Man with injured hip scaled flaming 19-story building to save his bedridden mother
The man who scaled a burning 19-story building in West Philadelphia last week wasn’t trying to escape the flames, as people initially assumed.
The man, identified only as Jermaine, was climbing to the 15th floor to save his bedridden mother. And he did it all with an injured hip.
CNN affiliate WPVI spoke with the hero, 35, who said he received a call from his sister Thursday night that their mother’s apartment building was on fire and she couldn’t get out.
Rushing to the scene, Jermaine said, he first tried to enter through the front door, but it was blocked by police.
“They said the elevators are not working,” he said. He told officers he could just take the stairs. “They were like, ‘we can’t let you in.’
“I took it upon myself because that’s my mother. There’s no limits. That’s my mother.”
He’d hurt his hip on some stairs earlier that day, Jermaine says, but adrenaline took over. He started climbing the fenced-in balconies of the building with wire cutters handy.
“When I grabbed a gate, at the top of the gate, there was a ledge. Then I could step on top of the ledge and reach up to the other gate and keep climbing my way up,” Jermaine said.
He said he was worried about his mother’s safety, not his.
“She can’t get out of the bed or walk around, so if there’s a fire, she needs help out,” he said.
Once he made it to his mother, she told him that she was OK and that the fire was contained.
“She was more shocked,” he said. “She’s not surprised by the things that I do for her. She knows I’ll go over and beyond for her.”
The fire was believed to have been started by a trash compactor, WPVI reported. Four people and three firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation.
Jermaine climbed down just as easily as he went up. His progress down the building was captured on a video that was shared widely online Thursday.
He told WPVI that he thought he would be arrested as soon as he got down. A police officer told him that if he didn’t leave, he’d go to jail.
Reached for comment, the Philadelphia Police Department told CNN they didn’t have any details on the man “as there was no crime committed.”
“He actually did cut me a break,” Jermaine said. “He understood the circumstances. He knew — when your adrenaline is pumping and your mom is up there, you thinking she’s dying — you’d do anything you can.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/07/22/man-scaled-flaming-19-story-building-to-save-his-bedridden-mother/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Man phones in fake bomb threat to get date with flight attendant
A 65-year-old Serbian man allegedly phoned in a fake bomb threat last week in the hope of keeping a flight attendant who refused a date with him in the country, according to media reports.
The unidentified man confessed to the hoax, which caused Lufthansa Flight LH1411 to be evacuated before taking off from Belgrade to Frankfurt, Germany, Sky News reported.
“This morning at 6 am an unknown person called and reported there was a bomb on the plane bound for Frankfurt,” Serbia’s interior ministry said in a statement after the threat was called in.
The man told authorities he met two flight attendants earlier and that they had declined his dinner invitation. He became smitten with one of them and allegedly phoned in the fake threat to keep her in the country after failing to find her hotel, according to the news outlet.
The threat resulted in the evacuation of 130 passengers and five crew members from the plane. A search of the aircraft by police yielded nothing suspicious. The flight was delayed for eight hours, with some passengers choosing to book alternative flights rather than wait.
The airline did not return Fox News’ request for comment Saturday.
Authorities were able to trace the location from which the call was made and the suspect was arrested Friday. Prosecutors are asking he be kept in police custody.
The outlet said he’s been charged with causing panic and disorder.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/22/man-phones-in-fake-bomb-threat-to-get-date-with-flight-attendant/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
In a recently resurfaced recording, Trump proposed a white-versus-black-contestant season of ‘The Apprentice’
In 2005, Donald Trump had an idea to boost ratings for “The Apprentice,” his TV show that premiered a year earlier. He suggested putting an all-white team against an all-black team, apparently believing that it would become the highest-rated show on television if the network did so.
He floated the idea on Howard Stern’s radio show in April 2005, according to The New York Times.
“Do you like it?” Trump asked Stern. To which he replied: “Yes.”
