Skateboarder rides on top of memorial honoring veterans
(CNN) — A skateboarder in California caused controversy after a video surfaced of him riding across the sacred walls of a memorial honoring military members.
Over 5,000 Americans are etched into the black granite walls of the Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial in San Diego. It is considered one of the most unique veterans memorials in America, according to the memorial group. People from all over the nation visit to honor the brave men and woman that are listed on the plaques that cover the walls.
In the video, recorded and uploaded by San Diego resident Bill Bender, an unidentified man is seen riding his skateboard across the to tops of the curved granite walls. He then jumps with the board and attempts to land on another side wall. While he attempts the trick, a group nearby watches and films him.
“I’m appalled at such disregard and carelessness,” Neil O’Connell, President and CEO of Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial, said in a statement posted on Facebook.
“Our granite walls require constant care by volunteers due to the atmosphere. It’s a lot of work. But come on, how disrespectful is it to ride skateboards over the tops and edges of this fine surface.”
O’Connell said that there was no damage to the plaques in this incident.
The video is no longer available to view on Facebook. But when it was public, many people slammed the behavior.
Don Hotz was among the video viewers. He told CNN affiliate KGTV that he recognized the memorial as the location where his father and uncle have plaques.
“I know what it’s like to be a kid and a skater but this where frankly I draw the line,” Hotz said. “If you’re listening guys, I would appreciate it if you would not do that kind of thing. That’s disrespectful to men that spend their lives protecting what we have today.”
San Diego Police Department officials told CNN they are aware of the incident and saw the video on social media. They are currently investigating this as a vandalism case.
The memorial dates back to 1952 and honors veterans, living or deceased, from the Revolutionary War to the current war on terrorism, according to its website.
“We would ask that everybody remember to honor the sanctity of the MT Soledad National Veterans Memorial and respect the sacrifices of our veterans who are honored here,” O’Connell said. “Especially to be considerate of their families and loved ones who hold the memorial plaques so close in their hearts.”
Photo Credit: kmov.com/cnn
Missouri hairstylist with coronavirus worked while symptomatic, exposing up to 91 people
A hairstylist with coronavirus worked for eight days this month while symptomatic, exposing as many as 91 customers and coworkers in Missouri, health officials said.
The case highlights the threats of community spread in the United States as businesses reopen after weeks of restrictions to combat the spread of coronavirus.
In this instance, the 84 customers exposed got services from the hairstylist at Great Clips, said Clay Goddard, director of the Springfield-Greene County Health Department. In addition to the customers, seven coworkers were also notified of exposure.
“I’m very frustrated to be up here,” Goddard said during a press conference. “And maybe more so, I’m disappointed.”
It’s unclear when the stylist tested positive but the infection is believed to have happened while traveling in Missouri. The stylist worked May 12 through Wednesday at Great Clips at 1864 S. Glenstone Ave, health officials said Friday. At the time, businesses such as barbershops and hair salons were allowed to operate in the state.
“The individual and their clients were wearing face coverings. The 84 clients potentially directly exposed will be notified by the Health Department and be offered testing, as will seven coworkers,” the Springfield-Greene County Health Department said in a statement. “It is the hope of the department that because face coverings were worn throughout this exposure timeline, no additional cases will result.”
Goddard did not provide details on the identity or the condition of the stylist. He said health officials have reached out to the people who were exposed, adding that the hairstylist had kept impeccable records that made contact tracing possible.
But he cautioned about the risks of overwhelming resources.
“I’m gong to be honest with you: We can’t have many more of these,” he said at a news conference. “We can’t make this a regular habit or our capabilities as a community will be strained.”
Health officials provided a detailed timeline of all the places the stylist visited, including a local Dairy Queen, a Walmart and a CVS pharmacy.
They urged those who may have gone to those places to be on the lookout for coronavirus symptoms.
Goddard said he was pleased with the deep cleaning measures taken by Great Clips, adding that he now considers the business safe.
“The wellbeing of Great Clips customers and stylists in the salon is our top priority and proper sanitization has always been an important cosmetology industry practice for Great Clips salons. We’ve closed the salon where the employee works and it’s currently undergoing additional sanitizing and deep cleaning,” the owners of the business said in a statement to CNN affiliate KYTV.
