Racine woman allegedly beat man with a walking cane, carved expletive into car

From The Journal Times.com:

• Journal Times staff

RACINE — A Racine woman allegedly beat a man with a walking cane and carved into the hood of their car after getting into an argument.

Stephania C. Puckett, 51, of the 1400 block of Douglas Avenue, was charged with a felony count of aggravated battery of an elderly person with use of a dangerous weapon and misdemeanor counts of criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct, all with domestic abuse enhancers. 

According to a criminal complaint by the Racine Police Department:

On March 27, at approximately 4:17 a.m., an officer was dispatched to a residence regarding someone striking the victim with a walking cane and damaging the hood of his vehicle.

Upon arrival, the officer made contact with the victim that advised Puckett had struck him numerous times with a walking cane to the point that she bent it. He said they were playing cards and Puckett got into a verbal argument with him and then struck him one time in the face with a closed fist. Instead of retaliating, the victim said he drove back home and made Puckett walk. He also said that alcohol was involved in the incident.

When Puckett arrived at the house, she grabbed the victim's walking cane and swung it at him, striking him around five times. The officer noticed a welt approximately four inches in length going across the outer bicep of the victim's right arm. The officer also noticed the walking cane was slightly bent. 

The victim then said that after Puckett struck him, she exited the house through the back door and carved "BYE expletive" into the hood of his car before leaving the area. 

Puckett has a status conference set for Aug. 20 at the Racine County Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave., online court records show.

From: https://journaltimes.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/racine-woman-allegedly-beat-man-with-a-walking-cane-carved-expletive-into-car/article_9a5df832-f871-51d1-a5bb-88d14dc2298e.html

Gunman Opens Fire at Breinna Taylor Protest Site in Louisville

Xi Jinping Makes Surprise Visit to Coronavirus Ground Zero

Goldman Sachs settles 1MDB case for $3.9 billion

Hagia Sophia: Former Istanbul museum welcomes Muslim worshippers - BBC News

Passengers injured as US fighter jet comes close to Iranian plane

Fauci says he has been assigned personal security after receiving 'serious threats' to his family

Dr. Anthony Fauci at a House committee hearing on Capitol Hill on June 23, 2020. 

Kevin Dietsch/Pool via REUTERS

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious diseases expert on the White House coronavirus task force, says he and his family have been assigned personal security after receiving "serious threats."

Speaking on CNN's "The Axe Files" podcast, Fauci said the threats were of a different magnitude from those he received while working on the federal government's response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the 1980s and 1990s.

"I've seen a side of society that I guess is understandable, but it's a little bit disturbing," he said. "Back in the days of HIV when I was being criticized with some hate mail, it was, you know, people calling me a gay-lover and 'what the hell are you wasting a lot of time on that?'"

"I mean, things that you would just push aside as stupid people saying stupid things," Fauci said.

But the criticism this year is "really a magnitude different now, because of the anger," he said.

"As much as people inappropriately, I think, make me somewhat of a hero — and I'm not a hero, I'm just doing my job — there are people who get really angry at thinking I'm interfering with their life because I'm pushing a public-health agenda," he continued. 

He said he received "not only hate mail but also serious threats — it's not good. I don't see how society does that. It's tough. Serious threats against me, against my family … my daughters, my wife — I mean, really? Is this the United States of America?"

He said that the threats had led to him and his family being assigned personal security. 

Read more: https://www.businessinsider.com/fauci-given-personal-security-after-threats-family-2020-7

Portland protest violence continues as Trump sends federal agents to other cities

Massive' protest erupts outside of Chicago mayor's home

Have US-China relations soured to the point of no return? | Inside Story

Land and Space: Milwaukee Pretzel invests in new building--even as pandemic hurts sales

Bice: AT&T has been improperly charging stadium tax to some customers over last four months

From JSOnline:

Daniel Bice

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

It's the tax that won't die.  

Members of the board for the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball Park District — the landlord for the Milwaukee Brewers' retractable roof dome stadium — voted unanimously to end the 0.1% stadium tax in March. 

But then the controversial tax generated an unexpected — and unwanted — $4.3 million surplus that took months before officials concluded they should return the money to the five-county region where it was levied. 

Now a number of local AT&T customers are complaining that they are still being hit with the stadium tax months after it ended. 

"Unable to get an explanation as to why AT&T is still charging .1% stadium tax on phone bills if tax ended in March," wrote Margaret Cortez in an email. "Charge appears on April, May, June and now July."

