Friday, April 26

U.S.

FBI Seeks Additional Victims of a Former Tutor in Child Sexual Abuse Investigation
6Feb By Houston StringerNo Comments
Louisiana

FBI Seeks Additional Victims of a Former Tutor in Child Sexual Abuse Investigation

NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 6, 2024 - The FBI’s New Orleans Division is calling for public assistance to identify potential victims in the child sexual abuse investigation involving Stephen Andrew Cipkin. Cipkin has been charged with child sexual abuse and other related offenses in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. Investigations have uncovered that Cipkin initiated an online child exploitation scheme starting in 2022, spanning Suffolk County, New York, and Northwest Louisiana. Cipkin, who also worked as a tutor in New York, used several online usernames, including “sac8635”, “ArabellaC”, “Human no-more”, “numb little bug”, “Swiffer1”, “@onlygoodguy”, and “Ur_Perfect_Daddy”. Stephen Andrew Cipkin (FBI) Individuals or guardians of minors who have had any interactio...
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AMBER Alert for 7-Year-Old Boy Abducted in Jefferson
31Jan By Houston StringerNo Comments
Iowa

AMBER Alert for 7-Year-Old Boy Abducted in Jefferson

JEFFERSON, IA - Authorities have issued an AMBER Alert for 7-year-old Bryson Duong, an Asian male, who went missing on Jan. 30, 2024. Bryson is described as having black hair, brown eyes, about 3 feet 6 inches tall, and weighing 60 pounds. He was last seen wearing a black coat, black snow pants, a hat, and glasses. The suspect is 34-year-old Brandon Duong. They may be in a black Toyota Tacoma, Iowa license plate DFV202. Anyone with information is urged to contact law enforcement. Bryson Duong
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Amber Alert: Scarlett Smith, 14, Missing in Gonzales, Texas
30Jan By Houston StringerNo Comments
Texas

Amber Alert: Scarlett Smith, 14, Missing in Gonzales, Texas

GONZALES, Texas - Jan. 29, 2024 - The Gonzales County Sheriff's Office is actively seeking information regarding the whereabouts of Scarlett Smith, a 14-year-old girl last seen in the 15700 block of West US 90 A, Gonzales, TX at approximately 11:00 PM on Jan. 29, 2024. Scarlett is described as a white female with hazel eyes and red or auburn hair. She is about 54 inches tall and weighs approximately 187 pounds. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a red Nike hoodie. The primary suspect in this abduction is Barry Van Mersbergen, also known as Ben, a 22-year-old white male. He has brown eyes and brown hair, stands about 62 inches tall, and weighs around 160 pounds. They may be traveling in a brown 2012 GMC Terrain with Texas license plate number 3RVWG. The Gonz...
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Grassroots organizers speak out against Gov. Ivey’s request for more time to carry out executions after botched executions
22Dec By Houston StringerNo Comments
Alabama

Grassroots organizers speak out against Gov. Ivey’s request for more time to carry out executions after botched executions

Press Release (December 22, 2022) - Grassroots organizers are speaking out against Gov. Kay Ivey’s letter asking the Alabama Supreme Court for more time to execute Alabamians after a series of botched executions in recent months. Alabama’s current law makes it illegal for the Department of Corrections to carry out a death warrant after 11:59 p.m., the day of the execution.  Alabama failed to carry out executions twice in two months – September and November 2022 – and three times since 2018. In July 2022, the state carried out an execution, but after a three-hour delay caused by a similar situation of not being able to start the IV line for the lethal injection.  “The League of Women Voters of Alabama continues to be troubled by the state’s lack of adequate res...
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Virginia Deputy kills three, sets fire to home in California after meeting 15-year-old online
1Dec By Houston StringerNo Comments
California

Virginia Deputy kills three, sets fire to home in California after meeting 15-year-old online

