Joe Exotic’s husband reportedly arrested for drunken driving
Joe Exotic’s husband and co-star on Netflix’s hit docuseries “Tiger King” was arrested for drunken driving in Texas — and didn’t know where he was, reports said Monday.
Dillon Passage, 25, was found by police in a black 2020 Dodge Challenger on the side of Highway 290 in Manor around 1:30 a.m. Sunday and told cops he thought he was in a town about an hour north of where he was stopped, Fox 5 reported.
When cops spoke to Passage, they decided to conduct a field sobriety test and deemed it unsafe to let the reality TV star get back behind the wheel, the outlet said. The official toxicology screen is still pending, the outlet reported.
Passage was arrested for DWI and also for an outstanding warrant for resisting arrest. He was taken to the Travis County Jail and was held on a $3,000 bond.
Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage, married Passage in December 2017. The nuptials occurred just months after Exotic’s former husband accidentally shot himself to death.
The tiger lover is currently behind bars, serving a 22-year prison sentence for a botched murder-for-hire plot against his nemesis and fellow big cat aficionado Carole Baskin.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/16/joe-exotics-husband-reportedly-arrested-for-drunken-driving/
Photo Credit: Travis County Jail
Connecticut mom charged with shooting her kids was ‘depressed’ amid COVID-19
A Connecticut woman charged with shooting two of her children, one fatally, suffered a psychotic episode during the coronavirus lockdown and tried to kill herself, her husband told police.
Naomi Bell, 43, of Plymouth, was arraigned via video Monday in New Britain Superior Court on charges of murder and attempted murder for fatally shooting her 15-year-old daughter and critically wounding her 7-year-old son late Friday, the Hartford Courant reported.
Bell’s husband told cops he “heard a horrible screaming” while on the phone with his son as he returned to the family’s home in Terryville from a basketball game, an arrest warrant affidavit shows.
Minutes later, Bell’s husband found the couple’s son with a gunshot wound to the back, while their 15-year-old daughter was on a pile of clothes and appeared “pale and lifeless” as Naomi Bell held a pistol, he told investigators.
“I grabbed the top of the gun with my hand and ripped it out of her hands and put it down on the nightstand,” Bell’s husband recalled, adding that his wife was saying she wanted to die.
Cops then arrived at the home and took Bell into custody as paramedics performed CPR on her son. He was later admitted to Connecticut Children’s in critical condition, while his sister was pronounced dead at a hospital. Bell’s husband and a third child who was not home at the time were not injured, the newspaper reported.
During an interview with investigators, Bell’s husband said her mental state was severely impacted by the death of her sister in 2013 and became worse during the COVID-19 lockdown, ultimately requiring two hospital stays in April and October.
“At the beginning of the COVID pandemic, [she] became extremely depressed and was having delusional thoughts. She was on medication for depression and psychotic episodes,” Bell’s husband said.
“I felt like she wasn’t taking her medications and was pretending. She would tell me Homeland Security was circling the house and would come take her and the kids if she said she surrendered.”
Bell had also tried to kill herself with a knife, her husband told cops.
“Naomi really changed at the beginning of COVID with her depression and psychotic episodes,” Bell said in the affidavit. “It used to be balanced, now it’s all doom and gloom.”
An attorney for Bell said she has no prior criminal record and previously worked as a substitute teacher in a local district up until a few months ago.
Bell, whose charges include special circumstances due to the victim’s ages, was ordered held on $2.5 million. She faces up to life in prison without parole if convicted and is due back in court on Jan. 12
State police said Monday that Bell’s 7-year-old son remained hospitalized in Hartford, but did not have an update on his condition, the Connecticut Post reported.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/17/mom-charged-with-shooting-kids-was-depressed-amid-covid-19/
Photo Credit: Police Handout
Suspect fired 24 times in fatal shooting of woman during feud over dog poop
A Denver man accused of gunning down a 21-year-old woman over a feud about dog defecation reportedly fired off 24 shots from a semi-automatic rifle in the attack.
The revelations about 24-year-old suspect Michael Close’s alleged ambush that left Isabella Thallas dead and wounded her 27-year-old boyfriend, Darian Simon, were disclosed at the suspect’s preliminary court hearing on Monday, KDVR reported.
Denver police homicide investigator, Joseph Trujillo, testified that authorities found six shell casings inside Close’s Ballpark neighborhood apartment, and 18 others outside his window.
