11-Year-Old Boy Dies After Shooting Himself During Zoom Class

/0 Comments/in , /by

An 11-year-old boy died after he shot himself in his California home during a Zoom class this week, according to a new report.

The pre-teen was attending the virtual class with his microphone and camera turned off when he took his own life just after 11 a.m. Wednesday in Woodbridge, a community in Northern California’s Central Valley, KOVR reported.

His sister, who was attending her own virtual class in another room, found him and alerted her neighbor and teacher, who helped call authorities, according to the report. . .

The boy, identified by the Sacramento Bee as Adan Llanos, was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he later died, according to authorities. (Read more from “11-Year-Old Boy Dies After Shooting Himself During Zoom Class” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Waitress Gets $2K Tip but Restaurant Refuses to Give Her a Cent

/0 Comments/in , , /by

A Texas waitress says she was thrilled to receive a $2,000 tip on a bill — only to find out from the restaurant that she won’t take home a single cent.

Emily Bauer, 21, had only been a server for about two weeks when she was scheduled for a busy Sunday shift at Red Hook Seafood and Bar in San Antonio, news station KVUE reported. . .

Bauer said she didn’t notice at first that [a customer] had given her a $2,000 tip and wrote a note that said, “Merry Christmas! Keep working hard!” . . .

“I was sitting at a table and the other servers were congratulating me and [my manager] came over and was like, ‘Rule No. 1. Never accept a tip like that because you’re never going to get it,’” Bauer said.

Bauer said another server suggested that the restaurant give her four separate tips of $500 but they refused. (Read more from “Waitress Gets $2K Tip but Restaurant Refuses to Give Her a Cent” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Institute Lists COVID Vaccines That Rely on Aborted Baby Cells

/0 Comments/in , /by

The pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute has released information on which coronavirus vaccines have been made using cells obtained from aborted babies.

The Charlotte Lozier Institute (CLI) released a new chart Thursday examining whether eight leading COVID vaccines were either produced or tested using cells obtained through abortions. The institute’s analysis found that most of the vaccine candidates did not use cell lines derived from abortions in their production, though several used abortion-derived cell lines in laboratory testing. . .

Both AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson use abortion-derived cell lines in development, production, and lab testing, the analysis found.

Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, and Inovio use abortion-derived cells in some tests but do not use abortion-derived cells in other tests, the analysis found. . .

The analysis could not determine whether Sanofi/GSK and Merck used the abortion-derived cell lines in lab testing, but noted that Sanofi/GSK and Merck do not use abortion-derived cell lines in development or production of the vaccine. (Read more from “Institute Lists COVID Vaccines That Rely on Aborted Baby Cells” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

University Settles With Midwife Student After Threatening To Expel Her for Pro-Life Views

/0 Comments/in , /by

The University of Nottingham has settled with a midwifery student whom it tried to expel for her association with a campus pro-life group.

Julia Rynkiewicz got both an undisclosed payout and an apology 10 months after the university dropped its “fitness to practice” investigation, according to The Telegraph.

“Putting my life on hold because of an unjust investigation was really difficult, both mentally and emotionally,” she said. “The settlement demonstrates that the university’s treatment of me was wrong, and while I’m happy to move on, I hope this means that no other student will have to experience what I have.”

The student is now a year behind graduating because of the baseless proceeding, which also included a ban on completing her hospital placement, the newspaper reported in January when she first threatened legal action. (It’s not clear whether she actually filed suit: The Telegraph said Rynkiewicz could “carry her case through to the ombudsman and then on to court” if her complaint wasn’t remedied.) (Read more from “University Settles With Midwife Student After Threatening To Expel Her for Pro-Life Views” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Students Organize ‘Queeristan’ Event Series To Support LGBT Muslims

/0 Comments/in , /by

Muslim students at Duke University have organized a series of events to promote acceptance of homosexuality and other LGBTQ-related issues and to create a community for gay Muslims.

The event series, called Queeristan, aims to connect LGBTQ Muslims to one another at the private university in North Carolina. It is a collaboration of the school’s Center for Muslim Life and the student publication Juhood Magazine.

“As far as the CML receiving criticism here and there, the answer is yes,” Joshua Salaam, the center’s director, told The College Fix via email. The Fix had asked if the Muslim community had criticized the promotion of LGBTQ issues.

“We have a very diverse group of students on campus and they constantly engage us with their thoughts, opinions and concerns on many issues,” Salaam said. “I can only pray they continue that practice so our office can stay informed.”

He did not have data to share on the number of LGBTQ Muslims at Duke but referred The Fix to Nicholas Antonicci, the director of the school’s Center for Sexuality and Gender Diversity. (Read more from “Students Organize ‘Queeristan’ Event Series To Support LGBT Muslims” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Hours After Voting To Ban Outdoor Dining, LA County Supervisor Dined Outdoors

/0 Comments/in , /by

California county supervisor dined outdoors only hours after voting to ban outdoor dining, FOX 11 reported Monday.

