Teen’s Dangerous July 4th Tradition Starts with Duct Taping 180 Sparklers and Ends with Amputation

It’s a time-honored American tradition to shoot off fireworks in your own backyard. Some Americans even take to making their own potentially hazardous fireworks.

But when a teenager from Texas lit a similar makeshift explosive just two days before the Fourth of July, things went terribly wrong.

As KHOU News reports, 15-year-old Rowdy Radford’s homemade “sparkler bomb,” comprised of 180 sparklers wrapped in electrical tape, exploded in his face just after lighting it in his aunt’s backyard.

Here’s a video of what Radford’s explosive might have looked liked:

Radford was taken to intensive care at a nearby hospital, where doctors had to amputate his left leg from the knee down.

He also suffered injuries to his hands, face, and chest. After shards of metal flew into his eyes, doctors say he might be blinded from the incident. But it’s unclear whether he’ll recover, since doctors have him in a medically induced coma.

Image Credit: Screenshot/KHOU News

His friend was also injured during the explosion, but he fortunately had much “less serious” injuries than Radford.

The teen is counted among the roughly 7,000 people who are injured between June 20th and July 20th each year, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

What’s more, 1,400 emergency department-treated injuries during that time are associated with sparklers alone.

Radford’s aunt, Samantha Hansen, hopes other kids and parents learn from the tragedy that occurred at her home:

“If you knew Rowdy and how wonderful a child he was, you wouldn’t want nobody to go through this. Protect your children. Anything can happen.”

His mom, Wendy Smith, says the family lights fireworks every year but she didn’t know this year’s concoction would be as big as it ended up being. Neighbors as far as four miles away could hear the blast, which blew a four-foot hole in the ground.

A GoFundMe account has since been set up to assist with the teen’s medical expenses. The fundraising page, which raised about $4,000 in one day, further explains just how bad Radford’s condition is:

“Both of his arms had injuring including pins and screws needed to hold his wrists and elbows together. Several of his fingers were blown off, both hands severally burned along with his face.”

The CPSC reports a breakdown of the body parts most often injured by fireworks:

• Hands and fingers (36 percent of injuries)
• Head, face, and ears (19 percent of injuries)
• Eyes (19 percent of injuries)
• Legs (10 percent of injuries)
• Arms (5 percent of injuries)

The National Council on Fireworks Safety offers the following tips on how to safely set off fireworks at home:

• Use fireworks outdoors only.
• Use fireworks only as intended. Don’t try to alter them or combine them. Never relight a “dud” firework.
• After shooting off a firework, wait 20 minutes, and then soak it in a bucket of water to prevent reignition.
• Use common sense. Spectators should keep a safe distance from the shooter, and the shooter should always wear safety glasses.
• Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Have a “designated shooter.”
• Only people over the age of 12 should be allowed to handle sparklers of any type.
• Do not use homemade fireworks or illegal explosives; they can kill you.
• Report illegal explosives to your fire or police department.

The teenager’s mom explains that no matter how cool fireworks might seem, they’re “not worth” nearly losing your child over:

“It’s really hard to see your baby go through all this. I just want the parents to know don’t let your kids play with fireworks, it’s not worth it. It really ain’t. It hurts because I want to see my kid talk to me and he’s not because he can’t. It’s really rough.”

A family friend says Radford will be entering his freshman year of high school this fall and had previously said he wanted to be a mechanic.

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America Is Partying It Up for July 4, But Many Vets Will Be Focused on a Controversial VA Report

Most Americans will spend this 4th of July weekend with family and friends — gathered at pools, beaches, and parks — eating food off backyard grills, and watching fireworks displays.

But a number of this nation’s veterans are waiting for next Wednesday, July 6th. On that day, the Commission on Care is scheduled to release a report that details what is wrong within the VA healthcare system — and how to best go about fixing it.

Back in 2014, a Phoenix VA clinic came under scrutiny for secret waiting lists and long (sometimes months long) delays in care. When it was revealed that nearly 40 people had died while waiting for care, the VA enacted the Choice Program, which allowed veterans to receive care outside the VA.

