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Trial moved to late 2024 for Indiana man charged in killings of 2 girls slain during hiking trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) — The trial for an Indiana man charged in the killings of two teenage girls slain in 2017 during a hiking trip was moved Tuesday from January to next October after the presiding judge told the suspect she will not allow his former attorneys to represent him.At Tuesday’s hearing, Special Judge Fran Gull officially removed Allen’s former court-appointed defense attorneys, Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin, from the case after they had sought to represent him pro bono, or at no cost.“I cannot and will not allow these attorneys to represent you,” Gull told Allen during a hearing in Fort Wayne. “I’m sorry that this has happened, Mr. Allen.”Gull had announced before a scheduled Oct. 19 hearing that Baldwin had made an oral motion to withdraw from the case and that she expected Rozzi to submit a motion to withdraw within days amid questions about the security of evidence in the case.Allen, 51, was arrested in October 2022 and charged with two counts o...

Antisemitism policies at public city colleges in New York will be reviewed, the governor says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — An independent party will review antisemitism policies at the City University of New York, the nation’s largest urban public university system, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Tuesday, as protests about the war between Israel and Hamas erupt on college campuses across the country. Hochul, a Democrat, said the review will assess how the college system handles antisemitism complaints and will make recommendations on how administrators can better protect Jewish students and faculty. It will be conducted by Jonathan Lippman, a former chief judge of New York’s highest court.Political tensions over the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict have long run high at City University of New York schools, which include 25 campuses and almost a quarter-million students, with protests and rallies sometimes gaining widespread attention and leading to accusations of antisemitism. “We will take on the antisemitism we have seen on college campuses,” Hochul said. “The prob...

Officials say small plane crash in southwest Nebraska kills 1, seriously injures another on board

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

McCOOK, Neb. (AP) — A single-engine plane crash in a southwestern Nebraska town killed one person and injured another on board and left a nearby house uninhabitable, officials said.The crash happened just after noon near the McCook airport on Monday, McCook City Manager Nate Schneider said in a news release. One person on board was declared dead at the scene and another aboard the plane was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, Schneider said. Officials have not released their names or speculated on what caused the crash. A house just feet from where the plane went down was damaged and left temporarily uninhabitable because of spilled jet fuel and other hazards, according to the McCook Daily Gazette. Two hunting dogs were also injured in the crash, and were being treating for their injuries, the Gazette reported.The Federal Aviation Administration’s website shows the Piper six-seater plane is registered to a corporation based in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Associated Press

Prosecutors: Supreme Court decision closes door on criminal prosecutions in Flint water scandal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan attorney general’s office said Tuesday that the state prosecution of former Gov. Rick Snyder and other officials for their roles in the Flint water scandal has ended.A decision Tuesday by the state Supreme Court to decline to hear appeals of a lower court’s dismissal of misdemeanor charges against Snyder “effectively closes the door on the criminal prosecutions of the government officials,” prosecutors said in a release.“At this time the court has left us with no option but to consider the Flint water prosecutions closed,” the prosecution team said.The Michigan Supreme Court in September rejected a last-chance effort by prosecutors to revive criminal charges. The attorney general’s office used an uncommon tool — a one-judge grand jury — to hear evidence and return indictments against nine people, including Snyder. But the Supreme Court last year said the process was unconstitutional, and it struck down the charges as invalid.Snyder was ...

The Supreme Court wrestles with social media cases that have echoes of Donald Trump

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court wrestled Tuesday with whether public officials can block critics from commenting on their social media accounts, an issue that first arose in a case involving former President Donald Trump.The justices heard arguments in two cases involving lawsuits filed by people who were blocked after leaving critical comments on social media accounts belonging to school board members in southern California and a city manager in Port Huron, Michigan, northeast of Detroit.The cases force the court to deal with the competing free speech rights of public officials and their constituents, and all in a rapidly evolving virtual world.“More and more of our democracy operates on social media,” Justice Elena Kagan said during three hours of arguments.The cases are part of a term-long focus on the relationship between government and the private digital platforms. Justice Clarence Thomas hinted at coming cases when he described as “the looming elephant in the room” ...

