Victims of forced sterilization program to receive compensation in Virginia

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From 1907, eugenics programs sprang up all over the USA. Did these sterilization programs inspire Hitler's regime in Germany?

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It wasn’t long ago that forced sterilization programs were in place in the U.S. The American eugenics movement implemented them and over 30 states agreed to these practices. Hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom were in some way disabled, ill or who belonged to “socially disadvantaged groups living on the margins of society” were sterilized.

It’s an appalling record. The government policies are now recognized as abhorrent violations of human rights. Still, it wasn’t until recently that some of those who had been sterilized against their will received any sort of compensation. Virginia is in the news this week as one of the first states to compensate those on record who had been forcefully sterilized.

Forced sterilizations in Virginia occurred legally between 1924 and 1979, reported the Associated Press Feb. 26. Now, the state will provide compensation for those who are still living today, allotting $25,000 to each of the surviving victims who were forced to be sterilized under the act.

Lewis Reynolds was one of the victims sterilized during this time. He was sent to the Virginia Colony for the Epileptic and Feeble Minded when he was 13 years old after being hit in the head with a rock. The event made him suffer temporary epilepsy like symptoms. Reynolds didn’t know he had been sterilized until many years later when he was unable to father children. Reynolds shares a fate with more than 7,000 Virginians who were rendered infertile between the above mentioned dates under the Virginian Eugenical Sterilization Act.

It’s an issue that has been addressed by advocacy groups in Virginia’s General Assembly for the last three years. Now Virginia is the second state to have approved a plan of compensation for eugenics programs victims. North Carolina ruled in 2013 that $50,000 would be granted to survivors of forced sterilization in their state.

This seems like good news but in reality, the wheels of apologetic compensation advance slowly. According to AP, there are “only 11 known surviving victims,” two of whom died last year.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

Leo Bennett-Cauchon protests allegations with pleas to officials and the public

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Teaching children with autism requires patience and special skills that a special ed teacher of 16 years would know very well how to do.

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A special education teacher is fighting against allegations of “inappropriate behavior” towards one of his students, an 8-year-old boy who has autism. The accused, Leo Bennett-Cauchon, admittedly hugged the child when he asked. “I’ve been trained, if a student asks for a hug, you give a hug. I admit completely that I hugged him and let him sit in my lap when he said ‘sit’,” relates Cauchon to the press. “This is a child that needs that physical contact.”

Reports the Manteca Bulletin, Cauchon related that hugging the 8-year-old was completely within the professional scope of his work, was ethical and was “in conformance with the student’s parent and the language in his individualized education program.” It’s a method that is used to help socially integrate his students, Cauchon told Examiner.com Feb. 24. Growing up, many children with autism do not learn how to be social in the same manner as other children. In grade school, kids are socialized in how to speak with others, take turns, maintain personal space and boundaries, but children with autism may not have had the same socialization. It’s Cauchon’s job to reward, say, a formerly nonverbal student when s/he communicates and sometimes that reward might come in the form of a hug. It’s language that such a child can understand. Since we live in such a touch-deprived society, it is then the teacher’s job, after positive social interaction habits are in place, to help the child understand that in the outside world, something like a hug might not be as acceptable as something like a high-five, fist bumps or a handshake. But those things come later and not everyone understands the process.

To many looking on, including some of the paraprofessionals who may not have experience with autistic children, shows of affection such as the ones Cauchon has given in his classrooms are deemed as inappropriate. Tell that to the young boy’s mother, Sharon Anaya, though, who fully supports the special ed teacher. While allegations against him have gotten Cauchon indefinitely suspended from his job, supporters, mostly parents such as Anaya, realize the importance of Cauchon’s work and have joined the teacher in protest following his daily vigil and fast in which they all maintain his innocence, reports Autism Daily Newscast, Feb 22.

Anaya for one, considers Cauchon as a grandfather to the 8-year-old child and he’s the type of grandparent who has the kind of patience and training needed when the child becomes aggressive or out of sorts. Anaya entrusts Cauchon with the care of her son, even outside of class. In fact, while we spoke with the special ed teacher, the young boy was in the room.

School district representatives relate that they are just trying to ensure that moral standards are upheld and that the students entrusted to their care are being well protected. Cauchon says this has happened before, but never has it been escalated into a police investigation.

