Harvard Morgue Manager Sold Body Parts

ed store “Kat’s Creepy Creations,” sold the human remains that she purchased to other people, including to a man from Pennsylvania who spent $50,000 for human skin in order to make leather, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors said that Joshua Taylor paid the Lodges more than $37,000, sending $1,000 alone for what he called in writing “head number 7” and $200 alongside a document requesting “braiiiiiins.”

The indictment went on, alleging that Lodge even went as far as to give Maclean and Taylor a tour of the morgue so that they could pick the parts they wanted.

Cedric Lodge, a fifty-five-year-old former morgue manager at Harvard University’s Medical School, was federally indicted last week for stealing “dissected portions of donated cadavers, including … heads, brains, skin, bones, and other human remains, without the knowledge or permission of [the school] and removed those remains from the morgue in Massachusetts and transported them to his residence in New Hampshire.”

Lodge, and his wife, Denise, sold the body parts to multiple buyers, including Katrina Maclean and Joshua Taylor. Maclean, a forty-four-year-old shop owner who runs the Pennsylvania-locat-

“Some crimes defy understanding,” Gerard M. Karam, attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement, adding that “the theft and trafficking of human remains strikes at the very essence of what makes us human. It is particularly egregious that so many of the victims here volunteered to allow their remains to be used to educate medical professionals and advance the interests of science and healing. For them and their families to be taken advantage of in the name of profit is appalling. With these charges, we are seeking to secure some measure of justice for all these victims.”

Many choose to donate their bodies for use in educational facilities, as well as for scientific purposes, and the donated bodies are usually cremated and returned to the family, or buried in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, once the medical school or laboratory is finished with the corpse.

A day after the indictment, officials from Harvard responded, saying that they are “appalled to learn that something so disturbing could happen on campus – a community dedicated to healing and serving others.”

“The reported incidents are a betrayal of HMS (Harvard Medical School),” added Deans George Daley and Edward Hundert. “We are so very sorry for the pain this news will cause for our anatomical donors’ families and loved ones, and HMS pledges to engage with them during this deeply distressing time.”

More Friends, Longer Life

According to a new study, being lonely and socially isolated could be dangerous.

The new paper, published this week in the journal Nature Human Behavior, noted that there have been studies in the past that linked social isolation and loneliness with the risk of dying early. But this new paper is a meta-analysis of 90 studies that had examined the links between loneliness and social isolation and early death among more than 2 million adults. Study participants were followed for anywhere from six months to 25 years. there’s a discrepancy between the quality of social relationships they actually have and what they want, according to the meta-analysis. Someone in this situation may feel their relationships are unsatisfying if they don’t fulfill their needs for connection or intimacy, noted Anthony Ong, a professor of psychology and director of the Center for Integrative Developmental Science and Human Health Labs at Cornell University in New York state. ers socially should be included in your regimen of health-promoting activities: exercising, eating well, and looking after yourself.

There are several factors that could contribute to social isolation having a stronger effect on early death risk than loneliness, experts say.

Major Hack Exposes Millions’ Data

People who experienced social isolation had a 32% higher risk of dying early from any cause compared with those who weren’t socially isolated. Participants who reported feeling lonely were 14% more likely to die early than those who did not.

Social isolation, as defined by the new study, occurs when someone has an objective lack of contact with other people and can involve having a limited network or living alone.

Loneliness, on the other hand, refers to the subjective distress people feel if

“People who are lonely but not socially isolated have mental health stress but might be resilient to it because of their social networks” — even if those networks aren’t entirely what someone wants them to be, said the study’s first author Fan Wang, a professor of epidemiology at Harbin Medical University in China.

Having a small social network or little to no contact with the outside world can also make someone less likely to receive medical care if they don’t have anyone checking on them.

Now, scientists are saying that making sure you stay connected with oth -

In a major cybersecurity attack, millions of citizens from Louisiana and Oregon with driver’s licenses or state ID cards fell victim to significant data breaches. The same hack has impacted the U.S. federal government as well.

3.5 million Oregonians’ social security and driver’s license numbers were compromised in the data leak, along with 6 million Louisianian records, prompting many to fear identity theft and a rise in fraudulent activities.

Clop, a group of Russian hackers known for their ransomware attacks, has taken credit for the hacks and allegedly carried out their acts by abusing vulnerabilities in MOVEit, a well-known file-transfer program made by Progress Software, a company in Massachusetts. The attacks were likely done for money, according to U.S. officials.

Other victims include the BBC and British Airways, among other large companies, as well as John Hopkins University, University of Georgia, and other colleges as well.

“They’ve (the hackers) started releasing some of the data that was stolen as part of their work to extort these companies,” Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technology for the National Security Council, said. “We strongly encourage anyone who was a user of the software to, of course, patch, lock down their systems.”

In response, federal agencies are installing MOVEit updates, but in the midst of these events, a new weakness in the system was found, leading the company that makes the software to try to resolve the issues as quickly as possible.

According to reports, Clop has put many victims’ data up for ransom, even demanding $100 million from one company in particular. However, the group claims that it has not been targeting governments, writing on its website that “if you are a government, city or police service, do not worry. We erased all your data. You do not need to contact us. We have no interest to expose such information.”

Pittsburgh Synagogue Gunman Convicted

against him.

On October 27, 2018, the Pittsburgh synagogue was conducting Shabbos morning services when Robert Bowers entered the building with an AR-15 and three handguns and shot those praying until police came and arrested the white nationalist shooter.

