FDA Approves New Nasal Spray To Treat Depression

This is how NASA would respond to an asteroid impacting Earth

What would happen if an asteroid impacted Earth sorta like a comet did in 1998’s ‘Deep Impact?”

BY RAYMOND WONG 18 HOURS AGO

If an asteroid were ever to be come hurtling towards Earth, what would be the plan to stop it from impacting the planet?

That’s the question NASA and its partners, including the European Space Agency and the U.S.’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), are gathering at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference in early May to investigate.

During the five day conference, NASA and its partners plan to engage in a “tabletop exercise” that simulates what would happen if scientists and authorities were to learn of a near-Earth Object (NEO) impact scenario.

“A tabletop exercise of a simulated emergency commonly used in disaster management planning to help inform involved players of important aspects of a possible disaster and identify issues for accomplishing a successful response,” says NASA.

In the exercise (detailed by the ESA here), NASA and its partners have to respond to a “realistic — but fictional — scenario” involving a NEO named “2019 PDC,” which has a 1 in 100 chance of impacting Earth in 2027.View image on Twitter

ESA Operations

@esaoperations

Each day of the #PlanetaryDefense Conference, a press release will be put out, updating participants on the hypothetical asteroid #2019PDC – now (hypothetically) hurtling towards Earth. More on this year’s #ImpactScenario on the #rocketscience blog:http://blogs.esa.int/rocketscience/2019/04/25/rolling-coverage-brace-for-hypothetical-asteroid-impact/ …719:57 AM – Apr 27, 201946 people are talking about thisTwitter Ads info and privacy

Armed with all of the hypothetical information about “2019 PDC,” the exercise is intended to see how the various organizations and governments would handle the situation as it unfolds.

“The first step in protecting our planet is knowing what’s out there,” said Rüdiger Jehn, the ESA’s Head of Planetary Defence. “Only then, with enough warning, can we take the steps needed to prevent an asteroid strike altogether, or minimize the damage it does on the ground.”

In such a situation, the ESA says it would live tweet details “so you’ll find out the ‘news’ as the experts do.” And for the hypothetical 2019 PDC asteroid exercise at the conference, the agency will indeed live tweet the series of decided actions as if they are made.

“These exercises have really helped us in the planetary defense community to understand what our colleagues on the disaster management side need to know,” said Lindley Johnson, NASA’s Planetary Defense Officer. “This exercise will help us develop more effective communications with each other and with our governments.”

Despite NASA having participated in six NEO impact exercises before, each scenario is different and the agency says it’s learned that the focus is not always on the asteroid details, even though that’s still crucial to creating a plan to either deflect it or reduce its impact.

“What emergency managers want to know is when, where and how an asteroid would impact, and the type and extent of damage that could occur,” said Leviticus Lewis of the Response Operations Division for FEMA.Paragraph

Well, you know what they say…it’s better to be prepared. At the very least, NASA and friends won’t be panicking as hard if an asteroid were ever to really hit Earth.

Source: http://bit.ly/2ZHiqcQ

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UPDATE: 13 dead, including gunman, in shooting at Virginia Beach Municipal Center

VIRGINIA BEACH

A longtime city employee shot and killed 12 people and injured at least four others after opening fire Friday afternoon in the public works building, making it the country’s deadliest mass shooting this year. 

Police said officers killed the man, whom they did not name, after he fired at them in the city’s scenic Municipal Center in Princess Anne, a campus of about 30 brick Colonial-style buildings.

The four injured were all in surgery Friday, Police Chief James Cervera said during a news conference a couple of hours after the massacre.

One officer was shot during the exchange but was saved by his bulletproof vest, the chief said.

“This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said in the news conference. “The people involved are our friends, co-workers, neighbors and colleagues.”

Friday’s rampage is believed to be the worst mass killing in Virginia Beach’s history. Prior to this week, a shooting on June 30, 1994, at the Witchduck Inn held that distinction: Four people — the business owner, two employees and a patron — were shot to death at the restaurant. It also came on the heels of a shooting in Chesapeake’s Holly Cove community over Memorial Day weekend that left one dead and nine others injured.

In the U.S., it is the deadliest attack since the November 2018 shooting at Borderline Bar & Grill in California, when 12 people were killed. 

L. Todd Spencer/Staff Police work the scene where 12 people were killed during a mass shooting at the Virginia Beach city public works building on Friday evening, May 31, 2019. The shooter, a current and longtime public utilities employee, also was killed. An officer was shot, but was saved by his bulletproof vest.

