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  • Indian Health Service to Phase Out Use of Dental Fillings Containing Mercury by 2027

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    ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The federal agency that provides health care to Native Americans and Alaska Natives has announced it will phase out the use of dental fillings containing mercury.

    The Indian Health Service has used fillings, known as dental amalgams, that contain elemental mercury to treat decayed and otherwise damaged teeth for decades. Native American rights and industry advocates have called for an end to the practice, arguing it exposes patients who may not have access to private dentistry to a harmful neurotoxin.

    The use of mercury-containing amalgams, also known as “silver fillings” due to their appearance, has declined sharply since 2009 when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration reclassified the devices from low to moderate risk. The industry has largely abandoned them in favor of plastic resin alternatives, which are also preferred for aesthetic reasons.

    The Indian Health Service says it will fully implement the move to mercury-free alternatives by 2027. Already, the percentage of the Indian Health Service’s roughly 2.8 million patient user population receiving them has declined from 12% in 2005 to 2% in 2023, the latest year of available data, agency documents show.

    The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees IHS, said growing environmental and health concerns about mercury exposure, and global efforts to reduce materials containing the hazardous heavy metal prompted the change announced this month.

    “This is a commonsense step that protects patients and prevents harm before it starts,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said in a statement.

    The agency’s switch to mercury-free alternatives also upholds legal responsibilities the U.S. government has to the 575 federally recognized tribes, he said.

    According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, dental amalgam fillings can release small amounts of mercury vapor during placement, removal, teeth grinding and gum chewing. It recommends that certain people at high risk for adverse effects of mercury exposure, including pregnant women, children under 6, and those with existing neurological conditions avoid the fillings. But the administration, along with the American Dental Association, says available evidence does not link mercury-containing fillings to long-term negative health outcomes.

    The World Health Organization has created a plan to encourage countries around the world to phase out the use of dental amalgams, citing potential for mercury exposure. In 2013 several countries, including the U.S., signed onto the Minamata Convention, a global agreement targeting the adverse health and the environment effects of mercury. In November, signatories to the convention agreed to phase out the use of mercury-containing dental amalgams by the year 2034.

    While Kennedy’s decision to stop its use within the IHS by 2027 puts the U.S. ahead of the global schedule, the country is still behind many other developed nations that have already banned the practice.

    “The rest of the world is light years ahead of us,” said Rochelle Diver, the U.N. environmental treaties coordinator for the International Indian Treaty Council, adding that IHS patients should not receive treatment that is considered antiquated by many dentists.

    In a statement, the American Dental Association acknowledged declining use of mercury-containing fillings, but said they remain a “safe, durable and affordable material.”

    The use of mercury in other medical devices, including thermometers and blood pressure devices, has also declined sharply in recent decades. While mercury-containing amalgams have fallen out of favor in the U.S. private dental sector, patients relying on government services may not have a say, according to Charles G. Brown, president of the World Alliance for Mercury-Free Dentistry.

    Many state-administered Medicaid programs continue to cover mercury-containing fillings as a treatment for tooth decay, Brown said.

    “If you’re on Medicaid, if you are stuck in the Indian Health Service, if you were stuck in a prison or other institution, you just don’t have any choice,” Brown said.

    Brewer reported from Oklahoma City.

    Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Harriet Hageman Announces Run for Wyoming Senate Seat

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    Wyoming’s lone U.S. representative is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Cynthia Lummis, who isn’t seeking re-election.

    Rep. Harriet Hageman, a Republican, on Tuesday became first to announce for Senate in Wyoming after Lummis, also a Republican, said Friday she isn’t seeking a second term.

    “I will always defend Wyoming’s ability to access, manage and use our natural resources to fuel our economy,” Hageman said in a statement announcing her Senate campaign. “We must ensure that Wyoming remains a leader in energy and food production to help us maintain our way of life.”

    A Cheyenne attorney who represents ranchers, Hageman is best known for beating Republican Rep. Liz Cheney by a wide margin in 2022.

    Cheney, a daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, lost support in Wyoming for opposing President Donald Trump and for leading an investigation into his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. Hageman defeated Cheney by a more than 2-to-1 margin in the 2022 Republican primary.

