By: Gere Iverson - MSTv staff writer

Its been argued that the current generations of Millennials and Gen-Z's are the most media savvy and competent - creating and embracing all that is cool, hip and trendy.  But, when does being innovative turn to foolish and dangerous?  We present to you a good answer: a new challenge trend called 'condom snorting.'

And rest assured, the act is exactly what it sounds like.

If you can, consider taking a loose condom, stuffing it up one of your nostrils then deep inhaling the rubber until it slides into your throat - then you pull it out of your mouth...  Errr, why???

Apparently, this is just the latest trend of foolish and dangerous challenges that teens and young adults have readily jumped upon.  And with the broad reach and hypnotic appeal of social media, young adults continue and build upon these foolish activities, just because they look funny or cool.  

And here we thought Jackass went off the air years ago. 

But what might have originated these acts?  Apparently, two medical cases of "accidental condom inhalation" exist from a 2004 report in the Indian Journal of Chest Diseases and Allied Sciences. One case recounted where a 27-year-old woman unintentionally sucked a condom down her throat and into her lungs during oral sex. It led to pneumonia and a collapsed lung.  The other case outlined a 26-year-old woman, who accidentally swallowed a condom; where a piece traveled to her appendix and caused appendicitis.  But, the key difference is that these two cases were accidents.

Despite expert warnings of pain, infections and potentially even death from these actions, more teens are attempting this challenge on their various social sites and pages.  Yet is it even worth it for a simple payout of more likes and views?Health experts strongly warn against this and other social media challenges. And though the concept isn't new, its gained popularity over the last five years. 

The challenge itself, goes back about a decade. But, it gained popularity due to a 2013 video which showed a woman inhaling a condom to a Taylor Swift video. But as expected, it appears the increased popularity of the condom-snorting challenge can only be related to the recent warnings about this activity.

Its probably time to use more condoms - just the right way. 

Reproduced from The Associated Press
on March 18, 2016 at 12:22 PM,

PARIS (AP) — With their beloved baguette already available 24 hours a day, it seems only logical that Parisians can now get the Bayonne ham and Basque pate that goes so well with the bread from the first meat vending machine installed in the French capital.

From the machine, which takes cash or credit cards, customers can also get a large choice of traditional delicatessen including duck confit and beef carpaccio. There are also faux-filet steaks on display, priced at 34 euros per kilogram. On average, the products are 20 euro cents more expensive than those sold inside shops.

While baguette dispensers have enjoyed success across France over the past five years, the meat vending machines business remains in in the embryonic stage in France. The first machine of this type was installed three years ago in the small western town of Garat by a butcher who set it up outside a bar.  According to the bar owner, it adds extra comfort in an area lacking services.  "We don't have a butcher's shop in town, the first one is located three kilometers (two miles) away," Jo Ferreira told the AP in a phone interview. "When you finish work at 7 p.m., it's very convenient to have this machine available. I love their minced burger steaks."

In the central medieval town of Mennetou-sur-Cher, popular with tourists, Pascal Bidron has installed a machine to sell his locally made andouillette, a sausage prepared with pig's intestines. He bought a second-hand machine and put it next to his shop, which is closed for more than three hours during the daytime.

"I have customers coming from afar to buy my andouillettes and I wanted to serve them even when the shop is closed" Bidron told the AP. "I recently went away for two weeks and managed to sell 250 andouillettes during my vacation thanks to that machine. It's more than I expected."

By: BBC Newsbeat - additional content by: Gere Iverson - MSTv

England wants to legalize Marijuana; and do so using a model much like their American cousins.
 
Great Briton's  National Black Police Association wants UK forces and the government to monitor US cannabis legalization.  This reaction follows Washington state decision in making sales of recreational marijuana legal to over-21s.

Campaigners and police in Seattle say they hope the legalization will mean fewer young black men and "people of interest" in the city are punished for minor drug offenses.

The Liberal Democrats will speak to US politicians and police as part of a review of drug policy around the world.

A public vote to legalize the use and possession of cannabis was passed in Washington State in November 2012.

Alison Holcomb is a lawyer who led the campaign for legalization.  She said: "We've not just changed policy in Washington State, we've blown open the debate nationally and internationally."

Holcomb said the changes are about more than just allowing people to get high.

"Really this campaign has only minimally been about marijuana," she said. "It's about how we use the criminal laws.

