New technology may prevent McDonald’s ice cream machines from breaking down
It seems like when you’re really craving a McFlurry or a milkshake, McDonald’s ice cream machine is down.
It’s inconvenient—maybe even a little heartbreaking—but there may be a solution!
According to Business Insider, McDonald’s teamed up with a company called Kytch that developed new technology to help employees manage the machines.
The device can be added to existing machines to provide workers with important information about a breakdown. The device can correct minor malfunctions and make sure automated cleaning cycles run as scheduled.
The company first introduced the devices in May.
According to Business Insider, several locations across multiple franchises are using the device. McDonald’s isn’t pushing locations to use it, however, the website reported.
The website reported that some Burger King restaurants have also implemented the measure.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com
KFC-themed Crocs come with two attachable charms that smell like fried chicken
(CNN) — It was only a matter of time.
Crocs, the footwear company and frequent collaborator with unusual artists and brands, has joined forces with KFC, the fast food company that does the same (fire log, anyone?), for a perfect match.
The two brands teamed up to create the KFC X Crocs Bucket Clog, a limited edition shoe covered in a fried chicken print.
“Combining the unmistakable look of our world-famous fried chicken and signature KFC bucket, with the unparalleled comfort and style of Crocs, these shoes are what fried chicken footwear dreams are made of,” KFC CMO Andrea Zahumensky said in a news release.
Crocs CMO Terence Reilly added they were “thrilled with this ‘bucket list’ partnership with Kentucky Fried Chicken that will bring fans an unbelievably fun and fashionable take on our classic clog.”Build a dynamic banking and financial enterprise.Transform operations, operating models and enterprise architecture to become more agile and efficient, allowing you get to market faster.Ad By IBMSee More
The uniquely designed shoe has the iconic KFC red-striped bucket on the base of the Croc and comes with two attachable charms that could easily be mistaken for the real deal — they look and smell like fried chicken.
Yes, right there on the shoe.
The Crocs will be available in unisex sizes this spring. The chicken smell could very well linger into the heat of summer.
All can be yours for $59.99.
Photo Credit: Crocs
Neighbors saw ‘half-dressed’ woman landscaping at accused sex cult leader’s home
The New Jersey property where accused Sarah Lawrence College cult leader Lawrence Ray was arrested has become a compound with several mysterious new buildings and a scantily clad woman doing landscaping work at all hours since Ray moved in, neighbors said Wednesday.
Ray is accused of using psychological threats and coercion to enslave his daughter’s former college roommates — including forcing one into sex work and others to do landscaping, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday.
Neighbors of the Piscataway home where Ray lived with a pal and at least two young women say the constant construction and saucily dressed workforce raised red flags.
“One girl used to work outside half-dressed,” said a neighbor, who would only identify himself as Mike, noting that the woman wore “short shorts hiked up and a half shirt” and was seen “gardening” and “grading soil” several times a week.
“They would tear it up, fix it, then tear it up again,” Mike said of the yard. “Lots of people complained to the town about it. None of the neighbors know what the hell they’re doing.”
And the weird work wasn’t limited to daylight hours, according to neighbor Quinn Bolivar, who said he suspected something shady was happening.
“They’re out working in the yard to 3, 4 o’clock in the morning,” he said, adding that “They’ve plowed” the yard “and redone it like 12 times.”
“The projects they do around the house are very odd,” he said.
Ray, an ex-convict and father of a former Sarah Lawrence College student, was arrested by a joint NYPD-FBI task force Tuesday at the home for allegedly preying on students at the elite Bronxville school and extorting some $500,000 from them over the last decade.
At least one former college roommate of his daughter was at the home when he was arrested, sources previously told The Post.
Federal prosecutors said in a bombshell indictment that Ray subjected his victims “to sexual and psychological manipulation and physical abuse.”
According to the indictment, in 2013, Ray and some of the victims traveled to Pinehurst, North Carolina, for the purpose of “making physical improvements on private property” owned by a family member of Ray’s.
While living there over the course of several months, Ray forced three of the victims to “perform manual labor” on the property, including the installation of an irrigation system, prosecutors say.
Ray’s New Jersey neighbors say there has been lots of construction activity in the backyard of the Holly Lane home behind an 8-foot-high wooden fence.
Bolivar called the home “an abnormal house” and the people who live there “strange.”
Ray has lived at the home — owned by Scott Muller, according to records — for more than a year, the homeowner said, but neighbors say he has lived there for five years.
The homeowner, who would only identify himself to The Post as Scott, called Ray a “friend,” and denied that any illegal activity went on at his home.
