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Trial ends in Harris County election challenge

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Attorneys delivered closing arguments Thursday in a lawsuit asking a Harris County court to nullify one November election result, posing an challenge the election administration in the state's largest county.On Nov. 8, Republican Erin Lunceford lost a race for district judge to incumbent Democrat Tamika Craft by 2,743 votes - a margin of 0.26%. She is calling for a do-over, joining the Harris County Republican Party and numerous other candidates in raising concerns about access to ballot paper and equipment malfunctions they say tainted the turnout and vote tally."It was run so poorly, you can't determine who the real winner is. And this is not on Erin Lunceford, or Judge Craft. This is on the county," Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel said.About 20 of nearly 800 polling locations ran out of ballot paper on Election Night, or just about 2.5% of locations, according to an analysis by the Houston Chronicle.The county argues that, while errors are to...

AAC sees increase in canine distemper cases, asks for help moving healthy dogs out of shelter

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Animal Center said it has seen an increase in dogs entering the shelter with the distemper virus and asked for help moving 60 healthy dogs out of the shelter and into foster or adoptive homes.“Since mid-July, AAC has seen six confirmed distemper cases and several presumptive cases. Additional disease control measures have been put in place to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading, however, because the shelter consistently operates above capacity, creating additional space for isolation has become increasingly difficult,” AAC said.The shelter said distemper is a virus that primarily affects unvaccinated dogs.“The virus can impact all systems in the body, but typically starts with upper respiratory symptoms and may progress to neurological symptoms if left untreated. The virus is spread through mucous, respiratory secretions, saliva, and urine. Fortunately, it does not live on surfaces for very long and is susceptible to many disinfectants,” AAC said.The shel...

Solomon D. Stevens: Finding a path to healthy conflict

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

Spencer Cox, the new chairman of the National Governors Association, is promoting the idea of “healthy conflict.” The Utah governor has become concerned about the growing problem of toxic arguments in society. As the Washington Post reports, Cox wants people to learn how to “disagree better.”We should all try to think of ways we can join him in his quest because this is not just a political issue; it is a problem that permeates our society. Almost any disagreement these days escalates into an angry confrontation. We are better than that. Our disagreements are genuine, but the way we disagree can change.We have to start somewhere. I recommend that we begin by banishing all ad hominem arguments. What are these? “Ad hominem” is a Latin phrase that means “to the person.” I’m sure you have seen this kind of arguing. It is all around us. What it describes is an argument where instead of actually addressing what someone has said, we ins...

St. Paul man sentenced for rear-ending squad car while high, with marijuana blunt behind his ear

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

After rear-ending a St. Paul police squad car, Joseph Laurence Forliti said his eyes were off the road and on a woman at the time of the July 2022 crash, which injured an officer.Meanwhile, a marijuana blunt that was tucked behind his ear led police to believe he might be high.Joseph Laurence Forliti (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office)Forliti, a six-time felon on federal probation for armed robbery, was charged in December after a blood sample taken after the crash confirmed the presence of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the active psychoactive component in marijuana.“This was brazen,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Cory Tennison said Monday at Forliti’s sentencing hearing. “The defendant was driving while high and even had a joint behind his ear as he was driving.”Tennison asked for District Judge Adam Yang to give Forliti six months in jail, followed by probation.His attorney asked for no additional jail time, which was what Forliti and the pr...

Bret Stephens: The ‘never-again Trumper’ sham

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

Shortly after last year’s midterms, when Republicans failed to take the Senate and eked out only a thin majority in the House, Paul Ryan gave an interview to ABC’s Jonathan Karl in which he described himself as a “Never-Again Trumper.” It’s worth recalling what Ryan and other Republicans said about Donald Trump the first time he ran to see what a sham this feeble self-designation is likely to become.In 2015, Ryan, then the House speaker, denounced Trump’s proposed Muslim ban as “not conservatism,” “not what this party stands for” and “not what this country stands for.” Then-Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana privately complained that Trump was “unacceptable,” according to GOP strategist Dan Senor, before he accepted the vice-presidential nomination. Sen. Ted Cruz called Trump a “sniveling coward” for insulting his wife, Heidi, before declaring that “Donald Trump will not be the nominee.”They all folded — and they all will fold again. Their point of principle wasn’t that Trump had crossed so...

