Las Vegas man accused of exposing 3-year-old to fentanyl in Newport Beach
Eric Duane Bird was charged Tuesday with a felony count of child abuse and endangerment and a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance. Bird pleaded not guilty Tuesday at his arraignment in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana and was scheduled for a pretrial hearing Friday inthe Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.
Bird, his wife and two teenage children were in town to spend the Fourth of July weekend with relatives, according to the Orange County district attorney's office. During their visit, a 3-year-old boy related to Bird became 'extremely itchy' and was 'barely breathing' as his parents were trying to put him down for the night on Friday, prosecutors said.
The boy's parents called 911, and he was rushed to Children's Hospital of Orange County, where he was given Narcan and recovered, prosecutors said. The victim tested positive for fentanyl, prosecutors alleged.
Police found a backpack in Bird's rented room containing drug paraphernalia and fentanyl, prosecutors said.
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Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein files became a vehicle for QAnon
The release of the 'Epstein client list' has long been the holy grail for the Maga movement. Supposedly, this list, once released, would incriminate a veritable who's who of liberal elites complicit in Jeffrey Epstein's child sex-trafficking operation and expose the moral rot at the heart of the Democratic establishment. The mystery surrounding the Epstein files also became a vehicle for QAnon conspiracy theorists to push their ideas about a 'deep state' cover-up of a network of global pedophiles into the broader tent of the Maga movement. During his campaign, Donald Trump promised on several occasions to declassify the Epstein files, which would include the 'list'. Before they joined the government, Trump's FBI chief, Kash Patel, and deputy FBI chief, Dan Bongino, spent years on podcasts and TV appearances winking at QAnon and Epstein conspiracy theorists and demanding the files' release, even suggesting that the Biden administration was withholding them to protect its own. Related: Republicans move to block Democratic effort to force release of Epstein files Then, on the heels of the Fourth of July holiday weekend, the justice department quietly dropped a bombshell in the form of a memo. A 'systematic review' of the Epstein files by justice department officials 'revealed no incriminating 'client list',' the memo stated, nor did they find evidence that Epstein blackmailed powerful figures. The memo also affirmed that Epstein died by suicide in his Brooklyn jail cell while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges in 2019. Since the memo's release, Maga has been in turmoil – and some of Trump's most loyal foot soldiers have been in open revolt against his administration, accusing it of now being part of a cover-up and calling for the resignation of the attorney general, Pam Bondi, over her handling of the Epstein files. On Truth Social, Trump offered a stern rebuke to his detractors, claiming that the Epstein files were actually a hoax, because they were written by 'Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration'. But not everyone's buying it. 'This is the worst response I've ever seen from President Trump,' said the rightwing commentator Benny Johnson. The disgraced former general Michael Flynn, considered a hero by the QAnon movement, wrote: '@realdonaldtrump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR IS NOT GOING AWAY.' The rightwing commentator Matt Walsh called Trump's statement 'extremely obtuse', adding: 'We don't accept obvious bullshit from our political leaders.' Maga's obsession with the Epstein files is an indication of how the core ideas associated with the fringe QAnon conspiracy – that a shadowy cabal of government elites is working to cover up a global child sex-trafficking operation – have taken root in the broader pro-Trump movement. QAnon took a long tradition of antisemitic, 'deep state' and 'satanic panic' conspiracy theories, put them on steroids with a pro-Trump flavor, and assigned the enigmatic Q, supposedly a government official with top secret clearance and a penchant for posting on 8chan, at the helm of the movement. 'The unique thing about QAnon is that you had an anonymous poster on an anonymous chatroom putting out clues for people to try to solve,' said Joseph Uscinski, a political science professor at the University of Miami specializing in the study of conspiracy theories. When QAnon emerged in 2017, allegations against Epstein had been swirling for over a decade. Epstein's arrest in 2019 on federal charges was a boon for QAnon. The movement quickly sought to incorporate information about the case into their propaganda. The case also surfaced a trove of digital media that QAnon sleuths could pore over looking for 'clues' – such as photographs of Epstein with various public figures (including many with Trump), Epstein's flight logs and aerial images of his private island. 