by Kristin Wong on Two Cents, shared by Andy Orin to Lifehacker
On Last Week Tonight, John Oliver bought $15 million in outstanding medical debt just to prove how easy it is to start a debt buying company. It was debt that regular people owed, presumably from surgeries, hospital stays, medical procedures and so on. Instead of buying the debt to turn a profit, Oliver forgave it. All of it. The segment outlined the many flaws of the debt and credit industry, but specifically the concept of “zombie debt,” or old, forgotten debt that somehow resurfaces.
It’s right on the tip of your tongue. You know it’s there. It’s when you intensely dislike something. When your brain can’t quite pick out the word you need, OneLook Reverse Dictionary can look the word up by its definition.
by Claire Lower on Skillet, shared by Andy Orin to Lifehacker
Besides deviled eggs and chopped salads, I rarely think of adding hard-boiled egg yolks to recipes, much less baked goods, but it turns out that doing so can give cakes, shortbreads, and biscuits the most tender crumb imaginable.
People fight over the best way to load the dishwasher. Forks with tines up or down, pots on the top or bottom—luckily, it’s all meaningless. Your specific model probably has a “right way,” and it’s buried in the back of its owner’s manual.
WOODBRIDGE, Va. — There is a dangerous and puzzling pattern unfolding in Prince William County this year as time and time again, police have been called to residential areas to investigate reports of occupied homes being hit by gunfire.
Since January, bullets have been fired at 16 homes in communities around the county.
Most of the incidents occurred in Woodbridge, but others also happened in Manassas and Dumfries, according to police records obtained by WTOP.
“Needless to say it’s very concerning to us,” said acting Prince William County Police Chief Barry Barnard.
“It’s very dangerous.”
Bullets have been found lodged in exterior and interior walls, windows and a glass door. In one shooting in February, five Woodbridge homes were damaged after someone opened fire in the area of Banjo Court. In another instance in May, bullets hit two homes along Westmoreland Avenue in Manassas.
“We have resources that we deploy throughout the day and particularly into the evening hours where some of these have occurred,” said Barnard.
“Intensive investigations are ongoing.”
Shootings remain a mystery
Investigators say there may be one or more people involved in multiple incidents, but it is not entirely clear how many of the shootings, if any, are connected.
Police are having a difficult time pinning down a motive.
“I don’t know that we can identify one or two singular motivations,” Barnard said.
“I think a lot of it is just reckless behavior.”
One of the difficulties involved with the investigations is the fact that many times, police are not even told about a shooting until property damage is discovered, which can happen several days after the fact.
In early January, a homeowner in Dumfries heard a “loud noise” but did not think anything of it until two days later when they looked at an upstairs window and found “a bullet lodged between the two panes of glass,” police records show.
Barnard assures the county is an overall safe place, although he told WTOP that residents “need to be concerned” and “have a right to be concerned” about the rash of mysterious shootings because people are being put at risk while minding their own business in their own homes.
There have been no injuries reported in connection with the incidents.
“It’s just been lucky that that hasn’t occurred,” he said.
Below is a map with the approximate locations of the shootings. Click on the pins for details. In some cases, police gave the same location for more than one shooting :
In a blog post, LeakedSource says that it obtained a copy of data that included 32,888,300 records, including email addresses, usernames, and passwords, many that appear to be from Russia.
The credentials appear to be valid, as LeakedSource says it contacted 15 users to verify their passwords, with all 15 confirming the information.
According to LeakedSource the data was likely collected by malware infecting browsers rather than directly taken from Twitter.
“The explanation for this is that tens of millions of people have become infected by malware, and the malware sent every saved username and password from browsers like Chrome and Firefox back to the hackers from all websites including Twitter,” the site says, noting that because the passwords appeared in plaintext it was unlikely they came from Twitter, which encrypts that information.
For its part, Twitter tells TechCrunch that its systems haven’t been breached.
