Now 41, killer of 4-year-old boy granted parole on 11th try

Eric M. Smith, who was 13 when he killed a 4-year-old boy with a rock in western New York, has been granted parole, according to corrections officials. Smith, now 41, appeared for the 11th time before the Board of Parole on October 5 and was granted release as early as Nov. 17, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision said in an emailed statement Saturday. Smith was convicted of second-degree murder in 1994 for luring Derrick Robie into woods near the younger boy's home and striking his head with a rock.

Hooters employees are pushing back against new revealing uniforms that include shorts so short that they're 'like underwear'

Hooters employees are taking to TikTok to push back against new revealing shorts. Several staffers took to TikTok this week in a series of viral videos about new shorts that are so short they've been described as "like underwear." In the videos, employees are airing their grievances with the skimpy uniforms and comparing the length to their previous shorts, which are considerably longer. The restaurant chain - which is known for its "craveable food and wings, cold beer, sports, and of course, Hooters Girls" as the company states on its website - has long faced criticism for its sexualization of women.

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  Some Hooters servers on TikTok are saying new shorts are too short

  NBC News
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  Short order: Some Hooters waitresses concerned about underwearlike new uniforms

  Washington Examiner

Black students in Georgia were suspended for planning a protest after white students waved a Confederate flag and allegedly used racial slurs

White students were captured on video waving a Confederate flag at a Georgia school and did not face disciplinary action from administrators, WGCL-TV reported. In response, students at Coosa High School planned a protest against racism. A group of Black students was suspended for organizing the demonstration, while the non-Black organizers weren't, students told the outlet.

Iranian supertanker departing from Venezuela to transport heavy oil

An Iran-flagged supertanker on Saturday was about to set sail from Venezuelan waters carrying 2 million barrels of heavy crude provided by state-run oil firm PDVSA, according to documents seen by Reuters and vessel tracking services. The shipment is part of a deal agreed by PDVSA and its counterpart National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) that exchanges Iranian condensate for Venezuela's Merey crude. The swaps aim to ease an acute shortage of diluents that has cut Venezuela's oil output and exports, Reuters reported last month https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-under-us-sanctions-iran-venezuela-strike-oil-export-deal-sources-2021-09-25.

How Sarah Baartman's hips went from a symbol of exploitation to a source of empowerment for Black women

The celebration of Sarah Baartman's features marks a departure from her historical image. Saartjie “Sarah” Baartman was an African woman who, in the early 1800s, was something of an international sensation of objectification. With celebrities like Beyoncé recognizing Baartman's contributions to the ideal Black female body – and with the curvaceous posteriors of Black women lauded on TV and celebrated on social media – I wanted to understand how this ideal is viewed by the very people it most directly effects: Black women.

'Lawless city?' Worry after Portland police don't stop chaos

A crowd of 100 people wreaked havoc in downtown Portland, Oregon, this week – smashing storefront windows, lighting dumpsters on fire and causing at least $500,000 in damage – but police officers didn't stop them. Portland Police Bureau officials say that's because of legislation passed by Oregon lawmakers this year, which restricts the tools they can use to confront people vandalizing buildings and causing mayhem. “The reason that we did not intervene goes back to what we talked about last month with House Bill 2928 and the restrictions placed on us in a crowd control environment,” KOIN reports that Portland Police Lt. Jake Jensen said in a neighborhood meeting Thursday.

A priest tried to give the last rites to the murdered British MP who was a devout Catholic, but he was denied access because it was a crime scene, police says

Conservative MP Sir David Amess died after an attack at his Essex constituency surgery. Father Jeffrey Woolnough offered to administer the last rites to Sir David, who was stabbed multiple times. Essex Police, treating the murder as a terrorist incident, told Insider that the crime scene's integrity had to be preserved.

