National Register of Historic Places

• Multidisciplinary design firm Cushing Terrell is providing pro bono design services to help preserve Holy Aid and Comfort Spiritual Church in New Orleans.
• NEW ORLEANS, Oct. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Holy Aid and Comfort Spiritual Church will be given new life through preservation and renovation efforts led by multidisciplinary design firm, Cushing Terrell , in partnership with civil and structural engineering firm, Marais Consultants.
• In partnership with the New Orleans Preservation Resource Center, Holy Aid and Comfort Spiritual Church owner, Reverend Harold Lewis, is advocating for support to save the church and return it to use.
• "The Holy Aid and Comfort Spiritual Church has been through so much," said architect and lead designer, Mia Kaplan.

• QUEBEC, Oct. 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Today, Englobe, the global pioneer in contaminated soil treatment and processing, announces its partnership with OPTEL to ensure full regulatory traceability of its soils at its various sites around the world.
• "This agreement with OPTEL once again confirms Englobe's strong commitment to halt illegal soil disposal and, at the same time, contribute to protecting our living environments.
• We were among the first in the world to offer contaminated soil treatment and processing solutions.
• "Using the Optchain™ solution will allow Englobe to automate its operations, ensure regulatory compliance and provide full visibility on soil movement.

• Ledura Watkins was 19 years old when he was accused of murdering a public school teacher.
• In 1976, Ledura Watkins was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
• Ledura Watkins lost over 41 years of his life to a wrongful conviction based on improper forensic testimony.

Forensic testimony carries weight with jurors

• Jurors tend to rely heavily on forensic evidence when making decisions in a case, despite struggling to understand the statistical analyses and language used to explain forensic science.
• They might ignore the differences between appropriately worded forensic testimony and testimony that violates best-practice guidelines, fail to grasp the limitations of forensic science in expert witness testimony and overly rely on an expert’s experience when evaluating the evidence.
• These guidelines aimed to lessen misleading statements in forensic testimony and outlined five statements forensic experts should not make.

An informational video for jurors

• Inspired by one court’s use of videos to help train jurors on relevant concepts, our team developed what we call the forensic science informational video.
• In the FSI video, a narrator explains what a forensic expert is and how they might testify in court.
• In two different studies, we recruited jury-eligible adults to test whether our video had any effect on how jurors judged forensic testimony.

Training helps jurors assess forensic testimony

• Participants learned how to identify low-quality forensic testimony and how to adjust their evaluations of the expert and their testimony accordingly.
• Our study is a promising first step in exploring ways to help jurors understand complex forensic testimony.
• A brief video like ours can provide standardized information about forensic experts and types of appropriate and inappropriate testimony to jurors across courts, much like similar videos about implicit bias already being used in some courts.

• PARSIPPANY, N.J., Sept. 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferrero North America, part of the global sweet-packaged food company the Ferrero Group, known for Keebler®, Butterfinger®, Nutella®, Kinder®, Tic Tac®, and other well-loved brands, today celebrated the opening of its new Innovation Center and North America R&D Labs in Chicago.
• "Our new Innovation Center and R&D Labs here in Chicago reflect Ferrero's rich heritage and will foster the creativity and culture that Ferrero known for around the world," said Alanna Cotton, President and Chief Business Officer of Ferrero North America.
• The company manufactures Butterfinger and Baby Ruth products at its plant in Franklin Park, and Keebler products on 110th Street in Chicago.
• The ribbon cutting represents just the latest example of Ferrero's growth and investment in North America over the past few years.