"I called AT&T and told them that that tax was no longer being collected as of April 1, 2020," chimed in Mary Jerominski of Cedarburg. "After being transferred a few times and put on hold, I was finally told that AT&T had 'nothing to do with that tax.'"

But, in fact, AT&T does have something to do with it. The company, it turns out, has been charging the stadium tax in error to some customers for the past four months. 

The company admitted the mistake this week.   

"We are working to resolve a billing system problem which prevented us from removing the tax for a small number of customers," said Jim Kimberly, a spokesman for AT&T. "We will fix it and automatically apply refunds to affected customer accounts."

The tax has long been a lightning rod for criticism, having taken several votes by the Senate to win approval and costing one lawmaker his political career.

But that criticism has lessened over time as Miller Park was becoming a popular summertime destination in southeastern Wisconsin.

Over the years, more than $600 million in taxes have been collected to pay for the construction of Miller Park and the district’s ongoing financial obligations to operate it. Since 2001, the Brewers have paid $19.8 million in rent to the district and another $106.8 million to maintain and enhance the ballpark.

Last month, Miller Park district officials disclosed that the tax had generated a $4.3 million surplus that they were left sitting on. They offered to return the money to the state, but the state initially turned them down. 

Weeks later, the state reversed course and agreed to take back the surplus funds, concluding they would return it to the five counties where the tax was charged. The tax, which started 23 years ago, had been in effect in Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Washington, Waukesha and Racine counties.

Now it turns out that AT&T has continued the tax for some of its customers. 

Jerominski, the Cedarburg customer, said she realizes the tax is not huge. But she said that is not the point. 

"Pennies add up. I'd gladly accept whatever AT&T has collected in stadium tax from five counties over three months," she said. "Bet that's not pennies!"

Contact Daniel Bice at (414) 224-2135 or dbice@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanielBice or on Facebook at fb.me/daniel.bice.

From:https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/investigations/daniel-bice/2020/07/24/at-t-has-been-improperly-charging-miller-park-stadium-tax-customers/5493579002/

Trump cancels Florida GOP convention admitting ‘timing isn’t right’ with coronavirus spike

Man shot and killed on Thursday afternoon near Bremen and Wright streets in Milwaukee

From JSOnline:

Genevieve Redsten

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A man was shot and killed in the 900 block of East Wright Street, near N. Bremen Street, on Thursday afternoon, the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office said. 

Milwaukee police said the shooting in the city's Riverwest neighborhood is under investigation, but provided no additional information.

Citing interviews with witnesses, Fox6 reported Thursday night that the victim was Bernell Trammell, 60, a fixture in the neighborhood, often seen on street corners with hand-painted signs about religion and politics.

Trammell was connected with Expressions Journal, which is listed as having an office at 915 E. Wright Street — on the block where the shooting occurred early Thursday afternoon.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Friday.

From: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2020/07/23/man-shot-and-killed-thursday-afternoon-milwaukee/5498556002/

My ex-wife and I once lived in the 1000 block of E. Wright St. in Milwaukee.

Four for Fridays

Here are this week's questions:

1)  Who is going to win the presidential election in November?

2)  Are you wearing a mask in places of business?

3)  If you get another stimulus payment, what are you going to do with it?

4)  Is McMayor Cory 'Butterball' Mason a little dictator?

I hope that you all have a great week.

Open Blog - Friday

Have a great day.

Mnuchin Says Payroll Tax Cut Won't Be in Next Round of Stimulus

Rare carnivorous plant spotted in northern Wisconsin for the first time in 25 years

From JSOnline:

Chelsey Lewis

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Finally, some good news for 2020 — at least if you like carnivorous plants. 

English sundew, a rare insect-eating plant, was observed at a site in Ashlan2020 annual report that was released on July 21.

d County last year for the first time since 1975. The plant, one of 15 carnivorous plants in Wisconsin, hadn't been seen in Ashland County at all since 1995. The find was documented in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' Rare Plant Monitoring Program (RPMP) 

Don and Judy Evans were kayaking in a coastal bog when they first spotted and took photos of the plant. The couple volunteers for the RPMP, but were out kayaking for fun when they saw something unusual on a log. They knew they might have found something rare, so they sent a photo to Kevin Doyle, the program's coordinator.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/travel/wisconsin/outdoors/2020/07/23/rare-carnivorous-plant-found-wisconsin-first-time-25-years/5487069002/

Trump to send federal agents to Milwaukee after Gov. Evers and some Milwaukee officials ask him not to

From JSOnline:

Ashley LuthernMary Spicuzza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Milwaukee is one of five cities that will see a surge in federal resources to address violent crime in coming weeks, under new orders from President Donald Trump. 

