Latest news with #Stone
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Texas Solicitor General Resigns After Sharing Bizarre Fantasy About An Asteroid
Content warning for discussions of sexual violence and harassment. Usually asteroids are distant features of the cosmos, occasionally crashing down to Earth or threatening the planet. Not so for former Texas solicitor general Judd Stone, who's been accused of making the distant space rocks a focal point in violent and bizarre fantasies about a coworker that he regaled to other people. Needless to say, that's wildly inappropriate and unacceptable. As 404 Media reports, Stone has now resigned from his position after a damning letter aired the allegations, which involved — apologies in advance — a phallic asteroid used as a sexual implement, like some sort of grotesque riff on a Chuck Tingle book. According to a letter sent by Texas' first assistant attorney general Brent Webster, Stone — who had at the time taken a leave of absence to defend Texas attorney general Ken Paxton in his impeachment trial — joked during a 2023 lunching with other government employees about a "disturbing sexual fantasy" that involved a "cylindrical asteroid." During the debacle, Stone described using said asteroid to sexually assault Webster while his wife and children watched. That letter, which is five pages long and full of additional allegations of sexual harassment and lies Stone allegedly told, is replete with gory details about this case that we won't regale you with. What's striking to us at Futurism, however, is the "cylindrical asteroid" of it all. Where did Texas's now-former solicitor general get such an idea, and what could it mean about who he is as a person — and, more importantly, how did it affect the people he worked with? While we don't have answers to those first two, it's quite clear from the letter how Stone's gruesome asteroid "joke" affected him and his colleagues. Along with Webster's own concerns about Stone's violent state of mind and his fear that his family could be in danger, the assistant AG added that a female employee who had been present for that stomach-turning lunch discussion had been so upset by the topic that she excused herself — only to return to japes from others at the table who said she "couldn't handle people talking about dicks." That same woman "exhibited emotional distress" when recounting the anecdote to Webster, and also told him, through tears, that she had been sexually harassed on other occasions by Stone and was concerned about the way he treated women. When confronted with the sexual harassment allegations against him, Stone admitted to them all immediately, including the bizarre asteroid fantasy. He was, as 404 notes, given the grace to quit or be fired, and chose the former. More on Texas-based misogyny: In Leaked Text, Elon Musk Harangued Woman to Have as Many of His Babies as Possible
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Difficult decisions:' GA non-profits prepare for federal cuts as budget moves forward in Congress
As lawmakers in Washington work out how to get a federal budget passed, potential cuts to government funding have some non-profits bracing for a new normal. Channel 2's Lori Wilson spoke to three non-profits that are all preparing for the future. 'It's been a rough road and I'm worried,' Karen Beavor, CEO of the Georgia Center for Non-Profits said. 'There is no way to plug the enormous gap, funding gap.' [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Beavor said she works with organizations every day that are all bracing for federal budget cuts. As it stands, the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' includes cuts to funding programs for education, healthcare and housing. TRENDING STORIES: Grandfather dies saving twin granddaughters from falling tree limb in Dacula Kennesaw City Council considering decriminalization of cannabis, reducing fines, sentences 'The Wire' actor says his son was 'thrown 300 feet' from their home in Henry County tornado Chris 180 is a mental health organization that supports children, youth and families in the metro Atlanta area that says they could be affected too. 'If we don't have funding to support the programs, we're not able to keep that workforce,' CEO Cati Stone said. 'We've had to make some really difficult decisions.' Stone said part of the organization's goal was to provide stability, and that's hard right now. 'In the meantime, as we wait for certainty, we're scenario planning and trying to identify what our options are in the future to be flexible,' Stone said. For the Interfaith Public Policy Center, an organization that empowers the faith community to advocate for the common good, CEO Wesley Myrick told Channel 2 Action News that some institutions have had to close. 'Unfortunately in the short term, we're seeing institutions close their doors,' Myrick said. 'We're seeing some staff members at institutions be furloughed.' Myrick said he hopes lawmakers look at the big picture and the domino effect big cuts will have on organizations that serve people in need across Georgia. 'It is hitting every community across our state,' Myrick said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- General
- NZ Herald
Stratford High School sets up school farm, students flock to learn farm management
The course covers Years 9 to 13. The intake was 'slightly more boy-heavy', but there had been 'good interest from our girls as well', Stone said. Two-thirds of Stratford's school leavers choose work placements over university, and they were keen to get practical experience. The school offered 'full farm management', and the business side would come later, he said. 'But for our Year 9s and 10s, and even Year 11s, it's more about that understanding of soil, pasture management, animal husbandry, farm management, spraying, and in time we will be looking to do our own hay as well. 'It's all about that side of farming and understanding what farm management is ... 'As they get older, and the standards are more designed for the business end of things, then the older students will look at that.' How hands-on does it get? 'Well, if you think about what happens on a normal farm, we run the same process. 'Our ewes are in lamb at the moment, there's a ram with them, so come late August or early September, the whole lambing process will occur, and our students are a big part of that. 