Close is accused of firing from inside his apartment at Thallas and Simon, who were walking their dog.
Before opening fire, Close yelled at the couple after their dog pooped in a rock garden outside his apartment, according to Trujillo. “Are you going to train that f—ing dog or just yell at it?” Close reportedly yelled from his window.
After the June 10 shooting, Close fled the scene in his car and was arrested by police later that day. He is charged with first-degree murder and over a dozen other counts, and was denied bond on Monday, the report said.
The suspect’s girlfriend, Chelsea Thompson, told police that after the shooting her boyfriend called her crying, admitting to opening fire on two people, Trujillo testified.
Close was also crying and apologizing when he was arrested, Trujillo said.
Thompson told police her boyfriend had recently been diagnosed with a personality disorder and battled substance abuse.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/17/suspect-fired-24-times-in-fatal-shooting-of-woman-amid-dog-poop-feud/
A full-scale humanitarian crisis is unfolding in Ethiopia, the UN says
Article via CNN
A full-scale humanitarian crisis is developing in the Horn of Africa as thousands of people flee ongoing violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said Tuesday. An average of 4,000 women, men and children have crossed the border into eastern Sudan every day since November 10, the agency said. In total, more than 27,000 people have now traveled into Sudan at three border locations, UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch said at a news conference in Geneva.”Refugees fleeing the fighting continue to arrive exhausted from the long trek to safety, with few belongings,” Baloch added. “UNHCR, with its partners, is supporting the Sudanese government in its response, ramping up humanitarian assistance at the borders as the needs continue to grow.”
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed launched a military offensive in the restive Tigray region on November 4 after accusing its ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), of attacking federal troops in the northern region, which borders Eritrea and Sudan. After announcing that it was “at war” with the TPLF, the federal army has since stepped up its military offensive, carrying out air strikes as part of Prime Minister and Nobel laureate Ahmed’s “law enforcement operation,” which has led to clashes across the area.A deadline for TPLF forces to lay down arms has expired, Abiy warned in a Facebook post published on Tuesday. He also promised to “reintegrate our fellow Ethiopians fleeing to neighboring countries” in a tweet on Monday night. Across the border in Sudan, refugees from Tigray are arriving exhausted and with few belongings, said the UNHCR. In the border town of Hamdayet, clean water is available and latrines are being built but the agency says it is concerned about hygiene conditions as thousands more people continue to arrive on a daily basis. Other humanitarian organizations are also distributing relief items, including blankets and sleeping mats, according to the UNHCR. The World Food Programme is providing high-protein biscuits, while hot meals are being distributed by Muslim Aid.
In Tigray, a lack of electricity, telecommunications and access to fuel and cash is hampering humanitarian efforts and making it difficult to verify information about attacks in the region. International diplomatic pressure to de-escalate tensions has fallen on deaf ears and other countries on the continent have begun to voice their concerns about stability in the region. Speaking at the State House in Nairobi on Monday, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta urged the fighting parties to find a “peaceful means to end the crisis.” He warned against a full-blown conflict in Tigray, saying Kenya and Ethiopia have for long served as “anchor states for regional peace and stability,” according to a statement. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni met Ethiopian deputy prime minister Demeke Mekonnen on Monday. In a tweet, he said the focus of their discussion was peace and security in Ethiopia. “Being one of the oldest countries that was not colonized in Africa, Ethiopia is the pride of the continent,” Museveni said.
Woman reveals how her ‘huge mouth’ made her TikTok famous
A Connecticut woman has become a TikTok sensation for her huge mouth, which could potentially be the world’s largest.
“Any video involving my mouth and the faces I can make always went crazy viral,” said Stamford resident Samantha Ramsdell, 30, who boasts more than 767,000 followers thanks to her self-described “BFAM” (“big f- -king a - - mouth”). The medical sales representative said she started posting various performance videos to TikTok this past spring to entertain people during the pandemic, Jam Press reported.
“I started growing popularity over lockdown,” said Ramsdell. “I’d make a lot of funny face videos, comedy skits and singing parodies.”
However, the big-mouthed vocalist really shot to stardom after a fan asked if she felt insecure about her capacious kisser. Ramsdell responded with a humorous clip, which boasts 7.4 million views and counting, depicting the TikTok star with her mouth hilariously agape while claiming that she used to be insecure but now lets her “big mouth shine in the sun!”
