Man stabs Lyft driver, female passenger in NJ
CLARK, N.J. — Authorities say a rideshare driver and a female passenger were stabbed and seriously injured by a male passenger who then drove off but was captured when he crashed on the Garden State Parkway.
The attack occurred in Clark around 1 a.m. Wednesday.
The 47-year-old Lyft driver had picked up the 20-year-old woman and 27-year-old Farrakhan Howard in Bloomfield and was headed to Woodbridge when Howard allegedly started stabbing them with a screwdriver. After the woman and the driver got out, Howard allegedly drove off in the vehicle but soon crashed in Woodbridge.
The two victims were found lying in the street, suffering from stab wounds and numerous cuts. Both were hospitalized in serious condition, but their names have not been released.
Howard faces numerous counts, including carjacking, robbery and weapons counts. It’s not known if he’s retained an attorney.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/04/25/authorities-man-stabs-lyft-driver-female-passenger-in-nj/
Lego releases Braille bricks to teach blind and visually impaired children
(CNN) — Lego has unveiled a new project aimed at helping blind and visually impaired children learn Braille in a “playful and engaging way.”
Lego Braille Bricks, a concept originally proposed to the toy company by two charities, will allow children to learn the touch writing system through play.
The bricks, which will launch fully in 2020, feature the studs used for characters in the Braille alphabet, as well as printed characters allowing sighted people to read the bricks. They will be “fully compatible” with existing Lego bricks, the company said in a press release.
The Danish Association of the Blind suggested the concept to the Lego Foundation in 2011, while the Dorina Nowill Foundation for the Blind, based in Brazil, proposed the bricks in 2017.
A spokesperson for Lego told CNN that the company had gone on to develop prototypes with both organizations, as well as the British charities Leonard Cheshire and Royal National Institute of Blind People, and the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted.
The final set will comprise approximately 250 bricks, covering the complete Braille alphabet, numbers from zero to nine, math symbols, as well as “inspiration for teaching and interactive games.”
Braille Bricks are currently undergoing testing in schools in Portuguese, Danish, English and Norwegian, while Spanish, French and German versions will be tested later this year.
They will ultimately be distributed free of charge to institutions through the partner organisations.
Philippe Chazal, treasurer of the European Blind Union, said in a statement: “With thousands of audiobooks and computer programs now available, fewer kids are learning to read Braille.”
“This is particularly critical when we know that Braille users often are more independent, have a higher level of education and better employment opportunities,” Chazal continued. “We strongly believe Lego Braille Bricks can help boost the level of interest in learning Braille, so we’re thrilled that the Lego Foundation is making it possible to further this concept and bring it to children around the world.”
Only 10% of visually impaired children in the US are now learning to read Braille, a 2009 study from the National Federation of the Blind found. According to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), 1,077 children in England were learning Braille in 2017, out of an estimated 21,900 visually impaired children in the country — just under 5%. However, the real figure is likely to be higher, an RNIB spokesperson explained, as there is no official register for Braille learners.
David Clarke, director of services at the RNIB, said in a statement that the bricks would “improve education for children with vision impairment and encourage inclusion.”
“Thanks to this innovation, children with vision impairment will be able to learn braille and interact with their friends and classmates in a fun way, using play to encourage creativity while learning to read and write,” Clarke added.
Morten Bonde, the senior art director for the Lego Group who is losing his sight to a genetic eye disorder, said in a statement: “Experiencing reactions from both students and teachers to Lego Braille Bricks has been hugely inspirational and reminded me that the only limitations I will meet in life are those I create in my mind.”
“I am moved to see the impact this product has on developing blind and visually impaired children’s academic confidence and curiosity already in its infant days,” Bonde said.
Couple filmed sex abuse of dozens of children, including babies, prosecutors say
DALLAS (AP) — A Texas couple were sentenced Wednesday to 60 years each in prison for filming themselves sexually abusing kids, a case that prosecutors say involved more than two dozen young victims including babies.
