*ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO RECEIVE $4.38 BILLION IN STIMULUS CHECKS:

As Americans start to receive the latest round of stimulus checks, a new analysis reveals that about $4.38 billion will also go to illegal immigrants. The Center for Immigration Studies estimates that 2.65 million illegal immigrants have Social Security numbers that allow them to receive stimulus checks. This group of illegal immigrants can be described as “aliens temporarily present without status,” according to Steven Camarota, director of research for the Center for Immigration Studies. “These individuals are in the country illegally and could be required to leave. Yet, under the current system, they are still given work authorization and Social Security numbers,” he said. They include Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and Temporary Protected Status recipients. In addition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued 882,000 work authorizations and Social Security numbers to other illegal immigrants in fiscal year 2020, the analysis states. These include asylum applicants, as well as those applying for adjustment of status and suspension of deportation, among other categories.

*NOW THE WOKE CANCELERS ARE EVEN COMING AFTER ‘MOM’ & ‘DAD’:

Once they took out Dumbo and Pepe Le Pew, it was only a matter of time until the language police doubled down. An elite school in Manhattan has advised the school “community” — that means not just the staff but students and parents — to stop saying “mom” and “dad,” or even “parents,” advising them to instead say “grown-ups, folks, or family.” The Grace Church School, which charges $57,000 for students ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, put out a 12-page guide addressed to the school community that bans a slew of words, phrases and even ideas.

“The goal of this guide is to provide the community with more inclusive language that is aligned with the mission of Grace Church School,” reads the guide. “While we recognize hateful language that promotes racism, misogyny, homophobia, and other forms of discrimination are already addressed in our school handbooks, we also recognize that we can do more than ban hateful language; we can use language to create welcoming and inclusive spaces. This guide addresses ways we can remove harmful assumptions from the way we interact with each other.”

“Families are formed and structured in many ways. At Grace Church School, we use inclusive language that reflects this diversity,” the guide says. “It’s important to refrain from making assumptions about who kids live with, who cares for them, whether they sleep in the same place every night, whether they see their parents, etc.”

*BILL MAHER SAYS AMERICA IS BECOMING SEGREGATED AGAIN, AND LEFTIST ARE TO BLAME:

HBO host Bill Maher suggested that the United States is “entering an era of re-segregation that’s coming from the left” during a Friday night “Real Time” conversation with Democratic data scientist David Shor. Shor, who worked on former President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign and is currently head of data science at progressive nonprofit OpenLabs, was making the case that since most Americans do not agree with leftist values, Democrats should instead focus on issues most people “agree with us on” in order to win elections. “We seem to be entering an era of re-segregation that’s coming from the left,” Maher said, responding to a comment by Shor about the “geographic sorting” of liberals trending to urban areas. “I mean, on many college campuses, there are separate dorms, separate black dorms, graduation ceremonies, stuff like that. How will that affect elections in the future?”

*EATING BREAKFAST BEFORE 8:30 A.M MAY LOWER CHANCE OF DEVELOPING DIABETES:

When is the best time to have breakfast every morning? According to a new study, you shouldn’t wait too long. That’s because eating breakfast before 8:30 a.m could reduce one’s risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, researchers say. The study by Northwestern University researchers shows that people who have eaten before 8.30 a.m. had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance. The finding won’t be welcome news to those who follow intermittent fasting, a popular dieting strategy that typically requires one to wait until about 10 a.m. to eat. Instead, enjoying your first snack of the day early on may be better for you, regardless of what time you stop eating.

“We found people who started eating earlier in the day had lower blood sugar levels and less insulin resistance, regardless of whether they restricted their food intake to less than ten hours a day or their food intake was spread over more than 13 hours daily,” lead study author Dr Marriam Ali says in a statement. “These findings suggest that timing is more strongly associated with metabolic measures than duration, and support early eating strategies.” Insulin resistance happens when the body does not respond as well to insulin produced by the pancreas, and glucose is less able to enter the cells. People with insulin resistance might be at higher risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Both insulin resistance and high blood sugar levels affect a person’s metabolism, or the breaking down of food to proteins, carbohydrates or sugars, and fats.