According to the Manteca Bulletin Feb. 24, Cauchon will meet with district officials about his case on Wednesday. According to Cauchon, these dates have since changed. Initially they were to meet on Thursday but now the meeting is being held over till next week. This is a long awaited meeting, especially considering that Cauchon was given a notice of leave from work on Feb. 3.

“I would like to thank Sharon for her ongoing support,” wrote Cauchon on his Facebook page, Feb. 19. He further related that all of the students in his class “need the consistency of his return.” He reiterated over the phone that the kids need the consistency of the full team’s return, as well. Since Cauchon has been suspended, two of the professionals who had been working with him and his class have been relocated.

According to USA Today, Cauchon has been working as a special education teacher for 16 years, which seems to suggest that the teacher knows what he is doing. When asked by Examiner how long he’s been working in his current district, he replied that he had been there for at least eight years. However, according to the police, investigations into Cauchon's past behavior are still underway. “Police in this Northern California town said Tuesday they're investigating the possibility there were ‘repeated acts of inappropriate behavior’ and ‘there could be multiple victims,’ wrote USA Today.

While the investigation takes place, Cauchon protests with a sign that reads “Let me teach. Bring back the joy,” in hopes that his students' consistency can be returned. Along his side this week walk some of the parents of children from his class.

Others can show signs of support, as well. Cauchon wrote on his Facebook page the following: "We all could use the support of people contacting the district office." The contact information can be found here.

For those concerned, officials and all, Cauchon asks that “for the sake of the children, the loving and supportive team that Sharon recently transferred her son to should be allowed to do its work while the investigation does its thorough but very slow job.” All in all, he relates, “The children need to be the first concern.”

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

Not in Georgia; Rep. Kirby proposes bill to ban the mixing of animals and humans

Rep. Kirby says no to combining the genetic material of humans and jellyfish.

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Scientists did it with the embryos of jellyfish. At least, that is what Representative Tom Kirby reportedly said. Apparently, Cornell scientists combined the genetic material of humans with the floating sea creature to make some sort of hybrid. And it could happen on more levels than that. That is why Kirby is taking preventative measures and has introduced a bill that would ban the creation of human-animal hybrids.

The bill has drawn scrutiny from many but Kirby is persistent to his cause. When asked if the creation of a human-animal hybrid is really possible, he replies with utmost certainty, “Yes, it is.” He has further stated, as reported by 13WMAZ Feb, 21, that results from bringing together many seemingly mythological combinations such as mermaids, centaurs, bird-people and werewolves should stay just that, relegated to a mythological and imagined past.

According to the Washington Post, if the bill should pass, it would make it a misdemeanor offense "for any person or entity to intentionally or knowingly create or attempt to create an in vitro hybrid human-animal embryo" in the state of Georgia. The bill would also ban the "transfer [of] an in vitro human embryo into the womb of a nonhuman or to transfer an in vitro non-human embryo into the womb of a human."

Kirby’s proposed bill does not mean or intend to undermine scientific research which uses animal genetic material in efforts to find solutions for human ailments. Nor does his bill go into motion with the intent to nix creatures, such as mermaids and centaurs, should they already exist. Kirby is even open to the idea that any portion of humankind at some point could evolve as something like a bird-person. If that is the case, those particular bird-kin would not be considered unlawful.

One reporter from AJC.com caught up to the man behind the proposed bill to ask him why such legislation would be necessary. According to the Georgia lawmaker, scientists have been researching ways to bring together the genetic material of animal and human embryos in the U.S. and he wants to make sure that kind of research never touches his home state. However, Kirby has heard through the grapevine that such research has already been occurring in Georgia. “I’ve had people tell me it is but I have not verified it for sure,” he told AJC.com.

The bill is not quite a laughingstock, but other lawmakers deem it kind of a waste of time in lieu of other more immediate issues such as education, jobs and transportation. But Kirby is quite serious about his proposed bill, so much so that it has become one of the four main points featured in his reelection campaign. “The mixing of Human Embryos with Jellyfish cells to create a glow in the dark human, we say not in Georgia. This bill is about protecting Human life while maintaining good, valid research that does not destroy life,” reads his note about the issue on his website.