    Hageman went on to win the general election in heavily Republican Wyoming by an even wider margin in 2022 and was re-elected with over 70% of the vote in 2024.

    Lummis has been a U.S. senator since 2021 and is nearing the half-century mark in a political career that has included time in the state Legislature, two terms as state treasurer, and four terms as U.S. representative.

    Lummis said her stamina didn’t “match up” with the energy required for another term.

    Wyoming hasn’t had a Democratic U.S. senator or representative since the late 1970s.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Higher Fees for Foreigners Visiting US National Parks Stokes Tourism Concerns

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    BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A $100-per-person charge for foreigners entering Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and other popular national parks is stoking apprehension among some tourist-oriented businesses that it could discourage travelers, but supporters say the change will generate money for cash-strapped parks.

    The new fee was announced Tuesday by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and takes effects Jan. 1. Foreign tourists also will see a sharp price increase for an annual parks pass, to $250 per vehicle. U.S. residents will continue to be charged $80 for an annual pass.

    The change in policy puts the U.S. in line with other countries that charge foreigners more to see popular attractions.

    At the Whistling Swan Motel just outside Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana, owner Mark Howser estimates that about 15% of his customers are foreigners. They come from Canada, China, India, Spain, France, Germany and elsewhere, said Howser, who also runs a bakery and general store.

    Those visitors already pay up to $35 per vehicle to enter the park. Adding the $100-per-person charge for foreigners, Howser said, “is a sure-fire way of discouraging people from visiting Glacier.”

    “It’s going to hurt local businesses that cater to foreign travelers, like myself,” he said. “You’re discouraging them from seeing something in the country by attaching a fee to that experience.”

    A Yellowstone tour operator, Bryan Batchelder with Let’s Go Adventure Tours and Transportation, said the charge represents “a pretty big hike” for the roughly 30% of his clientele that are foreigners. That percentage has been going up in recent years after Batchelder switched to a new booking service.

    Next summer, he said, will reveal how the new charge plays out among foreign visitors. “They’ll probably still come to the country, but will they visit national parks?” Batchelder asked.

    The charge also will apply at Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yosemite and Zion national parks.

    Interior officials described the new fee structure as “America-first pricing” that will ensure international visitors contribute to maintaining parks.

    For Yellowstone park alone, the $100 charge could generate $55 million annually to help fix deteriorating trails and aging bridges, said Brian Yablonski with the Property and Environment Research Center, a free market research group based in Bozeman, Montana.

    If the charges for foreigners were extended to park sites nationwide, Yablonski said it could generate more than $1 billion from an estimated 14 million international visitors annually.

    “Americans are already paying more than international visitors because they are paying taxes,” Yablonski said. “For international visitors, this is kind of a no-brainer, common sense approach.”

    Many other countries charge international visitors an extra fee to visit public sites, said Melissa Weddell, director of the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research. Foreign visitors to Ecuador’s Galapagos Islands, for example, pay $200 per adult, while Ecuadorian nationals pay only $30, according to tourist websites for the islands.

    A coalition of current and former employees park service denounced the new charge.

    “In a year where national park staff have already been cut by nearly 25%, we worry this will be yet another burden for already overworked employees,″ said Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks.

    “National parks should be available and accessible to all, or America’s best idea will become America’s greatest shakedown,″ she said.

    Gerry Seavo James, deputy campaign director for Sierra Club’s Outdoors for All campaign, said Trump and his administration have worked for nearly a year to undermine the park service, slashing its budget and firing thousands of staff.

    “Gouging foreign tourists at the entrance gate won’t provide the financial support these crown jewels of our public lands need,” he said. “Without that support, we run the risk of our true common grounds becoming nothing more than playgrounds for the super-rich.”

    Interior Department spokesperson Elizabeth Peace said the agency previously did not collect data on international visitors but will start doing so in January.

    Republican lawmakers in July introduced a bill in Congress that would codify the surcharge for foreign visitors to national parks. It’s sponsored by West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore and Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as interior secretary during Trump’s firs term.

    “President Trump and Secretary Burgum are putting Americans first by asking foreign visitors to pay their fair share while holding entrance fees steady for the American people,” Zinke and Moore said in a statement Wednesday.

