Minnesota Lynx forwards Alanna Smith and Napheesa Collier anchor the WNBA’s 2025 All-Defensive first team announced on Wednesday.
Joining the duo is Seattle Storm guard Gabby Williams and two players currently competing in the WNBA Finals, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson and Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas.
Smith and Wilson were named 2025 Co-Defensive Players of the Year last month.
The Lynx had an WNBA-best 34-10 record this past season but were eliminated by the Mercury in the semifinals of the playoffs.
Named to the All-Defensive second team were Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston, Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton, Atlanta Dream guard Rhyne Howard, Storm forward Ezi Magbegor and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart.
Minnesota Lynx star forward Napheesa Collier’s injury in the WNBA semifinals has been determined to be a Grade 2 tear of three ligaments in her left ankle as well as a muscle in her shin, ESPN reported Wednesday afternoon.
Collier injured her left ankle in the final seconds of Game 3 on Friday when no foul was called on the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas, who stripped the ball from her and made a steal.
The Mercury won the game 84-76 and then eliminated the short-handed Lynx — who were without Collier and head coach Cheryl Reeve (suspended by the league for her conduct and comments about officiating regarding the play Collier got injured on) — in Game 4 on Sunday in Phoenix to advance to the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces.
Collier had said Tuesday that she would not have been able to play if the top-seeded Lynx, who had the league’s best record in the regular season, had gotten past the Mercury.
The injury, which requires a minimum of six weeks of recovery, per ESPN’s report, might not impact her availability next WNBA season. However, her involvement as a player for the Lunar Owls of the Unrivaled League, which returns in January, could be affected.
Collier co-founded the professional 33 basketball league for women that began play in January 2025 with New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart.
A face of the WNBA and runner-up for league Most Valuable Player for the second season in a row, Collier on Tuesday also criticized the league office for what she perceives as a ‘lack of accountability.’
‘I want to be clear this conversation is not about winning or losing,’ Collier began, referencing a written statement in front of her at her season-ending press conference. ‘It’s about something much bigger. The real threat to our league isn’t money, it isn’t ratings or even missed calls or even physical play. It’s the lack of accountability from the league office.’
Collier said in reading from a prepared statement lasting more than four minutes that ‘We have the best players in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But right now we have the worst leadership in the world.
‘Since I’ve been in the league, you’ve heard the constant concerns about officiating and it has now reached levels of inconsistency that plague our sport and undermine the integrity of which it operates,’ Collier said, who turned 29 on Sept. 23.
‘Whether the league cares about the health of our players is one thing, but to also not care about the product we put on the floor is truly self-sabotage. Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.’
The league office released a response from commissioner Cathy Engelbert later Tuesday afternoon.
‘I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA,’ Engelbert said. ‘Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league. My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game. I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.’
Collier has averaged 18.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 193 regular-season games (all starts) in her career. She is a five-time All-Star in seven seasons, all with Minnesota. She was the WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2019 and first-team All-WNBA in 2023 and 2024.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve has been suspended one game and fined for her conduct during and after Friday’s 84-76 loss to the host Phoenix Mercury in Game 3 of their WNBA semifinals series, the league announced Saturday.
Minnesota assistant coaches Eric Thibault and Rebekkah Brunson were also fined for separate infractions.
The punishment stems from Reeve’s late-game outburst following a pivotal no-call involving Lynx star Napheesa Collier in the final minute. Reeve pursued and berated a game official on the court, was slow to leave after her ejection with 21.8 seconds remaining, directed profanity toward fans while exiting and later launched into a blistering critique of the league’s officiating in her postgame press conference.
‘For the leadership to deem those three people semifinals playoff worthy is (expletive) malpractice,’ she said of the officiating crew.
Video from courtside circulated on social media showing Reeve shouting obscenities at fans as she was escorted off the floor, while the National Basketball Referees Association publicly defended the no-call on the decisive play. Collier left the game with a leg injury, which Reeve suggested could be a fracture.
