pileofcrapola

COEUR D’ALENE, Idaho (AP) — A defense attorney says the father of Eldon Gale Samuel III believed zombies were real and would one day come after his family, and he instilled that fear in his sons.

Kootenai County Public Defender John Adams made the comments Wednesday during opening statements in the murder trial of the 16-year-old Samuel, who is charged with killing his father and younger brother.

Adams painted a picture of a dysfunctional and violent family led by Eldon Samuel Jr., a drug addict, The Spokesman-Review (http://bit.ly/1l7oDZW) reported. Adams said that helped explain the Coeur d’Alene teenager’s state of mind when he killed his father and brother the night of March 24, 2014.

Samuel shot his father in the stomach after his father had hit him and told him to remove his clothes and leave the house because zombies were coming, Adams said.

After the father crawled into a bedroom and died, Samuel shot him three more times in the face and head to make sure he didn’t come back as a zombie, Adams told the jury. It was an act of self-defense, he said, and showed how the boy was influenced by his father’s delusions.

“He trained him for the zombie apocalypse,” Adams told the jury.

Samuel then went after his younger brother Jonathan, Adams said.

“He just loses it, he snaps,” Adams said.

Jonathan Samuel was shot five times by a shotgun and five more times by a .45-caliber handgun, before he was stabbed and hacked with a machete scores of times, according to an autopsy.

Adams acknowledged Samuel killed his father and brother, but he questioned whether the case warrants murder charges, as opposed to manslaughter.

The jury must decide if Jonathan’s death was calculated and premeditated, as the first-degree murder charge suggests, or “whether this was a rage killing,” Adams said.

Kootenai County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Art Verharen described for jurors the extensive wounds to Jonathan. The 13-year-old boy was alive through all 10 gunshot wounds, Verharen said, and he bled to death.

Jonathan also was stabbed and hacked more than 100 times on the head, face, arms, hands, legs and feet, he said.

Samuel killed Jonathan “because he hated his brother, he blamed him for his family not being together,” Verharen said. “He told police he just didn’t want his brother around.”

The trial is expected to last up to four weeks.

Samuel, who is being tried as an adult, was 14 at the time of the killings.

Samuel initially was charged with first-degree murder in both deaths, but the charge was changed to second-degree murder in the father’s death after the younger Samuel said his father abused him.

Police say Samuel showed no remorse and said he’d contemplated and prepared for the killings for months.

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com

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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York woman who fatally injured her 5-year-old cousin and hid him in a snowbank while he was still alive has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.

Tiffany VanAlstyne was sentenced Thursday morning in Albany County Court.

The 20-year-old VanAlstyne admitted beating and choking Kenneth White while caring for him in December 2014 at her home in the town of Knox. She pleaded guilty in November to depraved indifference murder of a child.

VanAlstyne initially told police men kidnapped the boy, prompting authorities to issue a statewide Amber Alert. She later admitted she covered his body with snow after tossing him into a culvert near the home, then called 911 and claimed the boy had been abducted.

Police later found the boy’s body.

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RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The North Carolina State Bar has ruled that a lawyer who advocated for the wrongly convicted committed an ethical violation while trying to prove the innocence of a client.

Multiple media outlets report a State Bar disciplinary panel ruled Thursday against Chris Mumma, director of the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence. Mumma was accused of taking a water bottle from someone without permission and having it tested for DNA.

Mumma was trying to prove the innocence of Joseph Sledge, who served almost 40 years for a double murder until he was proven innocent. He was released from prison a year ago.

Multiple media outlets reported that the panel dismissed claims that Mumma was dishonest or deceitful or acted in a way prejudicial to the administration of justice. The panel will now determine her punishment, which could range from reprimand to disbarment.

Fred Morelock, the chairman of the panel, said the phrase repeated in the deliberations of the three-member panel was “crossing the line.”

The charges against Mumma date to 2013, when she and an employee of the innocence center went to the home of the sister of two brothers who had been suspects.

Mumma failed to convince the woman, Marie Andrus, to provide a DNA sample that could be tested to include or exclude her brothers as suspects, Mumma picked up her note pad and other items and grabbed a water bottle.

She realized the bottle was not hers but decided to keep it and have it tested for DNA. The bottle did not have DNA that was connected with the crime scene. Sledge was freed based on other evidence.

Defense attorney Jim Cooney argued Thursday that authorities spent more time investigating Mumma and the water bottle than investigating Sledge’s innocence.

“Ms. Mumma did what we expect an honorable attorney to do,” Cooney said. “When she had the evidence that convinced her an injustice had taken place, she took all necessary steps to correct it. … That’s being what we expect an honorable lawyer who complies with the rules of professional conduct to do.”

However, state bar officials argued that Mumma pushed the ethical envelope.

“She knew what she was about to do was wrong,” state bar attorney Leanor Hodge said.

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FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The latest on the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan (all times local):

11:45 p.m.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is asking President Barack Obama to issue an emergency and major disaster declaration amid the Flint water crisis.

Snyder’s office said in a statement late Thursday night that it had asked for the declarations and is seeking additional federal aid for both individuals and public agencies involved in the effort to provide Flint residents with clean drinking water.

Flint’s tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. Local officials declared a public health emergency in October.

The statement says Snyder’s request will be reviewed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which will advise the president on whether the declarations should be granted.

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5 p.m.

Dozens of people — some lugging jugs of dirty water in protest of the water crisis in Flint — have criticized Republican Gov. Rick Snyder during a demonstration Thursday inside the Michigan state Capitol.

MLive.com and WDIV-TV report that the protesters arrived in Lansing via buses from Flint and Detroit.

Flint’s tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. Local officials first declared a public health emergency in October in response to tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead.

Snyder spokesman Dave Murray tells MLive.com that the governor “acted aggressively” and announced an action plan after becoming aware of the lead levels. Snyder declared an emergency in Flint earlier this month.

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3:30 p.m.

An official at the Genesee County health department says the agency has been “bombarded” with phone calls from anxious residents, a day after state officials said the number of Legionnaires’ disease cases had increased.

Chief health officer Mark Valacak tells The Associated Press he “had no idea” that Gov. Rick Snyder was holding a news conference Wednesday to disclose the findings.

Valacak says his department hasn’t made a direct link between Flint water and bacteria that causes Legionnaires’ disease. State officials haven’t made one either.

Valacak says Legionnaires’ disease isn’t associated with drinking tainted water. People can get sick if they inhale mist or vapor from contaminated water systems.

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3 p.m.

Members of the United Auto Workers Region 1-D say they will supply bottled water to three community centers in Flint.

The union has secured 18 pallets of one-gallon water jugs and 20 pallets of bottled water. The water is intended to supplement resources being provided by an emergency operations center. Details are expected to be announced Friday.

Flint’s tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply in 2014 to save money while under state financial management. Local officials first declared a public health emergency in October in response to tests that showed children with elevated levels of lead.

