Daily Archives: April 21, 2021

Due to stigma, their illegal status and difficulty in finding control groups, research with psychedelics has been a challenge. But research increasingly shows that this class of drug has legitimate medicinal uses, and they may be just as good or even better than more traditional therapies.

Now, the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London reports in the New England Journal of Medicine that when pitted against escitalopram (brand name: Lexapro), psilocybin was as effective as the popular SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) in treating moderate to severe depression. Perhaps most significantly, these results were obtained when comparing 6 weeks of daily doses of escitalopram to just two administrations of psilocybin.

Robin Carhart-Harris, head of the center who has published over 100 papers on psychedelics, is confident this study represents another step forward in applying psychedelics to mental health treatment protocols while also reducing fears a lot of citizens have around these substances. In a press release, he said:

"One of the most important aspects of this work is that people can clearly see the promise of properly delivered psilocybin therapy by viewing it compared with a more familiar, established treatment in the same study. Psilocybin performed very favorably in this head-to-head."

Credit: Robin Carhart-Harris et al, NEJM, 2021.

As depicted above, the phase 2 clinical trial included 59 volunteers. The escitalopram (control) group received six weeks of daily escitalopram in addition to two tiny (1-mg) doses of psilocybin a dose so low that it is unlikely to produce hallucinogenic effects. The psilocybin (experimental) group received two 25-mg doses of psilocybin three weeks apart with placebo given on all the other days.

At the end of the study, both groups saw a decrease in depressive symptoms, though the results were not statistically significant. (That isn't necessarily bad because if the two drugs have similar effects, then they would not produce statistically significant results. Still, a larger study is needed to confirm that psilocybin is "just as good as" escitalopram.)

Additionally, several other outcomes favored psilocybin over escitalopram. For instance, 57 percent in the psilocybin group saw a remission of symptoms compared to 28 percent in the escitalopram group. This result was significant.

As psychedelics become decriminalized and potentially legalized for therapeutic use, however, a large population of people might desire the antidepressant effects without the hallucinations. For example, the psychedelic ibogaine may be useful for treating addiction, so the company Mindmed is developing an analog that works without producing the unwanted hallucinogenic side effects.

A new research article, published in the journal PNAS, investigated the antidepressant effects of psilocybin on a group of chronically stressed mice. (Under immense stress, mice develop something resembling human depression.) As with humans, depressed mice lose a sense of joy, which can be assessed by determining their preference for sugar water over tap water. Normal mice prefer sugar water, but depressed mice simply don't care.

Once the mice were no longer juicing up on the sweetened water, the team dosed them with psilocybin alongside a drug called ketanserin, a 5-HT2A serotonin receptor antagonist that eliminates psychedelic effects. Within 24 hours of receiving the dose, the mice were rushing back to the sugar water, indicating that tripping is not necessary for psilocybin to work as an antidepressant.

While the team is excited about these results, they realize it needs to be replicated in a different population.

"The possibility of combining psychedelic compounds and a 5-HT2AR antagonist offers a potential means to increase their acceptance and clinical utility and should be studied in human depression."

Photo: Cannabis_Pic / Adobe Stock

Psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD have a long track record of efficacy in clinical trials and anecdotal experiences. Almost all volunteers of the famous Marsh Chapel experiment claimed their experience on Good Friday in 1962 was one of the most significant events of their lives and this was a quarter-century after the fact. A more recent, controlled study found that a single dose of psilocybin showed antidepressant effects six months later.

Proponents of macrodosing and ritualistic experiences sometimes argue that the full-blown mystical trip is the therapy, though this is anecdotal, not clinical research. As the Maryland team noted, a number of people are contraindicated for psychedelics, whether through a family history of schizophrenia or current antidepressant treatments.

Senior author Scott Thompson is excited for future research on this topic. As he said of his team's findings:

"The psychedelic experience is incredibly powerful and can be life-changing, but that could be too much for some people or not appropriate These findings show that activation of the receptor causing the psychedelic effect isn't absolutely required for the antidepressant benefits, at least in mice."

Hopefully, with more research occurring in psychedelics than even in the 1950s (when studies predominantly relied on anecdotal evidence and little government support), the longstanding stigmatization of psychedelics is beginning to recede. This could open up new possibilities for both clinical research and, for those curious about the ritual effects, a continuation of introspective experiences.

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Stay in touch with Derek on Twitter and Facebook. His most recent book is "Hero's Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy."

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A historian identifies the worst year in human history - Big Think

EMPORIA (KSNT) Some people in northeast Kansas are traveling to Minneapolis to commemorate the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Chauvin was found guilty Tuesday of unintentional second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter after he pressed his knee against George Floyds neck for over nine minutes.

Community advocate Jay Vehige is an Emporia native who is driving to Minnesota with friends to signify the moment in history, he said.

The ruling is something weve all been praying for and wishing for and thats why were going, Vehige said. We need to celebrate this victory right where it started and then come back home and continue the work that we really have to do here.

Vehige said he works with Black people in his community to create a safer place for everyone to live.

I just want to say to people that when you do fight, it does make a difference and to never give up, said Vehige.

This is a tipping point in the long history of injustice in our country, Vehige said. The 400 year-long history and legacy of racism its finally starting to fall down and we have the chance right now to make that difference. Wherever you are get involved in your community and fight for your people.

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Emporian headed to Minneapolis to celebrate tipping point in the long history of injustice - KSNT News

SOLON, OHIO When Dustyn Lucas signed with the first-year Bryant & Stratton College baseball program, he knew he would be part of many firsts.

But he may not have expected to be considered a pioneer pitcher.

The Bay City Central graduate earned that status April 18 when he pitched the first complete game in program history. Lucas spun a seven-inning gem for an 8-1 victory over Kent State Tuscarawas. More than 20 games into the debut season, he was the first Bryant & Stratton hurler to go the distance.

Bryant & Stratton is a fledgling NJCAA Division 2 program in Solon, Ohio, and Lucas jumped at the chance to play at the next level with the new squad.

The 6-foot right-hander was one of Bay City Centrals leading hitters with a .345 average as a junior in 2019. He worked 18 innings on the hill for the Wolves, posting a 2-1 mark, and was expected to serve as the teams No. 2 pitcher in 2020 a season that never happened due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

But Lucas is getting his chance to shine this spring. He sports a 3-0 record with a 2.25 ERA, striking out eight in 16 innings on the mound.

He made history for the Bobcats (18-6) with his complete-game performance. He struck out four and allowed three hits in a 109-pitch effort. He was one out away from a shutout before yielding an RBI double in the 8-1 win.

Pinconning graduate Kade Compeau also pitches for Bryant & Stratton. He came on to throw one inning of scoreless relief in Game 2, a 16-4 victory. Compeau has made nine appearances for the Bobcats and is 0-0 with one save and nine strikeouts in 13.1 innings.

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Bay City Central grad makes history with first-year college baseball program - MLive.com

CONYERS Dollar Bill had been his little best friend and constant companion for more years than he can remember. While Walter Harris' Chihuahua was small in stature, his heart was big and brave. With the house burning down around them, Harris and Dollar Bill scrambled to safety outside in the yard. It was then the little dog turned and ran back into the fiery blaze.

Folks say they believe he rushed back in to save Harris' grandson, Jefferson Tye, who had already managed to find his own way out of the collapsing house.

The brave little dog would not survive. He died of smoke inhalation and was later found among the ashes of the Conyers home. His dog's death was but one of the many blows Harris would suffer from that horrific early morning fire on March 22. That was the day the Rockdale County native lost everything he had ever worked for his entire life.

