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An Illinois woman is suing an Italian restaurant, claiming an order of lasagna left her with “mental anguish” when it exploded with “piping hot” marinara sauce and burned her as she dug into it. Theresa Thomas filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court, seeking $50,000 from Osteria Ottimo Ristorante in the suburb of Orland Park, the Chicago Tribune reported. The alleged marinara blow-up happened when Thomas and her husband were having lunch at the restaurant on Dec. 7 of this past year. “(Thomas) placed her left hand in her lap, picked up a fork with her right hand and touched...

The small intestine, where most vitamins and other micronutrients are digested and absorbed. Credit: Wikimedia Commons ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Although the vast majority of research on the gut microbiome has focused on bacteria in the large intestine, a new study—one of a few to concentrate on microbes in the upper gastrointestinal tract—shows how the typical calorie-dense western diet can induce expansion of microbes that promote the digestion and absorption of high-fat foods. Several studies have shown that these bacteria can multiply within 24 to 48 hours in the small bowel in response to consumption of high-fat foods. The findings from this...

OHIO -- An Ohio man has been arrested after police said he attacked a woman with a pizza pie. According to a police report, Kenneth Evans, 24, was arrested just before midnight Tuesday after Brookfield Township police were called to a home in Masury - southeast of Cleveland - in reference to a domestic violence call. When officers arrived, they saw tires in the street and could hear yelling from inside of the residence. Then, officers tried to enter but Evans slammed the door shut. He then announced that he was a police officer and "pushed the door open," ABC...

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump headed out to dinner on Saturday, April 7, for a stop at BLT Prime by David Burke inside Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Even if White House pool reporters may have been left in the dark as to President Trump’s goings and comings, social media users captured the below videos and photos of Melania and Donald sitting down at a booth at BLT Prime by David Burke, which is described as an eatery with “top-of-the-line steaks, seafood & fluffy popovers served in a luxurious hotel dining room.” Cheryl Bolen, a White...

President Donald Trump will reportedly host a private dinner for French President Emmanuel Macron at Mount Vernon, the colonial home of George Washington. The rare honor was reported Sunday by the French publication, Journal du Dimanche. "Donald Trump and his wife Melania will welcome Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron to Mount Vernon for a private dinner on the evening of their arrival in Washington on April 23," a translation of the report stated. "The American organizers of the French president's state visit to the United States wanted to be at the height of the reception at the Eiffel Tower where …...

An Oregon man on safari in Africa ended up in a closer-than-expected encounter with a cheetah that jumped into the back seat of the SUV. A video captured by Peter Heistein on the Grand Ruaha Safari in Tanzania shows safari-goer Britton Hayes sitting still inside the tour vehicle while the cheetah watches him from the seat behind him. The safari group said their attention had been on a cheetah that jumped on the hood of their vehicle when the second big cat surprised them by jumping into the back seat. "We started to notice the cheetahs became curious of the...

It is National Beer Day and we should all be celebrating with our favorite brew in hand. Why is today National Beer Day? In 1933, President Franklin Roosevelt signed a law that allowed people to brew and sell beer in the United States. This may not seem odd now, everybody and their aunt brews beer. But in 1933, this was the first step toward the end of prohibition. The law that Roosevelt signed on March 22 of that year was enacted on April 7...

Globalisation and increased movement between countries and continents means movement of agricultural pests is becoming more common. Global trade means global pests. Credit: CSIRO __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CSIRO scientists have confirmed the hybridisation of two of the world's major pest species, into a new and improved mega-pest. One of the pests, the cotton bollworm, is widespread in Africa, Asia and Europe and causes damage to over 100 crops, including corn, cotton, tomato and soybean. The damage and controlling the pest costs billions of dollars a year. It is extremely mobile and has developed resistance to all pesticides used against it. The other...

I believe we should abandon (officially denounce) trade treaties and go to a generally duty/barter-based system which would be updated from time to time by the Congress. Congress should try to steer global trade into a generally financially balanced system with some exemptions for consumer friendly producers. My proposal allows low-income countries to earn US dollars to pay for American drugs and other necessities. In brief: 1. financially balanced trade in motor vehicles and their parts, with cheap electric car exemptions until January 2024 2. US-only for building supplies, except lumber, plywood and natural stone 3. consumer electronics with exemptions...

Austria’s lower house of parliament voted on Thursday to scrap an impending ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, backing the coalition government despite opposition from health campaigners and opposition parties. The ban is due to come into effect in May and would bring Austria more into line with fellow European Union countries, many of which have far stricter smoke-free legislation, including Britain, Hungary and Bulgaria. More than half a million people in Austria have signed an official petition calling for the ban to go ahead, embarrassing the ruling coalition of conservatives and the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which has...

