Sunday, May 30, 2021

The "Big Lie" Used As An Excuse To Censor An Even Bigger Lie!



The Mass Media is currently exposing an incredibly obvious "Big Lie," about the election being stolen from Trump, while trying to collect brownie points to create a much Bigger Lie to convince people that our election system is fair and using this to justify censoring attempts to expose much bigger, and worse efforts to rig elections which are supported by evidence that is wide open, assuming you don't let MSM keep you distracted. The original meme posted above was labeled fake or misleading by Facebook, along with many others that were falsely smeared or completely censored, in a few cases some of my own social media posts. This is part of a blanket censorship purge that isn't even trying to sort out false claims by Trump supporters and legitimate claims of other election rigging from other people. In many cases, including my own posts, we pointed out massive favoritism that has been routine for decades, giving preferential treatment to candidates supported by Wall Street. This includes obsessive coverage given to Donald Trump And Hillary Clinton in 1016 while many honest candidates couldn't get any media coverage at all.

The mass media and political establishment are controlled by a fraction of one percent of the public, and if they want to ensure that those opposing their fiscal policies never get elected, all they have to do is decline to cover them, ensuring they never get the name recognition in order to be considered "viable," even if they support most of the policies wanted by the vast majority of the public. At the same time, the candidates that do support the agenda of Wall Street get obsession coverage. The media routinely provides a lot of coverage for billionaires even when they don't run, and they also cover candidates collecting an enormous amount of money from those billionaires, which they know will be spent on ads, but they ignore those gathering support at the grassroots level.

They routinely announce who at least one of the inevitable nominees are months if not years ahead of time. One of the most brazen examples was in early 1999, when they began providing obsession coverage for both George W. Bush and Al Gore Jr., even though George Bush hadn't even announced he was running. By the summer or early fall, they virtually announced that both of them would get the nomination, and, of course, both of them were obvious corporate puppets. They justified this by saying that responses to polls showed they were ahead; however they refused to cover many other honest candidates in the news or polls, nor did they report on many issues, showing that establishment candidates routinely oppose many fiscal issues supported by a large majority of the public.

Another incredibly obvious plan to rig the primary for the establishment candidate was Hillary Clinton who was virtually declared the inevitable nominee years ahead of time, even before the leaked E-mails disclosed some of the efforts to ensure she would win. Practically the entire Democratic Party cleared the way and endorsed Hillary Clinton for president months if not over a year before any voters had their say, even though she had incredibly high disapproval ratings and disagreed with the majority of the public on most issues, especially fiscal issues. This was all clear before the E-mail leaks, to those of us who thought it through instead of trusting media propaganda repeated over and over again.

But, of course, it became much more obvious after the leaks showed many of the details of how they rigged the primaries. Amazingly, the media and political establishment all universally agreed that they should have been allowed to rig the primaries in secret acting as if the only conspiracy was to expose how they were rigging the primaries. There was no effort to deny the accuracy of the E-mails which virtually confirmed them showing that the leaks exposed epidemic levels of cheating, which, of course, is part of the reason Trump won, although he was obviously just as corrupt.

Perhaps the most brazen and obvious claim came by Donna Brazile, who repeatedly said she "was a victim" on one news story after another. What made her a victim? She leaked questions for a CNN debate to Hillary Clinton so that she could have an unfair advantage, and someone exposed her part in cheating! This is a truly amazing claim; can you imagine a shoplifter that learned a new technique to switch price tags or some other way of stealing more effectively claim she "was a victim," because someone shared her tactics enabling the store to catch her and prosecute her?

If a working class person came up with such a lame excuse they would be laughed off; however when those representing the wealthy that control almost all major institutions, including the mass media they created an epidemic amount of deceptive propaganda, which they repeated over and over again. Most people almost certainly didn't believe it at first, but after it was repeated often enough and many people didn't hear alternative views, unless they checked alternative media they began to believe it.

At the time it was so incredibly obvious that at least three high profile people, Donna Brazile, Elizabeth Warren and Tom Perez, all came right out and admitted it was rigged; then amazingly, within a day or two each one of them tried to "walk it back," even though the rigging was undeniable. They didn't come right out and say, "Remember when I actually told the truth and confirmed what you already knew, well, I didn't mean it and I'm now adopting the same obvious lies as the rest of the Democratic establishment;" but they might as well have, it was so obvious. Most of the people exposed helping to rig the election in the E-mails weren't quite as brazen as Donna Brazile when she said she "was a victim," for being exposed and that she should be allowed to have gotten away with it except that her fraud was exposed, but it's still pretty clear they were all caught red-handed cheating and that instead of fixing it they went into total denial, or at least in media reports; however, they virtually admitted their guilt in the courts, which wasn't reported in traditional media.

In DNC to Court: We Are a Private Corporation With No Obligation to Follow Our Rules 05/02/2017 DNC attorney Bruce Spiva said, "and we could have voluntarily decided that, Look, we're gonna go into back rooms like they used to and smoke cigars and pick the candidate that way. That's not the way it was done. But they could have. And that would have also been their right," instead they decided to used more sophisticated methods to manipulate the public and rig the nomination. They argued that they're a private corporation and not obliged to follow their own rules or respect the will of the public, and the judge accepted this argument. And, of course, the six corporations controlling over 95% of the national media, as well as a few more of the largest media outlets, controlled by the wealthy, were involved in the rigging of the primaries.

The Democratic establishment pretending to be victims is much more corrupt than the shoplifter that knows it will do no good to pretend to be victims, since they're involved in much larger fraud, enabling corrupt corporations to steal millions if not billions by rigging the economy in their favor, and in many cases they literally cost people thousands if not millions of lives, yet they're not prosecuted. When establishment politicians rig health care so middle men take a huge cut from private insurance it drives up the cost of health care, and according to studies cost thousands of lives; when they rig the regulatory system so energy companies can profit by polluting the working class and poor, especially minorities, that costs thousands if not billions of lives; both these and many more examples should be considered negligent mass homicide. When they start wars based on lies and arm dictators, this should be intentional mass homicide! All are far worse than petty shoplifters from the working class who are prosecuted to the full extent of the law, while politicians and their accomplices are above the law.

An enormous amount of the reporting on election fraud during primaries has often been reported while it's happening, with the best news from alternative media outlets, then gets forgotten after months without any reminders. I compiled a lot of these reports in a couple articles about election rigging in 2016, 2020 and an update which includes a review of some books about the history of election fraud and why it's unreasonable to believe that it will stop without major activism and education at the grassroots level. This includes an excerpt from Andrew Gumbel "Steal This Vote" 2005 where Jimmy Carter says "We wouldn't think of it," when asked if the Carter Center would monitor our own elections because "The American political system wouldn't measure up to any sort of international standards, for several reasons." Those concerns were never addressed, although it is now very difficult to find a report of his statements anywhere but Gumbel's book. Instead of fixing the problems with our system they're censoring the reports on them. There was also a Report of Recording released of Clinton suggesting rigging 2006 Palestinian election 10/29/2016, adding to the evidence indicating that rigging elections is still routine for the ruling elite, and this massive effort to label Trump's false claims as the "Big Lie" while ignoring legitimate reports of election rigging is a clear propaganda attempt to make our elections seem legitimate, when this isn't close to the truth.



In addition to rigging election for candidates supported by Wall Street the political establishment is also rigging the economic system so that fiscal policies with overwhelming support from a large majority of the public, yet opposed by campaign donors don't get fair media coverage and are rarely even brought up for a vote, let alone enacted. This was made obvious by a few memes from Bernie Sanders or the Green Party which listed popular polls that they campaigned on, with sources to confirm them. These Memes were popular on the internet and a handful of the issues were very popular in Bernie Sanders or the Green Parties speeches, but outside of the coverage of Bernie Sanders speeches, they were almost completely ignored by traditional media and they avoided even asking most candidates for office, or president, Congress, or any other office, so most establishment candidates avoided making clear statements on the subjects.
70% support Medicare for All & 89% of Democrats;
63% (another poll puts it at 67%) support a $15 minimum wage (these were old polls, so updated one might support a higher wage);
81% support a Green New Deal, with 61% supporting efforts to end Climate Change;
72% (another poll puts this at 76%) support expanding Social Security;
75% support immigration, with 81% supporting a pathway to citizenship, and presumably not so they can be exploited for virtual slave labor;
86% support only using the military as a last resort;
76% support higher taxes on the wealthy, with 59% supporting a 70% Top Marginal Rate and 67% support taxing corporations more;
77% support campaign finance reform;
83% (another poll puts this at 86%) support net neutrality;
57% support breaking up big banks;
65% support reforming racists incarceration system;
64% support guaranteed jobs program;
60% support tuition free college;
90% support universal childcare;
68% support capping interest rates;
63% support curbing wealth inequality;
58% support strict Wall Street Regulation;
70% of Americans say arms sales make us less safe
and 83% oppose outsourcing.

(Sources for these polls were listed here Polls With Citations: Americans Want Bernie's New Deal For All 07/26/2019 or on the bottom of this article, Bernie Sanders Has informed Grassroots Support; Others Have Media Propaganda! with one additional poll, Poll: 83% of Americans dislike work outsourcing 07/16/2012; with another poll showing that 69% of Americans believe that outsourcing hurts the country — and only 17% think it helps the economy. 58% of respondents in the ELA poll believe that companies outsourcing work that could be done by Americans to offshore contractors should be penalized by the US government. and 70% of Americans Say Arms Sales Make Us Less Safe. We’re the World’s Top Dealer.)

The clear implication is that, at least when it comes to fiscal issues, the vast majority of the public supports one side of many issues, which are opposed by campaign contributors, and on all of these issues the overwhelming majority of the political establishment supports the campaign donors, not the public. Since there are no votes on most if not all of these issues it may seem difficult if not impossible to tell which politicians, if any support any of the issues favored by the majority of the public. This is even true on the rare occasions when progressives, like the squad or Bernie Sanders, campaign on these issues, since, if you look closely, most if not all of them, have sent mixed messages, often supporting leaders that block the issues they campaign on.



As much as I like them, and support the issues they campaign on, they've repeatedly supported the establishment blocking those issue, often with money raised from progressives. In both 2016 and 2020 Bernie Sanders denied claims that the primaries were rigged, despite overwhelming evidence and endorsed candidates that opposed just about every issue he campaigned on, and even tried to help repair the image of the DNC despite overwhelming evidence they were corrupt as well. Most progressives also caved to reelect Nancy Pelosi without gaining anything for their progressive causes, often even when Pelosi literally insulted them and their views, which had overwhelming support from voters. AOC even went so far as to raise an enormous amount of money from progressives, then donated a large portion of it to corporate Democrats and those trained by the CIA even though they made it clear they would do what they could to suppress her progressive positions. If she didn't need this money for her own campaign she could have easily donated it to progressive challengers, who, as she previously pointed out, are much more likely to win general elections!

The methods Wall Street and the political establishment use to ensure that candidates supporting popular issues with the public rarely if ever have a chance to get nominated are incredibly simple; they simply refuse to provide media coverage unless a candidate collects an enormous amount of money from corporations, which they can't do unless they support the corporate agenda. In addition to that, they routinely provide an enormous amount of coverage for numerous billionaires every election cycle free of charge, often even when they're not running.

The media and political establishment also routinely manufacture false propaganda about most, if not all the fiscal issues where they oppose the will of the people, even when it means burying the best research that can save thousands if not millions of lives and billions of dollars for the general public. On occasion they might report on some of this, very briefly, and then bury it, in traditional media. One example of this is their distortions about Medicare For All, or other versions of Single Payer, which routinely works much better in all other wealthy developed countries.

One study, which was briefly reported in Yahoo News, says Medicare for All Would Save $450 Billion and 68,000 Lives per year 02/18/2020; however cable news and politicians never discuss this and they've made it clear that they refuse to even bring this up for a vote, even though all other wealthy countries have already implemented this solution and withholding it will literally cost thousands of people their lives, which should be considered negligent mass murder, especially since they're disregarding the wish of a large majority of the public so their campaign donors can make massive amount of money off the unnecessary deaths of innocent people.

There's also an enormous amount of research showing that tens of thousands, or more likely millions of lives can be saved by protecting the environment more, whether it's by using clean energy, like wind, solar, geothermal heat or other clean energy, or perhaps even more important, conservation, encouraging people to use less energy for any given reason, including not buying hyped up garbage being relentlessly advertised that serves little or no purpose. However, the reporting on this is much lower profile than reporting falsely claiming we need ti increase dirtier forms of energy, burning fossil fuels, including coal, fracking and many other things doing far more damage to the environment. Ironically, we're still subsidizing dirty energy far more than clean energy, and we're not taking into account the full cost of the pollution and health costs for dirty energy, which may at times make it seem like they're cheaper when they're not.

To make matters much worse, the oil companies spend a portion of their profits to buy up an enormous number of misleading propaganda ads to convince people they're part of the solution to pollution, instead of the cause. Since they make an enormous profit from the destruction of the environment they have a massive incentive to distort the truth, when they can get away with it. This has lead to a situation where the media is making a fortune selling propaganda ads to the oil companies, so they now have an incentive not to expose how fraudulent they are.

For all practical purposes the official truth has been turned into a commodity that can be sold to the highest bidder; and since real environmentalists can't afford to spend more than a small fraction of the money spent by oil companies, the oligarchs can dictate their version of the truth with the real truth relegated to alternative media! The result is our government encourages the destruction of the environment killing millions of people around the world, which is, for all practical purposes, negligent mass homicide, and ecocide in process. This would make the oil companies leading perpetrators, and media companies selling their propaganda and politicians taking campaign donations, which they don't officially call bribes, and passing laws to enable it, all accomplices!

I could probably go through each item listed on these polls and find studies for many of them showing that we can address social problems and solve them before they escalate and save money at the same time, as well as some not on the list, including prevention of violence, which I covered in Ten Ways To Reduce Violence, Backed Up By Research Since then I found several more studies, listed below, showing that spending money on preschool or day care can save at least seven dollars for every dollar spent, with one study saying we might save as much as sixteen dollars for every one spent on early childcare or education, assuming the programs are implemented well, of course.



