Today's News: April 22, 2019

World News
Sri Lanka attacks: More than 200 killed as churches and hotels targeted
BBC – At least 207 people have been killed and 450 hurt in explosions at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, police say.
Eight blasts were reported, including at three churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo’s Kochchikade district during Easter services.
The Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand luxury hotels, all in the capital, were also targeted.
A curfew has been put in place “until further notice” and social media networks have been temporarily blocked.
It remains unclear who carried out the attacks, but reports say 13 people have so far been arrested.
Late on Sunday, the country’s air force said an improvised explosive device had been found, and disposed of, close to Colombo’s main airport.
“A PVC pipe which was six feet in length containing explosives in it was discovered,” spokesman Gihan Seneviratne told local media.
It comes as the country’s prime minister admitted there may have been prior intelligence about the attacks.
Officials says 36 foreign nationals are thought to be among the dead, including 25 yet to be identified.
Updates:
>> Sri Lankan Police Detain 5 More People in Connection With Blasts – Reports
>> Sri Lanka announces nationwide emergency
‘Intelligence failure’: Sri Lankan govt too focused on past, not ready for new threats – analysts
RT – The island nation that once survived a bloody, decades-long civil war against a secessionist ethnic militant group known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been apparently caught off guard by coordinated attacks, whose orchestrators are yet to be identified. Even though, following years of conflict, Sri Lanka had strong military and experienced intelligence, it was still apparently unable to adequately assess emerging threats, the analysts believe.
Smruti Pattanaik, a south Asia policy and security analyst told RT that the attacks essentially came as a result of an “intelligence failure.”
“Sri Lankan armed forces has very efficient system of gathering intelligence. Though they focused more on gathering intelligence on Tamil minority based on their anticipation of revival of militancy by Tamil youths, they did not focus on other sources of terrorism,” Pattanaik, who is a research fellow at the Indian Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, said.
The fact that these attacks successfully targeted five star hotels located in Sri Lanka’s commercial capital, which are expected to be well-guarded, shows that security of “these areas could still be breached,” she noted.
Even though, the Tamil separatists were defeated almost a decade ago, back in 2009, as a result of a government military campaign, the Sri Lankan security services were apparently still seeing them as a major security threat – partially because little has been done to resolve the political issues that provoked the decades-long conflict in the first place, Pattanaik explained.
Focused on the potential resurgence of the Tamil separatism, the Sri Lankan security services apparently lost sight of another threat pervading the nation, Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, a distinguished fellow and the head of the Nuclear and Space Policy Initiative at the Observer Research Foundation, believes.
“Sri Lanka has been coming under Wahhabi influence for a while now,” she told RT. Although the Muslim population is one of the smallest minorities in the 22-million nation, it might have come under influence of the ultraconservative Islamic ideas that are particularly spread by Saudi Arabia, which has recently increased its presence in Sri Lanka by funding some projects, the analyst explained.
Theresa May to face grassroots no-confidence challenge
BBC – Prime Minister Theresa May is to face an unprecedented no-confidence challenge – from Conservative grassroots campaigners.
More than 70 local association chiefs – angry at her handling of Brexit – have called for an extraordinary general meeting to discuss her leadership.
A non-binding vote will be held at that National Conservative Convention EGM.
Dinah Glover, chairwoman of the London East Area Conservatives, said there was “despair in the party”.
She told the BBC: “I’m afraid the prime minister is conducting negotiations in such a way that the party does not approve.”
The Conservative Party’s 800 highest-ranking officers, including those chairing the local associations, will take part in the vote.
U.S. will not reissue waivers for Iran oil imports: White House
Reuters – U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to eliminate all waivers issued to eight economies allowing them to buy Iranian oil without facing U.S. sanctions, the White House said on Monday, while vowing to ensure global oil market was well supplied.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to make an announcement on Monday detailing the decision.
