Dolphin Mall on lockdown after reports of shooting, but police cannot confirm reports
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By Money & Finance
https://ccnews24.net/miami-plans-to-allow-its-citizens-to-pay-city-taxes-in-bitcoin/
Maybe they will give incentives if you pay in bitcoin. If they end up doing that then it could be a win win situation. Miami gets bitcoin, tax payers pay less in the short term and get exposure to bitcoin. Interested to see how this plays out.
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By LNN
https://abcnews.go.com/US/coronavirus-live-updates-us-weekly-covid-19-cases/story?id=72225715&cid=social_fb_abcn
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By Isabella
A soldier has killed 21 people and injured dozens more in a gun rampage in the Thai city of Nakhon Ratchasima.
Jakraphanth Thomma on Saturday killed his commanding officer before stealing weapons from a military camp.
The suspect continued his attack in a shopping centre, where he is still believed to be holed up, initially posting updates on his social media.
Security forces are in the complex and have rescued hundreds while searching for the gunman, with shots ringing out.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-51427301
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By Guest Indiana
Seven were shot at a party near Indiana’s Ball State University.
At least seven people were injured, three in a life-threatening fashion, in a shooting near Indiana’s Ball State University overnight.
According to local NBC affiliate WTHR, the shooting occurred at a large off-campus house party, with shots fired inside the house around 12:45 am. Police say they are still working to piece together what happened, as most witnesses heard but did not see the shooting.
https://www.vox.com/2019/5/18/18630674/ball-state-university-indiana-party-shooting-what-we-know
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By Guest Nicole
A Florida couple is recalling a distressing experience on a Carnival Cruise after finding a hidden camera pointing at their bed.Â
In an interview set to air Monday, Chris and Dana White told Inside Edition that they discovered a recording device hidden among TV wires in their stateroom last October on the Carnival Fantasy, a three-day Caribbean cruise departing from Mobile, Alabama.Â
"I said, 'Is that what I think it is?' " Chris White said. "And she looked at it and she became concerned. And we were just really flabbergasted that there's a camera in the room and it's plugged up and it's working."
The couple called Carnival security and used their cellphone to film an employee who inspected and disassembled the device. "I was thinking, 'I can't believe this is actually happening to us,' " he said.
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/travel/2018/10/29/couple-claims-secret-camera-aimed-bed-carnival-cruise/1809350002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2018/10/28/travelers-found-hidden-camera-their-carnival-cruise-bedroom/1800150002/
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By Guest Nicole
A Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses was sprayed with gunfire early Tuesday morning and investigators with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office hopes the public can help them track down the shooters.
This latest incident comes after a series of other incidents that have hit Jehovah’s Witness Halls in the county. (new paragraph here) The shooting happened in the 15000 block of Vail Road in Yelm. Investigators were on scene for most of the day Tuesday. Authorities say it does not appear to be a random shooting.
The hall is in a rural area but the detective on scene who spoke to KIRO 7 discounted the possibility that the shooting was an accident. There were more than a dozen bullet holes and graze marks along the wall of the building.
Dennis Lynam says he’s belonged to the Vail Road congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses since he was a child and has kept watch over the building.
“It’s pretty sad. It’s the times we live in… These individuals, they need help themselves to figure out where they need to go in life. I just wish they’d realize this is (is a) wrongful thing. (There) could have been somebody in there," Lynam said.
Detective Ben Elkins with the TCSO was wrapping up his investigation at the scene by early evening Tuesday and said damage on the outside was extensive.
“If somebody would have been inside the building then it could have been a lot worse than what we have here ... this is clearly a targeted building and that’s based on the evidence we found here today,” Elkins said.
Elkins says nobody was at the hall at the time of the shooting.
The incident at the Yelm hall comes after two incidents of arson in March.
In one case, a suspect was caught on camera setting fire to a Jehovah’s Witness Hall. It was one of two suspected arsons against JW Halls in Thurston County.
Elkins says the latest crime in Yelm was different. “This is a weapon being used to fire into a building so it’s unclear if it’s the same person or person,” Elkins said. Investigators said they are open to all leads.
