Georgia man allegedly scams nearly $1M from grocery store
When this enterprising teen got a job at a Georgia Kroger, he got right to work – scamming nearly $1 million from the store during the two weeks he worked there, according to police.
Police in Gwinnett County said 19-year-old Tre Brown scammed more than $980,000 from the Duluth, Georgia, grocery store where he worked in December and January.
Brown created more than 40 returns for non-existent items and put them on credit cards, police said. The returns ranged in price from $75 to more than $87,000.
He used the money to buy two vehicles, clothes, shoes and guns, according to police.
The scam was so brazen that it caught the attention of corporate Kroger employees. They contacted the police department after noticing the fraudulent transactions.
Brown is facing a charge of theft by taking.
Police said Brown totaled one of the vehicles he bought with the money before he was arrested, but “a large sum of the money” was returned after his arrest.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/georgia-man-allegedly-scams-nearly-1-million-from-grocery-store/
Photo Credit: Gwinnett County Police
Nearly 2,000 COVID-19 vaccines spoiled after Boston VA cleaner accidentally unplugs freezer
Nearly 2000 doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine were spoiled at a Boston-area VA facility after a cleaning contractor accidentally loosened a plug for a freezer, according to a report.
The shots were discovered by staff at the VA Boston Pharmacy on Tuesday. At least 1,900 doses were compromised, Kyle Toto, a spokesman for the VA Boston Healthcare System, told the Boston Globe.
“The plug was found loose after a contractor accidentally removed it while cleaning,” Toto said.
He added that he does not think the spoiled doses will affect the vaccine rollout, and told the newspaper that replacement doses were already being delivered.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccines — as well as doses developed by rival Pfizer-BioNTech — must be stored at very low temperatures, between negative 13 and negative 5 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to maintain this temperature, storage facilities at the Jamaica Plain VA Medical Center were equipped with alarms intended to trigger if the doses get too warm or too cold, though they did not sound when the freezer was unplugged.
Toto said he wasn’t sure why the alarm did not go off.
“An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the incident and why the monitoring and alarm system did not work as expected,” he said.
Massachusetts has recorded a total of 462,910 coronavirus cases and 13,622 deaths from COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic last year, according to the state Department of Public Health.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/22/nearly-2000-covid-vaccine-doses-spoiled-at-boston-va-facility/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Arizona gas station manager fired after displaying controversial signs – one calling the new President a pedo rapist
PRESCOTT, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) – The manager of a gas station in Prescott, Arizona was fired 24 hours after photos of controversial signs displayed in front of the store went viral. Two signs were posted in front of the gas station, Shepherd Express, near downtown Prescott.
One sign said, “We now have a pedo rapist for president,” and the other said, “March is white pride month y’all.”
“Disgust, anger, really I think I was just trying to process that could be here,” said Cindy Tobin, who has lived in Prescott for 30 years.
Tobin said she got out of her vehicle and started taking pictures of the signs. Then, the manager came outside.
“She came around the other side of my car, she had a camera, she started taking pictures of my car, my license plate, and then she came around right next to my door and took a picture of me,” Tobin said. “I could see she was yelling at me, and I said, ‘shame on you’ and I said, ‘you’re going to lose a lot of business by putting these signs up.’ And I think she screamed something horrible, and then I just drove off.”
The photos quickly went viral on social media, and soon the owner of the gas station got word about the signs. The manager who was responsible for the signs says she was terminated.
“I was going to buy this gas station. The owners talked about it, they said no deal, and I’m fired–and guess what, I went to celebrate with dinner,” said Joanne Selena Lopez. “I stood my ground and more people in America–we need to be able to do this, to stand your ground, to stop the cancel culture.”
Lopez said she had been a manager at Shepherd Express for four years and said she’s posted similar signs in the past. She knew she could get in trouble.
