October 31, 2021

Killed in seconds: why did the FBI shoot Jonathan Cortez in an Oakland corner store?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/oct/30/jonathan-cortez-fbi-shooting-oakland

Killed in seconds: why did the FBI shoot Jonathan Cortez in an Oakland corner store?


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Killed in seconds
Surveillance video recorded from across the street on the day Cortez was killed shows an officer drive up in what appears to be an unmarked car to the Upstairs Underground Smoke Shop, the corner store on Fruitvale Avenue below Nguyen’s apartment.


The grainy footage, which was shared with the Guardian, shows the officer running in with his gun drawn. More cars with officers pull up.

An FBI spokesperson later said the officer shot Cortez eight seconds after entering the store.

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The Oakland police department, which is investigating the killing and has footage from inside the shop, refuses to release it. The department declined the Guardian’s request for comment.

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‘They are harassing our family’
Since the shooting, various members of Cortez’s family have alleged both state and federal law enforcement agencies have mistreated them.

October 30, 2021

The Man Defending the Texas Abortion Law at the Supreme Court Is Truly Awful

Here is a non-exhaustive list of Mitchell’s retrograde view to keep in mind when reading coverage of the Supreme Court arguments.

Mitchell Hates Birth Control and Non-procreative Sex

In a March 2020 class action lawsuit challenging the Obamacare birth control coverage requirement, Mitchell said birth control isn’t preventive care because it’s not needed to prevent pregnancy when women can just close their legs instead:

“Contraception and sterilization are simply devices that enable women who do not wish to become pregnant—but who are unwilling to refrain from sexual intercourse—to engage in sexual intercourse while greatly reducing their risk of pregnancy.”

If the Court does as he wishes and overturns Roe, he reiterated his view that women who don’t want children can simply stop boning: “Women can ‘control their reproductive lives’ without access to abortion; they can do so by refraining from sexual intercourse.” Please note the total erasure of the impregnating parties from this picture.

Mitchell Hates LGBTQ rights

Not a fan! In his brief in the Mississippi case, he claimed that sex with a same-sex partner (Lawrence v. Texas, 2003) and marriage equality (Obergefell v. Hodges, 2015) are court-invented rights that are “just as lawless as Roe” and invited the court to overturn them alongside Roe. He has referred to LGBTQ people as engaging in “homosexual behavior” and “homosexual conduct” and during a 2018 Federalist Society forum, he called transgender people “transgendered,” a term that GLAAD says artificially separates trans from lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer. They note that you wouldn’t call Elton John “gayed.” Also in 2018, he represented a group seeking exemptions to anti-discrimination rules so they could refuse to hire LGBTQ people it if counters their religious beliefs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-man-defending-the-texas-abortion-law-at-the-supreme-court-is-truly-awful/ar-AAQ6FzF?ocid=msedgntp

October 30, 2021

Former '19 Kids and Counting' Star Jim Bob Duggar Announces Run for Arkansas State Senate

Jim Bob Duggar, best known as the patriarch of the Duggars family, is reentering the political arena with a bid for the Arkansas State Senate’s 7th District.

The father of 20 made the announcement on the family’s official Facebook page on Friday.


“I am honored to announce my candidacy for Arkansas State Senate District 7,” he shared in a statement. “Northwest Arkansas is my lifelong home. It’s where my wife Michelle and I have raised our 20 children. It’s where we’ve grown our small businesses. It’s where we’ve built a life centered around our faith, family, and friends.”

The 56-year-old real estate developer attributed his decision to “unprecedented times in our nation.”

“The foundational principles that have made our nation great are under threat like never before,” the statement continued. “Now more than ever, we need a bold voice that is pro-family, pro-business, pro-gun and pro-life. It’s time for conservatives to demand courageous leadership that puts Arkansas families, jobs, and our constitutional liberties first. I look forward to being your voice in the Arkansas State Senate.”