More than 96,000 people have died from coronavirus in the United States, where the number of confirmed cases is over 1.6 million, according to Johns Hopkins. Missouri has nearly 12,000 cases of infections and more than 600 deaths.
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Khloé Kardashian stuns fans with new look: ‘I barely recognize her’
Khloé Kardashian has debuted a new look to the surprise of many of her loyal fans, as several didn’t even recognize the reality star.
Kardashian, 35, shared photos of her new dye job on social media, debuting her bronde tresses for the masses. She also rocked a bronze tan and looks slimmer than ever in the glam shots.
“Location: under bitches skiiiinnnnn ?,” she captioned the pics.
The mom immediately received feedback that the photos looked very little like the Khloe we all know and recognize, with one fan tweeting, “Who is khloe kardashian trying to fool?” Another added, “Idk if Khloe Kardashian used a surgeon or an app for this new face but either way I want in.”
“Khloe Kardashian is coming out of lock down a whole different person. Wow!,” wrote another follower who was taken aback by the E! star’s new look. “I just saw a pic of Khloe Kardashian and barely recognized her. Her hair was poppin tho,” wrote another.
“Okay who is this? WILL THE REAL @khloekardashian PLEASE STAND UP,” added another fan.
Yet another posted a compilation of Kardashian’s photos over the years, captioning the image, “Khloe Kardashian be looking like a different person every year.
Photo Credit: instagram
Florida mom accused of killing 9-year-old son with autism
A Miami-Dade woman who claimed two carjackers kidnapped her young son with autism is now facing a murder charge after she apparently admitted killing the boy, telling cops, “he’s going to be in a better place,” according to reports.
Patricia Ripley, 47, was arrested about 3 a.m. Saturday in the death of 9-year-old Alejandro Ripley, who was nonverbal, according to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Alejandro’s body was found in a canal near a golf course close to where he was last seen late Thursday.
Ripley initially told authorities two men in a light blue sedan cut her off while she was driving, blocked her van and demanded drugs. When she insisted she didn’t have any, one man took her cellphone and grabbed her son before they drove off, she had claimed.
The tall tale prompted Florida cops to issue a statewide Amber Alert for Alejandro, who was nonverbal.
But after hours of questioning and confronted with surveillance footage of the married mother of two pushing the child into the canal, Ripley came clean, according to the Miami Herald.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/23/florida-mom-accused-of-killing-9-year-old-son-with-autism/
Photo Credit: Miami-Dade Department of Correct
NY Son Stabs Dad to Death During Zoom Call With 20 People
A Long Island man was stabbed and killed by his son while he was participating in a live video chat from his home, police said.
Dwight Powers was at his Amityville home on Dixon Avenue around noon on Thursday and taking part in a Zoom call with around 20 people when the attack happened, Suffolk County police said.
“By the defendant’s own admissions, he brutally stabbed his own father repeatedly until he was certain he was dead,” Suffolk County District Attorney Timothy D. Sini said in a statement Friday.
Sini’s office announced second degree murder charges were issued against 32-year-old Thomas Scully-Powers. He was arraigned Friday and remanded without bail; he faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, the district attorney said.
Others on the call saw the 72-year-old father collapse and fall off the screen, according to police, and quickly notified authorities as they grew concerned.
“I saw the victim was breathing heavily, all of a sudden he wasn’t in the camera’s view and a bald naked man ripped sheets off his bed and placed it on the floor like he was covering something up,” said one man who was on the call, but didn’t wish to be identified.
With some help from the others in the meetings, police were able to track down where Powers lived. When police arrived, a person answered the door and slammed it closed on them, said Kevin Beyrer of the Suffolk County Police Department. By the time officers secured the back of the home, the man had jumped out a window.
Scully-Powers fled the home and led cops on a chase for more than a mile, even running onto the grounds of a nearby hospital before he was caught less than an hour later and taken into custody, police said.
The prosecutor’s office says officers recovered several knives allegedly used in the attack as well as a mop and bucket presumably used to try and clean up the scene.
The 32-year-old was transported to an area hospital after his leap from the window, according to Suffolk County police.
A motive for the alleged stabbing was not immediately clear. An investigation is ongoing.
Photo Credit: dailymail.co.uk
Florida teacher who sexually abused students begs judge for castration
A former Florida teacher who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing students begged a judge to castrate him as punishment — but was instead sentenced to 12 years behind bars, according to a report.
