New York state to add signs alerting drivers to "text stops"

In New York, it's better to pull over and tap a message on a phone if you don't want to get pulled over and ticketed for texting while driving.

That's the message Gov. Andrew Cuomo and highway officials are sending to motorists after announcing 300 signs will be placed on state roadways directing drivers to "Texting Zones."

The blue-and-white signs point drivers to 91 existing areas where drivers can pull off the road and safely send messages while the car is parked.

"Distracted driving is a major problem in this state and it is a problem that is getting worse and it is a problem that costs us lives," Cuomo said in a statement to Yahoo News. "One out of 5 accidents today is attributable to distracted driving. Five times more fatalities from distracted driving than from drunk driving, believe it or not."

“With this new effort, we are sending a clear message to drivers that there is no excuse to take your hands off the wheel and eyes off the road because your text can wait until the next Texting Zone,” he added.

The governor also announced a 365 percent increase in tickets issued for distracted driving in summer 2013 compared with summer 2012. New York State Police handed out more than 21,000 tickets in the crackdown. New York is one of 41 states that ban texting while driving.

A national study by AT&T in March noted that more adults admit to texting and driving than teens: 49 percent of adults surveyed, compared with 43 percent of teens, said they engaged in the habit even though 98 percent of the adults that were questioned knew the habit was a dangerous practice.

A similar study in 2011 from the Centers for Disease Control found that 31 percent of adults aged 18-64 admitted to having read or sent text and email messages while driving.

View the original article here

Louisiana is the worst state for women according to new report

A new study finds Louisiana is the most challenging state for working women in America. (AFP)

A report says that in America, Louisiana is the worst state for women to live and work in.

The Center for American Progress released the findings in a new interactive map, combining and comparing data on topics including the wage gap between men and women, poverty rates, paid family leave laws, the percentage of women without health insurance in each state and infant mortality rates.

Interestingly, the data also expanded to include factors outside of income and personal health, looking at how women fare in positions of power. For example, the study also compared the percentage of women in Congress in each state and the number of women elected to statewide executive office.

Overall, the study contained 36 separate factors, including looking at how several of the above-mentioned categories applied to minorities.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Maryland was voted as the best state for women to live and work in.

“More than 22 percent of women in Louisiana are in poverty, compared to 11 percent of women in Maryland,” reads the report’s summary. “Additionally, taking in all of the leadership factors considered, Maryland ranks first in the nation in terms of women reaching leadership positions in the public and private sector. Meanwhile, Louisiana receives a D- on overall leadership factors.”

Looking at some other states in the survey, Hawaii, Vermont, California and Delaware rounded out the top five states for women.

Meanwhile, Utah, Oklahoma, Alabama and Mississippi rounded out the bottom five.

West Virginia ended up right in the middle of the survey, ranking 25th overall.

The rankings show a diverse mix that may present some surprises for political and cultural analysts. For example, both the top and bottom tiers contain a mix of states both on the population and geographic scales. There’s also a fair amount of political diversity in the findings. For example, Alaska is considered one of the nation’s most conservative states but placed just outside the top 10 in the survey, at number 11.

Back in June, a similar study was released looking at the best and worst states for children. In that study, New Mexico was cited as the worst state for children’s issues while New Hampshire was named the best state to raise a child. In that study, Louisiana was rated the fourth worst state for children.

View the original article here

Wash. state man says shooting followed VP's advice

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — A Washington state man who fired a shotgun in the air to chase away car prowlers says he was following the advice of Vice President Joe Biden.

Jeffrey Barton, of Vancouver, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a Clark County court to a charge of illegally discharging a firearm. The 52-year-old fired the shot Monday when he thought people were breaking into his vehicles.

Outside of court, Barton told KOIN (http://bit.ly/13mpjyH ), "I did what Joe Biden told me to do. I went outside and fired my shotgun in the air."

In an answer to a home defense question in February, the vice president said Americans don't need semi-automatic weapons because a couple of blasts from a shotgun will scare off intruders.

