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German arrested trying to enter US Embassy in Paraguay, guns found in vehicle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

ASUNCION, Paraguay (AP) — A German man in a bulletproof vest was arrested Tuesday after he tried to enter the U.S. Embassy in Paraguay without proper documents and police later found two guns and ammunition in his vehicle.The man, identified as Philipp Kolberg, told authorities he wanted to request political asylum because he was receiving threats, said Paraguayan police commander Gilberto Fleitas.“According to Kolberg’s version, he called the embassy asking to speak to a diplomatic representative but the person who attended his call said he should contact the German embassy,” said Fleitas.Kolberg then drove his vehicle to the front of the U.S. Embassy in Asuncion and was arrested by police and private guards because he didn’t have an appointment or documents, he said.Authorities found a Glock pistol, a rifle with a telescopic sight, a drone and 30 to 50 bullets in his vehicle, Fleitas said.Kolberg has not made comments to the press.“We are in contact with the German consulate (in A...

Alleged shooter at Washington state music festival was stationed at US Army base

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) — The alleged gunman who fired into a crowd killing two people at a Washington state music festival Saturday was stationed at a U.S. Army base in Western Washington, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. James M. Kelly, 26, of Joint Base Lewis-McChord was booked into the Grant County Jail Tuesday on investigation of two counts of murder, two counts of assault and one count of domestic violence assault, Grant County Sheriff Joe Kriete said in a Facebook post. Law enforcement officers shot him Saturday and he was being treated at a hospital until Tuesday, the sheriff said. The shooting killed two people and wounded two others in an area where people were camping for the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre. The two people killed were Seattle residents Brandy Escamilla, 29, and Josilyn Ruiz, 26, Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison said Tuesday. Escamilla died of a gunshot wound to the head, and Ruiz died from a gunshot wou...

CPD looking for 2 suspects involved in West Pullman homicide

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Police Department is asking for the public's help in identifying two suspects involved in a homicide on the city's south side on Sunday.According to the Chicago Police Department, officers responded to the 11600 block of South Halsted Street in Chicago's West Pullman neighborhood just after 11 p.m. on Sunday, June 18. 8 in hospital after crashes involving same vehicle near Guaranteed Rate Field CPD are looking for the identity of a man and woman who are suspects in a homicide.The vehicle driven by the suspects is a blue Lincoln Nautilus.Anyone with information regarding this incident are asked to contact the Chicago Police Department at 312-747-8271.

Stunning photos document gay, Black life in 1980s Chicago

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

CHICGAO — Surrounded by more than 1,300 paintings in his South Side home, 76-year-old art collector Patric McCoy sits and sifts through a stack of snapshots.“I had sat on these photos since the 1990s because I just stopped,” McCoy said. “I have not done any photography since 1989.”They are individual photographs that together, reveal a bigger picture.  “When I reflect back on it, I realize that people had a longing to be photographed. Just as I think people who do the selfies, same thing,” McCoy said.The images offer a rare glimpse of gay Black life in Chicago during the 1980s, the pivotal period when the AIDS epidemic swept across the United States.It’s a story McCoy, an Englewood native captured on his commute. “I gave up my car back in ’81 and I’ve been riding (my bicycle) ever since,” he said.In the 1980s, McCoy a University of Chicago-trained scientist, worked for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Chicago office. Every morning, he rode his bicycle from South ...

Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill is under investigation for assault and battery

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill is under investigation by Miami-Dade police for assault and battery after he allegedly hit a man on Sunday.The incident was first reported by WPLG-TV in Miami after the station received a tip Sunday night. Miami-Dade police spokesman Angel Rodriguez confirmed Tuesday via email that police are investigating an “assault/battery” involving Hill from Sunday.The station reported that Hill got into an argument with an employee of a charter company at Haulover Marina in Miami, which apparently ended with Hill hitting the man. Morgan Wallen’s 2-year-old son bitten in the face by dog “We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with Tyreek, his representatives and the NFL,” a Dolphins spokesperson said Tuesday via email. “We will reserve further comment at this time.”The Kansas City Chiefs traded Hill to Miami last year, and the Dolphins gave the three-time All-Pro a $120 million, four-year contract extensi...

