text
string | url
string | crawl_date
timestamp[ms] | label
int64 | id
string |
|---|---|---|---|---|
LOGAN COUNTY, Ark. — As we prepare for another round of storms, Logan County residents are still cleaning up after high winds and possible tornadoes swept through the area Monday, April 11.
Just off Highway 109 in Scranton damage was done to a few houses, several barns, fences and tons of trees. People here say they are fortunate no one was injured.
“My sister was screaming bloody murder, a couple of them were just praying and it was just really scary. I don’t want to live through it again,” said John Baumgartner.
John Baumgartner has lived in Scranton almost all his life and last night as the storm was rolling in his neighbors and family took cover in his outside cellar and basement.
“I’d happen to be looking out the window which is kind of ground level and I’d seen it coming. My family, I just threw them blankets and told them to get down and next thing we knew we heard glass break,” he said.
He is very thankful he and his neighbors are all okay. The window on the side of his house was blown out, so there is lots of glass, water, mud and tree debris inside his house. His shed also had damage, along with his roof and lots of downed trees. He’s most upset about all the fruit trees he lost that were planted by his late father.
“Within 5 minutes, New Blaine fire department, Scranton fire department, everyone was out clearing the way, so I could get out of my driveway, and they all came together. The road was completely full of people helping. We really appreciate it,” he said.
John Fox says they were taking cover and heard the wind really pick up and then it was over. His house didn’t have any damage but the storage barn in the backyard lost its roof.
With more storms expected Tuesday evening and Wednesday people in Scranton say they are wary of what’s to come. No injuries were reported in logan county.
The Logan County Sheriff's Department reports several downed trees, many of which were snapped in half or ripped from the ground.
Logan County road crews along with volunteers have spent the day clearing trees from the road on Highway 109.
The National Weather Service has not confirmed whether or not the storm that hit the area was a confirmed tornado.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/logan-county-residents-cleaning-up-after-storms/527-1af85f37-c015-423a-8c15-76a7992884f8
| 2022-04-13T00:27:43
| 0
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/logan-county-residents-cleaning-up-after-storms/527-1af85f37-c015-423a-8c15-76a7992884f8
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — Tree removal crews stayed busy on Tuesday, cleaning up after a historic storm brought several inches of snow to the Portland area overnight Sunday into Monday.
On Tuesday afternoon in Gresham, a crew from Rich's Tree Service cleaned up what was left of a tree that came down on a property on the city's south side. Before that, the crew was near Southeast 35th and Belmont where a tree came down on a house.
"It was about 32 inches in diameter," Caleb Gillum said. "A fairly big tree."
Gillum, of Rich's Tree Service, said he and his team have been extremely busy since Monday morning. Most of the calls have involved snow-packed tree limbs coming down on houses, decks and cars.
"We've been getting a mass influx of calls over the past couple of days," Gillum said. "We don't have enough guys to keep up with it."
Fortunately, Rich's Tree Service is not the only company in town.
KGW spotted a crew working near Southeast Cesar Chavez and Ankeny. The owner and head arborist at Buds Expert Tree Care told KGW his team has also been busy. None of this comes as a surprise to Gillum.
"This area was hit pretty hard, this Southeast area, hit pretty hard, but we're seeing damage throughout Portland," Gillum said.
In the coming days we may see even more trees coming down with the possibility of more snow.
"If you see low hanging branches or whatever stay clear of those if they have weight on them," Gillum said. "If you have a way to knock snow off or something with a stick or broom stick or something, that's what I do at my house. Keep those branches from breaking."
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/downed-trees-portland-metro/283-57d84258-2f3a-4bff-a529-5657e6f0bcb1
| 2022-04-13T00:41:56
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/downed-trees-portland-metro/283-57d84258-2f3a-4bff-a529-5657e6f0bcb1
|
SALEM, Oregon — The battle over who represents Oregon's new congressional district became heated Tuesday as six Democratic candidates jointly denounced almost $1 million in support for a rival party member by a super PAC that focuses on electing Democrats to the U.S. House of Representatives
“This effort by the political arm of the Democratic establishment to buy this race for one candidate is a slap in the face to every Democratic voter and volunteer in Oregon,” five of the candidates for the 6th District seat said at a news conference. One of the candidates couldn't attend because of a scheduling conflict.
RELATED: Candidates for Oregon governor 2022
They noted that candidate Carrick Flynn, who received the support from the House Majority PAC, is already backed by cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried's political action committee, which has provided about $5 million in support for Flynn, mostly in TV ads.
Loretta Smith, a former Multnomah County commissioner who wants to be the first Black woman from Oregon elected to Congress, said she feels betrayed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the PAC's support for Flynn, a white man educated at Yale and Oxford universities who hasn't held elected office.
“I think it’s disrespectful and it’s wrong,” Smith said.
She said Black women's votes were key to getting President Joe Biden elected in 2020 and to giving Democrats a majority in the House.
It is unclear, however, what role, if any, that Pelosi had in throwing the PAC's support to Flynn. Pelosi's top political fundraiser, Mike Smith, last year became the PAC's senior adviser.
The PAC's spokesperson, C.J. Warnke, said in an email that it “is dedicated to doing whatever it takes to secure a Democratic House Majority in 2022, and we believe supporting Carrick Flynn is a step towards accomplishing that goal.”
He did not address the complaints by six of Flynn's rivals for the Democratic nomination. Oregon's primary election is on May 17.
State Rep. Andrea Salinas, another of the Democratic candidates for the U.S. House, was befuddled by the PAC's backing of Flynn.
“Why? Who was behind it? Why was this decision made? We have a wealth of candidates, four of whom are women, three women of color — this is a diverse district," Salinas said. “I’ve been doing the work for diverse communities for a long time.”
Flynn's campaign manager, Avital Balwit, said the campaign is "grateful for the confidence and support" of the House Majority PAC and others who are backing Flynn.
“Our campaign is rooted in Carrick’s Oregon values -– hard work, opportunity, and supportive, resilient communities. That message is clearly resonating," Balwit said in an email.
Flynn has worked on pandemic preparedness and biosecurity years before the pandemic and has advised Congress and the White House on pandemic preparedness and the creation of technology jobs, his campaign said. If elected, he plans to focus on the creation of green jobs and pandemic recovery and preparedness.
Also condemning the House Majority PAC’s “unprecedented and inappropriate decision to spend nearly a million dollars in this Democratic primary” were Democratic candidates Matt West, a development engineer at chipmaker Intel who aims to tackle climate change; Kathleen Harder, a physician in Salem; state Rep. Teresa Alonso Leon; and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Cody Reynolds.
Oregon’s 6th congressional district was created by the 2020 U.S. census and extends from Portland’s suburbs to the southwest, including the state capital of Salem and towns in the Willamette Valley and the Coastal Range. The Cook Political Report said the new district would vote “likely Democratic” in the November election.
Republican candidates include state Rep. Ron Noble, former congressional candidate Amy Ryan Courser, clinical psychologist Angela Plowhead and Dundee Mayor David Russ.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/oregon-democratic-candidates-new-congressional-district-house-majority-pac/283-be4a19d7-aa5d-4682-8021-1ccd2f419f1d
| 2022-04-13T00:42:02
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/oregon-democratic-candidates-new-congressional-district-house-majority-pac/283-be4a19d7-aa5d-4682-8021-1ccd2f419f1d
|
MCMINNVILLE, Ore. — Nearly 200 guests will pack the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (EASM) in McMinnville Friday to celebrate progress by the Carlton Observatory.
The sold-out event is one of many efforts to boost awareness for the upcoming campaign to fund construction of an $11 million planetarium and science center next door.
For Janet Zuelke and her husband Forrest Babcock, the passion project is years in the making.
"It's amazing how excited people are," Babcock said.
Babcock has a love of telescopes. He and Zuelke's collection is displayed at the EASM, with many telescopes that he has built or refurbished.
One is a brass telescope found in a crawlspace at Linfield College, dating back to 1888.
Another is the famous "Big Blue," a $15,000 custom telescope that was stolen in March 2021, but later recovered intact.
After the ordeal, the couple secured a sponsorship from First Federal Bank in Yamhill County and space at the EASM. The exhibit now serves as a community gateway to their bigger project: The Carlton Observatory at Evergreen.
"It's daunting... [but] the momentum is there," Zuelke said.
The observatory will officially launch its roughly $11 million dollar campaign this September, but is working to drum up donor interest early.
Zuelke said people and businesses can purchase sponsored stars, planets and nebulas that will light up on the future planetarium's ceiling.
For her, the effort to expand space education in rural Yamhill County is inspiring.
"This is an underserved area, so this resource will mean a lot," Zuelke said. "The first time somebody actually sees the rings of Saturn or the craters on the moon with such detail, they feel something... it's a visceral experience."
The goal is to fundraise for about a year and a half starting in September and to complete the new Carlton Observatory science center within about three years.
In the meantime, Zuelke and Babcock are seeking volunteers to help run the EASM exhibit. Opportunities are open to high school students and adults.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/planetarium-project-campaign-yamhill-county/283-c046cfeb-4a47-4ac5-9dd2-39353a4ad2db
| 2022-04-13T00:42:08
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/planetarium-project-campaign-yamhill-county/283-c046cfeb-4a47-4ac5-9dd2-39353a4ad2db
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — Multiple roads through the West Hills area of Portland could remain closed for several more days due to recent — and upcoming — winter weather, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation.
Hannah Schafer with PBOT said crews have been on 24-hour schedules to remove debris from roads following Monday's unprecedented April snowstorm.
Maria Perte said she tried to get to Portland from Hillsboro on Tuesday morning, but had trouble getting downtown due to all the road closures. She had to turn around near Skyline and Burnside.
"I can't find my way around because everywhere you go is a detour and the roads are all closed, so it's very difficult to get where you want to go," she said.
The PBOT crews have also been salting the roads in case there's more winter weather to come, which could add to the amount of time the roads are closed.
The current list of closed West Hills roads includes:
- Northwest Skyline Boulevard, from Northwest Newberry Road to Northwest Germantown Road
- Northwest Skyline Boulevard, from West Burnside Street to Northwest Cornell Road
- Southwest Capitol Highway, from Southwest Terwilliger Boulevard to Southwest Barbur Boulevard
- Northwest Germantown Road, from Northwest Skyline Boulevard to Northwest Bridge Avenue
- Northwest Cornell Road at Northwest Miller Road, and also from Skyline to Northwest 25th Avenue for tunnel maintenance
Highway 26 closed on Monday morning due to downed trees on the freeway near the Oregon Zoo, but was able to reopen on Monday afternoon. PBOT said over 400 trees fell in the city because of the winter weather.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/west-hills-roads-closed-several-more-days/283-0aa1f8b0-a098-47cb-9d24-5684dee8b336
| 2022-04-13T00:42:14
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/west-hills-roads-closed-several-more-days/283-0aa1f8b0-a098-47cb-9d24-5684dee8b336
|
TUPELO • The Regional Rehabilitation Center has raised $235,000 while honoring two of its biggest supporters.
Ted and Lynn Moll were honored at the Red Rasberry Humanitarian Award Dinner as the 2022 recipients on Tuesday, April 12, at Tupelo Furniture Market Building V. The dinner was at 7 p.m., preceded by a 6 p.m. meet and greet with the married couple and honorees.
This was the second time the event was held in-person since the pandemic started. Also like last year, this year’s event raised a historic high. The nonprofit Regional Rehab Center (RRC) sold 300 tickets to the event, which acts as one of their major fundraisers each year.
RRC Executive Director Rob Parman told the crowd he is always humbled by the support the organization receives each year.
“I’m blown away by the support of the community and for supporting us for over 60 years now,” Parman said.
Parman thanked Ted and Lynn Moll for allowing them to honor them. He named the Molls as personal role models, and said their support of many area nonprofits, and the community at large, has made a huge impact on Northeast Mississippi.
Molls were greeted to a room full of people celebrating them for their years-long support of RRC and other area nonprofits, such as the Yocona Area Council of Boy Scouts of America, the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Mississippi, Talbot House, Red Cross of North Mississippi, the Good Samaritan Free Clinic and the United Way of Northeast Mississippi.
The couple has also supported the North Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Tupelo Community Theatre, the Community Development Foundation, the Methodist Church and Rust College in Holly Springs.
“We think we’re fortunate to be a part of this community,” Ted Moll recently told the Daily Journal. “I think our impact is rather negligible. If we can make something happen, if there’s a need, we’re going to try to be part of that.”
Named in honor of the late John “Red” Raspberry, the Red Rasberry Award is presented annually to a person or persons who supports not just Regional Rehab, but the community as a whole.
This year's presentation also included a history of RRC and work it does. RRC provides outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, dyslexia treatment, audiology services, and early childhood intervention.
In the past year, RRC served 1,168 people and provided over 55,000 services. While most clients live in North Mississippi, outreach expanded to include six Alabama counties last year.
The nonprofit reached a historic high of 23 staff members. The Red Rasberry dinner helps RRC meet the huge need and provide services free of charge.
“Being able to consistently, over the last eight years, raise more money at this event, has helped allow us to hire more therapists and to see more people,” Parman said.
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/regional-rehab-raises-235-000-with-dinner-honoring-ted-and-lynn-moll/article_852a5a96-78cc-5b4c-bae3-f946affcdeb4.html
| 2022-04-13T01:37:25
| 1
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/regional-rehab-raises-235-000-with-dinner-honoring-ted-and-lynn-moll/article_852a5a96-78cc-5b4c-bae3-f946affcdeb4.html
|
Louisiana Supreme Court suspends Shreveport attorney amid child porn charges
A Shreveport attorney not only faces criminal charges but has been suspended from the Louisiana Bar in response to 250 counts of child pornography.
On April 6, the Louisiana Supreme Court ordered the suspension of Brian Smith, 68, from practicing law in Louisiana until further orders.
Smith was arrested just before 10 a.m. Feb. 9, when the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation received a cyber tip of Smith allegedly uploading child sexual abuse material to a cloud server.
LBI executed a search warrant on Smith's home in Lakeside on Longlake and uncovered more than 250 images depicting child sexual abuse.
More:Trials begin for the 2019 murder of a Shreveport police officer. Look back at the case here
Smith, a former attorney with Casten & Pearce law firm released on bond set at $200,000, on Feb. 11.
The court ordered that Smith remain on house arrest with the exception of medical treatment and worship service. The court also ordered that Smith have no contact with the juvenile victims and no internet usage.
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/12/louisiana-supreme-court-suspends-shreveport-attorney-amid-child-porn-charges/7292470001/
| 2022-04-13T01:51:03
| 0
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/12/louisiana-supreme-court-suspends-shreveport-attorney-amid-child-porn-charges/7292470001/
|
Meet the Louisiana woman holding a 'jean drive' for Shreveport homeless population
A Shreveport native took her passion for helping others and created an annual drive that helps people all over the Shreveport-Bossier area.
Jalynn Mar’Dai Pickens is a 20-year old sophomore at Grambling State University and is the founder of Jalynn’s Jeans4Teens Drive.
In 2018, Pickens was a sophomore at Caddo Magnet High School when she sat next to someone in class that was experiencing homelessness.
"I never would have thought that," Pickens said.
That experience affected Pickens deeply, and in turn she wanted to do something to help others. After researching she found that jeans are the perfect item to donate, they are an item that can be re-worn between washes.
"Everyone wears jeans, you can dress them up or down for any occasion. You can get multiple wears," Pickens said. "I was like, that's it, that's the perfect way."
More:Northwest Louisiana students recognized for STEM accomplishments
Instead of having a Sweet 16 party five years ago, Pickens celebrated her birthday by giving back by hosting her first Jalynn’s Jeans4Teens drive. "I do it for my birthday every year now," Pickens said.
Jalynn’s Jeans4Teens drive started with donation boxes at C.E. Byrd, Caddo Magnet High, Captain Shreve, Huntington High, Southwood, North Caddo Magnet, LSUS Student Activities and SUSLA Faculty Senate. That first year she collected and donated over 1,000 pair of jeans.
Pre-pandemic, this annual jean drive had doubled the amount of donations. However, with the pandemic Pickens was forced to make the difficult decision last year to cancel the drive for the public's safety.
"Just from knowing that it went big, then it kind of died down a little bit. And now it's getting back to where it was. it's like we're getting accustomed to our new normal," Pickens said.
Read:Caddo Sheriff's deputy honored as a Law Officer of the Year by 40&8.
This year is different from years past because some of those that were able to donate in prior years have experienced hardships during the pandemic that have placed them on the other side of this effort.
This year Pickens has collected around 200 pairs of jeans. These jeans will be donated to the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Program at Caddo Parish School Board Thursday, April 14.
"I have to keep going," Pickens said.
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/louisiana-woman-holds-jean-drive-shreveport-homeless-population/7286158001/
| 2022-04-13T01:51:09
| 1
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/louisiana-woman-holds-jean-drive-shreveport-homeless-population/7286158001/
|
FORT SMITH, Ark. — If you had hail like this at your home or business, Fort Smith Shelter Insurance Agent Wade Gilkey says there are some steps you need to follow.
“The first thing you need to do is contact your insurance company, contact your agent and get those claims, Gilkey said. “It’s very important.”
Once you contact your insurance company, he says, you can begin the search for someone to repair your vehicle or home.
However, Gilkey says it's best to look for local help and ask your insurance company for any referrals because there are scammers who prey on the devastation.
“If someone’s asking to come out on the roof and they need you to sign a waiver allowing them to give you a free estimate, don’t sign anything until you’ve got the adjuster has time to come out and review the loss,” Gilkey said.
Gilkey also adds that insurance companies are getting an influx of calls right now. So, it might take three to four days for them to file your claim and assess it.
“It’s going to take some time for our body shops,” Gilkey said. “It’s going to take time for a lot of our local roofers to get those schedules created and get the damages prepared. Patience is a virtue.”
With more storms expected later this season, some things you can do to prevent damage is making sure you have a place to park your vehicle in a garage and have your insurance nearby.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/hail-damage-what-to-know-avoiding-scams-arkansas/527-90ece899-52b8-4e16-b652-cdc302349834
| 2022-04-13T02:20:48
| 0
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/hail-damage-what-to-know-avoiding-scams-arkansas/527-90ece899-52b8-4e16-b652-cdc302349834
|
Stephanie Hindle and Justin Rodriguez, in their new gear, just moved to Manchester from Colorado and were excited to be at their first Fisher Cats game.
Todd Gagnon of Woburn, Mass., with his son, Finn Hart, 5, during the national anthem at the first Fisher Cats home game of the season. It’s Finn’s first game but the family has attended games for years.
Stephanie Hindle and Justin Rodriguez, in their new gear, just moved to Manchester from Colorado and were excited to be at their first Fisher Cats game.
Todd Gagnon of Woburn, Mass., with his son, Finn Hart, 5, during the national anthem at the first Fisher Cats home game of the season. It’s Finn’s first game but the family has attended games for years.
Telltale signs of summer were everywhere on Tuesday evening, as the Fisher Cats played their home opener in Manchester.
Strains of the national anthem and the scent of popcorn wafted across Granite Street. A teenager in a neon vest waved cars into a parking lot. Fans in red-white-and-blue jerseys and hats filtered down Commercial Street.
Hundreds of fans found their seats and settled in for the Fisher Cats’ game against the Hartford Yard Goats, the first of a six-game series against the Connecticut team.
Some fans, like Sharon Jones of Litchfield, have been going to the games since the Fisher Cats’ first season in Manchester.
Jones said she went to the first home opener at Gill Stadium, and has tried to get to every home opener and most Sunday afternoon games since. “And whatever else I can squeeze in,” Jones said.
Even if she has to go alone, Jones said, she’s happy to be out at the park.
“I love baseball,” Jones said. “Baseball, beer and food!”
Justin Rodriguez and Stephanie Hindle, who moved from Colorado to Manchester in January, jumped headfirst into Fisher Cats fandom, stopping at the team store just before the game to get decked out in hats and jerseys.
The stands weren’t exactly packed as the sun set over the Merrimack River and the game began. But the fans who turned out said they loved the game, and couldn’t be happier to be back at the stadium.
“Good ballpark, clean, reasonably priced,” said John Wadsworth, of Methuen, Mass. “That, and it’s a good game.”
John Wadsworth and his wife, Susan, said they were happy to get out of the house after the winter, and they loved seeing the players develop.
“You can turn around and say, I watched that guy grow into that — like Guerrero,” Wadsworth said. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., now a star on the Toronto Blue Jays, played in Manchester in 2018.
“This is one of our favorite things to do in the summertime,” said Elaine Demers of Goffstown, who has been to every home opener since the Cats’ first in 2004, and plenty of the big moments since — including the night the team won the Eastern League championship for the first time.
“They were like little boys, jumping up and down,” Demers said.
Even if the Fisher Cats don’t win the title this year, Demers said, she’s happy to keep coming to games, enjoying summer evenings by the river and supporting the team.
“They’re kids, living out their dream,” she said. “And we get to cheer them on.”
|
https://www.unionleader.com/news/local/die-hard-crowd-cheers-fisher-cats-at-home-opener/article_3452bc63-1c32-5b05-a2f5-50a793e0c0f5.html
| 2022-04-13T02:33:16
| 0
|
https://www.unionleader.com/news/local/die-hard-crowd-cheers-fisher-cats-at-home-opener/article_3452bc63-1c32-5b05-a2f5-50a793e0c0f5.html
|
Daytona Beach's First Step Shelter growing its resident count and attracting grants
DAYTONA BEACH — It took getting past years of power struggles, differences of opinion and funding disagreements to get First Step Shelter open in December 2019.
Then three months after the first residents settled into the homeless shelter for adults on Daytona Beach's western edge, a worldwide pandemic hit. Then the shelter's operator pulled out of its five-year contract after less than 12 months of running the comprehensive assistance center for unsheltered men and women who want to get their lives back on track.
There were other bumps in the road over the past two years, but gradually the nonprofit shelter figured out how to smooth out its path. So far 217 shelter residents have been placed in housing, First Step is keeping 60 beds full every day, and more than $338,000 in grants and donations has recently poured in.
"Things are going really well here at First Step Shelter, and we are finally moving past all the challenges that come with being a new organization," said Victoria Fahlberg, the shelter's executive director. "This has allowed us to start thinking about strategic growth. We’ve learned so much over the past two years that has informed our thinking."
The shelter is also getting ready to launch a new outreach program that will help more homeless people on Volusia County's east side learn about First Step and get into the shelter.
"We're really in a phenomenal place," Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry, who's First Step's board chairman, said at the board's monthly meeting last week. "We have to be true to what we're doing and trust the process."
Some people have always wanted First Step Shelter to allow any homeless person to come to the facility at any time and ask for help. Instead the organization has chosen a referral process that allows it to do criminal background checks and screening to make sure someone is safe to be around other residents and committed to turning their life around before offering them a bed and a spot in the formal assistance program.
Learn more about the history of First Step Shelter:Daytona shelter severs ties with Catholic Charities
Some recent news on Daytona's homeless shelter:Daytona's First Step Shelter will continue to only accept referred clients
Read a First Step Shelter success story:First Step Shelter helps Volusia women find peace, home
The new outreach program will offer something closer to that 24-7 come-as-you-are model that some homeless shelters use. A First Step outreach worker will offer homeless people the chance to stay in the shelter's fenced outdoor "safe zone" with no obligation for up to three nights while they decide if they want to become part of the formal program inside the building and become a shelter resident.
"It's a way to bridge the difference between come-as-you-are and the in-house program," said Mark Geallis, who served as the shelter's executive director before it opened.
Hanging around First Step for three days and seeing how stable shelter residents' lives have become will be a big enticement for other homeless people to enroll in the formal program, Geallis said.
A new way to help homeless people
The outreach program will begin in early May, Fahlberg said. It will be a partnership between First Step Shelter and the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
First Step Shelter is going to hire a new outreach worker who will regularly talk with homeless people in the six cities contributing financially to the shelter: Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach, Port Orange, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach Shores and Ponce Inlet.
The outreach worker will find out what the person's situation is, explain the services available at the shelter and other local assistance agencies, and provide educational material on First Step and other local nonprofits. The homeless person will be invited to stay in the shelter's safe zone, which is an open air pavilion with security that offers beds, blankets, portable bathrooms, food and water.
A sheriff's deputy will accompany the outreach worker, and if a homeless person wants to give the Rose Ann Tornatore safe zone a try while thinking about joining the shelter program, the deputy can handle the background check and transport to First Step.
If a homeless person isn't initially interested in anything at the shelter, the outreach worker will still return a time or two to see if they've changed their mind.
The First Step employee will also give them a hotline phone number they can call if they decide later they want to ask questions or request to stay at the shelter. The outreach team will also respond to requests for service, which will include transportation assistance in eastern Volusia County.
The hotline is also being set up for those who want to help a homeless person, such as a church, medical facility, social service agency or local resident. The number can also be used by those having a challenge with a homeless person hanging around, such as a business owner or homeowner.
"The goal is to provide a response to the problem of homelessness that addresses both the needs of people experiencing homelessness as well as the needs of others in the community who are impacted," reads a statement included in First Step's written summary of the new outreach team.
The outreach services will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The hotline will be manned from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The number, which will not be in use until early next month, will be 386-999-HELP.
The Sheriff's Office will provide an on-call officer who can respond to requests as needed.
Putting new funds to use
It will cost First Step $60,000 to create the outreach program. That will cover the new outreach worker's salary, expenses for the new employee's office and running the hotline.
Someone has donated $25,000 toward the program, and First Step Shelter Board member Joan Campanaro has given another $5,000. It's hoped others will help cover the remaining $30,000 of the total $60,000 needed for the first year of the program.
Campanaro has also recently secured donations to the shelter from local churches. First Step Board member Rose Ann Tornatore gave $250,000 in January 2020 to make the safe zone possible. Nearly 2,700 people have used the safe zone since it opened in late 2020.
The shelter has also recently secured a $46,000 grant for rapid rehousing, $15,000 for shelter operations and $17,340 for shelter meals. An additional $230,995 in American Rescue Plan funds will help cover shelter operations, and more federal COVID relief funds are helping with shelter building improvements including one that will allow First Step to be used as a cold weather shelter and hurricane shelter.
"100% of the (rapid rehousing) money is passed directly to residents to help them pay rentals costs so they can get into housing as quickly as possible," Fahlberg said. "The American Rescue grant will allow us to increase our census."
First Step will maintain a 60-resident maximum "until we are sure we are stable financially and operationally," Fahlberg said.
"Then we’ll move on to 65, and then to 70," she said. "After that, we would need to make significant capital improvements, so at that point I’ll bring it back to the board."
She said she wants to "move strategically" so her staff isn't overwhelmed by resident growth.
At its 60-resident cap now, the shelter pays $61 per day to house and help each resident. When the shelter expands to serving up to 70 residents, an additional case manager will have to be hired, Fahlberg said.
"Our shelter focuses on moving people into housing, which costs more than just an overnight shelter," she said.
People move into First Step for several weeks or a few months, which runs up more expenses than a shelter that doesn't let people in until the evening and requires them to leave early the next morning, she said. The average length of stay at First Step is a little over two months.
In addition to housing assistance, First Step helps people with Social Security benefits, employment, food stamps, birth certificates, Medicare, Medicaid and other insurance.
First Step also handles a much higher rate of serious mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, and physical illness and disability than shelters that house families, she said.
"In the last two years we’ve seen so many residents who are very sick and very disabled," Fahlberg said. "So far, seven of our residents have died of natural causes. We’ve had people who are in need of multiple surgeries. Our goal is to get people into housing as quickly as possible, but sometimes what is possible takes time."
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/12/daytona-beach-homeless-shelter-to-help-more-with-new-outreach-team/7283406001/
| 2022-04-13T04:07:35
| 1
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/12/daytona-beach-homeless-shelter-to-help-more-with-new-outreach-team/7283406001/
|
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Now that Russell Wilson is headed for Denver, the quarterback has listed his Bellevue mansion for sale for $28 million.
The house sits on Lake Washington with over 11,000 square feet of space. There are six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a cinema, two dining rooms, a dance/yoga studio and a pro gym.
The exterior has three patios, twelve parking spots and a two-story treehouse. There is also a dock and two jet ski lifts, according to a listing on Windermere's website.
The house itself is on the market for $28 million, while an adjoining lot to Wilson's mansion is on the market for $8 million. The lot features a basketball and pickleball court with 110 feet of lakefront property.
The house was last put on the market in 2015 for $6.7 million.
Reports Wilson would be traded began circulating in early March, and the quarterback eventually landed with the Denver Broncos. In exchange, the Seahawks recieved quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, defensive lineman Shelby Harris, two first-round picks, two second-round picks and a fifth-round pick from the Broncos for Wilson and a fourth-round pick.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/russell-wilson-bellevue-mansion-real-estate-market/281-05e36a7a-2b9a-443a-9229-850657f20bed
| 2022-04-13T04:20:19
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/russell-wilson-bellevue-mansion-real-estate-market/281-05e36a7a-2b9a-443a-9229-850657f20bed
|
HOOD RIVER, Ore. — A week ago, Theresa Draper breathed in the balmy air as honey bees zipped from flower to flower in her cherry orchard just outside Hood River. All of her fruit trees were blooming a little early, thanks to a stretch of late winter warmth. Temperatures were in the 60s and life was good.
That changed this week when a record-breaking spring storm dumped nine inches of snow in the Hood River Valley. Now, Draper goes from tree to tree counting the blossoms that have died, and will not bear fruit.
“When I look outside, I see January,” said Draper, who owns Draper Girls' Country Farm in Mt. Hood Parkdale. “Just plain worry because we don't typically get this weather around blossom time. We never get snow.”
In a typical year, Draper said they usually have a couple of cold nights this late in the season. She said in those conditions, they can protect young blossoms with special orchard fans that keep most frost from settling on the trees. But Draper said they can't run the tall fans when it's really windy, which is often the case when it snows in her region.
