Michigan’s state health director Nick Lyons is facing trial for involuntary manslaughter over the deaths of two men amid an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint after the city switched its water supply to the Flint River in an attempt to save money. The Flint region’s 2014-2015 Legionnaires’ disease outbreak that killed 12 people and sickened another 79 people. Michigan has admitted 12 people died in the outbreak, but a recent report by PBS “Frontline” has found the death toll from the water crisis in Flint may be higher than Michigan officials have acknowledged.
Judge David Goggins issued a ruling sending Nick Lyon’s criminal case to a full trial, meaning the judge believes there is enough valid evidence for a jury to consider. The ruling came at the end of a 10-month preliminary hearing that started in September and wrapped up in early July after more than 25 days of testimony. Lyons is the highest-ranking state official to face charges so far over Flint’s water-poisoning crisis. He’s also being charged with willful neglect of duty and misconduct in office for the deaths of John Snyder and Robert Skidmore. The involuntary manslaughter charge is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Lyon’s felony misconduct in office charge is for allegedly obstructing academic researchers from studying the outbreak, which carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.
Both men allegedly died from Legionnaires’ disease caused by Flint switching its drinking water source to the Flint River in 2014. They did not ensure that the water was properly treated to prevent corrosion in old plumbing. This caused lead and other metals to leach into the water, exposing residents and risking permanent neurological damage to local children. The improper water treatment also interfered with disinfectants and caused the release of iron and other bacterial nutrients into the water, which can spur the spread and growth of Legionella bacteria. When those germs are aerosolized and inhaled from sources such as hot showers, humidifiers, and water coolers, they can cause a deadly form of pneumonia called Legionnaire’s disease.
Flint experienced a surge in Legionnaire’s disease after the water switch, with cases totaling around 100 and leading to at least 12 deaths, including Skidmore and Snyder’s. Researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention genetically linked the bacteria infecting patients to those found in the city’s water. Prosecutors argued Lyon, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director, waited too long to alert the public to an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease in Flint during the water crisis. He allegedly knew about the outbreak in early 2015 but waited nearly a full year before alerting the public. Both men were said to be healthy and active prior to their hospitalizations. Lyon’s defense attorneys argued he was not negligent in the men’s deaths and that prosecuting a public official who did his best amid a wide-ranging crisis would have a chilling effect on other public employees doing their duties. They pointed out Skidmore and Snyder “would have received the same medical treatment” even if Lyon had made an announcement sooner.
In a statement issued after the ruling, Governor Rick Snyder praised Lyon’s work during the Flint water crisis and said Lyon would remain on the job as Michigan Department of Health and Human Services director during the trial. An additional 14 current or former state and local officials have been criminally charged in connection with the water issues.
State officials now say that the city’s water meets federal standards for lead and other contaminants but the water can still pick up toxic ingredients from contaminated pipes. For now, residents need to continue drinking bottled or filtered water until the city’s plumbing is replaced, which the city is working to do by 2020.
Read more
A Pennsylvania a grand jury report revealed how more than 300 Catholic priests sexually abused over 1,000 children and possibly thousands more over seven decades and that the church leadership covered up the abuse. The report chronicles how the church used an array of tactics to conceal the abuse, including lying to the community about why a priest was removed from the parish, transferring pedophile priests rather than firing them, and locking abuse complaints away in a “secret archive.”
The report also details how priests raped young girls and boys, including one priest who raped a young girl in the hospital after she had her tonsils out. Another priest impregnated a young girl and then arranged for her to have an abortion. One priest who had been repeatedly accused of child abuse asked for—and received—a letter of recommendation to work at Disneyland.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro said “Today, the most comprehensive report on child sexual abuse within the church ever produced in our country was released,” Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. “Pennsylvanians can finally learn the extent of sexual abuse in these dioceses. For the first time, we can all begin to understand the systematic cover up by church leaders that followed. The abuse scarred every diocese. The cover up was sophisticated. The church protected the institution at all costs.” “The term ‘secret archives’ is not my term. It is how the church officials themselves refer to the troves of documents sitting in filing cabinets, just feet from the bishops’ desks. In each diocese, the bishops had the key to the secret archives, which contained both allegations and admissions of the abuse and the cover-up.”
