Media Today

[Rick Plant]

Drunk driver plows car across packed Florida beach before crashing into ocean: police



An intoxicated woman plowed her car across a Florida beach packed for Memorial Day weekend, narrowly missing people standing at the water's edge before crashing into the ocean, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.

Footage from a police helicopter shows the car sitting in the water at New Smyrna Beach on Saturday as people crowded around.

The driver, Sarah Ramsammy, 26, had a blood alcohol level that was almost twice the legal limit under Florida law, police said. She was charged with DUI and reckless driving and booked into jail.

According to witnesses, Ramsammy was traveling at around 50 mph and almost hit a child and a dog on the beach.

Watch video in link: https://www.rawstory.com/new-smyrna-beach/



Hollywood Beach shooting leaves 9 victims hurt and a suspect on the run



A person of interest was arrested in connection with a shooting at a Florida beach boardwalk Monday evening that left nine people with injuries that required hospitalization, authorities said.

It proved to be one of many incidents of gun violence over the holiday weekend. As a result, at least 16 people have died across the country thus far, with dozens injured.

An additional person of interest is sought in connection with the shooting, Hollywood Beach police spokeswoman Deanna Bettineschi told reporters.

The outstanding person is described as a male with dreadlocks, a black short-sleeved shirt and camouflage shorts.

Online cameras in the Hollywood Beach boardwalk area show a frantic scene in which people are running as the sound of gunfire is heard.

Officers at around 6:42 p.m. responded to Johnson Street on the report of the shooting, Bettineschi said.

“Officers immediately began rendering aid, and then the nine victims were taken to Memorial Regional Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Hospital,” Bettineschi said.

An altercation between two groups is believed to be what precipitated the shooting.

“Police are responding right now. We have victims treated by police and paramedics on scene and transported to the hospital,” said Mayor Josh Levy, The Sun Sentinel reported.

“It seemed like people might have gotten caught in the crossfire. But I can’t verify that,” Levy said.

No additional information was available by Monday night.

https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2023/05/29/several-shot-on-hollywood-broadwalk-official-says/



North Carolina paramedic mistakenly shot while loading patient into ambulance



CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A paramedic was shot while loading a patient into an ambulance in North Carolina, officials said.

The Kinston Police Department said officers were called to a residential neighborhood at about 6 p.m. Sunday.

Two vehicles were traveling in the area when someone from a gray car reportedly started firing a gun at a white vehicle. One of the vehicles crashed into the ambulance, according to Lenoir County Emergency Services.

A paramedic from the ambulance, which had “nothing to do with” the shooting, was struck in the upper body, Kinston Police Chief Keith Goyette said in video from a news conference that WITN shared on Facebook.

"The patient and two other providers were in the back of the ambulance and were protected by the truck and did not get hit,” Murry Stroud, emergency services director for Lenoir County, said during the news conference. “Those crews immediately started treating our paramedic on scene. Additional units were dispatched to transport the paramedic and take care of the patient that we originally responded to.”

The injured paramedic was taken to a hospital and later was discharged, officials said.

Now, a man accused in the shooting is charged with multiple counts of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Police in a Facebook post didn’t share attorney information for the man, identified as 23-year-old Brennan Dijuon Hill.

An investigation continues, and officers said more charges are possible. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 252-939-4020 or Crime Stoppers at 252-523-4444.

Kinston is roughly 80 miles southeast of Raleigh.

© The Charlotte Observer



9 injured when 2nd-story deck collapsed in Georgia during gathering



A second-story deck collapsed as birthday party guests gathered on it to take a group photo, a witness told a Georgia news outlet.

Nine people were injured after the deck gave way on Sunday, May 28, Liberty County Fire Services told WSAV.

First responders were called at about 7 p.m. ET to a home in Midway. A photo that news outlets posted online show the parts of the deck that once stood 14 to 16 feet in the air touched the ground after the collapse.

Paul Barnett told WJCL it happened as he and others were celebrating his cousin’s 70th birthday.