    Daly reported from Washington, D.C.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Nov. 2025

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  • Carbon Capture Pipelines Have Struggled to Advance. A Project in Nebraska Found Success

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    BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A multi-state carbon capture pipeline began operating in September, reducing emissions from Midwest ethanol plants and carrying that carbon dioxide gas to be forever buried underground in Wyoming — an achievement after years of complaints, lawsuits and legislation blocked similar efforts by other companies.

    Other projects prompted intense opposition, including one that has run up $1 billion in spending with no guarantee of success, but the Tallgrass Trailblazer Pipeline is being praised. The reason: community negotiations and financial support.

    “I wish all energy companies would treat communities with a lot more respect like Tallgrass did,” said Jane Kleeb, whose group Bold Nebraska has fought other carbon capture and oil pipelines.

    The Tallgrass pipeline has started moving emissions from 11 ethanol plants in Nebraska and one in Iowa to a site in southeast Wyoming, where the greenhouse gas will be buried 9,000 feet underground.

    The fermentation process to convert corn into fuel releases carbon dioxide. By capturing it before it’s released into the air, plants can lower their carbon intensity score, making the ethanol more attractive for refinement into so-called sustainable aviation fuel — a market some believe could climb to 50 billion gallons annually. The Midwest-based ethanol industry sees jet fuel as essential to its future, offsetting expected declines in demand for motor vehicle fuel as more drivers switch to electric vehicles.

    The federal government encourages carbon capture through lucrative tax credits to pipeline operators. The Biden administration wanted to encourage a practice that could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the Trump administration has let the credits continue.

    “If an ethanol plant captures the carbon, it lowers their carbon index and they become a low-carbon fuel, and there’s a premium for that,” said Tom Buis, CEO of the American Carbon Alliance, a trade group. “And they can also produce sustainable aviation fuel out of it. Sustainable aviation fuel is a huge, gigantic market just waiting for someone to step forward and take it.”


    Routing a pipeline isn’t easy

    At least three other companies have proposed carbon capture pipelines in the Midwest, but aside from Tallgrass, only Iowa-based Summit Carbon Solutions is persisting — and it hasn’t been easy.

    Despite strong support from agricultural groups and the ethanol industry, Summit has dealt with persistent opponents who don’t want their land taken for the pipeline and fear a hazardous pipe rupture. Landowners sued to block the pipeline and sought help from legislators. South Dakota’s legislature banned the use of eminent domain for such lines.

    In response Summit has asked Iowa regulators to amend its permit so the company retains an option for a route that would avoid South Dakota.

    “Our focus remains on supporting as many ethanol partners as possible and building a strong foundation that helps farmers, ethanol plants, and rural communities access the markets they’ll depend on for decades to come,” Summit said in a statement.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency oversees a rigorous process for underground carbon dioxide injection, involving permits for construction and injection and regulations to protect underground sources of drinking water, Carbon Capture Coalition Executive Director Jessie Stolark said. Typically, porous rock formations similar to a sponge will store or trap the carbon dioxide more than a mile underground, she said.

    Tallgrass had one big advantage at the starting point — it converted an existing natural gas line. The natural gas was put on a different pipeline as Trailblazer was retrofitted. The company built branches off the 400-mile mainline to connect to ethanol plants.

    But Tallgrass also took pains to engage with communities along its route.

    The company worked with people to get its project done “instead of trying to push it down our throat,” said Lee Hogan, chairman of the Adams County commission in Nebraska, whose home is a half-mile from the pipeline.

    It helped that Tallgrass worked with Bold Nebraska, a citizens group, to create a community investment fund that will make annual payments to organizations related to early childhood development, Medicaid-eligible senior care and food pantries.

    Tallgrass will make an initial $500,000 contribution followed by annual payments based on 10 cents per metric ton of carbon dioxide sent through the pipeline. The Nebraska Community Foundation, which will manage the fund, expects more than $7 million will be given out through 2035 across 31 counties in four states.

    It’s a unique arrangement, and a possible template for future projects, said Nebraska Community Foundation leader Jeff Yost.

