Author: J.P. Knowles

Teamsters’ boss Jimmy Hoffa went missing in 1975, since then, there have been many theories about what happened to him and where his body is buried. The FBI’s confirmation last week that it was looking at a spot near a New Jersey landfill is the most recent development in a search that started 46 years ago.

The FBI obtained a search warrant to examine the location as a possible burial site for Hoffa.

Ground Penetrating Radar was used in March 2020 to conduct an underground survey of the location which located large pieces of round metal that could be the 55-gallon drum Hoffa was rumored to have been buried in.

“Last month, the FBI obtained a search warrant to conduct a site survey underneath the Pulaski Skyway,” the FBI said in a statement. “On October 25th and 26th, FBI personnel from the Newark and Detroit field offices completed the survey, and that data is currently being analyzed. Because the affidavit in support of the search warrant was sealed by the court, we are unable to provide any additional information.”

There have been a number of theories about what might have happened to Hoffa, many of which have been tied to book releases.

Self-proclaimed Mafia murderer Charles Allen, who had served time in prison with Hoffa and had also been in the federal witness protection, told the U.S. Senate committee in 1982 that Hoffa was killed on the orders of alleged New Jersey mob figure Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano. His body was “ground up in little pieces, shipped to Florida and thrown into a swamp.

The FBI never found enough evidence to support the claim and there were questions about Allen trying to sell the story.

“When that information came to our attention we batted it around, but we were all convinced in the end that this guy was not reliable,” FBI agent Jim Kossler said then. “We were able to prove to our mind that what he was telling us couldn’t have happened because he either couldn’t have been there or he was in jail at the time.

Former Hoffa aide and strong-arm Joseph Franco alleged in the 1987 book “Hoffa’s Man,” claimed that Hoffa was abducted by ′′either federal marshals or federal agents,′′ driven to a nearby airport and dropped out of a plane, possibly into one of the Great Lakes.

Other than Franco’s allegation, there was nothing to support his claim.

Frank Sheeran, Hoffa’s once upon a time ally, said that he killed Hoffa at a Detroit house. Key parts of the narrative became the basis for the 2019 movie “The Irishman.”

Bloomfield Township police ripped up floorboards at the house in 2004, but the FBI crime lab concluded that blood found on them was not Hoffa’s.

Reputed Mafia captain Tony Zerilli was in prison for organized crime at the time of Hoffa’s disappearance, however, he claimed in the online “Hoffa Found,” that he was informed about Hoffa’s whereabouts after his release and that Hoffa was buried in a makeshift grave beneath a concrete slab of a barn in Oakland Township about 25 miles north of Detroit.

In 2013 the FBI and police spent two days digging at the site where the barn had been but found nothing.

Journalist Dan Moldea, who has written extensively about the Hoffa saga, as a result of interviews with Frank Cappola believes Hoffa’s body was delivered to a Jersey City landfill in 1975, placed in a steel drum and buried about 100 yards away on state property that sits below an elevated highway. Cappola, who died in 2020, claimed his father owned the landfill and buried the body.

The FBI obtained a search warrant to do a site survey, which it completed last month and is now analyzing the data. The agency hasn’t disclosed whether it removed anything from the site.

The Norwegian Postal Service released a Christmas ad promoting a gay romance between Santa Claus and a man named Harry which concludes with a long, passionate kiss.

The video, released Monday, is titled ‘When Harry met Santa.’ The approximately four-minute clip depicts a shirtless Harry who discovers Santa in his home just before he goes up the chimney. Then the video flashes ahead to Harry bumping into Santa several more times, one encounter shows Harry sleeping on the couch while Santa sits in a nearby chair.

“You’re snoring,” Santa says, then Harry lights up with glee. “I’ll be back next year.”

The couple appears to have several intimate moments before Harry writes a letter to Santa saying “all I want for Christmas is you.”

The video then flashes to Christmas and Harry finding his gifts as Santa makes a surprise visit to him in his living room.

