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Texas governor sent bill abolishing position of Harris County elections chief

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Shaking up elections in Texas’ largest county, the GOP-controlled Legislature on Tuesday approved abolishing a position in Harris County that oversees more than 2 million voters around Houston months before the city chooses a new mayor. At the same time, Republicans advanced a separate plan that would also have a singular impact on Harris County, a growing Democratic stronghold: allowing the state to take greater control over elections there if it is determined there is a “pattern of problems.” The push by the state’s GOP majority resurfaced tensions over voting in the Texas Capitol, two years after Democratic lawmakers walked out for 93 days in protest of new voting restrictions that also targeted Harris County. At the center of proposed changes this time is last year’s elections in Harris County, where local officials have acknowledged problems that included paper ballot shortages and delayed poll openings. Republican candidates have challeng...

Priest killed in Mexico; 9th slain in country in past 4 years

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has been killed in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, the ninth slain in the country in the past four years. The church’s Catholic Multimedia Center identified the priest as Rev. Javier García Villafaña, who had been assigned to the Capacho parish in Huandacareo just one month earlier. The Michoacan state prosecutor’s office said that García’s body had several gunshot wounds and was found inside a vehicle. The killing came one day after the Mexican Episcopal Conference expressed its solidarity and condemnation of an attack against Monsignor Faustino Armendáriz Jiménez, archbishop of the northern state of Durango.On Sunday, an elderly man tried to stab Armendáriz in Durango’s cathedral. The archbishop escaped uninjured.The conference said in a statement that it condemned García’s killing and called on authorities to find those responsible.“It is a painful reminder of the serious situation we face as a society, in which the presence of o...

How a religious order became a sanctuary for pedophile priests

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

WGN Films presents “Sanctuary of Sin,” a series looking at a little-known religious order and the role it played in the Catholic church sex abuse crisis. This is Part 2 of 3.Father Gerald Fitzgerald started a Catholic religious order after a chance encounter with a beggar. It turned out the beggar was a priest in need of help and had nowhere to turn. So, Father Fitzgerald founded the Servants of the Paraclete in the late 1940s to help fill that void. He established in a compound in the New Mexico desert where priests struggling with alcohol abuse or a crisis of faith could be treated.But he soon encountered clergy with more serious issues.“Within the first few years, priests begin to show up - not for alcoholism or lack of faith – but for credible accusations against them in terms of sexual abuse,” said Kevin O’Neill, a professor in the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto.Fitzgerald’s facility did not employ therapists or medical professionals. But he d...

Trump faces intensifying legal problems

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

The depth and breadth of the looming legal problems facing former President Trump are on full display this week after a rapid series of developments in various cases.In the past few days alone, one of Trump’s top lawyers departed, citing internal friction, the special counsel has intensified his investigation into the former president's conduct and writer E. Jean Carroll has filed for more damages after Trump mocked her sexual assault allegations at a CNN town hall.Meanwhile, a New York judge called a hearing Tuesday to reiterate to Trump that rules surrounding his hush money prosecution bar him from using evidence in the case to attack any witnesses.The specter of legal trouble is nothing new for Trump. Jack Smith, a Justice Department special counsel, is investigating his handling of classified information and his efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election. A Georgia prosecutor is probing attempts to overturn the state’s election results in 2020.Former President Donald Tru...

More U.S. Open Cup matches mean Austin FC is a step closer to claiming a trophy

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — There's no rest for the weary in professional soccer, and Austin FC is in the middle of experiencing the colloquial saying firsthand.Wednesday's Round of 16 match against the Chicago Fire in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup will be the sixth time Verde and Black take to the pitch this month with two more MLS matches on the way.MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newslettersBut that's OK with Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff. The extra games mean his team is moving closer to hoisting a trophy and taking a bath in confetti in front of screaming fans."We're here to win trophies, and that revolves around making the playoffs, making a run here and putting yourself in positions to win," Wolff said. "We've got some great opportunities ahead, but the most important thing is Chicago tomorrow night."Austin's form is trending in the right direction having shrugged off an 8-game MLS w...

