the year, the U.S. has seen 15 shootings where four or more people were killed, including the one in Highland Park, according to The Associated Press/USA TODAY/Northeastern University mass killing database.Scores of smaller-scale shootings in nearby Chicago also left eight people dead and 60 others wounded over the July 4 weekend.Highland Park Police Commander Chris O’Neill said the gunman apparently fired from a rooftop where he was “very difficult to see.” He said the rifle was recovered at the scene. Police also found a ladder attached to the building.Covelli said Crimo legally purchased the gun in Illinois within the past year.In 2013, Highland Park officials approved a ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines of more than 10 rounds. A local doctor and the Illinois State Rifle Association quickly challenged the liberal suburb’s stance. The legal fight ended at the U.S. Supreme Court’s doorstep in 2015 when justices declined to hear the case and let the suburb’s restrictions remain in place.Crimo, who goes by the name Bobby, was an aspiring rapper with the stage name Awake the Rapper, posting on social media dozens videos and songs, some ominous and violent.In one animated video since taken down by YouTube, Crimo raps about armies “walking in darkness” as a drawing appears of a man pointing a rifle, a body on the ground and another figure with hands up in the distance.Federal agents were reviewing Crimo’s online profiles, and a preliminary examination of his internet history indicated that he had researched mass killings and had downloaded multiple photos depicting violent acts, including a beheading, a law enforcement official said.The official could not discuss details of the investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.Crimo’s father, Bob, a longtime deli owner, sought the mayor's office in 2019, calling himself “a person for the people.”Shapiro, the Highland Park resident who fled the parade with his family, said his 2-year-old son woke up screaming later that night.“He is too young to understand what happened. But he knows something bad happened,” Shapiro said. “That’s chilling.”&nbsp;

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Men in blue T-shirts and purple gloves clean up debris after parade shooting

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Nine people, ranging from 14 to 70, remained hospitalized 

