His $109K Heart Attack Bill Is Now Down To $332 After NPR Told His Story

A Texas hospital that charged a teacher $108,951 for care after a 2017 heart attack told the patient Thursday it would slash the bill to $332.29 — but not before a story about the huge charge sparked a national conversation over what should be done to combat surprise medical bills that afflict a growing number of Americans.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2018/08/31/643342598/his-109k-heart-attack-bill-is-now-down-to-332-after-npr-told-his-story?source=Snapzu

87-year-old Ohio man takes trucking job to cover wife's medical expenses — and he's not alone

Retirees should be spending their time golfing, taking vacations and playing with grandchildren. Instead, one Ohio man is doing the opposite. Robert Blocksom, 87, is looking for a job, and he’s not alone. “It's definitely a trend. The bureau of labor statistics is predicting an increase over the next five years," Lori Long and Entrepreneurship Professor at Baldwin Wallace University said.
Read more: https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/national/87-year-old-ohio-man-takes-trucking-job-to-cover-wife-s-medical-expenses-and-he-s-not-alone?source=Snapzu

Now There's a Water Gun That Shoots Liquid Bullets and Refills Itself

Until the Super Soaker came along in 1990, water guns hadn’t changed much in over a century. But the Super Soaker was 28 years ago, and a group of German engineers and designers think it’s finally time for water guns to evolve again. They’ve created the self-filling Spyra One that fires quick bursts of water instead of a steady stream, which promises to improve accuracy and distance.
Read more: https://gizmodo.com/now-theres-a-water-gun-that-shoots-liquid-bullets-and-r-1827691645?source=Snapzu

Rodrigo Duterte slammed after 'dangerous and distorted' rape joke

Rodrigo Duterte has been condemned by women's rights groups after the Philippine president joked about the number of rape case in the southern city of Davao. At a public event on Thursday, Duterte suggested that the high number of rape cases recorded in Davao was due to the 'many beautiful women' in his home city. "They say there are many rape cases in Davao," Duterte said at the event in Cebu. "Well, for as long as there are many beautiful women, there will be many rape cases, too."
Read more: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/rodrigo-duterte-slammed-dangerous-distorted-rape-joke-180831085433413.html?source=Snapzu

Home Depot workers build lemonade stand for boy with cancer

An 8-year-old Florida boy wanted to raise money for a family friend who is battling an aggressive form of childhood cancer. So he and his mother went to a Home Depot for supplies to build a lemonade stand, except they received a lot more than that. Dawn Redmon and her son, Christian, called the Home Depot store in Apopka with the hope that they'd considering making some sort of donation or giving a discount on the items to build the lemonade stand.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/good-news/home-depot-workers-build-lemonade-stand-for-boy-with-cancer/ar-BBMDoZu?OCID=ansmsnnews11?source=Snapzu

The Future of Pointless Work

Some years ago, I had a colleague who would frequently complain that he didn’t have enough to do. He’d mention how much free time he had to our team, ask for more tasks from our boss, and bring it up at after-work drinks. He was right, of course, about the situation: Although we were hardly idle, even the most productive among us couldn’t claim to be toiling for eight (or even five, sometimes three) full hours a day.
Read more: https://newrepublic.com/article/150506/universal-basic-income-future-of-pointless-work?source=Snapzu

Inside The Trump Administration’s Secret War On Weed

The Marijuana Policy Coordination Committee wants to counteract positive marijuana messages and identify problems with state legalization initiatives, according to documents obtained by BuzzFeed News.
Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/dominicholden/trump-secret-committee-anti-marijuana?source=Snapzu

EU to recommend that member states abolish daylight saving time

Move follows poll finding that more than 80% of Europeans are against changing clocks
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/31/eu-recommend-member-states-abolish-daylight-saving-time?source=Snapzu

