If you have five minutes, you can learn a lot about how to get things done in the kitchen, thanks to this video from Brothers Green Eats. At times hilarious but consistently informative, they’ll show you how to hold a knife, how to blanch vegetables, and a few other tricks you may not have been taught .
If you’re starting to wrap presents for the holidays, you might want to hold on to those long cardboard wrapping paper tubes. With a few other household materials you can make an effective draft blocker for under your door.
Have you ever held your breath when someone coughed? Or tried to flush the toilet with your foot? Some of these tricks might help if you do them the right way, but they’re often unnecessary and based mostly in paranoia. Here’s the truth about avoiding germs in everyday life.
The best thing about perfectly roasted potatoes is that crisp, crunchy exterior and fluffy, flavorful insides. If you’re looking for a method that delivers every time, a quick parboil before you roast the potatoes in the oven is the easiest way to get it.
You often know when you’ve just made a big mistake in your job application. You forget to attach your resume. You send the wrong version. You address your cover letter to Mr. Chris Allen—then realize there’s a strong chance Chris is a woman. But other times you have no idea you’re making a mistake.
A common complaint with gas ovens, especially older ones, is that they bake food unevenly. A pizza stone can help remedy this.
This massive, informative guide on survival basics from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will teach you how to turn pants into a backpack, how to make an emergency lantern with a plastic bottle, and much more.
By Nick Selbe
It’s one of the age-old debates of higher education — should you go to a public or private college? While there are plenty of pros and cons for each choice, perhaps the most integral factor in making the decision is simple: money.
Private universities tend to have more funding, thanks in large part to donations and higher tuition prices. The most renowned private schools typically receive the biggest financial contributions and, unfortunately for their students, have the highest tuition fees.
At StartClass, we wanted to find out which private schools make the biggest dent in students’ savings accounts. Using data from the 2014-2015 school year provided by the U.S. Department of Education, we’ve identified the 25 most expensive private colleges in the country, based on the cost of tuition for full-time undergraduate students.
We’ve also included each school’s Smart Rating — a comprehensive score that evaluates each college on a scale of 0-100 in order to rate the overall quality. The Smart Rating is determined based on the following factors: financial affordability, career readiness, admissions selectivity, expert opinion and academic excellence.
Location: Troy, NY
Smart Rating: 96
2014-2015 Tuition: $47,908
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,452
Location: Amherst, MA
Smart Rating: 80
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,065
Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,492
Location: Hanover, NH
Smart Rating: 97
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,108
Undergraduate Enrollment: 4,276
Location: Hamilton, NY
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,175
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,890
Location: Annandale-On-Hudson, NY
Smart Rating: 85
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,240
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,014
Location: Middletown, CT
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,272
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,906
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Smart Rating: 96
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,280
Undergraduate Enrollment: 18,445
Location: New Orleans, LA
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,305
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,290
Location: Williamstown, MA
Smart Rating: 97
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,310
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,096
Location: Schenectady, NY
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,384
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,246
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,498
Undergraduate Enrollment: 3,532
Location: Lancaster, PA
Smart Rating: 90
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,514
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,297
Location: Amherst, MA
Smart Rating: 97
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,526
Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,785
Location: Great Barrington, MA
Smart Rating: 79
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,551
Undergraduate Enrollment: 350
Location: Claremont, CA
Smart Rating: 96
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,594
Undergraduate Enrollment: 807
Location: Medford, MA
Smart Rating: 97
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,643
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,180
Location: Oberlin, OH
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,682
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,894
Location: Washington, DC
Smart Rating: 95
2014-2015 Tuition: $48,760
Undergraduate Enrollment: 10,357
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Smart Rating: 97
2014-2015 Tuition: $49,022
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,917
Location: Hartford, CT
Smart Rating: 94
2014-2015 Tuition: $49,056
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,301
Location: Chicago, IL
Smart Rating: 98
2014-2015 Tuition: $49,380
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,703
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Smart Rating: 96
2014-2015 Tuition: $49,570
Undergraduate Enrollment: 2,477
Location: Putney, VT
Smart Rating: 65
2014-2015 Tuition: $50,080
Undergraduate Enrollment: 494
Location: Bronxville, NY
Smart Rating: 89
2014-2015 Tuition: $50,780
Undergraduate Enrollment: 1,471
Location: New York, NY
Smart Rating: 98
2014-2015 Tuition: $51,008
Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,970
Learn More About Colleges at StartClass
The post The most expensive private colleges appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON – The number of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is on the rise, especially among girls.
According to new research, the number of U.S. girls with ADHD jumped 55 percent from 2003 to 2011.