He lost ev-er-ry-thing, his niece Renee Simpson said. He lost every possession he ever owned and that he worked for all his life. Everything went up in flamesHe had no insurance. He had liability on his vehicles. Well have to buy him a truck. No insurance on his house and only liability on his truck and car. No pension, no savings, nothing.

A man of few words who lived a simple life, Harris never needed much. And what he did have, he shared with others who were lacking.

Hes always been so quiet, Simpson said. He was a workaholic and a fisherman and always there for the family. When the family was in need, he was always there to do whatever he could physically or financially when he was employed and had money.

Harris did construction work all his life, primarily laying brick and pouring concrete. He also did what he could for his fellow citizens in Conyers. Simpson tells how Harris had four lawnmowers and for years, he would put the equipment on the back of his trailer and go to small churches throughout the community and mow their lawns for free. Now that equipment too is just rubble in the ashes.

It was an old small mill house in the Milstead community, but it was Harris home for 51 years. Filled with photos and memorabilia from his 80 years of life, the little house is where he and his late wife lived and where they raised their family. His wife had lived in the house next door before the couple married, so to Harris, this spot, this community is special.

It is very sad, Simpson said. He is grieving daily. When I speak of that grief, just imagine a person who returns to the gravesite of a spouse daily. That was his entire life.

The elderly widower is temporarily staying with friends nearby, but his niece says he keeps telling her he just wants to go home. Since the day after the fire, Harris goes to the ruins of his home each morning at 8, where he stays until 7 each evening. His niece worries because he often talks with well-wishers who stop by about those terrible moments of March 22, and he cries.

Harris said it was about 4 a.m. when he heard a loud pop. He later told his niece he thought it was a transformer, so he got up and went to the kitchen in the front of the house. He saw smoke coming underneath the door, so he ran back to his bedroom to get dressed and when he returned to the front, the fire was coming underneath the door.

Simpson said the cause of the fire is undetermined. Some have suggested it might have been a gas leak, but his niece said her uncle had not had the gas connected to his house for four years. The only thing for sure is that the house is gone and all thats left now is a tumble of wood and destroyed belongings.

He said it hurts him to leave, Simpson said. While hes there, he just burns a piece or two or three and he literally stares at the fire. Ive never seen anything like it before in my life.

Some have recommended he move into an apartment or subsidized housing, but Harris tells them he will die if he has to do that. His niece says she believes he would grieve himself to death and probably would not live longer than a month.

He just wants to be right there in that exact spot and doesnt want to go anywhere else, she added. Simpson has sent out 213 letters to companies and organizations asking for help with rebuilding her uncles home. A few have reached out, but Simpson hopes others will offer to donate materials, money, services or volunteer their time. She said her uncle and family are grateful for everything people have already been doing to help.

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There have been a couple of churches that have come out and left money for food, she said. Beasleys Drug Store has been wonderful. Theyve been bringing food out. Weve had people in the community to bring him clothing and now he has more than he needs. Toiletries have been overwhelming. He has an abundance. Our main focus right now is the difficult part of getting the house reconstructed. Were needing building materials, laborers, people who are professionals who can donate their time for flooring, insulation, drywall and other needs.

A licensed real estate agent for 24 years, Simpson has found a house plan that is as similar as possible to Harris former home. It is a small two-bedroom cottage with a family room and a kitchen.

Hes pleased with that, she said. He just wants to be right there in that exact spotAll he talks about is having his house rebuilt. He says, I just want to go home and walk into my house.

Simpson said she is planning to go through her own old family photos and is looking forward to the day she can frame a few to hang on the walls of her uncles new house.

Every time he sees her, Harris tells his niece how much he appreciates her and says he doesnt know what he would do without her. Simpson worries about her uncle and wants to do everything she can.

I cant explain it, she said. Hes in his own world. Ive never seen him like this in my whole life.

A GoFundMe page has been set up and donations can be made by going to

Thats my favorite uncle always, Simpson said, adding that she is the daughter of Harris late brother, James, who passed away in 1997. Hes a fisherman and I love fish. I could eat it seven days a week. Hed always go fishing and hed call me up and say hes got fish for me. Id pop in on him and make sure hes OK Weve always been very close.

It was Harris neighbor, who is also a close family friend, who called Simpson the morning of the fire. She first asked the friend if her uncle and cousin were safe and the friend said yes, but added that no one could find little Dollar Bill.

Simpson arrived at daybreak to see her uncle standing there with tears rolling down his face.

I felt a sense of tremendous void, Simpson said. I was hurting as though Id just lost my dad all over again. The tears from him were not just for a loss, but a death. It touched me to the core, and I could not fathom what he was feeling at that time. Every emotion he was feeling, it drifted over to me. I could feel itThe takeaway is he survived and my cousin survived. So after gathering myself, I was able to give a sigh of relief.

All of this other stuff can be replaced, but when you think about it, I know this is what hes thinking, it cannot be replaced. Fifty-one years. It cannot.

Stacker mined 2019 data (released in 2020) from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and compiled a list of the highest-paying jobs that require a bachelors degree. Click for more.

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Conyers resident Walter Harris grieves loss of home and history - Henry Herald

Bull markets don't die of old age, as investors have been often reminded during this most recent one, but how long on average do they live?

Investors who consult the historical S&P 500 chart will find a technical answer to this question. Market history says anywhere from four to 11 years, and big first-year gains have been followed by longer bull market periods. That could be read as good news for investors inclined to take a technical view of stock momentum: the bull run in the U.S. large cap stock index that began after the sudden Covid collapse of March 2020 posted the biggest first-year gain for the S&P 500 since 1945, according to CFRA Research data.

Stock dipped in trading to start the week after Friday's Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 new records and tech shares were leading the losses on Monday. Investors have been worried and will continue to fear a pullback, and that is clear from the Wall Street research notes and institutional investor commentary whether "the big drop" is coming in May or June, watch that VIX and keep adding the hedges. When it comes to fears about a broader correction, the truth is that the corrections (plural) already happened.

A trader takes a break on Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange.

Brendan McDermid | Reuters

Several areas of the market have experienced declines of 10% or more at some point in 2021. In February and March, the big technology and growth names that had led the market for so long corrected 15%. Then energy stocks, after bouncing back hugely after their Covid bottom, experienced a 13% declined in just two weeks' time in 2021. The Russell 2000 small-cap rally, which was torrid after the November 2020 election, also fell 10% in a matter of two weeks.

"Pretty much, the entire stock market saw a 10% correction, but at different points," according to a Fundstrat Global Advisors note from around the one-year anniversary of the Covid bottom in late March. Fundstrat thinks these "rolling corrections" diminished the odds of a broader index correction. But that has not stopped investors from worrying about the hit still to come to stock portfolios, whether the culprit is the inflation bogeyman, a hedge fund failure signalling worse yet, or just a market that keeps uncovering the isolated but unnerving headlines that indicate a "bubble" through being about crypto or a New Jersey deli that reached a $100 million market capitalization without almost anyone realizing it.

The market has gone up a lot, in record time. Since the low on March 23, 2020, the S&P 500 has surged more than 90%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average just under 88%; and the Nasdaq near-112%. That's the highest first-year bull market gains since 1945 and outpaced the average of 37.5% for all prior bull markets.

The speed of this bull market makes sense when one looks at how quickly the bear market of 2020 occurred: 33 days from peak to trough, according to CFRA. "The fastest on record," according to Sam Stovall, CFRA's chief investment strategist. And then the market recovered everything it had lost in fewer than five months, the third-shortest period in market history to recoup such a massive level of losses. The history of the past 12 bull markets shows that those that bounced back from bear markets fastest also lasted the longest, on average. Only four of the past 12 bull markets did not make it to 1,000 days. The remaining bulls lasted from four years (October 1957) to nearly 11 years (March 2009).

A simple explanation: bull markets that return quicker are an indication that investors had less uncertainty, and more conviction in an economic and earnings recovery.

"The timidity with which investors are willing to get back in that implies how long the bull market can last," Stovall said. In this case, it's the lack of timidity, and what already occurred this year is emblematic of bull markets. You can call it "rolling corrections" or as Stovall does, "subsurface rotations rather than an overall retreat."

April earnings are so far coming in strong and Wall Street is climbing the wall of worry. Stovall thinks that tailwind can still get better and provide more momentum. "Investors in general think current estimates understate what is likely to happen in 2021 and we should we get a second half surge of economic growth."

A caveat to this bull market, and as a result any reading of the historical chart of the S&P 500 as a reason to remain bullish, is its origin. As former Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said last spring, Covid was more like a bad "snowstorm" than any market and economic downturn that had occurred before, including the Great Depression. But to technical market analysts, it really doesn't matter what causes the reset in prices and valuation when identifying the end of one bull market and the start of a new one.

Yes, this time was different. The break in the former bull market was a "conscious choice," i.e., shutting down the economy. But all bull and bear markets are "man-made" on one way or another, and for Stovall, the charts say a "bear market" is a bear market is a bear market. The bear market of 2020 was a cyclical bear market rather than a secular bear market, or even a "mega meltdown one."His preferred way to describe it? Not a snowstorm either, but just "garden variety" bear.

Bull markets can last years before they die, but over rolling 10-year periods going back a century, about 6% compound annual growth from the S&P 500 is the norm.

Secular forces are coming for investors, namely the crossroads in interest rates. That does concern Stovall. "I think investors have to contend with the secular change in the bond bull market and the downward trending yield environment since 1980. We have gone 40 years in a secular bull market for interest rates and now we are making that turn."

It is the K or V shape that the bond market takes which is now more concerning than all the debate in the past year about a K or V-shaped U.S. economic recovery. It doesn't mean there will be a V-shaped recovery in rates, "but certainly the best is behind us in terms of low yields," Stovall said.

For investors who want to draw more pessimistic bull market parallels from the past, Stovall points to two of most recent bull markets that did not make it to 1,000 days: 1966 and 1970. The 1966 market was the tail end of the "data processing bubble" yes, the 1960s had the first tech bubble. And 1970 was when inflation finally started to take hold of the economy and investor sentiment. "My worry would be overstimulating of the U.S. economy leading to sharper than anticipated rise in inflationary expectations and interest rates," Stovall said.

Which is exactly what had investors are worried about already, and were throughout early 2021 before the market tore past those fears.There are technical reasons to worry in the short-term. The S&P 500 already is up double digits on a percentage basis this year, more stocks than ever are trading above their 200-day moving average, and it is expensive relative to its own history, and overseas stocks (which the index has been expensive relative to for years already), as well as small-caps based on the earnings growth projections.

Stovall's view is that it is OK to think the best of this bull market is behind us, and prepare for periods of "stock market digestion," but that does not mean the good times are ending, especially if recent GDP projections for this year turn out to be accurate. "It doesn't mean we are headed for a 1929-like crash, but investors should expect more normal returns going forward," he said.

On average, the history of the S&P 500 shows that the first-year return of a bull market is 38% and the second year less than 12%. More important in Stovall's view is the 6% compound annual growth rate that the S&P 500 has turned in on a rolling 10-year basis going back 100 years.

"The implication is things will be coming down. An ease of gains rather than erase of returns," he says.

For traders in the Robinhood market who measure their success by how much they make on any given day, that might not be good enough. But one hundred years of market history says this is at least a safe, if somewhat sobering, longer-term bet on the bull market having legs.

Excerpt from:

When the bull market in stocks will end, according to S&P 500 history - CNBC

On April 5, NYU announced that vaccine efforts would be amplified following the increase of vaccine stock. In an email sent by Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, executive lead of NYUs COVID Prevention & Response Team, the efforts began with the vaccination of 1,200 students, just in time for New York States expansion of vaccine eligibility which permitted residents aged 16 and older to receive vaccines beginning April 6.

The university employed a lottery system, randomly selecting 1,200 of the students who filled out the COVID-19 Vaccine Interest & Certification Survey. Demand for the vaccine exceeds its availability, which is why NYU encouraged students to seek vaccination appointments elsewhere and not to rely solely on the universitys efforts. Though the demand for vaccines is high, there is still a noticeable hesitancy among Americans. Some of this comes from unfounded fears, such as conspiracies of microchips in the vaccines, or baseless claims that the vaccine is deadly. However, not all apprehension is unjustified. There is a long history of medical misconduct at the hands of the federal government towards Black Americans.

Black communities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. However, a poll conducted by Pew Research Center revealed that only 42 percent of the demographic would immediately take the vaccine. This documented distrust in the vaccine is rooted in fact. There is no history of vaccinations being used to microchip individuals or to alter human DNA, but there is a history of Black Americans being denied proper, effective medical care.

The Tuskegee Syphilis Study, also referred to as the Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the African American Male, was an unethical study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Public Health Service that spanned 40 years, from 1932 to 1972.

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A total of 600 Black male sharecroppers in Macon County, Alabama enrolled in the study, 399 of whom had latent syphilis. Medical exams, transportation to appointments, meals on examination days and even remedies for other ailments were used as an incentive for participants.

The administrators of the study withheld treatment from men who were unaware of their diagnosis in order for medical professionals to observe the effects of the untreated illness. They were given placebos and were made to believe that they were being healed. Despite the discovery of penicillin in 1947, the study did not administer it to the participants, allowing them to suffer from the illness.

These accounts do not mean that refusing the vaccine is a sound decision. This is merely to say that the particular reservations of Black Americans comes from a proven history of injustice that still perpetuates a multigenerational distrust of the government.

There is no evidence of this corruption in vaccine distribution, but scientists and medical professionals still have a responsibility to address these concerns in a way that specifically pertains to the experiences of Black Americans.

Opinions expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of WSN, and our publication of opinions is not an endorsement of them.

EmailSydney Barraganat[emailprotected]

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OPINION: The CDC must grapple with its racist history - NYU Washington Square News

For many observers, the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer charged in George Floyds death, has felt like the culmination of years of outrage and grief over police killings of Black people in America. Video of the arrest that led to Mr. Floyds death inspired demonstrations that touched every corner of the country last summer, with protesters demanding justice for Mr. Floyd.

The Times reviewed dozens of similar cases in which encounters between Black people and police ended fatally. Though many cases prompted public outrage, that did not always translate to criminal indictments. In some cases, police officers were shown to have responded lawfully. In others, charges were dropped or plea agreements were reached. Some have resulted in civil settlements. But very few have resulted in convictions at trial.

These cases offer valuable points of comparison about what issues video evidence, drug use, whether the person who died was armed proved decisive in each outcome and what consequences, if any, officers faced. Even as the trial has unfolded, several events, including the killing of Daunte Wright just a few miles from Minneapolis, have provided a grim reminder that Mr. Floyds death is one in a decades-long history of fatal encounters.

In many killings, the officers involved are never indicted, much less brought to trial, even when the victim was unarmed. Prosecutors charged Mr. Chauvin four days after his encounter with Mr. Floyd.

