Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Motorists rescue toddler who darted into busy, 5-lane stretch of Barnett Shoals Road

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term life insurance - #1:Motorists rescue toddler who darted into busy, 5-lane stretch of Barnett Shoals Road

 

 A dangerous situation was averted when motorists stopped to rescue a toddler who ran into busy Barnett Shoals Road, according to Athens-Clarke police.
The incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. Feb. 26 near the Park Ridge Drive intersection, according to the report that was not released until Friday.
When the toddler began running across the five-lane roadway, drivers slammed on their brakes, including an unidentified man who braked hard to avoid hitting the child and was rear-ended, according to another motorist, Zoe Gilliam of Athens.

The little girl ran across all five lanes, Gilliam said.
The driver who was rear-ended was able to exit his car and retrieve the child, Gilliam said Friday.
Gilliam also stopped near a bus stop along the road.
“He brought her to the bus stop. He handed her to me and he went on his way,” she said about the man whose car was not seriously damaged. “I’m a preschool teacher so I just held onto her. It was a very stressful situation.”
More: Driver charged with vehicular homicide, DUI after crash kills bicyclist in Athens
Responding officers located the parents, who are from Hartwell, at a home on Park Ridge Drive, and the parents explained they were attending a barbecue with family, and someone had left a door open which allowed the child to walk away.
The child was given to the 34-year-old mother, who was visibly upset, the officer reported.
No charges were filed, but the officer did tell the mother the matter would be reported to the state Department of Family and Children Services.

READ MORE - Motorists rescue toddler who darted into busy, 5-lane stretch of Barnett Shoals Road

VA Hospital Suspends Patient Admissions After New Medical Records System Crashes

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globe life insurance - #1:VA Hospital Suspends Patient Admissions After New Medical Records System Crashes

 

 The Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Spokane, Washington, suspended patient admissions and most outpatient appointments Thursday after the facility's electronic health records system was found to be corrupted.
Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center Director Robert Fischer sent an email Thursday morning to staff ordering them to stop using the digital records system "until further notice" and assume that "all electronic patient data is corrupted/inaccurate."
According to the email, the hospital stopped taking new admissions and clinics were instructed to see patients and offer only services medical staff was "comfortable providing assuming all electronic sources of data are unreliable."

The facility's chief of surgery also was assessing whether operations could continue safely.
"This current downtime in [sic] unlike previous episodes insofar that all data residing in [the systems] may be corrupted," Fischer wrote in the email, obtained by Military.com.
A staff member said the issue stemmed from a systems update Wednesday evening at the VA's West Consolidated Patient Account Center in Las Vegas.
While the problem appeared to be fixed by Friday morning, most appointments and procedures for the day had already been suspended, said the employee, who requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak with the media.
"They pretty much suspended anything that has to do with patient records because it was a patient safety issue," the employee said.
The medical center referred all questions to the VA’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., which didn’t respond by publication.
The episode marks another chapter in the troubled rollout of the VA's $16 billion electronic health system, developed by Missouri-based Cerner Corp.
The VA launched the platform at Mann-Grandstaff, its pilot site, in November 2020 following two months-long delays to address the department's information technology infrastructure and training and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Just six months after its introduction, the VA then undertook a "strategic review" of the system following complaints from providers and patients that the platform was not user-friendly and did not improve data sharing, management and workflow capabilities.
"[It has never worked correctly] from the inception," the employee said during an interview Friday. "The rollout was poor, the training was poor. ... The people who brought it on board actually never seemed to consult with the people who use it, a communication gap that I don't think is uncommon."
Adoption of an electronic health records system compatible with the Department of Defense's medical records system has been decades in the making, with the VA and DoD under a congressional requirement since at least 2008 to make their systems interoperable.
The VA awarded the contract worth up to $16 billion in May 2018 to Cerner, which also developed the Defense Department's MHS Genesis electronic health records system.

READ MORE - VA Hospital Suspends Patient Admissions After New Medical Records System Crashes

Does McDonald’s Accept EBT SNAP/Food Stamps as Payment?

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homeowners insurance - #1:Does McDonald’s Accept EBT SNAP/Food Stamps as Payment? 

