A South Carolina family has helped raise more than $260,000 for a 72-year-old Domino’s pizza worker who fell on their porch while delivering their meal. Barbara Gillespie can now retire, according to Lacey Keighron of Moncks Corner. A TikTok video of Gillespie falling on the Keighrons’ porch on Feb. 2 went viral.
The video came from a doorbell camera, which captured Gillespie tripping while carrying several boxes of Domino’s pizza. The woman struggled to get up while Keighron’s husband went onto the porch to assist her. “I open the door and there she is just laying on the ground trying to get up. She was more worried about the food than anything else. And I was like, ‘I don’t care about the food. I care about you” Kevin Keighron said.
Lacey uploaded the video and started a gofundme that said “We would like to bless her by bringing a ‘tip’ to help her with anything she may need. She is an older woman who fell and only cared about the food she dropped. Let’s show her some kindness and take off some of this burden that our economy is causing the older generations especially.”
The video has been viewed more than 15.5 million times on TikTok and donations poured in.
Lacey Keighton said that she and her husband never expected to get such an outpouring of support — and cash. “We never expected to get as much as we did. We were just so excited and thrilled (to) be able to tell her the next day.”
The Keighrons surprised Gillespie at work with flowers, chocolates, and a large amount of money. Gillespie said “I couldn’t even think they were asking me for my phone number. I couldn’t remember my phone number, I am just standing there — and tears are welling in my eyes — and I am going, ‘I can’t believe this. This isn’t happening to me.’” Barbara was able to give her 2 week notice and finally retire with the funds raised.
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Tiktok food reviewer Keith Lee has blessed another struggling business. On Jan. 19, Lee posted a video recounting the story about a food truck owner parked on a lonely street in Las Vegas. The video, which has since gone viral, describes how the life of Gary Shanks, owner and chef of Southern Taste Seafood, changed for the better, all because of a chance encounter with the influential social media star.
On the way home from the bike ride, Lee says he came across a food truck he hadn’t seen before. As he approached, Shanks asked Lee what he wanted to order, and that’s when the TikToker noticed the menu was seafood-based — and Lee has an allergy to shellfish. Shanks generously offered Lee other items on his menu, like burgers, fries and catfish, and offered to prepare those dishes in separate bowls, with separate dishes and fresh oil to accommodate him, if he showed up the next day. Lee agreed to return.
“He told me he’s just trying to survive right now. It’s very slow. He’s lucky if he gets five to 10 people in,” he recounts. Lee says the next day, Shanks served him a burger and fries made with new oil and separate utensils, just as he said he would. Shanks, surprised that Lee came back, offered to make him his order for free, but Lee wasn’t going to let that happen.
Lee explained to his fans in the Tiktok “I went live the other day with Miss Shirley, passing out food to the less fortunate. During that live, you sent $450 worth of gifts. I took all that money and I sent it directly to his Cash App.” Shanks, clearly shocked in the clip, was overcome with emotion at Lee’s generosity. After Shanks tried to return the gift multiple times, Lee assured him that the donation was not a mistake. “I love moments like that ‘cause I’m so thankful and grateful from the bottom of my heart to be a vessel, and to help people like that,” Lee says.
Lee went home and sampled Shanks’ food in the now viral TikTok, giving high scores for the burger and fries. “Delicious. It was juicy, it was cheesy … immaculate,” Lee says. “Especially to be a place that don’t specialize in burgers. He makes seafood!” Now Shanks and his business are feeling the love. In a follow-up TikTok, Lee shares that so many people were sending Shanks money that within 24 hours he had received $30,000 without even selling a thing. He’s also had to enlist help to keep up with the uptick in business. Shanks says he was making $50 to $200 dollars depending on the day, but he’s seen about a 900% increase in revenue since the review.
Keith Lee is now known for his ability to change the fortunes of businesses big and small. His viral TikTok review of a Chipotle quesadilla hack in December caused it to go so viral, it ended up being added to the national chain’s menu. Then, earlier this month, Lee’s sterling review of Frankensons, a once-struggling pizza shop in Las Vegas, led to lines down the block overnight. Shanks said Lee showing up at his food truck was God-sent.
