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Texas moves to spend $1.5B on border wall expansion

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- Lawmakers on the Texas House Appropriations Committee gave initial approval Monday to a $1.5 billion expenditure for border wall construction, expanding the governor's budget for Operation Lone Star. Texas has spent nearly $10 billion on border security efforts during Gov. Greg Abbott's tenure as the state moves to repel and detain migrants in tandem with the federal government. The governor's office argued Monday that additional border wall will help the Department of Public Safety free up resources and patrol the border with fewer troopers.The expansion targets the Rio Grande Valley region, though exact locations and specifications of the wall remain uncertain. Border enforcement personnel were weary to disclose exact details, citing concerns that drug cartels may abuse that information.Democrats expressed concern that the state should make this substantial investment without more information about the efficacy, locations, and vendors of the new wall sections.L...

Vikings safety Lewis Cine a healthy scratch for second straight game

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

For the second straight game, the Vikings made safety Lewis Cine a healthy scratch.Not a good sign for the 2022 first-round pick as he struggles to find a role on defense.This became a storyline last week after the Vikings decided to make Cine inactive for the road game against the Chicago Bears. Asked for clarification on the decision, head coach Kevin O’Connell chalked it up to the fact that Cine has been slowly recovering from a hamstring injury.“We feel good about him being at full capacity here and hope to get him going a little bit,” O’Connell said. “My anticipation is he’ll be up and ready to roll this week.”Instead, the 24-year-old Cine was a full participant in practice, only for the Vikings to make him in active for the home game against the San Francisco 49ers.It’s fair to wonder if this is the beginning of the end.This was supposed to be a breakout campaign for Cine after recovering from a compound fracture in his left leg that f...

Non-profit grocery store coming to Troy

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The city of Troy will soon have a new grocery store meant to fight food insecurity. The groundbreaking was held Monday for Bargain Grocery.The store is a non-profit that buys excess food and sells it at a low price with the goal of reducing food waste while increasing access to fresh and healthy foods in underserved communities. They also provide secret financial assistance to people who need it. Get the latest news, weather, sports and entertainment delivered right to your inbox! "Food access, food affordability, and most importantly, to allow people that are less fortunate to be able to shop with dignity," Bargain Grocery founder Pastor Mike Servello said. "To buy what they want, when they want it, in their neighborhood."The store will be located on River Street in the city's north central neighborhood and is expected to open in May.

Sexual assault of woman by homeless man in Long Beach caught on camera

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

Surveillance cameras captured the moment a violent transient sexually assaulted a woman in broad daylight in downtown Long Beach.  The brazen attack occurred on Oct. 20 at 2:15 p.m. in front of Village Market in the 140 block of Linden Avenue, and many residents and local businesses are saying this area of Long Beach has grown increasingly dangerous.  The victim was walking innocently down the street when video shows the suspect, now identified by police as 30-year-old Miguel Avila, sitting on the sidewalk before getting up and following the woman. Avila approaches the woman from behind, exposes himself and sexually assaults her as she falls to the ground.  Miguel Avila, 30, is seen on surveillance cameras approaching a woman on the sidewalk in Long Beach from behind and assaulting her in broad daylight. Nearby, a Good Samaritan gets up and appears to intervene as the 30-year-old runs away.  “It was horrifying to see,” Long Beach resident Jason Greenleaf told KTL...

Passenger describes JetBlue mishap at New York's JFK Airport

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

A California woman is recounting the terrifying moment when a JetBlue flight suddenly tipped backward at New York’s JFK Airport on Sunday night.JetBlue Flight 662 had just landed from Barbados around 8:30 p.m. local time and passengers were in the process of disembarking. That’s when, according to Ulli Haslacher from Claremont, California, the plane suddenly became unstable.“We heard a noise and we felt falling,” Haslacher told KTLA on Monday. “I was standing at the time and fell back.”Video posted to Citizen App shows the JetBlue plane tilted backward at New York's JFK Airport. Oct. 22, 2023. (Citizen)Unsure of what was happening, Haslacher said she immediately feared for her safety and thought about her family.“I was thinking that I’m not going to see my grandchildren … I’m not going to see my kids again. It was very stressful.”The plane, which Haslacher believes still had around 80 people onboard, had shifted due to a weight imbalance. Video posted to Citizen App shows the front ...

