It's time to give psychedelic drugs another look
Medicinal magic mushrooms? It's not as far out as it sounds
Turns out there may be some important benefits from two psychedelic drugs: MDMA, street name ecstasy or Molly, and psilocybin, aka magic mushrooms — and it’s not just the dudes in the Phish show parking lot saying it. Two new studies from two prestigious medical centers show hallucinogenic mushrooms might relieve anxiety and depression in cancer patients, and the effects can last for several weeks. Plus, the FDA gave the green light to clinical trials of ecstasy as a way to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. Now, don’t get excited, hippies. Tons of further research is needed, and this is about helping the sick. Recreational use is still dangerous and illegal. And not to bum you out even more, the future of legal weed under a Trump administration is looking pretty hazy. The man nominated to be attorney general, Sen. Jeff Sessions, said in April, “Good people don't smoke marijuana." And be aware that the feds could shut down the budding industry with a few big raids.
And roll up for Trump's magical victory tour
Speaking of the incoming administration, President-elect Donald Trump commenced his grand "Thank You Tour" Thursday, holding rallies in the swing states that put him over the top in the Electoral College. His first stop on his victory lap was at a Carrier plant in Indianapolis to tout his deal to keep 1,000 jobs there after the company planned to lay off 1,400 workers and move operations to Mexico. Trump said companies won't leave the U.S. "anymore without consequences." Sen. Bernie Sanders was critical, saying now every company will threaten to leave so they can get "tax benefits and incentives.” In other Trump news, reports from CNN and The Washington Post say he is going to select retired Marine general James Mattis for secretary of Defense, but the Trump team insists no decision has been made.
Standing Rock protesters get some veteran reinforcements
The Dakota Access Pipeline protests that have been going on for months, are getting some seasoned reinforcements. About 2,000 veterans will join the demonstrators from Sunday through Wednesday with the idea of giving a break to the protesters and giving police second thoughts before getting physical. The conflict boils down to this: Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota say the $3.8 billion pipeline, which would stretch underneath a lake on their reservation, would threaten water resources and sacred Native American sites. But Gov. Jack Dalrymple says it’s probably too late to reroute the pipeline, owned by Energy Transfer Partners. The White House says the two groups need to kiss and make up. Here are a few key historical points to help understand what has animated Native American tribes.
Yay! No baseball players strike
Baseball fans of a certain age get flashbacks to the 1981 and 1994 players' strike whenever it's time for Major League Baseball and the players union to agree to a new collective bargaining agreement. Well, they can breathe easy for a few more years because the two sides reached a deal that runs through 2021. For fans, the most notable thing is the All-Star Game will no longer determine home-field advantage in the World Series — ending a rule since 2003. The new agreement also includes a ban on smokeless tobacco for all new major leaguers, an effort to eradicate a dangerous habit ingrained in the sport.
Your inattention is helping spread fake news
Bet you didn’t see this coming. Whenever you misspell a Web address, it's easier for a hacker to distribute made-up stories. Typosquatting, or URL hijacking as it is sometimes called, is a real problem that has far-reaching negative effects. Think this year’s presidential election. Basically, cyber criminals register commonly misspelled Web addresses in the hopes that people will view their website. These fake media sites, like usatodaycom.com or abcnews.com.co, help false stories seem legit until they’re debunked. But you can fight this. The key is awareness and taking an extra moment to actually look at the URL before accepting it as valid. Good luck out there.
Extra bites
If you only read one thing tonight: USA TODAY examined federal records for 5,300 fatal police pursuits since 1999 and found that for blacks, chases are far more deadly.
Chicago hit a grim milestone of 700 murders in 2016.
Tiger Woods was up and down in his return to competition.
Bells must be ringing across Paris, because several angels received their wings on the Victoria's Secret runway.
From the White House to the Grand Canyon, the United States has a lot of iconic places to photograph. But did you really visit if you didn't post it on Instagram?
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This is a compilation of stories from across USA TODAY