Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

Bodycam footage released by LAPD shows officers shooting and killing a hostage as they attempt to neutralize her captor

lapd bodycam
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has released a video that shows officers killing a hostage as they attempt to neutralize her knife-wielding captor.

Footage from body cameras worn by LAPD officers involved in the incident shows them approaching Guillermo Perez, 32, a known gang member who had just been released from prison for a domestic abuse sentence. Police were responding to a call that he had just stabbed his ex-girlfriend in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The date is June 16.

The officers repeatedly demand Perez drop his knife, and fire non-lethal beanbag rounds at the gangbanger, who shields his body with a steel chair.

Perez then corners Elizabeth Tollison, a 49-year-old homeless woman standing by on the sidewalk, and holds his knife to her throat. Officers open fire on Perez, discharging 18 shots and killing Tollison by accident.

Boat

Interview on Israeli's brutal seizure of Gaza-bound boat: 'No wish that their criminal acts be seen'

Zohar Regev, Jonathan Ofir
© UnknownCrew member Zohar Regev interviewed by Jonathan Ofir two months ago.
Three days ago, the Freedom Flotilla boat Al Awda, a Norwegian boat, was stopped by the Israeli navy in international waters some 46 miles off the coast of Gaza, three months after it had set sail from Norway.

The crew was arrested, and the boat was diverted towards the Israeli Ashdod port. Of the 20 crew members, the two Israeli citizens (Zohar Chamberlain Regev and Yonatan Shapira) were released shortly after on bail, but the 18 other members have already spent two nights in prison detention. The two international journalists were released.

Comment: See also:


Megaphone

Father of 18yo snowboarder who committed suicide laments pressure high-level athletes face and lack of mental health support

snowboarder
© Andy Clark / Reuters
The father of British snowboarder Ellie Soutter, who committed suicide on her 18th birthday, has said the pressure of competing in high-level sport could have been a factor in her tragic death.

Soutter was found dead in woodland near her home in Les Gets in the French Alps on July 25, having taken her own life.

She had moved to the area from Surrey to live with her father in 2010, and went on to compete for Team GB as a junior.

The young snowboarder claimed bronze at the European Youth Olympic Winter Festival in Turkey last year - Britain's only medal at the event - and had been chose to represent Team GB at the Junior World Championships in New Zealand in August. She was also seen as a bright prospect for the 2022 Olympics in Beijing.

Ambulance

Video shows terrifying last seconds of Mexico plane crash

durango airport plane crash
A passenger has shared the recording of what appear to be the last seconds of Aeromexico Flight 2431 and the panic that followed the crash. The man, a Christian pastor, also appeared to accuse authorities of a cover-up.

The video shows the Embraer 190 jet with 103 on board trying to take off in a rainstorm at Durango airport, failing to achieve altitude, and crashing back down, several hundred yards beyond the runway, all in a matter of seconds.

During the two-minute clip, a scream can be heard in the background, even before the plane has finished its takeoff, and after the camera juts following the crash, there are loud calls to God, and more urgent instructions of "Open the Door!"

Shoe

Missing college student one of dozens to disappear this month in Iowa

Mollie Tibbetts
© FacebookMissing student Mollie Tibbetts
A 20-year-old college student missing in Iowa is one of 48 young people who have vanished in the state this month, according to reports.

The seemingly alarming number of missing persons cases has sparked widespread panic on social media and a flood of conspiracy theories as the search intensifies for Mollie Tibbetts, who was last seen July 19.

"40 people have gone missing in Iowa in 10 days. 40. People. How is this possible ?!!!!!!!!!!!?!" posted one person on Facebook, adding: "keep tabs on your friends and family, be aware of everything and everyone around you."

Added Heather Loshaw in a local Facebook group: "WTH is going on here?? Be careful out there please."

"Don't think it can't happen to you," warned Shannon Kelly on Twitter, in a post that was shared thousands of times. "It's happening across rural and urban Iowa."

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has received many calls about the missing persons statistics since Tibbetts' disappearance, the Argus Leader reported.

Comment: More from Inside Edition:
Investigators are hoping electronic data from a physical activity device will help them find 20-year-old college student Mollie Tibbetts, who vanished last week in Iowa while jogging at night.

The avid runner always wore a Fitbit, which tracks steps and distance traveled, as well as other information. Tibbetts was seen by neighbors near her boyfriend's home on July 18. Her brother had dropped her off in the small town of Brooklyn, where she was dog-sitting for her boyfriend, Dalton Jack, who was out of town on a construction job. Police have said he is not a suspect.

Federal investigators are helping local law enforcement agencies comb through massive amounts of electronic data obtained from Tibbetts' Fitbit, cellphone and social media accounts.

