doseofsarcasm

#Oklahoma #Prisoner #Corrections #Inmate #Protest An Oklahoma City corrections officers was held hostage at a local detention center on Saturday, before the inmate holding him hostage was shot and killed. Video filmed by inmates in the Oklahoma County Detention Center showed the unidentified CO being forced to kneel down on the 10th floor on the ground. The correction officer was believed to have been grabbed after he gave the inmate some medication, News 9 reports. He also took the man's keys before tying him up. Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said the officers attempted to deescalate the scene, but had to open fire once the inmate held something to the officer's neck while he was in a 'hostage position.' 'Lethal force was taken, and the suspect was shot on scene,' Johnson said, KOCO reports. 'We were able to get the detention officer out safely.' The CO was taken to a local hospital for treatment but police would not release further info pertaining to his injuries. He is expected to recover, authorities shared. Authorities are in the preliminaries stages of the investigation into the hostage situation and the shooting, Chief Wade Gourley said. The Oklahoma City Police Department will lead the investigation. Demonstrators outside the detention center say that the hostage situation started as a protest of the conditions and the treatment of the inmates. 'We can't take showers,' the inmate screams as other COs shout from the floor below. Someone filming the encounter can be heard explaining that the CO who was held didn't have anything to do with the altercation. 'He just so happens to be a product of the situation,' the inmate shares.

taking the l maybe i did maybe

July 4th near the beach in HB

#WiSpa #Trans #Man #LosAngeles #Antifa Tense protests erupted Saturday outside a California spa where a woman allegedly exposed herself to children, teens and adults in the women’s area. It happened in Downtown Los Angeles outside Wi Spa on Wilshire Boulevard. Groups showed up in support of the woman who complained about the incident – but videos from FOX Los Angeles and others shared to social media showed that people from both sides of the rights movement clashed at the scene. Images show people wearing masks and flak vests, some of them carrying weapons and others waving signs or flags. Another video shows a mob of people clad in dark clothes and masks, some wearing vests bearing the word "PRESS," mocking and chasing a man down the street. He can be seen wearing a T-shirt that reads "Obey Jesus." He is punched from behind at least once, and subsequent photos show him with blood running down his face and chest. The camera pans around and shows the dark-clad group engaging in physical contact with at least two other men on the sidewalk. A dumpster had been dragged into the middle of the street, with its contents burning. When officers arrived, wearing helmets and carrying batons, the smoke could be seen billowing behind them as they tried to restore order. Some of the street brawling occurred in the middle of traffic as drivers blared their horns and tried to avoid the chaos. The LAPD confirmed officers were on the scene and had taken control of the situation a short while later. Additional videos show rows of squad cars and police SUVs parked up and down the street, as well as helmeted officers declaring the protest an unlawful assembly and attempting to restore order after the opposing groups battled in the street with weapons including bats and bottles. One woman claimed to have been stabbed. Bystanders tried to break up some of the fighting, videos show, but violence erupted on repeated occasions. LAPD Officer Mike Lopez, a department spokesman, told Fox News Saturday that no arrests had been made but at least five crimes had been reported against five separate victims. "Three of them were victims of assault and battery, and the other two were assault with deadly weapon," he said. Police were looking for numerous suspects. The dueling demonstrations came in response to complaints about the spa’s policy after a customer accused a woman of exposing her genitals "right in front of young girls, teens and grown women" in a profanity-laced video of her complaint to a spa worker posted to Instagram. It’s difficult to make out the clerk’s response behind a Plexiglas shield and coronavirus face mask but appears to mention the customer is protected by California law. Another customer can be heard demanding a refund and telling a different clerk she won’t be returning to the store. Other customers attempted to intervene in the argument, and one bystander approached the woman taking the video. "Are you talking about a person?" he asks. "There is no such thing as," she replies. "He has a d---." "You’re being a d---," the man replies. In a statement, Wi Spa noted California's anti-discrimination law protects individuals but said it had zero tolerance for "lewd conduct" by customers. "As a spa located in Los Angeles, Wi Spa complies with California law prohibiting discrimination by a business, including the Civil Code provision set forth above," the statement reads. "Like many other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles contains a population, some of whom enjoy visiting a spa. Wi Spa strives to meet the needs and safety of all of its customers, and does not tolerate harassment or lewd conduct by any customer, regardless of their sex, gender, or other characteristic."

#Unemployment #Montana #Missouri At least 11 states are opting out of federal unemployment programs months early. But some workers may be able to keep the extended benefits. The moves, made by officials in Republican-led states, would cut off benefits as early as June 12. The aid includes an extra $300 a week paid on top of typical state benefits. The long-term unemployed, as well as self-employed and gig workers, would lose their entitlement to benefits outright. The American Rescue Plan offered these funds through Sept. 6. “This is really hastening the [benefits] cliff,” according to Nicole Marquez, director of social insurance at the National Employment Law Project. “We’re concerned with states taking that action abruptly and prematurely.” Domino effect Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte started the domino effect on May 4. Since then, at least 10 others have announced they will exit the federal unemployment programs, which have been in place since March 2020. They include Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wyoming. More may soon follow. More from Personal Finance: The stock market is sliding. Should you get out? Prices are going up — here’s what inflation means to you Social Security’s cost-of-living adjustment could be higher next year Officials attributed the decisions to labor shortages in their respective states. Enhanced benefits, they claim, are keeping people from returning to work and making it difficult for businesses to hire for open jobs. “My decision is based on a fundamental conservative principle — we do not want people on unemployment,” Idaho Gov. Brad Little said Tuesday. “We want people working. “A strong economy cannot exist without workers returning to a job.” However, critics say the unemployment benefits don’t play a big role in any labor shortages. Instead, pandemic-era factors like erratic school openings, child-care duties, a lingering virus threat and relatively low vaccinations to date among working-age Americans have kept people sidelined, they said. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Some experts think the U.S. Labor Department may be able to prevent the loss of benefits for the self-employed, gig workers and others who receive aid through the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The U.S. Labor Department has the legal power to keep that aid flowing due to specific wording in the CARES Act, which established the program, according to a National Employment Law Project letter sent Tuesday to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh. However, the same doesn’t apply to other federal programs, including one offering an extra $300 a week, the letter said. “Our position is that the Department of Labor has this authority and that they should utilize their authority to be able to ensure PUA extends to its full range,” Marquez said. “We would argue that given that authority, DOL must take that action.” There are two options, according to the letter: U.S. labor officials could require states that opted out to keep paying PUA benefits or other states could choose to take over administration of the lost PUA benefits. There are some hurdles to both approaches, including potential lawsuits from the states opting out of the federal aid, Marquez acknowledged. A Labor Department official acknowledged receipt of the letter but declined to comment.