It's why Draper fears she will lose about a quarter of her cherry crop and sustain some damage to the rest.
“The fruit could be marked-up this year,” said Draper. “But hopefully it would be better to have marked-up fruit than no fruit.”
At Hood River Cherry Company, workers are paying close attention to their crops, which produce about 4.5 million pounds of fruit each year.
“It's nerve-racking. It's very nerve-racking,” said warehouse manager and orchards supervisor, Kristoff Fowler.
Fowler estimates that about 80% of the valley's orchard trees are now in bloom. He figures about 30% of his company’s tress are blooming because they grow at a slightly higher elevation in colder conditions. Buds that haven’t yet bloomed are less at risk of freezing.
“The blossoms and the ovule will actually die when it's around 29 degrees,” said Fowler. “And so the night temperatures have been hitting around 28.5 to 29 degrees so it's borderline. You might get about 20% of your crops, damaged."
Fowler said despite the critical cold snap, he believes most crops will come to fruition. He hopes things aren't as bad as they might seem.
"A lot of people go to Vegas to gamble,” said Fowler. “But farmers, they kind of gamble every year.”
For Draper, every blossom that survives this year is a win, but she’s already thinking about next year. She’s considering buying propane heaters to place along the perimeter of the orchard in case of another spring snow.
“I've never really felt like we needed them,” said Draper. “But after this year, I’m really thinking that through.”
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/cherry-orchards-hood-river-oregon-snow-storm-freeze-crop-loss/283-596b006d-33e4-4716-bf82-96e1153d263c
| 2022-04-13T07:44:27
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/cherry-orchards-hood-river-oregon-snow-storm-freeze-crop-loss/283-596b006d-33e4-4716-bf82-96e1153d263c
|
For more information about the Brooklyn subway shooting, click here
Police investigating the Brooklyn subway shooting are searching for a person of interest who rented a U-Haul van from Philadelphia — which they were able to quickly find thanks to an observant resident.
The man, who did not wish to be identified, told NBC New York he was having a conversation with the superintendent for his Gravesend building when the super mentioned a U-Haul van that was blocking the building's driveway since Monday, possibly in the afternoon.
The super said the van had Arizona plates, and another tenant saw a man exit the van after parking it there the day prior. That's when the man connected the dots, and realized that it could be the U-Haul van police said they were searching for — especially given its proximity to the N and R line, which is only a few blocks away.
The man told News 4 he urged the super to call the police, but he was hesitant to do so, leaving the Gravesend resident to do it himself.
Police now have that major piece of evidence, thanks to the resident's 911 call. Investigators were seen removing the van late Tuesday night, in order to inspect it even further in an effort to get any clues that could lead them to the alleged gunman.
They identified a 62-year-old man as a person of interest in the case, who police said rented a U-Haul van connected to the attack and suspect, but NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said they weren't yet sure whether he had any link to the subway attack itself.
A key to the van was found at the scene of the shooting at the Sunset Park subway station. The vehicle was later searched and cleared, senior law enforcement sources said, as cops removed a table, chairs and memory foam pillows from inside.
The man who rented the van — person of interest Frank James — has ties to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to police. He was said to have past criminal records in those states, as well as ties to New York, law enforcement sources said.
Officials said authorities zeroed in on James after the credit card used to rent the van, as well as a key to the van, were found at the shooting scene.
It appeared that James drove the rental van to New York from Pennsylvania on Monday, based on license plate reader data and other info, sources said. Investigators obtained video from 5 a.m. Tuesday near where the van was found parked, appearing to show a man matching the description of the subway attacker emerging from the van.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/residents-911-call-led-police-to-finding-u-haul-van-tied-to-brooklyn-subway-gunman/3643485/
| 2022-04-13T07:51:41
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/residents-911-call-led-police-to-finding-u-haul-van-tied-to-brooklyn-subway-gunman/3643485/
|
Hours after a shooting inside a subway station in Brooklyn left 23 people injured including 10 with gunshot wounds, New Yorkers were still on edge Tuesday night while heading home from work — possibly feeling a bit less safe on their nightly commute.
During the evening rush hour in Grand Central Terminal, some felt that the shooting only cemented their already present fears and worries about traveling on the subway.
"We were talking about this at work among the women — we don’t feel safe. We always feel like we have to watch our back," said Rashda Bibi.
The morning attack occurred at the height of the morning rush hour, sending terrified riders out of the subways and into the streets, leaving some scrambling for rides. Uber and Lyft said they suspended surge pricing in Sunset Park in the aftermath of the violence, after users blasted both companies for the high prices in a time of need.
But even after 7 p.m., it would still cost more than $80 to go from Union Square to Brooklyn's Windsor Terrace. Uber said it would refund anyone who experienced surge prices.
At an evening Yankees game in the Bronx, families expressed fear over riding the subway, while other noticed more security than normal.
The attack came at a time when subway violence has surged, up 68 percent in 2022 from the same time the previous year. But officials insist that taking the subway remains safe.
"I took the subway over here to let New Yorkers know: We appreciate their resilience in how tough that they still keep coming on this subway, and I was really grateful to see that New Yorkers cannot be kept down," said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.
But some riders said they are still not comfortable getting back on board.
"It's an every day thing, you never know what’s going to happen anymore. Every day the city gets crazier and crazier it seems like," said Jesus Vasquez, of the Bronx.
"Public transportation unfortunately is the only route right now. It's just a matter of feeling safe," said Bibi.
The NYPD is asking New Yorkers to be on alert in the subway, while the search for the shooter continues.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/will-already-skittish-nyc-subway-riders-return-after-mass-shooting-at-brooklyn-station/3643484/
| 2022-04-13T07:51:47
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/will-already-skittish-nyc-subway-riders-return-after-mass-shooting-at-brooklyn-station/3643484/
|
Police say four people were shot around 10:00 p.m. in Allerton.
Investigators say that when they arrived at the scene they found four people with gunshot wounds. A 21-year-old man was found shot to the head, and a 33-year-old woman, 23-year-old man, and a 22-year-old man were also injured.
The victims were transported to NYC Health and Hospitals/Jacobi. The 21-year-old who was shot in the head, later identified as Jessie Bynum, succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. All other victims are in stable condition.
No arrests have been made in regard and the investigation remains ongoing at this time.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/4-shot-one-dead-in-bronx-shooting/3643549/
| 2022-04-13T09:22:52
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/4-shot-one-dead-in-bronx-shooting/3643549/
|
Traffic travels along Eason Boulevard in Tupelo on April 12, 2022. On Monday, the Major Thoroughfare Committee approved the a $4.1 million expansion of the portion of Eason that runs between Veterans Boulevard and Briar Ridge Road.
TUPELO • The Major Thoroughfare Committee has approved a bid for the Eason Boulevard widening project, kicking it up to the Tupelo City Council for final approval.
On Monday, present members of the Major Thoroughfare Committee voted unanimously to recommend city officials accept a $4.1 million bid from Cook & Son Construction. Once completed, the project will widen Eason Boulevard from Veterans Boulevard to Briar Ridge Road.
Several members of the Major Thoroughfare Committee — including Terry Bullard, Raphael Henry, John Milstead and Drew Robertson — were absent during the meeting.
Committee members acknowledged that the cost of the widening project was high, but still worth it.
“That is a whole year's worth of tax revenue,” Committee Chairman Greg Pirkle said before the vote. “It is a lot of money, but it is what it costs within the fair process.”
City Engineer Dennis Bonds said the original estimate for the project was approximately $4.09 million, slightly below the lowest bid.
Bonds said the estimate was created before the dramatic increase in fuel prices spurred in part by the conflict in Ukraine. Despite breaking the budget slightly, Bonds said he’s OK with the cost.
Newsletters
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
“That is about a 1% change. Considering everything, I’m tickled to see that,” Bonds said.
If given the nod of approval from the City Council, Bonds said work could begin on the project in late May. He also noted the project's timeline depends on multiple factors, including weather and the contractor's schedule.
The approval comes after the council and committee agreed to purchase land along Eason Boulevard near White Hill Baptist Church for $10,000. Bonds said the purchase was the last piece of right of way needed to begin work.
Ward 5 Councilman Buddy Palmer, in whose ward the section of road is located, said the project was a long time coming, and he is proud to see it proceed.
“I think it is time for it to move forward,” he said. “I am really excited about the project. It is a much-traveled road. I believe the council will approve (the bid) 100%.”
The council will vote to approve or reject the bid in the next meeting, scheduled for April 19.
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/major-thoroughfare-committee-proceeds-with-eason-boulevard-widening/article_e6562c90-96a8-5dbf-96a9-590aa9a106e3.html
| 2022-04-13T09:41:18
| 0
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/major-thoroughfare-committee-proceeds-with-eason-boulevard-widening/article_e6562c90-96a8-5dbf-96a9-590aa9a106e3.html
|
A 23-year-old Bronx woman sitting in her parked car Tuesday night died of a shot to the head when gunfire erupted, police say, noting she was an innocent bystander.
The victim, identified as Sally Ntim of Concourse, was parked at the corner of Sheridan Avenue and McClellan Street around 8:45 p.m. when someone started shooting. No information was available on the intended target or a possible suspect.
Ntim was pronounced dead at a hospital. Video posted to the Citizen app showed a heavy emergency response at the scene. No arrests have been made.
Ntim's death marks the second of an innocent bystander in the borough in less than two weeks. A 61-year-old grandmother was killed in the crossfire when a gunfight broke out as she headed home from work last Monday. Multiple arrests have been made.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/innocent-23-year-old-woman-shot-in-head-while-sitting-in-parked-car-dies-cops/3643824/
| 2022-04-13T12:25:34
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/innocent-23-year-old-woman-shot-in-head-while-sitting-in-parked-car-dies-cops/3643824/
|
An all-out manhunt continued Wednesday for the gunman who opened fire Tuesday onboard a Brooklyn subway, an apparently premeditated attack that injured at least 23 people, 10 of them by gunfire and some of them children, and once again interrupted New York City's rocky journey to post-pandemic normalcy.
Investigators were laser-focused on a man who rented a U-Haul van that may have been linked to the rush-hour violence. They stressed they weren't sure whether the man, Frank R. James, was responsible for the shooting. But they're examining social media videos in which the 62-year-old decried the United States as a racist place awash in violence and sometimes railed against the city’s mayor, Eric Adams.
“This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof and it’s going to die a violent death. There’s nothing going to stop that,” James said in one video.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the posts “concerning" and officials tightened security for Adams as investigators turn their attention to the U-Haul van.
Cops believe the van found parked on Kings Highway in Gravesend Tuesday afternoon is linked to the shootings. It had a table, chairs and memory foam pillows inside, senior law enforcement sources said. The key and the credit card used to rent the van were both found at the Sunset Park station. That's what yielded James' name.
They say his physical description could match that of the subway shooter, who was said to be a Black man about 5 feet 5 inches tall and 170 pounds. He was wearing a gas mask and green construction vest, along with a construction helmet, when he tossed two smoke canisters on the floor of a northbound N car and opened fire.
Pictures: Multiple People Hurt in Brooklyn Subway Shooting
While the car filled with smoke, he fired at least 33 times, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig, striking 10 people. It's not clear how the shooter fled the scene. Cops were looking into reports he may have jumped onto the subway tracks and escaped through the tunnels, but all searches for him have come up empty.
James has ties to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to police, and was said to have past criminal records in those states, as well as ties to New York, law enforcement sources said. As investigators search for him, they continue to meticulously comb through evidence and witness interviews for insight.
One rider's video, shot through a closed door between subway cars, shows a person in a hooded sweatshirt raising an arm and pointing at something as five bangs sound. In another video, smoke and people pour out of a subway car, some limping.
Greenish smoke spewed from the subway doors when the Manhattan-bound train stopped at the platform, according to officials. Throngs of panicked people were seen running, bleeding — in total, 23 were hurt, police said, most of them in the chaos.
“Someone call 911!” a person could be heard shouting.
Five of the gunshot victims were critically injured, with details on the nature of their wounds not immediately clear. No fatalities were reported.
More Coverage
One source close to the investigation says the gunman's weapon may have jammed, potentially preventing further tragedy.
The gun was recovered at the scene, as was a bag with smoke canisters and fireworks, along with a hatchet, a spray bottle of gasoline and a fuse — lending further credence to the theory of a premeditated attack on New York City transit riders.
Three extended magazines of ammunition were also recovered at the scene: one still in the handgun, one in a backpack and one under his subway seat. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives completed an urgent trace to identify the gun’s manufacturer, seller and initial owner.
An MTA surveillance camera in the station wasn't working at the time of the shooting, three sources say. It's not clear why, but officials say there were “a lot of different options” from cameras elsewhere on the subway line to get a glimpse of the shooter.
More than a dozen victims who weren't hit by gunfire were injured in the crowd response to the chaos, Essig said, with injuries including smoke inhalation, panic attacks and falling. Some of the wounded were in the same train car as the suspect, while others were on the platform, authorities said.
All described a terrifying scene.
"You start seeing faces against the glass, and it's people, several women, banging against the glass, screaming," said Kenneth Foote-Smith, who was in the next subway car over. "
"I did see a gentleman who was shot in lower stomach, laying out the ground, being treated by three or four people — bystanders, not EMS," he added. "I wasn’t the one who was injured or shot. Those are the people I think about, who I can’t stop thinking about. The people I couldn’t help."
The injured were taken to at least three city hospitals, including NYU Langone, Maimonides Medical Center, NYP-Brooklyn Methodist and Kings County Hospital.
The youngest victims in the shooting, four children between 12 and 16 years old, were taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where they were visited by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in the evening.
MAP: Here's Where the Subway Shooting Happened
Houari Benkada was one of the gunshot victims, telling CNN in an interview that she actually sat next to the shooter before smoke filled the car, sending people running. He said he was trying to shield a pregnant woman when he was hit.
"She said 'I'm pregnant with a baby,' I hugged her, then the bum rush continued, and that's when I got shot in the back of my knee," the 27-year-old said.
All of the victims are expected to survive. Trying to reach a loved one? Here's what to do.
The New York City Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS) was activated in response to the NYPD activity located near 36th Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn.
If you are concerned about the welfare of someone who may have been affected by the event and are unable to contact them, please call 311. From outside of NYC, you may call 212-639-9675.
Police are asking for tips from the public, videos in particular, that could help them track down the suspect, as well as the person of interest, James. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
A reward of $50,000 from police, the MTA and Transport Workers Union is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment of the shooter.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/manhunt-for-brooklyn-subway-gunman-intensifies-as-mass-transit-shooting-rocks-nyc/3643506/
| 2022-04-13T12:25:53
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/manhunt-for-brooklyn-subway-gunman-intensifies-as-mass-transit-shooting-rocks-nyc/3643506/
|
The man sought as a person of interest in the mass shooting on a Brooklyn train during rush hour a day ago, Frank R. James, has now been labeled a suspect in the case, authorities said Wednesday as the manhunt for the gunman intensified.
James, 62, remained at large Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the attack terrorized rush-hour commuters in Sunset Park and left 23 people hurt, 10 of them by gunfire at the 36th Street station.
It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the shift to suspect from person of interest for James, but police have said he is the man who rented a U-Haul linked to the case. A key to the vehicle and the credit card used to rent it was discovered at the scene.
The van with Arizona license plates was found just before 5 p.m. Tuesday on Kings Highway in Gravesend. The vehicle was later searched and cleared, senior law enforcement sources said, as cops removed a table, chairs and memory foam pillows.
Meanwhile, the hunt for James has stretched into a second day. He has ties to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, according to police.
He was said to have past criminal records in those states, as well as ties to New York, law enforcement sources said.
Part of his criminal history included making "terroristic threats," according to sources, but investigators said the threats were similar to ones commonly made by those who are emotionally disturbed.
Authorities also were looking into social media posts and YoutTube videos by someone with the same name that mentioned homelessness, New York and Mayor Eric Adams, leading officials to tighten the mayor's security detail, police said. Videos that James is believed to have posted on YouTube show him ranting about violence.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the online statements "concerning."
It appears James drove the rental van to New York from Pennsylvania on Monday, based on license plate reader data and other info, sources said. Investigators obtained video from 5 a.m. Tuesday near where the van was found parked, appearing to show a man matching the description of the subway attacker emerging from the van.
More Coverage
A motive for the attack remains under investigation, but officials quickly sought to assure already fearful New Yorkers there were no imminent outstanding threats.
“There are currently no known explosive devices on our subway trains and this is not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time," Sewell said earlier Tuesday.
Cops believe the suspect acted alone. Law enforcement officials said a .9-mm semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene, along with a bag of smoke canisters and fireworks. A hatchet, two extra extended clips of ammo, a fuse and a spray bottle of gasoline were also found, police said.
One source told NBC New York that the gun the suspect used may have jammed, preventing worse tragedy. However, the shooter was able to fire at least 33 times inside the train car.
A total of 10 people were struck by gunfire, with five shooting victims said to have been critically wounded. Police said that an additional 13 people were hurt by falling, smoke inhalation or other injuries suffered during the panic after the shots were fired. The extent of the other victims' injuries wasn't clear.
A reward of $50,000 from police, the MTA and Transport Workers Union is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment of the shooter.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/who-is-frank-r-james-62-year-old-named-suspect-in-brooklyn-subway-shooting/3644051/
| 2022-04-13T13:56:46
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/who-is-frank-r-james-62-year-old-named-suspect-in-brooklyn-subway-shooting/3644051/
|
Young drummer doesn't miss a beat amid tragedy thanks to Taunton's Rawkstars
TAUNTON — Word comes from a local music store. A young student has been forced to give up his weekly drum lessons due to financial hardship. The student is heartbroken, but there seems to be no workable solution.
Well, not so fast.
Rawkstars, Inc., based in East Taunton and founded by musician and part-time/full-time philanthropist Jonathan Jacobs, exists precisely and exactly for times like these.
In fact, just such a scenario played out recently. A retired grandmother who had adopted her five grandchildren after the deaths of her son and the children’s father and her own husband could not afford to pay for her 11-year-old grandson’s drum lessons. The owner of the shop alerted Rawkstars. Jacobs says the young drummer did not miss a lesson.
“I told her, ‘We’ll be paying for his lessons from now on. We got it.’ She, and her grandson, is why I founded Rawkstars. This is what we do,” Jacobs said.
Currently, Rawkstars Inc. funds music lessons for 17 financially-disadvantaged young people in various communities in Massachusetts, and Jacobs says since founding the organization in November of 2003, Rawkstars has assisted over 400 young musicians at various stages of their development, most beginners.
In most cases, Rawkstars comes to the aid of young musicians in need of an instrument and teacher to get started. But Rawkstars is there to help existing talents find their way, too, and has helped musicians with recording and music video projects.
“Anything really that involves kids and music, there’s a good change we’ve done it or are interested in doing it,” said Jacobs.
Standout young athletes:Here are the 20 Greater Taunton baseball players to watch this spring
“I founded Rawkstars as a way to help kids get rid of the obstacles in the way of them getting involved with music and for them to then learn the life skills that I learned through music. If they go on to become great players, awesome. If they go on to become hobbyists and have fun with it, that’s awesome too."
Jacobs, who plays bass for a local band and is a lifelong music lover, made a career in music as a sound engineer with several national and world touring rock and hard rock acts, found his way to IT for a while, and then, fittingly, landed with his current employer, Pawtucket, RI-based Hasbro, where he works in Global Philanthropy.
In 2003, he got the itch to get back into music, somehow. He thought about a business venture, but quickly opted to start a non-profit with the power to help young musicians learn to play and pursue their talents.
“Our thing is really scalable,” he said. “We don’t have a set location where you have to come to our facility, and we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We just act as a conductor. We connect people and we give them the resources to make it happen.”
Finding an instrument, and maybe not just any instrument
“We want the kid to fall in love with the instrument,” Jacobs said.
Sometimes, he says, that first instrument is the first stop in a lifelong love of playing music.
“So we do care about the color, we care about the style and we do try to match the child’s personality with the right instrument.”
Real estate report:Taunton two-family renovated, resold at twice the price in 6 months
Jacobs says Rawkstars does take in a lot of donated instruments, and he tries to make use of them, but quality and playability — which does not have to mean expensive — are as important to new players as the professionals. And in some cases the color and style of the instrument — think of a guitar or drum set — can go a long way towards hooking in a new student. A funny-looking, hard-to-play instrument is not a good place to start for a lot of kids.
When possible, Jacobs says, a new instrument is the way to go.
“We do purchase brand new instruments for a lot of kids. And the reason we do that is, we could save a few bucks by giving them something second hand, but I think it’s really important for them to have a treasured instrument that they can fall in love with. Especially early on, because music is an expression of your personality, so we want it to fit you and want you to feel like it’s an extension of yourself.”
On occasion, Jacobs has taken new students instrument shopping, while setting a budget and presenting a few options.
“It’s like, ‘Which one speaks to you?’… I think it’s important, for the kids to have a personal connection to their instrument.”
Music education is long-term commitment, and not cheap
Once the instrument is in hand, lessons are the gift that keep on giving, and a month-to-month expense that does not end.
“The expenses are pretty significant,” Jacobs says. “To get into it, just to start with an instrument can be a couple hundred bucks, which for a lot of people is a hurdle. But the lessons really are a deal-breaker for a lot of people, even if they can get a second-hand guitar or scrape up enough for a cheap instrument.
“The lessons are an ongoing expense, month over month over month.”
In general, weekly half-hour lesson plans can run in the $125-150 a month range.
“That’s for a month. And say you have two kids, that’s per month, per kid.”
“It’s not something you can do for a couple weeks or a couple months and then you’re all set, right. Often times we have students in our program for years and years. It really is a pretty big expense for them to be expected to cover.”
It’s a daunting expense even for those who can cover it. For some families it is just not feasible.
A musical mentor and more
In many cases, students in the Rawkstar program benefit from having some point of consistency in an otherwise inconsistent home setting. A good teacher and a rewarding music curriculum can boost confidence, instill study skills and focus in other areas of education and provide a role-model.
“It goes way beyond the music lessons. Of course, that’s at the core of it but that music teacher often becomes a real mentor for the kid, not only teaching them piano or guitar or whatever the instrument is… but becomes a friend and a mentor in a lot of ways. Because the kid, they look up to the teacher as being proficient at something they want to learn.
“I’m a 12-year-old kid and I want to play guitar. I see my music teacher once a week and he’s an amazing guitar player… I don’t have a dad around, or life at home is tough, and this guy can kind of play a little bit of that role. It’s consistent, they go every week. A lot of kids don’t have that kind of consistency in their world.”
Get up and play
As part of the program, and part of the fundraising operation, Rawkstars puts on music shows and concerts that encourage kids in the program to take to the stage and perform in front of an audience. Past events have been held at The Narrows in Fall River and Rick’s Music World in Raynham, which has a performance area and stage.
“We like to showcase the kids, give them a chance to perform some music for a crowd,” Jacobs said.
“If you’ve played music and gotten up and performed in front of people it’s prepared you for those moments even if you haven’t realized it. It’s given you self confidence, shown you that it’s okay to make a few mistakes and you’ll be okay. Imagine the boost of confidence that you get from the performance aspect. We think that’s really important, too. It’s not all about practicing and learning scales or learning songs.”
Taunton Daily Gazette staff writer Jon Haglof can be reached at jhaglof@tauntongazette.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Taunton Daily Gazette today.
|
https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/taunton-rawkstars-nonprofit-provides-kids-free-instruments-lessons/9467756002/
| 2022-04-13T15:23:44
| 1
|
https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/taunton-rawkstars-nonprofit-provides-kids-free-instruments-lessons/9467756002/
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — A person died in a house fire in northeast Portland on Wednesday morning, Portland Fire & Rescue (PF&R) reported. A second occupant of the home was outside when firefighters arrived and taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation. That person is in critical condition.
PF&R has not identified the person who died or the person who was taken to the hospital. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire started at around 4 a.m. Wednesday at a house located on Northeast 57th Avenue between Wygant Street and Going Street.
When firefighters arrived, they saw fire coming from the front of the home and quickly discovered the fire had spread through the entire house.
Initially, crews had difficulty navigating the interior of the home and momentarily had to move back out before returning inside to put out the fire.
Most-read stories on KGW.com (April 13)
VIDEO PLAYLIST: KGW Headlines on Demand
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/1-dead-house-fire-northeast-portland/283-d56f9697-a43e-4421-91a3-5ff3565a39a6
| 2022-04-13T15:29:39
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/1-dead-house-fire-northeast-portland/283-d56f9697-a43e-4421-91a3-5ff3565a39a6
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — After spending 12 hours stuck in Portland's West Hills, a Vancouver couple was rescued by the Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) and Portland Police Bureau (PPB) around noon on Monday.
Michael and Lisa Silk's Prius slid off the road and into a hillside ditch on Northwest Germantown Road near Skyline Boulevard as the snow began to the fall early that morning. Trees blocking roads and treacherous conditions in that area made it challenging for first responders to get to them.
"Luckily we were only going 20 miles an hour, but it just went right into a hillside," Michael Silk said.
"Even if we had moved the car [and] got the car out of the ditch, we couldn't go anywhere," said Lisa Silk. "We heard the limbs cracking over our heads and falling and we had snowballs hitting the roof."
The Silks said they stayed in the running car until daylight after calling dispatchers, who told the stranded couple that rescuers were unable to reach them right away. A tow truck company they called couldn't reach them, with the roads closed to all drivers.
"All of our winter stuff was already out of the car, because it was like April," they said. "We didn't want to get stranded outside at 33 degrees, with no winter clothes, so yeah, we'd better stay in the car until we have to get out."
Before noon, the couple said they got a call from Sergeant Jesse Baker with WCSO.
"There was a call holding in our dispatch center saying that Portland police had requested assistance for a couple that was stranded up on Germantown Road," Baker said. "It looked like they had been there overnight. They were surrounded by trees and a lot of snow, but they were okay, they just couldn't get out."
"He said, 'I will get to you,'" Lisa recalled. "And we were thinking, 'No, you will not get to us, there's trees everywhere.'"
Along with a PPB officer and a deputy, Baker made his way to them despite all the obstacles.
"We were going to do everything we could. Even if we had to walk down there to get them, we were going to get them," he said.
After hearing nearby chainsaws, the couple got out of the Prius.
"We knew we were getting close to someone... As we came around, [Baker] said, 'Are you the Prius people?' And we said, 'Yes, that's us!'"
The trek out was just as challenging as the trek in. With the help a neighbor who had a tractor, they were finally in the clear, documenting the occasion with a photo.
"We all look very happy because I think we were all happy," Lisa said. "We got out of there, we had a successful thing happen."
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/vancouver-couple-stuck-snow-west-hills-portland-storm/283-ec2d154a-8211-4153-a854-a642b1c4874e
| 2022-04-13T15:29:45
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/vancouver-couple-stuck-snow-west-hills-portland-storm/283-ec2d154a-8211-4153-a854-a642b1c4874e
|
'We honor them by pedaling': Law enforcement officers ride in Tour De Force bike ride
The first Florida Tour De Force bike ride since before COVID-19 had added significance for Volusia County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Mathieson.
Mathieson rode in honor of the late Deputy Frank Scofield, who had ridden Tour De Force bike rides in Florida and New York. Scofield was killed in 2019 when he was hit by a van while riding his bicycle as he trained for another charity bike ride.
“I wanted to personally honor him by completing the whole event and raising money to be donated in his honor,” Mathieson said in a phone interview. “I figured that would be a good tribute in his name and also a way to carry on in his legacy. It was something that he did and he seemed to enjoy.”
The 25th annual Tour De Force charity bicycle ride covered 270 miles and spanned four days from North Miami Beach to Daytona Beach Shores, where it ended on Friday. The bicycle ride raised money for the families of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
Mathieson raised $2,000 which he donated on Friday during a special stop in honor of Scofield at the Frank Scofield Memorial Boat Ramp at Causeway Park in Port Orange.
Volusia deputy struck:Volusia Senior Deputy struck and killed while riding bicycle
Patrol car in museum:Slain Daytona Beach Officer Jason Raynor's patrol car goes to Titusville museum
Trial set for 2023:Othal Wallace's trial set for April 2023 in killing of Daytona Beach Officer Jason Raynor
During the stop, Mathieson wore a special blue jersey emblazoned with an anchor and Scofield’s call sign: “1 River 11.”
Mathieson said Scofield had ridden the entire Tour De Force rides in both Florida and New York and many of his friends from both rides participated in the Florida event last week.
Mathieson, who raced bicycles in his teens, said he gave pointers about bicycles, riding styles and equipment to Scofield when the deputy first became interested in the sport.
“He became a very strong rider,” Mathieson said. “And I looked forward to riding with him.”
The Tour De Force helps families deal with financial obligations in the immediate aftermath of an officer's death, he said. When a law enforcement officer is killed in the line of duty, his or her family can apply for benefits; however, there is a gap between filling out the paperwork and receiving those benefits, he said.
The Tour De Force money provides funds directly to the families, he said.
“The family gets immediate access to some money to support them,” he said.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood, who is also a cyclist, pedaled on Thursday in the ride.
The names of officers who had died in the line of duty in the previous year were listed on a truck that rode with a support caravan with the riders. Those line-of-duty deaths included many who had died from COVID.
“I remember looking at the names on the side of the truck and the names listed and it’s the biggest I’ve ever seen in my life,” Mathieson said.
One of the names listed was Daytona Beach Police Officer Jason Raynor, who was shot in June while on patrol and died from the wound in August.
Daytona Beach Police Recruiting Officer Jason Dungan rode in the Tour De Force and wore an armband to honor Raynor.
Said Mathieson of why he, Dungan and other offices take part in the ride: “We honor them by pedaling.”
