Police officer dies after attempted rescue of teens who fell through ice
A 16-year-old girl was killed and a teen boy was injured after they slipped through an icy lake in Ohio — and a police officer died during the rescue attempt, officials said.
The drowning was reported just before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday near a private dock on the north side of Rocky Fork Lake, according to news station WCPO.
The boy, who was only identified as a 13-year–old, tried to locate the girl under the ice before he freed himself, authorities said.
Divers ultimately pulled the girl from the lake around 11 p.m. — after four hours of being trapped under the ice — but she succumbed to her injuries later in the hospital, WCPO reported.
An Ohio Natural Resources Department police officer who responded to the call also died after he suffered a medical emergency during the rescue attempt, the outlet reported.
Officer Jason Lagore fell ill shortly after arriving at the scene and was brought to the hospital, but he was unable to be resuscitated, officials said. No further details were released about the circumstances surrounding his death.
“Our hearts are with the family and loved ones of Officer Jason Lagore, who died in the line of duty last night,” Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz said.
“Our law enforcement officers and their families carry a unique and challenging burden of responsibilities, and we are deeply grateful for their service.”
The 13-year-old was also transported to the hospital, where he was treated for hypothermia, officials said. Neither teen was identified by name.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/24/officer-dies-after-attempted-rescue-of-teens-who-fell-through-ice/
Photo Credit: Google Maps
College student found hanged after telling friends she had been raped
A 17-year-old British college student who told friends she had been raped at a house party was found hanged in her room the next morning.
Megan Younger-Watson told friends she was “distraught” after being sexually assaulted at the party after a night of drinking on Feb. 15, 2019, in Ipswich — just hours before she was found dead in her hostel, the Ipswich Star reported.
The teen’s death, the subject of an inquest at the Suffolk County Coroner’s Court on Tuesday, determined that Younger-Watson had cocaine, Ecstasy, and Xanax in her body when she died — but relatively low levels of alcohol.
Police later identified her alleged attacker but declined to press charges, although Suffolk Police Det. Inspector Daniel Connick acknowledged it was “apparent” that Younger-Watson had been “too intoxicated” to consent to sex, The Sun said in a report Wednesday.
“Megan was one of the most wonderful, bubbliest, happiest people you’d ever meet,” her mother, Natashia Younger-Watson, told The Sun. “She put everyone before herself. That’s why there’s been such a big tribute to her. She was absolutely amazing.”
The teen, a drama student at Suffolk New College in Ipswich, had a history of anxiety and depression and was facing eviction from the Christchurch House hostel.
The night before her death, Younger-Watson was out with friends for a night of partying at the Grinning Rat pub, and joined the group at a party at a local apartment when the bar closed at midnight, the Ipswich Star said.
The teen rarely went out and told a friend she “didn’t know what she was doing.”
After telling her friends of the assault, Younger-Watson was twice carried upstairs by the night manager at the hostel, but was ultimately left alone. At 10 a.m. the next morning, her friends called the police because she was not answering her door.
Police broke the door down and found her unresponsive, the reports said.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/24/student-found-hanged-after-telling-friends-she-had-been-raped/
Photo Credit: facebook
Florida woman charged with setting fire to 10 trash trucks
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida woman who set fire last fall to 10 garbage trucks outside a solid waste business where she worked has been arrested, authorities said.
Saprell Frazier, 43, was taken into custody during a traffic stop Friday in Pompano Beach, a day after being placed under surveillance, according to a Broward Sheriff’s Office report. She was charged with one count of burglary with structural damage and 11 counts of second-degree arson.
According to a news release, surveillance video from the early morning hours of Oct. 18 shows a person in a garbage bag suit and goggles break into the Waste Pro compound in Pompano Beach, just north of Fort Lauderdale. Investigators said the intruder torched the gate before walking around the compound and setting fire to multiple trucks. Before leaving, the person opened a door to the building and placed a bottle containing a clear substance on the floor and then set it on fire, officials said.
Investigators estimated the fires did about $4 million in damage.
As the building caught fire, the intruder left the scene in a black car, authorities said. Another car on the scene may have been a lookout, investigators said. Authorities are still searching for an accomplice, the sheriff’s office said.
