Donald Trump has become the United States' president-elect. After an especially contentious election, which became closer than many had anticipated, Trump reached the necessary 240 electoral votes needed to pull off a surprise victory.
According to an Associated Press article, while Hilary Clinton spent month warning that "Trump was unfit and unqualified to be president," she was unable to sell many voters on her candidacy, while facing "questions about her honesty and trustworthiness."
Exit polls showed that while women supported Clinton over Trump by a double digit margin, men were "significantly more likely" to vote for Trump. The discrepancy between white, black and Hispanic voters was also significant: Trump was backed by more than half the white voters, while two-thirds of the Hispanic voters and 90 percent of black voters cast their ballots for Clinton.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press also reported that amendments for marijuana use, gun control, and minimum wage hikes were winners in the polls. Massachusetts, Nevada and California voters approved legalizing recreational use of marijuana, while Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas "voted to allow pot for medical purposes." Arizona voters rejected recreational use of marijuana.
Gun control was also on the ballot in California, Maine, Nevada and Washington state. In Maine, Colorado and Arizona, a minimum wage of $12 and hour was approved, to be implemented in phases by 2020. In Washington state, where the current minimum wage stands at $9.47 an hour, the new minimum wage of $13.50 an hour was approved. That also would be phased in by 2020. The current federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour.
To read the two AP stories in their entirety, click here and here.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Monday, September 5, 2016
USPS 'Boldly Launches' ‘Star Trek™’ Stamps
The United States Postal Service (USPS) dedicated the new Star Trek Forever stamps, "nearly 50 years to the day" of Star Trek's original airing. The September 2 first-day-of-issue ceremony of the three-day celebration was "expected to draw thousands of Star Trek fans," according to the USPS press release.
The stamps are sold in sheets of 20 stamps, and have four digital illustrations inspired by the iconic show. These include:
"The Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia against a gold background;
"The silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background;
"The silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background; and,
"The Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock’s iconic hand gesture) against a blue background."
The words "Space...the Final Frontier" appears at the bottom of the stamp sheet.
To view the press release, click here.
The stamps are sold in sheets of 20 stamps, and have four digital illustrations inspired by the iconic show. These include:
"The Starship Enterprise inside the outline of a Starfleet insignia against a gold background;
"The silhouette of a crewman in a transporter against a red background;
"The silhouette of the Enterprise from above against a green background; and,
"The Enterprise inside the outline of the Vulcan salute (Spock’s iconic hand gesture) against a blue background."
The words "Space...the Final Frontier" appears at the bottom of the stamp sheet.
To view the press release, click here.
Saturday, May 28, 2016
Fluoride Potentially Harmful To Thyroid, Body and Brain
Many of us think of fluoride as something occasionally put into water to protect our teeth. But there are potential risks from drinking fluoridated water, according an article in The Diabetic News.
In an article titled "Fluoride Risks to Diabetics, Kidney Patients and Thyroid Function", Dr. Mark Hyman stated, “[W]ater fluoridation can potentially harm thyroid function, the body and the brain.” He goes on to say that he supports "federal investigative hearings looking into why our cities and towns are allowed to continue to add fluoride to public water sources…”
The article goes on to state that “key national figures such as Erin Brockovich, Lois Gibbs, and Alveda King have called for Fluoridegate scandal hearings...”
Erin Brockovich is known for her fight against PG&E, as shown in the Julia Roberts movie titled Erin Brockovich. Lois Gibbs was instrumental in warning people living in Love Canal about the pollutants in the ground that was poisoning them. Alveda King is an activist, former Georgia state representative, and niece of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.
The article states that fluoridated water can be potentially harmful to certain groups, such as diabetics and patients with kidney disease.”
Daniel G. Stockin, MPH, who has worked to end fluoridation, said, “The National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences says that kidney patients, diabetics, seniors, and other groups are ‘susceptible subpopulations’ especially vulnerable to harm from ingested fluorides.”
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
In an article titled "Fluoride Risks to Diabetics, Kidney Patients and Thyroid Function", Dr. Mark Hyman stated, “[W]ater fluoridation can potentially harm thyroid function, the body and the brain.” He goes on to say that he supports "federal investigative hearings looking into why our cities and towns are allowed to continue to add fluoride to public water sources…”
The article goes on to state that “key national figures such as Erin Brockovich, Lois Gibbs, and Alveda King have called for Fluoridegate scandal hearings...”
