Drunk man sets woman on fire in New York subway. The suspect is an immigrant. Trump and the minions race to exploit.
Take discretion, graphic content.
Another white woman killed is catnip for President-elect Donald J. Trump and Republicans to exploit. A woman who was set on fire by a man who was from Guatemala.
Although, I can't confirm the name, they have it as Amelia Carter.
A woman was murdered while riding the subway in New York City.
President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, President-elect Donald J. Trump, Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Republicans in Congress were notified.
But guess who is going to exploit this?
The suspect entered the U.S. in 2018 (during Trump's first term).
Again, warning graphic content. If the posts from X are deleted or removed, it is the company not me. Again, it is graphic and shows the lack of compassion of riders. The fear of seeing that also reduces people from assisting in saving this woman.
Full video of the F train incident of a woman being burned inside a subway car while she was sleepy, she was lit on fire inside by a man at the age of 33 years old Sebastian Zapeta was arrested for following the murder of the woman of lighting her on fire thanks pic.twitter.com/xOHyaks0n3
This video of a cop walking away from a woman who was set on fire by an illegal immigrant is the perfect encapsulation of where we are as a country.pic.twitter.com/wpko0ln8wd
WARNING: GRAPHIC This is the woman set on fire by the illegal in NYC. First, a cop walks by and does nothing. Then the arsonist starts fanning the flames with a jacket and the cop walks by him doing it! (Thanks for the comments about the perp fanning the flames) pic.twitter.com/okSh49IU4R
But since the incident happened in 2024, the Republicans are already blaming Biden and Adams.
Sebastian Zapeta-Calil was apprehended and is facing murder, arson and inducing panic charges. The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
He has no criminal history, yet the far right is signal boasting this as the latest white supremacist talking point.
Also.
Again graphic content.
No one helped the victim as she was on fire. Everyone was quick to pull out the camera phones but not willing to grab a fire extinguisher or a blanket. They just show the video of the victim completely in flames while the suspect was allegedly fanning the flames.
Even a MTA police officer walked by the photo.
Daniel Penny who placed a chokehold on Jordan Neeley was hailed a hero. The man literally strangled a man and the far right praised him. Neeley was mentally ill, homeless and had minor criminal history. He walks and gets box seats with Trump and Vance.
A woman was set on fire on the subway and cops walked by her doing nothing.
The shooting of Brian Thompson won praise by some white folks. The suspect, Luigi Mangione was perp walked by the New York Police Department and FBI and it was ridiculed as a political stunt. Just days after a white girl had conducted a mass shooting in Madison, Wisconsin. Natalie Rupnow, 15-year old white girl shoot and killed two, then took her life. The Abundant Life Christian High School mass shooting happened. It took a few days of coverage and we quickly moved on. Republicans reacted like they always do, by deflecting.
It was justified for a stranger to stop a potential threat. How can these people ignore a woman on fire?
Can't do anything about gun violence.
Americans must have a right to firearms. Sure, they can be used in murder, suicide and criminal acts, but damnit, it's our freedoms.
Quit praising shooters who kill rich people. The UnitedHealthcare company denies about 40% of claims and it advocates for hefty bills on claimants. The shooters were white and the media claims mental illness or some motivation associated to political causes.
This immigrant incident will be fresh on House Republicans minds.
Since the suspect is a person of color, here comes the proposed bills that take away freedoms, demonizes minorities, enable the wealthy and gives unprecedented powers to the incompetent.
Former Florida U.S. House member did have an engagement with a 17-year old girl, paid for prostitutes and used hard drugs.
Again, no one is perfect and what two consenting adults do in their homes is no one's business. However, Matt Gaetz represents the Bro Culture and he is unapologetic about his deeds. Matter of fact, he just brought more into his fold.
I mean Democrats need to not worry about this shit.
Let Republicans fight this noise out. They already engaging in a civil war since they kept the federal government open.
Gaetz and his wife Ginger are looking forward to promoting MAGAland through social media and engagements. Ginger is 12 years younger than the former lawmaker.
Y'all voted for this.
Gaetz withdrew his bid to be the U.S. Attorney General under President-elect Donald J. Trump. It was clear that members of the Senate were not on board with it.
Yet, Republicans nominated and the American people plus the Electoral College put Trump in. He is a convicted felon and sexual predator. So there are no standards in how to be a president, governor, senator, lawmaker or city official.
Trump set the bar so low but Republicans are so willing to not nominate others like him.
Gaetz is a member-elect despite his resignation. It will take Gov. Ron DeSantis to issue a special election to replace him. It is a pretty Republican friendly district so it won't take long before another Matt Gaetz gets in.
