Monday, May 17, 2021

Being ‘nice’ not so nice for career

The idea that you can’t be nice and get ahead is a myth, but rather than focus on being nice, and possibly risk being too nice, according to some communications experts. They suggest we should reframe our thinking. Forget about trying to win everyone’s approval. This may result in you being taken advantage of. Focus on ways to “earn respect” that will not only benefit you, but your team. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you don’t agree with something. And lastly, and it’s often easier said than done, do not take everything personally. (Fast Company)

**WARNING: MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR ALL AUDIENCES!**

Blood Drips on Sleeping Woman’s Face From Ceiling Caused by Rotting Body on Floor Above

A woman in El Paso, Texas, has described her horror after she says she was woken in her apartment by blood dripping from her ceiling onto her face after her upstairs neighbor had died. She said she woke at around 4 a.m. on morning after hearing a dripping noise which she thought was rain. She then saw blood which was dripping from her ceiling had splattered into the walls of her apartment, face, body and bed after being propelled by her ceiling fan. She called 911, with authorities later determining that her upstairs neighbor, who was aged between 55 and 70, had been laying dead on the floor for several days and had started to decompose. The firefighters knocked down his door and the body was laying exactly where my fan is underneath. “He had carpet but the blood seeped through to my ceiling. They took the fan down and a pool of blood came down”, she said. Police believe that her neighbor had been decomposing for about five to six days following his death from natural causes. She has been staying in a hotel since the incident, and has appealed to her apartment’s management team for compensation for her damaged property. She has now set up a GoFundMe to help pay for the damages in apartment. At the time of publication, the GoFundMe has managed to raise more than $5,000. (KTSM)

Amazon, McDonald’s join pay hikes

Amazon and McDonald’s are boosting hiring and pay following Chipotle’s announcement that it’s increasing pay and offering referral bonuses to attract workers. McDonald’s is bumping hourly wages up by an average of 10% at U.S. company-owned restaurants and hiring 10,000 workers for those locations over the next three months. Amazon plans to hire 75,000 workers at an average $17 an hour, reflecting a recent wage hike, and will provide a $100 vaccination bonus. Pay hikes and surging consumer prices have stoked concerns about rising inflation among businesses and investors, though few economists are raising red flags. (Associated Press)

Boeing fixes pass FAA test

Boeing got a big thumbs up from the Federal Aviation Administration Thursday. The aerospace giant received regulatory approval on the fixes it made to the 737 MAX’s electrical system, which means airlines can fly them again, possibly within days. About 100 of the planes had been grounded since April, a mere five months after the FAA had cleared them to fly following the previous grounding, which was tied to the two fatal crashes of 2018 and 2019. The move ends “the latest embarrassing episode” for Boeing and comes at a crucial time when travel demand begins to pick back up after a dreadful year. (The Wall Street Journal)

Border Patrol Agents Are So Frustrated with Biden’s Policies That They’ve Given Themselves a New Name

Frustration over President Joe Biden’s liberal border policies has caused some border patrol agents to consider early retirement and others to dub themselves the “U.S. Welcome Patrol.” Many border patrol agents are considering early retirement because of the dramatic shift in border policy during the Biden administration. After a series of interviews with border patrol agents and while some expressed frustration, others said they were “used to” the changes that occur between presidential administrations. According to data released by CBP, there were 178,622 encounters between Border Patrol agents and illegal immigrants in April, up from the March record of 173,348. March’s total had been noted as the highest in the past 20 years. The April figure represents a 944 percent increase from April 2020, when there were 17,106 encounters. As border apprehensions continue to rise, agents have expressed frustration that many families are being released into the United States to pursue asylum cases even though some Trump-era policies are still in place. (Western Journal)

Brits urged to drink 124 pints each to help struggling pubs get back on their feet

Pub-goers will need to drink 124 pints this summer to save the nation’s food and beverage industry, finance experts have claimed. The industry needs the equivalent of $36,175,211,400.00 billion boost to return to pre-pandemic levels after a year of forced closures resulted in record losses. Finance experts say drastic drinking would be the best way of saving struggling hospitality businesses and to protect pubs from facing closures as a result of lockdown. The average pub will need each customer to spend an additional equivalent to $538.54 this year to combat the impact that Covid has had on the sector. The group has called on people to drink either 124 pints or 122 glasses of wine to do just that. For those who don’t want to consume alcohol, it also suggests that people can eat 976 packets of crisps or 40 roast dinners at the bar. (Evening Standard)

Florida ‘designated driver’ hits parked cars, charged with DUI after empty bourbon bottle found in car

A 40-year-old woman in Port St. Lucie, Florida, who was supposed to be a designated driver during a night out, became intoxicated and hit three parked cars after leaving a bar, authorities said. She had a blood alcohol content twice the legal limit when she was tested by police following the string of crashes. When officers arrived at the scene, the engine compartment of her 2010 sedan caught fire. Officers extinguished the blaze. She told the officers she had just left a bar, where she was supposed to be a designated driver. Inside her car, they found an empty bottle of Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey in the front seat, police said. She was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. The police said there were many lessons to learn from the arrests, including not driving while under the influence of any substance. “Also, if you have a designated driver, make sure they don’t drink,” the police said. (Yahoo News)

