That's what I'm currently focused on watching. I recently finished 8 Ann-Margret films, and now I'm between 2 Raquel Welch films. Other actresses on my radar include Susannah York, Faye Dunaway, Jacqueline Bisset, Dyan Cannon, Sharon Tate, Jane Birkin, and Charlotte Rampling. Who else do you like from this time period? My list is focused on US/UK actresses, but depending on how long I go with this before I change my viewing focus on a whim, I'm definitely interested in international stars as well.
Edit: also Florinda Bolkan and Romy Schneider.

I am a FY2 so have been a doctor for two years now. I have seen some very sad deaths in my job including sudden unexpected ones especially when on-call verification of death was one of the commonest things I was called to do so have seen some dead patients to which gradually I became desensitised and started to see it as part of my job and then move on quickly because there are other urgent jobs too. Obviously some deaths were more tragic so felt affected more especially if it was a patient I had looked after on a ward for some time but even then never very bothered by it for any longer than 5 minutes before moving on to the next task.
I lost my dad less than a week ago and I thought that my experiences would perhaps make the experience less foreign but how wrong I was. I was working nights and suddenly I get a call from my mum from my home country where it was morning and given it was such an odd time to be called by family, I knew this was an emergency and that I have probably lost someone from my immediate family so it was the worst phone call to receive ever and I pick it up as I had the opportunity to do so. And then she delivers the news and wow was it so devastating that I was unable to work at all but my seniors were very understanding and told me to go home asap. And then I fly home to visit my family to see my dad off one last time and it was so hard to look at him in a state same as those patients at work whose deaths I verified. I told my family I can’t look at my father in this state and want to have my last memory of him as a healthy person but they said I will never ever get the opportunity to see him again in person so I really should see him and so I did and held his hand which was cold, pale and pulseless but he had a smile on his face. This was hard and it was painful to bury him but I just knew I had to do it myself to get closure and will probably regret if I didn’t even if the experience was painful. I just couldn’t believe it and still can’t believe he is gone for good and I won’t ever get to speak with him again. I won’t ever get to talk about interesting cases I had seen with him and hear his interesting cases too. I wasn’t particularly close with my dad (I am a momma’s boy) and would even say rather distant but I still loved him and he did too and he was proud of me for having become a doctor just like he was a doctor. His colleagues at the funeral told me he spoke about me with pride which makes me happy and that I will continue his legacy for I am his son and also a doctor inspired by him even if I choose a different specialty that is non-patient facing (pathology) and I think of it as keeping him alive in my own way even if it is different as regardless the job I do is also that of a doctor like him. Perhaps the fact that he too was a doctor made his death hit even harder. I feel that perhaps if I were there, I could have saved his life (mum isn’t from a health background so her health knowledge is zero and didn’t even know CPR) but then who knows he may still have died despite my intervention. Nevertheless, I do regret I wasn’t there in his final moments and he had to be kept in the morgue until my arrival
I found his stethoscope and tendon hammer in his clinic which I am going to keep with me to remember him (unsure about actually using them as I don’t want to lose it or have it stolen or damaged at work but using them would mean he still kind of lives). Also have some photos and videos of him so I can hear his voice whenever I want. But this still doesn’t make it easy and my experience at work doesn’t seem to have made a difference to how I experience bereavement but rather his death will definitely affect how I experience these situations at work when I see the loved ones of a patient mourning and I definitely won’t be able to stand autopsies (including just watching) if I become a pathologist so having thoughts that maybe I should reconsider and do diagnostic radiology instead which is another specialty I love. Idk if this feeling is temporary as I am still in the early stages of the grieving process and perhaps with time, I will get better
I was curious about hearing of people’s experiences of bereavement here. Thanks

Was really hoping to get a photo of the rivets, but no luck. Either way, my family of 6 had a fantastic time in 4 countries - Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and England.
I loved that I was able to understand a few things my very American family didn't and I have this podcast to thank. We all had a full English breakfast, shopped at Tesco, I giggled when I walked by the Tate Modern. What a lovely visit we had!

Mouse sensitivity is wanky, especially when doing an autopsy. The game relies too heavily on finding specific things too. I've spent 20 minutes so far looking for the photo and envelope :/.

(Just a segment I found interesting with how nice he is about it here, compared to how angry he was about it in 2009)
First of all, I don’t think any of those items, whether they are true or not can be purchased at a grocery store. To start with, if you just look at the paperwork that is there now – not all of it is, but what is there. This whole dispute in a legal sense has nothing to do with any of the things that are being said about me. It's really a case about accounting. That's the legal side of it. That is what I know first of all. So it hurts me to know that he would actually go there. You know? He must really have some reason to dislike me that I don’t think has anything to do with money. I don’t know because I haven’t talked to him since October 31st of last year. I think he really crossed the line in a way that truly makes me sad, because I didn’t ask for this relationship between him and I to turn out this way. I don’t know what he's thinking because he stopped communicating with me so I can’t explain it. I'm not going to assume and I’m not going to suggest. I just want people to know that whether he likes to admit it or not, he did not return my phone calls. I was paying his phone bill, I saw the bills so I know that his phone was working. I don't know what he was thinking. I just know he was not in the dark about the record being made. For example, we did an interview months and months before the record and to allege that we did it secretly is absurd. Not to mention in the same way that I said I wish Twiggy was around, it was a time in my life where I could have really used a best friend - Someone that I've known for so long.
Aside from all this, I'm not blaming him. It just makes me really sad that when I was down in my worst place, not only did he decide to turn his back, but then go ahead and kick me while I was down. I have no grudges. I just think people can look at it and see that it's really absurd. It's truly, truly absurd. Musicians have a hard time making money when it comes to record labels. The only thing that really helps a musician be able to do this as a living is by being a songwriter. As creative as Pogo has been in the past, or not been in the past, he is not a songwriter. One song that he wrote for the most part, which is an amazing song is Cryptorchid. He’s participated, but unfortunately he did not play the keyboards on The Golden Age of Grotesque, I did. It wasn’t because I wanted to. It was because even then for whatever reason… I can't explain it because I can't speak for him. He didn’t want to be there, or wasn't there. I’m not trying to take credit for it as much as saying I was inspired, I had a good time and I liked playing the keyboards. I don’t want to be a keyboard player though. I don’t really have a way to explain the situation other than it caught me very much by surprise. All I can say is, I assure people that at no point in our entire relationship as friends or as professionals, did I ever, ever take or hold anything, or spend his money. It couldn’t be more the opposite. It’s just sad that I would have done anything for the guy and I really don’t know why he decided to stab me in the back.
First of all, it is shock value. You have to think, “OK, you're Marilyn Manson.” To assume that I have 20 million dollars to begin with is really ridiculous. You know, I could brag and try to pretend by wearing some jewelry or something. But you know, let’s be serious. I should be entitled to buy things, shouldn't I? It’s just purely for the shock value. It's like he spent his money on baboons and this and that, and blah, blah, blah. I really don’t understand why he thinks it has anything to do with him. I really don’t. It doesn’t. I don’t want to get into it further, other than to say, what do you people think that I would spend my money on? Am I not allowed to buy anything? (Manson laughs)
I don’t know - I just work my hardest and I think I know the guy that's in that band Marilyn Manson, but I'm not sure. I know somebody that knows him. It just strikes me as, “What do you spend your money on?" "I don’t know." My only concern is taking care of my family. Other than that, I live in a hotel now, with a new cat. Two cats, a hotel and I'm happy. It's not because I'm destitute because I’m frivolous at times. Right now I'm going to order Caviar and set it on fire, film it and throw the videotapes into the street. The idea that the lawsuit says I spent the money on Phantasmagoria - I hadn’t even started filming it yet, beside the fact that I wouldn't pay for it myself. I mean, I would if I had to, but that right there is absurd. Then the newest one, that I somehow spent his money on paying Evan to be in Heart-Shaped Glasses. I think he made it pretty clear he wasn't involved in that record, so how does it have anything to do with him? I think it’s a lot about shock value. People thought that would work with the Security Guard. The problem is when you walk into a courtroom - the people that sit on that jury, I like to think, are just like me because I don’t think I am above anyone else. I feel like I work very hard for my money. People are not going to sit there, no matter what you say about me and tolerate somebody demanding money that is absurd and completely uncalled for. My mom and my dad, I have to take care of first and foremost. No one is going to come between them and I. I just think that's uncalled for. He crossed a line and that’s worse than anyone else that has sued me. It was never as personal and as out of nowhere.
He never heard Eat Me, Drink Me. Yeah, I remember calling and being like, "Hey, we're remixing the record in a week or so. I really want you to come over and play on it or at least hear it.” “Hey we're doing album artwork and we can't do a band photo since you decided not to respond." Then even up to the point of "Hey, we're doing the video.” No phone call. So, you know, it wasn’t my choice. As much as everyone likes to think I'm a dick, and I am, but I wasn't a dick to him. In fact, that leads me to my strange day today. I spoke to John5 and Mark Chaussee. They both called me to say Happy Birthday, with absolutely no hard feelings there. In fact, if John 5 will not be a pussy and lower his guitar strap down a little bit more, I'll have him come on stage and play songs with us this first show. It would practically be the Holy Wood lineup.
My point being, that John and I saw things a different way, but it's nice that we can talk. We had a very nice conversation today and he was very happy to hear that Twiggy was back. That's what he called to tell me, aside from wishing me a Happy Birthday. It just says a lot. He's a stand-up person and it meant a lot to me. But still, he eats his own cum. I told him that. He won’t deny it.

