Uber driver admits to smoking meth and marijuana before picking up passenger
OHNSON COUNTY, Ind. (WXIN) – An Indianapolis Uber driver was arrested and accused of OWI and meth possession while working.
The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office charged 56-year-old Mark Allen Atchison with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
On November 10, an officer with the New Whiteland Police Department pulled Atchison over for speeding on U.S. 31 in New Whiteland.
The officer reported the smell of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle and asked Atchison and his passenger to provide identification.
Atchison’s backseat passenger told the officer she did not have her identification, adding that Atchison was her Uber driver, which he confirmed.
The officers asked Atchison about the marijuana smell, and he said someone had been smoking in his car earlier in the day, documents say. When the officer said he was going to conduct a search of the car, and he asked Atchison if he would find anything, Atchison allegedly told the officer there was a meth pipe in his car.
Officers said they found various containers with a white crystal-like substance, white powder residue, and green residue. They also found various devices believed to be drug paraphernalia.
Police say Atchison admitted to smoking meth and marijuana approximately 90 minutes before the officer stopped him.
After conducting field sobriety tests and submitting to a blood draw, the officer arrested Atchison.
“The purpose of ride sharing is to avoid this exact scenario. I take a dim view of when someone is being responsible and doing the right thing and then endangered by someone else’s actions,” said Prosecutor Joe Villanueva.
Meth possession is a level 6 felony and has a sentencing range of six months to 2 1/2 years with a presumptive sentence of 1 year and a fine of up to $10,000.
The other charges are class C misdemeanors, and have a sentencing range of 0 to 60 days and a fine of up to $500.
An Uber spokesperson issued this statement:
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for any alcohol or drugs on the app, which all drivers agree to when they sign up. After becoming aware of this report, this individual’s access has been removed from the app.”
Uber’s policy states if you suspect your driver to be under the influence you should cancel the ride and ask to get out. It says to call 911 and report them to Uber.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
Arizona Cop Violently Attacks A Black Teen With No Arms Or Legs The teen has been charged
Disturbing video has surfaced of a Pima County deputy brutally attacking a 15-year-old quadruple amputee in Arizona. The child has no arms and legs and he has been arrested and charged along with his 16-year-old friend who recorded the horrific video.
Local news outlet KOLD reported the incident happened in September (the exact date of the video is not clear) while the 15-year-old was living in a group home. He reportedly got upset with a staff member and knocked over a garbage can. The police were called and an unidentified (social media will surely change that) deputy arrived on the scene. The eight-minute video shows him screaming and cursing at the child and eventually wrestling him to the floor.
Both teenagers were arrested on disorderly conduct charges.
Joel Feinman, the Pima County Public Defender, condemned the officers involved.
“Men with badges should not be acting this way,” he said. “Men and women who do act this way should not have badges and guns.”
Social media has been outraged by the story.
“Man with no arms or legs gets the police called on him for KICKING over a trash can,” one person tweeted.
Another user said, “Is no one off limits? This deputy would have got jumped for this now we just accept it. Cops are literally murdering black citizens in cold blood, they are beating toddlers up, wheelchair bound citizens, aushwitz survivors, punching pregnant women and we are just taking it. Why?”
One comment called for the employee who called the police to lose his or her job.
“Give the details of the worker,” the comment said. “They need to be fired. No more working with teens. Or anyone in need of help. Go work at McDonald’s.”
The video is deeply disturbing and we can only hope the police officer will be held accountable. However, Arizona is known for rewarding its aggressive police. In May of 2018, Robert Johnson was in the lobby of an apartment complex in Mesa and was pummeled by police. However, it was ultimately ruled that the officers involved were justified in the brutal beating that was caught on camera.
With that said, there is still hope for justice. The Phoenix Police Department recently fired an officer who threatened to shoot a Black family over a doll. It took five months for that cop to be terminated, though.
Photo Credit: newsone.com
Colorado officers who shot and killed fleeing teen won’t be charged
The Colorado police officers who shot and killed a teen this summer while he was running away from them will not be charged with a crime, a report said Wednesday.
