National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States

On February 15, 2019, President of the United States Donald Trump declared a National Emergency Concerning the Southern Border of the United States (Proclamation 9844), citing the National Emergencies Act, and ordered the diversion of billions of dollars of funds that had been appropriated to the U.S. Department of Defense for military construction. Trump declared the emergency after he signed, but derided, a bipartisan funding bill (passed by the House and the Senate a day before) containing border security funding without funding for the border wall that Trump demanded. Trump had previously threatened to declare a national emergency if Congress did not pass his entire desired program for a wall on the United States–Mexican border by February 15, 2019. Under Proclamation 9844, the Trump administration plans to redirect $8 billion in previously-agreed expenditure and to use the money to build the wall instead. Under Trump's plan $3.6 billion assigned to military construction, $2.5 billion meant for the Department of Defense's drug interdiction activities, and $600 million from Treasury's forfeiture fund would be diverted for wall construction. Trump’s declaration was unprecedented in that none of the 58 previous emergency declarations made by U.S. presidents involved circumventing Congress to spend money it had expressly refused to authorize or allocate. Trump's declaration of a national emergency was condemned by Democrats as unconstitutional; U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the declaration an affront to the rule of law that was "a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall." Some Republicans also criticized Trump's declaration, fearing the circumventing Congress would set a dangerous precedent for the future. Congress passed a joint resolution to terminate the national emergency, but it was vetoed by Trump in his first veto. Trump's declaration of a national emergency was immediately challenged in federal court, with California and sixteen other states suing the federal government on separation of powers grounds. The Sierra Club and ACLU brought a similar suit. In 2019, a U.S. district court issued a preliminary injunction, and later a permanent injunction, in the Sierra Club suit, blocking Trump from diverting military funds for construction of a border wall. In July 2019, the Supreme Court, in a 5–4, one-paragraph ruling, overturned the lower court's ruling in Trump v. Sierra Club that blocked the use of funds to construct the border wall pending further legal proceedings; the Supreme Court majority found that the Sierra Club likely lacked legal standing. In October 2019, in a separate case, a U.S. district court in Texas found that the El Paso County, Texas and the Border Network for Human Rights had legal standing to challenge Trump's attempt to divert $3.6 billion in military construction for wall construction along the Mexico border, and in December 2019, the court issued a permanent injunction blocking the attempted diversion of funds. The ruling did not affect the use of other funds that the Trump administration designed for wall construction, such as counter-drug and Treasury Forfeiture Funds. Background- Trump campaign and presidency: The Wall Street Journal reported the day of Trump's declaration that his action was the outcome of "two years of political neglect of his signature campaign promise, lost amid competing priorities and divisions within his administration," with no single administration official having been designated to champion funding of the border wall in Congress. Trump rejected a proposal in January 2018 that would have authorized $25 billion for wall construction in exchange for a path to citizenship for Dreamers, as well as a similar proposal the next month. In March, Congress approved a bill providing for $1.6 billion in barrier funding. Threatening to veto the bill, The Journal reported that Trump was surprised to learn that the $1.6 billion was the amount that had been requested in his budget. Trump's budget director Mick Mulvaney then privately advised the president to blame House speaker Paul Ryan for not seeking more funding. Tom Davis, an influential former Republican congressman, observed, "The mistake they made was not coming in right away and coming up with a plan. You wonder why they didn’t try to jam this through when Republicans controlled the House because it’s a lot more complicated now trying to convince Nancy Pelosi." 2018–2019 government shutdown: Before Trump declared the national emergency, the United States had experienced a federal government shutdown, which ran from midnight EST on December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019 (35 days). It was the longest U.S. government shutdown in history. It occurred when the United States Congress and President could not agree on an appropriations bill to fund the operations of the federal government for the 2019 fiscal year. The shutdown affected about one-fourth of government activities. It caused around 800,000 employees and 1 million federal contractors to be furloughed or obligated to work without pay. The shutdown was estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to cost the United States economy at least $11 billion. The President had demanded that the appropriations bill include for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a proposed U.S.–Mexico border wall. In December 2018, the Republican-controlled Senate unanimously passed an appropriations bill without wall funding. However, Trump refused to support the bill, and it was therefore not considered by the Republican-controlled House. By mid-January 2019, American opposition to the shutdown had become widespread. That month, representatives elected in November 2018 took office. The newly Democrat-controlled House approved the appropriations bill that had earlier passed the Senate unanimously. Trump said he would still veto any bill that did not fund an entire border wall. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked the Senate from considering appropriations legislation that Trump would veto, including the bill that the Senate had earlier passed. Democrats and some Republicans passed multiple bills attempting to reopen the government. On January 25, 2019, Trump agreed to endorse a stopgap bill to reopen the government until February 15. However, he reiterated his demand for the border wall funding and said he would shut down the government again or declare a national emergency and use military funding to build the wall if Congress did not appropriate the funds by February 15. On February 14, the House and Senate passed an appropriations bill funding the government until September 30, the end of the fiscal year 2019. Trump signed the bill into law the following day. The bill includes US$1.375 billion to construct new fencing on 55 miles of the Mexico–United States border. Announcement: On February 15, 2019, President Trump spoke to the media in the White House Rose Garden. After signing the spending bill to keep the government open, Trump declared a national emergency over the border crisis, hoping to get access to $8 billion to use for border security. During his announcement, Trump stated, "I could do the wall over a longer period of time. I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it much faster.” Critics asserted this statement would undercut the rationale for his emergency declaration in court challenges. Funding: To obtain $8 billion for border wall construction, the Trump administration proposes augmenting the earlier February 14 $1.375 billion appropriations bill by diverting other previously-allocated monies: $3.6 billion for military construction, $2.5 billion for the Department of Defense's counter-drug activities, and $600 million from Treasury's drug-asset forfeiture funds. White House officials said that the national emergency specifically enabled the $3.6 billion military diversion while the $2.5 billion from Defense and the $600 million from Treasury were possible due to "presidential discretion". This was the first time since the September 11 attacks in 2001 that an emergency declaration authorized military action. Roll Call reported on February 21, 2019, that over one-third of the funds the Trump administration had identified for diversion had already been spent by the Department of Defense. In March 2019 the Pentagon issued a list of proposed military construction projects which could be postponed, under the president's emergency declaration, so that their funding could be diverted to build the wall. The Pentagon authorized up to $1 billion to be transferred to the Army Corps of Engineers for construction of additional barriers. Legislative action to overturn and presidential veto: Under the national emergency legislation, Congress can overturn a declaration of emergency legislatively. If the House passes a privileged resolution to overturn, the Senate is required to take up the resolution within eighteen days. If the Senate passes the resolution, by a simple majority vote, the bill goes to the president, who has the option of vetoing it. Congress can override the veto by a two-thirds vote in both houses. House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on February 20, 2019 that Democrats would introduce such a resolution in two days. The measure, House Joint Resolution 46, stated: "Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, pursuant to section 202 of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622), the national emergency declared by the finding of the President on February 15, 2019, in Proclamation 9844 (84 Fed. Reg. 4949) is hereby terminated." The House voted to approve the bill on February 27 by a vote of 245–182, with thirteen Republicans voting in favor. On March 3, Rand Paul became the fourth Republican senator to declare he would vote for the resolution, improving the chances of passage. The next day he asserted that "at least" ten other Republican senators told him they would also vote for the resolution. On March 14, the Senate voted 59–41 to support the bill to overturn Trump's emergency declaration, with twelve Republicans voting in favor. On March 15, 2019, Trump vetoed the Joint Resolution, calling it "reckless" at a signing ceremony where he signed the veto statement, flanked by members of the Cabinet and law enforcement officials. Pelosi responded by scheduling a vote to override the veto on March 26, 2019. There were 248 votes to override the president's veto, and 181 votes against, which fell short of the ⅔ supermajority (286 votes) needed to override. A second attempt to overturn the emergency failed in October 2019, when the Senate failed to override a Presidential veto by a vote of 53–36. Legal challenges and injunctions: In his statement declaring the emergency, President Trump acknowledged the inevitability of legal challenges, stating that he anticipated losing in lower courts, but ultimately prevailing in the Supreme Court. The lawsuits are expected to revolve around different issues such as property rights, tribal sovereignty, and the limits of the presidency. Similar court cases challenging the Secure Fence Act of 2006 still remain open over a decade later. As of February 22, 2019, at least six separate lawsuits have been filed. Three lawsuits were filed within days of the announcement of the declaration: El Paso County, Texas filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Texas in concert with the Border Network for Human Rights, Protect Democracy, and the Niskanen Center; Public Citizen sued on behalf of the Frontera Audubon Society and three Texan landowners; and the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice in a case involving a FOIA request. Suits by 16 states: On February 18, sixteen U.S. states jointly filed a lawsuit in Federal court in San Francisco challenging the declaration. Suit by the Sierra Club: On February 19, the ACLU filed suit in the Northern District of California on behalf of the Sierra Club, the Southern Border Communities Coalition, and other interested organizations and people. On May 24, 2019, U.S. District Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. issued a temporary injunction in the case blocking the Trump administration's plan to divert funds not explicitly appropriated by Congress. Gilliam, an Obama appointee, wrote that "Congress's 'absolute' control over federal expenditures—even when that control may frustrate the desires of the Executive Branch regarding initiatives it views as important—is not a bug in our constitutional system. It is a feature of that system, and an essential one." In June 2019, this injunction was converted into a permanent injunction. In July 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the injunction. On July 26, 2019, the Supreme Court issued a stay to Gilliam's ruling, allowing wall construction to proceed while litigation continues. Suit by El Paso County and Border Network for Human Rights: In October 2019, in a separate case, U.S. District Judge David Briones of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas found that the El Paso County, Texas and the Border Network for Human Rights had legal standing to challenge Trump's attempt to divert $3.6 billion in military construction for wall construction along the Mexico border, and in December 2019, the court issued a permanent injunction blocking the attempted diversion of funds. The ruling did not effect the use of other funds that the Trump administration designed for wall construction, such as counter-drug and Treasury Forfeiture Funds. In January 2020, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, in a 2–1 decision, issued a temporary stay of the injunction pending further appellate proceedings. The panel split along ideological lines: the two Republican-appointed judges (Edith Jones and Andrew A. Oldham) voted to issue the temporary stay, while the panel's only Democratic appointee, Stephen Higginson, dissented. Other actions: In June 2019, U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden denied a request by the U.S. House of Representatives to temporarily block spending on the wall. The House claimed in its lawsuit that the Trump administration was overstepping its authority, and sought to prevent it from spending over a billion dollars it had already transferred from military pay and pension accounts, and more funds from an emergency military construction fund that had not yet been transferred. McFadden, a Trump appointee, said the House had no legal standing to sue the president and that therefore the Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim. McFadden issued no opinion on the merits of the case, saying "The Court declines to take sides in this fight between the House and the President." In February 2019, the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund filed a lawsuit in Washington D.C. The Tohono O'odham Nation has raised the issue with the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and the Cocopah, Kickapoo, and Kumeyaay are also considering their legal options. Reactions: Some analysts stated that if legally upheld, the declaration would vastly expand governmental power, particularly that of the presidency and the executive branch. Reporter Charlie Savage summarized the political impact of the declaration, saying that "no matter what else happens, Mr. Trump’s willingness to invoke emergency powers to circumvent Congress is likely to go down as an extraordinary violation of constitutional norms—setting a precedent that future presidents of both parties may emulate to unilaterally achieve their own policy goals." A number of legal scholars called the declaration an "abuse" and a "deliberate misapplication" of the National Emergencies Act, with many stating that the declaration threatened the separation of powers in the United States and amounted to a potential constitutional crisis. They said the declaration was a continuation of the expansion of presidential power observed during the 2010s in the United States. Thousands reportedly participated in a nationwide Presidents Day protest on February 18, 2019, to denounce the emergency declaration. On February 25, a bipartisan group of 58 former senior national security officials and 25 former Republican lawmakers implored Congress to overturn Trump's emergency declaration. The former lawmakers wrote, "It has always been a Republican fundamental principle that no matter how strong our policy preferences, no matter how deep our loyalties to presidents or party leaders, in order to remain a constitutional republic we must act within the borders of the Constitution," while the security officials contended that there is no "documented terrorist or national security emergency at the southern border" nor an "emergency related to violent crime." Congress- Republicans: Support from Republicans has been divided, with most conservative House Republicans embracing Trump’s action, while opposition was more pronounced among Senate Republicans. Reportedly, because of Trump’s high approval ratings among Republicans, many in the party were concerned that expressing public opposition to the president’s action could result in their political demise. An analysis by FiveThirtyEight found that through February 18, 2019, 34% of the 53 Republican Senators had expressed support for the declaration. Before the declaration, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell—long a defender of Senate prerogatives—and most other Senate Republicans strongly urged the president to not take the action. After the declaration, McConnell led several other senators in pivoting to support it. Senator Lindsey Graham expressed emphatic support for the declaration. Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson said he "supports the president in his decision,"[104] and Richard Shelby said Trump has "the power to defend the country, to defend the borders." Senator John Hoeven stated that Republicans "support the president's efforts to strengthen border security," and Senator Kevin Cramer said that Trump "will address the crisis at the southern border, whether or not Congress does." Representative Matt Gaetz stated that he was "proud" of Trump. Others, including Senators Rand Paul, Chuck Grassley, and Marco Rubio, spoke out strongly against the declaration. Susan Collins said the president is "usurping congressional authority" while Lamar Alexander said the United States' "founders chose not to create a chief executive with the power to tax the people and spend their money any way he chooses." Representative Justin Amash stated that Trump is "attempting to circumvent our constitutional system". Will Hurd, the only Republican representative for a district along the southern border, said that the national emergency declaration "is not a tool that the president needs in order to solve this problem," and argued that a coherent strategy with increased manpower and technology at the border would be the solution. Democrats: Shortly before the emergency was declared, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi warned Republicans that this would set a precedent for the next Democratic president to declare a national emergency on gun violence. After the declaration, Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Senator Chuck Schumer issued a joint statement opposing the declaration. Pelosi and Schumer described the declaration as an affront to the rule of law, "a lawless act, a gross abuse of the power of the presidency and a desperate attempt to distract from the fact that President Trump broke his core promise to have Mexico pay for his wall." The Democratic leaders' statement said that Trump was trying to "shred the Constitution" and vowed to seek "every remedy available" to block it. Senator Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats, called the move "antithetical to our American system of government." Senator Tina Smith, a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, said the declaration was an "attempt at a power grab." The House Judiciary Committee announced an "immediate investigation", summoning Department of Justice officials and White House Counsel Pat Cipollone to congressional hearings and requesting various documents from the White House. Commentators: A number of media commentators considered the declaration a threat to the "integrity" of American democracy. Many prominent Republican and conservative commentators expressed concerns that the declaration violated the separation of powers and the powers of Congress. Noted neoconservative and long time Trump-critic Max Boot argued in the Washington Post that the action was Trump's "latest assault on the norms of American democracy" and that "arguably nothing Trump has done to date has been as alarming as his misuse of the 1976 National Emergencies Act." and would set a precedent to allow a future Democratic president to declare an emergency taking unilateral action on gun control and climate change. Ann Coulter, an early Trump supporter and now frequent critic of the president sharply criticized the move, stating "the goal of a national emergency is for Trump to scam the stupidest people in his base for 2 more years" and that "the only national emergency is that our president is an idiot." Noting that there will be legal challenges to the action, many commentators also predicted that Trump's own comments during his announcement will make it harder to support his claim that there is an actual emergency. However, conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said he thought the president had a "good shot at winning" in the Supreme Court. Academics: Some legal scholars considered the declaration of a national emergency as an example of executive overreach and an abuse of the National Emergencies Act, arguing that the declaration would permanently and vastly expand the power of the presidency and the executive branch. Andrew Boyle of the Brennan Center for Justice's Liberty & National Security Program said that the National Emergencies Act was broadly worded, providing much flexibility to the executive in many areas, including "control over the military and construction projects." Boyle predicted that lawsuits challenging an emergency declaration would focus on issues such as whether building the wall was of "military necessity." Boyle stated that historically, presidents had abused states of emergency "with the tacit consent of the legislature." Boyle suggested that since Trump "has a history of blowing through norms that other executives have adhered to" Congress might begin to revisit its historical assumption that the executive was acting in good faith. Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said of the declaration: "It shrinks the importance of Congress even more. It is a wild-eyed imperial presidency." Catholic Church: In February 2019, Congress amended an existing appropriations bill to protect several sites along the border, including the historic La Lomita Chapel in Mission, Texas. Trump's declaration of a national emergency could remove those protections. The local pastor, Roy Snipes, and his bishop, Daniel E. Flores, oppose the plan to use church property for the wall, and the Brownsville diocese has challenged it in court. The Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) filed a brief in support of the diocese. In a show of support for the chapel, over a thousand parishioners held a procession on Palm Sunday, April 14, 2019, from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church to the chapel. Public opinion: A majority of Americans disapproved of Trump's emergency declaration. Three national surveys in February 2019 showed that between 51% and 61% of Americans opposed the declaration, with between 36% and 39% supporting it. These figures generally reflected Trump's overall job approval ratings. Support and opposition was highly polarized by political party: in a Marist Poll, 94% of Democrats and 62% of independents, but only 12% of Republicans, disapproved of Trump's declaration of a national emergency to build a wall.

