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Repeat Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Two Attacks, Including Assaulting Woman in Elevator at H-E-B in the Heights

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Repeat Sex Offender Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Two Attacks, Including Assaulting Woman in Elevator at H-E-B in the Heights

A 33-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in two separate assaults, announced Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

“This is a predator who has a pattern of attacking and hurting women when he is free to roam,” Ogg said. “He has been sentenced to spend the next two decades behind bars, where he can no longer harm or victimize women.”

Florian S. Kroll was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman on Jan. 16, 2020, in the elevator at H-E-B in the Heights. He will have to serve at least half of that sentence before he is eligible for parole. Since he pleaded guilty, he cannot appeal the conviction or the prison sentence.

F. Kroll

He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted sexual assault of a child for attacking a 16-year-old girl as she walked home from school in north Houston about 1:20 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2020. The two prison sentences will run concurrently. The Houston Police Department investigated both incidents.

Assistant District Attorney Tiera Johnson-Williams, who prosecuted the cases, said the plea agreement was the right result.

“This guilty plea puts the defendant in prison for many years and spares the victims the trauma of having to come to court to testify about their ordeals,” Johnson-Williams said.

Kroll was convicted for indecent exposure with a child in an unrelated 2015 case and sentenced to two years in prison. At the time of his arrest in 2020, he had failed to register his address as a sex offender. 

Lo que E. Jean Carroll tiene que demostrar para ganar su caso contra Donald Trump por violación y difamación

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Lo que E. Jean Carroll tiene que demostrar para ganar su caso contra Donald Trump por violación y difamación

Esto es lo que considerará el grupo del jurado de seis hombres y tres mujeres, cuyas identidades son anónimas para los abogados y el público.

Lo que Carroll tiene que probar

Carroll presentó la demanda en noviembre pasado bajo la “Ley de Sobrevivientes Adultos del Estado de Nueva York”, un proyecto de ley estatal que abrió una ventana retrospectiva para acusaciones de agresión sexual como la de Carroll con prescripción que expiró hace mucho tiempo.

Este no es un juicio penal. En una demanda civil como la de Carroll, el jurado debe determinar si el equipo legal de Carroll probó que Trump cometió agresión contra Carroll por una preponderancia de la evidencia.

Para probar su reclamo de difamación, el jurado debe encontrar que el equipo legal de Carroll probó por la preponderancia de la evidencia que Trump sabía que era falso cuando publicó la declaración sobre Carroll, el año pasado, y la expuso a sabiendas al ridículo público. También deben determinar que ella probó con evidencia clara y convincente que la declaración era falsa y que Trump hizo la declaración con verdadera malicia.

Tanto el estándar de preponderancia de evidencia como el estándar de evidencia clara y convincente no son un estándar tan alto como la prueba más allá de una duda razonable, que se usa en casos penales. La evidencia clara y convincente es mayor que la preponderancia de la evidencia, lo que significa que es más probable que improbable. La evidencia clara y convincente no deja dudas sustanciales en la mente del jurado y establece que la proposición es altamente probable.

La decisión del jurado debe ser unánime para llegar a un veredicto, pero puede llegar a un veredicto diferente en cada uno de los dos reclamos: violación y difamación.

¿Cómo se podría obligar a que Trump pague?

Para que Carroll reciba una suma de dinero de este juicio depende de si el jurado cree unánimemente sus afirmaciones contra Trump. El jurado puede otorgar a Carroll una suma por daños punitivos, destinados a castigar a Trump por la supuesta agresión sexual y difamación, y daños reales para compensarla por el daño que el jurado determine que Trump le causó.

Si el jurado opta por considerar otorgarle daños punitivos contra Trump, se le indicará que considere factores como la gravedad del acto, cualquier esfuerzo por ocultar el acto y si ha cometido actos similares para decidir si su conducta fue reprobable. (Los testimonios de Jessica Leeds y Natasha Stoynoff, quienes alegaron haber sido agredidas por Trump, este último quien niega el reclamo, pueden entrar en juego aquí).

Sin embargo, el jurado no puede agregar una cantidad específica a la indemnización por daños punitivos para castigar a Trump por el daño que supuestamente causó a otros.

Los abogados de Carroll no han sugerido una cantidad de daños para que el jurado la considere.

“Para E. Jean Carroll, esta demanda no se trata de dinero”, dijo la abogada Roberta Kaplan durante los argumentos finales el lunes. “Se trata de recuperar su buen nombre”.

“¿Cuál es el precio por décadas de vivir sola sin compañía, por no tener con quien cocinar la cena, nadie con quien pasear a tu perro, nadie con quien ver la televisión, y por sentirte durante décadas que eres sucia e indigna? ”, dijo Kaplan. “No voy a ponerle un número a eso”.

Trump no asistió al juicio

Trump no asistió al juicio. Como cualquier acusado en un caso civil, no está obligado a comparecer ante el tribunal para el juicio ni para ningún procedimiento y tiene derecho a no testificar en su propia defensa.

Los abogados de Carroll le dijeron al jurado en la clausura que deberían tomar la ausencia de Trump de la corte como una señal de culpabilidad.

“Ella apareció, hizo un juramento y les contó lo que sucedió, y mientras tanto, Donald Trump no estaba por ningún lado, no entró a la sala del tribunal, no subió al estrado de los testigos. Y debe sacar la conclusión de que es así porque él lo hizo, porque violó a la señora Carroll y no quiso testificar al respecto”, dijo este lunes el abogado de Carroll, Michael Ferrara.

El abogado de Trump alternativamente les dijo a los jurados que Trump no necesitaba comparecer ante el tribunal para hacer las mismas negaciones que hizo en una declaración que se presentó durante el juicio.

