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Chilling video shows a clever teen eluding a creepy guy following her in a car.

Chilling video shows a clever teen eluding a creepy guy following her in a car.

As a parent, it’s tough teaching kids about dealing with people they don’t know. On one hand, you don’t want them to live their lives afraid of strangers, but on the other, they need to know how to identify dangerous people and protect themselves.

Police in the northern California city of Vacaville are praising a teen for eluding a suspicious male motorist.

In security camera footage, the girl can be seen walking down a sidewalk when a car slowly drives up beside her. As the person in the car tries to talk to her, she keeps a large pickup truck between them. When the car turned around and pulled up in the opposite direction, she ran away.

Suspicious Circumstance

*Update 4/25/19*Thanks to some tips from our keen-eyed citizens, Vacaville’s Vice Unit was able to identify both the vehicle and the driver (a 24 year-old man from Vacaville) from this video. Today the driver was interviewed and Detectives are now following up on the statement he provided.The investigation is ongoing, but based on the evidence and statements we have gathered at this time, an arrest has not been made. With that being said, we will not be releasing the man’s identity at this time. We do not believe the driver’s intentions in this incident were related to human trafficking. We cannot thank our citizens and followers enough for all their efforts in helping us get to the bottom of this. This is another great example of our community coming together to ensure Vacaville is a safe place for all of us to live. Any information please contact Detective Brian Collins (707) 469-4735. For media inquiries please contact Captain Lydon (707) 449-5236.*Original Post 4/19/19*As we begin spring break in Vacaville we wanted to take a moment to remind parents and youth about some simple safety tips specific to strangers in cars. Please watch out for cars that are following you, never approach strangers sitting in cars and NEVER get into a car with a stranger.Recently a young lady was walking in the residential area near Ulatis Drive and Leisure Town Road when she noticed a man in a dark colored Pontiac following her. The young lady continued to walk while ignoring the vehicle. As she quickened her pace to get away from the man, he pulled further in front of her and stopped his car in the middle of the street. The young lady became scared and hid behind a parked vehicle. The unidentified man drove away briefly, but came back in another attempt to speak to the girl. The young lady continued to use the parked vehicle as a shield and when she saw the man driving away she began running for safety.The man was described as a black male with short, dreadlock hair, approximately 20 years old.While this man’s intentions, innocent or not are unknown to us at this time, we hope someone in our community can help us identify him, or he can contact us so we can talk with him about what happened.Any information please contact Detective Brian Collins (707) 469-4735.

Posted by

Vacaville Police Department on Friday, April 19, 2019

“You can imagine as you get in close proximity to the car, anything could happen,” Vacaville police spokesman Matt Lydon told NBC Bay Area. “And she distanced herself in the situation and absolutely did the right thing.”

Police say there was no evidence that a crime was committed, but they wanted to speak with the driver.

“He attempted to talk to her, but she wasn’t sure about what he was trying to communicate to her,” Lydon told Fox40 in Sacramento. “Anytime an adult male is trying to get the attention of a teen who doesn’t know him, it’s concerning.”

A few days later, the police were able to identify the man as a 24-year-old from Vacaville. Based on his statements, no charges are being pursued at the time, but the incident still remains open for investigation.

The police have used the incident to remind children and their parents to be aware of their surroundings.

“As we begin spring break in Vacaville we wanted to take a moment to remind parents and youth about some simple safety tips specific to strangers in cars,” the Vacaville Police wrote on Facebook. “Please watch out for cars that are following you, never approach strangers sitting in cars and NEVER get into a car with a stranger.”

Community

Facebook group brings people together IRL to make meaningful friendships

True

Making new friends as an adult is challenging. While people crave meaningful IRL connections, it can be hard to know where to find them. But thanks to one Facebook Group, meeting your new best friends is easier than ever.

Founded in 2018, NYC Brunch Squad brings together hundreds of people who come as strangers and leave as friends through its in-person events.

“Witnessing the transformative impact our community has on the lives of our members is truly remarkable. We provide the essential support and connections needed to thrive amid the city's chaos,” shares Liza Rubin, the group’s founder.

Despite its name, the group doesn’t just do brunch. They also have book clubs, seasonal parties, and picnics, among other activities.

NYC Brunch Squad curates up to 10 monthly events tailored to the specific interests of its members. Liza handles all the details, taking into account different budgets and event sizes – all people have to do is show up.

“We have members who met at our events and became friends and went on to embark on international journeys to celebrate birthdays together. We have had members get married with bridesmaids by their sides who were women they first connected with at our events. We’ve had members decide to live together and become roommates,” Liza says.

Members also bond over their passion for giving back to their community. The group has hosted many impact-driven events, including a “Picnic with Purpose” to create self-care packages for homeless shelters and recently participated in the #SquadSpreadsJoy challenge. Each day, the 100 members participating receive random acts of kindness to complete. They can also share their stories on the group page to earn extra points. The member with the most points at the end wins a free seat at the group's Friendsgiving event.

