June 24, 2021

Surfside, Florida building collapse - important phone numbers for residents/family

SURFSIDE, Fla. – Several rescue teams are working at the scene where the Champlain Towers South building near 88th Street and Collins Avenue partially collapsed on Thursday morning.

A family reunification hotline has been set up at 305-614-1819, and people can also open a Missing Person Report Online.

If you live at the Champlain Towers at 8777 Collins Ave., you are encouraged to complete this Wellness Check Form as part of efforts to ensure all tenants of the building are located. A Family Assistance Center is open at the Surfside Recreational Center at 9301 Collins Ave. for people who are unable to locate relatives who live in the building.

For more information on those county resources, click here. If you need information about a loved one who lives in the Champlain Towers, another emergency hotline has also been created: 305-993-1071


People who have been rescued or are in the area are being kept away from the condo building to prevent injuries from falling debris and to prevent further collapse. The emergency number is specifically for people who are trying to find out about loved ones in the building.

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/06/24/surfside-building-collapse-hotline-set-up-for-emergency-info/

June 16, 2021

"He can handle it": Michael Cohen recalls the time Trump offered up Don Jr. for prison before Ivanka

(Salon) In a wide-ranging interview with The Lincoln Project, former lawyer to Donald Trump, Michael Cohen responded to the recent news that Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg could be indicted as early as this summer.

Among the many things Cohen revealed, he cited an occasion in which some legal things seemed to be getting complicated and it was possible that Donald Trump Jr. or Ivanka Trump could be held accountable for it. It was something that Cohen said he included in his 2020 book "Disloyal," but appeared to go largely unnoticed. Cohen recalled Trump saying that if it comes down to Don Jr. or Ivanka going to prison that it should be Don Jr. because "he can handle it." Cohen explained that he would shoot for keeping both children out of prison.

The comment came as Lincoln Project hosts Tara Setmayer and Rick Wilson were talking about a past appearance Cohen had on MSNBC in which he predicted that Trump would flip on Weisselberg as well as his children and even his wife if necessary.

Cohen went on to talk about the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the hosts asked him what he thought Trump was thinking or feeling as he watched the U.S. Capitol falling under siege by his supporters. Cohen predicted that Trump was elated and that for him, the attack was probably "better than sex."

(Read More)
https://www.salon.com/2021/06/16/he-can-handle-it-michael-cohen-recalls-the-time-trump-offered-up-don-jr-for-prison-before-ivanka_partner/

June 11, 2021

Publix murder-suicide: Grandmother tried to fight off man in seemingly random attack

(Local10News) ROYAL PALM BEACH, Fla. – Detectives believe the Publix murder-suicide was a random act by a mentally ill man, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

Timothy J. Wall, 55 of Loxahatchee, is the man authorities say killed a woman and her nearly 2-year-old grandson before taking his own life in the frightening supermarket shooting Thursday morning.

Deputies say Wall walked into the Publix at 1180 Royal Palm Beach Boulevard in Royal Palm Beach and shot the toddler dead. The boy’s grandmother ran over to try and stop the attack. Wall knocked her to the ground, shot her, and then turned the gun on himself, investigators say.

snip

Bradshaw said this should have been prevented but no one in Wall’s life spoke up about it.

“He’s on Facebook. He has said, ‘I want to kill people and children,’” Bradshaw said. “He’s got friends. Obviously they saw that. His ex-wife said he’s been acting strange. He thinks he’s being followed. He’s paranoid. You think a damn soul told us about that? No.”

Read More: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/06/11/timothy-wall-identified-as-publix-gunman-its-awful-shoppers-say/

May 25, 2021

Kansas Republican Accused Of Kicking Teen In Testicles Says It Was God's Plan

State Rep. Mark Samsel allegedly assaulted a 16-year-old student while substitute teaching at a public school in his hometown last month.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A high school student reported that a Kansas House member working as a substitute teacher manhandled him and kicked him in the testicles during class, and the lawmaker told authorities that God told him to do it, according to a sheriff’s deputy’s written statement.

The deputy’s affidavit, released to reporters Tuesday, said the boy showed him a golf ball-sized “road rash” and a 3-to-4 inch scratch on his back that he said appeared after Republican state Rep. Mark Samsel, of Wellsville, pushed him up against a classroom wall on April 28.

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The Wellsville school district has banned Samsel from its property and events for a year. There’s no indication that Samsel might face disciplinary action from the House, which can censure or expel a member, and its top Republican leaders have said the courts “must be allowed to work.”

The sheriff’s deputy said in the document that he asked the lawmaker why he had put his hands on the boy, and Samsel pointed to the ceiling. When the deputy asked Samsel whether God told him to do so, Samsel answered, “Twice.” “He stated he knew it was wrong and he shouldn’t do it, he stated he did not want to do it,” the affidavit said. “He stated, ‘The whole world is telling me not to do it, God said, Yes.’ Mark believes this was God’s plan.”

Read More:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mark-samsel-kansas-testicle-kicking-teacher_n_60ad460ae4b0a24c4f820954

May 20, 2021

An 11-year-old girl fought off a knife-wielding man who tried to kidnap her at FL school bus stop

(CNN) An 11-year-old girl waiting for her school bus in Pensacola, Florida, was able to fight off an alleged kidnapping attempt on Tuesday morning and get to safety, authorities said.