“¿Cómo se prueba un negativo?”, dijo Joe Tacopina. “Cuestionar la historia es nuestra defensa. No hay testigos a los que llamar. No hay testigo para que llamemos porque él no estaba allí, no sucedió”.

La declaración en video de Trump tomada en octubre pasado y reproducida para el jurado durante el caso de Carroll se hizo pública el viernes pasado.

Trump aparece más agitado en el video cuando niega la acusación de violación de Carroll. “Me está acusando de violación, una mujer que no tengo idea de quién es. Salió de la nada. Me está acusando de violación, de violarla a ella, lo peor que puedes hacer, el peor cargo. Y también sabes que no es verdad. Tú también eres un agente político. Eres una desgracia. Pero ella me está acusando a mí y a ti también de violación, y nunca sucedió”, dijo Trump en un video, dirigiéndose a Kaplan.

En un momento durante la declaración, Trump sostuvo una conocida foto en blanco y negro de él mismo, Carroll, su exesposo, el presentador de noticias John Johnson, y la entonces esposa de Trump, Ivana. Trump reconoció a Johnson y recordó haber pensado que era bueno en su trabajo televisivo, pero luego confundió a Carroll con su exesposa, Marla Maples.

“Esa es Marla, sí. Esa es mi esposa”, dijo.

Después de que los abogados lo corrigieran, Trump dijo que la foto estaba borrosa.

Reconoció que la foto sugiere que conoció a Carroll, pero dijo que debe haber sido muy breve en un evento y que no la recuerda ni la conoce.

“Todavía no conozco a esta mujer. Creo que es una chiflada. No tengo ni idea. No sé nada de esta mujer más que lo que leo en las historias y lo que escucho. No sé nada de ella”, dijo el expresidente.

La cinta de Access Hollywood y la historia de Trump

En el cierre de los argumentos, el jurado volvió a ver la infame cinta de “Access Hollywood” y escuchó a Trump describir cómo se mueve agresivamente con las mujeres sin su consentimiento porque te dejan “cuando eres una estrella” y la respuesta de Trump a la cinta durante su declaración.

Trump reveló su “manual” para manejar a las mujeres en la cinta cuando pensó que nadie estaba escuchando, dijo Kaplan. “Diciéndole en sus propias palabras cómo trata a las mujeres”.

Tacopina respondió criticando el lenguaje de Trump en la cinta, pero dijo que la naturaleza cruda todavía no hace que las acusaciones de Carroll sean ciertas. El abogado también calificó la cinta que ha sido pública desde antes de las elecciones presidenciales de 2016 como una distracción.

“Están tratando de tomar partes de Donald Trump que no te gustan o incluso odias y estirar eso sobre una historia que no tiene ningún sentido”, dijo Tacopina. “Se podría pensar que Donald Trump es una persona grosera y que su historia no tiene sentido. Ambos podrían ser ciertos”.

Los testimonios de las acusadoras de Trump

Carroll testificó durante más de dos días completos de juicio durante su caso, contando su historia, cómo ha sido su vida desde que hizo públicas sus acusaciones y pasó varias horas de contrainterrogatorio.

Dos amigas a las que, según Carroll, les contó poco después de la supuesta violación testificaron sobre su recuerdo de lo que les contó Carroll en 1996. La periodista Lisa Birnbach testificó para corroborar la historia de Carroll de que le llamó minutos después de salir de la tienda por departamentos después de que supuestamente la violaron.

La expresentadora de TV de Nueva York, Carol Martin, también testificó que Carroll, que tenía un programa en la misma cadena de noticias por cable en ese momento, también le confió unos días después del presunto incidente. Birnbach y Martin, que inicialmente no fueron nombradas en el libro de Carroll, se manifestaron públicamente en apoyo de su amiga poco después de que Carroll publicara su relato en la revista New York.

El equipo legal de Trump acusó a las dos de conspirar junto con Carroll para fabricar esta historia para derrocar a Trump. Las tres se han pronunciado públicamente y en mensajes privados mostrados al jurado sobre su odio hacia el expresidente.

Leeds y Stoynoff, quienes alegan que Trump las forzó físicamente, también testificaron sobre sus supuestos altercados.

Al cierre, el abogado de Carroll argumentó que las acusaciones de Carroll, Leeds y Stoynoff revelan un patrón de comportamiento agresivo de Trump.

En el testimonio de cada mujer, describieron cómo Trump las enfrentó primero en un lugar semipúblico, luego supuestamente las agarró repentinamente, luego negó las acusaciones y dijo que “ella es demasiado fea para que alguien la ataque”, dijo Kaplan.

“Tres mujeres diferentes, con décadas de diferencia, pero un mismo patrón de comportamiento. Lo que le sucedió a la señora Carroll no es único en ese sentido. Los ataques físicos y verbales de Trump son su procedimiento operativo estándar”, dijo Kaplan.

Trump negó las acusaciones de Leeds y Stoynoff en su contra. Tacopina les dijo a los jurados el lunes que su testimonio fue una distracción en el juicio porque sus afirmaciones no están ante este jurado y no afectan las alegaciones de Carroll.

Tacopina en sus alegatos finales de este lunes también acusó a Carroll de inventar sus acusaciones de violación para vender su libro.

“Ella ha abusado de este sistema al presentar un reclamo falso por, entre otras cosas, dinero, estatus, razones políticas”, dijo Tacopina. “Y al hacerlo, ha minimizado a las víctimas reales de violación, ya saben, víctimas de violación aquí y en todo el mundo, para usar las palabras de alguien. Ella está explotando su dolor y sufrimiento y está sacando provecho de sus historias, y no podemos dejar que se beneficie con millones de dólares por abusar de este proceso y sus esfuerzos por engañarlos”.

