Tuesday, January 14, 2020

These cities are magnets for jobs

A dozen U.S. cities are thriving thanks to concentrations of certain industries such as health care, manufacturing and aerospace. That has turned Huntsville, AL; Kalamazoo, MI; Raleigh-Durham, NC; Fayetteville, AR; Evansville, IN; Cincinnati, OH; Boston, MA; Detroit, MI; Allentown, PA; Erie, PA; Greenville, SC; and Des Moines, IA into unexpected job magnets. (LinkedIn)

Fast-food chain posts $100K job

Taco Bell is testing out a new strategy to lure talent in the tough U.S. labor market: It’s offering a six-figure salary in select Midwest and Northeast locations. It will also begin offering 24 hours of paid sick time a year to workers at corporate-owned stores. (Bloomberg)

Video appears to show Florida teacher forcibly throw student out of class

A teacher was arrested recently for allegedly forcibly throwing a student out of a classroom in Buddy Taylor Middle School in Palm Coast, Florida. The 47-year-old teacher picked the 14-year-old student up out of his chair, carried him across the classroom, pushed him through a doorway and shoved him down the hallway, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. As the teacher carried the student out of the classroom, he said: “Show me how tough you are, you want to call me a cracker,” according to a charging affidavit. The student told investigators he was playing music on his computer during the first-period class when he asked the teacher for help, the charging affidavit states. He said the teacher went to the student’s desk and muted his computer. The student said they went back and forth, unmuting and muting the computer, before the teacher grabbed the device. The student then said: “Put my sh– down cracka.” The teacher responded: “I am not a cracka.” The student said he responded: “You is a cracka” and that the teacher then grabbed him, turned him around and put him in a chokehold. When asked by investigators if his airway was restricted in any way during the incident, the student said “No.” He stated that he could breathe during the entire episode. He also said that he was not injured during the incident and did not have any marks or bruises from the encounter, according to the charging affidavit. Flagler Schools Superintendent said the teachers actions are not consistent with how educators are expected to act and behave and will not be tolerated. The teacher was placed on leave pending the outcome of an investigation. The sheriff’s office said the teacher was arrested in 2012 for criminal mischief and charged with battery that same year for a physical disturbance. (NBC News)

Illegal drugs to boost your career?

Career counseling sessions that include microdosing (taking low doses of psychedelic drugs), is becoming a big trend in Silicon Valley especially and it’s being pitched as the next job booster. There isn’t much hard data to support claims that the practice improves productivity and creativity, but some research has shown psychedelics can help the brain work in a more “integrated way.” Some Psychedelics coaches say that this method is used by founders or entrepreneurs. (BBC WorkLife)

Alcohol-related deaths in US have doubled since 1999: Study

Alcohol-related deaths in the United States have doubled among people at least 16 years old since 1999, according to a new study, showing that nearly 1 million alcohol-related deaths were recorded from 1999 to 2017. Nearly half of those deaths, according to the study, were due to liver disease or overdosing on alcohol, either alone or combined with other drugs. Although more men than woman died from drinking every year, women saw a higher increase, which is especially concerning as there’s growing evidence women are at greater risk of cancer, heart disease and liver failure from drinking similar quantities of alcohol. The study was released in the middle of “Dry January,” a period when many challenge themselves to go the entire month without drinking. (ABC News)

Woman accused of selling relative for sex

A woman is accused of luring her relative to a party and selling her for sex. A 27-year-old woman has been charged with trafficking of a person, according to an arrest affidavit. She was arrested and remains in the Bexar County Jail. According to an arrest affidavit, she asked the victim to accompany her to a party at an apartment in September. She and a male suspect, who has not been charged, allegedly “made sexual suggestions” about the victim, which made her uncomfortable. She was lured into a bedroom where she was sexually assaulted by the woman and another man, according to the affidavit. Later that same day, the the woman told the victim via Facebook Messenger that she “should have known” what was going to happen, the affidavit states. The woman apologized to the victim, the affidavit states, and told her the event was planned several days in advance. The woman was allegedly paid $100 by the man. She also told police that she frequently met with “sugar daddies” but wouldn’t engage in sex because it is illegal, the affidavit states. Her bond was set at $30,000. (KSAT)

