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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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."

Read More

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.

Read More

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.

Read More

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?

Read More

$17 Million Awarded To Injured Woman At Walmart

A jury in West Virginia has returned a nearly $17 million verdict after a woman was injured when staffers tried to detain a shoplifter in Walmart.

A lawyer for 53-year-old Diane Ankrom says employees tried to detain the shoplifter when he ran into her shopping cart, in which she was pushing her granddaughter. Ankrom fell to the ground with the cart falling on top of her.

The jury found Walmart 30 percent responsible and the shoplifter 70 percent, though it's unclear how the money will be split.

Read More

Will Marijuana Become Legal Nationwide?

Titled the Marijuana Justice Act, the bill is being co-sponsored by other candidates seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, including Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand.

Sen. Cory Booker introduced a bill Thursday that would legalize marijuana nationwide.

“The War on Drugs has not been a war on drugs, it’s been a war on people, and disproportionately people of color and low-income individuals,” Booker said in a press release. “The Marijuana Justice Act seeks to reverse decades of this unfair, unjust, and failed policy by removing marijuana from the list of controlled substances and making it legal at the federal level.”

Source

In recent years, 10 states and Washington, D.C., have passed laws legalizing marijuana use for adults over the age of 21. A total of 33 states have passed laws legalizing the drug for medical use. But marijuana is still considered a Schedule 1 drug by the Drug Enforcement Agency, setting up an enforcement conflict between federal and state law enforcement agencies.

President Trump offered his support in February to a separate bill introduced by Warren and Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., which seeks to block the federal government from enforcing federal drug charges in states that have legalized the drug.

Fight Breaks Out Over Crab Legs

These must be some really good Crab Legs. I want to try this restaurant. Hungry patrons at a local buffet in Alabama took hungry to a new level when a fight broke out allegedly over crab legs.

The unexpected brawl went down at Meteor Buffet in Huntsville as diners were waiting to feast on a freshly boiled batch of crab legs.

Among the restaurant goers was Huntsville police officer Gerald Johnson, who recalled hearing yelling and tongs clashing as he was just about to dive into his meal.

Source

“They’d been waiting there for the crab legs for a good 10, 20 minutes. When they finally came out, it’s very heated. Especially if someone is taking more than their fair share.”

Jenkins, who was at the eatery with her children, has been charged with third-degree assault and Chapman has been charged with disorderly conduct.

General Motors To Layoff 4,ooo Employees

General Motors is planning to layoff at least 4,000 salaried workers in North America starting Monday ahead of the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report.

The reductions come as the largest U.S. automaker undergoes a massive restructuring announced by CEO Mary Barra in November. GM is halting production at five plants in North America and cutting 14,000 jobs as it realigns its workforce and plants to produce more electric vehicles.

Company executives want to complete as many of the layoffs as possible before the company reports its earnings Wednesday.

GM offered buyouts to 17,700 employees in North America with at least 12 years of service in November. The company was aiming for 8,000 voluntary buyouts, the company previously confirmed.

That leaves roughly 4,250 salaried workers and 6,000 hourly employees targeted for layoffs. The company said in November that half of the hourly workers were in Canada with the other half in the U.S.

The company has offered jobs to all 2,800 hourly workers affected in the U.S., and about 1,000 have accepted. The other 3,000 hourly workers located in Canada are getting help finding jobs and training.

Many of the cuts are planned at factories in the United States and Canada that make sedans and compact cars — vehicles that have not been selling well in North America, as customers turn toward trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers. These vehicles tend to be more profitable for automakers.

Source

Google+ Will Now Be Closing Its Doors

Now this is hurtful for some who use Google+ as one of primary ways of reaching out to people. For some people, Google+ is better than Facebook and Twitter when it comes to reaching out to a global market.

In December 2018, Google announced their decision to shut down Google+ for consumers. In April 2019, due to low usage and challenges involved in maintaining a successful product the company will be shutting down it's services.

On April 2nd, your Google+ account and any Google+ pages you created will be shut down and we will begin deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts.

Read More on Google Support

Photos and videos from Google+ in your Album Archive and your Google+ pages will also be deleted. Here is how you can download and save your content.

The process of deleting content from consumer Google+ accounts, Google+ Pages, and Album Archive will take a few months, and content may remain through this time. For example, users may still see parts of their Google+ account via activity log and some consumer Google+ content may remain visible to G Suite users until consumer Google+ is deleted.

As early as February 4th, you will no longer be able to create new Google+ profiles, pages, communities or events.

Half-naked Woman Caught Masturbating In Restaurant And Squad Car

I guess this lady was tired of all the guys hitting on her! The general manager of a JW Marriott Hotel reportedly notified staff members that he spotted Nickels “with her legs straight up in the air, spread open” and pleasuring herself with a silver object.

That manager told police “he could hear Nickels making moaning noises as if she was having an orgasm.” Police arrived on the scene where it appeared the 26-year-old woman was still getting it on.

