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Iraq says this video shows aftermath of the US strikes

Iraq says this video shows aftermath of the US strikes 960 540 NewsExpress

CNN has obtained new video that, according to the Iraqi military, shows the aftermath of US strikes on an apparent weapons depot in Qaim, Iraq. US strikes were launched on 85 targets in response to a drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers.

Lawsuit says Tennessee hospital shouldn’t have discharged woman who died, police should have helped

Lawsuit says Tennessee hospital shouldn’t have discharged woman who died, police should have helped 142 21 NewsExpress

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A federal lawsuit says a woman who died last February shouldn’t have been discharged from a Tennessee hospital, forced to leave despite her pleas for more help and unassisted by security guards and police during a medical emergency.

The son of 60-year-old Lisa Edwards on Thursday sued the city of Knoxville, a security company, individual officers and security guards, Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center, its parent company and a physician group.

The death sparked public outrage after the Knoxville Police Department released video early last year showing officers accusing Edwards of faking mobility and breathing problems and ignoring her repeated pleas for help.

Edwards used a wheelchair because of a disability from a previous stroke, the lawsuit says.

Security officers at the hospital called police Feb. 5, 2023, saying that Edwards had been evaluated and discharged, but she was refusing to leave. Several police officers were investigated. The lawsuit filed in Knoxville names three officers who were later disciplined by the city’s police department, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

Police Chief Paul Noel has previously said he was “embarrassed and disturbed” by what he saw in the video of the interaction, and added that Edwards “deserved better from us.”

The Knox County District Attorney’s office declined to press criminal charges against the officers after an autopsy determined that Edwards died of a stroke and that “at no time did law enforcement interaction cause or contribute to Ms. Edwards’ death.”

Additionally, the hospital said it conducted a thorough internal investigation of Edwards’ care and found that her “medical treatment and hospital discharge were clinically appropriate.”

The hospital said changes were being made to security procedures. Several security officers who were working at the facility when Edwards was removed are no longer working there, and the hospital and its parent company, Covenant Health, announced plans to add empathy training for security guards.

Edwards was “rolled by hospital security guards into the freezing cold wearing only paper scrubs, placed under physical arrest, and forcibly removed by police officers from the hospital property,” according to the lawsuit, which says it was 29 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 1.7 Celsius) at the time.

A video released by police showed officers struggle for about 25 minutes to move Edwards into a police van and finally a cruiser. Edwards repeatedly asks for help. But she is rebuffed by officers and hospital security guards who become frustrated with her inability to step up into the van and tell her she is faking her incapacity.

After she is placed in a police cruiser, video shows Edwards trying to pull herself upright repeatedly, but eventually she slumps over out of sight. Several minutes later, one of the officers performs a traffic stop on another vehicle while Edwards remains in the backseat.

When he opens the rear door, Edwards is unresponsive. He calls dispatch for an ambulance, telling them, “I don’t know if she’s faking it or what, but she’s not answering me.”

Edwards was pronounced dead at the Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center the following day.

“This was an emergency medical condition that began and worsened on hospital property and that was unequivocally preventable and treatable,” the lawsuit states.

The 18-count lawsuit claims violations of the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth and 14th amendments, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act. It alleges a conspiracy to violate federal civil rights and violations of state laws, including a wrongful death claim.

A Covenant Health spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. A city of Knoxville spokesperson declined to comment as well.

Tucker Carlson apparently pictured in Russia amid rumours of interview with Putin

Tucker Carlson apparently pictured in Russia amid rumours of interview with Putin 919 579 NewsExpress

Tucker Carlson, one of America’s most influential presenters, was compared to Jane Fonda after pictures appeared to show him in Russia.

Russian media published a picture that is said to show Carlson attending a performance of Spartacus at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre, prompting speculation of an interview with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Carlson has expressed sympathetic views on Russia and Putin.

Commenting on the unverified pictures, Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to the vice president of the United States during the Reagan administration, said: “I didn’t like Jane Fonda going to Hanoi in 1972, and I don’t like Tucker Carlson going to Moscow in 2024.”

Fonda was nicknamed Hanoi Jane and accused of showing sympathy for a US enemy when the American actress was filmed posing on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun as US troops were battling communist forces in the country.