The TCSO wants the public’s help to track down the people responsible for the shooting and hopes someone saw or heard something Tuesday morning when the gunfire erupted.
Lynam says the shooting incident has not rattled his faith, though he does have a message for those who are responsible. “As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we look to God’s kingdom to change the effects of what’s happening today… they really need to think about what they’re doing and they can be forgiven as long as they repent from what they’re doing.”
There are no surveillance cameras at the Hall, though investigators hope to find other cameras in the area that may show something. Anyone with information is urged to call authorities.
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By Guest Nicole
MIAMI (WSVN) - A South Florida family is speaking out days after an 83-year-old, wheelchair-bound woman was killed by a hit-and-run driver on her way to church in Miami.
Margaret Ruiz’s loved ones are seeking solace in their faith. “You can’t avoid these things that happen in life, but we have to believe, and we have to have trust and love and faith,” said Lucy Ruiz, the victim’s sister.
Lucy, 73, said she is still in shock over how her older sister was killed. “It’s very upsetting to hear that. So sudden,” she said.
Grainy surveillance video captured her as she traveled on her electric wheelchair down the sidewalk, near Northeast 62nd Street and Second Avenue, moments before, police said, she was struck by a four-door, dark-colored sedan, Wednesday evening.
“If she were here, I would just tell her how much I love her,” said Lucy.
Margaret, a devout Jehovah’s Witness, was heading to religious services at the time of the hit-and-run.
The surveillance footage shows the car involved in the crash fleeing from the scene.
Margaret leaves behind five children. One of her sons, Barry Pantoja, arrived to South Florida from New York with his entire family on Monday.
“She was my whole world for many years, and she loved her family very much,” he said.
Pantoja said his mother was a devoted mother and an esteemed member of her faith community. “She was loved, and she really appreciated, in so many ways, the way people extended themselves to her and her congregation,” he said.
Pantoja said Margaret moved to Florida to live with her sister. Over the years, she became isolated from her family and never returned to her home in New York.
Relatives said Margaret eventually fell on hard times and became homeless. She later moved into an affordable housing community.
Lakeisha Ware, Margaret’s case manager, helped the elderly woman transition off the streets.
“It’s hard because you have to have a mother. She is somebody’s mother. She’s somebody’s grandmother,” said Ware. How can you do that to a person and not look back?”
Amid their grief and pain, Margaret’s family hopes to see her again. “As Jehovah’s Witnesses, we believe in a resurrection, and I actually look forward to the day I see my mother again,” said Pantoja as he held back tears. “It’s the hope we all hold in our faith, and it’s the only thing that keeps us from being totally devastated.”
If you have any information on this hit-and-run, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a $3,000 reward.
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By Guest Nicole
by DANIELLA SILVA, RIMA ABDELKADER, ANDREW BLANKSTEIN, EMILY PANDISE and PETE WILLIAMS
A gunman opened fire inside a rural Texas church on Sunday, killing about 25 people and injuring at least another 10, officials said.
"Approximately 25 people" were deceased, including the gunman, following the shooting at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackett told NBC News.
A single shooter walked into the church and opened fire, Wilson County Commissioner Albert Gamez Jr. said earlier Sunday.
Law enforcement officials identified the gunman as Devin Patrick Kelley, age 26, of neighboring Comal County.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/several-casualties-reported-texas-church-shooting-n817751
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By Queen Esther
MILLIONS OF HUMANS ON THE WAY, very afraid bec. Hurricane "IRMA" and still 3 other Hurricanes !
5 millions people have just NO power and the most houses are broken on the west side of Florida ! Also the little town "Fort Myers" where I've friends. They had a wonderful white house with 2 pools, a very big american kitchen, many plants, double garage, king-size bed's etc. -  NO sign, if I lost my old friends in Fort Myers....