#BLM #Cullors #Louisville #Palmer #Taylor The mother of Breonna Taylor, whose daughter was accidentally shot dead by police in her own Kentucky apartment last year, has branded the Black Lives Matter movement a fraud. 'I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud, Attica Scott another fraud,' Tamika Palmer wrote in a Facebook post earlier this week. Her criticism comes amid a backlash against the national co-founder of BLM after it was revealed she owns a multi million property empire. 'I have never personally dealt with BLM Louisville and personally have found them to be fraud, Attica Scott another fraud,' Palmer wrote. She also criticized people who raised money on behalf of her daughter's family without actually knowing either her or Taylor. 'I could walk in a room full of people who claim to be here for Breonna's family who don't even know who I am, I've watched y'all raise money on behalf of Breonna's family who has never done a thing for us nor have we needed it or asked so talk about fraud,' Palmer said. 'It's amazing how many people have lost focus ... I'm a say this before I go, I'm so sick of some of y'all and I was last anybody who needs it,' she added. The officers involved in Taylor's death, Detective Joshua Jaynes and Myles Cosgrove have not been charged in her death. Both were fired from the Louisville Police Department. On the night of the incident, Louisville police officers executing a search warrant used a battering ram to enter the apartment where Taylor was inside with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Police were investigating two men they believed were selling drugs out of a house not far from Taylor's home. A judge signed a warrant allowing a search because police said they believed one of the men had used the apartment to receive packages. Walker later told the police he feared the loud banging at the door was Taylor's ex-boyfriend trying to break in. After the police knocked the door off its hinges, Walker fired his gun once, striking Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. The police responded by firing several shots, striking Taylor five times. Taylor received no medical attention for more than 20 minutes after she was struck, The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported, citing dispatch logs. Last month, Palmer struck a more gracious tone over Black Lives Matter. Speaking to NBC, Palmer said she was 'eternally grateful' for the Black Lives Matter protesters who had kept Taylor's memory alive and demanded justice in her name. 'There's so many people who never even met her,' Palmer tearfully began, 'but they learned of her and they came to stand for her because what happened to her wasn't right – I can never say thank you enough.' But Palmer's recent criticism of Black Lives Matter comes days after the group's co-founder Patrisse Cullors faced criticism over her $3 million empire of four homes. Cullors responded by saying it was 'categorically untrue' and 'incredibly dangerous' to suggest she may have used any of the organization's funds to buy her homes. The 37-year-old, who set up BLM with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi back in 2013, broke down in tears as she revealed she has 'spent the last week with security' after her homes were first pictured in the media. She also tried to deflect criticism from some on the left who have questioned whether her ownership of four homes contradicts her ideology as a 'trained Marxist' as she said she has invested in the properties to provide for her family and sees her wealth 'as my family's money, as well.' Her explanation comes after it emerged she has accrued four homes worth a combined total of around $3 million in recent years, sparking questions about her source of income. Black Lives Matter raked in around $90 million in donations last year but does not release a full accounting of its spending. The organization said Cullors has been paid $120,000 since 2013 but has not received any payment since 2019. Meanwhile, much of the discussion of her homes has been banned on Twitter and Facebook. Twitter on Monday locked out a black sportswriter who questioned why Cullors was stacking up properties including one in a mostly white neighborhood. Facebook this week also blocked users from sharing a DailyMail.com story that reported on the purchase of the homes.

#Discrimination #Darden #Stimulus #Tips Advocacy group One Fair Wage is suing Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants, alleging the company’s tipping policy encourages harassment and racial discrimination against its waitstaff. The complaint, which was filed Thursday in California federal court, is the latest salvo in the battle against the tipped minimum wage. In 43 states, employers can pay their workers as little as $2.13 an hour as long as that hourly wage and tips add up to the locality’s pay floor. Otherwise, the employer has to make up the difference. The tipped minimum wage was last raised in 1991, but Democrats attempted to get rid of it earlier this year as part of their plan to raise the federal pay floor. The amendment to add an increase to the federal minimum wage to the latest Covid-19 relief bill failed to pass the Senate, but Democrats will likely revisit the issue again during President Joe Biden’s four-year term. Darden was among the restaurant companies that vocally opposed getting rid of the tipped wage. In the lawsuit, One Fair Wage said that Darden’s tipping policy causes its employees who are people of color to earn less than white employees. A poll of 200 Darden workers conducted by the advocacy group found that servers who are people of color made 18% less in tips per hour than white servers. The lawsuit also alleges that Darden’s policy gives managers the ability to influence servers’ wages because they can assign servers to shifts or seating sections that tend to result in lower tips. The complaint said that servers who are paid less than the minimum wage experience more harassment than waitstaff who work in localities that require Darden to pay them the minimum wage, based on the survey completed by One Fair Wage. “The cash wage policy is the direct cause, or at least a motivating cause, of this disparate impact,” the complaint said. Managers may tell their servers to dress more suggestively to earn higher tips and turn a blind eye to harassment in order to keep the customer happy, according to the lawsuit. Moreover, servers who complain about harassment from managers could be retaliated against, receiving worse shifts and tables. The advocacy group suggests several alternatives that could help, including pooling tips, adding a standard service charge to all bills or providing standards to customers that would minimize the role of race in tipping decisions. Darden’s current corporate policy allegedly does not allow managers to use different tipping systems. “To be clear, this is not about Darden,” company spokesperson Rich Jeffers said in a statement to CNBC. “The complaint makes clear that their objections are with federal and state wage laws – not with our practices.” Jeffers said the company has a zero tolerance policy for harassment and discrimination, as well as strong policies to make its employees feel safe and valued. Darden’s tipped employees make more than $20 an hour on average, he said. The company recently raised its pay floor to $10 an hour, including tip income. The company plans to boost wages to $11 per hour in January and by an additional dollar the following year. One Fair Wage is the only plaintiff named in the complaint. The group argues that it has the standing to sue Darden because it has had to divert more time and money to helping the company’s workers, including paying out $175,000 in financial assistance to employees because of the coronavirus pandemic. One Fair Wage filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in September about Darden but requested that the agency dismiss the charge in March. The EEOC issued the group with a right to sue notice, which gives it 90 days to file a lawsuit in federal court. Two employees of The Capital Grille, which is owned by Darden, also filed complaints with the EEOC last year. One Fair Wage is asking the court to declare that tipping policies like Darden’s are illegal and violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The plaintiff is also seeking an injunction against Darden from maintaining those policies and employment practices.

#PennState #Woke #University Pennsylvania State University has been mocked after axing the words 'freshman,' 'junior' and 'senior' - as well as the phrase 'him or her' over fears they're sexist. Last month, the University's Senate Committee on Curricular Affairs passed the 'Removal of Gendered & Binary Terms from Course and Program Descriptions' resolution with a majority vote. They said the axed terms were examples of 'male-centric' terminology that needed to be updated with more inclusive words. Among the concerns raised by the committee were that 'freshmen' were too male-specific, with 'junior' and 'senior' axed for being 'parallel to western male father-son naming conventions.' The phrase 'upperclassmen' was condemned for being 'both sexist and classist,' while the new rules also lashed Penn's existing documentation for many appearances by he/she pronouns.' The bill was one of several equity and diversity resolutions to pass at the Senate's April 27 meeting, Penn State News reported. The changes for gendered terms would apply to all written materials, including both internal and outward-facing documents, Fox News reported. The senate also recommended replacing freshman/sophomore/junior/senior with 'first-year',' second-year' etc. Its members suggested replacing gendered pronouns with neutral terms like 'student,' 'faculty member' or staff member.' Other recommendations included replacing 'underclassmen' and 'upperclassmen' with 'lower division' and 'upper division.' The senate also called for the term 'super seniors' to be axed. That refers to students who have taken longer than the usual four years to complete their studies, over fears the moniker could make some of them self-conscious. But the resolution also conceded that old terms - including male and female pronouns - may be required in courses such as gender studies classes. 'The committee recognizes that there may be places where these terms, especially gender terms, may need to remain intact, for example in the case of courses or degrees that delve into gender studies,' the resolution said. 'In such cases, efforts shall be made to clearly delineate between the 'academic' study of these gendered terms, and the newly established nomenclature as it would apply to faculty, staff, students, and guests.' The announcement drew mixed criticism from people online, with some calling the move the schools attempt to be 'woke.' On Facebook one parent complained about the resolution, commenting: 'Are you really getting rid of terminology such as freshman and sophomore? because I have a child at the main campus and I am at my wits end with this stupidity.' Another Facebook commenter was even harsher, commenting: 'Your woke agenda is both sad and really pathetic and you represent what's wrong with this generation. Please pack up and leave asap because your agenda proves how worthless these students are who get triggered over real terms like male, senior and junior.' Reactions on Twitter were not any better, with one person tweeting 'College campuses are quickly becoming complete jokes. Glad I went to college before academics went completely crazy.' 'I guess Penn State grads don't have and Alma Mater any more. I mean, 'nourishing mother' so CIS and ungender neutral. Maybe it should be Alma They?' someone tweeted in reaction to the resolution. 'Great to see we are focusing on important issues like this in the U.S,' one person sarcastically tweeted. Another person shared a 'Family Guy' meme of Peter Griffin that reads 'Oh my god! who the cares!?' One person simply tweeted 'Its official, these idiots are fully certifiable.' While reaction to the resolution has been mixed online, students at Penn State do not seem to mind. 88.75 percent of students at the university approved the change, campusreform.org reported.

