A Texas toddler is being hailed as a pint-sized hero after acting to help save his neighbor after a serious car accident.

Three-year-old Maverick Flores was playing with his grandfather, Johnny Stobbs, in Corpus Christi when the oldster heard a crashing noise that resembled a car accident, according to Breitbart.

"We hadn't been outside maybe 2-3 minutes, we hear this crumpling sound. I know what a car wreck sounds like," Stobbs said of the scenario earlier this month, according to KIII.

The two relatives soon discovered the aftermath of a terrible car accident after rushing to the noise -- finding a neighbor, named Sylvia, lodged between two different vehicles.

Stobbs, a longtime Corpus Christi firefighter, worked to free Sylvia as he sent Maverick to get help.

The youth understood that the situation at hand was no mere child's play, according to Stobbs.

"I don't know if it's what I said to him or how I said it, but he knew it was important," Stobbs said.

Maverick can be seen booking it to get help in home surveillance footage after the pair discovered the car crash.

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The youngster succeeded in gaining the attention of his father Johnathan Flores, who helped Stobbs to separate two crashed cars long enough to free Sylvia.

Johnathan Flores is beaming about his son's decisive actions.

"It's a proud dad moment."

Stobbs doesn't believe the sequence of events was a mere coincidence.

"It's almost like God wanted us to be outside. I didn't want to go outside; Maverick insisted we go."

"Had we not, I think it would have been a very different outcome for Sylvia," he continued.

Three-year-old Maveric Flores was outside playing with his grandfather when they heard a crash. Maverick helped save Sylvia's life by running t get his dad. His quick reflexes made all the difference. #khou11

https://t.co/gEl238B7dL

— KHOU 11 News Houston (@KHOU) June 24, 2023

Sylvia has been discharged from an area hospital and is recovering, according to KIII.

The neighbor thanked Stobbs and Maverick the first day she was able to speak.

The two relatives are slated to receive an award from the city of Corpus Christi for their actions.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A new crisis is hitting New York City as batteries that power e-bikes are becoming a growing danger.

Fires due to lithium-ion batteries that power electric bikes have killed 13 people so far this year in New York City, according to The New York Times.

The Times report noted that since 2021, 23 people died, making this the deadliest year on record for e-bike-linked blazes.

The report said there have been 108 lithium battery fires to date this year up from 98 at the same point last year.

“E-bike blazes -- caused when the massive amount of energy stored in substandard batteries spontaneously ignites -- are the leading cause of fire death in New York City,” Nicole Gelinas wrote in an Op-Ed in the New York Post.

Last week, four people died and two others were badly injured in a fire that began in an e-bike service store, according to the Times.

“The volume of fire created by these lithium-ion batteries is incredibly deadly. We’ve said this over and over: It can make it nearly impossible to get out in time,” Fire Commissioner Laura Kavanagh said.

Firefighters returned to the scene on Thursday and Friday because fire had broken out again, according to NY1.

“Once again, smoke is coming out of the building, so I guess something else is on fire," Gilbert Dipiano, who lives near the shop, said. "They had another small fire across the street there just a day ago. Now, it’s something else happening. It’s very scary.”

“You gotta be precautious because you never know when a fire can break and with these e-bikes. People are afraid in the area now. They’re afraid to live above one, so people need to be more precautious in the area now," Dipiano said.

The Times report said that batteries for e-bikes are of particular concern because batteries for smaller objects, such as cell phones, are too small to cause much damage, while those in electric vehicles are subject to more regulation and quality control.

Victoria Hutchison, a senior research project manager at the Fire Protection Research Foundation, said low-quality and potentially unsafe charges and batteries have flooded the market.

“That’s really the root of the problem,” she said.

Nikhil Gupta, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at New York University’s Tandon School of Engineering said that the demand for increased power carries increased risk.

“The problem is that we’re trying to squeeze too much energy out of these batteries, and that makes them more dangerous,” Gupta said.

