Boy killed in drive-by shooting possibly meant for former tenants
An 11-year-old who was sleeping at his new home in Texas was killed in a drive-by shooting — and cops are probing whether tenants who just moved out were the intended target, according to reports.
Kamren Cassius Jones was fast asleep in a room with several other children when he was struck by one of numerous bullets sprayed into the house in suburban Houston early Sunday.
His family had only moved into the house a few months ago and authorities are looking into whether the previous renters were the actual targets, cops told ABC13.
“There was a lot of activity, and possible criminal activity, going on prior to that,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez told the station.
Gonzalez said it appeared an assault rifle had been used.
The youngster was pronounced dead at the scene. None of the other children in the room were injured.
“This is a tragic, a senseless, a sad situation,” Gonzalez said in a video tweeted out by the sheriff’s department Sunday morning. “This is a child. And these are cowards that shoot into a home. They could have killed and injured a lot more people — there were several other children sleeping in that same room. We’re going to do all we can to bring justice to this 11-year-old that lost his life this morning so tragically.”
Neighbor Donna Patterson recalled waking to the sound of nearly two dozen shots.
“There were 22 shots in perfect timing. Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, 22 loud. I just thought, ‘oh my gosh, are they coming through the house?’” Patterson told KPRC.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/06/10/boy-killed-in-drive-by-shooting-possibly-meant-for-former-tenants/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/gofundme
Brooklyn Street Where Notorious B.I.G Grew up Is Renamed for the Late Rapper
Just weeks after what would have been his 47th birthday, a street in Brooklyn, New York, was renamed on Monday for the late rapper The Notorious B.I.G.
The Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation previously announced that the stretch of St. James Place between Gates Avenue and Fulton Street will be renamed Christopher Wallace Way, according to KTLA sister station WPIX in New York City.
A large crowd gathered in the rain to witness the ceremony, video from the scene showed.
The block is where the rapper grew up and the initiative to change the name was approved by the Brooklyn Community Board 2 back in November.
“Honoring Biggie symbolizes more than just one man,” LeRoy McCarthy, who spearheaded the initiative, told Rolling Stone at the time. “It symbolizes a culture. It symbolizes a borough. It symbolizes a people, and hip-hop is worldwide.”
The Notorious B.I.G. — also known as Biggie Smalls and born Christopher Wallace — was 24 years old when he was gunned down in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Napa Boy, 9, Pays Off Lunch Debts for Entire 3rd Grade Class With His Allowance
A 9-year-old Napa boy used his allowance to pay off his fellow classmates’ outstanding lunch debts.
According to San Francisco television station KGO, cooking and mealtime are important to Ryan Kirkpatrick’s family. After a discussion with his mother about some students being unable to afford school lunches, Ryan decided he wanted to help.
He asked his mother, Kylie Kirkpatrick, to find out how much money his fellow third-graders at Napa’s Park Elementary School owed in lunch debt.
She in turn emailed the school to inquire.
“It was I think $74.50,” Kylie told KGO. “So I took that email and came to Ryan and said, ‘What do you want to do?’ and he said, ‘I guess I can pay for it.’ I said, ‘Are you sure?’ And he said, ‘Yes.'”
Ryan then used his allowance money — which normally would’ve been used on sports gear — to pay off all his classmates’ outstanding debts anonymously.
Depending on income levels, meals at Ryan’s school range in price from 30 cents to $3.25 each. District policy requires students to receive a meal even if they have a “negative lunch account,” KGO reported.
Ryan said he just wants his classmates to know they are cared about and hopes knowing that will make them feel happy.
via: https://ktla.com/2019/06/10/9-year-old-boy-pays-off-lunch-debts-for-entire-3rd-grade-class/
Photo Credit: ktla.com
Video Shows Florida Burger King Employee Using Mop to Clean Tables
An employee was caught on camera cleaning tables with a mop at a Burger King in St. Johns County, Florida, Jacksonville television station WJXT reported.
A customer recorded the video Thursday of an employee using the mop to clean tables in the kids’ area.
The customer said just minutes prior, she saw the same employee mopping the floors.
