May 3, 2020

brazen attack on elderly woman for her pizza.

everyday mugging or the new normal as hunger spreads?

https://nypost.com/2020/04/29/video-shows-thief-attack-77-year-old-with-a-pipe-steal-her-pizza/

Thief attacks 77-year-old woman with a pipe, steals her pizza: video

As the woman attempted to open the door, the man blocked her path, menaced her with the weapon and then clocked her with it, the clip shows.

He then grabbed one of the pizza boxes and ran off.



Tuscon Police describe the suspect as a Hispanic male, 5-foot-6 or shorter, with a “wrinkly face.”

Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed the robbery — or a man fleeing the area with a pizza box — to call 911, or 88-CRIME to remain anonymous.

May 3, 2020

Women dressed as nurses are stealing packages off porches, Washington state police say

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/03/us/porch-pirates-dressed-as-nurses-trnd/index.html



Women dressed as health care workers are taking packages from outside residents homes in Washington state, according to the Kennewick Police Department.

Two women described by police as suspects in a porch piracy case are seen in surveillance videos wearing scrubs and what appears to be a lanyard with an identification badge. One wears gloves as she takes a package off the front porch of a home.

Kennewick Police Department said that don't believe these women are real nurses.
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One package stolen Wednesday was taken from the home of an actual nurse and a law enforcement officer.
"We have a home security system so I pulled up the videos," Michelle Santiago, who was out working at the time of delivery, told CNN.

"I could see the FedEx driver drop the package off around 3 o'clock that afternoon in one video and in (a following) video this woman walks up and takes it less than 5 minutes later," said Santiago.

Inside the package was a customized organizer for her husband's police equipment. Santiago shared the video with her neighborhood group and found other instances of this happening.

"Even if we had been home I don't know if I would've gotten out there fast enoug

May 3, 2020

Texas Park Ranger shoved into lake for telling people to social distance. man arrested

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-texas-park-ranger-shove-social-distancing-coronavirus-20200502-gjyksk7xorg2vg2xe67qjz4tqq-story.html

https://twitter.com/jgownder/status/1256738753948930053

A Texas man pushed a park ranger into a lake while the ranger was reminding people to practice social distancing Thursday. The incident was captured on video.

“Disperse yourselves, so you’re engaging with that six feet of distance with each other,” the ranger, later identified as Cassidy Stillwell, can be heard saying before being shoved into Lake Austin.

Brandon Hicks, 25, was arrested for the shove, NBC News reported. He’s been charged with attempted assault on a public servant. Apparently his escape attempt briefly seen at the end of the video did not end triumphantly.

The cops were rather perturbed.

“Brandon’s intentional and reckless action could have caused the Ranger to strike his head on the dock as he was falling, and render himself unconscious in at least 3 feet of water where he could have drowned to death,” police wrote in an arrest affidavit obtained by local NBC affiliate KXAN.

May 2, 2020

CA official suggests letting C19 run its course to "reduce burdens" on social security

https://www.nydailynews.com/coronavirus/ny-calif-official-who-said-coronavirus-could-fix-society-may-lose-job-20200501-crcpsikwejbnvpahwo5racbdgm-story.html

A California city official said COVID-19 should be allowed to run its course, killing elderly and homeless residents to “fix what is a significant burden on our society.”



Now his public position could be a pandemic-era casualty, and he’s calling that a violation of his rights.


Ken Turnage, a member of the city planning commission in Antioch, said in a now-deleted April 23 Facebook post that coronavirus lockdowns should be lifted to “let nature take its course.”

“We would have significant loss of life, we would lose many elderly, that would reduce burdens in our defunct Social Security System, health care cost — once the wave subsided — make jobs available for others and it would also free up housing in which we are in dire need of,” Turnage 47, wrote, according to the East Bay Times.

In another excerpt reported by SFGate.com, Turnage said the natural spread of COVID-19 would also cull the “herd” of other people he considered undesirable.

“Then we have our other sectors such as our homeless and other people who just defile themselves by either choice or mental issues,” he wrote. “This would run rampant through them and yes I am sorry but this would fix what is a significant burden on our Society and resources that can be used.”

May 2, 2020

Unemployment is ravaging America. Trump should be worried for November

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/01/trump-stock-market-economy-unemployment


Even amid a roaring pandemic, there are currently two Americas: “Unemployment America” and “Stock Market America”, dueling lenses to view the same country.

Unemployment America is bleak but in Stock Market America things are looking up. Taken together, this split reality portends a rough ride for the president’s re-election bid and even greater national discord. Donald Trump has every reason to worry.

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In a conversation with the Guardian, a connected Trump campaign adviser took pride in the market’s April advance, expressed displeasure with the word choices of Trump’s economic advisers, and remained mute with regard to recent job losses.

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In Trump’s world, it’s the “stock market, stupid”. No wonder Jared Kushner boasts that the administration coronavirus response “is a great success story”, and opines “that’s really what needs to be told.” Can you say, “Mission Accomplished 2.0”?

May 2, 2020

Unemployment claims from Asian Americans have spiked 6,900% in New York. Here's why

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/economy/unemployment-benefits-new-york-asian-americans/index.html

That's a 6,900% increase — by far the largest percentage increase experienced by any one racial or ethnic group.
In contrast, claims were up 1,840% for white workers, 1,260% for black workers, and 2,100% for Hispanic and Latino workers in New York.


