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Travis Co. Grand Jury clears 5 APD officers in May 2022 deadly shooting, Travis Co. DA says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas -- The Travis County Grand Jury concluded its review involving five Austin Police Department Officers in a deadly use-of-force shooting that occurred in May 2022, according to a news release from the Travis County District Attorney's Office.Those officers were identified as Derek Baroody, Travis Buck, Antonio Camps, Jennifer Perez Molina and Andrew Klinger. The grand jury did not return an indictment for either officer, according to the release.On May 26, 2022, officers were dispatched to the area of Faro Drive and Crossing Place in response to a man with a gun, the release said.Officers found the 911 caller, Robert Hammitt, at 1500 Crossing Place, the release said. Hammitt previously reported to 911 dispatch that he was surrounded by law enforcement and the National Guard and a man was pointing a gun at him, the release said.Officers verbally contacted Hammitt, who was sitting in the driver's side of a truck. Officers told Hammitt to leave his hands outside the...

Yee haw! Austin man taking 100-day long horseback riding trip to Seattle

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) – There’s nothing better than a cross-country road trip. You get to see the sites, stop at some quirky roadside stops and listen to that podcast series everyone has been raving about. Cyril Bertheau is about to do a cross-country road trip of his own from Austin, Texas, to Seattle, Washington. But Bertheau’s trip won’t be your typical American extended drive– instead of a car, he’s hopping on the back of his horse, Shiok.Bertheau said that the Bertheau family has a tradition where all the eldest sons will partake in a “great adventure.” Cyril Bertheau is going to do a 100-day long horseback riding trip from Austin to Seattle. (Photo courtesy/ Sam Stark) “My grandad traversed the Sahah Desert by foot. My dad went through Indonesia by foot as well. And now it’s my turn with a horse,” he said. Bertheau is an experienced horseback rider. He said that he rode competitively for many years. His equestrian experience – coupled with his penchant for road trips – ...

Winona LaDuke steps down as leader of Honor the Earth

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

PONSFORD, Minn. — Winona LaDuke has stepped down as the leader of a Native American environmental group she founded 30 years ago, a resignation that came just days after a jury sided with a former employee in a sexual harassment case.Honor the Earth co-executive director Krystal Two Bulls made the announcement in a statement on the organization’s website Wednesday.Winona LaDuke has stepped down as the leader of a Native American environmental group she founded 30 years ago, a resignation that came just days after a jury sided with a former employee in a sexual harassment case. Honor the Earth Co-Executive Director Krystal Two Bulls made the announcement in a statement on the organization’s website Wednesday, April 5, 2023. LaDuke, an enrolled member of the Ojibwe Nation, founded Honor the Earth in 1993 as a way to create awareness and support for environmental issues that impact Native Americans. (Forum News Service)“It is with both great heaviness and optimism that we move into a t...

Check out the Bayport library’s $2.4 million renovation on Saturday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

The Bayport Public Library, which has been closed since August, will celebrate its grand reopening on Saturday.The library underwent a $2.4 million dollar renovation, which included a “refresh” of all three floors, said Library Director Jill Smith.Jill Smith (Courtesy of Bayport Public Library)Highlights of the renovation include: an expanded children’s area; new restrooms; new small conference and study spaces; new carpeting; new lighting and remodeled entrances. One of the three upstairs meeting spaces has been turned into a “wet lab for programming that can get a little messy,” Smith said. “It’s already been booked by the Girl Scouts.”Historical details like the library’s Log Room and fireplaces were refurbished and enhanced, Smith said. The Log Room is believed to have been part of the original White Pine Inn, which was built in 1925 and renovated into the library in 1990.Smith said they tried to make the building more welcoming while keeping its historic character intact.The Ba...

Missouri tornado kills 5 in latest wave of severe weather

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

By JIM SALTER and SCOTT McFETRIDGE (Associated Press)GLEN ALLEN, Mo. (AP) — A tornado ripped through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, killing five people and causing widespread destruction as the third in a series of deadly massive storms over the past two weeks struck the nation’s heartland.Forecasters are keeping a wary eye out for more extreme weather as this year’s early severe storm season continues. The storms have spawned dozens of tornadoes, mainly in the South and Midwest, that have killed at least 63 people. Just last weekend, confirmed or suspected tornadoes in at least eight states laid waste to neighborhoods across a broad swath of the country. The Missouri tornado touched down around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday and moved through a rural area of Bollinger County, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of St. Louis. Trees were uprooted, homes turned into piles of splinters, and one building was flipped on its side. Five people were killed and five ...

