Another mass shooting took place in Texas that killed 14 students and 1 teacher

So far there are already 6 cases of mass shooting in the United States in just two weeks. Salvador Romas,18, killed multiple children and a teacher at an elementary school in Uvalde, a small city located 80 miles west of San Antonio, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said

By Edward Era Barbacena

A shooting at a Texas elementary school killed 14 children and one teacher Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

"Texans across the state are grieving for the victims of this senseless crime and for the community of Uvalde. Cecilia and I mourn this horrific loss and we urge all Texans to come together to show our unwavering support to all who are suffering," he said in a statement. 

The  Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Rangers have been instructed to work with local law enforcement. 

The Texas Department of Public Safety and Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told Fox News that the shooter – who ran to Robb Elementary School – had become barricaded inside. Uvalde Memorial Hospital confirmed that two people were brought to the hospital deceased. 

Fifteen children were taken to the facility via ambulance or bus for treatment, a hospital spokesman told Fox News. 

"There is an active shooter at Robb Elementary. Law enforcement is on site," the school posted on Facebook shortly after shots rang out. "Your cooperation is needed at this time by not visiting the campus." 

Salvador Ramos

The teen shooter who reportedly killed 14 children and a teacher and injured at least a dozen others has been identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos.

Romas reportedly also shot his grandmother before entering a Texas high school and opening fire on Tuesday afternoon local time. He was reportedly shot in a stand-off with Texas officials responding to calls of an active shooter in Robb Elementary School in Uvalde.

Romas reportedly abandoned his vehicle and entered the elementary school with a handgun. He may also have had a rifle with him, according to Governor Greg Abbott.

The governor said Romas “shot and killed — horrifically, incomprehensibly” more than a dozen people, mostly children.

In a press conference held shortly after 4.15pm local time, Texas officials confirmed the shooter is deceased.

University Health in San Antonio said it received two patients – a child and a 66-year-old woman who is in critical condition. The condition of the child was not released. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has been briefed on the shooting. 

The agency is also coordinating with local and state authorities. Uvalde Memorial Hospital said Tuesday evening it was having an emergency blood drive on Wednesday, though it was not clear if the event is related to the shooting. 

The Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District first reported the school lockdown at 11:43 a.m. local time. 

"Please know at this time all campuses are under a Lockdown Status due to gunshots in the area. The students and staff are safe in the buildings," the district had said in a message to parents. 

The district asked parents not to pick up their children and that students needed to be accounted for before being released. Parents were notified to pick up their children around 2 p.m.

All district and campus activities, including after-school programs and events have been canceled. Parents are being asked to pick up their children at their regular dismissal times at their school campus. School bus transportation has also been canceled. 

Police officers will escort students to the parent vehicles. 

Source: Fox News

 

Video released that shows police officer Shane Privette shot and killed Jalen Randle

A black man who was wanted for felony didn't have a chance to raise his hands was shot on sight  while a white supremacists who murdered 10 people was ask to surrender and was taken into custody.

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Attorney Ben Crump has shared the police body camera footage of the moments before a police officer shot Jalen Randle, saying Randle had only seconds before being shot.

Houston Police Department released the video on Tuesday, which may be shocking for some viewers. Warning, there is profanity.

Randle died after being shot in the back of his neck in April. Randle had been stopped after police discovered that he was wanted for three felony warrants

Randle had been seen getting into a car’s passenger seat. Police tried to pull the car over but the driver didn’t stop until police blocked the vehicle.

Randle then left the car, as seen in the video.

Police said he had a bag that had a gun in it, the AP reported.

Community activist Quanell X said after the shooting, “Let me be crystal clear. The gun they found stayed in the bag,” KHOU reported.

“The witnesses have said that he got out of the car and was running away. We believe the body cameras will all show it,” Crump said earlier this month.

On Tuesday, Crump shared the body camera video on Twitter,

As Crump wrote on social media, the video shows the officer getting out of the car and “fatally shooting Jalen Randle in the neck within SECONDS of ordering him to put his hands up — giving Jalen NO time to comply.”

One shot appears to have been fired.

Police can be seen handcuffing and searching Randle.

Randle died at an area hospital, KHOU reported.

The Harris County medical examiner’s office said Randle’s cause of death was a gunshot wound to the neck, the AP reported.

The driver of the car was taken into custody and the officer who shot Randle was put on administrative leave as part of the investigation, KHOU reported.