#Biden #Trump #Tubman #Kobe #Whitney #Ginsberg Joe Biden has ditched Donald Trump's plan to build a 'Garden of American Heroes' featuring statues of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Whitney Houston and Kobe Bryant. The President of the United States revoked his predecessor's July 2020 executive order via an email sent Friday while also axing a Trump order on punishing statue vandals. No explanation for the cancellation was given. Trump unveiled his proposed heroes on January 18, just two days before he left office. They included the late Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg, who died of cancer in September 2020 aged 87. Also on the list was Houston, hailed as one of the United States' greatest ever pop stars, who tragically drowned while high on drugs in February 2012. LA Lakers basketball icon Bryant was killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles in January 2020 aged 41. Other statues planned by Trump included late Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, underground railroad heroine Harriet Tubman, cookery book writer Julia Child and evangelist Billy Graham. He had envisioned that the garden would be 'a site of natural beauty that enables visitors to enjoy nature, walk among the statues, and be inspired to learn about great figures of America’s history.' No site was ever selected, and the planned garden did not receive any congressional funding. Biden's decision to cancel the plan marks a highly symbolic distancing of his administration from the Trump-era White House. Meanwhile, Biden revoked Trump’s decree in June 2020 calling for the federal government to 'prosecute to the fullest extent permitted under Federal law' acts of vandalism and destruction to statues on federal property. That order came in response to the defacement of statues — particularly those honoring the Confederacy — during nationwide protests over racial injustice following the killing of George Floyd while in police custody. These demonstrations later spread around the world. Mr Biden’s decree also revoked Trump’s May 2020 order calling for the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate social media companies for labeling or removing posts or entire accounts in what the then president claimed was a restriction on free speech. That order came before Trump himself was removed from platforms like Twitter and Facebook after the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. A proclamation from Trump that required immigrants to prove they would be covered by certain health insurance plans within 30 days of entering the US or prove they could cover medical costs was also vetoed by Biden. 'My administration is committed to expanding access to quality, affordable healthcare,' Biden said in revoking that proclamation. 'We can achieve that objective, however, without barring the entry of non-citizens who seek to immigrate lawfully to this country but who lack significant financial means or have not purchased health insurance coverage from a restrictive list of qualifying plans.'

#OSU #Massage #Football #Investigation Ohio State University has banned a massage therapist who allegedly exploited football players by offering them free massages to initiate sex with them 'for her own gratification,' it has been revealed. The massage therapist, 41, offered dozens of Ohio State football players massages and engaged in consensual sex with five of them, according to a report released by the university. She admitted to having sex with two of them. A law firm hired by the university found that no criminal or NCAA violations occurred but recommended the findings be reviewed by a prosecutor, the report said. The massage therapist, whose name and age was not released, agreed to give up her license on March 22 in order to avoid an investigation by the state medical board. The investigation by the law firm Barnes & Thornburg came after a complaint was made on March 14, 2020, with the State Medical Board of Ohio alleging that she was offering free massages to initiate interactions and then demanding payment. 'She appeared to be driven by her desire for physical and contact with members of the OSU football team,' the report reads. However, the investigation did not uncover any evidence that she engaged in any form of extortion or other financial coercion. The report said no university policies were found to have been violated. The massage therapist seemed intent on having sex with the football players specifically, and there have been no indications that she targeted student athletes from OSU sports teams other than the football team. The Medical Board shared the claim with the Ohio State University Police Division in early March 2021 - but cops determined they couldn't investigate further because the alleged events occurred off campus and because there was no allegation of a crime committed. The law firm interviewed 117 current and former players and more than 40 coaches and staff members to determine if any of the students had been a victim of a crime and if any violations of NCAA rules occurred. The massage therapist allegedly carried out her scheme to have sex with the college football athletes from 2018 through 2021 in off-campus housing and in hotels.' She used 'aggressive tactics' to try to have sex with the student athletes including sending sexually explicit messages and nude photographs to the athletes through social media, according to the report. 'She would often times make references to their anatomy and even sent naked pictures to a few football student athletes,' the report reads. Investigators said 'many football student athletes described her as touching their genital area either accidentally or in an inappropriate way during massages.' One student allegedly said that during a massage, she purposely brushed up against his genitals a couple of times and would say, 'my bad,' each time. According to the report, she also claimed that she had clients in the NFL, the NBA, the MLB, and the NHL, as well as in NCAA football, to add to her credibility. She would also provide them with receipts in an attempt to appear professional. In a letter that was hand-delivered to the massage therapist, the university's director of public safety banned the massage therapist from 'any of its campuses for any reason' and that a violation of the ban would amount to criminal trespassing. Eugene D. Smith, a Senior Vice President for the university, wrote in another letter that the ban includes purchasing season tickets for any athletic event or receiving tickets from others. 'The investigation is now complete, and it determined that you engaged in exploitative and inappropriate behavior toward University student-athletes,' Smith's letter reads. 'Specifically, you targeted student-athletes for activity under the guise of having a legitimate massage therapy business, and created a scheme to manipulate student-athletes for the purpose of advancing your own interests.'

#Georgia #Restaurant #Police #Party #Dash A Georgia restaurant called the police on a dinner party of around 25 people celebrating a woman's 30th birthday after they refused to split the over $2,200 check for the large group. TikTok videos shared by a woman named Key showed the awkward exchange unfold as the large group celebrated for her sister - Quandresha Brinkley - at the Louisiana Bistreaux Seafood Kitchen in East Point, Georgia, on March 10. Key told DailyMail.com that Brinkley had made the reservation beforehand and had talked with staff at the restaurant about what they would need to do to arrange payment. 'She said to have less credits cards but make sure people have cash,' Key said Brinkley was told by the manager at the eatery. Video shows the group sitting in the restaurant as police gather nearby. Several people can be seen talking to a manager at the restaurant, who is explaining that she was able to take drinks off the bill but not able to split it. Key even pans over the entirety of the receipt, showing a staggering bill for $2,204.30. She also shows one officer appearing to laugh at the scene as the manager tries to explain the situation with the drinks to the irate party. The sister shared that staff at the restaurant really didn't do their best to accommodate the party. While the dinner was supposed to start at around 6pm, food hadn't even gotten to the group by the time Key had arrived at close to 8pm, she claimed. 'Most people were complaining,' the nail technician. asserted. 'Nobody had food.' Key admitted that there were extra people who attended the gathering, but those folks were sat away from the party and paid on their own separate bill, she said. And even when food started to come out, 'two or three plates' came that didn't belong to anyone, Key claimed. She said that the check had to be sent back a few times when the dishes appeared on the bill. 'A lot of people felt like they were getting ripped off,' Key added. A lot of the older attendees didn't have Cash App, so they needed to use cash. Since there were no ATMs in the restaurant, Key said guests were forced to walk to a nearby hotel in order to withdraw cash to pay. It was then that several people chose to ditch the party and not pay for their food at all, forcing Brinkley to pay a lot of the bill out of her own pocket. 'The bill did get paid,' Key said. 'Her [Brinkley's] friends brought other friends and they were the ones that ran. My sister paid money out of her pocket. She did make a reservation and she did talk about splitting the bill beforehand.' Key said police were called to the scene 'way before' the bill even came for all the food. The nail technician added that officers there told her to post about the incident on social media. 'He said "Go on social media about it and tell them about the restaurant. Go to social media about how they treated y'all,'" Key recalled. In a statement for the restaurant Wendy Smith said: 'While the incident on March 10th is unfortunate, reservations were made for 25 people and per our contractual agreement one bill would be presented to the host. 52 guests showed. 'Our policy is advance payment and attendance guarantee for large parties, however, our staff did their best to create a seamless experience for the additional 27 unexpected guests. 'The police were called only when some of the unexpected guests refused to pay.' The East Point Police Department could not be reached for comment.