The gunfire in Virginia Beach began shortly after 4 p.m. as workers were preparing to leave for the weekend. The shooting occurred in building 2, next to City Hall near the intersection of Nimmo Parkway and Princess Anne Boulevard. The planning, public utilities, public works departments and others are located there. The three-story brick building on Courthouse Drive houses about 400 workers.

Many of the employees work out of small office spaces along long hallways. The doors are typically unlocked and open to the public.

The shooter on Friday was a current employee of the public utilities department, Cervera said. He came armed with a .45-caliber handgun with a sound suppressor on it and shot one victim in a vehicle outside before entering the building. The rest were shot inside.

Cervera said police found victims on every floor of the building.  

Four officers responded, found the gunman almost immediately and then initiated what became a long gunfight with the suspect, Cervera said. After an officer shot the suspect, they administered first aid.

Virginia Beach police are investigating with help from the FBI and state police, he said. They’re still working to identify victims and contact family members. They’re also still working to notify the suspect’s next of kin. Once that is done, Cervera said, his department plans to name the suspect only once out of respect for the victims. 

Cervera said the city offices now resemble a “war zone.”

Megan Banton, an administrative assistant in the public utilities office where the man worked, said her supervisor heard a noise then shouted for everyone to get down.

The supervisor then pulled Banton and others into her office and shoved a desk against the door while Banton called 911.

“It felt like forever,” Banton said. 

Zand Bakhtiari was one of only five people left in the geographic information services department — located on the first floor of the building — at the end of the day Friday when his supervisor, who had left the office, texted to say there was an active shooter and to shelter in place.

Bakhtiari wasn’t nervous until he heard the gunshots — lots of them, one round in quick succession. He said it sounded like an automatic weapon.

“It was repeated, rapid gunfire,” he said. It sounded like it was coming from above or below him on the second floor or the basement, he said.

After a few minutes — Bakhtiari doesn’t know how much time passed — the bullets stopped, but the fire alarm had been set off. And he could smell the gunpowder.

He assumed it was over when he heard the fire alarm, but he and his co-workers didn’t know whether to evacuate or stay put, so they all came out of their individual offices and huddled together.

L. Todd Spencer/StaffA police officer stands out in front of City Hall next to the building where 12 people were killed during a mass shooting at the Virginia Beach city public works building on Friday, May 31, 2019. The shooter, a current and longtime public utilities employee, also was killed.

After about 10 minutes, officers and SWAT team members came in, told them to duck down and keep their hands up as they escorted employees out and checked every room.

Arthur Felton, an 18-year employee in the planning department, was also inside when the shooting started. He evacuated the building after a co-worker heard gunshots. 

“I never thought this would happen in my building,” Felton said. “The people who were shot — I’m sure I know most of them.”

Employees’ family members were sent to Princess Anne Middle School to reunite with loved ones. 

Jonathon Gruenke/Staff Police personnel from various agencies stand outside Princess Anne Middle School in Virginia Beach on Friday evening, May 31, 2019.

Paul Swain’s fiancee sent him a text message at 4:17 p.m. that said, “They are shooting on my floor.” He said he drove to the Municipal Center so fast he was pulled over for speeding. 

The officer let him go when he told him why he was driving fast.

Swain made it to the area but was directed to reunite with his fiancee at Princess Anne Middle School. 

“My heart is just pounding,” he said as he waited to see her again. Swain reunited with her in the parking lot.

Police did not allow media on the school’s property. When he walked into the school, he said, he was greeted by staff who had a checklist of names. People were waiting for their families in the cafeteria, he said.

Vicki Cronis-Nohe/Freelance Emergency vehicles fill the parking lot at the Princess Anne Middle School in Virginia Beach, Va, on Friday, May 31, 2019. A longtime city employee opened fire at a municipal building in Virginia Beach on Friday, killing 11 people before police shot and killed him, authorities said. Six other people were wounded in the shooting, including a police officer whose bulletproof vest saved his life, said Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera.

Amy Woody is trying to find her neighbor of 20 years who didn’t come home from her job at the city. She said her neighbor always returns home around 4 p.m. but wasn’t answering her text messages or phone calls. Woody arrived at the school shortly after 8:30 p.m. with her two dogs.

“I just want to make sure she is OK,” she said. “It’s definitely a very solemn feeling right now. It’s hard.”

Cheryl Benn rushed to the school after getting a frantic call from her husband, David, who is a traffic engineer and works in the building. At first all she could hear when he called was sirens.

She said her husband barricaded himself in a room away from the shooter and held the door shut until police told him it was safe to leave. 

“He was definitely a little freaked out,” Benn said.

While her husband gave detectives a statement, Benn waited outside the school with her dog.

