Bees Swarm Car During Grocery Trip
After a quick trip into a Las Cruces grocery store, a man returned to find that a swarm of 15,000 bees had taken up inside his car.
According to Las Cruces Sun, firefighters were sent to the parking lot of an Albertson’s grocery store last week after a shopper noticed that bees were gathering in his car’s backseat. The man reportedly left his car window down while he went shopping for approximately 10 minutes. When he returned to his vehicle, he placed the groceries inside and started to drive off before noticing the swarm.
The man called 911, and officials reached out to off-duty firefighter Jesse Johnson, a firefighter who reportedly keeps bees in his spare time. In an interview with The New York Times, Johnson said he’d just been wrapping up a family barbecue when the call came. He told reporters that he knew he could relocate the bees to his home without harming them. “I’ll do anything to keep people from killing the bees,” he said.
Johnson said the swarm had likely split from a larger group and was looking for a new home. “Luckily, when bees are swarming, they’re pretty docile,” he said. “They don’t have a home to protect for a moment. It’s much more intimidating than it is dangerous.”
Johnson appeared at the scene in a beekeepers hood and jacket. He approached the car with a special lemongrass-treated hive box that attracted the swarm to move in. The job took around 30 minutes to complete, but the firefighter was able to remove all the bees—around 15,000—safely and load the hive in his truck.
The car’s driver was never identified. The man told reporters that he’d borrowed the car from a friend.
Two employees of the Albertson’s reportedly sustained minor bee sting injuries during the incident.
AI Company Found to Have No AI
When auditors investigating privacy concerns connected to an AI surveillance company that had a $20.7 million contract with the state of Utah, they found that the company didn’t actually have any AI capabilities.
According to Vice a company called Banjo won the lucrative contract based on claims that it would be able to use data gathering and artificial intelligence analysis of traffic cameras, CCTV cameras, social media, 911 emergency systems and location data to detect crimes and “opioid events” using its software Live Time.
Utah state auditor John Dugall was tasked with investigating the company when public outcry rose over the far-reaching system and unsavory details about Banjo CEO Damien Patton’s involvement in a 1990 synagogue shooting and connection to white supremacist groups became public. Utah temporarily suspended its five-year, $20.7 million dollar contract with the firm while the company was audited.
In the report, however, Dugall found that the privacy concerns over Banjo’s surveillance capabilities were baseless. “The actual capabilities of Live Time appeared inconsistent with Banjo’s claims,” Dugall wrote. “Because of the reduced capability of the Live Time system, it appears much less likely personally identifiable information (PII) was accessed, transferred and used than was previously feared.”
Although the company was indeed collecting very large amounts of raw data, it doesn’t actually have any AI capabilities to speak of, according to Dugall’s report.
The auditor did note that the company’s direct access to state databases was a security concern, and the Office of the State Auditor subsequently released new privacy and contracting guidelines.
Deer Crashes Through School Bus Windshield
A napping student was awakened when a deer crashed through the teen’s school bus’ windshield and landed on his back.
According to WTVR in Virginia, the bus was on its way to school when a deer crashed through the windshield. Fifteen-year-old Brendan Martin was reportedly sleeping in the seat nearest the front exit when the frightened animal landed on the student’s back.
“I was really confused because I was trying to sleep and I woke up to something on my back,” Martin told reporters. “I realized it was a deer and was just very confused because I’d never seen a deer actually jump through a windshield and then land.”
In security footage captured inside the bus, the stunned deer can be seen leaping off of the teen’s back and running down the aisle looking for an exit. The bus driver can be seen calmly slowing the bus and opening the front door to allow the animal to exit the vehicle.
Martin commended his bus driver’s performance. “He stopped, did what he needed to, made sure everyone was safe, got the deer out as fast as he could. He did everything good.”
None of the 14 students riding the bus was seriously harmed.
Donald Trump
Ex-President Donald Trump faces accusations of hypocrisy after he was pictured with what appeared to be a Diet Coke bottle on his desk, days after he urged supporters to boycott Coca-Cola for opposing Georgia’s new voting restrictions.
Twitter users spotted what appeared to be a bottle of Trump’s favorite soda behind the telephone in a photo that former Trump aide Stephen Miller shared to hype a “terrific meeting” with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Trump over the weekend issued a statement demanding boycotts against Coca-Cola and other companies and organizations speaking out against Georgia’s voting restrictions, which would cut the time period voters have to request absentee ballots, limit the use of ballot drop boxes and criminalize any attempts to approach voters in line, even with water. The law has garnered widespread condemnation from civil rights activists, Democrats and more than 100 businesses and CEOs.
“It is finally time for Republicans and Conservatives to fight back—we have more people than they do—by far!” Trump ranted. “Boycott all of the woke companies that don’t want Voter I.D. and Free and Fair Elections. They should have passed this before the 2020 election,” he said.