You’ve been doing the same tasks for as long as you can remember. New skills? New responsibilities? Can’t really name any off the top of your head. In fact, you’re starting to feel like things are a little stalled. It’s time to pay attention to how your job is affecting your career as a whole.
This year, Android got even sweeter. Marshmallow built on the already-awesome foundation Lollipop laid the year before, plus we got two new Nexus phones, and a bunch of improved apps. Here are our best Android posts this year.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The latest on a deadly crash on the Las Vegas Strip (all times local):
3:05 p.m.
A 24-year-old woman arrested after a sidewalk crash killed one pedestrian and injured dozens of others on the Las Vegas Strip told police she was homeless and tired, and denied using drugs or alcohol.
A single-page arrest report made public Monday by the Clark County district attorney’s office says Lakeisha Nicole Holloway wouldn’t explain the alleged actions on Sunday.
Police say she had her 3-year-old daughter with her. The girl is now in county custody.
Holloway told police she had been unable to rest or sleep because security officers kept running her and her daughter and her 1996 Oldsmobile off casino properties.
Holloway says she and the girl had been living in the vehicle.
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2:30 p.m.
Three people, including two Canadians, remain in critical condition at a Las Vegas hospital after a driver plowed into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Monday they suffered head injuries in the Sunday crash.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said two other people were in serious condition, and the families and loved ones of all five people at the hospital had been reached.
None of the 14 people treated and released from the hospital, including an 11-year-old child, were from Nevada. An Arizona woman died.
Victims and family members have declined to speak to the media about the crash.
Prosecutors say 24-year-old Lakeisha N. Holloway was driving with her toddler Sunday and will face murder charges.
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2 p.m.
A suburban Philadelphia college says five wrestlers and their coach are among the dozens of people injured when a driver plowed into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip.
Delaware Valley University in Doylestown says the group plans to return to campus Tuesday after receiving medical treatment. School officials say the team was walking to a movie Sunday night when the car drove onto a sidewalk.
The group includes wrestling coach and athletic director Steve Cantrell, who says the team pulled out of the Desert Duals tournament given the ordeal.
Authorities say a group of college wrestlers from Oregon also was injured in the crash that killed an Arizona woman.
Authorities say a 24-year-old woman driving with her toddler will face murder charges.
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1:20 p.m.
The woman suspected of plowing a car into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip is on suicide watch, and a defense attorney says that raises questions about her mental state.
Deputy Clark County Public Defender Scott Coffee says 24-year-old Lakeisha N. Holloway is under round-the-clock watch at the Clark County jail in Las Vegas. She is being held pending arraignment on murder and other charges.
Las Vegas police Officer Michael Rodriguez calls Holloway’s custody “medically restricted housing.”
Coffee says he and Joseph Abood represent Holloway. Coffee says they haven’t seen police reports yet, so it’s too early to say if she’ll pursue an insanity defense.
But Coffee says the fact that Holloway is on suicide watch shows jail officials also have concerns about her mental state.
Holloway is expected to make an initial court appearance Wednesday.
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12:50 p.m.
Authorities say there’s no connection between planned New Year’s Eve celebrations in Las Vegas and the sidewalk crash on the Strip that killed one person and injured dozens of others.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Monday that agencies are doing everything they can to ensure revelers’ safety, which is a yearlong process that’s been ramped up in light of attacks around the world.
He says there’s no talk of canceling the event on the Las Vegas Strip, which involves shutting down most of the 4-mile-long street to traffic and turning it into a pedestrian mall, with fireworks launched from the rooftops of several hotel-casinos.
The sheriff says he’s confident they can protect the event and partygoers. The event draws a few hundred thousand people.
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12:15 p.m.
Authorities say the woman suspected of plowing a car into pedestrians along the Las Vegas Strip was living in the vehicle with her 3-year-old daughter.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo says 24-year-old Lakeisha N. Holloway reported staying in the car while it was parked in different structures across Las Vegas, including at the Planet Hollywood hotel-casino, before the crash that killed an Arizona woman.
Lombardo says Holloway and the girl’s father were no longer together but she had run out of money and may have been on her way to him in Dallas, Texas.
Lombardo says he doesn’t know what led Holloway to allegedly drive onto a sidewalk several times Sunday night, injuring dozens of people.
The FBI is involved in the investigation.
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11:40 a.m.
The 3-year-old daughter of a woman suspected of plowing a car into a crowd of pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip is being cared for by child protective services.
A Clark County spokesman, Erik Pappa, cited confidentiality policy and said Monday that he couldn’t discuss the case. Pappa says the agency typically tries to place children back with family members.
Police say the girl was riding in a 1996 Oldsmobile sedan that her mother repeatedly drove onto a sidewalk near the Paris Las Vegas hotel-casino. Neither the mother nor child was hurt.
An Arizona woman was killed and dozens of people were injured.
Prosecutors say 24-year-old Lakeisha N. Holloway faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon and is being held without bail.
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11:30 a.m.
Court records show that the woman suspected of crashing into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip changed her name less than two months ago.
Lakeisha Nicole Holloway petitioned to change her name to Paris Paradise Morton on Oct. 8, and a Portland, Oregon, judge granted permission on Oct. 30. According to her application, Holloway was living across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Washington, at the time.
The judge who granted the name change hasn’t returned a phone call about Holloway’s request.
Court records show she was charged in Oregon in 2011 with operating a vehicle without driving privileges and driving uninsured. She was convicted in March 2012.
Nevada authorities say Holloway last lived in Oregon and had been in Las Vegas for about a week, where she was believed to be homeless.
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11:20 a.m.
Authorities say the woman suspected of crashing into pedestrians on a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk was stoic when she was arrested.
Sheriff Joe Lombardo told reporters Monday that 24-year-old Lakeisha N. Holloway didn’t appear to be distressed when she was arrested. He says she told a valet at a hotel to call 911 after she ran down people on Las Vegas Boulevard.
Prosecutors say she faces a charge of murder with a deadly weapon and is being held without bail. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson says he’s also considering several other charges.
The sheriff says at least 35 people injured in the crash were taken to hospitals, including victims from Oregon, Florida, Colorado, California, Washington, Mexico and Quebec, Canada.
Lombardo says three people in critical condition have suffered head injuries.
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10:40 a.m.
Authorities say people jumped on a car and banged on its windows as it plowed through pedestrians on a sidewalk on the Las Vegas Strip.
Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told reporters Monday that 24-year-old Lakeisha N. Holloway wouldn’t stop and it appeared from video that it was an intentional act. Her 3-year-old daughter was in the car but wasn’t injured.
He says that after striking more than two dozen people, Holloway drove to a hotel and told a valet to call 911 after explaining what she had done.
Lombardo says police believe she had a falling out with the father of her child before the crash.
A drug recognition expert on the scene determined Holloway was under the influence of a “stimulant,” but blood test results are pending.
He says Holloway was believed to be from Oregon and had been in Las Vegas for about a week. He says investigators believe she was homeless and living in the car.
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9:55 a.m.
A government official said five Canadians were injured by a car that crashed into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip.