“Nobody knew I was going to do that. I came in on Monday, and I’ve been reading so much news and so much controversy, I just decided to do it,” Lopez explained. “I started getting a lot of calls; I started getting people coming here, yelling at me, calling me a racist. They came for me; I didn’t come for them. I took a stand, and I’m paying the consequences for it, and that’s okay. I’m proud of what I did. I will never ever, ever, bow down to the pressures of anybody.”
Tobin says she’s happy to see the signs are taken down but hopes people can learn to express their opinions without intentionally hurting others.
“It’s uncalled for. We can be different sides; we can deal with that better than putting up hateful, hurtful signs,” Tobin said. “I think everybody’s entitled to freedom of speech, I think that’s one of the great things about our country, but I don’t agree with hate speech.”
Shepherd Express also acted as a U-Haul rental facility. After learning about the signs, U-Haul pulled their affiliation.
A U-Haul spokesperson released this statement:“We partner with more than 20,000 independent small businesses across North America that choose to rent our trucks and trailers to serve their community’s moving needs and supplement their primary business income. This former dealer location is no longer affiliated with our trusted brand.”
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/arizona-gas-station-manager-fired-after-displaying-controversial-signs/article_2d8c79df-dbfc-54d1-b6b2-f03078293f1f.html
Photo Credit: 3TV/CBS 5
Biden pushes to reopen schools within 100 days
(CNN) — President Joe Biden is pledging to reopen most K-12 schools within 100 days — an ambitious goal as Covid cases surge and teachers across the country fight some plans to reopen.
Teachers’ union leaders say they are pleased with Biden’s sense of urgency and focus, but they warn that the 100-day pledge may need to be a goal rather than a fixed target.
Biden is expected to sign several executive actions Thursday, his second day in office, to help support the reopening goal and establish a national strategy to get the coronavirus under control, but the measures stop short of requiring schools to reopen within any set time frame.
One executive order will direct the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services to provide reopening guidance to schools with a focus on masking, testing and cleaning. A separate presidential memorandum will offer reimbursement to schools for purchases of personal protective equipment through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s disaster relief fund.
Biden’s reopening policy is in stark contrast to former President Donald Trump’s threats to withhold federal relief funding from schools if they didn’t reopen for in-person learning, which neither Trump nor Congress ever put into action.
On a call with reporters Wednesday, Carole Johnson, Biden’s Covid testing coordinator, acknowledged that the reopening timeline may need to be extended.
“The health and safety of students, educators, staff and families is paramount. The administration will always be honest about the challenges we face, including addressing how and whether changes in the pandemic may impact the reopening of schools or the ability of schools to reopen,” Johnson said.
Union leaders question 100-day time frame
While many districts across the country are open, about half of K-12 students are currently attending virtual-only schools. Teachers have resisted reopening plans in major cities like Washington and Chicago.
Union heads describe having a close working relationship with the Biden team but argue that the 100-day goal is a big challenge.1 Odd Trick Restores Your Eyes To Perfect 20/20 Vision1 Odd Trick Restores Your Eyes To Perfect 20/20 VisionAd By Visi Clear See More
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten says the goal may need to be reassessed depending on how the coronavirus is spreading over the next few months. Experts have warned that more transmissible variants, including the one first seen in the UK, could send cases surging again.
“I’m on board with the goal, but I’m very concerned about this new variant. None of this is done in isolation,” Weingarten said.
National Education Association President Becky Pringle said the 100-day pledge sends a strong message that reopening schools is a top priority for Biden but that it’s “not about the days, it’s about the urgency he’s putting on the issue.”
“It’s an aggressive plan, no question,” Pringle added, noting there’s “nothing educators want to do more than be back in person safely with their kids.”
Congress is urged to provide resources needed to reopen
Teachers’ unions and Democrats have long argued that the ability to open schools also depends on the resources available. Biden is pushing Congress to approve another $170 billion for K-12 schools, colleges and universities to help them operate safely in person or facilitate remote learning. Congress approved $82 billion in aid for schools in December, which Biden has said he views as a “down payment.”