Otros testigos en el caso de Carroll vs. Trump

La Dra. Leslie Lebowitz, psicóloga clínica contratada por el equipo legal de Carroll, testificó la semana pasada que evaluó a Carroll y descubrió que no tiene signos de trastornos del pensamiento o del carácter, ni enfermedad mental, ni PTSD, pero que ha sufrido daños por la supuesta violación de Trump.

“Ella ha sufrido de dolorosos recuerdos intrusivos durante muchos años”, dijo Lebowitz. “Soportó una disminución en la forma en que pensaba y sentía sobre sí misma y quizás lo más destacado es que manifiesta síntomas de evitación muy notables que han reducido su vida romántica e íntima y le han causado una pérdida profunda”.

Ashlee Humphreys, profesora de Marketing de la Universidad Northwestern, otra testigo experta convocada por los abogados de Carroll, testificó que la declaración de Trump en cuestión en este juicio alcanzó entre 13,7 y 18 millones de impresiones.

Humphreys y un equipo de investigadores evaluaron la publicación difundida por primera vez en Truth Social y cómo se difundió a través de medios como otras plataformas de redes sociales, sitios web y televisión por cable y en red.

En una serie de cálculos, Humphreys dijo que alrededor del 21 % de las personas que vieron la declaración de alguna manera (alrededor de 3,7 a 5,6 millones de personas) probablemente creían en Trump.

El análisis no consideró los efectos de las declaraciones anteriores que Trump hizo sobre Carroll y, en el contrainterrogatorio, Humphreys reconoció que no consideró el daño causado a Trump por las declaraciones de Carroll en su contra.

Aun así, la experta en Marketing testificó que se necesitarían hasta US$ 2,7 millones para ejecutar una campaña de marketing efectiva para reparar la reputación de Carroll solo por el daño de los comentarios de Trump del 12 de octubre de 2022 negando sus acusaciones.

Goldman Sachs paga 215 millones de dólares por una demanda por discriminación de género

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Goldman Sachs paga 215 millones de dólares por una demanda por discriminación de género
 

El banco Goldman Sachs ha llegado a un acuerdo extrajudicial para resolver una demanda colectiva que le acusaba de discriminar sistemáticamente a las mujeres, según han anunciado la entidad y los demandantes en un comunicado. Goldman pagará 215 millones de dólares (cerca de 200 millones de euros al tipo de cambio actual) en un pacto que afecta a aproximadamente 2.800 mujeres asociadas y vicepresidentas empleadas en las divisiones de banca de inversión, gestión de inversiones o valores, como se describe a continuación.

Con el acuerdo extrajudicial, Goldman Sachs evita un juicio cuyo comienzo estaba previsto para el mes próximo y que habría expuesto en público sus prácticas laborales discriminatorias hacia las mujeres en un sector con clara preponderancia masculina en los puestos de responsabilidad.

La demanda fue presentada el 10 de septiembre de 2010 por Cristina Chen-Oster, Shanna Orlich, Allison Gamba y Mary De Luis, mujeres que trabajaron en Goldman Sachs como asociadas o vicepresidentas en Estados Unidos en las divisiones de banca de inversión, gestión de inversiones o valores. Alegaban discriminación sistemática en materia salarial, de evaluación del rendimiento y ascensos.

“Como una de las demandantes originales, me he sentido orgullosa de apoyar este caso sin dudarlo durante los últimos casi 13 años y creo que este acuerdo ayudará a las mujeres que tenía en mente cuando presenté el caso”, ha señalado Shanna Orlich a través del comunicado. “Mi objetivo en este caso siempre ha sido apoyar a las mujeres fuertes de Wall Street”, ha dicho la también demandante Allison Gamba. “Estoy orgullosa de que el resultado que hemos conseguido aquí haga avanzar la equidad de género”, ha añadido.

El acuerdo es mayor que los aproximadamente 150 millones de dólares que Smith Barney pagó en 1997 para poner fin a lo que se conoció como la demanda Boom-Boom Room, que había acusado a la empresa de acoso y discriminación. Morgan Stanley llegó a un acuerdo en 2004 por el que pagó 54 millones de dólares para evitar un juicio en el que más de 300 empleadas acusaban al banco de haber recibido un trato discriminatorio en salario y promociones frente a sus compañeros varones. Merrill Lynch alcanzó otro acuerdo que los abogados de Stowell & Friedman cifran en 250 millones de dólares. Otros bancos tienen demandas similares pendientes de juicio o de acuerdos extrajudiciales.

Además de la indemnización, el acuerdo establece que, durante tres años, un experto independiente analice los procesos de evaluación de rendimiento y promoción “para garantizar que generan resultados precisos, fiables y no sesgados”, según el comunicado. Además, un experto independiente deberá realizar estudios adicionales de igualdad salarial y Goldman Sachs tendrá que investigar y abordar cualquier brecha salarial de género, El banco también se compromete por esos tres años a mejorar determinadas comunicaciones a los vicepresidentes en relación con el desarrollo profesional y los criterios de promoción.

Los beneficios del acuerdo por la demanda colectiva están al alcance de todas las mujeres que ocuparon un puesto de asociada o vicepresidenta desde el 7 de julio de 2002 hasta el 28 de marzo de 2023 en Nueva York o desde el 10 de septiembre de 2004 hasta el 28 de marzo de 2023 en cualquier otro lugar de Estados Unidos y estuvieran sujetas a determinados procesos de evaluación de rendimiento. Cerca de un tercio de la indemnización, sin embargo, corresponderá a los abogados, según Bloomberg.

El tribunal fijará una fecha de audiencia para la aprobación preliminar del acuerdo, que si se aprueba dará lugar a que un administrador envíe una notificación a los miembros del grupo. Si el tribunal concede posteriormente la aprobación definitiva del acuerdo, el administrador asignará los importes del acuerdo a cada uno de los miembros del grupo que reúnan los requisitos, basándose en una fórmula objetiva.

