SnapChat

A Kentucky man has been charged with physically abusing a toddler and posting a video of the abuse on Snapchat. Benjamin J. Franklin, 23, faces charges of criminal abuse of a child under 12 and strangulation. Arraignment is scheduled for October 19, according to WAVE. According to Franklin’s arrest report, the 2-year-old’s mother told investigators a number of people called her at work telling her Franklin had posted a video to his Snapchat account that showed him holding the boy by the neck and then slamming him onto the bed. She took the child to Carroll County Memorial Hospital and then called the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department about the abuse. In the report, the deputy wrote that the boy had “obviously visible injuries to his face and to his neck,” WDRB said. Investigators located Franklin and arrested him. He reportedly admitted to striking the boy in the face, holding him by the neck, and throwing him onto the bed. He also admitted that he recorded the abuse. Franklin is currently being held on $5,000 cash bond with a no contact order in place for the toddler, his mother, and their home, WAVE reported. The sheriff’s department didn’t say what the…

Snapchat continues to expand the potential and practical value of AR, this time via a collaboration with The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on a new AR CPR overview, which will help guide people through key lessons in life-saving CPR techniques. As you can see in this example, the new AR experience provides an overview of how to administer CPR, along with quiz elements and other details to help educate people on the process. As explained by Snap: “This new educational AR experience will let you learn about CPR and takes you through a true-to-life example where you can walk around the people performing the techniques and answer quizzes to test your knowledge. You can even participate in interactive games to understand the rhythm of how to perform chest compressions.” The initiative is being launched to mark World Restart a Heart Day (10/16), which aims to raise awareness and education of CPR and Automatic External Defibrillators (AEDs) in the community. According to research 7 out of 10 cardiac arrests happen in front of bystanders, yet fewer than 20% of people end up providing what could potentially be life-saving first aid.  This new AR experience looks…

The new Lens is launching ahead of World Restart a Heart Day on Sunday 16 October Snapchat has partnered with the Australian Red Cross and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent to launch a new augmented reality (AR) experience that demonstrates the basic steps of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).The launch of the AR lens teaches people around the globe how to do CPR ahead of World Restart a Heart Day.The new Lens uses Snap’s leading AR technology to go beyond reading about the techniques and showing them in a true-to-life example how to perform the procedures, which can be lifesaving. Snapchat noted data from the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation that found that seven out of ten cardiac arrests happen in front of bystanders. However, fewer than 20% of people end up providing first aid.The platform said that the new educational AR experience would allow users to learn about CPR and takes them through a true-to-life example where they can walk around the people performing the techniques and answer quizzes to test your knowledge.Snapchat users can even participate in interactive games to understand the rhythm of how to perform chest compressions.The new Lens is launching ahead of World…

SynopsisNewcastle Coroner's Court was informed that Jeni Larmour ingested a fatal combination of alcohol and the tranquilizer ketamine while sharing a flat with Kavir Kalliecharan. However, she was not forced to do so.AgenciesA high-achieving student took a deadly amount of ketamine just before a Snapchat video was made. According to the little video, Jeni Larmour was not forced to take medicine. In October 2020, Jeni Larmour, aged 18, from Newtonhamilton, Northern Ireland, passed away just hours after enrolling at Newcastle University. With her new roommate Kavir Kalliecharan, she sniffed ketamine, a tranquilizer, before ingesting a fatal combination of the two, Newcastle Coroner's Court heard. Kavir Kalliecharan, a 20-year-old Leeds resident who told police the ketamine was Jeni Larmour's, was not prosecuted for supplying it. He maintained the ketamine was not his when specialised search officers with police dogs searched the Park View Halls' apartment. The officers discovered ketamine, cannabis, and MDMA in his room. On her phone, Jeni Larmour recorded a Snapchat video of herself in Mr. Kalliecharan's bedroom with white powder on a table. The video was not aired in the court, but witnesses have seen it. Kavir Kalliecharan said on Tuesday that the substance made him extremely ill,…

DELTA TWP. – Waverly High School went into lockdown Wednesday, and students were escorted out of their classrooms and sent home because students received threats of violence on their phones.According to a Waverly Community Schools Facebook post published at 11:22 a.m., Waverly High School was placed in lockdown as deputies from the Eaton County Sheriff’s Office and school administrators completed a threat assessment.Deputies continue investigating to identify the person who used the Air Drop feature on an iPhone to send a message to several students "advising a threat of active violence," according to a sheriff's office press release. Students who received the message alerted a staff member and the school went into lockdown while the threat was investigated.Superintendent Kelly Blake, at about 12:30 p.m., said buses would begin arriving to take students home “out of an abundance of caution.” Students were to be escorted out by classroom. Parents were able to pick up their children at the south end of the high school.Deputies remained at the school during the dismissal and escorted students to their vehicles, according to the press release. Blake said authorities searched the school and did not find weapons or other items of concern.Students at Waverly High…