“Well I arranged some help this year so I could be with you,” Santa said. The couple shares a kiss as the screen zooms out with a caption “In 2022, Norway marks 50 years of being able to love whoever we want.”

https://youtu.be/nDLumk_rQQw

The ad was hailed by LGBTQ activists, with Oda Rygh of the organization FRI saying that “Christmas is a time we spend with those we love, and it’s nice to see the Norway Post show that love belongs to everyone, regardless of orientation, age, or whether you live at the North Pole.”

In the past, the agency has put out other politically charged videos with one Christmas video in 2020 titled ‘Make Christmas Great Again.’

Five suspects stole 7-8 expensive purses worth about $25,000 from a Nordstrom store in the Westfield Topanga mall in Los Angeles Wednesday evening. They assaulted and used bear spray on a security guard during the robbery, then fled in a newer model gray Ford Mustang.

“It’s unfortunate because these people that are here are just trying to shop for the holidays [and] for their families,” said LAPD Deputy Chief Alen Hamilton. “We’ve deployed extra officers here. It just so happened that this was one part of the mall where they were able to get in and get out, even with our opfficers being deployed here.”

The police force had deployed extra officers to the mall following several mob thefts in the state recently, however the thieves targeted the store when no officers were around.

At least one suspect was described as wearing an orange wig during the incident.

The robbery comes after a group of thieves smashed windows with a sledgehammer and other tools at a Nordstrom store at the high end mall, The Grove, late Monday in Los Angeles. Three arrests have been made in relation to that incident.

The owner of The Grove, Rick Caruso, criticized leadership in California for the growing number of retail theft crimes in the state.

“I think it’s a manifestation of weak leadership. I think it’s a manifestation of some really bad decisions that our leaders made. It’s a manifestation of we’re going to defund the cops,” Caruso said.

Earlier this week, Gov. Gavin Newsom called on mayors in his state to “step up” and hold the mobs of shoplifters to “account” after dozens of stores were affected by the rash of crimes in the San Francisco area.

“I’m not the mayor of California, but I was a mayor, and I know when things like this happen, mayors have to step up,” Newsom said Monday at a vaccine clinic in the Mission District of San Francisco. “That’s not an indictment. That’s not a cheap shot.”

The San Francisco area faced a rash of mob lootings over the last week, which targeted a Nordstrom, a Louis Vuitton, pharmacies, marijuana dispensaries and other retail locations.

Wellspring Pharmacy shared this video w/me showing dozens of thieves stealing medication SATURDAY around 7:30PM.

The pharmacy sped up the video & said their employees all came in today & restored the pharmacy so patients could get their meds tomorrow.

(1/2) #Oakland pic.twitter.com/xneGs7fF8w

— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) November 22, 2021

In Walnut Creek, which is located about 25 miles from San Francisco, approximately 80 looters besieged a Nordstrom and took between $100,000 and $200,000 in merchandise, according to police. Three people have been arrested in connection to that robbery.

The crimes have spread to San Jose, about 50 miles from San Francisco, where at least four people stole $40,000 from a Lululemon in an incident police described as “organized robbery.”

NASA and Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, launched a test rocket Wednesday that is designed to crash into asteroids that could potentially threaten Earth.

NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART), a self-guiding spacecraft designed to seek out asteroids, was launched early Wednesday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the agency announced Wednesday. Once the DART detaches from the Falcon rocket it will fly millions of miles to find a large asteroid that it will collide with.

Liftoff! pic.twitter.com/Kx5n6TwriC

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) November 24, 2021

“DART is turning science fiction into science fact and is a testament to NASA’s proactivity and innovation for the benefit of all,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in the announcement. “In addition to all the ways NASA studies our universe and our home planet, we’re also working to protect that home, and this test will help prove out one viable way to protect our planet from a hazardous asteroid should one ever be discovered that is headed toward Earth.”

DART’s target is an asteroid called Dimorphos which is located in the Didymos asteroid system. The spacecraft is expected to reach the Didymos system between Sept. 26 and Oct. 1, 2022, and will collide with the asteroid at roughly 4 miles per second, NASA announced.

Researchers will study the effects of the collision on Dimorphos’ orbit and use the data to determine how effective it might be in deflecting a threatening asteroid.

NASA said that the technology is intended to serve as part of a planetary defense strategy that would prevent an asteroid event from causing a mass extinction event on Earth.