'Epstein engaged in crimes, but I think there's a whole fantasy lore surrounding it that goes far beyond any available evidence,' said Uscinski. Jon Lewis, a research fellow at George Washington University's program on extremism, told the Guardian that as 'QAnon and Maga have become increasingly intertwined in recent years, we have seen the embrace of increasingly fringe conspiracies and extremist narratives like 'Pizzagate' and 'Save the Children' by mainstream political figures.' These narratives turned out to be useful for Trump and his allies, who harnessed simmering suspicion of establishment figures and cast the former reality star as the only person brave enough to take on 'the deep state'. 'As Trump and other prominent Republican figures amplified QAnon content and used it as a political cudgel against Democratic politicians like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, they were providing legitimacy and approval to the very same conspiracy theorists who are now decrying Pam Bondi and the justice department,' said Lewis. Tensions over the Epstein files have been building since February, when Bondi went on Fox News and said Epstein's client list was sitting on her desk 'right now for review.' A week later, at a press event at the White House, Bondi handed out binders that she promised contained 'declassified' Epstein records to two dozen Maga influencers. The influencers quickly realized there was basically no new information in them. In response to the ensuing backlash, Bondi said that the FBI had failed to disclose a tranche of Epstein files, and that she had ordered Patel to compile them. Months later, in June, Elon Musk – amid the dramatic feud with his former friend Trump – claimed without evidence that the reason the Epstein files hadn't been released in full was because the president was implicated in them. (Musk has since deleted the post.) The scale of the current Maga meltdown 'certainly shows the significance of Epstein conspiracies within the broader QAnon pantheon', said Lewis, and 'should lay bare just how deeply the disease of the QAnon movement has seeped into a Republican party which has welcomed its most conspiratorial, antisemitic, reactionary fringe into Congress and the executive branch with open arms'. The backlash Trump is facing is a leopards-eating-faces moment for the administration. 'This was a conspiracy that Donald Trump, Pam Bondi and these Maga extremists have been fanning the flames of for the last several years, and now the chickens are coming home to roost,' the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, told reporters Monday. Uscinski noted that's 'the interesting thing that happens when you use conspiracy theories to get into power'. 'Because conspiracy theories should be aimed at the people in power, right? They accuse powerful people of doing something wicked behind the scenes,' he added. In Trump's case, he 'spent the last 10 years building a coalition of largely conspiracy-minded people in the US', said Uscinski. 'So in order for him to keep these people engaged and donating and going to his speeches, and voting for him and voting for Republicans, he has to keep pressing the conspiracy theories.' But experts are skeptical that this current Maga meltdown will have any lasting impact. Trump's overall approval rating hasn't fluctuated dramatically over the past week. In fact, it's almost at exactly the same place it was at the same point in his first administration. Related: How the Jeffrey Epstein row plunged Maga world into turmoil – a timeline '[Trump's supporters] are disgruntled, they're upset and they're going to express that on social media. But they're not going to abandon him, because he's the only game in town for them,' said Uscinski. He compared the current moment to the backlash Trump faced back in 2021. After courting favor from anti-vaxxers, Trump was booed when he announced during a live Bill O'Reilly interview that he had received his Covid-19 booster shot and urged Americans to get theirs. Despite the importance of the Epstein files to the Maga and QAnon movements, Lewis thinks that 'it's unlikely this outrage will last'. 'The culture war will move on to its next target … and the rage machine will follow with conspiracies and vitriol,' said Lewis. 'It's much easier to be angry at an immigrant than to wonder whether you've been lied to for the last eight years.'