Canada’s Global Affairs department spokesman John Babcock said he couldn’t immediately provide information on the condition of the Canadian citizens. He says Canada is working with local authorities to provide support and assistance.
University Medical Center in Las Vegas said it treated people from Montreal who needed a French translator.
Authorities say a woman drove a car on and off the sidewalk into crowds Sunday night, injuring dozens. She is in custody. She had a 3-year-old in the car with her, but the child wasn’t injured.
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9:15 a.m.
Prosecutors say they expect to file murder charges and other counts against the driver who crashed into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip, killing an Arizona woman and injuring dozens of others.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Monday that the vehicle could be considered a deadly weapon.
He said, “When a person drives a 2,000-pound-plus motor vehicle intentionally onto a sidewalk, killing and injuring scores of people, that’s murder.”
Wolfson didn’t identify the woman in custody, but police have said that she’s in her 20s and recently came to Vegas.
A 10 a.m. press conference with the sheriff is scheduled to offer updates on the Sunday night crash.
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8:15 a.m.
Officials say a woman from Arizona was killed when a car plowed into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip.
Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg (FYOU’-den-berg) said Monday that 32-year-old Jessica Valenzuela of Buckeye, Arizona, died in the crash Sunday night.
The coroner said the suburban Phoenix woman was visiting Las Vegas with her husband. A cause of death is pending, with an autopsy scheduled Monday.
Authorities say dozens of others were injured when a woman behind the wheel of a 1996 Oldsmobile sedan intentionally drove on and off the sidewalk into crowds Sunday night. The driver is in custody.
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7:50 a.m.
Las Vegas police say that video of a car crashing into pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip “looks like it’s very intentional.”
Capt. Brett Zimmerman said Monday that the car was fully on the sidewalk twice, including once when it traveled for 200 feet. He says the car went onto the sidewalk first near a restaurant at the Planet Hollywood hotel-casino and then again at the driveway entrance to the Paris Las Vegas hotel-casino.
Authorities say the 1996 Oldsmobile sedan intentionally drove on and off the sidewalk into crowds Sunday night, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. The driver is in custody.
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7:20 a.m.
Four college students from Oregon were among those hurt when a vehicle plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk outside a Las Vegas Strip casino.
Pacific University spokesman Joe Lang says the students are members of the wrestling team and were in Las Vegas to compete in a tournament. He says 19 athletes and coaches were walking together Sunday night when the woman swerved onto the sidewalk.
The crash killed one person and injured dozens of others.
Lang says three of the four injured students were taken to a hospital. Two students were later released, and the other was kept overnight for observation.
He says the team won’t compete in Monday’s tournament.
Pacific University is based in Forest Grove, about 30 miles west of Portland.
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7:10 a.m.
A hospital official says three people who were injured in a crash on the Las Vegas Strip are in critical condition.
University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said Monday that their life-threatening injuries are being closely monitored at the Las Vegas hospital.
Authorities say a car intentionally drove on and off the sidewalk into crowds near the Planet Hollywood casino-hotel Sunday night, mowing down dozens of pedestrians. The driver is in custody.
Cohen says two others at the hospital are in serious condition. One person died there, and the rest brought in for treatment have been released, including an 11-year-old.
By 6 a.m., the Las Vegas Strip had reopened after being closed for nearly 12 hours.
The post The Latest: Vegas police say woman denied alcohol, drug use appeared first on WTOP.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A homeless woman accused of slamming a car carrying her 3-year-old daughter into a crowd of pedestrians on the Las Vegas Strip told authorities she was stressed out after being chased by security guards from parking lots where she had been trying to sleep before the crash, according to a police report obtained Monday.
Lakeisha N. Holloway, 24, resided in Oregon and had been in Las Vegas for about a week in her 1996 Oldsmobile sedan, parking it at garages throughout the city, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.
After her arrest, Holloway “described a stressful period today where she was trying to rest/sleep inside her vehicle with her daughter but kept getting run off by security of the properties she stopped at,” the police report states.
“She ended up on the Strip, ‘a place she did not want to be,'” the report quoted her as saying. “She would not explain why she drove onto the sidewalk but remembered a body bouncing off her windshield, breaking it.”
Investigators said Holloway had run out of money and she and her daughter had been living in the car. Police believe she was headed to Dallas to find her daughter’s father after they had a falling out.
Holloway is accused of intentionally mowing down people on a busy stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard, killing a woman from Arizona and injuring dozens of others on Sunday night.
After the crash, she parked at a casino a few blocks away, told a parking attendant that she had run down people and asked the valet to call 911, Lombardo said. Her daughter, who was in the backseat, was not hurt.
The sheriff said Holloway was stoic when police arrived, showed no resistance and spoke coherently about what happened. He declined to elaborate on what she said.
“She didn’t appear to be distressed due to her actions. That’s the best way I can describe it,” Lombardo said.
Authorities declined to comment on a potential motive and said they were struggling to piece together Holloway’s background.
She had changed her name to Paris Paradise Morton in October, according to Oregon court records.
Several years ago, Holloway, a graduate of an alternative high school, received an award for overcoming adversity from the nonprofit Portland Opportunities Industrial Center.
In 2012, she told The Skanner, a newspaper that covers Portland’s African-American community, that she was homeless during her freshman year in high school.
Holloway’s cousin, Lashay Hardaway, told The Oregonian that Holloway worked hard to provide for her daughter.
The crash happened in front of the Paris and Planet Hollywood casino-hotels and across from dancing water fountains of the Bellagio hotel-casino. Droves of visitors to the stretch walk from one casino to another.
The Miss Universe pageant was being held at Planet Hollywood at the time of the crash.
People jumped on the car and banged on its windows, but Holloway didn’t stop driving on the sidewalk, Lombardo said. The car was fully on the sidewalk twice, including once when it traveled for 200 feet, police said.
There was no evidence that Holloway had consumed alcohol, but a drug recognition expert at the scene determined that she was under the influence of some sort of stimulant, Lombardo said.
Holloway, who was being held without bail, will be charged with murder with a deadly weapon, said Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, who anticipated “a great number” of additional charges.
“When a person drives a 2,000-pound-plus motor vehicle intentionally onto a sidewalk, killing and injuring scores of people, that’s murder,” Wolfson said.
Holloway was under suicide watch at jail, said Deputy Clark County Public Defender Scott Coffee said. He said it was too early to say if he would pursue an insanity defense.
At least 35 people injured in the crash were taken to hospitals, including three people still in critical condition with head injuries, officials said. Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, which treated 13, still had five patients Monday, including two who were upgraded to good condition.
The crash killed Jessica Valenzuela, 32, of Buckeye, Arizona, who was visiting Las Vegas with her husband, according to the Clark County coroner.
Other victims were from Oregon, Florida, Colorado, California, Washington, Mexico, and Quebec, Canada. Five were Canadian citizens, and four were Oregon college students in town to compete in a wrestling tournament.
Among the injured were five wrestlers and their coach from Delaware Valley University in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Another four were wresters from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
Justin Cochrane of Santa Barbara, California, said the car appeared to be going 30 to 40 mph when it struck the pedestrians.
“It was just massacring people,” said Cochrane, who was having dinner at a sidewalk restaurant outside the Paris hotel.