Overall, 5.8 million children – roughly 12 percent of all youth – now have the disorder that causes inattention and behavioral problems for children, says Sean Cleary, lead researcher and an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.
“Traditionally ADHD is thought to be a disorder that’s found among males,” Cleary told WTOP, which makes the jump in girls’ diagnoses notable.
The research was based on a national health survey of parents who were asked whether their child had been diagnosed with ADHD by a doctor or clinician.
Why more girls are diagnosed with the condition isn’t clear. But Cleary said it could be that parents and teachers are better educated about the symptoms that are common to girls,l like becoming withdrawn or verbally aggressive – namecalling, for example.
Although it is possible the condition is over-diagnosed, Cleary said there is a risk too for not properly diagnosing a child with ADHD symptoms.
“That can lead to difficulties in the school, but can also lead to greater difficulties and challenges in adulthood,” Clearly said.
The number of Latino children with ADHD also increased more than 80 percent between 2003 and 2011 and the total number of children with the disorder rose 43 percent during that same time period. The study looked at children between the ages of 5 and 17.
The post Survey results find more girls diagnosed with ADHD appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — A new study shows smart car technology can keep older drivers safely behind the wheel, for a longer period of time.
Currently a record 36 million adults age 65 and older drive in the United States, and the number is expected to increase substantially over the next decade, according to the AAA.
“Permanently giving up the keys can have severe consequences for the health and mental well-being of older adults,” says Peter Kissinger, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s president and CEO.
Recent AAA research has found seniors who give up driving are almost twice as likely to experience depression and nearly five times as likely to enter a long-term care facility.
In the study, AAA and the Unversity of Michigan Transportation Research Institute examined 16 vehicle technologies, and determined six can help older drivers potentially reduce crashes and make the driving experience less stressful.
Locally, drivers over 65 represent 16 percent of license drivers in Virginia, 16.7 of drivers in Maryland, and 14 percent in the District of Columbia.
The post Study: In-vehicle tech can keep older drivers behind wheel safely, longer appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — Electronic cigarettes are popular among smokers for a number of reasons, but now they’re getting interest from people who may never have used nicotine: Pot users have discovered e-cigarettes.
The concern from police is that when processed for use in e-cigarettes, the distinctive odor of marijuana is reduced, and it becomes harder to detect during traffic stops.
The potency is another concern. The delivery system of an e-cigarette gives a faster, more potent high to the user.
“And it really hits on drugged driving, because they don’t realize they’re stoned as fast,” says Didone.
Another way marijuana is processed turns it into a sticky, waxy substance which is sometimes stored in the tiny cosmetic canisters used by lip balm manufacturers.
“If your son or daughter suddenly shows an interest in lip balm, when they didn’t before? You might want to check that out,” Didone says.
Didone says the decriminalization of marijuana means more people will likely use it, and police worry that could mean more drugged drivers on the road. According to current Montgomery County police data, about one-quarter of the drivers arrested for driving under the influence of drugs are high on marijuana.
The post Increase in marijuana vaping a concern for police appeared first on WTOP.
OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Baltimore Ravens rookie tight end Nick Boyle received a four-game suspension from the NFL on Monday for violating the league policy on performance enhancing substances.
Boyle will miss the remainder of the regular season. Although the Ravens (4-8) are a longshot to make the playoffs, he will be eligible to return to the active roster following Baltimore’s game on Jan. 3 against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Drafted in the fifth round out of Delaware, Boyle has 18 catches for 153 yards.
Many athletes, including former Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata and Baltimore Orioles slugger Chris Davis, received suspensions in the past after testing positive for Adderall, a drug normally used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Ravens coach John Harbaugh would not disclose the substance that led to Boyle’s suspension, but said, “It’s pretty common, (a drug) you read about all the time with guys. … It wasn’t steroids or anything like that.”
Harbaugh spoke with Boyle on Monday.
“I don’t think he realized it’s something he shouldn’t be doing, or if he did, he just didn’t think it through,” the coach said. “He told me how stupid it was. I agree. It was pretty dumb.”
Boyle caught three passes for 15 yards on Sunday in a 15-13 loss to Miami. The Ravens played most of the game without injured tight end Crockett Gillmore, who hurt his back in the first quarter and were without rookie tight end Maxx Williams, who was inactive with a concussion.
Harbaugh hoped to have Gillmore and Williams back for Sunday’s game against Seattle.
“We’ll just have to play it day by day,” Harbaugh said. “We’ll bring some guys in to make sure we have backup tight ends.”
___
Online:
AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL
The post Ravens TE Boyle suspended 4 games by NFL for PEDs appeared first on WTOP.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Bronco Mendenhall doesn’t believe success in the classroom and on the football field are mutually exclusive.