Woman sues church for reporting her husband’s sex abuse confession to the police

An Oregon woman whose husband is in prison for sexually abusing a child is suing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for reporting his confession to state authorities. In the lawsuit, a woman said her husband confessed his sexual abuse to clergy as required by church rules. That confession was passed along to state authorities, forming the basis of their investigation, she says. She filed the lawsuit in Marion County Circuit Court recently and seeks $9.5 million for loss of income, emotional distress and her family’s loss of her husband’s companionship. The lawsuit, which argues the church went against its own policy that considers confessions confidential, also seeks an additional $40,000 for his criminal defense. Couple followed church rules, wife says. In 2016, the lawsuit states, plaintiff learned that her husband, had engaged in inappropriate conduct with an underage girl. In response to that, plaintiff and her husband followed the rules and scriptures of the church, which requires and admonish church members to ‘confess their sins unto the brethren before the Lord,’ the lawsuit says, but the church failed to advise the couple that if he followed the guidance and confessed his sins, it would report him to state authorities. The church should have warned her husband that his confession would not stay private, the lawsuit says. The husband was arrested in 2017 and is serving 15 years in prison in Pendleton, Oregon, for abusing an underage girl, according to the state Department of Corrections. Church stands by its decision. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints said it considers protecting victims a top priority, and has a 24-hour help line to report abuse. Oregon is one of 28 states that considers clergy among professionals mandated by law to report known or suspected instances of child abuse or neglect. But that law makes some exceptions, and statutes in some states specify circumstances under which a communication is “privileged” or allowed to remain confidential. (The Oregonian)

Pampers new device sends you a notification when your kid has a dirty diaper

Lumi by Pampers is a smart sensor that attaches to your infant’s diaper and sends you a notification when they go to the bathroom. Pampers showed off the sensor (which also tracks sleep) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week. Lumi by Pampers is described on the company’s website as “the world’s first all-in-one connected care system that helps parents track day-to-day developments, and monitor their baby, 24/7, so they can see emerging patterns and establish a suitable routine.” The Lumi system uses an HD night vision camera capable of monitoring temperature and humidity, the baby sensor and an app to compile the data for parents. The product is already available online. (KTLA)

Letting car idle in cold weather could be illegal

As temperatures dip across the country, you may want to check your state laws to find out if it is illegal to start your car and let it warm-up. Several states, including Ohio, Texas and Georgia, have laws on the books that prohibit drivers from letting cars idle in a driveway or on a street. Law enforcement agencies and insurance companies have been warning drivers for nearly a decade that allowing cars to warm up, unattended, idling outside, as drivers wait inside, is an invitation for thieves to take the vehicles. If your car is stolen while you let it warm up, whether it would be covered by your insurance, depends on the company and your policy. If you want to warm the car, legally, while staying warm yourself, experts suggest investing in a remote starter. That way, the keys stay safely with you and the car remains locked but running. How can you find out if idling vehicles are illegal in your state? You can start by checking with the Environmental Protection Agency. Even if it is legal to warm up your car, do you really need to let the car run before heading out on the road? Mechanics say no. The idea of letting a car warm up comes from old engines that had carburetors. Now, most vehicles don’t have the part that mixes gas and air to make vaporized fuel. Instead, the majority of vehicles built after the 1980s have fuel injection. Experts said that idling a car wastes fuel and wears on the engine. (WYFF)

Sleep apnea may be tied to tongue fat, study finds

Obstructive sleep apnea is a common disorder in which people stop breathing in their sleep due to blockage of their upper airway. A research has singled out the main culprit behind this blockage:  a fat tongue. Obesity has long been linked with obstructive sleep apnea. The study sought to pinpoint what exactly is causing this obstruction of the airway. The researchers performed MRI scans on 67 participants with obstructive sleep apnea, before and after the patients underwent diet regimens or weight-loss surgery to help with the sleep disorder. On average, the participants lost nearly 10% of their body weight over six months, which resulted in a 31% improvement in sleep apnea. The MRI images showed a reduction in tongue fat volume as the primary link between weight loss and sleep apnea improvement. They also found correlations between sleep apnea improvement and a reduction in the size of certain muscles (namely, a jaw muscle used for chewing, known as the pteroid, and muscles on the sides of the airway known as the pharyngeal lateral wall), but not to the same extent as a reduction in tongue fat. The researchers suggest future studies should explore whether certain diets or therapeutic treatment techniques can aid in reducing tongue fat for treating sleep apnea. They also explored the role genetics may play in causing sleep apnea, and suggested that people of certain ethnicity may be predisposed to having fattier tongues. (ABC News)

Tuesday Swashes In With:

• Caesarean Section Day
• Dress Up Your Pet Day
• International Kite Day
• National Poetry at Work Day (2nd Tuesday)
• National Shop For Travel Day (2nd Tuesday)
• Organize Your Home Day
• Ratification Day