Man on trial for killing schoolboy who threatened to reveal ‘intimate’ relationship
A 19-year-old British apprentice fatally bludgeoned a 15-year-old schoolboy with a wrench after paying nearly $2,700 to stop him from reporting their “intimate” relationship to cops, prosecutors allege.
Matthew Mason, an apprentice mechanic, allegedly lured Alex Rodda to a remote wooded area under the guise of meeting up for sex last December and then struck him at least 15 times with a long wrench, the Manchester Evening News reported.
Rodda’s partially clothed body was found near the village of Ashley in Cheshire, England, on Dec. 13.
Prosecutors said the boy had been involved in an ongoing intimate relationship with Mason, then 18, at the time of his death, the newspaper reported.
Prosecutor Ian Unsworth told a judge Monday that Mason led Rodda to the woods “on the pretense of sexual activity” before murdering the boy in “cold blood,” BBC News reported.
Weeks earlier, Rodda had reached out to Mason’s girlfriend and told her he had received “flirty” messages from her boyfriend, including an explicit video and photo, Unsworth said.
Mason, who denies killing Rodda, also shot down allegations that he sent the boy explicit material, but the aspiring mechanic allegedly started making deposits in Rodda’s bank account, ultimately paying him $2,696, according to prosecutors.
Rodda also told a friend Mason had been paying him for sex and threatened to go to cops if he stopped, which the teen’s pal said was wrong and amounted to “blackmail,” Unsworth said.
Mason later allegedly complained in messages recovered by investigators that the payments were “cleaning him out,” the Chester Chronicle reported.
Unsworth said the pair had sex on at least five occasions after connecting on Instagram, the Manchester Evening News reported.
At one point, Rodda’s mother allegedly returned home and found her son “flustered” with Mason inside, according to the newspaper.
“You may well think that Matthew Mason didn’t want Alex to tell anyone about their relationship,” Unsworth said in court Tuesday. “He manifestly made sure that Alex never could.”
Mason’s trial, which adjourned for the day Tuesday, is expected to last several weeks.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/08/uk-teen-accused-of-murdering-boy-who-threatened-to-reveal-r elationship/
Photo Credit: Facebook
Cops raid home of scientist who said she was fired for not doctoring COVID-19 data
Florida police on Monday raided the home of a former state data scientist who claimed she was fired from the Department of Health for refusing to doctor coronavirus figures.
Rebekah Jones posted video on Twitter showing officers with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement drawing their guns as they entered her house in Tallahassee.
“They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids,” she wrote.
Jones — who has been a vocal critic of Gov. DeSantis’ handling of the pandemic since she was canned in May — said agents seized her phone and computer.
“They claimed it was about a security breach. This was DeSantis. He sent the gestapo,” she wrote.
A police spokeswoman confirmed that officers served a search warrant at Jones’ home, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.
The warrant stemmed from an investigation into an alleged hack of the Department of Health’s messaging alert system used for emergencies.
On Nov. 10, someone used the alert system to send a message stating: “It’s time to speak up before another 17,000 people are dead. You know this is wrong. You don’t have to be a part of this. Be a hero. Speak out before it’s too late,” the newspaper reported.
About 1,750 of the messages went out before delivery was stopped, according to the search warrant.
Agents suspect someone at Jones’ home “illegally accessed the system,” the police spokeswoman said.
Jones denied hacking the system.
“I have never had access to that system,” she told the Sun Sentinel. “I am not a hacker. I do data statistics and analysis.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/07/cops-raid-home-of-scientist-who-said-she-was-fired-for-not-doctoring-covid-19-data/
Photo Credit: Florida Department of Health
Politically correct Santa tells crying kid he won’t bring him Nerf gun
A mall Santa dropped the hammer on a little boy who asked him for a Nerf gun for Christmas — telling the bawling kid he wouldn’t bring him the toy.
The politically correct Kris Kringle was caught on video asking the child what he wanted for the holiday, according to a Facebook post by the boy’s mother.
The boy apparently mentioned a gun, because the Santa could be heard replying, “No, no guns.’’
When the kid’s mom, who was standing nearby, piped in just to be clear, “Nerf gun,’’ the not-so-jolly Ol’ St. Nick was still having none of it.
“Nope, not even a Nerf gun,’’ said the unmoved Father Christmas, who was sitting at a table surrounded by fake presents, with the boy across from him nervously holding his face mask, in what looked like a mall.
“If your dad wants to get it for you that’s fine, but I can’t bring it to you,” the Santa Claus said. “What else would you like? Lots of other toys. Legos. There’s bicycles. There’s cars and trucks. What do you think?”
The child turned to his mom and burst into tears, continuing to sob even when she bent down to hug and comfort him — and told him, “You’ll still get it.’’
It’s not clear when or where the incident took place, but the Twittersphere reaction was swift — and heavily against Santa.