“Some of those people could be his co-workers,” she said.  

Public Works spokesman Drew Lankford, who works in the building where the shooting occurred, left the office on Friday afternoon to get a haircut. While he was gone, his daughter called and said there had been a shooter in his work building. 

His daughter, who works in the City Hall building nearby, said security told people to get under their desks. He rushed back to the office and saw police taking cover behind parked cars with their guns drawn.

City Councilwoman Barbara Henley had pulled up to the City Hall building just after 4 p.m. to pick up the agenda as she does every week when she heard sirens and saw police cars.

“I thought it was an accident,” Henley said.

As she parked in the lot between buildings 1 and 2, she noticed city employees standing outside using their cellphones. Someone told her there was a shooting and she should leave. Henley had gotten back in her car when she heard a male voice shout, “Get down!”

People scattered.

“I was scared to death,” said Henley, who quickly drove home.

Henley said she’s never seen a situation like this before at the Municipal Center, adding that security has recently been beefed up in the City Hall building as a result of shooting incidents across the nation. Not all the municipal buildings at the complex take the same security measures, she said.

Late on Friday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, who arrived in Virginia Beach a few hours after the shooting, said the people who died were heading into the summer weekend.

“That they should be taken in this manner is the worst kind of tragedy,” Northam said. “Their families are facing painful loss and grief. They each leave a hole and a family in their neighborhood, in this community and in our Commonwealth.”

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Woman Says Online Romeo Scammed Her Out of $80,000 and Proposed After 1 Week and She’s Not Alone!

John Martin Hill, 35, is behind bars after allegedly meeting a woman online, proposing to her after a week and then swindling her out of $80,000.

John Martin Hill, 35 FRANKLIN POLICE DEPARTMENT

Love hurts.

It can also cost a bundle.

Just ask the Georgia woman who met an online Romeo who allegedly swindled her out of more than $80,000 after asking her to marry him just a week after they met.

On Tuesday night, police in Franklin, Tennessee, arrested the man, John Martin Hill, 35, on an outstanding warrant in connection with the alleged theft, the Gwinnett County, Georgia, Police Department says in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.

Hill is being held at the Williamson County Jail in Tennessee on a $500,000 bond and is awaiting extradition to Georgia, where he faces a felony charge of with theft by deception, the Gwinnett County Police Department says in the release.

John Martin Hill, 35 FRANKLIN POLICE DEPARTMENT

“By sharing this story, it is our hope that he is not able to victimize any other women using this scam,” police say in the release. “These types of con men are very good at manipulating their victims. They tend to say everything that a woman wants to hear.”

In this case, the alleged scam came to light when a woman from Alpharetta called the Gwinnett County Police Department to report that she met a man named John Hill on Match.com who bilked her out of more than $80,000.

John Martin Hill, 35 GWINNET COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT

Hill allegedly told the victim that he was a millionaire — and promised more.

“During their short romance, he convinced her that they were in love and wanted to buy a house together,” police allege in the release.

They allegedly went house-hunting and selected a home they liked. Within a week of knowing one another, they allegedly agreed to get married.

Preparing for her new life with Hill, the woman allegedly gave the suspect more than $80,000 to use to buy the house and furniture, say police.

She never heard from him again.

As authorities began looking into the case, they discovered that Hill was allegedly living a completely different life than the one he led the woman to believe.

Hill, one of the detectives learned, lives an apartment in Duluth — about 11 miles away from Alpharetta — with another woman and child.

Acting on a tip Tuesday night, police in Tennessee  arrested Hill — considered a fugitive out of Georgia — at the Cool Springs Marriott, Frankllin Police say in a news release.

Before he was ultimately arrested, Hill allegedly “attempted to evade arriving Franklin Police Officers by darting into a hotel conference room and hiding under a table,” the release says.

Suspect Allegedly Wooed Other Women

The Alpharetta woman wasn’t the only woman Hill had allegedly swept off her feet and scammed, police learned.

“Further investigation into John Hill revealed that he has changed his name over five times in the past two and a half years,” police say in the release, adding that women in  Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, and New Jersey have accused him of similar crimes.

It is not known if he has been charged in those cases.

Since authorities first alerted the public to Hill’s alleged scam, they say they’ve heard from other women who allege that they were either in a relationship with Hill or knew someone who was romantically involved with him, the release says.

It is unclear if Hill has retained an attorney who can speak on his behalf. He has not yet entered a plea.

The department cautions people who meet others online to be careful not to share personal information, financial information, or cash with someone in the early stages of a relationship.

Anyone with information on Hill is asked to contact GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300.  To remain anonymous, tipsters should contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-TIPS (8477) or visit www.stopcrimeATL.com.