Protests against the Trump administration family separation policy

Protests against the Trump administration family separation policy are a reaction to the Trump administration policy of separating children from their parents or guardians who crossed the U.S. border either illegally or to request asylum, jailing the adults and locating the minors at separate facilities under the care of the Department of Health and Human Services. Background: The Trump Administration started a "zero tolerance" policy on May 7, 2018 under which any person crossing the United States border may be charged with a federal misdemeanor. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, announced that policy. During remarks made on May 7 in Scottsdale, Arizona, he said, "If you are smuggling a child then we will prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you as required by law." However, immigration rights activists have reported that children accompanying adults have been verified to be members of families, not part of a child trafficking scheme as suggested by Sessions. Because minors cannot be jailed under a 2016 ruling by C.D. Cal. Judge Dolly M. Gee regarding the 1997 Reno v. Flores settlement, they are separated from their families. Minors are housed in detention centers that can be made up of tents or other makeshift facilities. Illegal border crossing is a crime in the United States. However, migrants attempting to apply for asylum in the United States are also being denied entry. In addition, immigration activists allege that parents are not being reunited with their children after their parents' sentences in detention are finished. Sessions also announced that the United States would no longer accept asylum applications for migrants who are victims of domestic abuse or gang violence. Fundraising: Inspired by the viral photo of a crying two-year-old girl looking up at her mother, on June 16, 2018, a California couple started a fund-raising campaign on Facebook named "Reunite an immigrant parent with their child" with a goal of raising $1,500. As of June 20, more than $17 million had been raised. The money will go to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services, or RAICES, and provide legal aid for immigrant parents who have been arrested at the border. The photograph was taken by professional photographer John Moore just after the mother was asked to set her child down to be body-searched before boarding the Border Patrol van and as the little girl began to cry. The mother is from Honduras and had been traveling for a month. The photograph has raised controversy after the father of the child said in an interview that the mother and daughter were now being detained together in McAllen, Texas. This has caused many in Trump's administration to rally against "fake news;" White House Spokeswoman Sarah Sanders tweeted that the Democrats and media "exploited this photo of a little girl to push their own agenda." A Portland, Oregon filmmaker, Linda Freeman, produced the video Unaccompanied: Alone in America, in which children re-enact court transcripts of proceedings in which migrant children who have to represent themselves in immigration trials. While this policy of children being unrepresented in court can be seen in 2005, the video is part of a fundraiser to provide legal counsel, services, and efforts to reunify children with their families. In response to the family separation policy many celebrities, such as Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend, donated to the ACLU in response to the "...cruel, anti-family..." actions, that "...go against everything we believe this country should represent. Others, such as Jimmy Fallon, have also donated to the Texas-based charity Refugee and Immigration Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES), at times in Trump's name, to protest the actions and policies of the Trump Administration. Protests: During a Congressional hearing on May 8, 2018, a group of mothers and their children held a silent protest in opposition to the zero-tolerance policy. Protests took place on May 31, 2018, in El Paso, Texas. Around 100 protestors in front of the El Paso County Courthouse held an "Evening of Action" rally. In San Antonio, around 300 people attended a #WhereAreTheChildren rally in Guadalupe Plaza. Joaquin Castro spoke at the demonstration. Some protesters compared the detainment of children by the U.S. government to the Nazi concentration camps. On June 1, "pop up protests" were planned in around sixteen states on a national day of action. Hundreds protested the new policy, in Atlanta, New York City, Santa Monica, and Washington, D.C. on June 1. In Houston, protestors gathered outside the City Hall to demonstrate. In Concord, demonstrators gathered in front of the federal building. There were around fifty people protesting outside the federal building in San Diego. The protest in Memphis was organized in part by an attorney, Starkey Hahn. A protest took place in Austin at Republic Square Park in the afternoon. More than 100 people demonstrated outside the Immigration Services federal building in Los Angeles. Around 100 people demonstrated outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Philadelphia. In York County, Pennsylvania, people demonstrated outside the York County Detention Center on June 2, 2018. On June 13, 2018, eight House Democrats blocked streets to protest the family separation policy. The protest started on the steps of the US Customs and Border Protection Building in Washington, D.C. Luis Gutierrez, Joe Crowley, John Lewis, Pramila Jayapal, Jan Schakowsky, Al Green, Raúl Grijalva, Judy Chu, Adriano Espaillat, and Jimmy Gomez were joined by hundreds of activists and actor John Cusack. Some of the marches and protests were put together very quickly. The June 17, 2018 march in Tornillo, Texas was planned in around two days. Democratic politicians in Texas, including Beto O'Rourke and Veronica Escobar, organized the march with a group called the Latino Victory Project. Joe Kennedy III, Veronica Escobar, Lupe Valdez, Mary González, César Blanco, Lina Ortega, and Gina Ortiz-Jones were also in attendance. The march was protesting a detention center for children near the port of entry in Tornillo. By June 16, 200 minors had been housed at the center, which is made up of tents in an area that experiences extreme heat in the summer. The march began at the Tornillo-Guadalupe Toll Plaza and extended to the area containing the "tent city." Also on June 17, 2018, hundreds of protesters gathered outside an immigration detention facility in Elizabeth, New Jersey. A vigil with around 200 people was held in McAllen, Texas, on June 17. Seattle also had a protest, which was held at Westlake Park. Representative Jayapal addressed the group. A planned "Rally for Migrants" was scheduled to take place in Phoenix, Arizona. On June 18, dozens of protesters showed up to demonstrate outside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans while Attorney General Jeff Sessions was speaking. Also on June 18, 2018, nearly 100 protesters took part in a New York City rally organized by the Asian American Federation of New York, calling attention to the arrest of Xiu Qing You by ICE during a green card interview. Protesters demonstrated at LaGuardia Airport on the evening of June 20. There were around 200 protestors there to see unaccompanied immigrant minors being taken to New York. Rise and Resist: On July 4, 2018, a female member of the group Rise and Resist, Therese Patricia Okoumou, climbed the base of the Statue of Liberty to protest the separation of migrant families, and stayed there for nearly three hours. Tourists were evacuated from Liberty Island while New York City Police Officers responded to the scene, climbing 100 ft (30 m) to reach her. Okoumou was charged with trespassing, interference with government agency functions, and disorderly conduct in a Manhattan Court on July 5. US Attorney Geoffrey Berman released a statement that Okoumou "staged a dangerous stunt that alarmed the public and endangered her own life and the lives of the NYPD officers who responded...". Her actions were separate from an earlier protest by Rise and Resist that same day in which protesters unveiled an "Abolish ICE" banner on the statue's pedestal; seven members of the organization were arrested. Families Belong Together: A series of protests called Families Belong Together was organized by a group of political organizations. Protests took place on several dates in June in numerous cities, including Washington, D.C., Boston, Fort Wayne, Seattle, San Francisco, New York, Cleveland, and St. Louis. In Los Angeles, there were hundreds of protestors who marched from MacArthur Park to an immigrant detention center downtown. There were also dozens of protestors in Huntington Village, New York. In Austin, hundreds of protestors rallied at the Texas State Capitol. In Eugene, Oregon, at a protest held in Kesey Square, more than 100 people attended. Akron, Ohio had 200 protesters. On June 23, 2018, a rally in San Francisco drew more than 500 people. The event was one of a series of preliminary protests before the nationally organized Families Belong Together protests in Washington, D.C., New York City, and 700 other cities and towns in the United States. Women Disobey: On June 28, 2018, a protest in Washington, D.C. was organized by Women's March. According to organizers, "2,500 women from 47 states participated in the protest." Protesters blocked streets around the Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building as they demanded, "abolish ICE," the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. The protest concluded at the Hart Senate Office Building, where 575 people were arrested following acts of mass civil disobedience. The arrested included Representative Pramila Jayapal of Washington and actress Susan Sarandon.