“Leftists are monsters!” one user wrote.
Another added, “Havnt kids been through enough this year? I give the mom credit because I would have caused a scene”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/07/santa-tells-crying-kid-he-wont-bring-him-nerf-gun/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Cartoon Network and Black-owned animation studio launch awards show honoring Black animators
(CNN) — Cartoon Network Studios is partnering with animation house Black Women Animate to establish the Black in Animation Awards Show.
The online event will be held Sunday and aims to recognize Black creatives who have left a tremendous mark and continue to do so within the field of animation.
“This is a time to celebrate and honor Black creatives who often do not get the recognition that they deserve within the media industry,” said JLove Calderón, the managing partner of Black Women Animate. “Many Black animators have been doing this work for so long and are often overshadowed. This awards show will not only pay respect to them but also inspire the next wave of future Black animators, producers, and creatives alike.”
The inaugural ceremony will be hosted by Grammy-winning artist Estelle, who voices one of the characters on the Cartoon Network series “Steven Universe.” Estelle will perform as well.
“When JLove and I came up with the idea, we were surprised to learn that there wasn’t already a platform to celebrate Black animators yet,” said Taylor K. Shaw, founder and CEO of Black Women Animate.
“This is so important in this moment because we have had a very challenging year, and this year for Black people especially, has not been the easiest. As we think about the way this country and the entertainment industry is going, it’s even more critical that Black folks are being centered and honored for our contributions to the media and animation industry.”
Black Women Animate, also known as BWA, was founded by Shaw in collaboration with Calderón, the organization aims to create content and offer production-related services to other studios and companies within the animation industry.
“The name of our studio is very intentional; it serves as a call to action that our studio is a place to support the rise of Black female talent in animation,” Calderón said. “When we first started, we were told that no one was going to work with us due to our name. Fast forward three years later, when you are focused on authentic representation it makes a greater impact in our content, mission, and influence on the entertainment industry.”
BWA is run by Black female creative professionals and focuses on hiring and creating content produced by minorities.
“We are a mission-driven animation studio it is our goal to create awesome content that is reflective of the African diaspora,” Shaw said. “And while doing that, we want to make sure that we are consciously hiring Black women, women of color, and non-binary people of color. We exist as a studio to amplify creativity and Black talent.”
BWA hopes that the award show and future events the studio is planning can help inspire the next generation of creatives.
“My message to the future generation of creators is you can, and you will,” said Shaw. “And these people that you are watching in the award show are examples of what is possible to become in the field of animation and beyond as well. Keep your dream alive.”
The inaugural Black in Animation Awards show will be broadcast online on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Viewers must register to watch the show at BWA’s website.
via: https://www.kmov.com/cartoon-network-and-black-owned-animation-studio-launch-awards-show-honoring-black-animators/article_b4ded204-1715-559e-a7ae-88a20021f293.html
Photo Credit: Courtesy Kristina Bakrevski
‘I couldn’t save either one of them.’ ICU nurse loses husband and mom to Covid-19
(CNN) — Oklahoma City ICU nurse Lizanne Jennings comforted her husband, Dennis, in the moments before he succumbed to Covid-19.
“Are you ready to be at peace?” she recalled asking him on November 23.
‘He said, ‘Uh-huh.’ And I said, ‘OK. Mom’s fine. She’s back at the house. She’s going to stay with me.’ Because I knew he would keep fighting if I told him my mom had already died. And so they started giving him morphine and Ativan. I turned him over and I rubbed his back. I said, ‘I love you.’ He said, ‘I love you.’ And I said, “You’re going to go now, OK? You can finally be at peace.'”
Dennis took his last breath 30 minutes later, Jennings told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Tuesday. Her mother, Linda, who had also been infected with Covid-19, had died just three days earlier.
“It’s just so raw,” Jennings said in an interview, struggling to keep her composure as her son Brayden placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Sometimes I’m grieving for my husband and then I realize my mom’s gone. And I’m grieving for my mom. I just think … oh, I’m going to go tell Dennis but then Dennis is gone. So the two people that would have been so supportive … you know, they’re both gone.”
The sense of loss leaves her and her two sons feeling like they’re drowning, she said.
“As we go down, we’re trying to push the other one back up to take a breath,” she said. “It didn’t have to be this way…. Our family didn’t have to be gutted.”
Her son Brayden, an attorney, lamented that he couldn’t be there to support his mother when he also became infected.
“It’s kind of like we’re broken, but we’re continuing to break,” he said. “And at that time when I got that positive result that, that took away her support system. They were both in the hospital, and I couldn’t come hug my mom because I couldn’t get her sick.”
Jennings and her son remembered Dennis as strong and “full of life.” Before becoming ill, dad had beaten his son in a pushup contest.
