Tuesday, June 29, 2021

If you bought this frozen shrimp, it’s been recalled

A salmonella outbreak linked to frozen cooked shrimp sold under different brand names has prompted a recall of the product and a food safety alert from the top U.S. health agency. Avanti Frozen Foods said it is recalling various unit sizes of its frozen, cooked, peeled, deveined shrimp because of the potential for salmonella. The company said the shrimp was distributed nationwide from late December 2020 to February 2021, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they may have been sold more recently. The CDC issued a food safety alert, saying six people have reported getting sick after eating the shrimp, four in Nevada and two in Arizona, but there could be more cases that have yet to be reported because the shrimp was distributed across the country. The shrimp was sold under brand names that included Censea, Chicken of the Sea, CWNO, Hannaford, Open Acres, Waterfront Bistro, Honest Catch, 365 and Meijer. They were packaged in various unit sizes and best-by dates. The potential contamination was found after testing by the Food and Drug Administration. The CDC says an investigation remains active while most people infected with Salmonella experience diarrhea, fever, and stomach cramps. Symptoms can emerge six hours to six days after being infected, but most people recover without treatment after four to seven days. Those with weakened immune systems, children under age 5 and adults over 65 may experience more severe symptoms that require treatment or hospitalization, according to the CDC. (United States Food And Drug Administration)

‘Third workplaces’ are popping up

Hybrid work allows employees to split their time between the office and some other workspace, but who said it has to be their homes? Over the last year of remote work, “third workplaces” have become workers’ go-to spots, including coffee shops, co-working spaces and even hotels. These alternative work environments are not new, but they’re gaining popularity because they help with work-life balance and are mostly distraction-free, qualities challenged by work from home. (Axios)

Zoom … the new wedding altar

Saying “I do” over a screen, rather than in front of hundreds of guests, has boomed in popularity during the pandemic, and aspects of these hybrid nuptials are expected to outlast the pandemic. Over the last year, couples with set wedding dates either pushed back ceremonies or did them over Zoom, with only close family and friends attending in person. Hybrid weddings make couples’ big days, which average $30,000 in the United States, even bigger, allowing them to invite guests from around the world virtually while cutting down costs. (News 2)

Resume tips: Don’t mind the gap

Many of us have experienced that awkward pause in an interview when the interviewer asked, “So, tell us about the two-year gap between job X and job Y?” Well, what if we told you you didn’t have to cringe at that question anymore? Hiring managers have a “new awareness” of the ebbs and flows of personal and professional lives, and it’s chipped away at the “stigma around career pauses.” Here are a few tips recommended to get your big break after what may have been a big pause:

• Make use of the gap, i.e. take the time to pick up a new skill.
• Have a “concise narrative” of what you did during the gap, and don’t feel the need to apologize for it. Own it and move on.
• Don’t wait too long (two years is considered the “tipping point”). 

(The Wall Street Journal)

Stop saying ‘sorry’ so much

We need to stop over-apologizing. A few ways to stop apologizing: ask ourselves when is an apology really appropriate; talk context rather than saying sorry for something beyond our control; and acknowledge our mistakes and explain how we’ll do better. (Thrive Global)

Dog missing for 2 weeks found swimming in New Jersey bay, rescued by state police

A golden retriever who had been missing for two weeks was rescued recently from a bay in New Jersey. Authorities say that New Jersey State Police troopers responded to the report of a dog swimming in Barnegat Bay and were able to bring the 3-year-old safely ashore. “Needless to say he was ecstatic to be reunited with his grateful owners,” state police wrote on a Facebook post, showing a photo of the dog after he was rescued from the water. Two joggers recognized Chunk from posters and reported seeing him jump into the water near Mantoloking Bridge while another man was fishing nearby and said the pup kept backing away from his boat when he tried to get close but swam to shore when he backed away. “We positioned our boat, got (the) line ready, acted as a leash. Line around dog and guide him up to the docks,” they said. The pup’s owners said that he had some matted fur and was covered in ticks, but was otherwise healthy, although the pup lost 20 pounds. (New Jersey State Police Facebook)

Supreme Court Restricts Police Powers To Enter A Home Without A Warrant

The U.S. Supreme court ruled recently that police cannot enter a home without a warrant when pursuing someone for a minor crime. By a largely unanimous vote, the court declared that police violated the rights of a California man by pursuing him into his garage for allegedly playing loud music while driving down a deserted two-lane highway late at night. Writing for the court majority, Justice Elena Kagan said that police had no right to enter the man’s home without a warrant for such a trivial offense. The Supreme Court has long held that police may conduct a warrantless search when pursuing a fleeing felon. The question in the case was whether police are free to do the same thing when pursuing someone suspected of a minor offense like playing loud music. (Reuters)