Philadelphia picks winning design for Harriet Tubman statue after controversy over original choice

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The city of Philadelphia has picked the winning design for a Harriet Tubman statue outside City Hall after facing criticism over its original choice of a white artist who’d been selected without competition.Alvin Pettit beat out four other semifinalists with a design called “A Higher Power: The Call of a Freedom Fighter.” His nearly 14-foot bronze statue — the first of a Black woman who is a historical figure in the city’s public art collection — will portray Tubman as a military leader and freedom fighter. The famed abolitionist — who escaped slavery and led other enslaved Black women and men to freedom on the Underground Railroad — worked as a scout, spy and nurse for the Union Army during the Civil War, and helped lead 150 Black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina. “She is shown in majestic prayer. Perhaps she is calling upon her faith or contemplating a battle,” said Pettit, a Baltimore-bred artist based in Jersey City, New Je...

Third First Nation wants use of Jasper National Park, saying they were evicted

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

A third First Nation wants Parks Canada to give its members limited hunting rights in Jasper National Park, saying they were evicted when the park was created in western Alberta. The Aseniwuche Winewak Nation says it wants in on a deal signed last weekend with the Simpcw and Stoney First Nations.That deal gives the bands a stronger voice in park management and opens the door to limited harvesting in the park. But AWN president David MacPhee says his people were cast out from the park in 1911.He says they maintain a strong connection with the area and have traditional lands immediately north of Jasper. In a letter to the park’s superintendent, MacPhee says his people don’t want to deprive other First Nations, but want the same rights as others and to safeguard their own. A response from Parks Canada was not immediately available. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31, 2023.The Canadian Press

From bright and cool to clear and cold

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Temperatures will be warming every day between now and early next week. In fact, the cold feel of winter will eventually be replaced by the warm feel of spring. Most of this afternoon's high temperatures will peak in the upper half of the 50s.We're glad to be able to tell you that the weather conditions for the trick-or-treaters will be nearly perfect. The sky will be clear. It will be a bit breezy at 5 p.m. but the winds will subside during the early evening. It's suggested to dress for the cool air.Cool air for candy collecting this eveningNortherly breezes will be lowering this evening and overnight. The lower wind speeds, the clear sky and the dry air (dew points in the upper 20s to low 30s) will be the ingredients that will combine to send low temperatures Wednesday morning to the upper 20s to low 30s for much of the area west and north of Austin.Thus, the first freeze warning of the season happens beginning at 3 a.m.Freeze Warnings are in effectTake steps to ...

Day 7: Prosecutors nearing end of case in APD officer's murder trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

Editor's note: The video above is KXAN's coverage of day 6 (Monday, Oct. 30, 2023) in Christopher Taylor's trial. AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Prosecutors have told a judge they are nearly finished presenting their case against Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor, who is on trial for murder in the death of Mike Ramos. Taylor's attorneys are expected to take over as early as Tuesday. Prosecutors expect to wrap mid-week in APD officer’s murder trial Taylor shot and killed Ramos, 42, during an incident with police back in April 2020 at a south Austin apartment complex parking lot. Taylor is on administrative leave with APD.KXAN's Grace Reader will be in court Tuesday providing live updates of the trial on X.Day 7: The state could finish presenting its case as early as today in the trial of APD Officer Christopher Taylor. A reminder that Taylor's attorneys reserved opening statements. If they chose to give them, that would come next. Thread for today 🔽— Grace Reader (@GraceReaderTV...

Bastrop elementary school unveils book vending machine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:24:51 GMT

BASTROP, Texas (KXAN) – Lost Pines Elementary has a new vending machine -- but this one does not sell snacks. The district posted Tuesday morning that the school unveiled the machine that will vend books selected by campus librarians. The books are free to students, who will earn a vending machine "token" for positive behavior and making good choices consistently, a district spokesperson said. Unlike at a library, students can take home and keep the books to build an at-home library. The vending machine was paid for through the Bastrop Education Foundation, which has funded several machines at other schools. A district spokesperson said they are given when a teacher or librarian writes a grant. The next grant window opens Dec. 1.