Hank Kula

Ret. police sergeant/CSI/journalist. Formerly Hkula1191 here until hacked. We can disagree, have civil discourse, and remain friends. Retweets ≠ endorsements.

[Hank Kula @TheEMiniProject]

THIS.

[DS | Wild Bloom 🌿 @DSWildBloom86]

I’d rather watch kids playing a t-ball game than an MLB game, they are hilarious 😂

[The Husky @Mr_Husky1]

A 24-year-old Polish tennis player arrived in Paris last week ranked 114th in the world, with no sponsors, no guaranteed income, and no certainty she could even pay for her hotel room.

She had to win three qualifying matches just to enter the French Open main draw. Prize money is only paid at the end of the tournament, so a Polish sports drink brand quietly stepped in and covered her hotel bill.

Her name is Maja Chwalinska. And today, she plays in the French Open final.

Before this tournament, she had won exactly one Grand Slam main draw match in her entire career. She had battled depression so severe that in 2021 she couldn't get out of bed. She underwent knee surgery in 2022. She spent years grinding through small tournaments across Europe just to stay afloat.

Then she arrived in Paris, won three qualifiers, and kept winning. Zheng Qinwen. Elise Mertens. Maria Sakkari. Diana Shnaider. Nine straight matches. One set dropped.

She is now the first qualifier in French Open history to reach the final. The last time a qualifier reached a Grand Slam final, it was Emma Raducanu at the 2021 US Open. Raducanu won.

By simply making the final, Chwalinska has earned more prize money than her entire career combined. The runner-up cheque alone is $1.6 million. If she wins today, she takes home $3.25 million.
One week ago she couldn't pay for her hotel room.

[Garrett Exner @Exner_Garrett]

Ray’s Rock - Omaha Beach

On the morning of June 6, 1944, 23 year old Staff Sergeant Arnold “Ray” Lambert came ashore with the first wave of the 1st Infantry Division on the eastern side of Omaha Beach. At this small patch of concrete he saved nearly 20 lives:

The division came under intense fire from several German bunkers surrounding the entrance to the Colville Draw (one of two exits off Omaha Beach). Ray, a medic, immediately went to work.

He was shot in the arm. Moments later he was hit by shrapnel in the leg, but Ray kept pulling men to safety. He pulled nearly 20 wounded soldiers to cover behind this 8ft wide obstacle, treating each soldier before going out in search of others.

After several hours under fire, while pulling a wounded soldier from the ocean, he was struck by a landing craft. It dropped its ramp on top of him, breaking his back. He fell face down in the water, drowning. The craft backed up and nearby soldiers pulled an unconscious Ray to safety, eventually evacuating him off the beach.

Remarkably, Ray had already earned two Silver Stars and three Purple Hearts in Sicily and North Africa, prior to landing in France. But here in Normandy his war would end.

He awoke in a hospital back in England a day later. In the next bed over was his brother, who had also been wounded at Omaha.

When asked about his work on D-Day, Ray simply said, “I did what I was called to do.”

Ray Lambert passed in 2021 at 100 years old. He exemplified the best of American grit and why remembering this day is so important.

[Adam J. Bello @CountyExecBello]

Thank you to everyone who joined tonight’s Wear Orange Rally to End Gun Violence at Parcel 5. Gun violence and domestic violence impact every corner of our community and preventing both takes all of us working together. Monroe County will continue investing in these programs.

[Monroe County Sheriff’s Office @monroesheriffny]

Update: MCSO is happy to report that Shamaja Ashford-Armstrong has been located and is safe. Thank you for your assistance.

[Adam J. Bello @CountyExecBello]

For years, our local law enforcement have been dedicated to coordinating the @SpecOlympicsNY Law Enforcement Torch Run. This year, we honor late @RochesterNYPD Lt. Prewasnicak, a valiant supporter of the event and the cause, who led countless others to follow in his footsteps.

[Hank Kula @TheEMiniProject]

Under that lid is former @BuffaloBills DB Jeff Nixon, President of @BillsAlumni Foundation, hosting next Saturday's annual day-long charity music festival at The Cove - Seafood & Banquets facility, Transit Rd., Depew. See the poster in the comments for info. #buffalo #ROC #FLX

[CBS News @CBSNews]

A Marine veteran jumped into action on Wednesday after a group of teens attempted to rob him at gunpoint in front of his home in Oxon Hill, Maryland. Jheyco Borda Chura was installing a dashcam in his truck when the teenagers allegedly demanded his car keys, phone and belongings.