The 884-page document, two years in the making, exposed the predators and the efforts of their bishops to protect them. Several clergy abuse victims who had testified before the grand jury attended Shapiro’s news conference and at least one of them could be seen breaking down in tears.
In a statement issued Thursday—two days after the grand jury delivered its report—Vatican spokesperson Greg Burke described the abuses as criminal and morally reprehensible. “There are two words that can express the feelings faced with these horrible crimes: shame and sorrow. The Holy See treats very seriously the work of the grand jury and the report it has produced. The Holy See condemns unequivocally the sexual abuse of minors. The abuses described in the report are criminal and morally reprehensible. The acts were betrayals of trust that robbed survivors of their dignity and, in many cases, also their faith. The church must learn hard lessons from the past, and there should be accountability for both abusers and those who permitted abuse to occur.”
The Vatican told victims Pope Francis “is on their side” and promised action to “root out this tragic horror.” The statement came just months after the pope said he mishandled a Vatican investigation into widespread sexual abuses by clergy in Chile, and less than two months after a Vatican court sentenced the church’s former ambassador to Washington, D.C., to five years in prison on a child pornography charge.
Read more
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 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 26th, 2018 was:
MORGAN ALEXANDRA
Rochelle, VA
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx 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 Gift Card.
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
8/20/19
Christy Hawkes
Jill Nauyokas
Tiffany Greene Elliott
Deborah Farris
Brandy Marie Williams
Paula Johnson
Stephanie Beckwith
Mike Adamski
Terry Bellender
Allison Giffune Paige
Tracy Heyer
Jenifer Garza
Kayla Clemons
Sandy Nevels
Lori Capobianco
Be Schwerin
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Keith Ruff
Brandi K Chaney
Angela Janisse
Demara Peterson Broadus
Sheila Carvell
Nicole Blaha
Kim Avery
Tina Mimick
8/21/18
Deborah Farris
Jade Good
Kimberly Snyder
Jill Nauyokas
Jodi Stevens
Jenifer Garza
Trish Musgrave
Mary Mcmenamy
Nai Merri
Pamela White Brearley
Alysia Jackson
Becky Freeman
Angela Janisse
Mary Ann Cody
Holly Cajigas
Stephanie Griffith
Sarah Harrison
Alessandro Tuono
Mya Murphy
Abby Noelle
Jessica Miller
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Lauren Bradley
8/22/18
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Jessica Miller
Holly Cajigas
Christy Hawkes
Kristi Cervantes
Amanda Nichole Young
Kathleen Marks
Nai Merri
Karyn Koehler
Morgan Alexandra
Melissa Hodges
Beth Cleveland
Meg Marshall
Sabrina Zehner
Jodi Stevens
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Brandi Hawn
Tracey Smith
Kacie Rogers
Michelle Webb
Kimberly Snyder
Debbie Gremlin
8/23/18
Brittany Light
Tiffany Patrick
Jessica Miller
Mya Murphy
Jane Peterson
Brooke Scott
Jill Nauyokas
April Ashcraft
Nicole Blaha
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Kacie Rogers
Dawn Raasch
Tabitha Sinks
Susan Clarke Jette
Shannon Rush
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Dave Miller
Heather Marocco
Stephanie Beckwith
Be Schwerin
8/24/18
Phylicia Phillips
Melissa Ann Stura-Bassett
Christy Martinez
Be Schwerin
Jenifer Garza
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Jill Nauyokas
Nitasha Shank
Becca Neuenschwander Long
Cyndi Jansheski
Brittany Light
Jennifer Marie
Tracey Smith
Kim Avery
Sherry Lilly
Kathryn Stacy
Stephanie Beckwith
Holly Cajigas
Alexandria Fields
Kelsey Brooke Vinson
Martha Balderson
Shannon Scott
Amanda Rosario
8/25/18
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Deborah Farris
Kimberly Snyder
Christy Martinez
Dena Baji
Susan Clarke Jett
Thomas Ryan Gan
Mikayla Oakes
Carol Jean
Geri Rus
Katrina Worford
Jennifer Ramlet
Abby Noelle
Alexandria Fields
Gina Taylor
Sheila Carvell
Be Schwerin
Debbie Gremlin
Angela Janisse
Becky Holland
8/26/18
Joanie Waterman
Kimberly Snyder
Jennifer Lang
Paula M Bondy
Priscilla Shimp
Dawn Raasch
Wayne Gallas
Susan Clarke Jette
Tracey Smith
Don Redfield Jr.