Man escapes on lawnmower from intoxicated, machete-wielding man

A man told authorities he was able to narrowly escape an intoxicated, machete-wielding man in Delray Beach, Florida by riding off on a lawnmower, according to a report. Recently, a man doing work told authorities that a person motioned for him to come over to him. When the man made his way over on the lawnmower, the suspect took a machete out of his jeans and came after him, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s arrest report. The man told authorities he watched his 27-year-old attacker get on a bike, but fell off because he was too intoxicated. Deputies found Rodas Flores hiding nearby at his residence in nothing but his boxers. Authorities wrote that he was uncooperative as they took him to their patrol car. The attacker faces charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer. He remains in the Palm Beach County Jail without bail. (Palm Beach Post)

U.S. life expectancy decreased by an ‘alarming’ amount during pandemic

Average life expectancy in the United States plummeted in 2020, widening the life expectancy gap between the U.S. and other high-income countries. The decline was particularly sharp among Hispanic and Black Americans, a new study found. Health experts anticipated life expectancy would drop during the pandemic, but how much it did came as a surprise. The new study used data from the National Center for Health Statistics, which is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Human Mortality Database to measure changes in life expectancy between 2018 and 2020 among Black, white and Hispanic Americans. The available data did not allow the researchers to include Asian, Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native populations in the comparison. Between 2018 and 2020, the decrease in average life expectancy at birth in the U.S. was roughly 1.9 years, 8.5 times the average decrease in 16 comparable countries, which was about 2.5 months. The decrease widened the gap between the U.S. and its peers to nearly 5 years, but the difference is much larger among Black and Hispanic Americans. Compared with white Americans, whose average life expectancy at birth dropped by about 1.4 years between 2018 and 2020, the average Hispanic American’s decreased by just under 3.9 years. The average lifespan of a Black American decreased by 3.25 years. (NBC News)

Jill Biden Will Attend Tokyo Olympics and Meet with World Leaders as President Stays Home

President Joe Biden will be at the White House when the Olympics open in Tokyo next month, but the Biden family will be represented at the Olympic Games, according to a new report. First lady Jill Biden will be present for the July 23 opening ceremonies, according to a Japanese newspaper called the “Yomiuri Shimbun Daily”. The newspaper said that Biden may also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga. The news that President Biden is sending his wife to Tokyo caused a buzz on social media. (The Western Journal)

Almost every Tesla in China recalled

More than 285,000 Tesla’s face a major recall after a Chinese government agency declared the electric vehicles’ autopilot systems to be faulty. It is thought that the software can be activated automatically, “potentially leading to crashes from sudden acceleration”. The cruise control issue can be fixed remotely and will be done so for free by the company. Since opening a major plant in Shanghai, Tesla has faced several issues in the country. (Yahoo News)

J&J to pay $230 Million Dollar opioid settlement

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson agreed to stop selling opioids nationwide as part of a $230 million settlement with New York state. The drugmaker says the deal is consistent with a $5 billion global settlement it proposed last year to resolve all of its opioid liability, though the New York settlement is said to not affect a current non-jury trial in California involving J&J and other opioid makers accused of illegally marketing the drugs to make billions. J&J has denied any wrongdoing. (The Times Union)

‘God told me to come here’ Louisiana man arrested after getting high and driving to prison

A deputy with the Ouachita Parish, Louisiana Sheriff’s Office responded to a complaint at the front gate of the Ouachita Correctional Center. When deputies arrived, they were pointed towards a car in the parking lot that belonged to 35-year-old man. When deputies approached the man, he allegedly got out of the car and stated “God told me to come here.” When officers asked him if he was high, he replied stating that he got high on methamphetamine before going up there. He then reportedly stated that God told him to go and get his family out of OCC. After placing the man in handcuffs, officers searched his vehicle and found a backpack with a suspected bag of meth, which he claimed to which he claimed ownership. Afterwards, he was escorted inside OCC and booked on one count of Possession of a CDS-II. (My ArklaMiss)

Tuesday Brings Us:

• Almond Buttercrunch Day
• Camera Day
• International Day Of The Tropics
• International Mud Day
• Waffle Iron Day
• World Scleroderma Day

Historical Events

• 1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway.
• 1444 – Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll.
• 1644 – Charles I of England defeats a Parliamentarian detachment at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, the last battle won by an English King on English soil.
• 1807 – Russo-Turkish War: Admiral Dmitry Senyavin destroys the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Athos.
• 1889 – Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population.
• 1895 – Doukhobors burn their weapons as a protest against conscription by the Tsarist Russian government.
• 1916 – The Irish Nationalist and British diplomat Sir Roger Casement is sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising.
• 1922 – France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge “freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes”.
• 1927 – First test of Wallace Turnbull’s controllable pitch propeller.
• 1950 – The United States defeats England during the 1950 FIFA World Cup.