SEATTLE (AP) — Scientists who track pollution have discovered traces of the pain reliever oxycodone in some Puget Sound mussels. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife obtained clean mussels fr…
SEATTLE (AP) — Scientists who track pollution have discovered traces of the pain reliever oxycodone in some Puget Sound mussels.
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife obtained clean mussels from Penn Cove on Whidbey Island and put them in different areas to test for water contamination, KIRO-TV reported this week.
Scientists worked with the Puget Sound Institute to analyze the data and discovered three out of 18 locations came back positive for trace amounts of oxycodone.
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/scientists-find-opioids-in-puget-sound-mussels/
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer company, has a new parental leave policy for salaried employees globally. Primary caregivers, who may be of any gender, have a minimum of 16 wee…
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer company, has a new parental leave policy for salaried employees globally.
Primary caregivers, who may be of any gender, have a minimum of 16 weeks fully-paid leave, while secondary caregivers have two weeks of fully-paid leave.
The policy gives new benefits to parents whose children were adopted or surrogate-born and to fathers.
This standard applies in the 52 countries in which AB InBev operates for salaried employees.
Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s biggest beer company, has set a new global parental leave standard for its nearly-200,000 salaried employees in 52 countries.
Under the new policy, primary caregivers, who may or may not be the mother, will receive a minimum of 16 weeks of time off at full pay. Secondary caregivers will receive a minimum of two weeks off at full pay. This policy is inclusive of natural births, adoption, and surrogacy.
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/budweisers-parent-company-is-now-giving-nearly-200000-employees-four-months-of-paid-parental-leave-rachel-premack/
When you use incognito mode, it doesn’t mean that your activity disappears forever – it’s just hidden on the incriminating device. Ctrl-Shift-N: the wondrous keyboard shortcut to start an incognito…
When you use incognito mode, it doesn’t mean that your activity disappears forever – it’s just hidden on the incriminating device.
Ctrl-Shift-N: the wondrous keyboard shortcut to start an incognito tab in Google Chrome. You hesitantly type in your odious search, and find the porn site which in that moment you feel a magnetizing attraction to.
You pore over the endless volumes of pornographic videos. Image after image promises to delight the senses. You continue scrolling and clicking until you find the video that will satisfy that seductive and overpowering urge.
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/browsing-porn-in-incognito-mode-isnt-nearly-as-private-as-you-think-dylan-curran/
Here are some things that happened this week that you might not have heard about! The volcanic situation in Hawaii is only worsening as it belches more lava and plumes of ash called “vog̶…
Here are some things that happened this week that you might not have heard about!
The volcanic situation in Hawaii is only worsening as it belches more lava and plumes of ash called “vog” into the air. Vog is a noxious combination of vapor, carbon dioxide, and sulfur dioxide gas Read more at: Toxic substance called “vog” expelled by volcano in Hawaii
A recall over broccoli has occurred for the East Coast for Stop & Shop shoppers due to Listeria concerns. Read more at: Stop & Shop Broccoli recall
The United States is facing a shortage of more drugs. This time the drug used for Epidurals during birth. It shows a looming health crisis that has far-reaching implications. Read more at: US running out of critical supplies used in epidurals
Parental leave has been guaranteed for 200,000 Budweiser employees. This extends to things like adoption, surrogacy, and even men who have a partner give birth. Read more at: Budweiser provides parental leave to 200,000 employees
Scientists have found antibiotics and opioids in mussel in Seattle’s Puget Sound. Read more at: Opioids and Antibiotics found in Mussels
Researchers have revealed that Incognito browsing is not as anonymous as you might think. With an analogy brought alongside pornography, you can learn more about how major vulnerabilities exist when looking at more sensitive information. Read more at: Browsing in Incognito Mode isn’t as private as you think
There are three big transgender right’s cases going to court this week that could create important legal precedents. Read more about the cases at: 3 big transgender rights cases
To close the gap in Air Force pilots up to 1,000 retirees are being called upon to continue to serve their nation. They are top rated officers and can expect to return to work soon. Find out more at: 1,000 retired air pilots to return to service
Melissa McCarthy and Brian Henson (Jim Henson’s son) have landed themselves into hot water with Sesame Street. Read more about the pending lawsuit at: Sesame Street sues Raunchy Puppet Movie
The world’s largest greenhouse in London named Kew Gardens reopens after $66 million (USD) and $41 million (GBP) in renovations. Read more at: World’s Largest Greenhouse
Read original post at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/10-interesting-things-for-5-20-5-27/
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that his repeated imputations of a supposed scandal at the heart of the Robert Mueller investigation – which Donald Trump calls “Spygate” – a…
Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Sunday that his repeated imputations of a supposed scandal at the heart of the Robert Mueller investigation – which Donald Trump calls “Spygate” – amounted to a tactic to sway public opinion and limit the risk of the president being impeached.