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Orion Jean, the then 10-year-old Fort Worth Texas boy who won a student kindness contest in 2020 where he pitched a campaign of compassion, is still spreading kindness. Last year, he used his $500 prize to buy toys that he donated to a children’s hospital in Dallas. After that, he partnered with a relief group to organize food drives and helped distribute 100,000 meals to families in Texas.
An avid reader, Jean has moved on to a new effort of collecting books to give out to children who might not have any at home. So far, he has 120,000 books but his goal is to have 500,000 books to pass out by the end of August. “I want to be able to share my love of literacy with as many people as possible,” he said. Jean said he’s participating in “the race to kindness,” because “It’s all about my moral duty to help people. You know, it’s my responsibility to be able to see these people who need help and knowing that I have the resources to help them.”
The children’s literacy non-profit, Reading Is Fundamental says 2 out of 3 children living in poverty do not have books at home and a recent survey reveals 94% of teachers’ biggest concern is their students do not have access to print books at home. Race to 500K books campaign runs until August 31st you can get involved by donating new or gently used children’s books to several drop off locations in Texas and Oklahoma. You can also make monetary donations through the website.
Last year, Orion worked quickly to record a video for the 2020 competition, held by Think Kindness, an organization that aims to inspire acts of kindness in schools and communities. In his speech, Orion focused on the idea that “kindness is easy, it can be free, and it can make someone’s day a whole lot better,” he said. Not only did Orion win the contest, but he also put his speech into action by creating the Race to Kindness, a series of events spreading kindness around the world.
Orion’s Race to Kindness previous campaigns of Race to 500 Toys for children at a local hospital and Race to 100K Meals were a success. For his efforts, the fifth grader was named one of America’s top 2021 youth volunteers by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards. Orion said organizing a donation drive is one way to practice kindness, but small, deliberate acts are just as important.
“It can start off with a positive thought or being kind to someone,” said Orion. He offered suggestions such as leaving a nice note for a neighbor or asking your parents how you can help them at home. “If you treat someone with a little kindness and with a little care, hopefully it will be returned back to you. And even if it doesn’t, it can make you feel better knowing that someone else feels better.”
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Starting this fall, Target has made it easier for U.S.-based team members to get their degrees with a new debt-free education assistance benefit. More than 340,000 full-time and part-time employees at stores, distribution centers, and headquarters locations will have access to free undergraduate and associates degrees, certificates, bootcamp programs, textbooks, and fees with no out-of-pocket costs required.
Target’s partnership with Guild Education will provide easy access to more than 250 business-aligned programs from over 40 schools, colleges, and universities. The benefit means Target will provide direct payments to their employees academic institution of up to $5,250 for non-master’s degrees. It will also fund advanced degrees within the network of schools, paying up to $10,000 annually for master’s programs.
Target is investing $200 million into the program over the next four years to help eliminate student debt for its employees. The program is part of the company’s sustainability strategy commitment- Target Forward. They hope to promote access to education to build a team that equitably reflects the communities they serve.
Team members will have a range of options, including courses for high school completion, college prep, and English language learning as well as select certificates, certifications, bootcamps, associate, and undergraduate degrees. A few schools to choose from are University of Arizona, Oregon State University, Morehouse College and Paul Quinn College.
Another retail giant investing in their employees, Walmart will be investing nearly $1 billion over the next five years in career-driven training and development for its workers. The largest U.S. private employer, the company announced last week that it will pay 100% of college tuition and books for its associates through its Live Better U (LBU) education program. The corporation already had a program for continued education in place offered to employees for $1 a day but they are now doing away with the fee making all education programs paid for by Walmart.
The Live Better U Program will now pay for 100% of tuition and books and is available for all of their approximately 1.5 million part-time and full-time Walmart and Sam’s Club associates in the U.S. starting on their first day. Employees can earn college degrees or learn trade skills without the burden of student loans with over 50 schools to choose from. Walmart will add four more academic partners, including Johnson & Wales University, the University of Arizona, the University of Denver, and Pathstream. These complement the existing partners: Brandman University, Penn Foster, Purdue University Global, Southern New Hampshire University, Wilmington University, and Voxy EnGen.