EAST LANSING − Officials said they believe a student at MacDonald Middle School made social media threats that prompted them to close the school on Tuesday.In a Tuesday evening letter to parents, East Lansing schools Superintendent Dori Leyko said a Snapchat account used to disseminate the threats has been linked to a student's email address."The individual is a MMS student who posed on Snapchat as a father seeking retaliation on students who bullied his son," Leyko said in the email. "Based on the information we have, we believe this story to be (fabricated) by the student and that no such situation existed."The threats of violence were "shared widely" among students on Monday night, generating tips, she wrote.The student believed to have communicated the threats will not be at the school for "an undetermined amount of time," and the middle school will be open on Wednesday, she said."We take all threats to our school community very seriously and recognize the stress, fear and anxiety experienced by many of our students, staff and families as a result of this situation," Leyko said in the letter. "Counselors and social workers will be available at school for students who would like to access support."Earlier Tuesday,…

Snapchat is rolling out a new AR experience that lets you try on and purchase Halloween costumes directly within its app, the company announced today. Starting today, Snapchat users can try on and buy costumes of popular movie and TV characters from “Stranger Things,” the “Harry Potter” series, “Squid Game,” “Minecraft,” “Ghostbusters” and more. The new AR experience is launching in partnership with costume company Disguise. You can try out the new experience by typing “Disguise costumes” in the app’s search bar to browse through Snap’s Halloween costumes. Or, you can search for specific costumes by searching for specific movies or TV shows, such as “Squid Game” or “Stranger Things,” through the Lens Explorer. Then, you’ll need to take a few full-body photos in whatever you’re wearing, and Snap’s AR technology will then apply the costume onto your photo. You can then save the picture or send it to your friends. If you like the costume, you can purchase it directly within the app. Purchases will be made through Disguise Costumes. Image Credits: Snap The launch comes as Snap recently expanded its investment in AR shopping with the introduction of tools that turn retailers’ photos into 3D assets and the launch…

A lawsuit filed in San Francisco on Tuesday accuses online gaming firm Roblox Corp RBLX.N of enabling a California girl’s sexual and financial exploitation by adult men. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, also targets online chat company Discord Inc., Snapchat parent Snap Inc. and Instagram parent Meta Platforms Inc., Snap and Meta are already facing dozens of similar lawsuits. Meta declined to comment. Roblox and Snap could not immediately be reached. A Discord spokesperson said the company has a “zero-tolerance policy for anyone who endangers or sexualizes children” but declined to comment directly on the lawsuit. According to the lawsuit, which was seen by Reuters, the girl, S.U., was born in 2009 and began using Roblox when she was nine or ten years old. Roblox is popular with children under 13 but also has adult users. Starting in early 2020, S.U. came into contact with adult men through Roblox, who encouraged her to sign up for Discord, Snapchat and Instagram to communicate with them, according to the lawsuit. None of the companies required parental consent, and Discord did not verify S.U.’s age even though it said it did not allow users under 13 years old, the lawsuit…

Published October 10, 2022 3:02PM Updated 3:03PM article Photo collage: (Left) Photo illustration by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images. (Right) Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images (Getty Images) SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A California man is in trouble for reportedly using Snapchat to sell "ghost guns." Andrew Jace Larrabure-Tuma, 20, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to using the social media platform to sell guns that he bought kits for online, also known as "ghost gun kits". He bought them "from a company called Polymer80, a licensed firearms manufacturer in Nevada, and manufactured his own firearms and then sold the guns he had manufactured," read a news release from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). He was caught when he sold guns to undercover officers and a "confidential informant." Larrabure-Tuma isn't legally allowed to buy guns in California, ATF said. "A search warrant was executed at Larrabure-Tuma’s residence in Sacramento and law enforcement officers found what appeared to be a firearm manufacturing operation, including partially complete firearms, firearm kits from Polymer80, firearm parts, tools for manufacturing and finishing firearms, firearm accessories, completed firearms, and ammunition," the news release read. He will be sentenced just…

Snapchat has launched new in-app initiatives to foster the mental health and wellbeing of the Australian Snapchat community, particularly its younger users, as part of today’s World Mental Health Day.Over 7 million Australians use Snapchat everyday, including 90% of young people aged 13-24.Snap has pledged to make the health and wellbeing of its community a top priority: “With young Aussies increasingly struggling with their mental health, Snap has a responsibility and meaningful opportunity to support Snapchatters by maintaining a safe space for them to communicate with their friends and giving them access to vital resources.”This World Mental Health Day, Snapchat is launching a suite of new bullying prevention and mental health campaigns and resources across the globe, including here in Australia. An in-app campaign with PROJECT ROCKIT, helping give Snapchatters tactics for responding to bullying with a Lens, Filter and Stickers. You can access the in-app campaign by scanning the Snapcode here or below: New in-app ‘Here for You’ content created with local experts headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation, and ReachOut, covering topics like being a good friend, tackling stress, and maintaining a healthy headspace. ‘Here for You’ was launched in 2020, providing in-app support to Snapchatters who may…