2017 People's Climate March

The People's Climate March was a protest which took place on Washington, D.C.'s National Mall, and among 300 locations throughout the United States, and locations outside the U.S., on April 29, 2017. The organizers, People's Climate Movement, announced the demonstration in January 2017 to protest the environmental policies of U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration. The protests were held at the end of his first 100 days as president, during stormy weather across the U.S. There were an estimated 200,000 participating in the D.C. march. United States locations: The event in Augusta, Maine was organized by the Natural Resources Council of Maine and took place outside the Maine State House. Dylan Voorhees, director of the organization's Climate and Clean Energy Project, spoke at the rally. The event in Boston was organized by Boston People's Climate Mobilization, specifically by Lisa Young of the Better Future Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In Illinois, demonstrations were planned in Chicago's Federal Plaza and at Main Square Park in Highland. The Highland event was organized by Heather Leddy and Alex Bazan, and was free to attend, though organizers accepted jugs of water, NSF-53 water filters, and donations to aid East Chicago residents affected by lead contamination. In Columbus, Ohio, marchers started at COSI and ended at the Ohio Statehouse. The Erie, Pennsylvania demonstration was organized by Our Water, Our Air, Our Rights, co-sponsored by the Erie Benedictines for Peace, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Erie, Sisters of St. Joseph, S.O.N.S. of Lake Erie, Sisters of Mercy, Benedictine Sisters of Erie, and Solar Revolution Erie, and endorsed by the Lake Erie Group, Pennsylvania Chapter of the Sierra Club. Organizers anticipated up to 1,000 participants. Marchers started at the Lake Erie boat launch near East Avenue, passed the Erie Coke Corp. plant, then headed south on East Avenue to Wayne Park at East Sixth Street for the rally. The demonstration in Florence, Alabama was sponsored by the Shoals Environmental Alliance and Indivisible Northwest Alabama, and took place outside the Lauderdale County Courthouse. The rally featured guest speakers and music by Mitch Mann and the Mojo Mixers, and was reportedly the only climate march organized in the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, or Mississippi. In Hagerstown, Maryland, former president and chief executive offer of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Benjamin Jealous, lead a march and rally on April 30. Event attendees gathered at Public Square, then marched through the Arts and Entertainment District to City Park's Peter Buys Band Shell to listen to guest speakers and artists. Speakers included Brooke Harper, the Maryland/District of Columbia policy director for Chesapeake Climate Action Network who helps lead the Don't Frack Maryland Coalition, city council member Emily Keller, who also serves as the community advocacy chairman at the Hagerstown Chamber of Commerce GenNext Committee, Tekesha "FiyahFly" Martinez, and the president of the Labor Network for Sustainability, Joe Uehlein. Spoken word artist Maheen Haq, a University of Maryland Baltimore County Sondheim Scholar who organized the Interfaith Candle Vigil and Unity March, also performed. Marches were held in Indiana. The Kansas City, Missouri event was held at Washington Square Park and featured guest speakers Bob Berkebile, founding chairman of the American Institute of Architects' National Committee on the Environment (AIA/COTE), Davis Hammet, who serves as president of the organization Loud Light, and Margaret J. May, who serves as executive director of the Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council and former chair of the Environmental Protection Agency's National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. Sergio Moreno, an interfaith chaplain in the Clinical Pastoral Education program at Saint Luke's Hospital, John Reyna of the Lakota/Dakota Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Dr. Carissa Stanton, a pediatrician with the University of Kansas Health System, and Terrence Wise, who represents the National Organizing Committee, also spoke at the event. In Keene, New Hampshire, the Cities for Climate Protection program and the Committee Climate Action Team of the Monadnock Progressive Alliance organized a march along Main Street to Central Square. Scheduled speakers include Joel Huberman of the Citizens Climate Lobby, Michael Simpson, who serves as director at the Center for Climate Preparedness and Community Resilience at Antioch University New England, Duncan Watson, assistant director of public works, solid waste manager, and a guest speaker from The Climate Reality Project. The Monadnock Chapter of the Citizen's Climate Lobby also screened the film The Burden: Fossil Fuel, The Military and National Security at the Keene Public Library. Madison, Wisconsin's rally was held on April 22, in conjunction with Earth Day. Participants gathered outside the Wisconsin State Capitol and marched to the MG&E power plant. In Miami, an event was planned at José Martí Park. In Montpelier, Vermont, demonstrators gathered outside the State House. Supporting organizations included the Vermont Chapter of the Sierra Club, 350VT, Vermont Public Interest Research Group, Vermont Rights and Democracy, the Vermont Natural Resources Council, and Vermont Interfaith Power, with dozens more endorsing the event. Speakers included Reverend Arnold Davis, former State Representative Kesha Ram, Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, and performers included the Central Vermont Solidarity Singers, Chris Gruen, Headphone Jack, and Chad Hollister. The Oklahoma City event was held at Harkins Bricktown Plaza. After a rally with featuring guest speakers, music, and children's activities, marchers made their way the Oklahoma River for a Native American sacred water ceremony at the Devon Boathouse. Supporting organizations included the Asia Society of Oklahoma, Black Lives Matter OKC, BOLD Oklahoma, Citizens' Climate Lobby of Norman, Green Connections, Human Community Network, Indivisible Oklahoma, OK Conference of Churches Environmental Committee, Oklahoma Interfaith Power & Light, Oklahoma Progressive Network, Oklahoma Sierra Club, Oklahoma United Methodist Environmental Coalition, Peace House, Sierra Club Cimarron Group, Sierra Club Red Earth Group, SixTwelve, Turtle Rock Farm Retreat Center, and Your Earth, Our Future. The Washington, D.C. demonstration was organized by People's Climate Movement, with Paul Getsos serving as national coordinator. More than 13,000 people had expressed interest in attending the event on Facebook by early February 2017. California: In California, demonstrations were held in Nevada City, San Diego, Oakland, San Jose and Sonoma. The Nevada City event was organized by Sierra Nevada Group/Sierra Club and featured a screening of The Future of Energy: Lateral Power to the People at Seaman's Lodge, followed by a march from Pioneer Park to Broad Street. San Diego participants gathered in front of the County Administration Center, along with Waterfront Park and the San Diego Bay. Speakers included David Alvarez, Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, and Rev. Dr. J. Lee Hill, Jr., who serves as Senior Pastor of the Christian Fellowship Congregational Church (UCC). In Sonoma, marchers started at First Congregational Church/Congregation Shir Shalom's Burlingame Hall, or outside Sonoma Valley High School and ended with a rally in the Sonoma Plaza. The demonstration was sponsored by Sonoma Climate Coalition. There was also a protest in Riverside. Colorado: In Colorado, demonstrations were held in Denver's Civic Center Park, and in Durango, from the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad depot to Buckley Park. The Durango event featured activist and climber Kitty Calhoun, live music, and opportunities to test drive electric vehicles. Prior to the march, Citizens' Climate Lobby hosted two climate change educational events at Durango Public Library; the documentary film Merchants of Doubt (2014) was screened on April 27, and the April 28 event featured a presentation by Calhoun called "Last Assents" and a screening of the film, Age of Consequences. Connecticut: The demonstration in Hartford was organized by Harrison Hayward, a medical student at the University of Connecticut, and took place at Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. New Haven's event was organized by Diane Krause, a professor at the Yale School of Medicine, and took place at East Rock Park. Preceding the march was a science fair; the rally also featured speakers from Wesleyan University and Yale University, as well as Robert Klee, who serves as commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Diane Lentakis, an organizer for 350 Connecticut and the Connecticut Sierra Club, coordinated several bus trips to transport people to the climate march in Washington, D.C. Idaho: In Idaho, demonstrations were planned at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise, Driggs, and Sandpoint. Boise participants could attend a happy hour party to make signs for the event at IRU Headquarters on April 28. The Driggs march began at the courthouse and ended at the city park; local nonprofit groups were on site, manning tables and providing educational information. A sign making party was held at the local library on April 27. The Sandpoint march started at Farmin Park and ended at Community Hall where a presentation on Citizens' Climate Lobby was made and local nonprofit groups were on site, manning tables and providing educational information. Massachusetts: The Massachusetts marches began at several different sites around Greater Boston and converged on the Boston Common around noon on Saturday, April 29, 2017. The event in Boston was organized by Boston People's Climate Mobilization, specifically by Lisa Young of the Better Future Project in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Michigan: The events in Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, Bay City, Marquette, Detroit, and Traverse City were organized by Michigan Climate Action Network, the MI League of Conservation Voters, and many other organizations. Debbie Stabenow and State Rep. Jon Hoadley spoke at the Kalamazoo event. New York: The Plattsburgh demonstration was organized by Adam Guillette and took place at Trinity Park. Supporting organizations included 350 Plattsburgh, Adirondack Women's March, North Country RESPECT, and Plattsburgh-Adirondack Building Bridges. Speakers at the rally preceding the march included City Councilor Rachelle Armstrong, wildlife advocate John Davis, Mayor Colin Read, and scientist Dr. Curt Stager, as well as other local activists. From the park, marchers followed Broad Street, to Rugar Street, to the State University of New York at Plattsburgh's Amity Plaza, before returning to Trinity Park. The Syracuse demonstration was a march from Franklin Square Park, north along the Onondaga Creekwalk to a rally in the Inner Harbor neighborhood. More than 500 people took part. North Carolina: The event in Asheville was organized by the local chapter of the Indivisible movement and took place at Pack Square's Vance Monument. The rally, which was emceed by Drew Jones of Climate Interactive, began with a Native American healing ceremony, followed by speeches by Buncombe County Commission chairman Brownie Newman, environmental and justice advocates, students, and clergy. Leading up to the march, the Sierra Club sponsored a screening of the film Before the Flood (2016) on April 21, and The Block off Biltmore screened the documentary film Cowspiracy (2014) on April 23. Another march with a corresponding rally was held in Charlotte. Oregon: In Oregon, demonstrations were planned in Bend's Drake Park, Medford, and Portland. Portland's event was organized by OPAL Environmental Justice and the Oregon Just Transition Alliance, and was held at Dawson Park. Washington: In Washington, demonstrations were planned in Port Angeles and Walla Walla. Speakers in Port Angeles included Chad Bowechop, who manages the Makah Tribal Council Office of Marine Affairs, Jefferson County Commissioner Kate Dean, Clallam County commissioner Mark Ozias, Jon Preston of Forks City Council, author and activist Dianna Somerville, and Port Townsend Mayor Deborah Stinson. The march, which was organized by Sierra Club North Olympic Group and the Olympic Climate Action group, began at Port Angeles City Pier, went through downtown, then returned to the pier. Partners- The following organizations are listed as steering committee members on the event's official website: 32BJ SEIU 350.org 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East Alliance for Climate Education Amalgamated Transit Union American Federation of Teachers American Postal Workers Union The B Team BlueGreen Alliance Center for Biological Diversity Center for Community Change Center for Popular Democracy Chesapeake Climate Action Network Chispa Climate Justice Alliance Climate Nexus Climate Reality Project Color of Change Communications Workers of America Earthjustice Emerald Cities Collaborative EMPOWER Engage Virginia Environmental Justice Leadership Forum on Climate Change Franciscan Action Network Grassroots Global Justice GreenFaith GreenLatinos Green for All Hip Hop Caucus Indigenous Environmental Network Labor Network for Sustainability League of Conservation Voters Maryland Working Families Moms Clean Air Force National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Native Organizers Alliance Natural Resources Defense Council NextGen America Oceana One Earth. One Voice. People's Action People's Collective Arts/Colectivo de Arte Popular People's Climate Movement NY Power Shift Network Public Citizen Service Employees International Union Sierra Club Sojourners Union of Concerned Scientists UPROSE US Climate Action Network Win Without War