We don’t see a lot of violence in my town. That’s not to say we don’t see any at all, it’s just rare. Things are quiet here, they always have been. Sure, sometimes there’s a little bit of drama. Drugs, domestic violence or a fender bender. But those are special cases. Most nights, the worst thing we’ll have to deal with is some drunken bar fights that get a little too out of hand, and usually with those, we can just throw the guilty parties in the drunk tank for the night to let them cool off. That generally constitutes an eventful night for us, otherwise, it’s not particularly unusual to have a quiet day without any calls. You can never fully count on things being quiet,but sometimes they just are and honestly - that suits me just fine. I like the quiet. It’s why I moved out into the middle of rural Ohio.
​
Once upon a time, I used to be more of a city boy. Not anymore. Now, my twenties are gone and my thirties are on their way out too. I’ve been married and widowed, I’ve served my country in the army, I’ve worked bigger cases in bigger cities and nowadays, I’m just tired. Not tired enough to just give up entirely. But tired enough that I’m content being a deputy with some small town police force. I’m comfortable here. I’m comfortable in this role. In a lot of ways, I’ve been doing it for most of my life. Life in the army and life with a badge aren’t exactly the same. But there’s a similar sense of purpose there. A sense that I’m doing something meaningful. I think that’s what I need most… something to give me a reason to get out of bed every morning. Maybe it's the soldier in me. My drill instructor back in basic training had a saying. 'Soldiers keep moving.' I guess I took that to heart. And honestly, If I wasn't doing this job, I don’t really know what else I’d do, with my time and my particular skill set. Sit at home and go crazy maybe? No thanks…
​
I won’t tell you the name of the town I live in. For reasons that will become clear later, it’s better if I don’t. But it’s a nice little slice of country away from the major highways. The forest is dense out here, there’s a lot of farmland, a few warehouses down by the river and that’s about it. I’ve been on this job for six years now. Can’t say they’ve been the best six years of my life but they sure as heck haven’t been the worst either.
​
There’s seven of us in total working at the local department. Myself, the Sheriff, a daytime and nighttime receptionist and three other deputies. This town doesn’t really need much more than that… even with the new additions.
​
I have noticed over the past four years or so, we’ve had more than our fair share of newcomers. Mostly folks working in some of the newer warehouses down by the river, although there’s been a good number of new businesses popping up downtown too. When I first moved here, the downtown area was all but dead with empty shops and boarded up windows. Nowadays, there’s new restaurants, a couple of new bars, even a couple of condominiums. It’s not a heck of a lot of growth, but it is growth. I’ve even been known to frequent a few of the new places. The Honey Pot and Spaniel is a decent pub with good food and good beer.
​
Some of the old timers don’t like the fact that things are changing, but personally I see it as a good thing. People are breathing some new life into this old town. How can’t that be a good thing? And better yet, the newcomers don’t really cause much trouble so I really have nothing to complain about. They keep the peace, just like everyone else. What more could I ask for?
​
Up until recently, I had my quiet. I had a purpose. And up until recently, I was as close to content as I was ever likely to get.
​
***
​
The calls came in at about 11 PM. A lotta folks had noticed one heck of a big fire burning out around Geoffery Vickers property, accompanied by a concerning amount of gunfire. Now - let me just make this clear. I’m out in rural Ohio. We’ve got folks shooting their guns off all the time on their own property, and we usually don’t have any problems with that. People are free to do as they please so long as it’s legal and not disturbing the peace.
​
But Vickers didn’t even look like he’d ever fired a gun, let alone owned one. He was a scrawny little thing with messy blond hair, plastic rimmed glasses and an awkward smile. He worked in the office at one of the newly built warehouses as an IT guy or something like that. I’d seen him around a few times, usually at the Honey Pot and Spaniel, grabbing a drink. But the handful of times that we’d actually spoken was when I’d taken some statements from him regarding a couple of brawls that had gotten out of hand at the Honey Pot and when I’d swung by his place while looking for a kid who’d gone ‘missing’ (missing in this context meaning ‘wandered off to go fishing without telling their Mom.’)
​
So while gunshots on their own might not be suspicious, gunshots at Vickers place absolutely were.
​
I already had a bad feeling in my gut as I drove down the road to his place, a feeling that only got worse when I saw the fire. It was hard not to see it. Even in the darkness, you could see the ominous, flickering glow from miles off.
​
The firefighters were in the middle of trying to put it out, but it almost looked like a losing battle. The house had been all but fully consumed by an inferno. There was no saving it. Fortunately, Vickers didn’t seem like he’d been caught in the fire.
​
Unfortunately, the man was still dead. I saw some of the neighbors standing close to a body laying in the grass several yards from the house as I pulled up.
​
I could already see another cruiser on the scene, and could make out the scrawny figure of Deputy Ethan Biggs amongst the neighbors on scene. I parked beside him and got out. I could feel the heat from the fire on my face the moment I opened the door, and quietly walked over to Biggs. He looked over at me, and beside him, I could see the naked corpse of Geoffery Vickers, lying sprawled and bloody in the grass.
​
“Jesus Christ…” I said under my breath, as I looked down at him.
“Yup…” Biggs replied. He was a good ten years younger than I was, and looked like a strong breeze could snap him right in two. But he had guts. I’d always liked him for that.
“I’ve seen a lotta messes in my time, but this… Christ… where do we even start?”
​
I looked over at the neighbors who’d come to investigate. I recognized Sidney and Loretta Mason, standing a few feet back, and old Brenda Roberts, a few feet away from them.
Biggs noticed me looking at them.
“Already talked to them… Masons didn’t see much, but Roberts did.”
“Yeah? You get her statement?” I asked, and Biggs got a bit of a peculiar look in his eye.
“Yeah… I did…” Something about his tone seemed off to me. Exasperated, might be the word I was looking for.
​
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Not sure how much of what she said is actually gonna help us.”
“Yeah? Why’s that?”
Biggs just shook his head.
“I don’t even know where to start. Honestly… you should just hear it firsthand. Don’t worry. I’ve got the body covered and I’ve already called the coroner.”
​
I raised an eyebrow, wondering just what the hell old Mrs. Roberts had said to get that kind of reaction out of him. I looked over towards her. The old girl was wringing her hands as she stared at the fire, which was still going strong, and she tensed up a little bit as I approached.
“Evening, Brenda,” I said. “Deputy Biggs mentioned you might’ve seen something?”
“I already told him what I saw,” She said bitterly.
“I know, but now I’m asking you to tell me.”
“What? You think my story’s gonna change just because you’re asking? I saw what I saw!”
“I’m sure you did. But I need to know what you saw, if we’re going to better understand what happened to Mr. Vickers.”
​
Mrs. Roberts huffed.
“I already told Deputy Biggs, those men shot him.”
“Which men?” I asked.
“Didn’t get a good look at them. Just heard the gunshots while I was out on the porch. Came by to check in and make sure everything was okay… I’ll hear gunshots from the place down the road sometimes when Mr. Coleson takes his boy out shooting, but Vickers wasn’t really the sort to do something like that. Didn’t think I’d find this mess out here…”
She shook her head, and I gave her time to collect her thoughts before continuing.
“There were five… maybe six of them. Like I said, I didn’t get a good look at them. Just saw shadows by the fire. They weren’t packing peashooters, though. Those guns of theirs were automatic… and that thing they were shooting…”
​
She paused again.
“Thing, ma’am?” I asked.
“An animal… at least… It looked like an animal. A bear maybe, but it was bigger than any bear I’ve ever seen in this area and the silhouette wasn’t right. It looked more like a coyote. It was fast too, agile.”
“These men were attacking the animal?” I asked.
“Yeah… it kept charging at them, and they kept it surrounded and kept on shooting. Didn’t take long for it to collapse.”
“I’m sorry… they killed it?” I frowned, before looking back through Vickers yard. I would’ve thought I’d have noticed a dead bear lying out there.
​
Mrs. Roberts just shook her head.
“The body’s gone, idiot,” She huffed, “It’s just Vickers lying there now…”
I paused, and looked back at her.
“Excuse me?”
“Soon as the men left, I stayed in the woods and called you clowns… and when I looked back, the animal was gone and Vickers was lying there instead.”
​
The look on her face was dead serious, despite the absurdity of the claim she’d just made. Suddenly I understood why Biggs had wanted me to get the story directly from her. If he’d been the one to tell me this, I would’ve just told him to stop screwing around and tell me what she actually said.
“I see… Well, I’ll go and take a look at that body, then.” I said, before quietly stepping aside to return to Biggs. I just heard her scoff at me as I left and returned to Biggs, who raised a knowing eyebrow at me.
​
“Yeah, I see your point…” I said dryly.
“Figured you might.”
“So what actually killed him?” I asked. It was hard to see in the firelight, but Vickers did look like he’d been shot… a lot. It was hard to figure out much about the caliber from the bullet wounds, but my gut told me that Mrs. Roberts description of the killers using automatic weapons was probably true. Someone had clearly wanted this man dead.
​
Seemed like Biggs had already reached the same conclusion too.
“Found some 5.56 casings in the grass,” He said. “If nothing else, Mrs. Roberts wasn’t making up the part about the automatic rifles. Masons described the gunfire as sounding similar too.”
“Right… so, we get Mrs. Roberts back to the station. Pick apart her story some more,” I said. “Then once that fire is out, maybe we’ll find something at the house.”
“Maybe,” Biggs said. “Odds are that this fire ain’t an accident… this feels…” He paused.
“It feels like a hit,” I finished.
“Yeah… yeah, that’s it… You ever dealt with anything like this before?”
​
I stood up.
“I’ve dealt with small time gang violence… drive by shootings. Stuff like that. Something this extreme though?”
I looked back at the burning house. The firefighters had finally started to get the inferno under control.
“No. I’ve never actually seen anything quite like this before. This is something brand new.”
I could see the coroner's car getting closer and saw Dr. Miller getting out. He took one look at the fire and I saw his expression darken, with a quiet knowing.
​
“Let’s photograph the scene and let the coroner take a look. Maybe he can fill in some gaps.”
Biggs nodded, and we got to work.
​
We were up for most of the night. Getting everything we could from the crime scene. Collecting every spent bullet casing, going over both Mrs. Roberts and the Masons' statements with them down at the station, and looking for any other sign of who might have been behind this attack.
​
One of the small drawbacks to being a small town cop is that there’s not really other departments to handle other aspects of the job. When I worked in the city, there were. Everyone specialized in something. Property crimes, traffic, drugs, sex crimes, homicide, you name it. Small towns don’t have that. We do everything, which means that usually, if there’s a case in town, it’s mine from start to finish.
​
The one exception to that, is a homicide investigation. Those typically require a heck of a lot more manpower than a small department like ours has.
Still, we tried to collect whatever evidence we could find for whoever the State Police sent out to investigate this.
​
When the fire was out, we combed through the ruins, Biggs and I went over Vickers property with a fine tooth comb… although there wasn’t all that much to find beyond the body and the casings. This job had been clean. It’d been quick and it’d been brutal. This felt almost military.
​
Piecing together exactly what happened wasn’t technically my job here, but I still couldn’t help but put the pieces together. The assailants had likely firebombed Vickers house to draw him out. Then, when the poor SOB had his house to safety, they’d gunned him down in cold blood. Why? Who could say… Vickers didn’t seem like the kind of man to make enemies. But, I guess I never truly knew the man either and I can’t imagine that anybody dies that bloody without any skeletons in their closet.
​
***
​
Dr. Miller called us into his office around 1PM the next day.
​
Biggs and I arrived a little early, and found ourselves waiting for him in his office. Dr. Miller's office was a bit of a mess, but dripping with personality. Drawings from his kids decorated one wall, alongside a couple of medals, identifying him as a fellow veteran. Above those drawings hung a simple crucifix. A declaration of faith, despite his morbid profession.
​
About five minutes after we’d come in and sat down, Dr. Miller himself walked in to join us. He was a somewhat heavyset man with a usually cheerful demeanor. He and I usually didn’t have much of an opportunity to interact. Mostly, I only ever saw him when one of the old timers passed, or when some idiot got themselves killed trying to win a Darwin Award.
​
When he came through the door though, he looked a lot more dour than usual. I could hardly blame him, given what he’d likely just seen.
“Suppose it’s a little late to ask if he’ll live, huh doc?” Biggs asked.
​
Dr. Miller looked unimpressed with his attempt at a joke, and Biggs just murmured a quiet
“Right… sorry…”
“It’s a hell of an interesting case you’ve dropped in my lap, boys,” He said. “Haven’t seen wounds like these since my army days. I don’t suppose I need to tell you the obvious. We all know how he died and there’s nothing in the autopsy that suggests otherwise. That’s not why I called you two here.”
“Then what is?” I asked.
“There’s something else about the body I think you two should see.”
​
Dr. Miller gestured for us to follow him, and led us out to where Vickers body sat on the autopsy table. He’d been cut open, and I noticed Biggs flinching at the sight of him.
“Jesus…” He murmured.
Dr. Miller barely even noticed. He just stood over the body.
“I’ve noticed a number of unusual attributes with Mr. Vickers body. Things that don’t make sense. Take a look at this, for example…”
​
He gestured to some strange marks on Vickers ribcage.
“Healed fractures… but look at them… they’re consistent. All along his ribs.”
