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FORT SMITH, Ark. -- A Muslim man says he will move his family out of Fort Smith, Ark., after a series of events that began Saturday, Dec. 19, at Central Mall.
That's when Alan and Daphne Crawford say they went to the mall to shop, dressed in a thobe and hijab. They had their son with them.
People grew concerned about the Crawfords and claimed they were taking video of people at the mall, taking video of entrances and exits. Some claimed they were 'scoping the layout of the mall.'
Mall security told Alan Crawford that he could not take video within the mall. He said he did not know this was against the rules. He says he and his wife were
there to hand out cards for a local charity and to shop.
"We purchased about $200 worth of Sperry shoes which I'd be happy to show everybody. There's nothing better than Sperry's. These things last about two to three years a piece and some beautiful Armani glasses from Lens Crafters. And these are the crimes we committed at the mall this weekend," Crawford told KFSM-TV. For more of the conversation with Crawford about what happened at the mall, click here.
While they were being questioned, Alan Crawford says bystanders began taking pictures of them. Those pictures were shared on social media and some implied the Crawfords were possible terrorists. Someone also created a flyer that has been circulating on social media. The flyer shows the couple in their head-dress and asks people to call the police if they see them. The Crawfords also say someone has planted small bombs in their yard.
"This shouldn't be happening in America," Crawford told KFSM.
Alan and Daphne Crawford were escorted from the mall. Daphne Crawford did say that at least one couple at the mall stuck up for them and said they were simply a Muslim family trying to do holiday shopping.
The girlfriend, whom he identified as "Abigail," was investigating Muhammad. The man made it clear that the NCAA would find Muhammad ineligible and not allow him to play this season, the email said. Abigail Grantstein, an assistant director of enforcement, is the NCAA's lead investigator on the Muhammad case.
The attorney said the man referred to his girlfriend by name, mentioned a connection she had to Kansas and said she was a former college athlete. Abigail Grantstein was a member of Ohio State's swimming and diving team and attended law school at Kansas, according to her biography on LinkedIn.com.
Two red, two yellow.
What sounds like a child sorting Halloween hard candies this year doubles as something a bit more important to state and federal disaster-management officials: the Waffle House Index for Hurricane Sandy.
Two Waffle Houses near Allentown, Pa., were closed, and two in Maryland were open but serving a limited menu, according to Waffle House spokesperson Kelly Thrasher. All were without electricity; the open ones had gas and water.
Thrasher summarized the Index: when an official phones a Waffle House and the restaurant is open and serving the full menu, the index is Green. When the restaurant is open but serving a limited menu, it's yellow. When it's closed, it's red.
Federal Emergency Management Administration head Craig Fugate devised the index after leading Florida's response to several hurricanes in the 2000s. Based on the 24-hour restaurant chain's hardy reputation and presence across the Southeast, it is an informal yet handy way to assess an area's post-calamity condition.
This allows officials to do quick disaster-relief triage: red areas need help first, and fast.
Thrasher said Hurricane Isaac closed 40 restaurants on the gulf coast for a few days. She attributed the difference between this and Sandy to the chain's high concentration of restaurants in the gulf area.
Their restaurants in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania are fewer and more spread out. There are no Waffle Houses in New Jersey or New York.
In addition, the company was "definitely proactive" before Sandy hit, Thrasher said. They tracked the storm all last week and sent an advance team pre-landfall with extra supplies and employees.
The Waffle House Index has its own hashtag. "How can the severity of Sandy be measured? The northern most WaffleHouse is in Ohio. #WaffleHouseIndex," a Twitter user [@rkeni2] tweeted yesterday.
Thrasher called the attention "very flattering," but added: "This is what we do all the time: to be there for our customers and associates on an everyday basis."
A call to FEMA went unreturned. Perhaps they were busy calling Waffle House.
LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas is increasing its efforts to help people who are victims of discrimination or harassment.
The university opened a central office to take discrimination or harassment complaints this semester. And it is requiring all students, faculty and staff to take an online sexual harassment training course, both on the Lawrence campus and at the campus in Overland Park.
Before this year, harassment or discrimination reports were directed to the Department of Human Resources or handled by individual academic departments.
Jane McQueeny is director of the new office of Institutional Opportunity and Access.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports the course must be completed by Oct. 5. It helps define sexual harassment and sexual violence, and discusses relationships between students and faculty.
UPDATE, 9:40 a.m.: In all, 17 students were arrested, according to university authorities. Some of those involved are believed to be involved with the football program. Some fraternity members are also involved.
Names will be available by 11 a.m.
More arrests are possible.