Latest news with #Rivera
New York Post
a day ago
- Health
- New York Post
NY pols probe controversial $9B taxpayer-funded program for home-health-care aides: 'Significant concerns'
State lawmakers are launching a public hearing to probe New York's controversial $9 billion taxpayer-funded program that connects residents with home-health-care aides. State Senate Health Committee Chair Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx) and state Sen. James Skoufis (D-Hudson Valley) said they will be calling on people to testify about the troubled Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program, or CDPAP. 4 State Senator James Skoufis announces that the Department of Motor Vehicles will remain in West Haverstraw. Tania Savayan/The Journal News via Imagn Content Services, LLC Advertisement 4 New York State Senator Gustavo Rivera speaking at a podium. Kevin C Downs forThe New York Post The program initially came fire for its alleged rampant abuse and waste involving the under-regulated middlemen companies that were connecting residents with aides as part of the state-funded Medicare initiative. Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration then did away with the private go-betweens — but its awarding of the massive job to one firm in a no-bid contract only created more questions and outcry. Advertisement 'We are going to lay out in clear terms how the transition worked, what didn't work, how it happened and what are the things to learn to make sure that individuals being served by the program continue to be served,' Rivera said. 4 Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration then did away with the private go-betweens Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Post Rivera said 'fallout is still being felt' from the governor's consolidation move – noting that some workers have not been paid or have left the program, while patients have not been getting the care they need and others have ended back in nursing homes 'or worse.' The program has already come under scrutiny from the feds, who The Post reported earlier this month are probing the governor's selection of Public Partnerships, LLC, as the sole 'fiscal intermediary' for CDPAP. Advertisement Skoufis said how that contact was awarded will be part of the state hearing's scope. 'We do have questions. We do have concerns,' he said. 'I have significant concerns about just how this company was awarded the contract and were they awarded the contract fairly.' 4 Rivera said 'fallout is still being felt' from the governor's consolidation move – noting that some workers have not been paid or have left the program. zinkevych – Hochul administration rep Sam Spokony said in a statement, 'New York State protected home care and prevented a fiscal crisis by putting an end to the waste, fraud and abuse of an old system. Advertisement 'The vast majority of consumers and workers have reported a positive experience with the new statewide fiscal intermediary.' The state lawmakers' hearing on the issue will be held July 9.
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Filipino green card holder wins deportation case in US
An immigration judge dismissed the deportation case of the 44-year-old Filipino green card holder. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File NEW YORK - A Filipino green card holder has been released from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington. This came after an immigration judge dismissed the deportation case against 44-year-old Rodante Rivera. Rivera was arrested by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on May 18 after returning from a vacation in the Philippines. The reason CBP intercepted Rivera was due to a conviction from decades ago. Rivera, whose spouse is an American citizen, has been living in the US for many years. Just last month, the court also released 64-year-old Filipina green card holder Lewelyn Dixon. Dixon was also intercepted and detained at an ICE facility due to a conviction from two decades ago. In the immigration judge's ruling, it was stated that these old convictions could no longer be used as grounds for deportation to the Philippines. The good moral character of both Rivera and Dixon also contributed to the dismissal of their deportation cases. Meanwhile, another Filipino green card holder with a prior conviction remains detained at the ICE facility in Seattle. The lawyers of Maximo Londonio have requested an expedited hearing for his case before the immigration court. Londonio was also intercepted at the airport upon returning from a vacation in the Philippines on May 14. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Union condemned the isolation of Londonio, who is a lead union member. They claim Londonio was being targeted after becoming vocal about the allegedly inhumane conditions inside the detention facilities. —KG, GMA Integrated News
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Northwest Illinois man connected to CPD officer's shooting death appears in court