Gaetz has denied wrongdoing but did say last week, “In my single days, I often sent funds to women I dated - even some I never dated but who asked. I dated several of these women for years,” Gaetz said. “It’s embarrassing, though not criminal, that I probably partied, womanized, drank and smoked more than I should have earlier in life. I live a different life now,” CNN reported.
Gaetz filed a lawsuit in federal court to prevent the report’s release saying that he is a private citizen and does not come under the committee’s jurisdiction any longer, CBS News reported.
The report said Gaetz broke state laws that he paid tens of thousands of dollars to women for sex or drugs at least 20 times. One of the women he allegedly paid was 17 years old in 2017 when the committee said some of the allegations occurred. She had just completed her junior year in high school when the alleged sexual encounter happened. She did not tell Gaetz she was under 18 and he allegedly didn’t ask, CBS News reported.
“From 2017 to 2020, Representative Gaetz made tens of thousands of dollars in payments to women that the Committee determined were likely in connection with sexual activity and/or drug use,” the report said, according to CBS News.
The report said Gaetz paid more than $90,000 to a dozen women and used or possessed illegal drugs including cocaine and ecstasy, The New York Times reported.
Gaetz served in Congress from 2017 until he resigned last month when President-elect Donald Trump selected him to be the attorney general in Trump’s second term. Gaetz removed his name from consideration about a week later.
The committee said Gaetz broke Florida state laws including statutory rape and House rules including misuse of his office, among others, The New York Times reported.
“The Committee determined there is substantial evidence that Representative Gaetz violated House Rules and other standards of conduct prohibiting prostitution, statutory rape, illicit drug use, impermissible gifts, special favors or privileges, and obstruction of Congress,” the committee wrote according to CNN.
The committee however did not find enough conclusive evidence that Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws.
“Although Representative Gaetz did cause the transportation of women across state lines for purposes of commercial sex, the committee did not find evidence that any of those women were under 18 at the time of travel, nor did the committee find sufficient evidence to conclude that the commercial sex acts were induced by force, fraud, or coercion,” the committee said, according to the Times.
Gaetz did not provide sworn testimony in front of the committee but did submit some written answers.
Congress adverted a government shutdown. Once again Republicans are feuding with one another over this. They have vowed to make House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) term a constant headache come Jan. 3.
We have too many old people in Congress.
The average age of the lawmakers is 58 in the House and 64 in the Senate.
Most of these elected lawmakers show more immaturity than children.
The folks who wanted President Joe Biden to step aside, allowed President-elect Donald J. Trump in.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) had medical issues. Rep. David Scott (D-GA) got angry at a photographer who spotted him in a wheelchair. He complains saying he ain't allowed to film him. I guess he ignores the fact he is a public servant who is elected by his constituents. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) claimed a LGBTQ activist shook her hand so hard she needed a sling. Many mocked her for overexegrating the incident.
Now Republicans are expected to lose three House members because they accepted Trump's nominations.
Republicans have a five seat majority. They can't lose more than four.
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) had announced she will not be in the House conference which puts the majority at stake.
Mace along with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) and so many do nothings will be a headache to President Donald J. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) is expected to leave Congress. But her whereabouts were unknown until a local Dallas newspaper exposed her location.
Granger, who is retiring at the end of this congressional term, has largely remained absent from the Capitol in recent months, having last cast votes on July 24. She was not present for over 54% of votes this year.
The Dallas Express investigated the 81-year-old congresswoman's absence, publishing a report on Friday that quoted a constituent of her district who said that Granger was residing in a memory care facility in Texas. The report was later picked up by other news outlets.
Fox News spoke with a source from Granger's office who denied that Granger was in a memory care unit. The source told Fox News that Granger is in a retirement facility where memory care is provided, though not in the memory care unit itself.
Granger released a statement to Fox News, saying that she has faced "health challenges" and is "deeply grateful for the outpouring of care and concern" over the weekend.
"As many of my family, friends, and colleagues have known, I have been navigating some unforeseen health challenges over the past year," Granger said in the statement. "However, since early September, my health challenges have progressed making frequent travel to Washington both difficult and unpredictable. During this time, my incredible staff has remained steadfast, continuing to deliver exceptional constituent services, as they have for the past 27 years."
Granger, who did not seek re-election for the coming term, has served in the House since 1997. She previously served as the first female mayor of Fort Worth, Texas.
While Granger appears to not have cast a vote since July, she did return to the Capitol in November for the unveiling of her portrait as Appropriations Committee Chairwoman, and a reception that followed.