Since launching LBU in 2018, more than 52,000 associates have participated in the program to date, and 8,000 have already graduated. Nearly 28,000 associates have been active in a LBU program this summer. Currently, cost is a leading barrier for earning a degree—with student loan debt in the U.S. topping $1.7 trillion.
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A group of high school students at Bullis School in Potomac, Maryland, recently won two international awards for inventing and designing a device enabling people in wheelchairs to push a baby stroller. They came up with the design to help one of their teachers. Chelsie King reached out to the head of the school’s technology lab Matt Zigler for ideas on ways to help make it easier for her disabled husband Jeremy to care for their 4 month old.
King’s husband had undergone brain surgery three years earlier, which left him with numerous physical challenges. Some of them affected his speech and his balance, which meant he would need to use a wheelchair. “ When we found out we were expecting, we kind of immediately jumped into ‘OK, how he is going to do certain things for our baby that normal parents don’t have to think about?’” King said. “And one of the things that we really couldn’t find was a way to enjoy walks with our son.” They scoured the internet and came up short. Then King remembered that Matt Zigler, head of the school’s Innovation and Technology Lab taught a class that made things for social good.
Zigler presented the challenge to his students. “It seemed like sort of the perfect challenge for this class. One, it was great to have it as a challenge, but two, it was great that it was somebody in our community that could benefit from it,” Zigler said. The class was also touched by the challenge and interviewed the Kings virtually to get a better understanding of their needs.
Over the course of several weeks, the teams refined their ideas. The students designed custom brackets and shaped aluminum maker pipe to secure a stroller and wheelchair together. Prototypes for the WheeStroll, as they call it, were made using a 3D printer. Jeremy said the device is a godsend because he’s now able to enjoy the simple pleasure of taking a stroll with his family. “I never thought I’d be able to do something like this safely,” he said. “I feel wonderful. I feel ecstatic.”
“The first time we were able to take it out into our neighborhood just the three of us, it was amazing,” King said. “So, it was a match made in heaven with what we needed and with what Matt does in his classes.” The WheeStroll not only helped change the Kings’ lives, but it also changed the students who created it because they were able to see the impact their design had on the King’s day to day life.
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Five women in Montreal get together once a month to cook for the city’s less fortunate. They call themselves the Shathi Sisters. Shathi is a Bangladeshi word that means togetherness and that is the core of what drives the women to operate their multifaith soup kitchen out of the St. George’s Anglican Church in downtown Montreal. Together, they are helping others and showing that, even in small numbers, you can make the world better.
When COVID-19 hit the world and brought even more struggle to the already difficult lives of those in need, these women gladly ventured on this project. It gave them the opportunity to help others and to see each other. Since December, the Shathi Sisters have spent one Saturday a month cooking 100 meals for those in need and have distributed them around downtown Montreal.
Food costs are kept under $100, but the woman philanthropists have always made sure that the food is “not just scraps of food,” but something they themselves would prepare for their own families: delicious, enjoyable, and healthy, but low cost. They hope to expand their services in the future and eventually do this mission once a week. Besides giving food to the needy, the multifaith soup kitchen project has also brought these women together and they always look forward to it. “We think it’s our duty to do this,” said Irene Mazumder. “Not just because there’s people in need. It’s our duty. If we’re able to help, then why not.”
“The purpose of my engagement, it’s serving the community,” said Sobhan. “When the pandemic was going on, many people lost their homes. They are homeless. So it was great timing for us to start with this. And maybe we started with a soup kitchen, maybe we can do more things. More projects.” Another founder member, Nafissah Rahman, says ““We have a lot of spaces, but it’s not people of colour, there’s no representation. And it mattered to us that the representation of ourselves, so that our future generations can see that we too, we have to do this.”
With the months of public health restrictions, the Shahti Sisters say meeting up every four weeks fulfilled their need to connect in person. The added bonus to their good deed is another great example that anyone of all backgrounds can make a difference in the lives of others and these acts of kindness always inspire others.
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A seven-year-old cancer survivor with a big heart wanted to show his gratitude after completing his chemotherapy treatment. Tripp Hughes completed his treatment at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and his thought was, ‘How can I give back and help other kids that are going through tough things?’ He and his mother, Krista Hughes, started a toy drive that amassed thousands of toys for other kids going through treatment.