They've also fabricated a false image about foreign policy as I went into several times including United States Coups & Entrapment of Immigrants and Death Squads Can't Happen Here? Yet? which both explain how our foreign policy is almost entirely based on lies and provides much more reliable sources than the mainstream media, which often admits to many of their lies briefly, before letting the truth fall down the memory hole. They've been doing the same thing for decades when it comes to reporting on Israel, and many of their lies have been exposed again in their recent coverage of the Israeli assault on Gaza, which has been heavily censored.

Traditional media and most politicians routinely portray the Palestinians as "terrorists" often glossing over the fact that Israel typically kills at least ten ten times as many people, they have much more weapons, are imposing apartheid, and have been relentlessly stealing land from Palestinians for decades. In the most recent attack on Gaza according to Haaretz the UN Rights Chief Says Israeli Strikes on Gaza May Be War Crimes 07/2/2020 and that 270 Palestinians died mostly in Gaza, with some in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 68 children, during violence this month and Hamas rockets had killed 10 Israelis and residents, which is 27 to 1, with a large majority of them civilian non-combatants.



For decades the mainstream media has been censoring critics of Israel so that those relying on traditional media may have little or no idea what's going on there. For a long time, I was one of them, but even when I still relied on traditional media and Benjamin Netanyahu was in his first term as Prime Minister in 1996-1999, I was highly skeptical of him, but media bias about Israel has gotten much worse since then. The New York Times did report on the children killed in Gaza but Cable News, which gets far more attention and repeats things over and over again, giving them a major propaganda advantage, is relentlessly covering non-fatal Antisemitic attacks while ignoring the much larger number of fatal attacks against the Palestinians. Reasonable people may agree that the Antisemitic attacks are, of course, wrong; but the large number of murders are even worse and deserve as much if not much more attention.

A few years ago Marc Lamont Hill was fired for supporting Palestine after criticism by people that exaggerated and misrepresented what he said, and in the past few weeks Emily Wilder was fired from AP because of criticism from the right wing about her college beliefs, and this is only a small fraction of the attempts by Israel and their allies to censor their critics, while I haven't heard any attempts from the Palestinians to silence their critics, and even if they tried they don't have the political clout to succeed and they know they would be demonized for even trying. At least when Marc Lamont Hill was fired there was some media coverage of it in the traditional media, although there was far more in alternative media outlets, and virtually all of the coverage for Emily Wilder and the vast majority of other Israeli censorship is from alternative media.

People still relying on traditional media may not even know how much is being censored and might fall for Israeli propaganda without question, since it's never challenged in those outlets.

If there's any doubt about how reliable traditional news media is reporting on Israel a look at how much land Israel has been stealing from Palestine over the decades should show that it's not the Zionists that are fighting in self defense, it's the Palestinians. Furthermore, there are many well informed Jewish people that have known this for decades and have opposed it all along.



Most of the people reading this probably found me through social media and may already be more familiar with alternative media reporting on the truth in Palestine, but if there are some exceptions, I've included some related articles below, including ones about censorship or the recent attacks on Palestinians, and the news outlets that report on them are much more likely to keep up to date on additional stories than the traditional media. On one subject after another, including Israel, election rigging, the environment, health care, foreign policy, and many other issues, the mainstream media creates and extremely biased, if not outright false, image of reality that most people won't recognize unless they check more reliable alternative media and check their own facts.

The media may be right that the election wasn't stolen from Donald Trump; however, while they repeat the claim that this is "The Big Lie" over and over again they're clearly using a common propaganda tactic, to cover up many more even bigger lies. Amazingly, many media pundits are trying to demonize right wingers for enabling Donald Trump while forgetting what they also did to enable him to get elected in the first place. They've routinely given an enormous amount of coverage to billionaires for decades, enabling Trump to have all the name recognition he needed at the beginning of his first campaign, then once he began it they gave him the obsession coverage he needed to become the most popular GOP candidate. They also ignored the best interests of the public for decades, leading to an enormous amount of outrage from both the left and the right, and they knew the right was more susceptible to demagogues. By giving Trump obsession coverage they enabled him to appear to susceptible people to be the enemy of the establishment and the media, which many people were looking for.

They also refused to provide fair coverage for many honest candidates, including some that might have turned out to be better than Bernie Sanders, for all I know; and they participated in the primary rigging to ensure that Hillary Clinton, who was despised by a shocking percentage of the public, would get the nomination. Furthermore, I've gone into research into many social problems, including the leading causes of violence and found that the best research can be found in libraries, academic journals, and alternative media; however it's almost totally absent from the mainstream media and political discussions. Some of this research may show how ending early child abuse might mean that children are less likely to grow up into emotionally insecure adults that fall for obvious bigoted scams like the ones pushed by Donald Trump, Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Amazingly there was one local newspaper where a relatively low profile actually admitted that the establishment rigged the election, but not for Trump according to Thomas L. Knapp in Yes, the election was rigged. No, not like that 12/10/2020, which says,
No, it wasn't rigged to ensure a Biden win, or a Trump loss.

It was rigged to ensure victory for the status quo and for our de facto one-party system.

It was rigged by party committees, by state legislatures, and by the Commission on Presidential Debates.

It was rigged with committee rules, state ballot access laws and debate requirements intentionally designed to keep both "major party" dissidents (e.g. Tulsi Gabbard) and third-party and independent candidates as far off of voters' radar as possible.

It wasn't rigged to benefit a particular person. It was rigged to preserve a system: The post-World War II, military-industrial complex-centered "consensus" system.

The rigging worked. If you don't believe me, ask any progressive eyeing Joe Biden's cabinet appointment announcements. He's staffing his administration with corporate lobbyists, party loyalists and longtime ladder-climbing sycophants.


Sources for these polls, or some almost identical, listed on the bottom of this article: Bernie Sanders Has informed Grassroots Support; Others Have Media Propaganda!



Polls With Citations: Americans Want Bernie's New Deal For All 07/26/2019

Bernie Sanders Is More Democratic Than Fake "Democrats!"



The following are some additional sources or related articles, including some where Facebook fact checkers are going too far, even when some of them are partially false, including some that are obviously satire and not intended to be taken seriously:

Report: Recording released of Clinton suggesting rigging 2006 Palestinian election 10/29/2016

Medicare for All Would Save $450 Billion and 68,000 Lives: Study 02/18/2020

22 studies agree: 'Medicare for All' saves money 02/24/2020

A New Congressional Budget Office Study Shows That Medicare for All Would Save Hundreds of Billions of Dollars Annually 12/29/2020

Cutting Carbon Emissions Sooner Could Save 153 Million Lives 03/26/2018

Thousands of lives could be saved by lowering air pollution levels Sept. 2020 If the U.S. adopted global guidelines for air pollution, the lives of 143,000 older adults could be saved over one decade, a recent study finds.

30,000-plus U.S. lives could be saved by reducing air pollution levels below current standard 07/24/2019

New Study Finds California’s Zero-Emission Cars Standards Could Save Lives, Reduce Pollution, Save Californians Money 05/04/2021

How the oil industry pumped Americans full of fake news 02/07/2020

How to spot the tricks Big Oil uses to subvert action on climate change 02/01/2021

How the oil industry has spent billions to control the climate change conversation 01/08/2020

The biggest benefit of pre-K might not be education 07/30/2014 One of the most common arguments in favor of universal pre-K is the argument that it will actually save money: $7 for every $1 invested, according to President Obama's proposal for expanding pre-K access. Some studies have found an even higher return — as high as $16 to $1 — on investment from sending 4-year-olds to school.

The Link between Early Childhood Education and Crime and Violence Reduction 05/2/2021 It is saving taxpayers, victims, and participants over $7 for every $1 invested, without counting pain and suffering from crimes. A study released by Vanderbilt University estimates that the potential benefits in saving a high-risk youth from becoming a typical career criminal are between $1 and $1.3 million.7 ..... Nearly 9 out of 10 police chiefs said that America could greatly reduce crime by expanding quality child care programs.

An interview with Emily Wilder, recent Stanford grad fired from AP job over criticisms of Israel 05/20/2021

I Will Not Yield My Values: Fired AP Journalist Emily Wilder Speaks Out After Right-Wing Smears 05/25/2021

100+ AP Staffers Condemn News Agency for 'Sacrifice' of Emily Wilder After Right-Wing Smear Campaign 05/25/2021

Marc Lamont Hill Speaks Out After CNN Fires Him for Pro-Palestine Speech at U.N. 12/18/2018

Marc Lamont Hill fired from CNN after his speech on Israel draws outrage 11/30/2018

Free speech, politics and anti-Semitism: Marc Lamont Hill tells his story 03/25/2019

Americans are increasingly critical of Israel 12/12/2018

Temple University must take action against Marc Lamont Hill 05/2/2021 by Melissa Landa Author expresses outrage about Marc Lamont Hill ignoring aspects of history she prioritizes, while she ignores aspects that don't support her views. Instead of inviting peer review she is demanding further censorship, and has a history of opposing activities for anyone expressing opposing views about Palestinians.

Leaked Emails From Pro-Clinton Group Reveal Censorship of Staff on Israel, AIPAC Pandering, Warped Militarism 11/05/2015

Facebook might censor criticism of Zionists. That’s dangerous 11/02/2021

IIPAC Tries to Censor Jamil Dakwar’s Lecture at Indiana University 12/17/2018

Israel, social media groups cooperating against Palestinians: NGO 05/21/2021

Social networks accused of censoring Palestinian content 05/19/2021

Social media platforms are complicit in censoring Palestinian voices 05/24/2020

Facebook’s Secret Rules on Word “Zionist” Impede Criticism of Israel 05/14/2020

The Latest Attack on Free Speech in the Israel-Palestine Debate 06/05/2018

Israel is shutting down its critics on social media. It happened to me 10/08/2018 Richard Silverstein

47 Advocacy Groups Urge Facebook to Explain, Cease Censorship of Israel Critics 07/26/2020

Pro-Israel censorship takes a hit - pro-Palestine voices won't be silenced 02/27/2020

UN Rights Chief Says Israeli Strikes on Gaza May Be War Crimes 07/2/2020 Bachelet said her office had verified the deaths of 270 Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, including 68 children, during violence this month. Most were killed in Hamas-controlled Gaza, where Israel fought militants for 11 days, ending in a cease-fire. Hamas rockets had killed 10 Israelis and residents.

UN Rights Council Votes for Probe Into 'Crimes' Committed in Israel-Gaza Fighting 05/27/2021

Israeli Police Attacked Palestinians at Al Aqsa Mosque, Hours After Ceasefire 05/21/2021

To distract from Gaza slaughter, Israel lobby manufactures antisemitism freakout 05/24/2021

Netanyahu’s police launch mass arrests of Palestinian Israeli citizens 05/25/2021

Israeli Police Launch Detention Campaign against Palestinian Citizens of Israel 07/25/2020

Jewish Voices for Peace

The Electronic Intifada

Court Ruling Eliminates Media Ownership Rules Allowing For MORE Mega Mergers 04/11/2021 https://www.facebook.com/groups/401629623862289/?multi_permalinks=746123922746189

U.S. Supreme Court permits FCC to loosen media ownership rules 04/01/2021



What did Margaret Thatcher mean when she said, "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money?" 2015 She didn't say "The problem with Capitalism is that you eventually run out of other countries resources?" However, this satirical remark is more honest than her deceptive claim ignoring an enormous amount of fraud by Capitalists to rig the economy in their own favor. The real ones taking other peoples money are the Capitalists on Wall Street.



Fact check: Joe Biden legally won presidential election, despite persistent contrary claims 12/15/2020 Ministry Of Truth Lies About Rigged Election https://www.facebook.com/mike.bernieeagle.3/posts/174016007917851?comment_id=174220231230762&notif_id=1619555285327559&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

Apostle Paul is the Antichrist 05/0/2021 Ministry of Truth not censored https://www.armageddonis.com/

Says Time magazine cover features President Donald Trump with the text "Worst. President. Ever." 12/20/2018 Ministry of Truth strikes again! Yes it's true this wasn't a Time Cover, but it was easily recognized satire and many people agree with it anyway.



Ministry of Truth real photo of Hands on Trump 03/02/2021

Ministry of Truth Hands on Trump Idol 03/01/2021

Tweet attributed to Black Lives Matter is fabricated 01/25/2021 Ministry of truth The Associated Press reached out to Black Lives Matter for comment and had not received a response at the time of publication. Black Lives Matter is a diverse grassroots organization and there's little doubt that even if all members don't agree with the claim that the DNC used them, it's virtually guaranteed that many others do agree with this claim; this means it's premature for fact checkers to claim it's false, especially without a reply from anyone from the Black Lives Matter organization.

Black Lives Matter posted on its official Twitter account: “i’m starting to get a feelin that the Democratic Party used us...” 01/25/2021 Ministry of truth

‘False information’? Instagram censors claim that Biden’s 1994 Crime Bill led to ‘mass incarceration’ of black Americans 12/17/2020 Ministry of Truth. Once again, there is some evidence to indicate that it did lead to mass incarceration, indicating this fact check is misleading, at best, if not outright false.

It's called Election Fraud. This happened in 2016. There was an attempt made by Dr. Jill Stein to request an investigation and recount. 11/05/2020 Alleged clerical error Ministry of Truth



Fact Check: GoFundMe CEO Did NOT Say 'I Run A Website That Hosts Popularity Contests Where If You Lose, You Die' 12/09/2020 Ministry of Truth; He may not have used those words, but this is satire, and it's actually an accurate description of the way our health care system works. This adds to the evidence that the so-called fact checkers are biased in favor of corporate profits and well connected elites.