A federal judge in Waco gave Christopher Almaguer and his wife Sarah Rashelle Almaguer the maximum prison sentences. They had pleaded guilty in October to one count each of sexual exploitation of children and production of child pornography.
Paul Perez Jr., Christopher Almaguer’s brother, also was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of receiving child porn.
The Almaguers filmed themselves sexually assaulting at least 25 children — ranging in age from 8 months to 14 years old — including members of their own family, children they baby-sat for and kids from their Central Texas church, federal prosecutors said. Court records say the 27-year-olds were the legal guardians of at least one of the children.
“The sexual abuse involved here is the most indescribable abuse imaginable,” John Bash, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, said Wednesday, adding that Almaguers are “probably two of the worst criminals in the history of Texas.”
U.S. District Judge Alan Albright also sentenced Perez and both Almaguers to a lifetime of supervised release and ordered each of them to pay $10,000 to a victims’ compensation fund.
State and federal law enforcement officials arrested the Almaguers last year in their hometown of Killeen, a city about 70 miles (110 kilometers) north of Austin, after receiving an anonymous tip to an online child exploitation hotline.
Bash said it’s unknown how many people the Almaguers sent their child porn to online.
“These kids’ suffering and abuse will continue for their entire lives because those images will be continually shared online,” he said.
Metro East man sentenced after bragging about high-speed chase on Facebook
CAHOKIA, Il. (KMOV.com) — A Metro East man has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison after leading police on a high-speed chase and bragging about it on Facebook.
Lee Nichols, 35, was driving a Corvette in Dupo on June 21, 2017, when an officer attempted to pull him over sometime around midnight.
Nichols fled, later saying in a Facebook post he reached speeds 120 miles per hour.
Police called off the pursuit for safety, but the officer recognized Nichols and applied for arrest warrants.
Nichols posted on social media two hours later about his escape, bragging about the chase.
A week later, he uploaded a video to Facebook talking about his pursuit and claiming he would do it again. He also threatened to hurt any officer who got in his way.
On July 16, an off-duty Dupo officer recognized Nichols in a bar in Columbia, Illinois.
The officer contacted on-duty cops and Nichols was arrested.
He had methamphetamine and a Colt .22 on his person during the arrest. Having been convicted of aggravated assault in 2003, Nichols was legally barred from owning a firearm.
Thursday, he was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison.
Parents vote on removing Michael Jackson’s name from L.A. school auditorium
Article via LATimes
Gardner Street Elementary School is undergoing a most unusual soul searching this week, weighing whether to break a symbolic link with pop star Michael Jackson, whose name is on the auditorium of the Hollywood campus.
A man in a white T-shirt and tan shorts said he was conflicted.
“I’ve tried to digest this,” said the man, whose daughter is a fifth-grader at the school. “I’ve grappled with it and I haven’t come to any decision.”
“The documentary was a dark thing,” he said. “And I believe the two men. But his music still lives. My gosh, people love his music. It’s a huge joy for them.”
He walked away shaking his head.
The documentary is “Leaving Neverland,” which aired on HBO in March and portrays Jackson through the eyes of Wade Robson and James Safechuck, two men who allege Jackson sexually abused them when they were children. Jackson was never charged with molesting either.
Still, the broadcast was deeply unsettling for parents and staff at Gardner, who are voting this week on whether to banish Jackson’s name.
The documentary should not convict Jackson in the eyes of the Gardner community, said Howard Weitzman, who represents Jackson’s estate, which has sued HBO.
“It would be a terrible shame to remove Michael’s name from the auditorium based on an intentionally one-sided film,” Weitzman said. “There is no fair consideration when you only hear from one side. Michael Jackson is not guilty, and he, like all citizens, is entitled to the presumption of innocence.”
The man in shorts requested anonymity because he knew people who worked for the Jackson estate and said he couldn’t afford to damage personal and professional relationships. Gardner has a sizable contingent of parents in the entertainment industry, who know its dark and light sides.
Their presence at Gardner represents something of a middle-class resurgence at the diverse campus, where families speak languages from across the globe and range widely across the spectrum of prosperity.