According to the Washington Post, if the bill passes, Georgia will not be alone. Arizona and Louisiana have similar measures in place already and George W. Bush called for a ban in his 2006 State of the Union address which spoke against “human cloning in all its forms….” The former president stated that experiments involving the creation or implantation of embryos go against nature and therefore are unethical.

Laughingstock or not, Rep. Kirby has some esteemed company in his efforts and one has to wonder whether other state legislatures will follow suit.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

You can lose weight simply by adding more plant-based dietary fiber

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Dr. Natasha Withers discusses the role fiber plays in your life and discusses easy ways to incorporate it into your diet.

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WebMD states that though dietary fiber isn’t a magic pill for weight loss, it does have the power “to help fill you up without filling you out.” This is because keeping hunger at bay, a challenge with dieting in general, is an effective way of keeping off those extra pounds. Eating fiber simply staves off hunger when otherwise dieters might be prone to snack.

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The results of a new clinical trial have confirmed the benefits of fiber and has further added that consuming healthy high-fiber foods can be a much simpler plan than many diets recommended by doctors everywhere. Further, as CBS News reports Feb. 17, consuming more high-fiber foods proves easier to stick with than dieting, which often calls for making numerous dietary changes and keeping close tabs on what goes into one’s mouth.

In the clinical trial, subjects who simply added fiber to their current diets were able to shed some pounds and taut lowered blood pressure and blood sugar levels. While these folks didn’t lose quite as much as others who undertook a more disciplined approach, the prospects are exciting and most likely relieving to those who can become overwhelmed by more complicated dietary plans. Apparently, it doesn’t take much to make some significant changes.

The study, led by a group of researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was funded by theU.S. National Institutes of Health. In the study, 240 prediabetic adults were asked to change their diets for a full year. One half of the subjects simply increased their daily fiber intake from foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains; they could otherwise eat whatever they wanted. The other half followed the diet recommended by the American Health Association (AHA) which suggests dieters keep track of calories, increase physical activity and eat foods from all of their recommended food groups (fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish and nuts) while decreasing sugar and salt intake and making sure that proteins, fats and carbs are eaten with a calculated balance.

Neither group was asked to increase physical activity and the AHA group focused on a decrease in caloric intake, as well as setting goals in line with limiting saturated fat. The other half was simply asked to eat 30 grams of fibrous foods each day.

Most of the dieters stuck with their respective plans for the full year. Also, people following either plan lost about the same amount of weight. Further, both plans yielded similar results for participants in the areas of cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Even inflammation lessened.

It’s not a new thing. It's known that dietary fiber is good and can help in the maintenance of a healthy weight for awhile. Still, problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes are some of the most common issues affecting Americans. Study author Dr. Yunsheng Ma notes that “few people reach the goals that are recommended,” for weight and health maintenance. Asking them to simply stick with a certain kind of food seems to be much less daunting than having them keep track of specifics. Further, dieters can look at their actions in a more positive light as their goals become more reachable and the actions they need to implement seem more doable.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

Emojis can get you arrested, just the same as harassing and threatening words

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Do you think you know how to express yourself better than anyone through the use of emoji? Please.

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In the not so distant past, many considered what emojis had become on a global basis. The Language Monitor noted late last year that the ideograph (graphic symbol representing ideas or concepts) for “love” was considered the top word of 2014 with some variation of the heart showing up worldwide across cultures, cutting through the boundaries of language and appearing billions of times each day. It was the first time an emoji had received such honors, and for good reason, too, since the symbol of the heart seems to universally encapsulate a very human emotion that everyone, at some point, feels.

And that’s just the thing. Emojis effectively and universally encapsulate many emotions, running the gamut from love to sadness and happiness to rage. In some cases, as The New Zealand Herald reports Feb. 15, emojis can even land you a trip to jail.

Here's an example: One 17 year old named Osirus Aristy was arrested for making terrorist threats on his social media when he put up multiple posts, using emojis, which targeted cops. Wired reported that the complaint against the teen pointed to the youth’s post as outright threats which made the police feel “intimidated and harassed—emoji and all. o_O”

Now, the issue is being brought to court and Aristy is not alone in being charged with harassing, hateful or terrorist speech. The Marshal Project writes that emails, sexts, and tweets have been, for some time, entering the scrutiny of courtrooms. Now emojis are becoming courtroom subjects, as well. “Over the last year and a half, these little online signifiers have figured, peripherally, in at least nine cases, including six in the last two months.”

