Author: Alerts CC

Two United Airlines pilots were arrested this weekend after attempting to board their transatlantic flight intoxicated. Police arrived at the Glasgow Airport as the pair tried to pass through a staff check-in before their 9 a.m. flight to Newark, New Jersey.

“Concerns were raised and the police were called,” said an unnamed source. “There was a fair police presence as it’s a sensitive and highly secure part of the airport. Staff are subject to intensive and thorough security procedures in just the same way as passengers. No chances are taken nowadays.”

The plane was grounded for most of the day, finally taking off at 6:30 p.m.

A police spokesperson reported, “We can confirm two men, aged 35 and 45, have been arrested and are presently detained in police custody in connection with alleged offences under the Railway and Transport Safety Act (2003) Section 93.”

Section 93 refers to the prohibited act of “carrying out pilot function or activity while exceeding the prescribed limit of alcohol.”

This incident followed a similar occurrence from six weeks ago in which two pilots suspected of being over the alcohol limit were arrested at the same airport just moments before their plane was due to take off. Police boarded the cockpit of the AirTransat plane and removed the men around 1 p.m. on July 16.

The scheduled flight to Toronto, Canada was grounded for the rest of the day and passengers were put up in hotels overnight. Inconvenienced passengers have also been promised up to 500 British pounds (about 653 U.S. dollars) in compensation.

These recent incidents are just the latest in a series of pilot scandals plaguing the airline industry. Last year, a pilot was jailed for flying an executive jet after a three-day binge. Ian Jennings was detained at Norwich airport after landing the chartered plane transporting millionaire Andre Serruys and a woman and three teenage girls. His blood alcohol level was found to be three times the legal limit and he was locked up for nine months.

Last April, a Jet Blue pilot was charged with flying while intoxicated with 151 passengers on board a flight from Orlando to New York.

Last August, four of the five crew members on an AirBaltic flight failed alcohol tests while transporting 109 passengers. The co-pilot was seven times over the alcohol limit.

Every day, more than 8 million people travel via airplane, which is why the drink-fly limit is so stringent. In the United Kingdom, the blood alcohol limit for commercial pilots is 20 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood – less than half the driving limit in Scotland.

“The dangers for air crew are the same, if not worse, as those presented by [drunk driving],” said aviation expert Martin Greenfield. “It’s all about safety – this must be paramount at all times. I personally would have no sympathy with any pilot who would take a chance with their alcohol level. Pilots and ground staff who fall foul through their own misjudgment face heavy sanctions both in terms of the law and their career.”

Malaria is one of the most historically devastating diseases this world has ever seen. Recent advancements and developments in the medical field have helped to bring the deadly parasitic condition close to eradication, but a new finding has researchers concerned.

According to Wellcome.ac.uk, resistance to two drugs widely used to treat and prevent malaria have been found to be developing in people near Thailand-Myanmar. Specifically, genetic mutations in the kelch gene are believed to causing the malaria parasite to become resistant to the drugs mefloquine and artusenate.

“This study demonstrates for the first time that artemisinin resistance leads to failure of the artemisinin partner drug, in this case, mefloquine. This means that the first-line artemisinin combination therapy introduced here in 1994 has finally fallen to resistance,” said Professor François Nosten, Director of Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU).

According to a recent study published in the journal Nature and co-authored by researchers at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, efforts to fight malaria across the continent of Africa have cut the rate of infections in half since 2000. These positive efforts could be at-risk if this strain of resistance spreads to the African sub-continent or it naturally develops on its own there as well.

These findings are part of a ten-year study of 1,005 patients with uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria on the Thai-Myanmar border. So far, this is the only reported location where this particular resistance has developed, but the possibility of years of work towards global eradication has some of the world’s leading authorities more than a little concerned.

“The evidence is clear: Artemisinin resistance leads to partner drug resistance and thereby the failure of artemisinin combination treatments,” said Oxford Professor Nicholas White, Chairman of the Mahidol Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit (MORU) and chair of the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN). “The spread of artemisinin resistant Plasmodium falciparum is perhaps the greatest threat to our current hopes of eliminating malaria from the world.”

The late Muhammad Ali, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 74, was known principally for his athletic prowess in the boxing ring and his passion as an outspoken social and civil rights activist. Many didn’t know, however, that Ali was also a visual artist.