A grand jury in Colorado Springs unanimously concluded that cops were justified in killing 19-year-old De’Von Bailey, who was armed with a handgun, in August shooting, the Denver Post reported.
The decision was announced by the local district attorney, who told reporters the case “was a horrible tragedy for our community.”
The officers who shot Bailey responded to the scene on Aug. 3 after receiving a report of a suspect with a gun in the area.
The cops asked Bailey and another man to hold their hands above their waists so they could check them for weapons, body camera footage of the incident shows.
As one of the officers approached Bailey from behind to search him, he sprinted off, the video shows. The cops chased after him, repeatedly yelling for Bailey to get his hands up.
They then opened fire, hitting Bailey in the back. Bailey collapsed at the scene and the officers searched him, discovering the handgun tucked in his shorts, the video shows.
The killing touched off protests across the state over the summer as the video of the shooting drew national headlines.
A lawyer for the Bailey family said his relatives were “extremely disappointed” with the grand jury decision, the Denver Post reported.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/13/colorado-officers-who-shot-and-killed-fleeing-teen-wont-be-charged/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
A third of Americans avoid going to certain places because they fear mass shootings, survey finds
(Meredith) — A third of adults in the United States fear mass shootings so much that they avoid going to certain places, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by the American Psychological Association and the Harris Poll, interviewed 2,017 U.S. adults in August.
The survey found:
- 79 percent are stressed about the prospect of a mass shooting
- 32 percent said they can’t go anywhere without fearing they will be a victim of a mass shooting
- 33 percent avoid going to certain places or events
Only one in five adults (21 percent) said they do not experience stress about the prospect of a mass shooting.
When asked which public places they fear a mass shooting could happen at:
- 53 percent said a public event
- 50 percent said a mall
- 42 percent said a school or university
- 38 percent said a movie theater
The study also found that black and Hispanic people fear the possibility of mass shootings more than white people. The survey was conducted just a few days after the El Paso mass shooting on Aug. 3 that killed 22 people and injured 24 others. The suspect in that shooting told authorities he specifically targeted Hispanics.
Women are stressed more often than men about the possibility of a mass shooting (85 percent to 71 percent), according to the survey. Further, parents with children under 18 are twice as likely to fear mass shootings than those without children under 18. Also, 62 percent of parents said they live in fear that their children will be victims of a mass shooting.
In a separate November 2019 study, the American Psychological Association found that more Americans are stressed about the possibility of a mass shooting than about health care (71 percent to 69 percent). That study also found that stress about acts of terrorism, climate change and sexual harassment are on the rise.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
T.I.’s Wife Lands In Hot Water After Answering This About Deyjah’s Hymen
T.I.‘s wife didn’t need to go to the gynecologist to show that she’s ride or die for her man because Tiny Harris just responded to fans asking about her stepdaughter’s hymen and it’s clear she’s got her man’s back. The 44-year-old mom of four has found herself under fire after she seemingly took her husband’s side after he announced to the world that he makes sure his 18-year-old daughter, Deyjah, is a virgin with a yearly test at the GYNO’s to ensure her hymen is still intact.
Following the podcast where T.I. discussed his daughter’s virginity last week, the “Rhythm + Flow” judge and his wife of 9 years escaped to Mexico where they could relax and get away from all the backlash after the incident. Only that didn’t work because Tiny reignited the flames on Tuesday. Posting a snap from their getaway, the famous duo looked carefree and happy while vacationing. “Mi amor por siempre…,” she captioned the sweet shot with T.I. which translates to “My love forever.”
Fans immediately began flooding her post with concerns and questions about Deyjah following what many assume was an embarrassing week for the college student. “Is Deyjah okay? We care,” someone commented on the post, to which Tiny responded with several eye roll emojis. Fans aren’t okay with Tiny brushing the situation off and are letting her have it in the comment section. “@majorgirl yeah that’s such a great response when her father literally humiliated her in front of the world and not only that let it slip the vile act you allowed him to have done. Seems like no one stood up for that girl and her RIGHTS to her OWN body. But go ahead and roll your eyes though like you don’t look like a huge joke. Congratulations parent of the year. ?” one person wrote.