Man dies in Colorado River when thrown out of raft in Garfield County

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

A rafter died after falling into the hard-rushing Colorado River between Grizzly Creek and the Shoshone Hydroelectric Facility.The incident happened on Sunday when two people fell out of a raft, other group members got both people to shore, but a 34-year-old man could not be revived, according to the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office. The man was wearing a personal flotation device and a helmet. He was rafting with a party of five at the time of the incident.“Water levels are predicted to come up even more in the next couple weeks and stay at a high level for over a month. River safety should be our biggest concern right now,” said Garfield County Emergency Manager Chris Bornholdt in a news release. “Navigating the river is tricky under normal conditions and when you add 3-4 times the amount of water and speed, things can happen really fast.”Related ArticlesCrime and Public Safety | Fashion illustrator and artist James “Jim” Howard dies ...

East L.A. kidnapping suspect arrested

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

Authorities have arrested a man wanted in connection with the kidnapping of a woman while she was trying to board a bus in East Los Angeles on Monday.  The woman was boarding a Montebello Transit bus in the 3800 block of East Third Street at about 8:38 p.m. when she was “confronted from behind” by a man, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. Surveillance footage shows a passenger and the bus driver tried to step in to help, but the man broke a window on the bus and pointed a handgun at the driver, then “appeared to coerce the female into” a nearby white Honda Civic, authorities said. The man then drove off east on Third Street to the 60 Freeway. LASD released surveillance images of the suspect (left) and the woman who was possibly kidnapped (right). May 23, 2023. (LASD)On Tuesday, investigators learned that the suspect, now identified as 24-year-old Angel Flores, had been arrested by officers with the Los Angeles Police Dep...

Amid retirement rumors, Lakers GM hopeful LeBron James will return for 21st season

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

The NBA world was flipped on its axis Monday night after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the NBA Western Conference Finals by the Denver Nuggets.The elimination itself wasn't that surprising — the Nuggets were the No. 1 seed in the West and the Lakers made a bit of a Cinderella run to even make the playoffs. But it was comments made after the game by Lakers star LeBron James regarding whether or not he planned to return for a 21st season in the league next year that brought the sports community to a standstill.James, 38, reportedly told TNT's Chris Haynes that he "wasn't sure" if he would be back for the Lakers at the start of next season. "Just personally, with me moving forward with the game of basketball, I got a lot to think about," James told Haynes after the Lakers' 113-111 loss to the Nuggets Monday night.James just completed his 20th season in the league, a season in which his team toiled in the standings basement for much of the year before the team was rebuilt from th...

The five most expensive homes reported sold in Milpitas in the week of May 15

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

A house in Milpitas that sold for $1.5 million tops the list of the most expensive residential real estate sales in Milpitas in the past week.In total, five residential real estate sales were recorded in the area during the past week, with an average price of $1.3 million. The average price per square foot was $889.The prices in the list below concern real estate sales where the title was recorded during the week of May 15 even if the property may have been sold earlier.5. $1.1 million, condominium in the 200 block of Baja Rose StreetThe sale of the condominium in the 200 block of Baja Rose Street in Milpitas has been finalized. The price was $1,050,000, and the new owners took over the condominium in May. The condominium was built in 2018 and has a living area of 1,449 square feet. The price per square foot was $725. The condominium features two bedrooms and two bathrooms.Baja Rose Street4. $1.2 million, single-family house in the 1100 block of Traughber StreetThe property in the 1...

San Mateo County Fair returns to town June 3

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:47:42 GMT

The San Mateo County Fair is returning to town next weekend – complete with racing pigs, live concerts, carnival rides, and tributes to all kinds of Bay Area communities.The fair’s roots are deep, according to event organizers: it was originally called “The Little Flower Show” in 1926. Nearly a century later, 2023’s fair will take place between June 3 to 11, with a combination of live entertainment, competitions, and other festivities.This year, the fair will host Family Pride Day, Senior Day, and Pacific Islands Day, along with others honoring veterans and farmworkers. The Domini Hoskins Black History Museum will also be showcasing a series of performances and celebrations throughout the week, with 100 exhibits on display. The fair is also bringing a new exhibit – The Lost World of Dragons – to the stage this year, which will feature even “life-size animatronic dragons with realistic movements and sound,” along with stories of dragons throughout history.There will...