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10:40 a.m.

Michigan State University and a Flint hospital are putting a team together to keep a long-term eye on Flint’s lead problem, from offering nutrition tips to residents to health monitoring.

The effort will be led by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who is credited with sounding the alarm last year about high levels of lead in children.

Drinking water that lacked treatment for corrosion caused lead to leach from old plumbing in Flint for about 18 months.

Hanna-Attisha, a doctor at Hurley Medical Center, says she wants to bring “hope” to a community that’s “traumatized.”

The Genesee County health department and the Michigan health department will also have roles.

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7 a.m.

Donations of bottled water are coming in from around Michigan to help Flint residents amid the city’s drinking water crisis.

The Flint Journal reports that Kroger Co. of Michigan and UA Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 370 of Flint worked together to donate 16 truckloads of bottled water to the city. The first four truckloads of bottled water were scheduled to be delivered Thursday.

In northern Michigan, the Traverse City Record-Eagle reports that Suttons Bay Congregational Church is collecting bottles and jugs of water for a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Flint.

WHMI-FM reports Pinckney’s school district in southeastern Michigan also is collecting water.

Flint’s tap water became contaminated with too much lead after the city switched its water supply in 2014 to save money while under state financial management.

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Thousands of archaeological artifacts — and maps detailing where more can be found — are kept inside the national wildlife refuge buildings currently being held by an armed group of protestors angry over federal land policy.

Ryan Bundy, one of the leaders of the group occupying the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon, says they have no real interest in the antiquities. Still, their access to the artifacts and maps has some worried that looters could take advantage of the situation.

“There’s a huge market for artifacts, especially artifacts that have provenance, where you can identify where they came from,” said Carla Burnside, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s refuge archeologist.

More than 300 recorded prehistoric sites are scattered across the refuge, including burial grounds, ancient villages and petroglyphs. Some of the artifacts — including spears, stone tools, woven baskets and beads — date back 9,800 years.

The artifacts and remains came from ancestors of the Burns Paiute Tribe. Chairwoman Charlotte Rodrique says she feels helpless knowing that her tribe’s cultural heritage is now in the hands of the armed group.

“As far as I’m concerned, our history is just another hostage,” Rodrique said.

The tribe has sent a letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. attorney for Oregon, Billy Williams, asking that members of the armed group be prosecuted if any artifacts or maps are damaged or missing.

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WHY AREN’T THE RELICS AT A MUSEUM?

About 7,000 artifacts and samples from the refuge are kept at a museum in Eugene, Oregon. But 4,000 more are kept at the refuge for research.

Only Burnside has a key to the room containing the artifacts and the maps. She’s since seen pictures of the occupiers in her office, adjacent to the room where the artifacts are stored. The group has been looking through government files at the site, but it is unclear if they’ve gone through the room with the artifacts. Bundy told The Associated Press that he’s seen the artifacts and lots of maps, but he didn’t know what the maps illustrated.

The artifacts and maps are legally protected by the 1979 Archeological Resources Protection Act and other federal laws.

Rodrique said she doesn’t know if members of the group have disturbed the artifacts but wants the artifacts and documents catalogued as the occupation continues and once it comes to an end.

“If the occupiers disturb, damage, remove, alter or deface any archaeological resource on the refuge property, the Tribe requests that the United States bring criminal charges,” Rodrique wrote in her letter to federal officials.

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WHAT IS THE ARMED GROUP DOING WITH THE ARTIFACTS?

Bundy said they’re not interested in the artifacts and would turn them over to the Burns Paiute Tribe, if asked.

“If the Native Americans want those, then we’d be delighted to give them to them,” he said.

Rodrique said the tribe is not going to legitimize the armed group’s occupation of the refuge by negotiating with them.

“That’s our history, our ancestors’ possessions and remains,” Rodrique said. “It’s hard to explain, as a native person, what that means to us. That’s the very proof of our existence in this country.”

Bundy said he didn’t think it was likely that anyone would use the maps to loot the site.

“We haven’t really been thinking along those lines,” Bundy said.

Removing artifacts from federal property without a permit is illegal.

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WHAT ABOUT THE PREHISTORIC SITES?

Scientists are also worried about unintentional damage that could be done to the prehistoric sites by cattle, vehicles and heavy equipment.

The group at the ranch has driven road graders and other large construction equipment around the refuge headquarters buildings, but Bundy said Thursday they haven’t used the machinery to move any earth. He wouldn’t rule out that possibility, however.

In 2014, Ryan Bundy and supporters of the Bundy family rode ATVs on federal land closed to motorized vehicles in Utah as part of a protest. Their route took them along an illegal trail that crossed through Native American archeological sites.

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HAVE THE SITES BEEN LOOTED BEFORE?

While well-known petroglyphs or other prehistoric sites are occasionally publicized for public viewing, federal land managers often go to great lengths to keep such locations secret when they can’t be safely protected from vandals and looters.

Looting has long been a problem at the refuge, with the first documented instance recorded in 1979, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service’s comprehensive conservation plan.

“It’s a huge problem in Oregon, especially in the southeast portion of the state,” said Dennis Griffin, the state’s archaeologist. “More often than not, when they are caught, it’s connected to drug running or seeking quick money on eBay.”

An online search of “great basin artifacts for sale” yields arrowheads, stone pestles and other items, many priced at hundreds of dollars each.

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WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Burnside said the artifacts are part of the ancestry of the Burns Paiute Tribe and are priceless to science.

“There’s so much you can gain from looking at one artifact: Where the stone came from, how far they traveled, how it was used, the skill of the person who made it,” she said.

The tribe works extensively with federal officials on the archeology projects. In her letter, Rodrique said the tribe knows it’s a difficult time for Burnside and other refuge employees, and thanked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its cooperation and help.

“All I want is that our past be respected, that things don’t go by the wayside, that they’re not destroyed by cattle,” Rodrique said in a phone interview.

“Their history is being hijacked by these people,” said Donald Grayson, an anthropologist and archeology expert at the University of Washington.

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HOW DOES BUNDY WANT THE ARCHEOLOGICAL SITES HANDLED?

Bundy said people interested in archeology are welcome to explore the refuge, but that cattle ranchers and loggers should have priority when it comes to land use.

“Before white man came, so to speak, there was nothing to keep cattle from tromping on those things,” Bundy said.

Though some countries had domesticated cattle 10,000 years ago, the animals came to the United States with European settlers.

“We also recognize that the Native Americans had the claim to the land, but they lost that claim,” Bundy said. “There are things to learn from cultures of the past, but the current culture is the most important.”

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MANASSAS, Va. (AP) — A day care teacher who turned her classroom into what a prosecutor called a “baby fight club” was convicted Wednesday on more than a dozen criminal charges.