*HOLD THE BACON: PROCESSED MEAT GREATLY INCREASES CHANCES OF HAVING DEMENTIA:

Can a slice of bacon a day lead to dementia later in life? Researchers from the University of Leeds say eating just a small amount of processed meat each day significantly increases the risk of mental decline. Their study of nearly 500,000 people in the United Kingdom finds consuming 25 grams daily — about two crispy strips of bacon — raises dementia risk by 44 percent. These products include bacon, sausages, canned meats, and cured items like salami. On the other hand, study authors reveal eating unprocessed red meat may actually lower the chances of developing the disease. Consuming 50 grams of meats like beef, pork, and veal contributed to a 19-percent decrease in dementia risk. The team discovered the connection while examining the link between eating meat overall and dementia onset. The condition affects between five and eight percent of all adults over 60 years-old, with Alzheimer’s disease being the most common variety. “Worldwide, the prevalence of dementia is increasing and diet as a modifiable factor could play a role,” lead researcher and PhD student Huifeng Zhang says in a university release. “Our research adds to the growing body of evidence linking processed meat consumption to increased risk of a range of non-transmissible diseases.”

*NOT EXACTLY SUBTLE – SAUDI OFFICIAL OMINOUSLY THREATENED TO ‘TAKE CARE’ OF UN’S KHASHOGGI INVESTIGATOR:

When you’re being investigated by the United Nations for a brutal murder, it’s probably best not to threaten to kill the person doing the investigating. But, according to Agnès Callamard, the UN special rapporteur who was tasked with investigating Jamal Khashoggi’s slaying at the hands of Saudi government agents, that’s exactly what happened to her. Callamard told The Guardian that, in January 2020, a senior Saudi official threatened to have her “taken care of” if she didn’t stop asking difficult questions. She wasn’t at the meeting, but the comment was made in front of other UN officials at an official event in Geneva. Asked how the comment was perceived by her colleagues, Callamard told the newspaper: “A death threat. That was how it was understood.” Callamard’s report, published in June 2019, concluded that there was “credible evidence” that the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, was behind Khashoggi’s murder, which she deemed to be an “international crime.”

*EXAMINER – SEE IT:

Wolfe Herd, 31, is the youngest woman ever to take a U.S. company public. She is the founder of Bumble.

*EXAMINER – INVESTIGATES:

Laura Scudder created the first modern bag of potato chips in 1953. Previously, they were sold out of wooden barrels or scooped from behind glass counters.

*EXAMINER – MEET: BOBBI BROWN


Airline: Virgin.
Airport: Heathrow.
App: Instagram.
Bag: My old Prada fanny pack.
Bedtime: 9:30 P.M., with my bathrobe on.
Bike: Beach cruiser.
Birthday: Spent in the Bahamas with my posse.
Breakfast, weekday: A chocolate-and-kale protein shake.
Breakfast, weekend: Poached eggs, sourdough toast, and a double espresso.
Car: Range Rover.
Children: My three boys.
Cocktail: Vodka or tequila on the rocks, but not at the same time.
Cocktail appetizer: Sliced cucumber and caviar.
Couple: My aunt Alice and uncle Albert.
Date: Somewhere in Paris with my husband.
Diet: Eating intuitively without processed foods.
Dinner, weekday: Fish, vegetables, a grain, and vodka.
Dinner, weekend: Burger, no bun, fries, and a martini with three olives.