He traced one gloved finger along a bit of exposed rib, and I could see them. Discolorations in the bone in a spiral pattern along his ribs. It almost looked like they’d come apart like that before.
“Okay, what exactly does that mean?” I asked.
​
“I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s almost like… like his bones were breaking regularly and reforming, but that shouldn’t be possible.”
“It isn’t,” Biggs said. “Has to be something else. Maybe he had some sort of medical condition?”
“That’s what I thought too… but I’ve gone through Vickers medical history. There’s nothing in there that explains this. Nothing! This right here? This makes no sense to me. I mean… I’ve never heard of anything that does this to a person's skeleton. I’ve done some x-rays… it’s not just his ribs. It’s everything. He has evidence of these fractures on every bone in his body. It’s like… it’s like he regularly just… reshaped his skeleton.”
​
Biggs and I just stared at him, uneasy.
“Reshaped his skeleton?” I repeated.
“I don’t have a better way to describe it. But in order to have fractures like that, his bones would have needed to basically be coming apart, regularly.”
​
Biggs frowned, staring down at the body. I saw his brow furrow. I could almost see the gears in his head turning.
“Let’s say… let’s say his bones were doing that…” He said, after a few moments. “What would that even look like? What would he look like, if that’s what was happening?”
“I can’t even begin to speculate,” Dr. Miller said with a sigh.
“Were there any other irregularities on his body?” Biggs asked.
​
“Countless, actually. His lungs and heart have similar scar tissue, although it’s not as prominent. I’ve noticed some in his muscles as well, although nothing on his skin, oddly enough. His skin is just about the only part of him that isn’t heavily scarred… save for the bullet wounds, I suppose.”
Biggs nodded thoughtfully.
“I’ve made a few calls, sent some photos of the X-rays to some colleagues… but I’m not expecting much back. I’ll keep digging into his medical history, looking for an answer. But no promises.”
“Well, thanks anyways. You’ll keep us informed on what else you find, Dr. Miller, right?” I asked.
​
“The moment I learn something new, you’ll be the first one I call,” He said, before pausing. “I have to ask… off the record. I don’t imagine you boys have figured out why he was killed yet, did you?”
“That’s a question for the State Police to answer,” I said.
“Right… well, I can only really speculate based on what I can see here, but with scarring this unnatural, I’d be inclined to wonder if there was some kind of connection.”
“Connection, Dr. Miller?” I asked.
​
“I was an army doc, Deputy Sawyer. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen what 5.56 hollow point rounds can do to a body. I’ve also lived in this town long enough to know that nobody here is packing that kind of firepower. Like I said, this is off the record… but whoever killed Vickers probably wasn’t local. I don’t know what kind of life he lived before all this, but I can’t imagine there’s no connection between his scarring and his manner of death.” Dr. Miller shrugged. “Just food for thought.”
​
As Biggs and I left the morgue, I noticed a somewhat pensive look on his face. Somehow, I already knew what he was probably thinking.
“No.” I said, as bluntly as I could.
“What do you mean ‘no’?” Biggs asked.
“I mean, ‘no.’ I know what you’re thinking and it’s stupid.”
“Rick… if all the evidence is pointing in this one direction, maybe we’ve gotta open ourselves up to the possibility…”
“I would, if the possibility wasn’t ridiculous,” I replied.
​
“Mrs. Roberts said she saw a large animal in Vickers yard. An animal that our gunmen shot and killed. Only when she looked at the body, it wasn’t an animal, it was Vickers. Now I know the old lady is a little out of it, but she’s not completely insane. You and I both talked to her. We both grilled her. Her story didn’t change! And now this?”
“It’s scar tissue,” I said. “It doesn’t prove anything.”
“Old fractures on his bones that Dr. Miller can’t explain!”
​
“Dr. Miller is a small town coroner, Biggs! I like the man, honest to God I do! He’s a good man! But he’s not exactly a leading medical authority!”
“Well he knows a hell of a lot more about this stuff than you or I do. I know this sounds impossible, Rick. I know it does. But, when are we just gonna up and say it?”
“Because it is impossible!”
“Then explain to me why it’s looking more and more like Geoffery Vickers was a fucking werewolf!”
​
I shook my head in disbelief.
“Go on,” Biggs snapped. “Make this all make sense, Rick! Give me some other logical answer! Please! Because I don’t want to tell the state troopers that we’re investigating the murder of Lon Cheney Jr. over here any more than you do!”
“Let’s just… let’s calm down,” I said. “I get it… right now, none of this makes a whole lot of sense. But let’s not start going off half cocked and jumping to conclusions! Okay? This ain’t really even our case to solve! Homicides go to the State Police. And when they come to take this case off our hands, we’re just gonna give them the facts that we have, okay? We’re gonna give them the testimony, we’re gonna give them Dr. Miller's findings, we’re gonna go: ‘Ha. Ha. This one’s weird, isn’t it?’ Then we’re gonna let them get to the bottom of this and when they do, there’s gonna be an explanation that’s a whole hell of a lot more logical than ‘werewolves.’ Okay? You got that?”
​
Biggs paused for a moment, before he nodded. He still had a look on his face that was hard to describe. How exactly does one explain the: ‘I’m not willing to let go of my werewolf theory just yet’ look?
“It’s been a long day, Biggs,” I sighed. "Your shifts almost over, isn’t it?”
“Yeah… it is…”
“Why don’t you go home and get some rest? I’ll keep an eye on things, okay?”
​
He nodded, and sighed.
“Yeah… haven’t slept since way before we got the Vickers call.”
“Exactly. So go and rest.”
“What about you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.
“I haven’t been on shift as long. I can hold out a few more hours with some coffee in me. Don’t worry.”
​
Biggs nodded again, and after a moment, he patted me on the shoulder.
“Alright. You’ll call me if anything comes up?”
“Naturally. Now go home and sleep.”
He turned and walked back to his cruiser, and I could see the tension in his shoulders as he did. The man looked beyond exhausted. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him. I was dead tired too.
​
***
​
After the mess that was the Vickers case, I was at least expecting the rest of the day to go by quietly.
For the most part, it did. I spent the rest of my shift compiling a full report for whoever the State Police sent to look into Vicker’s death. Then when 5 PM rolled around, I was just about ready to finally call it a day.
​
While technically, I’d only really been on shift since around 7 that morning, the Vickers call had taken priority, so really I’d been working since 11 last night. My head was throbbing and I desperately needed some sleep. All I could think about was going home, crashing into my bed and passing out. All I needed to do was finish up a bit of filing… and then the second call came in.
​
Gunshots on the south side of town.
​
Automatic rifles… just like with the Vickers case.
​
Sleep was going to need to wait. This came first.
​
I was out in my cruiser the moment we got the call, speeding towards the address the callers had given us. I didn’t know the residents of that house well. We’d never formally been introduced. I knew they were fairly new in town, though. That house had only been built about a year ago and they’d bought it before it had even finished being built.
​
Unlike with Vickers, this house hadn’t been burned.
​
Actually, I’d say things looked almost deceptively peaceful, as I drove up the gravel driveway. A quaint rustic mailbox identifying the family that owned the place as: ‘The Russell’s’ sat at the spot where the driveway met the road, and as my cruiser rolled toward the house. I didn’t see any signs of life as I parked my cruiser and got out. Slowly, I drew my pistol and watched the house carefully. There were lights on inside and the door was slightly ajar.
​
I checked my cruiser radio.
“Dispatch, how long until backup?”
“Deputy Lopez is twenty minutes out, Sawyer. We’ve also gotten Biggs and Sheriff Smith. No ETA on them yet.”
​
Twenty minutes… not ideal.
​
If there were people wounded in there, they’d be dead in twenty minutes.
I swore under my breath.
“I’m going inside to have a look around. No sign of suspects on premises,” I said.
​
I didn’t wait for dispatch to reply before I started towards the door. I moved slowly. Uneasily. I kept my gun raised as I reached the front door and pushed it open.
​
I was greeted by a house that looked like it’d been turned upside down and shaken.
There’d been a fight in here.
There’d been one hell of a fight.
​
I crept into the foyer, gun raised as I listened for any signs of life.
​
Nothing.
​
I noticed bloodstains on the ground, leading into the kitchen and followed them, hesitating before I passed through the doorway.
“Hello?” I called, “This is Deputy Rick Sawyer!”
​
No answer. The mess in the kitchen was even worse. There’d clearly been some kind of fight. There was a large pool of blood forming from behind the counter, and ran to investigate.
​
Slumped on the kitchen floor was the body of a man. He seemed to be in his forties with pale skin and graying hair. He was dressed in a suit, and appeared to have been shot several times. I still checked his pulse, hoping that there was a chance he might still be alive, but I found nothing.
​
Another victim.
​
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed empty bullet casings on the ground and reached out to pick one up.
​
5.56, hollow point. Just like the ones at Vickers place.
​
I looked behind me and stood up, reaching for my radio.
“Dispatch, we have one body on the scene. Male, early to mid forties.”
​
I heard a creak behind me and turned around, raising my gun. I could see a door leading to the basement that looked like it’d been splintered. There was a lot of blood on the floor nearby… blood that was awfully far away from the body of the man I’d found.
“Hello?” I called again, and took a few tentative steps toward the basement door.
​
I was able to just step over the splintered wreckage, and look down the stairs of the basement. I could see some blood on the stairs, but not much.
“Hello?”
I started to descend, only to pause when I heard movement. The basement was unfinished, but there was a light on in some other room and I saw a shadow moving past that light.
​
“I’m with the local police! It’s Deputy Rick Sawyer!” I called.
No response.
I took a moment, weighing my options. Going down alone was reckless. Someone was clearly down here… a survivor, maybe? They could’ve been hurt…
​
Waiting for backup might not be the right call. My gut told me that whoever the gunmen were, they were gone now. Odds are, they weren’t going to hang around in a basement waiting for the cops to show up.
​
I took another step down the stairs.
“I’m coming down,” I warned as I made my way onto the cold concrete floor.
I heard movement. Footsteps, and followed the sound. I entered the next room just in time to see a dark haired woman fleeing through another door.
“Wait!” I called, trying to go after her.
​
Whoever she was, she didn’t make it far, cornering herself in the next room and turning back to me with a look of panic. I could hear her frantic breathing, see the terror in her eyes… and see the still wet blood running from her mouth, down her dress.
“N-no…” She sobbed, “NO, GET AWAY!”
“Ma’am… I’m here to help…” I tried to say, although she spotted an opening to my left, and made a mad dash for it.
​
I grabbed her, trying to stop her from fleeing. And I think that was the biggest mistake I could have made.
​
What happened next… What happened next is on me. I’m not going to pretend that it wasn’t. I should’ve handled things differently, I should’ve realized that what I was doing was a mistake. But in the heat of the moment, I didn’t think. I thought that woman was injured. I knew she was scared. But I grabbed her anyway… and in doing so, ruined everything.
​
She screamed in panic, fighting against me at first. She was a hell of a lot stronger than she looked. With the way she fought, I was almost sure that she was going to break my arms, but I held her tight, trying in vain to calm her down. As soon as it became clear to her that she wasn’t going to break out of my grasp… she turned on me.
​
I only caught a glimpse of her fangs as she opened her mouth, but that momentary glimpse was all I needed. It was like the few seconds you experience right before a near car accident, where everything seems to happen so fast and so slow at the same time. When she opened her mouth, I could see that her teeth weren’t normal. Her canines seemed longer… more prominent. I could see an animalistic bloodlust in her eyes.
​
And that’s when I realized that the blood on her dress wasn’t hers.
​
It belonged to the last idiot who’d tried to grab her.
​
She lunged for me, sinking her fangs into my throat. I cried out in pain as she forced me to the ground. The bite radiated a white hot pain that was hard to describe. I could feel my blood gushing into her mouth as she slammed me to the ground.
​
For a moment… I felt her hesitate. Saw her swallow the blood in her mouth. For a moment, I saw a flicker in her eyes. A silent question as to whether she wanted more or not. But instead, she pulled back and using her unusual strength, ripped the gun from my hands. I tried to speak. Tried to cry out to her, but she was already running again. I pressed a hand to the wound in my neck and tried to stand, only for my legs to buckle under me.
​
She was gone.
​
I could hear her running up the stairs… heard her feet pounding on the floor above me as she tried to make a break for freedom.
​
Then I heard the gunshot. It came so suddenly, echoing through the house. The final thud of a body collapsing to the ground came almost instantly afterward.
​
It was Lopez who’d shot her.
​
Lopez who found me down in that basement, bleeding and struggling to stand.
​
He told me that he’d seen the bloody woman come running out of the kitchen, he’d seen the gun in her hand and he’d reacted, thinking it was life or death. She’d gone down in one shot… and that had been it.
​
We later identified her as Patricia Russell, the wife of the dead man in the kitchen, Hank Russell. And if she was Patricia Russell… that meant that we’d just killed our only witness.
​
A witness… who’d just bit my neck like a vampire.
​
A witness who’d had fangs like a vampire.
​
I didn’t want to believe that… the idea just seemed completely impossible. I wanted to believe that there was a more logical explanation to this! There had to be! The more sensible side of my brain knew that! But the more sensible side of my brain couldn’t explain what I’d just seen and it couldn’t explain the state of Vickers body either.
​
Biggs' words echoed through my mind.
‘If all the evidence is pointing in this one direction, maybe we’ve gotta open ourselves up to the possibility…’
​
I didn’t want to open myself up to the possibility! I wanted there to be another answer! Hell, there probably was another answer! There had to be! But there’s only so much evidence a man can ignore before he has to at least admit that sometimes, impossible things just might be true.