“I heard about [the allegations], but I mean that kind of thing don’t happen here,” Scott said. “I mean what happened in the past, I don’t know, you know? That kind of thing doesn’t happen, you know, under my roof anyway.”
Scott, who said he used to work at a club that Ray ran about 20 years ago, called Ray “a nice guy” and “a good friend to me.”
Ray’s next-door neighbor, Bill Dubrow, said Ray lived at the home with Scott and two women a former Sarah Lawrence student named Isabella and Felicia, who he said was a doctor.
He identified the woman who did yard work as Isabella, calling her “a work horse.”
Both women were named as some of Ray’s victims in a in an April New York Magazine expose on his alleged crimes.
They were both in court Wednesday at Ray’s arraignment in Manhattan federal court, sitting next to a cadre of about 10 young people calling themselves Ray’s “students.”
Ray — who was the best man at the wedding of former NYPD Commissioner Bernie Kerik — allegedly embarked on his sick scheme in 2010, when he moved into an on-campus pad in Yonkers where his then-sophomore daughter lived with seven female and male roommates.
Ray began “therapy” sessions with some of the roommates and “presented himself as a father figure” to vulnerable students, prosecutors said.
In the summer of 2011, several of the roommates lived with Ray in a one-bedroom Upper East Side apartment, according to the feds.
The alleged predator “lectured the victims on his personal philosophy and conducted his ‘therapy’ session with the victims, during which he learned intimate details about their private lives, vulnerabilities, and mental health struggles under the pretense of helping them,” prosecutors said.
The feds say that Ray “alienated” the victims from their parents and convinced them that they were “broken.”
He solicited false confessions from his victims and made them make payments “they did not actually owe and could not possibly afford,” US Attorney Geoffrey Berman had told reporters.
Ray was awaiting arraignment in Manhattan federal court Wednesday.
Photo Credit: Robert Miller
Liquor pours out of water faucets at apartment complex in India
(CNN) — Beer is quite literally on tap for residents of an apartment complex in the south Indian state of Kerala, after alcohol seeped into a well and mixed with the water supply for the surrounding area.
People living in Solomon’s Avenue Apartments were stunned to notice a dark color to their tap water on Monday morning, and raised the issue.
“When we switched on the water motor, brown water flowed from our taps,” Joshy Maliakkal, who has been a resident of Solomon’s Avenue Apartments, in the Chalakudy municipality, for 47 years, told CNN.
“When we went to check the tank, we saw there was an oil-like film floating on the surface and a stench was emanating from it.”
Maliakkal said that workers had been digging a hole and disposing of alcohol from the nearby Rachna Bar and Hotel the previous day. A total of 6,000 liters (1,585 gallons) of liquor was stored there, according to a Kerala official.
“The liquor had expired and was kept there since 2014 so we dug a trench on the premises to dispose of the liquor. Unfortunately, it seeped into the nearby well and polluted the water stream of the nearby apartment complex,” a local official told CNN.
As a result, beer, brandy and rum has been pouring into the apartment complex’s kitchen sinks.
The 18 families who live in the apartment complex have filed a complaint with the local municipality, Maliakkal said. “So far they have provided us with 5,000 liters (1,320 gallons) of water but that is not enough for these many people” he added.
“They should not have allotted land for a bar so close to a residential area,” Maliakkal said. “The lack of water makes things quite difficult.”
Kerala became a dry state in 2014 when the sale of alcohol was prohibited, but those restrictions were relaxed in 2017.
Photo Credit: easterneye.biz
Boston Market is selling baby back rib bouquets for Valentine’s Day
(Meredith) – If you want to give your Valentine something sweet and saucy this Friday, why not surprise them with a bouquet…of ribs?
Yes, that’s a thing now. Boston Market is selling “Bae-by Back Rib” bouquets at participating locations nationwide on Feb. 14, while supplies last. The bouquets cost $29.99 each.
Boston Market recently added ribs to its menu, and decided to spice things up for Valentine’s Day.
“We just launched baby back ribs a few weeks ago and our guests are loving them!” said Chef Tony Fialho, director of culinary innovation at Boston Market.
“On their own, our baby back ribs are sure to delight barbecue enthusiasts everywhere, but when packaged in a delectable bouquet, they’re the picture perfect Valentine’s Day gift to help anyone delight – and feed – that special someone.”
For more information on this offer, visit www.bostonmarket.com
Photo Credit: boston market
Florida Teen Dies After 8-Year-Old Accidentally Shoots Him in Eye With BB Gun
A teenager who was accidentally shot in the eye with a BB gun by an 8-year-old has died from his injuries, Tampa police said.
