Buffalo blizzard: More stories of strangers helping strangers

The kindness and heroism of strangers was the difference between life and death in Buffalo blizzard.

Divisive influencer Andrew Tate arrested in Romania for sex trafficking.

NATIONAL NEWS

As the snows melt in Buffalo after the worst blizzard in the city’s recorded history, national guard and first responders are continuing to find people who died as a result of the storm. So far, the death count directly related to the storm stands at 39 and may rise higher. That only includes people who died from hypothermia – trapped in the snow, unheated homes or cars – or suffered cardiac events while shoveling or plowing snow. This doesn’t count anyone who died from other medical emergencies who were unable to get help in time because of blocked streets.

Earlier this week, we shared the story of Craig Elston. The Buffalo, NY, barber opened his shop to shelter dozens of strangers during the worst of the storm. Other stories like Elston’s are emerging that make it clear how many more might have died if not for selflessness and heroism of neighbors and strangers.

Couple save elderly disabled man with frostbite

On Christmas Eve, Sha’Kyra Aughtry was at home with her three children and boyfriend Trent. After hearing a faint moaning from outside. they opened the door to investigate. There they found 64-year-old Joe White, who is mentally disabled. It’s not clear how long he’d been out there, but Aughtry said he was weak and some plastic bags he was carrying were frozen to his hands. Trent carried Joe into the house and he and Sha’Kyra cut off his frozen socks and dried his pants with a blow drier. They warmed him up slowly and fed him.

It soon became apparent that Joe was suffering severe frostbite on his hands. Joe remained with Aughtry for the night as she called around trying to get someone to come get Joe the medical attention he needed. On Christmas day, a desperate Aughtry uploaded a video to social media, asking for anyone who could come help. Shortly thereafter, someone arrived with a snow plow. Aughtry rode with Joe to the hospital so he wouldn’t be scared. Joe remains in hospital receiving treatment for his frostbite.

Pastors open church to shelter over 100 people

Al Robinson and Vivian Gallon-Robinson, a husband and wife who are both pastors at Spirit of Truth Urban Ministry in Buffalo, reached out on social media on Christmas Eve to see if anyone needed assistance. The response was overwhelming and the couple began asking for help reaching people who were stranded. They put out another message that was shared over 1,500 times: “Our doors to the church are open to you.”

Using snowmobiles and any other capable vehicles they could find, Al went out with volunteers to pull people from stranded cars or from homes with no heat. Vivian managed things at the church, where they soon had about 127 people taking shelter. Using the food they had in their fridge and the blankets and linens from their house, they made people as comfortable as they could and gave them a warm place to sleep. Many of the people remained in the church for days, with one family still remaining on Thursday.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Divisive influencer Andrew Tate arrested in Romania for sex trafficking

In recent years, former kickboxer Andrew Tate has built a large online following of anti-LGBT and misogynist individuals. At the height of the MeToo movement, Tate tweeted that female rape victims “share responsibility” for their assault. Tate self-describes as a misogynist and has promoted a particular brand of “toxic masculinity”. He’s also become a luxury lifestyle influencer, sharing photos of his expensive muscle cars and private jets. Unfortunately, Tate has had an outsized influence on young males who idolize him as an ultra-masculine role model.

Tate has several homes, one of which is in Romania. Since April, Romanian authorities have been investigating Tate, his brother Tristan and two Romanian nationals for sex trafficking. Yesterday, Tate and his brother Tristan were arrested at their Bucharest home in a police raid. Prosecutors hope to detain the Tates for at least 30 days. This will prevent them from leaving the country while investigators continue building their case.

Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said in a statement that Tate, Tristan and the two Romanians “appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost”.

Rumors are circulating online that Romanian authorities learned that Tate was in the country after Tate posted a video taunting the environmental activist Greta Thunberg, which whom Tate has a running feud. A pizza box visible in the video bore the name of a Romanian chain of pizza shops. However, Romanian authorities haven’t confirmed what tipped them off to Tate’s location.

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