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*EXAMINER – LENS:

An ultra-Orthodox man wears three masks over his face while celebrating Purim amid coronavirus restrictions in Jerusalem. *THINK FREELY – BE INDEPENDENT – MAKE UP YOUR OWN (DAMN) MIND: READ LBN EXAMINER

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*EXAMINER – HEALTH: FOOD PRICES – PRICE IS NOT RIGHT

In February, global food prices rose 2.4% for their ninth straight month of increases. While there’s never a good time for food to get more expensive, one year into a crushing pandemic definitely counts as worst-case.  Adjusted for inflation, prices are at their highest point since 2014. Cereals/grains, vegetable oil, and sugar have especially spiked in recent months (see the chart above from GZERO Media, whose geopolitics newsletter is a favorite among Brew writers). Over the short-term, consumers in wealthier countries typically remain insulated from price increases. But if prices stay inflated, that Aldi receipt may start resembling a Whole Foods haul as companies pass down costs by raising prices, shrinking portions, and cutting back on promotions.  General Mills and Conagra, the parent of brands including Chef Boyardee, have floated price hikes for 2021.  The pandemic pushed an additional 13+ million Americans into food insecurity, but the situation is even worse in the world’s poorest countries. In the past, spikes in food prices have contributed to social unrest (think 2011’s Arab Spring).

*WHO READS LBN EXAMINER?:

  Super-star model and brand spokesperson Emily Ratajkowski, along with 12 members of the White House staff, 3 Nobel Prize winners, over 100 Academy Award winners, 6 U.S. Senators, and over 300 Grammy Award winners.

*EXAMINER – CARTOON:

“I hadn’t finished saying no yet!”

*EXAMINER – A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

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EXAMINER – SPECIAL REPORT: BEHIND THE SCENES OF SUBWAY

In 2008, Subway introduced a tantalizing deal: For just $5, one could purchase any “footlong” (12-inch) sandwich. The promotion was a smash hit with cash-strapped customers during the recession — and its jingle (“five-, five-, five-dollar footlong…”) became the company’s calling card. Within a year, foot traffic skyrocketed across the franchise’s thousands of locations. Revenue from $5 footlongs alone topped $3.8B. It was, according to many industry analysts, one of the most successful promotions in the history of American cuisine. But the deal wasn’t so hot for Subway’s franchisees. Eager to grow at all costs, Subway refused to let the promotion die. As inflation drove up the cost of doing business, the $5 footlong became financially unsustainable for many of the independent entrepreneurs who owned the company’s eateries. This is the story of a promotion gone very right, and then very wrong. But it’s also a parable about the oft-conflicting goals of small business owners and large corporations. The father of the $5 footlong  Twenty years earlier, in 1988, an enterprising fellow named Stuart Frankel bought his first Subway franchise in Miami. A tell-it-like-it-is New Yorker, Frankel had migrated to Florida with his wife in the ‘70s. After stints running a drug store and a video outlet, he decided to try his hand at slinging sandwiches.

Stuart Frankel in the early 2000s

At the time, Subway was a relative newcomer to the scene. LA unched in 1965 by 17-year-old Fred DeLuca, Subway settled on a franchising model in 1974, leasing out the right to use its branding to individual shop owners across the US. By 1988, the business had expanded to 2.2k shops and $360m in annual sales. And like many franchisees, Frankel saw an opportunity to claim a stake in the fast-growing chain. Over the next decade, he built several Subway shops in South Florida, including two near a bustling hospital. Business was good, but he felt he needed some kind of differentiator — a gimmick to take things up a notch. One day in 2003, inspiration struck. “I sat down with my manager and said we’re going to try something different,” he said in a recent interview. “Every Saturday and Sunday, we’re going to sell all our footlongs for $5 each instead of $6.” He slapped up a few crude signs in the window, not expecting much. Within the first 2 weeks, Frankel saw his sales jump from $14k to $23k per week — more than 4x what the average Subway shop brought in. Frankel gradually grew his local empire to 10 Subway shops and implemented his $5 promo at other locations with similar success. Other Subway owners adopted it and saw sales swell by 35% to 50%+. All the while, Frankel kept scrupulous records of the positive impact the deal had on metrics like foot traffic and revenue, which he passed along to corporate. Nobody listened.

