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A gospel singer is suing McDonald’s after she swallowed a piece of glass found in a chicken sandwich. Jacqueline Simpson said that she encountered the stray shard after ordering a meal from the fast food chain back in 2010. The singer claims that swallowing the glass had an adverse affect on her vocal chords. Since her singing voice has ultimately been destroyed, Simpsons decided to file a lawsuit against McDonald’s. Business Insider reports that the change in the woman’s voice was almost immediate. The problem is so severe that she if often mistaken for a man during phone calls. “Now when I sing, I have a hoarse, rattly voice. I still sing alto, but I can’t sing soprano like I used to,” Simpson explained to the New York Post. She continued, “I have to make a lot of calls for work, and I have to tell people that I’m not a man. Before, that never happened.” The singer, who is also a clerk with the Attorney General’s office, has decided to sue McDonald’s over the damage done to her vocal chords. Simpson filed the lawsuit in Brooklyn last week. As The Consumerist points out, the popular fast food restaurant is certainly no stranger to the world of lawsuits. In early 2012, a prostitute in Nevada blamed a franchise owner for pushing her into her current profession. The website explains that the franchisee gave the woman a job before they decided to start dating. She was later fired from her position at the restaurant for reasons the woman said were false. Although they later got married, she claimed he pushed her to become a prostitute. The chain has yet to respond to Jacqueline Simpson’s lawsuit as of this writing. What do you think about the gospel singer who sued McDonald’s after a piece of glass found in a chicken sandwich ruined her voice? [Image via Bikeworldtravel / Shutterstock.com] Gospel Singer Sues McDonald’s Over Ruined Voice is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tony Abbott is facing internal pressure from Victorian Liberals to privatise the ABC and SBS if he wins the September 14 election amid claims both organisations are struggling to comply with their charters.

A bleak picture of disadvantage among single parents forced onto Newstart has emerged, with a new Salvation Army report finding the contentious policy has compounded levels of deprivation.

Stephen Conroy brokered a deal with the television industry to allow betting companies to continue spruiking live odds during sports broadcasts, despite the growing public backlash against the spread of gambling culture.

Lindsay Lohan’s drug problems could soon cost her $5 million that she absolutely does not have. You may recall that Lohan recently filed a lawsuit against D.N.A.M. Apparel Industries. In her lawsuit Lohan claims that the company stiffed her out of $1.1 million in licensing fees. D.N.A.M. was licensed to create a list of clothing under Lindsay Lohan’s “6126″ clothing line. However, D.N.A.M. is now claiming that it couldn’t sell the clothing because of Lohan. In a lawsuit of its own the clothing manufacturer says it approached high end retailers to sell the clothing line but they refused to go anywhere near a product associated with Lohan. Apparently Lohan’s run-ins with the law and her rapidly growing drug problems made it impossible to pitch her clothing line. High-end retailers simply didn’t want to be associated with the equivalent of a white trash druggy. D.N.A.M. says starting in 2010 it couldn’t get a meeting with retailers because Lindsay was in rehab and her life was quickly playing out “like a Greek tragedy.” In the $5 million lawsuit the company says Lindsay Lohan has created a “drug-addled images” that destroyed 6126′s sellable image. The company says the clothing line was soon dead in the water. According to D.N.A.M. it invested millions of dollars in Lohan’s 6126 clothing line. The company is suing Lohan for breach of contract and fraud. The court filing by D.N.A.M arrives as Lindsay Lohan is once again back in rehab, this time at the Betty Ford clinic. Lindsay Lohan’s reps have not commented on the D.N.A.M. lawsuit at this time. Do you think the Lindsay Lohan lawsuit will end in favor of Lohan or D.N.A.M.? Lindsay Lohan Sued For $5 Million Over Drug Problems is a post from: The Inquisitr

Stem cells restored the vision to a blind man who suffered from the degeneration of his retinal cells. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, not only can stem cells restore vision to the blind, they can also cook up one interesting hamburger. The cost of this hamburger was $325,000, but scientists hope over time the process can be used to generate vat-grown meat for everyone (so, instead of tasting gamey, is it vatty?). Since 2011, Advanced Cell Technology has been conducting human trials on using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) to reverse two common causes of blindness, including dry age-related macular degeneration and Stargardt’s macular dystrophy. These diseases cause people to gradually lose retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which feed and clean photoreceptors necessary to capture light and send signals to the brain. The stem cells restored vision from 20/400, which is considered legally blind, to 20/40, which is enough to drive a car. This was done by converting human embryonic stem cells into RPE cells and then transplanting them beneath the retina. Gary Rabin, chairman and CEO of Advanced Cell Technology, says stem cells restoring vision to the blind is just the beginning: “”There’s a guy walking around who was blind, but now can see. With that sort of vision, you can have a driver’s licence. … We continue to be encouraged by the progress we see in our ongoing clinical investigations, though the results included in the article were confidential and not intended for publication at that time. Our plan is still to publish additional results from the clinical investigations when we have a significant aggregation of data.” Human embryonic stem cells have been controversial in the past because culturing them results in the destruction of a fertilized human embryo. Much of the successful stem research has derived from somatic stem cells, also known as adult stem cells. But hESC are fully pluripotent, meaning they can transform to any cell type, while adult stem cells are typically multipotent, meaning they are limited to what type of cells they can differentiate into. But they are various sources of pluripotent adult stem cells, including umbilical cord blood. What do you think about stem cells restoring vision to the blind using human embryonic stem cells? Stem Cell Restored Vision To Blind Man Using Human Embryos is a post from: The Inquisitr