This isn’t Duggar’s first political rodeo. The reality star previously served in Arkansas’ House of Representatives from 1999-2002. When his term ended, Duggar sought election to the United States Senate and lost the Republican nomination to then-incumbent Tim Hutchinson. Four years later, he attempted his first run for the Arkansas State Senate, and was defeated in the Republican primary.


https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/former-19-kids-and-counting-star-jim-bob-duggar-announces-run-for-arkansas-state-senate/ar-AAQ767z?ocid=msedgntp

October 30, 2021

Fresno pool technician kills family dog

Pool Worker Admits to Killing Family's Dog After Video Shows Him Stuffing Body Into Trash

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Garcia reported the incident to police and an investigator soon called to inform her that Cumpton had allegedly confessed to the killing. The investigator said that Cumpton admitted to strangling Artie after becoming angry when he was bitten while trying to force the dog back inside the house through a dog door.

Cumpton offered to provide the family with a written apology but Garcia rejected the offer. She reportedly described Cumpton as a "monster," while admitting that he would likely not "get what he deserves" because of "the way the law works." Although the outcome of any criminal prosecution is yet to be seen, the incident resulted in Cumpton at least temporarily being out of a job.

"We have since suspended the employee pending the results of the Fresno Police Department's investigation," Pure Water Pools, Cumpton's employer, said in a statement. "We will continue to work with authorities to ensure that this incident is handled appropriately and that justice is served."

Cumpton was released from jail on Friday, telling KGPE that he "absolutely" regretted his actions and asking the Garcia family to forgive him. He insisted that he will "look to be a better person from here on out."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/pool-worker-admits-to-killing-family-s-dog-after-video-shows-him-stuffing-body-into-trash/ar-AAQ74lu?ocid=msedgntp

October 30, 2021

Riverside 'fortune teller' arrested for grand theft; police confiscate snake, cash, voodoo doll

A Riverside man who billed himself as a "fortune teller" has been arrested after allegedly defrauding multiple victims, including one woman who ended up paying him more than $50,000 after he told her that she and her family were "cursed," authorities said Friday.


Riverside 'fortune teller' arrested for grand theft; snake confiscated
Andres Pena Meneses, 31, was booked on suspicion of grand theft and theft by false pretenses, both felonies, according to the Riverside Police Department. He was released after posting $57,000 bail.

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"Detectives learned a female victim visited the business to have her fortune read," the statement said. "The suspect was described as a Columbian national who went by the name 'Carlos,' convinced the victim she had parasites in her body, to which she paid him several hundred dollars to clear her of."

The man later contacted the woman and "explained she and her family were cursed and he needed more money to rid her of it," authorities said. The victim ultimately paid "Carlos" more than $50,000 after he convinced her that her children were also in trouble.


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According to police, several customers arrived at the business while the search was being conducted and told investigators that Meneses had instructed them to bring their bed mattress from home.

Meneses and his staff would allegedly "cut open the mattress and claim to have found the live snake inside with demonic type items and letters stating the victims' family was in danger," the news release said. The snake apparently was a small pet python whose carrying container was found inside the business during the search.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/riverside-fortune-teller-arrested-for-grand-theft-police-confiscate-snake-cash-voodoo-doll/ar-AAQ6YuJ?ocid=msedgntp

October 30, 2021

Millennium Tower: Expert Says Repair Work on SF High-Rise Should Stop

October 30, 2021

New Orleans man gets nearly $30,000 returned to him after it was seized by DEA agents at the airport

A New Orleans man will have nearly $30,000 returned to him after it was seized by DEA agents at the Columbus International Airport in Ohio last year.

According to a settlement agreement signed Thursday, the federal government agreed to dismiss its civil forfeiture case.

Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents seized $28,180.00 of Kermit Warren's money at the Columbus airport last November while Warren was traveling home after inspecting a tow truck he considered buying for his scrapping business, according to a release from the Institute for Justice, a non-profit whose lawyers helped Warren reach a settlement in the case.

According to the Institute for Justice, Warren was never arrested or charged with a crime and the seizure "was based on vague innuendo and baseless accusations that the money was connected to drugs."

