Category: Opinion

A Florida woman came face to face with an unwanted guest in her bathroo|
m Saturday night.

Michelle Reynolds said she went downstairs to make herself a “treat.”

“I put it in the microwave and skipped on over to the bathroom and opened the door and did a quick turnaround because I saw this thing in there and quickly shut the door!” she said.

The “thing” she’d seen was an iguana visitor who was unable to find its way out of the commode, so Reynolds called for help.

Harold Rondon with Iguana Lifestyles was able to rescue the iguana from the toilet.

Rondon said he has removed several iguanas from south Florida properties this year.

“This is the second one this week already,” he said.

Rondan said the iguana he removed from Reynolds’ toilet is a Mexican spiny tail iguana. Males can get up to 18 inches long, with tails that can also get up to 18 inches long.

“He took up most of the toilet bowl,” Reynolds said.

Although they are not native, iguanas have become common in south Florida.

It is believed that they were brought to the area as pets in the 1960s, and some may have escaped or been released.

While they are not dangerous to people, some iguanas can transmit salmonella.

Mayor Bruce Harrell of Seattle on Wednesday unveiled a $2 million plan to alleviate the city’s severe officer shortage.

It includes signing bonuses, moving expense reimbursement, and potential financial aid for education.

Over the previous two and a half years, the city has lost more than 400 police officers, which, according to Harrell’s office, has caused a situation “where basic services cannot be delivered swiftly and effectively.”

Just 954 trained and deployable officers were present in Seattle as of May, which is the lowest number in more than three decades, according to the plan, which also notes that the agency has recently struggled to fulfill yearly recruiting targets.

“To provide a minimum level of service, SPD must make up for this severe staffing shortage by relying on overtime-paid officers almost daily, a significant expense to the city,” the plan states, adding that the situation is contributing to fatigue and low morale among officers and jeopardizing public safety.

Patrol responsibilities have been required of about 40% of Seattle detectives.

One million dollars has already been allocated by the City Council for employment and recruitment incentives. These funds were saved from unpaid police pay.

In 2019, calls to defund the police were supported by City Council members as the force came under fire for its occasionally violent response to racial justice protests.

“We want the right numbers of officers and the right kind of officers,” said Harrell. “It crosses racial lines, it crosses socioeconomic lines that people want to feel safe, and they have a right to feel safe.”

Harrell wants to give signing incentives of up to $30,000 to anyone who leaves one police department for another.

Up to $7,500 would be given to new cops.

He demanded that candidates be compensated for their application fees, travel charges, and relocation costs.

President Biden’s COVID-19 infection might have occurred anywhere, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, but what matters is that he was properly immunized and double-boosted.

According to the White House, Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday morning and is currently dealing with moderate symptoms like a runny nose, an infrequent dry cough, and exhaustion.

During a news conference, journalists questioned Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House’s coordinator for the coronavirus response, about the possible source of Biden’s infection. Jha replied that he didn’t know, and Jean-Pierre jumped in to add that it wasn’t significant.

“Look, I don’t think that that matters, right? I think what matters is we prepared for this moment,” she said.

“I think what matters is what Dr. Jha just laid out. If we look at where we were a year and a half ago, this is a president, when he walked in, one of his first priorities was to make sure we had a comprehensive plan to get people vaccinated,” she continued. “And so now we look to today, more and more people are getting closer to having a more normal life, vaccines are available.

The medicine Paxlovid, which is now approved for the treatment of “mild-to-moderate COVID-19,” has been administered to the president. According to the FDA, the antiviral medication has demonstrated efficacy in reducing the disease’s most severe symptoms in patients who were at high risk of developing severe COVID-19.

One day after Biden’s trip to Massachusetts on Air Force One with senior administration figures, Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Bill Keating, the news was made.

Later, a picture of President Biden at his desk with a pen in hand and some documents in front of him was tweeted by the president’s official Twitter account.

“Folks, I’m doing great. Thanks for your concern,” the president said. “Just called Senator Casey, Congressman Cartwright, and Mayor Cognetti (and my Scranton cousins!) to send my regrets for missing our event today. Keeping busy!”