“We are confident that these usernames and credentials were not obtained by a Twitter data breach – our systems have not been breached. In fact, we’ve been working to help keep accounts protected by checking our data against what’s been shared from recent other password leaks,” a Twitter spokesperson said.
Twitter’s trust and information security officer, Michael Coates, echoed that feeling in Tweet, noting that he was confident the platform was not compromised.
We securely store all passwords w/ bcrypt. We are working with @leakedsource to obtain this info & take additional steps to protect users.
As things stand now, the only way to purchase bottles of wine in PA is through one of about 600 “state stores” — state-operated retail outlets that sell wine and liquor.
Last night, Gov. Tom Wolf signed a piece of legislation that would not only open up wine sales to grocery stores (and restaurants and hotels), but would do away with other outdated restrictions, like a prohibition against home-delivery of wine.
Additionally, state stores will no longer face arcane rules limiting sales on Sundays. The Liquor Control Board could also offer more flexible pricing through discounts and coupons.
“For the last 80-some years we have not been able to do this, so this truly is historic,” said Gov. Wolf after signing the bill.
While the legislation is a huge change in how the state regulates wine sales, it still leaves the sale of spirits strictly under the state’s control. Some supporters of doing away with this system entirely believe that wresting wine sales out of the state’s hands will be the first domino that ultimately results in privatization of liquor sales statewide.
The changes technically take effect in 60 days, but it remains to be seen how quickly the state’s Liquor Control Board can implement the necessary steps, like issuing the proper licenses to stores and other businesses. Both the state and the retail associations backing the legislative efforts have indicated that a fire will be lit under the correct bureaucratic butts to get these changes in place expeditiously.
The current system is a mish-mash of restaurants and hotels allowed to sell wine and liquor (but not to-go), and a few hundred grocery and convenience stores that are allowed to sell limited amounts of beer. Once implemented, affected stores will be permitted to sell up to four bottles of wine to a customer, with wine sales ending at 11 p.m. each night.
Celebrate America with a Rooftop Experience Prince William Living (press release) (blog) Since the 1990s, the City of Manassas has been hosting Celebrate America, the largest fireworks event in Northern Virginia. Last year, the City of Manassas asked Historic Manassas, Inc., to explore funding opportunities for the event. As a creative ...
Coming Attractions Gainesville Times - Northern VA News KPWB is holding its second annual Tropical Escape Fundraiser to help raise funds for the season's programs; 6-8 p.m., Wednesday, June 8; Bahama Breeze, 2714 Potomac Mills Circle, Woodbridge. To purchase tickets call 571-285-3772 or go to ...
Pilot lands at Manassas Regional Airport after flight around the world PotomacLocal.com On June 7, 2016, Adrian Eichhorn finished his solo trip around the world in a single-engine airplane at Manassas Regional Airport. Eichhorn, a decorated pilot, commercial pilot, instructor and a military veteran, began his journey on April 10, 2016 ...
The Liang Bua cave, with excavations in progress. (credit: Liang Bua Team)
The diminutive “hobbit” species, Homo floresiensis, was recently in the news because of a new analysis that suggested the species predated the arrival of modern humans to the region. But the discovery left a big unanswered question: how did the hobbit fit into the human family tree? A discovery of more fossils described in today’s issue of Nature helps piece together more about the species’ history, shedding light on its ancestry and suggesting that it was present in Indonesia as early as 700,000 years ago.
When first found, the tiny bones discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores were dated to around 20 kya (20 thousand years ago). That date was revised earlier this year, placing them between 100 kya and 60 kya. Since modern humans probably moved through the region around 50 kya—and since other species of humans have tended not to last long once our own species moves into the neighborhood—the older dates helped to resolve the mystery of how the hobbits had lived alongside us for so long. Basically, they hadn’t.