"In Washington, a black person is three times as likely to be arrested and convicted of a marijuana offence than a white person despite the fact that whites actually use marijuana at a slightly higher rate."

The Seattle Police Department says arresting adults for possession of cannabis has been its lowest priority for the past decade. However, it hopes the changes will improve relations with young black men in the city.

Nick Glynn is the Vice President of the National Black Police Association and also a police inspector with Leicestershire Police.

Glynn believes the UK could learn important lessons from monitoring how legalization works in cities like Seattle.

"We've had our current approach to drug laws for 20 years. If we can learn anything from the US I think we should to see whether we can get some better outcomes," he said.

"There about a million stop and searches carried out in England and Wales every year. Around half of those are focused on street possession of cannabis so there's a lot of time spent dealing with that very low level offense."

The Liberal Democrats in turn believe, "Drug policy should be based on evidence of what works, not guesswork or dogma."  This policy includes looking at what is happening in Washington State and Colorado,  also speaking to American politicians, police and campaigners about the impact of these changes."

The legalization in Washington means adults over the age of 21 will be able to carry up to an ounce of cannabis but they still won't be allowed to use it in public.

Medical marijuana was already legal in Washington State but it had no formal rules of its supply and distribution.

For the past few months authorities have been granting licenses to those wishing to grow and sell the drug.

By:  Gere Iverson - MSTv

The average number of people women sleep with during their lifetime has more than doubled from the previous average of seven, within the last 20 years.

That's according to one of the most detailed studies of people's sexual habits in Britain and the United States.

The third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal) asked several thousand participants  about their sexual habits.  One finding suggested that people are having sex less frequently.

Authors of the study, also show a rise in women having sexual relations with other women. Findings say modern life may be having an impact on these sexual habits.

The study, which took place on several college campus' throughout Briton (and online for the United States) asked students whether they agreed with the findings and women's current attitudes to sex.

Of the numerous opinions listed, the general thought was that women agreed that having multiple sexual encounters and partners, is no longer a man's prerogative.

Most asked had several opinions like these:  "I think it's a lot more socially acceptable now for women to have more partners before marriage. In college, most girls have an average of five to 10 sexual partners."

"In terms of women kissing other women or sleeping with them it's just one of those normal things now."

"Younger people from the age of 13 are already talking about sex like it's nothing nowadays. If I see two women kissing I often think they're just doing it for fun, not that they are in a serious relationship."

And, "People in school are having sex and if it was ten years ago, they'd probably get judged. But now it seems more normal."

Most questioned didn't find the research surprising.  One student stated that, "It's [society's attitude to sex] that's definitely changed over the generations. I don't think it's good or bad thing; people can do what they want."

"I also know lots of friends who've had sexual experiences with other women...things like kissing in a club. They aren't lesbians, it's probably just drunken experimenting."

What do you think?

Reproduced from: BBCNewsbeat

A third of women believe there are varying degrees of rape, according to new figures.

The same proportion also think if a woman does not fight back, then she cannot have experienced rape.

Charity Rape Crisis carried out the research with Reveal Magazine and says the survey also shows many people aren't properly supported through the legal process when it comes to rape.

It wants more funding for ISVAs (Independent Sexual Violence Advisers) as part of their job is to support victims through the justice system.

A quarter of the 1,000 women surveyed wrongly thought if someone was drunk it could not be classed as rape, while 60% thought it did not count if a woman does not say no.

Zoe, 23, was raped by her stepfather, who was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the repeated attacks.

She does not agree with the attitudes some of these women expressed.

"I don't believe there's varying levels. It's a horrific crime. To me, rape is rape. I think it's quite disgusting. I don't know how people, especially women, could be so judgemental about it, " she said.  "It is shocking actually."

Sixteen per cent of the women who responded said they had been forced to have sex, however over three quarters of them did not report it to police.

Believing varying myths,  reasons they gave for not speaking up included fear they would not be believed, worry about lack of legal support and doubt over whether the prosecution would be successful.

Yvonne Treynor of  Rape Crisis stated, "Rape isn't about sex, its about power and control."

"There is no such thing as a varying degree of rape. It's going to affect women in exactly the same way.

"Rape is rape. Rape is the most horrendous thing that could ever happen to a woman or man."

Yvonne is part of a campaign calling on the government to provide funding for more independent female advisors to support victims through the legal process.

