A GoFundMe campaign was supposed to be a “second chance at life” for Johnny Bobbitt Jr. after the homeless man’s kindness to a stranger went viral in November 2017. Now, Bobbitt says he’s on the streets again and thinks the more than $400,000 raised was mismanaged.

Bobbitt gained fame after giving his last $20 to a woman who ran out of gas in Philadelphia. That woman, Kate McClure, worked with boyfriend Mark D’Amico to set up a crowdfunding campaign that attracted 14,000 donors.

But now Bobbitt says he’s homeless, hungry and addicted to drugs again. His lawyers say the couple has given him a fraction of the money, CNN reports. And Bobbitt fears he won’t benefit from the rest, according to an interview published by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Bobbitt’s lawyer estimated there should be $300,000 left from the campaign, according to CNN. Chris Fallon said he and another lawyer are working to secure a guardian other than McClure and D’Amico for the balance of the money.

The relationship between Bobbitt and the couple has deteriorated in the past year, the Inquirer reports.

The GoFundMe promised the possibility of Bobbitt owning a home. Instead, the couple made arrangements for him to live in a camper on family property, the publication reports.

Bobbitt told the paper that the couple may have spent some of the money from the GoFundMe on expensive cars and gambling.

McClure and D’Amico tell a different story, saying they are withholding a portion of the money for Bobbitt’s own good. They say his problems with drugs have contributed to him wasting some of the money from the campaign that he was given.

“Giving him all that money, it’s never going to happen. I’ll burn it in front of him,” D’Amico told the paper. He indicated the money could be as dangerous to Bobbitt as “a loaded gun.”

GoFundMe issued a statement to CNN and the Inquirer saying they are looking into the dispute.

Contributing: Cydney Henderson, The Arizona Republic

 

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When a California fire department spoke out this week about getting “throttled” by a wireless carrier, right or wrong the issue of throttling joined the public discussion. 

The Santa Clara Fire Department complained of being throttled by Verizon Wireless for going over its monthly allotment of 22 gigabytes, using the phone to coordinate and keep track of different personnel and fire trucks as they were fighting a wildfire. Verizon has since said it made a customer service error, should have lifted the throttling for the emergency situation and has now removed all data restrictions for first responders on the West Coast.

But what about you, dear consumer? You don’t have the emergency card to play, just the monthly agreement with Verizon and AT&T that says you may get throttled if you go over 22 gigabytes. 

 

We have two simple solutions and a suggestion: 

• Switch carriers: T-Mobile and Sprint both say their throttling begins at a more generous 50 GBs of data.

• Use Wi-Fi more often: When at home and work, switch to Wi-Fi immediately and you jump off the wireless network, thus, you probably won’t meet your monthly data caps. 

But, ahem, Verizon, how about being a good corporate citizen? Stop slowing down service on your paying subscribers. Yes, throttling may save you a few dollars, but it certainly won’t win you any friends –lawmakers have already called for hearings on the issue. 

If T-Mobile and Sprint can make it a matter of business policy to not throttle at 22 GBs, certainly Verizon, the company that reaped over $125 billion in 2017 revenues, can afford to be nicer to their customers. 

Verizon, after all, is the same company we wrote about here last weekend that’s planning to launch super high speed 5G service in four markets later this year. So consumers are supposed to sign up, marvel at the super fast service, and then get penalized once they start using it with a throttle?

That probably won’t win Verizon great word of mouth. 

The average consumer uses about 7 gigabytes of monthly data, according to Roger Entner, an analyst with Recon Analytics. But folks who enjoy watching Netflix movies and YouTube videos come in much higher. And let’s face it–we all watch a lot of Netflix and YouTube, so expect us to using more data, not less. 

Talking Tech tried out the data survey on AT&T’s website to see how much data we might use. We got to a hypothetical 7.72 GB monthly for sending and receiving 1,000 monthly emails, listening to eight hours daily of streaming music, surfing the web and creating 335 social media posts. Add in 40 hours of watching standard-definition video, and it jumps to 35 GB monthly. It’s 114 GB with HD video).

Being throttled isn’t fun. When that happens, “they make it so slow it’s basically unusable,” reader Bryan Klosiewicz noted on Twitter. 

Josh Bernoff, an author and blogger, says that after getting throttled by AT&T for the first time, “It changed the way I use the mobile phone.” 