Sarah Jordan, 31, of Woodbridge, was the lead teacher of 1-year-old children back in 2013 at a Minnieland Academy classroom in Woodbridge. Witnesses testified that Jordan intentionally tripped children, stepped on their toes, encouraged them to fight each other and sprayed them in the face with a hose.

After a three-day bench trial, a Prince William County judge convicted Jordan on 13 felony and misdemeanor counts, including child cruelty, and assault and battery. She was found not guilty on four counts. More than 20 counts were dismissed by the judge during the trial, largely because prosecutors failed to prove that the alleged assaults had occurred within the statute of limitations.

Jordan testified Wednesday in her own defense and denied the accusations. She said she occasionally used the hose to sprinkle kids with water because the sprinkler attachment was broken but never tried to hurt them.

She suggested that the accusations stemmed from workplace disputes with her co-workers.

But prosecutor Ashleigh Landers said the three co-workers who testified that they witnessed Jordan abusing the toddlers had no bias against Jordan and one of them even considered Jordan a friend.

Landers said in her closing argument that the atmosphere fostered by Jordan was “almost creating like a baby fight club” and did immeasurable damage to the psyches of impressionable children.

Parents testified that their children suddenly became fearful of water and started acting out in ways similar to the abuse described in the classroom, like stepping on others’ feet.

Jordan’s bond was revoked immediately after the verdict and she will be jailed pending her sentencing May 6.

Her attorney, Adrian Showells, noted that Jordan still has the right to appeal her conviction but otherwise declined comment.

Family members of the abused children patted each other on the back and wept in relief as the judge read the verdicts. A lawyer representing many of the families, James J. McCoart III, said Jordan’s actions were “not only … cruel and traumatic, but outrageous criminal conduct on our community’s most vulnerable.”

The allegations against Jordan, and another woman, Kierra Spriggs, 26, first surfaced in a 2013 report from the Virginia Department of Social Services. Spriggs is scheduled for trial next month.

The report found the women encouraged toddlers to fight and dunked children afraid of water into wading pools. It also found the women laughed about feeding kids Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Donald Trump supporters have lost the first round in their battle to prevent the Republican Party from requiring voters to sign a statement of GOP affiliation before casting ballots in Virginia’s presidential primary.

U.S. District Judge Hannah M. Lauck refused Thursday to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the plan, clearing the way for Virginia election officials to finish mailing absentee ballots by Saturday’s deadline.

As it now stands, Virginians voting in person in the March 1 GOP primary also will have to complete a form stating: “My signature below indicates that I am a Republican.” Three black pastors who support Trump claim in a lawsuit that the “loyalty oath” violates their civil and free-speech rights.

Those claims remain to be decided, although time is running short. No trial date has been scheduled.

In a four-page order denying the request for a preliminary injunction, Lauck said the plaintiffs at this early stage have failed to show a likelihood of success on the merits of their constitutional claims. However, she said the case “raises matters of significant concern” about the Virginia State Board of Elections’ duties to avoid voter confusion and run an orderly election.

The plaintiffs argue that most black voters would refuse to sign the statement, and those that do would face a backlash in their communities. They also contend that confusion or disputes over the statement would result in long lines at the polls, further deterring people from voting.

Lauck said she would issue an opinion further explaining her reasons for denying the preliminary injunction soon.

Chester Smith, attorney for the plaintiffs, said his clients still hope to block use of the statement for in-person voting.

“My clients feel very strongly about this,” he said. “They anticipated there would be obstacles. We intend to press on.”

Jack Wilson, attorney for the state GOP, said he was pleased with the judge’s decision.

“The party’s statement was never intended to focus on any one candidate or campaign,” he said. “We only wanted to make sure that Republicans vote in the Republican primary.

Trump is not involved in the lawsuit, but he has criticized the Virginia GOP’s pledge requirement, arguing that it would drive away new Republican voters.

Virginia does not register voters by party, and taxpayer-funded primaries like the one scheduled for March are open to all registered voters. However, the elections board says the statement of affiliation requested by the state GOP is legal and in keeping with the party’s First Amendment free-association rights.

Virginia Republicans proposed voter pledges for the 2008 and 2012 primaries but dropped them before those elections. In 2000, voters in the GOP presidential primary completed a form stating: “I, the undersigned, state that I do not intend to participate in the nomination process of any party other than the Republican Party.”

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WASHINGTON — A man wanted for stabbing his girlfriend to death in the Falls Church house where she rented a room in 2014 has fled the country, according to Fairfax County police.

Glenda Aviles was 28 years old when she was stabbed in a home in the 6900 block of Westmoreland Road in Falls Church on June 18, 2014.

“The suspect, Juan Matetu Figueroa, who is wanted for murder in this case, was last seen in North Carolina in July 2014,” said Don Gotthardt, spokesman with Fairfax County police. “He managed to evade capture at that time, and detectives now have reason to believe Figueroa has fled the United States, and may, in fact, be in Honduras.”

Capturing a fugitive in other countries presents challenges, but is not impossible, said Gotthardt.

“We would be in touch with [International Criminal Police Organization], and … the FBI, and any other authorities, in Honduras, as well,” Gotthardt said. “The long arm of the law is just that, and we’ll utilize any and all resources necessary to bring somebody back to the United States to face justice.”

Detectives are asking anyone with information about Figueroa to contact Crime Solvers, at 866-411-TIPS/8477, or by email or text.

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Editor’s Note: Healthy Paws is a column sponsored and written by the owners of Clarendon Animal Care, a full-service, general practice veterinary clinic. The clinic is located 3000 10th Street N., Suite B. and can be reached at 703-997-9776.

We are very fortunate to live in such a pet-friendly community, but it is nevertheless important to respect our neighbors and community members, especially when it comes to dog parks. Here in Clarendon, the dog park is especially closely surrounded by residential buildings, making it all the more important to consider the rules and regulations of the parks.

As a refresher, these are the Arlington County rules and regulations relating to dog parks:

1. All dogs must be licensed and vaccinated before entering a dog park.
2. Dogs less than four months old are not permitted in a dog park.
3. Female dogs in heat are not allowed in a dog park at any time.
4. No food is allowed within the boundaries of a dog park.
5. A handler/guardian may bring in no more than three dogs at a time.
6. Professional dog trainers may not use any dog parks to conduct business, unless sponsored by Arlington County.
7. All dogs must be leashed when entering and exiting a dog park.
8. Handlers/guardians must be in possession of their dog’s leash at all times.
9. Handlers/guardians must remain with their dog and be in view of their dog at all times.
10. Handlers/guardians are responsible for the removing of dog waste from a dog park and disposing of it in a proper receptacle.
    Important a side note:  a recent random sampling of stools left behind at the Clarendon Dog Park revealed Giardia cysts, hookworms, AND roundworms! We see a surprisingly high number of cases of Giardia and other intestinal parasites in this area — picking up your dog’s poop doesn’t just apply to dog parks, but should be rule-of-thumb whenever you are out walking. Even in the backyard, these parasites are all very hardy and can persist in the environment for quite a long time.
11. Dogs must be removed at the first sign of aggression. Aggressive dogs shall not be permitted within any designated off-leash dog parks. An “aggressive dog” is defined as a dog that poses a threat to humans or other animals. Handlers/guardians are legally responsible for their dog and any injury caused by them.
12. Handlers/guardians must not allow their dogs to bark on a continuous or frequent basis.
13. It is unlawful for any person who owns, possesses or harbors a dog to permit that dog to create a frequent or continued noise disturbance across a real property boundary or within a nearby dwelling unit.
14. Handlers/guardians, prior to leaving a dog park, must fill holes dug by their dog.
15. Dog grooming is not allowed in any dog park, unless it is part of an Arlington County-sponsored program.
16. Parents must be in control of their children at all times in a dog park.
17. Violations of the leash law, pooper-scooper law and running-at-large law can result in a summons to appear in court and a fine of $100.
18. Both Rabies vaccination tags and County Dog License tags are required to be secured on your dog’s collar at all times.

