FDA recalls heart meds used to treat high blood pressure over cancer concerns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a voluntary recall of several medications that contain the active ingredient valsartan, which is used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure.
“This recall is due to an impurity, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which was found in the recalled products, the FDA said in a statement Saturday. “However, not all products containing valsartan are being recalled.”
Officials say NDMA is classified as a probable human carcinogen —a substance that could cause cancer. They said those findings are based on results from recent laboratory tests.
The administration said the carcinogen’s presence is “thought to be related to changes in the way the active substance was manufactured.”
Read more via: FDA recalls heart meds used to treat high blood pressure over cancer concerns
University Of Louisville To Remove Papa John’s From Stadium Name
Trump has really empowered these racists. They are showing up, showing out. And writing checks their talking and or social media fingers can’t pay. Racism is hazardous to your health.
The University of Louisville announced that it will remove Papa John’s from the name of its football stadium after Papa John’s founder John Schnatter admitted he used a racial slur during a business meeting.
The stadium’s name will be changed from Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to simply Cardinal Stadium.
“In moments of crisis, the best communities find a way to come together,” University of Louisville President Neeli Bendapudi said. “Over the last 24 hours our community has been fractured by the comments made by former UofL trustee John Schnatter.”
Bendapudi called Schnatter’s remarks “hurtful and unacceptable,” adding that they “do not reflect the values of our university.”
The university also plans to remove Schnatter’s name from the Center for Free Enterprise at its business school.
It is Schnatter himself and not Papa John’s who has the deal with the university for the naming rights until 2040, according to ESPN. The deal states that if Schnatter leaves the company, then he can rename the building.
Bendapudi said at a Friday news conference that the school hasn’t yet worked out financial details for changing the stadium’s name, ESPN reported.
Schnatter apologized on Wednesday for using the racial slur in a May conference call. He then resigned as Papa John’s chairman and from the University of Louisville’s governing board.
Schnatter founded the pizza company in 1984. Today, it has more than 3,400 locations in North America.
Source: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/university-to-remove-papa-johns-from-stadium-name_us_5b48e0e0e4b0e7c958fb0508?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063&utm_campaign=hp_fb_pages&utm_source=main_fb&utm_medium=facebook
PayPal tells dead woman she is ‘in breach of contract’ because she died
“You are in breach of condition 15.4(c) of your agreement with PayPal Credit as we have received notice that you are deceased.”
That’s the very real message a British man received three weeks after informing PayPal of his wife’s May 31 death from cancer at age 37.
“What empathy-lacking machine sent this?” Howard Durdle, 40, first wrote on Facebook, sharing the letter threatening legal action over Lindsay Durdle’s $4,200 debt, which her widower says her estate couldn’t cover, per Inc.
“As soon as our teams became aware of this mistake, we contacted Mr. Durdle directly to offer our support, cleared the outstanding debt and closed down his wife’s account,” PayPal tells the New York Times, adding it has “made changes to ensure that an insensitive error of this nature never happens again.”
Durdle, too, says his goal is to prevent future instances like this—”it can be hugely damaging for people who are trying to recover”—and he thinks speaking out is the best way to accomplish that.
“While PayPal’s mistake is getting lots of press, the truth is companies send out similar letters all the time,” Inc. notes.
Speaking to the Times, the president of consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen blames companies’ increasing reliance on software and algorithms to communicate with customers. Per the BBC, Durdle was told a software glitch, bad letter template, or human error was likely to blame in his case, but that the exact cause would remain an internal secret.
“I just hope more orgs can apply empathy and common sense to avoid hurting the recently bereaved,” he wrote in a Tuesday tweet, per CBS News.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/07/13/paypal-tells-dead-woman-she-is-in-breach-of-contract-because-she-died/
Teen babysitters accused of tormenting baby with Taser (News clip with actual video)
Three teen babysitters are accused of tormenting a baby girl in their care with a Taser in videos posted to Snapchat, according to reports.
Police in Conway, Arkansas, said the teen girls were arrested for child endangerment Monday in connection to the horrifying footage, news station KXXV reported.