Still, this left a lot of other questions open. How long did hobbits live on the island? If hobbits and modern humans coexisted for even a short period of time, is it possible that they shared some of their genes with us like Neanderthals did? The latter question depends partly on their ancestry—if hobbits descended from Homo erectus, its evolutionary distance from humans would make interbreeding unlikely. The new finding suggests that's the case.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Washington National Cathedral says it will remove images of a Confederate battle flag from its stained glass windows because it considers them a symbol of hatred and racial supremacy.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is the Episcopal bishop of Washington and interim dean at the cathedral. She said in a prepared statement Wednesday that a task force examined the origins of the windows and the impact of symbols. The windows were installed in 1953.
After receiving the task force’s report, cathedral officials decided the flags will be replaced by plain glass on two 8-foot-by-4-foot windows. The cathedral is working to determine the cost and establish a timeline.
The windows honor Confederate generals Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee.
Most owners are happy to let people play with their dog, especially if you are at a dog park. Ask permission and approach the dog cautiously, and you can usually make a new friend. If you've just brought a new dog into your house, it's especially important to play safely and respectfully.
Ask the dog’s owner if you can pet and play with their dog. Always get permission before petting or playing with a dog. The dog may be a service animal, or the owner may not want their pet interacting with other people. Once you get the owner’s express permission, feel free to approach the animal.[1]
Similarly, don’t offer a dog any treats until the owner gives you permission. Depending on their diet, the dog may not be able to enjoy the treats you have on hand.
Encourage the dog to sniff your hand. Hold out your hand around the dog’s nose level so they can give it a good sniff. Let the pet smell your hand for several seconds, or until they feel comfortable enough to let you approach. Once the dog is comfortable with your presence, you can pet and engage with the dog more.[2]
Dogs have a very strong sense of smell, and tend to identify things by scent. Letting a dog sniff you lets them give you a once-over, and helps put them more at ease.
Play with the dog without staring at it or making loud noises. Avert your gaze as you play, and try not to stare at anyone’s dog directly. This can come across as intimidating, and the dog may have a negative reaction if they think you’re a threat. Instead, look at the dog while they’re looking in a different direction.[3]
Watch for signs that the dog is uncomfortable or agitated. Pay attention to a dog’s ears, which can signal when the animal is angry, nervous, or just uncomfortable. Note that lip-licking and yawning are signs of anxiety and nervousness, while flattened ears and a tucked tail indicate fear. Additionally, if a dog’s tail is really stiff while they’re wagging it, then the animal is being aggressive.[4]
For instance, if a stranger’s dog has its tail tucked in, back away since the dog is scared and uncomfortable.
Play tug of war to keep the dog engaged. Invite the dog to pull on the end of a toy. Wait for your dog to let go of the toy eventually, then wait a few seconds before declaring a rematch. Try to instigate this game with the dog so you can stay in control.[5]
You may need to grab the collar of larger dogs if they refuse to let go of the toy. If you’re playing with someone else’s dog, ask permission before you do something like this.
Tug of war can be played with a variety of objects, like a rope toy or your pet’s favorite blanket.
Entice the dog with a game of fetch. Toss a flying disk or other fetch-able toy around, then encourage the dog to bring the toy back. If you’re playing with your own dog, start by praising the dog for holding the toy. Graduate to running backwards while holding onto a treat so your dog will chase after you while still holding the toy.[6]
Some dogs are more into fetching than others. Don’t be discouraged if your dog isn’t interested in this game right away!
Invite the dog to play hide and seek with you. Find a neighboring room or enclosed area to hide while the dog stays in a separate area. Yell the dog’s name and praise them with treats once they find you.[7]
You can play this inside or outside, depending on your living space.
If the dog is really eager, you may need someone to hold them back while you go hide.
Impatient dogs may not be a great fit for this kind of game.
When playing hide and seek with a smaller dog, you may want to hide close by so the dog doesn’t have to search very far.
Encourage the dog to search for their favorite toy. Throw or hide the dog’s toy somewhere in your living area or out in some open grass. Unlike fetching, invite the dog to sniff around and search for the toy. Use an excited voice so your dog is really engaged and inspired to keep looking.[8]
Always hide toys in safe places where you don’t mind your dog poking around.
