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UT student group organizes vigil for Israel, Palestine victims

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Last Tuesday, a group of about 80 people gathered on UT's campus to honor victims in Israel and Palestine and to bring together students from Jewish, Arab and other backgrounds. It was held one month after the Israel-Hamas war began. The vigil was organized by student group Atidna International, which promotes dialogue among Arab, Jewish, Israeli and Palestinian students with chapters across the country. "There is probably never been a more divisive time in the history of the United States, with Jewish and Arab students specifically," Atidna at UT President Elijah Kahlenberg said. "So we wanted this vigil to be a space to recognize the humanity of the 'other' and to be able to bring together both groups in a shared pursuit of peace and, hopefully, reconciliation."Vigil at the University of Texas at Austin on Nov. 7 to honor victims in Israel and Palestine and to bring together Jewish, Arab, Israeli and Palestinian students. (Courtesy Elijah Kahlenberg)Kahlenberg, a U...

'A man of service': Officer remembers Jorge Pastore, talks how community can help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Crime scene tape still surrounds a south Austin neighborhood where an Austin police officer was shot and killed over the weekend.The Austin police officer who died after a Saturday morning SWAT standoff in south Austin has been identified as senior officer Jorge Pastore.APD said there were two dead civilians found in the house where the incident occurred, and the suspect died from their injuries.The names of the victims of the suspect have not been released at this time, but we are learning more about the brave officers who rushed in to help."It has been a haunting and horrible experience," said APD Detective Bino Cadenas. "I had the pleasure of working with him in Henry Sector and served with him several times in downtown area command. He was just a force to be reckoned with."Cadenas said it was difficult when he heard the call come in about the shooting."I think his last actions define him well," Cadenas said. "He was courageous, honorable, he had integrity, hard w...

Stillwater inmate sentenced to additional 10 years in prison for assault on correctional sergeant

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

An inmate at the Minnesota Correctional Facility – Stillwater will spend an additional decade in prison for stabbing and injuring a correctional officer in 2020, a Washington County District Court judge ruled Monday.Adrian Dominique Bell, 35, was found guilty in September on charges of first-degree assault in connection with the stabbing of a sergeant at the prison during an altercation on June 12, 2020.According to the criminal complaint filed against him, Bell confronted a correctional officer “concerning a loss of privileges action the CO took against a different inmate.” During the argument, another inmate lunged at a correctional sergeant and punched him in the head. Additional correctional staff immediately responded and attempted to restrain the inmate.Adrian Dominique Bell (Courtesy of Washington County Jail)As the physical struggle continued, Bell removed a 5½-inch metal shank from his pocket, ran up to the group, and stabbed a correctional sergeant in the lower...

It’s (more) official: Saura Jost wins in St. Paul’s Ward 3 city council seat after lengthy ranked-choice count

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

Nearly a week after St. Paul voters went to the polls, a hand tally of second-choice votes determined Saura Jost to be the winner Monday in the four-way race for the Ward 3 seat on the St. Paul City Council. The ward spans Highland Park, Mac-Groveland and part of West Seventh Street.Jost, a civil engineer who drew 6,390 votes on election night, saw her count rise to 6,617 votes as rival candidates — including write-in votes, Troy Barksdale and then Patty Hartmann — were eliminated from the tally, freeing up the second-choice picks on their ballots to be reallocated to Jost and fellow candidate Isaac Russell, the second-place vote-getter.There were 13,396 ballots cast in total.With more than 48% of the vote on election night, Jost’s victory was never really in doubt. Russell, Hartmann and ultimately Jost herself had expressed interest in seeing the final vote tally, a process that roped in some 15 paid Ramsey County Elections workers for a six-hour count that began ...

Attorney General's office interviews asylees in Albany

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. (NEWS10) - Several asylum seekers in the Capital Region met with investigators from the New York Attorney General’s office over the weekend. It’s part of the State’s investigation into DocGo, the company hired to take of New York City’s asylum seekers. Official report released on DocGo provided services Two investigators with the A.G.’s office came to Albany to interview seven asylum seekers this past Sunday afternoon. NEWS10 caught up with the leaders of two area community-based groups that were there, and they shared their take on the investigation. “The voiceless are going to have a voice. They're going to be able to tell what has been happening and what they've been experiencing since they've been here and the Capital District,” said Allies For Justice founder, Maria Pacheco. The meeting itself was not available to the media, however, Maria Pacheco of Allies for Justice and Greg Sheldon of Eden’s Rose Foundation said the asylees who spoke with the in...

