Latest news with #Batts
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Family of man who died in Knox County custody to announce legal action
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The family of David Batts, Sr. who died after being in the custody of the Knox County Sheriff's Office, plans to announce the filing of a notice of claim against the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Attorney Ben Crump represents Batts' family. In a press release, Crump's firm wrote, that Batts, 46, was 'brutally beaten and Tased by officers.' The press release also said that his meningitis should have been treated immediately and that he should never have been taken from the hospital. Maryville pastor found safe after gunpoint abduction in South Africa, police say Batts, 46, died on January 8. He was arrested at the University of Tennessee Medical Center the day before on charges of sexual battery. Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler said that Batts didn't comply with a clothing search or pat down. Because of this, they placed him in an isolation room for more than eight hours. Spangler said an officer, nurse or supervisor checked him multiple times during those hours. Around 11 p.m., Batts refused commands and officers had to gain control of him before a nurse could check his vital signs, Spangler said. A nurse said that Batts should be taken back to UT Medical Center. Batts tried to grab and bite staff as they dressed him in an inmate uniform, according to Spangler. Batts was taken back to the hospital around 11:34 p.m. A judge granted him a release from custody on January 8. Officers at the hospital were relieved of duties. Batts died around 11:25 p.m. on January 8. The bodycam footage has been released. According to an autopsy, the cause of death was acute meningitis and sepsis. Alcoa senior finds support in sports community amid battle with Juvenile ALS Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen said that, while Batts was injured in KCSO custody, these injuries were not the cause of his death, nor did they contribute to it, citing the medical examiner. She said that the officers responded with appropriate force. In January, she announced that no charges would be filed. A urine analysis showed that Batts had fentanyl in his system, according to Spangler. Batts' family and their attorneys plan to hold a press conference at noon on Wednesday. Crump also represented the families of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
USC Aiken announces hire of new women's basketball head coach
Apr. 10—USC Aiken, in conjunction with Director of Athletics Todd Wilkinson, announced Thursday the hiring of Brittany Batts as the head women's basketball coach. "We are excited to welcome Brittany Batts to USCA as the next head coach of women's basketball," Wilkinson said in a press release. "Coach Batts brings a dynamic blend of leadership, experience, and a relentless commitment to excellence. Her passion for developing student-athletes and her competitive spirit are exactly what this program needs to be a force in the PBC and the Southeast Region. We believe she will build a culture of toughness, unity, and pride that our university and community will rally behind." Advertisement "I am honored and excited to be the head women's basketball coach at USC Aiken. I am grateful to Director of Athletics Todd Wilkinson and Chancellor Heimmermann for believing in my vision and providing me with the responsibility to lead the Pacer women's basketball program," Batts stated. "It is something I will cherish and put my best effort forward with every day. "I look forward to joining the USCA community and developing relationships with everyone involved in the women's basketball program. We will be relentless in our pursuit to put a product in the classroom, in the community and on the court that our alumni and fans will be proud of. Go Pacers!" Batts, the 2023-24 WBCA Division II Assistant Coach of the Year at Gannon, comes to USCA with impressive credentials. While working in the PSAC at Gannon and Shepherd, she coached 11 all-league performers. Additionally, she coached the 2023-24 National Player of the Year, Sam Pirosko. While with the Golden Knights, the program sported a record of 116-22. During the last four seasons, Batts led the program to a pair of Elite Eight appearances (2024-25) and four NCAA Tournaments. During the four years, the program captured two PSAC Tournament Championships (2022, 2024) and two regular-season PSAC-West Championships (2023-24). Advertisement The 2024-25 campaign saw Gannon become the lone program to reach the Elite Eight in back-to-back seasons. The Golden Knights finished No. 11 nationally with a 28-7 record while Batts worked with the post players after primarily coaching the guards during her first three seasons. In the 2023-24 season, Batts helped guide the team to an impressive 35-3 record, winning both the PSAC and Atlantic Regional Championships, and advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight as the No. 1 seed. Gannon was ranked as high as No. 2 in the WBCA Division II Top 25. As an assistant coach, Batts focused on the development of the team's guards, contributing to their success both on and off the court. She also played a key role in supporting student-athletes' academic progress and community engagement. Batts attended the 2025 Next Generation Institute for aspiring head coaches. The program focuses on the CEO attributes needed to lead a program and be a problem solver in the ever-changing landscape of higher education and the enterprise of intercollegiate athletics. Advertisement Batts began her coaching career after completing