US seen as bigger threat to democracy than Russia or China, global poll finds 05/05/2021

On World Press Freedom Day, US Report Reveals 'Startling Extent of Police Violence Against Journalists' 05/03/2021

Prof. Richard Wolff, Censored on Facebook: Here's the Story 02/12/2021

There Were No Calls for Censorship Against Democrats for Their False Claims About the 2016 Election 03/01/2021

Meet the Censored: Status Coup 01/26/2021 Censorship

Facebook and Twitter Cross a Line Far More Dangerous Than What They Censor 10/15/2020

The Pendulum Of Internet Censorship Swings Leftward Again 01/25/2021 by Caitlin Johnstone

Snowden journalist Glenn Greenwald tells Tucker Carlson 'the left is in bed with a CIA set on destroying Trump' after he resigned from website he co-founded claiming editors 'censored' an article he wrote criticizing Joe Biden 10/30/2020 https://www.facebook.com/groups/742690419677984/?multi_permalinks=754292678517758&comment_id=754399605173732&notif_id=1604103350137829&notif_t=feedback_reaction_generic&ref=notif

DNC Lawyer Admits They Weren’t Required to be Impartial Between Clinton, Sanders 04/29/2017

DNC Lawyers Argue DNC Has Right to Pick Candidates in Back Rooms 05/01/2017

Voting machine company behind so many surprise wins this year raises some questions 12/30/2020

‘Dark money’ topped $1 billion in 2020, largely boosting Democrats 03/17/2021

Leaked Video Reveals Dark Money Group Behind Voter Suppression Laws 05/21/2021

Un-Democratic Party: DNC chair says superdelegates ensure elites don't have to run "against grassroots activists" 02/13/2016









Sunday, May 2, 2021

Walmart Crime Report April 2021



Walmart had at least ten more shootings in April of 2021, including at least two that were fatal, one from road rage, another from a small child who found a gun owned by his mother and accidentally killed another child. This also includes at least two attempted robberies with one deterred by an armed customer, and another involving a shootout between two cars with at least one armed shooter in each car.

There was also one more Walmart related fatal shooting reported this month, which happened in November of 2020, but wasn't widely reported until recently. A Walmart worker previously expressed a desire to commit suicide, and according to a lawsuit, Walmart management decided not to put him on the list of people not to sell firearms to and after he bought a rifle during break he went to a nearby parking lot and committed suicide. The fact that this wasn't previously reported in a high profile manner adds to the evidence that the media or Google are no longer reporting on some high profile crimes as consistently as they were a couple years ago. There was also an update saying that a fatal police shooting from April 2020 was a violation of policies; one officer was previously charged with voluntary manslaughter.

There were also at least nine or ten other gun related crimes without shootings, including several threats against employees, often while getting caught shoplifting or armed robberies, at least one or two threats against customers and at least one gun stolen from a woman's holster. I'm sure there's plenty of research showing that gun owners are often the victims of people using their own guns.

In addition to the two people that died as a result of shootings there were another two bodies found on the premises and one drive dying as a result of a crash two weeks after it happened at Walmart bringing the total death toll to at least five; however, this doesn't count the deaths of at least four elderly or disabled people that bought bed-rails from Walmart and other retailers. These were recalled years ago and sold again with safety straps, which didn't work. It's unclear when these people died of how many were bought from Walmart.

These deaths may actually be trivial compared to the total deaths that might have happened as a result of denying paid sick leave to employees during the pandemic. According to one report, 133 people may have died as a result of this policy and 7,500 COVID cases could have been prevented.

Just about every year there about three or four cops that get caught shoplifting at Walmart, and are relieved of duty immediately. This month alone there were at least three, including one stealing women's underwear, although there's no explanation what he did with it. The third one was actually credit card fraud stealing credit card information and trying to use it at Walmart.

Despite the fact that police are routinely fired very quickly when they steal from a powerful oligarch, it's extremely difficult to get them fired when they kill members of the working class, especially minorities. After an enormous amount of protests there has been a modest improvement, but it's still only a fraction of the police misconduct cases, including the one mentioned above in California, which was fatal, and another from Loveland Colorado which happened almost a year ago when police broke the arm of a 73 year old woman with dementia for trying to steal less than $14.00 worth of merchandise. They weren't forced to resign until tapes of them laughing about the incident were released as a result of a lawsuit, which could easily cost the city millions of dollars. They were literally bragging about how at least two possibly three police officers were able to take down a 73 year old woman who only weighed about 80 pounds, and didn't seem to know what was going on. Furthermore they didn't even get her medical attention right away, while they were laughing at her.

There was also another incident in Alabama where the police sent a dog after a shoplifting suspect, without necessarily having strong evidence, and he attacked him so badly that he required five surgeries to save his arm, which could lead to another multi-million dollar lawsuit. Not only is this use of dogs to attack people for petty crimes, that may or may not have been committed, but it's also abusive to the dogs to put them at risk and teach them to behave in a violent manner. This type of training routinely involves abusing them to teach blind obedience and violent behavior.

Walmart also had a couple massive fraud schemes, as well as many more smaller ones, one by an employee stealing $124 thousand in gift cards, another by at least four people, including one local rapper stealing $360,000 through a money transfer scheme, and another employee caught on camera stealing personal information to make purchases for himself. Another employee got caught stealing a package from a porch on video camera; in this case he delivered it, took a picture to prove it, then just took it back. This is now semi-routine. There was also one more employee fired and jailed for sexual assault of a fellow employee.

In addition to the driver that died a couple weeks after his accident, there were close to if not more than a dozen additional major accidents, hit and runs, chases, stolen vehicles, carjackings or other auto-related incidents. This includes at least two police chases, one that was supposedly very dramatic. With all the dramatic chances starting at Walmart, often after petty shoplifting, you would think they would look at simple way to reduce crime and violence like store design self-check-out and other practices that virtually invite large amounts of theft by making it easy, and occasionally escalating to more extreme violence.

The most dramatic crash wasn't an accident at all, a former employee intentionally drove his car into the Walmart and down the aisles. This isn't the first time this has happened there are typically several times per year where vehicle drive through the store, including some by other angry employees or customers. One article refers to this as "Going Postal," repeating the false assumption that postal workers are more likely to go on rampages, usually shooting sprees, not crashes. However, studies have shown that the Post Office isn't more likely to have employees go on shootings sprees, they just get much more media attention; and based on reports from Walmart, they have far more employees go on major shootings sprees, and if you include other shootings it's more than ten time worse; but media rarely tries to figure out how common Walmart shootings or other rampages are.



This wasn't even the only crash into the store this month, another vehicle also crashed into the store right next to the cooler trapping workers in it, until they were rescued. There was also another vehicle catching fire in their parking lot.

In addition to the car fire, there were at least four more fires in or on top of the stores; two of them were clearly arson, with one starting on the roof in solar panels, which are almost always accidental. There were also at least half a dozen knife attacks or threats, including two resulting in stabbings, one of them stabbing at least two people, at least one robbery and several road or shopping rages.

Walmart also had numerous assaults, attacking both customers and employees often when they catch them stealing, at least two incidents where angry people threatened to bomb Walmart, including one person angry because he couldn't get a refund, numerous purse snatchings, at least one assault on a police officer, and many more petty crimes that normally don't even make the traditional media. In one incident there was a fight on camera where a big guy was knocked down and people claimed an ex-NFL player, which proved to be false.

Walmart has had increasing amounts of crime since they began expanding self-checkout, yet instead of acknowledging this they keep making it worse. A growing number of stores are eliminating cashiers in some parts of the country, other stores are trying to direct over three quarters of customers to self-checkout. In many cases they must be spending a large amount of the money they save on cameras and security people to watch them so they can catch people stealing, instead cashiers that discourage these attempts. The thefts often lead to increased violence when they get caught or more police chances. However, a lot of these external expenses are paid for by taxpayers, or people that might be injured or even killed as a result of the increase crime, therefore it might not impact their profits, which seems to be all Walmart executives care about.



Our tax payer funds are being used to subsidize profits for people who are already richer than they deserve and increased crime! If we made Walmart pay for the additional expenses caused by this they would be quick to hire back those cashiers and drastically reduce their crime problems!

Walmart also had at least five major recalls including the one for bed-rails previously mentioned, which is actually an older recall, and it may not be clear if you can get your money back, even though four people were killed as a result of it. Another recall is for vitamins that may endanger your health and a recall of Meow Mix that may give your cats salmonella. Additional recalls include one on child toys that may provide a choking hazard and pressure washers. Recalls rarely get much media attention so most of the people with these products may not even know they're dangerous or they should return them.

Walmart is constantly defending themselves on dozens of lawsuits including a couple for $115 million and $5 million, but there's no guarantee they won't appeal these if they think they can wait people out, which is standard operating procedure for oligarchs, because they know that people are much more willing to settle if they think it could be dragged out for years. This is a tactic that is clearly only available to the wealthy and shows how badly the so-called "justice" system is. Another law suit is for a local towing company where a Walmart Drive is clearly at fault; the damage is less than a million dollars, which Walmart can clearly afford, and the small company can't go without, yet they're even fighting that tooth and nail and haven't given them a penny yet, falsely claiming they're trying to get a settlement in good faith.

One woman claimed that she was insulted with a racial slur while trying to return a TV, which Walmart tried to blame on a contractor, which they say they no longer deal with. If this was an isolated incident this might seem credible, but they constantly blame things on their contractors, when they could train people themselves. They routinely squeeze their contractors just like they squeeze everyone else virtually guaranteeing problems like this and worse.

Walmart is also increasing their investments in self-driving cars. There's already been dozens of accidents with these and at least one death and they're still only being used on a small scale. Walmart has an incredibly long history of cutting corners and causing inevitable problems; can there be any doubt they'll do that with this as well? You would think they would use as much caution during the testing phase as they can; which may mean that the potential for accidents could be much higher once it's done on a large scale, and even if it could be done safely, it's hard to imagine Walmart is the company to do it.

Strange things happen at Walmart!





In 2006 Wake Up Walmart did a study, "Is Walmart Safe?" based on incidents in 2004, (PDF) about crime at Walmart which showed that it increased when Walmarts opened up and that crime was higher at Walmart than at other retailers. Since then Walmart Shootings began compiling a list of gun related incidents at Walmart and demonstrated that they have a large number of them, including on average more than one shooting per week somewhere in the country; now after counting them for several years that average is over two per week. In January of 2014 another study, "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" provided additional statistical research indicating that Walmart might be contributing to higher crime rates or at least a slowing of the decline in crime. The study found that. “on average, communities with Walmarts had 17 more property crimes and two more violent crimes per 10,000 people than those communities without Walmarts.” I reviewed this more in Walmart’s crime problem, Rolling Back Safety more than prices? where I explained that although this study is helpful they could have done better with additional data that is available and I reviewed some of that. I also added my own review about why I think that Walmart policies have been contributing to higher crime in a previous blog, Walmart high crime rate continues un-investigaterd and have provided additional information under the author tag Walmart Crime Watch.

Stacy Mitchell has also compiled a list of other studies about Walmart and how they impact society, Key Studies on Big-Box Retail & Independent Business. To the best of my knowledge Walmart has done as little as they seem to get away with, often relying on rhetoric that isn't backed up with action, when it comes to addressing any of their critics concerns, including crime. One of the responses they’ve come up with is what they call "Restorative Justice" which gives first time shoplifters a chance to avoid being arrested or any criminal record if they take an on line course which costs $400 up front or $500 in payments, plus perhaps, reparations. This has been part of the privatization process and often denies suspects of the due process or access to a lawyer, perhaps even intimidating and extorting from some people that might not even be guilty. Walmart seems to be trying to find a way to turn crime into a profit making situation instead of looking for the most effective ways to reduce it. Making Change at Walmart is asking If you or someone you know has gone through @Walmart's "Restorative Justice" program for first-time suspected shoplifters, send us a DM. 03/30/2017 to ensure that it isn’t doing more harm than good. I did my own review of this program as well at Walmart’s “Restorative Justice” Endangers Public Without Reducing Crime. The following are a list of incidents that occurred in April 2021. According to the "Is Walmart Safe?" the average store in their sampling had 250 incidents per year indicating that these are only a fraction of the crime reports at Walmart, and presumably, the ones most likely to make the news on the internet nationwide. This isn't statistically representative, as the 2006 or the "Rolling Back Prices and Raising Crime Rates?" study or some of the studies cited by Stacy Mitchell; but it does provide some additional information that may help recognize how many problems there are at Walmart.



Fruitland Park Fla. Police investigating body found in vehicle at Walmart 04/02/2021

The Fruitland Park Police Department launched an investigation Thursday after a body was found in a vehicle parked at a local Walmart.

After receiving the call, officers quickly secured a large portion of the parking lot at the store, located at 2501 N. Citrus Blvd. A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle by the police department’s Criminal Investigation Division and the investigation got under way.

As of Friday morning, Police Chief Erik Luce said there doesn’t appear to be any signs of foul play involved in the death. Complete article


Former disgruntled employee drives car into Walmart near Concord Mills NC 04/02/2021 "Goes postal" or "Goes Walmart?"

CONCORD, N.C. (FOX 46 CHARLOTTE) – A former employee drove a vehicle through the front doors of the Walmart near Concord Mills Friday morning, according to the Concord Police Department.

Police said the incident happened at the Walmart on Thunder Road.

A current employee at the store told FOX 46’s Destiny McKeiver that the driver drove down multiple aisles inside the store. Police said there was significant damage inside the store.

Authorities said the person responsible had been fired from the store. Walmart officials said they had not been employed with the company since early February. Complete article

Fired, disgruntled Walmart worker 'goes postal,' drives car through aisles of North Carolina store 04/05/2021

Wikipedia: Going postal


Man stabbed, woman doused in bleach at east Tulsa Walmart 04/03/2021

TULSA, Okla. (KTUL) — A man was stabbed and a woman was doused in bleach overnight at an east Tulsa Walmart after an altercation with their cousin.

Police say a man with a stab wound to his chest and a woman covered in bleach walked into the security office of the Walmart at South Memorial Drive and East Admiral Place around 9:45 p.m. Friday.

Officers provided lifesaving first aid to the man before EMSA and the Tulsa Fire Department arrived.

An investigation revealed that the woman and the suspect, later identified as the victims' cousin, were meeting on the north side of the Walmart when they got into a fight involving shopping carts, knives, and bleach. Complete article


Bartlett Police arrest man threatening Tenn. Walmart customers with weapon 04/01/2021

BARTLETT, Tenn. (WMC) - Bartlett Police say a man walked into Walmart Thursday night threatening customers with a knife.

Officers responded to the Walmart at 8400 Highway 64 around 7:30 p.m. and took the suspect into custody.

No injuries to citizens or officers were reported. Complete article


Atlantic City NJ cop charged with shoplifting groceries from Walmart 04/01/2021

An Atlantic City police officer is due in court on Thursday on a charge that he shoplifted groceries at the Walmart store in Egg Harbor Township.

Officer Victor Tweedle failed to ring up $55.54 worth of food on March 22 at the self-checkout, according to the Press of Atlantic City. An employee call to police led to Tweedle's arrest, the Press reported.