Yes, Wi-Fi is more widespread than ever and most restaurants, doctor’s offices and retail stores have it now. But Verizon can chalk it up to bad customer service for throttling the fire dept. The fact is–this was a corporate policy. One that, thanks to the outcry and spotlight on this piggish corporate policy, will hopefully change ASAP. 

In other tech news this week

 • Retailer Costco added Apple Pay’s mobile payment service as an option for consumers, bringing more options for consumers to pay with their phone. Recently, Apple announced that drugstore chain CVS and convenience retailer 7-Eleven had signed up. But the No. 1 and No. 2 physical retailer stores Walmart and Target are still not participating. 

• The New York Public Library came up with a fun way to get people to think about the library and read a great book. It put the entire text of “Alice in Wonderland” on Instagram as an Instagram Story, wrapped it up in fancy animation, and some 40,000 people read the story.  

• How do you like the sound of a drone that can zoom in on the action while up in the skies? Drone powerhouse DJI introduced two new models, the Mavic Pro Zoom and Mavic Pro 2, which includes a lens made by camera legend Hasselblad. The two new models are selling for more than $1,000. 

• Fake News patrol: Google shut down 58 channels it said were linked to an influence operation run by Iran’s state broadcaster. And Facebook said it foiled political influence campaigns originating out of Iran and Russia that targeted U.S. users ahead of the midterm elections.

 

This week’s Talking Tech podcasts

 

– Can we find a bigger DVR for TV Bob?

– The drone that zooms in from the skies

– NY Library brings “Insta Novels” to Instagram

– GoPro in the classroom

– iPhone 2018: new features consumers want

– Dream big – the Apple Car

– Smartphone video quality on par with cameras, Filmic Pro. 

Thanks for reading the Talking Tech weekend wrapup. Subscribe to the Talking Tech newsletter: technewsletter.usatoday.com. Also be sure to listen to the daily Talking Tech podcast on Stitcher and Apple Podcasts, and follow me (@jeffersongraham) on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. 

 

 

 

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Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion live in the Premier League – Live – BBC Sport

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Rohingya refugees have held demonstrations in Bangladesh to mark one year since Myanmar’s army launched a brutal crackdown of the mostly Muslim minority, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee across the border. 

More than 15,000 gathered on Saturday at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar to demand justice for what they called “genocide” committed by Myanmar’s forces.

On August 25, 2017, Myanmar launched a military offensive – termed by the UN as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing – after a Rohingya armed group carried out attacks on border security forces.

The ensuing violent crackdown forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee Rakhine State for neighbouring Bangladesh, living in squalid conditions in overcrowded camps. 

“The refugees had to get special permission from the Bangladeshi authorities in order to stage these demonstrations,” said Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Cox’s Bazar, which has become home to the world’s largest refugee settlement.

“We saw men, women, young and old, demanding their rights, demanding justice, pleading to the international community to do more to help them, but also saying that they want to make sure that the perpetrators of this genocide – the Myanmar army – need to be held to account and brought to justice by the International Criminal Court,” he added. 

Returning home

Rohingya, one of the most persecuted communities in the world, have been denied citizenship and basic human rights by Myanmar’s authorities since 1982.

Bangladesh signed a deal with Myanmar last year to allow the refugees to return, but the repatriation process has been stalled.

But little is know about the deal, and many of the Rohingya say they are afraid of returning only to be forcibly displaced again in the future.

Among their demands are for Myanmar to grant them citizenship, greater inclusivity in government services such as education and workforce, the ensuring of safety and security, as well as reparations for all that they have lost.

“We want to go back home,” said Mohammad Elias, member of the Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH).

“We want to be citizens of our country. We want to live there with safety and security.”

Elias, who fled Rakhine state in August 2017 with his family, believes there is absolutely no excuse for the Rohingya not to be recognised as citizens of Myanmar.

“Our mothers and fathers are from Myanmar,” he told Al Jazeera.

“We were also born there but still they made us suffer. They didn’t let us get an education. They didn’t even let us pray in the mosque.”

Children’s crisis 

The UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, estimates that children make up 55 percent of the total Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh.

A family-counting exercise conducted in December 2017 by UNHCR found more than 5,500 families being led by children under 18.

More than half a million Rohingya refugee children are being denied the chance of a proper education, UNICEF said in a report marking one year since the start of the latest influx of Rohingya into Bangladesh.

