Kraft mac and cheese is now a breakfast food, apparently
More Americans are eating at home as the pandemic spreads across the United States, and household routines are changing. So Kraft Heinz announced Tuesday that it will rebrand its Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner along with its iconic blue box.
It’s not getting a full redesign: The company is just adding the word “breakfast” — instead of dinner — to encourage Americans to start their day with neon orange cheesy noodles.
The company hopes the new “breakfast” label could take away some of the shame that’s associated with parents serving their kids easy-to-make non-breakfast foods in the morning.
Americans are eating at home more during the pandemic, and that’s been good news for Kraft Heinz. The company’s stock is up 9% this year. Breakfast in particular has been a boon for the prepared foods business — and a struggle for restaurants like Starbucks and McDonald’s, which have invested huge amounts of money and resources into luring commuters with coffee and quick-serve food. Fewer people are commuting, and breakfast has become a home meal once again.
“These last few months have not been easy, and the struggle is real for parents with kids who are picky eaters,” the company said in a press release, adding that “56% of parents have served their kids Mac & Cheese for breakfast more often during Covid-19 related state lockdowns than previous months.”
The company launched a giveaway to promote the new look for the noodles. To promote its new campaign, Kraft will give away a limited-edition “Breakfast Box” this week. The boxes will include a mug, “a placemat for kids to color while the mac & cheese is being prepared,” and “a magnet with breakfast topping suggestions, like crumbled sausage, bacon or scrambled eggs,” according to the press release.
So Kraft wants parents to add foods they would normally serve their kids as breakfast foods as toppings to their mac and cheese.
Photo Credit: The Kraft Heinz Company
Gang member carries out three shootings after being freed without bail
He was set free and allegedly went right back to shooting.
A Brooklyn gang member, released without bail in May on an attempted murder charge, participated in at least three drive-by shootings after he was freed, federal prosecutors allege.
Darrius Sutton, 23, was initially arrested in connection with a May 16 shooting in the courtyard of an East New York building that left a man seriously injured.
Despite the attempted murder rap, Sutton was set free without bail the same day of his May 20 arrest. The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said the lone witness in the case recanted.
“At the time of arraignment, the sole eyewitness had recanted so we did not have sufficient evidence to keep the defendant in custody,” a spokesman for the DA said in a statement. “The investigation is continuing and we hope other witnesses come forward.”
Less than two months after being sprung, the purported Bloods gang member allegedly joined others in three drive-by shootings this summer.
The gunplay took place between July 13 and 14 and the attacks were just a few of the six shootings in which Sutton participated over the past year, federal prosecutors allege.
Sutton was seen on surveillance camera footage in one of the attacks, on April 20, when he snuck up behind a rival gang member and shot him three times in broad daylight, prosecutors allege.
The victim narrowly escaped death.
“The defendant’s violent spree over the last year has left at least seven individuals with gunshot wounds,” federal prosecutors wrote. “That these events did not lead to seven deaths is entirely fortuitous — the videos described above make clear that the defendant shoots to kill.”
Sutton is now being held in federal custody pending his trial after being arrested again last week, days after law enforcement officials executed a warrant at his East New York apartment. He faces up to 10 years in prison on federal charges for criminal possession of a weapon by a felon.
Shortly after he was released in May, the suspect appeared in a hip-hop music video, uploaded to YouTube, for the song “Crime Rate” by Brooklyn Rapper BK Eaz, prosecutors said.
The video is an homage to rising crime in New York City in 2020. At one point, the rapper Billy DntShootEm refers to Sutton by his alleged alias, “Blizz Meecho,” as he makes a gun-like hand gesture.
“Meecho say get him, I got him,” he raps.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/05/gang-member-carries-out-3-shootings-after-being-freed-without-bail/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Oprah labeled a ‘fraud’ for calling out ‘white privilege’ since she’s so rich
Twitter critics have a billion-dollar bone to pick with Oprah Winfrey.
The 66-year-old media mogul has been labeled a hypocritical “fraud” following the latest installment of her Apple TV+ series, “The Oprah Conversation,” featuring former NFL star and race activist Emmanuel Acho.
Acho, 29, who also hosts the web series “Uncomfortable Conversations With a Black Man,” joined Winfrey for a two-part episode, which included a segment inviting non-black viewers to ask difficult questions about racism and white privilege.
“Not all white people have power,” said one guest. “There’s plenty of poor, working-class white people. But I think that when we group all of white people together and we don’t recognize the fact that there’s a lot of white people that struggle, and it’s a different struggle as you mentioned because they’re not streaming upstream let’s call it …”
They continued, “I think that if we’re gonna come together and really attack racism and the inequities that are in this country and are in this world, that it’s important not to group all white people.”