Any kind of dog can play this game, though some pets may not have a long enough attention span for this activity. For impatient pups, hide treats or segments of their meal instead of a toy.
Supervise while the dog plays with a squeaky toy. Some dogs like to entertain themselves by throwing their squeaky toys in the air and pouncing over them. Keep an eye on dogs as they do this to make sure they don’t eat or destroy their toys.[9]
Sometimes, dogs will try to remove the squeaker from the toy.
Any dog can enjoy a good squeaky toy—just keep in mind that stronger, rambunctious dogs may rip into their toys more quickly than a smaller, mild-mannered dog.
Engage the dog with a flirt pole. Find a park or other open area where you can run around with the dog. Hold out a flirt pole, which is a long pole with a lure attached to 1 end. Encourage the dog to change after the lure.[10]
You may be able to find this at a pet supply store.
A flirt pole may be a great option for a high energy dog, like a Golden Retriever.
Blow bubbles to entertain the dog. Take a normal bottle of bubbles and blow a few in your dog’s general direction. Some pets will be really entertained by this, and will chase after and try to eat the bubbles.[11]
Always use a non-toxic bubble solution that’s recommended for children!
This is a great option if the weather is too overcast to play outside.
Any dog can play with bubbles, though it likely depends on their personality and interest level, and what kinds of games they usually enjoy.
Set up a pool and other water games in your yard. Find a kiddie pool and fill it with a few inches or centimeters of water. Encourage your dog to splash around and enjoy the water, especially if the weather is hot. You can also turn the hose on and encourage your dog to splash around with the water.[12]
Some dogs aren’t a fan of the water, which is totally normal. You can play a different outdoor game with them!
This is a great outdoor activity for dogs of all sizes.
Stuff a dog toy with treats to keep your dog amused. Find a dog toy with a lot of cracks and openings for dog treats. Let the dog sniff the toy and start rolling and chasing it on their own. The dog may burn a lot of energy just from chasing the toy![13]
If you’re playing with someone else’s dog, always ask permission before giving treats.
Teach your dog the “take” and “leave” commands so they can play safely. Use treats as a way to encourage your dog to “take” and “leave” toys so they don’t become possessive during playtime. Place a treat on the ground and wait for your dog to stop going after it—once they stop, reward them with an even better treat. To practice “take it,” let your dog have the initial treat after they stop trying to nose it out of your hand.[14]
For instance, try putting a treat in your closed palm, then wait for them to stop sniffing and nudging your hand. Once they behave, open your hand and use a clicker to praise your pet, while saying “take it.”
Encourage your dog not to bite during playtime. If your dog bites you, make a loud noise or yell like you’re in pain, even if you aren’t hurt. Keep your hand still so your dog realizes that biting is hurtful and bad to do. If your pet still isn’t getting the idea, ignore them for 10-20 seconds as a brief time-out period.[15]
For instance, simply turning away from your dog for 10 seconds can count as a time-out.
Make the toy look exciting so your dog wants to play with it. Don’t wave a new toy in your dog’s face—instead, hold it gently in your arms and hug it, showing your dog that the toy is valuable. To get your dog interested, drop the toy near them and then pick it up quickly, which further proves your pet that the toy is valuable and interesting. Once your dog is interested, play tug of war to make them even more engaged.[16]
The tug of war game should only last a few seconds, or else your dog may get bored of the toy.
Hold any dog toys below your waist so your dog isn’t tempted to jump. Keep an eye on where you hold your dog’s toy so they aren’t tempted to jump or leap onto you. Try to do this whenever you play your dog, so your pet knows that they shouldn’t jump around during playtime.[17]
This will also make it safer and easier for others to play with your dog.