Source: A Texas woman arrested for public masturbation

Police put Nickels in handcuffs and placed her in the back of a squad car, where she “began to repeatedly rub her groin back and forth on the plastic seat, moaning.” It was the arresting officers’ opinion that even without the use of her hands, Nickels was still trying to gratify herself.

Arresting officers did not recover the silver object reportedly seen by the hotel manager who first witnessed Nickels’ night out.

Man Does Doughnuts on Airport Before Being Arrested

Now this is how you go down in a bang. With the right move, this could plunged the young man into stardom if he know it or not.

A 20-year-old man has been arrested after ramming his car through a security fence at Pensacola International Airport in Florida, speeding down an active runway at around 100 mph, and then doing doughnuts with his vehicle.

Carlson drove his Ford Mustang from the runway to a grassy area, where he did doughnuts, before speeding into an open hangar, where he continued doing doughnuts until police arrived.

Source

Wood said that no air traffic was affected due to Carlson’s stunt, as no airlines were on the runway at the time.

Carlson was charged with criminal mischief and trespassing, though more charges may be added, Fox 10 reports. Authorities do not believe the man was under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They have also ruled out terrorism as a motive.

Minors Not Being Accepted At US Border

Now this is backwards, if anything we should be accepting the children with their parents first. The head of Mexico's immigration agency said Monday that his country won't accept migrants younger than 18 while they await the resolution of their U.S. asylum claims.

Mexican officials had previously said the United States expressed interest in extending the "remain in Mexico" policy to other border crossings. But Guillen said Mexico will accept only asylum seekers aged 18 to 60 at El Chaparral.

Mexico will accept migrants only from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and will give them four-month visas. Guillen said that since Dec. 1, Mexico has given 3,983 transit visas to Central Americans, most of whom hope to reach the United States.

Source

Mexico will also extend other work-visa programs to apply to more Mexican states and more Central American countries. U.S. authorities plan to bus asylum seekers back and forth to the border for court hearings in downtown San Diego, including an initial appearance within 45 days.

The U.S. has witnessed a surge in asylum claims, especially from Central American families. Due largely to a court-imposed 20-day limit on detaining children, families are typically released with a notice to appear in immigration court. With a backlog of more than 800,000 cases, it can take years to settle cases.

See More Mexico News Here

Video Game Sales Soared In 2018

It seems as if everyone in America is playing video games these days. Overall, consumers spent $43.4 billion last year, according to The NPD Group, which tracks retail sales of video game hardware and software. That’s an 18% increase over 2017.

The big winner for 2018, though, was Nintendo. While the company didn’t have the year’s best selling game (though Super Smash Bros. Ultimate came in at number five), strong catalog sales of existing titles along with new titles helped it become the highest software revenue generating publisher of the year. That’s the first time it’s held that title since 2009.

“2018 was another record setting year for the U.S. video game industry.” “Console, PC, and mobile platforms all saw significant growth, while developing portions of the market like subscription and streaming services gave us a peek into a future full of possibilities for the industry and gamers.”

Source

Caught With An Airplane Full Of Coke!

Smuggler have just been caught by police with a airplane full of cocaine. Airline crew member tried to smuggle $160,000 worth of cocaine in his pants, prosecutors say.

Facebook's WhatsApp Limits Text Forwards

Facebook Inc's WhatsApp messenger service is globally limiting the number of times a user can forward a message to five, in a bid to fight "misinformation and rumors".

"We're imposing a limit of five messages all over the world as of today," Victoria Grand, vice president for policy and communications at WhatsApp, said on Monday at an event in the Indonesian capital.

Previously, a WhatsApp user could forward a message to 20 individuals or groups. The five-recipient limit expands globally a measure WhatsApp put into place in India in July after the spread of rumors led to several killings there.

Netflix Prices Set To Rise

Prices for its popular standard plan, which allows streaming on two devices at the same time, will be increased to $12.99 per month from $10.99. The company's top-tier plan, which allows streaming on four screens in high definition, will be raised to $15.99 from $13.99 per month, while fee for its basic plan will rise to $8.99 from $7.99.

Netflix is raising monthly fees for its U.S. subscribers by between 13 percent and 18 percent, the video streaming pioneer's first price increase since 2017 as it spends heavily on original content and international expansion.

Time Warner Inc's HBO Now streaming service charges $14.99 per month, while Hulu's no-advertisements plan is priced at $11.99 per month.

Netflix has been pouring money to bolster its original content, which boasts award-winning shows such as "The Crown", "Black Mirror" and "Wild Wild Country", to fend off intensifying competition from players such as Amazon.com's Prime Video service and Hulu.

The company is expected to have a debt level of $8.33 billion in 2018, according to Daniel Morgan, senior portfolio manager at Synovus Trust Co, which owns 15,019 shares of Netflix.

"With Netflix frequently tapping the debt markets on several recent occasions, the price hike could help ease concerns with a growing deficit on free cash flow to fund a likely continued escalation in Netflix's content spending, which likely topped $13 billion in 2018."