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House votes to block DC police accountability bill

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

The House voted on Wednesday to block Washington’s police accountability bill from taking effect, the second time this year that the chamber moved to thwart legislation in the capital city.The chamber cleared the disapproval resolution in a 229-189 vote.The disapproval resolution now heads to the Senate, where its prospects remain unknown. But even if the chamber clears the measure and sends it to the White House, the Biden administration has said the president would veto the resolution.The vote came weeks after Congress successfully blocked D.C.’s revised criminal code from taking effect, a move that excited Republicans and split Democrats — some of whom were frustrated by how the process played out.The disapproval resolutions are part of a strategy by Republicans to put a spotlight on crime in the U.S., a hot-button issue that resonated with voters during the 2022 midterm elections. The votes force Democrats on the record, leading some moderates to vote against the party and ...

Biggest winners and losers in the blockbuster Fox-Dominion settlement 

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

A last-second settlement between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems this week is reverberating throughout the political and media landscape. Experts and observers have said the deal, which was struck in dramatic fashion just moments before opening arguments in the trial over Dominion’s lawsuit was set to begin, could have major implications for the future of Fox specifically and defamation settlements paid by American media companies more generally. While it remains unclear exactly how the settlement, which awarded the voting software company almost $800 Million, will affect Fox’s financial health and reputation, here is a look at the biggest winners and losers from the historic deal.WinnersTucker Carlson, host of "Tucker Carlson Tonight," poses for photos in a Fox News Channel studio in New York.Fox executives and hosts at the center of the suit Tuesday’s deal perhaps most notably shields Fox’s leading executives and household-name talent from being thrust onto the...

Bee Cave becomes 7th Dark Sky Community in Texas

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

BEE CAVE, Texas (KXAN) — Thanks to new lighting, the city of Bee Cave became Texas' 7th "International Dark Community" and now has one of the state's clearest views of the stars."Bee Cave joins a growing list of places certified in Dark Sky's International Dark Sky Places Program in Texas, with several concentrated in the Hill Country region of the state,” said International Dark Sky Association (IDA) Places Program Associate Amber Harrison in a press release. “This addition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of dark-sky advocates throughout the state. The leadership of our advocates is remarkable, and it is an honor to get to recognize them through this certification.” Texas Hill Country prepares for thousands of visitors ahead of total solar eclipse Bee Cave is the 40th place to receive the designation. Other locations in Texas include Blanco, Dripping Springs, Fredericksburg, Horseshoe Bay, Lakewood Village and Wimberly Valley.According to the IDA, the city achieved...

Large hail possible from thunderstorms late Thursday

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Confidence is increasing in strong to severe thunderstorms developing Thursday evening and impacting much of the area, especially from Highway 281 eastward including the Austin metro.Ahead of the storm system heading our way, expect mostly cloudy to cloudy skies overnight through midday Thursday with just a few passing, light rain showers.Thursday afternoon, a few scattered thunderstorms may develop -- but this first round of storms is not certain, and may not happen at all.Clouds/radar forecast Thursday afternoonThe more likely round of thunderstorms -- some severe -- comes between 7 p.m. and midnight Thursday night. A complex or line of powerful thunderstorms may bring very large hail egg-size or even larger, and damaging wind gusts. Tornadoes appear unlikely at this time.Clouds/radar forecast Thursday nightHeavy downpours may produce 1-3" of welcome rainfall in some areas, including parts of Austin. Cooler weather blows in behind the system on Friday and Saturday...

Grand Jury clears 3 APD officers in August 2021 shooting, use of force case

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Tuesday, a Travis County Special Grand Jury concluded its review of an August 2021 shooting incident involving three Austin Police Department officers.Travis County District Attorney José Garza said Officers Derrick Lehman, Jason Cummins and Michael Barba were not indicted by the jury.According to a release, on August 19, 2021, APD officers responded to a 911 call of a man on a high-speed roadway at the 2300 block of South US Highway 183 Northbound. The officers arrived on the scene and found the man, later identified as Lashondell Gillespie, in the middle of the highway. PREVIOUS: Man shot by Austin police in middle of US 183 identified During the incident, the release said Gillespie walked toward the officers with what appeared to be a knife. Officers gave him commands to drop the knife, but he did not and continued to move toward the officers.According to the, release Officer Lehman and Cummins then fired their APD-issued guns as Gillespie moved closer to the...