Crash victim had posted videos riding in Tesla on Autopilot

A 35-year-old man who was driving a Tesla involved in a fatal crash when his Tesla Model 3 struck an overturned semi on a freeway that California highway authorities said may have been on operating on Autopilot posted social media videos of himself riding in the vehicle without his hands on the wheel or foot on the pedal. The May 5 crash in Fontana, California, located about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, is also under investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The probe is the 29th case involving a Tesla that the federal agency has probed. The man was a member of the Southern California chapter of a Tesla club who posted numerous photos and video on social media of his white Model 3. One video on his Instagram account showed him riding in the driver’s seat without his hands on the wheel or foot on the pedal as the Tesla navigated freeway traffic. The video included the comment: “Best carpool buddy possible even takes the boring traffic for me.” (Associated Press)

California woman may have washed $26m lottery fortune down the drain

The winner of a $26 Million Dollar California lottery prize may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain. The winning SuperLotto Plus ticket for the November 14, 2020 drawing was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in Norwalk, California. The deadline for claiming it came last week. Store employee said a woman came in and told workers that she had put the ticket in her pants and it was destroyed in the laundry. The store’s manager said that surveillance video showed the woman who bought the ticket, and she is known to store workers. A copy of the surveillance video was turned over to California lottery officials, the manager said. The claim will be investigated, a lottery spokeswoman said. Lottery officials say someone who believes he or she is a winner must complete a claim form. But if someone loses a ticket, they must provide evidence that they owned it, such as a photograph of the front and back of the ticket, the officials said. If the prize isn’t claimed, the $19.7m will go to California public schools. The store that sold the ticket will receive a $130,000 bonus. It’s uncommon for large jackpots to go unclaimed, officials said. Four prizes of $20m or more haven’t been claimed since 1997, including a $63m prize from 2015, a lottery spokesman said. (KTLA)

Jobless claims at yet another low

New jobless claims again notched a pandemic-era low last week, with the initial filings for unemployment benefits falling by 34,000, to 437,000. The claims, a proxy for layoffs, suggest continued momentum in the recovery of the United State labor market despite slowing payroll growth last month. The downward trend in new claims for five weeks comes as COVID-19 vaccinations have increasingly allowed businesses to lift restrictions and hire back employees. (United States Department of Labor)

Mammals can breathe through anus in emergencies: study

A team of Japanese scientists has shown it is possible for mammals to absorb oxygen via the anus. Intrigued by how certain sea creatures breathe through their intestines in emergencies, researchers at Tokyo Medical and Dental University were able to prove the same was true under experimental circumstances for mice, rats and pigs. They say the finding might also apply to humans who are in respiratory distress when ventilators are not available or inadequate. For higher order animals, respiration involves breathing in oxygen and excreting carbon dioxide using lungs or gills. Some species however have evolved alternate ventilatory mechanisms. Loaches, catfish, sea cucumbers and orb-weaving spiders can also use their hindgut to oxygenate to survive in emergencies. This is called enteral ventilation via anus, or EVA. “The rectum has a mesh of fine blood vessels just beneath the surface of its lining, which means that drugs administered through the anus are readily absorbed into the bloodstream,” lead author said. (Phys.org)

Over half of fires are related to homeless encampments

Over half the fires that LA City firefighters respond to are somehow linked to homeless encampments. They say it’s about 24 a day. With the explosion of tents, there’s also a lot more heaters and propane tanks used for cooking. Fire officials say they are not in the business of taking them away from the people, but helping them be safer about their usage while trying to steer those people to other services and housing. (Fox 11)

Man accused of using fake ghost hunts to sexually assault women all over SE Texas

A 46-year-old man in Houston, Texas, who also used to be a peace officer, is accused of luring women to go “ghost hunting” in remote locations before sexually assaulting them. It’s feared he may have victims in several area counties and cities. The man targeted victims through social media and dating apps, a joint investigation between sheriff offices in San Jacinto and Montgomery counties found. According to authorities, the man drove the women to remote locations in San Jacinto County and surrounding counties under the guise of “ghost hunting,” where he’d sexually force himself on the women in various ways. He was arrested and charged with two counts of sexual assault. He is in the San Jacinto County Jail on a $500,000 bond. Officials said the man was a reserve Texas Peace Officer in Harris County between 2012 and 2015. (ABC 13)

Monday Clamps Down With:

• Cherry Cobbler Day
• Graduation Tassel Day
• Idaho Day
• International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia
• Pack Rat Day
• Same Sex Marriage Day
• Supply Chain Professional Day (3rd Monday)
• Syttende Mai
• Walnut Day
• World Hypertension Day
• World Telecommunications and Information Society Day
• World Neurofibromatosis Day (NF Day)

Historical Events

1536 – George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford and four other men are executed for treason.

1775 – American Revolutionary War: the Continental Congress bans trade with Quebec.

1869 – Imperial Japanese forces defeat the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Battle of Hakodate to end the Boshin War.

1939 – The Columbia Lions and the Princeton Tigers play in the United States’ first televised sporting event, a collegiate baseball game in New York City.

1940 – World War II: Germany occupies Brussels, Belgium.

1940 – World War II: the old city centre of the Dutch town of Middelburg is bombed by the German Luftwaffe, to force the surrender of the Dutch armies in Zeeland.

1954 – The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.

1967 – Six-Day War: President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt demands dismantling of the peace-keeping UN Emergency Force in Egypt.

1990 – The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) eliminates homosexuality from the list of psychiatric diseases.

1994 – Malawi holds its first multi-party elections.