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Influencer couple denies leaving kids alone on cruise [Video]
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Influencer couple denies leaving kids alone on cruise [Video]

For most people, dinner on a cruise ship is a time to relax.But when influencer couple Abby and Matt Howard decided to kick back with a dinner deux, they ended up kicking up a storm.Related video above: Preparing to drop your child off at day care for first time? Here’s some expert adviceThe Arizona couple, who have 5.3 million followers on TikTok, as well as 1.3 million and 677,000 Instagram followers individually, have had to furiously deny that they left their children alone on a cruise ship while enjoying their couples dinner.Abby Howard posted over the weekend on Instagram that on a seven-day cruise, the couple had taken their kids ages 1 and 2 to dinner for the first five nights, but it became apparent that they werent enjoying it and therefore we werent either.So then we switched our dinner time to after their bedtime and FaceTimed the monitors while we ate, she wrote. Many followers interpreted her post as saying that they left the kids unattended in the cabin in order to go to dinner. When Abby Howard deleted the post after a few hours, the suspicion only increased.The couple have now posted a new video in which they deny the children were left alone. They say they were traveling with Abby Howards extended family, including her grandmother.We had someone with our children at all times on this boat, said Matt Howard, calling peoples suspicions completely untrue.We love our children more than anything in the entire world, he said.Abby Howard admitted in the video that she could see why the phrasing of her initial post caused people to believe the kids had been left alone. She said she deleted it because of the confusion.Abby Howard said their two children sleep in blackout tents even at home. Each tent has a space to fit a monitor, which the couple use even when in the room with them.Matt Howard previously shared an Instagram video of his cabin, in which he said the couple was sleeping in separate rooms, each with one child.Were always concerned about them, said Abby Howard in the video addressing the controversy, adding that they tag team at family dinners so that one parent is physically with the children while the other checks the monitors.The couple thanked their family for helping watch the children during the cruise and also thanked the public.Thank you so much to those of you that were concerned about the safety and well-being of our children, said Abby Howard.We have not, would not, will not ever leave our children unattended; we would never ever want to put them in harms way in any way. Its not known which cruise line the couple were traveling with, although Matt Thiemann, a cruise specialist travel agent and CEO of Everbliss Vacations, said he believes they were on Royal Caribbeans Navigator of the Seas, which has a maximum capacity of 4,000 travelers, based on their posts.Cruise ship child careMany cruise lines offer child care options.Royal Caribbean offers group child care programs as well as group-sitting for 3- to 11-year-olds from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. MSC Cruises has a kids club for tots until 9 p.m., with parents able to drop off their kids until 7 p.m., while Holland America Line states in its conditions that children must not be left alone anywhere on the ship.Leaving a child in a locked room may seem relatively safe, but Thiemann advises against it.It is generally not safe for a child under 8 to be left alone at home, and a cruise ship cabin is no different, he said. Parents might think it is a safe, locked space, and while there are very strict procedures for accessing a cabin, there are cabin stewards, maintenance personnel and crew who can access the cabin. If it has a balcony, there is greater risk of an accident or even becoming locked out on the balcony.Toddlers can be inquisitive, fall out of bed onto the hard floor or choke on something. There are just too many unexpected things that could happen when children are left alone in a cruise cabin or hotel room.

New social media ‘accountability’ policy amid controversial Albuquerque police posts [Video]
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New social media ‘accountability’ policy amid controversial Albuquerque police posts [Video]

