A Florida police officer is accused of kicking a pregnant woman with such force that it forced her into labor.
The incident occurred Wednesday, when North Miami Beach Police Officer Amber Pacheco and her sister got into an argument with a couple from Liberty City. (Pacheco was off-duty at the time.) The investigation did not list the cause of the fight, but the confrontation escalated when Evoni Murray's boyfriend kicked Pacheco's sister in the face. As Pacheco admitted to an arresting officer, she then "beat the shit" out of Murray.
Following the kick, an arresting officer observed that Murray, who was eight months pregnant, "appeared to be in severe pain and possibly having contractions." Murray was taken to the hospital and gave birth. The baby appears to be healthy.
Pacheco later said that she kicked someone but wasn't sure of their identity. She was arrested and charged with battery.
Maj. Richard Rand reports that Pacheco has been suspended with pay while the department conducts an internal investigation. Having been at the department for less than a year, Pacheco is on probationary employment.
The straw bans sweeping the nation have been nothing but bad news for liberty lovers, disabled people, and boba tea enthusiasts, but they have produced some choice memes:
Those don't just make me laugh out loud. They hint at a darker truth about straw bans, a fact these policies' proponents prefer to ignore: All laws ultimately rest on state violence.
This point is often greeted with eyerolls and snorts from straw ban apologists, who would rather focus on their good intentions than the coercive powers needed to bring their rules into effect.
Indeed, when I reported last week that Santa Barbara's straw ban included a punishment of up to six months in jail and $1,000 in fines per straw, a spokesperson for a prominent environmentalist group emailed to inform me that focusing on the penalties was "unprofessional" and "inaccurate" because they would never actually be enforced, even after a third or fourth violation.
Santa Barbara officials have made a similar argument. Asked about the ban by a local ABC affiliate, the city's environmental services outreach coordinator said that locking people up for straws is only "a last line of defense" and isn't intended "for first-time offenders." But he wouldn't rule out the possibility of jail time, and he clearly thinks some circumstances might warrant such a severe sanction. So do the councilmembers that voted for the law.
Even when jail time is not an explicitly authorized punishment, a law will still require enforcement. That increases the likelihood of police encounters—and, thus, the chances that someone will get hurt in the course of such an encounter. One need only remember the cases of Eric Garner (killed by police who were arresting him for selling untaxed cigarettes) or Philando Castile (shot to death during a routine traffic stop) to know that this is a possibility.
Those are extreme examples, of course; chances aren't high that cops will start gunning people down for selling straws on the street corner. But I do expect to see more of these "summer of snitches"/"nation of narcs" incidents where some local busybody decides to call the cops on a local restaurant, a food truck, or maybe even some kid's lemonade stand for handing out now-prohibited straws.
If that happens, the straw warriors who brought us these bans might insist that this was never their intention. But it will nevertheless be a direct consequence of their crusade.
Israel is to build hundreds of new homes in a settlement in the occupied West Bank where a Palestinian stabbed three Israelis, one fatally, Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Friday.
In an interview with Trevor Noah on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” Thursday night, candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tried to explain how the United States would pay for all of the entitlements the self-described democratic socialist has campaigned on — including fully taxpayer-sponsored Medicare, college tuition, and housing.
“If people pay their fair share, if corporations and the ultra wealthy, for example, as Warren Buffett likes to say, if he pays as much as his secretary paid, a 15 percent tax rate, if corporations paid, if we reverse the tax bill, raised our corporate tax rate to 28 percent– which is not even as high as it was before — if we do those two things and also close some of those loopholes, that’s $2 trillion right there,” she said. “That’s $2 trillion in ten years.”
CNN estimates that providing Medicare for all would cost $1.4 trillion annually. That means $2 trillion over the course of 10 years would provide a small percentage of the funds she’d need for one plank of her platform alone.
“If we implement a carbon tax on top of that, so that we can transition and incentivize people away from fossil fuels, if we implement a carbon tax, that’s an additional amount of a large amount of revenue that we can have,” she said.