"We are aware of the charges that have been filed against Officer Victor Tweedle," Atlantic City police spokesman Kevin Fair told New Jersey 101.5. "Officer Tweedle is on administrative duty pending the outcome of the charges and the completion of an Internal Affairs investigation that has been initiated in conjunction with the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office." Complete article


Wouldn’t it be better if self-checkout just died? 10/02/2018

Yes! Because you won’t like what it spawns next. ......

Blessedly, I am not alone in fearing self-checkout. John Karolefski, a self-proclaimed undercover grocery shopping analyst who runs the blog Grocery Stories and contributes to the site Progressive Grocer, tells me, “I’m in a lot of supermarkets around the country. I watch people. I can tell you that I’ve been in stores where the lines that have cashiers are very, very long, and people are a little upset, and there are three or four self-checkout units open and nobody is using them.

“Wouldn’t the shopper be better served, customer service improved, if those weren’t there?” he asks. I’m not arguing. “Why do I want to scan my own groceries?” he asks. I have no idea! “Why do I want to bag my own groceries?” he asks. An equally reasonable question with no reasonable answer. The simple solution, he points out, would be to hire enough cashiers to serve the number of customers that typically shop at the store. I agree, and this seems very obvious. .......

Not everyone is trying to be a criminal mastermind. Anecdotally, a lot of people steal from self-checkouts simply because they get angry that an item won’t scan and figure it’s not their job to try that hard. Others steal small things here and there because the absence of a human cashier and the presence of only an obnoxious machine owned by a giant corporation turns it into a crime in name and not in spirit. University of Manchester criminology professor Shadd Maruna told the Guardian earlier this year:
Individuals can neutralize guilt they might otherwise feel when stealing by telling themselves that there are no victims of the crime, no human being is actually being hurt by this, only some mega-corporation that can surely afford the loss of a few quid. In fact, the corporation has saved so much money by laying off all its cashiers that it is almost morally necessary to steal from them.

The most comprehensive studies on stealing at self-checkouts have been published by Adrian Beck and his colleagues in the department of criminology at the University of Leicester, mostly in the past year. So I asked him, why so much stealing?

For one, he said, it’s easy to get away with and nearly impossible for police to get involved in.

“For retailers, this is a legal minefield — can they prove, beyond all reasonable doubt that you intended to permanently deprive them of the unscanned product?” he asked me in an email. I imagine not.

“For the [self-checkout] user, they have what I call the ‘self-scan defense,’” he continued. “You simply apologize and say that you thought you had scanned the item. It is hard for the retailer to prove otherwise.”

And Beck echoes Maruna, saying self-checkout thieves can justify stealing by denying responsibility for the failure of the machines, and by telling themselves what they’re doing is not wrong: “The retailer is forcing me to scan my own items, something which used to be done by a paid employee, and therefore I deserve to be paid by taking some items for free.”

This guess is correct, at least in the words of some frequenters of the now-banned subreddit for shoplifting, which is preserved insofar as it has been quoted in news posts and other subreddits: “If you can’t afford to pay cashiers, I can’t afford to pay for my groceries.” Complete article


Fruitland Park woman claims stolen Fla. Walmart items to help her cash-strapped mom 04/01/2021

Man arrested on suspicion of robbery at Ventura Ca. Walmart 04/01/2021

MISSING: Teen girl last seen at Walker La. Walmart 04/01/2021

Police seeking information from Pa. Walmart theft 04/02/2021

Clearfield man sentenced for robbing Pa. Walmart employee last Oct. 04/02/2021

Fire in aisle of Las Vegas Nevada Walmart ruled arson 04/04/2021

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Las Vegas fire investigators have ruled a fire set inside a Walmart on Sunday as a case of arson.

Firefighters brought down a fire that was in the paper towel aisle of the Walmart Supercenter at 4505 W. Charleston Blvd.

The fire is extinguished and there was one minor injury reported from a patron while exiting the building.

In a statement released Monday, Las Vegas Fire & Rescue said they got a report just before 8 p.m. about a fire inside the store, with fire sprinklers quickly quenching it before it got out of control. Complete article


Man arrested after ‘outburst’ at Sikeston Missouri Walmart; no one injured 04/06/2021

SIKESTON, Mo. (KFVS) - Officers say no shots were fired and no weapons were seen after an “outburst” at Walmart on Tuesday afternoon, April 6.

According to the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, they responded to the store after a report of shots fired.

Officers confirmed no shots were fired and everyone was safe.

They said “a subject did have an outburst and caused some alarm with customers.” They said it turned out to be threats only. Complete article


Ex-NFL Player Bruce Campbell,I Wasn't Involved In Violent Walmart Fight,... Caught On Video 04/05/2021

The big man who was violently KO'ed in a heated fight at Walmart is NOT ex-NFL player Bruce Campbell ... the former Raiders O-lineman confirmed to TMZ Sports.

"No, that was not me," Campbell said. "No, I did not get my jaw broken."

But, the former NFL player -- a 4th round pick in the 2010 Draft -- says he concerned the damage to his reputation may already be done.

Here's what we know ... on Sunday, footage of a violent brawl in an unidentified Walmart went viral, with tons of people claiming the main combatant is Campbell, who left the NFL in 2014.

The story was retweeted by some journalists and picked up by multiple websites which identified the main person in the fight as Campbell.

But, we spoke with Campbell on Monday morning and the 32-year-old told us he was definitely NOT involved in the melee ... and has no knowledge about the incident captured on video. Complete article


Sahuarita Ariz. Walmart to temporarily close, reopens Monday 04/03/2021

Dearborn Mich. Walmart closed until Monday morning for deep clean 04/03/2021

Imperial woman arrested outside Arnold Missouri Walmart for alleged possession of meth 04/03/2021

Dog locked in Dodge Caravan for over an hour at NY Walmart 04/03/2021

WANTED: Police searching for woman suspected of stealing air fryer, vacuum from Pa. Walmart 04/05/2021

Derry man arrested for DUI again after problem at Salem NH WalMart 04/05/2021

Walmart's Trial Over Alleged Stolen Tech 04/05/2021 Walmart Inc. of Bentonville stands accused in a Little Rock courtroom of stealing another company's technology, and it's not the first such allegation the world's largest retailer has faced in recent years.

Couple accused of shoplifting at NY Walmart 14 times this year 04/06/2021

Woman hit by car in Oklahoma City Walmart parking lot; driver leaves scene 04/06/2021

OKLAHOMA CITY — A female was taken to a hospital after police said she was hit by a vehicle Tuesday evening while in a parking lot in Oklahoma City.

Police told KOCO 5 that the female was in the parking lot of a Walmart off Interstate 240 when a white or silver car hit her. The driver then fled the scene.

She was taken to the hospital in serious condition. Police said her status was later upgraded to non-life-threatening. Complete article

Police: Woman identified after hit-and-run at Oklahoma Walmart 04/08/2021

‘I’m OK’: Walmart Hit-And-Run Victim Speaks Out After Crash Sent Her Airborne 04/15/2021


Riding a motorcycle in Walmart 04/04/2021 Date and location unknown

Complete video

Customers (6' Komodo dragon?) trying to get merch off the top shelf 04/08/2021 Video: Date and location unknown.


Feds: West Virginia Walmart worker stole $124K in gift cards 04/07/2021

WHEELING, W.Va. - A Walmart worker in West Virginia has been accused of stealing $124,000 in gift cards over a five-month period.

Kenneth Werkau of Clarington, Ohio, was indicted Wednesday in federal court in Wheeling on three counts of wire fraud.

Prosecutors said Werkau, 63, was employed as an associate at a Walmart in Moundsville. He is accused of stealing and activating the gift cards from September 2019 through January 2020.

If convicted, Werkau could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Complete article


Findlay Ohio Police respond to bomb threat at Walmart 04/06/2021

MyPillow Petition for Amazon, Walmart to Pull Items Passes 100,000 Signatures 04/06/2021

Woman arrested for stealing pots and pans from Ind. Walmart 04/06/2021

'Just for fun' Tx. Walmart shoplifting spree ends in arrest 04/06/2021

Dearborn Mich. Walmart closed until Monday morning for deep clean 04/03/2021

Troy man charged with theft at Brunswick NY Walmart 04/07/2021

Wanted man arrested near Merrill Wisc. Walmart after running from police 04/07/2021

Amelia Ohio Walmart reopened after bomb threat causes evacuation 04/07/2021

Man faces several charges following incident at Shreve City La. Walmart 04/08/2021

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - A Shreveport man is behind bars following an incident with police on the morning of Thursday, April, 8

Robert Allen, 31, is charged with two counts each of resisting an officer and illegal carrying of weapons and one count each of illegal possession of a stolen firearm, hit-and-run driving and misdemeanor theft.

Just after 8 a.m., Shreveport police officers got information about a man that was possibly wanted in connection with a stolen vehicle was at the Walmart on Shreveport-Barksdale Boulevard.

At the scene, officers attempted to contact the man in the parking lot. However, he immediately ran inside the store, leading officers on a chase.

As the man was running out of the store, he attempted to throw away multiple illegal firearms that were in his possession. Complete article


Rockford man charged after bringing airsoft gun into Ill. Walmart 04/08/2021

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) - Rockford police have charged a 20-year-old man after receiving a report of an armed man at the Walmart on Walton Street on Thursday afternoon.

At approximately 12:30 p.m., officers responded to the Walmart on Walton for a report of an armed man. Upon arrival, officers learned that as the man, Tyon McCarthy of Rockford, left the store, a Wal-Mart employee asked him to see his receipt and an argument ensued regarding showing the receipt, according to the Rockford Police Department.

McCarthy eventually exited the store, went to a vehicle in the parking lot, recovered a gun which was later determined to be an airsoft gun, and began to return to the store. Citizens and customers saw this taking place and called 911 while convincing McCarthy to leave the area.

A short time later, McCarthy returned to the store to return the items he purchased and police were notified. When officers arrived at the store and attempted to take him into custody, he threatened the officers and a physical altercation ensued. He was eventually taken into custody and lodged in the Winnebago County Jail. Complete article


NH Walmart worker accused of using stolen personal info to make purchases 04/08/2021

SALEM, N.H. — A woman who worked in the electronics section of the Walmart in Salem surrendered to local police Tuesday morning after criminal allegations emerged that she stole personal information from at least nine people.

According to police records, Yanelkis Rodriguez, 27, of Salem, Massachusetts, is charged with nine counts of identity fraud and seven counts of theft.

An arrest warrant by Det. Joshua Dempsey explained police received a report of possible embezzlement or theft on Jan. 22 by a third party vendor at Walmart on North Broadway.

Police said Rodriguez worked for the vendor company, which is contracted by Walmart's corporate offices. Complete article


Pressure washers found at Lowe’s, Walmart recalled 04/09/2021

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Pressure washers found commonly at Lowe’s and Walmart are being recalled.

Greenworks and Powerworks brand pressure washer spray guns are being recalled because of reports of the connector breaking allowing the hose to become dislodged while using it – causing injuries.

The recall includes washers bought between Jan. 2017 and Feb. 2021 and model numbers GPW1500/ GPW1501, GPW1600, GPW1602, GPW1702, GPW1704, GPW1800, GPW1803, 5202002, PWA101, and PWA104. Complete article


McDonald’s will close hundreds of locations in Walmart stores as pandemic changes shopping habits 04/09/2021

McDonald’s is closing hundreds of restaurants inside of Walmart, as customers increasingly shop online and opt for the drive-thru window.

The big-box retailer confirmed Friday that the fast-food chain will have around 150 locations that remain across its 3,570 SuperCenters. That has gradually fallen over the years from a peak of about 1,000 locations.

The closures were first reported by The Wall Street Journal. Complete article


Confusion and arrest after NM Walmart bomb threat 04/06/2021

Woman left 4-year-old boy in car for nearly an hour in South Euclid Ohio Walmart parking lot, police say 04/06/2021

Pressure cooker in parking lot leads Bangor Maine Walmart to briefly shut down 04/07/2021

Tucker slams Arkansas governor over 'castration' veto: He did 'exactly' what Walmart scion 'wanted him to do' 04/07/2021

Lincoln Nebraska police arrest three people on drug charges in Walmart parking lot 04/08/2021

Authorities searching for suspect who stole from Gardnerville Nevada Walmart 04/07/2021

More than 100,000 people sign a petition urging Walmart, Amazon, and other retailers to pull MyPillow's products 04/07/2021

Gun goes off inside McMinnville Tenn. Walmart 04/09/2021

A gun went off inside McMinnville's Walmart on Friday around 4:30 p.m., but there is no threat to the public.

The gun reportedly discharged while a man was changing clothes inside a dressing room. The gun went off and the man was shot by his own gun in the back of his leg.

No one else was hurt.

The gunshot created momentary chaos and confusion inside the store considering the current state of gun violence in America. Complete article


Police: Suspect pointed gun at Nebraska Walmart employee 04/10/2021

Off-duty Nebraska state trooper working security alerted officers late Friday OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha police confirmed they're still looking for a man accused of pointing a gun at a local Walmart employee.

Investigators said an off-duty Nebraska State trooper working security at the store on 50th Street and Ames Avenue tried to stop the suspect. Per OPD, the suspect ran away from Walmart on foot and left the gun at the scene.

The off-duty trooper called for backup and officers arrived at the store at approximately 10 p.m. Friday.

Investigators also said the trooper had two other men in custody. OPD said these two men were with the unknown suspect at the time of the incident, but they were both identified and later released. Complete article


Man accused of pointing gun at employee of Lawton Okla. Walmart 04/09/2021

LAWTON, Okla. (TNN) - Prosecutors have charged a man after Lawton police say he pointed a gun at a Walmart employee.

According to the affidavit, witnesses say they saw Jason McBroom trying to leave the store through a fire exit after picking up merchandise.

When they tried to stop him, he allegedly pulled out a gun and pointed it at the worker before leaving through a fire exit.

Police say they found McBroom near the store with the merchandise and the gun. Complete article


FBI and Knoxville Tenn. police searching for suspect in a FSNB Bank robbery inside a Walmart 04/0/2021

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Knoxville Police Department said they were searching for a suspect in a bank robbery of an FSNB Bank location inside of a Walmart in East Knoxville.

Police said that the suspect walked into the bank and approached the tellers, handing them a note and demanding money at around 2:49 p.m. They complied with the suspect's demands and he drove away in a dark green Honda Accord, according to a release.

