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Baltimore police commissioner fired as city struggles with record murder rate


RT
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:42 UTC
Baltimore police
© Reuters
Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis has been fired after the city's mayor grew "impatient" with his inability to stop the record pace of killings in the city. A replacement has already been named.

Mayor Catherine Pugh named Deputy Commissioner Darryl D. De Sousa, 53, to replace Davis, with his appointment effective immediately. Pugh said she would ask the City Council to make the posting permanent, the Baltimore Sun reported.

De Sousa told reporters Friday morning that he "has a lot of respect" for Davis, but also said residents are "frustrated and they want answers and they want change," according to the Sun.

The new commissioner promised to deploy "waves" of officers to stamp out the violence in well-known "hot spots" and key corridors throughout the city.

Comment: See also: Baltimore murder rates soar after police pullback from Black Lives Matter demands

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Handcuffs

Man accused of cutting woman with a razor blade during 'satanic ritual'

Joe Napsha
Trib Live
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 16:22 UTC
Kyle A. Parker

Kyle A. Parker
A North Huntingdon man is accused of performing what he called a "Satanic ritual" on a female friend by using a razor blade to cut her right palm and then repeatedly cutting her leg, police said.

Kyle A. Parker, 21, of Brownstown Road, Larimer, allegedly cut the woman during a heated argument at his residence at 5 p.m. Jan. 10, police said in an affidavit.

The victim passed out after her palm was cut and awoke to find she had repeated razor cuts around the calf of one leg, police said. She was taken from Parker's residence by a female friend, police said.

The victim told police that when she attempted to pick up her vehicle from Parker's home the following day, he allegedly told her, "I sold your soul to the devil."

Police did not say if the victim needed medical treatment for the razor cuts.

Parker was charged with simple assault and harassment before North Huntingdon District Judge Wayne Gongaware and placed in the Westmoreland County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bond.
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No Entry

Palestinian-American blogger rejects cosmetic company's award promoted by IDF-supporting Gal Gadot


teleSUR
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 00:00 UTC
Amani Khatahtbeh

Amani Khatahtbeh
Amani Khatahtbeh said she couldn't accept an award connected to a woman that supports oppression of Palestinian women and people.

Palestinian-American blogger Amani Khatahtbeh made headlines this week after she refused to accept an award from the cosmetic brand Revlon over having its branding ambassador be actress Gal Gadot, a former Israeli soldier who had publicly supported the 2014 Israeli deadly war against the Palestinian Gaza strip in 2014.

Khatahtbeh is the creator of the website Muslim Girl which highlights women voices from within the Muslim communities that would otherwise go unnoticed or be ignored by mainstream media.

Revlon recently kicked off a new campaign called "Live Boldly" and chose Wonder Woman's star Gadot as its ambassador to assert the women empowerment narrative. Earlier this week the beauty brand decided to give its Changemaker award to Khatahtbeh for her advocacy efforts for Muslim women.
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Health

Can of worms: Girl hospitalized after taking a mouthful of Coca-Cola complete with invertebrate


RT
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 11:15 UTC
Coca-Cola
© Caro / Thomas Ruffer / www.globallookpress.com
Imagine taking a big swig from a can of Coca-Cola only to find you had swallowed a worm. That's exactly what happened to a 12-year-old Italian girl who had to be taken to hospital after the revolting incident.

The youngster from the town of Andria in southern Italy noticed the worm in her mouth as she took a gulp from the coke can, Italian news agency Ansa reports.

She was taken to hospital where doctors monitored her condition and carried out a number of tests. Thankfully the investigations found no sign of any harm.

"According to a first macroscopic examination of the worm there are no elements that cause concern but we will send the sample to the zooprophylactic institute of Foggia for in-depth analysis by experts," hospital spokesman Stefano Porziotta said.

Comment: See also: Yuk! Bizarre creatures found inside coconut water carton

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Megaphone

Police revelation could dismantle 'lone wolf' narrative in Las Vegas massacre

Carlos Garcia
The Blaze
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 23:25 UTC
vegas shooting casino
© Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images
Law enforcement officials admitted in court that they are looking into new charges against persons other than the shooter Stephen Paddock in the horrific Las Vegas massacre that took the lives of 58 people and left hundreds injured.

Here's what they said

The admission came during a courtroom hearing as a lawyer for various media outlets argued that law enforcement authorities should unseal search warrant documents to help the Las Vegas community heal from the attack.

Nick Crosby, the lawyer representing the Las Vegas Metro Police, said that the information could not be released because additional suspects were still being investigated.

"Without naming names," asked the judge, "there are potential charges against other people, because of the ongoing investigation?"

"Yes, there are charges being investigated," Crosby replied.