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/frontotemporal-disorders/what-are-frontotemporal-disorders-causes-symptoms-and-treatment
"Brian's story"

• Brian, an attorney, began having trouble organizing his cases. In time, his law firm assigned him to do paperwork only. Brian’s wife thought he was depressed because his father had died two years earlier. Brian, 56, was treated for depression, but his symptoms got worse. He became more disorganized and began making sexual comments to his wife’s female friends. Even more unsettling, he neither understood nor cared that his behavior disturbed his family and friends. As time went on, Brian had trouble paying bills and was less affectionate toward his wife and young son. Three years after Brian’s symptoms began, his counselor recommended a neurological evaluation. Brian was diagnosed with behavioral variant FTD — the most common form of FTD.

Frontotemporal disorders (FTD), sometimes called frontotemporal dementia, are the result of damage to neurons in the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. Many possible symptoms can result, including unusual behaviors, emotional problems, trouble communicating, difficulty with work, or difficulty with walking. FTD is rare and tends to occur at a younger age than other forms of dementia. Roughly 60% of people with FTD are 45 to 64 years old.
FTD is progressive, meaning symptoms get worse over time. In the early stages, people may have just one symptom. As the disease progresses, other symptoms appear as more parts of the brain are affected. It is difficult to predict how long someone with FTD will live. Some people live more than 10 years after diagnosis, while others live less than two years after they are diagnosed.
There is currently no cure for FTD, and no treatments slow or stop the progression of the disease, but there are ways to help manage the symptoms.

What do the terms mean?

One of the challenges shared by people living with these disorders, families, clinicians, and researchers is what terminology to use. Here, we have used the term frontotemporal disorders to characterize this group of diseases and the abbreviation FTD, which is commonly used to refer to them. Other terms used include frontotemporal lobar degeneration and frontotemporal dementia, but it's important to note that with some frontotemporal disorders, the primary symptoms are problems with speech or movement, rather than dementia symptoms. Physicians and psychologists diagnose the different forms of FTD based on a person’s symptoms as well as the results of brain scans and genetic tests.

What are the types and symptoms of FTD?

In the early stages, it can be hard to know which type of FTD a person has because symptoms and the order in which they appear can vary from one person to another. Also, the same symptoms can appear across different disorders and vary from one stage of the disease to the next as different parts of the brain are affected.
Symptoms of FTD are often misunderstood. Family members and friends may think that a person is misbehaving, leading to anger and conflict. It is important to understand that people with these disorders cannot control their behaviors and other symptoms and lack any awareness of their illness.
There are three types of frontotemporal disorders (FTD): behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), primary progressive aphasia (PPA), and movement disorders.

Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia

The most common FTD, bvFTD, involves changes in personality, behavior, and judgment. People with this disorder may have problems with cognition, but their memory may stay relatively intact. Symptoms can include:

• Problems planning and sequencing (thinking through which steps come first, second, and so on)
• Difficulty prioritizing tasks or activities
• Repeating the same activity or saying the same word over and over
• Acting impulsively or saying or doing inappropriate things without considering how others perceive the behavior
• Becoming disinterested in family or activities they used to care about

Over time, language and/or movement problems may occur, and the person living with bvFTD will need more care and supervision.

