Bitcoin and KangaMoon Bulls Take Charge As The Graph Sees An Increase In Buying Action
OEIS Financial Fraud Private Investigator:
The cryptocurrency market is experiencing a resurgence, with established players and rising stars alike making waves. Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, has reclaimed the key level of $70,000, fueling optimism across the board. The Graph (GRT) has capitalized on this momentum with a significant price increase, reflecting renewed investor interest. Meanwhile, the innovative KangaMoon (KANG) project is generating excitement with its ongoing presale exceeding targets and topping analysts’ charts as the best crypto to buy in 2024.
Bitcoin (BTC), the flagship cryptocurrency, has been on a remarkable upward trajectory over the past week, surging by more than 14%. This impressive performance has enabled the price of Bitcoin to breach the significant $70,000 psychological barrier once again. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at a price of $70,740, reflecting a substantial 15.31% increase for the week. This rally coincides with a broader recovery in the cryptocurrency market as a whole.
If Bitcoin maintains its current momentum, it could potentially set a new all-time high in the near future. Meanwhile, the recent price surge isn’t unexpected considering the recent increase in mainstream awareness, institutional adoption and of course, the effect of the recent halving event. With a limited supply of 21 million coins and a fixed issuance schedule, the price of Bitcoin is expected to appreciate over time as demand continues to rise.
OEIS Financial Fraud Private Investigator: The Graph Token Up 11% on Increased Buying Pressure
The Graph (GRT) has been making headlines and emerging as one of the best altcoins with an impressive 11.04% price surge, driven by its testing of a significant resistance level. This rally suggests an improved buying action for the Graph coin as investors believe the token has the potential for further upward momentum if it can successfully break through this critical resistance area.
One of the primary factors behind The Graph’s recent success is the growing interest and adoption of AI applications within the blockchain ecosystem. As more projects leverage AI for data indexing and querying, The Graph coin is poised to benefit from increased investor attention and capital inflows.
Although The Graph (GRT) and Bitcoin (BTC) are making waves in the current bull market, the excitement surrounding KangaMoon (KANG) presale is like no other. In the bonus presale stage, KangaMoon exceeded its initial targets, attracting over 32,000 registrants with nearly $7 million raised so far. At this pace, KangaMoon has climbed up the rank among the best altcoins projects, moreso because of its innovative platform that combines elements of GameFi and SocialFi.
KangaMoon’s immersive ecosystem known as “Kangaverse” presents a one-of-a-kind gaming experience for users. For instance, participants can engage themselves in battle-themed contests, speculative betting, as well as contribute to the platform’s social media promotion. In return, users are rewarded with KANG tokens and other valuable in-game items.
This innovative approach set KangaMoon apart from other play-to-earn crypto projects, ensuring an interactive and sustainable ecosystem. However, in an extended effort to maintain its position among the best crypto coins, KangaMoon recently announced a partnership with RaidSharkBot. This collaboration with the community engagement bot will broaden its reach and attract new investors ahead of its listing on Uniswap later in this Q2.
Looking ahead, the Play-to-Earn market is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years as it is projected to reach $8857M by 2028. This presents an opportunity for KangaMoon to capitalize on the rapidly expanding sector. Meanwhile, following its recent listing on CoinMarketCap, KangaMoon also plans to list on Bitmart exchange later in Q2 2024, which could potentially lead to substantial price surges for the KANG token.
OEIS Financial Fraud Private Investigator: Can KangaMoon (KANG) Reach Bitcoin’s All-Time High Alongside The Graph?
KangaMoon (KANG) has garnered excitement with its presale garnering over 32,000 members and almost $7 million in presale funding. Although there is a vast difference in Bitcoins market capitalization as compared to KangaMoon that has not launched, analysts still see a possibility. With the Play-to-Earn market booming, and KangaMoon’s innovative approach, they believe it is likely to reach Bitcoin’s (BTC) all-time high.
Discover the Exciting Opportunities of the KangaMoon (KANG) Presale Today!
Disclosure: This is a sponsored press release. Please do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any projects. Read the full disclosure here.
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PHOENIX (AP) — Blas Sanchez was nearing the end of a 20-year stretch in an Arizona prison when he was leased out to work at Hickman’s Family Farms, which sells eggs that have ended up in the supply chains of huge companies like McDonald’s, Target and Albertsons. While assigned to a machine that churns chicken droppings into compost, his right leg got pulled into a chute with a large spiraling augur.
“I could hear ‘crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch,’” Sanchez said. “I couldn’t feel anything, but I could hear the crunch.”
He recalled frantically clawing through mounds of manure to tie a tourniquet around his bleeding limb. He then waited for what felt like hours while rescuers struggled to free him so he could be airlifted to a hospital. His leg was amputated below the knee.
Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of prisoners are put to work every year, some of whom are seriously injured or killed after being given dangerous jobs with little or no training, The Associated Press found. They include prisoners fighting wildfires, operating heavy machinery or working on industrial-sized farms and meat-processing plants tied to the supply chains of leading brands. These men and women are part of a labor system that – often by design – largely denies them basic rights and protections guaranteed to other American workers.
The findings are part of a broader two-year AP investigation that linked some of the world’s largest and best-known companies – from Cargill and Walmart to Burger King – to prisoners who can be paid pennies an hour or nothing at all.
Blas Sanchez prepares to put on a prosthetic, Jan. 26, 2024, in Winslow, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)
This 2015 photo shows first responders as they work to free Blas Sanchez from an auger that snagged and mutilated his right leg, at Hickman’s Family Farms, in Tonopah, Ariz. (Provided by Blas Sanchez via AP)
Blas Sanchez makes his way through a room in his home, Jan. 26, 2024, in Winslow, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Prison labor began during slavery and exploded as incarceration rates soared, disproportionately affecting people of color. As laws have steadily changed to make it easier for private companies to tap into the swelling captive workforce, it has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry that operates with little oversight.
Laws in some states spell it out clearly: Prisoners aren’t classified as employees, whether they’re working inside correctional facilities or for outside businesses through prison contracts or work-release programs. That can exclude them from workers’ compensation benefits, along with state and federal laws that set minimum standards for health and safety on the job.
It’s almost impossible to know how many incarcerated workers are hurt or killed each year, partly because they often don’t report injuries, fearing retaliation or losing privileges like contact with their families. Privacy laws add to the challenges of obtaining specific data. In California, for instance, more than 700 work-related injuries were recorded between 2018 and 2022 in the state’s prison industries program, but the documents provided to the AP were heavily redacted.
At Hickman’s Family Farms, logs obtained by the AP from Arizona’s corrections department listed about 250 prison worker injuries during the same time frame. Most were minor, but some serious cases ranged from deep cuts and sliced-off fingertips to smashed hands.
An Associated Press investigation into prison labor in the United States found that prisoners who are hurt or killed on the job are often being denied the rights and protections offered to other American workers. (AP video: Robert Bumsted, Eugene Garcia)
“They end up being mangled in ways that will affect them for the rest of their lives,” said Joel Robbins, a lawyer who has represented several prisoners hired by Hickman’s. “If you’re going to come out with a good resume, you should come out with two hands and two legs and eyes to work.”
The AP requested comment from the companies it identified as having connections to prison labor. Most did not respond, but Cargill — the largest private company in the U.S. with $177 billion in revenue last year — said it was continuing to work “to ensure there is no prison labor in our extended supplier network.” Others said they were looking for ways to take action without disrupting crucial supply chains.
Prisoners across the country can be sentenced to hard labor, forced to work and punished if they refuse, including being sent to solitary confinement. They cannot protest against poor conditions, and it’s usually difficult for them to sue.
Most jobs are inside prisons, where inmates typically earn a few cents an hour doing things like laundry and mopping floors. The limited outside positions often pay minimum wage, but some states deduct up to 60% off the top.
Crystal Adams, wearing orange to identify her as a prison worker, inspects eggs as she works as an order runner at Hickman’s Family Farm egg-packaging operation in Tonopah, Ariz., March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Hickman’s Family Farm employee Ramona Sullins speaks during an interview with the Associated Press at Hickman’s Family Farm in Buckeye, Ariz., March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A prison worker, wearing orange, stacks cartons of eggs onto a cart at Hickman’s Family Farm egg-packaging operation in Tonopah, Ariz., March 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
In Arizona, jobs at Hickman’s are voluntary and often sought after, not just for the money, but also because employment and affordable housing are offered upon release.
During a daylong guided tour of the company’s egg-packaging operations and housing units, two brothers who run the family business stressed to an AP reporter that safety and training are top priorities. Several current and formerly incarcerated workers there praised the company, which markets eggs with brand names like Land O’ Lakes, Eggland’s Best and Hickman’s, and have been sold everywhere from Safeway to Kroger.
“We work on a farm with machinery and live animals, so it is important to follow the instructions,” said Ramona Sullins, who has been employed by Hickman’s for more than eight years before and after her release from prison. “I have heard and seen of people being hurt, but when they were hurt, they weren’t following the guidelines.”
This 2013 photo shows Braxton Moon who was killed while on prison work detail on an Alabama highway when he was hit by a tractor trailer that swerved off the interstate. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)
AP reporters spoke with more than 100 current and former prisoners across the country – along with family members of workers who were killed – about various prison labor jobs. Roughly a quarter of them related stories involving injuries or deaths, from severe burns and traumatic head wounds to severed body parts. Reporters also talked to lawyers, researchers and experts, and combed through thousands of documents, including the rare lawsuits that manage to wind their way through the court system.
While many of the jobs are hidden, others are in plain view, like prisoners along busy highways doing road maintenance. In Alabama alone, at least three men have died since 2015, when 21-year-old Braxton Moon was hit by a tractor-trailer that swerved off the interstate. The others were killed while picking up trash.
In many states, laws mandate that prisoners be deployed during emergencies and disasters for jobs like hazardous material cleanup or working on the frontlines of hurricanes while residents evacuate. They’re also sent to fight fires, filling vital worker shortage gaps, including in some rural communities in Georgia where incarcerated firefighters are paid nothing as the sole responders for everything from car wrecks to medical emergencies.
Inmate firefighters walk along Highway 120 after a burnout operation during the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., Aug. 25, 2013. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Inmate firefighter David Clary, 41, with the Mount Gleason Conservation Camp 16, walks down a steep hill after eight hours of fighting a wildfire in the Angeles National Forest near Azusa, Calif., Sept. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
Inmate firefighters cut down trees along the Highway 29 as wildfires continue to burn, Oct. 12, 2017, near Calistoga, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
California currently has about 1,250 prisoners trained to fight fires and has used them since the 1940s. It pays its “Angels in Orange” $2.90 to $5.12 a day, plus an extra $1 an hour when they work during emergencies.
When a brush fire broke out in 2016, Shawna Lynn Jones and her crew were sent to the wealthy Malibu beach community near California’s rugged Pacific Coast Highway, which was built by prisoners a century ago. The 22-year-old, who had just six weeks left on her sentence for a nonviolent crime, died after a boulder fell 100 feet from a hillside onto her head – one of 10 incarcerated firefighters killed in the state since 1989.
Unlike many places, California does offer workers’ compensation to prisoners, which Jones’ mother, Diana Baez, said covered hospital expenses and the funeral.
FILE – In this Feb. 25, 2016 still frame from video provided by KABC-TV, a Los Angeles County Fire Department helicopter lifts an inmate firefighter after she was injured fighting a brush fire in the Santa Monica Mountains above Malibu, Calif. California corrections officials say the firefighter, identified as Shawna Lynn Jones, died Friday, Feb. 26, a day after she was struck by a large rock while working the fire. (KABC-TV via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT TV OUT
Baez said her daughter loved being a firefighter and was treated as a fallen hero, but noted that even though she was on life support and never regained consciousness, “When I walked behind the curtain, she was still handcuffed to that damn gurney.”
The California corrections department said prisoners must pass a physical skills test to participate in the program, which “encourages incarcerated people to commit to positive change and self-improvement.” But inmates in some places across the country find it can be extremely difficult to transfer their firefighting skills to outside jobs upon their release due to their criminal records.