The US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Ohio filed a civil forfeiture lawsuit to keep the money in April, arguing the "currency is forfeitable to the United States (...) because it represents property furnished or intended to be furnished in exchange for a controlled substance, represents proceeds traceable to such an exchange, or was used or intended to be used to facilitate any violation of 21 U.S.C. 841 or a conspiracy to commit such offense," according to the settlement.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/29/us/new-orleans-shoeshine-money-returned/index.html

October 29, 2021

neighbor shot kid because he was angry about bikes left on sidewalk in front of home.

Michigan Family Sues Neighbor After 6-Year-Old Shot While Picking Up His Bike

https://twitter.com/tariqnasheed/status/1402486943263256586


The family of a 6-year-old boy who was shot in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, earlier this year has filed a lawsuit against their neighbors, TMZ reported. According to the family, Coby Daniel was shot in front of the home of Michigan Family Sues Neighbor After 6-Year-Old Shot While Picking Up His Bike


Le-Nguyen allegedly chased the child with a sledgehammer and shot him in the arm because he was angry about children leaving their bikes on the sidewalk in front of his home. The family is now seeking $4 million in damages. They say the neighbors should have known children in the neighborhood played near their yard and they should have kept it safe for them.


Le-Nguyen is also accused of showing "aggressive behavior" toward children several times in the past.

Security video from one of the houses shows multiple children frantically running away after hearing shots in the neighborhood. The children then call for help after noticing that Coby had been shot.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/michigan-family-sues-neighbor-after-6-year-old-shot-while-picking-up-his-bike/ar-AAQ6Yp1?ocid=msedgntp

October 29, 2021

Separated at border: negotiations to pay out minimum $900,000 per family. Repubs weighing in

repubs making this a big issue this morning. people flipping out in comments following some articles I read. Wondering what DU thinks.

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WASHINGTON — Thousands of migrant parents and children separated from each other at the U.S. border by Trump administration policies may soon be eligible for hundreds of thousands of dollars per person in compensation, according to three sources familiar with ongoing negotiations in a lawsuit brought on behalf of separated families.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Thursday that the Biden administration is in talks to offer separated migrant parents and children around $450,000 per person. That would mean that if a parent and a child were separated at the border, together they would be eligible for a combined payment of $900,000.

The talks are part of negotiations between the Justice Department and lawyers representing the separated families in a number of tort cases that have claimed the families experienced harm when they were forcibly separated.


The sum total of the payments remains unknown as negotiations continue, the sources said. But if enough parents and children are located, one source said, the U.S. government could be paying out hundreds of millions of dollars to compensate these families for what they went through.

Under former President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy in 2018, and a pilot program in 2017, more than 5,600 children were separated from their parents simply because their parents crossed the border illegally with them. Until the policy, crossing the border illegally, a misdemeanor under U.S. law, did not result in parents who crossed with children being federally prosecuted and therefore separated from their children.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-may-pay-millions-migrant-families-separated-border-under-n1282670

October 29, 2021

attack one of "worst in airline's history". she bumped his seat, he punched her face

REVEALED: Female AA flight attendant punched and left with broken bones 'was attacked by male first class passenger for bumping into his seat' as CEO brands violent incident one of worst in airline's history

American Airlines' CEO called Wednesday's attack on a female flight attendant 'one of the worst' in the airline's history after a male passenger assaulted her

The incident occurred on a flight from New York City JFK to Orange County, California, causing the Airbus plane to be diverted to Denver

The flight attendant allegedly bumped into the passenger, who has yet to be named, before apologizing

However, the passenger then pursued her down the aisle and punched her twice in face - leaving her with broken bones on her face and nose
A picture appears to show the man being duct-taped to a seat by crew members
The flight was met at the gate by law enforcement who arrested the man, who has not been named
The flight attendant was transported to a local hospital, while American Airlines said has banned the man and will prosecute 'to the full extent of the law'





https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10144859/American-Airlines-flight-diverted-class-passenger-PUNCHED-female-attendant-face.html