Trump then asked Stern’s African-American cohost, Robin Quivers, the same question. “Well,” she said, “I think you’re going to have a riot.”
But Trump wasn’t too concerned about the potential ramifications of the show. “I think that it would be handled very beautifully by me, because, as you know, I’m very diplomatic,” he told Stern, adding that while there would be a mix of light-skinned and dark-skinned black contestants, the white team would consist solely of people with blond hair.
The show never came to fruition, as NBC executives immediately rejected his proposal, The Times said. An NBC representative did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment on this.
The Times used this example in a recent piece discussing whether Trump had used racial divisions in the US for his personal gain.
“Over decades in business, entertainment and now politics, Mr. Trump has approached America’s racial, ethnic, and religious divisions opportunistically, not as the nation’s wounds to be healed but as openings to achieve his goals, whether they be ratings, fame, money, or power, without regard for adverse consequences,” The Times wrote on Saturday.
The story was most likely prompted by Trump’s tweets last Sunday in which he suggested that a group of four Democratic congresswomen of color should “go back” to their “corrupt” and “broken and crime infested” countries — even though all are US citizens and three were born in the US.
He said the congresswomen were “loudly” and “viciously telling the people of the United States” how its government should be run.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Woman allegedly punches Disney employee after cutting line
The angriest guest on earth?
A Chicago woman threw a fit while waiting to get on the popular Disney ride “Tower of Terror” — allegedly punching a cast member in the face — after being told she didn’t have a FastPass, cops said.
The 23-year-old was at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with a group of people when she attempted to get into the quicker line and got denied by the employee, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
“[The woman] and her group were upset because their fast pass was not valid for the ride,” cops said in the incident report. “[The cast member] said she attempted to assist the group to determine if they had a fast pass, and they became verbally aggressive. [The cast member] said she used her podium phone to call a coordinator to request security. At that time, [the female guest] began pushing buttons on her ride podium. [The cast member] said she asked [the guest] not to touch the buttons and she refused. She said she pushed [the guest’s]’ hand away when she was subsequently punched in the face.”
The tourist was not charged for the incident, but she did reportedly receive a lifetime ban.
“We don’t tolerate unsafe behavior,” a Disney spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel.
Attempts to reach the woman were unsuccessful Monday.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/22/woman-allegedly-punches-disney-employee-after-cutting-line/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Baltimore’s new deputy police commissioner gets mugged at gunpoint
You’re not in Louisiana anymore.
A new deputy police commissioner in Baltimore got a firsthand lesson in the city’s crime problems — getting robbed at gunpoint while out with his wife, according to reports.
Deputy Commissioner Daniel Murphy had only started with the force in April after being brought in from New Orleans to help lead sweeping reforms, according to the Baltimore Sun.
He was robbed at 9 p.m. Friday by four men in a white SUV near Patterson Park, according to the Sun.
Two of the men, said to be about 18, jumped out and approached Murphy and his wife, showing a gun during the holdup, police said in a release.
They fled with multiple cellphones, the officer’s wallet and his wife’s purse as well as some cash, the reports state. No one was injured, police say.
Murphy was one of the first top deputies hired earlier this year by new Commissioner Michael Harrison after they worked together in New Orleans, according to the Sun.
He was sure that Baltimore would be like the Big Easy, he told the paper after starting his new gig in April.
“Obviously, every community, every police department is unique, but the success we had in New Orleans is directly transferable to here and we will modify it as necessary,” he said.
The robbery came just a month after the department launched a new “crime reduction strategy” that it said would “reduce the victimization and fear of victimization of violent crime in Baltimore City.”
There have been 185 homicides in the city so far this year, with 166 from shootings, according to the Sun, with only St. Louis having more murders per 100,000 people, according to a Pew Research Center study based on 2017 figures.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/07/22/baltimores-new-deputy-police-commissioner-gets-mugged-at-gunpoint/
Police Officer Who Suggested Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Should Be Shot Fired From Police Department
A police officer in Louisiana, who suggested in a social media post that Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should be shot, and another officer who “liked” the post, have both been fired.