A 30-year-old suspect was arrested later that day after a search involving at least 50 deputies and other personnel, Escambia County Sheriff Chip Simmons told reporters. Surveillance video released by the sheriff's office shows the girl kneeling on the grass at the bus stop when a white Dodge Journey SUV stops on the side of the road. The video shows a man getting out of the car and running toward the girl. Simmons said the man was holding a knife.

The video shows the girl trying to run away before the man grabs her and starts carrying her toward the vehicle. There is a struggle and the girl breaks free from the suspect's grip when they both fall to the ground. The girl can be seen running away as the man hurries back to his car and drives off.

"I cannot help but think that this could have ended very differently. Had this 11-year-old victim not thought to fight and to fight and to just never give up, then this could have ended terrible," Simmons said.


https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/19/us/florida-kidnapping-attempt-video-trnd/index.html

April 13, 2021

Indicted Gaetz Associate Is Said to Be Cooperating With Justice Dept.

(NY Times) Joel Greenberg, a former elected official in Florida, has been talking to federal investigators since last year about the conduct of Representative Matt Gaetz and others. A former local official in Florida indicted in the Justice Department investigation that is also focused on Representative Matt Gaetz has been providing investigators with information since last year about an array of topics, including Mr. Gaetz’s activities, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Joel Greenberg, a onetime county tax collector, disclosed to investigators that he and Mr. Gaetz had encounters with women who were given cash or gifts in exchange for sex, the people said. The Justice Department is investigating the involvement of the men with multiple women who were recruited online for sex and received cash payments and whether the men had sex with a 17-year-old in violation of sex trafficking statutes, people familiar with the inquiry have said.

Mr. Greenberg, who is said to have met the women through websites that connect people who go on dates in exchange for gifts, fine dining, travel and allowances and introduced them to Mr. Gaetz, could provide investigators with firsthand accounts of their activities.

Mr. Greenberg began speaking with investigators once he realized that the government had overwhelming evidence against him and that his only path to leniency lay in cooperation, the people said. He has met several times with investigators to try to establish his trustworthiness, though the range of criminal charges against him — including fraud — could undermine his credibility as a witness.
Read More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/us/politics/joel-greenberg-matt-gaetz.html

April 13, 2021

Watch a glorious 'Earthrise' from the perspective of the moon

(MSN) What's an Earthrise? It's much like a sunrise, only instead of watching the sun stretch above the horizon, this time we're watching earth itself rise, from the perspective of the moon. It's mind-blowing to watch. And a good exercise in reminding yourself that Earth isn't at the centre of this universe, or any universe for that matter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/watch-a-glorious-earthrise-from-the-perspective-of-the-moon/ar-BB1fAQEo

March 26, 2021

Starting Monday April 5 anyone over the age of 18 can get vaccinated in Florida!

I can not tell you how relieved I feel. While my 92 year old dad was vaccinated first (and hubby and I just recently got our first doses) my kids are millennials and zoomers and way down at the bottom of the eligibility list. While they have been working remotely and taking classes online and living like hermits, not all of their peers have been as safe, so finally they can get their shots and their mama will sleep better at night. Only ten days to go.....

March 22, 2021

Got the Pfizer vaccine today at Fema location of Miami-Dade College North and things went smoothly.

Went mid-day and got in line at 1:30 where we were handed check in cards through car window after we showed ID's (no appointments necessary). We stayed in our cars while the line slowly moved toward the vaccination tents. After an hour we were waved into parking spaces in front of tents where we vacated our cars and walked into the tents - the first one was just to verify ID, the second tent was to register and get a sticker, in the third tent we separated then sent to wait in folding chairs (very brief wait), then the fourth tent was where we were vaccinated by military personnel (each at our own table) then sent to the fifth and last tent to be watched in case there was a reaction. All in all, it went very smoothly - sat in our cars for an hour, took 15 minutes to go through the tents and receive shot, another 15 minutes of wait time after the vaccine then we were good to go. From start to finish it took about an hour and a half. I was pleasantly surprised how well it went. So relieved. The Spring Breakers are down here in South Florida and all over the place UN-MASKED and it is so scary for those of us who are just trying to follow the rules and keep ourselves alive.

March 10, 2021

Eli Lilly's combo therapy for COVID-19 cuts serious illness and death in large study

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Wednesday that its combination antibody therapy to fight COVID-19 reduced the risk of hospitalization and death by 87% in a study of more than 750 high-risk COVID-19 patients.

It is the second large, late-stage study to show that combination therapy of two antibodies, bamlanivimab and etesevimab, is effective at treating mild to moderate cases of COVID-19. The previous study, which published data in January, used a higher dose of the drugs and reduced risk of hospitalization by 70%.

“I expect this data to continue to drive more utilization” of the antibodies,” said Daniel Skovronsky, chief scientific officer at Eli Lilly. “We have few other diseases where we have drugs that can offer this magnitude of benefit.”

snip

Skovronsky said that Lilly is prepared to manufacture 1 million doses of the combination therapy in the coming months and is in active talks to supply governments around the world with the treatment.

(Read More) https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-lilly/eli-lillys-combo-therapy-for-covid-19-cuts-serious-illness-and-death-in-large-study-idUSKBN2B21C0