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Justina remained stuck on probation. Not because she posed any safety risk, but because she couldn’t afford the last $500 of restitution she owed. Despite finishing jail time, rehab, and community service, her probation kept restarting every six months due to the unpaid balance. Without a driver’s license following her DUI conviction, she had to travel an hour each way for brief check-ins, often with her infant son.

REFORM Alliance, founded by Jay-Z, Michael Rubin, and Meek Mill along with Philly advocate Latonya Myers and her group Above All Odds, is covering the remaining $500 under Pennsylvania’s updated probation reforms (Act 44 of 2023). As a result, Justina will finally gain her freedom before Thanksgiving.

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Dr. Ashley McFalls is an associate professor of Neuroscience at Lebanon Valley College. In recent years, more and more people have decided to keep backyard chickens.  However, how to properly care for them can be a challenge because of the vast amount of misinformation on the internet.  Additionally, not many veterinarians are willing to treat chickens, even though they are quickly becoming a leading companion animal.  Dr. McFalls is using her neuroscience background to gain a better understanding chickens (cognition, emotion, evolutionary needs etc...) and also the impact of keeping backyard chickens on how folks view animal sentience.

 

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