“This vile idiot needs a round… And I don’t mean the kind she used to serve,” Charlie Rispoli wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post referring to Ocasio-Cortez last Thursday, according to a screenshot shared by NOLA.com on Saturday. Before joining Congress earlier this year, the 29-year-old lawmaker worked in New York as a bartender.
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, the Gretna Police Department announced that Rispoli, who has served in the force since 2005, and another officer, Angelo Varisco, who “liked” Rispoli’s post, have been fired, according to NOLA.com.
“This incident, we feel, has been an embarrassment to our department,” Gretna police chief Arthur Lawson told reporters. “These officers have certainly acted in a manner which was unprofessional, alluding to a violent act be conducted against a sitting U.S. (congresswoman), a member of our government, we are not going to tolerate that.”
“We still have an open investigation at this time until we get that final information from Facebook,” he added, noting that any other officers who are found to have positively interacted with the post will also be terminated from the force.
Since the post has been deleted, the department is still waiting to hear back from Facebook as to whether any other officers have liked or commented on it.
Lawson confirmed that the department was alerted to the post on Friday. Rispoli was initially placed on administrative leave earlier today, before the department made the decision to terminate his job with the force.
The police chief assured reporters on Monday that Rispoli and Varisco, who was with the force for less than three years, were both on security detail in the Jefferson Parish Government Building. Neither worked on the streets as patrol officers, Lawson said.
Rispoli’s comments on Facebook was shared alongside a link to a false article about Ocasio-Cortez, attributing a quote that the congresswoman had never said. The story, written by satirical website Taters Gonna Tate, was titled, “Ocasio-Cortez On the Budget: ‘We Pay Soldiers Too Much.'”
The featured image on the story contained a watermark stating the content is satire. In addition, Snopes.com, a fact-checking website, also debunked the story as “false.” Despite this, it appears Rispoli was unaware that the story was untrue.
His comments came days after President Donald Trump repeatedly made racist remarks about Ocasio-Cortez and three of her fellow first-term progressive Democrats, congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley. The president’s attacks first came in a series of tweets earlier this month, where he urged members of the so-called “Squad,” all first-term lawmakers and all women of color, to “go back and help fix the totally broke and crime infested places from which they came.
Despite the president’s suggestion that all four of the congresswomen were foreign-born, only one was born outside America. Congresswoman Omar was born in Mogadishu, Somalia and moved to the U.S. as a child after her family fled from their home nation.
Trump doubled down on his tweets on multiple occasions throughout last week, despite Democratic lawmakers and almost every 2020 presidential candidate quickly moving to call his remarks “racist.” The hashtags #RacistInChief and #TrumpIsARacist also trended on Twitter at various times last week.
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Mahershala Ali will be the next ‘Blade’ as Marvel rolls out Phase 4 at Comic-Con
Marvel made a host of super announcements at its panel at Comic-Con International in San Diego on Saturday, but saved arguably the biggest news on the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe for last.
Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali will be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, playing Blade, previously played by Wesley Snipes.
Ali was on hand for the announcement and given a hero’s welcome as he revealed the news by wearing a “Blade” hat.
Blade is a character in the Marvel universe who is half-human, half-vampire and hunts down the undead. The character also was adapted to the hit movie “Blade” that starred Snipes in 1998. Snipes went on to reprise the role again in 2002 and 2004.
Ali, who has won Academy Awards for his roles in “Green Book” and “Moonlight,” most recently starred in HBO’s latest installment of “True Detective.”
Marvel announces other projects
Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige also stunned the Comic-Con audience with a list of Phase 4 productions through 2021. For those in the know, Phase 4 describes the latest batch of MCU productions.
First up is “Black Widow,” which is slated for a May 1, 2020, release. It will be the first film in Phase 4.