The robbery suspect is a Black man with a medium-to-large build, officials said. He could be around 40 or 50 years old, and was between 5'10" and 6'2" tall. Complete article


Police presence reported near Walmart in Jennings La. following pursuit 04/09/2021

There is a police presence near Walmart in Jennings following a pursuit.

Louisiana State Police Troop D tells us troopers were assisting the Lake Charles Police Department with a pursuit. Three people are in custody, according to State Police.

Viewers who reached out to us say they saw dozens of police cars surrounding the woods behind Walmart, which is located right off of I-10. Complete article


Workers trapped in Canadian Walmart cooler after vehicle crashes through parkade wall 04/09/2021

Saanich firefighters rescued three workers trapped inside a cooler at the Uptown Walmart store after a driver smashed through a parkade wall at the shopping centre.

Saanich Deputy Fire Chief Dan Wood said the impact at about 4:30 p.m. caused severe structural damage to the building and that crews were working to stabilize parts of the ceiling in the parkade. He said building inspectors and engineers were en route to assess the damage.

The fire department said the driver suffered minor injuries and she was being treated at the scene by paramedics. Fire crews were able to safely get the woman out of the vehicle amid twisted metal and building debris. Complete article

XX 04/19/2021


Roeland Park Missouri police say boy found alone at Walmart reunited with family 04/09/2021

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Police in Roeland Park, Kansas, said a 9-year-old boy who was found alone at Walmart Friday afternoon has been reunited with family.

Authorities said a good Samaritan called police about 3:30 p.m. regarding the boy.

The boy told police that his name is Jorge Garcia and that his family has been here for about three weeks.

Authorities said the boy was at Walmart with family members and they got separated. Complete article


Jury orders Walmart to pay $115 million 04/09/2021

A jury has awarded the plaintiffs a 115 million dollar judgment in a suit they brought against Walmart.

Zest Labs, Inc. and Ecoark Holdings, Inc. filed the suit against the retailer in the U.S. Eastern District Court of Arkansas in 2018.

Zest Labs is the developer of "Zest Fresh," which is used to manage the freshness of produce and proteins.

The plaintiffs argued Walmart misappropriated their trade secrets in the development of Walmart's "Eden" system, which is also used to manage freshness. Complete article

Walmart Found Guilty of Stealing Tracing Technology 04/13/2021


Walmart Hires Disney VP as First Chief Creative Officer 04/08/2021

Retailer also adds former Target exec to its marketing team

A creative executive who spearheaded collaboration across diverse retail, marketing, digital strategy and customer engagement teams at Disney has joined Walmart as the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer's first chief creative officer.

Jean Batthany takes the creative helm at Walmart after 4.5 years as VP of global creative at the Walt Disney Co., where she led Yellow Shoes, a creative agency for Disney parks, experiences and consumer products. In her new role at Walmart, according to a LinkedIn post, Batthany will direct consumer-focused communications across all channels and connect teams to "develop breakthrough and innovative marketing at all consumer touch points."

Batthany indicated on LinkedIn that she will remain based in Los Angeles and will travel back and forth to Bentonville, New York and San Francisco. Batthany said she was excited and humbled to join "such an impactful brand with huge scope, scale and heart." Complete article

Memphis firm Highline Warren hires ex-Walmart e-commerce pro John Fleming 04/09/2021 He's John Fleming, a former Walmart e-commerce expert and recent interim chief executive of apparel and accessories retailer rue21. Fleming will serve as senior adviser at the Memphis firm.


Police: Felony charge for Lyons woman after incident at Seneca Falls NY Walmart 04/09/2021

Auburn Alabama police arrest man for Harassment, groping women at Walmart 04/08/2021

Woman charged with falsely reporting assault outside Covington Ga. Walmart 04/09/2021

Niles Ill. Blotter: Walmart Shopper Rips Off Clerk To Tune Of $350 04/09/2021

Police identify NH Walmart shoplifting subjects 04/09/2021

Beaufort SC Walmart back open after investigating bomb threat, police say 04/09/2021

11-Year-Old Fatally Shot By Child Who Found Gun In Vehicle At Dallas Tx. Walmart, Police Say 04/11/2021

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – An 11-year-old boy has died after he was shot by a child who found a handgun while inside a vehicle in a Walmart parking lot in Dallas Sunday afternoon, police said.

Police said they responded to the shooting at around 12:40 p.m. at the location in the 2800 block of South Buckner Boulevard.

The 11-year-old was transported to a hospital, where he died. His identity has not yet been released.

Police said a 32-year-old woman left the victim and a 9-year-old boy alone inside her vehicle while she went inside the store prior to the shooting. Investigators believe the 9-year-old found the handgun and shot the victim. Complete article

Shamira Wright-Sanders Charged In Connection To Fatal Shooting Of Child Inside Her Car At Tx. Walmart 04/22/2021


Senior staff to quit Asda after Walmart’s share payout 04/12/2021

Senior staff at Asda are preparing to stage an exodus after receiving final payouts from a share scheme run by the supermarket’s owner Walmart.

Industry sources said that they had been contacted by Asda executives looking to leave, according to the Times.

One source said that the level of inquiries was much higher than normal for the sector.

Walmart, the £290bn American retail group, sold Asda to private equity firm TDR Capital and the Issa brothers in February for £6.8bn.

Asda employees were eligible to take part in Walmart’s sharesave scheme, with stocks held over the past three years vesting this month. Complete article


Two arrested in Seneca Falls NY following a shoplifting at Walmart 04/10/2021

Officials evacuate Morehead City NC Walmart in response to bomb threat 04/10/2021

CCSO continue search for thief dressed in Ga. Walmart work vest 04/12/2021

Woman wanted for barcode switch shopping spree at Florida Walmart 04/12/2021

Authorities seek identity of Nevada Walmart shoplifter 04/09/2021

Lincoln Nebraska PD: Woman threatens driver with handgun at Walmart parking lot 04/13/2021

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A woman is facing a number of charges following an argument at a Walmart parking lot, where police say she threatened a driver with her handgun.

On Sunday around 4:34 p.m. officers were dispatched to the Walmart off 84th Street, in northeast Lincoln, for a report of a weapons violation in progress.

Officers said they made contact with a woman who explained that she’d been involved in a verbal altercation with a woman, identified as Tereasa M. Albert. Complete article


Watch: Dramatic end to a Houston police chase after reported robbery, kidnapping in Tx. Walmart lot 04/13/2021

HOUSTON — Three men are in custody after an investigation into a reported kidnapping and robbery led to a chase through north Houston early Tuesday, police said.

Lt. Bruce with the Houston Police Department said the investigation began in the 4400 block of the North Freeway in a Walmart parking lot. One suspect was detained at the scene after a reported kidnapping, but two others fled in a vehicle.

Police chased the car for about 40 minutes, attempting the pit maneuver several times.

Near Gano and Quitman, police managed to spin the suspects’ vehicle and got them to stop. Both were then arrested without further incident.

Police said they found a pistol in the vehicle, and those involved could be facing multiple charges. Complete article


Officials Investigating ‘Suspicious' Fire Inside Denton Tx. Walmart 04/12/2021

A "suspicious" fire inside a Denton Walmart Monday afternoon caused millions of dollars in product damage, fire officials say a manager told them.

The fire happened just before 2 p.m. Monday at the Walmart Supercenter in the 1500 block of S. Loop 288, according to the Denton Fire Department.

Images and video posted on social media showed a fire on one of the aisles in the store. Complete article


Walmart employee attacked inside Madison Tenn. store 04/13/2021

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A woman has been charged after an attack on a Walmart employee as she closed up her cashier lane at the Madison store Monday night.

A warrant for the 25-year-old suspect reveals surveillance video captured the assault inside the Walmart on Gallatin Pike North near West Old Hickory Boulevard.

The victim told officers she was closing her cashier lane, when the suspect began arguing with her, then threatened her, according to the police report.

Police said the employee was chased to the front of the store, where the suspect punched her in the face and began fighting with her. Complete article


Police: Pa. Walmart driver steals package from porch 04/13/2021

A Walmart delivery driver stole a package after pretending to drop it off at its scheduled destination, according to Wilkes-Barre police.

Stephen Prussock, no age given, is facing theft charges alleging he stole the package from a porch on Saturday afternoon.

According to police, the victim reported he was expecting a delivery from Walmart. Surveillance video showed Prussock, the delivery driver, walking up the steps and dropping off the package on the porch, police said.

Prussock snapped a picture to confirm the package had been delivered, then picked the package back up and walked away, according to police. Complete article


‘All clear’ given at two separate Tx. Walmart stores following bomb threats, police say 04/11/2021

Shoplifting suspects from Walmart in Chicopee Mass. 04/12/2021

Two arrested after shoplifting from Ky. Walmart 04/13/2021

Shoplifting suspects at Walmart in Sturbridge Mass. 04/13/2021

Warren County Pair Banned From NJ Walmart For Shoplifting, Harassing Loss Prevention Officer 04/13/2021

Utah Walmart employee gets tased after attempting to stop shoplifters 04/14/2021

DAVIS COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) – A couple tased a Walmart employee who attempted to stop them from shoplifting at a store in Syracuse.

The incident happened on April 10 when both suspects went to the Syracuse Walmart.

Police say the woman suspect grabbed multiple items from the store, put them in bags, and then went through the garden area of the store passing all points of sale in an attempt to leave without paying.

A Walmart employee who saw what the woman was doing ordered her to stop and attempted to take the bagged items from her.

Arresting documents state that the other suspect came from the parking lot area to help the woman suspect. The man suspect reportedly told the Walmart employee to “back off,” pulled out a black taser device, and tased the Walmart employee in the back rib area. Complete article


Clark County Nevada firefighters put out fire at Boulder Highway Walmart 04/14/2021

LAS VEGAS (KSNV — Clark County Fire Department responded Tuesday evening to a fire at a Walmart on Boulder Highway.

At approximately 9:33 p.m. firefighters responded to occupants evacuating the building which had light smoke throughout. A pallet of paper goods had burned setting off sprinklers in the store.

The fire was extinguished and no injuries were reported. Complete article


Woman arrested outside Wyoming Walmart for stolen North Dakota car 04/14/2021

A 22-year-old woman was arrested outside of Walmart in Gillette after stealing a 2021 Dodge pickup truck from a dealership in Dickinson, North Dakota, on Tuesday.

She stole the car early Tuesday morning and was on her way to Las Vegas, Nevada, when Sirius XM, the satellite radio company, alerted the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office and Gillette Police Department about the stolen car driving on Interstate 90, said Police Detective Alan Stuber. Complete article


Recall alert: Meow Mix recalled due to salmonella contamination sold at Walmart 04/14/2021

The Food and Drug Administration and J.M. Smucker Co. have announced a recall of two lots of Meow Mix cat food because of potential salmonella contamination.

The variation of cat food subject to the recall is the Original Choice Dry Cat Food, which was sold in a 30lb bag.

The cat food was sold at Walmarts in Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Complete article


Man shot by LMPD officers after chase, shootout at Ky. Walmart, last month, pleads not guilty in court 04/13/2021

Cave City woman arrested at Ky. Walmart with stolen merchandise, pills 04/14/2021

Sheriff: Man arrested for drug possession in Ky. Walmart parking lot 04/14/2021

Red Bluff Ca. Police shooting at Walmart Distribution Center in June 2020 deemed lawful, justified 04/13/2021 TEHAMA COUNTY, Calif. — The police shooting of 31-year-old Louis Lane, a former employee, at a Walmart Distribution Center in Red Bluff in 2020 was deemed reasonable, lawful, and justified in court on Tuesday.

Mobile Alabama PD: Man threatens to blow up I-65 Walmart, demands money 04/15/2021

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) – Mobile police are looking for information on an incident that happened Wednesday afternoon at the Walmart on the I-65 Service Road.

Police say an officer responded to the Walmart at 2:45 p.m. for a report of a robbery where a man called the Walmart and demanded money or he’d blow up the store.

Police continue to investigate. If anyone has information about the incident, please call the Mobile Police Department at 251-208-7211. Complete article


Theft From Wisc. Walmart Leads To Pursuit And Arrest 04/14/2021

A theft of cash leads to yet another pursuit and an arrest. FDL County Communications Center received a call just before 8:35 p.m. Tuesday night, for a report that a male suspect had taken cash from the register at Walmart in Fond du Lac.

The suspect fled south from Walmart with Fond du Lac PD locating the vehicle in the area and attempting to stop it. The suspect continued south on Rolling Meadows Dr. at a high rate of speed. Fond du Lac PD terminated their pursuit, allowing Wisconsin State Patrol Troopers and Deputies with the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office to locate the vehicle and attempting to stop it again on Interstate 41 near Lost Arrow Rd.

The suspect failed to stop and a second pursuit occurred. The Sheriff’s Office was able to deploy stop sticks, which were successful with the vehicle disabled in the area of I-41 and CTH-Y. The driver and lone occupant, a 60-year-old Milwaukee man, was taken into custody without incident. He is facing charges of Felony Eluding. City of Fond du Lac Police are completing their investigation in regards to the robbery. Complete article


Suspect arrested after Wednesday purse snatching at Conway Arkansas Walmart 04/15/2021

CONWAY, Ark. – An arrest has been made after a purse snatching at a Conway Walmart on Skyline Drive Wednesday morning.

Wednesday night 19-year-old Jawann McKnight was taken into custody on robbery and battery charges in connection with that purse snatching. Complete article


Two busted at Estero Fla. Walmart for taping puppy’s mouth shut 04/14/2021

LEE COUNTY, Fla. – Two people were arrested for taping a dog’s mouth shut and abandoning another dog.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office’s Animal Cruelty Task Force arrested Jaelen Barge and Allison Sweck after taking over the investigation.

Lee County deputies found a puppy inside an SUV in an Estero Walmart parking lot. There was also another dog found inside the SUV when deputies responded to the parking lot Tuesday evening.

Investigators said Barge and Sweck taped and tightly wrapped a training lead around the puppy’s snout to prevent it from nipping them. Detectives also learned the puppies were left alone without accessible food or water. Complete article


Walmart flagged for failing cage-free chicken test in Latin America 04/15/2021

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Retail giant Walmart is among the worst offenders in a new ranking of companies in Latin America that sell eggs from caged chickens, part of a new list of firms from Mexico to Argentina that aims to encourage more humane supply practices.

The new corporate ranking from Mercy for Animals (MFA), a U.S.-based animal welfare group, evaluated 34 of the region's largest egg sellers on their commitments to phase out supplies from caged chickens.

Besides Walmart's Mexican unit, which also operates in Central America, others flagged for failing to make or implement cage-free commitments include supermarket chain Soriana and conglomerate Femsa, which operates Oxxo convenience stores.

All three were also criticized for lacking transparency on their egg suppliers. Complete article


Police blotter: Threatening manager at Montana Walmart; search turns up meth; wanted on warrant 04/14/2021

Thief disguised as Ga. Walmart employee strikes again: Sheriff’s Office asks for your help 04/15/2021

Englewood Fla. Walmart incident sparks search for two shoppers 04/15/2021

Man used fake money for purchases at Manheim Township Pa. Walmart: police 04/15/2021 Police in Manheim Township say a man used counterfeit $50 bills to pay for a purchase at Walmart on Monday, April 12, 2021.

Police: Shopper steals gun from woman's holster at Radcliff Ky. Walmart 04/15/2021

RADCLIFF, Ky. — Police are looking for a person accused of stealing a gun from someone at a Walmart in Radcliff, Kentucky.

According to Chief Ross, there was a report of a possible gunman at the store on Thursday afternoon.

Later, his department discovered it was a gun theft that was happening, he said.

Ross said a woman was shopping when she reached up to get something off a high shelf. A nearby shopper then grabbed her gun out of her holster and ran out of the store. Complete article


UPDATE: Investigation Finds San Leandro Ca. Officers Didn’t Follow Use of Force, Taser Policies in Fatal Walmart Shooting 04/15/2021

SAN LEANDRO (CBS SF) — Officials in the city of San Leandro on Thursday released findings of an independent investigation into a deadly police shooting at a Walmart nearly a year ago.

Last April, two officers responded as Steven Taylor was wielding a bat and threatening store employees. The encounter ended with both of the officers deploying their Tasers against Taylor before he was fatally shot.

In September, former San Leandro Police Officer Jason Fletcher was charged with voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of Taylor.

Fletcher shot Taylor within 40 seconds of arriving at the Walmart store after Taylor refused commands to drop the aluminum bat. Complete article


Officers capture teenage escapee from state juvenile jail at local Walmart store 04/15/2021

TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) - Officers captured a teenage escapee from a state juvenile detention facility Thursday at the Walmart store at 3401 South 31st St. in Temple.

The officers were sent to the store at around 5 p.m. Thursday after police received reports of a teenager “who was possibly armed,” police spokeswoman Alejandra Arreguin said.

Officers located the 16-year-old escapee, but did not find a handgun, she said. Complete article


3 Target, Walmart products recalled due to child choking hazard 04/15/2021

Teethers, rattles and rompers have been recalled due to potential choking hazard for infants

Three products sold at Target and Walmart stores have been recalled due to a potential choking hazard for infants. ......

Product 2

Company Playgro is recalling its “Clip Clop Infant Activity Rattles.” Officials say the abacus ring on the back of the horse can dislodge and release small beads, which pose a choking hazard to small children.

The product, about 18,000 units, was sold at Walmart stores nationwide and online. Complete article

Rattles sold at Walmart recalled due to choking hazard 04/19/2021


Walmart invests in GM’s self-driving car company, Cruise 04/15/2021

(CNN) — Walmart is investing in GM’s self-driving vehicle company, Cruise, as it works to build out its delivery network.

The size of the investment was not disclosed, but it is less than $750 million, as Cruise said its more than $2 billion funding round expanded to $2.75 billion when Walmart and institutional investors joined. Cruise said it is valued at more than $30 billion.

The companies already have a partnership in Scottsdale, Arizona that will test deliveries to customers with Cruise’s electric, self-driving vehicles “soon,” according to Walmart. Walmart has targeted zero emissions by 2040, and was drawn to Cruise’s electric fleet, the company said, which is primarily made up of all-electric Chevy Bolts. Complete article


Peoria man sentenced to federal prison after livestreaming himself with a gun at Ill. Walmart last June 04/15/2021

Women sentenced in large EC Wisc. Walmart theft case 04/17/2021

Convicted killer in Walmart parking lot beating, March 2020, learns sentence 04/16/2021

After 100 days in office, new El Paso Tx. DA defends plea deals, pursues death penalty for Walmart shooter 04/17/2021

A fender bender in a Fla. Walmart parking lot turns deadly in Broward’s second road-rage shooting this week 04/16/2021

NORTH LAUDERDALE — A fender bender in a Walmart parking lot escalated into an argument between the drivers, and now one is dead from a bullet to his neck and the other is facing a murder charge.

It happened at 5 p.m. Sunday when Kameron Rhanard Brown, 26, felt a bump while behind the wheel of a 2014 Hyundai Elantra in the parking lot of 7900 W. McNab Road, west of Rock Island Road, according to an arrest report.

When the car that bumped him drove away, Brown followed it about two blocks to the parking lot of the Arium Hampton Lakes Apartments at 1484 Avon Ln., police said.

Brown walked up to the 2017 Hyundai Tucson and the driver, 24-year-old Rudy Derivois, rolled down his window.

“You hit my car [kid],” Brown said to Derivois, who pulled a gun and fired a bullet into Brown’s neck, according to the police report. Derivois then called 911. Complete article


Armed shopper fires gun in Beech Grove Ind. Walmart after shoplifter pulls weapon on security guard 04/17/2021

BEECH GROVE — Police say an armed shopper prevented a Walmart security guard in Beech Grove from being seriously injured on Saturday afternoon after he fired his gun.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says the licensed gun owner is one of two Good Samaritans who acted during the altercation at the Beech Grove Walmart, located at 4650 S. Emerson Ave.

"It is phenomenal that when we needed the community, they were right there with us," Officer Samone Burris, IMPD's public information officer told WRTV. Complete article


Shots fired at Walmart in Independence, Missouri suspects in custody. 04/17/2021

Independence Police say shots were fired at a Walmart in Independence Saturday night. It happened at the store on Bolger Road around 9:30 p.m.

Police say someone fired shots during an altercation in the parking lot. No one was hit by the gunfire. Officers say all suspects are in custody. Complete article

One arrested after parking lot shooting 04/19/2021


Ocala Fla. Walmart manager jailed after employee claims he groped her buttocks 04/16/2021

A 57-year-old Walmart manager was jailed recently after one of his employees claimed he placed his hands on her hips and thrusted his groin against her buttocks while the two were alone in an office.

The upset victim, who already had left the store at 9570 S. Hwy. 200, told deputies that she told Dennis Anthony Ferreira to “never do that again.” She said she wanted to press charges and signed a handwritten statement, a sheriff’s office report states.

Deputies viewed a surveillance video that showed the victim in the cash office by herself when Ferreira entered the room. Deputies observed him place both hands on the victim’s buttocks “with his groin area extremely close” to her. The video also showed the victim step away and turn toward Ferreira after he rubbed her right buttocks, the report says.

Deputies said it appeared as if the victim said something to Ferreira and turned back around. He then can be seen reaching out and touching the victim’s hair, the report says. Complete article


Unexpected Group of Walmart Shareholders Demands New Wages for Workers 04/16/2021

During Walmart's upcoming remote shareholders meeting in June, one unexpected group plans to push the company's board to sanction a report to determine whether the retailer's starting pay for employees truly aligns with its racial-justice goals and commitments.

That mandate isn't from a major shareholder or labor union. Instead, it comes from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration, a Roman Catholic congregation in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The sisters own a combined 30 shares in the retail giant, valued at $140.11 each as of end of trading on Thursday, and they're using that investment to advocate for racial justice and a starting hourly wage of $15 for all Walmart workers. Walmart previously announced in February that it would raise the average salary of its workforce to $15.25 per hour, but a number of its employees still make less than that.

"Boosting Associate wages would advance Walmart's stated commitment to racial justice, and remedying systemic racism provides everyone with tangible benefits," said a public proposal disclosed by Walmart to the Securities and Exchange Commission this week. "Walmart's low starting wages are not aligned with its professed values of respect for the individual and promoting healthy communities or its commitment to sustainability."

A Walmart spokesperson told Insider the company has started to address racial justice in its communities. In June, Walmart and its namesake foundation pledged $100 million over five years to the Center for Racial Equity to help address racial inequity in the US — the first commitments of which were announced in February.

Walmart has also invested $5 billion in training, education, and higher pay for store workers in the US over the past five years, the spokesperson said.

But Sister Eileen McKenzie said the COVID-19 pandemic has shone a harsher light on the "paucity of dignity" that is afforded to retail workers, as a result of low wages and scarce protections.

"Even if you wanted to close your eyes, you couldn't be blind to the injustices against our essential workers during the coronavirus," she said. "Walmart has huge impact, and we think that this would give so much hope, and it would show the integrity of Walmart. The invitation is there to walk with us."

'More and more suffering'



Walmart plans to publicly respond to the sisters' proposal later this month, via its own proxy statement shared with the SEC. But the sisters' actions highlight how shareholder advocacy can force publicly traded companies to pay attention to current social issues.

"Each year, Walmart receives shareholder proposals for inclusion in our proxy materials," a company spokesperson said. "We engage with our shareholders, and this may often result in proposals being withdrawn, or proposals may be included. It's all about engagement, and we do a lot of that as a company."

This latest proposal by the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration isn't the first the congregation has sent to Walmart. In a statement to Insider, Sister Sue Ernster, the vice president and treasurer of the FSPA, said that the congregation first cofiled a shareholder proposal on pay disparity between Walmart's store workers and executives in 2015.

The sisters filed their latest shareholder proposal in conjunction with a number of other Catholic congregations, and nonprofit As You Sow. They've also participated in shareholder proposals for the Walt Disney Company, Exxon Mobil, Macy's, and Home Depot, often working in conjunction with other groups.

"Our justice focus is really working on the intersectionality of racism, climate crisis, and migration, and all of this is in the context of an economy that is serving fewer and fewer people and creating more and more suffering," McKenzie said."

The Franciscan Sisters congregation has around 172 sisters and traces its roots back to 1849. They're known and named for their tradition of perpetual adoration— or when the faithful worship the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist at all hours of the day — which lasted without interruption for 141 years until Ash Wednesday 2020 Complete article


Kroger is amassing a robot army to battle Amazon, Walmart 04/19/2021

Depending on whom you ask, Kroger is either making a gigantic mistake or solidifying its online future.

At issue is how the largest traditional U.S. supermarket chain — the owner of the Fred Meyer and QFC chains — is navigating the shift to e-commerce, which became even more pressing during the pandemic as online grocery sales boomed. The retailer was late to embrace the web’s potential. But under pressure from Amazon’s arrival in the category and Walmart’s massive investments, Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen is now overseeing a bold wager on robotics.

The key to McMullen’s plan is visible at a 375,000-square-foot facility in Monroe, Ohio, about 30 miles north of Kroger’s Cincinnati headquarters. Three stories above the warehouse floor there, robots the size of dishwashers whirl atop a grid of tracks so large that the lines converge in the distance, like a scene from the sci-fi movie “Tron.” Their mission: retrieve cereal, soda and 28,000 other items from 21 levels of stacked crates and then convey those goods to humans who sort and deliver them to homes. Complete article


Knightdale, Durham, Zebulon NC Walmart stores reopened after bomb threats prompted evacuations 04/18/2021

Midlands SC Walmarts evacuated after bomb threats 04/18/2021

Northeast El Paso Tx. Walmart store closes to clean over virus concerns 04/19/2021

Salt Lake City man stays at Orem Utah Walmart past closing, calls 911 for taxi 04/19/2021

Police search for Va. Walmart “peeping Tom” 04/19/2021

Woman ticketed after failing to self-scan items at Mich. Walmart 04/20/2021

Man arrested for shooting at Homewood Alabama Walmart 04/21/2021

HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WBMA) — A man has been arrested for a shooting that happened at a Walmart in Homewood over the weekend.

The shooting happened at the Wal-Mart on Lakeshore Parkway.

On Sunday, April 18 Homewood Police said they were called to Brookwood Hospital ER to investigate a man brought to the hospital suffering from a gunshot wound.

Police said their investigation led to the arrest of Jacorey Dejuan Creighton, age 18, of Birmingham. Complete article


Do you know this man? San Antonio Tx. police say he robbed a Northwest Side Walmart 04/20/2021

San Antonio police say man threatened to stab an employee and left with store items

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a Northwest Side robbery suspect.

According to police, the robbery happened at a Walmart located at 6703 West Loop 1604 North.

Police said a man was shoplifting at the Walmart and was approached by a loss prevention associate about his actions around 6 p.m. on April 7. Complete article


A 73-year-old with dementia took $14 of items from Colorado Walmart. Police broke her arm in a violent arrest. 04/20/2021

Karen Garner was plucking purple wildflowers and strolling back to her home in Loveland, Colo., last year when the police spotted her.

A few minutes earlier, the 73-year-old with dementia had walked out of a Walmart without paying for some items worth roughly $14 before returning them to employees outside. Now, as the officer tried to arrest her, she appeared confused and frightened.

“I’m going home,” she pleaded, still clutching the flowers as he wrestled her into handcuffs.

By the time two officers finally forced the 80-pound woman into a cruiser, her family says, her arm was broken, her shoulder was dislocated, and her body was covered in bruises. Complete article

Surveillance footage shows what led Walmart employees to call Loveland police 04/20/2021

Video shows police officers laughing at footage of arrest in which they allegedly injured 73-year-old woman with dementia 04/27/2021

Three Loveland police officers involved in violent arrest of elderly woman with dementia resign 05/01/2021


Decatur Ill. fire crews respond to fire at Walmart North 04/21/2021

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) – Decatur fire crews confirm they responded to a working fire at the Walmart North on Prospect Drive.

Decatur Fire Chief Jeff Abbott tells WAND News on scene the fire is out as of 1:30 p.m., it started on the roof in solar panels over the storage area. Crews remain on scene to monitor the situation.

The store was evacuated and no one was hurt during the fire. Chief Abbott says because the fire was in the back above storage there was no immediate danger to shoppers of employees. Complete article


Garfield County Colorado to seek cleanup costs for homeless camp area above Walmart 04/20/2021

A massive cleanup planned for the private property portion of the hillside above Walmart in Glenwood Springs that’s been home to the homeless for several years won’t be easy.