It’s not just a theory of his.
Mendenhall said Monday his teams proved it can be done it in 11 years at BYU and he plans to continue that now that he is coaching at Virginia.
The 49-year-old Mendenhall laid out his plans Monday, saying he would effect change by leaning on his strengths as a teacher.
“I love challenge. After visiting with the team today, it became very clear that that’s what this team needs, and I think for the most part, wants,” he said during a press conference that was at times intense and at times emotional. “We’ll find that out once the challenge starts, but I think that’s what they do want. I think they’re hungry for success and I believe I specialize in accountability and discipline and effort.
“I’m an effort-based coach. I love more than anything guys that try hard.”
The meeting left a good impression with players, quarterback Matt Johns said.
“It was great. I think everything he touched on is exactly right. We need challenge. We need growth and he’s definitely going to bring that to us,” said the rising senior, who started every game this year. “He’s very forward with how he feels, and I think it’s a great fit.”
The coach, meantime, said meeting the players was the best part of his trip, and gave him a better idea of what he’ll be working with in his new surroundings. He also encouraged the players to train over their winter break and be ready to work harder than ever when he returns.
Mendenhall has compiled a 99-42 record at BYU, and has guided the Cougars to a bowl game each year. The Cougars are one of just 11 programs to have a bowl streak that long. He replaces Mike London, who resigned after six seasons with a 27-46 record that included just one bowl appearance.
Mendenhall, who agreed to a five-year contract at Virginia that starts at $3.25 million per year, won’t immediately turn his full-time attention to the Cavaliers until after he coaches BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl against archrival Utah on Dec. 19.
He said had Virginia not been willing to let him finish the season coaching the Cougars in the bowl game, it would have been a “deal-breaker” because “what message would that send?”
Mendenhall inherits a Virginia team that was 4-8, its fourth consecutive losing season. But the Cavaliers have demonstrated they have the support system to win. The university won the men’s Capital One Cup last season by having the best overall record in the nation. Virginia won national championships in soccer, tennis and baseball.
“When I look at all the other sports and how well they do, I don’t think it’s a valid argument to say it can’t be done or won’t continue to be done at that level in football,” Mendenhall said. “That was intriguing to me.”
Mendenhall said the Cavaliers’ improvement will have to include upgrades in the program infrastructure, including the addition of a football specific building as a “tangible form of announcing our presence that we don’t intend to be taking a back seat to anybody.”
Mendenhall has minimal experience recruiting on the eastern half of the United States, but is confident that a coach presenting a recruit and his family an opportunity to succeed in football and academically at a highly regarded university will be well-received.
He also said he has added some assistant coaches to his staff, but is not ready to disclose any of that information just yet.
Virginia is one of the few schools Mendenhall and his wife would have left Provo, Utah, for, he said. The importance they place on education for their three boys helped make the opportunity attractive, and Virginia is routinely ranked among the top public institutions in the country.
“Where else would you go, especially when you can consider your growth and opportunity and a challenge?” he asked.
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Follow Hank on Twitter: www.twitter.com/hankkurzjr
___
The AP college football page: www.collegefootball.ap.org
The post Mendenhall lays out plan for building up Virginia football appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — Meet Meadow, a hound/Labrador retriever mix who is hoping for a home for the holidays — and for the rest of her life.
This pretty 10-month-old girl is very friendly and playful, and seems to like everyone she meets. While at the Washington Animal Rescue League, Meadow has learned how to “sit” for a treat and is very food motivated, so training her should be a snap.
She is protective over her food and doesn’t think highly of having her mealtimes interrupted, so we recommend a home with mature family members who understand this. Also on the top of Meadow’s wish list: human companions who will play with her, take her for regular walks, continue her training and socialization … and give her lots of love.
Could that be you? Stop by WARL soon and find out.
About WARL: Founded in 1914, the Washington Animal Rescue League is the oldest animal shelter in Washington D.C. Its mission includes rescuing, rehabilitating and finding homes for animals who have no where else to go. The League also supports animals through affordable veterinary care, community outreach and education. Learn more about the Washington Animal Rescue League at www.warl.org.
If you are thinking of adding a furry friend to your family, check out these other great shelters in the area:
Maryland
Humane Society of Charles County
(301) 645-8181
71 Industrial Park Dr. PO Box 1015 Waldorf, Md. 20604
Humane Society of Charles County offers a low cost spay/neuter program to the public. Please call or visit our website for more information. The shelter is also looking for more foster parents to help its animals.
Lab Rescue of L.R.C.P.
(301) 299-6756
4808 Moorland Ln, Rockville, MD 20850
Lab Rescue of the LRCP is a volunteer driven, nonprofit organization that rescues, fosters and places homeless, abused, and/or abandoned Labrador retrievers.
