Man Swims 5 Hours To Save Family Who Clung To Boat

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Photo Credit: WBOCA family of four clung to a capsized boat in the Tangier Sound, hanging on for their lives, as 46-year-old John Riggs, of Salisbury, swam five hours against strong waves in the middle of a storm for help.

“It wasn’t an option, it just had to be done because they had been out there all night,” said Riggs. He told WBOC, he swam because the lives of his father, sister and young niece and nephew depended on it.

“Just not knowing what’s going on with them while I was gone,” said Riggs. He added, “It was getting nasty and blowing harder. And not knowing if we [rescue crews and Riggs] would be able to find them when we got back out there.”

So he did what instinct told him to do, and didn’t look back.

“It’s an amazing story,” said Deal Island Fire Chief Donald Ford. “The man’s a hero. He swam from Haines Point and ended up, when he came to shore, at Hall Point.”

Read more from this story HERE.

California Assembly Passes Bill to Distribute Condoms to Prisoners

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Photo Credit: Sharon MollerusThe proposal from Oakland Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta comes despite a law prohibiting any sex between inmates, which creates a conflict that concerns both supporters and opponents of the legislation.

“It’s a felony for prisoners to have sex while they’re in prison, so I don’t think it’s good government for the state to encourage inmates to break the law,” said Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue of Marysville.

Bonta’s proposal would require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make condoms available in five prisons by 2015 and expand the program to each of the state’s 33 adult prisons no later than 2020.

The bill, AB999, passed the Assembly and is awaiting consideration in the state Senate. If it becomes law, California would be the second state behind Vermont, which has a fraction of the inmate population, to provide condoms to all prisoners. Canada, most of the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa already take that step, according to legislative researchers.

Currently, condoms are contraband in California prisons, though the state has tried a distribution program before but on a temporary and limited basis.

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After Eating Burgers, Ribs Throughout America, Obama Claims to Child that Broccoli is his Favorite Food

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Photo Credit: ReutersPresident Barack Obama likes burgers, hot dogs and such, but when it came time to answer a kid journalist’s question about his favorite food, broccoli was the first word that sprang from his lips.

This revelation came on Tuesday at a White House event that recognized children who won a healthy recipe contest, as part of first lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity campaign.

Having fun with the children, Obama agreed to take two questions from the journalists among them. The first asked what was Obama’s favorite food. Broccoli was the presidential reply, according to a White House aide.

This from a politician who has literally eaten his way across the country: Burgers in a Washington suburb with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev; ribs in Asheville, North Carolina; hot dogs at a basketball game in Dayton, Ohio; and a tasty pastry called a kringle in Wisconsin.

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IVF Baby Born Using New Genetic-Screening Process, Allows “Perfect” Embryos to be Selected

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Photo Credit: guardian.co.ukThe first IVF baby to be screened using a procedure that can read every letter of the human genome has been born in the US.

Connor Levy was born on 18 May after a Philadelphia couple had cells from their IVF embryos sent to specialists in Oxford, who checked them for genetic abnormalities. The process helped doctors at the couple’s fertility clinic in the US select embryos with the right number of chromosomes. These have a much higher chance of leading to a healthy baby.

The birth demonstrates how next-generation sequencing (NGS), which was developed to read whole genomes quickly and cheaply, is poised to transform the selection of embryos in IVF clinics. Though scientists only looked at chromosomes – the structures that hold genes – on this occasion, the falling cost of whole genome sequencing means doctors could soon read all the DNA of IVF embryos before choosing which to implant in the mother.

If doctors had a readout of an embryo’s whole genome, they could judge the chances of the child developing certain diseases, such as cancer, heart disease or Alzheimer’s.

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Facebook Usage May be Able to Predict Risk of Suicide

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Photo Credit: Shutterstock If you’ve been thinking about killing yourself, your social media might give you away. An initiative called the Durkheim Project will use artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to identify common words and phrases among those who might be contemplating suicide.

The program, which launched on July 2, currently targets only veterans, who have disproportionately high suicide rates. Veterans opt into the Durkheim Project, which installs an app on computers, iOS and Android devices. These apps keep track of what users post and upload it to a medical database. A medical AI monitors the data in real-time, picking out patterns that might lead to self-harm.

The Durkheim Project app monitors content from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, in addition to storing information from a user’s mobile device. A database at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth University will keep track of users’ locations and text messages, and will not share any information with third parties. Additionally, the system will be guarded by a firewall to ward off would-be hackers.

“The study we’ve begun with our research partners will build a rich knowledge base that eventually could enable timely interventions by mental health professionals,” said Chris Poulin, principal investigator on the project, in a statement. “Facebook’s capability for outreach is unparalleled.”