Outside the campus Tuesday morning, some parents or grandparents replied in broken English that they didn’t know enough to comment. Others said they wished the school could be left alone to settle the matter out of the spotlight.
Jackson long has been a small but significant piece of the school’s history, starting as an 11-year-old, when he attended the school for several months — before stardom whisked him away and ended any semblance of a normal childhood. He returned to the school in 1989, to celebrate the naming of the auditorium.
It has been a subject of pride or embarrassment and a regular tourist stop for out-of-towners.
The issue has divided the campus, which is nestled on a quiet street just north of Sunset Boulevard in the flats below the Hollywood Hills. For some, the path ahead is clear.
“The name probably should be taken down,” said parent Robert Fitzgerald. “It’s just not appropriate for an elementary school. The documentary painted the picture pretty clearly.”
Fitzgerald, who spoke after dropping off his daughter for kindergarten, found the accusers believable and felt “disgust” toward Jackson.
But Myreon Arslan said he voted to keep the name.
“There are people in this country who have done worse things to the country that have been convicted and that still have their names on buildings,” Arslan said. “The gentleman’s passed away. His name’s been on that building for, God only knows, more than 20 years, I think.
“We have people like President Trump, who’s assaulted women, and he becomes president of the United States,” Arslan added.
(Trump has denied the numerous allegations of assault and improper conduct levied against him. He has not been charged in connection with any alleged acts.)
Voting among parents began April 10 and 11 and will resume Wednesday and Thursday. Staff members have been able to vote by picking up ballots in the office.
One teacher said she did not want a name on the school “that is associated with allegations of pedophilia.” She declined to give her name because she wasn’t authorized to speak. Principal Karen Hollis also declined to be interviewed, but she had lots of hugs for students and parents as she waved students across a crosswalk before school.
District officials said Tuesday they would follow the lead of the Gardner community, but school board member Nick Melvoin, who represents the school, said “the figures whose names adorn our school buildings should be held to the same standard of values that we wish to impart on our students.”
He added, “Many of his alleged victims were the same age as the students who gather in that auditorium daily.”
So indeed was Jackson when he enrolled after his family moved in 1969 from Gary, Ind., to Los Angeles. Family members were staying in the nearby home of famed Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. The youngest of the Jackson Five attended school only briefly before the group — comprising Michael and four older brothers — scored a hit record, and that was it for public school.
His association with a local campus was so brief that Jackson is not included in an authoritative online site of famous students from the L.A. Unified School District. But Jackson attended the 1989 dedication of the spruced-up auditorium in his name.
Jackson, dressed in a tight-fitting black-and-red outfit with silver buckles and a thick silver belt, walked onstage to loud applause and scattered screams. A school chorus performed his song “We Are the World.”
“I am deeply touched and honored that the PTA, principal and faculty members and students have been so kind as to dedicate the auditorium, where I sat as a child, in my honor,” Jackson said. “We must all never forget that the children are our future and without them humankind will become extinct.”
After receiving the key to the school, Jackson was escorted by security to Room 8, his former classroom, where he autographed the wall. As he walked, he flashed the peace sign and blew kisses to children.
Since then, Jackson’s evolving reputation has made for an on-, off-, on- and off-again love affair with the school. Some parents complained about the name on the auditorium in 1993 — just four years after the dedication — when word leaked that Jackson was under investigation for his conduct with a boy. Jackson settled out of court with his accuser and prosecutors filed no charges.
In 2003, district officials ordered that Jackson’s name be covered with plywood — but not removed — after Jackson was arrested on charges of sexually abusing another boy. He was found not guilty following a criminal trial in 2005.
In 2010, a year after Jackson’s death from an accidental drug overdose at age 50, school district officials ordered the covering removed — amid much celebration from Jackson fans.
The man in the shorts, a longtime area resident, remembers feeling mixed emotions.
“To me it was a little strange when the sign came back up,” he said. “The general feeling was that there was something weird going on here.”
Parent Maria Frank said she’d love to see the end of the association and all the distraction that came with it.
