NEWS OF THE DAY
From Across the Nation
_1 Scam warning: U.S. authorities on Friday alerted consumers to a new scam involving fake government letters sent to people who tried to buy medicines online or over the phone. The Food and Drug Administration said the fake letters may be part of an extortion scam. The letters claim to be from the FDA or the Federal Trade Commission, but those agencies almost never issue such warnings to private individuals. The letters falsely claim that the government is investigating the drugs the consumers attempted to purchase. FDA officials have repeatedly warned about the risks of buying medicines through unverified online pharmacies.
_2 Pastor charged: A pastor in Deltona, Fla., was arrested after allegedly recording images under the dress of a parishioner as she bent over to put her child in a car seat. Brian “Rick” Kenyon Jr., 31, was detained Thursday on a charge of video voyeurism. The woman reported the incident in April, telling investigators it happened when she attended a service at the Church of Christ of Deltona, said sheriff ’s spokesman Andrew Gant. Kenyon was dismissed from the church, Gant said.
_3 Desert bust: Federal law officers seized more than 4,000 marijuana plants at a growing operation in Death Valley National Park, thanks to a tip from hikers in the area along the California-Nevada line. Rangers for the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management raided the site last week after the hikers encountered three men installing irrigation hose near a spring in Hanaupah Canyon. The hikers thought the men were working on a park project but when they asked what they were doing, one told them they were growing marijuana. He reportedly said, “You won’t tell the cops, will you?” No arrests have been made.
_4 Boulder deaths: A driver was being held Friday in the deaths of a mother and daughter who were killed when an 800-pound boulder fell from his truck and smashed into their car in suburban St. Paul, Minn., police said. Jail records show Joseph Czeck, 33, was being held on suspicion of vehicular homicide in the crash Monday in the town of Rosemount. Karen Christiansen, 67, and her daughter, Jena Christiansen, 32, died at the scene. Czeck was arrested after police found his landscaping truck. Rosemount Police Chief Mitchell Scott said it wasn’t clear whether Czeck was aware that the boulder had fallen. _5 Driver discrimination: A Massachusetts bus driver has been fired for telling a would-be passenger that he wasn’t picked up because he’s black. The Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority said the exchange was caught on video Wednesday. Transit officials said the bus was traveling from Edgartown to Oak Bluffs when the driver passed the person. The man took an Uber to Oak Bluffs where he caught up with the bus and questioned the driver about why he was passed by. At first, the driver said the bus was full. But when pressed, the driver said, “it’s because you are black.”