Many arrived at the camps unaccompanied – either separated from their families or orphaned. 

“From the outset, this has truly been a children’s crisis,” said Daphnee Cook, a representative for the UK-based non-profit Save the Children. 

“Many children have seen their parents killed in front of them, they’ve had to endure long, hard journeys where they have arrived here with basically no food and then they’ve had to survive now in these camps for about a year now,” she told Al Jazeera in an interview at Cox’s Bazar.

“It’s horrible,” she added. “It’s not a place where children should be living.”

A case where the original still reigns supreme is in the geeky collectibles and gear subscription box.
Loot Crate is the best of the best, and has built an entire community around unboxing their loot.

The original Loot Crate set out to be “comic-con in a box,” containing at least four pop-culture related items valued at over $45 total. There’s guaranteed to be a t-shirt in every box, and they often collaborate with brands to deliver exclusive products. Each monthly box is centered around a theme – past themes have included “future,” “anti-hero,” and “origins.” There’s also a
Loot Crate DX subscription for the truly dedicated nerds out there, with premium items worth at least $100. We here at Mashable have a fun time every month trying to
what the new theme will bring.

Loot Crate has also branched out into all kinds of other nerdy areas. There’s an
anime box, a
Sanrio box (delivered every 3 months — Hello Kitty has a busy life,) and even an adorable box for
pets. Gamers can subscribe to a specific
box, or even pick a bi-monthly box with exclusively
Halo– or
Fallout-related loot. The
Loot Wear offshoot has apparel subscriptions for socks, underwear, t-shirts, wearables, and “For Her.” I haven’t even gotten to the
film and TV crates yet, but you get it. There’s a lot of stuff here. All nerds will be able to find something they’ll love unboxing every month.    

With all this the variety, the fan community, and exclusive items, there’s just no competitor even coming close to beating
Loot Crate in the geeky collectible box game.

Joe Fleming, USA TODAY
Published 10:56 a.m. ET Aug. 25, 2018 | Updated 11:14 a.m. ET Aug. 25, 2018

Tennis just can’t seem to get out of its own way.

Andy Roddick, the Hall of Famer who always called it as he saw it, was on target again in response to the French Tennis Federation’s announcement that Serena Williams’ catsuit would be banned going forward from the French Open.

“This is so dumb and shortsighted it hurts,” Roddick tweeted.

Once again an off-the-court issue intrudes on the game itself, two days before the start of the U.S. Open, the season’s final major. 

In an interview in Tennis Magazine’s 500th edition, French Tennis Federation President Bernard Giudicelli said the French Open will institute a dress code to regulate players’ uniforms because, “I think that sometimes we’ve gone too far.”

MORE: French Open won’t let Serena Williams wear black catsuit

MORE: Andy Murray is realistic about his chances of winning U.S. Open

And then he singled out the figure-hugging black suit that Williams wore this year at Roland Garros and said made her feel like a superhero.

“It will no longer be accepted,” Giudicelli said. “One must respect the game and the place.”

Social media, predictably, lit up in response, mostly in defense of Serena and her superhero costume. 

That included Nike, who outfits Serena: “You can take the superhero out of her costume, but you can never take away her superpowers.”

Why would the French Open target Serena Williams? After all, she is a three-time champion at Roland Garros and wildly popular — she has a home in Paris, and she answers post-match, on-court questions in French.

But she does seem to have been targeted. 

Part of the reason for the catsuit was health-related. Throughout the season, Williams has worn compression legwear (when not in the catsuit) to help circulation and ward of blood clots — something she has battled in the past, including after the birth of her daughter.

Williams took the news better than most everyone else, saying Saturday in a U.S. Open press conference: “Guys, it’s fine.”

Giudicelli promised that Roland Garros’ new rules won’t be as strict as Wimbledon’s, which require that players wear white. (A catsuit has, in fact, been worn at Wimbledon before, albeit all white: by Anne White in 1985).

Wimbledon’s famously strict dress codes have been in place for years and for the most part have been accepted — or at least players have resigned themselves to the guidelines. 

But to change a rule, as Roland Garros has done, seemingly arbitrarily and well after the fact, drawing attention away from the season’s final major? 

Cue Roddick: “Sometimes it’d be nice if the sport got out of its own way.”

 

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo said his side have “nothing to prove” after they held Manchester City to a draw at Molineux, with Aymeric Laporte’s header rescuing a point for the champions.

Pep Guardiola’s side came here on the back of convincing victories at Arsenal and at home to Huddersfield Town – but were given a severe test by the team who won the Championship last season.

In an eventful match, City hit the post twice in the first half – first, through Sergio Aguero and and then when Wolves keeper Rui Patricio brilliantly turned Raheem Sterling’s rising 25-yard drive onto the bar. Wolves striker Raul Jimenez also had a goal ruled out for offside.

The hosts took the lead in controversial fashion after 57 minutes when defender Willy Boly’s attempted diving header went in off his hand from Joao Moutinho’s free-kick.

City had appeals for a penalty turned away by referee Martin Atkinson after Ruben Neves’ challenge on David Silva, but drew level in the 69th minute when Aymeric Laporte scored his first goal for the club – a towering header from Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick.

Both sides had opportunities to win it in the closing stages, with City almost snatching three points when Aguero’s free-kick glanced off the bar with virtually the last kick of the game.

Wolves became only the third team since the beginning of last season to reach double figures in attempts on goal against Manchester City.

“It is a big victory for the boys today,” Nuno told BBC Sport. “No matter what opponent you have you should play the way you think you should play.

“It is our way. We don’t have to prove nothing to nobody. We just have to be ourselves, the way we work together.”

Wolves at home at the top table

The thunderous roar that greeted the final whistle and this well-earned point was just the sort of moment Wolves’ Chinese owners had in mind when they embarked on this hugely ambitious Molineux project.

“We’re on our way back” boomed from the Sir Jack Hayward Stand as manager Nuno Espirito Santo and his players took the acclaim for taking the first points off Manchester City this season.

It has been a difficult opening to the season for Wolves with defeat at Leicester City following a home draw against Everton on the opening weekend.

On Saturday, however, Wolves showed commitment, energy and quality to carry out Nuno’s gameplan – one which he said he would not downgrade or tailor simply because Guardiola’s champions were in town.

Yes, there were moments when the hosts carried their luck. Boly’s goal was clearly scored with the aid of his hand, while City were frustrated by the woodwork – once via a brilliant Patricio save – but few would begrudge them this point.

Backed by a fervent support at a packed Molineux, they were not hanging on for a point and twice the raw pace of substitute Adama Traore almost provided crosses that led to a late goal.

Make no mistake, City did not deserve to lose either – but this is a result, occasion and performance that will do wonders for Wolves’ self-belief and help them settle into life in the Premier League.

Man City lack usual cutting edge

Guardiola and his Manchester City players will be frustrated at dropping their first points of the season after two convincing wins.

While City saw plenty of the ball, they were just short of their dazzling best in all areas of the pitch and could not find the clinical end product that normally comes so naturally to them.

Their luck was also out. Aguero hit the woodwork twice and Patricio’s athleticism left Sterling holding his head in anguish.

City still showed resilience to fight their way back into contention after the shock of falling behind to Boly’s goal, and plenty of City’s title rivals will have looked on in envy at the sheer firepower Guardiola was able to introduce from the bench as they went in search of victory.

Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane and Riyad Mahrez all came on – it did not do the trick on this occasion but their presence demonstrates the sheer size of the task of those hoping to wrestle the crown away from City.

Tough day for officials

The video assistant referee (VAR) will not be present in the Premier League this season – and Manchester City may well have been left regretting its absence at Molineux on Saturday.

Boly’s final touch on to Moutinho’s free-kick to give Wolves the lead clearly came off his hand, but it was incredibly tough for referee Atkinson and his assistant to spot as the ball was delivered into a crowd in the penalty area.

And City also felt they were denied a penalty when Silva tumbled under a Neves challenge, but their appeals were ignored.

In the end a draw was accepted by both sides – but City clearly felt aggrieved that big decisions had gone against them.

Man of the match – Joao Moutinho (Wolves)

‘A very good point’ – Guardiola

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo: “It was a good performance overall in all moments of the game and in all circumstances of the game, when we had the ball and when we didn’t have the ball.

“You have to be cautious and realise your opponents are the best team, the champions, stick together, reduce the spaces and have balance.

“When we had the ball we created chances and played good football. It was a good game.