#Venice #Homeless #Crime #Police #Arson #Shooting Residents of Venice Beach in Los Angeles say soaring crime rates and the exploding homeless population have made life in the elite beachside community unbearable. A 'catastrophic' increase in homelessness in Los Angeles has seen hundreds of tents line the beach's famous boardwalk. Business owners say they are being forced to close their doors and longterm residents are afraid to leave their homes after dark after being subjected to violent attacks and intimidation. Recent incidents - including a shooting on April 28 and an explosion at a homeless encampment - have left residents and business owners shaken. Fed-up locals have written to city and county officials pleading for them to intervene. The world-famous alternative beach community, 16 miles from downtown Los Angeles, has traditionally been a major tourism drawcard for the Californian city. However, now the palm trees and promenade are blighted by hundreds of tents. The accompanying anti-social behavior has unsettled longterm business owners. Hairdresser Kevin Buttress, 32, who has owner the Xquisite Barber Lounge for five years, said he had suffered two violent attacks in recent months. He told Fox News he was attacked in November by a pit bull owned by a homeless person and was knocked unconscious with a skateboard. 'I've given a lot of myself to the community of Venice Beach,' Buttress said. 'And to see everything just fall to pieces, it's messed up,' he told Fox. Buttress said the suspect in his attack was arrested and released days later amid efforts by Los Angeles County to cut the number of jail inmates over concerns about the spread of COVID-19. Hundreds of residents have put their signatures to a letter pleading for help from city and county officials. 'Venice's world famous beach and boardwalk are crippled,' it says. 'Local children are refusing to come to the beach because they're frightened by what they've witnessed. Seniors who live on or near the boardwalk are terrified of walking in their own neighborhoods.' Venice Neighborhood Council member Soledad Ursua said the homeless encampments had exploded during the COVID-19 lockdowns. She said residents were afraid to be out after dark, and there were fights several times a day and shootings and stabbings on a weekly basis. 'It's just a very dangerous time to be a Venice resident right now,' she said. Earlier this year, Klaus Moeller, the co-owner of Ben & Jerry's at Venice Beach, said he was closing his ice cream store after a huge increase in crime and homeless camps during the pandemic. A report released earlier this year by the University of California in Los Angeles found homeless rates had increased by 50% in five years. It found the economic fallout of the pandemic has left many more low-income residents on the brink of housing insecurity. Official figures suggest there are about 15,000 chronically homeless people in L.A. County. When 'couch surfers' and others who bounce in and out of homelessness, are included, that figure balloons to 66,000. Dan Flaming, president of the Economic Roundtable, has projected that figure will nearly double in the next four years. 'That would be catastrophic for us,' Flaming told ABC7 in January. According to figures from the Los Angeles Police Department provided to the Venice Neighborhood Council, the violent robberies in the neighborhood are up 177% from last year. The same period has also seen a 162% increase in cases of assault with a deadly weapon involving a homeless person. Videos depicting fires, fights, and harassment are a common sight on social media. One such video shows a person showing an unidentified person hurling a homemade Molotov cocktail into a tent shortly before it bursts into flames. And the death of a pet dog named Togo who was killed in a house fire has also been blamed on homeless people in the area. The pet had become 'the latest victim of Venice's continued degeneration when a transient threw an accelerant into his home, burning him alive,' according to a tribute. LA city leaders say the solution to the chronic homelessness issues is freeing up more public housing.

#CDC #Airborne #Virus #Covidians #Branch U.S. health officials have finally acknowledged that coronavirus is airborne and can travel more than six feet in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines updated Friday. 'COVID-19 spreads when an infected person breathes out droplets and very small particles that contain the virus. These droplets and particles can be breathed in by other people or land on their eyes, noses, or mouth,' the guidance reads. 'People who are closer than 6 feet from the infected person are most likely to get infected.' Previously, the CDC warned that coronavirus spread primarily through close contact, coughs and sneezes, not through what's known as 'airborne transmission.' Viruses that are airborne are tiny enough to travel farther distances as aerosols, rather than larger 'droplets.' Evidence has mounted for months that coronavirus travels this way, but the CDC largely punted on the issue, saying it was still assessing the data, until now. The agency's advice also continues to move away from warning about the risk of contracting the virus from surfaces, though the new guidance does acknowledge their potential to become contaminated. The CDC acknowledged back in October that there was the possibility of airborne transmission, but downplayed this risk, saying that the risk of transmission was low at distances greater than six feet all though such cases had been documented. Indoor settings among close contacts remain the primary hotbed for the spread of coronavirus. But the CDC's new guidance at last acknowledges how the virus can travel long distances in a fine mist and inhaled. With plenty of anecdotal stories of people mysteriously developing COVID-19 without any known close contacts being infected, aerosol transmission seemed like it would inevitably be recognized as a mode of spread. The CDC has finally removed language specifying that the virus spreads with 'close contact.' CDC's updates also come at a poignant moment, a week after it advised that fully vaccinated people can safely go without a mask for just about any outdoor activity, regardless of the vaccination status of those around them - unless they are in a crowd. However, the agency still says that unvaccinated people need to continue to wear masks outdoors, unless they are exercising with members of their own household or with fully vaccinated friends and family. It also said that fully vaccinated people can ditch their masks during small indoor gatherings with other fully vaccinated people - which President and first lady Joe and Jill Biden, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris were pictured doing for the first time in the past two weeks. The change was long-anticipated and welcome, but also left confusion in its wake because the U.S. does not require people to carry proof of vaccination, meaning there's no way to tell who is and isn't vaccinated. Like any form of transmission, aerosol transmission is less likely to occur outdoors than in. But the newly articulated warning about the ability of the virus to spread further than six feet in fine particles comes at a time when more Americans - vaccinated or unvaccinated - are going maskless. And many experts have said that the CDC has been slow to change much of its guidance throughout the pandemic. 'CDC. has now caught up to the latest scientific evidence, and they've gotten rid of some old problematic terms and thinking about how transmission occurs,' Virginia Tech aerosol expert Linsey Marr told the New York Times. Experts clarified that the risk of aerosol spread of coronavirus is still very low outdoors because ample space and wind tend to quickly carry away and disperse particles of the virus. That means that you're less likely to come into contact with any viral particles and, if you do, the concentration is less likely to be enough to infect you because the risk of contracting the virus increases with the volume you encounter. But if you are indoors, especially in a poorly ventilated room, the virus is liable to linger in the air and remain a threat - a danger the CDC has finally acknowledged.