Five pieces drawn and signed by Ali are up for auction as part of a larger estate sale from New York’s RoGallery. They date from 1979 and deal with a wide range of subjects, from his religious faith in Mosque II to his career in Sting Like a Bee and his political activism in Let My People Go — the last of which was originally commissioned by the World Federation of United Nations Associations.

The sale had been planned since before Ali’s death. The works come from the personal collection of Baird Jones, a routine figure in New York’s art and nightclub scene. Jones also ran with everyone from Andy Warhol’s Factory and Studio 54 before passing away in 2008.

The auction will take place online, where more than 71% of collectors have made art purchases, and will also feature unique pieces from other well-known celebrities and public figures who aren’t famous for visual art, including musician Phil Collins, author Henry Miller, and serial killer John Wayne Gacy.

RoGallery owner Robert Rogal described the Muhammad Ali prints as the man’s “personality, his life, in visual form.”

“I knew the Muhammad Ali was a hit from the day I got it,” Rogal told Artnet. Originally priced at $200, these limited edition and signed prints have gone for as much as $2,900 at auction — “and that was before he passed away,” Rogal added. Other items in the auction have starting bids ranging from $50 to $2,000.

The unique style of Muhammad Ali’s drawings is emblematic of Ali himself, Rogal said. “He was not trained in poetry; he was not trained in drawing… he had a natural talent.”

Angela Russo was missing at the time of her 25th birthday last month. Tragically, there was, and will be, no celebration — Russo’s body was found in a shallow grave at the end of May. According to KPNX-TV 12 News, Russo’s mother is now warning others about the potential danger in online dating.

“She said ‘I’ll be home tomorrow after work, I promise and I love you’ those were the last words she said to me,” Russo’s mother Diana Schalow said.

Russo is believed to have then gone on a date with Lashawn Johnson, the man police officials now believe ultimately murdered her after they found her cell phone at his apartment. Russo’s mother said her daughter was always the type to look for the good in people and believes that may have led to her trusting the online dating scene more than perhaps she should have.

“I would always tell her make good choices, good choices, ‘I will mom and I love you,’” Schalow said.

Russo isn’t alone, though. Approximately 59% of all internet users agree with the statement, “Online dating is a good way to meet people.” In today’s day of mobile technology and social media, there’s certainly a lot of truth to that notion. Still, Schalow is now on a mission to try and raise awareness over the risks that online dating can have to help prevent other families from suffering a similar tragedy.

In addition to finding Russo’s cell phone at Johnson’s apartment, investigators said the man’s live-in girlfriend directed them to the spot of the shallow grave where Russo’s body was found. Biological evidence at the apartment also suggested an attack occurred in the kitchen, which authorities ultimately believe led to her kidnapping and death.

While Johnson did not admit to guilt, he was quoted as saying that his “life was over” and that he “f***** up and made a mistake” during interrogation. Johnson is currently being held on $1 million bond for charges including second-degree murder, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and abandoning and concealing a body.

At the SID Display Week 2016 trade show in San Francisco last week, Samsung stole the spotlight with its latest advancement in display technology: a flexible screen that can be rolled into a 10 mm radius tube.

Samsung has been experimenting with flexible screen technology for several years now, and some of their efforts have been introduced to the general public, such as the “Edge” products with their curved displays. However, the company pushed the concept beyond its conceivable limits with the creation of “rollable” technology.

At Display Week 2016, Samsung showed off the new 5.7 inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a pixel density of 386 pixels per inch. The entire product weighs only five grams.

The tech is not perfect or even complete at this time. The screen does not yet have a touch layer or a battery, which will ultimately add to the size and weight of the final commercially available product. It is also unclear how many “rolls” the panel can handle before it cracks or breaks.

These display panels are not yet commercially available, however, and Samsung may have a long way to go before it can mass produce “rollable” displays.

SID’s Display Week is the premier event for the electronic display industry. It is where the newest breakthrough technologies are introduced as exhibitors and attendees representing the greatest display-engineering talent from all over the world gather to share ideas. While about 50% of the largest U.S. trade shows take place in Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando, the San Francisco Bay Area is the ideal location for such an event as SID’s Display Week as it remains the world’s hub for the tech industry as a whole.

Apple is now teaming up with high-fashion brand Coach for a new product that will be available this June.

Apple Insider reports that Coach sales associates have been informed that new bands for the leather Apple Watch will be arriving in June, after Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC).

At any given moment, the average person is wearing four fine leather goods. That number could increase once Apple’s leather products start selling.

