Security footage shows shoplifter hide chainsaw in his pants
FRESNO, Calif. — A California man was caught on camera stealing a chainsaw from a hardware store, but where he hid the tool may make you cross your legs.
Security footage shows the man sliding the chainsaw down the front of his pants.
The man apparently hid the motor underneath his jacket, but the bulge of the tool is still clearly visible around his abdomen.
The hardware store’s owner said the thief drove away in a pickup truck. Police are still searching for him.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/04/04/california-shoplifter-hides-chainsaw-in-his-pants/
University to offer ‘Angry White Male Studies’ course this fall
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas is offering a class on white male anger his fall, according to WDAF.
According to the Fall 2019 course list on the University’s website, “Angry White Male Studies” is open to students who have taken the prerequisite course of Woman, Gender and Sexuality Studies 101 or 102.
The course “charts the rise of the ‘angry white male’ in America and Britain since the 1950s, exploring the deeper sources of this emotional state while evaluating recent manifestations of male anger. Employing interdisciplinary perspectives this course examines how both dominant and subordinate masculinities are represented and experienced in cultures undergoing periods of rapid change connected to modernity as well as to rights-based movements of women, people of color, homosexuals and trans individuals,” according to the website.
Information on the course was first published by Campus Reform, a right-wing publication based in Arlington, Virginia, that focuses on “conservative coverage of liberal bias and abuse on college campuses.”
A tweet from the publication caught the eye of Republican Congressman Ron Estes, who represents Kansas’ 4th District. Estes sent out a tweet Wednesday saying the class could “create a hostile campus environment based on gender.”
WDAF reached out to the University of Kansas as well as the professor teaching the course for a comment, but have not heard back.
New mom loses job after requesting to pump at work
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Alabama mother Haley Gentle was working for a small company and went on leave to have her baby in early January 2019.
She was off without pay, and it was understood by all parties that she would be returning to her job after maternity leave – until she asked her employer if she could pump breast milk at work. Her employer said no, and that she no longer had a job with the company, according to WHNT.
When she first inquired about pumping, she wrote her boss:
“I’m breastfeeding my baby and plan on pumping. I have a hands-free device that I will need to use during work maybe twice, once during 8-5, and the other time I can during lunch. Pumping will not require me to be away from my desk, computer, or the phone. It’s silent and no one would even know I’m doing so.”
Her employer’s reply:
“I do have an issue with the pumping. You will be able to do it on your lunch hour but not during work time. What I allow for you I would have to allow for others.”
WHNT spoke with an attorney who specializes in employment law and general laws that apply to pregnant women and new mothers in companies with under 50 employees.
“Pregnant women do have rights in the workplace,” said Teri Mastando with Mastando & Artrip LLC. “Unfortunately, what rights you have varies based on the number of employees your company has.”
Gentle’s company was under 50 employees, which means any accommodations the company didn’t want to make for her have to be proved as an “undue hardship” on the company.
“I feel like I did everything that a mother should do,” she said. “I went and I found out what my rights were.”
Gentle followed up with her employer by sending a certified letter asking for reasonable accommodations – two 20-minute unpaid breaks to express breast milk.
“They can only deny those breaks if they can show there’s a hardship involved,” Mastando said. “What kind of financial hardship is it on a company to provide those breaks that the person is asking for to express breast milk.”
Still, Gentle was told she was no longer an employee of the company. Now she’s sharing her story and urging women to know their rights before starting employment with a small company, so that what happened to her won’t happen to anyone else.
“I want mothers to know that there are support groups out there,” she said. “And for them to know their rights, too.”
“Unfortunately, in my world, ‘right’ and ‘legal obligations’ are two different things,” Mastando said. “The best advice I would give to someone is to find out in advance and get in writing what their employer’s plan is. And know your rights, know how many employees your company has, know which laws apply.”
A few days later, after receiving the certified letter, Gentle’s employer said they would be willing to discuss accommodations.
“Suddenly I’m not valuable to them anymore because I asked to pump? I don’t want to work for a company that doesn’t support that,” Gentle said. “I don’t want to go back to work for somebody like that.”