In September, New York City will ban e-bikes and similar devices that do not meet safety standards. On Sunday, according to CBS, city and federal officials announced that tax dollars would be spent to create more safe charging stations.

But New York City’s fire commissioner remains concerned, according to the Times.

“I have very, very serious concerns in the short term. These devices are here now, and there’s lots of them,” Kavanagh said.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Human remains have been found near Mount Baldy, California, in the vicinity where actor Julian Sands had gone missing.

Sands had been missing since January.

“Civilian hikers contacted the Fontana Sheriff’s Station after they discovered human remains in the Mt. Baldy wilderness,” the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release, according to CNN.

Positive identification of the remains should be completed in the coming days, they said.

Investigators pinged Sands’ phone to the general area where the remains were discovered, but could not narrow the search further.

Hikers stumbled onto human remains near where British actor Julian Sands went missing during a January hike on Mount Baldy. https://t.co/wqPg8OMgDa

— SFGATE (@SFGate) June 25, 2023

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said last Monday “despite the recent warmer weather, portions of the mountain remain inaccessible due to extreme alpine conditions,” and some areas were covered with “10 plus feet of ice and snow.”

Search efforts, which had been suspended in January, were renewed on June 17, according to NBC.

The family had thanked the searchers for their efforts.

"We continue to hold Julian in our hearts with bright memories of him as a wonderful father, husband, explorer, lover of the natural world and the arts, and as an original and collaborative performer," the family said in a statement.

Sands, who has appeared in films including “A Room with a View” and “Arachnophobia,” was an avid mountaineer, according to the Los Angeles Times.

In a 2020 interview, Sands told the Guardian he was happiest “close to a mountain summit on a glorious cold morning.”

Heartbroken to learn that #JulianSands remains may have been found on the CA mountain where he was last seen hiking in January. He was a wonderful actor and his George Emerson was perfection. pic.twitter.com/YBDO0W8bv0

— 🏳️‍🌈 PromisingYoungVermonter (@mwkogut) June 25, 2023

Topping his bucket list, he said at the time, was climbing “a remote peak in the high Himalayas, such as Makalu.”

During the interview, he recalled that “in the early 90s, in the Andes,” he was “caught in an atrocious storm above 20,000 feet with three others. We were all in a very bad way. Some guys close to us perished; we were lucky.”

In that interview, he philosophized about life, saying, “grab it with both hands, we know it is short.”

In a 2013 interview, he told the Yorkshire Post, “And, you know what? Mountain climbing and filmmaking are very connected. There’s always another mountain. And ultimately the point of climbing a mountain is that the mountain is within. And I think that’s true, too, of the acting experience.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A 71-year-old French man has been accused of coordinating a lurid nine-year series of rapes of his wife, who police say was drugged while various men she did not know had sex with her.

The man is only being identified by police as Dominique P. Despite the years of abuse, police say he bizarrely called her a “saint.”

“She was his first love, indeed the only love of his life,” Béatrice Navarro, Dominique’s lawyer, said, according to the New York Post.

The victim filed for divorce after learning of the allegations against her husband, to whom she had been married for more than 50 years. The couple has three children.

Police said the victim was raped routinely between 2011 and 2020.

The Post, citing a report in LeMonde, reported that the victim had contracted four sexually transmitted diseases.

Because Dominique videoed the sexual assaults upon his unsuspecting wife and kept the videos, police have charged 51 men with rape. The men charged are between the ages of 26 and 73.

A report in the Daily Mail said that all told, 83 men raped the woman, but not all have been identified.

Police said Dominique would crush a sedative and slip it into his wife’s dinner.

The victim said she would wake up thinking she had been raped, but then assumed it must have been a dream.

The scheme was exposed in 2020 after Dominique was arrested for trying to video up the skirts of customers in a changing room in a store.

After the arrest, police searched his phone, and came upon images that showed the rapes of his wife. The full catalog of his videos was kept on a flash drive in a file called “abuses.”

