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Florence is nation’s second wettest storm, behind Harvey

WASHINGTON – Hurricane Florence was the nation’s second rainiest storm in 70 years, a top rainfall meteorologist calculated.

Only last year’s Hurricane Harvey rained more over a 14,000 square mile (36,260 square kilometers) area during a four-day time period, said Ken Kunkel, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and North Carolina State University.
Scientists said climate change likely boosted rainfall totals for both storms.

Kunkel’s preliminary analysis found more than 17.5 inches (0.4 meters) fell on average over five weather stations in the 14,000 square miles of the eastern Carolinas stretching from Fayetteville, North Carolina, to Florence, South Carolina. The amount is second to Harvey’s 25.6 inches (0.6 meters).

“That’s a lot of water,” Kunkel said.

The third rainiest storm was in March 2016 in northern Louisiana and the seventh was in southern Louisiana in August 2016. The three rainiest and four of the top seven have all occurred in the last three years — which Kunkel said is no coincidence.

Kunkel, who specializes in analyzing rain data from thousands of weather stations, based his work on rainfall since 1949 when recording became more widespread across the continental United States.

Kunkel examined rainfall over a compact area — 14,000 square miles, a figure based on latitude and longitude squares — and larger areas such as 20,000, 30,000 and 80,000 square miles. Florence’s unusual amount was most noticeable on the smallest scale.

When the scientist looked at a bigger area, 20,000 square miles, Florence fell to seventh place, behind Harvey, 1998’s Hurricane Georges, the two Louisiana rainstorms, a 1962 northern California downpour and a 1994 Texas drenching.

The analysis has not been published or peer reviewed yet, but will be, Kunkel said.

It is “not surprising — but still terrifying — that the two top ranked soakers happened over the past two years,” said Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann, who wasn’t part of Kunkel’s research but praised it. He said warmer oceans, more moisture and slower moving storms due in various ways to climate change make storms dump more rain.

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What’s really inside a chicken nugget???

Nobody walks into (or drives through) a fast food restaurant expecting to order a health food. But you might, at the very least, expect that what you order is, well, what you order. Chicken is chicken and beef is beef, right? Think again: What many fast food meals feature is real-life mystery meat.

Take, for instance, the chicken nugget. A paper published online last month by The American Journal of Medicine looked at two nuggets from two different, unidentified national fast food chains: Each was comprised of just 50 percent or less muscle tissue, which is what we typically define as chicken, Reuters reported. The rest of the pair of nuggets was made up of a hodgepodge of pure fat, blood vessels, pieces of bone, nerves and cartilage.

“What has happened is that some companies have chosen to use an artificial mixture of chicken parts rather than low-fat chicken white meat, batter it up and fry it and still call it chicken,” lead author Dr. Richard D. deShazo, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center, told Reuters Health. “It is really a chicken by-product high in calories, salt, sugar and fat that is a very unhealthy choice.”

Beyond the obvious gross-out factor, these chicken bits probably aren’t particularly harmful, explains David Katz, M.D., founding director of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center and author of the new book Disease Proof. But they’re definitely not doing the body any good, and typically have a poorer overall nutrition profile compared to plain white-meat chicken.

“It stands to reason that the enormous, high volume mass production of model-shaped chicken bits — that are then concealed inside breading — would not be made from the best parts of chicken because the best parts of chicken are more expensive,” he tells HuffPost. “All of this is, of course, substantially less nutritious than what we typically think of as chicken.”

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Student’s thumb amputated after skin cancer found after biting her nails

You might want to think twice about the next time you bite your nails after reading this story.

A student from Australia had to have her thumb amputated after doctors diagnosed her with skin cancer following a nail-biting incident.

Courtney Whithorn, 20, had developed a nail-biting habit while she was at school. According to an interview with The Mirror, her thumb started to turn black after she bit the entire nail off, but she kept it hidden from friends and family for four years.

She continued to the publication, “I didn’t even know I was biting my nails sometimes – it just happened. I sort of lost the feeling because I was doing it that often.”

The woman decided to consult a plastic surgeon when the doctor diagnosed her with acral lentiginous subungual melanoma, a rare form of skin cancer. “When you think about it how many kids bite their nails it’s crazy it came to that,” she explained.

