State Headlines
Kansas governor vetoes effort to help Texas in border security fight
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) â Kansasâ governor is blocking an attempt by Republican legislators to give the stateâs National Guard a âborder missionâ of helping Texas in its partisan fight with the Biden administration over illegal immigration. Top Republicans in the Kansas House were considering Thursday whether their chamber can muster the two-thirds majority necessary to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kellyâs veto of immigration provisions in the next state budget. The Senateâs top Republican promised to mount an override effort, but the House would vote first. Kelly on Wednesday vetoed a budget provision that would have directed her administration to confer with Texasâ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, and send Kansas National Guard personnel or equipment to the border. The GOP proposal would have helped Texas enforce ... Read More
High schooler accused of killing fellow student on campus in Arlington
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmARLINGTON (AP) â Police say a 17-year-old has been arrested on a murder warrant after fatally shooting a schoolmate on the campus of an Arlington, Texas, high school. The slain student was identified as 18-year-old Etavian Barnes by the Tarrant County Medical Examinerâs Office. Barnes was found unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds Wednesday afternoon outside portable buildings on the campus of Bowie High School, according to Arlington Police Chief Al Jones. No other injuries were reported. The suspect, who was also a student at the school, was arrested a short time later near the campus, according to Jones, who said the two apparently knew each other. âWeâre still early on in our investigation, our detectives are working to determine a motive,â Jones said. Jones said ... Read More
Prosecutors want a reversal after a Texas womanâs voter fraud conviction was overturned
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmFORT WORTH (AP) â Prosecutors in Texas asked the stateâs highest criminal appeals court on Thursday to reverse a ruling that overturned a Fort Worth womanâs voter fraud conviction and five-year prison term for casting an illegal provisional ballot. Last month, Crystal Masonâs illegal voting conviction was overturned by the Second Court of Appeals. Now the Tarrant County District Attorneyâs Office is asking the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse that ruling. Mason was convicted in 2018 of illegal voting in district court. Prosecutors maintained that Mason read and signed an affidavit accompanying the provisional ballot affirming that she had âfully completedâ her sentence if convicted of a felony. But the Second Court of Appeals ruled that even if she read the words on ... Read More
Judge declines to dismiss lawsuits filed against rapper Travis Scott
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmHOUSTON (AP) â A judge has declined to dismiss hundreds of lawsuits filed against rap star Travis Scott over his role in the deadly 2021 Astroworld festival in which 10 people were killed in a crowd surge. State District Judge Kristen Hawkins issued a one-page order denying Scott's request that he and his touring and production company, XX Global, should be dropped from the case. The order was signed on Tuesday but made public on Wednesday. Scottâs attorneys had argued during an April 15 hearing that he was not responsible for safety planning and watching for possible dangers at the concert on Nov. 5, 2021. They argued Scottâs duties and responsibilities related to the festival only dealt with creative aspects, including performing and marketing. However, ... Read More
Billionaire oilman inks deal with Venezuela’s state-run oil giant
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmMIAMI (AP) â A company started by a Texas billionaire oilman announced a deal Wednesday with Venezuela's state-owned oil company to rehabilitate five aging oil fields, days after the Biden administration put a brake on sanctions relief over concerns about the fairness of the country's upcoming presidential election. LNG Energy Group is a publicly traded company listed in Canada that produces natural gas in Colombia. It was created last year as a result of a merger with a company owned by Rod Lewis, a legendary Texas wildcatter who Forbes Magazine once called the âonly gringo allowed to drill in Mexico." As part of the deal announced Wednesday, LNG was awarded contracts by state-run PDVSA to take over production and develop two oil fields in eastern ... Read More
Researchers predict tough hurricane season
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:50 pmGULF COAST - The Washington Post reports that a research team led by University of Pennsylvania climate scientist Michael Mann is predicting the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season will produce the most named storms on record, fueled by exceptionally warm ocean waters and an expected shift from El Niño to La Niña. The new forecast, issued Wednesday, calls for a range of 27 to 39 named storms, with a best guess of 33. The most on record was 30 named storms in 2020. The forecast is consistent with those recently released by Colorado State University and AccuWeather but is even more aggressive. âThe unprecedented warmth in the tropical Atlantic right now â which we expect to persist through the hurricane season â is the dominant driving ... Read More
Relatives of those who died waiting for livers at now halted
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmDALLAS (AP) â Several relatives of patients who died while waiting for a new liver said Wednesday they want to know if their loved ones were wrongfully denied a transplant by a Houston doctor accused of manipulating the waitlist to make some patients ineligible to receive a new organ. Officials at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center have said they are investigating after finding that a doctor had made âinappropriate changesâ in the national database for people awaiting liver transplants. Earlier this month, the hospital halted its liver and kidney programs. Susie Garcia's son, Richard Mostacci, died in February 2023 after being told he was too sick for a transplant. He was 43. âWe saw him slipping away, slipping away and there was nothing that we could ... Read More
Boeing’s financial woes continue
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmWASHINGTON (AP) - Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers. CEO David Calhoun said the company is in âa tough moment,â and its focus is on fixing its manufacturing issues, not the financial results. Company executives have been forced to talk more about safety and less about finances since a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max during an Alaska Airlines flight in January, leaving a gaping hole in the plane. The accident halted progress that Boeing seemed to be making while recovering from ... Read More
Grand jury indicts man on murder charge in death of girl
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmHOUSTON (AP) â A man accused of fatally shooting a 9-year-old girl when he was robbed at a Houston ATM in 2022 has been indicted on a murder charge in her death. Tuesdayâs indictment against Tony Earls comes nearly two years after another grand jury declined to indict him in the death of Arlene Alvarez. Gwen Alvarez, the girlâs mother, said the indictment brought her family some relief, knowing it is the âfirst step of receiving justice for my daughter.â âHopefully we inspire other families to never give up on their loved ones. Itâs horrible and itâs a big nightmare what we go through. ⊠Weâre living day by day,â a tearful Gwen Alvarez said during a news conference. Authorities said Wednesday an arrest warrant ... Read More
Colleges nationwide turn to police to quell pro-Palestine protests
Posted/updated on: April 25, 2024 at 4:40 pmAUSTIN (AP) â With graduations looming, student protesters doubled down early Thursday on their discontent of the Israel-Hamas war on campuses across the country as universities, including ones in California and Texas, have become quick to call in the police to end the demonstrations and make arrests. While grappling with growing protests from coast to coast, schools have the added pressure of May commencement ceremonies. At Columbia University in New York, students defiantly erected an encampment where many are set to graduate in front of families in just a few weeks. Columbia continued to negotiate with students after several failed attempts â and over 100 arrests â to clear the encampment, but several universities ousted demonstrators Wednesday, swiftly turning to law enforcement when protests bubbled ... Read More
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