Officials didn’t release details about how they said they identified Frazier as a suspect or what a motive might have been. At one point, officials had been offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to an arrest. It wasn’t clear if anyone had received the money.
Frazier was being held without bond. Court records didn’t list an attorney for her.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/florida-woman-charged-with-setting-fire-to-10-trash-trucks/article_6c03fdf3-0893-56f1-afde-48781be87de5.html?block_id=985911
Photo Credit: Broward County Sheriff’s Office via AP
HelloFresh apologizes after customer appears to receive bottle of urine with delivery
A meal delivery service was forced to apologize Sunday after a customer received what appeared to be a bottle of urine with their order.
The unwanted ingredient — which apparently arrived in an empty plastic Coca-Cola bottle — was included in a HelloFresh meal kit delivered to an address in the UK.
“Hey @HelloFreshUK , I’ll keep it simple: why have I received someone’s bottled up piss as part of my order?” Oliver McManus tweeted on Sunday, with a photo of the bottle in question.
When other Twitter users speculated that the bottle was full of apple juice, McManus offered to return the bottle to HelloFresh.
“I’ll send it to you and you can have a whiff in case you’re [sic] sceptical,” he tweeted.
Others pointed out that the bottle may have been accidentally left there by a warehouse worker or a delivery driver. McManus agreed, saying that the box was already partially opened when it arrived.
“The last thing I would want is for anyone to get sacked or in trouble as a result of this incident. It is unfortunate that it happened but I’m sure it raises some wider questions about working conditions in the UK,” McManus told The Independent.
HelloFresh quickly responded to McManus on Twitter, saying they “truly lack the words to describe how sorry we are because of this,” before issuing a longer apology to UK media outlets.
“Given the wholly unacceptable nature, we are urgently investigating, along with our delivery company, how an open box with this bottle in it was delivered.
“We have apologized directly to Mr McManus and offered an appropriate good will gesture. We are working hard to do everything we can to ensure that this cannot happen again.”
McManus seems to have taken the delivery fiasco in stride, writing in one final tweet: “Am I concerned about wider working conditions in the UK? Yes. Do I think anyone deserves to be sacked? No. Did I think so many people would care? No. Will I keep tweeting about boxing? Yes.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/22/hellofresh-apologizes-after-customer-appears-to-receive-bottle-of-urine-with-delivery/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Coca-Cola slammed for diversity training that urged workers to be ‘less white’
Coca-Cola employees were urged to be “less white” as part of the company’s alleged diversity training — but the material was yanked offline following a viral whistleblower post.
The “Confronting Racism” course in question was offered by LinkedIn Education and allegedly utilized by the soft-drink titan.
“In the U.S. and other Western nations, white people are socialized to feel that they are inherently superior because they are white,” reads one of the slides, allegedly sent from an “internal whistleblower” and posted on Twitter by YouTube commentator Karlyn Borysenko.
Another slide suggests “try to be less white” with tips including “be less oppressive,” “listen,” “believe” and “break with white solidarity.”
Borysenko, who describes herself as a supporter of banning critical race theory, said the screenshots were sent to her from an “internal whistleblower” from Coca-Cola, who told her the course was “required.”
Her tweet from Friday has garnered 18,000 retweets and more than 34,000 likes.
On Monday, LinkedIn said it had pulled the controversial course — featuring interviews with sociologist Robin DiAngelo, the author of “White Fragility.”
“The Confronting Racism course featuring Robin DiAngelo is no longer available in our course library, at the request of the 3rd party content provider we licensed this content from,” Nicole Leverich, vice president of corporate communications, told Newsweek in an email.
Leverich continued, “We provide a wide variety of learning content, including more than 270 courses on the topics of diversity, inclusion and belonging. We will continue to add new courses to help people learn the skills they need to be more successful in their career, including the foundational skills we all need to be effective allies and help build a more equitable future.”
DiAngelo, meanwhile, insists she was unaware she was featured in the course.
“The slides included were not created by Dr. DiAngelo,” said her rep, Caitlin Meyer.