While most “etiquette” as it relates to dog parks actually pertains to us as the handlers/guardians and not our dogs, there are some dogs that are better suited for play at a dog park than others and some things we, as owners, can be doing to ensure our dog has a good experience at the park.

Join us for a lecture/Q&A on Dog Park Etiquette with local dog trainer Leila Sheikhy of K9 Harmony Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. at our office at 3000 10th Street N, Suite B.

Have a pet-related topic you’d like us to address?  Send us an email at info@clarendonanimalcare.com.

The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

The post Healthy Paws: Being a Good Neighbor — Dog Park Etiquette appeared first on WTOP.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Authorities say three Baltimore police officers are facing criminal charges stemming from an alleged assault on a juvenile at a hospital last year.

Police spokesman Lt. Jarron Jackson said the incident took place at Sinai Hospital on Jan. 14, 2015. He declined to elaborate on the allegations.

Jackson’s brief statement Thursday said Duane Williams, Jr. — a seven-year veteran — has been charged with child abuse, assault and misconduct in office and is suspended without pay. Bijay Ranabhat — a two-year veteran — has been charged with misconduct in office and is suspended with pay. Lonnie White, Jr., a two-year-veteran, has been charged with perjury and misconduct in office.

In a statement, Commissioner Kevin Davis called the officers’ alleged conduct “an insult.”

The officers charged couldn’t be immediately reached Thursday.

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For the second time in two months, a police chase from I-66 has ended in East Falls Church.

The vehicle pursuit began around 2:45 a.m., when a Virginia State Police trooper pulled over a Nissan Xterra that was heading east on I-66 at a high rate of speed.

“During the course of the traffic stop, the Nissan fled from the trooper and headed east on I-66. The suspect vehicle took Exit 68 and the trooper lost sight of it,” according to a VSP press release. “As the Nissan came through the exit ramp, it ran off the road, went through a fence, struck a tree and then an unoccupied vehicle in a parking lot. The driver then fled the scene on foot.”

Arlington County and Fairfax County police helped to search for the driver, who was apprehended just before 4 a.m. after being found “behind a trash can” at the East Falls Church Metro station.

The man, 21-year-old Artis Thomas, Jr. of Washington, D.C., was taken into custody “without further incident” and locked up in the Arlington County Detention Center. He was charged with ” DUID (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs), felony eluding law enforcement, possession of a concealed weapon, hit-and-run, and possession of marijuana,” according to VSP.

Police say they recovered a handgun from Thomas’ vehicle.

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CUMBERLAND, Md. (AP) — A jury convicted a man of 31 offenses Friday for plotting to fly illegal drugs, a cellphone and other contraband aboard a drone into a maximum-security state prison.

Thaddeus C. Shortz, 25, of Knoxville, could face more than 50 years in prison for crimes that include contraband, drug, conspiracy and firearm convictions. His sentencing wasn’t scheduled.

The Allegany County Circuit Court jury deliberated about two hours and 15 minutes after two days of testimony. The panel of eight men and four women convicted Shortz on all but four of the charged offenses. He was acquitted on two counts each of intending to distribute drugs within 1,000 feet of a school — there is a vocational school near the prison — and knowingly engaging in a financial transaction involving proceeds from illegal drug sales.

Defense attorney Robin K. Ficker said he sees grounds for an appeal because police did not obtain a warrant before searching Shortz’ pickup truck.

Assistant State’s Attorney Erich Bean said he was pleased with the verdict.

The case went to the jury after a Maryland State Police investigator testified that Shortz confessed to having made five or six such drops in the months before his arrest. Bean said in his closing argument that the evidence against Shortz was overwhelming.

The defense presented no case. Ficker told the jury that there was no proof of Shortz’ guilt and that he was being railroaded by authorities embarrassed that prison airspace had been violated.

Co-defendants Keith Russell of Silver Spring and prison inmate Charles Brooks are awaiting trial.

Shortz is an ex-convict who was released from the Western Correctional Institution in April after serving time for assault. Police acting on a tip arrested him and another man outside the prison on the night of Aug. 22.

In Shortz’ truck, they found a remote-controlled mini-helicopter and six plastic-wrapped packages containing prescription narcotics, synthetic marijuana, tobacco, pornographic videos and a cellphone — items worth a total of $35,000 to $40,000 to prisoners, one witness testified.

Police also recovered a handgun, though investigators say it exceeded the drone’s cargo weight limit.

Maryland State Police Sgt. Andrew Farrell testified that Shortz told him he was a top man in a contraband ring and had made five or six drops since May at $4,000 each. He said he had used $20,000 of the proceeds to help pay for his new Ford pickup, Farrell said.

“He was almost boastful about it,” Farrell said.

Prosecutors presented evidence of what they said were phone calls between Shortz and Brooks, calling the operation “a gold mine.”

Prosecutors said Shortz would fly the drone over a 12-foot fence and land it near the back door of a housing unit reserved for inmates in a dog-training program. Inmates walking dogs unattended would retrieve the packages. A Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services internal investigations officer testified that inmate dog walkers now must be watched.

The officer, Detective Sgt. Rodney Likin, said he learned that a disabled drone had crashed on prison grounds during one of the drops. He said Brooks sent other inmates out to pick up and dispose of the pieces.

The case is the first involving allegations of drone smuggling at a Maryland state prison. Similar cases have surfaced in Georgia, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

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This story has been corrected to show the time of deliberation was two hours and 15 minutes.

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Prince William County crime report Washington Post These were among incidents reported by Prince William County police. For information, call 703-792-7245. DUMFRIES AREA. WEAPONS. Takeaway Lane, 16900 block, 12:30 a.m. Jan. 1. Someone fired a weapon at a residence. A bullet was found lodged in ... and more »

New Manassas Mall store keys on 'nostalgia factor' Gainesville Times - Northern VA News In 2013, Ryan Lynch opened Records and Rarities in Old Town Manassas to combine his recording studio with retail. At first, the store simply featured used vinyl records, record players, video games, and collectibles. Lynch said that within the first ...