Eric Garner, Staten Island, 2014

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Garner was standing outside a store when officers, who believed he was selling cigarettes illegally, confronted him. Officer Daniel Pantaleo wrapped his arm around Mr. Garners neck, forcing him to the ground as Mr. Garner told officers, I cant breathe. Officer Pantaleo testified to a grand jury that he had intended to use a maneuver he learned at the Police Academy and that he had tried to unhook himself when he heard Mr. Garners pleas.

OUTCOME: A grand jury ruled that there was not enough evidence to indict Officer Pantaleo. Federal investigators also declined to bring charges.

Michael Brown, Ferguson, Mo., 2014

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson. Mr. Wilson originally testified that he had been responding to a report of a stealing in progress at a convenience store when he encountered Mr. Brown and another person walking in the street and tried to block their path with his car. A scuffle ensued, followed by a foot chase that ended when Mr. Wilson shot an unarmed Mr. Brown several times.

OUTCOME: A grand jury declined to indict Mr. Wilson. A separate U.S. Department of Justice investigation did not result in charges. More than five years later, a St. Louis County prosecutor reopened the case but ultimately decided not to prosecute Mr. Wilson.

Tamir Rice, Cleveland, 2014

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Tamir, 12, was playing with a toy gun in a park when he was shot and killed by Officer Timothy Loehmann. A 911 caller reported seeing a person with a gun but said that it was probably fake and that the person was probably a juvenile. Surveillance video showed that Mr. Loehmann had opened fire on Tamir within two seconds of arriving on the scene.

OUTCOME: Local prosecutors never pressed charges against Mr. Loehmann or his partner, Frank Garmback. A federal investigation that languished under two administrations also ended without charges.

Stephon Clark, Sacramento, 2018

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Clark was in his grandmothers backyard when Officers Terrence Mercadal and Jared Robinet, responding to a vandalism complaint, fatally shot him because they believed he was holding a gun. The police did not find any weapon but found a cellphone under his body.

OUTCOME: The officers believed that he was pointing a gun at them, according to the district attorney, who declined to charge them. State and federal prosecutors also declined to bring charges.

Breonna Taylor, Louisville, Ky., 2020

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Ms. Taylor was killed in her apartment during a botched raid by police officers who later said they had announced their presence, which most witnesses said they did not hear. When her door was broken down after midnight, her boyfriend shot at what he thought were intruders, striking one officer in the leg. In response, that officer and two others fired 32 shots toward the couple.

OUTCOME: Neither of the two officers who struck Ms. Taylor were indicted by a grand jury, which did indict a third officer on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing recklessly into her neighbors apartment. There is an F.B.I. investigation into her death.

Charging police officers with a crime in a fatal encounter does not guarantee that they will face a trial jury. Prosecutors may drop charges if they believe their case is weak or if they reach an agreement with the defendant to avoid trial. In fact, Mr. Chauvin initially agreed to go to prison for at least 10 years in a plea deal, but the deal was scuttled by the Justice Department.

Sandra Bland, Prairie View, Texas, 2015

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Ms. Bland was found hanged in her jail cell three days after a Texas state trooper, Brian T. Encinia, arrested her during a traffic stop. In an affidavit justifying the arrest, Mr. Encinia said he had removed Ms. Bland from the car so he could safely investigate it. A grand jury ruled that claim false and indicted him on a perjury charge.

OUTCOME: Prosecutors dropped the charge after Mr. Encinia agreed to end his career in law enforcement.

Freddie Gray, Baltimore, 2015

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Gray died after sustaining a severe spinal cord injury in a police transport van. He had been handcuffed but not secured with a seatbelt. The states attorney charged the six officers involved. In four trials, defense lawyers raised doubts about the narrative laid out by the prosecution and argued that there wasnt enough evidence to show that the officers had acted inappropriately.

OUTCOME: After failing to secure convictions at trials for the first four officers, the states attorney later dropped the charges against the others. Federal prosecutors also declined to charge them.

Videos captured by dashboard cameras, body-worn cameras and bystanders with cellphones have significantly changed the way police officers are prosecuted. In the Chauvin trial, the widely viewed bystander video is the central piece of evidence for the prosecution, whose experts analyzed it frame by frame.

Walter Scott, North Charleston, S.C., 2015

FATAL ENCOUNTER: During a traffic stop over a broken taillight, Mr. Scott left his vehicle and began running away. Officer Michael T. Slager shot and killed him, initially claiming that the two had scuffled over a Taser. But a bystander video showed Mr. Slager shooting an unarmed Mr. Scott in the back from 17 feet away and then planting his own Taser next to Mr. Scotts body.

OUTCOME: Mr. Slager was tried on a murder charge in state court, but the jury was unable to decide whether he should be acquitted, convicted of murder or found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, and a mistrial was declared. Mr. Slagers defense team later worked out a plea deal to settle all state and federal charges against him, but the plea agreement left it up to a judge to decide if Mr. Slager was guilty of second-degree murder or voluntary manslaughter. The judge ultimately found Mr. Slager guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced him to 20 years in prison.

Oscar Grant III, Oakland, Calif., 2009

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Grant was shot and killed by Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, Calif. Dozens of bystanders watched and recorded as transit officers, who had been called to break up a fight, roughly detained several passengers. During the confusion, Mr. Mehserle fatally shot Mr. Grant in the back while he was being restrained by another officer. Mr. Mehserle would later say he meant to use his Taser, and not his gun, when he shot Mr. Grant a claim disputed by prosecutors. Bystander videos led to citywide protests and provided critical angles not captured by surveillance video or police cameras.

OUTCOME: Mr. Mehserle was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 11 months in prison in 2010. Last year, a district attorney said she would reopen the case, focusing on a different officer, Anthony Pirone, after a 2019 report showed that he had punched Mr. Grant in the face and used a racial slur.

Many investigations of police killings hinge on whether the person killed had been armed, or whether the officer had reason to believe he was armed, a judgment that officers say they have only a split second to make. Thats not a factor in the Chauvin trial Mr. Floyd was unarmed, and there was never any contention that he had a weapon.

Sean Bell, Queens, 2006

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Bell was with friends during his bachelor party the night before his wedding when detectives fired at the car they were in, killing Mr. Bell and wounding others. At trial, witnesses testified that they had heard a gun mentioned in an argument involving Mr. Bell. The detectives argued that they had believed they had to intervene to prevent a drive-by shooting. Investigators did not find any guns afterward.

OUTCOME: A judge acquitted the detectives involved, saying they had made a fair and just decision based on a reasonable fear that someone was armed. Federal prosecutors also declined to charge them.

Akai Gurley, Brooklyn, 2014

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Gurley was unarmed and in the stairwell of a public housing complex when Officer Peter Liang entered it with his gun drawn. Mr. Liangs gun went off, and the bullet ricocheted off a wall and struck Mr. Gurley, killing him. Mr. Liang said he had accidentally discharged his weapon. Prosecutors argued that Mr. Liang had been reckless in having his weapon drawn and that he had not done enough to save Mr. Gurleys life.

OUTCOME: A jury convicted Mr. Liang of manslaughter.

When drugs or alcohol are present, defense teams and police departments may cite them as a contributing cause of death or point to resulting erratic behavior as a justification for using deadly force. Mr. Chauvins lawyer, Eric J. Nelson, has repeatedly asserted that Mr. Floyds death was caused by a combination of drug use and an underlying medical condition.

Daniel Prude, Rochester, N.Y., 2020

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Prude was experiencing a psychotic episode when he ran out of his brothers Rochester home. When officers arrived, they placed Mr. Prude, who was naked and high on PCP, in a spit hood and pinned him to the pavement for at least two minutes until he became unresponsive. Mr. Prude was taken to a hospital, where he died seven days later.

OUTCOME: Though the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, a grand jury declined to indict any of the seven officers involved. The officers were suspended five months after Mr. Prudes death.

Terence Crutcher, Tulsa, Okla., 2016

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Crutcher was standing in the street next to his S.U.V. when the police approached him. He raised his hands but walked away from them, even after they told him to stop. Officer Betty Jo Shelby fired a single shot, fatally striking Mr. Crutcher in the chest. The police said Mr. Crutcher had been talking nonsensically and was not complying with officers demands. A vial of PCP was found in his vehicle, and an autopsy found that the drug was in his system at the time of his death.

OUTCOME: In her trial on manslaughter charges, Officer Shelby testified that she had seen Mr. Crutcher reach into the S.U.V. and that she had been trained to consider that a move to grab a weapon. A jury acquitted her.

Rebuking a fellow officer is rare. Police unions and top officials are often loath to speak out against one of their own. One of the most damning pieces of witness testimony against Mr. Chauvin came from the Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, who said Mr. Chauvin had absolutely violated department policies on the use of force, de-escalation and the duty to render aid.

Philando Castile, St. Anthony, Minn., 2016

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Castile was shot and killed by Officer Jeronimo Yanez during a traffic stop. During Mr. Yanezs trial on charges of second-degree manslaughter and endangering safety by discharging a firearm, his defense relied heavily on the testimony of fellow officers, who argued that Mr. Yanez had reacted reasonably when Mr. Castile disclosed that he had a firearm in the vehicle.

OUTCOME: The St. Anthony police chief, Jon Mangseth, said Mr. Yanezs actions were consistent with his departments policies and training. Mr. Yanez was acquitted and cleared of all charges.

Laquan McDonald, Chicago, 2014

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Laquan, 17, was shot 16 times by Officer Jason Van Dyke. Mr. Van Dykes fellow officers initially backed his claim that Laquan, who was armed with a knife, had lunged menacingly toward police. The officers version of events was later disproved by dashboard camera video that showed Laquan had been walking away from officers when he was killed.

OUTCOME: Mr. Van Dyke was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to nearly seven years in prison. Three other officers were tried and acquitted on charges that they had conspired to protect Mr. Van Dyke. The case also prompted a federal investigation into to the Chicago Police Department that found that officers routinely violated civil rights and operated under a code of silence to protect one another.

Courts have generally accepted the argument that the police need to make difficult, quick decisions while responding to perceived threats. In Mr. Chauvins trial, prosecutors have argued that the defendant had ample time to change how he was subduing Mr. Floyd but did not, even after it was clear that Mr. Floyd had stopped moving.

Sylville K. Smith, Milwaukee, 2016

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. Smith was fatally shot about 12 seconds after the police confronted him and another man in a car about a suspected drug deal. The two men tried to run away. Mr. Smith tossed his gun over a fence and was trying to climb over it when Officer Dominique Heaggan-Brown shot him. The officer fired again once Mr. Smith had landed on the ground.

OUTCOME: Mr. Heaggan-Brown was charged with reckless homicide, but his defense argued that he had followed his training. A jury acquitted Mr. Heaggan-Brown in Mr. Smiths killing, but he was later convicted on unrelated charges.

John Crawford III, Beavercreek, Ohio, 2014

INCIDENT: Mr. Crawford picked up an unwrapped, unloaded air rifle while shopping at Walmart. Another shopper called 911 to report a suspicious man with a gun. Officer Sean Williams fatally shot Mr. Crawford in the store within seconds of seeing him holding the fake gun.

OUTCOME: The officers at the time believed they were responding to what could have turned into a mass shooting, the special prosecutor for the case said. A local grand jury declined to indict Officer Williams in 2014. A federal grand jury did the same in 2017.

Even when, as in the death of Mr. Floyd, much of the public views a killing as not justified and prosecutors believe they have strong evidence to prove that, the outcome is far from certain. Even when prosecutors sway some jurors, others may have remained unconvinced, which has led to mistrials. Prosecutors can sometimes secure convictions in subsequent trials.

Samuel DuBose, Cincinnati, 2015

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Mr. DuBose was driving without a front license plate when Raymond M. Tensing, a University of Cincinnati police officer, stopped him. As the officer questioned him, the car began to roll forward. Officer Tensing shot Mr. DuBose in the head. The officer claimed that he felt that the car was dragging him and that he feared he would be run over.

OUTCOME: Jurors couldnt agree that Mr. Tensing had intended to kill Mr. DuBose or that he had acted out of rage or passion, so the judge declared a mistrial. A jury deadlocked in a second trial, and prosecutors dropped the case.

Damon Grimes, Detroit, 2017

FATAL ENCOUNTER: Damon, 15, was illegally riding an all-terrain vehicle when state troopers tried to stop him. As Damon disregarded their orders and kept riding ahead, Trooper Mark Bessner shot Damon with Taser darts from the passenger window, sending him careening into a parked truck. Damon, who was unarmed, died shortly afterward.

OUTCOME: Mr. Bessner was charged with murder but testified that he had thought Damon was reaching for a gun. The jury deadlocked; a second trial ended in his conviction on manslaughter charges.

Read the rest here:

Derek Chauvin, George Floyd and the Long History of Police Killings - The New York Times

A little bit of hope died last night in a 5-2 loss by the Chicago Blackhawks to the Nashville Predators, their sixth loss to the Predators this season. Watching the opening of the third period, I felt like I was Ralph Wiggum when Lisa Simpson broke his heart, I could see and feel the exact moment my playoff spirit for the Blackhawks broke. It was the Luke Kunin goal to make it a 5-2 game. Damnit, Luke. Why did it have to be a former Wisconsin Badger to break my heart like that?

With the loss, and a Dallas Stars win last night, the Blackhawks fell to sixth-place in the Central Division. They trail the Predators by four points in the standings and now trail the Stars by a point for fifth-place. Two more games remain against the Predators this season and it is unlikely, given the history between the Blackhawks and Predators over the last four years, that Chicago will make a miraculous turnaround and get right back into contention. Im happy to be wrong, but I dont think I will be.

I ran this poll last night following the game. Even with the recency-bias of the result, it appears overwhelmingly that Blackhawks fans are feeling the same sense. The thought of making the playoffs is all but over.

Faltering in big moments has somewhat become the calling card for the Blackhawks under head coach Jeremy Colliton. Aside from winning the play-in series against an unmotivated Edmonton Oilers team last summer, when the lights have shined brightest on the Blackhawks in the past three seasons, when theyve had big moments to swing momentum or move up in the standings, or even get a win on a special night (Patrick Kanes 1,000th game comes to mind), they fall flat more often than not.

Im not sure where they go from here, but a win on Wednesday for Chicago, and for Detroit, would do wonders for the sliver of hope and optimism that still resides in my heart and the hearts of many other Blackhawks fans.

Punches in bunches will do a lot of damage in boxing or MMA, and the same goes for hockey with goals coming in quick succession. Chicago allowed two goals in 51 seconds in the second period to blow Nashvilles lead at the time to 3-1, and then started the third period with two goals in 18 seconds to drive the nail in the coffin of the game.

Bad defensive reads and turnovers continue to plague the Blackhawks. But, it also doesnt help when it feels like the Hockey Gods, who once smiled upon the Blackhawks, have now turned their backs to them.