Cochrane said he couldn’t understand why the driver went into the crowd a second time. He saw children and adults injured on the ground as the car drove away.
“Why would it slow to go around and then accelerate again?” he said. “I thought, ‘It’s a crazy person.'”
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Associated Press writer Gosia Wozniacka in Portland, Oregon, and Kimberly Pierceall in Las Vegas contributed to this report.
The post Suspect in Vegas crash said she was stressed living in car appeared first on WTOP.
BENTON, La. (AP) — The latest on a bombing at a northwest Louisiana horse farm (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
A law enforcement official says the owners of a Louisiana horse farm were sent flying from their bed to the floor by a bomb in the crawl space, but they walked away uninjured.
Bossier Parish sheriff’s spokesman Bill Davis said Monday that deputies have arrested a maintenance worker, 54-year-old Douglas Holley. Davis says one farm owner is a veterinarian and had been unable to help Holley’s horse earlier this year. Davis says that’s the only problem the owners recall with Holley. He had worked and lived at Holly Hill Farm Equestrian Center for about four years.
Holley’s been arrested on charges of attempted capital murder and making a bomb.
The bomb went off about 4 a.m. Saturday. Davis says it left a basketball-sized hole in the floor and a hole in the bottom of the mattress.
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2 a.m.
Deputies have arrested a maintenance worker at a horse farm after a bomb exploded underneath a house on Holly Hill Farm Equestrian Center.
Bossier Sheriff Julian Whittington said in a news release 54-year-old Douglas Holley was arrested Sunday evening on counts of attempted first-degree murder and manufacturing a bomb.
The two homeowners inside the house were not hurt in the explosion Saturday morning. Whittington says Holley intentionally placed the bomb underneath the home’s master bedroom.
Detectives also searched Holley’s residence and found bomb-making materials and indications that he had researched how to make explosives.
Whittington says Holley worked at the farm for four years.
He was transported to the Bossier Maximum Security Facility. It isn’t clear if he has an attorney.
The post The Latest: Couple thrown off bed by bomb at horse farm appeared first on WTOP.
Caring for newborn kittens is hard work. They require attention and care around the clock. If you have recently taken in some newborn kittens, you will have your work cut out for you. If the mother cat is still in the picture, she can provide most of the kittens’ needs herself. You can support her by feeding her and leaving the kittens alone during their first week of life. If the mother cat is not around or not able to care for her babies, then you will have to take over her responsibilities. This will include feeding the kittens, keeping the kittens warm, and even helping the kittens go to the bathroom.
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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A humane society official said Monday that dozens of dogs were fed hotdogs laced with sleeping pills then shot to death in rural northern Arkansas.
Searcy County Humane Society Treasurer Jean Passmore said a couple of loggers were looking at the uninhabited timber land Thursday near Arkansas Highway 254 in rural Searcy County, about 100 miles north of Little Rock, when they came across the bodies of some of the dogs. The loggers called an officer with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission who they knew and he called the Searcy County Humane Society.
It was late and dark Thursday by the time Passmore and her shelter director were notified about the dogs. Friday morning the shelter director went to the area to help however he could, Passmore said.
“They had found about 30 of them the night before, but in the daylight they found the others,” Passmore said.
She said in all 57 dogs were poisoned then shot, including five animals found still alive but with such severe injuries from gunshot wounds that they had to be euthanized. Shelter workers found three dogs that it appeared had been fed sleeping pills, but had escaped the gunshots. They found another dog with a gunshot wound to its collarbone and jaw area.
“He’s starting to heal, the baby with the gunshot. He’s starting to eat and that’s a good sign. Two of the others are really frozen in fear. They’re going to need some help dealing with what happened. But there is one who just jogged right up and followed my shelter director around,” Passmore said. “There’s another female out there that they found that is so skittish. She gets close to the food, but she runs away. They haven’t been able to get her so they’re going to take a trap out there today.”
She said the dogs were mixed breeds, but the officer from Game and Fish told her that it appeared there were several sets of litter mates that were about the same age and looked to be similar breeds.
Both the Arkansas State Police and local officers with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission were called to help with the initial investigation, but both agencies had turned over their findings to the Searcy County sheriff’s office as of Monday. Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said local troopers helped gather evidence and helped with some of the forensic work needed at the scene.
Several messages left with the Searcy County Sheriff were not returned Monday. Sheriff Joey Pruitt told The Harrison Daily (http://bit.ly/1RzWkRN ) that none of the dogs were wearing collars or name tags. He told the newspaper that it appeared all of the dogs were shot at the property where they were found, and they could have been dead for two or three days.
Passmore said she and the shelter workers are trying to focus on the dogs that survived the attack, but it’s hard not to think about the dogs that died.
“They were well taken care of. Well fed. It was not like they were all skin and bones and neglected,” she said. “What hurts me so badly is we have access to getting these dogs home. We have transport services all over the U.S. It was unnecessary. We could have found them homes.”
People from all over the country have called the shelter offering money, support and words of kindness. Passmore said a Minnesota woman whose husband is terminally ill sent the money the couple had planned to use for holiday travel to help pay for the injured dog’s medical care.
“That’s been overwhelming,” Passmore said. “The outpouring of generosity and compassion we’ve received in the last few days.”
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Information from: Harrison Daily Times, http://www.harrisondaily.com
The post Dozens of dogs poisoned then fatally shot in rural Arkansas appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — It’s hard to believe that Haemi began life on a dog meat farm in South Korea. Rescued by Humane Society International, along with 26 other dogs, this 3-month-old mastiff mix puppy is joy personified!
She’s happy, energetic, and playful … everything a puppy should be. Haemi loves toys, especially those that squeak, and will toss them in the air, roll on the floor with them and climb in your lap to chew them.
But her days as a lap dog are limited. Although she’s small now, Haemi will likely top 100 pounds when full grown. She’s looking for a home with people who will give her lots of attention and exercise and who will provide the guidance and training necessary to help her become a well-adjusted, mannerly adult dog.
If you’re interested in meeting Haemi or any of the other wonderful animals looking for homes for the holidays — and forever — stop by the Washington Animal Rescue League.
About WARL: Founded in 1914, the Washington Animal Rescue League is the oldest animal shelter in Washington D.C. Its mission includes rescuing, rehabilitating and finding homes for animals who have no where else to go.
The League also supports animals through affordable veterinary care, community outreach and education. Learn more about the Washington Animal Rescue League at www.warl.org.
Maryland
Humane Society of Charles County
(301) 645-8181
71 Industrial Park Dr. PO Box 1015 Waldorf, Md. 20604
Humane Society of Charles County offers a low cost spay/neuter program to the public. Please call or visit our website for more information. The shelter is also looking for more foster parents to help its animals.
Lab Rescue of L.R.C.P.
(301) 299-6756
4808 Moorland Ln, Rockville, MD 20850
Lab Rescue of the LRCP is a volunteer driven, nonprofit organization that rescues, fosters and places homeless, abused, and/or abandoned Labrador retrievers.
Prince George’s County Humane Society
(301) 262-5625
P.O. Box 925 Bowie, Md. 20718
Prince George’s County Humane Society is also looking for foster parents. For more information, contact the organization.
