DETROIT — Fifty years later, a man who grew up in suburban Detroit tried to return a very overdue baseball book to his boyhood library. The answer: You can keep it — and no fine. Chuck Hildebrandt, 63, of Chicago said he visited the public library in Warren while in town for Thanksgiving, carrying a book titled "Baseball's Zaniest Stars." He borrowed it in 1974 as a 13-year-old "baseball nut" but never returned it. Chuck Hildebrandt of Chicago holds the book "Baseball's Zaniest Stars," which was due Dec. 4, 1974, at the Warren, Mich., library, on Dec. 10. "When you're moving with a bunch of books, you're not examining every book. You throw them in a box and go," said Hildebrandt, who lived in many cities. "But five or six years ago, I was going through the bookshelf and there was a Dewey decimal library number on the book. 'What is this?'" Inside the book was a slip of paper indicating it was due back at the Warren library on Dec. 4, 1974. Hildebrandt told The Associated Press he decided to keep the book until 2024 — the 50th anniversary — and then try to return it. He figured the library might want to publicize the long overdue exchange. Chuck Hildebrandt of Chicago shows the library slip in the overdue book "Baseball's Zaniest Stars" on Dec. 10. He said he recently met library director Oksana Urban, who listened to his pitch. Hildebrandt said he hasn't heard anything since then, though Urban told the Detroit Free Press that all is forgiven. "Some people never come back to face the music," she said of patrons with overdue books. "But there was really no music to face because he and the book were erased from our system." So "Baseball's Zaniest Stars" is back on Hildebrandt's shelf. In return, he's now trying to raise $4,564 for Reading is Fundamental , a nonprofit literacy group. The amount roughly represents a 50-year overdue library fine. Hildebrandt seeded the effort with $457. The Major League Baseball draft is unique among professional sports drafts. The 30 organizations pick teenagers and college students who will not join their big league clubs for years—if ever. These athletes will spend that time honing their craft in the minor leagues, where long bus rides and minuscule paychecks are the norm. A few will move quickly up the ranks, seizing playing time opportunities to advance their careers and making their names known to scouts, fans, and other observers around the country. Some of the best will become MLB stars, but there's minimal correlation to draft position. Four of the players on this list were picked after hundreds of other diamond darlings, and only two were #1 overall selections. There's also more than a handful who didn't do much for the teams that drafted them, including superstars such as Nolan Ryan, Ozzie Smith, and Randy Johnson. Each of these players was traded before they evolved into Hall of Famers. Still, calling the draft a "crapshoot" might be going too far. College players are " slightly more likely " than high schoolers to reach the revered stadiums of the majors, and third-rounders have a better chance than fifth-rounders, for example, though the margins are slim, as Vice reported. Teams not only make picks based on years-in-advance projections but also whether they can sign players, a step that must be completed before those youngsters begin playing professionally. To see how clubs have fared since the inaugural draft in 1965, ATS.io compiled a list of the best draft pick by each franchise using data from Baseball Reference . The players were ranked using career wins above replacement , so not one recent choice was named. The amazing Mike Trout, a 32-year-old selected in 2009, is the youngest player. Unsigned picks were not considered, and players who were traded as picks were credited to their acquiring teams. Data is as of June 5, 2024. - Draft: 11th overall pick in 2006 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 457 - Career stats: 214 wins, 3.15 earned run average, 1.08 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.) - Wins above replacement: 75.0 - Draft: 1st overall pick in 1990 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,499 - Career stats: 468 home runs, .303 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: The Bolles School (Jacksonville, Fla.) - Wins above replacement: 85.3 - Draft: 48th overall pick in 1978 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 3,001 - Career stats: 431 home runs, .276 batting average, .788 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Aberdeen HS (Aberdeen, Md.) - Wins above replacement: 95.9 - Draft: 19th overall pick in 1983 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 709 - Career stats: 354 wins, 3.12 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Texas at Austin (Austin, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 139.2 - Draft: 31st overall pick in 1984 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 744 - Career stats: 355 wins, 3.16 earned run average, 1.14 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Valley HS (Las Vegas, Nev.) - Wins above replacement: 106.6 - Draft: 7th overall pick in 1989 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 2,322 - Career stats: 521 home runs, .301 batting average, .974 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Auburn University (Auburn, Ala.) - Wins above replacement: 73.8 - Draft: 8th overall pick in 1995 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 2,247 - Career stats: 369 home runs, .316 batting average, .953 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tenn.) - Wins above replacement: 61.8 - Draft: 2nd overall pick in 2004 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 518 - Career stats: 260 wins, 3.25 earned run average, 1.12 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Old Dominion University (Norfolk, Va.) - Wins above replacement: 81.7 - Draft: 428th overall pick in 1988 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 2,103 - Career stats: 130 home runs, .299 batting average, .794 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: University of Arizona (Tucson, Ariz.) - Wins above replacement: 68.4 - Draft: 29th overall pick in 1971 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,707 - Career stats: 317 home runs, .305 batting average, .857 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: El Segundo HS (El Segundo, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 88.6 - Draft: 7th overall pick in 2006 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 425 - Career stats: 210 wins, 2.48 earned run average, 1.00 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Highland Park HS (Dallas, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 79.7 - Draft: 76th overall pick in 2007 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 1,589 - Career stats: 417 home runs, .258 batting average, .874 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Notre Dame HS (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 44.3 - Draft: 55th overall pick in 1969 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 692 - Career stats: 287 wins, 3.31 earned run average, 1.20 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Santiago HS (Garden Grove, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 94.5 - Draft: 295th overall pick in 1965 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 807 - Career stats: 324 wins, 3.19 earned run average, 1.25 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Alvin HS (Alvin, Texas) - Wins above replacement: 81.3 - Draft: 6th overall pick in 1992 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,747 - Career stats: 260 home runs, .310 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Central HS (Kalamazoo, Mich.) - Wins above replacement: 71.3 - Draft: 96th overall pick in 1976 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 3,081 - Career stats: 297 home runs, .279 batting average, .820 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Oakland Technical HS (Oakland, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 111.1 - Draft: 30th overall pick in 1971 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,404 - Career stats: 548 home runs, .268 batting average, .908 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Ohio University (Athens, Ohio) - Wins above replacement: 106.9 - Draft: 6th overall pick in 1985 - Position: Outfielder - Games played: 2,986 - Career stats: 762 home runs, .298 batting average, 1.051 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Arizona State University (Tempe, Ariz.) - Wins above replacement: 162.8 - Draft: 86th overall pick in 1977 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,573 - Career stats: 28 home runs, .262 batting average, .666 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 76.9 - Draft: 1st overall pick in 1993 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,784 - Career stats: 696 home runs, .295 batting average, .930 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Westminster Christian School (Miami, Fla.) - Wins above replacement: 117.6 - Draft: 402nd overall pick in 1999 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 3,080 - Career stats: 703 home runs, .296 batting average, .918 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Metropolitan Community College-Maple Woods (Kansas City, Mo.) - Wins above replacement: 101.4 - Draft: 3rd overall pick in 2006 - Position: Third baseman - Games played: 1,986 - Career stats: 342 home runs, .264 batting average, .804 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: California State University, Long Beach (Long Beach, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 58.6 - Draft: 4th overall pick in 1986 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 486 - Career stats: 211 wins, 3.28 earned run average, 1.22 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.) - Wins above replacement: 67.8 - Draft: 17th overall pick in 1995 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 416 - Career stats: 203 wins, 3.38 earned run average, 1.18 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: Arvada West HS (Arvada, Colo.) - Wins above replacement: 64.2 - Draft: 36th overall pick in 1985 - Position: Pitcher - Games played: 618 - Career stats: 303 wins, 3.29 earned run average, 1.17 walks plus hits per inning - College/HS: University of Southern California (Los Angeles, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 101.1 Data reporting by Karim Noorani. Story editing by Carren Jao. Additional editing by Kelly Glass. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on ATS.io and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. - Draft: 36th overall pick in 1965 - Position: Catcher - Games played: 2,158 - Career stats: 389 home runs, .267 batting average, .817 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Binger HS (Binger, Okla.) - Wins above replacement: 75.1 - Draft: 333rd overall pick in 1989 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,543 - Career stats: 612 home runs, .276 batting average, .956 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Illinois Central College (East Peoria, Ill.) - Wins above replacement: 73.1 - Draft: 25th overall pick in 2009 - Position: Centerfielder - Games played: 1,518 - Career stats: 378 home runs, .299 batting average, .991 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Millville Senior HS (Millville, N.J.) - Wins above replacement: 86.1 - Draft: 3rd overall pick in 1973 - Position: Shortstop - Games played: 2,856 - Career stats: 251 home runs, .285 batting average, .772 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: William Howard Taft Charter HS (Woodland Hills, Calif.) - Wins above replacement: 77.4 - Draft: 2nd overall pick in 1985 - Position: First baseman - Games played: 1,976 - Career stats: 284 home runs, .303 batting average, .880 on-base plus slugging - College/HS: Mississippi State University (Mississippi State, Miss.) - Wins above replacement: 56.5 Receive the latest in local entertainment news in your inbox weekly!Biomednewsbreaks - Why Adageis Is 'One To Watch'WASHINGTON — The House shut down Democrats' efforts Thursday to release the long-awaited ethics report into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, pushing the fate of any resolution to the yearslong investigation of sexual misconduct allegations into further uncertainty. Matt Gaetz talks before President-elect Donald Trump speaks during an America First Policy Institute gala at his Mar-a-Lago estate Nov. 14 in Palm Beach, Fla. The nearly party-line votes came after Democrats had been pressing for the findings to be published even though the Florida Republican left Congress and withdrew as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for attorney general. Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., was the sole Republican to support the effort. Most Republicans have argued that any congressional probe into Gaetz ended when he resigned from the House. Speaker Mike Johnson also requested that the committee not publish its report, saying it would be a terrible precedent to set. While ethics reports have previously been released after a member’s resignation, it is extremely rare. Shortly before the votes took place, Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., who introduced one of the bills to force the release, said that if Republicans reject the release, they will have “succeeded in sweeping credible allegations of sexual misconduct under the rug.” Gaetz has repeatedly denied the claims. Earlier Thursday, the Ethics panel met to discuss the Gaetz report but made no decision, saying in a short statement that the matter is still being discussed. It's unclear now whether the document will ever see the light of day as lawmakers have only a few weeks left before a new session of Congress begins. It's the culmination of weeks of pressure on the Ethics committee's five Republicans and five Democrats who mostly work in secret as they investigate allegations of misconduct against lawmakers. The status of the Gaetz investigation became an open question last month when he abruptly resigned from Congress after Trump's announcement that he wanted his ally in the Cabinet. It is standard practice for the committee to end investigations when members of Congress depart, but the circumstances surrounding Gaetz were unusual, given his potential role in the new administration. Rep. Michael Guest, R-Miss., the committee chairman, said Wednesday that there is no longer the same urgency to release the report given that Gaetz has left Congress and stepped aside as Trump's choice to head the Justice Department. “I’ve been steadfast about that. He’s no longer a member. He is no longer going to be confirmed by the Senate because he withdrew his nomination to be the attorney general,” Guest said. The Gaetz report has also caused tensions between lawmakers on the bipartisan committee. Pennsylvania Rep. Susan Wild, the top Democrat on the panel, publicly admonished Guest last month for mischaracterizing a previous meeting to the press. Gaetz has denied any wrongdoing and said last year that the Justice Department’s separate investigation against him into sex trafficking allegations involving underage girls ended without federal charges. His onetime political ally Joel Greenberg, a fellow Republican who served as the tax collector in Florida’s Seminole County, admitted as part of a plea deal with prosecutors in 2021 that he paid women and an underage girl to have sex with him and other men. The men were not identified in court documents when he pleaded guilty. Greenberg was sentenced in late 2022 to 11 years in prison. Among President-elect Donald Trump's picks are Susie Wiles for chief of staff, Susie Wiles, 67, was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 presidential campaign and its de facto manager. Trump to be secretary of state, making a former sharp critic his choice to be the new administration's top diplomat. Rubio, 53, is a noted hawk on China, Cuba and Iran, and was a finalist to be Trump's running mate on the Republican ticket last summer. Rubio is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “He will be a strong Advocate for our Nation, a true friend to our Allies, and a fearless Warrior who will never back down to our adversaries,” Trump said of Rubio in a statement. The announcement punctuates the hard pivot Rubio has made with Trump, whom the senator called a “con man" during his unsuccessful campaign for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination. Their relationship