Today's News: May 23, 2019

World News
U.S., Iran Conflict Intensifies Amid Talk of Troop Deployment
US News – Senior officials in Tehran levied grave threats Thursday following reports the White House is considering deploying 10,000 new troops to the region.
“Our hands are on the trigger and we are firmly prepared to annihilate any aggressor and greedy eyes against the Islamic Iran,” Chief of Staff to the Iranian Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri said Thursday, according to the country’s state news service. “The new conditions of countering the U.S. arrogant and pharaonic threat invite all the Iranians to enter the fields of jihad, full alert, and mobilization of more power.”
Iran’s youth will witness demise of America and Israel, Supreme leader warns
The Sun – IRAN’S youth will witness the demise of American and Israeli civilisation, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed.
The leader’s comments come a day after a senior Revolutionary Guards commander bragged Donald Trump “wouldn’t dare” attack Iran.
In a meeting with students Khamenei said: “You young people should be assured that you will witness the demise of the enemies of humanity, meaning the degenerate American civilisation, and the demise of Israel.”
Tensions between the US and Iran have escalated after Mr Trump sent an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles to the Middle East.
The display of military force was against Iranian threats to US troops and interests in the regions, Washington officials said.
Top US commander warns Maduro ‘mafia’ poses threat beyond Venezuela
The Hill – The ongoing crisis in Venezuela is boiling over and aggravating security concerns throughout the Western Hemisphere, according to the top U.S. military commander for South America, Central America and the Caribbean.
Navy Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command (Southcom), told The Hill this week that he views embattled Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s influence in the region as a “significant threat” to democracy and stability.
“I don’t think I’d even call them a regime — it’s a mafia. It’s an illicit business that he’s running with his 2,000 corrupt generals. It’s ruining the country,” Faller said in an interview Tuesday.
U.S. News, Politics & Government
USA sees biggest slump in tourism for four years
Telegraph – The number of overseas visitors to the US is falling, with a 5.4 per cent drop in March compared to the same time last year.
It represents the worst showing since 2015, prompting fears among the country’s tourism chiefs that the US will lose out to rival destinations this year.
Tourism also fell in February, albeit by a more modest 0.2 per cent, figures released by the US Travel Association revealed.
These figures have fuelled concern in an industry which has also been beset by labour shortages because of difficulties bringing in seasonal workers from overseas as a result of the Trump administration’s tougher line on visas.
‘American Taliban’ released from prison
NY Post – Notorious “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh — who abandoned his country to train with Osama bin Laden — has been released from an Indiana prison.
The 38-year-old from Northern California served 17 years of a 20-year sentence and was released early for good behavior, CNN reported.
His lawyer, Bill Cummings, told the network that he plans to live in Virginia under the close eye of his probation officer.
As part of his three-year probation, Lindh can’t obtain a passport or travel abroad. He has to seek permission in order to obtain a computer and the device must be monitored by authorities.
15 States Trying to Eliminate Electoral College
CBS -Nevada could become the 15th Democratic-leaning state to enact legislation that would allow its electoral votes to be allocated based on the winner of the national popular vote during a presidential election.
A proposal passed by the state Senate on Tuesday is now sitting in the desk of Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, who has not publicly indicated his position on the multi-state effort designed to make sure presidents are elected by the popular vote, rather than the tally of Electoral College votes. The Nevada Assembly approved the measure in April.
Economy & Business
China says trade talks can’t continue unless US addresses its wrong actions
CNBC – President Trump announced earlier this month that tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods would increase to 25% from 10% on May 10.
In the last two weeks, his administration also put Chinese telecom giant Huawei on a blacklist that prevents it from buying from American companies without U.S. government permission.
Nearly three-fourths of respondents to a joint survey by the American Chambers of Commerce in Shanghai and Beijing said the latest round of U.S. tariffs and planned counter-tariffs from China are negatively affecting their businesses.
US-China trade war turning into tech war
SCMP – Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the need for self-reliance and innovation in a rallying call to the country to prepare to fend off various long-term challenges from the United States.
“Technological innovation is the root of life for businesses,” Xi said on Monday on a visit to Jiangxi province, state-run news agency Xinhua reported. “Only if we own our own intellectual property and core technologies, then can we produce products with core competitiveness and [we] won’t be beaten in intensifying competition.”
Xi’s comments, broadcast across the country on Wednesday night, came after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively banning products made by the Chinese telecoms equipment maker Huawei Technologies from the US market.
62,000 pounds of raw meat are being recalled, just days before Memorial Day
CNN – f you’re planning on firing up the grill this Memorial Day weekend, you may want to double check your meat products before you get a very un-festive surprise.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service has issued a recall for more than 62,000 pounds of raw beef due to E. coli concerns.
Here are some things to keep in mind when checking your labels:

The meat was packaged at the Aurora Packing Company, Inc in North Aurora, Illinois on April 19, but was shipped nationwide for distribution.

