February 21, 2022

Bernie Madoff's sister and husband found dead in suspected murder-suicide

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/20/us/bernie-madoff-sister-husband-die/index.html

The sister of infamous Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff and her husband have been found dead in an apparent murder-suicide, according to a news release from Florida police.

Deputies who responded to a 911 call found 87-year-old Sondra Wiener and her 90-year-old husband Marvin dead from gunshot wounds in their Boynton Beach, Florida home on Thursday, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in the release Sunday.


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Madoff, born in New York's borough of Queens, was the mastermind behind a $20 billion Ponzi scheme -- the largest financial fraud in history.

Family tragedies followed his conviction. Madoff had two sons, both of whom worked for his firm. Mark Madoff, the older son, died by suicide in 2010, his other son Andrew died of cancer in 2014.

Madoff and Wiener's brother Peter also served a 10-year prison sentence for his involvement in the scheme. He was sentenced in 2012 and was released from prison in November 2019, to home confinement. His home confinement ended in August 2020.

February 20, 2022

'Lizard Lick Towing' star says son killed in N.C. shooting

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GARNER, N.C. (AP) — The owner of Lizard Lick Towing, a towing and repossession business featured in a reality TV show, has confirmed that his son was killed in a shooting in North Carolina.

In a post on Facebook, Ronnie Shirley confirmed that Harley Shirley, 21, was fatally shot in Garner late Thursday. Shirley and his wife, Amy, own Lizard Lick Towing and starred in a truTV reality show based on their family business from 2011 to 2014.

The shooting is being investigated by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office.

“He’s at peace now — waiting on the rest of us to arrive at those gates — we will be there soon Big Shur — and will always cherish the times we had while you were with us son,” Ronnie Shirley wrote on Facebook.

The News & Observer reports that deputies responded to a reported shooting at a home around 8 p.m. Thursday. Capt. Jeff Caldwell said in a news release that soon after that, a caller reported people with gunshot wounds in the parking lot of a Sheetz gas station, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) north of the home.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/lizard-lick-towing-star-says-son-killed-in-n-c-shooting/ar-AAU4FTj?ocid=msedgntp

February 20, 2022

San Jose Auto Mechanic Helping Homeless People Repair The Cars They Rely On

February 20, 2022

news anchor told "Your makeup makes you look like a whore. Do yourself a favor and clean up"

https://twitter.com/WhitneyOnAir/status/1492668287351721993

Local news anchor Whitney Burney in Grand Rapids, Michigan shared with her Twitter followers an abusive email she received from a viewer.

“The kinds of emails you get when you work in news,” she tweeted on Saturday, including a screenshot of the email. “He even had the nerve to leave his cell phone, address and occupation in the email signature. And said if I’m the wrong person please forward this message. Huh?? LMAO.”

The email appeared to be from a local doctor. His contact information had been redacted in the screenshot shared on Twitter by Ms Burney.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/black-female-tv-anchor-shares-144529056.html

February 20, 2022

Decatur teen accused of breaking into neighbor's home, trying to kill him for being gay

https://www.wandtv.com/news/decatur-teen-accused-of-attempted-murder-home-invasion-hate-crime/article_3abd94c0-90de-11ec-b558-5f12193969de.html

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - A 19-year-old was arrested for allegedly breaking into his neighbor's home, tying him up, beating him, and trying to kill him because he is homosexual.

Ethan Dickerson, 19, was arrested on Thursday for Attempted First Degree Murder, Home Invasion, Hate Crime, Aggravated Unlawful Restraint, and Aggravated Battery.

Police were called to Delray Ct. around 5:30 p.m. Thursday on the report of someone breaking out a window.

When an officer arrived, he saw the broken window and heard someone inside calling for help. The officer identified himself by calling out but only heard screaming and pleas for help. The officer then kicked the front door down.

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He said Dickerson started hitting him about the face, body, and head with the pipe wrench.

The victim said he yelled, "why?" He said Dickerson replied, "You know why I have to do this. You're gay. You're evil... I'm going to kill you."

February 20, 2022

QAnon believers rejoiced over the San Francisco recall. Now, they're confused.

https://www.sfgate.com/bay-area-politics/article/QAnon-believers-confused-about-SF-recall-16932102.php

News that three San Francisco school board members had been recalled this week was met with great excitement in QAnon circles.

