Quickies

Quickies: the High Price of EpiPens, Samantha Bee’s Writers Room, and the 419.99 Mile Marker

  • High price of EpiPens spurs consumers, EMTs to pick up syringes for allergies – “Amie Vialet De Montbel felt that she didn’t have a choice but to try the syringe. Her 12-year-old son is so allergic to milk that he wears a mask when he goes out in public. Last month, when she filled his prescription for two 2-packs of EpiPens — one to take to camp, and one for home —the cash register rang up a charge of $1,212. ‘I was in absolute shock,’ said Vialet De Montbel, who lives in Troy, Va. ‘I don’t even pay that much for my mortgage.’ She has health insurance with a $4,000 deductible, so she would have had to pay the whole sum out of pocket. She didn’t buy the EpiPens.”
  • 419.99 Mile Marker – “Since the recreational use of marijuana was made legal in Colorado in 2012, the “Mile 420” post became a hot commodity. So hot, it kept disappearing — and the Colorado Department of Transportation got tired of replacing it.”
  • The ‘Holy Grail’ for earthquake scientists has been accidentally destroyed – “Since at least the 1970s, scientists have painstakingly photographed the curb as the Hayward fault pushed it farther and farther out of alignment. It was a sharp reminder that someday, a magnitude 7 earthquake would strike directly beneath one of the most heavily populated areas in Northern California. Then, one early June day, a city crew decided to fix the faulty curb — pun intended. By doing what cities are supposed to do – fixing streets – the city’s action stunned scientists, who said a wonderful curbside laboratory for studying earthquakes was destroyed.” From Amy.
  • Samantha Bee Filled Her Writers Room With ‘People Who Have Been Underestimated’ – “In a recent profile, Full Frontal host Samantha Bee told Rolling Stone that she, unlike many Daily Show viewers, had never expected to take over Jon Stewart’s role—and that her acceptance of TBS’s Full Frontal offer came in part out of her own assumption that she would be passed over. ‘It didn’t seem like a reality to me, to be perfectly honest,’ she said.”
  • Did the Supreme Court just admit affirmative action is about racial justice? – “Basically, the question in Fisher boiled down to: How much diversity is enough? The Court’s answer was that only UT itself could make that call. ‘Considerable deference is owed to a university in defining those intangible characteristics, like student body diversity, that are central to its identity and educational mission,’ Justice Kennedy wrote.”

Featured Image

Mary

Mary Brock works as an Immunology scientist by day and takes care of a pink-loving princess child by night. She likes cloudy days, crafting, cooking, and Fall weather in New England.

Related Articles

Back to top button

Discover more from Skepchick

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading