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(Whitesburg) Mountain Eagle - 12.11.25 · Eastern Kentucky Newspapers

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Speaker 1: Now we turn to the Mountain Eagle to read news
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from Weisburg. Your reader today is Bill van Arsdale. We
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will begin with the addition dated December tenth, twenty twenty five,
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which the publishers have donated to Radio Eye as a reminder.
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Radio Eye is a reading service intended for people who
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are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
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to read printed material. The first headline is Kentucky Missed
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Distillery is holding a birthday bash for the unveiling of
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the county's oldest aged whiskey. Kentucky Missed Distillery in Whitsburg
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is holding a birthday party on Saturday for the release
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of its four year old whiskey, the oldest whiskey ever
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produced in Letcher County. Created as a moonshine distillery, Kentucky
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mist now makes several other alcoholic beverages, including Old Henry,
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a barrel aged corn whiskey. But while the Old Henry
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made there in the past was aged for two years
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in small barrels to approximate the taste of a longer
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aged whiskey, this Old Henry is the real thing, aged
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for four years in full sized barrels. I want to
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see what it's like we haven't tried it either, said
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Kentucky Misted owner Colin Fultz. In Fults's estimation, a special
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whiskey deserves a special day, So this Saturday, the distillery
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will hold a birthday party with tickets at two hundred
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dollars to three hundred and seventy five dollars each. For
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that whiskey, connoisseurs will get a three to four hour
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experience at the distillery. Ticket Holders will learn how to
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distill whiskey from the mash to the finished product, help
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fill up a new barrel of Old Henry to be
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opened in two thousand TI twenty nine, and then cross
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the street to the barrel house to tap into the
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first batch. They will then help with the proofing process
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and bottle their own four year old whiskey. I thought
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it was neat because it's the oldest aged whiskey ever
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made in Electric County. False sid When the barrel is opened,
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it won't be for the faint of heart. Whiskey is
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aged at full strength and cut with water to the
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finished proof before it's bottled. Old Henry is sold at
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ninety proof or forty five percent alcohol by volume. It'll
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be about one hundred and thirty five proof coming out
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of the barrel false sid he said. While the four
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year old batch may be made similarly to other whiskeys,
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there are some key differences, one being the proof at
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which it's aged. It's also similar to chards, a type
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of dark moonshine, but charges are only kept in a
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barrel long enough to color the drink. And unlike some
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other distilleries, Kentucky Missed is picky about its corn, Fult said.
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Some others use any kind of corn available. We're real
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strict about the kind of corn we use, he said.
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We use one white sweet corn from western Kentucky and
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it makes it more consistent. The tasting isn't the only
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part of the day Saturday that is different. People who
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attend will sign the new barrel of whiskey before it's
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sealed up to age, and they'll sign the barrel they
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empty that day. That barrel will be raffled off at
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the end of the day. The next story is city
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takes step needed to get work going on old hotel building.
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The city of Weisburg has taken another step towards the
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second phase of renovations of the old Daniel Boone Hotel
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signing a memorandum of agreement with Letcher County. The Eky
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Heritage Foundation will sign the agreement next clearing the way
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for architects to be interviewed. The city council voted last
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month to award an architecture contract, but learned later that
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it must first interview the architects who applied. The vote
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last month was based solely on scoring done when the
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proposals were opened. This is a project of the City
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of Watchburg, but Pine Mountain Partnership and Lescher County are
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working with the city to see the project to completion.
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The nine thousand, two hundred twenty four square foot building
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was opened as the Daniel Boone Hotel on Independence Day
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weekend nineteen twenty and was last used as a hotel
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in nineteen seventy four. Mountain Comprehensive Health Corporation turned it
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into a clinic after that, and it was used as
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the Letcher County Courthouse while the Courthouse building was being
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renovated on the street in the nineteen nineties. The Dollhare
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family donated it to the City of Witchburg in two
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thousand and nine after about ten years of its sitting
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empty and unused. Before the city could get money to
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renovate it. The roof collapsed, taking part of the three
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floors below with it. The city used a one point
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five million dollar Appalachian Regional Commission grant to gut the
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collapsed interior and build a new roof and new floors,
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but nothing else has been done because no money is available.