Some doctors are calling for parents to be explicitly told not to sleep with their infants after a large study found it led to a five-fold increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Experimenting with marijuana is usually reserved to the average high school or college stoner, but pot-eating pigs in Washington state are putting that theory to the test. Susannah Gross, a farmer in Olympia, Washington, has found a way to utilize marijuana waste by feeding the popular plant’s leftovers to pigs before they are butchered and sold on the market. Gross owns a five-acre farm north of Seattle, and she’s been feeding a specific group of her pigs marijuana waste that has proved to give them a bigger appetite. Over the last four months, Gross has fed four of her pigs the leftover stems,roots, and leaves of the plant. The experiment has produced some highly probable results, as the the four pigs tested with pot have grown 20-to-30 pounds heavier than the rest of the litter before being sent to slaughter in March. In November, just before Gross began testing the plant with her pigs, voters in the state of Washington passed a measure to make recreational use of marijuana legal, though the federal government still considers the plant to be an illegal narcotic. The pot-eating pigs are just the start for Gross and her medical marijuana grower, Matt McAlman, according to Reuters. McAlman hopes the experiments will expand to greater uses for the powerful plant that has grown popularity over the past few years. “We can have pot chickens, pot pigs, grass-fed beef,” McAlman told Reuters. The European Food Safety Authority was studying the uses of marijuana on animals a few years ago, as they reported in 2011 that “no studies concerning tolerance or effects of graded levels of THC in food-producing animals have been found in literature.” Though any harm or negative reactions to the pot-feeding hasn’t been noted, some have criticized the idea of using marijuana waste in a pig’s diet. The local butcher and customers of Gross’ pot-eating pigs believe otherwise. William von Schneidau, the owner of the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, received the pigs from Gross in March and it didn’t take long to sell out. When speaking to Reuters about the customers’ reviews, von Schneidau said “some say the meat seems to taste more savory.” Do you believe the pot-eating pigs are just the beginning as medical marijuana farmers are popping up left and right, with nowhere to put the plant’s wastes? Pot-Eating Pigs Fatten Up Before Hitting The Market is a post from: The Inquisitr

A New Jersey sinkhole swallowed a worker and his forklift on Monday. Authorities were summoned to a warehouse in East Rutherford after the man and the machine fell into the hole that opened up yesterday afternoon. The building was immediately evacuated. The injured worker has been identified as Bronx resident Danny Rodriguez. After rescuers managed to pull him out of the opening, he was rushed to an area hospital for treatment. The Huffington Post reports that Rodriguez injured his back during his tumble into the hole. It’s believed that the man’s life was saved by the forklift. The machinery ultimately prevented him from being crushed when he fell into the sinkhole. Although he hurt his back during the fall, he didn’t receive any life-threatening injuries as a result. “Fortunately for the operator, the forklift went straight down and didn’t tip to the side because then he could have really been hurt,” Police Chief Larry Minda told The Record. According to WABC, property manager Bruce Jordan said that the concrete slab appeared to have crumbled while the forklift was driving across it. This created an opening into a forgotten basement beneath the warehouse. The oily substance that authorities initially discovered inside the hole is believed to be the cooking oil and soy sauce the forklift operator was transporting when the sinkhole opened up. AM Express Freight administrator Sarah Entena said the warehouse is used to store non-perishable food items. “He’s the best forklift driver we have,” Entena said of the injured employee. “The forklift protected him. And thank God for that.” This particular unit of the East Rutherford warehouse complex will remain closed until the sinkhole situation has been properly addressed. A construction engineer will assess what repairs will be needed to make the building safe for workers. Officials are still unsure what caused the 10-foot deep sinkhole to open up inside the building in New Jersey. An investigation into the matter is currently underway. [Image via Shutterstock] New Jersey Sinkhole Swallows Man On A Forklift is a post from: The Inquisitr

A man attempting to catch a ghost sighting on his webcam was instead shocked to learn that his second wife was sleeping with his son. The 28-year-old woman seduced the man’s 16-year-old son and was caught kissing the boy on the webcam which was meant to catch paranormal activity. Appearing in court on Monday the boys stepmother admitted to having sex with an underage boy from October through November 2012. According to court records the step-mother and stepson had a strained relationship until last October. The boy’s step-mom went to his room at that time to discuss driving lessons. During their talk the pair began tickling and eventually engaged in sexual intercourse. One day after the sex between mom and son occurred the boy’s father setup a webcam to capture ghosts on video. After returning from work the father discovered his son and wife kidding and cuddling on video. After it was discovered that the mother and son were engaging in sex the boy moved to the west coast. Not satisfied with their short fling the step-mom traveled to see the boy where they engaged in a six-day stay at a local hotel. In defending his client a lawyer for the mother said she believed the age of consent was 16-years-old. The lawyer claims that the mother is ashamed of her conduct. The couple also have a young child together. The man and woman have since separated and will soon divorce. The stepmother was remanded to custody and will appear in front of the court next week. Man Hunting Ghosts With Webcam Catches Wife Sleeping With Son is a post from: The Inquisitr