Latest figures from the Ministry of Justice, The Home Office and ONS show there were an estimated 60,000 to 95,000 incidents of rape on average in the last three years.

Only 15,670 of these were reported to police, of which 2,910 rape cases went to court. This resulted in a total of 1,070 rape prosecutions.

We want to know your thoughts and comments. 
"Can situations exist where rape isn't rape?" 
and
"Can rape ever have various degrees to constitute it actually happening?"

By: Associated Press

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A look at key moments this past week in the wrongful death trial in Los Angeles between Michael Jackson's mother, Katherine Jackson, and concert giant AEG Live LLC, and what is expected at court in the week ahead:

Jackson's mother, Katherine, wants a jury to determine that the promoter of Jackson's planned comeback concerts didn't properly investigate Dr. Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter by a criminal jury for Jackson's June 2009 death. AEG's attorney says the case is about personal choice, namely Jackson's decision to have Murray serve as his doctor and give him doses of a powerful anesthetic as a sleep aid. Millions, possibly billions, of dollars are at stake.

Jackson's ex-wife Debbie Rowe tearfully testified about the singer's fear of debilitating pain that he often experienced after sustaining burns to his scalp during a shoot for a Pepsi commercial in 1984. — Rowe gave conflicting testimony about Jackson's frequent medical visits, saying many were tied to treatments for acne, the skin-lightening condition vitiligo, and the burns, although she acknowledged that she questioned the singer's motives when he went for medical treatments from his dermatologist more than once a week.

Rowe said Jackson's injuries and medical conditions forced him to wear wigs and de-pigment his skin and left the singer feeling that he was disfigured.

Financial consultant William Ackerman testified that based on Jackson's historical spending, he would have likely provided his children and mother $21.5 million in support if he had lived another 15 ½ years. Ackerman however said that the singer's large debts, in the $400-$500 million range, made it likely that he wouldn't be able to continue providing for his family as he had in the past.

During the trial, the jury saw Rowe break down repeatedly, wiping away tears and at one point covering her face with her hands when she was asked about the impact of Jackson's death on his children.

Charts were also displayed showing Jackson was spending tens of millions of dollars each year to support his lifestyle and pay the interest on loans he had taken on key assets.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

— "Unfortunately, some of the doctors decided that when Michael was in pain that they would try to outbid each other on who could get the better drug. And so he listened to the doctors," Rowe said, describing what she said a competition by Jackson's dermatologist and a plastic surgeon to convince the singer their pain medications were better.

— "He foolishly, foolishly, trusted a lot of people," Rowe said of Jackson based on her observations during the nearly 20 years they were close friends.

— "I loved him very much and I still do. I wanted him to be a father. I wanted him to have everything he didn't have growing up," Rowe said of her decision to have children with Jackson after his divorce from Lisa Marie Presley.

— "She is devastated. She tried to kill herself. She is devastated. She has no life. She doesn't feel she has a life anymore," Rowe said of her 15-year-old daughter, Paris, who was hospitalized in June after authorities said she took Motrin pills and cut her arm with a kitchen knife.

Reproduced from BBCNewsbeat

There are more warnings about fake ecstasy tablets after a teenager died in Dunbartonshire, Scotland on Tuesday.

Police now believe the deaths of 17 people in Scotland and Northern Ireland could be linked to a batch of dodgy pills.

Yet based on a consensus opinions from youths aged 18 up, most believe "almost everyone" in their small towns experiments with dangerous Class A drugs.

"You're actually abnormal here if you don't take them," most say.

"You could pick anybody in this street and they'll all have taken them. That's how bad it is."

Alexandria is a small town in a rural area around Loch Lomond, half an hour west of Glasgow, Scotland.

An 18-year-old girl from the town has become the seventh person to die recently in the region after taking a pill, known as Green Rolex.

It gets its name from the crown symbol printed on it, which is identical to the Rolex watch logo.

It is sold as ecstasy but doctors have called it "unstable, unpredictable and extremely dangerous".

"Hundreds of my friends are taking ecstasy and Green Rolex," admits teenager Melissa. "They're just small pills, you get white ones and green ones and pink ones as well."

The most recent victim is believed to have taken the drug with friends with three of them treated in hospital.

Melissa says she knows them but never takes ecstasy herself.

"People mostly take it when they're having parties in houses," she says. "That's how they get in the state they're in."