Darlie Routier

Darlie Lynn Peck Routier is an American woman from Rowlett, Texas, who was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her five-year-old son Damon in 1996. She has also been charged with capital murder in the death of her six-year-old son, Devon, who was murdered at the same time as Damon. To date, Routier has not specifically been tried for Devon’s murder. Damon and Devon were stabbed to death with a large kitchen knife in Routier's home, while Routier sustained knife wounds to her throat and arm. Routier told authorities that the crime was perpetrated by an unidentified intruder. During the trial, the prosecution argued that Routier's injuries were self-inflicted, that the crime scene had been staged, and that she murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties; the defense argued that there was no reason Routier would have killed her children, and that the case did not have a motive, a confession, or any witnesses. The jury found Routier guilty of the murder of Damon, and sentenced her to death by lethal injection. Two appeals filed by Routier, who maintains her innocence, based on allegations of irregularities during the trial were denied, but new DNA tests were ordered multiple times after technology had advanced. As of 2019, testing is still ongoing. Routier's case has been the subject of multiple books and television shows. Murder: On June 6, 1996, at 2:31 am, 9-1-1 dispatchers in Rowlett, Texas, received a call from the Routier residence at 5801 Eagle Drive. Routier told the operator that her home had been broken into and that an intruder had stabbed her children, 6-year-old Devon and 5-year-old Damon, and cut her throat. Police arrived within three minutes of the 9-1-1 call. They discovered a window screen in the garage had been cut, which indicated a possible entry point for an intruder. A search of the house and grounds did not locate an intruder. Having thus secured the site, police permitted paramedics to attend to the victims. Routier told police that the assailant escaped through the garage. Investigators said that the garage contained no blood drops, and added that indications were that no one had run through there at all. Routier's sons sustained fatal injuries. Her wounds, described as superficial, came within two millimetres of her carotid artery. Routier was treated at a hospital and released two days later. Her youngest son, 7-month-old Drake, was asleep upstairs with her husband Darin at the time of the murders; both escaped harm. Newscasts showed Routier and other family members holding a birthday party at the boys' grave to posthumously celebrate Devon's 7th birthday eight days after the murders. She was shown smiling and laughing as she sprayed Silly String on the graves in celebration, singing "Happy Birthday". Family members point out that the newscasts did not show an earlier video that depicted a solemn ceremony honoring the children. Four days later, Routier was arrested and charged with capital murder. Routier later commented on the video, saying, "He wanted to be seven. I did the only thing I knew to do to honor him and give him all his wishes because he wasn't here anymore. But how do you know what you're going to do when you lose two children? How do you know how you're going to act?" Trial: The prosecution suggested that Routier murdered her sons because of the family's financial difficulties. Prosecutors described her as a "pampered, materialistic woman with substantial debt, plummeting credit ratings, and little money in the bank, who feared that her lavish lifestyle was about to end". Jurors also saw the Silly String video. Crime scene consultant James Cron testified that evidence suggested the scene inside the Routier residence had been staged. Routier was represented at trial by lawyer Douglas Mulder. Defense attorneys said that there was no reason why she would have killed her children, and that the case did not have a motive, a confession or any witnesses. They asserted that it was unrealistic to accuse Routier of staging a crime scene. Her attorneys advised her not to appear on the witness stand, but she testified anyway and "withered under cross-examination by prosecutor Toby Shook." San Antonio chief medical examiner Vincent DiMaio testified that the wound to Routier's neck came within two millimeters of her carotid artery and that it was not consistent with the self-inflicted wounds he had seen in the past. That differed from the assertions of her treating physicians, who had told police officials that the wounds might have been self-inflicted. Tom Bevel testified that cast-off blood found on the back of Routier's nightshirt indicated that she had raised the knife over her head as she withdrew it from each boy to stab again. Routier was convicted of murdering Damon. On February 4, 1997, she was sentenced to death by lethal injection. Post-trial claims and appeals: Defense attorneys allege numerous errors were made during Routier's trial and in the official transcript of it, as well as the investigation of the murders, especially at the crime scene. An appeals court dismissed these claims, as did a court ruling on her habeas corpus petition. In June 2008, Routier was granted the right to new DNA tests. Her appeals were remanded to the state level for improved DNA testing. On January 29, 2014, Chief Judge of the Western District Fred Biery granted a request from prosecution and defense for her case for further DNA tests vital to the defense to be performed on a bloody fingerprint found in the house, a bloody sock and her nightshirt. In 2018, the Criminal District Court No. 3 ordered a third round of DNA testing with the backing of both prosecution and defense. Divorce: In June 2011, Darin Routier filed for divorce from his wife, saying that the decision was mutual and "very difficult," and that he still believes his wife is innocent. He said that they decided to divorce to end the "limbo" that they had been in since her arrest and conviction. In media- Books: The 1999 book Precious Angels: A True Story of Two Slain Children and a Mother Convicted of Murder by Barbara Davis that accounted for Routier's guilt. The author has since changed her mind and now supports Routier by donating all the income from the book to her family. In the 2015 book Dateline Purgatory: Examining the Case that Sentenced Darlie Routier to Death journalist Kathy Cruz engages legal experts for their assessments on Routier's trial transgressions and highlighting the controversies of the death penalty conviction. Throughout the book Cruz collaborates with a former FBI special agent on her examination of the case. The February 2017 book Bloodstained Justice: The Darlie Routier Story by Wanda G. Davis, documents Darlie Routier's family members arguments that crucial evidence was overlooked by authorities during her trial. The August 2018 book Darlie Routier: Deaths of Damon and Devon by Pamela Lillian Valemont, in this writing forensic profiles of the individuals involved in the Darlie Routier case are detailed. Television: The TLC documentary series Forensic Files, October 1999 episode titled: "Invisible Intruder" (S4; E1), reports on how detectives discovered who the killer was by analyzing the crime scene's blood spatter, Darlie's 911 call and the offender profiling of her behavior. Unsolved Mysteries with Robert Stack covered the case in Season 12 Episode 6. The case is again revisited on Unsolved Mysteries with Dennis Farina. Both episodes share evidence from both sides of the case, including those who claim Darlie to be innocent and those pointing towards her guilt. The CBS News series 48 hours episode sub-titled Precious Angels is derived from the true-crime book, of the same title, authored by Barbara Davis, which first aired August 10, 2001. CBS correspondent Bill Lagattuta interviewed Darin Routier, incarcerated Darlie Routier and Davis about the slayings; associated public officials and defense attorneys were also interviewed. The Investigation Discovery network aired the Werner Herzog's series On Death Row episode sub-titled: "Darlie Routier" that covered the case in Season 2, Episode 2, first aired: September 10, 2013. An American Broadcasting Company (ABC) seven-episode documentary series, The Last Defense examines the death row cases of Darlie Routier and Julius Jones. The series premiered, on June 12, 2018, profiling Routier's case in a four-part episode: "Series Premiere – Darlie Routier: The Crime", S1; E1, air date: June 12, 2018. "Darlie Routier: The Trial", S1; E2, air date: June 19, 2018. "Darlie Routier: The Woman", S1; E3, air date: June 26, 2018. "Darlie Routier: The Fight", S1; E4, air date: July 3, 2018. In 2019, ABC also aired a two-part documentary about Routier's case as part of its 20/20 newsmagazine.

ice cream

i love ice cream. many people like it too. there's also vegan ice cream. I've never tried that but when i was at Aldi's everyone was staring at it since it was so weird.