White Bear Lake Hockey Association sues former gambling manager, alleges civil theft

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

The former gambling manager for the White Bear Lake Hockey Association is accused of “secretly” starting a competing gambling consulting firm and setting out to take the association’s business prior to her resignation.A lawsuit filed this week against Christine Olson further alleges that she “destroyed” the association’s business records and her email before resigning March 28.“Defendants’ unlawful and tortious conduct has caused and continues to cause significant injury to the Association, including irreparable harm,” states the Ramsey County District Court lawsuit alleging breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition and civil theft.An attorney for Olson, 54, is not listed in court documents, and she did not return a call left for her Wednesday seeking comment on the lawsuit.Like many nonprofit youth sports organizations, the White Bear Lake Hockey Association’s main fundraising is the sale of pull tabs and bingo gaming in bars and restaurants. Profits he...

Novel treatment shows promise against rare cancer in kids

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

By CARLA K. JOHNSON (AP Medical Writer)A novel treatment using supercharged immune cells appears to work against tumors in children with a rare kind of cancer, researchers reported Wednesday.Nine of 27 children in the Italian study had no sign of cancer six weeks after the treatment, although two later relapsed and died.The treatment — called CAR-T cell therapy — is already used to help the immune system fight leukemia and other cancers in the blood. This is the first time researchers have achieved such encouraging results in solid tumors, experts in the field said, and raises hopes that it can be used against other kinds of cancers.It’s too soon to call it a cure for neuroblastoma, a nerve tissue cancer that often starts in infancy in the adrenal glands near the kidneys in the abdomen.Standard treatment can be intense, involving chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, depending on the cancer’s stage and other factors. The children in the study had cancers that had come back or were pa...

Local art therapist speaks on barriers to accessing treatment

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Nicole Porter says as a creative arts therapist, she's experienced first-hand that talking isn't always the easiest way to ease pain, grief, or frustration."The nonverbal process helps engage inner, subcortical regions of the brain that then activate our verbal processes in a more integrated way," Porter explains to NEWS10's Mikhaela Singleton.As clinical director of The Emerald Sketch, she works with children and young adults struggling through mental health crises. Ilana Mele says her daughter suffers from anxiety brought on by her developmental delays. Before art therapy, she says watching her daughter struggle at expressing herself was frightening."[As a parent], you feel helpless. You’re doing everything you can to help them and support them and you know who they are inside, but then there’s this element that they can’t process," Mele says. "When my daughter became frustrated, she would sometimes manifest unwanted aggression, and I say unwanted to mean ...

Lincoln County family grateful they are safe after heavy winds damage home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. - It wasn't a tornado, but high winds that left heavy damage in parts of Lincoln County.Some residents are cleaning up the mess that Mother Nature left. From lighting to strong winds, the most significant damage is a home on Elm Tree Road, just off Route C.Homeowner Walt Humburg was inside when his roof was ripped off. He said his furniture and other items started flying."My ears popped, and the next thing I know, the roof lifted off. I did not understand what was going on," Humburg said. "I thought it was a tornado. I come running into the kitchen, and you could look up and see stars in the sky and branches, and that's not what you see in your kitchen.” Top Story: Predawn Missouri tornado kills at least 5, sows destruction Outside Humburg's home, his carport and fencing were also heavily damaged.“It woke me up out of my sleep. I ran down the hallway, and the roof was gone in the kitchen," said Steve Cooper, Humburg's nephew. "My sister and I jumped in the tub ...

3 KCK officers, at least 3 suspects shot in undercover fentanyl bust

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:28:50 GMT

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A shooting Wednesday afternoon has left three Kansas City, Kansas, police officers injured. The shooting was reported just after 3 p.m. in the area of North 18th Street and Wood Avenue, just north of State Avenue where there is a heavy police presence. KCK police tell FOX4 that the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is taking the lead on the investigation. KCPD said all three officers have serious, but non-life threatening injuries. Doctors at the University of Kansas Health System said the three officers are awake and talking. KCPD said three suspects, all men, have non-life threatening injuries as well. KCK Police Chief Karl Oakman said a narcotics and tactical unit was following up on an investigation into a fentanyl deal. They were in an undercover operation to buy more fentanyl when the deal didn't go through. When officers attempted to arrest those involved, shots were fired. Oakman said they believe they have everyone...