This fool sprayed bug spray on open food products inside an Arizona Walmart.
Winners and losers of 2024.
Only in America.
Not Florida.
Arizona.
You can't fix stupid.
Can we do a Darwin Award for the most stupidest people on the planet?
You can't change minds!
You are completely trapped in stupid.
You are wrapped and emboldened in stupid.
Y'all voted for this.
Charles Smith, 27 of Phoenix decided to make a social media prank that was extremely dangerous. He literally stole Hot Shot Flea and Bedbug spray off a Walmart rack to spray on produce and open heated food.
Only an idiot sprays bananas with bug spray.
What is so damn ignorant was the man filmed himself doing it for YouTube, TikTok and X. He claims to make nearly $10,000 doing social media postings.
Somehow, I just don't see why it would be smart for him to even continue knowing he literally tried to poison people, criminally damage property, shoplift and intentionally dispose of criminal tools.
Smith on Saturday in connection with the incident that happened on Thursday at the megastore at Stapley Drive and Baseline Road.
Mesa police said they found out about the video showing the items getting sprayed on Friday.
Police said Smith entered the store with plans to film social media pranks, but he instead grabbed a can of Hot Shot Ultra Bed Bug and Flea Killer without paying for the item.
Video uploaded to social media, but later deleted, shows Smith spraying the pesticide on various produce items available for purchase, including vegetables, fruit and rotisserie chickens.
A Walmart spokesperson said workers removed all the directly impacted products and cleaned and sanitized the affected area of the store.
Smith reportedly filmed his face, the pesticide can and the act of spraying the items before he posted the video online.
Mesa police began an investigation along with the Tempe Police Department and identified Smith as the suspect. Police contacted Smith, and he turned himself in voluntarily.
Police say Smith admitted to the act in an interview. He faces the following charges:
Introducing Poison (Class 6 Felony)
Criminal Damage (Class 1 Misdemeanor)
Endangerment (Class 1 Misdemeanor)
Theft (Class 1 Misdemeanor)
Arizona’s Family talked with shoppers who are downright upset.
“Pranks should be actually funny. Like if it’s hurting others in the process, why would you do that?” said Alysia Iverson.
According to court paperwork, Smith is a self-proclaimed “troll.” Police said Smith told them he posts these types of pranks on his social as a “troll” and can make anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 a month.
A troll is someone who makes deliberately offensive or provocative posts online.
Make him famous.
”I think social media has got people doing crazy things out here,” said Xavier Griego, a shopper at Walmart. “It’s unfortunate that somebody would mess up their whole life, potentially, for something on social media for views.”
The suspect is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Obviously, he will be banned from Walmart. He will be forced to pay for all the damages to products, the sanitation disposal fees, likely be demonitized from all his social media platforms, face medical expenses from shoppers who consumed any of those products.
Customers who purchased these products or witnessed it will be traumatized.
Yeah, we all had messed up orders at grocery stores and fast food restaurants. We had bad customer service from cashiers, servers, managers and customer service. We all been frustrated with the service industry.
But for intentional and unintentional food contamination, it is very rare.
1. Restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores are forbidden from having chemicals near food. The federal and state authorities have strict guidelines to contamination.
2. Insect spray, rat poisons, unauthorized cleaning chemicals and glue traps are not used in restaurants, gas stations, bars and retailers.
3. All businesses use contactless pest control devices which involves no poison.
4. Any biohazard like blood, mucus, fecal matter, vomit, semen, vaginal fluid, saliva and hair, animal droppings, skin, tears, sweat and breast milk in food must be destroyed.
White nationalists Laura Loomer and Milo Yiannopoulos were prominent figures in MAGAland.
Now they are just sideline acts. Loomer allegedly slept with President-elect Donald J. Trump. She attended the only debate Trump had with Vice President Kamala Harris. Loomer accompanied Trump at the Sept. 11 Commencements.
They won and they still act foolish.
James O'Keefe, the former chairman of Project Veritas now O'Keefe Investigations Media had to get security to break them up.
Loomer, known for mental illness has been somewhat influential in the MAGAland orbit. She is known for harassing Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Loomer got into feuds with Nancy Pelosi, Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Loomer became famous for crashing a rendering of Julius Caesar. She is known Zionist and proud Islamophobe.
Yiannopoulos, an "ex-gay" troll and former contributor to Breitbart who is most infamous for starting a hate campaign against Leslie Jones and her role in The Ghostbusters movie.
Both agitators were once banned on X (formerly Twitter).