Reeve, a four-time WNBA champion and one of the league’s most accomplished coaches, will serve her suspension Sunday when the Lynx face the Mercury in Phoenix for Game 4. The series stands at 2-1 in favor of Phoenix.
Several homeowners insurance companies that had either left the state or limited policies are coming back or committing to staying in California’s market, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of insurance said on Wednesday. The development comes about nine months after Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the department overhauled California’s insurance regulations after several companies had either dropped policies or limited them in the state. KCRA 3 was the first to report the update on Wednesday, after Gov. Newsom appeared to tell Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative that a handful of companies were coming back to the state. Newsom made the remarks in New York after Clinton asked Newsom what he thought should be done about the situation, which Newsom called one of the most pressing global issues. “We just had four of our admitted market come back,” Newsom told Clinton. “In the last two days or so we had our fourth come back in. We had a lot of folks who were leaving the market, they simply said it was too expensive and the losses are too significant.”Following the remarks, KCRA 3 asked the California Department of Insurance to confirm. A spokesman for the department said the governor’s remarks were accurate and provided a list of the companies that were committing to staying in California. The spokesman noted the list includes three of the state’s largest insurers. The five companies listed are Mercury, CSAA, USAA, Pacific Specialty and California Casualty. After this story first published Wednesday, both USAA and Mercury clarified in separate statements to KCRA 3 the company never stopped writing coverage in the state. A spokesman for Mercury would not say if the state leaders mischaracterized the situation but said they had “simplified” it.The new rules that lured the companies to return or do more business in the state allow insurance companies to consider new factors when they set premiums, including the likelihood of a catastrophe and the cost insurance companies pay to insure themselves, also known as reinsurance. In exchange, the companies have promised to provide more coverage in high-wildfire risk parts of California. State leaders have also been pushing to bring companies back into the market to reduce the number of properties relying on California’s FAIR plan, the state’s insurance of last resort. The plan provides insurance to those who can’t get private insurance and has been facing significant financial challenges as it takes on more claims. “The Sustainable Insurance Strategy helps restore stability and access to California’s homeowners insurance market,” said Mark Pitchford, the Chief Operating Officer at California Casualty Group in a press release Wednesday. “We appreciate all the work being done by the Commissioner and the Department to make coverage more accessible to homeowners across the state.”All five insurers have requested rate increases of 6.9%, according to Michael Soller, a spokesman for the California Department of Insurance. Soller noted the rate increase is identical to thousands approved under past insurance commissioners, but with a promise to remain and grow in the state. “This is a far cry from what has happened in the past, when insurance companies increased their rates and dropped policies,” Soller told KCRA 3 in an email. “Under Commissioner Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, we are seeing initial signs of market improvement despite the devastating L.A. wildfires. We won’t declare victory prematurely. We will thoroughly review companies’ rate filings to make sure consumers do not pay more than is required.” Speaking with Clinton, the governor acknowledged the new rules will allow for more rapid rate increases.”I think this issue requires leadership at the national level, it is under resourced, under focused. It’s a challenge for me, a challenge for Ron DeSantis, for governors in most states but it’s not top of mind and I think we need to be more focused on it,” Newsom said. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
Several homeowners insurance companies that had either left the state or limited policies are coming back or committing to staying in California’s market, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Department of insurance said on Wednesday.
The development comes about nine months after Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the department overhauled California’s insurance regulations after several companies had either dropped policies or limited them in the state.
KCRA 3 was the first to report the update on Wednesday, after Gov. Newsom appeared to tell Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative that a handful of companies were coming back to the state. Newsom made the remarks in New York after Clinton asked Newsom what he thought should be done about the situation, which Newsom called one of the most pressing global issues.
“We just had four of our admitted market come back,” Newsom told Clinton. “In the last two days or so we had our fourth come back in. We had a lot of folks who were leaving the market, they simply said it was too expensive and the losses are too significant.”
Following the remarks, KCRA 3 asked the California Department of Insurance to confirm. A spokesman for the department said the governor’s remarks were accurate and provided a list of the companies that were committing to staying in California. The spokesman noted the list includes three of the state’s largest insurers. The five companies listed are Mercury, CSAA, USAA, Pacific Specialty and California Casualty.
After this story first published Wednesday, both USAA and Mercury clarified in separate statements to KCRA 3 the company never stopped writing coverage in the state.
A spokesman for Mercury would not say if the state leaders mischaracterized the situation but said they had “simplified” it.
The new rules that lured the companies to return or do more business in the state allow insurance companies to consider new factors when they set premiums, including the likelihood of a catastrophe and the cost insurance companies pay to insure themselves, also known as reinsurance. In exchange, the companies have promised to provide more coverage in high-wildfire risk parts of California.
State leaders have also been pushing to bring companies back into the market to reduce the number of properties relying on California’s FAIR plan, the state’s insurance of last resort. The plan provides insurance to those who can’t get private insurance and has been facing significant financial challenges as it takes on more claims.
“The Sustainable Insurance Strategy helps restore stability and access to California’s homeowners insurance market,” said Mark Pitchford, the Chief Operating Officer at California Casualty Group in a press release Wednesday. “We appreciate all the work being done by the Commissioner and the Department to make coverage more accessible to homeowners across the state.”
All five insurers have requested rate increases of 6.9%, according to Michael Soller, a spokesman for the California Department of Insurance. Soller noted the rate increase is identical to thousands approved under past insurance commissioners, but with a promise to remain and grow in the state.
“This is a far cry from what has happened in the past, when insurance companies increased their rates and dropped policies,” Soller told KCRA 3 in an email. “Under Commissioner Lara’s Sustainable Insurance Strategy, we are seeing initial signs of market improvement despite the devastating L.A. wildfires. We won’t declare victory prematurely. We will thoroughly review companies’ rate filings to make sure consumers do not pay more than is required.”
Speaking with Clinton, the governor acknowledged the new rules will allow for more rapid rate increases.
“I think this issue requires leadership at the national level, it is under resourced, under focused. It’s a challenge for me, a challenge for Ron DeSantis, for governors in most states but it’s not top of mind and I think we need to be more focused on it,” Newsom said.
Courtney Williams barely missed a triple-double, and the Minnesota Lynx used a late 12-0 run to take Game 1 of its WNBA semifinal series against the Phoenix Mercury, winning 82-69 in Minneapolis on Sunday.
Williams scored a game-high 23 points while adding eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals. Kayla McBride added 21 points and Napheesa Collier hit for 18 to go along with a game-high nine rebounds.
Kahleah Copper scored 22 points for Phoenix but went just 10-for-23 from the floor. Alyssa Thomas added 18 to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Satou Sabally tallied 10 points but made only 3 of 11 shots.
The Mercury trailed 68-67 after Sami Whitcomb drained a 3-pointer with 5:13 left, but Williams started the game-breaking run with a floater on the next trip. McBride and Bridget Carleton pitched in 3-pointers to seal the outcome.
‘We’re in the playoffs, bro, you’ve got to feel the energy,’ Williams said after the game. ‘You’ve got to do your best for the team.’
Game 2 of the best-of-5 series is Tuesday night in Minneapolis before the series shifts to Phoenix.
Phoenix made its gameplan abundantly clear in the first quarter, attacking in the lane every chance it had. The Mercury erased an early 16-12 deficit by carving into it a bucket at a time, taking a 24-22 edge to the second quarter on Thomas’ tip-in with 25.4 seconds left.
Ahead 39-38 after Williams drove and scored with 3:39 left in the half, Phoenix rattled off eight straight points – all on layups – to take a 47-40 lead to intermission. It scored a whopping 42 points in the lane in the half, making just one 3-pointer and two foul shots.
Minnesota tightened up defensively in the third quarter, not allowing a point for the first 2:57 and permitting just 12 points in the period. When McBride sank a technical free throw, it led to a 59-59 tie going to the fourth quarter.
Food products containing shark are being sold in grocery stores, seafood markets and online across the United States—and in some cases, they come from species at risk of extinction.
