Snickers bar helped in $319 million jackpot win

A group of seven won $319 million dollars from the Mega Millions jackpot. It all sort of happened on accident when one worker left to grab a quick snack. He bought a candy bar at a nearby store and was about to buy a lottery ticket. A man stepped in front of him and bought a ticket first; a ticket that he would have bought. The group couldn't believe it when they read the numbers or heard the news. They're just normal people working at the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal. They range from early forties to sixties. Each will be given a check of $19 million dollars. It's so weird to think that he almost bought a different ticket. Stuff like this makes is hard not to believe in luck. When we did the lotus of control assignment I was more on the side that you control your destiny, but occasions like this help prove otherwise. Sometimes there are certain things that you can't control, but they could change your life forever. http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42358542/ns/us_news-wonderful_world/

High radiation found far from Japan nuke plant

An expert has stated that radiation levels as far as 25 miles away from a plant in Japan are too high. Japan as urged people to evacuate from a 19 mile zone, but that distance could increase. Another problem that this dangerous radiation has caused is international trade. Some cabbages transported from Japan to Singapore were found to have nine times the radiation level recommended for international trade. Radiation is in the seawater, the soil, it's everywhere. Since this is such a serious situation and nobody wants it to happen again, people are doing their best to figure out methods of prevention. This was a terrible crisis and there definitely needs to be a way figured out to prevent it from happening again. I feel so bad for the families that had to leave their homes due to radiation levels. To just pack up and leave a place you're so familiar with and go stay somewhere else would be scary. I'd constantly be wondering about when we'll get to go back or if we'll ever get to go back home. It's also going to be very hard for them to prosper with agriculture when their soil is so dangerous. How will they manage growing things or being able to trade and make money with other countries? I hope their economy does well and doesn't tumble in this crisis. It makes me thankful to live in Minnesota, where I never need to worry about tsunamis or earthquakes. http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42324795/ns/world_news-asiapacific/

Egypt presidential election to be held by Nov.

Egypt has been in a state of change ever since the fall of President Mubarak. Some people think they're changing too much and some don't think they are enough. One change is that within 60 days after the presidential election, a vice president must be appointed. Mubarak never had a vice president. He decided everything himself. In addition to this change, there is going to be a group of 100 appointed to draft the new constitution. This is a huge step for them and a chance for their country to change a lot for the better. However, some things are not changing. For example, Islam is still going to be their state's religion and Islamic law is still going to be the main source for legislation. When the young people rioted, they demanded Mubarak go out of power. Now that some more decisions are being made, they're hoping it will take Egypt to the right place. One thing that surprised me is that Islamic law is the main source for legislation. Since we have separation of church and state, I feel like they should too. Does this mean that people who don't practice Islam there aren't allowed to hold positions of power? That certainly wouldn't be fair. It's weird to think that a long time ago we were in a similar place as them. When we were writing our Constitution there were many debates about what should or shouldn't be written. I only hope that Egypt can make the right decisions so they don't need to face an uprising like this again. http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42340963/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Libya rebels lose almost all ground won with West's help

Rebels are requesting more help in Libya, as Gadhafi's ground forces pushed the rebels back to where they were at the start of this fighting. The people fighting for Gadhafi are much more well trained and they are using better weapons. A senior U.S. intelligence official said that the government forces in Libya are hiding themselves by using common vehicles with machinery attached instead of huge tanks. This makes it harder to see from an aircraft. NATO stepped in attacking from the air, but it hasn't been enough to be effective for the rebels. As of now it appears that the rebels are not in a good place. They have withdrew from fighting until they can come up with a more strategic way to come back. I can't imagine what it must be like to have the same ruler for as long as Gadhafi has been in power in Libya. All these rebels want is change and I can understand that. Before they started fighting, they should have thought everything through. They must have been aware that the opposing force was highly trained and had better equipment. If they would have strategized before fighting and before getting other countries involved, maybe the turnout would be more in their favor. http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42334849/ns/world_news-mideastn_africa/

Half of used cellphones still hold personal data

A British study has found that majority of old cell phones still contain user's personal information. In fact it wasn't just old cell phones, it was old credit or debit cards and facebook or twitter accounts. If this information got in the wrong hands, there would be many problems. When a person gets rid of their cellphone they'll usually delete everything valuable and think that's enough. It's actually much more complicated than that. SIM cards should be completely destroyed so there's no trace of their information left on it. This study will be useful to almost all people, being that many people own a cell phone. We need to remember to be careful.

This article really opened my eyes to properly destroying old cell phones. It's good to recycle them and we should do so, but at our own risk. Cell phone companies should also be available to help delete information, being that they're the professionals and understand how to do that better. I know that in my future, I'll make sure to dispose of my technology properly so I don't face these issues. Identity theft and just theft in general is a scary thing; it's nothing I want to be involved with.
http://http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42219052/ns/technology_and_science-security/

FDA cracks down on untested cold medicines

The FDA has stated that approximately 500 unapproved cold and allergy medications will be taken off the market. For example, there was a drug that was said to be allowed for patients as young as 1 month, when in reality no drugs like that should be taken until the patient is at least 2 years old. Their goal is to get rid of ineffective, and potentially dangerous, prescription drugs. Starting now, they're requiring all new drugs for scientific review before they can be bought and sold. Their goal isn't to make people unhappy by making these medications unavailable; in fact, there are many many more that are available that effectively treat cold symptoms and allergies. It's best to go see a doctor and pharmacist to get these drugs, but even they may not always know if a product is approved by the FDA or not. Some drugs claim they're approved by the FDA on the label but they actually haven't been through their scientific test. Hopefully, these actions will help us move forward and keep people safe.

This is the second thing I've heard recently that really surprised me about the FDA. How can any of these drugs be sold if they haven't been tested? That seems like an extreme risk to me. Also, I had heard some other things about how a certain number of red dye can cause cancer. The FDA hasn't even banned these types of ingredients. In a way that really scared me because you can think you're eating something that won't harm your body, but it will in the long run. Now I know that not everything has been discovered yet so they can't know everything about every food or medication, but if they do it's time to crack down on things. By getting rid of these medicines, the FDA can gain some accountability like it needs to.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41869370/ns/health-cold_and_flu/