Arnold Schwarzenegger Gets Attacked In Africa

Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger was assaulted during a public appearance in South Africa on Saturday, but the 71-year-old appeared to quickly recover, saying, "I'm just glad the idiot didn't interrupt my Snapchat."

Video shows the former California governor standing and filming children at a sporting event in Johannesburg when a man makes a flying kick into his back. Schwarzenegger stumbles forward. The man is quickly grabbed by security. Off camera, a man shouts several times, "Help me."

The video shows Schwarzenegger smiling and shaking hands with bystanders shortly after but then walking out ringed by security.

Facebook Raises Minimum Wages For Employees

Facebook is increasing wages for its contract workers in the US, from janitors to content moderators.

On Monday, the Silicon Valley tech giant said that it will pay at least $22 per hour for content reviewers in the Bay Area, New York City, and Washington, DC; $20 per hour to those living in Seattle; and $18 per hour in all other metro areas in the United States.

Facebook has faced scrutiny over the pay and working conditions of its content moderators. An investigation from The Verge found that workers, who were being paid just $28,800 a year, faced intense working conditions and some developed PTSD.

The $520 billion company is also raising wages for US contract workers like cafeteria staff and janitors to a minimum of $20 per hour in San Francisco Bay Area, New York, and Washington, DC, and to $18 per hour in Seattle.

"In the years since, it's become clear that $15 per hour doesn't meet the cost of living in some of the places where we operate. After reviewing a number of factors including third-party guidelines, we're committing to a higher standard that better reflects local costs of living," the social media giant said in a blog post.

Walmart, the world's largest retailer and the largest US private sector employer, pays workers $11 an hour at entry-level, while Target said in April it would raise its US minimum wage to $13 an hour.

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Microsoft To Open Development Center In Africa

Microsoft will spend more than $100 million over the next five years to open its first development center in Africa and hire 500 people within four years.

Microsoft is also partnering with local universities to create a modern intelligent edge and cloud curriculum unique to Africa, with access to the Africa Development Centre provided to graduates.

Microsoft opened its first office in Africa nearly three decades ago. It also runs a program called Microsoft 4Afrika, which launched in 2013 and is “Microsoft’s business and market development engine on the continent.”

Microsoft became the first of the major cloud providers to provide local service to Africa when it brought its South African data centers online in March. The company said it expects demand for cloud computing services in Africa to triple over the next few years, and local cloud availability could spur a startup boom given the experimental possibilities afforded by cloud computing services.

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Free Next Day Delivery By Walmart

Walmart unveiled NextDay, a new initiative to offer more than 220,000 popular items for one-day delivery with a minimum order threshold of $35. Walmart is starting the program off in Las Vegas and Phoenix, with Southern California next up for expansion. Walmart plans to roll the program out gradually over the coming months and reach roughly 75 percent of the U.S. population this year, including 40 of the top 50 U.S. cities.

The timing is interesting as it comes less than three weeks after Amazon said it would spend $800 million in the second quarter alone to make one-day delivery the standard for its Prime fast-shipping program.

Walmart is on track to offer Grocery Pickup from 3,100 stores and same-day Grocery Delivery from 1,600 stores by the end of the year, which would cover approximately 80 percent and 50 percent of the U.S. population, respectively.

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Will Food Stamps Get A Ban On Junk Food?

Republicans are looking to ban Food Stamp users from being able to buy soda and candy. According to a study conducted on a US grocery retailer released by USDA in 2011, 20 cents of every dollar in food stamps was spent on candy, sugar, sweetened beverages, salty snacks, and desserts. 

 Now, governors in Maine, Tennessee, and Arkansas are looking to get the Trump Administration on board with the potential restriction of food stamp purchases. The Secretary of Agriculture under the Trump Administration has already given support for restructuring SNAP benefits for 44 million recipients.

Not everyone is in support of the potential regulation, as an executive director of the Cumberland County Food Security Council in Maine has spoken out against his governor's idea. 

The director said, "It seems very contradictory to, on one hand, limit people's access to foods that have negative nutrition content and then to limit access to information to support them to make better choices about nutrition."

Update:

Texas bill would ban food stamp recipients from buying junk food, soda

House Bill 4364, filed by Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain in March, would make food items such as candy and energy drinks ineligible to buy with food stamps.

The bill defines an energy drink as a beverage containing at least 65 milligrams of caffeine per eight fluid ounces and is advertised as "being specifically designed to provide metabolic stimulation or an increase to the consumer's mental or physical energy." Coffee or coffee-based beverages are not grouped in with this definition, according to the bill.

Sweetened beverages — meaning non-alcoholic drinks added with natural or artificial sweeteners such as soft drinks, fruits and vegetable juice and other flavored beverages — would also be included in the ban.

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Mississippi Flag Removed From New Jersey Park

Why is the Mississippi state flag such a big problem? Why is everything in America so racist? Gov. Phil Murphy has ordered the Mississippi state flag removed from a display that includes each of the 50 state flags and overlooks the Statue of Liberty.

