Travis Scott has been convicted TWICE for encouraging fans to rush his stage: Man paralyzed at NYC concert in 2017 says rapper 'never learned his lesson' - as nurse at Astroworld Fest claims 'no one saw a man with a needle start the surge'
- Scott, 29, has a history of inciting mayhem at his notoriously rowdy concerts
- An Astroworld festivalgoer has filed a lawsuit against Scott and special guest Drake for over a million dollars, claiming they 'incited the crowd'
- The fan also accused the rappers and festival producers of negligence
- Scott previously pled guilty twice to disorderly and reckless conduct charges
- In one 2015 show, he told the crowd: 'Let's go. Come over. I want chaos'
- Eight people died at a stampede at his Friday night concern in Houston, Texas
- The Grammy-winning rapper said he was 'devastated' and 'could never imagine the severity of the situation' in an Instagram video Saturday
- A nurse at Friday's show described the harrowing scene backstage and behind the crowd as bodies were sprawled out and medical staff was overwhelmed
- A crowd management expert says standing-room-only setups with no seats or aisles are the 'worst thing that can happen in crowd safety'
Travis Scott took to Instagram Saturday night (pictured) after eight people died during his performance at Astroworld Festival
Travis Scott shared his shock after eight people were crushed to death at his Houston concert on Friday - but the rapper has twice been convicted for encouraging fans to jump security barriers and rush the stage at previous concerts.
Scott, born Jacques Bermon Webster II, posted an emotional video saying he was 'devastated' about the deaths at Houston's Astroworld Fest on his Instagram Saturday.
He added: 'I can't imagine anything like this happening.'
Meanwhile, festivalgoer Kristian Paredes, 23, from Austin, Texas, has sued Scott and Drake for over a million dollars, claiming the rappers 'incited the crowd' and accused the rappers, Live Nation Entertainment Inc. and Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation of negligence.
There's no suggestion Scott asked fans to rush his stage during the Friday night performance that ended with eight deaths.
However, the fatal situation has raised eyebrows over footage showing multiple incidents of crowds stampeding towards Scott at prior performances at Lollapalooza in Chicago in 2015 and at an outdoor venue in Arkansas in 2017. Both incidents resulted in misdemeanor convictions for Scott.
One nurse who was in attendance has rubbished claims that a man was seen injecting people with a needle moments before the crush.
A statement issued on Astroworld's account also mentioned people suffering from cardiac arrests and asked anyone with knowledge to contact Houston PD, sparking claims that organizers are trying to pass the buck over alleged poor crowd control that turned deadly.
Houston PD Chief Troy Finner said there had been reports of a security guard stabbed with a needle and later being revived with Narcan, although there have been no reports of the crowd being drugged in the same way.
Meanwhile, a fan who was paralyzed after falling from a balcony during a Scott concert in 2017 has blasted the singer for putting fans' safety at risk.
A lawyer for Kyle Green, a 27-year-old who was injured at Scott's April 2017 concert at Terminal 5 in New York City, says that Green was 'devastated and heartbroken' for the families of the eight people who died at Scott's Friday night concert.
Kyle Green, 27, was left partially paralyzed at a Travis Scott show after Scott encouraged another fan to jump off a balcony. He says Friday's deaths could have been avoided 'had Travis learned his lesson'
NYC 2017: Green ended up partially paralyzed after cracking several vertebrae when rowdy fans rushed the balcony of Terminal 5 in New York in May 2017. Scott egged one fan to jump. In video of the incident, one concertgoer can be heard saying, 'I don't wanna die in here.'
CHICAGO 2015: Scott pled guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after his fans jumped a security barricade at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago
ARKANSAS 2017: Scott encouraged fans to go past security and rush the stage at a May 2017 show in Arkansas. He pled guilty to disorderly conduct the next year
Tickets to the two-day Astroworld festival sold out in under an hour in May, when Scott announced in a since-deleted tweet: 'We still sneaking the wild ones in'
Green says he was forced over the edge of a balcony at the venue, which he called 'severely crowded.' He broke several bones and vertebrae and can only walk with a 'significant, significant disability.'
In a statement to DailyMail.com, Green's attorney Howard Hershenhorn said that Scott's security picked Green up 'like a sack of potatoes' instead of 'putting him in a neck brace and on the backboard.'
'He’s even more incensed by the fact that it could have been avoided had Travis learned his lesson in the past and changed his attitude about inciting people to behave in such a reckless manner,' Hershenhorn told Rolling Stone.
At the 2017 show, Scott had encouraged another fan to jump off the balcony.
'I see you, but are you gonna do it?' Scott asked. 'They gonna catch you. Don't be scared. Don’t be scared!'
In video of the incident, one fan can be heard saying, 'I don't wanna die in here.'
Green sued Scott, his manager, concert promoter Bowery Presents and a security company six months after the incident while he was still confined to a wheelchair. The case is pending.
