Woman accused of holding housekeeper captive, forcing her into marriage
A New Jersey woman held her Sri Lankan housekeeper against her will for nearly a decade, forcing the victim to marry her and work without pay as a domestic servant, federal authorities said Wednesday.
Alia Imad Faleh Al Hunaity, who also goes by Alia Al Qaterneh, of Secaucus, was indicted last week in the case on charges of forced labor, alien harboring and marriage fraud.
Hunaity, 43, pleaded not guilty to the charges in Camden federal court on Wednesday and she was released on $150,000 bond, according to the office of New Jersey’s US Attorney Craig Carpenito.
Prosecutors charge that Hunaity brought the victim to the US on a temporary visa in 2009 to perform domestic services.
Hunaity caused the Sri Lankan national to overstay her visa and the victim remained in the US illegally, living with Hunaity for more than nine years, federal authorities say.
During that period, Hunaity forced the victim to work without pay “by means of threats of serious harm” and “threatened abuse of law and legal process,” according to an indictment.
Hunaity, according to prosecutors, also limited the victim’s interaction with the outside world.
On April 11 of this year, Hunaity made the victim marry her for the purpose of obtaining legal residence for the victim so that she could continue to work for Hunaity without being paid, the court papers say.
Authorities busted Hunaity on Sept. 19.
Hunaity faces up to 30 years behind bars. The forced labor charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Hunaity also faces a fine of $250,000.
Florida school massacre panel recommends arming teachers
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The panel investigating the Florida high school massacre recommended Wednesday that teachers who volunteer and undergo extensive background checks and training be allowed to carry concealed guns on campus to stop future shootings.
The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission voted 13-1 to recommend the Legislature allow the arming of teachers, saying it’s not enough to have one or two police officers or armed guards on campus. Florida law adopted after the Feb. 14 shooting that left 17 dead allows districts to arm non-teaching staff members such as principals, librarians and custodians — 13 of the 67 districts do, mostly in rural parts of the state.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, the commission’s chairman, pushed the measure at the Tallahassee meeting. He said most deaths in school shootings happen within the first few minutes, before officers on and off campus can respond. He said suspect Nikolas Cruz stopped to reload his AR-15 semi-automatic rifle five times, all of which would have been opportunities for an armed teacher to shoot him.
“We have to give people a fighting chance, we have to give them an opportunity to protect themselves,” Gualtieri said. He said there aren’t enough officers or money to hire one for every school, but even then officers need backup. “One good guy with a gun on campus is not enough.”
The state teachers union and PTA have previously expressed opposition, saying teachers are hired to educate, not be police officers.
Commissioner Max Schachter, whose 14-year-old son Alex died in the massacre, cast the lone vote against the motion. He said the state should focus on hiring more police officers for campuses and allowing non-teaching staff to carry guns.
“We do need more good guys with a gun on campus — nobody understands that and wishes we had more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas than myself,” Schachter said. But arming teachers “creates a host of problems.” The father and wife of other victims, who are not on the commission, also spoke against arming teachers.
After the shooting, Florida law was changed to allow school districts to train and arm employees other than teachers except those who are former or current police officers, current members of the military or Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps instructors.
Currently, teachers in 28 states can carry firearms, according to the Crime Prevention Research Center, a conservative nonprofit organization. District approval is required in most states and restrictions and training requirements vary.
The 15-member commission, which has been meeting periodically since April, will present a report to Gov. Rick Scott, incoming Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature by Jan. 1.
The commission includes law enforcement, education and mental health professionals, a legislator and the fathers of two slain students.
Also Wednesday, a judge rejected former Stoneman Douglas campus deputy Scot Peterson’s contention that he had no obligation to confront Cruz.
Refusing to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parent of a victim, Broward Circuit Judge Patti Englander Henning found after a hearing that Peterson did have a duty to protect those inside the school. Video and other evidence shows Peterson, the only armed officer at the school, remained outside while shots rang out.
The negligence lawsuit was filed by Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow was killed. Pollack said it made no sense for Peterson’s attorneys to argue that a sworn law enforcement officer with a badge and a gun had no requirement to go inside.
“Then what is he doing there?” Pollack said after the ruling. “He had a duty. I’m not going to let this go. My daughter, her death is not going to be in vain.”
Peterson attorney Michael Piper said he understands that people might be offended or outraged at his client’s defense, but he argued that as a matter of law, the deputy had no duty to confront the shooter. Peterson did not attend the hearing.
