Wednesday, June 17, 2020

A drug has shown promising results for beating lung cancer, with 89% of patients in trials disease-free after two years

This was compared to 53% of patients who took a placebo. The drug, Tagrisso, was effective for all ethnicities and subgroups, including people who had chemotherapy and those who didn’t. Because of the positive results, a committee ruled that the phase three trials can become unblinded, so participants know who took the drug and who took a placebo. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide, representing 20% of all deaths. 85% of all cases are non-small cell lung cancer, which Tagrisso targets. 80 countries, including the U.S. and those in the EU, have approved daily oral tablets of the drug for advanced non-small cell lung cancer. (Good News Network)

Roofing company workers forced onto ground, held at gunpoint by man who thought they were Antifa

A Loveland, Colorado man faces felony charges after allegedly concluding that two men going door-to-door in his neighborhood were members of the protest movement known as Antifa and then ordering them to the ground and holding them at gunpoint. The incident unfolded after the man called police, said there were two men wearing masks near his home, and announced he was armed and going to go confront them, Loveland Police confirmed. When officers arrived, they encountered a man dressed in fatigues and holding two men on the ground at gunpoint. But the men weren’t troublemakers because they work for a local roofing company and were wearing blue polo shirts with the firm’s name on them, shorts, tennis shoes and white surgical-style masks. One of them is a Colorado State University football player who is 20 years old and works part-time at the roofing company. The student is a “man of color,” according to a statement from the university.  The other man is 27 and an employee of the roofing company. (News 9)

The kind of job that can kill you

A combination of high stress and low autonomy can prove deadly on the job, according to research from Northern Illinois University and Indiana University. People who hold down such jobs face a higher risk of death in mid-life than employees in less stressful, more independent work environments. While some jobs are simply stressful by definition, those workers can benefit immensely by being given some autonomy on the job. This can range from having control over which tasks you do first to deciding where and when you work. Those small bits of freedom can go a very long way. (Psycnet)

One family waited 27 hours to adopt a dog with a heart-shaped patch of fur

A picture of the dog that went viral on social media caught the attention of one Tulsa family who camped outside of the shelter until the dog was eligible for adoption. The dog was adopted from the Broken Arrow Animal Shelter in Oklahoma. The family plans to name the dog Luna. As more Americans stay at home, pet adoptions have surged during COVID-19. (Fox 23)

Louisianan adopts daylight saving time year-round, pending federal approval

A bill signed into law by Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards says the state will adopt daylight saving time as the year-round standard time, pending changes in federal law. The law only goes into effect if the United States Congress amends current federal law to allow states to decide whether or not they adopt daylight saving time as their year-round standard time. If that should happen while the state is in daylight saving time, the state will not return to standard time. If that happens while the state is in standard time, the law takes effect at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March 2021. (WLBT)

The world’s first 3D bionic eye

Researchers at a university in Hong Kong have developed a 3D bionic eye that could restore sight to the blind. Previous bionic eyes have employed 2D camera-like sensors, which tend to render unclear vision and can’t track fast movement. This particular bionic eye is concave in shape, much like the human retina, and has light sensors that imitate the eye’s photoreceptors. This design allows much clearer vision than previous bionic eyes. And, in time, with more sophisticated sensors, such eyes could even offer enhancements on the real thing, like night vision. (New Atlas)

Surprise found in Jefferson Davis statue being removed in Kentucky

Workers removing a statue of Civil War leader Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky state capitol in Frankfort this past weekend discovered unexpected artifacts hidden inside the base: a bottle of Glenmore Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, and a copy of the State Journal newspaper from October 20, 1936, the day the statue was erected. One local report suggested the bottle may have held a piece of paper but others said the vessel was empty. Kentucky’s Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted overwhelmingly Friday (6/12) to remove the Davis statue. Davis, a one time US Senator who died in 1889, was president of the Confederate states. He was later indicted for treason but not tried. (The New York Post)

Workers are too scared to quit

The pandemic and its economic devastation are making it too scary for Americans who still have jobs to quit, and that is cause for concern. Quit rates are a key barometer the health of the job market, and when more people leave voluntarily, it means they’re optimistic about their own prospects and, more broadly, the future of the overall economy. Less people quitting also keeps pay down, since moving to new opportunities usually gives new hires an average 6% pay bump. (Quartz)

Pennsylvania angler breaks state record with monster 56-pound catfish

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has confirmed that an angler set a new record after catching a catfish in late May. Not only is it the largest catfish caught in the state, it’s reportedly the largest fish of any kind caught in Pennsylvania. The man caught the 56.3-pound fish during a trip to the Schuylkill River on May 24th. He described the fish as looking like “a torpedo” and the fish put up a good fight. He said he eventually eased the tension on his line, luring the fish out of its hiding spot. After about five minutes, he was able to net the fish on the river wall (with help from his girlfriend). The fish was taken to an official weigh station, where it was recorded as weighing 56.3 pounds. The man contacted state officials, who came and verified the weight in person. After, all the man had to do was fill out some paperwork and then wait for the good news. (Penn Live)

U.S. CDC Warns That Restrictions May Be Needed Again If COVID-19 Cases Spike

U.S. health officials on Friday urged Americans to continue adhering to social distancing and other COVID-19 safety measures, and warned that states may need to reimpose strict restrictions if COVID-19 cases spike. In recent weeks, experts have raised concerns that the reopening of the U.S. economy could lead to a fresh wave of infections. About half a dozen states, including Texas and Arizona, are grappling with a rising number of coronavirus patients filling hospital beds. (Reuters)

California looking into Amazon

Amazon’s business practices in California are being reviewed by state investigators. The investigation centers on how Amazon sells its own products on its platforms against other third-party sellers. Neither Amazon nor California officials have commented; Amazon has previously said “it follows all laws.” The EU plans to file charges against Amazon for breaking its competition laws, following a nearly two-year investigation into its treatment of third-party sellers. (The Wall Street Journal)

Crisis leaves lasting economic scars

Researchers say the pandemic’s global economic damage will not only be long-lasting, in some sectors it’s likely to be permanent. A new analysis of surveys and market data suggest we’re on the cusp of a “Great Reallocation,” where 42% of U.S. jobs lost during the pandemic, an estimated 11.6 million jobs, will be gone for good. That comes as tens of millions of consumers hit by layoffs spend less and companies cut back on equipment. Some officials suggest government aid should be coupled with investments in training for those who’ve been laid off. (Bloomberg News)

Police say man on ‘bath salts’ jumped on ambulance

 “Bath salts” may have been the reason a man jumped on an ambulance late Sunday (6/14) night in midtown Tulsa. Police, firefighters, and EMSA stayed at the QuikTrip for about three hours waiting for the man to come down. Tulsa police say they were called there by paramedics and saw the man pacing back and forth on top of the ambulance. EMSA says the same man had been taken to Hillcrest hospital earlier because he had taken “bath salts,” but was released due to his behavior. Police say they planned to wait for the bath salts to metabolize through the man’s system enough to talk him off the ambulance safely. After three hours, paramedics managed to drag the man down and sedate him, police say. The man returned to Hillcrest hospital. (Fox 23)

Wednesday Crashes Like A Water Balloon With:

• Apple Strudel Day
• Cherry Tart Day
• Eat Your Vegetables Day
• Global Garbage Man Day
• Stewarts Root Beer Day
• World Day To Combat Desertification and Drought
• World Tesselation Day