In most states, public institutions are not liable for incarcerated workers’ injuries or deaths. But in a case last year, the American Civil Liberties Union represented a Nevada crew sent to mop up a wildfire hotspot. It resulted in a $340,000 settlement that was split eight ways, as well as assurances of better training and equipment going forward.
Rebecca Leavitt said when she and her all-woman team arrived at the site with only classroom training, they did a “hot foot dance” on smoldering embers as their boss yelled “Get back in there!” One crew member’s burned-up boots were duct-taped back together, she said, while others cried out in pain as their socks melted to their feet during nine hours on the ground that paid about $1 an hour.
Rebecca Leavitt poses for a portrait at her home, April 8, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Two days later, Leavitt said the women finally were taken to an outside hospital, where doctors carved dead skin off the bottoms of their feet, which had sustained second-degree burns. Because they were prisoners, they were denied pain medicine.
“They treated us like we were animals or something,” said Leavitt, adding that the women were afraid to disobey orders in the field or report their injuries for fear they could be sent to a higher-security facility. “The only reason why any of us had to tell them was because we couldn’t walk.”
Officials at Nevada’s Department of Corrections did not respond to requests for comment.
Chris Peterson, the ACLU lawyer who brought the women’s lawsuit, said Nevada’s Legislature has passed laws making it harder for injured prisoners to receive compensation. He noted that the state Supreme Court ruled five years ago that an injured firefighter could receive the equivalent of only about 50 cents a day in workers’ compensation based on how much he earned in prison, instead of the set minimum wage.
“At the end of the day,” Peterson said, “the idea is that if I get my finger lopped off, if I am an incarcerated person working as a firefighter, I am entitled to less relief than if I am a firefighter that’s not incarcerated.”
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A loophole in the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed after the Civil War makes forced labor legal, abolishing slavery except “as punishment for a crime.” Efforts are underway to challenge that language at the federal level, and nearly 20 states are working to bring the issue before voters.
Today, about 2 million people are locked up in the U.S. – more than almost any country in the world – a number that began spiking in the 1980s when tough-on-crime laws were passed. More than 800,000 prisoners have some kind of job, from serving food inside facilities to working outside for private companies, including work-release assignments everywhere from KFC to Tyson Foods poultry plants. They’re also employed at state and municipal agencies, and at colleges and nonprofit organizations.
Prisoners are among America’s most vulnerable workers. Since they are not “employees,” the AP found they are denied basic workplace rights and protections. (AP Video)
Few critics believe all prison jobs should be eliminated, but they say work should be voluntary and prisoners should be fairly paid and treated humanely. Correctional officials and others running work programs across the country respond that they place a heavy emphasis on training and that injuries are taken seriously. Many prisoners see work as a welcome break from boredom and violence inside their facilities and, in some places, it can help shave time off sentences.
In many states, prisoners are denied everything from disability benefits to protections guaranteed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration or state agencies that ensure safe conditions for laborers. In Arizona, for instance, the state occupational safety division doesn’t have the authority to pursue cases involving inmate deaths or injuries.
Strikes by prisoners seeking more rights are rare and have been quickly quashed. And the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that inmates cannot join or form unions. They also can’t call an ambulance or demand to be taken to a hospital, even if they suffer a life-threatening injury on the job.
The barriers for those who decide to sue can be nearly insurmountable, including finding a lawyer willing to take the case. That’s especially true after the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act was passed almost three decades ago to stem a flood of lawsuits that accompanied booming prison populations.
Kandy Fuelling poses for a portrait in Colorado Springs, Colorado, August 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Robert Bumsted)
Kandy Fuelling learned that all too well after being gravely injured in 2015 while assigned to work at a Colorado sawmill. She said her lawyer never met with her face-to-face and her suit was dismissed after a court ruled she could not sue state entities, leaving her with zero compensation.
Fuelling, who said she received only a few hours of training at the Pueblo mill, was feeding a conveyor belt used to make pallets when a board got stuck. She said she asked another prisoner if the machinery was turned off, but was told by her manager to “hurry up” and dislodge the jam. She crawled under the equipment and tugged at a piece of splintered lumber. Suddenly, the blade jolted back to life and spiraled toward her head.