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friendship
Education

In 125 years, millions of people have looked at this painting. No one really saw it until recently.

Van Gogh saw something it took scientists another 100 years to see.

Image from Wikimedia Commons .

Van Gogh’s Starry Night.



Van Gough never got to enjoy his own historic success as an artist ( even though we've been able to imagine what that moment might have looked like). But it turns out that those of us who have appreciated his work have been missing out on some critical details for more than 100 years.

I'm not easily impressed, OK?

I know Van Gogh was a genius. If the point of this were "Van Gogh was a mad genius," I would not be sharing this with you.
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Health

Women do better when they have a group of strong female friends, study finds

We're stronger together.

Photo by Omar Lopez on Unsplash

Women do better when they have female friends.

Madeleine Albright once said , "There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." It turns out that might actually be a hell on Earth, because women just do better when they have other women to rely on, and there's research that backs it up.

A study published in the Harvard Business Review found that women who have a strong circle of friends are more likely to get executive positions with higher pay. "Women who were in the top quartile of centrality and had a female-dominated inner circle of 1-3 women landed leadership positions that were 2.5 times higher in authority and pay than those of their female peers lacking this combination," Brian Uzzi writes in the Harvard Business Review .

Part of the reason why women with strong women backing them up are more successful is because they can turn to their tribe for advice. Women have to face different challenges than men, such as unconscious bias, and being able to turn to other women who have had similar experiences can help you navigate a difficult situation. It's like having a road map for your goals.

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women
Education

3,700-year-old Babylonian stone tablet gets translated, changes history

They were doing trigonometry 1500 years before the Greeks.

via UNSW

Dr. Daniel Mansfield and his team at the University of New South Wales in Australia have just made an incredible discovery. While studying a 3,700-year-old tablet from the ancient civilization of Babylon, they found evidence that the Babylonians were doing something astounding: trigonometry!

Most historians have credited the Greeks with creating the study of triangles' sides and angles, but this tablet presents indisputable evidence that the Babylonians were using the technique 1,500 years before the Greeks ever were.

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education
Pop Culture

Millennials nearing 40 are sharing their biggest mistakes so everyone can learn from them

Here are 21 of the most powerful responses.

via Pexels

Millennials are now old enough to seriously reflect on life.

It seems like only yesterday a millennial was a college kid that baby boomers chided for being entitled and Gen Xers thought were way too sincere and needed to learn how to take a joke. Today, the oldest millennials, those born around 1980, have hit their 40s and have lived long enough to have some serious regrets.

They also have enough experience to take some pride in decisions that, in hindsight, were the right moves.

The good news is that at 40 there is still plenty of time to learn from our successes and failures to set ourselves up for a great second half of life. These lessons are also valuable to the Gen Zers coming up who can avoid the pitfalls of the older generation.

A Reddit user who has since deleted their profile asked millennials nearing 40 “what were your biggest mistakes at this point in life?” and they received more than 2,200 responses. The biggest regrets these millennials have are being flippant about their health and not saving enough money when they were younger.

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millennials
Joy

Stop blaming the 'Karens.' The people who complain the most have a different name.

The stereotype has been wrong all along.

via Rickey123/Pixabay

A woman giving a stern warning.

Over the past few years, women named Karen have taken a lot of heat in the media. The term "Karen" has been used to describe a specific type of entitled, privileged and often middle-aged white woman. Typically, "Karen” is depicted as demanding, self-important and constantly seeking to escalate minor inconveniences to authority figures, like demanding to "speak to the manager."

Identifying the folks who create unnecessary drama in our world is important. But calling them a “Karen” isn’t the best way to solve the problem. There are many reasons to have an issue with the “Karen” stereotype. First, it’s terrible for people named Karen, and it’s also a connotation that many feel is racist , sexist and ageist.

Further, according to a new study by Trustpilot , the stereotype isn’t accurate. A recent survey by the online media site found that the people who leave the most one-star reviews aren’t female, and the women who do it the most aren’t named Karen.

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memes
Family

People are mortified to find out how many moms daydream about being hospitalized

Yes, it's a real thing.

Canva, @emilykmay/X

Lying in bed and looking out the window with no one asking for anything? Yes, please.

It's hard to explain the relentless intensity of having young children if you haven't done it. It's wonderful, beautiful, magical and all of that—it truly is—but it's a lot. Like, a lot . It's a bit like running an ultramarathon through the most beautiful landscape you can imagine. There's no question that it's amazing, but it's really, really hard. And sometimes there are storms or big hills or obstacles or twisted ankles or some other thing that makes it even more challenging for a while.

Unfortunately, a lot of moms feel like they're running that marathon alone. Some actually are. Some have partners who don't pull their weight. But even with an equal partner, the early years tend to be mom-heavy, and it takes a toll.

In fact, that toll is so great that it's not unusual for moms to fantasize about being hospitalized—not with anything serious, just something that requires a short stay—simply to get a genuine break .

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mom life
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