Suspect shoots, wounds at least six ‘people of color’ in Italian city amid tensions
A man draped in Italy’s tricolor flag wounded at least six “people of color” in a drive-by shooting in a central Italian city on Saturday before being detained, authorities said. The suspect had been a candidate for the anti-immigrant Northern League party in municipal elections last year, according to a party spokeswoman.
The suspect’s motive in the shootings in Macerata was not known, but a young Italian woman was gruesomely murdered in the city this past week, allegedly by a Nigerian immigrant, prompting a wave of anger in a nation where many were already seeking to reduce the entry of migrants.
The attack’s connection to the Northern League was likely to unsettle Italy as it approaches national elections on March 4. Far-right groups have been gaining in the polls, and the Northern League looks as though it may have a chance to govern as a junior member of a coalition with other right-wing parties.
A police spokesman said that 28-year-old Luca Traini was detained near Macerata’s central war memorial early Saturday afternoon. A handgun was in the suspect’s car, and the green-white-and-red flag of Italy was tied around his shoulders, the official said. Traini admitted his guilt as he was arrested, added the spokesman, who declined to be publicly identified under ground rules set by the force. The five men and one woman who were shot were expected to recover, Macerata Mayor Romano Carancini said.
Local news outlets said that the man was detained after he stepped out of his black Alfa Romeo 147 near the memorial, gave a fascist salute, and shouted “Italy for the Italians.” It was not clear whether the victims were Italian citizens.
After the attack, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni called on political leaders on all sides to stop a “cycle of violence.”
“Let’s stop this risk, let’s stop in now, let’s stop it together,” he said in a nationally televised statement from his residence, the Palazzo Chigi, in Rome. “Hate and violence won’t be able to divide us.”
Large numbers of migrants began sailing across the Mediterranean toward Italy after Libya plunged into lawlessness and civil war following the 2011 downfall of Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi. More than 620,000 migrants, many of them African, have arrived in Italy since the beginning of 2014, contributing to a growing sense among Italians that the country was taking in far more people than it could handle.
Anti-immigrant sentiment has become a main theme in the campaign leading up to next month’s elections. Northern League leader Matteo Salvini has vowed to expel 150,000 immigrants from Italy and close the country’s borders to most new arrivals.
The murder in Macerata this past week of 18-year-old Pamela Mastropietro drew national attention to the city of 43,000 and added fuel to the debate on migration. On Wednesday, her dismembered remains were found packed into two suitcases. A 29-year-old Nigerian man, Innocent Oseghale, was charged with her murder.
“What was this maggot still doing in Italy? He wasn’t fleeing war, he brought war to Italy,” Salvini wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
The suspect in Saturday’s shooting ran as a Northern League candidate last June for a seat on the municipal council of Corridonia, a town of 15,000 people just south of Macerata, according to a Northern League spokeswoman who spoke on condition that her name not be used. She said that the party was conferring about how to respond to the news.
Four current California lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct since 2006, none punished
Records on a dozen sexual harassment allegations made public by California state legislative leaders detail complaints against former and current lawmakers, including a candidate for governor.
The California Senate and Assembly on Friday released documents dating back more than decade that show a combined 18 substantiated or well-founded sexual harassment complaints lodged against state politicians and top staffers.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen was among three other current lawmakers named in the unprecedented document release.
Allen, a state assemblyman from Huntington Beach, was accused of making repeated physical contact that left a staff member feeling “uncomfortable” back in 2013.
The female staffer outlined several occasions during which Allen seemed to stand unnecessarily close to her, according to the records. She also recalled a briefing during which the Governor-hopeful “slid his foot over so that it was touching hers.”
She additionally reported “another woman in the off ice” described to her a handshake with Allen during which he continued to hold onto her hand and “petted it.”
The complaints against Allen came just two months after he was sworn in as an assemblyman.
Jon Waldie, at the time chief administrative officer for the State Assembly, informed Allen two women had “preceived him as being too familiar and it was making them feel uncomfortable.”
Waldie continued on to remind Allen “to be very conscious of his conduct.”
Allen released a statement Friday through his spokeswoman, pushing back against the allegations. He told the Los Angeles Times he was “shocked” when he first learned of them in 2013 and believes their release was politically motivated.
“The release of this unsubstantiated complaint is a political attack by a Democrat-led committee,” he said. “I’m sure I’ve shaken many people’s hands, tapped many people on the shoulder, and have even tapped people’s feet accidentally. But there has never been anything in my actions that has been inappropriate, and nor will there ever be.”
The records also name state Sens. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) as well as Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Marina del Ray) and former Assembly Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) — who resigned last year following a series of misconduct allegations from several women.
Mendoza last week was suspended amid an investigation into allegations that he behaved inappropriately with a woman who worked with him 2010.
Burke acknowledged participating in a conversation about anal sex after a complaint was filed against her late last year, according to the documents. There did not appear to be any type of official punishment.
Hertzberg, known for greeting people with hugs, said he would no longer do so after three female staffers told the Sacramento Bee it made them uncomfortable. His nicknames include “Hugsberg” and “Huggy Bear.”
He said the instance described in the documents was “a settled matter from several years ago” and vowed to work toward making the Capitol “safe and accountable workplace for all.”
Article via: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/current-california-lawmakers-accused-sexual-misconduct-article-1.3796950
Colorado teacher accused of assaulting student who wouldn’t stand for the Pledge of Allegiance
A teacher with Colorado’s Boulder Valley School District was placed on paid administrative leave following an alleged incident at the middle school, the school district said Thursday. CBS Denver confirmed the Lafayette Police Department is investigating reports that teacher allegedly assaulted a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
Karen Smith, Angevine’s physical education teacher, was placed on leave Thursday.
The school’s principal, Mike Medina, sent a letter home to parents Thursday evening notifying them there had been an “incident” involving Smith but said he could not elaborate.
The Lafayette Police Department responded to an incident at the school around noon Thursday.
A parent waiting to pick her child up at Angevine Friday afternoon told CBS Denver that her daughter knows Smith as a “strict” teacher but has never had an issue.
Two other parents who spoke to CBS Denver off camera said they believe the story has been “blown out of proportion” and expressed disappointment.
The school is working closely with the Lafayette Police Department on the investigation. For now, it has hired a substitute teacher to take Smith’s place.
No charges have been filed.
Airline faces backlash for sexy in-flight fashion show
On Tuesday, aviation authorities fined budget airline Vietjet 40 million dong ($1,761) after lingerie-clad models put on a sultry in-flight fashion show for a soccer team.
Vietnam’s under-23 men’s team was returning home after losing to Uzbekistan in the Asian Cup on Sunday, Reuters reports.
Photos of the models and players surfaced online after the flight, where they sparked controversy.
“Who let these escaped chimpanzees on the plane welcome home the under-23 team?” wrote one Facebook user.
Vietjet, which has gained flak in the past for sending flight attendants into the skies in bikinis, has apologized for the gaffe.
“This was an improvised performance by the logistics team that was not part of the company’s program,” Vietjet executive Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao writes on the company’s Facebook page.
But model and DJ Lai Thanh, who participated in the fashion show, tells Reuters that a Vietjet rep told her to “grab a photo with the players.”
The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam also fined the flight’s chief stewardess the equivalent of $175 for the stunt.
“Despite the fact the Vietjet event didn’t jeopardize the safety of the flight, it could still have posed a safety risk,” they write in a statement.
Of course, not everyone is appalled by the stunt.
“Did it perk up the guys?” one Twitter user writes. “If it did, then the work the girls put into getting all dolled up was worth it for them.”
via: https://nypost.com/2018/02/02/airline-faces-backlash-for-sexy-in-flight-fashion-show/
CDC: 16 more children dead from flu, peak still to come
There were 16 flu-related deaths reported this week by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Friday in the weekly flu report. This brings the total number of pediatric flu-related deaths to 53 for the season which began in October.
Worst in years
Circulating virus strains
Michigan man says his dog was approved for unemployment benefits
SAUGATUCK, Mich. – A Michigan man says he received a letter notifying him that the family dog had been approved for state unemployment benefits.
Michael Haddock joked to WZZM that his German shepherd Ryder is currently out of work, saying “I understand he was let go from his last position in Rochester Hills, Michigan.”
Haddock said he received a letter from Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency notifying him that a “Michael Ryder” was approved for $360 a week in benefits. The employer cited in the letter was a Detroit-area restaurant chain. Haddock wrote on Facebook:
So my dog Ryder gets approved for unemployment benefits of 360 per week. I call the state and get a voice mail they are busy, call back. Not sure what he is going to do with the money but should be interesting. I knew he was clever but he surprised me on this one.