But, months after warning her husband about the deadly virus, Jennings now watched him lying on his stomach in a hospital bed. Moments after he died, she bathed him and cut his hair.
“And then I left him,” she said. “There’s nothing else. I couldn’t save either one of them. If people don’t wear masks, they don’t want to wear a mask… This got brought into our home. My mom never left the house. My husband was so careful. Stop being selfish. Stop being selfish. That’s all.”
In March, during the start of the first wave of the pandemic, Jennings talked to her husband about how much worse things were going to get.
“‘Look at me. This is going to get bad. This is going to get so bad,'” she told him.
“I said, ‘One of us could die and I need you to hear that and I need you to wear your mask and I need you to hand sanitize. And so he did… Mom stayed home for eight and a half months. And so you have people that are doing everything right and we didn’t get to hug my mom and we didn’t go anywhere… And we still lost them. It doesn’t matter how strong you are. People are like, ‘Oh man, Dennis is so strong. He’s going to make it.’ It happens no matter what. The virus keeps winning.”
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/i-couldnt-save-either-one-of-them-icu-nurse-loses-husband-and-mom-to-covid/article_a09de7ea-1a66-5c77-8602-3e0dcceff716.html?block_id=985911
Photo Credit: CNN
Model claims sunbathing vagina for 2 hours a day boosted her libido
A Brazilian model claims that she increases her sex drive with a little afternoon d-light by way of sunning her vagina.
“Nothing better than a morning sun…,” 23-year-old Letícia Martins, who goes by Lunna Leblanc, captioned a nude Instagram post of herself this week in which she displays her naked body, legs spread at the sun.
“Did you know that exposing your private parts to the sun can provide you with more energy, increase your libido, improve circadian rhythm (which regulates the entire functioning of the human body) and still help you get a good night’s sleep?” the bikini influencer continued in Portuguese, ending the post with a question to her 14,400 followers. “What did you think of this experience?”
The majority of comments on the photo, which has racked up more than 1,200 likes since being posted, are mostly fire and heart emojis and comments on Martins’ body, with a few stragglers warning of the sun’s dangers, including its cancer-causing abilities. “If you want to upload more juicy content do it but don’t mess with practices that can be fatal,” wrote one troubled viewer, reprimanding Martins and telling her “don’t mislead your followers.”
Several studies have linked vitamin D to sex drive changes, although Martins doesn’t cite any scientific backing for pointing your genitalia at the sky.
Last year, wellness influencers were gripped by another nude trend involving pointing one’s nether regions at the sky: perineum sunning. Medical experts, however, were quick to dismiss its benefits.
“There is no evidence that sunbathing in this way has any effect on physical well-being,” Dr. Diana Gall of UK-based online doctor service Doctor 4 U told Insider at the time. “Yes, practicing mindfulness and meditation, and getting your dose of vitamin D, is beneficial for mental and physical health, but you don’t need to damage your skin in the process from sun exposure.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/04/model-claims-sunbathing-vagina-daily-boosted-libido/
Photo Credit: Instagram
Virginia boy brings gun to school after grabbing wrong backpack
A 5-year-old boy from Virginia brought a gun to school after grabbing an adult’s backpack by mistake, authorities said.
The boy pulled out the weapon from the bag during class at Anne E. Moncure Elementary School in Stafford on Thursday, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
School staff immediately confiscated the firearm and called the sheriff’s office.
An investigation revealed the boy had accidentally grabbed an adult’s backpack — which had the gun inside — before he was dropped off at school.
The sheriff’s office said charges against the gun owner are pending.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/05/virginia-boy-brings-gun-to-school-after-grabbing-wrong-backpack/
Photo Credit: iStockphoto
Mom admits to murder of daughter, 5, who drank from her bong and was poisoned by meth
A young mom in Rifle, Colorado, whose five-year-old daughter died after consuming bong water that was infused with crystal meth, has pleaded guilty to murder, The U.S. Sun reports.
The 27-year-old mom, Stephanie Alvarado, could get slapped with up to a 48-year prison term for allowing her daughter, Sophia Larson, to drink the meth-poisoned bong water a year ago.
The mom had been indulging in meth via bong hits with two of her cousins the night of December 10, 2019, when they should have been taking care of her young daughter.
Poor little Sophia got up in the middle of the night looking for a drink of water. She fatefully — and fatally — drank the bong water left behind by her drug-addled mother.
She immediately spat the water out and said “yucky”, but before long began experiencing hallucinations.
Did the mom and her cousins call for medical help after her daughter drank the meth-infused bong water?
No, they went the Christian Science route, praying and reading from the Bible.
The meth-using mom reportedly worried that she would lose her shared custody deal with her daughter’s father if she dialed 911 to report the disastrous bong water mishap.
True Crime Daily reports that Sophia perished the following day.