“Keep it coming,” wrote one user on a popular Q forum. “Music to my ears.”

But that elation soon turned to confusion as conspiracy theorists struggled to square their stereotypes about San Francisco with an election result they were in favor of.

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“Natives of San Francisco did this?” one befuddled user wrote on a QAnon forum. “This is surprising, most of them have sat by and sacrificed their children to the other, for quite a long time now. Why the change of heart?”“

All of a sudden, one day, they all decide to get rid of 3 people. A show of will and resolve that has been missing... for decades?” another pondered. “It really is a curious thing. Why stand up now?”

Confused why liberal voters would vote against another liberal, others fell back on the old standby: voter fraud.

February 19, 2022

Robert George sentenced to prison time FINALLY... 9 years after he threw handcuffed woman to ground

Former Hickory officer resentenced to 3 years in prison in 2013 case of excessive force on handcuffed woman
He was previously sentenced to a term of probation by a different U.S. District Court judge.

The incident took place in 2013 when officers saw a car parked improperly. Chelsea Doolittle was in the car at the time and admitted she had been drinking, but was not driving while driving.


She also admitted she used foul language when asked for her registration.

The indictment against Robert George, the former officer, says he pulled her from the patrol car and slammed her against the ground. Doolittle’s injuries sustained from the incident later required oral surgery to repair.

According to indictments, the incident caused “serious bodily injury, the pushing of two of the victim’s bottom teeth, requiring surgery by an Oral Surgeon to correct the injury.”

He was charged with using excessive force against a female arrestee and obstructing justice. George was arrested six years later and fired from the department.

https://www.wbtv.com/2022/02/17/former-hickory-officer-resentenced-3-years-prison-2013-case-excessive-force-handcuffed-woman/

lots of twists and turns. He originally got probation. Now he's going to jail.



https://hickoryrecord.com/video/news/watch-now-robert-george-leaves-courthouse-after-receiving-prison-sentence/video_ebcba2e9-273b-51fa-a0c9-bae3448fb89b.html

Watch Now: Robert George leaves courthouse after receiving prison sentence



Assistant Federal Public Defender Myra Cause said her client still deserved probation or, at most, a year and a day in prison. She asked Bell not to let “four seconds of brutality” to overshadow her client’s years of public service. George, who wore a blue police uniform for 16 years, chose a blue suit for court. He asked the judge for a chance to “move on.”

“I am deeply sorry of what happened to Miss Doolittle,” he said. “Everyday I think about it. Everyday I am reminded of it ... If I could go back eight years and do something to change what happened I would. But I can’t.” In the end, the judge split the difference, telling George that his crime demanded prison time — “the conduct has victimized all of us” — but that the length dictated by the sentencing range would be “unjust.”

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article258502238.html#storylink=cpy

February 19, 2022

CSU chancellor resigns amid firestorm over handling of sexual harassment complaints

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/17/csu-faculty-calls-for-chancellor-to-resign-over-handling-of-sexual-harassment-complaints/

CSU chancellor resigns amid firestorm over handling of sexual harassment complaints
'The handling of the incident reflects a systemic problem in society at large … where people with real institutional power protect one another'

California State University Chancellor Joseph Castro resigned Thursday amid blowback from allegations he mishandled sexual harassment complaints against a former administrator and allowed him to quietly retire just before Castro ascended to the top position in the CSU system.

Castro’s announcement came on the day the CSU Board of Trustees met to discuss whether to commission an independent investigation into the allegations against Castro stemming from his tenure as president of Cal State Fresno.

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Castro came under fire earlier this month amid allegations he failed to properly handle sexual harassment complaints against Lamas when Castro was serving as president of the university. Instead of thoroughly investigating multiple complaints of sexual misconduct and other questionable behavior involving Lamas, Castro allowed him to quietly retire.

Under a settlement agreement Lamas signed on Aug. 31, 2020, he was paid $260,000 and provided a glowing letter of recommendation from Castro. Additionally, the settlement called for Lamas to continue working on special assignment for Castro, remotely, until his official retirement date of Dec 31, 2020. Lamas was allowed to return to the campus only if Castro authorized it.

Shortly after the settlement was signed, the Board of Trustees appointed Castro to the position of chancellor of the entire CSU system.

