FEATURED STORIES FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 13, 2022 |
Video from inside Uvalde school shows officers' delayed response to mass shooting |
(Austin American-Statesman)
He slows down to peek around a corner in a hallway and flips back his hair before proceeding toward classrooms 111 and 112.
Seconds later, a boy with neatly combed hair and glasses exits a bathroom to head back to his class. As he turns the corner, he notices the gunman standing by the classroom door and unloading a barrage.
The boy turns and runs back into the bathroom.
The gunman enters one of the classrooms. Children scream. The gunfire continues, stops, then starts again. Stops, then starts again. And again. And again.
It is almost three minutes before three police officers arrive in the hallway and rush toward the classrooms, crouching down. Then, a burst of gunfire. One officer grabs the back of his head. They quickly retreat to the end of the hallway, below a school surveillance camera.
A 77-minute video recording captured from this vantage point, along with body camera footage from one of the responding officers, shows in excruciating detail what happened when dozens of local, state and federal officers entered the school, heavily armed, clad in body armor, helmets and some with protective shields.
The video is horrifying. Some parents are criticizing the media for even showing it.
What does the video reveal?
Why are so many classroom doors across the country designed without the ability to lock them from the inside?
Dr. Alex del Carmen heads up the School of Criminology, Criminal Justice and Strategic Studies at Tarleton State University in Fort Worth, Texas.
He can do interviews in both English and Spanish.
Feel free to contact him directly:
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Dr. Alex del Carmen
Law Enforcement Expert
(cell) 817-681-7840
He's also available for Skype and Zoom calls.
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Guilt Tipping: Viral TikTok video renews the debate |
(New York Post)
A woman has resparked the debate over digital tipping etiquette in a TikTok video that’s now gone viral.
In the clip, TikTok user Aubrey Grace acts out a scenario many of us have experienced — the immense (and awkward) pressure that comes when you’re asked to tip using an iPad.
Grace acted out the familiar scene with a friend, pretending to be a barista asking a customer to pay for their drink.
“The iced chai will be $6.49. Enter your card and it’ll ask you just a few little prompts here,” she says in the video, turning the iPad around to show a screen with options to tip 15%, 20%, 25% or a custom amount — or no tip at all.
The overlay on the screen reads: “the pressure to tip” as the woman pretending to be the “customer” then hovers over the options as the “barista” closely watches her wavering finger.
If you haven't seen the viral video, it's worth watching.
We've all been there. The server is there, hovering over the iPad, watching you choose your tip.
What about those tip jars that seem to be everywhere these days? Does everyone deserve a tip for doing their job?
Does the social pressure need to end? Is it time businesses did away with Guilt Tipping?
Valerie Sokolosky is a nationally recognized expert on etiquette. She's the author of Do It Right!
Feel free to contact her directly:
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Valerie Sokolosky
Etiquette Expert
She's also available for Zoom and Skype interviews.
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"I see this as two people": Pregnant woman cited for HOV lane ticket says unborn baby should count as second person |
(CBS News)
A pregnant Texas woman who was ticketed for driving in a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane says her unborn baby should count as a second person, citing the Supreme Court's recent overturn of Roe v. Wade.
Brandy Bottone told CBS News on Monday that she sees her incident as involving "two people" and plans to fight the ticket in court.
Bottone, who was 34 weeks pregnant at the time, was on her way to pick up her 6-year-old son on June 29 when she pulled into the two-person HOV lane on the Central Expressway in Dallas. She was stopped at a checkpoint by a Dallas County sheriff's deputy, who asked where her other passenger was.
Bottone told the Dallas Morning News, which first reported the story, that "one officer kind of brushed me off when I mentioned this is a living child, according to everything that's going on with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 'So I don't know why you're not seeing that,' I said."
Is she right? If the state of Texas recognizes an unborn baby as a person, should it count as an extra passenger?
Should Gov. Gregg Abbott move to have this ticket dismissed?
Sandra Spurgeon is an undefeated trial attorney with more than 120 state and federal cases successfully litigated.
She can talk about this story and offer insights.
Feel free to contact her directly:
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Sandra Spurgeon, Esq
Legal Expert
(cell) 214-888-4329
She's also available for Skype and Zoom interviews.
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Working on a story and need help finding an expert to interview?
Please try our free media concierge service.
Laura Martin from my team would be happy to help.
She spent 28 years in news in top markets and you'll find her extremely resourceful.
Feel free to call her cell:
972-214-6597
Or email her:
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Suspended Albany news anchor Heather Kovar says she was not drunk on the air the other night.
What's her explanation for her slurring and sloppy newscast?
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July 13, 1985
Musicians and celebrities gathered at arenas around the world to hold a 16-hour Live Aid concert, raising more than $125 million in famine relief for Africa.
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A wayward humming bird that found itself inside a home in Canada is released back to the wild.
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WHAT NATIONAL DAY IS TODAY? |
Today is National French Fry Day.
Despite its name, they're not French.
The origins of the french fry have been traced back to Belgium, where historians claim potatoes were being fried in the late-1600s.
McDonald's buys more than 3.4 billion pounds of U.S. potatoes annually, giving the company the power to dictate what types of potatoes are grown in this country.
Where can you score deals and free fries today?
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The animatronic mask used in the 1987 movie "Harry and the Hendersons" is up for auction.
What's the opening bid?
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The stray kitten rescued from inside an ATM machine in Fort Smith, Arkansas has been named "Cash" by a local animal shelter.
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I know what you're going through. For 25 years, I was you. It doesn't matter how great your story was yesterday, the boss wants to know "What have you done for me lately?" It's not easy to constantly "feed the beast" and come up with fresh story ideas.
And who has time to read all of those papers and watch all of those major market newscasts to find new leads?
That's what The Rundown is about. I get up early and scan dozens of news sites from all over the globe for stories that can be easily localized. My promise to you is that when one of these stories involves a client, I'll tell you. There are no hidden agendas here.
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Jeff Crilley
Real News PR
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