Restaurant Inspections: The Bone, Hard Times Cafe, Bennett Elementary and More Patch.com MANASSAS, VA -- Prince William Health District officials recently inspected food preparation and storage in the area. Full reports can be accessed on the health department's website. A “critical violation” is one that “poses a direct or immediate ... and more »

Five years after United Airlines and Continental finalized their mega-merger, the resulting carrier has struggled to deal with both unhappy passengers and employees, and remains at the back of the customer satisfaction pack among the nation’s major airlines.

Bloomberg took a look at the past five years at United, from its disastrous combination of reservation systems with Continental to its rush to replace two CEOs in just two months. The report is full of eye-opening information about the carrier and its leaders.

Here are 10 things we learned about United’s long road to possible redemption, and the problems that marred the carrier’s efforts along the way.

1. Problems were evident right from the start. Under the direction of then-CEO Jeff Smisek (a holdover from Continental), Bloomberg contends that the merged airline failed to focus on the nuts and bolts of the business, like ensuring that flights left and landed on time, and building in allowances for severe weather and mechanical issues that could lead to delays.

2. Leadership was also ill-prepared to deal with the logistical and technical hurdles of combining the systems of two huge carriers, resulting in widespread — but avoidable — delays and outages.

“Rather than combining the carriers’ reservations systems, websites, and frequent-flier programs over time, the company merged all three on the same day, maximizing disruption and confusion,” Bloomberg reports. “And in adopting the passenger service system from Continental, the smaller of the two airlines, United had to train a much larger number of people to use different software.”

In all, the merger proved catastrophic, with the scheduling program losing track of pilots, or assigning flights to pilots who no longer worked for the company, leading to cancellations.

3. Employees say that the merged airline mistakenly put its focus on cost-cutting through layoffs, furloughs, and outsourcing jobs like baggage handling and gate agents.

In some cases, employees say things got so bad they were discouraged from giving vouchers to unhappy customers who had been bumped from their flights, Bloomberg reports.

4. The unhappy employees then led to unhappy customers. As one airline analyst puts it: “Unhappy mechanics do not tend to go the extra mile—or the extra foot—to get the airplane ready to go.”

Soon, travelers caught on to the discontent: one frequent United passenger tells Bloomberg that employees were nice people, but “they are in such a horrible situation, constantly trying to deal with customers that are not happy, and they’re completely powerless.”

5. From there things just got worse. The airline saw spikes in customer complaints. In 2012, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, United was responsible for 43% of all consumer complaints filed against U.S. airlines.

Additionally, the carrier endured flight disruptions because of technical glitches, and a string of customer stories that alleged the airline treated disabled passengers poorly or lost baggage.

Last week, the Department of Transportation levied a $2.8 million fine against the airline for long tarmac delays and the poor treatment of disabled passengers.

6. The airline has seen three changes of leadership since it merged with Continental in 2010. Smisek led the company during the merger process until he resigned unexpectedly in September 2015 amid a Department of Justice investigation into whether the airline had tried to improperly influence the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, which operates the region’s major airports.

The company then appointed Oscar Munoz to the helm, and he quickly took on the task of not only apologizing for merger mistakes but fixing the issues. However, he suffered a heart attack after just one month on the job. An interim leader was then appointed. Brett Hart also serves as the carrier’s general counsel, and plans to serve as CEO until Munoz’s return from a heart transplant sometime this spring.

7. When Munoz took over the airline last fall, he immediately began to implement a new message that the airline would do better, and make up for its past mistakes.

Although Munoz’s tenure was cut short, his interim replacement, Hart, has picked up where he left off. Since taking over in October, Hart has helped to forge agreements with the leadership of the airline’s mechanics union, and announced contract extensions with pilots, Bloomberg reports.

8. Five years after the airline merged with Continental Airlines, the combined carrier finally saw a profitable quarter. The second quarter of 2015 was the airline’s most profitable ever, with $1.3 billion in net income, excluding special items. In the third quarter, it climbed to $1.7 billion, Bloomberg reports.

To address these issues, the airline’s “customer experience” team waded through thousands of customer complaints recently to find out just what customers liked the least about United.

In the end, the team determined it was the boarding process put in place in 2013. Now, the airline says that issue is fixed. Other issues addressed included offering free snacks and revamping coffee choices.

9. United is also focusing on its performance. Bloomberg reports that in recent months, the carrier has improved on-time and missed-connection metrics. It’s also seen a decrease in rate of mishandled baggage.

“We’re trying to find more of a balance between scheduling an airline for maximum efficiency from an asset perspective as opposed to operations,” Andy Buchanan, managing director of international network planning, tells Bloomberg. “We’re finding, I think, a better middle ground.”

10. But while the improvements are a bright spot for United, analysts say the carrier has a long way to go.

It’s primed for improvement,” Vicki Bryan, a transportation analyst at Gimme Credit tells Bloomberg. “But I still see this company very much in limbo.”

United’s Quest To Be Less Awful [Bloomberg]

If you’ve ever cruised the lip balm aisle at the drug store, you’ve perhaps noticed brightly colored lip balm pods made by a company called EOS — which stands for “Evolution of Smooth.” But despite its name, a new class-action lawsuit claims the popular product is providing anything but a smooth experience, and instead is turning customers’ mouths and lips into a dry, blistering, cracking, hellish landscape.

Attorney Mark Geragos is representing a client who claims that the product gave her severe rashes, bleeding, blistering, and cracking on her mouth. EOS is a popular product, the lawsuit points out, with photos of celebrities using the stuff included on its web page.

The court documents note that “advertisements and marketing by EOS emphasizes that the product is ‘organic’ and ‘gluten free,’ aligning the product with popular dietary trends, despite the fact that the lip balm has no consumable value.”

The lawsuit says that along with the plaintiff, a “substantial number of consumers,” perhaps numbering into the hundreds of thousands, who have have purchased and used the product “have experienced devastating adverse reactions to the product, consisting of mild to severe rashes, dryness, bleeding, blistering, cracking, and loss of pigmentation, lasting from a few days, to a few months, and some consumers with long lasting and perhaps permanent symptoms.”

The plaintiff in the lawsuit says she bought EOS lip balm after noticing it in the store one day, and began applying it right away.

“Within hours, her lips became substantially dry and coarse, what [the plaintiff] describes as feeling like ‘sandpaper,’ causing her to apply more of the balm on her lips to achieve the results of becoming ‘sensationally smooth,’ “ as the product’s packaging advertised.

Her lips did not become smooth, the documents state, “and began severely cracking on the edges causing flaking and bleeding from the cracks.”

By the next day, her lips and surrounding skin area had severe blistering and rashes, causing her to seek medical care. She says the condition persisted for about 10 days.