In one clip, one of the babysitters reportedly pretended to prod the 1-year-old girl with a Taser as the child screamed.
Another video showed a teen slapping the baby in the back of the head. “She’s a bully but I’m dying,” the clip was captioned.
The baby’s mother, Elyssia Watkins, said she’s disturbed by the footage of her young daughter.
“I couldn’t even stay at work today,” Watkins said. “I just keep thinking about it. Why do they think it’s a laughing matter?”
The babysitters — whose ages range from 15 to 17 years old — appeared Tuesday in Faulkner County Court on child endangerment charges.
“They do need to go to jail, but I hope someone really talks to them and they get some counseling,” Watkins told KXXV.
via: https://nypost.com/2018/07/12/teen-babysitters-accused-of-tormenting-baby-with-taser/
Father had toddler’s body for months before dumping it in suitcase in NJ
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Prosecutors say a man charged with dumping his dead toddler’s body near train tracks had had the body for months.
They made the assertion Wednesday at a bail hearing for Travis Plummer.
The Richmond, Virginia man was arrested in Puerto Rico in April, a week after the girl’s body was found in a suitcase.
Authorities say Plummer took 23-month-old Te’Myah Layauna Plummer from her mother in Virginia last fall and traveled to New Jersey with the decomposing body wrapped inside a suitcase.
They believe he left the suitcase in a friend’s garage in Jersey City, and dumped it near the tracks after police came to the friend’s house in March.
Plummer has pleaded not guilty to improper disposal of human remains. A judge denied his request for bail Wednesday.
The U.S. Navy Is Just Now Allowing Black Female Sailors To Wear Their Natural Hair
Hair styling has never really been a “just hair” issue for black women. Whether rocking it in the professional world or during a protest, afros, locs and braids have long served both as a means of personal, religious and sociopolitical expression.
The U.S. military has had strict dress and grooming codes in place. But, as more and more black women have joined the armed forces, the issue of hair became more complicated. Many soldiers lobbied for the right to wear their hair in varied styles.
According to the Marine Corps Times, the U.S. Marines became the first branch to allow locs and twists, starting the policy in December 2015. According to News One, the U.S. Army followed suit in January 2017.
Now, according to the Associated Press, the U.S. Navy is joining in on the inclusive hairstyle movement and will allow locs, ropelike strands (such as braids or twists), wider hair buns and ponytails to be worn by its female servicemembers.
“Because of the texture of my hair, it stood straight up,” recalled Captain Thurraya Kent, who was forced to remove her braids under the old policy. “It was a very embarrassing moment that stays with you.”
Kent went on to serve as the senior member of the group who recommended the policy update.
Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson and Yeoman First Class LaToya Jones announced the new policy during a Facebook Live event on Tuesday. Other black servicewomen in the recommendation group joined as well, per OANN.
“It’s my honor to announce that CNO and CNP have announced the following recommendations: loc hairstyles will be authorized, hair bun width will be authorized to be equal to the width of the back of the head, ponytails will be authorized in all service, working and PT uniforms,” Jones noted proudly.
“I think it’s a step forward,” noted Lieutenant Commander Jess Cameron. “They’re getting more female feedback in the service, and updating what I think are somewhat antiquated guidelines that maybe no longer serve their purpose in today’s society, today’s military.”
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Everything You Need To Know About The Ongoing Protests In Haiti
Article via: Everything You Need To Know About The Ongoing Protests In Haiti
You may have seen images circulating the internet depicting the violent and deadly protests that have recently occurred in Haiti. Swarms of Haitian workers shut down the capital of Port-au-Prince Monday following the government’s announcement of increased fuel prices. The prices had long been subsidized, but where raised in order to free up government funds to comply with the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) austerity measures.
“I ask for your patience because our administration has a vision, a clear program,” said Prime Minister Guy Lafontant said in a televised announcement according to TeleSurv. Shortly after announcing the new measures, the prime minister put a temporary halt to what would’ve been a 38 percent gasoline price increase, 47 percent diesel price increase and 51 percent kerosene price increase.
