Bergen County Ringleader Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Steal More than $180K By Filing False Unemployment ClaimsEnglewood-Englewood Cliffs Patch – by Natalie Mieles

A Bergen County man pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and theft charges for leading a criminal scheme in which he and three other men stole over $180,000 from the State of New Jersey by filing false claims for unemployment benefits, Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman said.

Stephen Pirrone, 54, of Paramus, pleaded guilty to second-degree charges of conspiracy and theft by deception after three co-defendants previously pleaded guilty in December. The charges stem from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice and the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.   Continue reading “Bergen County Ringleader Pleads Guilty in Scheme to Steal More than $180K By Filing False Unemployment Claims”

HOUSTON MAYORHuffington Post – by JUAN A. LOZANO

HOUSTON (AP) — Evidence from more than 6,600 rape kits that went untested for years in Houston have turned up 850 hits in the FBI’s nationwide database of DNA profiles, marking a major step in the city’s $6 million effort to address the backlog, officials announced Monday.

Charges have been filed against 29 people, six of whom have been convicted, since the city launched an effort in 2013 to test 6,663 rape kits — some of which dated back nearly three decades. Testing was completed in the fall, and the results have now been uploaded to a database used by investigators nationwide to compare DNA profiles of possible suspects, Mayor Annise Parker said.   Continue reading “850 DNA Matches In FBI Database After Houston Clears Rape Kit Backlog”

Stephen StemThe Eagle – by Andrea Salazar

Falls County Precinct 3 Constable Richard Aleman has a new deputy constable in Stephen C. Stem, the former Hearne police officer who shot and killed an armed 93-year-old woman last May.

Stem has been volunteering about 20 hours a month as Aleman’s deputy constable since Oct. 27, almost two months after a Robertson County grand jury cleared him of criminal wrongdoing in the shooting death of Pearlie Golden.

Aleman, who was elected in 2013 and has no full-time deputies on his payroll, said Stem has been a helpful addition to his office. Without paid support staff, Aleman said he works as many as 80 hours a week fulfilling his duties as constable: delivering legal documents, scheduling educational community events and contributing in criminal investigations when needed.

Continue reading “Former Hearne officer fired after death is volunteering as a deputy constable”

ALASKA MARIJUANAHuffington Post – by Matt Ferner

Marijuana is now legal for adults in Alaska.

Alaska on Tuesday becomes the third U.S. state to end prohibition of marijuana, officially putting into effect Ballot Measure 2, approved by 53 percent of state voters in November.

Alaskans age 21 and older may now legally possess up to one ounce of marijuana, grow as many as six marijuana plants in their homes (with no more than three flowering), and possess any additional marijuana produced by those plants.   Continue reading “Marijuana Is Officially Legal In Alaska”

A new study suggests that many peanut allergies can be prevented by feeding young children food containing peanuts early in life.New York Times – by Andrew Pollack

Turning what was once conventional wisdom on its head, a new study suggests that many, if not most peanut allergies can be prevented by feeding young children food containing peanuts beginning in infancy, rather than avoiding such foods.

About 2 percent of American children are allergic to peanuts, a figure that has more than quadrupled since 1997 for reasons that are not entirely clear. There have also been big increases in other Western countries. For some people, even traces of peanuts can be life-threatening.   Continue reading “Feeding Infants Peanut Products Could Prevent Allergies, Study Suggests”

Fortune – by Geoffrey Smith

What do you do when the CEO is part of the problem rather than part of the solution?

That’s the question for HSBC Holdings Plc HBC after weekend disclosures that its current boss, Stuart Gulliver, stashed away millions in an anonymous account in Panama in the past, while he was running the company’s operations in Asia.   Continue reading “HSBC CEO used offshore accounts to hide bonus payments from colleagues”

WDBJ 7 – by Shane Dwyer

ROANOKE, Va. – Have you slipped and fell on ice yet? I know my neighborhood was completely iced over Sunday morning. If you have, and even if you haven’t, we’ll let you in on a little secret. According to Tablet Infographics, the best way to walk on ice is to waddle like a penguin.

Yes, the birds that can’t fly know a thing or two about walking on ice. After all, they do live in Antarctica, the continent where the world’s lowest temperature was recorded, and the continent with 90% of the worlds ice. It’s cold and icy there, that’s for sure.   Continue reading “Walk like a penguin to stay safe on ice”

AIDANHOWARDHuffington Post – by Sebastian Murdock

A 6-year-old Alabama boy was pronounced dead Sunday after a man who had previously set a dog on fire crashed his SUV into the child, police said.

Aiden Howard had been in critical condition since he was struck by the vehicle on Feb. 12th. The suspect, 28-year-old Juan Daniels, remains on the run, WSFA reports.

Police said Daniels was fighting with a man in an apartment complex in Montgomery. The suspect allegedly tried to run over the man, but instead crashed into an apartment, striking the child instead. Police said Daniels then fled on foot.   Continue reading “Man Who Set Dog On Fire Has Now Killed A Child, Police Say”

[PHI] Thick Smoke Billows from Burning TankerNBC Philadelphia – by Vince Lattanzio and Kelly Bayliss

A tanker truck, filled to the brim with gasoline, erupted in flames after overturning on a busy Camden County, New Jersey roadway Monday morning.

The TK Transport truck was carrying 8,900 gallons of fuel when it ignited on the Route 90 eastbound on-ramp to US 130 north in Pennsauken, police said.

