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US push to lower wildfire risk across the West stumbles in places

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

DOWNIEVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Using chainsaws, heavy machinery and controlled burns, the Biden administration is trying to turn the tide on worsening wildfires in the U.S. West through a multi-billion dollar cleanup of forests choked with dead trees and undergrowth.Yet one year into what’s envisioned as a decade-long effort, federal land managers are scrambling to catch up after falling behind on several of their priority forests for thinning even as they exceeded goals elsewhere. And they’ve skipped over some highly at-risk communities to work in less threatened areas, according to data obtained by The Associated Press, public records and Congressional testimony.With climate change making the situation increasingly dire, mixed early results from the administration’s initiative underscore the challenge of reversing decades of lax forest management and aggressive fire suppression that allowed many woodlands to become tinderboxes. The ambitious effort comes amid pushback from...

In China, a muted reaction to the revolt in Russia belies anxiety over war, global balance of power

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

BEIJING (AP) — China’s muted reaction to the Wagner mercenary group uprising against Russia’s military belies Beijing’s growing anxieties over the war in Ukraine and how this affects the global balance of power. China’s ruling Communist Party called the swift end of the 22-hour revolt Moscow’s “internal affair,” with state media affirming China’s support for Russia. Chinese observers said the incident showed how overblown Western rhetoric was regarding the “Russian internal conflict” and that President Vladimir Putin’s hold on power remains secure. But the uprising also threatens to deepen growing anxieties in Beijing over Russia’s war in Ukraine, given China’s limited ability to influence the situation. China has maintained a consistent position on the war: neutral on paper, but favoring Russia in practice, with frequent state visits and joint military drills between the two nations. It’s a delicate balance, calibrated carefully to avoid damaging relations with Russia o...

Father arrested after 3-week-old baby is killed by crossbow in upstate New York

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

COLESVILLE, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York man shot his companion with a crossbow while she was holding the couple’s 3-week-old daughter, killing the child and injuring the woman, authorities said.Sheriff’s deputies and emergency medical workers responded to a 911 call and found the injured woman and baby at a home in the town of Colesville shortly after 5 a.m. Monday, the Broome County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.The woman told deputies that Patrick Proefriedt, 26, had fired a crossbow at her while she was holding their infant daughter. The broadhead crossbow bolt hit the child in the torso and then struck the woman in the chest, the sheriff’s office said.Proefriedt removed the bolt and tried to stop the woman from calling 911 then drove away in a pickup truck, sheriff’s office spokesperson Emmanuel Priest said.Deputies and paramedics attempted lifesaving measures on the baby but she was pronounced dead at the scene, Priest said. The woman...

Chicago mother sues city after murder charges were dropped against her and her son

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

CHICAGO (AP) — A Chicago mother who was accused of telling her teen son to shoot a man at a fast food restaurant is suing the city and arresting officers, a day after murder charges against her and her son were dropped. Carlishia Hood, 35, was held on $3 million bail after she was charged last week with first-degree murder and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. She was released Monday from the Cook County Jail.The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said it was unable to “meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases.”“I’ve experienced pain in many ways that I would never have thought,” she said about her arrest. ”What happened to me was totally unnecessary. Never in a million years would I have imagined being brutally attacked, beaten and being arrested.”Hood alleges malicious prosecution, false arrest and intentional infliction of emotional distress in her lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.A cellphone video posted on social media over t...

Affidavit: PfISD officer accused of 'inappropriate interactions,' messaged students on Snapchat

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

Editor's Note: The above video shows KXAN's previous coverage of the PfISD officer's arrest.PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (KXAN) — A terminated Pflugerville Independent School District officer reportedly contacted three middle school students through Snapchat and messaged them inappropriate things, according to affidavits obtained by KXAN. Pflugerville ISD police officer arrested after ‘inappropriate interactions’ with students Court records reveal Estavan "Steve" Soliz, 49, is the former Pflugerville ISD police officer being accused of having “inappropriate interactions with students.” According to affidavits, he was an officer for about 26 years, 14 of those spent with the Pflugerville Police Department. Soliz was the sole officer stationed at Kelly Lane Middle School, according to the affidavits. He is charged with online solicitation of a minor and tampering with physical evidence, affidavits stated.KXAN reached out to an attorney representing Soliz. This story will be updated if we rec...