“That saw went all the way through my hard hat. … I’m screaming ‘Help me! Help me!’ but no one can hear me because everything is running,” Fuelling said. “All I remember is thinking, ‘Oh my God, I think it just cut my head off.’”
With no first aid kit available, fellow prisoners stuck sanitary pads on her gushing wound and ushered her into a van. But instead of being driven to a nearby emergency room, she was taken to the prison for evaluation. The 5-inch gash, which pierced her skull, eventually was sewn up at an outside hospital.
Despite being dizzy and confused, she said she was put back to work soon after in the prison’s laundry room and received almost no treatment for months, even when her wound oozed green pus. She said she had privileges stripped and eventually was diagnosed with MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant infection. She still suffers short-term memory loss and severe headaches, she said.
The blood was in my eyes, it was gushing, and I didn’t know where I was. I couldn’t figure out what was going on.”
— Kandy Fuelling
The Colorado Department of Corrections had no comment when asked about prisoner training and medical treatment for those injured on the job.
While prisoners have access to low-cost care in correctional facilities nationwide, a typical co-pay of $2 to $5 per visit can be unaffordable for those earning next to nothing. Many inmates say it’s not worth it because the care they receive is often so poor.
Class-action lawsuits have been filed in several states – including Illinois, Idaho, Delaware and Mississippi – alleging everything from needless pain and suffering to deliberate medical neglect and lack of treatment for diseases like hepatitis C.
Some prisoners’ conditions worsened even after getting care for their injuries.
In Georgia, a prison kitchen worker’s leg was amputated after he fell on a wet floor, causing a small cut above his ankle. He was susceptible to infection as a diabetic, but doctors in the infirmary did not stop the wound from festering, according to a lawsuit that was handwritten and filed by the prisoner. It was an unusual case where the state settled – for $550,000 – which kept the prison medical director from going to trial.
In the first part of a sweeping two-year investigation, The Associated Press found that goods these prisoners produce wind up in the supply chains of a dizzying array of products found in most American kitchens, from Frosted Flakes and Ball Park hot dogs to Coca-Cola.
Noah Moore, who lost a finger while working at Hickman’s egg farm in Arizona, had a second finger later amputated due to what he said was poor follow-up treatment in prison after surgery at a hospital. That’s in a state where a federal judge ruled two years ago that the prison medical care was unconstitutional and “plainly, grossly inadequate.”
“I think the healing hurt worse than the actual accident,” Moore said.
The Arizona corrections department would not comment on injuries that occurred during a previous administration, but said prisoners have access to all necessary medical care. The department also stressed the importance of workplace safety training.
Prisons and jails can struggle to find doctors willing to accept jobs, which means they sometimes hire physicians who have been disciplined for misconduct.
A doctor in Louisiana, Randy Lavespere, served two years in prison after buying $8,000 worth of methamphetamine in a Home Depot parking lot in 2006 with intent to distribute. After his release, his medical license was reinstated with restrictions that banned him from practicing in most settings. Still, he was hired by the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the country’s largest maximum-security prison. His license has since been fully reinstated, and he now oversees health care for the entire corrections department.
Over the years, physicians who have worked at Louisiana prisons have had their medical licenses restricted or suspended following offenses ranging from sexual misconduct and possessing child pornography to self-prescribing addictive drugs, according to the state Board of Medical Examiners.
Lavespere could not be reached for comment, but corrections department spokesman Ken Pastorick said all prison doctors are licensed and that the board does not allow physicians to return to work unless they are “deemed competent and have the ability to practice medicine with skill and safety.”
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Across the country, it’s not uncommon for the relatives of prisoners who died on the job to struggle with determining who’s liable. When workers’ compensation is offered, the amount awarded is typically determined by the size of the worker’s paycheck and usually closes the door on future wrongful death suits.
The few cases that make their way to court can result in meager settlements compared to what the survivors of civilian workers might receive, in part because those behind bars are seen as having little or no future earning potential.