The democratic congressional nominee did not specify how much revenue would be raised through a carbon tax. Economists estimate it may cost as much revenue as it may generate, while increasing unemployment. Ocasio-Cortez also suggested cutting military spending — because the military doesn’t want more fighter jets! Or, presumably, anything else.
“Just last year we gave the military a $700 billion budget increase, which they didn’t even ask for!” she said. “They’re like, ‘We don’t want another fighter jet!’ They’re like, ‘Don’t give us another nuclear bomb!’ you know?”
Probably Russia and China enjoy hearing that sort of thing from a politician whose platform fits their countries’ kleptocratic and communist governments.
Those who violate the plastic straw ban in Santa Barbara, Calif., could reportedly face jail time.Under the terms of an ordinance the coastal city passed earlier this month, people could face hefty fines and possib...
Enlarge / SALISBURY, ENGLAND - JULY 06: Work is carried out behind a police cordon in front of John Baker House Sanctuary Supported Living after a major incident was declared when a man and woman were exposed to the Novichok nerve agent. (credit: Getty | Jack Taylor)
British officials announced Wednesday they are investigating whether attackers dropped multiple, hidden stashes of the deadly Russian Novichok nerve agent around an English town as part of a plot to poison former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March.
The Skripals were found March 4, slumped on a bench in Sergei’s home town of Salisbury, England. The two had been poisoned by the military-grade chemical weapon, but later regained consciousness and are recovering in an undisclosed location. Britain and its NATO allies united to blame Russia for the attack.
The new revelation that there could be more Novichok in the otherwise quiet town comes as a man poisoned by the same agent several weeks ago near Salisbury told the press that he came across the nerve agent in a branded, cellophane-wrapped box containing a bottle he thought was full of perfume. The victim in that case, Charlie Rowley, 45, didn’t reveal—or remember—exactly where he had found the box. He said that on June 30 he gave it as a gift to his girlfriend, Dawn Sturgess, who recognized the branding on the box.
YouTube issued a strike to the channel of radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones this week after some of his videos were found to have violated YouTube community guidelines. According to a report by The Verge, YouTube removed four videos from Jones' channel that allegedly contained instances of hate speech and child endangerment and issued one strike to his account. That new strike prevents Jones from live streaming for 90 days.
Two of the removed videos allegedly contained hate speech against Muslims, and one video was said to have contained hate speech against transgender people. The fourth video showed a child being pushed to the ground by an adult male and was titled "How to prevent liberalism." That video remains up on InfoWars' Facebook page.
"We have longstanding policies against child endangerment and hate speech,” a YouTube representative said in a statement. "We apply our policies consistently according to the content in the videos, regardless of the speaker or the channel. We also have a clear three-strikes policy and we terminate channels when they receive three strikes in three months."
Authorities continued to investigate Wednesday after 6-month-old Levi Cole Ellerbe was kidnapped and then found in a fire on Tuesday night (July 17, 2018) in Natchitoches. Levi later died at a Shreveport hospital, and one woman has been charged with first-degree murder.
UPDATE: Authorities have identified the victim as 26-year-old Michael Neufeld.
According to Livingston Parish Sheriff Jason Ard, Baton Rouge Police located the Jeep Wrangler that Neufeld was last seen driving.
Baton Rouge Police say the vehicle was stopped on Scenic Hwy. near Spanish Town Road around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. As a result, Anthony Hall and Latashia Williams were arrested for theft of a motor vehicle.
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DENHAM SPRINGS – Livingston Parish deputies said they discovered human remains while working with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office on a missing person’s case.
The remains were found in a wooded area off Hood Road in the Walker South area.
The remains are believed to be that of the missing person who deputies refused to name. Investigators in Livingston Parish are searching for a Jeep that was last driven by 26-year-old Michael Neufeld. Neufeld was reported missing earlier this month in Ascension Parish.
Investigators said in a prepared statement the remains were found after executing a search warrant in the 26000 block of Evelyn Drive in Denham Springs Sunday.
Foul play is suspected, Livingston Parish authorities said.
“There will be no official ID until confirmation by the Livingston Parish Coroner’s Office,” deputies said in a forward statement released late Monday.