i'll miss you

when i'm am missing from church many people say they'll miss me. i'm like aw

Fred Noonan

Frederick Joseph "Fred" Noonan was an American flight navigator, sea captain and aviation pioneer, who first charted many commercial airline routes across the Pacific Ocean during the 1930s. Navigator for Amelia Earhart (1897–1937), he was last seen in Lae, New Guinea, on July 2, 1937, on the last land stop before they disappeared somewhere over the Central Pacific Ocean, during one of the last legs of their attempted pioneering round-the-world flight. Early life: Fred Noonan was born in Cook County, Illinois (the Chicago area). His parents were Joseph T. Noonan and Catherine Egan. The family was of Irish descent. Noonan's mother died when he was four, and three years later a census report lists his father as living alone in a Chicago boarding house. Relatives or family friends were likely looking after Noonan. In his own words, Noonan "left school in summer of 1905 and went to Seattle, Washington," where he found work as a seaman. Maritime career: At the age of 17, Noonan shipped out of Seattle as an ordinary seaman on a British sailing bark, the Crompton. Between 1910 and 1915, Noonan worked on over a dozen ships, rising to the ratings of quartermaster and bosun's mate. He continued working on merchant ships throughout World War I. Serving as an officer on ammunition ships, his harrowing wartime service included being on three vessels that were sunk from under him by U-boats. After the war, Noonan continued in the Merchant Marine and achieved a measure of prominence as a ship's officer. Throughout the 1920s, his maritime career was characterized by steadily increasing ratings and "good" (typically the highest) work performance reviews. Noonan married Josephine Sullivan in 1927 at Jackson, Mississippi. After a honeymoon in Cuba, they settled in New Orleans. Navigator for Pan Am: Following a distinguished 22-year career at sea, which included sailing around Cape Horn seven times (three times under sail), Noonan contemplated a new career direction. After learning to fly in the late 1920s, he received a "limited commercial pilot's license" in 1930, on which he listed his occupation as "aviator." In the following year, he was awarded marine license #121190, "Class Master, any ocean," the qualifications of a merchant ship's captain. During the early 1930s, he worked for Pan American World Airways as a navigation instructor in Miami and an airport manager in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, eventually assuming the duties of inspector for all of the company's airports. In March 1935, Noonan was the navigator on the first Pan Am Sikorsky S-42 clipper at San Francisco Bay. In April he navigated the historic round-trip China Clipper flight between San Francisco and Honolulu, piloted by Ed Musick (who was featured on the cover of Time magazine that year). Noonan was subsequently responsible for mapping Pan Am's clipper routes across the Pacific Ocean, participating in many flights to Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam, the Philippines, and Hong Kong. In addition to more modern navigational tools, Noonan as a licensed sea captain was known for carrying a ship's sextant on these flights. 1937 was a year of transition for Fred Noonan, whose reputation as an expert navigator, along with his role in the development of commercial airline navigation, had already earned him a place in aviation history. The tall, very thin, dark auburn-haired and blue-eyed 43-year-old navigator was living in Los Angeles. He resigned from Pan Am because he felt he had risen through the ranks as far as he could as a navigator, and he had an interest in starting a navigation school. In March, he divorced his wife, Josie, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Two weeks later, he married Mary Beatrice Martinelli (born Passadori) of Oakland, California. Noonan was rumored to be a heavy drinker. That was fairly common during this era and there is no contemporary evidence Noonan was an alcoholic, although decades later, a few writers and others made some hearsay claims that he was. Earhart world flight and disappearance: Amelia Earhart met Noonan through mutual connections in the Los Angeles aviation community and chose him to serve as her navigator on her World Flight in the Lockheed Electra 10E that she had purchased with funds donated by Purdue University. She planned to circumnavigate the globe at equatorial latitudes. Although this aircraft was of an advanced type for its time, and was dubbed a "flying laboratory" by the press, little real science was planned. The world was already crisscrossed by commercial airline routes (many of which Noonan himself had first navigated and mapped), and the flight is now regarded by some as an adventurous publicity stunt for Earhart's gathering public attention for her next book. Noonan was probably attracted to this project because Earhart's mass market fame would almost certainly generate considerable publicity, which in turn might reasonably be expected to attract attention to him and the navigation school that he hoped to establish when they returned. The first attempt began with a record-breaking flight from Burbank, California, to Honolulu. However, while the Electra was taking off to begin its second leg to Howland Island, its wing clipped the ground. Earhart cut an engine off to maintain balance, the aircraft ground looped, and its landing gear collapsed. Although there were no injuries, the Lockheed Electra had to be shipped back to Los Angeles by sea for expensive repairs. Over one month later, they tried starting again, this time leaving California in the opposite (eastward) direction. Earhart characterized the pace of their 40-day, eastward trip from Burbank to New Guinea as "leisurely". After completing about 22,000 miles (35,000 km) of the journey, they took off from Lae on July 2, 1937, and headed for Howland Island, a tiny sliver of land in the Pacific Ocean, barely 2,000 meters long. Their plan for the 18-hour-long flight was to reach the vicinity of Howland using Noonan's celestial navigation abilities and then find Howland by using radio signals transmitted by the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Itasca. Through a combined sequence of misunderstandings or mishaps (that are still controversial), over scattered clouds, the final approach to Howland Island failed, although Earhart stated by radio that they believed they were in the immediate vicinity of Howland. The strength of the transmissions received indicated that Earhart and Noonan were indeed in the vicinity of Howland island, but could not find it and after numerous more attempts it appeared that the connection had dropped. The last transmission received from Earhart indicated she and Noonan were flying along a line of position (taken from a "sun line" running on 157–337 degrees) which Noonan would have calculated and drawn on a chart as passing through Howland. Two-way radio contact was never established, and the aviators and their aircraft disappeared somewhere over the Central Pacific Ocean. Despite an unprecedented, extensive search by the U.S. Navy—including the use of search aircraft from an aircraft carrier—and the U.S. Coast Guard, no traces of them or their Electra were ever found. Later research showed that Howland's position was misplaced on their chart by approximately five nautical miles. There is also some motion picture evidence to suggest that a belly antenna on their Electra might have snapped on takeoff (the purpose of this antenna has not been identified, however radio communications seemed normal as they climbed away from Lae). One relatively new theory suggests that Noonan may have made a mistake in navigation due to the flight's crossing of the International Date Line. However, this theory is based entirely on supposition and does not offer any evidence Noonan was impacted by or failed to adequately account for the 24 hour variance in his sun line calculations. Theories on disappearance: Many researchers, including navigator and aeronautical engineer Elgen Long, believe that the Electra ran out of fuel and that Earhart and Noonan ditched at sea. The "crash and sink" theory is the most widely accepted explanation of Earhart's and Noonan's fate. In her last message received at Howland Island, Earhart reported that they were flying a standard position line (or sun line), a routine procedure for an experienced navigator like Noonan. This line passed within sight of Gardner Island (now called Nikumaroro) in the Phoenix Island Group to the southeast, and there is a range of documented, archaeological, and anecdotal evidence supporting the hypothesis that Earhart and Noonan found Gardner Island, uninhabited at the time, landed the Electra on a flat reef near the wreck of a freighter, and sent sporadic radio messages from there. It has been surmised that Earhart and Noonan might have survived on Nikumaroro for several weeks before dying as castaways. In 1940, Gerald Gallagher, a British colonial officer and a licensed pilot, radioed his superiors to tell them that he believed he had found Earhart's skeleton, along with a sextant box, under a tree on the island's southeast corner. Although Noonan required and used a sextant for celestial navigation, this artifact has been connected to an American naval survey vessel that visited Gardner Island in 1939, a year before it was recovered. In a 1998 report to the American Anthropological Association, researchers, including a forensic anthropologist and an archaeologist, concluded, "What we can be certain of is that bones were found on the island in 1939–40, associated with what were observed to be women's shoes and a navigator's sextant box, and that the morphology of the recovered bones, insofar as we can tell by applying contemporary forensic methods to measurements taken at the time, appears consistent with a female of Earhart's height and ethnic origin. However, the bones themselves have been lost since they were examined by Dr. D.W. Hoodless on Fiji in 1940. A subsequent study published in 2018 also made similar claims as those presented in 1998. Neither study had the benefit of actually examining the long lost bones as did Hoodless. Typically, forensic anthropologists, like all scientists, base their conclusions on their own examinations. Hoodless' examination methods and original conclusions that the bones belonged to man have been upheld by reputable modern researchers. Contradictory research has recently been advanced; it is possible to set course for and see Gardner from a point on the over Howland sunline (passing seven miles east of), but one does not simply reach Gardner by following such a line. A position line is part of a circle circumference and may be considered a straight line only for limited distances. The Sun's azimuth change per hour is about 15 arcdegrees, whereas the Howland-to-Gardner flight (409 statute miles) would have taken 2 hours 55 minutes (at 140 mph). As a result, the aircraft, when having followed the LOP by astronavigation, would have passed far northward of Gardner when reaching its meridian. The "Gardner" hypothesis originates from a 1980s book[N 2] where navigator Paul Rafford, Jr. "fell off his chair when seeing that the position line points in the direction of Gardner Island". Apart from such supposition, it was with the available fuel reserves (45 gallons) impossible to reach Gardner from the Howland region: the route would have taken 120 U.S. gallons at least. The author of an article in Journal of Navigation, Vol. 9, No. 3, December 2011, avers that due to insufficient fuel reserves from 1912 GMT, no land other than Howland itself and Baker at 45 miles could be reached. With a maximum ferry range of 2,740 statute miles, even the closest islands Winslow Reef and McKean Island at 210 and 350 miles away respectively, were unreachable. Joe Lodrige, an experienced pilot and navigator, did extensive research, and his analysis put the aircraft east of Howland. His theory is based on an error in Noonan's position when he took his Sun line of position. The angle of the sun was almost on the horizon, as it was just coming up. Lodrige is able to position the aircraft more accurately based on wind data. With this better position, his Sun line puts the crew too far east. Thus, when they flew the distance required, and then turned 90 degrees SE on course, they never found the island. Lodrige puts their final crash position as 0°10'N 175°55'W, which is in the water at 65 miles Southeast of Howland and 39 miles East of Baker. Famed ocean explorer Robert Ballard led a 2019 expedition to locate Earhart's Electra or evidence that it landed on Nikumaroro as supposed by the Gardner/Nikumaroro hypothesis. After days of searching the deep cliffs supporting the island and the nearby ocean using state of the art equipment and technology, Ballard did not find any evidence of the plane or any associated wreckage of it. Allison Fundis, Ballard's Chief Operating Officer of the expedition stated, “We felt like if her plane was there, we would have found it pretty early in the expedition.” Popular culture: Although Fred Noonan has left a much smaller mark in popular culture than Amelia Earhart's, his legacy is remembered sporadically. Noonan is often mentioned in W.P. Kinsella's novels. Noonan was portrayed by actor David Graf in "The 37s", an episode of Star Trek: Voyager. The character of an aircraft pilot named Fred Noonan is portrayed by actor Eddie Firestone in The Long Train, a 1961 episode of the television series The Untouchables. Both a baseball stadium and an aircraft rental agency are named after Fred Noonan. A 1990 episode of Unsolved Mysteries featured Mark Stitham as Noonan. In addition, Rutger Hauer has portrayed Noonan in the TV movie Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight (1994) starring Diane Keaton, and Christopher Eccleston portrayed Noonan in the 2009 biographical movie Amelia (2009). It is also possible that the character of Freddy Noonan in the 1998 film Armageddon (1998 film) was named for Noonan. Fred Noonan is mentioned in the song "Amelia" on Bell X1's 2009 album Blue Lights on the Runway, which contemplates the last moments and the fates of Amelia Earhart and Noonan. The first ballad written about Amelia and Fred was written and sung by "Red River" Dave McEnerney in 1938 called "Amelia Earhart's Last Flight". Antje Duvekot's Song "Ballad of Fred Noonan" on her 2012 album "New Siberia" imagines Noonan's unrequited and unremembered love for Earhart. The controversy over Earhart and Noonan's disappearance was discussed in the song "The True Story of Amelia Earhart" on Plainsong's album "In Search of Amelia Earhart." Noonan is a main character in Jane Mendelsohn's acclaimed novel, I Was Amelia Earhart (1996), and in Neal Bowers' poem "The Noonan Variations" (The Sewanee Review, Volume CXVIII, 1990).

ladie's first

a few times it has been like Ladies' first. sometimes i go first others i'm like whatever is fine

paid for me

once at the wing place i went to with friends a couple years ago. a friend asked what i wanted. i was like, "wait i didn't pay for my order." my male friend had paid for my food by saying "it's on the house". i'm like "great" on the outside but on the inside i'm like, "gah."

Murder of Stuart Tay

The murder of Stuart Anthony Tay occurred in Buena Park, California in Greater Los Angeles on December 31 (New Year's Eve), 1992. The Orange County Register referred to the crime as the "Honor Roll Murder." The victim and most of the perpetrators were Asian American. The victim, Stuart Tay, was a 17-year-old Chinese American resident of Orange, California and a student at Foothill High School. Five teenagers believed that Tay was planning to betray them in a planned theft of computer equipment, so they arranged to kill him. All of the perpetrators were students at Sunny Hills High School. Most of the perpetrators had planned to attend elite colleges and universities including Ivy League schools. The perpetrators were 18-year-old Robert Chien-Nan Chan of the Sunny Hills area of Fullerton, California, 16-year-old Kirn Young Kim of the Islands community of Fullerton, 16-year-old Abraham Acosta of Buena Park, 17-year-old Mun Bong Kang of Fullerton, and 17-year-old Charles Bae Choe of Fullerton. All suspects were convicted and/or pleaded guilty. The film Better Luck Tomorrow was loosely based on the murder. Background: The prosecutor said that Tay used an alias and presented himself as an older person. He and Chan created a scheme to rob a computer parts dealer in Anaheim, California, and then recruited four other persons as part of the plot. In court Chan said that Choe helped recruit the other participants. The prosecutor said that Chan created a plan to kill Tay when he learned that Tay was lying about his name and age. The suspects feared that Tay would betray them. The Tay family had hired a private investigator who said that Chan had attacked Tay partly due to issues over a girl who had refused to date Chan. The police said that this theory is not true. The planned robbery never occurred. The murder: On December 31 (New Year's Eve), 1992, the perpetrators lured Tay to the back yard of the Buena Park, California, residence of Abraham Acosta. Kirn Kim acted as a lookout. Prosecutors said that the perpetrators had made preparations before the murder, having dug a grave 24 hours prior. The perpetrators held rehearsals for the murder and purchased gloves so they would not leave fingerprints behind. In the backyard, the perpetrators hit Tay with a baseball bat and a sledgehammer. Chan and Acosta hit Tay. Tay did not die immediately, so the perpetrators forced Tay to drink rubbing alcohol. His mouth was then taped shut. After Tay died, he was buried in the grave. Acosta had taken $100 ($182.19 accounting for inflation) from Tay's wallet. The perpetrators drove Tay's car to Compton, California to give the impression that Tay had been carjacked. Charles Choe, one of the perpetrators, said that Robert Chan dug the grave and poured the rubbing alcohol down Tay's throat. The authorities discovered Tay's body at the Acosta residence. Orange County authorities stated that Tay's death occurred due to asphyxiation on vomit; authorities argued that this was most likely due to the head injuries, and that the taping of the nose and mouth may have quickened his death. Criminal trials and sentencing: Charles Choe plead guilty to first degree murder and acted as the key prosecution witness in exchange for being prosecuted as a juvenile instead of as an adult. Mun Bong Kang plead guilty. In his trial, Chan said that he did not mastermind the killing of Tay, and that he believed that Tay put explosives in his house and would kill him if Tay was not himself killed. A juror who spoke under anonymity said "There was no doubt that he was the mastermind. He tried to lie and blame others for it, but if there was no Robert Chan, Stuart Tay would still be alive today." On Tuesday May 3, 1994, Robert Chan was convicted of first-degree murder. The jury took less than three hours to reach the verdict. Ulla Lang, a juror from Huntington Beach, California, said "I was surprised at how fast the verdict took (sic), but there was really nothing to decide. He got on the witness stand and said he did it and he knew what he was doing. It's like the prosecutor said--he convicted himself." Chan was sentenced to life in prison without parole. On Friday July 1, 1994, Kirn Kim and Abraham Acosta were convicted of first degree murder. Acosta was convicted of ambushing his victim. Jurors acquitted Kim of ambushing his victim. Even though Acosta had taken $100 from Tay, jurors acquitted Acosta of killing for financial gain. Acosta was sent to a California Youth Authority (CYA) facility. Choe was sent to a CYA facility. In January 1995 Kirn Kim and Mun Kang were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Kim and Kang had asked the court system to send them to the CYA system instead of the adult criminal system. David G. Sills, the judge of the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, California did not do so due to the severity of the crime. Chan, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) inmate number J30838, was admitted into the system on August 12, 1994 and as of 2012 is incarcerated at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County. Kirn Young Kim, CDCR#J40983, was admitted on February 9, 1995 and is currently incarcerated in the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility. Kirn Kim had been transferred to the Donovan prison near San Diego, California by 2002. Aftermath: Rene Lynch of the Los Angeles Times said, "The sophisticated murder scheme and the sheer senselessness of the killing grabbed headlines from the start" and that residents of Orange County were "shocked" "because the assailants and the victim were such unlikely suspects." Lynch added that "The case has gained widespread attention, both as a symbol of juvenile crime out of control and because both teen-agers came from seemingly model homes." In 1995, a court awarded Alfred and Linda Tay, the parents of the deceased victim, over $1 million from four of the killers, while the parents of Tay reached a $100,000 settlement with a fifth killer. In 1994, Linda Tay attended a conference asking for more strict sentencing of juvenile convicts. Governor of California Pete Wilson was at this conference. Kirn Young Kim was paroled in 2012. While the plot of Better Luck Tomorrow was loosely based on the Tay murder and film director Justin Lin said that he had tracked the Tay incident in newspapers, the movie is described to be a work of fiction that pulls from multiple influences.