CHICAGO (WGN) — The man charged in the death of Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera appeared before a Cook County judge on Thursday. During a brief appearance in Cook County Criminal Court, 25-year-old Adrian Rucker's public defender got permission from the judge to move Thursday's status hearing for his client to Friday. Post-hearing, the mother and aunt of Rucker told WGN News that they still have questions for investigators concerning the June 5 incident on the city's South Side. 'We're waiting for bodycam footage,' Monique Reed, Rucker's aunt, said. Authorities said the deadly shooting unfolded shortly before 10 p.m. as CPD officers pursued Rucker, who allegedly fled from a nearby investigatory stop at an apartment near E. 82nd St. and S. Drexel Avenue. According to CPD, Rivera and another police officer chased an armed Rucker into a unit. Prosecutors say Rucker fled down a hallway and bodycam video captures the suspect pointing an AR pistol, but not firing it. 'Young, vibrant and a hard worker': CPD officer dies in South Side shooting Fallen CPD officer remembered for courage and compassion by loved ones and colleagues 'He never had a rifle,' Reed said. 'Never had a gun. No gun was found on him.' While 36-year-old Officer Rivera chased the initial suspect, the officer with her accidentally fired his weapon, striking and killing the four-year veteran of Chicago police. 'My condolences to her family, but my nephew is not responsible for her death,' Reed said. Along with serving as part of the Sixth District's tactical team, those who knew Officer Rivera remembered her as a loving mom who was known for her courage and compassion. Inside the unit on Drexel, investigators say they found three guns, suspected narcotics, and multiple fake IDs with Rucker's picture. The 25-year-old of Freeport —a town west of Rockford— faces multiple felonies, including armed violence, illegal possession of a firearm, and illegal drug possession. Monique Reed says her nephew doesn't live in the apartment where the shooting occurred. 'I feel like he's being railroaded right now,' she said. 'We have his side of the story.' Court documents say the armed suspect Officer Rivera and the other officer were chasing last Thursday got away. WGN News reached out to Chicago police to learn if the department is continuing its search, but has not yet heard back. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Funeral arrangements for Officer Rivera are pending. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
Gun used in Hazleton homicide was collateral for loans
Jun. 11—WILKES-BARRE — The firearm used in the December 2020 fatal shooting of Ashokkumar Patel was never recovered, and prosecutors conveyed to a Luzerne County jury Wednesday how they believe homicide suspect Jafet De Jesus Rodriguez managed to obtain the weapon. Angel Luis Rivera, deemed a material witness, told the jury he obtained a Glock firearm as collateral for a loan he gave to another man. Rivera then told the jury he was in need of cash and gave the Glock to Rodriguez, 44, as collateral in October 2020, about two months before Patel was killed during a robbery at Craig's Food Mart on West Broad Street, Hazleton, on Dec. 12, 2020. Rivera called himself a friend of Rodriguez, whom he also worked for at Rodriguez's car wash and auto-detailing garage on East Diamond Avenue in Hazleton. Hesitant to testify at times when questioned by Luzerne County specially assigned Assistant District Attorney Drew McLaughlin, Rivera explained he loaned another man money and took the Glock firearm as collateral. Sometime in October 2020, Rivera said he needed money to pay rent and used the Glock as collateral for cash given to him by Rodriguez. Rivera further said he gave the gun case to Rodriguez's then-girlfriend. On cross-examination, Rodriguez's co-defense lawyer, Joseph F. Sklarosky Sr., reviewed a transcript of Rivera's interview with Hazleton City police detectives after Patel was fatally shot, indicating many inconsistencies between Rivera's direct testimony and his interview with detectives. During the interview, Rivera talked about a Beretta handgun being used as collateral for money loans but Sklarosky Sr. pointed out from the transcript that a detective corrected Rivera the firearm was a Glock. At one point, Sklarosky Sr., who is co-defending Rodriguez with Attorney Michael A. Sklarosky, asked Rivera: "Didn't you rob Craig's market and kill Mr. Patel?" Sklarosky Sr. asked, resulting in an immediate objection by McLaughlin, which was sustained by Judge Michael T. Vough. Sklarosky Sr. further got Rivera to admit he fled the Hazleton area after Patel was killed only to be found in Philadelphia, resulting in a material witness declaration by Vough in August 2024. McLaughlin and Assistant District Attorney Gerry Scott introduced a transcript from a jailhouse phone call between Rodriguez and a woman where Rodriguez discussed a stove. Detectives in court records and previous testimony say they found a red sweatshirt, gloves and a face mask in a garbage bag hidden inside a stove at Rodriguez's car wash and auto-detailing garage. Surveillance video of the fatal shooting, which was shown to the jury Tuesday, showed the gunman wore a red sweatshirt and concealed his face and head with a face mask and hood of the sweatshirt. McLaughlin told the jury during his opening statement that Patel's blood was found on the sweatshirt. To counter the blood on the sweatshirt, Michael Sklarosky during his opening statement told the jury Rodriguez's DNA was not found on the sweatshirt, gloves and face mask found in the stove. Rodriguez is facing trial on an open count of criminal homicide, robbery and theft. Testimony continues Wednesday afternoon. Featured Local Savings Featured Local Savings
Miami Herald
11-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