Video above: A new social media policy proposal by Albuquerque City Councilor Renee Grout is underway amid growing concerns about the Albuquerque Police Department’s X page. KOAT spoke with Albuquerque city councilor Renee Grout regarding her new proposal in an interview early Friday afternoon on Sept. 13. We asked Grout to specify the difference between the city’s current social media policy and her new proposal. The full interview transcript is below. MORE: Albuquerque Police Department under fire over social media againWe reached out to Mayor Tim Keller’s office regarding the new proposal shortly after our interview with Grout on Friday. Their statement is below.Faith Egbuonu: What’s the difference between your new social media proposal and the city’s current one? What’s changed?Renee Grout: The one that is in place doesn’t have the appropriateness. It doesn’t mention anything about the appropriateness of posts and what should be posted. It’s important that we remember that our personal opinions need to be left out. We need to remember that we’re representing the city of Albuquerque. So, our personal opinions, personal attacks, those things are never OK. According to Grout, for context:”Setting guidelines for employees is an administrative function. That’s why the Resolution directs the Administration to develop the social media policy but identifies things that the policy should include.” Faith Egbuonu: In a Target 7 Investigation last year, APD Chief Harold Medina acknowledged that Director of Communications, Gilbert Gallegos, may have violated the current policy. When Hearst’s National Investigative Correspondent John Cardinale asked if the tweets, he (Medina) said was posted by Gallegos followed the current policy, he stated:”You know, some of them may not, but some of them bluntly point out differences, and I’m ok with that.”Related: Did Albuquerque police spokesperson policy with social media use again?Faith Egbuonu: Following Medina’s response, what difference does it make for the second policy? Renee Grout: I’m glad that he agreed that he violated the policy. I’m disappointed that it happened again and so we need lessons learned. We’re not going to do this again. So, we need to set expectations for the for the behavior. It needs to be outlined how, what is appropriate content to be posted? We need to set guidelines for, what is posted. We need to have guidelines for the appropriateness to, to respond to the negative or inaccurate posts, inflammatory comments and there needs to be discipline defined discipline when things go wrong. There does need to be a disciplinary procedure. We’re supposed to be following the law. We do have to take the higher road. What I say as a representative of the city of Albuquerque is very important. So, I need to be mindful of what I’m saying. We need to remember we’re representing the city of Albuquerque.We also would like to have social media policy put on the city’s transparency web page. So, we can all see it and we can all follow it.Faith Egbuonu: In April 2023, former City Council president, Pat Davis, who is no longer with city council, stated: “Let me make this clear, I will work personally to defund that position, defund that account, and prohibit the city from using Twitter, in that way.”Is City council working to defund the position?Renee Grout: That is not something that we can actually do. We can’t personally defund something. We can’t really defund the position because then there is a separation of powers. We can create a policy. The administration spends the money.Faith Egbuonu: So, what do you plan to achieve with the policy?Renee Grout: There needs to be a disciplinary procedure and what is appropriate or what is not appropriate, and then what are the consequences for the inappropriate behavior.BackgroundIt’s been more than a year since Target 7 Investigations first raised concerns about APD’s X page, formerly known as Twitter, in regard to APD Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos’s X posts. Many are now criticizing the department’s X page following posts from its page in response to X users on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. On Tuesday, Sept. 3, Rebecca Atkins, a spokesperson for APD, confirmed the X posts are from Gallegos. Mayor Tim Keller’s office statement following Grout’s interview on new proposal, Sept. 13We reached out to the mayor’s office following Grout’s new social media accountability proposal. A spokesperson for the mayor’s office sent the following statement below:”The City already has a social media policy thats posted online, and we welcome anyone to take a look at that.” Ava MontoyaCivilian Police Oversight Agency statementOn Thursday, Sept. 5, KOAT reached out to CPOA executive director, Diane McDermott regarding Gallegos’s X postings above from the department’s account. We asked has there been any form of discipline following Gallegoss use of the departments Twitter (X page)? If not. Is there a reason as to why? Also, whats next, in terms of handling the situation?McDermott shared the following statement below over the phone:The Civilian Police Oversight Agency no longer investigates complaints regarding civilian employees. Due to an ordinance change, theyre investigated by the internal affairs within Albuquerque Police Department. We received a complaint, and it was forwarded to Internal Affairs Professional Standard. Diane McDermott (Executive Director)Followed by this statement below via e-mail:The Civilian Police Oversight Agency must receive a citizen complaint to initiate an investigation. Due to an ordinance change in 2023, the CPOA Agency does not generally investigate APD civilian employees. Civilian employees such as operators, administrative personnel, or, in this instance, the PIO are investigated by Internal Affairs Professional Standards. The Council wanted the CPOAs primary focus to be on policing within the community. If a complaint is received regarding a civilian employee, it is transferred to IAPS unless it also involves the activities of sworn personnel, and then the CPOA will retain that investigation. Non-sworn employees will also be investigated by the CPOA performing similar police functions, such as Police Service Aides or APD Transit Safety personnel.Regarding the question of discipline for Mr. Gallegos, the CPOA only recommends discipline, and so the question would have to be directed to the Office of Police Reform to determine if discipline has been imposed.What is next would also be directed to the Department, but if a citizen complaint is received, it will be evaluated and, if it only concerns PIO responsibilities of non-sworn personnel, forwarded to IAPS for investigation.Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.