With the new streaming platform Disney+ coming this November, Feige also announced a new, original series “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier,” which will be released in Fall 2020. The series takes place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame” and pairs up two of MCU’s most popular heroes: Sam Wilson aka The Falcon and Bucky Barnes aka The Winter Soldier, according to a press release from Marvel.
“The Eternals” comes next on November 6, 2020, and it will be directed by Chloé Zhao. The film will star Angelina Jolie, Richard Madden, Kumail Nanjiani, Lauren Ridloff, Brian Tyree Henry, Salma Hayek, Lia McHugh and Don Lee.
Feige said 2021 will kick off with “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” The film, to be released in February 2021, will star Simu Liu in the title role of Shang-Chi, Awkwafina and Tony Leung.
Spring 2021 will see the release of “Wandavision” on Disney+, Feige said. Paul Bettany will reprise his role as Vision in the original series and Elizabeth Olsen returns to her role as Scarlet Witch.
“Wandavision” will play into the storyline of the film “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” Feige said. Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Doctor Strange on May 7, 2021. The film will be directed by Scott Derrickson.
Marvel will also get its first animated series in summer 2021 with “What If …?” The series will also air on Disney+ and will feature stories that present alternate realities in the Marvel universe, according to the release from the studio.
Another popular Marvel hero will get his own show on Disney+ as well, Jeremy Renner reclaims his role in the series “Hawkeye.” The series is set for a fall 2021 release.
Last on the slate is “Thor: Love and Thunder,” which will hit theaters November 5, 2021, and it will star Natalie Portman as the Mighty Thor, the goddess of Thunder.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/07/21/mahershala-ali-will-be-the-next-blade-as-marvel-rolls-out-phase-4/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Denver rape victim furious after attacker receives 45 day sentence
DENVER — A plea deal has left a Denver rape victim feeling victimized twice – first by her attacker, then by the judge.
Denver District Court Judge John Madden sentenced Jared Bates to 45 days in jail last Friday after the 29-year old man agreed to plead guilty to attempted sexual assault.
But since Bates had already served 47 days after his initial arrest, the judge released him for time served.
“I want women to know his face, I want them to know [Bates’] name. I want them to know the judge’s name, I want them to know that [Madden] decided how this was going to go,” Maria Crow said.
The 31-year-old was drinking with Bates in her apartment on June 23, 2018 when she blacked out. Her brother Michael Crow walked in and said he saw his sister lying unconscious with Bates standing over her with a knife.
“I saw my best friend Jared Bates standing over my sister and he was putting his private parts back into his pants, zipping up his pants,” Michael Crow said.
Michael Crow said he realized immediately his sister had been raped while she was passed out.
“She wasn’t breathing. That really freaked me out and so I called the police,” he said.
Denver police arrested Bates within minutes and the district attorney charged him with six counts, including sexual assault of a helpless victim.
Maria Crow felt her case was as strong as they get.
“I had DNA on my clothes. I had DNA on my face. I had residue all over my body. My pants were down…. And my brother walking in, and he was the witness to the crime,” she said.
But just before the trial, prosecutors struck a plea deal. Bates would plead guilty to attempted sexual assault and register as a sex offender.
In an email to KDVR, a spokeswoman for the Denver District Attorney’s Office wrote, “Our office negotiated a plea agreement – that the victim approved – and which called for Jared Bates to serve up to three years in prison. At sentencing, we requested a three-year prison sentence.”
Instead, Madden gave Bates 45 days and 5 years probation. He was also required to register as a sex offender
Investigative reporter Rob Low spoke to Bates at the front door of his apartment. Bates refused to answer as to whether he thought the sentence was too lenient and initially said he couldn’t offer Maria Crow an apology but eventually did.
“If she were to listen to this, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for anything and everything,” Bates said. He also said he was just trying to move on with his life.
Maria Crow’s family said it hasn’t been easy for them to move on, especially because of the judge’s sentence.
