Massachusetts man dies from eating excessive amount of black licorice
A Massachusetts man died last year from eating an excessive amount of black licorice, doctors said Wednesday.
The unusual case was reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, detailing how the man consumed a bag and a half of the candy every day for two weeks prior to his death.
Licorice contains glycyrrhizic acid, which could deplete potassium levels and contribute to heart rhythm problems, doctors explained.
“Even a small amount of licorice you eat can increase your blood pressure a little bit,” said Dr. Neel Butala, a cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital who described the case in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The man had collapsed inside a fast food restaurant and died the next day. Doctors discovered he had dangerously low potassium, which led to heart rhythm and other problems.
The Food and Drug Administration warns that eating only 2 ounces of black licorice a day for two weeks could lead to an irregular heartbeat.
Jeff Beckman, a spokesman for the Hershey Company, which makes the popular Twizzlers licorice twists, told the Associated Press that “all of our products are safe to eat and formulated in full compliance with FDA regulations.”
Beckman added that all candy “should be enjoyed in moderation.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/massachusetts-man-dead-after-consuming-too-much-black-licorice/
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Breonna Taylor protesters threaten to ‘knock out’ diners at Florida restaurant
Protesters inflamed by the decision not to charge cops for Breonna Taylor’s death took their anger out on a couple dining in Florida — gatecrashing their table and threatening to knock the man the “f–k out.”
A man clutching a skateboard was filmed by a Tampa Bay Times reporter as he strolled up and sat with the couple at their outdoor table as dozens chanted at the edge of the St. Petersburg restaurant.
“No! This is my table,” the female diner told him, trying to push him from the chair — but just for three other protesters to stroll over and join them.
The male diner hugged his wife as she said she was calling the police — just for the initial dinner-crasher and another woman to hurl abuse.
“I ought to knock your old ass boyfriend the f**k out,” the man threatened, as he derided the woman as a “wild Karen in her natural f–ing habitat.”
The threatened man was filmed smiling in bemusement, as more protesters appeared to gather around the table — including one continually blowing a horn. The video quickly went viral, getting more than 1.8 million views on Twitter in less than 12 hours.
Reporter Josh Fiallo, who filmed the clip, said some diners had “yelled back” at protesters “starting multiple confrontations,” but he was not sure why the couple filmed were targeted.
The unidentified initial gatecrasher appeared to be the same man Fiallo filmed walking across a car that was surrounded and attacked with skateboards and signs. “F–k you, c–t!” one shouted as the car drove off.
The tactic of browbeating outdoor diners has also been used in other cities across the country, caught in viral videos in Washington, DC, and Pittsburgh, where three were recently charged.
In many, diners are screamed at if they refuse to raise a fist in support of BLM, with mobs screaming that “white silence is violence.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/breonna-taylor-protesters-threaten-to-knock-out-restaurant-patrons/
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Woman arrested, tased for not wearing mask at middle school football game
A woman at a grade-school football game in Ohio on Wednesday was reportedly tased and arrested by a police officer for not wearing a face mask in the stands.
The woman was sitting in the bleachers with her mother when she got into an altercation with the cop about mask-wearing at a middle school in the town of Logan, the Marietta Times reported.
Video of the incident, which was posted to YouTube, shows the woman resisting as the officer struggles to handcuff her for nearly two minutes before he deploys his Taser.
The woman, identified in the report as Alecia Kitts, repeatedly tells the officer to “get off of me,” the video shows.
“You’re not arresting me for nothing, I ain’t doing nothing wrong,” she yells after the officer orders her to place her hands behind her back.
Once the officer tases Kitts, she falls to a lower tier of the bleachers, according to the footage.
The use of force shocked others watching the game.
“Tasing this lady over not wearing a damn mask,” a witness can be heard saying.
As the woman is finally hauled away, her mother pleads with the cop: “Come on, it’s just a mask!”