“She was unaware that the videos had been re-edited in this way, or that they were being marketed as a course/training on anti-racism, since the way the content was put together did not accurately represent the way she would facilitate that type of work.”
Coca-Cola denied that the training was mandatory for employees, Newsweek reported. But Borysenko told the outlet that multiple workers said it was, in fact, required.
The drink giant told the publication that while its “Better Together” initiative included access to the LinkedIn diversity training, the course “was not part of the company’s curriculum.”
“We will continue to listen to our employees and refine our learning programs as appropriate,” the company said.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/coca-cola-diversity-training-urged-workers-to-be-less-white/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Pennsylvania woman charged with fatally shooting her children in the head
A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with shooting her two children in the head, authorities said.
Krisinda Bright, 48, was arrested Monday afternoon in Ambridge, where cops in western Pennsylvania responded to a 911 call regarding a shooting. Interim Police Chief John DeLuca told reporters at a press conference that officers then found Bright’s two children dead inside in a “gruesome scene,” WTAE reported.
A criminal complaint obtained by The Post indicates that Bright had “dried blood splatter” on her clothes and dry blood on her hands when cops responded to the residence. Asked if she was bleeding, Bright told police she wasn’t, adding that it was from her two victims.
Beaver County District Attorney David Lozier said a coroner has identified the victims as 16-year-old Kiara Bright and 22-year-old Jasmine Cannady. Kiara self-identified as a male, calling himself Jeffrey, Lozier said.
Bright told dispatchers she shot her children and that the gun used in the attack was unloaded on her dining room table. She later admitted shooting one of her children while they were lying in bed, according to the complaint.
She then went downstairs and pointed the weapon at her second child, who pleaded with her not to pull the trigger, saying “please don’t shoot, I’m gonna call the police,” the complaint states.
The weapon initially didn’t fire, but “Bright fixed the gun and then shot” her second child in the face. The woman’s child was still moving, so Bright went upstairs and got another weapon before returning and shooting her child again because she didn’t want the young victim “to suffer,” the complaint states.
Both victims were shot in the head or face, according to the complaint.
Bright is facing two counts of criminal homicide. She was being held early Tuesday at the Beaver County Jail without bond, WTAE reported.
Lozier told reporters Monday that investigators were looking for no other suspects in the double slaying. The motive for the fatal shootings was immediately unclear.
Bright was standing outside the home when officers arrived at the scene. She had earlier called cops to the residence, WPXI reported.
The 16-year-old victim was a student at Ambrose High School, according to the station, citing a statement released by district officials.
“This loss is sure to raise many emotions, concerns and questions for our entire school, especially our students,” the Ambridge Area School District said, adding that counselors would be made available to students in need. “We are saddened by the loss to our school community and will make every effort to help you and your child.”
It’s unclear if Bright had hired an attorney who could speak on her behalf.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/pennsylvania-woman-charged-with-killing-her-two-daughters/
Photo Credit: Beaver County DA’s Office
4-year-old UK girl accidentally hangs herself in tree
A 4-year-old UK girl hanged herself in a tree accidentally just days after becoming a sister to twins – and her mom has now spoken about her “hellstorm of grief” following the tragedy.
Freya Thorpe was wearing a bicycle helmet when she climbed a tree near her home in Upper Heyford, Oxfordshire, in September 2019, South West News Service reported.
She slipped and fell but her helmet strap caught on the tree and she died despite efforts by emergency responders.
“I am a broken individual, caught in a hellstorm of grief,” Freya’s mom Elise said, The Sun reported.
“We live every day and night in hell, torture, sheer shock and grief that can’t be comprehended,” she said.
The devastated mother told SWNS that she and her husband “were on cloud nine after the long-awaited arrival and difficult pregnancy” of twins Kiera and Zack — and added that she would have taken her own life had she not given birth 10 days earlier.
“A brother and sister that Freya had awaited so patiently for nine long and difficult months to become a big sister,” she told the outlet.
“In the early afternoon daddy had to go off to collect the special milk from Boots Pharmacy in Cowley for the twins as they were allergic to cows’ milk,” Elise recounted.
