Author: KnowledgeHippo

The Alabama Legislature on Wednesday is expected to pass legislation that would allow fertility clinics in the state to reopen without the specter of FGM.But the measure, written in haste and expected to pass by a huge bipartisan margin, does not address the legal issue that has led to clinic closures and sparked a stormy, politically charged national debate: whether embryos that have been frozen and stored for possible future implantation have the legal status of man.The Alabama Supreme Court made such a finding last month in a lawsuit against a Mobile clinic brought by three couples whose frozen embryos…

When the European Union passed a 2022 law to relax Apple’s mercy in the app economy, Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, began planning to launch a competing app store for developers.But before that law goes into effect this week, Apple has barred Epic’s European subsidiary from using iPhone software tools, making it impossible for the game developer to set up the Epic Games Store.In correspondence from Apple to Epic Games, the tech giant said that Epic had previously shown that it was unwilling to follow Apple’s rules to protect the App Store and that it could not return to…

What is ibogaine?A natural psychoactive compound, ibogaine is derived from the iboga tree, a rainforest shrub native to Central Africa. The drug is derived from the root bark, which is crushed and consumed as a powder or administered in an extracted form.Iboga has long been used for medicinal and ceremonial purposes in Gabon, Cameroon and the Republic of Congo. After its discovery by French and Belgian explorers in the 19th century, it was sold as a stimulant in France. In recent decades, ibogaine has shown promise as a treatment for opioid addiction, with several small studies suggesting that one-third to…

Do not wander off the resort after dark. Keep flashy clothes and jewelry to a minimum. Stay aware of your surroundings. These are some of the travel rules that Ginger Moore, a retired logistics analyst from Panama City, Florida, follows on her solo travels throughout the Caribbean.Mrs Moore, 75, has always felt safe during her stay in Jamaica, where she returns for the fourth time on Wednesday. But this year, while she’s still happy to take a trip, a travel advisory for Jamaica reissued in January by the US State Department has added to her concerns.”I’m sure there are places,…

Eventually, it seemed, things returned to normal.As nearly 3,000 delegates filed into Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Tuesday for the start of China’s annual legislative session, none wore face masks. The dignitaries pressed together to shake hands and pose for photos. Around them, journalists and diplomats from around the world spoke in the cavernous lobby, many invited back for the first time since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic four years earlier.It was one of China’s highest political stages, and the message sent was clear: The country’s prolonged isolation was over, and it was once again open to…

Rep. Virginia Foxx, who is leading a House investigation into campus anti-Semitism, blasted Harvard University on Tuesday for turning over “useless” documents in response to subpoenas.”I don’t know if it’s arrogance, weakness or indifference that’s driving Harvard,” Rep. Foxx, R-North Carolina, said in a statement. “Regardless, her actions to date are disgraceful.”Many of the 2,500 pages were duplicates of documents already submitted, he said, and heavy redactions rendered some documents useless. Harvard said it is acting in good faith and since January has turned over nearly 4,900 pages of material to the House Education and Workforce Committee, not including duplicate…

For more than 30 years, the Chinese premier’s annual press conference has been the only time a top leader has taken questions from reporters about the state of the country. It was the only chance for members of the public to highlight China’s No. 2 official. It was the only time some Chinese might feel a faint sense of political participation in a country without elections.On Monday, China announced that the prime minister’s press conference, marking the end of the country’s annual parliamentary term, would no longer take place. With this move, an important institution of China’s reform era was…

Shafiqah Hudson was job hunting in early June 2014, switching between Twitter and email, when she noticed a strange hashtag trending on the social media platform: #EndFathersDay.The posters claimed to be black feminists but had dubious handles like @NayNayCan’tStop and @CisHate and @LatrineWatts. They stated that they wanted to abolish Father’s Day because, they said, it was a symbol of patriarchy and oppression.They didn’t look like real people, thought Mrs. Hudson, but parodies of black women, spouting ridiculous sentences. As Ms Hudson told Forbes magazine in 2018, “Anyone with half the sense that God gave a cold bowl of oatmeal…

An urgent care chain in Ohio may be forced to stop paying rent and other bills to cover wages. In Florida, a cancer center is struggling to find money for chemotherapy drugs to avoid delaying critical treatments for its patients. And in Pennsylvania, a primary care physician is cutting expenses and pooling all its cash — including its personal bank reserve — in hopes of staying afloat for the next two months.These are just a few examples of the severe cash squeeze facing health care providers — from large hospital networks to smaller clinics — in the wake of a…

Thailand is famous among tourists who demand a big charge for the nightlife in Bangkok, the full moon parties on the island of Koh Phangan and the hedonistic promenades in Pattaya. It’s also a magnet for the bohemian and wellness crowds who flock to the mountain destinations of Chiang Mai and Pai.But mostly overlooked by foreign tourists is Lampang, in Northern Thailand. This utterly charming riverside town of around 90,000 has retained its historic architecture and imposing plazas from its days as an important city in the ancient Lanna kingdom and a hub in the teak timber trade. Centuries-old wooden…