Thursday, January 16, 2020

Hospitals fall on hard times

At least 30 U.S. hospitals filed for bankruptcy protection in 2019. And 8% of hospitals in the country were deemed at risk of closing, according to a 2018 analysis. What’s going on? Rising health costs, growing debt burdens on hospital balance sheets and a demographic shift away from rural to urban areas have exacted a painful toll on the nation’s hospitals. Uncertainty about the fate of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid reimbursement rates haven’t helped matters, either. (Bloomberg)

If you’ve bought Infants’ Tylenol, you could be eligible for part of a $6.3 million settlement

The plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit claim that the packaging is misleading, deceiving customers into believing Infants’ Tylenol is specially formulated for babies when it actually contains liquid acetaminophen of the same concentration as Children’s Tylenol. As a result, the lawsuit claims parents overpaid for the medication. You’re eligible for the settlement if you bought the product between Oct. 3, 2014, and Jan. 6, 2020. You must file a claim by April 13, 2020. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. denies the allegations of deception and believes the two medications (Infants’ Tylenol and Children’s Tylenol) are distinct products. The company points to additional safety features included with Infants’ Tylenol, such as a dosage syringe. The company has set up a settlement fund of up to $6.315 million. A maximum of seven bottles or $15.05 may be claimed without a proof of purchase; an unlimited number of bottles may be claimed with proof of purchase. As part of the settlement, Johnson & Johnson will also make “reasonably diligent efforts” to modify the packaging of both products to make it clear that the liquid medicine in Infants’ Tylenol and Children’s Tylenol has the same concentration of acetaminophen. (Infants Tylenol Settlement)

Oklahoma lawmaker files bill that would declare 2020 ‘Year of the Bible’

An Oklahoma lawmaker has filed a bill that would declare 2020 the “Year of the Bible.” Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, filed by Senator Nathan Dahm would recognize the unique contribution the Bible has made in shaping the United States, including that biblical teachings inspired civil government concepts found in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The resolution also recognizes that many U.S. presidents have paid tribute to the influence of the Bible. Steve Green, Hobby Lobby president and board chairman of the Museum of the Bible, said he supports the passage of SCR 7. House Majority Floor Leader Jon Echols has signed on as the House author of the resolution. SCR 7 encourages Governor Kevin Stitt and the entire executive branch to designate 2020 as the “Year of the Bible.”  (KOCO)

Man Finds $20K Bond In Used Book, Tracks Down Rightful Owner

At a secondhand bookstore in Oklahoma City, self-proclaimed bookworm picked up a copy of Norman Rockwell’s America, expecting to find literary and artistic treasures inside.  Instead he found another kind of treasure. “While I was paging it, I looked and there was this savings bond in it. And I thought oh my gosh this is fully matured. So my son was with me and I went and found him and said I just found $10,000 in a book and the color left his face,” he said. So he started his own detective story and began researching the names on the bond and found the purchaser Oma McClain had died. But the other name on the bond Joe Tober was apparently alive. It turns out Mrs. McClain bought the bond 30-years ago, apparently put it in the book for safe keeping, but then died in 2002. Her things were cleaned out of her home. No one knows where the book has been for the past 18-years but the bond inside fully matured. “This thing is worth $19,932 dollars.  And it’s been in this book what, 18 years? It’s insane man,” he said. (News 9)

‘Help me’ sign in car window was a prank, California police say

Motorists on a highway in Northern California called police after spotting a female juvenile in the backseat of a car holding up a sign that read: “Help me she’s not my mom!! Help!!” Two California Highway Patrol officers and a K-9 unit performed a high-risk enforcement stop on the vehicle traveling on SR-99 in Stockton, about 80 miles west of San Francisco, police said. The vehicle pulled over to the right shoulder of the freeway and officers made contact with the driver, police said. The officers determined that the juvenile in the backseat had written the sign as a joke and “thought it was a fun thing to do.” Her mother, who was driving, was not aware of the girl’s prank, police said. The responding unit determined there was no foul play and allowed the mother and daughter to leave the scene. CHP advised parents to “be aware of what their children are doing in the back seat at all times.” They said six CHP units were assigned to the apparent hoax rather than responding to “legitimate calls or patrolling their beats.” CHP’s Facebook post of the incident ended with the hashtags “notfunny,” “beawareofyourkids,” and “why?” (California Highway Patrol South Sacramento Facebook)

Top-secret UFO files could ‘gravely damage’ US national security, Navy says

The Department of Defense has top-secret classified briefings and a classified video about a UFO incident. The U.S. Navy acknowledged the existence of the information, which concerns a 2004 encounter between the USS Nimitz and strange unknown aerial objects, in response to a public records request. Last year, the Navy for the first time acknowledged that three UFO videos  (one from the 2004 USS Nimitz incident and two from 2015) were real videos of unidentified flying objects. Responding to an Freedom of Information Act request, the Navy said it had “discovered certain briefing slides that are classified TOP SECRET. A review of these materials indicates that are currently and appropriate Marked and Classified TOP SECRET under Executive Order 13526 and the Original Classification Authority has determined that release of these materials would cause exceptionally grave damage to the National Security of the United States.” A Pentagon spokesperson said the Navy has the video of the mysterious incident in its possession but has no plans to release it. (Mother Board)

Major Foul Play

Major League Baseball has slapped a one-year suspension on Manager A.J. Hinch and General Manager Jeff Luhnow of the Houston Astros after it uncovered “an elaborate cheating scandal” carried out in 2017, the year the team won the World Series. Both were immediately fired by the team’s owner several hours after the punishment was announced. The Astros developed a scheme for its players to steal opposing catchers’ signs, providing a huge advantage to batters. The Astros were fined $5 million and banned from the first two rounds of the next two drafts. (New York Times)

Walmart is enlarging its army of robots that scan shelves for out-of-stock items

The tall but slim Bossa Nova machines, laden with cameras, will roam aisles at a total of 1,000 stores this year to alert employees about items that need restocking. In a day, they accomplish what it takes employees two weeks to do, according to the megachain, which claims that rather than replace jobs, the devices will free workers to perform other tasks. Earlier this month, Walmart said it was deploying “Alphabots” to help fulfill online grocery orders. (Bloomberg)

Bill introduced that would end Oklahoma death penalty

Oklahoma State Representative Jason Dunnington filed House Bill 2876, which, if signed into law, would remove the death penalty as an option for sentencing in the state of Oklahoma. In a press release, he said, “Oklahomans are becoming more aware of the wasted costs of capital punishment, a system that provides no deterrent to crime while flushing millions down the drain that could be better spent.” He detailed some of the primary objections to continued use of the death penalty: the cost to taxpayers for a death row inmate is more than twice that of an inmate who is sentenced to life, there is no evidence the death penalty is actually a crime deterrent, and family members of victims routinely testify that executing the convicted offender is little consolation. The measure will be taken up during the 2020 legislative session. (KTUL)

Baby Yoda is coming to Build-A-Bear workshops in a few months

Toys featuring the instantly viral character from “The Mandalorian” have been in high demand since the show debuted on Disney+ in November. But there’s been a shortage of items available and the few things that are for sale have been on backorder until May, but that’s going to quickly change thanks to Build-A-Bear. “I’m excited to share we will be one of the first companies to provide the digital and internet phenomenon who is trending higher than all the presidential candidates combined,” Build-A-Bear CEO Sharon Price John said during a presentation at the ICR Conference in Orlando, Florida. “We now will have The Child, also known as Baby Yoda.”  The Baby Yoda stuffed animal would be available at Build-A-Bear workshops in the next few months. (Business Insider)