Since her initial diagnosis in July, Whithorn has had to have four surgeries. The last operation removed her thumb completely.
“When I found out that biting my nail off was the cause of the cancer it shattered me,” she said. “There’s not enough research to say what the survival rate is or what the likelihood of it coming back is because – we just don’t know much about it.”

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Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos Pledge $2 Billion for Homeless and Preschoolers

The Amazon founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos, and his wife, MacKenzie, pledged $2 billion on Thursday for a new fund to start preschools and help homeless families.

The money, put into what he called the Day 1 Fund, is by far the largest philanthropic donation by Mr. Bezos, the world’s richest person. It will support organizations that provide shelter and food for homeless families, and will start a network of nonprofit Montessori-inspired preschools for underserved communities.

“If our own great-grandchildren don’t have lives better than ours, something has gone very wrong,” Mr. Bezos wrote on Twitter announcing the fund.
As Mr. Bezos’s wealth and influence has grown, he has faced increased public pressure to make significant philanthropic investments. His net worth is valued at $164 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He bought The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million, and has said he’s put about $1 billion a year into his private spaceflight company, Blue Origin.

His largest known philanthropic contribution to date was $33 million in scholarships to support the education of undocumented students who graduated from high school in the United States. Earlier this month, he made his first major political contribution, putting $10 million into a bipartisan political action committee to support military veterans running for Congress.

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Montana man gets 30 years in prison for incest

BUTTE – A 44-year-old man has been sentenced a man to 30 years in the Montana State Prison for having sex with a 15-year-old stepdaughter.

The Montana Standard reports that District Judge Kurt Krueger suspended 30 years of a 60-year sentence he handed down Thursday.

The paper is not naming the man in order to protect the victim’s identity. The man had pleaded guilty to felony incest and faces separate rape charges in Idaho that also involve a family member.

The victim reported multiple rapes in Montana and Idaho. The man fathered children with the victim.

Besides the prison time, the man must complete two sex-offender treatment programs before parole. And he must serve at least a quarter of the 30-year term before he’s eligible for early release.
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Information from: The Montana Standard, http://www.mtstandard.com

Man faked Down syndrome to con caregivers into baths, diaper changes: cops

An Arizona man is accused of pretending to have Down syndrome so he could hire caregivers who bathed him and changed his diapers, authorities said.

Police arrested Paul Anthony Menchaca, 31, at his parents’ home in Gilbert on Sept. 6 after his female caregivers discovered he didn’t have special needs, news station KTNV reported.

The first caregiver responded in May to an ad on CareLinx, a site designed to help families find licensed help.

Menchaca contacted and hired the helper while allegedly posing as a woman named “Amy,” who claimed to be the mother of a man with Down syndrome, according to AZFamily.

“’Amy’ asked all three victims to ‘punish’ [Menchaca] when he soiled his diaper by putting him in timeout and taking away his privileges,” an arrest affidavit obtained by AZFamily said.

The caregiver told police that she helped bathe and change the man’s diapers on 30 separate occasions. In five separate incidents, Menchaca reportedly told her that his genitals were not cleaned well enough.

She then referred the second caregiver in July and the third the following month.

All three women agreed to the same terms, and claimed that Menchaca would become sexually aroused when he was being washed.

The first victim told police she became suspicious and followed Menchaca back to his parents’ home.

“[The victim] was greeted by [Menchaca’s] actual mother and father and discovered [Menchaca] did not have Down syndrome and did not require diaper changes,” the police report said.

When the three caregivers confronted Menchaca, he reportedly admitted to lying about having Down syndrome.

Menchaca now faces charges for fraudulent schemes and sexual abuse.

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The appearance of your tongue can tell you about your health

Many people may not give much attention to their languages, including differences in the shape or color of the tongue, but scientists emphasize that it is necessary to pay attention to such fine details that much about the Health Status of the Person Can Disclose

The Daily Mail newspaper quoted Australian Chinese doctor Aveni Holland because he said that much information could be drawn from the size, texture, color and shape of the tongue.

She explained that there is a “blueprint for the sun”, which is associated in parts. Other organs of the body, which make it easier to detect signs of disease. The color of the tongue

Holland The color of the natural tongue is pink or light red, covered with a white layer be.

