Snow globes filled with $1M worth of meth found in Australia
Australian border security agents seized a $1 million shipment of liquid methamphetamine hidden inside 15 snow globes, the Australian Border Force said in a statement Tuesday.
The meth globes held picturesque winter scenes and more than 7 liters of the dangerous drug.
The sinister souvenirs were spotted by agents in Sydney after the package arrived from Canada.
Border agents suspected something was amiss with the shipment and subjected the liquid inside — which was of a dark amber hue — to a drug test that returned a positive result for methamphetamine.
The officers in Sydney said they had only recently invested in the technology used in the discovery.
“Our officers continue to prove, time and time again, that criminals who attempt to hide these substances in new and imaginative ways are wasting their time,” ABF regional commander Danielle Yannopoulos said.
“It doesn’t matter how clever you think your concealment is — we can find it,” she said.
There have been no arrests announced.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/23/snow-globes-filled-with-1m-worth-of-meth-found-in-australia/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Coachella Valley Woman Arrested in Connection With Video Showing Children Smoking Weed
A Riverside County woman is in custody after allegedly being caught on video giving marijuana to young children, investigators said Monday.
Detectives began investigating 36-year-old Elaina Kabler of Desert Hot Springs after several people reported July 10 that disturbing video of the crime was circulating on social media, Desert Hot Springs police said in a news release.
Video obtained by KESQ in Palm Springs shows a child holding a pipe and holding a flame to it. What appears to be pot can be seen in the smoking device’s bowl.
“I have been through CPS (child protective services) 14 times,” a woman can be heard saying as what appears to be another child holds the pipe.
KESQ identifies Kabler as the children’s mother, and police told the station the children involved are about 12 and 6 years old.
Authorities served a search warrant in 66600 block of Third Street and took Kabler into custody last Wednesday, July 17.
She was arrested on suspicion of three counts of supplying marijuana to a child under 12 and three counts of child endangerment, official said.
Police Kabler’s bail is set at $50,000.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in court July 30, inmate records show.
Photo Credit: Desert Hot Springs Police Department
3 million people may lose food stamps with new Trump administration rule
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed tightening automatic eligibility requirements for the food stamp program, a change that could affect about 3.1 million people.
The Agriculture Department said the rule would close “a loophole” that enables people receiving only minimal benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to be eligible automatically for food stamps.
“For too long, this loophole has been used to effectively bypass important eligibility guidelines. Too often, states have misused this flexibility without restraint,” Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said in a statement.
Under current law, states may confer eligibility for food stamps, officially called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, if they meet income and other requirements for TANF. USDA says 43 states have expanded that to include households that the agency says “barely participate” in TANF.
USDA said this has resulted in people receiving food stamps who don’t need it and wouldn’t qualify under regular program rules. It estimates that in 2020, 3.1 million food stamp recipients, or 8% of the total could be affected.
Under the proposal, to qualify for automatic eligibility, people would have to get at least $50 a month in benefits from TANF for a minimum of six months.
Perdue said the change is necessary for “preventing abuse of a critical safety net system.”
The rule is open for public comment for 60 days.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Man racks up $25K in debt on mother-in-law’s credit cards, assumed she would ‘die soon’
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A Fayetteville man reportedly racked up more than $25,000 in debt after stealing his elderly mother-in-law’s credit cards.
Randy Phipps, 56, was arrested Monday and charged with elder abuse.
When confronted about the issue by the woman’s son, Phipps said he “assumed (she) would die soon and ran her cards up knowing he would not be responsible for the payments once she passed away,” according to an arrest report.
Phipps’ 86-year-old mother-in-law, who filed the report with Fayetteville police, said she had given her daughter financial power over her – but not access to her credit cards – according to the report.
She said the agreement was to have her daughter and Phipps pay her expenses with a bank card, but nothing else. Police describe the woman as being in poor health and being in and out of the hospital over the last six years.
The financial discrepancies came to light last year when she turned over financial power of attorney to her son. He found several checks made out to cash and a large amount of money missing from his mother’s credit card accounts.
Phipps was asked to pay back the money from the cards, which stood at $25,050 — not including interest on the cards — as of July.
Phipps was being held Tuesday at the Washington County Detention Center on a $1,500 bond.
He’s due in court August 23.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Embattled Elementary School Principal Says She’s Being Fired Because She’s White, Sues To Get Reinstated – “reverse discrimination”
A former public elementary school principal in Michigan is suing her former school district after she says she was ousted for being white. The woman had been a principal at the school for five years.
Shannon Blick, 39, was placed on leave by Ann Arbor Public Schools in April. Her lawyers say she had a spotless record, and that she was pushed out to make room for a black assistant principal.
The district allegedly forced Blick out by first installing Taneia Giles as assistant principal and then pressuring Blick to leave her post so that Giles could take over her role, the lawsuit says.
The school district has said that it has not formally received a copy of Blick’s complaint and that it “does not comment on pending litigation or personnel matters,” according to the Detroit Free Press.