While you generally cannot purchase food from McDonald’s using your EBT card, there are some exemptions. According to QuerySprout, if you get the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits or qualify for the Restaurant Meals Program (RMP), you could use your SNAP benefits to make a purchase at McDonald’s.
See: SNAP Benefits Available in Your State in 2022
Inflation Alert: McDonald’s Big Mac Is Outpacing Cost of Living, Price up 40%
Does the RMP Allow SNAP Beneficiaries To Purchase McDonald’s?
The RMP is a state option that allows certain SNAP beneficiaries to buy prepared foods at restaurants with their SNAP benefits. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that eligible individuals are typically those who might not be able to prepare meals for themselves or who do not have permanent housing to prepare or store food.
To be eligible for RMP, you must qualify for SNAP in a state that has an RMP, which is Arizona, California, Maryland, Michigan, Rhode Island and Virginia, and all members of the household must be either:
Age 60 or older
Disabled
Homeless
The spouse of a SNAP client who is eligible for the RMP
RMP-eligible individuals may purchase food at a McDonald’s using their SNAP benefits if the restaurant is in a state that has RMP, has approval from the state and was authorized by the Food and Nutrition Service to accept SNAP benefits.
Can You Use TANF Benefits at McDonald’s?
The TANF program gives grant funds to states and territories to provide families with financial assistance and other support services. To qualify for TANF benefits, you must be a U.S. citizen, legal alien or qualified alien, reside in the state you applied and be unemployed or underemployed with low or very low income. One of the following must also be true:
Have a child age 18 or younger
Be pregnant
Be 18 years of age or younger and the head of your household
SNAP Schedule 2022: March Payments
Find: Will My State Provide Extra SNAP Benefits in March?
States may issue TANF benefits through EBT cards. You can withdraw this money at an ATM, which can then be used to purchase food from restaurants like McDonald’s, said QuerySprout.

READ MORE - Does McDonald’s Accept EBT SNAP/Food Stamps as Payment?

Army vet charged for attacking 7 NYC Asian women had mental issues, wanted to learn Japanese, mother says

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go compare car insurance - #1:Army vet charged for attacking 7 NYC Asian women had mental issues, wanted to learn Japanese, mother says

 

 A man charged with hate crimes after allegedly assaulting seven Asian women in Manhattan on Sunday has struggled with mental health issues for years, according to his mother.

Steven Zajonc, 28, was arrested on Wednesday evening in connection with the unprovoked assaults, which all took place in a span of just two hours. Police said he punched, elbowed or shoved his victims, two of whom were hospitalized.

He was charged with seven counts of assault and attempted assault, which have all been classified as hate crimes. He was also charged with seven counts of aggravated harassment and harassment.

Zajonc, who is believed to be homeless, is originally from New York. But he lived in Florida with his mother up until 2020, when they parted ways following a “domestic incident”.

🚨WANTED-ASSAULTS (Hate Crime): 2/27/22 from 6:30PM to 8:37PM, Seven incidents in various Manhattan South Precincts. In all 7 cases the suspect punched Asian female victims. Any info call us at 800-577-TIPS or anonymously post a tip to https://t.co/TRPPY5zHV2 Reward UP to $3,500 pic.twitter.com/NJu3zTtYDe

— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) March 2, 2022



On Thursday, Zajonc’s mother spoke with local news program “8 On Your Side” and revealed that her son has battled mental health issues for several years. Court records reportedly show that she herself had petitioned a no-contact order against him in 2020 after he “threatened to kill” her.

While he lived in Florida, Zajonc was committed under the state’s Mental Health Act multiple times, his mother said. The law, also known as the Baker Act, allows people who pose a risk of harm themselves or others to be held involuntarily at an approved treatment facility for up to 72 hours.

Zajonc is also an Army vet, having served as a private between February 2015 and March 2016, according to the Daily Mail. A spokesperson told the outlet, however, that he was never deployed, and it is unknown why he left the military.

Zajonc’s mother believes her son was having an “episode” during Sunday’s attacks. It remains unknown why he targeted Asian women, but his mother claimed that he appreciated Asian culture and had wanted to learn how to speak Japanese.

Zajonc’s youngest victim was a 19-year-old college student. He allegedly elbowed her in the face at around 7:05 p.m. near Union Square East and East 17th Street.

The victim, who was still bleeding from her mouth by Tuesday, told PIX11 that she felt “helpless” after the assault.

“I think it’s terrible, he should be arrested,” she said.

Sunday’s assault spree came less than a week after 61-year-old Guiying Ma died as a result of another anti-Asian attack last November. Ma was the fourth Asian victim in New York City to have died as a result of a violent attack in the last two months, following Yao Pan Ma, Michelle Go and Christina Yuna Lee.