“We know a six-mile wide asteroid hitting what is today the Yucatán Peninsula was what wiped out much of life on earth, including the dinosaurs,” Nelson said.

A jail in Kentucky suspiciously reported that seven inmates had overdosed within hours of one another Monday. The inmates, who were all in the same cell, overdosed in three separate incidents, just hours apart, according to Big Sandy Regional Detention Center Administrator Byron Hansford.

“Fortunately, our staff, while doing security checks of the cells, found these individuals and contacted medical staff and they were all treated with Narcan and sent to Paul B. Hall Medical Center,” Hansford said.

All of the inmates who overdosed had only been at the facility for less than six days when the overdoses occurred. Investigators have not yet identified the drugs that caused the overdoses or how the prisoners obtained them.

Official: 7 inmates overdose at Big Sandy Regional Detention Center https://t.co/12JhzbuA3Y

— WYMT (@WYMT) November 22, 2021

Four of the inmates have been released from the medical facility and have been returned to the detention center while three inmates are still being treated in the hospital.

“All indications are that they’re fine and should be back in the facility today sometime,” Hansford said Monday.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) released data Wednesday showing that more than 100,000 have died from drug overdoses between April 2020 and April 2021, up from 78,000 during the previous year. Kentucky in particular saw an increase in overdose deaths by more than 50% from the previous year.

Two doctors in Florence, Kentucky, were indicted in February for their involvement in distributing opioids. The doctors were linked to the overdose deaths of at least six of their former patients.

The White House and the United Nations are requesting “proof” of the whereabouts of a missing Chinese tennis player.

As the tennis world continues to demand answers regarding the whereabouts of missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, the United Nations and the White House are putting pressure on China to provide information on the 35-year-old women’s doubles player.

U.N. Human Rights spokesperson Liz Throssell demanded verification of Peng’s “whereabouts and well-being” on Friday.

“What we would say is that it would be important to have proof of her whereabouts and wellbeing, and we would urge that there be an investigation with full transparency into her allegations of sexual assault,” Throssell said.

“According to available information, the former world doubles No. 1 hasn’t been heard from publicly since she alleged on social media that she was sexually assaulted. We would stress that it is important to know where she is and know her state, know about her wellbeing.”

Peng hasn’t been seen in public since accusing former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexually assaulting her three years ago on November 2. Peng’s Weibo account — a Chinese social media network — was disabled after her message was erased about 30 minutes after it was published.

CGTN, a Chinese state-affiliated media firm, released a statement claiming to Peng on Wednesday, in which Peng disputes her claim that Zhang sexually attacked her.

“Hello everyone this is Peng Shuai. Regarding the recent news released on the official website of the WTA, the content has not been confirmed or verified by myself and it was released without my consent,” the statement read in part. “The news in that release, including the allegation of sexual assault, is not true. I’m not missing, nor am I unsafe. I’ve just been resting at home and everything is fine. Thank you again for caring about me.”

In her Friday briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that the Biden administration is “deeply concerned” about Peng’s abduction.

“We join in the calls for PRC authorities to provide independent and verifiable proof of her whereabouts and that she is safe,” Psaki told reporters. “We know the PRC has zero-tolerance for criticism and a record of silencing those that speak out and we continue to condemn those practices,” Psaki continued.

Following the reported statement by Peng, WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon issued a statement on Wednesday calling the situation “concerning.”

“The statement released today by Chinese state media concerning Peng Shuai only raises my concerns as to her safety and whereabouts,” the statement read.

“I have a hard time believing that Peng Shuai actually wrote the email we received or believes what is being attributed to her. Peng Shuai displayed incredible courage in describing an allegation of sexual assault against a former top official in the Chinese government.”

On Friday, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, claimed he was “not aware of the situation”.

A Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin took a scary turn when a car drove into the crowd, and gunshots were fired Sunday.

Videos of the incident began circulating on social media shortly after 5 p.m. Sunday that showed the red car plowing into the crowd at the parade. Gunshots could be heard ringing out from the car.

“As we were walking back in between the buildings, we saw an SUV crossover, just put the pedal to the metal and just zooming full speed along the parade route. And then we heard a loud bang, and just deafening cries and screams from people who were struck by the vehicle,” Angelito Tenorio, an eyewitness of the incident, said.

