Author: J.P. Knowles

A US Army paratrooper was captured on video free-falling through the air for 15 heart-stopping seconds after his parachute failed. The man can be seen in the video struggling to inflate his reserve chute just seconds before he would have hit the ground.

“That reserve parachute takes about 400 feet to open, and so that’s a pretty substantial amount of time when you are coming to the ground as quick as that person was. There’s a reason they call this hazardous duty,” says St. Maj. Jeffrey Mellinger, a former freefall instructor with the Army.

https://youtu.be/2PVt5BLR3PY

“We train every single time to a meticulous level of detail with these paratroopers to make sure that they do the right thing, every single time,” says Master Sgt. Alex Burnett, a spokesman with the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

“This kid did all the right things,” says Burnett. “When he realized he was falling faster and acknowledges what’s going on, he did exactly what he was trained to do: He activated that reserve and made sure he landed to the ground safely.” According to Burnett, every soldier goes through training where every possible outcome is covered “from start to finish.” All paratroopers must also complete the Army’s three-week Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

A West Virginia man died mid-embrace when plainclothed police officers fired shots toward him just seconds after his father’s casket was placed into a hearse.

Two officers outside a West Virginia funeral home on August 24, with a fugitive warrant, called out Jason Arnie Owens’ name before shooting.

Witnesses and funeral attendees said Owens, 37, was not armed, despite law enforcement claims to the contrary.

“There was no warning whatsoever,” Cassandra Whitecotton, a family friend, said.

When the officers shot Owens, his blood covered his 18-year-old.

“They yelled Jason’s name. They just said ‘Jason’ and then started firing,” Whitecotton said. “There was no identifications they were U.S. Marshals — anything. They did not render this man any aid at all.

After Owens placed his father’s casket into the hearse, he embraced a relative. Then, seconds later, he died.

Owens received a prison sentence of up to 13 years in 2018 after trying to strangle a sheriff’s deputy and fleeing. Owens was released on parole in April last year.

Whitecotton said the officers arrived in separate cars with one of them nearly striking her.

“It about hit me, so I jumped back up on the curb and kind of looked at him like, ‘What’s your problem?’” she said.

Mandy Swiger, Owens’ cousin, said she and the other funeral attendees were told by the officers to step back from Owens’ body or they would shoot.

“We want to know why you would do this in front of his family,” Swiger said. “And what gives you the right to do that to an unarmed man?”

A Georgia man who stole a truck was wearing only his socks and underwear when he was apprehended, according to police.

The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that deputies had arrested a man who stole a truck and trailer from the city of Hoschton before wrecking the vehicle off I-85 on JD Brooks Road.

Several law enforcement agencies assisted in the half-day hunt for the suspect.

“Job well done to all who assisted in this half-day hunt … A long afternoon and jail was the answer,” Sheriff Janis Mangum said.

“A good outcome and everyone is going home safe, other than scratched up from the briers,” the sheriff continued.

The suspect’s identity has not been released at this time.

Leo DiCaprio is out and about… hitting up a party Saturday night in NYC, with at least one other big celeb.

Leo was at the Revolve Party at Casa Cipriani in lower Manhattan, with his signature cap pulled down as he hung at the bar.

Jared Leto was there too, dressed down and having a good time whereas … Leo was pretty much hanging out alone.

Leo recently split up with Camila Morrone after 4 years of dating.

As for Camila …she was spotted a week ago with Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber.

Camila recently got a place in Malibu where Leo also spends lots of time. FYI, the Bu is a small town, so running into each other is probably inevitable.

A former Central California elementary school principal is facing charges of cruelty to a minor after a video of him shoving a student to the ground went public.

In the video, former Wolters Elementary School Principal, Brian Vollhardt can be seen shoving a student in the chest with such force that the child fell to the ground on June 7 in Fresno, California.

According to the Fresno Unified School District, Vollhardt and other staff members were speaking with a special needs student who was agitated, and the principal chose to “aggressively shove the student down” instead of “de-escalating the situation.”

The school district initiated disciplinary actions against Vollhardt, but he chose to resign and is no longer employed by the school.

School District Superintendent Bob Nelson called Vollhardt’s actions “repugnant” and “absolutely not tolerated at any level within Fresno Unified.”

The incident was reported to both police and Child Protective Services, the school district said.

Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said a police report was filed two days following the incident, however, he was not made aware of it until September 6, nearly three months after it occurred.

“I can tell you as a police chief in this community, I have a real problem as to the way that this child was treated. As a parent of a 9-year-old kid, which is a very similar age to the victim in this case and who also suffers from anxiety and doesn’t always handle situations in the best way, it is troubling as to how somebody who is supposed to protect this child and provide support, treated them,” Balderrama said.

Vollhardt is set to be arraigned on a misdemeanor charge of willful cruelty to a minor on September 26th.

The federal trial opened this week for a New York City mob boss’s adult son charged with hiring a gangbanger to kill his father at a McDonald’s drive-thru, allowing him to seize control of the mafia family’s estimated $45 million real estate empire.