Family friends identified the teen as 17-year-old Ivan Johnson, CNN affiliate Bay News 9 reported.
Johnson was riding in the front passenger seat of an adult male friend’s car on February 1 with the driver’s 8-year-old son and 10-year-old stepson riding in the back, police said. The driver got out of the car to use an ATM.
The 8-year-old accidentally discharged a loaded Daisy 800 BB/pellet rifle while attempting to move it and shot Johnson in the left eye, according to the police.
The teen was taken to a local hospital in critical condition and died from his injuries on February 4, police said.
“Never as a grandmother did I expect to bury a grandchild,” Norine Wafford, the teen’s grandmother, told Bay News 9. “Let alone one of my children, but this is my grandbaby.”
A GoFundMe page has been setup for the victim’s family to help pay for funeral arrangements.
“Ivan was a young man who enjoyed life to the fullest and with the vigorous tenacity of love,” Timothy Howard, the organizer, wrote on the GoFundMe page. “He was an active member in his congregation of 15 years and offered his musical talents playing the organ for 9 years. Playing the role of many faces, Ivan took pleasure in dedicating his time to being the big brother, the best friend, the inspiration and the smile to all.”
The incident remains under investigation by the Tampa Police Department.
Photo Credit: ktla.com
Fired Florida outlet mall worker kills manager, had list of employees to target, police say
A man who had been fired from his job at Orlando International Premium Outlets killed a manager in the Under Armour store and is still on the run, police say.
According to WFTV in Orlando , the shooting happened just after 8 p.m. Monday night inside the Under Armour store.
Between ten and 20 shoppers were in the store at the time, and a female manager, later identified as 37-year-old Eunice Vazquez, was found dead at the scene.
Police say the suspect is Daniel Everett, 46, and that he was fired earlier Monday. According to WFTV he had worked at the location for about three years and was a manager.
They believe he could be driving a 2012 Kia Sorento with Florida tag IH21AC. He is described as 6’7″ with a short or bald cut.
WFTV reports that Everett also created a list of other employees to potentially target. Officials say those employees may have made complaints toward Everett in the past. All of the people on the list are accounted for and safe, police say.
The search is on for Everett and he is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him, please call Orlando Police.
This article was written by WFTS Staff.
Photo Credit: twitter
Macaulay Culkin Wants to Set the Record Straight About His Relationship With Michael Jackson
If you saw HBO’s Leaving Neverland, the explosive documentary exploring allegations that Michael Jackson sexually abused children, you may have been surprised when Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin didn’t make an appearance. As a child, Culkin starred in the music video for Jackson’s “Black and White,” after which he and Jackson became lifelong friends. Throughout the years, as allegations of Jackson’s behavior have exploded into the mainstream, Culkin has continuously denied that he ever had any sexual contact with Jackson.
In Esquire’s March 2020 cover story, Culkin discusses at length his friendship with Jackson, going into detail about their relationship and what did and did not happen.
“Look,” Culkin said. “I’m gonna begin with the line—it’s not a line, it’s the truth: He never did anything to me. I never saw him do anything. And especially at this flash point in time, I’d have no reason to hold anything back. The guy has passed on. If anything—I’m not gonna say it would be stylish or anything like that, but right now is a good time to speak up. And if I had something to speak up about, I would totally do it. But no, I never saw anything; he never did anything.”
Culkin spoke about the special bond he and Jackson shared by virtue of their unique childhoods—or lack thereof. Both raised by fathers pushing them toward fame at a young age, Culkin and Jackson were kindred spirits, despite their 22-year age difference. The last time they encountered one another was in a men’s room at the Santa Barbara County Superior Courthouse in 2005, where Culkin testified as a character witness in People v. Michael Jackson, wherein Jackson was charged with intoxicating and molesting a 13-year-old boy who had cancer. Jackson was later acquitted.
“We better not talk,” Jackson said, according to Culkin. “I don’t want to influence your testimony.”
The two embraced before returning to court. It was the last time Culkin would see Jackson before he passed away in 2009.
Though Jackson has been dead for over a decade, Leaving Neverland has introduced new aftershocks into Culkin’s life. He spoke about a memorable celebrity encounter that occurred not long after the documentary’s release.