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/13/tour-de-force-riders-raise-funds-honor-fallen-officers-scofield-raynor-daytona-volusia/7273594001/
| 2022-04-13T16:47:26
| 0
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/13/tour-de-force-riders-raise-funds-honor-fallen-officers-scofield-raynor-daytona-volusia/7273594001/
|
As population surges, Volusia County looks for new ways to tackle growth
DAYTONA BEACH — In 1990, Volusia County had 370,737 residents. Thirty years later, in 2020, the county's population had shot up 49% to 551,588.
Everyone in the coastal county can feel the population explosion anytime they try to navigate the more congested Volusia roads, and they can see the bumper crop of new houses and apartment buildings popping out of the ground.
Volusia County Council members spent the day Tuesday tackling the weighty task of managing the growth, and the continued growth that's sure to keep coming.
"We've added 183,000 people, and there's been an 18.2 million-gallon per day water use increase," said County Chair Jeff Brower. "The public doesn't feel like we planned well."
Melissa Lammers, an Ormond-by-the-Sea resident and activist, told Council members the land being preserved through the Volusia Forever program isn't enough to protect all the ecosystems everyone relies on. She said there also need to be reductions in pollution, clear-cutting and the use of water-thirsty turf grass.
"Many of us are deeply concerned by the pace and the way Volusia County is developing," Lammers said Tuesday. "Local government has the responsibility to protect the environment. ... Truly the world we leave to our children depends on it."
Daytona Beach seeing population boom:Ready or not, 9,000 more new homes planned for LPGA area west of I-95
Is Volusia County expanding too quickly?:Volusia is growing fast. So are concerns about over-development
Huge housing development planned for Volusia County:Word on the Street: Avalon Park developer forges ahead in Daytona
At Tuesday's meeting, Council members didn't attempt to brainstorm specific strategies to deal with the growth explosion. Most of the six-hour meeting was spent listening to county staff members who explained the history of the county's growth, what's been done so far to manage it and preparation for future development.
But the five Council members at the meeting did agree they want to set up a Green Ribbon Panel of local experts. They'll take a formal vote at their May 3 meeting on launching the panel.
The Council also wants to get input from residents and stakeholders such as property owners, business owners, builders, developers and land use attorneys.
'Wow, did we rebound'
Clay Ervin, the county's director of Growth and Resource Management, said the recent growth surge isn't unique to Volusia County.
"It's a statewide phenomenon impacting everyone," Ervin said. "If we grew in a perfect linear fashion at 1.6% it would be so much easier. But there's this little thing called the market. It comes in and really devastates some of your plans."
Just 13 years ago, in 2009, the state of Florida saw an outmigration of 58,000 residents. It was the first time since 1946 that happened.
"We've rebounded. Wow, did we rebound," Ervin said.
Flagler County's population skyrocketed by 298% from 1990 to 2020, starting at 28,701 and soaring to 114,173 two years ago. St. Johns County jumped up 212% from 1990 to 2020, Lake County grew by 141% and Orange County grew by 109%.
"Growth comes in fits and stops," Ervin said.
The flood of new residents has had very real impacts. Looking at the 182,831-resident growth in Volusia County from 1990 to 2020, that averages out to 6,094 new people each year.
It's created a need for 2,709 new homes per year, which has tallied 81,258 new houses over the past 30 years. And the growth has led to the use of about 18.2 million gallons of water per day and 15.5 million gallons of wastewater.
The growth has also meant about 730,000 new trips on the roads, according to the county's calculations.
The distribution of Volusia County's population has also changed over the past 30 years. In 1990, 60% of the county's population lived in cities. Now 79% of Volusia residents live in cities.
County staff analyzed whether Volusia is reaching buildout. The county covers 808,385 acres, 695,669 acres of which is land and 112,716 acres of which is water.
The county has jurisdiction over 505,202 acres, and the rest is in Volusia's 16 cities. More than half of that acreage is in conservation, and still more is covered by environmental corridor overlays or is part of a natural resource management area.
So that leaves 71,699 acres in the county without those restrictions and designations.
The majority of development is happening in the cities, county staff members say.
Past, present and future planning
When the waves of population increase roll in, plans need to be in place to handle it.
Back in 1976, Volusia County adopted a comprehensive plan titled "How Should We Grow?" That comprehensive plan, and the others that came after it in Volusia County, were guided by state government planning laws that date back to 1972.
Volusia County adopted its first countywide environmental standards in 1988, and updated its comprehensive plan in 1990.
Smart growth summits were held in 2003 and 2004, and a smart growth implementation committee met in 2004 and 2005. A smart growth policy review committee held meetings from 2013 to 2016.
The county is continually strategizing for the future. It's currently looking at sea level change initiatives, low-impact development standards, coordination with cities on redevelopment of infill areas, expansion of the workforce and recruitment of targeted industries.
The county is updating its comprehensive plan for 2025 and 2035. A comprehensive plan is like a city or county constitution for growth, and it sets the rules and expectations.
"We fully acknowledge growth management is an iterative process," Ervin said. "It needs to evolve with changes."
Brower said it's a huge undertaking, but it can't be ignored.
"How do you eat an elephant?" he said. "We have to start."
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/13/volusia-county-planning-underway-to-handle-recent-population-growth/7295616001/
| 2022-04-13T16:47:32
| 0
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/13/volusia-county-planning-underway-to-handle-recent-population-growth/7295616001/
|
The 62-year-old man wanted in connection with Tuesday's mass shooting on a rush-hour subway in Brooklyn is believed to be in custody in Manhattan, four law enforcement sources with direct knowledge of the case said Wednesday
A man matching the description of Frank R. James was apprehended near St. Marks Place and First Avenue in the East Village, the sources said, adding a Crime Stoppers tip helped authorities track his location. James was being questioned at the 9th Precinct, but the sources said they were confident they had their man -- and they're looking into whether James may have called Crime Stoppers on himself, sources said.
The NYPD is expected to provide an update soon. Watch live in the player above.
Law enforcement had zeroed in on James in the hours after Tuesday's shooting on the train at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, lifting critical clues from a rented U-Haul van, surveillance footage and evidence at the scene, including a gun, hatchet, additional ammunition and a bag that had unused smoke canister and fireworks.
Just ahead of reports of the arrest, law enforcement sources said a MetroCard purchased with a credit card linked to James was swiped at a Brooklyn subway station Tuesday night, hours after the attack, two law enforcement sources said.
Investigators believe James may still have been riding the subways following the shooting. MetroCard data isn't real-time, though, and his travel direction wasn't clear, they added. Other surveillance video was clear -- and apparently showed James entering the Kings Highway N station, not far from where the U-Haul was found, about two hours before he allegedly opened fire on commuters roughly eight stops away.
It wasn't clear how James escaped the scene, which was chaotic as emergency personnel rushed to treat the wounded. Law enforcement officials believe the attack that injured at least 23 people, 10 of them by gunfire and some of them children, was premeditated. The fact alone jarred riders already skittish amid recent upticks in subway violence and once again interrupted New York City's rocky pandemic recovery.
More Coverage
Authorities have been examining social media videos in which the 62-year-old James decried the United States as a racist place awash in violence and sometimes railed against the city’s mayor, Eric Adams.
“This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof and it’s going to die a violent death. There’s nothing going to stop that,” James said in one video.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the posts “concerning" and officials tightened security for Adams as investigators turn their attention to the U-Haul van.
Cops believe the van found parked on Kings Highway in Gravesend Tuesday afternoon is linked to the shootings. It had a table, chairs and memory foam pillows inside, senior law enforcement sources said. The key and the credit card used to rent the van were both found at the Sunset Park station. That's what yielded James' name.
They say his physical description could match that of the subway shooter, who was said to be a Black man about 5 feet 5 inches tall and 170 pounds. The shooter was wearing a gas mask, green construction vest and construction helmet when he tossed two smoke canisters on the floor of a northbound N car and opened fire.
Pictures: Multiple People Hurt in Brooklyn Subway Shooting
While the car filled with smoke, he fired at least 33 times, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig, striking 10 people. It's not clear how the shooter fled the scene. Cops were looking into reports he may have jumped onto the subway tracks and escaped through the tunnels, but all searches for him have come up empty.
James has ties to Philadelphia and Wisconsin as well as New York, according to police. Senior law enforcement officials say he has a past criminal record in New Jersey but none of the crimes are on par with Tuesday's attack.
As investigators search for James, they continue to meticulously comb through evidence and witness interviews for insight into a possible motive.
One rider's video, shot through a closed door between subway cars, shows a person in a hooded sweatshirt raising an arm and pointing at something as five bangs sound. In another video, smoke and people pour out of a subway car, some limping.
Greenish smoke spewed from the subway doors when the Manhattan-bound train stopped at the platform, according to officials. Throngs of panicked people were seen running, bleeding — in total, 23 were hurt, police said, most of them in the chaos.
“Someone call 911!” a person could be heard shouting.
Five of the gunshot victims were critically injured, with details on the nature of their wounds not immediately clear. No fatalities were reported.
More Coverage
One source close to the investigation says the gunman's weapon may have jammed, potentially preventing further tragedy.
The gun was recovered at the scene, as was a bag with smoke canisters and fireworks, along with a hatchet, a spray bottle of gasoline and a fuse — lending further credence to the theory of a premeditated attack on New York City transit riders.
Three extended magazines of ammunition were also recovered at the scene: one still in the handgun, one in a backpack and one under his subway seat. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives completed an urgent trace to identify the gun’s manufacturer, seller and initial owner. That came back to James.
An MTA surveillance camera in the station wasn't working at the time of the shooting, three sources say. It's not clear why, but officials say there were “a lot of different options” from cameras elsewhere on the subway line to get a glimpse of the shooter.
More than a dozen victims who weren't hit by gunfire were injured in the crowd response to the chaos, Essig said, with injuries including smoke inhalation, panic attacks and falling. Some of the wounded were in the same train car as the suspect, while others were on the platform, authorities said.
All described a terrifying scene.
"You start seeing faces against the glass, and it's people, several women, banging against the glass, screaming," said Kenneth Foote-Smith, who was in the next subway car over. "
"I did see a gentleman who was shot in lower stomach, laying out the ground, being treated by three or four people — bystanders, not EMS," he added. "I wasn’t the one who was injured or shot. Those are the people I think about, who I can’t stop thinking about. The people I couldn’t help."
The injured were taken to at least three city hospitals, including NYU Langone, Maimonides Medical Center, NYP-Brooklyn Methodist and Kings County Hospital.
The youngest victims in the shooting, four children between 12 and 16 years old, were taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where they were visited by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in the evening.
MAP: Here's Where the Subway Shooting Happened
Houari Benkada was one of the gunshot victims, telling CNN in an interview that she actually sat next to the shooter before smoke filled the car, sending people running. He said he was trying to shield a pregnant woman when he was hit.
"She said 'I'm pregnant with a baby,' I hugged her, then the bum rush continued, and that's when I got shot in the back of my knee," the 27-year-old said.
All of the victims are expected to survive. Trying to reach a loved one? Here's what to do.
The New York City Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS) was activated in response to the NYPD activity located near 36th Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn.
If you are concerned about the welfare of someone who may have been affected by the event and are unable to contact them, please call 311. From outside of NYC, you may call 212-639-9675.
Police are asking for tips from the public, videos in particular, that could help them track down the suspect, as well as the person of interest, James. Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
A reward of $50,000 from police, the MTA and Transport Workers Union is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment of the shooter.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-subway-shooting-suspect-in-custody-in-manhattan-sources/3644634/
| 2022-04-13T18:30:40
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-subway-shooting-suspect-in-custody-in-manhattan-sources/3644634/
|
New video obtained by News 4 Wednesday shows a man law enforcement believes to be suspected Brooklyn subway shooter Frank R. James entering the transit system in Brooklyn about two hours before Tuesday's rush-hour attack that left 10 people shot.
The video was captured at 6:15 a.m. Tuesday, about two hours before gunfire erupted on the Manhattan-bound N train at the 36th Street Station in Sunset Park. It shows a man believed to be James entering the N station at Kings Highway, which is the same area where investigators say a U-Haul also linked to the subway attack was found.
On a normal service day for the N line, there are eight stops between Kings Highway and the 36th Street Station, MTA maps show. It's not clear how much time it would have taken to get between the two stations during Tuesday's morning commute.
In the video, a man believed to be James, dressed in a construction jacket and yellow hard hat, is seen carrying a bag and rolling suitcase as he tries to swipe his MetroCard at the turnstile. In another angle, he is seen using an emergency exit to get inside.
Investigators officially labeled James a suspect in the case on Wednesday as the manhunt for the gunman intensified.
James, 62, has been arrested more than 24 hours after the attack terrorized rush-hour commuters in Sunset Park and left 23 people hurt, 10 of them by gunfire, according to four law enforcement source.
It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the shift to suspect from person of interest for James, but three senior law enforcement officials said ATF agents were able to trace the gun recovered at the shooting scene to a purchase James made years ago.
Surveillance video obtained from the area near the parked U-Haul includes grainy footage that appears to show James walking into the subway station, carrying a bag that looks similar to the one recovered at the shooting scene, senior officials said.
Cops believe James is the man who rented a U-Haul linked to the case. A key to the vehicle and the credit card used to rent it was discovered at the scene.
The van with Arizona license plates was found just before 5 p.m. Tuesday on Kings Highway in Gravesend. The vehicle was later searched and cleared, senior law enforcement sources said, as cops removed a table, chairs and memory foam pillows.
James was said to have a past criminal record in New Jersey that includes three arrests on charges related to petit larceny and disorderly conduct in 2007 and trespassing in 1992. He has no history on par with the violence he's suspected of in Tuesday's attack of which officials are aware at this point.
Part of James' criminal history included making "terroristic threats," according to sources, but investigators said the threats were similar to ones commonly made by those who are emotionally disturbed.
More Coverage
Two senior law enforcement officials say the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York is considering filing federal criminal charges in the subway attack. One potential federal charge being considered is using a weapon/arson on mass transit/train, but no final decision has been made, the officials said.
Meanwhile, authorities are scouring social media posts and YouTube videos by someone with James' name that mentioned homelessness, New York and Mayor Eric Adams, leading officials to tighten the mayor's security detail, police said. Videos that James is believed to have posted on YouTube show him ranting about violence.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the online statements "concerning."
More Coverage
A motive for the attack remains under investigation, but officials quickly sought to assure already fearful New Yorkers there were no imminent outstanding threats.
“There are currently no known explosive devices on our subway trains and this is not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time," Sewell said earlier Tuesday.
Cops believe the suspect acted alone. Law enforcement officials said a .9-mm semi-automatic handgun was recovered at the scene, along with a bag of smoke canisters and fireworks. A hatchet, two extra extended clips of ammo, a fuse and a spray bottle of gasoline were also found, police said.
One source told NBC New York that the gun the suspect used may have jammed, preventing worse tragedy. The shooter still fired at least 33 times inside the train car.
A total of 10 people were struck by gunfire, with five shooting victims said to have been critically wounded. Police said that an additional 13 people were hurt by falling, smoke inhalation or other injuries suffered during the panic after the shots were fired. The extent of the other victims' injuries wasn't clear.
A reward of $50,000 from police, the MTA and Transport Workers Union is being offered for information leading to an arrest and indictment of the shooter.
Sign up for our Breaking newsletter to get the most urgent news stories in your inbox.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/video-shows-suspected-brooklyn-subway-shooter-frank-james-enter-station/3644503/
| 2022-04-13T18:30:52
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/video-shows-suspected-brooklyn-subway-shooter-frank-james-enter-station/3644503/
|
HIGHFILL, Ark. — Benton County Emergency Management (BCEM) says one water rescue was carried out on Wednesday, April 13, due to flash flooding from heavy rain.
According to BCEM, the rescue happened at Highway 264 and Bryant near the Northwest Arkansas National Airport.
Details on how many people were rescued or their condition were not immediately available from BCEM.
A flash flood warning has been issued in Benton County through 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Do not drive over the water if you are traveling in a vehicle and come across a flooded road. Your car could stall and be swept away in the water.
According to Benton County officials, the following roads are impacted by flooding:
- Bryant Place: Closed at culvert crossing
- Callis Road: Closed due to flooding
- Dickson Road: Closed at low water slab
- Fruitwood Road: Closed at the bridge west of Wildwood Way
- Gailey Hollow Road: Closed at the intersection of Logan Cave Road
- Gooseberry Road: Closed due to flooding
- Peach Orchard Road: Closed due to flooding
- Pearl Road: Closed at low water slab
- W. Pierce Road: Closed at low water slab
- Roupe Road: Closed due to flooding
- Spanker Creek Road: Low water slab closed
- Steward Road: Closed at the end of the road going towards Logan Cave Road.
- Sugar Creek Road: Closed at the intersection of Harris Road (low water slab)
- Youngs Road: Closed due to flooding
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/benton-county-emergency-management-water-rescue-xna/527-7a163e9e-70dc-4a18-8114-f887283ce9e0
| 2022-04-13T18:30:54
| 1
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/benton-county-emergency-management-water-rescue-xna/527-7a163e9e-70dc-4a18-8114-f887283ce9e0
|
BENTON COUNTY, Ark — Flooding caused by severe weather has led to some road closures across Northwest Arkansas Wednesday, April 13.
According to Benton County officials, the following roads are impacted by flooding:
- Bill Billings Road: Closed at water slab
- Bill Young Road: Closed at boxes
- Callis Road: Closed due to flooding
- Dawn Hill East Road: Closed at bridge
- Fairmount Road: Closed due to flooding
- Fisher Ford Road: Closed at bridge
- Fruitwood Road: Closed at the bridge west of Wildwood Way
- Gailey Hollow Road: Closed at the intersection of Logan Cave Road
- Gooseberry Road: Closed due to flooding
- Mill Dam Road: Closed due to flooding
- N. Old Wire Road: Closed at the intersection of Bill Billings Road (bridge)
- Peach Orchard Road: Closed due to flooding
- Pearl Road: Closed at low water slab
- Phillips Cemetery Road: Closed at bridge
- W. Pierce Road: Closed at low water slab
- Roupe Road: Closed due to flooding
- Sawmill Road: Closed at water slab
- Spanker Creek Road: Low water slab closed
- Stateline Road: Closed due to flooding
- Steward Road: Closed at the end of the road going towards Logan Cave Road.
- Sugar Creek Road: Closed at the intersection of Harris Road (low water slab)
Melody Kwok with Benton County says this is the first flooding like this the county has seen this year and wants drivers to stay alert while on the roads.
"Please please please do not go past barricades and that includes signs, caution tape, barrels signage," Kwok said. "Really, don’t go past it because they are there for a reason and we want people to be safe and to not have to be rescued."
Stay with 5NEWS for updates on road closing.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/flooding-road-closures-in-benton-county/527-384b4c7c-d080-47b9-97e8-90640ea7c476
| 2022-04-13T18:31:00
| 0
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/flooding-road-closures-in-benton-county/527-384b4c7c-d080-47b9-97e8-90640ea7c476
|
Bloomington motorist says a man shot him in a possible road rage incident
A man sustained a serious leg injury when he was shot in Bloomington Tuesday night in what may have been a road rage incident.
Police arrived in the 1400 block of North Woodburn Avenue at 7:54 p.m. and found a 39-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his lower leg sitting on the tailgate of his Ford F150 pickup truck. He was taken to IU Health Bloomington Hospital, then transferred by medical helicopter to an Indianapolis hospital for further treatment.
A news release from Bloomington Police Department Capt. Ryan Pedigo said the victim told police he was traveling south on Woodburn Avenue when a dark-colored passenger car came up behind him very quickly.
Others are reading:Man, 19, dies after being shot at eastside Bloomington apartment
The man said he stopped his truck in the street and got out. He said the car continued forward, then stopped in front of his truck. "There was reportedly a brief exchange of words between the victim and a male that was seated in the front passenger seat of the car," the news release said.
"The victim reported that the male in the front passenger seat of the car then pointed a handgun at him and fired once," the release said. The car then headed west on West 17th Street.
Police are seeking the vehicle and the two people who were in the car. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call BPD Detective Jeff Rodgers at 812-349-3318.
Contact reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com, 812-331-4362 or 812-318-5967.
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/bloomington-police-seek-driver-passenger-north-woodlawn-avenue-shooting/7303194001/
| 2022-04-13T19:09:31
| 1
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/bloomington-police-seek-driver-passenger-north-woodlawn-avenue-shooting/7303194001/
|
Severe winds, possible threat of tornadoes projected for Bloomington tonight
High winds and stormy weather are expected to pose safety concerns in the Bloomington area this evening, with a threat of tornadoes in the region.
The severe conditions are projected between 5 p.m. and midnight, following light thunderstorms throughout the morning and early afternoon, according to Mike Ryan, meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Indianapolis office.
At the storm's peak, winds could be as heavy as 60 to 70 miles per hour, resulting in isolated tornados.
"Wind damage could be significant," Ryan said.
He advised residents to start preparing a safety plan for later in the evening, and to keep on top of the latest weather advisories.
Others are reading:Nearly 550 apartments, townhomes, duplexes coming to Bloomington's northwest side
By midnight, Bloomington should be in the clear, with around an inch of rainfall total by the end of the day.
"We're not going to see widespread amounts of rainfall, but some locations certainly may see more than that," Ryan said.
Following the storm, residents should anticipate fair, dry weather throughout the rest of the week with high temperatures mainly in the 50s and 60s.
Contact Rachel Smith at rksmith@heraldt.com or @RachelSmithNews on Twitter.
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/bloomington-weather-severe-winds-possible-tornadoes-midwest-storm/7302427001/
| 2022-04-13T19:09:37
| 1
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/bloomington-weather-severe-winds-possible-tornadoes-midwest-storm/7302427001/
|
Frank James, the 62-year-old wanted in connection with Tuesday's rush-hour subway shooting in Brooklyn, is in custody in Manhattan, the NYPD said Wednesday.
Frank R. James was apprehended near St. Marks Place and First Avenue in the East Village, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said. A Crime Stoppers caller shared with authorities that someone matching the suspected shooter's description was at a McDonald's in the East Village, and authorities searched the area until he spotted him.
James was being questioned at the 9th Precinct Wednesday afternoon and he was being charged by a federal complaint in Brooklyn with one count of committing a violent attack against a mass transportation system and faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Pictures: Multiple People Hurt in Brooklyn Subway Shooting
James has ties to Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City, according to Chief James Essig, who states the suspect's prior history in NYC is nine prior arrests dating from 1992 to 1998.
Those prior NYC arrests include possession of burglary, criminal sex act, and theft of service. In New Jersey, James has three other arrests in 1991, 1992, and 2007, including for trespass, larceny, and disorderly conduct, police said during Wednesday's press conference.
On Tuesday, the NYPD recovered video of James prior to the attack entering the King's Highway subway station, owning the same black cart that was later recovered on the crime scene.
News
This subway station is within three blocks of where the police recovered the U-Haul truck that James rented in Philadelphia. The vehicle key was recovered at the crime scene, as well as his orange jacket and construction helmet found nearby in a garbage bin in transit.
Police believe that after James fired his weapon 33 times, he boarded the R train that pulled into the station, traveled only one stop, and exited at 25th St. station.
The gun used in the attack was a 9-millimeter Glock purchased in Ohio in 2011, which was found at the crime scene, based on police.
The NYPD tracked his last known whereabouts to 7th Avenue and 9th Street in Park Slope, Brooklyn, while entering the subway.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-subway-shooting-who-is-suspect-frank-james/3644761/
| 2022-04-13T20:02:00
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/brooklyn-subway-shooting-who-is-suspect-frank-james/3644761/
|
Frank James, 62, was apprehended in Manhattan Wednesday afternoon, more than 24 hours after Tuesday's rush-hour shooting on a Brooklyn train. He is charged federally in the apparently premeditated attack that injured 23, 10 by gunshots.
Read the full complaint below and get all the latest developments on the story here.
More Coverage
Copyright NBC New York
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/read-the-federal-complaint-against-accused-brooklyn-subway-shooter-frank-james/3644878/
| 2022-04-13T20:02:01
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/read-the-federal-complaint-against-accused-brooklyn-subway-shooter-frank-james/3644878/
|
FORT SMITH, Ark. — On Tuesday, April 13, the Fort Smith Board of Directors met to primarily discuss the history and future of an abandoned apartment complex off N. 36th and Kinkead.
"I'm not done with trying to sell this property," said City of Fort Smith FS Code Enforcement Supervisor Shawn Gard.
Gard says the complex has more than 20 building violations and asbestos.
"The trash debris, dead limbs, the garbage, all the building debris out there, drain filling up the pools," said Gard when describing the property.
The city says it wants to tear it down, but before that can happen, they are trying to contact the building owner who lives in Texas.
"I tried to contact them by phone and by email to let them know we are starting unsafe action on this," said Jimmie Deer, City of Fort Smith director of building services.
The city has even issued a warrant for the owner’s arrest since he won't respond to any requests.
"We actually have this owner in court, because he lives in Texas, we just can't get him served," said Deer.
Because of this, Fort Smith is looking at other options on how to clean up that area.
"To me, it’s the right and moral thing to do, to enforce those violations, demolish this failed property,” said Director and Vice Mayor Jarred Rego who brought the issue to the attention of the Board of Directors.
During the meeting, Fort Smith looked at options such as eminent domain or if it can use tax dollars to buy the property.
"It's really tough to get something done without help…on the property tax side," Joshua Harmon, principal broker and owner of Harmon Real Estate Company.
Early May is when Fort Smith will look to vote on if they can get a contract to lightly clean the building.
By late May or early June, the city hopes to have the building fully demolished
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/fort-smith-directors-looking-remove-abandoned-asbestos-filled-building-kinkead-ave/527-afdda0a2-cfc7-4df0-9475-e1c885fddbd7
| 2022-04-13T21:24:50
| 1
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/fort-smith-directors-looking-remove-abandoned-asbestos-filled-building-kinkead-ave/527-afdda0a2-cfc7-4df0-9475-e1c885fddbd7
|
NWS confirms second tornado in Northwest Louisiana following Tuesday night storms
Makenzie Boucher
Shreveport Times
The National Weather Service has confirmed a second tornado hit Benton, Louisiana Tuesday evening.
The NWS said that just before 10 p.m. an EF1 tornado touched down off of Willow Bend Road and left damage that tracked back into portions of Caddo Parish.
The damage was consistent with windspeeds up to 110 mph. Surveyors are out at this location to gather more information on the damage.
This tornado is the second one recorded from Tuesday evening's severe weather. The first tornado reported was the EF0 that touched down on Youree Drive.
More:NWS confirms EF0 tornado Tuesday in Shreveport, says weather radio down due to outages
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/nws-confirms-second-nw-louisiana-tornado-following-tuesday-storms/7310002001/
| 2022-04-13T21:55:07
| 1
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/nws-confirms-second-nw-louisiana-tornado-following-tuesday-storms/7310002001/
|
Shreveport NWS says weather radio working. Here's what to do if it goes out again
At 2 p.m. Wednesday the National Weather Service of Shreveport said the emergency weather radio is working once again.
The emergency radio lost signal last night during the power outages and NWS has been working to get it functional before a second wave of storms passes through northwest Louisiana tonight.
The NWS has three recommendations to keep you safe during these severe storms, should this happen again.
The service recommends watching local news stations which will provide information and updates from the NWS.
They also said if you have a smartphone and do not disable the weather emergency alerts then tornado warnings and significant severe thunderstorm warnings will be sent automatically to your phone.
Monitor their webpage at www.weather.gov/shv, they said you can also monitor the weather through their social media. "We try as much as possible to put warning information on there," NWS said.
More:NWS confirms EF0 tornado Tuesday in Shreveport, says weather radio down due to outages
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/shreveport-nws-says-weather-radio-working-heshreveport-nws-says-weatherres-what-do-if-goes-out-again/7309221001/
| 2022-04-13T21:55:13
| 1
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/13/shreveport-nws-says-weather-radio-working-heshreveport-nws-says-weatherres-what-do-if-goes-out-again/7309221001/
|
A 35-year old New York City man is facing a tax fraud and other charges after he was arrested for operating an illegal Bitcoin ATM business that he marketed towards individuals engaged in criminal activity, according to the district attorney's office.
Alvin L. Bragg, district attorney for New York City, announced the indictment presented against Robert Taylor on Wednesday.
Taylor, according to prosecutors, operated Bitcoin kiosks in at least 46 locations in New York City, mostly in laundromats, as well as locations in New Jersey and Miami.
Allegedly, between 2017 and 2018, he converted more than $5.6 million of his customers’ cash into Bitcoin while charging a fee of between 10% and 20% for the promise of anonymity. Court documents say that unlike licensed Bitcoin ATMs and cryptocurrency exchanges, Taylor's kiosks did not require customers to provide any identification or other “know your customer” information before making deposits.
According to court documents, Taylor advertised on his social media account the aspect of anonymity of his machines, at one point telling a customer “we never ask for ID or have a camera that takes a pic of your face.”
Furthermore, it is alleged that customers were discouraged from using other bitcoin companies unless “you like having your ID and pic taken.” According to court documents, when one customer complained about his high fees, Taylor replied on social media, “Bro we gotta maintain everyone’s privacy. It’s worth the money.”
Surveillance records gathered during the investigation allegedly revealed that Taylor's business attracted individuals involved in criminal activity, including drug sales and credit card theft.
News
Search warrants executed at Taylor's Manhattan penthouse and more than 20 locations that housed his kiosks allegedly resulted in the recovery of $250,000 in cash from his apartment, as well as $44,000 in cash from the kiosks.
Court documents said that forensic analysis of the kiosks showed that $5.6 million in cash was deposited into them between September 2017 and November 2018, generating more than $590,000 in fees, from which about $160,000 were deposited into Taylor's personal bank accounts. However, Taylor only claimed income of about $3,000 on his 2017 tax returns, and a loss of $140,000 on his 2018 tax returns.