Mya Murphy
Sean Stover
Sheri Boydston
Hunter Coffey
Ralph Gonzales
Alexis Maureen
Trish Musgrave
Jennifer Alford
Derelys Peterson
MaryAnn G. Ball
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!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
Read more
The airline industry is re-examining security protocols after an airport worker at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport stole a plane on Friday night, took off without permission, then flew it for about an hour before crashing the plane into an island on Puget Sound. Richard Russell, a ground service agent, was the only person on board when he crashed the 76-seat Horizon Air plane.
Russell took off around 7:30 p.m. on August 10th, according to the authorities. He chatted with air traffic controllers who tried to guide him to a safe landing, as jets from the Air National Guards of Washington and Oregon flew alongside him, ready to take action. In recordings of Mr. Russell’s conversation with air traffic controllers, he speaks admiringly of the Olympic Mountains at sunset, complains of lightheadedness and muses about potential prison time if he were to land the plane safely.
At one point, an air traffic controller asked if Mr. Russell felt comfortable flying. “It’s blast, man,” Mr. Russell replied. “I played video games before so, you know, I know what I’m doing a little bit.” At times, Mr. Russell was contrite. “Man, I’m sorry about this. I hope this doesn’t ruin your day,” he said to the controller, adding that he was grateful to be kept away from other aircraft. “I’m glad you’re not, you know, screwing up everyone else’s day on account of me.” He said he hoped to have a “moment of serenity” in the air but lamented that the sights “went by so fast.”
“I got a lot of people that care about me, and it’s going to disappoint them to hear that I did this,” Mr. Russell could be heard saying. “I would like to apologize to each and every one of them. Just a broken guy, got a few screws loose, I guess. Never really knew it until now.” Videos taken by onlookers during Mr. Russell’s flight showed the plane doing deep dives, broad loops and at least one upside-down roll. The plane came down in a fiery crash on Ketron Island, about 30 miles from the airport and Russell was killed in the crash.
Russell had worked for Horizon Air, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group, for three and a half years and was responsible for handling luggage and cargo and for towing aircraft. At a news conference the following day, the chief executive of Horizon Air Industries, Gary Beck, said Mr. Russell had cleared all the necessary background checks and was meant to be “on the secure side” of the airport, where the plane was. Beck said that Richard Russell did not have a pilot’s license “Commercial aircrafts are complex machines,” Mr. Beck added. “I don’t know how he achieved the experience he did.”
The plane was not scheduled for a flight when Mr. Russell commandeered it. Alaska Airlines officials said it was not clear how Russell had managed to take off in the plane. Debra Eckrote, the chief of the northwest regional office of the National Transportation Safety Board, said that it was conceivable that a ground service agent would be able to start an airplane. “They don’t necessarily use a key, so there’s switches that they use to start the aircraft,” she said. “So if the person has basic understanding — from what I understand he was support personnel, ground personnel — they probably do have at least a basic understanding on how to start the aircraft.”
At a news conference, Mike Mathews, a family friend, read a statement on behalf of Mr. Russell’s family. “We are stunned and heartbroken,” according to the statement, which described Mr. Russell as a faithful husband, a loving son and a good friend. “He was right in saying that there are so many people who have loved him.” Tim Orr, who also works at the Seattle-Tacoma airport said he had known Mr. Russell since they were both 12. He described Russell as the funniest and nicest person in the room. Mr. Orr added that Russell and his wife were active church members “so he doesn’t really fit the bill of someone who would steal an airplane.”
Read more
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 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 19th, 2018 was:
BROOKE SCOTT
Jonesboro, GA
2nd Time Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx 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 Gift Card.
