sonic super game Black plastic kitchen utensil risks were overstated. But you should still toss them, group saysTrump says venture capitalist David Sacks will be AI and crypto ‘czar'

AP Business SummaryBrief at 11:21 a.m. EST

U of I awarded $10M grant to study crops that can be used for jet fuel (copy)£4.9m nuclear robotics and AI cluster to link Oxfordshire

No. 5 UCLA snaps No. 1 South Carolina's 43-game win streak

Insider Selling: Innodata Inc. (NASDAQ:INOD) CEO Sells $10,435,500.00 in StockJack Alban is a freelance journalist for the Daily Dot covering trending human interest/social media stories and the reactions real people have to them. He always seeks to incorporate evidence-based studies, current events, and facts pertinent to these stories to create your not-so-average viral post.

Why are so many royals podcasting? And is anyone listening?Federal DEI spending explodes under Biden-Harris administration

NoneLive Blog: Soo Greyhounds at Niagara IceDogsWhile it has a global fanbase that spans age, gender, race, religion and language, “ ” isn’t exactly the most diverse and inclusive universe. Yes, there are Black characters in the books, but they didn’t get much screen time in the movies. It appears that may change with the upcoming “Harry Potter” TV series. According to , “Gangs of London” and “Black Mirror” actor Paapa Essiedu is reportedly in talks to take on the popular role of Professor Severus Snape. Snape is a deeply complicated character who seems to have complex feelings for Harry. He’s one of the most popular characters in the universe, with fans constantly debating whether he’s a hero or a villain. When HBO announced it was doing a new “Harry Potter” series that would incorporate more details from the books, other than Harry, Ron and Hermione, this was destined to be the most controversial casting. In the films, the Alan Rickman delivered an unforgettable performance as Snape. Honestly, no actor can truly follow in his footsteps. In response to someone acknowledging how difficult it will be to follow Rickman’s iconic role, , “Best way to look at it is accept it’ll be different. If the baseline is they won’t be as good as the guy we hold in extremely high regard for the role then it’s an impossible task to live up to but it shouldn’t disqualify the role ever appearing again for other actors.” Best way to look at it is accept it'll be different. If the baseline is they won't be as good as... Of course, that wasn’t a lot of fans’ major issue with Essiedu’s possible casting. Many people weren’t happy about a Black actor taking on a role that is described in the book as “a thin man with sallow skin, a large, hooked nose, and yellow, uneven teeth... shoulder-length, greasy black hair.” Before we get to the intense social media reactions from the Wizarding World, we need to take a moment to discuss how good Essiedu will actually be in this role. The British actor excels at nuanced portrayals of complex, layered characters. When you don’t know how you’re supposed to feel about someone, he adds an emotional depth that instantly captivates audiences. He would be a fantastic Snape. However, on social media, some fans just couldn’t get past his race and see the possibilities for the character. One user is done with all changes to their favorite material, , “I don’t do race swaps. No f***ing thanks. I’m f***ing tired of it.” Since we can’t possibly be good enough to get major opportunities, the DEI haters had to make themselves known with someone , “Same old same old. Everyone, even the ones who will argue with you, KNOWS that he won’t be chosen for his ability to embody the character of Snape. If he’s chosen, it’s because he’s black and they’re frightened to death of not doing so. That’s it. It’s really that simple. Any denial of that fact is willful stupidity.” Another person noted how Snape’s race doesn’t play a role in the story, so this shouldn’t be an issue, , “My thoughts are: race/color has no bearing in the story in any way. He’s a teacher and at no point in the books he being white was important. So, you’re just being racists.” One fan pointed out the obvious on , writing, “Snape is not real lol stop pretending it needs to be accurate when that man is a fictional character.” Someone replied with their opinion that Snape’s original description should be considered, , “He’s a fictional character that has been widely described in books and was casted in the movie series just fine. Just because it’s 2024 doesn’t mean everything has to be “woke” and change up characteristics.” He’s a fictional character that has been widely described in books and was casted in the movie... Another user showed sympathy for the ridiculous level of online attacks the actor will deal with, , “Love Paapa Essiedu but man the harassment this man is about to receive is no where near worth the pay to do a Harry Potter reboot series.” Other than not being able to handle the idea of a Black Snape, there is no reason for Essiedu to not get serious consideration for this role. And by the way, if you’re one of these “Harry Potter” fans saying you won’t watch if this happens, stop wasting our time. That’s not how nerds work. We cannot help ourselves and will absolutely watch all our favorites, no matter how much we may not want to.