St. Louis County prosecutor not licensed attorney, must resubmit 114 cases

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

CLAYTON, Mo. – The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office has a problem — 114 of them.The office must resubmit 114 traffic cases because the original prosecutor who signed off on them is not an active member of the Missouri Bar.The employee in question, whom FOX 2 has decided not to name, had just been rehired this past June after retiring due to an illness."A clerk in the courts noticed the cases were being kicked back when they entered his bar number," said Chris King, the spokesman for the prosecuting attorney's office and chief prosecutor Wesley Bell.King said the employee listed in his personnel file that he was an active member of the bar, but he actually is not, so it was his error. It's unclear if the prosecutor's office did any type of verification."Given the fact that he was part of the office for 25 years and was coming back in as a retiree, it came as a surprise to us and the courts," King said.King said the part-timer's license is considered inactive because he ...

Teen rescued from grain bin in St. Charles County

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

ORCHARD FARM, Mo. – A teenager was rescued from a grain bin Thursday afternoon in unincorporated St. Charles County.According to Kyle Gains, St. Charles County Fire and Rescue, the incident happened around 4:30 p.m. in Orchard Farm, Missouri. A more specific address or location was not immediately provided.The Orchard Farm Fire Protection District and River Point Fire Protection District were first on scene and requested mutual aid.The teen was pulled from the grain bin and suffered serious injuries. He was airlifted to a local hospital.It's unclear how the teenager wound up in the grain bin.Courtesy: Kyle Gaines, St. Charles County Fire and RescueCourtesy: Kyle Gaines, St. Charles County Fire and RescueCourtesy: Kyle Gaines, St. Charles County Fire and Rescue

How the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling is affecting Missouri colleges, universities

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Following a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling, lawmakers want to know how not being able to consider race when admitting students is affecting Missouri colleges and universities.The ruling at the end of June struck down affirmative action in college admissions, meaning race cannot be a factor. This forced higher education institutions to look for new ways to achieve diverse student bodies, but in Missouri, public universities and colleges told the Joint Committee on Education that the decision wasn't impacting them."It's just not something that necessitates any kind of change in how we do business," executive director of the Council on Public Higher Education Paul Wagner said. "Really competitive admissions, like the way it works in the world of the Harvards and such, really isn't a thing for our institutions, so it's really no impact."Just weeks after the United States Supreme Court said race-conscious admission plans violate the constitution, higher education ...

Missouri infant dies after being left in bathtub unattended

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

WEST PLAINS, Mo. - The West Plains Police Department has released information on a medical emergency on Burke Avenue around 6 p.m. Wednesday evening, August 9.Officers responded to the address after reports that a 6-month-old baby girl was not breathing. 27-year-old Levi Michael Coffel met officers at the door and told officers he had performed live-saving measures on the infant but was unsuccessful. Officers observed that Coffel smelled of alcohol and requested a breath sample. He consented and the test found that his blood-alcohol level (BAC) was 0.191. He told officers he had consumed intoxicating substances while he was the only person caring for four small children when officers arrived at the home, and he told a detective that he had placed the 6-month-old baby in a bath seat in the tub while the water was running and left the room to grab the diaper bag. Christian County couple caught in Michigan with 2 abducted children He initially told the detective he thought the drain...

Ecuador arrests six Colombians as suspects in slaying of anti-corruption presidential candidate

Published Sun, 16 Feb 2025 16:15:53 GMT

By GONZALO SOLANO and REGINA GARCIA CANO (Associated Press)QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The six men arrested as suspects in the assassination of an anti-corruption Ecuadorian presidential candidate are Colombian nationals, a police report said Thursday as authorities investigated the motive for a crime that shocked a nation already reeling from a surge in drug-related violence.The six men were captured hiding in a house in Quito, Ecuador’s capital, said the report, which was reviewed by The Associated Press. Officers also seized four shotguns, a 5.56-mm rifle, ammunition and three grenades, along with a vehicle and a motorcycle, it said.Fernando Villavicencio, 59, who was known for speaking up against drug cartels, was assassinated in Quito on Wednesday, less than two weeks before a special presidential election. He was not a front-runner, but his death deepened the sense of crisis around organized crime that has already claimed thousands of lives and underscored the challenge ...