The court documents also contain other example of individuals who are claiming similar side effects of using EOS lip balm, including customers who have posted on Facebook and emailed the company.

“While boasting celebrity endorsements and magazine advertisements, and while making lofty representations regarding the health and curative effects of their lip balm products, EOS provides no warnings on its product, packaging, labeling, or anywhere on the website regarding health problems which are caused by the mix and use of ingredients used in its products, and the lack of instruction regarding the appropriate amount of use of the product,” the lawsuit claims.

The plaintiff is asking for damages and demanding corrective advertising in the lawsuit.

A representative for EOS issued a statement to Buzzfeed News on the lawsuit, saying the company “firmly” believes it’s without merit.

“Our products are made with the highest quality ingredients and meet or exceed all safety and quality standards set out by our industry and validated by rigorous testing conducted by an independent lab,” the statement reads. “The health and well-being of our customers is our top priority and millions of satisfied customers use our products every day, many of whom take the time to share their experiences with us.”

The company posted a similar statement on its Facebook page, sayings its products are safe to use.

“An independent laboratory puts each of our products through a battery of rigorous testing to ensure this is the case. For these reasons, we firmly believe this lawsuit is without merit, and we will continue to create new and exciting products that delight our customers.”

When it comes to trying to sneak drugs into the country, ne’er-do-wells keep coming up with creative ways to disguise their illicit goods, keeping law enforcement on their toes. Someone must’ve hired Bugs Bunny to do some sleuthing in Texas, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agents discovered a shipment of carrots that included a few thousand orange things that weren’t of the vegetable variety.

Officials say they found a ton of marijuana packed into 2,800 long, orange packages that were hidden inside a commercial shipment of fresh carrots, reports CBS DFW, with a street value of about $500,000.

The subterfuge was uncovered when agents stopped a tractor-trailer at the Pharr International Bridge along the Texas-Mexico border near the Gulf of Mexico.

“Once again, drug smuggling organizations have demonstrated their creativity in attempting to smuggle large quantities of narcotics across the U.S./Mexico border,” said Port Director Efrain Solis Jr., Hidalgo/Pharr/Anzalduas Port of Entry. “Our officers are always ready to meet those challenges and remain vigilant towards any type of illicit activities.”

It’s unclear who came up with the carrot idea, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen drugs disguised as consumer products coming into the country: customs officials in Miami had a problem with cocaine and heroin hidden in flower shipments, and law enforcement agents once found $250,000 worth of meth inside Snickers bar wrappers.

ESPN is, by far, the most expensive single channel on most cable customers’ basic cable bill, responsible for more than $5/month, with some industry analysts putting an approximately $8/month price tag on ESPN and ESPN 2 together. While it’s long been considered a basic cable must-have, millions of Americans have been dropping their pay-TV packages altogether, and recent surveys show that ESPN wouldn’t be a part of many folks’ ideal a la carte cable menu, meaning not everyone has a desperate need for ESPN. So, could cable companies hold on to their customers by lowering rates in exchange for saying goodbye to the 24-hour sports channel?

Verizon FiOS has been trying to do this through its “skinny bundle” program, which starts with a core group of channels (that don’t include ESPN) and then lets the customer add on bundles of 10 or so similarly stations.

ESPN’s parent company, Disney, is currently suing Verizon over this arrangement, saying it violates their contractual agreement.

In spite of this, companies like Charter have expressed an interest in following Verizon’s lead on the whole skinny bundle thing. Charter is currently in the process of trying to merge with Time Warner Cable, and if the combined company were to offer customers an out for ESPN, it could drive the sports network’s subscriber base even lower than its current level, which some industry-watchers have deemed critical.

At the same time, there have been rumblings that ESPN would start selling its service, directly to consumers without involving other pay-TV services.

“Disney does not want consumers to understand just how much ESPN costs them each year,” writes analyst Richard Greenfield of BTIG research. “We suspect Disney’s concern is tied to the fact that most consumers, by Disney’s own admission are not avid sports fans.”

As part of his research, Greenfield asked consumers to answer two questions about ESPN: Would they give it up in order to save money, and would they pay for a standalone streaming version of the channel?

A majority (56%) of all respondents said they would part ways with ESPN and ESPN2 if it meant saving $8/month on their cable bills. When broken up by gender, 60% of females were all for ditching the channels, while slightly fewer than half (49%) of males were ready to ditch these pay-TV mainstays.

Greenfield argues that these stats seem to indicate that going direct-to-consumer (DTC) could be a bad idea for ESPN, since half of the 92 million people who currently have the channel have no apparent desire to pay for it. The company would be putting an estimated $9 billion a year in subscriber fees at risk, not to mention the loss of ad revenue from casual viewers who currently tune in for certain events, but won’t be able to if they drop the station to save money.

If ESPN were to go DTC, DSLreports.com points out that its contracts pay-TV providers would allow those cable and satellite companies to remove ESPN from their mandatory basic cable packages if they desired.

“As soon as ESPN launches a DTC offering, it will remove the ‘protection’ they receive from cable/satellite distributors who guarantee ESPN a certain level of penetration,” writes Greenfield. “So no matter what price point ESPN/ESPN2 launch DTC, it enables their legacy distributors such as Comcast to offer far more robust channel packages without ESPN.”

Take Our Poll

With regard to ESPN going DTC, only 6% of respondents said they would definitely pay $20/month for streaming access to just ESPN and ESPN2, which is currently too small a group for the network to risk, says Greenfield.

However, it’s worth noting that the Sling TV streaming service offers both of those stations in its base package of channels for $20/month, along with more than a dozen others. So the price point for a standalone ESPN streamer would either need to be lower or the offering would need to be significantly more robust than just the two channels.

Survey Says: ESPN Vastly Overearning and Incapable of Going Direct-to-Consumer #FadeTheForce [BTIG; reg. required]

Here at Consumerist, we love and love to hate novelty flavors of classic candies and cookies, like root beer float cookies or pumpkin spice latte M&Ms. The snack wizards over at M&M HQ now have to crank out multiple holiday flavors of their candy-coated chocolate treats every season, because different retailers want their own custom flavors. This year and this spring, they’re making “Easter Sundae” flavor for Walmart, which unfortunately isn’t much of a flavor.

The bag describes “Easter” as an artificial flavor, or perhaps the whole “Easter sundae” concept is an artificial flavor, which is less theologically troubling. The candies have chocolate just inside the shell, and inside that is what the bag describes as “white.” Not white chocolate: just white.

Perhaps it’s meant to taste like white chocolate, but doesn’t fit the Food and Drug Administration Standard of Identity for White Chocolate. That’s an actual thing, which has minimums for which foods are allowed to be called “white chocolate.” It needs to have 20% cocoa butter, for example, and 3.5% milkfat and 55% nutritive sweeteners (generally, sugar.) If the mysterious “white” falls short yet is still chocolate-ish and tasty, most shoppers probably won’t notice that the word “chocolate” is missing.