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
8/13/18
Jill Nauyokas
Brooke Scott
Trish Musgrave
Pamela Garner Sloss
Deborah Farris
Eleazar Ruiz
Hayley Cordaro
Kayla Hernandez
Nicole Blaha
Beth Cleveland
Traci Anderson
Jodi Stevens
Brandi K Chaney
Cassandra Berholtz
Kayte CookWatts
Mike Adamski
Shannon Rush
Britta Brown Lawson
Wendi Black
Anne Hanson
8/14/18
Brooke Scott
Be Schwerin
Joanie Waterman
Darlene Whyte
Amber Chandler
Christina Domingue
Phylicia Phillips
Brandi K Chaney
Jennifer Downing
Tracy Shafer
Becky Freeman
Jen Freese
Murphy Mya
Kim Minton
Karen Bondehagen
Brittany Light
Georgiann D’Angelo
Christina Montes
Eleazar Ruiz
June Rivera
Stacy Lynn Nelson
Jill Nauyokas
8/15/18
Nacole Patrick
Karen Brunet Moore
Bea Patrick
Christy Hawkes
Lori Capobianco
Thomas Ryan Gan
Phylicia Phillips
Paula Johnson
Kathleen Marks
Jenifer Garza
Tracy Heyer
Jessica Davis
Ashley Agner
Tracey Smith
Nicole Blaha
Beth Cleveland
Tonya Velazquez
Darlene Whyte
Cassandra Berholtz
Kathi Taylor
Cheryl Hall
Lisa Bloomberg Wahl
8/16/18
Mikey Mellor
Natasha Berry
Mike Adamski
Autumn Dansby
Kimberly Necolie
Shannon Rush
Kristina Harris
Nikki Hunsaker
Murphy Mya
Jennifer Kinner
Barbara Austin
Be Schwerin
Mary Achio
Anna Nichols
Kacie Rogers
Tracey Smith
Keith Ruff
Chrissy Kim
Edward John
Carol Jean
Benjamin Odell
8/17/18
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Phylicia Phillips
Karen Brunet Moore
Tabitha Sinks
Lori Capobianco
Amber Chandler
Mya Murphy
Teresa L Shively
Lisa Bloomberg Wahl
Nicole Blaha
Jennifer Lang
Paula Johnson
Tina Auth
Beth Cleveland
Amber McGrath
Eva Biggs
Jennifer Downing
Priscilla Shimp
Angela Janisse
Christina Domingue
Chuck Derr
8/18/18
Nicole Blaha
Eva Biggs
Lauren Bradley
Edward John
Alisa Jones
Kathleen Marks
Tina Auth
Brooke Scott
Jill Nauyokas
Cassandra Berholtz
Debbie Gremlin
Lisa Marie Ferraiolo Whitener
Andrea Workman
Brittany Light
Carol Jean
Pamela Garner Sloss
Jessica Miller
Samantha Brwn
Kim Avery
Mary Pettiford
Jessica Davis
Pamela White Brearley
8/19/18
Jill Nauyokas
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Be Schwerin
Eleazar Ruiz
Johanna Landsaw-Davis
Christy Martinez
Alyssa DiFazio
Sheila Carvell
Kathi Taylor
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Anna Nichols
Carla Williams
Alison Giffune Paige
Brianna Ketchum
Maria Bouchard
Kimberly Snyder
Stephanie Marie Walls
Alicia Dansby
Amanda Brewer
Amber Chandler
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!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
Read more
An advocacy group, JOCO United- has recently launched by friends and supporters of the parents of a suicidal teen killed by police during a welfare check. On Jan. 20, 2018, police were dispatched to the home of 17 year old John Albers at about 5:35 p.m. on a report that he was home alone and suicidal. Albers had no criminal history but a history of mental health issues, was shot as he was backing the family’s minivan down the driveway by one of the first Overland Park officers to arrive at the home, Clayton Jenison. Jenison resigned shortly after the shooting for personal reasons. A month later, after a multi-jurisdictional investigation, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe concluded the officer reasonably feared for his life, deeming the shooting justified. Dashcam footage was released and shown at the press conference when Howe announced that no charges would be filed.