Trump's return has sparked a new revolution of progressives. I for one am tired of being nice or catering to status quo politics. President Joe Biden had the opportunity to secure a second term had he realized the alliance with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu wasn't beneficial.
Trump known for bluster and unlawful behavior managed to get away with crimes no other person could challenge. His white privilege now allows more politicians and billionaires to commit criminal acts without repercussions.
Trump and allies are forever marked. After surviving nearly three assassination attempts, the former president will forever watch his shoulder.
His alliances with many of these folks won't last long.
If winning results in losing, I guess the Democrats won.
Republicans once again prove they cannot govern. President-elect Donald J. Trump and Elon Musk wanted Republicans to pass a bill that certainly would have been vetoed by President Joe Biden forcing the government to shutdown.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were on the phone with leaders and held it down. So the Congress finally passed a continuing resolution to fund the government until February.
The House of Representatives being in control by Republicans refused to go along with the bipartisan resolution passed in the Senate.
Musk and Trump both called for Republicans to reject it.
Trump unveiled a proposal that the House Freedom Caucus endorsed. It failed miserably. About 174 Republicans along with Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and Rep. Maria Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) supporting it.
Trump's tax cuts are set to expire. The Republicans want to keep these tax cuts permanent.
With Americans demanding the government to work in their favor, Republicans and Trump continue to dismiss the opportunity to win over voters.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had insisted Congress would “meet our obligations” and not allow federal operations to shutter ahead of the Christmas holiday season. But the day’s outcome was uncertain after Trump doubled down on his insistence that a debt ceiling increase be included in any deal — if not, he said in an early morning post, let the closures “start now.”
The House approved Johnson’s new bill overwhelmingly, 366-34. The Senate worked into the night to pass it, 85-11, just after the deadline. At midnight, the White House said it had ceased shutdown preparations.
“This is a good outcome for the country, ” Johnson said after the House vote, adding he had spoken with Trump and the president-elect “was certainly happy about this outcome, as well.”
Biden, who has played a less public role in the process throughout a turbulent week, was expected to sign the measure into law Saturday.
“There will be no government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said.
The final product was the third attempt from Johnson, the beleaguered House speaker, to achieve one of the basic requirements of the federal government — keeping it open. And it raised stark questions about whether Johnson will be able to keep his job, in the face of angry GOP colleagues, and work alongside Trump and billionaire ally Musk, who called the legislative plays from afar.
Trump’s last-minute demand was almost an impossible ask, and Johnson had almost no choice but to work around his pressure for a debt ceiling increase. The speaker knew there wouldn’t be enough support within the GOP majority to pass any funding package, since many Republican deficit hawks prefer to slash the federal government and certainly wouldn’t allow more debt.
Instead, the Republicans, who will have full control of the White House, House and Senate next year, with big plans for tax cuts and other priorities, are showing they must routinely rely on Democrats for the votes needed to keep up with the routine operations of governing.
“So is this a Republican bill or a Democrat bill?” scoffed Musk on social media ahead of the vote.
The drastically slimmed-down 118-page package would fund the government at current levels through March 14 and add $100 billion in disaster aid and $10 billion in agricultural assistance to farmers.
Gone is Trump’s demand to lift the debt ceiling, which GOP leaders told lawmakers would be debated as part of their tax and border packages in the new year. Republicans made a so-called handshake agreement to raise the debt limit at that time while also cutting $2.5 trillion in spending over 10 years.
President Elon Musk.
It’s essentially the same deal that flopped the night before in a spectacular setback — opposed by most Democrats and some of the most conservative Republicans — minus Trump’s debt ceiling demand.
But it’s far smaller than the original bipartisan accord Johnson struck with Democratic and Republican leaders — a 1,500-page bill that Trump and Musk rejected, forcing him to start over. It was stuffed with a long list of other bills — including much-derided pay raises for lawmakers — but also other measures with broad bipartisan support that now have a tougher path to becoming law.
House Democrats were cool to the latest effort after Johnson reneged on the hard-fought bipartisan compromise.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said it looked like Musk, the wealthiest man in the world, was calling the shots for Trump and Republicans.
“Who is in charge?” she asked during the debate.
Still, the House Democrats put up more votes than Republicans for the bill’s passage. Almost three dozen conservative House Republicans voted against it.
“The House Democrats have successfully stopped extreme MAGA Republicans from shutting down the government, crashing the economy and hurting working-class Americans all across the nation,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said, referring to Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
In the Senate, almost all the opposition came from the Republicans — except independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who said Musk’s interference was “not democracy, that’s oligarchy.”