Additionally, according to court documents cited by prosecutors, Taylor and his businesses did not have a money transmission license from the New York State Department of Financial Services or the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or a virtual currency business license from DFS. According to DFS regulations, anyone operating a Bitcoin kiosk business must have a license.
Taylor is charged with multiple counts of operating an unlicensed money transmission business, criminal tax fraud in the third degree, and offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree.
Attorney information for Taylor was not immediately known.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nyc-man-indicted-in-citywide-illegal-bitcoin-atm-operation-da/3645061/
| 2022-04-13T22:47:25
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nyc-man-indicted-in-citywide-illegal-bitcoin-atm-operation-da/3645061/
|
The arrest of a man accused of shooting 10 people inside a Brooklyn subway station was a huge relief for New Yorkers who were afraid to take public transit, but anxiety lingers for many straphangers concerned for their safety.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says approximately 160,000 fewer people used the transit system compared to the day before Frank James allegedly filled an N train car with smoke and fired 33 shots on the train and 36th Street platform during Tuesday's morning rush. That's a drop of 5% in ridership while law enforcement searched for the suspect who was at large for more than 24 hours.
Following the attack, authorities said cameras inside the subway station where the shooting took place were not functioning, hindering the initial search for the suspect.
However, other cameras at nearby Kings Highway station were rolling that morning and they captured James attempting to swipe his MetroCard at the turnstile and eventually entering the subway through an emergency exit.
To illustrate to riders that the subway is safe, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said there was more than enough video evidence to help the NYPD make an arrest.
"We have 600 cameras on the line just in Brooklyn, over 10,000 in the system, way, way up from where it was a couple years ago. So we have a lot of video," Lieber said.
Top officials like Gov. Kathy Hochul and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell took the subways following the shooting to also assure commuters that the trains are safe, but public confidence won't return overnight, said NYU urban studies professor Sarah Kaufman.
"There’s a perception it’s a lot worse than it is, but that certainly has an impact," Kaufman said.
The subway's ridership is also still trying to recover from the blow of the pandemic. Typical daily subway ridership fell from 5.5 million riders to less than a tenth of that. On Monday, estimated ridership was 3.1 million, according to the MTA.
Even as the gunman was still on the loose Wednesday morning, commuters like Ana Marrero were on their way again.
“You have to be more vigilant of your surroundings. But scared? No,” said Marrero, who has taken the subway to work for 30 years. “You think of the tragedy and the people that were hurt, but you have no other choice and do what you have to do.”
In Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood, several riders said they prayed for safety as they returned to the 36th Street station, reopened a day after the shot-up trained pulled into it.
“I didn’t want to come to work today,” said Jonathan Frias, a construction worker, “but I had to.”
Dan Dzula, who lives four blocks from the station, stayed home Tuesday after receiving an alert on his phone about the shooting. The next day, he encountered a crowded yet quiet platform on his commute into Manhattan.
“It’s a little spooky,” Dzula said. "I have to be here and I want to. No one likes feeling threatened.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul posted a photo on social media showing her riding a train after the shooting, and Mayor Eric Adams pledged to increase patrols in subway stations.
“We know that this hurts the mindset of many New Yorkers who are afraid of what happened, but we’re a resilient city. We've been here before,” Adams told MSNBC on Wednesday.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mta-ridership-fell-5-after-brooklyn-subway-shooting/3645164/
| 2022-04-13T23:04:35
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/mta-ridership-fell-5-after-brooklyn-subway-shooting/3645164/
|
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The principal of Magic City Acceptance Academy is fighting back against what he calls a “disgusting” television advertisement by Tim James, a Republican candidate for Alabama governor.
Michael Wilson, the founding principal of Magic City Acceptance Academy, said he was shocked when he saw the ad, which uses images from a school fundraiser showing the faces of staff and students. The photos were likely lifted from the school’s social media site, he said.
The initial advertisement, titled “Genesis,” shows images of the school and of a drag show fundraiser as James’ voice denounces the institution.
“And now, right here in Alabama, millions of your tax dollars are paying for the first transgender public school in the South,” James said in the ad. “Enough of this foolishness.”
The public charter school, which labels itself as an LGBTQ-affirming learning environment, opened last year and serves students from all backgrounds. Transgender students make up less than 10% of the school’s student population, Wilson said, and the majority of pupils at MCAA are not members of the LGBTQ community.
“I just could not believe that someone would use a school and misrepresent it,” Wilson said.
After the advertisement was released, the school immediately increased security to protect its student population. The decision turned out to be a prudent one.
The first week the ad ran, Wilson said someone drove by the school and yelled slurs at students standing outside. In another incident, a woman attempted to approach and film students on the school’s campus before being stopped by staff.
The ad has had negative impacts on students, Wilson said. The school has partnered with the Magic City Wellness Center to provide counseling for those who need it.
He said he has also spoken directly to some of the individuals pictured in the advertisement.
“They’re angry,” Wilson said. “They’re angry, and they have a right to be. What he’s doing and what others are doing in the way they’re campaigning is pushing voters away instead of bringing them in. It’s absolutely disgusting the angry nature of nearly every candidate’s commercials.”
Wilson said he believes that ads like James’ fuel hatred in the community and could, in some case, inspire violence.
“Ads like that one and the one against our immigrant populations — all of those ads — they empower and embolden people who still have a lot of hate and bigotry in their hearts to take action sometimes,” he said.
A parent of one of the students pictured in James’ ad sent the campaign a cease-and-desist letter, Wilson said. The campaign edited the photo to exclude only the child in question, Wilson claimed, leaving others visible.
The James campaign said they did not receive a letter, only a call from a parent. The campaign “obscured the student from the ad” in response but has continued to air it, Elizabeth Jordan, communications director for the campaign, said in a statement. If the parent were “truly concerned about her child,” the campaign said, “she would remove her from the Magic City Acceptance Academy period.”
In a statement released to media outlets regarding the original ad, Tim James’ campaign doubled down on its claims.
“The principal said that the TV ad scared the children,” the statement said. “What should scare mothers and fathers of these children is what the faculty is doing by presenting this ungodly display through the drag show to which the children were subjected.”
Wilson said no students were “subjected” to the drag show, but that it was their idea.
No matter the political climate, Wilson said that Magic City Acceptance Academy will stand by its mission.
“We’re an educational space for all students,” he said. “We’re built on pillars of trauma-informed care because most of our kids have faced marginalization of some kind — because they’re LGBTQ, because of color, because of the level of poverty… We’re the space where we hopefully break down barriers so that kids can continue to learn and continue to grow and eventually become the adults that they want to be.”
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/disgusting-children-called-slurs-security-increased-following-political-ad-attacking-birmingham-area-school/
| 2022-04-14T00:01:14
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/disgusting-children-called-slurs-security-increased-following-political-ad-attacking-birmingham-area-school/
|
The National Weather Service offices in Birmingham and Huntsville have issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the following counties in Alabama:
- Marion
- Winston
- Cullman
- Lamar
- Fayette
- Walker
- Pickens
- Tuscaloosa
- Sumter
- Hale
- Greene
- Marengo
- Lauderdale
- Colbert
- Franklin
- Limestone
- Lawrence
- Madison
- Morgan
This watch will remain in effect until 11 pm. While tornadoes cannot be ruled out, they are not the primary threat. Damaging winds, heavy rain, and hail are the primary threats storms will pose tonight. We’ll keep you up to date on the threat on air and online through the night.
Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team:
Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Ashley Gann, Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes and Meteorologist Alex Puckett
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/severe-thunderstorm-watch-until-11-pm/
| 2022-04-14T00:01:15
| 1
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/severe-thunderstorm-watch-until-11-pm/
|
FORT SMITH, Ark. — Arguments for and against a proposed move of a downtown Fort Smith homeless center will be heard Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Blue Lion in Fort Smith. The special study session will hear from neighbors and businesses regarding Next Step Homeless Services’ possible move along South I Street and South 6th Street in Fort Smith.
“This is in the area where the board has stated they want these types of social services to be located, but at the same time, they don’t want the businesses harmed,” said Fort Smith City Administrator Carl E. Geffken.
The vacant lot sits in an area of town the city would like social services, such as Next Step and Hope Campus, to be in operation. Hope Campus sits only a few blocks away from the proposed location.
Earlier this year, Next Step withdrew its bid to move to an empty lot off Towson Avenue and South U Street. A similar plan for housing and facilities could be coming to South 6th Street if the City of Fort Smith’s Board of Directors approves the move on Tuesday, April 19.
“We are going to try to build a facility that gives us an office space for all of our housing clients to come to for services, training, meetings and stuff like that, as well as open up a non-congregate housing area behind,” said Sharon Chapman, Executive Director of Next Step Homeless Services.
The four-acre lot will be fenced and will establish 30 individual housing units. Anyone who will live at the facility will be committing to working with caseworkers, sober-living, and willing to get back on their feet.
Before Next Step can take their next steps at providing more services to those in the community that needs them, they will have to work to convince the neighbors and surrounding businesses the move makes sense.
“We hope that we can assure them that we are not going to add any problems in the area because our facility will have no foot traffic. No one’s going to be coming there unless they live there,” said Chapman. “Hopefully, we’ll help the problem of the homelessness that are in camps all around the area. Over time, we hope that we can improve that situation.”
Thursday’s meeting will be open to the public for discussion. The special study session will “let people speak their opinion but not let it become accusatory or problematic so (the board) can focus on what’s being said and not how it’s being said so facts and perceptions can come through,” Geffken said.
The city will weigh all opinions before making its decision Tuesday, April 19.
RELATED: Fort Smith Directors looking to remove abandoned, asbestos-filled building off Kinkead Ave.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/next-step-homeless-services-fort-smith-moving/527-f54f6c0f-864f-455e-a64b-d3364fde8ff3
| 2022-04-14T00:01:22
| 1
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/next-step-homeless-services-fort-smith-moving/527-f54f6c0f-864f-455e-a64b-d3364fde8ff3
|
OLYMPIA, Wash. — E-cigarette giant Juul Labs will pay Washington state $22.5 million and has agreed to a variety of reforms to prevent underage use and sales under a settlement announced Wednesday by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson.
Ferguson filed a consumer protection lawsuit in September 2020, saying the country’s largest e-cigarette company targeted underage consumers and deceived consumers about the addictiveness of its product.
“Juul’s conduct harmed Washingtonians,” Ferguson said at a news conference in Seattle. “They harmed the youth of our state.”
Ferguson said that upon the product's launch in 2015, the company flooded social media with colorful ads, fueling a spike in use and nicotine addiction among teenagers. The percentage of vaping high school sophomores in Washington rose from 13% in 2016 to nearly 21% by 2018, according to Ferguson’s office.
Under the consent decree filed in King County Superior Court, Juul Labs admitted no wrongdoing in settling the case. in an email after the announcement, the company called it “another step in our ongoing effort to reset our company and resolve issues from the past.”
It’s the fourth such settlement with states by the company within the past year. In November, Juul settled for $14.5 million with state prosecutors in Arizona, just months after agreeing to pay $40 million in North Carolina. As in Washington, the company promised not to market to minors in those states to and boost enforcement of retailers who sell its products.
Lawsuits in a handful of other states remain. In its statement Wednesday, the company said it has also settled with Louisiana.
“We will continue working with federal and state stakeholders to advance a fully regulated, science-based marketplace for vapor products,” the company wrote.
Under the settlement announced in Washington state, Juul must stop all advertising that appeals to youth and is prohibited from marketing its products on social media, including Facebook and Instagram. It must also monitor for and report social media content about Juul products posted by underage users, and must implement practices to prevent underage youth from buying Juul products online, including requiring an ID-verified adult signature upon delivery of the products.
The company must also confirm the age of people who file warranty claims for a Juul product.
According to Juul’s website, the company had stopped all advertising before Ferguson sued in 2020 and ended sales of all flavored products except menthol and tobacco.
The company is also required to implement a secret shopper program that Ferguson says is more robust than those in previous settlements. Under the agreement, Juul must send secret shoppers on at least 25 compliance checks per month at Washington-based Juul retailers for at least two years. Those checks must be performed across the state, with at least one check in each of the state's 39 counties per year.
Ferguson's office said the secret shoppers must confirm that retailers are complying with the requirement to verify a purchaser’s age, and that they are complying with the requirement to limit the purchase of Juul products to one Juul device and 16 Juul pods per transaction. Juul is required to report the results of the program to Ferguson's office every three months.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington.
Under the consent decree, Juul is ordered to pay the $22.5 million total over the next four years. Ferguson said that money will be used to establish a new health equity unit at this office to respond to deceptive and discriminatory health care practices that disproportionately affect vulnerable communities and communities of color.
A national survey released last fall found that teen vaping plummeted while students were learning from home during the pandemic. In the national survey, 11% of high school students and less than 3% of middle school students said they were recent users of e-cigarettes and other vaping products, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
That was a roughly 40% drop from 2020, when nearly 20% of high school students and 5% of middle schoolers said they had recently vaped.
Data for 2022 has not yet been released. Schools were fully reopened in Washington in the fall of 2021.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/juul-225-million-settle-washington-vaping/281-6a8a72dc-6cc9-4bd4-add7-34d8e6fe96e0
| 2022-04-14T00:05:05
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/juul-225-million-settle-washington-vaping/281-6a8a72dc-6cc9-4bd4-add7-34d8e6fe96e0
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — An attempt to check on a stolen car led Portland police officers to pursue an armed suspect to Hayden Island Wednesday morning.
According to the Portland Police Bureau (PPB), officers from the Neighborhood Response Team found a car that had been reported stolen. Inside was a man who was initially "unresponsive," the agency said.
The driver then tried to get away, but officers were able to spike the vehicle's tires. It wound up on Hayden Island, where officers caught up with the driver as he tried to get away on foot.
PPB identified the suspect as 39-year-old Gregory Walker. He was found with a handgun and more than 200 rounds of ammunition, the agency said. Walker was charged with unlawful use of a motor vehicle, attempting to elude, felon in possession of a firearm and other charges.
According to PPB's North Precinct, this was the second occasion in a 24-hour period where an armed suspect in a stolen vehicle fled from officers on the north side of Portland.
"These situations are dangerous," the agency said. "We remind the public if they see their own stolen vehicle to call dispatch and not attempt to contact a suspect independently."
In a similar incident on Wednesday, officers in Southeast Portland went to recover a stolen vehicle in the 11500 block of Southeast Foster Road. The officers were trying to arrest someone when the person's gun discharged.
A PPB spokesman did not immediately know if the gunshot was intentional or not, but no one was injured. The suspect was taken into custody pending further investigation.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-police-recover-stolen-car-handgun-ammo-wednesday-chase/283-5b0f9998-14d9-4cf1-897c-f0410a3f8e9c
| 2022-04-14T00:05:11
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-police-recover-stolen-car-handgun-ammo-wednesday-chase/283-5b0f9998-14d9-4cf1-897c-f0410a3f8e9c
|
Two tornados, severe thunderstorms leave path of damage across Northwest Louisiana
A line of tornado-producing thunderstorms left a path of destruction across Northwest Louisiana Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service has confirmed two tornados in the area. An EF1 touched down in Benton, producing wind speeds up to 110 miles per hour. An EF0 was confirmed to have touched down in the area of Youree Drive in Shreveport near the LSUS campus.
Riddle, his wife Ginny and their three children — 17, 8 and 4 — were home at the time.
"We got the alert on the phones that the tornado was coming," he explained. "It got really loud, and the house started shaking."
Riddle put his wife and children into the bathtub with a mattress over their heads. "I stayed outside because I couldn't fit."
He heard glass break and a loud boom that sounded like a train coming through.
The Riddles were unharmed.
Weather radio:Shreveport NWS says weather radio working. Here's what to do if it goes out again
At Plantation Trace Mobile Home Park, a large pine tree fell on a home.
As crews worked to clear the debris, it was unclear whether the home was occupied.
Several schools in Caddo and Bossier Parishes were closed Wednesday due to widespread power outages caused by the storm.
The Bossier Parish courthouse was also closed.
As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, more than 34,000 SWEPCO customers were without power. Outages temporarily caused NWS to lose signal to weather radios.
At the peak, about 65,000 customers were without power.
The hardest-hit areas include Shreveport, Bossier City and Haughton, as well as Longview and Gladewater in East Texas.
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/two-tornados-severe-thunderstorms-leave-path-damage-across-northwest-louisiana/7303754001/
| 2022-04-14T01:19:41
| 1
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/two-tornados-severe-thunderstorms-leave-path-damage-across-northwest-louisiana/7303754001/
|
PORTLAND, Ore. — Seniors who live at an apartment complex in North Portland where an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease occurred last year will receive financial help to relocate.
“While I do appreciate what they're doing to help us relocate, it doesn't change the fact that this has been my home for almost 13 years,” said Marilyn Hasan, who lives at Rosemont Court.
On Wednesday, Hasan was packing up and getting prepared to leave her life here at the apartment building. She said what was especially difficult is the thought that she’ll be leaving the people she's come to see as family and friends who also live at Rosemont Court.
“It's devastating, because we're moving into areas [where] we don't know anyone,” said Hasan.
An outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at Rosemont Court in January of 2021 sickened more than a dozen people. One person died.
Legionnaires’ disease is a severe form of pneumonia or lung infection, caused by bacteria often found in standing water. The source of the outbreak is still unconfirmed.
Hasan said on Tuesday she found out she and others will get some financial help to move.
Currently, residents are not being forced to relocate, but the building owner, Northwest Housing Alternatives (NHA), as well as county health officials have urged residents to move due to ongoing concerns that the bacteria that causes the disease may still be in Rosemont's water.
“No one's been sick since September,” Hasan said.
The financial help consists of up to two years of rental assistance and up to $4,000 to pay for moving. It comes from a partnership with the Joint Office of Homeless Services and funding from other organizations. The rent money would cover the difference between what residents pay now and whatever rent increase they may experience when they relocate. Two organizations, the Urban League of Portland and Northwest Pilot Project, will help facilitate rental assistance.
“This will be extremely hard on people and disruptive of the community at Rosemont Court. We’ve tried so hard to avoid it. And now we are incredibly grateful to the Portland community for coming together to make sure every resident at Rosemont Court is able to retain stable and affordable housing through this challenging transition. It was a very stressful year for residents. We are grateful to the Joint Office of Homeless Services and our philanthropic and nonprofit partners for making this possible,” said Trell Anderson, executive director of NHA.
But at almost 68 years old, Hasan said the stress is too much. She said she’s currently able to walk to the grocery store and take a single bus in order to get to the doctor’s office and other important appointments. She said she doesn't know where she'll end up next or how long it'll be until she'll be able to move back in. She and other residents expressed concerns about having to re-apply or rent going up upon their return.
They are worried they may not be able to come back to the place they call home with the people who’ve become their family.
“What happens if they're not done in 24 months? Who's going to pay my rent, and I end up moving into a tent? I mean, I'm just putting it out there like it is. I'm just keeping it real. I don't have a job,” Hasan said.
For now, she's trying to stay positive despite all the uncertainty.
“I'm just trusting right now that it's going to work out in my favor, in all of our favors.”
Juanita Watson, a former Rosemont Court resident, said she hopes people like her who had Legionnaires’ disease and have since moved out will be able to get more financial help as they continue to have fallout from the disease.
The building owner has raised more than $415,000 to help residents relocate. NHA plans to continue working with health experts to make sure the building is safe.
A news release from NHA said the Urban League of Portland and Northwest Pilot Project will also provide supportive services to relocated residents to ensure that connections to services like health care remain in place during the relocation process.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/north-portland-legionnaires-apartment-relocation-assistance/283-e6b0380a-796f-437f-a122-01f491875c34
| 2022-04-14T02:31:31
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/north-portland-legionnaires-apartment-relocation-assistance/283-e6b0380a-796f-437f-a122-01f491875c34
|
VANCOUVER, Wash. — The mystery of a Vancouver woman who disappeared in early 2018 has now been solved, the Vancouver Police Department announced on Wednesday. The remains of Ashanti Conde were found in March and her identity has since been confirmed.
Conde's family reported her missing on March 11, 2018, after they had not seen her for several weeks. According to VPD, the investigation revealed Conde had last been seen on February 22 in Brush Prairie.
At the time of the last sighting, the 27-year-old Conde was with a man named Michael Conley. VPD said that Conley was reported missing even before Conde, on February 27.
Conley and Conde were spotted leaving Brush Prairie in a Cadillac Sedan. It was the last time they were seen alive.
Skamania County Sheriff's Office reports included witness statements that a Cadillac sedan was seen crashed in a rural area of Skamania County, just north of Dougan Falls on February 24. Witnesses said that the vehicle was covered in snow, but no one appeared to be in the vehicle.
Searchers found Conley's body near the Cadillac on March 9, 2018, with "no signs of foul play" observed. Though Clark County Search and Rescue crews looked around the vehicle, they did not find Conde.
"Multiple tips were received throughout the investigation that proved fruitless and multiple searches were conducted in a variety of locations throughout SW Washington," VPD said.
Skamania and Clark County search teams returned to the area on September 26, 2021 — more than three years later. This time, searchers found human remains in a "very rugged and steep area" near where the Cadillac was found.
The remains were sent to a private lab for positive identification. Confirmation did not come until March 31 of this year, when Vancouver police were notified by the lab that the remains belonged to Ashanti Conde.
With her remains recovered and identified, VPD said that it has closed the missing person case involving Conde.
Details regarding Conde's death are being handled separately, by the Skamania County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and Skamania County Coroner’s Office.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/ashanti-conde-missing-vancouver-woman-body-found-four-years/283-b8800406-2789-40b0-8ca0-dfd63f52fba3
| 2022-04-14T02:31:49
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/ashanti-conde-missing-vancouver-woman-body-found-four-years/283-b8800406-2789-40b0-8ca0-dfd63f52fba3
|
CORBETT, Ore. — A couple moving from California to the Columbia River Gorge just lost everything they own after someone stole their U-Haul from a Troutdale hotel parking lot.
Melissa Enoch-Rex and her husband were just ten minutes from their new home when they decided to stay at the Comfort Inn in Troutdale overnight. When they woke up Wednesday morning they found out that their U-Haul truck was gone, all of their belongings with it. Their car, a 1990 Mazda Miata, was on a trailer attached to the U-Haul — it was gone too.
When they first got to the hotel, a woman working the front desk told them to make sure they parked their truck in front of the building because there had been recent thefts in the area recently. The couple's moving truck was stolen just hours after they moved it in front of the Comfort Inn.
The woman who was working the front desk told investigators that she saw the truck drive off just after four in the morning, and that she called police right after, but it was too late.
Melissa Enoch-Rex said that she’s still in shock after her family’s belongings were stolen. She said she had an antique dress collection and some of her grandmother’s silver. What matters the most to her, however, are the pictures that were inside that moving truck — pictures she’s worried she’ll never get back.
“Obviously furniture, clothing ... it was our whole lives, but I just keep remembering my son's photos from when he was young,” said Enoch-Rex.
What she wants back the most are those sentimental things that only matter to her.
The U-Haul truck has Arizona license plate number AJ28920, and the 1990 Mazda Miata has a distinctive yellow spoiler on the back, with California license plate 7ZKC265.
If you have seen the stolen truck or the stolen car, call the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/california-couple-uhaul-moving-truck-stolen-troutdale-comfort-inn/283-dbfe1056-ddd4-4151-8aaa-09cc68dc7656
| 2022-04-14T02:31:55
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/california-couple-uhaul-moving-truck-stolen-troutdale-comfort-inn/283-dbfe1056-ddd4-4151-8aaa-09cc68dc7656
|
Skip to content
Continuing Coverage
Brooklyn Subway Shooting Suspect Arrested; Called Police Tip Line on Himself, Sources Say
Main Navigation
Search
Search for:
Local
Weather
Investigations
Baquero
Video
TV Listings
Our Voices
Newsletters
Live TV
Share
Close
Trending
COVID-19
BA.2
CRIME STOPPERS
Frank R. James
Brooklyn Subway Shooting
Latest Updates
Eric Adams
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilgo Beach
Russia-Ukraine
Lifestyle
NBCLX
Expand
Local
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4001/3644918/
| 2022-04-14T03:38:33
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4001/3644918/
|
ARKANSAS, USA — After Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law making it illegal to perform an abortion in the state, Planned Parenthood is discussing how this will affect them and their clients.
"We don't ant to allow abortions in the state of Oklahoma," said Gov. Stitt.
Senate Bill 612, signed into law Tuesday, April 13, can convict anyone of performing an abortion will face up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine but does not authorize criminal charges against a woman for receiving an abortion. The only exception to the bill is for an abortion to be performed to save the life of the mother.
"The law just signed by the governor, is a near total ban," said Emily Wales, Interim president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains.
The Oklahoma Senate also considers the Sneate Bill to be modeled after the controversial Texas Heart Beat Bill.
Oklahoma and Arkansas have already seen an increase of more than 500 patients since Texas' law passed. Planned Parenthood says the natural state can soon expect an increase in the number of abortions in the state as many travel from neighboring states like Texas and now possibly Oklahoma.
"We have been providing more care to Texans in Arkansas than our usual patient load. Since September Texans have been scrambling to find care," said Wales.
The Oklahoma bill will take into at the end of August but is still dependent on what the U.S. Supreme Couty decides.
Arkansas' abrotion ban, signed into law March 2021, makes abortion illegal at all stages but was put on hold by a district court till July.
"Unless it was a medical emergency to save the live of the pregnant person. Which is an extremely narrow exception," said Jill Lens a Robert A. Leflar Professor of Law. "Wer'e all just sort of waiting. Waiting to see what happens."
Any decision made by the Supreme Couty concerning Roe V. Wade, will affect these state laws by:
- If upheld, Oklahoma's ban will likely be deemed unconsitutional.
- If overturned, Arkansas' ban will likely go into effect immediately.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/planned-parenthood-oklahoma-abortion-ban/527-5ed955a3-d47d-46f9-bb3f-42ca15b372a7
| 2022-04-14T04:35:27
| 0
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/planned-parenthood-oklahoma-abortion-ban/527-5ed955a3-d47d-46f9-bb3f-42ca15b372a7
|
MEDFORD, Ore — A hazardous materials assessment is underway and cleanup is expected to last days after a Tuesday night gas station fire in southern Oregon destroyed multiple businesses and caused an oil spill.
Medford Emergency Management estimates at least four buildings were destroyed in the blaze in Medford that started at the Carson Pacific Pride Commercial Fueling station and quickly spread north, The Mail Tribune reported.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency responded to the site, saying in a news release Wednesday evening that an absorbent boom had been placed at the location and in nearby Bear Creek to reduce the amount of petroleum product released into the stream.
The fueling station contained large amounts of gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products in above and below-ground tanks, the Medford Fire Department said.
EPA set up community air monitors Wednesday, state officials said.
“The scene remains dangerous and is off-limits to the public,” Oregon DEQ said.
Oiled birds also have been observed and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildfire and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are managing the response to birds and any other impacts to fish or wildlife.
Medford police and Medford fire investigators are working to determine how the fire started. The police department said the fire was first reported as a warming fire near railroad tracks.
During the Labor Day weekend fires of 2020, the Almeda Fire surged north from the north end of Ashland and up to the southernmost reaches of Medford — devastating the towns of Talent and Phoenix in between. Thousands of homes and hundreds of businesses were destroyed.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/southern-oregon/medford-fuel-station-fire-oil-spill-epa-deq-hazmat/283-4fb784b1-b791-44fc-820e-58420ebc13c7
| 2022-04-14T04:43:22
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/southern-oregon/medford-fuel-station-fire-oil-spill-epa-deq-hazmat/283-4fb784b1-b791-44fc-820e-58420ebc13c7
|
Skip to content
Continuing Coverage
Brooklyn Subway Shooting Suspect Arrested; Called Police Tip Line on Himself, Sources Say
Main Navigation
Search
Search for:
Local
Weather
Investigations
Baquero
Video
TV Listings
Our Voices
Newsletters
Live TV
Share
Close
Trending
COVID-19
BA.2
CRIME STOPPERS
Frank R. James
Brooklyn Subway Shooting
Latest Updates
Eric Adams
Gilbert Gottfried
Gilgo Beach
Russia-Ukraine
Lifestyle
NBCLX
Expand
Local
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4002/3645433/
| 2022-04-14T05:09:43
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4002/3645433/
|
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – The USFL kicks off this weekend in the magic city and nd many are grabbing tickets ahead of the first game.
Over the next 12 weeks, eight teams will be living and playing right here in Birmingham. The league is expected to bring in thousands of fans. Organizers said tickets are selling fast for the first game this Saturday. Right now based on sales, the stadium is projected to be over 50% full.
Bruno Events Team CEO Gene Hallman said with tickets being so affordable, at just $10 a pop, they are confident even out of state teams will draw a large crowds.
“We think that there’s going to be this adopt a team kind of attitude for local residents where they’ll pick a team because of their cool name or because they have a relative that lives in that city or they like the colors of the team. But we do think that each team will have an identity and a fan base right here but clearly the Birmingham Stallions will have the most fans,” said Hallman.
If you want to catch the stallions in action tickets are still available. To buy tickets click HERE.
The Stallions take on the New Jersey Generals Saturday at Protective Stadium. Kick off is set for 7:30 p.m.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/usfl-officials-confident-fans-will-turn-out-even-for-out-of-state-teams/
| 2022-04-14T06:36:20
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/usfl-officials-confident-fans-will-turn-out-even-for-out-of-state-teams/
|
In the hours after the suspected Brooklyn subway station gunman was arrested, police got a tip that raises a new question in the investigation: Did the alleged shooter do a possible test run at a Brooklyn airfield leading up to the attack?
Three law enforcement sources told NBC New York that members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and the NYPD Crime Scene unit were at Floyd Bennett Field near Jamaica Bay Wednesday evening, recovering remnants of smoke grenades.
A tipster said that a white van — possibly a U-Haul van — was seen in the area in the very early morning hours Tuesday, according to law enforcement sources, and police were told someone may have been exploding smoke grenades near a wooded area.
Investigators stressed that it was far too soon to determine if there could be any connection to the subway attack suspect, and if it was any sort of possible test run of the smoke grenades. Nevertheless, officials are investigating to see if any connections could be made.
Law enforcement will look to see if that U-Haul van could be the same one that helped police link the shooting at the Sunset Park subway station to Frank James, the 62-year-old who was taken into custody in the East Village around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday without incident after a 28-hour manhunt, police said.
Law enforcement had zeroed in on James in the hours after Tuesday's shooting on the train at the 36th Street station, lifting critical clues from a rented U-Haul van, surveillance footage and evidence at the scene, including a gun, hatchet, additional ammunition and a bag that had unused smoke canister and fireworks.
Police said a Crime Stoppers tip on Wednesday helped nab the alleged shooter — and law enforcement sources said they believe James called the tip line himself, saying he was at a McDonald's on the Lower East Side.
"This is Frank. You guys are looking for me ... my phone is about to die," the sources say the caller said.
James wasn't at the McDonald's by the time cops responded to the call, but they drove around and eventually spotted him on a street corner. He didn't resist.
Three sources familiar with the arrest said one of the NYPD officers approached and asked the man if he was James. He responded saying yes, and that he had been waiting for police to find him all day, according to the sources.
The suspect was questioned at the 9th Precinct Wednesday afternoon, before being led out of the stationhouse in handcuffs. A federal complaint in Brooklyn charged him with one count of committing a violent attack with a dangerous weapon on mass transportation, with the intent to cause death and serious bodily injury to New York City transit riders, authorities said.
Prosecutors said they also intend to prove he crossed state lines to commit the attack, and pledged justice would be served. A conviction carries a max sentence of 20 years in prison.
James didn’t respond to reporters’ shouted questions as he was led to a police car Wednesday afternoon. He was transferred hours later to federal Bureau of Prisons custody and was being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
The first court appearance is set for Thursday. Once in police custody, James refused to answer any questions, and asked for a lawyer.
Just ahead of the arrest, law enforcement sources said a MetroCard purchased with a credit card linked to James was swiped at a Brooklyn subway station Tuesday night, hours after the attack.
Investigators believe James may still have been riding the subways following the shooting. MetroCard data isn't real-time, though, and his travel direction wasn't clear, they said. James' last known whereabouts were traced to Park Slope's Ninth Street and Seventh Avenue subway station, which he was seen entering around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, less than an hour after the shooting, NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said.
It wasn't immediately clear what James was doing in the time between that Park Slope sighting and his capture in Manhattan on Wednesday.
Other surveillance video was clear -- and apparently showed James entering the Kings Highway N station, not far from where the U-Haul was found, about two hours before he allegedly opened fire on commuters roughly eight stops away.
Essig said the same black rolling suitcase James is seen taking into the Kings Highway station, three blocks from where the U-Haul was left, was recovered at the 36th Street shooting scene. The construction vest and helmet James was seen wearing in that video also were recovered nearby in a trash bin, Essig added.
How James escaped the chaotic scene at 36th Street had remained unclear until Wednesday, when top NYPD officials explained how they think, after firing 33 shots, he got out as emergency personnel raced to treat the wounded.
According to the preliminary investigation, James hopped on an R train that had pulled into 36th Street and took it one stop to 25th Street, where he was also seen on surveillance cameras, Essig said. The handgun recovered at the shooting scene was also traced to the suspect. It appears he purchased it in Ohio in 2011.
Law enforcement officials believe the attack that injured at least 23 people, 10 of them by gunfire and some of them children, was premeditated. The fact alone jarred riders already skittish amid recent upticks in subway violence and once again interrupted New York City's rocky pandemic recovery.
Five of the gunshot victims were critically injured, with details on the nature of their wounds not immediately clear. No fatalities were reported.
One source close to the investigation says the gunman's weapon may have jammed, potentially preventing further tragedy.
The gun was recovered at the scene, as was a bag with smoke canisters and fireworks, along with a hatchet, a spray bottle of gasoline and a fuse — lending further credence to the theory of a premeditated attack on New York City transit riders.
Three extended magazines of ammunition were also recovered at the scene: one still in the handgun, one in a backpack and one under his subway seat. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives completed an urgent trace to identify the gun’s manufacturer, seller and initial owner. That came back to James.
An MTA surveillance camera in the station wasn't working at the time of the shooting, three sources say. It's not clear why, but officials say there were “a lot of different options” from cameras elsewhere on the subway line to get a glimpse of the shooter.
More than a dozen victims who weren't hit by gunfire were injured in the crowd response to the chaos, officials said, with injuries including smoke inhalation, panic attacks and falling. Some of the wounded were in the same train car as the suspect, while others were on the platform, authorities said.
All of the victims are expected to survive.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/police-investigate-possible-test-of-smoke-grenades-at-nyc-airfield-before-subway-attack/3645459/
| 2022-04-14T06:41:00
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/police-investigate-possible-test-of-smoke-grenades-at-nyc-airfield-before-subway-attack/3645459/
|
NEW YORK (AP) — Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. pleaded guilty Wednesday to forcibly kissing a worker at a New York nightclub in 2018 in a deal that is likely to keep him out of jail.
Gooding also publicly apologized for the first time to two other women who accused him of similar behavior in separate encounters, calling himself a “celebrity figure” who meant no harm.
His admissions were part of a plea deal that came nearly three years after the Oscar-winning “Jerry Maguire” star was arrested in the case that saw several delays as his lawyers sought to get charges reduced or dismissed.
“I apologize for making anybody ever feel inappropriately touched,” he said. “I am a celebrity figure. I come into contact with people. I never want them to feel slighted or uncomfortable in any way.”
Gooding, 54, accused of violating three different women at various Manhattan night spots in 2018 and 2019, pleaded guilty to just one of the allegations. He told the judge he “kissed the waitress on her lips” without consent at the LAVO New York club.
The deal lets Gooding avoid any possibility of jail time if he continues “alcohol and behavior modification” counseling for six months. After that, he can withdraw the misdemeanor plea and instead plead guilty to a lesser violation of harassment.
Gooding was arrested in June 2019 after a 29-year-old woman told police he fondled her without her consent at Magic Hour Rooftop Bar & Lounge near Times Square.
The accuser in that encounter, Kelsey Harbert, was allowed to speak in court on Wednesday, recounting how, out of nowhere, Gooding grabbed her breast “as if I was a piece of meat for dinner that night.”
Harbert, now 31, told the court she thought Gooding was getting off easy, while his accusers continue to suffer.
“I feel very sad and feel very lost for what I can do,” she said.
A few months after his arrest, Gooding was charged in two additional cases as more women came forward to accuse him of abuse. The new charges alleged he pinched a server’s buttocks after making a sexually suggestive remark to her at TAO Downtown and forcibly touched the woman at LAVO, both in 2018.
Gooding had previously pleaded not guilty to six misdemeanor counts and denied all allegations of wrongdoing. His lawyers have argued that overzealous prosecutors, caught up in the fervor of the #MeToo movement, are trying to turn “commonplace gestures” or misunderstandings into crimes.
Judge Curtis Farber earlier had ruled if the Gooding case went to trial, prosecutors could have called two additional women to testify about their allegations that Gooding also violated them. Prosecutors say the judge had since reversed that decision — a ruling that factored into their decision to not go to trial.
“We credit and believe all the survivors in this case,” said prosecutor Coleen Balbert. But under the circumstances, Wednesday’s outcome “is a fair and equitable disposition,” she added.
Along with the criminal case, Gooding is accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman in New York City in 2013. After a judge issued a default judgment in July because Gooding hadn’t responded to the lawsuit, the actor retained a lawyer and is fighting the allegations.
Gloria Allred, an attorney representing three of Gooding’s accusers, said in a statement that they would press ahead with civil litigation to hold him accountable.
“Justice was significantly delayed in this case for many reasons, and I do not feel that justice was achieved today with the entry of this plea, although I do understand why under the circumstances that the prosecution offered a plea,” she said.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/actor-cuba-gooding-jr-pleads-guilty-to-forcible-touching/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:14
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/actor-cuba-gooding-jr-pleads-guilty-to-forcible-touching/
|
Hattiesburg construction, road closures: What to know
As the weather warms and days get longer, Hattiesburg is seeing an uptick in construction.
Several road closures are impacting the city due to both traffic projects and unforeseen conditions.
Downtown roundabout
The partially completed downtown roundabout is closed to all traffic from Hardy Street, Green Street and Second Avenue to make progress in the construction zone, including pouring and stamping the concrete truck apron.
Depending on the weather and progress, the roundabout is slated to re-open to traffic Monday, according to Samantha McCain, chief communications officer for the city.
Detour signs will be posted and drivers should prepare for an alternate route and allow for additional travel time.
The project is currently in its third phase, with an anticipated completion date of May.
U.S. 49 and midtown project
The U.S. 49 and midtown multi-phased traffic improvement project that began last week is in Phase One.
This part of the project is estimated to take between four and six months, and the following changes will be made:
- 27th Avenue will be closed north of Camp Street. North of this closure will remain open to traffic.
- W. Frontage Road will be closed from north of Camp Street to Mamie Street. Access to Community Bank will remain open throughout the duration of construction.
- All southbound traffic south of Camp Street on W. Frontage Road will be directed to U.S. 49 or S. 28th Avenue.
- Mamie Street will be closed from S. 28th Avenue to the entrance of the Forrest General Hospital staff parking lot. South of this closure will remain open to traffic.
- Camp Street will be closed from U.S. 49 to S. 28th Avenue. Camp Street east of U.S. 49 will remain open.
To access Forrest General Hospital Emergency Department from U.S. 49, north and southbound traffic will use Mamie Street. To access the department from 28th Avenue, traffic will use a temporary roadway across the Forrest General Hospital staff parking lot between 28th Avenue and Mamie Street.
Detour signs will be posted throughout the hospital campus and along U.S. 49 and 28th Avenue. All work performed on U.S. 49 will be between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. with one-lane closures only.
Country Club Road bridge
The bridge located on Country Club Road at U.S. 49 that was closed due to a crack discovered during an inspection in March will remain closed until permanent repairs can be made.
Detour routes and signage will be in place to direct traffic across U.S. 49 via Memorial Drive, William Carey Parkway, Wisteria Drive, Country Club Road and Service Drive.
What's new in Hattiesburg:Here's what businesses and restaurants recently opened
Contact reporter Laurel Thrailkill at lthrailkill@gannett.com or on Twitter.
|
https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2022/04/14/hattiesburg-traffic-project-closures-roundabout-u-s-49-project/7304640001/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:18
| 1
|
https://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/story/news/local/hattiesburg/2022/04/14/hattiesburg-traffic-project-closures-roundabout-u-s-49-project/7304640001/
|
Amazon announced Wednesday its free streaming service IMDb TV will be renamed Amazon Freevee.
The new name will take effect on April 27, the company said in a news release.
The retailer said the streaming service will also expand its original programming by 70% in 2022, with spinoffs of shows such as “Bosh: Legacy” and other series. It will also add more original movies.
Amazon.com Inc. said the ad-supported service has tripled its monthly active users in the past two years and is expected to launch in Germany later this year.
“We’re looking forward to building on this momentum with an increasing slate of inventive and broadly appealing Originals, and are excited to establish Freevee as the premier AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) service with content audiences crave,” Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, said in the news release.
Wednesday’s announcement comes as the retail giant embraces a path to boost its streaming services. Last month, the company closed an$8.5 billion deal to acquire Hollywood studio MGM, making it Amazon’s second-largest acquisition following its $13.7 billion deal with Whole Foods in 2017. That acquisition was targeted to make the company better compete against Netflix and Disney+.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/amazon-imdb-tv-will-be-renamed-amazon-freevee/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:22
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/amazon-imdb-tv-will-be-renamed-amazon-freevee/
|
NEW YORK (AP) — Brandon Taylor’s “Filthy Animals” has won the Story Prize, a $20,000 honor for collections of short fiction.
“Taylor is incredibly attuned to the slightest shift in the emotional weather in his characters and writes with absolute precision and compassion about their desires, vulnerabilities, failings, joys, and longings,” prize judges wrote in a statement Wednesday. “His careful attention makes these very ordinary people extraordinary. His sentences are finely tuned, his language subtle and gorgeous.”
The finalists, Lily King for “Five Tuesdays in Winter” and J. Robert Lennon for “Think of Me,” will each receive $5,000.
The Story Prize was established in 2004. Previous winners include Lauren Groff, Anthony Doerr and Edwidge Danticat.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/brandon-taylors-filthy-animals-wins-20000-story-prize/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:29
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/brandon-taylors-filthy-animals-wins-20000-story-prize/
|
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A pack of sled dogs belonging to an Iditarod veteran and reality TV star killed a family pet in Alaska, officials said.
Authorities in Wasilla are investigating the March 30 incident involving dogs owned by musher Jessie Holmes, who finished third in year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and stars in “Life Below Zero: Alaska” on the National Geographic channel.
Holmes, who lives in rural Alaska, was staying with his dog team at a Wasilla hotel that backs up to the adjacent homeowner’s yard. He let the dogs loose to relieve themselves when they attacked a pet dog named Lucky, who was attached to a lead in the yard.
When Lucky’s owner, Liza McCafferty, came outside to retrieve the 8-year-old Havanese, she saw a black dog dart from under her deck. It was part of a pack that suddenly appeared in her yard, she told the Anchorage Daily News.
She said the pack looked like it might attack her too, so she retreated. Then Holmes came down the hill to retrieve his sled dogs before returning to the home.
“He came in and was very, very apologetic,” McCafferty said. “He was on the verge of crying.”
Lucky was taken to a veterinary clinic but was dead.
“It was just a really terrible accident due to my negligence,” Holmes said.
Holmes said he has stayed at the hotel more than a dozen times and never had a problem letting his dogs loose to relieve themselves. He suspects two new dogs he had ventured off toward McCafferty’s yard, and the rest of the pack followed.
“There’s no way to not be distraught about this,” Holmes said. He said he’s fully accountable for this and wants to make things right.
Holmes said a Wasilla municipal official told him he would receive 10 loose dog citations and possibly another for animal cruelty, which could affect his mushing career.
Wasilla Mayor Glenda Ledford said in a statement that he incident was under investigation.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/dogs-owned-by-iditarod-vet-reality-tv-star-kill-family-pet/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:36
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/dogs-owned-by-iditarod-vet-reality-tv-star-kill-family-pet/
|
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Department of Archives and History is allowing the public to have access to additional papers from the late author Eudora Welty, including letters written by members of her family.
The release came Wednesday on the 113th anniversary of Welty’s birth. She died July 23, 2001. According to her will, the family correspondence was to remain private for 20 years after her death.
Welty, who lived most of her life in Jackson, was known for the lyrical quality of her short stories and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for her short novel, “The Optimist’s Daughter,” published in 1972. While establishing herself as a writer, Welty photographed scenes of everyday life in Mississippi during the Great Depression for the Works Progress Administration.
Welty’s niece, Mary Alice White, said in a news release from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History that the newly released letters begin with the courtship of Welty’s parents. White said they also include Welty’s correspondence with relatives and papers and letters from others in the family.
“Because these letters were not technically the property of Eudora — they belong to the letter writer — I think Eudora wanted them sealed to respect the privacy of those still living,” White said.
The Eudora Welty Collection was established in 1957, when she donated manuscripts, photographs and correspondence to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.
The department said the Welty Collection has drafts, revised copies and printer’s versions of her works, including stories, books, essays, reviews, lectures, speeches and drama. The collection also contains incoming and outgoing correspondence of Welty, memorabilia, and negatives and photographs taken by Welty and her father.
Harriet Pollack, Welty scholar and affiliate professor at the College of Charleston, said in the news release that the newly released correspondence provides insight about Welty’s parents; her siblings and their families; her grandmother and great grandmother and their children.
“Through their intimate and everyday interactions with one another, we also come to know so much more about the woman and the writer, Eudora Welty,” Pollack said. “Astonishingly, a very private woman has unpredictably made generations of personal history available to those touched by her art, inviting us to better understand and to more fully engage the elusive woman behind it.”
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/eudora-welty-letters-released-2-decades-after-authors-death/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:44
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/eudora-welty-letters-released-2-decades-after-authors-death/
|
A longtime friend and next-door neighbor of Johnny Depp testified Wednesday that Depp’s ex-wife, Amber Heard, had told him the movie star threw a phone at her and hit her inside the couple’s Los Angeles penthouse.
But Isaac Baruch said he never noticed any evidence of abuse on Heard’s face, both when he first saw her in the hallway or the next day in the sunlit lobby of their art deco-style building.
“She’s got her face out like this to show me, and I’m looking, and I inspect her face,” Baruch said of the encounter in May 2016. “And I don’t see anything. … I don’t see a cut, a bruise, swelling, redness.”
Baruch is the second witness called in the trial over Depp’s allegations that Heard falsely portrayed him as a domestic abuser. Depp says that an opinion piece Heard wrote for The Washington Post in 2018 indirectly defamed him.
Heard refers to herself in the article as a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” It doesn’t name Depp. But his attorneys argue that it clearly referenced a restraining order that Heard sought in May 2016, right after Depp told her he wanted a divorce.
Depp denies abusing Heard.
Baruch, a painter, has been friends with Depp since 1980. He also worked at the Viper Room when the “Pirates of the Caribbean” actor partly owned the famed Los Angeles club. Baruch said Depp has financially supported him, providing him with places to live and giving him about $100,000 over the years.
Baruch testified that he noticed no makeup on Heard’s face when she said Depp hit her. But during cross-examination, Baruch conceded he didn’t know if Heard — who worked with cosmetics giant L’Oreal — had applied any concealer, foundation, powder or tint.
At one point, Baruch got emotional, stating that Heard needs to “take responsibility and move on.”
He said he never saw violence from Depp.
“His family has been completely wrecked by all of this stuff, and it’s not fair,” Baruch said. “It’s not right, what she did. … It’s insane.”
Baruch also testified that he saw security video showing Heard’s sister Whitney throwing a fake punch at Heard’s face while the two waited for an elevator in the building where he and Depp and Heard lived.
“And then they start laughing,” Baruch said.
Depp’s attorneys argue that the sisters were practicing for a real punch to to feign abuse from Depp.
But Heard’s lawyers have said the evidence will show that Depp physically and sexually assaulted Heard on multiple occasions. And they’ve argued that Depp’s denials lack credibility because he frequently drank and used drugs to the point of blacking out and failing to remember anything he did.
The first witness called for the trial was Depp’s older sister, Christi Dembrowski, who faced a barrage of questions from Heard’s lawyers about Depp’s alcohol and drug use.
When she took the stand Tuesday, Dembrowski said she and her brother endured a difficult childhood in which Depp learned to hide from an abusive mother. Dembrowski, who also worked as Depp’s personal manager, said she saw the same pattern in Depp’s relationship with Heard, adding that she would book an extra hotel room for Depp if Heard started a fight.
But Dembrowski struggled on cross-examination when asked why she sent texts to Depp in February 2014 that said, “Stop drinking. Stop coke. Stop pills.”
Heard’s lawyers asked similar questions Wednesday, zeroing in on a text exchange between Heard and Dembrowski in February 2014.
“Ms. Heard says, ‘JD is on a bender,’ and your response is, ‘Where are the kids?’ — correct?” J. Benjamin Rottenborn asked.
Dembrowski said that was correct. She also confirmed a 2014 email exchange she had with a doctor who treated Depp’s addiction to pain medication.
“You believe that your brother needed help with drugs and alcohol?” Rottenborn asked.
Dembrowski responded that she was concerned about Depp’s use of one medication but didn’t believe that he had a problem with drugs or alcohol overall, or that he romanticized drug culture.
Both Depp and Heard are expected to testify at the trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court, scheduled for six weeks, along with actors Paul Bettany and James Franco and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.
Heard’s lawyers had sought to have the case tried in California, where the actors reside. But a judge ruled that Depp was within his rights to bring the case in Virginia because The Washington Post’s computer servers for its online edition are located in the county. Depp’s lawyers have said they brought the case in Virginia in part because the laws here are more favorable to their case.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/heard-lawyers-zero-in-on-depps-drug-and-alcohol-use/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:51
| 1
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/heard-lawyers-zero-in-on-depps-drug-and-alcohol-use/
|
NEW YORK (AP) — A Netflix documentary about Jennifer Lopez titled “Halftime” will kick off the 21st Tribeca Festival.
The New York film festival announced its opening night film Wednesday. While Tribeca has traditionally been held in spring, this year it shifts to the summer, opening on June 8.
Organizers said “Halftime” follows Lopez “as she reflects on her milestones and evolution as an artist and navigates the second half of her career.” In 2020, Lopez hosted the Super Bowl halftime show alongside Shakira.
The film, which will debut June 14 on Netflix, will premiere at the United Palace in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. Tribeca opened last year in the same theater with the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical adaptation “In the Heights.”
Director Amanda Micheli said in a statement that it’s “so fitting to be celebrating this critical milestone in Jennifer’s life and career just miles from where she grew up. To have the opportunity to share this film on the big screen with a New York audience is a dream come true.”
Lopez, a Bronx native, r ecently suggested that she and Ben Affleck are engaged. A video posted on her members-only fan newsletter, showed Lopez gazing at a large green ring on her left hand.
The Tribeca Festival runs June 8-19.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/jennifer-lopez-doc-halftime-to-open-tribeca-festival/
| 2022-04-14T07:08:58
| 1
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/jennifer-lopez-doc-halftime-to-open-tribeca-festival/
|
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) — Critically acclaimed debut albums by Wu-Tang Clan and Alicia Keys, Ricky Martin’s Latin pop megahit “Livin’ La Vida Loca,” and Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” are among the recordings being inducted this year into the National Recording Registry.
The Library of Congress announced on Wednesday the 25 songs, albums, historical recordings and even a podcast that will be preserved as important contributions to American culture and history.
Keys’ “Songs In A Minor,” released in 2001, introduced the young New York musician to the world with her unique fusion of jazz, R&B and hip hop and earned her five Grammy awards. With songs like “Fallin’” the album has been certified as seven-times multiplatinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The Staten Island collective Wu-Tang Clan, including RZA, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, GZA, Ghostface Killah, Method Man and more, released their highly influential debut “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” in 1993, which combined East Coast hardcore rap centered around kung fu film storylines and samples.
Other albums that were included were Linda Ronstadt’s “Canciones de Mi Padre,” a musical tribute to her Mexican-American roots, Bonnie Raitt’s Grammy-winning “Nick of Time,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “The Low End Theory,” and the Cuban musical ensemble’s self-titled debut “Buena Vista Social Club,” which also inspired a film by the same name.
Other songs now in the registry include Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin,'” “Walking the Floor Over You” by Ernest Tubb, “Moon River” by Andy Williams and “Reach Out, I’ll Be There,” by The Four Tops.
The Four Tops song was penned by the songwriting trio of Brian and Eddie Holland and Lamont Dozier and became a No. 1 song in 1966 known for its unorthodox arrangement and the urgent, operatic vocals of lead singer Levi Stubbs. The last surviving member of the band, Duke Fakir, said he was honored to have their song included in the registry.
“When we recorded ‘I’ll Be There,’ I have to admit (for the first time), we thought of the song as an experiment for the album,” Fakir said in a statement. “We never believed it would even make it on the album, let alone be a hit for all time in ‘The Library of Congress.’ I wish Levi, Obie (Benson), and Lawrence (Payton) were here with me today so we could celebrate this incredible accolade together. And we owe an incredible debt of gratitude to Holland Dozier Holland, the tailors of great music, who wrote it.”
Other recordings include public radio station WNYC’s broadcasts from Sept. 11, 2001 and Marc Maron’s interview with Robin Williams on his podcast “WTF with Marc Maron.”
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/songs-by-wu-tang-alicia-keys-added-to-recording-registry/
| 2022-04-14T07:09:06
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/local/songs-by-wu-tang-alicia-keys-added-to-recording-registry/
|
With a suspected gunman behind the Brooklyn subway shooting in custody, attention has now pivoted to not only how the attack could have happened, but how the suspect could have gotten away so easily and undetected.
An MTA surveillance camera in the Sunset Park station wasn't working at the time of the shooting that left 10 people shot and more than a dozen more hurt, three sources said.
It's not clear why that was the case, but officials say there were "a lot of different options" from cameras elsewhere on the subway line to get a glimpse of the shooter.
The MTA didn't provide any information as to why the surveillance camera would not be functioning properly, which in part allowed suspect Frank James to slip away after the shooting, seemingly undetected by police and officials.
In an effort to illustrate to riders that the subway is safe, MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said there was more than enough video evidence to help the NYPD make an arrest.
"We have 600 cameras on the line just in Brooklyn, over 10,000 in the system, way, way up from where it was a couple years ago. So we have a lot of video," Lieber said in an interview on NSNBC's "Morning Joe."
He went on to say that the agency and police "have video now of three angles of this fellow ... entering the system obviously with a lot of material."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams deflected any notion that he or the police department should have had cameras in the station, noting that the cameras are controlled by the MTA, which is under the control of the state.
"They are cooperating with us, to assist us in finding out what happened at the train station. We don't have a full understanding of that as of this moment, but that is the control of the MTA. They have been extremely cooperative. We thank them for that," Adams said.
When asked if the cameras should be under the NYPD's system, Adams again pointed to the state, saying the governor would have to make that call.
"Anytime you have an incident like this and review, you look at what are the best practices and what we can do better. We need to learn from any issue of this magnitude," he said.
But it doesn't all come down to cameras, as the mayor has previously hinted at having gun-detecting technology added to subway stations. That kind of tech is currently used in places like ballparks and stadiums, and on Wednesday, Adams said he would continue looking into technology that "can help keep people equal safe during this new climate of over-proliferation of guns."
Adams said the new devices are not like ones used at airports, but rather can be added without people even knowing that they are present.
"You just walk normally through the system. It is not even detectable that the devices are there," the mayor said. "We think there's some great promise in this technology. We are going to continue to explore that."
When asked about safety in the subway, Lieber said that the agency does not want to "create an environment where people can't go about their business and create something that's impractical." He noted that many people carry backpacks and other bags onto the subway every day, and that some devices would impede on their ability to get around quickly and easily.
Lieber, who said that they would not let the subway "be taken over by maniacs," called for more cops on subways and platforms in order to help those who feel vulnerable.
Police and security officials have made many attempts to harden the city against such attacks, putting officers on trains and platforms, installing cameras and even doing rare spot checks for weapons on passengers entering some stations. Yet the sprawling system, with nearly 500 stations, largely remains like the city streets themselves: Too big to guard and too busy to completely secure.
Even before the attack, the mayor had vowed to increase subway patrols and launch sweeps of subway stations and trains to remove homeless people using them as shelters.
In the 1980s, New York City’s subways were a symbol of urban disorder: graffiti-covered, crime-plagued and shunned by tourists. Like the rest of the city, though, the subways have since cleaned up their act.
Before COVID-19 hit, the main problem with the trains wasn’t crime but overcrowding and breakdowns related to aging infrastructure.
Christopher Herrmann, a former city police officer who is now a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said episodes like Tuesday's are bound to provoke a new round of anxiety, especially among subway riders.
“With 9/11, you have a specific target: the World Trade Center,” Herrmann said. “A lot of people can wrap their heads around that.”
But the seeming randomness of Tuesday's attack “really invokes a lot of fear and worry,” he said, “because most people don’t consider themselves a target.”
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/after-brooklyn-subway-shooting-many-left-asking-why-werent-station-cameras-working/3645557/
| 2022-04-14T08:12:24
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/after-brooklyn-subway-shooting-many-left-asking-why-werent-station-cameras-working/3645557/
|
For 28 hours, the manhunt consumed New York City — and Lee Vasu was there to see it come to an end.
"I turned to my wife and said 'That’s the shooter, sweetheart we need to go now, get the baby and go," he told NBC New York.
It was lunchtime Wednesday in the East Village when Vasu came within feet of Frank James, the suspected gunman accused of carrying out the Brooklyn subway attack that left 10 people shot and even more injured. Vasu's first thought: the safety of his family.
"I got them out of there, that was my first instinct. I was worried, I didn’t want to take my phone out of my pocket, the guy had a duffle bag," he said. "I kept my eye on him the whole time so he wouldn’t escape. When he was right near us, he was six or seven feet from me, he was mumbling to himself. He didn’t seem right … he said eff the FBI, he was arguing with himself."
Vasu quickly flagged down a nearby officer. By then, enough witnesses were on to the 62-year-old suspect. It was soon over.
"People were walking behind him, I said, 'Guys, stay away from him, trust me — this is the guy!' I see the police walking from over there, I said 'This is the guy, catch him, catch him!' Thank god, we catch him," said Zack Tahhan, who said he also helped flag down officers.
"Before I knew it…all of a sudden, they had the guy in handcuffs, totally calm," another witness to the arrest said.
Mayor Eric Adams thanked the NYPD and federal agents who helped haul the suspect in — which in turn, helped calm the nerves of a city on edge.
"We got him! We got him!” Adams said.
NBC New York first obtained surveillance video of what police believe is the suspect wearing a construction vest, entering a Brooklyn subway station Tuesday, hours before the attack onboard the train. Sources said cameras at the 36th Street stop were not working, but the MTA credits the ones that were for helping in the investigation.
"We have 600 cameras on the line just in Brooklyn, over 10,000 in the system, way, way up from where it was a couple years ago. So we have a lot of video," Lieber said in an interview on NSNBC's "Morning Joe."
A motive remains unclear but James' arrest brought a sense of relief to New Yorkers, happy to know he’s off the streets.
"I'm happy for New York City because we don’t need these maniacs on the streets, we want to ride the subway safely," Vasu said.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/hear-from-nyers-who-flagged-down-police-and-alerted-them-to-brooklyn-subway-shooter/3645602/
| 2022-04-14T08:12:30
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/hear-from-nyers-who-flagged-down-police-and-alerted-them-to-brooklyn-subway-shooter/3645602/
|
Police say they are looking for a man involved in sexually abusing a 59-year-old woman on a street curb on March 31st.
Investigators say around 2 a.m. in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, a man on a motorized scooter stopped in front of the victim who was walking with a bag in hand.
He slapped her in the face, knocking her down, and rode away on his scooter, but soon returned. She was still struggling to get up from the ground while he approached again and proceeded to sexually abuse her.
Video released by investigators shows multiple vehicles drove by while the incident unfolded, but no one intervened. Afterward, the suspect got back on his scooter and fled on Church Avenue.
The victim refused medical care at the scene.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/scooter-rider-sought-in-brooklyn-sex-assault/3645560/
| 2022-04-14T08:12:37
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/scooter-rider-sought-in-brooklyn-sex-assault/3645560/
|
Casting Crowns got its official start in 2003. Beginning as a youth group worship band, Casting Crowns found chart-topping success with Christian hits like "East to West" and "The Voice of Truth." The band typically tours on just the weekends as most members work in ministry during the week.
Christian group Casting Crowns will perform at the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo next Friday, April 22 starting at 7 p.m. The long-running band will perform alongside We The Kingdom, a Christian band that has found recent success in the realm of faith-based music.
Casting Crowns got its official start in 2003. Beginning as a youth group worship band, Casting Crowns found chart-topping success with Christian hits like "East to West" and "The Voice of Truth." The band typically tours on just the weekends as most members work in ministry during the week.
Courtesy
Christian group Casting Crowns will perform at the BancorpSouth Arena in Tupelo next Friday, April 22 starting at 7 p.m. The long-running band will perform alongside We The Kingdom, a Christian band that has found recent success in the realm of faith-based music.
TUPELO • One of the most popular contemporary Christian bands in the country will return to Tupelo next week.
The Grammy- and Dove-winning band Casting Crowns will entertain concertgoers at the BancorpSouth Arena on Friday, April 22, beginning at 7 p.m. The faith-based rock group will perform alongside We The Kingdom, a Christian group that has found chart-topping success in recent years.
The band has stopped in Tupelo multiple times while touring over the years.
Casting Crowns has been spreading the Gospel with their own unique blend of traditional rock and spirituality since 2003. In the years since they began recording, they have produced hits like "Who Am I," "East to West" and "Voice of Truth."
Some of We The Kingdom's more popular songs include "Holy Water" and "God So Loved."
Casting Crowns lead singer Mark Hall said the band typically only tours on the weekends. Throughout the week, the members all work in Christian ministry.
Hall said he's thrilled to be returning to Tupelo with one of his favorite contemporary rock groups.
Newsletters
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
"We The Kingdom is one of our favorite worship bands," said Hall. "We've been leading their songs at our church for a long time."
The lead singer said the goal of the concert is to offer a high energy, family-oriented experience.
"We want to remind everyone that Jesus is the healer. He is hope, unity and peace," said the youth pastor. "Everyone that came to Jesus came to him for what they thought he could give them. The person of who Jesus is is what we need."
Hall also hopes to provide audience members with the same messages he delivers as church leader.
"We tour on the weekends and try to pour into audience what I try to pour into those that I pastor," Hall said.
Tupelo is the first stop on the joint tour which includes visits to Birmingham, Oklahoma City and Raleigh.
For tickets to next weekend's concert, email the BancorpSouth Arena at info@bcsarena.com or call 662-841-6573.
BROOKE BULLOCK BURLESON is a digital producer for the Daily Journal. Contact her at brooke.burleson@djournal.com.
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/christian-band-casting-crowns-to-perform-at-bancorpsouth-arena/article_e2f2f7c5-be93-5324-9a67-01515e6d9f7b.html
| 2022-04-14T10:01:31
| 1
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/christian-band-casting-crowns-to-perform-at-bancorpsouth-arena/article_e2f2f7c5-be93-5324-9a67-01515e6d9f7b.html
|
In this file photo from 2017, MLM Clothiers owner Joe Yarber stands inside the downtown Tupelo business. The clothing store will celebrate its 82nd birthday, next week.
MLM Clothiers has been a staple in Tupelo fashion since 1940. This year, they are celebrating their 82nd anniversary with a week full of festivities including discounts, Blue Delta Jeans fittings and welcoming back former employees.
In this file photo from 2017, MLM Clothiers owner Joe Yarber stands inside the downtown Tupelo business. The clothing store will celebrate its 82nd birthday, next week.
THOMAS WELLS | DAILY JOURNAL
MLM Clothiers has been a staple in Tupelo fashion since 1940. This year, they are celebrating their 82nd anniversary with a week full of festivities including discounts, Blue Delta Jeans fittings and welcoming back former employees.
TUPELO • One of downtown Tupelo's most storied businesses will make up for missing its 80th birthday with an all-out celebration for its 82nd.
MLM Clothiers in Tupelo will celebrate its 82nd birthday next week with discounts, prizes and special guests. The business will kick off the festivities on Monday, April 18, and continue to commemorate the anniversary with events throughout the week. A stalwart for Tupelo clothing stores, MLM was established in April of 1940 and has remained at its Spring Street storefront since its inception.
Corinth-turned-Tupelo native Katherine Johnson is the Tupelo staple's store manager. She said this year's celebration will be special in part to make up for pandemic-fueled delays.
"Usually we just have little specials and gift card giveaways, but this year we're going all out," said Johnson, who has been with the store since 2016. "We were going to do this in 2020 for our 80th anniversary, but for obvious reasons, we could not."
A few of next week's festivities include brunch, birthday cake on and custom Blue Delta Jeans fittings.
Newsletters
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
The schedule of events is as follows:
Monday: brunch and bloody marys and discounts on athletic wear
Tuesday: custom fittings from Blue Delta Jeans, plus a $75 discount on ordered jeans
Wednesday: discounts on Peter Millar clothing
Thursday: a birthday celebration with hotdogs grilled in the alley and cake
Friday: discounts on Jack Victor clothing and a Jack Victor suit giveaway
Additionally, all T-shirts in store will be 20% off throughout next week, and customers who spend $500 or more will be entered to win a pair of Blue Delta Jeans.
For Johnson, the most rewarding part of managing a business as storied as MLK is adopting customers and coworkers as family.
"MLM is a special place," said Johnson. "We're so much more than a clothing store. I consider my coworkers and customers my family."
BROOKE BULLOCK BURLESON is a digital producer for the Daily Journal. Contact her at brooke.burleson@djournal.com.
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/mlm-clothiers-celebrates-82-years-in-downtown-tupelo/article_13a7e4ee-c907-56f4-b21f-ec75db6a5c49.html
| 2022-04-14T10:01:37
| 1
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/mlm-clothiers-celebrates-82-years-in-downtown-tupelo/article_13a7e4ee-c907-56f4-b21f-ec75db6a5c49.html
|
TUPELO • As the longest-serving member of the Tupelo City Council, Ward 4 Councilwoman Nettie Davis understands the important roles patience and perseverance play in achieving her goals.
Now in her sixth term of office, Davis wants to see the continued growth of her community through housing development, infrastructure updates and recreational upgrades. Davis said her goal for this term was to bring in more young people and build up Black-owned businesses in her ward.
To do that, Davis believes building affordable housing to attract first-time buyers is essential.
“I have some areas in my ward that need new housing to recruit young professionals,” she said. “They have some nice projects with beautiful housing, but they are still not coming up with housing that first-time buyers would be interested in.”
While she wants to see housing tackled sooner rather than later, Davis did not offer specifics on what measures she wanted the city to employ other than recruiting more homebuilders to her ward.
Meanwhile, there are multiple building projects already taking place in Ward 4, including the construction of a row of seven homes on Tolbert Street facing Gumtree Park and the continued development along Jackson Street, which crosses through her ward from Front Street to Lumpkin Avenue.
Sidewalks not sitting in the sideline
Davis said sidewalks are an important backbone to a thriving city. The more alternative methods of travel available to a community, the better, she said.
“I would like for our communities to be more walkable,” Davis said. “Sidewalks would be very helpful in our neighborhoods.
City Engineer Dennis Bonds said the city’s sidewalks are a priority. Tupelo was recently awarded a grant from the Federal Transportation Alternatives Program through the Mississippi Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, and a portion of those funds will construct sidewalks in Ward 4 on North Gloster and through a section of Barnes Crossing. The section on North Gloster will connect a nearby apartment complex to Walgreens.
Davis said she has been advocating for sidewalks for years and is proud to see the project moving forward.
“I’ve been pushing hard for (sidewalks) at those apartments,” she said during a recent work session on the topic of capital improvement.
Bonds said the city could complete the sidewalks in about a year, noting the city is in the beginning stages of receiving the grant.
Infrastructure improvements are needed
Davis also listed addressing infrastructure and water, sewer, and drainage issues as top priorities. She noted the city should be able to use federal money from the recent infrastructure bill and the American Rescue Plan Act toward these goals.
“Sewage is very important all over the city, and we are supposed to get money to improve the infrastructure in our area and sewage drainage,” she said. “Basically, if I can get those things accomplished, I think we would be doing really well.”
Tupelo Conventions and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Neal McCoy previously said the city could use about $9.4 million from the city’s ARPA allocations on water, sewer and drainage projects throughout the city, but the bulk would be used on drainage.
McCoy noted the city needs at least $30 million in drainage repairs.
Neighborhood associations are vital to growing communities
Like neighboring Councilman Travis Beard in Ward 3, Davis said she wanted the city to help re-establish her ward’s neighborhood associations, which she believes could help spur positive change following the city’s hiring of a coordinator for the associations to act as a liaison between homeowners and the city.
“We need to revitalize the association on Park Hill,” she said, adding that she was happy to see the creation of the new West Jackson neighborhood association.
Tupelo Mayor Todd Jordan said that while his administration is focused on neighborhood associations, he also noted that the only way to see more progress from them would be to get more homeowners involved.
“I encourage everyone, if you don’t have (an association), start one,” Jordan said. “And if you are not active in your neighborhood association, look into getting a little more active. That means you care about where you live.”
Gumtree Park renovations are a priority for Davis
On recreation, Davis said she wanted to push for more upgrades to Gumtree Park, including covered pavilions.
“I am trying to put an emphasis on quality of life,” she said.
Should the city build covered pavilions in Gumtree Park, it would follow a series of upgrades the Front Street park has seen in recent months. Last year, the city constructed a new stage in the park.
Davis said building pavilions are the next step in making the park the best it can be. They would allow families to gather there and have a place to sit away from the sun.
But Jordan said recreation was taking a backseat for the administration over the next six months. Instead, infrastructure would continue to be the city’s chief priority.
The city’s updated capital plan places multiple park renovations and upgrades with a target of 2024. Gumtree Park is slated to move forward with pavilion upgrades, along with Ballard Park, Hancock Park and Lee Acres.
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/nettie-davis-sees-affordable-housing-as-key-to-ward-4-growth/article_53bedf8c-9224-5496-bfa7-d1e89c9887b3.html
| 2022-04-14T10:01:43
| 1
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/nettie-davis-sees-affordable-housing-as-key-to-ward-4-growth/article_53bedf8c-9224-5496-bfa7-d1e89c9887b3.html
|
Country
United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary
People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/the-punch-list/article_598e0a7f-906e-507c-aac2-acd1324a1b00.html
| 2022-04-14T10:01:49
| 0
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/the-punch-list/article_598e0a7f-906e-507c-aac2-acd1324a1b00.html
|
Here's why this iconic Peoria landmark is set to change colors again this weekend
People across the globe celebrate Easter with religious services, egg hunts and special foods.
Peoria will add festive lighting to that list.
The Murray Baker Bridge will be lit in white, sparkling lights overnight on Friday, April 15, for Good Friday and on Sunday, April 17, for Easter.
The bridge will be lit in "white sparkle dynamic" — a slow, random blinking, creating a sparkling effect, said city of Peoria spokesperson Stacy Peterson.
“Community members have really enjoyed the variety of color schemes that we’ve used in the past, but this weekend people will enjoy the slow sparkle of white lights across this landmark cantilever bridge,” she added.
It will be the second annual special bridge lighting for both days.
New multi-hued LED lights were added to the bridge when its deck was reconstructed in 2020.
The bridge bill: Who pays the light bill for the Murray Baker Bridge? The amount depends on where you live
How to get special lighting on the bridge
Peoria has scheduled 25 holidays this year featuring special lighting. (Afterward, the bridge's hues revert to the city colors of green, yellow and blue.)
In addition, individuals or organizations can arrange their own special lighting in advance through requests to the Peoria Public Works Department. City policy requires at least 30 days' notice on such a request and forbids "lighting for political events, and/or political campaigns." The fee is $200 per evening, or $150 for nonprofits.
From the archives: Murray Baker Bridge brought big changes to Peoria, good and bad
Who's been honored with special bridge lights recently?
The bridge was lit in purple from April 1-5 upon a request by Gift of Hope Organ & Tissue Donor Network to mark National Donate Life Month. Earlier this week, it was colored orange to mark National Work Zone Awareness Week.
Questions regarding the Murray Baker Bridge Ornamental Lighting Program, Light Up the Bridge, should be directed to the Peoria Public Works Department by emailing publicworks@peoriagov.org or calling 309-494-8800.
|
https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/murray-baker-bridge-peoria-lit-good-friday-and-easter/9518765002/
| 2022-04-14T10:45:22
| 0
|
https://www.pjstar.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/murray-baker-bridge-peoria-lit-good-friday-and-easter/9518765002/
|
Skip to content
Continuing Coverage
Live Updates: Frank James in Custody in Subway Shooting; May Have Called Cops on Self
Main Navigation
Search
Search for:
Local
Weather
Investigations
Baquero
Video
TV Listings
Our Voices
Newsletters
Live TV
Share
Close
Trending
COVID-19
BA.2
Brooklyn Subway Shooting
CRIME STOPPERS
Frank James
Latest Updates
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Sherri Papini
Patrick Lyoya Police Shooting
Russia-Ukraine
Lifestyle
NBCLX
Expand
Local
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4003/3645611/
| 2022-04-14T11:14:52
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4003/3645611/
|
Investigators turned their attention to a possible motive Thursday, a day after police arrested the man accused of shooting 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others in an allegedly planned rush-hour attack on a Brooklyn subway.
The suspect is expected to make his first appearance in Brooklyn federal court later in the day, as federal, state and local law enforcement agencies work to piece together the details of the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
"This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof, and it’s going to die a violent death," says James in a video where he takes on the moniker "Prophet of Doom."
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed "We got him!" after the arrest.
Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, who has since been charged, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
"What are you doing, brother?" he said in the video posted March 27. "Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand."
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, "And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting."
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were "stomped, kicked and tortured" out of their "comfort zone."
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a R-train going the opposite direction and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was the gun, extended magazines, a hatchet, detonated and undetonated smoke grenades, a black garbage can, a rolling cart, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007. The nine prior NYC arrests from 1992 to 1998 include possession of burglary, criminal sex act, and theft of service.
In New Jersey, James has three other arrests in 1991, 1992, and 2007, including for trespass, larceny, and disorderly conduct, police said during Wednesday's press conference.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A close up image of that gun he purchased showed that he tried to obliterate the serial number on it, investigators said. But agents used that number to trace the purchase back to him.
A search of James' Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father whom he had lived with in New Jersey died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court soon after he lost his job alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he "couldn’t get any justice for what I went through."
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx in the 1970s.
"Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City," James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is "full of hate, full anger and bitterness."
Pictures: Multiple People Hurt in Brooklyn Subway Shooting
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
"My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f------ work," he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
"I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive," he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
"I just couldn’t believe it would be him," Yarbrough said. "But who knows what people will do?"
Police and federal agents said that James has had no steady job or fixed address for the past few years. After renting the U-Haul van Monday afternoon in Philadelphia, using his own name, he apparently slept in it — as police later removed bedding, pillows and chairs in the hours after the shooting.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/motive-probe-in-nyc-subway-shooting-narrows-focus-as-new-suspect-details-emerge/3645828/
| 2022-04-14T12:46:17
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/motive-probe-in-nyc-subway-shooting-narrows-focus-as-new-suspect-details-emerge/3645828/
|
An intruder who tried to attack a teacher at a public elementary school in the Bronx ended up slashing a "heroic" on-duty school safety agent who intervened and thwarted the attack, Mayor Eric Adams said Thursday. One suspect is in custody.
The agent was taken to a hospital after the slashing at PS 69, Journey Prep School, on Thieriot Avenue around 7:40 a.m. The agent is expected to be OK.
Adams called the school violence "unacceptable" and said the suspect would be brought to justice.
Few other details were available on the slashing at PS 69, which serves more than 560 students in pre-K through fifth grade, along with special education students, according to the Department of Education website.
The violence comes less than a week after an honor student died and two other students were wounded in a drive-by shooting outside a high school in the same borough.
News 4 has reached out to the city's Department of Education for comment.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/on-duty-safety-agent-stabbed-at-nyc-elementary-school-1-in-custody-police/3645923/
| 2022-04-14T12:46:23
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/on-duty-safety-agent-stabbed-at-nyc-elementary-school-1-in-custody-police/3645923/
|
TUMWATER, Wash. — The Washington State Board of Health (BOH) voted to accept an advisory group's recommendation on Wednesday and not add COVID -19 vaccinations to the list of required shots for K-12 students, at least not yet.
Earlier this year a state advisory board recommended against it by a 7-6 vote.
Following an extensive discussion and comments from the public, the BOH mostly decided that, despite how safe it feels the COVID vaccine is for all eligible age groups, the repercussions of requiring it for kids were too great.
Board member Dr. Bob Lutz said Wednesday during the meeting that in discussions with various school superintendents across the state, he learned there was real concern students would be kept from attending class.
"They are very concerned about loss of students, parents taking their children out of school. Whether this is real or not, irrespective. That is a logistical concern that they have, and I think we have to honor that," Lutz said.
State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah eventually made the motion to accept the advisory board's recommendation and not include the COVID-19 vaccine in the state's required vaccines for students.
The motion passed unanimously, but the board could revisit the requirement in the future.
“We all are united and making sure that we're doing the right thing and being health-protective of all Washingtonians, and I think that's the key message that is so critical here," Shah said.
Regarding the pandemic, he said he hoped that the state would not "just move on, as we often do as Americans, to the next headline," but that the state and entire country takes a "transformational" approach.
"Really think through what we have gone through, and the trauma that all of us have gone through. How it's impacted all of us, and really think about being transformational and really address those very issues," Shah explained.
Washington state requires 11 vaccinations for students to attend school including Chickenpox, Mumps, Polio, Hepatitis B and whooping cough.
According to the Washington State Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard, 36% of ages 5-11 have started the vaccination process while nearly 32% are fully vaccinated.
For the age group 12-15, 59% have received at least one shot while 55% are fully vaccinated and 39% have received a booster.
In the 16- and 17-year-old age group 67% have started the vaccination process while 62% are fully vaccinated and 43% have received a booster.
Vaccination rates in King County are a little higher. 52% of ages 5-11 are fully vaccinated while 76% of kids ages 12-17 are fully vaccinated.
The state dropped its indoor masking mandate on March 12, with schools across the state also dropping mask requirements around the same time.
While cases have been on a steady decline across the state since the mandate was lifted, experts say that waning immunity and a persistent omicron BA.2 variant could fuel another wave in the ongoing pandemic.
As of April 11, 74% of the state's eligible population is fully vaccinated and case counts have plateaued at levels similar to those seen last summer.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-health-board-vote-vaccine-students/281-a8b79600-a956-4f8a-82a1-6bfff5282533
| 2022-04-14T14:12:46
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-health-board-vote-vaccine-students/281-a8b79600-a956-4f8a-82a1-6bfff5282533
|
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The latest class of graduates from the Washington State Patrol Academy (WSP) is the agency's most diverse, a spokesperson said.
Of the 44 cadets sworn into service Wednesday, 43% come from populations considered historically underrepresented, according to spokesperson Chris Loftis.
Two of the new troopers are women, six are Hispanic, four are Asian, two are Black, and five identified themselves as representing two or more of those groups.
Loftis acknowledges the agency still does not reflect the diversity of the state’s population.
Not counting the recent graduating class, 90% of WSP’s commissioned officers are male, and 85% are white.
That lack of diversity prompted state legislators to pass a law requiring oversight of the agency’s minority hiring practices.
Loftis said the agency’s recent class is proof WSP was working on the issue before legislative action.
“We’re really seeing the fruits of our labor,” said Loftis. “It’s targeted recruitment, it’s community engagement, but it’s also increasing the allure and respect for law enforcement.”
New trooper Rommie Smith said he’s proud to be part of the most diverse graduating class of cadets.
“It felt nice to see there were more People of Color joining,” said Smith.
Loftis said the class set to graduate this fall could be even more diverse than Wednesday’s class.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-state-patrol/281-12d74aa1-7df0-4e43-bc60-ce65ba7557c1
| 2022-04-14T14:12:52
| 1
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/washington-state-patrol/281-12d74aa1-7df0-4e43-bc60-ce65ba7557c1
|
Skip to content
Breaking
Brooklyn Subway Shooting Latest: Accused Gunman Due in Court, Mass Transit Attack Rocks NYC
Main Navigation
Search
Search for:
Local
Weather
Investigations
Baquero
Video
TV Listings
Our Voices
Newsletters
Live TV
Share
Close
Trending
COVID-19
BA.2
CRIME STOPPERS
Latest Updates
Brooklyn Subway Shooting
Elon Musk
Storm Team 4
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Russia-Ukraine
Lifestyle
NBCLX
Expand
Local
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4004/3645992/
| 2022-04-14T14:17:29
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4004/3645992/
|
Fresh off a first 100 days in office that in some respects have unearthed a number of major challenges for Mayor Eric Adams -- from backlash over COVID mandate decisions to homelessness to increasing subway crime that climaxed this week with a mass shooting on a rush-hour train -- the Democrat is making another change.
Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks jointly announced Thursday a planned expansion to the at-times controversial Gifted and Talented program that will extend the offering citywide for the first time and add seats, especially for third-graders.
The effort to reinvigorate the longstanding program comes months after former Mayor Bill de Blasio pledged to end it, citing a history of the program fueling systemic inequities by disproportionately enrolling white and Asian students compared with their Black and Latino counterparts and serving higher-income areas at higher rates.
According to the plan unveiled Thursday, the city will add 100 kindergarten seats and 1,000 third-grade seats, expanding both entry points to all districts for the first time and ensuring a more equitable screening process. It also will keep engaging parents and other stakeholders on the issue, saying those sessions informed the new plan.
Applications for both the kindergarten and third-grade programs open on May 31.
Adams had made his intentions for gifted and talented clear on the campaign trail, saying it wasn't right to eradicate the program without replacing it. Adams' plan is to implement an accelerated learning model that he says will expand and improve it -- with a focus on reaching more children, especially those in underserved communities.
"Expanding our Gifted and Talented program to all New York City districts is about giving every child, in every zip code, a fair chance and making sure no child is left behind," Adams said in a statement. "For the first time ever, there will be a Gifted and Talented program in every school district in this city. This is how we give every young person an opportunity to grow, to learn, to explore their talents and imagination."
What Changes and How Will Your Family Benefit?
Historically, kindergarten has been the initial entry point for New York City Gifted and Talented programs. For the 2022-2023 school year, about 100 new kindergarten seats are being added to the Gifted and Talented portfolio — expanding the program to all 32 districts and bringing the total number of seats to 2,500.
To fill these seats, every current pre-K student will be evaluated by their current teacher for a potential nomination. Universal pre-K screening takes the initial burden off families and creates access for more children with a more diverse eligibility pool.
First implemented for the 2021-2022 school year, universal screening led to a more diverse pool of students receiving invitations to apply for Gifted and Talented programs. Students enrolled in non-DOE programs and those not yet enrolled in school will participate in an interview with DOE staff to confirm eligibility.
Families of eligible, nominated children will receive an eligibility letter inviting them to apply before the process opens. The third-grade level also gets a huge infusion of support, with every district in the city set to provide an extra entry point, amounting to a baseline of one program in each district and the 1,000-seat total.
Determined by grades in the four core subject areas, the top 10% of second graders in each school will be invited to apply to a third-grade Gifted and Talented program. Families will be considered for placement at all of their application choices and offers will be made based on district and sibling priorities, as well as seat availability. Grade 3 programs will grow to grades 4 and 5 in subsequent years, officials said.
Child development research shows that identifying gifted behavior in later grades may provide a more accurate assessment of gifted ability, the city officials say.
"Today we move to end the era of scarcity — the era of making families fight amongst themselves for limited Gifted and Talented seats in far off schools," Banks said in a statement. "Through this expansion, we are providing more opportunities for accelerated learning to more families, while providing an equitable, fair process to identify the students who will excel with accelerated learning."
More Coverage
Why the Reboot? Controversial Backstory
New York City has the largest public school district in America, with more than 1 million students enrolled, and though the city is one of the most diverse in the country, its public education system has long been criticized as being among the most heavily segregated, particularly within the gifted and talented program.
About 75% of the program’s 16,000 students are white or of Asian descent, though Black and Latino students make up about two-thirds of students.
Banks had previously called on a need to improve the program, among other facets of the system, in an address earlier this year as he announced more than 120,000 families had left the school system in the past five years. The stunning number had floated around before but NYC Schools hadn’t confirmed it.
Although the decline started before the pandemic, the health crisis accelerated it. When it comes to the declining population of public schools, Banks said that the district has "broken the trust for our families. We gotta build that trust back.”
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/revamped-gifted-and-talented-program-returning-to-nyc-schools-mayor-says/3645881/
| 2022-04-14T14:17:35
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/revamped-gifted-and-talented-program-returning-to-nyc-schools-mayor-says/3645881/
|
by: Dee Jackson Posted: Apr 14, 2022 / 08:39 AM CDT Updated: Apr 14, 2022 / 08:40 AM CDT SHARE TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WIAT) — Current Miami Dolphin and former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa spoke one-on-one with CBS 42’s Dee Jackson on Wednesday. Watch the full interview above.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/watch-tua-tagovailoa-speaks-with-cbs-42/
| 2022-04-14T14:50:38
| 0
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/watch-tua-tagovailoa-speaks-with-cbs-42/
|
Many kids gained extra weight during the pandemic. It isn't necessarily a bad thing.
People of all ages across the country gained weight during the pandemic, for reasons ranging from being sedentary while working from home to stress snacking. But kids, who often rely on school to provide healthful meals and exercise opportunities, were put in an even tougher spot.
A 2021 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the rate of of increase in body mass index of children ages 2 to 19 nearly doubled during the pandemic compared with earlier statistics.
Studies from across the country are displaying similar results. Research from the Journal of the American Medical Association from around the same time showed children ages 5 to 11 were most affected by weight gain.
Dr. Jeremy Mescher, a pediatrician with Riley Physicians in Bloomington, said he and his colleagues have seen an increase in patients struggling with weight since the pandemic began. But he doesn’t want to focus on the weight gain itself, which is often stigmatized, but rather the underlying causes.
“We try to make sure our families understand that we worry more about health than we do size,” he said, “and our interventions are aimed at reducing the risks of the downstream consequences of increased weight.”
Closed schools caused problems for families
When schools shuttered in the early stages of the pandemic, students were left without school-provided breakfast and lunch every day, leaving the burden of food preparation on parents.
“Our school districts tried their hardest to continue home delivery and access to school based meals, but there was still likely a reduction in usage,” Mescher said.
The pandemic also put a financial strain on many families, leaving them with fewer healthful food options and forcing them to rely on “convenience” foods which are more calorically dense, Mescher said.
Others are reading:Nearly 550 apartments, townhomes, duplexes coming to Bloomington's northwest side
Erin Reynolds, program director at the Ferguson Crestmont Boys and Girls Club, spent 16 months of the pandemic driving around neighborhoods to deliver sack lunches to kids.
The program has 290 members, Reynolds said. Many of the families in the program told her how much they needed the help.
Monroe County has always had food deserts, or areas with limited access to affordable healthful food, Reynolds said. The pandemic only exacerbated the problem.
Closed schools also meant a decline in after-school activities, such as school sports, which is how many students get their exercise, Mescher said. A 2020 study from the National Library of Medicine showed that kids, especially older ones, struggled to regularly exercise at the beginning of the pandemic.
Reynolds said that while she was out driving the neighborhoods every week earlier in the pandemic, she rarely saw kids outside playing, especially since local parks were closed for some time, too.
Although the increase in weight gain could have an effect on long-term public health, Mescher said, it's not too late to make gradual change.
"It will take time to create new healthy habits, especially for children of an age who may have not had these habits in a pre-pandemic world," he said.
Gaining weight sometimes isn't good or bad
Although nutrition and exercise are important for a healthy lifestyle, it can lead to a slippery slope, especially when only focusing on losing weight.
Christy Duffy is a Bloomington psychologist who runs Under the Umbrella LLC, which offers treatment for eating disorders. She said she has seen a “huge skyrocket” in eating disorder concerns in the community and nationwide.
“I haven’t found anybody, even in different states, who hasn’t had a lengthy waitlist during the pandemic because demand has gone up so high,” she said.
Duffy, who doesn’t work with younger children but has plenty of teen patients, said that many patients started coming in after the pandemic hit saying they had too much time on their hands and decided to spend it “getting healthy,” which eventually led to over-exercising and disordered eating habits.
Other patients came in reporting the opposite — that the pandemic caused them to sit on their couch and snack all day because the kitchen was accessible at all hours.
Like Mescher, Duffy doesn’t let her patients focus solely on weight gain or loss but rather on emotional wellbeing and balanced nutrition.
“We want to eat fruits and vegetables, but we also want to eat pizza and dessert,” she said.
This could mean, for example, if a patient finds themselves eating entire packs of Oreos in one sitting, the solution could be to keep Oreos in the house more often.
"If you're allowed to have Oreos whenever you want, and you're also eating all the other foods, you won't want to eat all the Oreos," she said.
Another way to help kids form a healthy relationship with food is to involve them in grocery shopping and meal preparation, Mescher said. This will ideally help reduce any food-based anxiety and give them a sense of ownership in meal planning.
Others are reading:Bloomington motorist says a man shot him in a possible road rage incident
Duffy also said it’s important to remember that a person’s size isn’t necessarily an indication of their health.
“There are people in all different shapes and sizes that are both healthy and unhealthy,” she said. “We have anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder, and people usually have an image in their head of what a person in those three categories look like, and that’s usually not true.”
The incoming data about increased weight gain — in children and adults alike — can be nerve wracking, Duffy said. It’s important to look at the results in context of how the community has been hurting throughout the pandemic, she said, including financially and emotionally.
“We live in a culture where we advocate weight loss for pretty much every problem that comes up, but what we know from insane amounts of research is that doesn’t work,” Duffy said. “The weight gain itself isn’t the problem. … Just be gentle with yourself.”
Contact Herald-Times reporter Christine Stephenson at cstephenson@heraldt.com.
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/covid-pandemic-cdc-data-kids-weight-loss-tips/9374087002/
| 2022-04-14T15:26:13
| 0
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/covid-pandemic-cdc-data-kids-weight-loss-tips/9374087002/
|
Audit requested after allegations of misconduct by former town employee in Ellettsville
ELLETTSVILLE — Ellettsville Town Council members recently have met twice behind closed doors in executive session to discuss allegations of misconduct by a former town employee.
According to the Indiana law cited in the meeting announcements — IC 5-14-1.5-6.1 (b) (6) (A) — the council met to receive information concerning the alleged misconduct of an "individual over whom the governing body has jurisdiction."
The meetings took place at Ellettsville Town Hall on March 31 and April 6.
“Just the only thing we can say is it was an internal personnel issue,” Ellettsville Town Council member William Ellis said.
Details about the matter could remain hazy to the public, Ellis said, since the potential misconduct concerns a non-elected town employee who has retired and no longer is employed by the town. Personnel matters are confidential.
Others are reading:Bloomington mayor proposes $31M county income tax hike. Here's how much it would cost you.
In response to questions submitted in a public records request, town clerk-treasurer Sandra Hash said the only town employee who has resigned, retired, quit or been terminated since March 1 of this year was William Jay Humphrey, a former deputy town marshal.
The state board of accounts has been asked to conduct an audit of the town marshal's office as part of the inquiry.
Humphrey could not be reached for comment. There was no mention of the issue during Monday night's town council meeting.
H-T reporter Laura Lane contributed to this story. Contact Patrick McGerr at pmcgerr@heraldt.com, 812-307-5636, or follow @patrickmcgerr on Twitter.
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/ellettsville-council-alleged-misconduct-former-worker/9518591002/
| 2022-04-14T15:26:18
| 1
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/ellettsville-council-alleged-misconduct-former-worker/9518591002/
|
Storywalk, clubs, anime, wargaming among library's activities over coming week
Monroe County Public Library provides opportunities for local residents to read, learn, connect and create. The downtown library is at 303 E. Kirkwood Ave. and the Ellettsville branch is at 600 W. Temperance St. All events are free of charge. Event funding is provided by the Friends of the Library Foundation.
Library closed Easter Sunday
The downtown library, Ellettsville branch and bookmobile will all be closed Sunday. You can still use your library card to access ebooks, audiobooks, movies, music and much more online anytime. Get started at mcpl.info/digital.
Saturday Storytime
The whole family is invited to this weekend storytime. Books, puppets, music, movement, crafts and more encourage early literacy skills. For infants to age 6. It’s 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Tween D&D
Interested in Dungeons & Dragons? Join the library for a special stand-alone role-playing adventure! No prior experience is necessary. Ages 9-12. It’s 2:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
LEGO Club
Unleash your imagination and creativity with fellow LEGO builders and the library’s LEGOs! Ages 5-12. It’s 4-5 p.m. Monday in Ellettsville meeting room A. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Video game conversation group: Stardew Valley
Do you enjoy video games and want to talk with other people about them? Join the library to discuss a new game and talk about game design, stories, art and everything else. It's just like a book club, but with video games! In April you'll dive into Stardew Valley. Each month, the games will be available to play on the second floor of the downtown library near the video game collection. Ages 12 and older. It’s 6:30-8 p.m. Monday in meeting room 2A at the downtown library. Drop in.
Weekly math homework help for teens
Drop in for free one-on-one help with math and science-related assignments ––arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, physics, chemistry and ISTEP and SAT review. For middle school and high school students only. It’s 7-8:45 p.m. Mondays in program room 2B at the downtown library.
Little Makers
Explore your creativity with different materials and techniques at this fun, open-ended art experience. Dress to mess. For ages 3-6 and their families. It’s 10:30-11:15 a.m. in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Drop in.
Teen Artist Club: Stuffed animal taxidermy
Are you a teen artist looking to hang with others? Join the library to make fun stuff, show off your work, chat and relax. This time, it's weird taxidermy with stuffed animals! Ages 12-19. It’s 3:30-4:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Ellettsville Teen Space. Drop in.
Tuesday Night Music Club: “Nevermind”
Join other music fans to discuss classic albums virtually! This time it's Nirvana's “Nevermind”. Listen before the meeting, then come share your reaction. You’ll also listen to select songs as a group. The albums are available for streaming on Hoopla with your library card. Age 18 and older. It’s 6-7 p.m. Tuesday on Zoom. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Prenatal yoga
Prenatal yoga is a gentle exercise that supports your changing body's needs, builds strength, and deepens awareness of your mind, body, and connection with your baby. For pregnant adults. It’s 7-8 p.m. Tuesday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Please register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Wonderful 1s and Terrific 2s
Families with kids from infants to age 3 can play, sing, read and talk together with other little ones — then enjoy toy time. It’s 9:30-10:15 a.m. (infants-18 months) and 10:30-11:15 a.m. (18 months-3 years) Wednesday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Safe sleep education: Free pack 'n’ play
Learn how safe sleep practices for infants can save lives! Monroe County Healthy Families will host a 30-45 minute education session, with time for questions afterward. All participants will receive a brand new pack 'n’ play at the conclusion of the session. For parents and caretakers of infants under 12 months. Please be prepared to provide proof of your child’s age to receive the free gift. It’s 2-3 p.m. Wednesday in Ellettsville meeting room B. Space is limited. Register by calling or texting Veronica Rodriguez at 812-947-8301 or emailing vrodriguez@villages.org.
D&D Crafts
Learn how to make felt dice bags and your very own health potion! All skill levels are welcome. Ages 12-19. It’s 3:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday in The Ground Floor teen space at the downtown library. Drop in.
Mindful movement
Join yoga instructor Lauren Volpp for some physical and mental exercises in mindfulness. You'll set intentions, talk about identity and self-reflection, learn skills for having balance in transition and more! All abilities are welcome. Yoga mats are provided. Ages 7-12. It’s 5-5:45 p.m. Wednesday in the children’s program room at the downtown library. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Evening family storytime
Stories, songs, and rhymes get your preschooler talking, singing, and playing with books and words. For ages 3-6 and caregivers, but all are welcome. Note: The content of this storytime may be repeated in the next morning's Thursday storytime. It’s 6-6:30 p.m. Wednesday in Ellettsville meeting room B. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Preschool storytime and discovery
At preschool storytime, stories, songs and rhymes get your preschooler talking, singing and playing with books and words, followed by preschool discovery — fun, open-ended art experiences, STEAM adventures and letter exploration. It’s 10-10:25 a.m. and 10:30-11:15 a.m. Thursday in Ellettsville meeting rooms A and B. For ages 3-6 and caregivers. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Earth Month at the StoryWalk at Butler Park
Celebrate Earth Month with an eco-minded StoryWalk storytime at Butler Park! You'll enjoy “Tidy,” written and illustrated by Emily Gravett, alongside dancing, bubbles, a scavenger hunt and park cleanup. Pete the badger likes everything to be neat and tidy at all times, but what starts as the collecting of one fallen leaf escalates quickly and ends with the complete destruction of the forest. Will Pete realize the error of his ways and reverse his tidying habit? All ages. It’s 11:30-11:15 a.m. Thursday at Butler Park, 812 W. Ninth St. in Bloomington. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Intro to tabletop wargaming
If you enjoy D&D, miniature painting, and board games, tabletop war games like Warhammer are another fun option. The library will provide a light introduction to tabletop wargaming, as well as all the terrain, miniatures and snacks. All skill levels are welcome. For ages 12-19. It’s 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday in The Ground Floor teen space. Drop in.
Yoga with baby
Take care of your body and build strength after having your baby. This gentle exercise supports the changing body's needs and deepens awareness of the caregiver's mind, body and connection with their baby. For adults with babies up to age 2. It’s 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday in Ellettsville meeting room B. Register at mcpl.info/calendar.
Anime watch party
Join other fans of “My Hero Academia,” “The Way of the House Husband,” “The Promised Neverland” and more for a night of anime, crafts and chatter. Ages 12-19. It’s 6-8 p.m. Thursday in The Ground Floor teen space at the downtown library. Drop in.
Musical mastery: Compression
Looking to take your music to the next level? Join the library for any or all of the programs in this series to make your songs sound like the pros! In April, you’ll learn about compression — what it means, what it does, and how it can help your songs sound streaming-ready. Ages 12 and older. It’s 6-7 p.m. in the Level Up digital creativity space at the downtown library. Drop in.
More events online
This is a sampling of this week’s library events. For the full calendar, visit mcpl.info/events.
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/storywalk-clubs-anime-wargaming-among-librarys-activities/7281573001/
| 2022-04-14T15:26:25
| 0
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/storywalk-clubs-anime-wargaming-among-librarys-activities/7281573001/
|
Four spent smoke grenades were recovered from a Brooklyn airfield Wednesday after an 80-year-old witness who saw a white U-Han -- and smoke emanating from the area -- a day earlier alerted authorities after seeing news coverage about their investigation into the subway station shooting, two senior NYPD officials said Thursday.
The details emerge as investigators look into whether the accused subway shooter did a possible test run at Floyd Bennett Field on Flatbush Avenue, near Jamaica Bay, before carrying out the multifaceted rush-hour attack in Sunset Park on Tuesday.
According to the senior NYPD officials, the witness spotted the van and smoke coming from behind a hangar around noon on Monday, more than 24 hours before the mass shooting. He figured it was kids, officials said. Upon seeing news of the manhunt for the subway shooter -- and the potential involvement of a white U-Haul -- the witness went back to the airfield and reported what he saw to Parks Police.
Parks Police contacted the FBI's Joint Terror Task Force, which reached out to the NYPD, around noon on Wednesday. The spent smoke grenades were recovered from the area. That happened less than 90 minutes before the suspect was apprehended.
Investigators stressed that it was too early to confirm a possible link between the U-Haul, smoke grenades and the shooting, but they're continuing to meticulously review the evidence for connections and more insight into the alleged attack planning.
Police said a Crime Stoppers tip on Wednesday helped nab the alleged shooter — and law enforcement sources said they believe the suspect called the tip line himself, saying he was at a McDonald's on the Lower East Side.
"This is Frank. You guys are looking for me ... my phone is about to die," the sources say the caller said.
The suspect wasn't at the McDonald's by the time cops responded to the call, but they drove around and eventually spotted him on a street corner. He didn't resist. He is expected to make his initial court appearance later Thursday on federal charges tied to the shooting and could face up to life in prison if convicted. Read the complaint here.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/4-spent-smoke-grenades-found-at-nyc-airfield-after-80-year-old-tips-off-cops-amid-shooting-probe-officials/3646307/
| 2022-04-14T15:48:53
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/4-spent-smoke-grenades-found-at-nyc-airfield-after-80-year-old-tips-off-cops-amid-shooting-probe-officials/3646307/
|
Skip to content
Breaking
Brooklyn Subway Shooting Latest: Accused Gunman Due in Court, Timeline Emerges as Mass Transit Attack Rocks NYC
Main Navigation
Search
Search for:
Local
Weather
Investigations
Baquero
Video
TV Listings
Our Voices
Newsletters
Live TV
Share
Close
Trending
COVID-19
BA.2
CRIME STOPPERS
Latest Updates
Brooklyn Subway Shooting
Elon Musk
Storm Team 4
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Russia-Ukraine
Lifestyle
NBCLX
Expand
Local
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4005/3646428/
| 2022-04-14T16:14:59
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/latest-forecast-from-storm-team-4-4005/3646428/
|
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — An Alabama man has been charged with defrauding a Jefferson County retirement plan by collecting benefits that weren’t his.
According to a press release from the US Department of Justice, Gary Dean Gibbs Jr. is accused of receiving money from the General Retirement System for Employees of Jefferson County that was intended to go to his father, who was a retired, former employee of the county. The only problem was that his father had died in 2017.
Authorities believe Gibbs, 52, had hidden his father’s death and from September 2017 to February 2022, he forged his father’s signature and used his personal identifiers to continue to get paid by the retirement plan. Gibbs is said to have collected approximately $132,646.12 from GRS.
According to a plea agreement filed Thursday, Gibbs agreed to plead guilty to the charge of wire fraud. The maximum penalty for the charge is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 bond.
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/man-charged-with-hiding-fathers-death-receiving-his-retirement-benefits-from-jefferson-county/
| 2022-04-14T18:42:15
| 1
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/man-charged-with-hiding-fathers-death-receiving-his-retirement-benefits-from-jefferson-county/
|
WOODLAND, Wash. — A Washington man was killed after a tree fell on top of his truck Wednesday morning, according to Washington State Patrol (WSP).
The truck was traveling northbound on State Route 503, also known as Lewis River Road, at milepost 50 in Cowlitz County when a large tree from a nearby hill fell and hit the truck, WSP said. Edward Norton, 53, died.
Earlier this week, an April snowstorm brought between a dusting and several inches of snow to parts of Southwest Washington and the valley floor in Oregon. WSP did not say whether the severe weather contributed to the man's death.
At least two record low temperatures for April were tied or set Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). Sea-Tac Airport recorded a low of 32 degrees on April 13, which tied the coldest April day on record, set on April 4, 1975. Olympia recorded a low of 28 degrees and broke the previous coldest April day record of 30 degrees set on April 19, 2008.
Hazel Dell reported two inches of snow Monday morning while Ridgefield saw 5.5 inches and Skamania had 7.5 inches.
In Oregon, the snow on Monday caused multiple road closures throughout Portland's West Hills area. All lanes of Highway 26 were also closed for a period of time between Interstate 405 and the State Highway 217 interchange due to downed trees.
School districts, including large districts like Portland, Beaverton, Tigard-Tualatin and Vancouver, announced closures and delays due to the snow.
Thousands of Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power customers went without power in Portland and surrounding areas.
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/woodland-man-killed-downed-tree/283-48979cd6-3d97-4c10-86ca-86c225ba4ab3
| 2022-04-14T18:48:40
| 0
|
https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/woodland-man-killed-downed-tree/283-48979cd6-3d97-4c10-86ca-86c225ba4ab3
|
The 62-year-old man accused of shooting 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others committed a "premeditated" rush-hour transit attack that triggered the worst commute disruption the city has seen in 20 years, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Suspect Frank James, wearing a beige prison uniform, nodded when a judge asked him if he understood the federal charge against him. He waived his rights to a preliminary hearing and was ordered detained at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court Thursday. James has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
"The defendant’s attack was entirely premeditated. The day before the shooting,
the defendant picked up a U-Haul in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which he drove over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and into Brooklyn in the early morning hours of April 12," prosecutors said in the detention memo. "The defendant came to Brooklyn prepared with all of the weapons and tools he needed to carry out the mass attack."
Those items, according to court papers, included a Glock 17 pistol bought by the suspect, a container with gasoline, a torch and fireworks with explosive powder. All were later found on the platform at the 36th Street and Fourth Avenue subway station.
James allegedly also disguised himself during the attack and tossed the costume in the chaos that followed in order to flee the subway station undetected, prosecutors said. He was traveling the trains after the attack with a second card that investigators didn't know he had, according to a senior law enforcement official. James also had a second phone, the other was recovered at the crime scene, and authorities on Thursday are working to get into the device.
Law enforcement officers recovered a stockpile of weapons and ammunition from other locations allegedly controlled by James, prosecutors said. They found an empty magazine for a Glock handgun, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine, and a blue smoke canister in the apartment where he stayed before traveling to Brooklyn. They also found a propane tank, pillow and chair in the U-Haul linked to the scene. The propane was being used with a heater, according to a senior law enforcement official.
From James' storage unit, investigators recovered 9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached, targets, and .223 caliber ammunition, used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Read the full detention memo below.
James' attorney Mia Eisner-Grynberg cautioned against a rush to judgment, noting he was the one to call Crime Stoppers and report his own location. Even if he didn't, a senior law enforcement official says police were already working off a Twitter report of a sighting in the Lower East Side.
No follow-up court date was immediately set.
With the suspected shooter behind bars, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are turning their attention to motive as they comb through details of the 62-year-old Black man’s life.
An erratic work history. Arrests for a string of mostly low-level crimes. A storage locker with more ammo. And hours of rambling, bigoted, profanity-laced videos on his YouTube channel that point to a deep, simmering anger.
James posted dozens of videos ranting about race, violence and his struggles with mental illness. One stands out for its relative calm: A silent shot of a packed New York City subway car in which he raises his finger to point out passengers, one by one.
"This nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof, and it’s going to die a violent death," says James in a video where he takes on the moniker "Prophet of Doom."
After a 30-hour manhunt, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Mayor Eric Adams triumphantly proclaimed "We got him!" after the arrest.
Police said their top priority was getting the suspect, who has since been charged, off the streets as they investigate their biggest unanswered question: Why?
A prime trove of evidence, they said, is his YouTube videos. He seems to have opinions about nearly everything — racism in America, New York City’s new mayor, the state of mental health services, 9/11, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Black women.
A federal criminal complaint cited one in which James ranted about too many homeless people on the subway and put the blame on New York City’s mayor.
"What are you doing, brother?" he said in the video posted March 27. "Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad, I couldn’t even stand."
James then railed about the treatment of Black people in an April 6 video cited in the complaint, saying, "And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting."
In a video posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says things would only change if certain people were "stomped, kicked and tortured" out of their "comfort zone."
Surveillance cameras spotted James entering the subway system turnstiles Tuesday morning, dressed as a maintenance or construction worker in a yellow hard hat and orange working jacket with reflective tape.
Police say fellow riders heard him say only “oops” as he set off one smoke grenade in a crowded subway car as it rolled into a station. He then set off a second smoke grenade and started firing, police said. In the smoke and chaos that ensued, police say James made his getaway by slipping into a R-train going the opposite direction and exited after the first stop.
Left behind at the scene was the gun – which a senior law enforcement official confirmed was jammed after 33 shots were fired – extended magazines, a hatchet, detonated and undetonated smoke grenades, a black garbage can, a rolling cart, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van, police said.
That key led investigators to James, and clues to a life of setbacks and anger as he bounced among factory and maintenance jobs, got fired at least twice, moved among Milwaukee, Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York.
Investigators said James had 12 prior arrests in New York and New Jersey from 1990 to 2007. The nine prior NYC arrests from 1992 to 1998 include possession of burglary, criminal sex act, and theft of service.
In New Jersey, James has three other arrests in 1991, 1992, and 2007, including for trespass, larceny, and disorderly conduct, police said during Wednesday's press conference.
James had no felony convictions and was not prohibited from purchasing or owning a firearm. Police said the gun used in the attack was legally purchased at an Ohio pawn shop in 2011. A close up image of that gun he purchased showed that he tried to obliterate the serial number on it, investigators said. But agents used that number to trace the purchase back to him.
A search of James' Philadelphia storage unit and apartment turned up at least two types of ammunition, including the kind used with an AR-15 assault-style rifle, a taser and a blue smoke cannister.
Police said James was born and raised in New York City. In his videos, he said he finished a machine shop course in 1983 then worked as a gear machinist at Curtiss-Wright, an aerospace manufacturer in New Jersey, until 1991 when he was he was hit by a one-two punch of bad news: He was fired from his job and, soon after, his father whom he had lived with in New Jersey died.
Records show James filed a complaint against the aerospace company in federal court soon after he lost his job alleging racial discrimination, but it was dismissed a year later by a judge. He says in one video, without offering specifics, that he "couldn’t get any justice for what I went through."
A spokesperson for Curtiss-Wright didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
James describes going in and out of several mental health facilities, including two in the Bronx in the 1970s.
"Mr. Mayor, let me say to you I’m a victim of your mental health program in New York City," James says in a video earlier this year, adding he is "full of hate, full anger and bitterness."
Pictures: Multiple People Hurt in Brooklyn Subway Shooting
James says he later was a patient at Bridgeway House, a mental health facility in New Jersey, although that could not be immediately confirmed. Messages left with the facility were not returned.
"My goal at Bridgeway in 1997 was to get off Social Security and go back to f------ work," he says in a video, adding that he enrolled in a college and took a course in computer-aided design and manufacturing.
James says he eventually got a job at telecommunications giant Lucent Technologies in Parsippany, New Jersey, but says he ended up getting fired and returned to Bridgeway House, this time not as a patient but as an employee on the maintenance staff. A message seeking comment was sent to Lucent Technologies.
"I just want to work. I want to be a person that’s productive," he said.
Touches of that earnest, struggling man showed up after James’ parked car was hit in Milwaukee. Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mt. Zion Wings of Glory Church of God in Christ next door to James’ apartment, said James was impressed that the pastor owned up to hitting the car. Neither James nor anyone else was there to see the accident. And James called him up to say so.
"I just couldn’t believe it would be him," Yarbrough said. "But who knows what people will do?"
Police and federal agents said that James has had no steady job or fixed address for the past few years. After renting the U-Haul van Monday afternoon in Philadelphia, using his own name, he apparently slept in it — as police later removed bedding, pillows and chairs in the hours after the shooting.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/accused-nyc-subway-gunman-had-3-weapons-stockpiles-for-entirely-premeditated-attack-feds/3646650/
| 2022-04-14T18:51:53
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/accused-nyc-subway-gunman-had-3-weapons-stockpiles-for-entirely-premeditated-attack-feds/3646650/
|
A New Jersey man accused of violently attacking three Jewish men in a string of crimes that started with a carjacking last week will also be charged with terrorism, prosecutors announced Thursday.
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office initially charged Dion Marsh, 27, on Wednesday with attempted murder, attempted carjacking, attempting kidnapping, unlawful possession of a weapon and bias intimidation but Acting New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkinis approved the terrorism charge as a result of further investigation.
Police said Marsh's crime spree began in Lakewood Township shortly after 1 p.m. on April 8 when he carjacked the Toyota Camry from its driver in the vicinity of Martin Luther King Drive and Pine Street.
The violence escalated when police said Marsh hit a pedestrian around 6 p.m. at Central Avenue and Carlton Avenue.
Before the hour was over, Marsh allegedly stabbed a man over at Pine Circle Drive and Lakewood New Egypt Road. Lakewood officers found the victim with a stab wound to his chest. The 27-year-old would strike again before his eventual arrest, according to police. Marsh ran over another pedestrian, this time in Galassi Court in Jackson Township.
"A thorough review of the totality of the circumstances surrounding his intent, conduct and behavior lead us to the charge of Terrorism," Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said in a news release. "We are prepared to prove beyond a reasonable doubt, that Marsh intended to terrorize the Jewish community in Lakewood and Jackson on April 8, 2022."
Attorney information for Marsh was not immediately known. Police said he was arrested at his home in Manchester Township late Friday.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/alleged-carjacker-in-nj-antisemitic-attacks-faces-terrorism-charge/3646642/
| 2022-04-14T18:51:59
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/alleged-carjacker-in-nj-antisemitic-attacks-faces-terrorism-charge/3646642/
|
IU Bloomington graduate workers, supporters push back about administration's response
Demonstrators took to picket lines Thursday on Indiana University's Bloomington campus as the graduate student worker strike continued into its second day.
Crowds formed at several locations, including around the Sample Gates, Ballantine Hall and Swain Hall. Representatives from the Indiana Graduate Workers Coalition were happy with the turnout.
Why did IU grad workers strike?
The workers decided to strike after the university refused to recognize a successful vote to join the United Electrical Workers. The hope is the work stoppage will reopen a dialogue. Complaints include the fees graduate workers have to pay to the university, which eat into compensation many of the workers consider to be insufficient in the first place, and insufficient protections for international graduate students. Other issues include benefits and working conditions.
IU undergrad William Clay walked past one of the demonstrations. He said he supports the graduate workers in their efforts, despite his classes being affected.
WATCH:Indiana University graduate workers on strike at Bloomington campus
"I think they've done a really good job of getting the word out about it," said Caitlin May, another undergraduate student. "Everyone's affected, because I think people have realized how many of our teachers are actually grads."
'It's disappointing'
Martin Law has been a graduate student and worker at IU for several years, and his experiences brought him to the picket line at the Sample Gates Thursday morning. "It's disappointing to see that the concerns that we've been voicing for many years, even before I got here, are being ignored by the provost, by the administrators and by the president."
Law expressed disappointment in emails and other messaging sent out by IU leaders about the effort to unionize. Some emails have indicated there could be consequences for grad workers who take part in the strike.
"To respond with covering your eyes and ears while saying, 'I won't recognize you,' and then making threats," Law said, "it's just not appropriate. To me, it seems sort of undignified, and it's really disappointing."
Rong Fan has friends in the union, but the self-described conservative international student had not planned to join the demonstrations until she read an email from Bloomington campus Provost Rahul Shrivastav outlining potential consequences for graduate workers. "To be honest, I was just really angry about the email."
Wednesday's actions:Indiana University Bloomington graduate workers go on strike
Katie Kearns, an IU employee, stood at the Sample Gates in solidarity with the graduate workers on strike. While she hoped there would not be retaliation from IU administration towards those taking a stand, Kearns said it was a possibility.
"This is the nature of protest," Kearns said. "That's a reality. When people push back against the way things have gone, there's going to be pushback. I think there are a lot of us who hope that there won't be. But I think there are also a lot of us who will do what we can to support graduate students in the case that there is and rally behind them."
Faculty members were called on to be present to show their support, but some said they were concerned about retaliation from IU administration. When asked about whether she feared such retaliation, gender studies professor Jennifer Maher replied, "Absolutely."
Many graduate student workers grade papers and teach classes at the university. The strike is planned to last until Tuesday.
Contact Patrick McGerr at pmcgerr@heraldt.com, 812-307-5636, or follow @patrickmcgerr on Twitter.
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/iu-protest-graduate-workers-bloomington-gather-sample-gates-strike-continues/7309351001/
| 2022-04-14T19:51:44
| 1
|
https://www.heraldtimesonline.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/iu-protest-graduate-workers-bloomington-gather-sample-gates-strike-continues/7309351001/
|
Flagler Sheriff's Office announces new program to alert deputies to autistic individuals
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is offering a new sticker to notify deputies that an autistic person may be present at a home, in a car, at a business or other location, according to a press release on Wednesday.
The sheriff’s office designed the new logo, an autism puzzle piece with a sheriff’s office insignia and Sheriff Rick Staly's name in the middle, according to the release.
“The logo is a sticker which can be placed on the window of your car, your home or any location where you may have a loved one with autism,” according to a statement from Staly in the release. “This is a great tool that allows deputies to quickly become aware there may be a person with autism and will help us partner with the community in providing special consideration and sensitivity to your loved ones.”
The sheriff’s office is rolling out the initiative this month, which is Autism Awareness month.
“This is a free and voluntary database that the FCSO manages to help our Flagler County residents,” Staly stated in the release. “It will give residents who deal with the world of autism every day some peace of mind when it comes to encounters involving the men and women of the FCSO."
Meet Goose:Bow-tie-wearing French bulldog brings Flagler sheriff's office into comfort zone
Deputy recognized:Flagler SAR awards deputy with medal for saving a life
Dispatcher honored:Flagler Sheriff's dispatcher is honored as Florida's Dispatcher of the Year
The sheriff’s office will send the stickers and an informational brochure with details about the Autism Awareness program to people who complete a survey from the FCSO Community Engagement Section. The survey will provide specific information to deputies who respond to a scene where a person with autism may be present.
The information helps deputies know more about the uniqueness of the autistic person and can help build a communication link between the deputy and the individual.
All deputies are already trained on working with autistic individuals, the release stated.
For information on the program, visit FlaglerSheriff.com and click on “programs” found along the top of the page and scroll down and click on “autism awareness," according to the press release.
People can then fill out an online form that requests information about the autistic person, including whether they are verbal or nonverbal, their behaviors and the best way to approach the person.
Residents participating in this program may also benefit from the FCSO Safe Trak and Wanderers programs, which are also listed under the programs page.
For information on the Autism Awareness initiative and other programs, contact the FCSO Community Engagement Section at CommunityEngagement@FlaglerSheriff.com.
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/flagler/2022/04/14/flagler-sheriff-has-new-program-alert-deputies-autistic-people/7301719001/
| 2022-04-14T20:14:48
| 0
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/flagler/2022/04/14/flagler-sheriff-has-new-program-alert-deputies-autistic-people/7301719001/
|
Annual tree giveaway for DeLand residents set for Saturday morning
DeLand's annual tree giveaway, a joint effort of city staff and the DeLand Breakfast Rotary Club, is set for Saturday.
Hundreds of live oak, loquat, persimmon, sand pine, wild olive, winged elm and yaupon holly will be available at the Public Services complex, 1102 S. Garfield Ave., starting at 8 a.m., according to a city news release. Residents should use the Amelia Avenue entrance.
Trees are available to residents within the city's utility service area on a first-come, first-served basis. Each residence is limited to three trees.
Attendees should bring proof of residence and the giveaway form already filled out, according to the release. Those picking up a tree(s) for someone else need to bring a copy of that person's proof of residency and their written request.
To print the form, visit deland.org/news/annual-tree-giveaway.
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/14/delands-annual-tree-giveaway-set-saturday-morning/7308419001/
| 2022-04-14T20:14:54
| 0
|
https://www.news-journalonline.com/story/news/local/volusia/2022/04/14/delands-annual-tree-giveaway-set-saturday-morning/7308419001/
|
Mayor Eric Adams, a former New York City police captain, took office this year with a central focus on making the city feel safe and trying to return it to some sense of normalcy post-pandemic.
But the first 3 1/2 months of his administration have been beset by a string of high-profile violent incidents, with Tuesday’s shooting on a subway train the most terrifying and public of all.
The morning rush-hour attack, in which 10 people were shot on a system that serves as the arteries of New York, complicates Adams’ push to address crime and persuade people that the city of nearly 9 million is safe. It also occurred amid a broader, multi-year debate about policing and crime, and how the city should respond.
In New York City, like many places around the country, violent crime rates have climbed since the pandemic, though they remain far below rates seen three decades ago during the city’s notoriously grittier era, or even just a decade ago.
The mayor has been among Democrats who’ve pushed back on calls from liberals to cut police budgets and instead route resources to social services, and he has sought to bring back some controversial policing tactics, saying they can be employed as useful tools without a return to past abuses.
Adams has a unique perspective. He’s not only a former New York City police captain and transit officer, but is a Black man who in the past has criticized his own department’s unjust practices, and he is someone who was brutally beaten by police as a teenager.
BROOKLYN SUBWAY SHOOTING
Since he took office Jan. 1, he’s been speaking about policing and crime frequently, as the list of frightening incidents piled up quickly.
The city saw a rash of random shootings, the killing of two police officers and attacks that included a woman shoved to her death in front of a train by a stranger.
“This has been particularly brutal. And I feel for him. I think he’s done a fine job, especially as he’s just getting used to it,” said Adams’ predecessor and fellow Democrat, Bill de Blasio.
Most of the violence the city has experienced has not been in the subways but in neighborhoods, particularly in communities of color. But attacks on the subway, a vital sprawling network millions of New Yorkers rely upon, loom large in public perceptions of safety.
Adams rode the subway to City Hall on his first day as mayor, calling 911 to report a fight near the train platform before he even boarded the train. He admitted later that he didn’t feel safe on the train after encountering a yelling passenger and several homeless people, and said the city needs to tackle “actual crime” and “the perception of crime.”
Adams had already announced plans earlier this year to boost the number of police officers on subway platforms and trains and to address crime generally. He has brought back a controversial police anti-gun unit, called for help from the federal government cracking down on ghost guns and pushed for changes to New York’s bail laws.
Critics contend that focusing just on beefing up police isn’t a solution to making the city safe, but more investment is needed in mental health programs and other social services.
Frank James, the 62-year-old suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, spoke of his own mental health struggles in a series of YouTube videos in which he described going in and out of mental health facilities, including some in New York City.
Before Tuesday’s attack, Adams had started sending out social work teams to try to connect people on the streets with mental health help and other services. The mayor also announced plans to significantly expand a summer youth job program designed to put young people in paid jobs when school is on break, with the aim of diverting them from activities that could lead to arrest or violence.
After this week’s subway shooting, Adams, in a series of interviews, discussed plans to increase the number of police officers patrolling the subways and suggested metal detectors could be installed in stations — a decision that ultimately would rest with the transit authority, which falls under state control.
Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for the nonprofit Riders Alliance representing New York City bus and subway passengers, said that despite a high-profile incident like the shooting, the subway is still the safest way to get around the city, with traffic accidents and pedestrians being struck by cars a far more likely hazard.
Rather than explore metal detectors and other ways to scrutinize passengers, he said New York needs a better transit system overall that gets more people on board and provides safety with strength in numbers.
“By having transit that is faster and more reliable and gets to more places that people want to go is a way to boost ridership,” he said.
De Blasio praised Adams’ attempts to address both crime and perceptions of crime, and said public safety experts recommend the best way to make the city feel safe is “more normalcy, more recovery from COVID.”
Getting people back on trains and back in the city is not just a reminder of New York’s resiliency, but also an added layer of eyes and ears to compliment the police, the former mayor said.
“The overall reality is NYPD has actually done a very good job over the years of making the subway safer and safer,” he said. “Police can do so much, but they can’t do it alone. They need eyes and ears — and cooperation of the public.”
Former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said it’s difficult to have a discussion about how to prevent Tuesday’s shooting without knowing more about the alleged perpetrator and his motivation and mental health, and that makes it difficult to link it to a broader examination of other violent crime in New York.
“One of the challenges with crime is you can get three people shot in one night and they’re all shot for different reasons that have different solutions and different responses,” Quinn said.
She said Adams, with his law enforcement background, understands that crime and criminals are not one-size-fits-all. And while guns may be involved in a lot of crimes and more illegal guns need to be taken off the street, other incidents can stem from gang issues, mental health issues or other factors.
Confronting crime generally requires a multi-faceted response, she said, and help from many layers of government.
“There are very few things that one elected official can fix alone,” she said. “Even in a big city like New York, a lot of what exists here is also controlled by the state and the feds.”
“But there is no bigger bully pulpit and convening power—short of the president of the United States—than that of the mayor of the city of New York. And we know Eric Adams is not afraid to use that,” she said.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/brooklyn-subway-shooting-heightens-mayor-eric-adams-focus-on-rising-crimes/3646942/
| 2022-04-14T20:22:39
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/brooklyn-subway-shooting-heightens-mayor-eric-adams-focus-on-rising-crimes/3646942/
|
A New Jersey man has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly ran down a woman in a road rage incident that was caught on video.
The footage filmed by a neighbor and aired on News12 New Jersey shows a car on a residential street in Elizabeth on Tuesday backing up and then chasing the woman onto a front lawn, where she slips and falls in front of the oncoming vehicle.
Police and prosecutors allege 56-year-old Vincent Jean of Elizabeth was involved in a minor traffic accident with the woman and began pursuing her after she began taking pictures of his car as he tried to flee. Jean allegedly drove over the victim, then backed up and drove over her again, according to the prosecutor’s office.
The 23-year-old woman was taken to the hospital in critical condition. The Union County prosecutor’s office charged Jean with attempted murder, aggravated assault and other offenses.
Jean made an initial court appearance and was being held in the county jail pending a pretrial detention hearing next Tuesday. He didn’t have an attorney listed, according to the prosecutor’s office.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nj-man-charged-with-running-over-woman-in-road-rage-incident/3646979/
| 2022-04-14T20:22:40
| 0
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/nj-man-charged-with-running-over-woman-in-road-rage-incident/3646979/
|
A suspect is in custody in connection with the arson attack that destroyed a Brooklyn bar only five months after it opened and just as it was becoming a mainstay for the LGBTQ+ community, Mayor Eric Adams announced Thursday.
Everything inside Bushwick's Rash Bar was left unrecognizable and scorched after the 9 p.m. arson on April 3 at the hands of a man dressed in black who strolled into the business with a gas canister. He poured some out, lit it ablaze and then ran off.
Adams said Thursday that FDNY and NYPD members, along with federal partners, brought the suspect into custody. Further details on him weren't clear.
There were three people inside working when the blaze broke out.
"I was standing right here actually when it happened, I had just stepped out,” said owner Claire Bendiner. "Everyone rushed out. The side door has a glass front and I looked over and saw flames to the top of ceiling. It was crazy, it happened so fast."
The 5-month-old space near Myrtle Avenue caters to the LGBTQ+ crowd and is known for being packed late into the night. Nearly all of the damage was contained to the inside of the bar.
News
Bendiner said that the alleged arsonist boldly left behind a key piece of evidence.
"He left the gas canister inside. Kind of calmly placed it on the bar counter. Wasn’t knocked over or anything," she said.
Police say their investigation into the case is ongoing.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/gas-can-arsonist-who-turned-popular-brooklyn-lgbtq-bar-into-fireball-nabbed-mayor/3646943/
| 2022-04-14T20:22:40
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/gas-can-arsonist-who-turned-popular-brooklyn-lgbtq-bar-into-fireball-nabbed-mayor/3646943/
|
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — In high school, Daniel Scheinert and his friends made a film, their own version of a Kung Fu movie, shot in their backyard of the Birmingham suburbs they grew up in.
Scheinert, who went to Shades Valley High School, ultimately submitted the film to the Sidewalk Film Festival. To him, the idea of anyone sitting in a theater to watch his movie, the first he screened at the festival, was nothing short of amazing.
“The was the first thing I ever played at Sidewalk for an audience was our fake Kung Fu movie,” Scheinert said. “And now, I got to make one with Michelle Yeoh.”
Scheinert’s new movie, which he co-wrote and directed with Daniel Kwan, is “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which stars Yeoh (“Crazy Rich Asians”) as an overworked Chinese-American mother who finds herself and her family torn between different universes, all while trying to file their taxes. Released last week, the film has received critical acclaim and has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
On paper, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is several movies, depending on how you see it. All at once, it’s a comedy, a Kung Fu movie, a superhero movie, and a family drama. And Scheinert said it’s much more than that.
“At its core, we kind of wanted to draw in the crowd that wants to go see a Marvel movie and be like, ‘Hey, this has just as many fight scenes and it’s the same runtime, It’s got fun visual effects. It’s a Marvel movie, but ultimately, it’s grounded in something personal and emotional,” Scheinert said. “At the end of the day, it’s about this family and every universe, no matter how weird it is, is meant to kind of take this family on a journey.”
Scheinert, who also wrote and directed “Swiss Army Man” with Kwan, is taken aback by how much positive feedback “Everything” has received. However, more than critical acclaim, he’s most proud of how audiences have been receiving the film.
“So many people are talking about how it has to been to see it in a theater, and that makes me so happy because my favorite theatrical experience isn’t the biggest screen or the loudest speakers, it’s the funnest audience,” he said. “And the fact that people are getting to go with crowds and laugh and scream and cry together, you know, and then are celebrating the movie for that reason, I’m like, ‘Oh hell yeah, that’s what I wanted.’”
Outside of Yeoh, another actor whose performance has been praised has been Ke Huy Quan, best known for several memorable performances in the 1980s as Short Round in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” and Data in “The Goonies.” “Everything” marks Quan’s first major leading role in over 20 years.
Scheinert said a recent comment he saw on Twitter calling Quan “an absolute movie star” in the film made him particularly emotional.
“I just started imagining what he would think reading that because his character is a sweet pushover, a nice guy who just gets pushed to the sidelines of this action adventure, but ultimately is just this treasure of a person. And that’s what Ke is, too.” he said. “He’s just the sweetest guy and he got neglected by Hollywood and they missed out, and he should have been starring in movies all along. And and just like the movie, now we get to celebrate him, which feels great. It feels like a cosmic coincidence that that it happened that way.”
Although the movie is set in only a handful of locations–a laundromat, an IRS office, and countless parallel universes– Alabama had a part in how Scheinert and Kwan wrote and filmed the movie. While writing “Everything,” Scheinert decided to go back to Alabama to make a movie on his own, “The Death of Dick Long,” a black comedy involving two friends trying to cover up the death of their friend.
Scheinert said making “The Death of Dick Long” shaped how he wanted to make movies, something he would bring to “Everything.”
“I loved the script, but also I wanted to experiment with how we make movies, not just what we make them about,” Scheinert said. “The movie is kind of dark and upsetting, and we try to counterbalance that by making it in the most wholesome, ethical way possible.”
Scheinert said that while shooting “Dick Long” outside Birmingham, he and the crew formed relationships with the community, from the people they rented houses from for the shoot to the non-profit groups they donated to. He felt this approach off-screen had an impact on what was shown on-screen.
“I think it bled into the movie and made the movie better and made everybody working on it work harder,” he said. “And so I came in, I came back from that experience and persuaded our producer, John and Dan, to try to tackle this movie the same way and be like, ‘This movie is about kindness. If we make this movie in a mean way, we’re such hypocrites.'”
Bringing that same approach from “Dick Long” to “Everything” was a joy for Scheinert.
“A lot of that was about like trying to pull in the Chinese-American community and empower them and celebrate their culture while making the movie itself, but also doing a bunch of sustainability efforts and trying to not fill up a landfill while we made our movie.”
Scheinert said Alabama played an enormous part in helping him develop his creative vision, where theater was his varsity sports and the Sidewalk Film Festival showed him how far movies could go.
“I feel like I met a bunch of like-minded weirdos as a kid, and that was really fun,” he said.
Scheinert said he wants to continue pushing forward as a filmmaker, finding new ways to tell different stories.
“If it’s not personal at all, then you’re just kind of wasting your own time and your audience’s time, so we’re always chasing questions that genuinely interest us, that we don’t know the answer to, that kind of scare us and try to make sense of my own life by biting off projects that will explore something that I’m trying to wrap my head around,” he said. “There’s always going to be something emotional and personal that we’re going to explore.”
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-native-behind-one-of-the-strangest-mind-bending-critically-acclaimed-movies-of-2022/
| 2022-04-14T22:14:08
| 1
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/birmingham-native-behind-one-of-the-strangest-mind-bending-critically-acclaimed-movies-of-2022/
|
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — She helped him with his costume. Her classmates did, too. Stitch by stitch, the senior at Magic City Acceptance Academy helped her history teacher become a Mardi Gras queen. The occasion was a drag show fundraiser to help the school’s history quiz bowl team attend a competition in Washington, D.C. The fundraiser was a student idea, the school’s principal said, and was successful. The quiz bowl team will head to D.C. next week.
“It was a fun thing,” the senior at MCAA said, although it’s hard for her to remember it that way now. Because now, in the shadow of an Alabama election, she said that the fun event has been “weaponized” in a television advertisement by Tim James, a Republican candidate for governor. The advertisement, which incorrectly labels MCAA as “the first transgender public school in the South,” includes images of the fundraiser the senior had worked to make a success. The images showed staff and students, including the senior, their faces visible.
“I hope he’s ashamed”
The senior at MCAA, who CBS 42 has chosen not to identify by name, was one of the students visible in the ad. She said when she realized she was pictured, her heart sank.
“I didn’t process it immediately,” she said. “My initial reaction was to laugh because it’s such a ridiculous concept to attack a school that’s purpose is to avoid bullying people for something they can’t control.”
The senior, who identifies as queer, said Magic City Acceptance School is one of the best places she’s ever been. The public charter school, which labels itself as an LGBTQ-affirming learning environment, opened last year and serves students from all backgrounds. Transgender students make up less than 10% of the school’s student population, its principal said, and the majority of pupils at MCAA are not members of the LGBTQ community.
The senior wanted to attend MCAA because she’d been bullied at her previous school.
“I was facing a lot of ostracization, bullying, and just meanness directed at me and my friends,” she said. “I became desensitized to it because of how bad it was.”
One afternoon at her previous school, she was waiting to be picked up when a group of boys who had never been friendly threw a noose at her.
“You can go home and use this later,” she remembers them saying.
So when she heard about the opportunity to attend Magic City Acceptance Academy, she hopped on the opportunity. She hoped she’d be able to feel safe without needing to isolate herself.
She got that at MCAA.
“The first day I came here, I went home and cried because of how fantastic it was,” she said.
But now, the senior feels her school has been violated.
Since the release of Tim James’ gubernatorial ad, Magic City Acceptance Academy has increased security. The decision was a prudent one. On one occasion, a car drove by the school and its occupants yelled slurs at students outside the school. On another, a woman approached the school, filming its exterior, with a person waiting in a car nearby. When students noticed her, she ran away.
The senior was there for the second incident. She and her friends were eating lunch outside when the woman approached the school.
“While security was running after her, I pushed my friends to go inside,” she said. “It was a serious situation that could’ve ended in violence.”
She said before Tim James’ ad aired, she’d never felt unsafe at MCAA. Now, while she’s glad the school has increased security, she worried that “there’s still a threat of people coming around.” Her safe place has changed forever.
The senior said she wants the ad to be taken down.
“It’s misinformation, and it’s deplorable to act like being part of a minority group is some shameful thing,” she said. “It’s straight-up lying, and it’s embarrassing for him.”
She said that the advertisement stokes hatred and resentment and that she’s worried it could lead to violence against minorities.
“I hope to God it doesn’t turn violent,” she said, “but I am genuinely afraid that it will.”
At 18, this is the first election cycle in which the senior will be able to vote. She said she won’t be voting for Tim James, and he is unfit to be governor.
She has a message for James.
“I hope he’s ashamed of himself,” she said. “I hope he can learn from this experience. I hope he puts any amount of effort into educating himself, and I hope he can learn to stop attacking people for the sole reason that they are different than him.”
A mother’s story
The senior’s mom is an attorney, Kimberly Fasking. Three of her children attend MCAA.
When she saw the ad, she was sickened.
“I was beyond livid,” Fasking said. “As bad as the ad was — endangering the students and the faculty and staff — they’re specifically targeting my child.”
Like her daughter, she said the ad should be taken down.
“It’s disgusting and it’s ignorant and it’s hateful,” Fasking said. “Mr. James puts himself out there as a Christian, but this is certainly not anything that I think Jesus would approve of. I don’t remember him taunting and mocking people. I don’t remember those stories in the Bible.”
Fasking reached out to the James campaign to demand they pull the ad. In response, the James campaign “obscured” Fasking’s daughter but has continued to run the ads.
In a statement released to media outlets regarding the original ad, Tim James’ campaign doubled down on its claims.
“The principal said that the TV ad scared the children,” the statement said. “What should scare mothers and fathers of these children is what the faculty is doing by presenting this ungodly display through the drag show to which the children were subjected.”
Asked for comment on Fasking’s demands regarding the ad, Elizabeth Jordan, communications director for James, sent a 1,000-word response including a list of questions for Fasking, which can be read in full below.
Kimberly Fasking said the campaign’s response is a reflection of exactly who they are.
“They’re really excellent at being horribly hateful, disgusting people,” she said. “They want to play a semantic game about whether it was actually a cease and desist. Call it whatever you want. I sent them a letter demanding they stop using my child’s image in their hate ad.”
While they’ve obscured Fasking’s daughter’s image, the Tim James campaign has doubled down on their attacks. There’s now another video advertisement, titled “Exploitation,” and radio ads featuring MCAA.
Fasking hopes voters don’t fall for the ad when they head to the polls on May 24.
“Somebody with this much hate in his heart is not fit to lead the state of Alabama,” she said. “He doesn’t want these teachers around my children? I don’t want him around my children.”
In its response to questions about Fasking’s concerns, the James campaign said that if Fasking was “truly concerned about her child, she would remove her from the Magic City Acceptance Academy period.”
“My mom brought me to Magic City Acceptance Academy because she was concerned about me,” the senior said. “If they were concerned about children, they wouldn’t be attacking them. My mother is concerned about me. That’s why she’s keeping me in the school. To keep me safe from other people who, like the Tim James campaign, want me to stay quiet or just stop existing.”
The senior said she hopes that transgender people at MCAA and Alabama are able to stay safe and stay strong through the turmoil the ad has brought about.
“A trans person is a person, and they deserve to be able to live happily and freely,” she said. “They shouldn’t let bigots and attackers of children force them to live authentically or live in fear.”
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/jesus-would-not-approve-targeted-by-an-alabama-political-ad-queer-student-and-mother-share-their-story/
| 2022-04-14T22:14:14
| 1
|
https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/jesus-would-not-approve-targeted-by-an-alabama-political-ad-queer-student-and-mother-share-their-story/
|
NWS confirms third NW Louisiana tornado following Tuesday storms
The National Weather Service has confirmed a third tornado in Northwest Louisiana. The EF-0 tornado touched down near Hosston, Louisiana Tuesday evening.
The peak wind speeds were reported at 80 mph and it had a path length of 1.2 miles.
This tornado was the weakest of the three and only damaged a few trees.
The National Weather Service previously confirmed two tornadoes.
The first tornado was an EF1 and it touched down in Benton, producing wind speeds up to 110 miles per hour. The second was an EF0 which was confirmed to have touched down in the area of Youree Drive in Shreveport near the LSUS campus.
The three tornadoes developed within a four-minute time span.
More:Two tornadoes, severe thunderstorms leave path of damage across Northwest Louisiana
Makenzie Boucher is a reporter with the Shreveport Times. Contact her at mboucher@gannett.com.
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/nws-confirms-third-nw-louisiana-tornado-following-tuesday-storms/7324392001/
| 2022-04-14T23:25:11
| 0
|
https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2022/04/14/nws-confirms-third-nw-louisiana-tornado-following-tuesday-storms/7324392001/
|
Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, once one of Long Island's most powerful elected officials, was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for what a prosecutor described as “widespread corruption and dishonesty.”
Mangano, who was convicted in 2019 on corruption charges related to his relationship with businessman Harendra Singh, defended his actions at his sentencing in federal court on Long Island, according to Newsday.
“I haven’t been able to say anything in the last seven years and I just want you to know the type of people we are,” Mangano told U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack. He said he and his wife, Linda, who was also charged in the case, were “not conspiring people" but "caring people.”
But Azrack told Mangano, “Your crimes were motivated by greed."
“You were the Nassau County Executive and had tremendous political clout,” the judge said. “You were the Nassau County Executive and you led by your corrupt example.”
Prosecutors said that Mangano, a Republican, used his influence as the county’s top elected leader to help Singh get loan guarantees from the Town of Oyster Bay. They said he received gifts in exchange for including a no-show job for Linda Mangano as a food taster at Singh’s restaurants.
Linda Mangano was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and lying to the FBI about her employment.
“In my heart I just can’t agree with it,” she told the judge. “I have been portrayed to be lazy, uncooperative and a liar … that is not who I am.”
Afterward, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace made a lengthy statement, saying Edward Mangano “gave Nassau residents widespread corruption and dishonesty instead of truth and integrity.”
“The disgraceful and greedy conduct of the Manganos has been exposed and punished,” he added. “And the same fate awaits those in public service who abuse their positions to serve themselves and not the people.”
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-nassau-county-exec-ed-mangano-sentenced-to-12-years-for-bribery-corruption/3647253/
| 2022-04-14T23:25:11
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/former-nassau-county-exec-ed-mangano-sentenced-to-12-years-for-bribery-corruption/3647253/
|
A teenager was stabbed by Manhattan store manager after stealing from the shop, police said.
The incident occurred just before 3 p.m. near 100 Delancey Street in the Lower East Side, according to police, where a Duane Reade pharmacy is located. Police did not confirm whether the incident took place inside the store, however.
A 16-year-old allegedly stole from a store, and the manager in turn stabbed him, police said. The teen was initially taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition, but police later described his condition as stable.
The store manager was in police custody, but information regarding charges was not immediately clear. It was also unclear if the teen would face charges as well.
Police said that the incident occurred between two different stores, but were still investigating to determine what may have happened.
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/teen-stabbed-by-store-owner-after-stealing-from-lower-east-side-shop-police/3647152/
| 2022-04-14T23:25:17
| 1
|
https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/teen-stabbed-by-store-owner-after-stealing-from-lower-east-side-shop-police/3647152/
|
ARKANSAS, USA — If you are a hunter, turkey season is almost underway in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
In Oklahoma, you can start hunting turkey on Saturday, April 16, and in Arkansas on Monday, April 18.
“Nothing gets your hair standing up like a gobbler in a tree,” said Beauchamp Jansen.
Avid hunter Beauchamp Jansen says turkey hunting is something he and his family always look forward to every year.
“It makes me crazy every time I hear it. The closer you get; they are a lot louder than you realize. Those birds can make some crazy noises. Even just hearing the hens cluck and purr in the trees just trying to group up with other ladies. All the different sounds they make, it just amazes me,” said Jansen.
In Arkansas, hunters can only harvest two turkeys and after the first one, hunters have to wait seven days to harvest another one. Hunters in Oklahoma will only be able to harvest one turkey this year because of the declining population.
Jack Jansen says he and his brother and excited to head to Oklahoma to hunt this weekend.
“Going out early morning, it’s still dark out and the turkeys are roosted up in the trees and just start gobbling all over the place and you just here them…and just sitting there getting pumped up. Just hearing those birds gobble and waiting for them to come in, strike a little call and see what happens. A lot of anticipation and excitement,” he said.
Steve Dunlap is the program coordinator at the Ozarks Highland Nature Center in Springdale and he says with all hunting safety is very important. He encourages hunters to wear orange of some type when walking to and from their hunting spot and suggests using hen calls instead of gobbler calls to keep hunters safe.
If you want to know where the best place is to find a turkey, Dunlap has some suggestions.
“What hunters need to be looking for are roosting sights which are tall trees because the turkeys like to get up in the trees at night. And then open areas for the quart ship and the strutting and also these open areas are good for them to find their food and water,” said Dunlap.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says more than 6,700 turkeys were harvested last season and they expect even more to be harvested this year.
In Oklahoma, hunting season opens this Saturday, April 16, and ends a month later on May 16th. In Arkansas, the season opens on Monday and closes on April 26th in Benton and Washington Counties. For all the other counties in our area, it closes on May 8th.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/turkey-season-opening-soonsome-new-rules/527-3c897f49-6654-4cc6-a142-db1f45bd2794
| 2022-04-14T23:30:46
| 1
|
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/news/local/turkey-season-opening-soonsome-new-rules/527-3c897f49-6654-4cc6-a142-db1f45bd2794
|
TUPELO • It’s a new phase of growth for El Centro.
Thursday afternoon, students, teachers, and state, local and federal leaders gathered inside the nonprofit after-school program's new classroom as AT&T donated 15 Dell computers as one of AT&T’s 20 Connected Learning Centers nationwide. The communications company will also provide three years of internet access over fiber and WiFi. El Centro also received a $50,000 grant.
El Centro, started in 2006, is a free resource that provides after-school tutoring and services to integrate the Northeast Mississippi Hispanic population and local residents.
“It opens up a lot more possibilities for us, and for us to be able to tell the community, whatever you have a need for, we can provide it,” El Centro Director Allen Bradford said of the donation.
The computers come with pre-installed software, such as the free digital learning platform The Achievery, free digital literacy courses and workshops created with the Public Library Association. AT&T created the Connected Learning program in response to COVID-19 and the need to bridge the digital divide, said AT&T Mississippi president Mayo Flynt.
“We believe that this type of infrastructure will be able to help Leticia and Allen and the other volunteers in their mentoring and after school educational efforts,” Flynt said.
AT&T has also pledged to spend $2 billion to help address the digital divide, a term used to describe the gap between demographics and regions that have access to technology like modern computers and high speed internet and those who do not.
The company’s efforts are designed to help address the overall need to make connectivity available for the entire nation, said U.S. Senator Roger Wicker in his comments.
For its K-6 students, El Centro helps with homework because it can be difficult for students, especially those who grow up in primarily bilingual homes and communities, Bradford said. During the pandemic, they saw some fall even farther behind when learning at home.
“I’m excited about our kids. They’re eager to learn, they’re bright,” Bradford said. “However, our school system isn’t really catered towards (being) bilingual . . . so it excites us to think that we’re helping them on this side with education.”
The Tupelo Public School District is supportive, providing teachers for the tutoring program. It’s recently increased its number of teachers from three to five with the help of a grant.
Thanks to the Early Childhood Coalition, El Centro has a reading program for its K-5 students. Tutors drop by the school for an hour three days each week. Each student receives a scripted lesson. Students commit to five semesters.
El Centro growing
While El Centro experienced a funding decrease during the pandemic, the program has continued to grow.
El Centro sees 35 to 40 students on Tuesdays and Thursdays, up from 16 students during the pandemic. The group is also serving children outside the Tupelo city limits in Verona and Saltillo.
El Centro also serves teens, largely helping with homework and projects one-on-one with Gassaway. Many grew up in the younger tutoring program.
In March, the group moved to a bigger room, still located within the Link Centre on the second floor. It opens the ability to invite more children into the program and start additional programming for teens and adults, such as starting a chess club, sponsoring seminars on college preparedness and career opportunities, and having specialized classes for standardized tests like the ACT.
As a community resource, El Centro plans to provide informational sessions and seminars.
The donated computer lab will allow El Centro to track students’ growth. They will offer myON, a personalized digital library that students can do both at El Centro and at home. Students will receive incentives to use the program. Gassaway hopes it will allow them to broaden tutoring classes.
“We’re finally in a situation where we can do the programs that we really want to do,” Gassaway said.
The lab will also be set up to help adults, such as making use of English language learning software such as Rosetta Stone, offering English and Spanish classes, bringing citizenship classes onsite and hosting office hours to help.
For Gassaway, the El Centro of today is a far cry from where it started 16 years ago, when it was a struggle to keep the program afloat. Each time they’ve had a need, partners like AT&T have stepped forward to provide.
“That goes to the recognition of our program, our efforts,” Gassaway said. “They’re finally being recognized not only in the community, but hopefully beyond that because our children and their parents greatly appreciate what we do.”
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-bilingual-after-school-program-el-centro-celebrates-growth/article_e7048da8-87a0-5740-b693-9314e5ac9a97.html
| 2022-04-14T23:43:49
| 1
|
https://www.djournal.com/news/local/tupelo-bilingual-after-school-program-el-centro-celebrates-growth/article_e7048da8-87a0-5740-b693-9314e5ac9a97.html
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.