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As electoral disputes mount, one Texas court case takes center stage

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

HOUSTON (AP) — Elections in Harris County, Texas, home to Houston, the state’s biggest city, are coming under the microscope this week as the Democratic stronghold faces unprecedented intervention from the state’s GOP-led Legislature.Various problems in last November’s midterm elections will be center stage in a civil trial beginning Tuesday. Erin Lunceford, a GOP candidate who lost her bid to become a district court judge in Harris County is suing to throw out the election results and have the court order a do over.Similar court challenges have become more common around the country following baseless conspiracy theories spread by former President Donald Trump and his supporters alleging the 2020 presidential election was stolen by President Joe Biden’s backers.The Texas Legislature passed new laws this year eliminating Harris County’s top election office and permitting the state to take over more easily after a complaint is filed.Lunceford’s lawyers allege s...

Missouri man facing scheduled execution for beating death of 6-year-old girl in 2002

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

JEFFESON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man who abducted a 6-year-old girl and beat her to death at an abandoned glass factory was scheduled to be executed Tuesday in Missouri, as his attorneys pressed claims that he is mentally incompetent. Johnny Johnson, 45, was convicted in the July, 26, 2002, killing of Casey Williamson, whose disappearance set off a frantic search in her hometown of Valley Park, a small suburb of St. Louis. Casey’s mother had been best friends in childhood with Johnson’s older sister and had even helped babysit him. After Johnson attended a barbecue the night before the killing, Casey’s family let him sleep on a couch in the home where they also were sleeping. In the morning, Johnson lured the girl to the abandoned factory, even carrying her on his shoulders on the walk to the dilapidated site. When he tried to sexually assault her, Casey screamed and tried to break free. According to court documents, he killed her with a brick and a large rock, then washed off in t...

Mar-a-Lago property manager is the latest in line of Trump staffers ensnared in legal turmoil

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

NEW YORK (AP) — A longtime Mar-a-Lago staffer who spent years fetching luxury cars for wealthy club members is the latest person to be ensnared in former President Donald Trump ’s ballooning legal troubles.Carlos De Oliveira appeared in court Monday to face charges connected to what prosecutors allege was a scheme directed by the former president and current GOP frontrunner to try to erase security footage after it was subpoenaed by a grand jury. De Oliveira is also charged with lying to investigators, according to a new indictment unveiled last week.De Oliveira is now the second little-known Trump employee charged in connection to his alleged hoarding of classified documents at his Palm Beach, Florida, club. His case highlights the collateral damage of Trump’s mounting legal woes, as he leaves a trail of co-conspirators and allies accused of lying or committing other crimes on his behalf. Some of those finding themselves under legal scrutiny depend on Trump for their livelihood — a...

David Firestone: As his campaign craters, DeSantis walls himself in

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

As he flails to reverse a polling decline that is beginning to resemble a rockslide, Gov. Ron DeSantis must be feeling a little clueless about why his political fortunes are crumbling so quickly. Attacking wokeness and bullying transgender people seemed to work so well in Florida, so why aren’t national Republicans in awe of the divisions he’s deepened? Making repeated appearances with racial provocateurs never stopped him from getting elected as governor, so why did he have to fire a young aide who inserted Nazi imagery into his own video promoting DeSantis’ presidential campaign?But the political bubble inhabited by DeSantis is so thick — symbolized by the hugely expensive private-plane flights that are draining his campaign of cash, since he and his wife, Casey, won’t sit with regular people in a commercial cabin — that he has been unable or unwilling to understand the brushoff he has received from donors and potential voters and make the changes he needs to become competitive wi...

Owners of Lutsen Mountains hit brakes on contentious expansion of North Shore ski resort

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

The owners of Lutsen Mountains ski resort on Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior have asked the U.S. Forest Service to hold off on a decision on a proposed $60 million expansion of the ski resort onto 550 acres of Superior National Forest land.The proposed expansion, in the works for nearly a decade, would more than double the resort’s downhill ski and snowboard capacity but had come under increasing criticism from environmental groups, Ojibwe bands, backcountry ski enthusiasts and even Superior Hiking Trail supporters.Forest Service officials had been saying a decision on the expansion was expected this summer, but it now appears the entire process may be on hold indefinitely.Charles Skinner, the Duluth-based president and owner of Midwest Family Ski Resorts, and his daughter, Charlotte Skinner, chief of staff to the company, released a statement Monday saying they have asked the Forest Service to defer any decision until additional communications are held with sev...