Thousands Of People In Sweden Are Embedding Microchips Under Their Skin To Replace ID Cards
Healthy Holistic Living – In 2017, Swedish tech company Epicenter announced about 150 employees agreed to have a microchip inserted in their hands. Epicenter and a handful of other companies are the first to make chip implants broadly available. In fact, they’ve become so popular that there are monthly events where people can opt-in to get chipped for free! (1)
‘Biohacking’
‘Biohacking’ is a term referring to the modification of the human body via technology. It has become more popular in recent years, with revolutions in technology taking us places we only ever saw on TV and in movies. Subdermal microchips themselves, however, aren’t new technology. We’ve been using them for pets, for example, since at least the 1990s. These microchips are inserted between the shoulder blades and carry information such as the name, phone number, and address of the owner. They help identify the pet and increase the likelihood of them being returned to their owners if they get lost or stolen. Additionally, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved RFID (radio-frequency identification) tags for human implants in 2004. It’s only now that more people are aware of their existence and that ‘biohackers’ are increasingly turning to them. The small implants use near field communication (NFC) technology, just like contactless credit cards or mobile payments. With people becoming increasingly interested in ‘the Internet of Things’ it’s no wonder that we’re looking to microchips as the next big thing. The ‘Internet of Things’ is a catchall term for controlling everyday devices like lightbulbs and thermostats via the internet.
Microchip of Convenience.
‘The biggest benefit I think is the convenience,’ said Patrick Mesterton, co-founder, and CEO of Epicenter. ‘It basically replaces a lot of things you have, other communication devices, whether it be credit cards or keys.’ Imagine being able to get in your car without having to worry about making sure you had car keys with you. Being able to get back into your home with a wave of your hand. It sounds incredible, but would it necessarily be worth the risk?
Shocking moment drive-by gunman on motorbike shoots boy, 16, stood with friends outside south London chicken shop while bullets fly into restaurant and nearly hit diner and worker
Note from George Freund: MODEL GUN CONTROL. WHEN GUNS ARE OUTLAWED ONLY OUTLAWS WILL HAVE GUNS.
Daily Mail – This is the shocking moment a 16-year-old boy was gunned down outside a chicken shop by a motorbike driver in south London last night.
The teenager is fighting for his life in hospital following the drive-by shooting in front of the Tasty Chicken restaurant in Tooting at 9.45pm.
CCTV footage shows the victim standing outside the shop the with a group of friends waiting for their food, before a bike pulls up and shots are fired into the crowd.
Assange arrest shows Moreno is ‘CIA asset,’ turning Ecuador into ‘vassal’ – former FM
RT – The decision of Ecuador’s government to terminate Julian Assange’s asylum is “savagery” and has heavily damaged the dignity of the county, which caved in to the US as if it was its “vassal,” former FM Ricardo Patino told RT.
The former official, who is a vocal supporter of the WikiLeaks co-founder, believes the arrest of Assange has greatly damaged the image of Ecuador, its constitution, as well as the international law as a whole.
“This is an insult to the dignity of our country, it is lawlessness – to allow the British police to enter our embassy and pull out the person we gave asylum to. And according to our constitution and international agreements it is forbidden to extradite him, this is called the principle of non-refoulement,” Patino told RT Spanish in an exclusive interview.
Aside from that, he said Assange still holds Ecuadorian citizenship (currently “suspended” by the government). The country’s laws explicitly prohibit handing over its citizens to be persecuted under foreign laws, Patino noted. The amount of violations is “savagery from a legal point of view,” and Patino says it has clearly shown the country’s president – Lenin Moreno – surrendered to the US “as a vassal.”
Patino then accused the incumbent president of being a puppet of the CIA, tasked with destroying the legacy of his socialist predecessors.
“All that Moreno does is an attempt to completely destroy what we have built. Undoubtedly, it was planned and it was planned with the CIA involvement. He is not smart enough to come up with something like this, so it is staged by the US Embassy,” Patino claimed, adding that a CIA representative frequents presidential and government meetings, telling Ecuadorian leadership what to do.
Landslide victory: Early Ukraine election results show Zelensky’s near 50-point lead over Poroshenko
RT – Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has secured an impressive victory against incumbent president Petro Poroshenko in Sunday’s run-off, the first official results confirm.
The 41-year-old showman secured over 73 percent of the vote, the Central Election Commission’s latest data shows, with 75 percent of the ballots counted. Poroshenko only managed to rake up a bit over 24 percent of support in the second round of the presidential race, as Ukrainians overwhelmingly turned away from his policies, which have perpetuated the war in Donbass and plunged millions into poverty.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
Armed border militia member accused of detaining migrants arrested in New Mexico
Fox – A New Mexico man belonging to a militia group accused of detaining migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border at gunpoint was arrested Saturday on charges of firearms possession by a felon, authorities said.
Larry Mitchell Hopkins, 69, was arrested in the border community of Sunland Park with the help of local authorities, the FBI said in a statement. Hopkins was a member of the group holding migrants in the area, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas said in a separate statement.
Hopkins “is a dangerous felon who should not have weapons around children and families. Today’s arrest by the FBI indicates clearly that the rule of law should be in the hands of trained law enforcement officials, not armed vigilantes,” Balderas said.