 

 

Robredo to stop her programs on May 31 for transition with new VP Sara Duterte

By Edward Era Barbacena

Citing the transition to the country’s incoming second highest official, the Office of the Vice President (OVP) announced on Monday, May 23, its medical assistance and Bayanihan E-Konsulta programs will last only until the end of the month on May 31.

A Facebook post from Vice President Leni Robredo’s office said it will stop accepting applications for medical and burial assistance starting on June 1.

“Ito po ay upang maging maayos ang pag-transition at pag-turnover ng programa sa susunod na bise presidente (This is meant to ensure the smooth transition and turnover of the programs of the next vice president),” the OVP said.

“Makakaasa po kayong babalikan kayo agad ng Tanggapan para sa mga updates ukol dito (You can be rest assured that the office will get back to you with updates about this),” the post read.

Robredo’s office will also end its pandemic-era Bayanihan E-Konsulta service on Tuesday, May 31.

The free telemedicine consultation was launched in April last year during the outbreak of the Covid-19.

It was powered by medical and non-medical volunteers, such as doctors and nurses, and aimed to serve Covid and non-Covid patients in the National Capital Region (NCR) and neighboring provinces.

“Taos-puso kaming nagpapasalamat sa lahat ng nakiisa sa inisyatibo nating ito upang makapaghatid ng kinakailangang tulong medikal sa ating mga kababayan ngayong panahon ng Covid-19 pandemic (We wholeheartedly thank everyone who joined in this initiative to deliver the needed medical services to our fellowmen at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic),” the Facebook page of the Bayanihan e-Konsulta said.

It thanked all the volunteer doctors, nurses, and other medical and non-medical professionals who spent their time and skills for the program.

“Hindi matatawaran ang inyong dedikasyon, sakripisyo, at serbisyo sa publiko. Nagpapasalamat din tayo sa mga partners na nakipagbayanihan sa atin para makarating sa mas marami pa ang Bayanihan E-Konsulta (Your dedication, sacrifices, and service to the public is incomparable. We are also thanking our partners who worked with us so the Bayanihan E-Konsulta can reach out to more people),” the post added.

Aside from providing free telemedicine consultation, the OVP also sent Covid-19 kits that included basic medicines, thermometer, oximeter, vitamins, and face masks.

“Sama-sama, pinatunayan natin: Walang imposible sa taumbayang nagkakaisa para iangat ang kaniyang kapwa (Together, we proved: Nothing is impossible with people who united to uplift their fellowmen),” the post said.

Robredo, who is currently in New York with her daughters after attending youngest daughter Jillian’s college graduation there, lost to presumed president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by 16 million votes.

 

Russian soldier handed life sentence for war crimes in Ukraine

Shishimarin, a Russian sergeant, admitted earlier in court to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in the first days of the Kremlin's offensive in northeast Ukraine.

By Edward Era Barbacena

A Kyiv court has ruled that a 21-year-old Russian soldier who killed a civilian was guilty of war  and handed him a life sentence, in the first verdict against Moscow's forces since their invasion.

"The court has found that (Vadim) Shishimarin is guilty and sentences him to life imprisonment," judge Sergiy Agafonov said.

Shishimarin, a Russian sergeant, admitted earlier in court to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in the first days of the Kremlin's offensive in northeast Ukraine.

He was also found guilty of premeditated murder.

"The murder was committed with direct intent," judge Agafonov said.

"Shishimarin violated the laws and customs of war."

The Russian soldier told the court last week that he shot Shelipov under pressure from another soldier as they tried to retreat and escape back into Russia in a stolen car on 28 February, the fourth day of Moscow's invasion.

Shishimarin apologised and asked Shelipov's widow for forgiveness.

He looked on from the glass defence box as the verdict was read out in Ukrainian. An interpreter translated for him into Russian.

Shishimarin's lawyer Viktor Ovsyannikov said he will appeal the verdict.

"This is the most severe sentence and any level-headed person would challenge it," Mr Ovsyannikov, said following the court session, adding, that: "I will ask for the cancellation of the court's verdict."

He said that "you can feel societal pressure" on the decision of the court.

The Kremlin said before the sentencing that while it was "concerned" over Shishimarin's fate, it was unable provide on-the-ground assistance because there is no Russian diplomatic presence in Ukraine.

"That doesn't mean we won't try through other channels. The fate of every Russian citizen is of paramount importance to us," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

The landmark ruling is expected to be followed by others, with Ukraine opening thousands of war crimes cases since Moscow's invasion.

 

McDonald's, Starbucks, Coke, Pepsi join exodus out of Russia

McDonald’s, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Electric all announced Tuesday they were suspending their business in Russia in response to the country’s invasion of Ukraine

By Edward Era Barbacena

McDonald's, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and General Electric __ ubiquitous global brands and symbols of U.S. corporate might __ all announced Tuesday they were temporarily suspending their business in Russia in response to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

“Our values mean we cannot ignore the needless human suffering unfolding in Ukraine,” McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski said in an open letter to employees.

The Chicago-based burger giant said it will temporarily close 850 stores but continue paying its 62,000 employees in Russia “who have poured their heart and soul into our McDonald’s brand.”

Kempczinski said it's impossible to know when the company will be able to reopen its stores.

“The situation is extraordinarily challenging for a global brand like ours, and there are many considerations,” Kempczinski wrote in the letter. McDonald's works with hundreds of Russian suppliers, for example, and serves millions of customers each day.

Last Friday, Starbucks had said that it was donating profits from its 130 Russian stores —— owned and operated by Kuwait-based franchisee Alshaya Group —— to humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine. But on Tuesday, the company changed course and said it would temporarily close those stores. Alshaya Group will continue to pay Starbucks' 2,000 Russian employees, Starbucks President and CEO Kevin Johnson said in an open letter to employees.

“Through this dynamic situation, we will continue to make decisions that are true to our mission and values and communicate with transparency," Johnson wrote.

Coca-Cola Co. announced it was suspending its business in Russia, but it offered few details. Coke's partner, Switzerland-based Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co., owns 10 bottling plants in Russia, which is its largest market. Coke has a 21% stake in Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Co.

PepsiCo and General Electric both announced partial shutdowns of their Russian business.

Pepsi, based in Purchase, New York, said it will suspend sales of beverages in Russia. It will also suspend any capital investments and promotional activities.

But the company said it will continue to produce milk, baby formula and baby food, in part to continue supporting its 20,000 Russian employees and the 40,000 Russian agricultural workers who are part of its supply chain.

“Now more than ever we must stay true to the humanitarian aspect of our business,” PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said in an email to employees.

General Electric also said in a Twitter post that it was partially suspending its operations in Russia. GE said two exceptions would be essential medical equipment and support for existing power services in Russia.

contribute 9% of its annual revenue, or around $2 billion last year.

Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut, said late Tuesday it planned to temporarily close 70 company-owned KFC restaurants in Russia. The company said it was also in talks with a franchisee to close all 50 Pizza Hut restaurants in Russia. It had announced Monday that it was donating all of the profits from its 1,050 restaurants in Russia to humanitarian efforts. It has also suspended new restaurant development in the country.

Burger King said it is redirecting the profits from its 800 Russian stores to relief efforts and donating $2 million in food vouchers to Ukrainian refugees.

McDonald's said Tuesday it has donated more than $5 million to its employee assistance fund and to relief efforts. It has also parked a Ronald McDonald House Charities mobile medical care unit at the Polish border with Ukraine; another mobile care unit is en route to the border in Latvia, the company said. PepsiCo said it is donating food, refrigerators and $4 million to relief organizations.

Some of the companies have a long history operating in Russia. PepsiCo entered the Russian market in the early 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, and helped to create common ground between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Later, McDonald's was one of the first U.S. fast food companies to open a store in Russia, a sign that the Cold War had thawed. On Jan. 31, 1990, thousands of Russians lined up before dawn to try hamburgers —— many for the first time—— at the first McDonald's in Moscow. By the end of the day, 30,000 meals had been rung up on 27 cash registers, an opening-day record for the company.

But since the Ukraine invasion last month, many corporations have ceased operations in Russia in protest. Among them is consumer goods conglomerate Unilever, which on Tuesday said it has suspended all imports and exports of its products into and out of Russia, and that it will not invest any further capital into the country. In a more limited move, Amazon said Tuesday the company’s cloud computing network, Amazon Web Services, will stop allowing new sign-ups in Russia and Belarus.

Pressure had been mounting on companies that remained in the country. Hashtags to boycott companies like McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo quickly emerged on social media.

Last week, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli —— a trustee of the state's pension fund, which is a McDonald's investor —— sent letters to McDonald's, PepsiCo and eight other companies urging them to consider pausing their operations in Russia.

“Companies doing business in Russia need to seriously consider whether it’s worth the risk. As investors, we want assurances that our holdings are not in harms way," DiNapoli said Tuesday in a statement. "I commend the companies that are taking the right steps and suspending their operations in Russia.”

In his letter, Kempczinski cited influential former McDonald’s Chairman and CEO Fred Turner, whose mantra was, “Do the right thing.”

“There are countless examples over the years of McDonald’s Corp. living up to Fred’s simple ideal. Today is one of those days,” Kempczinski said.

 

The not-so-friendly skies! Ex-NFL player Brendan Langley, 27, is charged with assault after being filmed in brawl with United Airlines worker

According to witnesses, the United Airline employee hurled racial slurs

By Edward Era Barbacena

The not so friendly United Airlines passenger filmed brawling with an employee at Newark Airport in a viral video is a 27-year-old football player from Georgia who has now been charged with assault. 

DailyMail.com can reveal Brendan Langley, 27, was arrested on Thursday May 19 at 11.03am after trading blows with the unnamed United Airlines worker. 

Videos show the pair sparring, but almost all of the footage shows the airline worker throwing the first punch.

But Langley, who once played in the NFL for the Denver Broncos but most recently played for the Calgary Stampeders in Canada, was the only one arrested. 

He was booked on a single count of simple assault on Thursday. The United Airlines worker was taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries but he was not arrested. 

It is believed that the fight began when Langley used a wheelchair to transport his luggage, instead of a paid-for luggage cart which cost $5. 

 

Russians Accused of Raping and Killing a 1-Year-Old Child, Says Ukraine official

By Edward Era Barbacena

A 1-year-old Ukrainian boy is allegedly dead after being raped by Russian soldiers in a village near Kharkiv, according to the Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman. A growing number of accusations that Russian soldiers are raping the youngest and most vulnerable war victims is the latest disturbing twist in a modern war defined by archaic brutality.

The dead boy is among dozens of alleged child rape victims which include two 10-year-old boys, triplets aged 9, a 2-year-old girl raped by two Russian soldiers, and a 9-month-old baby who was penetrated with a candlestick in front of its mother, according to Ukraine’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmyla Denisova

Ukraine’s main Psychological Assistance Line reports receiving calls regarding widespread rape—of children, women and men—every single day.

“In just one hour, 10 reports of rape by the [Russian] occupiers, including 8 children, were received from newly liberated villages in the Kharkiv region,” Denisova posted on her Facebook page. “Yesterday - 56 reports.”

Rape has long been a weapon of war, but it is generally perpetrated against women and girls. In Syria, human rights groups say women and girls were raped with the goal of impregnating them to add an extra insult to the injury. “I have received reports, not yet verified... about sexual violence cases [involving] men and boys in Ukraine,” Pramila Patten, United Nations special representative on sexual violence in conflict, told a press conference in Kyiv this week. “It’s hard for women and girls to report [rape] because of stigma amongst other reasons, but it’s often even harder for men and boys to report... We have to create that safe space for all victims to report cases of sexual violence.”

Reports of rape of children in front of their mothers is an increasingly frequent accusation almost too horrific to contemplate, and—if verified—would mark a sick and twisted torture meant to devastate the population, according to Denisova, who also reported that two men aged 67 and 78 were among the rape victims.

Some of the reports were first exposed by Ukrainian journalist Iryna Matviyishyn, who has been reporting from the areas liberated from Russian forces. She filed her findings to the Ukrainian parliament, which published them in a report as part of a war crimes dossier. “This is a very small part of territory that was liberated from Russians, compared to those towns, villages and cities that are still under the occupation,” Denisova said in the report. “We can only imagine the number of such atrocities in Kherson, Melitopol, Mariupol, Berdyansk, and others.”

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace says the increasing brutality is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s last resort, after Russian technology, intelligence and leadership have largely failed in what was clearly seen as a far easier challenge. “If you win your war by killing, murdering, raping, bombing civilian territories, breaching all human rights, all Geneva Conventions, corruption, and that becomes the battle-winning component, the message that sends around the world to other adversaries around the world is incredibly dangerous,” Wallace told the Defense of Europe conference in London this week. “That you don’t need to have all the best kit or the best training or appropriate rule of law, you just need to be able to be more brutal than the other person and more prepared to destroy everything in your path. That’s why it matters to the international community, and should matter, that if Putin is successful in Ukraine, then watch out.”

Source: The Daily Beast