”Each emoji represents an emotion, expression, or state of mind, or a person, place or thing,” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.

Emojis have become an integral part in the way we communicate everyday. Now, with their increasing usage also comes the weight in meaning which cannot be differentiated from the bounds of everyday speech. Emojis are becoming just as important as spoken or written words.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

'Pale Blue Dot' images turn 25; where are the Voyager spacecraft now?

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Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot"

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Since Feb. 14, photographs of NASA’s iconic ‘Pale Blue Dot’ have been making the rounds on social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. The image was taken 25 years ago, Valentine’s Day, 1990 while NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft was exploring the outer planets of our solar system (and beyond) in 1977. The image provided a new perspective for skywatchers, where the planets Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Earth, or ‘the pale blue dot,” were captured.

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In the images that are circulating, all but three of the nine planets in our solar system are shown. The Mirror reported, Feb. 15, that “Mars was said to be too dark to see, Mercury was too close to the sun and Pluto was too dim.” The image was taken approximately 93 million miles away from Earth and was the final photograph that the craft had taken. According to NASA,“After Voyager 1 took its last image (the "Solar System Family Portrait" in 1990), the cameras were turned off to save power and memory for the instruments expected to detect the new charged particle environment of interstellar space.”

Though the “family photo” was incomplete, it “continues to inspire wonderment about the spot we call home,” Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist said in a statement from NASA. Further, Voyager 1 and its twin, Voyager 2 continue to travel inside of interstellar space (a physical space that does not contain stars or solar systems).

In late summer 2012, Voyager 1 had become the first man-made craft to pass to the other side of the heliosphere, the “huge bubble of particles and magnetic fields surrounding the sun.” Now the craft, along with its twin, explores interstellar space, sending back information and carrying a time-capsule like golden record which contains “words, images, music and lots of science” in the case the craft find the eyes and ears of other intelligent life. According to the NYPost, this golden record is “essentially the world’s greatest mix tape.”

Both Voyager spacecraft are far away from the ‘pale blue dot,’ but neither of their journeys are even close to an end. According to the mission page at NASA, the “objective of the Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM) is to extend the NASA exploration of the solar system beyond the neighborhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun's sphere of influence, and possibly beyond.”

To find out more and to keep up with the Voyager mission, NASA has an official site here that keeps track of current news and findings. The site also keeps track of things like how far the spacecraft are from the earth and the sun as well as learning tools and ways to stay connected.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

New apples approved for growth in the US will expand GMO reach in supermarkets

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A time-lapse video shows the differences in browning of a regular golden delicious apple and a genetically modified Arctic golden apple left out for 24 hours. Photo: Arctic Apples

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The United States Department of Agriculture stated on its website Feb. 13 that genetically modified apples that don’t brown when they are bruised or cut have been approved for growing in the US. The new apples aim to expand growth in markets that sell pre-sliced fruit. The apples were also developed in hopes of lowering instances of food waste.

Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images

The apples join a slew of other GMO produce products that have been developed to appeal to consumer markets. In this instance, for example, ready-to-eat apples that don’t brown and don’t have the flavor of some kind of preservative on them would apparently be popular.

Bloomberg Business reports Feb. 13 that this approach differs from approaches in the past. While the past saw produce such as corn and soybeans being genetically modified to address farmer concerns such as crops surviving weed killers, companies like Canada’s Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc., who have designed the new apples to be grown in the not so far future, and J.R. Simplot Co., who designed a potato that was resistant to black spot bruising (which would also decrease food waste), have been focusing their genetic modifications in produce towards increased consumer appeal.

Though the apples have been approved, they won’t hit the marketplace until 2016, and then, only in test-markets. After that, a “slow but steady market introduction,” will ensue, stated Neal Carter, founder of Okanagan. It will take years for the Arctic Granny and Arctic Golden to be distributed widely but that is the eventual intent.

According to EcoWatch, the design of these apples received heavy opposition. “The USDA’s environmental review received 73,000 comments that overwhelmingly opposed the commercialization of Arctic Apples,” they write. Still, with the USDA approval, Arctic Granny and Golden apples will “expand the reach of GMO products into the produce aisle, which currently only offers a small number of GMO foods.”