But in 2008, the top brass at Subway started to pay attention. After witnessing one shop’s sales double in one day after integrating the $5 footlong promo, a Subway development agent named Steve Sager informed Subway’s execs that it might be worth testing on a national level. Frankel was invited to join the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust (SFAFT) — a board of franchisees who decide what to do with the chain’s ad dollars — and the $5 footlong was brought up for vote. In the meeting, the idea courted serious backlash. “The company was skeptical the $5 footlong could make money,” said Frankel. “To be frank, they thought I was a fucking idiot.” Eventually, the board reluctantly agreed to a pilot test. On March 23, 2008, just a few months before the US economy spiraled into a recession, the $5 footlong made its national debut. $5 footlong mania The promotion came along at the right time for Subway. Over the previous decade, Subway’s marketing team had put all its chips on Jared Fogle — a college kid who claimed to have lost 225 pounds by subsisting on a diet of subs. Fogel and his oversized pants had been an inescapable presence in commercials and ads. But the food business was undergoing a seismic shift toward value. “Cheap food was all people were eating during the recession,” Jonathan Maze, the editor-in-chief of Restaurant Business, told us. “You had a large percentage of the population trading down to lower-end restaurants.” McDonald’s had recently seen massive success with its Dollar Menu, and Subway wanted to switch its national advertising focus to affordability.

After initially testing weekends only, Subway rolled out the $5 footlong promo as an everyday price point at locations across the country. “It pushed Subway to the stratosphere,” Maze said. In the 2008-09 fiscal year alone, the $5 footlong promo generated $3.8B in sales — more than the entire annual revenue of franchises like Arby’s and Domino’s Pizza. For most of Subway’s franchisees, the promo was mutually beneficial. Promotions are typically loss leaders — that is, the promotional item itself is sold at a loss in the hopes that ancillary sales will make up for it. But two things made the $5 footlong financially viable at the time: 1.     Cheaper labor, food costs, and rent in 2008 meant that franchisees could still make a profit on the reduced price. 2.     A huge spike in customer volume during this time offset the thinner margins on the sandwiches. As other restaurants and chains suffered, Subway franchisees saw a 25% average uptick in sales. “All of a sudden, customers who’d pay $3 for a 6-inch were paying $5 for a footlong,” said Frankel. “Traffic went up, sales went up, profits went up.”

While the $5 footlong promotion was only intended to be temporary, Subway execs began to question whether they should ever phase it out. As months of boosted metrics continued, Tony Pace, the company’s ex-marketing head, was insistent on running it “as long as it made economic sense.” “If you had a brand that represented nearly $4B in sales,” he told BusinessWeek in 2009, “would you plan an exit strategy for it?” The promotion stayed put for several years in various forms. But in the background of the $5 footlong’s runaway success, bigger problems were brewing at the sandwich giant. A footlong of discontent For years, Subway had doubled down on expanding its footprint, encouraging new franchisees — largely recent immigrants enticed by the chain’s relatively low franchise startup cost — to open some 5k new stores. Touting an “anywhere and everywhere” approach, Subway soon overtook McDonald’s as America’s largest restaurant chain. Subway restaurants popped up at gas stations, truck stops, and even churches. And Subway’s development agents — the folks tasked with this expansion — often opened up new stores too close to each other, cannibalizing franchisee’s profits. “If you’ve ever noticed 2 Subways seemingly next door to each other, the reason is because Subway is happy to get 2x the exposure until one goes out of business,” said Kenny Rose, the CEO of the franchise investing firm FranShares. To understand why this is the case, it’s important to take a quick step back here and explain Subway’s business model.