Update: Seven Lives Lost At Highland Park July 4 Parade

DETROIT (AP) — One of the first things 84-year-old Mahalie Wilson sees when she steps out of her home on Detroit's east side is the brick, steel and concrete skeleton of the long-vacant Packard plant that looms over the neighborhood.Built in the early 1900s and still churning out high-end cars into the 1950s, the massive complex that was once one of the city's industrial jewels is now one of the nation's foremost examples of urban blight — an inescapable reminder of Detroit's better days.“I deal with it,” Wilson, who's lived within shouting distance of the plant since 1969, said recently from behind her front security screen door. “I’ve got used to it. I don’t pay it any attention.”Detroit has aggressively taken on its blight problem since <a href="https://apnews.com/article/6cb1a7d67acb431f8f1c629be5a383ad">emerging from the largest municipal bankruptcy</a> in U.S. history eight years ago, and <a href="https://apnews.com/article/10b9999eaee4421797960676f689c309">has razed more than 20,000</a> abandoned houses in that time. That work is ongoing, but it has been largely covered by federal funding and the city still must figure out how to pay for the much more expensive demolition or find developers to repurpose scores of abandoned or aging apartment buildings, factories and other massive eyesores.The problem is hardly unique to Detroit — Baltimore, Milwaukee and Dayton, Ohio, are among the many cities looking to rid themselves of old structures. But it might be most pronounced in Detroit because of its relatively rapid decline during the decades of white flight, when white, middle-class families left for the suburbs and beyond, and the city lost more than half of its people.Like the Packard plant, many factories in Detroit were located close to workers' homes. As the buildings faded and became blighted, so did Wilson's neighborhood and others across the city.“For me, it’s absolutely clear — older industrial sites closed due to white flight,” said Andre Perry, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Washington-based Brookings Institution.“In many cases, Black people moved in because of the lower property values, hoping that some development comes their way," he added. "When development dollars are needed to go to Black spaces, it’s hard to come by.”If Mayor Mike Duggan has his way, parts of the 3.5 million-square-foot, 40-acre Packard plant complex <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-detroit-8b9f02de2b61a9c1d55f54980aea2c41">will be demolished by year’s end</a>. Other portions will be redeveloped. It’s among 100 large structures the city has identified to be torn down or renovated.“This is emblematic of the industrial challenges we have,” said Antoine Bryant, Detroit's planning and development director. The easiest solution would be to demolish, he said, but "how can we add to the city instead of just taking away?"Bryant pointed to a $134 million plan to redevelop the six-story former Fisher Body 21 auto plant into more than 400 apartments and retail space.Jason Hackworth, a professor in the University of Toronto’s Geography and Planning Department, is skeptical of any plans to preserve what’s left of the Packard plant and believes Fisher Body 21's fate will be the wrecking ball.“The Packard probably should have been demolished decades ago," he said.“I don’t know of another city that has as prominent of abandoned industrial and commercial facilities as Detroit. ... Certainly nothing I know of that’s the size of the Packard plant in any other city,” Hackworth added. “Developers don’t have the money to develop or demolish it.”In 2013, Peruvian developer <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-detroit-8b9f02de2b61a9c1d55f54980aea2c41">Fernando Palazuelo bought the property</a> for $405,000 at a tax foreclosure auction. His plans to restore and reopen it with apartments and shops never materialized. The plant's future now is in the city's hands.Palazuelo “has done virtually nothing with it since he bought it out of foreclosure in 2013, other than amass more than a million dollars worth of unpaid drainage bills, property taxes and blight tickets,” said Chuck Raimi, the city's acting corporation counsel.“The city fully intends to rid the community of this massive blighted complex once and for all,” Raimi continued. "For it’s part, the city already has demolished more than 100,000 square feet of the portions of the plant it owns and will be demolishing the remaining portions it doesn’t plan to save for redevelopment later this year.”The Associated Press was unable to reach Palazuelo for comment.Still, the Packard plant isn't Detroit's most well-known ruin. That title once belonged to the nearly 20-story Michigan Central train station in the city's Corktown neighborhood. Ford Motor Co. bought the building several years ago and is converting it and properties around the station into <a href="https://apnews.com/article/technology-business-lifestyle-michigan-detroit-d725953ec4df74f13d9137e770318a6c">a future hub for mobility and innovation.</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/ohio-dayton-3fa45f2548bbce928eb7732a70abb57f">Dayton plans to demolish</a> a 129-year-old building that for a short time was the Wright brothers’ first bike shop.“It is a dangerous building and the front façade is beginning to separate from the building and poses a hazard to pedestrians and motor vehicles,” said Todd Kinskey, director of Dayton’s Planning, Neighborhoods &amp; Development department. “Several engineering studies recommend demolition and no developer has been willing to pursue redevelopment.”In 2016, Maryland and Baltimore officials <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/08/13/instead-of-razing-buildings-some-cities-want-to-reuse-their-bones">announced a more than $93 million plan</a> to tear down blighted structures and rehabilitate others.In the East Baltimore neighborhood, which is about 70% Black, efforts to redevelop two large blighted sites have proven successful in recent years.Yard 56, which features shops, office space and lofts, has been developed on the site of a porcelain and ceramics plant that was built in 1911 and abandoned in 2006.A former lithograph plant also has found new life.“It was in an economically depressed area ... and vacant for many years,” said Colin Tarbert, president and chief executive of the Baltimore Development Corp. “Trees were growing out of it. Now it’s reopened and with a number of new companies, plus non-profits and a construction training center housed there.”Whether demolished or repurposed, the plan for such buildings should lift the Black communities where they’re located, said the Brookings Institution's Perry.“It takes a city effort to attract and recruit developers to reimagine the sites in the image the community wants,” he said. “It takes municipal and neighborhood leaders to use whatever leverage possible to say Black people and Black communities matter. And, by the way, you will get your return. If you just add water it will grow.”Some, like Crystal Glass, just wonder why it takes so long.Glass opened her social club in 2009 in the shadow of Detroit's Packard plant. She's not sure if redeveloping or razing it will help her business.“I'd just like to see something, anything besides that,” Glass said.

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Exterior of the Packard Plant, left, next to boarded up houses on Detroit's east side

The city has aggressively taken on its blight problem since emerging from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history eight years ago

Detroit Removing Old Industrial Buildings To Improve Neighborhoods

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Organizers of the record attempt are hoping to get 400 canoes and kayaks on the Toms River in New Jersey to break a record.