Federal prosecutors say, Anthony Zottola, Sr. had his organized crime family-associated father, Sylvester “Sally Daz” Zottola, tracked for roughly a year by goons who stabbed and beat him several times in unsuccessful attempts on his life.

Ultimately the Bloods gang member Bushawn Shelton shot and killed the elder Zottola while the 71-year-old was at a McDonald’s drive-thru in the Bronx.

Zottola, Sr., is also on trial for the near-deadly shooting of his brother. Salvatore Zottola survived a shooting outside his Bronx waterfront apartment in 2018. The gunman, Himen Ross, and his get-a-way driver, Alfred Lopez, are also on trial.

Salvatore Zottola testified that his father’s real estate business generated about $1 million in rental income per year and was worth an estimated total of $45 million.

During Tuesday’s opening proceedings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Lash said that the elder Zottola was killed on his grandson’s birthday on Oct. 4, 2018, and text messages showed the defendant celebrated when he got the news that his father was dead.

“Can we party today or tomorrow?” Shelton texted Zottola, Sr., that day.

To that, Zottola responded “tomorrow,” explaining: “It’s my lil man bday. I am taking him to his favorite place Mcdonald’s (then) a movie. Lol. Like I eat that stuff. Thank you for being a great friend my man.”

Zottola Sr. paid Shelton $200,000 for the successful hit on his dad.

A woman was arrested last week after she skipped out on a restaurant tab, a police report said.

Hend Bustami, 28, said police arrested her because they had “never seen anyone as good looking” as she, and then accused them of harassing her.

Bustami faces a charge of violating airport conduct after she left the Chili’s restaurant inside Harry Reid International Airport without paying for the bill.

Police worked with TSA officials who said a woman matching her description was seen “sleeping near the security checkpoint,” according to the report.

She was found in baggage claim but was “belligerent with officers, saying she was being harassed because cops [had] never seen anyone as pretty as her,” according to authorities.

Bustami threatened to spit at police, claiming “officers were perverts,” while being arrested.

Bustami was booked into Clark County Detention Center where her bail was set at $1,000.

She is set to appear in court October 27.

A woman was with her three small children when she was violently attacked and robbed by a man as she entered a grocery store in North Lauderdale, Florida, on Tuesday, according to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said the mother and her children were entering the store when an unknown man approached her from behind, grabbed her necklace, punched her, and fled the scene.

Video footage posted to Twitter by the Broward Sheriff’s Office shows the woman walking into the store when the man suddenly attacks her, leading to a brief struggle before the man flees the scene.

The sheriff’s office is asking for the public’s help in identifying the attacker and is urging anyone with information about the suspect to come forward.

The Royal Family announced Thursday, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon” … only hours after the palace had announced she was under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle.

Earlier the palace called all of Elizabeth’s children to be by her side.

The Queen’s last public appearance came on Tuesday when she met with England’s new Prime Minister, Liz Truss.

Her health had been in decline of late– with her Royal duties being scaled back over the past year.

Her family and the country celebrated the Platinum Jubilee — a 4-day celebration — in June, honoring the 70 years she’s been on the throne.

According to the royal succession, Prince Charles is next in line to the throne. He would become King, and his wife Camilla’s title would be Queen Consort.

While it’s expected Charles will be the next monarch … there’s been speculation he may pass on the crown, making his eldest son, Prince William, the new King of England.

Queen Elizabeth is survived by her 4 children, 8 grandchildren, and even more great grandchildren as well as many extended Royal family members.

She was 96.

Passengers aboard a recent Carnival Vista cruise ship were awakened to water creeping in under their door.

Video footage shows an entire floor swelling with water.

Thankfully the Titanic-like scene was not because the ship was sinking ship, but instead, the result of a plumbing issue that caused a ceiling to cave in and a cabin to fill with water.

The sheer volume of water, caused the cabin’s door to bust open and a river to flow down the hallway, according to a guest who shared the video on TikTok.

According to the passenger, the incident unfolded on the sixth floor before leaking down onto the fifth.

They said it was caused by a “busted pipe” which saw her group awakened to a flood of water higher than their ankles.

There were “Titanic vibes for about five minutes”, she reported.

The TikTok user shared two videos the first of which garnered more than 11 million views.

“Woke to water rushing into our cabin … our lives flashed before our eyes,” she captioned the clip, which showed the hallway carpet drenched in water.

A crowd of people was standing in the hallway as water lapped against their legs.

In a follow-up video, the same passenger clarified she wasn’t “trash talking” the cruise company, only “documenting a scary experience that turned out funny”.

“We did actually wake up to this flood and water past our ankles,” she wrote.

In response to a comment, she explained that the “room filled all the way up and then bent the door”.

“The ceiling caved in and filled this room … eventually breaking through the door and filling our room and others,” she said in another.

Despite the incident, the group “still had a blast”, the traveller wrote.