Most believe that the end result will be the complete privatization of VA healthcare, as leaked statements from the pending 34-page report suggest that the current VA system is “seriously broken, with no efficient path to fix it.”

Reports that nearly 30% of text messages sent to veterans’ suicide hotlines go unanswered seem to support that assessment:

Nearly 30% of text messages to VA suicide hotline are going unanswered, report detailshttp://bit.ly/29hH0Im

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) June 28, 2016

While some veterans — such as Coast Guard veteran Thomas F. Day — are apprehensive about transitioning VA care to civilian hands, they say that if it would really help, they’re willing to give it a shot:

“I’m leaning towards I don’t want to see it happen, but as long as the vets are treated properly and they get the care that they’re entitled to and they need, I may be flexible in that category.”

But the VA Commission on Care, should they push for privatization, will have an uphill battle. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) has staged a number of rallies protesting against privatizing healthcare for veterans.

Concerned Veterans for America, an advocacy group funded in part by the Koch brothers, has long supported privatization.

In addition to the Commission report, the Senate is also moving forward with a bill that would force more transparency from the VA — specifically, the public would be made aware when VA officials received bonuses.

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey (D) has spoken out in support of the bill, saying, “you can’t have this juxtaposition of failure and controversy or scandal followed by bonuses. It makes no sense, and it’s got to be reined in.”

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Source: independent journal

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TSA Might Have Outdone Itself with Brutal Treatment of St. Jude Patient–And Now She’s Fighting Back

In June 2015, then-18-year-old Hannah Cohen was on her way home from St. Jude’s Hospital following treatment for a brain tumor when she was allegedly assaulted by TSA officials at Memphis International Airport.

After setting off a metal detector at the security checkpoint, TSA agents took Hannah aside for additional screening. According to WREG, Hannah’s mother Shirley told the officials that her daughter is “partially deaf, blind in one eye, paralyzed, and easily confused, but said she was kept at a distance by police.”

Hannah, apparently disoriented by what was happening, struggled with the agents. She was then slammed to the ground, causing her to bleed profusely from her head. Hannah was thrown in jail, but the charges against her were later rescinded.

The Guardian reports that 24 hours later, when Hannah was released from jail, she cried to her mother, saying:

“I’m sorry, Mama.”

A disabled woman w/ cancer is suing a Memphis airport & TSA over a bloody scuffle last year http://bit.ly/29hGKcA http://pic.twitter.com/6hG9xy5CiG

— KTLA (@KTLA) July 1, 2016

Now, the Cohens are fighting back, filing a lawsuit against the airport, the TSA, and the airport police.

The suit states, in part:

“…the Plaintiff, Hannah Cohen, has damage from radiation and removal of a brain tumor that substantially limits her ability to speak, walk, stand, see, hear, care for herself, learn and work, think, concentrate, and interact with others…

This substantial limitation is obvious upon sight…

The Plaintiff, Shirley Cohen, repeatedly tried to tell the personnel manning the security checkpoint of her daughter’s brain tumor and disabilities. However, the personnel at the security checkpoint refused to listen to the Plaintiff, Shirley Cohen…They proceeded to assault the Plaintiff, Hannah Cohen, at the checkpoint, causing her physical and emotional injury…

The Plaintiffs pray for damages in a reasonable sum not exceeding $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars) and costs…”

This is teen-age cancer patient Hannah Cohen after beating by TSA agents. She’s partly deaf & blind in one eye http://pic.twitter.com/cogDAiyZN2

— Ivan G.Goldman (@ivan_goldman) July 2, 2016

For its part, the TSA isn’t taking this quietly.

First, a statement was issued by TSA spokesperson Sari Koshetz:

“…passengers can call ahead of time to learn more about the screening process for their particular needs or medical situation.”

Then on Friday, the TSA’s official Twitter account posted the following:

Reports on the unfortunate situation in Memphis are inaccurate. Police responded when the passenger refused screening or to leave.

— TSA (@TSA) July 1, 2016

As previously stated, these reports on the unfortunate situation at MEM are inaccurate. We can’t comment further due to pending litigation.