Mr Kristol suggested a temporary ban on Carlson reentering the US.

‌He said: “Perhaps we need a total and complete shutdown of Tucker Carlson re-entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

The image of Carlson, alongside another of him allegedly at Istanbul airport on a layover, reignited rumours that the political commentator and former Fox News host may be the first Western journalist to interview the Russian president since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Visit follows rumours of Carlson being involved with Russian state television

Visit follows rumours of Carlson being involved with Russian state television – Twitter

The potential visit also follows rumours of Carlson linking-up with Russian state television for a new show. Carlson is one of the most prominent figures in US media, particularly on the Right, and was close to Donald Trump.

He is known to be sympathetic to Putin, and any link with Russia will likely worry Democrats at a time when Joe Biden is pushing for more money and weapons to be sent to Ukraine.

Tucker Carlson Tonight was the most viewed cable news show in America before it was taken off-air amid a defamation lawsuit in April 2023.

The presenter has since taken his show to Twitter, where his interviews with figures such as Victor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, and controversial online influencer Andrew Tate have reached millions of views.

Rumours of a link-up with Russia first circulated in the summer, when Russian state television ran ads with a montage of Carlson repeatedly saying “Russia” and promising: “The high-profile American presenter is moving to another level. Here.”

Carlson is popular with Russian state-controlled media. Vladimir Solovyov, an anchor on the Russia 1 channel, urged Carlson to “come join us” after Carlson’s departure from Fox News.

Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary to Vladimir Putin, said in September that he believes that the “time will come” for an interview by Western media of the Russian president, adding that “whether Carlson will be among those who will be considered for an interview, well, let’s wait and see”.

‘Remarkably stupid or consciously evil’

Bill Browder, the British financier and arch-critic of Vladimir Putin, said: “As Russia conducts a genocidal war to eliminate Ukrainians and Putin is wanted for crimes against humanity by the ICC, Tucker Carlson, an American citizen and influencer, is in Moscow?!? Either he’s remarkably stupid or consciously evil. No other excuse.”

Some Republican responses have been supportive of Carlson’s visit to Moscow.

Marjorie Taylor Greene, a member of the US House of Representatives from Georgia, wrote on social media that “Democrats and their propagandists in the media are spasming at the prospect of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin”.

In January, Donald Trump Jr, the eldest son of former US president Donald Trump, said Carlson was “a contender” to be his father’s running mate in the US 2024 presidential election.

“I mean they’re very friendly, I think they agree on virtually all of these things. They certainly agree on stopping the never-ending wars. And so, I would love to see that happen. That would certainly be a contender,” Trump Jr said in an interview with Newsmax.

According to Russian Telegram channel Mash, Carlson was pictured at the Bolshoi Theatre after spending three days in Moscow.

He was earlier pictured during a layover at Istanbul Airport en route to the Russian capital.

The Telegraph has contacted Tucker Carlson for comment.

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Kremlin supporters are fuming after footage appears to show Ukrainian drones decimating an entire Russian armored column

Kremlin supporters are fuming after footage appears to show Ukrainian drones decimating an entire Russian armored column 1343 1007 NewsExpress
  • Ukrainian forces decimated a Russian column of 11 tanks and armored vehicles.

  • Ukraine heavily relied on FPV attack drones to obliterate the Russian vehicles.

  • Russia’s perceived tactical blunders are increasingly frustrating Russian military bloggers.

Ukrainian forces deployed FPV, or first-person-view, attack drones to help obliterate a column of Russian armored vehicles, Metro reported.

Video appears to show Ukrainian exploding drones finishing off 11 tanks and armored vehicles. It included three T-72 tanks, five tracked amphibious armored fighting vehicles, and an infantry fighting vehicle reduced to burning hulks scattered across the battlefield.

Ukraine also destroyed two tracked armored fighting vehicles, one with an anti-tank guided missile, Metro reported.

The battle was near the settlement of Novomykhailivka, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which Russia has been attempting to capture since October.

Cameras mounted on the attacking drones and those flying overhead captured the assault, showing the devastation to the Russian column.