    “I’m just really impressed that folks that could have just approached this purely as opponents have come together to find a really productive middle ground,” Yost said.

    Tallgrass spokesman Steven Davidson said the investment fund is just one piece of the company’s agreement with Bold, which he said emphasizes being cooperative and transparent, such as when surveying land and valuing easements.

    While lauding Tallgrass’ cooperative approach, Jack Andreasen Cavanaugh, who studies energy policy at Columbia University, said it may be hard to replicate the experience since few if any natural gas pipelines will be available for retrofitting, given increases in supply and demand for natural gas domestically and abroad. Tallgrass’ line crosses his family’s land in Nebraska.

    Still, companies can do better to engage and negotiate with communities, and that includes spending money, he said.

    Kyle Quackenbush, a Tallgrass vice president, said his advice to other pipeline companies is to listen.

    “I think the biggest advice we would have for people is to take those concerns seriously,” he said, “and figure out what it takes to be able to help people get comfortable and understand that this infrastructure is a benefit for their community and not something that they need to be afraid of.”

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • US Nuclear Airmen Plead Guilty to False Statements in Shooting That Suspended Sig Sauer M18 Use

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    FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — Two airmen at a Wyoming U.S. Air Force base have pleaded guilty to making false statements about the deadly shooting of a third that prompted the suspension of Sig Sauer M18 pistol use at nuclear weapons sites for a month, the Air Force said in a statement Friday.

    The gun pause by the Air Force Global Strike Command after the death of Brayden Lovan, 21, in late July was lifted in late August after Air Force officials determined the M18 was safe to carry.

    Lovan was an airman with the 90th Security Forces Squadron, 90th Missile Wing at F.E. Warren Air Force Base outside Cheyenne.

    Details about his death were released for the first time Friday, including that the alleged shooter, Marcus White-Allen, had pointed the gun at Lovan’s chest in a “joking manner.” White-Allen after the shooting allegedly urged the other two surviving airmen to lie about what happened, according to the statement.

    White-Allen, who was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and making a false statement, was found dead on base on the morning of Oct. 8. Air Force officials have not disclosed details surrounding White-Allen’s death, saying it was still under investigation.

    Laramie County Coroner Rebecca Reid has not returned phone messages seeking information about White-Allen’s death. A person who answered the coroner’s office phone Friday said Reid had no comment.

    Airmen Sarbjot Badesha and Matthew Rodriguez each pleaded guilty this week to making false official statements related to Lovan’s death July 20, according to the Air Force statement.

    Badesha was sentenced to 30 days in confinement and forfeiture of $1,545, while Rodriguez was sentenced to 10 days in confinement, 15 days restriction to base and forfeiture of $500. Both also received administrative demotions.

    The two reported hearing White-Allen’s gun go off and then seeing Lovan on the ground, according to the statement.

    White-Allen allegedly told Badesha, “Here’s the story. Tell them that I slammed my duty belt on the desk and it went off.” White-Allen allegedly told Rodriguez to tell emergency responders that White-Allen’s “holster went off,” according to the statement.

    Neither airman initially reported that information, leading investigators to believe at first that White-Allen’s M18 accidentally discharged, according to the statement.

    Other U.S. service branches continued to use the M18 while Global Strike Command suspended its use. The suspension occurred while lawsuits against Sig Sauer allege its P320 pistol can go off without the trigger being pulled.

    The New Hampshire-based gunmaker denies the claims, saying the pistol is safe and the problem is user error. It has prevailed in some cases.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Photos You Should See – Oct. 2025

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  • Trump Is Reviving Large Sales of Coal From Public Lands. Will Anyone Want It?

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    BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. officials in the coming days are set to hold the government’s biggest coal sales in more than a decade, offering 600 million tons from publicly owned reserves next to strip mines in Montana and Wyoming.

    The sales are a signature piece of President Donald Trump’s ambitions for companies to dig more coal from federal lands and burn it for electricity. Yet most power plants served by those mines plan to quit burning coal altogether within 10 years, an Associated Press data analysis shows.

    Three other mines poised for expansions or new leases under Trump also face declining demand as power plants use less of their coal and in some cases shut down, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration and the nonprofit Global Energy Monitor.