They invited me 1995, I was flown over Atlanta...  WOW, what a very very big airport I will see all tmw in TV.... Many pensioners only had little houses of wood in Fort Myers. Such of houses mostly first broken. TRUMP will "soon" go to Florida, but soon all money is consumed for so many catastrophes !!  A SAD END-TIME ;-((
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By Guest Nicole
Momentos de caos y angustia se viven la noche del sábado alrededor del Dolphin Mall, en la ciudad de Sweetwater, luego que las autoridades informaran de un tiroteo dentro del centro comercial.
Los disparos habrían sido efectuados minutos después de las 9:30 pm supuestamente por un hombre negro, de acuerdo a información compartida por las autoridades.
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By Guest Kurt
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By Guest Kurt
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By Jack Ryan
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – A Polk County mother is outraged after she claims a school bus driver used her son to spread hate. Natalie Encarnacion told News Channel 8 that the bus driver, now identified as Violeta Jacobo, told her seven-year-old son he would go to hell for supporting his mom’s same-sex relationship. One afternoon, in the beginning of February, her son had missed his bus from Alta Vista Elementary School, so a different bus driver took him home. “He mentioned [to the bus driver] he was hoping his two mom’s wouldn’t be upset that he was home so late,” Encarnacion said. “She said ‘whoa God doesn’t like that,’ then she went on and on telling him how he wouldn’t make it into heaven and there is a such thing as hell.” She claims the bus driver even sent him home with a Jehovah’s Witnesses card, and hate in his heart. “Later that night, he explained why we should not be together anymore,” Encarnacion said. “He is absolutely questioning this now, something we have so smoothly transitioned into and never had any issues with.” Encarnacion said she contacted the school board and never heard back. She also contacted DCF. She told News Channel 8 the agency looked into the incident, but closed the case when they did not find any neglect. According to Polk County School Board Spokesperson Jason Geary, they are still reviewing the matter. However, they have spoken to the bus driver and instructed her that she must follow the code of ethical conduct. According to Geary, Violeta Jacobo is an active bus driver, employed since August 31, 2012. There is no past disciplinary action in her personnel file. “It’s shocking and it’s infuriating to know that nobody is doing anything about it. Just the thought that she could do this to other kids.” Encarnacion said she hopes something is done so she can’t do this to another family. “I am extremely devastated. My home life and everything is being affected by this. My son is rebelling against our relationship and it’s just putting everything into question. It’s really upsetting and I hope nobody ever has to go through this,” she said. “This has put hate in his heart.”
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By Guest Nicole
Bavarians fire guns at demons on top of Berchtesgaden's mountain as part of an age old Christmas tradition. The ancient practice of shooting away demons falls on the shortest day of the year.
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By Guest Nicole
On the 53rd anniversary of the annual sea festival in Apalachicola, Florida, United States.
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By Guest Nicole
En el aniversario número 53 del festival anual del mar en Apalachicola, la Florida, Estados Unidos.
Aquí nuestras hermanas están predicando.
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By The Librarian
MLK crash kills five, including two Tampa children ages 9 and 10
By Tony Marrero, Sara DiNatale and Anastasia Dawson, Times Staff Writers
TAMPA — Marianela Murillo spent the last evening of her life in one of her favorite places.
The 39-year-old Colombian immigrant attended services Wednesday at the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall off E Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The congregation prayed and read the Bible.
Afterward, Murillo piled into her Toyota Sienna minivan with her three children and a niece and headed for their apartment about a mile and a half away.
"I hugged and kissed them goodbye," said friend and fellow church member Marcia Santana.
Pablo Cortes III spent the last evening of his life in one of his favorite places, too.
The 22-year-old Brandon man attended a meet-up of fellow car enthusiasts at the Grand Prix go-kart track in Tampa, a friend said. Cortes showed off his metallic blue Volkswagen Golf with the custom rims and tricked-out suspension, then left with a friend in his passenger seat.
Soon after, the Volkswagen and Toyota collided on Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard Jr. in one of the most horrific local crashes in recent memory.
Murillo and two of her children, Maria, 10, and John, 9, died at the scene. So did Cortes and his passenger, 19-year-old Jolie Bartolome of Lithia.