'There's obviously the shearing process, our ewes will need to be shorn, our lambs will be sold, and we're lucky to have sale yards down the road. 'So that whole process, whole cycle, can be seen by our students and they will be a part of it.' It was 'not part of the plan, at the moment' for students to cull or slaughter animals, he added. The programme was run by agriculture teacher Fiona Putt, who was also a drystock farmer. 'We are really lucky to have our own agriculture teacher, as many schools have to use their science teacher.' Stone said the school had a five-year plan to develop a two-pronged agriculture programme, with a practice-based unit standard course, 'with potentially the support of someone like Primary ITO [Industry Training Organisation]', as well as an NCEA-accredited achievement standard, where senior students learned about the business side of farming. 'We're looking to progress, as numbers grow, as interest grows, and as we learn more about running a farm as a school. 'It's not as easy as it sounds, and we may need to look at having a part-time farm manager on board as well.' Year 10 student Vinny Hunt said he always wanted to be a farmer. 'I don't really like sitting in a class, and this is more hands-on and I wanted to get out.' He was looking forward to shearing and lambing later in the year, and said he had already learned a lot. 'I've learned how to safely handle sheep and cattle, how to calculate pasture cover and how to fix a fence.' He also enjoyed mustering sheep. Stone said that, from June next year, the school would get back 17 hectares that are currently leased out. The farm could take on more stock and perhaps diversify into dairy. It could also lead to the introduction of different standard courses, such as learning to use quad bikes and tractors. The school had received 'amazing' support from the community in getting the farm up and running, Stone said. 'We've had parents who are involved, local organisations who have helped out, either through sponsorship or labour. 'It's been unbelievable, how many people have supported us, and we're incredibly grateful.' Looking further afield, Vinny said agriculture was his favourite subject, and it was giving him skills for the future. 'I want to become a dairy farmer or maybe even drystock, or become a contractor mowing fields.' - RNZ
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Two Brooklyn NYPD officers docked pay for body-worn camera negligence
Two Brooklyn cops have been penalized for not properly categorizing dozens of encounters recorded on their body-worn cameras, according to NYPD documents. Officers Aron Baksh and Berland Prince, partners at the 78th Precinct, which mostly covers Park Slope, each lost five days' pay, according to documents posted online by the NYPD earlier this month. The wrongdoing dates back to February 2022, with the case delayed in part because of COVID. The officers rejected the opportunity to accept a command discipline and opted to go through an administrative trial at One Police Plaza in January. They could have lost 20 days' pay for the charges related to their cameras, the penalty recommended by a department prosecutor, Emily Collins. But an NYPD trial judge, Anne Stone, lowered the penalty to five days after finding the officers guilty, with Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch in March agreeing to the penalty that Stone recommended. Still, Stone was critical of the officers. According to the documents, Baksh and Prince ignored email warnings from supervisors that they faced disciplinary action if they did not correct their mistakes — Baksh 48 times and Prince 44 times failing to properly categorize each video and instead 'bulk categorizing' the footage, meaning the officers in a 'matter of seconds' labeled each of their videos the same way, such as an 'investigative encounter.' Going through each video is more time-consuming, but properly categorizing each one greatly eliminates the possibility that the department will not have access to videos when a case is prosecuted or if a lawsuit is filed. An investigative encounter, for instance, must be retained in the NYPD's cloud-based storage system for 18 months, while an arrest video must be kept for five years, according to NYPD policy. Videos involving murder cases must be kept forever, while those involving the issuance of summonses can be deleted after two years. Baksh testified he didn't think the emails were meant for him, and Prince contended 'he was surprised' to be on the list of officers who needed to fix their mistakes. Stone didn't buy their explanations, saying that if they were 'confused as to what they were doing wrong they should have asked for clarification.' The officers, who were in the same 2010 Police Academy class, refused comment, as did their lawyer, Michael Martinez. Baksh lost 27 other days' pay for other infractions, including working a security job without department approval, being late to a transit post and making logbook errors. Prince lost 12 other days' pay, including for the same transit post infraction and for logbook issues. Stone noted Collins had called for harsher penalties, including asking that both cops be placed on dismissal probation and suspended 30 days with no pay. But neither officer had prior disciplinary issues, Stone said.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Ohio man accused of pouring gas on mother of child, setting her on fire
An Ohio man was arrested after he allegedly set the mother of his child on fire last month, according to our CBS affiliate in Toledo, WTOL-11. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] 33-year-old Delvon Stone is facing aggravated arson, domestic violence and felonious assault charges for the incident that reportedly occurred on April 28. TRENDING STORIES: 'Sick individual;' Police arrest man for taking photos of children during Memorial Day parade 12-year-old shot in face while cleaning house, family says Wholesale retailer gets into pizza delivery business Court records obtained by WTOL-11 show that Stone allegedly poured gasoline of the woman and ignited it. The woman sustained severe burns and needed surgery as part of her treatment to recover, WTOL-11 reported. Authorities arrested Stone and booked him into the Lucas County Jail. He is expected to appear in court Tuesday morning. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
