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Police officers severely disabled by COVID-19 denied benefits

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

(NewsNation) — Chicago Police Detective Sergeant Joaquin Mendoza says he knew he wanted to be an officer from the moment one came to speak to his class.“When I got home that day, first thing my mom asks me is, ‘Hey, so what do you want to be when you grow up, for your career?’ I'm like, ‘I want to be a big Irish cop,”’ Det. Sgt. Mendoza told NewsNation. “And my mom said, ‘Well, the Irish ain’t happening, because you know me and your dad, we’re Mexican. The big, that's probably not going to happen either, because neither one of us are big people. But if you study hard, and you do well in school, and you're a good kid, then maybe you'll get the chance to be a police officer.’ So I lucked out and got my dream job.”Over his 22 years on the police force, he worked on some of the grisliest crimes, helping to solve the murder of Leticia Barrera. The pregnant mother of three was shot and killed in front of her house on Halloween day, while holding her little girl’s hand. COVID hospitaliza...

Covenant School shooter: Images purportedly showing 'manifesto' prompt investigation

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Images of unverified pages from The Covenant School shooter's writings were released to the public Monday by a conservative radio host. Steven Crowder posted images of three pages from a notebook allegedly from the shooter's so-called "manifesto."Crowder told Nexstar's WKRN the images were taken by a detective at the Covenant School scene and sent to his source within the Metro Nashville Police Department. His team flew to Nashville to obtain the images and verify the source.He did not disclose if he has any more pages to share, but added Metro police should be able to authenticate the documents since they have possession of the shooter's journals. Metro police spokesperson Kris Mumford told WKRN the department is "still looking into it."On March 27, six people, including three children, were shot and killed by 28-year-old Audrey Hale at the Covenant School in Green Hills. The victims were identified as Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, ...

Here are the 21 routes being cut by American Airlines at Austin airport

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

The above video shows KXAN News Today’s top morning headlines for Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.AUSTIN (KXAN) — American Airlines has revealed the list of 21 nonstop flights from Austin that are being cut from its schedule in 2024.The canceled routes include six international destinations and 15 domestic destinations. Service will be cut between January and April.Thirteen of the 21 routes are currently served by other airlines, but the cuts mean eight destinations will no longer have direct service from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: American Airlines to cut routes from Austin airport Here's a look at when service on each route will end:Some of the new routes were only launched earlier this year, including Memphis, Fort Myers and Sacramento. International service to Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Cozumel, Mexico, was launched in June 2022.The airline previously ended nonstop service to San Juan, Puerto Rico, in November 2022, and St. Louis in May 2023."Austin remains...

Why Texas' constitutional amendment elections historically have low voter turnout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tuesday is Election Day in Texas, with 14 constitutional amendments on the ballot along with a handful of other local items Austin area voters will weigh in on. There are more than 17.7 million registered in Texas — yet as of the close of early voting on Friday evening, just over 1.2 million ballots were cast, marking a statewide turnout of 6.99%.That turnout volume is slightly lower compared to previous off-year election cycles, yet still on trend for typical voting behavior, said Dr. Brian Smith, a political science professor at St. Edward's University. RELATED: How many people have voted in the November 2023 election? "When we look at the election, it's what we call a 'low salience election,'" he said. "There's no real partisan issues out there. There's no real individuals driving turnout. There isn't a lot of media coverage that will get people excited to the polls, and there's not a lot of other races out there, other than maybe some local races or local bond ...

Texas House unveils latest education plan, proposing more money for ESAs and public schools

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- As the third legislative session lapses without movement to increase public school funding or establish Gov. Greg Abbott's priority of education savings accounts, lawmakers are reviewing a new proposal they plan on debating if and when the governor calls them back for a fourth special session.State Rep. Brad Buckley, the Fort Worth Republican who chairs the powerful Public Education Committee in the House, shared a draft overview of a bill he intends to file in the next special session. He says the bill "has been shaped by extensive discussion between House Members, the Governor's Office, and key education stakeholders over the past several months.""In the likely event that Governor Abbott calls us back into session... my intent is to file this bill at the earliest opportunity," Rep. Buckley said in a letter to House colleagues. It is possible the Governor starts another 30-day legislative session as soon as Wednesday. State of Texas: Hope fades for deal on sch...