The convoy was maneuvering near the front lines along the east of Ukraine and became vulnerable to fire from artillery and swift and targeted drone strikes.

Leveling Russia’s battlefield advantage

Footage shows the FPV exploding drones accelerating toward the Russian tanks and armored vehicles, with the feed abruptly cutting off just before impact.

Other footage gives a panoramic view, showing the dark shapes of tanks in motion, some bursting into flames as the exploding drones hit, followed by an aftermath of smoking, twisted wrecks abandoned in winter fields pockmarked with shell holes.

The video was dated January 30. According to reports, the battle lasted nearly 2 ½ hours.

Business Insider could not independently verify the video.

The apparent victory against the armored column matters because Ukraine increasingly sees relatively inexpensive drone technology as a way of leveling Russia’s battlefield advantage.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, wrote on Thursday for CNN News that with accelerated technical innovations, the nature of war had changed.

He highlighted the key role that unmanned weapons systems, such as drones, play in helping Ukraine against Putin’s forces despite Russia’s significant manpower and weapon superiority.

FPV drones are an effective and low-cost weapon that Russia and Ukraine have used since the start of the full-scale invasion.

“Perhaps the number one priority here is mastery of an entire arsenal of (relatively) cheap, modern and highly effective unmanned vehicles and other technological means.

Already such assets allow commanders to monitor the situation on the battlefield in real time, day and night, and in all weather conditions,” Ukraine’s top military leader wrote.

‘Complete stupidity and incompetence’

Drone-mounted cameras show a UAV hitting a Russian tank.

Drone-mounted cameras show an FPV drone hitting a Russian tank in a video showing a battle in the Novomykhailivka area of the Donetsk region.Screengrab.

While the number of casualties from the wrecked armored column remains unknown, the strikes triggered a backlash among pro-war “Z” channels associated with Putin, expressing frustration over perceived military incompetence, Metro reported.

Russian military bloggers have become increasingly frustrated with the Russian military’s tactics. Russian forces continue to self-sabotage by gathering in large groups to attack Ukrainian positions, making them an easy target for Ukrainian drones.

The Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, a US think tank, said one Russian military blogger expressed dismay at Russian forces‘ tactics, describing them as “complete stupidity and incompetence.”

Another Kremlin-affiliated milblogger argued that Russian military command needs to stop attacking in mechanized columns due to repeated high equipment losses.

The milblogger also criticized military leadership for not accounting for Ukrainian drone operations and not equipping Russian armored vehicles with electronic-warfare systems, ISW said.

Ukraine, after nearly two years of war, has called on the West to bolster its defenses. The increased use of drone attacks, which have reached targets as far afield as Moscow and St. Petersburg, has become a strategic focus for Ukraine.

“It’s a war of armor against projectiles. At the moment, projectiles are winning,” Gleb Molchanov, a Ukrainian drone operator, told The Guardian.

Read the original article on Business Insider

Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan and wife convicted of marriage law violation in a fourth case

Pakistan’s former premier Imran Khan and wife convicted of marriage law violation in a fourth case 2560 1706 NewsExpress

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistani court on Saturday convicted and sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to seven years in prison on a charge that their 2018 marriage violated the law, officials and a lawyer said.

The latest verdict follows another case in which Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, were sentenced to 14 years in prison on Wednesday for corruption. It comes ahead of Feb. 8 parliamentary elections in which Khan has already been disqualified because of graft convictions while his party is struggling to run an election campaign.

It was Khan’s fourth conviction since 2022, when he was ousted from power. His sentences total 34 years and will be served concurrently.

Analysts say Khan’s multiple and apparently hasty convictions are seen by his party and supporters as punishment for his rhetoric against Pakistan’s powerful military leadership, which has ruled the country for half of its 76-year history. During his final months in power, Khan had broadened his fight with opponents to include the military.

The lawyer for the couple, Intisar Panjutha, said the verdict was announced by Judge Qudrat Ullah a day after the trial ended. Khan and his family insist the trial is politically motivated.

The prosecution said Khan and his wife violated the law that a woman must wait three months before marrying again.

Bibi, Khan’s third wife, was a spiritual healer who was previously married to a man who claimed that they divorced in November 2017, less than three months before she married Khan. Bibi has said they divorced in August 2017.