Prince George’s County Humane Society
(301) 262-5625
P.O. Box 925 Bowie, Md. 20718
Prince George’s County Humane Society is also looking for foster parents. For more information, contact the organization.
PAW — Partnership for Animal Welfare
(301) 572-4729
P.O. Box 1074 Greenbelt, Md. 20768
Paws Animal Kingdom
(301) 920-2318
P.O. Box 11531 Takoma Park, Md. 20912
Montgomery County Humane Society
(240) 252-2555
601 South Stonestreet Ave. Rockville, Md. 20850
The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County
(301) 740-2511
12 Park Ave. Gaithersburg, Md. 20877
D.C.
Washington Humane Society
(202) 576-6664
1201 New York Ave. NE 20002
ASAP — Alliance for Stray Animals and People
(202) 331-1330
P.O. Box 65438 Washington, D.C. 20035-5438
Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue
(202) 575-2210
Approved applicants may attend monthly adoption meets that are usually held at the house of a volunteer in either Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland.
Northern Virginia
Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
(202) 741-5428
5159 Lee Highway Arlington, Va. 22207
Lucky Dog is a foster home organization and does not run a dedicated housing facility.
A Forever Home
(703) 961-8690
P.O. Box 222801 Chantilly, VA 20153-2801
A Forever-Home is a nonprofit dog rescue group that operates in the Northern Virginia/Washington Metropolitan area.
FOHA — Friends of Homeless Animals
(703) 385-0224
39710 Goodpuppy Ln, Aldie, Va. 20105
All visitors must speak to a Friends representative before receiving directions to their shelter location.
SPCA of Northern Virginia
703-799-9390
P.O. Box 100220 Arlington, Va. 22210-3220
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
(703) 746-4774
4101 Eisenhower Ave. Alexandria, Va. 22304
Animal Welfare League of Arlington
(703) 931-9241
2650 S. Arlington Mill Dr. Arlington, Va.
Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation
(703) 295-3647
P.O. Box 223953 Chantilly, Va. 20153
HART — Homeless Animal Rescue Team
(703) 691-HART
P.O. Box 7261 Fairfax Station, Va. 22039-7261
King Street Cats Rescue and Adoption
(703) 231-7199
25 Dove St. Alexandria, Va. 22314
Virginia German Shepherd Rescue
(703) 435-2840
P.O. Box 126 Sterling, Va. 20167
The post Pet of the Week: Meadow appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — As a 14-year veteran, Prince George’s County Fire Lt. Chris Hill, knows what it means to save a life. Now his fellow firefighters are coming to his family’s aid.
Hill was diagnosed with cancer in December 2014. The form of cancer is directly linked to firefighting and has a median survival rate of 2 to 3 years, fire officials said.
The department is asking for donations to help Hill’s wife, 8-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son. A page has been set up on Youcaring.com.
According to Prince George’s County fire officials, doctors found a tumor in Hill’s brain and performed emergency surgery. Over the past year, Hill underwent numerous chemo and radiation treatments and was told he was in remission.
But recently, doctors discovered the cancer returned in a more aggressive form.
The post Prince George’s firefighters help fellow lieutenant battling cancer appeared first on WTOP.
Prince William County community calendar Washington Post Junior Volunteer information session Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center Auxiliary explains the program and application process to prospective high school students. 10 a.m. Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, 2300 Opitz Blvd., Woodbridge. and more » |
Crash safety tests are about to get a whole lot different. Automakers striving to achieve five stars for safety from federal regulators will have to add a few things to their vehicle rosters as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced high-tech changes to its system.
NHTSA announced on Tuesday that it would bring its 5-Star Safety ratings into a new era of safety by adding additional crash tests, using new and more human-like crash test dummies, rating crash-avoidance advanced technologies, and assessing pedestrian protection.
The proposed changes [PDF] aim to give consumers better information to help choose a safe vehicle, while encouraging manufacturers to produce vehicles with more crash protection and new technology innovations that will save lives.
“NHTSA’s 5-Star Safety Ratings have set the bar on safety since it began in 1978, and today we are raising that bar,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement. “The changes provide more and better information to new-vehicle shoppers that will help accelerate the technology innovations that saves lives.”
The 5-Star Safety Ratings, also known as the New Car Assessment Program, crash-tests new vehicles every year and currently rates them on how well they protect occupants in frontal, side and rollover crashes.
Results of the tests are then placed into a rating of one to five stars, with more stars indicating a safer car. The ratings appear on wind stickers for new vehicles and are searchable on safercar.gov.