her playing career in 2015 and has experience at the Division I, Division II and Division III levels. She spent time as an assistant coach at Division I Chicago State for the 2020-21 campaign. There, Batts assisted with the development of perimeter players. In addition to her recruiting efforts, she assembled scouting reports and enhanced team and player performance through film breakdown. Prior to that, she was a member of the Shepherd coaching staff from 2018-20. Batts helped Shepherd rebound from an 11-18 record in 2018-19 in the Mountain east to post a 21-9 mark in 2019-20 in its first season of competition in the PSAC. While finishing with a 14-8 record in the PSAC East in 2019-20, three Rams earned all-PSAC East honors while Abby Beeman was also named PSAC East Freshman of the Year. Advertisement Batts joined the Shepherd program after serving as an assistant coach at Bridgewater College (Va.). She helped lead the Eagles to a 13-13 mark while one student-athlete garnered all-ODAC second team honors for the Eagles. Before coaching at Bridgewater, Batts served as a graduate assistant at Castleton University (Vt.) from 2015-17. The Spartans posted a 38-21 mark over two seasons. She was a four-year student-athlete and three-year starter for the Golden Knights from 2011-15, appearing in 125 career games with 92 starts. Batts averaged 9.2 points over her career and finished with 1,152 points, currently good for 20th in career scoring. Known for her 3-point shooting, she holds the top two season figures for 3-pointers made with 102 in 2012-13 and 93 in 2013-14. She ranks second in career 3-pointers made (286) and attempts (688) and is fifth in 3-point field goal percentage (.416). Advertisement Batts helped lead the Golden Knights to a 102-24 record and four NCAA postseason appearances, including winning the Atlantic Regional in 2013 to earn a berth in the Elite Eight. The 2012-13 Gannon squad finished with a 31-5 record. She was a three-time PSAC scholar-athlete, a second team all-PSAC West Division choice in 2013, and a first-team CoSIDA academic all-district selection at Gannon. A native of Loudoun County, Va., Batts is Loudoun County High School's all-time leading scorer with 2,039 points. A three-time All-Region and two-time All-State selection for the Raiders, Batts guided the program to a state championship in 2009. In 2022, she was inducted into the Loudon County H.S. Hall of Fame. Batts graduated from Gannon University with a degree in Sports Management with a minor in Advertising Communication. She earned her Masters in Athletic Leadership from Castleton University in 2017. USCA will host an introductory press conference for Batts in the Convocation Center Lobby on at 11:30 a.m. on April 17. Fans are welcome to attend.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cory Booker staffer arrested for allegedly carrying pistol without license at Capitol
A congressional staffer was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license after being escorted into the U.S. Capitol by a member of Congress, police said Tuesday. The United States Capitol Police said in a statement, "Yesterday afternoon, a Member of Congress led an ID'ed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building. "Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed. Hawley Officially A Yes On Dr. Oz After Securing Commitments On Transgender, Abortion Issues "The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia," the statement continued. Batts is listed as a "special assistant" to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Legistorm, a research entity that routinely updates salaries and information about lawmakers and their staffs. Read On The Fox News App In a statement to Fox News Digital, Booker spokesperson Jeff Giertz said, "Sen. Booker's office employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events. We are working to better understand the circumstances around this." 'Blindsided': How Stefanik's Trump Nomination As Un Ambassador Imploded In 2016, Booker shared a video of Batts on social media, identifying Batts as a former detective in Newark. At the time, Batts said he had worked for either the city of Newark or Booker's office for 28 years. "Kevin Batts has been a friend and team member since 2006 when I became mayor and even before," the senator wrote on Instagram. "I so deeply appreciate his steadfast friendship, incredible dedication to Newark and now his service to the state. Kevin was raised in Columbus Homes projects in Newark, then spent 6 years in the United States army reserves and then joined the Newark Police Department and became a detective in 2004. "In 2006, he joined my security detail as a member of Newark's executive protection unit. In 2013 he joined my Senate staff. I am truly blessed by his friendship and loyal hard work." How Trump-blocking Judges Managed To Get Past Senate Judiciary Hawks Booker also mentioned Batts in a 2017 commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania. "And as I told my driver, an incredible officer named Kevin Batts, retired from the Newark Police Department, joined my staff because of our friendship and our bond, I said to him, "Kev, we're almost home but do you mind? We have to swing through the drive-thru," he said. Batts' arrest comes as Booker continues to break records for one of the longest floor speeches in American Senate history. The senator, who began speaking Monday night, now holds the fourth-longest Senate floor speeches, recently surpassing Sen. Robert La Follette, R-Wis., who spoke for 18 hours and 23 minutes in 1908. Josh Hawley Believes His Bill Can Stop 'Resistance' Judges From 'Provoking A Crisis' Next up is the record held by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, whose speech against Obamacare in 2013 went on for 21 hours and 19 minutes. The record holder is Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against a civil rights bill in 1957. If Booker continues to speak, he will break Thurmond's record around 7:19 pm Eastern time on Tuesday article source: Cory Booker staffer arrested for allegedly carrying pistol without license at Capitol
