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FORT BLISS – The U.S. Army soldier who was temporarily detained by North Korea last year after running across the Demilitarized Zone was sentenced to 12 months’ confinement after pleading guilty Friday to desertion and four other charges, including assaulting an officer.

According to Fox News, the military court judge at Fort Bliss, Texas, reportedly told King that without the plea he could serve up to 20 years following his admission of guilt.

King was declared a free man on Friday based on the 338 days he had already served awaiting trial and good behavior. He also received a dishonorable discharge from the United States Army.

“With time already served and credit for good behavior, Travis [is] now free and will return home,” his attorney, Franklin D. Rosenblatt, told Fox News.

Nine other offenses that King faced, including possession of sexual images of a child, were withdrawn and dismissed under the terms of a plea agreement he reached, according to The Associated Press.

King bolted across the heavily fortified border from South Korea in July 2023 and became the first American detained in North Korea in nearly five years.

His run into North Korea came soon after he was released from a South Korean prison where he had served nearly two months on assault charges.

About a week after his release from the prison, military officers took him to the airport so he could return to Fort Bliss to face disciplinary action. He was escorted as far as customs, but instead of getting on the plane, he joined a civilian tour of the Korean border village of Panmunjom.

He then ran across the border, which is lined with guards and often crowded with tourists.

King ultimately was detained by North Korea, but after about two months, Pyongyang abruptly announced that it would expel him. On Sept. 28, he was flown back to Texas, and has been in custody there.

King spent a total of 71 days in North Korean custody.

AUSTIN (AP) — A civil trial in Texas over a so-called “Trump Train” that surrounded a Biden-Harris campaign bus days before the 2020 election reached closing arguments Friday before a federal jury decides whether the rolling highway encounter amounted to political intimidation.

“This case is not about politics,” Robert Meyer, an attorney representing those aboard the bus, told the jury. “It’s about safety.”

The two-week trial in an Austin federal courthouse has included testimony from former Texas Democratic lawmaker Wendy Davis, who ran for governor in 2014, and is one of three people who was on board the bus and brought the lawsuit against six supporters of former President Donald Trump.

No criminal charges have been filed against the Trump supporters, who have argued that their actions during the convoy on Oct. 30, 2020, were protected speech.

Video that Davis recorded from the bus shows pickup trucks with large Trump flags slowing down to box in the bus as it tried to move away from the group of Trump supporters. One of the defendants hit a campaign volunteer’s car while the trucks occupied all lanes of traffic, forcing the bus and everyone around it to a 15 mph crawl.

During closing arguments Friday, Meyer argued that the defendants’ conversations leading up to the convoy about “Operation Block the Bus,” dissemination of flyers and aggressive driving met the criteria for political intimidation.

“This wasn’t some kind of peaceful protest,” Meyer said. “The bus swarmed on all sides.”

Attorneys for the defendants were set to make their closing arguments before the seven-member jury later Friday.

Those on the bus — including Davis, a campaign staffer and the driver — repeatedly called 911 asking for help and a police escort through San Marcos, but when no law enforcement arrived, the campaign canceled the event and pushed forward to Austin.

The trial began with plaintiffs’ attorneys saying that organizers targeted the bus in a calculated attack to intimidate the Democrats, arguing that it violated the “Ku Klux Klan Act,” an 1871 federal law that bans political violence and intimidation.

The City of San Marcos settled a separate lawsuit filed by the same three Democrats against the police, agreeing to pay $175,000 and mandate political violence training for law enforcement.

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports that Dallas police Chief Eddie García once said he’d “run through a wall” for former City Manager T.C. Broadnax, but it appears he will only have to drive down Interstate 35. According to a memo from Broadnax, García will retire from the Dallas Police Department to become an assistant city manager under his former boss, where he will oversee the city’s first responders. According to that memo, his first day will be November 4. Broadnax, who left Dallas for the same job in Austin earlier this year under a cloud of acrimony, had reportedly been eyeing García for the open police chief position there. It prompted interim City Manager Kim Tolbert to tell Houston and Austin to “turn around and go back home.” And even though the city charter doesn’t allow the Council to strike a contract with the police chief, Tolbert seemed to wrangle a deal: in exchange for García’s committing to the city through May 2027, he would get a twice-annual $10,000 retention bonus beginning November 2024, as well as assurances that he would receive a year’s salary if fired “for convenience” during those three years. He will not get those bonuses or severance.