Jacqueline Arthur, Directora Global de Gestión de Capital Humano de Goldman Sachs, por su parte, ha señalado en el comunicado: “Goldman Sachs se enorgullece de su largo historial de promoción y avance de las mujeres y mantiene su compromiso de garantizar un lugar de trabajo diverso e inclusivo para toda nuestra gente. Después de más de una década de vigoroso litigio, ambas partes han acordado resolver este asunto. Seguiremos centrándonos en nuestra gente, nuestros clientes y nuestro negocio”.

Putin tried to project strength, but Moscow Victory Day parade revealed only his isolation

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Putin tried to project strength, but Moscow Victory Day parade revealed only his isolation

 For Russian President Vladimir Putin, this year’s Victory Day parade in Red Square was a chance to continue his war on history. He succeeded only in underscoring his geopolitical isolation.

In a speech before the assembled troops, Putin drew a direct line between his invasion of Ukraine and the sacrifices of World War II. Flanked by surviving veterans of what Russia still calls the Great Patriotic War, the Russian president cast himself as savior and defender of an embattled Russia targeted by the “globalist elites” of the West.

“Today, civilization again is at a breaking point,” Putin said. “Again, a true war has been unleashed against our motherland.”

While Russia sees “no unfriendly nations in the West or in the East,” Putin suggested darker forces are conspiring against Moscow.

“Western globalist elites still talk about their exceptionalism, pitting people against each other and splitting society, provoking bloody conflicts and coups, sowing hatred, Russophobia, [and] aggressive nationalism,” he said. “The Ukrainian nation has become hostage to a coup which led to a criminal regime led by its Western masters. It has become a pawn to their cruel and selfish plans.”

It’s worth unpacking this for a moment. It’s Putin’s longstanding view that Ukraine is not a legitimate nation — Ukrainians and Russians, in his view, are “one people” and the Ukrainian state is an artificial construct. In his conspiratorial view of the world, states like Ukraine are merely vassals, and Washington calls the shots. And if a shadowy global cabal is pulling the strings in Kyiv, that belief justifies what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Let’s remember that it was a genuine popular revolt — not, say, the CIA or George Soros — that brought people onto Kyiv’s Maidan Square to support Ukraine’s aspirations for joining the European Union, leading to the ouster of Ukraine’s pro-Russian president in 2014. And that Russian-speaking Ukrainians — and even some Russian nationals — are also fighting and dying on the side of Ukraine.

But Putin is immune from fact-checking exercises here. Collective remembrance of World War II is the closest thing Russia has to a state religion, and May 9 — when Russians commemorate the victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 — marks the holiest of days. For a domestic audience, the Victory Day parade provides a visual parallel between the veterans of the war that ended 78 years ago and the participants of Russia’s war on Ukraine today.

According to state media, over 500 participants of Russia’s so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine took part in the parade on Red Square Tuesday. And in his speech, Putin cast them as the heirs of victory in the Great Patriotic War. Not surprisingly, Ukrainians are pushing back against such historical gaslighting.

In video remarks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had submitted a bill to the Verkhovna Rada — Ukraine’s parliament to change official victory day celebrations from May 9 to May 8, and compared Russia’s aggression to that of Hitler’s Germany.

“It is on May 8 that most nations of the world remember the greatness of the victory over the Nazis,” Zelensky said. “We will not allow the joint victory of the nations of the anti-Hitler coalition to be appropriated and we will not allow lies as if the victory could have taken place without the participation of any country or nation.”

Zelensky also played host to an important visitor in Kyiv on the same day as Putin’s Victory Day parade: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who arrived bearing promises of continued support from Europe for Ukraine.

“Ukraine is on the front line of the defense of everything we Europeans cherish: our liberty, our democracy, our freedom of thought and speech,” von der Leyen said. “Courageously Ukraine is fighting for the ideals of Europe that we celebrate today. In Russia, Putin and his regime have destroyed these values. And now they are attempting to destroy them here in Ukraine because they are afraid of the success you represent and the example you show, and they are afraid of your path to the European Union.”

“They [the Russians] were not able to capture Bakhmut,” he said, referring to the embattled and extensively damaged eastern Ukrainian city. “This was the last important military operation that they wanted to complete by the ninth of May. And unfortunately, the city does not exist anymore. Everything is fully destroyed. … So, they need some information to present it as a victory they need to conquer something — some city — [but] they have not managed to do that.”

The annual Victory Day celebrations in Russia are supposed to be grand public spectacle married with an advertisement for state power. This year’s parade showcased some of Russia’s military might — featuring its S-400 air defense system and Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, part of Moscow’s nuclear arsenal — but a massive procession of modern tanks, the pride of Russia’s army, was conspicuously absent.

And von der Leyen’s visit to Kyiv highlighted Putin’s isolation from Europe and the West. Among the most high-profile visitors featured at Putin’s Victory Day celebrations were an EU-sanctioned president (Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus), a Central Asian strongman (Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan) and the dynastic leader of a petro-state (Serdar Berdymukhamedov of Turkmenistan).

On the battlefields of Ukraine, the setbacks being dealt to Russian forces in the meat grinder of Bakhmut could not be a sharper contrast to the pomp and circumstance on Red Square.

That fact was brought home by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary outfit Wagner, who railed on social media against Russia’s military leadership.

“Today they [Ukrainians] are tearing up the flanks in the Artemovsk [the Russian name for Bakhmut] direction, regrouping at Zaporizhzhia. And a counteroffensive is about to begin,” he said on social media Tuesday. “They absolutely clearly say that the counteroffensive will be on the ground, not on TV.”

Victory Day, Prigozhin added, belonged to a past generation.

“Victory Day is the victory of our grandfathers,” he said. “We haven’t earned that victory one millimeter.”