ER actress who criticized George Clooney shot dead after pulling BB gun on cops

Vanessa Marquez was shot dead after pointing a BB gun that looked like a semiautomatic on police at her home in Pasadena Thursday. She accused former co-star George Clooney of blacklisting her from working last year, but he has denied doing so
Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2018/08/31/er-actress-who-criticized-george-clooney-shot-dead-after-pulling-bb-gun-on-cops-7901488/?source=Snapzu

Exclusive: U.S. accuses China of `super aggressive` spy campaign on LinkedIn

The United States' top spy catcher said Chinese espionage agencies are using fake LinkedIn accounts to try to recruit Americans with access to government and commercial secrets, and the company should shut them down.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-linkedin-china-espionage-exclusive/exclusive-chief-u-s-spy-catcher-says-china-using-linkedin-to-recruit-americans-idUSKCN1LG15Y?source=Snapzu

Google is under siege from conservatives as a senior Republican demands an inquiry into its market dominance

Sen. Orrin Hatch wants the Federal Trade Commision to investigate Google following news reports that have highlighted problematic behavior and its dominance in search and advertising. It follows President Donald Trump's attacks this week.
Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/orrin-hatch-wants-federal-trade-commision-investigate-google-2018-8?source=Snapzu

Study: Trump’s comments helped sustain ‘Take a Knee’ movement

A new study out of Northern Illinois University appears to confirm what some likely suspected—that the “Take a Knee” movement in the NFL was galvanized by its most prominent detractor, President Donald Trump. The movement began during the 2016 preseason when, in a protest against racial injustice, San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick sat down during the national anthem. A few games later, after consulting with a fellow NFL player who is a military veteran, he changed his protest to taking a knee.
Read more: https://newsroom.niu.edu/2018/08/30/study-trumps-comments-helped-sustain-take-a-knee-movement/?source=Snapzu

Apple Is Clearly Working on AR Glasses

Apple has bought Akonia Holographics, a Colorado-based startup dedicated to the manufacturing of displays for augmented reality glasses. In addition to other recent purchases, this is an extremely strong indicator that the Cupertino company is actively working on AR glasses. According to Akonia’s web site, its more than 200 patents result in a technology that can create “thin, transparent smart glass lenses that display vibrant, full-color, wide field-of-view images.” Just the kind of qualities that would be touted by Phil Schiller at a special AR glasses event.
Read more: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/apple-ar-glasses-akonia-holographics,news-27927.html?source=Snapzu

Trump rejects EU offer to eliminate auto tariffs

President Donald Trump rejected an offer from the European Union to eliminate tariffs on cars if the U.S. did the same in an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. Hours earlier, EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom told the European Parliament's trade committee that the EU is "willing to bring down even our car tariffs to zero, all tariffs to zero, if the U.S. does the same." Trump said that the offer is "not good enough," adding that European "consumer habits are to buy their cars, not to buy our cars."
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/30/trump-rejects-eu-offer-to-eliminate-auto-tariffs.html?source=Snapzu

France's ban on bee-killing pesticides begins Saturday

A ban on five neonicotinoid pesticides enters into force in France on Saturday, placing the country at the forefront of a campaign against chemicals blamed for decimating critical populations of crop-pollinating bees. The move has been hailed by beekeepers and environmental activists, but lamented by cereal and sugar beet farmers who claim there are no effective alternatives for protecting their valuable crops against insects.
Read more: https://www.afp.com/en/news/205/frances-ban-bee-killing-pesticides-begins-saturday-doc-18o0tv2?source=Snapzu

Celebgate hacker jailed over 2014 attack

A man who hacked into the Apple iCloud accounts of Hollywood stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, has been sentenced to eight months in prison in the US. The notorious Celebgate hack resulted in nude photos and videos of Lawrence and other celebrities stolen and posted online. George Garofano was one of four people charged in the 2014 hacking scandal.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-45354309?source=Snapzu