Zajonc’s mother told “8 On Your Side” that her son would never hurt anyone “in his right mind.” She said she would like to send her deepest apologies to his victims.

READ MORE - Army vet charged for attacking 7 NYC Asian women had mental issues, wanted to learn Japanese, mother says

Deer plows through store window, video shows. Smart shoppers use mirror to lure it out

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compare car insurance - #1:Deer plows through store window, video shows. Smart shoppers use mirror to lure it out

 

 A deer came crashing through the front window of a boutique store in central Virginia, toppling a clothing rack and startling nearby shoppers.
And surveillance cameras caught it all.
Several people were shopping at Penelope, a clothing, jewelry and accessories store with several locations in Virginia, when the deer made an impromptu entrance just before 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, the video shows. The owners said it happened at their location in Forest, which is part of the Lynchburg metropolitan area.

“Our Forest Store will be closed for the remainder of the day (March 1, 2022) due to a special visitor this afternoon,” Penelope said in a Facebook post after the incident. “We plan on being open on Wednesday morning.”

Video shared by Storyful shows the dear plow through the glass and tumble into the front corner of the store. A rack of clothes careened to the ground before the startled animal got up and ventured further into the boutique.
The deer seemed to poke its head forward before suddenly trying to bolt in the opposite direction, the video shows. But its hooves appeared to struggle gaining traction on the slick floor, and the animal ultimately ventured deeper into the store.
A secondary camera angle showed shoppers hurrying away from it.
Family owner Libbie Small told WSET the deer stayed in the boutique for about 30 minutes, during which time she said “everyone but the deer remained amazingly calm.”
The deer was bleeding after being cut by the glass in the window, WSET reported, and it damaged several Vera Bradley bags in the store. Small told the TV station the unexpected guest appeared while Penelope was celebrating its 34th anniversary.
“34 years in business and today is definitely a first!” the store said on Facebook. “So glad that everyone was safe.”
The owners also said the deer was full grown.
“That picture does not show how big she really was. She was so strong,” one person commented in a reply to the initial Facebook post.
Small told WDBJ that a few shoppers ended up using a mirror to lure the deer back outside.
“It kept ramming against a mirror in the back, and so they were able to distract the deer, pull the mirror off the wall, and they used the mirror, they turned the lights out and they used it and he was able to get out of the store,” Small said, according to the TV station.
The store said on Facebook that there was some broken glass and damaged merchandise, but nobody was hurt.

READ MORE - Deer plows through store window, video shows. Smart shoppers use mirror to lure it out

Sunday, November 28, 2021

Peter Jackson says his Beatles doc ‘Get Back’ dispels myth band was feuding while recording famous last album

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#1:Peter Jackson says his Beatles doc ‘Get Back’ dispels myth band was feuding while recording famous last album

 

 There were countless film and television projects delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. Only one, to our knowledge, was also tripled in parts and nearly quadrupled in length.
When Peter Jackson’s eagerly anticipated The Beatles: Get Back was announced in January, 2019, it was planned as a theatrical documentary release, with an expected runtime that typically hovers around two or two-and-a-half hours.
But as the Lord of the Rings director immersed himself in the 55 hours worth of previously vaulted footage that documented the recording of The Beatles’ final album, Let It Be, in 1969, he struggled to come anywhere close to that.
“We were at about eight hours at some point,” he told us in a recent virtual interview (watch above). When its release was pushed a year due to COVID-19, Jackson and his distributor Disney reassessed. “And at some we realized the two-and-a-half hour movie was sort of a dumb idea.”
When Get Back lands on Disney+ starting Nov. 25, it will release in three parts over three consecutive days with a total runtime of 468 minutes, or 7 hours and 48 minutes.
Beatles fans probably won’t mind. The footage, originally captured for Michael Lindsay-Hogg’s 1970 documentary on the album and restored by Jackson, is a gloriously intimate fly-on-the-wall viewing experience and insightful look at the musical genius of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr just months before they broke up.
About that… While Lennon famously said you can hear The Beatles breaking up on 1968’s self titled album, aka The White Album, many have long believed the recording of Let It Be (which included staples like “Get Back,” “Let It Be” and “Across the Universe”) was fraught with tension considering the band broke up a month before its May, 1970 release.
Jackson thinks the film dispels that myth: “What you’ve got with The Beatles is four guys that love each other. We've got 150 hours of material, and I'll tell you that I've listened to all of it multiple times — and the tape machines are rolling all the way through it. Not one Beatle has an angry word with another one. There's not one bit of anger. There's disagreements and sort of a little bit of impatientness and all that sort of stuff. But no one shouts. They really have respect and love for each other.”

