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Postal worker confesses to stealing over 6,000 pieces of mail containing cash, checks and gift cards


RT
Mon, 17 Sep 2018 14:02 UTC
US mail
© John Gress / Reuters
A mother-of-four who worked for the US postal service has admitted stealing more than 6,000 gift and greeting cards containing cash and checks in Wisconsin. She said she needed money to pay bills and take care of her children.

The residents of Wauwatosa in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin started complaining about not receiving their graduation, wedding, birthday and sympathy cards as early as last summer. The US Postal Inspection Service soon found out that the affected ZIP codes were assigned to one mail carrier, Ebony Lavonne Smith, 20. However, they failed to catch the thief for around six months.

In January, the inspectors finally decided to go to great lengths to track down the thief and prepared a special letter containing a test greeting card and a $20 bill for delivery in the Wauwatosa area. The envelope was fitted with a transmitter, which would send a signal if the letter was opened.

Comment: Lots of young mothers struggle to make ends meet. They don't steal other people's stuff in order to do so.

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Pocket Knife

Knife-wielding man shot after injuring police officer in Brussels


RT
Mon, 17 Sep 2018 08:41 UTC
knife attack brussels
© Francois Walschaerts / Reuters
Police officers stand at the entrance of the Park Maximilien in Brussels, Belgium, September 17, 2018.
A knife-wielding man has attacked and wounded an officer in Brussels, police said, adding that they had shot and injured the assailant.

The attack took place in Maximilian Park in the northern neighborhood of the capital on Monday morning, police spokeswoman Ilse Van De Keere said.

The police officer who was attacked received minor injuries, she added.

The suspect was shot by another police officer, and is "in a serious condition."

Comment: See also:

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Dollar

The questionable motives behind Bezos' new $2 billion charity

Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge
Sun, 16 Sep 2018 22:50 UTC
Jeff Bezos
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is the world's wealthiest man. He was also - until very recently - widely considered the least generous billionaire. To wit, the Bezos Family Fund - the only major philanthropic endeavor bearing his name - was established with money earned by his parents, who were early private investors in Amazon.

But for whatever reason (maybe it was the intensifying political pressure from Bernie Sanders' "Stop BEZOS" act, or positive PR ahead of Amazon's much-hyped HQ2 announcement, or even the fact that Amazon Web Services is jockying for an immensely valuable DoD contract), Bezos decided that he wanted to improve his public image.


Comment: Of course. For him it wouldn't be about actually helping anyone unless there is something in it for him.


So earlier this week, he took his first tentative step toward establishing a reputation for philanthropy by unveiling the "Bezos Day One Fund." The fund, according to an announcement tweeted by Bezos, will help finance organizations dedicated to helping the homeless (several months after Amazon killed a Seattle employment tax to fund resources for that city's burgeoning homeless community) and establishing a network of preschools that will serve children from low-income families.

Comment: See also: What about your workers? Amazon's Bezos gets flack for $2bn fund to help homeless & children

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Sherlock

No bad reviews? Amazon employees might have deleted them for bribes


RT
Mon, 17 Sep 2018 07:25 UTC
amazon
Some Amazon employees have reportedly been bribed by sellers to remove bad reviews of products sold through the online retail giant. The average bribe is around $300 per review, with most of the demand coming from China.

The retail giant has launched an internal investigation into the shady practice, with a probe ongoing since May, when Eric Broussard, Amazon's vice president, was reportedly notified of the problem, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

The transactions were facilitated by middlemen who used the messaging service WeChat in China.

Citing people familiar with the scheme, the WSJ reported that it costs around $300 to delete one review. However, brokers prefer to trade wholesale, with the minimum number of reviews for removal standing at five.

Depending on the type of data and its volume, the brokers also charge between $80 and $2,000 for coveted data.

Up for grabs are internal sales statistics, including keywords, as well as an option to delete reviews or buy customers' email addresses.

Comment: How corrupt is Amazon, let us count the ways... Amazon has been becoming more brazen in their censorship in the last year or two. They also banned Alex Krainer's expose on the lies of Bill Browder and the Magnitsky Act. If you want to know the truth, just pay attention to what the ruling class bans. There you will find what they're afraid to have revealed. See: Grand Deception: The Truth About Bill Browder, the Magnitsky Act, and Anti-Russian Sanctions

See also:

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Clock

Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge breaks marathon world record by 78 seconds


Sputnik
Mon, 17 Sep 2018 07:10 UTC
Eliud Kipchoge
© REUTERS/ Fabrizio Bensch
On Sunday, Kenyan Olympic champion Eliud Kipchoge set a marathon world record at the Berlin Marathon by finishing the race in two hours, one minute and 39 seconds, chopping an astonishing 78 seconds off the standing record.

The 33-year-old athlete beat the previous world record set in Berlin by Kenyan runner Dennis Kimetto, who won the Berlin race in 2014.

"I lack words to describe this day," Kipchoge said following his victory.

"They say you miss two times, but you can't miss the third time," he said, referring to his two previous attempts to break the world record in Germany.

Amos Kipruto of Germany came second at two hours, six minutes and 23 seconds, followed by former world-record holder Wilson Kipsang of Kenya, who was just 25 seconds behind.
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Ambulance

Mass brawl leads to stabbings in Luton, UK - several seriously injured


Sputnik
Sun, 16 Sep 2018 01:21 UTC
ambulance
© Associated Press / Kirsty Wigglesworth
Several people have been taken to hospital with serious stab wounds after a mass brawl in a residential street in the southeastern UK town of Luton, Reuters reported Sunday.

According to media reports, local police and emergency services had responded to the scene after receiving reports of an incident. "Some people have been taken to hospital after reports of stab wounds," local police official was quoted as saying by Reuters.
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Sun

X-Files DVD & empty houses: VIDEOs from 'Ghost town' New Mexico Solar Observatory


RT
Sun, 16 Sep 2018 23:33 UTC
Sun spots
© Reuters
While authorities and operators of a New Mexico Solar Observatory remain tight-lipped why the facility was shut down abruptly 11 days ago, enthusiasts have crossed police lines to film the area that turned into a Ghost town.

The Sunspot Solar Observatory at Sacramento, New Mexico which promises to "unlock the mysteries of the Sun and its effects on Earth" has turned into a sort of terrestrial mystery after it was abruptly closed and evacuated at the request of FBI with a Blackhawk helicopter swooping over the area. And while speculations of what led to the events of September 6 were swirling, little was officially revealed to the public.

The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), which operates the facility, has released a statement that investigation of criminal activity that occurred at Sacramento Peak is underway and that a suspect "posed a threat to the safety of local staff and residents" who were removed from the mountain.

The abandoned facility attracted several enthusiasts who - 'armed' with cameras and drones - ignored the police tape and 'Do not enter' signs.
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Sherlock

WikiLeaks associate's mysterious disappearance takes a new turn

Jon Henley
The Guardian
Fri, 14 Sep 2018 01:03 UTC
wikileaks
© Associated Press/Yves Logghe
Arjen Kamphuis' effects found in the sea but his phones were turned on 1,000 miles away

Arjen Kamphuis, a leading Dutch cybersecurity expert, who went missing in the Arctic circle in August. Photograph: Dennis van Zuijlekom

On 20 August, Arjen Kamphuis, a leading Dutch cybersecurity expert, checked out of his hotel in Bodø, northern Norway. He had told friends that he planned to take the train to Trondheim, 10 hours away.

He never boarded the train. Nor, two days later at the supposed end of his holiday, did he catch his return flight to Amsterdam. An intensive search by Norwegian police, and two Dutch investigators dispatched to help them has failed to locate him.
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Fire

As outrage builds, focus turns to finding cause of fires that struck up to 80 Boston area buildings

Michael Levenson, Milton Valencia and Adam Vaccar
The Boston Globe
Sat, 15 Sep 2018 00:17 UTC
gas explosion Boston
© Associted Press
The fires destroyed at least 50 homes in the Boston area, according to local media reported.
With frustration mounting across the Merrimack Valley, Governor Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency Friday and called in another utility to handle the response to the series of gas explosions and fires that killed one and displaced thousands a day earlier.

Baker, facing growing outrage from the residents of Lawrence, Andover, and North Andover, criticized how Columbia Gas, the utility that provided gas to the dozens of destroyed homes, had responded to the disaster and placed Eversource in charge.

"We believe that will make a big difference with respect to the relationship between what gets told to us and to what actually happens on the ground, and the representations that are made to people in these three communities, so we can do everything we can to ensure their homes and communities are safe," Baker said at a press conference.
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Take 2

Wiltshire police cordon off Salisbury restaurant & street after 2 people fall ill


RT
Sun, 16 Sep 2018 19:44 UTC
Police
© Henry Nicholls / Reuters
A police officer guards a cordoned off area of Queen Elizabeth Gardens, Salisbury.
Salisbury police have placed a Prezzo restaurant on lockdown and cordoned off the surrounding roads after two people fell ill there.

Police were called to the area on Sunday evening following the incident involving a man and a woman at the Italian cuisine chain, Wiltshire Police wrote on Twitter.
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