Texas woman loses 70 pounds after ex-boyfriend says she’s ‘too fat’ to date
Miriam Blanco, a 33-year-old mother of four, claims she was dumped by her ex-boyfriend for being “too fat.”
“I had an ex that would always tell me no one wants to end up with someone fat and that I was lucky he was even sticking around. I remember that stuck with me for a long time — sometimes it still gets to me. After he left, I was a depressed single mother of two,” Blanco told the Daily Mail.
“I hated how I looked. I had very low self-esteem. I used to tell my husband if he left me for another woman, I wouldn’t be angry because I knew he could do better than me,” she explained of her poor self-worth, even after she had gotten married to her current husband.
The pharmacy technician, from Houston, Texas, managed to turn her insecurity into motivation to lose weight, dropping from 218 pounds to 150. But it wasn’t only her insecurity that prompted her to make a change.
In 2015, Blanco was in a car accident that left her with severe back pain, and doctors limited her options to surgery or relying on pain medication — neither of which she wanted.
Instead, her husband, a Navy veteran, suggested she try strengthening exercises for her back to alleviate some of the pain.
“At the time my girls were young. My two youngest were about 2 and 4. Relying on pain meds was not an option. My husband always worked out, he always loved working out and knew about eating healthy and bodybuilding.”
As soon as she began working out with her husband, Blanco was hooked. She continued to work out daily and focus on healthy eating. Soon, her weight — and back pain — started to melt away.
Now the healthy mom works out daily, even after working 12-hour shifts, and makes sure she hits her “protein, carbs and fats” each day.
“If it’s something you like, you will try anything to get it, and that’s exactly what I do.”
When she first started on her journey, she admitted, she was intimidated by the gym.
“My husband said everyone is here for the same reason as you are. Everyone wants to be a better version of themselves,” she said, the Daily Mail reported.
She persevered, and now cites “dedication” as the reason for her incredible physique. It’s also the advice she gives to others who want to lose weight.
“There is no magic pill, there’s no magic anything that will make you lose weight. It’s called ‘working out’ for a reason. Hard work and dedication get you to where you want.
“Stop listening to others and get your s— together, and work your a– off … You are doing it for you, not for others.”
Blanco does manage to treat herself, allowing one “sugary snack each evening.”
Now that she’s living a healthier lifestyle, Blanco says, she’s also confident that her own kids are eating healthier too. And outside of her family, her weight loss has also managed to touch other people’s lives.
“I actually get a lot of positive messages from men. They actually tell me that they show their wives my picture to show them, ‘Hey, she can do it, you can too.’ Which I like a lot, because they tell me all the time it’s about time we see a real woman out here, not afraid of showing stretch marks. It’s how a real woman looks. So, it makes me feel good to read their messages.”
Photo Credit: MDW Features
Hurricane Laura unleashes swarms of livestock-killing mosquitoes
Just in case 2020 wasn’t catastrophic enough, livestock — cows, horses and deer — in Louisiana are falling victim to a biblical plague of mosquitoes unleashed by Hurricane Laura.
“They’re vicious little suckers,” veterinarian Craig Fontenot told the AP about the insect scourge, which descended upon the Ville Platte community in a “thick cloud.”
As a result, 300 to 400 cows have perished since Aug. 27, and “there’s a lot on the verge of dying,” the vet told LSU AgCenter. If that wasn’t calamitous enough, several horses have also succumbed to the bugs and a deer farmer lost 30 of his 110 livestock, valued at around $100,000 total.
Fontenot attributed the animals’ deaths to mosquito-induced blood loss and exhaustion caused by constantly moving to avoid the oppressive insect clouds.
“They can’t get enough oxygen,” Fontenot added of their plight, which was reportedly caused by an unprecedented bloodsucker boom. According to LSU AgCenter agents, the mosquitoes invaded the region after being displaced from the salt marshes by Hurricane Laura.
Fortunately, cattle owners have been able to thin their buggy numbers by crop-dusting their pastures with pesticide. Meanwhile, AgCenter extension veterinarian Dr. Christine Navarre said that ranchers can mitigate the mosquito swarms by applying steer-safe insecticides to their livestock.
“Basically, there are many products that can be applied to the animals, either in a spray, spot-on or with back rubs,” she said. “It will depend on what is available locally and what works for the situation.”
Unfortunately, steer-sucking parasites aren’t the only cause for concern in wake of Hurricane Laura. Since making landfall Aug. 27, the storm system caused 27 deaths and power outages affecting up to 300,000 people across Texas and Louisiana.