“I was just disgusted, honestly,” customer Katie Duran told WJXT. “I had just eaten on that table. Did you do that yesterday? Do you do this every night? Did you do this, this morning?”
The restaurant’s inspection reports with the state show eight violations, including vents in the kitchen containing mold and the interior of the freezer soiled with food residue.
The company called the worker’s actions “unacceptable” and said the owner of the Burger King will be re-training the restaurant staff.
via: https://ktla.com/2019/06/10/burger-king-employee-caught-on-camera-mopping-tables/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Teen Hospitalized After Being Sexually Assaulted While Walking Home From School in Santa Ana
A 17-year-old girl was hospitalized after being physically and sexually assaulted while walking home from school in Santa Ana on Monday morning, and police are searching for two men in connection with the brutal attack.
Paramedics responded to the 1300 block of East McFadden Avenue after the victim called to report the assault, which took place around 11:15 a.m., according to Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
The teen was transported to a local hospital where she was being treated for “significant” injuries, including head and sexual assault trauma, Bertagna said. She’s in stable condition.
The victim was headed home from Century High School when she was attacked, according to investigators.
She was walking along Edinger Avenue near the railroad tracks when she was physically and sexually assaulted by two men, Bertagna said. The men are both described as being in their late 20s to early 30s, possibly transients.
It was not immediately clear if the attack happened on the train tracks.
Police are also looking into whether the assault is related to an incident that took place overnight in the 1000 block of North Lincoln Street.
“In that case, a suspect described as a male Hispanic in his 30s, possibly homeless, entered the residence – I’m not sure through what means – goes into the 15-year-old daughter’s bedroom, crawls into bed with her and begins fondling her,” Bertagna told KTLA.
The girl woke up and then screamed, prompting her mother to come to her aid. The man, meanwhile, fled the home, which is also near the train tracks.
The two incidents took place about 25 miles apart.
Detectives were interviewing the first victim when they heard about the second sexual assault, according to Bertagna.
He noted that it is also possible the two cases are unrelated.
No additional information was immediately released about either case.
Photo Credit: ktla.com
O.J. Simpson living in ‘no negative zone’ 25 years after deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson, Ronald Goldman
Article via USAToday
LOS ANGELES – After 25 years living under the shadow of one of the nation’s most notorious murder cases, O.J. Simpson says his life has entered a phase he calls the “no negative zone.”
In a telephone Interview, Simpson told The Associated Press he is healthy and happy living in Las Vegas. And neither he nor his children want to look back by talking about June 12, 1994 – when his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, were killed and Simpson quickly was transformed in the public mind from revered Pro Football Hall of Fame hero to murder suspect.
“We don’t need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives,” Simpson said. “The subject of the moment is the subject I will never revisit again. My family and I have moved on to what we call the ‘no negative zone.’ We focus on the positives.”
For a man who once lived for the spotlight, Simpson has been keeping a largely low profile since his release from prison in October 2017 after serving nine years for a robbery-kidnapping conviction in Las Vegas. He continues to believe his conviction and sentence for trying to steal back his own memorabilia were unfair but says, “I believe in the legal system and I honored it. I served my time.”
After his release from the prison in Lovelock, Nevada, many expected him to return to Florida where he had lived for several years. But friends in Las Vegas persuaded him to stay there despite the case that landed him in prison.
He’s glad he did.
“The town has been good to me,” Simpson said. “Everybody I meet seems to be apologizing for what happened to me here.”
His time in the city hasn’t been without controversy, however. A month after his release an outing to a steakhouse and lounge at the Cosmopolitan resort off the Las Vegas Strip ended in a dispute. Simpson was ordered off the property and prohibited from returning.
No such problems have occurred since, and Simpson is among the most sought-after figures in town for selfies with those who encounter him at restaurants or athletic events he attends occasionally.
He plays golf almost every day and said he is a member of a club of “retired guys” who compete with each other on the golf course. The knees that helped him run to football glory at the University of Southern California and with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills have been replaced and he recently had Lasik surgery on his eyes. But nearing his 72nd birthday, he is otherwise healthy.
Simpson said he remains close to his children and other relatives. His parole officer has given him permission to take short trips including to Florida where his two younger children, Justin and Sydney, have built careers in real estate.
His older daughter, Arnelle, lives with him much of the time but also commutes to Los Angeles.
“I’ve been to Florida two or three times to see the kids and my old buddies in Miami. I even managed to play a game of golf with them,” he said. “But I live in a town I’ve learned to love. Life is fine.”
He also visited relatives in Louisiana, he said, and spoke to a group of black judges and prosecutors in New Orleans.
Recently, a family wedding brought his extended family to Las Vegas including his brother, Truman; sister, Shirley; and their children and grandchildren. Simpson’s first wife, Marguerite, mother of Arnelle, also joined the group.
The glamor of his early life is just a memory.
After his football career, Simpson became a commercial pitchman, actor and football commentator. He was once a multimillionaire but he says most of his fortune was spent defending himself after he was charged with the murders.
His televised “Trial of the Century” lasted nearly a year and became a national obsession. He was acquitted by a jury in 1995 and has continued to declare his innocence. The murder case is officially listed as unsolved.
The families of the victims subsequently filed a civil suit against him, and in 1997 a civil court awarded a $33.5 million judgment against him for the wrongful deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman. Some of his property was seized and auctioned but most of the judgment has not been paid.
Simpson declined to discuss his finances other than to say he lives on pensions.
Red Sox legend Ortiz stable after shooting in DR
Article via ESPN
Former Boston Red Sox slugger and Dominican star David Ortiz is out of surgery and doing “fine,” according to his family, after he was shot Sunday at a club in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Ortiz’s media assistant, Leo Lopez, told ESPN’s Enrique Rojas that Ortiz is stable but still in intensive care.
“Doctors say he is out of danger, but he is heavily sedated and will be in intensive care for the next 24 hours,” Lopez said.
Lopez, a veteran reporter, said the operation lasted six hours and was performed by three doctors, led by Dr. Abel Gonzalez. The team had to remove part of Ortiz’s intestines and colon, as well as his gallbladder. Ortiz suffered liver damage.
“Doctors say that David is out of danger, thank God,” Ortiz’s father, Leo Ortiz, told ESPN. “What they have told me post-op is that the doctors believe he will recover quickly.”
Leo Ortiz added: “Big Papi will be around for a long time.”
Authorities say Ortiz was ambushed by a man who got off a motorcycle and shot him in the back at nearly point-blank range around 8:50 p.m. local time Sunday at the Dial Bar and Lounge in Santo Domingo.
Ortiz, 43, was taken to the Abel Gonzalez clinic, where he underwent surgery.
The gunman was identified as Eddy Feliz Garcia, 25, according to police spokesman Col. Frank Duran Mejia. Dominican National Police Director Ney Aldrin Bautista Almonte said Garcia was captured and beaten by a crowd of people at the bar. He suffered a cranium contusion and trauma to his thorax, left knee and right leg, according to the Dominican Republic’s National Health Service. He was treated at the Dario Contreras Hospital in Santo Domingo and then released to police custody.
Investigators are trying to determine whether Ortiz was the intended target, Bautista said. Leo Ortiz told local media he has no idea why someone would have shot at his son.
Two other people were wounded, Bautista said, including Jhoel Lopez, a Dominican TV host who was with Ortiz. Bautista said police believe Lopez was wounded by the same bullet.
Lopez was shot in the leg, and his injuries were not life-threatening, said his wife, Liza Blanco, who is also a TV host.
Police did not identify the third person or detail that person’s injuries.
Dionisio Soldevila, a reporter from the Dominican who hosts a radio show with ESPN’s Rojas, told ESPN that he spoke with the doctor who first treated Ortiz and was told Ortiz was shot in the lower back and that the bullet went through his body. According to Soldevila, Ortiz told his doctors, “Please don’t let me die. I’m a good man.”
The Dial Bar and Lounge is located in eastern Santo Domingo on Venezuela Avenue, a bustling nightlife district packed with dance clubs and pricey bars that Ortiz is known to frequent. Ortiz, who lives at least part of the year in the Dominican, is often seen getting his cars washed and hanging out with friends, including other baseball players, artists and entertainers.
Hall of Fame pitcher and fellow Dominican Pedro Martinez was among several current and former baseball players to send out tweets in support of Ortiz.
Ortiz, who was born in Santo Domingo, played major league baseball for 20 seasons and was best known for the 14 years he spent with Boston.
The Red Sox issued a statement late Sunday night that said in part, “We have offered David’s family all available resources to aid in his recovery and will continue to keep them in our hearts.”
Ortiz made 10 All-Star teams and won three World Series with the Red Sox before retiring in 2016. He was named World Series MVP in 2013, when he helped the Red Sox knock off the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2.
Big Little Lies: Coffee Shop (Season 2 Episode 1 Clip) | HBO
Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling book, and featuring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Laura Dern, Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and Meryl Streep, the darkly comedic Big Little Lies tells the tale of three mothers whose seemingly perfect lives unravel to the point of murder
Coffee chain starts charging for disposable cups in Gatwick Airport to persuade consumers to use reusable ones.
Article via Bloomberg
Starbucks Corp. this month will begin a first-of-its kind trial of reusable cups at London’s Gatwick airport.
People drink a lot of coffee at airports. Gatwick says it already recycles a majority of the 7 million disposable coffee cups that travelers use each year. The airport wants to improve on that, and reusable cups potentially have a lower carbon footprint than paper cups.
The funding for the airport trial grew out of a program Starbucks launched last year that added a 5 pence (6 cent) surcharge for disposable cups in U.K. shops. The money raised was donated to environmental charity Hubbub, which is running the program at Gatwick.
“Transport hubs such as airports and railway stations are areas with a lot of footfall and not a very high use of reusable cups,” said Trewin Restorick, chief executive officer and co-founder of Hubbub. The airport is a good place to learn more about whether consumers can be incentivized to reuse cups.
Starbucks locations at the airport will charge customers 5 pence for disposable cups while offering a reusable cup for free. Even if just 250 customers a day opt for a reusable cup, more than 7,000 cups could be saved in the monthlong trial, Starbucks estimates. The company plans to track the number of returned cups, experimenting with different collection points to maximize the return rate.
“What will be really interesting is to see where the cups end up,” said Jaz Rabadia, senior manager of energy and sustainability at Starbucks in the U.K.
Indian court jails 3 for life in rape case in Kashmir
Article via ABCNews
A court on Monday sentenced three Hindu men, including a police officer, to life imprisonment for kidnapping, raping and murdering an 8-year-old Muslim girl in Indian-controlled Kashmir, in a case that has exacerbated tensions in the disputed region.
Judge Tejwinder Singh sentenced three other policemen to five years in prison for destroying evidence, prosecutor Santokh Singh told reporters. The judge acquitted another defendant due to insufficient evidence.
An eighth suspect, a minor, will be tried separately by a juvenile court, Santokh Singh said.
The girl, who was a member of a nomadic tribe, was grazing her family’s ponies in the forests of the Himalayan foothills when she was kidnapped in January 2018. Her mutilated body was found in the woods a week later.
The case sparked protests across Kashmir, a Muslim-majority region where rebels have been fighting for years for independence or unification with Pakistan and there is great distrust of the government.
Singh said prosecutors plan to appeal to a higher court and seek the death penalty for the three defendants who received life sentences.
Thousands of members of a radical Hindu group had demanded the release of the defendants, insisting they were innocent.
The trial was shifted to Pathankot, a town in neighboring Punjab state, following accusations that local Hindu leaders and politicians were trying to block the investigation.
The prosecution said the girl was raped in a small village temple in Kathua district after having been kept sedated for four days, and was then bludgeoned to death.
The girl’s father, Mohammed Akhtar, told The Associated Press by phone that the men should be “punished speedily, not just convicted.”
“Our family has gone through hell,” he said. “Our hearts are bleeding. These beasts should be hanged.”
India has been shaken by a series of sexual assaults in recent years, including the gang rape and murder of a student on a New Delhi bus in 2012. That attack galvanized a country where widespread violence against women had long been quietly accepted.
While the government has passed a series of laws increasing punishment for rape, it’s rare for more than a few weeks to pass without another brutal sexual assault being reported.