Howe and Overland Park Police Chief Frank Donchez said they thought the officer’s actions were not unreasonable and that investigators could not determine if Albers was killed by the first two shots or the subsequent shots. The release of the video touched off intense debate among the public, especially parents wondering whether calling the police for help with mental health issues was even a safe option. The video shows two different dashcam recordings of the shooting and begins with the view of a police vehicle as it drives toward the Albers home. The Albers home comes into view and the family minivan is backing out of the garage into the driveway with Albers at the wheel. Overland Park Police Officer Clayton Jenison stands to the rear of the van and shouts “Stop!” As the van continues, Jenison fires two shots at it. The van pauses and then continues backing down the driveway past the police officer, making a U-turn in reverse back toward the house. The officer shouts “Stop the car!” as another police vehicle pulls up to the entrance of the driveway. Officer Jenison shoots at the van 11 more times and another officer runs toward the driveway. One of the officers shouts “Shots fired! Shots fired! ” The van rolls forward into the street and one of the officers shouts “Stop! Stop, John, stop the car!” The van rolls across the street into a neighbor’s front yard as other officers run to the van. One officer calls for medical assistance “Shots fired, He’s down, we need medical ASAP.” An officer talks to Albers. “John, John, John, John. God damn it! Glove up, glove up!” The officer continues talking to Albers. “John, are you all right? Ah, (expletive).
Another video, taken from a dash cam in a vehicle parked on the opposite side of the Albers home, begins before the shooting. It shows the first two officers arrive first and walk up to the house. One officer walks back down the driveway while Officer Jenison stays at the front of the house. Jenison walks into the driveway as the garage door opens. The van starts backing out of the garage toward the officer. The officer shouts “Stop!” three times while stepping backward down the driveway and into the grass. Officer Jenison pulls his gun, firing twice and the van briefly stops in the driveway. The van continues backing down the driveway and the officer steps to his right to avoid the van. The van makes a U-Turn in reverse into the yard as another police vehicle pulls into the driveway. Officer Jenison shouts “Stop the car!” and fires 11 more times at the van as it backs up through the yard toward the house. As other officers run toward the van two officers walk away. “Hey, deep breaths, man,” one officer says to Officer Jenison. “Deep breaths. “Come here, buddy, come over here,” one officer says. Jenison, who sounds obviously shaken says “I thought he was going to run me over, man.” Another officer answers, “I know.”
Many people were disturbed by the shooting and by the district attorney’s findings, said Mark Schmid of Overland Park, who helped found JOCO United. “We want to bridge the divide standing between us and the city’s police and political leaders so we can work together.” One goal is to improve how officers respond to people with mental illness or are in mental distress. Steve and Sheila Albers told news outlets “People from all walks of life were devastated and shaken by such a senseless act and the exceedingly poor response.” Sheila Albers filed a lawsuit in April, suing the officer who shot her son and the city of Overland Park. The court documents state that the officer “acted recklessly and deliberately” when he shot and killed Albers, who may not have known police were at his home and was “simply backing his mom’s minivan out of the family garage, Aavehicle passing a police officer does not give that officer an ongoing license to kill an unthreatening citizen.” The lawsuit is pending.
Read more
The father of a missing 3-year-old who was arrested at a New Mexico compound linked to “extremist Muslims” was training children to commit school shootings. Prosecutors allege Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, 39, was conducting weapons training on the compound, where 11 children were found hungry and living in squalor. Wahhaj, who is being held without bail, is the son of a Brooklyn imam, also named Siraj Wahhaj, who was named by prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His father, who heads Masjid At-Taqwa mosque, was also a character witness in the trial for Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, the notorious “blind sheikh” who was convicted in 1995 of plotting terror attacks in the U.S.
Authorities raided the compound after a months-long investigating into the disappearance of Abdul-ghani Wahhaj, a boy with severe medical issues who went missing from Georgia in December. Wahhaj told the missing boy’s mother that he wanted to perform an “exorcism” on his then-3-year-old son because he was “possessed by the devil.” The child reportedly suffered from seizures and couldn’t walk. The child’s remains were found on the property but authorities have not confirmed a cause of death.