“That one boosted me to, like, 100,000 followers in August,” Ramsdell remarked about her self-effacing showcase. Others show her, by popular request, consuming various foods from sandwiches to marshmallows using her jumbo jaws.
In Ramsdell’s most viral vid to date with almost 60 million views, the entertainer is seen performing TikTok’s “Make It Red” challenge, in which users don makeup and sing along to “Make It Red” by Ashnikko – Daisy. “I wanna see your cheeks glow red,” cackles a lipstick-sporting Ramsdell before opening her mouth wide like the cartoonish Joker from “Batman” comics.
Despite her meteoric rise, the influencer admits the fascination with her mammoth mandibles was initially frustrating.
“I was more offended when people called me a ‘one-trick pony’ about my mouth,” lamented Ramsdell, who wanted to be known for her singing and comedy videos. However, she said has since embraced it, proclaiming, “My mouth just gets five times more views!”
Ramsdell’s popularity has allowed the singer to put her money where her mouth is. “TikTok actually pays their top creators now based on how many views, and it’s about 0.3 cents per 1,000,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot but some of my top videos have over 50 million views, so if you do the math, it ain’t too shabby for eating Subway sandwiches on camera!”
The content creator also believes that her titanic trap makes her a “better singer,” as some music icons — looking at you, Mick Jagger and Carly Simon — have oversized oral orifices.
“I think it does make me a better singer — lots of amazing singers have huge mouths,” she said.
Ramsdell also told Jam Press that she is applying to have her super-sized smackers entered into Guinness World Records. It’s unknown if they’ll make the cut, but they were a whopping 3.5 inches wide and almost 4 inches tall, according to her last self-measurement. The current record for longest mouth gape — the gulf between the upper and lower incisors — clocks in at a jaw-dropping 3 ¾ inches.
“Snapchat also posted a big story how I have ‘The World’s Biggest Mouth.’ So if Snapchat says so, it’s gotta be true, right?” joked Ramsdell.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/10/woman-reveals-how-her-huge-mouth-made-her-tiktok-famous/
Photo Credit: Jam Press/TikTok
Boy with rare skin condition becomes ‘supermodel’ — and it runs in his family
A 7-year-old boy is breaking barriers for those with skin pigment conditions.
Samuel Silva, from Bahia, Brazil, was born with piebaldism, a rare genetic condition that results in sections of his skin being white from lack of melanin. Piebaldism runs in his family — his mother and grandmother have the same distinctive mark across their foreheads. But Samuel has been the only one to spin his unique look into a modeling career.
It’s taken generations for the family to embrace their appearance, however. His grandmother, Dona Dionisia, 65, was bullied so much for the markings of white that she wore long shirts and pants to cover her skin.
Samuel’s mother, nail technician Nivianei de Jesus Purificaçao, 41, took the opposite approach, wearing tank tops and skirts and embracing her skin color with confidence. When children in her neighborhood began to call her Free Willy after the orca in the 1993 movie, she took the abuse in stride and used the nickname herself.
Still, she had hoped her children wouldn’t have to endure the constant looks from strangers, many of whom stopped them to ask if they had experienced burns or some other trauma. Nivianei’s daughter was born without piebaldism. When Samuel was born in 2013 with the condition, the family at first tried to hide it by shaving his head to hide the markings, which also show up in his hair.
The condition, which affects 1 out of every 20,000 babies born, does not have any negative health effects. But the alienation can be devastating for kids.
“Nivianei knew she would have to do whatever she could to help Samuel grow up being proud of his skin,” Samuel’s uncle, Julio Sanchez-Velo, 53, told Media Drum. But “the family brought him up to accept himself and his differences.”
In February of last year, they started an Instagram account to share stunning pictures of Samuel. The self-proclaimed “supermodel” now has more than 30,000 followers on the platform.
“Samuel’s hair in particular is stunning,” Julio said. “Once they let it grow into an afro, it looked amazing.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/16/boy-with-rare-skin-condition-becomes-supermodel-and-it-runs-in-his-family/
Photo Credit: MDWfeatures / @shamuelmodel
A couple got married in a hospital parking lot after the groom recovered from Covid-19
(CNN) — When Antionette Brown first saw Henry Bell at a nightclub 14 years ago, she knew he was the one. Although they never married, they commonly referred to each other as husband and wife during that span.
Nothing tore them apart — not even when Bell nearly died after being hospitalized with Covid-19 for nearly two months.
