Author: Overcoming Adversity | Buteau’s Odyssey

Des Moines Public School Board (DMPS) Chair Jackie Norris ended her bid for Iowa’s open US Senate seat Thursday after facing backlash for urging “radical empathy” toward former superintendent and illegal immigrant Ian Andre Roberts. Norris, a Democrat who previously served as first lady Michelle Obama’s chief of staff, said the “superintendent crisis” demanded her full attention as board chair and put her “in the crosshairs of vicious and coordinated attacks.” “Those realities took time and oxygen away from the work I set out to do: stand up for our kids and families — and the backbone of our communities, their educators and caregivers,”…

Co-Author: Andrew Clark, MD Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) have introduced powerful, easily accessible tools for a rapidly expanding range of uses. Among those uses are specialized chatbots that serve in the role of a therapist, intended as either adjuncts to or simulations of work with a real-life therapist. Recently teenagers and young adults have begun to engage in large numbers with AI-based therapists and therapy-equipped companions, outpacing efforts at regulation or containment. Opinions about the effectiveness and safety of therapy chatbots for teenagers appear to be highly polarized and perhaps reflective of individuals’ attitudes toward disruptive new technologies…

A Missouri restaurant got even with a dine-and-dasher who scammed them out of a meal by paying with a fake bill when they plastered the thieving customer’s face on social media. The customer ordered a burger and multiple sides at Michael’s Bar and Grill in Manchester — about 20 miles outside St. Louis — before paying his tab with what his server believed was a $100 bill for a $40 meal, First Alert 4 reported. When the busy server went to fetch his change, she realized the bill was fake — a novelty $1,000 bill. By the time she returned…

Is Monster: Ed Gein a love letter to abuse survivors, or hate mail to the 1950’s misunderstanding of the mentally ill?  Ryan Murphy’s latest project has met, and even in some ways exceeded the high expectations predicted. However, the series has us asking ourselves; how much of a “monster” was Ed Gein? A Mother’s Boy […]

The Icy Hot Bowl might have provided the NFL with its game of the year. In a game of veteran quarterbacks, it was the 40-year-old Joe Flacco who outdueled the 41-year-old Aaron Rodgers to lead the Bengals to a 33-31 thriller in “Thursday Night Football” in Cincinnati. Flacco threw for a season-high 342 yards and three touchdowns to get his first win since his trade to Cincinnati from the Browns. Joe Flacco throws a pass during the fourth quarter of the Bengals’ 33-31 home win over the Steelers at Paycor Stadium. Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images Rodgers, for his part, threw for…

The planned University of North Carolina football docuseries for Hulu was scrapped over concerns that the program was going to be a “deep dive” into Bill Belichick’s “home life” and not focus on the football. News first broke earlier this month that the team scrapped the plans for the series, though no explanation was ever revealed. That was until Thursday, when People published a report that pointed to the concerns by Belichick.  “Jordon, Bill and UNC all agreed that Hulu’s vision of the project was not in alignment with Hulu’s,” a source told the outlet.  Bill Belichick and Jordon Hudson…

The US Military carried out another strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on Thursday, leaving survivors among the boat’s crew, according to authorities. It is not yet clear whether the US military offered aid to the survivors or whether they are in military custody. A US official who informed Reuters of the strike did not provide any additional information on the attack. It would be the first known account of survivors in the Trump administration’s strikes to counter narcoterrorist groups allegedly led by Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro. The US Military carried out a strike on a suspected drug…

One day, I’m going to move to Southern California and become a Buddhist! As these words hung in the air, I was overwhelmed by the urge to take them back, but it was too late. My bold declaration had left my graduate school classmate, Nicole, with a look that was hard to read at first, but I concluded that she was about to alert the authorities, and they were coming to take me to the psychiatric hospital—a place that was unfortunately all too familiar to me. After 12 such hospitalizations, and a bipolar diagnosis, I was always on high alert.…

LOS ANGELES — The only unresolved issue within their control now is how many days off the Dodgers will have before the start of the World Series next Friday. Simply, the Dodgers are the better team in this National League Championship Series, resembling a club on a path of destruction toward a second straight World Series title. The number to consider is three. That is how many combined runs the Dodgers have surrendered in this series, as the NL West champions moved to the brink of the pennant with a 3-1 victory in Game 3 of the NLCS at Dodger…

In PRIMATE, a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival. EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY Vicki Dee Rock,  Nathan Samdahl, Johannes Roberts, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro, Andrew Lary PRODUCED BY Walter Hamada, p.g.a., John Hodges, p.g.a., Bradley Pilz WRITTEN BY Johannes Roberts & Ernest Riera DIRECTED BY Johannes Roberts STARRING Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, and Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant, Gia Hunter, Benjamin Cheng, Charlie Mann, Tienne Simon  PRIMATE IS ONLY IN THEATRES ON JANUARY 9, 2026!