The Saugatuck father said he has no idea how scammers got his dog’s name, but, after calling UIA, Haddock says the agency’s system flagged the claim and sent a second letter denying the benefits.
State Administrator of Investigations Tim Kolar told WZZM in a statement:
“Unfortunately, Michael Ryder’s claim will not be allowed. I know first-hand it is rare for ‘man’s best friend’ to contribute financially to the household and that will continue in this instance.”
It’s not the first time that Michigan’s UIA has made headlines. The agency announced in August, 2017 that it would be reversing 44,000 jobless fraud cases and refunding $21M after its computer system mistakenly accused people of stealing unemployment monies.
via: http://pix11.com/2018/02/02/michigan-man-says-his-dog-was-approved-for-unemployment-benefits/
Groundhog Day: Punxsutawney Phil Predicts 6 More Weeks Of Winter
We’re in for six more weeks of winter, at least if you take your meteorological cues from a woodchuck.
According to his handlers, Punxsutawney Phil has seen his shadow.
For most of the year, Phil is mainly a local attraction. But every February 2, the groundhog and his handlers – known as the “Inner Circle” – have their day. Thousands of people travel to Punsxutawney annually to witness Phil’s Groundhog Day weather forecast. If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. If not, we’re in for an early spring.
John Griffiths has been a member of Phil’s Inner Circle for 20 years. His duties include everything from preparing the groundhog’s lunch to handling him on the big day. But despite his long relationship with Phil, Griffiths says he does not get inside information on the groundhog’s big prediction.
“Absolutely not!” Griffiths insists, scandalized at the question. “My gosh.”
We tried to nudge Phil and Phyllis for a sneak preview about this year’s forecast, but they only replied with a few sniffs of the microphone.
A.J. Dereume is a newer member of the Inner Circle. He says there are many pretenders, but Phil is the only real weather-forecasting groundhog in the world. So they like to recognize his stature by donning formal wear for his public appearances.
“As we consider him, he is the king of the animal kingdom,” Dereume says. “We have to honor him, and we do that with the tuxedos and top hats.”
Phil’s Inner Circle insists the same groundhog has been making the prediction for more than 130 years. The secret? A special drink called the “elixir of life”. One sip gives Phil another seven years. But what’s in it? John Griffiths won’t say.
“It’s a secret that’s been passed down from handler to handler for generations,” he claims.
Gobbler’s Knob, a clearing outside Punxsutawney, Pa., is the site of the annual Feb. 2 event, where Phil the groundhog predicts whether there will be an early spring or six more weeks of winter.
Anne Danahy/WPSU
Another secret is how Phil gets from his home at the library to the big event at Gobbler’s Knob, a clearing in the woods outside of town. Griffiths like to say Phil is taken by way of secret tunnels to throw off anyone who might be following them.
“It’s like a catacomb down there,” he deadpans.
The tunnels are…unconfirmed. But however Phil travels to Gobbler’s Knob, after he arrives, he awaits his big moment inside a hollowed-out tree stump with a nameplate that says “PHIL”.
At about 7:25 a.m., Bill Deeley, the president of the Inner Circle, taps on the door three times. Phil is brought out, and it’s up to Deeley to decipher whether Phil has seen his shadow. Griffiths says a cane made from the wood of an acacia tree allows the Inner Circle president to translate Phil’s forecast.
Griffiths says there’s a common misunderstanding about how Phil communicates. “[Deeley] doesn’t speak to Phil,” he explains. “He interpretswhat Phil says, through a series of whistles and clicks and any kind of noise that he makes.”
The prediction, Griffiths says, is right every time.
Article via: https://www.npr.org/2018/02/01/582448208/groundhog-day-behind-the-scenes-with-punxsutawney-phils-inner-circle
2-year-old girl allegedly filmed in sex act by family members – attempted to sell video to undercover agent
A Montgomery County man and his wife are behind bars, accused of filming a 2-year-old family member engaging in a sex act.
Undercover investigators uncovered photographic evidence of the couple’s alleged crimes.
Federal investigators arrested Janel Trahan in Orange, Texas on January 23. She is accused of sexually assaulting the baby girl and capturing it all on video.
Janel’s husband, John Trahan, was arrested on the same day in Montgomery County by deputy constables.
He is being held on a $150,000 bond and is charged with the promotion of child pornography.
Janel Trahan is in the custody of the Department of Homeland Security on an unknown bond.
She has been charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child and promotion of child pornography.