Fox News
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Cory Booker staffer arrested for allegedly carrying pistol without license at Capitol
A congressional staffer was arrested for carrying a pistol without a license after being escorted into the U.S. Capitol by a member of Congress, police saidTuesday. The United States Capitol Police said in a statement, "Yesterday afternoon, a Member of Congress led an ID'ed staff member around security screening at the Hart Senate Office Building." "Later that evening, outside the Senate Galleries, the IDed staff member — who is a retired law enforcement officer — told our officers he was armed." "The staff member, 59-year-old Kevin A. Batts of New Jersey, was arrested for Carrying a Pistol Without a License. All weapons are prohibited from Capitol Grounds, even if you are a retired law enforcement officer, or have a permit to carry in another state or the District of Columbia," the statement continued. Batts is listed as a "Special Assistant" to Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., on Legistorm, a research entity that routinely updates salaries and information about lawmakers and their staff. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Booker spokesperson Jeff Giertz said, "Senator Booker's office employs a retired Newark police detective as a New Jersey-based driver who often accompanies him to events. We are working to better understand the circumstances around this." In 2016, Booker shared a video of Batts on social media, who he identified as a former detective in Newark. At the time, Batts said he had worked for either the city of Newark or Booker's office for 28 years. "Kevin Batts has been a friend and team member since 2006 when I became mayor and even before. I so deeply appreciate his steadfast friendship, incredible dedication to Newark and now his service to the state. Kevin was raised in Columbus Homes projects in Newark, then spent 6 years in the United States army reserves and then joined the Newark Police Department and became a detective in 2004. In 2006, he joined my security detail as a member of Newark's executive protection unit. In 2013 he joined my Senate staff. I am truly blessed by his friendship and loyal hard work," the senator wrote on Instagram. Booker also mentioned Batts in a 2017 commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania. "And as I told my driver, an incredible officer named Kevin Batts, retired from the Newark Police Department, joined my staff because of our friendship and our bond, I said to him "Kev, we're almost home but do you mind? We have to swing through the drive-thru …," he said. Batts' arrest comes as Booker continues to break records for one of the longest floor speeches in American Senate history. The senator, who began speaking Monday night, now holds the fourth-longest Senate floor speeches, recently surpassing Sen. Robert La Follette, R-Wis., who spoke for 18 hours and 23 minutes in 1908. Next up is the record held by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, whose speech against Obamacare in 2013 went on for 21 hours and 19 minutes. The record holder is Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against a civil rights bill in 1957. If Booker continues to speak, he will break Thurmond's record around 7:19 pm Eastern time on Tuesday night.
Forbes
23-03-2025
- Health
- Forbes
Sophia Bush's Union Heritage Takes Aim At The Overlooked 51% Via Chiyo
In an era where investors claim to champion diversity but rarely put capital behind their words, Sophia Bush and Nia Batts' Union Heritage Capital is putting its money where its mouth is in the women's health space. Their firm is investing in companies like Chiyo, Irene Liu's women's health nutrition platform, to help close a longstanding gap in care and funding. This disparity sees women, who make up 51% of the population, receiving less than 3% of medical research dollars focused on pregnancy, childbirth, and female reproductive health. Union Heritage views this gap not just as an ethical concern, but as a significant missed opportunity for market returns. I sat down with these three women to explore how they're transforming the landscape of maternal healthcare, leveraging a powerful convergence of activism, financial acumen, and scientific innovation – all directed at solving a crisis hiding in plain sight. "We've been investing alongside each other for almost 15 years," Bush explains. 