Due to a combination of difficult terrain and the likelihood that bio-hazards will be found within the piles of trash strewn about the trees and ravines, professional services will be needed to do the work, said Joshua Williams, Environmental Health Manager for Garfield County Public Health.

Williams was charged with conducting a site assessment to determine the extent of the cleanup that will be required, before the county seeks bids to do the work. Complete article


Tx. Walmart Must Face Ex-Driver's Emotional Distress Claim 04/21/2021

Law360 (April 21, 2021, 1:42 PM EDT) -- A Texas federal judge ruled Walmart can't knock out an emotional distress claim from a truck driver who said he was fired for taking medical leave, saying that count stemmed from different allegations than his age and disability bias claims.

U.S. District Judge Amos Mazzant on Tuesday denied Walmart's partial motion to dismiss Gregory Scott Bills' claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The court found Bills had supported the claim with allegations he was forced to undergo three physicals and travel hundreds of miles to retrieve handwritten paperwork, while his discrimination claims under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act,... Complete article


Walmart theft investigation Odessa Tx. 04/19/2021

Mom and dad arrested, mom accused of child endangering at Ohio Walmart 04/19/2021

Lexington SC PD asking for help identifying shoplifter from Walmart on Sunset Boulevard 04/20/2021

Man, woman charged with using heroin in Md. Walmart parking lot 04/20/2021

Bettendorf man sentenced in Iowa Walmart sex assault case 04/21/2021

Man arrested for stealing from NY Walmart 04/20/2021

Crime Stoppers: Police hoping to identify suspects in Walmart parking lot shootout 04/21/2021

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Detectives from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department are hoping to identify several people involved in a shootout that happened in the parking lot of a Walmart in the Steele Creek area.

The incident happened just before 5 p.m. last Sunday at the Walmart located at 8180 South Tryon Street in the Steele Creek area.

“Shortly before five o’clock, words were exchanged outside in the parking lot between two groups,” explained Detective Adrian Johnson with the CMPD Crime Stoppers. “One person pulled out a firearm, shot at another. That person then returned fire at that subject that initially shot, and then both subjects got in their cars and then they took off.”

Surveillance footage from the business shows two different parties enter the store. Johnson said one group was comprised of a man, woman, and child. The other group consisted of a few different young men. He said the altercation between the two groups happened after both parties had left the store. Johnson said no people were hurt in the shootout, but a vehicle was struck by a bullet. Complete article


Teen arrested after shot fired in NM Walmart parking lot 04/20/2021

An 18-year-old faces criminal charges after he was accused of shooting at a car in the Walmart parking lot on Herrera Drive on Monday afternoon, according to a criminal complaint filed in Santa Fe Magistrate Court.

Kane Flores was charged with one count of shooting at or from a motor vehicle, and was booked into the Santa Fe County jail without bond.

According to the criminal complaint, Flores told police a man in a white Nissan Altima flashed a gun.

He continued walking to his car when another vehicle with between four and six men yelled at him and threatened to hurt him, according to the complaint.

When the Nissan continued to follow him, Flores told police he fired a shot because he was afraid someone in the car was going to shoot him, according to the complaint. Complete article


Brake-check starts road rage assault in Michigan Walmart parking lot 04/21/2021

ALPENA COUNTY, MI – A Michigan man has been charged after a road rage incident in a Walmart parking lot.

Robert James Hundley, 38, of Alpena, has been charged with assault with a dangerous weapon after the incident which occurred in the parking lot of the store on Chisholm Street in Alpena at approximately 5:30 p.m. on April 3.

According to Michigan State Police, the confrontation began. when a 67-year-old man from Alpena brake checked Hundley, setting of a road rage incident between the two that ended in the Walmart parking lot.

Witnesses at the scene told police that Hundley assaulted the victim by hitting him with the handle portion of a knife, which was later recovered from his vehicle, according to police. Complete article


Illegal immigrant nabbed at Ohio Walmart for shoplifting Deputy unravels web of fake identities 04/20/2021

Williston ND Walmart closed until Friday morning for cleaning 04/21/2021

Trial for Jacksonville Fla. man charged with driving into Republican tent at Walmart continues Thursday 04/22/2021

Man Arrested After Stealing Food from Manitowoc Wisc. Walmart, Yelling He Was Hungry 04/22/2021

Driver dies 2 weeks after NJ Walmart parking lot crash 04/23/2021 This wasn't widely reported until weeks after it happened, and there was another separate fatal accident at another NJ Walmart the same day.

A Cumberland County man died of his injuries nearly two weeks after a one-vehicle crash in a Walmart parking lot, according to the New Jersey State Police.

Richard Shea, 65, of Upper Deerfield Township, was driving an SUV in the parking lot of the store, located on Route 77 in Upper Deerfield, shortly before 12:30 p.m. on March 30 when he struck a concrete sign support.

He suffered serious head and neck injuries and was airlifted to Cooper University Hospital, Camden.

Shea died of his injuries on April 11, police said. Complete article


Alabama police dog bites man accused of shoplifting at Walmart. Doctors perform 5 surgeries to save his arm. 04/23/2021

At the hospital in Tuscaloosa, Derek Stokes said doctors examined the bite from the police dog and discussed whether they would have to amputate his arm.

“I was like ‘amputation?’ I went from going to Walmart to amputation?”

“I was scared to let them amputate the arm,” he told AL.com. “The arm was the evidence. If they amputated my arm, not only would I be without an arm, but I wouldn’t have any evidence of what the police did to me.”

Doctors performed several surgeries, using tissue from Stokes’ belly to rebuild the chunk of flesh bitten out of his forearm. Stokes said he felt like a science experiment. Doctors sewed a flap of skin that connected his right arm to his side.

And he said he couldn’t move his left arm, either, because police shackled him to the hospital bed. Armed officers took turns and rotated in shifts, guarding Stokes, a suspected shoplifter, for three weeks. .....

Police apprehension dogs are specially bred and trained to pursue and bite suspects who run or resist, sending an average of 3,600 people to emergency rooms nationwide every year. AL.com, working with three other news outlets in 2020, found suspects are typically unarmed and can face life-altering, permanent injuries in relation to misdemeanor, non-violent offenses. .......

In Alabama, a man died after a Montgomery police dog bit his thigh and tore his femoral artery; in Talladega, a woman required anal reconstructive surgery after being mauled by a dog that bit nine people in a year; a man has large scars and pain three years after a Huntsville police dog seized him by the arm. Complete article


Trooper retires after being accused of stealing women’s underwear, lotion from Oneida NY Walmart 04/22/2021

Oneida, N.Y. — A New York State police investigator decided to retire after he was accused of stealing women’s underwear and moisturizer from a Walmart in Madison County, according to a state police spokesperson.

William B. Keiffer, 49, was accused by Walmart employees of stealing the items from the store in Oneida, according to WKTV. The employees called the Oneida police to report the incident, but later declined to press charges, the station reported.

Keiffer was initially suspended without pay, and an administrative investigation was launched on April 13, said Beau Duffy, a spokesperson for the NYS police. Keiffer chose to retire instead, Duffy added. Complete article


Police: 2 charged for armed robbery, threatened to shoot SC Walmart employee 04/23/2021

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — Two people were arrested and charged Thursday after threatening to shoot a Walmart employee after they left the story without paying, according to Mount Pleasant Police.

Police say Ian Matthews, 36, and Louise Benward, 38, were charged with armed robbery.

Around 6:20 PM, officers responded to the Walmart at 3000 Proprietors Place for a reported armed robbery. According to the incident report, officers spoke to the store manager who said while returning from a smoke break, she saw Matthews and Benward leaving the Garden and Lawn Center, through a door that's reportedly supposed to be locked, with a shopping cart full of items.

When the store manager approached the couple and asked for a receipt, she says Matthews flipped her off and told her if she came any closer that he would shoot her. The store manager backed off but called 911 as the couple loaded two stolen kitchen items into a black Volvo. They left the other items and a receipt from March in the shopping car. Complete article


Police: Woonsocket man attacked RI Walmart employee who asked him to have child wear mask 04/23/2021

NORTH SMITHFIELD, R.I. (WPRI) — A Woonsocket man is facing charges after he allegedly assaulted a juvenile Walmart employee.

Police say the confrontation started when the employee asked the man, identified as Michael Caro, to have his child wear a face mask inside the North Smithfield store.

When the employee walked away laughing and saying he was going to get a manager, Caro reportedly put him in a choke hold and punched him, according to police.

The employee had a visible bruise and complained of pain, police said, but he did not seek medical treatment. Complete article


Four people charged in Walmart money transfer scheme worth $360,000 in South Florida 04/23/2021

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Walmart stores in North Miami Beach and Palm Springs are the latest targets of organized wire transfer fraud.

According to Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and Miami-Dade Police Director Alfredo Ramirez, four individuals ranging from 26 years old to 31 years old have been charged for an organized fraudulent scheme involving Walmart wire transfers. The wire transfers amounted to $360,000.

On Friday, 31-year-old Emmanuel Alexis, 31-year-old Jahson Rayon Linton, 30-year- old Michelle Denise Gilyard, and 26-year-old Vitnelson Saint Fleur were charged with one count of the 1st Degree felonies of Organized Scheme to Defraud and Conspiracy to Commit an Organized Scheme to Defraud. Complete article

Rapper Tafia, 3 others arrested for alleged organized fraud using Fla. Walmart wire transfers 04/23/2021


Car Catches Fire In NJ Walmart Parking Lot 04/26/2021

TOMS RIVER – Fire units quickly extinguished a car that went up in flames in the Route 37 Walmart parking lot.

In the afternoon of April 25, the Toms River Police Department responded to a report regarding a vehicle fire at the Toms River Walmart.

Jillian Messina of the Toms River Police Department told Jersey Shore Online that police discovered a silver Honda Civic parked in the west side of the parking lot. Police found heavy smoke coming from the car’s engine compartment. Complete article


Roadway reopened after gas near Hattiesburg Mississippi Walmart 04/22/2021

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - The roadway has been reopened and the scene cleared after a gas spill near the Hattiesburg Walmart on U.S. Highway 98 caused traffic problems in the area Thursday afternoon.

Hattiesburg police said Cross Creek Parkway, the entrance to Walmart and Sam’s Club, was closed to traffic following the spill.

We’re told about 100 gallons of fuel were spilled from a tanker truck that was filling tanks at the Sam’s Club filling station. Complete article


‘They ain’t paid us a penny’: Local towing business without help months after Va. Walmart truck wreck 04/22/2021

CREWE, VA (WRIC) – Watts’ Towing in Crewe is used to responding to accidents. What they never expected was to be responding to their own. But that’s what happened this past summer when a Walmart truck driver crashed into their business.

“Man, it made me sick,” said Ray Watts. He and the rest of his family couldn’t believe their eyes. Walmart is known for rolling back prices, not rolling over rollbacks.

“It was a mess,” said Harold Ray Watts Sr.

In an instant, a Walmart tractor-trailer took out a fleet of tow trucks parked at Watts’ Towing in Nottoway County. ......

Eight months later, Walmart has yet to cover the costs.

“They ain’t paid us a penny,” said Harold. Harold and Ray say they’ve heard very little from Walmart since the accident. Harold told us, “We’re haven’t heard from them at all – they give us the runaround and all, you know.”

Ray tells us at one point Walmart asked them to hide their truck. “They wanted me to cover it,” he said. “They didn’t want anybody to see it.”

So Ray told us he towed the Walmart truck to their distribution center. “I carried their trailer. No, I haven’t gotten paid for that neither,” he said. Complete article


Walmart Sued Over Ga. Cashiered Cashier's ADA Discrimination Claims 04/22/2021

A former Walmart cashier who claims she was fired from her job she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and requested that a stool be available when necessary has sued the retail giant, asserting claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The complaint, filed by Buckley Beal lawyers on behalf of Eviana Lukes Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, also said Walmart illegally retaliated against her for requesting time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act. Complete article


Walmart setting up more self-checkout lanes, Springfield Missouri gives mixed reviews 04/22/2021

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A nearly all self-checkout system is heading to Walmart stores in Springfield.

Back in 2020, Walmart announced it would be changing the way customers check out at its stores. Now, Walmart stores in Springfield are starting to see that change.

Some customers are excited about the change.

“It is is quite a bit different because almost the whole front is just self-checkout now, but I kind of like it because I used the self-checkout anyway beforehand,” said Callie Wray, a Walmart shopper.

While some customers are happy, some are upset. Jerrie Mason, a boutique owner in Ava, said she would never do a self-checkout in her boutique.

“I cannot imagine,” said Mason. “Hand them access to the cash register and saying, ‘Hey, just check yourself out. Who cares about coupons or savings?’ To be quite honest, we have seen an increase in our business here for the simple fact that so many people in our community, who have either shopped with us before or are shopping with us for the first time, are coming because of the things that they see in big box stores and other companies.” Complete article


'PLEASE STOP USING': Major vitamin recall at Walmart, Costco and other stores triggers Health Canada warning 04/22/2021

Certain vitamins sold at Costco and Walmart might contain fragments of metal wire that could damage your digestive system, Health Canada said in a warning to shoppers.

Church & Dwight Canada Corp. is recalling certain lots of L’il Critters Gummy Vites children’s vitamins, as well as vitafusion Fibre Well and vitafusion MultiVites vitamins for adults, because certain lots may contain metal wire fragments, Health Canada said in its recall notice.

The affected lots were manufactured within a specific four-day period between Oct. 29 and Nov. 3, 2020 and were distributed nationally.

"Ingesting the metal fragment could damage the digestive system. Based on information from the company, the metal fragments are thought to be small pieces of a stainless steel filter screen that failed during manufacturing," Health Canada writes. "The fragments are thin, visible, flexible wires measuring approximately 25 millimetres long. The company became aware after receiving consumer complaints, none of which involved a report of consumer injury as a result of the issue." Complete article


Pay for top six Walmart execs reaches almost $80 million 04/23/2021

Walmart’s top six executives cumulatively received total compensation of $79.93 million in fiscal 2021 which ended Feb. 1. The combined salaries and benefits equate to $9,124 for every hour of the year.

The 2021 pay is down from $87.883 million reported a year ago which included a $44 million sign-on bonus and stock awards for Suresh Komar, the global chief technology officer who joined Walmart from Google in 2020.