#Manhattan #Alfred #Pocari #Doorman #Crash #Jail A female motorist who blew through a red light and killed an Upper West Side doorman has been sentenced to two to six years in prison. Jessenia Fajardo, 40, who had her driver's license suspended twice, plowed through stop lights on West End Avenue in Manhattan in her Acura on July 19, 2019, and hit 64-year-old grandfather-to-triplets, Alfred Pocari. Pocari was crossing West 98th Street and walking to his building to start his shift as a doorman. The collision on wealthy West End Avenue occurred after Fajardo had been reading a text on her phone and then decided to travel through the stop light which had already been on red for six seconds. Pocari died five days later in hospital as a result of his injuries. Fajardo also seriously injured another woman at the time of the incident, shattering her pelvis. The woman was then said to have tried to sweet-talk cops at the scene according to the New York Daily News and tried to insist that the traffic light was still green. 'I saw the light ahead was green, so I thought the one I was going through was green,' she said. She also claimed not to have seen Pocari and the woman in the crosswalk. She also tried to curry pity from NYPD officers by telling them that her apartment in the Bronx had burned down and that her own child's father had also been imprisoned - for vehicular manslaughter. Her lengthy criminal history includes two unlicensed driving convictions, authorities said. At her sentencing on Friday, Fajardo wept openly while two victims read lengthy impact statements describing the loss they suffered as a result of the crash. Fajardo then addressed the court and stated through tears that she was sorry for what had happened. The Manhattan District Attorney had recommended a sentence of five to 15 years, the maximum under New York law, but the judge handed down a term of between two and six years. 'The death of Alfred Pocari, a beloved grandfather of three, was not only tragic – it was a foreseeable and devastating consequence of the defendant's habitually reckless driving,' Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said in a news release. 'Our laws are fundamentally broken when it takes the death of a fellow New Yorker to get a driver with a history of reckless conduct off the road, as demonstrated in this case.' 'My dad came from Albania for a better life for his family,' said Pocari's son, Samiar Pocari. 'My dad was a dreamer. He had big dreams for all of us. His personal dream came true when his three granddaughters arrived. 'He was a hard-working man who worked hard for me and my sister. He was a virtuous man who stood up for his beliefs,' said Samiar. 'He was the rock of our family.' Fajardo's lawyer, Allen Farbman, said she was 'devastated' and fully accepted responsibility for her actions. At the time of her being charged, Fajardo was also charged with assault for running over another pedestrian's foot in a separate driving incident in May 2019 in Tribeca. In that incident, she ran over the foot of a 47-year-old man who was in a crosswalk at Desbrosses and Washington streets, authorities said. Fajardo got out of her SUV but quickly drove off after the victim informed her that he would be filing a report. Police caught up with her after the victim managed to take a photo of her license plate before she left the scene. When police questioned her she disputed the man's account of what happened. 'I know the incident that you are talking about. I don't believe that I hit him. I thought he was just exaggerating. This doesn't make any sense,' according to the complaint. 'If I hit his foot, wouldn't I have hit other parts of his body? I left when he went to call the police because I had to get to work. I am on probation.'

#Montana #SouthCarolina #Unemployment #Boost #Jobs Calls to cancel pandemic-era unemployment benefits intensified this week as worries over a labor shortage gained steam, culminating in a crescendo on Friday after a wildly disappointing jobs report for April. South Carolina and Montana announced plans before the report to end the jobless programs at the end of July, after weeks of local reports across the country recounted how restaurants couldn’t fill positions. After the jobs report on Friday, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced its support of stopping the extra $300 in weekly unemployment benefits, citing worker shortages, while Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced a bill to repeal the pandemic unemployment programs. “While there are certainly people that needed access to increased unemployment benefits during the heart of this pandemic, we should not be in the business of creating lucrative government dependency that makes it more beneficial to stay unemployed rather than return to work,” Marshall said in a statement on Friday. What's to blame for the disheartening job performance in April, though, has no consensus among economists. After payroll gains missed by over 700,000 — 266,000 jobs were added last month versus estimates of 1 million — a firestorm on Twitter ignited among economists and analysts, who largely agreed that tightness in the labor market existed, but argued over the culprit. Complicating matters is that the jobs recovery is not occurring in a vacuum, but amid a public health crisis that introduces multiple variables. ‘A real sign of labor market tightening or even shortages’ While there is no single measure for workforce shortage, increased work hours and wages are considered some of the signs that indicate employers are struggling to fill jobs and the labor market is tightening, according to Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute. Both occurred in April. Average weekly hours for workers in leisure in hospitality significantly increased in April, reaching 26.7 hours, up from its pre-pandemic levels of 25.8 hours in February 2020, according to data from the Labor Department. up the hours of the workers,” Shierholz told Yahoo Money. Average hourly earnings for workers in labor and hospitality also increased to $17.88 in April, up from their pandemic low of $16.92 in July and are higher than their pre-pandemic level of $16.90 in February 2020, according to data from the Labor Department. Some economists pointed to the increase as a sign that employers are competing with the enhanced unemployment benefits, specifically the extra $300 a week that the Chamber of Commerce said “results in approximately one in four recipients taking home more in unemployment than they earned working." Shierholz noted that the wage increases in some sectors may not be robust enough. For instance, nonsupervisory workers in leisure and hospitality still make less than $21,000 a year after wage increases, according to Shierholz, or about $10 an hour. “While there's definitely signs of isolated and temporary tightness in the labor market,” Shierholz said, “a lot of the huge complaints that we're seeing really are about businesses being frustrated that they can't find workers at extremely low wages.” Making it more difficult to pin blame is the pandemic itself that has disrupted American life in ways unlike a typical downturn. Factors like remote schooling and limited child care options ripple through the economy, especially affecting female workers. The details of April’s job report back this up. “There was a big increase in the labor force in April, [but] it was entirely among men,” Shierholz said. “That doesn't scream that it's an unemployment benefits issue, it really does scream that it's something like care-giving responsibilities in the time of COVID.” The number of women in the labor force fell by 64,000 in April, while the number of men increased by 493,000, Michael Madowitz, an economist at American Progress, pointed out to Yahoo Money. “If there is a labor shortage, it's all about women,” Madowitz tweeted on Friday after the jobs report. Where hiring fell also provides another clue. Leisure and hospitality actually added 331,000 jobs in April, but manufacturing saw payrolls drop by 18,000, specifically a 27,000 decline in auto production, which could be related to the national chip shortage. Additionally, fears over the public health situation may be holding some workers back, Shierholz said. Covid vaccines were not available to all adults until April in 33 states — the others didn’t open until mid- to late March — meaning those who received the Pfizer or Moderna shots had to wait five to six weeks before becoming fully vaccinated.

#Romy #Vilsaint #Bullied #Brooklyn #Police A family, devastated over their 12-year-old son's death, say they believe he was killed over a dare that turned deadly. Questions still remain over the circumstances that led to fifth-grader, Romy Vilsaint dying, but his father and cousins believe he was attacked at school over the matter of a dollar. Police are now investigating after the Brooklyn youngster lost consciousness at his home in Flatbush on Friday morning. The NYPD are now investigating if Romy had been attacked and have declared his death as 'suspicious'. The boy's family say he had been attacked in the two days prior to his death at school, PS 361. Romy, who had moved with his father from Haiti to Brooklyn in 2017, told a teacher that he had been attacked and that another student had been paid a dollar following the second attack which saw him hit hard on the back of the head. 'He got jumped by two kids on Wednesday. And he got hit in the head on Thursday. There were two different attacks at school,' 28-year-old Roodwiny Exantus, Romy's cousin, told The New York Post. The attacks both happened just after pupils had been dismissed from school for the day. 'When he reported it to the teacher, she asked who did it and why,' Exantus said. 'Romy said another kid paid him a dollar to do it.' 'He was like, 'Uncle, did I tell you today I had a bad day at school? A kid hit me in the back of the head, and I have a bad headache,'' Exantus explained. 'He said he had a slight headache and his waist hurt.' 'He didn't look good this morning. He vomited. My aunt had to help him in the shower. By 1pm. he looked bad, bad, bad,' he continued. 'My mom [Romy's aunt] found the vomit in the bucket and gave him a shower,' Exantus told the New York Daily News. 'She said he couldn't walk.' 'I wanted to take him to the hospital, but Uber was taking too long. He was begging for water. I called an ambulance. They arrived and said they were doing CPR and that's when I knew he was gone. I couldn't believe he was gone so fast. 'He was in cardiac arrest. His heart stopped,' said Exantus. 'He didn't have any medical problems. He was good until Thursday.' 'We're devastated. He was only 12 years old. He was always predicting what was going to happen next. He was a great kid. He wanted to be an actor or a basketball player.' Romy's father, Romain Vilsaint, said his son had been extremely sick in the hours before his death. 'He was a great kid and so smart. He never had any problems with anybody. We love him very much. I don't know what to say,' Vilsaint, 59 said. The city's medical examiner will now determine the cause of Romy’s death.

