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As Clocks Tick Toward the End of Daylight Saving Time, a UMW Sleep Researcher Explains What Your Body Actually Goes Through

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on July 14, 2026, reviving the national debate over whether the U.S. should adopt permanent daylight saving time, return to permanent standard time, or keep the twice-yearly clock change altogether. The bill now heads to the Senate. At the University of Mary Washington, Dr. Hilary Stebbins, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, studies the chronobiology and sleep patterns of college students, research that can help inform exactly this debate: how does shifting the clock affect cognitive performance and behavior, no matter which system we land on? Dr. Hilary Stebbins is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at the University of Mary Washington. She is an expert on sleep deprivation, circadian rhythms, and dopamine function, and how each affects cognitive performance and behavior. View her profile Stebbins doesn't take a side in the policy debate. Her focus is chronobiology, how sleep patterns and circadian rhythms affect college students' cognitive performance and behavior. But that science speaks directly to the choice lawmakers are weighing: any shift, whether it's permanent daylight saving time, permanent standard time, or sticking with the current system, creates a temporary mismatch between our internal clock and the outside world, and it takes the body time to catch up. "One of my past teams found that as people report higher levels of sleepiness, they show higher dopamine function and also have more difficulty controlling impulsive actions." — Dr. Hilary Stebbins, Associate Professor of Psychological Science, University of Mary Washington Stebbins leads a year-long undergraduate research team (PSYC 491/492) each year, and in 2018 a team of her students won the Virginia Association for Psychological Science's award for best undergraduate paper for their research on sleep deprivation. Interested in discussing chronobiology, sleep patterns, or the science behind the debate over permanent daylight saving time, permanent standard time, or dopamine and behavior? Click on the icon below and connect with Dr. Hilary Stebbins, Associate Professor of Psychological Science at the University of Mary Washington, for expert insight into sleep research and its real-world stakes.

Auction of LI’s Oheka Castle Draws Bidders with Big Dreams

Lawrence Levy, associate vice president and executive dean of Hofstra University’s National Center for Suburban Studies, spoke to Newsday about the auction of Long Island’s Oheka Castle, which will take place later this month in Manhattan. The property has been called “a real-life Gatsby estate” and “one of the rarest trophy properties in the country.” Buyers could include hedge funds interested in developing condos, a boutique hotel chain or a catering company. “It would be broadly appealing once the economic backdrop improves in terms of being able to borrow to finance construction and purchasing,” Levy said.

Women Mean Business: Why Supporting Female Entrepreneurs Strengthens Communities.

Every October, National Women's Small Business Month invites us to recognize the women who are building, hiring, mentoring and strengthening their communities through their businesses. As a proud Augusta University alumna and now a senior lecturer at the James M. Hull College of Business, where I teach entrepreneurship, human resource management and leadership ethics, I have the privilege of watching students begin to imagine businesses of their own. Through the Women's Leadership Academy, which I facilitate, I also see how much potential is unlocked when young women are given mentors, self-awareness tools and real opportunities to lead. Also, as an entrepreneur and leader, I have learned that when women build businesses, they rarely build only a company. They build connection. Stacy Roberts, DBA, is a Lecturer of Management at the Hull College of Business. She teaches courses related to salesmanship and sales marketing, principles of management, organizational behavior and human resources. View her profile Women business owners often create opportunities close to home. They hire neighbors, mentor younger professionals, sponsor youth programs and invest in the places where they feel connected. They truly leave a mark, and that impact does not come easily. Many women entrepreneurs are navigating limited access to capital, smaller professional networks and the challenge of wearing every hat in the business while also carrying responsibilities at home. Yet those same pressures often produce leaders who are resourceful, adaptable and deeply committed to the people they serve. They truly deserved to be valued and supported. So how can our community get involved this month and beyond? Buy with intention. Choose women-owned businesses for gifts, services, catering and professional needs. Every purchase matters. Share and refer. Sponsor women by telling others about them. Leave a review, recommend a business to a colleague or share a post. Visibility is one of the most valuable things a small business can receive. Open the door. Organizations can include women owned businesses in vendor lists and procurement opportunities. Access is a game changer. Mentor and be mentored. Experienced leaders can offer guidance and emerging entrepreneurs can seek it out. No one builds alone. Invest in the next generation. Students and others interested in entrepreneurship should explore coursework, leadership programs, and local small business resources. The ideas forming in classrooms and networks today will become the businesses that anchor our communities tomorrow. To any woman considering starting a business, remember this. Get clear on your values before you get busy. Build a circle of people who will tell you the truth. Please know your numbers and remember that rest is not a reward for finishing the work. It is part of what allows you to keep doing it.