PAW — Partnership for Animal Welfare
(301) 572-4729
P.O. Box 1074 Greenbelt, Md. 20768
Paws Animal Kingdom
(301) 920-2318
P.O. Box 11531 Takoma Park, Md. 20912
Montgomery County Humane Society
(240) 252-2555
601 South Stonestreet Ave. Rockville, Md. 20850
The Animal Welfare League of Montgomery County
(301) 740-2511
12 Park Ave. Gaithersburg, Md. 20877
D.C.
Washington Humane Society
(202) 576-6664
1201 New York Ave. NE 20002
ASAP — Alliance for Stray Animals and People
(202) 331-1330
P.O. Box 65438 Washington, D.C. 20035-5438
Metropolitan Guinea Pig Rescue
(202) 575-2210
Approved applicants may attend monthly adoption meets that are usually held at the house of a volunteer in either Northern Virginia or Southern Maryland.
Northern Virginia
Lucky Dog Animal Rescue
(202) 741-5428
5159 Lee Highway Arlington, Va. 22207
Lucky Dog is a foster home organization and does not run a dedicated housing facility.
A Forever Home
(703) 961-8690
P.O. Box 222801 Chantilly, VA 20153-2801
A Forever-Home is a nonprofit dog rescue group that operates in the Northern Virginia/Washington Metropolitan area.
FOHA — Friends of Homeless Animals
(703) 385-0224
39710 Goodpuppy Ln, Aldie, Va. 20105
All visitors must speak to a Friends representative before receiving directions to their shelter location.
SPCA of Northern Virginia
703-799-9390
P.O. Box 100220 Arlington, Va. 22210-3220
Animal Welfare League of Alexandria
(703) 746-4774
4101 Eisenhower Ave. Alexandria, Va. 22304
Animal Welfare League of Arlington
(703) 931-9241
2650 S. Arlington Mill Dr. Arlington, Va.
Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation
(703) 295-3647
P.O. Box 223953 Chantilly, Va. 20153
HART — Homeless Animal Rescue Team
(703) 691-HART
P.O. Box 7261 Fairfax Station, Va. 22039-7261
King Street Cats Rescue and Adoption
(703) 231-7199
25 Dove St. Alexandria, Va. 22314
Virginia German Shepherd Rescue
(703) 435-2840
P.O. Box 126 Sterling, Va. 20167
The post Pet of the Week: Haemi appeared first on WTOP.
BALTIMORE (AP) — A Baltimore judge scheduled a retrial date Monday following the mistrial of one of six officers charged in connection with the death of Freddie Gray.
A new trial for William Porter has been scheduled for June 13; the other five officers will be tried before that, meaning prosecutors may no longer go through with their initial plan to use Porter as a witness in any of those trials.
Prosecutors had said they wanted to try Porter first, and later call him to testify against at least two other officers facing criminal charges, but Porter has a Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself on the stand. He could assert that right if the state tried to call him as a witness before his retrial.
David Weinstein, a Miami-based trial attorney and former prosecutor, said the decision to schedule Porter’s trial after the other officers are tried isn’t surprising, but he noted that the hung jury certainly complicated the state’s plans.
“They’re punting. I think politics is playing a role in all of this,” Weinstein said. “If instead of having to now say, ‘We don’t believe our case against Porter is strong enough, or we need to use Porter to get a conviction against other people,’ they’re moving him down the line, to the second-best case. They likely think, ‘Hopefully we’ll get a better result, and that will send a message to Mr. Porter that the deadlock was just those 12 people.’ Part of these prosecutions is a chess game.”
Porter’s trial lasted more than two weeks. Jurors deliberated the charges for roughly 16 hours before telling the judge, Barry Williams, that they were impossibly deadlocked on every charge. Williams declared a mistrial last Wednesday.
Porter faces manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office. Gray died April 19, a week after he suffered a broken neck in the back of a police transport wagon. Prosecutors say Porter is partially responsible because he didn’t buckle Gray into a seat belt or immediately call for an ambulance when Gray indicated he needed medical attention.
Porter, who took the stand for more than four hours, told jurors that he didn’t think Gray was injured when he lifted the man off the floor of the van, where he’d been lying handcuffed with his legs shackled. Porter also said he told the wagon driver, Caesar Goodson, as well as a supervisor to take Gray to a nearby hospital, and that it was Goodson’s responsibility to make sure the prisoner was buckled in.
Goodson’s trial is slated to begin Jan. 6. He faces the most serious charge: second-degree “depraved-heart” murder.
Gray’s death prompted peaceful protests in Baltimore and, on the day of his funeral, looting and violence that spread across the city and resulted in millions of dollars in property damage. His name became a rallying cry, and added fuel to the national Black Lives Matter movement.
On the day of Porter’s mistrial, some demonstrated outside of the courthouse and beside City Hall, and two arrests were made.
The post New trial date set for officer charged in Freddie Gray death appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — There’s a change coming to Fairfax County Public Schools.
Soon, the community can offer its opinion on school names that honor Confederate generals.
It’s been a growing movement in Fairfax County among some students and parents, even celebrity alumni like actress Julianne Moore and director Bruce Cohen. They don’t quite have the 35,000 signatures on a petition to rename J.E.B. Stuart High School for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall.
“When our school was founded in 1959, it was named after Stuart, a Confederate General, to protest the 1954 Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling that ended the segregation of public schools,” the petition reads.
See the Change.org petition here.
On Thursday, the Fairfax County school board made a change to its policy allowing the conversation to move forward.
The board unanimously voted to add a sentence allowing for schools to be renamed if there’s a compelling need.
Before, the policy barred the board from renaming facilities unless they were being re-purposed, said school spokesman John Torre.
The schools in question: J.E.B. Stuart High, Robert E. Lee High and W.T. Woodson High, named after a superintendent who opposed desegregation. There is also an online petition to change all three names.
Meanwhile, Torre said others have filed petitions with the board to keep the names.
There are no community hearings scheduled yet to discuss name changes, but the policy change allows for that next step.
The post Public can soon say whether Fairfax Co. schools should be renamed appeared first on WTOP.
WASHINGTON — Montgomery County has declared victory following an effort to house every homeless veteran officials were able to identify over the last year.
According to a Montgomery County Council announcement, by the end of 2015, 58 homeless veterans and their families will have found permanent housing.
At a news conference announcing the county’s goal of “Functional Zero” for homeless veterans, council member George Leventhal explained that the issue of homelessness hasn’t disappeared.
“We have systems in place now, so that where a veteran became homeless in Montgomery County, we will prioritize that veteran and … have the resources available to house that veteran,” he said.
Leventhal said efforts are limited to those who become homeless as Montgomery County residents.
“Montgomery County does not have the wherewithal nor are we going to house every person everywhere,” he said.
He said the county hopes to take the model used to find homes for veterans and expand it to attack homelessness in the larger population.
Advocates for the homeless say veterans returning from war face a number of challenges: coming to a tough job market, finding affordable housing, and sometimes struggling with medical or substance abuse issues.