Primary progressive aphasia

PPA involves changes in the ability to communicate — to use language to speak, read, write, and understand what others are saying. This includes difficulty using or understanding words (aphasia) and difficulty speaking properly (e.g., slurred speech). People with PPA may have one or both of these symptoms. They may become mute or unable to speak.
Many people with PPA develop symptoms of dementia. Problems with memory, reasoning, and judgment are not apparent at first but can develop over time. In addition, some people with PPA may experience significant behavioral changes, similar to those seen in bvFTD, as the disease progresses.
There are three types of PPA, categorized by the kind of language problems that appear first.

• Semantic PPA: A person slowly loses the ability to understand single words and sometimes to recognize the faces of familiar people and common objects.
• Agrammatic PPA: A person has more and more trouble speaking and may omit words that link nouns and verbs (such as to, from, the). Eventually, the person may no longer be able to speak at all. The person may eventually develop movement symptoms similar to those seen in corticobasal syndrome.
• Logopenic PPA: A person has trouble finding the right words during a conversation but can understand words and sentences. The person does not have problems with grammar.

Researchers do not fully understand the biological basis of the different types of PPA. But they hope one day to link specific language problems with the changes in the brain that cause them.

Movement disorders

Two rare neurological movement disorders associated with FTD, corticobasal syndrome and progressive supranuclear palsy, occur when the parts of the brain that control movement are affected. The disorders may affect thinking and language abilities, too.

• Corticobasal syndrome can be caused by corticobasal degeneration — a gradual atrophy (shrinkage) and loss of nerve cells in specific parts of the brain. This degeneration causes progressive loss of the ability to control movement, typically beginning around age 60. The most prominent symptom may be apraxia, the inability to use the hands or arms to perform a movement despite normal strength, such as difficulty closing buttons or operating small appliances. Other symptoms can include muscle rigidity and difficulty swallowing. Symptoms may appear first on one side of the body, but eventually both sides are affected. Occasionally, a person with corticobasal syndrome first has language problems or trouble orienting objects in space and later develops movement symptoms. Not everyone who has corticobasal syndrome has problems with memory, cognition, language, or behavior.
• Progressive supranuclear palsy causes problems with balance and walking. People with the disorder typically move slowly, experience unexplained falls, lose facial expression, and have body stiffness, especially in the neck and upper body — symptoms similar to those of Parkinson’s disease. A hallmark sign of this disorder is trouble with eye movements, particularly looking down. These symptoms may give the face a fixed stare. Problems with behavior, memory, problem solving, and judgment can also develop.

Other movement-related types of FTD include frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism and frontotemporal dementia with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (FTD-ALS).

• Frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism can be an inherited disease caused by a genetic tau genetic variant. Symptoms include movement problems similar to those of Parkinson’s disease, such as slowed movement, stiffness, and balance problems, and changes in behavior or language.
• FTD-ALS, also called FTD with motor neuron disease, is a combination of bvFTD and ALS, the latter commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. In addition to the behavioral and/or language changes seen in bvFTD, people with FTD-ALS experience the progressive muscle weakness seen in ALS, fine jerks, and wiggling in muscles. Symptoms of either disease may appear first, with other symptoms developing over time. Changes in certain genes have been found in some people with FTD-ALS, though most cases are not hereditary.

What causes FTD?

Scientists are beginning to understand the biological and genetic basis for the changes observed in brain cells that lead to FTD.
Scientists describe FTD using the patterns of change in the brain seen in an autopsy after death. These changes include loss of neurons and abnormal amounts, or forms of proteins called tau and TDP-43. These proteins occur naturally in the body and help cells function properly. When the proteins don’t work properly, for reasons not yet fully understood, neurons in specific brain regions are damaged.
In most cases, the cause of a FTD is unknown. Individuals with a family history of FTD are more likely to develop such a disorder. About 10 to 30% of bvFTD is due to specific genetic causes.
FTD that runs in a family is often related to variants (permanent changes) in certain genes. Genes are basic units of heredity that tell cells how to make the proteins the body needs to function. Even small changes in a gene may produce an abnormal protein, which can lead to changes in the brain and, eventually, disease.
Scientists have discovered several different genes that, when mutated, can lead to FTD:

• Tau gene (also called the MAPT gene) — A change in this gene causes abnormalities in a protein called tau, which then forms tangles inside neurons and ultimately leads to the destruction of brain cells. Inheriting a variant in this gene means a person will almost surely develop a frontotemporal disorder, usually bvFTD, but the exact age of onset and symptoms cannot be predicted.
• GRN gene — A change in this gene can lead to lower production of the protein progranulin, which in turn causes another protein, TDP-43, to go awry in brain cells. Many frontotemporal disorders can result, though bvFTD is the most common. The GRN gene can cause different symptoms in different family members and cause the disease to begin at different ages.
• C9ORF72 gene — An unusual change in this gene appears to be the most common genetic abnormality in familial frontotemporal disorders and familial ALS. This variant can cause a frontotemporal disorder, ALS, or both conditions.

In recent years researchers have discovered several other genetic changes in genes that lead to rare familial types of frontotemporal disorders. These other variants account for less than 5% of all cases of FTD.
Families affected by inherited and familial forms of FTD can help scientists advance research by participating in clinical studies and trials. For more information, talk with a health care professional or visit the Alzheimers.gov Clinical Trials Finder.

How is FTD diagnosed?

FTD can be hard to diagnose because the symptoms are similar to those of other conditions. For example, bvFTD is sometimes misdiagnosed as a mood disorder, such as depression. To make matters more confusing, a person can have both FTD and another type of dementia, such as Alzheimer's disease. Also, because these disorders are rare, physicians may be unfamiliar with the signs and symptoms.
To help diagnose frontotemporal dementia, a doctor may:

• Perform an exam and ask about symptoms
• Look at personal and family medical history
• Use laboratory tests to help rule out other conditions
• Order genetic testing
• Conduct tests to assess memory, thinking, language skills, and physical functioning
• Order imaging of the brain

A psychiatric evaluation can help determine if depression or another mental health condition is causing or contributing to the condition. Only genetic tests in familial cases or a brain autopsy after a person dies can confirm a diagnosis of FTD.
Researchers are studying ways to diagnose FTD earlier and more accurately and to distinguish them from other types of dementia. One area of research involves biomarkers, such as proteins or other substances in the blood or cerebrospinal fluid which can be used to measure disease progression or the effects of treatment. Researchers are also exploring ways to improve brain imaging and neuropsychological testing.

Treatment and management of FTD

So far, there is no cure for FTD and no way to slow down or prevent these diseases. However, there are ways to manage symptoms. A team of specialists — doctors, nurses, and speech, physical, and occupational therapists — familiar with these disorders can help guide treatment

Managing behavior changes in FTD

Behavior changes associated with bvFTD can upset and frustrate family members and other caregivers. Understanding changes in personality and behavior and knowing how to respond can reduce frustration and help provide the best care for a person with FTD.
Managing behavioral symptoms can involve several approaches. Here are some strategies to consider:

• Try to accept rather than challenge someone with behavioral symptoms. Arguing or reasoning will not help, because they cannot control their behaviors or see that they are unusual or upsetting to others. Instead, be as sensitive as possible and understand that it’s the illness “talking.”
• Take a “timeout” when frustrated — take deep breaths, count to 10, or leave the room for a few minutes.
• To deal with apathy, limit choices and offer specific choices. Open-ended questions, such as “What do you want to do today?” are more difficult to answer than specific ones, such as “Do you want to go to the park or for a walk?”.
• Maintain a regular schedule, reduce distractions, and modify the environment to reduce confusion and improve the person’s sleep.
• If compulsive eating is an issue, consider supervising eating, limiting food choices, locking cabinets and the refrigerator, and distracting the person with other activities.

To ensure the safety of a person and his or her family, caregivers may have to take on new responsibilities or arrange care that was not needed before.
Medications are available to treat certain behavioral symptoms. Antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are commonly prescribed to treat social disinhibition and impulsive behavior. People with aggression or delusions sometimes take low doses of antipsychotic medications. If a particular medication is not working, a doctor may try another. Always consult a doctor before changing, adding, or stopping a drug or supplement.

Treating language problems in FTD

Treatment of PPA has two goals — maintaining language skills and using new tools and other ways to communicate. Treatment tailored to a person’s specific language problem and stage of PPA generally works best. Since language ability declines over time, different strategies may be needed as the illness progresses. The following strategies may help:
Use a communication notebook (an album of photos labeled with names of people and objects), gestures, and drawings to communicate without talking.
Store lists of words or phrases in a computer or phone to point to.
Speak slowly and clearly, use simple sentences, wait for responses, and ask for clarification if needed.
Work with a speech-language pathologist familiar with PPA to determine the best tools and strategies to use. Note that many speech-language pathologists are trained to treat aphasia caused by stroke, which requires different strategies from those used with PPA.
"Mary Ann's story"

• Mary Ann, a television news anchor for 20 years, began having trouble reading the nightly news. At first, her doctor thought she had a vision problem, but tests showed that her eyesight was normal. Although normally creative and energetic, Mary Ann, 52, had trouble finishing assignments and voicing her ideas at staff meetings. In time, she was let go from her job. Mary Ann applied for Social Security disability benefits, which required a medical exam. Her symptoms puzzled several doctors until a neurologist diagnosed logopenic PPA. A speech therapist taught Mary Ann to use a personal digital assistant to express words and phrases. For emergencies, Mary Ann carries a card in her wallet that explains her condition.Mary Ann's story

Managing movement problems in FTD

Medications and physical and occupational therapy may provide modest relief for the movement symptoms of FTD. A doctor who specializes in these disorders can guide treatment.
For people with corticobasal syndrome, Parkinson’s disease medicines may offer some temporary improvement. Physical and occupational therapy may help the person move more easily. Speech therapy can help them manage language symptoms.
For people with progressive supranuclear palsy, sometimes Parkinson’s disease drugs provide temporary relief for slowness, stiffness, and balance problems. Exercises can keep the joints limber, and weighted walking aids — such as a walker with sandbags over the lower front rung — can help maintain balance. Speech, vision, and swallowing difficulties usually do not respond to any drug treatment. Antidepressants have shown modest success. For people with abnormal eye movements, bifocals or special glasses called prisms are sometimes prescribed.
People with FTD-ALS typically decline quickly over two to three years. During this time, physical therapy can help treat muscle symptoms, and a walker or wheelchair may be useful. Speech therapy may help a person speak more clearly at first. Later on, other ways of communicating, such as a speech synthesizer, can be used. The ALS symptoms of the disorder ultimately make it impossible to stand, walk, eat, and breathe on one’s own.
Physicians, nurses, social workers, and physical, occupational, and speech therapists who are familiar with these conditions can ensure that people with movement disorders get appropriate medical treatment and that their caregivers can help them live as well as possible.

