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A woman from Los Angeles, who was a tree hugger, a liberal Democrat, and an anti-hunter, purchased a piece of timberland near Colville, WA . There was a large tree on one of the highest points in the tract. She wanted a good view of the natural splendor of her land so she started to climb the big tree. As she neared the top she encountered a spotted owl that attacked her. In her haste to escape, the woman slid down the tree to the ground and got many splinters in her crotch. In considerable pain, she hurried to a...

The Affordable Care Act (section 9010) created an annual fee on certain health insurance providers beginning in 2014. This is often referred to as the “HIT tax” or health insurer tax. The HIT tax was suspended for the 2017 calendar year but it will again be effective as of January 1, 2018. If you will have an insured group health plan in 2018, keep this in mind when you review 2018 rate quotes from health insurers. Here’s Why this is Important Some carriers have estimated that the HIT tax will be about 3% in 2018, although amounts will vary among...

Parents in Rocklin, California were horrified to discover that a teacher led a kindergarten-age classroom discussion on transgenderism that included introducing a five-year-old who was transitioning from male to female. Children at Rocklin Academy were subjected to readings from two storybooks about transgenderism. At some point, the teacher introduced a classmate who changed clothes for the big gender reveal. "These parents feel betrayed by the school district that they were not notified," Capitol Resource Institute's Karen England told CBS News in Sacramento. "The kindergartners came home very confused, about whether or not you can pick your gender, whether or not...

It’s been a bad season for veracity (witness our recent political campaigns!): Unfounded claims abound. Product pitches assault us with no tether to reality. Science is misappropriated for commercial gain.One example of such things: fruit and veggie pills that claim they can take the place of the whole foods you’re not including enough of in your diet.Don’t get me wrong: I think there’s value in certain plant-derived nutrient supplements. Before it sounds like I’m dismissing an entire group of products, you should know that there are a few categories where these substitutes for fresh produce can have benefits.For instance, there...

Despite that most web traffic today comes from smartphones and tablets, the mobile web remains inconveniently slow. Even on fast 4G networks, a page takes 14 seconds to load on average—an eternity in today's connected world. A team of computer science researchers at the University of Michigan and MIT has found a way to dramatically speed up the mobile web. Their new Vroom software prototype works by optimizing the end-to-end interaction between mobile devices and web servers. They tested the software on 100 popular news and sports websites, and they found that Vroom cut in half the median load time...

Full Title: Ex-Royal Marine and Iraq war hero is selling his medals to pay for four-year-old tot’s £200k treatment for rare cancer Veteran Matthew Goodman, 35, read about little Lottie Woods-John’s battle with neuroblastoma and decided to step in and help the family. Despite never meeting Lottie, the married father-of-one, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, felt touched by her fight and listed his three service medals on eBay. Matthew, a duty manager at a leisure centre, said: “When I came across Lottie’s campaign, I was heartbroken to read her battle against childhood cancer. “Her prognosis means she has 85 per cent chance...

A 19-year-old Carenage man, who was about to be declared dead at the PoS General Hospital on Sunday afternoon, stunned doctors when they discovered a weak pulse after a final examination and moved the teen to the intensive care unit where he remained warded up until yesterday. According to reports, Adolphus Birche of Abepoujade Street, Carenage was bathing with friends at Alcoa Carenage at about 2.30 pm on Sunday when he got into difficulties. Officers of the Carenage Police Station were alerted that a man was seen in distress in waters at Alcoa and police constables Benjamin and Williams were...

Daniel Begay, who is Navajo, had always been told growing up that traditional American Indian foods were good for him. But because most American Indians are lactose intolerant, "they aren't getting that same source of calcium from dairy products," Begay says. Turns out that it's a traditional cooking method that is key to his bone health. The Navajo burn juniper branches, collect the ash and stir it into traditional dishes. The most popular: blue corn mush. Begay, a graduate student at Northern Arizona University, analyzed the amount of calcium in 27 samples of juniper from all over the reservation. But...

An investor in Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems released a letter Monday it sent to CHS' board calling for the replacement of the company's board chairman and CEO Wayne Smith. In the letter dated Aug. 8, ASL Strategic Value says several missteps in recent years have led to the downfall of CHS, including the company's 2014 acquisition of Health Management Associates in Naples, Fla. "It is time for the board to exercise its fiduciary duty to the shareholders and replace the current CEO," states the letter from ASL. ASL also calls for the board to take back part of CHS'...

Man Gives CPR to His Tortoise By Petr Svab, Epoch Times | August 15, 2017 AT 4:05 PM Last Updated: August 15, 2017 4:07 pm John Fletcher just wasn’t ready to give up on his tortoise. After it apparently drowned, Fletcher maintained CPR for an hour, attempting to bring it back to life. Fletcher, of Gloucester, U.K., let his 45-year-old tortoise Freda roam his garden free. “The boundary is sealed from escape. Hedgehog gaps are too small for her,” he said in a Facebook post. But on Saturday morning, Aug. 12, he couldn’t find her anywhere for over an hour....