Play for 5-10 minutes and see if your dog is satisfied. Give your dog several minutes of undivided play attention and see if it wears them out. Depending on the size and usual energy level of your pet, you may need to play with your dog for longer before they’re satisfied.[18]
Active dogs need around 30 minutes of exercise each day, but the amount of playtime your dog needs depends on the other kinds of exercise your dog gets. For instance, if you take your dog on a 20-minute walk, you can dedicate 10 minutes or so to rigorous playtime.[19]
Enforce a consistent play schedule if you have multiple dogs. Dedicate certain sections of playtime to each dog, so all your pets get to burn their energy. If one of your dogs runs after a toy that isn’t meant for them, call them back and have them sit or lay down. Give that dog a 30-second time-out, then proceed with your usual playtime.[20]
Don’t try to pet a stray dog—it may not be friendly or trained, and could lash out if you try to pet it.[24]
Some larger dogs don’t know their own strength, and may knock you over by accident. If this happens, roll into a ball and stay as still as possible so the dog realizes they’ve done something wrong.[25]
Always supervise young children and babies when they’re around dogs.[26]
In 2009, Matthew “MatPat” Patrick graduated from Duke University with a double major in theater and neuroscience. Seven years later, he has become one of the largest channels on YouTube—and he did it by making videos where he muses about subjects like whether or not Super Mario is actually psychopath. [Kotaku
]
I am very much not a morning person, and am always looking for ways to make the A.M. just a little more bearable. This adorable suggestion of setting a “cuddle alarm” from The Kitchn is almost too cute:
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Henrico County woman has entered an Alford plea to charges in the abuse death of a 3-year-old boy.
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1TYpKeM) 33-year-old Alexis Raiford entered the plea Tuesday to felony murder and child abuse and neglect in the April 2015 death of Zyon Thompson.
An Alford plea means the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction.
Prosecutors say Zyon died of dehydration after being subjected to extreme abuse, including being forced to eat crab seasoning.
Raiford is one of three defendants charged in the child’s death. Her husband Clarence Raiford Jr. and William Corey Moore were convicted in December of felony murder and child abuse charges.
The three are expected to be sentenced in July.
___
Information from: Richmond Times-Dispatch, http://www.timesdispatch.com
BALTIMORE (AP) — Two more officers charged in the death of a 25-year-old black man in police custody have filed suit against Baltimore’s top prosecutor.
Officers Edward Nero and Garrett Miller, who were charged with misdemeanors in the death of Freddie Gray, have sued State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby and Maj. Sam Cogen of the sheriff’s office for defamation of character, violation of rights and false imprisonment.
Nero was acquitted last month. Miller is scheduled to stand trial in July.
Three other officers already have filed similar lawsuits in state and federal court.
The suits allege that Mosby intentionally filed false charges against the officers.
The only officer who has not filed suit is Caesar Goodson, the wagon driver who is scheduled to stand trial on a second-degree murder charge Thursday.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. — It begins as a leisurely tour of the city of Metropolis, but, of course things became much less leisurely on Six Flags America’s SUPERMAN: Ride of Steel Virtual Reality Coaster.
The popular roller coaster at Six Flags America has been upgraded to include virtual reality headsets, and WTOP was there to test it out. The experience begins 15 or so stories in the air at a virtual train station. The headset enables 360-degree views, which lets riders get a few moments to take in their surroundings. Riders can even look down at their own virtual bodies.
Once the roller coaster begins moving, its climbs and drops are coordinated with graphics — a depicted battle between Superman and Lex Luthor, who creates chaos throughout the city by manipulating gravity.
Riders see the virtual train, along with cars and trucks, begin to float upward, as the actual coaster climbs. As the coaster descends sharply, riders can see the city street approaching fast before the train is caught by Superman. From there, the virtual train is guided by Superman over buildings and is, sometimes, hijacked and pulled by Luthor.
Watch WTOP’s John Aaron ride the coaster:
The Superman coaster at Six Flags America joins rides in Texas and New England in getting the virtual reality upgrade. These coasters, along with fighter jet simulators at other Six Flags parks, are the first set of virtual reality coasters in North America, according to Brett Petit, senior vice president of marketing for Six Flags. He said the technology was first introduced in Europe and Japan.
