One thing about news these days – there is a lot of it.
We have access to thousands of news stories at our fingertips. It is up to us to seek out what interests us. Politics, the economy, sports, the constant “Game of Thrones” stories. We are in charge, and that is a good thing if you are a smart consumer of news and information.
But with this huge amount of news comes the likelihood of us missing some real nuggets. People ask me all the time if I heard about this story or that story, and often I have not, even though I consume more news that many people I know from dozens of sources.
So, I thought I would make sure that you know about a couple of recent stories that deserve at least a little attention. You may have seen these, and if so, please move on to the Comics page.
First up was a story about a Florida man. Now, this being Florida, it has to be weird, right? Yes, it does. And it is. It is a very Florida story.
Apparently, a man in Florida was released from jail, walked into the jail parking lot and immediately started breaking into cars.
From the report: Michael Casey Lewis, 37, was originally arrested on charges of grand theft Thursday morning, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Lewis had just bonded out of county jail and been released Thursday when deputies said they spotted him behaving suspiciously.
He must really love the jail food.
This second story is a tragedy, to be sure. But it also shows that karma can be instant and deadly. It is hard for me to drum up a lot of sympathy for this guy, I must admit.
According to the story, a man suspected of being a rhino poacher was trampled to death by an elephant before being eaten by a pride of lions. That’s right – killed by an elephant and eaten by lions.
Nature 1, poacher 0.
From the story: “The unnamed man was in a group of several poachers stalking endangered rhino in South Africa's Kruger National Park when they were ambushed by a furious pachyderm.
“…It was not until Thursday evening they discovered the man's bloodied head and a few items of clothing, including trousers and a shoe. Indications found at the scene suggested that a pride of lions had devoured the remains leaving only a human skull and a pair of pants.”
Also, the others in his group were arrested for poaching. Seriously, I understand the pull of money, but sneaking into a national park in Africa that is filled with wild animals is not worth the risk, as this man found out.
Finally, a story for all of the paranoid people out there who think they are going to die at any minute. This reminds me of movies like, “Contagion,” where a virus wipes out a large percentage of the population.
Scary stuff, and in the realm of possibility.
So, according to The New York Times, a fungus called Candida auris, or C. auris, is causing deaths around the globe and is nearly impossible to completely remove from infected patients’ hospital rooms and equipment.
Yes, that is bad. But even worse is that hospitals that are worried about scaring off the patients they have left are not even admitting whether or not they are facing outbreaks.
I get that health care is a business, but come on.
Back to the story, which said C. auris is accompanied by fever, aches and fatigue. In patients with weakened immune systems, babies, and the elderly, it can be fatal.
I am not saying it is time to panic, but for those prone to panicking, now would be a good time to at least start considering that panicking could be in your future.
