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North Carolina Republicans unveil new abortion restrictions

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Republican legislative leaders said on Tuesday there’s agreement in the GOP-dominated legislature on backing a measure that would prohibit abortion in nearly all cases after roughly the first trimester of pregnancy. House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger announced at an early-evening news conference that there’s consensus between Republicans in the state House and Senate.North Carolina law currently bans nearly all abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The measure would reduce that to 12 weeks, with new exceptions in cases of rape, incest or fetal abnormality. An existing exception for when the life of the pregnant woman is in danger would remain.Final votes for the agreed-upon legislation would occur Wednesday in the House and Thursday in the Senate, legislators said.The bill also contains provisions to make adoptions easier and to improve health care access for children and pregnant women.“It’s time for North Carolina...

Cops: Man borrows phone, admits to ex-landlord’s 2008 murder

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

ROSWELL, N.M. — A New Mexico man, overwhelmed by guilt, borrowed a cellphone to call 911, confess to a 2008 murder case and tell police where his former landlord’s body was buried, authorities said Tuesday.Police said Tony Ray Peralta, 37, of Roswell, was booked into the Chaves County jail on suspicion of murder.They said Peralta went to a store Monday afternoon, borrowed a cellphone to call 911 and told a dispatcher that he had killed someone. Officers went to the store and Peralta was detained for questioning.Police investigators then obtained a search warrant for a house where Peralta had been a tenant of 69-year-old William Blodgett. He told them where he buried the body, and they found a boot, bones and dentures after removing plywood floorboards from a detached room on the side of the house.A tearful Peralta told police during an interview that he didn’t know why he had killed Blodgett and that he just needed to confess, according to an affidavit filed with the criminal ...

Family of bride killed in wreck warns about drunken driving

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

The mother of the bride had just unwound with a change of clothes and a glass of wine on her short-term rental’s balcony when the sound of sirens gave the first impression that her daughter’s wedding night had gone awry.Within minutes, Lisa Miller was riding with her new in-laws to the South Carolina beach road where authorities say a woman driving under the influence at twice the speed limit slammed into the golf cart escorting a happy couple away from their sparkler-filled goodbye at a reception overlooking the Atlantic shoreline.A day that had begun blissfully with charcuterie and mimosas along the beach ended with hours spent in agony outside a hospital where she had wrongly been told her daughter had been taken. Then, Lisa Miller said she learned that the bride’s father had identified the body back at the crash site.Samantha Miller, 34, died Friday in Folly Beach, South Carolina, while still wearing her wedding dress. The groom, Aric Hutchinson, is recovering ...

Mom of man missing in Mexico is killed, search group says

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Another mother searching for her disappeared child has been killed in Mexico, the sixth murder of a volunteer search activist in Mexico since the start of 2021. The volunteer search group known as “A Promise to be Kept” said Teresa Magueyal was killed Tuesday in the violence-wracked city of Celaya, in the north-central state of Guanajuato. The state prosecutor’s office said it was still investigating the report and could not confirm it. It was the second such killing in Guanajuato in less than six months. Volunteer searcher Maria Vázquez Ramírez was shot to death in November in the city of Abasolo, Guanajuato. “In Guanajuato we women searchers are not safe, they kill us in broad daylight, in public, with total impunity,” Magueyal’s group said in a statement, calling the killing “cowardly.”The motive in the killing remained unclear; most searchers say they are looking for the bodies of their children, not evidence to convict their killers.Magueyal was active ...

Kevin Costner and wife of nearly 19 years begin divorce

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kevin Costner and his wife of nearly 19 years, Christine Baumgartner, are divorcing, a representative for the actor said Tuesday. “It is with great sadness that circumstances beyond his control have transpired which have resulted in Mr. Costner having to participate in a dissolution of marriage,” Costner’s publicist Arnold Robinson said in a statement. Costner and Baumgartner, a model and handbag designer, began dating in 1998 before getting married at his Colorado ranch in 2004. They have two sons, ages 14 and 15, and a 12-year-old daughter together. It was the second marriage for Costner, 68, the Oscar and Emmy winning star of TV’s “Yellowstone” and films including “Dances With Wolves,” “The Bodyguard” and “Bull Durham.” Costner also has four adult children from previous relationships. The Associated Press