Grady Stiles

Grady Franklin Stiles Jr. was an American freak show performer. His deformity was genetic condition ectrodactyly, in which the fingers and toes are fused together to form claw-like extremities. Because of this, Stiles performed under the stage name "Lobster Boy". Family history: The Stiles family had a long history of ectrodactyly, according to his father dating back to 1840. Stiles was the fourth in a line born to Grady F. Stiles Sr. and wife Edna that began with the birth of William Stiles in 1805. Grady Stiles' father was a sideshow attraction in a traveling carnival when his son was born and added his son to the act at the age of seven. Stiles married twice and had four children, two of whom also had ectrodactyly. Stiles and his two children toured together as The Lobster Family. When not traveling with the carnival the Stiles family lived in Gibsonton, Florida where many other carnival performers lived during the winter season. Murder: Stiles was an alcoholic and was abusive to his family. Due to his ectrodactyly, he was unable to walk. While he often used a wheelchair, he most commonly used his hands and arms for locomotion. He developed substantial upper body strength that, when combined with his bad temper and alcoholism, made him dangerous to others. In 1978 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stiles shot and killed his oldest daughter's fiancé on the eve of their wedding. He was brought to trial, where he openly confessed to killing the man and was convicted of third-degree murder. He was not sent to prison as no state institution was equipped to care for an inmate with ectrodactyly. Stiles was instead sentenced to house arrest and fifteen years' probation. Stiles stopped drinking thereafter, and during this period remarried his first wife, Mary Teresa (Teresa). However, he soon began drinking again and his family claimed that he became even more abusive. In 1992, Teresa and her son from a previous marriage, Harry Glenn Newman Jr., hired a seventeen-year-old sideshow performer named Chris Wyant to kill Stiles for $1500. Wyant was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 27 years in prison. Harry Newman was given life in prison for his role as the mastermind and Teresa was given 43 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder. Stiles' son, Grady Stiles III, disputes the claim that Teresa had him murdered. According to him, his stepmother, Teresa, and father were arguing. Teresa had said 'Something needs to be done.' Teresa's son overheard this, and went to a neighbor and repeated it. Shortly after, as Stiles smoked while watching TV on the sofa, the neighbor entered his home with a semi-automatic pistol and shot him in the head multiple times, killing him. He was hated by the local community so much that only 10 people came to his funeral, and absolutely nobody volunteered as a pallbearer to carry his coffin. Media: Fred Rosen wrote a book on the case called Lobster Boy: The Bizarre Life and Brutal Death of Grady Stiles Jr., and E! made a True Hollywood Story episode based on the case titled "The Murder of Lobster Boy". A&E Network also made a City Confidential episode based on the case called "Gibsonton: The Last Side Show". Stiles' likeness appears on the album cover for Silverchair's Freak Show. A person like Grady, going by the name of "Lobster Boy", appears in a Deadpool comic. Deadpool was hired to assassinate him, but fails when he figures out he is possessed by Xaphan, a fallen angel, and starts possessing the souls. He was later saved by the two Ghost Riders, but at the end is shot again in the head by Deadpool for being cruel to other freaks. On HBO's Carnivàle, set on a traveling carnival during the Great Depression, the central character, Ben Hawkins, is sent out by his employers to investigate rumors of a "Scorpion Boy" in a nearby town. American Freakshow: The Terrible Tale of Sloth Boy, a graphic novel published by IDW Publishing, tells the tale of Dante Browning, a carnival sideshow performer with clawed hands who, because of his abuse and cruelty to his family, is shot to death by a hit man hired by his wife and stepson while in his home in Gibsonton, Florida. American Horror Story: Freak Show has a Lobster Boy character. It also includes a small statue in the likeness of Stiles in the opening credits. In addition, a snapshot of Stiles is briefly seen at the American Morbidity Museum in the third episode ("Edward Mordrake, Part I"). John Strohm wrote "Ballad of Lobster Boy," inspired by Grady Stiles and recorded the song for his 1999 album Vestavia. In his memoir Tibetan Peach Pie, author Tom Robbins refers to Stiles' life and death.

Keddie murders

The Keddie murders is an unsolved 1981 American quadruple homicide that occurred in Keddie, a rural resort town in the Sierra Nevada of northern California. The victims were Glenna Susan "Sue" Sharp (née Davis); her son, John Steven Sharp; daughter Tina Lynn Sharp; and John's friend, Dana Hall Wingate. The murders took place in Cabin 28 of the Keddie Resort during the late evening of April 11, 1981, or early the following morning, and the bodies of Sue, John, and Dana were found on the morning of April 12 by Sue's 14-year-old daughter, Sheila. Sue's two younger sons, Rick and Greg, as well as their friend Justin Smartt, were also in the house, but were unharmed. Tina was missing from the scene. Tina remained a missing person until April 1984, when her skull and several other bones were recovered at Camp Eighteen, California, near Feather Falls in Butte County. Multiple leads and suspects were examined in the intervening years, though no charges were filed. Subsequent sheriffs in Plumas County would state that the initial investigation was disorganized and poorly conducted, resulting in the overlooking of crucial evidence. Several new leads have been announced in the 21st century, including the discovery of a hammer in a pond in 2016, as well as announcements regarding the discovery of new DNA evidence. The Keddie murders have received national media attention, including coverage in People magazine, an Investigation Discovery documentary series, and an independent 2008 feature documentary titled Cabin 28. Renewed public interest in the case was sparked in part by the release of the 2008 horror film The Strangers, which various Internet bloggers theorized was inspired by the Keddie murders; despite slight similarities, the film made no such claims to having been based on the crimes. Timeline- Background: In the fall of 1980, Glenna Susan "Sue" Sharp (née Davis), along with her five children, left her home in Connecticut after separating from her husband, James Sharp. She decided to relocate to northern California, where her brother Don was residing at the time. Upon arriving in California, she began renting Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort in the rural Sierra Nevada community of Keddie. There, she resided with her 15-year-old son, John; 14-year-old daughter Sheila; 12-year-old daughter Tina; and two younger sons, Rick (age 10) and Greg (age 5). On April 11, 1981, around 1:30 pm, Sue and Sheila drove from Keddie to pick up John and his friend Dana Hall Wingate from Gansner Park in Quincy, California and brought them back to Keddie, about 5 miles (8.0 km) away. Two hours later, around 3:30 pm, John and Dana hitchhiked back to Quincy, where they may have had plans to visit friends. Around this time, the two were seen in the city's downtown area. A local woman, Donna Williams, claimed to have picked them up in front of a tire store and given them a ride down the road to another friend's home. The two were later seen attending a party at Oakland Camp in Quincy. That same evening, Sheila had plans to spend the night with the Seabolt family, who lived in an adjacent cabin, while Sue remained at home with Rick, Greg, and the boys' young friend, Justin Smartt. Sheila departed the home shortly after 8:00 pm, leaving her mother alone with the younger children. Tina, who had been watching television at the Seabolts', returned home to the cabin around 9:30 pm after Sheila arrived to spend the night. Murders and discovery: Around 7:00 am in the morning of April 12, Sheila returned home and discovered the dead bodies of Sue, John, and Dana in the cabin's living room. All three had been bound with adhesive tape and wire. Tina was absent from the home, while the three younger children—Rick, Greg, and Justin—were unharmed in an adjacent bedroom. Initial reports stated that the three young boys had slept through the incident, though this was later contradicted. Upon discovering the scene, Sheila rushed back to the Seabolts' cabin, whereupon James Seabolt retrieved Rick, Greg, and Justin through the bedroom window. He later admitted to having briefly entered the cabin through the back door to see if anyone were still alive, potentially contaminating evidence in the process. The murders of Sue, John, and Dana were notably vicious: two bloodied knives and one hammer were found at the scene, and one of the knives (a steak knife later determined to have been used in the murders) had been bent in half due to extreme force. Blood spatter evidence from inside the house indicated that the murders of Sue, John, and Dana had all taken place in the living room. Sue was discovered lying on her side near the living room sofa, nude from the waist down and gagged with a blue bandana and her own panties, which had been secured with tape. She had been stabbed in the chest, her throat was slashed, and on the side of her head was an imprint matching the butt of a Daisy 880 BB gun. John's throat was slashed. Dana had multiple head injuries and had been manually strangled. All three had blunt-force trauma to their heads, caused by a hammer or hammers. Autopsies determined that they died from the knife wounds and blunt-force trauma. Initial investigation: Sheila and the Seabolt family (with whom Sheila had spent the night in the neighboring cabin) heard no commotion during night; a couple living nearby were awakened around 1:30 am by what sounded like muffled screaming, but couldn't say where from. Tina's jacket, shoes, and a shoebox containing various tools, were missing from the cabin, which showed no indication of forced entry. An unidentified fingerprint was found on a handrail on the stairs leading to the cabin's back door. The cabin's telephone had been left off the hook, its lights were off, and the drapes were closed. Suspects interviewed included a man who disappeared from Keddie shortly after the murders and was later found in Oregon. After submitting to a polygraph examination, the suspect was cleared. One of the Sharps' neighbors, Marilyn Smartt (mother of Justin), later claimed she had found a bloody jacket belonging to Tina in her basement and had turned it in to police, though no official record of this exists. Her husband, Martin Smartt, also claimed that a claw hammer had inexplicably gone missing from his home. Plumas County Sheriff Doug Thomas, who presided over the case, later stated that Martin had provided "endless clues" in the case that seemed to "throw the suspicion away from him." In addition to interviewing the Smartts, detectives interviewed numerous other locals and neighbors; several, including members of the Seabolt family, recalled seeing an unknown green van parked at the Sharps' cabin around 9:00 pm. Others recalled noticing a brown Datsun parked at the residence that evening, which appeared to have a tire that was going flat. Justin gave conflicting stories of the evening, including that he had dreamt details of the murders, though he later claimed to have actually witnessed them. In his latter account of events, told under hypnosis, he claimed to have heard sounds coming from the living room while watching television in the bedroom with Rick and Greg. Investigating these sounds, he saw Sue with two men: one with a mustache and short hair, the other clean-shaven with long hair; both wore glasses. According to Justin, John and Dana then entered the home and began heatedly arguing with the men. There was a fight, Tina entered the room, and she was taken out of the cabin's back door by one of the men. Based on Justin's descriptions, composite sketches of the two unknown men were produced by forensic artist Harlan Embry. In press releases accompanying the sketches, the suspects were described as being in their late 20s to early 30s; one stood between 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) to 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall with dark blonde-hair, and the other between 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 m) and 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) with black, greased hair. Both wore gold-framed sunglasses. Rumors regarding the crimes being ritualistic or motivated by drug trafficking were dismissed by Plumas County Sheriff Doug Thomas, who stated in the week following the murders that no drug paraphernalia or illegal drugs were found in the home. Carla McMullen, a family acquaintance, later told detectives that Dana Wingate had recently stolen an unknown quantity of LSD from local drug dealers, though she was unable to provide proof of this claim. About 4,000 man-hours were spent working the case, which Thomas described as "frustrating." In December 1983, detectives ruled out serial killers Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole as potential suspects. Recovery of Tina Sharp's remains: Because Tina was believed to have been abducted from the crime scene, her disappearance was initially investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), though it was reported on April 29, 1981 that the FBI had "backed off" the search as the Department of Justice was doing an "adequate job" and "made the FBI's presence unnecessary." A grid pattern search of the area covering a 5-mile (8.0 km) radius around the cabin was conducted with police canines, but the efforts were fruitless. On April 22, 1984, 3 years and 11 days after the murders and Tina's disappearance, a bottle collector discovered a cranium portion of a human skull and part of a mandible at Camp Eighteen near Feather Falls in neighboring Butte County, a distance of roughly 100 miles (160 km) from Keddie. Shortly after announcing the discovery, Butte County Sheriff's Office received an anonymous call that identified the remains as belonging to Tina, but the call was not documented in the case. A recording of this call was found at the bottom of an evidence box at some point after 2013 by a deputy who was assigned the case. The remains were confirmed by a forensic pathologist to be those of Tina Sharp in June 1984. Near the remains, detectives also found a child's blanket, a blue nylon jacket, a pair of Levi Strauss jeans with a missing back pocket, and an empty surgical tape dispenser. Subsequent developments: In 1996, Robert Joseph Silveria, Jr., was examined as a potential suspect in the murders. The cabin in which the murders occurred was demolished in 2004. In a 2008 documentary on the murders, Marilyn Smartt claimed that she suspected her husband Martin and his friend John "Bo" Boubede (sometimes reported as "John Boudee") were responsible for the murders of Sue, John, Dana, and Tina. Marilyn claimed that on the evening of the crimes, she had left Martin and Boubede at a local bar around 11:00 pm and returned home to go to sleep. Around 2:00 am on April 12, she stated she awoke to find the two burning an unknown item in the wood stove. Additionally, she alleged that Martin "hated Johnny Sharp with a passion." However, in the 2008 documentary, Sheriff Doug Thomas said he had personally interviewed Martin, and that Martin had passed a polygraph examination. Martin Smartt died of cancer in Portland, Oregon, in June 2000. John Boubede, who allegedly had ties to organized crime in Chicago, died there in 1988. On March 24, 2016, a hammer matching the description of the hammer Martin claimed to have lost was discovered in a local pond and taken into evidence by Plumas County Special Investigator Mike Gamberg. Plumas County Sheriff Hagwood, who was 16 years old at the time of the murders and knew the Sharp family personally, stated: "the location it was found... It would have been intentionally put there. It would not have been accidentally misplaced." Gamberg also stated that at that time, six potential suspects were being examined. In a 2016 article published by The Sacramento Bee detailing the discovery of the hammer, shortly after the murders, Martin had left Keddie and driven to Reno, Nevada; from there, he sent a letter to Marilyn ruminating on personal struggles in their marriage, which he concluded with: "I've paid the price of your love & now I've bought it with four people's lives." In a 2016 interview, Gamberg stated that the letter was "overlooked" in the initial investigation and never admitted as evidence. He later criticized the quality of the initial investigation, saying: "You could take someone just coming out of the academy and they'd have done a better job." A counselor whom Martin regularly visited would also allege that he had admitted to the murders of Sue and Tina, but claimed "I didn't have anything to do with the boys." He allegedly told the counselor that Tina was killed to prevent her from identifying him, as she had "witnessed the whole thing." In April 2018, Gamberg stated that DNA evidence recovered from a piece of tape at the crime scene matched that of a known living suspect. In media: -The 2008 horror film The Strangers, which detailed the ambush of a couple in a rural vacation home by three masked assailants, brought renewed interest to the case resulting from Internet bloggers who drew comparisons between the events depicted in the film and the Keddie murders. However, the film made no claims to the events, and was only vaguely marketed as having been "inspired by true events." The same year, an independent film chronicling the murders, titled Cabin 28, was released. -The murders were examined again in a 2016 People Magazine Investigates documentary series that aired on the Investigation Discovery channel.