Deadline for climate action – Act strongly before 2035 to keep warming below 2°C

If governments don’t act decisively by 2035 to fight climate change, humanity could cross a point of no return after which limiting global warming below 2°C in 2100 will be unlikely, according to a new study by scientists in the UK and the Netherlands. The research also shows the deadline to limit warming to 1.5°C has already passed, unless radical climate action is taken. The study is published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Earth System Dynamics.
Read more: https://www.egu.eu/news/428/deadline-for-climate-action-act-strongly-before-2035-to-keep-warming-below-2c/?source=Snapzu

Mom charged after drugs in breast milk killed baby, prosecutors say

In Bucks County, Pennsylvania, prosecutors are arguing that 30-year-old Samantha Jones killed her 11-week-old son, R.J., by breastfeeding while using drugs. According to the criminal complaint, R.J. died from ingesting a "combination of fatal drugs through breast milk" and is being charged with criminal homicide Jones' attorney, Louis Busico, said that Jones "absolutely, unequivocally loved that child" and never intended to harm him.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/29/health/breastfeeding-drugs-homicide-charge-samantha-jones/index.html?source=Snapzu

Homeless man files lawsuit against couple who helped raise $400k for him

Lawyers for a homeless man have taken legal action against a couple who raised more than $400,000 to help him get back on his feet. Johnny Bobbitt’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against Mark D’Amico and Kate McClure Tuesday, saying the couple used the "substantial portions of the money raised," through a GoFundMe campaign as their "personal piggy bank," instead of putting the money toward helping him, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Read more: http://www.ksla.com/2018/08/29/homeless-man-files-lawsuit-against-couple-who-helped-raise-k-him/?source=Snapzu

Turns Out That ‘Pedo’ Diver’s Lawyer Did Contact Elon Musk

Elon Musk was apparently none too happy when British cave diver Vern Unsworth said the submarine Musk built — and shouted about to the world on Twitter and in the New York Times — was a “PR stunt” and that he should stick said sub “where it hurts.” So much so that Musk logged on to Twitter and proclaimed Unsworth a “pedo,” without any evidence to back his claims, to his 22 million followers.
Read more: http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/08/turns-out-that-pedo-divers-lawyer-did-contact-elon-musk.html?source=Snapzu

Many young adults lack financial literacy, economic stability, study finds

Nearly a third of young adults in a recent study were found to be “financially precarious” because they had poor financial literacy and lacked money management skills and income stability. Only 22 percent of the 18- to 24-year-olds in the study sample were deemed to be financially stable, according to lead author Gaurav Sinha, a graduate student in social work at the University of Illinois.
Read more: https://news.illinois.edu/view/6367/686400?source=Snapzu

University of Texas wins $60 million grant for supercomputer

The Frontera supercomputer will help study topics like global climate modeling and particle collisions from the Large Hadron Collider. The University of Texas at Austin will soon be home to one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. The National Science Foundation awarded UT Austin's Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) a $60 million grant to buy and operate a supercomputer named Frontera, according to a joint statement Wednesday from the university and NSF.
Read more: https://www.cnet.com/news/university-of-texas-is-getting-a-60-million-supercomputer/?source=Snapzu

Silver Coins Lead to One of the Earliest Roman Sites in Yorkshire

The dig site found by metal detectorists 3 years ago appears to be a high-status homestead that once had two villas
Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/silver-coins-lead-one-earliest-roman-sites-yorkshire-180970138/?no-ist?source=Snapzu

More than half of Michigan students failed M-STEP literacy exam

The Michigan Department of Education on Wednesday released the results of the M-STEP and SAT exams.
Read more: https://www.freep.com/story/news/education/2018/08/29/mstep-literacy-test-michigan/1115750002/?source=Snapzu

US Court of Appeals rules that the FCC can consider areas with only a single ISP 'competitive'

The FCC hasn't exactly been popular among consumers lately. The regulatory agency's controversial decision to roll back Title II net neutrality protections back in December was met with no small amount of criticism.
Read more: https://www.techspot.com/news/76207-us-court-appeals-rules-fcc-can-consider-areas.html?source=Snapzu

