Prisoners getting coronavirus relief checks should return them, IRS says
The Treasury Department is asking the relatives of deceased and incarcerated family members who mistakingly received economic stimulus payments intended to help Americans weather the coronavirus pandemic to return the funds to the federal government.
The IRS updated two notices Wednesday, issuing clarifications that nonresident aliens, deceased persons and incarcerated individuals are not eligible for economic relief.
“Deceased and incarcerated individuals do not qualify to receive Economic Impact Payments. See FAQ #41 to learn how to return an inadvertent payment,” a Treasury Department tweet said.
Congress approved a $2.2 trillion relief package in March that provided Americans with one-time payments of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child as many Americans face financial hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Most of the funds hit bank accounts in April, while others were sent paper checks.
A number of deceased people and foreign workers have received payments, which were distributed based on a person’s 2018 or 2019 tax returns. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation told Fox News that at least one inmate also received stimulus funds.
“The inmate is a veteran, receives a pension, and files a tax return, which is why we believe he received the payment,” agency spokeswoman Dana Simas said.
Simas said directions were given to each institution in the California prison system to return relief payments mailed to inmates. It was unclear whether there will be any punitive repercussions if the funds are not returned.
An IRS spokesman declined to comment to Fox News on how widespread the mishaps are.
Return instructions vary based on the type of payment issued.
For direct deposits, the agency is asking that people submit a money order or personal check to the specified IRS location. Checks should be made payable to “U.S. Treasury” and “2020EIP” should be written on them, as well as the taxpayer identification number (Social Security number or individual taxpayer identification number) of the recipient of the check. An explanation of why the money is being returned should also be included.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/irs-prisoners-getting-coronavirus-relief-checks-should-return-them/
Photo Credit: AP
Alabama cop caught on video body-slamming maskless woman in Walmart
An off-duty Alabama police officer was caught on camera body-slamming a woman in Walmart in an altercation that cops say began because she wasn’t wearing a face mask.
Wild video posted by AL.com from the Tuesday incident in the Birmingham big-box store shows the cop placing the woman in handcuffs as she begins to walk away from him. The officer then grabs the woman, lifts her up and drops her to the floor face-first.
The Birmingham Police Department said it is investigating the use of force by the officer, who was off-duty and working a side gig as a security guard for the store.
The woman has not been identified but faces charges for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, third-degree criminal trespassing, possession of
marijuana and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.
“We understand we’re operating in trying times,’’ said Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin in a video statement. “The Birmingham Police Department has maintained a consistent, community-oriented educational approach to the surrounding circumstances of COVID-19.”
In addition to her lacking a face mask, the interaction was spurred by the woman’s alleged “disorderly conduct,” Mauldin said.
A Walmart employee had asked the woman to wear a face covering, but she allegedly grew angry and attracted the attention of the officer.
The woman began “yelling out obscenities toward customers and employees,” Mauldin said. The officer began to detain her after she was asked to leave the store and refused.
“The officer used a takedown measure to gain control due to the other threat factors in the store,” he said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/07/alabama-cop-caught-on-video-body-slamming-maskless-woman-in-walmart/
Photo Credit: Facebook
Man dies after being hit by landing jet at Austin, Texas airport
AUSTIN, Texas — A man was struck and killed by a commercial jet landing on a runaway at an Austin, Texas, airport Thursday night, authorities said.
The pilot of Southwest Airlines Flight 1392, a Boeing 737 arriving from Dallas, reported seeing a person on Runway 17R at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, shortly after the jet touched down at 8:12 p.m., according to a statement from the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA says the driver of an airport operations vehicle later found the body on the runway.
Airport spokesman Bryce Dubee says officials do not believe the unidentified man was supposed to be on the runway at the time of the incident, but they’re working to confirm that and determine the events leading up to the incident.
No further information was immediately available.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/08/landing-jet-hits-kills-man-on-runaway-at-austin-texas-airport/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/AP
Man accused of hiding in girl’s bedroom, sexually abusing her for a month
A Washington state man sexually abused a 12-year-old while hiding out in her bedroom over the course of a month, federal prosecutors said.
Zacharias Adrian Cavasos, 21, initially contacted the girl on social media in December before traveling from Washington to Oregon to meet the child at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton in February, according to court records cited by The Oregonian.
Cavasos then secretly moved into the girl’s room on Feb. 10, hiding from her grandfather by staying in a cavity beneath the girl’s bed after removing slats that held her mattress, Assistant US Attorney Jennifer Martin said.
Cavasos also allegedly hid in the girl’s closet at times until Feb. 25 — when her grandfather caught him in the home, which is on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, prosecutors said.
After getting kicked out, Cavasos managed to sneak back into the residence before he was found again in her room on March 11 and was arrested, Martin said.
Cavasos, whose attorney said may have an intellectual disability, has been charged with sexual abuse of a minor in the US District Court in Portland.
