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Florida mom arrested for saying ‘Delay Deny Depose’ on call with BlueCross BlueShield health insurer: ‘You people are next’

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Florida mom arrested for saying ‘Delay Deny Depose’ on call with BlueCross BlueShield health insurer: ‘You people are next’


A Florida mother was arrested for saying the phrase “Delay, Deny, Depose” — in an apparent reference to the targeted UnitedHealthcare CEO killing — on a call to a health insurance company over a denied claim.

Briana Boston, 42, was arrested at her Lakeland. Fla., home on Tuesday after allegedly making threats on a call to BlueCross BlueShield regarding the denial of a recent medical insurance claim, WFLA reported.

Boston ended the recorded conversation with the company rep by saying “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next,” Lakeland Police said, according to the local outlet.

Briana Boston, 42, was arrested by Lakeland Police after allegedly making a threat on a call with an
insurance company and is being held on $100,000 bail.
Polk County Sheriff’s Office

Detectives with the Lakeland Police later showed up at Boston’s home and questioned her about the phone conversation with the insurance giant.

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The mother of three then told cops that “healthcare companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil.”

Boston does not own any firearms and claimed to cops that she “was not a danger to anyone,” WFLA reported.

But police said the angry mom intended to threaten the company by purposefully invoking a phrase strikingly similar to the one Luigi Mangione allegedly scrawled on bullets he’s accused of shooting UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson with.

Mangione, who is facing a murder charge in the slaying, allegedly wrote “Deny,” “Defend,” and “Depose” on ammunition recovered at the murder scene outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel.

The three words are a play on the title of the 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It” which criticizes the American healthcare system.

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“Delay, Deny, Defend” — known as the “three d’s of insurance” — refers to companies’ alleged schemes to limit medical claims in order to drive up profits.


Photo of a BlueCross Blueshield clinic.
Boston was on a call with insurance giant BlueCross BlueShield which boasts a network of 115 million people. wolterke – stock.adobe.com

Boston faces charges of threats to conduct a mass shooting or an act of terrorism, according to an affidavit reviewed by WFLA.

“She’s been in this world long enough that she certainly should know better that you can’t make threats like that in the current environment that we live in and think that we’re not going to follow up and put you in jail,” Lakeland Police Chief Sam Taylor said, according to the outlet.

The judge set Boston’s bail at a steep $100,000, calling it “appropriate considering the status of our country at this point,” WFLA reported.



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Florida

Hulk Hogan died of natural causes, Florida police report says in closing investigation

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Hulk Hogan died of natural causes, Florida police report says in closing investigation


MIAMI (AP) — Professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan died of natural causes last year, according to a report by Florida police that formally closes the investigation into his death.

The Clearwater Police Department released a 72-page report on Friday summarizing an exhaustive review of statements, medical records, surveillance footage and a visual inspection of the body. Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, died last July 24 at age 71.

“There has been no evidence to indicate the death of Terry Bollea was anything other than natural,” the report said. “Through the course of the investigation, there has been no evidence to indicate any criminal wrongdoing related to his death. This case will be closed, and will be considered solved, non-criminal.”

According to the report, Hogan’s wife, as well as a home health aide and an occupational therapist, were all with Hogan at his home when he stopped breathing. His wife, Sky Daily Hogan, called 911, and then the trio performed CPR on Hulk Hogan until firefighters and paramedics arrived.

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Family members told investigators that Hogan had been suffering from multiple heath issues in the weeks before his death, including leukemia, an irregular hearth rhythm, pneumonia and kidney failure. He had also undergone many hospitalizations and surgeries in the years before his death.

Early statements made by the occupational therapist to police led to speculation that Hogan’s death was related to damage done to his phrenic nerve during a recent surgery. But the occupational therapist later said that he was still rattled from performing CPR and was speaking out of turn.

The local medical examiner had concluded Hogan died from a heart attack and declined to perform a full autopsy. A private autopsy paid for by the family backed up the initial assessment, finding “no reasonable traumatic or terminal toxicologic contributions.”

READ MORE: After Hulk Hogan’s sudden death, here are a cardiologist’s tips for avoiding chronic disease

Hogan was perhaps the biggest star in WWE’s long history, known for both his larger-than-life personality and his wrestling exploits. He was the main draw for the first WrestleMania in 1985 and was a fixture for years, facing everyone from Andre The Giant and Randy Savage to The Rock and even WWE co-founder Vince McMahon.

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Hogan won at least six WWE championships and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2005 and reinstated there in 2018. He had been removed from the Hall of Fame in 2015 after he was recorded making racial slurs against Black people, for which he apologized.

A well-attended but private funeral service was held several weeks after Hogan’s death at a church in Largo, Florida.

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Florida

Central Florida feels record-breaking quake

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Central Florida feels record-breaking quake


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Florida man accused of shooting cat in eye with BB gun, killing it

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Florida man accused of shooting cat in eye with BB gun, killing it


BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man was arrested after Brevard County deputies said he shot a cat in the eye with a BB gun, killing it.

Sheriff Wayne Ivey said the man, who was identified as Lucas Stedman, was upset because a cat that lived in the same home didn’t get along with his cat.

“On May 11, he decided that it would be a good idea to shoot a cat in the eye with a high-powered BB gun and kill the cat,” Ivey said. “I don’t know what kind of outrageous nutjob thinks that’s a good idea.”

Courtesy of Brevard County Sheriff’s Office

Steadman was taken to the Brevard County Jail.

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He was charged with animal cruelty and was placed on a $50,000 bond.



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