The compound was located near the Colorado border shielded by old tires, wooden pallets and other debris. Upon authorities’ arrival, Wahhaj was “heavily armed with an AR15 rifle, five loaded 30 round magazines, and four loaded pistols, including one in his pocket when he was taken down,” Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said. Lucas Morton, Jany Leveille, 35, Hujrah Wahhaj, 38, and Subhannah Wahhaj, 35, were also arrested on the property and all face child abuse charges.
The search at the compound came amid a two-month investigation that included the FBI. Hogrefe said federal agents surveilled the area a few weeks ago but did not find probable cause to search the property. That changed when Georgia detectives forwarded a message to the sheriff that he said initially had been sent to a third party, saying: “We are starving and need food and water.”
The sheriff said the children, ages 1 to 15, “looked like third world country refugees not only with no food or fresh water, but with no shoes, personal hygiene and basically dirty rags for clothing.” Jason Badger, who owned the property where the compound was built, said he and his wife had pressed authorities to remove the group after becoming concerned about the children. The group had built the compound on their acreage instead of a neighboring tract owned by Lucas Morton, one of the men arrested during the raid.
Documents filed in 8th District Court in Taos County quoted the foster parent of one of the 11 children as having told investigators that Siraj Ibn Wahhaj, was conducting weapons training at the squalid compound. According to the document, Wahhaj “had trained the foster parent’s child in the use of an assault rifle in preparation for future school shootings.” The foster parent’s accusations have not been verified and are still under investigation.
Read more
In Pennsylvania, South Whitehall Township Police Officer Jonathan Roselle has been charged with manslaughter for fatally shooting 44-year-old Joseph Santos. The shooting happened July 28 along a busy highway near Dorney Park in South Whitehall Township. Officer Roselle was investigating reports of a Latino man interfering with traffic when he encountered Santos.
Officer Roselle was initially monitoring traffic when a woman came to him about a man who had approached and tried to enter her vehicle. At least one other driver told the officer that a Latino man was jumping on cars and interfering with traffic. When Roselle encountered Santos, the officer found him bleeding. Roselle notified dispatchers of a man with possible mental issues and requested more units at the scene.
According to several videos captured by bystanders, Santos went on to hit and jump on the officer’s car. Santos is seen walking away from Roselle and his vehicle. At some point, Santos struck the driver side of the officer’s SUV and jumped on the hood of the vehicle. Once off the hood, Santos continued to hit the side of the vehicle, eventually leaning on the SUV. Roselle ordered Santos during this time to back away from the SUV. Some of the bystander videos of the encounter captured this.
They also show Santos walking away from the Roselle’s vehicle and then turning back around to walk toward the officer. Roselle is heard yelling for Santos to “get on the ground,” but Santos does not comply. Shortly after, Roselle shot Santos five times and Santos is seen falling to the ground.
While announcing the charges at a press conference, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin told reporters that “in this case, there is no evidence that Mr. Santos was armed with any weapon and no evidence that he had committed or attempted a forcible felony.” Officer Roselle, 33, who was on patrol by himself for fewer than five months, “killed under an unreasonable, mistaken belief that he was justified” in fatally shooting Santos, Martin added.
Officials said Roselle remains on administrative leave, while the investigation into the shooting continues. The rookie cop previously served in the U.S. Army and did a tour in Afghanistan. Roselle graduated from the Allentown Police Academy last year and completed about 13 weeks of field training before being allowed to patrol by himself, the district attorney said. Martin acknowledged Santos’ bizarre behavior but added that when Santos walked toward the officer again, “he was not running or rushing toward the officer. He did not have anything visible in his hands. He was not clenching his fists. He did not present a threatening posture. He was plainly not armed with any type of weapon.” Martin also said Santos was heard saying “Don’t do it” before Roselle shot him.
Though Santos failed to comply with the officer’s “legitimate” demands to get on the ground, Martin said, there is nothing objective that shows Roselle “was in danger of imminent serious, bodily injury or death.” Martin added that Roselle told the first responding officer immediately after the shooting that he thought he “f****d up,” and that he didn’t know what to do because Santos kept advancing toward him. He repeated his “f****d up” comment to his shift supervisor at the scene.
