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Council Member Kelly wants to make zoos, aquariums safer following recent incidents

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) –  After hearing from several concerned constituents regarding the Austin Aquarium, Council Member Mackenzie Kelly – who represents District 6 where the business is located – said she is working on a resolution to potentially change relevant city code to make things safer at facilities with wild animals. In the last couple of years, there have been at least a couple of incidents where people were reportedly injured while interacting with lemurs. The Austin Aquarium touts on its website that “the Austin and San Antonio Aquariums are the only facilities in the United States where guests can interact and pet lemurs.” MORE: Woman says lemur attacked her at Austin Aquarium Further, Kelly said constituents have expressed concerns about how animals are treated at the facility. Charmaine Dickerson said a lemur attacked her during an interactive experience at the Austin Aquarium. (KXAN)“[The Austin Aquarium] is in my district. I need to be responsive to people ...

Austin may break all-time record for consecutive 100-degree days

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Austin is on track to tally its most back-to-back 100-degree days on record next week as unseasonably hot, dry weather continues.Temperatures reached 103 degrees Thursday in Austin, our 20th-consecutive day. Hazy skies continue, brought on by a cloud of African dust. Austin's air quality is expected to be moderate due to the dust through the coming weekend.Hazy skies continue through the weekend Austin Interactive Weather Stats (2023) A ridge of high pressure continues to dominate our weather through the weekend and next week, with high temperatures each afternoon forecast to top 100 degrees in the Austin area. Hotter than normal summer conditions are forecast throughout the 8-14 day period as well, likely meaning Austin breaks the all-time record for consecutive 100 degree days which currently stands at 27 days (set in 2011).Consider supporting our ongoing KXAN Summer Fan Drive in partnership with Family Eldercare by clicking here.FIRST WARNING WEATHER: Stay up t...

Fairview, Sanford end merger talks; Sanford cites lack of support from certain Minnesota stakeholders’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

South Dakota-based Sanford Health and Minnesota-based Fairview Health Services are ending efforts to merge, both health systems announced Thursday.A spokesperson for Sanford Health said that the Sanford Board of Trustees initiated the process of ending the merger.In a statement, Sanford Health president and CEO Bill Gassen said his health system determined “it is in the best interest of Sanford Health to discontinue the merger process,” as the transaction lacks support “from certain Minnesota stakeholders.”“The significant benefits we identified for a combined system with Fairview Health Services compelled us to exhaust all potential pathways to completing our proposed merger,” Gassen said.In a separate statement, Fairview confirmed that it is discontinuing the merger process with Sanford.“Our aligned missions, our shared commitment to health and healing, and our deep roots in our communities positioned us well to transform the future of health care,” said Ja...

Discovering Saratoga: First Responders Day 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - First Responders Day is an annual tradition at the Saratoga Race Course. As part of the celebrations, the New York Racing Association paid tribute to these everyday heroes with free admission, musical performances and more.

St. Louis police arrest man wanted in shocking child sex crime case

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS - Police have arrested a man Thursday suspected of a child sex crime earlier this week in a south city neighborhood.The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department says a 34-year-old man was arrested in connection with the investigation. Police have not disclosed the identity of the suspect or announced charges as of Thursday afternoon. "At this time in the investigation, we anticipate presenting the case to the Circuit Attorney's Office for a charging decision tomorrow," said Sgt. Charles Wall with SLMPD. Lincoln County mother pleads for answers 32 years after son’s disappearance  According to Wall, the crime occurred July 23 in the St. Louis Hills neighborhood. Police did not provide a more specific hundred block of the incident. Police say the victim, a 6-year-old boy, was riding his bicycle when a man walked up to the child, snatched him off the bike, and took the boy to a nearby vacant residence and sexually assaulted him.It took nearly 24 hours after the police notif...