Pneumonic Plague: An Ancient Killer That Has Never Completely Disappeared

Few diseases carry the historical weight of plague. Caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, plague has been responsible for some of the deadliest disease outbreaks in recorded history. The most infamous was the Black Death of the 14th century, which swept through Europe, the Middle East and North Africa and killed tens of millions of people. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 50 million people died in Europe alone. But plague is not simply a disease of the past. The bacterium continues to circulate naturally among wild rodents and their fleas in parts of the world, and human cases still occur. The World Health Organization reports that most cases recorded between 2019 and 2025 occurred in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Madagascar. What Is Pneumonic Plague? There are three primary forms of plague: bubonic, septicemic and pneumonic. Bubonic plague - historically the best-known form -  usually develops following the bite of an infected flea and is characterized by painful, swollen lymph nodes known as “buboes.” Pneumonic plague occurs when Yersinia pestis infects the lungs. It can develop when untreated bubonic or septicemic plague spreads to the lungs, or when someone inhales infectious respiratory particles from a person or animal with pneumonic plague. That distinction is important: pneumonic plague is the only form of plague that can spread directly from person to person through respiratory particles. What Are the Symptoms? Pneumonic plague can progress remarkably quickly. According to the CDC, symptoms include fever, headache and weakness followed by rapidly developing pneumonia. Patients can experience shortness of breath, chest pain and coughing, sometimes producing bloody or watery mucus. Symptoms following inhalation can begin as soon as one day after exposure. Without treatment, pneumonic plague is extremely dangerous. The World Health Organization describes untreated pneumonic plague as invariably fatal, making rapid recognition and medical intervention critical. From Medieval Killer to Treatable Disease What separates plague today from the disease that devastated populations centuries ago is modern medicine. Plague is a bacterial infection and can be successfully treated with antibiotics. The CDC recommends beginning treatment as soon as plague is suspected rather than waiting for laboratory confirmation. Depending on the severity of the illness, treatment can involve intravenous or oral antibiotics, with gentamicin and fluoroquinolones among the first-line treatments used in the United States. Early detection matters enormously. Modern antibiotics, infection-control practices, surveillance and public-health responses mean that a disease once capable of devastating entire communities can now be identified, contained and treated. Yet its persistence also offers an important reminder: diseases that profoundly shaped human history do not necessarily disappear. Plague remains present in animal populations, continues to cause human infections and provides researchers with a remarkable window into the relationship between infectious disease, human behaviour, public health and even human evolution. Experts in infectious diseases, epidemiology, public health, microbiology, global health, medicine and the history of disease can help provide perspective on pneumonic plague, how it spreads, the risks it poses and what centuries of experience with plague can teach us about preventing and responding to outbreaks today. Connect with our experts today: View all of your experts here at www.expertfile.com

Nor’easter Caused Widespread Damage, Worsened Beach Erosion

Following a rare September nor’easter, Dr. Jase Bernhardt, associate professor of geology, environment, and sustainability, talked to Newsday about the damage caused by the storm, including its effects on beach erosion. The slow-moving storm, which began overnight on Friday, September 25, and continued through Monday, September 28, resulted in local flooding, power outages, and thousands of downed trees. “It is unusual but not quite unprecedented for a nor’easter to linger for so long,” said Dr. Bernhardt. “It is possible that the time of year played a role, as the ‘blocking’ pattern that allowed this storm to linger for so long would be more likely to occur at this time of year versus during the winter, when nor’easters are more common.”