Under the overhauled standards, which won’t take effect until vehicles in model year 2019, NHTSA would rate automakers based on whether or not they add systems for forward collision warning, lane departure warning, blind-spot detection, lower beam head lighting, semi-automatic headlamp beam switching, amber rear turn signals, rear automatic braking and pedestrian automatic emergency braking.
In all, the changes include:
• A new 5-Star Safety Ratings system, which will, for the first time, encompass assessment of crash-avoidance and advanced technologies as well as pedestrian protection;
• New tests to assess how well vehicles protect pedestrians from head, leg and pelvic injuries that occur when a pedestrian is struck by a vehicle;
• A new frontal oblique crash test that measures how well vehicles protect occupants in an angled frontal crash;
• An improved full frontal barrier crash test to drive safety improvements for rear seat occupants;
• New crash test dummies, including the Test device for Human Occupant Restraint, (THOR) and WorldSID, that will provide vastly improved data on the effects a crash is likely to have on the human body;
• An assessment of additional crash-avoidance and advanced technologies that offer drivers the most potential for avoiding or mitigating crashes;
• Use of half-star increments to provide consumers more discriminating information about vehicle safety performance; and
• The ability to dynamically update the program more swiftly as new safety technologies emerge.
Lawmakers were quick to applaud the proposed changes, saying the new system was a win for both consumers and innovators.
“Consumers trust auto window-sticker safety ratings when they compare vehicles, and incorporating features like collision warning and automative emergency braking will tell consumer how safe their vehicles really are,” Massachusetts senator Edward Markey said in a statement [PDF].
Consumer advocates called the proposal a big step to ensure that new vehicles are safe.
“These updates will create a powerful incentive for automakers to make the latest life-saving technologies available on more vehicles more quickly, and that’s great news for consumers,” William Wallace, policy analyst for our colleagues at Consumers Union, said in a statement. “We applaud NHTSA for today’s announcement and look forward to working with the agency to help put this plan into action as soon as possible.”
NHTSA will collect public comment on the changes for 60 days, with final notice of the planned changes expected to be complete by the end of 2016.
As it was rumored, so it has now come to pass: starting today, a whole host of extra streaming channels are available for Amazon Prime subscribers to add to their plans.
There’s still no HBO Now or Netflix available through the online retailer; most of the services available for add-on are smaller, niche platforms like QelloConcerts, Lifetime Movie Club, or Comedy Central Stand-Up Plus. The highest-profile networks available are the streaming versions of premium channels Starz and Showtime, each of which will go for $9 per month through Amazon.
Hulu also offers Showtime for $9, but back in July Starz’s CEO said the network wasn’t interested in providing an option to non-cable-subscribers just yet. He did, however, leave open the option for the network to sign exactly this kind of online distribution deal. And clearly, the time to change that tune has come.
This is good news for those of us who perhaps only got through the first half of Outlander‘s first season during the last time we had access to Starz, and now can finally take a day off to finish the binge. Such as.
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When I think of prank calls, I conjure up images of teenage girls huddled around their clear plastic phones, calling boys in their class and hanging up. You know, harmless fun. But sometimes prank calls can turn into something bigger, and even potentially dangerous: three McDonald’s restaurants in Oregon shut down over the weekend after a caller convinced employees to activate fire suppression systems, spewing chemicals over kitchen appliances.
The East Oregonian reports that five McDonald’s locations were targeted on Sunday by an unscrupulous caller claiming to be a representative for a fire protection equipment company that remotely monitored the fire suppression systems at each restaurant.
State fire officials say that the prankster was able to convince employees at three of the restaurants to test the fire suppression systems.
Once the systems were activated, a cascade of “wet chemical extinguishing agent” – used to smother grease fires – covered the deep fryers and other kitchen equipment, authorities tell the East Oregonian.
“After staff activated the systems, then whoever it was on the phone let them know it was a prank,” Deputy state fire marshal Scott Goff said, noting that the fire suppression systems are not remotely controlled or monitored, and that testing must be done on site.
Although the chemicals didn’t get all over the restaurant, they did cause quite a mess, leading the locations to shut their doors temporarily. Two of the restaurants reopened on Monday, while the third was closed until Tuesday.
Fire officials reminded employees at the restaurant and other businesses that fire agencies will never call individuals to have them test systems.
“We will personally visit you — a fire marshal, chief or personnel will arrive to test the system,” he said.
Prank calls create mischief for local McDonald’s restaurants [East Oregonian]
Here’s to hoping Hello Barbie has cleared off a spot in the Dream Home’s trophy case for a dubious honor: the eavesdropping doll that got privacy advocates talking — and not in a good way — has topped all other nominees for Worst Toy of The Year and will be taking home the win.