Meanwhile, Florida beaches have been turned into putrid graveyards of rotting sea creatures washed ashore by the cyclone.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/10/hurricane-laura-unleashes-swarms-of-livestock-killing-mosquitoes/
Photo Credit: AP
Woman who acts like a kinky puppy makes $10K a month on OnlyFans
While working as an optician, Jenna Phillips started an account on OnlyFans for extra cash. After 18 months of posting “vanilla content” on the fan-subscription platform, the Austin, Texas, resident realized her longtime fetish for acting like a dog could be much more lucrative.
“I have always acted like a puppy, but not in a sexual way at first. I used to pretend I was a puppy when I was growing up,” Phillips, 21, told the Mirror. “Looking back on it now, it’s kind of always been there. I just didn’t know there was a scene — I just thought it was my personality.”
Phillips said she met two men who opened her eyes to the fact that her fetish was an entire subculture, and she began posting far kinkier videos — to great success. She has since grown a massive online following, gaining over 215,100 TikTok followers since March, and earning enough money via her OnlyFans — $10,000 a month, she told Vice — that she was able to quit working as an optician and dedicate herself to full time puppy play.
“It’s insane,” she told the outlet. “I never thought my weird dog kink would be looked at by a broad audience, or that so many people would like/care about it. It still blows my mind.”
Her TikTok features videos of her eating dog food, making a mess and being ordered outside as punishment, crawling around with a tennis ball in her mouth and performing other dog-like behavior, often while wearing a collar.
“When it comes to pet play, the majority of girls do kittens, foxes or rabbits, and the majority of puppies are men,” she told the Mirror of her niche occupation. “I thought about it for a long time when I first got into pet play. I feel like a dog,” so that’s what she decided to be.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/10/woman-makes-10k-a-month-pretending-to-be-a-kinky-puppy-on-onlyfans/
Photo Credit: Jenna Phillips/TikTok
Police chief stabbed in face with ice pick after answering his door, SC cops say
A South Carolina police chief was stabbed in the face with an ice pick when he answered his door, officials say.
Franco Fuda was in his Charleston-area home — on-duty, putting on equipment and wearing his uniform — when he heard someone knock on Monday, the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office said in an incident report.
That’s when Fuda, chief of the Bonneau Police Department, saw a man in his front yard who had been on a “trespass notice” for his property, the report said.
The man, identified by authorities as Forrest Bowman, allegedly said the police chief was “going to die.”
When Fuda got his phone to call 911, police say, the man hit him. The police chief attempted to arrest Bowman and then saw him holding a “sharp pointy object,” according to authorities.
The incident report says Bowman used an ice pick to stab the police chief in the face. Photos shared with WCSC and WCIV show Fuda with blood under his left eye.
Bowman is accused of running to a home and barricading himself inside. He was later caught and charged with attempted murder, according to the sheriff’s office.
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/xandr/police-chief-stabbed-face-ice-192547730.html
Photo Credit: twitter
Tiger King’ star Joe Exotic seeking pardon from President Trump
“Tiger King” star Joe Exotic reportedly applied to seek a pardon from President Donald Trump.
According to TMZ, Exotic’s legal team will hand-deliver the 257-page application to the White House on Thursday.
A handwritten letter from Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, was also included in the application, CBS News reported.
According to CBS News, Exotic called Trump his hero and asked that he listen to his son Donald Jr.
Exotic is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for plotting to kill Florida animal sanctuary owner Carole Baskin.
Photo Credit: Sue Ogrocki/AP
Uber driver chokes, sexually assaults woman who was trying to get out of his vehicle
An Uber driver was arrested after allegedly choking and sexually assaulting a woman as she was trying to get out of his vehicle during a ride early Wednesday, Santa Ana police said.
The incident occurred about 4 a.m., when the 51-year-old victim requested an Uber ride to get to work.
The driver, later identified as 30-year-old Jason Rodas, at one point canceled the ride and told the victim it would be free, police said in a news release.
Rodas then allegedly asked the victim questions about her sex life, before she became frightened and demanded he take her to work.
Rodas allegedly threatened to throw the victim out of the vehicle if she alerted authorities, police said.
The suspect didn’t stop the ride and drove erratically until getting to the 300 block of South Minnie Street. That’s when the victim jumped out of the vehicle in an attempt to escape, but Rodas “quickly caught her,” police said.