On Saturday, Mississippi’s governor, Phil Bryant, said he’s disappointed in the decision and that his state’s voters should decide what is represented on their flag and what is not. Mississippians, who voted in a 2001 statewide election, chose to keep the flag.

Several Mississippi cities and counties and all eight of the state’s public universities have stopped flying it in recent years amid criticism that the battle emblem is a racist reminder of slavery and segregation. Supporters of the flag say it represents history.

PayPal To Invest $500 Million Into Uber

PayPal Holdings Inc. has agreed to purchase $500 million of Uber’s stock at the IPO price in a private placement. PayPal has supported San Francisco-based Uber’s payment capabilities since 2013 and is the company’s lead payment-processing partner in the U.S. and Australia. 

This new investment is part of a deal to extend the companies’ global partnership to explore future payment collaborations, including the development of a digital wallet for Uber, according to a PayPal spokesperson.

Superapps are applications where customers go for a range of services, such as transportation, shopping and payments. Such companies can be much more lucrative than those that offer just one core business or service.

Uber is expected to tell investors it will seek to be valued at between $80 billion and $90 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

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$11M in Bogus Championship Rings Seized from China

According to TMZ, U.S. Customs and Border Protection were able to intercept a shipment at JFK Airport in New York City from China containing $11.7 million in phony championship/team rings. The 177-ring shipment roughly breaks down to $66,000 per ring. Some of the teams that were represented in the bogus batch of jewelry included New York Yankees, New England Patriots, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Eagles among others. 

The CBP New York field office director Troy Miller noted: “This most recent interception of counterfeit sports rings demonstrates the ongoing vigilance and commitment to the mission by our CBP Officers and Import Specialists.”

Former Peru President Alan Garci­a Kills Himself

Former Peruvian President Alan García shot himself in the head and died Wednesday moments after police arrived at his home to arrest him on corruption allegations in Latin America's largest graft probe.

President Martin Vizcarra announced the death on Twitter, saying that doctors in the capital city of Lima performed emergency surgery and tried three times to resuscitate Garcia.

Police found García on the second floor of his home, a leafy mansion in the city's Miraflores district. He asked for a moment to call his lawyer, entered a bedroom and closed the door behind him, Interior Minister Carlos Morán said.

Prosecutors suspect the former president received more than $100,000 from Odebrecht, disguised as a payment to speak at a conference in Brazil.

García repeatedly professed his innocence and said he was the victim of false testimony by political enemies who accused him of taking more than $100,000 from the company. Odebrecht admitted in a 2016 plea agreement with the U.S. Justice Department that it paid nearly $800 million throughout Latin America in exchange for lucrative public works contracts.

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$680 Million Donated To Restore Notre Dame

France’s leading billionaires and companies have rallied to pledge $670 million (€600 million) to restore Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral following a devastating fire.

“This tragedy is striking all the French people, and beyond that, all those attached to spiritual values,” Francois-Henri Pinault said in a statement. “Faced with this tragedy, everyone wishes to give life back to this jewel of our heritage as soon as possible.”

Francois Pinault, announced on Tuesday they would donate $113 million (€100 million) via their family investment company, Artemis. The Arnault family, owners of luxury goods group LVMH, also pledged $226 million (€200 million) after French President Emmanuel Macron called for donations to rebuild the French national icon.

Billionaire Governor Jim Justice Under Investigation

Courts have ordered the coal tycoon to pay more than $10 million in civil judgments just since 2016 and he faces another $60 million in a civil case over coal mine royalties.

There’s a big difference between civil suits and criminal prosecutions—which can get you put in jail. That’s why this week’s revelation that Governor Justice is a subject of a subpoena by the public integrity section of the criminal division of the Department of Justice is potentially a big deal.

It’s important to note that there has been no indictment. What could investigators be looking for?

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Google Starts Drone Deliveries

A Google-linked firm will start delivering takeaways and other small items to Canberra residents after the company received approval from aviation watchdogs in Australia.

"We have approved Wing Aviation Pty Ltd to operate ongoing delivery drone operations in North Canberra," the Civil Aviation Safety Authority said on Tuesday.

About 3,000 deliveries were made, allowing regulators to judge the project was safe, leading to the first commercial approval in Australia and one of the first anywhere in the world.

Winged drones will only be allowed to fly 11-12 hours a day and they must be piloted, rather than fully automated. The initial area of operations is only about 100 homes, but that is expected to expand quickly.

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Illinois Raises Smoking Age To 21

HB 345 takes effect July 1. It aims to reduce tobacco use among teens and young adults by preventing them from starting, said Pritzker and state lawmakers who attended Sunday’s bill signing.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation on Sunday that raises the legal age for purchasing cigarettes, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21.

Statistics show that most smokers start as teenagers, and the younger they are when they start, the more likely they’ll become addicted. Illinois joins a growing list of states and municipalities adopting “Tobacco 21” policies, as vaping among teens is on the rise.