During the pandemic, patients are not allowed to share toys, so they go home with the children. Supplies were low and this is typically a slow time for toy donations. “They’d offer anything to make us just feel as at home as possible,” Tripp said. “So, we just wanted them to also feel the way that they made us feel.” Tripp and his mom started the toy drive and it just kept growing. They collected 4,400 toys packed into more than 100 boxes. “We just wanted to make sure that we got everything the hospital needed to be able to give back what they gave us,” Krista Hughes said.
Young Tripp was four years old when he was diagnosed with pre B-cell near-haploid acute lymphoblastic lymphoma. Tripp’s mother said the family was determined to face the challenge head-on and with positivity. She said the first 8 months were the most challenging but they had physical and emotional help from the hospital staff. “His team is just amazing. We’re so happy to have Children’s Mercy here,” she said. “Every single person you come into contact with helps the process feel ok.”
Krista said “He’s really impressed all of his doctors. His energy was always sky high, positive mood, never really let it affect him for the age that he is. He was always very mature for everything he was going through.” Tripp said “It’s just been a rollercoaster, every single pill I’ve been taking, every single day for two-and-a-half years.”
He wanted to celebrate his last treatment by thanking everyone at Children’s Mercy. His Toy Drive began as a few posts on social media, then it grew to involve benefit concerts and viral TikTok videos. “This has just exceeded our expectations. We had no idea it was going to get this big,” Krista Hughes said. Together, they donated a U-Haul packed with toys, blankets and other supplies to the hospital for other kids still in treatment.
Children’s Mercy staff said their supplies are running extra low. Summers are slow for donations and almost every toy is single use now because of COVID-19 safety precautions. They say Tripp’s gift couldn’t have come at a better time. Gregg Rosenboom, In-kind Giving Coordinator for Children’s Mercy described the donation as Christmas in July at the hospital. He said “He just went through a really tough time in his life and his thought was, ‘how can I give back and help other kids going through tough things?’ That’s awesome.”
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The confirmed U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is approaching 180,000, with over 5.7 million recorded infections. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the U.S. is on track to record its 200,000th death from COVID-19 by the fourth week of September. Public health officials say the true U.S. death toll likely passed that grim milestone weeks ago.
The White House defended a decision by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend against coronavirus testing for people who lack symptoms of COVID-19 — even if they’ve been exposed to an infected person. The CDC also quietly dropped its recommendation that people quarantine for 14 days after traveling from an area with a high rate of infection. Public health experts say the moves will undermine efforts to control the spread of the disease. The New York Times cited two federal health officials who said the changes were ordered by higher-ups at the Department of Health and Human Services and the White House.
The decision was reportedly made at an August 20 meeting of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, while top public health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci was not present because he was undergoing surgery. The changes were backed by the task force’s newest member, Dr. Scott Atlas — a Fox News contributor and radiologist with no expertise in infectious diseases. This comes amid rising concern over outbreaks in schools around the country as at least three dozen states so far have reported cases on college campuses.
A return to campus for the new academic year has colleges and universities struggling to both contain outbreaks of Covid-19 and enforce policies meant to prevent its spread. Across the United States, at least 36 states have reported positive cases at colleges and universities, adding more than 8,700 cases to the country’s tally. Outbreaks have been identified at four different sororities at Kansas State University, according to news releases from the college and the Riley County Health Department. Temple University in Philadelphia announced it is suspending in-person classes for two weeks following the identification of 103 cases on campus. East Carolina reported 370 total positive cases from students as of Aug. 24.
The University of Alabama is receiving backlash after it ordered faculty members to remain silent about students who test positive for the virus, arguing that alerting their classmates would violate federal privacy laws. In an email the professors were admonished, “Do not tell the rest of the class,” with the word “not” underlined. UA currently has confirmed over 1,200 Covid 19 cases since classes resumed August 19th. They continue to urge students to wear masks and socially distance on and off campus. Many schools have limited parties and other gatherings to reduce Covid-19 risks but those rules being violated are why Notre Dame’s outbreak started.