The new funding would be part of a broad $1.9 trillion relief package that would also include expanding unemployment benefits and direct stimulus checks. Congress, where Democrats now control both the House and the Senate, could take up the bill as early as next week. But it will take time for that money to make its way to school districts even if it’s approved.
The American Federation of Teachers is calling for five specific things schools will need to reopen: tools like masks and cleaning supplies to mitigate the spread of the virus in buildings, testing and contract tracing, accommodations for at-risk teachers, quick vaccinations for teachers, and honesty and transparency about the guidance.
Bechara Choucair, Biden’s pick to head vaccine coordination, said Wednesday that the administration will call on states to open up vaccine eligibility to teachers, along with first responders, grocery store workers and people over 65.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/biden-pushes-to-reopen-schools-within-100-days/article_7d147750-2826-5d6c-91f4-2ea78285196d.html
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Video captures man crawling out of hospital after doctors dismiss pain as fake – later to be diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks their nerves
Disturbing video footage shows a man crawling out of a hospital in Canada after doctors assumed he was “faking” his intense leg pain.
David Pontone, 45, is seen on all fours dragging himself out of Toronto’s Humber River Hospital following his premature discharge — because staffers dismissed his problem as being psychological, according to CBC News.
“They thought I was faking it because I was bipolar,” Pontone told CBC of the April 2018 incident. The surveillance footage has only just been released after the news broadcaster obtained it.
“There are no words to describe what I went through that night.”
While checking into the hospital, Pontone — who was later diagnosed with a rare nerve disorder — told staffers that he takes medication for bipolar disorder but has been stable for seven years.
But revealing his mental health history prompted a doctor to order an MRI and refer him to an on-call psychiatrist, CBC News reported.
Despite Pontone complaining about being in agonizing physical pain, the psychiatrist wrote that “anxiety” was his most dominant symptom, according to medical records obtained by the Canadian broadcaster.
Another note in hospital records states Pontone’s visit was due to his “bipolar” and fails to even mention his trouble walking.
When the MRI didn’t reveal any unusual results, a psychiatrist discharged Pontone — forcing him to crawl out of the hospital on his hands and knees.
“The pain was unbearable,” said Pontone. “To be able to walk properly was impossible.”
At points in the newly obtained footage, Pontone is shown struggling on the floor as a nurse stands next to him.
“The nurse kept saying, ‘You’re a big boy! You’re strong! Come on, big boy, stand up!’” said Pontone. “I was angry. I felt totally helpless.”
It took Pontone about 20 minutes to reach the exit and a security guard helped him into a taxi.
An ambulance later took him to Toronto Western Hospital, where a neurologist diagnosed him with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder in which a person’s immune system attacks their nerves.
Medical workers often overlook serious physical health problems in people with mental illness, experts told the outlet.
“We are failing this population miserably,” said Dr. Vicky Stergiopoulos, psychiatrist and physician-in-chief at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto. “[The system] is flawed and we need to do a better job at seeing people as human beings.”
Toronto’s Humber River Hospital chief nursing executive Vanessa Burkoski later apologized, Pontone’s family told the outlet.
Hospital spokesman Joe Gorman sent a statement saying the hospital is “deeply troubled” by the incident and that staffers involved “were dealt with accordingly.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/20/man-crawls-out-of-hospital-after-doctors-dismiss-his-pain-video/
Photo Credit: CBC
Poet Amanda Gorman’s new books shoot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list – “I AM ON THE FLOOR MY BOOKS ARE #1 & #2 ON AMAZON AFTER 1 DAY!”
Poet Amanda Gorman’s historic Inauguration Day recital sparked such demand for her work that two of her books shot to the top of Amazon’s bestseller list — eight months before they’re published.
A book based on her inauguration poem, “The Hill We Climb,” was at the top spot within hours, with a children’s picture book, “Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem,” at No. 2 behind it. Amazon lists both as being published in September.