Shock over off-duty Bay Area pilot accused of trying to shut off plane’s engines in flight

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

There was nothing about Alaska Airlines pilot Joseph David Emerson that suggested a simmering cauldron of rage or despair that might drive a seemingly successful and happy Pleasant Hill family man to allegedly jeopardize dozens of innocent lives on a full flight Sunday from Seattle to San Francisco.But authorities said that’s exactly what happened. Emerson, 44, was being held Monday on 83 counts each of attempted murder and reckless endangerment and one count of endangering an aircraft, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, where the plane landed safely after Emerson was removed from the cockpit. He’s scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.No one answered and the shades were drawn at Emerson’s tidy gray home with white trim, whimsically decorated for Halloween with tombstones, ghosts, skeletons, giant spiders and a “Beware” sign. But stunned neighbors said they saw nothing amiss in him.“There was no sign of depression,R...

The GOP House members running for speaker

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

By Jack Forrest | CNNThe high-stakes race for House speaker enters a new phase this week, with a slate of new candidates vying for the gavel following Rep. Jim Jordan’s exit from the race.Some of the eight candidates are fresh faces in the contest, while others have been here before, either following Kevin McCarthy’s ouster or during the 15-round speakership balloting on the floor in January.House Republicans are holding a candidate forum Monday evening to hear from those seeking the role, though it is not clear if any of the GOP lawmakers will be able to gather the support necessary from their conference to secure the 217 votes needed from the full House to serve in the top spot.After giving his speech at the forum, Rep. Dan Meuser, a member of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, dropped out of the speaker’s race, per members in the room. The Pennsylvania Republican had been announced as a candidate for the job by House GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik on Sunday.Here are the ...

Ukrainians prepare candles, firewood as they brace for winter

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

By Hanna Arhirova | Associated PressMOSHCHUN, Ukraine — In the humble backyard of a destroyed house, a 13-year-old chops firewood to get ready for winter. His mother, Tetiana Yarema, has been preparing for months as she remembers last winter’s Russian strikes on the energy infrastructure that plunged Ukraine into darkness.“Those were dark days. I didn’t want anything. I just wanted to pack my things and go abroad,” said Yarema, 48, who says she ended up staying because of her son’s insistence.For the Yarema family, like millions of other Ukrainians touched by Russia’s war on Ukraine, winter is an especially challenging time.The mother and son live in trailers that were set up in their backyard after fighting in the early days of the war destroyed their house in Moshchun, a village about 25 kilometers (15 miles) northwest of Kyiv.“I have a feeling that when the cold sets in, they’ll start bombing again,” the woman said, echoing th...

H-1B: Government’s proposed visa changes are murky but could mean big changes

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

The federal government is proposing major changes to the H-1B visa program intended to allow U.S. companies to hire foreign citizens with specialized skills, including expanding the types of work not subject to an annual cap.While the plan runs to 227 pages, it leaves unanswered some questions about how the new rules might change the number of H-1B visas and who could receive them.Silicon Valley technology giants rely heavily on the H-1B to secure top foreign talent. Those companies, and many others in the Bay Area, also employ large numbers of H-1B workers at below-market wages, using staffing and outsourcing companies to secure such employees. Critics cite reported abuses and say companies, including major tech firms and staffing and outsourcing companies, use the H-1B to supplant U.S. workers, drive down wages and facilitate outsourcing.The Department of Homeland Security on Friday released the proposal, saying it would “modernize and improve the efficiency of the H-1B prog...

7 dead as ‘super fog’ blamed for crashes near New Orleans

Published Wed, 19 Feb 2025 21:01:37 GMT

Associated PressNEW ORLEANS — At least seven people were killed after a “superfog” of smoke from south Louisiana marsh fires and dense fog caused multiple massive car crashes Monday morning involving a total of 158 vehicles, authorities said.Twenty-five people were injured and the number of fatalities may increase as first responders continue to clear the crash scenes and search for victims, Louisiana State Police said in a press release Monday evening.Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a call for blood donors and asked for prayers “for those hurt and killed.”Videos of the wreck showed what looked like an endless junkyard of cars overtaking the busy interstate near the community of Manchac. Vehicles were crushed, rammed under one another and some were engulfed by flames. Many people stood on the side of the road looking in disbelief at the disastrous scene, while others remained in their car waiting for aid.Christopher Coll, 41, was among the drivers in one of the ...