Matthew Baraniak was on work release in 2019 when he was killed at a Pennsylvania heavy machinery service center while operating a scissor lift. He was using a high-heat torch on a garbage truck that was rigged precariously with chains when its weight shifted, causing Baraniak to hit his head and lose control of the burning torch. His body was engulfed in flames.
Eight-year-old Estella Baraniak accompanied by her mother, Ashley Snyder, and grandparents Jackie and Brian Baraniak pose for a photograph with an image of her deceased father, Matthew Baraniak, in Halifax, Pa., March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Eight-year-old Estella Baraniak has a snack with her mother Ashley Snyder in Halifax, Pa., March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Estella Baraniak, 8, sits with her grandfather Brian Baraniak and looks at a family photo album with images of her deceased father, Matthew Baraniak, in Halifax, Pa., March 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Ashley Snyder, the mother of Baraniak’s daughter, accepted a workers’ comp offer made to benefit their then 3-year-old child, paying about $700 a month until the girl reaches college age. Family members said their claim against the county running the work-release program was dismissed, and their lawyer told them the best they could hope for was a small settlement from the service center.
“There are no rules,” Holly Murphy, Baraniak’s twin sister, said of the long and confusing process. “It’s just a gray area with no line there that says what’s acceptable, what the laws are.”
Michael Duff, a law professor at Saint Louis University and an expert on labor law, said some people think, “Well, too bad, don’t be a prisoner.” But an entire class of society is being denied civil rights, Duff said, noting that each state has its own system that could be changed to offer prisoners more protections if there’s political will.
“We’ve got this category of human beings that can be wrongfully harmed and yet left with no remedy for their harm,” he said.
Laws sometimes are amended to create even more legal hurdles for those seeking relief.
That’s what happened in Arizona. In 2021, a Hickman’s Family Farms lawyer unsuccessfully tried to get the corrections department to amend its contract to take responsibility for prisoner injuries or deaths, according to emails obtained by the AP. The next year, a newly formed nonprofit organization lobbied for a bill that was later signed into law, blocking prisoners from introducing their medical costs into lawsuits and potentially limiting settlement payouts.
Billy Hickman, one of the siblings who runs the egg company, was listed as a director of the nonprofit. He told the AP that the farm has hired more than 10,000 incarcerated workers over nearly three decades. Because they aren’t eligible for protections like workers’ comp, he said the company tried to limit its exposure to lawsuits partially driven by what he described as zealous attorneys.
“We’re a family business,” he said, “so we take it very seriously that people are safe and secure.”
Crystal Allen embraces her son, Martin Allen, upon her release from the Arizona State Prison Complex – Perryville in Goodyear, Ariz., April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
Crystal Allen speaks during an interview with the Associated Press a couple of days after her release from prison in Phoenix, Ariz., April 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
Blas Sanchez talks with his step grandson, Mauricio, at a motel he owns and operates, Jan. 26, 2024, in Winslow, Ariz. (AP Photo/John Locher)
At the height of the pandemic – when all other outside prison jobs were shut down – Crystal Allen and about 140 other female prisoners were sent to work at Hickman’s, bunking together in a large company warehouse. The egg farm is Arizona Correctional Industries’ biggest customer, bringing in nearly $35 million in revenue in the past six fiscal years.
Allen was earning less than $3 an hour after deductions, including 30% for room and board. She knew it would take time, but hoped to bank a few thousand dollars before her release.
One day, she noticed chicken feeders operating on a belt system weren’t working properly, so she switched the setting to manual and used her hand to smooth the feed into place.
“All of a sudden, the cart just takes off with my thumb,” said Allen, adding she had to use her sock to wrap up her left hand, which was left disfigured. “It’s bleeding really, really bad.”
She sued before the new state law took effect and settled with the company last year for an undisclosed amount. In legal filings, Hickman’s denied any wrongdoing.
Search and rescue crews work at the Mayfield Consumer Products candle factory early Sunday, Dec. 12, 2021 in Mayfield, Ky. Tornadoes and severe weather caused catastrophic damage across multiple states, killing several people overnight. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP, File)
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When a 2021 tornado flattened a Kentucky factory that made candles for Bath & Body Works and other major companies, Marco Sanchez risked his life to pull fellow employees from the debris. Eight people were killed, including the correctional officer overseeing Sanchez and other prisoners on a work-release program.