Source: http://bit.ly/2W4WudJ

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Two Students Opened Fire On Their Colorado School, Killing One Classmate And Injuring Eight Others

“It was beyond awful and terrifying to be there during it, and several of my friends were shot,” said a student who survived the shooting.

Two students opened fire Tuesday inside a Colorado charter school near Columbine High School, killing one classmate and injuring eight others before being taken into custody, authorities said.

On Wednesday morning, authorities identified the deceased student as Kendrick Castillo, an 18-year-old senior who was due to graduate this week.

Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said the suspects, identified as 18-year-old Devon Erickson and an unnamed juvenile, were taken into custody without exchanging gunfire with police. Both are students at the STEM School, a K-12 charter in the Denver suburb of Highlands Ranch.

“At the time, the individuals we believed were in custody were two males,” Spurlock said Wednesday morning. It wasn’t until we got to this office that we were able to determine that one of the suspects [the juvenile] was a female.”

One of the shooters was being restrained by a school security officer when sheriff’s deputies arrived. Administrators reported hearing gunshots fired at 1:53 p.m.; deputies arrived on the scene two minutes later.

Spurlock said authorities were still investigating a possible motive.

“We know that two individuals walked into the STEM School, got deep inside the school, and engaged students in two separate locations,” Spurlock told reporters Tuesday night. “There were a number of students that were shot and injured.”

On Wednesday, Spurlock said that at least one student “encountered” the suspects during the shooting, not elaborating on the specifics of exactly what the student did.

“We are going to hear about very heroic things that have taken place at the school,” said Spurlock.

Eight victims, ages 15 and older, were being treated in local hospitals. No employees or teachers were injured in the shooting, Spurlock said.

Littleton Adventist Hospital received five patients. One patient was in a serious condition, while another had their condition downgraded from serious to fair. The three others have been discharged from the hospital.

Linda Watson, a spokesperson for Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree, Colorado, said the hospital was treating two juvenile victims. One remained in stable condition Tuesday night, while the other was discharged. Another victim was treated at Children’s Hospital of Colorado’s South Campus in Highlands Ranch and later released.

“Quite a few shots were fired, and police officers, sheriff’s officers were on scene almost immediately,” Douglas County Undersheriff Holly Nicholson-Kluth told reporters, adding that deputies could still hear gunshots as they arrived at the scene and entered the school.

Spurlock said he believed the deputies’ quick response to the shooting saved lives.

“I want to think that that is something that helped,” he said.

The school does not have a resource police officer assigned to the campus but does have private security, Spurlock said.

He declined to provide additional information about the suspects but said they were not on the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office’s radar. A car with graffiti on it was later removed from the home of one of the suspects.

A motive for the shooting has not been determined, and Spurlock said officials did not have any information about anyone at the school being specifically targeted.

The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Denver were assisting in the investigation. The White House said President Donald Trump has been briefed on the shooting.

“Tragically, this community and those surrounding it know all too well these hateful and horrible acts of violence,” Judd Deere, the White House deputy press secretary, said in a statement. “We offer our full support to local law enforcement and first responders and thank them for their heroism.”

The school was placed on lockdown for several hours, according to the Douglas County School District. All other Highlands Ranch schools were placed on lockout.

“It was beyond awful and terrifying to be there during it, and several of my friends were shot,” Lillian Duarte, a student who survived the shooting, told BuzzFeed News. “This was so horrible to me, and it felt surreal to walk out of the building with our hands up in the same way I saw Parkland kids doing on the news.”

More than 1,800 students in elementary, middle, and high school attend STEM School, according to its website.

Nicholson-Kluth said many students self-evacuated after the shooting began. Parents were later reunited with students at a nearby recreation center. Hyoung Chang / Getty Images

Students are escorted to a school bus in front of STEM School Highlands Ranch after the shooting.

Speaking on air to the Denver ABC affiliate, a sixth-grade boy named Christian said he was in study hall when he saw several students running and yelling, “School shooter, school shooter!”

“I’m like, what … is this real or fake?” he said. “I just ran after them. … I just got out of there.”

Rocco DeChalk, who lives down the street from the Highlands Ranch school, said he was working from home when he looked out his window and saw crowds of kids running down the street.

“At first I thought it was a gym class,” DeChalk, 50, told BuzzFeed News.

But then he saw the kids’ faces. They looked nervous and scared.

When he stepped out onto his patio, a neighbor told him there had been a shooting at the school and alerted him to a young man who was sitting in the grass by his mailbox and appeared to have been shot.

DeChalk said he and the boy’s friend helped him into his house.

He said the boy, who he guessed was between 12 and 15 years old, was conscious and able to walk. He had one gunshot wound in his back near his armpit.

“He was having a hard time breathing, so I didn’t ask him any questions,” DeChalk said.

He then waved down a police officer outside, who summoned an ambulance to transport the boy to a hospital.

“It’s just unbelievably scary,” DeChalk said. David Zalubowski / AP

Parents gather in a circle to pray at a recreation center where students were reunited with their parents.

STEM School is located less than 8 miles from Columbine High School, where 13 people were killed by two students on April 20, 1999. The shooting was, at the time, the deadliest in the nation’s history.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was monitoring the situation and making all public safety resources available to assist the Sheriff’s Office.

District officials said the school would be closed for the remainder of the week.

“The heart of all Colorado is with the victims and their families,” Polis said on Twitter.

Source: http://bit.ly/2JeuYUn

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A Former Cop Was Sentenced To 12 And A Half Years In Prison For Fatally Shooting An Unarmed Australian Yoga Teacher

“Uber took my daughter past the point of no return.”

The family of a 12-year-old Florida girl who died by suicide after taking an Uber alone is demanding the ride-hailing company make changes to enforce its policy of not allowing minors to use the service without an adult.

On the morning of Jan. 10 while her parents were sleeping, Benita Diamond downloaded the Uber app on her mother’s phone and requested a ride to a downtown Orlando parking garage, where she killed herself.

“I believe that if the driver had questioned or followed the rules or denied a ride, my daughter would be here today,” the girl’s mother, Lisha Chen, said during a press conference Thursday.

Uber requires all account holders to be at least 18 years old and prohibits children from riding without an adult. Drivers are instructed to decline ride requests if they suspect the person requesting the ride is underage and may request ID to confirm, according to the company.

“If a rider is underage, please do not start the trip or allow them to ride,” Uber’s website states.

But, according to her family, the 12-year-old was able to create an account without her parents knowledge on Jan. 8, using just a name, an email address, and a gift card she received for Christmas. Two days later, an Uber driver picked up the 4-foot-11-inch seventh-grader and drove her to the City Commons Parking Garage.

“At no point was she asked her name, was she asked her age — no questions were asked why a little girl under 5 feet tall dragging a polka-dot backpack was out in the wee hours of the morning by herself,” the family’s attorney, Laura Douglas, said.

An Uber spokesperson said in an email to BuzzFeed News that the incident had not been reported to the company over the last six months and that it was now investigating and planned to “take appropriate action.”

The spokesperson said that when the company receives a report of an underage rider it investigates to determine whether the driver or account holder should lose access to the app.

“Drivers are asked to report situations where a rider is underage to Uber for further review/investigation by our 24/7 customer support team,” the spokesperson said.

Benita’s parents described their daughter as a happy child who excelled in school and at playing the piano and performing jujitsu. They said she did not have a history of behavioral issues or mental illness.

“Everybody was shocked because nobody suspected she had any problems,” Chen said, adding that they still don’t know why she killed herself.

Ronald Diamond, the girl’s father, said their daughter wrote in a suicide note that she thought she would have more difficulty getting an Uber and that she was “basically … past the point of no return now.”

“I think if Uber had followed their policy, without a doubt our daughter would still be here. That would have been the one red flag that we would have caught,” Diamond said. “Uber took my daughter past the point of no return.”

The family is considering filing a lawsuit against the company in the hopes that Uber will better enforce its policies and make changes to prevent minors from creating accounts.

“I want other families not to go through this,” the girl’s grandfather Richard Diamond said. “It’s not just about suicide. It’s about all the other things that horrific happen to young kids when they’re on their own.”

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Bushwick Bill Of The Geto Boys Dies At 52!

Bushwick Bill Of The Geto Boys Dies At 52!

Legendary Houston rapper Bushwick Bill, a founding member of the iconic Geto Boys, died Sunday night at the age of 52 after a brief fight with cancer. The diminutive hip-hop luminary from the genre’s golden age announced last month that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Rolling Stone confirmed the death late Sunday night after a day of confusing reports over whether Bushwick Bill had actually died.

“Bushwick Bill passed away peacefully this evening at 9:35 p.m. He was surrounded by his immediate family,” his publicist, Dawn P., told Rolling Stone. “There were incorrect previous reports that he had passed away this morning. We are looking into doing a public memorial at a later date. His family appreciates all of the prayers and support and are asking for privacy at this time.”

That announcement came hours after fellow Geto Boys founder Scarface’s Instagram post Sunday morning saying “RIP Bushwick Bill” seemed to imply that he had died.

