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Checking President Biden's claims over border wall funding

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

As campaign season nears, politicians are turning up the volume on campaign rhetoric. To cut through the noise, we’re launching Campaign Context, a weekly series providing clarity on the messages you’re hearing from candidates on the campaign trail. We’re digging past the politics and into the facts to provide you with the transparent, spin-free information you need to make informed decisions this election season.AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Biden Administration recently announced it waived federal laws to allow border wall construction to resume on the Texas-Mexico border.The president argued his hand was forced to make the move because Congress approved the money for wall construction during the Trump Administration. NEXT: Campaign Context "I tried to [members of Congress] to reappropriate, to redirect that money," Biden told reporters earlier this month. "They didn't, they wouldn't."KXAN scanned through documents released by the White House Press Briefing Room and found a proclamat...

Former St. Paul Hebrew instructor killed in Oct. 7 attacks in Israel

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

A former children’s instructor at a Hebrew school in St. Paul was killed when the terrorist group Hamas attacked a music festival in the Israeli community of Nir Oz on Oct. 7, according to his family.Noi Maudi, 29, previously of St. Paul, was most recently living in the Moshav Yated, a community in southern Israel with a population of about 500 people, where he was born and raised, according to an obituary prepared by his family. He and his brother-in-law Moti Elkabetz both died in the Hamas attacks and his 17-year-old nephew is still missing. Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Canada and the European Union.Maudi was a former teacher at Talmud Torah of St. Paul, on Hamline Avenue, and leaves close friends and his ex-wife in Minnesota and his parents and other relations in Israel, according to his obituary, published by Hodroff-Epstein Memorial Chapel.St. Paul City Council Member Rebecca Noecker said Maudi taught her two sons for about a...

Dane Mizutani: Nothing suggests better days are ahead for the Vikings

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

It’s been a common refrain for head coach Kevin O’Connell regardless of if the Vikings win or lose.He has talked at length about how “the best performance” is still out there for this group despite the fact it has yet to play a complete game.It certainly wasn’t out there on Sunday at Soldier Field as the Vikings escaped with a 19-13 win over the Chicago Bears to improve to 2-4 this season. To say that particular game was ugly would be disrespectful to the word itself. It was the personification of a dumpster fire.After rightfully acknowledging postgame that there’s a lot of room for improvement moving forward, O’Connell simultaneously tried to put a positive spin on things by noting that the Vikings are 1-0 in the NFC North. Forgive the critics if that doesn’t inspire much confidence.The sobering reality from that game is this might be as good as it gets for this version of the Vikings. Nothing suggests better days are ahead with star ...

COVID made him kill? Opening statements in Patino trial

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Opening statements occurred Monday morning in the case of Nelson D. Patino, the man accused of fatally stabbing his wife and 5-year-old child and injuring his 2-year-old on Dec. 1, 2021 in Duanesburg.Patino was recently deemed competent to stand trial, according to Schenectady County District Attorney Robert M. Carney. After being indicted in January 2022, Patino pleaded not guilty to six charges, including murder, attempted murder, and assault, in Schenectady County Court. The first half of the morning was the prosecution. Schenectady County Assistant District Attorney Christina Tremonte painted for the 12 jurors and 2 alternates a graphic scene. She told them, “this case will take you to a place you don't want to go.” The ADA described investigators finding 5 year old Jacob Patino dead of stab wounds to the chest with a knife next to his body. The mother, Alexandria Bustamante Gomez, alive, also with chest stab wounds, later died on the operating table...

1 child dead, 4 people injured in crash on Highway 21

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

WASHINGTON COUNTY, Mo. - One child was killed and three other children were seriously injured following a crash Monday morning south of Potosi, Missouri.The crash happened at 8:30 a.m. on Highway 21, just north of Furnace Creek Road, according to a Missouri State Highway Patrol report.A 2012 Nissan Murano was traveling southbound when the driver "failed to negotiate a left curve," went off the right side of the highway, and struck a tree. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News SIGN UP NOW Four children were riding in the vehicle with an adult driver at the time of the crash. A 10-year-old girl was pronounced dead at the scene just before 9 a.m. The other children, ages 6, 7, and 8, were seriously injured. They were airlifted to a St. Louis-area hospital.T...

Armored truck driver robbed outside McDonald’s in Carr Square

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

ST. LOUIS – St. Louis police are searching for two men who robbed an armored truck driver at gunpoint outside a fast food restaurant.The robbery happened around 7:40 a.m. at the McDonald’s in the 1100 block of North Tucker Boulevard, in the Carr Square neighborhood.According to a spokesperson for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the driver told authorities he was transferring money from the McDonald’s to the armored vehicle when two men in a white sedan pulled up and pointed guns at him.The armed men stole a duffle bag full of cash from the truck driver, then got back in their sedan and sped away.

New California law to limit how much landlords can charge for security deposits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

A California bill turned law will limit how much landlords can charge for security deposits.Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 12 into law, which states that security deposits can’t be any larger than one month’s rent, on Oct. 11. The law is slated to take effect on July 1, 2024. Assembly Bill 12 was introduced by San Francisco Democratic Assemblymember Matt Haney and aimed to cap the cost of security deposits as part of a broader effort to make housing units more affordable statewide. IRS postpones tax filing deadline one month for California storm victims Landlords could charge up to three months’ rent as a security deposit, plus the first month’s rent, due to an older California law.In Los Angeles, where the average median rent is $2,895, a security deposit can cost nearly $9,000. In San Francisco, where the median rent is $3,495, security deposits can cost more than $10,000.Now that Newsom signed the bill into law, California became the 12th state to pass a bill that limit...

1 Dead after Pedestrian Crash on State Route 7 [Spanaway, WA]

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

40-Year-Old Pedestrian Killed after Being Struck by Vehicle while Crossing the Street near 8th AvenueSPANAWAY, WA (October 16, 2023) – On Monday evening, police responded to a pedestrian crash on State Route 7 that killed a man.It happened just before 7:50 p.m., October 10th, in the southbound lanes of the highway, when a male pedestrian walking in and out was struck by a vehicle.According to Washington State Patrol Trooper John Dattilo, the vehicle was headed southbound approaching 8th Avenue East when it occurred.Furthermore, the driver parked his vehicle in a parking lot and he cooperated with the responding authorities.Unfortunately, the man suffered extreme injuries which he later succumbed to and passed away moments later.Meanwhile, the authorities blocked the roadway for more than 2 hours before it was reopened. Further investigation is still ongoing.The identity of all parties involved has not been released at this time. Spanaway authorities will release additional inf...

Letters: More flexibility | Theft not so bad | Advancing diversity | Corporations not covered | U.S. support

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.Allow more flexibilityto attract teachersRe: “Teacher shortage sends retirees back to school” (Page A1, Oct. 7).I applaud California’s effort to tackle the teacher shortage by facilitating the return of retired educators through Senate Bill 765. However, it’s crucial to recognize that this initiative offers a temporary solution to a multifaceted issue. Encouraging retired teachers to reenter the workforce doesn’t address the root causes that drove them to retire — teachers are often overworked and burned out.To truly address the teacher shortage and raise the quality of public education, we must incentivize more people to pursue teaching by enhancing working conditions and improving work flexibility to create a better work-life balance. One way to do so would be to create internship positions for new college graduates to expose them to teaching. Another way would be to creat...

Driver in Hayward bizarre fatal DUI crash gets 9 months in jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:52:24 GMT

DUBLIN — A Bay Area man was sentenced to what amounts to a nine-month jail stint after pleading no contest to drunk driving in connection with a March 2021 fatal car crash, court records show.Jose Dejesus Gonzalez, 50, of Hayward, was sentenced to 179 days in jail on Sept. 25, three months after Gonzalez had been remanded to Santa Rita Jail pending his sentencing hearing. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Barbara Dickinson handed down the sentence.It was a bizarre case for many reasons, not the least of which was the defense’s ultimate position. Gonzalez’s lawyer argued that not only was Gonzalez not responsible for killing the pedestrian he struck, but that despite pleading no contest to drunk driving and having a blood-alcohol level of .13, he wasn’t actually drunk at the time of the crash.Gonzalez was driving through Hayward on March 13, 2021, when pedestrian Charles Laramore was crossing the street. Laramore was struck by the mirror of Gonzalez’s ...