What's the cause? Academics and members of the community point to several potential factors ranging from xenophobia to Asian Americans working in industries hard hit by the pandemic, including food and services. Many Asian workers also say they began social distancing earlier in the crisis than others — a factor that led some to close down businesses even before official lockdowns.

May 2, 2020

Roads closed into Gallup New Mexico to mitigate 'uninhibited spread of Covid-19'

https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/01/us/new-mexico-town-lockdown-coronavirus-trnd/index.html


All roads into the city have been closed, businesses must close between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. and vehicles can only carry two individuals, according to the governor's order. The governor is recommending that residents remain at home except for emergency outings and those essential for health and safety.

Lujan Grisham invoked the state's Riot Control Act to authorize these temporary restrictions. The move comes after the mayor requested the governor to declare a state of emergency in the city, according to a letter made public by the governor's office.
"I recognize this request is unusual and constitutes a drastic measure, and the emergency powers set out under the Riot Control Act should be invoked sparingly," Gallup Mayor Louis Bonaguidi wrote in his letter. "However, the COVID-19 outbreak in the city of Gallup is a crisis of the highest order. Immediate action is necessary."

Gallup is in McKinley County, which has 1,027 positive cases of Covid-19 as of Thursday. The county has more than 30% of the state's 3,411 cases and the most positive cases in the entire state, the governor's statement said.

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"The spread of this virus in McKinley County is frightful," Lujan Grisham said. "And it shows that physical distancing has not occurred and is not occurring. The virus is running amok there. It must be stopped, and stricter measures are necessary."

May 2, 2020

'Heads we win, tails you lose': how America's rich have turned pandemic into profit

'Heads we win, tails you lose': how America's rich have turned pandemic into profit
As 26 million Americans lose their jobs, the billionaire class has added $308bn to its wealth

According to a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies, a progressive thinktank, between 18 March and 22 April the wealth of America’s plutocrats grew 10.5%. After the last recession, it took over two years for total billionaire wealth to get back to the levels they enjoyed in 2007.

Eight of those billionaires have seen their net worth surge by over $1bn each, including the Amazon boss, Jeff Bezos, and his ex-wife MacKenzie Bezos; Eric Yuan, founder of Zoom; the former Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer; and Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX technocrat.

The billionaire bonanza comes as a flotilla of big businesses, millionaires and billionaires sail through loopholes in a $349bn bailout meant to save hard-hit small businesses. About 150 public companies managed to bag more than $600m in forgivable loans before the funds ran out. Among them was Shake Shack, a company with 6,000 employees valued at $2bn. It has since given the cash back but others have not.

Fisher Island, a members-only location off the coast of Miami where the average income of residents is $2.2m and the beaches are made from imported Bahamian sand, has received $2m in aid.

May 2, 2020

debit card spending up, credit card spending way down

https://www.ft.com/content/46b6d49a-661f-386f-b580-2a25db3ac0ae


The recovery has been driven by debit card spending, which is now up slightly from a year earlier. Spending on credit cards remains deeply depressed.

May 2, 2020

IRS mistakenly sends stimulus checks to foreign workers

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/01/irs-mistakenly-sends-stimulus-checks-to-foreign-workers-228974

IRS mistakenly sends stimulus checks to foreign workers
With no clear guidance on how to return it, foreign workers are holding onto the money or racing to spend it before the Internal Revenue Service realizes the mistake.

Thousands of foreign workers, many living overseas, are receiving stimulus checks designated for U.S. residents due to an unforeseen glitch that funneled taxpayer dollars to other countries, according to tax consultants and the recipients themselves.

College-age workers who spent time in the U.S. in the last two years — some of whom returned home long before the coronavirus pandemic — have been surprised to find $1,200 checks deposited into their bank accounts. And with no clear guidance on how to return it, they’re holding onto the money or racing to spend it before the Internal Revenue Service realizes the mistake.

The incorrect payments were likely distributed to thousands of foreigners in April, said Donna Kepley, president of the tax firm Arctic International who has spoken with dozens of clients over the past two weeks. The error stems from a common tax-filing blunder, particularly for those on F-1 student and J-1 exchange visas. These workers, studying at universities and working summer jobs, often turn to TurboTax and other e-filing systems without knowing that the systems are designed only for U.S. residents.

The incorrect payments were likely distributed to thousands of foreigners in April, said Donna Kepley, president of the tax firm Arctic International who has spoken with dozens of clients over the past two weeks. The error stems from a common tax-filing blunder, particularly for those on F-1 student and J-1 exchange visas. These workers, studying at universities and working summer jobs, often turn to TurboTax and other e-filing systems without knowing that the systems are designed only for U.S. residents.


As a result, many temporary foreign workers each year file the wrong tax forms. The IRS rarely catches the error because nonimmigrant workers’ Social Security numbers have the same number of digits as those of U.S. citizens, and therefore appear to be identical, accountants say.

Usually, the error doesn’t much matter, but this year it’s causing the IRS to think certain foreign workers are eligible for one-time stimulus payments. The glitch affects both workers in the U.S. and those who recently left the country.

The IRS and TurboTax did not respond to multiple requests for comment.