‘Risk it all’: Migration rises ahead of end to asylum rules

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‘Risk it all’: Migration rises ahead of end to asylum rules

Under a set of white tents at the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, dozens of Venezuelan men waited. Some sat on curbs and others leaned on metal barricades. When the gates eventually opened, the long line of men filed slowly up the pedestrian pathway to the bridge and across the Rio Grande River to Mexico.

In the past few weeks, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have been facilitating these expulsions three times a day as roughly 30,000 migrants, mostly from Venezuela, have entered the U.S. in this region since mid-April. That’s compared with 1,700 migrants Border Patrol agents encountered in the first two weeks of April.

In the other end of the state, in El Paso, officials are dealing with another increase of migrants and worry that thousands more are waiting to cross.

All this comes as the U.S. is preparing for the end of a policy linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allowed it to quickly expel many migrants, and it spotlights concerns about whether the end of the immigration limits under Title 42 of a 1944 public health law will mean even more migrants trying to cross the southern border.

“We’ve been preparing for quite some time and we are ready. What we are expecting is indeed a surge. And what we are doing is planning for different levels of a surge,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week during a visit to southern Texas. But he also stressed that the situation at the border is “extremely challenging.”

He spoke from a location in Brownsville where U.S. officials had set up a tent and facilities like portable bathrooms for migrants. He said it’s difficult to identify the cause of the recent increase in Venezuelan migration, but said the U.S. is working with Mexico to address it and predicted change “very shortly.”

Many of those crossing the border are entering through Brownsville just north of the Mexican border town of Matamoros. The city was rocked by another crisis Sunday when an SUV plowed into people waiting at a bus stop across from the city’s migrant shelter. Eight people, mostly men from Venezuela, died.

Ricardo Marquez, a 30-year-old Venezuelan man, arrived at a shelter in McAllen after crossing the border with his wife and 5-month-old child in Brownsville. They left Venezuela because his daughter needs surgery.

“I was confronted with the decision to either stay there or risk it all for my daughter,” he said. They had crossed the Rio Grande after spending a month in Matamoros trying to get an appointment through an app the U.S. uses to schedule appointments for people without documents to come to the border and seek entry.

Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration say they have been preparing for well over a year for the end of Title 42. The strategy has hinged on providing more legal pathways for migrants to get to the U.S. without risking the perilous journey to the border. That includes things like setting up centers in foreign countries where migrants can apply to emigrate as well as a humanitarian parole process already in place with 30,000 slots a month for people from four countries to come to the U.S.

Starting May 12 they’re expanding appointments available through the CBP One app Marquez tried to use. When it was launched many migrants and advocates criticized the app, saying it had technological problems and there simply weren’t enough appointments.

The strategy is also heavy on consequences. The U.S. is proposing a rule that would severely limit asylum to migrants who first travel through another country, quickly screening migrants seeking asylum at the border and deporting those deemed not qualified, and a five-year ban on reentry for those deported.

A lot of these consequences have been met with harsh criticism by immigrants’ rights groups who have gone so far as to compare the policies to then-President Donald Trump’s and say the right to apply for asylum on U.S. soil is sacrosanct. Much of the Biden administration strategy is also facing legal peril in the coming weeks. The proposed rule limiting asylum is almost certain to be the subject of lawsuits. And Republican-leaning states want to stop the Democratic administration’s use of humanitarian parole on such a large scale.

The administration has also been increasing Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights to remove people from the country — flights like one that took off recently from an airport in Harlingen, Texas. Shortly after dawn three buses pulled up next to a plane. One by one migrants got out of the bus. They were wearing handcuffs and leg restraints and surgical masks. First they were patted down for contraband and then slowly walked up the stairs to the plane. Altogether 133 migrants were sent back to their home country of Guatemala.

But those flights only work if countries accept them. Venezuela does not. And Colombia says it’s suspending deportation flights due to “cruel and degrading” treatment of migrants.

Administration officials say they’re using technology to speed up the processing of migrants who cross the border without documentation and using mobile processing, so they can process migrants while they’re being transported by bus or van, for example. They’ve pushed to digitize documents that at one time were filled out by hand by Border Patrol. And they’ve beefed up the hiring of contractors so agents can remain in the field.

But critics have slammed the administration, saying it’s not doing enough. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent U.S. senator from Arizona, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the administration wasn’t communicating with local officials about things like what type of increase to expect or whether buses would be available to transport migrants. And she said a decision to send 1,500 military troops to the border came too late.

In Texas, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Monday he was deploying “tactical” National Guard teams this week to the busiest crossing spots. Abbott, who for years has accused the Biden administration of not doing enough on the border, also said “many thousands more” migrants in the coming days will be bused by the state to Democratic-led cities elsewhere in the U.S.

“It did not have to be this way,” said Abbott, speaking in Austin as Guard members boarded four C-130 cargo planes behind him.

In communities that border Mexico, officials and community groups that care for newly arrived migrants are anxious about what the end of Title 42 means. Sister Norma Pimentel runs Catholic Charities’ Humanitarian Respite Center, the largest shelter in South Texas.

The shelter functions mainly as a resource center where migrants can purchase tickets, make calls, eat and rest before traveling to their next destination, where they often have family or other contacts. But, Pimentel said, many of the Venezuelans in this latest migration increase don’t have connections in the U.S., making it harder for them to move to the next destination. “That becomes a problem for us,” she said.

The federal government gives money to communities to help them deal with the increases in migrants. On Friday the administration announced that $332 million had been disbursed to 35 local governments and service organizations. Most goes to communities close to the border “due to the urgencies they are confronting,” but cities far from the border also get funds.