— TSA (@TSA) July 2, 2016

Shirley Cohen told The Guardian:

“These people think they are God. They think they can do anything they want. Well, in this country we have the Americans with Disabilities Act. And if they will do this to a disabled girl, does that mean they’ll do it to an 80-year-old grandmother? It’s time for justice.”

Twitter user Benjamin Granucci may have put it best when he replied to the initial TSA tweet:

Regardless of the exact circumstances, a disabled passenger should never leave a checkpoint bloodied, @tsa. http://bit.ly/29hH6Qi

— Benjamin Granucci (@BLGranucci) July 1, 2016

No further statements have been made by the TSA regarding the incident.

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Source: independent journal

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Husband of Texas Mom Who Killed 2 Daughters Reveals the Mental Illness That May Have Led to ‘Break’

Six days after their lives were taken at the hands of their own mother, a private funeral was held for 17-year-old Madison Sheats and 22-year-old Taylor Sheats near their home in Katy, Texas.

The two of them will later be laid to rest at an undisclosed location in Alabama.

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Meanwhile, more information continues to be released regarding their 42-year-old mother, Christy Sheats, who shot her daughters to death on June 24th after her husband, Jason Sheats, reportedly asked for a divorce.

According to police reports, Jason revealed that Sheats had been dealing with depression since 2012 when her beloved grandfather and her mother passed away in the same year.

Sheats had allegedly been in and out of mental health facilities over the last four years.

Jason also revealed to investigators that she was on multiple medications and was seeing a therapist at the time of the attack. Sheats was also gunned down that same day by a police officer after failing to obey his command to drop her gun.

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Sheats never once threatened or shown any sort of violence toward Jason or her girls before the day of the fatal attack.

Fort Bend County Detective Scott Heinemeyer tells KHOU 11 that Jason was “very surprised”:

“He says that had never occurred before, that she had never pointed the gun or threatened specific violence toward any member of the family. He was very surprised.”

According to earlier reports, Sheats called a family meeting after Jason told her he wanted a divorce. Jason initially thought the meeting was to discuss their separation with their girls.

Jason Sheats, Shattered Father Whose Wife Shot Daughters Dead in Texas, Turns to Jesus http://bit.ly/29nq2fa #News http://pic.twitter.com/sMqHUw9gtW

— GodSend™ (@GodSendTM) July 1, 2016

Once all four of them were in the living room, Sheats pulled out a handgun and killed her daughters as a way to make Jason suffer. However, as KHOU 11 reports, it has not yet been revealed how much of a role Sheats’s mental illness played in that decision.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Jason and their loved ones during this difficult time.

The post Husband of Texas Mom Who Killed 2 Daughters Reveals the Mental Illness That May Have Led to ‘Break’ appeared first on Independent Journal Review.

Source: independent journal

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Free Speech Advocates Won’t Like Skidmore College’s Reaction When Trump’s Slogan Popped Up on Campus

At many colleges and universities in the U.S. and abroad, “safe spaces” — or areas free from any type of aggression, micro- or otherwise — have become a very serious topic.

Back in March, when Emory students found that someone had written “Trump” in chalk on their sidewalks, they formed a protest in response, arguing that they “don’t deserve to feel afraid” at their school.

If Trump’s name in chalk alone was enough to spark protests, then how New York’s Skidmore College reacted to the appearance of his campaign slogan seems like the next natural step.

My alma mater in the news- Emory kids protest when someone writes TRUMP with sidewalk chalk http://bit.ly/29nq0ny http://pic.twitter.com/MjeDOZLpu1

— Kmarko (@Kmarkobarstool) March 22, 2016

At Skidmore, a number of incidents of “Make America Great Again” written on whiteboards around campus have been reported.

That these whiteboards belong to “female faculty of color” — as Campus Reform reports — prompted them to be reported to the college’s Bias Response Group (BRG), which handles any reports of bias on campus in order to foster “a climate of inclusion, civility, and mutual respect.”