Ellie Mannette dies at 91 - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday

Pan pioneer Elliot “Ellie” Mannette, 91, passed away this morning at 10.50 am at a hospital in West Virginia, USA. He was surrounded by people who loved him up until the very end. His family thanked everyone for all their thoughts and prayers, stating that Mannette was truly touched to see how much he was loved around the world.
Read more: https://newsday.co.tt/2018/08/29/ellie-mannette-dies-at-91/?source=Snapzu

Several staff members sickened by unknown substance at Ross Correctional Institution

A major emergency response has been reported at Ross Correctional Institution after several staff members were sickened by an unknown substance. The incident happened around 9:10am Wednesday after officials reported an inmate with possible signs of a drug overdose. That inmate was given Narcan and taken to the hospital. The Ohio State Highway Patrol and local emergency medical services were called to the scene where they treated a total of 29 correctional officers, nurses and inmates who were exposed to the unknown substance.
Read more: https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/several-staff-members-sickened-by-unknown-substance-at-ross-correctional-institution/1404240906?source=Snapzu

Uber driver in Florida shoots and kills man who chased him in truck, sheriff says

A Florida Uber driver shot and killed a man who was chasing his car with a pickup truck and threatened him, authorities said Wednesday. Jason Boek, 34, was fatally shot at around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday morning after leaving a bar in Dundee, Florida, and chasing Uber driver Robert Westlake, 38, in his pickup truck, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a news conference Wednesday. Boek apparently saw his girlfriend and a bartender help another woman into an Uber and mistakenly thought his girlfriend had gotten into the car, Judd said.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/uber-driver-florida-shoots-kills-man-who-chased-him-truck-n904926?source=Snapzu

DeSantis Warns Florida Not to ‘Monkey This Up,’ and Many Hear a Racist Dog Whistle

The Republican nominee for governor in Florida drew condemnation from Democrats for a comment about his opponent, Andrew Gillum.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/us/politics/desantis-monkey-up-gillum.html?source=Snapzu

Report: Trump Admin Denying Passports to Citizens Along Border

The Trump administration has reportedly been denying or revoking passports from some citizens along the southern U.S. border over suspicions that their birth certificates were fraudulently obtained. The Washington Post reports that under the Trump administration, denials and revocations of passports have “surged.” The State Department began denying passports to some people born along Texas’s Rio Grande Valley during the Obama era, acting on evidence that some midwives and certain physicians were providing “U.S. birth certificates to babies who were actually born in Mexico” between the 1950s and the 1990s.
Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/report-trump-admin-denying-passports-to-citizens-along-border?source=Snapzu

Rare insects stolen from Northeast Philadelphia insectarium

Many rare and valuable insects have been reported missing from the Philadelphia Insectarium and Butterfly Pavilion. "We found that the majority 80 to 90 percent of the creatures that we had in the museum were taken," says Insectarium CEO John Cambridge. "Any types of exotic tarantula, scorpions, millipedes. We specialize in the arthropods of the world and we use those to tell the story of biodiversity, etc." Both Cambridge and Philadelphia police believe it was an inside job. Cambridge has three former employees of the Northeast Philadelphia facility that he suspects played a role in the robbery.
Read more: http://www.fox29.com/news/multiple-rare-insects-and-reptiles-have-been-reported-stolen-from-philly-s-insectarium?source=Snapzu

Google responds to Trump: Denies favoring ideologies in search results

Google on Tuesday responded to President Trump's early-morning tirade against the search giant, denying that its algorithms favor liberal media outlets over right-wing ones. The tech giant said that it does not bias its "results toward any political ideology." "When users type queries into the Google Search bar, our goal is to make sure they receive the most relevant answers in a matter of seconds," a Google spokesperson said in a statement.
Read more: http://thehill.com/policy/technology/403950-google-responds-to-trump-denies-favoring-ideologies-in-search-results?source=Snapzu