After Santos’ death, family members and community leaders asked why the officer didn’t first use non-lethal force to subdue him. Martin confirmed that Roselle was equipped with a baton, pepper spray and a Taser. All items were examined and found to be functional.
Read more
Federal Judge Dolly Gee has ordered the transfer of all children out of the Shiloh Residential Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, due to allegations of widespread abuse in the immigrant detention center. Judge Gee condemned the detention center for injecting children with psychotropic drugs without their parents’ consent, imprisoning some children in overly restrictive confinement and prohibiting the children from making private phone calls. She also explicitly ordered that the detention center must obtain permission from a legal guardian before giving any psychotropic drugs to detained children.
A pending class-action lawsuit alleges immigrant children housed at the Shiloh Treatment Center were held down and forcibly injected with drugs, rendering them unable to walk, afraid of people and wanting to sleep constantly. Court documents allege troubling practices in which children claim they were tackled and injected and forced to take pills identified as vitamins that made them dizzy and drowsy.
U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee found conditions at the nonprofit Shiloh Treatment Center, in violation of a 1997 settlement, called Flores vs. Reno, requiring immigration officials to place detained minors “in the least restrictive setting appropriate to (each Class Member’s) age and special needs.” Gee ordered that all children involved in the suit be removed from the Shiloh facility “unless a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist” determines that a particular child “poses a risk of harm to self or others.” She also ordered the government to seek consent before giving psychotropic drugs to any detained migrant child. Without consent, the facility may administer such a drug only in an emergency or under a court order, she said.
The Shiloh Residential Treatment Center in Manvel, Texas, was founded in 1995 by Clay Dean Hill. In 2013, the resettlement agency began funding the shelter, sending it more than $26 million in grants over five years to house migrant children. The company that operates the facility south of Houston has a history of problems, including deaths of children in its custody and allegations children were systematically drugged with psychotropic medications. The children were allegedly drugged with pills and injections at the residential treatment center.
The center, a mobile home complex-turned-child care center, is licensed to serve kids ages 3 to 17, is run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement and the office is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The center has been cited eight times for by Texas inspectors in the last three years. Some of the infractions include overdue background check renewals for staff, children being able to get into medication and go to the restroom with it, and children who were inadequately supervised due to staff members being distracted on their cellphones.
Children have continued to be placed there despite the center being plagued with serious accusations for years. In 2001, Stephanie Duffield, 16, died after being restrained by staff. Following her death, Shiloh was found to be “in compliance” with state requirements, according to the refugee resettlement office. Children have died at two other programs affiliated with Clay Hill, Behavior Training Research Inc. and the now-closed Daystar Residential Inc. Between 1993 and 2010, three children died after being restrained at those facilities. In 2002, Latasha Bush, 15, died from asphyxia. Eight years later, Michael Keith Owens, 16, died after being restrained inside a closet. Both deaths were ruled homicides. In most cases, the children were hogtied. Beyond these deaths, there were reports of sexual abuse and staff making developmentally disabled girls fight for snacks.
Read more
Daily HI4E.org Trivia Contest Winners For The Week Ending: Sunday, August 12th, 2018.
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 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 12th, 2018 was:
MaryANN G. BALL
Barnardsville, NC
Winner Of A $25.00 AmEx 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 Gift Card.
Weekly Gift Card winners will be posted in our blog at this site. Remember to become a FaceBook “fan” on either of our company pages to enter and post your answers.