“There is no legal duty that can be found,” Piper said. “At its very worst, Scot Peterson is accused of being a coward. That does not equate to bad faith.”
The commission voted Wednesday to condemn Peterson’s actions, calling him “derelict” in his duties.
Cruz, a 20-year-old former Stoneman Douglas student, has pleaded not guilty, but his lawyers have said he would plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/12/12/florida-school-massacre-panel-recommends-arming-teachers/
Mom says 1-year-old looked like he was ‘mauled by animal’ after daycare attack
PASCAGOULA, Miss. – A 1-year-old boy is recovering after his mother said he was attacked by another child at a Mississippi daycare.
WLOX reports that Letoye Sutter said it happened last week at a 24-hour daycare called Pooh and the Crew in Pascagoula.
Sutter told WLOX over the phone that the woman who was watching the children at the time stepped away to light a fireplace, and when she came back, Dakota Hudson was covered in blood and was screaming.
According to Sutter, one of the responding officers told her, “It looks like your son was mauled by an animal.”
The child was taken to an emergency room, and police were called to file a report. According to police reports, no more than five children are under the care of the daycare.
“It appears that everything they are doing is in compliance with the law and regulations of operating a daycare of that size,” said Capt. Doug Adams. “We have forwarded a report to DHS and also asked them to look into this.
The state Department of Health is investigating and confirms that the facility is not licensed and has not applied for a license. But it also said not all facilities need to be licensed, depending on the circumstances.
WLOX said it called the numbers listed for the daycare, but no one answered and messages were not returned.
6 arrested for allegedly beating, pouring scalding water on 3-year-old boy in NJ
NEWARK, N.J. — Six adults were arrested for allegedly beating a 3-year-old boy in their New Jersey home.
Patricia Gamarra, 62, Mary Buchan, 55, Patricia Buchan, 28, Bridget Buchan, 23, and Homey Searcy, also known as Omar Searcy, 39, were taken into custody, and face charges of aggravated assault and endangering the welfare of a 3-year-old child, police announced Wednesday.
The victim’s mother, Natacha Smith, 43, was also arrested on the same charges, said police.
All adults are accused of the systematic and coordinated beating of the child with a belt and fists and pouring scalding water on him as a form of punishment, according to authorities.
Police say the alleged suspects all live in the same Newark home.
They are scheduled to make their court appearance on Thursday.
‘Momo Challenge,’ a dangerous viral game, prompts warnings to parents
NEW JERSEY — A disturbing viral trend called the “Momo Challenge” centers around a creepy image of a woman. Children as young as 6 years old have reportedly been swept up into the challenge, which promises death to victims who don’t follow the orders of the character.
The Brick Township Board of Education, in New Jersey, sent home a warning letter stating, “the ‘Momo Challenge’ can be found on Facebook or through WhatsApp, and is disturbing in nature.” It starts out by challenging the receiver to perform small tasks and quickly “escalates to more serious violent acts and request photographs for proof.”
First-graders at Warren H. Wolf Elementary School, in Brick, have faced bullying and threats of violence because of “Momo,” the Asbury Park Press reports.
Other school officials have been reacting quickly.
This includes Corpus Christi Montessori School, in Texas, which compared the ordeal to “Slender Man” — the fictional horror character that inspired two 12-year-old girls to attack another girl, stabbing her 19 times in 2014. The victim survived.
In Colombia, a 12-year-old girl and 16-year-old boy killed themselves after participating in the challenge, the Daily Mail reports, citing local media.
The “game” starts when a person adds a phone number belonging to “Momo,” a woman with large eyes and a sharp grin. The participant is then sent various challenges before ultimately being told to kill themselves. If they do not, they are threatened with a curse, the Daily Mail reports.
The Brick Township letter offered the following takeaways for concerned parents: if your children already have social media accounts, you need to be talking to them about this, as well as smartly monitoring what’s happening on their pages.
Web sites such as the Child Mind Institute, Safe Search Kids and Parenting offer more information on monitoring children’s social media use.
via: https://pix11.com/2018/12/12/momo-challenge-a-dangerous-new-viral-game-prompts-warnings-to-parents/
The Original Story of Kimba/Simba controversy
Hollywood could never come up with something original they’re always stealing and one state stolen the greatness from someone else. The producers directors never give credit where credit is due especially if it’s a minority .
France ‘terror’ shooting leaves 3 dead, multiple injured with gunman on the run: officials
A shooting in Strasbourg, France, on Tuesday left three people dead, several others wounded and is being treated as an act of “terror,” police and government officials said, adding that the gunman is on the run.
The suspect opened fire in downtown Strasbourg on Orfevre Street around 8 p.m. local time, government authorities Préfet de la région Grand-Est et du Bas-Rhin revealed on Twitter.
The gunman is known to police and has a criminal record, Interior Minister Christophe Castaner told reporters.
The suspect was shot and wounded before fleeing the scene, police officials told The Associated Press. Authorities had attempted to arrest the individual ahead of the shooting, a police official said, but it wasn’t immediately clear why.
The shooting death toll stood at three, according to Castaner. That’s despite an earlier report from police union officials that four people were killed. Officials did not explain the reason for the conflicting death tolls.
The country increased their security alert level hours after the attack occurred and will be dispersing additional security forces to Strasbourg, the interior minister said.
Part of the incident took place in a Christmas market at Rue des Grandes Arcades and unfolded on different streets in the city, Strasbourg Mayor Roland Ries said. Military forces were helping the police, according to the mayor.
The Interior Ministry instructed people in Strasbourg to stay inside due to a “serious security event” taking place, The Associated Press reported.
Government officials in the region also took to Twitter, saying there was an “event underway in Strasbourg” and cautioned against spreading “false rumors.”
“Avoid the area around the police station,” the Préfet de la région Grand-Est et du Bas-Rhin tweeted.
That area is located near the city’s Christmas market, according to The Associated Press. Strasbourg’s well-known market is set up around the city’s cathedral during the Christmas period and becomes a popular gathering place.
The European Parliament, which meets in Strasbourg, was closed and nobody is permitted to leave, according to Jaume Duch, the institution’s director general for communication and spokesperson.
“The European Parliament has been closed and no one can leave until further notice,” Duch tweeted. “Deputies and staff have received e-mails or SMS” telling them to stay safe.
Read more via FOXNews
Fentanyl is the deadliest drug in America, CDC confirms
Fentanyl is now the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses,according to a new government report. The latest numbers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics say that the rate of drug overdoses involving the synthetic opioid skyrocketed by about 113% each year from2013 through 2016.
The number of total drug overdoses jumped 54% each year between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, there were 63,632 drug overdose deaths.
According to Wednesday’s report , which analyzed death certificates for drug overdose deaths between 2011 and 2016, fentanyl was involved in nearly 29% of all overdose deaths in 2016. In 2011, fentanyl was involved in just 4% of all drug fatalities. At the time, oxycodone was the most commonly involved drug, representing 13% of all fatal drug overdoses.
By: CNN
Fentanyl is now the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses,according to a new government report. The latest numbers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics say that the rate of drug overdoses involving the synthetic opioid skyrocketed by about 113% each year from2013 through 2016.
The number of total drug overdoses jumped 54% each year between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, there were 63,632 drug overdose deaths.
According to Wednesday’s report , which analyzed death certificates for drug overdose deaths between 2011 and 2016, fentanyl was involved in nearly 29% of all overdose deaths in 2016. In 2011, fentanyl was involved in just 4% of all drug fatalities. At the time, oxycodone was the most commonly involved drug, representing 13% of all fatal drug overdoses.
From 2012 to 2015, heroin became the most frequently involved drug in overdose deaths. In 2011, the number of fatal heroin overdoses was 4,571, or 11% of all drug fatalities. In 2016, that number more than tripled to 15,961 deaths, representing a quarter of all drug overdoses that year.
The authors of the new study also found that most overdoses involved more than one drug. In 2016, 2 in 5 cocaine-related overdose deaths also involved fentanyl. Nearly one-third of fentanyl-related overdoses also involved heroin. More than 20% of meth-related fatal overdoses also involved heroin.
In 2016, over 18,000 overdose deaths involved fentanyl, and 16,000fatalities were due to heroin.
Although many experts have pointed to the overprescribing of prescription painkillers as the root of the US opioid crisis, they say it has evolved, first into a heroin crisis and now into a fentanyl epidemic.
In the 2011-16 period examined, the number of drug overdoses involving methadone has dropped.
But Dr. Andrew Kolodny, co-founder of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, cautioned against interpreting these findings as an end to the prescription drug problem. Kolodny, who was not involved in the study, pointed to states such as Oklahoma , where overdose deaths from prescription opioids still outnumber heroin and fentanyl deaths.
“Fentanyl is so deadly, in the geographic regions where it’s been flooding in, deaths soared like we’ve never seen before,” he said.
Much of the emphasis of the drug overdose crisis has been on opioids, but there has also been an increase in the rates and numbers of cocaine- and methamphetamine-related deaths.
In the same six-year time frame, cocaine was consistently the second or third most commonly used drug, and the rate of overdose deaths involving methamphetamines tripled.
Cocaine-related fatalities nearly doubled from 2014 to 2016, jumping from 5,892 to 11,316 overdose deaths.
The authors of the study used text analysis to evaluate death certificates for specific drug mentions. They found that the top 10 drugs in the six-year period remained the same and belonged to three classes of drugs:
- Opioids such as fentanyl, heroin, hydrocodone, methadone, morphine and oxycodone
- Benzodiazepines such as alprazolam and diazepam
- Stimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamines
The study found that illicit drugs like fentanyl and heroin were the leading causes of unintentional overdoses, and prescription drugs were more likely to be involved in suicidal overdoses.
Article via ABC15
How Restaurants Respond When an Employee’s Bad Behavior Goes Viral
Last month, beleaguered burrito chain Chipotle found itself at the center of a public-relations nightmare that had nothing to do with E. coli. A video that went viral on Twitter captured a manager at a St. Paul, Minnesota, store asking a group of black men to pay for their meal in advance, while a white female customer was not asked for “proof of income” before she ordered. In follow-up tweets, the customer wrote that he had been racially profiled: “So when a WHITE woman walks in you change your policy of ‘show us income before you get served’????? So @Chipotle gonna sit here and tell me I can’t eat because they think I look like someone that stole from them before??” The chain almost immediately announced it was firing the manager, announcing the “restaurant [staff] is being retrained to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
It’s a sequence of events that’s become all too familiar in recent memory: Chain restaurant employee does something inappropriate or offensive; said act goes viral, thanks to a tweet, Facebook post, or Instagram that often includes video footage; social-media users take the company to task in droves, often pledging a boycott; restaurant responds by firing the offending staffer. Lather, rinse, repeat.
But just days later, Chipotle issued a public mea culpa, saying that it was offering the St. Paul manager her job back in light of new information: The complainant, who claimed the manager had misidentified him as a former dine-and-dasher, had in fact specifically mentioned dine-and-dashing at Chipotle in prior social media posts. Although Chipotle told the Pioneer Press that it was aware of those previous tweets when it first fired the manager, it reviewed the incident further and noted, “Our policy is to treat our customers and employees fairly and with respect at all times and under any circumstances.”
Not surprisingly, the backtracking led to another cycle of social media controversy, keeping the incident in the news for another several days as outlets reported on Chipotle’s second thoughts, the rescinding of its decision, and the manager speaking out publicly.
Chipotle’s attempt to swiftly resolve a potential public-relations disaster ended up extending the story’s life cycle. But the initial outcry helped force its hand: Crisis PR expert Eden Gillott says that since she started in the field a decade ago, “people’s expectations have gotten a lot higher” in terms of the speed they expect companies to respond to public incidents.
“Social media and the ability of anyone to be a journalist and post anything in real time and make it accessible to the entire world has changed everything when it comes to customer service and crisis management,” says Erik Deutsch, a media strategist at LA-based ExcelPR Group. “If someone was mistreated in a store 15 years ago they might make a scene in the store and tell their friends about it and that would be it. Now they pull out a phone and video it and post it online, and it can become a sensation.”
Chipotle’s Viral Snafu by the Numbers
33,958: number of times Masud Ali’s video accusing a Chipotle manager of being racist was retweeted
10,000: current Twitter responses to Ali’s first tweet
4: minutes it took for @ChipotleTweets to initially respond to Ali’s tweet
19: hours after Ali’s complaint it took for @ChipotleTweets to announce the manager had been fired
131: number of search results Google returns for “Chipotle racist” from the past month
So what’s the best way for high-profile brands like Chipotle to assuage the public’s anger, fulfill its obligation to treat its employees fairly, and stave off more negative online attention until it can thoroughly investigate incidents? It’s a question that’s arisen numerous times in recent months: Last month at a McDonald’s near Minneapolis, a white man allegedly flashed a gun at a group of Muslim teens after he made a racist remark, spurring a verbal altercation. (He was later arrested under probable cause for second-degree assault.) A video posted to Twitter by one of the teens has been viewed nearly 2.2 million times — and the fast-food giant faced harsh online criticism for the action of its employees, one of whom was captured on camera yelling at the teens to leave the restaurant despite having just been threatened with a firearm.