But when Blick was asked to be placed on administrative leave May 1, rumors of a far different nature were swirling around the school district. The district was investigating claims that a custodian at Lawton Elementary School, where Blick was principal at the time, had stolen $25,000 from the district through over-billing.
According to the Ann Arbor News, a local police lieutenant has confirmed that: “At this time, [Ann Arbor Police] do not have a report on file referencing over-billing at Lawton.”
Parents had initially been left in the dark as to why Blick was placed on leave when the sudden change was first announced. It wasn’t until Blick’s lawsuit that the district’s justification became public knowledge.
But according to Blick’s lawyers, that’s just a cover-up for what they see as “reverse discrimination” against Caucasian and non-minority staff members in the district.
“White people have rights,” William Tishkoff, Blick’s lawyer, told the Detroit Free Press. “So yeah, this is a reverse (discrimination) case. Right now, it’s very timely in terms of what’s happening in our country.”
Blick’s lawyers insist that this follows a pattern of discrimination that white administrators face within Ann Arbor Public Schools.
The lawsuit states that Blick’s treatment is consistent with long-running behavior by the district’s officers and its board of education, which has a “notoriety for inhibiting and stepping on the civil rights of Caucasian and non-minority administrators when African American and minority administrators covet Caucasian and non-minority administrators’ legitimately earned and obtained positions, seniority, pay, jobs or duties.”
The lawsuit, filed against the Ann Arbor Public School District, its board, Superintendent Jeanice Swift and other administrators, is seeking $5 million in damages and that Blick is reinstated in her role as principal of Lawton Elementary.
Photo Credit: start.att.net
North Carolina Reaches Settlement In Long Battle Over Bathrooms And Gender Identity
A federal judge in North Carolina has approved a consent decree that enshrines the right of transgender individuals to use bathrooms that match their gender identities in North Carolina public buildings.
The agreement was reached between senior state officials and the plaintiffs, led by a transgender man named Joaquin Carcaño. The judge said the parties agree that nothing in a controversial state law “can be construed by the Executive Branch Defendants to prevent transgender people from lawfully using public facilities in accordance with their gender identity.”
“After so many years of managing the anxiety of HB 2 and fighting so hard, I am relieved that we finally have a court order to protect transgender people from being punished under these laws,” said Carcaño.
The settlement also states that any outstanding legal claims against the state officials by the plaintiffs, including the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, are now dismissed.
“We are thrilled to obtain some clarity and relief for transgender North Carolinians who have been suffering under HB 2 and HB 142 for years. While this part of the court fight may be ending, so much urgent work remains as long as people who are LGBTQ are denied basic protections from violence and discrimination simply because of who they are,” said Irena Como, acting legal director of the ACLU of North Carolina.
Lawmakers passed the original “bathroom bill,” HB 2, in 2016 under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory. It required that public agencies clearly indicate that multiple occupancy restrooms, showers and changing areas in their buildings must be used according to the sex listed on a person’s birth certificate.
The bill drew intense backlash. That included pullouts from major businesses that, according to an estimate from The Associated Press, could have cost the state some $3.76 billion over the course of 12 years.
In 2017, the newly elected Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper repealed major portions of it with a new bill, HB 142.
However, as NPR has reported, the updated law remained controversial with rights advocates because it left state legislators in charge of policy on public restrooms. And like the preceding bill, it also blocked “local jurisdictions from passing anti-discrimination measures protecting LGBT people — but only until 2020, instead of indefinitely.”
Carcaño, the case’s lead plaintiff, said it “remains devastating” that local jurisdictions can’t implement such measures yet. “The fight for full justice will continue.”
The North Carolina General Assembly, which passed these bills, opposed the consent decree, according to a court filing. Cooper and several other senior state officials were in favor of the settlement, while the University of North Carolina and its president didn’t take a position.
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Mishap leaves two-year-old Missouri girl with cake saying ‘Happy Birthday, Loser’
BONNE TERRE, Mo. – A photo of a 2-year-old has gone viral after a mix-up at a Missouri Walmart left the little girl with a cake that read, “Happy Birthday, Loser.”
Melin Jones, 2-year-old Elizabeth’s mother, said she asked for the cake to read, “Happy Birthday, Lizard.”
“Lizard” is the toddler’s nickname.
Unfortunately, as Melin Jones was leaving the store, she realized the cake makers got the birthday wrong.
While the little girl looks glum in that photo, her mother went on Facebook to say the child cannot read just yet and they didn’t tell her what is said.
The mom ultimately went and got her daughter a brand new cake. This time, she opted to use Elizabeth’s name instead.
The cake mistake actually occurred last September but Melin Jones reposted the photos in a Facebook group and people in the group asked her to make the photos public so they could be shared.
Photo Credit: facebook
Georgia woman allegedly drops, kills baby during fight
MOULTRIE, Ga. — A Georgia woman is accused of dropping and fatally injuring her 3-month-old baby during an altercation with another woman.
WALB-TV reports 26-year-old Karen Lashun Harrison was charged with felony murder, cruelty to children and simple battery.