Winfrey responded, “There are white people who are not as powerful as the system of white people — the caste system that’s been put in place. But they still, no matter where they are on the rung or ladder of success, they still have their whiteness.”
The veteran broadcaster also said white people have a “leg up.”
“You still have your whiteness. That’s what the term ‘white privilege’ is. It means that whiteness still gives you an advantage, no matter,” she said.
Winfrey’s current net worth stands at $2.6 billion, according to Forbes, and conservative pundits were quick to weaponize that fact on Twitter following her show.
“And now why is Oprah, maybe the richest black woman in the world, trying to shame white people as privileged? Miss Winfrey, you are the personification of WHITE PRIVILEGE!,” said Irene Armendariz-Jackson, a Republican congressional candidate from Texas.
Said columnist Wayne Depree, “Billionaire Oprah is now shaming white people for all their ‘easy success’ in life.”
Conservative media head Todd Starnes said, “I pray for the day that America becomes a nation where someone like Oprah will be able to become a billionaire.”
Sen. Ted Cruz called the discussion “utter, racist BS.”
2A activist JT Lewis asked, “How did Oprah make 2.6 billion dollars if America is so racist?”
Representatives for Winfrey have not returned The Post’s request for comment.
Despite her billions, it was announced in July that the monthly print edition of “O” Magazine would come to an end after a 20-year run on newsstands, as a result of poor sales following the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/05/oprah-criticized-for-calling-out-white-privilege-since-shes-rich/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Kelis pregnant with third child
The “Milkshake” singer announced on Instagram Wednesday that she is expecting her second child with husband Mike Mora in a sponsored post.
“Chef Kelis – table for 5 please,” she captioned a picture of herself holding up a positive pregnancy test. “We’re adding one more! ”
Kelis, 40, and Mora, 41, already share 4-year-old son Shepherd. The pair have been married since 2014.
The R&B singer also has a an 11-year-old son, Knight, from her first marriage to rapper Nas.
In a message to fellow black mothers the singer wrote, “There are so many things to consider during this time in your life, especially during the crazy times that we live in — from what we eat, to how we live and love. This is the time we must take for ourselves without apologies, especially when we still live in a country where Black women historically have had the highest maternal mortality rates.”
She added, “Black mamas have the rights, respect, resources to thrive before, during, and after pregnancy. Together we can change these statistics, one woman at a time.”
Kelis’ celebrity pals congratulated the proud mom, including Natasha Bedingfield, who wrote, “Yay! U are such a great mama . So happy for you and for the this blessed little child to have you as it’s mum.”
Jill Scott added, “Awwwwww how sweet. Congratulations
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Viral video shows police handcuffing Black family after mistaking their vehicle as stolen
(CNN) — Police in Aurora, Colorado, issued an apology Monday over drawing their guns on a woman and four minors after mistaking her car for one that had been stolen.
Brittney Gilliam was with her 6-year-old daughter, 12-year-old sister and 14- and 17-year-old nieces Sunday when police drew their weapons on them. Gilliam said she, her sister and 17-year-old niece were handcuffed while police verified that the car Gilliam was driving was not stolen.
A Facebook video shows the children on the ground in a parking lot, surrounded by police. They can be heard crying in the video. Onlookers try to intervene and question police about pulling their guns on their girls.
Gilliam and the four girls all are Black.
The incident comes amid a nationwide reckoning over police treatment of Blacks, spurred partly by the death in police custody of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May. Aurora police also have been under scrutiny for the 2019 death of Elijah McClain, a Black man who suffered a heart attack after police detained him.
“I have called (Gilliam’s) family to apologize and to offer any help we can provide, especially for the children who may have been traumatized by yesterday’s events,” Interim Chief of Police Vanessa Wilson said late Monday. “I have reached out to our victim advocates so we can offer age-appropriate therapy that the city will cover.”
In an interview with CNN, Gilliam said she was taking the girls to get their nails done the day of the incident. Her niece had just gotten back in the vehicle after looking to see if the nail salon was open and she and the girls were parked in a parking lot with the car turned off, Gilliam said, when Aurora police pulled up behind her vehicle with guns drawn and yelled for them to put their hands out of the window and to get out of the car.
Gilliam and the girls got out of the vehicle and were told to lay face down on the ground, she said. At that time, police handcuffed Gilliam, her sister and niece. Gilliam said the police wouldn’t tell her why she was pulled over until she was handcuffed.