Expert Insight: UConn's Jennifer Dineen weighs in with her perspective on gun violence in America

Earlier this week, UConn's Jennifer Dineen co-authored an opinion piece in Vital City where she shared a very candid expert perspective on gun violence and how too often it is only portrayed or explained from the point of view and experience of a male observer. She shares how topics like intimate partner violence, a lack of data on gun ownership by women, and the risks that pregnant women face are at best overlooked and too often simply ignored. Jennifer Dineen is a survey methodologist who focuses on stakeholder attitudes as mechanism for intervention uptake and policy change. She is an associate professor in-residence on fellowship in the Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP) at the University of Connecticut and associate director of UConn’s Center for Advancing Research, Methods, and Scholarship (ARMS) in Gun Violence Prevention. View her profile Men are more likely victims and perpetrators of firearm injury, and men are most likely firearm owners. And so we often consider gun violence a mostly male problem. Mostly, but not only — and the way guns shape women’s lives often falls away from the conversation altogether. This issue of Vital City attempts to serve as a corrective. We ask readers to consider the unique impact and ways that women interact with or are harmed by firearms and to then consider solutions. Though American women’s firearm injury and death rates are lower than American men’s, they are much higher than women’s in other countries. And women are increasingly owners of guns, at rates that would’ve been highly surprising a generation ago. When we start to see guns through women’s eyes, the policy conversation changes. It changes the strategy considerations for preventing violence and for educating gun owners. The articles in this issue try to explain what we know about women and firearms and the knowledge gaps that still hinder our understanding. Our goal is to spark future research and data collection and to highlight what policymakers can do now as well as ultimately, finding well-tailored interventions that reduce adverse outcomes (like fear, injury and death) and promote positive outcomes (like safer firearm ownership, health and well-being). Women’s relationship with firearms is distinct from men’s Let’s begin with how women are harmed by weapons. If the classic picture of a male homicide or injury victim is a young man, shot by a stranger, what’s a female gun homicide or injury victim? Far too often, it’s someone targeted by her intimate partner. And, far too often, it’s someone pregnant. In a surprising number of cases, victims are older women. Which is not to say that women don’t get involved in street violence, both on the receiving and the giving end; they do. How women are harmed by guns Women most commonly are injured or killed by guns used by an intimate partner in the context of domestic violence. The presence of a firearm in an abusive household increases the risk of intimate partner homicide fivefold. While homicide is the worst outcome, firearms may also be used in an abusive relationship to exert coercive control; thus their presence changes the threat calculus even when never fired. Further, when women are harmed, it’s often in their own homes, which, as Erdal Tekin and Michael Ulrich detail in their articles, has implications for the interpretation of legal doctrine — a doctrine built on threats outside of the home. Homicide — primarily by firearm — leads to more maternal death (defined as the death of those who are pregnant or have recently given birth) in the U.S. than hemorrhage, hypertension and infection. Stated differently, expectant and new mothers are in greater danger from bullets than biology. Lynn Addington points out that, while there is an age gradient, women over the age of 50 are still at risk of intimate partner homicide (which may also involve the shooter dying by suicide). Finally, women may suffer from firearms due to their caregiver roles. Nelba Márquez-Greene and Zirui Song document that when children and other family members are shot, it is disproportionately women — mothers, sisters, daughters — who absorb the psychological and economic fallout. The full piece is attached above and is a must-read article for anyone interested in this important topic. And, if you're a journalist looking to know more about violence prevention, gun violence, and how it impacts women in America, then we can help. Jennifer Dineen is available to speak with media about this topic, simply click on her profile now to arrange an interview today.

MEDIA RELEASE: New CAA Travel Insurance benefits provide travellers with enhanced coverage that better reflects today’s travel reality