That turned out to not be the case, Dawn P. told the Associated Press Sunday afternoon, saying that the rapper was on a ventilator at a Colorado hospital at the time.

Scarface’s post was consequently deleted as other reports quickly came out saying Bushwick Bill had not yet died. It was unclear what exactly led Scarface to post that tragic announcement.

Bushwick Bill, whose real name is Richard Stephen Shaw and was born with dwarfism, told TMZ in early May that doctors said, “‘We see a mass on your pancreas and we can’t understand because it’s not alcohol, it’s not sugar, it’s not diabetes — they went through all kind of stuff. Finally, by February they said it was stage four pancreatic cancer.”

He continued, “And I’m like, ‘Stage 4? I’ve been getting tested and they said it was just a mass but it was benign. And I’m like, ‘Does benign mean it could be cancer?’ And they were like, ‘It’s just a mass with no purpose.’ So it was crazy to find out that pancreatic cancer is undetected until it’s in the fourth or fifth state.”

He said he didn’t fear death, “It’s not like I’m afraid of dying. I know what it’s like on the other side. That’s not what it’s really about. It’s about life and loving life. I just want people to be aware so that when they set dreams or goals, they’re healthy enough to fulfill and live.” Bushwick Bill reportedly leaves behind four children.

Pancreatic cancer has long targeted Black people, but even more vexing was the fact that so little is known about it, including what causes it. The statistics for pancreatic cancer victims along racial lines are damning, with a lopsided number of Black people being diagnosed with the ailment. Scientists haven’t determined what causes pancreatic cancer, and treatment options are limited, according to the American Cancer Society. However, there were several risk factors that physicians have concluded were linked to pancreatic cancer, including tobacco use and being overweight or obese.

However, cancer has been proven to be more deadly for Black people, with that fact being resoundingly true for pancreatic cancer patients, statistics have shown since around 1970, when pancreatic cancer trends began reversing themselves along racial lines.

“In white men, pancreatic cancer death rates decreased by 0.7% per year from 1970 to 1995 and then increased by 0.4% per year through 2009,” according to research published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “In contrast, the rates among blacks increased between 1970 and the late 1980s (women) or early 1990s (men).”

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine took it a step further and found through clinical research that the “incidence of pancreatic cancer is 50 – 90% higher in African Americans than in any other racial group in the United States. Not only is pancreatic cancer more common among African Americans, but African Americans also have the poorest prognosis of any racial group because they often are diagnosed with advanced, and therefore, inoperable cancer.”

The Geto Boys is most known for the hip-hop classic song, “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.” See the classic video below:

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WOW! Jay-Z named world’s first billionaire rapper!

Nine years ago, two unlikely lunch partners sat down at the Hollywood Diner in Omaha, Nebraska. One, Warren Buffett, was a regular there. The other, Jay-Z, was not. The billionaire and the rapper ordered strawberry malts and chatted amiably, continuing the conversation back at Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway offices.

Buffett, then 80, walked away impressed with the artist 40 years his junior: “Jay is teaching in a lot bigger classroom than I’ll ever teach in. For a young person growing up, he’s the guy to learn from.” This moment, which was originally captured in our 2010 Forbes 400 package, made it clear that Jay-Z already had a blueprint for his own ten-figure fortune. “Hip-hop from the beginning has always been aspirational,” he said.

Less than a decade later, it’s clear that Jay-Z has accumulated a fortune that conservatively totals $1 billion, making him one of only a handful of entertainers to become a billionaire—and the first hip-hop artist to do so. Jay-Z’s steadily growing kingdom is expansive, encompassing liquor, art, real estate (homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, Tribeca) and stakes in companies like Uber.

His journey is all the more impressive given its start: Brooklyn’s notorious Marcy housing projects. He was a drug dealer before becoming a musician, starting his own label, Roc-A-Fella Records, to release his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt. Since then he’s amassed 14 No. 1 albums, 22 Grammy awards and over $500 million in pretax earnings in a decade.

Crucially, he realized that he should build his own brands rather than promote someone else’s: the clothing line Rocawear, started in 1999 (soldfor $204 million to Iconix in 2007); D’Ussé, a cognac he co-owns with Bacardi; and Tidal, a music-streaming service.

Kasseem “Swizz Beatz” Dean, the superproducer behind some of Jay-Z’s biggest hits (“On To The Next One,” Beyoncé’s “Upgrade U”), looks at Jay-Z as something others can model: “It’s bigger than hip-hop … it’s the blueprint for our culture. A guy that looks like us, sounds like us, loves us, made it to something that we always felt that was above us.”