She and Khan, who had been married twice before, denied they violated the three-month waiting period — a requirement of Islamic law and upheld by Pakistan.

The ruling was condemned by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party. Its head, Gohar Khan, told reporters that Khan will appeal. “This is a bogus case against Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi, but still they were given maximum prison sentence by the court,” he said.

The couple were also fined 500,000 rupees ($1,800) each.

Khan is currently serving multiple prison terms at Adiala prison in Rawalpindi, where his trials were held because of security concerns.

He is embroiled in more than 150 legal cases, including inciting people to violence after his arrest in May 2023. During nationwide riots in May, Khan’s supporters attacked the military headquarters in Rawalpindi, stormed an air base in Mianwali in the eastern Punjab province and torched a building housing state-run Radio Pakistan in the northwest.

The violence subsided only when Khan was released at the time by the Supreme Court.

Khan and Bibi also face another graft case, allegedly involving giving undue benefits to a property tycoon in return for establishing an Islamic university.

Forget sit-ups — build a stronger core in 10 minutes with these 6 exercises

Forget sit-ups — build a stronger core in 10 minutes with these 6 exercises 2560 1440 NewsExpress

Training your core doesn’t have to be a bore and it certainly doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time. If you need some fresh exercises to strengthen and define your core muscles then you’re in the right place. We’ve found a six move workout that will target different areas of your core and it only takes 10 minutes.

The even better news is that you can perform this workout at home if you’d prefer. Brittany Williams, the trainer behind this routine uses two dumbbells to raise the position of her hands in a couple of the exercises but this isn’t necessary. You can still get just as good a workout in, with or without dumbbell handles to hold onto. However, your joints will thank you for placing one of the best yoga mats underneath you as you work out, as this is a floor based routine.

Before you get stuck into the details of this workout we just want to remind you of how important form is when it comes to any form of exercise. Whether you are working out with equipment or not, learning the correct form of an exercise and maintaining proper this throughout a movement is essential if you want to avoid injury and get more out of your training. That’s why we’ve included William’s demonstrations below to refer to when trying her workout on your own.

What is the workout?

The workout consists of six exercises which you will perform on the floor so make sure you have a bit of space your movements. You will do each exercise for 30 seconds and repeat two times over, allowing yourself 60 seconds rest between rounds.

Downward dog to mountain climber (30 seconds each side)

In Williams’ demonstration, you see her start in a plank position. She then lifts her hips up into a downward dog and holds for a moment before shifting forward into a plank. She then brings one knee towards her chest before returning to downward dog.

Hollow hold knee bend and lift (30 seconds)

Williams starts off this move lying on her back with her legs lifted off the floor, hands holding her head up off the floor and engaging her core in a hollow hold. She then bends one knee towards her chin while keeping the other leg straight and off the floor. She alternates bending the other knee towards her chin. After bending both knees, Williams straightens both legs before lifting them both towards the ceiling. Repeat this sequence for the designated time.

Bear plank to toe touches (30 seconds)

This exercise combines one of the best plank variations (the bear plank) with toe touches to spark up a burn in your abs and core muscles. To perform this exercise Williams shows herself starting in the bear plank position which involves lifting your knees a few inches off the ground while on your hands and toes, engaging the core, and maintaining a straight line from head to knees. Then she lifts one hand and reaches across to touch the opposite toe. She then returns to the plank position and repeats on the other side.

Bent leg V up with extension (30 seconds)

Williams performs this exercise by lying on her back with her arms and legs extended and raised off the ground. She then uses her core to rise up and bring her arms and legs together in a sitting position. Remaining here, she extends her legs out and her arms up above her head before returning to the centre and then to the starting position and repeats.

Bear to plank hops (30 seconds)

Williams begins in a bear plank position with her hands and knees on the ground. She then jumps both feet backward to land in a plank position, with her body forming a straight line from head to heels. Next, she jumps both feet back to the starting bear plank position, landing softly on her toes and keeping her knees bent. Repeat for 30 seconds.