Ahead of the busy winter travel season, CAA Travel Insurance, a product of Orion Travel Insurance, is introducing several important coverage enhancements to provide broader protection, clearer benefits, and more support when travel plans are disrupted. Key coverage enhancements include: • Emergency medical coverage increased from $5 million to $10 million. • Expanded coverage for climate events and extreme weather. • A new CAA Flight Delay Benefit, to provide cash or lounge passes to travellers delayed two or more hours. • Broader Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage for major travel disruptions and unexpected personal circumstances. These updates reflect the changing travel realities that Canadians continue to navigate, including the rising costs of medical care. “Today’s travellers face a broad range of risks, from flight disruptions and extreme weather to unexpected medical emergencies and events at home,” says Elliott Silverstein, director, government relations, insurance, CAA South Central Ontario. “These updates deliver clearer benefits, broader protection and new forms of support to travellers when plans change unexpectedly.” The increase in emergency medical coverage reflects the continually rising cost of medical care while travelling abroad. Costs associated with everything from routine treatment to emergency transportation and air ambulance services have increased approximately 14 to 15 per cent annually since 2019. CAA’s expanded climate-related coverage introduces explicit policy language that clearly explains what coverage is available if a natural disaster impacts your destination accommodation, or if weather-related property damage at home disrupts your travel plans. In addition, eligible trip cancellation policies now include a new Flight Delay Benefit, providing an automatic benefit if your flight is delayed. Unlike a traditional expense-based reimbursement process, insured travellers will automatically receive a benefit when their insured flight is delayed by two or more hours, in the form of immediate payment or a lounge pass. CAA’s new Major Travel Disruption coverage addresses eligible flight cancellations or unannounced strikes, which are increasingly impacting travellers. New travel document protection covers stolen documents before departure, as well as documents that are lost or stolen at a destination. Other new covered situations include a stolen private vehicle, possible damage to a home or business, and additional occupancy costs when a travel companion interrupts their trip and the insured traveller continues as planned. “These updates are part of the ongoing optimization of CAA Travel Insurance coverage; intended to provide clearer benefits, broader protection and more support when travel plans change,” says Silverstein. “Travel insurance is not only about responding to major emergencies, it can also provide practical support during the more common situations travellers may experience while they are away from home.” CAA encourages travellers to review their policy, including its eligibility requirements, terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions, before departure. For more information about CAA Travel Insurance and coverage updates, visit: www.caasco.com/travelinsurance

MEDIA RELEASE: New CAA Travel Insurance benefits provide travellers with enhanced coverage that better reflects today’s travel reality

Ahead of the busy winter travel season, CAA Travel Insurance, a product of Orion Travel Insurance, is introducing several important coverage enhancements to provide broader protection, clearer benefits, and more support when travel plans are disrupted. Key coverage enhancements include: • Emergency medical coverage increased from $5 million to $10 million. • Expanded coverage for climate events and extreme weather. • A new CAA Flight Delay Benefit, to provide cash or lounge passes to travellers delayed two or more hours. • Broader Trip Cancellation and Interruption coverage for major travel disruptions and unexpected personal circumstances. These updates reflect the changing travel realities that Canadians continue to navigate, including the rising costs of medical care. “Today’s travellers face a broad range of risks, from flight disruptions and extreme weather to unexpected medical emergencies and events at home,” says Elliott Silverstein, director, government relations, insurance, CAA South Central Ontario. “These updates deliver clearer benefits, broader protection and new forms of support to travellers when plans change unexpectedly.” The increase in emergency medical coverage reflects the continually rising cost of medical care while travelling abroad. Costs associated with everything from routine treatment to emergency transportation and air ambulance services have increased approximately 14 to 15 per cent annually since 2019. CAA’s expanded climate-related coverage introduces explicit policy language that clearly explains what coverage is available if a natural disaster impacts your destination accommodation, or if weather-related property damage at home disrupts your travel plans. In addition, eligible trip cancellation policies now include a new Flight Delay Benefit, providing an automatic benefit if your flight is delayed. Unlike a traditional expense-based reimbursement process, insured travellers will automatically receive a benefit when their insured flight is delayed by two or more hours, in the form of immediate payment or a lounge pass. CAA’s new Major Travel Disruption coverage addresses eligible flight cancellations or unannounced strikes, which are increasingly impacting travellers. New travel document protection covers stolen documents before departure, as well as documents that are lost or stolen at a destination. Other new covered situations include a stolen private vehicle, possible damage to a home or business, and additional occupancy costs when a travel companion interrupts their trip and the insured traveller continues as planned. “These updates are part of the ongoing optimization of CAA Travel Insurance coverage; intended to provide clearer benefits, broader protection and more support when travel plans change,” says Silverstein. “Travel insurance is not only about responding to major emergencies, it can also provide practical support during the more common situations travellers may experience while they are away from home.” CAA encourages travellers to review their policy, including its eligibility requirements, terms, conditions, limitations and exclusions, before departure. For more information about CAA Travel Insurance and coverage updates, visit: www.caasco.com/travelinsurance