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Missy Matthews, who is chairwoman of the Electric County Tourism
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and Convention Commissions, with her husband, Junior Matthews, founded the
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Eky Heritage Foundation and set in February of twenty twenty
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four that it would take about eight million dollars to
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finish the building, far more than the three million dollars
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appropriated by the state legislature in May of that year.
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As a result, the work is being broken into smaller projects.
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The first thing planned is replacement of the windows in
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the building and space for retail, a restaurant, and a
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bar on the main street level. More money will be
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needed to complete hotel rooms on the second and third floors,
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and probably for convention and meeting space in the walk
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out basement. The hotel is one piece of a proposed
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two hundred seven point six million dollar long term plan
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for tourism development in Lesser County. That plan was presented
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to the public in February twenty twenty four. The plan
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includes resorts, hiking trails and mountain biking trails, ATV trails,
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and camping. The next headline is ruling in Stein's case
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hinged on probable cause. The motion to dismiss the murder
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indictment of former Sheriff Sean Mickey Steins hinged on a
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question of yes or no, but a judge said, the
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only question that matters at this point is whether there
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was probable cause to believe the sheriff killed the judge.
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He said there is. Judge Christopher T. Koran also overruled
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emotion to release a copy of a mental health evaluation
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of Stein's conducted by a state psychiatrist to determine whether
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Steins was suffering from extreme emotional disturbance when he shot
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and killed Judge Kevin R. Mullens in his chambers on
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September nineteenth, twenty twenty four. At issue in both requests
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was how Stamper answered two questions from grand jurors before
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returning the indictment against Stein's on November seventeenth, twenty twenty four,
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one juror asked, so he was insane mind as far
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as the investigation is gone. Stamper answered yes. The defense
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argued that Stamper was unfairly giving his opinion, but the
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court ruled the questions from the juror were about the
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medical records Stamper had already given them. The defense also
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sought to dismiss because Stamper answered no when a juror
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asked if there was any evidence Mullins was involved in
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a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by a female inmate against
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the judge's former bailiff, deputy, Ben Fields. Though defense attorneys
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contended that Mullens was involved in the lawsuit because Fields's
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crime occurred in the judge's office, the court ruled that
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a prosecutor has no obligation to give a grand jury
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any evidence other than that which shows probable cause to
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make an indictment. Mullins was not a party to the
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lawsuit and did not give a deposition in it. Kuran
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granted another motion for an evidentiary bail hearing, but denied
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a motion by the defense that a report of the
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Kentucky Corrections Psychiatric Center evaluation of Stein's be unsealed. So
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they could use it at that hearing. A bail hearing
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is not a trial rehearsal, Quran wrote, noting that bail
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is not required to be granted if proof is evident
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or if the presumption of guilt is great. Any proof
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which may exist and be used to contradict the Commonwealth's
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facts naturally exists apart from the sealed KCPC evaluation. Quran,
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who normally sits in the Eighth Judicial Circuit in Western Kentucky,
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wrote that the defense was conflating the role of a
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grand jury, which is to accuse a defendant, with the
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role of a trial jury, which is to adjudicate the charge.
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Qoran ruled that the prosecution's only burden was to present
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evidence that would provide probable cause that the defendant committed murder,
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that is, with intent to cause the death of another person.
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Here Judge Mullens, he caused the death of such person.
