Thaddeus Moss has big goals for Bengals training camp

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Onlookers haven’t heard much about Thaddeus Moss in the early goings of Cincinnati Bengals training camp.

A big name due to his last name and status as a 2019 LSU teammate of Joe Burrow, Moss was an attention-worthy pickup by the Bengals this offseason.

But so far, Moss hasn’t made a ton of noise in camp at a rather stacked position.

ESPN’s Ben Baby caught up with him after a recent practice and asked about what he wants to prove:

“Just that I can play ball. It’s literally as simple as that. The last two years have been out of my control…going undrafted and stuff, I haven’t had any say in it. I’m finally healthy, I’m finally on the football field…as long as I stay healthy everything is going to take care of itself.”

Bengals TE Thaddeus Moss on what he wants to prove in camp and the preseason after missing last season with a foot injury while with Washington. pic.twitter.com/6jEtELjnV9 — Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) August 2, 2021

There’s certainly room for Moss to show what he’s capable of and squeak past a name like Mitchell Wilcox for the final roster. But he’ll likely have to make some noise in preseason contests — while staying healthy — for that to happen.

Call it a good problem for the Bengals to have. Moss is motivated after a quiet year in Washington last season and like Ja’Marr Chase, he’s got prior experience with Burrow.

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Ben Bailey announces he’s leaving.

WDIV’s lead meteorologist Ben Bailey, who has been at the station for seven years, announced early Saturday morning that he’s leaving immediately.

“This really hasn’t been a spur-of-the-moment decision for me,” he told viewers. “I’ve been talking to management for a while and we decided as the Olympics came to a close this would probably be a good time for me to say so long.”

He did not provide a reason, and the station said the split was amicable.

Sources familiar with Bailey’s work situation said he had differences with the NBC affiliate’s workplace Covid policy, which requires the unvaccinated to wear masks. They said he’s not vaccinated.

Marla Drutz, the station’s general manager, said she was unaware of Bailey’s vaccination status and that his departure isn’t “related per se to any kind of masking rules.” She said he worked mostly at the downtown Detroit station, instead of at home, the past six months, though his final broadcast was from home.

“Ben’s been thinking about this for a while,” Drutz said. “I just think he was looking for a different opportunity. He was a wonderful guy to work with. He did a meritorious job.”

Attempts to reach Bailey Saturday for comment were unsuccessful.

Bailey announced his resignation around 1 a.m. Saturday during a late broadcast after the Olympics, but did not say why he was leaving his job, which paid a six-figure salary.

“Tonight is my last broadcast here on Local 4, and if you told me 30 years ago when I took my first job in this business that I would be ending my career at 1 a.m. on a Saturday morning from my house, I would have said ‘crazy.’ Covid’s been crazy, so it almost seems like it’s been appropriate.”

He went on to say: “My brother asked me, he said ‘what’s next for you?’ And I told him, ‘less makeup and more whiskey.'”

Compared to other popular on-air talent at WDIV, Bailey’s departure was low-key. Usually a big announcement and farewell is made on the air and at a time when more viewers will see it – not at 1 a.m. Drutz sent an email to staff announcing his departure just hours before Bailey’s announcement.

Drutz said his announcement would have normally come during the 11 p.m. broadcast, but was only done later because of Olympics programming.

Bailey, a University of Missouri graduate, worked at Fox 2 before coming to WDIV in 2014 to replace the beloved Chuck Gaidica, who retired.

He’s the second weather forecaster to depart a Detroit station in recent months.

In June, CBS Detroit fired weekend meteorologist April Moss for public criticism of parent company ViacomCBS on the air and online. She said she was being discriminated against because of the station’s policy on Covid testing.

The station issued a statement after her firing:

“April Moss objected to WWJ-TV’s policies regarding Covid-19 testing and wearing masks inside our station, which are based on CDC, state and local guidelines. Any suggestion that she was in any way a victim of ‘discrimination’ due to her concerns about these policies is completely false. In fact, we allowed April to perform her weather anchor duties from home as we explored her concerns,”

After she criticized the station, she launched a fundraiser on the Christian site GiveSendGo and to date has raised more than $126,000.

55 NC House Republicans call on health care systems to reconsider vaccine mandate

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RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Fifty-five North Carolina House Republicans penned a letter to health system executives saying the recent COVID-19 vaccine mandate needs to be reevaluated.

Click here to read the letter

The letter is addressed to the CEOs of systems like UNC Health, Duke University Health Systems, Atrium Health and others. The lawmakers said they have heard from “countless constituents” who said they were blindsided by the mandate.

In late July, health care systems across the state announced staff members must be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the fall or they would be terminated. Many employees at these institutions have already been vaccinated.

For example, out of the 11,000 people who work at Duke University Health Systems, 77 percent are vaccinated.

The lawmakers said they recognize the importance of vaccines but said more input is needed from employees and flexibility for those who have “legitimate objections.”

“From our conversations with constituents who work at these facilities, we feel this was a rushed and hasty decision that does not include feedback and consideration of the employees and staff,” the letter says.

Another issue the lawmakers bring up is the already existing staffing shortages at these healthcare facilities and what the impact of terminating employees over the mandate could be.

“This decision to terminate nurses and other healthcare professionals who do not take the vaccine will only exacerbate the problem. In certain instances, a hospital could potentially lose 30% of its workforce due to vaccine mandates,” the letter says.

The North Carolina Healthcare Association said it “strongly supports” the mandate.

“Hospital and health system employee vaccination against COVID-19 is vital to safely care for patients by protecting them from infection, and to mitigate the spread of the virus within healthcare facilities and among clinicians, patients and their families and friends,” NCHA said.

The American Nurses Association also said it supports mandating the vaccine for nurses and other health care workers. In a letter announcing its stance, the ANA wrote, “Nurses have a professional and ethical obligation to model the same standards they provide to prescribe to patients.”

The letter is signed by the following Republicans:

Rep. Jay Adams

Rep. Dean Arp

Rep. John Bell

Rep. Hugh Blackwell

Rep. Jamie Boles

Rep. John Bradford

Rep. Mark Brody

Rep. Dana Bumgardner

Rep. Mike Clampitt

Rep. George Cleveland

Rep. Jimmy Dixon

Rep. Jeffrey Elmore

Rep. Dudley Greene

Rep. Ed Goodwin

Rep. Destin Hall

Rep. Kyle Hall

Rep. Bobby Hanig

Rep. Jon Hardister

Rep. Kelly Hastings

Rep. Chris Humphrey

Rep. Pat Hurley

Rep. Frank Iler

Rep. Jake Johnson

Rep. Brenden Jones

Rep. Keith Kidwell

Rep. Pat McElraft

Rep. Jeff McNeely

Rep. Allen McNeill Rep. Charlie Miller

Rep. Grey Mills

Rep. Tim Moffitt

Rep. Ben Moss

Rep. Erin P. Paré

Rep. Howard Penny

Rep. Ray Pickett

Rep. Larry Pittman

Rep. Mark Pless

Rep. Larry Potts

Rep. Dennis Riddell

Rep. David Rogers

Rep. Jason Saine

Rep. Wayne Sasser

Rep. Phil Shepard

Rep. Carson Smith

Rep. Sarah Stevens

Rep. Larry Strickland

Rep. John Szoka

Rep. Steve Tyson

Rep. Harry Warren

Rep. Sam Watford

Rep. Diane Wheatley

Rep. Donna White

Rep. David Willis

Rep. Matthew Winslow

Rep. Jeff Zenger