Ishmael Meredith, a U.S. Army veteran whose father served as a Marine, thanked the coalition of government and nonprofit agencies that helped find him and his young family a permanent home.
“You may think we’re heroes, but you all are the real heroes sometimes,” Meredith said.
Meredith said there were times when he felt despair as a father of two trying to provide for his family.
Cradling his 1-year-old son Raphael in his arms, Meredith told those attending a news conference “there were times I’d be alone, it would just be me and him, and I’d be praying and my tears would be falling on him.”
But Meredith, a deeply religious man, told all those involved in helping veterans find housing, “God is using you. He used you to answer someone’s prayers. He used you to answer my prayers.”
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report.
The post All homeless veterans have found housing in Montgomery Co. appeared first on WTOP.
Yeah, there’s a holiday later this week or something. Retail stores don’t care about that anymore: they’ve got seasonal department shelves to fill, and most people who need garlands and lights have probably already bought ’em. What’s the next holiday? Valentine’s Day? Easter? Yeah, let’s move on to that.
It no longer surprises us to see Valentine’s Day and Easter merchandise out on the shelves before Christmas. The seasonal shelves must remain stocked, and it’s important to encourage customers to think ahead to the next holiday. Always the next holiday. Right?
This isn’t the earliest that we’ve seen Easter candies on display: in years past, we’ve seen them out as early as December 7.
Sarah spotted this shelf of Valentine’s Day-themed cakes on the shelf at her local SuperTarget. I bet those conversation heart cakes don’t even taste anything like chalk.
Patrick saw this display of Easter candy at Stop & Shop over the weekend. That’s not unusually early to see the Cadbury Creme and peanut butter eggs out, but it still feels terribly wrong.
PREVIOUSLY: In Which I Suggest A Timeline For Various Holiday Shopping Seasons
Traveling can be a mundane, routine task: print off your boarding pass, check your bags, walk through security, sit at your gate, board, and takeoff. But a recent Delta Air Lines flight had the exciting bonus of an escaped feline roaming around the aircraft.
WDBO News reports that a passenger on the flight captured video of the tortoiseshell cat meandering around the plane after somehow escaping its pet carrier on Saturday.
The cat’s trip around the plane included an exploration of the galley, while a flight attendant can be heard telling the animal to “stay right there, don’t move.”
“Whoever’s cat this is please come and … wake them up if you see them with the cat carrier,” the attendant can be heard saying over the intercom. “I need them to come and get their pet.”
One passenger then tries to lure the feline away from the attendant, while a woman – thought to be the cat’s owner – places the pet back inside a carrier.
Delta allows passengers to travel with their small pets in the cabin area for a fee. The animals are required to stay in their carrier at all times.
Must-see: Cat scares flight attendant after escaping carrier on plane [WDBO News]
Following the outbreak of HIV in the 1980s, the FDA sought to prevent the spread of the virus through blood transfusions by enacting a lifetime deferral for gay and bisexual men — or any male who had been sexually intimate with another man. The agency claims that — between the ban, other restrictions, and improved screening — the rate of HIV transmission through transfusions has dropped from 1 in 2,500 to 1 in 1.47 million.
Last year, then FDA-chief Margaret Hamburg explained that the change to the blood donation guidance came about as the agency endeavored to update its standards to reflect current technology and the relevant “available scientific evidence…including the results of several recently completed scientific studies and recent epidemiologic data.”
“The FDA’s responsibility is to maintain a high level of blood product safety for people whose lives depend on it,” said the FDA’s Acting Commissioner Stephen Ostroff in a statement earlier today. “We have taken great care to ensure this policy revision is backed by sound science and continues to protect our blood supply.”
The one-year deferral treats men who have had sex with men the same as others believed to be at an increased risk for HIV transmission, including recent recipients of blood transfusions and those who have been accidentally exposed to another person’s blood.
It also meshes more closely with deferral timelines in the U.K. and Australia. The FDA says that when Australia updated its policy to shorten the deferral, it saw no change in the risk to the blood supply.
“In reviewing our policies to help reduce the risk of HIV transmission through blood products, we rigorously examined several alternative options, including individual risk assessment,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., deputy director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “Ultimately, the 12-month deferral window is supported by the best available scientific evidence, at this point in time, relevant to the U.S. population. We will continue to actively conduct research in this area and further revise our policies as new data emerge.”
The American Red Cross, the AABB (formerly the American Association of Blood Banks), and America’s Blood Centers have been advocating for the lift on the all-out ban on donations. In a joint statement, the groups say they are pleased with the revised guidance from the FDA.
“The top priority of the blood banking community is the safety of our volunteer blood donors and the recipients of blood,” reads the statement. “While the final FDA guidance describes a pathway for previously deferred donors to give blood, it will take several months for blood centers to update their computer systems, modify processes and procedures, train staff and implement these extensive changes.”
There are those who believe that even a one-year ban is too restrictive. For example, a man in a monogamous relationship with another man in need of blood may not be able to donate — or he may have to lie about his sexuality or his connection to the recipient to be eligible to give his blood.
In general, dancers at strip clubs are considered freelance employees who take home whatever is left after paying often hefty fees to the club. Over the last few years, a number of dancers around the country have sued — some successfully — clubs over this arrangement, arguing that they are not freelancers who can do as they please, but are employees who have to follow very strict and uniform guidelines for what they wear, when they work, and how much they charge customers.
Some dancers at an Atlanta club called The Cheetah allege they were not only mis-categorized as freelance “contractors” and compelled to pay kickbacks to the club, but that they were also forced to agree to a binding arbitration policy that prevents them from pursuing any legal action in court.
As we’ve covered a lot on Consumerist, mandatory arbitration forces alleged victims to settle their disputes outside of the courtroom, before a supposedly independent arbitrator. Not only that, but it often prevents similarly wronged individuals from joining together to pool their resources in a class action.
The day before the dancers filed their lawsuit in a federal court in Atlanta, they claim the club owners distributed a mandatory arbitration agreement [PDF], which dancers were told to sign or be terminated immediately.
The agreement contains the typical arbitration stuff, like stating that neither the dancer nor the club can sue the other in court, and that dancers can’t arbitrate as a group. But then there are some truly questionable conditions.
For instance, dancers who sign the agreement give up their right to sue over anything that “arose before and/or after this Agreement went into effect.” The agreement specifically calls out the possibility for complaints “arising under federal discrimination laws, including but not limited to… the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).”
Another industry-specific clause of the 4-page agreement (most arbitration clauses are merely a few paragraphs) states that “In the event that you ever assert that you are an employee and not an independent contractor, then you acknowledge and agree that table dance fees and any other fees established by [the club owners] that you have been permitted to retain as part of your income are setoffs and shall be credited against any minimum wage and overtime obligations that otherwise would be due to you if you were determined to be an employee and not an independent contractor.”
To the plaintiffs, this clause is intended to deter a dancer from even attempting to arbitrate their status as a contractor/employee because it would mean giving up “the right to claim the full minimum wage as damages in this action [and] the right to retain entertainment fees.”
In plain speak, the plaintiffs say that dancers were told by the club, “don’t sue us and we won’t mess with you.”