“There was about 12, 15 of us on the deck taking one group picture,” Barnett told the TV station. “And by the time we all got situated, the deck collapsed.”

Fire Chief Brian Darby said the nine people injured in the collapse spanned multiple age groups. All were taken to hospitals with injuries that are believed to be non-life-threatening, the Coastal Courier reported.

“Darby said one person suffered a compound fracture which required a tourniquet, and several individuals suffered minor lacerations,” the newspaper reported.

Liberty County Fire Services didn’t immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on May 29.

Midway is roughly 30 miles southwest of Savannah.

© The Charlotte Observer



Gunfire in Hollywood Beach, Fla., sends crowds racing for safety



The early videos from a mass shooting in Hollywood, Fla., show a terrified public race from the sound of the gunfire. CBS News reported at least 7 people have been shot, including a 15-year-old.

"Residents and visitors: Please avoid the area of Johnson to Garfield Streets, as well as the Hollywood Broadwalk, due to an ongoing shooting investigation. Heavy police presence in the area. If you are looking to reunite with a family member, we have set up a reunification area at Johnson Street and N Ocean bus loop," the Hollywood Beach Police Department posted on their Facebook page shortly before 7 p.m. ET. As of 7:36 p.m. EST, police were still advising the public that there was an "ongoing situation." The Daily Beast reported that the first shots fired were heard outside Nicks Bar & Grill around 7 p.m. local time.

Videos show beachgoers enjoying the sunshine before racing behind barriers and trees seeking cover. Another purporting to be from the scene shows a man who appeared to be shot with friends calling for medical attention and trying to help.

“Police are responding right now. We have victims treated by police and paramedics on scene and transported to the hospital,” said Mayor Josh Levy, The Sun Sentinel reported.

“It seemed like people might have gotten caught in the crossfire. But I can’t verify that,” Levy said.

The report also said that the beach usually has millions of people visiting each year.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Raccoon 'pool party' caught on video

Memorial Day Weekend is a great time to take a dip in the pool. Just ask these raccoons.

Jimmy Sena of Huntington Beach says he woke up to his dog “going crazy” Friday morning. He looked out his sliding glass door and saw three raccoons taking a dip in his pool.

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Halifax-area wildfire has left 'visible scars on the community,' official says
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/tantallon-hammonds-plains-pockwock-wildfire-evaucations-forest-fire-halifax-may-30-1.6858921

Canada wildfire could impact Philadelphia area: check out smoke map
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/nova-scotia-tantallon-canada-wildfire-smoke-map-philadelphia-pennsylvania-nj-delaware/

Nova Scotia wildfire forces 16,000 to evacuate, prompts air quality alerts along U.S. East Coast
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-wildfires-nova-scotia-smoke-air-quality-alert-evacuations/

'Apocalyptic scenes' as unprecedented climate-driven wildfires devastate Nova Scotia



Officials and climate experts in Nova Scotia, Canada on Tuesday pointed to numerous climate-related factors that have contributed to the wildfires that are raging in the province this week, forcing the evacuation of more than 16,000 people and destroying roughly 200 homes and other structures.

The Tantallon fire in the Halifax area and the Barrington Lake fire in the southwestern county of Shelburne have burned through a combined 25,000 acres in the Maritime province, which, as one firefighter told the Canadian newspaper SaltWire, has historically been far less likely to experience such blazes than landlocked western provinces.

"This the worst fire I've ever been on," volunteer firefighter Capt. Brett Tetanish toldSaltWire. "I've been on other large fires in Nova Scotia, Porters Lake, we lost structures there, but you don't see fires like this in Nova Scotia. You see these in Alberta."

Tetanish described a "surreal" scene as he drove toward the Tantallon fire on Sunday evening.

"We're driving on Hammonds Plains Road with fire on both sides of the road, structures on fire, cars abandoned and burnt in the middle of the road," he toldSaltWire.

