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Kansas City man charged in Ralph Yarl shooting pleads not guilty

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) - An 84-year-old man charged in the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl appeared in court Wednesday.Andrew Lester was charged Monday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in Clay County. He surrendered on Tuesday at the county jail and, later that day, was released after posting bond. The 84-year-old entered court Wednesday with a cane, and his attorney pleaded not guilty on his behalf. As part of Lester's bond conditions, he will not be allowed to possess any weapons, cannot leave the state without permission, and cannot have contact with Yarl or his family. Lester is accused of shooting the 16-year-old last week after the teen accidentally went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings. Kansas City police said just before 10 p.m. April 13, Yarl was picking up his younger siblings at a home on N.E. 115th Terrace when he mistakenly went to a house on N.E. 115th Street. When he arrived at the home and rang the doorbell, Lester shot Yarl...

Van Jones advises DeSantis to go after Trump's looks, family

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 GMT

(The Hill) – Political strategist and commentator Van Jones says Ron DeSantis "is not prepared" for his looming GOP White House primary fight against former President Trump, advising the Florida governor, who has not yet declared his candidacy, to go low.A pro-DeSantis group aired its first TV ad earlier this week, bashing Trump for targeting DeSantis on his past positions on Medicare and Social Security and turning the attack back around on the former president. That won't work, Jones, a CNN political analyst, said in an advance clip from Comedy Central’s “Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News,” shared exclusively with The Hill on Wednesday.“The problem they have with someone like DeSantis is he doesn’t know how to fight,” Jones told the animated hosts of the show. “If he thinks he is going to be able to beat Donald Trump by splitting hairs about Social Security policy, he hasn’t watched Donald Trump.”Trump has regularly gotten down in the mud when attacking his opponents, ...

K-Pop star Moonbin of ASTRO found dead at 25

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 GMT

(WJW) – Moonbin, a member of the popular K-pop group ASTRO, passed away on Wednesday evening at his home in Seoul. He was 25 years old. The label of his group confirmed his death in a statement posted on social media, PEOPLE and several other outlets reported. Coroner determines Aaron Carter’s cause of death The group said he "suddenly left us and became a star in the sky," according to a translation of the statement by PEOPLE. It went on to say the group was "deeply mourning" him.According to PEOPLE, Moonbin started his career as a child model and actor before debuting with ASTRO in 2016. The group released three albums, including "A Drive to the Starry Road" in 2022. Moonbin was also a member of the sub-group Moonbin & Sanha, which released three EPs. Elementary students mistake meth for candy He is survived by his family, including sister Moon Sua. She is a member of the K-pop group Billie, Billboard reports.While the cause of death wasn't immediately clear, local police...

House votes to block DC police accountability bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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 Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:45:18 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...