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Bastrop's The Refuge halts care, citing 'security risks' and other 'roadblocks'

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- A Bastrop County nonprofit meant to help young victims of sex trafficking announced it will voluntarily suspend its license to operate -- blaming security risks and other problems as it tried to open its doors. The Refuge for DMST (Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking) first shut down its residential treatment facility in March 2022, following allegations employees exploited girls in their care. The claims sparked several investigations and, ultimately, intense scrutiny by a federal court and a special legislative committee. BACKGROUND: Document says Bastrop facility meant to help underage sex trafficking victims being investigated for abuse However, a Texas Department of Public Safety report determined it could not identify any evidence in the case, and by September 2022, a Bastrop County grand jury did not find sufficient evidence to support an indictment on any criminal offense.In the days following the initial allegations, The Refuge leaders admitted they...

1 rescued after 12-foot fall in southeast Travis County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

Editor's Note: The video above shows KXAN News Today's top headlines for Sept. 13, 2023TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) -- Austin-Travis County EMS rescued an adult after a reported 12-foot fall into a water retention area in southeast Travis County, the agency said on social media.Shortly before 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, medics responded to the area of 1334-1330 Old Lockhart Road. Medics said a person needed to be rescued.Travis County STAR Flight, the Austin Fire Department and Travis County ESD 11 also responded to the scene.Around 5:45 p.m., the person was rescued and taken by STAR Flight to Seton Hays for non-life threatening injuries, ATCEMS said.

Woodbury mother’s two-part murder trial enters mental health phase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

A Washington County judge will decide whether a Woodbury woman is not guilty by reason of mental illness in an attack on her two young children, one of whom later died, in 2021.Sadiyo Ibrahim Mohamed (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)In the first phase of a bifurcated trial, Judge Douglas Marlow this month found Sadiyo Ibrahim Mohamed, 34, guilty of second-degree intentional murder and second-degree assault in the death of her 5-year-old daughter and beating of her 6-year-old son. Mohamed had waived her right to a jury trial in favor of a court trial based on stipulated evidence and facts.Mohamed has a history of mental health issues, court records show. She was found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial in October 2021, five months after the attack, then competent in April 2022.The trial’s second phase, which began Monday, includes testimony from doctors and Mohamed’s mental health records as evidence. It is expected to conclude this week, with Marlow t...

Jason Aldean will try that in an actual small town when he headlines Winstock Country Music Festival

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

Country star Jason Aldean will get the chance to try that in an actual small town when he and Cole Swindell headline the 30th anniversary Winstock Country Music Festival on June 14 and 15 near Winsted, Minn.Reserved seats are $245 and general admission tickets are $150, available by phone at 320-485-4287 or online via winstockfestival.com. Camping is $155, while VIP tickets are sold out.In the years since his 2005 debut single “Hicktown,” Aldean has maintained a steady presence on country radio with a series of chart-toppers that include “She’s Country,” “Big Green Tractor,” “Dirt Road Anthem,” “Burnin’ it Down,” “You Make it Easy,” “Got What I Got” and “If I Didn’t Love You.”“Try That in a Small Town,” the first single from his impending 11th album “Highway Desperado,” was released in May and didn’t get much traction until the video came out in July. The song’s lyrics contrast rural and urban lifestyles and suggest that crime is rampant in cities and t...

Democrats pushing to restore child tax credit after poverty increase

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

WASHINGTON (Nexstar) -- Democrats and the Biden Administration are again trying to renew the expanded child tax credit. New figures show that since it ended, child poverty has doubled.New Jersey Senator Cory Booker (D) says Congress allowed child poverty to spike. Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! "This moral obscenity of the richest nation in the world having the highest poverty rates is not an accident.," he said.New data from the Census Bureau shows the U.S. child poverty rate more than doubled last year when the expanded child tax credit expired."We've got children in my district that are struggling to find where their next meal is coming from," said Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.)The program expired when Democratic Senator Joe Manchin joined Republicans in blocking an extension. Now, Democrats are renewing their push to restore it. Child Tax Credit: Proposal calls for new monthly payments but report cites ‘weaknesses’ in plan "This worked. ...

