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Missouri governor rejects mercy plea from man set to be executed for killing 6-year-old girl

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said Monday that the state will proceed with this week’s planned execution of a man who abducted and killed a 6-year-old girl nearly two decades ago, though the man’s attorneys are still pressing claims he is mentally incompetent. Johnny Johnson, 45, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Tuesday evening for the July 26, 2022, fatal beating of Casey Williamson in her St. Louis County hometown of Valley Park. Johnson’s attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution. They also asked that Parson grant clemency — reducing Johnson’s sentence to life in prison — while asserting that Johnson’s mental illness has left him incapable of understanding the connection between his actions and his execution. Parson denied the clemency request. He noted that a variety of courts — including the original trial judge and 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals just days ago — have thus far rejected John...

Trump’s early work to set rules for nominating contest notches big win in delegate-rich California

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

Donald Trump has scored a major victory in his efforts to reshape the mosaic of state Republican Party rules that determine the GOP presidential nominee.The California Republican Party over the weekend voted overwhelmingly to approve a plan to award all of their 169 presidential delegates to a candidate that wins a majority of the vote in the state’s March 5 primary. That’s a hurdle that Trump, who remains popular in the party and is the early frontrunner in the crowded 2024 GOP field, could clear. If no candidate wins more than 50%-plus-one in California’s Super Tuesday primary, then the delegates will be awarded to candidates based on their share of the vote. The rule change passed on a 53-16 vote Saturday by the California GOP’s Executive Committee is much more favorable to a frontrunner than a proposal that the party was considering a few weeks ago.Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called it “a humiliating defeat” for Trump’s strongest rival, Florida Go...

A timeline of events leading up to the new tentative B.C. port deal

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

VANCOUVER — The union representing about 7,400 port workers in British Columbia and the association of employers have announced a new tentative agreement to end their long-running dispute over a collective agreement.Here is a timeline of events leading up to the new deal.2022Nov. 30: The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association provides notice to commence collective bargaining to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada.2023Feb. 16: Negotiations begin.March 20: The ILWU serves a notice of dispute to the federal government, signalling an impasse, and requests the appointment of a conciliation officer.March 29: Talks enter a 60-day conciliation period.March 31: The existing collective agreement between the BCMEA and the ILWU expires.May 30: Conciliation ends. Talks enter a cooling-off period of 21 days.June 5: The ILWU’s negotiating committee authorizes a strike vote to be conducted on June 9 and 10.June 12: The ILWU says members voted 99.24 per cent in favo...

Skilling: Sunny, warm before clouds arrive Tuesday night

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

July 2023—the 7th wettest July of the past 153 years with nearly half its days reporting rainfall—closes on a GORGEOUS NOTE Monday. The high temp is likely to end up 83-deg after a morning low of 64.  Humidities and dew points have been eminently comfortable.July rainfall comes in at 7.61"--more than twice normal at O'Hare and 3.90" above the normal of 3.71". But the 11.13" at Midway was a new record for the South Side site where the observational record goes back to 1928.  That tally beat the previous July rain record of 10.29" recorded in 1996 by a wide margin.Now we head into August—a month which ranks the 2nd warmest and 2nd wettest month of the year.  A typical August sees normal temps start at 84/67 and cool modestly to 80/63 as daylight continues its slow seasonal decline.Chicagoans have watched as the city has lost 47 minutes of its possible daily sunshine since our longest day (and first day of astronomical summer) back on June 21st.  July 31st ends up with 2 minu...

Man shot by police after he fired shots outside Memphis Jewish school: authorities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A man was shot by police after investigators say he fired shots outside a Jewish school in Memphis, Tennessee, on Monday.Police said the man, who has not yet been identified, was trying to get into the Margolin Hebrew Academy before fleeing the scene in a maroon pickup truck with California tags. Officers spotted the vehicle in the Berclair area and initiated a traffic stop. Memphis Police said the man got out of the pickup truck with a gun in his hand and was shot by an officer. The suspect was taken to Regional One in critical condition. No other injuries were reported. Scene outside Margolin Hebrew Academy on White StationScene at McCory and GaryThe Margolin Hebrew Academy confirmed no one at the school was injured during the incident. "We can confirm that no one has been hurt in any way, and everyone is now safe, thank G-d. Please look out for further communication with additional information to come. In the meantime, our campus is completely closed. We t...