Shortly after the incident went viral, McDonald’s corporate spokesperson provided a statement from the franchisee stating, “Nothing is more important than the safety and security of our customers and employees. We take this matter seriously and are working with local law enforcement while we investigate the situation.” Meanwhile, Twitter users, including some prominent Muslim activists, continued to demand answers from the company on how it intended to address the actions of its staff. Reached for comment on December 5, McDonald’s confirmed that the employee featured in the video was no longer employed by the company — though a spokesperson didn’t reply when asked whether that was the sole decision of the franchisee, or if that decision was handed down or influenced by corporate.
READ MORE EATER
Not surprisingly, brands are reluctant to reveal what protocols, if any, they might have in place when it comes to investigating these viral incidents. Neither McDonald’s nor Chipotle responded to a request for information about internal processes for handling such crises.
In the Chipotle instance, acting too hastily put the brand in an embarrassing situation. But according to Gillott, the mistake that most brands tend to make when a viral crisis erupts is waiting too long to properly address it. “The really, really big companies are much more responsive and understand that it is important to bring [a crisis PR expert] in sooner rather than later,” Gillott says. (While she can’t disclose the names of her previous clients due to confidentiality agreements, Gillott says she’s worked with “brands so iconic you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t enjoyed eating their food, drinking their beverages, or watching their commercials.”)
“In the vacuum of saying nothing, rumors are going to fill the void,” Gillott says. “So you don’t want to say nothing, but there are things that you can say that don’t necessarily give people more facts, but at least convey that you’re working on it — ‘We’re looking into this’ or ‘The investigation is ongoing.’ So it’s letting the audience know that you care and that you are taking steps in the right direction.”
Once her firm receives an initial call from a company in crisis mode, they immediately set forth to gather all the facts, figure out what kind of resolution the company hopes to achieve, and compose an appropriate statement for the media and/or public. According to Gillott, when brands issue a public statement in the midst of or following a crisis, they should look to address three things: “apologizing or showing remorse or empathy, talking about the things that they’re going to be doing to fix it, and then focusing on the future.”
As an example of a viral brand crisis that was handled well, Gillott points to a high-profile April incident in which two black men were arrested in a Philadelphia Starbucks after a manager called the police because they hadn’t purchased anything. While Starbucks was quick to respond, issuing a public apology within about 48 hours, the company took its time to thoroughly investigate the matter, reviewing store policies and speaking with staff, management, Philadelphia police, and the men who were unfairly arrested before taking any significant action. It wasn’t until nearly a week later that then-executive chairman Howard Schultz confirmed on a CBS This Morning appearance that the manager who called police was no longer with the company.
A subsequent statement from CEO Kevin Johnson denounced the arrests as “reprehensible” and detailed measures Starbucks would take to ensure a similar situation wouldn’t occur in the future, including working with community leaders to refine its policies and ultimately conducting implicit bias training for thousands of employees across the U.S.
“Starbucks did a fairly good job handling that because they were fast to respond and it was a very polished message,” says Gillott. “A lot of companies don’t have the resources to do what Starbucks did, and a lot of people commended Starbucks for going above and beyond. But at the end of the day, it is a business decision. They realize that if they do good now, it will pay off later in the future.”
Put plainly, while Starbucks’ executives may very well want to “do the right thing” because they believe in equality and fairness, brands’ actions ultimately come down to what will most benefit the company and its shareholders (see also: Nike’s controversial selection of Colin Kaepernick for an ad campaign, which spurred boycotts from conservatives but ultimately gave it a significant sales boost).
And the new social-media age makes figuring that strategy out — and quickly — even more crucial. “In an age where everyone has a TV studio in their pocket, everyone who works in customer service is a spokesperson for the company,” says Deutsch. “There are no secrets, just things that haven’t been found out yet… every customer is a potential journalist and can capture them on camera, and there are ways to handle those kinds of situations that are better than others.”