Trump, who has not yet been sworn into office, is showing the power but also the limits of his sway with Congress, as he intervenes and orchestrates affairs from Mar-a-Lago alongside Musk, who is heading up the new Department of Government Efficiency.
The incoming Trump administration vows to slash the federal budget and fire thousands of employees and is counting on Republicans for a big tax package. And Trump’s not fearful of shutdowns the way lawmakers are, having sparked the longest government shutdown in history in his first term at the White House.
“If there is going to be a shutdown of government, let it begin now,” Trump posted early in the morning on social media.
More important for the president-elect was his demand for pushing the thorny debt ceiling debate off the table before he returns to the White House. The federal debt limit expires Jan. 1, and Trump doesn’t want the first months of his new administration saddled with tough negotiations in Congress to lift the nation’s borrowing capacity. Now Johnson will be on the hook to deliver.
“Congress must get rid of, or extend out to, perhaps, 2029, the ridiculous Debt Ceiling,” Trump posted — increasing his demand for a new five-year debt limit increase. “Without this, we should never make a deal.”
Government workers had already been told to prepare for a federal shutdown that would send millions of employees — and members of the military — into the holiday season without paychecks.
Biden has been in discussions with Jeffries and Schumer, but White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: “Republicans blew up this deal. They did, and they need to fix this.”
As the day dragged on, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) stepped in to remind colleagues “how harmful it is to shut the government down, and how foolish it is to bet your own side won’t take the blame for it.”
At one point, Johnson asked House Republicans at a lunchtime meeting for a show of hands as they tried to choose the path forward.
It wasn’t just the shutdown, but the speaker’s job on the line. The speaker’s election is the first vote of the new Congress, which convenes Jan. 3, and some Trump allies have floated Musk for speaker.
Johnson said he spoke to Musk ahead of the vote Friday and they talked about the “extraordinary challenges of this job.”
No more parties. To paraphrase Coi Leray, the party is over at the nation's largest party supply and toy company.
The biggest threats to America.
Donald J. Trump
Republicans
Joe Biden
Israel
Russia
White supremacy
Christian nationalism
Jewish nationalism
Police immunity
Democrats
Private equity firms
Uneducated people
Status quo
Fox
Elon Musk
Gun violence
Greed
Jeff Bezos
Benjamin Netanyahu
Catholics
Artificial Intelligence
Sexually transmitted diseases
Billionaires
If this list offends you, good. Because I am no longer shielding the obvious. These individuals and entities are furthering America's decline. These entities pose a clear and present danger to people of color, the needy and working class.
Damn shame we voted for the chaotic status quo of a Trump presidency.
This is the results of a Biden presidency. Once Trump gets back in, it only gets worse.
Party City, the nation's retailer for party supplies and toys is the next company to fall because of private equity, President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald J. Trump. The company is based out of East Hanover Township, New Jersey.
Party City Holdco Inc, commonly referred to as Party City is an American chain of party stores founded in 1986 by Steve Mandell in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company's headquarters were in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. The company is the largest retailer of party goods in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company operates over 850 company-owned and franchise outlets in over 70 countries around the world under the Party City, Halloween City, Toy City, Factory Card and Party Outlet brands.
In December 2024, Party City announced they would be closing down operations in the United States. Canadian stores remain unaffected.
The retailer's CEO told Barry Litwin told employees that Party City is going out of business as it's immediately “winding down” operations and that today will be their last day of employment, CNN reports.
The company will be shutting down all of its stores, ending nearly 40 years of business. Despite exiting bankruptcy in September 2023, Party City's “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome,” Litwin said during the call, and that the closure process happens immediately.
Party City’s “very best efforts have not been enough to overcome” its financial challenges, he added, resulting in the company’s collapse. Litwin said the company struggled to contend with inflation, which sent the company’s costs higher and dragged down consumer spending.
“It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome,” Litwin said. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.”
Also on Friday, some of Party City’s store employees received letters that the company would close down stores on February 28, at which point store staff would be terminated.
If this list offends you, good. Because I am no longer shielding the obvious. These individuals and entities are furthering America's decline. These entities pose a clear and present danger to people of color, the needy and working class.
Damn shame we voted for the chaotic status quo of a Trump presidency.
This is the results of a Biden presidency. Once Trump gets back in, it only gets worse.
The Columbus, Ohio based discount retailer and closeout furniture company is officially going out of business.
Big Lots confirm that the private equity firm backed out of purchasing the company. Now it goes to Chapter 7 liquidation. It will close the 790 stores nationwide.