Kitts, who appeared to have an American flag-themed mask in her back shorts pocket, was rooting for the visiting team from Marietta City Schools at the time.
The Logan Police Department told the Marietta Times the incident is under investigation.
Logan athletic director Theresa Schultheiss told the newspaper that Kitts and her mother were the only two in a crowd of 300 fans who were “having issues” complying with the state’s mask requirement.
“This rule has been in effect since we were told we could play,” said Schultheiss.
“Everyone that came through ticketing tonight was reminded, we had regular announcements over the PA reminding you that mouths and noses needed to be covered and we had signs at the bathrooms.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/24/woman-tased-arrested-for-not-wearing-mask-at-football-game/
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Four charged after black man’s body found burning in Iowa ditch
Four people were charged in the strangulation death of a black man whose body was found burning in a ditch in Iowa, authorities said.
Steven Vogel, 31, of Grinnell, was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of strangling to death 44-year-old Michael Williams on Sept. 12, the Iowa Department of Public Safety said.
Williams’ body was then wrapped, bound and dumped four days later in a ditch near Kellogg, where it was set ablaze, police said.
The three other people arrested in the killing were Vogel’s mother, Julia Cox, 55; Roy Garner, 57; and Cody Johnson, 29.
Vogel was charged with first-degree murder, while the others face charges for destruction of evidence and accessory after the fact, authorities said. They are all charged with abuse of a corpse.
No motive has been released in the slaying, though cops noted that Vogel and Williams were well acquainted.
The four charged in the case are all white, but police said there’s no evidence that the crime was racially motivated.
“The investigation has revealed no evidence to show the acts against Michael Williams were motivated by his race nor that his death was the result of a hate crime,” police said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/23/four-charged-after-black-mans-body-found-burning-in-iowa-ditch/
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New York town of Swastika votes to keep its name
Officials of the small Adirondack town, located 50 miles from the Canadian border, have voted to retain its controversial name that predates nazism, NPR reported.
The four-member board for the Town of Black Brook, which has authority over the hamlet, voted unanimously to keep the name after five minutes of discussion during their Sept. 14 meeting.
Michael Alcamo, a cyclist from New York City, inspired the proposal after he passed a Swastika town sign during a recent ride this summer.
Alcamo then reached out to county officials to pitch a name change to the hamlet of about 1,500 residents. While the swastika was a common design element dating back centuries, it is now indelibly linked to nazism, a global symbol of white supremacy and hate.
“I think it should be obvious that the town should update its name and should pick a name that is not so offensive to so many Americans and so emblematic of intolerance, hate and tyranny,” Alcamo told NPR.
But several members of the Black Brook board appeared offended by the request and were steadfastly opposed to the idea, the Adirondack Daily Enterprise reported.
“I’m dead-set against changing it,” Councilor Aubin reportedly said at the meeting.
Aubin went on to note that the word means “well being” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit and “only an intolerant person” would assume the town was named in honor of nazism.
The town name stems from its post office, which was officially called “Swastika” back in 1913, according to the Daily Enterprise.
Town Supervisor Jon Douglass told the outlet that a name change was proposed several times since WWII.
“Once was after World War II,” he said. “[Residents] adamantly opposed, and did not want to change the name. There’s a long history there. For the uneducated that immediately assume it’s connected to Germans and Hitler, it’s not. Swastika means ‘to prosper.’ ”
But Alcamo was disappointed in the board’s decision. He said leaving “Swastika” behind would show respect for those who died during the war and would be seen as a denouncing of hate.
“I didn’t expect a quick, unanimous vote to reject the proposal,” he said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/23/new-york-town-of-swastika-votes-to-keep-its-name/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File
Scott Disick and Brody Jenner accused of promoting ‘racist’ app
Scott Disick and Brody Jenner are in hot water after promoting an app that uses artificial intelligence to make users appear to be a different race.
“Tried new filters in the Gradient app. Which one is better?” Disick, 37, tweeted on Tuesday along with photos of his face altered with filters to look Asian, Indian, and European.
