🐤 21 years later...

🏳 Bannon’s Surrender: Although former President Donald Trump handed his ex-adviser a pardon before he left office, it doesn’t seem to be enough to save Steve Bannon from prosecution. Although the details are sketchy, reports indicate Bannon is expected to surrender to authorities today on charges related to alleged fraud in a fundraiser meant to provide money for the construction of a border wall.

📱No More Notch: If you’re one of the iPhone users who has complained about the notch at the top of your screen used for the selfie camera and sensor, Apple has heard your concerns. The forthcoming iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models are ditching the cutout and will instead feature a smaller section near the bottom of the screen to serve the same purposes (and more). This means more usable space for your endless social media scrolling.

💰 Free Filing: The Biden administration has received a boost to its popularity with the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, but the real benefit might come when tax time rolls around again. A $15 million provision in the bill is earmarked for the creation of a free digital platform that will make it easier (and cheaper) to file your taxes each year. H&R Block might not be happy to hear about it, but the average taxpayer probably will.

🐺 Zoo Escape: Visitors of the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo got a bit more than they bargained for this week when a Mexican gray wolf escaped from its enclosure. Although the animal made its way to the guest area and roamed the perimeter for about five minutes, none of the employees or guests were in any danger. Nevertheless, spokeswoman Jacqueline Gerling noted that the zoo “takes these incidents very seriously, training for these types of scenarios on a regular basis.”

As the 21st anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks approaches, the number of victims continues to climb ever higher. Thousands of people who worked near the Twin Towers and the first responders who rushed in to rescue survivors are still dealing with serious health problems associated with that fateful day.

For that reason, a number of advocacy groups and organizations are dedicated to helping these victims get the help they so desperately need.

FealGood Foundation founder John Feal said that the coming years will highlight even more tragedy associated with those who were close to Ground Zero on Sept. 11, 2001. He advised: “The 20 years after 9/11 decimated the responder community. The next 20 years is going to eradicate the 9/11 responders.”

Feal should know. He suffered an injury that resulted in the amputation of part of his foot as he worked near the World Trace Center and later founded his organization to help others in a similar or more serious situation.

Despite a piece of legislation that passed in 2015 to render aid to those negatively impacted by their experience on 9/11, countless men and women continue waiting for help.

Feal explained: "In 2015, there were 76,000 people in the World Trade Center Health Care Program. Now there are close to 118,000 people in the program. Nobody took into consideration medical inflation."

He is among the advocates calling for billions of dollars in new funding to meet the needs of these often overlooked victims.

A team of excavators in Indonesia believes they have unearthed the remains of the first known person to have an amputated limb. The bones are thought to be long for a young adult who received a leg amputation in childhood and continued to live.

Aside from the sheer novelty of such a discovery, the skeleton might have shed some light on our understanding of prehistoric life — such as the following:

• Certain medical advancements could predate what scientists have long assumed.
• Caregivers were a bigger part of such communities that some experts have given them credit for since this patient was able to recover from such a serious surgery.
• The 31,000-year-old skeleton is roughly 24,000 years older than a skeleton previously believed to be the first known amputation.

As for how scientists concluded that the missing leg was surgically removed as opposed to an accident or injury, there are a few factors to consider. For starters, the bone appeared to be cut clean, rather than jagged or crushed.

Prehistoric villagers in the area might have used a sharp stone to make the amputation and experts believe natural properties in local plants might have protected against infection.

University of Nevada Las Vegas anthropologist weighed in on the significance of the find, explaining: “It had long been assumed health care is a newer invention. Research like this article demonstrates that prehistoric peoples were not just left to fend for themselves.”

In the aftermath of a deadly pandemic, it might not be surprising to learn that the life expectancy of Americans has trended downward in recent years. Experts, however, don’t think COVID-19 is the only culprit.

After a decrease in the expected life span in both 2020 and 2021, research shows that this is the most precipitous decline since the massive loss of life associated with World War II. Making matters worse, minorities — particularly Black, Hispanic, and indigenous groups — saw bigger declines than the overall population.

From 2019 to this year, the life expectancy for Americans has dipped from 79 years to just 76, which marks the lowest it’s been since the 1990s. While some other first-world countries have seen their respective expected life spans start to rebound, America might continue its current trajectory for some years to come.

After a long period of annual increases, the first dip in life expectancy actually came before COVID-19 and was attributed to serious health issues including heart attacks and strokes. When researchers studied 21 wealthy nations, only the U.S. and Israel registered a decline in life expectancy last year.

Urban Institute Health Policy Center senior fellow Laudan Aron put the statistics into stark terms, asserting: “The fact we cannot translate our economic wealth into protecting our population and ensuring that everybody has a fair chance to live a long and healthy and productive life is a real failure.”