Tuesday, June 15, 2021

China sternly reminded Japan not to refer to Taiwan as a country

Japan’s prime minister referred to the self-ruled island as a country during a recent meeting of the country’s bicameral legislature, inciting substantial backlash from Beijing. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson made remarks urging Japan “to make prompt clarification, remove the severe damage and ensure that such things won’t happen again.” He went on to state that “there is only one China in the world”. Taiwan is officially named the Republic of China. Its multi-party democracy is under the indirect control of the People’s Republic of China. The island is a developed country and ranks 15th in GDP per capita; it remains highly ranked in terms of civil liberties, education, and health care. Japan and China have an alleged pact not to refer to Taiwan as a country, but rather a breakaway region that may be reunited by force if necessary. Japan officially broke its ties with Taiwan in 1972. (Hindustan Times)

A lobster diver was swallowed by a humpback whale and lived to tell the tale

The man was swimming near Cape Cod, Massachusetts when he felt a shove and experienced complete darkness. He was inside the whale’s mouth for nearly a minute before his thrashing provoked the animal to release him. Experts state that the whale was most likely a juvenile who may not have noticed the man during feeding. He is now recovering in the hospital after being treated for soft tissue damage. (Cape Cod Times)

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names unanimously voted to remove the term “Negro” from 16 geographical locations in Texas

Sixteen Texas geographic locations with names like “Negro Creek” will no longer include the term “Negro” following a decision by a federal board. The US Board on Geographic Names unanimously approved a proposal in its monthly meeting to rename the 16 geographical features in Texas that include the word “Negro.” The board, which authorizes the official name changes, made the decision in response to a request from the Texas Legislature, said a spokesperson for the US Board on Geographic Names. (CNN)

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

Michigan TikToker’s failed sex fetish stunt requires fire department rescue

A 27-year-old Ann Arbor woman who teaches social media followers how to do sex acts and fetishes had to call firefighters for help after a sex stunt went wrong recently. Being stuck was the sexual fetish the woman was trying to demonstrate on social media, but this time she couldn’t get unstuck on her own. Firefighters responded to reports of a person stuck in a chair, said Chief of the Ann Arbor Fire Department. Requests to get people unstuck are “not unusual,” he said, and usually involve getting a child’s head out of a stair banister, but this experience was unique, he said. At first, the third shift crew of Engine 1-6 found her stuck in a folding chair. They attempted to cut her out of the chair using bolt cutters, eventually using Jaws of Life to wriggle the chair off of her. The woman did not suffer any injuries. While embarrassing, she said she realizes how funny it was and is glad it gave people a laugh. “It was embarrassing, but probably the best stuck video I’ve ever made,” she said. (Michigan Live)

Federal Reserve tells employees to avoid ‘biased terms’ like ‘Founding Fathers’

The Federal Reserve has instructed employees to adopt “bias-free language” and avoid using biased terms like “Founding Fathers,” according to an internal webpage. The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors issued the guidance for all employees nationwide on April 29th. The guidance contains a list of “biased terms” to avoid, including “blacklist,” “grandfathered,” and “Founding Fathers.” Employees are instructed to use terms like “denied,” “legacy,” and “Founders” instead. The Fed also said the terms “whitelisted, “manpower,” “manmade,” and “singular generic pronouns” – such as “he,” she,” “his,” and “hers” – should be replaced with more “bias-free” alternatives like “allowed,” “artificial,” and pronouns such as “they,” “their” and “theirs.” Such speech codes are more frequently found on college campuses, where they have caused controversy, though they have become more common at government entities. In a statement, a Federal Reserve spokesman said: “The Federal Reserve has no language directives for employees.” (Fox News)

Off-duty flight attendant allegedly choked a crew member and claimed to be seated next to a terrorist before being subdued

Authorities identified the off-duty Delta Air Lines flight attendant who was accused of assaulting two crew members before being subdued on an Atlanta-bound flight that was forced to land in Oklahoma City. The 34-year-old man allegedly choked a crew member and claimed to be seated next to a terrorist before a scuffle broke out, according to a report from the Oklahoma City Police. The man was making statements about being seated next to a terrorist and stashing his personal items in various places throughout the plane. The man was ignoring flight crews’ orders to remain seated and stop disturbing and frightening passengers with odd and random statements, according to witnesses. The pilot said the man had made announcements indicating “the plane is going through turbulance (sic), to put on seat belts, the plane is being taken over and the plane will be going under 10,000 feet,” the police report read. When he was taken into custody, he had a “minor abrasion on his forehead” and “complained of chest pains and other ailments,” the report said. Some of the items the man stashed throughout the plane included “odd things like tennis balls with writings on them, trash and food,” according to the report. He was treated on scene and then taken to a hospital for evaluation. When he was medically cleared, he was taken to the Oklahoma County jail, the police report said. (CNN)

A new material made from carbon nanotubes can generate electricity by scavenging energy from its environment

MIT engineers have discovered a new way of generating electricity using tiny carbon particles that can create a current simply by interacting with liquid surrounding them. The liquid, an organic solvent, draws electrons out of the particles, generating a current that could be used to drive chemical reactions or to power micro- or nanoscale robots, the researchers say. The researchers showed that they could use this electric current to drive a reaction known as alcohol oxidation an organic chemical reaction that is important in the chemical industry. In future work, researchers hope to use this kind of energy generation to build polymers using only carbon dioxide as a starting material. In a related project, he has already created polymers that can regenerate themselves using carbon dioxide as a building material, in a process powered by solar energy. This work is inspired by carbon fixation, the set of chemical reactions that plants use to build sugars from carbon dioxide, using energy from the sun. In the longer term, this approach could also be used to power micro- or nanoscale robots. (Phys.org)

Quantum Microscope Created That Can See the Impossible

 University of Queensland researchers have created a quantum microscope that can reveal biological structures that would otherwise be impossible to see. This paves the way for applications in biotechnology, and could extend far beyond this into areas ranging from navigation to medical imaging. The microscope is powered by the science of quantum entanglement, an effect Einstein described as “spooky interactions at a distance.” Australia’s Quantum Technologies Roadmap sees quantum sensors spurring a new wave of technological innovation in healthcare, engineering, transport and resources. A major success of the team’s quantum microscope was its ability to catapult over a ‘hard barrier’ in traditional light-based microscopy. (SciTech Daily)

Florida Couple Arrested After Breaking Into A Mayors Home And Ramming Police K-9

A 31-year-old man and 32-year-old woman were arrested for among other crimes, ramming an officer, attempting to run over a K-9 and his handler, and breaking into the Haines City, Florida, Mayor’s home. A police officer was patrolling when a blue 2003 Toyota was seen parked at a construction site. When the man was alerted to the presence of the officer, he ran and jumped into his vehicle and drove directly at the Officer who was in his patrol car with his emergency lights activated, and intentionally struck the Officer’s patrol car causing damage to the front end. A K-9 Officer and his partner Cash were able to locate the suspect vehicle. After a short pursuit, the vehicle ran into a ditch and stopped. The K-9 Officer heard the doors open on the suspect’s vehicle so he deployed his partner Cash, on a lead, while giving the occupants clear directions. The commands were ignored and the man put the vehicle in reverse and intentionally drove toward the two, striking Cash. The K-9 Officer used the leash to pull Cash away from the accelerating vehicle into his arms, and ran, with Cash in his arms, to avoid being run over.  Thanks to his quick action, K-9 Cash was not injured. The man continued backward and struck the Officers patrol vehicle causing damage to the front end then drove off at a high rate of speed before crashing in another area. The man and woman exited the vehicle and ran into a wooded area where they were caught later. Shortly after, the vehicle caught fire. Neither the vehicle nor the tag were registered to the suspects.  The man is being charged with armed burglary, two counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, use of a deadly weapon on a police K9, fleeing to elude, leaving the scene of a crash, criminal mischief, driving on a suspended license, resisting arrest without violence, driving an unregistered vehicle and possession of Buprenorphine. The woman is charged with burglary of an occupied structure and resisting arrest without violence. (Tampa Free Press)

Florida man attacks person with shopping cart

A 36-year-old man in Miami, Florida is facing charges after allegedly attacking a homeless man by stomping on his head and hitting him repeatedly with a shopping cart recently. The suspect is facing charges of second-degree murder and aggravated battery after witnesses told police he was seen dragging a man onto the road, according to the Miami Police Department. The man was seen fighting with another man in the median of a road before the man grabbed a blue shopping cart and hitting the man with it at least three times, police said. The man was taken to a local hospital with serious bodily injuries. Police have not yet identified the victim but said he is possibly a homeless Hispanic man. A retired firefighter told police he pulled over and held the suspect at gunpoint to stop him from attacking the man. The suspect was arrested and taken to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. (NBC 2)

Naked woman nabbed last month in more trouble after altercation at jail

A naked 29-year-old woman nabbed last month after terrorizing customers at an Aldi grocery is in more trouble following an altercation at the jail. She has been lodged at the Sumter County Detention Center since her arrest May 7th when she was “completely naked” and climbed into a car with an autistic 17-year-old whose mother had stepped into the Aldi grocery store in Oxford, Florida. This new situation resulted when the woman had been ordered on June 3rd to return to her cell. She disregarded the order and began to walk away from the detention deputy. A second deputy intervened and attempted to guide West into her cell. She threw a cup of water on him, broke the skin of his arm with her fingernails and spit at him. She is facing new charges of battery on a law enforcement official and resisting a law enforcement official. (Villages News)

The NBC reality competition show has shut down production after a reported outbreak of waterborne giardia

It turns out that NBC’s Ultimate Slip ‘N Slide has had to shut down production on account of all the explosive diarrhea. As many as 40 crewmembers on the upcoming reality competition show have developed symptoms of the intestinal disease giardia. The crew members fell violently ill during production on a remote ranch in Simi Valley, California. The outbreak of “awful explosive diarrhea” left people “collapsing” on set and “being forced to run into port-o-potties.” Universal later confirmed that waterborne giardia parasites had been found on the set. No word on when the production will continue. (The New York Post)

A new way to break down plastic

A San Francisco Bay area startup has developed a method to break down plastic from the inside out, making the process faster and easier to achieve. Instead of introducing new enzymes to break down plastic, startup Intropic Materials has developed plastic that already contains those very enzymes. Add the right combination of water and heat and the plastic will break down. Because the enzymes are built into the plastic, it can break down more completely and at a rate of days or weeks, versus months for typical plastic. (Fast Company)

Tuesday Shows Up With:

• Global Wind Day
• Lobster Day
• Magna Carta Day
• Megalodon Day
• Nature Photography Day
• Native American Citizenship Day
• National Day of Prayer for Law Enforcement Officers
• Prune Day
• Royal Ascot
• Smile Power Day
• World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
• Worldwide Day of Giving

Historical Events

• 763 BC – Assyrians record a solar eclipse that is later used to fix the chronology of Mesopotamian history.
• 1776 – Delaware Separation Day – Delaware votes to suspend government under the British Crown and separate officially from Pennsylvania.
• 1785 – Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, co-pilot of the first-ever manned flight (1783), and his companion, Pierre Romain, become the first-ever casualties of an air crash when their hot air balloon explodes during their attempt to cross the English Channel.
• 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
• 1836 – Arkansas is admitted as the 25th U.S. state.
• 1913 – The Battle of Bud Bagsak in the Philippines ends.
• 1916 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signs a bill incorporating the Boy Scouts of America, making them the only American youth organization with a federal charter.
• 1954 – UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) is formed in Basel, Switzerland.
• 1955 – The Eisenhower administration stages the first annual “Operation Alert” (OPAL) exercise, an attempt to assess the USA’s preparations for a nuclear attack.
• 1978 – King Hussein of Jordan marries American Lisa Halaby, who takes the name Queen Noor.