The militia group, which calls itself the United Constitutional Patriots, earlier this week posted several videos to social media showing armed civilians detaining large groups of Central American families in New Mexico. One video showed the group holding about 200 asylum-seeking migrants at gunpoint until U.S. Border Patrol agents arrived, The New York Times reported.
Oregon to Become First State to Mandate Universal Home Visits of All Families with Newborn Children
Health Impact News – Oregon Governor Kate Brown has submitted her 2-year budget proposal to the Oregon state legislature, and it includes several health initiatives aimed at children’s behavioral (mental) health under the oversight of the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon’s Coordinated Care Organizations, a “uniquely Oregon approach to blending a wide array of health services under one umbrella.”
One of the key pieces of Governor Brown’s legislation is:
the beginning investment in a six-year program to create universal home visits for new parents. (Source.)
The Beaverton Valley Times interviewed Patrick Allen, the director of the Oregon Health Authority, who reportedly expressed excitement at the prospect of requiring home visits of all new parents, including adoptive parents:
When the program is complete, every new parent — this includes adoptions — would receive a series of two or three visits by someone like a nurse or other health care practitioner.
The visits could include basic health screenings for babies; hooking parents up with primary care physicians; linking them to other services; and coordinating the myriad childhood immunizations that babies need. (Emphasis added.)
Allen made it clear that they were targeting all children, not just troubled families:
“This isn’t something for people in trouble. This is stuff all kids need.” Allen said.
The state of Oregon sees about 40,000 births per year, and the universal home visit program has apparently already been piloted in Lincoln County.
Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit
NY Times – At worst, Hillary Transue thought she might get a stern lecture when she appeared before a judge for building a spoof MySpace page mocking the assistant principal at her high school in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. She was a stellar student who had never been in trouble, and the page stated clearly at the bottom that it was just a joke.
Instead, the judge sentenced her to three months at a juvenile detention center on a charge of harassment.
She was handcuffed and taken away as her stunned parents stood by.
“I felt like I had been thrown into some surreal sort of nightmare,” said Hillary, 17, who was sentenced in 2007. “All I wanted to know was how this could be fair and why the judge would do such a thing.”
The answers became a bit clearer on Thursday as the judge, Mark A. Ciavarella Jr., and a colleague, Michael T. Conahan, appeared in federal court in Scranton, Pa., to plead guilty to wire fraud and income tax fraud for taking more than $2.6 million in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers run by PA Child Care and a sister company, Western PA Child Care.
While prosecutors say that Judge Conahan, 56, secured contracts for the two centers to house juvenile offenders, Judge Ciavarella, 58, was the one who carried out the sentencing to keep the centers filled.
“In my entire career, I’ve never heard of anything remotely approaching this,” said Senior Judge Arthur E. Grim, who was appointed by the State Supreme Court this week to determine what should be done with the estimated 5,000 juveniles who have been sentenced by Judge Ciavarella since the scheme started in 2003. Many of them were first-time offenders and some remain in detention.
The case has shocked Luzerne County, an area in northeastern Pennsylvania that has been battered by a loss of industrial jobs and the closing of most of its anthracite coal mines.
And it raised concerns about whether juveniles should be required to have counsel either before or during their appearances in court and whether juvenile courts should be open to the public or child advocates.
Report shows 239 people sickened in Utah fluoride overfeed; investigation continuing
KSL – A state-required report documenting the health impacts of an accidental release of fluoride concentrate in Sandy said there were 239 cases of human exposure in which people experienced gastrointestinal symptoms such as vomiting and headaches.
That number is substantially higher than early reports of the Feb. 5 incident, which sent undiluted hydrofluorosilicic acid from a malfunctioning pump into part of the city’s drinking water system, affecting 1,500 households, schools and businesses.
The concentrate in its undiluted form is classified as a hazardous, poisonous material that, while it contains fluoride, also contains arsenic, lead, copper, manganese, iron and aluminum. It is a byproduct from phosphate mining operations.
Fluoride was detected at 40 times the federal limit after the release, and two weeks of free blood testing for lead showed one person with elevated levels, according to Salt Lake County health officials.
The release happened as a result of a power surge during a snowstorm.