improved dramatically while Trump was in the White House. And as Trump campaigned for the presidency a third time, Rubio cheered his proposals. For instance, Rubio, who more than a decade ago helped craft immigration legislation that included a path to citizenship for people in the U.S. illegally, now supports Trump's plan to use the U.S. military for mass deportations. Pete Hegseth, 44, is a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend” and has been a contributor with the network since 2014, where he developed a friendship with Trump, who made regular appearances on the show. Hegseth lacks senior military or national security experience. If confirmed by the Senate, he would inherit the top job during a series of global crises — ranging from Russia’s war in Ukraine and the ongoing attacks in the Middle East by Iranian proxies to the push for a cease-fire between Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah and escalating worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea. Hegseth is also the author of “The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free,” published earlier this year. Trump tapped Pam Bondi, 59, to be attorney general after U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz withdrew his name from consideration. She was Florida's first female attorney general, serving between 2011 and 2019. She also was on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Considered a loyalist, she served as part of a Trump-allied outside group that helped lay the groundwork for his future administration called the America First Policy Institute. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. A fierce defender of Trump, she also frequently appears on Fox News and has been a critic of the criminal cases against him. Trump picked South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a well-known conservative who faced sharp criticism for telling a story in her memoir about shooting a rambunctious dog, to lead an agency crucial to the president-elect’s hardline immigration agenda. Noem used her two terms leading a tiny state to vault to a prominent position in Republican politics. South Dakota is usually a political afterthought. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, Noem did not order restrictions that other states had issued and instead declared her state “open for business.” Trump held a fireworks rally at Mount Rushmore in July 2020 in one of the first large gatherings of the pandemic. She takes over a department with a sprawling mission. In addition to key immigration agencies, the Department of Homeland Security oversees natural disaster response, the U.S. Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration agents who work at airports. The governor of North Dakota, who was once little-known outside his state, Burgum is a former Republican presidential primary contender who endorsed Trump, and spent months traveling to drum up support for him, after dropping out of the race. Burgum was a serious contender to be Trump’s vice presidential choice this summer. The two-term governor was seen as a possible pick because of his executive experience and business savvy. Burgum also has close ties to deep-pocketed energy industry CEOs. Trump made the announcement about Burgum joining his incoming administration while addressing a gala at his Mar-a-Lago club, and said a formal statement would be coming the following day. In comments to reporters before Trump took the stage, Burgum said that, in recent years, the power grid is deteriorating in many parts of the country, which he said could raise national security concerns but also drive up prices enough to increase inflation. “There's just a sense of urgency, and a sense of understanding in the Trump administration,” Burgum said. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ran for president as a Democrat, than as an independent, and . He's the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, who was assassinated during his own presidential campaign. The nomination of Kennedy to lead the Department of Health and Human Services alarmed people who are concerned about . For example, he has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism. Scott Bessent, 62, is a former George Soros money manager and an advocate for deficit reduction. He's the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management, after having worked on-and-off for Soros Fund Management since 1991. If confirmed by the Senate, he would be the nation’s first openly gay treasury secretary. He told Bloomberg in August that he decided to join Trump’s campaign in part to attack the mounting U.S. national debt. That would include slashing government programs and other spending. “This election cycle is the last chance for the U.S. to grow our way out of this mountain of debt without becoming a sort of European-style socialist democracy,” he said then. Oregon Republican U.S. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer narrowly lost her reelection bid this month, but received strong backing from union members in her district. As a potential labor secretary, she would oversee the Labor Department’s workforce, its budget and put forth priorities that impact workers’ wages, health and safety, ability to unionize, and employer’s rights to fire employers, among other responsibilities. Chavez-DeRemer is one of few House Republicans to endorse the “Protecting the Right to Organize” or PRO Act would allow more workers to conduct organizing campaigns and would add penalties for companies that violate workers’ rights. The act would also weaken “right-to-work” laws that allow employees in more than half the states to avoid participating in or paying dues to unions that represent workers at their places of employment. Scott Turner is a former NFL player and White House aide. He ran the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council during Trump’s first term in office. Trump, in a statement, credited Turner, the highest-ranking Black person he’s yet selected for his administration, with “helping to lead an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities.” Sean Duffy is a former House member from Wisconsin who was one of Trump's most visible defenders on cable news. Duffy served in the House for nearly nine years, sitting on the Financial Services Committee and chairing the subcommittee on insurance and housing. He left Congress in 2019 for a TV career and has been the host of “The Bottom Line” on Fox Business. Before entering politics, Duffy was a reality TV star on MTV, where he met his wife, “Fox and Friends Weekend” co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. They have nine children. A campaign donor and CEO of Denver-based Liberty Energy, Write is a vocal advocate of oil and gas development, including fracking — a key pillar of Trump’s quest to achieve U.S. “energy dominance” in the global market. Wright also has been one of the industry’s loudest voices against efforts to fight climate change. He said the climate movement around the world is “collapsing under its own weight.” The Energy Department is responsible for advancing energy, environmental and nuclear security of the United States. Wright also won support from influential conservatives, including oil and gas tycoon Harold Hamm. Hamm, executive chairman of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources, a major shale oil company, is a longtime Trump supporter and adviser who played a key role on energy issues in Trump’s first term. President-elect Donald Trump tapped billionaire professional wrestling mogul Linda McMahon to be secretary of the Education Department, tasked with overseeing an agency Trump promised to dismantle. McMahon led the Small Business Administration during Trump’s initial term from 2017 to 2019 and twice ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the U.S. Senate in Connecticut. She’s seen as a relative unknown in education circles, though she expressed support for charter schools and school choice. She served on the Connecticut Board of Education for a year starting in 2009 and has spent years on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. Brooke Rollins, who graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural development, is a longtime