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New York school district installs vape detectors in middle school bathrooms that can also pick up sound

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New York school district installs vape detectors in middle school bathrooms that can also pick up sound

A New York school district has begun installing vape detectors in middle school bathrooms.

The FlySense FS300 vape detectors at Lindenhurst Middle School on Long Island can pick up nicotine and THC, as well as sound to notify officials of fights or bullying.

Two vape detectors have been installed in each of the bathrooms at the middle school. The Town of Babylon paid for the devices using funds from the American Rescue Plan.

“The device not only picks up nicotine in the air, it also picks up on THC and also picks up on aggressive behavior, so students looking to bully and fight in the bathrooms,” Derek Peterson of Soter Technologies, which developed the detectors, told CBS New York.

US SCHOOLS INVEST MILLIONS IN SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY TO COMBAT TEEN VAPING EPIDEMIC

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A New York school district has started installing vape detectors in middle school bathrooms. (iStock)

The detectors can sense air quality and shifts in sound. Peterson said the devices use artificial intelligence algorithms that can differentiate between a door and toilet lid slam from “when somebody is roughhousing in the bathroom.”

But, Peterson said, there are no microphones in the devices.

When anomalies are detected, an email is immediately sent to Principal Frank Naccarato. The students caught vaping will then be connected to professional intervention services.

“There’s still a consequence, but now we’ve added that education piece … They also have to do a component of research based on vapes, how it hurts you,” Naccarato told CBS New York.

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FDA WARNS THAT NICOTINE-LIKE CHEMICALS IN VAPES MAY BE MORE POTENT THAN NICOTINE

The FlySense FS300 vape detectors at Lindenhurst Middle School on Long Island can pick up nicotine and THC. (Getty Images)

Two students have already been caught and connected to professional services since the detectors were installed two weeks ago.

The district considered the idea of adding the detectors to the bathrooms at the suggestion of student Vanessa Probst, 15, who learned from speaking with friends that her classmates were so addicted they would head to the bathroom to vape.

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“I was doing research on it, and I saw the side effects and how you can get popcorn lung, all the severe cancer you can get,” she told CBS New York.

The detectors are expected to soon be installed at Lindenhurst High School, as well as other districts, including Copiague and Wyandanch.

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Boston, MA

Man who allegedly shot at Boston Police officers arrested after foot chase in Dorchester

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Man who allegedly shot at Boston Police officers arrested after foot chase in Dorchester


A 20-year-old Boston man is facing a series of charges after prosecutors say he shot at Boston Police officers during an attempted stop in Dorchester before leading them on a foot chase through neighborhood backyards.

Rasiel Carbuccia was arraigned in Dorchester District Court Thursday on a list of charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon, carrying without a license and possession of a large capacity firearm, stemming from the Wednesday night incident near Devon and Laredo streets.

Opened fire with ghost gun, prosecutors say

According to prosecutors, Boston Police officers attempted to stop Carbuccia when he pulled out a gun and began shooting, striking a Boston police cruiser before fleeing the scene.

Investigators said Carbuccia ran through backyards and hopped fences before he was taken into custody. Officers did not fire their weapons during the encounter.

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Prosecutors said investigators later recovered the firearm along the path where Carbuccia had been running.

“It was determined that the firearm was a ghost gun, and it did not possess a serial number,” Suffolk County prosecutor Jacqueline Martinelli said in court.

Union says “everyone should be outraged”

Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, said the shooting is part of what he believes is a troubling trend of violence this summer and renewed his call for more officers on Boston streets.

“Everybody should be outraged. Bullets flying in the city’s streets at uniformed police officers. How can we possibly convince the general public that they’re safe to walk around their own neighborhoods?” Calderone said.

Rasiel Carbuccia allegedly opened fire on Boston Police officers in Dorchester. 

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CBS Boston


“We have teenagers pulling firearms and stealing mopeds from others in broad daylight. We have shots being fired at police officers in uniform, officers being attacked, people being shot daily that we can’t solve the crimes,” he added.

No one was injured in the shooting, but Calderone said the outcome could have been much worse.

“Thank goodness, neither officer or a pedestrian, an innocent child or somebody in the middle of the evening did not get killed last night. Just as thankful, at least they caught him. They recovered the weapon,” he said.

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After the arraignment, Carbuccia’s attorney declined to discuss the case in detail but indicated mental health issues could become part of the proceedings.