Sanchez fractured ribs and broke his foot and, after being treated at a hospital, was taken to the Christian County Jail. According to an ongoing civil rights lawsuit filed last year, he was sent to solitary confinement there and beaten by guards frustrated by his repeated requests for medical attention, which he said went unmet.
“They were retaliating against me,” said Sanchez , who was homeless when he talked to the AP. “They were telling me, ‘It should have been you … instead of one of ours.’”
Marco Sanchez walks the streets of Paducah, Ky., on Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023, after being released from McCracken County Jail. Sanchez risked his life to pull fellow employees from the debris of the Kentucky candle factory which was destroyed by a tornado in 2021 where he was on work release. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
Christian County Jail officials would not comment, citing the pending litigation. But attorney Mac Johns, who is representing the correctional officers, disputed Sanchez’s characterization of the care and treatment he received while incarcerated, without elaborating.
A few months after the tornado, Sanchez was portrayed on national television as a hero and given a key to the city, but he questions why he was treated differently than the civilian workers he was employed alongside.
He noted that they got ongoing medical attention and support from their family members at a difficult time. “I didn’t get that,” he said, adding that strong winds and sirens still leave him cowering.
The man who lost his leg while working at the composting chute in Arizona said he, too, continues to struggle, even though nearly a decade has passed since the accident.
Blas Sanchez settled for an undisclosed amount with Hickman’s, which denied liability in court documents. He now runs a motel in Winslow along historic U.S. Route 66 and said he’s still often in agony – either from his prosthetic or shooting pains from the nerves at the end of his severed limb.
And then there’s the mental anguish. Sometimes, he wonders if continuing to live is worth it.
“I wanted to end it because it’s so tiring and it hurts. And if it wasn’t for these guys, I probably would,” he said, motioning to his step-grandchildren playing around him. “End it. Finished. Done. Buried.”
—-
The Associated Press receives support from the Public Welfare Foundation for reporting focused on criminal justice. This story also was supported by Columbia University’s Ira A. Lipman Center for Journalism and Civil and Human Rights in conjunction with Arnold Ventures. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
NEW YORK — U.S. stocks coasted to the close of another winning week on Friday.
The S&P 500 rose 8.60 points, or 0.2%, to 5,222.68 to finish a third straight winning week following its mostly miserable April. It had been on pace for a bigger gain in the morning, but that mostly disappeared following a discouraging report on U.S. consumer sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 125.08 points, or 0.3%, to 39,512.84, and the Nasdaq composite edged down by 5.40, or less than 0.1%, to 16,340.87.
The S&P 500 has climbed back within 0.6% of its record on revived hopes that the Federal Reserve may deliver cuts to interest rates this year. A flood of stronger-than-expected reports on profits from big U.S. companies has also helped support the market.
Gen Digital jumped 15.3% after reporting better profit for the first three months of 2024 than analysts expected. The cyber safety company, whose brands include Norton and LifeLock, also authorized a program to buy back up to $3 billion of its stock. It joined a lengthening list of companies announcing big such programs, which helps goose per-share earnings for investors.
Novavax nearly doubled and shot 98.7% higher after announcing a deal with Sanofi that could be worth more than $1.2 billion. The agreement includes a license to co-commercialize Novavax’s COVID-19 vaccine worldwide, with some exceptions. Novavax also reported a slightly smaller loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected.
They helped offset a drop of 11% for Akamai Technologies, which topped expectations for profit but fell short for revenue. The cloud-computing, security and content delivery company also gave some financial forecasts for the upcoming year that fell short of analysts’ expectations.
It said the strengthening of the U.S. dollar’s value against other currencies is slicing into its business, along with slowing traffic growth across the industry. That helped overshadow its own announcement of a program to buy back up to $2 billion of its stock.
In the bond market, Treasury yields rose following the discouraging preliminary report from the University of Michigan.
It suggested sentiment among U.S. consumers is weakening by much more than economists expected, and the drop was large enough to be “statistically significant and brings sentiment to its lowest reading in about six months,” according to Joanne Hsu, director of the survey of consumers.