“Here’s a good Michael Jackson story that doesn’t involve Michael Jackson at all,” Culkin said. “I ran into James Franco on a plane. I’d bumped into him two or three times over the years. I give him a little nod as we’re putting our bags overhead. Hey, how you doing? Good, how ya doing? And it was right after the Leaving Neverland documentary came out, and he goes, ‘So, that documentary!’ And that was all he said. I was like, ‘Uh-huh.’ Silence. So then he goes, ‘So what do you think?’ And I turned to him and I go, ‘Do you wanna talk about your dead friend?’ And he sheepishly went, ‘No, I don’t.’ So I said, ‘Cool, man, it was nice to see you.’ ”
Culkin is godfather to Jackson’s daughter Paris, to whom he remains close. He has shared with her his habit of stealing spoons from restaurants, bars, and cafes as a bit of “harmless” fun. The two give one another spoons as gifts, and they have matching spoon tattoos on their forearms.
When Paris entered public life, Culkin had just one piece of advice, given by virtue of the spoons: “Don’t forget to be silly, don’t forget to take something away from this whole experience, and don’t forget to stick something up your sleeve.”
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/att/macaulay-culkin-wants-set-record-130100042.html
Photo Credit: Robbie Fimmano/currently.att.yahoo.com
France’s pedophile author is hiding out in Italy (and feeling sorry for himself)
Last month Ed wrote about Gabriel Matzneff, a celebrated French author who spent decades writing about sex with underage girls and boys. For most of his life Matzneff was celebrated for this transgressive literature, but that changed recently when one of his former victims, Vanessa Springora, wrote a book of her own titled “Le Consentement” or Consent. In the wake of this sudden turn in his public fortunes, Matzneff has fled France. The New York Times found him hiding out in Italy:
Mr. Matzneff disappeared in late December, just before the publication of Ms. Springora’s memoir. As the scandal exploded in Paris, I pored through his diaries and books. When a brief interview he gave to a French television network hinted at his whereabouts, I went to the Italian Riviera and found Mr. Matzneff — a creature of habit, his diaries made clear — in his favorite cafe.
Initially startled, defensive and angry, the writer admitted that he was “very, very lonely” and began to open up.
Asking that his exact location not be revealed, Mr. Matzneff spoke for three and a half hours.
He expressed bewilderment at the sudden cultural shift in France and his precipitous downfall. He showed no remorse for his past actions and did not renounce any of his writings.
But the focus of the Times’ story isn’t just Matzneff’s current whereabouts, it’s how he managed to escape scrutiny for so long. The answer involves the unique culture in France which celebrates authors (and artists) above all others. In this culture, Matzneff was untouchable for many decades because he had powerful friends including President Francois Mitterrand who was a fan of his first book.
When Matzneff was briefly investigated by police in the 1980s (he was then living with 14-year-old Ms. Springora) he showed the police an essay President Mitterrand had written praising his work and they decided not to pursue the investigation.
But it wasn’t just a few powerful people that defended him. Matzneff was defended by the elite culture of intelligentsia in France. I found this vignette particularly telling:
The most public criticism came in 1990, on the literary television show “Apostrophes,” as the host and guests discussed Mr. Matzneff’s latest diary, “Mes Amours Décomposés,” (“My Decomposed Loves.”) In it, he boasted about having sex with countless minors, including 11- and 12-year-old Filipino boys he describes as “a rare spice.”
The single foreigner present, Denise Bombardier, a journalist from Quebec, denounced his pedophilia.
The reaction from France’s intelligentsia was swift.
Josyane Savigneau, who was editor of a literary supplement of the French newspaper Le Monde from 1991 to 2005, publicly chided Ms. Bombardier and defended Mr. Matzneff’s work.
In a recent interview, Ms. Savigneau recalled being revolted by some of Mr. Matzneff’s writings, but said his books were superior to others that landed on her desk.
“I saw him as a man who liked young women,” she said. “In France, he was never seen with boys.”
This would have happened just a few years before Bill Clinton aka Slick Willie became the nominee for the Democratic Party. And a few years later, Clinton would be impeached and the story of his sexual involvement with an intern in the Oval Office would become international news. I remember one of the arguments used to defend Clinton at the time was that the rest of the world was mocking America’s puritanism. In a 2017 piece for Vox, Matt Yglesias wrote of his own view of Clinton’s impeachment at the time which leaned heavily on France’s view of such relationships.
Unfortunately for me, I’m a little too old to get away with claiming to have had no opinion on this at the time. My version of a sophisticated high schooler’s take on the matter was that the American media should get over its bourgeois morality hang-ups and be more like the French, where François Mitterrand’s wife and his longtime mistress grieved together at his funeral.