In their official report on the whiteboard incidents, the BRG writes that the offending students were “using the idea of political speech to target specific members of the Skidmore community with biased messaging,” adding:

“As such, the BRG does not interpret these messages as political speech but as racialized, targeted attacks…

BRG has asked Campus Safety to document all similar messaging while patrolling Campus.”

The BRG also noted that — as “Make America Great Again” is a “slogan is associated with the political campaign of a candidate widely known to voice anti‐immigrant and bigoted views” — that it was particularly offensive considering the faculty member was of “immigrant parentage.”

Image Credit: Screenshot/Skidmore.edu

While BRG states that political speech is “free and protected,” the idea that the appearance of Trump’s name — or, in this instance, his campaign slogan — is somehow considered unacceptable on campus points to the bigger issue that many have with college safe spaces.

Namely, as CNN’s Don Lemon argued in the wake of the resignation of University of Missouri’s president, is that such reactions are tantamount to a:

“…vigorous effort to squash freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

And as a journalist that really bothers me because this is a very, very dangerous road that no one should want to go down.”

While there was seemingly no real punishment meted out over these particular incidents of “bias” at Skidmore — as whoever wrote the messages remains anonymous — the BRG has made it clear that it does consider such use of Trump’s slogan to be “politicized, racialized, targeted attacks” that are “intended to intimidate.”

Each of the three times the appearance of “Make America Great Again” was reported to the BRG, it was filed under the category of a “written slur or graffiti.”

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Source: independent journal

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New Drug Bust of High-Influence Americans Shows Just How Far-Reaching Addiction Really Is

When you hear about someone being addicted to drugs, you probably picture an individual who is strung out, has a rocky life and is willing to do whatever it takes to get their fix.

What you probably don’t imagine is white collar figures getting caught red-handed wanting the same thing. But that’s what just happened in a drug bust led by undercover NYPD police officers.

While there were eighteen different arrests, the following four are the most high-profile:

• Fox Business Producer Katie Welnhofer

• Chipotle’s Chief Marketing and Development Officer Mark Crumpacker

• Huffington Post Writer Alex Mallory

• Merrill Lynch Associate Christopher Dodson

The high-influence figures who were arrested were all repeat buyers of cocaine. Dodson of Merrill Lynch bought the most, spending over $7,600.00.

#FoxBusiness producer and Chipotle executive arrested in cocaine bust in #NewYork http://bit.ly/29nqj1A http://pic.twitter.com/uBt87xRJQ3

— Zesty New York News (@zesty_NY) July 1, 2016

The Daily Mail reported on how the defendants received the drugs across Manhattan:

As detailed in the indictment, members of the ring allegedly used car services to deliver the drugs to buyers, including to delis, restaurants, bars, apartments, hotels, and the buyers’ workplaces.

The defendants delivered to locations across Manhattan, including the Lower East Side, the Upper East Side, Chelsea, the Financial District, and Midtown, as well as areas of Brooklyn and Queens. Many of the sales took place in delis or Duane Reade and CVS pharmacies.

The scope of addiction to cocaine in the United States is quite staggering. According to the latest statistics from Drugabuse.gov:

In 2014, there were an estimated 1.5 million current (past-month) cocaine users aged 12 or older (0.6 percent of the population).

Adults aged 18 to 25 years have a higher rate of current cocaine use than any other age group, with 1.4 percent of young adults reporting past-month cocaine use.

When it comes to drug use and addiction in general, it doesn’t discriminate over background or income. While addiction has multiple influences such as genetics, background and environment, it shows up in both white collar and blue collar environments.

And it’s a widespread problem. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found:

In 2011, an estimated 22.5 million Americans aged 12 or older were current (past month) illicit drug users, meaning they had used an illicit drug during the month prior to the survey interview (Figure 2.1). This estimate represents 8.7 percent of the population aged 12 or older.

All the defendants in this case were charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance. At this time, it’s unclear what kind of sentences they’re facing.

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Source: independent journal

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Watch Hillary Fumble The Bong

Hillary Clinton Can't Handle The Bong

"Too much to say.."

Posted by Paradise Candy on Saturday, February 20, 2016

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