Gentle has since been appointed the Alabama ambassador for the Normalize Breastfeeding initiative.
She has a new job lined up, where she will have access to a private pumping room any time she needs it.
“This is my story,” she said. “I don’t think that’s something you should be quiet about.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/04/03/new-mom-who-lost-job-over-request-to-pump-at-work-is-raising-awareness/
Man accused of abducting teen, beating her until miscarriage
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — A 20-year-old West Virginia man is accused of abducting a teenager, holding her hostage for about a year, impregnating her and beating her so severely that she miscarried.
News outlets report Brian Merchant-Jones is in custody on charges including murder and kidnapping. Court records say the juvenile girl had been a runaway since March 2018 and told authorities last week that she had been with Jones the entire time. She said Jones assaulted her almost daily and limited her contact with the outside world.
She said he impregnated her and later beat her so severely that she miscarried. She told police where she buried the fetus, and authorities found the remains. She said she was also beaten just before her interview with authorities.
It’s unclear if Merchant-Jones has a lawyer.
Argument over groceries in Schnucks grocery checkout line leads to gunfire in South City
ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — An argument over the amount of items inside a woman’s shopping cart at Schnucks led to shots being fired in South City.
According to police, Tationna Thompson, 20, was in the checkout line at the Schnucks on South Grand when a woman made a comment about how many items she had in her cart on March 17.
The comment erupted into an argument inside the grocery store.
Thompson then followed the shopper outside in the parking lot where she allegedly pulled out a gun and continued yelling at her.
No shots were fired in the parking lot and both woman left, police said.
Moments later, Thompson reportedly pulled up in a Chevrolet SUV next to the shopper near South Grand and Chippewa. Officials said she leaned her head and body out of the SUV and fired two shots at the shopper.
No one was injured during the shooting.
Rebecca Geremew works nearby at Rise Together Resale Shop at the intersection of South Grand and Chippewa. She and her family were there that morning for bible study, leaving just an hour or so before the shooting.
“It’s a little scary to know that kind of thing happened here,” said Geremew. “That seems ridiculous to me that they would do that do that over groceries, but people get very mad sometimes. I don’t get it.”
Thompson was charged with one count of assault, one count of unlawful use of weapon, and one count of armed criminal action.
The investigation is ongoing.
Chicago to sue Smollett after he refuses to pay
he City of Chicago says Jussie Smollett has refused to pay more than $130,000 to reimburse costs of investigating what authorities say was a staged racist, anti-gay attack.
The city’s law department also says in a statement Thursday that it would be drafting a lawsuit in response and would sue the “Empire” actor in Cook County Civil Court. The city “will file the suit in the near future.”
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s law chief sent Smollett a March 28 letter demanding the “Empire” actor pay $130,106 —plus 15 cents— within seven days.
A suit could lead to a drawn out battle in civil court that could end in a trial focused on the question of whether Smollett did or didn’t orchestrate the Jan. 29 attack.
Smollett, who is black and gay, maintains he has told the truth since reporting to police that two masked men assaulted him, shouting slurs and wrapping a rope around his neck.
A group of suburban Chicago police chiefs are calling on Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx to resign in the wake of her office’s decision to drop charges against Jussie Smollett that accused him of staging a racist, anti-gay attack.
Some 30 police chiefs attended a joint news conference Thursday with the Chicago police union president, Kevin Graham, to support that call.
Steven Stelter, of the West Suburban Chiefs of Police Association, told reporters it wasn’t only about her handling of Smollett’s case. He also pointed to broader Foxx policies to not prosecute many lower-level felonies. He said residents needed to know Foxx “is letting them down.”
Asked why there were no African-American police chiefs at the event, Graham said only that all county police chiefs had been invited. The county includes Chicago and more than 130 other communities.
Foxx’s office told WLS-TV earlier that the chiefs’ criticism was “an excuse to justify” resistance to reform.
Suburban Chicago police associations have added their criticism to how the Cook County state’s attorney handled charges against “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett that accused him of staging a racist, anti-gay attack.
Chicago’s WLS-TV reports three groups representing police chiefs voted to express “no confidence” in Kim Foxx. Several police chiefs were set to attend a joint news conference with Chicago police union leaders later Thursday.