The future of FTD treatment

Researchers are continuing to explore the biological changes in the body, including genetic variants and proteins, that lead to FTD and identify and test possible new drugs and other treatments. They are also developing better ways to track disease progression, so that treatments, when they become available, can be directed to the right people. Clinical trials and studies are underway to advance these efforts. People with FTD and healthy people may be able to participate. To find out more, talk to your health care provider or visit the Alzheimers.gov Clinical Trials Finder.

I bought the photo op and an extra print and would be interested in sharing the shoot with another DW fan and splitting the cost.
The shoot is Saturday at 3:50 and half of the cost (after tax) would be $240.85
This is the full cast op with David Tennant, Jodie Whittaker, Billie Piper, Catherine Tate, and Alex Kingston.
First come first served, and I can accept your half at the con via venmo.

22 minutes of Armenia coverage by Transcaucasian Telegraph. Follow for regular updates. (long headlines and magnificent thumbnails are back with popular demand)

transparency and anti-corruption reforms: NGOs' oversight over public procurement to become easier

Last week Pashinyan cabinet greenlighted an amendment to the public procurement process to allow journalists and NGOs to more easily observe the execution of the procurement process. Details in May 23 news.
FINANCE MINISTRY: The law was amended 2 years ago to grant this ability but not many NGOs and journalists have been using it because the process was cumbersome and required them to submit information, receive authorization, and contact the finance ministry. This reform will allow NGOs to submit paperwork and register with the ministry only once.
NGO INFORMED CITIZENS: This change allows us, without a warning, to go and observe the construction project in progress. If the construction is financed with public funds, with the exception of secret objects (e.g. army), it's possible for us to visit the site and even verify the width of the metal being used to ensure it meets the standards. In reality, this goes beyond improving transparency because it will serve as a preventative measure to discourage dishonest conduct by companies. //
FINANCE MINISTRY: We do not always have the capacity to properly oversee every construction project in its entirety, especially the large ones. Often the state's main role in these contracts is to be an intermediary between the construction company and the public. With this reform, we are allowing the public to join the supervision process. We expect this change to expose many problems and there is no culture of hiding the problems; the government regularly discusses them at the highest levels. //
NGO INFORMED CITIZENS: For example, students' parents can register an NGO and audit the quality of food served to their children in school.
REPORTER: Could this change discourage the participation of companies in public tenders?
NGO INFORMED CITIZENS: It won't discourage honest companies.
FINANCE MINISTRY: If a company is nervous about the increased public oversight, that means they have serious problems. This is a positive change for honest companies. Imagine you hire a construction worker to remodel your home and he doesn't want you to see what he is doing in your home. Would you trust that worker? The journalists and NGOs can get involved in an oversight process with up to 10 members each.
video,

the share of sole-source contracts has decreased during public procurement processes: government

REPORTER: The procurement volumes and the competition are both on the rise. Last year the state agencies (without counting state companies) signed contracts worth ֏307B. That's +11B vs 2022 and +66B vs 2021.
OFFICIAL: Of that ֏307B, ֏123B was spent on healthcare services and other natural monopolies where there is only one option. If we deduct those, we signed contracts worth ֏184B.
֏11B were signed under the condition of absence of competition and ֏11B under emergency.
As of May 1, the share of sole-source purchases:
2023: 12%
2024: 6%
National Center of Public Policy Research: If we count the state companies as well, the volume of contracts reaches ֏439B. Most of the Infrastructure Ministry contracts were competitive. The same cannot be said about the Healthcare Ministry and Interior Ministry; a significant share of those were non-competitive.
BUSINESSMAN (medical field): I'd say up to 90% of the time it's highly competitive and there are tens of companies competing. But then the hospital next to it, which uses almost the same products, announces a similar tender and only 2 are bidding. This is because there are loopholes that allow them to legally write the characteristics of the product in a way to allow only a specific company to win the bid.
OFFICIAL: Of the 125,000 submissions, only 109 were challenged. That is a very low number. Moreover, as for the complaints that the product description is sometimes intentionally meant to prevent the participation of other companies, we know this to be true, and we plan to address this with the ongoing legal reforms and the introduction of a new electronic procurement platform. The new platform will have standardized characteristics and the complaint that sometimes the characteristics are discriminatory will be addressed by the requirement for submitters to use a sample characteristic. The system will be automated and it will become impossible to deviate from the standards.
source,

Armenia's Public Services Regulatory Commission chief urges utility operators to trade at least part of their shares in local stock exchange

CHIEF: We held discussions with the Justice Ministry. The only issue in this case is related to Gazprom Armenia. It is necessary to understand whether this proposal would contradict the 2013 Armenian-Russian agreement on natural gas supplies, as it was ratified by both parliaments and is equal to a law by its status. //
The Armenian government has been subsidizing companies since 2023 for listing their shares on the local stock exchange to create an opportunity for them to raise financing from banks, shares and bonds.
PASHINYAN (February): We should apply favorable regimes for public companies that trade their shares on stock markets. The tax regimes will be less favorable for companies that do not go public. [The context was transparency and oversight in utility companies and telecom operators.]
source,

northern floods have dealt damage to Armenia's mining industry

MINISTER: Most of the mining concentrates are exported via rail, and if the consequences of the natural disaster are not remedied quickly, the mining industry will have massive problems. This is why we spare no effort to restore traffic ASAP with the partners from the South Caucasus Railway. //
Teghut's copper-molybdenum mine and combine have suspended their operations because the pumping station is damaged by the flood and so is the road leading to the site. Efforts are underway to fix both problems, said the company.
source, source, source,

drone video shows construction crews using soil and rocks to link two sections of the M6 highway that were split in multiple locations during the floods

video, barricades,

compilation of cleanup and restoration activities in northern Armenia: VIDEO

source,

disaster zone and Holy Struggle: Sunday's weekly review by H1's Petros Ghazaryan and Tigran Hakobyan