Other witnesses, including a filmmaker, posted videos on social media of "apocalyptic scenes" showing fires destroying homes and huge plumes of smoke rendering highways nearly invisible to drivers.

"I almost died," said the filmmaker. "The fire is spreading, it's very serious. We couldn't see anything."

Halfway through 2023, Nova Scotia has already experienced more wildfires than it did in all of 2022, according to the National Observer.

Karen McKendry, a wilderness outreach coordinator at the Ecology Action Center in Nova Scotia's capital, Halifax, told the Observer the province has experienced hotter dryer weather than normal this spring, making it easier for fires to spread.

"People haven't always, on a national scale, been thinking about Nova Scotia and wildfires," McKendry said. "What dominates the consciousness, rightly so in Canada, is what's happening out West. But with a warming climate and some drier seasons, this is going to become more common in Nova Scotia. So more fires, more widespread fires, more destructive fires from a human perspective as well."

The province's Department of Natural Resources and Renewables (DNRR) also warned last Friday that the wildfires were taking hold in the region less than a year after Hurricane Fiona downed what Premier Tim Houston called a "significant" number of trees across Nova Scotia.

"Fires in areas where Hurricane Fiona downed trees have the potential to move faster and burn more intensely, making them potentially more difficult to contain and control," said the DNRR. "At this time, needles, twigs, leaves, etc., support fire ignition and spread. With high winds, the spread can be rapid and intense."

Scientists last year linked warming oceans, fueled by the continued extraction of fossil fuels and emissions of planet-heating greenhouse gases, to Fiona's destruction in Eastern Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau warned Monday that the situation in Nova Scotia is "incredibly serious," prompting Saman Tabasinejad, acting executive director of Progress Toronto, to point to Trudeau's support for fossil fuel projects like the Trans Mountain Pipeline.

"This would be a great time to end fossil fuel subsidies and invest in a Green New Deal!" Tabasinejad said on Twitter.

More than 200 crews have been sent by government agencies from across the province, and Nova Scotia officials said Tuesday that both the Tantallon and Barrington Lake fires were still "out of control" two days after they began and were "rapidly moving."

Halifax Fire and the DNRR are investigating the cause of the fires.

McKendry pointed out that a number of anti-conservation activities may be linked to increased wildfires.

Roads being built "deep into our forests" have allowed more people opportunities to accidentally set fires, while the government has been "emptying our urban areas of wetlands," making it easier for blazes to spread widely.

"Do not delude yourself into thinking this is a one-off," journalist John Vaillant toldSaltWire on Monday. "The world is more flammable than it has ever been."

https://www.rawstory.com/apocalyptic-scenes-as-unprecedented-climate-driven-wildfires-devastate-nova-scotia/

[Rick Plant]

Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is booked into prison in Texas to begin serving 11-year sentence
The Stanford University dropout was convicted of four counts of fraud in January 2022.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/elizabeth-holmes-disgraced-theranos-founder-will-report-prison-begin-1-rcna85765


Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes begins prison sentence

The Theranos founder and convicted fraudster is being held at a minimum security women's prison in the US state of Texas. She faces up to 11 years behind bars.



Elizabeth Holmes, the fraudster behind failed biotech startup Theranos, has entered a Texas prison where she could spend the next 11 years.

"We can confirm Elizabeth Holmes has arrived at the Federal Prison Camp Bryan... and is in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons," officials said in a statement.

Holmes leaves behind two children in the outside world: a son who was born a few weeks before her trial started in 2021, and a 3-month-old daughter who was conceived after a jury convicted her on four felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in January 2022.

Where is Elizabeth Holmes being held?

FPC Bryan is a minimum security prison outside Houston, where Holmes grew up.

According to The Wall Street Journal, most inmates at the facility were convicted of white-collar crimes, low-level drug offenses, or harboring illegal immigrants.

Holmes could share a cell with up to three other inmates.

Who is Elizabeth Holmes?

