Neil A. Carousso produces NewsNation original “Kurt’s Country” – a celebration of country music and a slice of Americana with host Kurt Bardella.
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Husband Sent Flirty Texts before Mica Miller’s Death, Waitress Says
By Elizabeth Vargas, NewsNation
Produced by Neil A. Carousso
Editor’s note: This article mentions suicide. If you or someone you know needs help, resources or someone to talk to, you can find it at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline website or by calling 1-800-273-8255. People are available to talk to 24×7.
(NewsNation) — South Carolina pastor John-Paul Miller exchanged flirtatious messages with a waitress before and after his wife died by suicide, the server told NewsNation.
The waitress shared with NewsNation a receipt she received from a customer Feb. 23. The receipt bears the name John-Paul Miller and includes a $20 tip and a phone number with a happy face next to it.
He signed the receipt just two months before his wife, 30-year-old Mica Miller, filed for divorce.
The waitress, whom NewsNation agreed to identify only by her first name Christiana, reached out to John-Paul Miller soon after and exchanged text messages.
He repeatedly asked Christiana to send pictures of herself, including bikini pictures, and called her “super hot.” The pastor never asked to meet in person, she said.
“I was pretty aware of things from the beginning,” Christiana said. “I had some suspicions. There were some red flags. I did some research before I even texted him and then after I did, I spoke with a friend of mine, whose friend had a very negative experience — a mortifying experience, really — with him and his church.”
Christiana declined to share specifics about that experience, saying it was the other woman’s “story to tell.”
“I know that she witnessed some things that were not appropriate and faced some harassment when she tried to speak out about it,” Christiana said.
Their correspondence stopped until news broke of Mica Miller’s death. Christiana then reached back out to John-Paul Miller.
“I asked him if anything was new and he more or less said, ‘Yes, lots new lol. I’ll text later,’” Christiana said.
The Robeson County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Mica Miller’s death after her body was found April 27 at Lumber State Park in Lumberton, North Carolina. She died of apparent self-inflicted fatal wound, according to police and the medical examiner.
John-Paul Miller announced her death the following day to his congregation, claiming the 30-year-old had taken her own life after struggling with mental illness.
“I got a call late last night, my wife has passed away,” John-Paul Miller said. “It was self-induced and it was up in North Carolina. ”The pastor asked the congregation not to discuss her death inside the church.
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Kristi Noem on Retraction: Kim Jong Un ‘Should Not be in the Book’
By Elizabeth Vargas, NewsNation
Produced by Neil A. Carousso
- The South Dakota governor avoided directly admitting the claim was untrue
- She accused tribes of allowing cartels on reservations
- She defended her decision to shoot and kill her dog
(NewsNation) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem acknowledged removing a reference to meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un from her book, wavering when pressed on whether it was inaccurate during an interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”
Noem, a Republican considered a potential 2024 vice presidential pick, avoided directly admitting the claim was untrue when asked about the retraction. But after numerous follow-ups, the governor said, “This anecdote I should not have put in the book. And I asked (the publishers) to have it taken out, and it is.”
Noem’s book has faced scrutiny for including the anecdote describing her meeting the North Korean leader while traveling during her days in Congress. After multiple reports raised questions about its accuracy, a spokesperson for her office said Kim “was included in a list of world leaders and shouldn’t have been.”
The Associated Press noted Noem traveled to China, Japan and South Korea as part of a congressional delegation in 2014.
Noem defended not initially copping to the inaccuracy, saying, “I don’t talk about personal meetings with world leaders.” She said she “took responsibility for it” and that “the buck stops with me.”
Mike Pence and Donald Trump
Vargas asked Noem if former President Mike Pence did the right thing by refusing former President Donald Trump‘s request to reject the 2020 election results. Noem avoided directly answering, saying, “I don’t answer hypothetical questions” because “the law has been changed” since then.
She also criticized Pence for not endorsing Trump.
“Mike Pence not endorsing President Trump right now, he’s basically endorsing Joe Biden. And that’s just hard for me to believe,” she said.
When asked if she’s still in the running to be Trump’s 2024 vice presidential pick after attending a GOP event with potential VP candidates, Noem said, “I don’t know. I’ve told President Trump that he needs to make sure that he picks someone who helps him win.”
She said she wants Trump “to be successful. I’ll do all I can to be helpful with that.”
Border, tribal reservations and rural land
Noem alleged Native American tribal leaders in her state are allowing drug cartels to operate on reservations with impunity, contributing to the national border crisis.
