Facing Out: The Week’s Most Interesting News

April 26, 2025

Pope Francis, admired for his humility, his warm embrace of the poor, the disabled and the marginalized, and his advocacy for a more inclusive Catholic Church, will be laid to rest today in Rome. He died the day after a public appearance on Easter. (Wikimedia Commons)

Dear Colleagues and Friends:

One of the greatest athletes ever to come out of New York’s Capital Region announced that he was retiring from professional basketball this week, and the first question all of us asked was: How is it possible that Jimmer Fredette is 36?!?

Perhaps it was his unforgettable brilliance on the court that has us thinking it was just yesterday that Fredette was dazzling the college basketball universe, his unlimited shooting range making him the nation’s leading scorer as a senior at BYU, when he was also the consensus national player of the year.

Before that, the Glens Falls native was lighting up scoreboards across New York State, where he twice was named first-team all-state and was the state player of the year in 2007 for Glens Falls High.

A two-time collegiate All-American, he was the 10^th pick in the 2011 NBA draft and played six seasons, scoring a career-high 24 points in 2014 for the Sacramento Kings at New York’s Madison Square Garden. He continued to flourish professionally overseas, twice scoring 70 points or more in a game while playing in China, where he was named the MVP of the China Basketball Association in 2017.

“Basketball has taken me all around this world: from Glens Falls NY, to BYU, the NBA, China, Greece, and even Team USA at the Olympics!" Fredette wrote in a social media post announcing his retirement. “So many memories and amazing moments. It wasn't always easy, but it was always worth it!”

Congratulations, Jimmer, and thank you. Well done.

RADICAL FORGIVENESS: Patrick Crusius was shackled in an El Paso courtroom, listening as family members and other loved ones of the 23 people he murdered in a racist attack at a Texas Walmart in 2019 told him how his actions had impacted them individually and as a community. Some spoke of devastation and heartbreak, others of how his hated had been defeated with love and unity. But Yolanda Tinajero did none of that. Instead, she told Crusius she forgave him and wished she could hug him. Which the judge, in an extraordinary moment, allowed her to do. “I don’t know how she was able to do it,” her daughter, Melissa Tinajero, told reporters: “I could not do that. But she showed him something he could not show his victims.”

A HEALTHY INVESTMENT: Chobani, the Greek yogurt giant founded 20 years ago in a former Kraft Foods dairy plant in Central New York, broke ground this week on a $1.2 billion production facility on the site of the former Air Force base in Rome, N.Y., pledging to create 1,000 jobs in what would be the nation’s largest-ever investment in a natural food production facility. The project would nearly double the company’s New York workforce and confirm the state’s status as the country’s number one yogurt producer. Chobani buys more than a billion pounds of raw milk a year from New York dairy farms, a figure that will rise to an estimated 6 billion pounds annually when the new plant is running. Chobani also will establish its world headquarters in Manhattan. Its investment in Upstate New York follows Coca-Cola’s decision to build a major dairy product manufacturing facility for its Fairlife brand in Rochester.

LIFE IN A DEAD ZONE: Few who were alive and old enough at the time will ever forget the fear that accompanied the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. Two died immediately, 28 more in the weeks that followed, and countless people were sickened by exposure to nuclear radiation. Large towns, villages and farms were abandoned, and 1,000 square miles have seen barely any human life in nearly four decades. But nature is a different story. The lands surrounding Chernobyl have evolved into mainland Europe’s third-largest nature preserve, home to thousands of plant and animal species that have flourished absent human interference. One observer called it “a fascinating example of nature’s power to rebound from degradation.”

The James family of Wilton, N.Y., facing a battle with childhood cancer, is among hundreds of families in New York’s Capital Region helped by Kelly’s Angels. If you know a Capital Region family who could use support as they face a life-threatening condition, Kelly's Angels is ready to help.

MAKE MOM PROUD: Can you imagine a better, more rewarding experience on Mother’s Day morning than helping a child who lost a parent to cancer or another serious illness? You’ll have your chance at the 13^th annual Kelly’s Angels Mother-Lovin' 5K Run/Walk at Saratoga Spa State Park on Sunday, May 11. Kelly’s Angels has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants and scholarships to Capital Region children and families. The charitable organization was founded by NewsChannel 13’s Mark Mulholland in memory of his wife Kelly, who passed away in 2007 at the age of 37, leaving behind the couple’s 7-year-old son Connor and 5-year-old daughter McKenna, both now adults. The event is truly a celebration of love. You can walk, you can run, or you can come just for the camaraderie. In October, Kelly’s Angels will celebrate its 15^th anniversary with a “Calling All Angels” gala at the Saratoga Springs City Center.

BUCKS FOR BABIES: The fertility rate in the United States, trending down for 30 years, reached a record low in 2023. Much the same is true in Europe. Births at current rates in developed countries are not numerous enough to replace those who die. Population increases, according to the U.N., are concentrated in just eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and the United Republic of Tanzania. The Trump administration is reported to be considering a proposal to offer a $5,000 “baby bonus” to every American mother after she gives birth (“Sounds like a good idea to me,” the president said this week), and Vice President JD Vance has encouraged Americans to have more children. The idea has not won universal praise.

FAMILY TIME: The soaring cost of living in the U.S., particularly when it comes to housing, is driving an increase in multigenerational families living under the same roof. According to the Pew Research Center, more than one in six Americans now lives in a multigenerational household, and the U.S. Census Bureau estimates one in three adults between 18 and 34 still live with a parent. “It's a blessing to be able to still live at home with my mom, to be able to see my grandma on a day to day [basis], to be able to put my kids and my grandma under one roof where they have such a great relationship,” Jade Lowe, who lives in a four-generation household in Michigan, told ABC’s Good Morning America. “We are blessed and highly favored.” 

WALKING THE TALK: Ryan Holiday is a bestselling author whose writing about stoicism has elevated the ancient philosophy — built on the pillars of justice, courage, temperance and wisdom — to mainstream popularity and made him an in-demand speaker for sports teams, business groups, military leaders and others looking to cultivate toughness and resilience in the face of adversity. He has spoken more than half a dozen times at the U.S. Naval Academy, and was prepared to speak to midshipmen about wisdom a couple weeks ago when he got a call from the academy an hour before he was scheduled to begin. Holiday was asked to delete a slide criticizing the academy’s decision to remove 381 books from its main library, prompted by a presidential executive order mandating the removal of all “diversity, equity and inclusion” content. He refused, and the lecture was canceled. “If you can’t be trusted around Stacey Abrams’ memoir or Maya Angelou, you probably have no business being a Navy SEAL or holding an assault rifle or flying a fighter jet,” Holiday told CNN. “You’re either an adult or you’re not.”

THE ACT OF CARING: Actor Paul Newman would have turned 100 this year, and his daughter Clea Newman is honoring his memory by launching a major national fundraising campaign for his Serious Fun Camps, including the Double H Ranch in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., the camp for seriously ill children that he co-founded with entrepreneur and philanthropist Charles R. Wood. In an ABC News interview that featured kids at the Double H, she said, “If there was one thing he wanted to be known for, even more than his movies, (it was) our serious fun camps. To him, I think, this was truly his legacy.” Double H, which opened in 1993, has provided 60,000 children with exciting, fun, empowering, physically safe and medically sound summer experiences, all free of charge. It was the second in what has become a worldwide network of not-for-profit recreational and therapeutic experiences for children with serious illness. 


PARDON ME: Before she could be sentenced to prison, President Trump has pardoned a Nevada politician and supporter who raised more than $70,000 for the statue of a Las Vegas police officer who was fatally shot in 2014 in the line of duty, then instead spent some of it on cosmetic surgery, rent and her daughter’s wedding.

SCAM BAGS: The FBI this week reported cybercriminals and online scammers stole a record $16.6 billion in the U.S. in 2024, an increase of nearly 33% from the previous year and an undercount that reflects only those who filed a report with the agency. The FBI said it received 859,532 complaints of scams and cybercrime last year. 

BETTER TOGETHER: Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y., and the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences this week announced they intend to merge, creating an institution with an expected total enrollment of 4,000. The merger, which requires regulatory approvals, is expected to be complete in time for the 2027-28 academic year.

SINKING FEELING: Quicksand isn’t just the stuff of childhood nightmares — a man in Michigan found himself sunk up to his waist and in need of rescue on the shore of Lake Michigan after stepping into dredging outwash while looking for stones.

DROP CEILING: Passengers on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Chicago were forced to hold up the ceiling of the plane after a portion of it collapsed after takeoff, causing the plane to return and delaying their trip by two hours.

CHANGE OF FORTUNE: A man who has long lived on the streets of San Luis Obispo, Calif., won a $1 million prize from the California Lottery, according to the manager of the liquor store where he purchased the ticket, who told the Los Angeles Times, “He’s a good person, he deserves every penny. ... I was very excited it happened to a person who deserved it, and he actually needed it.”


MIKE PATRICK was a genial, easygoing presence whose personality belied the high-stakes sporting events he was entrusted to call over 36 years as a play-by-play voice for ESPN, including 18 seasons on “Sunday Night Football.” He called more than 30 ACC basketball championships and brought the action home to viewers for ESPN’s Women’s Final Four coverage from 1996 to 2009, in addition to calling college football on Thursday and Saturday nights and the College World Series. “It's wonderful to reflect on how I've done exactly what I wanted to do with my life,” Patrick, a native of Parkersburg, W.Va., said when he left ESPN in 2018. “At the same time, I've had the great pleasure of working with some of the very best people I've ever known, both on the air and behind the scenes.” He was 80.

LEIGH BEEMAN devoted her life to the care of children and to the arts. She was president of the Glens Falls chapter and state coordinator of the Adoptees’ Liberty Movement Association (ALMA), the pioneering national organization advocating for the rights of adoptees; longtime chair of the Warren County Children’s Committee, which raises money for children in foster care; and a member of the Warren County Social Services Department advisory board. She also was a volunteer leader of the Chapman Historical Museum, the Lake George Opera Festival and the Saratoga Performing Arts Action Council and the widow of Lyman Beeman Jr., former chairman and president of Finch, Pruyn & Co. Inc., the company now known as Finch Paper, LLC. She died of cancer at 86.

SUSAN CARSTENS helped her classmate Andy Beadnell pass English class in high school and ultimately married him. Susan and Andy went on to work in the Carstens family’s Adirondack business, Ridin’ Hy Ranch Resort in Warrensburg, and grew Ridin’ Hy from a seasonal business to a year-round vacation destination. She was a staple at the front desk, welcoming guests and supervising staff for over 40 years. The couple retired to their home on the Schroon River in 2010, where they raised thoroughbreds and enjoyed boat rides on the river. She died of cancer at 79.


“I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
— St. Paul’s letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:7)

PARTY TIME: A San Diego bride-to-be told her fiancé she wanted him and his groomsmen to have “entertainment that he can touch” for his bachelor party, and she delivered — two opossums, a raccoon and a tegu from a California wildlife sanctuary, as well as an owl they could look at but not touch. If the pictures and video are any indication, the men loved it.

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Principal Author: Bill Callen

Contributors: Mark Behan, Ryan Moore, Kristy Miller, Jim Murphy and Amanda Metzger.

FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media.  www.behancommunications.com

Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. 

Let’s make it a conversation: mark.behan@behancom.com