This is the warning of researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who used DNA barcoding to analyze 30 such shark products purchased in Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia in 2021 and 2022.
They found that nearly one-third of the samples came from endangered or critically endangered species—including great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, shortfin mako and tope.
“Of the 29 samples, 93 percent were ambiguously labeled as ‘shark,’ and one of the two products labeled at the species level was mislabeled,” said Savannah J. Ryburn, the study’s lead author, in a statement.
“We found critically endangered sharks being sold in grocery stores, seafood markets and online.”
Mislabeling and public health concerns
The study found widespread mislabeling. In fact, only one product had a correct, species-specific label. Many packages were sold simply as “shark,” making it impossible for consumers to know what they were buying.
Prices also varied dramatically. Fresh shark meat sold for as little as $6.56 per kilogram, while shark jerky averaged more than $200 per kilogram.
Beyond conservation concerns, researchers warned that some shark species, including hammerheads and smooth-hounds, contain high levels of mercury, methylmercury and arsenic, which can damage the brain and nervous system, cause cancer and impair fetal development.
In 2022, another study found that endangered shark meat was found in pet food, often labeled under the terms “white fish” or “ocean fish.”
Conservation context
Shark populations have already dropped by more than 70 percent since the 1970s due to bycatch, climate change, habitat destruction and overfishing. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) estimates that more than a third of shark species are now threatened with extinction.
While 74 shark species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), enforcement remains limited. Once sharks are processed into fillets or jerky, visual identification is nearly impossible, leaving loopholes in trade restrictions.
Pictures of shark meat purchased for the study. Pictures of shark meat purchased for the study. Savannah Ryburn
Call for stronger labeling
“The legality of selling shark meat in the United States depends largely on where the shark was harvested and the species involved,” Ryburn explained.
“By the time large shark species reach grocery stores and markets, they are often sold as fillets with all distinguishing features removed, making it unlikely that sellers know what species they are offering.”
The authors argue that requiring species-level labeling could help protect consumers and vulnerable shark populations.
“Sellers in the United States should be required to provide species-specific names,” Ryburn said. “And when shark meat is not a food security necessity, consumers should avoid purchasing products that lack species-level labeling or traceable sourcing.”
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about sharks? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
Reference
Ryburn, S. J., Yu, T., Ong, K. J., Wisely, E., Alston, M. A., Howie, E., Leroy, P., Giang, S. E., Ball, W., Benton, J., Calhoun, R., Favreau, I., Gutierrez, A., Hallac, K., Hanson, D., Hibbard, T., Loflin, B., Lopez, J., Mock, G., Myers, K., Pinos-Sánchez, A., Suarez Garcia, A. M., Retamales Romero, A., Thomas, A., Williams, R., Zaldivar, A., & Bruno, J. F. (2025). Sale of critically endangered sharks in the United States. Frontiers in Marine Science. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2025.1604454
Does eating fish or taking fish oil supplements reduce stroke risk?
In my last video, we started to explore what might explain the higher stroke risk in vegetarians found in the EPIC-Oxford study. As you can see below and at 0:25 in my video Vegetarians and Stroke Risk Factors: Omega-3s?, vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease and cardiovascular disease overall, but a higher risk of stroke. We looked into vitamin D levels as a potential mechanism, but that didn’t seem to be the reason. What about long-chain omega-3s, the fish fats like EPA and DHA?
Not surprisingly, their levels are found to be “markedly lower in vegetarians and particularly in vegans than in meat-eaters.” They’re about 30 percent lower in vegetarians and more than half as low in vegans, as you can see below and at 0:45 in my video.
According to “the most extensive systematic assessment of effects of omega-3 fats on cardiovascular health to date,” combining 28 randomized controlled trials, stroke has no benefit. There is evidence that taking fish oil “does not reduce heart disease, stroke or death,” or overall mortality, either. This may be because, on the one hand, the omega-3s may be helping, but the mercury in fish may be making things worse. “Balancing the benefits with the contaminant risks of fish consumption has represented a challenge for regulatory agencies and public health professionals.”