Ascension Seton Medical Center nurses on strike Tuesday

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin began a one-day strike Tuesday morning "to protest management's resistance to bargain in good faith."The group of unionized registered nurses said this will be the largest nurse strike in Texas history. This effort is part of contract negotiations the union said will improve the health of their patients and communities. A group of Ascension Seton nurses voted to unionize in September, joining the National Nurses Organizing Committee/National Nurses United. The union said it represents about 900 nurses, and 98% of those nurses voted to authorize the Tuesday strike. The strike started at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday and will last 24 hours excluding a three-hour heat break in the afternoon. Nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin began a one-day strike the morning of June 27, 2023, “to protest management’s resistance to bargain in good faith.” (KXAN Photo/Frank Martinez)Nurses at Ascension Seton Medical Center in Aust...

LIVE: Travis County data shows drug overdose deaths higher among people leaving jail

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — On Tuesday, Travis County leaders will discuss data from the 2022 Medical Examiner's report that shows more than 20% of accidental overdose deaths were people who had been in jail less than a year prior. According to the county, the data showed 89 of the 417 people who died of an accidental drug overdose in 2022 had been in jail at least once within 12 months of their death. According to staff, 24 of those people had been flagged for needing mental health treatment in the jail during their last jail stay. The county noted that means someone in our county is more than eight times more likely to die of an accidental drug overdose after being directly released from jail compared to those who had not. Staff also said overall, people with shorter stays at the jail were more likely to later die of an accidental overdose after their release. They attributed that to someone not getting available resources in the jail. According to Sheriff Sally Hernandez, of the 31 people wh...

One year since 53 migrants died in tractor-trailer abandoned in San Antonio

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (KXAN) — Federal prosecutors are expected to share an update Tuesday afternoon marking one year since the deadliest human smuggling incident in the country's history. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. in San Antonio, which is where authorities found a tractor-trailer carrying migrants abandoned near an auto salvage yard last year. In total, 53 people died, including children. Almost a dozen others suffered injuries because of the sweltering conditions. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Toll now at 53 in San Antonio as families wait for answers A release about the news conference shared lawyers as well as investigators "will provide significant updates to the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the 2022 human smuggling incident that resulted in the death of 53 men, women and children, along with 11 injured."KXAN will carry a live stream of the news conference Tuesday afternoon in this story and...

Minnesota State Fair now hiring for jobs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

The Minnesota State Fair Employment Center has opened and will be hiring for positions such as ticketing, parking, rides and games, barn attendants, custodians and select vendors.The jobs will be either six- or 12-hour shifts and most require no previous experience. Positions are available to anyone 16 years old or older. Fair officials are looking to hire about 1,700 employees for Aug. 24 through Labor Day, Sept. 4.To learn more visit their website: https://www.mnstatefair.org/get-involved/employment/ or visit the Employment Center at 1640 Como Ave.

Rensselaer City Police investigating church burglary

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 15:20:45 GMT

RENSSELAER, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Rensselaer City Police are currently investigating a burglary that took place at the St. John Evangelist and St. Joseph's Church on Herrick Street between 2:30 p.m. Sunday and 8:45 a.m. Monday. Police say an unknown suspect or suspects attempted to gain entry into the church's safe but were unsuccessful. Get the latest, news, weather, sports and community events delivered right to your inbox! Police the suspect(s) forced their way through a side door of the church. A wooden donation box was cut open, and an unknown amount of money was stolen. A similar wooden prayer candle box was cut open, and an unknown amount of money was stolen from that as well. Anyone who saw anything suspicious, who may have video of the area or information regarding the burglary, is asked to call the Rensselaer Police Department Detective Office at (518) 462-7451.