The folks at Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood have crowned Hello Barbie the worst of all on their annual list of TOADY (Toys Oppressive And Destructive to Young children) Award nominees, an award handed out to the year’s most crass and questionable toys.
Hello Barbie came under fire for not only talking with your child, but for recording what your young one would then say back to it, and passing those recordings on to a third party “to perform, test or improve speech recognition technology and artificial intelligence algorithms, or for other research and development and data analysis purposes.”
“In a year full of jaw-droppingly bad toys, Hello Barbie deserves the TOADY as worst of the worst,” said CCFC’s Executive Director Josh Golin. “It’s the perfect storm of a terrible toy, and threatens children’s privacy, wellbeing, and creativity.”
Hello Barbie dominated the competition, said CCFC, receiving more votes than the other five nominees (more on them here). Final results:
• Hello Barbie, 57% of votes
• Brands We Know book series, 14.5%
• Bratz #Selfie Stick with Doll, 13.6%
• Nerf Rebelle Charmed Dauntless Blaster, 8.6%
• Sky Viper Video Drone by Skyrocket Toys 3.8%
• Tube Heroes Collector Pack, 2.2%
Last year’s winner was a co-branded Baby First/AT&T U-Verse iPad app that introduced infants to the whole “stare at the glowing screen” concept as early as possible.
A beautiful breed of dog, Siberian Huskies are independent, athletic, and intelligent. Despite their relatively gentle demeanor and affectionate behavior, they are not easily trained. Because Siberian Huskies are pack dogs, they will challenge your leadership and test boundaries. They will become destructive if not exercised. In order to avoid an unhappy experience with a Siberian Husky, it is important to understand their temperament in order to properly train them for all experiences and situations.
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The man tells KIRO-TV that he’d contacted Equifax in an effort to clean up his credit earlier this year, and instead received dozens of envelopes for three days in a row, filled with strangers’ credit reports. Letters attached to the reports informed him that he owed a long list of debts.
“Ten or 15 student loans, 10 houses, many cars; I’m starting to really freak out,” he told the news station.
Then in March, he got another letter from Equifax, saying that the company had “inadvertently mailed” certain consumer information to incorrect individuals. The mixup was due to a “technical error,” the company said, and there had been no evidence of any criminal wrongdoing. The letter also asked for the papers to be returned, which the man sent through his lawyer.
Since then, he says he’s tried to get his credit report from Equifax — you know, just in case those strangers are still haunting his records — but that Equifax hasn’t come through.
“I want everything cleared. I mean, there are hundreds of pages, and each page says I’m responsible for everything. As far as I know, it’s still on my credit,” he said.
KIRO-TV asked the company how it can assure customers that their financial information won’t end up in the hands of strangers, and Equifax replied:
“Earlier this year, a technical error of short duration caused certain consumer information to be released to an isolated number of other individuals. We conducted a full investigation, identified the individuals who had received this information,” including the man who received all those credit reports, “and retrieved it,” Equifax said. “We contacted all impacted consumers to whom the information belonged and have mitigated this situation.”
The man has now hired an attorney to help him file a lawsuit against Equifax, accusing it of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
“We can be pretty sure that whatever procedures they have in place are not reasonable to protect the accuracy of our information,” she said.
*Thanks for the tip, Paul!
Equifax sends Washington man dozens of strangers’ credit reports [KIRO-TV]
In 2011, many of the nation’s largest food retailers committed to opening or expanding 1,500 grocery or convenience stores in and around neighborhoods without supermarkets by 2016, with the aim of providing healthier options for consumers. However, a new analysis of the four-year progress for the initiative found that only a fraction of these companies have lived up to their promise.
An analysis of federal food stamp data by the Associated Press found that not only have many of the major grocers that took part in first lady Michelle Obama’s healthy eating initiative failed to open the number of stores pledged, they actually have avoided the areas targeted by the action in the first place.
According to the report, of the 10,300 stores opened by the nation’s top 75 food retailers – including those that didn’t sign on to the healthy food initiative – since 2011, only 250 were in so-called “food deserts.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture considers a neighborhood a food desert if at least a fifth of the residents live in poverty and a third live more than a mile from a supermarket in urban areas, or more than 10 miles in rural areas, where residents are more likely to have cars, the AP reports.
The Partnership for a Healthier America’s latest update on the initiative in 2014 found that well below half of the group’s goal had been met, and the AP estimates that just 1.4 million of the more than 18 million people who live in food deserts as of 2010 have a new supermarket.
But these food deserts haven’t been completely forgotten. In fact, while supermarkets have avoided these areas, dollar stores have flocked to them.