“He shouldn’t be a judge no more if he’s going to give out sentences like this,” Michael Crow said.
Maria Crow said she’d appreciate an explanation from the judge.
She doesn’t blame prosecutors but in hindsight wishes she had taken her chances with a jury at trial, where Bates would’ve faced more serious felonies.
“After hearing all the details of this case, I cannot see 12 people looking at me [and saying] I deserve something like this,” Maria Crow said.
On Thursday evening, Colorado Judicial Department spokesman Rob McCallum said that under the Judicial Code of Conduct, Madden is prohibited from discussing cases and rulings.
Maria Crow’s father said he intends to start a recall effort against the judge.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/07/21/denver-rape-victim-furious-after-attacker-receives-45-day-sentence/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Pennsylvania School District Warns Parents They Could Lose Children Over Unpaid School Lunches
A Pennsylvania school district is warning that children could end up in foster care if their parents do not pay overdue school lunch bills.
The letters sent recently to about 1,000 parents in Wyoming Valley West School District have led to complaints from parents and a stern rebuke from Luzerne County child welfare authorities.
The district says that it is trying to collect more than $20,000, and that other methods to get parents to pay have not been successful. Four parents owe at least $450 apiece.
The letter claims the unpaid bills could lead to dependency hearings and removal of their children for not providing them with food.
“You can be sent to dependency court for neglecting your child’s right to food. The result may be your child being taken from your home and placed in foster care,” the letter read.
After complaints, district officials announced they plan to send out a less threatening letter next week.
Luzerne County’s manager and child welfare agency director have written the superintendent, insisting the district stop making what they call false claims.
Their letter calls the district’s actions troubling and a misrepresentation of how the Children and Youth Services Department and its foster care program operate.
Wyoming Valley West’s lawyer, Charles Coslett, said he did not consider the letters to be threatening.
“Hopefully, that gets their attention and it certainly did, didn’t it? I mean, if you think about it, you’re here this morning because some parents cried foul because he or she doesn’t want to pay a debt attributed to feeding their kids. How shameful,” Coslett told WYOU-TV.
The district’s federal programs director, Joseph Muth, told WNEP-TV the district had considered serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to students with delinquent accounts, but received legal advice warning against it.
School district officials say they plan to pursue other legal avenues to get the lunch money, such as filing a district court complaint or placing liens on properties.
For the coming year, the district will qualify for funding to provide free lunches to all students.
The district underwrote free lunches for four elementary and middle schools during the 2018-19 year, and WNEP-TV said school officials suspect some parents did not pay their lunch bills as a form of protest.
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Oxnard Couple Arrested On Suspicion of Strangling, Killing Newborn Baby Inside Hospital Right After He Was Born
An Oxnard couple was arrested Friday on suspicion of strangling and killing the woman’s newborn baby boy after she had just given birth to him at a hospital, officials said.
Officers responded to a call about a suspicious injury at St. John’s Medical Center on 1600 N. Rose Ave. at about 7:53 a.m. and were told that an infant was in serious condition and had “suspicious injuries,” the Oxnard Police Department said in a news release.
During an investigation, detectives found that the child’s mother, Andrea Torralba, 20, and her boyfriend, David Villa, 21, had strangled the baby boy until he was unconscious, Oxnard police said.
Medical staff found that the infant was unresponsive and tried to treat him, but he succumbed to his injuries and died at the hospital, authorities said.
Torralba and Villa were arrested on a felony charge of assault on a child by means of force resulting in the child’s death, authorities said.
The couple told detectives they didn’t want the baby, Oxnard police Sgt. Brandon Ordelheide told the Associated Press.
Bail for Villa was set at $5,000,000, according to county inmate records. No booking information was available for Torralba, but police said her bail was set at $1,000,000.
The case is under investigation.
Anyone with information was asked to contact Detective Juan Morales at 805-385-3922. Tipsters can remain anonymous by calling the Ventura County Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
Photo Credit: Oxnard Police Department