In August 2015, the 29-year-old, who is dating Kylie Jenner, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of reckless conduct after his fans jumped a security barricade at the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago.
The Office of Emergency Management said at the time: 'The performer played one song and then began telling fans to come over the barricades. Due to the security's quick response, the situation was remedied immediately and no fans were injured.
John Hilgert, 14, was the youngest victim of the horrific crush which killed eight people at Friday night's Astroworld Festival in Houston
The Houston medical examiner is asking for the public's help in identifying this man, who also died at Friday's Astroworld event. He is believed to be in his early 20s, and was six feet two inches tall, and weighed 498 pounds
Danish Baig, 27 (left), was killed at Travis Scott's Astroworld after saving a relative during the stampede on Friday, his brother said. Franco Patino, 21 (right), also died, the University of Dayton said
Brianna Rodriguez, 16, (left) was a dancer and junior in high school. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Pena, 23,(right) was an aspiring model and dreamed of one day being a US Border Patrol agent. He died of cardiac arrest
Scott paid a $7,465 fine after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for encouraging fans to rush the stage at a May 2017 concert in Arkansas
The performer fled the scene but was arrested shortly after, according to station WLS.
'All my real ragers jump the barricade right now. Let's go. Come over,' he said at the 2015 show as his young fans obliged. 'I want chaos.' Hundreds were seen storming towards the stage, although there were no reports of anyone being injured.
In February 2018, he pled guilty to another misdemeanor charge - this one for disorderly conduct - after he encouraged his fans to rush the stage and bypass security at a May 2017 concert at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion in the city of Rogers.
Scott paid a 7,465.31 fine, according to KFSM.
The Rogers Police Department said several people were injured during the rush and treated on the scene by the fire department and staff from a local hospital.
Weeks before that, a fan at a Scott concert in Manhattan says he was carried over the side of a balcony after the rapper asked fans to rush forward, and was subsequently paralyzed as a result.
Meanwhile, a nurse who fainted and was crowd-surfed to the stage at Friday's concert described the scene as overwhelmed medical staff dealt with a sea of bodies. She also pushed back on claims that a man stabbing people with a needle was the source of the eight deaths.
The crowd at the Scott's music festival on Friday surged toward the stage during Scott's performance, knocking other concertgoers over and squeezing them together
Around 2pm Friday, hundreds of fans stormed the festival's VIP entrance. Seven hours later, the surge in front of the main stage killed eight people
“Overall inflation might be a bit higher, but for low- and middle-income households, inflation will probably be lower,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.
The infrastructure deal has been widely praised and passed with bipartisan support. It will be the largest boost in spending on infrastructure in decades. The Build Back Better package continues to be negotiated in the House and Senate. In the latest version of the deal, more than half of the money goes to addressing climate change and investing in young children through a universal pre-K program, the monthly Child Tax Credit payments, and a cap on child care expenses for many families at 7 percent of income.
At a fundamental level, economies grow because there are either more workers entering the labor force or because the existing workers are more productive. For much of the past decade, the nation struggled with weak productivity gains, one of many factors holding back the recovery from the Great Recession. There has been a recent boost of productivity from rapid digitization during the pandemic. The hope is, these major bills will drive further improvements in productivity that can pay off for years to come.
On the workforce side of the equation, the United States was a leader on women’s participation in work outside the home in the 1980s and ’90s, but now the United States is lagging behind many other advanced economies in Europe, Canada, Australia and Japan. Many economists predict a boost in working women from the Build Back Better plan, especially if the final version includes both paid parental leave and expanded child care.
“We know from a lot of empirical research that these policies will boost labor supply. They will help people who have care responsibilities fully participate in the economy,” White House economic adviser Heather Boushey said at a recent Washington Post Live event.
As Democrats debate the final details, the House added a controversial increase in the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT, to $72,500 from $10,000. This change would allow wealthy homeowners to deduct more of their property taxes and expenses. It is a popular change in states like New Jersey and New York where there are many expensive homes and high property taxes.
But critics across the political spectrum have blasted the SALT change as a giveaway to the rich, running contrary to Democrats’ message that this bill is supposed to tax the wealthy and big corporations to make much needed investments in young people, climate change mitigation and the care economy. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the SALT change would be the third most expensive proposal in the Build Back Better bill.
“Why are they doing this?” tweeted Jason Furman, former head of Obama’s White House Council of Economic Advisers. “This increase alone will go almost exclusively to households making over $1 million.”
While the final details are being worked out on the Build Back Better plan, the emerging consensus is that these bills are a major attempt to address barriers that have long held back the U.S. economy from its full potential.
“If you put the process to the side and focus on the policy from a cumulative view, the Democrats are on the verge of historic fiscal policy,” Chris Krueger, managing director at Cowen and Company, wrote in a note to clients.------------------------------------
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