Almost $1 million in counterfeit seized by customs -- all in single-dollar bills

Source: usatoday

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials report seizing $900,000 in counterfeit cash – all of it in singles. The dollar bills were discovered in December at the International Falls Port of Entry in Minnesota in a rail shipment originating from China, per a Saturday statement from CBP. An investigation found 45 cartons filled with singles, which were confirmed to be fake by the Secret Service.

“CBP officers strive every day to protect the United States from a variety of threats,” said Jason Schmelz, a CBP port director, in a statement. “Those threats don’t always come in the form of terrorists or narcotics, but also in the form of counterfeit currency and other goods that have the potential to harm the economy of the United States."

The counterfeit money was seized and will be sent to the Secret Service. Single-dollar bills, according to the Federal Reserve, have stayed the same since 1963 because the "note is infrequently counterfeited." There is also a provision in the annual Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act that prohibits the bill's redesign.

"Thanks to the dedication of our officers and our partnership with the Secret Service, we were able to keep this currency from entering into circulation," Schmelz said.




Read more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/01/28/900000-counterfeit-seized-customs-all-one-dollar-bills/4598937002/

Alaska man survives more than 20 days after cabin burns down

A young man from Utah survived more than three weeks after his cabin burned down in mid-December.

Tyson Steele, 30, said he had been living alone since September in a remote area of Alaska.

The roof of Steele’s cabin caught fire very early on December 17 or 18.

Steele attributed the fire to a spark from his wood stove landing on the roof.

"It’s 1 or 2 in the morning and I’d been awakened to a cold cabin, right?" Steele said. "So, it takes me a while to go back to sleep. And, drip, drip, drip – there’s fiery drips of plastic coming through the roof above me. So, I go outside to pick up some … snow and I just see that the whole roof’s on fire."

He managed to grab a handful of supplies, but most of his possessions, and his dog, Phil, didn’t make it.

Steele spent his first two nights in a snow cave before putting together a makeshift shelter with remnants from his burned down cabin.

He said he was able to ration the food storage that he was able to salvage. A lot of it was either melted or destroyed by the fire.

"Last night’s meal was probably one of the worst. I was leaving the burned-off stuff for the last," Steele said. "And last night’s dinner was a can of plastic-smoked refried beans. No hickory, no mesquite; it’s Class A waterproof tarp."

Alaska State Troopers responded to a welfare check on January 9, where they found an “SOS” message stamped in the snow next to the makeshift shelter Steele had built.

He was transported via helicopter to the Alaska State Trooper’s Aircraft Section Hangar at Lake Hood.

Rescuers set him up with a shower and fulfilled his request for a McDonald’s Combo Meal #2.

Steele says he plans to return to Salt Lake to be with family for the time being, but will eventually return to Alaska.

"They’ve got a dog,” he said smiling, but with a look of sadness in his eyes. “And that would be some therapy."

https://fox13now.com/2020/01/11/utah-man-survives-more-than-20-days-in-remote-alaska-after-cabin-burns-down/amp/

Fecal Bacteria In California's Waterways Increases With Homeless Crisis

President Donald Trump, a self-described germophobe, has made no secret of his disgust with California’s growing homeless problem, which he has called a “disgrace” and “inappropriate” and equated to “living in hell.”

“We should all work together to clean up these hazardous waste and homeless sites before the whole city rots away,” Trump tweeted about San Francisco on Oct. 26. “Very bad and dangerous conditions, also severely impacting the Pacific Ocean and water supply.”

San Francisco officials were quick to dispute Trump’s claims. But some of California’s most prized rivers, beaches and streams are indeed contaminated with levels of fecal bacteria that exceed state limits, threatening kayakers, swimmers — and the state’s reputation as a bastion of environmental protection.

The presence of fecal bacteria in water is usually the result of problems with sewer systems and septic tanks. But water quality officials agree that the source of at least some of the fecal bacteria is California’s growing homeless population, most of whom don’t have reliable access to toilets.

“I’ve carried 5-gallon buckets that were unambiguously being used as toilets,” said David Gibson, executive officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, describing his experience cleaning up homeless encampments. “They were taking it to the San Diego River, dumping it there, and rinsing it out there.”

Fecal contamination of waterways is a widespread problem and becoming more urgent in states with large homeless populations. In Seattle, homeless people living in RVs are accused of dumping raw sewage straight into storm drains, which flows directly to local waterways. In Oregon, workers cleaning up homeless camps along the Willamette River in Eugene routinely find feces and needles.

California has the largest homeless population in the nation, estimated at more than 151,000 people in 2019, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. About 72% of the state’s homeless slept outside or in cars rather than in shelters or temporary housing.

The Trump administration has fixated on California’s homeless population in particular as a potent source of pollution.

In addition to Trump’s tweets, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sent a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sept. 26 alleging that the state’s lack of urgency on homelessness threatens public health by polluting nearby water with untreated human waste. It then issued a notice to San Francisco accusing it of violating the federal Clean Water Act.

Jared Blumenfeld, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, responded by accusing the federal EPA of retreating on clean water protection, and called the administration’s focus on the environmental impact of homelessness “sensationalized” and “misguided.”

But concerns extend beyond the Trump administration. A record number of Californians — about 1 in 4 — believe homelessness and housing is the top issue facing the state today, up from 1% in 1999, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

https://californiahealthline.org/news/fecal-bacteria-in-californias-waterways-increases-with-homeless-crisis/

35 killed in stampede at funeral for slain general, Iran state TV says

Source: cnbc

A stampede erupted Tuesday at a funeral procession for a top Iranian general killed in a U.S. airstrike last week, killing 35 people and injuring 48 others, state television reported. According to the report, the stampede took place in Kerman, the hometown of Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, as the procession got underway. Initial videos posted online showed people lying lifeless on a road, others shouting and trying to give help them.

Iranian state TV gave the casualty toll in its online report, without saying where it obtained the information. Pirhossein Koulivand, the head of Iran’s emergency medical services, earlier spoke by telephone to state TV and confirmed the stampede took place.

“Unfortunately as a result of the stampede, some of our compatriots have been injured and some have been killed during the funeral processions,” he said. A procession in Tehran on Monday drew over 1 million people in the Iranian capital, crowding both main thoroughfares and side streets in Tehran.

The leader of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened on Tuesday to “set ablaze” places supported by the United States over the killing of a top Iranian general in a U.S. airstrike last week, sparking cries from the crowd of supporters of “Death to Israel!”



Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/01/07/35-killed-in-stampede-at-funeral-for-slain-general-state-tv-says.html

Virginia Attorney General says proposed gun laws will be enforced despite opposition