Woman files police report after Cardi B throws microphone into Las Vegas crowd

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Hip-hop superstar Cardi B drew attention on social media over a video showing her lashing out during a Las Vegas performance after someone threw a drink at her while she was onstage.Video circulated online over the weekend after a TikTok user posted footage of the incident at Drai's Beachclub on the Las Vegas Strip.The clip shows the hip-hop performer onstage during the event when someone in the audience hurls liquid, splashing the rapper. Cardi B can be seen retaliating by throwing her microphone into the audience in the direction from which the liquid was launched. Cardi B calls community service for Queens strip club fight ‘best thing’ to happen to her According to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, a woman came into a police station on Sunday to report a "battery." She told officers that she had been struck by an item thrown from the stage on Saturday. Police said the incident had been documented, but no arrest or citations had been issued.It's u...

Idaho mother given 5 life sentences in prison for murders of her two children

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

BOISE, Idaho (KTVX) – Lori Vallow Daybell, convicted of murdering her children, among other crimes, was sentenced to five life sentences in prison Monday with no possibility of parole. This sentencing brings closure to nearly four years of investigation and a trial.Daybell, 49, was found guilty of murder, and conspiracy to commit murder of her children Joshua “JJ” Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16. She was also convicted of conspiracy to commit murder in the death of Tammy Daybell, the former wife of her husband, Chad Daybell. Additionally, Lori was found guilty of grand theft. READ: A complete timeline for the Daybell, Vallow murders Lori was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole, three of which will run consecutively, for her involvement in their murders and the conspiracy to commit murder. While many called for the death penalty, it was ruled out by a judge in March 2023 prior to her murder trial.The case began in 2018 when Lori and Chad met at a religi...

Concerned state employees say internal errors put thousands at risk of losing Medicaid coverage

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Concerned employees at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission say Texans are at risk of losing their health insurance due to understaffing, insufficient technology, and "disheartening and unacceptable" leadership, according to an internal email shared with Nexstar."These issues are escalating rapidly, and the agency is facing significant risks, including the potential termination of Medicaid coverage for countless individuals and the potential loss of billions of dollars in federal funding," the group of anonymous employees told Executive Commissioner Cecile Young in a July 25 email.The concerns stem from changes in Medicaid policies that the employees say have stressed the state system and overburdened their workload.On April 1, the federal government ended its "continuous coverage provision," which prevented states from unenrolling Medicaid recipients during the COVID-19 pandemic. That meant Texas needed to review its enrollees — about 6 million people ...

Cruise expands driverless rideshare services in Austin, but not everyone is on board

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Less than a year ago, General Motors' Cruise announced it would bring "robotaxi" technology to Austin in the form of driverless rideshare services. Now, Cruise is expanding its Austin services, moving beyond strictly testing in the Texas capital.A Cruise spokesperson confirmed Monday the company is beginning to on-board residents who joined Cruise's rideshare waitlist. Rides are offered between the hours of 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Who regulates driverless vehicles in Texas? "Right now we're focused on our downtown Austin service and are slowly expanding that area," a Cruise spokesperson said in an email. "As with everything we do, we start small to ensure safety as we scale."Why are so many autonomous vehicle companies testing in Austin?Cruise isn't the only autonomous vehicle company to set up operations in Austin. Waymo announced in April it would begin testing its fifth-generation driver, called the Jaguar I-Pace, in central and east Austin. Some of those pilot te...

State updates fish consumption guidelines for Mississippi River, Lake Rebecca

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:12:33 GMT

The Minnesota Department of Health recommends that those 15 years old and younger and those who are or are planning to be pregnant or breastfeeding refrain from eating fish in the Mississippi River from Ford Dam to Hastings Dam and Lake Rebecca.The warning comes with support from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.Previous recommendations included avoiding certain fish because of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Current pollutants include per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), according to state officials. The risk is from prolonged exposure.Fishing can still take place in the areas on a catch and release basis. Alternate locations to fish in the Twin Cities according to the DNR include Bald Eagle Lake, Lower St. Croix River, Lake Nokomis, Rogers Lake and White Bear Lake.Minnesota Legislature passed and Gov. Tim Walz signed a ban earlier this year on PFAS for non-essential reasons.Related ArticlesLocal News | ...