Dominique has been charged with aggravated rape and drugging his wife.

The victim is reported to have broken down and said, “I was his thing,” when informed of what had been taking place for nine years.

The Mail said that the scheme involved advertising on a website for total strangers who would come to the couple’s home.

According to the Daily Mirror, great care was taken not to alert the victim or the family’s neighbors.

It reported men were told to wash their hands using hot water to avoid the shock of cold hands, undress in the kitchen so they would leave nothing behind in the bedroom, and park a distance from the house so neighbors would not suspect what was going on.

The Mirror said men who raped the victim were told to avoid tobacco and perfume so no strong smell would wake the victim.

The Mail and Le Monde said Dominique is also a suspect in a 1991 murder.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A former veteran CNN producer was sentenced Tuesday to spend 19 years in federal prison for child sex crimes.

John Griffin was indicted in 2021 after federal authorities first alleged he lured a 9-year-old girl to his home in Vermont, The Samford Advocate reported.

Prosecutors said Griffin enticed the child and her adopted mother to a skiing residence in the state he owned with his now-former wife.

The girl, who is now 11, was exposed to the behavior and the adopted mother permitted it.

The indictment stated the victim "was directed to engage in and did engage in illegal sexual activity.”

Griffin enticed the two to drive from Nevada to Boston and then he drove them to the Vermont home in his Tesla.

Prosecutors said Griffin sent the adopted mother $3,500 in order to get her to meet with him.

He bragged he could teach girls as young as the age of 7 to be “submissive” to men and he was a master at “sexual training.

Former CNN producer John Griffin has been sentenced to 19 years in prison with another 15 years under supervised release for luring a nine-year-old into sexual acts. https://t.co/1oHW8QAIp2

— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) June 22, 2023


He specifically targeted mothers with daughters and used targeted messaging apps like Kik. Vermont U.S. Attorney Nikolas Kerest said Griffin sought victims who were “vulnerable.”

He pleaded guilty last year to avoid a trial.

This week, he was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison and an additional 15 years of supervised release.

U.S. District Judge William Sessions III called Griffin's behavior "outrageous" during his sentencing.

Griffin is also ordered to pay the child $1.1 million from his half the sale of the Vermont home, which was sold after the charges were filed and his wife also filed for divorce.

He was also ordered to forfeit the Tesla used in the crime.

The victim’s adopted mother will also spend eight to 20 years in prison for her role in the crimes.

Her name is not being made public so that the identity of the victim can be protected.

Griffin worked on CNN shows with Andrew Cuomo and John Avlon. He also produced CNN’s “New Day.”

According to his LinkedIn page, Griffin started at the network in 2013.

Before that, he worked for several years each at ABC News, Fox News and CBS News.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

Dallas police are telling city residents not to call them to report a wide variety of crimes.

Instead, residents are being told that as of July 3, instead of calling 911, they must go online to dallaspolice.net to fill out a form.

Chief Eddie García said the new rule will cut the time it takes to reach what the police have determined are high-priority calls, according to the Dallas Morning News.

“We have to think about our men and women and the stress that they’re under and the constant calls,” García said.

“We have to make the working conditions of our men and women better and, at the same time, not sacrifice the service for our community — and I think this achieves that,” he said.

"I know it's hard to fathom, but once that report is done it would be no different than if an officer had taken it," he said, according to KTVT-TV.

Not everyone likes the idea.

”If someone breaks into your car and steals something -- what if it’s a gun? What happens if it’s your wallet and they have your credit cards or jewelry?” East Dallas resident Edward Roblez said, according to WFAA-TV.

this is culling,this is not appropiate to seniors and those that have no internet and data service
Dallas police will make it mandatory to report some non-emergency calls online - YouTube https://t.co/Eo68jJzyMo

— rmpbklyn 🇺🇦 🇺🇸🇨🇴 (@rmpbklyn) June 21, 2023


According to the Dallas Morning News, police will no longer respond to the scene for shoplifting less than $2,500, traffic accidents with no injuries when the vehicles can still drive, burglaries involving vehicles, credit or debit card abuse, harassment via phone or text that is not related to family violence, and other categories of crime.