Several critics cited the post as questionable and even “racist.”
“How are so many people replying to this with an actual answer instead of being outraged that it’s completely racist,” one person commented.
“You’re basically asking people which ethnicity is better? Wow. It’s not too late to delete this Scott,” wrote another.
The TV personality also posted the same photo to his Instagram page but turned off the comments section.
Jenner, also 37, posted his own photos using the app with his face altered to look like he was from Africa, Asia and India.
“You need to try this new feature in gradient app, it’s crazy,” Jenner captioned the pic on Tuesday.
Instagram users flooded the comment section with disapproval.
“This feels extremely racist,” someone commented.
Another inquired, “Why would you promote digital blackface…?”
According to the Gradient app’s website, the AI Face feature is a tool to “Find out how you would look like if you were born on a different continent.”
When reached for comment, Disick’s rep told us, “I haven’t heard anything about this.”
Jenner’s rep could not be reached for comment.
The Gradient app did not immediately respond to our request for comment.
via: https://pagesix.com/2020/09/23/scott-disick-and-brody-jenner-accused-of-promoting-racist-app/?_ga=2.255816648.1558285673.1600714504-1008129856.1596522357
Photo Credit: Instagram
Celebrities, athletes react to grand jury’s Breonna Taylor decision
Celebrities including “Schitt’s Creek” creator and star Dan Levy, actor George Clooney, rapper Common and actress Viola Davis spoke out Wednesday over the grand jury decision in the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
Levy, whose hit show won nine Emmy’s this week, wrote in a tweet that he was “Disgusted. Enraged. Heartbroken,” over a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to only indict one of three cops involved in the March 13 shooting of Taylor, 26, on charges of wanton endangerment that did not stem from her death but the fact that shots he fired hit a neighbor’s apartment.
In the tweet with the hashtag, #BreonnaTaylor, Levy asked his followers to consider donating to the Louisville Community Bail Fund.
“Please contribute if you can. Justice should not be a luxury,” Levy wrote.
Earlier Wednesday, a grand jury indicted former Louisville police Detective Brett Hankison for firing into a neighboring apartment the night Taylor was killed by cops.
None of the charges are directly related to the death of Taylor, and the two other officers involved were not indicted.
Clooney, a Kentucky native, said he was “ashamed” of the grand jury’s decision.
“The justice system I was raised to believe in holds people responsible for their actions,” Clooney said in a statement to Deadline.
“Her name was Breonna Taylor and she was shot to death in her bed by 3 white police officers, who will not be charged with any crime for her death. I know the community. I know the commonwealth. And I was taught in the schools and churches of Kentucky what is right and what is wrong. I’m ashamed of this decision,” said Clooney.
Rapper Common took to social media, posting a series of tweets in support of Taylor, including one reading, “JUSTICE. FOR. BREONNA. TAYLOR.”
Actress Viola Davis also expressed her outrage over the decision, tweeting, “Bulls— decision!!! BLACK LIVES MATTER!!! Cannot be said enough times.”
Fellow actress Kerry Washington ripped Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron in a tweet, pointing out how Cameron is a potential pick by President Trump to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg,
“Daniel Cameron is on Donald Trump’s short list as replacement of #RGB on the Supreme Court. The same man who decided to not charge the officers responsible for killing #BreonnaTaylor. Vote,” Washington wrote.
Justin Bieber shared a post about Taylor on his Instagram Story with the caption: “Shame on you Kentucky. Breonna Taylor deserves justice.”
A slew of athletes also blasted the grand jury decision in the case.
NBA player Donovan Mitchell, who attended the University of Louisville, tweeted: “I don’t have many words right now…. but all I can say is I’m praying for the city of Louisville right now!!!”