For example, dietary exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may be associated with an increased risk of stroke. In one study, for instance, “neither fish nor intake of PCBs was related to stroke risk. However, with adjustment for fish intake,” that is, at the same fish intake, “dietary PCBs were associated with an increased risk of total stroke,” so the PCB pollutants may be masking the fish benefit. If we had a time machine and could go back before the Industrial Revolution and find fish in an unpolluted state, we might find that it is protective against stroke. Still, looking at the EPIC-Oxford study data, if fish were protective, then we might expect that the pescatarians (those who eat fish but no other meat) would have lower numbers of strokes since they would have the fish benefit without the risk from other meat. But, no. That isn’t the reality. So, it doesn’t seem to be the omega-3s either.
Let’s take a closer look at what the vegetarians are eating.
When it comes to plant-based diets for cardiovascular disease prevention, all plant foods are not created equal. There are two types of vegetarians—those who do it for their health, and those who do it for ethical reasons, like global warming or animals—and the latter tend to eat different diets. Health vegans tend to eat more fruits and fewer sweets, for instance, and you don’t tend to see them chomping down on vegan donuts, as shown below and at 2:41 in my video.
“Concerns about health and costs were primary motivations for [meat] reduction” in the United States. A middle-class American family is four times more likely to reduce meat for health reasons compared to environmental or animal welfare concerns, as you can see in the graph below and at 2:55 in my video.
But in the United Kingdom, where the EPIC-Oxford stroke study was done, ethics was the number one reason given for becoming vegetarian or vegan, as you can see in below and at 3:05 in my video.
We know that “plant-based diets, diets that emphasize higher intakes of plant foods and lower intakes of animal foods, are associated with a lower risk of incident cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular disease mortality, and all-cause mortality”—a lower risk of dying from all causes put together—“in a general US adult population.” But, that’s only for healthy plant foods. Eating a lot of Wonder Bread, soda, and apple pie isn’t going to do you any favors. “For all types of plant-based diets, however, it is crucial that the choice of plant foods is given careful consideration.” We should choose whole fruits and whole grains over refined grains and avoid trans fats and added sugars. Could it be that the veggie Brits were just eating more chips? We’ll find out next.
Another strikeout trying to explain the increased risk. Could it be that the vegetarians were eating particularly unhealthy diets? Labels like vegetarian or vegan just tell me what is not being eaten. You can be vegetarian and consume a lot of unhealthy fare, like french fries, potato chips, and soda. That’s why, as a physician, I prefer the term whole food, plant-based nutrition. That tells me what you do eat. You eat vegetables and follow a diet centered around the healthiest foods out there.
If you missed the first four videos in this series, see:
Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at Mercury’s latest expansions, wallet-as-a-service startup Ansa’s raise and more!
To get a roundup of TechCrunch’s biggest and most important fintech stories delivered to your inbox every Tuesday at 8 a.m. PT, subscribe here. (New day and time, same awesome newsletter!)
The big story
Digital banking startup Mercury is layering software onto its bank accounts, giving its business customers the ability to pay bills, invoice customers and reimburse employees, the company has told TechCrunch exclusively. The additional features put the company in even more direct competition with the likes of Brex and Ramp, two rival fintechs that have for years been fighting for market share in an increasingly crowded space. Mercury says that it has over 200,000 customers sending $4 billion in outgoing payments every month via its platform and that this move is a natural one for the seven-year-old company.
Analysis of the week
CB Insights took it upon itself to identify 85 potential acquisition targets for Ramp “given its heightened interest in M&A.” Here are a few examples: Greycroft-backed Streamlined, which does accounts receivable (AR) automation and whose $4 million raise TechCrunch covered here; Oddr, which is focused on invoice-to-cash management for the legal sector; Pactum, which does AI vendor negotiation; and OpStart, a startup valued at $10 million in 2022 that offers “financial operations for startups.” So far Ramp has acquired Cohere, Buyer and Venue.