Watch ads for luxury cars and you’ll inevitably hear about their “sumptuous” leather seats and interior trimmings. But what if you have gobs of money to spend on a car and don’t want it lined with leather (or boring old cloth)? That’s why Tesla now offers a new, vegan-friendly option for its pricey electric vehicles.

The company’s “Ultra White” interior option, currently only offered in the new Model X SUV, comes with synthetic leather seats, meaning that buyers don’t have to forgo the streamlined look of leather seats, reports The New York Times.

Tesla first began exploring an alternative interior option, aside from its cloth substitute, last year when two proposals were made at a shareholders meeting.

One proposal called for the company to stop using animal-based products, the other aimed to decrease the use of the products over time.

“We find that customers enjoy both leather and nonleather options for their Teslas,” Khobi Brooklyn, a company spokeswoman, tells the NYT. “We are committed to giving customers the ability to build the Tesla that meets their needs and lifestyle choices.”

Tesla created the new interior options, in part, after receiving criticism from potential customers who felt the company’s eco-friendly stance on limiting emissions made no sense when its cars included animal products.

Livestock around the world account for about 14.5% of all greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

Thus, argue critics, Tesla’s continued use of leather would be perpetuating the need for more livestock, which would release more gas.

While the interior package was created with consumers in mind, it also allows Tesla to carry over its “sustainable luxe” image that simple cloth-covered seats just don’t convey.

A Tesla shareholder who pressed the company to abandon animal products tell the NYT that the new interior is a good first step. Still, she realizes it would be hard for the car company to eliminate all instances of animal products.

“There’s ingredients in most everything that we see, wear and experience in our daily lives that somehow have utilized a part of an animal, which is unfortunate,” she said. “But if we know, then we can make a choice.”

From Tesla, a New Car Smell That Vegans Can Get Behind [The New York Times]

With everyone from Google to Ford trying to get into the self-driving vehicle business, federal regulators say it may be time to ease up on some restrictions that the industry claims are slowing innovation in the relatively new field.

The Department of Transportation will remove potential roadblocks to the integration of automotive technology that could lead to improved safety, mobility, and sustainability, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Thursday.

“We are on the cusp of a new era in automotive technology with enormous potential to save lives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and transform mobility for the American people,” Foxx said in a statement. “Today’s actions and those we will pursue in the coming months will provide the foundation and the path forward for manufacturers, state officials, and consumers to use new technologies and achieve their full safety potential.”

An update to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 2013 preliminary policy statement on autonomous vehicles better reflects the reality that the widespread deployment of fully autonomous vehicles is now feasible, the agency said.

Over the next six months, NHTSA will work with industry and other stakeholders to develop guidance on the safe deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles.

During that same timeframe, the agency will work with state partners, the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators, and other stakeholders to develop a model state policy on automated vehicles that offers a path to consistent national policy.

In the meantime, Foxx encouraged manufacturers to submit requests for use of the agency’s exemption authority to allow self-driving vehicles. NHTSA has the authority to exempt up to 2,500 vehicles industry-wide from some auto safety standards for up to two years.

To receive the exemption, companies will have to demonstrate — within six months — that their vehicles can operate safely and plan to develop formal guidance “on the safe deployment and operation of autonomous vehicles.”

“NHTSA is using all of its available tools to accelerate the deployment of technologies that can eliminate 94 percent of fatal crashes involving human error,” NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement. “We will work with state partners toward creating a consistent national policy on these innovations, provide options now and into the future for manufacturers seeking to deploy autonomous vehicles, and keep our safety mission paramount at every stage.”

In related news, Foxx announced that under President Obama’s 2017 budget, the government would provide nearly $4 billion over 10 years for pilot programs to test connected vehicle systems in designated corridors throughout the country, and work with industry leaders to ensure a common multi-state framework for connected and autonomous vehicles.

Back in 1998, comedian Al Franken published a satirical novel where the fictional Al Franken ran a single-issue presidential campaign against ATM fees in 2000. A technical malfunction erased ATM deposits, making his single issue a crucial one, and Franken ended up in the White House. Today, he is a sitting U.S. senator, yet not involved in the 2016 presidential race where excessively high ATM fees are an actual issue being discussed.

Capping ATM fees at $2 is an actual campaign promise from Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, and his primary rival Hillary Clinton has also addressed the fee issue. According to an analysis by SNL Financial (not related to the NBC comedy program) and CNN, Americans paid $6 billion in ATM and overdraft fees just to the three biggest banks. That’s an average of $25 going from the pockets of every adult in this country to the coffers of JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo.

You never pay any ATM fees? Well, no, and that’s the problem. Since fees are easier to avoid when you have more money in your account to insulate you from overdrafts, ATM fees disproportionately affect poor people, who might not be able to drive around to different ATMs to find one in their network.

There are ways to avoid fees that don’t involve having a lot of money sitting idle or driving past a dozen other ATMs to reach one for your bank. Some alternate options include using your debit card in stores and taking cash back instead of using ATMs, also known as the Bank of Hot Wheels.

Yes, You Can Avoid Those Bank Fees [Consumer Reports]
ATM and overdraft fees top $6 billion at the big 3 banks [CNN]
Why Not Me? [Amazon]

Last week, police chased a rogue tractor-trailer in Texas after the vehicle’s owner reported that the driver was out of contact. The chase was televised, but at first it wasn’t clear why the driver of a truck full of vegetables was fleeing from the police in the first place. Today, sources explained the real reason for that car chase: law enforcement suspects that the driver planned to sell the trailer’s contents himself.

Cargo theft is a growing crime: in some cases, drivers sell the contents of their vehicles themselves. In other cases, an experienced and specialized thief takes advantage of a driver abandoning a truck to take off with it, able to find a market for just about anything and resell it.

Vegetables–cabbage and lettuce, in this case–can be resold, and other items from trucks stolen in the area have also turned up for sale online. Apart from being a crime, this is a food safety issue: problem is that thieves may not be as conscientious as experienced drivers at making sure that the temperatures in their trucks are going to stay in a safe refrigeration range.

I-Team Sources: 18-Wheeler Pursuit Is Part Of A Bigger Crime [CBS DFW]
Semi Driver Who Led Police On Chase Failed To Report To Employers For 30 Hours [CBS DFW]

After announcing late last year that a slew of its hotels had been infected by malware, Hyatt has now identified the 250 properties that were affected — roughly 40% of its businesses in operation. Customers staying at those hotels who paid with a debit or credit card may have had their payment data and other information exposed to hackers, the chain said.

Hyatt doesn’t know how many customers were affected yet, but said that the malware was at work between July and December 2015 within payment-processing systems at its restaurants, spas, front desks, and other areas in its hotels.