    Those market realities raise a fundamental question about the Republican administration’s push to revive a heavily polluting industry that long has been in decline: Who’s going to buy all that coal?

    The question looms over the administration’s enthusiastic embrace of coal, a leading contributor to climate change. It also shows the uncertainty inherent in inserting those policies into markets where energy-producing customers make long-term decisions with massive implications, not just for their own viability but for the future of the planet, in an ever-shifting political landscape.


    Rushing to approve projects

    The upcoming lease sales in Montana and Wyoming are in the Powder River Basin, home to the most productive U.S. coal fields.

    Officials say they will go forward beginning Monday despite the government shutdown. The administration exempted from furlough those workers who process fossil fuel permits and leases.

    Democratic President Joe Biden last year acted to block future coal leases in the region, citing their potential to make climate change worse. Burning the coal from the two leases being sold in coming days would generate more than 1 billion tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide, according to a Department of Energy formula.

    Trump rejected climate change as a “con job” during a Sept. 23 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, an assessment that puts him at odds with scientists. He praised coal as “beautiful” and boasted about the abundance of U.S. supplies while deriding solar and wind power. Administration officials said Wednesday that they were canceling $8 billion in grants for clean energy projects in 16 states won by Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

    In response to an order from Trump on his first day in office in January, coal lease sales that had been shelved or stalled were revived and rushed to approval, with considerations of greenhouse gas emissions dismissed. Administration officials have advanced coal mine expansions and lease sales in Utah, North Dakota, Tennessee and Alabama, in addition to Montana and Wyoming.

    Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Monday that the administration is opening more than 20,000 square miles (52,000 square kilometers) of federal lands to mining. That is an area bigger than New Hampshire and Vermont combined.

    The administration also sharply reduced royalty rates for coal from federal lands, ordered a coal-fired power plant in Michigan to stay open past planned retirement dates and pledged $625 million to recommission or modernize coal plants amid growing electricity demand from artificial intelligence and data centers.

    “We’re putting American miners back to work,” Burgum said, flanked by coal miners and Republican politicians. “We’ve got a demand curve coming at us in terms of the demand for electricity that is literally going through the roof.”

    The AP’s finding that power plants served by mines on public lands are burning less coal reflects an industrywide decline that began in 2007.

    Energy experts and economists were not surprised. They expressed doubt that coal would ever reclaim dominance in the power sector. Interior Department officials did not respond to questions about future demand for coal from public lands.

    But it will take time for more electricity from planned natural gas and solar projects to come online. That means Trump’s actions could give a short-term bump to coal, said Umed Paliwal, an expert in electricity markets at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

    “Eventually coal will get pushed out of the market,” Paliwal said. “The economics will just eat the coal generation over time.”

    The coal sales in Montana and Wyoming were requested by Navajo Nation-owned company. The Navajo Transitional Energy Co. (NTEC) has been one of the largest industry players since buying several major mines in the Powder River Basin during a 2019 bankruptcy auction. Those mines supply 34 power plants in 19 states.

    Twenty-one of the plants are scheduled to stop burning coal in the next decade. They include all five plants using coal from NTEC’s Spring Creek mine in Montana.

    In filings with federal officials, the company said the fair market value of 167 million tons of federal coal next to the Spring Creek mine was just over $126,000.

    That is less than one-tenth of a penny per ton, a fraction of what coal brought in its heyday. By comparison, the last large-scale lease sale in the Powder River Basin, also for 167 million tons of coal, drew a bid of $35 million in 2013. Federal officials rejected that as too low.

    NTEC said the low value was supported by prior government reviews predicting fewer buyers for coal. The company said taxpayers would benefit in future years from royalties on any coal mined.

    “The market for coal will decline significantly over the next two decades. There are fewer coal mines expanding their reserves, there are fewer buyers of thermal coal and there are more regulatory constraints,” the company said.

    In central Wyoming on Wednesday, the government will sell 440 million tons of coal next to NTEC’s Antelope Mine. Just over half of the 29 power plants served by the mine are scheduled to stop burning coal by 2035.

    Among them is the Rawhide plant in northern Colorado. It is due to quit coal in 2029 but will keep making electricity with natural gas and 30 megawatts of solar panels.


