LOS ANGELES: Darlene Coker knew she was dying. She just wanted to know why.She knew that her cancer, mesothelioma, arose in the delicate membrane surrounding her lungs and other organs. She knew it was as rare as it was deadly, a signature of exposure to asbestos. And she knew it afflicted mostly men who inhaled asbestos dust in mines and industries such as shipbuilding that used the carcinogen before its risks were understood.Coker, 52 years old, had raised two daughters and was running a massage school in Lumberton, a small town in eastern Texas. How had she been exposed to asbestos? “She wanted answers,” her daughter Cady Evans said.Fighting for every breath and in crippling pain, Coker hired Herschel Hobson, a personal-injury lawyer. He homed in on a suspect: the Johnson’s Baby Powder that Coker had used on her infant children and sprinkled on herself all her life. Hobson knew that talc and asbestos often occurred together in the earth, and that mined talc … [Read more...] about Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder
Missing mom quotes from daughter
She’s a brilliant, young legal mind. And her mission is to expunge the cannabis convictions of half a million Canadians
By Paul Hunter Feature Writer Thu., Nov. 15, 2018 She was an intensely driven straight-A student; a church-once-a-week, confession-once-a-month Catholic teen who never used drugs and considered becoming a nun. Even as an adult, she rarely drinks and dabbled in marijuana only twice, calling the experiments a disaster. A high comes from chanting at a yoga retreat. On the surface, Annamaria Enenajor was an unlikely candidate to become the face of cannabis legalization reform in Canada. But as Canada edged towards decriminalizing marijuana, it was frequently Enenajor, as founder and campaign director of Cannabis Amnesty, on the airwaves pushing for the deletion of criminal records for the half-million Canadians with simple possession convictions. “I think it’s hilarious,” the Toronto criminal defence lawyer says of her leap from strait-laced legal eagle to passionate pot advocate. “I had this joke when I first started Cannabis Amnesty … [Read more...] about She’s a brilliant, young legal mind. And her mission is to expunge the cannabis convictions of half a million Canadians
Former US first lady Barbara Bush dies at age 92
HOUSTON — Barbara Bush, the snowy-haired first lady whose plainspoken manner and utter lack of pretense made her more popular at times than her husband, President George H.W. Bush, died Tuesday, a family spokesman said. She was 92. Mrs. Bush brought a grandmotherly style to buttoned-down Washington, often appearing in her trademark fake pearl chokers and displaying no vanity about her white hair and wrinkles. "What you see with me is what you get. I'm not running for president — George Bush is," she said at the 1988 Republican National Convention, where her husband, then vice president, was nominated to succeed Ronald Reagan. The Bushes, who were married Jan. 6, 1945, had the longest marriage of any presidential couple in American history. And Mrs. Bush was one of only two first ladies who had a child who was elected president. The other was Abigail Adams, wife of John Adams and mother of John Quincy Adams. "I had the best job in America," she wrote in a 1994 memoir … [Read more...] about Former US first lady Barbara Bush dies at age 92
News Sleepless nights, weight gain? All worth it for first-time mom Isabelle Daza
Isabelle Daza, who is a known fitness enthusiast, may have been sidelined from improving her figure as a first-time mom, but for the Kapamilya actress, it's all worth it. Daza welcomed her first child with her husband, Adrien Semblat, on April 1. On Sunday, the daughter of Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Diaz shared a photo of her with her baby boy, captioned with a quote from her beauty queen-mother: "My mum told me that 'the secret to happiness is being grateful for everything you have. Not constantly wanting more or what others have.'" She added: "I'm so grateful everyday for this baby boy. He is worth the sleepless nights and the weight gain. Blessed." At the time, she wrote, on Instagram: "Trying to stay positive but sometimes it's just hard! Feeling so down today because I'm 194 lbs. Just putting it out there because I feel I want to share. "I've been gaining so much weight. And I've been really sad about it. But I know I have to just focus on staying active. Maybe I'm just putting so … [Read more...] about News Sleepless nights, weight gain? All worth it for first-time mom Isabelle Daza
How Sridevi was found dead in bathroom at 8pm? Boney Kapoor recounts
As the mystery around Sridevi's sudden demise last week continued, her husband and film producer Boney Kapoor has opened up -- perhaps for the first time to a friend -- about his unscheduled trip to see his wife in Dubai, how they hugged and kissed when he surprised her and how he found her lying in a bathtub full of water without a drop of water spilling out. Boney has recounted the "detailed account of what exactly transpired on the fateful evening of February 24" to his friend of 30 years, trade analyst Komal Nahta, who has reproduced the conversation in a blog shared on his official Twitter page. Nahta wrote that Boney told him he pushed open the bathroom door -- which had not been locked from inside -- at around 8 pm after getting no response to loud calls for Sridevi and a knock on the door. Earlier, there had been a lot of speculation about the time that Boney had opened the bathroom door. Nahta told IANS that the conversation happened on Wednesday before Sridevi's funeral. It … [Read more...] about How Sridevi was found dead in bathroom at 8pm? Boney Kapoor recounts