Gobble, gobble! Wild turkeys gather in Austin backyard

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — 'Tis the season? An Austin man discovered a flock of 10 turkeys in his backyard late last week near Taterwood Drive and Anderson Mill Road in northwest Austin.Texas is home to three subspecies of turkey: the Eastern, Rio Grande and Merriam turkeys, according to the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension. The Rio Grande subspecies is the most popular of the three, with all turkeys tending to reside near rivers and lakes due to their high water intake needs. An Austin man discovered a flock of 10 turkeys in his backyard late last week near Taterwood Drive and Anderson Mill Road in northwest Austin. (Courtesy: Jerry D. Harper)Today, turkeys are present in 223 of Texas' 254 counties, according to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. But that wasn't always the case: A hundred years ago, TPWD documents said turkeys nearly vanished in Texas "due to unregulated hunting and loss of habitat." That all changed following both hunter and landowner supports, bag limits and hunting r...

Whitney Wolfe Herd stepping down as CEO of Bumble

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

AUSTIN (Austin Business Journal) -- Bumble Inc. co-founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd is stepping down almost a decade after starting the Austin-based dating app company.Herd will officially step down as CEO on Jan. 2, and she will be succeeded by Lidiane Jones, who is currently CEO at workforce communications company Slack, according to a Nov. 6 announcement. Herd will remain at Bumble as executive chair.Herd founded Bumble in 2014 after being a co-founder and vice president of marketing at Tinder. She built Bumble into a fierce rival with a differentiated approach to dating – requiring women to make the first move and following up with a series of user experience rules that helped keep women more comfortable and safer in the rapidly emerging world of app-based dating. In addition to its namesake dating app, Bumble also operates Bumble for Friends, Badoo and Fruitz.Bumble went on to become a billion-dollar company and had its initial public offering in 2021. It is perhaps no surpri...

Twins add two to 40-man roster; more prospect additions coming

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

The Twins made a pair of roster moves on Monday, adding catcher Jair Camargo and infielder Yunior Severino to the 40-man roster to protect them from minor-league free agency and the upcoming Rule 5 Draft.Camargo, 24, spent all of last season in Triple-A where he hit .259 with a .323 on-base percentage and .503 slugging percentage. The backstop had 21 home runs in 90 games for the St. Paul Saints but stayed in Triple-A all season because Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vázquez remained healthy and the Twins did not need to use more than two catchers.Severino, also 24, split time between Double-A and Triple-A last season, hitting .272 with an .898 OPS in 120 games. The infielder hit 35 home runs between the two levels, marking a jump from the 19 he hit in 2022.The Twins are expected to make more additions to the 40-man roster in the coming days with the deadline to protect players from the Rule 5 Draft coming on Nov. 14. The Rule 5 Draft will take place on Dec. 6 at the Winter Meetings in ...

Wild’s Jared Spurgeon could play on New York road trip

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

Jared Spurgeon was a full participant in an hour-long practice Monday morning at TRIA Rink and traveled with the team for a three-game road trip through New York.The veteran defenseman went through some contact drills for the first time since suffering an upper body injury in a preseason game. He has been skating for more than a week, and has practiced with the team since last Wednesday.Asked if Spurgeon could play his first game of the season on the trip, head coach Dean Evason said, “There’s a possibility, for sure. Where? When? Who knows?”Spurgeon hasn’t played in a game since being checked into the boards in a 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks on Oct. 5 in Chicago.“He’s progressing quite nicely into full practice,” Evason added.Rookie defenseman Brock Faber said it will be nice to have Spurgeon on the trip.“Whether he plays or not, it makes a big difference,” he said. “Guys feel his presence, so it’s great to have him. Obviously, we miss him back there, but once he’s healthy ...

It wasn’t ‘Braveheart,’ Wild’s Marcus Foligno said, but it seemed to help

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 18:11:25 GMT

With his team on a four-game winless streak, and about to face the NHL’s hottest team, Wild coach Dean Evason called his alternate captains in for a talk. The message was simple: Gimme a hand here.The Wild had just finished a winless road trip, then come out flat — again — in a 5-3 loss at home to the New Jersey Devils last Thursday. And now the New York Rangers, winners of six straight and leading the Metropolitan Division with an 8-2-0 record, were coming to town.And then it got worse when the Rangers darted to a 3-0, first-period lead on them Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center. Evason liked a lot of what he saw from his team, but he couldn’t pretend the Wild weren’t in a world of hurt. So he changed it up a little between periods.Enter Marcus Foligno.“Coaches can come in and kick the garbage can only so many times and they can be like, ‘Well, he kicked the garbage can again. Who cares?’ ” Evason explained. “When a player, when a peer stands up or says something, it has a lot of...