Freya had been invited to a play date at a house a “10-second” walk away on a cul-de-sac where parents “‘confidently let their children out to play,” the mother said.
But on the fateful day, Freya ventured outside without her mother knowing.
“I had a gut feeling I wanted her home. Shortly after, I saw an ambulance at the end of the road – I panicked, at the time not knowing why I was panicking,” Elise told SWNS.
“I called my husband to say I was going to get her back from the house behind. He said, ‘No, I’m five minutes away, stay with the babies,’” she said.
“I saw his car go past and not return from the little cul-de-sac. I knew something was wrong,” she added.
When she saw her husband with a firefighter, she grabbed the twins and rushed to a cordoned area where she saw first responders working desperately on Freya.
After waiting at John Radcliffe Hospital for two days, she and her husband were told their daughter could not be saved.
“I never stepped foot inside my home again. This is something I also lost and miss to this day — my home,” Elise said.
“Had I not given birth only 10 days before we would have taken our lives in the hospital that night, without a shadow of a doubt,” she said.
“We have had so much support over the last 18 months and we can’t tell you all how much that’s helped us through and for that I can never thank everyone enough for the support, kind words and donations – even from those we’ve never met,” the mother continued.
“But we’ve also experienced scrutiny and abuse from people who’ve asked, ‘Where were the parents? How could they let her out alone?’” she added.
“It has caused family rifts from relatives and judgment all because people didn’t know Freya wasn’t in our care when this happened.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/4-year-old-uk-girl-accidentally-hangs-herself-in-tree/
Photo Credit: Elise Thorpe/SWNS
Louisiana cop accused of holding arm around 13-year-old’s neck during arrest
A Louisiana police officer restrained a 13-year-old boy by putting his arm around the back of the child’s neck while pinning him to the ground, video shows.
The chaotic clip, posted Sunday on Twitter shows a Baton Rouge police corporal atop the juvenile as witnesses surrounding the pair plead with the officer to stop, saying to get off the “little boy.”
“He wasn’t doing nothing!” one man yelled at the corporal and another cop at the scene. Seconds later, the corporal who had been restraining the youngster released his grip and then put the boy into handcuffs, video shows.
Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome told reporters she and the city’s police chief viewed the footage Monday and have launched a review into the incident.
“What has raised ire of the public was a portion of the video involving a 13-year-old juvenile and what appears to be the arm of a Baton Rouge police officer around his neck,” Broome said.
No decision was made regarding the officer’s actions as of Tuesday, but Broome said the city and its police department filed a petition in court Monday to allow the full body-camera video to be made public since it involves a minor.
“I understand the significance of this moment, given our history and events that have taken place in our country,” Broome said. “I will make sure that this is thoroughly investigated.”
The footage was released to the boy’s family Monday, Broome said.
Police Chief Murphy Paul said cops responded to two disturbance calls involving several kids who were allegedly harassing other people. Officers got to the scene and de-escalated the situation without issuing citations or arresting anyone, Paul said.
Officers then returned to the location about an hour later and took two juveniles into custody – one for battery of a police officer and another for resisting arrest, Broome said.
An attorney for the boy seen in the clip told The Advocate he was charged with battery of a police officer before being released from a juvenile detention center later Sunday.
“I appreciate the swift response from Mayor Broome and the promises made by Chief Paul,” attorney Ron Haley said in a statement. “However, too many times in our community we see obvious police misconduct go unchecked and unpunished.”
Haley urged police officials to immediately release bodycam footage of the entire incident.
“No unarmed child should be choked and manhandled by a police officer,” Haley’s statement continued.
The officer in question – a 12-year department vet — remained on active-duty Tuesday, a Baton Rouge police spokesman told The Post.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/cop-allegedly-held-arm-around-13-year-olds-neck-during-arrest/
Photo Credit: businessinsider
Merelize Van Der Merwe faces backlash for posing with heart of giraffe she killed
A trophy hunter is facing furious backlash for posing with the heart of a giraffe she had just shot – describing the bloody organ as her “perfect” Valentine’s Day present.