She said three reservations in South Dakota have banned her from visiting after she said cartels are trafficking drugs and humans from the reservations.
“We have the cartels set up in South Dakota,” Noem said, adding that a cartel member reportedly kidnapped an FBI agent in the state.
She accused tribal presidents and councils of protecting the cartels because “I have no jurisdiction there” on reservations. Noem said she has offered to help enforce laws, but tribal leaders retaliated by “banning me” instead of the cartels.
“Why don’t you ban the cartels, the ones who are trafficking the drugs, who are abusing your children and your women and trafficking them?” Noem challenged.
Noem said the cartels’ presence shows the border crisis extends beyond southern states, alleging “dangerous criminals” and people on “terrorist watch lists” are entering the U.S. illegally.
On immigration, Noem backed Trump’s proposal for “the largest deportation in American history” of those who entered illegally. She criticized the Biden administration for “violating federal law” on border security.
Noem also accused the Chinese government of buying up rural land to control the U.S. food supply, calling it a grave national security threat that must be addressed.
“Most of our packing plants are owned by Chinese entities or Chinese investors,” Noem stated. “And now they’re coming in and buying up our land as well.”
She alleged that it is part of China’s long-running strategy to make the U.S. dependent on imported food as a means of control. Noem argued that past policies aimed to ensure America could feed itself for national security reasons.
“If we think a pandemic was scary, I can’t imagine what it would be like if we let China control our food supply,” she warned. “We should own our land. It’s in our best interest to have small family farms out on the land growing our food for us.”
Dog story fallout
Noem stood by her controversial decision to include an anecdote about shooting and killing her family’s dog for poor behavior years ago in her book “No Going Back” despite criticism the story was a political misstep.
The Republican governor said she wanted to be upfront about the “painful” choice rather than shying away from it like most politicians would.
“This book is filled with vulnerable stories, painful decisions that I’ve had,” Noem said. “And at that point in time, I had a decision between the protection of my children and the people that were in our lives and a dangerous animal that was killing livestock and attacking people.”
Noem pushed back on suggestions that rehashing the dog shooting was a political error given polls show 65 million U.S. households own pets. She said most elected officials would “run from the truth” and difficult decisions.
“I don’t do either of those,” Noem asserted. “I wanted them to know the truth. I wanted them to hear it in my words.”
NewsNation affiliate The Hill contributed to this report.
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Kevin O’Leary: AI bossware can ID protesters and bar them from jobs
Produced by Neil A. Carousso, NewsNation
- Kevin O’Leary says his firms go ‘dark and deep’ on job applicants
- Anyone ID’d at protests isn’t considered any further
- Think about your future and your personal brand, he advises
(NewsNation) — In an interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” Thursday, “Shark Tank” star Kevin O’Leary said he’s using AI-powered bossware with the ability to weed out potential employees who have participated in pro-Palestinian protests.
“It’s happening right now as we speak. I’m just one firm doing this,” said O’Leary, who in addition to his experience in business also once campaigned to head Canada’s Conservative Party.
O’Leary said U.S. employers currently use technology, including high-resolution video scans, for these types of hiring needs. He pointed out that the technology used to identify people in crowds, like college protests, is getting better, which may mean those protesters’ future job prospects could get worse.
“When we dig deep into the dark web for your background, I’ll see you,” O’Leary said.
He told Vargas that it was easy for Vietnam War protesters to be anonymous in the age of grainy 16 mm news film. Now, in the world of HD video and identity technology, a job applicant whose image pops up in a protest video would be done.
“We don’t even consider that person. Why would we when we have lots of other people that aren’t burning stuff?”
O’Leary said if your passion for a cause is more important than your future career, “Go for it.”
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t do that. I think you should think about your future. Think about your career. Think about your personal brand,” he said.
And, he said, think about all the opportunities you’ll never know that you missed.
“You’ll never know what you didn’t get that loan, or that mortgage, or that job, or get that board seat.”
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Art Business Founded by Former Foster Child Speaks to the Human Experience
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Emicia Parker, the founder of Empress by Emicia, who is inspiring customers through the art of her personal story.
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NYC’s Élan Flowers Evolves into Blooming Subscription and Corporate Services
By Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso
On the WCBS Small Business Spotlight, sponsored by Dime Community Bank, Joe Connolly and Neil A. Carousso talk to Patrick Hall, the owner of Élan Flowers, based in Tribeca.