“I AM ON THE FLOOR MY BOOKS ARE #1 & #2 ON AMAZON AFTER 1 DAY!” the 22-year-old Los Angeles native tweeted Wednesday night.
“Thank you so much to everyone for supporting me and my words. As Yeats put it: ‘For words alone are certain good: Sing, then.’”
Former President Barack Obama praised her for delivering a poem that “more than met the moment” on “a day for the history books.”
“Young people like her are proof that ‘there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it; if only we’re brave enough to be it,’” he wrote in a tweet Gorman shared.
Others heaping praise included “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who told Gordon she was “perfect,” and Oprah Winfrey, who wrote, “I have never been prouder to see another young woman rise!”
“Maya Angelou is cheering — and so am I,” she added.
Former first lady Hillary Clinton also saw even greater things in Gordon’s future. “She’s promised to run for president in 2036 and I for one can’t wait,” the failed 2016 candidate wrote.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/amanda-gormans-new-books-shoot-to-top-of-bestseller-list/
Photo Credit: REUTERS
Married teacher allegedly had sex with 15-year-old student in her driveway
A married UK teacher had sex with a 15-year-old student in the driveway of her family home, a court has heard.
Kandice Barber, 35, is accused of having sex with the underage boy three times — including straddling the teen in her car, having sex in a field and performing a sex act on him in the woods in 2018.
In addition to hearing about the teacher’s alleged public sex acts, Amersham Law Courts was told Barber posed naked on a bed — on all fours — so the teen could snap photos of her from behind, the Sun reported.
The boy then showed his classmates the derriere images and a selfie Barber took in the shower, according to the outlet.
One of his friends testified Wednesday that the boy had told him he had sex with Barber.
Defense lawyer Nadia Chbat asked the friend how the boy had mentioned the alleged romp.
“He said, ‘I shagged her,’” the witness said, using a British slang term for sex, the Sun reported.
The pal, however, only started to believe the boy’s claims when Barber showed up to watch him play soccer at the school in Buckinghamshire.
Another pal said he was shown, during class, a shower selfie showing Barber’s face, as well as the bed shot.
“It is as if they are having sex,” he said in court. “I cannot see him, I can just see she is laying on the bed and her knees were folded, like say you did a press-up but with her knees bent.”
He added: “I could see her bum, she was on her back, and I could see her hair and her face. He was just like, ‘I took this.’ I was sort of shocked because he told me before that they were talking but I sort of thought it was a fantasy, getting with the teacher, but I did not believe it.”
The jury heard that Barber had previously been convicted of sending the boy a video of her pleasuring herself while surrounded by sex toys, the Sun reported.
On Tuesday, she told the court that at 5 feet tall, she was “too short” to have had sex with him.
She has denied three counts of causing or inciting a child under age 16 to engage in a sexual act and one count of sexual communication with a child.
Barber also denied one count of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activities while in a position of trust, and one count of causing a child to watch a sexual act by a person in a position of trust.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/married-teacher-allegedly-had-sex-with-student-in-her-driveway/
Photo Credit: Steve Parsons/PA Images
Twitter refused to remove child porn because it didn’t ‘violate policies’
Twitter refused to take down widely shared pornographic images and videos of a teenage sex trafficking victim because an investigation “didn’t find a violation” of the company’s “policies,” a scathing lawsuit alleges.
The federal suit, filed Wednesday by the victim and his mother in the Northern District of California, alleges Twitter made money off the clips, which showed a 13-year-old engaged in sex acts and are a form of child sexual abuse material, or child porn, the suit states.
The teen — who is now 17 and lives in Florida — is identified only as John Doe and was between 13 and 14 years old when sex traffickers, posing as a 16-year-old female classmate, started chatting with him on Snapchat, the suit alleges.