Founded in 1967 as Consolidated Stores, it has over 900 locations across the United States. Big Lots stores typically sell closeout and overstock merchandise from other stores, although some stores also sell furniture.
In October 2023, CreditRiskMonitor reported that Big Lots was nearing a potential Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. The company closed 52 stores in 2023. In July 2024, Big Lots announced the closure of 35 to 40 underperforming locations nationwide, blaming inflation and high rising costs as part of the decision. The company warned that it might not be able to survive the rest of 2024 and that a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing might be imminent; in the first quarter of 2024, net sales decreased 10.2% compared to the first quarter of 2023. Of the company's 1,400 stores nationwide, 144 stores were confirmed to be closing that month including one in Rapid City, South Dakota, the only one in the state. In a filing on July 31, 2024, Big Lots reported that it would close up to 315 stores.
On August 28, 2024, Big Lots warned that they could file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection within the coming weeks, blaming declining sales caused by rising interest rates as part of the decision. The company is searching for options to avoid a potential filing. The company's stock sank 27% after the announcement. On September 9, 2024, Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, with plans to sell itself to Nexus Capital Management.
On December 19, 2024, Big Lots announced that it did not anticipate closing the sale to Nexus, and that the company would begin “going out of business” sales at all of its 963 remaining locations. CEO Bruce Thorn said the company would continue “efforts to secure an alternative deal with Nexus or another party".
Big Lots said in a release Thursday that it no longer anticipates being able to complete a previously announced agreement with a private equity group to salvage the company.
However, it said, it continues to work toward completing an alternative transaction with the group, Los Angeles-based Nexus Capital Management, or another party.
In September, Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after having suffered continuous losses. The Columbus, Ohio-based firm has announced hundreds of store closings this year.
The brick-and-mortar retail landscape in general took another series of blows in 2024, with 49 retail bankruptcies (including those of automobile dealers and direct-to-consumer brands) in the United States, compared with 25 retail bankruptcies tracked in 2023, according to data from Coresight Research, a consumer insights group.
Coresight has confirmed more than 7,300 store closings this year, led by Family Dollar, with 718, followed by CVS, with 586, and Big Lots, with 580.
That compares with 4,627 store closings across the retail industry by this time last year, Coresight said.
Besides Sean "Softball" Hannity, Neil Cavuto jumped onto Fox since its beginning. Now 28 years later, he packing it up.
One of the longtime figures on Fox and Fox Business is leaving.
Neil Cavuto, a business journalist at Fox whose weekday afternoon news show frequently annoyed President-elect Donald Trump and his supporters, left the network after 28 years following a final show on Thursday.
A workhorse who had been with Fox since its inception in 1996, Cavuto also hosted programs at Fox’s sister, the Fox Business Network, and was not considered one of the stable of opinion hosts.
His final show briskly moved through a succession of news stories, including the potential for a government funding deal, stock market fluctuations and a strike by Amazon workers. He addressed his exit at the end, thanking Fox for his years on the network but saying that “I’m not leaving journalism. I’m just leaving here.”
“I got to do what I love here — report the news, not shout the news, not blast the news,” he said, adding that his goal was to “tell truth to power and fairness to all. That’s me.”
He thanked viewers, while noting the ones who wrote to suggest he do things “that I think were anatomically impossible to do.”
Fox said in a statement: “Neil Cavuto’s illustrious career has been a master class in journalism and we’re extremely proud of his incredible 28-year run with Fox News Media. His programs have defined business news and set the standard for the entire industry. We wish him a heartfelt farewell and all the best on his next chapter.”
Unlike many at Fox, he has not interviewed President-elect Donald Trump since 2017 and sometimes has angered him. One time came when Cavuto said on his show in September that Trump had “decisively lost” his debate with Democrat Kamala Harris.
Cavuto remarked this summer that when the stock market goes up, Trump says it is because of investors looking forward to him being back in power, but when it’s down, he blames the Democrats.
On social media Thursday, Trump used all-caps to say Cavuto’s departure is “GOOD NEWS FOR AMERICA.” He said it “should have happened a long time ago.”
While Cavuto’s exit removes a Trump irritant from Fox just before the president-elect returns to office, that fact had nothing to do with it, said a person at the network with knowledge of the discussions but spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk about contracts. Cavuto’s contract was coming to an end and while he was offered an extension, he decided to leave, the person said. Cavuto confirmed the offer, while not explaining his reasons for exiting.
With the television news business hurting financially, some major personalities have reportedly been asked to take pay cuts. Some, like the “Today” show’s Hoda Kotb, decided to leave instead.