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  Sir David Amess: The ‘kind and dedicated’ Tory MP stabbed to death while meeting constituents

  Yahoo News UK
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  Murder of UK lawmaker declared a terrorist incident

  Reuters Videos

Matthew Mindler, Former Child Star, Died By Suicide With $15 Amazon Product

Mindler bought the product for $15. The Lancaster County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that he died from suicide by sodium nitrate toxicity. Sodium nitrate is used to preserve foods and kills by causing low blood pressure and limiting the flow of oxygen to the body.

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  Former Child Star Matthew Mindler Died Of Sodium Nitrate Toxicity (Reports)

  Access Hollywood
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  Former child star Matthew Mindler, 'Our Idiot Brother' actor, died by suicide, coroner says

  USA TODAY

SUV of Ohio mom, 2 kids missing since 2002 found in river

Search crews pulled from the Ohio River in Indiana an SUV that belonged to an Ohio mother missing since 2002 along with her two young children, authorities said Friday. Side sonar scan technology led divers to the 1997 Nissan Pathfinder Thursday near Aurora in southeastern Indiana, Indiana State Police said Friday in a news release. The vehicle was registered to Stephanie Van Nguyen, who in 2002 disappeared with her 4-year-old daughter, Kristina, and 3-year-old son, John.

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  Crews find car linked to 2002 missing family

  WCPO - Cincinnati Scripps
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  SUV pulled from the Ohio River could help solve 20-year-old mystery

  WLWT - Cincinnati

Kayleigh McEnany Attacks Jen Psaki With ‘Least Self-Aware Tweet Ever Written’

Donald Trump's former White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, was hammered for hypocrisy after attacking successor Jen Psaki on Twitter. McEnany on Thursday suggested Psaki, President Joe Biden's press secretary, violated the Hatch Act, which bans government employees from political campaigning, when she said: “We're going to do everything we can to help” Democratic Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe “and we believe in the agenda he's representing.” McEnany, however, was reminded of her own outrageous conflicts of interest, such as serving as White House press secretary at the same time she was a Trump 2020 campaign adviser.

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  Watchdog: Psaki violated ethics law by promoting McAuliffe

  Associated Press
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  Biden aide Psaki may have violated ethics law -watchdog

  Reuters

Puerto Rico ponders race amid surprising census results

The number of people in Puerto Rico who identified as “white” in the most recent census plummeted almost 80%, sparking a conversation about identity on an island breaking away from a past where race was not tracked and seldom debated in public. The drastic drop surprised many, and theories abound as the U.S. territory's 3.3 million people begin to reckon with racial identity. “Puerto Ricans themselves are understanding their whiteness comes with an asterisk,” said Yarimar Bonilla, a political anthropologist and director of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College in New York.

Lazy crane operators making $250,000 a year exacerbating port crisis, truckers say

In an aerial view, container ships and shipping containers are seen at the Port of Los Angeles on September 20, 2021 near Los Angeles, California. LONG BEACH, California — Crane operators who belong to a powerful union and earn up to $250,000 a year transferring containers from ships to trucks are worsening the supply chain crisis that threatens Christmas by goofing off on the job, frustrated truckers told the Washington Examiner. The finger-pointing at the busy Los Angeles County ports comes as scores of container ships are anchored off the California coast, waiting in some cases for weeks to unload their freight.

Missouri governor is calling for criminal charges against a journalist who found social security numbers exposed on a public website

The governor of Missouri is calling for criminal charges against a reporter who found social security numbers exposed online. Gov. Mike Parson labeled the reporter a "hacker" and demanded an investigation - which cyber experts say makes no sense. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is demanding a criminal investigation into a journalist who found social security numbers exposed on a state website - a reaction that cybersecurity experts say makes no sense.

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  F12 isn't hacking: Missouri governor threatens to prosecute local journalist for finding exposed state data

  TechCrunch
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  Missouri governor Mike Parson threatens to prosecute reporter who found website security flaw

  The Independent

Truck driver convicted in Colorado pileup that killed 4

A truck driver accused of causing a fiery pileup that killed four people and injured six others on a Colorado highway has been convicted of vehicular homicide and other charges. Rogel Lazaro Aguilera Mederos, 25, was convicted by a Jefferson County jury on Friday in connection with the April 2019 crash on Interstate 70 west of Denver, The Denver Post reported. Aguilera Mederos testified that the brakes on his semitrailer failed before he plowed into vehicles that had slowed because of another wreck in the Denver suburb of Lakewood.