A judge, meanwhile, released Cavasos to a clean-and-sober house ahead of his trial, despite saying she was “troubled” by the accusations.
“When I started reading the nature of the allegations, I really was quite surprised by what I read,” Judge Youlee Yim You said. “I have never been aware of anyone alleged to have been living in a 12-year-old’s bedroom for a month.’’
Cavasos, who prosecutors say has admitted to having sex with the girl multiple times, was ordered to adhere to a curfew and GPS monitoring while at the facility, the newspaper reports.
Cavasos’ attorney, Thomas Price, said in court Wednesday that his client had no prior criminal record and that the allegations he faces do not contain details of violence.
Photo Credit: Multnomah County Sheriff
Father throws one-year-old daughter off a cliff after stabbing pregnant mother in stomach, police say
A California man allegedly killed his one-year-old daughter by throwing her off a cliff after stabbing his pregnant wife in the stomach.
Police said that the registered sex offender, 49-year-old Adam Slater, also stabbed a bystander who tried to help the girl after her father drove the two off a highway and flipped their car in Coachella Valley.
The series of alleged attacks began about 8:30 am on Wednesday when police and family say Mr Slater beat and stabbed his wife, Ashley Grome, in the parking lot of the Southwest Community Church in Indian Wells before fleeing with their daughter, Madalyn Payton Slater.
“My daughter was the absolute love of my life and she meant everything and more to me,” Ms Grome, 23, wrote in a GoFundMe page for her daughter’s funeral costs.
“Everything I did and everything I will do for the rest of my life is for her. She was beautiful and her smile was contagious, even after a bad day, she always cheered me up. She was taken from this world way too soon.”
According to police and family, Mr Slater drove off of Highway 74 south of Vista Point around 9 am. When a man stopped help and pulled Madalyn from the overturned vehicle a short distance from the road, Mr Grome allegedly stabbed him too before grabbing his daughter and taking her to the cliff’s edge.
“The driver then ran to the passenger side of the vehicle, where he stabbed a male who had assisted getting a young girl from the vehicle,” Riverside County Sheriffs’ Department said in a statement.
“Multiple witnesses saw the suspect take the child and throw her over a cliff into a ravine. The suspect then fled on foot into the canyon,”
After a short foot pursuit, deputies arrested the Palm Desert man before recovering the body of his daughter.
The victim’s uncle, Chris Grome, told News Channel 3 that Mr Slater tried to stab his wife, who is six-months pregnant, several times in the stomach and throat.
“She fought him off and tried to protect herself,” Mr Grome said.
“She’s got some pretty bad cuts and wounds, you know, stabs. To be that violent where you’re going to plot and plan and try to kill somebody like that and purposely do that — and then to do what he did to an infant, a one-year-old infant, no,” he said. “I don’t really have much to say to him.”
Mr Slater, who family confirmed to News Channel 3 was a registered sex offender dating back to a 1995 conviction, was charged with murder.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/xandr/father-throws-one-old-daughter-144853505.html
Photo Credit: gofundme
A bus driver told a rider to wear a mask. Then the passenger spit on her.
(CNN) — Miami-Dade County bus driver Miakeya Rolle says she hasn’t had a good night’s rest since a passenger intentionally spit on her.
On the afternoon of April 19, a homeless woman boarded Rolle’s bus and began coughing on passengers, according to a police report. Rolle told her she needed to wear a mask. The woman spat on Rolle and fled the bus.
Miami, like many transit systems, requires passengers to wear masks during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rolle cleaned herself off with Clorox wipes and hand sanitizer as she waited for police to respond. She was later tested at a hospital. When she returned home, she undressed outside and threw her uniform in the garbage.
Rolle has yet to return to driving a bus.
“That’s how I feed my family. But as of right now, I can’t do it,” said Rolle, who has tested negative for Covid-19. “I’ve never had anything like that happen to me. I’m about to lose my mind.”
Another Miami-Dade County transit bus driver, Denys Santos, was charged with aggravated assault on April 29 after chasing and swinging a metal pipe at a rider who removed his mask to talk on a cell phone, according to a Monroe County Sheriffs Office police report.
Bus drivers nationwide are facing new challenges as they try to protect passengers and themselves from a virus that’s killed at least 135 transit workers nationwide, according to reports from the largest transit unions, the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Transport Workers Union.
Leaders of transit unions say protections for bus drivers are lacking. They want high-quality masks available more widely, and drivers to get help with new duties, such as enforcing mask requirements and making sure buses aren’t crowded. Some transit systems have put a cap on the number of passengers to promote social distancing. In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for instance, buses are restricted to 10 passengers.
King County Metro, which operates in Seattle, Washington, is generally limiting capacity to 12 riders on 40-foot buses, and 18 riders on 60-foot buses. Roanoke, Virginia allows no more than nine passengers on buses. Pittsburgh caps its 35-foot buses at 10 people, and 40-foot buses at 15 riders.
John A. Costa, International President of the Amalgamated Transit Union, said that fewer than half of his local unions in the US and Canada have proper protective equipment.