Mark Lua, 32, made the unusual request to have his testicles removed in order to dodge prison time in Pensacola court Wednesday, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
“My actions were despicable,” Lua told First Circuit Judge Thomas Dannheisser. “I do believe that punishment is necessary, and I am requesting chemical castration not only as a punishment but as an act of solidarity to show how sorry I am for everything.”
He added, “If your honor is so inclined, I am even willing to undergo physical castration if that way I can stay home and raise my daughter.”
But the judge ignored his request before handing down the sentence, along with 15 years of probation.
Lua, a former English teacher at Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola, had sex with an underage girl and sexually assaulted an 18-year-old former student, according to prosecutors. He is accused of coercing a third student to send him a sexually explicit video.
He pleaded guilty last year to unlawful sexual activity with a minor and promoting a sexual performance by a child.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Erin Ambrose told the judge he preyed on vulnerable girls.
“He seemed to seek out girls that came from unstable or troubled homes,” she said. “He manipulated them, and he betrayed them because he was a teacher.”
During the sentencing hearing, Lua also claimed to suffer from the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors. He said he often had panic attacks during the time of the sexual abuse.
“If I’m with my family or when I might sit down and read a book, I think about the tumors, and I think ‘Oh my God, this might be my last day on Earth,’ ” Lua said.
But Ambrose brushed off his plea for sympathy.
“This condition did not seem to debilitate him while he was trolling the halls, looking for students to have sex with,” she said.
Photo Credit: Escambia County Jail via AP
Amber Rose takes a break from quarantine to get Botox injections
Amber Rose is not letting the coronavirus pandemic hold back her beauty routine.
The model, 36, revealed on Instagram Thursday that she hit up celebrity favorite Dr. Jason Diamond in Beverly Hills to get a round of Botox injections.
“Thank you @drjasondiamond Ur the best! My forehead is so Smooth!,” Rose captioned a photo with the doctor, both wearing face masks.
The Beverly Hills Council voted to resume elective and cosmetic surgeries in California earlier this month.
Another Kardashian-favorite dermatologist, Dr. Harold Lancer, told Page Six Style that his clients have been calling his office daily, begging for treatments. He even says he has 1,000 appointments already booked for late summer with his regulars, who are all desperate to re-do their Botox, fillers and other rejuvenating treatments.
Other celebrities who are willing to go to great lengths for their looks during lockdown include “Bachelor” star Amanda Stanton, who drove to Arizona to get her hair colored, and the cast of “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” who hired hair and makeup teams to come to their homes ahead of the virtual reunion taping.
Perhaps Dr. Lancer will be able to open his doors sooner than expected.
Photo Credit: pagesix.com/instagram
Housekeepers stole $400K from dementia-stricken widow
A pair of housekeepers swindled more than $400,000 from an elderly South Carolina widow with dementia, federal prosecutors said.
Gerald Maxwell Harrison, 53, and Elizabeth Robin Williams, 55, pleaded guilty to defrauding the unidentified, now-deceased victim while isolating her from family and friends after being hired as caregivers in February 2014, the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina announced Wednesday.
The pair and another woman, Donna Graves, then made unauthorized transactions after gaining access to her finances, ultimately depleting the woman’s savings, pawning her jewelry and setting up businesses in her name — including one that sold handbags online, federal prosecutors said.
The trio also “maxed out” at least one of her credit cards and stole the woman’s federal benefits, court documents show.
Graves and Williams first met the victim at her residence at a senior citizen community in Indian Land, South Carolina, according to an indictment obtained by the News & Observer.
They were hired in February 2014, and by October 2015, the pair had hired an armed security guard to “protect” her while monitoring and controlling “her interactions with other people,” according to the indictment.
Williams and Graves also falsely accused the elderly woman’s brother of trying to gain control of her finances and ultimately got him removed as her power of attorney, prosecutors said.
The woman’s brother contacted police, but the trio had already moved his sister to an apartment in Charlotte and later to a home in Mint Hill, North Carolina, the indictment states.
The victim’s health started failing in early 2016, leading Harrison, Williams and Graves to contact a friend of hers who lived out of state. Williams later told the woman’s friend she couldn’t find her checkbook and credit cards when she came to take the victim to a New York nursing home, where she died in December 2016, prosecutors said.
After leaving for New York, Harrison tried to sell the woman’s South Carolina home, which was fraudulently transferred to him, according to the indictment.