Moultrie Police Lt. Freddie Williams says Harrison got into a fight Friday with a woman at a beauty supply store and dropped the baby onto the pavement. The baby was taken to the hospital Saturday with a head injury where he later died.
Harrison told police the baby was injured when he fell from family friend Carneata Clark’s arms. Clark corroborated the story. She’s charged with false statements and obstruction of an officer.
The other woman involved in the fight hasn’t been charged.
Williams says more arrests are possible.
It’s unclear whether Harrison and Clark have attorneys.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/23/georgia-woman-allegedly-drops-kills-baby-during-fight/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Dad killed teen he thought got his daughter hooked on drugs
A Pennsylvania dad fatally shot a teenage boy because he believed the 17-year-old got his daughter hooked on drugs, according to a criminal complaint.
Michael D’Biagio, 41, still had his gun when officers arrived at a New Castle pizza shop where 17-year-old employee Darren Jevcak had been shot dead in the parking lot, New Castle police said in a statement.
The dad admitted shooting Jevcak “five or six times” — saying it was because the teen “got his daughter on drugs or coke,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by the New Castle News.
D’Biagio told cops that his daughter had been sneaking out of the house to buy and smoke marijuana and was also using cocaine with Jevcak, according to the complaint.
After confronting his daughter, he called Jevcak, who told him he was at work — and the dad left his wife and daughter at a mall to go home to Beaver Falls and fetch his gun, the complaint says, then drove to the pizza shop and shot him multiple times when he saw him leave via a back door.
“He realized he had shot Jevcak in the arm and Jevcak went down to the ground,” the criminal complaint said, according to the News.
“D’Biagio said he shot Jevcak (again) so that he could put (him) out of his misery because (he) looked to be in shock.”
A neighbor said the dad remained at the scene, talking to other Scustie’s Pizza Shop employees who rushed out — and then lying down on the ground when cops arrived, according to the report.
He was arrested and is being charged with criminal homicide and aggravated assault, according to the police statement.
Jevcak was treated at the scene by McGonigle Ambulance Services, then taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Photo Credit: New Castle Police Department
Tom Brady is being dad-shamed after diving off a cliff with his 6-year-old daughter
NFL superstar Tom Brady made a splash after he posted a video of a cliff dive he took with his young daughter.
The video, posted on Friday on the New England Patriot quarterback’s Facebook and Instagram pages, shows Brady and his daughter Vivi standing near the edge of a cliff.
In the heartpounding video, Brady grabs his daughter’s hand, counts to three, and then leaps off the cliff with her straight into the water.
It’s not clear where or when the video was recorded.
“If Vivi is going to be an Olympic champion one day, it probably won’t be in synchronized diving,” Brady wrote in the post. “Daddy always give her a 10 though!”
The reactions to the video were definitely mixed. While some commenters to the video didn’t think what Brady did with his daughter was all that risky, others felt that it was very dangerous.
“When she hesitated, he could of dislocated her shoulder! He snatched her into the water! Smmfh…,” one commenter wrote.
“OMGGGG! HOW irresponsible is that…poor baby, she wasn’t even ready to jump!” wrote another.
Even The Rock weighed in, writing in a comment, “You KNOW I have complete faith in you as a man, friend, player and father – but this just gave me anxiety. Geeezus.”
But plenty of fans came to his defense, too.
“I loved the fact that she wanted to do this. Daddy helped her be brave,” wrote one.
“There are always going to be some people that don’t, like Tom. Get off your couch and experience life, nature, challenge yourself, you will be happy you did,” wrote another.
This isn’t the first time that Brady has taken such a leap. Back in 2015, he posted a video to Facebook of him jumping off a cliff feet first into water while vacationing in Costa Rica. He put the hashtag #AirBrady on the post, with the caption, “Never doing that again.”
Well, never say never.
Other celebs have been criticized
Other celebrity parents have faced criticisms over pictures and videos they have posted to social media that featured their children.
In August 2017, Kim Kardashian West was bashed after she shared a photo of her son Saint in his car seat. Some pointed out that the toddler should be in a rear-facing seat for his safety. But Kardashian later posted a video on her site explaining that her son was the right weight and height for a forward-facing car seat.
In July of that same year, Victoria Beckham was mommy shamed after sharing a photo of herself kissing her young daughter on the lips. Many commenters complained that was inappropriate, but several moms posting similar photos of themselves kissing their kids on the lips as a show of support for Beckham.
Pop superstar Beyonce was criticized in 2014 about the state of daughter’s Blue Ivy hair. An online petition asking Beyonce to comb the girl’s hair garnered more than 5,000 signatures.
And criticism of celebrity parents goes back further than the era of social media.
The late Michael Jackson was roundly criticized in 2002 after he dangled his baby boy from the fourth floor balcony of a hotel in Berlin to show the child off to fans. He later apologized.
CNN has reached out to the New England Patriots for comment and is waiting to hear back.
via: https://fox2now.com/2019/07/22/tom-brady-is-being-dad-shamed-after-diving-off-a-cliff-with-his-6-year-old-daughter/
Photo Credit: fox2now.com