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People have been fantasizing about drone delivery programs for a long time and it looks like it’s finally happening.

According to Packaging Digest, Google, Amazon, Walmart and plenty more organizations are working toward aerial drone delivery programs. Imagine ordering an item online and receiving it in 30 minutes, rather than waiting a few days. Even in today’s immediate world, drones could speed up the immediacy.

In a Walker Sands Communications 2016 Survey, 79% of respondents stated that they would be either “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to request delivery by drone if it meant faster delivery speeds. These 1,433 respondents believe we will soon be living in this drone-delivered world, as 26% expect drone delivery to be available in the next two years and 30% believing this technology will be available in the next five years.

E-commerce websites like Etsy, which has over 250,000 active users at any moment and more than 2 million new listings each month, will benefit from having yet another delivery option available for their customers. Roughly 73% of Walker Sands’ survey respondents admitted that they would pay up to $10 for drone shipping if it was available.

“What is it that a bike messenger can’t do, a delivery truck can’t do, FedEx can’t do?” asked Frank Ketcham, CEO and founder of Senord Technologies, which uses aerial drones to inspect infrastructure and properties. Ketcham is skeptical about the benefit of drones in the packaging deliver industry because the items that would be delivered aren’t necessarily needed immediately.

“There’s a very small segment where delivering by drone really makes sense,” added Ketcham. “It’s getting medications to people that are in remote areas — getting the serum to the dying baby.”

Flirtey, a Reno, Nevada, drone-delivery startup company, has already completed demonstrations of delivering medical items to those in need. Working along with Johns Hopkins, they transported medical supplies and bio-samples between an area of New Jersey and an offshore barge.

The New York Times reports that autonomous drones flying through the air could still be a few years off because of social issues and regulations, but it’s still much closer than self-driving cars, which many companies believe could soon come to fruition.

“It’s a vastly easier problem — flying than driving,” said Keller Rinaudo, co-founder of Zipline, another drone-delivery startup company that plans on delivering medical goods to Rwanda over the next few months. “If we had regulatory permission, we’d be delivering to your house right now.”

Despite a few glitches, social problems and laws and regulations to hurdle, it’s no doubt that drone delivery can soon change the way business is done and how the world operates.

The ongoing battle against Malaria continues, but scientists are getting closer to a potential cure.


According to Quartz, scientists at the University of Cape Town’s Drug Discovery and Development Centre (H3D), along with the help of Medicines for Malaria Venture, have discovered a new anti-malaria compound. This has “the potential for both treatment and prevention of malaria,” said H3D researches.


The compound, known as UCT943, is currently being developed in labs. H3D drug center selected the MMV390048 compound for assessment in 2012, but researchers believe that this new discovery may be more effective against the malaria parasite, as well as being easier to produce.


Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine reports that since 2000, the rate of malaria infections across Africa have been cut in half. Efforts to fight this disease have certainly increased, but there is still a long way to go. H3D researchers hope this new compound can speed up the process and eventually lead to a cure.


“It is very important to build a pipeline of candidate drugs, as there are no guarantees,” said Kelly Chibale, H3D director. “Even if MMV390048 makes it [onto the market], it is only a matter of time before resistance develops, and we will need backups.”


Business Day Live reports that the preclinical assessment of the new compound — UCT943 — would take about 18 months. After that, the next stage would be a phase 1 clinical trial.


Having these two compounds in the works provides plenty of optimism around the health industry. Even if these two aren’t going to completely solve the problem, this research could soon lead to it.


“Delivering two preclinical candidates within five years is an outstanding record by international standards, especially for a drug discovery centre at an academic institution,” said Max Price, University of Cape Town vice-chancellor. “The value of a second candidate signals that the first compound was not a one-off, but part of a sustained and systematic programme.”

Approximately 35% of construction site injuries and 14% of construction site deaths are caused by machine-related accidents, but job sites could be getting a lot safer in the not-so-distant future.

The use of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) will allow temporary structures often used on construction sites to be monitored and assessed for any potential safety hazards that they may possess.

The National Science Foundation defines CPS as engineered systems that are built from, and depend on, the seamless integration of computational algorithms and physical components.

The agency hopes that these systems will be the driving and enabling force in capability, adaptability, resiliency, safety, and security on construction sites around the world.

A recent study by Xiao Yuan, an architectural engineering Ph.D. candidate, focused on enhancing these systems and their monitoring capabilities.

Yuan’s study investigated how linking sensors to structures and virtual models could better ensure the safety of over 75% of construction workers who work on or around temporary structures, which may include sheeting and shoring, temporary bracing or guide rails, soil backfill, formwork systems, scaffolding, and countless other hazards.

Although countless safety advances have been made in construction, it doesn’t mean that injuries are non-existent.

Junior Strickland is still recovering from injuries that he sustained in June when he fell two stories to the ground.

“Workers told us that one of their workers with Wise Construction Company was on the roof using a jackhammer to break loose some concrete. They were trying to open up the building … the concrete collapsed underneath him. He … fell down to the ground floor,” said Chattanooga Fire Department Spokesperson Bruce Garner.

Strickland suffered several broken ribs and severe injuries to the head, spine and leg, all of which required multiple surgeries.

OSHA contacted Strickland to inquire about his injuries and the safety measures put in place at the time of the accident.

“They said we were supposed to have safety harnesses and stuff like that on. We should have had safety gear and a safety net. That’s what the [OSHA] guy told me. He said that’s what we should have been wearing. We had none of that,” Strickland said.

Although OSHA-required safety training programs, safety practices, and regulations have been put in place to address the alarming number of deaths and injuries on construction sites, continued advancement and research into innovative safety is needed.

Workers’ compensation laws are changing around the country to better protect American workers.

The U.S. Supreme Court is now reviewing Florida’s workers’ comp system after permanent partial disability benefits were cut by the state in an effort to save money.

According to Insurance Business America, the Supreme Court unanimously decided in 2015 not to review the 2003 case of Daniel Stahl v. Hialeah Hospital, in which Stahl injured his back while on the job, an injury leading to the end of his career because of his worsening conditions.

“It looks like it has become a very meager amount of compensation for an injured worker,” said Justice Barbara Pariente, “and it’s hard to deny that what’s happened over the last 50 years has not been a diminution in workers’ compensation benefits.”

The National Academy of Social Insurance reports that workers’ comp should pay 100% of the medical expenses for injured workers from the day of the injury. There should also be cash benefits for any lost wages after a three to seven day waiting period.

In Stahl’s case, he was forced to file a civil lawsuit against the hospital that alleged the medical facility had been negligent in causing his injury and that the state’s workers’ comp program was an “inadequate exclusive remedy” for workers who suffered injuries on the job.

In New York, the Workers’ Compensation Board agreed to enter into an alliance with U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

WorkersCompensation.com reports that Wage and Hour Division, New York State’s workers’ comp board, entered into a collaborative alliance relationship with OSHA. The organizations expect the agreement to promote employers’ compliance with new and existing laws administrated by each administration.

Some elements of the new deal include providing employees and employers with information regarding compliance assistance, cross-training of both agencies’ staff, sharing valuable and appropriate information when necessary and working together to conduct joint investigations when needed.

“Our agencies share a common purpose of helping ensure proper working conditions and benefits for workers in New York,” said Robert Kulick, OSHA Regional Administrator. “Working together and sharing resources to achieve that common purpose makes sense.”

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Foreign Agricultural Service’s Global Agricultural Information Network recently released a report detailing Russia’s biofuels industry, offering some good news.

Biomass pellets are used as a heating source and the use of this fuel in industrial and residential applications including boilers, pellet stoves and other wood-fired equipment has increased significantly over the last few years.

Russia is one of the leading oil and gas exporters and producers in the world and biofuels make up five percent of its entire heating energy. BioMassMagazine reports that one of Russia’s main sources of energy, the burning of wood pellets, will continue to grow.

The wood pellet industry has significantly grown over the last few years and that trend looks like it will continue. In North America, the wood pellet demand is projected to exceed 5 million metric tons by 2025. In Russia, according to Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), wood pellet production is expected to increase by 8 million metric tons by 2025.

Along with the increased demand from Asian and European markets, Russia’s local consumption of wood pellets has contributed to the energy growth as well.

“Given the current economic situation,” read the USDA report, “the number of smaller-capacity facilities is forecast to increase because they have more mobility in sourcing ray materials and can easily market their production locally.”