#Cornell #White #Discrimination #BIPOC #College #Ivy Cornell University has opened up a 'BIPOC only' rock climbing course to white students amid accusations that they are encouraging racial segregation on campus. An online description of the course, which runs during spring semester and is titled PE 1641: BIPOC Rock Climbing, initially stated that the class was 'for people who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, or other people of color'. BIPOC is an acronym which stands for black, indigenous and people of color. The prestigious Ivy League university quickly came under fire for the course, which sparked outrage on the internet. Critics claimed Cornell was 'disgustingly racist' and actively discriminating against white people, prompting administrators to open up the rock climbing course to students of all races. The course - which costs students $315 - still retrains its 'BIPOC Rock Climbing' name, but an updated course description states: 'This class is open to all Cornell students interested in learning rock climbing with this special focus.' The course sparked heated debate on Reddit, with one user claiming the course was an example of Critical Race Theory (CRT), which asserts that 'institutions are inherently racist and that race itself.. is used by white people to further their economic and political interests at the expense of people of color'. 'This has been going on all over higher education in all different programs,' the user proclaimed. 'Critical race theory is f**king toxic!' Another chimed in wondering whether Cornell preferred 'drinking fountains to be segregated for whites and BIPOCS too?' A third wrote: 'I didn't know Cornell liked Jim Crow.' A University spokesman did not address the change, simply telling The Cornell Daily Sun: 'While some [activities] may include a focus on students with specific identities, they are not restricted to only those students.' However, an instructor leading the course told the publication it was 'unlikely' white students would now enroll. Another instructor claimed that the course was simply designed to help BIPOC students feel comfortable with the 'white-centric' sport of rock climbing, and was not intended to be discriminatory. 'From larger issues such as cost of entry and accessibility, to smaller microaggressions like the names of some outdoor climbing routes, it’s difficult to be a minority and feel welcomed in the outdoors. Just under the surface, the climbing world especially is affected by racism, sexism and sizeism,' they stated. The instructor did not specifically name the routes that might be 'microaggressions', and many popular rock climbing spots in New York state are located in national parks with Native American names. Meanwhile, there have been some BIPOC students who were supportive of the exclusionary rock climbing course and wish it was not opened up to those who identify as white. 'Hearing people complain about this class, saying it’s taking away from our white peers is laughable and frustrating,' one told The Cornell Daily Sun. According to CollegeSimply, 59 percent of students at Cornell are BIPOC or from overseas. Just 41 percent are white Americans, far below the national average of 76 percent.

#Florida #Teen #Homecoming #Tate #Mom A schoolgirl accused of winning her homecoming queen contest by hacking its voting system with her assistant principal mother faces 16 years jail after being charged as an adult. Emily Rose Grover was 17 when she was arrested in March, but turned 18 in April. She and her mom Laura Rose Carroll, 50, have now been hit with a host of felony charges, it was announced Monday. Those charges include computer hacking and fraud, and could see the pair, from Cantonment in Florida, imprisoned until 2037 if they're convicted on all counts. 'This is not unusual with young people of that age,' Assistant State Attorney John Molcahn told the Pensacola News Journal. 'Juvenile [court] cannot do anything or supervise them after they become 18, and it just makes better sense to move them into adult court where they can be supervised effectively.' Although Grover has been charged as an adult, she could still be handed a more lenient juvenile sentence if convicted, Molcahn added. Grover and Carroll face multiple felony charges such as offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices; unlawful use of a two-way communications device; criminal use of personally identifiable information and conspiracy to commit those offenses. Carroll denied the allegations at a hearing in April, with her daughter due to be arraigned on the same charges on May 14. According to Florida officials, Carroll was an assistant principal at Bellview Elementary School in the same county. She and Grover are said to have used the school district's internal system to cast fraudulent votes for Grover so she would win the homecoming queen title at Tate High School. An investigation began in November when the Escambia County School District reported unauthorized access into hundreds of student accounts, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. At around the same time, the district's student council coordinator was notified that Grover had allegedly bragged about using her mom's account to cast votes, according to the News Journal. The investigators discovered that in October, hundreds of votes for the school's homecoming court were flagged as fraudulent, according to a news release. There were 117 votes for Grover to win sent from the same IP address within a short period of time, the investigation found. That's when investigators found evidence of unauthorized access to the system linked to Carroll's cellphone and computers at her home. The were 246 votes cast for homecoming court from those devices - all for Carroll's daughter. Multiple Tate students told investigators that Grover described using her mother's system access, or of watching her mother access records, for years, the report said.

#Oreo #Scott #Democrat #Texas #Biden #Harris A Texas county's Democratic Party has sparked outrage by refusing the resignation of the chairman who called Republican Tim Scott an 'Oreo'. Gary O’Connor, the Lamar County Democratic Party chairman, said he was 'deeply sorry' for using the 'racist term' and announced his plans to step down. But his colleagues then issued their own statement to MyParisTexas.com saying: 'Our local Democrats have taken the last few days to reflect upon this incident. 'After much discussion — especially among our local [b]lack Democrats — we chose not to accept Mr. O’Connor’s resignation'. 'Mr. O’Connor has written a public letter of apology to Sen. Tim Scott, and Lamar County Democrats join him in this apology,' the statement added. The party said O'Connor had been with the organization for seven years and his 'life of service, collaboration, and activism for racial justice is well known throughout this community. 'His recent remark is incompatible with his core values,' they insisted. O'Connor wrote the Facebook post in response to Scott’s rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s first address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday. Scott, the only black Republican in the United States Senate, was chosen by the GOP to give a response to the president’s address. The senator from South Carolina said that the United States ‘is not a racist country.’ O’Connor wrote on Facebook: ‘I had hoped that Scott might show some common sense, but it seems clear he is little more than an Oreo with no real principles.’ ‘Oreo’ is a reference to the famous sandwich cookie made by Nabisco. It consists of two dark-colored wafers separated by a white, creme filling. In a racial context, ‘Oreo’ refers to a black person who is perceived as 'acting white.' House Rep. Pat Fallon, a Republican from Texas, put out a statement last week demanding that O’Connor resign. 'Gary O’Connor's comment against Senator Tim Scott is abhorrent, insulting, and unforgivable,' Fallon said. 'Both he and the entire Lamar County Democratic Party should be ashamed of this racist behavior. He has yet to comment on the decision to let O'Connor keep his position. 'This kind of behavior is not tolerable in Texas, the United States, or any political party,' he added. Scott’s rebuttal speech and the response to his remarks from Democratic-leaning Twitter users have sparked controversy, particularly after the term ‘Uncle Tim’ was trending for about 12 hours. The three-term South Carolinian angered Democrats and their supporters when he denied that America was a racist country. Biden reacted to Scott's remarks by saying that while he doesn't think the American people are racist, African Americans have been left 'so far behind the eight ball in terms of education and health, in terms of opportunity.' Vice President Kamala Harris also agreed with Scott, saying that while America is not a 'racist country,' the nation needed to 'speak the truth' about its history. Another prominent black politician from South Carolina, Democratic House Majority Whip James Clyburn, told The Washington Post on Friday that he agreed with Scott's assessment that the US is not a racist country. 'I agree with him on that,' said Clyburn, the third most powerful Democrat in the House whose endorsement of Biden during the party primaries last year is thought to have helped turn the tide in favor of the former vice president. 'I don’t think a racist country would have elected Barack Obama as president, or Kamala Harris as vice president. 'That’s not the issue, that’s a red herring. The issue is they allow the jurisdictions in this country that have institutionalized the history and legacy of race.