Compensation details were released late Thursday (April 22) in the retail giant’s 120-page annual proxy filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. ....

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon saw his pay improve slightly in 2021 to $22.574 million, up 2.2% from the $22.105 million reported a year ago. Complete article


St. Louis judge approves $5M settlement over Walmart sales tax class action 04/22/2021

ST. LOUIS — A federal judge on Thursday approved the settlement of a lawsuit that claimed Walmart was bilking customers by not refunding sales tax on returned items.

The original lawsuit, which sought class-action status, said Scott Pearlstone returned salsa, vitamins and a can of green beans that he'd bought in 2017 at the Walmart in Manchester, but didn't get back all of the sales taxes he paid. An employee told him the store doesn't refund sales taxes on certain items, the suit says.

Walmart denied the claims.

Under the terms of the settlement, shoppers who filed a claim by April 1 will split $5 million, minus attorneys' fees and other costs. Those fees and costs were projected in the settlement to eat up about half of the money. Complete article


Persuasive 3rd grader convinces Walmart to start selling Pokémon stuffed animals 04/22/2021

Man accused of shoplifting from Savannah Ga. Walmart wanted by police 04/22/2021

Henry County Sheriff's Office issues scam alert involving Walmart and a check 04/22/2021

Police: Newark woman faces felony burglary charge after NY Walmart incident 04/23/2021

Nevada Walmart assistant manager arrested 04/23/2021 This isn’t the first employee at the Pahrump Walmart to be arrested for financial crimes. Back in April of 2019, another Walmart assistant manager was arrested and charged for embezzling $40,000 from the retailer.

SEEN THEM? West Manchester Pa. Police Search For Walmart Thieves 04/22/2021

Man charged in Pa. Walmart double homicide, in Feb. 2021, lost patience over child custody exchange, detective testifies 04/23/2021

Threat leads to evacuation of North’d Pa. Walmart 04/23/2021

Police: Woman impersonated Dothan Alabama Walmart manager to steal merchandise 04/23/2021

Man arrested after putting fake barcodes on products at Dearborn Mich. Walmart 04/24/2021

Manitowoc Wisc. Police Arrest a Man who Was Acting Erratically in the Walmart Parking Lot 04/27/2021

A 34-year-old man is facing drug charges after he was found acting erratically in Walmart parking lot in Manitowoc.

Police were dispatched to the store at 9:15 PM on Monday (April 26th) to check on a man that was said to be sitting in his car with the blinker on. The man was reportedly “freaking out” and kicking the roof of the vehicle.

When officers located the man, they determined that he was under the influence of an unknown hallucinogen of stimulant, but he denied being on any drugs. Complete article


Man accused of threatening to kill woman, toddler at southern Indiana Walmart 04/26/2021

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A man is accused of threatening to kill people in the middle of a southern Indiana Walmart.

Madison Police arrested Cody Goldman on Sunday.

A woman told officers she was in the bakery section with her toddler when they were approached by a man holding a knife. That man reportedly told the woman he was going to kill her, then turned to the child and said that he would kill the toddler first. Complete article


New Hartford man charged with stealing from Walmart in Lowville NY 04/23/2021

Man sentenced to prison for exposing self to girl at Waverly Iowa Walmart 04/26/2021

Bedford Ind. woman arrested after stealing items from Walmart 04/26/2021

Police and Ariz. Walmart Rally to Replace Boy's 'Priceless' Stolen Tractor 04/26/2021

Woman with history of arrests in Connecticut nabbed at Wal-Mart in The Villages 04/26/2021 Marybel Cortes, 53, of Wildwood, was in the self-checkout line at the store on Friday and was using pricetags from cheaper items to scan higher-price merchandise she had selected, according to an arrest report from the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.

No suspects in Warren Mich. Walmart shooting 04/28/2021

Warren police were called to the Tech Plaza Walmart on 12 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue at approximately 2 a.m. Wednesday with reports of shots fired in the parking lot.

“Police responded to a report that there were two or three cars shooting at each other,” said Warren Police Commissioner William Dwyer.

Officers located numerous casings in the Walmart parking lot, but the parties involved fled the scene before the arrival of law enforcement and are unknown. Complete article


Body found in retention pond near Fleming Island Fla. Walmart, deputies say 04/28/2021

FLEMING ISLAND, Fla. – A body was found Wednesday in a retention pond near the Walmart on County Road 220 in Fleming Island, according to the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Con Kelley, with the Sheriff’s Office, said foul play is not suspected.

Kelley said the body was spotted in the pond around 1:15 p.m. by a maintenance worker. Investigators said that when they first got the call, it was an all-hands-on-deck operation to recover the body from the pond, which is surrounded by a tall metal fence. Complete article


A Md. Walmart worker talked about suicide. The store sold him a gun anyway, family says. 04/28/2021

The family of a Walmart employee who killed himself after buying a shotgun on his lunch break sued the retailer for wrongful death late Tuesday, alleging that it knew he was considering suicide and was negligent in selling him the weapon.

Jacob Mace, a maintenance worker at a Walmart supercenter in southern Maryland, left the store with the shotgun and ammunition during the break in November 2019 and did not return, according to a lawsuit filed in state court in Prince George’s County. Sheriff’s deputies found him in his truck in a nearby parking lot, the suit says. He was 23.

A few days earlier, Mace's manager and another store employee discussed putting him on a list of people blocked from buying firearms because he had talked about suicide, but they did not follow through with the precaution, according to the suit.

"Jake was kind, caring, and giving," his family said in a statement. "He viewed his mental health struggles as medical issues, actively participated in his treatment, and discussed his issues openly to help end stigma. However, those facts should have prevented his employer from selling him a firearm." Complete article


Police: Man Carjacked Car From Walmart in Coral Springs Fla. on Wednesday 04/28/2021

CORAL SPRINGS, FL – A man carjacked a car at a Walmart in Coral Springs on Wednesday afternoon and crashed the car before police caught up to him, police said.

The incident started around 4 p.m. at the Walmart at 3801 Turtle Creek Drive when a man carjacked the car and drove off, said Sgt. Ernesto Bruna, spokesman for Coral Springs Police Department.

The man crashed the car in the area of Creekside Drive and State Road 7 and then fled on foot before police arrested him, he said. Complete article

Alleged Carjacker Told His Victim Outside Coral Springs Walmart: “Sweetie, This Is A Carjacking, Take Your Kid Out Of The Car” 04/29/2021


Police: Florence man assaulted officer after trying to shoplift at SC Walmart 04/27/2021

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — Police have served a 19-year-old Florence man already in jail with warrants related to an incident where he reportedly assaulted an officer at Walmart.

Kareem Vakin Jones was already in the Florence County Detention Center on unrelated charges, according to the Florence Police Department. Saturday’s warrants were in regards to a December shoplifting incident at the Walmart on South Irby Street.

Police said that Jones and another person had bagged items without scanning or purchasing them. After being placed in the store’s loss prevention office, Jones “aggressively ran his full body” into an officer before shoving the officer, which caused them both to fall to the ground. He then left the area. Complete article


Walmart calls out Kanye West for copycat logo 04/27/2021

Hudson Falls man charged with felony in NY Walmart theft 04/27/2021

Shoplifting at Walmart: Have you seen them? Mattoon Ill. police asking for your help 04/26/2021

Pennsylvania Police continue search for identifying suspect in Harborcreek Walmart theft 04/26/2021

York County Pa. food inspections: Walmart that had rodent problem passes follow up inspection 04/26/2021

Man charged in Ind. Walmart robbery, April 22 gunfire 04/28/2021

A Vigo County man faces multiple felony charges in connection with an April 22 robbery and gunfire on the city's east side.

Jimmy Joe Cheesman III, 19, faces charges of robbery, criminal recklessness, pointing a firearm and intimidation filed in Vigo Superior Court 6.

Cheesman was arrested early Wednesday in connection with an early morning robbery at Walmart on U.S. 40/Indiana 46 on Terre Haute's east side.

According to a probable cause affidavit, city police said a store employee attempted to stop a man who left the store with a shopping cart containing a television, diapers, and several other items for which he failed to pay. A bystander attempted to assist the store employee by confronting the man, but the bystander said the man pointed a gun at him, so the bystander backed away.

The bystander took a video of the man and the car, a white Pontiac Grand Am with “two poorly applied black racing stripes spray-painted onto the vehicle” from the hood to the trunk.

Another witness who saw the confrontation followed the Pontiac as it drove away, police said. That witness told police the Pontiac driver stopped in the roundabout at New Margaret Drive and Sycamore Terrace, got out of the car and fired one shot toward the witness, striking the front fender of the witness's truck. Complete article


Police charge teen accused of stabbing 2 at Zachary Walmart 04/28/2021

ZACHARY, La. (WAFB) - A teenager is facing charges after allegedly stabbing and injuring two other teens at the Walmart in Zachary on Wednesday, April 28, according to Zachary Police Chief David McDavid.

He added two victims were taken to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital in Baton Rouge to be treated for their injuries. One of the victims had surgery late Wednesday night and remains in serious but stable condition. The other victim suffered injuries.

Chief McDavid says the incident occurred because the suspect had an ongoing feud with the victims and their families. He could not identify the suspect because they are a juvenile but said the teen is facing two counts of aggravated second-degree battery.

“It’s sad right now that we’re seeing this in America,” said McDavid. “A lot of this starts at home and a lot of this starts where, I’m a leader, too, we’ve got to stop promoting violence. And people look at this and they think it’s okay to do this. It’s not. And we could’ve gotten other people seriously hurt, we could’ve got elderly people ran over, people scattering and running. Because when people holler, ‘Gun!’ [and] somebody, you know, has a knife, we’ve got blood all in the aisles, you know. America’s got to wake up.” Complete article


St. Petersburg Fla. officer arrested, fired after Walmart fraud attempt, police say 04/29/2021

A St. Petersburg Police officer was arrested and fired Wednesday after authorities said he tried to use a Texas woman’s credit card information to make hundreds of dollars in purchases from Walmart.

Jonathan Cain, 25, was sworn in as an officer in August, according to the St. Petersburg Police Department. He was placed on unpaid leave earlier this week when the Pinellas Park Police Department told the agency he was being investigated.

Cain turned himself in to the Pinellas County jail Wednesday night and was arrested on a felony charge of scheming to defraud.

He was fired soon after, St. Petersburg police said. Because he was still on probation, the agency didn’t have to conduct an internal investigation or hold a hearing before firing him. Complete article


Man threatened to bomb Alabama Walmart when he was denied refund, police say 04/30/2021

Hartselle police say they have arrested a Cullman man who reportedly threatened to return to Walmart with a homemade bomb.

Christopher Lee Brown, 46, was arrested Thursday on a warrant for making a terrorist threat. His bond was set at $2,500.

According to police, Brown went to Walmart Thursday to return several small propane bottles. The store was unable to provide a refund for the bottles.

According to employees, Brown said he would return with the bottles after he fashioned a bomb with them. Complete article


Two weeks’ paid sick leave at Walmart could have prevented 7,500 Covid cases, report finds 04/28/2021

More than 7,500 Covid-19 infections and 133 deaths could have been prevented if Walmart offered employees two weeks of paid sick leave, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The public health not-for-profit Human Impact Partners calculated the impact that better paid sick leave could have had for employees of Walmart, the largest employer in the US, using findings from the University of Wisconsin that universal sick leave could lead to a nearly 6% reduction in coronavirus infections and deaths for workers in Wisconsin.

Researchers used the US national Covid-19 case rate to determine that at least 125,000 Walmart employees, of which the company says there are nearly 1.6m in the US, contracted Covid-19 between February 2020 and February 2021. The company has not publicly released data detailing how many employees have had the virus.

Cynthia Murray, an employee of a Walmart in Laurel, Maryland, and a leader with United for Respect, a worker advocacy group, said that the company’s sick leave system was confusing and had left workers worried that calling in sick would lead to losing their jobs. Complete article


Bedrails sold by Walmart and other retailers pose asphyxia risk 04/29/2021

Americans are being urged to immediately stop using three models of portable bedrails sold online by Walmart and other retailers because they pose a deadly risk of entrapment and strangulation, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The product is linked to the deaths of four elderly or disabled individuals, the agency cautioned.

The rails were recalled half a dozen years ago and then sold with safety straps thought to address the danger. That proved not to be the case. "CPSC evaluated the bedrails and found that they can allow an individual to become entrapped between the bedrail and mattress, or within the portions of the bedrail itself, leading to asphyxia," CPSC stated in its warning on Thursday.

The rails include the Adjustable Bedside Assistant (model #AJ1), the Original Bedside Assistant (model# BA10W) and the Travel Handles (model# BA11W), which is sold as a set of two bed handles. The model numbers can be found on a white label located on the bottom of the handle. Complete article


Danville Va. woman says Walmart directed a racial slur at her 04/30/2021

DANVILLE, Va. (WFXR) — A Danville woman says a dispute with Walmart led one of its employees to use a racial slur with her.

Nigaria Dodson says the incident began back in February when she ordered a television for her aunt from the Walmart website. When her aunt was unhappy with the TV, Dodson returned it and asked for a refund.

She says she was told she would get her $470 back in a week to ten days. When that didn’t happen, she had the customer service center call her.

According to Dodson, the man on the other end of the line was rude and hung up on her.

It was the next communication from Walmart that shocked her.

Dodson says she got an email that started out with a racial slur.

“It was traumatizing. I didn’t even want to deal with Walmart anymore,” she said. “When things of this nature happen, that’s when you stand up and speak up for yourself because if we don’t speak up for ourselves, it will continue to happen.” Complete article


Walmart says customers, employees still required to wear masks 04/28/2021

Sulphur Springs Tx. Walmart Evacuated After Threat 04/28/2021

Walmart Worker Tipped Authorities In Arrest Of Moorhead Minn. Mosque Vandalism Suspect 04/28/2021

Police respond to attempted robbery at Missouri Walmart on Conley 04/29/2021

Attention La. Walmart Shoppers: NPD seeks 3 women who allegedly found lost cellphone and kept it 04/28/2021

Pa. State Police Look to Identify Suspect in Walmart Futon Theft 04/30/2021 The man in his early 20s went through the self-checkout without scanning or paying for the $200 futon in his cart, troopers said.

Crime Stoppers: Ky. Walmart Jewelry Theft 04/28/2021