According to The Globe Post, the protests may have incited a comprise, as IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice confirmed the organization agreed to restructure conditions imposed on the Haitian government during a briefing on Thursday. Calls for the resignation of many high ranking government figures may have also led to the speedy about face.
This whole ordeal can’t simply be reduced to anger over gas prices, though. The price increase was simply the spark that ignited the powder keg. There’s quite a bit to unpack, so we’re here to offer some background.
Unfortunately, as often is the case with many major protests, there was a lot of misinformation going around, but Twitter user @AdoreAmanda_ had time today. Citing, long-terms frustrations over poverty, a horrible education system and corruption, she broke it all the way down.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_I wish y’all would stfu on saying Haiti is rioting solely because of rising gas prices. There is FAR more to it then that and I got time today.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_I wish y’all would stfu on saying Haiti is rioting solely because of rising gas prices. There is FAR more to it then that and I got time today.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Endless NGOs, IMF loans that’ll take generations to pay back, the purposeful weakening of Haiti’s government by outside nations paired with the insane corruption in Haiti are just a few factors.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Endless NGOs, IMF loans that’ll take generations to pay back, the purposeful weakening of Haiti’s government by outside nations paired with the insane corruption in Haiti are just a few factors.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Haiti is fed tf up with these neoliberal policies that are DESTROYING an entire nation, keeping people in poverty and making the rich even richer.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Haiti is fed tf up with these neoliberal policies that are DESTROYING an entire nation, keeping people in poverty and making the rich even richer.
amanda@AdoreAmanda_This recent spike in gas prices was literally to please the IMF!!!!
amanda@AdoreAmanda_This recent spike in gas prices was literally to please the IMF!!!!
amanda@AdoreAmanda_Now obviously my people are being counterproductive af by destroying business, setting buildings on fire, etc etc…but by now y’all should know Haitians don’t fucking play and when a country is pushed to the point where they feel they have nothing to lose this is the outcome.
As CFR notes, Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western hemisphere with more than half of its population living below the poverty line. The country also heavily relies on foreign aid. Natural disasters and ineffective humanitarian relief management have also negatively affected its economy, especially with regards to tourism.
Haiti was thrown into extreme debt almost immediately after its independence. After the country’s slaves won freedom for themselves in a war with France, France refused to acknowledge it as a country until Haiti paid France the full worth of all those newly freed slaves.
Haiti won independence in 1804 according to CFR, and agreed to pay France $22 billion in today’s dollars in 1825, literally at gunpoint (France had set up a naval blockade of the island country) in order to gain international recognition, Forbes reports.
Haiti, which at the time was poised to become one of the richest countries in the West thanks to its plentiful natural and agricultural resources then spent the next 122 years paying as much as 80 percent of its revenues paying France back for its “stolen slaves.”
While it struggled to get out from under this crippling debt, the United States spent nearly two decades destabilizing the country politically during World War I and the the lead up to World War II. President Woodrow Wilson invaded the country in 1915 claiming doing so was necessary to keep out the German forces, then instituted a policy of segregation, slavery and fake news that led to several rebellions, the deaths of at least 15,000 Haitians and the forced dissolution of a series of governments hostile to the U.S. presence.
The U.S. pulled out in 1934, leaving a power vacuum that was eventually filled by Kim Il-Sung-esque dictator Francois Duvalier.
Haiti was still under a mountain of debt when hit by the devastating 2010 earthquake. Following the disaster, Haiti was largely forgiven of its debts, but had to borrow roughly $2.6 billion in order to rebuild, as its coffers were drained from years of paying debtors.
“For an entire century, Haiti geared its economy to paying back the French debt and missed out on industrialization, education, and development of its government and democratic institutions,” noted Brian Concannon, founder and executive director of the Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti. “It really couldn’t develop.”
The IMF’s measures were supposedly meant to help Haiti accelerate its development, and Rice has said the organization still wants Haiti “to move as quickly as possible” in carrying out reforms. However, there is no definitive timeline as of yet.