“But – and there is always a but – maybe we should have managed those couple of minutes better after we scored. There were a couple of first passes that put Manchester City in control of the game but it is one more game, one more tool to work on.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking to BBC Sport: “It was a very good point. We created chances but their keeper made saves, so today we draw. We knew how good they were this season. No complaints.

“We created a lot, that’s why it’s good. In the first half, Aguero hit the post – sometimes it goes in, sometimes not.

“We were not solid defensively today, that is why we conceded a few chances to them. But in general, the game – considering the quality of the opponent – was good. We have to give credit.”

The stats – French flourish in English top flight

• Wolves have lost just two of their 28 home games under Nuno Espírito Santo, winning 18 and drawing eight.
• Manchester City have lost only one of their past 30 Premier League games against newly promoted teams.
• City conceded the opening goal in a league game for the first time in 18 games, when they lost 4-3 to Liverpool on 14 January.
• City captain Vincent Kompany became the first Belgian to make 250 Premier League appearances.
• Wolves defender Willy Boly and Manchester City’s Aymetic Laporte became the 117th and 118th French players to score in the Premier League (excluding own-goals).
• In fact, Laporte’s goal was the 1,500th scored by a French player in the Premier League – with only English players scoring more.

What’s next?

Wolves travel to Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup second round on Tuesday (19:45 BST kick-off) before visiting West Ham in the Premier League next Saturday.

Manchester City host Newcastle in the league next Saturday at 17:30.

Pope Francis has arrived in Ireland for the first papal visit to the country in nearly four decades.

The pontiff’s arrival at Dublin airport on Saturday comes amid declining religious observance in the traditionally Catholic country and anger over the Catholic Church’s record on tackling sexual abuse by priests.

When Pope John Paul II visited Ireland in 1979, divorce and contraception were illegal in the country.

Pope Francis’ visit comes at the back of referendums, in which the Irish electorate overwhelmingly voted to legalise abortion and gay marriage.

Both are positions the Vaticanhas traditionally opposed.

“The Catholic Church is still very much part of our society but not at the centre of it as it was 40 years ago,” Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who became Ireland’s first gay leader last year, told the BBC in advance of the pope’s visit.

“Ireland has become a very different place in the last 40 years and our relationship with the Church has changed principally because of so many revelations that have occurred around child sex abuse.”

Hundreds of thousands are set to greet the leader of world’s Catholics during his two-day visit.

Pope Francis signs the visitor book in Dublin Castle. While the Pope is visiting a very different Ireland to his predecessor in 1979, 78% of people here still identify as Catholic and faith remains an important part of many people’s lives. #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/EWMUcLwWn4

— Leo Varadkar (@campaignforleo) August 25, 2018

Pope Francis met Varadkar in the capital Dublin. The Irish leader called the abuse scandal a “stain on the state” and called on the pontiff to do more in dealing with the abuse crisis.

The pope said he shared the outrage over the cover-up of “repugnant crimes” committed by clerics.

“I cannot fail to acknowledge the grave scandal caused in Ireland by the abuse of young people by members of the Church charged with responsibility for their protection and education,” Francis said in a speech at the state reception.

“The failure of ecclesiastical authorities – bishops, religious superiors, priests and others – adequately to address these repugnant crimes has rightly given rise to outrage and remains a source of pain and shame for the Catholic community.” 

Ireland has one of the worst records for clerical sex abuse in the world, with more than 1,300 priests accused of sexual violence since 1975.

Al Jazeera’s Neave Barker, reporting from Dublin, said the visit was a moment of great celebration for many but also “consternation” for others.

“The appeal, the power, and the draw of the Catholic Church in Ireland has waned in recent years. But I think it would be wrong to say that this is a post-Catholic country,” he said.

“The last religious census in 2016 suggested that more than 70 percent of Ireland identified itself as Catholic, while 40 percent go to church on a regular basis.”

Barker said that while many had renounced the faith, others saw the Catholic religion as part of the culture of the country.

Paddy Agnew, a Dublin-based journalist , said the sex abuse scandal was a problem which is doing Pope Francis and the Catholic Church “a great deal of damage”.

“But for him to come up with a plan to deal with this problem, it requires a fundamental reassessment of basic Catholic Church teaching … and I dont think they want to go there,” Agnew told Al Jazeera.

“He is not going to even begin to attempt to change fundamentally the Catholic doctrine … the message the church is teaching is the same,” he added. 

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies