Air pollution linked to 3.2 million new diabetes cases in one year

Levels of air pollution well below what is considered safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the World Health Organization are causing an increased risk of diabetes worldwide, according to a study published Friday in the journal Lancet Planetary Health.

In 2016 alone, the study found that air pollution contributed to 3.2 million new diabetes cases --14% of the total -- around the world. In the United States, air pollution was linked to 150,000 new cases of diabetes per year.
"There's an undeniable relationship between diabetes and and particle air pollution levels well below the current safe standards," said senior study author Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University. "Many industry lobbying groups argue that current levels are too stringent and should be relaxed. Evidence shows that current levels are still not sufficiently safe and need to be tightened."
Particulate or particle air pollution is made up of microscopic pieces of dust, dirt, smoke and soot mixed with liquid droplets. The finest particles regulated by the EPA are 2.5 micrometers; to put that in perspective, a strand of human hair is 70 micrometers, or more than 30 times larger.
Anything less than 10 micrometers can not only enter the lungs, it can pass into the bloodstream, where it is carried to various organs and begins a chronic inflammatory reaction thought to lead to disease.

California father's killing at campsite leads to investigations into 7 past shootings

Authorities are looking into whether the death of a man who was shot while camping with his daughters in California is linked to previous shootings at the campsite.

Tristan Beaudette was shot once in the head on June 22 as he slept in a tent with his 2- and 4-year-old daughters at the Malibu Creek State Park, officials said.
The Los Angeles County coroner ruled his death a homicide this week.
In a statement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it's looking for links between the 35-year-old's killing and seven shootings dating to November 2016.

Detectives have not determined a motive behind the shooting and currently there's no evidence that suggest all the incidents are connected, the statement said.
The shootings detectives are investigating took place on November 3 and 9, 2016; January 7, June 6, July 22, July 30, 2017 and most recently on June 18.
Incidents include a man shot in the 8,000-acre park in 2016, and a woman whose car was hit by a bullet while she was camping there with her boyfriend in January 2017, CNN affiliate KABC reported. It's unclear whether the shootings resulted in fatalities.
Earlier this week, the sheriff's department said it was reviewing only three prior shooting incidents.
The Malibu Creek State Park is a scenic recreation area 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles that's been used as a backdrop for movies and television shows.

Baby boom at Texas hospital: 48 babies born in 41 hours

The nursery at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center – Fort Worth has never been as full as it has in the last 41 hours. And the halls have never been so busy.

Since June 26, 48 babies were born in less than 2 days, 3m360 Dallas / Fort Worth reports. That's an average of more than one baby an hour. And, there's definitely a lively discussion here about why.

"There's always talk about full moon, we definitely had a big full moon this week," OB-GYN Dr. Jamie Erwin said. "Maybe there is something to that as well, maybe not. But it's always a busy time of the year."
It is a busy time indeed. According to Texas state records, most babies are born in the months of July, August and September.

Nursing director Michelle Stemley's phone blew up with messages on Wednesday.

"People were asking about staffing," she recalled. "I was like, 'what's going on?' "

But, she said the hospital was prepared. Extra staff was called in; pizza ordered and even after 48 babies in a short span of time, they are ready for more. "We are trained for this," she said.

Two-day old Isaiah Johnson is one of the 48 babies born this week.

Glimmer of hope in search for soccer team missing in Thailand cave

The effort to locate 12 boys and their soccer coach missing in a cave in Thailand for a week picked up pace Saturday. A break in the rain eased flooding in the system of caverns and more experts from around the world joined the rescue mission.

The search effort in the northern province of Chiang Rai has been going slowly, largely because flooding has blocked rescuers from going through chambers to get deeper into the cave.

Thai prime minister tells families of soccer team missing in cave to have faith
There were hundreds of civilian volunteers here helping out Saturday, BBC News reports. On Saturday morning, BBC News correspondent Howard Johnson said he saw three cavers going off into the hills to try and find routes into the caverns below.

Pumping out water hasn't solved the problem, so increasing efforts have been made to find shafts on the mountainside that might serve as a back door to the blocked-off areas where the missing may be sheltering.

The boys, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old coach entered the sprawling Tham Luang Nang Non cave after a soccer game on June 23, but near-constant rains have thwarted the search for them. Authorities have nevertheless expressed hope that the group has found a dry place within the cave to wait, and that they are still alive.

A solution for kids' social media addiction? Teach them to use tech more responsibly

The World Health Organization declared last week that “gaming disorder,” or video game addiction, is a “mental health disorder” similar to an addiction to gambling. Less than 24 hours later, at a standing-room-only session at the Cannes Lions festival, two prominent executives, Tristan Harris of Google and Scott Hagedorn of Omnicom, issued a dire warning that we are on the verge of a global public health crisis, particularly among teenagers, because of an “addiction to likes.” And data from the analytics firm Flurry shows that we spend five hours a day interacting with about 88 apps, including those connected to video games, on our smartphones.

Is it any wonder, then, that Cam Adair, the founder of the online support community Game Quitters, stressed recently in an interview that, “There’s a massive tsunami coming that we’re not prepared for.”

Truth be told, we should have been. Technology’s dark side was actually brought to bear a decade ago by Dr. Karen Sobel-Lojeski, a researcher at Stony Brook University and tech entrepreneur who identified the problem as "virtual distance," the mathematically quantifiable and scientifically researched measure of what is lost when human beings rely heavily on smart, digital devices to communicate.

America's oldest man, 112, had bank account compromised by thieves, family says

America's oldest man, a 112-year-old who served in World War II, had his bank account compromised by thieves, his family said.

Richard Overton's account was infiltrated and used to purchase savings bonds without his knowledge, his cousin, Volma Overton Jr., told KVUE.

He said he noticed on June 27 that there were several debts from Overton's bank account for savings bonds. He wouldn't say how much was in the account, or how much was taken, but Overton Jr. said a very large amount of money was taken from Overton.

A police report was filed Friday. Overton Jr. said both Social Security and banking account numbers were used to make withdrawals.

World Cup 2018: All you need to know about the last 16

2018 Fifa World Cup last 16
Venue: Russia. Dates: 30 June - 3 July
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button and iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online.
The knockout stage of the World Cup gets under way on Saturday, when France face Argentina in Kazan at 15:00 BST, a match you can watch live on BBC One.

The last 16 features eight matches over four days in seven cities across Russia.

Hosts Russia are through, along with former winners Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, England, France and Spain.

Defending champions Germany were among the 16 teams who did not qualify from the group stage.

3m360 to show France-Argentina last 16 - TV picks announced
World Cup last-16 line-up in full
Lawro's predictions for last-16 matches
World Cup Daily: Hodgson's tattoos and being Ronaldo's translator
The 21st edition of the World Cup has provided 122 goals, 36,349 completed passes, 158 yellow cards and lots of video assistant referee drama.