Others mirrored the same feelings and stated it’s a mother’s responsibility to stand up for their daughter. “seriously!! As a woman…mother and wife it is your responsibility to check your husband & protect your kids! This is an invasion of YOUR daughter’s privacy!! Stand up for her mom!” another fan responded. “@__aribarbie right her response is crazy smh I’ll never let a man run over me and my poor kids like that tf,” added someone else.
Following T.I.’s interview, social media blew up with fans calling him “vile” and “disrespectful” after he told everyone he takes his adult daughter to the doctor every year the day after her birthday to have her hymen checked. He also stated he made Deyjah sign a consent form which allows the doctor to share her results with her famous dad. “We have yearly trips to the gynecologist to check her hymen,” the rapper told the podcast hosts. “Right after the birthday, we celebrate, you know, usually the day after the party she’s enjoying her gifts, I put a sticky note on the door, Gyno tomorrow 9:30.”
T.I. also told them the doctor tried to inform him that female hymens can break for a number of reasons to which he responded, “she don’t ride no horses, she don’t ride no bikes, she don’t play no sports. Just check the hymen please and give me back my results.” He ended the interview by informing fans that “I will say, as of her 18th birthday her hymen is still intact.” Since his interview, a number of people have critiqued the star about his parenting skills, including famed “Animal Kingdom” star Ellen Barkin, who had a mouthful to say.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/entertainment/t-wife-lands-hot-water-203638617.html
Photo Credit: currently.att.yahoo.com
Mother jailed for 35 years after murdering teenage sons to stop social services taking them away
A mother killed the teenage sons she conceived with her half-brother out of fear they would be taken into care, a court heard as she was jailed for 35 years.
Sarah Barrass, 35, plotted to kill all of her children with the help Brandon Machin, her half-brother and father to the six youngsters, at the family home in Sheffield on May 24.
Tristan and Blake Barrass, 13 and 14, were strangled by the couple after an attempt to poison four of the children had failed the night before, Sheffield Crown Court was told.
The mother feared social services were going to place her children into care – an experience which left her scarred as a child – and told Machin, 39, they “were better off dead”.
Police were led to believe the eldest sons were away when they arrived at the property, but realised the grim reality when one of the younger children drew a finger across his throat.
Both boys were found lying on their beds with bin bags over their heads.
On Tuesday, Barrass and Machin were both jailed for life with a minimum of 35 years after pleading guilty to two counts of murder, conspiracy to murder six children and five counts of attempted murder.
Mr Justice Goss, sentencing, said to Barrass: “You considered your love for them and fear of being parted from them entitled you to take their lives as well as your own.”
Fresh details about the couple’s conspiracy to kill the children came to light during a harrowing sentencing hearing.
Medication used by the children had been gathered up from around the “unkempt” home on May 23 and portioned to four of them.
Barrass, the court heard, expected them to die during the night and made “light-hearted” Facebook posts that the children had caught a sickness bug.
But when she realised her plan had not worked, the mother began searching the internet for alternative methods of killing – including suffocation, strangulation and drowning.
She then called Machin to the house and the pair strangled Blake, followed by Tristan, before attempting to drown a third children.
The surviving children were taken into a bedroom by Barrass, who called the police.
The mother-of-six had previously requested help from Sheffield City Council with the children, the court heard.
In a text to a friend, she revealed her deeply held fear about the childcare authorities.
She wrote: “I’ve thought of every possible solution to this mess. Mass murder, putting them all in care, checking in to the local nut house.
“I love my kids too much to kill them, I can’t put them into care for the same reason.”
On another occasion, a visitor to their home heard Barrass saying to the children: “I gave you life, I can take it away.”
It is understood a meeting took place between the mother and social workers at some time before the killings, but nothing in her conduct had given rise to significant concern.
A serious case review has now been launched to examine whether any opportunities were missed by social services to save the lives of the children.
Reports that a family member had raised concerns about the children’s welfare on several occasions with the authorities is disputed by the service.
Her defence, Bryan Cox QC, said that she was “profoundly damaged by her childhood” and spent time in the care of social services.