Erin Brockovich is known for her fight against PG&E, as shown in the Julia Roberts movie titled Erin Brockovich. Lois Gibbs was instrumental in warning people living in Love Canal about the pollutants in the ground that was poisoning them. Alveda King is an activist, former Georgia state representative, and niece of the late Martin Luther King, Jr.
The article states that fluoridated water can be potentially harmful to certain groups, such as diabetics and patients with kidney disease.”
Daniel G. Stockin, MPH, who has worked to end fluoridation, said, “The National Research Council of the National Academies of Sciences says that kidney patients, diabetics, seniors, and other groups are ‘susceptible subpopulations’ especially vulnerable to harm from ingested fluorides.”
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
Monday, May 23, 2016
New Overtime Rules To Affect Florida Workplace
New overtimes rules unveiled by the U.S. Department of Labor will impact an estimated 331,000 Florida workers, according to an article in the Tampa Bay Times. That number is out of 4.2 million workers nationwide affected by the new ruling.
The rule "doubles the eligible salary threshold for overtime from $23,660 per year to $47,476." The article ("New Labor Department overtime rule expected to jolt Florida workplace") states that businesses will have until December to comply with the Department of Labor's ruling. Employees who have made $23,660 or less a year have qualified for time-and-a-half when working more than 40 hours a week. The ruling now makes it that employees making the higher amount or less will qualify.
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
The rule "doubles the eligible salary threshold for overtime from $23,660 per year to $47,476." The article ("New Labor Department overtime rule expected to jolt Florida workplace") states that businesses will have until December to comply with the Department of Labor's ruling. Employees who have made $23,660 or less a year have qualified for time-and-a-half when working more than 40 hours a week. The ruling now makes it that employees making the higher amount or less will qualify.
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
Saturday, April 9, 2016
Philip Scheffler, 'Guiding Force Behind 60 Minutes,' Dies at 85
Philip Scheffler, who began as a copy boy for "Douglas Edwards with the News" and later became CBS New's first television street reporter, died Thursday. He was 85.
Scheffler later became the executive editor of 60 Minutes, guiding it "for more than two decades," according to Jeff Fager, 60 Minutes' executive producer, TVNewser reports.
The New York Times article ("Longtime CBS News Executive Scheffler Dies") stated that Scheffler died at a Manhattan hospital. CBS News did not have a cause of death.
To read more, click here for the New York Times article, or here for TV Newser's article.
Scheffler later became the executive editor of 60 Minutes, guiding it "for more than two decades," according to Jeff Fager, 60 Minutes' executive producer, TVNewser reports.
The New York Times article ("Longtime CBS News Executive Scheffler Dies") stated that Scheffler died at a Manhattan hospital. CBS News did not have a cause of death.
To read more, click here for the New York Times article, or here for TV Newser's article.
Tuesday, March 29, 2016
FP&L Nuclear Plant Leak Threatening So. FL Drinking Water
A leak in Florida Power & Light's reactors at the Turkey Point nuclear plant has allowed polluted water to enter Biscayne Bay, according to a recent article in The New York Time.
The article ("Nuclear Plant Leak Threatens Drinking Water Wells in Florida"), published March 22, states, "A recent study commissioned by the county concluded that Turkey Point’s old cooling canal system was leaking polluted water into Biscayne Bay," thereby polluting surface water, along with the bay's "fragile ecosystem." It is also allowing "a large saltwater plume" to move towards wells supplying "drinking water to millions of residents in Miami and the Florida Keys."
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
The article ("Nuclear Plant Leak Threatens Drinking Water Wells in Florida"), published March 22, states, "A recent study commissioned by the county concluded that Turkey Point’s old cooling canal system was leaking polluted water into Biscayne Bay," thereby polluting surface water, along with the bay's "fragile ecosystem." It is also allowing "a large saltwater plume" to move towards wells supplying "drinking water to millions of residents in Miami and the Florida Keys."
To read the article in its entirety, click here.
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