Wanted: Hundreds Of Canoes And Kayaks To Break A World Record

Sheriff John Hunt fought back tears while saying goodbye to his longtime friend, William Petry, one of three law enforcement officers <a href="https://apnews.com/article/shootings-kentucky-2bd51f2697c08c846f8cc7cdda108b81">killed in an ambush</a> while serving a warrant in eastern Kentucky last week.The small Appalachian county that Hunt is in charge of protecting is reeling from the deaths of the officers, who walked into a hail of bullets from a gunman holed up in his home Thursday evening. Petry, a veteran officer who joined the Floyd County sheriff’s office after retiring from the state police a few years ago, was honored Tuesday during an emotional funeral service.“William loved law enforcement. He loved the job. He loved the people,” Hunt said in a eulogy for his longtime friend Tuesday morning. “He is a hero ... and I know he will never be forgotten.”The shooting is likely Kentucky's deadliest incident for law enforcement in nearly 100 years. Petry and Prestonsburg police Capt. Ralph Frasure, both 60 years old, died at the scene and Prestonsburg Officer Jacob Chaffins, 28, died in a hospital Friday night. A police dog was also fatally shot.The man arrested for their deaths, 49-year-old Lance Storz, was taken into custody in the small community of Allen after family members helped police secure his surrender Thursday night.Dozens of uniformed law enforcement officers gathered Tuesday at the funeral at Prestonsburg’s Mountain Arts Center. Petry's family gave permission for media to livestream the event on local news stations. Frasure, Chaffins and the police dog, Drago, will be laid to rest after funeral services later this week.Floyd County Deputy Kevin Thacker said he took a phone call from Petry last week, a typical issue about a towed car, he said. But at the end of the call, as had become ritual, Petry told him he loved him.“That was his last words to me,” Thacker said at the funeral. “And I'll never forget that.”Police went to the house in Allen on Thursday after a family member called to say Storz's wife was being held in the home against her will and was being abused, Hunt said in a news conference over the weekend. The wife was waiting for them when they arrived, telling the officers Storz was asleep, so she was able to get outside. Four officers, including Petry, returned to serve a protective order against Storz, Hunt said. Storz watched them approach from a window and began shooting, Hunt said.<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/35579.jpg" alt="Law enforcement officers carry the casket of Floyd County Deputy William Petry to the hearse "><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP] Law enforcement officers carry the casket of Floyd County Deputy William Petry to the hearse&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>The officers' deaths were the most in a single incident since a 1923 prison riot in Eddyville that left three corrections officers dead, Prestonsburg Police Deputy Chief Ross Shurtleff said Sunday. Storz is facing three counts of murder of a police officer and is being held in jail on a $10 million cash bond.Petry's death will be a huge loss for the department, Hunt said, because he worked so well with younger, inexperienced officers who revered his experience and calm.The young officers “respected him like nobody I’ve ever seen in such a short time," Hunt said.Four other officers were injured in the shooting, though none wounds were life-threatening, state police said over the weekend. One civilian was also hurt in the shooting, state police said.<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/35578.jpg" alt="Officers close the casket for Floyd County Deputy William Petry"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: Silas Walker/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP] Officers close the casket for Floyd County Deputy William Petry</figcaption></figure>

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Family members embrace during the funeral for Floyd County Deputy William Petry at the Mountain Arts Center in Prestonsburg, Ky.

“William loved law enforcement. He loved the job. He loved the people ... He is a hero ... and I know he will never be forgotten.”