Dollar General, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree made up two-thirds of the new stores that opened in food deserts. While these locations do offer customers some food products, they typically don’t sell fresh fruits, vegetables or meat – key components for the healthy foods initiative.
“The dollar stores are popping up everywhere in the food deserts, but that doesn’t mean anything if the owners don’t give customers the opportunity for fresh produce,” Norman Wilson Sr., a food desert activist who is pastor of a Pentecostal church in Orlando, tells the AP.
A lack of access to healthy foods contributes to health problems, such as obesity and diabetes, research has shown. The AP reports that proximity to a supermarket can make a big difference in what people eat.
So while stores like Dollar General and 7-Eleven might offer some healthy options, larger chain grocers have more leverage to bring a wider variety of products to consumers at cheaper prices.
Supermarkets say that while they want to offer options to people in food deserts, it’s not always possible.
The AP reported that a Schnucks store in a St. Louis-area food desert closed last year, leaving residents with few options. The company says it had to shutter the store because it was losing money.
Part of the problem with stores losing money on these food desert locations is a lack of knowledge about their customers, Tom Vilsack, Agriculture Secretary says.
“You have to cater to the people who live there. You have to know who they are,” he tells the AP.
And that’s a hurdle larger chains haven’t been able to jump. The CEO of Brown’s Super Stores in the Philadelphia area tells the AP that larger stores often have rigid formats that aren’t easily adaptable to food desert areas.
“They’re not selling what they should be selling because they don’t understand,” Jeff Brown says, noting that stores that do succeed in these areas often have other amenities like pharmacies or banks.
And it’s not just the first lady’s food initiative that seems to be faltering, the AP reports. Lawmakers’ attempts to introduce legislation offering incentives for groceries to build in food deserts have also been unsuccessful.
Grocery chains leave food deserts barren, AP analysis finds [The Associated Press]
All that remains of that never-realized theme park is up for sale. A set of 13 pages of blueprints from 1963 for a five-level indoor theme park called “Walt Disney’s Riverfront Square” in St. Louis is going to the auction block as part of Disney’s “Animation and Disneyana” sale.
The blueprints are in “very good” condition and expected to sell for at least $5,000 to $10,000, a consignment specialist working with Disney told the Associated Press.
“I believe this is the only complete set of plans,” he told the AP. “It’s amazing how many people don’t even know that they were going to build a park in St. Louis.”
Walt Disney wanted to build on the success it saw with Disneyland, which opened its doors in 1955, and the company had its eye on St. Louis for its expansion. But as the story goes, Anheuser-Busch’s head cheese August A. Busch Jr. said that the theme park would have to sell beer if it wanted to do business at all. Disney said no to that plan.
It wasn’t the suds issue that caused the park proposal to die out, however: historian Todd James Pierce, writing about the St. Louis project for the Disney History Institute, said that the beer kerfuffle had been smoothed over eventually. Really, Disney was fine paying for rides and attractions, but wanted St. Louis’ redevelopment corporation to pay for the building. The corporation declined to do so.
And thus, the five-story theme park never existed beyond the pages of those blueprints, and Disney officially backed out in 1965. Instead, many of the rides planned for the Midwestern park were used at Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland, including the Pirates of the Caribbean, the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Vestige of St. Louis Disney park that never was up for sale [Associated Press]
The deal announced in September 2014 would’ve given Electrolux a stronger foothold on this side of the pond, with the company saying back then that its North American sales would more than double with the acquisition.
But it seems GE got cold feet, and will not be selling brands like GE Monogram, GE Cafe and Hotpoint after all: GE has terminated the planned deal, which U.S. authorities opposed, the companies said Monday, according to the AFP.
The U.S. Department of Justice had sued both companies over concerns the deal would create a duopoly, giving Electrolux an estimated 40% share of the U.S. market. Electrolux said it’d been trying to figure out a way to achieve regulatory approval, and was a bit bummed that GE backed out while the deal was still being worked out in court.
“Although we are disappointed that the acquisition will not be completed, Electrolux is confident that the group has strong capabilities to continue to grow and develop its position as a global appliances manufacturer,” said Electrolux President and Chief Executive Keith McLoughlin.
As part of the agreement, Electrolux has to pay GE a termination fee of $175 million.
There has been an inflatable movie screen-sized hole in our hearts ever since SkyMall announced in January that it had filed for bankruptcy protection, essentially ending 25 years of inflight shopping entertainment. But that void for all things you-never-knew-you-needed-until-you-had-nothing-better-to-do-than-flip-through-the-pages-of-the-kooky-retail-magazine will soon be full: SkyMall will once again by flying high on United Airlines.
The Los Angeles Times reports that passengers on United Airlines will have the opportunity to buy jumping hot dogs, bed bug sleeping cocoons, and watches that tick down the minutes until you die via the resurrection of SkyMall magazines.