Sheriff's deputies said that' not allowed except in self-defense.

View the original article here

Boy robs Colo. State Fair in Batman costume

PUEBLO, Colo. (AP) — A 16-year-old boy wearing a Batman shirt and mask broke into a building at the Colorado State Fair, then turned himself in to police after seeing his likeness on the news.

The Pueblo Chieftain reported that the boy is one of three accused of breaking into the Fair's VIP building early Thursday (http://bit.ly/1aMIypL ). The trio took televisions, a laptop and an empty cash register.

The suspects managed to lock themselves in the building and had to break out.

KRDO-TV aired surveillance video of the suspect dressed as Batman. After the video aired, the boy turned himself in to police. Authorities plan to seek charges including burglary and criminal mischief.

The boy wasn't named because of his age. Police were still seeking the other two suspects.

View the original article here

Washington state gets rid of sexist language

Achieving gender-neutral language is no small task, says a Washington state lawmaker from Seattle. (Thinkstock …

In Washington state, the word "freshman" is out. And "first-year student" is in. In total, 40,000 words have been changed as part of an effort to rid state statutes of gender-biased language.

The bill, signed into law earlier in the year by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, went into effect this week.

And it was no small task. "This was a much larger effort than I had envisioned. Mankind means man and woman," Democratic state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles of Seattle told Reuters.

"Fisherman" is now a "fisher." "Penmanship" is called "handwriting." And "manhole cover" is, well, still "manhole cover." Some words don’t have an easy replacement.

Others do: "His" is now “his and hers.” "Clergyman" is now "clergy." "Journeyman plumber" is now “journey-level plumber,” according to the Daily Mail.

According to Reuters, Washington is the fourth state to officially remove gender-biased language from the law. Others are Florida, North Carolina and Illinois. Nine other states are considering similar gender-neutral laws.

"Words matter," Liz Watson, a National Women's Law Center senior adviser, told Reuters. "This is important in changing hearts and minds."

France recently officially banned the term "mademoiselle" from official documents. The Gallic term means "miss," and French officials contended it forced women to acknowledge their marital status.

The French also bid adieu to "maiden name," which they dismissed as "archaic." They should know: Paris only recently got rid of a law that banned women from wearing pants.

View the original article here

Ohio State awaits bloom of stinky corpse flower

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Researchers at an Ohio State University greenhouse are awaiting a rare second bloom by a rainforest plant known as a corpse flower because of its unpleasant odor.

The university says the nearly 6-foot titan arum is expected to open this week, releasing another round of its rotting-flesh smell a little more than two years after it first flowered.

A second corpse flower opened briefly at the greenhouse last May.

A university spokeswoman tells The Columbus Dispatch (http://bit.ly/15FLGSU ) cultivators are lucky to have three blooms in three years. Each brief bloom attracts visitors hoping to catch a glimpse or a whiff of it.

The plant expected to bloom soon is nicknamed Woody, after Buckeyes football coach Woody Hayes.

___

Online:

Ohio State University greenhouse updates: http://bioscigreenhouse.osu.edu/titan-arum

___

Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

View the original article here

Stinky corpse flower blooms again at Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A large rainforest plant known as a corpse flower because of its awful smell is blooming again at an Ohio State University greenhouse, and there's more excitement because another corpse flower there is expected to open soon.

A 6-foot titan arum opened Tuesday to release its rotting-flesh smell two years after it first flowered. A second corpse flower opened briefly at the greenhouse last May, and a third is expected to open in seven to 10 days.

Despite extended visiting hours, visitors have little time to catch a whiff because the rare blooms sometimes last only a day or less.

Spokeswoman Sandi Rutkowski says having three or four blooms within three years is lucky but also is a tribute to the skill of cultivators at the greenhouse.

View the original article here

Wash. State graduate wears wedding gown under robe

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) — With friends and family already gathered for her graduation from Washington State University, Cassie Dotts thought it would be a good time for another ceremony — her wedding.