#Evans #Green #Capitol #Police #Attack #Knife #Islam #Farrakhan Two years ago, the world was Capitol knifeman Noah Green's oyster. A star of the college football team, the accused Capitol knife attacker was soon to graduate with a degree in finance from Christopher Newport University in Virginia. Yet over the course of the next two years, his life would take a frightening turn into paranoia and suicidal depression, and ultimately come crashing down. On Friday he rammed his car into a barricade at the U.S. Capitol and leapt out with a knife, killing one of the officers. He was shot and killed by police. Green was born in Fairlea, West Virginia - a poor, largely white, rural community of 1,700 people in the southeast of the state, close to the border with Virginia. One of ten children, he grew up with seven sisters and two brothers. By the time he was at high school, he had crossed into Virginia and was living 30 miles from Fairlea in Covington, Virginia. He attended Alleghany High School where he played football and ran track, earning All-District, All-Conference, and team MVP honors in 2013. Green then went on to Christopher Newport University, in Newport News, Virginia. 'Mr Green was a 2019 graduate of Christopher Newport University with a degree in finance. Mr. Green played on the Christopher Newport University football team in the fall 2017 and fall 2018 seasons,' said Jim Hanchett, CNU chief communications officer. Green was not known to police in Washington DC but he did have a record in another state, according to law enforcement sources. His Facebook posts, which have since been taken down, showed a deeply disturbed man spiraling out of control - believing that he was the victim of federal 'mind control', having suicidal thoughts and manic episodes, traveling to Africa to seek solace, and finding comfort in religion and extremist ideology. 'Satan's rule over us is up,' he said, in a Facebook post on March 17. He credited the controversial leader of the Nation of Islam, Louis Farrakhan, with saving him 'after the terrible afflictions I have suffered presumably by the CIA and FBI, government agencies of the United States of America.' On Instagram, he wrote: 'I have suffered multiple home break ins, food poisonings, assaults, unauthorized operations in the hospital, mind control.' Green believed that his troubles began in 2019, when, he thought, a former teammate and roommate drugged him with Xanax. Those involved thought that Green had made the story up, and doubted his allegations. Green said the episode left him addicted to the drug, and left him with lasting mental health problems, which grew increasingly severe.

#Loveland #Dementia #Police #Walmart Newly-released video shows the moment an elderly woman with dementia was confronted by Walmart employees after forgetting to pay for her items and later walking home empty-handed, just moments before she was violently arrested by police. Security footage obtained by DailyMail.com shows 73-year-old Karen Garner trying to walk out of a Loveland, Colorado Walmart last June after allegedly failing to pay for $13 worth of items: a soda, a candy bar, a T-shirt, and wipe refills. Garner was stopped by staff and asked to return to the store where they were ultimately able to recover the unpaid merchandise. Despite suffering no loss, Walmart reported the incident to police, who later located Garner picking flowers down the road and arrested her by slamming her to the ground, causing her to fracture her elbow and dislocate her shoulder. Footage of the violent arrest went viral after its release earlier this month as part of a new lawsuit filed by Garner's family against the Loveland Police Department over violation of her civil rights. Four officers have been placed on administrative leave amid an investigation. Attorney Sarah Schielke said forgetting to pay for items in stores is common among people with dementia and revealed Garner also suffers from sensory aphasia, which impairs her ability to communicate and understand what other people are saying. Garner's impairment seems to be evident in store security footage which shows her apparently trying to dodge employees as they attempt to detain her at the exit. In a 53-second inaudible clip, Garner is seen holding the unpaid items in her hand as she's confronted by a male employee who tries to block her from leaving. The man attempts to direct her back into the store, but Garner appears to be uncooperative, prompting another employee to come and assist. The two men eventually escort the grandmother back into the store where the items were retrieved. Another video clip reveals Garner was actually stopped a second time while walking out of the store after the merchandise was returned. In a 36-second clip, she is seen leaving the supermarket, this time empty-handed, as two men and a woman chase after her and try to detain her again. Garner, who appears frazzled, manages to evade them and exits the store at a seemingly normal pace as the employees trail behind. She is seen heading towards E 13th Street, near the 2600 block of Mountain Lion Drive, where she was eventually stopped by officer Austin Hopp. The videos plus the lawsuit filed against Hopp, other officers and the city come amid a national reckoning over the use of force by police against people - including those with mental and physical health conditions. Hopp, as well as three other officers targeted in the lawsuit, have been reassigned to administrative duties amid the investigation, the Loveland Police Department said. According to the lawsuit, Walmart staff had called police to report Garner and told them the direction she walking, but said the store had not suffered a loss. Police body camera footage showed Garner appeared visibly confused after being stopped by the officer, repeatedly telling him that she was going home. In an amended complaint filed this week, Schielke said Garner had walked out of the store after being detained because she was unable to 'communicate' with staff or 'fully grasp what was going on'. She claimed Hopp then responded to the call, but did not 'talk to anyone at Walmart first' or request any additional information. 'Instead he just went looking for a petite elderly lady walking eastbound in a neighborhood next to Walmart, as had been described by Walmart employees to dispatch,' the lawsuit states. Hopp located Garner a quarter mile away from the store, 'walking peaceably in a field' and 'picking wildflowers' as she headed to her apartment. 'Her walking pace was slow and unhurried,' Schielke said in court papers. In an affidavit of the warrantless arrest obtained by DailyMail.com, Hopp said he found the woman shortly after she 'fled on foot' and activated his emergency lights to get her to stop.

#Oklahoma #Homecoming #King #Queen #Cancelled There will be no homecoming king or queen at the University of Oklahoma. Administrators at the Norman-based public university announced that the annual tradition of anointing a male and female winner during homecoming weekend will be done away with. Instead, a more inclusive ‘gender-neutral’ pairing will be chosen as homecoming ‘royalty.’ This year’s winners are two men named Justin Norris and Reece Henry. The news was first reported by KOKH-TV. 'I’m sure there are so many students here on campus, white students, black students who have been able to look at this court and see themselves in it and just really maybe think in the future not just I can be on the homecoming court, but I can really do anything I set my mind to here at OU and people are going to support me for it,' said Norris. The change at OU is part of a trend that has gained momentum in recent years as several high schools, colleges, and universities have ditched the old ‘king’ and ‘queen’ model in favor of a more progressive format. In the United States, homecoming is an occasion to whip up ‘school spirit’ among students at secondary high schools, colleges, and universities. Homecoming weekend is a festive time whereby schools stage parades, football games, and dances. The culmination of homecoming weekend is a ‘coronation’ of a king and queen as voted on by students. The winner is often selected during the homecoming dance. This time, though, students at OU and other colleges and high schools will be able to choose 'royals' regardless of gender. American schools, businesses, and institutions in recent years have made efforts to become more gender-inclusive in order to accommodate gay, lesbian, and people who have in years past have been considered marginalized. In September 2018, the West Lafayette, Indiana-based school, Purdue University, hosted its first-ever gender-neutral homecoming, crowning its own ‘royalty.’ In Chicago, Northwestern University did away with its ‘king’ and ‘queen’ - instead opting to name a ‘homecoming wildcat’ who would then choose to wear either a crown, tiara, or gender-neutral head gear at a special pep rally. Penn State University in State College, Pennsylvania bid farewell to the ‘king’ and ‘queen’ concept in favor of a ‘Guide State Forward Award’ that would be given to two students at a special ceremony in October. Other colleges and universities that have transitioned to a ‘gender-neutral’ or ‘gender-inclusive’ homecoming are the University of Minnesota; San Diego State University; Tulane University; John Carroll University; the University of Pittsburgh; Northern Arizona University; Stony Brook University; the University of Nebraska at Omaha; and scores of high schools across the country. In December, student groups at Dallas, Texas-based Southern Methodist University threatened to boycott homecomings unless they became ‘gender-neutral.’

