Oct 11, 2024 3 min read

MISS: In 1924, life expectancy was 58 for men in the United States and 61 for women. That now seems awfully young, but it was in the age before the dangers of smoking and alcohol overconsumption were fully understood, diets weren’t as good, and treatments for things like cancer or heart disease were nowhere close to being as sophisticated as they are now. Life expectancy has increased dramatically over the last 100 years, to the point where some people had hoped it would just keep on expanding – imagine starting a new career at 70 because you are only at the halfway point of your life. However, a new study from researchers published in the journal Nature Aging suggests we may be hitting the ceiling of the human lifespan. Despite advances in medical research and technology, the study found that lifespans overall are not advancing much more. S. Jay Olshansky, a researcher at the University of Illinois-Chicago, told the Associated Press, “We’re squeezing less and less life out of these life-extending technologies. And the reason is (that) aging gets in the way.” The AP story notes that this finding should make us think about retirement and how much money we should stash away for it. It’s also a reminder that, yes, our time here is limited and it’s best to make good use of that time.

HIT: Bullying has been around since…well, probably as long as humans have walked the Earth, but there is thankfully a much greater understanding of the harmful effects it can have. Long dismissed as a rite of passage that some young people just had to endure, bullying has been shown to cause tangible damage to the self-esteem of children – and, yes, adults – who are on the receiving end of it. It can lead to anxiety and depression, avoidance of school and, in the worst cases, physical harm. October is National Bullying Awareness Month, and it’s designed to remind teachers, school administrators and leaders of other types of organizations to be on the lookout for bullying and create environments where people feel supported. We may never be fully rid of bullying, but we can take some solace that it is not shrugged off in the way it once was.

HIT: Residents of Florida, Georgia and North Carolina have been continuing to clean up after Hurricane Helene, which claimed more than 200 lives and caused an estimated $40 billion in property damage. One thing Floridians did not need was another storm, but Hurricane Milton was set to wreak additional havoc by Thursday of this week. Forecasters were saying that it could well be one of the most destructive storms to hit the Sunshine State in decades. Given the need, residents across this area have been chipping in to help out residents of stricken areas. For example, Crazy Horse Coffee in North Strabane is among the local businesses that has been collecting supplies that will be shipped to Hearts With Hands, a charity in Asheville, N.C., a city that was hit hard by Helene, and students at the Connellsville Area Career and Technical Center in Fayette County are collecting donations. James Bendel, the owner of Crazy Horse Coffee, put it this way: “We’re all Americans, so that’s where it starts. Beyond being Americans, we’ve got to support one another. That’s what I’ve always been about.”