The influx of federal officers will coincide with Milwaukee hosting a scaled-back, mostly virtual Democratic National Convention and ongoing protests against police brutality and racism.

The effort is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Operation Legend, which recently brought more than 200 federal officers into Kansas City after a 4-year-old boy was shot and killed.

The operation will expand into Chicago and Albuquerque, N.M., next and then continue into Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee over the next three weeks, Trump said Wednesday.

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows had suggested such federal intervention was on its way in a weekend TV interview, prompting Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers to send a letter opposing such intervention citing recent reports from Portland, Ore., where federal officers in unmarked vehicles have grabbed protesters off the street without any record of their detention.

"This is a vital moment in history as folks across the country confront the structural racism that has created inequalities for far too long," Evers wrote in a letter dated Wednesday. "This is not a moment to double down and unnecessarily increase police presence, especially without invitation."

It's fairly routine for the federal government to announce flashy initiatives to curb gun violence and promise the help of federal prosecutors, U.S. marshals and agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Read more: https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/crime/2020/07/23/president-trump-send-federal-agents-officers-milwaukee/5496276002/

Democrats preparing for ‘nightmare scenario’ in which Trump challenges election results

From Reuters:

(Reuters) - Democrats are mounting their most extensive voter protection effort ever to gird for what Joe Biden called his biggest fear: the prospect that President Donald Trump will try to interfere with the Nov. 3 election or refuse to accept its outcome.

FILE PHOTO: A volunteer poll site worker at the Edmondson Westside High School Polling site sanitizes a write-in ballot station after it was used during the special election for Maryland's 7th congressional district seat in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., April 28, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner/File Photo

Interviews with more than a dozen party officials reveal how Democrats, in coordination with Biden’s presidential campaign, are preparing for fights over absentee ballots, potential voting recounts and the possibility that Trump’s Republican supporters will seek to intimidate voters at the polls.

The Democratic Party has hired voter protection directors in 19 key states to lead more comprehensive operations than in past cycles and filed a record number of lawsuits ahead of the election trying to make voting easier. Thousands of election monitors and lawyers will be mobilized across the country on Election Day, the officials told Reuters.

Republicans say that while they are making routine preparations for recounts and voting irregularities, they are more focused on combating efforts to expand mail-in balloting.

Trump has cast doubt on the legitimacy of mail-in ballots, which have been used in far greater numbers in primary elections amid the coronavirus pandemic. He has also made unsubstantiated allegations that voting will be rigged and has refused to say he would accept official election results if he lost.

A person briefed by the Biden campaign on its strategy told Reuters that the former vice president’s staff was bracing for a “nightmare scenario” in which Trump is leading the in-person vote count in battleground states on election night but complains the contest is being stolen from him in ensuing days as mail-in ballots get counted.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-contested-democrats/democrats-preparing-for-nightmare-scenario-in-which-trump-challenges-election-results-idUSKCN24O184

U.S. and Baltic states oppose Russian 'rewriting of history'

From Reuters:

VILNIUS (Reuters) - The United States joined Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Thursday in opposing any Russian attempts to rewrite history after President Vladimir Putin said the Baltic states had consented to their 1940 annexation by the Soviet Union.

history

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (not pictured), at Lancaster House in London, Britain July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool/File Photo

“We stand firmly against any attempts by Russia to rewrite history in order to justify the 1940 occupation and annexation of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo wrote in a joint statement with the foreign ministers of the three Baltic countries.

The statement marked the 80th anniversary of a 1940 declaration by then-acting U.S. Secretary of State Sumner Welles condemning the Soviet takeover of the three countries.

The Estonian Foreign Affairs ministry said on Thursday it had summoned the Russian ambassador to protest “recent statements seeking to portray the occupation of Estonia and its annexation to the Soviet Union as legitimate.”

“Russia is trying to give the impression that legitimacy can be born at the threat of a weapon, repression by mutual agreement - this is extremely cynical,” Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said in a statement.Putin wrote last month that incorporating Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia into the Soviet Union “was implemented on a contractual basis, with the consent of the elected authorities.”

“This was in line with international and state law of that time”, he added in the article for U.S. magazine The National Interest.