The bands will be available in black, red, white, and brown and each is expected to be priced at $150.

The Apple Watch went on sale last year and since then Apple has released new styles of bands. Just last month, Apple launched new nylon bands at the unveiling of the iPhone SE and iPad Pro.

According to Tech Times, the straps for the watch will be part of Coach’s Spring and Summer 2016 collection and will go with the newest design of Coach handbags.

Along with the new fashion developments, Apple is planning on releasing few products in the near future as well.

The Apple Watch 2 is expected to be released shortly and some are projecting the release to be at this years WWDC, along with the new Coach bands.

The Parent Herald reports that a rumor of a March 21 release date for the Apple Watch 2 caused much frustration among Apple enthusiasts, and believes that a June release date could be unlikely.

Although a September release date could be in the works, Barry Lam, Quanta president and Apple Watch supplier hinted at an earlier release. “Quanta and Apple are currently developing the second-generation of the Apple Watch, expected late next year in the second quarter,” Lam said.

The WWDC will run from June 13 through June 17 in San Francisco, California. Apple released a statement saying that developers will learn about the future of its four main operating systems at the conference: iOS, OS X, tvOX and watchOS.

Less than one year after the launch of the iPhone 6S, software company and smartphone juggernaut Apple seems poised for the release of a new iPhone 7 model by the end of the third quarter.

CNBC reports that Apple’s top manufacturing and supply plants in Southeast Asia have already begun recruiting workers in preparation for the high-volume assembly season, including Foxconn in Zhengzhou, China, and Pegatron and Wistron in Taiwan.

Apple traditionally releases new products at the end of September — as it did with the iPhone 6S in 2015 and the iPhone 5 in 2012 — and the 2016 schedule for the iPhone 7 seems no different. It is, however, the earliest that supply companies have ever begun recruiting workers in the calendar year.

The urgency in hiring raises speculations that the new iPhone 7 features will be significantly more complex than previous models, therefore requiring more time to build and manufacture. Rumors have long circulated that Apple plans to forego the traditional headphone jack design, which, at 3.5 millimeters, prevents the implementation of ever-thinner body case technologies.

Leaked intelligence also suggests that larger versions of the iPhone 7 will employ a dual camera system, higher resolution displays, 3GB of RAM, and an A10 processor.

It may also be possible that some models will include a magnetic Smart Connector cover, a feature widely implemented with the latest Apple iPad Pro design that allows devices to power and hold charge without being plugged in or battery-powered. This would be a substantial upgrade from the iPhone 6, which generally takes one hour and 50 minutes to charge via typical 12-watt USB power adapters.

Apple itself has not yet detailed specific plans for the launch or design of the iPhone 7. The company’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference showcasing new technologies is scheduled for June 13 to 17 in San Francisco, at which time it is likely formal announcements will be made.

A 14-month-old girl was pronounced dead after a routine cavity filling in Texas on Tuesday, March 29.

Daisy Lynn Torres stopped breathing during the dental procedure and was rushed to the hospital, where she died five hours later. The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners have opened an investigation to determine what exactly happened in the dentist’s chair that day, and autopsy results are still pending.

“This is a tragedy,” said a spokesperson for the dental office, “and we’re just waiting to learn more information from the medical examiner’s office.”

The child’s aunt told local newspaper the Austin American-Statesman, “Daisy was a happy, healthy, baby. She was playing with the family on Easter. She went to the dentist and didn’t come home.”

Mother Betty Squier said that the dentist told her that Daisy needed two fillings. Squier was nervous about the anesthesia, but the dentist said that it was “no big deal,” and that they “do it all of the time.”

Squier received a phone call only five minutes later. “[The dentist] said that the baby had gone into cardiac arrest and her heart stopped beating and the anesthesiologist had to perform CPR,” she said.

A friend of Betty Squier has started a YouCaring fundraiser for the family. On the site she says, “This was completely unexpected and has shattered this family’s world. Daisy’s mom, Betty, would give anyone in need her last dollar and has been my best friend since the 6th grade. My heart is broken for her and my second family.”

Filling a cavity is a routine procedure done in dentist offices every day. As many as 78% of people have a cavity by age 17.

Sadly, this is not the first dentist-related injury or death Texas has seen this year. Last month, 4-year-old Nevaeh Hall suffered major brain damage after a procedure similar to Daisy’s. This case has been under investigation by the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners as well.