Parkland mom who lost daughter wins seat on county school board

In Broward County, Florida, the site of February's massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Lori Alhadeff, whose 14-year-old daughter Alyssa Alhadeff was among the victims, won a seat on the county’s school board in a landslide Tuesday night. Alhadeff captured 65 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results from Broward County's supervisor of elections, significantly outpacing two other contenders in the race. The second-place finisher, Tennille Doe-Decoste, received just 18 percent of the vote.
Read more: https://www.wsbtv.com/news/national/hot-topics/parkland-mom-who-lost-daughter-wins-seat-on-county-school-board/822845485?source=Snapzu

WV State Police seize $10K from couple without charging them with a crime

A West Virginia State Police trooper issued Dimitrios Patlias a warning for failing to drive within his lane, just before seizing more than $10,000 in cash from him and his wife. On June 9, Tonya Smith — who was almost eight months pregnant — and Patlias were headed to the Hollywood Casino in Jefferson County. They had capitalized on several promotional offers and had 13 and 14 (respectively) $100 gift cards on them, along with the cash.
Read more: https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/cops_and_courts/wv-state-police-seize-k-from-couple-without-charging-them/article_c46b9831-1c05-5ed0-b1b2-7b31c2654120.html?source=Snapzu

New U.S. Sexual Misconduct Rules Bolster Rights of Accused and Protect Colleges

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is preparing to propose new sexual misconduct rules that cement the rights of the accused and reduce liability for institutions.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/29/us/politics/devos-campus-sexual-assault.html?source=Snapzu

Germany returns Namibia genocide skulls

Germany has handed back the human remains of indigenous people killed during a genocide in colonial Namibia more than 100 years ago. A Namibian government delegation received the skulls at a church service in the capital, Berlin. The bones had been sent to Germany for now-discredited research to prove the racial superiority of white Europeans.
Read more: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-45342586?source=Snapzu

Swarm of 20,000 bees attack New York City hotdog stand

Productivity came to a halt across New York City offices on Tuesday afternoon, as hordes of people eagerly followed the removal of 20,000 bees from a hotdog stand. The bees had swarmed the hotdog stand, a block south of Times Square, around 1pm. Thousands watched a Reuters livestream – the stand is located outside the news agency’s New York headquarters – and followed on Twitter as a police officer was called in to remove the bees. With a vacuum cleaner.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/aug/28/bees-new-york-hot-dog-stand-times-square-video?source=Snapzu

California becomes second US state to commit to clean energy

California is following in Hawaii's footsteps by committing to 100 percent clean energy. Lawmakers in the state have passed a bill that will see it moving entirely to clean electricity sources by 2045, CBS reported Tuesday. The vote comes as a report revealed Monday that California could lose up to two-thirds of its beaches and water supply due to climate change. Public polling showed the majority of Californians (about 72 percent) are supportive of the bill, although some business groups and utilities aren't in favour, citing job concerns.
Read more: https://www.cnet.com/news/california-becomes-second-us-state-to-commit-to-clean-energy/?source=Snapzu

Scientists discover hidden deep-sea coral reef off South Carolina Coast

If you think Charleston, South Carolina, has plenty of history within its pre-Colonial grounds, just look at what’s been hiding 160 miles off the city’s coast for thousands of years: a giant deep-sea coral reef system. The chief scientist who helped make the discovery called it unbelievable.
Read more: http://www.thegoogleblog.com/science/scientists-discover-hidden-deep-sea-coral-reef-off-south-carolina-coast/?source=Snapzu

Japan and North Korea held secret meeting as Shinzo Abe 'loses trust' in Donald Trump

Japan held a “secret” meeting with North Korea in Vietnam in July without informing the United States, according to media reports. Talks were reportedly held between Shigeru Kitamura, head of Japan’s Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, and Kim Song-hye, a senior North Korean official in charge of reunification. Japan’s decision not to inform the US government of the meeting, which was reported in the Washington Post, was said to have caused “irritation” among senior officials.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/29/japan-north-korea-held-secret-meeting-abe-loses-trust-trump/?source=Snapzu

We Discovered Helium 150 Years Ago. Are We Running Out?

The versatile gas lies at the center of a complex, fragile global market.
Read more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-helium-mri-superconducting-markets-reserve-technology/?source=Snapzu

Majority of heart failure cases being missed by GPs as 'target culture' blamed for new 'medical emergency'

Two thirds of cases of deadly heart failure are being missed by GPs - amid warnings that an NHS target culture is fuelling a “medical emergency”. Leading cardiac experts said women and older patients were faring worst, amid “dangerous” failures to spot the life-threatening condition which can be treated with cheap pills.
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/08/27/majority-heart-failure-cases-missed-gps-target-culture-blamed/?source=Snapzu

For $450, This Japanese Company Will Quit Your Job For You

Workers in Japan who want to leave their jobs — but don't want to face the stress of quitting in person — are turning to a company called Exit.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2018/08/28/642597968/for-450-this-japanese-company-will-quit-your-job-for-you?source=Snapzu

These Cultural Treasures Are Made of Plastic. Now They’re Falling Apart.

Museum conservators are racing to figure out how to preserve modern artworks and historical objects that are disintegrating.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/28/science/plastics-preservation-getty.html?source=Snapzu

Most Of America’s Terrorists Are White, And Not Muslim

When it comes to domestic terrorism in America, the numbers don’t lie: Far-right extremists are behind far more plots and attacks than Islamist extremists. There were almost twice as many terrorist incidents by right-wing extremists as by Islamist extremists in the U.S. from 2008 to 2016, according to a new report from The Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund and The Center for Investigative Reporting’s Reveal.
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/domestic-terrorism-white-supremacists-islamist-extremists_us_594c46e4e4b0da2c731a84df?ncid=engmodushpmg00000003?source=Snapzu

Toyota invests $500m in Uber as companies pair up to create driverless cars

Toyota has invested $500m (£388m) in Uber and announced plans for the firms to collaborate on developing driverless cars for ride sharing. The carmaker said technology from each company will be used to produce purpose-built Toyota vehicles to be deployed on Uber’s ride sharing network. The first fleet of cars will be based on Toyota’s Sienna minivan, and a pilot scheme is set to begin on Uber’s network in 2021.
Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/toyota-uber-investment-driverless-cars-ride-sharing-dara-khosrowshahi-a8510591.html?source=Snapzu

IP Address is Not Enough to Identify Pirate, US Court of Appeals Rules

The owner of an adult foster care home who operated an open WiFi network has booked a big win against a copyright troll. Thomas Gonzales was accused of downloading the Adam Sandler movie The Cobbler but won $17k last year after being wrongfully targeted. The case went to appeal and in a ruling handed down yesterday by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Gonzales emerged victorious again.
Read more: https://torrentfreak.com/ip-address-is-not-enough-to-identify-pirate-us-court-of-appeals-rules-180828/?source=Snapzu

The Ghosts of St. Joseph’s Catholic Orphanage

Millions of American children were placed in orphanages. Some didn’t make it out alive. By Christine Kenneally.
Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christinekenneally/orphanage-death-catholic-abuse-nuns-st-josephs?source=Snapzu

EA halts events after video gamers killed

A major eSports tournament has been suspended by games publisher Electronic Arts (EA) after a shooting that saw two competitors killed on Sunday. Three events have been cancelled while the firm conducts a "comprehensive review of safety protocols”. EA’s chief executive Andrew Wilson said he was “filled with shock and grief” over the killings in Florida.
Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-45327708?source=Snapzu

Big Tech Corporations Are Now Banning Iranian Social Media Accounts

A censored student journalist speaks out. By Ben Norton.
Read more: https://grayzoneproject.com/2018/08/24/big-tech-corporations-censoring-iranian-social-media-accounts-banned-student-journalist/?source=Snapzu