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Sunday, June 26, 2011 File:Peter Falk Columbo.JPG

US actor Peter Falk died on Thursday at his home in Beverly Hills, California after a struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Falk may be most known for his role as Detective Columbo in the television series of the same name that ran on NBC from 1968 to 1978, which moved to ABC in 1989. The last episode aired in 2003. His portrayal of the character won him four Emmy Awards.

Falk, born in 1927, had his right eye surgically removed at the age of three, due to a cancerous growth. He wore a glass eye for most of his life. Because of this, he was rejected by the armed services at the end of World War II.

Falk starred in his first crime film, Murder, Inc. in 1960, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. In Blake Edwards’s 1965 film The Great Race, he appeared with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood.

Falk is survived by his wife and two daughters.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Bindeez beads, a children’s toy from Australia and manufactured by Moose Enterprise in Hong Kong, is being pulled off toy store shelves in the United Kingdom after traces of an illegal drug, which is converted into gamma-Hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) when ingested, was found inside the toy. At least 20 million toys are affected.

So far at least three children from the U.K. and at least two from Auckland, New Zealand have fallen seriously ill and are currently receiving medical attention. The toy is also sold in the United States as Aqua Dots, with two reports received by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) of children needing hospitalization after ingesting the beads.

“We’ve asked all our customers to take them off the shelf while we retest everything to make sure the toys comply with all regulations,” said the company in a statement, although no mandatory recall has been issued for the product. The statement also says that the plant in Hong Kong was not using a chemical mixture approved by the company.

“This substitution was not at any time approved by Moose nor was Moose made aware of any substitution by the supplier,” added the statement.

The toys were supposed to contain a non-toxic chemical known as 1,5-pentanediol, but instead 1,4-butanediol, which is mainly used in creating the illegal drug GHB, was used in the toys. When humans consume 1,4-butanediol, the body converts it into GHB and could make the individual seriously ill, causing headaches, seizures, dizziness and in some cases death. GHB is a natural chemical found in a variety of things such as beef, wine and some varieties of citrus fruits. It is also used as a pharmaceutical which is sold as Xyrem.

Recent animal research indicates that drugs are available for human use which may work as antidotes to the poison, either by hindering its conversion to GHB with 4-methylpyrazole (fomepizole, Antizol) or by blocking GHB’s effectiveness at the receptor (SCH 50911). Rodent testing has found the lethal dose of 1,4-butanediol to range from 1.4 to 2.5 grams per kilogram body weight, but an antidote can increase the lethal dose by a factor of 10.

It is not known how the chemicals got mixed up, but officials for the toy company say that they are continuing the investigation. The toy is currently banned in all of Australia, but the company says all those who bought it will be refunded their money.

“The issue of how a dangerous substance was used in these beads and not the non-toxic substance … that is going to take us a few more days to uncover,” said Australia’s Fair Trade Minister, Linda Burney in a statement to the press.

The toy was recently named Australia’s number one toy for 2007.

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

On Sunday, Filipino-US chess grandmaster Wesley So won this year’s Tata Steel Chess Tournament, held in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands, securing 9.0 points out of thirteen. Following closely in second place was current World Champion Magnus Carlsen with 8.0 points.

Wesley So won five games and drew the remaining eight. A player gets a point for each win, half a point for a draw and no points for a loss. He is currently on a 56 lossless game streak.

In the final round, Wesley So was paired against Russian grandmaster Ian Nepomniachtchi. Wesley So captured a central pawn which was expected to be recaptured to equalise material but wasn’t. Soon, his opponent unexpectedly castled offering a pawn sacrifice which was accepted. Despite being ahead in material his opponent threatened to capture his queen. However, he was able to defend using his extra central pawn and prevent counter-play forcing the Russian to resign.

He won last year’s Grand Chess Tour by winning the Sinquefield Cup and London Chess Classic and coming second in the Leuven Grand Chess Tour.

Magnus Carlsen won four, tied eight and lost a game against Richárd Rapport. In the last round he faced his rival and contender for the World Chess Championship of the last year, Russian Sergey Karjakin. In the game, Karjakin provoked Carlsen to sacrifice his knight on which grandmaster Fabiano Caruana tweeted, “Karjakin must be in a very charitable mood”. He quickly sacrificed his knight pinning Karjakin’s knight to his queen. Despite being a piece down he gained an advantageous position. Karjakin defended his position extremely well, as grandmaster Alejandro Ramírez said, “He can commit the most despicable errors and then show world-class toughness from the next second!”. The defence worked and a draw was agreed upon.

Also known as the “Wimbledon of Chess”, the Tata Steel Chess tournament attracts top chess players every year. The tournament has two professional groups, Masters and Challengers, and an amateur group. It is organised in a round-robin format where each player plays a game against all other players. The tournament is scheduled to run its 80th edition next year in Wijk aan Zee, Netherlands.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

The sole United States manufacturer of a key component of lethal injections announced Friday that it will cease production of the drug, contributing to shortages and delaying executions.

Sodium thiopental, the first of a three drug cocktail used in 34 states to render the prisoner to be executed unconscious, was manufactured in Italy until Italian authorities stated that they would only license the manufacture if it was used for medical purposes and not, crucially, for executions.

In a statement, the company, Hospira, said that they have never condoned the use of their drug, marketed as ‘Pentothal’, in executions, and that they could not “prevent the drug from being diverted to departments of corrections for use in capital punishment procedures”.

The move means that the United States is without a viable supplier for sodium thiopental. Although many European countries manufacture the drug, which is primarily used in Europe as an anæsthetic, no manufacturer has been found that is willing to supply it for use in conjunction with the death penalty, the abolition of which has been lobbied by the EU since 2008.

The shortage means that executions in California and Oklahoma have been delayed, with Texas’ last remaining stocks of the drug due to expire in March, weeks before two scheduled executions. These delays are likely to be prolonged as the legal process of drawing up new drugs to be used for injections is lengthy. Pentobarbital, an alternative which used at the Dignitas clinic in Switzerland, is used for lethal injections in Oregon, and has started to be used by Oklahoma.

Hospira’s decision caused mixed reactions throughout the medical community, with the American Society of Anesthesiologists stating Monday that sodium thiopental is an “important and medically necessary anesthetic agent” that is a “first-line anesthetic in many cases”, citing geriatric and cardiovascular conditions, among others. It said that, although they disagree with the death penalty, “we also do not condone using the issue as the basis to place undue burdens on the distribution of this critical drug to the United States. It is an unfortunate irony that many more lives will be lost or put in jeopardy as a result of not having the drug available for its legitimate medical use.”

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — Local caterers get ready for big business, as almost three thousand fans converge on the David L. Lawrence Convention Center over the Independence Day weekend for the world’s largest ever furry convention, Anthrocon 2007.

Many hope to renew acquaintances, or meet new friends. Others look to buy from dealers and artists, or show off new artwork or costumes. Some attend to make money, or even learn a thing or two. But one thing unites them: They’re all there to have fun.