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A Popular Mom Fashion Blogger Is Missing

UPDATE: Sadly, a body police found floating in the lake is that of Vatsla Watkins missing in March. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends and those who knew her. The Blogging community will miss her art and work too. RIP

A popular Charlotte, North Carolina Mom blogger is missing.

Police recently found the abandoned 2004 Mercedes-Benz belonging to 39-year old Vatsla Watkins, a mom of two who runs a popular blog, Fashion Behind the Seams and its accompanying Instagram page where she shares images of her originals and recreations that she and her daughter model.

Vatsla was last seen on March 18 and her family reported her missing around 1pm on March 19, according to WCNC.

Her car was found near a marina on Lake Wylie. She is also the wife of former Mecklenburg County GOP chair Curtis Watkins.

Watkins is not only a mother to two young children, but an adored Charlotte fashion designer.

Her how-to videos and fashion blog, Fashion Behind the Seams, are followed by thousands. Watkins often posted happy pictures of her and family, including many of her and her daughter in handmade matching outfits.

Officials have not revealed a lot of information or announced if they suspected foul play but were canvassing the area and marina.

Anyone who has seen Watkins or knows anything about here whereabouts should call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.

Forgotten: 4 Percent of Imprisoned Women in US are Pregnant



MAE RYAN/KPCC

For the first time recently, effort was made to count the number of women who are pregnant when they enter prison.

A new study released last Thursday states that about 4 percent of women incarcerated in state prisons across the U.S. were pregnant when they were jailed.

And sadly because this population and women’s needs, in general, are not always given a high priority, there had been little data on women’s health and no system for tracking how frequently incarcerated women were pregnant, or what happened to the pregnancies.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics, for example, collects data on deaths in custody but not on births and this is true despite the fact that the number of imprisoned women has risen dramatically over the past decades, growing even as the overall prison rates decline.

That changed recently when Dr. Carolyn Sufrin of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and her team attempted to fill the void by collecting data from 22 state prison systems and 26 federal prisons during a yearlong period in 2016 and 2017.

They released the results in the American Journal of Public Health .

“The fact that nobody had collected this data before signals just how much this population is neglected,” Sufrin said.

This comes at the helm of controversy with Maine lawmaker State Rep Richard Pickett (R) calling a bill to provide free pads and tampons to imprisoned women make jail like “a country club”.

The audacity of someone who has never experience menstruation to consider such products a luxury akin to what one would experience in a rich country club is more than absurd!

h/t San Francisco Chronicle

How to Protect Yourself From Tax Season Scams

With tax day just two months away, it is cybercriminals’ favorite time of the year.

‘Tis the season for online scams with phishing emails and fraudulent phone calls at the top of the list.  

In 2018, the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) noted an astonishing 60 percent increase in bogus email schemes that seek to steal money or tax data. Cybercriminals will try to get you to do something so they can rob your personal information. Beware of unsolicited emails, text messages, social media posts or fake websites that prompt you to click on a link or to share valuable personal and financial information.

Armed with this information, online thieves can swindle funds and/or commit identity theft. Unfamiliar links or attachments can also contain malware ‒viruses, spyware and other unwanted software that is installed on your computer or mobile device without your consent.

Malware is intentionally designed to wreak havoc on and infect your computer files in a variety of ways.  

In addition, unscrupulous callers claiming to be IRS employees ‒ using fake names and phony ID numbers – may ring you and insist that you owe money and that it must be paid as soon as possible through a gift card or wire service. If the call is not picked up, the scammers often leave an emergency callback request message.

In reality, the IRS rarely calls taxpayers and initiates almost all contact via the U.S. Postal Service.  

The IRS includes a “Dirty Dozen” recap of scams on its website, including the top two ploys listed above and others like tax preparer fraud, fake charities and inflated refund claims.

Protect Against Fraudster Tricks with The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) s “Take Action Tips”  

  • When in doubt, throw it out:  Criminals can get access to your personal information by tricking you into downloading attachments or clicking on links in email. If an email seems suspicious, even if you know the source, it’s best to delete.
  • Lock down your login: Thwart thieves by enabling the strongest authentication tools available, often called multi-factor or two-factor authentication. Most major email and online tax preparing services have this tool available.
  • Get savvy about Wi-Fi hotspots: Public wireless networks are not secure. If you are filing your taxes online make sure you are doing it on a secure and personal network.
  • Think before you act: Be leery of communications that implore you to act immediately – especially if you are told you owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly.
  • Ask if your tax preparation service has checked for malware issues and if your tax preparer’s business is cybersecure. Businesses of all sizes are susceptible to cyber thieves so it is critical they have a strong cybersecurity posture by following these NCSA-recommended steps.