Community Honors 3 Kentucky Officers Who Lost Their Lives In An Ambush

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in seizing an eastern Ukraine province essential to his wartime aims, his troops escalated their offensive in the neighboring province Tuesday, prompting the governor to urge a mass evacuation of residents.Gov. Pavlo Kyrylenko said that getting the 350,000 people remaining in Donetsk province out is necessary to save lives and to enable the Ukrainian army to better defend towns from the Russian advance.“The destiny of the whole country will be decided by the Donetsk region,” Kyrylenko told reporters in Kramatrosk, the province's administrative center and home to the Ukrainian military's regional headquarters.“Once there are less people, we will be able to concentrate more on our enemy and perform our main tasks,” Kyrylenko said.The governor’s call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war. According to the U.N. refugee agency, more than 7.1 million Ukrainians are estimated to be displaced within Ukraine, and more than 4.8 million refugees left the country since Russia's invasion started on Feb. 24The governor said that because they house critical infrastructure such as water filtration plants, Russia’s main targets are now Kramatorsk and a city 16 kilometers 10 miles) to the north, Sloviansk. Kyrylenko described the shelling as “very chaotic” without “a specific target ... only to destroy civilian infrastructure and residential areas.”Sloviansk also came under sustained bombardment Tuesday. Mayor Vadim Lyakh said on Facebook that “massive shelling” pummeled Sloviansk, which had a population of about 107,000 before Russian invaded Ukraine more than four months ago. The mayor, who urged residents hours earlier to evacuate, advised them to take cover in shelters.At least one person was killed and another seven wounded Tuesday, Lyakh said. He said the city’s central market and several districts came under attack, adding that authorities were assessing the extent of the damage.<figure class="image"><img src="https://emfservices.azureedge.net/news/35581.jpg" alt="Ukrainian soldier Valentyna with her cat and boyfriend partner Vitalii, right, take a walk in the main square of Kramatorsk, Ukraine"><figcaption>[Photo Credit: AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty] Ukrainian soldier Valentyna with her cat and boyfriend partner Vitalii, right, take a walk in the main square of Kramatorsk, Ukraine</figcaption></figure>The barrage targeting Sloviansk indicated that Russian forces were positioned to advance farther into Ukraine's Donbas region, a mostly Russian-speaking industrial area where the country's most experienced soldiers are concentrated.Sloviansk has previously taken rocket and artillery fire during Russia's war in Ukraine, but the bombardment picked up in recent days after Moscow took the last major city in neighboring Luhansk province, Lyakh said.“It’s important to evacuate as many people as possible,” he warned Tuesday morning, adding that shelling damaged 40 houses on Monday.The Ukrainian military withdrew its troops Sunday from the city of Lysychansk to keep them from being surrounded. Russia's defense minister and Putin said the city's subsequent capture put Moscow in control of all of Luhansk, one of two provinces that make up the Donbas.The office of Ukraine's president said the Ukrainian military was still defending a small part of Luhansk and trying to buy time to establish fortified positions nearby.The question now is whether Russia can muster enough strength to complete its seizure of the Donbas by taking Donetsk province, too. Putin acknowledged Monday that Russian troops who fought in Luhansk need to “take some rest and beef up their combat capability.”Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Tuesday that the war in Ukraine would continue until all of the goals set by Putin are achieved. However, Shoigu said “the main priorities” for Moscow at the moment were “preserving the lives and health” of the troops, as well as “excluding the threat to the security of civilians.”When Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine more than four months ago, his stated goals were defending the people of the Donbas against Kyiv’s alleged aggression, and the “demilitarization” and “denazifaction” of Ukraine.Pro-Russia separatists have fought Ukrainian forces and controlled much of the Donbas for eight years. Before the invasion this year, Putin recognized the independence of the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the region. He also sought to portray the tactics of Ukrainian forces and the government as akin to Nazi Germany's, claims for which no evidence has emerged.The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said Russian forces also shelled several Donetsk towns and villages around Sloviansk in the past day but were repelled as they tried to advance toward a town about 20 kilometers (12 miles) to the city's north. South of the city, Russian forces were trying to push toward two more towns and shelling areas near Kramatorsk.Meanwhile, Moscow-installed officials in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region on Tuesday announced the formation of a new regional government, with a former Russian official at the helm.Sergei Yeliseyev, the head of the new Moscow-backed government in Kherson, is a former deputy prime minister of Russia’s western exclave of Kaliningrad and also used to work at Russia's Federal Security Service, or the FSB, according to media reports.It wasn’t immediately clear what would become of the “military-civic administration” the Kremlin installed earlier. The administration's head, Vladimir Saldo, said in a Telegram statement that the new government was “not a temporary, not a military, not some kind of interim administration, but a proper governing body.”“The fact that not just Kherson residents, but Russian officials, too, are part of this government speaks clearly about the direction the Kherson region is headed in the future," he said. "This direction is to Russia.”Kherson's Russia-installed administration previously stated plans for the region to become part of Russia, either through a referendum or other means.There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.In other developments:— The 30 NATO allies signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, sending the two nations' membership bids to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals. The move further increases Russia’s strategic isolation. Alliance Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg hailed the signing as a "truly a historic moment for Finland, for Sweden and for NATO.”— The war in Ukraine has drawn millions of dollars away from countries facing other crises. Somalia, suffering a food shortage largely driven by the war, may be the most vulnerable. Its aid funding is less than half of last year’s level while overwhelmingly Western donors have sent more than $1.7 billion to respond to the war in Europe. Yemen, Syria, Iraq, South Sudan, Congo and the Palestinian territories are similarly affected.— Spain boosted military spending in an attempt to reach its commitment to NATO to dedicate 2% of gross domestic product to defense. Spain’s Cabinet approved a one-off Defense Ministry expenditure of almost 1 billion euros ($1 billion) that the government said was necessary to pay for unexpected expenses from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Spain has sent military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine and deployed more troops and aircraft to NATO missions in Eastern Europe.