Chicago Tribune
an hour ago
- Chicago Tribune
Niles grocery store raising money for family of employee killed in suspected DUI collision
Owners of a local grocery story are expressing their condolences for the death of one of their employees by hosting online and in-store fundraisers for her and the woman's surviving family members. Bogdana Mygal, 33, of Des Plaines, was pronounced dead July 5 at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville after being transported there following a multi-vehicle collision in a Lake County suburb. A man is facing driving under the influence charges in connection with the fatal incident that also saw Mygal's husband and 4-year-old daughter sustain injuries. 'She came from the Ukraine with her husband and no other family. They came here to have a better life. She wanted the best for her and her family. Her daughter was her world. It just breaks my heart,' Joanna Antonik, co-owner of Deli 4 You Market, told Pioneer Press by phone. Deli 4 You Market, a full-line Polish and European grocery store chain, has five Chicagoland locations, including in Norridge and Niles – the latter is where Mygal worked for three years before her death. Antonik owns the stores with her mother, Margaret. 'We always enjoyed working with her. She was extremely liked, super nice to customers, co-workers, and so helpful. She was a wonderful person,' said Antonik. The Niles store has set up a memorial at the cash register where Mygal usually worked. Also at the check out lane is a jar where people can deposit cash as part of a fundraiser. An online fundraiser is running on the GoFundMe website where, as of Tuesday, more than $54,000 has been raised. The initial goal was $50,000 but is now changed to $70,000. Antonik said she and her mother also plan to provide food from the store to the family as the fundraising is managed. 'I just felt the community wanted to help and I wanted to open this up to them,' Antonik said. 'It's not going to help with everything, but with something financially. We're very grateful we have such a great community that wants to support the family.' According to the Lake County sheriff's office, Mygal, her husband and 4-year-old daughter, were traveling from a Fourth of July celebration on July 5 at 10:15 p.m. when they were involved in a three-vehicle collision on West Russell and Frontage roads in Wadsworth Mygal, a passenger in the family's 2016 Chevrolet Volt, was taken from the scene to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. The Lake County Coroner determined she died of blunt force trauma. Her husband and daughter also suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries, according to authorities. Andrew Willard, 58, of the 600 block of West Natalie Lane, Addison, was charged July 8 with aggravated DUI causing death, DUI and traffic violations for allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed and failing to stop at a stop sign at Frontage Road, striking both the vehicle Mygal was in with her family and another vehicle – which were both stopped at the intersection. The driver and passenger in the other vehicle, as well as Willard, suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries, Covelli said. 'Crash investigators believe Willard was more than twice the legal limit for alcohol when he crashed,' according to a sheriff's office news release. Willard is being held in the Lake County Jail on pre-trial detention. He is scheduled to appear in court again July 30. Mygal started working as a cashier at Deli 4 You three years ago when the deli opened in Niles, Antonik said. The team at the Niles store saw she was eager to work, be part of a new store and the team, and thought her energy was infectious. Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer. Pioneer Press staff contributed.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Gunfire disrupts anti-violence rally at crowded Boynton Beach park, wounding three women
Gunfire broke out at a Boynton Beach park during a "Peace in the Hood" rally on July 5, wounding three women, police said as they continued to search for the shooters. About 500 people, many of them children, attended the rally at Sara Sims Park. It called for an end to gun violence, but organizers did not obtain a permit before staging the event, police said. The initial investigation showed that rival gang members began firing at each other, catching attendees in the crossfire, police said. Officers found one woman suffering from a gunshot wound to her femur. Dispatchers reported that two other women went to hospitals in private vehicles, one with a gunshot wound to her leg and the other with a wound to her hip. Bullets also struck several vehicles, both occupied and unoccupied, and other victims sustained minor injuries and received treatment at hospitals or at the scene from Boynton Beach Fire Rescue. From the courts: Florida family in limbo as autistic son faces felony charge for Trump TikTok threat Investigators say the event's organizer reportedly submitted a special events application on June 17 to Boynton Beach to host an event titled "Stop Violence Awareness" for about 20 attendees at Sara Sims Park, on Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr. Boulevard west of Seacrest Boulevard. One week later, the Recreation and Parks Department notified the organizer that the permit had been denied. The city refunded the organizer's money the same day, which the organizer acknowledged via email, police said. City documents show that a suburban Lake Worth Beach woman applied for the permit. Attempts to reach her for comment on July 8 were not successful. The city documents also show that a Boynton Beach police captain advised against approving the permit due to staffing concerns related to the Fourth of July holiday. More: More than 90 Palm Beach County schools got As from state in 2025. How'd your school do? A department spokesperson said the organizer likely won't face any citations. To date, police have not announced any arrests in connection to the shooting incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Sean Steele by emailing SteeleS@ or by calling 561-742-6148. Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@ and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Three women shot during anti-gun-violence rally at Boynton Beach park