Following sentencing, John Macilwraith Executive Director of People Services at Sheffield City Council, said: “Our focus continues to be the wellbeing of the children from this family now in our care. They are safe and receiving good support through this traumatic time.
“The Sheffield Children Safeguarding Partnership has initiated a Serious Case Review (SCR) to investigate what happened.
“The national SCR panel have endorsed this and agreed that the review should go ahead locally. The council will be cooperating fully with the review and are already working to provide the relevant information.
“This is such a tragic and, we hope, isolated case that it is vital to examine every aspect in order to establish what can be learned to inform the development of future professional practice.”
It is expected the review will take up to six months.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/mother-jailed-35-years-murdering-161313671.html
Photo Credit: AP
Meet Narwhal, the ‘Unicorn’ Puppy With an Extra Tail on His Head
A rescued puppy is attracting a lot of attention because of his cute resemblance to a unicorn.
The nearly 10-week-old puppy, named Narwhal, has a tail-like appendage growing from his forehead.
Narwhal was rescued over the weekend and sent to Mac’s Mission in Jackson, Missouri, which specializes in fostering animals with special needs.
Mac’s Mission founder Rochelle Steffen says Narwhal doesn’t notice the extra tail and is otherwise a happy, healthy puppy. Although it looks like a tail, Narwhal cannot wag it.
Steffen says the rescue group has been flooded with requests from people wanting to adopt Narwhal since his picture hit social media. But he’ll remain at Mac’s Mission so his caretakers can be sure the tail doesn’t grow out of proportion to his face and cause him problems.
via: https://ktla.com/2019/11/13/video-meet-narwhal-the-unicorn-puppy-with-an-extra-tail-on-his-head/
Photo Credit: facebook
Boss slashed gay worker’s salary to level pay with ‘other females’: suit
The owner of an event company that’s worked for Spotify, Amazon, Twitter, H&M and Nike slashed a gay man’s salary in half as he compared him to a woman — before firing the man two weeks later, according to a new lawsuit.
Wesley Wernecke, 32, says he started working at Eventique as a Senior Producer on June 3 after he was recruited from Boston, his Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit says.
During a meeting, a week into working at the company — which also has offices in London and Dubai — Wernecke shared that he was gay when asked by another coworker about his “flashy” and “girly” wedding ring.
“So what does your wife’s ring look like?” the colleague continued. Wernecke responded that his partner, Evan, has a similar ring, according to the court papers filed Wednesday.
Wernecke says his boss, Eventique owner Henry “Liron” David, who was present at the time, began alienating him by excluding him from conferences, drinks with “the fellas” and from new business, according to the suit.
“David took all these tactics to exclude Wernecke because David had already made up his mind that, despite the proficiency of Wernecke’s work, he would not accept having an openly gay man working in the office, and he intended to get rid of Wernecke,” the court documents allege.
After just over three months working at Eventique David told Wernecke on Sept. 20 that he’d be lowering his salary from $145,000 to $70,000.
“I couldn’t sleep at night thinking you were being paid so much more than the other females in the office,” he said, according to court documents.
“David’s reference to Wernecke as one of the ‘females in the office’ was intended, again, to reinforce Wernecke’s understanding that David considered Wernecke to be a sexual deviant and unfit to work at Eventique,” the lawsuit charges.
Wernecke discovered his new salary was actually set even lower to $58,000, the court papers say. Two weeks later, on Oct. 4, David fired Wernecke on the pretense that he couldn’t afford to keep him citing “errors” and “deficiencies” in his work performance, the court documents say.
The poor treatment drove Wernecke to start seeing a psychiatrist for the first time in his life, the court papers say.
Wernecke’s lawyer, Anthony Consiglio of firm Cary Kane, said his client is an “accomplished marketing director and producer of live events.”
Wesley was “aggressively” recruited to the job, Consiglio said, adding, “About a week and a half after Wesley began work in the office, the employer learned he is gay, and then immediately began systematically shutting him out of the job.”
“These acts cannot be reconciled with the liberal anti-discrimination positions written into law in New York City and State to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and transgender people in their workplaces,” Consiglio said.
