In Other News

State

A new scam has been targeting Virginia drivers who use tolls, costing individuals thousands of dollars. According to WRIC, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has found that since early March, there have been over 2,000 complaints of a scam centered around toll roads. The Virginia Department of Transportation has issued a warning about this “unpaid toll” text scam.

According to the FBI, a con artist has been sending texts pretending to be from a toll collection service, then having confused citizens make a “payment” to them. Usually very similar in wording, the text appears as: “(State Toll Service Name): We’ve noticed an outstanding toll amount of $12.51 on your record. To avoid a late fee of $50.00, visit (website address) to settle your balance.”

According to WSLS, the text message impersonates the toll facility’s name, usually from E-ZPass Virginia.

Individuals can avoid these texts by checking accounts online to see if there is a toll fee.

Anyone who receives a scam text such as this can report it to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center to help them get to the bottom of it.

National

The U.S. Senate passed a $95 billion package with bipartisan support to send aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan Tuesday, April 23. The final vote passed overwhelmingly 79-18. Next the bill will be passed on to President Joe Biden to sign into law.

According to CNN, this package sends $61 billion in aid for Ukraine, over $26 billion to Israel and more than $8 billion to Taiwan to support their defense and response efforts.

The bill increases sanctions on Russian assets that could also be the steps for a ban on TikTok in the U.S. This bill would give the Chinese parent company ByteDance around nine months to sell the app before it will be banned.

“I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week,” Biden said.

According to AP News, Biden requested this money last summer but was met with opposition mainly from Republicans. Now, the involvement of Israel and the addition of a potential TikTok ban has allowed this package to go through.

International

Five military horses were spooked by noise from a building site in London near Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. Throwing off four riders and running through central London streets, these horses were conducting an exercise for an upcoming military parade. Part of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the ceremonial guard of the British Monarch, these horses are exercised every morning in the city.

According to Boston.com, five of the seven horses in the training ran off. The horses ran into vehicles and startled commuters in the London mid-morning.

The horses were seen by witnesses crashing into a taxi outside the Clermont Hotel, running into a tour bus and smashing windows around the city. 

The London Ambulance Service said that four people were treated in the span of 10 minutes after the horses got loose around 8:30 a.m.

According to ABC News, two of the horses were operated on due to their injuries. The horses are expected to make a full recovery.

Bessire is a staff writer for the Liberty Champion