Doe and the traffickers allegedly exchanged nude photos before the conversation turned to blackmail: If the teen didn’t share more sexually graphic photos and videos, the explicit material he’d already sent would be shared with his “parents, coach, pastor” and others, the suit states.
Doe, acting under duress, initially complied and sent videos of himself performing sex acts and was also told to include another child in his videos, which he did, the suit claims.
Eventually, Doe blocked the traffickers and they stopped harassing him, but at some point in 2019, the videos surfaced on Twitter under two accounts that were known to share child sexual abuse material, court papers allege.
Over the next month, the videos would be reported to Twitter at least three times — first on Dec. 25, 2019 — but the tech giant failed to do anything about it until a federal law enforcement officer got involved, the suit states.
Doe became aware of the tweets in January 2020 because they’d been viewed widely by his classmates, which subjected him to “teasing, harassment, vicious bullying” and led him to become “suicidal,” court records show.
While Doe’s parents contacted the school and made police reports, he filed a complaint with Twitter, saying there were two tweets depicting child pornography of himself and they needed to be removed because they were illegal, harmful and were in violation of the site’s policies.
A support agent followed up and asked for a copy of Doe’s ID so they could prove it was him and after the teen complied, there was no response for a week, the family claims.
Around the same time, Doe’s mother filed two complaints to Twitter reporting the same material and for a week, she also received no response, the suit states.
Finally on Jan. 28, Twitter replied to Doe and said they wouldn’t be taking down the material, which had already racked up over 167,000 views and 2,223 retweets, the suit states.
“Thanks for reaching out. We’ve reviewed the content, and didn’t find a violation of our policies, so no action will be taken at this time,” the response reads, according to the lawsuit.
“If you believe there’s a potential copyright infringement, please start a new report. If the content is hosted on a third-party website, you’ll need to contact that website’s support team to report it. Your safety is the most important thing, and if you believe you are in danger, we encourage you to contact your local authorities.”
In his response, published in the complaint, Doe appeared shocked.
“What do you mean you don’t see a problem? We both are minors right now and were minors at the time these videos were taken. We both were 13 years of age. We were baited, harassed, and threatened to take these videos that are now being posted without our permission. We did not authorize these videos AT ALL and they need to be taken down,” the teen wrote back to Twitter.
He even included his case number from a local law enforcement agency, but still the tech giant allegedly ignored him and refused to do anything about the illegal child sexual abuse material — as it continued to rack up more and more views.
Two days later, Doe’s mom was connected with an agent from the Department of Homeland Security through a mutual contact who successfully had the videos removed on Jan. 30, the suit states.
“Only after this take-down demand from a federal agent did Twitter suspend the user accounts that were distributing the CSAM and report the CSAM to the National Center on Missing and Exploited Children,” states the suit, filed by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation and two law firms.
“This is directly in contrast to what their automated reply message and User Agreement state they will do to protect children.”
The disturbing lawsuit goes on to allege Twitter knowingly hosts creeps who use the platform to exchange child porn material and profits from it by including ads interspersed between tweets advertising or requesting the material.
Early Thursday, Twitter declined comment to The Post but later in the day, reversed course and sent a statement by email.
“Twitter has zero-tolerance for any material that features or promotes child sexual exploitation. We aggressively fight online child sexual abuse and have heavily invested in technology and tools to enforce our policy, a Twitter spokesperson wrote.
“Our dedicated teams work to stay ahead of bad-faith actors and to ensure we’re doing everything we can to remove content, facilitate investigations, and protect minors from harm — both on and offline.”
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/21/twitter-sued-for-allegedly-refusing-to-remove-child-porn/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Aldi, Trader Joe’s and others will pay workers to get COVID-19 vaccine
(CNN) — A growing number of large US chains are offering their workers incentives to get COVID-19 vaccines.
Grocery chain Aldi said Tuesday that it will provide its hourly workers with two hours of pay for each vaccine dose they receive, giving workers up to four hours total of paid time off. Aldi also said it will “cover costs associated with vaccine administration” for employees who want to get vaccinated.