In the Texas border city of El Paso, about 2,200 migrants are currently camped or living on the streets a few blocks from major ports of entry that connect El Paso with the Mexican city of Juárez. The city is prepared to open up shelters next week if needed at two vacant school buildings and a civic center.

El Paso Mayor Oscar Leeser estimated that roughly 10,000 to 12,000 migrants are in Juárez waiting to cross, as local officials prepare for the “unknown.” Leeser said migrants are flocking to the border under false assumptions that it will be easier to gain entry to the U.S. when Title 42 goes away, but for many there could be tougher consequences.

It’s a message federal officials have been repeating. But they’re competing against a powerful human smuggling network that facilitates northern migration and the desperation of migrants who feel they have no other option.

At the Brownsville port of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say they’ve run drills to prepare in case there’s a large increase of migrants trying to cross and they need to close the bridge. Pedestrians cross from Matamoros using a covered walkway that can only accommodate a few people across. Worried about the impact of long lines of migrants coming to the port after May 11 without an appointment and impacting port operations, they’re calling on people to schedule appointments through CBP One.

Texas mall shooting: Officials investigate gunman’s political beliefs

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Texas mall shooting: Officials investigate gunman’s political beliefs
Investigators are working to establish whether a gunman who killed eight people at a Texas shopping mall had far-right links.

The 33-year-old attacker was shot dead at the scene by a police officer who was responding to an unrelated call.

Federal agents are now reviewing social media to look into his beliefs, reports CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

During the attack, the suspect wore an insignia which has been associated with hate groups.

Six people, including children, were pronounced dead at the scene in the north Dallas suburbs, while two died later in hospital. Three of the injured – ranging in age from 5 to 61 – are still in hospital.

Three members of one family, a young security guard and an engineer from India were among those killed.

The gunman, named by police as Mauricio Garcia, used an AR-15 style rifle and wore combat tactical gear during the shooting. He carried multiple rounds of ammunition.

Witnesses described scenes of panic and horror when the gunman got out of his car near the Allen Premium Outlets mall and began firing on shoppers.

During the attack the killer wore a clothing patch with the letters RWDS, which stands for “Right Wing Death Squad”. This is a phrase popular among right-wing extremists and white supremacy groups.

One line of enquiry is whether he was motivated by these ideals and whether he had links to like-minded people, a law enforcement source told CBS.

A social media page appearing to belong to the gunman also shared extremist views. The profile on a Russian platform reportedly includes posts about mass shootings and white supremacy.

Photos he apparently posted showed Nazi tattoos on his arm and torso. He also shared images last month of a shop near to where the attack took place.

According to the US defence department, the suspect entered the US Army in June 2008 and was “terminated three months later without completing initial entry training” due to “physical or mental conditions”.

The attacker was reportedly working as a security guard at the time of the shooting and did not have a serious criminal record. Officials have searched his parents’ home and a nearby extended-stay motel where he had been recently living.

Speaking to CBS, Steven Spainhouer described how he rushed to the scene after getting a call from his son who reported shooting. He spoke of “unfathomable carnage”.

He said at least three victims could not be saved even after he applied CPR. “The first girl I walked up to was crouched down covering her head in the bushes,” he recalled. “So I felt for a pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face.”

Another witness, Elaine Penicaro, said she was finishing her shopping trip when she heard “all this popping”.

“We just ran into the Converse store. They locked the door. We all hunkered down in the back – and that’s where we stayed,” she said.

Allen is a racially diverse suburb north of Dallas and has an infamous connection with another recent mass shooting.

A man who lived there in 2019 went on a gun rampage at a Walmart in El Paso, killing 23 people, after posting a racist manifesto online. In February he pleaded guilty to hate crime charges.

The shooting comes days after five people were killed elsewhere in Texas following a dispute with a neighbour. And on Sunday one person was killed and two injured in a shooting on a train in Dallas.

There have been 201 mass shootings this year according to the Gun Violence Archive which defines such incidents as four people injured or killed.

Medical experts say you shouldn’t dip your feet into a pedicure bowl without this

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Medical experts say you shouldn’t dip your feet into a pedicure bowl without this

It’s almost Mother’s Day and you may be considering a relaxing pedicure for mom, but before mom dips her feet into the foot bath, doctors say you need to make sure it is cleaned properly to avoid infections and fungus.

Nikki Tran, owner of Le Bijou Salon and Spa in West Houston, told ABC13 that they take several steps to make sure the foot bowls at her salon are disinfected.

“Before we do a pedicure, we put the (plastic) liner bag on it and we put a little block of sanitation disinfectant in the water, and we do clean before and after the client is done,” Tran said.

Dr. Mary Alice Hickson, a dermatologist at Kelsey-Seybold Clinic, said salons can even go a step further. She recommends using bleach to clean foot bowls.

ABC13 wanted to know if the wildly popular nail “dip” technique was safe or if it puts salon goers at risk of infection. Here’s what we found.

“The plastic liners are nice but again, it’s not a substitute,” Dr. Hickson said. “They should also be cleaning the foot bath with bleach after, which I’m pretty sure most salons do follow this.”

She said bleach could help avoid fungus.

“Nail fungus is a really tough thing to treat because most of our treatments are only effective 50% of the time, so once you get it, especially in the nail, it’s hard to get rid of,” Dr. Hickson said.

ABC13 asked about ways to treat nail fungus. Dr. Hickson said fungus is treated with a combination of prescription, oral anti-fungal medications, and also creams.

There are also other preventative measures to stop re-infection such as vinegar soaks, wiping down shoes with bleach wipes, washing socks with hot water and bleach, and rotating your shoes.

Man allegedly hid secret camera in Royal Caribbean cruise ship bathroom

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Man allegedly hid secret camera in Royal Caribbean cruise ship bathroom

The Justice Department recently unsealed charges against a man who allegedly put a camera inside a bathroom onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and filmed 150 people, including 40 minors.