“If he’s a billionaire now, imagine what he’s about to be,” Swizz Beatz says. “Because he’s only just starting.”

What’s Jay-Z Worth?

To calculate his net worth, we looked at the artist’s stakes in companies like Armand de Brignac champagne, applying our customary discount to private firms. (He owns 100% of Armand de Brignac and has partial ownership of the other companies.) Then added up his income, subtracting a healthy amount to account for a superstar lifestyle. We checked our numbers with a roster of outside experts to ensure these estimates were fair and conservative. Turns out, Jay-Z really is a business, man.

Armand de Brignac

$310 million

Jay-Z has used his music to shill the $300 gold bottles of the “Ace of Spades” champagne since launching the brand with the 2006 video “Show Me What You Got.” More recently, his verse on Meek Mill’s “What’s Free” put a half-billion-dollar value on the wine, which seems like a bit too bubbly a number.

Cash & investments

$220 million

A vast investing portfolio includes a stake in Uber worth an estimated $70 million. He reportedly purchased his piece for $2 million back in 2013—and then wired founder Travis Kalanick another $5 million in an attempt to increase his holdings, but was rebuffed.

D’Ussé

$100 million

Jay-Z’s cognac, a joint venture with beverage giant Bacardi, moves almost 200,000 cases and has grown nearly 80% annually. “Jay-Z resonates with consumers who are attracted to the ultra-premium lifestyle,” says Eric Schmidt, Beverage Marketing Corp.’s Director of Alcohol Research.

Tidal

$100 million

In 2015, Jay-Z submitted a bid to purchase the Scandinavian streaming service’s parent company for just shy of $60 million. He relaunched Tidal later that year with a roster of celebrity investors including his wife, Beyoncé, and other music luminaries, from Kanye West to Calvin Harris.

Roc Nation

$75 million

This wide-ranging entertainment company started over a decade ago as part of a joint venture with concert giant Live Nation. Roc Nation represents some of the top stars in the entertainment through its sports agency (Kevin Durant, Todd Gurley) as well as its record label and artist-management arms (Rihanna, J. Cole).

Music catalog

$75 million

Before the beginning of his stint as Def Jam’s chief in 2004, Jay-Z negotiatedthe eventual return of his master recordings from the aforementioned label that helped launch his career; in a separate deal with EMI, he clawed back his publishing rights. Wise move: his hits now clock close to 1 billion streams annually.

Art collection

$70 million

In the song “Picasso Baby,” Jay-Z boasted about a “Basquiat in my kitchen corner.” He probably wasn’t kidding. For over a decade, he’s been scooping up masterpieces like Basquiat’s “Mecca,” purchased in 2013 for a reported $4.5 million. “He’s rapped about it all in detail,” says Fab 5 Freddy, a contemporary and friend of the late painter. “Jay-Z helped educate millions of hip-hop fans mentioning Jean-Michel.”

Real estate

$50 million

After welcoming twins in 2017, Jay-Z and Beyoncé bought a pair of homes to match: a $26 million East Hampton mansion and a $88 million Bel Air estate. Jay-Z also owns a Tribeca penthouse, snagged for $6.85 million in 2004.

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Iggy Azalea Topless Pics Leak then Rapper Deletes All Social Media Accounts

“I feel blind sided, embarrassed, violated, angry, sad, and million other things,” says the rapper, who intends to press charges!

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – FEBRUARY 07: Recording artist Iggy Azalea attends the Pre-GRAMMY Gala and Salute to Industry Icons honoring Martin Bandier at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 7, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Iggy Azalea came back from a brief social media hiatus on Monday, issuing a statement on Twitter regarding some topless photos of her that leaked online over the weekend, only to disappear from social media again moments later.

The 28-year-old Australian rapper, who’s real name is Amethyst Amelia Kelly, suspended her Instagram and Twitter accounts on Monday, one day after partially nude photos from a GQ photo shoot with her were leaked online. She reactivated her Twitter account hours later to issue a statement on the leak before deleting the account again minutes later.

In the statement, Azalea said she plans to press criminal charges against the person or persons responsible for the leak.

“I feel blind sided, embarrassed, violated, angry, sad, and million other things. Not solely because I did not consent to this, but because of the vile way people have reacted,” Azalea said in a statement posted to Twitter. “The outright wicked things people say is overwhelming and makes me feel like throwing up.

“I fully intend to find out where the leak originated from and pressing criminal charges in regards to this,” she continued. “It’s important to me that someone actually be held accountable for their actions and the way it impacts my life.”

Representatives for Azalea did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s requests for comment.