Disappearance of Joan Lawrence

Joan Lawrence was a 77-year-old Huntsville, Ontario woman who went missing in 1998. Her disappearance led the Ontario Provincial Police to discover that three other seniors—John Semple, 90, John Crofts, 71, and Ralph Grant, 70—were also missing, presumed murdered. Though Lawrence lived a solitary life, and was known locally as the "Cat Lady," she had previously worked as a poet and journalist, and was in the process of reporting her landlords for "frauds, theft, mistreatment and neglect" at the time of her disappearance. Life and work: Lawrence was born in Ottawa in 1921. Her parents were Irene Claire McCarthy and William Lawrence. In 1940, at age 19, Lawrence began work as a freelance writer for the Toronto Star, Ottawa Citizen, and others. A few years later, at age 26, she lost her advertising job "for trying to write a book while she was supposed to be working." In 1943, Lawrence married an army lieutenant named Burton Gamble, whom she divorced in 1949. Later in the life, Lawrence resided in Toronto while caring for her elderly parents. After their deaths, she relocated, arriving in Huntsville in the 1980s. Lawrence began taking in the community's unwanted kittens, eventually amassing dozens of cats. In 1994, her shack burned down in an accidental fire. After that, she lived in boarding houses and the Salvation Army, but continued to feed her cats. In 1997, she moved into "Cedar Pines Christian Retirement Lodge," a retirement residence owned by Kathrine Laan. Later that year, she moved onto property owned by Kathrine's brothers, David, Walter, and Paul Laan. According to community members, the "Laan farm" was the only place she could keep her cats. For $600 a month, Lawrence rented an eight-by-ten-foot shed that had limited heat, and no insulation or running water. In September 1998, a social worker alerted police to conditions on the Laan farm. Police and the fire chief attended, discovering Lawrence in the shed. Adult Protective Services was notified, and began making arrangements to find Lawrence another home. In the meantime, Lawrence was moved from the shed into a decommissioned van on the same property. Disappearance and subsequent investigation: Lawrence disappeared in November 1998. She was reported missing by 57-year-old Allan Marshall, a former limo driver who also resided on the Laan farm and had become close with Lawrence. Marshall told police he heard gunshots and saw a backhoe being operated around the time of Lawrence's disappearance. Police obtained a search warrant for the property that December. Despite an extensive search by lake, land, and air, they failed to find Lawrence's body. Notably, half a dozen of her cats had been fatally shot. The Laans' uncle, Ron Allen, eventually claimed responsibility. The OPP investigation continued, and by July 2000 police had discovered three more of Laans' residents who could not be accounted for: 90-year-old John Semple, 71-year-old John Crofts, and 70-year-old Ralph Grant. Like other Laan residents, the missing men were marginalized, and had been brought to Muskoka from homeless shelters in Toronto. Police eventually uncovered a "pension cheque scam," and charged David, Walter, Walter's wife Karen, Paul, and Kathrine with defrauding the federal government of the benefit money it was providing Semple, Crofts, Grant, and other residents who had died or were missing. The charges against David and Karen were dropped, but Walter, Kathrine, and Paul pled guilty. The Laans' retirement homes were shut down by the authorities. After serving conditional sentences, Walter, Paul, and Kathrine moved away from Muskoka, as did David. No one in the family has ever provided a sworn statement to police or cooperated with the investigation. In 2001, Walter Laan told the Toronto Sun that "Police were trying to sink us for these missing people." He added the case was "really a dead issue now." In July 2019, shortly after a podcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was released, the OPP held its first-ever press conference about the case. Afterward, lead detective Rob Matthews said new people had come forward with information. Media coverage: In 2017, the disappearances of Joan Lawrence, John Semple, John Crofts, and Ralph Grant were featured in "Cottage Country Murder," a magazine article in The Walrus. The article was written by Zander Sherman, who had been researching the story since 2014. Sherman also consulted on "Murder in Cottage Country," a co-produced documentary by CBC's The Fifth Estate. In 2019, Sherman and two colleagues won a Canadian Screen Award for their work on the documentary. Later that year, Sherman hosted the fourth season of the CBC podcast Uncover, called "The Cat Lady Case."

Andrew Shumack

Andrew Shumack was an American freelance journalist and photographer from Pennsylvania who disappeared during the First Chechen War, a month after he left Saint Petersburg for Chechnya, and is presumed dead. Biography: Shumack had worked for the weekly Bethlehem Star before traveling to Russia. In a July 19 postcard he sent to his parents from Russia, Shumack wrote, "Money is tight, but things are well." A Spanish reporter called the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on August 9 to report that Shumack's knapsack was left at the press center in Grozny. Shumack was last seen July 28, 1995, when he left Grozny and headed toward the surrounding mountainous area. Eight days earlier, on July 20, The St. Petersburg Press, an English-language newspaper, had provided Shumack with a letter of introduction to help him obtain press credentials. In return, Shumack was to give the paper photographs and stories for three months. He had also planned to feed his photos to The Philadelphia Inquirer. It was the first time he had ventured into a war zone. Journalists in Grozny found his backpack, sleeping bag and documents (including a copy of his passport) abandoned in his hotel. He is feared to be dead because no one from the newspaper has heard from him since, and U.S. Embassy officials have not been able to locate him despite repeated trips to the region.

less back pain

i'm doing something to help with my frequent joint pain. i'm feeling almost back to where i was when my back didn't hurt from my accidents

spread out my activites

when i double booked myself i should've spread out the stuff my activities as i needed to take the day after off to recuperate and relax before going to church and stuff.

Death of Don Henry and Kevin Ives

On August 23, 1987, the bodies of 16-year old Don Henry and 17-year old Kevin Ives were hit by a cargo train in Alexander, Arkansas as they lay on the tracks. The train driver attempted to stop and blew the horn, but the momentum of the train carried it over the bodies. The deaths were initially ruled an accident as a result of the boys sleeping on the tracks due to marijuana intoxication. The parents of the boys insisted on a second autopsy, and after exhumation it was ruled that homicide was likely. Later, another pathologist ruled that Don Henry's shirt showed evidence of a stab wound. Background: At around 4:00 a.m. on August 23, 1987, a 75-car, 6,000 ton Union Pacific locomotive en route to Little Rock, Arkansas spotted two boys lying motionless across the tracks. Those on the train also claimed they were wrapped in a green tarp. Nearby was a .22 caliber rifle and a flashlight. The bodies did not move when they blared the horn, and though they stopped the train, they were unable to avoid running over the bodies. Those on the train reported the incident to railroad and law enforcement authorities. By 4:40 a.m., police arrived on the scene. Police never found a tarp. The boys had reportedly left home around midnight to go hunting. The gun and flashlight near the bodies suggested they were using an illegal hunting technique known as spotlighting, which involves blinding the prey before shooting it. Autopsies: The state medical examiner, Dr. Fahmy Malak, ruled the deaths an accident as a result of marijuana intoxication, saying the boys had smoked the equivalent of twenty marijuana cigarettes and fell asleep on the tracks. The parents did not accept this finding and conducted their own investigation. In March 1988, Dr. James Garriot of San Antonio offered a second opinion and was skeptical of the findings about marijuana. A second autopsy by Georgia medical examiner Dr. Joseph Burton found the equivalent of one or two marijuana cigarettes, not twenty. A grand jury ruled the deaths a "probable homicide." When it was found that Don Henry's shirt contained evidence of a stab wound to the back, and Kevin Ives' skull may have been crushed by his own rifle, the ruling was changed to "definite homicide." Don Henry's father also noted that his son would not have risked his gun getting scratched by laying it on gravel. Suspects and theories: One week before the boys died, a man wearing military fatigues was spotted not far from the train tracks. When police officer Danny Allen attempted to stop him, the man opened fire and managed to disappear into the night. On the same night the boys died, a similar-looking man dressed in military fatigues was spotted nearby. The usual theory given about the boys' deaths, believed by Linda Ives, involves drug trafficking. The theory is that the boys came upon a drug drop from an airplane similar to Barry Seal's operations near Mena and were murdered. Dan Harmon, a prosecutor of the case later arrested for dealing drugs, is one person implicated in the murder. Keith McCaskle, also implicated in the murder, was stabbed to death by an unknown attacker on November 10, 1988. Former professional wrestler Billy Jack Haynes claimed to have videotaped the boys being run over by the train. He claims corrupt police officers involved in the drug trade killed the children because they witnessed a drug drop. The case was profiled on the television program Unsolved Mysteries.