Prosecutors say Alvarado waited hours to take her daughter to the emergency room, even though she saw her 5-year old hallucinating after drinking from a bottle she didn’t know was laced with methamphetamine.
The disgraced mom will be sentenced on January 29 for her grave mistake in allowing her innocent daughter to fatally imbibe the meth-tainted bong water.
The coroner found that little Sophia had “very, very high” levels of meth in her system after the murderous mom’s daughter died from drinking the bond water.
When the cops sweeped the murder scene, they found small plastic bags filed with white power, as well as pipes and bongs strewn all over the apartment.
There was also evidence that the drug-happy relatives, all of whom, according to Fox Denver 31, have been charged with homicide, had been sniffing drugs: a dollar bill caked with drug residue.
Alvarado’s cousins Daniel Alvarado and Bertha Ceballos-Roma were charged with the girl’s death as well.
“I don’t know how to explain the amount that I miss her, you know. It’s not something that I really have the words for,” said Sophia’s grieving father, Alec Larson, 24, in the wake of her daughter’s death from the meth-infused bong water while she was in the care of her high-as-a-kite mother.
The father attended the hearing where his ex-girlfriend copped to slaying their child.
As for Alvarado, she appeared remotely from the Garfield County Jail.
“She killed my daughter. I don’t see it any other way,” Larson said, according to Metro.
via: https://knewz.com/mom-daughter-meth-bong/?utm_source=nypost
Photo Credit: knewz.com
$60,000 reward offered in shooting death of 1-year-old boy in Washington, DC
(CNN) — Authorities offered reward of up to $60,000 after a 1-year-old was shot and killed in Washington, DC, on Wednesday night, according to police.
The boy, Carmelo Duncan, was in a car when he was shot multiple times, police said.
Preliminary information indicates that a man was driving the car, and there may have been another child passenger, according to city Police Chief Peter Newsham. Neither was injured in the shooting.
It appears that the car had been moving when the shooting took place, Newsham said.
Police officers who arrived at the scene about 9:35 p.m. Wednesday were told DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services had rushed the boy to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead after life-saving efforts failed, the police department said in a statement.
The Metropolitan Police Department is offering a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone who provides information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible, the police said.
The Washington field office of the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has offered an additional $25,000, and the FBI Washington field office has offered $10,000, bringing the total reward amount to $60,000.
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shooting a “heinous crime.”
“There are no words for the sense of loss that our city will feel when they hear of this heartbreaking tragedy,” Bowser said in a statement.
“We cannot tolerate senseless gun violence, and we must continue to come together to have the tough conversations about what we must do to eradicate it,” she said.
Anyone with information should call the police at 202-727-9099 or text 50411.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the angel we lost, his loved ones, and those who know the agony of this terrible loss,” the mayor said.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/60-000-reward-offered-in-shooting-death-of-1-year-old-boy-in-washington-dc/article_9240e24a-be6b-588f-8159-3f0cc2932a60.html
Photo Credit: Metropolitan Police Department
Male student suspended for wearing nail polish at Texas high school
ABILENE, Texas (KTXS/Meredith) — Remember school dress codes? They’re still a thing, and one student in Texas is taking a suspension to show his school’s rules haven’t kept up with the times.
Clyde High School senior Trevor Wilkinson made a post on snapchat. He was in tears and showing his middle finger during a bathroom break from in school suspension.
“Oh yes, I was bawling my eyes out,” he said.
Wilkinson said he was put in suspension after he showed up to school Monday with his fingernails polished. He said he is being unfairly punished by the Clyde Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) for painting his nails.
“It is a complete double-standard because girls are allowed to have any form of nails they want, and honestly they can express themselves in any way they want,” he said.
For male students, the school district’s handbook says “Makeup and nail polish are prohibited.”
The handbook also says that the student “will be given an opportunity to correct the problem at school, if not corrected the student may be assigned to in-school suspension.”
Wilkinson started an online petition calling for the school to change the policy, garnering thousands of signatures so far. He wrote: “I am a gay male and I’m beyond proud. This is unjust and not okay.”
“You can express yourself in whatever way you please, and that you don’t need to conform to gender norms.”
Clyde CISD declined an on-camera interview, but released a statement to local news outlet KTXS.
“The district appreciates the feedback and input on this issue received from members of the community, and will take this into consideration when it conducts its annual review later this school year,” the statement read.
According to Wilkinson, the principal of Clyde High School told him he had three options. He could enter into virtual learning or he could remove his nail polish and come back to school.
His third option would be to remain in in-school suspension and keep his nails.
“…and that’s exactly what I’m doing,” Wilkinson said.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/male-student-suspended-for-wearing-nail-polish-at-texas-high-school/article_25759c51-baa8-5c3d-8274-5a18de38694c.html?block_id=990844
Photo Credit: kmov.com