“And then, and then we saw people running away or stopping crying, and there, there are people on the ground who looked like they’d been hit by the vehicle,” Tenorio added.

Right in front of my family, this man drives through the parade hitting as many people as possible while shooting out the window. He ran over several elderly women who were dancing in the parade and many others please pray for everyone in Waukesha

VIDEO: Vehicle speeds through Waukesha holiday parade. https://t.co/sjcTvuk2Du pic.twitter.com/TIgi8P7ICO

— CBS 58 News (@CBS58) November 21, 2021

The parade was shut down and people were being evacuated from the area Sunday evening. A family reunification site was set up nearby for the terrified crowd, Waukesha police said.

As of Sunday evening, the number of injuries and casualties remained unclear.

Emily and Michael Johnson had not planned to record the birth of their second son, Thomas. When Emily went into labor things progressed much more quickly than expected and baby Thomas was delivered on the front lawn of their Vacaville, California home, and as an added bonus, the birth was recorded on their Ring video doorbell.

Emily said that her contractions started on the evening of Nov. 4, and were 10 minutes apart for the first couple of hours. The couple lives only a mile or so from the hospital so Emily and Michael felt “pretty confident” that they had plenty of time to get there.

Emily recalls her contractions suddenly going from 10 minutes apart to five minutes apart and within 10 minutes or so, the contractions were only two minutes apart, then suddenly one minute apart as the Johnsons were trying to get in the car to go to the hospital.

“Once they hit that three, two, one and I’m standing at the car door and they started occurring every 30 seconds, I was like, ‘There’s no way I’m getting in this car, even for a five-minute drive.”

She said she started to sweat and felt nauseous, so she laid down in the grass on the front lawn.

Michael said that when she couldn’t make it to the car, he knew she was going to be giving birth at home.

“As soon as she wouldn’t start moving, it was like, oh OK, this is going to happen here,” Michael said. “I’m not going to be able to get her anywhere.”

Just a few minutes after Emily laid down, her mother pulled up to take care of the Johnsons’ 3-year-old son Blake.

“She was coming to get him,” Emily said. “Not knowing that she was going to have to help us with the delivery.”

When Emily’s mother arrived, they called 9-1-1 and Michael followed the instructions given by a dispatcher while they waited for an ambulance.

“I felt like a cow giving birth in a field,” Emily said. “It was really bizarre and kind of primal. And at the same time, I was so uncomfortable. It was like, I can’t believe this is actually happening.”

She added, “I was just like, ‘Oh my god, I’m giving birth on the lawn. This is not where I want to be.’”

EMTs can be seen in the video arriving just in time to hear Emily’s mom announce that Thomas’ head was out. One of the medics instructed Emily to keep pushing then seconds later, Thomas can be heard crying.

“Hearing him cry… right after he came out was like, ‘we’ve done it,’” Michael said, adding that Thomas’ cries were “very, very reassuring.”

EMTs took Emily and Thomas to the hospital where the mother and baby were just fine.

After things settled down, Michael remembered that while he was running back and forth from the house to the lawn to get towels, he had noticed that the Ring video doorbell was recording.

Once Emily and Thomas were settled at the hospital, Michael looked back through the video and showed it to Emily.

“It caught it all,” Emily said, adding that she was thankful the video wasn’t too clear or detailed and that she had been facing her car instead of the house.

“If I was faced toward the house, the Ring camera wouldn’t have been able to be shared,” Emily said.

Michael added: “It luckily was far enough away where nothing showed.”

Even though the couple had not been planning to record Thomas’ birth, Emily said she’s glad to have the video as a keepsake.

“It’ll just be a cool little family memento that we have of him and his experience,” Emily said, joking that they could show it at his wedding or other big moments in his life.

Emily described the experience as being “really surreal” and said that she’s relieved that no one came out of their house to see what was going on.

“I was very thankful afterwards that it was 10:30 at night and not 10:30 in the morning, when neighbors and delivery trucks are driving by.

The Biden administration is reviewing the possibility of closing down a key pipeline transporting crude oil and natural gas from Canada into the Midwest.