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That burden was satisfied, Koran wrote. As noted above, the
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prosecutor played the video footage showing the defendant shooting Judge
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Mullins multiple times. Koran wrote that evidence alone removed the
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question of who shot and killed Judge Mullens. The video
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footage clearly serves as a reasonable ground for belief the
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defendant intended to cause the death when he shot and
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killed Judge Mullins. Koran also ruled that the defense's contention
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that the case should be dismissed because the prosecutors allegedly
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violated rules of criminal procedure by not recording their first
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meeting with the grand jury was moot because there was
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no testimony. Given the plain language of the Rule of
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Criminal Procedure five point one six sub section one and
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statutory interpretation principles support the Commonwealth position that it did
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not provide testimony when it met the grand jury and
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requested subpoenas, and therefore Rule of Criminal Procedure five point
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one six sub section one was not violated when a
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recording of its request was not made. Quran wrote. The
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next story is Basher Trump is bluffing with threat to
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cut off benefits to SNAP recipients. Governor Andy Basher says
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the Trump administration is bluffing when it threatens to cut
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off SNAP benefits unless the state turns over personal information,
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including immigration status, on all SNAP recipients. Basheer said the
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administration first sent a letter demanding the information. In May,
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Basheer joined more than twenty other states insuing the administration
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to block the request, and a judge issued a ruling
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in September saying the federal government is not entitled to
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the data it asked for. Basheer said another letter arrived
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last week asking for the information for a new security protocol,
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but still did not threaten cancelation of benefits. It only
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asked that the states send letters saying why they won't
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provide the information. We as a group of states, we're
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working on that. When during the televised cabinet meeting, which
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is something Brooke Rallins comes out and says or we're
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going to cut them off if they don't send us
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the information by that date, Basheer said, the administration is
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not appealing the judge's earlier order. Bascher said, so it
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still stands. While opponents of Bascher say the federal government
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is entitled to the information to combat fraud, he said
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that's not why the government said it was asking for
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the information. The stated reason was not to detect fraud.
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It was about immigration and wanting to use the information
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for immigration purposes. Bascher said. Baschu speculated that cabinet members
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feel the need to puff up and look strong at
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the cabinet meeting, but said threatening to let people starve
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for political purposes is just wrong and they should knock
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it off. I will go back to court if I
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have to to ensure that these benefits continue, Bashir said.
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The Trump administration has a ruling saying they cannot cut
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off benefits because they don't provide personal information that the
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federal government is not entitled to under law. In the
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next headline, EPA cuts fossil fuels from website on climate change,
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the Environmental Protection Agency has removed any mention of fossil fuels,
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the main driver of global warming, from its popular online
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page explaining the causes of climate change. Now it only
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mentions natural phenomena, even though scientists calculate that nearly all
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of the warming is due to human activity. Sometime in
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the past few day weeks, EPA altered some but not all,
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of its climate change web pages, de emphasizing and even
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deleting references to the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas,
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which scientists say is the overwhelming cause of climate change.
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The website's causes of climate change page mentions changes in
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Earth's orbit, solar activity, earth's reflectivity, volcanoes, and natural carbon
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dioxide changes, but not the burning of fossil fuels. Seven
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scientists and three former EPA officials tell the Associated Press
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that this is misleading and harmful. Now it is completely wrong,
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said University of California climate scientists Daniel Swain, who also
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noted that impacts, risks, and indicators of climate change on
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the EPA site are now broken links. This was a
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tool that I know for a fact that a lot
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of it educators used, and a lot of people. It
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was actually one of the best designed, easy access climate
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change information websites for the US. Earlier this year, the
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Trump administration removed the National Climate Assessment from government websites.
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It is outrageous that our government is hiding information and lying,
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said former Obama National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief and
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Oregon State oceanographer Jane Lubchenka. People have a right to
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know the truth about the things that affect their health
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and safety, and the government has a responsibility to tell
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the truth. An October version of the same EPA page
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saved by the Internet wayback Machine said since the Industrial Revolution,
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human activities have released large amounts of carbon dioxide and
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other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which has changed the
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Earth's clime climate. Natural processes, such as changes in the
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Sun's energy and volcanic eruptions also affect the Earth's climate. However,
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they do not explain the warming that we have observed
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over the last century that now reads. Natural processes are
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always influencing the Earth's climate and can explain climate changes
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prior to the Industrial Revolution in the seventeen hundreds. However,
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recent climate changes cannot be explained by natural causes alone.
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Unlike the previous administration, the trope EPA is focused on
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protecting human health and the environment while powering the Great
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American comeback, not left wing political agendas, said Bridget Hirsch,
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EPA spokesperson in an email. As such, this agency no
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longer takes marching orders from the climate cult plus for
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all the pearl clutters out there. The website is archived
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and available to the public. Clicking on Explore Climate Change
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resources on the EPA archived website leads to an error
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message that says this XML file does not appear to
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have any style information associated with it. Former Republican Governor
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Christy Todd Whitman, who was EPA administrator under George W. Bush, said,
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you can refuse to talk about it, but it doesn't
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make it go away. And we're seeing it, everybody's seeing it.