Foxx recused herself before Smollett was charged. But she defended a decision by her office last week to drop all 16 felony counts against Smollett, saying money was better spent on more serious crimes.
WLS cited a letter from the North Suburban Chiefs of Police saying Foxx displayed a tendency to not pursue prosecutions of lower-level felonies.
Foxx’s office told WLS the criticism was “an excuse to justify” wider resistance to “prioritizing resources to increase public safety and reduce harm.”
A deadline is looming for Jussie Smollett to pay more than $130,000 to Chicago for investigative costs into what city authorities say was a staged racist, anti-gay attack or risk getting slapped with a civil lawsuit.
Thursday is seven days since Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s law chief sent the “Empire” actor a letter demanding the payment. The March 28 letter said he must pay within seven days but didn’t specify a response if he didn’t.
Nonpayment will likely prompt the city to sue Smollett, prompting a civil trial where standards for proving he staged the incident will be lower than in criminal court.
Chicago sent the letter after state prosecutors dropped criminal charges accusing Smollett of orchestrating the attack.
Mayor-elect Lori Lightfoot could reverse any legal action after she’s sworn in May 20.
Pennsylvania Woman Accused of Trying to Eat 7 Bags of Heroin She Was Hiding From Police
A Pennsylvania woman is facing charges after allegedly attempting to eat seven bags of heroin she was hiding from police.
Tiffany Root, 29, of Ephrata, is facing seven counts of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, KTLA sister station WPMT reported.
On April 2 around 11:30 p.m., police stopped a vehicle in the 600 block of Columbia Ave at Coral St.
The driver, identified as Root, was found to be in possession of controlled substances, and was taken into custody.
A passenger in the vehicle, identified as Thomas Seymour, of Lancaster, was taken into custody on a bench warrant.
While in custody, police say they found that Root had concealed additional controlled substances on and in her person.
Due to the nature and location of some of the contraband, Root was transported to Lancaster General Hospital to have the items removed by medical staff.
While en route to the hospital, Root allegedly retrieved seven baggies of heroin that she had concealed in her person and attempted to destroy the evidence by chewing and eating it.
Staff at the hospital was able to convince her to spit out the heroin baggies that she had attempted to swallow.
Now, she is facing charges.
Substitute teacher who admitted sex with boys gets no jail time
A former substitute teacher in Louisiana who pleaded guilty to having sex with three boys will be spared jail time, thanks to a plea deal.
Heidi M. Verrett, 34, pleaded guilty on March 22 to three misdemeanor counts of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile after her 2016 arrest on charges of having sex with three 15- and 16-year-old boys at her home, the Houma Courier reported.
District Judge John Walker suspended Verrett’s six-month jail term following her guilty pleas, sentencing the former Terrebonne Parish substitute teacher and teacher’s aide to two years of unsupervised probation, along with $900 in fines.
The plea agreement also prohibits Verrett from teaching for two years, but prosecutors said she won’t be instructing students in Terrebonne Parish or other districts for the rest of her life.
“We have been assured she would never be able to teach in the school system again,” Terrebonne Parish Assistant District Attorney Dennis Elfert said. “From a legal standpoint, the maximum probationary period is two years, and that is the extent to which the probation can legally be bound.”
Regardless of those requirements, Elfert said prosecutors told relatives of the teen victims that Verrett would not be allowed to return to a classroom.
Verrett’s attorney, Teresa King, said her client was pleased with the outcome.
“She wanted to avoid the risk of jail time,” King told the newspaper. “If we had gone to trial, there’s always that risk. So I think the deal was worked out in everyone’s best interest.”
Police in Houma said Verrett also had “inappropriate” discussions with a 12-year-old boy on social media.
Verrett was charged with having sex with the teens during a two-month period in late 2016, according to court records cited by WDSU. As part of her plea deal, Verrett does not have to register as a sex offender, the station reported.
And although Verrett’s employment will not be restricted once her probation expires, Elfert said it’s very unlikely she’d be hired by another district.