Comment: Authorities finally admit there are multiple suspects in Vegas massacre


Comment: Three months on, Las Vegas police still won't release basic information about Route 91 Festival massacre

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Hardhat

Rand Paul's 58 yr old neighbour charged with assaulting him - attack caused fractured ribs

Lucas Aulbach
Courier Journal
Fri, 19 Jan 2018 14:28 UTC
Rand Paul
© REUTERS/ Joshua Roberts
Senator Rand Paul
Rene Boucher, the 58-year-old Bowling Green man accused of attacking U.S. Sen. Rand Paul at his home in November, has been charged with assaulting a member of congress resulting in personal injury.

The charges - a federal felony - were announced Friday by Josh J. Minkler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.

"Assaulting a member of Congress is an offense we take very seriously," Minkler said. "Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable."

Boucher has signed a plea agreement, according to Minkler's statement. No date has been set for the taking of his guilty plea.

Comment: Previously:

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Heart

Russians participate in Epiphany Bathing despite temps as low as -76 Fahrenheit


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 13:48 UTC
Russia Siberia epiphany bathing
© Sputnik/ Evgenya Novozhenina
More than 1.5 million Orthodox Christians across Russia, including those from the freezing Sakha Republic, participated in this year's mass bathing ritual held on January 18-19. No matter how low temperatures have dropped, tradition is followed by any means.

Severe frosts in Russia's Sakha Republic (Yakutia) can't scare locals - they continue their lives as normal and even plunge into icy waters as part of the Orthodox Epiphany ritual to mark the baptism of Jesus Christ in the waters of the Jordan River.

Epiphany bathing was held for the first time in Verkhoyansk, a town in Yakutia, which is considered to be the Pole of Cold of the northern hemisphere. As the temperatures plunge to a bitterly cold -63 degrees Celsius, local hieromonk Hermogen performed the ritual of water consecration, and dozens of bold-spirited believers dipped themselves in the ice-hole.
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Robot

Julian Assange warns of 'political propaganda' as Amazon's Alexa becomes feminist


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 14:09 UTC
Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa
© REUTERS/ Steve Marcus/File Photo
Amazon's virtual assistant Alexa has just received an enhanced personality: now, not only can she give you the correct answers, but can even offer a response in case of insults and personal attacks. Creators also expect that she could potentially express her own opinions on certain political issues, a move that has prompted criticism.

Anyone who calls Alexa a "slut" now gets a negative response, German newspaper Die Zeit reported.

Amazon has adapted the machine's character and how it responds in various situations. Now Alexa, who identifies herself as a woman and a feminist, will react to sexually charged insults with answers like "This is not for me," "This is not nice of you" or "I don't know what you expect."

In addition, Alexa supports the Black Lives Matter movement and might potentially express her opinion on other important political issues in the future.

Comment: And, of course, there is Google Assistant with a Google Home speaker as well. More 1984 horror coming true with "big brother" in everyone's room listening in.

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Easter Egg

'Alt-right' has declared war against Silicon Valley, pledges to reveal censorship against conservatives

Jessica Guynn
USA Today
Thu, 18 Jan 2018 06:00 UTC
Twitter buliding
Far-right conservatives are escalating their campaign against Silicon Valley with a new series of volleys against the social media gatekeepers that control the flow of information in the digital age.

Last week, former Google engineer James Damore, who was embraced by conservatives after he was fired last year for distributing a memo that questioned whether women were biologically suited to technical roles, filed a lawsuit claiming the Internet giant discriminates against white men and conservatives. That same day, right-wing journalist-turned-entrepreneur Charles C. "Chuck" Johnson sued Twitter, alleging the company violated his right to free speech when it permanently suspended his account in 2015.

Then Project Veritas, a conservative advocacy organization that purports to expose media bias, released undercover videos of current and former Twitter employees condemning President Trump and discussing tactics the company uses to make it tougher to find the tweets of controversial users.

Johnson, whose lawsuit against Twitter is being underwritten by bitcoin investments and a crowdfunding campaign, says he and others are committed to putting the spotlight on the alleged censoring of conservative views by Silicon Valley companies. Twitter declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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Books

Hundreds of journals found in home of 13 captive children have great value for criminal investigators and trauma researchers

Brett Kelman
The Desert Sun
Sat, 20 Jan 2018 03:32 UTC
David Turpin home
© Zoe Meyers/The Desert Sun
David and Louise Turpin were arrested on Sunday after Riverside County sheriff deputies found siblings malnourished in their Perris, Calif. home, Tuesday, January 16, 2018.
The children weren't allowed to eat. They weren't allowed to bathe. They couldn't play with toys that were kept in the closet, still packaged. They couldn't go outside. They couldn't escape.

Their depraved parents, prosecutors say, only allowed them to do one thing - they could write.

On Sunday, Riverside County law enforcement discovered 13 siblings - ages 2 to 29 - imprisoned in an unassuming Perris home after a teenage captive escaped through a window and called for help, revealing a crime that has horrified and captivated the nation.


The children's parents, David and Louise Turpin, now face life in prison for multiple counts of torture, child abuse, false imprisonment and other charges. While describing the case on Thursday, prosecutors revealed the Turpin children's only freedom was writing in journals, hundreds of which have been recovered by authorities.

Comment: See also:

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