Trump associate who served as White House domestic policy chief during his first presidency. The 52-year-old is president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, a group helping to lay the groundwork for a second Trump administration. She previously served as an aide to former Texas Gov. Rick Perry and ran a think tank, the Texas Public Policy Foundation. Trump chose Howard Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald and a cryptocurrency enthusiast, as his nominee for commerce secretary, a position in which he'd have a key role in carrying out Trump's plans to raise and enforce tariffs. Trump made the announcement Tuesday on his social media platform, Truth Social. Lutnick is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team, along with Linda McMahon, the former wrestling executive who previously led Trump’s Small Business Administration. Both are tasked with putting forward candidates for key roles in the next administration. The nomination would put Lutnick in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial. Doug Collins is a former Republican congressman from Georgia who gained recognition for defending Trump during his first impeachment trial, which centered on U.S. assistance for Ukraine. Trump was impeached for urging Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden in 2019 during the Democratic presidential nomination, but he was acquitted by the Senate. Collins has also served in the armed forces himself and is currently a chaplain in the United States Air Force Reserve Command. "We must take care of our brave men and women in uniform, and Doug will be a great advocate for our Active Duty Servicemembers, Veterans, and Military Families to ensure they have the support they need," Trump said in a statement about nominating Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Karoline Leavitt, 27, was Trump's campaign press secretary and currently a spokesperson for his transition. She would be the youngest White House press secretary in history. The White House press secretary typically serves as the public face of the administration and historically has held daily briefings for the press corps. Leavitt, a New Hampshire native, was a spokesperson for MAGA Inc., a super PAC supporting Trump, before joining his 2024 campaign. In 2022, winning a 10-way Republican primary before losing to Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas. Leavitt worked in the White House press office during Trump's first term before she became communications director for New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, Trump's choice for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, keeping with the trend to stock his Cabinet with loyal personalities rather than veteran professionals in their requisite fields. Gabbard, 43, was a Democratic House member who unsuccessfully sought the party's 2020 presidential nomination before leaving the party in 2022. She endorsed Trump in August and campaigned often with him this fall. “I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our Intelligence Community,” Trump said in a statement. Gabbard, who has served in the Army National Guard for more than two decades, deploying to Iraq and Kuwait, would come to the role as somewhat of an outsider compared to her predecessor. The current director, Avril Haines, was confirmed by the Senate in 2021 following several years in a number of top national security and intelligence positions. Trump has picked John Ratcliffe, a former Texas congressman who served as director of national intelligence during his first administration, to be director of the Central Intelligence Agency in his next. Ratcliffe was director of national intelligence during the final year and a half of Trump's first term, leading the U.S. government's spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation's highest Intelligence positions,” Trump said in a statement, calling him a “fearless fighter for the Constitutional Rights of all Americans” who would ensure “the Highest Levels of National Security, and PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH.” Kash Patel spent several years as a Justice Department prosecutor before catching the Trump administration’s attention as a staffer on Capitol Hill who helped investigate the Russia probe. Patel called for dramatically reducing the agency’s footprint, a perspective that sets him apart from earlier directors who sought additional resources for the bureau. Though the Justice Department in 2021 during leak investigations, Patel said he intends to aggressively hunt down government officials who leak information to reporters. Trump has chosen former New York Rep. to serve as his pick to lead the . Zeldin does not appear to have any experience in environmental issues, but is a longtime supporter of the former president. The 44-year-old former U.S. House member from New York wrote on , “We will restore US energy dominance, revitalize our auto industry to bring back American jobs, and make the US the global leader of AI.” “We will do so while protecting access to clean air and water,” he added. During his campaign, Trump often attacked the Biden administration's promotion of electric vehicles, and incorrectly referring to a tax credit for EV purchases as a government mandate. Trump also often told his audiences during the campaign his administration would “Drill, baby, drill,” referring to his support for expanded petroleum exploration. In a statement, Trump said Zeldin “will ensure fair and swift deregulatory decisions that will be enacted in a way to unleash the power of American businesses, while at the same time maintaining the highest environmental standards, including the cleanest air and water on the planet.” Trump has named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband. Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC’s general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission. Carr made past appearances on “Fox News Channel," including when he decried Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris' pre-Election Day appearance on “Saturday Night Live.” He wrote an op-ed last month defending a satellite company owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk. Trump said Atkins, the CEO of Patomak Partners and a former SEC commissioner, was a “proven leader for common sense regulations.” In the years since leaving the SEC, Atkins has made the case against too much market regulation. “He believes in the promise of robust, innovative capital markets that are responsive to the needs of Investors, & that provide capital to make our Economy the best in the World. He also recognizes that digital assets & other innovations are crucial to Making America Greater than Ever Before,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. The commission oversees U.S. securities markets and investments and is currently led by Gary Gensler, who has been leading the U.S. government’s crackdown on the crypto industry. Gensler, who was nominated by President Joe Biden, announced last month that he would be stepping down from his post on the day that Trump is inaugurated — Jan. 20, 2025. Atkins began his career as a lawyer and has a long history working in the financial markets sector, both in government and private practice. In the 1990s, he worked on the staffs of two former SEC chairmen, Richard C. Breeden and Arthur Levitt. Rep. Elise Stefanik is a and one of Trump's staunchest defenders going back to his first impeachment. Elected to the House in 2014, Stefanik was selected by her GOP House colleagues as House Republican Conference chair in 2021, when former Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney was removed from the post after publicly criticizing Trump for falsely claiming he won the 2020 election. Stefanik, 40, has served in that role ever since as the third-ranking member of House leadership. Stefanik’s questioning of university presidents over antisemitism on their campuses helped lead to two of those presidents resigning, further raising her national profile. If confirmed, she would represent American interests at the U.N. as Trump vows to end the war waged by Russia against Ukraine begun in 2022. He has also called for peace as Israel continues its offensive against Hamas in Gaza and its invasion of Lebanon to target Hezbollah. A Republican congressman from Michigan who served from 1993 to 2011, Hoekstra was ambassador to the Netherlands during Trump's first term. “In my Second Term, Pete will help me once again put AMERICA FIRST,” Trump said in a statement announcing his choice. “He did an outstanding job as United States Ambassador to the Netherlands during our first four years, and I am confident that he will continue to represent our Country well in this new role.” Trump will nominate former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee to be ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align U.S. foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against the Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah. “He loves Israel, and likewise the people of Israel love him,” Trump said in a statement. “Mike will work tirelessly to bring about peace in the Middle East.” Huckabee, who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 and 2016, has been a popular figure among evangelical Christian conservatives, many of whom support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Trump has been praised by some in this important Republican voting bloc for moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Trump on Tuesday named real estate investor Steven Witkoff to be special envoy to the Middle East. The 67-year-old Witkoff is the president-elect's golf partner and was golfing with him at Trump's club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sept. 15, when the former president was the target of a second attempted assassination. Witkoff “is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy,” Trump said of Witkoff in a statement. “Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud." Trump also named Witkoff co-chair, with former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, of his inaugural committee. Trump said Wednesday that he will nominate Gen. Keith Kellogg to serve as assistant to the president and special envoy for Ukraine and Russia. Kellogg, a retired Army lieutenant general who has long been Trump’s top adviser on defense issues, served as National Security Advisor to Trump's former Vice President Mike Pence. For the America First Policy Institute, one of several groups formed after Trump left office to help lay the groundwork for the next Republican administration, Kellogg in April wrote that “bringing the Russia-Ukraine war to a close will require strong, America First leadership to deliver a peace deal and immediately end the hostilities between the two warring parties.” (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib) Trump asked Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., a retired Army National Guard officer and war veteran, to be his national security adviser, Trump announced in a statement Tuesday. The move puts Waltz in the middle of national security crises, ranging from efforts to provide weapons to Ukraine and worries about the growing alliance between Russia and North Korea to the persistent attacks in the Middle East by Iran proxies and the push for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah. “Mike has been a strong champion of my America First Foreign Policy agenda,” Trump's statement said, "and will be a tremendous champion of our pursuit of Peace through Strength!” Waltz is a three-term GOP congressman from east-central Florida. He served multiple tours in Afghanistan and also worked in the Pentagon as a policy adviser when Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates were defense chiefs. He is considered hawkish on China, and called for a U.S. boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing due to its involvement in the origin of COVID-19 and its mistreatment of the minority Muslim Uighur population. Stephen Miller, an , was a vocal spokesperson during the presidential campaign for Trump's priority of mass deportations. The 39-year-old was a senior adviser during Trump's first administration. Miller has been a central figure in some of Trump's policy decisions, notably his move to separate thousands of immigrant families. Trump argued throughout the campaign that the nation's economic, national security and social priorities could be met by deporting people who are in the United States illegally. Since Trump left office in 2021, Miller has served as the president of America First Legal, an organization made up of former Trump advisers aimed at challenging the Biden administration, media companies, universities and others over issues such as free speech and national security. Thomas Homan, 62, with Trump’s top priority of carrying out the largest deportation operation in the nation’s history. Homan, who served under Trump in his first administration leading U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was widely expected to be offered a position related to the border, an issue Trump made central to his campaign. Though Homan has insisted such a massive undertaking would be humane, he has long been a loyal supporter of Trump's policy proposals, suggesting at a July conference in Washington that he would be willing to "run the biggest deportation operation this country’s ever seen.” Democrats have criticized Homan for his defending Trump's “zero tolerance” policy on border crossings during his first administration, which led to the separation of thousands of parents and children seeking asylum at the border. Former Rep. Billy Long represented Missouri in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2023. Since leaving Congress, Trump said, Long “has worked as a Business and Tax advisor, helping Small Businesses navigate the complexities of complying with the IRS Rules and Regulations.” Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed in January 2020 by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and then lost a runoff election a year later. She started a conservative voter registration organization and dived into GOP fundraising, becoming one of the top individual donors and bundlers to Trump’s 2024 comeback campaign. Even before nominating her for agriculture secretary, the president-elect already had tapped Loeffler as co-chair of his inaugural committee. Dr. Mehmet Oz, 64, is a former heart surgeon who hosted “The Dr. Oz Show,” a long-running daytime television talk show. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as the Republican nominee in 2022 and is an outspoken supporter of Trump, who endorsed Oz's bid for elected office. Elon Musk, left, and Vivek Ramaswamy speak before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at an Oct. 27 campaign rally at Madison Square Garden in New York. Trump on Tuesday said Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Ramaswamy will lead a new “Department of Government Efficiency" — which is not, despite the name, a government agency. The acronym “DOGE” is a nod to Musk's favorite cryptocurrency, dogecoin. Trump said Musk and Ramaswamy will work from outside the government to offer the White House “advice and guidance” and will partner with the Office of Management and Budget to “drive large scale structural reform, and create an entrepreneurial approach to Government never seen before.” He added the move would shock government systems. It's not clear how the organization will operate. Musk, owner of X and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has been a constant presence at Mar-a-Lago since Trump won the presidential election. Ramaswamy suspended his campaign in January and threw his support behind Trump. Trump said the two will “pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies.” Russell Vought held the position during Trump’s first presidency. After Trump’s initial term ended, Vought founded the Center for Renewing America, a think tank that describes its mission as “renew a consensus of America as a nation under God.” Vought was closely involved with Project 2025, a conservative blueprint for Trump’s second term that he tried to distance himself from during the campaign. Vought has also previously worked as the executive and budget director for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus for conservative House Republicans. He also worked at Heritage Action, the political group tied to