It seems that the domestic apple industry is also opposed to the commercialization of Arctic apples. Many food companies have stated that they will not sell the GMO apples. “The U.S. Apple Association, Washington Apple Commission and other grower groups have voiced their disapproval due to the negative impact GMO apples could have on the apple industry, and in 2013 Gerber and McDonald’s announced that they would not use GMO apples in their products,” reports EcoWatch.

The design of the new apples have been based around an issue of essentially cosmetics and some say that the apples pose threats because of their virtually untested and experimental technique which uses RNA interference. The RNA interference technique could bring about unintended consequences on human health and the environment, according to some scientists.

Some concerns lie in the fact that the pre-sliced Arctic apples will, most likely, not be labeled. Differentiating them from non-GMO produce will be therefore be difficult or impossible.

Okanagan is “engaging in a voluntary food safety assessment consultation with the Food and Drug Administration.” However, according to the USDA, the apples will most likely not “pose a plant pest risk or have a significant impact on the human environment.”

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

Aaron Isaac's Polychemy aims to make jewelry personal again with 3D printer tech

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Amazon.com will now offer customized 3D-printed jewelry, bobble-head toys, and more

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Aaron Isaac never thought he’d be a jewelry maker for a living. Originally, he’d worked in the 3D animation industry as a technical director and cartoon maker. He explained in an email to Examiner, Feb. 7, that he’s been a maker all of his life, creating everything from websites, games and animated works.

Courtesy of Polychemy Jewelry

His creativity did not end there, however. He discovered 3D printing at some point in his career and then promptly became very excited. “It was the first time I could bring my virtual creations into the real world,” he said. With his excitement, he began making all kinds of 3D products for fun like mobile cases, sculptures and jewelry. “I never really thought it would turn into a business,” he said, but then, some of the products he’d created became kind of popular with features on websites like TechCrunch.

Isaac decided to leave his job and focus fulltime on what had become a new and growing passion. He educated himself about business and developed a cost-effective way that customers could take a part in the customization of their own jewelry online. “I managed to pull together some great manufactures, designed the initial jewelry collection, and launched Polychemy on a shoestring budget,” he said.

Aaron Isaac’s company, Polychemy Jewelry, is an online jewelry boutique based in Singapore that has harnessed the technology of 3D printing and found a way to use it to “allow users to customize their own fine jewelry interactively.” According to a press release from the company, “Each design is generated dynamically and presented to the user via interactive 3D, allowing users to customize and interact with their personalized designs online before purchase.” So far personalization options include what kind of metal is used (such as sterling silver; solid, 18k, white, yellow, or rose gold; palladium and platinum), what kind of gemstone is set in the jewelry (such as diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, peridot, amethyst or fire opal), and what specific name or word is incorporated into the design. These options allow users to create jewelry that has a personal touch to them. Just like a snowflake (or like Polychemy’s snowflake necklace pendants) no two are the same.

Want to try it out for yourself? It’s fairly easy to get started. Just hop on over to the Polychemy website. Polychemy also has opportunities for retailers. To find out more about retail and wholesale opportunities, you can visit the company’s Sell With Us page for more information.

Polychemy was founded in 2012 by a group of artists and programmers that Aaron Isaac heads. Polychemy experiments within the realms of the latest technologies and fashion, creating personalized products for their customers. The mindset of the company is that jewelry should have a personal touch and that the unique designs from their company should also be made with the highest quality materials possible.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

Game of Drones; contest aims to award best 'drones for good' idea

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When we talk about drones, we often end up confining our consideration of the pilot-less aircraft to realms of commerce, military, and other fairly focused uses. Contestants in a recently launched contest, however, want to broaden your horizons. They...

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Before drones became a plaything of many hobbyists, they were used to monitor and kill people and for a lot longer than most of us might think. Though the usage of drones out in the field seems to be a fairly new thing, sources tell us that unmanned, remote-controlled drones in warfare have been utilized since at least World War I. Targeted killing with drones began to be utilized in about 2002.

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The technology is convenient. With its advent, operators were able to watch and send commands from a distance without putting themselves at risk and probably with a bit of detachment when it came to pulling the trigger.