    Aging plants and optimism

    The largest U.S. coal company has offered a more optimistic take on coal’s future. Because new nuclear and gas plants are years away, Peabody Energy suggested in September that demand for coal in the U.S. could increase 250 million tons annually — up almost 50% from current volumes.

    Peabody’s projection was based on the premise that existing power plants can burn more coal. That amount, known as plant capacity, dropped by about half in recent years.

    “U.S. coal is clearly in comeback mode,” Peabody’s president, James Grech, said in a recent conference call with analysts. “The U.S. has more energy in its coal reserves than any nation has in any one energy source.”

    No large coal power plants have come online in the U.S. since 2013. Most existing plants are 40 years old or older. Money pledged by the administration to refurbish older plants will not go very far given that a single boiler component at a plant can cost $25 million to replace, said Nikhil Kumar with GridLab, an energy consulting group.

    That leads back to the question of who will buy the coal.

    “I don’t see where you get all this coal consumed at remaining facilities,” Kumar said.

    Gruver reported from Wellington, Colorado. Associated Press writer Susan Montoya Bryan in Albuquerque, New Mexico, contributed to this report.

    Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  • Know Your Foe: Jacksonville Jaguars | Week 4

    Know Your Foe: Jacksonville Jaguars | Week 4

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    John Harris

    It’s been a little over a year since the Texans began their climb back into the upper echelon of the AFC. After a rough 0-2 start to 2023, the Texans went to Jacksonville to take on the defending AFC South champs, who were one week away from a trip to London for back-to-back games across the pond. Little attention was paid to the Texans at that point and it showed: the Texans rose up and smited the Jaguars in their building, 37-17.

    Although the Jaguars won the second meeting in late November, listening to, and reading, analysis all offseason long, it was that loss to the Texans in September, at their place, that really grabbed the attention of Doug Pederson’s crew. That loss lingered for a while and it was symbolic, in some way, for the entire organization, throughout the Jaguars’ offseason. The lesson that seemed to come out of that game was that no one can ever be taken for granted…EVER, not even a winless team coming to your house that you are favored to beat by a touchdown or more.

    Fast forward to the present day and the situation is a complete 180. The Texans are the defending AFC South champs. Their “London trip” is an emotional meeting in Houston with Buffalo next week. This Jags-Texans matchup is here at home for the defending AFC South champs. The Jaguars are winless, scarred and dangerous, as a result. The formula is ripe for Jacksonville to flip the script and kickstart its season with a quality win like the Texans did last year. What needs to happen to prevent the sequel from being colored teal and black?

    They’re ALL important, but this one is even more so, given what happened to, and for, the Texans last week and last year. As such, let’s get to Know the Texans’ Week 4 Foe – the Jacksonville Jaguars

    Jacksonville Jaguars 2024 Schedule (0-3)

    Week 1 – L @ Miami Dolphins 20-17

    Week 2 – L Cleveland Browns 18-13

    Week 3 – L @ Buffalo Bills 47-10

    Week 4 – @ Houston Texans

    Week 5 – Indianapolis Colts

    Week 6 – @ Chicago Bears

    Week 7 – New England Patriots

    Week 8 – Green Bay Packers

    Week 9 – @ Philadelphia Eagles

    Week 10 – Minnesota Vikings

    Week 11 – @ Detroit Lions

    Week 12 – BYE WEEK

    Week 13 – Houston Texans

    Week 14 – @ Tennessee Titans

    Week 15 – New York Jets

    Week 16 – @ Las Vegas Raiders

    Week 17 – Tennessee Titans

    Week 18 – @ Indianapolis Colts

    Jaguars OFFENSE (in 2024 regular season)

    Rushing Yards Per game – 115.7 ypg (16th in the NFL)

    Passing Yards Per game – 160.7 ypg (27th)

    Total offense per game – 276.3 ypg (27th)

    Turnovers lost – 3 (1 INT, 2 Fumbles lost)

    Expected Jaguars starting offense for Week 4

    QB – Trevor Lawrence

    RB – Travis Etienne

    WR – Christian Kirk

    WR – GABE DAVIS

    WR – BRIAN THOMAS JR

    TE – Evan Engram (missed Buffalo game, hamstring)