The White House recently initiated a study of the economic impacts of closing the Line 5 pipeline, principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed at a press conference Monday, adding that the Army Corps of Engineers was planning an environmental impact study on the ramifications of shutting down the pipeline.

President Joe Biden faced serious criticism last week after Politico reported his administration’s decision to study Line 5.

“As we enter the winter months and temperatures drop across the Midwest, the termination of Line 5 will undoubtedly further exacerbate shortages and price increases in home heating fuels like natural gas and propane at a time when Americans are already facing rapidly rising energy prices, steep home heating costs, global supply shortages, and skyrocketing gas prices,” Republican Ohio Rep. Bob Latta wrote in a Nov. 4 letter mirroring a dozen other lawmakers.

Line 5 carries about 540,000 barrels of oil and gas per day from Canada to Michigan, according to the pipeline’s operator, Enbridge, providing energy to several Midwestern states, including Michigan, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.

Line 5 alone accounts for about 55% of Michigan’s propane supply. Roughly 320,000 Michigan households rely on propane for their main heat source.

“We should be remembering the people that are going to be going through the upcoming winter months whether it’s in Michigan or other northern states,” Jason Hayes, the director of environmental policy for the Michigan-based Mackinac Center for Public Policy, said.

“We have a state in Michigan that uses the most residential propane in the nation,” he continued. “And yet, we’re seriously considering shutting down this pipeline and giving these people not even two or three months notice, just basically saying, ‘well, sorry, you’re gonna be on your own.’”

Since taking office, Biden has targeted the fossil fuel industry as part of his aggressive climate agenda. The president revoked the Keystone XL pipeline’s federal permit, did away with an Alaskan drilling project, put a stop to new oil and gas leasing on federal lands, presented sweeping regulations regarding hydrocarbons and instituted a review of Alaska’s petroleum reserve.

“Gretchen Whitmer and the Biden administration are making it unaffordable for Michigan families to fill their gas tanks and heat their homes,” Eric Ventimiglia, executive director of the conservative group Michigan Rising Action, said in a statement Monday. “The effort to shut down Line 5 is short-sighted, and would put immense financial pressure on families across the state.”

“Shutting down Line 5 would create a humanitarian crisis and exacerbate the dire economic conditions created by the Democrats’ failed policies,” he continued.

The price of consumer goods has risen at the fastest annual pace in over 30 years as supply chain backups and materials shortages continue and gasoline prices surged. The consumer price index climbed 6.2% year over year in October, the Labor Department said. The increase marked the largest annual gain since November 1990. Prices rose 0.9% month over month.

Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were anticipating prices to rise 0.6% in October and 5.8% annually.

“Inflation is broadening out,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. “In addition to food, energy, and shelter continuing to post outsized monthly increases, new and used car prices are once again shifting into overdrive.”

Energy prices surged 4.8% last month and were up 30% over the past year. The October increase was largely attributed to a 6.1% rise in the cost of gasoline. Food prices have also gone up 0.9% last month as the food at home category saw a 1% increase. All food prices are up 5.3% year over year.

Core prices, which exclude food and energy, increased 0.6% month over month and 4.6% over the past 12 months. Economists were anticipating respective increases of 0.4% and 4.3%.

Adding to the rise were new and used vehicle prices, which climbed in October 1.4% and 2.5%, respectively. Prices for new vehicles were 9.8% above one year ago while used vehicle prices were up 26.4% from October 2020.

The cost of shelter climbed 0.5% last month and was 3.5% above a year ago.

“We’re seeing early signs of an inflationary surge that’s likely to persist, with companies responding to rising input costs with cost increases of their own, which in turn causes higher input costs for others,” said Brad Armstrong, partner at Lovell Minnick Partners. “It’s a cycle that repeats itself.”

Wednesday’s report caught the attention of the Federal Reserve, which earlier this month announced plans to taper its $120 billion per month in asset purchases while taking notice of “elevated” inflation. The central bank still expects inflation to be “transitory.”

Later this month the Fed will begin scaling back its purchases of Treasurys and mortgage-backed securities by $15 billion a month, which puts its asset-purchase program on pace to end in June. Markets are currently pricing in the first-rate hike to occur in July 2022.