“With tax filing in full swing, cyber crooks are doing everything they can to take full advantage of the opportunity,” said Kelvin Coleman, NCSA’s executive director. “Tax time is a haven for hackers, who are masters of manipulation.

With the tremendous inventory of personal and financial shared online, it’s essential to remember that Personal Information Is Like Money. Value It. Protect It.

 Following good cybersecurity practices during tax season and throughout the year allows everyone to reap the benefits of connectivity with increased confidence.” 

After New Zealand Mosque Attacks, Muslim Advocates Call for Action



Although I try to remain apolitical in this blog, my dad and many members of my family here and abroad are Muslims and I feel compelled to condemn the terrorits’ attack on Mosques in New Zealand yesterday ( and all religious attacks before today worldwide)

Those of us who have forums and platforms to reach wide audiences have a duty to advocate for love, peace and understanding at times.

My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and I wish comfort and solace to the families of the deceased and injured.

Also, here is a statement from Muslim Advocates Executive Director  Farhana Kheraon the deadly mass shootings at two mosques in New Zealand:

“A house of worship is a sacred place for people of all faiths. It is an unspeakable tragedy to see two mosques be so horrifically violated. In the wake of this heartbreaking, anti-Muslim mass slaughter, it is clear that more needs to be done to protect Muslims and all vulnerable communities from the very real dangers posed by hate and white nationalists. Thoughts and prayers are simply an inadequate response to this horrific attack. It is time for President Trump, elected officials, law enforcement and tech companies to act.

  • It is not enough for President Trump to merely send thoughts and prayers. The President called neo-nazis and white nationalists ‘very fine people.’ This hate-filled murderer drew inspiration from Trump, and the white nationalist movement has celebrated Trump’s words and policies. The President needs to immediately and unequivocally condemn and disavow this attacker and the white nationalist movement.  
  • Elected officials and law enforcement must do more to protect our community and all Americans from the white nationalist threat by calling on FBI Director Christopher Wray to prioritize the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of right-wing, white nationalist violence—the most significant threat to public safety in our nation today.
  • Social media platforms and tech companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google need to do much more to detect and shut down online hate content. The New Zealand shooter was able to livestream a 17-minute video of his murderous rampage that continues to spread like wildfire online. This is flatly unacceptable. Tech companies must take all steps possible to prevent something like this from happening again.  Further, hate groups have long used platforms like Facebook to organize, spread their violent messages and build their membership online. Facebook needs to do more to remove these hate groups before they inspire even more harm.

With historic levels of hate crimes motivated by anti-Muslim bigotry in recent years here in the U.S., American Muslims have sadly been through so much. I am so proud of our resilience and strength. We will not allow this attack or this hate movement to prevent us from going about our daily lives, including attending our houses of worship and engaging with our communities. Together, with allied Americans of faith and goodwill, we will persevere and we will defeat hate.”

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination.

Celeb Moms Busted In Major College Admissions Entrance Conspiracy

I was just in the middle of assembling a mega post and feature for the blogon the “college entrance game” from pre school and beyond, when news breaks about a FBI and IRS bust of 33 people involved in a cheating conspiracy involving a Bellyitch frequent red carpet fave actress Felicity Huffman and Full House alum Lori Loughlin who is married to fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli.

All of them were among a list of 13 people arrested by the FBI for their alleged involvement in “Operation Varsity Blues,” according to FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller.

The alleged college admissions cheating scam involved payments of up $1M to a facilitator, who created a bogus charity to funnel the bribe payments through and who garnered select athletic admission slots for children who didn’t even play the sport and committed other acts to guarantee admissions for the children of wealthy parents to get into elite colleges and universities including Yale, Georgetown, the University of Southern California and Stanford.

“Dozens of individuals involved in a nationwide conspiracy that facilitated cheating on college entrance exams and the admission of students to elite universities as purported athletic recruits were arrested by federal agents in multiple states and charged in documents unsealed on March 12, 2019, in federal court in Boston,” the FBi stated in a release says.