Trump calls for death penalty for drug dealers; Fox's Baier notes it would apply to woman he championed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

(The Hill) - Former President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview advocated for imposing the death penalty on convicted drug dealers, even as anchor Bret Baier pointed out that the policy would have applied to Alice Johnson, a woman Trump granted clemency to and promoted in a Super Bowl ad for his 2020 campaign.Trump told Baier that he believed the country had to enact stronger punishments against drug dealers to bring down crime, including the death penalty. In defending his own record on crime, which has come under scrutiny in the 2024 primary, Trump said his pardon powers were focused largely on nonviolent offenders.Trump cited the case of Alice Johnson, whose sentence he commuted in 2018. Johnson was serving life in prison dating back to 1996 on charges stemming from cocaine distribution and money laundering. Johnson was later featured in a Super Bowl ad promoting Trump’s work on criminal justice reform. Despite his claims, Colorado says Joe Exotic isn’t on state’s presidenti...

Utah school district reverses decision on Bible, returns it to library shelves

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

DAVIS COUNTY, Utah (KTVX) - A northern Utah school district has reversed its earlier committee-based decision that removed the Bible from elementary and junior high school but kept it in high school libraries.This comes after a months-long debate in the Davis School District on whether the book was appropriate for all school-age children or only high school students. In December, the Davis School District received a request from an unknown person asking for the book to be reviewed amid a statewide law passed in 2022 that allowed residents to challenge the books found in school libraries. “Utah Parents United left off one of the most sex-ridden books around: The Bible,” the challenge said, referring to one of the primary groups involved in curriculum battles. “You’ll no doubt find that the Bible .. has no serious values for minors because it’s pornographic by our new definition ... If the books that have been banned so far are any indication for way lesser offenses, this should be a ...

Senate recesses without revealing rules for impeachment trial of Texas AG Ken Paxton

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — After meeting behind closed doors for close to seven hours Tuesday, the Texas Senate recessed without agreeing on proposed rules for how the upcoming impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton will work. The Senate is scheduled to reconvene Wednesday morning at 10 a.m.A committee made up of seven senators was assigned the task of forming the rules for how the Senate trial will operate. The panel was expected to present its recommendations to the full Senate on Tuesday. The rules could dictate everything from the duration of the trial, the rules of evidence and witness examination, as well as whether Paxton's wife, State Senator Angela Paxton, would be required to recuse herself.The decision on the rules could significantly impact Paxton’s prospects of keeping his position in an impending trial, which Lt. Governor Dan Patrick vowed to begin by Aug. 28 at the latest. Texas Senate proposes $18B property tax relief compromise While state...

Texas baseball lands lefty Will Mercer from transfer portal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas Longhorns baseball team added a left-handed pitcher out of the transfer portal Tuesday.Will Mercer, who pitched 120 innings over a 4-year career for Notre Dame, announced his intention to join the Longhorns next season. Mercer was exclusively a bullpen arm for the Irish this season, tossing 26 innings in 14 appearances with a 2.77 ERA.In his second season with the Irish in 2020-21, he started 11 games and finished with a 4-3 record and a 4.92 ERA. He threw 56.2 innings that season with 44 strikeouts and 19 walks.Mercer is a Houston native and went to Strake Jesuit Prep. He compiled a 9-4 overall record with a 4.42 ERA and 107 strikeouts and 43 walks for the Irish in his career.

St. Paul school board approves first $1 billion budget

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:53:59 GMT

The St. Paul school board on Tuesday approved its first billion-dollar budget for the coming academic year.The $1.035 billion in spending will require the district to dip into its general fund reserves to cover a $34 million revenue shortfall, but it will allow St. Paul Public Schools to avoid laying off any teachers or paraprofessionals.The budget gap is largely the result of declining enrollment and the expiration of federal COVID-19 relief grants, which funded scores of jobs in mental health, human resources, finance and other fields within the district. District officials hope to retain many of these employees with this year’s deficit spending.Other expenditures include funding for a new East African magnet school, teacher recruitment efforts, increased bus routes and safety improvements.“Never did I think I would be leading a district with a $1 billion budget,” Superintendent Joe Gothard said. “This is an incredible, long-overdue investment in our young ...