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House passes Abbott-backed property tax relief, adjourns special session

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — On the first full day of the first special legislative session, the House passed the two bills Gov. Greg Abbott called on lawmakers to pass, allowing for the Speaker to adjourn indefinitely Tuesday evening after the Senate passed conflicting legislation.In a dramatic 24 hour span, House and Senate lawmakers completed the regular session late Monday evening after hours of failed negotiations on a property tax relief deal that stalled both chambers from gaveling out for the session. Less than three hours after the 88th Legislative Session concluded, Abbott called them back to the Capitol with demands for property tax relief and border security bills.Senators passed a property tax plan quickly that included steps to expand the state's homestead exemption, the amount of a home's value that is exempt from property taxes. The Senate then recessed until Friday.Hours later, the House Speaker Dade Phelan said House lawmakers would not take up the Senate bill, saying it wa...

Authorities searching for missing Inver Grove Heights man in Afton State Park

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

Authorities are asking for help in the search for Andrew Dropik, 31, of Inver Grove Heights. His vehicle was found near Afton State Park on May 20, 2023. (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)Authorities are asking for help in the search for a missing Inver Grove Heights man whose vehicle was found near Afton State Park earlier this month.Andrew Dropik, 31, was last seen May 16 at a gas station in Inver Grove Heights.Four days later, family members found his unoccupied vehicle near Afton State Park, where he often hikes, according to a press release from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.When Dropik did not show up to a family event on Saturday afternoon, relatives contacted law enforcement.Family members and law enforcement officials believe Dropik may be undergoing a mental health crisis, and a handgun is missing from his house, the release states.Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, along with law enforcement officials from the Minn...

Kevin O’Connell not concerned with Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson missing OTAs

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

Vikings star receiver Justin Jefferson has been conspicuously absent from organized team activities at TCO Performance Center. Not that Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell seems too concerned.Asked about the situation, O’Connell noted that he has had an open dialogue with Jefferson this spring. Though he wouldn’t divulge the details of those conversations, O’Connell made it clear that he and Jefferson are on the same page about everything.In the meantime, O’Connell is happy to push forward with the players who are present, knowing Jefferson will easily acclimate whenever he returns.“I think our participation among our whole team has been so good that we’ve been able to get great work in,” O’Connell said. “As we work towards minicamp we’ll have a real clear cut plan of what that looks like, and hopefully get him some work, and I know a lot of the guys will be excited to see him.”It’s unclear why the soon-to-be 24...

Keeler: ESPN’s Mark Jackson sounds ready to make peace with Nuggets fans after Nikola Jokic MVP backlash. Jeff Van Gundy, not so much. “Some of those fans were clowns.”

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

Nuggets fans, Mark Jackson sounds ready to bury the hatchet. Jeff Van Gundy, though?Dude’s still got an ax he’d like to grind.“I’ve had no issues at all (with Nuggets players and coaches) and I don’t expect any, other than one or two fans during one of the games in the Western Conference Finals,” Jackson, the ESPN analyst, former Nuggets player and NBA coach revealed during a conference call Tuesday advancing the 2023 NBA Finals.The 58-year-old, who played 52 games for the Nuggets during the 1996-97 season, incurred the wrath of Denver faithful earlier this month when he admitted to leaving two-time reigning NBA MVP and Mile High icon Nikola Jokic off his 2023 MVP ballot entirely.Jackson on May 11 went to Twitter to admit the omission was an “honest mistake” and apologized. The Joker, who’d won the award in each of the previous two springs, wound up finishing a distant second in the voting to Philadelphia center Joel Embiid, even though the Sombor Shuffler wound up two-t...

Police investigate fatal shooting at Amazon Fresh store in Westchester

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

Authorities are investigating what appears to be a fatal shooting in the parking lot of an Amazon Fresh store in Westchester on Tuesday.  Police responded to calls of a shooting in the 6800 block of La Cienega just after 4 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.  Footage from Sky5 showed a portion of the store’s parking lot cordoned off with a white canopy next to several parked cars. Canopies are typically used to cover a victim’s body during a death investigation.  Police at the scene of an apparent fatal shooting at an Amazon Fresh store in Westchester on May 30, 2023. (KTLA)No information about the victim’s age or gender was provided, nor was it clear what led up to the shooting. This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA for updates.