A recent study that recommended toxic chemicals in black plastic products be immediately thrown away included a math error that significantly overstated the risks of contamination, but its authors are standing by their conclusions and warn against using such products. Published in the peer-reviewed journal Chemosphere , experts from the nonprofit Toxic-Free Future said they detected flame retardants and other toxic chemicals in 85% of 203 items made of black plastic including kitchen utensils , take-out containers, children's toys and hair accessories. In a blog post, Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society in Canada, explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it's actually about one-tenth of that. (Dreamstime/TNS) The study initially said the potential exposure to chemicals found in one of the kitchen utensils approached the minimum levels the Environmental Protection Agency deemed a health risk. But in an update to the study, the authors say they made an error in their calculations and the real levels were "an order of magnitude lower" than the EPA's thresholds. The error was discovered by Joe Schwarcz, director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society in Canada. In a blog post, Schwarcz explained that the Toxin-Free Future scientists miscalculated the lower end of what the EPA considered a health risk through a multiplication error. Instead of humans being potentially exposed to a dose of toxic chemicals in black plastic utensils near the minimum level that the EPA deems a health risk, it's actually about one-tenth of that. Though Schwarcz said the risks outlined in the study aren't enough for him to discard his black plastic kitchen items if he had them, he agreed with the authors that flame retardants shouldn't be in these products in the first place. "The math error does not impact the study's findings, conclusions or recommendations," said Megan Liu, a co-author of the study who is the science and policy manager for Toxic-Free Future . She added that any traces of flame retardants or toxic chemicals in cooking utensils should be concerning for the public. Flame retardants are getting into commonly used items because black-colored products are being made from recycled electronic waste, such as discarded television sets and computers, that frequently contain the additives. When they're heated, the flame retardants and other toxic chemicals can migrate out. If you're wondering whether your old black plastic spoon or other utensils are a part of this group, Liu shared some more guidance. It's nearly impossible to know whether a black plastic product is contaminated. That's because these products that include recycled e-waste don't disclose a detailed list of all ingredients and contaminants in the product. Liu said it's also unclear how many types of flame retardants are in these black plastic products. Some of the products that researchers tested in this recent study "had up to nine different harmful chemicals and harmful flame retardants in them," she said. Anytime you're looking for the type of recycled plastic a product is made of you're going to look for a number within the chasing arrows (that form a triangle) logo. Recycling symbols are numbered 1 to 7 and we commonly associate the numbers with what we can toss in our blue recycling bins. The 1 through 7 numbers stand for, respectively, polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), low-density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene or Styrofoam, and miscellaneous plastics (including polycarbonate, polylactide, acrylic, acrylonitrile butadiene, styrene, fiberglass and nylon). The study found higher levels of toxic flame retardants in polystyrene plastic, which is labeled with the number 6, said Liu. There isn't a definitive timeline of when recycled electronic-waste started to be incorporated into black plastic products specifically, but e-waste started to get recycled in the early 2000s, Liu said. The way computers, cellphones, stereos, printers and copiers were being disposed of previously was to simply add them to a landfill without reusing salvageable parts. But as the National Conference of State Legislatures notes, electronics production required a significant amount of resources that could be recovered through recycling. Recovering resources such as metals, plastics and glass through recycling used a fraction of the energy needed to mine new materials. However, the study pointed out that flame retardants and other chemical contaminates have been detected in and near e-waste recycling facilities, in indoor air and dust at formal e-waste recycling facilities in Canada, China, Spain and the U.S. It also noted contamination in soil samples surrounding e-waste recycling sites in China and Vietnam. The safest nontoxic material options for kitchen utensil are wood and stainless steel. The 20th century brought airplanes, radio, television, the internet, and plastic. Lots of plastic. That plastic is now showing up on shorelines, forming islands in oceans, and generating mountains of translucent trash on land. Around 700 species of animals in the sea have been found to interact with plastic daily. Companies across every industry face pressure to reduce the amount of plastic they produce. Seventy-two percent of the world's largest have made voluntary commitments to reduce their plastic waste, according to a Duke University analysis. One industry, in particular, has greatly benefited from advancements in single-use plastic technology: the medical industry. Only in recent years have businesses and academics in the field begun to talk about minimizing their impact on our environment like beverage manufacturers and other consumer goods-producing businesses. Medical Technology Schools analyzed academic studies published in the National Library of Medicine , the American Medical Association , and news reports to shed light on the medical community's use of plastics through history, their environmental problems, and proposed solutions to reduce their impact. And the impact can be significant. A single hospital patient generates nearly 34 pounds of waste a day —as much as a quarter of it is plastic. The COVID-19 pandemic only worsened the problem. The pandemic pushed hospital capacity to the brink and led to a massive increase in personal protective equipment and medical supply