Category Archives: News

Crime: “Social Security Administration Scams” Are #1 Fraud Reported To FTC

From an FTC online release:

FTC LogoThe Social Security Administration (SSA) scam is the number one scam reported to the FTC right now.

As soon as a caller threatens you, or demands you pay them with a gift card or by wiring money.  It’s a scam. Even if the caller ID tells you otherwise.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be from the Social Security Administration, hang up the phone and remember:

  • Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended.
  • The real Social Security Administration will never call to threaten your benefits.
  • The real SSA will never tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on a gift card.

 

To read more: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2019/12/getting-bombarded-scam-calls-youre-not-alone?utm_source=govdelivery

Health: “Understanding Parkinson’s Disease” (Nature Videos)

Parkinson’s disease is a neurological condition that affects the brain and other parts of the nervous system. The gradual loss of nerve cells leads to a suite of characteristic motor and non-motor symptoms.

Understanding Parkinson's Disease Nature Neuroscience Videos Dec 16 2019

What causes these cells to die and how the pathology develops in the nervous system are not yet clear but multiple lines of investigation are being pursued to answer these questions. In this animation, we explore some of the latest in Parkinson’s disease research.

Website: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41583-019-0254-x

New Museum Openings: “Fotografiska New York” Showcasess The World’s Greatest Photographers

From a The Art Newspaper online release:

Fotografiska New York Museum Opened Dec 14 2019 Sally Mann quote“People want to see photography and right now there are not a lot of places to do that,” he says. Showing “the best photography in the world” remains Fotografiska’s core mission, Broman says.

The global expansion of Fotografiska is finally taking shape. The Stockholm-based photography hub, founded in 2010 by brothers Jan and Per Broman, will open its New York outpost on 14 December, almost two months later than previously announced.

fotografiska-new-york-museum-opening-dec-14-2019-exhibitions.jpg

https://www.fotografiska.com/nyc/

This follows a venue launched in June in Tallinn, Estonia, and anticipates the arrival in late 2020 of Fotografiska London, billed as the world’s largest photography gallery by the British Journal of Photography.

To read more: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/first-fotografiska-takes-manhattan

Healthcare Podcast: Price Of Insulin Has Doubled In Last 4 Years, Putting Type 1 Diabetics & Families At Risk

From a USA Today online article:

USA-Today-webIn people with Type 1 diabetes, the pancreas can’t make insulin. Those with the condition require several doses of insulin a day and spent $5,705 per person on it in 2016, an increase of $2,841, or 99%, per person since 2012, according to the nonprofit Health Care Cost Institute.

(Podcast interview “This Weekend With Gordon Deal”, 12-14-19)

This Weekend with Gordon Deal podcastCosts continue to rise, so much so that almost half of people with diabetes have temporarily skipped taking their insulin, according to a 2018 survey by UpWell Health, a Salt Lake City company that provides home delivery of medications and supplies for chronic conditions.

“Insulin prices doubled in a four-year period,” said Cathy Paessun, the director of the Central Ohio Diabetes Association. “They continue to go up, and the infuriating thing is that there is no change in the process for creating the product.”

To read article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/12/09/insulin-prices-double-ohio-lawmakers-looking-answers/2629115001/

Travel: Harbour Air Seaplanes Announces World’s First Commercial Electric Plane Flight

From a Harbour Air Seaplanes online release:

Harbour Air Seaplanes logo“Today, we made history,” said Greg McDougall, CEO and founder of Harbour Air Seaplanes. “I am incredibly proud of Harbour Air’s leadership role in re-defining safety and innovation in the aviation and seaplane industry. Canada has long held an iconic role in the history of aviation, and to be part of this incredible world-first milestone is something we can all be really proud of.”

December 10, 2019 – Harbour Air, North America’s largest seaplane airline and magniX, the company powering the electric aviation revolution, today announced the successful flight of the world’s first all-electric commercial aircraft. The successful flight of the ePlane, a six-passenger DHC-2 de Havilland Beaver magnified by a 750-horsepower (560 kW) magni500 propulsion system, took place on the Fraser River at Harbour Air Seaplanes terminal in Richmond (YVR South) this morning. The plane was piloted by Harbour Air CEO and founder Greg McDougall. This historic flight signifies the start of the third era in aviation – the electric age.