Suspect shot by police after violent rampage in Long Beach

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

A man accused of assaulting five people in a bizarre, violent rampage in Long Beach was shot and wounded by police Tuesday, officials said.The incident was reported just before noon in the 4600 block of East 2nd Street near Livingston Park in an upscale community of the city, according to Long Beach Police.The suspect, described only as being 31 years old, allegedly punched a man and a woman in the 200 block of Park Avenue. The man walked into the park where he struck a man holding a 2-year-old child who fell during the attack, Cmdr. Michael Pennino explained during a news conference Tuesday afternoon. The suspect then allegedly stabbed a man in front of a local business. Police and ambulances respond to stabbings and an officer-involved shooting in Long Beach on May 30, 2023. (KTLA)Livingston Park, where two victims were hurt, is cordoned off amid the investigation on May 30, 2023. (KTLA)Police blocked off three blocks during their investigation into an assault suspect who was late...

North Korea says its satellite launch has failed

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

By Yoonjung Seo and Junko Ogura | CNNSeoul — North Korea said its attempt to launch a military reconnaissance satellite failed Wednesday when the second stage of the rocket failed, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).“The new satellite vehicle rocket, Chollima-1, crashed into the West Sea ​​as it lost propulsion due to an abnormal startup of the engine on the 2nd stage after the 1st stage was separated during normal flight,” KCNA said.Earlier, South Korea’s military said Pyongyang fired a “space projectile,” triggering emergency alerts in Seoul and Japan, weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered officials to prepare to launch the country’s first military reconnaissance satellite.South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the launch occurred around 6:29 a.m. Two minutes later, an air raid siren sounded in Seoul, and a minute after that a text message was sent urging residents to “prepare to evacuate and allow children and the elderly evacuate first.”...

Concord man convicted of 2019 murder at Petaluma outlet mall

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

PETALUMA – A jury on Tuesday convicted a 29-year-old Concord man of the first-degree murder of a 19-year-old man at a Petaluma mall in 2019, according to prosecutors.David Kyle Lubkin faces up to 50 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced later this summer, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.According to prosecutors, Lubkin met the victim, Ezequiel Garcia, at the Petaluma Outlets on Sept. 28, 2019, under the guise of purchasing a gold necklace off Craigslist. When Garcia drove up in his vehicle, Lubkin confronted him about another necklace he sold to him several days earlier, the district attorney’s office said.Lubkin pulled a gun from his waistband and fired three shots as Garcia drove away, according to prosecutors. Garcia was hit once and died of his injuries a short time later.At trial, Lubkin took the stand and admitted to being the shooter but claimed he opened fire in self-defense not knowing what Garcia would do while driving away, th...

Sackler family gets opioid immunity with $6B payout

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

By Samantha Delouya | CNNMembers of the billionaire Sackler family will be protected from current and future lawsuits over their role in their Purdue Pharma’s opioid business, a New York court of appeals ruled Tuesday.The ruling clears the way for a bankruptcy deal for Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the family. In exchange for immunity, the Sacklers will personally pay out billions of dollars to help fight the ongoing opioid epidemic. Purdue Pharma declared bankruptcy in 2019.The settlement between the Sacklers and eight states, as well as the District of Columbia, was initially agreed upon in March.As part of the deal, the Sackler family will allow any organization or institution in the United States to remove the family name from physical buildings or programs and scholarships, as long as the Sacklers are notified and public statements announcing the name removal do not “disparage” the family.Purdue Pharma called Tuesday’s ruling a “victory.”“Our focus going forward is to delive...

Why Bob Myers decided it was time to step away from Warriors

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:53:58 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO –- Joe Lacob didn’t want to believe it. Even after Bob Myers spent more than 30 minutes explaining his reasoning for why he would be stepping away from the Warriors at the end of next month, Lacob seemed hesitant to let him go. “I’m not going to sit here and tell you I understand it because I don’t,” Lacob said Tuesday afternoon. “It’s not in me to do that. I’m so competitive and I know he is, too. It’s a really hard thing for me to understand why but it’s really not for me to understand why. I just want him to be happy.”But after weeks of reflection, Myers decided that it was best for him to bow out after more than a decade of service to the team he grew up rooting for.Myers is leaving the Warriors after an 11-year run as the team’s general manager and president of basketball operations, during which he constructed four championship-winning teams, navigated pivotal trades and contract negotiations...