Chura said his younger brother and father helped him fight off the suspects, during which the teen with the gun pulled the trigger. Chura said no one was injured in the incident, though.

[Kevin Williams @wxbywilliams]

Floating solar projects? What could possibly go wrong putting glass panels containing toxic elements like lead and cadmium on our pristine waterways? It's not like NY gets hail storms, wind storms or ice storms.🤦‍♂️Do you guys ever think things through? https://t.co/85TqcvE5GY

[Jennifer Lewke @WHEC_JLewke]

WATCH: Drivers blowing past stopped school buses in districts across Monroe Co. These are just a few of the near-misses that have happened over the last few months. Since the cameras were installed on buses in several local districts, more than 18k tickets have been issued.

[Greece Police NY @GreecePoliceNY]

🚨#FUGITIVEFRIDAY🚨

Any INFO? 📲Call the GPD tip line @ 585-581-4016 or 📨email tips to [email protected]

[Monroe County Sheriff’s Office @monroesheriffny]

Anyone with information is asked to call 911.

[Monroe County Sheriff’s Office @monroesheriffny]

Deputies have received two reports this week involving community members who fell victim to a common “family emergency” scam, resulting in losses totaling thousands of dollars.

Scammers rely on fear, secrecy, and urgency to pressure victims into acting quickly. Trust your instincts. Never let someone keep you on the phone or prevent you from verifying the situation with a trusted family member.

If you receive a suspicious call:
• Hang up immediately
• Contact your family member directly using a known phone number
• Call 911 if you believe it may be a scam

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to protecting our community through education, awareness, and proactive public safety efforts. Sharing this information with family members and friends can help prevent others from becoming victims.

[Monroe County Sheriff’s Office @monroesheriffny]

Blue skies and perfect weather made for an outstanding day supporting our friends @SpecOlympicsNY during the 40th Anniversary of the Law Enforcement Torch Run. Deputies were proud to take part in the 3.1-mile run alongside members of the community to help raise awareness and critical support for these incredible athletes.

For 40 years, the Torch Run has brought communities and law enforcement together in support of inclusion, determination, and opportunity for all. We are honored to continue being part of that tradition and helping make a positive impact both on and off the course.

[Bob Lonsberry @BobLonsberry]

“I still find it troubling that some of our own neighbors, business owners from the suburbs of Rochester, are supplying a significant number of illegal guns that end up in our city and used in a crime,” Mayor Malik Evans said during a news conference. (WXXI quote)
The Rochester mayor is blaming legal suburban gun shops for being the original source of firearms used in city crimes without mentioning the part about residents of his city stealing those guns from the homes and vehicles of legal purchasers and then using them to commit illegal crimes.

[Hank Kula @TheEMiniProject]

#bronx #brooklyn #statenisland #manhattan #queens

[Consortium for Safe Communities @CSC_NY]

Why don't #newyork state lawmakers who control the state legislature listen to #lawenforcement experts about justice reforms and the culture of lawlessness? #ROC #wny #CNY #NYC #LongIsland #FLX #ADK
STORY: https://t.co/ksQU7gdTx0
Sheriff Baxter's post: https://t.co/1n5FoeBflc

[Mike Levin @MikeLevin]

This is so insanely corrupt, I can’t even believe it.

More than half the donors to Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom just won over $50 billion in new federal contracts in six months.

And here’s the part that should make your blood boil.

Sixteen of these 27 donors were facing federal enforcement actions, antitrust reviews, labor cases, securities charges. Many of those cases have been quietly dropped or scaled back since Trump took office. You write a check, your legal problems disappear. That’s not a coincidence.

The White House won’t even release the full donor list. They’re hiding it on purpose, because daylight is the one thing pay-to-play can’t survive. A federal judge already ruled ballroom construction has to stop until Congress authorizes it.

Government is supposed to serve the people, not auction itself off to the highest bidder. When access goes to whoever pays the most, working families always end up paying the price.

We either end the corruption, or the corruption will end us.

https://t.co/4MGFzSseFl

[Joseph Frascati @joey_frascati]

For yesterday topic about the bike lane at the Brooks Av. Rail underpass….
The signs does not warm motorist that the bike lane ends, it just says IN LANE.
That would mean that the bike needs to stay in the center of the road and hope for the best.

[Wendy Mills @WendyMillsTV]

Canada geese and goslings are on the move and stopping traffic. Be alert and patient. We all want to see these feathery families safely get to where they need to go. Canada geese are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 📷: Mike Digout @SPECNews1ROC