David did not immediately return requests for comment.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/13/boss-slashed-gay-workers-salary-to-level-pay-with-other-females-suit/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Disney+ streaming service comes with vault of racist content
Has Disney+ found a way to combat “cancel culture”?
In adding its extensive catalog of beloved movies — both live-action and animated — on the new streaming service, Disney has also opened itself up to criticism for including works that contain potentially offensive scenes: Viewers of the new streaming service point out that some of the company’s older films are rife with racist content.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, some films on the platform would be edited to remove content offensive to some. Others have suggested that the 1941 movie “Dumbo,” for instance, would be edited to remove a scene involving a crow named Jim Crow, a specific reference to a blackface theater character from the 1800s.
However, in descriptions of “Dumbo” and other films — such as “The Jungle Book” and “Fantasia” — Disney+ instead includes a disclaimer: “This program is presented as originally created. It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”
Not everyone is convinced that’s the way to go, with one observer filing it under the hashtag #DisneyPlusfail, while others applauded the decision to show “accountability” and post a warning.
That said, not every seemingly problematic film in the Disney vault will see the light of day, either. In particular, the 1946 movie “Song of the South” — long criticized for its stereotyped portrayals of post-Civil War African Americans — is nowhere to be found on Disney+, or elsewhere on home video or streaming. But The Guardian notes that a Change.org petition — with more than 4,000 signatures — is encouraging the company to not “bury” its release “so we can learn from history and make our own decisions.” (In 2011, Disney CEO Bob Iger said releasing it “wouldn’t necessarily sit right or feel right to a number of people today.”)
Such cultural grievances are not the only #DisneyPlusFail some viewers have noted since the streamer fired up on Tuesday. Beyond initial streaming problems, fans of “The Simpsons” were quick to note that episodes from the first 30 seasons of that animated series are getting cropped from their original 4:3 ratio into a widescreen 16:9 format. Fans couldn’t help but notice that some of the show’s prolific sight gags were getting left out.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/13/disney-catches-heat-for-streaming-movies-with-racist-content/
Photo Credit: Walt Disney Co./Everett Collection
People think this BarkBox dog toy is actually a sex toy
This dog toy has some sick pups comparing it to a popular sex toy.
Pampered-pooch purveyor BarkBox recently unveiled some new playthings for its canine clientele, and one of them is getting some serious side-eye. A plush, cylindrical chew toy called “Big Honkin’ Pigs in a Blanket” — depicting a pig’s snout on one end and a cute little butt with curly tail on the other — has people comparing it to a fuzzy version of a Fleshlight sex toy.
“Went to order this and it asked what type of dog do I have? I don’t have a dog….” one man posted on the company’s Facebook page. Another person remarked, “Ummmmmm. How does an entire marketing team look at this thing and not see what I am seeing??” One commenter posted a photo of himself, smiling broadly in the front seat of his car with his dog in the back seat, saying, “We’re BOTH super excited for this.”
A BarkBox moderator gamely dealing with racy comments simply responded, “this is uncomfortable for all of us.” However, the company also suggested the staff was in on the joke from the start, writing, “my favorite part of this is the part where everyone thinks we didn’t all see it.”
BarkBox, which makes hundreds of toys a year, has even officially weighed in on the provocative piggy posteriors on its barkpost.com blog. “Our main goal is to make dogs happy, and we know that playtime lasts longer if the *humans* find our toys interesting as well,” they said, while acknowledging they can sometimes get too “cheeky.”
“Obviously we all noticed how… spicy… the Pigs in a Blanket toy is. They’re butts! Butts are hilarious,” they add. “BUTT– we didn’t know HOW spicy this toy really is.”
BarkBox also admits that designing respectable dog toys might be a lost cause. “NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO dog toys just ALWAYS LOOK LIKE DURN SEX TOYS,” they write.
The makers of Fleshlight sex products even weighed in on Twitter, posting an image of the offending product with the caption, “One man’s debacle is another man’s Fleshlight.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/13/people-think-this-barkbox-dog-toy-is-actually-a-sex-toy/
Photo Credit: Barkbox