GHAZARYAN: I spent the last two days in the disaster zone. The situation is truly serious there, and we - in Yerevan - do not adequately see the seriousness of the damage. The first floors of the buildings in the Alaverdi region do not exist anymore. I don't see how they could become livable anymore, in addition to the seismic issue of entire buildings. [2.5 kilometers of] the railway has collapsed - one of the main forms of cargo transportation in Armenia. Almost all the bridges in the region have collapsed. Small businesses are hit hard.
HAKOBYAN: ... the orchards and household items.
GHAZARYAN: A 70-year-old man showed me water and said that's where his orchard once was; his retirement is gone. I think the damages are worth a few hundred million dollars. Parts of the M6 highway were simply washed away. From Dlijan to the border with Georgia in Bagratashen. When they say 1959 was the last time we experienced this, in reality, the water levels were high but there was no damage like this.
HAKOBYAN: Climate change is a contributing factor.
GHAZARYAN: We've seen floods in Russia lately but they aren't mountainous, their rivers gradually increase and engulf everything before gradually receding. In the case of mountainous rivers, they bring a massive flow at once and destroy everything before receding just as fast. What I liked in the disaster zone was the attitude of residents; they weren't disheartened, they were determined to rebuild. I visited many locations and in many of them, there was already a process of creating the inventory of lost items to receive compensation from the state. From refrigerators and TVs to pianos and furniture. The same about businesses.
But we have a parallel reality in Armenia - the Holy Struggle.
HAKOBYAN: We had a disastrous earthquake in 1988 during the early stages of the Karabakh [reunification] Movement. On the following day, the Karabakh Movement Committee declared the suspension of its activities against the government and urged its followers and everyone to support the restoration of the disaster zone. The same happened during the 4-day and 44-day wars when all political parties set aside their differences to address the most pressing issues.
This Holy Struggle is an exception. They don't speak about the disaster zone and haven't provided support. Bagrat Galstanyan mentioned once that he met Gagik Tsarukyan to ask him to support the disaster zone, but I think Tsarukyan would have done that even without having a tea party with Galstanyan.
I feel Spanish shame for the conduct of our journalists. When I worked as a young journalist in 1988, I spent a month in the disaster zone to cover the situation. Today, none of our so-called "patriotic media" has a presence in the disaster zone. We have TV channels where 100%, not even 99% but 100%, of the videos are propaganda coverage of the Holy Struggle.
Russians have an excellent saying that whatever you name your movement, that's what it turns into. The idea of holy struggle has historically been used by Christians and Muslims to fight against external enemies. I can't think of any other instances of a holy war being waged within Armenia against the segment of your own population that disagrees with you and your values. They similarly call this a National Liberation Movement, which again implies that a segment of the Armenian population is enemies because historically that term has been used against foreign adversaries. And what do you normally do to your enemy? You destroy them. The culmination of this rhetoric was the clash between Galstanyan and police in front of the foreign ministry building on Friday. This is headed to bloodshed and the state must do everything possible to prevent it.
GHAZARYAN: This movement is being aided 24/7 by media outlets created by Kocharyan and Serj. They don't go to the disaster zone or elsewhere, they are tasked with the holy mission of covering the holy struggle all day long.
HAKOBYAN: It's a PR campaign.
GHAZARYAN: Yes. They create beautiful montage clips of Galstanyan and his words, with music. They are serving Galstanyan as his media outlets. Are Kocharyan and Serj using their massive media apparatus, this pyramid of falsifications, for that purpose without an underlying reason?
Second. The Russian Sputnik media agency, whose official policy is to promote the interests of the Russian state, is engaged in a similar PR campaign for Galstanyan.
Russia's Channel One (ORT) does not sing without the approval of the Kremlin. They present a 20,000 rally as 100,000. Russian political experts describe this movement as their only hope and announce that if it fails, they will have no choice but to find a common language with Pashinyan and accept him. Some Russian figures complain about sending large sums to Armenian opposition forces who have failed to create a functioning movement.
The movement leaders don't talk a lot about foreign policy but they have announced a need to "restore" relations with Russia. What does "restoring" mean? It sounds benign but in order to restore the relations,
(1) Armenia must agree to allow Russian forces to stand on a Zangezur Corridor for Azerbaijan. That's what Russia demands.
(2) Armenia must kick out the EU border observers and replace them with Belarusian, Russian, or CIS observers. The same Belarus that congratulated Aliyev for capturing Karabakh with their joint efforts. Bring the Belarusian forces to Armenia.
(3) Cancel Armenia's weapons and army reform contracts with France.
(4) Do not diversify Armenia's economy. Do not implement the April 5 agreements and the massive aid from the US and EU.
(5) The institute of democratic elections is finally functioning in Armenia, so there is a need to "appoint" a governor of Armenian Gubernia to restore relations with Russia.
HAKOBYAN: Galstanyan doesn't understand anything about foreign policy and introduces a very dangerous thesis because of that. For example, he criticized the Armenian government for not responding to Aliyev's claims about Khojalu "genocide". In reality, the Armenian government has adopted the correct approach of denying the claims and dismissing and not aiding the false agenda pushed by the Aliyev regime. The case of Khojalu was closed but Galstanyan wants to revive it.
During the protests, Galstanyan also disclosed his skills for dealing with Armenia's centuries-old enemies. Aliyev, խելոք մնա behave. He thinks he can swing his finger at Azerbaijan and resolve Armenia's issues.
GHAZARYAN: He is tapping into the basic emotions of the Armenian population.
HAKOBYAN: But people need to understand that there can always be a government worse than a bad one. Everyone who has died since 1999 is a victim of a war that could have been avoided in 1997-98. The number of deaths must not increase because of the actions of one person. Galstanyan is prepared to sacrifice thousands of Armenians with his arrogancy.
GHAZARYAN: But there is a limit beyond which holding a rational discussion is impossible. When a person implies that the Lori-Tavush floods could have been casued by the government to disrupt the protests, it's impossible to hold a rational conversation, it's shameful.
HAKOBYAN: When they told him that several police officers were wounded during the Friday clashes, he suggested that the officers might have harmed themselves. The Friday incidnet was a watershed moment for me. This person is a danger to Armenia's statehood.
GHAZARYAN: He organized rallies without a result. He announced an impeachment against Pashinyan, which doesn't appear to have worked out since Ishkhan Zakaryan hasn't joined. He announced mass strikes and road closures across Armenia, but nothing worked out. Now, in order to prevent the protest from dying down, they have to cause provocations. He went in front of the foreign ministry and announced that he had received information that Turkey plans to send elite forces to Armenia to arrest him; he needed to discuss that with FM Mirzoyan. Unless you are totally blinded by your hatred towards Pahsinyan, you understand how absurd that is. //
Galstanyan described Petros Ghazaryan as a scoundrel "who has served every administration."
full,

Children's Day was celebrated in Armenia on June 1, not without drama 🍿

On May 31, protest co-leader Bagrat Galstanyan announced plans to hold a protest rally in Gyumri. On June 1, a concert in Gyumri dedicated to children was rescheduled and held an hour sooner, presumably before Galstanyan's caravan of cars reached the concert area. Galstanyan, who claimed they were visiting the concert "just to enjoy it", criticized the deputy education minister for rescheduling it, calling him "illiterate" and threatening his fate: "Հալտ կերևա։"
The deputy minister said the concert was held an hour sooner because of "scorching sunlight" and that children were already suffering from the heat because of hourslong rehearsal and preparatory work, and that rain was predicated 30 minutes into the original concert schedule. The deputy minister criticized Galstanyan for "politicizing" the children's event and for allegedly not allowing the church-affiliated group to perform.
DEPUTY MINISTER: We offered 3 groups to perform at 1 pm instead of 2 pm and they agreed. We made the same offer to the Tavush group [affiliated with the Church] as well. They connected me with their producer, who categorically rejected it. I met the producer and asked again but received a rejection the second time; they said they were waiting for a delegation from Yerevan. Since The children from Tavush were scheduled to give a short performance at the beginning of the show, they were unfortunately excluded from the concert. //
Despite Galstanyan's announcement that they didn't intend to politicize or disrupt the Gyumri concert, the church-affiliated musical group was reportedly seen chanting Galstanyan's protest slogans after his arrival.
The protest organizers held their rally in Gyumri as planned. Co-organizer ARF MP Garnik Danielyan urged the followers "not to back down" and "to go until the end".
GARNIK: Նահանջի տեղ չունենք, բոլորով գնալու ենք մինչև վերջ, մեր Շարժումը նոր հաջողություններ է գրանցում: // video
Police officers were seen distributing ice cream to children on June 1. Children read the audio announcements in the Yerevan subway. Mayor Avinyan read stories for children in English Park. A concert was organized in Yerevan.
video, source, source, source, source, video, source, cops, Avinyan, source, source,

the final jihad is near, my friends

Bagrat Galstanyan will hold the next massive rally in Republic Square on June 9. The previous ones attracted 130,000 and 100,000 people, according to Galstanyan and Russian media outlets.
On Sunday evening, while listing the actions for Monday, Galstanyan said they would march towards the investigative committee building and demand answers about the detention of protesters, and if they don't receive the answers, Galstanyan said "we will be free to act."
The detained protesters were released without charges on Monday after being held for 72 hours after the Friday clashes with police in front of the foreign ministry building.
source, source, source,

Pashinyan administration will treat the Armenian Apostolic Church as a political party because of its politicization, says Pashinyan's Chief of Staff

HARUTYUNYAN: In 2018, PM Pashinyan offered to hold discussions between the Church and the Government to improve the Church's transparency in the areas of customs and contributions. Unfortunately, this dialogue did not take place because of the Church leadership. I won't rule out that it could become a topic of discussion again but today, when the Church leadership takes control of political processes, the ruling party and the government have to use political tools to engage with that organization [Church], and the response to Church is the same as to any other political group or political party engaged in a political process.
source,

court verdict: Serj-era deputy police chief Levon Yeranosyan is found guilty and sentenced to 4 years for misusing flashbang grenades against Pashinyan-led protesters in 2018

Yeranosyan's use of Zarya grenades caused injuries among 60 protesters and police officers, including now Parliament President Alen Simonyan and ruling QP MP Armen Mkrtchyan.
Yeranosyan won't have to serve the prison term because he qualifies for Pashinyan's mass amnesty. This is because the judge sentenced him under charges that entail 4 years and not the 8 years that the prosecutors sought. Prosecutors will appeal to get a stricter verdict.
source, source, source, source,

Prime Minister held a meeting with Archbishop: VIDEO

Սպաասի, սպաասի․ Ըհն․ Հընն․
video,

Pashinyan and his wife dined at a restaurant in Sevan: PHOTO

source,

Pashinyan rode a bicycle on the streets over the weekened, greeting passersby and promoting the "eco-friendly method of transportation": VIDEO

The PM said he was surprised to see a traffic jam consisting of bicycles during his recent trip to Copenhagen. "It was inspiring and beautiful," he said while praising the popularity of cycling in other countries.
video,

amateur cycling tournament was held in Yerevan on World Bicycle Day: VIDEO

Hundreds of cyclists, including public officials and diplomats, took part in the event organized by Yerevan Municipality and the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Armenia.
video, photo, source,

proposed bipartisan amendments to US National Defense Authorization Act seek closer US-Armenia security cooperation, end to US assistance to Azerbaijan, investigation of Azerbaijan's energy ties to Russia and Iran

1) Repeals waiver authority that allows the U.S. to send military assistance and other forms of aid to Azerbaijan while the Azeri government continues to target, abuse, and displace Armenians.
2) Calling on Azerbaijan to immediately return all Armenian Prisoners of War and captured civilians.
3) Directing the Defense Department to develop a strategy to strengthen U.S.-Armenia security cooperation and deter further Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia.
4) Commissioning a report on the energy partnership Azerbaijan has had with Russian and Iranian companies under international sanctions.
5) Prohibiting any new export licenses for offensive security equipment for Azerbaijan.
6) Requiring the Government Accountability Office to review and confirm Department of Defense and Department of State contingency plans for the repositioning of sensitive U.S. data and weapons systems that are in Turkey, including nuclear weapons and information related to the F-35 program.
These amendments will be considered by the Rules Committee as early as the week of June 10th.
source,

ex-PM Aram Sargsyan says the West is cautious and urged Armenia not to rush with the exit from Russia-led organizations