The biggest Chick-fil-A location in the world is now open in New York City. The new 12,000-square-foot franchise location had its grand opening on Thursday, drawing massive lines of people eager to satisfy their fast food craving and check out the behemoth, five-story restaurant. The new Chick-fil-A, located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District, features what the Georgia-based company called 'one of a kind design elements,' including seating for 140 people, an open-air rooftop dining area, floor-to-ceiling windows, two kitchens and a semi-private group meeting and dining space.

Often times you come across a tweet that directs you to read a “thread” on something or other, and it’s usually just meh. But not this time… This time, it’s pretty epic:

Beer Belly Did Not Shrink Even After Weight Loss However, Daly, a financial planner, thought that it was more than just a protruding belly when he lost 34 pounds after an open-heart surgery three years ago but his stomach did not shrink. He initially suspected that doctors left some stuffing and tools during the 2015 surgery. It turns out that the cause of his abnormally large abdomen is something else. The tumor was the size of a beach ball and weighed a whopping 30 pounds. It was liposarcoma,

A group of animal rights activists who protested outside of a Toronto restaurant known for serving game meat said they were shocked when they say the co-owner came out and carved up an animal leg in front of them.

WASHINGTON — Horse meat production won’t resume in the U.S. anytime soon, a victory for animal-rights advocates under the spending bill signed last week by President Donald Trump. The $1.3 trillion spending deal, which funds the government through September, renewed the country’s horse slaughter ban. Just months ago, animal-rights activists feared the ban could be in jeopardy. The measure includes language that prohibits the U.S. Department of Agriculture from spending money on inspecting horse slaughter facilities. Without inspections, horse slaughter plants can’t operate, so they’ll remain closed as they have for more than a decade. “I think we’re all kind...

PHOENIX — What's the difference between a Grade A egg and one that's labeled Grade AA? Pretty soon it could be as much as three weeks. The state Senate this week gave final approval to legislation that allows Grade A eggs to remain available for sale for up to 45 days after they were packed. That's nearly twice as long as currently permitted. In fact, the cartons for these eggs won't use terms like "sell by'' or "buy thru'' — the language in the current law. Instead they will be marked "best by'' or "use by.'' Consumers who want to...

I have fond memories of dying Easter eggs when I was a kid; today, the smell of vinegar will always take me back to the dining-room table of my childhood, and the PAAS egg-dying kits. Last week, I discovered a somewhat messier alternative technique that nevertheless results in a beautiful dyed egg: Shaving Cream Easter eggs (remember to only use shaving CREAM for this, not the gel): https://www.bhg.com/holidays/easter/eggs/shaving-cream-easter-eggs/In 1937, a General Connor wrote from West Point to Colonel Simon Bolivar Buckner of Kentucky - who was then at Fort Meade - a request for the latter’s famous Mint Julep recipe....

Antler animal rights protest, Toronto, Canada. (Image via Twitter.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Animal rights activists were in for a grisly surprise over the weekend when protesters in front of a popular Toronto restaurant were treated to a live demonstration on how to properly butcher the hind quarter of a deer. Chef Michael Hunter is co-owner of Antler, a restaurant that serves "local seasonal and wild foods" that are native to Canada, "such as bison, boar, rabbit, duck and deer." When vegan protesters returned to his restaurant for the fourth time in recent days with signs bearing messages like "animals are not ours...

Burials from a cave in Morocco have yielded the oldest human DNA evidence yet from Africa, offering new insight into Stone Age migrations. The DNA samples come from one of the most ancient cemeteries in the world, the Grotte des Pigeons, near the village of Taforalt in northeast Morocco. Beginning around 15,000 years ago, a culture of hunter-gatherers buried their dead with animal horns and other adornments inside this cave. Though burials were found as recently as 2006, archaeologists have been excavating the cave since the 1940s. The name 20th-century researchers gave to this culture —the Iberomaurusians—reflects the theory that...

Kickstarter project called “Slice of Sauce” wants to provide ketchup lovers a solution to one of life’s most pressing problems: messy, inconvenient ketchup. Slice of Sauce comes from Bo’s Fine Foods and takes a fruit-leather-like approach to ketchup. It’s shelf-stable and can reportedly last up to a year in your pantry. Slice of Sauce has already topped its Kickstarter funding goal of $15,000 with nearly a month left to go. A $10 pledge sends donors one package containing eight slices of ketchup....Donors should keep in mind that not all crowdfunding projects deliver on time and as promised. The Slice of Sauce concept raises a...