In the grand tradition of Russia, the trendy "Moscow Mule" drink that's served in a copper cup has a pretty good chance of poisoning you.

In a recent article on both The Washington Post and The Hill, a "Moscow Mule" is actually a fairly acidic drink, with a pH "well below 6.0". The "better call 911" part is that "copper should not come into contact with acidic foods with a pH below 6" because copper will leech into the drink (or food) it comes in contact with.

That mule kick? Copper poisoning! Hee-haw!

"Symptoms of copper poisoning include abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting and jaundice. Severe poisoning can cause liver failure and death.”

The solution is pretty simple – drink "Moscow Mules" from "copper mugs lined on the inside with another metal, like nickel or stainless steel."

Better yet, have a Guinness.

In a very interesting news article on Technology Networks, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine “have found that stem cells in the brain’s hypothalamus govern how fast aging occurs in the body.”

The article is a straightforward read on a potentially world-changing research project.

“Einstein researchers made the surprising finding that the hypothalamus also regulates aging throughout the body. Now, the scientists have pinpointed the cells in the hypothalamus that control aging: a tiny population of adult neural stem cells, which were known to be responsible for forming new brain neurons.”

“Researchers injected hypothalamic stem cells into the brains of middle-aged mice whose stem cells had been destroyed as well as into the brains of normal old mice. In both groups of animals, the treatment slowed or reversed various measures of aging.”

There’s still a very long way to go before this even becomes feasible for human trials, but the idea that we now know where the aging process is taking place in the brain and how to slightly reverse it is absolutely amazing.

The article and links to the Albert Einstein findings are here.

California has banned all state-funded travel to Texas over discriminatory laws in regards to LGBT rights.

Other states included in the ban are Alabama, Kentucky, South Dakota, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina and Tennessee.

In an article on Government Technology, there is a growing concern on how this ban will affect the partnerships California has with these states in addition to how (and if) the ban will affect sporting events and what possible retaliatory actions  will come from the states currently under the ban.

In the GT article, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was quoted as saying “Our country has made great strides in dismantling prejudicial laws that have deprived too many of our fellow Americans of their precious rights. Sadly, that is not the case in all parts of our nation, even in the 21st century.”

“According to the press release: “AB 1887 prohibits state-funded and state-sponsored travel to states with laws that authorize or require discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression or against same-sex couples or their families… This restriction applies to state agencies, departments, boards, authorities and commissions, including an agency, department, board, authority or commission of the University of California, the Board of Regents of the University of California and the California State University.””

While California is no stranger to asserting its’ beliefs through the application of trade law, things will become complex very quickly if the banned states petition to the current federal administration. Unless this is handled with tact and measured diplomacy, this could be the spark that ignites a nationwide inter-state trade war.

SAMHSA (the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) just released their report on the prevalence of behavioral health conditions. This report includes the rate of serious mental illness, suicidal thoughts, substance use, underage drinking and the percentages of those who seek treatment for these conditions in the United States.

The report is “one of a series of national and state reports that provide a snapshot of behavioral health in the United States. The reports present a set of substance use and mental health indicators as measured through the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), sponsored by SAMHSA. This array of indicators provides a unique overview of the nation’s behavioral health at a point in time as well as a mechanism for tracking change and trends over time.”

The report “is divided into sections based on content areas and age groups. It begins with sections on substance use, mental health, and mental health treatment among youths aged 12 to 17, followed by a section on mental health and mental health service use among adults aged 18 or older. Next are sections on substance use, misuse, use disorders, and treatment among youths and adults.”

Though it is not stated in their introduction, the report also has details on race/ethnicity use in addition to the age range mentioned above.

Note: The report was just published this month, but the information is based on their disclosed 2015 findings.

If you are interested in national behavioral health trends, the report is available for free here.

There’s a new website that lets you check on the demographics, government spending, financial overview, debt, and general information of any city and/or state in the United States.

Head over to cleargov.com and type in any place you want information about. Some locations will have multiple years to choose from and additional information available if you are a government employee.

According to the information on the “about” page, the site was “launched in June of 2015 with the goal of helping average citizens better understand how their tax dollars are spent and how their local government is performing. Our vision is that through better understanding citizens will want to get more involved in their local government and help drive positive change.”

Ok, so the Russians have been accused of interfering with the pending US election.

Hillary is seen on one or two occasions having sudden minor but “that’s odd” kinds of health issues.

Soooo has anyone, just out of really nuts tinfoil-hat levels of paranoia, checked Hillary for polonium-210? Because that stuff has a history and it looks a little familiar.