Rodas then allegedly placed the woman in a choke hold, strangled her and sexually assaulted her.
It is unclear how the victim got away, but Rodas was arrested hours later based on evidence at the scene, police said.
Detectives also served a search warrant at Rodas’ Garden Grove home.
He was booked on suspicion of several sexual assault charges, including kidnapping to commit rape, and is being held on $1 million bail.
“Santa Ana Police Department Detectives believe Rodas may have committed other crimes due to his actions,” officials said.
Anyone with additional information about Rodas or the alleged crimes can contact Detective Julio Gallardo at 714-245-8378 or [email protected], or Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS.
Photo Credit: Santa Ana Police Department
Honolulu woman falls short of grocery bill by a penny, and no one in line could help her
A sign of the times — Honolulu resident Vee Hoffman said no one standing in line behind her at the grocery store could help pay the remainder of her grocery bill, which was only a penny.
“We’re in a time where a penny goes a long way,” Hoffman said.
While checking out at a grocery store, Hoffman said she was charged 47 cents for three bags to hold her groceries, and she thought she had enough money in her bank account to cover the cost.
“I did not. It just pulled out 37 cents, and I had only nine pennies on me, and was a penny short,” Hoffman recalled.
Hoffman said the cashier did not allow her to leave the store without paying the last penny, so she asked the other shoppers in line if they could spare one, but no one could help her.
“Not a lot of us have cash these days and it really showed that day,” Hoffman added.
The store manager then walked by, and decided to write off the remainder of the bill.
“We’re in times where it brings out certain sides of us, but it’s up to us to choose what we want to do with our opportunities and choices,” Hoffman said.
“We really try to hang on to that aloha spirit, but it’s really hard when you’re in the dark.”
Hoffman said that’s how she has felt for the past few months as she battles depression. She was working as a bartender in Waikiki before getting laid off in March.
Since then, she has been trying to secure a new job, and even applied to positions on the mainland, but has not had any luck. She also said she’s been collecting unemployment insurance, but it’s not enough to cover her rent alone.
“I juggle each month, which bill I’m going to pay, which one can I afford to pay, and it’s just a never ending nightmare,” Hoffman said.
Her message to lawmakers — listen to those in need.
“It’s really frustrating to be living in one of the most expensive places in the world, and having to go through this when we shouldn’t have to,” Hoffman said.
Photo Credit: cbs46.com
High school student suspended for going to class on a remote-learning day
A Long Island high school senior is reportedly facing a five-day suspension after he ignored protocol by showing up to class Tuesday when he was scheduled to learn remotely.
“I was going to school like students should be going to school,” Maverick Stow, 17-year-old student at William Floyd High School explained to WABC of why he attended in-person classes on the first day of school.
“I think that a five-day suspension is out of line,” Stow, who has the support of parents, told the outlet.
Stow said trouble first arose when his first-period teacher noticed he wasn’t on Tuesday’s in-person roster.
The teacher sent Stow to the principal’s office and he was asked to report home.
“‘Well, no, I think I need to go to class. This is during class time,’” Stow said he responded to administrators.
Instead of following their orders, Stow said he finished the day learning in class before being notified of the disciplinary action.
His mother, Nora Kaplan-Stow, agreed with her son’s decision.
“Kids need to be in school every day. Virtual learning is not learning,” she told WABC. “My son is being suspended because he wants to be in school.”
Added the student’s father, Richard Stow: “He’s a very smart kid. He knows what he’s doing. When he said this is how he wanted to handle things, we were like, ‘Then go for it.’”
A spokesman for the school district, James Montalto, said in a statement that for the school to comply with state-mandated social distancing measures, students must abide by their hybrid schedules.
“Students who refuse to adhere to their scheduled in-person days and/or flagrantly disregard directives to leave school grounds and cause a disruptive environment for other students, will face disciplinary actions,” Montalto said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/08/student-suspended-for-going-to-class-on-remote-learning-day/
Photo Credit: ABC7
Los Angeles bans Halloween trick-or-treating due to COVID-19 risk
Traditional Halloween activities like trick-or-treating, parties, festivals and haunted houses won’t be permitted throughout Los Angeles this fall due to the risk of contracting or spreading COVID-19, health officials announced.
“Door to door trick or treating is not allowed because it can be very difficult to maintain proper social distancing on porches and at front doors especially in neighborhoods that are popular with trick or treaters,” the new guidance reads.
Also banned this year is so-called “trunk or treating,” where children get candy and other treats from cars instead of doorsteps, as well as gatherings or parties with non-household members and live entertainment like haunted house attractions, county officials said.
“Since some of the traditional ways in which this holiday is celebrated does not allow you to minimize contact with non-household members, it is important to plan early and identify safer alternatives,” county health officials said in a statement.
To that end, those who wish to celebrate Halloween amid the pandemic with safer alternatives can host or attend online get-togethers, costume contests or pumpkin carving parties.
Revelers can also take part in drive-by costume contests with judges maintaining proper social distance, decorate their homes or yards or participate in drive-by events with treat bags – although any candy doled out should be commercially packaged, county health officials said.
Other options include Halloween movie nights at participating drive-in theaters and themed meals at outdoor restaurants, where health protocols of face masks and at least 6 feet of distance from others must be followed.
The longtime owner of a costume store on Hollywood Boulevard, meanwhile, said he believes people throughout Los Angeles can still celebrate the holiday safely.
“People decorate their house, backyard … and [on] Hollywood Boulevard, it’s always Halloween,” Ron Moazzez told CBS Los Angeles. “There doesn’t need to be a private party.”
One woman told the station she expects Halloween to be a day for people who have been confined by the pandemic to let loose.
“Just because people have been kind of stir crazy, pent up at home [with] not much to do, so I would think it would be big release of fun for everybody and hopefully that’s what it is,” Alison Isbell told CBS Los Angeles.
A total of 249,241 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed as of Tuesday in Los Angeles County, where 6,036 people have died from the virus, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Ninety-two percent of the victims who succumbed to COVID-19 had underlying health conditions, officials said.
“L.A. County is still among the California counties with high rates of community transmission,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “Before we get into cooler weather and flu season, we need to significantly lower the number of new cases. This is the only path forward that allows us to get more students back to school and reopen more business sectors.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/09/los-angeles-bans-halloween-trick-or-treating-due-to-covid-19/
Photo Credit: nypost.com/Alamy Stock Photo
Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize noting that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had won it
President Trump has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for helping broker a peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, according to a report.
Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of the Norwegian Parliament and chairman of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, submitted the nomination, Fox News reported.
“For his merit, I think he has done more trying to create peace between nations than most other Peace Prize nominees,” Tybring-Gjedde told Fox News.
In his letter to the Nobel Committee, Tybring-Gjedde wrote that the Trump administration has played a key role in the establishment of relations between the two nations.
“As it is expected other Middle Eastern countries will follow in the footsteps of the UAE, this agreement could be a game-changer that will turn the Middle East into a region of cooperation and prosperity,” he wrote, Fox News reported.
Tybring-Gjedde also cited Trump’s “key role in facilitating contact between conflicting parties and … creating new dynamics in other protracted conflicts, such as the Kashmir border dispute between India and Pakistan, and the conflict between North and South Korea, as well as dealing with the nuclear capabilities of North Korea.”
And he lauded the president for withdrawing a large number of forces from the Middle East.
“Indeed, Trump has broken a 39-year-old streak of American Presidents either starting a war or bringing the United States into an international armed conflict. The last president to avoid doing so was Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter,” he wrote.
The president last month made the announcement of the historic peace agreement that would pave the way for full normalization of relations between Israel and the UAE.
With the agreement, the UAE becomes the third Arab country, after Egypt and Jordan, to have full diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, who is married to first daughter Ivanka Trump, helped orchestrate the deal.
Since the deal was made public, Israel signaled that it is willing to explore business opportunities with the UAE, specifically in the areas of commercial space and high tech.
Trump allies have previously suggested the possibility of a Nobel in response to his negotiations with North Korea.
The president also has grumbled about the prize, noting that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had won it.
“They gave it to Obama. He didn’t even know what he got it for. He was there for about 15 seconds and he got the Nobel Prize. He said, ‘Oh, what did I get it for?’” Trump said in February 2019. “With me, I probably will never get it.”
Tybring-Gjedde also submitted a Nobel nomination for Trump along with another Norwegian official in 2018 after the president’s Singapore summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has also nominated Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize after receiving a request from the US government to do so, according to reports.
According to the official Nobel website, there were 318 candidates for the 2020 Peace Prize. The winner of the prize for 2021 will not be announced until October of next year.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/09/09/trump-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize-by-norwegian-official/
Photo Credit: nypost.com