Reverse plank mountain climbers

In this demonstration, Williams starts in a reverse plank position with her hands placed directly under her shoulders and her legs extended straight out in front of her. While engaging her core she brings one knee towards her chest before returning the leg to the starting position and repeating with the opposite leg. Continue this process for 30 seconds.

What are the benefits?

a photo of a woman performing a plank

a photo of a woman performing a plank

Strengthening the core muscles is crucial for overall health and fitness. The core muscles include those in the abdomen, lower back, pelvis, and hips, and they play a fundamental role in providing stability, balance, and support for the entire body.

One significant benefit of core strengthening exercises is the improvement in posture. Research suggests that building strong core muscles can be good for the spine and even help prevent lower back pain. A strong core helps maintain proper alignment of the spine, reducing the risk of developing poor posture-related issues such as back pain and discomfort.

Bodyweight workouts, like the one above, offer a convenient and accessible way to strengthen the core muscles, particularly when performed at home. With bodyweight exercises, you can effectively target the core muscles using minimal equipment or even no equipment at all, making it easy to incorporate into a daily routine. Additionally, home workouts eliminate the need for commuting to a gym, saving time and providing flexibility in scheduling workouts.

And yes, bodyweight core exercises can build muscle, especially when performed with proper form and with the incorporation of progressive overload into your training. In addition to bodyweight core exercises, maintaining a balanced diet rich in protein supports muscle growth, while incorporating cardiovascular and resistance training helps reduce body fat and reveal muscle definition throughout the body, including the core.

More from Tom’s Guide

Russians raise wreckage of landing ship Novocherkassk from seabed in Crimea — photo

Russians raise wreckage of landing ship Novocherkassk from seabed in Crimea — photo 900 450 NewsExpress

Russian invaders are painstakingly salvaging the wreckage of the large landing ship Novocherkassk from the ocean floor, piece by piece, after it was destroyed by Ukrainian forces over a month ago.

Photos from eyewitnesses shared on the Telegram channel Crimean Wind on Feb. 3 depict the operation.

The strike on the Novocherkassk, which was docked in the Feodosia port, occurred on Dec. 26, 2023. The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed the hit, although the specific type of cruise missiles used was not disclosed.

The Russian Defense Ministry also acknowledged the attack on the Novocherkassk. Russian sources claimed that the ship “was damaged” during the repulse of the attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Read also: Ukraine’s Navy commander: Previous methods of attack on Russian Black Sea Fleet may no longer work

Photos from the scene showed that little more than burnt scrap metal remained of the ship.

The Novocherkask is a ship of the Russia Black Sea Fleet, designed for amphibious landings and the transfer of troops and cargo across. It is capable of transporting 480 tons of cargo, including various types of armored vehicles and tanks.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces had previously damaged the Novocherkassk in March 2022, when they destroyed another ship in the port of occupied Berdyansk, the BDK Saratov.

Read also: Full composition of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet spotted in occupied Sevastopol by monitoring group

We’re bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine

China says Philippine vessel “illegally” landed on disputed atoll

China says Philippine vessel “illegally” landed on disputed atoll 800 533 NewsExpress

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China said on Saturday a small civilian vessel from the Philippines had “illegally placed itself on the beach” of an atoll in the South China Sea that both countries claim.

The vessel, which landed on the Spratly Islands atoll on Friday, was there for supply purposes, the China Coast Guard posted on the Weixin platform.

The Philippines’ coast guard, national security council, and foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

The Philippines has stationed a small number of troops on World War Two ship it grounded in 1999 as an outpost to reinforce its sovereignty claim over the Second Thomas Shoal, known as Ayungin in the Philippines and the Renai Reef in China.

Manila refused Beijing’s requests last year to tow the vessel away in the row that has soured relations between the two Asian nations.

China asserts sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, including areas claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016 China’s claims had no legal basis.

(Reporting by Engen Tham; Additional Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Manila; Editing by William Mallard)

This 4-year-old’s birthday was nearly ruined. Then two police officers stepped in to help.

This 4-year-old’s birthday was nearly ruined. Then two police officers stepped in to help. 1280 720 NewsExpress

Ohio police officers Drew Olinger and Joe Sanchez are used to getting calls about cars and other items being stolen. They file a report and hope for the best.