The tongue can be “pale”  if there is a lack of vitamins or minerals. The body, which is common among those who suffer from anemia.

If the tongue becomes red, it may indicate a fever due to fever or body temperature associated with menopause.

Figure Tongue
Many people may not see differences in the shape of the tongue, but Holland emphasized that “the tongue Puffy” can indicate a lack of nutrients and fluid in the body while indicate the thin tongue dehydration.

The layer covering the tongue
If the tongue contains a thin white layer, it is considered healthy and natural, but as

The dry tongue refers to “heat” in the body, and the more intense the color, the higher the temperature of the body, and it can cause the presence of inflammation in the body or bacterial accumulation or other imbalances.

If the tongue is gray or black, it refers to the “stagnation” in the flow of energy, blood and fluids in the

The surface of the tongue
A tooth that protrudes or Incisions may also reveal a variety of potential health problems.

The protrusions on the tongue are diagnosed, depending on where they are and how they look, For example, a bolt on the front of the tongue can be a sign of a bacterial or viral infection or even a possible allergic reaction to the drug.

Deep gaps in the middle indicate that the patient is susceptible to gastrointestinal problems, while indicating sores.

The tongue known as the “geographical language”, which forms the white layer on its surface forms. Semi “spots” can it mean the presence of heat in the stomach, which may occur in the form of BUOO.

axis, indicates the tongue that contains protrusions in the outer tip for fluid retention in the body.

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Woman who wrote ‘How To Murder Your Husband’ essay charged with murdering husband

A romance novelist who penned an essay titled “How To Murder Your Husband” has been charged with murdering her husband.

Nancy Crampton-Brophy, 68, is the author of pulp-style books including The Wrong Husband and The Wrong Lover whose covers feature dashing and occasionally shirtless men.

Police in Portland, Oregon, said she was arrested last week on suspicion of shooting dead her husband, Daniel Brophy, in June.

Mr Brophy, a chef, was found dead at the Oregon Culinary Institute where he worked.
Authorities have said he was alone at the school when he was discovered by students and staff.

Mr Brophy, 63, had worked at the school since 2006.

Ms Crampton-Brophy announced the death of her husband on Facebook a day after the killing, saying she was “struggling to make sense of everything right now.”

She was booked into jail on accusations of murder and unlawful use of a firearm.

On her blog, “See Jane Publish”, Ms Crampton-Brophy wrote a post describing five main motives she could use in stories about women killing their husbands in a novel, as well as a series of murder weapons.

Poison was not a good idea, she wrote, because “who wants to hang out with a sick husband?”

Nor was paying an assassin, because “an amazing number of hitmen rat you out to the police”, she wrote, according to The Washington Post.

The author is being held in jail without bail, the paper reported.

Mr Brophy’s mother, Karen, told the Post: “It’s a big shock. But we’re not making any statements.”

Source: Independent.co.uk

Mother arrested, charged with murder of Florida boy Jordan Belliveau

The mother of missing two-year-old Florida boy Jordan Belliveau was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, authorities announced Tuesday.
Charisse Stinson, 21, had told police that she was walking home with her young son Saturday night when a mystery man called “Antwan” picked her up in his car and violently attacked her, knocking her unconscious.

Stinson said that she came to in a park early Sunday and her son was nowhere to be seen. She reported him missing hours later.

Jordan’s body was found in a wooded area in Largo earlier Tuesday. An Amber Alert for the boy was canceled.

Authorities had released a composite sketch of “Antwan,” as well as surveillance video of a man they described as a “possible witness” who may have spoken to Jordan’s mother.

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Lawsuit: Surgeon left needle in patient who later died

The family of a Tennessee man who died shortly after a surgeon left a needle inside his chest cavity has sued the hospital.

The Tennessean reports 73-year-old John Burns Johnson had open heart surgery at TriStar Centennial Hospital in May 2017. After about nine hours of surgery, a surgeon closed his chest, only to discover one of his needles was missing. An X-ray revealed it was inside Johnson. The surgeon then tried to retrieve the needle but was unsuccessful.

Johnson died about a month after the surgery. The lawsuit says Johnson’s health deteriorated and described his death as “painful, unnecessary and wrongful.”

The hospital released a statement saying it would not respond to the lawsuit’s claims, but noted it is serious about caring for patients and empathizes with the family.

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