The scheme was ultimately uncovered when a “concerned relative” reported it to law enforcement officials, Justice Department spokeswoman Lia Bantavani said.
Harrison and Williams have pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy, money laundering conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen property. They face a maximum sentence of 50 years in prison and up to $1 million in fines.
Charges against Graves are still pending, federal prosecutors said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/21/housekeepers-stole-400k-from-dementia-stricken-widow-feds/
Photo Credit: Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office
Joe Biden says anyone considering voting for Trump ‘ain’t black’
Joe Biden on Friday told the popular host of a New York City-based syndicated radio show that anyone still pondering whether to support the presumptive Democratic nominee or President Trump in November “ain’t black.”
The former veep’s remarks came during an interview on “The Breakfast Club,” where Charlamagne tha God challenged Biden over his record on racial issues and consideration of a black, female running mate.
“I’m not acknowledging anybody who is being considered, but I guarantee you: There are multiple black women being considered. Multiple,” Biden said on the program, according to Politico.
An aide to the candidate could then be heard trying to cut short the interview.
“Thank you so much. That’s really our time. I apologize,” the aide said.
“You can’t do that to black media!” Charlamagne said.
“I do that to white media and black media because my wife has to go on at 6 o’clock,” Biden snapped back, apparently referring to a planned media appearance by Jill Biden.
“Listen, you’ve got to come see us when you come to New York, Vice President Biden,” Charlamagne said. “It’s a long way until November. We’ve got more questions.”
“You’ve got more questions?” Biden responded. “Well I tell you what, if you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t black.”
Charlamagne also questioned Biden about how he could win his presidential campaign while ensconced in his basement during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m following the rules. My governor says he doesn’t want us out, I wear a mask, and by the way, I’m beating them across the board. All the stuff about hurting me is not hurting me, I’m ahead in all states in all national polls and the more he talks the better I am,” Biden replied, referring to Trump.
In a statement to Mediaite, Charlamagne provided a comment about Biden’s remarks, saying, “We have been loyal to Democrats for a long time, black people have invested a lot into that party and the return on investment has not been great … As Biden said in our brief interview when I asked him if Dems owe the black community ABSOLUTELY was his answer. So let’s see what you got!!! Votes are Quid Pro Quo. You can’t possibly want me to Fear Trump MORE than I want something for my people.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/22/biden-says-charlamagne-tha-god-aint-black-if-he-might-vote-for-trump/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Nurse says patients are attending ‘coronavirus parties’ to intentionally get sick
A North Carolina nurse said she’s treating patients who have attended “coronavirus parties” in an attempt to catch the deadly bug and hopefully develop immunity.
“Over the last few days, we have heard from a lot of patients and the community that they’re unafraid of getting the virus,” Yolanda Enrich, a nurse practitioner at Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, told an NBC affiliate.
“People are actually out and about trying to get the virus, so attending gatherings, parties trying to maximize their chances of exposure.”
Ernich said younger patients have told health care workers they’re hoping to develop antibodies so they no longer have to take precautions while they’re out in public. But health experts have not yet determined whether coronavirus antibodies actually deliver immunity.
“We’re really concerned about this trend,” Enrich said. “They can spread the virus around the community and hurt our vulnerable populations that will have serious health implications.”
Gov. Roy Cooper and state health officials are sounding the alarm on the idiotic concept.
“You can easily kill someone you love,” Cooper said at a news conference this week, adding that the sickening soirees are “completely irresponsible and absolutely unacceptable.”
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, said more cases translate to more risk for vulnerable residents.
“There is no circumstance under which we want people to actively pursue getting COVID-19,” Cohen said. “The reason we’re working so hard collectively to keep virus spread low is the fact that when there is more virus in our community, it not only impacts those who have it, but particularly those who are at high risk of getting severe reactions to disease.”
Soumya Swaminathan, the Wold Health Organization’s top scientist, earlier this month threw cold water on the idea of developing herd immunity against the virus.
Around the world, studies have shown rates of natural immunity between 10 and 15 percent — far from the 90 to 95 percent of the population that would need to become immune to achieve herd immunity, Swaminathan said.
Embracing a herd immunity approach would mean accepting a “high rate of death,” she said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/20/nurse-says-patients-attend-coronavirus-parties-to-get-sick/
Photo Credit: nypost.com