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Human Liver Grown Inside a Mouse

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Photo Credit: Takanori Takebe/PA

Photo Credit: Takanori Takebe/PA

A human liver has been grown inside a mouse, giving hope that patients could receive new organs created from their own skin cells within a decade.

The breakthrough would eradicate donor waiting lists and the risk of the body rejecting a replacement organ.

Japanese scientists used stem cells to create liver ‘buds’ within mice which grew into a piece of human tissue measuring 5mm.

It is hoped the work carried out by researchers at Yokohama City University could also be used to grow other replacement organs.

‘This science opens up the distinct possibility of being able to create mini-livers from the skin cells of a patient dying of liver failure that, when transplanted, would not be subjected to immune rejection as happens with conventional liver transplants today,’ said Prof Malcolm Alison, stem cell biologist at Queen Mary, University of London.

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Dennis Rodman Wants a Nobel Peace Prize For His NBA Diplomacy (+video)

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

By Jessica Chasmar. Dennis Rodman sat down with Sports Illustrated’s Franz Lidz to talk about his controversial trip to North Korea, saying that his efforts in world diplomacy should be enough to earn him a Nobel Peace Prize.

“My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries,” he said. “Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s the black guy’s [Obama’s] job. But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.”

The former NBA player recently traveled to Pyongyang with a few members of the Harlem Globetrotters and a crew from HBO’s television series “Vice,” Sports Illustrated reported.

Mr. Rodman said he knew very little of North Korea or Kim Jong-un before the trip. Read more from this story HERE.

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Dennis Rodman says he should be considered for Nobel Peace Prize

By Cindy Boren. It’s been a busy year for Dennis Rodman, the former NBA bad-boy-turned-diplomat.

He’s traveled to North Korea. He’s talked with Kim Jong Un and pronounced him a “friend for life.” He’s gone to Vatican City and kindly offered to assist with the selection of a new pope. All of which leads him to one conclusion: He should win the Nobel Peace Prize, like some sort of blond, pierced, tattoed version of, oh, Jimmy Carter or Al Gore.

“My mission is to break the ice between hostile countries,” Rodman told Sports Illustrated in an interview for its annual “Where are they now?” issue. “Why it’s been left to me to smooth things over, I don’t know. Dennis Rodman, of all people. Keeping us safe is really not my job; it’s the black guy’s [that would be President Obama] job. But I’ll tell you this: If I don’t finish in the top three for the next Nobel Peace Prize, something’s seriously wrong.”

Rodman, who said in March that “I want to be anywhere in the world that I’m needed,” plans to return to North Korea next month.

“I’m just gonna chill, play some basketball and maybe go on vacation with Kim and his family,” Rodman said. “I’ve called on the Supreme Leader to do me a solid by releasing Kenneth Bae.” Read more from this story HERE.

Woman, 62, Jailed On Felony Battery Charge After Kissing Cop On The Nose

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Photo Credit: The Smoking Gun

Photo Credit: The Smoking Gun

A Florida woman is jailed on a felony battery on a law enforcement officer charge after she allegedly kissed a cop on the nose.

Peggy Hill, 62, was arrested late Saturday evening outside her Bradenton residence by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputies who had arrived at the home in response to a call about a dispute between Hill and a neighbor about a fence between their properties.

As Hill was conversing with Sergeant Randy Lamb, “she approached him and kissed him on his nose against his will.” Lamb, an 18-year veteran, stepped away from Hill and “wiped off the saliva from his nose”…

Read more from this story HERE.

Sheriff Joe’s Jail Guard’s Ear Bit Off, Inmates Come to Her Rescue (+video)

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Photo Credit: Fox Phoenix

Photo Credit: Fox Phoenix

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio gave pizza to jail inmates for lunch after some of them came to the rescue of a detention officer.

Authorities say Rachel Harris had part of her ear bitten off during a scuffle with an inmate Monday afternoon in the Lower Buckeye Jail.

Harris, 22, was conducting a routine check of the cell when inmate Bobby Ruiz allegedly jumped on her back and attacked her.

Authorities say some other inmates came to the aid of Harris, who was hired by the sheriff’s office about one year ago.

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Indian Airline Recruits ‘Slim’ Women to Save Fuel

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Photo Credit: CNN

Photo Credit: CNN

An Indian airline has hit on possibly the worthiest excuse yet for hiring slim women as cabin crew — it saves fuel and therefore money.

While some airlines admit to hiring women for their sex appeal, budget carrier GoAir has told The Times of India it will be hiring predominantly female flight attendants in future because they are 15-20 kilos lighter on average than men.

The airline estimates each extra kilo on board costs Rs3 ($0.05) per flying hour, and the new policy will save it up to $500,000 annually.

A spokesman for the airline denied to CNN that it had implemented a gender-biased recruitment policy. But he confirmed that the airline’s male-female cabin crew ratio of 40:60 was among the most male-heavy in the industry in India.

Read more from this story HERE.