But another parent, Meredith Patterson Brayley, opposed removing the name. She felt that weight should be given to the fact that Jackson was tried and acquitted in the 2005 case. She felt the documentary was not enough despite content that she agreed was “shocking.”
“It’s a dangerous road we are going down,” she said.
Heather Fox, parent of a kindergartner, supported removing the name from the auditorium but said it was important for people to separate the art from the artist.
She admires Jackson’s music, Fox said. “I still believe he should be recognized for his place in music history.”
Parents were making their way to home and work, and school was getting started when the man in the shorts returned.
“I’ve made up my mind,” he said. “The name needs to come down.”
Florida House passes bill requiring felons to pay court fees before voting
Article via The Hill
The Florida House on Wednesday passed a bill that would require felons to pay all court fees and costs in addition to restitution before becoming eligible to vote.
The measure, which would significantly curtail a state constitutional amendment that restored voting rights to felons who have been released from prison, passed 71-45 along party lines, according to The Miami Herald.
The newspaper noted that measure’s approval would likely set up a dispute between Florida’s lower chamber and the state Senate.
The Senate version of the bill enforcing Amendment 4 is only requiring felons to pay restitution, as long as the court fees and fines have been converted to a civil lien. The measure has yet to be heard by the Senate.
The bill’s passage on Wednesday comes months after Florida voters approved an amendment automatically restoring voting rights to approximately 1.5 million felons in the state.
Former offenders who have completed “all terms of their sentence including parole or probation” had their voting rights automatically restored in January. The legislation does not apply to Floridians convicted of murder or sexual offenses, however.
Those cases will reportedly be considered individually by the state’s Clemency Review Board.
The new measure to curb the rights is facing criticism from Democratic lawmakers in Florida, as well as on the national stage. State Rep. Adam Hattersley (D) described the House bill as a “blatantly unconstitutional” poll tax after the measure was approved by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee in March.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), a 2020 presidential candidate, slammed the bill as a “poll tax” in a tweet on Wednesday.
State Rep. James Grant (R), the bill’s sponsor, has contended that the measure clarifies the ballot proposal that voters supported last November. He’s also argued that Amendment 4 advocates testified before the Supreme Court that fees and fines are a part of a sentence, according to The Tallahassee Democrat.
Callichimaera Perplexa: Bizarre ‘Platypus of the Crab World’ Discovered From 95 Million Years Ago
Article via Newsweek
Researchers have discovered a “unique” 95-million-year-old crab species that casts new light on the evolutionary history of crustaceans.
An international team, led by paleontologist Javier Luque from Yale University, found the unusual specimen—dubbed “Callichimaera perplexa”—in Colombia alongside several other well-preserved fossils in rocks dating back to the mid-Cretaceous period (90-95 million years ago).
The fossil cache included numerous shrimp fossils and other marine creatures, but Callichimaera was by the far the most intriguing, according to the researchers. They described the animal in a study published in the journal Science Advances.
“Callichimaera perplexa is the strangest—and cutest—crab yet discovered,” Luque told Newsweek. “It is in a way like the ‘platypus’ of the crab world. A truly perplexing beautiful chimera, as its name indicates. This new discovery is one of the most exciting fossil findings in the tropics in the last decade. It reveals a long-gone branch in the crustacean tree of life that has never been seen before.”
Furthermore, it was the first arthropod—a large group of animals that includes lobsters, crabs, spiders, mites, insects, centipedes and millipedes—to evolve swimming oar-like legs since the disappearance of “sea scorpions” more than 250 million years ago, according to Luque. In addition, its unique body form “pushes the textbook definition” of what a crab is.
The strange animal was very small—about the size of a quarter—and featured large compound eyes with no sockets, bent claws, leg-like mouth parts, an exposed tail and a long body—traits that are characteristic of crab larvae. The researchers say that several larval traits may have been retained in the animal in a process that could have led to the evolution of novel body plans.
“Callichimaera hints at how novel forms can evolve via the retention and amplification of larval traits in miniaturized adults during development,” Luque said.