Suspect in custody after Whittier police officer shot

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

An officer with the Whittier Police Department was shot Monday night, and a suspect is in custody.  Details about the incident are limited, but the shooting occurred in the area of Pickering Avenue and Walnut Street.  Authorities with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were assisting Whittier police.First responders on the scene after an officer with Whittier PD was shot on July 31, 2023. (KeyNews TV)This is a developing story. Please check back for details.  

1 dead, 3 injured in South L.A. neighborhood shooting 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

One person is dead and three others are injured after a shooting on Saturday in a south Los Angeles neighborhood.L.A. police responded to the 2100 Block of East 99th Place around 11 p.m. where they found four people had been shot, according to an L.A. police department news release.  Authorities say a group of community members gathered at the location to watch a sporting event when several gunmen entered the neighborhood and shot into the group. The suspects fled the scene in a car. One of the victims was pronounced dead at the scene, while the three others sustained non-life threatening injuries and were able to transport themselves to local hospitals to be treated. The suspects are still at large and there is no clear motive. Anyone with information is urged to call South Bureau Homicide Division, Detectives Rob Jamieson or Chad Scott at 323-786-5500.

Hollywood Remembers Pee-wee Herman Actor Paul Reubens, Dead at 70

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

Paul Reubens, best known for his portrayal and creation of Pee-wee Herman, reportedly died Sunday at the age of 70.The announcement was made Monday through Reubens’ Facebook page, noting a longtime battle with cancer.“Last night we said farewell to Paul Reubens, an iconic American actor, comedian, writer and producer whose beloved character Pee-wee Herman delighted generations of children and adults with his positivity, whimsy and belief in the importance of kindness,” the post said. “Paul bravely and privately fought cancer for years with his trademark tenacity and wit. A gifted and prolific talent, he will forever live in the comedy pantheon and in our hearts as a treasured friend and man of remarkable character and generosity of spirit.”Paul Reubens on the January 15, 2010 cover of L.A. Weekly. (Photo by Kevin Scanlon for L.A. Weekly)Reubens had been battling cancer for six years, according to the post, which included a prepared message from the actor, apologizing for...

SF Giants’ trade deadline priorities come into focus in extra-inning loss to D-backs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — Giants manager Gabe Kapler likes to use the phrase “read and react,” and that philosophy can help explain why the Giants’ outlook ahead of Tuesday’s 3 p.m. PT trade deadline has shifted, particularly in regards to pitching.What was once an excess of starting pitching depth has quickly turned into an area of scarcity.But while the Giants aren’t likely to ship out any of their arms, Farhan Zaidi said Monday, they aren’t in a hurry to pay a premium to go out and get any, either.Zaidi was speaking from inside the third-base dugout before the Giants’ series opener against the D-backs, and it took only a few hours for the team to prove his point.Turning to an opener for a third straight game, pitching wasn’t the problem in a 5-4 loss to the D-backs, closing the gap in the wild-card standings to one game.Alex Wood and Jakob Junis combined to get the Giants through five scoreless innings, while seven total San Francisco pitcher...

Newly opened Martinez cocktail lounge burglarized

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:12:19 GMT

(KRON) -- A new business in Martinez is picking up the pieces after a break-in and vandalism. Bentley's Cocktail Lounge held a grand opening on Friday, and someone broke in Sunday morning.KRON4 spoke to the owners about their efforts to keep the business up and running.The owners tell KRON4 they felt like they were on a huge high Friday. They had a line of people to support their grand opening. 2 businesses close after 10 years in downtown Walnut Creek Less than 48 hours later, their business was broken into causing thousands of dollars in damage and lost supplies.Forty minutes of security camera video of a man terrorizing Bentley's Cocktail Lounge and the attached indoor market "Market and Main." Co-owners of both businesses Krystal Endsley and her partner Malena Clegg say it's hard to watch the footage."Took down umbrellas, stole plants, threw plants everywhere. Stole our menus that were bolted on the table," Endsley said. "He was just targeting the courtyard and then he came ba...