Jeremy Froias boarded a Royal Caribbean ship bound for St. Maarten, San Juan and the Bahamas, in Miami on April 29, according to a complaint unsealed last week in federal court in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“On or about April 30, 2023, when the Harmony was navigating in international waters, Froias installed a hidden Wi-Fi camera in a public bathroom on the aft of the Harmony’s top deck, between the ‘Flow Rider’ surfing simulator and a bar,” an FBI special agent said in a criminal complaint. That bathroom was a unisex bathroom, according to court documents.

When a passenger reported there was a hidden camera in the bathroom, security found it and reviewed the micro SD card that was inserted into the camera, which allegedly showed Froias adjusting the camera and connecting it to his phone.

“The initial videos depict Froias hiding the camera and adjusting the angle of the camera, so it focuses on the area of the toilet,” the complaint says. “Froias is also seen taking his Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max out of his pocket and appears to have connected the phone to the hidden camera using Wi-Fi. Froias then exits the bathroom.”

MORESearch suspended for man overboard on cruise ship hundreds of miles away from Hawaii

More than 150 individuals, including 40 minors, were seen naked or partially naked on camera, the Justice Department alleged, some as young as 4 or 5 years old.

“Individuals are seen coming into the bathroom to either use the toilet or to change into or out of swimsuits,” court documents say. “Froias’ camera captured these individuals in various stages of undress, including capturing videos of their naked genitals, buttocks and female breasts.”

Cruise ship security interviewed Froias, and he allegedly admitted to placing the camera in the bathroom and knew it had been found because he was not able to find it when he went to go get it a day later, court documents state.

Froias is charged with video voyeurism and attempted possession of child exploitation material. He was released on a $25,000 bond by a judge Monday pending trial. He didn’t enter a plea.

The FBI set up a website for anyone who might’ve been a victim to report it to the agency.

“The FBI believes he primarily targeted cruise ship passengers between the timeframe of April 30 and May 1, 2023, who may have used the public bathroom on the aft of the Harmony’s top deck between the ‘Flow Rider’ surfing simulator and a bar,” the form says. “Passengers using this bathroom may have been video recorded by Froias.”

A lawyer for Froias has not yet responded to ABC News’ request for comment.

Which States Will Launch Online Sports Betting By Next Year?

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Which States Will Launch Online Sports Betting By Next Year?

May 14 marks the five-year anniversary of PASPA being overturned by the Supreme Court. The High Court’s ruling in the “Murphy vs. NCAA” case cleared the way for legalized sports betting nationwide.

It has expanded at a dizzying pace and now includes some enormous markets. For instance, Ohio launched sports betting on January 1, while Massachusetts started betting at three casinos on January 31 (mobile betting kicked off on March 10 with six sportsbooks). Bay State bettors are enjoying the NBA playoffs, as well as MLB betting on the Boston Red Sox.

The launch of sports betting in Ohio and Massachusetts capped a whirlwind 18 months in the legal online sports betting world.

In addition to those two states, New York, Louisiana, Kansas, Ontario and Maryland have launched retail and/or online betting since the start of 2022.

According to the American Gaming Association, sports betting is now legal and operational in 33 states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico* (retail only, mobile coming soon). Which states will be next to launch legal betting apps? Several states are in the process of trying to legalize sports betting, or have already given it the green light but are waiting to implement sports betting.

Odds to Launch Online Sports Betting In Next 12 Months

State Odds Implied Probability
Vermont -5000 98%
Kentucky -5000 98%
Maine -800 88.9%
North Carolina -500 83.3%
Minnesota +120 45.5%
Texas +150 40%
Missouri +190 34.5%
Florida +650 13.3%
Oklahoma +850 10.5%
California +5000 2%

*Some states have legalized sports betting, but have yet to implement it and some have implemented it in-person only.

Odds by Bookies.com Senior Handicapper Adam Thompson (industry insider Sean Ostrow contributed to odds)

Bills to enact sports wagering in North Carolina, Missouri, Minnesota, Texas and Kentucky (among others) are being considered this spring. The latest state to legalize was Kentucky, which could likely launch by the end of the calendar year or in early 2024.

Prior to that, a legislative push to legalize sports betting in Georgia fizzled out. The Peach State would have been one of the larger markets in the nation (nearly 11 million residents), but 2023 marked the third straight year that Georgia sports betting was derailed.

The political landscape in each state varies greatly and predicting what politicians will do is sort of a fool’s errand, but that’s our business so we’d be foolish not to take a crack at it.

We should note that it typically takes about six months to a year for a state to launch legal sports betting once it’s legalized, given the regulatory hangups. With that in mind, here is a look at our hypothetical odds on which states will launch legal online sports betting* in the next calendar year?

States Closest to Launching Sports Betting

Kentucky:  -5000

The push for betting in Kentucky has accelerated since Ohio went online in January. As a result, Kentucky joined the list of states that have legalized sports betting in late March, beating the buzzer on the last day of the legislative session. House Bill 551 passed the Senate by a vote of 25-12 and was quickly signed into law by Gov. Andy Beshear. Kentucky sports betting could launch towards the end of 2023, but 2024 is more likely.

Vermont: -5000

Vermont was the last of the six New England states to legalize sports betting. It is surrounded by states (New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts) that allow online betting. Vermont will be among the smallest legal betting jurisdictions in the U.S. Just this week, a digital-only sports betting bill passed the House and Senate. It will be signed by Gov. Phil Scott. The bill states sports betting would launch by January 2024.

Maine: -800

Sports betting became the law of the land in Maine on May 2, 2022. But the process to get it operational has been a slog. Still, officials have been saying that a Maine sports betting launch is likely to happen in 2024. Betting will be exclusive to the state’s Native American tribes once it begins. 