Emmett Till Murder Investigation Reopened 62 Years After Slaying
Emmett Till was a 14-year old boy who was brutally beaten and shot for allegedly making sexual advances against a white woman. The white women later confessed she lied.
Watch the 2017 update here:
Thankfully, federal authorities have reopened the lynching case of Emmett Till, a black teenager whose brutal murder in Mississippi in 1955 helped launch the modern civil rights movement.
The Department of Justice informed Congress in a report in March that it is reopening the case after “the discovery of new information,” which was not detailed. The decision was first reported on Thursday by The Associated Press.
A DOJ spokeswoman, reached by HuffPost in an email on Thursday, said it cannot provide further comment because it is an open investigation.
The department’s decision comes nearly 63 years after Till, a 14-year-old Chicago native, was kidnapped, beaten, tortured and shot after a white woman accused him of making sexual advances against her in a store in Money, Mississippi. Since his death, two white men acquitted of the crime confessed to his murder, and the woman recanted her allegations against him.
The horrifying case began in August 1955, when Till was abducted at gunpoint while staying with family near Money. Three days after he was taken in the night, his mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River with a cotton-gin fan tied to it with barbed wire for weight.
His mother, Mamie Bradley, insisted on having an open casket funeral for him so that the world could see the savagery done to him because of racial hatred.
Authorities charged two white men for his murder, Rob Bryant and his half-brother, J.W. Milam, after Bryant’s then-wife, 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, claimed that Till whistled at her, grabbed her and made sexual advances against her inside her husband’s store.
Both men were acquitted by an all-white jury. Years later in a paid magazine interview, they confessed to killing Till but were never retried. No one else was ever charged.
Milam and Bryant died in 1981 and 1994, respectively.
The case was closed in 2007, with authorities stating that there were no surviving suspects and the statute of limitations at that point precluded federal charges.
Last year the book The Blood of Emmett Till was published with a confession from Carolyn Bryant, today Carolyn Donham, that she lied under oath about her claims against Till. She confessed during an interview in 2008.
“Nothing that boy did could ever justify what happened to him,” she was quoted as saying.
Donham today resides in Raleigh, North Carolina, and will turn 84 this month. A man who answered her door declined to comment to the AP on her behalf.
Civil rights activist the Rev. Jessie Jackson Sr. was among those reacting to the department’s decision on social media on Thursday by urging the passing of a bill that would make lynchings unlawful at the federal level as well as a hate crime.
Rev Jesse Jackson Sr
✔@RevJJackson
In memory of #EmmettTill and thousands of other black men, women & children lynched, we must finally pass anti-lynching law.
ABC 7 News – WJLA
✔@ABC7News
#BREAKING: Federal government reopens investigation into the 1955 slaying of black teen Emmett Till, a case that shocked the worldhttp://wjla.com/news/nation-world/government-reopens-probe-of-emmett-till-slaying …
Till’s cousin Deborah Watts, who co-founded the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, called the news “wonderful” when reached by the AP. She declined to comment further on the case.
“None of us wants to do anything that jeopardizes any investigation or impedes, but we are also very interested in justice being done,” she said.
We hope Emmett Till gets justice.
Article via: Emmett Till Murder Investigation Reopened 62 Years After Slaying
Karrine Steffans Claims ‘POWER’ Star Rotimi Left Her After Miscarriage
Karrine Steffans, previously known as “Superhead,” is taking her personal life public once again, calling out Power actor Rotimi for using her during their relationship and leaving her once he landed a role on the STARZ hit, shortly after she lost their child.
The author took to Instagram last weekend to speak on their past relationship, claiming she drove him to auditions and allowed him to move into her home. She also claimed they were expecting a child together, but that she suffered a miscarriage.
Soon after, according to the former video vixen, Rotimi dumped her as his career began taking off. Read her full accusations aimed at the Naija actor and recording artist below.
Article via: Karrine Steffans Claims ‘POWER’ Star Rotimi Left Her After Miscarriage