The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Scavino, whom Trump's transition referred to in a statement as one of “Trump's longest serving and most trusted aides,” was a senior adviser to Trump's 2024 campaign, as well as his 2016 and 2020 campaigns. He will be deputy chief of staff and assistant to the president. Scavino had run Trump's social media profile in the White House during his first administration. He was also held in contempt of Congress in 2022 after a month-long refusal to comply with a subpoena from the House committee’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Blair was political director for Trump's 2024 campaign and for the Republican National Committee. He will be deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs and assistant to the president. Blair was key to Trump's economic messaging during his winning White House comeback campaign this year, a driving force behind the candidate's “Trump can fix it” slogan and his query to audiences this fall if they were better off than four years ago. Budowich is a veteran Trump campaign aide who launched and directed Make America Great Again, Inc., a super PAC that supported Trump's 2024 campaign. He will be deputy chief of staff for communications and personnel and assistant to the president. Budowich also had served as a spokesman for Trump after his presidency. Trump has chosen Dr. Jay Bhattacharya to lead the National Institutes of Health. Bhattacharya is a physician and professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, and is a critic of pandemic lockdowns and vaccine mandates. He promoted the idea of herd immunity during the pandemic, arguing that people at low risk should live normally while building up immunity to COVID-19 through infection. The National Institutes of Health funds medical research through competitive grants to researchers at institutions throughout the nation. NIH also conducts its own research with thousands of scientists working at its labs in Bethesda, Maryland. Makary is a Johns Hopkins surgeon and author who argued against pandemic lockdowns. He routinely appeared on Fox News during the COVID-19 pandemic and wrote opinion articles questioning masks for children. He cast doubt on vaccine mandates but supported vaccines generally. Makary also cast doubt on whether booster shots worked, which was against federal recommendations on the vaccine. Nesheiwat is a general practitioner who serves as medical director for CityMD, a network of urgent care centers in New York and New Jersey. She has been a contributor to Fox News. Weldon is a former Florida congressman who recently ran for a Florida state legislative seat and lost; Trump backed Weldon’s opponent. In Congress, Weldon weighed in on one of the nation’s most heated debates of the 1990s over quality of life and a right-to-die and whether Terri Schiavo, who was in a persistent vegetative state after cardiac arrest, should have been allowed to have her feeding tube removed. He sided with the parents who did not want it removed. Trump is turning to two officials with experience navigating not only Washington but the key issues of income taxes and tariffs as he fills out his economic team. He announced he has chosen international trade attorney Jamieson Greer to be his U.S. trade representative and Kevin Hassett as director of the White House National Economic Council. While Trump has in several cases nominated outsiders to key posts, these picks reflect a recognition that his reputation will likely hinge on restoring the public’s confidence in the economy. Trump said in a statement that Greer was instrumental in his first term in imposing tariffs on China and others and replacing the trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, “therefore making it much better for American Workers.” Hassett, 62, served in the first Trump term as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He has a doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania and worked at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute before joining the Trump White House in 2017. Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.
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Article content It was the final minutes of a hard-fought hockey game between the Churchbridge Imperials and the Esterhazy Flyers, and the teams had just faced off for control of the puck. But while the Flyers were making a shot on goal, at the other end of the ice, the blade of an Esterhazy player’s skate accidentally sliced into Churchbridge Imperials captain Cole Cusitar’s neck . Within minutes, Cusitar was rushed to hospital in Esterhazy, then to Yorkton. He has now been released and cleared to continue his recovery at home — 80 stitches later — much to the relief of his family and friends. Immediately after the Dec. 7 incident, the Imperials decided that all players on their team will now wear neck protection. While use of the equipment is not mandatory for senior-level hockey in Saskatchewan, the SEHL strongly suggested all players and on-ice officials consider wearing it. “Neck guards are mandatory within Hockey Saskatchewan for all levels of hockey, except for Senior hockey, which Cole was participating in,” said Kelly McClintock, Hockey Saskatchewan’s general manager. “We have approximately 115 Senior teams, and the use of neck guards has been left to their personal choice .” Ryan Kiedrowski, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with the World-Spectator in Moosomin, Sask. caught up with Cusitar over a cup of coffee while he was recovering at home last week. Q: First of all, how are you feeling today? A: I’m doing better, I’ve still got a little bit of swelling, a little bit of soreness, not as bad as what it was a few days ago. My left ear kind of feels like it’s frozen, a little bit of nerve damage from the cut. But I’m hoping that in the recovery process here, some of that will come back for sure. I’m so thankful to be here, having this conversation with you. You know, three quarters to an inch the other way, and it might have been a different story. Just very grateful and thankful for God and everyone who was saying prayers that night for me to be here. Q: I was wondering if you could take me back to that moment on the ice late in the third period in Esterhazy. What do you remember from that moment in the game? It’s pretty crazy how much I actually do remember. I think I probably know more than some of the people that were trying to aid me! So we were down 5-0, unfortunately, we were on a five-on-three power play, trying to make it more of a game there on the five-on-three. So I remember the ref dropped the puck and whatnot, and I looked down, and it was a little puck battle there, trying to get the draw. I get pretty low on my face offs, just to try and get a good centre of gravity. I remember it was just a little errant battle for the puck. I think (the other player) fell, I’ve heard from a couple guys that he just kind of lost his footing. His skate came up, and just kind of clipped me. At the time, it felt like I got swatted with something, I remember taking off my gloves, and I started feeling around. When I looked, I saw there was blood in my hand and some dripping on the ice, and I went, ‘oh, geez, I’m cut.’ Then I noticed that it was shooting out where that artery was nicked, and that’s when I put my hand on there. By then, the Esterhazy player on the defensive side, he was screaming at the top of his lungs to get help, get somebody out here right now. I remember telling myself, ‘well, you better get up, man, because there’s no point staying here’, so I got up, I started skating to the bench. One of my teammates came over, and he put some pressure on the wound, and he kind of guided me to the bench. I remember getting to the tunnel to go to the dressing room, and in the meantime, one of my teammates, he skated across the ice screaming for his wife, who was a nurse — her name is Katie (Putland) — she jumped into the penalty box because they had netting on the rink, so she couldn’t jump onto the ice. So she jumped into the penalty box, and they opened up the door and she ran across the ice as fast as she could. This is what I was told about, I didn’t see this in real time. So she ran across the ice. I was in the hallway trying to go to the dressing room, and I believe my trainer — Steven Shackleton — he said, ‘no, no, no, no, we got to go out that door now!’ So he pointed me to go out the door of the back of the rink. In the meantime, my assistant coach, Mark Prier, he had his truck running, the doors were open, and when I got outside, Steven and Katie had pressure on my cut, and they got me into the back of the truck, and they started driving me to the Esterhazy hospital. On the way to the hospital, I could remember my wife frantically freaking out, like, ‘is he going to be okay? Katie, is he going to be okay?’ and Katelyn was just like, ‘I don’t know, Jody. I’m just trying to maintain pressure on this cut.’ A lot of uncertainty was floating through the air, and I know in their minds at that time. So Steven and Katelyn were both applying amounts of pressure on the laceration on the way to the hospital. We got to the Esterhazy hospital, my wife ran in to get a wheelchair quickly, because I still had all my hockey gear on. In the meantime, on the way to the hospital, I know my wife was trying to get a hold of somebody at the hospital, but she couldn’t get through, but I think that’s because there were so many people phoning in already that the line was just plugged up with phone calls. So the nurses came outside, and I think it kind of even caught them off guard. I think they figured it was just another hockey player with an injury, they didn’t really understand the severity of this situation. So they came out, and they got me in as quick as they could. They then threw some gauze pads, or some kind of pads to try and put pressure on the wound. I remember sitting on the stretcher there, and Katelyn was telling me, ‘do you feel dizzy?’ and I said, ‘no, I feel good.’ ‘Do you feel nauseated?’ I said, ‘no, I don’t feel nauseated’. And she says, ‘okay, you just keep breathing; breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth; just try and keep that heart rate down.’ So we got to the hospital, they put me on one of the beds there in the hospital. The one nurse came and she just applied pressure for about a half an hour. In the meantime, they were putting IVs in me, just in case things went south. My coach and my trainer, they took off my skates, they started to cut off my jersey, they took off my shoulder pads, everything else. They kept enormous amounts of pressure on the wound. It was starting to hurt by then a bit because of the pressure, and maybe the shock was wearing off. I was starting to feel the cut a little bit more, but happy to kind of be alive in that moment. So then about a half an hour the nurses switched out, because the one nurse, she was getting a little fatigued from holding pressure on it. After they switched out nurses — it was somewhere around there — they were on the phone with the STARS medical team, and were maybe ... going to get STARS out. I do believe when that was called, they called off the hockey game, the way I’ve understood it, the way the guys have informed me. So they called off the game when STARS was called because that’s when I think everyone was under the understanding this is pretty big deal here. I remember the STARS guy was on the phone with the doctor, just trying to get some intel from her, ‘what’s going on, Doctor, what do you see?’ she says, ‘well, we can’t get the bleeding to stop’ and he says, ‘okay.’ I remember she left for a bit. The nurse just kept maintaining pressure, just having a light conversation with me. And I know my coaching staff, my trainer and Katelyn, they were all kind of looking at me, with a little bit of worry in their eyes. My wife was still holding my hand, praying. After about an hour of the nurses applying pressure, I remember the doctor came back in, and the STARS guy said, ‘can you assess the wound and give me some detail of what you’re seeing?’ They pulled back the gauze pads, and the doctor said, ‘well, actually the bleeding has really subsided. There is still some blood, but it isn’t like what it was before’. I remember the STARS guy saying, ‘well, this is good, this is very good. Tell me what you see. Tell me what you see. And we’ll assess, and we’ll make a plan from there’. She told him what was going on, what was cut? She said, ‘I think it looks like one of the smaller arteries in there was nicked, and that’s where a lot of the bleeding was coming from.’ So the STARS guy said, ‘you know what this is good that you guys got the bleeding to stop, keep pressure on it for now. It sounds like you guys will be able to get him to Yorkton, and I think Yorkton will be able to get him fixed up and get him into the recovery process.’ The doctor left the room, I think she was still on the phone with STARS, just drawing up a plan of what they should do. In the meantime, the emergency medical team came, and they were working out a plan to get me to the Yorkton facility. So they bandaged me up really good, put me on the stretcher, the EMTs come and they took me into the ambulance. My wife came with me, gave everyone some fist pumps and told them it would be okay, we left Esterhazy and went to Yorkton. We got to Yorkton, they wanted to do a quick CT scan, so they put some dye into me, I think they wanted to really see where the holes were in that artery, where some of the blood was coming from. They wheeled me into the ER side of the hospital, they put me in a room where I was met with a couple nurses. The doctor came in a little bit later — she was on call — they peeled back the wrap job they did in Esterhazy and the gauze pads. The doctor looked at it and went, ‘this is a pretty good cut, but it’s a nice, clean one for the most part’, there’s a few chewed up spots that aren’t too great, but she said, ‘for the most part, this is something we can fix you up in the morning.’ They wrapped me up, put me and my wife in a room. I don’t think she slept at all that night, she was still overwhelmed with what had happened. I had a little bit of a sleep. In the morning, I was met by my coach, Tim (Roussin). He come by and said good morning to everyone, and made sure I was doing good and give my wife a coffee. The doctor then met me and said, ‘this is what we’re going to do: We’re going to put you under for a surgical procedure. You’re going to have an anesthesiologist come in.’ And I said, ‘okay, well, that sounds good – maybe I’ll get to go to sleep here for a bit with some stitching.’ So we’re about to go in and the one OR lady came up and she says, ‘well, Cole, there’s been a little bit of a change of plans.’ I said, ‘Oh? What’s going on?’ I think at the end, it was the anesthesiologist couldn’t get to the hospital. The storm was pretty bad in our area at that point, a lot of roads were closed and everything. So they said, ‘well, we’re going to put you under local anesthetic.’ And I said, ‘oh, okay, well, what’s that?’ She said, ‘well, we’re just going to freeze you up really good, and we’ll just stitch you up.’ And I’m just like, ‘okay, right on!’ So they wheeled me into the operating room, they just started freezing everything they could, and away they went stitching. It was over an hour. The stitches went well, they took me out of there, they wheeled me into a room, and she said, ‘we’re going to keep you here for a day and overnight, just to make sure that you’re not bleeding anymore, the bandages are still intact, and hopefully by tomorrow morning, we’ll get you shipped out of here and you can go home.’ So, come Monday around dinner time, I was able to go home. Q: That seems pretty fast! It did seem a little bit quick, but I was happy to get home and see my kids and be with my wife. It’s crazy how things can happen, and how grateful a person is for everything. The guys were telling me when STARS was called and they called off the game, I know the boys were saying that they all said a prayer — linked arms and said a prayer for me — and I want to say around that time that’s, I think, when the bleeding actually subsided enough so they could assess the situation. I can’t give thanks to enough to the Big Guy up top for having his hand on me. Thanks to everyone who aided (me): Katelyn Putland, with her being the nurse that ran across the ice; Steven Shackleton, the trainer, with him just aiding me getting out of the rink and helping Katie put some pressure on that wound; Mark Prier, getting the truck ready for me to get to the hospital, and anyone who aided with the medical team. I don’t know the names of any of the people. It was so quick, it happened so fast, and I can’t thank any everyone enough for what they did. Q: The beauty of small towns — everybody tends to just come together and help immediately. There’s no balking, they jump into action. I suppose your family’s witnessed that, too, coming home Monday, I’m assuming you probably had a lot of messages and maybe some cooked meals dropped off! We certainly have! Even Sunday night after I was recovering from the stitches and just hanging out in the hospital, I finally looked at my phone around seven o’clock that night and — I don’t even remember how many it was — north of 60 direct text messages, which I caught up on. There were some guys on Facebook and other means of social media that were connecting with me; old teammates, coaches, and friends that I haven’t maybe spoken with in over a decade. It was nice to hear the support and the love coming from everyone. It’s amazing how many people come together in these situations. I wish people had come together for better means, but it was good to hear from everyone. There were a few people that swung by the house, they were just happy to see me, give me a big hug, and drop off a meal for me and the family. The hockey community is such a great community. It seems like everyone in Canada enjoys the game and everyone comes together, especially in these small communities, everyone knows everyone, and like you said, everyone pulls together in those moments. Q: Your road to recovery: What does that look like now? Do you think you’ll be on the ice this season yet, or taking a breather? I haven’t had a chance to sit with the doctor yet, but as of right now, for the healing, it’s been going good. I’m still a little swollen today, like I mentioned, a little sore, the ear’s kind of still numb from a little bit of nerve damage, hoping the recovery process can take away some of that. I haven’t had a chance to chat with the doctor, I believe I sit down with her next week, just to get an assessment of what’s going on with the cut, but I’m pretty eager to get back out there. I know it sounds crazy to some that I would actually attempt doing this again, but I love the sport of hockey. It’s something I hold dear to my heart. It’s always been there for me. It’s almost like medicine to me. I’m happy to be here, to maybe play the game again or coach it. I do a lot of coaching and playing, and I’m just happy to continue with the sport I love. Q: The SEHL has strongly suggested the use of neck guards. What would your take be on that? Our team itself is now going to accommodate all its players with Kevlar type of neck protection of their choice, which is great. I’ll be wearing one from here on out, it’s just too close for comfort (with) that kind of injury, you know? I’m happy to share this story with anyone who will listen or pay attention. I think there’s a couple other teams that are going to adopt the neck guard now. It isn’t a mandatory thing, and I’m not one of those guys that’s going to force anybody to do anything. I’m a pro-choice kind of person, but you know, anything can happen, and as quick as it happened, as crazy and as weird as it happened, a half or three quarters of an inch the other way, it could have been a different story. I might not be here having this conversation. I just hope people, before they step onto the ice, with or without one, they just have a thought like, man, you know, things can happen fast and without a piece of equipment. It’s there for a reason. Growing up as a kid, it was maybe a discomfort thing, but the technology now with the evolvement of neck protection and some of the other hockey equipment now, it’s probably a little bit more comfortable. It’s not like what it was when a guy was young, and had the dog collar neck protector on where it almost felt like it restricted a guy’s breathing a bit at times! I’m not going to force you to wear it, but it is that last line of defence if anything ever does happen. It might not stop something fully, but it’s there for a reason. Q: Speaking of the love of the game, I know you were quite instrumental in bringing the Imperials back to action in Churchbridge. I remember playing in Churchbridge over a decade ago, finished up my small Junior A career, and I was reached out to by a relative to come to Churchbridge to play some senior hockey back in 2009-2010. Unfortunately, just due to a lack of local people, the team dissolved. We had 10 or 11 local guys that could still play some pretty decent puck, and I told myself, ‘man, we should get a team again.’ It was a busy summer on the phone trying to get some guys together to come on out and get the senior team going. It was almost a deadline decision, but we got it done. This is our second season now, and it’s been a lot of fun. I think it sparked a little bit more interest for the minor sports. It sure helped the Sask East Hockey League with another team and the fans, the kids, the support we’ve had throughout these past two years has been awesome. We love going out and playing the game we love in front of our fans. I wish we had a little bit more wins in the win column than we do, but that’s something we can build on, and hopefully one day get a banner hung in our barn. Maybe some of these kids look up to us until they realize they’re just a bunch of working men that just play the sport of hockey at a little bit more intense level! But, if we can be something a kid looks up to, till they’re to the age where they can find some other people that maybe they look up to besides us. It’s nice to see the kids come out and we fist pump them, and the smiles on their face, it’s a local thing that we sure love, and we sure love our fans and anyone who comes out and supports us. The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe. With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe. Share this Story : Sask. hockey player reflects after near-fatal on-ice injury Copy Link Email X Reddit Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr
Dating back a month now, you've either seen them in the sky, or you've seen them on the news: Drones seem to be everywhere. By all accounts, alleged drone sightings are multiplying exponentially, with more than 5,000 reported in just the past few weeks alone. But of those 5,000, only a hundred or so have generated actual law enforcement leads. George Mason University engineering professor Missy Cummings, who has been doing drone research for 25 years, says what most people are actually seeing are likely aircraft, stars, or reflections off of objects, like towers. "Of all of those options, drone is the least likely, because it's actually pretty hard to pick these out of the sky," she said. We heard a similarly ordinary explanation for these extraordinary lights-in-the-sky when we visited New Jersey's Monmouth County Sherriff Shaun Golden this past week. "The majority of these sightings are probably some type of commercial o recreational manned aircraft," he said. In other words, no imminent threat. As a joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the FAA, and the FBI, put it on Tuesday, "[We] do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk." Cummings said, "If you're actually looking at lights from a drone, it means that you're definitely not looking at a foreign adversary, because they're sophisticated enough to turn the lights off." And yet, some of the American public have been a little on edge. The best approach for the moment, according to Cummings, is that we should all try to stay grounded: "If I go on the news and tell you, 'You have something to worry about,' then you have something to worry about," she said. "But in this case right now, really, things are operating as usual." For more info: Story produced by Amiel Weisfogel. Editor: Joseph Frandino. Tom Hanson is a national investigative correspondent for CBS News and Stations. His in-depth reports air across all platforms and programs. He is a member of CBS News and Stations Medical, Health, and Wellness Unit.CPI(M) demands immediate withdrawal of election rule amendment
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