Did Albuquerque police spokesperson violate policy with social media use? [Video]
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Did Albuquerque police spokesperson violate policy with social media use? [Video]

Video above: It’s been more than a year since Target 7 Investigations raised concerns about the Albuquerque Police Department’s X page, now formerly known as Twitter, in regard to APD Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos’s X posts. KOAT obtained documents of a complaint sent to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency/Board in December 2021. At the time, the agency determined he violated three policies. We reached out to CPOA Executive Director Diane McDermott, regarding if he violated policies again following social media use on Monday, Sept. 2. McDermott’s statement is below. MORE: Albuquerque Police Department under fire over social media againThe complaint made against Gallegos’s use on an “official department business” account reads “Mr. G. posted a tweet saying, ‘I hear some trolls are butt hurt, because I blocked them. They’re trolls. Nothing to see here.'”Note: Below are recent X postings made on the @ABQPOLICE X page. If youre signed into an X account, you will be able to see the full interaction with each tweet.Why did you resign? to @darrenPwhiteWhy did Darren White resign? To @ThomasRGrover and @darrenPwhiteBit defensive Tom? Why did Darren White resign? To @ThomasRGrover and @darrenPwhiteOh Doug. Nice to hear from you about harassment. To @MrDougPetersonI agree with SilverSurfer to @pwmerkMany are now criticizing the department’s X page following posts from its page in response to X users on Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. On Tuesday, Sept. 3, Rebecca Atkins, a spokesperson for APD, confirmed with KOAT the X posts are from Gallegos. Follow-up on Mayor’s office’s statement on their support of APD pushing back on misinformation online, Sept. 5On Tuesday, Sept. 3rd, KOAT reached out to the mayor’s office regarding his take on the handling of his department’s X page following people’s concerns. A spokesperson for his office sent the following statement below:”Were focused on big issues; we dont micromanage twitter banter. We support the department and their ability to push back on misinformation online,” said Ava Montoya, spokesperson for the mayor’s office.Related: Albuquerque police deliver questionable responses to community on social mediaOn Thursday, Sept. 5th, KOAT reached out to Mayor Tim Keller’s spokesperson, Ava Montoya, to specify which postings the office referred to in regard to misinformation. Montoya stated, “that was in reference to APD correcting unverified information that (another local news organization) had shared.”Growing concerns of the department’s use of social media was also raised at the Albuquerque City Council meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 4. City councilor Nichole Rogers pressed the issue with the city’s administrative officer, Samantha Sengel. Snippets of the conversation are below: Nichole Rogers: The community deserves a response to what is going to happen moving forward with communication from APD on social media.Samantha Sengel: I don’t have a statement about a personnel matter to be made here and I won’t discuss that portion of it, but I also am not going to sit here and imply that this was a one-sided discussion, that there was only one individual involved and the only person involved worked for the city of Albuquerque. I think we had a lot of individuals engaged and I think there was a lot of misinformation. I’m justifying it by any means. I’m not stating anyone was right. I’m not saying any of those things. I think the public comments that imply that one individual was wrong, in this case, was misguided. Nichole Rogers: I don’t think we’re talking about fact checking and correcting the record. We’re talking about specific tweets that are bullying, that are disrespectful, that are rude, that are condescending.Civilian Police Oversight Agency statementOn Thursday, Sept. 5, KOAT reached out to CPOA executive director, Diane McDermott regarding Gallegos’s X postings above from the department’s account. We asked has there been any form of discipline following Gallegoss use of the departments twitter (X page)? If not. Is there a reason as to why? Also, whats next, in terms of handling the situation? McDermott shared the following statement below over the phone:The Civilian Police Oversight Agency no longer investigates complaints regarding civilian employees. Due to an ordinance change, theyre investigated by the internal affairs within Albuquerque Police Department. We received a complaint, and it was forwarded to Internal Affairs Professional Standard. Diane McDermott (Executive Director) Followed by this statement below via e-mail:The Civilian Police Oversight Agency must receive a citizen complaint to initiate an investigation. Due to an ordinance change in 2023, the CPOA Agency does not generally investigate APD civilian employees. Civilian employees such as operators, administrative personnel, or, in this instance, the PIO are investigated by Internal Affairs Professional Standards. The Council wanted the CPOAs primary focus to be on policing within the community. If a complaint is received regarding a civilian employee, it is transferred to IAPS unless it also involves the activities of sworn personnel, and then the CPOA will retain that investigation. Non-sworn employees will also be investigated by the CPOA performing similar police functions, such as Police Service Aides or APD Transit Safety personnel. Regarding the question of discipline for Mr. Gallegos, the CPOA only recommends discipline, and so the question would have to be directed to the Office of Police Reform to determine if discipline has been imposed. What is next would also be directed to the Department, but if a citizen complaint is received, it will be evaluated and, if it only concerns PIO responsibilities of non-sworn personnel, forwarded to IAPS for investigation.Albuquerque Police Department statement, chief Harold Medina, Sept. 3On Sept. 3, KOAT reached out to APD regarding its take on the handling of its department’s X page following people’s concerns. APD Chief Harold Medina sent the following statement below:”These are not random people. We are pushing back against the same individuals who use their positions to pursue a political agenda against APD. If these men cant be fair and objective, how can KOAT use them over and over to provide opinions about APD?” said Medina.Note: The experts to whom Medina often refers to is Tom Grover and former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. Grover is a former APD officer turned attorney who represents dozens of current police officers. White is also the former cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and has nearly 30 years of law enforcement experience. White also taught police media relations at Northwestern University.Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.