Scottish Dunes Trump Promised To Protect On His Golf Course Are Ruined

Environmentally critical coastal sand dunes on Donald Trump's Scottish golf course in Aberdeenshire have been ruined, even though Trump promised to protect them. The dunes “will be there forever,” Trump vowed in 2008 to quell concerns about his new course. This will be environmentally better after [the course] is built than it is before.

21 Common Historical "Facts" That Are Straight Up Just Not Facts At All...Like, They're Literally False

And he was not the only rider. After he reached Lexington, he was joined by William Dawes, who had arrived to deliver the same news. They met a doctor named Samuel Prescott on the way to Concord who decided to help them — he was the only one to actually finish the ride and reach Concord before fighting began.

Former Google employee reveals the biggest perks at the company’s 'amazing' campus: ‘Like a playground for adults’

A TikTok user is revealing the biggest Google office perks for employees commuting into the company's main campuses. The video, which left TikTok users both astounded and jealous, comes from a user named Ken Waks (@ken). In his clip, he revealed some of the wildest benefits he got while working at Google — from custom-made breakfasts to on-campus bowling alleys to playing with dogs during the workday.

2022's Social Security Raise Could Come With This Sneaky Surprise

For those who are single, a provisional income under $25,000 means Social Security won't be taxed. But singles with a provisional income range of $25,000 to $34,000 risk taxes on up to 50% of their benefits. And those with a provisional income above $34,000 risk taxes on up to 85% of their benefits.

Former officer and NASA exec found guilty of murdering neighbor after years of disputes over loud music and dog poop

Michael Hetle, accused of shooting his 24-year-old neighbor, has been found guilty of murder. Hetle shot Javon Prather seven times and threatened to shoot his wife, who looked on, as well. Since 2016, Hetle and Prather have had several disagreements about mundane things like loud music.

White man appeals conviction for Black student's killing

A white man serving a life sentence for stabbing a Black college student to death at a bus stop at the University of Maryland has asked the state's second highest court to throw out his murder conviction. WTOP-FM reports that Sean Urbanski's attorneys argue that the trial judge shouldn't have allowed jurors to see or hear about racist memes that investigators found on Urbanski's phone after he killed Lt. Richard Collins III in May 2017. On Tuesday, they asked the Court of Special Appeals to order a new trial.

How much money YouTubers with 1 million subscribers make

Eight creators with 1 million subscribers or more shared how much money they make on YouTube. Surpassing the 1 million subscriber mark on YouTube is a huge milestone, and, in practical terms, it often means a creator can earn a full-time living from the platform. YouTube creators earn money a number of ways, but money from the ads that play in their videos usually constitutes a big chunk of their income.

Tucker Carlson Offers Most Insincere Response To Pete Buttigieg Attack Backlash

Fox News' Tucker Carlson on Friday offered a fake apology after receiving backlash for his offensive remarks about Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's paternity leave. Carlson on Thursday mocked Buttigieg for taking paid leave to spend time with husband Chasten and their newborn twins. Pete Buttigieg has been on leave from his job since August after adopting a child.

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  Pete Buttigieg Shoots Back At Tucker Carlson's Paternity Leave Criticism

  HuffPost
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  Tucker Carlson faces backlash over homophobic comments about Pete Buttigieg’s paternity leave

  The Independent

Arizona Senate's election review records again ruled public

A judge has rejected the Republican-controlled Arizona Senate's contention that it can withhold a raft of communications between its leaders and private contractors they hired to conduct an unprecedented review of the 2020 election results in the state's most populous county. The ruling released Thursday evening is the latest in a series of losses for the Senate stemming from its efforts to keep secret records showing how the review was conducted. A watchdog group called American Oversight had sued to compel their release and repeatedly won.