For franchisees, Subway is appealing in that it boasts the lowest relative entry cost of any major franchise: The average total investment to launch one only runs $140k to $342k, compared to $1.3m to $2.2m for a McDonald’s. In return, Subway makes money from taking an industry-leading 12.5% cut of its franchisees’ weekly gross sales. Expanding the number of stores at all costs drove up overall gross sales in the short term, but it proved to be detrimental to independent operators. Coupled with the rising costs of rent, labor, and food, the increased local competition made the $5 footlong untenable for many franchisees. Around 2012, Subway quietly phased out the promotion, and footlong subs returned to a $6 price point. But the saga didn’t end there For nearly 5 years, Subway abandoned the $5 footlong campaign. And in the interim, a series of unrelated issues hampered business: · In 2013, an Australian teenager launched an international uproar when he measured a footlong sandwich at just 11 inches; a class-action false advertising lawsuit ensued, resulting in an eventual $525k settlement and weeks of bad press. · In 2015, Jared Fogle — the company’s long-time spokesman, was sentenced to 15.5 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography. · In 2016, the company posted a net decline in locations for the first time in its 40+-year franchising history. Subway’s overzealous expansion strategy — and increased competition from Jimmy John’s and Jersey Mike’s — led to massive store closures, falling profits, and a 25% decline in foot traffic. So, the company resurrected its famous promotion. In 2017, the $5 footlong made an unexpected comeback in the form of a $4.99 deal.  This decision was met with uproar from franchise owners, who claimed the promo made it impossible to make a profit. The unit economics proved their case: Even the cheapest option, the turkey sub, barely broke even.

In the face of opposition, Subway discontinued the offer in 2018. But less than 2 years later, it was back on tap again. In January of 2020, Subway hired former Burger King CEO John Chidsey, who’d previously led efforts on a $1 double cheeseburger promotion at Burger King. During a time when many franchisees saw a 40-80% decrease in sales due to COVID-19, the promo was reinvented again — this time, as a $10 deal for 2 footlongs. Though Subway didn’t force its franchisees to participate, many felt pressured to do so, since the chain’s contract stipulates that an agreement can be terminated for nearly any reason. “There was — and still is — a lot of retaliation for not stepping in line,” one long-time Subway owner, who asked to remain anonymous, saud. “You’re allowed to do what you want, but there are consequences if they think you’re hurting the brand.” Nonetheless, some franchisees revolted, filing a complaint with the FTC that they were being “bullied into honoring a promotion that is unprofitable.”

Just 2 weeks into the planned 11-week promotion, the $5 footlong was laid to rest for a third time. For Subway, it was the cap to a terrible year: In 2020, the ailing franchise closed an estimated 10% of its 22k units, drawing questions about the long-term future of its operations. Since 2012, Subway owners have seen their average annual sales dip from $482k to $417k per store — a significant decline in what is already a slim-margin business. Will the $5 footlong return again? Hustle’s requests to comment on this story. But Maze, of Restaurant Business, seems to be bullish on the prospect. “That thing is never going to die,” he said. “It’s going to come back in some different form, at some point in time.” Frankel has a different take. “There’s no way in hell they bring it back,” he said. “It’s done.” The father of the $5 footlong, now 70, says the only recognition he ever got from the sandwich chain for his $3.8B innovation was a plaque from corporate thanking him for his service. He’s since sold all but one of his Subway shops — and he’s long since abandoned the idea that made him famous in franchisee circles. “I haven’t accepted a $5 footlong coupon in 6 years,” he said. “We have a sign in the window telling people we don’t do it anymore.”

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*EXAMINER – A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

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*GOLDMAN SACHS CEO USED COMPANY JET FOR PANDEMIC GATEWAYS:

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon pushed to get the power bank’s employees back in the office during the height of the pandemic, but spent his time jetting off to the Bahamas seven times in seven weeks on the company jet. Solomon famously called remote working an “aberration” and pushed to buck New York City lockdown measures until top executives talked him down, according to the report. All the while, he jetted off to the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and Montana at a time when Americans were restricted from traveling due to the rapid spread of COVID-19.

Bloomberg suggested that Solomon’s lack of regard for the safety of his associates led to the rapid departure of three of his key team members in recent months and frustration within the financial institution known for discretion. Bloomberg further reported that while the pandemic “unleashed a windfall for Wall Street” and that Goldman’s revenue jumped 22 percent last year, the debate is stirring over Solomon’s leadership style.

