Lawsuit: 1st Wyoming Black sheriff fires deputy for racism

Wyoming's first Black sheriff last year fired a white deputy who is accused of tormenting a Black subordinate for years with racist name-calling that led him to quit, a new federal lawsuit reveals. Albany County Patrol Sgt. Christian Handley once drove past and yelled a profanity and the N-word at Cpl. Jamin Johnson while Johnson and his wife and children were walking out of their home, according to one example of racism alleged in the discrimination lawsuit filed last week.

New Omicron Offshoot BA.2 Arrives In U.S. After Spreading In U.K., Denmark, India

Just as the Omicron wave may have broken across the U.S. comes word of another version of the more transmissible variant, dubbed BA.2. It's been nicknamed by some “stealth Omicron” because it seems to evade identification better than its predecessor. While other new variants that seemed worrisome — like Mu or Lambda — have had little impact, and details remain sketchy, early indications are that BA.2 seems to be spreading even in countries where the original Omicron lineage, BA.1, is dominant.

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  ‘Stealth Omicron’: Everything we know about new ‘under investigation’ Covid-19 strain BA.2

  The Independent
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  Omicron sub-variant BA.2 ‘under investigation’ by UK health officials

  The Independent

NFL’s Odell Beckham Jr. took his $750,000 salary in bitcoin — how much did that end up costing him?

Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. made headlines last November when he announced he would be converting his 2021 NFL salary into bitcoin. The problem for Beckham: that bitcoin (BTCUSD) prices are plummeting. Ether was down 8% over the past 24 hours, and bitcoin prices fell below $35,000, including a 4% drop in the past 24 hours.

Plaid must pay $58 million to users of Venmo, Robinhood and other apps

Even if you've never heard of a company called Plaid, they may owe you part of a multi-million dollar lawsuit settlement, Fast Company has reported. Plaid, which connects consumer bank accounts to services like Venmo, Robinhood, Coinbase and other apps, was accused of collecting excessive financial data from consumers. While denying any wrongdoing, it agreed to pay $58 million to all consumers with a linked bank account to any of its approximately 5,000 client apps.

Jon Stewart once told Jeff Bezos at a dinner with the Obamas that workers wanted fulfillment, not jobs running errands for rich people: 'It's a recipe for revolution'

Jon Stewart once told Jeff Bezos that his vision for the economy was a "recipe for revolution." Stewart said during a recent podcast episode that President Barack Obama agreed. In recent years, Amazon employees have gone on strike, filed lawsuits, and attempted to unionize.

Move Over MyPillow Guy: Aaron Rodgers Is Trumpworld’s Hot New Election Conspiracy Theorist

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is very good at football. He's probably going to be named the NFL's MVP in a few weeks, an award he also won last year, and in 2014, and in 2011. This year's been a little different, though, as his play on the field hasn't been near as big of a story as his judgement off of it.

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  Another disappointing Aaron Rodgers playoff loss, as Packers are shocked by 49ers

  Yahoo Sports
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  Is that it for Aaron Rodgers in Green Bay?

  ProFootball Talk on NBC Sports

Another delay for ex-deep-sea treasure hunter stuck in jail

The long-running case of a former deep-sea treasure hunter marking his sixth year in jail for refusing to disclose the whereabouts of missing gold coins has hit yet another roadblock. Research scientist Tommy Thompson has been held in contempt of court since Dec. 15, 2015, for that refusal. A hearing held Monday in hopes of helping draw the case to a conclusion ended with a federal judge giving Thompson two months to find a new attorney ahead of yet another hearing.

Dad of Seattle Seahawks star dies after being hit by vehicle in South Carolina

Carlos Dunlap Sr., father of Seattle Seahawks defensive back Carlos Dunlap, died after being hit by a car on Saturday, Jan. 22, in North Charleston, South Carolina. The pedestrian who was hit was transported to a hospital for treatment, where he died of his injuries and was identified as Carlos Dunlap Sr. According to WCIV, Dunlap owned a bail bonds company in North Charleston.