The New Zealander filmmaker, 60, had direct access to surviving members McCartney and Starr, as well as Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon) and Olivia and Dhani Harrison (widow and son of George Harrison). He admits he was particularly nervous to send McCartney and Starr an early cut, and expected the type of lengthy notes he’d get from the studio while making a Lord of the Rings or Hobbit movie.
“When I do a movie for Warner Bros. or something, I get seven pages of typewritten notes, even from them,” Jackson said. “So I was naturally expecting notes. I was also expecting notes that were more personal: You know, ‘I don't really want that to be seen.’
“But they came back to me and said, in their individual ways, they said it was basically incredibly stressful to watch. But they said they consider that a definitive record at the time. Paul said it absolutely captured who they were at that moment in time in a very honest way. And the notes came back, ‘Don’t change a thing.’ It’s the first time in my life I got no notes.”

READ MORE - Peter Jackson says his Beatles doc ‘Get Back’ dispels myth band was feuding while recording famous last album

Steven Spielberg explains why he directed 'West Side Story' (exclusive)

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#1:Steven Spielberg explains why he directed 'West Side Story' (exclusive)

 

 
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The roots of one of Steven Spielberg’s most famous and beloved movies, 1982’s E.T. the Extra Terrestrial, date back to the future filmmaker’s childhood as he coped with his parents’ divorce by picturing an imaginary alien friend.
So, too, do the roots of Spielberg’s latest film — and the Oscar winner’s very first musical — December’s West Side Story, the first major screen adaptation of the Broadway song-and-dance classic since the 1961 favorite starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno.
“I have been challenged by what would be the right musical to take on. And I could never forget my childhood,” Spielberg says in a new featurette for the film, which you can watch exclusively above. “I was 10 years old when I first listened to the West Side Story album, and it never went away.
“I’ve been able to fulfill that dream and keep that promise that I made to myself: You must make West Side Story.”

2021’s West Side Story — Spielberg’s 33rd feature film — once again follows the tumultuous love story of teenagers Tony (Ansel Elgort) and María (Rachel Zegler) as the Jets and Sharks gangs they’re associated with do battle in 1950s New York City.
But Spielberg thinks Story is even more topical today.
“Divisions between un-likeminded people is as old as time itself,” Spielberg says. “And the divisions between the Sharks and the Jets in 1957, which inspired the musical, were profound. But not as divided as we find ourselves today.
“It turned out in the middle of the development of the script, things widened, which I think in a sense, sadly, made the story of those racial divides — not just territorial divides — more relevant to today’s audience than perhaps it even was in 1957.”
West Side Story was written by Tony Kushner and also features Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Brian d’Arcy James, Corey Stoll and Moreno. It opens in theaters Dec. 10.

READ MORE - Steven Spielberg explains why he directed 'West Side Story' (exclusive)

Saturday, November 27, 2021

Original 'West Side Story' stars George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn remember 1961 classic and discuss its lack of diversity

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#1:Original 'West Side Story' stars George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn remember 1961 classic and discuss its lack of diversity

 

 There may be a rumble among movie musical fans when Steven Spielberg's West Side Story remake premieres in theaters on Dec. 10 — 60 years after the beloved 1961 version, co-directed by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. But George "Bernardo" Chakiris and Russ "Riff" Tamblyn already know which side they'll be on... and this time, it's the same one.
"I think ours is the best West Side Story," Tamblyn says about the earlier film, in which he plays the leader of the Jets opposite Chakiris's leader of the Sharks. "I mean, it won a few Academy Awards!"
To be fair, neither Tamblyn nor Chakiris — who reunited for a special Yahoo Entertainment chat — have seen Spielberg's West Side Story yet, and both actors are looking forward to being in attendance for the movie's New York City premiere in early December. They also have good reason for being proud of their version, which returns to theaters on Nov. 28 and Dec. 1 as part of TCM's Big Screen Classics series, organized by TCM and Fathom Events.