A handful of walnuts may be an effective weight loss tool. Walnuts are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and other substances and, in moderation, have been linked to reduced risk of obesity and diabetes. They may also efficiently reduce appetite. Researchers now may have found out why. They had nine hospitalized obese patients drink, on five consecutive days, either a smoothie containing 48 grams of walnuts (1.7 ounces, or about 14 walnut halves and 315 calories) or a placebo smoothie identical in taste and calorie content. Then, after a month on their regular diet, the patients returned for a second...

Doctors are doing fewer weight-loss procedures to implant adjustable bands around the stomach and more operations to remove the devices or alter them, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers focused on a type of weight-loss surgery known as laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, a minimally invasive procedure that involves placing an inflatable belt around the upper portion of the stomach that reduces the amount of food it can hold. People are advised to eat portions about the size of a shot glass post-surgery. Nationwide, a total of 28,202 patients underwent procedures to implant laparoscopic adjustable gastric bands (LAGB) from 2007 to 2015,...

THE COURT: The purpose of jury selection is to ensure fairness and impartiality in this case. If you think that you could not be fair and impartial, it is your duty to tell me. All right. Juror Number 1. JUROR NO. 1: I’m aware of the defendant and I hate him. BENJAMIN BRAFMAN [lawyer representing Shkreli]: I’m sorry. JUROR NO. 1: I think he’s a greedy little man. THE COURT: Jurors are obligated to decide the case based only on the evidence. Do you agree? JUROR NO. 1: I don’t know if I could. I wouldn’t want me on this...

Sticking to an anti-inflammatory diet isn’t easy. It involves cutting ties with gluten, dairy, and (of course) sugar. Sure, there are some amazing nut cheeses, but they aren’t typically what’s being cut into cubes and passed around on Bachelorette Mondays at your friend’s place. Good news: Scientists just endorsed a way for you to get your cheese fix while still sticking to your meal plan. According to Metro UK, a new study out of Korea found that the probiotics in Swiss cheese actually have the ability to reduce inflammation and strengthen your immune system. Is your mind-blown? A new study...

DETROIT (WWJ) – Would you like to lose weight, have more energy, better health? Then stop eating cheese. That’s according to Dr. Neal Barnard, who’s down on dairy. Barnard says while Americans seem to have a love affair with cheese, it’s more of an unhealthy addiction. He makes his case in his book “The Cheese Trap.” “I think it’s addicting; and I don’t use the addicting word lightly,” he told WWJ’s Dr. Deanna Lites. “There are actually opiate chemicals in it that attach to the very same brain receptors as other opiates, and I’m going to argue that it’s probably...

The US government should allow insurers to sell Pretty Good Quality (PGQ), Medicare-like policies with the federal government generally paying the percentages listed in parentheses of a person's maximum silver plan subsidy amount as premium subsidies. The monthly basic drug coverage subsidy would be computed without adjusting for household income, so young, healthy and affluent people would want to buy drug coverage too. The monthly basic drug coverage subsidy amount for coverage on a US citizen might be: $1 for each year of age less 20% if no recombinant auto-immune drug is covered less 10% if no standard anti-HIV regimen...

Lou Tomososki was a high school teen in 1962 when his science teacher told the class about a solar eclipse that was going to take place that afternoon, NBC affiliate KGW reported. Tomososki and a friend viewed the partial eclipse outside Marshall High School in Portland. "The sun at that time, at 3:30 p.m., was in the one o’clock position," said Tomososki. "I said to Roger, 'If you stare at it long enough the brightness goes away.'" By that night, both Tomososki and Roger were having vision problems. He said the vision problems never got any worse — but they...

You've planned your road trip, downloaded your science apps, and bought yourself a pair of shiny new spectacles: you're ready for the eclipse. But is your eyewear is up to the task? With the Great American Eclipse approaching, demand for eclipse glasses—with special lenses designed to keep the sun from harming your peepers—is surging. And counterfeit glasses are everywhere. In fact, Amazon is so swamped by reports of possibly unsafe glasses that the company is allegedly sending out recalls and refunds for products that are certified as eclipse-safe.

The decision by the Royal College of Midwives to withdraw its decade-long campaign for “normal birth” has come much too late for my own son, Joshua, who sadly died nine days after being born, but is a welcome step. The approach for too long influenced a style of care in maternity wards that put lives at risk. These were the words spoken by Cumbria coroner Ian Smith, as he began summing up the inquest into the death of Joshua, on 6 June 2011: “With advances in medical science and techniques, childbirth has become safer and safer, to the point where...

A Chinese couple sent their teenage son to an internet addiction treatment camp—and within days, he was dead. As the BBC reports, “boot camps” for internet and gaming addictions have become popular in China, with some being criticized as using harsh military-style discipline on attendees. Some even beat patients or use electroshock therapy. The 18-year-old who died earlier this month in Fuyang had been sent to a camp that promised “psychological counseling and physical training”; according to the Telegraph, the camp said no corporal punishment would be used. Two days after the teen was dropped off by his mother on...