“It’s been complete hell”: how police used a traffic stop to take $91,800 from an innocent man

ust hours after this story was published, a judge, with the backing of state legislators who read Vox’s reporting, ruled in favor of Phil Parhamovich — and he will get his $91,800 back.

“My gut has been clenched for a long time. I feel like it is still going to take some time to unwind and unclench,” Parhamovich said. “But I feel incredible. It hasn’t even sunk in yet.” He thanked the Institute for Justice, an advocacy group, for taking his case and Vox for reporting on it.

What follows is the original story.

Phil Parhamovich had been waiting for this moment for a long time. The 50-year-old had spent years restoring and selling houses, cars, and musical instruments, often clocking 12-hour workdays, to save up more than $91,000. And now it was all going to pay off: He would buy a music studio in Madison, Wisconsin, where Nirvana and the Smashing Pumpkins recorded songs — not just fulfilling a dream of owning a monument to grunge rock, but also giving him a space to work on his own career as a musician.

Then came the police stop this past March. By the time it was over, police in Wyoming would take all of Parhamovich’s money — the full $91,800. Parhamovich, who has no criminal record, was not accused of or charged with a serious crime; he only got a $25 ticket for improperly wearing his seat belt and a warning for “lane use.”

But Wyoming law enforcement officers found and eventually seized the $91,800 in cash, as it was hidden in a speaker cabinet — by getting Parhamovich, under what he claims was duress, to sign away his interest in the money through a waiver.

Driver slams truck into toll booth on San Francisco's Bay Bridge, killing attendant

OAKLAND -- A toll collector on California's Bay Bridge was killed and the driver of a box truck was arrested after his truck slammed into a line of vehicles and crashed into the toll plaza, CBS San Francisco reports.

Shortly after 5 a.m., a line of vehicles was waiting at the toll booth and the box truck hit the last vehicle in line, causing a chain reaction, Williams said.

The truck continued westbound and hit the toll booth, demolishing it. The attendant inside the booth was killed, and the truck driver and a passenger were ejected from the vehicle.

The toll booth attendant was later identified as Si Si Han, age 46.

Gov. Jerry Brown expressed his condolences in a statement released Saturday.

Balanced groups drawn for Russia 2018

Following a long road of qualifying joy and heartache, the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ has finally snapped into focus after the Final Draw on 1 December in Moscow’s Kremlin State Palace.

Hosts Russia will open the event against Saudi Arabia at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium on 14 June in Group A, while defending champions Germany were drawn into a tough Group F along with Mexico, Sweden and Korea Republic. According to the November FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking, the toughest group is Group D which has France, Australia, Peru and Denmark.

The Final Draw ceremony took place inside the walls of the Kremlin with Gary Lineker hosting and an array of high-profile names on hand to assist with the draw. Legends representing the eight previous World Cup-winning nations and the hosts – France’s Laurent Blanc, England’s Gordon Banks, Brazil’s Cafu, Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan, Germany’s Miroslav Klose, Argentina’s Diego Maradona, Spain’s Carles Puyol and Russia’s Nikita Simonyan – joined Lineker on stage.

In the audience watching were dignitaries such as FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Lothar Matthaeus, Pele, Samuel Eto’o, Ronaldo and many more.

Thirty one days after the opening contest, the new champion will lift the Trophy after the Final in Moscow, again at the famed Luzhniki.

Police arrest leader of a gang of women who marry and kill their husbands for insurance

A woman who leads a gang that recruits women to marry and murder men to claim their life insurance has been arrested.

Esmeralda Aravel Flores Acosta, 39, has been dubbed the Black Widow. She was arrested in El Salvador, Central America following the deaths of several victims. Police said the gang led by Esmeralda recruited attractive girls in shopping centres and universities with the promise of taking them to the US.

The young female recruits were made to marry men who are well off and then encouraged to get their husbands to get life insurance. Two or three weeks after, gang members were sent to murder the husbands. After the deaths of their new husbands, the young women were instead taken to Mexico where they were forced into prostitution.

Surviving cold and flu season: How to stay safe

The National Institutes of Health predict this year's flu season could be a rough one.

Last year, Americans reportedly spent nearly $6 billion on remedies for runny noses and sore throats, but some over-the-counter medications carry their own risks. High doses of acetaminophen send nearly 60,000 people to the emergency room each year.

In its January issue, Consumer Reports looks at how to survive this cold and flu season more easily.

Lisa Gill, deputy content editor for the magazine, joined "CBS This Morning" to discuss some of the treatment options you'll find at the pharmacy, common home remedies, and which ones you need to be careful when using.

JAY-Z TALKS HIS REACTION TO BEYONCÉ’S ‘LEMONADE’ ALBUM, WHAT HAPPENED WITH THEIR JOINT ALBUM & WHY HE & KANYE WEST ARE IN A BROTHERLY BEEF

A couple of years ago, there were rumblings of a joint album featuring #Beyoncé and her husband #JayZ. We got #Lemonade instead, which nobody is complaining about, but what happened to it?

Well, in a new interview with @NYTimes, Jay reveals that during a drought in their marriage, they began making music together and says it became therapeutic for them. “We were using our art almost like a therapy session. And we started making music together,” he said. “And then the music she was making at that time was further along. So her album came out as opposed to the joint album that we were working on.”

Soul Singer, Wayne Cochran dies at 78 after brief battle with cancer

Famous soul singer, Wayne Cochran best known for his towering white pompadour haircut, wild outfits and signature song "Last Kiss," died in Florida at the age 78.

Cochran's son confirmed to the Miami Herald that the "White Knight of Soul," who made a name for himself with his outrageous stage antics before giving it all up to become an ordained minister in Miami, passed after a battle with cancer.