usage. Medical-grade masks and other protective equipment like face shields, made mostly of nonrenewable plastics, were in high demand. In 2020, the World Health Organization estimated that the international need for PPE manufacturing would boost 40% to address the public health crisis. Hospitals needed an estimated 89 million masks, 76 million gloves, and 1.6 million goggles every month of the pandemic. To date, nearly 677 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, each requiring their own plastic syringe, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Global consulting firm Frost & Sullivan estimated that the U.S. would produce a year's worth of medical waste in just two months due to the pandemic. The World Economic Forum warned that the COVID-19 crisis threatened to " stall and even reverse progress " to reduce large plastic waste. It's a challenge researchers acknowledge today as they search for solutions. Plastics introduced an era of ultraconvenience to the world. It makes our clothes. It's made bike helmets and airbags possible. And it's a cheap material to produce, meaning it's cheap for consumers too. Almost as importantly, it's durable and incredibly easy to make into complex shapes—a trait that helped plastics invented in the mid-20th century quickly replace more expensive metal and wooden goods. That adoption extended to the medical field, where the single-use nature of plastics represented a move toward more hygienic tools for physicians and hospitals. But it wasn't plastic's sanitary qualities that the industry first latched onto. Like so many other technical advancements, convenience and cost were the initial driving factors. That they were more conducive to creating a sterile environment for patients was a benefit that health care began to tout closer to the end of the 20th century. PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, replaced glass bottles previously used to hold IV solution and replaced rubber tubing used throughout hospital settings. Plastic has also become the go-to material for making syringes and catheters. Plastic products are generally made from chemicals derived from the oil and natural gas refining process. Chemists use those byproducts to create synthetic materials with malleable and durable chemical structures. The low cost of these materials has helped medical device-makers support better health outcomes for communities across the U.S. since the 1900s. No longer was health care priced at rates only the elite could afford—it was accessible to a much larger swath of the public. In the last decade, the U.S., in particular, has emerged as a massive market for medical plastics. The country generally accounts for nearly half of the global market for medical devices. Plastic's durability is not only a benefit but a detriment to the environment, as the material can take many years to deteriorate when it enters landfills or trashes oceans. Estimates vary widely, but scientists ballpark that depending on the kind of plastic and the environment in which it decomposes, it could take dozens to thousands of years to break down entirely. COVID-19, which remains a burden for health care systems, isn't the only force raising the stakes for a health care industry pressured to reduce reliance on plastics or find ways to reuse them. Global annual production of plastic has doubled in the last two decades , according to the Environmental Protection Agency. As the U.S. looks toward the future, its aging population is another factor that could exacerbate the rate at which medical plastics end up in landfills. People require more medical care as they age, and aging baby boomers are expected to place increased demand on the medical device industry. At the same time, governments are under pressure to lower health care costs, which have become unaffordable even for those insured . As recently as 2021, researchers lamented a lack of data on efforts to recycle medical plastics. Around 350 hospitals participate in Practice Greenhealth's Environmental Excellence Awards . Practice Greenhealth is an organization working to help hospitals increase their sustainability. It's one of the few sources of hospital sustainability data, and its roster of participating hospitals represents a small fraction of the more than 6,000 hospitals operating in the U.S. To meet the need to reduce plastic waste generation, some hospitals are moving away from using plastic in certain applications. Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center replaced health care workers' disposable plastic isolation gowns with reusable cloth gowns at its hospitals in the last decade, saving money and preventing literal tons of medical waste. It also implemented a process for sterilizing and incinerating the boxes that hold used needles, allowing them to be reassembled and reused in a health care setting. Recycling plastic medical waste is complicated by the potential for contamination and the need to separate contaminated and noncontaminated waste; once separated, they can be broken down with heat or treated with chemicals and reprocessed. However, using chemical methods to break down and dispose of plastics has drawbacks. Over 200 nongovernmental organizations signed a letter in 2023 urging the Biden administration to end federal support for methods like these, arguing they generate toxic pollutants. The Vinyl Council of Australia is working with hospitals to recover used materials made of PVC . The materials are broken down into tiny pieces, washed and heated at high temperatures, and remade into things used outside medical settings. In the U.S. and Europe, there's the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council, a coalition of companies working in the health care device space that includes DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic. In 2021, the HPRC, advised by professionals at Kaiser Permanente and other health systems, rolled out a medical waste recycling pilot project with hopes of scaling it across more hospitals. Story editing by Ashleigh Graf. Copy editing by Paris Close. Photo selection by Clarese Moller. This story originally appeared on Medical Technology Schools and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio. Sign up here to get the latest health & fitness updates in your inbox every week!How Delhi can learn from Beijing & London to combat air pollution

