Small Business Lifestyle

South Burlington woman pleads not guilty to Church Street homicide [Video]
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Small Business Lifestyle

South Burlington woman pleads not guilty to Church Street homicide [Video]

On Monday, 22-year-old Aaliyah Johnson of South Burlington pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge for the fatal shooting of a 30-year-old Stowe man over the weekend.Johnson was in court Monday in Burlington after she was charged in the death of Teville Williams, a man with whom she was allegedly shot and killed on the Church Street Marketplace in the early morning hours on Saturday. Johnson will be held without bail until a weight of the evidence hearing and a bail review. “She’s being held without bail at the state’s request, and so a hearing will be set in the next couple of weeks, and … it’ll be an evidentiary hearing to show that evidence of guilt is great and that she shouldn’t be released into the community,” said Sarah George, Chittenden County state’s attorney. No date has been set yet for Johnson’s next appearance.Court documents show that Johnson and Williams were removed from Red Square early Saturday morning after the two got into an altercation over an unpaid bar tab.Johnson claimed that, during the altercation, she spilled her drink on Williams, and he assaulted her inside the venue.Police said that once the two were outside, Johnson approached Williams on Church Street and shot him in front of the bar. When officers arrived at the scene, they say members of the public and an off-duty Burlington Police Department officer were attempting to render medical aid to Williams. However, police Chief Jon Murad also said that once officers took over efforts to provide medical care to Williams, they said they were hampered by a large crowd that had gathered at the scene.Murad said he and other responding officers had to push back the crowd in order to preserve the crime scene, which included shell casings, bullets and blood evidence.”Another officer approaching from a different direction located and apprehended a female suspect, Aaliyah Johnson, age 22, and recovered from her a .45 caliber pistol,” said Murad.Court documents show that Johnson told the arresting officer that the gun was legally registered to her and was being used for personal protection.She said that she feels unsafe with men in downtown Burlington.Burlington’s mayor, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, said the situation highlights a need for stricter gun control when alcohol is involved.”We really need more common sense gun laws,” said Mulvaney-Stanak. “A few months ago, I was a legislator and sponsored H.98 for an example, which included Burlington’s charter change from eight-plus years ago to remove guns from places that serve alcohol. While this would not necessarily have prevented this necessarily, it is much overdue needed policy on a statewide level that certainly would not have hurt an incident like this in Burlington.”Burlington police are asking anyone who has information to contact the department at 802-658-2704. Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the next steps for the trial.

How countries rewarded their Olympic champions [Video]
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Small Business Lifestyle

How countries rewarded their Olympic champions [Video]

Athletes train their whole lives for the opportunity to win an Olympic medal. The step onto the podium is the culmination of a lifetime of effort, determination and sacrifice.Video above: Paris Olympics conclude with an epic handoff from Paris to L.A.Victorious athletes at Paris received their medal and a box containing the official poster of the Summer Games. But these were not the only rewards many Olympic champions received.More than 40 nations rewarded their victorious athletes with bonuses of varying levels of generosity. More than 25 nations offered over $100,000 to athletes who returned from Paris with a gold medal.The US, meanwhile, rewarded its champions with a prize of $37,500. However, this is rather more generous than the bonuses given to athletes from nations like Great Britain, Sweden and Norway who get nothing. But it only puts Team USA 35th on the list of most generous nations.So as the Paralympics get ready to get underway, CNN Sport takes a look back at some of the eye-popping and not so impressive rewards athletes earn for winning Olympic glory.More than goldFencing is not known as the most financially lucrative of sports, but fencers Cheung Ka Long and Vivian Kong from Hong Kong returned home with more than just gold medals. The city-state in collaboration with the Hong Kong Jockey Club is very generous to its successful Olympians, paying out HK$6 million, around $770,000, to athletes who win gold.Don’t feel too sorry for Hong Kong’s two bronze medalists, as they were rewarded with HK$1.5 million (over $190,000) for their efforts. All the medal winners can also look forward to free railway tickets for life, courtesy of railway giant MTR.However, these are far from the most generous payouts available to Olympic athletes.Saudi Arabia is yet to win an Olympic gold medal, but whichever athlete does so first can look forward to a hefty pay day. Five million riyals (approximately $1.3 million) is promised to any Saudi Olympic champion, according to Reuters.Student athlete Tareg Hamedi became a millionaire overnight when he won a karate silver medal for Saudi Arabia in the 2020 Games in Tokyo and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman decided he had earned the reward promised to gold medalists.Asia is arguably the most generous continent to its athletes, with six of the top 10 payouts from this year’s olympics coming from there. Georgia is the only European country to make it into the top 10, with Serbia’s 200,000 (about $223,500) and Italy’s 180,000 (roughly $200,000) for gold medalists just missing out.Countries tend to be more generous to victorious athletes when the nation has less history of success.Filipino gymnast Carlos Edriel Yulo won two gold medals in Paris the only golds ever won by a Filipino athlete. As a result, he was awarded 10 million pesos, around $178,300, by the government.Filipino President Ferdinand Marcos decided to throw an extra 20 million pesos on top, bringing his total cash reward to 30 million pesos (over $535,000).The 24-year-old gymnast is not just being rewarded with money, however. Organizations and individuals from around the country have showered the sporting star with gifts. Among other treats, Yulo can reportedly look forward to receiving a set of headlights, free ramen and colonoscopies for life, university credits and a condo, according to multiple reports, including the Wall Street Journal and the BBC.No national serviceThe Philippines is not the only nation to reward its victorious athletes with non-financial perks.South Korean gold medalists were rewarded around $50,000 and an exemption from the country’s mandatory national service.Olympic champions from countries such as Kazakhstan and Tajikistan were promised apartments by their home nations. The Iraqi soccer team and weightlifter Ali Ammer Yasser were reportedly given land and money just for qualifying for the Games.Uzbek medalists were awarded cars that increased in value the higher they placed in the Games, with the country’s eight gold medalists receiving a Chevy Tahoe car worth around $80,000. Romanian billionaire Ion iriac honored his pledge to give Hyundai vehicles to every medal winner from the country.In addition to being awarded 250,000 zoty (around $65,000) gold medalists from Poland were rewarded with a two bedroom apartment, a painting and a voucher for a holiday. Silver and bronze medalists received smaller sums and missed out on the apartment.So, if you’re looking to win a hefty pay day as well as a gold medal competing for Hong Kong or Saudi Arabia is probably your best option. But if certain unlimited healthcare is your goal, making sporting history for the Philippines is the way to go.