Fidget spinners are the latest toy craze sweeping the country.  They consist of small pieces of plastic, metal, and a ball bearing that the user can rotate between their fingers.  Fidget spinners act as a release mechanism for people with nervous energy or psychological stress.

Initially the toy was marketed for children and adults who struggle with focusing or fidgeting, such as those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. But their popularity has increased beyond their initial target group and children of all ages can be seen playing with fidget spinner toys.

H.R. 1215 is referred to as the “Protecting Access to Care Act,” however, it is a blatant attempt to eliminate your constitutional rights. The bill preempts state medical malpractice law and products liability laws by overturning the decisions of state legislatures and state courts. H.R. 1215 would cap non-economic damages, meaning that the absolute most a victim of hospital negligence or medical malpractice could receive would be $250,000 no matter how severe their injuries.

According to the American Association for Justice (AAJ), “By imposing a strict federal regime that caps damages in any “health care lawsuit,” HR 1215 directly overturns the decisions of locally-elected officials not to cap damages for victims of medical negligence, nursing home abuse, or defective medical products.” Therefore, this bill is unconstitutional and violates the 10^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which leaves these decisions to the states.

Tuesday, May 18th, a former Baylor volleyball player filed a lawsuit against Baylor University claiming she was raped by multiple football players in 2012.  The lawsuit asserts Baylor violated Title IX which is a federal law which prevents sex discrimination in the educational setting. Sex discrimination can include rape and sexual assault.  Schools that received federal funding are subject to Title IX’s requirements.

The plaintiff claims the Baylor football team engaged in a practice of hazing which involved freshmen football recruits bringing freshman women to house parties, hosted by members of the football team, and subsequently drugging and then gang raping the women.  The plaintiff alleges that photos and videos of several, semi-conscious girls were circulated amongst the football team. According to ESPN, “The lawsuit says a 21-second videotape of two female Baylor students being gang-raped by several football players circulated among the team.”

Automobile accident deaths last year in the United States were estimated to be greater than 40,000, the highest total in nearly a decade.  A recent study by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) on distracted driving calls the problem an “epidemic”.  Yet not much is being done to combat the issue, especially considering the combination of cell phone use and automobile operation is increasingly encouraged by new automaker technology.

Most people think that texting while driving is the problem and eliminating hands-on texting behind the wheel is the solution.  Texting while driving is certainly dangerous, and the frequency at which teens text combined with the number of teen driver fatalities each year indicates that teen driver texting is tough to dispute.  But texting is not the only dangerous distraction for sober drivers.

Saturday, May 13th, the world’s largest cyberattack took place, locking thousands of people in 150 different countries out of their computers. This type of attack is known as ransomware, which is defined by CNN Tech as “…a virus that locks people out of their computer files until they pay a ransom to the hackers”. These types of hackers target major companies, government offices, hospitals and corporations, completely freezing their networks until they are forced to pay a ransom.

Ransomware attacks are a major reminder of the importance of cyber security. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, cybercrime costs the global economy over $400 billion per year. The issue of cyber security should be a priority to further prevent criminals from paralyzing networks.