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We look ridiculous. Quite frankly, Whitman told the Associated Press
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in an interview, the rest of the world understands this
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is happening, and they're taking steps, and we're just going backwards.
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We're knocking ourselves back into the stone age. The next
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story is do you want a tattoo erased? It's costly
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and it's painful. Colin Farrells had it done many times.
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So have Angelina, Joe Lee and Megan Fox. Heck, even
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Bart Simpson did, whether it's Marilyn Monroe's face, Billy Bob
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Thornton's name, a sultry Rose, or even Bart's partially inscribed
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homage to his mother. Some tattoos simply have to go
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for one reason or many others, but the process of
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taking them off is longer, much more costly, and ouch
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extremely more painful than getting them put on, according to
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professionals in the industry. Also due to health reasons, some
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souls who braved the ink needles should be wary of
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the laser when having their body art erased or covered up.
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Tattoos have been around for centuries. The oldest known tattoos
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were found on remains of a Neolithic man who lived
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in the Italian Alps around three thousand BC. Many mummies
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from ancient Egypt also have tattoos, as do remains from
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cultures around the world. Tattoo removal likely is almost as
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old as the practice of inking, and including scraping the
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skin to get the pigments off or out. A more
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civilized method evolved in the nineteen sixties when Leon Goldman,
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a University of Cincinnati dermatologist, used hot vapor bursts from
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a laser on tattoos and the skin that bore them.
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Many choose tattoos to honor someone. A twenty twenty three
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survey by the Pew Research Center determined that thirty two
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percent of adults in the United States have tattoos. About
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twenty two percent have more than one. According to the survey,
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honoring or remembering someone or something accounts for the biggest
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reason Americans get their first tattoo. About twenty four were
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sent in the survey regret getting them. Tracy Herman fifty
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four of Plymouth, Michigan, just west of Detroit, has eight
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tattoos and is in the process of getting four phrases,
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including one step at a time, Surrender and through it
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all removed from her feet and arms. She started inching
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up about six years ago and says she doesn't regret
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getting tattoos. Maybe a different choice maybe. Hermann said following
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her fourth tattoo removal session at Chroma Tattoo Studio and
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Laser Tattoo Removal in Brighton, Michigan. There was a period
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in my life that I felt needed some extra reminder,
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Hermann said. I thought I would just embrace the period
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in my life, so that helped, and then just to
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surrender and give it over to God. So half of
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them were really really pivotal to getting me over a
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hump in my life boredom. Among reasons to remove tatts,
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Hermann says the four getting lasered are part of her
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past and that's where she wants them to stay now.
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I just want to move forward and go back to
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the original skin I was born with, she said. But
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the other four I'm going to keep. They still mean
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a lot to me, but they're more hidden. Reasons for
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getting a tattoo removed are as varied and personal as
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the reasons for getting them in the first place, says
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Ryan Wright, a registered nurse and owner of ink Blasters
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Precision Laser tattoo Removal in Livonia, Michigan. A lot of people,
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when they get a new tattoo that makes some of
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their old tattoos look bad, they get the older tattoos
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removed or reworked, right, said Chrome owner Jamie Howard says
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boredom plays a role too. They get a tattoo off
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of whim and they're like, Hey, I'm really bored with this.
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I don't want this anymore. Howard said. It's not about
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hating their tattoo, it's about change for yourself, like snapping
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a rubber band on your skin. Howard and Wright, like
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many who perform laser removals, use something called a Q
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switching or quality switching laser. It concentrates the light energy
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into intense, short bursts or pulses. It's very painful nine
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out of ten. Wright said it kind of feels like
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a rubber band being snapped on your skin with hot
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bacon grease. Howard has had some of her tattoos removed,
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and admits the procedure is painful, but you get through it.
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She said, A couple of days later, you're still feeling
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the sunburn, but it's okay. If you want it bad enough,
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you'll take it off because that's what you want. Light
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heat from the laser breaks the ink into particles small
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enough to be absorbed by the body and later excreted
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as waste. It's not a one undone. Wright said. Tattoo
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removal can take eight to twelve treatments or more. A
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new tattoo can go over the old one once the
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skin has had time to sufficiently heal. Howard consulted with
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Herman as her fourth session at Chroma began. They spoke
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about the previous session and how far along they were
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with the ink removal. Both then donned dark sunglasses to
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protect their eyes from the brightness of the laser. Herman
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winced seconds later it was done, but she still has
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more sessions ahead. Oh gosh, it's a ten when you're
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getting it done, Hermann said, of the pain, it's pretty intense.
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It's doable. I know price is sometimes an issue, but
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it's worth it. Removal can be costly. Howard says the
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minimum she charges is one hundred dollars per session. Wright
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says that on a typical day he does about a
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dozen treatments and that cost depends on the square inch
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size of the tattoo. The cost is really the technology
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in the laser. Wright said, it's not like a time thing.
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Most treatments are under a minute. You're paying for the
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technology and the person who knows how to use the technology.
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You can damage the skin if you don't know what
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you're doing. Tattoo removal not safe for everyone. Using lasers
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to remove tattoos comes with some risks. Skin that bore
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the tattoo can be left lighter than surrounding skin. There
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also can be temporary scarring, infection, redness, or soreness. According
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to the US Food and Drug Administration, consultations on the procedures,
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complications should take place before laser tattoo removal. His clients
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have to sign a waiver that they understand possible complications.
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People who have diabetes and are not controlling the diabetes
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should be wary, he said. Anybody with autoimmune disease or
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any immune deficiencies. Right said, we can't do it if
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you're on blood thinners. I go over the side effects
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with everyone. The next story is Meteor shower coming. It's
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time for one of the strongest meteor showers of the year.
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The Geminids peak this weekend and are visible for a
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few more nights after that. According to the American Meteor Society,
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the meteors tend to be yellow in color and can
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be seen across the globe, but the best viewing happens
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in the northern Hemisphere. Skygazers can see up to one
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hundred and twenty meteors per hour under dark skies during
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the peak Saturday night into Sunday's pre dawn. According to NASA,
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meteor showers appear when fast moving space rocks hit Earth's
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atmosphere and burn up, leaving behind fiery trails the end
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of a shooting star. The meteor shower will appear over
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the whole sky, so look to the darkest part or
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search for the Gemini constellation for which the shower is named.
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Wait fifteen to twenty minutes for your eyes to get
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used to the darkness. The next story is Vaught's Views
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by Larry Vaught. New Coach's dad says he's ready for job.
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Matt Stein has always taken the approach that whatever decisions
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his son William made about his coaching future was none
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of my business. However, the former University of Kentucky defensive
26:53
lineman certainly was happy that his son decided to leave Oregon,
26:58
where he was offensive coordinator, to become the head football
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coach at Kentucky. It's just surreal how this all worked out,
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said Matt Stein, a Louisville attorney. It has been crazy
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in a good way. Somebody asked me before this even
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got thought about what William, his parents call him William,
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was going to do and if he had goals. I
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told him to stop. I said, he is a grown
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man and whatever he does is between him, his wife, Derby,
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and their agent. He's always been a great decision maker,
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so I leave all those career choices to him and
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his wife. Will Stein grew up a Kentucky fan, and
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even though he was a quarterback at Louisville, he's always
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been passionate for Kentucky sports. His parents had UK football
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and basketball season tickets. He attended Tubby Smith's basketball camp.
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His parents had a poster of UK basketball star DeMarcus
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Cousins hanging in their house. When I got a call
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from him that he was coming to Kentucky. We both
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had tears of joy. It was just an overwhelming moment.
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He asked me to keep it quiet until it was
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officially announced, and that was hard because my phone started
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blowing up even before it became official. Matt Stein said,
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And this concludes the reading of The Mountain Eagle. Your
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reader has been billed and arsenale. Now please stay tuned
28:28
for continued programming on behalf of everyone here at Radio
28:32
I thank you for listening, and have a good day.