Month: September 2024

A police chase that started in Queens, NY ended after a fatal shooting on Long Island, and involved four crashes and left eight people, including police officers, hospitalized. Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said that five Nassau County police officers, two New York Police Department officers and a civilian were hurt during the incident.

Ryder said at a news conference Saturday that around 11 p.m. Friday, the driver was first chased by NYPD officers in Queens; he fled into Nassau County, and police first tried to stop him near Merrick Avenue and Sunrise Highway with the driver “tried to ram” two NYPD officers as he fled during the pursuit, and then slammed into two police cars, Ryder said.

Ryder said: “NYPD put the notification over the air that they were heading towards Nassau County. We engaged with that vehicle somewhere in the area of Merrick on Sunrise Highway. At that time, the officers had boxed in the individual. The individual decided he was not going to stop. He ran through, took off two of our police cars, two of our officers they attempted to run over. They dove out of the way and that vehicle took off again.”.

The police commissioner added that the driver then crashed into a third police car before driving the wrong way on Sunrise Highway and struck a fourth car, which led to the hospitalization of a civilian. The driver finally lost control of the vehicle near Hicksville Road and Sunrise Highway: “Officers got out of the car to take control and arrest the individual, that individual did not comply, there was a shooting that occurred and that individual died.”

Per ABC News, the driver’s name wasn’t immediately released, with the state attorney general’s office notified and leading the investigation. The city said that video was being collected from places along the highway, as well as from officers’ body-worn cameras.

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Authorities in Birmingham, Ala., have launched a manhunt for “multiple shooters” on Sunday after four people were killed and 17 others injured in a shooting at a popular nightlife spot in Birmingham, Alabama on Saturday, which police describe as a targeted “hit” on one of the victims who were killed.

The shooting happened shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday in Five Points South (an entertainment and restaurant district with restaurants and nightlife) on the sidewalk and street outside a hookah and cigar lounge, Hush. Birmingham Police Chief Scott Thurmond said a vehicle pulled up and “multiple shooters” got out and began firing, then fled the scene. Thurmond believes the shooting targeted one of the people who was killed, possibly in a murder-for-hire: “We believe that there was a ‘hit,’ if you will, on that particular person.”

Police said approximately 100 shell casings were recovered at the scene; Chief Thurmond said law enforcement was working to determine what weapons were used, but say that some of the gunfire was “fully automatic’ and police believe Glock switches, which are machine gun conversion devices, were used. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin posted on social media: “Glock switches are the number one public safety issue in our city and state. Converting a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon that discharges all bullets within seconds doesn’t belong on our domestic streets.”

Mayor Woodfin later stated at a Sunday press conference: “The priority is to find these shooters and get them off our streets .. We find ourselves in 2024, where gun violence is at an epidemic level, an epidemic crisis in our country. And the city of Birmingham, unfortunately finds itself at the tip of that spear .. Elected officials locally, statewide and nationally have a duty to solve this American crisis, this American epidemic of gun violence.” The Birmingham mayor also urged state and federal officials to give cities more tools to address gun violence.

Police identified 17 people with injuries, with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital sharing they were treating 11 victims, a spokesperson told WVTM in a statement, with injuries ranged from non-life-threatening to at least four life-threatening.

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CBS News reported that a man from Alaska was arrested  for allegedly threatening to assassinate six members of the Supreme Court and harm two family members.  The Justice Department said that Panos Anastasiou, 76, is accused of sending more than 465 messages to the Supreme Court through an online portal, which included violent, racist, and homophobic rhetoric.

Per Reuters, federal prosecutors say that Anastasiou sent the messages to the Supreme Court through its website beginning in March 2023, which turned increasingly violent starting in January 2024. Anastasiou began sending “concerning messages” to the Supreme Court in the spring of 2023, with the Justice Department sharing that the messages took an “even more violent turn” in January. In addition to threatening justices with “lynching,” court filings show he advocated for “mass assassinations” and called for “patriotic” Americans to kill members of the high court.

According to court filings, in the 22-count indictment Anastasiou allegedly threatened to assassinate, kidnap, torture, hang, behead and execute the justices, and encouraged other people to join him in committing acts of violence. The targeted justices are not named in the indictment and identified only as “Supreme Court justices 1-6.”  Some of the threats allegedly made by Anastasiou “were intended to intimidate the justices and retaliate against them for official actions” they had taken in their capacity as judges.