Maine is the only state in the U.S. that is bordered by just one other state. (Alaska and Hawaii have none). Maine’s lone contiguous neighbor, New Hampshire, has had legal online betting since 2019. Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820. Massachusetts became the fourth state in New England to launch mobile sports betting in March.

North Carolina: -500

The House easily passed its version of a sports betting bill on March 29 and sent it to the state Senate. That’s huge news after last year’s bill failed by one vote in the House. The hard part is done now, since the Senate is the chamber that passed a sports betting bill in 2022.

Right now, North Carolina sports betting is limited to in-person wagering at three tribal casinos. If the current bill becomes law, 10-12 online skins would be issued and the state would collect a 14% tax on net revenues. The go-live date written into the NC sports betting bill is Jan. 8.

North Carolina has one of the longest sessions in the nation (it technically ends August 31, but legislators could be called back for a special session) so this is going to take a bit of time to resolve. Sean Ostrow, a lobbyist for the Sports Betting Alliance is “pretty confident” a bill will pass out of the Senate before it adjourns.

Minnesota: +120

A bill to allow sports betting in Minnesota continues to move through the state legislature. Lawmakers will be in session until May 22 so expect the Minnesota sports betting proposal to evolve. The current iteration would give the state’s 11 Native American tribes a monopoly on the action. The state’s pro teams and parimutuel facilities are currently excluded.

A similar bill stalled in 2022 after it passed the House but died after tribes opposed the addition of horse tracks to the bill. This remains an issue, but there was recently a revised bill submitted that does more to placate the horse tracks. That development has breathed new life into the hopes for Minnesota sports betting in 2024, but the general consensus is there’s not enough urgency on behalf of the tribes to get it done this session. 

Texas: +150

Sports betting is making another stand in Texas this spring. A pair of bills to legalize Texas betting apps in the Lone Star State could be headed to the House floor soon. However, the bills need to clear the House and Senate by May 29 (by a two-thirds vote) to be put on the November ballot.

Legalizing sports betting in Texas requires a constitutional amendment, which is why a two-thirds majority vote and a ballot vote in November is needed. There is a lot of support here, though not from where it matters, unfortunately, which is why the odds aren’t great. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says it does not have the votes in his chamber and won’t bring it to the floor until it does.

Texas legislators meet every two years, so Texas sports betting won’t be up for discussion again until 2025 if it fails this year. A similar effort to legalize sports betting in Texas fell short in 2021. If Texas does allow sports betting, it would become the largest state in the nation to do so with 29.53 million people. Currently, New York is the most populous sports betting market in the U.S. with 19.84 million.

Missouri: +190

The Show Me State has a pair of MLB franchises and an NFL team. But all three play within minutes of states (Kansas and Illinois) that have betting. The House has passed HB 566 bill and now it heads to the Senate, where a similar bill failed last year.

A push to tie sports betting to illegal slot machines sunk the bill last year and could well do the same this time. The legislative session ends on May 12. Voters may have their say in a state-wide referendum, but that won’t happen until 2024 and if it passed, a launch wouldn’t happen until 2025.

Florida: +650

The gaming compact between the Seminole Tribe and the State of Florida that legalized mobile and online sports betting in the Sunshine State remains tied up in a federal appeals court. A lower federal court judge threw out the agreement because she ruled it violated both Florida law and caused undue harm to casino operators.

That decision has been heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington but no ruling has been issued. If the compact is reinstated, retail and mobile betting under the Seminole Tribe’s Hard Rock Casino brand would resume. If the compact is not reinstated, legislators, Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the Tribe will have to begin work on a new compact. 

Oklahoma: +850

Gov. Kevin Stitt wanted to legalize sports betting during the 2023 session, but that didn’t come to fruition (the session ended April 13). Oklahoma’s Native American tribes hold exclusive rights to gambling in the Sooner State. Oklahoma is basically in the same boat as Florida – and it’s a dingy.

California: +5000

The Golden State holds the Golden Ticket for the growth of sports betting in the United States. California is the nation’s most-populous state. But don’t expect sports betting apps to be available there any time soon.

A much-publicized, very expensive ballot initiative failed miserably at the polls last November. Mobile betting in California remains a far-off dream for bettors and books alike. Given the amount of money at stake for both the state and the books themselves, the push will continue.

EXPAREJA DEMANDA AL GOLFISTA POR SUPUESTO ACOSO SEXUAL

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EXPAREJA DEMANDA AL GOLFISTA POR SUPUESTO ACOSO SEXUAL

Erica Herman, ex pareja del golfista Tiger Woods, lo demandó por supuesto acoso sexual y ahora exige una indemnización millonaria.

Herman aseguró que el presunto acoso sucedió durante su relación con el ganador de 15 majors, informó USA Today.

La fuente antes citada explica que Woods habría obligado a Herman a firmar un contrato de confidencialidad sobre los encuentros sexuales entre ambos con la condición de no perder su trabajo.

Ante esto la ex del golfista exige una indemnización económica de 30 millones de dólares.

OTRAS DISPUTAS LEGALES ENTRE ERICA HERMAN Y TIGER WOODS

Erica Herman y Tiger Woods finalizaron su relación amorosa en 2022, fue entonces cuando Herman emprendió acciones legales contra el golfista, considerado uno de los mejores de la historia, por echarla de su casa ubicada en Florida.

De acuerdo con Herman, Woods la engañó pidiéndole que se fuera de vacaciones y a su regreso no pudo entrar a la mansión, ya que, todas las cerraduras estaban cambiadas.

La casa de Tiger Woods está valuada en aproximadamente 57 millones de dólares; cuenta con dos ambientes: el primero es un chalé de 3 mil 300 pies cuadrados y el otro un edificio de 6 mil 400 pies cuadrados.

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