Cortes was exceeding the posted 50 mph speed limit, but investigators were still working to determine his actual speed, said a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman, Sgt. Steve Gaskins.
Although early reports at the scene indicated the crash may have been caused by street racing, Gaskins said troopers don't have any evidence to support that. A preliminary report states Cortes was driving in a "careless or negligent manner."
UPDATE: SnapChat video appears to show driver going 115 mph on night of crash that killed 5
"There were no cars around him right where the crash occurred so racing was not a factor," Gaskins said. "But speed was."
Investigators say Cortes lost control near Coconut Palm Drive, just east of the Tampa Bypass Canal, and crossed the grassy median.
Murillo was heading east and was about to turn into her apartment complex when the Volkswagen collided nearly head-on with the Toyota.
The Volkswagen then rotated and hit a Toyota Scion. Its driver, Carla Marie Wyman, 54, of Seffner, suffered serious injuries. The force of the collision crumpled the Golf into a mass of metal that hardly resembled a car. The Sienna caught fire.
Murillo's 18-year-old daughter, Lina Bernal, and 15-year-old niece Luisa Louisa, who was visiting on vacation from Colombia, were taken to Tampa General Hospital with critical injuries.
Murillo's husband and the father of the children, John Bernal, was at the hospital but too distraught to talk, said Santana, the family friend.
Lina was in critical condition but able to ask what happened.
"They don't want to tell her yet," Santana said.
•••
On Wednesday night, Murillo's sister, Paola Murillo, looked over at the crash scene with her brother-in-law, refusing to believe her family could be inside the scorched mini-van, according to a Facebook post she wrote in Spanish.
The nightmare of Wednesday night keeps playing back in her head, she wrote. She recalled her brother-in-law telling her, "that is the car of my wife and my kids."
"I answered no. It's a car that looks like it. It's not hers," Paola Murillo wrote. "Then why isn't she answering her phone . . . and why haven't they arrived home?
"Until the end, God knows I had all the hope."
Santana said the couple has lived in the United States for about 15 years and that Marianela became a citizen just a few months ago.
Her passion was her church and knocking on strangers' doors to tell them about God's promise to create a paradise on earth. She loved to cook and was known for her pupusa, a tortilla stuffed with beans, meat and cheese.
The kids were sweet, happy and loving, like their mother, Santana said.
Maria and John attended Mango Elementary, said Hillsborough School District spokeswoman Tanya Arja. Maria was in fifth grade, and John was in fourth, Arja said.
Grief counselors were at the school Thursday to help students and staff. The students expressed themselves in sympathy cards.
"I was crying," one classmate wrote. "They were to young to die."
•••
Cortes was proud of his high-performance Volkswagen. The car dominated his social media accounts.
Brown-haired and bespectacled, Cortes drove the VW to area meet-ups where he shared his love for automobiles, said local car enthusiast Sean LeRoux.
LeRoux, 24 , of Clearwater said Cortes was known to be on the "aesthetics" side of the car community. His car wasn't meant to be a full-blown race car, but it was souped up and modified. LeRoux said Cortes wasn't known to race other drivers.
Meets-ups like the one he attended Wednesday were a time to show off modifications: custom rims, grills, suspensions.
"You hang out," said Dakota Hull, 21, of Valrico.
On Wednesday night, Hull stayed home sick while Cortes went to a routine meet-up with friends. It was the first time most of them had met Jolie Bartolome. She was a 2015 graduate of Gulf Breeze High School in the Panhandle and an avid dancer, according to a memorial page on Facebook.
When Hull got the call about the crash, he rushed to the scene. He saw Cortes' car from the roadside, barely recognizable.
Friends wrote on the group's Facebook page that Cortes would forever be missed. They also mourned Murillo and her children.
"Family members of Cortes and Bartolome could not be reached for comment.
Santana said her friend would forgive Cortes for whatever role his actions played in the crash. So will her friends and family.
"Their family is suffering the same way Marianela's family is suffering," Santana said. "And I hope they find peace."
Times staff writer Paul Guzzo and senior researcher John Martin contributed to this report.
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