The European Union and NATO have accused Russia of waging a campaign of disinformation to try to destabilise the West by exploiting divisions in society. Russia denies any such tactics.

The European Commission said in January it would not tolerate the distortion of historic facts after Putin suggested Poland shared responsibility for starting World War Two because it connived in Nazi German plans in 1938 to dismember Czechoslovakia.

Polish President Andrzej Duda accused Putin of “historical lies”.In 1989, during the period of glasnost, or openness, under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, Moscow denounced the secret 1939 Soviet-Nazi pact to carve up Poland and the Baltic states which allowed the Soviet Union to annex the region.

Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia all won independence from the Soviet Union as it collapsed and now are members of both the EU and NATO.

From: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-baltics-russia-pompeo/u-s-and-baltic-states-oppose-russian-rewriting-of-history-idUSKCN24O1XQ

My parents were immigrants from Latvia.  They left their homeland because they didn't want to live under Russian communist rule.

After fatal UK crash, 'anomaly' over U.S. diplomatic immunity is removed

From Reuters:

FILE PHOTO: Charlotte Charles, mother of Harry Dunn, and Dunn's stepfather Bruce Charles walk outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, Britain, July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain has agreed with the United States to remove an “anomaly” which allowed the wife of a U.S. official to claim diplomatic immunity from criminal prosecution after she was involved in a road accident in which 19-year-old Briton Harry Dunn was killed.

The crash last August has caused friction between London and Washington after Britain criticised the United States for refusing to extradite Anne Sacoolas.Now the loophole that allowed Sacoolas to claim immunity has been closed.

Britain’s foreign minister Dominic Raab said that under new arrangements, the criminal prosecution of family members of American staff working at the Croughton Annex military base in central England would be permitted.“It’s important that we have now agreed with the U.S. new arrangements that have closed the anomaly that led to the denial of justice in the heart-breaking case of Harry Dunn,” Raab said in a statement.

Dunn’s family have said Sacoolas was driving on the wrong side of the road at the time of the crash, near the air force base in Northamptonshire which is used by the U.S. military.

Sacoolas left Britain shortly after the accident. Her lawyer has said that she will not return voluntarily to potentially face jail for “a terrible but unintentional accident”.

From: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-usa-dunn/after-fatal-uk-crash-anomaly-over-u-s-diplomatic-immunity-is-removed-idUSKCN24N1HI

Top Ohio lawmaker charged in $60 million bribery, corruption scheme

Larry Householder and four associates were arrested in a federal crackdown.

A powerful Ohio lawmaker and four associates were arrested and charged on Tuesday in what federal authorities say was a $60 million bribery and corruption scheme.

Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, 61, was among five men taken into custody and changed in federal court Tuesday morning after FBI agents raided Householder's farm along with several other properties.

Householder adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matthew Borges and lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes were also taken into custody after the raid, officials said.

During a Tuesday afternoon press conference, U.S. Attorney David DeVillers said it was likely the largest bribery and money laundering scheme ever "perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio."

"It takes courage for citizens to assist law enforcement in the ways detailed in the affidavit," DeVillers said in a statement. "We are grateful to those who felt a moral duty to work together with agents in bringing to light this alleged, significant public corruption."

This March 5, 2019 file photo shows Ohio House speaker Larry Householder speaking in Columbus, Ohio.

This March 5, 2019 file photo shows Ohio House speaker Larry Householder speaking in Columbus, Ohio.Paul Vernon/AP Photo

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/US/top-ohio-lawmaker-charged-60-million-bribery-corruption/story?id=71900432

Burger King wins dismissal of vegans' lawsuit over Impossible Whopper

From Reuters:

FILE PHOTO - A sign advertising the soy based Impossible Whopper is seen outside a Burger King in New York, U.S., August 8, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

(Reuters) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusing Burger King of deceiving vegan, vegetarian and other customers into thinking it cooked the plant-based patties for its “Impossible Whopper” on different grills than those used to cook beef and chicken.

In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida said the seven plaintiffs failed to show that reasonable consumers were deceived into paying higher prices because of Burger King’s actual cooking methods.

He said the plaintiffs did not ask about Burger King’s cooking method or request an alternative to satisfy their dietary requirements, and that the company’s advertising did not promise cooking on a different surface.“Burger King promised a non-meat patty and delivered,” Singhal wrote. The judge also found the plaintiffs’ claims “too individualized” to justify a class action.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond on Tuesday to requests for comment. The plaintiffs can amend most of their claims if they wish.