The most egregious incident was on the 4-2 goal to open the third period. Connor Murphy loses his helmet in a puck battle and, by rule, must immediately leave the ice if he cannot retrieve his helmet. Murphy leaves, two Predators are left unchecked in front of Kevin Lankinen, Nashville scores.

You can see in the video, Murphys helmet doing almost as good of a job as the Blackhawks on defense.

18 seconds after the 4-2 goal, Duncan Keith blows a tire in transition and Luke Kunin is left wide open in front of Kevin Lankinen and buries the 5-2 goal. Game over.

It didnt help last night that the Blackhawks were shorthanded defensively for about 90% of the game. Early in the first period, defenseman Wyatt Kalynuk took a hit along the boards and had to leave the game. He didnt return and Chicago was down to five defensemen for the remainder of the game.

Chicago was also a bit shorthanded in their forwards group as well, with Brandon Hagel being a late scratch after a delay with his COVID test results. After the game, it was revealed he had another false positive test and didnt get his result in time to play. This is the second time Hagel has had a false positive in three weeks.

With Hagel out, newly acquired forward Adam Gaudette would make his Blackhawks debut on the first line with Alex DeBrincat and Kirby Dach. Talk about a big opportunity in your first game.

And talk about not getting a chance to take advantage of it. Although Gaudette did register his first assist as a Blackhawk on David Kmpfs goal to make it 3-2 in the second period, Gaudette was not given ample ice-time.

Chicago has ten games remaining this season. All ten of them are now going to be against teams that are ahead of them in the Central Division standings. Of the Predators, Blackhawks, and Stars, Chicago has the toughest schedule ahead of them as the three teams battle for the final playoff spot. Im an optimistic person, but Im not that optimistic.

Hey! Heres some good news for Blackhawks and Bulls fans, apparently Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot believes that fans may return to the United Center before the seasons end!

Just in time for the Blackhawks to possibly not be in the playoff hunt. Woo.

Its a somewhat somber Blackhawks birthday today as Brent Seabrook turns 36 -years-old today. You hate to see a player that has meant so much to the organization for so many years not get to celebrate his birthday with his teammates, like Im sure he expected to do a few months ago.

As much as his play had declined in recent years, you still gotta love Brent Seabrook and his legacy with the Blackhawks.

Speaking of legacies, a huge milestone record was broken in the NHL last night as Patrick Marleau passed Gordie Howe for the most NHL games every played with his 1,768th game.

Marleau is a lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame with over 500 goals in his career and nearing 1,200 points. He now holds the record for most NHL games played and was part of two Olympic Gold Medal teams with Canada in 2010 and 2014. He has 195 career Stanley Cup playoff games under his belt as well.

Marleau was honored last night by seemingly everyone across the NHL last night, but the most attention-grabbing tribute came from his former teammates with the Toronto Maple Leafs as young stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner paid tribute, with a cameo from Marleaus long-time San Jose Sharks teammate Joe Thornton.

You can see just how much every one of his 1,768 games has meant to Marleau.

What an honor for such a likable player and person. Congratulations!

. Thats all for today. Have yourselves a good Tuesday!

More:

Playoff Hopes Fading, Reality Setting In, Marleau Makes History, and Other Blackhawks Bullets - bleachernation.com

A key investor in the mysterious $100 million company that owns only a tiny New Jersey deli has a history of legal woes and ties to several people who have criminal convictions or have been sanctioned by regulators.

They include a lawyer, an accounting firm and a former stockbroker who have done work related to the company, Hometown International. They are linked to shareholder Peter Coker Sr., a 78-year-old North Carolina businessman.

Coker's Hong Kong-based son, Peter Coker Jr., is chairman of Hometown International, whose Your Hometown Deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey, had sales of only about $35,000 in the past two years combined.

Despite those meager sales, Hometown International had nearly 8 million common shares of stock outstanding. On Monday, shares of the company rose 0.15% to $13.01.

Hometown International, which has traded on the over-the-counter market since 2019, catapulted out of obscurity last week after hedge fund manager David Einhorn mentioned its bizarrely high market capitalizaton in a letter to clients.

"Someone pointed us to Hometown International (HWIN), which owns a single deli in rural New Jersey ... HWIN reached a market cap of $113 million on February 8," Einhorn wrote in Thursday's letter. "The largest shareholder is also the CEO/CFO/Treasurer and a Director, who also happens to be the wrestling coach of the high school next door to the deli. The pastrami must be amazing."

Hometown's stock routinely sees daily trading volume below 1,000 shares.On some days it sees no trades. But on Friday, nearly 43,000 shares changed hands. Just under 15,000 shares were traded Monday.

Coker Sr. is one of several key shareholders in Hometown International mentioned in Securities and Exchange Commission filings, as are entities in Hong Kong and Macao, China.

Public filings show that the entities in Hong Kong are all located on the same floor of the same building there. That is the case for the entities in Macao, as well. In Hong Kong, an investor named Manoj Jain, of Maso Capital Partners, has sole voting and investment power over the Homeland International shares held by each of the three entities, records show.

Coker Sr. personally holds 63,334 shares of Hometown common stock, with warrants for another 1.26 million shares. Coker Sr.'s own company, Tryon Capital, is being paid $15,000 per month through a consulting contract with Hometown.

Coker Sr. has himself been sued for allegedly hiding money from creditors and business-related fraud. He has denied wrongdoing in those cases, one of which settled out of court in recent years in North Carolina. He did not return repeated requests for comment from CNBC.

His partner in Tryon Capital, Peter Reichard, in 2011 entered a plea in a criminal case that led to his conviction for a scheme to illegally contribute thousands of dollars to the successful 2008 campaign of Bev Perdue, a Democrat who was elected that year as North Carolina's first female governor.

The scheme involved the use of a bogus consulting contract between Tryon Capital Ventures and a fast-food franchisee who wanted to support Perdue. Coker Sr. was not charged in that case.

Reichard is also a managing member, with Coker Sr., of an entity called Europa Capital Investments, which owns 90,400 common shares of Hometown International, and has warrants for another 1.9 million shares.

A footnote in Hometown's annual report, filed last month with the SEC, says that Coker Sr. and Reichard "have joint voting and investment power over the securities of the Company held by Europa."

Reichard did not return a call seeking comment.

Two years before his 2011 plea bargain, Reichard learned through a DNA test that his actual father was the famous spiritual leader Ram Dass, the author of the bestselling book "Be Here Now." Dass, who while working in the 1960s as a Harvard psychology professor under his then-name Richard Alpert, became with Timothy Leary a leading researcher of LSD. He later traveled to India, where he became a disciple of a guru.

Coker Sr., meanwhile, was a star basketball player at North Carolina State University after a stellar high school hoops career in his native Allentown, Pennsylvania, and before he launched his business career. At one point, he helped oversee pension fund investments at now-defunct Bethlehem Steel in Pennsylvania, according to his online biography.

He has also faced loads of legal trouble over the years, including some beyond the business realm.

In August 1992, the then-49-year-old Coker Sr. was arrested in Allentown and charged "with prostitution and other offenses after he allegedly exposed himself to three girls as he drove around Central School," The Morning Call reported at the time.

The newspaper, citing police, reported that Coker Sr. drove up to two sisters, ages 14 and 10, and their 15-year-old cousin as they sat on their porch near an elementary school, and "called them over to the car and tried to proposition them."

Coker Sr. soon allegedly drove his BMW back around to the girls, the newspaper said. The 14-year-old told The Morning Call that to stall for time she pointed out her mother, who was down the street, and told him "She'll take care of you."