November 25, 2022 - Austin Lee Edwards, now a former Virginia police officer was killed in a shootout after he drove across the county, committed a triple homicide and set fire to a home in Riverside, California. He did this after ‘catfishing’ a teenage girl in to thinking he was a 17-year-old boy. Edwards killed both of her grandparents and her mother before setting the home on fire. Edwards was spotted driving with the teenager in San Bernardino County. He was killed by a deputy after exchanging gunfire when sheriff’s deputies tried to stop him. Police are still investigating and have not determined if it was a kidnapping but police stated they have no reason to believe she was complicit in the murders or fire. Austin Lee Edwards (Riverside Police Department) ...
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Uvalde parents, teachers, staff, and students are seeking billions in compensation in a new class action lawsuit
30Nov By Houston StringerNo Comments
Texas

Uvalde parents, teachers, staff, and students are seeking billions in compensation in a new class action lawsuit

The families of victims, teachers, staff, and students have now filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court - Western District of Texas (Austin Division). The lawsuit alleges, what we already know about how police in Uvalde dropped the ball tremendously in securing the school from the active shooter that killed 21 people including 19 students and two teachers. Plaintiff's are seeking over $27 billion in compensation. The lawsuit names the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District, Uvalde School Police Department, (including Chief Pedro Arrendondo), and Texas Department of Public Safety, as well as others as defendants. From the complaint: "In administering the schools under its control, CISD employed its own policedepartment (“CISD-PD”). Not o...
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Mayor Turner: “Our children deserve better”, after federal judge blocks law prohibiting handguns for young adults
25Aug By Houston StringerNo Comments
Texas, U.S.

Mayor Turner: “Our children deserve better”, after federal judge blocks law prohibiting handguns for young adults

In a court ruling today, a federal judge in Texas signed an order that effectively blocks a law that was enacted after the Uvalde massacre. The law made it a crime for young adults between 18 and 20 years old from carrying handguns for self-defense outside of their homes. In his order, United States District Judge, Mark Pittman ruled that it prohibiting young adults that are between the ages of 18 and 20 years old goes against the Second Amendment. Mayor Sylvester Turner released the following statement Thursday night: "The State of Texas has not changed a single law since Uvalde. Now, just as young students are returning to school, high school seniors who are just turning 18 can openly carry a handgun? Making gun access – with no background checks or training - is making it hard...
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Hertz is being sued again after customers were wrongly accused of stealing cars
25Aug By Houston StringerNo Comments
Florida, U.S.

Hertz is being sued again after customers were wrongly accused of stealing cars

A lawsuit has been filed in Florida after several customers were reported to police for stealing cars from Hertz. This caused the police to not only pull them over, but in some cases, the customers were held at gunpoint, arrested, and charged with grand theft auto. Similar cases have been filed across the country over the last few years. According to the lawsuit, filed in Miami's 11th Judicial Circuit, on August 15, 2022, this is not a new problem and has been happening for years and accuses the car rental company of putting profits first, and their customer's liberty and freedom last by ignoring policies they enacted to deal with "overdue" and "lost inventory" case. Furthermore, the lawsuit quotes Hertz from an article written in The Philadelphia Inquirer on August 3, 2020, by Sam ...
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University of Chicago/AP-NORC Poll: 4 out of 10 Americans fear they will be a victim of gun violence in the next five years
23Aug By Houston StringerNo Comments
U.S.

University of Chicago/AP-NORC Poll: 4 out of 10 Americans fear they will be a victim of gun violence in the next five years

According to a recent poll conducted by the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 4 out of 10 Americans believe they will become a victim of gun violence in the next five years. The poll, which was conducted at the end of July, also found that Black Americans and Hispanic Americans are twice as likely to have experienced gun violence themselves or know someone that has already experienced gun violence. Most Americans surveyed in the poll (71%) all agree that gun laws should be somewhat stricter, with 59%, or nearly 6 out of 10 supporting a ban on semi-automatic weapons. There is also overwhelming public support for a federal gun law that will ban the mentally ill from obtaining guns legally. 52% of th...
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