Potentially even more discouraging is that U.S. consumers were forecasting inflation of 3.5% in the upcoming year, up from their forecast of 3.2% a month earlier. If such expectations spiral higher, the fear is that it could lead to a vicious cycle that worsens inflation.
It highlights how some companies have recently been describing increasing struggles among their customers, particularly their lower-income ones.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.50% from 4.46% late Thursday. But the movement was still relatively modest compared with its drop from 4.70% late last month.
Markets may remain on hold until Wednesday’s highly anticipated update on U.S. inflation at the consumer level, according to rates strategists at Bank of America. Traders are still largely penciling in one or two cuts to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year, according to data from CME Group.
“Right now, the market is in a good mood thanks to a decent earnings season and a Fed that has a high bar to hiking,” according to Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management. “That mood can change quickly.”
Last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell helped pull yields lower after saying the central bank remains closer to cutting its main interest rate than hiking it, despite a string of stubbornly high readings on inflation this year. The Fed has been keeping its main interest rate at the highest level in more than two decades in hopes of getting high inflation fully under control.
A cooler-than-expected jobs report at the end of last week, meanwhile, suggested the U.S. economy could pull off the tricky balancing act of staying solid enough to avoid a bad recession but not so strong that it worsens inflation.
In stock markets abroad, London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.6% after the government reported the U.K. economy bounced back to growth at the start of the year. The performance was better than expected, and it snapped two straight quarters where the economy shrank.
In Japan, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4% after a report showed strong auto exports whittled down the nation’s trade deficit and it racked up solid returns on overseas investments.
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AP Business Writers Yuri Kageyama and Matt Ott contributed.
Donald Trump has spent months establishing a technique to distress the outcomes of the 2024 US elections would possibly perchance perchance perchance also serene he lose, mirroring his actions from 2020. At rallies, he insists on a victory “too indispensable to rig”, claiming that the finest manner he can lose is thru Democratic dishonest.
He has repeatedly refused to make your mind up to accepting the election end result. Currently, he said, “Essentially the most attention-grabbing part that would possibly perchance perchance terminate us is the dishonest,” during an event in Arizona. In 2020, Trump in arrive declared victory and sought to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden, culminating in the Capitol rebel on January 6, 2021. Democrats terror he would possibly perchance perchance perchance also replicate this implies sooner than the 2024 election is formally made up our minds.
Central to Trump’s campaign are allegations of fraud. He has claimed, without proof, that Democrats are allowing millions of migrants to enter the US illegally to register them to vote, AP reported.
In a September interview with Newsmax, Trump said, “They are working extra time seeking to signal people, illegally, to vote in the election.” On the opposite hand, it generally takes years for newcomers to kill citizenship, which is a prerequisite for balloting in federal elections.
Trump has also suggested that Democratic efforts to interact international voters signify a seemingly for fraud, alleging they honest to “dilute the TRUE vote of our stunning protection power and their families.” Ironically, Trump himself has campaigned for votes from Americans residing abroad.
Concerning Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump implied she would possibly perchance perchance perchance accept insider recordsdata relating to the election end result, asserting, “Maybe she knows something we don’t know.” He suggested that her campaigning with Beyoncé indicated that Democrats will maintain arrive recordsdata of the election results.
In Pennsylvania, Trump claimed, “Hundreds of potentially deceptive Voter Registration Forms” had been got asserting, “They’ve already started dishonest.” On the opposite hand, investigations are ongoing, and officials maintain confirmed that the evaluation pertains to registration capabilities, no longer real votes.
Trump has threatened excessive consequences for those he accuses of “unscrupulous behaviour,” pointing out that upon winning, he’ll glance to prosecute people fervent about what he deems election fraud. Despite his claims, judges and election officials, including his aged criminal professional popular William Barr, maintain affirmed that there became no frequent dishonest in the 2020 election.
As reported by the Associated Press, Trump’s rhetoric and organisational efforts issue their private praises a concerted strive to forged doubt on the electoral assignment, elevating concerns about seemingly instability in the upcoming election.