To read more: https://www.harbourair.com/harbour-air-and-magnix-announce-successful-flight-of-worlds-first-commercial-electric-airplane/

Surgery: There Are No Low-Risk Procedures For Frail Older Patients (NYT)

From a New York Times online article:

JAMA Surgery“Our data indicate that there are no low-risk procedures among patients who are frail,” Dr. Hall and his co-authors concluded in their study.

Dr. Hall’s research, recently published in JAMA Surgery, has found that frail, older adults are more likely than other patients to die after even supposedly minor procedures — and even when the surgery goes well, without complications.

After operations, frail patients find it harder than others to regain strength and mobility, and to return to independent lives. Doctors and researchers assess frailty in a variety of ways. Geriatricians often measure things like gait and grip strength, and look for unintended weight loss and exhaustion.

 

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/health/frail-elderly-surgery.html

Top Political Podcasts: Mark Shields And David Brooks On The Latest In Washington (PBS)

Shields and Brooks political podcast Dec 13 2019Syndicated columnist Mark Shields and New York Times columnist David Brooks join Judy Woodruff to discuss the week’s political news, including the House Judiciary Committee’s passage of articles of impeachment along party lines, Republicans’ defense of President Trump, how impeachment affects Trump politically, what the Horowitz report says about the FBI and a bombshell report on the Afghan war.

Top Political Podcasts: In-Depth Interview With Sen. Elizabeth Warren (NYT)

Senator Elizabeth Warren has based her presidential campaign on a promise to reform the rules of the economy.Credit Todd Heisler The New York TimesIn Part 3 of our series on pivotal moments in the lives of the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders, we spoke with Elizabeth Warren about how she came to be known as the blow-it-up candidate. The Massachusetts senator describes her transformation from Republican law professor to progressive candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination.

NY Times The Daily PodcastWith help from Andrew Ross Sorkin, a financial columnist at The Times and founder of DealBook; Harry Reid, a former Senate majority leader; and David Axelrod, a former Obama adviser, we explore Ms. Warren’s rise to prominence as an advocate for overhauling the financial system — and why those beliefs can help us understand her run for president now.

To read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/13/podcasts/the-daily/elizabeth-warren.html?te=1&nl=the-daily&emc=edit_dy_20191213?campaign_id=110&instance_id=14530&segment_id=19595&user_id=415092ec82728104b9ca7bbb44eeb7d3&regi_id=7441254120191213

Housing Trends: “Empty-Nester” Boomers Are Now Downsizing To Luxury “Jewel-Box Homes” (WSJ)

From a Wall Street Journal online article:

The single-level home has high windows and travertine floors throughout. Photo by Amy MIKLER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The single-level home has high windows and travertine floors throughout. PHOTO: AMY MIKLER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The jewel-box home—small, but loaded with amenities and costly finishes—is luring more home buyers. An analysis by Home Innovation Research Labs, a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders, found that the number of new-construction luxury homes at 3,000 square feet or less has increased nearly 20% since 2013—with a corresponding decline in larger-size, high-price homes.

Changing demographics might be driving the trend. More than half of all households now consist of single people or couples, U.S. Census Bureau data shows—with traditional nuclear families accounting for just 20%.

“Empty-nesters want to downsize, but they want luxury homes not starter homes—luxury kitchens, marble surfaces, all the latest and greatest,” said Tim Costello, CEO of Builder Homesite, a consortium whose New Home Source website—an online clearing house for new-construction homes—tracks home buyers’ preferences.

To read more: https://www.wsj.com/articles/luxury-homeowners-put-a-ring-on-jewel-box-homes-11576081060

British Politics: “How Boris Johnson Won The 2019 General Election” (Telegraph Video)

Boris Johnson has won historic landslide victory today for the Conservatives in the 2019 General Election. On a catastrophic night for Labour, Jeremy Corbyn’s party was predicted to end the day with just 196 seats, down 66 on the last election in their worst result since 1935.