Even before Cavuto addressed his exit, each of the guests on his final show saluted him. Reporter Aishah Hasnie called him a hero, and billionaire investor Ken Fisher said, “if you need any help, you will always have a friend in me.”
“You call balls and strikes,” said Bob Cusack, editor in chief of The Hill. “You’re not a yes man.”
Cavuto, 66, has stayed on the job despite a number of health issues through the years. He has multiple sclerosis, underwent heart surgery and had bouts of long COVID. One fellow Fox personality, Janice Dean, said on social media that when she was diagnosed with MS, Cavuto “gave me hope that I could still pursue my dreams.”
There’s no immediate word on who will replace Cavuto at 4 p.m. Eastern on Fox’s schedule, a coveted slot before the network’s most popular show, “The Five.”
Republicans in the Georgia State Appeals removes Fani Willis.
White privilege at its finest.
Y'all voted for this.
Even though she won her bid to stay on as Fulton County, Georgia prosecutor, District Attorney Fani Willis was removed off the election interference trial of former president Donald J. Trump (current president-elect).
With Trump returning to power, the case is likely going to be thrown out.
The case against Trump and more than a dozen others had already been stalled for months over an appeal related to a romantic relationship Willis had with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she had hired to lead the case.
Citing an “appearance of impropriety” that might not typically warrant such a removal, a Georgia Court of Appeals panel said in a 2-1 ruling that “this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.” Willis’ office immediately filed a notice of intent to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision.
But pursuing a criminal case against a sitting president is a virtual impossibility. And Trump will return to the White House having overcome efforts to prosecute him and empowered by a Supreme Court ruling granting him presumptive immunity for any “official acts” he takes in office.
The development comes weeks after Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith abandoned two federal prosecutions against the incoming president, and as sentencing in a separate hush money case in New York is indefinitely on hold as a result of Trump’s victory in November over Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
A grand jury in Atlanta indicted Trump and 18 others in August 2023, using the state’s anti-racketeering law to accuse them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally try to overturn Trump’s narrow 2020 presidential election loss to Democrat Joe Biden in Georgia. The alleged scheme included Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to help find enough votes to beat Biden. Four people have pleaded guilty.
Trump told Fox News Digital that the case “should not be allowed to go any further.” The president-elect added: “Everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years.”
Steve Sadow, Trump’s lead attorney in Georgia, said the ruling was “well-reasoned and just.” He said the appeals court “highlighted that Willis’ misconduct created an ‘odor of mendacity’ and an appearance of impropriety that could only be cured by the disqualification of her and her entire office.”
“This decision puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States,” Sadow wrote in an emailed statement.
Representatives for Willis did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment on the ruling.
The allegations that Willis had improperly benefited from her romance with Wade resulted in a tumultuous couple of months in the case as intimate details of Willis and Wade’s personal lives were aired in court in mid-February. A defendant’s motion alleged that Willis and Wade were involved in an inappropriate romantic relationship and that Willis paid Wade large sums for his work and then benefited when he paid for lavish vacations.
The King of White Privilege.
Willis and Wade acknowledged the relationship but said they didn’t begin dating until the spring of 2022. Wade was hired in November 2021, and their romance ended in the summer of 2023, they said. They also testified that they split travel and other costs roughly evenly, with Willis often paying expenses or reimbursing Wade in cash.
Speaking at a historically Black church in Atlanta soon after the relationship allegations surfaced, Willis defended Wade’s qualifications and her own leadership of her office. Defense lawyers said that speech included a series of improper and prejudicial comments against the defendants and their legal team, poisoning any potential jurors against them.
The appeals court majority opinion, written by Judge Trenton Brown and joined by Judge Todd Markle, said “the remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
In a dissenting opinion, Judge Benjamin Land wrote that “the law does not support the result reached by the majority.” Trial court judges, he said, have broad discretion to to impose a remedy to fit a situation and the appeals court should respect that.
“We are here to ensure the law has been applied correctly and to correct harmful legal errors when we see them. It is not our job to second-guess trial judges or to substitute our judgment for theirs,” he wrote.
“Where, as here, a prosecutor has no actual conflict of interest and the trial court, based on the evidence presented to it, rejects the allegations of actual impropriety, we have no authority to reverse the trial court’s denial of a motion to disqualify,” he said, arguing that the majority opinion goes against decades of precedent in Georgia.
The ruling by the appeals court panel means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case, though that could be delayed if the state Supreme Court takes the case. It could be difficult to find another prosecutor willing to take it on given the extensive resources needed to prosecute the sprawling and complex case. That person could continue on the track that Willis has taken, decide to pursue only some charges or dismiss the case altogether.
Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee, the trial court judge, had ruled in March that no conflict of interest existed that should force Willis off the case. Trump and the others appealed that ruling.
McAfee wrote that the prosecution was “encumbered by an appearance of impropriety.” He said Willis could remain on the case only if Wade left; the special prosecutor submitted his resignation hours later.
The Colombian cartels managed to unalive a former cocaine kingpin. A man who was known for making Washington, DC as the "murder capital of the nation."
He was considered one of the most profitable cocaine kingpins in the 1980s.
The Washington area's most notorious Rayful Edmond was killed.
After he was released from federal time out, only four months out and he was assassinated at the age of 60.
Over 40 years ago, Edmond was dealing and killing since he got into the game at 14 years old.
Edmond was alleged to have moved large amounts of cocaine. In an indictment involving two of Edmond's associates Dwayne (D.C. Scorpio), it was said that they bought between 1,000 and 2,000 kilos per week in 1992 from the Trujillo-Blanco brothers, who were associated with the Medellin cartel, and sold the drugs to Washington area wholesalers. He was known to have spent some $457,619 in an exclusive Georgetown store (Linea Pitti, specializing in Italian men's clothing) owned by Charles Wynn who was later convicted on 34 counts of money laundering. Edmond's estimated revenue was approximately $300 million annually. In one year, Edmond's organization, which employed 150 people, committed 30 murders.
Edmond apologized for his past transgressions.
On July 31, 2024, Edmond was transferred from prison to a halfway house at an undisclosed location in Kentucky or Tennessee under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons Nashville Residential Reentry Management Office. He died in Florida on December 17, 2024, only a few months after his release from prison, from a heart attack. He was 60.
If you believe he had a heart attack, you don't know the cartels. They know how to off someone without using weapons.
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. and Christopher Maurice Brown are accused of using taxpayer assistance to party like rock stars. Of course, they are rappers/rock stars.
Lil Wayne and Chris Brown are Blood to the core.
They bleed the federal assistance relief dry during the coronavirus pandemic despite being millionaires. They backed President-elect Donald J. Trump.
Breezy is most notorious for his near career ending assault on Rihanna.
Wheezy is known for his ongoing fallouts with Cash Money Records, Drake, Nicki Minaj and his baby mamas.
According to a Business Insider investigation, both Lil Wayne and Chris Brown are under scrutiny over their alleged use of COVID-19 pandemic relief grant money. The outlet reports that Lil Wayne received a grant worth $8.9 million from a pandemic relief program set up to help independent venues and artists recover from revenue lost during the lockdown.
As for Brown, his company CBE Touring, allegedly received a total of $10 million, with $5.1 allegedly going to Brown personally.
Lil Wayne spent his money on various stays at luxury hotels and other frivolous purchases, allocating over $1.3 million of the relief money to private-jet travel and over $460,000 to high-end clothing brands.
Chris Brown allegedly spent $80,000 on his own birthday party, for which he bought “atmosphere models,” an LED dance floor, bottle service, hookahs, and “nitrogen ice cream,” just to name a few. Not to mention the $24,000 on a tour bus ride to Tulum.
Business Insider also reported that Lil Wayne spent $15,000 for flights and hotel rooms for women whose connection to the paper and his team is not clear, including an adult film actress and a waitress from a “breastaurant.”
On New Year’s Eve 2021, Lil Wayne was scheduled to perform a show in Southern California. He ended up canceling due to “the wind and the flights.” Despite not showing up, the rapper reportedly billed taxpayers nearly $88,000 for the trip.
Additionally, Hot New Hip-Hop reported that social media posts left clues that Lil Wayne might have been partying with 2 Chainz at a club on Sunset Boulevard the same night of the canceled concert.
Other artists accused of mishandling COVID-19 relief funds include Alice in Chains, Steve Aoki, and Marshmello.
According to the report, producer and DJ Marshmello received $9.9 million in grant money. Rather than allocating it to dancers, private jets, or members of his staff, however, he awarded the entire payment to himself.
These millionaire artists were able to receive money meant for smaller, struggling musicians thanks to a loophole in the Small Business Association’s SVOG program. In a statement to Business Insider, the SBA claimed that it was directed to examine revenue, not the assets of recipients.
Offering his take on the matter, Former Comptroller General of the United States David Walker told Business Insider, “At a minimum, it smells,” then added, “Whether it’s legal or not is up to a lawyer or ultimately to a court. But it sure smells.” At this time, neither Lil Wayne nor Chris Brown appear to have commented on the report.
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