Shortly after Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl voted Tuesday to ban outdoor dining, calling outdoor dining a “most dangerous situation,” she was seen dining outside at the Santa Monica restaurant Il Forno Trattoria, according to FOX 11.

Kuehl admitted through a spokesperson that she dined at Il Forno “on the very last day it was permissible.” The outdoor dining ban went into effect Wednesday, the publication reported.

“She loves Il Forno, has been saddened to see it, like so many restaurants, suffer from a decline in revenue,” the spokesperson told FOX 11. “She ate there, taking appropriate precautions, and sadly will not dine there again until our Public Health Orders permit.” (Read more from “Hours After Voting To Ban Outdoor Dining, LA County Supervisor Dined Outdoors” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Media Ignore ‘Devoutly Religious’ Biden’s Embarrassing Bible Gaffe After Freaking Out About Trump’s ‘Two Corinthians’ Remark

/1 Comment/in , /by

The other day, a befuddled Joe Biden gave a speech in which he referred repeatedly to the psalmist David as “the palmist.” He apparently was confused about which letter in the Biblical reference is silent. It’s the “p,” not the “s,” which is silent. . .

As of press time, the flub has received precisely no coverage from Big Media, only in conservative media. Forgetting which letter in “psalmist” is silent isn’t the biggest deal in the world. But it provides an excellent example of how corrupted our media have been for the last four years.

That’s because during the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump gave a speech at Liberty University where he referred to St. Paul’s second epistle to the Corinthians as “2 Corinthians.” It’s usually, but by no means always, said as “Second” Corinthians. Scottish Christians, such as Trump’s mother, say it the way he did. The media immediately pounced on the alleged flub, and kept pouncing until as recently as four days ago.

CNN said it was a “mistake that raised questions about his biblical knowledge as he courts evangelical voters.” NPR said he “mispronounced a book of the Bible.” Even People magazine made fun of him, saying he “flubbed a Bible reference.” (Read more from “Media Ignore ‘Devoutly Religious’ Biden’s Embarrassing Bible Gaffe After Freaking Out About Trump’s ‘Two Corinthians’ Remark” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Joe Biden’s Transition Team Announces First All-Female WH Communications Team

/1 Comment/in , /by

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced the incoming White House communications team Sunday, and for the first time in history, the entire team is female. . .

The team includes top campaign advisor Symone Sanders — who also worked on Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign — and Jen Psaki, an alumnus of former President Barack Obama’s administration. (Read more from “Joe Biden’s Transition Team Announces First All-Female Wh Communications Team” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

‘Perfect Storm’ for Suicide as Death Toll Surges Past COVID

/1 Comment/in , /by

Some scientists warned early in the coronavirus pandemic that economic lockdowns could have serious mental health repercussions, and it turns out they were right.

A report by the Foundation for Economic Education said the forced isolation in pandemic quarantines and closures have created the “perfect storm” for suicide.

CBS News, for example, reported far more Japanese people “are dying of suicide, likely exacerbated by the economic and social repercussions of the pandemic, than of the COVID-19 disease itself.”

“While Japan has managed its coronavirus epidemic far better than many nations, keeping deaths below 2,000 nationwide, provisional statistics from the National Police Agency show suicides surged to 2,153 in October alone, marking the fourth straight month of increase.”

The suicide toll is about 600 higher than the same time a year earlier, the network reported. The surge followed an extended time in which suicide deaths had been declining. (Read more from “‘Perfect Storm’ for Suicide as Death Toll Surges Past COVID” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE

Retailers Struggle to Survive Through Black Friday in Coronavirus America

/0 Comments/in , /by

Black Friday appears to be calm but not catastrophically slow across much of the United States.

Most of the country’s biggest retailers were closed Thursday and abjured the late-night or midnight doorbuster openings of years past due to the risk of coronavirus infection. When they opened their doors on Friday morning, stores in some areas had small lines or few shoppers while in other areas shoppers faced sizeable lines, although none comparable to the prepandemic era.

The pandemic has created some wild and unpredictable swings in the economy, triggering shortages at times and igniting a home-buying boom. How holiday shopping will be affected is a big question mark at this point, making this arguably the most important Black Friday since the frightening days of the 2008 financial crisis.

Consumer spending has been surprisingly robust since the economy began to reopen and the labor market has staged a swifter than expected recovery. Many consumers are feeling flush, their wealth boosted by a stock market that has pushed the S&P 500 up 65 percent since the lockdown low in March and soaring home values. Money not spent on trips, sports games, movies, or eating out has apparently gone into the purchase of consumer goods and contributed to savings accounts of many households.

It’s unclear whether this will hold up on Black Friday as infections and hospitalizations hit new record highs across much of the country, lockdowns are being reimposed, and layoffs have begun climbing again. Retailers have much less inventory than is typical at this time of the year, a bet that demand will be softer. (Read more from “Retailers Struggle to Survive Through Black Friday in Coronavirus America” HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE