Day: August 17, 2018

Emma Thompson, 59, Wants More Film Roles for Older Women

By Uponent | | No Comments | Entertainment

Oscar-winning British actress Emma Thompson, now starring at age 59 as a family court judge in the dramatic movie “The Children Act,” said on Thursday that older women still need more opportunity on the big screen.

Known for period dramas such as “Howards End” and “Sense and Sensibility,” Thompson plays a judge who struggles with a legal decision while also dealing with trouble in her marriage.

At the movie’s red-carpet premiere, Thompson said she was drawn to the role of a woman who has gained power in “a very male bastion.”

“I’d never seen a story about a female judge, and I think in our patriarchal world, when you hear the word judge, you automatically think, ‘Oh, it’s a man,'” Thompson said.

She also said the lack of good film roles for older women remains a long-running problem.

“Men don’t have any problem with that,” Thompson said. “It’s something that hasn’t yet properly changed.

“We are seeing some really good and interesting new roles, so one’s got to be hopeful,” she added.
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Measles Outbreak Hits 21 US States, CDC Says

By Uponsci | | No Comments | Science

More than 100 cases of measles have been diagnosed this year in 21 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

As of July 14, 107 people had contracted the viral infection in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and the nation’s capital.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air via coughing and sneezing. The illness starts with a fever, runny nose, cough, red eyes and a sore throat. It’s followed by a rash that spreads over the body. While the disease is treatable, the CDC said, one or two out of every 1,000 children who get measles die from complications.

This year’s outbreak is on pace to surpass last year’s, when 118 people from 15 states and the District of Columbia were reported to have measles. In 2016, 86 people from 19 states contracted the illness.

The CDC said the majority of people who contracted measles were unvaccinated. Prevention is key, because the virus can be spread easily.

The measles virus can live for up to two hours in an airspace where the infected person coughed or sneezed, according to the CDC. Measles is so contagious that if one person has it, 90 percent of unimmunized people in close contact with the infected person will also become infected.

In 2015, the United States experienced a large, multistate measles outbreak linked to an amusement park in California. The outbreak most likely started with a traveler who became infected overseas, then visited the park. The source of the infection was never identified.

The CDC recommends children get two doses of the vaccine, starting with the first dose at 12 to 15 months of age, and the second dose at 4 through 6 years of age.

Lifetime effectiveness means adults vaccinated as children don’t need to be revaccinated. 
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US Charges 22 Chinese Importers with Smuggling Counterfeit Goods into US

By Uponbiz | | No Comments | Business

A federal court in New York has charged 22 Chinese importers with smuggling nearly half-a-billion dollars in counterfeit goods into the United States from China.

The fake products include such popular luxury items as Louis Vuitton bags, Michael Kors wallets, and Chanel perfume.

Twenty-one of the defendants were arrested Thursday.

U.S. attorneys say the suspects allegedly smuggled the China-made counterfeit goods in large shipping containers disguised as legitimate products and brought them into ports in New York and New Jersey.

The defendants apparently intended to sell the fake products across the United States with a street value of nearly $500 million.

Along with smuggling and trafficking in counterfeit goods, the suspects are also charged with money laundering and immigration fraud.

“The illegal smuggling of counterfeit goods poses a real threat to honest business,” assistant attorney general Brian Benczkowski said. “The Department of Justice is committed to holding accountable those who seek to exploit our borders by smuggling counterfeit goods for sale on the black market.”
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