Actors Nikki Reed and Ian Somerhalder have been together for over a year, but only recently did celebrity news site Hollywood Life learn that the couple have been engaged. On Dec. 11, the couple walked the red carpet at Rihanna’s Diamond Ball, and photographs of Reed showed her wearing a diamond eternity band on her right ring…
New Home Sales Reach Highest Level in More Than Six Years
Over the past few years, the American housing market has recovered from the housing bubble in fits and starts, surging in some areas while lying dormant in others. However, the Wall Street Journal recently revealed some encouraging news: in December 2014, new home sales rose to their highest level in more than six years, suggesting the industry…
New Fitness Wearable and App Combination May Be Able to Decrease Lower Back Pain
Fitness apps with a wearable component are popular at the moment, most targeting general movement or weight loss. But the Valedo device, showcased at the Consumer Electronics Show held earlier this month in Las Vegas, NV, has a more specific goal: reducing lower back pain. “There is a medical layer and a gaming layer,” Robert…
Activists Disrupt Inaugural Proceedings in Vermont Over Healthcare Grievances
As the newly re-elected Gov. Peter Shumlin gave his inaugural address Jan. 8, more than 100 activists protesting a lack of progression on universal healthcare and measures to protect the working poor packed the Vermont Statehouse, and police removed 29 demonstrators from the House chamber Thursday evening. Shumlin decided in December to abandon Act 48,…
Hong Kong Air Quality Reaches Worst Levels Yet, Forcing Residents Indoors
Air pollution in Hong Kong has reached its highest level yet, according to the city’s government. The pollution index at more than half of Hong Kong’s monitoring stations reached a level 10+ — the most serious measurement on the scale. The 10+ recordings were found in the city’s main business and entertainment districts of Central…
Upon Entering Prison, Real Housewife Teresa Giudice Surrenders Her Freedom — And Hair Extensions
The fever pitch of celebrity culture in the age of social media has had dramatic, far-reaching effects on our society as a whole. One of the many repercussions of pop culture’s diffusion into everyday life? The rise of hair extensions as a way for women to get the same long, full-bodied tresses of the stars.But…
New Study Shows High Testosterone Can Treat Prostate Cancer
Researchers from the University of Washington and Johns Hopkin University have found evidence which suggests hormone replacement therapy can reduce cancer cell growth for patients with prostate cancer. Dr. Michael Schweizer of the University of Washington School of Medicine led a team of medical researchers in a trial which focused on hormone therapy for prostate…
One Out of Five Hysterectomies in U.S. May Have Been Unnecessary
As many as one in five women who have received hysterectomies in the United States may not have needed the surgery, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.Each year, over 400,000 American women receive a hysterectomy. The procedure, which removes the uterus, is used to treat or prevent certain…
Census Bureau May Stop Tracking Marriage and Divorce Rates: What Does That Mean for Americans?
The United States Census Bureau has proposed a radical change that could alter the way Americans think about marriage and divorce.The organization, which collects population and socioeconomic data across the country, has suggested putting an end to tracking marriage and divorce rates on their American Community Survey.Experts, however, have said this would be unwise of…
New Technology for Old Machinery — How Forklifts Are Being Adapted for the 21st Century
For decades, the forklifts responsible for lifting and transporting materials in warehouses everywhere have run on technology that is both harmful to people and the environment — and anything but energy-efficient. That’s finally starting to change, thanks to the help of innovators like Lester Erlston, who has applied new technologies to the tried-and-true forklift in…