Jefferson County had first over-the-counter Narcan sale in the U.S

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

CLAYTON, N.Y. (WWTI) -- Narcan is now on store shelves. On August 31, Kinney Drugs became one of the first pharmacies in the country to offer Narcan nasal spray. This was the first time the opioid overdose reversal drug was sold over the counter."Anyone can purchase Narcan nasal spray," Kinney Drugs Pharmacist Natalie Powers said. "There's no age limit, there's no prescription required and there's no ID required." Get the latest news, weather, and sports delivered right to your inbox! Because Narcan can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, it's considered a lifesaving tool. Especially in communities plagued by the ongoing opioid epidemic, like Jefferson County, New York. So far in 2023, according to Kelly Wright, the director of the Anchor Recovery Center of Northern New York, the county has seen 12 overdose deaths. Nine of these have been opioid or fentanyl-related."That's not slowing down," Wright warned. "We're not seeing a decrease. So this is very important because you ...

Body found in lake at Willmore Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

ST. LOUIS - A body was recovered from a lake at a south St. Louis park late Wednesday afternoon.Investigators were summoned to Willmore Park in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood after the police marine unit and the fire department located and pulled a body from the water. Lt. Joseph Lankford, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, said police received a phone call just after 4 p.m. about a person face down in the water.Crime scene tape was put up in the area of Willmore Park Lake 2, near the intersection of Jamieson and Hampton avenues.However, police said the medical examiner could not find any obvious signs of trauma on the body, so they're treating this as a suspicious death and not a homicide.FOX 2 will have more information on this story as it becomes available.

Driver who got pickup stuck on Colorado 14er is hit with hefty tow bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

The now-infamous driver of a pickup truck that became stuck on a Colorado 14er late last month initially balked when Mountain Recovery, a local tow company, quoted its rates to retrieve the vehicle.But about a week later, the driver who somewhat inexplicably traversed his GMC Canyon up a hiking trail at Mount Lincoln, a 14,293-foot peak in Park County, on Aug. 27, called Mountain Recovery back.After an unsuccessful attempt to recover the truck, the vehicle was still at the top of the mountain, and he decided he needed the tow company’s expertise after all, Mountain Recovery owner Charlie Stubblefield said.“Anything we do off-road is very expensive. The equipment is expensive and the liability is expensive,” Stubblefield said. “You have to have a five-star, awesome operator go out there. It’s not a cheap date.”Related ArticlesOutdoors | Users beware: Trail apps have been leading to problems in public lands Read the full story at our partner, Summit Daily.

Disruptive Commanders DTs Daron Payne, Jonathan Allen have Broncos’ full attention: “They’re great power rushers”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

To find the key matchup Sunday between the Broncos offense and the Commanders defense, look no further than the football.Literally.Whenever the ball gets spotted, Washington defensive linemen Jonathan Allen and Daron Payne won’t be far away.The strength of the Commanders’ defense is right in the middle of the field.In their season-opening win against Arizona, the pair logged two tackles for loss apiece, three quarterback hits and a sack for Allen.Not a bad opening salvo after Payne inked a four-year extension over the offseason worth up to $90 million. Allen got four years and up to $72 million two years ago.Their play matches their status as two of the top 10 paid interior defensive linemen in the NFL.“They create a lot of minus plays,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said. “Just looking at the (video) cut-ups, you’ll see second-and-12s. I’m not even talking about rushing the passer. Just within the framework of the run game, they’re really active, and they’re athletic. … The defense kin...

School district reaches $27M settlement with family of boy killed in bullying incident

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:04:44 GMT

The Moreno Valley Unified School District has agreed to pay $27 million to the family of an eighth-grader who died in a bullying incident four years ago at Landmark Middle School.The lawyers representing the family of Diego Stolz announced the settlement Wednesday.Diego Stolz was 13 years old when he died. Graphic video of the attack that took his life showed the moment two teenaged boys attacked him on school grounds. In the video, Stolz can be seen with his arms at his side as another student gets directly in his face before smacking him. Stolz, stunned, takes a step back before a second student off-screen sucker-punches him in the back of the head. Stolz goes down immediately and then hits his head against a pillar.Stolz suffered a traumatic brain injury and died nine days after the attack.Video captured on a student's cell phone shows the moments before Diego Stolz is attacked by two teens in September 2019. Stolz died nine days after the attack. (Video provided by family attorn...