According to the USDA’s announcement, the products being recalled have the establishment number “EST. 788” inside the USDA mark of inspection. The recall includes more than 40 products, most of which are cuts of steak, like ribeyes, as well as ribs and brisket cuts.
Here’s a full list

Energy & Environment
Destructive Tornado Tears Through Jefferson City, Missouri; 3 People Killed in Golden City, Missouri
Weather.com – A large tornado tore through Jefferson City, Missouri, late Wednesday night, leaving widespread damage in the heart of the capital city.
“It’s just a war zone,” Eric Cunningham told CNN. “There’s a school up on the hill that has major roof damage. Power lines snapped in half. Light poles snapped at the base; just tossed like toys. … Trees were just completely stripped. It doesn’t even look like they had any leaves or bark on them. They are just stripped clean. … Streets were completely blocked with bricks and trees and power lines being down. Really bad. Really a war zone right now.”
Storm brings more snow and rain as unusual May weather continues in Arizona
AZ Family – This May has been somewhat of an anomaly for Arizona with late-season snowstorms hitting the Flagstaff area and multiple days of below-average temperatures in Phoenix.
That trend continued as a storm moved through the state Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Widespread rain began falling in the Phoenix area around midnight. Amounts are light, generally between a few hundreds to a tenth of an inch, but it was enough to slick the Valley roads ahead of the morning commute.
Science & Technology
Robot dog pulls 3-ton plane
Cnet – Feats of strength never get old — and they are always freaky.
Just over a month after a pack of SpotMini robot dogs managed to pull a huge truck, researchers with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) tested the strength of a different robot dog: the HyQReal.
The HyQReal pulled a three-ton Piaggio P180 Avanti passenger airplane almost 33 feet last week at the Genova Airport in Italy, researchers said Thursday in a statement.
Amazon Is Working on a Device That Can Read Human Emotions
Bloomberg – Amazon.com Inc. is developing a voice-activated wearable device that can recognize human emotions.
The wrist-worn gadget is described as a health and wellness product in internal documents reviewed by Bloomberg. It’s a collaboration between Lab126, the hardware development group behind Amazon’s Fire phone and Echo smart speaker, and the Alexa voice software team.
Designed to work with a smartphone app, the device has microphones paired with software that can discern the wearer’s emotional state from the sound of his or her voice, according to the documents and a person familiar with the program. Eventually the technology could be able to advise the wearer how to interact more effectively with others, the documents show.
Health
How Sulforaphane in Broccoli May Benefit Those With Schizophrenia, Autism and Alzheimer’s
Mercola – Compounds in broccoli have been shown to benefit your heart and brain, boosting detoxification and helping prevent and/or treat high blood pressure, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and even autism. Now, researchers report sulforaphane may also be helpful in the treatment of schizophrenia.
One study found 30 mg of sulforaphane per day for eight weeks improved cognitive function in schizophrenic patients.
A series of three studies suggests sulforaphane may also benefit patients with schizophrenia by helping to rebalance the glutamate levels in their brain.
Another series of studies suggests sulforaphane might benefit those with autism, primarily by upregulating genes that protect against oxidative stress, inflammation and DNA damage, all of which are prominent and possibly mechanistic characteristics of autism spectrum disorder.
Sulforaphane may also be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, inhibiting the generation and accumulation of amyloid-beta and alleviating several pathological changes associated with Alzheimer’s, including oxidative stress and neuroinflammation
Acupressure relieves long-term symptoms of breast cancer treatment
Natural Health News – Acupressure could be a low-cost, at-home solution to a suite of persistent side effects that linger after breast cancer treatment ends.
The study, published in JNCI Cancer Spectrum, looked at the impact of acupressure on symptoms that frequently accompany fatigue in this population: chronic pain, anxiety, depression and poor sleep. The researchers from the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center found acupressure improved all of these symptoms compared with standard care.
The team first reported that acupressure helped reduce fatigue in breast cancer survivors in 2016. That study involved breast cancer survivors who reported fatigue. The women were randomized to one of two types of acupressure or to usual care, which included typical sleep-management techniques. The women were taught how to find and stimulate the acupressure points so that they could perform it at home once per day for six weeks.
More than fatigue
Of the 424 survivors experiencing fatigue from the original study, researchers found half had at least one other symptom and 17% experienced all of them.
According to study author Suzanna M. Zick, N.D., MPH, research associate professor of family medicine at Michigan Medicine, “It was actually unusual for a woman to have just fatigue. These long-term side effects are a big problem. For some women, they are significant barriers in their life”.
So the new analysis focused on the 288 patients who reported symptoms in addition to fatigue. They were asked weekly about fatigue, sleep quality, depressive symptoms, anxiety and pain.
Apple extract can promote stem cell regeneration and help maintain homeostasis
NaturalNews – In this study published in the journal Nutrition Research, researchers from Sungkyunkwan University in South Korea investigated the proliferative effect of apple ethanol extract on human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) and human cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (CB-MSCs). They also identified the possible molecular mechanisms behind its beneficial effects.

Tissue regeneration using adult stem cells (ASCs) has significant potential as a novel treatment for many degenerative diseases.
According to previous studies, age negatively affects the proliferation status and differentiation potential of ASCs, suggesting a possible limitation in their potential therapeutic use.
The researchers hypothesized that apple extract might exert beneficial effects on ASCs.
Through 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and Click-iT 5-ethynyl-2?-deoxyuridine flow cytometry assays, they found that apple extract promoted the proliferation of ADSCs and CB-MSCs.
Apple extract also induced the stepwise phosphorylation of p44/42 MAPK (ERK), mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), p70 S6 kinase (p70S6K), S6 ribosomal protein (S6RP), eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4B, and eIF4E in ADSCs.
Furthermore, apple extract significantly induced the production of vascular endothelial growth factor and interleukin-6 in both ADSCs and CB-MSCs.
Pre-treatment with PD98059, a specific ERK inhibitor, inhibited the phosphorylation of the mTOR/p70S6K/S6RP/eIF4B/eIF4E pathway induced by apple extract.
The researchers discovered that apple extract-induced proliferation of ADSCs under serum-free conditions is mediated by ERK-dependent cytokine production.

Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that the beneficial effect of apple extract on the proliferation of ASCs may overcome the limitation in their therapeutic use in tissue regeneration and maintenance of stem cell homeostasis.