Here are the daily contestants from last week’s Trivia Contest that were entered into the Sunday drawing:
8/6/18
Gina Taylor
Alisa Jones
Kimberly Snyder
Carla Williams
Joanie Waterman
Cheryl Hall
Kelly Jo Francisco
Dawn Raasch
Cindi Hoag
Amber Chandler
Anniemae Maria Aikens
Nai Merri
April Ashcraft
Cherilyn White
Donna Porter
Paula Johnson
Shannon Rush
Priscilla Shimp
Shona Ort
MaryAnn G. Ball
8/7/18
Joann Tompkins-Winborn
Alicia Johnson
Cassandra Berholtz
Deborah Farris
Jennifer Alford
Christy Martinez
Christy Hawkes
Traci Anderson
Nai Merri
Sherry Lilly
Toi Minnifield
Brianna Ketchum
Kathleen Marks
Hunter Coffey
Murphy Mya
Tabitha Sinks
Debbie Jensen
Nicole Blaha
Ang Richards
Timothy Simpson
Audessa Vaught
Paula Johnson
Lori Sexton Leal
Angela Janisse
8/8/18
Debbie Gremlin
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Jenifer Garza
Jodi Stevens
Trish Musgrave
Amanda Peters
Jane Peterson
Dean Bruss
Teena Sierson
Jennifer Downing
Kacie Rogers
Jennifer Ramlet
Tracey Smith
Dawn Raasch
Lindsey McCoy
Sheila Carvell
Hayley Cordaro
Tonya Velazquez
Kayte CookWatts
Naomi Whitlatch
8/9/18
Kathleen Marks
Lori Capobianco
Mary Ann Cody
Sarah Harrison
Kacie Rogers
Jenifer Garza
Be Schwerin
Trish Hysell
Deborah Farris
Angela Hendricks
Geri Rus
Melissa Maestas
Wilma Mast
Anna Nichols
Lisa Bourlier
Christy Hawkes
Sherry Lilly
Tina Mimick
Debbie Gremlin
Becky Holland
8/10/18
Christy Hawkes
Jenifer Garza
Kendra George
Alyssa DiFazio
Tracy Shafer
Christy Martinez
Jennifer Downing
Brittany Light
Paula Johnson
Tracy Heyer
Dawn Raasch
Kizzy Alvarez DeSantis
Marcy Coull
Kelsey Brooke Vinson
Ashley Stamey Phillips
Bea Patrick
Nacole Patrick
Dean Bruss
Kimberly Snyder
Tracey Smith
8/11/18
Wendi Black
Elena Davis
Kim Minton
Traci Anderson
Sarah Bellestri Shih
Meg Marshall
Be Schwerin
Kimberly Snyder
Mike Adamski
Hunter Coffey
Keith Ruff
Derelys Peterson
Stacy Lynn Nelson
Anna Nichols
Amanda Peters
Deborah Farris
Amber Chandler
Jill Nauyokas
Heather Marocco
Alicia Dansby
Ang Richards
8/12/18
Brittany Light
Sunney Michelle Johnson
Jenifer Garza
Blanca Carrillo
Jessica Ownby
Paula Johnson
Amber Chandler
Be Schwerin
Kim Minton
Nicole Blaha
Shannon Scott
Kayte CookWatts
Kendra Lynne Ramsey
Jill Nauyokas
Diane Hamric
Kayla Hernandez
Becky Hartman
Holly Cajigas
Becky Nichols-Volner
Becky Holland
Hunter Coffey
Gina Taylor
Adaria Johnson
Debbie Gremlin
Darlene Whyte
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!
—————————————————————-
At Health Insurance 4 Everyone, we not only want to improve our customer service but also interact with our customers on a social media level that wasn’t available before. Interested in connecting with us? Look us up on….
Twitter: Healthinsurane4 (Follow Us On Twitter To Receive Faster Notifications When Daily Trivia Questions Posted, & To Be Immediately Notified When Weekly AmEX Gift Card Winners Are Announced!!)
Click-On for LinkedIn To Follow Our Posts: LinkedIn
Like us on facebook: HealthInsurance4Everyone or Health & Life Solutions, LLC
Over 54,000 Combined Fans/Followers To Our Social Media Sites, & We’re Growing Daily!
Follow Mark Shuster, Founder/Owner at Health & Life Solutions, LLC for daily health tips!
Mark Shuster FaceBook Link
Follow our word press blog and read about everything from health insurance and reform news to healthy living and current events!
Company Blogs
Find out more about LegalShield, our corporate partner which gives you the power to talk to an attorney about any legal issue, and offering high-quality Identity Theft plans.
LegalShield
Read more
