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Owning a Cat Does Not Cause Mental Illness, Study Finds

Brent Edward
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Owning a Cat Does Not Cause Mental Illness, Study Finds

If you were worried that your cat could make you mentally ill, then I have great news for you. Scientists have discovered that it is not possible.

Scientists once believed that the parasite found in cat feces, Toxoplasma gondii, caused people to develop schizophrenia, psychosis, and mental disorders.

But a study examining 5,000 people published in the Journal of Psychological Medicine has ruled out mental disease linked to owning cats. The lead researcher in the study, Dr. Francesca Solmi of University College London, released a statement on Tuesday.

“The message for cat owners is clear: there is no evidence that cats pose a risk to children’s mental health,” Dr. Solmi explained. “In our study, initial unadjusted analyses suggested a small link between cat ownership and psychotic symptoms at age 13, but this turned out to be due to other factors.”

Dr. Solmi added, “Once we controlled for factors such as household over-crowding and socioeconomic status, the data showed that cats were not to blame.” Previous studies reporting links between cat ownership and psychosis simply failed to adequately control for other possible explanations.

Rather, Dr. Solmi argues, previous research reports failed to analyze the data properly and “adequately control for other possible explanations.”

That said, researchers still assert women should avoid dirty litter boxes as the parasite can still cause birth defects and miscarriages. However, for those worried about owning a cat and developing schizophrenia, Dr. Solmi says you will not go crazy.

However, the jury is still out on Salmon. Researchers discovered earlier this year tapeworms known to infect fish in Asia is now in the United States. The CDC published a study in the February 2017 issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases the parasite Diphyllobothriasis was found inside Alaskan pink salmon.

New Chewbacca, Joonas Suotamo, Tweets Open Letter to Star Wars Fans and Peter Mayhew

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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New Chewbacca, Joonas Suotamo, Tweets Open Letter to Star Wars Fans and Peter Mayhew

Peter Mayhew has not had the best health in recent years. However, he was still able to put on his world famous Chewbacca suit one last time in The Force Awakens. With the help of photo double Joonas Suotamo, a former basketball player, Suotamo played Chewbacca in Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But, apparently, Suotamo was being trained to take over as Chewbacca, which he announced on Tuesday night.

Suotamo posted the open letter on Twitter for his social media fans:

Suotamo says, “I am profoundly grateful for this amazing opportunity to become a part of the Star Wars franchise that I have loved since my childhood.” Suotamo continues by thanking his friends, family, basketball coaches and the staff at Disney and Lucasfilm. But, he also takes a moment to thank Peter Mayhew personally.

Peter Mayhew
Peter Mayhew & Harrison Ford at the European premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” in Leicester Square, London. December 16, 2015, London, UK Picture: James Smith / Featureflash

“Chewbacca is one of the most iconic characters in the history of film, and Peter’s development and portrayal of this beloved Wookie has spread so much joy across the globe.” Suotamo added, “Peter’s guidance and kindness have been invaluable gifts which warmed my spirit and prepared me for this journey. I aspire to make Peter proud and bring Star Wars fans the Chew they know and love.”

This news comes after Disney’s Star Wars released a first look at the cast of the upcoming Han Solo spinoff movie. The Star Wars photo features Atlanta’s Donald Glover, Woody Harrelson, Chewbacca, and the leading star of the film Alden Ehrenreich.

The upcoming Star Wars Han Solo standalone movie hits theaters on May 25, 2018.

Bill Maher Congratulates Himself for Milo Yiannopoulos’ Downfall

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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Bill Maher Congratulates Himself for Milo Yiannopoulos’ Downfall

HBO’s Real Time host, Bill Maher is taking credit for Milo Yiannopoulos’ resignation from Breitbart News.

In a matter of a few days, Milo, an alternative conservative media personality, went from being a writer in one of the most popular U.S. conservative news outlets to losing his book deal and becoming a CPAC keynote speaker. Also, Milo decided to resign from Breitbart after a video went viral that revealed him defending pedophilia.

When Maher invited Yiannopoulos to HBO’s Real Time, Maher threw himself in the middle of a controversy with one of the guests, Jeremy Scahill, baking out of the show in protest of Milo’s attendance. Scahill published a statement on Twitter arguing, “Appearing on Real Time will provide Yiannopoulos with a large, important platform to openly advocate his racist, anti-immigrant campaign.”

However, following Milo’s appearance on Real Time, Maher claims that everything worked out.

“About a week ago, I went on Van Jones’ show, and somebody asked me about the booking. I hadn’t really gotten into the details of Milo yet. He was just getting on my radar,” Maher explained.

“I said, specifically, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Then we had Milo on, despite the fact that many people said, ‘Oh, how dare you give a platform to this man.’ What I think people saw was an emotionally needy Ann Coulter wannabe, trying to make a buck off of the left’s propensity for outrage.”And by the end of the weekend, by dinnertime Monday, he’s dropped as a speaker at CPAC. Then he’s dropped by Breitbart, and his book deal falls through. As I say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. You’re welcome.”

Maher added, “And by the end of the weekend, by dinnertime Monday, he’s dropped as a speaker at CPAC. Then he’s dropped by Breitbart, and his book deal falls through. As I say, sunlight is the best disinfectant. You’re welcome.”

Maher argues that he was able to take out Milo by doing nothing. Moreover, Maher responded to the New York Times question as to why he gave Milo the ability to discuss whatever he wanted on the show. Maher argued, “It’s not my job to hold him accountable to everything he’s ever said or done. I had eight minutes with him, on the show itself. Sorry I don’t have time to go over everything everybody else would want to do.”

Maher continued, “You know what he is? He’s the little impish, bratty kid brother. And the liberals are his older teenage sisters who are having a sleepover, and he puts a spider in their sleeping bag so he can watch them scream.”

That said, Milo’s press conference reveals that he has no plans on stopping and will most likely use this controversy, spotlight, and attention to create his media platform.

Milo Yiannopoulos Resigns from Breitbart News

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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Milo Yiannopoulos Resigns from Breitbart News

Milo Yiannopoulos, the alternative right writer, resigned from Breitbart News on Tuesday after a video of him went viral over the weekend showing Milo endorsing pedophilia.

Who is Milo Yiannopoulos?

Yiannopoulos has a long history of sparking controversy offending African Americans, homosexuals and women. In 2014 Stephen Bannon hired Milo. Milo gained national attention after he was banned from Twitter. Last year, after the release of Sony’s Ghostbusters, Milo led a campaign ridiculing Saturday Night Live actress and Ghostbusters co-star Leslie Jones. In addition, one of his most popular stories on Breitbart was titled,“Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy.”

Milo Yiannopoulos history with Breitbart news

Bannon, who is currently President Trump’s senior adviser, praised Milo’s commentary and editorial opinion’s. As a result, Breitbart’s reputation among Trump supporters grew.

On Tuesday, Milo Yiannopoulos held a press conference announcing his resignation from the company. “Breitbart News has stood by me when others caved. The have been a significant factor in my success.”

Milo Yiannopoulos Pedophilia comments

But, Milo’s comments on pedophilia has caused enough controversy for Breitbart to pull the plug on the writer.

In a video interview conducted last year, Milo condoned sexual relationships with teenage boys and joked about a sexual encounter he had with a Catholic priest as a teen.

“Pedophilia is not a sexual attraction to somebody 13 years old who is sexually mature. Pedophilia is attraction to children who have not reached puberty.”

Milo Yiannopoulos fallout

Following the video going viral, CPAC’s organizer disinvited Milo as a conference speaker. In addition, the group’s chairman released a statement about the video calling it “disturbing.”

Then, Milo’s upcoming memoir, “Dangerous”, was canceled by the publisher Simon & Schuster.

Over the weekend Milo took to Facebook to address the controversy.

“I do not support pedophilia. Period,” he explained.

“It is a vile and disgusting crime, perhaps the very worst. There are selectively edited videos doing the rounds, as part of a coordinated effort to discredit me from establishment Republicans, that suggest I am soft on the subject.”

Milo Yiannopoulos Press Conference

On Tuesday, Milo Yiannopoulos apologized and argued that he does not support child abuse and will donate 10% of his royalties to children affected by sexual abuse. However, Milo did criticize the media saying, “This is a cynical media witch hunt by people who do not care about children. They care about destroying me.”

Wells Fargo Fires Four Senior Employees Following Banking Scandal

Reginald Edward
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Wells Fargo Fires Four Senior Employees Following Banking Scandal

Wells Fargo announced on Tuesday the firing of four senior employees after the 2016 banking scandal – the banking tycoon admitted that two million fake accounts were created using customer’s information without their consent.

Since the scandal became public, Wells Fargo has let go over 5,000 employees and the company’s CEO John Stumpf retired last October.

On Tuesday, Wells Fargo’s board of directors decided to fire four senior officials working within the company, according to USA Today. Some of the fired employees include the company’s Chief Risk Officer, Arizona Lead Regional President, Los Angele Regional President, and the head of community bank strategy and initiatives. The four senior officials will not receive their 2016 bonuses and will relinquish their stocks in the company.

Wells Fargo Banking Scandal
(Roman Tiraspolsky / Shutterstock.com)

After the scandal became public, details surrounding how Well Fargo operated came to light; For example, banking employees tried to report the illegal accounts a decade ago. As well as reports of employee mistreatment.

Currently, the Department of Justice is investigating Wells Fargo banking practices. Also, customers, employees, and the company’s shareholders have filed class-action lawsuits against the banking company.

What happened to Wells Fargo?

It all started after federal regulators discovered Wells Fargo employees created millions of unauthorized credit card and bank accounts without their customer’s knowledge since 2011. The phony accounts were then charged fees, which allowed for the company to increase revenue as well as boost their sales.

Richard Cordray, the director of the Consumer Finacial Protection Bureau said in a statement that the banking scandal allowed for Wells Fargo employees to open unauthorized accounts in order to “hit sales targets and receive bonuses.”

Not only did employees create fake accounts, Wells Fargo employees created illegitimate email addresses and PIN numbers in order to enroll customers to Wells Fargo’s online banking system. As a result, customers were charged insufficient funds or overdraft fees because there was not enough money in their accounts.

Also, Wells Fargo submitted over 500,000 credit card account applications without a customer’s knowledge or consent. Moreover, 14,000 of those accounts were charged over $400,000 in fees.

Burger King’s Parent Company Acquires Popeyes for $1.8 Billion

Reginald Edward
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Burger King’s Parent Company Acquires Popeyes for $1.8 Billion

Burger King’s parent company is expanding their fast food empire by acquiring fast-food fried chicken chain Popeyes for $1.8 billion.

Restaurant Brands International announced on Tuesday that the corporation has agreed to buy Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen for $79 per share.

Restaurant Brands International, which owns Burger King and Tim Hortons, will acquire the fast-growing fried chicken chain, which has over 2,600 chains across the country.

Restaurant Brands explains that they will “continue developing the brand at an increasing pace” in the United States and across the country.

In a conference call, Restaurant Brands CEO Daniel Schwartz explained: “The key to long-term success at Popeyes will be a focus on guest satisfaction and franchise profitability.” Schwartz added, “The team has done a great job setting the foundation for future growth.”

Schwartz revealed the average Popeyes store has $1.4 million in annual revenue. Also, each business owner under the Popeyes franchise earned on average $340,000 per location in 2015, which is nearly double from 2008’s $188,000.

Shares of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLKI) rose by 19.18% up to 78.80 by afternoon trading.

Based out of Atlanta, Georgia Al Copeland founded the company in 1972 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The fast-food restaurant is now located in 30 countries around the world including Germany, Saudi Arabia, Jamaica, and Iraq. As of January 2014, Popeyes had over 2,500 restaurants around the world.

Last January, McDonald’s, a competitor to Restaurant Brands’ Burger King,  announced a plan to expand in China. McDonald’s gave up their majority share of their company to a Chinese financial company to grow in the country. The deal was worth approximately $2 billion and would allow for the fast-food giant to develop and build 1,500 stores in China over the next few years. The company cited the country represents an “enormous growth opportunity for McDonald’s.”

Now it looks like Restaurant Brands may be following in McDonald’s footsteps with their Popeyes new acquisition.

‘Game of Thrones’ Final Season Filming in Freezing Winter Conditions

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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‘Game of Thrones’ Final Season Filming in Freezing Winter Conditions

Last July, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss revealed that production for the final season of the Game of Thrones will begin later than usual. Why is the last season of the Game of Thrones airing later than usual? Benioff and Weiss explain, “because at the end of this season, ‘Winter is here’ – and that means that sunny weather doesn’t really serve our purposes anymore. So we kind of pushed everything down the line, so we could get some grim, gray weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot.”

Filming is currently taking place in Iceland with several lead cast members including Liam Cunningham, Kit Harrington, and Kristofer Hivju. According to Page Six, the cast and crew have been filming “amid 100 mph winds and a minus 25-celsius wind chill.”

A source close to the Game of Thrones report there is very few hours of daylight, “super jeeps” are need to move equipment, actors arrive on set made up and dressed for filming and shelter is being provided by “Russian tents,” which are anchored down to prevent 100 mph winds.

But, the high force winds are making it difficult to capture dialogue between the actors, Page Six reports. “High winds caused words to be ‘whipped away’ — shouting became the norm. And despite the cold, there was an issue with a lack of snow in the lowland locations.”

Game of Thrones spinoff coming soon?

Game of Thrones Spinoff
AUSTIN – MARCH 13, 2016: Game of Throne fans tour a sneak peak event at SXSW 2016. (stock_photo_world / Shutterstock, Inc.)

While this will mark the end of the Game of Thrones series on HBO, there is speculation that the premium cable network will create a prequel spinoff. Last November, HBO’s President of Programming explained that he had discussions about a prequel with the show’s creator George R.R. Martin. “There are areas we are exploring, but I wouldn’t point to any one and say, ‘This is what we’re going to do.'”

Lindsay Lohan: I Was “Racially Profiled” (Video)

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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Lindsay Lohan: I Was “Racially Profiled” (Video)

In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Lindsay Lohan says she was “racially profiled” at London’s Heathrow Airport for wearing a headscarf.

The actress was flying from Turkey, where she met with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, where an airport worker allegedly stopped her.

“When I was flying to New York recently, I was wearing [a] headscarf, and I got stopped at the airport and racially profiled for the first time in my life,” Lohan explained. “She opened my passport and saw ‘Lindsay Lohan’ and started immediately apologizing, but then said, ‘Please, but take off your headscarf.’ ”

Lohan added, “But what scared me was in that moment — how would another woman who doesn’t feel comfortable taking off her headscarf feel?”

Lohan explained she wore the hijab out of “personal respect” for the women in Turkey she met on her trip. Lohan explained, “I was leaving Turkey, and when I see certain people I feel more comfortable acting the same way as other women – that’s just a personal respect issue for me that I have.”

Good Morning Britain later asked Lohan how she felt about President Donald Trump. Lohan argued that she did not agree with Trump’s tactics.

Last October, Lohan it was reported the former Mean Girls actress was studying Islam after the actress was spotted carrying a copy of the Quran. During the Good Morning Britain interview, Lohan confirmed the reports.

“I think that me studying the Koran is something that I’ve found a solace in,” Lohan explained. “I just study it. Nothing is confirmed yet.”

‘Star Wars’ Han Solo Movie Releases First Cast Photo

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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‘Star Wars’ Han Solo Movie Releases First Cast Photo

Donald Glover may be the next Simba for the upcoming live-action Lion King movie but, he still has work to do on the set of the upcoming Han Solo movie.

Donald Glover will work alongside Hail, Caesar breakout star Alden Ehrenreich and grow anticipation for the upcoming Star Wars spinoff, Disney has just released the first-look at the film’s cast, as well as the movie’s directors packed inside the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.

Star Wars published the photo to mark the start of principal photography at Pinewood London Studios, where Star Wars: The Force Awakens was previously filmed.

In addition to publishing the photo, Disney also confirmed the crew behind the upcoming feature film in a statement. “Crewing the ship will be some of the industry’s top talent, including Academy Award nominee for his work on Arrival, Bradford Young (Director of Photography), Chris Dickens (Editor), Dominic Tuohy (SFX Supervisor), Rob Bredow (VFX Supervisor) and Brad Allan (Action Designer),” Disney explained.

Disney also added some of the returning crew members joining the project. “They will be joining returning Star Wars veteran crew members Neal Scanlan (Creature & Droid FX Creative Supervisor), Neil Lamont (Production Designer), Dave Crossman and Glyn Dillon (Co-Costume Designers), Jamie Wilkinson (Prop Master), Lisa Tomblin (Hair), Amanda Knight (Make-Up) and Nina Gold (UK Casting Director).”

The movie’s directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller also released a statement, “Watching such inspired people from all over the world, with such unique voices, come together for the sole purpose of making art, is nothing short of miraculous,” Lord and Miller said.

“We can’t think of anything funny to say, because we just feel really moved, and really lucky.”

The upcoming Han Solo standalone movie hits theaters on May 25, 2018.

WhatsApp Releases Their Version of Snapchat Stories

Jonathan Antonio Browne
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WhatsApp Releases Their Version of Snapchat Stories

When Instagram copied Snapchat’s Stories feature last August, a report found Snapchat’s growth stalled by over 80%. Now, Facebook’s WhatsApp is releasing their version of Snapchat Stories.

On Monday, WhatsApp, a company Facebook owns, became the latest application to launch their version of the stories feature and they are calling it WhatsApp Status.

Instead of users posting a status message, the new feature will allow users to share photos and videos that last for up to 24 hours. The videos can last for 45 seconds, not just 10 seconds, and status updates are only shared within Whatsapp users’ address book and not followers you may not know, like Instagram.

But, that’s not all. WhatsApp’s version of Stories allows for users to share GIFS as a status message.

Whatsapp
Via Whatsapp

This news comes after Snapchat announced Spectacles are now available for sale to Snapchat users the country as the company prepares for their IPO. But, as the company pointed out their paperwork for their highly-anticipated initial public offering, the camera company said their biggest competitor was Facebook. “We face significant competition in almost every aspect of our business both domestically and internationally,” Snap Inc explained. Not to mention, the company pointed out that their competition “mimic our products and therefore harm our user engagement and growth.”

“We face significant competition in almost every aspect of our business both domestically and internationally,” Snap Inc explained. Not to mention, the company pointed out that their competition “mimic our products and therefore harm our user engagement and growth.”

But, these new features implemented by WhatsApp should not become a surprise. Last December, Instagram’s product manager Kevin Weil said the company “built on a format that Snapchat invented.” Weil added, “It’s a format, [and] we believe that format will be universal.”

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