REPORTER: Russia has been critical of the Tavush delimitation process. In the past, they claimed the maps were in Moscow and they were ready to provide advisory assistance to parties.
SARGSYAN: Russia maintains its influence around the world by keeping the conflicts active and selling weapons to parties. The West, on the other hand, wants peace and open borders so there can be trade and investments; the West benefits from investments and raises its influence by promoting democracy.
REPORTER: Yerevan is talking about CSTO's "treason" at the highest levels today, and how at least 2 of the CSTO members took part in the preparatory phase of the 2020 war [to help Azerbaijan]. Have you ever advised Pashinyan to withdraw from CSTO?
SARGSYAN: I have, starting in November 2020, after the end of the war. The CSTO has been a topic during every meeting. Pashinyan always presented various arguments, sometimes objective ones, on why not to exit it, but here is the thing: Armenia has partners [West] that provide help during difficult times. These partners' [West's] conduct regarding the withdrawal from CSTO and EAEU, in terms of timeframes... they see it necessary in the long-term plan. During certain phases, there were cautious approaches, to be cautious and not provoke Russia. The thing is, no matter how much they [West] say don't do it [don't provoke Russia by withdrawing too early], you must be the one to do it; I think it will be welcomed [by the West]. Those who have always helped you, to say "no" to them must have serious justification, so Armenia must consult with Western partners regarding regional developments and bilateral processes, which is what's being done today, and if there is a need to say "no" for certain things, it must be strongly substantiated. I think Armenia must say "no" [to the West's cautious approach] and leave the CSTO. I'm confident that the U.S. and Macron won't get upset from that; that will be our own decision. I believe the risks are greater if Armenia remains part of CSTO and EAEU.
full, source,

Armenian officials visited the Ukrainian city of Bucha where the Russian army committed a massacre of civilians and POWs in 2022

Armenia's Ambassador Vladimir Karapetyan and the leader of Yerevan's Nor Nork district Tigran Ter-Margaryan visited Bucha.
DISTRICT CHIEF: We are proud of the courage of the Ukrainian people defending their freedom and independence on the battlefield. //
According to the Ukrainian press, the head of Nor Nork District said they will always support Bucha and other communities affected by Russian aggression.
The Armenian delegation donated medication to local medical centers as an act of solidarity.
source, source,

Chambers of Commerce of Armenia and Ukraine discussed the strengthening of business ties

source,

Yerevan Mayor Avinyan has invited Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko to visit the Armenian capital

source,

Iran's Red Crescent sent several trucks with humanitarian aid to northern Armenia affected by floods

source,

Australian lawmakers unanimously slam Azerbaijan, call for pro-Armenian measures

[source,](Australian lawmakers unanimously slam Azerbaijan, call for pro-Armenian measures)

what is the connection between the Lemkin Institute and ARF?

The Lemkin Institute recently made comments regarding the internal political processes in Armenia and observes have noticed similarities with ARF's language and agenda. The Lemkin Institute apparently did not see a need to respond to Pashinyan's April 24 statement, and only several weeks later, after the ARF-ed anti-Pashinyan protests began, the Institute released a statement accusing Pashinyan of "victim blaming" in his April 24 statement, a charge dismissed by the ruling party MPs as politically-motivated.
Armenian-American political analyst Nerses Kopalyan credited Lemkin Institute for the genocide-related work but accused it of political bias and being influenced by ARF to meddle in Armenia's internal affairs. The Lemkin Institute's director's husband is reportedly an ARF figure.
more in the video,

U.S. Envoy Louis Bono visited Azerbaijan to discuss the AM-AZ peace process and US-AZ relations

Bono said the recent delimitation processes inspire hope and that the US is ready to support the negotiation process.
source,

Turkish officials call for Azerbaijan-Armenia peace treaty; Russia decries West's efforts to be a "mediator" and to increase its influence in Central Asia

MOD of TURKEY: Türkiye supports the genuine efforts of Azerbaijan and Armenia in the peace process. A comprehensive peace treaty between Azerbaijan and Armenia is essential for achieving lasting peace and security in the South Caucasus. President Erdogan has highlighted the importance of seizing this historic opportunity for peace. I also welcome the recent statements by Prime Minister Pashinyan, who has shown the realistic approach needed for the future of Armenia and its people.
MOD of RUSSIA: Armenia and Azerbaijan are proposed to sign a peace treaty exclusively on Western platforms, and "mediator" services are imposed on them. NATO seeks to strengthen its positions in the Caucasus, to have access to the resources of the Caspian Sea, and direct access to Central Asia.
source, [redacted,]

Armenian authorities, EU, and NGOs teamed up to inform the public on how to avoid harming Lake Sevan: VIDEO

The education component for farmers, students, and residents of nearby communities is part of efforts to prevent the dumping of harmful materials into the lake.
The working groups traveled to various communities near the shores to meet the locals and investigate the reasons behind the pollution of River Gavaraget.
Additional nature protection materials will be introduced for 3rd, 8th, and 10th grade students in the province.
source,

music composer for Armenian television shows was found dead in Lake Sevan

The father of composer Anahit Mnatsakanyan called the police to report that his 24 y/o daughter visited a Sevan resort the previous night and that they hadn't been able to get in touch with her the following day. Her mother said the trip was a gift from them on her 25th birthday which was coming up on June 15.
The Water Patrol, divers, and VOMA sent multiple teams equipped with high-tech to locate her. The lifeless body was discovered 70 meters from the shore. An autopsy is underway.
video, source, source, source, source,

first truck arrives from Shanghai to Yerevan as part of Crossroads of Peace route: VIDEO

The cargo was loaded into a truck in China's Shanghai, transferred into another truck in Kazakhstan, and driven through Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran, undergoing all necessary customs procedures.
TRANSPORT COMPANY (Gold Way): There were some issues that we managed to resolve quickly, so it took the cargo around 20 days to travel from Shanghai to Yerevan.
DRIVER: My name is Kayrat. I'm from Kazakhstan. I drove the cargo from China to Armenia. This is my first trip to Armenia. The road was of course very long. There were good and bad roads. Armenian roads travel through very high hills. It took me 20 days to reach Armenia.
video, source, source,

Mayor Tigran Avinyan discussed sex trafficking during the Monday session

Yerevan Zoo's Bunka the elephant needs to have sex so the city has been discussing various options to organize his dating life.
On Monday a city official reported that animal rights activists have suggested flying Bunka to Cambodia for some action, or enlarging the enclosure and bringing a female to Yerevan. The city has settled for the second option.
The enlargement process began last year but not a single company submitted a bid. The second procurement attempt will launch next week and there appears to be an interested party. The city hopes to launch the construction this year.
Mayor Avinyan instructed city officials to keep the topic of Bunka the elephant at the center of attention.
source,

other Yerevan news

• Air quality sensors will feed data to Yerevan's new GIS system, allowing residents to check the PM2.5 levels in various districts.
• 500 disability ramps will be built this year. The standards were updated to make them comfortable.
• 9 special elevators will be installed in public places for persons with disabilities. This includes underground passages.
• 1,700 cameras will be installed in kindergartens to detect and prevent abuse.
• The Municipality will soon discuss a possible ban on musicians who perform on the street in Republic Square, Northern Avenue, and Opera areas. Reasons: residents of condo buildings and businesses complain about disturbed peace and "damage to tourism".
source, source, video,

40,500 people became citizens of Armenia in 2022-2023

source,

the Government and the ruling party discussed a strategy to improve demographic numbers

RULING MP: What is being done to improve the demographics, increase the population, reduce the boy-to-girl birth ratio, or maybe even invite and assimilate foreigners to address the gap with the help of immigration?
LABOR & SOCIAL MINISTER: We've been developing a demographics strategy for the last 2 years. It was disrupted twice: in 2022 because of the Ukraine war, and in 2023 because of the flow of forcibly displaced people from Nagorno-Karabakh. We took a short break to analyze the new data and create various models.
The strategy was developed after comprehensive discussions. As an adviser, we chose the Wittgenstein Centre in Vienna, one of the best in the world. At least 2 of the 5 best international experts in this field participated in the process of developing this strategy. The Charles University of Prague ran the models.
During one of the discussions, 3 directions were presented for the improvement of demographics. The birth rates will continue to decline globally in developed and developing countries. These days the term "strategy of demography" is being replaced with "population strategy" because the issue isn't just with birth rate.
So there were 3 directions for growth:
(1) The states must use their potential to encourage people to decide to have more children. This can happen by balancing the population, and through various methods, decided by each country.
(2) Migration. This is inevitable in any country and it must be controlled. We need to understand what types of migrants we want and how to integrate them as Armenian citizens.
(3) The population is aging in rich and poor countries. Armenia must have programs for active aging so people can continue to create value as they age, to maintain their role in the economy. For example, we recently amended the labor code to remove a barrier for senior workers.
But we added another factor during those discussions:
(4) Early mortality. We added this to ensure our strategy is as comprehensive as possible.
We have meticulously discussed and prepared 170 different programs that will be adopted by August.
For example, since today's topic is migration, one of the issues is the language barrier. We've studied the European practice. If they expect to organize the reception of the migrant workforce from a specific country, they have a language institution in that country. This can be done with Cervantes Institution, Goethe Institut, etc. Future migrants study the language and culture of those countries. That program is also on the agenda.
Another topic is the gender disbalance at birth. The 2022 ratio was better than the 2023, in part because in 2021-2022 there was a widespread public awareness campaign. We should return to that practice.
The comprehensive Demographics Strategy will require one more session before it's submitted for approval. We recently discussed the financial component during a Government meeting, which will approve it by July.
continue,

1,100 families are building new houses in communities near the borders as part of a state subsidy program

The government's ֏16 million subsidy program is meant to discourage emigration from border villages. Families are able to upsize their living space and expand their families.
video, source,

Nikol Pashinyan chairs consultations on Academic City master plan

The German architects presented the changes implemented in the master plan based on the observations and recommendations of the previous discussion and noted that the final conceptual master plan will be presented in the near future.
video, source,

army's special forces units held exercises in the presence of army leadership, High-Tech Minister, and Defense Minister: VIDEO

The video shows the use of a domestic suicide drone to destroy a dummy tank. Several military industry companies presented their products that are already in use in the army.
Which forces took part? Special forces, artillery and mortar, anti-tank, aviation, air defense, drone and radio-electronic warfare. They played various scenarios for defense and counter-attack.
video,