According to WhaTech, biomass energy’s recent spike in popularity is because of the overall ease of use and unconstructed timeframe. Energy sources like wind and solar power are only available at certain times and are dependent on weather. The energy that’s extracted from wood pellets can be continuously available and is not affected by other external factors such as renewable energy and weather conditions.

Russia’s goal is to become 40% more energy efficient by 2020 and the overall value of the global pellet industry is expected to reach $8.3 billion USD by that time.

In an effort to provide in depth and around-the-clock coverage of both the Republican National Convention (July 18-21 in Cleveland) and the Democratic National Convention (July 25-28 in Philadelphia), ABC News and Facebook have announced a partnership that promises audiences a revolutionary experience in social media news coverage.

The deal grants ABC News exclusive real-time data and user-generated content from Facebook to utilize as part of its 24-hour live convention coverage, which will be available for streaming on the news site’s Facebook page. Reporters covering everything from speeches to protests throughout the duration of each convention will be able to incorporate user comments or questions as part of the correspondence.

“Our livestream strategy is all about bringing users a wide variety of unique moments they may not otherwise see on television,” says vice president of digital for ABC News, Colby Smith. “For the conventions in particular, Facebook Live is the perfect platform to reach and engage with our audience, delivering a 360-degree perspective of what’s happening on the ground.”

For its part, Facebook describes the tactic as “innovative” and demonstrates the power of social media to circulate content at speeds previously unimaginable. As Todd Spangler writes for Variety, it “underscores how critical social media has become for traditional news orgs to reach audiences.” Companies of all types must increasingly use social media like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to appeal to consumers, generate traffic, and increase brand awareness.

While other networks, including PBS, C-SPAN, and Fusion all plan to similarly use Facebook Live’s streaming capacity to deliver content, the official collaboration with Facebook gives ABC News a competitive advantage while bolstering the social media company’s profile as well.

“With this partnership,” says Andy Mitchell, Facebook’s director of news and global media partnerships, “Facebook will further solidify itself as the place where people across the political spectrum come to connect with their friends and family and watch democracy in action.”

Home prices are rising, but student debt isn’t falling, and it’s having a very real effect on the housing market. Weaker traffic at open houses and reluctance to take on a mortgage is manifesting as millennials worry about their student debt burdens.

A new study from the National Association of REALTORS shows that while 75% of Americans still think it’s a good time to buy a house, about half of those surveyed who also had student loan debt said that they were uncomfortable taking on a mortgage.

In the survey, about 62% of current renters said that they thought that now was a good time to buy, which is down from 68% last quarter, in December 2015.

NAR’s chief economist, Lawrence Yun, said that the survey highlights the ongoing gap in confidence between current homeowners and current renters: “Existing-home prices surpassed their all-time peak this spring and have climbed on average over 5 percent nationally through the first five months of the year and even faster in areas with severe supply shortages,” he said.

Yun went to explain that, “Most homeowners appear to realize that if they’re ready to sell, they’ll likely find a buyer rather quickly and be able to use the sizable equity they’ve accumulated in recent years towards their next home purchase. Meanwhile, renters interested in buying continue to face minimal choices, strong competition and home prices growing faster than their incomes.”

The national student loan burden doesn’t just affect potential home buyers — statistics have shown that about 15,000 of bankruptcies every year are caused by student loan burden. As millennials age and more of them enter the home market, the true price of their loans on the national housing economy may become apparent.

Only 13% of young adults — ages 18 to 24 — have ever owned a photo album. That doesn’t mean they aren’t taking photos, however, as nearly 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day. According to Zephoria, 50% of all 18 to 24 year olds go on Facebook as soon as they wake up in the morning, or more realistically, late afternoon.

These almost two billion Facebook users have seldom complained about the photo album features on Facebook, but that could all change.

The Verge reports that Facebook is threatening to delete photos that were synched to Facebook via mobile device and stored in a private photo album.

The only way to stop Facebook from deleting your photos? Download their app, Moments, Facebook’s own photo-sharing app. Here is Facebook’s recent statement on the matter:

“Photos you privately synced from your phone to Facebook will be deleted soon. Earlier this year, they were moved to Moments, a new app from Facebook. If you want to keep these photos, download and log into Moments before July 7. If you don’t want Moments, download these photos directly to your computer from your Facebook profile before July 7.”