Aurora police told Gilliam her vehicle was stolen, she said. Gilliam said she told them her vehicle has been stolen in February, but that it was cleared up. She said she offered to show them the vehicle registration and insurance paperwork.
Gilliam’s attorney emphasized to CNN that when the vehicle was stolen in February, it was returned to her the next day by the Aurora Police.
Gilliam said she asked why the kids were being handcuffed and she was told officers handcuff kids when they get hostile.
“If you wanted to place me in handcuffs at that point, I would have gladly agreed to that because you had a job to do and you did it under the right protocol, but you pointed a gun at four kids and then you proceeded to start handcuffing the kids,” Gilliam said.
Gilliam said police later told her about the mix-up.
Training and procedure under examination
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Wilson said in a statement that drawing weapons is in the department’s policy when police believe a car has been stolen.
“We have been training our officers that when they contact a suspected stolen car, they should do what is called a high-risk stop. This involves drawing their weapons and ordering all occupants to exit the car and lie prone on the ground. But we must allow our officers to have discretion and to deviate from this process when different scenarios present themselves,” Wilson said. “I have already directed my team to look at new practices and training.”
Officers were alerted to a possible stolen vehicle just before 11 a.m. Sunday, according to a statement from the department. They stopped a vehicle matching the license plate and description, ordered the people inside onto the ground and placed some in handcuffs, police said.
After the stop, officers realized the car Gilliam was driving was not stolen, but that another vehicle with the same plate information but from a different state had been, police said in the statement.
“The confusion may have been due, in part, to the fact that the stopped car was reported stolen earlier in the year,” the statement said. “After realizing the mistake, officers immediately unhandcuffed everyone involved, explained what happened and apologized.”
An internal investigation has been opened, according to the statement.
The Aurora Police Department has recently come under scrutiny for the in-custody death of McClain, a 23-year-old Black man who was stopped by three white officers as he walked home from a convenience store.
McClain was placed in a chokehold and briefly lost consciousness, according to a report from police. When paramedics arrived, they administered the drug ketamine to sedate McClain, the report said.
McClain suffered a heart attack while in an ambulance and was declared brain dead three days later, the district attorney said in a letter.
The police department fired the three officers involved. Colorado’s health department has launched an investigation into the paramedics’ use of ketamine.
Last month, Wilson fired two officers who she said had taken selfie photographs at the memorial site for McClain in October, as well as a third officer who she said failed to alert supervisors about the photos.
A fourth officer resigned before a pre-disciplinary hearing.
Wilson said one of the photos shows the officers smiling while appearing to reenact the way McClain was held in a chokehold.
Photo Credit: usatoday.com
Man shoots at employee who asked him to wear face mask in cigar shop
(CNN) — A Pennsylvania man is facing charges of attempted criminal homicide after surveillance video showed him shooting at an employee of a cigar shop who asked him to wear a mask, police said.
Adam Michael Zaborowski, 35, entered Cigars international in Bethlehem Township Friday morning without a face covering, according to a probable cause affidavit, despite a statewide mandate by Gov. Tom Wolf requiring masks be worn in businesses.
Staff at the shop told Zaborowski that he needed to wear a mask inside the store or could have his order taken curbside, according to the affidavit.
“Zaborowski became irate, grabbed two cigars from a shelf and exited without paying,” the affidavit says.
A store employee followed him to the parking lot to retrieve the merchandise, according to the affidavit. Zaborowski fired a gun in the air before firing two rounds at the employee, according to affidavit. A patron was sitting behind the employee as the rounds were fired, according to the affidavit.
Zaborowski fled in a blue Dodge Dakota pick-up truck, according to the affidavit.
He was arrested the following day after engaging in a shootout with Pennsylvania State Police and Slatington Borough Police, said Bethlehem Police Department Sgt. Shaun Powell. He remains in the hospital, Powell said, but he didn’t give details of any injuries
Zaborowski has been charged with attempted criminal homicide, aggravated assault, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of robbery, reckless endangerment, and carrying a firearm without a license. Due to a prior offense, he was also charged with persons prohibited to possess a firearm, his arrest affidavit shows.
Attorney John J. Waldron, who is representing Zaborowski, issued a statement on behalf of his client saying that he has a number of stressful things going on in his life that may have contributed to his actions.
“He is facing serious charges. He is lucky to be alive, considering his actions with law enforcement. He has had a series of events which have caused him stress and depression,” Waldron told CNN Monday. “These are not a defense or excuse. He lost his job, just lost a custody battle for his child and did not cope well with the virus.”