A consensus is building among public health experts that it’s better to keep university students on campus after a Covid-19 outbreak rather than send them home as many are doing. It’s easier to isolate sick or exposed students and trace their contacts if they stay put. While sending students home risks exposing other people there as well as along the way, and makes contact tracing all but impossible. Contact tracing can help manage outbreaks when done correctly. The U.S. has struggled with it for many reasons, including getting people to answer the phone and respond truthfully. That’s even harder at college, when students worry about being disciplined for violating rules on social gathering.
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Daily HI4E.org Trivia Contest Winners For The Week Ending: Sunday, August 30th, 2020.
In an effort to broaden the company’s “social interaction” with our clients and FaceBook fans, Daily Trivia Questions are posted on both of our business pages. Here are the weekly standings for this past week, and the winner of the Sunday night Weekly Drawing for an AmEx/VISA gift card!
Congratulations – To this past week’s Trivia Contest Winner!! Our latest contest winner for the weekly FaceBook HealthInsurance4Everyone/Health & Life Solutions, LLC Trivia Contest, drawn randomly by computer late Sunday evening, August 30th, 2020 was:
ROBIN PRATT
St. Petersburg, FL
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEX/VISA Gift Card
Each day, fans who have “liked” either of our company FaceBook pages (HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions LLC) are able to test their skills with our Daily TRIVIA QUESTION. The first 20 winners who post the correct answer to the TRIVIA QUESTION, will then get entered into the weekly drawing held late on Sunday evenings for a $25.00 Am Ex/Visa Gift Card.
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook fan and “Like and Follow” either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Trivia Winners & Drawing Entries 8/24/20 thru 8/30/20 are as follows:
8/24/20
Jennifer Ramlet
Debbie Bloxom
Kimberly Snyder
Suzie Mize Lockhart
Rosanne Clark
Jessica Jenry
Stephanie Beckwith
Stacy Nelson
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Becky Holland
Alexis Maureen
Jessica Steiner
Cathy Ahner
Jan Lehman
Jasmine Rose
Paula Johnson
Lena Perry
Steve Ahner
Lisa Puckett
8/25/20
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Michelle Webb
Jill Nauyokas
Debbie Bloxom
Shannon Schleif
Carol Jean
Tina Mimick
Naomi Ruth
Yolanda Ortega-Hackett
Mary Pettiford
Jenai Merri
Edward John
Christina Domingue
Maria Bouchard
Geri Rus
Jan Lehman
Jennifer Vega
Alicia Johnson
Pam Johnson Rowland
Sue Dudley
8/26/20
Karen Brunet Moore
Stephanie Beckwith
Brooke Scott
Kim Avery
Stephanie Beckwith
Debbie Bloxom
Misty Shallcross
Be Schwerin
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Rhonda Grisham
Josephine Casey
Patricia Oehlert Vazquez
Lisa A Mazola
Yolanda Ortega-Hackett
Andrea Somers
Karron Redfield
Karyn Koehler
Cheryl Ralley-Messick
Karen Goodwin Delaney
Becky VanGinkel
8/27/20
Dawn Waddington
Jessica Steiner
Alana Dimambro
Debbie Bloxom
Rhonda Grisham
Tina Auth
Sheila Carvell
Becca Dotsun
Tina Mimick
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Sherry Lilly
Vickie Gipson
Lisa Puckett
Kate Williams
Amanda Quill
Priscilla Shimp
Kim Avery
Jennifer Vega
Kelsey Brooke Vinson
Brandi Long
Robin Pratt
8/28/20
Nacole Patrick
Christina Cannon
Yolanda Ortega-Hackett
Cathy Ahner
Alicia Johnson
Bea Patrick
Stephen Earl
Sarah Frank
Mike Wallace
Christina Radcliff
Steve Ahner
Cathie Ahner
April Ashcraft
Jan Peoples
Lucyna Dorota
Linda Godin
Brittney Dorsey
Tom JG
Lena Perry
Eleazar Ruiz
8/29/20
Gail Yarbrough
Brittany Light
Eleazar Ruiz
Leigh Reader
Tessa Davis
Marie Mariani
Lena Perry
Christy Hawkes
Dawn Waddington
Dawn Raasch
Wendy Pesce
Brooke Scott
Robin Pratt
Stephanie Beckwith
Kalynnilene Carter
Josephine Casey
Brandi K Chaney
Alana Dimambro
Kelsey Brooke Vinson
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Jennifer Ramlet
8/30/20
Tera Lee Culverwell
April Ashcraft
Chrissy Kim
Kate Williams
Angela Meek
Tina Auth
Kendra Lewis Mcbride
Eleazar Ruiz
Christy Hawkes
Josephine Casey
Amanda Brewer
Joanie Waterman
Alicia Johnson
Shannon Rush
Jenai Merri
Darlene Whyte
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Tera Lee Culverwell
Alyssa DiFazio
Leigh Reader
Be sure to watch both of our FaceBook pages for your chance to win and enter again next week, with questions posted daily on HealthInsurance4Everyone or at Health & Life Solutions, LLC!!
Remember that if you try your hand at answering the Trivia Question several days each week, your odds of winning the Sunday weekly drawing are much better.
Also note that a number of the posted answers each day are from contestants who have forgotten to “Like” one of our pages, so their names WILL NOT be entered at the end week drawing for the gift card, giving our fans a better chance!
You may also find that if you “Like” BOTH of the business pages, you will receive faster notifications of the other players as they post their answers to compete with you!
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Protests have turned violent in several cities while clashing with right-wing groups. A Kalamazoo City Commissioner called out a Kalamazoo pastor who organized a unity rally the same day the Proud Boys planned to protest. The Southern Poverty Law Center considered The Proud Boys a hate group. Several fights broke out when the Proud Boys came face-to-face with counter protesters in downtown Kalamazoo Saturday Aug. 15, 2020. Nathan Dannison, who organized the prayer vigil and unity rally, said at the he did not know the Michigan People’s Defense League was coming.
Kalamazoo City Commissioner Erin Knott said violence may have been avoided if counter-protesters stayed home. “I think that only gave the Proud Boys the intention and the fuel they so desire. We know from researching the Proud Boys, they don’t start the fight, they finish the fight,” Knott said. The two groups violently clashed. Video showed members of the Proud Boys use pepper spray on counter-protesters and people using torn down street signs as bats. The violence was contentious and assaultive on both sides.
In Georgia, a pro-Confederacy rally drew armed, far-right militia members to the Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Stone Mountain Park Saturday. Videos on social media showed far-right protestors attacking anti-facism protesters with pepper spray as the counter-protesters chanted “Go home, racists!” and anti-facism protesters grabbing Confederate flags and setting them alight. The protest dispersed when police in riot gear moved in on the crowd at around 1 p.m., and ordered demonstrators to leave or be arrested. Photos from the scene showed the National Guard moving in as well.
After a long day of peaceful protests, agitators descended on Chicago after many protestors went home. The riot resulted in 24 arrests after “multiple agitators” used black umbrellas, changed their appearance and assaulted officers by using skateboards, bottles, bicycles and other projectiles as well as mace. One peaceful protestor defended the actions of police, saying officers responded proportionately to get the situation under control and used pepper spray to deter agitators. Seventeen officers were injured during the clash.
In Portland, Oregon, right-wing extremists and members of the “alt-right” group Patriot Prayer organized a small rally, where they shot pellets from paintball guns and pepper spray against counter-protesters. Patriot Prayer and its leader, Joey Gibson, have organized three of the most violent protests in Portland’s recent history, on Aug. 6, 2017; June 30, 2018; and Oct. 13, 2018. He also organized a large Aug. 4, 2018 rally that led police to use crowd control agents on leftist counter-demonstrators, severely injuring several people with flash-bang grenades.
Protests have happened nightly in Portland for more than two months following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. Police are looking for a suspect shown on video assaulting a driver until he was unconscious. Authorities had received a report around 10:30 p.m. of protesters chasing a truck a few blocks from the downtown federal courthouse. The driver crashed and was then assaulted. Video posted online showed the driver of the truck sitting in the street next to the vehicle. A crowd gathered around him and repeatedly punched and kicked him in the head until he was bloody. It wasn’t immediately clear what led to the crash or the confrontation. When police arrived, the man was unconscious. The victim of the assault has been released from a hospital and is recovering.
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