Superintendent Grahame Clarke from Police Scotland has asked users not to take Green Rolex and says it's not clear what's in the pill.

"You wouldn't take a drink out of a bottle if you didn't know what was inside it," he says. "So why take the risk with an ecstasy tablet?"

Doctor Richard Stevenson, who works in A&E at Glasgow Infirmary, says: "People have been taking Green Rolex, thinking it's ecstasy.

"It causes quite a lot of hallucinations, can start aggressiveness, but it progresses into quite a serious syndrome where people fall unconscious and they can suddenly die."

Police Scotland announced on Wednesday that they had recovered a large stash of the pills at a property in Aberdeen.

Another haul was found in Ireland, they said.

By: Associated Press

Earth, Wind and Fire initially wanted to release its new album around the 2012 presidential election, but the band realized it wasn't satisfied with the songs it created."We have a lot more bells and whistles in place now and the record is better," singer Philip Bailey said in a recent interview.

"Now, Then & Forever," the group's first album in eight years, will be released Sept. 10. Bailey said the band called co-founding member Larry Dunn and others to help produce its latest sound.

"I said, 'Let's go back to the drawing board,'" he recalled. "It's a great representation of who Earth, Wind and Fire is now, but not departing from the classic sound."

"It doesn't sound like we're trying to be anyone other than Earth, Wind and Fire," added bassist Verdine White.

The band - which includes founder Maurice White and Ralph Johnson - has worked on the album for two years. Its new single, "My Promise," was released Monday and was co-written by Academy Award nominee and Grammy winner Siedah Garrett. Fans who pre-order the album will have their names put in the album packaging.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famers are currently on a tour. Bailey said he enjoys having his son, Philip Bailey Jr., on the road and as a writer and producer on the new album.

"It's a great experience to the say the least. I spend so much time away from my family and kids . (that this is) bonding like never before," he said. "He has the same passion."

Enjoy a little classic EW&F below..

By: BBCNewsbeat
Additional info by:  Gere Iverson - MSTv

We've seen the beginnings of this trend in numerous, smaller convenience stores across the United States. But, its availability and usage has grown to epidemic levels as more legal highs are available in the European continent.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) found 73 new synthetic drugs last year, compared to just 49 in 2011.

The agency says there have been positive changes in the use of more established drugs, such as fewer new users of heroin and declining use of cannabis and cocaine in some countries. But, European officials are worried about continuous, new man-made drugs being offered on the market.

How do they get around Europe? And should the U.S. be concerned?

The EMCDDA found that the way the fake legal highs are brought in to the country has changed.

European police agency, Europol, has also suggested that they were now often imported in bulk from China and India rather than being made in secret labs around Europe.

However, with the more strict importing and drug laws of the United States, the widespread availability of these synthetics just isn't likely.  Not likely, but also not impossible. 

By: Gere Iverson - MSTv

Its not often you get to relive childhood memories, but how about updated versions on your television screen?

Sure, you can watch crummy reunion shows, but why watch scripted drivel with canned laughter when you can see unplanned, infectious fun on, of all things, a talk show.

Well, that's exactly what happened on the Graham Norton show as guest, Will Smith and his son, Jaden, broke into both freestyle and classic raps on the stage to the crowd's delight.

Graham Norton, a extremely casual British talk show host, had Smith and his son on May 25th to promote their new action flick "After Earth." And after a little encouragement from Norton, Will treated the audience to a quick father-son freestyle rap.

Thought not to his dad's level, Jaden tossed out a simple, but cute little rhyme for a start.  But, this wasn't meant to be the headline act as the elder Smith stepped to hit the main stage with none other than his former partner in rap crime, DJ Jazzy Jeff!

The classic "fun" rap duo hyped up the audience quickly and strongly when Smith and Jazzy broke into a mix of the theme song from their famous show, "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air;" with Jaden following tempo to his dad. 

But, the party was hardly over; even though the Norton show was..  Kinda.  This Brit show was quickly "Americanized" and seemed to transform into a new episode of "Fresh Prince" as Alfonso (Carlton) Ribeiro entered stage right do his legendary "Carlton Dance."

Without missing a beat, other show guests, Bradley Cooper and Heather Graham got into the fun and busted their moves.

And realizing he couldn't beat them, Graham joined the Fresh Prince crew on stage for a final round of the hip-hop classic, "Jump On It" dance that Smith and Ribeiro made popular on a hilarious episode their show.