Dollars and cents
We first covered Ansa in 2023 when they came out of stealth announcing a $5.4 million raise. Last week, the buzzy fintech shared with TC exclusively that it had raised another $14 million to grow its “wallet-as-a-service” business. We were impressed with the fact that 95.6% of the investors in its Series A round were female and by the company’s traction. Read more here.
Flipping houses is not for the faint of heart, no matter how fun or easy HGTV might make it seem. One startup wants to make the process less complicated by offering a different way to borrow money to fund such a purchase. Backflip offers a service to real estate investors for securing short-term loans. Beyond helping users secure financing, Backflip’s tech also helps investors source, track, comp and evaluate potential investments. Think of it as a cross between Zillow and Shopify. And it just raised $15 million.
What else we’re writing
Hans Tung, a managing partner at Notable Capital, formerly GGV Capital, has a lot of thoughts on the state of venture capital today. We recently brought him on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast to discuss valuations, why founders need to play the long game and the reason some VC firms are struggling more than others. We also delved deep into the reasons he’s still bullish on fintech, and which sectors in the fintech space have him especially excited. Check out interview excerpts and the actual podcast here.
Want to reach out with a tip? Email me at maryann@techcrunch.com or send me a message on Signal at 408.204.3036. You can also send a note to the whole TechCrunch crew at tips@techcrunch.com. For more secure communications, click here to contact us, which includes SecureDrop (instructions here) and links to encrypted messaging apps.
Advisories telling pregnant women to cut down on fish consumption may be too late for certain persistent pollutants.
If you intentionally expose people to mercury by feeding them fish (like tuna) for 14 weeks, the level of mercury in their bloodstream goes up, as you can see in the graph below and at 0:14 in my video Avoiding Fish for Five Years Before Pregnancy. As soon as they stop eating fish, it drops back down such that they can detox by half in about 100 days. (So, the half-life of total mercury in our blood is approximately 100 days.) Even if you eat a lot of fish, within a few months of stopping, you can clear much of the mercury out of your blood. But what about your brain?
The results from modeling studies are all over the place, providing “some extreme estimates (69 days vs. 22 years).” When put to the test, though, autopsy findings suggest the half-life may be even longer still at 27.4 years. Once mercury gets in our brains, it can be decades before our body can get rid of even half of it. So, better than detoxing is not “toxing” in the first place.
That’s the problem with advisories that tell pregnant women to cut down on fish intake. For pollutants with long half-lives, such as PCBs and dioxins, “temporary fish advisory-related decreases in daily contaminant intake will not necessarily translate to appreciable decreases in maternal POP [persistent organic pollutant] body burdens,” which help determine the dose the baby gets.
Consider this: As you can see in the graph below and at 1:32 in my video, an infant may be exposed to a tumor-promoting pollutant called PCB 153 if their mom ate fish. But if mom ate only half the fish or no fish at all for one year, levels wouldn’t budge much. A substantial drop in infant exposure levels may only be seen if the mom had cut out all fish for five years before getting pregnant. That is the “fish consumption caveat.” “[T]he only scenarios that produced a significant impact on children’s exposures required mothers to eliminate fish from their diets for 5 years before their children were conceived. The model predicted that substituting produce for fish would reduce prenatal and breastfeeding exposures by 37% each and subsequent childhood exposures by 23%.” So, “a complete ban on fish consumption may be preferable to targeted, life stage–based fish consumption advisories…”
If you are going to eat fish, though, which is less polluted—wild-caught or farmed fish? In a recent study, researchers measured the levels of pesticides, such as DDT, PCBs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and toxic elements, such as mercury and lead, in a large sample of farmed and wild-caught seafood. In general, they found that farmed fish were worse. Think of the suspect as farmed and dangerous. The measured levels of most organic and many inorganic pollutants were higher in the farmed seafood products and, consequently, so were the intake levels for the consumer if such products were consumed. For example, as you can see in the graphs below and at 3:09 in my video, there was significantly more contamination by polycyclic hydrocarbons, persistent pesticides, and PCBs in all of the farmed fish samples, including the salmon and seabass (though it didn’t seem to matter for crayfish), and the wild-caught mussels were actually worse. If you split adult and child consumers into those only eating farmed seafood or only eating wild-caught seafood, the level of pollutant exposure was significantly worse with the farmed seafood.