The photos, Azalea said, were from a 2016 GQ cover shoot. “There was no reason for anyone to have kept the outtakes from the shoot,” she said.

The leak of Azalea’s photos joins a string of others female celebrities who’ve had similar problems, such as Jennifer Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, Leslie Jones and Kate Upton, among others.

It also comes as the artist prepares to release her second studio album “In My Defense.” Azalea, who also appeared in Universal Pictures’ “Furious 7,” released the first single, “Sally Walker,” from the album in March and a second single titled “Started” earlier this month.

The “Fancy” rapper’s new album, the follow up to her 2014 breakthrough album “The New Classic,” is expected to come out in June.

Source: bit.ly/30SyCc7

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50 Cent Claims Rotimi Owes Him Money: ‘I Want to Punch This N***a Nose’ (UPDATE)

UPDATED 5/29 AT 4:00 pm EST: After being ambushed by 50 Cent, actor Rotimi has taken to social media to clear the air regarding the rapper’s claims that he owes him money.

In a video uploaded to his Instagram, Rotimi insists that he doesn’t owe 50 Cent any cash.

“I feel like I need to address this. N****s calling me saying I owe 50 money, 50 saying I owe him money. I don’t owe 50 Cent any money,” Rotimi said before listing out his recent accomplishment. “Why now? Why wait until Walk With Me is no. 1 on the charts? Why would you wait until my project is no. 1 on the R&B charts to bring something up like this? I don’t owe you bread.

Yet, 50 states otherwise. Shortly after Rotimi’s post went public, 50 Cent added a video to his account where he gave more information on the alleged debt.

“You do owe me money,” 50 said in caption. “My man you owe a outstanding balance of $300,000 now WALK WITH ME to the bank. That’s right. You owe me 300,000 thousand… You no. 1. Now, you can pay me my money.”

See original story below

Since morphing into “FOFTY” 50 Cent has become worse than the IRS. The rapper has dedicated a good portion of his time to tracking down people that owe him various amounts of money and using his social media presence to bully them into paying back their debt. Now, it appears the FOFTY has found a new target as he claims Power star Rotimi has his bread. POST CONTINUES BELOW

Like his other victims, 50 took to Instagram on Wednesday where he gave the entertainer a deadline to cough up the cash.

“Man fuck all that I want my money by Monday,” 50 captioned a video of Rotimi promoting his new album. “Cash n***a where the bag at.”

Of course, this was just the beginning of 50’s tirade. In the following posts, the rapper referenced the success of Rotimi’s album as proof the singer has the bread to pay him back.

“I want to punch this n***a nose [Rotimi] got the #1 RNB album time to pay me on gang,” Fif wrote before continuing to use Rotimi’s album as fuel for his beef. 

“Walk with you, yeah I’m a walk with you to the bank,” 50 captioned a picture of the album’s cover art. “I need to see that bag.”POST CONTINUES BELOW

Although 50 has yet to detail the nature of Rotimi’s debt, he did explain that the entertainer gave him “some” of the money. But, it seems like FOFTY wants all his bread back now that Rotimi’s album is a success.

Unlike 50’s previous squabbles with actors Jackie Long and Teairra Mari, Rotimi has yet to respond to Fif’s antics. Yet if history is a good indicator, Rotimi will likely explain the source of their issues and pay the rapper back before the banks close on Monday. 

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Pennsylvania nightclub shooting injures 10, police say!

Police look for evidence early Thursday, June 20, 2019, in Allentown, Pa., following a shooting outside a nightclub. The street shooting in eastern Pennsylvania that left 10 people wounded early Thursday is likely to be gang-related, authorities said. (Photo: Rich Rolen,The Morning Call, AP)

At least 10 people were wounded early Thursday in an apparent gang-related shooting as three gunmen opened fire on patrons leaving a nightclub in Allentown, Pennsylvania, according to police.

Allentown police Capt. Bill Lake said all the victims were expected to survive, according to The Morning Call newspaper and WFMZ.

Authorities believe there were three shooters.

“It appears that at least one individual was a target,” Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin and Allentown Police Chief Tony Alsleben said in a statement. “Although not confirmed, in our opinion based upon investigative information … it is more likely than not that the outcome of the investigation will reveal a connection to gang violence.”

Tashana Santiago, a witness who lives near the Deja Vu club, told the newspaper that many in the frightened crowd ran to a nearby shopping center as shots rang out just before 2 a.m. EST. After the last few shots were fired, Santiago said, she heard a car speeding away.

“When everything went silent all you could hear is the screaming and panicking,” Santiago told the Morning Call. “All I could think was someone is dying.”

Contributing: Associated Press More to come will be updated soon….

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