None

Words on wealth: the true cost of retirement: are you prepared?After a sprawling hacking campaign exposed the communications of an unknown number of Americans, U.S. cybersecurity officials are advising people to use encryption in their communications. To safeguard against the risks highlighted by the campaign, which originated in China, federal cybersecurity authorities released an extensive list of security recommendations for U.S. telecom companies — such as Verizon and AT&T — that were targeted. The advice includes one tip we can all put into practice with our phones: “Ensure that traffic is end-to-end encrypted to the maximum extent possible.” End-to-end encryption, also known as E2EE, means that messages are scrambled so that only the sender and recipient can see them. If anyone else intercepts the message, all they will see is garble that can't be unscrambled without the key. Law enforcement officials had until now resisted this type of encryption because it means the technology companies themselves won't be able to look at the messages, nor respond to law enforcement requests to turn the data over. Adobe Stock Here's a look at various ways ordinary consumers can use end-to-end encryption: Officials said the hackers targeted the metadata of a large number of customers, including information on the dates, times and recipients of calls and texts. They also managed to see the content from texts from a much smaller number of victims. If you're an iPhone user, information in text messages that you send to someone else who also has an iPhone will be encrypted end-to-end. Just look for the blue text bubbles, which indicate that they are encrypted iMessages. The same goes for Android users sending texts through Google Messages. There will be a lock next to the timestamp on each message to indicate the encryption is on. But there's a weakness. When iPhone and Android users text each other, the messages are encrypted only using Rich Communication Services, an industry standard for instant messaging that replaces the older SMS and MMS standards. Apple has noted that RCS messages “aren’t end-to-end encrypted, which means they’re not protected from a third party reading them while they’re sent between devices.” Samsung, which sells Android smartphones, has also hinted at the issue in a footnote at the bottom of a press release last month on RCS, saying, “Encryption only available for Android to Android communication.” To avoid getting caught out when trading texts, experts recommend using encrypted messaging apps. Privacy advocates are big fans of Signal, which applies end-to-end encryption to all messages and voice calls. The independent nonprofit group behind the app promises never to sell, rent or lease customer data and has made its source code publicly available so that it can be audited by anyone to examine it “for security and correctness.” Signal's encryption protocol is so reputable that it has been integrated into rival WhatsApp, so users will enjoy the same level of security protection as Signal, which has a much smaller user base. End-to-end encryption is also the default mode for Facebook Messenger, which like WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms. Telegram is an app that can be used for one-on-one conversations, group chats and broadcast “channels" but contrary to popular perception, it doesn't turn on end-to-end encryption by default. Users have to switch on the option. And it doesn’t work with group chats. Cybersecurity experts have warned people against using Telegram for private communications and pointed out that only its opt-in ‘secret chat’ feature is encrypted from end-to-end. The app also has a reputation for being a haven for scammers and criminal activity, highlighted by founder and CEO Pavel Durov's arrest in France. Instead of using your phone to make calls through a wireless cellular network, you can make voice calls with Signal and WhatsApp. Both apps encrypt calls with the same technology that they use to encrypt messages. There are other options. If you have an iPhone you can use Facetime for calls, while Android owners can use the Google Fi service, which are both end-to-end encrypted. The only catch with all these options is that, as with using the chat services to send messages, the person on the other end will also have to have the app installed. WhatsApp and Signal users can customize their privacy preferences in the settings, including hiding an IP address during calls to prevent your general location from being guessed.NSW Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News. Two of the state’s most senior ministers have vowed to sharpen focus on consequences for bullies in schools in an emotionally charged meeting with parents whose children were bullied to death. The promise was made at a roundtable on bullying, convened by The Sunday Telegraph, where government ministers sat down with grieving families, mental health experts and school principals to explore the problems and begin to chart a way forward. Education Minister and Deputy Premier Prue Car and Minister for Youth and Mental Health Rose Jackson met with the parents of Charlotte O’Brien and the mother of Tilly Rosewarne – two young girls who committed suicide after relentless bullying. Emma Mason (left) and Kelly O’Brien have both lost young daughters to suicide. Pictures: Rohan Kelly The meeting heard how: ● There needs to be tougher consequences for bullies and greater use of suspensions. ● Quicker action must