The girl's mother then approached the car, and tried to pull Coker Sr. out, grabbing out a clump of his hair in the process, the girl and police told the newspaper.

Coker Sr., who was nabbed shortly afterward, was also charged with corruption of minors and open lewdness in that case, The Morning Call reported in the article, which noted Coker's address at the time, which shows up in public records.

Records detailing the outcome of that case were not publicly available.

Malcolm Gross, an Allentown lawyer who previously represented Coker Sr., told CNBC on Monday that he referred the businessman to a well-known criminal defense lawyer in Allentown after Coker was arrested in the indecent exposure case. That lawyer died in the late 1990s.

Allentown Police on Monday said a check of their files did not find records of Coker's arrest.

Gross had represented Coker Sr. in litigation where he was being sued by American Express Bank for nearly $900,000 in unpaid debt.

American Express Bank in 1992 accused Coker Sr. of fraudulently shifting hundreds of thousands of dollars of assets to prevent collection of the money he owed the bank. It also accused of him of filing for bankruptcy in bad faith, given the fact, American Express said, that he was solvent at the time of that filing.

Also in 1992, The Morning Call reported that a corporation that owned Unclaimed Freight furniture stores settled a lawsuit against Coker Sr. and another former corporate officer, who were accused of improperly taking at least $1 million from the firm.

Coker Sr. had been vice president of the company, and his wife, Susan, was also a defendant in the case, where it was alleged that she had been paid nearly $43,000 in rent for a barn on their property in Macungie, Pennsylvania.

"We had not done the things Valley Advisors claimed, so this resolution is good for all parties," Coker Sr. said in a news release at the time.

A check of SEC filings and other documents by CNBC subsequently revealed other curious details about Hometown International, and people connected to it.

Gregg Jaclin, a now-disbarred lawyer previously connected to Hometown International during its early financial filings, was sanctioned by the Securities and Exchange Commission, and prosecuted and convicted in federal court for a scam involving shell companies. That scheme predated his work in connection with Hometown.

SEC records show that an assistant director at the commission emailed Coker Sr. in 2012 with questions about a firm called Troy Inc. Jaclin was cc'ed on that email.

The letter says, "We note that Peter Coker, your chief executive and sole shareholder, is also an executive and/or significant shareholder of other shell companies that have recently filed for registration on Form 10."

Jaclin is also cc'ed in a May 2014 email from the SEC to Ramon Tejeda, CEO of TablacaleraYsidron, whose address in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is the same as an address Coker Sr. has used.

Jaclin, who remains on federal supervised release, has not responded to requests for comment.

Hometown's auditors, Liggett & Webb, were censured and fined in August by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. One of the accountants from that firm, James Liggett, was barred from being associated with a registered public accounting firm, because of conduct unrelated to Hometown.

Liggett told CNBC "I don't recall" being involved in auditing Hometown's records. He referred questions about work on the company to his former partner, Derek Webb, who did not respond to messages. Hometown's annual report, filed last month, said Liggett & Webb has been the company's auditors since 2015.

James Patten, whose LinkedIn profile identifies him as a financial analyst at Coker Sr.'s Tryon Capital, wrestled in high school with Hometown International's CEO, Paul Morina.

Patten is barred by FINRA, the broker-dealer regulator, from acting as a stockbroker or associating with broker-dealers, according to the regulator's database.

Patten was the subject of repeated disciplinary actions by FINRA, which included not complying with an arbitration award of more than $753,000 for violating securities laws, unauthorized trading and churning a client's account.

In 2006, he successfully appealed sanctions issued by an SEC administrative law judge in a case where he was accused of manipulating the price of a Nasdaq-listed stock.

Patten was defended in that matter by Ira Sorkin, the lawyer best known for representing Ponzi scheme kingpin Bernie Madoff, who died in prison last week.

Morina, who did not return repeated requests for comment, according to SEC filings holds 1.5 million shares of Hometown common shares, which on paper are worth more than $20 million, given the current share price.

Morina also is principal of Paulsboro High School, and additionally is the coach of the school's renowned wrestling team, which is a perennial contender for state championship titles. His brother, Carmel Morina, is sheriff of Gloucester County, New Jersey, which includes Paulsboro.

Patten is the signer of a letter, cited in SEC filings, which detailed the lease of the building to Your Hometown Deli, which is the company's sole business, from Mantua Creek Group. SEC filings indicate that Paul Morina is also involved in Mantua Creek Group.

The letter was sent to Hometown's other executive officer, Christine Lindenmuth, who is a math teacher and administrator at Paulsboro High School.

Patten did not respond to a request for comment. Lindenmuth has not returned repeated requests for comment.

Public records show that Morina is the owner of property that appears to be adjacent to the deli, along with John Giovannitti, athletic director of Paulsboro junior and senior high schools, the principal of the junior high school and president of the Borough of Paulsboro council.

Giovannitti did not return a request for comment.

Read this article:

Key investor in $100 million NJ deli has a history of legal problems, ties to criminals - CNBC

Joe Wilkinson, a fifth-generation Atlantan, worked at the Coca-Cola Company for about a quarter century, beginning in 1977, and eventually became the executive assistant to the president of Coca-Cola International. But the most difficult moment of his tenure, he told me recently, came early on, when he was a spokesman for the company in the U.S. It was the early eighties, and Jesse Jackson and his Rainbow PUSH Coalition were leading a boycott of Coke, demanding that the company, which has been headquartered in Atlanta since the late nineteenth century, invest thirty million dollars into Black-owned businesses and place a Black executive on its board of directors. There was a robust debate within the company, Wilkinson said. It was a fraught moment. But it all comes down to money. Coke agreed to Jacksons request, which Wilkinson, who is white, described as a capitulation. I think it was the wrong move, he said, but it was made at the highest levels. Wilkinson described a news conference at which the president of Coke at the time, Don Keough, appeared with Jackson. Don said, I feel like Im being ordained, Wilkinson recalled. And Jesse Jackson turns and says, Well, youve been preached to enough. (A spokesperson for Coke told me, of Jackson, We greatly appreciate the collaboration and dialogue weve had with him and his organization over the years. Jackson did not reply to a request for comment.)

Wilkinson left Coke and became a Republican legislator, representing a conservative corner of the Atlanta metro area in the Georgia House from 2001 to 2017. In his view, the Coca-Cola company has just capitulated again. Coke stayed mum during debates about the so-called Election Integrity Act, a new Georgia voting law that Joe Biden has called un-American and which Stacey Abramss advocacy group, Fair Fight Action, described as Jim Crow 2.0. In the past, the company, through a political-action committee, had given money to multiple sponsors of the billalong with many other politicians, including a number of Democrats. (The company suspended political contributions following the riot on the Capitol in January.) Then, earlier this month, Cokes C.E.O., James Quincey, issued a statement condemning the law. The Coca-Cola Company does not support this legislation, as it makes it harder for people to vote, not easier, the belated statement read. Other companies, including Delta Air Lines, which is also based in Atlanta, criticized the law, too. Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game from Georgia, and an upcoming Will Smith production called Emancipation, which was scheduled to be shot in Georgia, will be going elsewhere. Now some Republicans are threatening retaliatory measures. Voting is a foundational right in America, the Coca-Cola spokesperson told me, and we think its appropriate for us to stand up for what we believe in and for what is important to our employees and the people of the state weve called home for 135 years.

Wilkinson told me that hes read the voting bill and that it expands voting rights, rather than restricting them. Analysts continue to debate the likely effects of the bill, which was introduced by Republicans in the wake of false claims by former President Donald Trump that the election in November was rigged in Georgia and elsewhere, and amid efforts by Republican politicians in most states to newly limit or restrict voting. Though the Georgia bill requires seventeen days of early votingand allows for two optional Sundaysit makes it harder to acquire an absentee ballot, just about bans mobile voting centers, prohibits giving out water within a hundred and fifty feet of precincts, and confers greater power over the electoral process to the state legislature. Wilkinson told me that he is convinced that the bill was meant to do good. I know the authors, he said. I know their intent. I asked him whether he thought the results of the Presidential election were fair and accurate. He said he had his doubts.

For Coca-Cola, the latest political kerfuffle has echoes that go well beyond the Rainbow PUSH boycott. As Bart Elmore, the author of Citizen Coke: The Making of Coca-Cola Capitalism, put it to me, Coca-Cola is not an innocent victim caught in a crossfire between right-wing boycotters and woke liberal activists. It is facing a long overdue reckoning with a Jim Crow past that still shapes Georgia politics today and one that for decades the company quietly accepted.

Coke, which originally included traces of cocaine, was invented by a former lieutenant colonel in the Confederate Army named John Pemberton, who became addicted to morphine after he was wounded in the last weeks of the Civil War. Pemberton, a pharmacist, sold the formula to a fellow-druggist, Asa Griggs Candler, and for years it could be found only at white soda fountains. Then Candler sold the bottling rights, making the beverage more widely available. Candler removed cocaine from the recipe, in 1903, not because the drug was illegalit wasnt, yetbut because it had become connected in the white imagination with Black men. The rumors then were that Black men were drinking Coke, getting high on it, and raping white women, Mark Pendergrast, the author of For God, Country, and Coca-Cola, told me. The company wanted to minimize any association between the soft drink and Black consumers. They had no Blacks in their ads during the Depression, other than to show them as Aunt Jemima types, or servants holding a tray of Coke, Pendergrast said.

By then, the company had been taken over by Robert Woodruff, a college dropout from a wealthy Georgia family who kept Black servants on the familys South Georgia plantation and once said that allowing Black people to vote was like giving monkeys the vote. But choosing to ignore Black customers carried an increasing economic cost; Coke finally began to advertise in Jet and Ebony, in the fifties, after Pepsi started making inroads on Cokes market share by advertising to Black customers. Then the civil-rights movement forced the companys hand. When Martin Luther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize, in 1964, much of Atlantas white business community planned to boycott a local ceremony, until J. Paul Austin, then the president of Coca-Cola, insisted that they do otherwise. Coke soon hired Ray Charleswho eventually switched to Pepsiand a number of other Black performers. By that point, Atlanta had embraced the nickname the city too busy to hate, or, as James Baldwin put it, the city too busy (making money) to hate.

King did not stop criticizing the company, however: in his very last speech, he told his listeners to go out and tell your neighbors not to buy Coca-Cola, along with products from a few other companies, because they havent been fair in their hiring policies. Even so, when King was assassinated, in 1968, Woodruff sent the company jet to Coretta Scott King to take to Atlanta for the funeral, which he helped pay for.

The accusations that Cokes hiring practices were racist did not go away. In the late nineties, four former and current employees filed a lawsuit accusing the company of systemic bias against Black employees. (Bart Elmores father was a partner at the firm that represented the employees.) Finn Findley, who worked for Coke in operations and marketing for twenty years, recalled the episode. Two weeks before the shareholders meeting that year, he said, I get a call from the C.E.O.s office thats, like, Hey, there are gonna be a couple buses of people up there that are suing the company for discrimination. Can you make them feel welcome? Findley went on, Im this low-level guy. Im, like, What do you want me to do? Put up a stand and serve Cokes? How about not discriminating against these people? That would help. But its a little late now. Still, he noted, the company didnt fight the case, settling the suit, in 2000, for $192.5 million. When it was brought to their attention, they were, like, Yeah, it doesnt look right, Findley said. Im sure they werent excited about paying hundreds of millions of dollars, but they didnt make a big stink about it. The Coca-Cola spokesperson told me that the company settled the lawsuit because it was the right thing to do, and that the company was unable to confirm Findleys account of the incident. Pendergrast told me, They want to placate all sides and to try to appear like the good guy. Thats their normal approach. But the bottom line is what usually drives things.

After Coca-Cola issued its statement criticizing the voting law, many Republicans, in Georgia and beyond, decided that it was their turn to call for a boycott. Legislators dramatically removed the soft drink from their offices. Trump called for a boycott of Coke and other woke companiesalthough a picture posted on Twitter by Stephen Miller two days later appeared to include a partially obscured Diet Coke bottle behind Trumps phone. (The former President reportedly drinks twelve of them a day.)

Gabriel Sterling, who works in the Georgia secretary of states office, and who won over Democrats earlier this year for his clear and repeated denunciations of Trumps election-fraud claims, insisted that the Election Integrity Act has been misconstrued. It expands early voting and the ID requirements will lower absentee rejection rates, he wrote on Twitter. As for Coke, he told me, I know people whove sold all their Coke stock. I know people who wont drink it now. But none of that will really hurt Coke. He was sipping a Coke Zero as we talked. Im against boycotts in general, and in this case, he said, adding that any economic fallout from the bill would be the fault of Abrams and other Democrats pushing the false narrative that the bill restricts voting.

Chuck Hufstetler, a state senator in northwest Georgia, who was among the very few Republican officials in the state to publicly dispute Donald Trumps false claim that massive voter fraud took place in the Presidential election, also defended the law. Like Wilkinson, Hufstetler worked for Coke early in his career, in quality control, just after he graduated from college, four decades ago. (The Coca-Cola company, through its PAC, has donated money to Hufstetler in the past.) He was one of a handful of Republicans who voted against the original version of the Election Integrity Act, but he supported the version that ultimately passed, and he noted, in an interview, that Georgias election laws were not out of line with those of Delaware, Bidens home state, or New York. This has become a common talking point among Georgia Republicans, but, while a number of states with Democrat-controlled legislatures have restrictions on voting, many of those legislatures have taken steps to expand voting access. Delaware, for instance, has already passed a law establishing early in-person voting; it goes into effect next year. Also, its state election laws do not specifically prohibit the distribution of food and water.

Hufstetler has a forgiving interpretation of Cokes decision to speak out against the bill. Its long, he said. I think maybe they heard some of the earlier stuff and just didnt read the final bill, which is nearly a hundred pages. Hes heard some colleagues talk about boycotting Coke, and I asked whether he would. For health reasons, I dont drink any soft drinks anymore, he said. Too much sugar. He had a hard time imagining folks in his district giving it up, or, God forbid, switching to Pepsi. Joe Wilkinson, for his part, got up to get himself a Diet Coke in the middle of our conversation. Im continuing to drink products of the Coca-Cola Company, he said. He had no plans to stop flying Delta, either; his wife worked there for years.

Finn Findley, the former Coke employee, said that the boycotts struck him as grandstanding, noting that Coca-Cola is a huge global company, and that the U.S. is maybe a third of the total sales volume. Those paying close and critical attention to this controversy were just a fraction of that. Pendergrast, the author of For God, Country and Coca-Cola, also took a global view, remarking that the company has faced accusations of depleting Indias aquifers, of turning a blind eye to Latin American bottlers who allegedly hired death squads to kill union employees, and of contributing to an obesity epidemic. This isnt huge, he said, stacked up against the allegations of obesity, of murderous death squads, of mistreating the environment and people of India, of being racist. I think itll blow over.

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Georgias Voting Laws and Coca-Colas Complicated History - The New Yorker