What’s more, they claim that the club misled the dancers about the reason for needing these agreements signed immediately. According to the complaint, the club owners said they were switching “arbitration companies,” even though they say the club had no such agreement with dancers before this.
While not all of the named plaintiffs were working at the club by this time, one says she was fired. The plaintiffs allege that by making arbitration a condition of employment, the club is violating both the FLSA and the Federal Arbitration Act.
“Defendants, with full knowledge that they have violated and continue to violate federal wage laws… conditioned the entertainers continued employment on their signing the Arbitration Agreement, thereby forcing the entertainers under duress to relinquish an existing rights to sue in return for continued employment, which is an illegal action,” reads the complaint.
In speaking to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution — and in a response filed with the court — a lawyer for the club claims that there was indeed an arbitration policy before the one mentioned in the complaint. The club also contends that the dancer who said she was fired for not signing the agreement left on her own accord.
Note: we aren’t necessarily endorsing all of the companies and services named in this post: it’s an overview of ideas, and we haven’t checked out all of the companies listed. Also, we can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to make good fudge successfully on the first try.
GO TO AN ACTUAL STORE
Only the grocery store is open in your area? Our colleagues at Consumer Reports have some ideas for decent last-minute gifts that you can find in the supermarket aisles.
Visit the gourmet aisles: you’ll find fancy bottled olive oil, attractive packages of pasta, and fancy chocolate in a most stores these days. If you don’t know the recipient’s food preferences, there’s a simple alternative: grocery and drug stores also have handy gift card kiosks.
GIFT CARDS
Gift cards have a lot of problems: they may lose their value if a retailer goes out of business, fraud can happen at the point of sale, and not everything that appears to be a “gift card” has the consumer protections of a traditional gift card. Most of them ultimately go unredeemed.
If you’re visiting from out of town and picking up gifts locally, pay attention to what’s available. I once stopped a fellow last-minute shopper from picking up an AMC Theatres gift card at Walgreens for a local relative. The problem: the closest AMC cinema was 250 miles away. Gift card selections in those kiosks aren’t customized to which stores are available in a given area.
Still, they do have a few advantages: they let you earmark money for something fun or a specific purpose. A gift card in a specific amount can actually be a very personal and thoughtful gift… but then, ultimately, so can cash, if you package it thoughtfully enough.
Lottery tickets might seem like a way to give someone cash without really giving cash, but here’s something to consider: would you be upset if the recipient won the top prize and didn’t share with you?
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions to magazines, websites, and other periodicals can be tricky if you aren’t familiar with the recipient’s habits, but it’s also possible to extend a subscription that you know they enjoy. You can even buy Netflix gift cards in grocery and drugstores now, which would make a nice complement to a streaming device or smart TV if you know that they happen to be receiving one from someone other than you.
One category that has really grown since the last time we covered last-minute gifts are subscription boxes, which now are available for everything from cosmetics to pet treats to snacks. Someone has probably developed a subscription box for subscription boxes.
Boxes for pets are their own industry now: there’s BarkBox, MeowBox (of course), and KitNipBox, and many others. Confusingly, CatLadyBox offers cat-themed items for humans, but you can also add items for actual cats to your subscription. They’re good if you’re looking for a gift for a pet or a pet lover, and a gift subscription delivered on Christmas by e-mail is a good cover for waiting until the last minute.
Meal-preparation kits are also growing in popularity: no gift says “I care about you, but you’re a terrible cook” quite like a subscription to Blue Apron or HelloFresh, services that send new recipes and all of the ingredients that you’ll need to make them.
The site My Subscription Addiction has reviews and overviews of any kind of subscription box that you can or can’t think of, but remember that they use affiliate links to get a cut of anything you buy, and often receive the boxes that they review for free.
One problem that we often hear about subscription boxes is that they’re hard to cancel, which is where giving someone a gift subscription instead of simply handing over a credit card number is an even more wonderful gift.
HOMEMADE FOOD
How about a lovely bouquet of chocolate-dipped bacon roses? There are a lot of edible things that seem like they take a lot more effort than they really do. My standby is peanut butter fudge, which you can put in a pretty box or toss in a plastic bag, and people will be happy either way because it’s fudge. Use your own strengths: maybe you can make other kinds of candy, cookies, brownies, or jerky.
HOMEMADE STUFF
You don’t need actual craft skills to put some basics together and end up with something worth more than the ingredients.
Get respectable-looking frames at big-box, dollar, or craft stores: print out some digital photos at your local drugstore, frame them, and you have a meaningful and not terribly expensive gift.
One idea from a Consumerist staffer is to buy clear glass ornaments and fill them with things. That could include photos or other keepsakes, glitter, sequins. Really, all you need to do is paint their name and the year on them, and you’ve created an instant heirloom with actual meaning. Maybe.
FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE FAR AWAY
Subscription boxes or other gifts delivered virtually work here, especially if you’ve already missed all of the shipping deadlines.
Just weeks after the hack of electronic toy maker VTech exposed the personal information for more than five million children and adults, another child-focused enterprise has suffered a similar breach. The interactive online community for Hello Kitty was recently breached, potentially compromising 3.3 million accounts.
The hack affected sanriotown.com, a community for parents and children who are fans of Hello Kitty and other Sanrio characters, CSO Online reports.
Information exposed in the breach includes first and last names, birthdays, gender, country of origin, email addresses, password hints and corresponding answers, and other information.
While it’s unclear how the breach occurred, Chris Vickery, a researcher who first stumbled on the hack, said that exposed accounts were tied to several websites, including hellokitty.com; hellokitty.com.sg; hellokitty.com.my; hellokitty.in.th; and mymelody.com.
In addition to the primary SanrioTown database being hacked, two backup servers were compromised, with the earliest exposure taking place Nov. 22.
“The alleged security breach of the SanrioTown site is currently under investigation,” the company tells CSO. “Information will be made available once confirmed.”
CSO online suggests parents that use sanriotown.com, or its related domains, make sure they aren’t using the same password for other sites, like those used for banking, email, or social media.
This is the second hack to potentially expose the personal information of children. In late November, VTech confirmed that an “unauthorized party” accessed customer data housed in its Learning Lodge app store, which allows customers to download apps, games, e-books and other content for VTech products.
While the company assured users that the Learning Lodge does not store credit card information or Social Security numbers, the database does include data like names, e-mail addresses, encrypted passwords, IP addresses, mailing addresses, download histories, and answers to password-retrieval questions.
Database leak exposes 3.3 million Hello Kitty fans [CSO Online]
With holiday travel predicted to reach record levels this week, it’s probably a safe bet that someone at some overcrowded airport across the country will get a bit stressed out. In a bid to make sure holiday travel is a bit less grueling for passengers, United Airlines is sending in the dogs, literally.
United Airlines announced Monday that it plans to send 200 dogs to the airline’s seven airport hubs this week through a program called United Paws.
The specially trained “comfort dogs” will be led around terminals with the express purpose of bringing a bit of cheer to the holiday travel experience.
Under the program, which will run from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Wednesday this week in Los Angeles, Cleveland, Denver, Newark, Washington, Houston, and Chicago, passengers can scratch, pet, and otherwise love on the furry airline ambassadors.