A news release included a statement from Sheriff Jason Ard:”This case is very bizarre. The body discovered was actually dismembered. I can confirm the victim is male. We are working with the LSP Crime Lab to process the scene. Through investigation, it’s believed the crime occurred in early July. Now remember, We’re still talking to witnesses. Obviously, we believe there was a gathering at the address on Evelyn Drive earlier this month. Something happened. We’re still trying to figure out exactly what took place. This investigation is ongoing. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to put the pieces together.”
Arrested in connection with this case: Duane Bissell; Martin Morgan; Robert Taylor; William Byars; Tony Kile, Jr.; Ashton Hanchey; Cheyenne Smith; and Nancy Logarbo.
Investigators have not revealed how those arrested are connected to the case. But, charges at the jail filed with reports of the group's arrest list various alleged offenses including obstruction of justice, murder, accessory to murder, unlawful disposal of remains, mutilating human remains, burglary and resisting an officer.
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The White House on Thursday updated the official transcript of President Trump's press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin to include a previously omitted question about whether Putin wanted Trump to win the...
BATON ROUGE - Two women were arrested Tuesday for the death of a 77-year-old woman suffering from severe bedsores, among other medical problems.
According to Baton Rouge Police, authorities responded to a medical call around 9:55 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Foster Drive.
77-year-old Barbara Lewis-Brown was found on the sofa in an apartment that was in "deplorable condition." She was transported to a local hospital where she later died.
As a result, 36-year-old Chasity Evette Lewis and 22-year-old Carlnessa Ejeanlillian Butler were arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison and charged with manslaughter/cruelty to the infirmed.
An autopsy determined that Brown's death was caused by stage 4 bed sores combined with malnourishment and dehydration.
The six remaining Aum Shinrikyo cult members on death row were executed Thursday, the last of the 13 cult members to be hanged during the past three weeks.
A New Jersey radio station indefinitely suspended two show hosts after they referred to the state's Sikh attorney general as "turban man."Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco, hosts of 101.5 FM's ...
A federal judge this week struck down a Florida ban on college campuses being used as early voting sites.U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ripped the "lopsided" burden on college students that w...
Facebook has been caught censoring the words “I’m Matt Caldwell. I like guns” in an ad for a candidate for Florida agriculture commissioner, but the company retreated after the story started gaining online attention.
“I’m Matt Caldwell. I like guns. I love the Second Amendment, and I support our president,” Caldwell said in the 15-second spot. “That’s why I’m endorsed by the NRA.”
But the social media giant later “admitted it mistakenly” blocked the ad by the Florida Republican, the report said.
The initial message from Facebook to Caldwell was, “Not Approved: Your ad can’t promote the sale of weapons or ammunition.”
His video depicted him shooting a shotgun and talking about his National Rifle Association endorsement, Fox reported.
He responded to the “censorship regime.”
“Facebook’s liberal agenda is keeping our campaign for Commissioner of Agriculture from sharing our message,” he said in a prepared statement. “Facebook has mislabeled our ad in an effort to censor our pro-Second Amendment support and endorsement from the NRA.”
However, Facebook soon retreated.
“We review millions of ads each week and sometimes we make mistakes,” a spokesperson told the Tampa Bay Times. “We have overturned the incorrect decision and the ads are now running live on Facebook.”
The broadcast outlet asked political adviser Terry Miller whether the ad would be considered offensive.
“The folks who would be offended by a message like this probably are people who are not going to be voting in a Republican primary,” Miller said.
Florida Politics said Caldwell sent a message directly to Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg:
“The U.S. Constitution could not be clearer: Our Second Amendment rights are inalienable. These God-given rights were enshrined in the Constitution by our Founding Fathers and Facebook’s censorship regime cannot get away with waging a war against conservative ideals and our pro-liberty message.”
Firefighters battling a wildlife in California captured video of a firenado -- a fire tornado -- swirling flames across a road.
A Florida police officer is accused of kicking a pregnant woman with such force that it forced her into labor.
The six remaining Aum Shinrikyo cult members on death row were executed Thursday, the last of the 13 cult members to be hanged during the past three weeks.
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