Pelosi undermines Trump abroad on US-UK trade deal, says ‘no chance’ if Brexit hurts Irish peace accord
Fox – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, speaking on foreign soil Wednesday, created some domestic tensions over President Trump’s call for a U.S.-U.K. trade deal should Britain leave the European Union — telling the Irish Parliament that such a deal stands “no chance” if Brexit hurts the 1998 Irish peace accords.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we must ensure that nothing happens in Brexit discussions that imperils the Good Friday accord – including, but not limited to, the seamless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland,” she told the Irish Parliament.
“Let me be clear: if the Brexit deal undermines the Good Friday accords, there will be no chance of a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement,” said Pelosi, D-Calif., who is in the country as part of a U.S. delegation.
Pelosi’s reference to the Good Friday agreement refers to a complex issue related to Britain’s departure from the bloc, and how to reconcile trade between Northern Ireland (part of the U.K. and therefore leaving the bloc) and the independent Ireland (which would be staying in the E.U.) without the formation of a “hard border” between the two. The Good Friday Agreement brought an end to “The Troubles” that dogged Ireland for decades, and brought closer cooperation between Ireland and Northern Ireland — including allowing people in Northern Ireland to identify as Irish, British or both.
Trump, businesses sue Oversight chairman to block subpoena for financial records
The Hill – President Trump and his private business are suing House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) to try to block a subpoena requesting financial records from the president’s accountant.
The lawsuit, which was filed Monday, asks a federal court in Washington, D.C., to prevent Cummings from obtaining records from Mazars USA, an accounting firm used by the president and his businesses, arguing congressional Democrats are abusing their subpoena power.
“Democrats are using their new control of congressional committees to investigate every aspect of President Trump’s personal finances, businesses, and even his family,” the suit reads. “Instead of working with the president to pass bipartisan legislation that would actually benefit Americans, House Democrats are singularly obsessed with finding something they can use to damage the President politically.”
The filing escalates the legal and political battle between Trump and House Democrats over their sweeping investigations into the president’s administration, campaign and businesses.
Army and Air Force draft new combined ‘war attack plan’
Fox – The Army and the Air Force are crafting a new combined air-ground combat attack strategy to improve warfare networks, perform long-range sensing of targets, strike enemies more effectively and strengthen defenses across multiple domains in real-time.
The Army-Air Force collaboration, called “Multi-Domain Operations,” has included in-depth joint-service wargames; it is ultimately aimed at developing new doctrine, service leaders explained.
A new Army-Air Force collaborative war strategy is, broadly speaking, discussed in terms of being a modern, or new iteration of the Cold War-era “AirLand Battle” strategy.
AirLand Battle, which envisioned air-ground warfare synergy to counter a Soviet threat on the European continent, was intended to provide air cover for advancing land attack units confronting a larger Soviet Army.
Flying in close proximity land forces, air assets were intended to attack advancing ground units, weaken supply lines or destroy troop fortifications, clearing the way for offensive operations. While these objectives are of course still important, the currently emerging Air-Land cross-domain doctrine is based upon the reality that modern air and ground forces are more dispersed – and therefore more threatening. Ground forces are now more vulnerable to longer-range air and missile strikes, drone attacks and guided weapons able to strike from high-altitudes.
Supreme Court to take up LGBT job discrimination cases
Fox – The Supreme Court will decide whether the main federal civil rights law that prohibits employment discrimination applies to LGBT people.
The justices say Monday they will hear cases involving people who claim they were fired because of their sexual orientation. Another case involves a funeral home employee who was fired after disclosing that she was transitioning from male to female and dressed as a woman.
The cases will be argued in the fall, with decisions likely by June 2020 in the middle of the presidential election campaign.
Economy & Business
Even Saudi Arabia Threatens to Ditch Dollar for Oil Trade Over US Bullying Policies
Telesur – The U.S. traditional ally will stop using dollars if the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC) is approved.
Saudi Arabia threatens to sell oil in currencies other than the dollar if Washington passes a bill exposing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to U.S. antitrust lawsuits.
The U.S. traditional ally will stop using dollars if the No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act (NOPEC) is approved.
Saudi Arabia threatens to sell oil in currencies other than the dollar if Washington passes a bill exposing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to U.S. antitrust lawsuits.
Russia, China and some European countries have been calling for reducing the dollar’s influence in international trade. If this happens, the U.S. would lose a significant part of its ability to control both the world economy and its own growth.
Due to President Trump’s aggressive foreign policy, however, Russia, Venezuela and Iran, all of which are being placed under harsh U.s. economic sanctions have been selling their oil in Euros, Yuans or other traditional or virtual currencies.
China’s newest oil hotspot is in America’s backyard
RT – China is ramping up its oil drilling initiative in Cuban waters, using cutting-edge technology to reach deposits that Cubans couldn’t touch.
Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday that an affiliate of Chinese oil major CNPC, Great Wall Drilling, was drilling for oil off Cuba’s coast as part of a joint venture with state-owned oil firm Cuba Petroleum Company (CUPET).
“Our deposits extend out to sea, so increasingly, wells are longer and to reach them we need cutting-edge technology that we have accessed through the Great Wall Company,” Julio Jimenez, CUPET’s director of drilling, told Xinhua.
Home sales fall 4.9%; Slow start to spring season
Fox – Sales of existing U.S. homes fell in March after a huge gain the previous month, held back partly by a sharp slowdown among the most expensive properties.
The National Association of Realtors said Monday that home sales fell 4.9% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.21 million, down from 5.48 million in February. The drop followed an 11.2% gain the previous month, the largest in more than three years.
Home sales are struggling to rebound after slumping in the second half of last year, when a jump in mortgage rates to nearly 5% discouraged many would-be buyers.
Realtors expect sales to rebound in coming months. Borrowing costs have since fallen back to an average of 4.2% on a 30-year fixed mortgage. And solid hiring is pushing employers to pay higher wages, making it easier for more Americans to afford a home purchase.
Applications for mortgages to purchase homes have been running at a healthy pace in recent months, evidence that final sales should pick up in the coming months. Demand remains strong, with homes on the market for an average of 36 days in March, down from 44 in February.
Oil hits 2019 high on U.S. plan to tighten squeeze on Iran
Reuters – Oil topped $74 a barrel on Monday, the highest since November, as the United States announced a further clampdown on Iranian oil exports, raising concern of tighter global supplies.
Energy & Environment
Bananas could face extinction due to spread of deadly fungus
Independent – One of the most widely consumed fruits, bananas are popular for good reason. Not only do they taste great but they’re also high in potassium, contain protein and can even help lower blood pressure.
However, the resurgence of a deadly fungus could mean we soon face losing them altogether.
For decades, the most-exported banana in the world was the Gros Michel, but in the 1950s a fungus known as Panama disease or banana wilt almost completely wiped them out.
In its place, banana growers turned to another breed that was immune to the disease, the Cavendish, which now accounts for 99 per cent of banana exports.
Now though, the much-loved fruit is once again under threat.
Returning under a different name, Tropical Race 4 (TR4), the fungus has come back and is said to be even more deadly than that which wiped out the Gros Michel, as it also affects numerous local breeds of banana around the world.
“It’s caused by a really common type of fungus called Fusarium, which was probably already in the soil there. A single clamp of contaminated dirt is enough to spread it like wildfire, and it can be transported by wind, cars, water, creating an infection wherever it goes,” Dan Koeppel, author of the book Banana: The fate of the fruit that changed the world,” told CNN.
Science & Technology
TESLA gears up for fully self-driving cars amid skepticism
AP – Tesla CEO Elon Musk appears poised to transform the company’s electric cars into driverless vehicles in a risky bid to realize a bold vision that he has been floating for years.
The technology required to make that quantum leap is scheduled to be shown off to Tesla investors Monday at the company’s Palo Alto, California, headquarters.
Musk, known for his swagger as well as his smarts, is so certain that Tesla will win the race toward full autonomy that he indicated in an interview earlier this month that his company’s cars should be able to navigate congested highways and city streets without a human behind the wheel by no later than next year.
But experts say they’re skeptical whether Tesla’s technology has advanced anywhere close to the point where its cars will be capable of being driven solely by a robot, without a human in position to take control if something goes awry.
“It’s all hype,” said Steven E. Shladover, a retired research engineer at the University of California, Berkeley who has been involved in efforts to create autonomous driving for 45 years. “The technology does not exist to do what he is claiming. He doesn’t have it and neither does anybody else.”
More than 60 companies in the U.S. alone are developing autonomous vehicles. Some are aiming to have their fully autonomous cars begin carrying passengers in small geographic areas as early as this year. Many experts don’t believe they’ll be in widespread use for a decade or more.
Facebook fights to “shield Zuckerberg” from punishment in US privacy probe
Ars Technica – Federal Trade Commission officials are discussing whether to hold Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for Facebook’s privacy failures, according to reports by The Washington Post and NBC News. Facebook has been trying to protect Zuckerberg from that possibility in negotiations with the FTC, the Post wrote.
Federal regulators investigating Facebook are “exploring his past statements on privacy and weighing whether to seek new, heightened oversight of his leadership,” the Post reported, citing anonymous sources who are familiar with the FTC discussions.
“The discussions about how to hold Zuckerberg accountable for Facebook’s data lapses have come in the context of wide-ranging talks between the Federal Trade Commission and Facebook that could settle the government’s more than year-old probe,” the Post wrote.
According to NBC, FTC officials are “discussing whether and how to hold Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg personally accountable for the company’s history of mismanaging users’ private data.” However, NBC said its sources “wouldn’t elaborate on what measures are specifically under consideration.”
According to the Post, one idea raised during the probe “could require [Zuckerberg] or other executives to certify the company’s privacy practices periodically to the board of directors.”
Health
Arsenic in Some Bottled Water Brands at Unsafe Levels, Consumer Reports Says
Consumer Reports – Keurig Dr Pepper suspends production of its Peñafiel brand, as CR urges a full recall and tougher federal standards. What you need to know.
Natural foods grocery chain Whole Foods introduced its new brand of bottled water at a 2015 investor event, where company executives heralded the product’s purity and healthfulness.
“It naturally flows out of the ground,” chief operating officer A.C. Gallo said about the company’s spring in Council, Idaho, according to a published transcript on its website. “We built, actually, a spring house over it so we can let the water go down to the bottling plant. It’s amazingly pristine water.”
Yet from late 2016 to early 2017, Starkey Water—the name of Whole Foods’ brand—recalled more than 2,000 cases of water after tests by regulators showed an impermissible level of arsenic beyond the federally mandated threshold of 10 parts per billion. A year later, Whole Foods’ internal testing showed results that were just under the federal limit but still at levels that pose risks if regularly consumed, according to growing research and independent experts, including Consumer Reports’ scientists.
Over the past few years, as consumers have worried more about the quality of municipal tap water, bottled water has surged in popularity. It’s now the nation’s best-selling bottled beverage, according to the International Bottled Water Association. But a CR investigation has found that in some cases bottled water on store shelves contains more potentially harmful arsenic than tap water flowing into some homes.
“It makes no sense that consumers can purchase bottled water that is less safe than tap water,” says James Dickerson, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Consumer Reports. “If anything, bottled water—a product for which people pay a premium, often because they assume it’s safer—should be regulated at least as strictly as tap water.”
Could antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” become a bigger killer than cancer?
CBS- Scientists say it’s a problem of our own making. We’ve used antibiotics so freely, some bacteria have mutated into so-called “superbugs.” They’ve become resistant to the very drugs designed to kill them. A study commissioned by the British government estimates that by 2050, 10 million people worldwide could die each year from antibiotic resistant bacteria. That’s more than currently die from cancer. To understand the danger posed by superbugs, we start with the story of David Ricci.
Children who eat less sugar have healthier livers
NatrualNews – Giving your children sweet treats may seem like the easiest way to get them to do what you ask, but you may be putting their health at risk by doing that. Consumption of added sugars is known to be harmful to a person’s health, regardless of age. For this reason, health experts discourage consuming these sugars. In a new study, researchers found that children who consume less sugar were more likely to have healthier livers than those who consume more. In particular, the study found that children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) experienced improvements in their condition after cutting back on free sugars in their diet — sugars found in sweetened foods and drinks and in naturally sweet fruit juices.
A team of U.S. researchers carried out a randomized clinical study of adolescent boys with NAFLD to determine whether restricting dietary free sugars would reduce fatty liver disease. NAFLD is the most common liver disease in children. It is also associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, end-stage liver disease, liver cancer, and Type 2 diabetes. (Related: Fatty liver disease on the rise in children—from too many sweet treats.)
Study investigates health benefits of different cordyceps variants
NaturalNews – A review led by universities in Taiwan laid out the state of cordyceps research in the country, as well as potential challenges and opportunities. Their results were published in the journal Food Science and Human Wellness.

In Taiwan, cordyceps is well-regarded for its multiple biological properties. These include being an anti-tumor, immunomodulating, antioxidant, and a pro-sexual agent.
In the review, the researchers identified the primary challenge in the mass production of Cordyceps sinensis, which is the difficulty in collecting natural variants with parasitic hosts, coupled with discoveries regarding its pharmacological benefits.
The researchers also looked at potential alternatives for C. sinensis products.
Aside from looking at current research on Cordyceps species, the review also investigated the health benefits of its four major species, namely: C. sinensis, C. militaris, C. cicadae, and C. soblifera.
The review also looked at how different methods of fermentation and production can influence the physicochemical properties of Cordyceps species.