Bus drivers face more risk than colleagues who operate trains or maintenance workers, because they’re in close contact with passengers. Many have no physical barrier between themselves and passengers. Some jurisdictions have tried temporary measures, such as hanging shower curtains, according to Costa. Bus drivers still must touch wheelchairs to help those riders board, exit, and secure their wheelchairs on board.
“I wake up every morning and if I don’t have a report of a fatality it’s like a good morning,” John Samuelsen, international president of the Transport Workers Union, told CNN Business. “That’s how crazy this is.”
Governments and the private companies that operate some buses and trains know they must protect drivers and riders so that ridership eventually returns to levels before the pandemic.
Thierry Mallet, CEO of Transdev, which operates transit systems in 18 countries and has 82,000 employees, said many riders will shift to personal cars.
“We have a key challenge,” he said. “We need to reclaim the trust and confidence of our passengers.”
Transdev is considering offering hand sanitizer on all of its buses and trains, he said.
Transit operators run into practical and cultural hurdles as they take steps to protect workers and passengers. Buses used in US transit systems generally aren’t designed to distance drivers from passengers. And some passengers refuse to wear masks.
European countries like France, Germany and the Czech Republic are requiring masks nationwide as they prepare for a return to regular service and ridership.
Unions representing US transit workers, including the Amalgamated Transit Union, Transport Workers Union of America and AFL-CIO, have called on the Federal Transit Administration to require that passengers wear masks nationwide. The administration has recommended transit agencies make policies regarding facial coverings to reduce the risk of Covid-19, but stopped short of a mandate. Federal law says that the secretary of the Department of Transportation may “issue directives with respect to the safety of the public transportation system.”
The Federal Transit Administration declined to comment for this story.
Some cities and states, including Massachusetts, Illinois and Denver, have started requiring masks this month. Others, such as New York City, already had requirements.
Requiring masks isn’t a panacea, and the requirements can be hard for drivers to enforce. Even worse, they may trigger a backlash or dangerous incidents.
Donna Schinkle, transit director of Chillicothe, Ohio, which introduced a mask requirement this week, said she’s already heard criticism of her requirement.
Unlike most transit operators, Schinkle isn’t overly concerned about people shying away from transit because of Covid-19 fears.
“For the majority of folks in Southern Ohio, they just seem to think it really isn’t a thing,” she said. “We have more of a struggle of trying to make them abide by the rules.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry move into $18M mansion owned by Tyler Perry
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are living in a sprawling, ultra-luxe $18 million Beverly Hills mansion owned by Hollywood mogul Tyler Perry.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their one-year-old son Archie have set up home in Perry’s hilltop eight-bedroom, 12-bathroom Tuscan-style villa in the swanky gated Beverly Ridge Estates, Page Six has confirmed.
Perry is currently out of town in Atlanta setting up to re-start production in his studio, a source exclusively tells us.
The couple is believed to have been introduced the “Madea” star by their close friend Oprah Winfrey, who has taken them under her wing after working with Harry on a docu-series about mental health.
Page Six revealed that Winfrey has been a guiding force to the Sussexes as they made their controversial decision to leave the royal family. The media queen is also very close to Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
Meghan and Harry moved to LA after fleeing their bolthole in Canada in late March as it closed its borders over the coronavirus. They’ve been spotted only a handful of times since their move to LA, delivering food to the vulnerable and walking their dogs.
Perry’s 12-bathroom Tuscan-style villa sits on 22 acres on the top of a hill, offering sweeping views of the city. It is not confirmed if the Sussexes are renting the house from Perry, but sources said they are likely staying as guests while he is out of town.
We revealed this week that they are on the hunt to buy their own property in the region of $10-20 million — as broker to the stars Josh Altman said they could “low ball” their way into an amazing home.
The “Million Dollar Listing” guru told us: “You’ll get a great deal over the next six months. If you’re looking to spend $10 to $20 million, there are five or six gated communities that are perfect.” Altman cited Beverly Ridge as a great gated development.
Reps for Harry, Meghan and Perry declined to comment.
Photo Credit: pagesix.com
Princess Love files for divorce from Ray J
“Love and Hip Hop: Hollywood” star Princess Love is bowing out of her almost four-year marriage to Ray J, according to TMZ.
Love, 35, filed papers Tuesday in LA County Superior Court. She and Ray J, 39, had already been living separately after their epic Las Vegas meltdown last year, in which Love accused J of stranding her and their 1-year-old daughter Melody Love in Sin City following the BET Awards.
The divorce will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the debacle, after which Love said she had no desire to be married any longer and Ray J was snapped out and about without his wedding band.
In January, the couple welcomed a baby boy, Epic Ray Norwood, and earlier this month, Page Six exclusively reported that Love was keeping Ray J in quarantine — and monitoring his activities via Instagram — in a hotel 10 minutes from his LA home before allowing him to see the children.
Photo Credit: nypost.com