Project Connect leaders approve millions in contracts for light rail planning, design

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Leaders behind Austin's Project Connect mass transit system approved several multi-million-dollar contracts Wednesday as the program revs up its light rail system buildout.The Austin Transit Partnership -- the entity tasked with overseeing the delivery of Project Connect -- approved a contract with HDR Engineering Inc. to assist with program development and adhering to standards outlined in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. ICYMI: Project Connect debuts 5 scaled down light rail options The program development and management specifically focuses on ways to maximize the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts Capital Investment Grant Program, to help secure federal funding for the light rail system. Contractual work on that will run through Dec. 31, 2023.Regarding the NEPA component, ATP documents noted that work will continue until the FTA issues its record of decision -- essentially, delivers the greenlight that Project Connect is set...

Body pulled from St. Croix River

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

Officers with the St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office and Washington County Sheriff’s Office recovered a body from the swollen and swiftly moving St. Croix River on Wednesday morning.According to the Hudson Police Department, officials received a call around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday about a possible body in the river.No further information will be released until the medical examiner can make a positive identification of the body and the family has been notified, police said in a statement posted on the department’s Facebook page.Officers have been searching since Thursday for a teen who went missing after falling from a rock ledge into the St. Croix River at Interstate State Park in Taylors Falls, Minn.The Chisago County sheriff’s office identified the missing teen as DAndrea Sanvig, 18, of Luck, Wis.Related ArticlesCrime & Public Safety | Republican lawmakers vote to kill funding for Wisconsin’s largest conservation project Crime & Public Sa...

Extra COVID-19 booster now open to some high-risk Americans

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

By LAURAN NEERGAARD (AP Medical Writer)WASHINGTON (AP) — Older Americans and people with weak immune systems can get an extra COVID-19 booster dose this spring.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday signed off on a more flexible booster schedule for people who remain at the highest risk from COVID-19 — giving them the choice of a second “bivalent” Pfizer or Moderna booster, the most up-to-date formula.“Many in the population are experiencing vaccine fatigue but there is a subset who are eager to receive additional doses,” CDC’s Dr. Sara Oliver told an agency advisory panel that expressed support for the change.The move came a day after the Food and Drug Administration took steps to make coronavirus vaccinations simpler for everyone. From now on, anyone getting a Pfizer or Moderna dose — whether it’s a booster or their first-ever vaccination — will get an updated version rather than the outdated original...

Gophers spring football game Saturday moved indoors, not open to public

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

The Gophers’ spring football game at 11 a.m. Saturday has been moved to the team’s indoor practice facility and will no longer be open to the public.The U switched the location from Huntington Bank Stadium on Wednesday due to the construction on the scoreboards within the stadium and with the chance of poor weather on Saturday. The Gophers have moved most of their recent spring games indoors due to wintery weather.“It is unfortunate that we need to move the game indoors … but we wanted to do what was best for our fans and student-athletes,” head coach P.J. Fleck said in a statement.Fans can still follow the game on the Big Ten Network and on the Gopher Radio Network. The U will postpone the annual diaper drive and oar collection to a time during training camp this fall.Related ArticlesCollege Sports | Gophers beat out heavy Big Ten competition for Esko safety Koi Perich College Sports | Women’s hockey: U.S. rallies past Canada to win world cham...

New Associate Judge on NYS Court of Appeals

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 12:00:15 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The New York State Court of Appeals now has a new Associate Judge. The Senate confirmed Caitlin Halligan to the position after it was left vacant when Judge Rowan Wilson was promoted to Chief Judge.The confirmation took place after a hearing was held on Tuesday, where Halligan introduced herself and shared her experience in law which includes working with gun violence prevention groups, but that’s not all."Working alongside Manhattan DAs office to defend its subpoena of former President Trump‘s tax records—a case that for me was about the rule of law. And filing a brief on behalf of the Women’s Law Center and more than 60 other organizations, on behalf of the US women’s soccer team’s fight for equal pay," Halligan said of her career during her testimony.As an attorney, Halligan has argued many times before the Supreme Court as well as the New York State Court of Appeals. She took questions about her past cases during the hearing."In whatever capacity I repres...