As a married 30-something father, I’ve come around to a less “worldly” view of infidelity. As a co-founder of Vox, I’d never in a million years want us to be the kind of place where men in senior roles can get away with the kind of misconduct that we’ve seen is all too common in our industry and in so many others.
There’s a connection here that hasn’t been made (at least not that I’ve seen). The culture that long defended Matzneff’s books and behavior was also used to defend Clinton’s behavior. Those criticizing Clinton at the time were shamed in the same way Denise Bombardier was shamed for criticizing Matzneff. Looking back from the era of #MeToo, with Harvey Weinsten on trial and Jeffrey Epstein dead, you wonder how anyone ever got away with it.
Article via HotAir
California may stop school fitness tests over fears they lead to bullying and body-shaming
(CNN) — Push-ups, curl-ups and the dreaded one-mile run are a staple of childhood in US schools. But California may put a stop to the tests.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has proposed suspending the physical fitness tests at the state’s schools over concerns that they promote bullying and body discrimination.
Under current state requirements, students in grades five, seven and nine are required to take a physical fitness test, which includes the one-mile run, curl-ups, push-ups and a measure of body mass index.
While the administration argues the physical assessments can cause students of different body shapes to be body-shamed or bullied, the BMI screening is particularly sensitive because it asks students to select whether they are female or male.
A number of school districts have complained to the state that this is discriminatory against students who identify as non-binary, according to H.D. Palmer, spokesman for the Finance Department.
If the proposal, which was included in Newsom’s budget bill for next year, passes, physical fitness testing would be suspended for three years.
“Dispelling myths, breaking down stereotypes, and improving school climate is one way California is working to keep all students safe and healthy, consistent with the Governor’s commitment to a California that respects all students,” Palmer said in an email.
During the proposed three-year suspension, the Department of Education would consult with experts on fitness, physical education, gender identity and students with disabilities to determine whether the test needs to be modified or a new assessment should be developed.
The proposal comes as California’s annual reports of the fitness test since the 2014-2015 school year show a decline in the percentage of students scoring healthy. The share of students meeting the healthy fitness zone for all six fitness standards (aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength, trunk extension strength and upper body strength) decreased by 3.3 percentage points for fifth graders, 4.3 points for seventh graders and 4.6 points for ninth graders.
But Palmer says Newsom’s proposal will not affect students’ physical fitness.
“The pause in administering tests won’t affect the amount or level of (physical education) that kids receive from their school,” Palmer said, adding that PE classes would still be a graduation requirement.
Gender identity advocates praise the move
Advocates for gender identity are praising Newsom’s proposal as a step forward.
“There is an objective in measuring a student’s fitness. The problem is when it’s defined by gender,” Joel Baum, senior director for professional development at Gender Spectrum, told CNN.
The current fitness test sets different criteria for boys and girls. For example, a 12-year-old girl is considered healthy if she can do more than four modified pull-ups. But a boy of the same age is considered healthy if he can do more than seven pull-ups, according to FITNESSGRAM.
This difference in standards can put transgender and non-binary students in a tough spot, possibly even in danger, Baum said.Build a dynamic banking and financial enterprise.Transform operations, operating models and enterprise architecture to become more agile and efficient, allowing you get to market faster.Ad By IBMSee More
“If I’m a transgender boy and nobody knows, and then I don’t meet the standards of a boy physically, I’m put in a difficult situation. Either I don’t meet the standards and take the according grade or I compromise my own privacy and tell my teacher I was actually born as a girl,” Baum said, adding that this can lead to bullying of the transgender student.
When a student who identifies as non-binary is pushed to select male or female on the BMI assessment, Baum says, that forces them to claim an identity that’s not their own.
“It’s simply important that kids feel seen by the school that they go to,” Baum said. “By recognizing non-binary people and using the right pronouns, that’s a huge acknowledgment of someone’s reality and experience, and it’s affirming.”
BMI isn’t even an accurate measure of fitness, some say
BMI is commonly used in the US to measure obesity. You divide your weight (in pounds) by your height (in inches) squared, and multiply that number by 703. If the resulting number is 30 or higher, a person is considered obese. But in recent years, BMI has come under scrutiny because it doesn’t distinguish between fat and muscle, which can be an issue for athletic people.
Even former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would be considered obese when he won the top bodybuilding title of Mr. Olympia in 1974, Schwarzenegger’s spokesman told the Associated Press.
“Whether the state uses fitness tests or not, Governor Schwarzenegger believes that the most important thing is that our students have access to daily physical education classes to promote a healthy and fit lifestyle,” Schwarzenegger’s the spokesman said.
Photo Credit: kmov.com