'In the same way that so few people back groups of women like those of us right here, we also find that there are so few groups of women that look like us who are allocators.' For Bush and Batts, the mission is deeply personal. Over years of investing, they noticed a consistent blind spot: women's health was underfunded, misunderstood, and largely ignored by mainstream venture capital. That gap, and the lived experiences behind it, reshaped how they thought about where capital should go. When Batts was trying to conceive, she experienced firsthand the gaps in women's healthcare. "It took me nine months to get to the point where I was able to carry a pregnancy," she shares. "I had to start stripping away all the things that weren't working." Her journey led to discoveries about her body's response to nutrition and holistic approaches that weren't part of mainstream medical advice. "I was changing what I was eating, starting acupuncture... really starting to see the truth in the theory that food is medicine and that nature actually knows the way." They started seeing a pattern: intelligent, resourceful women facing systemic gaps and solving for them on their own. That realization became a through line in their investment approach. A key factor that drew them to Chiyo. While their investment in Chiyo aligns with their personal experiences, Bush and Batts emphasize they're not an impact fund. They are a traditional venture capital firm focused on non-concessionary returns. "What gets measured gets done. What gets invested in gets innovated," Batts explains. Their thesis is straightforward: underrepresented founders are best positioned to solve problems for underrepresented communities. Irene Liu recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30, exemplifies this principle. With degrees from UC Berkeley, Harvard, and Wharton, she brings a rare blend of academic rigor, scientific depth, and strategic vision. But her path to founding Chiyo wasn't a typical Silicon Valley lightbulb moment in a dorm. It was rooted in lived experience, watching her mother prepare and deliver healing meals to postpartum relatives. That quiet, consistent act reinforced a now widely accepted belief: food is medicine. Combined with her Taiwanese heritage, those early lessons shaped the foundation for Chiyo, a subscription service that blends modern nutritional science with traditional Eastern food therapy. Liu and co-founder Jennifer Jolorte Doro piloted a five-week postpartum meal delivery service in New York City. Demand quickly outpaced expectations, with thousands of pre-orders driven entirely by word of mouth. Irene Liu CEO and Founder - Chiyo Irene Liu Today, Chiyo serves fertility, pregnancy, and postpartum nutritional needs nationwide. "We've served over 80,000 meals, achieved 150% revenue growth in the past year, and built partnerships with more than 250 women's health practitioners," Liu says. 'The demand has always been there. The challenge has been getting investors to see the value in supporting women's health solutions at scale.' Liu recently secured $3.4 million in funding to expand operations, including opening a second kitchen in California this April. Liu believes the lack of investment in women's health isn't due to flawed business models, but to systemic barriers. While researching her concept, she saw this firsthand, and also recognized the value of something often overlooked: the role of cultural food traditions in postpartum care. Across many communities, these meals are designed to heal, nourish, and comfort new mothers. In the U.S., where formal postpartum support is limited, these rituals can offer crucial physical and emotional care. "I called up at least five women who had tried this before," Liu says. "It was never a problem of demand. It was always a problem of getting the resources to scale up. No investors would invest in them." Bush points out the mathematical absurdity: 'We know we're 51% of the population, but only 3% of medical research dollars go to women and almost none of those dollars go to pregnant women. If 51% of the population is being so underserved, the ratio to opportunity is insane. You're leaving 48% out of the economy.' But Bush shares that beyond capital, another equally significant barrier looms: credibility. "What bothers me about certain movements is that they are rooted in disinformation," Bush explains. 'They falsely correlate things that have nothing to do with each other in terms of scientific proof. Chiyo represents the antidote. Irene is sitting here saying, 'I made a product based on nutritional science to support women,' and that's the difference.' For investors interested in women's health, Batts offers clear advice: start early. "We need more investors in women's health at the earliest stages because that's when decisions get made about commercialization activities," she explains. 'Investors have a significant impact on the direction of focus.' "Their fund invests from pre-seed to Series A, capturing opportunities before they become mainstream trends. If you wait until the later stages, you're doing what's trendy, not always what's needed," Bush adds. While Bush and Batts frame their mission in moral terms, they're equally focused on what makes mathematical sense. 'We enjoy asking investors, 'are you comfortable leaving 48% of potential returns on the table?'' Bush says with a smile. Their approach is rooted in the belief that closing gaps in women's health isn't just ethical. It's a smart investment strategy with overlooked upside. For Union Heritage, this isn't just about diversifying portfolios- it's about reshaping the landscape of healthcare innovation. Bush is clear that the focus is on returns and results, not rhetoric. 'I don't care how we get them. I care that we get them,' she says, cutting through the performative posturing that often surrounds conversations about diversity in finance. In an industry where platitudes about inclusion frequently substitute for meaningful action, Union Heritage Capital and Chiyo are showing what's possible when women fund women. The returns ripple beyond balance sheets, creating opportunity for a new investment paradigm - an upward cycle where investment drives innovation, innovation improves outcomes, and improved outcomes generate sustainable returns. If this model continues to scale, it raises a compelling question: could what has long been the most overlooked market in healthcare become one of its most lucrative frontiers?