Jeffries suggests Democrats could support GOP stopgap funding bill

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) suggested Monday that Democrats may support the Republicans’ short-term funding bill to prevent a government shutdown — a sharp change of tone that could pave the way for easy passage when the bill hits the floor on Tuesday. In a letter to all House Democrats, Jeffries stopped short of saying party leaders are ready to endorse the GOP proposal, known as a continuing resolution (CR), which was introduced by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) over the weekend. But he also didn’t rule it out. “At this time, we are carefully evaluating the proposal set forth by Republican leadership and discussing it with Members,” Jeffries wrote.The letter marks a sharp change of tone from just last week, when Democratic leaders had skewered Republicans for floating a “laddered” budget approach, which carves government funding into separate pots to be considered on different timetables. Jeffries had characterized the idea as “another ext...

Dry conditions increase fire risk this season as leaves fall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

ST. LOUIS -- Leaf clean-up and removal is a common chore right now as trees are quickly dropping their leaves, but the dry conditions could cause problems.There are a few options when it comes to getting rid of all the leaves in our yards but with the dry conditions we’ve been facing this fall, we have high fire danger so some options are much better than others.Burning yard waste in those municipalities that allow it could result in a call to the fire department.“Because the chance of it getting out of control and going to burn up some other structure you don’t want burned or getting potentially going toward a house or a structure. We don’t recommend you burning at this time right now,” said William Stamberger, Deputy Chief and Public Information Officer, Eureka Fire Protection District.Eureka resident Jan Reis has the right idea. She says she’s been cleaning up leaves for a month.“Actually we have compost in the back. So we blow, then we mow them, we mulch them. We put them in the...

Commerce City man found dead in the middle of Brighton Boulevard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

A 68-year-old Commerce City man was found dead in the middle of the road in the 7500 block of Brighton Boulevard on Sunday night, according to the Commerce City Police Department.Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Commerce City man who shot robbery suspect from his balcony sentenced to 28 years Few details are available about the incident, but police suspect the man may have been the victim of a hit-and-run, according to a post from the department on X.Update on last night’s death investigation in the 7500 block of Brighton Blvd: 68-year-old man found lying in the roadway is the victim of a suspected hit and run. We were called around 9:40pm. Info? Please call: 303-289-3626. pic.twitter.com/a7QYjCzzBx— Commerce City Police Department (@CommerceCityPD) November 13, 2023Police were called to the scene around 9:40 p.m. when a passerby called 911 after seeing someone lying in the road, according to a Facebook post by the department.The man’s identity h...

'Bad actors' used state program to store pallets, hand sanitizer under 10 Fwy before arsonist struck, Newsom says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

This weekend, a large fire damaged the 10 Freeway in Los Angeles, shutting down a primary transportation route for hundreds of thousands of people.State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant said investigators "have been able to confidently determine" that the blaze was caused by arson, though the person or persons involved have not been identified.The investigation is ongoing into "what we believe to be malicious and willful intent of starting a fire," Berlant said.But how did those flammable materials end up under the freeway? It's part of a government program that leases that space to private citizens and companies.Caltrans' Airspace and Telecommunications Licensing Program — often called simply Airspace — "is responsible for leasing and managing those properties or sites held for a transportation purpose that can safely accommodate a secondary use," the agency said on its website."More simply put, Airspace leases specific areas within state highway right of way," Caltrans added.Federal au...

10 Freeway fire may have been intentionally set: report

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:57:31 GMT

A massive fire beneath one of the most vital traffic arteries in downtown Los Angeles may have been intentionally set, according to the Los Angeles Times.Citing law enforcement sources who were unable to discuss the investigation on the record, the Times reports that the investigation into the blaze that has crippled the downtown commute for hundreds of thousands of Angelenos is centered around a possible act of arson."Though investigators have not determined cause of the fire, the blaze is of sufficiently suspicious origins to be an arson investigation," the Times reports.The fire was first reported early Saturday around 12:30 a.m. near East 14th and Alameda streets underneath the freeway. It engulfed both sides of 14th Street underneath the 10, eventually melting some of the freeway’s steel guardrails and damaging firetrucks.The blaze ripped through a pallet yard, causing dense plumes of smoke and limiting visibility throughout the area.In addition to the reports of a possibl...