By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
NBC to Donald Trump: Youre fired for racist comments
5b8705cc77bdbccfd72ff426cc0a43efa0e49cea02a3a1ffb2aecb8732c0f432
Businessman and presidential candidate Donald Trump has been fired from NBC for comments he made tied to his radical stance on immigration. - photo by Shelby Slade
Businessman and presidential candidate Donald Trump has been fired from NBC for comments he made tied to his radical stance on immigration.

The TV network announced Monday it was cutting ties with Trump, meaning it would not run his Miss USA or Miss Universe beauty pageants, Paul Farhi reported for The Washington Post.

This comes after Trump made some controversial comments in his speech announcing he would be running for president earlier this month. He commented that immigrants coming into the U.S. were a large problem with the country he would like to address, Jeremy Stahl wrote for Slate.

The U.S. has become a dumping ground for everybody elses problems, Trump said. When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.

This caused quite a bit of justifiable uproar among the immigrant community and people living in Mexico, so much so that Trump piatas were being sold in Mexico.

"He surely doesn't know the contributions made by migrants from practically every nation in the world, who have supported the development of the United States," Miguel ngel Osorio Chong, Mexico's interior minister, told reporters.

Spanish language TV network Univision then made it clear it would no longer be running these programs owned by Trump.

The focus then turned to NBC to fire Trump, Farhi reported. A Change.org petition to get the network to drop Trump received 219,000 signatures as of Tuesday.

Thats when the television giant responded to these calls. Officials said in a statement they would not run the two beauty pageants they partially owned with Trump, but Celebrity Apprentice would continue with a different host as the network had been planning before the speech was made, Farhi explained.

This development may have messed up some of Trumps business plans, which he has put on hold to campaign for president.

Mr. Trump has brushed off criticism over his comments and has said his wealth gives him the ability to speak his mind freely without worrying about political backlash or the need to please donors, Alan Rappeport wrote for The New York Times.

Trump said he thought NBCs response to his speech was uncalled for, especially given the way the company handled the situation with former NBC News Anchor Brian Williams, Rappeport reported.

"They will stand behind lying Brian Williams, but wont stand behind people that tell it like it is," Trump said in a statement.

Given the recent derogatory statements, as NBC called them, the TV giant took a stand in favor of fairness and proper treatment of all people.

"At NBC, respect and dignity for all people are cornerstones of our values, its statement read. Due to the recent derogatory statements by Donald Trump regarding immigrants, NBC Universal is ending its business relationship with Mr. Trump."
Its toxic: New study says blue light from tech devices can speed up blindness
93cbd7a5475cccd1cee701424125d3abaa9b4beaa58d3663208f656cbbbd7661
A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers. - photo by Herb Scribner
It turns out checking Twitter or Facebook before bed is bad for your health.

A new study from the University of Toledo found that blue light from digital devices can transform molecules in your eyes retina into cell killers.

That process can lead to age-related macular degeneration, which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States, according to the researchs extract.

Blue light is a common issue for many modern Americans. Blue light is emitted from screens, most notably at night, causing sleep loss, eye strain and a number of other issues.

Dr. Ajith Karunarathne, assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, said our constant exposure to blue light cant be blocked by the lens or cornea.

"It's no secret that blue light harms our vision by damaging the eye's retina. Our experiments explain how this happens, and we hope this leads to therapies that slow macular degeneration, such as a new kind of eye drop, he said.

Macular degeneration is an incurable eye disease that often affects those in their 50s or 60s. It occurs after the death of photoreceptor cells in the retina. Those cells need retinal to sense light and help signal the brain.

The research team found blue light exposure created poisonous chemical molecules that killed photoreceptor cells

"It's toxic. If you shine blue light on retinal, the retinal kills photoreceptor cells as the signaling molecule on the membrane dissolves," said Kasun Ratnayake, a Ph.D. student researcher working in Karunarathne's cellular photo chemistry group. "Photoreceptor cells do not regenerate in the eye. When they're dead, they're dead for good."

However, the researchers found a molecule called alpha-tocopherol, which comes from Vitamin E, can help prevent cell death, according to Futurism.

The researchers plan to review how light from TVs, cellphones and tablet screens affect the eyes as well.

"If you look at the amount of light coming out of your cellphone, it's not great but it seems tolerable," said Dr. John Payton, visiting assistant professor in the UT Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. "Some cellphone companies are adding blue-light filters to the screens, and I think that is a good idea."

Indeed, Apple released a Night Shift mode two years ago to help quell blue lights strain on the eyes, according to The Verge. The screen will dim into a warmer, orange light that will cause less stress on the eyes.