    LT – Cam Robinson

    LG – Ezra Cleveland

    C – MITCH MORSE

    RG – Brandon Scherff

    RT – Anton Harrison (injured Monday night)

    Other Key Offensive pieces

    RB – Tank Bigsby

    TE – Brenton Strange

    WR – DEVIN DUVERNAY

    OT – Walker Little

    OC – Luke Fortner

    Italics – Rookie

    ALL CAPS – New to team in 2024

    Keys to winning v. the Jaguars Offense

    Missing Engram– When most quarterbacks are asked who their number one pass catcher is, you know, the one guy they want to highlight in a key situation, their go-to guy, the common answer is the OPEN one. I think that’s a great media answer, but I’ve never met a QB that didn’t have his favorite blanket, his wubby, the one he relies on more than any other. I believe that guy for Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence is Jaguars TE Evan Engram. It’s not just the volume of targets and touches over the years, but it’s now seen in the rocky performances in the passing game without Engram. He hasn’t played in the past two games and Lawrence had two of the worst games of his career. That’s no coincidence. Engram had 143 targets in 2023 and Lawrence loves to exploit defenses with his athletic TE. But, will Engram play? He’s been dealing with an injury the past few weeks and missed those two games as a result. If he does play, what is the plan for the Texans defense to make sure Engram doesn’t go off? If Engram doesn’t play, how does the Jacksonville offense replicate his success and consistency in the passing game. No matter what, the presence, or lack thereof, of Engram will play a role in this game. Edge Up– When the Jaguars drafted former Oklahoma star Anton Harrison to play right tackle (for the time being), it seemed as if the Jaguars had solved their issues out on the edge. Harrison and Cam Robinson would be the next star duo in the league. However, although they’ve had some moments, the two haven’t given Lawrence the confidence that his edges are protected well enough. In 2023, Robinson gave up a sack every 108 pass attempts, while this year, he’s yielding a sack every 30 pass attempts. He gave up two sacks on Monday night and committed two penalties on 53 dropbacks. Harrison started the year much better, but he left the game on Monday night with an injury. Oh yeah, they now face Texans star edge rushers Will Anderson Jr and Danielle Hunter, who have been relentless to the QB this year already. It’s time for Will, Danielle and all of the edge guys to harass Lawrence off the edge, regardless of who’s playing tackle for Jacksonville. Stronger inside– When I asked DeMeco Ryans this week as to whether he thought that his guys on defense played as physical as he wanted, he pointed out that he thought the defensive tackles could’ve done less shooting upfield and more taking on blocks and holding the point with more physicality. The Jaguars passing game has been such a mess that I think they’re sitting right now in Duval County saying “we have to run the ball at the Texans”. They’ve had success in the past against the Texans and the G-C-G trio of Ezra Cleveland, Mitch Morse and Brandon Scherff can take advantage of the Texans interior if it’s playing similar to last week. I expect the Jaguars to run right at the Texans interior early in the game to test that unit.

    Jaguars DEFENSE (in 2024 regular season)

    Rushing Yards Allowed Per game – 109.3 ypg (11th in the NFL)

    Passing Yards Allowed Per game – 252.3 ypg (30th)

    Total offense Allowed per game – 361.7 ypg (26th)

    Turnovers generated – 0 (Jaguars are -3 in TO margin)