Jill Biden, the first lady, informed the media that she had tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to follow the CDC’s recommendations about her schedule.

A barber who was featured on the TLC series “90 Day Fiance” is on the run after being named as a suspect in the murder of another barber also featured on the show, according to the United States Marshals Service.

Michael Anthony Baltimore Jr., 43, was added to the federal agency’s 15 Most Wanted fugitive list in the May 2021 shooting death of barbershop owner Kendell Jerome Cook in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

“The U.S. Marshals Service and the Carlisle Police Department {PA) are requesting the public’s assistance in locating Michael Anthony Baltimore Jr.,” the post stated. “On May 22, 2021, Baltimore is accused of entering a Carlisle area barbershop and shooting three people. One of the victims, a barber, died as a result of the shooting. Baltimore is considered armed and dangerous.”

Baltimore shot Cook and injured another person during the 2021 incident.

Baltimore and Cook were each featured on episodes of 90 Day Fiancé: Happily Ever After? in June 2019. Cook was the one who told Martson, 36, that Smith cheated with another woman in the shop’s bathroom. Cook later took to social media to defend his decision to tell Martson the truth.

“Everybody talking this rat and snitching s–t! says a lot about who you are as a person,” Cook wrote. “Please let me know what [motherf–ker] don’t want to know the person they married is cheating on them?”

“We were looking out for Ashley cause she was trying [to] marry someone who wasn’t ready to get married! Jay needed some time and more experience with being in America before he was ready to settle down!” Cook continued, noting Smith, 24, made it his “business” by doing the deed at his place of business.

Since then, Martson and Smith have divorced.

Anyone with information on Baltimore’s location should call the United States Marshals Service at 1-877-WANTED2 (926-8332). Anonymous tips may also be submitted via the U.S. Marshals Tip App, or the Cumberland County Crime Stoppers at [email protected] or by calling (855)-628-8477.

What appeared to be a man in a dress and wearing a wig is on the lam after he robbed an Atlanta-area bank on Monday, July 18, according to authorities

Garbed a floral dress and white sneakers, the man walked into the Chase Bank on Jonesboro Road in McDonough and slipped the teller a note demanding cash, according to police.

The man was also wearing a white wig, orange latex gloves and black neck gaiter, and claimed to have a gun.

He left the bank with the cash and fled in a newer model white SUV — possibly a Lexus — without a visible tag, police said. It’s not clear how much money he got away with.

McDonough police have released few other details about the robbery and said no one was hurt.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call detectives at 470-878-1091, or contact Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477 to remain anonymous.

McDonough is about 30 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.

Traffic on Florida’s Turnpike wasn’t moooooving at all for several hours Monday after a cattle hauler caught fire, leaving dozens of cows blocking the roadway, according to authorities.

The hauler’s semi-cab caught fire just before noon near St. Cloud, south of Orlando, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

The driver, a 47-year-old Alabama man, pulled the truck over to the turnpike’s outside shoulder, and opened the cattle trailer door, allowing about 70 cows to escape the smoke and flames.

The local fire department extinguished the fire. No injuries were reported. The cattle hauler was towed from the scene.

Florida’s Turnpike was closed in both directions and traffic was diverted for nearly four hours as officials dealt with the fire and rounded up the cows.

Officials did not immediately say what caused the truck fire.

Two general aviation aircraft collided at North Las Vegas Airport, killing all four people aboard both planes, aviation officials said.

On Sunday at approximately 12 p.m. local time, a Piper PA-46 was getting ready to land when it collided with a Cessna 172, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“The Piper crashed into a field east of Runway 30-Right and the Cessna fell into a water retention pond,” the FAA said. “Two people were aboard each aircraft.”

There were no survivors, the Clark County Department of Aviation said in a statement.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

Matthew Binner, president of Airwork Las Vegas, which owns one of the planes, said on Facebook, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved in yesterday’s terrible accident. This world lost some great people & aviators.”

The other plane was owned by Gold Aero Aviation LLC of Tampa.

Emilia Clarke has opened up about the medical traumas that almost ended her life.

The Game of Thrones star, 35, said that she went through the “most excruciating pain” while suffering from two separate aneurysms in 2011 and 2013.