Overall, the researchers, who were Spanish, investigated a total of 59 pollutants and toxic elements. They concluded: “Taking all these data as a whole, and based on the rates of consumption of fish and seafood of the Spanish population, our results indicate that a theoretical consumer who chose to consume only aquaculture [farmed] products would be exposed to levels of pollutants investigated about twice higher than if this theoretical consumer had chosen only products from extractive fisheries [wild-caught fish].” So, when it comes to pollutants, you could eat twice the amount of fish if you stuck to wild-caught. That’s easier said than done, though. Mislabeling rates for fish and other seafood in the United States are between 30 and 38 percent, so the average fraud rate is around one in three.
In my previous video on this topic, How Long to Detox from Fish Before Pregnancy, I mentioned a study that suggests detoxing from fish for one year to lower mercury levels, but other pollutants take longer to leave our system.
Dressed in white from head to toe, surrounded by smoke and stage lights, Freddie Mercury looks every inch an angel descended to earth in the video for “Time Waits For No One.”
Mercury first recorded the song in 1986, and a version featuring a massive choir of backing vocalists was released that same year. Yesterday marked the release of a never-before-heard demo of the song, featuring only his voice soaring over a triumphant piano backdrop. On it, the singer’s unmistakable vocals take center stage, and the stripped-down arrangement communicates the lyrics’ message even more powerfully than the original.
“Time Waits For No One” is an almost painfully relevant song that seems handmade for our day and age—though, then again, its call to solidarity taps into something that humanity has seemingly always needed to hear. “We have to build this world together, or we’ll have no future at all,” Mercury sings, a resounding sentiment for our times and for all time.
The song is taken from a musical called TIME, with a book by David Clark and David Soames and music by Jeff Daniels. The show is about a rock star named Chris Wilder, who gets transported along with his band to the High Court of the Universe in the Andromeda Galaxy. Once there, he meets the Time Lord Melchisedic (allegedly inspired by the Time Lord of the Doctor Who series), who tells him that the moment has come to determine if the people on earth can be a part of the universal journey towards peace.
Time the Musical – Dave Clark and Cliff Richard, Freddie Mercury, Dionne Warwickwww.youtube.com
Though he never performed in the show, Mercury sang the main character’s part on its concept album, which also featured Julian Lennon and Dionne Warwick. The show’s spoken theme, which includes a philosophical speech narrated by Lawrence Olivier, was an unexpected hit on the charts in Australia, but in spite of this, the album remained offline until 2012, when a 25th-anniversary edition was released on iTunes.
“Time” (renamed with a longer title on the new demo) is the third track on the concept album. Apparently, Mercury preferred the demo to the official version. According to songwriter Dave Clark, “When we first recorded [the song], I went to Abbey Road and we ran through with just Freddie and piano. It gave me goosebumps. It was magic. Then we got down to recording the track and we [added] 48 tracks of voices, which had never been done in Abbey Road before, then the whole backing. It was fabulous—but I still felt there was something about the original rehearsal.”
That something is palpable in the chill-inducing video from that first rehearsal. In it, Mercury is a larger-than-life presence, an embodiment of conviction and hope, communicating a message that seems to be largely absent in modern music. “Let us free this world forever, and build a brand new future for us all,” he sings. His voice and presence, which radiate an almost unearthly star power even through the computer screen, are so powerful that you can’t help believe in the possibility of a better world.
The fast food chain announced it would soon introduce its “Mercury Menu,” offering deals such as free Crispy Chicken Sandwiches, free 6-piece Crispy or Spicy Chicken Nuggets, and free hot & spicy fries with any purchase from April 20 to May 14, right when Mercury is in retrograde.