*NEARLY EVERY OLDER AMERICAN IS BEING PRESCRIBED MEDICATIONS THAT CAN CAUSE A FALL:

The “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” commercial created a famous catchphrase in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Now, a new study finds far too many falls among the elderly could very well be due to the medications they’re taking. Researchers from the University of Buffalo report that nearly every older American over 65 years-old (94%) was prescribed at least one drug that raised their risk of falling in 2017. That’s a big increase in comparison to 1999, when 57 percent of older adults received these types of medications. Troublingly, death rates due to falls more than doubled between 1999 and 2017. Of course, just because a fall doesn’t kill an individual, that doesn’t mean there isn’t lasting damage. Especially among the elderly, a momentary loss of balance can result in any number of serious injuries. Hip fractures are a particularly life-threatening injury for seniors.

According to the CDC, Americans spend close to $50 billion each year on fall-related injuries. “Our study indicates two trends increasing concurrently at a population level that should be examined at the individual level. Our hope is it will start more conversations on health care teams about the pros and cons of medications prescribed for vulnerable populations,” says Amy Shaver, PharmD, lead investigator and postdoctoral associate in the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions, in a university release.

*ICE KEEPS RELEASING DETAINEES WITH POSITIVE CORONAVIRUS TESTS:

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are repeatedly releasing detainees who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, according to a report. In one example, an asylum-seeker from Cameroon was driven from immigration detention to a bus station in the California border city of Calexico and, when volunteers greeted him and offered help, he told them he had been diagnosed with COVID-19. The next day, a Cuban man was dropped off who had also just tested positive. Immigration advocates told the Post that it’s right that detainees with the virus should be released to get medical care, but said it’s reckless to release them into the public without providing help. “It’s reprehensible,” Jules Kramer, chief of operations at the Minority Humanitarian Foundation, told the Post. “It’s a threat to public safety. It’s a threat to our asylum-seekers. It’s a threat to the people on the ground helping.” In a statement, ICE spokeswoman Paige Hughes said: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is firmly committed to the health and welfare of all those in its custody… In these particular instances, ICE had no legal authority to continue detention for the individuals referenced.”

*PETER PANNED – DISNEY+ PULLS ICONIC MOVIES DUMBO, THE ARISTOCRATS, AND PETER PAN FROM KIDS SECTION FOR ‘RACIST’ STEREOTYPES:

Disney+ has stripped its children’s movie selection of classic movies like Dumbo, The Aristocats, and Peter Pan because of their “racist” stereotypes. Settings on the streaming site’s app will deter children from watching the once-loved, now controversial, titles. On the “Stories Matter” section of their website, Disney explained why each iconic movie was being pulled. For Dumbo they explained that “the crows and musical number pay homage to racist minstrel shows, where white performers with blackened faces and tattered clothing imitated and ridiculed enslaved Africans on Southern plantations.  “The leader of the group in Dumbo is Jim Crow, which shares the name of laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.” And for Peter Pan they stated that “the film portrays Native people in a stereotypical manner that reflects neither the diversity of Native peoples nor their authentic cultural traditions.  “It shows them speaking in an unintelligible language and repeatedly refers to them as ‘redskins,’ an offensive term. 

*MOST AMERICANS HAD UNWANTED WEIGHT CHANGES DURING STRESS OF PANDEMIC:

If you’ve struggled to cope during the past year, here’s some hard proof that you’re far from alone. The American Psychological Association released a new survey Thursday—a year to the day since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic—that illustrates the enormous stress everyone has been under, and its impact on our health. Some 61 percent of respondents to an online poll said their weight had fluctuated over the past year, with 42 percent saying they’d gained more weight than they wanted to—almost 30 pounds on average.

Ten percent of respondents reported gains of more than 50 pounds. Nearly 25 percent of survey-takers said they’d been drinking more than usual during the pandemic—a figure that more than doubled to 52 percent among parents with children in early elementary school. “When stressors go up, there are changes in behavior that affect our bodies,” said Scott Bea, a psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic. “I think those effects are going to last for some time.”