‘Demure’ content shows what a viral trend can mean for creators [Video]
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‘Demure’ content shows what a viral trend can mean for creators [Video]

It’s not just you. The word “demure” is being used to describe just about everything online these days.It all started earlier this month when TikTok creator Jools Lebron posted a video that would soon take social media by storm. The hair and makeup she’s wearing to work? Very demure. And paired with a vanilla perfume fragrance? How mindful.Video above: Rossen Reports: TikTok made me buy it, but does it really work?In just weeks, Lebron’s words have become the latest vocabulary defining the internet this summer. In addition to her own viral content that continues to describe various day-to-day, arguably reserved or modest activities with adjectives like “demure,” “mindful” and “cutesy,” several big names have also hopped on the trend across social media platforms. Celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Penn Badgley have shared their own playful takes, and even the White House used the words to boast the Biden-Harris administration’s recent student debt relief efforts.The skyrocketing fame of Lebron’s “very mindful, very demure” influence also holds significance for the TikToker herself. Lebron, who identifies as a transgender woman, said in a post last week that she’s now able to finance the rest of her transition.”One day, I was playing cashier and making videos on my break. And now, I’m flying across country to host events,” Lebron said in the video, noting that her experience on the platform has changed her life.She’s not alone. Over recent years, a handful of online creators have found meaningful income after gaining social media fame but it’s still incredibly rare and no easy feat.Here’s what some experts say.How can TikTok fame lead to meaningful sources of income?There is no one recipe.Finding resources to work as a creator full-time “is not as rare as it would have been years ago,” notes Erin Kristyniak, vice president of global partnerships at marketing collaboration company Partnerize. But you still have to make content that meets the moment and there’s a lot to juggle if you want to monetize.On TikTok, most users who are making money pursue a combination of hustles. Brooke Erin Duffy, an associate professor of communication at Cornell University, explains that those granted admission into TikTok’s Creator Marketplace the platform’s space for brand and creator collaborations can “earn a kickback from views from TikTok expressly,” although that doesn’t typically pay very well.Other avenues for monetization include more direct brand sponsorships, creating merchandise to sell, fundraising during livestreams and collecting “tips” or “gifts” through features available to users who reach a certain following threshold. A lot of it also boils down to work outside of the platform.And creators are increasingly working to build their social media presence across multiple platforms particularly amid a potential ban of the ByteDance-owned app in the U.S., which is currently in a legal battle. Duffy notes that many are working on developing this wider online presence so they can “still have a financial lifeline” in case any revenue stream goes away.Is it difficult to sustain?Gaining traction in the macrocosm that is the internet is difficult as is and while some have both tapped into trends that resonate and found sources of compensation that allow them to quit their nine-to-five, it still takes a lot of work to keep it going.”These viral bursts of fame don’t necessarily translate into a stable, long-term career,” Duffy said. “On the surface, it’s kind of widely hyped as a dream job … But I see this as a very superficial understanding of how the career works.”Duffy, who has been studying social media content creation for a decade, says that she’s heard from creators who have had months where they’re reaping tremendous sums of money from various sources of income but then also months with nothing. “It’s akin to a gig economy job because of the lack of stability,” she explained.”The majority of creators aren’t full-time,” Eric Dahan, the CEO and founder of influencer marketing agency Mighty Joy, added.Burnout is also very common. It can take a lot of emotional labor to pull content from your life, Duffy said, and the pressure of maintaining brand relationships or the potential of losing viewers if you take a break can be a lot. Ongoing risks of potential exposure to hate or online harassment also persist.Is the landscape changing?Like all things online, the landscape for creators is constantly evolving.Demand is also growing. More and more platforms are aiming not only to court users, but to bring aspiring creators to their sites. And that coincides with an increased focus on marketing goods and brands in these spaces.Companies are doubling down “to meet consumers where they are,” said Raji Srinivasan, a marketing professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business. YouTube and other social media platforms, such as Instagram, have also built out offerings to attract this kind of content in recent years, but for now it’s “TikTok’s day in the sun,” she added, pointing to the platform’s persisting dominance in the market.And for aspiring creators hoping to strike it big, Dahan’s advice is just to start somewhere. As Lebron’s success shows, he added, “You don’t know what’s going to happen.” AP technology writer Barbara Ortutay contributed to this story from Oakland, California.