But on Jan. 23, Olinger got a pretty unique call that compelled him to do more.

Jae Ingram was hosting a birthday party for her 4-year-old Syris around 6:00 p.m. that day at a trampoline park in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton. But Ingram accidentally left her car door unlocked and someone went into her car and stole her son’s birthday gifts.

“It was kind of one of those things where yeah, you can take a report but the kid’s birthday is obviously not going as well as she had planned,” Olinger said.

He called Sanchez and the two went to a local Walgreens to buy some replacement gifts for the kiddo. They got him all kinds of Paw Patrol toys and cars, he said.

The boy’s mom shared Ring footage of the kind act on Facebook that night. In the short but sweet clip, an excited Syris thanks the officers enthusiastically.

Ingram said in her post that she felt like the worst mom ever when her son’s gifts were stolen. She never leaves her car doors unlocked but did so by mistake that night. The officers’ kind act made her son’s day though, she told USA TODAY. She said other community members also replaced the specific toys stolen from Syris that day.

“I just can’t thank them enough,” the boy’s mother told USA TODAY.

Syris, a 4-year-old Ohio boy whose birthday presents were stolen from his mother's car on Jan. 23, 2024.

Syris, a 4-year-old Ohio boy whose birthday presents were stolen from his mother’s car on Jan. 23, 2024.

Mom called Walmart to warn them about stolen toys

Ingram said she took Syris to Walmart to get a few toys for his birthday that day. After that, they went to an indoor trampoline park for no more than 30 minutes.

The family then went to grab dinner at Taco Bell and headed home. That’s when Syris noticed one of his toys, a Chase car from “Paw Patrol,” was missing.

“One of the toys was a big Sonic remote control car,” said his mother. “A huge box, so there’s no way I’m missing this in my car. It’s gone.”

They drove back to the trampoline park to ask if they have cameras pointing at the vehicles in the parking lot but were told they only have cameras near the entrance.

She reported the gifts stolen and then headed home. That’s when the officers showed up.

She also called Walmart to let them know her toys were stolen and someone may be trying to return them for cash.

Huber Heights police officers Joe Sanchez and Drew Olinger dropping off toys to a 4-year-old boy whose birthday gifts were stolen on Jan. 23, 2024.

Huber Heights police officers Joe Sanchez and Drew Olinger dropping off toys to a 4-year-old boy whose birthday gifts were stolen on Jan. 23, 2024.

Officers grew up in community and wanted to help victimized child

Olinger and Sanchez both grew up in the Ohio community where they now serve as police officers. Doing something kind for the 4 year old whose birthday was ruined was a no-brainer.

“I felt sad but I was excited to actually be able to have an opportunity to do something for this young man,” Olinger said. “We just pretty much went over to the nearest Walgreens I could find and grabbed all the Paw Patrol things I could find.”

They then headed to his house to deliver the gifts. It all happened within 30 minutes. He said the excitement the boy showed when he saw the presents was touching.

He said so often, police officers are told not to relate work experiences to his own family. In this case, he thought of his daughter and empathy led him to do something other than file a report.

“I like to make her birthdays perfect,” Olinger said, adding that he thought about how his birthday “fell short of that and what we could do to make it better.”

Gifts Huber Heights police officers Joe Sanchez and Drew Olinger bought for a 4-year-old boy whose birthday presents were stolen on Jan. 23, 2024.

Gifts Huber Heights police officers Joe Sanchez and Drew Olinger bought for a 4-year-old boy whose birthday presents were stolen on Jan. 23, 2024.

Sanchez, who helped pick out gifts and delivered them to the boy, said he was ecstatic to be part of it.

“He just had all his birthday presents stolen and then we showed up,” he said. “His mood went from 0 to 100.”

The duo said it’s an honor to be part of their local police force, patrolling the very streets their own families travel day and night.

“These are the types of things that a lot of our officers do very commonly and they don’t always get the attention that this necessarily got,” Olinger said.

Birthday boy is his mother’s ‘Sour Patch Kid’

Ingram said the birthday boy, Syris, is part of an active and growing family.

She has him, 5-year-old Steven, a baby boy she lost in May and she is currently expecting another baby boy, due on March 18.