“Research shows that just petting a dog releases oxytocin, the hormone associated with bonding and affection, and also decreases levels of stress, helps us breathe easier and lowers our blood pressure,” the airline said in a statement.
The airline first started the holiday pet stress-relief strategy in one or two airports last year. The Los Angeles Times reports that LAX, which will have 13 United pups on hand this week, has a similar program year-round called Pets Unstressing Passengers.
Enlarge (credit: Beth Mole)
Last month, New York Senator Charles Schumer brought to our attention the existence of caffeinated peanut butter, which immediately seemed like something we should try. Of course, that was probably not an outcome that Schumer was going for, since he brought it up only in hopes of getting the Food and Drug Administration to ban it. Nevertheless, as a peanut butter fan and a coffee enthusiast, I happily volunteered to eat some and report back.
(credit: STEEM)
To recap, the peppy peanut butter is made by a company called STEEM, based in Greenfield, Massachusetts, which sells 8-ounce jars online for $5.99 each plus $7.50 for shipping. Jars can also be acquired in select grocery stores in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. But, as far as I can tell, it’s only offered in smooth variety. (Sorry, chunky fans)
The spread is jam-packed with caffeine, the company boasts, with every two-tablespoon serving offering 150 milligrams of caffeine. STEEM says that’s as much caffeine as two cups of coffee. But that entirely depends on how you make your coffee. According to health researchers, a typical 8-ounce cup of brewed coffee contains anywhere from 95 to 200 milligrams of caffeine. So, maybe STEEM employees make weak-ass coffee.
ROCKAWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A Boy Scout leader was pulled into a cave by a bear in northern New Jersey but beat the animal away with a rock hammer while the three Scouts with him called for help, authorities said.
Christopher Petronino, 50, and the Scouts were hiking at Split Rock Reservoir on Sunday afternoon when he stopped to show the boys a cave, NJ.com reported. He dipped into a small crevasse leading to it, and the bear grabbed him by the foot and yanked him inside. It began biting his legs and shoulders and Petronino fought it off, NJ.com reported.
“Petronino struck the bear twice in the head with a rock hammer. He then pulled his sweatshirt over his head and curled into the fetal position,” Bob Considine, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection, said in a statement. “He yelled to the Scouts, who were outside the cave, to leave and go get help.”
The boys used a cellphone to call authorities, who told them to place any food they had outside the cave to lure the bear away from Petronino. When it emerged, a dog that had come along with the group began barking and the bear ran up a nearby hillside.
Considine said the Scout leader spent about 80 minutes inside the cave before escaping. He was airlifted to Morristown Medical Center and treated for his wounds. The Scouts, from a Boonton-based troop, were released to their parents.
Petronino told authorities he’d visited the cave regularly for decades and had never seen a bear.
Considine said state wildlife officials believe the bear was protecting its hibernation location. Initially, they placed traps around the area where the attack occurred and hoped to capture the bruin. Later, they told NJ.com that the warmer weather was confusing the bears and they are not deep into hibernation. They believe the bear is not a threat and won’t try to capture it.
Hunters in New Jersey killed 510 bears during the state’s extended black bear hunt, which ended Saturday. Fifty-eight were harvested in Morris County, where Split Rock Reservoir is located.
The post Bear pulls Boy Scout leader in cave by foot; Scouts get help appeared first on WTOP.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The latest on a court appearance by the man who authorities say bought the rifles used by two other people to carry out the San Bernardino, California, massacre (all times local):
12:10 p.m.
The man authorities say bought the assault rifles two other people used in the San Bernardino, California, massacre has been ordered held in custody while he faces terrorism-related charges.
U.S. Magistrate Judge David Bristow ruled Monday that Enrique Marquez poses a continuing danger to the community. His family had sought to put up $100,000 in equity on their home for bail.
Marquez is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists for abandoned plots in 2011 and 2012.
He’s also charged with illegally buying the rifles the shooters used in the attack, and visa fraud stemming from his marriage to a Russian woman that prosecutors say was a sham.
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10:45 a.m.
The man authorities say bought the assault rifles two other people used in the San Bernardino massacre has appeared in federal court to face terrorism-related charges, but the proceeding has been delayed.
Enrique Marquez shuffled into court in Riverside on Monday with his ankles and hands cuffed.
He had a slight smile, and at times he whispered and nodded with his attorneys. At other times, he swiveled his chair from side to side and looked at the ceiling. One U.S. marshal sat close behind him, another about 10 feet to his side, watching him.
Marquez shuffled to a podium with his attorney when the proceeding began. But the hearing ended quickly after Magistrate Judge David Bristow conferred privately with the defense and prosecution.
After a few minutes, Bristow announced the hearing would be delayed 90 minutes so defense attorneys could have more time to confer with Marquez. Marshals then led him out of the courtroom.
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1:40 a.m.
The man authorities bought the assault rifles his friend used in the San Bernardino massacre is set for his second court appearance on Monday.
Enrique Marquez is expected to enter a plea to three charges in federal court in Riverside, about 10 miles from the site of the Dec. 2 attack.
A judge also will determine whether to hold Marquez on bond pending trial. Marquez is charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists for abandoned plots in 2011 and 2012.
He’s also charged with illegally buying the rifles the shooters used in the attack and visa fraud stemming from his marriage to a Russian woman that prosecutors say was a sham. He faces up to 35 years in prison if convicted of all the charges.
Marquez’s court-appointed attorney has declined to comment. Marquez’s mother has called him a good person who was nothing more than friends with the man who carried out the slayings with his wife.
The post The Latest: No bail for man who bought guns used in massacre appeared first on WTOP.
Food allergies can be a life-threatening condition, which is why the maker of Dove candies has recalled a winter-themed assortment of chocolates available only from one nationwide food retailer and distributed to 35 states. Which nationwide food retailer is that? Mars didn’t bother to include that information, which might have been helpful.
Still, if you purchased this bag, you’ll recognize it, since the bag and the candies themselves are different shapes than most Dove products. The product in question is a 24-ounce bag, which the company warns may contain pieces from their other candy lines. You could find a Snickers, Milky Way, or Twix inside.
Those candy bars include ingredients like peanuts, eggs, and wheat that aren’t found in the Dove chocolates, and wouldn’t be listed on the label on the outside of the bag.
Affected bags were sold at the Mystery Retailer between September 19 and December 1 of this year. If you have one and someone in your household is allergic to peanuts, wheat, or eggs, return it to the store where you purchased it. If no one would be harmed, it’s okay to keep the bag, and you can just think of the possibility of receiving a piece of Snickers, as one consumer reported, as an exciting possible bonus.
If you have questions or concerns about the recall, contact the hotline at 1-800-551-0907.
BALTIMORE (AP) — Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith left Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs with a thigh injury and will not return.
The injury occurred during the Chiefs’ opening series.
Smith has accounted for two of Baltimore’s four interceptions this season. He was replaced by Jumal Rolle.
___
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL
The post Ravens’ Jimmy Smith out with thigh injury appeared first on WTOP.