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García said 911 should be called for medical emergencies or a crime in progress.

Dallas police 911 administrator Robert Uribe said Dallas residents without internet can use a phone to report a crime.

He also offered the option of traveling to either a Dallas police substation to use a kiosk there to file the form, or to a public library.

Garcia claimed that voluntary use of online reporting saved 51,000 patrol hours.

However, in the first quarter of this year, the response time to top-priority calls was about 10 minutes, up  6.2 percent over the same period in 2022, according to police data.

The response time for calls in the priority-two category was 91.89 minutes, while the response time for priority-three cases was 583 minutes, slightly more than the priority-four response time of 574 minutes. All are increased response times over a year ago.

“We know firsthand in an emergency every second counts,” García said. “We want our officers to be available to respond quickly and efficiently to any high-priority call.”

Garcia said Dallas needs about 500 more officers. The department has 3,023 sworn officers, police representative Kristin Lowman said. That’s down from a peak of more than 3,500 officers.

According to Vanlifewanderer, in 2021  the violent crime rate in Dallas was 863.90 incidents per 100,000 residents, more than double the national average.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

A Colorado youngster is making a recovery after a dangerous encounter with a rattlesnake.

Ethan Vogel, 11, was bitten by the venomous reptile after falling on a bike ride through North Table Mountain in the city of Golden, according to the Denver Gazette.

Ethan's dad, Zach Vogel, said the snake that bit his son on June 6 was nearly three feet long.

Father and son realized the encounter had left Ethan with the telltale twin red marks of a snake bite on his upper right chest.

The Vogels shared their story of the snake bite with KUSA-TV after Ethan was cleared to leave the hospital.

Both father and son quickly realized the seriousness of the situation.

"I was just scared, really," Ethan said of the bite. "I didn't want to go. I didn't want to kick the bucket."

Vogel described the scenario as one any father would dread.

"Laying in my arms and saying he's not ready to die ... as a dad, it's the last thing you want to hear," he said.

WARNING: The following video contains graphic imagery that some viewers may find disturbing.

In a written account of events he provided to the Gazette, Vogel indicated the symptoms of the rattlesnake bite set in quickly.

"The snake's venom was already doing its work and lips went numb, white spots on cheeks, pain setting in, hard time breathing, heart rate increasing," he said.

"Ethan's body began purging bile and face [was] completely numb. Extending to fingers and toes."

The Fairmount Fire Protection District's rescue squad arrived a short distance away from the trail within 20 minutes of an emergency call.

Vogel described the scene as his son was treated at Anschutz Children's Hospital.

"Ethan's mother, Heather, met them at the hospital and helped keep the fatigued 11-year-old 'focused and stay conscious,' Vogel wrote," the Gazette reported.

“Ethan's heart rate reached 165 beats per minute and his blood pressure had 'tanked.'"

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“Ten vials of antivenin were given the boy over 90 minutes and he was transferred to intensive care unit at Anschutz Children's Hospital in Aurora at 8:45 p.m.," the Gazette reported. "His vital signs ‘looked much better,’ Vogel wrote, and the boy slept through the night.

“On Wednesday morning, Ethan was given six more doses of antivenin, his father wrote, with two more rounds of antivenin given Wednesday evening and early Thursday morning.”

The 11-year-old was discharged from the hospital days after the bite, with a prognosis of a full recovery within 14 to 20 days.

A friend of the Vogel family has started a GoFundMe fundraiser for Ethan's health care expenses, with members of the community contributing more than $14,400 toward a goal of $15,000 as of Wednesday morning.

Rattlesnake bites cause between 10 and 15 deaths in the U.S. every year, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The United States Army is rolling out a new armored vehicle that could rewrite the battlefield understanding of how tanks are used in combat.