be taken when parents or students report bullying. ● Teachers are not equipped to deal with toxic behaviours. ● Resourcing means teachers do not have support to deal with the problem particularly in regional areas. ● Independent investigations and record keeping must be improved. Charlotte O’Brien with her adored younger brother Will. Picture: Supplied by her family Tilly Rosewarne was 15 when she took her life after years of bullying. Picture: Supplied Parents, experts and policy makers agreed there needed to be an audit across the sector of what works and what doesn’t – similar to the types of record keeping and investigation standards across the health system. The roundtable, held at The Sunday Telegraph offices on Thursday, was the first meeting between Kelly O’Brien and Emma Mason – mums to Charlotte and Tilly. The pair, who had been in constant touch over the phone in the months since Charlotte’s death, embraced for a long time, sharing an understanding few can imagine. “I reach out to lots of mums who lose their children,” Ms Mason said. “So few of us actually know what that’s like and sometimes that text and that phone call in the middle of the night or in the early hours in the morning are things that can just keep them okay. Just able to hold on for another day.” The event came just days ahead of a major meeting this week to begin work on the statewide approach to bullying in NSW schools, to be convened by Ms Car. It was the suicide note of 12-year-old Charlotte, who asked her parents to raise awareness about bullying, which has sparked the drive for change. Youth and Mental Health Minister Rose Jackson became emotional during the meeting. Picture: Rohan Kelly Both ministers became emotional when talking about their own children and their concerns, not just as policy makers but as parents of kids in the vulnerable age bracket. “I myself have three little people at home ranging from nearly 14 to 10, so they’re right in that age of concern,” Ms Car said. “I do think there is not a single issue that concerns parents in Australia more than this right now.” She said it took “some really special people to be able to use your voice for a period of pain to be able to make a change”. WATCH CHARLOTTE’S WISH DOCUMENTARY HERE “Things will come from this, and that’s evidenced by the fact that it’s pretty rare to get a group of people like this around a table: leading media voices, actual decision makers,” she said. “A lot of schools are doing amazing things, some aren’t. So we have to make sure that there is a framework that everyone is working under because children being safe has got to be the No. 1 priority.” The minister said the standard should include empowering leaders in schools to be able to use suspensions and expulsions as a tool “because actions have consequences”. “I think that needs to be part of the standard that we use because we need to support kids with their mental health, but we also need to set an example to other children that there are consequences,” she said. Minister Jackson revealed she had a little girl the same age with the same name as Charlotte. “So there’s nothing that is more important to me than her safety,” an emotional Ms Jackson said. Education Minister Prue Car said the roundtable would lead to change. Picture: Rohan Kelly She said mental health support was vital for parents and for young people, “but it’s not intended as an effort to excuse perpetrator behaviour and holding people to account”. She said the person causing another child to have “a tough time” must have the behaviour addressed and “there must be consequences for actions”. “They need to learn at that adolescent age that actions have consequences,” she said. Ian Hickie, co-director of health and policy at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre, said frameworks needed to be put in place, procedures implemented and their success and failure monitored. “When things go wrong in the health system, we don’t just leave it up to any hospital or any group to say, ‘Did you do enough?’ We have an investigative process, we have transparency about what happens. We have standards,” he said. Prof Hickie warned the time for talking was over. “The legislative framework is important, but it needs to get specific, not just guidelines ... specific on what schools need to be doing in the 21st century since we’ve got a 21st century set of issues,” he said. “And on the investigative side, we need to have standards about how that is done and then how it’s reported and then how the data is collated. “Without those things in place, the danger is we get a repetition of things and after a certain period of time, we’re back where we were.” More Coverage Caring mental mechanic swears by results Josh Hanrahan Australia praised for world-leading social media ban Julie Cross and Angira Bharadwaj Originally published as Charlotte’s Wish: Grieving parents meet with authorities at bullying roundtable Join the conversation Add your comment to this story To join the conversation, please log in. Don't have an account? Register Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout More related stories NSW Cyclist in critical condition after being hit by car A man is fighting for life after he was hit by a car in Sydney’s inner west on Sunday morning. Read more NSW Meet the swearing, caring ‘mental mechanic’ saving lives Tommy Herschell spends his days saving kids’ lives — going back into schools across the country to help put a stop to bullying. Read more