The deal is available exclusively through mobile ordering via the brand’s app. Here are the details:
BOGO $1 Premium Sandwich with any purchase from Friday, April 21 through Sunday, April 23.
Free Crispy Chicken Sandwich with any purchase from Monday, April 24 through Sunday, April 30.
Free 6-piece Crispy or Spicy Chicken Nuggets with any purchase from Monday, May 1 through Sunday, May 7.
Free Any Size Hot & Crispy Fry when you make any purchase between Monday, May 8 and Sunday, May 14.
What is Mercury retrograde?
The phrase Mercury is in retrograde refers to a phenomenon where the planet Mercury appears to move backward in its orbit around the sun. The movement happens several times a year. Astrologists believe Mercury retrograde can cause people to feel disoriented and confused.
“When Mercury is moving forward, in its natural motion, communications go generally easily. Though when Mercury goes out of its natural orbit, say in retrograde, there tend to be all sorts of wires crossed and miscommunications,” astrologer Rebecca Gordon told CBS News.
But according to scientists at NASA, Mercury in retrograde is “not real in that the planet does not physically start moving backward in its orbit. It just appears to do so because of the relative positions of the planet and Earth and how they are moving around the Sun.”
Still, this hasn’t stopped Wendy’s from capitalizing on a good marketing opportunity. According to a 2022 YouGov poll, one in four Americans believes in Astrology.
SALT LAKE CITY, February 19, 2019 (Newswire.com)
– Today, Blyncsy, Inc. and Panasonic Corporation of North America have announced a strategic alliance, in which Blyncsy will use its technology and integration services to develop ITS and connected vehicle solutions that will run on the CIRRUS by Panasonic® platform. Specifically, Blyncsy will supply Panasonic with connected vehicle applications and technology to assist with safety and efficiency improvements on roadways utilizing connected vehicle technologies. Powered by the CIRRUS by Panasonic® platform, Blyncsy’s applications can provide real-world solutions.
“Panasonic is committed to delivering on the significant potential of connected vehicle technology. However, we feel strongly that no single organization can alone transform transportation. To really ‘move the needle’ we’ll need to build and participate in a rich ecosystem of stakeholders. Our relationship with Blyncsy demonstrates a commitment to this approach, and we are excited to work together to accelerate this inflection moment in transportation and mobility.” said Chris Armstrong, Director of Panasonic’s Smart Mobility team.
“Today’s announcement marks a fundamental shift in how connected vehicle technologies will be delivered in the future. Our goal is to improve our roadways and save lives in the process. The tools that connected vehicle technologies provide are unlike anything experienced by our industry previously. Panasonic and Blyncsy have teamed up to accelerate the deployment of connected vehicle technologies across the country and that acceleration starts today,” said Mark Pittman, Blyncsy CEO.
The first Blyncsy applications are already running in beta on the CIRRUS by Panasonic® platform and scaling up to be available to customers.
About Panasonic
Newark, NJ-based Panasonic Corporation of North America is a leading technology partner and integrator to businesses, government agencies and consumers across the region. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Osaka, Japan-based Panasonic Corporation and leverages its strengths in Immersive Entertainment, Sustainable Energy, Integrated Supply Chains and Mobility Solutions to provide secure and resilient integrated solutions for B2B customers. Panasonic was highlighted in Forbes Magazine’s Global 2000 ranking as one of the Top Ten Best Regarded Companies for 2017. The ranking is based on outstanding scores for trustworthiness, honesty with the public and superior performance of products and solutions. Learn more about Panasonic’s ideas and innovations at Panasonic.com.
About Blyncsy
Blyncsy is a tech start-up headquartered in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah. Through the power of big data and location analytics, Blyncsy helps its customers understand how connected devices are moving throughout an environment. Blyncsy’s powerful platform assists departments of transportation, cities and other private and public entities to better understand the habits and trends of people to generate insights and improve our roadways. Blyncsy was founded to give DOTs, cities, companies and leaders better decision-making tools to intelligently facilitate the movement of people and goods. Blyncsy is Movement Data Intelligence™ delivered.