So one day before he was released from HCA Healthcare’s Orange Park Medical Center in Florida, they finally decided to tie the knot in the hospital parking lot surrounded by the health care workers who helped save Bell’s life.
“It was wonderful,” Brown, 48, told CNN. “Me and my husband went home to start a new life, and thank God for life and all the staff and doctors that made this happen. It will be a day to remember forever.”
Bell arrived at the hospital on September 13 after experiencing coronavirus symptoms and was immediately placed on a ventilator. After weeks in the ICU, Brown was forced to decide between placing Bell in hospice or giving him a tracheostomy, a procedure that involves creating an opening in the neck to place a tube into a person’s windpipe so they can breathe.
When doctors momentarily stopped sedating him so he could help make the decision by squeezing once for a tracheostomy or twice for no, Bell says he didn’t have to think about it for a second.
“There was no decision to make,” Bell, 63, told CNN. “I wanted to live. I chose life.”
Bell says he was sedated for most of the time he was in the hospital. He has no recollection of what happened or what he went through. But he does remember that the moment he woke up, he wanted to make Brown his wife.
“When I was aware and I saw her, all I wanted to do was marry her,” he said. “I could not talk, so I acted as if I was putting a ring to propose to her.”
The couple married on November 5. Doctors and nurses helped Bell get to the alter, where he was able to stand for the longest time since being hospitalized.
“We are touched and honored that Henry and Antionette wanted our caregivers present for their wedding,” said Dr. Bradley Shumaker, chief medical officer at Orange Park.
“Throughout the pandemic, our colleagues have done tremendous work on the frontlines,” he said. “Witnessing Henry’s remarkable recovery and being a part of this special moment was a great reminder of why they do what they do every day. We wish them many more years of happiness, good health and a speedy recovery.”
The next chapter
For weeks, Brown, her five children from a previous marriage and Bell’s three children from his previous marriage — one who passed away while Bell was in the hospital — spent each day praying he would survive until the next morning.
“It was so hard and painful. There was a real emptiness in my life,” Brown said.
Throughout the family’s ordeal, as they were unable to see or touch Bell, the doctors and nurses who cared for him ended up becoming part of their family, Brown says.
“There was no better place to get married,” Brown said. “The staff was wonderful. They had become my family and I wanted family there. I was more than happy for them to be there.”
For the health care workers who took care of Bell, they didn’t need a wedding to celebrate.
“It really gave us a sense of accomplishment that all our efforts, despite all the tragedy that we’ve faced over the past eight months, have had some amazing and positive outcomes,” said Dr. Payam Nabizadeh, Bell’s doctor.
“I was rounding when I received a text regarding the wedding plan and literally became teary eyed,” Nabizadeh said. “I watched him suffer for weeks, and for them to share such a personal moment with us, well that says everything.”
While the family is happy to be reunited, they are now using their story to urge people to wear masks, stay home and take the coronavirus seriously.
“I am telling my story in hopes there are move lives saved and there are more happy endings,” Bell said. “Please wear a mask and wash hands more often. Please keep your distance. This is a very serious infection.”
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/a-couple-got-married-in-a-hospital-parking-lot-after-the-groom-recovered-from-covid/article_02c31b0f-8014-5279-ad12-5c67db90463e.html
Photo Credit: HCA Healthcare’s Orange Park Medical Center
News anchor suspended for asking why 2020 ‘took’ Trebek, not Mitch McConnell
A Milwaukee news anchor is off the air for a mean-spirited social media post questioning why “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died this year while Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell keeps on ticking.
Ted Perry, WITI’s main anchor for its 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts, was suspended by the Fox-owned and -operated station for a Facebook post on his personal page in the aftermath of Trebek’s Sunday death at 80 due to pancreatic cancer, sources close to the matter told The Post on Friday.
“2020 takes Alex Trebek but leaves Mitch McConnell?” Perry wrote in the since-deleted post, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. “Just end already.”
Perry, 56, shut down his Twitter account and personal Facebook page following the controversial post. He still maintains a Facebook profile via the Fox affiliate, but hasn’t posted there since Saturday.
A message seeking comment from station reps, as well as Perry, was not immediately returned early Friday. Meanwhile, sources told The Post it’s unclear when Perry would be back on the airwaves.