“The amount of my brain that is no longer usable—it’s remarkable that I am able to speak, sometimes articulately, and live my life completely normally with absolutely no repercussions,” Clarke said. “I am in the really, really, really small minority of people that can survive that.”

The actress then recalled seeing scans of her brain after the aneurysms, there’s “quite a bit missing” from that vital organ, she said.

“Strokes, basically, as soon as any part of your brain doesn’t get blood for a second, it’s gone,” Clarke continued. “So, the blood finds a different route to get around, but then whatever bit is missing is therefore gone.”

In 2019, Clarke first opened up about her aneurysms in an essay entitled “A Battle for My Life,” revealing that she almost died as a result. Her first hospitalization came in 2011 after wrapping season one of Game of Thrones. Clarke said she was at the gym when she started feeling “as though an elastic band were squeezing my brain.”

Clarke was transported to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London where she underwent brain surgery.

After finishing season three of the hit HBO show, the actress said a brain scan showed “the growth on the other side of my brain had doubled in size” and needed to have surgery.

Clarke said she woke up “screaming in pain,” following her second surgery.

“The procedure had failed,” the Me Before You star explained. “I had a massive bleed and the doctors made it plain that my chances of surviving were precarious if they didn’t operate again. This time they needed to access my brain in the old-fashioned way—through my skull. And the operation had to happen immediately.”

Since then, Clarke has used her life-changing health events to help others. She created SameYou, a charity that supports stroke and brain injury victims through emotional, mental health and cognitive recovery services.

“I thought, ‘Well, this is who you are,’” she said. “‘This is the brain that you have.’ So, there’s no point in continually wracking your brains about what might not be there.”

Several million dollars worth of gems and jewelry was stolen from an armored vehicle in Southern California last week.

The value of the stolen items is estimated to be more than $100 million, according to Brandy Swanson, a director at the International Gem and Jewelry Show in San Mateo.

Brink”s security spokesperson Dana Callahan said the items were stolen while being transported to Los Angeles after a concert on July 10.

Approximately 25 to 30 bags were stolen from the truck, and 18 victims reported significant losses, but

Callahan disagreed with the estimated amount.

“According to the information the customers provided to us before they shipped their items, the total value of the missing items is less than $10 million,” Brink’s said in a statement. “We are working with law enforcement, and we will fully reimburse our customers for the value of their assets that were stolen, in accordance with the terms of our contract.”

According to Swanson, “mom-and-pop” jewelers frequently underinsure their items because they cannot afford the expenses and premiums to fully protect them.

“That’s where the discrepancy comes in. These are mom-and-pop operators,” Swanson said. “They’re devastated. Some of these people have lost their entire livelihoods.”

According to a recent Convention of States Action study, more Americans believe that an armed civilian would offer them the best protection in the event of a live shooting than anything else.

According to the survey, 41.8% of participants think that, in the case of a mass shooting, they would be best protected by armed citizens. Only 25.1% of respondents considered local law enforcement to be the best course of action, the second most popular response.

However, there was a definite political gap in the poll. Only 16.3 percent of Democratic respondents agreed with the Republican respondents who felt that an armed citizen would be the most trustworthy source of security against a mass shooter.

https://twitter.com/toddstarnes/status/1548827738953465861?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1548827738953465861%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fdailycaller.com%2F2022%2F07%2F18%2Famericans-trust-good-guy-with-gun-stop-mass-shootings%2F

Nearly two-thirds of voters express doubt in the ability of their local law enforcement and elected leaders to apprehend a violent individual before they launch a mass shooting. Of all respondents, 35,3% expressed “not very confident,” while 26,9% expressed “not confident at all” in local and state law enforcement.

President of the Convention of States Action Mark Meckler seems to insinuate that the recent shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, may have been motivated by police incompetence.

“Americans watched in horror as an active shooter was permitted to rampage through a school while the police stood outside and did absolutely nothing. Over and over again, citizens are given the clear message that — when it comes to protecting loved ones —you’re on your own. At the same time, we’re told guns are the problem and we should give up our right to self-defense,” Meckler said.