State worker fired after reporting SNAP theft scheme
A longtime Michigan state employee says she was fired after exposing a scheme where her colleagues allegedly stole taxpayer-funded food benefits from a program that feeds 1.3 million low-income residents.
Ashanta Butler worked for the state for 23 years with no complaints before she was fired on April 24, 2024, according to the complaint she filed on July 25 in the Eastern District of Michigan.
“In or around early 2024, Plaintiff reported concerns to the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Michigan regarding fraudulent activity by State employees who were allegedly conspiring to unlawfully receive public benefits, including food assistance.”
The complaint implicated state employee Angela Barbee.
“Shortly after Plaintiff made the protected report, her supervisor, Rachel Hill, informed her that she had been instructed by Manager Angela Barbee to target and ‘get rid of’ Plaintiff due to her cooperation with the Michigan Department of Corrections and her role as a whistleblower. Angela Barbee, who was later transferred to another office for engaging in similar misconduct, was among the managers implicated in the benefits fraud reported by Plaintiff.” Click here to read more.
Airbnb Tries to Stick Traveler with $7,000 Repair Bill After Host Uses AI-Generated Images to Claim Damage
A London-based academic has received an apology and $5,700 refund from Airbnb after a New York apartment host allegedly claimed she caused over $15,963 in damages, using AI-generated images as evidence of the supposed damage. The company initially tried to charge their customer $7,000 for the damages and refused her appeal until a newspaper investigation caused them to change their tune.
The Guardian reports that Airbnb, the popular short-term rental platform, has found itself at the center of a troubling case involving a host who allegedly submitted AI-generated photographs to support a false claim of extensive property damage. The incident has raised concerns about the ease with which AI-generated images can be used to deceive and defraud, and has prompted Airbnb to launch an internal review of its claims handling process. Click here to read more.
High school principal arrested for DUI and cocaine possession, police say
TAMPA, Fla. - It was just last year when Scott Hazlett, an assistant principal at the time, was credited for helping save a student’s life, but over the weekend, he was arrested for driving under the influence.
Linda Unfried, the co-founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving in Hillsborough County, Florida, feels like Hazlett put lives at risk.
“Thank God that Temple Terrace police officers stopped him, saved him from killing someone, killing himself,” she said.
Temple Terrace Police said early Saturday morning, they were conducting speed checks when they caught Hazlett driving 15 miles per hour over the speed limit. Click here to read more.
Third person charged in West Tennessee quadruple homicide, murder suspect still at large
A third person has been charged with accessory after the fact in the quadruple homicide case out of West Tennessee that has made national headlines.
This comes after four people were found dead in Lake County, Tennessee, and a baby was abandoned in a front yard nearly 30 minutes from the crime scene.
Dearrah Sanders, of Jackson, Tennessee, was arrested Monday morning for allegedly helping Austin Drummond after the murders, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation reports. She is charged with accessory after the fact t o first-degree murder and will be booked into the Lake County Jail.
SWAT teams were spotted in the area Monday with TBI confirming agents were following up on a lead related to the possible whereabouts of Drum. Click here to read more.
Why Soros Network Donated Over $1M to This Republican Organization
A conservative watchdog is calling for a Republican organization that took more than $1 million from the Soros network’s Open Society Action Fund to “sever its relationship.”
The Open Society Action Fund, typically known for donating for leftwing causes in both the United States and abroad, contributed $1.67 million to the International Republican Institute for a 19-month grant that began in 2023. The fund described the grant as “to support the grantee’s work on capacity building for East Asia diaspora communities.”
The GOP-aligned group says the money was to support persecuted Uyghurs in China.
The National Legal and Policy Center flagged the unusual pairing of a Soros-backed Republican organization.
“I write to ask that the International Republican Institute (IRI) sever its relationship with the so-called Open Society Action Fund, and any other entities founded and/or funded by George Soros,” National Legal and Policy Center President Peter Flaherty said in a letter Thursday to International Republican Institute Chairman Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Click here to read more.