Sergeant Major of the Army Michael Grinston unveiled the M10 Booker combat vehicle during the service's 248th birthday event at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, according to The Defense Post.

As part of the 248th #ArmyBirthday it was my honor to unveil the name of our Mobile Protective Firepower vehicle: the M10 Booker. pic.twitter.com/hsLaQ8fn50

— SMA Michael Grinston (@USArmySMA) June 10, 2023


While the Booker appears to resemble main battle tanks such as the M1 Abrams in key respects, it also differs from the category in other ways.

The 105mm Combat Vehicle, M10 Booker is publicly on display at the Army Birthday Festival. It carries new name of two soldiers who were killed during WWII and OIF, rather than the mouthful of the term Mobile Protected Firepower. pic.twitter.com/l1CKGbnoK2

— Ronkainen (@ronkainen7k15) June 11, 2023


The Booker was developed through the Army's Mobile Protected Firepower program, according to the Association of the United States Army.

The vehicle is the Army's first new combat vehicle in two decades, according to Stars and Stripes.

“The M-10 Booker is an armored vehicle that is intended to support our infantry brigade combat teams by suppressing and destroying fortifications, gun systems and trenches, and then, secondarily, providing protection against enemy armored vehicles,” program executive officer Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean said of the vehicle, according to The Washington Times.

The Booker combat vehicle clocks in at approximately 42 tons -- considerably lighter than the M1 Abrams, which weighs more than 70 tons.

The vehicle -- armed with a 105 mm main gun, a .50 caliber Browning machine gun, and a 7.62 mm machine gun to boot -- is intended to assist the maneuver of infantry personnel against entrenched positions in combat.

“The M-10 would be used, much as the original tanks in the First World War were, to defeat the machine guns that tie down infantry, destroy fixed positions, and to destroy light armor in order to restore mobility to the infantry," retired Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Donahoe told The Washington Times of the craft.

The M-10 is more heavily armed and armored than infantry fighting vehicles such as the M2 Bradley.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has spurred questions on conventional battlefield tank tactics, with many of Russia's tanks destroyed by Ukrainian infantry and drone operators.

The M-10's military proponents reject its categorization as a "light tank," pointing to its intended use in combat, rather than reconnaissance.

USA 🇺🇸 M-10 Booker Infantry support vehicle- don’t call it a light tank pic.twitter.com/q733J8F5o7

— De Faakto Intelligence Research Observatory (@faakto) June 10, 2023


The Booker is named after two soldiers -- Pvt. Robert Booker, and Staff Sgt. Stevon A. Booker -- who were killed in action in World War II and the Iraq War respectively.

The Army is slated to receive the first M10 Booker vehicles in November, according to Stars and Stripes.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

First came "pride," then a very large dose of humility for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

On Saturday, the arch-rival San Francisco Giants clobbered the Dodgers 15-0 at Dodger Stadium.

The game came one day after a massive religious protest that was sparked by the Dodgers honoring the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence -- an LGBT group that dresses like nuns while mocking Christian values -- at its annual “Pride Night” event, according to KTLA-TV.

“We’re just here, all the faiths are standing united,” protester Jesse Holguin said. “We’re very angry that the Dodgers invited this group that mocked our lord and savior Jesus Christ.”

A day later, the Giants made a mockery of the Dodgers, matching the 1898 record for the team's worst home game shutout loss. At that time, the Dodgers, still based in Brooklyn, New York, were beaten 15-0 by Pittsburgh, according to ESPN.

For the Giants, it was also their biggest margin over the Dodgers since a 19-3 drubbing delivered on Sept. 14, 2013.

COINCIDENCE?? Following a deeply despicable & offensive #Pride Day celebration "honoring" the infamously evil group that sexually mocks the Crucifixion, the LA @Dodgers suffered their SINGLE WORST home loss in 125 years!!! They lost to the @SFGiants 15-0. https://t.co/bIc1BzUPt1

— Eric Metaxas (@ericmetaxas) June 18, 2023


The loss also earned a niche in the annals of Dodger futility by becoming its second shutout of the year while the opposing team scored 10 or more runs, something that had not happened since 2012.  The series between the teams was the first time San Francisco had won in an LA series since 2021.