The child is in the custody of Child Protective Services.
via: http://abc7chicago.com/2-year-old-girl-allegedly-filmed-in-sex-act-by-family-members/3019180/
Father accused of dropping ‘vaping liquid’ into 9-week-old baby’s mouth
RACINE, Wis. – A Wisconsin father is accused of child abuse after prosecutors say he dropped “vaping liquid” into the mouth of his 9-week-old son.
Dustin Appenzeller, 30, faces one count of physical abuse of a child, intentionally causing bodily harm.
Police were dispatched to a home on Thunderbird Dr. near Erie St. early Thursday for a report of a 9-week-old infant experiencing a medical emergency, according to a criminal complaint. Police say the child had been given “vaping liquid” used in e-cigarettes by his father.
Investigators spoke with a witness who said she woke up to someone saying, “Oh my god! What did you do? What did you do?” The infant was found in a bedroom with her father, “foaming at the mouth” and apparently having a seizure. An ambulance took the child to the emergency room.
The complaint indicates Appenzeller told investigators he gave the child “a couple drops” of vaping liquid. When asked why Appenzeller said “I don’t know. He was crying. I was really tired.” Appenzeller seemed “calm and unconcerned” when speaking with investigators, according to the complaint.
A bottle of vaping liquid was found in Appenzeller’s pocket, and he indicated this was the vaping liquid he gave the child. It was sent to the hospital for use by doctors in contacting Poison Control Center officials.
The infant was later transferred to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
Another unidentified person in the home told investigators the baby was hungry, so she asked Appenzeller to get him a bottle while she used the restroom. When she went into the bedroom, she saw Appenzeller using the dropper top of the vaping liquid bottle to drop liquid into the infant’s mouth. She told police she said “Oh my god! What did you do?” to which Appenzeller replied, “I’ve done it before. It’s fine.”
She said the baby was having difficulty breathing and was foaming at the mouth. Appenzeller then said “I’m sorry. I’m tired,” according to the complaint. The child’s mother then called 911.
Appenzeller made his initial appearance in court Feb. 1. Cash bond was set at $5,000, and a preliminary hearing was scheduled for Feb. 8.
Maryland women locked up kids, made them eat dog feces
SALISBURY, Md. — Three children in Maryland were beaten and reportedly locked up and fed on bread and water, oatmeal and sometimes dog feces, authorities said Wednesday.
Amanda R. Wright, 29, and Besline Joseph, 25, both of Mardela Springs, were arrested Wednesday and charged with multiple counts of child abuse involving the children in their custody.
Investigators determined the three victims, ages 8, 9 and 10, lived with Wright and her live-in girlfriend, Joseph.
The investigation has revealed that since late spring or early summer of 2017, the three children endured physical beatings on a number of occasions from both suspects, according to police, and the beatings are believed to have been inflicted with hands, extension cords, belts, sticks and other objects.
The children sustained bloody noses, bruises and cuts, police said. The investigation also revealed Wright and Joseph assaulted the children multiple times with an electronic control device.
Wright and Joseph are charged with three counts each of first-degree child abuse, second-degree child abuse, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless endangerment, neglect of a minor, stalking, use of a dangerous weapon with intent to injure, false imprisonment and one count each of causing ingestion of a bodily fluid, preventing/interfering with report of suspected child abuse or neglect, and conspiracy to commit first degree child abuse.
On Friday, Maryland State Police got information on allegations of child abuse involving the suspects.
The Maryland State Police Criminal Enforcement Division immediately started an investigation, in cooperation with Child Protective Services personnel assigned to the Wicomico Child Advocacy Center, police said.
Based on the allegations, Child Protective Services officials removed the three children from the home the night the investigation began and have asked state police not to release additional details that may identify the children.
Earlier this month, authorities in California discovered 13 siblings being raised in appalling conditions. In that case, officials said David and Louise Turpin, of Perris, Calif., kept their children in filth, chained to furniture and denied them food.
One of the children, age 17, managed to escape and call 911.
In July, authorities removed five children from a home in Accomack County on the Virginia Shore, saying Malista Ness-Hopkins, 39, of Mears was keeping two toddlers in makeshift cages.
All the children were living in filth, with dirty diapers, lice and insect bites, according to social workers and an investigator.
A social worker said one of the children hissed at her and made “animal sounds” as she worked to get the girl out of her cage.
Ness-Hopkins was indicted in October on five counts of child abuse.