On Friday, June 16, Bowers, who is responsible for the worst attack on Jews in the United States’ history, was convicted on all sixty-three federal charges after the jury deliberated over the span of two days for a total of five hours.

Bowers’ defense team did not seek to dispute the fact that he murdered and injured innocent people, for his lawyers themselves believed he was guilty of such. Rather, their goal was to prove that he killed not out of a hatred for Jewish people, but rather for his bigotry against immigrants. If such a claim were proven to be true, charges relating to anti-religious or anti-racial murder would have been dropped.

synagogue to kill Jews.”

Now that Bowers has been found guilty on all counts, the penalty phase will begin on June 26, and the jury will decide whether he should get life in prison with no parole or if he should get the death penalty.

In reacting to news of the conviction, Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, a survivor of the terrorist attack, stated, “I am grateful to G-d for getting us to this day, and I am thankful for the law enforcement who ran into danger to rescue me, and the U.S. Attorney who stood up in court to defend my right to pray.”

“Today’s verdict was a step toward justice in Pittsburgh, but the horror and pain of October 27, 2018 will never go away,” said Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. “My heart remains with the families of the 11 victims who were massacred as they worshipped at Tree of Life that day. May their memories be a blessing.”

Nearly five years ago, a gunman entered the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and murdered eleven congregants, injuring six more. Last week, he was convicted on all charges

“Stopping religious study was not his intent or motive,” Elisa Long, the gunman’s attorney, claimed. However, in the end, not a single charge was dropped.

Prosecutor Mary Hahn, in her closing arguments, stated that Bowers “outright told the SWAT operators he went to the

What Can be Done About the Pilot Shortage?

Due to the United States’ short supply of pilots, some members of Congress have proposed controversial policy changes in order to make it easier for people to professionally fly planes. Proposed changes include raising the pilot retirement age from 65 to 67, decreasing the required amount of training hours, and allowing more of the training to take place in a flight simulator. But not everyone likes these proposals. passenger fatalities by 99.8 percent since the current pilot training and qualification rules were implemented, would such a rollback even be considered?”

On Wednesday, June 14, the House Transportation Committee approved raising the pilot retirement age in a 32 to 31 decision, and the House as a whole will soon have to decide whether to vote for such a policy change.

A Texas Republican, Rep. Troy Nehls, claimed that a forced pilot retirement age supports the false cliché that as pilots age, they become less effective at their jobs.

Grand Canyon: The Most Deadly National Park

known as one of the world’s seven natural wonders, has extremely high temperatures at its base, the Phantom Ranch. Hikers may face a variety of health conditions from this intense heat, according to the National Park Service (NPS), including heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, and a life-threatening imbalance called hyponatremia, which is when there is too much water in the body and too little salt.

“A vote to reduce the 1,500-hour rule for pilot training will be blood on your hands when an inevitable accident occurs as a result of an inadequately trained flight crew,” argued Senator Tammy Duckworth, adding that simulators cannot replace the experience real training gives a pilot.

The Airline Pilots Association union strongly disagreed with the proposed ideas, with Jason Ambrosi, president of the union, writing in a letter, “Why, when we have reduced the number of airline

“If you are a pilot flying for the United, American, Southwest or Delta and the day you turn 65, you’re out of a job,” Nehls said, “effectively, Congress, we fire you on your birthday. You’re out of here.”

The two-year age change would have “a negligible, if any, impact on increasing the number of pilots available,” noted Democrat Representative Rick Larsen, disagreeing with the amendment. Larsen went on to say that older pilots tend to fly internationally in bigger aircrafts, and as such would technically need to be re-trained in order to be useful in their last two years, a claim Nehls called “baloney.”

According to reports, from 2018 to February 2023, six people were found dead at the Grand Canyon National Park, and 1,100 people were reported missing, with fifty-six yet to be found. These statistics make the Grand Canyon the national park with the most deaths and missing persons in the United States.

“On average, there are 12 fatalities within the canyon each year,” Ken Phillips, a retired chief of emergency services, noted. “Those can be everything relating to heat stroke, lightning, drownings on the river, air crashes, suicides, accidental falls – all types of things.”

The Arizona park, which is famously

“Park Rangers at Grand Canyon National Park strongly urge visitors, especially inner canyon hikers and backpackers, to be prepared for excessively hot days in the coming weeks,” the NPS wrote in a statement. “In the summer months, temperatures on exposed parts of the trail can reach over 120 degrees in the shade. Park rangers do not advise hiking in the inner canyon between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. as most heat-related illnesses are from hikers on trails between these hours.”

In addition, the Grand Canyon’s high-altitude levels present further risk to hikers. The canyon’s North Rim is around 8,000 feet, while its South Rim is about 7,000 feet. At elevated heights, one may experience an altitude illness syndrome called “Acute Mountain Sickness,” which, according to the CDC, generally causes headaches and usually one or more of the following conditions: “anorexia, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, [and] occasionally, vomiting.”

The Grand Canyon is just about the most visited national park, only second to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which has triple the amount of tourists each year and saw three deaths and thirty-four reports of missing persons from 2018 to February 2023.

The canyon is the only national park that has a rescue helicopter on-site, all year round, but due to “limited staff, the number of rescue calls, employee safety requirements, and limited helicopter flying capability during periods of extreme heat,” the rescue helicopter cannot save all.

Nevertheless, “don’t let [the risks] scare you off,” Wildland Trekking tour leader Scott Cundy said. “The Grand Canyon is one of the most profoundly beautiful and meaningful places in the world. Yeah, it’s dangerous, but go with a guide, be prepared, do your research, don’t go alone and you’ll have a great time.”