Holmes became a star of Silicon Valley when she founded Theranos at the age of 19.

The company claimed to have developed rapid, automated blood tests that could diagnose numerous medical conditions.

As Theranos grew, the fraudster took on a new persona, speaking in a distinctive baritone and wearing black turtlenecks.

Holmes attracted top investors like media baron Rupert Murdoch, Oracle founder Larry Ellison and pharmacy chain Walgreens. She also stacked the company's board with high-profile names including former Presidential cabinet members George Shultz, Henry Kissinger and James Mattis.

Businessman Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani joined Theranos as its president in 2009 and would go on to have a secret relationship with Holmes.

By 2014, Holmes' fortune was valued at $4.5 billion (€4.2 billion).

But the company collapsed after a 2015 Wall Street Journal investigation found that the technology did not exist and that patients may have received inaccurate results.

In 2018, the US Justice Department then charged Holmes and Balwani with a litany of white-collar crimes.

Holmes admitted making mistakes at Theranos, but denied committing any crimes and said she was being controlled by Balwani, who she accused of sexually and emotionally abusing her.

Balwani was convicted on 12 felony counts of fraud and conspiracy in a trial that began two months after Holmes' ended. He is currently serving a nearly 13-year sentence in a Southern California prison.

Both have been ordered to pay back $452 million to investors.

https://www.dw.com/en/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-begins-prison-sentence/a-65775837



Bruce Springsteen, 73, falls on stage in Amsterdam during worldwide tour

Bruce Springsteen scared stunned fans at a gig in Amsterdam as he took a tumble on stage while singing Ghosts with his E Street Band as part of his huge world tour



Bruce Springsteen fans had their hearts in their mouths as the Boss took a scary looking fall during his gig in Amsterdam.

The iconic singer, 73, took a tumble as he tried to walk up the steps at his performance at the Johan Cruyff Arena. With his guitar around his neck, Bruce missed a stepped and landed awkwardly with the crowd gasping in shock.

The Dancing in the Dark chanter was seen lying on his back for a short time before bandmates rushed to his aide.

Taking the guitar strap from around his neck he struggled to get back to his feet, but was able to do so thanks to the assistance of those nearby.

Thankfully he rose with a smile on his face and was met with a round of applause from those in the crowd. Bruce isn't said to have been injured in the fall.

He jokingly shouted: "Goodnight everybody," before being reunited with his instrument and continuing the show.

The incident happened as he and the E Street Band treated fans to a rendition of hit tune Ghosts last week.

It is one of a number of huge gigs the star has lined up on his world tour. He has already treated fans in Ireland, Italy, France and Spain and has gigs in Scotland to come as the month of May draws to a close.

In June, the Boss will play to more crowds in the Netherlands as well as audiences in Switzerland, England, Belgium, Germany, Sweden and Norway.

August sees him travel stateside to wow the crowds for a number of months before the huge tour ends on December 10 in San Fransisco.

The veteran singer-songwriter continues to entertain the crowds in the same way he did when he burst on to the scene over 50 years ago.

He previously told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show how one of the first rock songs he learned to play was Twist and Shout.

He told the presenter: "The only thing I remember the most is I got up and I sang ‘Twist and Shout. And I’ve been singing it ever since."

Opening up on the first song he ever learned, he revealed it was a song called Greensleeves.

"It was a folk song, and the first thing I had was a big book of American folk music. And so I learned that first because it only had two chords, and eventually I made my way to the third chord, which allowed you to play ‘Twist and Shout.’"

https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/us-celebrity-news/bruce-springsteen-73-falls-stage-30114047


Bruce Springsteen Falls On Stage

Watch:

[Rick Plant]

Inflation is still rising around the world but has been consistently dropping in the United States. 