"We are getting a lot of information back from that process. We are very hopeful with the electronic data we are getting back," said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, according to the Des Moines Register. "We are relying on the FBI heavily because it's an ever-changing world in technology."

But as the days pass, Mortvedt said, "it's more and more suspicious to us."

Jack told the Register Tibbetts sent him a Snapchat message on the night she disappeared, which he opened about 10 p.m., he said. The image she posted looked like it had been taken indoors, he said.

Investigators say the missing woman is a creature of habit and they are searching the routes she used for her runs and interviewing residents who lived in those areas.



Laptop

Spotify removes podcasts of 'The Alex Jones Show' citing 'hate content'

Alex Jones Spotify ban
© AP
The music streaming service Spotify says it has removed some episodes of "The Alex Jones Show" podcast for violating its hate content policy. The move followed a backlash on social media.

"We take reports of hate content seriously and review any podcast episode or song that is flagged by our community," the company said in a statement late Wednesday.

"Spotify can confirm it has removed specific episodes of 'The Alex Jones Show' podcast for violating our hate content policy," it said.

Most "Infowars" Spotify content from Jones, an Austin, Texas-based radio host and conspiracy theorist, appears to still be available.

Comment: Facebook has also banned Jones for 30 days stating his posts are 'bullying, hate speech'.


Handcuffs

GE engineer charged with stealing trade secrets he encrypted into a photograph

Xiaoqing Zheng
© The Daily GazetteXiaoqing Zheng
Xiaoqing Zheng, 55, a US citizen with interests in several Chinese businesses - some state-funded - has been charged with stealing troves of General Electric data using sophisticated encryption. He faces up to 10 years in jail.

FBI agents handling the engineer's case say it is the first time they have seen a suspect using this method of encryption, "uncommon even among trained computer professionals," to cover his tracks.

The complaint alleges the man employed "elaborate and sophisticated means" to obtain General Electric files relating to turbine technologies, and that Zheng used "steganography to hide data files belonging to GE into an innocuous looking digital picture of a sunset" before sending this image, containing 40 coded files, to his Hotmail address. The image was allegedly accompanied with a rather obvious reminder to himself - "nice view to keep" - as the subject line.

Red Flag

National Geographic admits viral photo of polar bear dying from "climate change" was fake news

climate change fake news
One year later, National Geographic has finally admitted to facilitating "fake news" regarding climate change. The magazine's most viral video ever, which featured heart-wrenching images of a starving polar bear, perpetuated the narrative that the animal's imminent death was caused by climate change. However, the climate change aspect of the story is void of any real evidence.

"We had lost control of the narrative," admitted Cristina Mittermeier, the photographer of the polar bear. Mittermeier explained the climate change deception in a piece titled "Starving-Polar-Bear Photographer Recalls What Went Wrong" for the magazine's August issue.

Mittermeier conceded that the images of the bony, emaciated polar bear were meant to sound an alarm about climate change, though she complains that people took the image "literally."

Pistol

Man arrested after leaving firearm, ammunition in car parked near US Capitol

US Capitol dome
© The Hill
Police arrested a man on Thursday who had a weapon and ammunition in his vehicle, which had been left parked near the Capitol.

A Capitol Police spokesperson said in a release that officers made the discovery during "routine parking enforcement" along the 300 block of New Jersey Avenue. Authorities did not find any evidence showing a link to terrorism.

Shortly after 9 a.m., officers received consent to search the car and discovered a weapon, ammunition and other items, Capitol Police said. The owner was arrested and charges are pending.


UFO

'Coast to Coast AM' radio host Art Bell dies at 72 (Update)

Art Bell
© Las Vegas Review Journal
Art Bell seen at his home in Pahrump in 1996.
He was awake when most of the country was asleep, cultivating a loyal following while sharing his fascination with the unexplained on his nighttime paranormal-themed show.

For the better part of two decades, longtime late-night radio personality Art Bell was his own producer, engineer and host of his show, "Coast to Coast AM." He later launched his own satellite radio program from his Pahrump home after retiring from full-time hosting duties in 2003.

On the airwaves, Bell captivated listeners with his fascination for the unexplained, such as UFOs, alien abductions and crop circles. He died Friday at his home at the age of 72.

Comment: Coast to Coast AM was an institution and Art Bell will surely be missed.

Here's a rather famous clip from Coast to Coast AM from 1997:


Update: August 1, 2018


The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that Art Bell died of an accidental drug overdose:
The coroner's office determined he had four prescription medications in his system: the opioid oxycodone, the analgesic hydrocodone, diazepam, often marketed as Valium, and carisoprodol, a muscle-relaxant. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypertension contributed to his death, the coroner's office said.