As The Guardian reports, Feb. 6, despite their recent popularization in news media, it’s pretty easy to see why “drones have a PR problem.” They can be used to deliver pizzas, bring a new view of the news to us, or dance for the arts. Still, it’s hard to wipe clean from recent memory how armed drones hovered over places such as Pakistan, sometimes taking the lives of numerous civilians in the process.

It’s no wonder that the public has been slow to embrace drone technology. Still, it’s undeniable that the usage of drones is full of possibilities outside of the scope of war and even play. The Guardian reports that Dubai is hosting a “World Cup of drones” which features the innovations of many competitors who have come up with some pretty great ideas that address real world problems. For example, what if, instead of using drones to hunt and kill, they were used in efforts of putting an end to poaching? What if they could help in the development of homes for people in need, as well as send in much needed supplies to poverty-stricken areas? Ideas for drones playing a role in ending deforestation and being utilized in rescue missions were also put forth in the “World cup of drones.”

It’s a “notion of ‘drones for good’” that drives the competition whose aim is to transform drone technologies into “practical solutions for improving people’s lives today.” The competition stems from a belief that the technology should be used in service of and for the good of people.

The year-long contest is the first of its kind and it garnered more than 800 submissions from 57 different countries. This Friday and Saturday, 19 semi-finalists will present their work to judges and investors from around the world. The winner of the international 'drones for good' competition will receive $1m,” reports The Guardian.

For more information about the contest, you can follow along at the Drones for Good website. To learn more about the current semi-finalists, visit this page.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com

'To Kill a Mockingbird' author Harper Lee to publish sequel novel this summer

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Fifty five years after publishing the American classic ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’ reclusive author Harper Lee is finally publishing a second novel.

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It has been almost 60 years since Harper Lee published her first and only novel To Kill a Mockingbird. This summer, another novel by the author will finally see the light of day. It’s a sequel to Mockingbird that was actually written before the author’s Pulitzer Prize winning book. The Associated Press reports that Go Set a Watchman, is due for publication this upcoming July.

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Go Set a Watchman was completed in the mid-1950s. It features Scout, the main character and narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird as an adult. It was a first attempt at a novel for Lee and she felt that it was “a pretty decent effort.” However, as the AP reports on Feb. 3, Lee’s editor at the time was touched by Scout’s childhood flashbacks and prompted her to write a completely different novel that later became the Pulitzer Prize winner and the inspiration for the multiple award winning and highly acclaimed film of the same name.

“I was a first-time writer, so I did as I was told. I hadn’t realized it [Go Set a Watchman] had survived, so was surprised and delighted when my dear friend and lawyer Tonja Carter discovered it,” Lee explained in a statement issued by HarperCollins Publishers. “After much thought and hesitation, I shared it with a handful of people I trust and was pleased to hear that they considered it worthy of publication. I am humbled and amazed that this will now be published after all these years.”

The Washington Post relates via HarperCollins publisher Jonathan Burnham that this “is a remarkable literary event.” Previously unknown to the public and thought to be lost by the author, Go Set a Watchman is an “extraordinary gift.”According to the BBC, Tom Weldon, publisher at HarperCollins’ parent company Penguin Random House, said that the book’s publication is set to be “a major event.” The initial run for publication will create two million copies and allow millions of fans worldwide to reacquaint themselves with one of the most moving stories ever written. This is not even to mention that the story surrounding this book is absolutely captivating on its own. “The story of this first book -- both parent to To Kill a Mockingbird and rather wonderfully acting as its sequel -- is fascinating,” said Weldon.

This exciting news brings up questions of what Harper Lee has been up to all of this time. According to HarperLee.com, after the publication of the wildly successful To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee didn’t continue with her writing career. She went to her hometown of Monroeville and lived there with her sister (who passed away last year at the age of 103), purposefully avoiding interviews. Some misinformation also seemed to have leaked and colored the public’s memory of the author. In a forward to one version of the book, it was incorrectly noted that “Harper Lee did not live to see her fiftieth birthday.” The author is currently 88.

Harper Lee has not said much to the press in all of these decades. Many journalists have made trips to her hometown, attempting to gain access, but to no avail. However, one former Chicago Tribune journalist, Marja Mills, was able to not only get an interview but to become good friends with the author and her sister. The results of this friendship became a book called The Mockingbird Next Door: Life with Harper Lee which was published last year.

*originally published on the now defunct Examiner.com