U.S. health insurers to pay $330 million in premium rebates

Source: Reuters

U.S. health insurers will send out about $330 million in rebates to employers and individuals this summer under President Barack Obama's healthcare law, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Thursday.

The law, often called Obamacare, requires insurance companies to refund customers when they spend less than 80 percent or 85 percent of healthcare premiums they collect for medical care.

The rebates will go to about 6.8 million people and have a value of about $80 per family. They are to be sent by Aug. 1 either directly to consumers or to the employer providing the health coverage, who is required to pass the savings onto employees, the agency said in a report.

The total rebate figure is less than last year, when the insurers were told to send out $500 million under the law. The decline is a trend that the government said shows that more insurers are charging lower premiums than they would have if the law was not passed.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/24/us-usa-healthcare-insurance-idUSKBN0FT09F20140724

The Sun Is Eerily Quiet, And Scientists Aren't Sure Why

Just a few weeks back the Sun was peppered with sunspots- dark areas stretching thousands of kilometers across that come and go. This was hardly surprising given that it is currently in the middle of its solar maximum- the most active period in the Sun’s 11-year cycle. But in an image taken last Thursday by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory there was not a spot in sight. A day later, one lonely sunspot seemed to be making an appearance, and scientists aren’t quite sure why the Sun is displaying this peculiarly quiet behavior.

According to solar physicist Tony Phillips, while this observation is out of the ordinary, the solar maximum we are currently experiencing is the weakest one for a century.

“It’s weird, but it’s not super weird,” Phillips told LA Times. “It all underlines that solar physicists really don’t know what the heck is happening on the Sun. We just don’t know how to predict the Sun, that is the take away message of this event.”

Sunspots are caused by extremely strong magnetic fields that cause magnetic pressure to increase in an area while the surrounding atmospheric pressure decreases. This then causes a slight drop in temperature as the concentrated magnetic field prevents hot gas flowing from the Sun’s interior to the surface. Sunspots often occur in pairs with the magnetic field pouring out of one and entering the other.


Read more at http://www.iflscience.com/space/sun-eerily-quiet-and-scientists-arent-sure-why

How to Make Your Dog Jealous

By Alex B. Berezow

My best friend from childhood had two beautiful dogs, a German shepherd named Sari and an Australian shepherd named Chloe. Living on a large pasture in the Midwestern countryside, the dogs were both mellow and incredibly well-behaved... that is, until my friend and I decided to mess with them. No, we didn't engage in dog shaming (see photo above); instead, we did something much more ruthless.

Sari, the German shepherd, had a bit of a jealous side. Even if she had been petted first, Sari had a strict zero tolerance policy toward affection for Chloe. She simply could not tolerate bearing witness to Chloe being petted. If she saw it, she would try to wedge herself into the situation and steal attention from Chloe. Realizing the mischief we could make, my friend and I would simultaneously pet Chloe -- complete with ostentatious adulation -- causing Sari to go ballistic. She would whine and bark and bite at Chloe. On at least one occasion, we instigated a fight.

Cruel? Yes. But, little did we know that, scientifically, we were way ahead of our time. A new study in PLoS ONE has confirmed the existence of jealousy in dogs. And the authors' methods were frighteningly similar to ours.

The team recruited 36 dogs and their owners. The owners were told to ignore their own dog while they (1) played with a stuffed toy dog that barked and wagged its tail; (2) played with a jack-o-lantern as if it were a dog; and (3) read aloud from a children's book. Conditions #2 and #3 served as controls. Condition #2 determined if simply showing affection to anything other than the dog elicited a jealous response; Condition #3 examined if ignoring the dog caused jealousy. The dogs were videotaped, and their behavior was assessed:



more

http://www.realclearscience.com/journal_club/2014/07/23/how_to_make_your_dog_jealous_108754.html

Tracks found in B.C. suggest tyrannosaurs hunted in packs

It may be the first known case of a family that preyed together.

At a remote cliffside in eastern British Columbia, a team of scientists has uncovered the preserved footprints of three tyrannosaurs – large meat-eating dinosaurs – all heading in the same direction.

Because the prints were made under similar conditions, researchers say, there’s a good chance the creatures were walking together, a sight that would surely strike fear in any time traveller that happened on the scene.

The find marks the first time the footprints of more than one tyrannosaur have been found in close proximity and it suggests that the most fearsome predators of all time were social rather than solitary creatures.

more
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/tracks-found-in-bc-suggest-tyrannosaurs-hunted-in-packs/article19722824/

That had to be the most terrifying sight ever!

Luckovich Toon- "I'm Not Crazy"

The hoppiest Beer

Top 24 Waterfalls Around The Globe

Baatara gorge waterfall Lebanon


Blanche, Cascade, Reunion



The Kuang Si Falls, Laos



the rest

http://inspiremore.com/the-24-most-incredible-waterfalls-all-around-the-world/

The 19 Most Heartfelt And Inspiring “Humans of New York” Portraits From The Last 4 Years.

by Hunter Stensrud


“Humans of New York,” also known as HONY, is the name of one of the most popular Facebook pages in the world. In the unlikely case that you have not, please allow me to properly introduce the two of you–HONY, meet reader. Reader, HONY.

HONY’s creator and chief story teller is the always energetic and amiable Brandon Stanton. After losing his job trading bonds in Chicago in 2010, Stanton decided to pack up his things, move to New York City, and take portraits of total strangers. His mom wasn’t exactly thrilled by this decision, but I (and nearly 8 million others) am so thankful that he took the risk.

The concept is simple: Stanton meanders the streets and parks of New York City and photographs people who interest him. While shooting his subjects, he asks pointed questions about their life. The end product is a beautiful and intimate portrait of the humans who make up New York. Below you’ll discover what I find to be the most inspiring and hopeful portraits from the last four years of Stanton’s work.







more

http://inspiremore.com/the-19-most-heartfelt-and-inspiring-humans-of-new-york-portraits-from-the-last-4-years/

U.S. swaps regulator O'Malia to head bank lobby group

(Reuters) - A member of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will become the new head of a bank lobby group that is fighting the derivatives regulator in court over a crucial new rule curtailing Wall Street.

The International Swaps and Derivatives Association said on Wednesday that Scott O'Malia, a Republican who often voted against new CFTC policy in the wake of the financial crisis, will become the trade group's next chief executive.

O'Malia will start his new job as of Aug. 18, ISDA said. The news came only days after O'Malia said he planned to leave the CFTC as of Aug. 8.

ISDA is one of three banking groups that sued the CFTC in December, hoping to beat back tough trading guidelines for U.S. companies doing business overseas, which they fear could hurt markets and cut profits.

more

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/23/us-regulator-derivatives-swaps-idUSKBN0FS1FW20140723

Revolving door....

Sierra Leone's chief Ebola doctor contracts the virus

Source: Reuters

The head doctor fighting the deadly tropical virus Ebola in Sierra Leone has himself caught the disease, the government said.

The 39-year-old Sheik Umar Khan, hailed as a "national hero" by the health ministry, was leading the fight to control an outbreak that has killed 206 people in the West African country. Ebola kills up to 90 percent of those infected and there is no cure or vaccine.

Across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, more than 600 people have died from the illness, according to the World Health Organisation, placing great strain on the health systems of some of Africa's poorest countries.

Khan, a Sierra Leonean virologist credited with treating more than 100 Ebola victims, has been transferred to a treatment ward run by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, according to the statement released late on Tuesday by the president's office.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/23/uk-health-ebola-africa-idINKBN0FS11520140723