Aldi is “ensuring that all hourly workers who wish to receive the vaccine are able to do so without concern about losing pay or taking time away from work,” the company said in a news release.
Aldi joins Dollar General, Trader Joe’s and Instacart as major US companies that have made similar moves.
Dollar General said last week that it will give its workers a one-time payment equivalent to four hours of pay after receiving a completed vaccination. Trader Joe’s will give workers “an additional 2 hours of regular pay per dose for taking the time to get vaccinated,” Kenya Friend-Daniel, a spokesperson for the company, said in an email.
Instacart, the on-demand grocery delivery platform, also said last week that it will provide some financial assistance for its in-store workers and independent contractors.
Beginning February 1, Instacart will have a “vaccine support stipend” of $25 available for in-store employees and its independent contractors who have been vaccinated. To be eligible, its independent shoppers must have shopped and delivered at least five batches for the company in the past 30 days.1 Odd Trick Restores Your Eyes To Perfect 20/20 Vision1 Odd Trick Restores Your Eyes To Perfect 20/20 VisionAd By Visi Clear See More
The companies’ policies come as the vaccine rollout is off to a slow start in the United States. More than 31 million vaccine doses have so far been distributed, according to the latest CDC data, and more than 10 million people have received their first dose. Federal officials had said 20 million people would have received first doses by the end of December.
Most states are still only vaccinating health care workers and residents and staff in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, Kaiser said last week. Essential workers, such as retail and grocery store workers, are set to be vaccinated in later phases of the rollout, but their eligibility to receive the vaccine varies by states.
Aldi, Trader Joe’s, Instacart and Dollar General are all stopping short of mandating vaccinations for their employees.
Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccine expert at the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, said mandates don’t make sense right now because of supply constraints. They would also be “too provocative at this point” and provoke backlash among anti-vaccine groups.
“Right now, encouraging employees to get vaccinated and creating that leave policy for that purpose is a great idea,” he said, adding that mandates could be revisited once more people have been vaccinated and more doses are available.
Seventy-two percent of current and recent CEOs of major companies signaled an openness to vaccine mandates, according to a poll held last month at a virtual summit by the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute. The broad question did not specify whether the mandate would apply to all employees or just ones who needed to work in close proximity to customers and colleagues.
CNN Business’ Matt Egan and Sara O’Brien contributed to this article.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/aldi-trader-joes-and-others-will-pay-workers-to-get-covid-19-vaccine/article_c1d93b5a-3ee0-54f9-8d1f-573f436ffa10.html
Photo Credit: kmov.com
Woman allegedly mailed private nude images of man to dozens of people
A Louisiana woman was arrested after mailing private nude images of a male acquaintance to more than two dozen people, authorities said.
Sarah Pharis, 32, allegedly drove to Texas to send the photos, along with “degrading letters” about her victim, the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office said Friday.
“A number of different people contacted him and said, ‘Hey, we received something through the mail and it has photographs of you,’” Chief Deputy Stitch Guillory told local outlet Fox29.
The victim, who wasn’t publicly identified, told the outlet that Pharis sent out hundreds of pictures of him in lewd acts, along with “strongly-worded letters defaming him,” the report said.
He said Pharis got her hands on the images through his Facebook, which she was able to access because she created the account for him years ago.
Their relationship wasn’t clear, but the station described Pharis and the victim as “colleagues.”
Some of the images also featured another person, the sheriff’s office said.
Pharis was first taken into custody on Dec. 28, when investigators first learned of the letters, and released on $75,000 bond that same day.
She was arrested again on Thursday after investigators found out that the other person’s private photos were also included in the letters.
Pharis, who is out on $15,000 bond in the second arrest, faces 180 counts of non-consensual disclosure of a private image.
via: https://nypost.com/2021/01/18/woman-allegedly-mailed-nude-images-of-man-to-dozens-of-people/
Photo Credit: Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office