Jan. 6 committee member reacts to Newt Gingrich jail comment: 'Really unconscionable'

Rep. Elaine Luria, who sits on the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, appeared on CNN Newsroom With Pamela Brown Sunday, where the Virginia Democrat responded to comments former Republican congressman Newt Gingrich made on Fox News earlier in the day. On Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo, Gingrich said of the investigation, “I think when we have a Republican congress, this is all gonna come crashing down, and the wolves are gonna find out that they're now sheep, and they're the ones who will, in fact, I think, face a real risk of jail.”

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  Republicans Mock Newt Gingrich Over Threat Of 'Jail' For Jan. 6 Panel

  HuffPost
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  Newt Gingrich, Who Is Advising GOP Leadership, Floats Jail Time for Jan. 6 Committee Members

  Rolling Stone

In Case You Didn't Want To Sleep Tonight, Here Are 24 Super-Disturbing Facts You Will Wish You Never Heard

Another ancient Rome fact: "During the late Roman Republic, one of the richest men in Rome, Marcus Licinius Crassus, used to own a team of firefighters (there was no dedicated firefighter service at the time). If your building was burning, he would offer to buy the building. If you agreed, he put out the fire.

Putin’s ambitions are bigger than Ukraine, says Fiona Hill: ‘He wants to evict the United States from Europe’

Barron's: Vladimir Putin senses weakness Hill, who was a top adviser to President Donald Trump on Russia — and gave testimony against him during his first impeachment — writes that Putin wants the U.S. to “suffer” in a way similar to that in which Russia did in the 1990s, when NATO and the U.S. forced Russia to withdraw the remnants of the Soviet military from bases in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Hill's op-ed comes as the New York Times is reporting that Biden is considering deploying several thousand troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO countries in the Baltics and Eastern Europe.

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  U.S. places up to 8,500 troops on heightened alert for possible deployment amid Russia tension

  MarketWatch
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  Biden considers sending up to 5,000 troops to Eastern Europe as Russia threatens the region with a new war

  INSIDER

Pilot forced to bail out of F-35 stealth jet after 'landing mishap' on US Navy aircraft carrier in South China Sea

An F-35C experienced a "landing mishap" on the deck of aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson Monday. A US Navy pilot bailed out of an F-35C stealth fighter after a landing mishap on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson while it was conducting operations in the South China Sea, the sea service said Monday afternoon. USS Carl Vinson is the first US Navy aircraft carrier to deploy with the F-35C, a variant of the fifth-generation fighter designed specifically for carrier operations.

6 charged with bid to smuggle arsenal to Mexican drug cartel

Six men have been charged with plotting to smuggle assault weapons and hundreds of thousands of rounds of ammunition, including .50-caliber armor piercing bullets, to one of Mexico's most violent drug cartels, authorities announced Monday. The alleged ringleader of the scheme, Marco Antonio Santillan Valencia, 51, of Whittier, California, and three other men were arrested last week while a fifth is in custody facing separate charges in North Carolina and the sixth is believed to be in Mexico, the U.S. attorney's office said. The men are accused of conspiracy to violate federal export laws by smuggling weapons into Mexico for the Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación.

Gov. Ducey sues Biden for the right to use federal funds to help spread COVID-19

Ducey, having long ago given up on science, ascended to a whole new level of bizarre in August as the school year got under way and school districts began requiring masks. A new state law barring mask mandates hadn't yet taken effect and until it did, certain school boards reasoned that it only made sense to try to protect against the spread of COVID-19, as recommended by federal, state, county public health departments as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics and other health care groups. Ducey dreamed up 3 programs to move kids So, naturally, Ducey, desperate to appease to his political base, dreamed up two new inducements to ignore that advice, using federal COVID-relief funds.

Cartoonistry: Gaslighting is blinding too many in our polarized country

Gaslighting is a colloquialism that was made popular by the movie "Gaslight" (1944), in which a husband schemes to make his wife think she's crazy with a series of lies and dirty tricks so he can get her committed to an asylum and steal her money. Mr. Srinivasan has indeed outlined a common phenomenon in today's media-soaked culture and politics.