Ernesto Miranda

Ernesto Arturo Miranda was a laborer whose conviction on kidnapping, rape, and armed robbery charges based on his confession under police interrogation was set aside in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that criminal suspects must be informed of their right against self-incrimination and their right to consult with an attorney before being questioned by police. This warning is known as a Miranda warning. After the Supreme Court decision set aside Miranda's initial conviction, the state of Arizona tried him again. At the second trial, with his confession excluded from evidence, he was convicted. Biography- Early life: Ernesto Arturo Miranda was born in Mesa, Arizona, on March 9, 1941. Miranda began getting in trouble when he was in grade school. Shortly after his mother died, his father remarried. Miranda and his father didn't get along very well; he kept his distance from his brothers and stepmother as well. Miranda's first criminal conviction was during his eighth grade year. The following year, he was convicted of burglary and sentenced to a year in reform school. In 1956, about a month after his release from the reform school, Arizona State Industrial School for Boys (ASISB), he fell afoul of the law once more and was returned to ASISB. Upon his second release from reform school he relocated to Los Angeles, California. Within months of his arrival in LA, Miranda was arrested (but not convicted) on suspicion of armed robbery and for some sex offenses. After two and a half years in custody the 18-year-old Miranda was extradited back to Arizona. He drifted through the southern U.S. for a few months, spending time in jail in Texas for living on the street without money or a place to live, and was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, for driving a stolen car. Miranda was sentenced to a year and a day in the federal prison system because he had taken the stolen vehicle across state lines. He spent his sentence in Chillicothe, Ohio, and later in Lompoc, California. The next couple of years Miranda kept out of jail, working at various places, until he became a laborer on the night loading dock for the Phoenix produce company. At that time he started living with Twila Hoffman, a 29-year-old mother of a boy and a girl by another man, from whom she could not afford a divorce. Confession without rights; Miranda v. Arizona: On March 13, 1963,[1] Miranda's truck was spotted and license plates recognized by the brother of an 18-year-old kidnapping and rape victim, Lois Ann Jameson (the victim had given the brother a description). With his description of the car and a partial license plate number, Phoenix police officers Carroll Cooley and Wilfred Young confronted Miranda, who voluntarily accompanied them to the station house and participated in a lineup. At the time, Miranda was a person of interest, and not formally in custody. After the lineup, when Miranda asked how he did, the police implied that he was positively identified. The police got a confession out of Miranda after two hours of interrogation, without informing him of his rights. After unburdening himself to the officers, Miranda was taken to meet the beating victim for positive voice identification. Asked by officers, in her presence, whether this was the victim, he said, "That's the girl." The victim stated that the sound of Miranda's voice matched that of the culprit. Miranda then wrote his confessions down. At the top of each sheet was the printed certification that "…this statement has been made voluntarily and of my own free will, with no threats, coercion or promises of immunity and with full knowledge of my legal rights, understanding any statement I make can and will be used against me." Despite the statement on top of the sheets that Miranda was confessing "with full knowledge of my legal rights," he was not informed of his right to have an attorney present or of his right to remain silent. 73-year-old Alvin Moore was assigned to represent him at his trial. The trial took place in mid-June 1963 before Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Yale McFate. Moore objected to entering the confession by Miranda as evidence during the trial but was overruled. Mostly because of the confession, Miranda was convicted of rape and kidnapping and sentenced to 20 to 30 years on both charges. Moore appealed to the Arizona Supreme Court, but the conviction was upheld. Filing as a pauper, Miranda submitted his plea for a writ of certiorari, or request for review of his case to the U.S. Supreme Court in June 1965. After Alvin Moore was unable to take the case because of health reasons, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorney Robert J. Corcoran, asked John J. Flynn, a criminal defense attorney, to serve pro bono, along with his partner, John P. Frank, and associates Paul G. Ulrich and Robert A. Jensen of the law firm Lewis & Roca in Phoenix to represent Miranda. They wrote a 2,500 word petition for certiorari that argued that Miranda's Fifth Amendment rights had been violated and sent it to the United States Supreme Court. Miranda v. Arizona: In November 1965, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Miranda's case, Miranda v. Arizona, along with three other similar cases to clear all misunderstandings created by the ruling of Escobedo v. Illinois. That previous case had ruled that: Under the circumstances of this case, where a police investigation is no longer a general inquiry into an unsolved crime but has begun to focus on a particular suspect in police custody who has been refused an opportunity to consult with his counsel and who has not been warned of his constitutional right to keep silent, the accused has been denied the assistance of counsel in violation of the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, and no statement extracted by the police during the interrogation may be used against him at a trial. Crooker v. California, 357 U.S. 433, and Cicenia v. Lagay, 357 U.S. 504, distinguished, and, to the extent that they may be inconsistent with the instant case, they are not controlling. 479–492. In January 1966, Flynn and Frank submitted their argument stating that Miranda's Sixth Amendment right to counsel had been violated by the Phoenix Police Department. Two weeks later the state of Arizona responded by stating that Miranda's rights had not been violated. The first day of the case was on the last day of February 1966. Because of the three other cases and other information the case had a second day of oral arguments on March 1, 1966. John Flynn and John Paul Frank for Miranda outlined the case and then stated that Miranda had not been advised of his right to remain silent when he had been arrested and questioned, adding the Fifth Amendment argument to his case. Flynn contended that an emotionally disturbed man like Miranda, who had a limited education, should not be expected to know his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself. Gary Nelson spoke for the people of Arizona, arguing that this was not a Fifth Amendment issue but just an attempt to expand the Sixth Amendment Escobedo decision. He urged the justices to clarify their position, but not to push the limits of Escobedo too far. He then told the court that forcing police to advise suspects of their rights would seriously obstruct public safety. The second day concerned arguments from related cases. Thurgood Marshall, the former NAACP attorney, was the last to argue. In his capacity as the Solicitor General, he presented the Johnson administration's view of the case: that the government did not have the resources to appoint a lawyer for every indigent person who was accused of a crime. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the opinion in Miranda v. Arizona. The decision was in favor of Miranda. It stated that: The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in court; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him. The opinion was released on June 13, 1966. Because of the ruling, police departments around the country started to issue Miranda warning cards to their officers to recite. They read: You have the right to remain silent. If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney and to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided to you at no cost. During any questioning, you may decide at any time to exercise these rights, not answer any questions or make any statements. Do you understand these rights as I have read them to you? Life after Miranda v. Arizona: The Supreme Court set aside Miranda's conviction, which was tainted by the use of the confession that had been obtained through improper interrogation. The state of Arizona retried him. At the second trial, his confession was not introduced into evidence, but he was convicted again, based on testimony given by his estranged common law wife. He was sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison. Miranda was paroled in 1972. After his release, he started selling autographed Miranda warning cards for $1.50. Over the next few years, Miranda was arrested numerous times for minor driving offenses and eventually lost his license. He was arrested for the possession of a gun but the charges were dropped. However, because this violated his parole, he was sent back to Arizona State Prison for another year. On January 31, 1976, after his release for violating his parole, a violent fight broke out in a bar in Phoenix. Miranda received a lethal wound from a knife, and he was pronounced dead on arrival at Good Samaritan Hospital. Several Miranda cards were found on his person. Miranda was buried in the City of Mesa Cemetery in Mesa, Arizona.

Montie Rissell

Montie Ralph Rissell, also known as Monte, is an American serial killer and rapist who raped and murdered five women between 1976 and 1977 in Alexandria, Virginia, where he lived. Early life: Rissell lived his first seven years of his life in his hometown of Wellington, Kansas. Rissell lived with his mother, who was married and divorced twice by the time Rissell was 12. Rissell's biological father left the home when Rissell was seven years old. Rissell had two older siblings: a brother, Harold, and a sister. By the age of 14, Rissell had committed his first rape. He was charged with a series of petty crimes and was institutionalized in 1973. Shortly after his release in 1975, he was arrested for attempted robbery after he attempted to rob a woman with a knife in an elevator near his home. He received a five-year suspended sentence and dropped out of T. C. Williams High School at the age of 17. Murders: Rissell was reportedly angry with his ex-girlfriend after he saw her with another man. On August 4, 1976, Rissell saw 26-year-old Aura Marina Gabor, a sex worker living in the same apartment complex as Rissell on the 400 block of North Armistead Street in Alexandria. Rissell claimed he grew angry with her after she "allowed" him to have sex with her and she made it seem like she enjoyed it, so he drowned her in a nearby ravine. The second murder occurred in March 1977, when Rissell raped and stabbed 22-year-old McDonald's manager trainee, Ursula Miltenberger, near the Hamlet Apartments. Her body was found March 6 in a Fairfax wood. An unspecified time later, Rissell attempted to murder an unknown woman; however, the would-be victim was let go after she told him her father had cancer, from which Rissell's brother also suffered. The third murder victim was 27-year-old Gladys Ross Bradley, a post office clerk and resident of Hamlet Apartments. Sometime in April 1977, Rissell waited outside her house with a steak knife from his mother's kitchen. He raped her twice, then dragged her by her feet to a nearby creek, where he then drowned her. Her body was found April 29, 1977. The fourth murder victim was 34-year-old Aletha Byrd, a personnel counselor at the Woodward & Lothrop department store at Tysons Corner Center. Aletha had been missing from her home since April 10, 1977. She was found dead with multiple stab wounds on May 17 in a wooded area. The fifth and final victim was 24-year-old Jeanette McClelland, a graphics design proofreader at Bru-El Graphics and also a resident of Hamlet Apartments. She was found raped and stabbed 100 times in a culvert near Shirley Highway on May 5, 1977. On May 18, police (who had Rissell under surveillance due to his being a suspect) searched Rissell's car and found Byrd's wallet, keys, and comb. Police later confirmed that Rissell's fingerprints were found on Miltenberger's car. Rissell confessed to killing all five women. Rissell was charged with abducting, raping and murdering the five women. However, because he pleaded guilty to the murder charges, the abduction and rape charges were dropped. Rissell was sentenced to five consecutive life sentences on October 11, 1977. He was 18 years old at the time of his sentencing. Prison: While in prison, Rissell wrote a 461-page handwritten manuscript detailing his murders. Rissell became eligible for parole in 1995, which was heavily protested by the victims' family members and the community. Since then, Rissell has been granted an annual parole hearing each November; he has been denied parole each time. Rissell was previously incarcerated at Augusta Correctional Center, and is currently incarcerated at Pocahontas State Correctional Center in Virginia. Popular culture: Rissell was featured in season 1, episode 4 of the 2017 Netflix crime drama, Mindhunter; actor Sam Strike portrayed him.

Ready to go

Once while I was waiting to relieve the LDS church of food from the church Christmas party I was asked if I'd be ready to go soon. I said yes but let me take some food home as I was relieving them of it.

Leftovers

I have a TON of leftovers of the vegetarian Sheppard's pie. I'll eat all of it as I'm allergic to beef.

Ambidextrous

I'm ambidextrous to a degree. Biologically I'm left handed but because of most of the population being right handed many lefties are ambidextrous

Nasty

I don't like alcohol. To me its WAY too sour and not sweet enough so I usually say its nasty

Bore my testimony

I bore my testimony on Sunday by saying how I'll show off the temple when the open house is going on.

Vegetarian

I love eating vegetarian and vegan food. I can eat an unusually large portion for the same amount of calories as most vegan and vegetarian food tends to be made of lower calorie foods such as fruits and vegetables

Awesome

I just made lemonade. It's super tasty, low in calories, sugar free and super easy to make.

Book

I recently published a book on vegetarianism for families. Its full of things like Mac and cheese and several other cheesy pasta dishes, which I'm betting most kids would like. That's interesting to see this for the kids.

Back pain

I have a bad back and have a ton of pain because my spine is being readjusted naturally, which is totally painful. Plus I'm living with the old injury pain, which doesn't help. Hopefully this'll work out and I'll be better after it

Yay

I'm making vegetarian Sheppard's pie. Its like a gigantic casserole that'll eat up things like frozen veggies, mashed potatoes and meat that's sitting in your freezer. Mom was complaining about that amount of frozen food still in the freezer. It was a perfect solution to all that frozen food we had. We still have a decent amount of frozen food IN the freezer but it's under control

Gertrude Tompkins Silver

Gertrude "Tommy" Tompkins Silver was the only Women Airforce Service Pilots member to go missing during World War II. Early life: Gertrude Vreeland Tompkins was born October 16, 1911, in Jersey City, New Jersey, the daughter of Vreeland Tompkins and Laura Tompkins (née Towar). Disappearance and search: She departed from Mines Field (Los Angeles International Airport) for Palm Springs, on October 26, 1944, flying a North American P-51D Mustang destined for New Jersey. She never arrived at Palm Springs and due to reporting errors a search wasn't started until three days later. Despite an extensive ground and water search no trace of Gertrude or the aircraft were found. Follow up and aftermath: In January 2010 search efforts to locate the possible crash site in Santa Monica Bay were unsuccessful.