The series ended Sunday with a 7-3 win for the Giants, the first time they swept the Dodgers at home since 2012, according to the Los Angeles Times

“When you’re not winning games, things get magnified,” manager Dave Roberts said.

[firefly_poll]

“I think if you look back at this two-week stretch, there’s a lot of things we’re just not doing well. We’re not playing clean baseball, fundamental baseball. It goes back to, not just trying to win, but focusing on the little things.”

The Times report noted that the Dodgers have been mired in what it called “a month-long funk” in which the team has lost 18 of its past 30 games.

The streak roughly parallels the cauldron of controversy that now immerses the team.

In May, it extended the invitation to the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, only to rescind it after an outcry. The team, facing an even louder reaction from the LGBT-supporting left, reinstated the invitation, leading to a controversy that built until Friday night’s mass protest.

The debate over the invitation also caused some players to speak out.

“I don’t agree with making fun of other people’s religions,” star pitcher Clayton Kershaw told the Los Angeles Times.

“It has nothing to do with anything other than that. I just don’t think that, no matter what religion you are, you should make fun of somebody else’s religion. So that’s something that I definitely don’t agree with.”

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The Republican Party's team rolled to a 16-6 romp over the Democratic team in Wednesday's annual Congressional Baseball Game.

Rep. Greg Steube took the mound for the Republicans just months after seriously injuring himself in a fall from a ladder at his Florida home, in January.

The 45-year-old U.S. representative was the GOP's starting pitcher -- throwing four innings and surrendering five runs -- and he added a two-run, ground-rule double, according to the New York Post.

The game, held at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.,  traditionally is far from a pitchers' duel.

Steube appeared on the field with a "Make America Great Again" hat signed by former President Donald Trump.

Greg Steube rocking a signed MAGA hat at the Congressional game. pic.twitter.com/6hizP1F5D0

— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) June 15, 2023

Steube's double, which came with the bases loaded, was part of a third-inning rally that saw the GOP take an 11-2 lead, according to Roll Call.

Steube Nearly Hit It Out Of The Ballpark Again!

Absolutely Crushed Double pic.twitter.com/KWC2PZwsuP

— The Columbia Bugle 🇺🇸 (@ColumbiaBugle) June 15, 2023

Democrats proved unable to battle back after the third, although they did score -- unlike last year's 10-0 loss for the party.

The GOP's victory was its third straight -- a distinction to merit the party the Roll Call trophy.

The Congressional Baseball Game was fun. We need to have more unity moments like this in our country. The game was for charity. It was cool to see Tim Burchett, Bryon Donalds and Greg Steube having fun out there tonight.
pic.twitter.com/zacxfueeAm

— The Calvin Coolidge Project (@TheCalvinCooli1) June 14, 2023

Republican House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise mentioned Steube's recovery when announcing the Florida representative would start for the GOP on Wednesday, according to The Hill.

“[Steube] fell over 25 feet off a ladder and is here — just a few months ago — and is looking great. He’s in great shape," Scalise said.

“He’ll be pitching tonight as our starter.”

Steube pointed to the game as a milestone in his rehabilitation after the accident.

“This has actually been a motivation for me, to try to get out here," he said before the game. “I had a concussion. I tore the ligaments in my neck. I had a punctured lung. And I broke my pelvis. By the grace of God, I’m here.”

Texas Rep. Roger Williams -- a former minor league player in the Atlanta Braves' system and a collegiate coach -- managed for the GOP.

Rep. Linda Sanchez of California managed the Democrats.

The game is staged as a charity endeavor for Washington, D.C., organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs -- raising $1.5 million last year, according to Roll Call.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

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