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/02/17/csu-faculty-calls-for-chancellor-to-resign-over-handling-of-sexual-harassment-complaints/

February 19, 2022

"the big sort" Americans are fleeing to places where political views match their own

There's a private Facebook group with nearly 8,000 members called Conservatives Moving to Texas. Three of them are sitting at a dinner table — munching on barbecue weenies and brownies — in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. None are vaxxed.

And they love it here.

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"People weren't wearing masks — nobody cared. It's kind of like heaven on earth."

She says when the state of California forced her to close her photography studio over COVID-19 restrictions, she and her husband, a retired newspaper editor, knew it was time to "escape."

America is growing more geographically polarized — red ZIP codes are getting redder and blue ZIP codes are becoming bluer. People appear to be sorting.-

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"We felt very out of place and very uncomfortable at times," says Tiffany Wooten, a 43-year-old stay-at-home mom whose family recently relocated from conservative Indiana to liberal Austin. "We were looking at blue cities because we wanted to be with our own people."

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/18/1081295373/the-big-sort-americans-move-to-areas-political-alignment

In the modern era, Texas has fashioned itself into a sort-of breakaway red-meat republic — banning books and restricting abortion, blocking mask mandates, and building its own border fence. It retains this national image in spite of the fact that its five largest counties went for President Biden.

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Of the nation's total 3,143 counties, the number of super landslide counties — where a presidential candidate won at least 80% of the vote — has jumped from 6% in 2004 to 22% in 2020.

February 19, 2022

high level GA employee faked two pregnancies/births for paid time off. wore fake baby bump

A colleague noticed a woman's baby bump was askew. Officials say she faked a pregnancy to get paid time off.

It was March 2021, two months before Robin Folsom's due date, when the government employee's co-worker noticed something was off about her baby bump. The lower part of Folsom's stomach appeared to be detached from her body.

"[The co-worker] believed Folsom wore a fake pregnant stomach," the Georgia Office of the Inspector General said in a news release this week.

The co-worker's observation is one of several findings from the inspector general's investigation that support allegations that Folsom, 43, faked multiple pregnancies. On Feb. 10, a Fulton County grand jury indicted Folsom on three felony counts of making false statements and one felony count of identity fraud.

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Folsom reported her pregnancy to human resources in October 2020, according to the inspector general's office. She announced she gave birth on May 1, 2021, the indictment says.

On May 6, leaders at the agency received an email from a man named Bran Otmembebwe, who said he was the father of Folsom's newborn baby, according to the indictment. He claimed that Folsom's doctor "mandated several weeks of rest following the delivery," the inspector general's office said. Her employer gave her seven weeks of paid leave "that it otherwise would not have approved."

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/A-colleague-noticed-a-woman-s-baby-bump-was-16929133.php


ATLANTA — A former high level state official is out of work and facing indictment -- accused of faking two pregnancies in order to collect thousands of dollars in leave pay she shouldn’t have received.

Channel 2 investigative reporter Richard Belcher found out Robin Folsom’s story began to unravel when a colleague spotted something baffling.

Folsom had an annual salary of about $100,000 as Director of External Affairs at Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency (GVRA).

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Folsom’s story began to unfold -- quickly. Investigators from the OIG questioned Folsom last October. She stuck to her story.

According to the indictment obtained by the AG’s Office, her story included the creation of a fake person named “Bran Otmembebwe” as the fake father of her fake children.

“We ultimately didn’t find any evidence that he existed. That’s why she’s also been charged with identity fraud,” McAfee said.

Investigators also found no evidence that Folsom had delivered children at Piedmont Hospital, as she claimed, and McAfee says other key records failed to support her claims of giving birth in July of 2020 and again in May of 2021.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/local/fulton-county/georgia-state-official-accused-faking-2-pregnancies/P2LB25N7GVAQTPCJJMKBB7YWYY/

A Georgia State official pretended to be pregnant to take paid maternity leave and even faked a baby bump and sent photos of her 'newborn' to her colleagues, authorities have said.

Robin Folsom, 43, was exposed after staff at the Vocational Rehabilitation Agency saw her fake pregnancy stomach 'come away' from her body and noticed her baby photos featured children with 'varying skin tones', investigators say.


https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10524033/Georgia-State-official-faked-pregnancy-wore-phoney-bump-paid-maternity-leave.html