“Of course we have to do it to defend the president,” Trump’s lawyer told CNN State of the Union host Dana Bash, who accused him of being part of a campaign to undermine the Mueller investigation. Trump has repeatedly called the special counsel’s work a “witch hunt”, despite its producing five guilty pleas, including by three former Trump aides, and evidence of Russian tampering in US elections.
“It is for public opinion,” Giuliani said of his public campaign of dissimulation. “Because eventually the decision here is going to be impeach or not impeach. Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, are going to be informed a lot by their constituents. And so our jury – and it should be – is the American people.
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/rudy-giuliani-admits-spygate-is-trump-pr-tactic-against-robert-mueller-tom-mccarthy/
Reports the US Department of Health and Human Services cannot locate nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with American sponsors have resurged since a department official testified about the iss…
Reports the US Department of Health and Human Services cannot locate nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with American sponsors have resurged since a department official testified about the issue last month.
The story has caught fire amid discord within President Donald Trump’s administration on the handling of illegal immigration after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced a “zero-tolerance” policy last month.
The “lost” children were a major talking point over the weekend.
Reports that the US Department of Health and Human Services cannot locate nearly 1,500 migrant children it placed with American sponsors have resurged this weekend amid increasing controversy stemming from the Trump administration’s policies about separating migrant families.
The communication gap detailed in testimony by a Health and Human Services official last month came as Trump officials spoke out about stricter policies for families who illegally cross the border. Over the weekend, observers described the issue as a potentially decisive moment for Trump to form immigration laws.
The children who the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a division of the Health and Human Services department, reportedly cannot locate arrived at the southwestern US border alone, mostly from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala.
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/the-worst-thing-ive-seen-in-25-plus-years-experts-react-to-news-that-trump-administration-lost-1500-migrant-children-ellen-cranley/
Dominic Cummings says the Brexit process is a “train wreck” which may be beyond saving. Cummings — who directed the Vote Leave campaign — claims Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancello…
Dominic Cummings says the Brexit process is a “train wreck” which may be beyond saving.
Cummings — who directed the Vote Leave campaign — claims Prime Minister Theresa May and Chancellor Philip Hammond are trying to keep Britain in the European Union in everything but name.
The government is wasting time with “logically, legally and practically incompatible” promises, he says.
Cummings tells Conservative MPs and donors to get rid of May in order to save Brexit and keep Jeremy Corbyn out of Downing Street.
LONDON — The man who directed the official campaign to leave the European Union has described Brexit as a “train wreck” and suggested that Theresa May’s government now “effectively has no credible policy and the whole world knows it.”
In an open letter addressed to Conservative MPs and donors of the Tory party, Dominic Cummings takes an axe to the government’s Brexit strategy, claiming that May’s decision to trigger Article 50 without a clear plan was like “putting a gun in your mouth and pulling the trigger.”
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/the-man-behind-the-official-leave-campaign-says-brexit-is-now-a-train-wreck-adam-payne/
Newly released emails show senior Environmental Protection Agency officials working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings o…
Newly released emails show senior Environmental Protection Agency officials working closely with a conservative group that dismisses climate change to rally like-minded people for public hearings on science and global warming, counter negative news coverage and promote Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stewardship of the agency.
John Konkus, EPA’s deputy associate administrator for public affairs, repeatedly reached out to senior staffers at the Heartland Institute, according to the emails.
“If you send a list, we will make sure an invitation is sent,” Konkus wrote to then-Heartland president Joseph Bast in May 2017, seeking suggestions on scientists and economists the EPA could invite to an annual EPA public hearing on the agency’s science standards.
Read more at: https://top10events.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/emails-show-cooperation-between-epa-and-climate-change-deniers-snopes/
‘Trump’s Son Should Be Concerned’: FBI Obtained Wiretaps Of Putin Ally Who Met With Trump Jr. - Michael Isikoff
The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish police of conversations involving Alexander Torshin, a deputy governor of Russia’s Central Bank who has forged close ties with U.S. lawmakers and the National Rifle Association, that led to a meeting with Donald Trump Jr. during the gun lobby’s annual convention in Louisville, Ky., in May 2016, a top Spanish prosecutor said Friday.
José Grinda, who has spearheaded investigations into Spanish organized crime, said that bureau officials in recent months requested and were provided transcripts of wiretapped conversations between Torshin and Alexander Romanov, a convicted Russian money launderer. On the wiretaps, Romanov refers to Torshin as “El Padrino,” the godfather.