So how is it possible that SkyMall lives to see another day? The company was purchased out of bankruptcy protection back in April by C&A Marketing, which plans to revive the business known almost as much for its use as a punchline as its unique products.
C&A Marketing’s first order of business was to get the magazine back in the sky. It did so by paying to include SkyMall as an insert in United Airline’s in-flight magazine, Hemispheres, the L.A. Times reports.
SkyMall will continue to be in the carrier’s magazine until the end of the year.
A rep for C&A Marketing says that while United is the only airline to carry the pared-down version of SkyMall for now, it also appears in Amtrak’s Arrive magazine in Boston, New York and Washington.
Skymall gets back in the air with United Airlines [Los Angeles Times]
That’s according to the latest report from Sandvine, a network analytics company that tells us, a few times a year, what exactly we are collectively using the internet for. Back in May, the company calculated that streaming video accounted for more than half of all the prime-time internet traffic in North America. Six months later, it seems our insatiable appetite for just one more episode only keeps growing.
70.40% of all downstream internet traffic (data coming from the internet to you, instead of going from you up to the internet) now falls into the category of “real-time entertainment,” according to Sandvine (PDF). That encompasses both video, like Netflix and YouTube, and also audio, like Spotify and Pandora. That’s approximately ten times the volume of the second-place catetgory, web browsing, which manages to take up barely over 7% of our collective bandwidth.
As for the video providers, big red remains the elephant in the room. Netflix alone accounts for more than a third of our internet use, clocking in at about 37% of downstream traffic. Second-place YouTube accounts for a smudge less than 18%, and third-place video provider Amazon clocks in at just over 2%. Running down the list of media providers from there, iTunes is 2.8% of our traffic, and Hulu about 2.6%. “Other” video takes up the rest.
Also worth noting: Facebook alone also accounts for about 2.5% of all our downstream internet traffic at home, much of which is image-based and, increasingly, video as well.
But that’s just home use. And who only uses the internet at home, anymore? Not most North American consumers, that’s for sure. So how’s the picture on mobile?
As you might expect, streaming is slightly less of our on-the-go use, and social networking slightly more. When it comes to mobile broadband, real-time streaming entertainment is only (“only”) 41% of all our downstream data. Social networking takes up more than 22% of our phone broadband, use, though, and audio and short-form video are much more popular than Netflix binges.
On mobile, YouTube tops the charts at nearly 21% of our downstream traffic. Facebook takes second place, at about 16%. We also do more web browsing and “other” video viewing on our phones, but Snapchat (4.3%) and Pandora (4.3%) also make the top ten.
Netflix does eke onto the list, but way down in the number nine position, at just 3.4% of our mobile data.
Sandvine: Over 70% Of North American Traffic Is Now Streaming Video And Audio [Sandvine]
The service known as Informed Delivery — which has been live in some parts of Northern Virginia since 2014 — is spreading to the New York City metro area, the USPS says, with plans to expand elsewhere in 2016.
Informed Delivery is free, but you have to opt in online, and it won’t work for packages, only letter-sized envelopes… at least not yet: the agency says it could include scans of packages at some point as well.
The USPS is already used to taking snaps of every piece of mail sent in the country, points out Quartz, as it’s a regular part of the agency’s routine already. It helps to sort mail, or can be useful in tracking suspicious mail back to senders.
ROANOKE, Va. (AP) — The prospect of a Confederate battle flag flying in a holiday parade in Roanoke has prompted civil rights officials to call on the city to ban the Civil War symbol of the South.
The Sons of Confederate Veterans are scheduled to march Friday in The Roanoke Times Dickens of a Christmas parade.
At a news conference Saturday, the president of the city chapter of the NAACP called on city officials to banish the flag from the parade route, according to the Times (9http://bit.ly/1INuw4f).
Brenda Hale calls the flag a remnant of slavery, lynching and the violent oppression of African-Americans.
A Roanoke City Council member, Sherman Lea, agreed that the flag is a divisive symbol, but he said the council believes the city cannot legally ban the flag from the parade.
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Information from: The Roanoke Times, http://www.roanoke.com
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BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore County police have charged a local man with attempted murder after a dispute among coworkers ended with two people being set on fire.
Authorities say 28-year-old Christopher Harrison Jr. is charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment.
Harrison was being held without bail Saturday at the Baltimore detention center.
Authorities say the victims were hospitalized in critical condition after being doused with gasoline and set on fire.
Investigators had initially said they were seeking a second suspect, but that a fourth man involved in the incident Friday evening on Route 40 near Allender Rd. is currently note considered a suspect.
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