Anastasiou faces nine counts of making threats against a federal judge and 13 counts of making threats in interstate commerce; he pleaded not guilty during a court hearing in Anchorage on Wednesday. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement: “We allege that the defendant made repeated, heinous threats to murder and torture Supreme Court Justices and their families to retaliate against them for decisions he disagreed with. Our justice system depends on the ability of judges to make their decisions based on the law, and not on fear. Our democracy depends on the ability of public officials to do their jobs without fearing for their lives or the safety of their families.”

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Two correctional officers were stabbed by inmates at a maximum-security prison in Massachusetts, with three others suffering injuries as they responded to the incident. The five officers at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Lancaster were taken to hospitals after the confrontation.

The Massachusetts Correction Officers Federated Union first shared news Wednesday evening on Facebook, claiming that an officer was stabbed in the back and head with the statement: “SBCC on lockdown after Officer stabbing to the back and head. Multiple Officers taken out in ambulances! Massachusetts Department of Correction ENOUGH! It’s been 4 years since you authorized the use of the tactical units and done a thorough institution wide search! How much more do our members have to endure before you decide to keep them safe? The inmates are literally running the asylum. Do your jobs.”

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Correction said in a statement that it was notified of the assault at 6:20 p.m.; subsequently, four officers have since been released, and one was being treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Scott Croteau, a spokesman for the state’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, in a statement via USA TODAY:  “The facility is secure at this time while an investigation is conducted to determine the facts and circumstances.”

Croteau added that the department is conducting a criminal investigation in coordination with the Worcester County District Attorney’s office, and the inmates identified as being involved with the stabbings have been transferred to other facilities.

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Tupperware Brands, Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. The Orlando, Florida-based food storage and kitchen products company, which has been in business for nearly 80 years, is seeking bankruptcy protection amid growing struggles to revitalize its business.  Tupperware says that they plan to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and will seek court approval to sell the company, “in order to protect its iconic brand.”

Tupperware sales increased during at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but sales have been in steady decline since 2018 due to rising competition.  Last year, the company sought additional financing as it warned investors about its ability to stay in business and its risk of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange; and earlier this year, Tupperware received an additional non-compliance notice from the NYSE for failing to file its annual results with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In their bankruptcy petition, Tupperware reported more than $1.2 billion in total debts and $679.5 million in total assets. Shares for the company have fallen 75% this year and closed Tuesday at about 50 cents apiece. According to court documents, Tupperware currently employs more than 5,450 employees across 41 countries — and additionally partners with global sales force of over 465,000 consultants who sell products on a freelance basis in nearly 70 countries.

In a statement, Tupperware President and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman (who previously served as CEO of Spanx) said that the bankruptcy proceedings are to provide “essential flexibility” as the company pursues this transformation: “This process is meant to provide us with essential flexibility as we pursue strategic alternatives to support our transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company better positioned to serve our stakeholders. Whether you are a dedicated member of our Tupperware team, sell, cook with, or simply love our Tupperware products, you are a part of our Tupperware family. We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process.”

Tupperware was founded in 1946 as a solution to food storage. The concept of “Tupperware parties” took off in 1948, often hosted by independent female contractors out of their homes, and became its main sales vehicle.   Tupperware said that there will be no current changes to its independent sales consultant agreements, adding it would file court motions to address employee wages and benefits and payment of vendors and suppliers while in bankruptcy.

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The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it is lowering its key interest rate by 50 basis points (or a half percent) in the first interest rate cut since 2020 — with the hopes to protect the economy from a further slowdown. The Federal Reserve’s FOMC said in a statement, “In light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5%.” The cut was made possible by inflation that has fallen from a COVID-19 pandemic high of 9.1% to the current inflation rate of 2.5%.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during Wednesday’s press conference that the cut is designed to maintain the strong U.S. economy. Powell said in the announcement that the central bank noted job gains had slowed, while inflation had made further progress toward its 2% goal, adding the labor market and the economy is in “solid shape. The U.S. economy is in a good place and our decision today is designed to keep it there. Our intention is to maintain the strength we currently see in the U.S. economy.”

Powell added that the inflation rate is considerably lower now and he believes the lower inflation level is sustainable: “We had a burst of inflation and many other countries around the world had a similar burst of inflation. Interest rates were raised to reduce inflation. People don’t experience that as pleasant but, in the end, you get low inflation restored .. [which will] benefit many people over a long time.”

Powell added that he is encouraged by the progress that’s being made, and that most members of the FOMC anticipate that economic conditions will allow a succession of more interest rate reductions. The FOMC Wednesday statement said, “The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance. “

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