WNBA player Skylar Diggins-Smith simply tweeted: “Bullsh-t!” after the indictment was announced.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/23/celebrities-athletes-react-to-breonna-taylor-verdict/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/AP
Uncle Ben’s has a new name: Ben’s Original
(cnn) — Mars will change the name of its Uncle Ben’s rice products to Ben’s Original and drop the logo depicting a Chicago head waiter as part of the company’s previously announced plans to create a more inclusive brand.
The revamped Ben’s products, which feature the same blue font and orange packaging, will hit shelves in 2021.
The transition from Uncle Ben’s to Ben’s Original comes amid a broader movement about racial equality and heightened criticism of brands with origins rooted in racial stereotypes. In June, the food companies that make Uncle Ben’s, Aunt Jemima, Cream of Wheat and Mrs. Butterworth’s said they would retire or rebrand their products.
Mars’ rice brand was named in the 1940s for “Uncle Ben,” a possibly fictitious Black rice farmer from Texas supposedly renowned for his high-quality crop. It featured the face of Frank Brown, head waiter at an exclusive Chicago restaurant who posed for the Uncle Ben’s portrait, according to an archived page from Uncle Ben’s website. The company said it didn’t know if there was an actual Uncle Ben.
“For some, it clearly had overtones of servitude, and that is not the brand that we want to represent,” Fiona Dawson, global president of Mars Food, told CNN Business.
Mars decided to rebrand the products after hearing from consumers and employees who requested the change, she said.
“There’s no place for anything in this world that hints at social injustice,” she said.
The privately held food and pet products company also will partner with the National Urban League and donate $2 million to a scholarship fund for aspiring black chefs. The company will donate another $2.5 million to educational programs and food access efforts within the community of Greenville, Mississippi, where its products have been manufactured for four decades.
Photo Credit: Mars
Professor put on leave for saying she hopes presidential supporters get COVID-19 and die
A college professor in West Virginia has been placed on leave after telling her students that she hopes supporters of a “certain person” running for president get coronavirus “and die before the election.”
Video posted on social media identifies the teacher as Jennifer Mosher, a biology professor at Marshall University who made the inflammatory comments during an online class.
“I’ve become the type of person where I hope they all get it and die, I’m sorry,” she said, most likely referring to some supporters of President Trump, who don’t wear masks at campaign rallies. “I said to somebody yesterday, I hope they all die before the election. That’s the only saving hope I have.”
She doesn’t refer to Trump by name but says a “certain person is holding rallies.”
Mosher then notes, “I really should not be talking politics.”
It’s unclear when Mosher made the comments but a statement from Marshall University on Friday said that it became “aware of an overtly political statement made by a faculty member.”
“The university does not support or condone the use of any of its educational platforms to belittle people or wish harm on those who hold differing political views,” the statement said. “The professor was removed from the classroom yesterday and is on administrative leave, pending an investigation. There will be no further comment on this personnel matter at this time.”
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Bobby Shmurda reportedly denied parole
Rapper Shmurda, né Ackquille Jean Pollard, 26, met with the parole board last week, with TMZ reporting that he was turned down and will likely serve until the end of his maximum sentence: December 11, 2021.
The site adds that “Hot Boy” rapper Shmurda has racked up 11 violations while behind bars, including fighting and possession of contraband such as drugs and a shiv, which likely influenced the board’s decision.
Shmurda pled guilty to conspiracy to possess weapons and possession of a weapon in September 2016, with his other charges, including conspiracy to commit murder, getting tossed. Shmurda’s mom, Leslie Pollard, said at the time that her son “felt he had to sign the plea … [His attorney] got him to sign when he knew I was out of town.”
In a March 2019 interview from behind bars, Shmurda said that while he respects fellow rapper Meek Mill’s advocacy for prison reform following his own incarceration, he doesn’t see himself following in the elder rapper’s footsteps when he’s on the outside again.
“I can’t do it, know what I mean? I’ll come talk to the kids. That’s about it. But I respect everything that they do.”
Photo Credit: pagesix.com