Man accused of St. Louis County murder-for-hire plot in man's 2011 death

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A man was indicted Thursday in federal court on felony charges linked to a murder-for-hire plot more than a decade ago. Federal prosecutors have charged Michael Grady, 68, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, murder-for-hire and conspiracy to commit money laundering. St. Louis police search for man after child sex crime According to an indictment, Grady is accused of working with Victoria Rena Williams, 65, to help find someone to murder Charles Harris III. Investigators say Williams and Harris were in a romantic relationship before Harris was killed on Oct. 5, 2011. The indictment alleges that Williams started the application process for a $250,000 life insurance police for Harris in August 2010, specifically asking if the policy would provide coverage if Harris was robbed and killed. The indictment further states she was regularly in phone contact with Grady before and after she contacted the phone company, discussing how to...

Judge says lawsuit filed against Ashcroft for misleading abortion ballot language filed too soon

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - After a Missouri Supreme Court ruling late last week, the proposed initiative petition to restore abortion rights hits another hurdle. A Cole County judge dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday, accusing Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft of writing misleading ballot language. But the case isn't over. Instead, both parties agreed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Missouri jumped the gun by filing the suit before the ballot summer was certified.  Lincoln County mother pleads for answers 32 years after son’s disappearance  "The cases may become right, they likely will become right, but they were not then, and they are not now," Assistant Attorney General Jason Lewis said in court Wednesday. Another logjam for supporters looking to restore abortion rights in Missouri. "It's important to consider there is a constitutional right at stake and as the Supreme Court has said many times, every delay infringes somewhat on that right," attorney for the ACLU ...

Shohei Ohtani throws first MLB shutout in Angels’ 6-0 win over Tigers after team says he’s staying

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

By LARRY LAGE (AP Sports Writer)DETROIT (AP) — Shohei Ohtani gave up one hit and struck out eight in his first complete game in Major League Baseball, Taylor Ward hit two homers and the Los Angeles Angels beat the Detroit Tigers 6-0 in the first game of a doubleheader Thursday.Ohtani (9-5) did not allow a baserunner until the fifth inning, when Kerry Carpenter led off with a single and was quickly erased by a double play. Ohtani walked three batters the rest of the way, but easily worked out of trouble on the same day the Angels confirmed they’re not trading him.The two-way superstar, who will be a free agent after the season, didn’t budge on his approach to avoid talking about next year despite the recent developments.“In season, I don’t really like to think about the long-term stuff, just focus on the season and every game that’s in front of me,” Ohtani said through a translator. “Obviously, I’ve been with the Angels my whole c...

CU joins Big 12: What Buffs fans need to know about football, basketball, travel, kickoffs, television, rivalries

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

BOULDER — The Power 5’s redheaded stepchild is heading back to live with the other parent again.The People’s Republic of Boulder has always been a drinking town with a slight football problem: CU Buffs donors and alums, by and large, sprawl from Denver to the Pacific Ocean. The vast majority of top-shelf prep gridiron talent and television sets are east and southeast of Denver.The only way for CU president Todd Saliman and athletic director Rick George to truly thread the needle and appease both sides of that equation would be as part of the Big Ten, which has remarkable penetration to TV homes nationwide and just added the Los Angeles/Southern California market as a sweetener.Alas, the Buffs don’t see that invite from Chicago coming — not in the next four to seven years, at any rate.So given a choice between a Pac-12 without SoCal and a television package or a Big 12 with a reported $2.3 billion from ESPN and Fox and without Texas and Oklahoma, CU brass elected Thursday to ride wit...

CU Buffs officially re-joining Big 12, leaving Pac-12

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:56:16 GMT

Boulder is officially Big 12 country again.The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted unanimously Thursday to accept an invitation to re-join the Big 12, a conference that CU had left in 2011 to join an expanding Pac-12.Thursday’s Regents meeting was held remotely and attended virtually by CU president Todd Saliman, CU chancellor Phil DiStefano and athletic director Rick George. The three opened the meeting by each offering a short statement justifying why the Buffs should leave the Pac-12 and return to the Big 12.All three cited, directly or indirectly, stability, exposure, economics and enhanced opportunities for CU student-athletes coming via a return to the Big 12.“We think the time has come for us to change conferences,” Saliman told the regents. “We really see this as an opportunity to create more opportunities for the University of Colorado.”Roughly 14 minutes into a virtual meeting that lasted 15 minutes and 53 seconds, the motion to rejoin the Big 12 was approved aft...