Merelize Van Der Merwe, 32, infuriated Facebook users when she shared the gruesome image after her “wonderful” husband spent more than $2,000 to make her dream come true at a South African game park, the Mirror reported.
“Ever wondered how big a giraffe’s heart is? I’m absolutely over the moon with my BIG valentine’s present,” Van Der Merwe, who plans to use the beast’s skin as a rug, wrote on Facebook.
The avid hunter, who incurred the wrath of animal rights activists, brushed off their complaints by insisting that killing the 17-year-old bull actually helps save threatened species, a claim refuted by conservationists.
She also insisted that such slayings contributes to tourism.
Van Der Merwe — who has killed as many as 500 animals including lions, leopards and elephants — said she posted the sickening photo to taunt the animal rights lobby.
“I have no respect for them – I call them the mafia,” she told the Mirror as she recounted the couple’s dream trip to the resort of Sun City.
A friend call to alert her that her dream kill was spotted at the game park.
“I’d waited years for my own perfect bull – the older a bull gets the darker he gets,” she told the outlet. “I love the skin and the fact it’s such an iconic animal for Africa.
“Our plans changed quickly. My wonderful husband Gerhardt knew this was my dream. I was like a child for two weeks, counting the days. Afterwards I was flooded with emotions,” she gushed.
The woman, who runs a citrus farm in Limpopo province, claimed her kill “created work for 11 people that day” and “a lot of meat for the locals,” adding that the old giraffe’s death would mean “a new bull can take over and provide new, strong genetics for the herd.”
Van Der Merwe claimed: “If hunting is banned, animals will become worthless and will disappear. Hunting has helped bring back a lot of species from the brink of extinction. The only people protecting these animals are trophy hunters.”
But Mark Jones of the Born Free Foundation told the Mirror that “trophy hunters’ claims they are concerned about wildlife conservation are highly misleading.”
“Trophy hunting is not a conservation tool, nor does it contribute significant funds to local communities,” Jones said.
A member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals said: “Someone who kills another sentient being, cuts out their heart, and boasts about it fits the definition of a sociopath.
“One day, trophy hunting will be listed as a sign of a psychiatric disorder, as it should be today. It is grandiosity, serial killing, and bloodlust paired with a burning desire to show off,” Elisa Allen told the outlet.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/02/23/woman-kills-giraffe-cuts-out-its-heart-for-valentines-day/
Photo Credit: facebook.com
This device is crucial in the fight against Covid. It may not work on dark skin
(CNN)In the fight against Covid-19, the pulse oximeter has been an essential tool for doctors and other medical professionals. But thesmall device that monitors oxygen levels may not work well for people with dark skin, according to multiple studies and government health agencies.
Pulse oximeters, which have increased in use during the pandemic, may yield inaccurate results, the US Food and Drug Administration warned Friday.
Earlier in week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also updated its coronavirus clinical guidance to warn doctors and nurses that data from several studies suggest skin pigmentation can affect the accuracy of the devices.”While pulse oximeters may be useful for estimating blood oxygen levels, these devices have limitations that can result in inaccurate readings,” Dr. William Maisel, director of the Office of Product Evaluation and Quality in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said in a statement.
Pulse oximeters are small clamp-like devices that attach painlessly to a patient’s finger and constantly monitor the amount of oxygen in their blood. Covid-19 is a respiratory illness, meaning it attacks the lungs first, so low oxygen levels are a sign a patient may be getting worse. CDC data shows Black, Latino and Native Americans are four times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than others.
The recent warnings come after a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in December. Dr. Michael Sjoding and several colleagues from the University of Michigan analyzed data from over 10,000 patients. For each patient, they compared the oxygen levels recorded by a pulse oximeter to those measured by arterial blood gas — a much more accurate, but painful and invasive, procedure.
The researchers wanted to know how often the pulse oximeter was showing a relatively normal oxygen level when it should have been registering something more concerning.In White patients, the pulse oximeter gave a misleading number 3.6% of the time. In Black patients, it was 11.7% of the time.
The takeaway, Dr. Sjoding says, is that pulse oximeters were three times as likely to miss significantly low oxygen levels — or hypoxemia — in Black patients. The study suggests one in every 10 Black patients may be getting deceptive results.