After all, as Tamblyn correctly notes, the 1961 film dominated the competition at that year's Oscars, dancing away with 11 statues, including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress trophies for Chakiris and Rita Moreno, who played Bernardo's girlfriend, Anita (and who appears in the new film, too, as store owner Valentina). To this day, it's considered one of the greatest movie musicals of all time, and the gold standard when it comes to translating a Broadway favorite to the big screen.
Tamblyn says that he was able to spend some time on the set of the new film, and even had a heart-to-heart with Mike Faist, who plays the new Riff. "I asked him, 'Are you doing some acrobatics too?'" remembers Tamblyn, who cheerfully admits to being more of an acrobat than a dancer. "He said, 'No,' and I thought to myself, 'Well, I'm ahead of you on that!'"  

One area where the new West Side Story pulls ahead of its predecessor is in the diversity of its ensemble. Spielberg made a point of casting Latinx performers as the movie's Puerto Rican characters, with Colombian-American singer Rachel Zegler making her big-screen debut as Maria, whose star-crossed love affair with Tony (Ansel Elgort) bring the already-rival gangs into further conflict. Natalie Wood famously played Maria in the 1961 version, and other key roles were similarly occupied by non-Latinx actors.
That includes Chakiris, who was cast as Bernardo despite being of Greek descent. The actor had played Riff in the West End production of West Side Story for almost two years before he auditioned for the film version. "In London, I played opposite Ken LeRoy, who was the original Bernardo [on Broadway], and he was incredible," Chakiris remembers of how he approached the role. (LeRoy was also a non-Latinx actor.) "I watched him for a year-and-a-half eight times a week, and he showed me everything. Seeing him do it was like osmosis — you couldn't help but take things in."

READ MORE - Original 'West Side Story' stars George Chakiris and Russ Tamblyn remember 1961 classic and discuss its lack of diversity

WATCH: The Selling Sunset Cast Is Stepping Out for Season 4 — and Introducing Some New Friends

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#1:WATCH: The Selling Sunset Cast Is Stepping Out for Season 4 — and Introducing Some New Friends

 

 
In a new teaser released by Netflix on Monday, above, the cast of the hit real estate reality show — including Chrishell Stause, Christine Quinn, Mary Fitzgerald, Romain Bonnet, Heather Rae Young, Amanza Smith, Maya Vander, Davina Potratz, Jason and Brett Oppenheim, and newcomers Vanessa Villela and Emma Hernan — step out in all-white outfits before striking a pose on a dramatic Los Angeles rooftop.
Jason, who is now the sole leader of the Oppenheim Group after his twin brother, Brett, left to start his own brokerage, emerges from the crowd and tosses up a key that's caught a few thousand miles away by the leader of another group of power agents: Sharelle Rosado, head of Tampa's Allure Realty and one of the stars of the new spinoff series Selling Tampa.
RELATED: Selling Sunset Spin-Off, Selling The OC, Coming to Netflix Next Year Starring Jason Oppenheim

As PEOPLE has previously reported, the long-awaited fourth season of Selling Sunset will be available to stream on Netflix on Wednesday, November 24. (The network confirmed in March that the cult-favorite show had been renewed for two more seasons.)
The same month, PEOPLE reported that Adam DiVello, who created Selling Sunset would be showrunning another reality series on Netflix, Selling Tampa, which features an all-Black, all-female cast of real estate agents.

"Along the Florida coast, Allure Realty stands out among the crowd. Owned by military vet Sharelle Rosado, this all Black, all female real estate firm has its eyes set on dominating the Suncoast," a press release from Netflix stated. "These ladies are equally as fun as they are fiercely ambitious, with all of them vying to be on top of the lavish world of luxury waterfront real estate."
RELATED: Selling Sunset Creator Making New Netflix Show Featuring an All Black, All Female Real Estate Company
Rosado, 33, is currently expecting a baby daughter with her fiancé, former NFL player and Dancing with the Stars alum Chad Johnson, PEOPLE exclusively revealed in August. She learned about her pregnancy news in the middle of shooting the show, making sure cameras were along to document the emotional moment.
RELATED VIDEO: Chrishell Stause Only Revealed Relationship with Jason Oppenheim Because 'We Were About to Get Outed'
PEOPLE also reported earlier this month that another Selling Sunset spin-off would be coming to Netflix in the new year: Selling the OC, which will follow Jason as he opens a new office in Newport Beach, Calif.
The show, which will also be executive produced by DiVello will feature an all-new cast, including Newport Beach real estate agents Alexandra Hall, Austin Victoria and Brandi Marshall.
Season 4 of Selling Sunset will be available to stream November 24, and Selling Tampa premieres December 15 on Netflix.

READ MORE - WATCH: The Selling Sunset Cast Is Stepping Out for Season 4 — and Introducing Some New Friends