New space telescope reaches final stop million miles out

The world's biggest, most powerful space telescope arrived at its observation post 1 million miles from Earth on Monday, a month after it lifted off on a quest to behold the dawn of the universe. On command, the James Webb Space Telescope fired its rocket thrusters for nearly five minutes to go into orbit around the sun at its designated location, and NASA confirmed the operation went as planned. The mirrors on the $10 billion observatory still must be meticulously aligned, the infrared detectors sufficiently chilled and the scientific instruments calibrated before observations can begin in June.

Local history: Old photos found in box are relics of shocking tragedy

A murder victim was the last thing that Janette Stender expected to find while rummaging through a closet in her Tallmadge home. The sweethearts dreamed of a future together, but Leo's mother, 48, refused to let her son marry Minnie.

Merrill Lynch wealth adviser arrested, fired after calling teen smoothie shop worker an ‘immigrant loser’ and throwing a drink at her

A Merrill Lynch wealth adviser who was arrested over the weekend for allegedly throwing a drink at a Connecticut smoothie shop employee, calling her a “f—ing immigrant loser” and attempting to force his way behind the counter after his son suffered an allergic reaction to his drink, has been fired by the company. The Fairfield Police Department received “numerous calls” from employees at the Robeks smoothie outlet on 2061 Black Rock Turnpike just before 2:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, with workers complaining that a customer was “throwing things, yelling at employees and refusing to leave,” according to the police report.

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  Merrill Lynch executive arrested after racist attack on store workers over smoothie order is caught on video

  The Independent
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  Merrill Lynch Cuts Ties With Advisor Arrested After Altercation at Smoothie Shop

  Barrons.com

Harmony Montgomery disappearance narrowed to 13-day window

Adam and Kayla Montgomery, together with two children of their own and Adam's daughter, Harmony Montgomery, age 5 at the time, were evicted from a Manchester home on Nov. 27, 2019, the office said in a news release. “Multiple individuals have reported seeing Harmony with Adam and Kayla in the following days; however, by approximately December 6–10, 2019, Adam and Kayla apparently had only their two common children, and Harmony was no longer with them," the office said. “This information leads police to believe that it was sometime during this window of approximately November 28–December 10, 2019, that Harmony Montgomery disappeared," it said.

Florida Congresswoman Gets Sworn In to Seat After Winning Special Election By a Landslide, But Republican Opponent Still Won’t Concede

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick was sworn in as the first Black woman to represent the predominantly Democratic 20th District in Florida on Tuesday, but her Republican opponent she defeated by a landslide the week before, still has not conceded the race. Cherfilus-McCormick won the special election for the 20th District on Jan. 11, securing 78.7 percent of the vote over Jason Mariner's 19.6 percent. “People are supposed to have a fair shake at choosing governance,” Mariner told reporters in a video posted on his campaign Facebook page.

Workers at a Wisconsin hospital sought new jobs with higher pay — then the hospital sued to stop them from leaving

A Wisconsin court granted a hospital's request to block 7 healthcare workers from starting jobs at a competitor. ThedaCare said its workers leaving has strained the hospital as COVID-19 cases rise in Wisconsin. 1 in 5 healthcare workers quit their job during the pandemic, some due to poor work environments.

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  Canadian hospitals strain as Omicron hits health workers

  Reuters
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  'Death has become routine': Arizona healthcare workers talk mental and physical health during pandemic

  KSAZ

More migrants seek asylum through reopened Canadian border

Whenever a bus arrives at the Greyhound station in Plattsburgh, New York, a small band of taxi drivers waits to drive passengers on a half-hour trip to a snowy, dead-end dirt road. There, at the border with Canada, refugees pile out of taxis or vans several times a day, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers warn that they will be arrested for illegal entry if they cross, which they do. “We have the hopes of everyone — be successful and have a change of life,” Alejandro Cortez, a 25-year-old Colombian man, said as he exited a taxi last week at the end of Roxham Road in Champlain, New York.