Athletic coaches from Yale, Stanford, USC, Wake Forest and Georgetown, among others, are implicated, as well as parents and exam administrators, the release says.

The schools involved are extremely competitive: or first-time, full-time undergraduates, only 5 percent of applicants get into Stanford, 17 percent get into Georgetown, and 18 percent get into the University of Southern California, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

A Stanford sailing coach was arrested. Federal authorities intercepted telephone calls to confirm the conspiracy .

Huffman and Giannulli were arrested at their homes. The FBI served a warrant for actress Lori Loughlin but she was not home at the time.

All 13 defendants will appear in federal court in downtown Los Angeles after 5 p.m. ET today, CNN reports. 

Viral: Boy Adorable Chat With Dad Via Doorbell Cam

A little boy couldn’t find the channel for his favorite television show, his mom was across the street at the neighbor’s house so he did the next best thing: he asked his dad…via the doorbell camera.

In the viral video, the adorable young boy butters up his dad with “I love yous” and made kisses bourse at the camera before his big ask: ” How do you turn on the kids’ channel?”

So cute!!

After dad tells him he isn’t supposed to be home alone, the kid explains the deal that his mom let him jut home to watch TV instead of hang out with the boring neighbor.

Satisfied, dad tells him to turn to channel 25.

It’s so adorable when his son says,

“I don’t know what 25 looks like!”

Find out what happens next.

The video was provided by Ring.com which gave permission to various networks to repost it and upload it onto social media.

The video has been watched over 360,000 times. The posting on Facebook has also garnered over 3,000 likes and 7,000+ shares. 

Barbie’s Newest Dolls Have A Wheelchair and Prosthetic Arm

Barbie dolls are available with various skin tones, body types, eye colors and hair styles.

Now, for the first time, the toy store staple will feature dolls with disabilities.

Toymaker Mattel said it will introduce a Barbie doll that uses a wheelchair and another with a prosthetic leg.

“For 60 years, Barbie has been a reflection of culture and fashion and that is key to the brand’s continued relevance,” said Kim Culmone, Mattel’s global head of design for Barbie. “This year our Barbie line will include dolls reflecting physical disabilities in order to better represent the people and the world kids see around them. Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is a critical component of our design process and we are proud that today’s kids will know a different image and experience of the brand.”

The wheelchair was one of the most requested features from consumers, Mattel said.

The company worked with experts at UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital and elsewhere to design a wheelchair modeled after those used by individuals with permanent physical disabilities.

What’s more, 12-year-old Jordan Reeves who has a prosthetic arm helped designers understand why Barbie’s prosthetic leg needed to be removable to make for a more realistic experience.

The new offerings are part of Barbie’s Fashionistas line. The collection was expanded in 2016 to include dolls with four different body types — original, tall, curvy and petite — as well as seven skin tones, 22 eye colors and 24 hairstyles.

continue reading

Holly, Laura, Ben, Ethan: List of Naughtiest Kids’ Names Released

If you’re already a parent to an Ella or a Joseph — this probably won’t be fresh news for you.

According to a new study from School Stickers, they’re the monikers that top the list for boys and girls.

To discover who the cheekiest children are, researchers examined rewards given to 63,000 kids for their behaviour in class, Mother and Baby reported.

The results were a list of the top ten names of little ones who are worst behaved — and also the nicest.

The naughtiest girl was found to be called Ella, followed by Bethany, Eleanor, Olivia and then Laura.

Holly, Courtney, Amber, Caitlin and Jade came just after.

In the boys’ naughty corner, Joseph took home the crown, followed by Cameron, William, Jake and Joshua.

The names Jamie, Lewis, Benjamin, Ethan and Luke also made the list.

continue reading

America’s Fave RomCom by State

Valentine’s Day is next week and to commemorate the impending Holiday, which is somewhat scrutinized by singles as a Hallmark holiday, the analysts at CableTV.com created a national report revealing each state’s favorite romantic comedy film.

Report highlights include: 

  • Over one in every four states chooses Pretty in Pink as their rom-com top choice! All hail, John Hughes.
  • Everyone likes a movie that hails from their hometown: every one in seven states most enjoys movies filmed in their state the most.
  • We found predictable patterns of viewing behavior — clusters of romantic comedies dominate certain areas of the country.
  • Some popular favorites by state enforce regional clichés that are just too good to pass up commenting on:
    • Maine, which has the oldest median age in the United States, goes old school with It Happened One Night.