Proposed Law Targets Abandoned Homes In D.C. WAMU 88.5 According to D.C.'s official tally, almost 1,300 properties in the city are vacant or even blighted — and the real number may be much higher. These properties are taxed at a rate six times higher than occupied ones. But unless city inspectors confirm ... and more » |
Prince William County community calendar Washington Post Dale City Farmers Market 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Dale City Commuter Lot, (behind Center Plaza Shopping Center), Dale Boulevard, Dale City. 703-670-7112, Ext. 227. www.pwcparks.org. Free. Ice skating The outdoor rink is open for the season. Check the website for ... and more » |
One category of politically related spending is less regulated than others in the U.S., and states are moving in opposite directions when it comes to disclosure requirements. Here are questions and answers about the so-called dark money involved in political races.
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Q. What is “dark money?”
A. It’s what critics call political spending by nonprofit groups that do not report the sources of their contributions. The money generally comes from nonprofits registered as social welfare organizations and goes toward independent spending rather than campaign coffers controlled by candidates. The federal government does not require those groups to disclose their individual donors, and neither do most states.
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Q. How much of a factor is this kind of spending in elections?
A. It accounted for more than $300 million in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections, and is expected to play a significant role in 2016. An analysis of TV ad buys seeking to influence state-level campaigns in 2014, released by the Center for Public Integrity, found that $25 million was spent by groups that did not disclose their donors.
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Q. What do courts say about this?
A. They had a role in creating it. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling in 2010 found it unconstitutional to put limits on political spending by businesses, unions and nonprofit groups. That case and others have altered the democratic process, with political spending increasingly done by outside organizations rather than candidates or parties. The Citizens United ruling also encouraged prompt disclosure as a way to hold corporations and candidates accountable.
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Q. So have lawmakers responded with a push for transparency?
A. Far from it. Many states have not updated their campaign finance laws in reaction to “dark money” spending, and some are going the other way: Gov. Scott Walker backed Wisconsin legislation allowing political campaigns to coordinate spending with advocacy groups that do not have to disclose their donors.
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Q. What’s the argument against disclosure?
A. Attorney James Bopp, who represents conservative groups fighting campaign finance regulations, calls it a free speech issue, because naming the sources of advocacy group donations would chill certain voices. “For the speech-police types that I’m fighting, their goal was never disclosure,” he said. “They’re trying to shut us down.”
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Q. Are any states trying to shine a light on dark money nevertheless?
A. Some. Rhode Island and Massachusetts are requiring top donors to be listed on independent advertisements. In California, groups that spend more than a certain amount on political ads are required to report their donors to the state. In Maryland, donors will have to be disclosed unless they specifically tell the organizations that they do not want their money used for political ads.
“The overall trend in the disclosure world is going toward more and better systems,” said Edwin Bender, executive director of the Helena, Montana-based National Institute on Money in State Politics, which tracks political spending and advocates for transparency.
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Q. Are the new laws having their intended effect?
A. In most cases, it’s too early to tell. Montana and Maryland get their first tests in 2016. Jonathan Motl, Montana’s commissioner of political practices, vows vigorous enforcement, and says that even if there are “glitches in the system,” whatever it does “is a heck of a lot better than what we’ve had before.”
The post What is ‘dark money,’ and how are states responding to it? appeared first on WTOP.
MEDINA, Ohio (AP) — A toothless, 41-year-old bear in the middle of a permit dispute between his owners and the state was euthanized after finishing a last meal that included a cream-filled doughnut.
The black bear named Archie had been in failing health for months and wasn’t expected to live through hibernation, said owners Jeffrey and Debra Gillium.
He was euthanized by a veterinarian Friday after the Gilliums gave him a big breakfast of dog food mixed with tapioca pudding and a doughnut.
“He usually doesn’t get stuff like that, but today was a special day and he loves his sweets,” Debra Gillium told the Medina Gazette (http://bit.ly/1Ig8rRs ). “He licked the tapioca off my fingers.”
The Gilliums had fought to keep Archie despite failing to get a permit when Ohio tightened rules for keeping dangerous animals.
They argued that the bear was old and unlikely to escape his fenced enclosure near Lodi, roughly 40 miles southwest of Cleveland. They said that moving or tranquilizing him could threaten his life and that denying their permit wouldn’t serve the public interest.
But the Ohio Department of Agriculture said it couldn’t grant a permit because the application was submitted long after the deadline.
The Gilliums said they had cared for the bear since 1981 and had proper permits and licenses until the law changed and their last permit expired in 2013. They argued that they weren’t adequately notified about the changes when the Department of Agriculture took over enforcement on such matters and they believed they were grandfathered into the new permit system.
Debra Gillium said she took steps to meet the new requirements, including applying for a permit and trying to have Archie tagged by microchip. The department said the Gilliums simply hadn’t complied with current law.
The restrictions on ownership of dangerous and exotic animals were enacted after a Zanesville-area man released dozens of exotic animals, including African lions and Bengal tigers, at his property before killing himself in 2011.
A judge last May dismissed a civil case by the couple.
“It’s been hard on us physically,” Debra Gillium told The Gazette. “We got too attached to Archie. I can say that I never regretted one day of taking care of him ’cause he was just so sweet and loving.”
The post Aging bear at center of court fight is euthanized in Ohio appeared first on WTOP.
U.S. News & World Report |
Pentagon chief: Iraqi strike may be 'mistake' by 2 sides U.S. News & World Report U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter speaks to U.S. and French troops on the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle in the Persian Gulf Saturday, Dec. 19, 2015. The American airstrike that may have killed a number of Iraqi soldiers on Friday seems ... Pentagon chief: Iraqi strike may be 'mistake' by two sidesNorthJersey.com Pentagon Speaks about Friendly Fire AttackOzarksFirst.com all 710 news articles » |
As the owner, or potential owner, of a Siberian or Alaskan husky, it's important to know that this kind of dog needs special care because of a few aspects of the breed. These dogs were originally bred to run long distances and sprint in extreme weather, which means they have thick coats of fur that need special care and they do best when they are thoroughly trained and given a lot of exercise. Even though it may be a bit more work to properly care for a husky, they can also be loving canine companions to their owners.
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WASHINGTON — It looks like “Super Saturday” may be the new “Black Friday.”
Retailers say “Super Saturday” — the Saturday before Christmas — has become the busiest shopping day of the year. Also, compared to last year, shopping volume has increased while prices have decreased, according to data from the National Retail Federation.
Locally, large crowds were hitting the stores for some last minute shopping on Super Saturday.
Tia Gardner, from Alexandria, Virginia, started her day early. By 10:30 a.m., she had finished up at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax, Virginia.
“Yeah, it’s getting crowded in there,” Gardner says, laughing.
Gardner says she wanted to take advantage of the deals. “You get good deals when you come out the last-minute, it seems,” says Gardner.
She got to relish in the fact that she had finished up her Christmas shopping.
“It’s a good feeling,” she says. “Now I can go on home and get out of this madness.”
2015 Pets of the Week: Where are they now?
#SuperSaturday the new Black Friday. Last minute shoppers at Fair Oaks Mall in Fairfax on Super Saturday. @wtop pic.twitter.com/54FSZKxxBR
— Kathy Stewart (@KStewartWTOP) December 19, 2015
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