*YOU ACTUALLY CAN BS A BS’ER PEOPLE WHO OFTEN FOOL OTHERS MOST LIKELY TO GET DUPED THEMSELVES:

People who frequently exaggerate and distort the truth — or peddle in “BS” — often think they won’t fall for the same stunt from someone else. According to a new study, it turns out these “BSers” aren’t so savvy after all. In fact, Canadian researchers say a “BS artist” is actually the most likely person to be fooled by misleading information. A team from the University of Waterloo finds those who regularly try to impress or influence others using misleading, impressive-sounding misinformation frequently buy in to the same junk they sell to others. These individuals displayed an inability to distinguish between scientifically accurate facts and impressive-but-meaningless fiction. Study authors add the typical BSer is also likely to fall victim to fake news headlines. “It probably seems intuitive to believe that you can’t bullshit a bullshitter, but our research suggests that this isn’t actually the case,” says lead author and cognitive psychology PhD candidate Shane Littrell in a university release. “In fact, it appears that the biggest purveyors of persuasive bullshit are ironically some of the ones most likely to fall for it.”

Study authors consider BS to be information someone uses to impress or mislead others with little regard for the truth. The team notes there is also types of BS people use in their conversations with others — persuasive and evasive. Persuasive BS makes use of exaggerations and embellishments — the “big fish” story — to impress others or help someone fit in. Evasive BS on the other hand uses irrelevant or evasive comments in situations where a blunt answer will likely hurt someone’s feelings.

*WHAT’S WRONG WITH TEMPORARY FILLERS?

“After one or more botched nose jobs — or even as a substitute, if appropriate — for rhinoplasty or revision rhinoplasty, the ‘temps’ don’t get an A grade”, notes Dr. Robert Kotler, the most experienced permanent injector in the US. “It’s a life-time and expensive sentence. ‘Filler Prison’,” one patient dubbed it. “Temps are OK for cheeks and lips, but for the nose, a different territory with unique anatomy, not the best option. Better answer? The only permanent filler, medical grade liquid silicone; trade name, Silikon-1000.”

With over 40 years’ experience improving over 6000 noses, Kotler listed the pluses:

• Safe. FDA-approved. Over 50-year successful track record.
• Less time, less lifetime cost than temps. 3-4 sessions and done.
• May be appropriate substitute for primary rhinoplasty or revision rhinoplasty.
• Tiny-needle, micro-droplet, high- magnification technique can conquer major and minor imperfections.

To see the result, the Kotler Saline Demo is offered. Sterile saline solution is injected and mirror-in-hand, the patient sees the end result. A “test drive”; a “road test”.

*FROM PUGLIA TO HOLLYWOOD – WESHORT: ALESSANDRO LOPRIENO’S STARTUP FOR SHORT CINEMA:

The last two years have been utterly special. I have met such interesting people, among which Hollywood innovators who are trying to improve the world of cinema, and they have inspired to step up. I’ve had two years of exchanging emails, phone calls, chats about cinema, finance and technology with the same producers who financed Oscar-winning films and other masterpieces by world-renowned Directors. I remember very well a year ago, just about before the night of the Oscars, they told me “Alex, Hollywood loves Italy”. Hearing it made me quite excited. Also, I felt like I was somehow part of it all. It was like touching a dream with my very own hands. A dream that I have had hidden in my drawer since I was a child. Only those who have a big dream, which they carry in the hearts with so much passion and resilience, can understand me.

This gave me courage to kickstart my startup company, which is based in a charming seaside town north of Bari, Bisceglie (Puglia) the city where I was born and raised, and which I re-embraced after an interlude of life abroad. I believe that Puglia is a wonderful Italian region, so I have decided to trace the coordinates of my future by placing the headquarter of a project that already has a clear international reference, in my native land.

“The Netflix of Short Films”, as it was defined by one of the first people I told my idea of WeShort to. I have embraced this definition dearly, not only because I’ve felt honored by this comparison, but also because we have great ambitions, although we are just newborn startup. WeShort is community, union, interaction and action based, that’s why the “We”, which goes beyond many individualistic and niche concepts. My passion as a child was cinema. A passion transmitted by my uncle, with whom I have watched hundreds of films since my childhood. At first, I discovered the genres that make up my cinematographic taste today, from Kubrick to Tarantino, passing through Godard, Lynch and Fellini, which are the most popular names for a cinephile. Then I have discovered an incredible interest in short films, and I wondered: why don’t people watch short films every day? From that moment, the idea of WeShort was born. An idea that is also the result of my relationships with people from the world of finance, marketing and technology. An idea that preserves a romanticism towards cinema, but embraces it with the intent of business at the same time.

IN SHORT WE TRUST

I invite you to rediscover the world of short films with WeShort, the new On Demand platform entirely dedicated to short films. From now on, even with 5 minutes of time available, you can have great cinema at your fingertips. On March 21, 2021 we launch the premiere. You are invited by me personally, and by all the WeShort’s staff. You’ll receive the gift of 14-day free trial to discover the incredible world of short films. To receive the invitation, just fill out the form on our website, or request it directly through our social pages.

https://weshort.com/app/main?l=en

*EXAMINER – INVESTIGATES:

Approximately 63% of youth suicides in the U.S. are kids who live in a home without a father.

*EXAMINER – LENS:

Alina, Vicki, Joe, and Valerie Darger near their home, in Herriman, Utah. Joe says that getting bigamy decriminalized in the state involved a “three-prong approach—legislative, legal, and public relations.”

WHAT’S UP? BY SARAH GARCIA:

The TV ratings are in for the NBA All-Star Game, and the numbers are brutal. According to Anthony Crupi, the game averaged a pathetic 5.94 million viewers on TNT. Just how bad are those numbers? It’s a record low. It really does seem like a lot of fans have just given up on the NBA. It’s not hard to see why. The league went from being about winning games to lecturing America about politics. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver himself has admitted that fans don’t want to see it.  

*EXAMINER – HEALTH: 42% OF AMERICANS CONSIDER THEMSELVES GERMAPHOBES BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC

Nearly half of Americans feel that no matter how often they wash their hands, it’s never enough during COVID-19, according to a new survey. Despite the results however, researchers find constantly stressing over safety is getting old fast as the world enters year two of the pandemic. The poll asked 2,000 Americans to reflect on the past 12 months to analyze their hygiene habits. Even though 90 percent of respondents say they are aware of the CDC’s guidance on washing hands for 20 seconds, 41 percent admit it’s starting to get tiresome. Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of American Water, the survey analyzed how respondents are practicing hygiene as quarantines, lockdowns, and social distancing drags in to 2021.

It may come as no surprise that the pandemic is a frustrating subject for three-quarters of respondents. More specifically, 65 percent have had it with people not taking the crisis seriously enough so it can end. Forty-two percent of the survey now describe themselves as a germaphobe because of the pandemic. Of these respondents, 79 percent agree that this change isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The top habits respondents are doing to stay safe include carrying hand sanitizer at all times, immediately washing their hands for a full 20 seconds after being outside, and avoiding contact with public surfaces at all costs. With frequent hand washing being a key part of fighting COVID-19, the survey also looked at how frequently people are doing this. Researchers discovered the average American washes their hands nine times a day. Nearly one in five (18%) wash upwards of 15 times a day.

*EXAMINER – BUSINESS:

Tinder, along with its parent company Match Group, is working with a non-profit called Garbo to help customers find out if their potential dating partner has a criminal record. Most people know very little about the person they have just met online. Garbo allows people to find out whether someone they are interacting with has a criminal record or other court actions, such as a restraining order.*ENOUGH IS ENOUGH – ENOUGH BIAS, ENOUGH SPIN, ENOUGH SLANT!
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*EXAMINER – CARTOON:




*WHO READS LBN EXAMINER?:

Super-model and author, Christy Turlington, with along with 12 members of the White House staff, 3 Nobel Prize winners, over 100 Academy Award winners, 6 U.S. Senators, and over 300 Grammy Award winners.

*EXAMINER – A DIFFERENT VIEW:….

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