Burger King is a unit of Toronto-based Restaurant Brands International Inc.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rstrnt-brnd-burger-king-impossible-wh/burger-king-wins-dismissal-of-vegans-lawsuit-over-impossible-whopper-idUSKCN24M340?il=0

Ask City of Ratcine Cory Mason and Democrat Activist Kelly Gallagher for More Info

From Racine WI - Sin City:

https://www.jtirregulars.com/2020/07/chicago-police-give-update-on-shooting.html

Wow, 60 shell casings.  Because BLM and ANTIFA.

Hey Jackass Updated Death & Mayhem Totals. Click on Image to enlarge.

From Second City Cop

Sarcasm and Silliness from a Windy City Cop

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Social Distancing Please!

We thought Groot and FatAss had decreed that only ten persons at a time were allowed at funeral parlors?

• At least 14 people were injured in a shooting Tuesday outside of a funeral home in Gresham on the South Side.The shooting happened about 6:30 p.m. as a group of people left a funeral in the 1000 block of West 79th Street, First Deputy Supt. Eric Carter said. Rhodes Funeral Services is located on that block.
  People in a black vehicle opened fire on the group as they left the funeral, Carter said, before some funeral attendees started shooting back. At least 60 shell casings were found at the scene.
  Police are questioning a person of interest, Carter said.

Defund the police faster!

From: https://arrestrecordsofracinewipublicofficials.wordpress.com/2020/07/22/ask-city-of-ratcine-cory-mason-and-democrat-activist-kelly-gallagher-for-more-info/

US labs buckle amid testing surge; world virus cases top 15M

Two women and a child wait to take a Coronavirus test at a mobile testing site at the Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science Wednesday, July 22, 2020, in Los Angeles. California's confirmed coronavirus cases have topped 409,000, surpassing New York for most in the nation. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Laboratories across the U.S. are buckling under a surge of coronavirus tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are undercutting the pandemic response.

With the U.S. tally of confirmed infections at nearly 4 million Wednesday and new cases surging, the bottlenecks are creating problems for workers kept off the job while awaiting results, nursing homes struggling to keep the virus out and for the labs themselves as they deal with a crushing workload.

Some labs are taking weeks to return COVID-19 results, exacerbating fears that people without symptoms could be spreading the virus if they don’t isolate while they wait.

Read more: https://apnews.com/969fbbf44dd2ba1acea130f95b21ef62

Comet NEOWISE as seen around the world

Kim Kardashian speaks out about Kanye West’s mental health

Coronavirus: US airlines announce face mask requirements to travel

U.S. weekly jobless claims total 1.416 million, vs 1.3 million expected

‘Keep things safe:’ Racine business owners react to city’s mask mandate

From Fox6Now:

RACINE — The City of Racine will require everyone above the age of 4 to wear a mask when leaving home starting Monday, July 27 — a measure that the city’s common council passed by just one vote on July 21.

Inside The Maple Table in downtown Racine, masks have been routine for months. A key part of the reopening plan for owner Tamara Lopiparo is trying to make ends meet at the restaurant that’s just one year old.

“I spent a lot of time evaluating my life choices. It was tough. It was really tough,” said Lopiparo.

The Maple Table

Masks helped the business reopening, and that’s why Lopiparo said she was happy to see the Racine Common Council pass the mask mandate. She has lost a family member to the virus, and calls the mandate a better-safe-than-sorry measure for employees and customers alike.

“They’re no good to us if they’re sick and at home and get everybody else sick, then we would have to shut down again. And we want people to feel comfortable,” Lopiparo said.

Further down Main Street, RG Natural Babies Owner Michelle Schimian questions whether the mandate actually brings any comfort to shoppers.

“They’re gonna prefer to go places where they don’t have to worry about putting it on when they walk in the door,” said Schimian.

RG Natural Babies

Schimian and her staff have worn masks since reopening. She said they will continue to do so, but feels city leaders should have empowered business owners to make that decision on their own.

“What we need to hear from our mayor is that I trust these businesses. You know, I love this city and I trust these businesses to do the right thing and keep things safe,” Schimian said.

Racine police said they will not use the ordinance as a way to write tickets. Rather, they’ll use an education-first approach before issuing fines.

From: https://fox6now.com/2020/07/22/keep-things-safe-racine-business-owners-react-to-citys-mask-mandate/