Why the readings aren’t precise
There’s a relatively simple explanation for why. Pulse oximeters work by sending two types of red light through your finger. A sensor on the other side of the device picks up this light and uses it to detect the color of your blood; bright red blood is highly oxygenated, while blue or purplish blood is less. If the device isn’t calibrated for darker skin, the pigmentation could affect how the light is absorbed. Dark nail polish can cause a similar effect.
Experienced physicians don’t rely on the pulse oximeter alone to make a diagnosis or decide a patient’s treatment, says Dr. Michelle Ng Gong, chief of Critical Care Medicine and the chief of Pulmonary Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in New York.
“They would never tell a patient that I don’t care how badly you feel, as long as that number is OK, don’t worry about it,” says Dr. Gong. “It is a tool. And as a tool, we need to be able to use it properly in the context of other information.”But, Dr. Gong says, during the pandemic, when hospitals are overwhelmed, and doctors who may not normally be in the emergency room are being brought in to see and triage patients, numbers from a pulse oximeter may hold more weight. An inaccurate reading could be particularly problematic if the patient’s oxygen level is borderline.
Doctors also need to be aware of their own unconscious bias, Dr. Gong says. Studies show, for example, when African Americans complain of pain, they are less likely to be given as much (or any) pain medication as Whites. If a patient says they are having trouble breathing, physicians shouldn’t dismiss them just because a pulse oximeter reading is normal.”The only way health disparities can be reduced,” Dr. Gong says, “is if we attack it from multiple ends, from both the larger contributions as well as our personal interactions.”
Doctors are also not the only ones using pulse oximeters. As hospitals reached capacity during the pandemic, some Covid-19 patients with less severe symptoms were sent home to monitor their progress. According to market research, sales of at-home pulse oximeters have increased 500% since the novel coronavirus arrived in the US.Amy Moran-Thomas, a professor of anthropology at MIT, started researching pulse oximeters last year when her husband was sent home with one.
The findings aren’t new
Moran-Thomas uncovered studies going back to the 1990s that suggested there was a problem with pulse oximeters in darker-skinned patients.In 2005, a study done at the University of California, San Francisco’s Hypoxia Lab, found that three different models of pulse oximeters overestimated oxygen levels in dark-skinned patients. They did a follow-up study in 2007 with similar results.
“A reading of 77 like my husband’s could hide a true saturation as low as 69 — even greater immediate danger. But EMTs or intake nurses might not be able to detect those discrepancies. The number appears objective and race-neutral,” Moran-Thomas wrote in Boston Review.
Moran-Thomas wondered why the problem, identified decades ago, hadn’t already been fixed.”I am a pulmonary and critical care physician,” says Dr. Sjoding, who began his study after reading Moran-Thomas’ article. “
One of our coauthors is a prominent Black physician from the University of Michigan. None of us knew this. None of us knew about these studies from the mid 2000s. It was not a part of our training.”
Public attention seems to be picking up. On January 25, several US senators sent the FDAa letter urging them to look into the issue. The FDA is responsible for approving any medical pulse oximeters before they go to market. The agency currently requires pulse oximeters to be tested on a variety of skin tones, meaning “at least 2 darkly pigmented (test subjects) or 15 % of the subject pool, whichever is larger.”
The FDA says it is carefully reviewing the available data to determine whether additional guidance or studies from the agency are needed. It recently approved a smartphone pulse oximeter that claims to work on all skin tones, using a 10-20 second automatic calibration period to accurately measure how light is moving through the user’s skin.”
These devices are not intended to be the sole or primary use of information to make a clinical diagnosis or treatment decision,” Dr. Maisel told CNN in an interview Wednesday. “
Someone shouldn’t overly rely on a pulse oximeter reading, even if it’s the most accurate product.”
“Just make sure you’re aware of that when you’re making decisions,” says Dr. Sjoding. “The pulse oximeter reading could be a couple of points off. And if that is the case, would you care for this patient in a different way?”
via: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/20/health/pulse-oximeters-dark-skin-covid/index.html
Photo Credit: cnn.com