Arrest made in GTA sale of sodium nitrite, lethal substance linked to suicides

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

Peel Regional Police announced the arrest of a 57-year-old Ontario man stemming from the online distribution of sodium nitrite across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) that resulted in two deaths.Authorities in Peel Region opened an investigation following a report from the Times of London in the United Kingdom. It mentioned that a GTA resident named Kenneth Law had been selling sodium nitrite, a legal but lethal drug, to people in the U.K. and the U.S., which resulted in seven suicides.On March 31, officers in Peel Region began investigating the circumstances of a sudden death in Ontario. It is believed that Law distributed and marketed the substance online to target individuals at risk of self-harm.Law was arrested by Peel police on Tuesday and charged with two counts of counselling or aiding in suicide. He is expected to appear in court for a bail hearing on Wednesday.Lee was registered in Mississauga and had been selling the drug to “vulnerable people,” the Times report...

Search underway for missing Morton Grove teen

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

CHICAGO -- The Morton Grove Police Department are asking for the public's help in locating a 16-year-old who was last seen on Friday, April 28.Sofie Igunbor was last seen on the 8500 block of Ferris Avenue in Morton Grove around 4 p.m. on Friday, April 28. Police, IDPH respond to ‘severe staffing concern’ at nursing home in northern suburbs Igunbor has been described as 5-foot-5, weighing 120 pounds, with highlighted braids and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black shirt and black pants.Anyone with information on Igunbor's whereabouts are asked to contact the Morton Grove Police Department at 847-470-5200 or email [email protected].

'We are still shaken': Teen killed during Florida equestrian competition remembered as rising star

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

VENICE, Fla. (WFLA) — The equestrian community is shaken after a Florida teen was killed in a tragic accident during a competition in Venice this weekend. Hannah Serfass, 15, was riding a horse during an equitation class on Sunday when the horse tripped and "suffered a rotational fall," the United States Equestrian Federation said in a statement."The fall was unrelated to a jumping effort. The EMT responded immediately, and Hannah was transported to Sarasota Memorial where she was pronounced dead. The horse was uninjured in the accident," the statement stated. The Federation went on to say it takes every accident seriously and will be reviewing the incident to learn what can be done to minimize risk and increase safety in equestrian sport.Serfass was a talented equestrian with a bright future ahead. Those who knew the teen described her to Nexstar's WFLA as a fierce and talented athlete.As her teammates, coaches, and others in Sumter County mourn her loss, they're remembering t...

Central Texas 6A, 5A high school baseball bi-district matchups

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas high school baseball playoffs begin with bi-district action Thursday as teams push toward state title dreams.In Class 6A Region IV baseball, District 25 and 26 teams face off with No. 3 Westlake and No. 9 Round Rock heading into the playoffs fresh off district titles. The Chaparrals (30-3, 14-2) finished a game ahead of rival Lake Travis for the district crown, and they'll take on Vandegrift in a best-of-3 series starting Thursday. Game 1 will be at Vandegrift with the first pitch at 7:30 p.m. The Vipers finished fourth in District 25 and are 19-13 overall.Round Rock went undefeated in district play and will take on Buda Johnson who finished fourth in District 25. They'll start a best-of-3 series at 7 p.m. Thursday in Round Rock. The Dragons feature 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher Travis Sykora who possesses a 100 mph fastball and is listed as the No. 35 2023 MLB Draft prospect by Baseball America.Here's the bi-district schedules for Class 6A teams in the Aus...

Austin Public Library launches pilot program for Enhanced Library Cards

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 10:38:59 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Austin Public Library launched a pilot program for Enhanced Library Cards (ELC), which will feature the cardholder's photograph that are accepted as a valid form of identification by many local agencies and organizations, according to a news release from the City of Austin. Furthermore, the ELC will serve as a new card option for library users who also might benefit from another form of photo identification, the release said.The ELC is a full-access library card for Austin residents 18 or older, which includes the holder's library card number, photograph, address, date of birth, the expiration date and a scannable barcode, according to the city.The card can be used the same as a standard library card to check out materials at all APL locations, as well as online to access eBooks and other digital resources, the release said. The card is also recognized by many other city departments and local organizations as a valid form of identification or as a supplement wit...