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A Ukrainian serviceman looks at the rubble of a school that was destroyed some days ago during a missile strike in outskirts of Kharkiv

The governor’s call for residents to leave appeared to represent one of the biggest suggested evacuations of the war. 

Russian Push Continues - Ukraine Urges Mass Evacuation Of 350,000 People

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Americans don’t expect to rely on the digital services that became commonplace during the pandemic after COVID-19 subsides, according to a new poll, even as many think it's a good thing if those options remain available in the future.Close to half or more of U.S. adults say they are not likely to attend virtual activities, receive <a href="https://apnews.com/article/virus-outbreak-health-us-news-business-public-health-54da28f75c478ac1130170677958a7b5">virtual health care</a>, have groceries delivered or use curbside pickup after the coronavirus pandemic is over, according to a poll from <a href="https://apnorc.org/">The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research</a>. Less than 3 in 10 say they're very likely to use any of those options at least some of the time.Still, close to half also say it would be a good thing if virtual options for health care, for community events and for activities like fitness classes or religious services continue after the pandemic.“Rather than this either-or, I think we’re more likely to be facing a hybrid future,” said Donna Hoffman, director of the Center for the Connected Consumer at the George Washington School of Business. “People have found convenience in some of these virtual options that just makes sense, and they don’t necessarily have anything to do with like keeping you safe or the pandemic even though they came of age during the pandemic.”<blockquote>Despite feeling antsy about COVID-19 and infection rates in Phoenix, Tony DiGiovane, 71, said he found curbside pickup at grocery stores and restaurants to be more hassle than they’re worth.“By the time I picked up the stuff, I needed more stuff,” he said of his grocery orders, and “something’s always missing or wrong” on takeout orders.</blockquote>Digital daily routines became the default in 2020 as the nation reacted to the rapidly spreading virus, which prompted lockdowns, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/covid-19-surge-schools-go-remote-344a2b564fb33719f51fcd7a73cad101">closed schools</a> and shuttered businesses. Some substitutions, like online shopping and video conference calling, already existed. Others were reimagined or popularized during the pandemic.Either way, Hoffman said, there was “rapid” deployment and adoption of virtual services. It was a question of “how are we going to make this work?” she said.Cornelius Hairston said his family took precautions throughout the pandemic because his wife is a first responder in the health care field.“We tried to stay in as much as we could and only come out for essentials,” said Hairston, 40, who recently moved to Roanoke, Virginia.Hairston joked that his twin 4-year-old boys are “COVID babies” who didn’t even go to a grocery store for much of their young lives. The family used delivery services almost exclusively to avoid venturing out to crowded stores. But going forward, he only expects to use them “from time to time.”For Angie Lowe, the convenience of telemedicine and time saved was reason enough to do it again even though she and her husband returned to doing things in public more than a year ago.Lowe had her first telemedicine appointment early in the pandemic when feeling “lonely” and “stuck at home” kept her from sleeping well. She was able to talk with the doctor without having to take extra time off of work to drive to and wait in a medical center.“It was my first telemedicine appointment, but it won’t be my last,” said Lowe, 48, of Sterling, Illinois. “If I can do it, I’m going to do it.”For many, though, drawbacks outweigh the benefits of relying on digital services in the future. Adults age 50 or older are especially likely to say they are not planning to use the virtual options asked about on the poll going forward, even though many were introduced during the pandemic to protect the at-risk population.Karen Stewart, 63, recognizes the benefits of video calls, but she’s also found them to be limiting. That’s the case in her job organizing after school programming for kids. She also now sees some of her doctors online, one who provides virtual care almost exclusively and another who uses virtual care in between office visits.She likes that she doesn’t have to drive, but it means a doctor or nurse can’t take her vitals or be “hands on” in her care. It was “scary,” for example, when all of her appointments in the lead-up to a surgery were online, she said.“When I do that they they can’t take my blood pressure, my pulse. There’s things that a doctor might pick up on that they can’t see online,” said Stewart of Perris, California.The pandemic created an opportunity to balance in-person and virtual services to support the physical and mental health of older adults, said Alycia Bayne, a principal research scientist at NORC. That “could be particularly beneficial to older adults with different health issues, mobility limitations, people who lack transportation options, people who do not have or live near a robust social networks like family and friends to lean on,” she said.Still, there remain limitations with technology access, broadband access and digital literacy, which Bayne said may help explain why the poll finds older adults less likely to use digital services after the pandemic.Despite the age gap on use of services, similar percentages of adults across ages say it’s a good thing for virtual options for health care, for community events and meetings and for activities to continue after the pandemic.“They recognize the benefits of virtual services, but they’re also ready to start getting back to their pre-pandemic routines,” she said. “The silver lining, of course, is that these services are now available.”___The poll of 1,001 adults was conducted May 12-16 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4 percentage points.

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A 24-hour grocery pickup location at a Walmart in Oklahoma City

“Rather than this either-or, I think we’re more likely to be facing a hybrid future.”

We're Moving Away From 'Virtual' Things Like Curbside Pickup, But Do Want Online Church & Healthcare Available

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Tuesday bestowed the nation's highest military honor to four Army soldiers for their heroism above and beyond the call of duty during the Vietnam War.Biden presented the Medal of Honor to Staff Sergeant Edward N. Kaneshiro, Specialist Five Dwight W. Birdwell, Specialist Five Dennis M. Fujii, and retired Major John J. Duffy. Speaking in the East Room of the White House, Biden praised their heroism and lamented that they hadn't received appropriate recognition until now.“Not every service member has received the full recognition they deserve,” Biden said. “Today, we're setting the record straight."Recounting their battlefield service, Biden said they “went far and above the call of duty."“More than 50 years have passed since the jungles of Vietnam,” Biden added. “But time has not diminished their bravery.”Kaneshiro died in 1967 of a gunshot wound in <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/vietnam-war">Vietnam</a> and is being given the award posthumously for a Dec. 1, 1966 raid, where his unit came under fire by North Vietnamese troops. His actions were credited with helping his unit withdraw from the village where they were fighting.Birdwell, now a lawyer in Oklahoma City, was honored for his actions in helping to head off an assault and evacuate wounded at Tan Son Nhut Airbase near Saigon on January 31, 1968, despite injuries to his torso and face.Fujii was presented with the medal for actions over four days in February 1971 treating wounded and directing air strikes against enemy positions after his air ambulance was forced to crash land.Duffy's award is for leading troops who came under ambush after their commander was killed in action, repelling attackers and evacuating wounded, despite his own injuries.

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President Joe Biden presents the Medal of Honor to Staff Sgt. Edward Kaneshiro for his actions on Dec. 1, 1966, during the Vietnam War, as his son John Kaneshiro accepts the posthumous recognitionduring a ceremony in the East Room of the White House

“More than 50 years have passed since the jungles of Vietnam, But time has not diminished their bravery.”

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