Floyd Mayweather sues ex-fiancee Shantel Jackson for stealing from him

we all know breakups can be a messy affair but this might be one for the books. Though it’s been years since #FloydMayweather and #ShantelJackson have called it quits, according to @TMZ_TV, Floyd still has a bone to pick with his ex-girlfriend Miss Jackson as he’s suing her for allegedly using his credit cards and helping herself to his money without him knowing.

In the lawsuit, Floyd is alleging Shantel was using his credit cards, taking cash from areas of his home and putting it in secret accounts without his knowledge. He also claims Miss Jackson gained his confidence to “use him.” In a statement his lawyer said: “As a result of that confidence, Mayweather, who’s education ended at eighth grade, did not audit or otherwise inspect either his cash or his credit card statements for theft by Jackson.”

Thieves steal toys, clothes, tools from Salvation Army warehouse in Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- A Salvation Army warehouse in Baltimore has lost "tens of thousands of dollars in construction tools, as well as Christmas toys and clothes for underprivileged children" after three burglaries in a week, CBS Baltimore reports.

The warehouse also houses the organization's upcoming 7,000 square foot nonprofit grocery store, DMG Foods, which will be the first of its kind in Salvation Army history. It is set to open its doors on January 15.

"With both the grocery store grand opening and Christmas distribution rapidly approaching, the burglary of the warehouse is a devastating loss for The Salvation Army of Central Maryland," the organization said in a statement.

FORMER NSA EMPLOYEE PLEADS GUILTY TO TAKING CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

A former National Security Agency employee who worked in its elite hacking unit pleaded guilty on Friday to illegally taking classified information outside the spy agency, the US Justice Department said.

Nghia Hoang Pho, 67, retained US government documents containing top-secret national defense information between 2010 and March 2015, according to a plea agreement.

Pho faces up to 10 years in prison and is not being held by authorities as he awaits his sentencing, which is scheduled for April 6, 2018, in US District Court in Baltimore.

German Christmas market evacuated after explosives found nearby

Police have evacuated a busy Christmas market in Germany after a suspicious object containing explosives was found nearby. The surrounding area in the city of Potsdam, near Berlin has also been evacuated, police said.
Special forces were on site to examine the object, which was described as a package measuring 40 cm by 50 cm that had been delivered to a pharmacy near the market. Police said on Twitter: ‘The suspicion of an improvised explosive device has been confirmed.’ No additional details were immediately available.
Germany is on high alert for potential terrorist attacks nearly a year after a Tunisian Islamic extremist hijacked a truck, killed its driver and then rammed the vehicle into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 11 more people there. Police were alerted around 2.30pm local time after an employee opened the package at the pharmacy and saw suspicious wires and electronics inside.

World AIDs Day 2017: Symptoms, diagnosis, treatments and what the day is all about

But despite the vast improvements in treatment, having a HIV diagnosis still means an increased likelihood of living in poverty, poor mental health and limits to opportunities preventing people living full, happy lives. A lot of this is due to continued ignorance and discrimination against those with HIV infections and a lack of understanding.
That’s part of what World AIDS Day is all about – raising awareness to reverse that trend. Here is everything you need to know about the date and the disease. When is World AIDS Day 2017? World AIDS Day is held on December 1 each year. This year, that is on a Friday. What is World AIDS Day all about? This year there are three main targets to the day – to end isolation, stigma and HIV transmission. Work to significantly reduce the number of those contracting HIV is finally starting to see some results with the number of HIV diagnoses for gay men in London finally reducing in the UK. This is thought to be due to awareness for frequent testing, rapid treatment and PrEP. Now the aim is to go even further to include a reduction in HIV in everyone and not just in the UK. What is the difference between HIV and AIDs?
HIV is the name of the virus.

Teenager ‘goes too far’ in quest to look like Angelina Jolie

    
A teenager has undergone more than 50 plastic surgery procedures in an effort to look like her idol Angelina Jolie. Iranian 19-year-old Sahar Tabar says she has been a massive fan of the Hollywood actress her entire life – but friends and family say she’s hone too far in her efforts to look like the star.
Sahar said she ‘would do anything’ to look like Jolie and her reported 50 operations have left her with fuller lips and defined cheek bones – but trolls say it has made her look like a zombie. Others told the young woman she looked more like a character from Tim Burton movie The Corpse Bride. Sahar reportedly lost a shocking 5st 7lbs, in order to be as slim as Angelina.

Marriage May Help Lower Dementia Risk: Study

Being married can help a person ward off dementia, a new study suggests. People who are single or widowed have a higher chance of developing the mental affliction.

A new review by researchers from University College London, published in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, looked at evidence from 15 previously published studies that involved over 800,000 people from Asia, North and South America, and Europe.

The study has found that people who had never married had a 42 percent increased chance of developing dementia as compared to married people. The research team also discovered that widows and widowers had a 20 percent more chance of getting dementia than those who were married.

6 Unexpected Changes That Will Make You Look and Feel Younger

Diet trends and exercise crazes come and go, and many of us know all too well that most are not easy to stick with in the long run anyway. We recently sat down with one medical professional who says making a solid lifestyle change to help balance your hormones is the best way to increase energy, benefit your overall health and age more gracefully. Yes, you read that right. All of the wrinkle cream in the world can’t do for you what healthier habits can for your looks and longevity. These seven simple changes will make a huge impact on how you feel on a daily basis and your overall lifespan, according to Tami Meraglia, M.D., author of the new book “The Hormone Secret.” Some of them may even shock you! Hint: You need to eat more. Read on for Dr. Tami's morning-to-night suggestions for feeling your best now -- at any age.