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Worth a Click: 12 Stories You Should Read Today

By DNAinfo Staff | January 26, 2016 3:27pm 

 Macroeconomist Chris Christopher estimates last weekend's storm cost the East Coast between $500 million and $1 billion all together.
Macroeconomist Chris Christopher estimates last weekend's storm cost the East Coast between $500 million and $1 billion all together.
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DNAinfo/Katie Honan

How Much Did #Blizzard2016 Cost?

Jonas was expensive. When you take into account lost wages, insurance claims and closed businesses, it all adds up. Economist Chris Christopher estimates the storm cost to be between $500 million and $1 billion all together. City Comptroller Scott Stringer has estimated snowstorms cost the city an average of $1.8 million per inch, while other economists say e-commerce sites and grocery stores that sold all their merchandise to panicked shoppers probably benefited. [The Atlantic]

Would an Open Gangway Work for New York City Subway Cars?

Over the weekend, the MTA released a rendering of a city subway car with an open gangway design, one that would provide a little more room for rush-hour commuters forced to pack themselves in like sardines. [Second Avenue Sagas]

Lawsuit Claims Disney Colluded to Replace U.S Workers With Immigrants

Former Disney employees have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming their employer colluded with global consulting companies to break the law by replacing American workers with immigrants through H-1B work visas, which are designed to bring workers with special skills into the country but who "will not adversely affect the working conditions of U.S. workers similarly employed." In a few cases, the American workers trained their replacements before being laid off, according to the report. [NYT]

Is Secondhand Smoke from Hookah Bars Putting Employees at Risk?

Researchers at New York University’s College of Global Public Health and Langone Medical Center seem to think so. The group tested 10 hookah bar employees as they left work to find each had high levels of toxins and other identifiable markers akin to those of heavy cigarette smokers. Because hookah is exempt from clean indoor air laws, according to senior study author, Dr. Terry Gordon, the researchers suggest closer monitoring of how these businesses protect their workers and patrons. [Everyday Health]

Transgender Athletes Allowed to Compete in Olympics

The International Olympics Committee announced new guidelines allowing transgender athletes to compete in international events without undergoing sex reassignment surgery. The recommendations should apply for this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, officials said, but they are merely guidelines and not set rules. The change would be a stark departure from previous policy, in which trans athletes were required to have surgery along with two years of hormone therapy in order to be eligible. [The Guardian]

Your Favorite Bartender at Fanelli’s Left For a Mansion in Belgrade

Regulars of the SoHo bar Fanelli’s, which opened in 1922, are likely know bartender Bob Bozic well, having witnessed his bellowed trivia questions and refusal to make complicated drinks. The barman recently poured his last beer at Fanelli’s, before returning to his ancestral homeland of Belgrade to recover a mansion that once belonged to his family. This New York Times profile has the story of Bozic’s last night at Fanelli’s and what he’s been up to since relocating to Serbia. [NYT]

Rapper B.o.B Insists Earth Is Flat

Rapper B.o.B recently posted a series of tweets claiming that the Earth is flat. He first challenged the science a couple of days ago by posting a picture of himself on a hill, claiming that distant cities should be hidden from view because of curvature, but yet, they are still visible.

B.o.B’s posts prompted American astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson to respond, although eventually, the scientist decided to give the rapper a break. [The Guardian]

Boy Cries Tears of Joy After Surgery

My son waking up after his heart transplant on 11-13-15...  https://www.facebook.com/groups/TeamTrevor/

Posted by Philip Sullivan on Tuesday, January 19, 2016

A Michigan teenager Trevor Sullivan was suddenly struck with cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart muscle to enlarge, according to the Washington Post. In just two weeks, he gained 12 pounds and had trouble breathing. His parents posted a video on Facebook of Trevor post-surgery, where he expresses great relief of being able to breathe again. [Washington Post]

The Michael Jackson Video Game Conspiracy

Did Michael Jackson write the soundtrack for videogame 'Sonic the Hedgehog'? Follow the writer down the rabbit hole — or hedgehog burrow? — of a theory that has gripped some dedicated fans/conspiracy theorists for years. [Huffington Post]

A Phone-Tracking App Keeps Leading People to This Atlanta Couple’s Home

Christina Lee and Michael Saba say people — and sometimes police officers — have knocked on their door more than a dozen times in the last year, demanding the couple return their stolen cell phones. It seems some mysterious technological glitch in various phone-tracking apps is repeatedly, and erroneously, pointing searchers to their home. [Fusion]

Decades After Her Death, New Story Beatrix Potter Story Found

Best known for the children’s tale "Peter Rabbit," British children’s author Beatrix Potter has captured the imaginations of kids for decades. Now, thanks to the discovery of a curious publisher, a never-before-published story she wrote in 1914 is set to be released this September. Jo Hanks, U.K. publisher, found several references and drawings to "The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots" in Potter’s notebooks and eventually tracked down the whole tale in a collection of her manuscripts at a museum in London. [The Bookseller]

Donald Rumsfeld Made a Solitaire App with a Winston Churchill Theme

Donald Rumsfeld has released an iPhone app where users can play a specific type of solitaire that Winston Churchill used to play. It uses two decks of cards instead of one, 10 columns instead of seven and an area of reserved cards that is called the Devil’s Six. The app also includes some biographical history on Churchill, and Slate writer Lily Hay Newman has praised the game as “pretty fun!” [Slate]

This column was compiled by DNAinfo reporters Camille Bautista, Jeanmarie Evelly, Emily Frost, Gwynne Hogan, Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska, Carolina Pichardo, Irene Plagianos, Eddie Small, Gustavo Solis, Danielle Tcholakian, Shaye Weaver and Nikhita Venugopal.