“Usually we think of crabs as big animals with broad carapaces, strong claws, small eyes in long eyestalks, and a small tail tucked under the body. Well, Callichimaera defies all of these ‘crabby’ features and forces a rethink of our definition of what makes a crab a crab,” he said in a statement.
The unusual body plan of the newly discovered species provided the inspiration for its name, which derives from the word “chimera”—a mythological creature that contained body parts from more than one animal.
The fossil cache in which Callichimaera was found was first discovered by chance in 2005 when Luque was an undergraduate student studying geology in Colombia.
“During a field expedition, a friend and I were doing geological mapping of an area in the Andes,” he said. “After a long day of walking through the mountains we sat on a hill to take a break. It was already late in the afternoon, and I just decided to swing my hammer one more time to check the rocks we were sitting on. It was there that I discovered a layer in the rock with hundreds of fossils of marine creatures—most of them crustaceans of different shapes and sizes—and among them the ‘beautiful chimera’ that is the focus of our study today.”
“The rocks from where these specimens come were deposited during the mid-Cretaceous in a relatively shallow and narrow inner sea that ran all the way from Venezuela and Colombia to Peru and Bolivia,” he said. “That is why we find marine fossils in rocks that are today in the middle of the Andes.”
In total, the researchers collected more than 70 individual specimens of Callichimaera, including males, females, babies and adults. Despite their small size, the fossils were preserved in “exquisite detail,” including body parts like antennae, sexual appendages, mouth parts and even large eyes.
“It is very exciting that today we keep finding completely new branches in the tree of life from a distant past, especially from regions like the tropics, which despite being hotspots of diversity today, are places we know the least about in terms of their past diversity,” Luque said.
Tiger attacks Arizona animal sanctuary director, former Las Vegas illusionist
Article via ABCNews
Jonathan Kraft, the director and founder of Keepers of the Wild, was moving the 11-year-old tiger to a safer area during a heavy rainstorm and was attacked by the normally docile animal.
“Jonathan was concerned for the welfare of several large cats in his approximate area including the tiger and took unilateral action to allow them access to protection from the elements,” the sanctuary said in a statement on Wednesday. “During that process, a safety protocol had obviously failed resulting in the incident.”
Kraft was flown to a hospital in Las Vegas where he was treated for “multiple wounds and two broken bones.” The sanctuary said he will take several months to recover.
The tiger, Bowie, was taken into the sanctuary last year after previously being owned as a pet. The animal was declawed as a cub and had difficulty walking, the sanctuary said.
The sanctuary said in its statement that Kraft “made the decision to shift Bowie’s gates to allow him access to his den box area. During the process, the usually docile behaving Bowie exhibited unusual conduct by suddenly pushing the gates prior to Jonathan being able to secure the safety clips.”
Bowie bit down on Kraft, before other staffers freed him from the tiger’s jaws.
The tiger will not be euthanized, the sanctuary said.
Keepers of the Wild is a nonprofit that cares for 150 exotic animals, including tigers, lions, leopards, bears and wolves. The facility is open to visitors, but was being closed due to the storm, the sanctuary said.
The facility was established in 1995 in Las Vegas, but later relocated to rural Valentine, Arizona, about two hours southeast of Las Vegas.
Kraft previously worked as an entertainer on the Las Vegas Strip, appearing in shows with two tigers he trained starting as cubs. He initially started the sanctuary as a place for retired animals from stage shows and eventually decided to cut animals out of his shows entirely.
The sanctuary said it was conducting an internal investigation into the accident.
The attack was the second by a tiger in a matter of days in the U.S., after a zookeeper at the Topeka Zoo was mauled on Saturday. The keeper, identified as Kristyn Hayden-Ortega on Tuesday, was removed from the intensive care unit a day after the attack and is expected to make a full recovery from puncture wounds to her head, neck, back and arms.
World Health Organization says no screen time for babies
The World Health Organization has issued its first-ever guidance for how much screen time that children under five should get: none!
Rico Nasty and Kenny Beats – Cold [Official Audio]
Rico Nasty’s album Anger Management is out now!