#Vegas #Fevin #Fox #DUI #Police Fox News local news anchor Feven Kiflegiorgis was found passed out naked at the wheel of her Audi - and stumbled from her car reeking of alcohol after police showed up. Kiflegiorgis, the weekday morning anchor on Fox 5 Las Vegas, told officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department she couldn't remember how she got there. According to charging documents, police smelled alcohol on her, but she refused to allow them to take a blood test during the March 20 stop at 7:30 a.m., the Las Vegas Review Journal reported. Her anchor shift runs from 4 am to 7 am each weekday. She was stopped on a Saturday. Police said she was at on a street called Matthew Avenue, near Paradise Road, which appears to be a residential area. Kiflegiorgis was charged with reckless driving with a disregard for the safety of a person or property. She was sentenced last Wednesday to a $1,000 fine and will have to also complete driving school. 'Many of you have noticed I've been off air for a few weeks,' Kiflegiorgis, known as as Feven Kay, said in a statement on Fox 5 last week. 'As I move forward, I want you to know I have learned from this and I will continue learning.' Kiflegiorgis didn't immediately return a request for comment from DailyMail.com. Feven Kay was born in Ethiopia and grew up in California, where she graduated from Bakersfield College in 2005. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in journalism at California State University-Northridge in 2013 and has been working at Fox 5 since 2018 as a news anchor and reporter. Her age isn't clear. According to her biography on the Fox 5 site, she's dedicated to being a 'voice for the voiceless,' she says. 'Outside of work Feven enjoys traveling, attending concerts, spending time with family and friends, and doing anything that involves laughing until her stomach hurts,' the bio says. Kiflegiorgis is still scheduled to host Las Vegas Strip performer David Perrico's Disney show in the city on Sunday. After her arrest was publicized, Perrico backed Kiflegiorgis to continue in her role hosting his Perrico's Pop Strings Orchestra this weekend. 'Feven is a total pro, has my full support,' Perrico said on Wednesday. 'I am looking forward to her hosting the Disney concert.'

#TimScott #Uncle #Biden #Harris #BLM #NAACP Black Lives Matter and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People have been harshly criticized by Republicans for failing to condemn the viral ‘Uncle Tim’ reference to Senator Tim Scott on Wednesday. Scott was compared to the racist 'Uncle Tom' trope that depicts black people as subservient after delivering the GOP rebuttal to President Joe Biden's speech before Congress in which he defended the country as not racist. Scott spoke extensively about race, and made the point that while he had personally experienced discrimination, he did not believe the United States was an inherently racist country. 'I get called Uncle Tom and the N-word by progressives ... I know first-hand, our healing is not finished,' he said. 'Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country.' 'Uncle Tim' - a play on the Uncle Tom trope - was soon trending on Twitter as thousands criticized Scott, with one person claiming the South Carolina senator was a 'cunning white supremacist apologist'. The term was trending on Twitter for some 12 hours before it was taken down on Thursday morning. A spokesperson for Twitter told Fox News that an algorithm allowed the term to trend. 'This algorithm identifies topics that are popular now, rather than topics that have been popular for a while or on a daily basis, to help you discover the hottest emerging topics of discussion on Twitter,' the spokesperson told Fox News. During an appearance on Fox & Friends on Thursday morning, Scott slammed the 'liberal elite left' for 'doubling down' on 'attacking the color of my skin.' 'Well, you know, it was upsetting certainly, but it was so disappointing that those people who want to be respected and given the opportunity to live their lives any way they want to, they don't want the same thing for you and me,' Scott told Fox News on Thursday morning when asked about the offensive term that was trending. 'They have doubled down that they are going to not attack my policies but they are literally attacking the color of my skin. You cannot step out of your lane according to the liberal elite left,' Scott said. DailyMail.com has reached out to Black Lives Matter and the NAACP for comment. On Twitter, conservatives, including Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, blasted the two organizations for not speaking up and condemning the term after it was circulated by liberal critics of Scott on Wednesday evening. Bishop Talbert Swan, a black pastor from Massachusetts, tweeted: 'Uncle Tim Scott has perfected the art of sycophantic bootlicking. He's a master step n fetch it artist and cunning white supremacy apologist, who demonstrated his buck dancing skills in front of the entire world.' In a now-deleted Tweet which he later apologized for, white TV personality Scott Nevins wrote: 'Sen @TimScottSC is uncle Tom'ing it for his life. So sad. South Carolina should be so ashamed'. Journalist Yashar Ali pointed out the hypocrisy of employing a derogatory racial term to make a point about race in America. 'To the white liberals saying "but it's true," I can't believe this needs to be said but this is not your term to use ... your political beliefs don't allow you to use terms like this. 'My god do not allow politics to melt your brains like this.' Scott, the only black Republican in the U.S. Senate, used a large part of his speech to talk about race - detailing racism he's personally experienced, but making the argument that it's just as racist to teach white kids that they're 'an oppressor.'

#Biden #911 #PearlHarbor #OklahomaCity #WeatherUnderground The American Civil Liberties Union and a number of other civil rights group warned that President Joe Biden's move to ban menthol cigarettes could actually harm communities of color. 'A menthol cigarette ban would disproportionately impact communities of color, result in criminalization of the market, and exacerbate mass incarceration,' a letter sent this week to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra warned. It was signed by the ACLU, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, Students for a Sensible Drug Policy and 24 other related groups. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was expected to announce the proposal to ban menthol cigarettes soon, which would set off a process with the Food and Drug Administration that could take years, but would be applauded by antismoking and other civil rights groups. Antismoking groups, along with some civl rights allies, have pressured the federal government to make the move because they say the tobacco industry has aggressively targeted black communities when pushing the mint flavored smokes. But the ACLU, drug legalization and other groups have countered that the move had the potential to create 'large underground, illegal markets.' 'In addition, underground cigarette sales would be a massive law enforcement problem for states, counties, and cities, since all states treat unlicensed sale of tobacco products as a crime – usually as a felony punishable by imprisonment,' the letter said. 'In the end, tobacco policy will no longer be the responsibility of regulators regulating, but police policing.' 'Our experience with alcohol, opioid, and cannabis prohibition teaches us that that is a policy disaster waiting to happen, with Black and other communities of color bearing the brunt,' the letter continued. The letter asked HHS to better fund youth education, smoking cessation programs and healthcare programs for communities of color instead. 'We agree with those who want to see even more progress in addressing the health needs of communities of color and support policies that would achieve those goals without threatening the progress we have begun in making criminal justice reform a reality,' the letter said. Menthol is a compound found in mint plants and has been added to cigarettes since the 1920s. The Post reported that the Biden administration is also looking to include menthol and other flavored, mass-produced cigars as well, including the smaller cigars that are popular with young people. Menthol cigarettes have long been considered the gateway cigarette for young people when they start smoking. The Biden administration can unilaterally ban flavored cigarettes and cigars without the help of Congress. The FDA must put out proposed rules and receive public comments. There will likely be court challenges brought by the tobacco industry against the move as well. The FDA must respond to a lawsuit by Thursday after the agency was sued in June by the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council and Action on Smoking & Health for not responding to a citizen petition asking that menthol cigarettes be banned. Biden has made racial equity part of his agenda, including on health outcomes. Health groups point to studies that show menthol cigarettes are harder to quit than the non-flavored versions and point to numbers showing that black Americans smoke them at three times the rate of white Americans. Data from the FDA counts 19.5 million people as menthol cigarette smokers. Among African-American smokers, 85.8 per cent smoke menthols. On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was expected to announce the proposal to ban menthol cigarettes soon, which would set off a process with the Food and Drug Administration that could take years, but would be applauded by antismoking and other civil rights groups.