Syris (right) with his mother Jae and his brother Steven (left). Syris was celebrating his birthday on Jan. 23, 2024 when someone stole his birthday gifts from the family's car. Police officers in the area were kind enough to buy more and surprise him at his house.

Syris (right) with his mother Jae and his brother Steven (left). Syris was celebrating his birthday on Jan. 23, 2024 when someone stole his birthday gifts from the family’s car. Police officers in the area were kind enough to buy more and surprise him at his house.

Syris is super outgoing and polite but “definitely my Sour Patch Kid,” she told USA TODAY.

“He gives me a run for my money but he also has great manners and he can light up a room,” she said.

He was thrilled to receive the gifts from the officers. She knew she had to post the video of the officers delivering the gifts because it’s such a rare act.

“Some officers would just be like ‘We’re so sorry that happened to you … There’s nothing we can do.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ohio cops hastily replace 4-year-old’s stolen birthday presents

Students at California school struggling after $250K in federal funds spent on ‘Woke Kindergarten’ program

Students at California school struggling after $250K in federal funds spent on ‘Woke Kindergarten’ program 1280 720 NewsExpress

Students at a San Francisco Bay-area elementary school — where officials hired a for-profit company called “Woke Kindergarten” to train teachers — are continuing to struggle with some of the lowest math and reading scores in the state, according to a report.

The school spent $250,000 in federal funds provided by a program meant to help boost test scores for some of the country’s lowest-performing schools, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, but after two years with “Woke Kindergarten,” students’ scores are reportedly worse.

In a 4% drop in both areas in the last two years, less than 12% of the students at Glassbrook Elementary in Hayward, California, can read at their grade level and under 4% are proficient in math, according to the Chronicle.

Hayward Unified School District Superintendent Jason Reimann told the Chronicle that hiring “Woke Kindergarten,” which he said was supported by the parents and teachers after it was approved by the board, was more about boosting attendance than test scores. He said attendance has gone up almost 20%.

REAGAN’S EDUCATION SECRETARY URGES SCHOOLS TO BECOME A ‘TEMPLE OF LEARNING, NOT SOCIAL EXPERIMENTATION’

empty classroom

Since Hayward Elementary hired Woke Kindergarten to train teachers, test scores have fallen.

He said, “helping students feel safe and whole is part and parcel of academic achievement. I get that it’s more money than we would have liked to have spent.”

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

He added, “We are in favor 100% of abolishing systems of oppression where they hold our students back. What I do believe is we should pick providers based on their work and how effective they are.”

“Woke Kindergarten” describes itself on its website as “supporting children, families, educators and organizations in their commitment to abolitionist early education and pro-black and queer and trans liberation.”

US DATA SHOWS 50,000 STUDENTS MISSING FROM EDUCATION SYSTEM SINCE PANDEMIC

The organization also has “Woke” words of the day like “ceasefire” “abolish” and “Woke Wonderings” about challenging the “legitimacy of the Supreme Court” and abolishing the police, money and the military.

Another “wondering” asked, “If the United States defunded the Israeli military, how could this money be used to rebuild Palestine?”

“Our reading scores are low,” a Glassbrook teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, told the Chronicle. The funds “could have gotten us a reading interventionist.”

kindergarten children in a line

Students line up to enter their kindergarten classroom.

The teacher added of the “Woke Kindergarten” training, “It slowly became very apparent if you were a dissenting voice that it’s not what they wanted to hear.”

Tiger Craven-Neeley, another teacher at the school, told the Chronicle that “Woke Kindergarten” trainers told him he should focus on “disrupt[ing] Whiteness” in the classroom.

“What does that mean?” he said to the Chronicle. “I just want to know, what does that mean for a third-grade classroom?”

Craven-Neeley, who said he supports discussing racism in the classroom, said his requests for clarifications got him temporarily banned from training sessions.

He added that one of the trainers referred to the “so-called United States” in one of the sessions.

The school district didn’t immediately return Fox News Digital’s Saturday evening request for comment.

An email to “Woke Kindergarten” received an automatic reply that the founder was recovering from surgery.

Original article source: Students at California school struggling after $250K in federal funds spent on ‘Woke Kindergarten’ program