    • Oregon keeps it weird with Amélie, a quirky French film about an off-beat romance.

    • South Dakota, which rates in the top five highest birth rates in the U.S., gets Knocked Up a little more often.

To determine each state’s favorite romantic comedy film, the Cable TV analyst team used a Google-generated list of top rom-coms and ran them through Google Trends to find out which movies see the most love from state to state.

Check out the complete report here: https://www.cabletv.com/blog/states-favorite-romcom-movie-map/

Is Jamaican Heritage the Key To 2-Race Fraternal Twins Phenomenon?

Over the years, there have been viral articles floating around about fraternal twins born with different races from the same parents and I think I might have cracked a code of a common denominator on this phenomenon.

These types of twins are dizygotic, which is just the scientific term for fraternal twins.

Each starts out as a separate fertilized egg (monozygotic, or identical twins, start off from the same egg and then divide). They inherit different sets of genes from their mother and from their father.

This rare event happens often when the black parent is of Jamaican heritage, I believe.

For example, Lucy and Maria Aylmer (above), two twins from

Gloucester, U.K are very different. Lucy has fair skin and straight red hair while her sister has dark, curly hair and darker skin. Their dad Vince is Caucasian and their mom Donna is half-Jamaican.

Here is a photo of the girls when they were younger (above) and with entire family back then (below, then and now)

Another example:

In 2011, The Guardian newspaper did a feature on a set of then teen fraternal twin boys, James and Daniel Kelly of south east London. James, on the left, is black, gay, gregarious and studios, the news site wrote, while Daniel, on the right, is straight, white and doesn’t like school and didn’t advance past high school.

The boys were born on March 27, 1993, the sons of Alyson and Errol Kelly, a Jamaican Brit. (see a pattern!?)

In 2018, the National Geographic cover photo of its Race Issue featured a pair of black and white fraternal twin sisters from the United Kingdom, Marcia and Millie Biggs as a catalyst for readers to rethink what they know about race.

The girls dad Michael Biggs is of Jamaican descent while mom Amanda is Caucasian. The family are from Birmingham, England.

Now, one could conclude the fact that a lot of people of Caribbean heritage live in the UK so it may not be that far of a stretch but still…

And…. while these incidents are quite rare, they are not unique to the Brit-Jamaican combinations of parentage.

In 2015, Dean Durrant and Alison Spooner of Michigan welcomed their second set of twins, Leah and Miya. Like these girls, their older sisters Hayleigh and Layren, born in 2001, also had two different looks. One had dark skin and dark eyes and the other light skin and eyes.

Talk about odds of this happening twice!?!

About a year later, also in America, on April 23, 2016, Quincy, Illinois native Whitney Meyer and her boyfriend Tomas Dean welcomed twins Kalani and Jarani to the world who took the Internet by storm because the babies appeared to have two different races.

The author of a Guardian piece about James and Dean Kelly spoke to a geneticist who did a great job explaining the phenomenon and that’s where I picked the Jamaican-heritage common denominator among the British twins.

According to Dr Jim Wilson, population geneticist at Edinburgh University:

“It wouldn’t really be possible for a black African father and a white mother to have a white child, because the African would carry only black skin gene variants in his DNA, so wouldn’t have any European DNA, with white skin variants, to pass on,” he explains.

“But most Caribbean people, though black-skinned, have European DNA because in the days of slavery, many plantation owners raped female slaves, and so introduced European DNA into the black gene pool.

“The thing about skin colour is that even a bit of African DNA tends to make a person’s skin colour black – so to be white, the child must have inherited more of the father’s European DNA with its white skin variants. Added to the mother’s European DNA, this led to a child with white skin – while his brother, who is black-skinned, inherited more of his father’s African DNA.

“The Caribbean father will have less European DNA than African DNA, so it’s more likely he’ll pass on African DNA – but rarely, and I’ve worked it out to be around one in 500 sets of twins where there’s a couple of this genetic mix, the father will pass on a lot of European DNA to one child and mostly African DNA to the other. The result will be one white child and one black.”

There you have it! Explains a lot!

 

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