Read more at: https://wordpress.com/post/top10events.wordpress.com/23
Air Force will bring back up to 1,000 retirees to plug gap in pilots, other rated officers - Stephen Losey
As many as 1,000 recently retired Air Force pilots, combat systems officers and air battle managers could return to active duty under a major new expansion of a recall program.
The Air Force announced Wednesday it will expand the Voluntary Retired Return to Active Duty program as part of its effort to ease serious manning shortages in the rated community. The service has repeatedly sounded the red alert over its roughly 2,000-pilot shortfall ― which represents about 10 percent of its overall pilot force ― and said it could jeopardize the service’s ability to train all the new pilots it needs and fight wars overseas.
“We’ve got a deficit across the rated force,” said Rob Romer, chief of the Air Force Personnel Center’s accessions, work force planning and career programs division, in an interview Tuesday. “This is just one of the initiatives that we have out there to grow the force and address our rated shortfalls, as well as retention concerns.”
This VRRAD expansion ― which puts into action President Trump’s executive order last October authorizing the Air Force to bring back up to 1,000 pilots ― will be for all 11X pilots, 12X CSOs and 13B air battle managers who meet the qualifications.
When the Air Force announced its previous iteration of the VRRAD program last summer, it was only for fighter pilots, and participation was capped at 25 returning retirees. It has so far authorized 10 fighter pilots to return, five of whom are still on active duty but are about to retire.
The earlier VRRAD program also only allowed pilots to come back for 12 months, but AFPC found most retirees who were interested felt that wasn’t long enough to be worth the family upheaval that would come from putting the uniform back on.
But now, under new Defense Department policy, the program will allow retirees to serve from 24 to 48 months. Lt. Col. Greg Nita, deputy chief of AFPC’s operations and special duties assignment division, said in the interview that this would give returning pilots up to a year to retrain, and still be able to serve a full three-year assignment.
The longer tours will also increase family stability for officers who choose to return, Romer said.
Rated officers who return could serve in rated and flying staff positions, as well as training, testing or even operationally, Romer said. They could volunteer to deploy and even potentially fly combat missions, but that would not be a requirement.
That means retired pilots could come back to serve as instructors, such as at undergraduate pilot training at bases like Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas. This could help the Air Force increase its so-called “training pipeline” and graduate more new pilots, easing the pressure on operational squadrons that sometimes have to send pilots to serve as instructors.
“Utilizing them first in some sort of production pipeline role is going to magnify their effect coming back,” Nita said.
They also could serve as instructors for more advanced new pilots, as they learn to pilot specific major weapons systems, Nita said.
“Whether it be B-52s, F-16s, you name it, all those aircraft have training units,” Nita said. “As the Air Force addresses our shortfalls, it’s important to [Chief of Staff Gen. Dave Goldfein] and our leadership that we tap into some of that experience.“
Before retired officers commit to coming back, the Air Force will talk to them about what they would like to do, and try to match them up with the service’s needs, Romer said.
“Everything is on the table,” Nita said. “No request is too big. We will listen to their request first, and try to find a good match.”
To be eligible, officers must have retired from active duty within the past five years, or be about to retire within 12 months of their application. They also must be captains, majors or lieutenant colonels under the age of 50, although the Air Force will consider those older than 50 on a case-by-case basis.
They also must be medically qualified to serve on active duty, and have served in a rated staff position within the last 15 years or been qualified in an Air Force aircraft within 10 years of the time they apply. Officers who retired due to a physical disability will not be eligible.
Those officers who signed up for the 2017 program, and were limited to a 12-month tour, can apply for extensions under the program.
AFPC will accept applications until the end of December, or until all openings are filled.
Pilots who return to active duty will not be eligible for aviation bonuses or promotion consideration.
Romer and Nita said the Air Force believes there will be a high amount of interest among retired pilots, CSOs and air battle managers in returning, though they said it’s too soon to predict how many might actually come back.
Last year, after Trump signed the executive order, Brig. Gen. Mike Koscheski, the head of a task force dedicated to fixing the pilot shortfall, told reporters that fewer than 200 retired pilots would likely return and they would probably serve as instructor pilots and in rated staff positions. At the time, Koscheski said there were no plans to have recalled pilots fly other aircraft besides trainers, such as fighters, bombers or mobility aircraft, though he left the door opening to that changing if the pilot shortfall continued or worsened.
The US is running out of commonly used drugs including ones used in epidurals, and it’s put us on ‘the brink of a public health emergency’
The drug shortage problem in the US is getting worse, and has extended to include a type of epidural used for pregnant women during childbirth.
Hospitals have had to get crafty with rationing drug dosage in order to compensate for the shortage.
The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists lists hundreds of compounds that are currently facing shortages, placing the healthcare system on the brink of a public health emergency.
Not enough companies are making drugs at a rate to keep up with demand.
The US has had a long-standing problem with drug shortages, but now, the situation is reaching a tipping point.
In the past year, the healthcare industry dealt with the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which shut down many facilities that manufactured commonly used healthcare products such as saline and other intravenous (IV) fluids.
Now, new additions to the growing list of shortages include a medication commonly administered as epidurals to women giving birth.
"There really is no alternative that provides the same safety, reliability, and comfort that we all have using it," Ruth Landau, an obstetric anesthesiologist at Columbia University Medical Center told Fortune.
In February, Columbia was due to run out of bupivacaine, a local anesthetic used frequently as an epidural for women in labor. Injected into the base of the spine to block pain, the numbing drug also has applications in other surgical and medical procedures.
As a result, Columbia now reserves bupivacaine prepared with dextrose for "the most risk and complicated emergency deliveries." Hospitals across the nation who also use the drug are using conservation guidance Landau helped develop to ration supply by coaxing multiple doses of the drug from a vial that would normally serve only one patient.
'The brink of a healthcare emergency'
And it's not just medication for epidurals. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists lists hundreds of compounds that are currently facing shortages.
"The ongoing shortages of these vital lifesaving medications are overwhelming the resources of our nation’s hospitals, placing our healthcare system on the brink of a public health emergency," ASHP CEO Paul W. Abramowitz said in a press release Wednesday.
The supply shortage has expanded to include a few types of IV fluids, including bags of saline and nutritional solutions as well as injectable opioids. American Hospital Association has advised hospitals to use alternative versions of the drug and to prioritize which patients receive certain medications.
When drug supply runs short in some ERs, healthcare professionals have had to substitute in other medications that sometimes may cause unpleasant side effects or may not be safe for certain patients.
According to the ASHP, there are a number of reasons for the shortages. Some are related to manufacturing problems and recalls, other involve a discrepancy in supply and demand. The companies which make large portions of a certain drug can stop making it, or a drug is produced by only a single manufacturer.
The problem is that there are simply not enough companies making the drug at a rate that can keep up with demand, and part of that problem is the consolidation of the manufacturers who produce generic drugs.
US generic companies have had a harder time turning a profit while competing with foreign companies that are able to make the same drugs at a cheaper cost. That's caused manufacturers to hone in on certain generic drugs and discontinue others that don't make as much money. And if one generic manufacturer has a shortage, there's no easy fix. Another generic company might not make the same drug, and getting its own approval to make the drug can take longer than the shortage even lasts.
3 big transgender rights cases are going to court this week, and they could set important legal precedent - Grace Panetta
Three big cases on questions of transgender rights are being argued in Montana, Oregon, and Pennsylvania this week.
They revolve around the rights of transgender people to use gender-segregated public facilities of their choice.
A case being heard today in federal appeals court could set legal precedent for other cases.
Courts in three states will hear cases this week surrounding whether people have a legal right to use gender-segregated public facilities like bathrooms that correspond to their gender identity, as opposed to the biological sex they were assigned at birth.
Transgender rights has been a hot-button topic in the US in the past few years following North Carolina's controversial "bathroom bill" and similar laws in other states. School districts around the country have grappled with whether or not to allow students to use the facilities that don't match their sex assigned at birth.
Montana
On Monday, a district court judge heard arguments in Hobaugh vs. Montana. The Montana American Civil Liberties Union is representing eight plaintiffs in challenging a proposed state-wide ballot initiative that would require Montanans to use public facilities, including locker rooms and bathrooms, that correspond to the sex on their birth certificate.
Oregon
A lawsuit filed in federal court in Oregon challenges the policy of the Dallas School District to allow students to use the bathrooms and locker rooms that best fit their gender identity, regardless of their sex.
The suit, brought by a group of school parents, argues the transgender-inclusive policy is illegal because Title IX, which protects students from sex discrimination, only applies to discrimination based on biological sex, not cases where a student's gender identity differs from biological sex.
Pennsylvania
The third case, Doe v. Boyertown, will be heard today in the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in Philadelphia. Like the suit in Oregon, plaintiffs are mounting a challenge to Pennsylvania's Boyertown Area School District, which also permits students to use gender-segregated bathrooms and locker rooms of their choice.
"Such accommodation crosses a statutory and constitutional line when the District authorizes entry of one sex into the other sex’s privacy facilities," the complaint alleges.
Doe v. Boyertown represents the first time a case concerning transgender issues has reached a federal appeals court, meaning it will likely set crucial legal precedent on what protections trans and gender non-conforming people are entitled to under the law. The US Supreme Court has so far declined to hear cases surrounding access to gender-segregated facilities.