Information that possibly was accessed by hackers includes cardholder names, card numbers, and expiration dates, Hyatt said. The malware was found at brands like Park Hyatt, Hyatt Regency, and Andaz, with about 100 U.S. hotels included in the list. The rest were abroad in cities like London, Paris, and Shanghai.

“Protecting customer information is critically important to Hyatt, and we take the security of customer data very seriously,” said Chuck Floyd, global president of operations for Hyatt. “We have been working tirelessly to complete our investigation, and we now have more complete information that we want to share so that customers can take steps to protect themselves. Additionally, we want to assure customers that we took steps to strengthen the security of our systems in order to help prevent this from happening in the future.”

The chain is encouraging customers to review their payment card account statements closely and to report any unauthorized charges to their card issuer immediately. Customers can visit www.hyatt.com/protectingourcustomers for more information, or call 1-877-218-3036 (U.S. and Canada) and +1-814-201-3665 (International) from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST.

Hyatt has plenty of company in the malware-infected waters: in November, Hilton reported a credit card breach in many of its stores and restaurants, while Starwood reported that payment systems at 54 of its locations had been struck by malicious software.

Already stressing over doing your income taxes? You’ll have a few more days of breathing room before they’re due this year: the Internal Revenue Service has set a filing deadline of April 18.

Filing season opens Jan. 19, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said Thursday, adding that taxpayers will have a better customer service experience this season with an additional 1,000 representatives on hand to ease waiting times on information lines.

The $290 million approved by Congress last month to beef up taxpayer services will help with issues like hang-ups, which was a major problem last year — fewer than half of all calls were connected to a staff person. There’s also help available online, Koskinen notes.

“Using our website, IRS.gov, remains the best and quickest way for people to get information,” he said.

The reason the deadline has been pushed three days later than usual is that April 15 is Emancipation Day, which is a public holiday in Washington, D.C. If you live in Maine or Massachusetts, you’ll have an additional day because of Patriot’s Day.

Again, be wary of the myriad tax scams that pop up every year around this time, Koskinen warned. The IRS will never call taxpayers to obtain personal or financial information. It issues letters when it needs something.

“The IRS will not make angry calls to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed out a bill,” Koskinen told reporters, via the Associated Press. “We won’t ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone. We also will never threaten to bring in local police or other law-enforcement groups to have someone arrested for not paying.”

A month after giving up on the idea of selling its appliance business to Electrolux, GE has found a new buyer willing to pay big bucks for the company’s slate of washers, dryers, and fridges. This time, it’s the China-based Haier Group, which will pay $5.4 billion to take over this portion of GE’s business.

You may not know the Haier name, with the company only recently beginning to make inroads into the U.S. market, but the Qingdao-headquartered company is one of the larger global players in the home appliance or “white goods” field. Here in the states, Haier has so far made a small name for itself as a manufacturer of lower-cost appliances, some of which have not been received all too well by customers.

GE has been looking to unload its appliances on someone for quite some time. Its $3.3 billion deal with Electrolux — originally announced in 2014 — fell apart in late 2015 after antitrust regulators grew concerned about Electrolux gaining too much market share.

Because Haier barely has a foothold in the U.S. market, the sale seems unlikely to raise the same red flags — or at least as many of them — that scuttled the earlier deal.

GE is positioning the sale as a way for its brands to not only continue to exist, but to reach new markets.

“We are pleased to be selling our Appliances business to Haier, which is committed to growing the business globally,” said GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt in a statement. “Haier has a stated focus to grow in the U.S., build their manufacturing presence here, and to invest further in the business.”

According to GE, the appliance division will remain in Louisville, and Haier has committed to continue using the “GE Appliances” brand, rather than changing everything over to its own name.

Haier will also acquire GE Appliances’ 48.4% stake in Mexico-baased appliance company Mabe. This means that the sale will require regulatory approval in the U.S., China, Mexico, and Argentina, reports Reuters.

Amazon is sitting pretty right now with all the business it does as an online purveyor of merchandise, but it’s not content to just sit on its throne of branded boxes, it wants to be the one shipping those items to customers as well. The company just got approval to expand into ocean shipping, giving it more control over items that ship from Chinese factories to U.S. shoppers.

The company’s China arm has registered as an ocean freight forwarder, according to the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission and reported by Reuters, which will help the company cut costs in its own retail business, as well as possibly providing third-party logistics services to other industries.

It won’t be operating its own ships, but will subcontract that work out.

“It has more and more control over the supply chain of their business and it gives them the ability to squeeze (costs) even further,” Satish Jindel, a logistics consultant and president of SJ Consulting Group told Reuters.

This is just one more step Amazon is taking to get into the shipping game: it’s negotiating a deal to lease 20 jets for air-delivery service in the U.S., it bought truck trailers to help it ship more items, and last year, the company started a program that uses on-demand drivers to deliver packages.

Amazon expands logistics reach with move into ocean shipping [Reuters]

After months of being repeatedly kicked in the butt by humiliating outbreaks of E. coli and norovirus outbreaks, Chipotle has decided it’s time to take a short breather to sit down with its employees to talk through this recent crisis.

Last week, we heard chatter on the Chipotle grapevine that stores were being closed for the day on Feb. 8 for some sort of meeting, but that staffers were being given no indication of what might be said. Store closings? Staffing changes? Updates to the menu?

We reached out to Chipotle for comment at the time and received no response. But today the Wall Street Journal confirms that stores will indeed be temporarily shuttered on Feb. 8, if only for a few hours.

According to the Journal, the all-staff meetings will be a chance for company executives to be transparent about the status of the E. coli outbreak, and what Chipotle is doing to prevent it from happening again.

While we don’t know the source of the latest outbreak, raw vegetables can be the culprit. To that end, Chipotle has already discussed some changes to its food prep and cooking procedures. These include dipping onions in boiling water to kill germs, adding the cilantro to the rice when the rice is still hot, using lemon and lime juice to kill pathogens in onions and other fresh ingredients.

Additionally, Chipotle will begin pre-shredding/chopping many non-meat ingredients — cheese, onions, tomatoes, cilantro — at centralized locations, rather than at the stores. That would allow Chipotle to test samples of these ingredients before they are shipped out to restaurants.

Chipotle’s stock price sits is currently down around 40% off its 52-week high, as the outbreak news hurt sales more than had been expected. The company has advised investors that it could be a few rocky quarters before Chipotle sees a definitive, positive improvement.

In an effort to bring back some of the customers it’s lost, Chipotle co-CEO Monty Moran said Wednesday it will be doubling the amount of free food restaurants can give away to its customers, reports CNBC.com.

It’s been handing out freebies since “the old days,” but the practice had diminished recently, CFO Jack Hartung said in an interview.

“We’ve always had it, but it just kind of drifted to such a low-grade level that it was kind of non-existent.”

He says the company sent out an email detailing just how much restaurants could increase their giveaways and reward customers, but executives declined to share the specific allowance.

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