“People deal with stress differently, he did not deal with it appropriately. His family is very supportive. We will have him examined by a Forensic Psychologist and proceed from there,” Waldron added.
CNN’s Patrick Cornell contributed to this report.
Photo Credit: Bethlehem Township Police Dept.
Woman allegedly bashed cop’s head into ‘concrete’ for asking her about mask
An Australian woman allegedly bashed a cop’s head into the ground after being stopped for not wearing a mask — and police believe she’s part of a growing trend of “sovereign citizens,” according to a report.
Two female police officers approached the maskless woman, 38, Monday night in Frankston, a suburb of Melbourne, to question her about why she wasn’t wearing the face covering, ABC.net reported.
The woman allegedly flew into a rage, striking one officer in the head and shoving the other.
“After a confrontation and being assaulted by that woman, those police officers went to ground and there was a scuffle,” said Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton. “During that scuffle, this 38-year-old woman smashed the head of the [26-year-old] policewoman several times into a concrete area on the ground.”
The injured cop was taken to the hospital with “significant head injuries.” She suffered a concussion and lost a chunk of her hair.
Police believe the alleged assault is part of a trend of “sovereign citizens” who refuse to comply with coronavirus rules, including wearing a mask — then “bait” cops into confrontations.
“This was a particularly violent occurrence but our members have been stood up by smartarses around the state for five minutes of fame in front of a camera,” said Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt.
The alleged attacker was charged with nine counts, including assault of an emergency worker and one count of recklessly causing injury. She has no criminal history.
On Monday, officials in Victoria, the country’s second-most populous state, rolled out strict COVID-19 restrictions and penalties, including a $3,300 fine for scofflaws who don’t abide by the stay-at-home order.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/04/woman-allegedly-bashed-cops-head-after-being-stopped-over-mask/
Photo Credit: The Police Association Victoria
Video shows Florida ‘Karen’ use racial slur against landscapers in tirade – “You f–king n—-r b—h.”
A Florida woman was recorded repeatedly calling landscapers the N-word in a caught-on-camera tirade.
Footage posted to Instagram showed the unidentified, blond woman — who social media users have dubbed a “Karen” — shouting along a residential street in Orlando on Sunday at a crew of landscapers, saying “You f–king n—-r b—h.”
“Here’s the type of s–t we go through, man,” one of the landscapers says to the camera, as the woman stands on nearby on a sidewalk shouting at them.
She then comes closer to the landscapers, prompting one of them to call to the neighbors, “Hey, can you get this lady?”
“Yeah you f–king n—-r b—h,” the woman shouts before others nearby attempt to intervene.
“Have a good day!” one of the landscapers said to her before they got into their vehicle.
It’s unclear what prompted the altercation.
A second video posted to social media shows at least four Orlando police officers approach the woman as she screams obscenities at them.
“Oh, yeah!? F–king arrest me, motherf—ker!” she yells as one of the officers grabs her and places her arms behind her back.
F–k you!” she adds.
The woman was not arrested, but taken to a medical facility for a mental evaluation, a spokeswoman for the Orlando Police Department said Tuesday.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/04/florida-karen-uses-racial-slur-against-landscapers-video/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Florida man fatally shoots Burger King worker over drive-thru delay
A Florida man fatally shot an Orlando Burger King worker Saturday night after his friend’s drive-thru order took too long to complete, according to a report.
Kelvis Rodriguez-Tormes, 37, is accused of gunning down Desmond Joshua, 22, in the parking lot of the fast-food restaurant on East Colonial Drive about 7:30 p.m., according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
“You got two seconds before I shoot you,” Rodriguez-Tormes told the victim, who had only been recently hired, before pulling the trigger, WKMG reported, citing deputies.
Rodriguez-Tormes had earlier stormed to the Burger King at the behest of a woman who made a scene over a long wait time at the drive-thru.
The unidentified woman was refunded $40 and told to leave after she got out of her car and screamed she was going to get “her man” to come to the eatery, according to an arrest record.
She drove away, but soon returned with Rodriguez-Tormes, who targeted Joshua, demanding the employee fight him.
Rodriguez-Tormes placed Joshua in a headlock before a witness separated the two, records show.
But moments later, Rodriguez-Tormes returned from his truck with a gun and shot Joshua, police said.
The employee was taken to an area hospital and pronounced dead.
Rodriguez-Tormes was charged with murder, destruction of evidence and weapons possession.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/08/03/florida-man-fatally-shoots-burger-king-worker-over-drive-thru-delay/
Photo Credit: Orange County Sheriff’s Office