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Asteroid Rips Itself Apart

Astronomers noticed that a well-known asteroid that orbits the sun way out past Mars had sprouted a long, comet-like tail. Data from the Hubble Telescope reveals that something has set 6478 Gault off kilter and it’s self-destructing, spinning itself into pieces.

“Even a tiny disturbance, like a small impact from a pebble, might have triggered the recent outbursts.” University of Hawaii astronomer Jan Kleyna, who led the research into Gault’s new tail, said.

Gault has fallen victim to the YORP effect, in which sunlight hitting the asteroid heats its surface, causing a shift in the asteroid’s momentum.

Sometimes, as the astronomers suspect is the case with Gault, this momentum can speed up the asteroid’s spin to the point that it begins to disintegrate.

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New Planet Discovered By NASA

Astronomers studying the stars teamed up with astronomers looking for new planets which led to the discovery of another planet. It is the first planet to be identified through TESS.

Studying the star's oscillations did not just provide its age and essential characteristics, but this also allowed scientists to discover that TOI-197.01 has a radius nine times compared to Earth's.

The primary objective of TESS is to look for planets outside our solar system and possibly provide more leads to help discover alien life. This makes it easier for astronomers to follow up on any findings via other space and ground technologies.

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Walgreens Will Now Be Selling CBD Products

Well I guess now Walgreens will be joining others in the push for marijuana legalization as they will now be selling CBD products over their shelves.

Walgreens will sell CBD creams, patches and sprays in nearly 1,500 stores in select states. The drugstore chain will sell the cannabis-based products in Oregon, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Vermont, South Carolina, Illinois and Indiana.

Rival drugstore chain CVS introduced CBD-containing tropicals, including creams and salves, to stores in eight states earlier in March. As the non-psychoactive cannabis compound becomes one of the hottest ingredients in consumer products.

Also See: Facts About CBD

Florida Legalizes Smoking Medical Marijuana

The legalization of recreational marijuana in Florida will likely be on the ballot in upcoming elections, where it's been assumed that it will likely pass over the next few years. It should be noted that ten US states and the District of Columbia already allow recreational sales of marijuana, while 34 states have authorized medical marijuana use.

The new law allows patients to receive 2.5 ounces of whole flower cannabis every 35 days, while patients under the age of 18 can smoke medical marijuana if they have a terminal condition and get a second opinion from a pediatrician.

"Over 70 percent of Florida voters approved medical marijuana in 2016," DeSantis said in a statement. "I thank my colleagues in the Legislature for working with me to ensure the will of the voters is upheld. Now that we have honored our duty to find a legislative solution, I have honored my commitment and filed a joint motion to dismiss the state's appeal and to vacate the lower court decision which had held the prior law to be unconstitutional."

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Disney Acquire Fox in $71.3 Billion Deal

It seems as if Disney will be challenging Netflix with gaining ground in the streaming world. In a deal that will have a seismic effect on entertainment and television, Disney has finally completed negotiations to acquire Fox.

The deal is worth a reported $71.3 billion with assets such as Fox film and TV studios, National Geographic, FX Networks, a number of international channels, and a third of Hulu. In addition, Disney also acquired the rights to such film franchises such as  X-Men, Deadpool, The Fantastic Four, and Avatar.

Fox will function as a standalone corporation which will continue to oversee the broadcasting channel as well as Fox News and Fox Sports. It is being reported that 4,000 layoffs could be imminent as the companies finalize the consolidation.

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Facebook Loses Its Top Executives

Could this signal more trouble for Facebook? Two of Facebook’s top executives — one regarded as the company’s No. 3, and the other the head of its WhatsApp messaging service — are leaving after disagreements with Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, over the social network’s future direction.

The change is a substantial shift for Facebook, which has traditionally encouraged people to publicly share posts, videos and photos.

Executives at Facebook who had run the various services were concerned that knitting together the apps would take a toll on the popularity and growth of their individual products, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. And with Mr. Zuckerberg exerting more control, the executives were also fearful of losing autonomy and power.

Now, Mr. Zuckerberg is barreling ahead with his shift to focus Facebook on private messaging and away from public broadcasting, even if it means shedding some of his top lieutenants.

The departures add to the executive turnover at Facebook, which for years had been stable in its top ranks. Mr. Zuckerberg kept close many key executives, including his chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, as well as Mr. Cox and others.

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Could Airpods And Other Wireless Headphones Pose Cancer Risk

Those who use wireless headphones such as Apple AirPods are being warned of possible cancer risks due to the Bluetooth technology.

By now, you've seen the alarmist headlines claiming that wireless headsets, like Apple AirPods, could potentially cause cancer. But does this "news" mean you should ditch those beloved bluetooth headphones for old school ear buds?

“My concern for AirPods is that their placement in the ear canal exposes tissues in the head to relatively high levels of radio-frequency radiation,” he said. Phillips told the website that risks include abnormal cell functioning, which may cause tumors or other health conditions.

Although most experts agree that there is no safe level of radiation, it's simply not possible to avoid exposure. That's because radiation is in our food, plants, airplane travel, and even the sun. The bigger question, then, is how much do you willingly want to expose yourself to radiation?

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