Pennsauken Police Captain Michael Probasco told NBC10 the truck overturned around 11 a.m. while its driver, 43-year-old Brian Ervin, navigated the ramp. For some reason, he lost control sending the truck into a guardrail before landing on Delaware River Port Authority land. The impact ruptured the tractor-trailer’s tank and the gasoline began to burn.   Continue reading “‘Boom, Boom, Boom!’ Tanker Burns on South Jersey Highway, Nearby Homes Evacuated”

Andrew Gallagher uses Chromebooks to teach language arts and social studies to his students.Hudson Reporter – by Art Schwartz

The fifth grade students in teacher Andrew Gallagher’s social studies and language arts class have graduated from paper to computers. On a recent wintry morning, they were all racing around the Internet, compiling information to support argumentative essays on topics such as whether school uniforms should be required, or if the death penalty should be illegal.

Collaborators Venizzo Valenciano and Angel Chicas, both 10, had chosen as their topic the question of “Tablets vs. Textbooks: Which is Better?”   Continue reading “No more pencils, no more books, Guttenberg students learn via technology”

Map of existing and proposed tar sands export pipelines.Earth Justice

A proposed tar sands pipeline through Western Canada threatens the Salish Sea—rich, abundant border waters shared by the U.S. and Canada—and the very existence and way of life of Native tribes located in the United States.

The pipeline would end near Vancouver, but from there, massive oil tankers carrying toxic tar sands bitumen must thread their way through the waters of the Salish Sea along the U.S-Canada border, where an oil spill would destroy one of our nation’s most valuable ecosystems.   Continue reading “Inside the Fight to Save the Salish Sea”

Hero Dog Who Took 2 Bullets During Home Invasion Expected to RecoverBrandon Patch – by Sherri Lonon

When a group of men forced their way into a Tampa home Tuesday night, Legend the dog wasted no time trying to protect his people.

The gentle giant sprang into action, biting one of the men, as the home’s occupants struggled with their attackers.

Legend, described as a bullmastiff mix, took two bullets in the attack – one in the side of the head. Even so, he was able to help scare the men off.   Continue reading “Hero Dog Who Took 2 Bullets During Home Invasion Expected to Recover”

Cops Stop Teens for Shoveling Snow, Stirring A Heap Of ControversyBridgewater Patch – by Emily Everson

It’s a practice that’s about as common as setting up a lemonade stand. In central New Jersey, local residents would hardly balk at two teenagers knocking on the door with snow shovels and offering to shovel a driveway for a buck or two.

That’s exactly why two Somerset County teens were shocked to learn that they were in violation of government ordinances, after being stopped by local police who ordered the Bridgewater-Raritan High School seniors to put down their fliers and go home.   Continue reading “Cops Stop Teens for Shoveling Snow, Stirring A Heap Of Controversy”

CBS News

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — International investigators have been trying to use social media to prevent three missing London schoolgirls from joining ISIS in Syria, as President Barack Obama says it is crucial to shut down the propaganda machine that is attracting recruits.

As CBS2 Political Reporter Marcia Kramer reported, many have said it is impossible to underestimate the success of the sophisticated and slickly produced propaganda that Islamic State militants have used to attract people from all over the world to join their war machine and commit barbaric atrocities.   Continue reading “Calls Mount For Shutdown Of ISIS Propaganda Machine As London Girls Vanish”

ABC News – by Ken Ritter

The teenage neighbor arrested in what has been described as the road-rage slaying of a Las Vegas mother boasted about the shooting and told friends that he emptied several clips from his semi-automatic handgun during the gunbattle, according to a police report released Friday.

The documents depict a fierce shootout last week involving 19-year-old Erich Milton Nowsch Jr., victim Tammy Meyers and her 22-year-old son.   Continue reading “Police: Suspect Bragged About Las Vegas Road-Rage Killing”

AOL Jobs – by Jim Slater

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The city of Ferguson is attracting a large pool of applicants to police jobs, including minority candidates seeking the position left vacant by the resignation of Darren Wilson, the officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, the mayor said.

Mayor James Knowles III believes city leaders have made it clear they are seeking minority officers to build a more diverse police force in the St. Louis suburb that endured months of unrest after Brown’s death last summer.   Continue reading “Ferguson Attracts Large Pool of Applicants to Police Jobs”

A Russian Tu-95 Bear 'H' aircraftBBC News

RAF jets were scrambled on Wednesday after two Russian military aircraft were seen off the Cornwall coast, the Ministry of Defence has said.

The Russian Bear bombers did not enter sovereign airspace, it said.

On the same day, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon warned that Russia’s President Putin posed a “real and present danger” to three Baltic states.   Continue reading “RAF jets scrambled after Russian bombers seen off Cornwall”

UPS DELIVERYHuffington Post – by Christopher Mathias

A new multimillion-dollar federal lawsuit alleges that UPS unlawfully shipped almost 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes in New York, undercutting anti-smoking efforts and depriving the state of millions of dollars in tax revenue.

The joint lawsuit, filed Wednesday by both the state and the city of New York, says the shipping giant made nearly 80,000 illicit shipments of cigarettes from unlicensed vendors on the state’s Native American reservations to locations elsewhere in the state from 2010 to 2014.   Continue reading “UPS Illegally Shipped 136 Million Contraband Cigarettes In New York, Says New Lawsuit”

Fox 6 Now

GERMANTOWN (WITI) — Thanks to man’s best friend and some quick police work, a Germantown woman is alive.

Early Friday morning, February 13th, John Boy, a black labrador, was found running around the Autumn Ridge neighborhood off of County Line Rd. in Germantown.

“He stood there and barked a little bit, then I rolled down my window and called to him. Then he wagged his tail and got more friendly until I got out of my car. And then he ran a little bit,” said Jeff Gonzalez of the Germantown Police Department.   Continue reading ““He pointed me in the right direction:” Dog leads officer to his owner, slumped over in chair”