    Expected Jaguars starting defense for Week 4

    DE – Josh Hines-Allen

    DT – Jeremiah Ledbetter

    DT – Roy Robertson-Harris

    DE – Travon Walker

    WLB – Devin Lloyd

    MLB – Chad Muma

    CB – Montaric Brown

    S – Antonio Johnson

    S – Andre Cisco

    CB – RONALD DARBY

    Nickel – DARNELL SAVAGE

    Other Key Defensive pieces

    DE – ARIK ARMSTEAD

    DT – DaVon Hamilton

    Nickel – JARRIAN JONES

    DE – Yasir Abdullah

    DT – Tyler Lacy

    Italics – Rookie

    ALL CAPS – New to team in 2024

    Keys to winning v. the Jaguars Defense

    Foye Gone– When the Jaguars signed LB Foye Oluokun from the Atlanta Falcons in 2022, I was furious. I have ALWAYS loved and respected the way the former Ivy Leaguer played the game, not to mention the success against the Texans. But on Monday night, Oluokun, the emotional and spiritual leader for this Jacksonville defense, injured his foot and will miss the next two to three weeks. That timeframe would include this week against the Texans. Missing Oluokun will not make me sad at all. He averaged over ten tackles every time he faced the Texans, in addition to a sack, two QB hits and two TFL, in four games against Houston. He is a constant pain in the backside. But he’s now out. My assumption is that former Wyoming star LB Chad Muma will step into the lineup. Devin Lloyd has shown flashes of brilliance and Muma is one heck of an athlete, but neither one of them is Oluokun and the Texans offense must find ways to take advantage of that one fact. Ravaged Secondary– The Jaguars have been torched through the air this season, yielding the third worst yards per game average in the league. The Jaguars defense played a ton of man-to-man coverage and Tua Tagovailoa and Josh Allen tore them up as a result. Adding more salt to the wound, the Jaguars have been a M*A*S*H unit in the back end. They’re already going to be without Tyson Campbell, who went on IR after week one. Rookie nickel Jarrian Jones got hurt in the first two minutes of the Buffalo game. Darnell Savage has been banged up throughout the start of the season. Now, the Texans MAY be without Tank Dell, who lit up that secondary both times he faced them last year, but the Jaguars secondary’s issues go deeper, seemingly, because of the injuries and inconsistent man-to-man coverage. Different name, Same game– If there’s a game that the Texans offensive line would like to soon forget, it’s last week’s debacle in Minnesota. But, if there’s any positive to take from that loss, it’s the Texans tackles Laremy Tunsil and Tytus Howard weren’t responsible for yielding a sack, a hurry or a pressure. The Vikings four sacks (while the game was in doubt) came as a result of the Vikings scheme, interior one-on-one loss and the tight ends getting beat. So, if there’s any good news, that might be it. However, the bad news is coming. Last year, one of the roughest afternoons that rookie QB C.J. Stroud had was against a relentless Jacksonville pass rush, led by star Josh Hines-Allen. Well, he was Josh Allen in 2023 and he ate everyone’s lunch. In 2024, after signing a massive extension, he’s not been as disruptive as he was in 2023. He has just one sack and one TFL. Against Hines-Allen and the Jaguars pass rushers, Buffalo right tackle Spencer Brown did not allow a single pressure on 35 pass blocking snaps. The Texans must have similar success against Hines-Allen, Travon Walker and anyone in a white jersey out on the edge in the passing game.

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  • NASA, college eclipse weather balloons found in NE Ohio

    NASA, college eclipse weather balloons found in NE Ohio

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    *The above video is about Purdue University’s eclipse weather balloon falling into Lake Erie*

    ERIE COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) — An eclipse weather balloon, with atmospheric measurement devices, was found on a small cattle ranch in Berlin Heights Saturday, as well as in Elyria and throughout Northeast Ohio.

    University of Wyoming students drove 1,300 miles to Bluffton, Ohio, to be in the path of totality for the eclipse on April 8.

    The balloons were launched from Bluffton and rose to 110,000 feet before being landing with its parachute 110 miles away in Berlin Heights where it was found by Angie Catalano who sent pictures of the weather balloon to Fox 8 News.

    The students launched 32 weather balloons to take real time readings of temperature, wind, humidty and gravity waves to see how the shadow of the eclipse might impact those elements.

    University of Wyoming Researcher Philip Bergmaier told Fox 8 News Saturday, the students’ research could help with future weather forecasting and furthers the study of eclipses.

    “It was a great opportunity for Wyoming students to get field work in Ohio,” he said.

    • Courtesy: University of Wyoming
    • Courtesy: University of Wyoming
    • Courtesy: University of Wyoming

    The weather balloon devices are marked as, “harmless weather instrument,” and with “National Eclipse Weather Balloon.”

    The eclipse study is part of the University of Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium.

    For more information about the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, you can click here.

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    Paul Kiska

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