She married University of Idaho fisheries science graduate Ben Ho in a ceremony on Friday in Moscow, Idaho. Then she received her doctorate in veterinary medicine in Saturday's WSU graduation in Pullman, Wash.

The Moscow-Pullman Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/10eaEQl ) that Dotts wore her cap and gown over her wedding dress for people who wanted to see her as both a graduate and newlywed.

The couple plans to move to Dotts' native Nevada where she plans to work as a veterinarian in Las Vegas.

___

Information from: The Moscow-Pullman Daily News, http://www.dnews.com

View the original article here

Bizarre email exchange between state senator and displeased constituent

Missouri state Sen. Brian Nieves (photo: Wikipedia)

When an unsolicited email arrives, most people hit delete and move on with their lives. Not Bart Cohn.

The Wildwood, Mo., resident received a newsletter from Brian Nieves, a Republican member of the Missouri Senate with whom Cohn does not see eye to eye on the issues. According to River Front Times, which originally reported the story, Cohn wrote a seven-word reply to Nieves' newsletter. "Take me off your mailing list. Freak."

And thus began a wackadoo exchange of insults between Cohn and Nieves, all of which were forwarded by Cohn to River Front Times.

After Cohn's tersely worded response, Nieves issued a retort:

Who are you? Is there something wrong with you? Are you incapable of communicating in a way that common, decent people do?

Tell me this, how did you ever even get on MY Distribution list?

Cohn fired back:

Remove me from your list. I despise you.

Nieves then wrote this:

Tell me who you are and how you ever got on my list. I don't take we'll to some troll sneaking on to my distribution list.

Things get weird(er). From Cohn:

I don't care what you take well to. Take me off your list. I don't know how I got on your list. And I don't sneak. I'll tell you to your face I think you're a freak. Now act like a big boy, senator, and remove me from your list as I've requested. And stop harassing me or I'll make an issue of it.

Nieves apparently took issue with the word "issue." He wrote:

Explain "issue"

Are you threatening an elected official? I'm sure your very Big & Bad & Tuff.

The ONE and ONLY way for you to have gotten on my list is by YOU having communicated with me via email. I guess your the type who wants to be able to throw something my way but not hear back?

You'll be removed but be Very Careful to NEVER Threaten me! Also, don't ever send anything to this email address again because every time you do, you automatically get put back on the distribution list. :-)

Think that's the end? Nope. Cohn responded with more insults:

I didn't threaten anyone, you tool. You are such a douchetard it's not even funny. Now go do some work on your insane conspiracy theories that everyone laughs about behind your back. You're a joke!

To which Nieves wrote:

Wow. Your communications are so thought provoking, well written, and intelligent. Perhaps you secretly want to be on my distribution list because every time you send me a message, your email is recaptured and put on my distribution list. I'm tiring of taking you off every time you email me AGAIN so unless you are in love with me or have some other sort of sick obsession with me (sorry, I'm straight as an arrow) you should probably stop emailing me so that you don't keep getting put back on the list. Should I type these instructions slower? Are you having a hard time understanding? BTW - I archive ALL questionable emails like yours in case there's ever any doubt about who got ugly first. Go back to the grade school playground where people you can successfully bully and out smart are playing cuz junior... You are way out of your league with me.

Cohn apparently did not respond. But Nieves couldn't resist writing one more email and referencing a photo of Cohn from Facebook.

BTW... You really don't look good with a beard.

In a comment posted on the River Front Times story, a person identified as Cohn expressed some regret for his part in the exchange.

I shouldn't have called him names. But I'd just had enough of him. He was spamming me left and right with his insane newsletters, I'd just had surgery, and I couldn't take it anymore. I was shocked he wrote me back immediately, I had expected him just to remove me from his distribution list. And then for him to write me back 5 more times after that... I'll let the public be the judge of what went down between us.

Messages seeking comment from Nieves were not immediately returned.

View the original article here