“This was complicated, but we got it done,” Tolbert said in a statement announcing the agreement. “If this was NFL Football, we were able to keep Chief García on the Dallas Team; he’s the right quarterback to lead our police department. We certainly didn’t want to lose him to free agency.” García seemed adamant about staying put. “This is the right place to complete my service, and I know your police officers are honored to serve Dallas residents,” he said. “We will keep doing our jobs with excellence and results.” On May 16, he tweeted “Home = @DallasPD.” This is the risk when a city manager bails. There is always a possibility that he’ll take his preferred employees with him. Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune was among the first to choose Austin, costing Dallas a highly respected administrator with a deep knowledge of public safety. Now it’s García, who teamed with criminologists to translate granular data into a plan that has successfully reduced violent crime in the city of Dallas each of the last four years. It’s been widely cited that Mayor Eric Johnson’s icy relationship with Broadnax forced his resignation, that their time together had grown so sour that little could be accomplished from 1500 Marilla. Now García has chosen his old boss over the city he once pledged to serve for at least five years. He made it three and a half.

AUSTIN – The Austin American-Statesman reports that Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, plans a two-day campaign swing in Texas beginning Monday to take part in a get-out-the-vote rally and to raise money on behalf of Democrats in advance of the Nov. 5 election. The rally, scheduled Monday in San Antonio, will be joined by with the city’s mayor, Ron Nirenberg, as well as former Mayor Julia´n Castro and his twin brother, U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro. Tuesday’s events will include stops in Austin and in Houston. The venues and programs were not publicly announced Thursday. Republicans, who hold all statewide offices in Texas and majorities in both chamber of the Legislature, said the visit by the husband of the Democratic presidential nominee would do little to change the political landscape in the state. “We welcome Doug Emhoff wasting time by visiting Texas,” said state GOP Chairman Abraham George in a statement. “Texas is, and will remain solidly Republican. We are well on our way to knocking on over 100,000 doors in targeted flippable races.”

With national polls showing the presidential race neck-and-neck, top Texas Democrats have said the ticket of Harris and vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz were unlikely to expend significant resources in the state that is widely expected to remain in the GOP column in November. University of Texas at San Antonio political science professor Jon Taylor, however, said Emhoff’s visit makes at least some political sense, if for no other reason than to tap the checking accounts of the state’s Democratic donors for money that could be spent in the swing states that will likely decide the election. “I would say he’s definitely (coming) here to raise money, definitely to help down-ballot races, given that a lot of polling shows (Democratis U.S. Senate nominee Colin) Allred within 10 to 5 points of Ted Cruz,” Taylor said, referring to the incumbent two-term Republican senator. Among other well-known Democrats who will be joining Emhoff, two Democratic state House candidates running in Republican-held but competitive districts anchored in San Antonio are also scheduled to be part of Monday’s program. Democrat Kristian Carranza, a political newcomer, is challenging two-term Republican John Lujan in House District 118. Lujan scratched out his 2022 victory by fewer than 2,000 votes in the race that drew about 50,000 people to the polls. Laurel Jordan Swift, also a Democratic first-time candidate, will face Republican Marc LaHood, who ousted ousted three-term Republican Steve Allison in District 121 in the GOP primary. Allison won reelection by a more comfortable 5-point margin two years ago.

DETROIT (AP) – General Motors is recalling more than 449,000 of its SUVs and pickup trucks because the electronic brake control module software may fail to display a warning light when a loss of brake fluid takes place.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday that the recall includes certain 2023-2024 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESVs, 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500, 2023-2024 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban 1500, 2023 GMC Sierra 1500, 2023-2024 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL models.

The agency said that without the warning light, a vehicle may be driven with low brake fluid, which can reduce braking performance and increase the risk of a crash.

A free software update will be provided to vehicle owners.

Owner notification letters are expected to be mailed Oct. 28. Vehicle owners can contact GMC customer service at 1-800-462-8782, Chevrolet customer service at 1-800-222-1020, or Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006.