“Ultimately as you guys know this is a process that has to play out and he’s presumed innocent and there’s going to be a number of things that are going to come out in respect to mental health and potentially the investigation, I don’t really have much more to say beyond that,” attorney Bob White told reporters.

According to prosecutors, Carbuccia had two open assault cases and an active warrant at the time of his arrest.

He’s being held in jail without bail and is scheduled to return to court later this month for a dangerousness hearing.

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Pittsburg, PA

Pittsburgh-area family finds large void under garage of house built by Ryan Homes

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Pittsburgh-area family finds large void under garage of house built by Ryan Homes


A Westmoreland County family wants to warn others after they said they found a large void beneath the garage in their house built by Ryan Homes.

“More than anything, we just want folks to know that there is potential that other homes could be built like this and just to be aware,”  said homeowner Nicole Holderfield.

Beneath their seemingly normal front-facing two-car garage in the Altman Farms neighborhood in North Huntingdon is a lot of dead space that the Holderfield family just found out about. They said having a secret room is not as cool as it sounds when you realize the structural integrity of the 30-year-old home is at risk. 

“I hate to say shocking, but it’s not something that we really wanted to be the first one on the street to find out,” Holderfield said.

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Holderfield said there are leftover cinder blocks and even a Lowe’s bucket down there.

A Westmoreland County family wants to warn others after they said they found a large void beneath the garage in their house built by Ryan Homes.

(Photo: KDKA)


“You can actually stand all the way down here on this side, a lot of backfill, and then we did see it was weatherproofed on some of the walls,” Holderfield said.

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This all started because Holderfield wanted to fix the growing number of large cracks popping up across her garage floor. 

“We were starting the cosmetic fix, and our contractor was here. And with a sledgehammer, he wanted to see what he was working with, so he simply pounded down the sledgehammer,” Holderfield said.

The large void directly underneath the garage is not accessible from their finished basement. Only one wall appears to be weatherproofed, so the family believes moisture rusted away the single support column and the steel rebar attempting to carry the weight of the entire two-car garage.

“A couple different companies did stop by, and they were in awe of what they found. Even the North Huntingdon inspector came out, took a look, and it was not something he was familiar with seeing,” said Holderfield.

That inspector encouraged the family to hire a structural engineer. They did, and received a report that concluded the issue was the result of “poor workmanship and faulty construction,” Holderfield said.

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The family’s homeowner’s insurance denied the claim, saying defects from faulty construction are excluded from coverage.

“Knowing that we were parking our cars in here up until we found this problem — we have children and animals, and knowing that a catastrophe could come, I think that’s our biggest concern,” Holderfield said.

That’s why the family called the builder, Ryan Homes, and alerted all of their neighbors with similar builds and floorplans.

“They really just took a look and took pictures. When we did speak to the one gentleman at Ryan Homes, he said this was 30 years ago, there were different laws back then,” Holderfield said.

KDKA Investigates reached out to Ryan Homes for comment to ask if building these dead spaces is still its practice. And if so, should other homeowners who live in Ryan Homes inspect further?

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Ryan Homes said they do not comment on news stories.

In an update on Thursday, the Holderfields told KDKA Ryan Homes reached out and said it’s willing to work with them on this, share the cost of the fix, and manage the project to ensure it is fixed as they would expect.

The family feels that’s a valid attempt to make it right.   

KDKA Investigates talked to a Cranberry homeowner who also lives in a Ryan Home built around the same time. She sent photos showing the wet tire marks where her car drove over and broke through the concrete last year. When the garage floor failed, she said it revealed a 9-foot void. She said it took four triaxle trucks of fill and $20,000 to fix.

Holderfield says that makes her wonder who else could find this.

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“I would love people to be held accountable, but I also understand the laws and that we could potentially be out of the warranty period is what they say. I do wish we could have them stand behind their work or help us get this fixed,” Holderfield said. 

More than anything, the Holderfield family says it wants people to know there is potential that other homes could be built like this and to be aware.



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Connecticut

Connecticut insurance now required to cover these athletic prosthetics

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Connecticut insurance now required to cover these athletic prosthetics


Park Ranger Ben Croll says outdoor plans for kids attending New Haven’s parks and rec summer camp at West Rock Ridge state park are changing with the wind, after thick smoke from Canada’s wildfires continues to make its way through the Connecticut skies.  



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