Why are gas prices dropping now ahead of the summer vacation season?
https://www.khou.com/video/news/news-explainers/the-why/gas-prices-summer-vacation/285-3eef2c92-8749-434b-b343-6acfe16a2912

Inflation hit 4.9% in April, the lowest it's been in two years
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/inflation-is-it-rising-coming-down-april-2023-rcna83359

Australia’s inflation rate rose to 6.8% in April
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/may/31/australias-inflation-rate-rose-to-68-in-april-stoking-fears-of-another-rate-rise

German economy entered recession as inflation hurt consumers
https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/germany-enters-recession-2023-05-25/

[Rick Plant]

Robbery suspect accused of using Nintendo ‘Duck Hunt’ pistol in convenience store heist



A South Carolina man was arrested in connection with a convenience store robbery in which he’s accused of using a spray-painted Nintendo “duck hunt” pistol, the York County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Wednesday.

Joseph Dalesandro, 25, of Sharon, was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery with a deadly weapon among other charges and booked into the York County Detention Center, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The robbery happened at around 5:45 p.m. Tuesday at the Sharon Kwik Stop convenience store on York St., the Sheriff’s Office said.

Dalesandro is accused of entering the store wearing a mask, wig, and hooded sweatshirt and then flashing the fake gun before demanding money from the cash register, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Approximately $300 was taken from the clerk.

Deputies located Dalesandro in the parking lot of Dollar General down the street, and found the duck hunt pistol in his pants.

https://www.rawstory.com/duck-hunt-robbery/



Paris Olympics torch relay ahead of 2024 Games will involve 10,000 runners



After the flame is lit in the traditional ceremony in Olympia, Greece, it will arrive by sea in Marseille aboard the three-masted Belem on May 8.

From there it will travel across France on its way to the Olympic opening ceremony in the capital on July 26.

There has been speculation that the Olympic flame will be placed on the Eiffel Tower, but the president of the organizing committee, Tony Estanguet, told a press conference the final destination had not been decided.

"The Eiffel Tower has not been decided as the lighting location for the cauldron," he said.

A novelty this time is "collective relays", which could be groups of up to 24 people, with one carrying the torch.

There will be 3,000 collective and 7,000 individual torchbearers, including equal numbers of men and women aged 15 and over.

Each torchbearer will carry the flame for around 4 minutes over a distance of 200 meters.

A third of the torchbearers will be selected by the organizing committee and the sports bodies, another third by relay sponsors Coca-Cola and French bank BPCE, another third by other Olympic partners, and the final 10 percent by the regions hosting the relay.

The International Olympic Committee forbids elected officials and religious figures carrying the flame.

Some French departments refused to take part, deeming the 180,000-euro ($193,000) cost prohibitive.

The organizers said there would be "an itinerant bubble" of security around the flame provided by the French gendarmes, police and local security forces.

The Paralympic torch relay, which will arrive in Paris on August 28 for the opening of the Paralympic Games, will involve 1,000 torchbearers, and will be shorter.

The record for most torch bearers is 20,000 ahead of the Beijing summer Games in 2008. That relay passed through 19 countries, where it was carried by more than 1,300 bearers, before reaching China. It covered a total of 85,000 miles on its 130-day journey.

For the last Summer Olympics in Japan in 2021, the Olympic torch relay was banned from public thoroughfares in many departments, including Tokyo, because of Covid. For the same reason the relay ahead of the 2022 Winter Games was reduced to three stages in Beijing.

At the London Olympics in 2013, 8,000 people relayed the flame.

(AFP)

[Rick Plant]

Rhythmically stimulating the brain with electrical currents could boost cognitive function, according to analysis of over 100 studies
https://theconversation.com/rhythmically-stimulating-the-brain-with-electrical-currents-could-boost-cognitive-function-according-to-analysis-of-over-100-studies-206169

Chronic pain can be objectively measured using brain signals – new research
https://theconversation.com/chronic-pain-can-be-objectively-measured-using-brain-signals-new-research-205910

Tropical storm could form off Florida coast on 1st day of 2023 hurricane season, forecasters say
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tropical-storm-florida-coast-1st-day-2023-hurricane-season-forecast-gulf/