Perry apologized for the post, which led to blowback both on Facebook and Twitter, including from conservatives who said the comment revealed the anchor’s “bias,” while others called for him to be fired. Hours later, he took it down, the Journal Sentinel reported.
“I made a statement on my personal page that was insensitive and does not reflect my journalist values and I was not speaking on behalf of my employer,” Perry’s mea culpa read. “I deeply apologize for my inappropriate and outrageous comments and have deleted them accordingly.”
Perry, an Illinois native, joined the station in 1993, according to his bio. It’s unclear whether he’ll be paid during his time off, the Journal Sentinel reported.
McConnell, 78, won his seventh term in the Senate last week, defeating a well-funded Democratic military vet. He was later re-elected unanimously on Tuesday as Senate Republican leader, but whether he’ll retain his role as majority leader or cede it to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is still to be determined ahead of runoff elections in Georgia set for January.
McConnell’s health became a topic in Washington as recently as last month when large purple bruises were spotted on his skin. Dermatologists said the marks and his bandaged hands were likely from a common condition called senile purpura.
“Your skin just naturally becomes more fragile as you age,” a Manhattan-based dermatologist, Dr. Doris Day, told The Post. “I think it’s just a bruise — a solid good bruise.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/13/news-anchor-suspended-for-asking-why-2020-didnt-take-mitch-mcconnell/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Alabama parents sentenced two years for locking adopted son in basement 23 hours a day
An Alabama couple will serve just two years in prison for inflicting horrific abuse on their adoptive son — including locking him in a basement for 23 hours a day and nearly starving him to death.
Richard Kelly, 60, and his wife Cynthia, 51, were sentenced Thursday in Shelby County to the maximum allowed under a previous plea deal, AL.com reported.
The light sentence followed an emotional statement by their son, Ethan Kelly — now an 18-year-old high school senior — who recounted his years of torture after his adoption in 2007.
“This wasn’t the dream. I cried every night and prayed for Jesus to end it all” Kelly told the court.
“I’m not who I used to be. I’m not even who I was supposed to be. I lived the story of Cinderella with no happy ending.”
The couple was accused of keeping Ethan locked in prison-like conditions in the basement for around two years.
For nearly 23 hours a day, he was forced to stay in a locked room with a camera, alarm system and box spring for a bed.The abuse came to light on Nov. 12, 2016, when Richard took the gravely ill boy to the hospital weighing. Though age 14, he weighed less than 55 pounds.Doctors told police at the time that the boy was near death — suffering from malnourishment, dehydration, acute respiratory distress, shock and hypothermia.
“His body was failing in all of the critical ways that keep us alive. He was essentially dying,” Children’s Hospital of Alabama Dr. Melissa Peters told the court, according to AL.com
Both parents testified that they had not abused Ethan — and that they did not believe they did anything wrong.
Richard told the court that they “did what we thought was best,” while Cynthia claimed that “we did not intend to hurt our son.”
“Maybe we missed some signs. If I could do it over again, I would get him help,” Cynthia said, AL.com reported.
In handing down the sentence, Shelby County Circuit Judge William H. Bostick told the court that he would’ve given them a harsher punishment if he had the power.
“It would be somewhere in the realm of 20 years to life if I weren’t constrained by the law. But I am,” Bostick said.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/14/alabama-parents-get-jail-time-for-locking-adopted-son-in-basement/
Photo Credit: Shelby County Jail
President Trump tweets Joe Biden ‘won’ election, claims it was rigged
President Trump on Sunday appeared to acknowledge that President-elect Joe Biden had won the 2020 race for the White House — but chalked up the outcome to the election being “rigged.”
“He won because the Election was Rigged,” Trump wrote on Twitter.
Trump then rattled off a series of reasons why he believed that the victory was handed to the Democratic presidential candidate.
“NO VOTE WATCHERS OR OBSERVERS allowed, vote tabulated by a Radical Left privately owned company, Dominion, with a bad reputation & bum equipment that couldn’t even qualify for Texas (which I won by a lot!), the Fake & Silent Media, & more!” he continued.
Trump had previously accused the company, Dominion Voting — which supplies voting machines throughout the US — of deleting 2.7 million votes for him across the country and changing 221,000 votes cast in Pennsylvania for him to favor Biden.
The company said in a statement that it “denies claims about any vote switching or alleged software issues with our voting systems.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/15/trump-tweets-biden-won-because-the-election-was-rigged/
Photo Credit: Reuters