“Anybody who might want to hire this woman in the future, especially when it involves kids, is going to see that on her record,” Elfert told the Houma Courier. “I would suggest there won’t be many school systems at all that would hire her.”
via: https://nypost.com/2019/04/03/substitute-teacher-who-admitted-sex-with-boys-gets-no-jail-time/
Troubling video shows woman throwing child on mat in North Carolina day care
ASHEBORO, N.C. – Cellphone video captured a troubling situation inside of a North Carolina day care.
An employee was caught throwing a child onto a mat. That employee, Joy Branning, is now charged with misdemeanor child abuse.
A state investigator was at the Children’s Center of Asheboro all day Tuesday, according to WGHP.
The facility does have a five-star license according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
In the video sent to WGHP by an employee, crying can be heard in the background. The worker says a 4-year-old boy threw a tantrum and was being disruptive.
The video then shows Branning taking the child’s arm and pulling him into another area of the room. That’s when she’s seen picking him up and forcefully dropping him onto a mat.
It’s something Debbie Lockhart, the director of the Children’s Center, can’t believe.
“I have a state lady here with me today, working with me on making sure we can do everything we can to ensure the safety of our children,” she said. “We are devastated by this. Joy was immediately fired and I’ve known her 20 years.”
Parents were immediately notified about the March 20th incident.
“We had that child for four years since he was born,” Lockhart told WGHP. “We love him. I am so sorry that happened to him.”
Lockhart says there are protocols in place at the center to make sure teachers are trained and well equipped to handle any situation.
Breaks are even given to teachers in order to give them time to cool off in the midst of frustration.
“There are all the strategies you can put in place. But the bottom line is that the person has to follow it,” she said.
Lockhart feels they all failed that little boy.
“The other teacher should have intervened on the child’s behalf as soon as she saw when he was having his issues,” she said. “[He] was melting down and Joy was getting frustrated. She should have intervened on his behalf.”
The child’s mom told WGHP she did not feel comfortable speaking on camera because the incident is still under investigation. She said the video speaks for itself.
WGHP also tried speaking to Branning, but she did not answer her phone or the door at her Asheboro home.
63 year old Colorado preschool teacher accused of sexually assaulting 4-year-old
LEADVILLE, Colo. — A Colorado preschool teacher is facing multiple charges for allegedly sexually assaulting a student.
According to the Leadville Herald, Sally Glaser, 63, is charged with sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, sexual assault on a child, unlawful sexual contact and child abuse.
The newspaper reported Glaser taught at the Center Early Childhood Programs in Leadville. The student involved in the case is 4 years old.
Glaser was arrested Monday. She appeared in court Tuesday, records show.
The Herald reported the victim’s mother wrote a letter to the court.
“This is a parent’s worst nightmare,” the letter stated. “We live in constant fear.”
Meanwhile, Glaser defended herself.
“I’ve never done anything to hurt this little girl,” she said, according to the Herald. “This just tears me up.”
Lake County School District superintendent Wendy Wyman sent an email to families Tuesday. She said the school district was notified by law enforcement on March 11 that an allegation had been made that a female teacher may have had improper contact with a student.
As soon as the district learned of the allegations, Glaser was placed on administrative leave, meaning she has not been permitted on school grounds since March 11.
The letter doesn’t specifically name Glaser, stating:
“Law enforcement investigated the allegation and we cooperated fully with them. We learned today that law enforcement has filed criminal charges against the employee, and a legal process will now begin. In the meantime, please be assured that the staff member will not be returning to the classroom of school district property.”
Wyman wrote that she knows the situation is upsetting for families.
“We know that the trust between parents and schools, and children and teachers, is sacred, and we do everything in our power each and every day to uphold this trust,” the superintendent wrote.
Wyman said the district will continue working with law enforcement, students, staff and families.
“Our primary concern is ensuring a safe environment for our children. We want to assure you that there is no higher priority at our school than the safety and well-being of our students,” the message states.
Glaser is no longer in custody after posting $25,000 bond. She is forbidden from contact with people under 18 years old. Her next court date is scheduled for April 18.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/04/03/colorado-preschool-teacher-accused-of-sexually-assaulting-4-year-old/