‘I almost lost my family in one day.' Survivor recounts horror of boat explosion
Cassandra Rivera remembers every detail of the Memorial Day boat ride that led her and her two young sons to be hospitalized with severe burns after the boat burst into flames. 'I was giving my little one, Kash, water, and he looked at me and said 'Mommy, I think something bad is going to happen,'' she said. 'All I could hear on the other side [of the boat] was my husband screaming 'I smell fuel, I smell fuel. Please stop!' A few moments later, the 39-foot Sea Ray exploded in the Intracoastal Waterway off Fort Lauderdale, sending 11 of the 15 passengers on board to the hospital. The boat's operator, 29-year-old Joshua Fifi, died in the hospital days later. Rivera's two sons — 5 year-old Kash and 7-year-old Anthony — were badly burned. Kash has burns on 40% of his body while Anthony has 80%. Rivera sustained burns to roughly 20% of her body. On Wednesday, two weeks after the tragedy, she spoke up about the boat explosion at a press conference at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where she and her children have been treated. 'I can't thank them enough. I mean, Jackson saved our lives,' she said. Kash is progressing smoothly in his recovery, with Rivera mentioning he has bouts of delirium due to his young age and trauma left from the explosion. He is expected to be discharged within the next two weeks. Anthony, while conscious and alert, remains intubated. For burns as severe as his, surgeons perform skin transplant surgeries, among other procedures. 'But sometimes the skin is damaged to the point of not being able to heal itself, and then we have to do skin grafting, which is basically a transplant,' said Jackson burn care expert and trauma surgeon Dr. Carl Schulman. 'In extremely, extremely serious cases, there are companies and labs that grow thin layers of skin cells . . . We use those in some of the more severe cases.' Rivera has been discharged from her week-and-a-half stay at Ryder's intensive care unit, and her burns, covering her shoulders, hands, thighs and toes, are healing steadily. She and her husband, Antonio Rivera, who sustained minor burns in the boat explosion, spend most of their days at their sons' bedsides at Ryder. 'I sleep on a cot beside my son's bed. If he needs anything, I get up,' said the mother. 'I'm glad I'm going through [rehab] before my boys are . . . I can relate to them, and I know exactly how they're feeling, so I can comfort them a little bit more.' Rivera said she and her husband knew the owner of the boat, who had invited them to on the excursion. She didn't name the boat's owner. 'It was a private boat. We knew the owner of the boat, and we thought when we were going out, it was just going to be us, the owner and the captain of the boat,' she said. 'The captain of the boat invited all his friends, so all the other victims and burn survivors are not our friends. We met them that day.' Gas vapors likely cause of explosion: Fire Rescue Fort Lauderdale fire officials say fuel vapors in the engine compartment of the inboard-engine boat were the likely culprit of the fire. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the state police agency investigating the blast, said the explosion happened when Fifi started the port, or left, engine around 5:45 p.m. that day. The incident remains under investigation, according to the FWC. The Rivera family says they are exploring their legal options as they wait for more information from the agency. Unfortunately, cases like Rivera's are the extreme end of a larger string of boat fires in South Florida. The Sea Ray was the second boat to go up in flames in Fort Lauderdale that week. A 30-foot boat caught fire just off the beach in Fort Lauderdale two days later, on May 28. There was one person on board, who jumped off the vessel and swam to shore before paramedics took him to the hospital to be treated for injuries. Also on Memorial Day, a 48-foot fishing yacht caught fire off Jupiter Inlet. The cause of that fire remains under investigation. And, last Friday, six boats, including a 90-foot vessel, burned up at a Sunny Isles Beach condominium dock. No one was injured in the fire, which was triggered by one boat going up in flames and spreading to five other boats. Boat fires this year Florida averages about 35 boat fires every year, according to data released by the FWC. So far this year, there have been six boat fires in Fort Lauderdale, according to the city's Fire Rescue Department. Last year, there were 15 boat fires in Fort Lauderdale, up from four in 2021, with 11 each in 2022 and 2023, the department said. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue released data to the Herald this week showing it has responded to 11 vessel fires so far this year. Last year, there were 32 boat fires, compared to 27 the year before, and 26 each in 2022 and 2021, according to the department. 'You never know what's going to happen. I didn't expect to get on a boat, after boating my whole entire life, and for it to just explode on me,' said Rivera. She said that while she doesn't plan on boycotting boats anytime soon, it's important to practice safe boating habits to prevent 'fluke accidents' like hers. She also reflected on how her near-death experience has changed her views on the importance of life's moments. 'I almost lost my whole family in one day. It opens up your eyes, and you just have to realize each day is granted to you.'