“Many people say they don’t even remember that they’re on a roller coaster,” he said. “Our partner has developed a way to perfectly sync the movements of the coaster with the story that you see.”
That partner, VR Coaster of Germany, hopes to have the coasters in 20 parks worldwide by the end of the year. Thomas Wagner of VR Coaster said that many who tried virtual reality in a chair would get dizzy during a roller coaster simulation.
“I thought, ‘Hey, let’s try this synchronized to a real coaster, on a real coaster,” he said. “It turned out that it’s not only that you don’t get dizzy when it’s precisely synchronized to the actual ride, but it’s also a totally new experience.”
Wagner said the system uses off-the-shelf technology, including Samsung Gear VR headsets linked to Galaxy S6 smartphones.
Petit said only those 13 and older are allowed to use the virtual reality headsets, but any customer may choose not to wear the headset and only experience the roller coaster.
Also, he said the headsets feature antimicrobial leather which are cleaned after each used.
But, as the American Eagle Foundation reports, Liberty rejoined her sibling and her parents, “Mr. President” and “The First Lady,” at around 3 p.m. Wednesday. The triumphant return was captured on live video and posted to the American Eagle Foundation’s Facebook page.
What brought Freedom back? It appears a big fish captured by dad did the trick.
UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A Maryland jury has found a man guilty of murder after the paralyzed victim, who later died, identified the person who shot him by blinking.
Multiple news outlets report that a Prince George’s County jury found 25-year-old Jermaine Hailes guilty of first-degree murder Tuesday in the 2010 shooting of 29-year-old Melvin Pate.
Pate was paralyzed and unable to speak because of injuries from the shooting. A video recorded by police shows him identifying Hailes as the shooter by blinking at a photo in a lineup. Pate died before Hailes went to trial.
The Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that Pate’s blink was a dying declaration and allowed prosecutors to show the video during the trial.
Hailes faces life in prison at a sentencing hearing set for Aug. 25.
4th of July Fireworks in Manassas: Schedule, What's New, and More Info Patch.com Find out the details here on this year's fireworks display and all-American party in Downtown Manassas. 4th of July Fireworks in Manassas: Schedule, What's New, and More Info. Manassas, VA. By Sharon Reed (Patch Staff) - June 8, 2016 5:10 pm ET.
We’ve all got them, those shows that have the power to keep us glued to our couches, in front of a screen, watching each and every episode available until it feels like nothing else exists. Netflix knows it too, and has released a new Binge Scale that it says reveals which programs we’re most likely to sacrifice our social lives to.
Because not every show lends itself to plopping down in front of the TV for hours upon hours of watching until you’ve finished it all, Netflix released new numbers on the way we watch, putting content on a scale that ranges from “shows to savor” to “shows to devour.”
For example, shows like Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead were often taken down in true binge style, while viewers dawdled longer over shows like Homeland and House of Cards. Those customers who do decide to watch an entire TV season finish it on average in just a week, watching a little more than two hours per day.
To accomplish this, Netflix examined global viewing of more than 100 serialized TV series across more than 190 countries between October 2015 and May 2016. The research looked at member completion of the first season for all series, and only included data for accounts that fully completed the season. None of those, “I’m not done with season three of House of Cards yet” slowpokes counted here.
It then organized series against that binge benchmark — finishing an entire season in a week when you put your mind to it — and found that interesting patterns emerged, “ranging from high energy narratives that are devoured to thought-provoking dramas that are savored.”
Netflix goes on to break it down by genre within the “Savor” and “Devour” categories, listing the most popular Irreverent Comedies, Historical Dramas, and whathaveyou.
“As The Binge Scale indicates, the viewing experience of a series can range from the emotional to the thought-provoking,” said Cindy Holland, Vice President of Original Content at Netflix, who went on to mention two Netflix original series, naturally. “Netflix helps you to find a series to binge no matter your mood or occasion, and the freedom to watch that series at your own pace — whether that’s to appreciate the drama of Bloodline or power through Orange is the New Black.”
For those coming late to this story, last summer San Francisco’s city council decided that ads for soda and other sugary drinks contain warnings about the potential health problems — obesity, tooth decay, diabetes — associated with eating too much sugar.
The ordinance, which mandates that the warning must occupy 20% of the space in an ad, was scheduled to go into effect July 25, but a lawsuit filed by the American Beverage Association, the California Retailers Association, and the California State Outdoor Advertising Association, has been challenging the rule, claiming it violates the First Amendment.
In seeking an injunction to prevent the ordinance from being enforced, the plaintiffs argued that the warning will be so significant that it will itself be the focus of the ad, and that the remaining space in the ad would not suffice to counter the warning.
However, the judge in the case was not won over by this line of argument, pointing out that the warning was text only and unlikely to detract from the pictorial portion of the ads, which he believed leaves ample space for the advertisers to advertise.
“Not only is 80% of the space available, Plaintiffs have shown that they have employed pithy advertising on how to achieve balanced diets and lifestyles,” explained the judge in shooting down their injunction request in May.
The court denied that injunction because the judge concluded that the plaintiffs were unlikely to ultimately succeed. So why did he agree this morning to grant the injunction while the plaintiffs file their appeal?
In explaining his decision [PDF], the judge writes that he still believes he ruled correctly on the injunction request, but acknowledges that some of the issues at the core of this case have yet to be decided by the appellate court, like whether the government can compel a warning or disclosure when the government interest doesn’t involve a matter of consumer deception, but one of public health and safety.
The judge also mentioned a possible concern over the mandated size of the warning as somethign that the appeals court might need to resolve.
Because he expects the appeals court to quickly review and resolve the appeal, the judge also didn’t see the harm in granting the injunction even though he’d just recently denied it.
The city had argued that the injunction pending appeal should be denied because the plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction request had been denied, and that the plaintiffs “must make an ‘even stronger showing’ that they will succeed on the merits than they did in their preliminary injunction motion.”
However, the judge counters that this would mean that “a party who is denied a preliminary injunction … could never get an injunction from the district court pending appeal.”
Obviously, the American Beverage Association is pleased with today’s ruling.
“Granting our motion for an injunction pending appellate review means that this discriminatory ordinance will not go into effect next month,” reads a statement from the ABA. “We continue to believe that the City of San Francisco’s mandate violates the constitutional rights of a select group. It unfairly discriminates against one particular category of products, based on one ingredient found in many other products.”
The case now moves on to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While there are no doubt innumerable studies, surveys, and reports on the habits of modern shoppers, at least one survey says that consumers are buying stuff online more than they are in stores, for the first time ever.
This might not come as a shock to some, the kinds of people who would sooner order toilet paper on Amazon than put on shoes to run out to the corner store, but it’s the first time in UPS’ five years of conducting the annual survey that online shopping edged out in-store purchasing habits.
UPS and comScore surveyed 5,000 online shoppers who made at least two online purchases in a three-month period (excluding groceries) and found that they made 51% of their purchases on the web, compared with 48% in 2015, and 47% in 2014.
A lot of that is on-the-go shopping, or at least, not everyone is sitting in front of a computer: 44% of smartphone users said they bought something on their device, an increase from 41% a year ago.
Only 20% of shoppers’ purchases were made by going to a store, browsing, and buying, which is down from 22% in 2015. A full 42% said they search and buy online exclusively, and the rest said they combined both online and in-store shopping and browsing.
This news is likely to add to the pressure traditional retailers have been feeling to catch up to the e-commerce trend, as they face off against industry giant Amazon — which accounted for an estimated 60% of total U.S. online sales growth alone, The Wall Street Journal notes.
“There’s going to be severe continued pressure on department stores because traffic is going to peel away from that channel towards Amazon,” one retail analyst told The WSJ.
It’s not going to get better, either, as 17% of consumers plan to shop less in store, in favor of buying on electronic devices. There is one bright spot for retailers who still have shoppers coming in, UPS points out, if they can figure out how to pull it off.
“We know shoppers use their smartphones while in-store, so if retailers can tie together mobile messaging with valuable features in their apps, this can be a winning combination,” said Louis DeJianne, UPS director for retail and consumer products.
Someone at Adidas must have been snoozing during the South American geography lesson in elementary school, because how else could you explain the company splashing “Columbia” all over ads featuring the Colombian soccer team?
See, Colombia is a country in South America, while Columbia is a university, a district, a city in Missouri, and a sportswear company (among other things).
Adidas, headquartered in Germany, found itself in the crosshairs for mixing the two words up for a recent campaign for the Copa Americana soccer (or football, if you’re the rest of the world) tournament. The ads showed Colombian soccer players in their new home team Adidas jerseys, all ready to kick the ball around, with the word “COLUMBIA” plastered on the bottom.
Many fans were ready to kick the ball into Adidas’ face instead, as many expressed outrage over the spelling mistake on Twitter:
Including one Twitter user who posted a full-page open letter to Adidas, reading in part:
“In a world where ignorance is infamous when it comes to the acknowledgement of third world countries, it is unbeknownst to me why the correct spelling of COLOMBIA is so difficult to comprehend for the general public,” she wrote. “However, it is even more infuriating to see a MULTI-BILLION dollar company, as Adidas, misspell the national campaign of the country’s team they are trying to promote and drive revenue from their name.”
According to Remezcla, the company also made the mistake on its website, which has since been corrected.
The company apologized in a statement, saying it’s in the process of fixing the ads. Adidas has made the team’s uniforms since 2011.
“We value our partnership with the Colombian Football Federation and apologize for our mistake,” the statement reads. “We removed these graphics and are quickly installing new versions today.”
While shiny, candy-colored detergent pods have poisoned many thousands of kids who mistake them for toys or treats, they’ve been success for detergent brand Tide and its parent company Procter & Gamble. So is it a coincidence that Tide’s new recommendation that customers use as many as three pods per load comes amid an overall sales slump in the detergent category?
The Wall Street Journal reports that sales of liquid detergent are down nearly 9% since pods first hit the market in 2012, and powdered detergent has dropped by nearly a third. Those decreases have both been offset to some degree by the 140% growth in pod sales, but pods still only make up about 15% of the market. Thus, overall detergent sales are down around 5% during the pod era.
So how is a company like P&G going to make up for the lost sales? Apparently by convincing people that they need to use more detergent to get their clothes clean.
Recent Tide ads feature users holding two pods at a time, and the company is now recommending that pod users deploy three pods for their largest load, making Tide the only company to do so (for now).
P&G tells the Journal that this is just a response to customer feedback; that customers are using larger machines and cramming more into them.
However, some competitors disagree.
“It’s clearly a way to boost sales,” said John Replogle, says the CEO of Seventh Generation, which is launching its own pods later this year.
When pods were introduced, they were advertised as a way to avoid the waste of liquid and powdered detergents, with their imprecise measurements. The idea was that a single load would require a single pod, but most brands now recommend up to two at a time for large loads.
Say a Tide pod costs you $.25 on average. The equivalent in liquid detergent will only run you $.19. Yes, that’s only six cents, but when you start doubling or tripling up — and then multiplying by all the loads you’ll wash over the course of a year — that’s a significant price difference.
Prince William County community calendar, June 9-15, 2016 Washington Post Historic Manassas walking tour Learn the history of the city. Wear comfortable walking shoes. Thursdays-Fridays at noon, Manassas Museum, 9101 Prince William St., Manassas. 703-368-1873. manassasmuseum.org. Free. U.S. Navy Band Commodores The ...