According to The Guardian, this move should come as no surprise because of the similar action Facebook took with its Messenger app. Facebook removed chat from the main app and forced users to install the specific Messenger app — which increased the app to more than 900 million users.

KKTV reports that the Moments app has been around for one year and allows for users to send images to their Facebook friends. Despite the app being around for a year, Facebook has utilized the technology since 2012. Facebook could continue to seamlessly store these photos, like they could have continued to support Messenger on the Facebook app, but they are hoping to force people to downtown the app and turn Moments into another one of the most popular apps.

Some densely packed beaches in New Jersey see more than 1.5 million visitors in a single day, which makes them an ideal spot for banner messages on airplanes. Yet over the holiday weekend, many of those beach-goers saw a different type of aerial advertisement — this one of a political nature.

Airplanes fly banners over beaches all the time, but rarely do they call out politicians on their social issues. According to The Huffington Post, a New Jersey congressman was the subject of the most recent aerial message over the Jersey Shore.

Republican congressman Scott Garrett has told his followers that his party will not support gay candidates. The Democratic group House Majority Political Action Committee’s rebuttal to the New Jersey congressman’s remarks was to fly a plane with a banner that read “SCOTT GARRETT: ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY WON’T FLY” over the state’s most popular beaches.

The banner also encouraged people to visit GarrettBigotry.com, a new anti-Garrett website.

Politico reports that Garrett told the rest of the Republican party that he will not pay his dues to the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) because they support gay candidates.

“I’m not going to talk about who we’re going to support and who we’re not going to support,” said Greg Walde, chairman of the NRCC. “He’s [Garrett] been able to raise a lot of money, he’s got a lot of money in the bank, close to $3 million. My preference is we have members who pay their dues in full.”

Corporate donors and Wall Street have stopped donating to Garrett.

That’s pretty much the extent of Garrett’s own party taking shots at him, but the banner proves the Democratic party is more willing to push the envelope.

“I said I support anyone’s rights to run for public office and will support those people who support positions that’s in the Republican platform,” said Garrett.

Sarah Neibart, Garrett’s campaign manager, responded to the banner, saying, “Nancy Pelosi’s political hacks are spreading lies on lies in a mud-slinging attempt to paint Scott Garret as something that he’s simply not.”

The House Majority PAC is also sponsoring three billboards on Route 17 in Bergen County that will call attention to Garrett’s anti-LGBT views, and they are also running TV ads against him through the middle of July.

Becky Paszkiewicz visited the Potawatomi Hotel and Casino in Milwaukee last month, expecting that she would play some slots, have some drinks, and enjoy a fun evening. Instead, she was asked to leave the premises due to a dress code violation.

According to LegalUSPokerSites, Paszkiewicz’s denim shorts did not pass the casino’s “fingertip rule,” which stipulates that shorts or skirts need to reach the point where one’s fingertips fall when their hands are at their sides.

Paszkiewicz was wearing a tank top, a black hooded sweatshirt, and Converse shoes along with the denim shorts. She said that she was just minding her own business when casino security approached her — about 20 minutes into her visit — and removed her from the building.

“That sucked,” Becky said. “That sucked a lot.”

A photo of Becky’s attire has since gone viral, because many people were outraged over the seemingly appropriate outfit causing so many problems.

“They suggested we buy leggings from the gift shop,” said Becky, “and then at one point [the security officer] suggested I take off my hoodie and wrap it around my waist. I told him then I’d be in a tank top, wearing less clothing than I am now.”

Becky had been a regular gambler at the Potawatomi Casino, but after this incident she doesn’t plan on ever returning.

“Everyone is looking at you like, ‘What did they do? What’s going on here?” she said. “It was embarrassing to be treated like I did something wrong.”

Yahoo reports that after the outrage on social media, the Potawatomi Casino was forced to issue an official statement:

Potawatomi Hotel and Casino enforces a dress code as part of its security protocol. Unfortunately, what happened in this particular instance did not fall within the spirit of that dress code. We apologize for any embarrassment that this guest experienced as part of the incident. We will review the policy and take measures to make sure it is being appropriately enforced in the future.”

Appearance plays a major role in the workplace — as 75% of people believe having an unattractive smile could hard their career success — and dress codes are often enacted in schools, but it’s not often you hear about an outfit that’s too skimpy for the casino.